[HELP] Treepaths and instance-swapping.

[Ghorana]

Hi folks! I've only just started to be interested in model-editting, most particularly instance-swapping. Now, I like working things out by myself, but I'm not any good at computers really, so I read this guide to help get me started:
mmowned.com/forums/model-editing-guides-programs/3233-guide-instance-swapping.html


I downloaded MyWarcraftStudio and started checking out stuff in the game MPQ's, to see what I was up against. Then I reread the guide, to give me an idea of what I had to do. From what I can see, it's just a lot of renaming, and working out which files fit which, and then creating a new MPQ and dropping it into my game.

Since the guide is quite brief and old, I had a few questions


1) Is this method for instance-swapping still good? Or am I wasting my time?



I've tried what the guide explains, as a trial run, and attempted a Scholomance-Emerald Dream swap. Now, I encountered a few problems:

2) Am I right in assuming that the "files that fit" are those whoose numbers correspond to each other? Like SchoolOfNecromancy_25_30 and EmeraldDream_25_30 for example?

3) There are far more EmeraldDream files than SchoolOfNecromancy files. Should I just rename the ones with the same numbers, and leave the rest unchanged? Or delete those which I'm not renaming?

4) And my last query here is: treepaths? How do I "edit" the treepath of my newly created MPQ and its files? This is the one I really need help for (the other issues I'll just get right through trial and error).


Thanks for you time!

- Ghora.

[Zantas]

Get a batchrenamer and change EmeraldDream to SchoolofNecromancy on all files in the map file.

If the maps don't happen to fit in some cases changes the offset might help.


But in a whole the old Instance swapping still works fine.

[Ghorana]

Before I +rep:
What's the offset?

[Zantas]

Coordinates for the map.

Cryect command line tool got an offsetfix that can fix the z axle of any map.

[Ghorana]

ok... your last sentence made literally no sense to me and just soared right over my head... but thanks for your help anyway!

+repp'ed


And still looking for help for treepaths, anyone out there!

[Zantas]

You need 5 posts to rep and the last thing I mentioned is a program that can help you get the offsets right.

Treepaths works like this.

Lets say I wanna change Scholomance into the EmeraldDream.
If so then I need to store my EmeraldDream adt files in this path World\maps\SchoolOfNecromancy
The EmeraldDream files must also be renamed SchoolOfNecromancy instead of EmeraldDream.

So the treepath shall always be the path of the model that will be changed.

GL with your work

[Ghorana]

Ah ok, I see now. That means I need to change the name of the EmeraldDream folder into SchoolOfNecromancy as well.


Thanks for you help!


P.S: That video I linked in the exploration forum was all done on live server. All credit to Zhao, of Illidan EU.

[Ghorana]

Should I make an entirely new MPQ in which I place the editted files, or edit the existing patch.MPQ file directly?

[Zantas]

you extract what you want to change in the MPQ files in data folder then make a the changes and add it to a new MPQ file named patch-x.MPQ x meaning random character.

[Ghorana]

This is where I fail: when I've done all the renaming, I try to import a folder that has a treepath of world/maps/SchoolOfNecromancy

But MWCS only imports the folder with the files in it, namely, SchoolOfNecromancy. I end up thus with a new MPQ file that has one folder in it. How can I edit the treepath of that folder to make it match, you reckon?

[Zantas]

The thing is you chose to make a new MPQ and when you have that open, just drag the Creature file you exported, into the drag and drop window in MPQEditor.

I see you use MWCS
I suggest you work with MPQEditor.