Custom Artwork How-To

[Orbit Storm]

Alright then.. I got one to boggle your guys' minds..

I posted in here a while back, about having some files belonging to an old server; that contained custom artwork that I intended to use, to save me the hassle of doing it myself, until I learn more about it. After reading through dozens of threads, and thrice that in posts.. I've come up relatively short.

Basically, I've taken the following files:
anim.mul
anim.idx
art.mul
art.idx
gumpart.mul
gump.idx
tiledata.mul
body.def
bodyconv.def

And replaced MY original copies, of the aforementioned files, in both my client folder, and server datapath folder. (Yes, I kept copies of the originals!)

Amazingly enough.. it worked! All the custom deco and artwork (clothing, armor, weapons, etc) appeared properly. Unfortunately, I've come to realize, that without patching the anim.mul, and anim.idx files to other players, they cannot see the animations of the custom artwork. They can see the artwork in the paperdoll, on the ground, in their packs, etc.. but cannot visibly see the artwork on the 2D toon.

I've checked the body.def file.. and I haven't found a single edit that was made to it. Of course, the original owner use a packaged client that he distributed to players, much like all other servers are doing today. So apparently, he had no need for editing body.def when he patched ALL files to the players anyway..

Is there ANY way around this? I hate the fact, that I've spent the last 15 minutes, uploading a 150Mb file, (in .rar format, even!), that is actually well over 300Mb in size.. For my players to patch anim.mul, it could take forever and suck up an incredible amount of bandwidth..

 

[Lord_Greywolf]

that is what body.def is for, so you do not have to update anim.mul & its idx file

the format is (all decimal numbers)
xxx {yyy} zzz

xxx = your animation number (the one in tiledata anim number)
yyy = the animation number you want to use on the toon
zzz = optional default hue for the item - must be 0 if not used
(i.e. you put in new green pants art, but pants are grey in game on toon, set to 64 and green in game unless hued something else)

so you just have to go through and mod it for all the custom stuff
and just patch body.def instead of the anim file
still need to patch the art, tiledata and gump ones

 

[Orbit Storm]

Okay.. So, forgive me if I'm incorrect..

One of the customs I spoke of, happens to be the "Jewel of the Sea" shield, provided by "UO Forever".

In TileData(s) within MulPatcher, its listed as 0x3FE5.

Converting that to decimal makes it 16,357.. The instructions dictate that I would subtract 50k from that.. obviously I cannot.

This is where I become lost. Do I just add 16,357 to the Body.def file anyway?

I wasn't the one to add the art to the files.. I'm just taking up completing and adding to them. It's a nice starter to have a bunch there, without the hassle of adding all of them myself..

 

[Lord_Greywolf]

what is the actual gump number? that is where the 50,000 is subtracted from to give you the anim number in tiledata

looks like you are using the female slot in the gump art section - 66357 -- it needs to be in the male section, or you have to use the male number for it (10k less), and males will see nothing and females will

best to move it into the 50k-60k range, and about 51-52l i suggest for it to work best, then you will get a new anim number from it that is 50k less (it tells you in mulpatcher what the number is - and will be 3 digits only)

 

[Orbit Storm]

Ah, you're right.. the actual Gump(anim) ID is 0xC598.. which after converted to decimal is 50,584.. which would leave me with 584..

So I'm within the range you suggested..

However, when I added 584 {584} 0 .. I got nothing.. There is already a custom 2D animation for the shield, and the rest of the artwork.. (As in, you can see the shield on the character as s/he is walking.. and it looks like the actual shield)

So do I actually use {584}, or no?

On a side note.. would any changes I make to the body.def file have an effect on me? Or is the body.def only going to make a difference to other players? I'm assuming since I already have the animation files.. the body.def edit won't make a difference for me.. but since my players don't have the files.. it would for them, correct?

 

[NorthwindsDaxe]

hello again
I've been working on this for a few days now and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
I have installed the MULPatcher into my main UO folder, I have edited the DataPath.cs file and it looks like this:

/* If you have not installed Ultima Online,
* or wish the server to use a separate set of datafiles,
* change the 'CustomPath' value, example:
*
* private const string CustomPath = @"c:\program files\ea games\ultima online Mondain's Legacy";
*/

private static string CustomPath = @"c:\program files\ea games\ultima online Mondain's Legacy";
/
I open MulPatcher and load the files that the tutorial says to Artidx.mul and Art.mul and the tiledata.mul. I can find an empty slot (they are the red numbers) and I can load the bitmap for the item. I think maybe I am saving them wrong ? Do I rename the mul files something else before I save them or do I save them as Artidx.mul and Art.mul and the tiledata.mul ? After I save all three files and close out MulPatcher I start the server and open UO and the files aren't there.
Can anyone help me along here ? Yes, I have searched the forums for the data info and for the "my item is not showing in game" posts but I'm not finding anything that has helped.

Thanks

 

[Lord_Greywolf]

orbit storm,
if you are using a custom animation, then do not use body.derf and you have to patch the anim.mul and idx file to the players
BUT i sugest instead of using anim you use anim3 - it is much smaller file to mod and upload, then you just have to also add it to bodyconv.def file and patch it to the players

NorthwindDaxe
you have to work on copies to beign with of the files OR make sure the files are not in use by any other program (RunUO, UO, Pandoras, etc)

best way is to make 2 new directories - called c:\RunUOFiles c:\Arttemp
copy the UO Directory (not the sub directories) to both of those directories
then set up datapath to point to the RunUOFiles directory
then use mulpatcher on the Arttemp directory
then once you save your files in mulpatcher (and they are correct), you can copy them to the RunUOFiles Directory and patch them to the UO directory and your Players also

 

[Orbit Storm]

Since this probably relates to the files used to patch custom artwork..

What could cause a several tiles on various roads, to show a sun burnt orange tile, instead of the actual road? It looks more like gargoyle wings than anything, only in square tiles..

Not to mention, outside certain caves.. I have "unused" tiles popping up..

Is it because the old animation files I implemented, were based off a 6.x client, while my server is using 7.0.0.0?

Here are two screen shots:

 

[Lord_Greywolf]

actualy those would not be animation file differences, but art file differences
but that is problably the case of some type - it is not good to mix and match different patches for that reason

try converting the maps to the one with the 6.x client you used

 

[Orbit Storm]

So you suggest trying to use some of the older client maps? Just checking to be sure that was your suggestion, before trying it

 

[ETsCat]

Since this probably relates to the files used to patch custom artwork..

What could cause a several tiles on various roads, to show a sun burnt orange tile, instead of the actual road? It looks more like gargoyle wings than anything, only in square tiles..

Not to mention, outside certain caves.. I have "unused" tiles popping up..

Is it because the old animation files I implemented, were based off a 6.x client, while my server is using 7.0.0.0?

Here are two screen shots:

I see this in a lot of shards, I myself am using as a starter RunUOMondains and find its not doing that, I also have patched to 7.0.5.0. as That seams to have less trouble with the changes that I have put in. The Tiles you are using for some reason look like floor tiles, not path tiles. But thats my opinion.

 

[Lord_Greywolf]

yes you need to use matching patch files, if using older art mul, then need to use old maps also, so the art matches up (same with tiledata too)

 

[Orbit Storm]

Strangest thing.. after spending all of last evening searching.. it turns out that there is no map1.mul file.. yet the client is functional; that I am certain of.

Any ideas? lol...

---

Also.. aside from trying to just get older files to work with my current client; I've been trying to add all the artwork myself via MulPatcher.. however, MulPatcher seems to be.. well, broken?

Every time I choose "Copy Existing Animation" in Gump(anim), it doesn't take it. I click okay, but it never takes effect. Same for Tiledata(s).. I'm not able to change the animation ID.. it refuses to allow me to do so.

Yes, I've tried removing MulPatcher and extracting a fresh copy.. but nada.

-- To be more specific:

1 - I open MulPatcher and load all necessary files.. artidx.mul, art.mul, gumpidx.mul, gump.mul and tiledata.mul.. all other directories are set to their correct destinations.
2- I go to Gumps(anim), scroll all the way to the bottom of the empty slots, and choose 0xEEFF. I right-click, load the image from bitmap.
3- I open InsideUO.. and chose Order Shield as the animation as it most closely resembles my custom shield..
Decimal: 581
Hex: 0x245
4 - I go back to Gumps(anim), right click 0xEEFF again, and choose Copy Existing Animation and punch in 0x245. I click okay.
5 - At this time, 0xEEFF is showing an Animation ID of: 0x2BAF..
6 - I go to Tiledata(s), and scroll all the way to the bottom and choose 0x7FFF. I enter the name "Jewel of the Sea".
7 - At this point, is when I try editing the AnimID text box and the most I can do is highlight the 0x0.. I cannot erase it, nor change it.

So.. unless I am missing something (which can't be possible since I followed the instructions perfectly).. MulPatcher has an issue of some sort. I downloaded the app again from UO Tools.. still have the same thing.

 

[NorthwindsDaxe]

ok I made the changes and have tried everything I can think of. I was messing with UOFiddler and I can see the item I added in that program but it's not showing up in game. Is this the correct dataPath info ?

/* If you have not installed Ultima Online,
* or wish the server to use a separate set of datafiles,
* change the 'CustomPath' value, example:
*
* private const string CustomPath = @"C:\RunUOfiles";
*/
private static string CustomPath = @"C:\Program Files\Ultima Online Mondain's Legacy";

/* The following is a list of files which a required for proper execution:
*
* Multi.idx
* Multi.mul
* VerData.mul
* TileData.mul
* Map*.mul
* StaIdx*.mul
* Statics*.mul
* MapDif*.mul
* MapDifL*.mul
* StaDif*.mul
* StaDifL*.mul
* StaDifI*.mul
*/
When I save the Mul files I am saving them through MulPatcher to the Arttemp folder and then copying them to the RunUOFiles folder and then to the UO Directory itself. I close out MulPatcher and load the game.
When I type in [add item 0x7fff I get a cursor to add the item but nothing shows up. I'm not running a public server..this is just on my pc for now.

Thank you for helping Lord Greywolf I appreciate your patience.

 

[Lord_Greywolf]

orbitstorm
EEFF is FEMALE number and is not the proper animation - it is the last number a female optional one can be
all wearables have to be used in the MALS section of 50,000 to 59,999 (i have not tested above 53k) or 0xC350 to 0xEA5F

Northwindsdaxe
that list is old and does not include everything needed anymore
i suggest you copy the whole root directory of you UO client, might have more files than needed, but more is better

then when you make patches using mulpatcher, they need to go into there and the UO directory and to the players

 

[Orbit Storm]

Ah, good that you pointed that out.. I thought I had noticed that somewhere before..

Unfortunately though.. for some odd reason, I am getting a "AnimTypes Dont Match" error every time I try to use 0x245 when I "copy existing animation". The files I'm attempting to modify, and the ones I'm using InsideUO from within, are duplicates of one another.. so that cannot be the problem.

So, to possibly skip around this.. I found a previous post you had made LGW:

if you copy the animations in AND patch the animation file (and it is a big whopping one to patch) then do not need the body def

I myself do not copy the animation, it is optional - because of the bodydef file

And was wondering.. do I truly need to copy the existing animation?

Lastly.. are there any tutorials for designing your own animation?

 

[Lord_Greywolf]

no you do not need to copy existing animations, it is a waste of space and downloading for players, the body.def file allows you to use any existing animation for what ever you add

but that number is still the wrong one to use, need to do what i said with that

and to my knowledge there is no tutorial
best best is to click on one of the animations (high & low ones, etc) and "save to directory" (pre make the directory to save to, it does not allow you to create one for it)
then you can see how they are numbered and how many in a set, etc - about 400 pics or more depending on detail you want per animation
AND it is picky about colors also that are used in the pics
and the "list" of the "center" offset for each pic is a pain to make (it "flips" each pic for the right side view) and that point is the point it uses for it
also if ridiable, i believe it uses it for the "ass" of the player lol

 

[Orbit Storm]

Well I am using the number you suggested.. 0xC350.. the 0x245 is the animation for the shield I pulled from InsideUO.. =)

Is there anyway to pull up the actual animation for it? Like I said.. I have all the old server files, and the animation exists. I know it's somewhere in the anim.mul files.. If I use the older anim files, I'm able to see the shield on the the player when he is walking around.

I guess what I'm asking.. is, is there any way to skip around redesigning the custom animation for the 2d toon, when it already exists with the old animation files? I have the image for the paperdoll and for the tile set (i.e. what it looks like in a players backpack and on the ground), but I don't have the image needed for the animation.

I'm hoping if I can just nab the animation from the older files.. then I can just use bodydef to point to it.. since MulPatcher won't let me change the AnimID in Tiledata(s).. no idea why it won't though.. never had trouble before.

 

[Lord_Greywolf]

that is what body.def does
your anin number for the item {existing animation number} hue (optional, or 0) - in decimal though

in your case
0x245 = 581- the kite shield - old animation
0x495 = 1173 - open slot to use in gumps for a shield - 0xC7E5 or 51173 (anim + 50000)
so it would be this in body.def:
1173 {581} 0

and when ever you equip the art id that is set to anim number 0x495 in tile data the metal kite shield will appear on the toon

 

[Orbit Storm]

Well that certainly straightens me out on the bodydef.. I think though, that you misunderstood part of my question..

I was wondering, if there was any way to implement my OWN animation without a tremendous amount of work and patching to the players. Like I said above.. the OLD server files DO contain a CUSTOM animation for the shield to show on my player.. but I'm not sure where it is, or how to retrieve it.. or if I can use it via the bodydef file without patching anything to the players..

Reason I ask is.. after reviewing the OLD bodydef file.. there are no listings for custom artwork at all.. the shield is listed as 0xC598 in MulPatcher.. which should come out to 50,584..or 584.. neither of which are listed in bodydef..