If you have ever made skins
for Rogue Spear, or even researched how to
do it, then you know what a pain it is. Basically,
you find the .CRP file for the model you want.
If you open it with a hex editor, you can
see what .RSB (bitmap) files are used to make
up the skin of the model. You can then load
up those .RSB files in PhotoShop (assuming
you have the RS plug-in) or convert them with
RSB<->BMP Converter, then either modify them
or make entirely new images to replace them.
Remember to save the new files as .RSB files
or convert them from .BMP files.
Because of the way the .CRP
files work, if you rename the files, the length
of the filename must be exactly the same length
as the original. So, if you change the file
names, you go in with your handy-dandy hex
editor (I
use frhed, a Free Hex Editor), and
change the .CRP file. Easy, right? Well, it's
not actually very difficult, just time consuming.
Well, thanks to a guy named Mike Schell, it's
even easier. With the release of Skin
Graft v1.00, he has set the RS modding
community on its ear. Skin Graft v1.00 does
all the grunt work for you. Simply choose
the .CRP you want and it'll extract .BMP files
for you. Convert them and it'll import them
right back into your .CRP. That's it.
Using Skin Graft v1.00 It's
quite simple, really. Mike has included a
short (1.25 pages, printed) tutorial that
walks you through the process, step by step.
The tutorial isn't bad, if you have 1) a little
knowledge of the basics of RS files (like
.CRP and .RSB) not to mention an image editor,
and 2) can ignore a couple minor, minor typos
involving names of commands. But, hey, there
are so few commands on the pull-down menus
that you can figure out what he meant. After
all, this guy has done what nobody else has.
And, I'm very impressed that he included any
help at all. Some people give you diddly for
support/help when they write an editing tool
like this.
1. Creating the Skins
Ok, I am going to create some
custom textures for a new skin. First, I need
to figure out which textures I need to edit.
- Open up Skin Graft v1.00 and find the
data\characters folder in RS. I chose to
modify one of the team's skins, so I went
into the team_camo folder and selected the
Euro 1, Light skin (euro1_L_a.CRP). IMAGE
- Double click on the .CRP you chose and,
after a moment, you'll see a list of all
the textures that it uses in the bottom
right corner or the window. There's even
a preview pane at the bottom left, so you
can see what it looks like. IMAGE
- Next, click on the File menu and "Export
CRP textures as BMP's". Save them where
you want and start editing. For my sample
skin, I simply modified the Euro 1, Light
camouflage so that it's made up of bright
greens and added my personal armpatch to
it. For your first test, do something simple
like that or just add some graffiti to the
skin, or something.
2. Inserting the Skins
- The next step is to put the .BMP files
we modified back into the .CRP we extracted
them from. I Open up Skin Graft v1.00 again
and open the data\characters\team_camo folder.
The same textures that were there before
are there again.
- Now, I check the "Include SKL" checkbox
and ensure that the "Include RSB's" box
is checked.
- Now, I open up the folder I saved my
images in. Note that I already made a "mod"
folder for the images, just to make it easier
(structure should be: mods\characters\team_camo).
IMAGE
- This is the most time-consuming part
of the whole operation. To insert the textures,
you:
- Find the texture in the texture list
that you are going to replace and click
on it so it's highlighted.
- In the file list, find the texture
you want to replace it with. Click this
as well, so it's highlighted.
- Right click on either list and select
"Replace texture". (If you are replacing
multiple textures of the same name (i.e.
all the chest textures, with a chest
texture of your own), select the "Replace
all" option from the menu instead.)
- When you've replaced all the textures
you need to, select "Write to new CRP"
from the File menu. NOTE: If you choose
"Write to current CRP" you will modify
it in RS, itself. Use the mods folder,
instead and put your new CRP there.
3. Looking at our new skins
Start UO and go to "Options" in the main
menu, then "Mods" in the Options menu. Activate
your mod and go play. Select our new uniform,
or if you follow Mike's tutorial, you can
change the tango skins for the first mission.
Either way, go look at your handy-work. Here's
mine : IMAGE
If you have any questions
or problems, feel free to email me at: jesters_world@hotmail.com
Jester 12 Sept. 2000
"One need not destroy one's enemy. One need
only destroy his willingness to engage." -
Sun Tzu
