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Tutorials |
Alpha
Channels in PSP – by MikeB7 |
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THE BASICS
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You must know all the textures that a given .nif file references. If you are missing any of these
textures, your effect will not work and will probably make the game crash when you
try to look at it.
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If you hex edit a .Nif file and find the .tga texture it references, if you change the name to a new
texture, your edited .nif will animate the new
texture.
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The texture file you hex edit/insert into a new .Nif
must have the same number of characters in its name as the texture replaced by
hex editing. If not the game will crash when you try to view the effect.
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The texture file you insert into a new .Nif
must have the same number of pixels in its frame as the texture replaced by hex
editing. If not, the effect will appear as whited out
effect in the game.
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If you do not alpha your new effect, after having done all of the above ,
your effect will have either an ugly white border or that silly black border appear
with it when viewed. You must alpha away the excess items in your texture to
get desired effects.
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We are bound by .nif files which are already
created. None of the effects guys outside of the Beyonder
can create a new .nif file for a texture. Since the Beyonder is to busy (rightfully so) to post a tutorial on
how its done, we'll all have to just chill. I do
believe it takes 3d Studio Max which costs $3k+. Most of us don't have that to
expend at this fragile juncture in our gaming experience.
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"The Capt America shield throw start.nif
is good to use for spinning projectiles. The kinetic card throw start.nif is good to use for standard projectiles." -Bujin
THE EDITOR
You will have to have successfully created a .Nif file for your texture to proceed to the below. This
means you have created a Fx
by saving a .tga graphics file in the _textures
folder in the Fx folder and have .Nif
files mapped to those textures as detailed above. If you have done this
successfully by matching pixel size, file name, and alpha channels proceed. If
not, post a message in the General Discussion Forum and someone will help guide
you through the above.
The FX Tab
In the Freedom Force Editor on the Fx tab, there are seven windows:
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• Name -
Name of the Fx. • Nif Base - Location folder of the Nif
which directs the textures located in the _textures folder. • Fx type - melee, ranged, direct, area, special, active
defense, passive defense • Fx subtype - None, beam, projectile, explosive
projectile. • Three
node attachment points: start, core and end with rot tracking buttons next to
each - These windows are assignments of where each Fx
will be attached on a normal mesh. Each of the windows has a drop down Fx menus which details exactly where on the mesh will
appear if you've done everything correctly in creating it. Where these Fx appear on an atypical mesh such as the Daemon hasn't
been officially mapped. |
Information on the specifics of all of the above is explained in detail at Modforce.com.
To create a new effect there are two methods:
A.
Use an existing effect
which has the Fx node attachment
preconfigured (choice #1 for novices and lazy experienced Fx
creators).
B.
Make your effect up
completely from scratch (Ok if you know what you are doing, have the time, or
are creating something completely new and referencing obscure node attachment
points when you affix your Fx).
Method A: find the effect you want with the nodes mapped perfectly and
change the name. Browse the Nif base window to the
folder where you placed the .Nif which map the textures you have created for your effect. Open the
folders and double click on any of the .nifs in said
folder. You have now successfully assigned your named Fx with the animation and textures you created above.
Click save.
Method B:
As you gain proficiency with the editor you will learn where each node affix's
an Fx if you select its drop
down menu. There are enough nodes that to detail them all would be wasteful.
The start node determines where on the character the Fx will originate. The core node is the beam body of
an effect for ranged attacks and the projectile of a projectile attack. The end
node is the end of the attack and is important if you want animated word rising
from the effect, explosions or impact marks to show. Common places to affix
nodes are the head for eye blast attacks, weapon for ranged attacks which are
centered slightly away from the body, and left and right arm respectively
depending on the animation of the mesh. If you are fooling around with where
each node is going to be attached, an assumed competance
level in setting up effects is hereby bestowed upon you. The rot button will
become important to you if you wish to have an effect linger a while along the
path it travels. If you click the track rot box next to a node (particularly
the core.nif), the given node Fx will linger a bit until the completion of entire
node path is complete. This is similar to the trail of a meteor as it travels.
This is useful in creating punches and kicks such as the marvel comics charcter Iron fist's punch.
Follow mapping the Nif base window as detailed in Method
A. Click save.
The Sound Tab
There are two methods to assign sounds to your
effect. Method A is to create an WAV sound file and
save it to the data/sounds/powers folder. Method B is to find a sound effect
already in the game listed in the left column of the sounds tab of the editor,
rename it to that of your effect and save it.
- Save your WAV file to
the data/sounds/powers folder in the Freedom Force directory. In the
editor go to the sounds tab. The naming convention for sounds for Fx in the editor is as follows:
fx_"power name"_(number 1 to 3 where 1 corresponds to the effect in start node window of the Fx tab, 2 corresponds to the effect in the core node window of the Fx tab, and 3 corresponds to the effect in end node window of the Fx tab). Example if you have a ranged Fx named "tentacle" which uses three .Nifs for the Fx, you will want to use three sound Fx for the power. You will name the sound for the start.nif "fx_tentacle_1", the sound for the core.nif "fx_tentacle_2", and the sound for the end.nif "fx_tentacle_3". Knowing this naming covenion, click new and enter the name of your Fx in the name box. Ensure local sounds 3d is selected in the type box. Click the add button beneath the huge wave files window. Browse folders until you find the data/sounds/powers folder and double click the sound Fx you saved there. You will now be taken back to the wave files window with your effect now inside the window. Click new again and you will see the new sound Fx in the left hand window listing all the sounds in the game. Click save and the power has now been added to the in game data base for the Fx .nif you assigned it to. You may change the pitch and volume of the sound you created by windows listing these attributes at the bottom of the sounds tab of the editor. Be aware that the play button on this page will not play your effect from the editor (very bogus). - Go to the sounds tab of
the editor. Find a sound Fx
which you think will match your effect here and select it. Click new, rename it appropriately as detailed above and
click new. The newly named sound Fx
will now appear in the left hand window column with sound Fx already in the game. Click save
and the Fx will be added to in game sounds.
The sound aspects of the Fx is very limited and only a few Fx
artist are making new ones. We could use some WAV sound effects. If anyone
knows where a collection of them are it would be appreciated.
One can attach flying Fx to
individual meshes by naming the Fx flying_charactertemplatename
in the Fx tab. We don't have a lot of these and more
would be appreciated.
The reason I mention points one and two is that flying Fx can have a sound Fx
attached to them as well. If you attach the blank Fx as a flying Fx and
create a sound associated with it, your mesh will have a neat flying Fx associated with it when it flies. Imagine male_cape with the "WOOSHING" sound as he flies.
This would be neat for Superman and other fliers.
Mixing and Matching .Nifs
Nodes of Fx
Once you are familiar with the making of Fx, you may mix and match .nifs as interchangable parts to
create new Fx. To create a new Fx from those you already have stored in the Fx folder, create a new folder and name it appropriately.
Copy the start.nif and/or core.nif
and/or end.nif of the Fx you wish to the new folder. This new Fx will now have all the
characteristics of the old assigned .nifs. .Nif files may also be renamed from start.nif,
core.nif, and end.nif to
suit your purposes. If you feel an end.nif would make
a better start.nif in another effect, copy it from
its original folder, paste it in the appropriate folder and rename it to start.nif. The effect will now function as a start.nif. This goes for changing any of the .nifs to its two counterparts. You may also name the same .nif start.nif, core.nif and end.nif to achieve
an effect. You must still follow all of the above sound naming conventions if
you rename the Fx to have
sound correspond to the new Fx.
Changing Attack Types for Known Fx
One may change the attack type of a known Fx to achieve a differing effect.
Changing the type of an attack from one to another is an effective and
innovative way to apply powers. The combinations are endless so you will have
to experiment to determine what works well and what fizzles. Example: If you
take the Nuclear Winter indirect Snowstorm Fx and
change it to an area attack you get the Snowstorm Fx.
If you change it to a projectile attack you get the Snowdrift Fx. If you take the Manbot
energize other Fx and change
it to a projectile you get an attack I call cosmic blast.
THE BEYONDER
If you have any of the Beyonder's
Fx, you know they are
special creations he makes in 3D Studio Max. They have depth, light map and
reflective qualities. If you are adept at 3D Studio Max and can make Fx in this manner, why are you
reading this tutorial? Get back to work Beyonder!!!
Any other input is welcome and I will update this guide as new tricks are
learned
Any other input is welcome and I will update this guide as new tricks are
learned.
Alpha Channels in Paint Shop Pro – by MikeB7
Ok, here's a mini-tutorial on
Alpha Channels in Paint Shop Pro. I'm using the venom_tongue
FX, which is based on the stretch_punches.
It's best to have a solid-color background for the image. Here's the method I
use:
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First,
select the Magic Wand tool: |
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Then use this tool to select everything BUT the image you
want shown: |
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In the menu under Selections, Invert the selection so
that ONLY the FX image is selected |
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Then in the menu under Selections
, Save
To Alpha Channel... |
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Type in Alpha Channel 1 |
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Then save the file, and you're
good to go! Only the selected area that you saved to Alpha Channel 1 will show
up in-game.
FXNAME
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-By MikeB7
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1) Place the TGA files in the
Data\Art\library\fx\_textures directory
2) Place the FXNAME FX folder
(containing core.nif and end.nif)
in your
Data\Art\library\fx\generic directory.
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-Open the FFeditor
& select the FX tab
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1) On the bottom right hand
corner, click the New button
2) In the FX Details section, type
or copy:
Name: FXNAME
Nif Base: library\fx\generic\FXNAME
Attack Type: Ranged
Attack Sub Type: Projectile
3) In the bottom right hand
corner, click Save. The FX should now show up on the list.
4) Select FXNAME (the FX you just
created) from the list on the left
5) In the Node Attachment Points
section:
Start: Right Hand
Core: Right Hand
End: leave blank
6) In the bottom right hand
corner, click Save
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Select the Sounds tab of the
editor.
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To choose sounds for yourself,
browse the list to the left and select the file you want in place of
fx_SOUNDFILE_1, fx_SOUNDFILE_2, etc.
1) Select fx_SOUNDFILE_1 from the
list on the left.
2) Rename it fx_FXNAME_1.
3) Hit new - it should now show up
on the list.
4) Select fx_SOUNDFILE_2 from the
list on the left.
5) Rename it fx_FXNAME_2.
6) Hit new - it should now show up
on the list.
7) Select fx_SOUNDFILE_3 from the
list on the left.
8 ) Rename it fx_FXNAME_3.
9) Hit new - it should now show up
on the list.
10) Save the scheme.
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fx_FXNAME should appear
under effects (towards the bottom) in the effects for PROJECTILE attacks.
Enjoy!
I use WinHex, I'm guessing most
hex editors have the same features, though.
First, you have to make sure that
your new textures for your new fx have the same
number of "characters", the same demensions
(edit note: scratch that, they can be double teh size
of original), and "colors" (ex: if original image is not grey scale, don't
make new one grey scale).
I usually start by creating a new
folder with the name of the fx
I want to make. Then I copy over the .nif files of
existing fxs into the folder. Then I see what .tgas they use. I do this by opening the hex editor, choosing
the approriate .nif then
using the "find text" feature (just type in ".tga"). I write down the tgas
for each nif, then copy
those files from the "_texture" folder into the "new" fx folder. Then I just use my paint program to re-color or
re-texture them.
After that is done, you have to
give the .tga files new names. But remember, they
must have the same number of characters/letters as the original files. You can
just add numbers, but most people like to use names related to the fx they are making (doesn't really
matter though).
Then I usually write down the new
names of those tgas beside the old ones (so it'll be
easier to change with the hex editor). Then I fire up the editor, change the
names into the appropriate ones...put the textures in the "_textures"
folder, the fx folder in the "generic"
folder...then open FFEdit, perform the necessay procedures...and voila, new fx.
Example
– Plasma Wisp’s cookie_throw FX
-Ok, so you would start by copying
the shield_throw folder (located in your
Data\Art\library\fx\generic folder) and rename it cookie_throw_large or whatever.
-Use a hex editor (I use freeware nasHex, http://nasSoftware.cjb.net) and do a search for TGA
files in the core.nif (this is the middle part of the
FX, where the shield is travelling to the target)
-You'll find two TGA files are
associated with this NIF:
shield_capamerica_01.tga
spark_captamerica_03.tga
Copy these two to your cookie_throw_large folder (so you don't accidentally mess
up the shield_throw)
-Open shield_capamerica_01.tga in
your graphics program and copy/paste the cookie image over the shield. Then select the cookie image and save it as
Alpha Channel 1. I have a mini-tutorial
on alpha channels and Paint Shop Pro here:
http://www.fxforce.com/Tutorials.html
-Save the new TGA, using the same
number of characters as the original, for example, cookiethrow_large_01:
shield_capamerica_01 = 20
characters
cookiethrow_large_01 = 20
characters
-Go back to the hex editor and
change shield_capamerica_01 to cookiethrow_large_01. Place the
cookiethrow_large_01.tga file in the Data\Art\library\fx\_textures
folder.
-Now look at the second TGA
associated with this NIF, spark_captamerica_03.tga. It's a star graphic, which you probably wouldn't
want trailing the cookie... So again,
copy this file to your cookie_throw_large folder.
-Either alpha out the entire image
for nothing to trail the cookie, or draw some cookie crumbs, select them and
save them to Alpha Channel 1.
-Save the file w/same # of
characters.
spark_captamerica_03 =
20characters
cookie_crumbs_throw3
=20characters, or even
cookiethrow_large_02 = 20
characters
-Go back to the hex editor and
change spark_captamerica_03 to (whatever you named the new TGA). Place the .tga file in the Data\Art\library\fx\_textures
folder.
Set the new FX up in the editor
& you're good to go!
What Hex editor can I
use?
I use Hex Editor 2.0, but there
are several freeware hex editors out there
How does hex numbering work?
If you think of
a 4-digit code, starting with “00 00”. Each digit
progresses from 0-9, then a-f. The left
pair of numbers is the “smaller” numbers.
The numbers progress as such:
00 00,
01 00 …
09 00, 0a 00…
0f 00, 10 00…
9f 00, a0 00…
ff 00, 00 01…
ff 09…ff ff
How do you resize an entire
character or nif?
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Open the character nif.
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In the first 10 lines
or so, you’ll see 4 instances of a code “80 3f”
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Change each of them
(for example, change 80 to 00 in each, and the mesh gets smaller.
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Changing the “3f”
causes larger changes…as a result, you may be limited in the magnitude of the
change you can do to this number.
Changing “3f” to “40” makes a mesh much larger, while changing to “3e”
makes it much smaller.
How do you change one
dimension (a la male_flat)
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Each of those first 3
“80 3f” instances relates to a dimension…changing the 2nd of those instances
affects thickness – I changed it to “00 3f” for male_thin.
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This will NOT work
in-game unless you also change another feature:
about 14 lines down, there is another row of 3 “80 3f”. If you change the code in the same manner as
the first row of “80 3f”, the effect works in-game.
How do you widen a beam
effect?
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I started with, for
example, green_glove (I’m sure you can use one of the
stretch_punch effects). Use the hex editor to open the core nif.
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Do an ASCII search for
“Editable Mesh”. Just below this, you’ll
see a row of 3 “80 3f” codes. Change the
first one to alter the width (for example, I changed the green_glove
from “80 3f” to “20 41” for the green_glove_large.
How do you change the skin
for the head effect?
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In “library/fx/_textures”, you’ll find a file called “head_alpha”. If you
open this file, you’ll find the skin for the “head_throw”
effect. Cut and Paste the skin of your
choice onto the head. You can paste the
entire skin, if you are sure to not change the alpha channel of the file (you
don’t want the body to appear in the effect)
First off, HUGE
thanks to Adclaw for discovering this method.
The transparency which has plagued
FXers since we began, is
actually a function of the NiAlphaProperty of the TGA
itself. To give an FX the ability to use
full black or solid colors, here’s a simple run-through.
-Each TGA referenced in the NIF
will have a NiAlphaProperty
associated.
-Find the TGA you wish to enable
black or solid color
-Find the NiAlphaProperty
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-After the ff ff
ff ff ff
ff ff ff,
change the 0d to
ed
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projectile =FXBASE=by
MikeB7 *Alpha-able, solid-color projectile base-includes core.nif and TGAs |
projectile_small =FXBASE=by
MikeB7 *Alpha-able, solid-color projectile base-includes core.nif and TGAs |
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shield_flatbase =FXBASE= *shield_throw flattened out
–includes core.nif and TGAs |
shield_flatbase_large =FXBASE= by Captain Wigster w/MikeB7 *shield_throw flattened out
–includes core.nif and TGAs |
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Tutorials |
Alpha
Channels in PSP – by MikeB7 |
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