Modding Tools and Resources

[S.cavA.rmyG.en]

The forum search is great for that.

tryed it did not work to well.
only 5 posts have "mod log" in them and one is my last post.
not 1 link on this site.

[Col Klink]

OvermindDL1's mesh viewer.

http://www.overminddl1.com/forum/index. ... opic=465.0

You should try not putting your session id in the URL. :p

http://www.overminddl1.com/forum/index.php?topic=465.0


And yes, that exporter is old, I was working on a new one that was already working a ton better a while back, wonder where I put it, probably on an old windows partition...

If you locate the newer version could you post a link to it? Thanks.

[Ded10c]

The forum search is great for that.

tryed it did not work to well.
only 5 posts have "mod log" in them and one is my last post.
not 1 link on this site.

Try "modlog". You'll get to my request thread from about a week ago.

[Col Klink]

Anim8or, is yet another modeling software for fledgling BZII 3D model makers. It's easy to learn and use and has a BZII compatible XSI exporter. It doesn't support animation, but should work for most static models and props. For more info visit my modeling forum or the Anim8or.com forum. I go by lppena on that forum btw.

[Col Klink]

There is an ASL script editor for Anim8or. The utility is a 3rd party script writing device for creating new exporter plugins for A8. It does require some knowledge of the Anim8or scripting language, but is written in plain text, so it's human editable, and does not require a 3rd party code compiler. Here's a link to using the editor> ASL Tutorial List. Version 3.5 is the newest version and it has a handy syntax checker to check for script errors.

Here's a link to the scripting language requirements> Introduction to the ASL language. I have used the script editor to modify existing exporter scripts for both the X model format and an existing XSI exporter for BZII.

[GSH]

BZ2DXTGen_v31 contains v1.1.0.31 of BZ2DXTGen. Has better upscaling support, newer support libs.

-- GSH

[Cliffhangr13]

Hello all I realize I'm, new to the forum and there's probably a post or two already somewhere in this community that has the answers and so I'm starting off as a renegade but for the sake of expedience I just want to ask for a few resources and a little advice..I'm working on a map/mod for Bz2 and I need some basic files that I've yet to come across. First and foremost I think is does anyone have an ODF extraction tool for Bz2 (assuming it would even be applicable)? I remember there was one for BZ1 so I'm hoping that something like this was invented for Bz2 but if not would someone happen to have gotten their hands on the odf file for avserv which is the ISDF service truck(I'd settle for the scion version too.. what I'm after is the component (and or script) that allows it to use its healing weapon on friendly units and structures..also the odf for the Mag lock weapon is required for my project..(some of you probably can tell what I'm up too now )
My second query is: and its abit off the thread topic i guess but which mod is it that I could download that had all the bz1 units converted to bz2 XSI? I know its a nooblet question and I have com across it before but now I'm impatient and lost track of where and which mod to look for..
lastly (for tofday ) I'm working on a base install of the game for my map and i intend to finish it this way when and if i update to a patched version of the game..sooo..will my maps likely to be unusable since I'll altering even some weapon effects? I'd prefer to finish the project then tweak them rather than try to work/edit from an upgraded version of the game..
some random questions: does anyone know if anyone has modeled a 2+ player vehicle? I once simmed the effect by using a tug and a turret in bz1 but it was fairly rickitty(limited turret turning range), you couldn't start a map with both units piloted by ai or it would crash the game and generally pretty lame compared to what a 3d modder could do..I wonder if its been done and if so who what and where (can I find them and their work?).. any help including active links would be really appreciated and moderators if I've overstepped this thread please push my post to the proper subcategory, I'd be honored!

[General BlackDragon]

http://www.bzscrap.org/downloads/Utilities/BZ2/

Pak Explorer is a tool that opens BZ2's .pak files, they're akin to BZ1's zfs files. The odfs are in data.pak and patch13.pak. There's other useful tools there too.

It's called "ivserv", the race letters in BZ2 are i for ISDF and f for Scion(Fury originally)


Your second question: Battlezone Classic. It's still in progress, but I hope to have a beta out by Christmas, soo, (Though I probably won't be releasing the source files for a little bit, since it's still in progress)

It's best to just Patch the game to 1.3 and then work from there. It's 90% likely you will end up using some of the many many new features and options available in ODFs that won't work with older versions. Most people play 1.3 anyway. Modding for 1.0-1.2 is pointless (and a headache)

Two plus player vehicle: Not normally possible, the only way is to technically make a tug carry the other ship. I.E. Tug carrying an Assault Tank. One player drives, the other shoots.

[Ded10c]

And in answer to the missed question, the service truck works through its class (the object's type, if you will). It doesn't carry any weapons; modding a service truck so you can pilot it yourself reveals that it's actually targeting things that causes the truck to repair them.

[Ded10c]

In modding for another game I've come across a potentially useful tool called Texmod.

The long and short of it is that this program allows the user to view - and extract - all textures the selected game loads to RAM. Whether that's useful for BZ2 modding or not is debatable, but there are certainly other useful applications.

Just be forewarned that, because of the way this works, it will almost certainly light up your anti-virus software.

[Psyringe]

Photoshop/3DS Max/Windows Texture Tools
For creating .dds volumetric textures for use with local fog and various other things.
http://developer.nvidia.com/object/nv_t ... tools.html

Does this suggest .dds is a valid texture type that is accepted by the BZII engine, even for Vehicle & Building meshes?
If so, could save me a lot of time changing .dds into .tga/.pic/.etc, I was looking into this earlier and didn't find any solid results.

Thanks!

[Ded10c]

The engine will only use .dxtbz2. I'm not sure if the full compatibility of the converter has been explored, but GSH would know.

[Psyringe]

Of course - I used "BZII Engine" out of context. In a nutshell, not having to convert .dds textures to a different filetype before wrapping them into .dxtbz2.

Also - I've read elsewhere - re-setting texture paths in Max is *not* a necessity || ie Model links to .PSD in .xsi file, the texture is converted to .pic (then wrapped in .dxtbz2), still loads the correct texture. -- saying that wasn't the case, still saves time knowing I wouldn't have to re-direct hundreds of textures originally in the .dds filetype, and the potential of simply wrapping the .dds to the direct x file format and pushing "go".

[GSH]

The .dxtbz2 contains more information than a .dds. I think BZ2DXTGen should be able to read a .dds and write .dxtbz2.

Seriously, though, if .dds is your main texture format, you're asking for trouble. .dds is a *lossy* file format, like .jpg. Each time you edit and save, you can lose information. Use .tga/.png for lossLESS file formats that preserve all your data.

-- GSH

[Psyringe]

Very insightful. Thanks GSH!