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So I decided to do an overhaul of the Embermage's storm tree skills, partly for fun, and partly as a learning exercise. For now I'm just changing or cloning existing abilities. Every time I go rummaging through GUTS, I learn something new. Lots of work, lots of frustration, and lots of fun!
I've hit my first wall. I'm making an ability where the player can transform into a ball of lightning, so I cloned the Berserker's Savage Rush ability and started tinkering. Unfortunately, I can't figure out where to change the particle effect that happens when the player stops using that ability. I've looked all over. There's files for both a layout and a particle effect in the folders:
\media\skills\berserker\dash\end.layout
\media\particles\playerskills\berserker\werewolfdash\end.layout
...but I can't find anything in the editor that actually makes a reference to either of these files. Does anyone know how to change this particle effect? Is it hidden in an affix, a stat, or a triggerable, or something obscure like that? I could just clone the Engineer's Storm Burst ability instead, but I don't want to give up so easily. -
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Hi @Mechanisto and welcome to the forums!
If u look inside that skill's DAT file (DASH.DAT) the skill never actually calls END.LAYOUT. Most likley the devs planned to have an end particle, made it, but then decided not to use it.
If you want it to be called by the skill (so you can see it in action and decide if/how u wanna change it) u can try modifying the [EVENT_END] block in DASH.DAT like this...Code: [Select][EVENT_END]
<STRING>FILE:media/skills/berserker/dash/end.layout
<BOOL>ATTACHES:true
[AFFIXESREMOVE]
<STRING>AFFIX:WEREWOLFDASH
[/AFFIXESREMOVE]
[/EVENT_END]
That should call END.LAYOUT at the end of the skill event, making the particle you identified earlier show up.
Haven't tried any of this myself yet
but give it a shot 
see what happens
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Thanks very much for the answer, and the welcome!
Strangely, Savage Rush is definitely using a particle effect. Use the ability, and you can see a big purple flash when it ends. It's definitely the exact same END.LAYOUT particle you mentioned, too: I changed the color settings of that exact file to bright green, and the change shows up in game. I've also tried attaching my own custom layout and particle exactly where you pointed out, in the [EVENT_END] trigger, but the game seems to ignore it entirely.
Very strange! -
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Hi. The end effect is probably in the animation. Several of the Berserker skills have a particle effect in the animation. I'd show you how and where to change this, but I'm so rusty at modding and GUTS right now that I don't remember how to open the animation files...
EDIT: I found out how to open animations and when looking at it there's a big purple flash in the SPECIAL_WEREWOLF_RUN_END animation. In that animation file there's a link to a particle effect which makes that flash. So what you need to do is clone that animation and edit the link to the particle effect.
I do not remember the details on how to view .skeleton files properly and all the steps involved to clone an animation, but the info should be somewhere here on TM. It's frustrating because I've done this many times when making skills, but it's lost on me now. I hope it points you in the right direction though.
EDIT2: I found the resources needed to learn this again:
https://forums.runicgames.com/discussion/55272/tutorial-custom-animations
The link to the particle is not in the .skeleton file, but in the HUM_F.ANIMATION and HUM_M.ANIMATION (female and male variants of the animations)
This is the relevant bit from the HUM_F.ANIMATION fileCode: [Select][ANIMATION]
<STRING>FILE:special_werewolf_run_end.skeleton
<STRING>NAME:Special_Werewolf_Run_End
<FLOAT>DURATION:0.266667
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:FADEINMESH
<FLOAT>FRAME:1
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:SPAWNPARTICLE
<FLOAT>FRAME:0.174603
<STRING>LAYOUT:media\particles\playerskills\berserker\werewolfdash\end.layout
<BOOL>PARTICLEATTACHES:false
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:PLAYSOUND
<FLOAT>FRAME:0.15873
<STRING>SOUND:POISONWANDIMPACT
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:FADEINMESH
<FLOAT>FRAME:1
[/KEY]
[/ANIMATION]
As you can see the animation calls the particles here: <STRING>LAYOUT:media\particles\playerskills\berserker\werewolfdash\end.layout
It also plays a sound you might want to get rid of, or change: <STRING>SOUND:POISONWANDIMPACT
The first tutorial I linked says you need to convert the .skeleton file to XML format, but you don't need to do this. You can just open the file in a text editor, like Notepad++ and edit the name of the animation. You can see the name in plain text. No need to convert the file back and forth.
The .skeleton file. Here you see the animation name used in the .ANIMATION file (<STRING>NAME:Special_Werewolf_Run_End)
I know this info is a bit all over the place, but it should be enough to help you. Once I've recovered my knowlege of modding I'll write up a nice guide on how to clone and edit animations for skills. (Maybe we already have one, but I could not find it.) -
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Wow. Just... wow. I NEVER would have figured this out by myself.
Looks like I've got some tinkering to do. Thank you so much! -
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You're welcome. If you get stuck, just ask and we'll help you out. Can't wait to see what mods you produce down the line. The learning curve can be a bit steep, but that's why this site and community exist. Welcome to Torchmodders and enjoy your modding journey!
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Thanks again!
I tried to get into modding TL2 when GUTS first came out, but never got anywhere. There just wasn't enough documentation for the Editor... and I'm a programmer by trade. If I'd joined the community back then, I probably would have stuck with it.
EDIT: Just got done tinkering, and the animation and particles work perfectly! I even managed to fix an annoying fade-in problem without too much trouble.
EDIT 2: ...Looks like I spoke too soon. The custom animation works properly in the GUTS preview, but not in the actual game. I'll continue tinkering, but any advice would be appreciated! -
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Did you clone all the animations (start, loop stop) and give them new names? Make sure nothing is conflicting with the original skeleton files and animations.
Make sure you do all these steps for both male and female. (Except the skill edit, both F and M use the same skill via the class base.)
* Make copies of the .skeleton files and give them new filenames
* Edit the .skeleton files to reflect the new filenames
* Make copies of the animation markups in the HUM_F and HUM_M files and paste them in the same file(s)
* Edit the new animation markups to reflect the new .skeleton filenames and new animation names
* Tweak the particles, sounds, etc in the new animation(s)
* Edit the new skill, so it uses the new animations
I think that should be all the steps required, but it's been a while. Hope this helps. -
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Hi @Mechanisto sorry its been a heavy week for me at work.
Read your op again - if ur just retuning the embermage then editing the class'.ANIMATION file to point to a new particle .LAYOUT should be enough ( @Wolven 's suggestions are critical when making a new class).
What are you seeing in GUTS that youre not seeing in-game? -
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Did you clone all the animations (start, loop stop) and give them new names? Make sure nothing is conflicting with the original skeleton files and animations.
Make sure you do all these steps for both male and female. (Except the skill edit, both F and M use the same skill via the class base.)
* Make copies of the .skeleton files and give them new filenames
* Edit the .skeleton files to reflect the new filenames
* Make copies of the animation markups in the HUM_F and HUM_M files and paste them in the same file(s)
* Edit the new animation markups to reflect the new .skeleton filenames and new animation names
* Tweak the particles, sounds, etc in the new animation(s)
* Edit the new skill, so it uses the new animations
I think that should be all the steps required, but it's been a while. Hope this helps.
Okay... okay. All I did was copy the HUM_F and HUM_M animation files to my mod folder, and renamed them CUSTOM_ARBITER_F and CUSTOM_ARBITER_H. Then I edited the Special_Werewolf_Run_End animation in both those files to use my custom particle.
If I understand you correctly, I actually need to copy-paste a new animation entry in those files instead of editing the old one, and also copy the HUM_F.ANIMATION and HUM_M.ANIMATION files and update the text in those files to match my changes. I'll try and get that done.
...I'm starting to think I should make copies of ALL the animations for Savage Rush, just to be sure.Hi @Mechanisto sorry its been a heavy week for me at work.
Read your op again - if ur just retuning the embermage then editing the class'.ANIMATION file to point to a new particle .LAYOUT should be enough ( @Wolven 's suggestions are critical when making a new class).
What are you seeing in GUTS that youre not seeing in-game?
I assumed that was so, but apparently there's one line in the Skeleton file I need to change as well.
To clarify, my mod simply changes the existing Embermage skills. It doesn't make a copy of the Embermage, and doesn't add a whole new class.
When I use the modified skill in the GUTS preview, all three parts of the animation work perfectly: The start effect, the looping effect, and the finishing effect. When I publish the mod and play it in Torchlight 2, The first two effects work as intended, but the third one doesn't show the custom particle: it plays the same purple flash that happens when Savage Rush deactivates. -
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I'll try explain better. I've gone back and refreshed some of my old knowledge. I will assume that you've already created new class, by making new UNITTYPES and cloned one of the existing classes. If not you can see how this is done in this video, by Omnifas:
Browse to the folder where your mod lives, and create the directories:
\MEDIA\MODELS\PCS\HUM_F\ and \MEDIA\MODELS\PCS\HUM_M\
This is where your new custom animations will live. From now on I'll just explain how to do the rest for the Female version of the class. You need to do alle the same steps for the Male version as well.
Now we need to copy the files we're after from the original game files. So browse to: \Torchlight II\MEDIA\MODELS\PCS\HUM_F\ and then copy the following files over to your mod directory:
HUM_F.ANIMATION
HUM_F.MESH
HUM_F.MATERIAL
Since you're using the Wherewolf Run animations for your skill, you also need to copy these .SKELETON files:
SPECIAL_WEREWOLF_RUN_START.SKELETON
SPECIAL_WEREWOLF_RUN_LOOP.SKELETON
SPECIAL_WEREWOLF_RUN_END.SKELETON
You should now have these six files located here: \NAME_OF_YOUR_MOD\MEDIA\MODELS\PCS\HUM_F\
As we don't want your mod to conflict with other mods, you must give the files new unique names. Use whatever names makes sens to you, mine are just examples.
Rename HUM_F.ANIMATION to MY_CLASS_F.ANIMATION
Rename HUM_F.MESH to MY_CLASS_F.MESH
Rename HUM_F.MATERIAL to MY_CLASS_F.MATERIAL
Rename SPECIAL_WEREWOLF_RUN_START.SKELETON to SPECIAL_MY_COOL_SKILL_START.SKELETON
Rename SPECIAL_WEREWOLF_RUN_LOOP.SKELETON to SPECIAL_MY_COOL_SKILL_LOOP.SKELETON
Rename SPECIAL_WEREWOLF_RUN_END.SKELETON to SPECIAL_MY_COOL_SKILL_END.SKELETON
Next you need to edit the .SKELETON files to give the animations new names. I generally use the same name as the file names. (Runic also does this)
So open SPECIAL_MY_COOL_SKILL_START.SKELETON in a text editor and scroll down until you see Special_Werewolf_Run_Start
Edit this text to: Special_My_Cool_Skill_Start and save the file. Now do the same for the other two .SKELETON files. Just change the text to: Special_My_Cool_Skill_Loop and Special_My_Cool_Skill_End respectively.
Now you need to edit the MY_CLASS_F.ANIMATION file to add your new animations. So open it in a text editor an look for this code block:Code: [Select][ANIMATION]
<STRING>FILE:special_werewolf_run_end.skeleton
<STRING>NAME:Special_Werewolf_Run_End
<FLOAT>DURATION:0.266667
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:FADEINMESH
<FLOAT>FRAME:1
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:SPAWNPARTICLE
<FLOAT>FRAME:0.174603
<STRING>LAYOUT:media\particles\playerskills\berserker\werewolfdash\end.layout
<BOOL>PARTICLEATTACHES:false
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:PLAYSOUND
<FLOAT>FRAME:0.15873
<STRING>SOUND:POISONWANDIMPACT
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:FADEINMESH
<FLOAT>FRAME:1
[/KEY]
[/ANIMATION]
[ANIMATION]
<STRING>FILE:special_werewolf_run_loop.skeleton
<STRING>NAME:Special_Werewolf_Run_Loop
<FLOAT>DURATION:1.6
[/ANIMATION]
[ANIMATION]
<STRING>FILE:special_werewolf_run_start.skeleton
<STRING>NAME:Special_Werewolf_Run_Start
<FLOAT>DURATION:0.333333
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:FADEOUTMESH
<FLOAT>FRAME:0
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:HIT
<FLOAT>FRAME:1
[/KEY]
[/ANIMATION]
Copy that block and paste it inside the same file. (MY_CLASS_F.ANIMATION)
Now edit the block of code you just pasted, so it refers to your new animations and not the werewolf_run animation.Code: [Select][ANIMATION]
<STRING>FILE:special_my_cool_skill_end.skeleton
<STRING>NAME:Special_My_Cool_Skill_End
<FLOAT>DURATION:0.266667
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:FADEINMESH
<FLOAT>FRAME:1
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:SPAWNPARTICLE
<FLOAT>FRAME:0.174603
<STRING>LAYOUT:media\particles\playerskills\berserker\werewolfdash\end.layout
<BOOL>PARTICLEATTACHES:false
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:PLAYSOUND
<FLOAT>FRAME:0.15873
<STRING>SOUND:POISONWANDIMPACT
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:FADEINMESH
<FLOAT>FRAME:1
[/KEY]
[/ANIMATION]
[ANIMATION]
<STRING>FILE:special_my_cool_skill_loop.skeleton
<STRING>NAME:Special_My_Cool_Skill_Loop
<FLOAT>DURATION:1.6
[/ANIMATION]
[ANIMATION]
<STRING>FILE:special_my_cool_skill_start.skeleton
<STRING>NAME:Special_My_Cool_Skill_Start
<FLOAT>DURATION:0.333333
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:FADEOUTMESH
<FLOAT>FRAME:0
[/KEY]
[KEY]
<STRING>NAME:HIT
<FLOAT>FRAME:1
[/KEY]
[/ANIMATION]
Make the changes you want to the particle effects, sounds, etc and save the file.
Next we need to make the custom class use your copy of the MESH file. So start GUTS and launch the Player editor.
Select the Female version of your class and click the Files tab. In the Mesh File box change the mesh from hum_f to my_class_f
Now save.
Repeat all of the above steps for the Male version of your class.
The last step is to make the custom skill use the newly created animations.
So in the skill change the strings:Code: [Select]<STRING>ANIMATION:special_werewolf_run_startCode: [Select]<STRING>ANIMATIONLOOP:special_werewolf_run_loopCode: [Select]<STRING>ANIMATIONLOOPEND:special_werewolf_run_end
ToCode: [Select]<STRING>ANIMATION:special_my_cool_skill_startCode: [Select]<STRING>ANIMATIONLOOP:special_my_cool_skill_loopCode: [Select]<STRING>ANIMATIONLOOPEND:special_my_cool_skill_end
Save the skill and you should be done.
If all went to plan and I didn't forget something, the custom skill should now use the custom animations.
I hope that was clearer and easier to follow than my links and ramblings in my previous replies. Good luck.
BONUS: Here's a video I rediscovered, while looking through my modding tutorials bookmarks. It's a stream of an Runic employee teaching how to make custom classes and skills. You might find it educational.
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Okay. I'm still getting problems, but at least they're different problems. I tried to copy the files and make the changes exactly as you described, but now I get an error message when I try to run it:Quote
Unhandled exception has occurred in a component in your application. If you click Continue, the application will ignore this error and attempt to continue.
External component has thrown an exception.
I'm guessing this means I copied or edited a file incorrectly, but the error doesn't tell me exactly what I did wrong. Even if my custom skill doesn't use the new files, the error still pops up as soon as I test the game.
Based on your post above, I need to clarify something: My mod doesn't make changes to a copy of the Embermage. It makes changes to the existing base Embermage class. Is this a bad idea? Should I always work with a copy of a class?
Edit: IT WORKS! HOORAY!
On a hunch, I decided to download Notepad++ instead of using regular old "Windows Accessories" Notepad. I'm guessing the text editor was ruining the formatting in some way. I should have known better.
Thank you so much for the advice! I never would have figured any of this out on my own. -
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Hi.
Edit: Great that you got it working. Yes, regular Notepad is not so good for keeping file formats.
Not sure what makes it crash, it's almost impossible to tell why, without a ton of details. To save time I'd start fresh, if I where you. You can copy the work you've already done over, bit by bit.
I've always cloned, when I've made classes, so I recommend you follow the tutorial video I posted. It's quick and easy. -
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Yay great u goy it working Mechanisto!
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