GTA V character (Player, NPC) modding

[BLACKHACK09]

How do i get added objects to a model (like a additional acc_ that wasnt originally part of it) to show up in game. The model works fine, so do the textures in zmodeler and openIV, its just actually getting the thing to appear in game since it isnt there by default

EDIT: Im aware its something to do with the .ymt file

[Oleg]

this is probably configured in *.ymt files (meta-data files, not editable yet).

[BLACKHACK09]

Alright, so then how do i get foreign objects to show up like other people have?

[Oleg]

I guess they replace original models.

[MrLifePak]

If I export my model with skeleton turned on, Zmod freezes. If I export without skeleton turned on then my model doesn't move in game and stays in the position like in zmod viewpoints.

[Oleg]

send me your .z3d file, I'll take a look.

[jeffrey9090]

I can not seem to import a file correctly. When I attempt to import the file into Zmodeler 3, I can only see the bones. This still happens with the importation if .ytf. The polygon count works but the geometry does not show.

[Oleg]

use L0, L1, L2 buttons on Structure panel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x07ZDfq0BA

.yft file is always just a skeleton. you need to import .ydd files then. Make sure to rename skeleton top-level dummy into ".global", so you have topmost scene node named ".global" and have ".skel" inside it. then import YDD files.

[MrLifePak]

I've somehow managed to get it working but my model has the "wind" effect on the vest that i've added to the model. Is that easy to sort out?

[Oleg]

paint its secondary color black.
select object, swap colors, paint\color\fill selected [black color], swap colors again.

[jeffrey9090]

I mean that I can see zero geometry. It does matter on the LOD, I can not see any geometry in any level.

[Oleg]

toggle L0, pick a desired .mesh object in hierarchy, put it on Isolated mode, expand Properties->mesh->vertices->format and toggle off "Rigging". you can toggle it On again before an export.

[jeffrey9090]

Thanks. I also have another question.

I made a 600 by 512 image and the size is reduced to 512 by 512 in Uvmapping. Can I set it correctly in Uvmapping?

[Oleg]

you should use textures with "power of 2" on width and height. this is important for the game and rendering performance. in most of cases, game engine will resize your texture to 1024x512 to conform this limitation needs.

UV Mapper always show square texture, even if you load 1024x128 wide image, it still will show as square. I suggest you to rescale your texture so it is in correct size natively to prevent problems in game. This will not involve re-mapping, just texture size changes needed.

[jeffrey9090]

Thank you. I made the texture back to a 800 by 800 size. Thanks.

[Oleg]

wrong. it have to be power of 2 on width and height. use 512x512 or 1024x1024 instead. this is essential for the video driver and video hardware for mip-map texture layers to work properly.

[jeffrey9090]

Ok. I'll increase the size to 1024 square.

[quechus13]

Oleg, how do you scale the bones of a Ped to make him smaller or bigger in Zmodeler?

I saw a russian guy with a child mod already and I wonder how he did it.

[Oleg]

select all bones, reset pivot point to origin (0,0,0), use modify\scale tool by clicking on any of selected bones; toggle "all axes", then set scaling value - you can change it before your press Ok.

the drawback of this method is that you can scale skeleton to 0,0,0 point. as a result, the mesh will fly above the ground. An attempt to put mesh lower to the ground has its own problems. I've been working on this child mod personally, and there are several problems related.

floating above the ground could be solved by moving skeleton "level-1" bones lower. an image below shows a bones movement:
skeleton + top level "SKEL_ROOT" is left at 0,0,0 point, as well as "IK_Root". The pelvis and spine bones are moved lower and entire skeleton is moved lower so it reaches the bottom (ground) point of original-height skeleton. The mesh is moved lower too, but axes are still at 0,0,0 point.

this will actually move skeleton into the ground, but mesh will look like it "stand" on a ground. the visual artifact is that model in stand pose (when original foots are on a ground and torso moves a little) will produce rescaled model to float in horizontal plane (not hover) a little while standing on a ground. that's because rescaled skeleton feet are somewhere around the knee of original skeleton that moves a little when player/ped is standing. Unfortunately, the method above is the only I've found to put the scaled model onto the ground.

Looks like the game has some pre-defined model "height above the ground" - when rescaled model (with no modifications above) runs on a ground it hovers at pre-defined height, but as soon as you climb onto a vehicle, an actual skeleton bones and IK pivots start their action: the rescaled model moves lower and stand perfectly on a vehicle. then you jump onto the ground and "hover" again. it took me several days to find some suitable solution.

Later by testing some ped models with different feet/shoes, I've noticed that placing a high shoes onto a ped vs lower shoes can make entire model become higher/lower. I suspect it is possible to move rescaled skeleton onto the ground by this specific method - installed shoes that will move entire skeleton lower to half a meter... this is just a guess, as I haven't tried it. Neither I know how shoes/height relation is actually coded (may be encoded in a component .meta file).

P.S. another guess-thought is to mess around with foot IK controls: IK_L_Foot and IK_R_Foot - these are points that game will try to put onto the ground.

[quechus13]

I see!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd4erI2b0Zc

Here's the mod video, it's interesting how he did it because even the weapon position moved to the hand as well.
There's gotta be a way to do it. I was able to increase the size of some bones but the camera position stays the same.

[quechus13]

Sorry I double posted but I have a question.

Is it possible to create an entire new skeleton system or edit the skeleton from the YFT file?
I've noticed that the chimp npcs float because they sit at 0.0.0

Is there a way to really fix that?

[Oleg]

I doubt you should alter skeleton structure (bones hierarchy and their IDs). Bones placement and axes could be altered (as you can see on the image above).

Keep in mind, that game can play soft and hard animations: the soft animation is computed at gameplay using IK pivots for hands, feets, head, eyes), while hard animations are hard-coded for lower/upper parts of skeleton (e.g. running animation and weapon carrying animation) and it can mix both types of animations at runtime.

concerning the npcs not standing on a ground and floating, its a known problem that I don't have "perfect" solution for. I've written several paragraphs on this subject in a post with screenshot.. Or what your question was actually about?

[quechus13]

I successfully fixed the floating thing by importing the YTF with Sliced parts on and modifying it then re-importing without Sliced Parts.
Now I wonder if it's possible to lower the strength of the bone movement, not the vertices painting as in limit the distance of were a bone can be moved.
Is it possible?

[Oleg]

I doubt is is possible. the mesh will get significantly distorted if summary of weights on vertex is not 100%. if you reduce weight of one bone, you have to increase weight of another.

[quechus13]

I'm not talking about vertex weights but the bones themselves.
Is there a way to limit the movement on Bones?