Unit Upagrade Art

[odie100]

I'm trying to add hybrid affinity upgrades for the submarine in Rising Tide. I have got them to work, but they look like basic soldiers instead of submarines. How do I change this?

 

[Nutty]

You can't use Firaxis' art define files as a template for your mod because they use a system that isn't available to modders. You need to operate on them as they appear to the database.
Helpfully, whoward69 created some templates you can use for reference: Data and ArtDefine files for Standard Units

 

[odie100]

You can't use Firaxis' art define files as a template for your mod because they use a system that isn't available to modders. You need to operate on them as they appear to the database.
Helpfully, whoward69 created some templates you can use for reference: Data and ArtDefine files for Standard Units

Thanks for your help. I created Hybrid Missile Rovers units and tried to use the Missile Rover template from whoward69 but my units still look like basic soldiers. I guess I'm not really sure how to use these templates. I attached my updated mod for reference.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[odie100]

Eventually I will want to create skins for these new hybrid units (based on the exiting pure affinity version) so that they stand out. Does anyone know how to create new skins of existing BE unit artwork and how to incorporate it into my mod.

 

[Nutty]

I'll take a look at your mod, but re reskins, see the Civ5 tutorial. You'll need to download Nexus Buddy 2. Feel free to ask me any questions.

EDIT: The short version: Unpack the FPKs [using the script in Nexus (part of the SDK), or Dragon UnPACKer (a third party tool)], make copies of the .fxsxml, .gr2, and the 2 .dds files of the unit you want to reskin [in this case \common\siege04s.fxsxml, \common\siege04s.gr2, \dx11\siege04s_diff.dds, and \dx11\siege04s_sref.dds]. Rename each of the files appropriately. Open the .fxsxml in a text editor and change the references to the new filenames. Open the .gr2 in Nexus Buddy 2 and change the texture references to the new filenames. Add the 4 files to your mod [in ModBuddy], and make sure to set them VFS=true by selecting them in the Solution pane, right-clicking on the selection, and choosing Properties. Then set "Import into VFS" to True. [Note you may want to just ignore the sref dds file which provides where the unit should be shiny. If you don't need to change that aspect in your reskin, you can reuse the existing filename for the sref and not bother including a copy in your mod.]

EDIT #2: So I examined your mod. I don't have RT yet, so I'm not quite sure how the hybrid stuff works, but I'm going to assume you have done it correctly. The only issue I see is that you need to check Reload Unit System in the mod's properties [in ModBuddy].

EDIT #3: You will also want to add <UnitFlagHeightAdjust>0</UnitFlagHeightAdjust> to the ArtDefine_UnitInfos table per this thread.

 

[Nutty]

See edits above.

 

[odie100]

I'll take a look at your mod, but re reskins, see the Civ5 tutorial. You'll need to download Nexus Buddy 2. Feel free to ask me any questions.

EDIT: The short version: Unpack the FPKs [using the script in Nexus (part of the SDK), or Dragon UnPACKer (a third party tool)], make copies of the .fxsxml, .gr2, and the 2 .dds files of the unit you want to reskin [in this case \common\siege04s.fxsxml, \common\siege04s.gr2, \dx11\siege04s_diff.dds, and \dx11\siege04s_sref.dds]. Rename each of the files appropriately. Open the .fxsxml in a text editor and change the references to the new filenames. Open the .gr2 in Nexus Buddy 2 and change the texture references to the new filenames. Add the 4 files to your mod [in ModBuddy], and make sure to set them VFS=true by selecting them in the Solution pane, right-clicking on the selection, and choosing Properties. Then set "Import into VFS" to True. [Note you may want to just ignore the sref dds file which provides where the unit should be shiny. If you don't need to change that aspect in your reskin, you can reuse the existing filename for the sref and not bother including a copy in your mod.]

EDIT #2: So I examined your mod. I don't have RT yet, so I'm not quite sure how the hybrid stuff works, but I'm going to assume you have done it correctly. The only issue I see is that you need to check Reload Unit System in the mod's properties [in ModBuddy].

EDIT #3: You will also want to add <UnitFlagHeightAdjust>0</UnitFlagHeightAdjust> to the ArtDefine_UnitInfos table per this thread.

Thanks for helping me so much. I tried to follow your skinning instructions, but Nexus Buddy 2 crashes when I try to open any of the .gr2 files I unpacked with Dragon UnPACKer (I have attached them). Do you have any idea why it crashes?