Remember, this is for advanced patchers, not for n00bies. But all can learn through practice.
DR. P wrote:Tony wrote:.viv patching doesn't support all customart features... atleast it didn't when i tried it.ReyJ wrote:One thing though, I can't seem to alternate between home and away bands. Don't know why, I thought it would be the same format as last editions. Ohh well. But if anyone can figure it out, please let me know.
what works:
new cyberfaces
new headshapes
tattoo files (blar, brar, bskn) and such.
what doesn't work:
custom shoes home/away/prxx
custom practice gears
custom headbands
_acc_home/_acc_away/_acc_prxx
beye files
bmou files
...
so, in other words, viv patching sucks major ass. EA better give us a patch. soon.
Thanks Tony for the info. But I have 2 small question that you're expertise should be able to help me with.
First, which player from the xplayer.viv file has an _acc.fsh file that includes a bskn graphic file? I know AI has an _acc.fsh accessory file in his .viv file, but it doesn't include a bskn file. The reason I ask is because I looked for a player with a bskn graphic file to copy and use as a template so I wouldn't have to use the "customart 1" feature to run my game and deal with the accompanying lag time. If I new a player that's in the xplayer.viv file with that type of accessory file I could snag him.
Second, in terms of adding my own custom players to the current xplayer.viv file, and not relying on the "customart 1" setting to get tats, etc., how would I do it? Using the current approach its easy to add a players .viv file to xplayer.viv file, and to change the players name on that respective.viv file. But how does one change the name of the files within the players .viv file (e.g., playerx.fsh, playerx_acc.fsh, playerx_loda, etc.)? This has racked my brain quite a bit and I'm trying to use the updated EAgraph to do it but it won't let me change the name of those imbedded fsh files. Now if I import the new .viv file with just the new players name changed (e.g.,now it reads as 'playerx.viv') into the xplayer.viv file, with some other player's name on the rest of the imbedded files (with AI's data embeeded within the 'xplayerx.viv' file, e.g., alivers.fsh, alivers_acc.fsh, etc.) will this treat the imbeed player's info as unique to playerx (assuming that I've changed the player.dbf file to reflect the player package of 'PLAYERX'? (SORRY IF I'M CONFUSING ANYONE, I KNOW ITS NOT AS CLEAR AS IT SHOULD BE WRITTEN).
BEST,
P
Hey Dr.P,
question 1: EA didn't make any players with BSKN files included in the ACC. as others already have pointed out, if you wish to add a new skin file to a player that has tattoos, use NFSHTOOL, mess with the text codes in index.fsh and alpha.dat that file generates when opening a texture FSH files. if you just want a template for a BSKN file, without keeping the original tats a player may have, just download one of Rey J's tattoo patches, their format is right, and can be used as a template.
question 2: Now, this is tricky. Might aswell sticky this post so others don't miss it, since it'll get pretty detailed. It all can be done with Don Daily's powerful EAZip tool (nba2kstuff.nba-live.net). First, you need to create a text batch file, which you should put along with EAZip.exe (which you can find at the URL I posted earlier) into the NBA Live 2004\render\ directory.
To create the batch file, first create a text file, with the code below pasted in it. As you may notice, I took Reggie Miller's files as an example, since they have an ACC file, and all. If you don't want an ACC file in your custom player, simply erase all words that have ACC in it.
- Code: Select all
eazip.exe -e xplayer.viv remille.viv
eazip.exe -e remille.viv remille.fsh remille_acc.fsh remille_loda.o remille_lodau.o remille_lodc.o remille_lodcu.o remille_lodd.o remille_loddu.o remille_suit_loda.o
eazip.exe -d remille.viv remille.fsh remille_acc.fsh remille_loda.o remille_lodau.o remille_lodc.o remille_lodcu.o remille_lodd.o remille_loddu.o remille_suit_loda.o
ren remille.fsh customp.fsh
ren remille_acc.fsh customp_acc.fsh
ren remille_loda.o customp_loda.o
ren remille_lodau.o customp_lodau.o
ren remille_lodc.o customp_lodc.o
ren remille_lodcu.o customp_lodcu.o
ren remille_lodd.o customp_lodd.o
ren remille_loddu.o customp_loddu.o
ren remille_suit_loda.o customp_suit_loda.o
ren remille.viv customp.viv
eazip.exe -a customp.viv customp.fsh customp_acc.fsh customp_loda.o customp_lodau.o customp_lodc.o customp_lodcu.o customp_lodd.o customp_loddu.o customp_suit_loda.o
del customp.fsh
del customp_acc.fsh
del customp_loda.o
del customp_lodau.o
del customp_lodc.o
del customp_lodcu.o
del customp_lodd.o
del customp_loddu.o
del customp_suit_loda.o
From this text, just replace the CUSTOMP abbrevation to what your custom player's name will be (for example, Dennis Rodman will be DERODMA), or Reggie Miller's REMILLE with the abbrevation any player from the xplayer.viv has. Save your TXT file, that should be, as I pointed out earlier, placed in the NBA Live 2004\render directory. Change the .TXT extension the file has into .BAT, and then run that batch file.
Now you should have your custom player .viv file in the \render\ directory, with edited name abbrevations in it. Do your other image editing from there on. Hope it made atleast some sense, it might look complicated, but really it isn't at all.
Oh, and since I'm on a tutorial rampage, here's something for Rey J. You should also use EAZip, so you don't have to include full .viv files in your tattoo patches, and reduce the files in the size department, and to prevent your tattoo patches overwrite, with EA's default faces, any other face patch a user might have installed into his xplayer.viv, for a player you made a tattoo patch for. Simply use this code for a batch installation (Anfernee Hardaway example):- Code: Select all
@echo off
echo THIS FILE MUST BE RUN FROM THE MAIN NBA LIVE 2004 FOLDER
echo EAZIP.EXE MUST BE IN THE \RENDER FOLDER!
pause >nul
cd render
eazip.exe -e xplayer.viv anharda.viv
eazip.exe -e anharda.viv anharda.fsh anharda_acc.fsh anharda_loda.o anharda_lodau.o anharda_lodc.o anharda_lodcu.o anharda_lodd.o anharda_loddu.o anharda_suit_loda.o
cd..
MOVE anharda_acc.fsh render
cd render
eazip.exe -a anharda.viv anharda.fsh anharda_acc.fsh anharda_loda.o anharda_lodau.o anharda_lodc.o anharda_lodcu.o anharda_lodd.o anharda_loddu.o anharda_suit_loda.o
del anharda.fsh
del anharda_acc.fsh
del anharda_loda.o
del anharda_lodau.o
del anharda_lodc.o
del anharda_lodcu.o
del anharda_lodd.o
del anharda_loddu.o
del anharda_suit_loda.o
eazip.exe -a xplayer.viv anharda.viv
del anharda.viv
echo INSTALLATION FINISHED
Again, this example above is if your player already has an ACC file. If he doesn't, use this code (Jason Richardson example):
- Code: Select all
@echo off
echo THIS FILE MUST BE RUN FROM THE MAIN NBA LIVE 2004 FOLDER
echo EAZIP.EXE MUST BE IN THE \RENDER FOLDER!
pause >nul
cd render
eazip.exe -e xplayer.viv jaricha.viv
eazip.exe -e jaricha.viv jaricha.fsh jaricha_loda.o jaricha_lodau.o jaricha_lodc.o jaricha_lodcu.o jaricha_lodd.o jaricha_loddu.o jaricha_suit_loda.o
cd..
MOVE jaricha_acc.fsh render
cd render
eazip.exe -a jaricha.viv jaricha.fsh jaricha_acc.fsh jaricha_loda.o jaricha_lodau.o jaricha_lodc.o jaricha_lodcu.o jaricha_lodd.o jaricha_loddu.o jaricha_suit_loda.o
del jaricha.fsh
del jaricha_acc.fsh
del jaricha_loda.o
del jaricha_lodau.o
del jaricha_lodc.o
del jaricha_lodcu.o
del jaricha_lodd.o
del jaricha_loddu.o
del jaricha_suit_loda.o
eazip.exe -a xplayer.viv jaricha.viv
del jaricha.viv
echo INSTALLATION FINISHED
Whew.
