Posts from Modding

2 }{0TT@6bI4 - So, did I understand correctly – the button will be constantly present both in the arena and on the global map? Or is it still possible to configure/add buttons separately for the global map and separately for the arena?

I recommend checking out a mod (unfortunately, I don't remember its name or author, but I use it) that adds a Necro-converter button to the global map and a Rage button in combat!

Hello! I can't find it, maybe someone knows. Is the glow of the eyes of Necromancer horses implemented using an effect texture? Where is it located?

You see, the thing is, effects in Heroes 5 rarely use unique textures – that is, the texture for the glow of the eyes can be used in a dozen other effects. If you change its color, they will change too.

To properly change the glow, you need to open the ParticlInstans of the Necromancer (it may not be a separate file, but recorded directly in the effect, which is often the case with files from the original game). In this file, find the list of Textures, and in this list, there will be paths to the textures of the effect. It is best to extract these textures (and their xdb files) from the original folders and put them in the folder with the effect, and in the effect, remove the path to the textures, leaving only the file name. Then it will take the textures that are in the same folder with it. Well, then you can color the textures; these will be unique textures, so everything will be fine.

in this list, there will be paths to the textures of the effect

So, I found them, but the texture is empty. I take it the color is specified in xdb? Specifically <AverageColor>536870911</AverageColor>? What kind of color code is that?

If the texture has no color, it means that the color is read from Particle/ParticleInstance!

    <Instances>
        <Item href="#n:inline(ParticleInstance)" id="item_ab18e3f2-63ad-4f54-b208-f970f4550df9">
            <ParticleInstance ObjectRecordID="882">
                <SrcName/>
                <Light>L_NORMAL</Light>
                <Particle href="#n:inline(Particle)" id="item_01f3a515-a4cc-4c4d-a892-7869add60dca">
                    <Particle ObjectRecordID="466">
                        <SrcName href="/Effects/Characters/Necromanser/idle00.mb"/>
                        <ExportPrefix>Cast</ExportPrefix>
                        <WrapSize>
                            <x>0</x>
                            <y>0</y>
                        </WrapSize>
                        <Bound>38c031befc09cebf9b99ff3f00d6213fc87ed33eea9 7ae3efce6ab3e</Bound>
                        <PerParticleFog>false</PerParticleFog>
                        <uid>E12D5365-39C0-49B1-ABBD-D720809AFF2C</uid>
                    </Particle>

 

-- So this is it, if I understand correctly? Where do I go from here? I tried searching by ID in the archive, nothing.

    <Instances>
        <Item href="#n:inline(ParticleInstance)" id="item_ab18e3f2-63ad-4f54-b208-f970f4550df9">
            <ParticleInstance ObjectRecordID="882">
                <SrcName/>
                <Light>L_NORMAL</Light>
                <Particle href="#n:inline(Particle)" id="item_01f3a515-a4cc-4c4d-a892-7869add60dca">
                    <Particle ObjectRecordID="466">
                        <SrcName href="/Effects/Characters/Necromanser/idle00.mb"/>
                        <ExportPrefix>Cast</ExportPrefix>
                        <WrapSize>
                            <x>0</x>
                            <y>0</y>
                        </WrapSize>
                        <Bound>38c031befc09cebf9b99ff3f00d6213fc87ed33eea9 7ae3efce6ab3e</Bound>
                        <PerParticleFog>false</PerParticleFog>
                        <uid>E12D5365-39C0-49B1-ABBD-D720809AFF2C</uid>
                    </Particle>

 

-- So this is it, as I understand? Where do I go from here? Tried searching by ID in the archive, nothing. 

You're going about this the wrong way...

The issue isn't the effect itself, but rather the texture – specifically, the fact that it's not empty. If you save the texture without an alpha channel, for example, in X8R8G8B8 format, the transparent background will turn black, and the glow will appear on this black background.

I don't know how to remove the black background in a drawing program, so I save the texture in TGA format (after changing the color to the desired one) and then import it into DDS using the map editor – the black background usually disappears, and the texture becomes "empty" again, but not truly empty.

E12D5365-39C0-49B1-ABBD-D720809AFF2C - this file is located in the bin/effects folder. Sometimes, simply changing the value of PerParticleFog to true will make the effect read the color from the texture. However, in most cases, the color is fixed within the effect file itself, and you'll have to repaint it using a hex editor – the color is represented as separate RGB parameters repeated many times. Schematically, it looks like this: imagine a hand with 5 fingers, where each finger is a texture for a specific element of the effect, and each finger is rigidly colored in one color. There's a nuance: when the effect author colors it, they usually click on a color on the spectrum, but sometimes the color components for all colors on all five fingers are the same because the author didn't click on the spectrum but simply chose the same color from a simplified palette! You can see an example of repainting on my page – the creature Namtar

One more question: lagging shadows. As I understand it, to get rid of them, you need to disable shadowing for the entire model, not just hair/head as an effect? I tried changing the values of <CastShadow>true</CastShadow>, it didn't help.

It seems like this is controlled in the texture file itself... change the Is2Sided parameter from false to true... and/or change the BackFaceCastShadow parameter there as well.