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assetusage.txt got generated if DumpAssetUsage=yes was set in the GameData, not sure if it still works in the public release.
- Goldtouch likes this
DeeZire
Member Since 06 Oct 2009Offline Last Active Oct 08 2014 08:27 PM
#904819 Going through game.dat I found following:
Posted by
on 12 November 2012 - 10:23 PM
readme.txt is transferred between players along with the other files during the map transfer process. Commonly used in C&C3 but not BFME as at that time it was an undocumented feature.
assetusage.txt got generated if DumpAssetUsage=yes was set in the GameData, not sure if it still works in the public release.
assetusage.txt got generated if DumpAssetUsage=yes was set in the GameData, not sure if it still works in the public release.
#889038 Special effects, lightnings
Posted by
on 06 June 2012 - 09:51 PM
You could do the same thing with the global music scripts by detecting when a player has activated the Darkness power and then adjusting the ambient light setting, I haven't tried this myself however I think you may have trouble restoring the ambient light to the pre-Darkness settings. One thing I do know is that trying to speed up the clouds won't work - the 'adjust the speed of the Mordor cloud effect' script does not work - that got nerfed with the rest of the effects due to the addition of map-specific cloud settings in BFMEII.
However I'm pretty sure that the ambient light does get changed when the old (from BFMEI) Rain Of Fire module is activated, so by hooking that into a player spell book so it's activated along with Darkness you may be able to replicate the effect.
However I'm pretty sure that the ambient light does get changed when the old (from BFMEI) Rain Of Fire module is activated, so by hooking that into a player spell book so it's activated along with Darkness you may be able to replicate the effect.
- TroDuS likes this
#887529 Special effects, lightnings
Posted by
on 26 May 2012 - 10:11 PM
Just to settle this issue for anybody still wondering 
In BFME the Freezing Rain power triggered the special lightning visual effect. In BFMEII/RotWk it does not. The code for the lightning effect was disabled as it worked by 'jittering' the shadows across the whole map - this obviously did not look too good on the large number of snow terrain maps added for BFMEII (the engine does not differentiate between snow and rain, snow is simply rain with a different texture so on snow maps you get a snow storm rather than rain and this looked funky with lightning). It was even further complicated by the addition of the new lighting and shadow system code. It did get fixed for the next engine iteration - C&C3 - as that engine was given independent handling for snow and rain and associated code to tweak them.
The observant amongst you will also have noticed that the Darkness power does not change the ambient light setting and cloud texture nor does it speed up cloud movement in BFMEII as it did in BFME - again, this was disabled due to an engine change which allowed for the settings of map-specific cloud textures and their movement speeds (although you can't edit these in the publicly released version of World Builder) - something used extensively in BFMEII, as BFME used one global cloud texture and speed setting for all maps.
So if you want the lightning effect in BFMEII the only way to go is with map scripts as described, putting these scripts into the single player music scripts will trigger their use globally rather than being map-dependent.
In BFME the Freezing Rain power triggered the special lightning visual effect. In BFMEII/RotWk it does not. The code for the lightning effect was disabled as it worked by 'jittering' the shadows across the whole map - this obviously did not look too good on the large number of snow terrain maps added for BFMEII (the engine does not differentiate between snow and rain, snow is simply rain with a different texture so on snow maps you get a snow storm rather than rain and this looked funky with lightning). It was even further complicated by the addition of the new lighting and shadow system code. It did get fixed for the next engine iteration - C&C3 - as that engine was given independent handling for snow and rain and associated code to tweak them.
The observant amongst you will also have noticed that the Darkness power does not change the ambient light setting and cloud texture nor does it speed up cloud movement in BFMEII as it did in BFME - again, this was disabled due to an engine change which allowed for the settings of map-specific cloud textures and their movement speeds (although you can't edit these in the publicly released version of World Builder) - something used extensively in BFMEII, as BFME used one global cloud texture and speed setting for all maps.
So if you want the lightning effect in BFMEII the only way to go is with map scripts as described, putting these scripts into the single player music scripts will trigger their use globally rather than being map-dependent.
#801064 Particle Systems
Posted by
on 24 April 2010 - 05:48 AM
This hasn't been looked at too much AFAIK so I thought I'd post this list here that I compiled some time ago as I think it will be of considerable value to other modders.
This is a list of all the particle systems in BFMEII/RoTWK that are never used anywhere in the game and thus would not be seen under any circumstances. The value of this is two-fold - first, modders often struggle to come up with new systems of their own as they are complex to get right, and there is a HUGE number of original professionally written systems that are already in the game which you can make use of to add some uniqueness to your mod as they wouldn't be seen or used otherwise. Second, if you don't want to make use of them you can delete them from FXParticleSystem.INI saving some considerable space, thus reducing the size of your mod and the game's memory footprint (around 30% of that 1.8MB file is not needed by the game).
The list is about 99% accurate - there's a few I already added into my project so forgot to put them into this list - and there are 4 categories of unused systems;-
1 - systems that are simply never used or seen anywhere in the game(s)
2 - systems that are called for but only on obsolete objects so you would not see them anyways
3 - systems that are residual from early stages of game development and earlier game versions (BFME1), test systems etc that look a bit hack
4 - systems that are called for by cinematic objects only, so these systems would not be seen under normal circumstances. Some of these may not be suitable for normal use in game as they were designed for cinematic/1st person views
A couple of notes - most work and look fine but for some the relevant textures are missing form the game. Experienced modders can however make a pretty good educated guess and substitute more appropriate textures in. There are more systems that are unused than are on this list, but they are mainly slave systems to others so I have only listed the parent systems to make it simpler.
In addition to this list, the following are from BFME1 and are absent from BFME2/RoTWK;-
AndruilEfxParent
AndruilFlare
AODsummonLightShafts
LightningBolt
My memory is a little hazy but I'm sure the old (obsolete) 'Rain Of Fire' particle systems are in the original unpatched BFME1 INI files but I don't have them to hand to check this.
Quite surprising just how much is here and there are some very cool effects to be had with minimal effort which can make one heck of a good visual difference to your mod.
EDIT: one technical note, the BeaconSmokeXXXXXX particle systems look like they are not used but they are. These are a leftover from Generals, the XXXXXX equates to a hex number which represents the RGB value of multiplayer house colours. These particle systems are thus mapped to the house colours for multiplayer beacons.
This is a list of all the particle systems in BFMEII/RoTWK that are never used anywhere in the game and thus would not be seen under any circumstances. The value of this is two-fold - first, modders often struggle to come up with new systems of their own as they are complex to get right, and there is a HUGE number of original professionally written systems that are already in the game which you can make use of to add some uniqueness to your mod as they wouldn't be seen or used otherwise. Second, if you don't want to make use of them you can delete them from FXParticleSystem.INI saving some considerable space, thus reducing the size of your mod and the game's memory footprint (around 30% of that 1.8MB file is not needed by the game).
The list is about 99% accurate - there's a few I already added into my project so forgot to put them into this list - and there are 4 categories of unused systems;-
1 - systems that are simply never used or seen anywhere in the game(s)
2 - systems that are called for but only on obsolete objects so you would not see them anyways
3 - systems that are residual from early stages of game development and earlier game versions (BFME1), test systems etc that look a bit hack
4 - systems that are called for by cinematic objects only, so these systems would not be seen under normal circumstances. Some of these may not be suitable for normal use in game as they were designed for cinematic/1st person views
A couple of notes - most work and look fine but for some the relevant textures are missing form the game. Experienced modders can however make a pretty good educated guess and substitute more appropriate textures in. There are more systems that are unused than are on this list, but they are mainly slave systems to others so I have only listed the parent systems to make it simpler.
In addition to this list, the following are from BFME1 and are absent from BFME2/RoTWK;-
AndruilEfxParent
AndruilFlare
AODsummonLightShafts
LightningBolt
My memory is a little hazy but I'm sure the old (obsolete) 'Rain Of Fire' particle systems are in the original unpatched BFME1 INI files but I don't have them to hand to check this.
Quite surprising just how much is here and there are some very cool effects to be had with minimal effort which can make one heck of a good visual difference to your mod.
WyrmSplashDive WTrails3 WTrails2 WormtongueBackstab03 WordofDoomChunks WizardFireballProxy_03 WizardFireballProxy_02 WizardFireballProxy_01 WizardFireballExp_03 WizardBlast03_Proxy WizardBlast03_Heat WizardBlast03_Dust WizardBlast03_Proxy WizardBlast03_Heat WizardBlast03_Dust WizardBlast01_Proxy WizardBlast01_Heat WizardBlast01_Dust WipeFire WindowGlow WhiteWaterSplash02 WhiteWaterSplash WhiteWaterRipple WhiteSlowHaze WhiteHaze WellOfSoulsLittleSwirl WellOfSoulsCloud01 WellOfSouls02 WaterWallRight WaterWallLeft WaterWallBlast WaterSplashSmall WaterSplashSlave WaterSplashHuge WaterSplashForlindon02 WaterSplashForlindon01 WaterRipplesWake WaterPokeLand waterMudDrips WallofFireTall ;; Only used on cinematic WallofFireShort WallofEmbers ;; Only used on cinematic WallofEmbersShort WallDamageDust Wake_test unkownbuff2 UnkownBuff UnitPoison TrollSplatEmbers1 TrollSplatEmbers TrollSmoke TrollFireSplat TrollFireSplat1 TrollFireGlow TrollFireGlow1 TrollFire TrollFire1 TrollEmbers TreeOnFire01 TreeLineFire TreeGlow TreeBeardWalkingLeaves TreebeardWalkDebris TreebeardSmokeStart TreebeardSmoke1 TreeBeardMovingLeaves TreebeardFlareStart TreebeardFireStart TreebeardFireSplat TreebeardFireMediumStart TreebeardFireMedium TreebeardEmbersStart TreeBeardDustTrail TreebeardDustSplat TrBrdWaterSplash1 TrBrdWaterSplash TrBdFire TornadoSpinningRocks TornadoSpinningDust02 TornadoSpinningDust TorchSmokeWhite TorchEmbers Temp_SarumanFirework01 TaintSwampRain TaintSwampDrops TaintLightLenzflare SwirlTest SunFlare SummonEntMootTreeA SummonedDragonSignal Steam05 Steam04 Steam03 Steam02 ;; Used on obsolete SpinObject in system.ini StaticSortTest SpiderRdrSmoke SpellWarChantReceive SpellRallyingCallCircles SpellMightyRage SpearHitFX SoWolf_Summon_wolf SonicXHit SonicSongGlow SnowChunkSmoke SmokeShift ;; only used on cinematic SmokeRed smokePuffSmall SmokeIsengardPitupper SmokeIsengardPitThin ;; only used on cinematic SmokeIsengardPit SmokeHazeLargeNight ;; only used on cinematic SmokeHazeLarge ;; only used on cinematic SmokeColumnLarge ;; only used on cinematic SmokeChimney smallBlueExplosion SiegeBalistaExpDebris ShellWaterfallMist ShellWaterfall3 ShellWaterfall2 ShellWaterfall ShellBirds SauronSphere SarumonFireballProxy SarumanLightningHitFlare SarumanLightningHitArc2 SarumanLightningHit01 sarumanbolt1 rocketTrail rockDebris RockCollide RingWraithWindIdle ;; on obsolete unit RingWraithFlare ;; on obsolete unit RenderObjectDrawTest ReceiveHeroDamageDistortion RAExpCenter RAExp QuadRenderDrawTest PoisonArrowHitFlash PointerShaft PixeyLite PINKY PCTSmallDust PCTFortressDust OliphantSpltSparks OliphantSplatSmoke OliphantSplatDustDieF ;; on obsolete unit OliphantSplatDebrisDieF ;; on obsolete unit OliphantSplatDebris ;; on obsolete unit OliphantSparksHit OliphantSmokeHit OliphantFireSplat OliphantFireHit OliphantEntAttackDebris OliphantDieSmoke1 OilSpillSpray OilSpillpuddle OilBarrelSpray OathBreakerSmoke2 OathBreakerSmoke1 OathBreakerSkull NewCatapultExplosion NewBuildingDust Necro_Acolyte_Suck NazgulSplatSmoke NazgulSplatEmbers NazgulSplatDust ;; on obsolete unit but used on oliphant not on nazgul NazgulLitePtGlowGlow NazgulFireSplat NazgulFireLonger NazgulFire NazgulEmitter Narsil ;; used on old Arnor units in FXList.INI MumakilPenDust multiplytest MtDoomSmokeIntro MtDoomSmoke ;; only used on cinematic MtDoomLava3 ;; only used on cinematic MtDoomLava2 ;; only used on cinematic MtDoomLava ;; only used on cinematic MtDoomInner3 MtDoomInner2 MtDoomInner1 MtDoomHeat ;; only used on cinematic MtDoomFireballs ;; only used on cinematic MorgulBladeHitFX MordorSpireTrail MordorCloudsWrldHze MordorCloudsWorld MorderFortSpray02 MorderFortSpray MootSpawnDust MootSpawn MissileExhaust ;; only used on cinematic MicrowaveEmitter MeleeDust MagmaExplosion LurtzCrippleStrike LitePoint6 LitePoint5 litePoint4 litePoint3 LitePoint1 LitePoint LiteBallFlare LightningSword LightningStrikeHit1 LighteningBallSmoke ;; on obsolete unit LeadershipFlareReceive02 LeadershipFlareReceive LavaSteam3 LavaSteam2 LavaSteam lampGlow IsengardOrcRunner ImpactDust IceArrowFire HumanHeadGroundToxin HumanHeadBitsTrail HorseFallDust ;; only used on cinematic HornOfGondorShockwave HornOfGondorDistortion HobbitThrowRockTrail HitFXTheodin HitFXSarumon HitFxHobbits HitFxNazgul HitFXFaramir HitFXEowyn HitFXEomer HitFXEnts HitFXBoromir HitFXArrows HitFXAragorn HealReceive02 GwaihirvxWyrmSlashes GwaihirLightPer GwaihirLightPar GPUSpiderRiderFireSm GPUSpiderRiderFire GPUSpiderRiderEmberSm GPUSpiderRiderEmber GPUSarumonFire02 GpuParticleTest4 GpuParticleTest3 GpuParticleTest02 GpuParticleTest GPUFireSector03 GPUFireSector02 GPUFireSector01 GothmogTorch ;; only used on cinematic GothmogFlare ;; only used on cinematic GoodShipBombardProjectileExpFire GoodShipBombardGlow02 GoodShipBombardExplosionGlow GondorSwordHitSpark GondorDeliver ;; on obsolete unit glowWargWhite glowRed glowGenericBuff GenericLeadershipReceive gateFire gatedoorEmbersBig gatedoorEmbers GateDoorDustBiggest GateDoorDustBigger GateDoorDustBig GateDoorDust GandalfWaveBlastRock GandalfWaveBlastDust gandalfStaffFlareHalf GandalfMoriaLightCenter GandalfLightningHit01 GandalfLightningHeatWave GandalfLightningCharge GandalfLightningBuildup GandalfLightning04 GandalfLightning03 GandalfLightning02 GandalfLightning01 GandalfHeavenRaysMotesSmall GandalfHeavenRaysMotes GandalfHeavenRaysBacklitClouds GandalfBlastTier1 GandalfBlastHitFlare GandalfBeamGlow3 GandalfBeamGlow2 GandalfBeamGlow1 GandalfBeamFlare4 GandalfBeamFlare3 GandalfBeamFlare2 GandalfBeamFlare1 GalMirror_ripple FXSplash02 ForbiddenPoolSplash FloodWaterHit flareSpin3Small flareSpin3 flareSpin2 ;; on obsolete unit flareSpin1 FlameArrowSmoke FissureSteam03 FireworksTestParticle FireworkSpark ;; on obsolete unit fireworkCloud firework3 ;; on obsolete unit firework2 ;; on obsolete unit firework1 ;; on obsolete unit Firework02 Firework01 FireTorch ;; on obsolete unit FireSword FireSummon2 FireSummon FirePatchSmoke ;; only used on cinematic fireGlowDelayed fireGlowBright FireFlies FireFieldTinyFire FireFieldTinyEmbers FireBuildingSmallFlare FireBuildingMediumSmoke FireBuildingMediumFlare FireBuildingLargeFlare FireBlast01 FellWraithWindTail FellWraithWindIdle FellBeastWingBeat FellBeastDeathDebris FellBeastDeathAsh FellBeastDeath02 FellBeastDeath01 ;; listed in FXList.INI (commented out) but does not exist FangornTreeEmber EyePulse EyeOfSauronLightning3 ;; only used on cinematic EyeOfSauronLightning2 ;; only used on cinematic EyeOfSauronLightning1 ;; only used on cinematic EyeOfSauronLarge EyeOfSauronFlare3 ;; only used on cinematic EyeOfSauronFlare2 ;; only used on cinematic EyeOfSauronFlare1 ;; only used on cinematic EyeExplode2 EyeExplode ;; on obsolete unit ExplosiveMineShockwave ;; used only on Erebor Throne so seldom seen ExplosiveMineFire03 ExplosiveMineEmbers explosionShockWave explosion4 Explosion2Glow Explosion2Flare Explosion2 Explosion1 EmbersMedium EmbersLite ElvenAlliesUnsummonGrassA ElendilSparks ElectricalHitFlare ElectricalEfx ;; on obsolete unit DwarvenOilCaskFire DwarfTossCloud DrogothProjectileChunks2 DrogothHugeChunks DragonSummonBurn DragonStrikeSmoke DragonStrikeProxy DragonStrikeEmbers DragonBreathW DragonBreathS DragonBreathE DragonBreathCine ;; only used on cinematic DragonBreath02 DoomLava ;; only used on cinematic DoomHaze DoomClouds01 DirtFalling Destructleaves ;; on obsolete unit DestructionDust ;; on obsolete unit DestructDebris DerstructSparks ;; on obsolete unit TYPO should be called DestructSparks DebrisSmoke2 ;; only used on cinematic DebrisSmoke ;; only used on cinematic DebrisFire2 ;; only used on cinematic DebrisFire ;; only used on cinematic DebrisEmbers ;; only used on cinematic CursorLitePts CorsairFireBombProjectileExpFire CorpseRainProjectileSmoke02 CorpseRainProjectileExplosion ColorTestFireball ;; on obsolete unit ColorTestFire ;; on obsolete unit ColorTestDust02 ;; on obsolete unit ColorTestDust01 ;; on obsolete unit cloudPuffPixey CineSparkTrail CineSparks ;; only used on cinematic CINEsmokeSmall CINEsmokeMedium ;; only used on cinematic CINEsmokeLarge ;; only used on cinematic CineFireRing ;; only used on cinematic CineFireComet ;; only used on cinematic CineDragonEyeR CineDragonEyeL CineClouds_2 ;; only used on cinematic CineClouds ;; only used on cinematic CINECampfireEmbers ;; only used on cinematic CHWizEyeR CHWizEyeL CHWizEye02 CHSmoke ;; only used on cinematic CHFire CHEmbers ;; only used on cinematic CHDwfPipe CCC CatapultProjectileExpFire CatapultProjectileChunksSlave CatapultExplosionNewGlow CampfireGlow ;; only used on cinematic CaHStaff02 ButterflyDrawTest burningTreeFireB ;; only used on cinematic burningTreeFireA ;; only used on cinematic burningTreeFire ;; only used on cinematic burningTreeEmbers ;; only used on cinematic BuildingHitBricks BugSwarm2 BugSwarm BrownSlowHaze BoromirLastStandWave BoromirLastStand BoromirForGondorFollower BoromirForGondor BombaSkull BoilingOilSteam3 BoilingOilSteam2 BoilingOilSteam1 BoilingOilSteam BoilingOilPuddle boilingOilFire2 BoilingOil BoatBuildMiddle BoatBuildFront BoatBuildBack BlueSlowHaze BlueHaze BlueGlow bloodyHeadTrails bloodyHeadGreaseSplat BloodyHeadDust BarrowWightLair BarrageExplosionSmoke BarrageExplosionShockWave BarrageExplosionGlow BarrageExplosionCracks BarbedArrowHitFlash BaradDurWaveDust ;; only used on cinematic BaradDurWave ;; only used on cinematic BaradDurFlash ;; only used on cinematic BaradDurDust01 ;; only used on cinematic BanrFire ;; only used on cinematic BanrEmbers ;; only used on cinematic BalrogSwordFire BalrogSwordFlare BalrogSwordEmbers balrogPixelDisplEfx BalrogHandSqueezeFlash balrogHandSqueezeFlamesFinal balrogHandSqueezeFlames2 balrogHandSqueezeFlames BalrogHandSmoke balrogHandGlow BalrogHandEmbers balrogHandAshSmall balrogHandAsh balrogFireRingTest balrogFireRingSparksTest BalrogFireRingSmokeTest balrogFireRingGlowTest balrogBreathBurnMark BalinTombDust ;; on obsolete unit AtmosphericHaze ;; only used on cinematic arrowSteam ArrowFireGlow ArrowContrailThin AreaHazeThin ;; only used on cinematic AreaDustEffectGray AODTrailHeatWave AODsummonLightLenzflare AngBuildingContructDustExpB
EDIT: one technical note, the BeaconSmokeXXXXXX particle systems look like they are not used but they are. These are a leftover from Generals, the XXXXXX equates to a hex number which represents the RGB value of multiplayer house colours. These particle systems are thus mapped to the house colours for multiplayer beacons.
- Symonius likes this
#771608 Editing APT Files
Posted by
on 20 November 2009 - 08:17 AM
I know this is years old - but I've been asked countless times how I did this in my old BFMEI mod, and I still get asked how to edit APTs. It's kinda funny to still see people resorting to hex edits, and at the same time quite sad to see not many changes made to the APTs, so I thought I'd share the years old 'secret'.
Yes, you can 'edit' the APT files to a degree with a hex editor, but in the case of the BFMEI spellbook this was my last resort. Hex edits are also very limited in their scope and can only accomplish a little as you are digging in the dark.
Explanation - I decompiled the APT file so it was in a more readable and understandable form, this way I knew what I had to edit inside it to switch the campaign spellbook with the multiplayer one. Only by decompiling it did I figure this out. My frustration was that I could never get the damn things to recompile into a form that the game would read or use, so given that I knew what needed changing I resorted to a hex edit to do it. The key thing was decompiling the APT so I could figure out what was required to be edited. Editing by hex alone is almost pointless, as you have no idea what you are looking at.
Using the same method, a lot more could be done with them, although you have to have an understanding of how they work. You see the APT files all interact with eachother. Some contain IMPORTS, these work a bit like INC files for INIs, in that they call resources or code from other APT files - for example, common buttons/images, sounds etc. Others contain EXPORTS that make their internal resources available to other APT files. The trickiest bit is that the APT files all interact with the core game code, and the restriction here is due to the naming convention of the elements inside the APT file. For example, a button called 'GoodCanpaignButton' may be named so in the game exe, which means that particular button in an APT file will only trigger a specific function in the exe. Also, that button will only work when inside a particular tree in the APT file, for example MainMenu > SinglePlayerMenu > GoodCampaignButton will be the only one able to trigger the good campaign to start.
Back when I did my BFMEI mod I was lucky enough to have a proprietary app that could decompile but it's compiler sucked and made APT files of a lower version than BFMEI supported. However, you can still decompile them into XML which makes them very readable (thus editable). I wish you could recompile into APT again but the tools cannot do this, so what you have is the ability to decompile, read and thus analyse what you can edit, where and how. Armed with this knowledge, you can apply hex edits (albeit in a limited capacity) although you would not be digging in the dark as much because you know what and where to change. This is how I accomplished the BFMEI spell book thing, I dont see how it could have been done without reading and understanding the APT first.
So, if anyone wants to follow in my footsteps and try to get more out of the APT files, you can use a newer tool from this very network at this page on C&C Guild to decompile APTs into XML.
I've recently used the same method to make a perfect port of the BFMEII spell store into RoTWK complete with more spells in multiplayer, perfect color/sounds scheme etc. I actually picked on SpellStore.APT because it is the easiest one to edit by far, on account of the fact that it has no IMPORTS or EXPORTS (it acts independently). There you have it - good luck.
Yes, you can 'edit' the APT files to a degree with a hex editor, but in the case of the BFMEI spellbook this was my last resort. Hex edits are also very limited in their scope and can only accomplish a little as you are digging in the dark.
Explanation - I decompiled the APT file so it was in a more readable and understandable form, this way I knew what I had to edit inside it to switch the campaign spellbook with the multiplayer one. Only by decompiling it did I figure this out. My frustration was that I could never get the damn things to recompile into a form that the game would read or use, so given that I knew what needed changing I resorted to a hex edit to do it. The key thing was decompiling the APT so I could figure out what was required to be edited. Editing by hex alone is almost pointless, as you have no idea what you are looking at.
Using the same method, a lot more could be done with them, although you have to have an understanding of how they work. You see the APT files all interact with eachother. Some contain IMPORTS, these work a bit like INC files for INIs, in that they call resources or code from other APT files - for example, common buttons/images, sounds etc. Others contain EXPORTS that make their internal resources available to other APT files. The trickiest bit is that the APT files all interact with the core game code, and the restriction here is due to the naming convention of the elements inside the APT file. For example, a button called 'GoodCanpaignButton' may be named so in the game exe, which means that particular button in an APT file will only trigger a specific function in the exe. Also, that button will only work when inside a particular tree in the APT file, for example MainMenu > SinglePlayerMenu > GoodCampaignButton will be the only one able to trigger the good campaign to start.
Back when I did my BFMEI mod I was lucky enough to have a proprietary app that could decompile but it's compiler sucked and made APT files of a lower version than BFMEI supported. However, you can still decompile them into XML which makes them very readable (thus editable). I wish you could recompile into APT again but the tools cannot do this, so what you have is the ability to decompile, read and thus analyse what you can edit, where and how. Armed with this knowledge, you can apply hex edits (albeit in a limited capacity) although you would not be digging in the dark as much because you know what and where to change. This is how I accomplished the BFMEI spell book thing, I dont see how it could have been done without reading and understanding the APT first.
So, if anyone wants to follow in my footsteps and try to get more out of the APT files, you can use a newer tool from this very network at this page on C&C Guild to decompile APTs into XML.
I've recently used the same method to make a perfect port of the BFMEII spell store into RoTWK complete with more spells in multiplayer, perfect color/sounds scheme etc. I actually picked on SpellStore.APT because it is the easiest one to edit by far, on account of the fact that it has no IMPORTS or EXPORTS (it acts independently). There you have it - good luck.
- zezkersar likes this
