Adding new hero images

This tutorial explains how to add new portraits into the game. You will require these tools, all available on the downloads section:

- Asset builder
- GenCameo Mapper
- DDS Converter
- Some kind of image editer

I will also assume that you have extracted your INI.big using FinalBIG (also available in downloads)

Extract your textures.big file.

Now, find the image you want to add. As an example, I will be adding a hero picture for a new hero, Gil-Galad. Make sure that your original asset.dat file is in your BFME folder. Open up asset builder and the folder containing your desired image. Drag the image into asset builder and its location should appear. Make sure that it is set to "append to existing asset" Now click save and type in a name for your new asset file (for this example I will use asset mod). When it is done appending, you should have a new asset.dat file wherever you saved it to called Asset mod.

Move your original asset.dat file somewhere SAFE and place the new one in the BFME folder. Now, open DDS converter, find your image and convert it to TGA.

Open GenCameo Mapper and map out the co-ordinates for the new image by clicking first in the top left corner, then the bottom right. Press edit, then complete entry. Call it something like HSGilGalad. Now save this mapped image to data\ini\mappedimages\aptimages\heroui and call it hsgilgalad.

Open the new file you just made, and it should contain something like this:

; Gen Cameo Mapper Auto-Generated INI File
; Written by Mastermind2004
; Visit GenDev at http://gendev.origin-network.net/
; Special thanks to Dmitry Brant for his TGA View for VB 6.0
 
MappedImage HSGilGalad
 Texture =  gilgald.tga
 TextureWidth = 256
 TextureHeight = 256
 Coords = Left:0 Top:0 Right:192 Bottom:192
 Status = NONE
END

Now this is where you need your image editing program. You need to resize the image to 256x256 or 512x512 etc. Now save the resized image and open DDS Converter. Convert the TGA file to DDS format. Go to art\textures and there will be a big list of DDS files. Drag your DDS picture into this folder.

Finally, go into your heros ini file, and at the top you will see art parameters. Next to ButtonImage add HSGilGalad and next to SelectPortait also add HSGilGalad. The top section of the heros ini should now look like this:
l

; *** ART Parameters ***
	
; SelectPortrait for Heros is portrait behind skill buttons. HP = HeroPortrait.
	SelectPortrait = HSGilGalad
    ButtonImage = HSGilGalad

Thats it, enjoy your new pictures

Edited by Flame Of Udûn, 25 April 2005 - 07:54 PM.

Nice one

What's the difference between the tutorial above and the one already on the site?

My one works for me, the one on the site didnt

Edited by Flame Of Udûn, 25 April 2005 - 09:21 PM.

You can't argue with success...

thanks, this helped alot. but i cant seem to make another dds file, photoshop wont let me click save. i choose from the drop down menu dds file, click save, then this complicated menu pops up. i just click save then but this time i cant (its faded out) is there only 1 image allowed?

I dont use Photoshop (cant afford it) I use a program called GimpShop which is just as good. Save it as TGA or any other image format and then use the DDS Converter on the site to convert it to dds.

i can convert on photoshop, i did it with my first one. but the other one it wont let me convert to dds. does it have to be 256 or 512?

neverm mind i figured it out...this will relly healp in my mod

do i then have to do anything to my textures.big in my BFME director? they havent changed, just the extracted art/textures file.

do i then have to do anything to my textures.big in my BFME director? they havent changed, just the extracted art/textures file.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

move it out of your bfme folder otherwise the game will read it instead of your modified texture

so then i have no textures.big file in my BFME directory? what about the textures for other things?

well if you extracted your texture.big to art/texture then it will work

thanks

where is art/textures?

good thing that you used search

anyway, read my post, it says that you need to extract texture.big

i put my image in textures (do i need to put it in a certain file in the textures or just in there)

and i played the game but the image was pink?

how do i get my image up?

how do i extract my textures.ini

what i did is a igot final big and clicked on textures and then clicked open then i put my image at the bottom is that what do i do if not what do i do and then where do i put the files?

this is what its like in my textures.ini now

[code=auto:0]
art\textureswb_light2.dds
art\textureswb_3light.dds
(this one is the one i added) doccument and settings\Chris\Desktop\LOTR-EN14R02.dds

is the right?

chEDIT : as a reminder, please use the EDIT button, I merged your last 3 posts

Edited by ched, 24 January 2006 - 05:21 PM.

also, add the image to asset.dat

And I'll again make reference to the site, where you can download the AssetBuilder under tools

please someone help me
where is textures ? when i go to rotwk's folder i see textures0.big textures1.big ... textures4.big which of them is the one ? please help me . where i must put my .dds file ?

It's all of them, but with BFME2 the amount of textures got exceedingly big, so they seperated them into several different files. I guess the hero images would probably be in 1 or 2.