Dau's Pretty Okay Custom Portrait Tutorial
Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2021 6:43 pm
Someday we're just gonna make an app to do this for us.
Things you'll need:
A frägment iso, ImgBurn(which you should have if you already tellipatched), 7Zip, WV's CCS File Explorer, any photo editor that can export bitmaps and HxD or another hex editor
-
You're gonna have to bear with me, this isn't something we've got completely down to a science yet. If something doesn't make sense, or doesn't work, just DM me on Discord(unnamedauthor#2701) or ask in Netslum's fragment-help channel and I'll come to the rescue.
-
So, where do we start?
Using 7Zip, extract your iso into a folder. Use the CCS File Explorer to extract DATA/DATA.BIN to a different folder. Piece together your portrait from the ModelNameBuilder tab on Vi's Fragment Stats sheet, changing the first "c" in the character name to "xf" for the party portrait and "xp" for the mail portrait. Find that file in your data.bin folder and copy it somewhere else for easier access. (Alternatively, just delete everything that isn't the portraits, unless you really want to get crazy with it later)
Doing the Thing!
Alright! We're doing the thing! Use the CCS File Explorer to open your portrait ccs. Tap on the .bmp that shows up and make sure it matches up to what you see in-game. If it does...
Makin' the Thing Look Good
You've got two options. If your new portrait is going to completely cover the old one, use Selected Node->Export as Bitmap and open that in your photo editor of choice. Otherwise, you can use a blank, filling the transparency with white(or another colour you're not using). Then, just... make it look good! The only requirements are that whatever colour is on the outside can't be in the inside(unless you want some fancy transparency, maybe), the shape of the portrait is the same, and that you export it as a bitmap. If you aren't using boring bland white, make sure to note what hex colour your background is.
Putting the Thing in the Place
Listen I... I don't know how to word. Get your CCS File Explorer ready again if you accidentally closed it, then click Selected Node->Open in Image Importer. File->Open, find your bitmap, and as long as you don't have a crazy amount of colours you should be good to save it! Make sure to save it again from the larger menu, and then...
The Annoying Part
Open up your hex editor! Pop your newly-created ccs file in... and yeah it looks daunting don't worry you're gonna be okay
You're scrolling down just a little, until you hit a biiiiiiig wall of hex(on xp ccs files, it might be under the big-ish block of model data instead). If you used Plain Boring White, you're looking for a set of four FFs, right at the start of the hex. Change the last of those four FFs to 00, and then save it. If you used... literally any other colour, hit ctrl-F, set it to "hex" instead of "string", and search for "(hex colour) FF". Hopefully that brings you right to where you want to be, and then you can just change the FF to 00!
Okay, so that was easy enough, right? No problems?
The Rest of the Annoying Part
Which is also the end! I promise!
Right-click on your CCS file, then tap 7-Zip->Add to archive...
Change "7z" to "gzip", leave everything else the same, and press Enter.
Open THIS in your hex editor too, I know it's scary, and open DATA.BIN in your hex editor as well, I know it's scary.
On your gzipped ccs file, press ctrl-A, then ctrl-C, and write down what "Length:" is down at the bottom.
Now, DATA.BIN. Scary. Press ctrl-F, go back to string if you used a weird hex colour, and search your portrait. Scary, scary, scary, but it's gonna be okay. Start dragging from where you stop seeing 00s, and drag until the length matches what you wrote down before. Press Delete, press Enter. Press Ctrl-V, press Enter. (Enters optional if your hex editor doesn't warn you about changing filesize) If there's still things-that-aren't-0s after your cursor, drag through all of it until you hit 00s, then right-click and fill it with 0s. Then... save! Use ImgBurn to make it an iso! You're done! Hopefully! I don't know!
Things you'll need:
A frägment iso, ImgBurn(which you should have if you already tellipatched), 7Zip, WV's CCS File Explorer, any photo editor that can export bitmaps and HxD or another hex editor
-
You're gonna have to bear with me, this isn't something we've got completely down to a science yet. If something doesn't make sense, or doesn't work, just DM me on Discord(unnamedauthor#2701) or ask in Netslum's fragment-help channel and I'll come to the rescue.
-
So, where do we start?
Using 7Zip, extract your iso into a folder. Use the CCS File Explorer to extract DATA/DATA.BIN to a different folder. Piece together your portrait from the ModelNameBuilder tab on Vi's Fragment Stats sheet, changing the first "c" in the character name to "xf" for the party portrait and "xp" for the mail portrait. Find that file in your data.bin folder and copy it somewhere else for easier access. (Alternatively, just delete everything that isn't the portraits, unless you really want to get crazy with it later)
Doing the Thing!
Alright! We're doing the thing! Use the CCS File Explorer to open your portrait ccs. Tap on the .bmp that shows up and make sure it matches up to what you see in-game. If it does...
Makin' the Thing Look Good
You've got two options. If your new portrait is going to completely cover the old one, use Selected Node->Export as Bitmap and open that in your photo editor of choice. Otherwise, you can use a blank, filling the transparency with white(or another colour you're not using). Then, just... make it look good! The only requirements are that whatever colour is on the outside can't be in the inside(unless you want some fancy transparency, maybe), the shape of the portrait is the same, and that you export it as a bitmap. If you aren't using boring bland white, make sure to note what hex colour your background is.
Putting the Thing in the Place
Listen I... I don't know how to word. Get your CCS File Explorer ready again if you accidentally closed it, then click Selected Node->Open in Image Importer. File->Open, find your bitmap, and as long as you don't have a crazy amount of colours you should be good to save it! Make sure to save it again from the larger menu, and then...
The Annoying Part
Open up your hex editor! Pop your newly-created ccs file in... and yeah it looks daunting don't worry you're gonna be okay
You're scrolling down just a little, until you hit a biiiiiiig wall of hex(on xp ccs files, it might be under the big-ish block of model data instead). If you used Plain Boring White, you're looking for a set of four FFs, right at the start of the hex. Change the last of those four FFs to 00, and then save it. If you used... literally any other colour, hit ctrl-F, set it to "hex" instead of "string", and search for "(hex colour) FF". Hopefully that brings you right to where you want to be, and then you can just change the FF to 00!
Okay, so that was easy enough, right? No problems?
The Rest of the Annoying Part
Which is also the end! I promise!
Right-click on your CCS file, then tap 7-Zip->Add to archive...
Change "7z" to "gzip", leave everything else the same, and press Enter.
Open THIS in your hex editor too, I know it's scary, and open DATA.BIN in your hex editor as well, I know it's scary.
On your gzipped ccs file, press ctrl-A, then ctrl-C, and write down what "Length:" is down at the bottom.
Now, DATA.BIN. Scary. Press ctrl-F, go back to string if you used a weird hex colour, and search your portrait. Scary, scary, scary, but it's gonna be okay. Start dragging from where you stop seeing 00s, and drag until the length matches what you wrote down before. Press Delete, press Enter. Press Ctrl-V, press Enter. (Enters optional if your hex editor doesn't warn you about changing filesize) If there's still things-that-aren't-0s after your cursor, drag through all of it until you hit 00s, then right-click and fill it with 0s. Then... save! Use ImgBurn to make it an iso! You're done! Hopefully! I don't know!