How Can I Edit Textures in GRAW?

~ 0 min
2006-06-06 04:14
Currently there is no official way to do this. However, this is for those of you who just can't wait for official support and insist on going and doing it your own way (more power to you).

As with all of my tutorials I assume you have a basic understanding of your computer and with Adobe Photoshop. I use Photoshop 7.0, so it might be a little different in older versions, but not really.

This is very similar to GR1 when it comes to skinning, the hard part is just getting the files set up properly to skin.

What You Need Getting Started
The first thing you need to do is make sure that you have everything you need installed and ready to go. If you have everything ready to run it will take you about five to ten minutes to start skinning. The instructions seem complicated, but they're really not.

First, go to your GRAW install directory (C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter\ - by default) and make sure you have at least four folders in this directory:Bundles, Data, Settings and Support.

Start off by creating a folder called "Local." Then, within this folder create a new one called "Mods"

Now, go back to your root folder and open up Context.xml. You can use any editor you feel comfortable with to edit this file, I use Notepad personally because it's light, basic and easy.

What you're going to do is take the following code, and replace the word "english" with "Mods" as I have already done. This is the third line in the file and is easy to find.
CODE
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<context>
<script base="data" exec="menu/menu" editor="false" language="Mods"/>


Okay, now save the file and move on.

Now, open up the GRAW Bundle Extractor. Click on "Open Bundle" and use the dialogue box to navigate your PC to find Quick.Bundle : <path>\Bundles. It's very easy to find.

Now, once you have it open in the Bundle Extractor, expand the view so you see a folder called data. Click on that folder so it's selected and then click on "Extract Node" Another dialogue box appears so you can set the path of where to extract. You're going to extract to your newly created "Mods" folder.

Now wait patiently.

Once it's done, find the "Mods" folder, open it up and make sure the "data" folder is there. Open the data folder and select all of the folders within it. We're going to "Cut and Paste" all of the folders inside the "data" folder to outside of the folder. So, when you're done, you'll have <install path>\Local\Mods\anims NOT <install path>\Local\Mods\data\anims. I hope this makes sense on what to do. We're basically removing everything from the "data" folder and putting it in the "mods" folder. Once you're done, delete the now empty "data" folder.

Okay, you're ready to rock.

Opening the Skins
Opening the skins is very easy now. You've already installed the Plugins for Photoshop, so you simply open Photoshop, go to Open and navigate around until you find the textures you want.

Ghost Textures/Skins are found:
<install path>\Local\Mods\textures\atlas_characters\ghost_team\diffuse
diffuse_set0 = Uniform/Faces
diffuse_set1 = Helmet/Cross-Com

The "bump" folder contains the bump maps. Leave those alone for now.

Open up "atlas.dds" in Photoshop.

Do whatever it is you deem necessary to have some sweet skins, and have fun.

Once you're done...

Saving and Exporting
One in the same, sure, kinda.

When you're done editing, and you're entirely satisfied with your work save it first as a PSD file. Then you're going to merge (Ctrl+E) all of the layers together. You can not save your DDS file with layers, or it will crash your game.

Once you're ready, go to save it as a DDS file and you get a nice pop-up window.

Leave all of the settings on default except the drop down menu. You're goint to change that from DXT1 to DXT5.

Once you're done, click save, and over-write the "atlas.dds" file.

Testing
This should do it. You should now have a nice new skin to play with in game, and some clothes I'm sure your Ghosts will appreciate.

Testing is easy, fire up the game, load up a single player map, summon your Ghosts and have a look. Unfortunately for saps like me with mediocre PCs, this can take a while.

Conclusion
Just a few notes regarding what we've just accomplished.
  • You are, in effect, creating a mod that does not over-write the original game file. However, because this is an unofficial mod, the game can only support the one mod folder. So, if you have 8 skins you like, tough luck, you can only have one. Basically, the game will only read the files that are in the one and only "Mods" folder we created. You're free to do what you want within these files, but understand that you do not have the ability to create multiple sets of skins.
  • This is very unofficial. Hopefully in the coming weeks we'll see some official support on this, but in the mean time, enjoy what you have while you have it.
  • If you want to make a mod for release, simply delete all of the files you did not edit, and package the ones you did. However, you must leave the folder structure in tact.
  • Some people are naming their "Mods" folder "english" to prevent themselves from editing the Context.xml file. If you chose to do this, it will work... but let's try to have some uniformity as a community.
  • I'm here to help. Don't hesitate to PM me, but please do a forum search for your question first. Our Forum Search function was recently updated, is very user friendly, and chances are someone has asked your question before. However, I will work one on one with you if you really need it.
Feed Back Thread Here Please

Special Thanks:
TedSmith, Nemon, Vlad, Digitaly -TC- and anyone I may have forgotten!
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