Problem understanding how does an outdated mod works and how to update it.

[aledroid]

The mod  storm blighters is outdated and I wanted to try to understand how does it work to create my own version or at last update it to the new version of the game.

 

The objective is chaning the appearance of the shapeshift form "stormblight" to match the character model instead of being replaced by a default male human.

 

I tried to create a new mod, copying the gamedata object that this mod modifies and with the folder structure that the modding tutorial uses. I changed just the specific values that are different in the mod, but it didn't work.

 

 

I think the main parameter for the appearance is: 

"NewFormAppearance": "art/character/specialnpc/naked_man/a_m_hum_naked_storm_fury.asset",

And changing it to other assets I can switch it to the wolf form or something else.

 

However the original mod doesn't have this line at all, so it must be changing the appearance somewhere else. 

 

I need help understanding where and how do they override that asset to match the default human instead. 

 

I tried to give "none" as value for the new form appearance and as expected the character becomes invisible, but unexpectedly the abilities also disappear. So I'm not really sure how does that work.

If anybody has any suggestion they are really welcome.

 

Thank you.

[house2fly]

Can't look at it right now, but does the original mod have a MaterialReplacement line? That's how the appearance of the entire body gets changed when someone is petrified or invisible, or when you're a ghost at the start of the game.

 

Just looking at the screenshot on the Images page for the mod, it looks like the normal character model has a MaterialReplacement and maybe a vfx statuseffect applied to it

Edited September 23, 2018 by house2fly

[aledroid]

does the original mod have a MaterialReplacement line?

 

Yes, is:

"MaterialReplacementID": "abef037b-f99c-40e9-8886-1999e55c863a",

By default is:

"MaterialReplacementID": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",

I tried to use the same value but it didn't work.

 

I think you are on the right path, it does look like it could be the same effect that the character has on the start of the game.

[Grape_You_In_The_Mouth]

There is a new topic in this forum for each patch that describes what the new patch has changed, and how it may affect mods.  If you have not read those, it is worth trying.  

[aledroid]

I have been looking but I cannot find anything that seems relevant to me.

 

What is the difference between using an ID:"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" or "None" ?

 

Also not non writing a value in the component or writing it with the same value of default .gamedataboundle has the same effect?

Edited September 23, 2018 by aledroid

[house2fly]

Looking over the mod, I'm really not sure how much of what's been copied from the game files is really necessary. The main changes as far as I can see are to the "Spiritshift_StormBlight_SE_ChangeForm" statuseffect. The version in the current game files has "MaterialReplacementID": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000", and "NewFormAppearance": "art/character/specialnpc/naked_man/a_m_hum_naked_storm_fury.asset", ; the mod has "MaterialReplacementID":"abef037b-f99c-40e9-8886-1999e55c863a", and NO NewFormAppearance. I don't see anything in the modding patch notes about NewFormAppearance being added, so maybe the mod took that out on purpose?

 

There's also data for the Druid_Spiritshift_Armor_Storm in the mod. It's pretty tough to compare the mod version vs the game version because of the mod's formatting, but I THINK the only change is that the game version has this:

"ModelVisualDataPath": ""

 

While the mod version has this:

"ModelVisualDataPath":"prefabs/items/appearance/body/cl/cl33/a_cl33_v03.asset"

 

 

So, a couple of things that might be worth a try (I'd try them myself but I haven't the time to test it!)

 

First, make a copy of the stormblighters.gamedatabundle, and in the copy, delete all the text and leave only this:

 

 

 

{
    "GameDataObjects": []
}

 

Then, open up the game's statuseffects.gamedatabundle, and copy the whole entry for Spiritshift_StormBlight_SE_ChangeForm. Paste it into your copied stormblighters file between the square brackets.

 

Then, replace "MaterialReplacementID": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000", with "MaterialReplacementID":"abef037b-f99c-40e9-8886-1999e55c863a",

 

Then, try one of two things:

 

1: Replace "NewFormAppearance": "art/character/specialnpc/naked_man/a_m_hum_naked_storm_fury.asset", with "NewFormAppearance": "",

 

2: Delete the entire "NewFormAppearance" line

 

(if one doesn't work, come back and try the other!)

 

Also, open items.gamedatabundle and copy the Druid_Spiritshift_Armor_Storm entry. Paste that into the copied stormblighters folder after the statuseffect.

 

Replace "ModelVisualDataPath":"" with "ModelVisualDataPath":"prefabs/items/appearance/body/cl/cl33/a_cl33_v03.asset"

 

Put the copied stormblighters file in your override folder(make sure the original isn't in there) and see what happens

[aledroid]

Thank you very much for the explanation!

 

I tried all the combinations above:

 

-"NewFormAppearance": "" 

- line removed: "NewFormAppearance"

- "NewFormAppearance": "" + "ModelVisualDataPath":"prefabs/items/appearance/body/cl/cl33/a_cl33_v03.asset"

- line removed: "NewFormAppearance" + "ModelVisualDataPath":"prefabs/items/appearance/body/cl/cl33/a_cl33_v03.asset"

 

I don't really know what to do next. 

 

Also while I was experimenting with these I created another gamedataboundle in wich I modified the use per rest of another spell, just to be sure I'm not doing some basic mistake but that worked as intended during all the trials. 

 

Edit: somehow trying again combinations I managed to get it working! 

 

The only problem it has is that it doesn't work on the inventory windows. The shapeshift toggle doesn't do anything. I wonder if it is because the effect is not programmed to be shown there, or if I just need to find the object that defines that shapeshift toggle and change that.

 

For what I can understand effects are disabled in the inventory window rendering. I wonder if there is a toggle somewhere I could change, otherwise, I'm happy as it is, I don't really know if this mod was supposed to change the inventory window or not.

Edited September 24, 2018 by aledroid