Custom Alliance Uniforms for individual NPCs

[askavian]

Hi Guys. 

I am new here, so first of all I would like to thank you for all your hard time and work, that must have gone into making this tool.

I am currently working on reshuffling the Alliance uniforms, since BioWare was pretty lazy in creating a unified and realistic looking military.  

My goal is to give - unique - Uniforms to some of the key NPCs. 

 


Here is my problem:

Starting off small with a texture swap, rather than a mesh replacement, I want to change the uniform of the Alliance Air Traffic Controller in the citadel landing sequence (the one that wears a council uniform for no reason and asks you if you need ground transport).  

The PCC file should be this one, if I am not mistaken: BioA_CitHub_000Docking.pcc

In Texplorer, I have followed this tutorial me3explorer.wikia.com/wiki/Texplorer
and changed the textures located here: BIOG_HMF_ARM_CTH_R -> CTHA -> COUNCIL

While saving I only checked 
E:\ORIGIN\Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\BioA_CitHub_000Docking.pcc

to be updated in the PCC pane, just like stated in the tutorial. 

Unfortunately the texture is still the same (still the old one)

If you can push to the right direction and help me here, that would be great, I have read so many pages in the last three days that my head hurts :-)

[captainobviousau]

In a broad context, what you're trying to do is going to be tough if not impossible. Bioware really didn't use unique models etc - even Bailey uses the same files that control Alliance personnel casual outfits, so you can't even change just what Bailey wears without a whole lot of work.

[askavian]

Hey captainobviousau.

Thank you for the feedback.

There are two kinds of NPCs here I would like to change The ones that have the same mesh but a different texture and the once that need a different mesh and a different texture.

I.e. Kahlee Sanders hab already an Alliance Officer Jacket, so I just need to bring in a new and unique texture, but Ashley has her unique dress, so she need to wear the Alliance dress first and then a unique texture.

I thought with the Kaidan Dress mod and the Ashley Legacy Project these things have become possible, or am I missing something here?

Here is what i have done so far:

1) I tried uniquely replacing just the textures in Texplorer -> Did not work and created a mess, when I wanted to rebuild my tree

2) I have cloned " BIOG_HMF_ARM_CTH_R.CTHA.COUNCIL" (the one containing the Council Uniform for females) and renamed it, so there is actually a second texture Package within the PCC. (I created a new name for the cloned package and each texture)

This seems to work, because I have edited "BioA_CitHub_000Docking.pcc" the same way and the game did not blew up, but I cannot tell for sure since it is still linked to the same vanilla texture...... So there are basically two packages now using the same textures.

The new entiry even shows up in the Asset Explorer, so I tried rebuilding the tree to see it Texplorer recognizes the new entity as well, but it is still the same texture with the same hash attached to it, so it does not recognize.

How can I bring in my own "new" texture?

p.s. I am sorry, I am terrible in explaining stuff

[askavian]

For testing I need the following savegame files:


#1 Endgame Savefile AFTER Cerberus HQ but BEFORE departure to earth and BEFORE Hackett comes abord the Normandy to give his speech
(Need to check Hackett's Uniform directly)

#2 Citadel DLC Savefile BEFORE you meet Maya Brooks in the Restaurant
(need to check her Alliance Uniform)

#3 Savefile BEFORE Grissom Academy Mission
(need to check Kahlee Sanders Uniform)


If anyone has one of the above it would be great if he could share it with me.

[giftfish]

askavian -- Mods like this are cool to make for yourself, but I want to issue a word of caution when it comes to distribution:

1. It depends on exactly what NPCs you are working with and how you are implementing the changes, but if you are planning on distributing this as a DLC mod, you are likely going to see many conflicts with existing content mods. You should take a look at the new article in progress on the wiki that describes *when* DLC mods are really needed and when they are not: me3explorer.wikia.com/wiki/MOD101:_Creating_Mods_for_Mass_Effect

2. Distributing any BioD and BioP files in DLC mods for what are purely mesh/texture edits should be avoided. These are core game plot files. Pure texture edits should *absolutely* be avoided.

3. Use MOD files and implement the mod in a way that's compatible with the capabilities of MOD files, when at all possible.

----

We've been seeing an increase of issues lately where folks new to modding ME3 are using DLC mods when it's not necessary. Part of this seems to stem from the ability to generate them so easily using a specific tool outside the toolset. The problem is that just b/c they are easy to generate (and install) doesn't mean they are the best solution for any particular mod and the community as a whole.

It would be helpful if you posted a complete list of files you intend to mod so that we can provide more specific feedback.

If you don't intend on distribution, then none of this matters!

[askavian]

Hey gitfish. 

Thank you for the information, that is quite helpful. 

I have already put a lot of thoughts into the matter of distribution and after not reading anything contradictory, I believe it should be possible using .mod files only. If not, I would be grateful if you could tell me why and give me suggestions on how to proceed. Unfortunately, a lot of articles and tutorials I encounter are outdated or under construction.   

I consider this technically similar to the "Dress Uniform for Kaidan" mod, although that mod still includes some PCC files, but If I am reading the article you have provided correctly that would be unnecessary today. Is that correct?

DLC Mod is tempting, but I see your point. Unless I would be willing to provide a billion compatibility patches it is not the best option. 

I am grateful for every piece of information I can get. I am nearly finished with the Photoshop work, after that, I need to make decision. 


Thank you and best
Malte

[askavian]

On quick addition to what I have said before....

If anything fails I am thinking of releasing my mod as a "hybrid" or "light" version (PCC and MOD files), in a way that most likely will not cause issues with content mods. I.e. "BioA_CitHub_000Docking.pcc" is unlikely to be touched by another mod in any meningfull way. So it should be relatively safe to DLC this and distribute the prime Character changes via MOD file.

Or maybe make some parts of it optional....

[giftfish]

askavian --

1. Full PCCs or DLC mods are necessary when cloning. ModMaker can deal with edited exports, not cloned exports.
2. The question then becomes whether you MUST have cloned exports. If so, then you must distribute whole PCCs for those edits. That will open you up to conflicts, but if installed into the base game, then all DLC mods will override them.

I can't provide more specific feedback without seeing a file list. With a list, we can more easily spot conflicts. But, if you have a lot of BioD files on that list, expect a decent amount of conflicts with existing content mods.

[askavian]

Here is a list

E:\ORIGIN\Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\BioD_OmgJck_100Airlock.pcc

E:\ORIGIN\Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\BioD_OmgJck_600DockBay.pcc

E:\ORIGIN\Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\BioD_ProEar_110ExtrasB.pcc

E:\ORIGIN\Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\BioD_ProEar_130Trial.pcc

E:\ORIGIN\Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\BioD_ProEar_140Invasion.pcc

E:\ORIGIN\Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\BioA_CitHub_000Docking.pcc

E:\ORIGIN\Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\DLC\DLC_EXP_Pack003_Base\CookedPCConsole\BioH_Exp3_Femme_0.pcc

E:\ORIGIN\Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\BIOG_HMF_ARM_CTH_R.pcc

E:\ORIGIN\Games\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\BIOG_HMM_ARM_CTH_R.pcc

Ashley and Kaidan maybe added, but I intend to keep that optional. 

Thank you for the support. 

Best
Malte

[askavian]

My initial request still stands, does anyone by any chance has one of the above mentioned save files?

MaleShep / FemShep does not matter.

Thank you in advance

[giftfish]

askavian -- I didn't want to follow up with you on the list before making the new announcement. Read up on that and that should give you all the details you need on how to proceed. If you still have questions, let us know