CheesyDave
03-02-2006, 05:48 PM
^ ^)/ hi all-- people've been bothering me for a guide, so here's that :)
How To: Swapping Animations
Some quick notes. We will not be modifying the animations themselves. I don't know how to do that. What we will be doing is the same process that occurs when swapping armors or models-- copy/pasting dats. Though, some animation swapping requires us to go one step deeper. Many animations in FFXI are combined in a single .dat; these we will use a hex editor to pick apart. That's what I'm going to walk you through here. ^^ enjoy~
Hajimemashou-- Let's Start
To begin, we'll need an idea. Someone asked that a female Elvaan mod be made, ... well that's not much fun. So, let's do a Tarutaru one. :D
You'll need:
1. Model Viewer (see stickies at top of forum)
2. FFXI ...
3. Hex Editor! (I recommend UltraEdit32 (http://www.download.com/UltraEdit32/3000-2352_4-10499759.html?tag=lst-4-3) ... free to try for 30 days. If after 30 days you still need a hex editor, you can get one that's free forever that's not as pretty, once you get your stuff down) ^^
The Idea:
1. Back up current .dats
2. Move the /panic animation to be the BLM casting animation
3. Check in-game to see if it worked!
Sugini-- Next...
First step is to find the names and locations of the animations we'll be changing. Open up the Model Viewer and load a Tarutaru male. This is the one I'm working with. Isn't he cute? Dress him up nice too-- it's important.
http://cheesydave.unixdaemons.com/pyx/ffxi/anim_tut/tarukun.jpg
In the Model Viewer, open the "Settings (S)" menu and make sure that "Show Animation DAT Numbers (A)" is check-marked.
We'll be copying over the normal black magic animation, so let's back that up before we change it. On the right of your Model Viewer should be a drop-down entitled "Animation". Change that to "Common". Directly under that should be another drop-down currently selecting "None". Drop that down and scroll through some of the animations. Your Taru should move around. Stop when you find "mb0". This should be the Taru casting a BLM spell. Note that in the lower right, there's some information displayed. Here's the last entry-- the one corresponding to the BLM casting animation we have selected (bottom-most entry):
the motion being displayed.
1-46-93.dat in "mb00"
1-46-93.dat in "mb01"
1-46-97.dat in "mb02"
combined and displayed.
This tells us that the BLM casting animation is in the dat ../ROM/46/93.dat and ../ROM/46/97.dat. There are three sections to this animation, mb00, mb01, and mb02. Move down to the next animation, "mb1" from the drop-down above. Notice that the dat files are the same, but the section labels are different, mb10, mb11, and mb12. This animation-- the end of the cast, is in the same dat files, but in different places. This is why we can't simply swap dats. There're multiple animations in each dat file. We'll only be changing the animation data for the first portion of the BLM casting, so copy down the information above regarding animation 'mb0' in notepad or something.
Now to get the information for the /panic motion. Back above, change the "Common" animation selection to "Emotions". Open the 2nd drop-down and select "pan". This is the Taru's panic motion that they often claim is dancing. Copy this 'pan' animation information into notepad as well:
the motion being displayed.
1-51-40.dat in "pan0"
1-51-40.dat in "pan1"
1-51-52.dat in "pan2"
combined and displayed.
Close the Model Viewer.
Sorekara-- And Then...
Copy the each of the files used to a safe place-- even the ones we won't be intentionally modifying. A lot of things can happen when you're dealing with hex files that you need to be careful of, so having a back-up is a good idea. (back up 46-93, 46-97, 51-40, 51-52).
Open the /panic motion dat-- 1-51-40. Since we don't want to go digging through the file (... yet...), open the Search menu and chose Find (Alt+F3 or Ctrl+F). Make sure that the "Find ASCII" checkbox is checked and the other two are unchecked (default). In the "Find What" box, type the first section label of this animation, pan0. You should see this on your screen:
Find Menu:
http://cheesydave.unixdaemons.com/pyx/ffxi/anim_tut/find_box.jpg
pan0 Found:
http://cheesydave.unixdaemons.com/pyx/ffxi/anim_tut/pan0_code.jpg
There should be three columns in your display. The far left is the address of the 1st byte in this row. The second column is the binary code data. The Right column is the ASCII representation of that binary data. Don't worry about this much, just realize that the 2nd and 3rd column are the same information displayed two different ways. Write down in your notepad document next to pan0 that this section starts at 00036a40. It's not particularly important, but may help you find and verify some information later on.
Scroll down this window as fast as you are comfortable going. You need to find the next label in the file so that you can mark the end of this section. Try to watch the first couple digits in the right column. Look for a four-digit label similar to the pan0 we're starting with. After scrolling a while, I found another label on line 00038750, pan1. In your notes, mark that the end of pan0 is at 00038740 and that the start of pan1 is at 00038750. It is lucky that the two animation sections in this file are right next to each other. This is not always the case. Scroll down again, to find the end of this pan1 section. I did not find another label until the end of the file. Mark the end of this section as line 00042680. The last line needs to stay intact and full. Leave this file open as we'll need to copy from it in just a moment.
This is how my notes look. You don't have to follow this format, but this is how I write it to help me:
the motion being displayed.
1-51-40.dat in "pan0" // 00036a40 to 00038740
1-51-40.dat in "pan1" // 00038750 to 00042680
1-51-52.dat in "pan2"
combined and displayed.
Next, we'll open the BLM dat, 1-46-93.dat. Search for the first BLM label, mb00. Instead of trying to find the beginning and end of these files, we'll just rename the label so that the game and Model Viewer finds our new data instead of these. It makes a little larger file, but cuts out the searching we had to do with the /panic dat. Rename this mb00 to mx00 by clicking on the 'b' on the right and then typing 'x'. It's important to make sure that this label, mx00 isn't being used by the game. At this point, it isn't. So, we should be good. Next, search for mb01 and rename it mx01.
Now, scroll down to the very bottom of the file (or Ctrl+End). In most cases, you would have to keep the end line intact. In our case, since the /panic sections are the last two of the file, we can simply copy the end line from the other file while we're copying the two /panic sections. So, highlight the last line in this file and Cut it to remove the information.
Switch back to the /panic dat, 40.DAT. Move the cursor to the beginning of the file (Ctrl+Home works). Search again for the label, pan0. Now, starting from left of the p in pan0, click and hold, move the mouse down so that the screen begins to scroll. This should highlight all of the pan0 line and continue highlighting until you have the end of the file highlighted as well. We are fortunate in this case because the sections we're after are at the end of the file and next to each other. If this were not the case, we would have to pay careful attention to the addresses we wrote down in our notes to make sure we highlighted only the data we wanted. Here's a picture of the start and end of the 1st section highlighted, should we had needed to highlight only the one section:
http://cheesydave.unixdaemons.com/pyx/ffxi/anim_tut/selected_pan.jpg
Note that the entire first and last lines are selected. It's important to not leave a . off at the end or something like that. It's a place holder. It needs to be there. :o
But, we want everything from pan0 to the end of the file selected, so select all the way down including the last line, the end line. Right click on the highlighed portion and select Copy. Move back over to the BLM casting dat, 93.DAT, and use Ctrl+End to move the cursor to the end of the file (important-- do this even if it looks like the cursor is at the end). Then use the Edit menu to Paste the data. If you use right click, you won't know for certain where the data will be placed (the cursor will go to where you right-clicked).
Now that you have the data in, we need to rename the new labels to look like the BLM casting labels. Use Ctrl+Home to move the cursor back to the beginning of the file and Search for pan0. Rename this label, mb00. Search for pan1. Rename this label, mb01.
Saigoni-- Finally...
You'll need to follow the same instructions for to copy pan2 from 52.DAT on top of mb02 in 97.DAT:
1. Back up 97.DAT
2. Find pan2 in 52.DAT
3. Rename mb02 to mx02 in 97.DAT
4. Delete the end line in 97.DAT (because pan2 is the last label, similar to pan0 and pan1)
5. Copy from pan2 to end of file from 52.DAT
6. Use Ctrl+End and then Paste at the end of 97.DAT
7. Rename pan2 in 97.DAT to mb02.
Open up the model viewer and view the mb0 animation. Hopefully, it will be our Taru /panic. :)
Test it in-game. ^^ and enjoy~
- CheesyDave -
Cheesydave@hotmail.com
I've gotten two messages saying that this isn't working. I don't have a taru. Going to make a character to test in-game. The theory presented here should work. The animation looks correct in the Model Viewer, but doesn't play correctly in-game. I'm told that it runs really quickly. :( sorries. going to try working on this. ._.;
How To: Swapping Animations
Some quick notes. We will not be modifying the animations themselves. I don't know how to do that. What we will be doing is the same process that occurs when swapping armors or models-- copy/pasting dats. Though, some animation swapping requires us to go one step deeper. Many animations in FFXI are combined in a single .dat; these we will use a hex editor to pick apart. That's what I'm going to walk you through here. ^^ enjoy~
Hajimemashou-- Let's Start
To begin, we'll need an idea. Someone asked that a female Elvaan mod be made, ... well that's not much fun. So, let's do a Tarutaru one. :D
You'll need:
1. Model Viewer (see stickies at top of forum)
2. FFXI ...
3. Hex Editor! (I recommend UltraEdit32 (http://www.download.com/UltraEdit32/3000-2352_4-10499759.html?tag=lst-4-3) ... free to try for 30 days. If after 30 days you still need a hex editor, you can get one that's free forever that's not as pretty, once you get your stuff down) ^^
The Idea:
1. Back up current .dats
2. Move the /panic animation to be the BLM casting animation
3. Check in-game to see if it worked!
Sugini-- Next...
First step is to find the names and locations of the animations we'll be changing. Open up the Model Viewer and load a Tarutaru male. This is the one I'm working with. Isn't he cute? Dress him up nice too-- it's important.
http://cheesydave.unixdaemons.com/pyx/ffxi/anim_tut/tarukun.jpg
In the Model Viewer, open the "Settings (S)" menu and make sure that "Show Animation DAT Numbers (A)" is check-marked.
We'll be copying over the normal black magic animation, so let's back that up before we change it. On the right of your Model Viewer should be a drop-down entitled "Animation". Change that to "Common". Directly under that should be another drop-down currently selecting "None". Drop that down and scroll through some of the animations. Your Taru should move around. Stop when you find "mb0". This should be the Taru casting a BLM spell. Note that in the lower right, there's some information displayed. Here's the last entry-- the one corresponding to the BLM casting animation we have selected (bottom-most entry):
the motion being displayed.
1-46-93.dat in "mb00"
1-46-93.dat in "mb01"
1-46-97.dat in "mb02"
combined and displayed.
This tells us that the BLM casting animation is in the dat ../ROM/46/93.dat and ../ROM/46/97.dat. There are three sections to this animation, mb00, mb01, and mb02. Move down to the next animation, "mb1" from the drop-down above. Notice that the dat files are the same, but the section labels are different, mb10, mb11, and mb12. This animation-- the end of the cast, is in the same dat files, but in different places. This is why we can't simply swap dats. There're multiple animations in each dat file. We'll only be changing the animation data for the first portion of the BLM casting, so copy down the information above regarding animation 'mb0' in notepad or something.
Now to get the information for the /panic motion. Back above, change the "Common" animation selection to "Emotions". Open the 2nd drop-down and select "pan". This is the Taru's panic motion that they often claim is dancing. Copy this 'pan' animation information into notepad as well:
the motion being displayed.
1-51-40.dat in "pan0"
1-51-40.dat in "pan1"
1-51-52.dat in "pan2"
combined and displayed.
Close the Model Viewer.
Sorekara-- And Then...
Copy the each of the files used to a safe place-- even the ones we won't be intentionally modifying. A lot of things can happen when you're dealing with hex files that you need to be careful of, so having a back-up is a good idea. (back up 46-93, 46-97, 51-40, 51-52).
Open the /panic motion dat-- 1-51-40. Since we don't want to go digging through the file (... yet...), open the Search menu and chose Find (Alt+F3 or Ctrl+F). Make sure that the "Find ASCII" checkbox is checked and the other two are unchecked (default). In the "Find What" box, type the first section label of this animation, pan0. You should see this on your screen:
Find Menu:
http://cheesydave.unixdaemons.com/pyx/ffxi/anim_tut/find_box.jpg
pan0 Found:
http://cheesydave.unixdaemons.com/pyx/ffxi/anim_tut/pan0_code.jpg
There should be three columns in your display. The far left is the address of the 1st byte in this row. The second column is the binary code data. The Right column is the ASCII representation of that binary data. Don't worry about this much, just realize that the 2nd and 3rd column are the same information displayed two different ways. Write down in your notepad document next to pan0 that this section starts at 00036a40. It's not particularly important, but may help you find and verify some information later on.
Scroll down this window as fast as you are comfortable going. You need to find the next label in the file so that you can mark the end of this section. Try to watch the first couple digits in the right column. Look for a four-digit label similar to the pan0 we're starting with. After scrolling a while, I found another label on line 00038750, pan1. In your notes, mark that the end of pan0 is at 00038740 and that the start of pan1 is at 00038750. It is lucky that the two animation sections in this file are right next to each other. This is not always the case. Scroll down again, to find the end of this pan1 section. I did not find another label until the end of the file. Mark the end of this section as line 00042680. The last line needs to stay intact and full. Leave this file open as we'll need to copy from it in just a moment.
This is how my notes look. You don't have to follow this format, but this is how I write it to help me:
the motion being displayed.
1-51-40.dat in "pan0" // 00036a40 to 00038740
1-51-40.dat in "pan1" // 00038750 to 00042680
1-51-52.dat in "pan2"
combined and displayed.
Next, we'll open the BLM dat, 1-46-93.dat. Search for the first BLM label, mb00. Instead of trying to find the beginning and end of these files, we'll just rename the label so that the game and Model Viewer finds our new data instead of these. It makes a little larger file, but cuts out the searching we had to do with the /panic dat. Rename this mb00 to mx00 by clicking on the 'b' on the right and then typing 'x'. It's important to make sure that this label, mx00 isn't being used by the game. At this point, it isn't. So, we should be good. Next, search for mb01 and rename it mx01.
Now, scroll down to the very bottom of the file (or Ctrl+End). In most cases, you would have to keep the end line intact. In our case, since the /panic sections are the last two of the file, we can simply copy the end line from the other file while we're copying the two /panic sections. So, highlight the last line in this file and Cut it to remove the information.
Switch back to the /panic dat, 40.DAT. Move the cursor to the beginning of the file (Ctrl+Home works). Search again for the label, pan0. Now, starting from left of the p in pan0, click and hold, move the mouse down so that the screen begins to scroll. This should highlight all of the pan0 line and continue highlighting until you have the end of the file highlighted as well. We are fortunate in this case because the sections we're after are at the end of the file and next to each other. If this were not the case, we would have to pay careful attention to the addresses we wrote down in our notes to make sure we highlighted only the data we wanted. Here's a picture of the start and end of the 1st section highlighted, should we had needed to highlight only the one section:
http://cheesydave.unixdaemons.com/pyx/ffxi/anim_tut/selected_pan.jpg
Note that the entire first and last lines are selected. It's important to not leave a . off at the end or something like that. It's a place holder. It needs to be there. :o
But, we want everything from pan0 to the end of the file selected, so select all the way down including the last line, the end line. Right click on the highlighed portion and select Copy. Move back over to the BLM casting dat, 93.DAT, and use Ctrl+End to move the cursor to the end of the file (important-- do this even if it looks like the cursor is at the end). Then use the Edit menu to Paste the data. If you use right click, you won't know for certain where the data will be placed (the cursor will go to where you right-clicked).
Now that you have the data in, we need to rename the new labels to look like the BLM casting labels. Use Ctrl+Home to move the cursor back to the beginning of the file and Search for pan0. Rename this label, mb00. Search for pan1. Rename this label, mb01.
Saigoni-- Finally...
You'll need to follow the same instructions for to copy pan2 from 52.DAT on top of mb02 in 97.DAT:
1. Back up 97.DAT
2. Find pan2 in 52.DAT
3. Rename mb02 to mx02 in 97.DAT
4. Delete the end line in 97.DAT (because pan2 is the last label, similar to pan0 and pan1)
5. Copy from pan2 to end of file from 52.DAT
6. Use Ctrl+End and then Paste at the end of 97.DAT
7. Rename pan2 in 97.DAT to mb02.
Open up the model viewer and view the mb0 animation. Hopefully, it will be our Taru /panic. :)
Test it in-game. ^^ and enjoy~
- CheesyDave -
Cheesydave@hotmail.com
I've gotten two messages saying that this isn't working. I don't have a taru. Going to make a character to test in-game. The theory presented here should work. The animation looks correct in the Model Viewer, but doesn't play correctly in-game. I'm told that it runs really quickly. :( sorries. going to try working on this. ._.;