Model editing guide (basics)

[nady]

Hello, i came over a really good guide; how to model edit items.
This guide is the basics within model editing.

Modelviwer
MyWarCraftStudio



What this guide will cover
how to change your gear (model/texture) to look like any other gear in the wow files (ie: Benediction -> Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings)

signs:
- is a step
* is a note
** is very very important

What you need:

A.) lots of time
B.) lots of common sense
C.) the newest and most updated version of wowmodelviewer (the newest one I know of is WoWmodelViewer .5.0
D.) the newest most updated version of mywarcraft stuido (the newest one I know of is MyWarCraft Studio .97)
E.) a writing utensil and sheet of paper
F.) to follow this guide step by step (and you should read it one time first then go back and work step by step)



1.) Things to do before you start

**go to you World of Warcraft folder and copy your data folder and make a copy of it anywhere on your desktop of somewhere you can easily get to it
*this is the most important thing to do as you will be editing the game files which if done incorrectly will make your wow game unable to run. having a backup of your data folder will make your life much much easier
-Get a sheet of Paper in your printer and put it on your desk or a flat service
-now get a pencil/pen/chalk something you can write with
*this are 2nd most important things you need for model editing


2.) Getting started

-grab your pencil and paper and write down any item you are currently wearing that you want to change the model and texture of and next to it write the name of the item you want to replace it with (ie: Benediction -> Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings)
-open a web browser and go thottbot/wowhead/allakhazam and keep a browser open with your item in it so you can see a picture of each item you are currently changing and the item it is being changed into (for later referance)

3.) Finding the model

*(here is a short list of items that should have models ammo [arrow/bullet], battle standards, head [helm], pouch, quiver, shield, shoulder, weapon [any weapon/offhand/flower/trout/etc..])
-open wowmodelviewer and click on view>show file list
-a list will appear on the left hand side of the program click on item>objectcomponent>weapon
-now you need to find the model of the item you are using currently and the item you want to change your weapon to look like
*(after you click on objectcomponent you will next click on the word that corresponds to what you want to change, i am giving the example to change benediction to Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings so i clicked on weapon)
*(benediction model = Stave_2H_Long_EpicPriest01.m2, Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings model = stave_2h_auchindoun_d_02.m2)
-make sure that as you find out the model you write it down on your paper underneath the item that it correspondes to make sure you write it down exactly as it reads (case sensitive) YOU MUST NOT FORGET THE MODEL NAME
*(not all item's have models)
-close your session of wowmodelviewer

4a.) Finding the texture (knowing model name)

-open mywarcraftstudio and click on file>open MPQ archive
-this will open a new window to brose your computer files, go to the following location wherever it is located on your computer
-World of Warcraft\Data\Common.mpq-at the bottom left corner there is a drop down text box click on it and change it to only view texture files(*.blp)
*(after you click on objectcomponent you will next click on the word that corresponds to what you want to change, i am giving the example to change benediction to Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings so i clicked on weapon)
-once you have changed it to only view texture files click on ITEM>ObjectComponent>WEAPON
-now you need to search for the texture for both of your items they will have the similar names so use some of that common sense I said you needed and start looking until you find it
*(benediction texture = Stave_2H_Long_D_02Gold.blp, Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings texture = Stave_2H_Auchindoun_D_02.blp)
-make sure that as you find out the texture you write it down on your paper underneath the item that it correspondes to make sure you write it down exactly as it reads (case sensitive) YOU MUST NOT FORGET THE TEXTURE NAME
*(continue to step 5)

4b.) Finding the texture (not knowing the model name) VERY HARD AND TIME CONSUMING

-first if you are at this step you should know a few things make sure your item doesn't have a model
*(here is a short list of items that should have models ammo [arrow/bullet], battle standards, head [helm], pouch, quiver, shield, shoulder, weapon [any weapon/offhand/flower/trout/etc..])
-now if you know that your item doesn't have a model and just a texture proceed to the next line
-open mywarcraftstudio and click on file>open MPQ archive
-this will open a new window to brose your computer files, go to the following location wherever it is located on your computer
-World of Warcraft\Data\Common.mpq
-at the bottom left corner there is a drop down text box click on it and change it to only view texture files(*.blp)
*(if you can find a website that will list the texture of the item you are using and the item you want to replace it with visit that site now and write down both textures under the items on your sheet of paper)
-once you have changed it to only view texture files click on ITEM>texture components>...
*(after you click on texturecomponents you will next click on the word that corresponds to what you want to change)
-now you need to search for your texture for both items
*(please realize this is the hardest part and the most time consuming I have spent hours looking for 1 texture before so don't think it will come easily all the time)
-make sure that as you find out the texture you write it down on your paper underneath the item that it correspondes to make sure you write it down exactly as it reads (case sensitive) YOU MUST NOT FORGET THE TEXTURE NAME
-proceed to step 6b now

5.) Replacing the model

-you should now have a sheet of paper next to you with 2 item names, 2 model names, 2 texture names if not please proceed back to step 3
-in your window of MyWarCraftStudio click on Pack(P)>Edit MPQ archive and a window will open saying "are you sure to close current archive?" click Ok
-this will open a new window to brose your computer files, go to the following location wherever it is located on your computer
-World of Warcraft\Data\Common.mpq
**(DO NOT PROCEED PAST THIS STEP UNLESS YOU HAVE DONE THE FIRST STEP IN #1 OR YOU WILL END UP HAVING TO REINSTALL WOW)
- you need to navigate to find the model of the item you are currently wearing(ie: benediction)
*(ITEM>ObjectComponents>WEAPON>Stave_2H_Long_EpicPriest01.m2)
-once you have found the model name right click on it and click on Remove file
-after you have removed the file you need to navigate to find the model of the item you want to replace your current item with (ie: Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings)
*(ITEM>ObjectComponents>WEAPON>stave_2h_auchindoun_d_02.m2)
-once you have found the model name right click on it and click rename file and rename the file to the model name of the item you are currently using
**(right click on -> stave_2h_auchindoun_d_02.m2 -> click on rename -> type in Stave_2H_Long_EpicPriest01.m2)
*(ie: stave_2h_auchindoun_d_02.m2 is renamed to Stave_2H_Long_EpicPriest01.m2)

let me take a pause here and explain what you just did. You have just changed your wow client side files to read and use the model of Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings in place of Benediction. But this does not fully changed it now you must replace the texture or it will crash your wow when you run and log in.

-do not close your session of MyWarCraftStudio yet

6a.) Replacing the texture (knowing the model name)

-you should now have a sheet of paper next to you with 2 item names, 2 model names, 2 texture names if not please proceed back to step 3
- you need to navigate to find the texture of the item you are currently wearing (ie: benediction)
*(ITEM>ObjectComponents>WEAPON>Stave_2H_Long_D_02Gold.blp)
-once you have found the texture name right click on it and click on Remove file
-after you have removed the file you need to navigate to find the texture of the item you want to replace your current item with (ie: Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings)
*(ITEM>ObjectComponents>WEAPON>Stave_2H_Auchindoun_D_02.blp)
-once you have found the texture name right click on it and click rename file and rename the file to the texture name of the item you are currently using
**(right click on -> stave_2h_auchindoun_d_02.m2 -> click on rename -> type in Stave_2H_Long_D_02Gold.blp)
*(ie: Stave_2H_Auchindoun_D_02.blp is renamed to Stave_2H_Long_D_02Gold.blp)

Let me take a pause and explain something. at this point you should have removed the model and texture file of the item you are currently using and renamed the model and texture of the item you want to appear to wear/have.

-Now in MyWarCraftStudio click on Pack(P)>Save and Close Archive
-Close all programs you have open (ie: MyWarCraftStudio, Wowmodelviewer, etc...)
-Proceed to step 7

6b.) Replacing the texture (not knowing the model name)

-You should now have a sheet of paper next to you with 2 item names and 2 texture names if not please proceed back to step 3
-In MyWarCraftStudio click on Pack(P)>Edit MPQ archive and a window will open saying "are you sure to close current archive?" click Ok
-This will open a new window to brose your computer files, go to the following location wherever it is located on your computer
-World of Warcraft\Data\Common.mpq
**(DO NOT PROCEED PAST THIS STEP UNLESS YOU HAVE DONE THE FIRST STEP IN #1 OR YOU WILL END UP HAVING TO REINSTALL WOW)
-You need to navigate to find the texture of the item you are currently wearing
*(ITEM>texturecomponent>...)
-Once you have found the texture name right click on it and click on remove file
-After you have removed the file you need to navigate to find the texture of the item you want to replace your current item with
*(ITEM>texturecomponent>...)
-Once you have found the texture name right click on it and click rename file and rename the file to the texture name of the item you are currently using

Let me take a pause and explain something. at this point you should have removed the model and texture file of the item you are currently using and renamed the model and texture of the item you want to appear to wear/have.

-Now in MyWarCraftStudio click on Pack(P)>Save and Close Archive
-Close all programs you have open (ie: MyWarCraftStudio, Wowmodelviewer, etc...)
-Proceed to step 7

7.) Done

-Now you need to open wow and log on
-If done correctly you should now appear to be wearing the item you changed the texture and model of
*(ie: benediction should now look like Grand Scepter of the Nexus-Kings)

8.) how to take the model/texture change out of the file
-Close World of Warcraft
-Open the data folder that you backed up in step 1 of #1 and find the common.mpq
-Right click on common.mpq click on copy
-Go to the following folder wherever it is located on your computer \World of Warcraft\data\
-Right click in the folder somewhere and click paste
-A window will pop up asking if you want to replace the file, click yes
-Now you should have the original common.mpq in your data folder (the one blizzard gave you originaly

[Votkrath]

Thanks, this will help me alot, I'm worthless at this so I probably get to the turnpoint with this.

[Sirupsen]

Wrong section

[nady]

Wrong section

Hmm, its a guide.

[samsta458]

hmmm It should be in the Model Editing Guides & Programs Section.

[Boydon80]

Thx. I've never edited models, but I will try. +Rep