Basic Modding with Playable Examples

[niphty]

For my mod, the Tiny_SVD, I chose to take the pre-existing SVD with green plus arrow (for simplicity) and resize it to be tiny! Because tiny things are cool, right? Or at least an SVD graphic that fits in your pistol slot is cool.

I used Paint Shop Pro (my personal favorite) and simply outlined the SVD and copied it. Once copied, I pasted it back in as a new layer, since I wanted to resize it. I moved it down bottom, by the modified MP5 and shotguns, since I knew I could find the grid X and Y of that MP5, plus it was the same size I wanted to make my SVD.

It does take a pretty steady hand here, and a keen eye.. as there isn't much to go by except the existing weapons. Paint Shop Pro reads the alpha channel as a transparency, allowing you to see the grid below. While it's not perfect (and I'm sure there's a way to tweak the grid sizes to get them just right) it's a huge help. Photoshop counts the alpha channel as a separate entity, so you'll need to take care in selecting it in the channel window, as well as the RGB channels, otherwise you're going to lose the gun's alpha layer, which results in the icon not showing up in game (invisible I believe, I didn't test it ).

Essentially you want to line up the upper left corner of the 'icon' with the invisible grid lines. Once you believe it's in place, it's time to shrink the gun!

In Paint Shop Pro, shrinking is as easy as selecting the Raster Deform, and in Photoshop all it takes is the Move Tool with Show Transform Controls

I will note here.. you'll probably have to tweak this several times to make a viable icon in game, so don't close out your 'work in progress' image file, just save and convert it, load up the game and check it out, see which way it needs to be moved, then move it. It's much easier to do it this way than to close and open the image constantly, as the item will already be selected, and you can continue to move it with little trouble.

Once your item is in place, save the file as filename2.jpeg (Paint Shop Pro will notify you that it has to merge the layers.. we want that). Then head back over to the DDS converter. Make sure all the options you recorded before are checked and set in the DDS section, and that the conversion is set to DDS. By saving the file with a number on the end, we prevent overwriting any original texture files, and you can use that to help with version control when trying to align weapons on the grid selected. Then you just grab the bottom right corner of your pretty SVD and Zwoop! Smush it towards the upper left until you get it about half the size it was before. You can line up the end of the barrel with the end of the MP5's, and line up the bottom edge of the Green up arrow icon with that of the bottom of the shotgun to the left to approximate where a 3x1 grid is. Don't worry if you're a little off, we'll forgive you.. this time Now sit back and look at your tiny SVD, aww.. ain't it cute?!

Note: The textures file, recompressed, should be roughly the same size as the one before. If not, you’ll need to see what’s changed by comparing the DDS files with one of the utilities.

Now, we need to fall back on some of the old mod tutorials.. and make a gun to use our new tiny SVD texture!

[wpn_tiny-svd_m1]:wpn_svd
description = enc_weapons1_wpn_tiny-svd_m1
inv_name = wpn-tiny-svd_m1
inv_name_short = wpn-tiny-svd_m1
slot = 1
cost = 1
inv_grid_width = 3
inv_grid_height = 1
inv_grid_x = 5
inv_grid_y = 34

what's a gun without a description:

<string id="enc_weapons1_wpn_tiny-svd_m1">
<text>Aww, ain't it cute!!</text>
</string>
<string id="wpn_tiny-svd_m1">
<text>Tiny SVD</text>
</string>

Of course you know how to add it to the trader! But here's a copy/paste line for you anyway, you did a lot of work to make it this far!

wpn_tiny-svd_m1 = 1, 1

Now, you will need to take an extra step here, and that is making sure your new UI file is in the right place. As I recommend keeping your modded folders to a MINIMUM to prevent any issues (and eye sores, looking through a ton of files is a PITA), then you'll need to put your file in gamedata/textures/ui folder, and make sure to remove the number from the end of that copy, so the game will use it.

Now, -so far- I've not been able to make my game crash by changing this texture file, but anything’s possible.

At this point you should be able to go try more advanced things, like attaching the add-on images to one of your images to make a customized weapon texture. Oh, and look, the green arrows are even included in the file, so now you can just add the parts you need to your gun, place it where needed, and slap a green arrow on it to certify it as being ‘special’

I've included my modified ui_icons_equipment.dds (rar'd for uploading) file that I made, in case you want to see it without doing all this work yourself As well as an image of the gun in game, squished into that pistol slot, with the character holding it behind the inventory. Oh, and look.. I left my On-screen display on for you too :P Another important modding tool there! =D

[Faiakes]

Thanks Man!

Which Paint Shop Pro are you using?

EDIT: I assume Corel Paint Shop Pro

[ZanderArch]

It's amzing you can do with MSPaint, the .dds converter, and some free time...

Oh, and since your tutorial, I think I might of gotten it to work on plain old MSPaint, I forgot to set those Save Alpha and the DXTc Format.

EDIT: No dice, guess us MS Painters are screwed

[ZanderArch]

Sorry for double post.

I found an interesting tid bit looking through the files...

check Gamedata\Textures\Icon, only file in there and it should be a pretty nice one.

I would post a picture, but the attachment thing won't let me.

[Faiakes]

niphty

This is a great guide and I got Paint Shop however I don't know how to work it. Could you provide more detailed directions regarding all the steps you take (copy, paste to new channel, etc). I am looking at the program and I just can't seem to be able to retrace your steps.

[Faiakes]

Originally Posted by ZanderArch

Sorry for double post.

I found an interesting tid bit looking through the files...

check Gamedata\Textures\Icon, only file in there and it should be a pretty nice one.

I would post a picture, but the attachment thing won't let me.

I see some unused weapons in there.

Was that the original selection?

[ZanderArch]

Originally Posted by Faiakes

I see some unused weapons in there.

Was that the original selection?

Most likely. But look at the weapon... 4 weapons down, three weapons over. Under the Blocky Vinteoriz and above the pistols. That there is a thing of beauty.

Here's what it is in real life:
http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl27-e.htm

PS: If someone could edit in those Beta inventory icons into the standard ui_icon_equipment, adding them as new entries would be friggen' sweet.

[Faiakes]

Ok, easy tiger!

[Faiakes]

niphty

How did you get your tiny-svd to work? I tried to test yous and nothing is coming up.
At least the game doesn't crash!

Anyway, I took your DDS pic, added the text in the english desriptions (correctly, it didn't crash once), added the entry in the unique items and the entry in trade_trader. Yet nothing!

With a trader mod and without the tiny svd does not appear in the first trader's stock.

[starfuryzeta]

Hi Niphty,

I have a hopefully quickly answered question. Do you know if it is possible to have a rifle use grenades as its standard ammo? I modified an L85 to use launched grenades as its standard ammo. The L85 will animate as if it is firing, but no grenade is launched. Not sure where to go from there.

Thanks!