Question about item editing (for anyone who knows)

Mornmagor

Hey folks, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, but i need some help.

I basically want to change the colour of some armors, to give them a more visual consistent look. For example, the first colour for blue dragon plate is blue, the second is gold, and the third is... darker blue, which doesn't fit, and many other examples.

So, to you people who know about this stuff. I have a request, which is to give me some information on how i would be able to do such a thing, to change armor colors.

Specifically, what editors/programs should i use and if there is a guide that will help me understand how to do it.

Some time ago i saw a mod that basically imported paints in BG, so you could dye your armor, but i haven't seen it any more and i can't remember now what it was called. But since something like this existed, it should not be THAT difficult to change a secondary or thirtiary color of an armor. I am willing to learn however, whatever the difficulty might be, and if i manage to make the armors in general more consistent, why not, release a mod for those who dig it.

If you could point me to the right direction, i would appreciate it very much :]

Cheers

Miloch

It depends on whether you want to change the colours on the armour itself, the icons or the character when you equip the armour. Toward the end of this code-heavy tutorial is a bit on editing items via modding code (WeiDU). If you want to do it directly, you do the same sort of thing with the .itm file for the armour in an editor like DLTCEP or Near Infinity. You can also consult the IESDP on gibberlings3.net for colour effects and gradients.

The mod you're looking for is Rupert the Dye Merchant. Watch your backside around him, he's a dodgy one.

Mornmagor

Hey Miloch, thanks for answering.

The only thing i want to do is change the color in-game, meaning on the avatar itself, not in inventory or anywhere else. I guess that means i want to change the armor color in general, but only as far as it appears on the character.

I don't want to change the first or second color for example, but the third one which is usually out of context and does not appear anywhere else rather than in game only on the avatar (when he's wearing the armor).

I'll look into your suggestions, thanks again :]

Miloch

DLTCEP is best for editing items, because it explains things like item equipping effects when you edit them. For example, most armours have 3 colour effects (also in my code example) - one for the armour itself, one for the straps and one for the belt. This is designated by "location" (or the parameter2 field) when you edit the item effect. The parameter1 field controls the colour gradient, and you can actually see these colours and change them to something more appropriate in DLTCEP. DLTCEP isn't that hard to use once you get the hang of it - you need to do some initial setup just mainly to tell it where your game files are and what kind of game it is (e.g. BG1 or BG2) but after that, it's mainly point and click. The tough thing is doing the same thing with WeiDU, but as you can see from my example, it's only a few lines of code you can also pretty much copy and paste into a tp2 installer.

Mornmagor

@Miloch yeah thanks a lot for the info, i did get the hang of it, and right now i am seeing what i need to edit and with what colour etc. It's really easy indeed, DLTCEP is great.

The only noob question i will ask of you, and please don't throw tomatoes at me :P is :

Ok i save the item for example, how do i make it replace the current one in game? Not sure how i save things :X

Thanks for the help and the time again :]

lansounet

Just save it, if you have configured the setup part correctly it will save in override folder and take precedence over biffed file.

Mornmagor

@Iansounet, indeed, thanks, it was as simple as that.

I figured out to uncheck the "read only" part, so i could actually edit things, but couldn't figure out the "save item as" part.

I should change the name to MorOnmagor but whatever :P

Cheers for the help ^_^

Edit : Aaaand it works in game :] ho ho i have some armor editing to do /runs off happily!