ModKit uncooking fails; need files to proceed with mods

[Malcroix]

ModKit uncooking fails; need files to proceed with mods

Greetings, everyone.

Like the entire modding community, I was excited when ModKit for Witcher 3 arrived. However, like some other members of that community, I've had difficulties with it. After several failed attempts at making a simple armor retexture mod (using both manual batch file method and the two available GUI's for ModKit), I discovered that:

1) some xmb and w2mesh files from my Uncooked folder cannot be exported from or imported into;
2) my mods that are using these files do not work in game (my mods using other files - including other textures - work fine);
3) other people's mods that are using these files do work in game, however, after I uncook and recook them, they stop working;
4) my Uncooked folder initially was 36 GB in size; after deleting it and uncooking the game again it became 47 GB in size; this didn't solve the above problem, however.

So, in the end, I am precluded from modding some of the game files - including most of the armor files.

Whether this is a result of a bug in wcc lite's uncooking, exporting, or any other processes, or a failure of my Witcher 3 installation, I do not know. However, after reinstalling the game and repeating the uncooking process, the problem still persists.

In order to try circumventing this problem, I am now asking if anyone could send me copies of a few files from the Witcher 3 installation that are failing on my side, if these files are exportable, importable and generally moddable on your side:

characters\models\geralt\armor\armor_human__common\t1_01_mg__common_heavy_lvl3_d01.xbm
characters\models\geralt\armor\gloves_human__common\g_01_mg__gloves_heavy_lv4_d01.xbm
characters\models\geralt\armor\shoes_human__common\s_01_mg__common_heavy_lvl4_d02.xbm
dlc\dlc5\data\characters\models\geralt\armor\armor__nilfgaardian\l_01_mg__nilfgardian_d01.xbm
items\quest_items\sq301\sq301_item__human_mask\sq301_item__human_mask_d01.xbm

Unfortunately, this forum's 500kb limit on zip file attachment doesn't allow me to attach my own failed armor files, or I would have done so in order that someone could test if they are able to mod them. Other item files are attached.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[thisisweak]

I am sorry trouble you are having, but it was the Offical Mod(mud?) Kit tools that failed, not my Mod Kit GUI.

I manged to get two of them from the lua depositry at https://mega.co.nz/#F!H5omlbpI!c76oCU0vUTccaUAOBr8b-A

t1_01_mg__common_heavy_lvl3_d01: https://mega.nz/#!tkAgmZiB!_y4eJoyuvZ67ZhzCtgpJYyWa2qX1Cb_0-FHu2b0uowc
g_01_mg__gloves_heavy_lv4_d01: https://mega.nz/#!d4hxmRBD!-AvwXdC7l333q1NKr9RezEGjVu4tfHOee23ta-FKAX8

That is all they had so I had to get creative! I exported the s_01_mg__common_heavy_lvl4_d02.w2mesh file and opened it in Maya 2016. Doing so saves the image files to a directory: https://mega.nz/#!EpY3lIAB!AYgROFvYfVokQWeYW4ie0K4XAtwpqixXbjs6b9nBTis

Same for l_01_mg__nilfgardian_d01: https://mega.nz/#!plpQVZTD!mnE7ck-XxTGZjJkq4AWSPqAT5lOwdLMpWLca_MdIEzI

Their are six models for the mask, I hope I got you the correct file: https://mega.nz/#!tkAgmZiB!_y4eJoyuvZ67ZhzCtgpJYyWa2qX1Cb_0-FHu2b0uowc

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!

---------- Updated at 09:44 PM ----------

By the way. Version 1.06 of the Mod Kit Gui is up!
http://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/383/?

Its now simplier to use and has less errors (I hope!)

 

[Malcroix]

Thanks for a prompt and thorough answer, thisisweak. Really amazing reply.

I never said your GUI was at fault. In fact, after numerous tests with the manual mode (and feedback from other modders experiencing similar problems) I am pretty sure it's the core ModKit program's issue. Keep up the great work with Mod Kit GUI, it's a very helpful interface.

Thanks for going to the trouble of finding the dds files in the online depository. However, I already have the dds (and tga) files, as they are extracted fine during uncooking. What I need is the XBM files, because it seems faulty XBMs in my Uncooked depot may be the root cause of this problem: they cannot be exported from or imported into, making it impossible to recook the mod after editing the dds or tga files.

If the XBMs can be found online, please point out where (the MEGA database you linked only seems to hold dds files). If not, I would appreciate if you could perhaps upload the XBM for the armor (characters\models\geralt\armor\armor_human__common \t1_01_mg__common_heavy_lvl3_d01.xbm), and the others can be attached via forum.

Thanks again, and good luck with further developing your GUI (something CDPR should have given us in the first place, but you can't have everything).

P.S. One issue I found with your GUI is that it doesn't automatically create folders where it proposes to store files that are being exported etc. Without a folder structure in place, WCC fails. So the folders must be created manually in advance. I would advise adding a mkdir command script to your interface to avoid this, or otherwise warn users that they have to create folders manually before launching the export.

P.P.S. To narrow down the problem a bit, here's some more info:

1) Some of the armor textures are exporting fine (e.g. the Viper and the Bear armors);
2) Some others (such as the Nilfgaardian plate armors) export this weird 128x128 texture that is a purple square with a yellow diagonal line (see attachment). Same thing happens when I try to export a nonexistent texture; so is this some sort of an error placeholder?

I had a crazy idea that maybe for some armors the textures are not stored in the XBM but are rather located in the texture.cache with the XBM serving as merely a reference or preview (as is the case with map textures, for instance). But the XBM is 2,66 MB in size, which is too large for a reference/preview and about the right size for a full-fledged armor texture.

 

[thisisweak]

Would it solve your problem if you made your own XBM files? Its easy:

1. Select the image that corrisponds to the XBM file.
2. Select any XBM file. We do not need the directory structure at this time. So we can trick the software.
3. Push the Import asset command. Your new XBM will be created.

 

[Malcroix]

Thanks for the tip, thisisweak. Indeed, I was able to build an XBM as you described, which was considerably larger in size (18 MB) than the original XBM (2,6 MB).

However, this XBM again wasn't exportable (it put out the same small purple square as described previously).

After replacing the original XBM in the Uncooked depot, and using the new XBM to pack the mod, no changes were visible in game.

So apparently either this is another dead end, or there is something else that has to be done beyond the above.

Again, thanks for the hint, though. However, to fully exhaust the possibilities, if you'd find it possible to upload an XBM that's exportable on your side, that would be great.

 

[thisisweak]

I have tried. But like you, have failed every time.

Hopefully someday CD Prodjekt Red will replace the Mud Kit Tools with something that actually works.

 

[Malcroix]

I have tried. But like you, have failed every time.

So, most likely it's a problem of the ModKit or core game files. I wonder if it will ever be fixed. Perhaps a CDPR rep will see this thread and take note.