Picture file for main menu

[freegentile]

Hey, guys, I really did look high & low for this answer, but am coming up short. Where is the FFVTTR picture file located for the main menu screen, where the buttons are located for Characters, Rumble Room, Load Game, New Game, etc.?

[BentonGrey]

Give me a second and I'll find the directory for you.  Yeah, it stumped me too when I got started!

:EDIT: Okay, you start either in your Data directory, or a mod directory, then it is "art/library/interface_scenes/mg_ff_team_main."  All of the folders in the interface_scenes directory are various art files that change the appearance of the games UI.  I like to change mg_squad_select, mg_rumble_room, and mg_loading_english.  They are all pretty self-explanatory.  

Make sure you use .dds files!

[freegentile]

So, the picture that scrolls, in the vanilla game, or the still picture of all the DC vs. Marvel characters that shows for the Crisis mod, for instance, is a .dds texture file in that interface_scenes directory? I would think I'm looking for a JPEG or BMP. Color me corn-fused. I'll try that & rename the picture I want to use as a .dds file & see what happens. Gracias!

[Previsionary]

Freedom force makes use of TGA and DDS files. Renaming a file to either won't work. It either needs to be converted or done through photoshop, paintshop, photofiltre, etc. That's not even counting the dimensions, which must be in powers of 2.

[BentonGrey]

Yep.  If you want a still picture, take the "scene.nif" file from a mod that uses one, and put it in your mg_ff_team_main folder, replacing the scrolling one.  You can find a DDS converter that will most likely do what  you want.  There should be a link to one if you search FR.

[John Jr.]

Yep.  If you want a still picture, take the "scene.nif" file from a mod that uses one, and put it in your mg_ff_team_main folder, replacing the scrolling one.  You can find a DDS converter that will most likely do what  you want.  There should be a link to one if you search FR.

Any suggestion of a Mod with the still picture, guys? I couldn't find one. And how I can remove the FFers figures from the main screen?

[cmdrkoenig67]

You'd have to alter the tga files/alpha them out/etc...In the mg_ff_team_main folder.

Dana

[BentonGrey]

Yep.  If you want a still picture, take the "scene.nif" file from a mod that uses one, and put it in your mg_ff_team_main folder, replacing the scrolling one.  You can find a DDS converter that will most likely do what  you want.  There should be a link to one if you search FR.

Any suggestion of a Mod with the still picture, guys? I couldn't find one. And how I can remove the FFers figures from the main screen?

Umm...remember the thing you tested for me that wasn't PCT related?  Copy the mg_ff_team_main folder from it.  Then, just replace the file in its texture folder with whatever you want, just make sure to name it the same.

[John Jr.]

Yep.  If you want a still picture, take the "scene.nif" file from a mod that uses one, and put it in your mg_ff_team_main folder, replacing the scrolling one.  You can find a DDS converter that will most likely do what  you want.  There should be a link to one if you search FR.

Any suggestion of a Mod with the still picture, guys? I couldn't find one. And how I can remove the FFers figures from the main screen?

Umm...remember the thing you tested for me that wasn't PCT related?  Copy the mg_ff_team_main folder from it.  Then, just replace the file in its texture folder with whatever you want, just make sure to name it the same.

I couldn't find any mg_ff_team_main folder on it, Benton. The version I got doesn't have a custom screen.

[BentonGrey]

Hrm?  Whoops.  Okay, if you don't have any mods that have it, then the simplest thing to do is go into your data/art/library/interface_scenes directory, and copy the contents of the load_generic folder.  Delete the guts of mg_ff and replace them with those.  Then proceed to rename your chosen file the same as the one in the textures folder, and replace the latter with the former.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I for Pete's sake...I can just send him the folder (with the textures already converted to TGAs)...LOL!  If that's what you need, John Jr?

Dana  

[John Jr.]

It would be great, Dana.
Thanks!

EDIT: I already did the loading screens, I just need the main menu screen.

[cmdrkoenig67]

It would be great, Dana.
Thanks!

EDIT: I already did the loading screens, I just need the main menu screen.

I'm sending it to you right now, JJ.

Dana

[John Jr.]

Got it! Thanks, Dana!
Now, I'll try to get this thing right...

[cmdrkoenig67]

Excellent!

Dana

[John Jr.]

You'd have to alter the tga files/alpha them out/etc...In the mg_ff_team_main folder.

Dana

How exactly o can do that? I'm lost here...

[freegentile]

cmdrkoenig, will you send to me, as well? I have no loading_generic folder, just that mm_ff folder & can't get this to work, either. Thank you mucho! I already have several DDS files I want to try, just can't get them to work, even when renaming them load_skyking.dds. My textures folder only has skyking.dds. Replacing the nif from Batman or Spiderman mods doesn't help. Still scrolls.

[BentonGrey]

Alright, here is a tutorial I wrote for someone else trying to do this:

Look at your Interface_Scenes directory, you SHOULD see a number of different folders.  If you don't, check your data directory.  Still don't?  Then you may need to unpack your art.dat or simply look at various mods until you find what you need, which is: "load_generic."  Do you see that?

That's where you're going to get your .nif.  Now, let me explain what a nif does.  These are the 3D models that characters use, but they are also used to create the interface we use to play the game.  Everything from the loading screens to the multiplayer and characters sections, INCLUDING the main screen, uses a .nif.  Think of it as the background of a play.  You can paint it any way you want, but that background is still going to be the same shape unless you replace it.  Nif is a file designation, like .txt or .dat, see?  You can no more use a .dds file to replace a .nif than you can use a .txt file to replace a .dat.

That's where the load_generic folder comes in.  You copy the .nif from there and place it in your mg_ff_team_main folder, replacing the .nif that is already there.  It is THAT .nif which causes any texture placed on it to scroll.  We're replacing it with the skyking one which simply sits nice and still

Now, you go BACK to the load_generic folder and look inside again.  You'll find a folder inside that says "textures."  Look inside there, and you'll find "load_skyking.dds."  You are NOT going to copy this.  Instead, you're going to take the image you want, the one you've modified, and you are going to name it exactly the same way as this image.  Then you're going to drop your chosen image inside your mg_ff_team_main/textures directory.  If your image is NOT .dds, you will either A) need to convert it, or B) need to delete the previous occupant of that folder so the game has no choice but to use the one you provide.  The best thing to do is make sure it is a .dds.  You follow me?  THAT should do it.

[John Jr.]

It worked!
Thanks for the help, Benton and Dana, you two are great!

[BentonGrey]

Yes....yes we are.

Ha, glad it worked for you, pal!

[freegentile]

You are a good brother man, BG. Will you remind me how to unpack those dat's?

[crimsonquill]

You are a good brother man, BG. Will you remind me how to unpack those dat's?

The Art.ff files are just renamed .zip folders.. so just rename it to Art.zip and use Pkunzip/Unrar or some much program to expand the archieve into a non-FF related test folder somewhere. Pretty simple.

I just used BG's tutorial to change the screens on the FFX mod so they are all based around X-Men and The Danger Room today.. definitly helps me get into the mood while I am just hopping around the menus.

- CQ

[freegentile]

Well, gentlemen, I'm making progress. I unzipped the art.ff from the FFVTTR vanilla Data folder...my ffx3Mappack didn't have one...& found load_generic & followed Sir Benton of Grey's instructions. Now, I have a light blue screen w/ nothing on it except my buttons for Load Game, Rumble Room, etc. I think the instructions are perfect, just must be something wrong w/ my dds files. I converted them from JPEG's w/ Photoshop 6.0 w/ the DDS plug-in. I can open them fine & dandy in Photoshop, but I don't know anything about mip maps, etc., power of 2, etc., so if one of you are game, may I send you my 3 photos I'd like to use to see if something's wrong w/ them? Thank you profusely.

[BentonGrey]

I'd like to help you with that, but my own copy of Photoshop seems to have decide it doesn't like my new install of windows.  I can't do anything picture related for the time being.

[John Jr.]

Send it to me, pal. I'll test it!

[crimsonquill]

Well, gentlemen, I'm making progress. I unzipped the art.ff from the FFVTTR vanilla Data folder...my ffx3Mappack didn't have one...& found load_generic & followed Sir Benton of Grey's instructions. Now, I have a light blue screen w/ nothing on it except my buttons for Load Game, Rumble Room, etc. I think the instructions are perfect, just must be something wrong w/ my dds files. I converted them from JPEG's w/ Photoshop 6.0 w/ the DDS plug-in. I can open them fine & dandy in Photoshop, but I don't know anything about mip maps, etc., power of 2, etc., so if one of you are game, may I send you my 3 photos I'd like to use to see if something's wrong w/ them? Thank you profusely.

I think you have the right steps but the image needs to be 1024x1024 exactly or it will not display correct and you will get that light blue screen instead. So double check your images and make sure that they were not resized improperly.

- CQ

[cmdrkoenig67]

It depends on the image, CQ...Some of the images in the start screen are 1024x1024, but some are 256x1024, 128x256, 512x512, etc...etc...

You are correct, though...The size is key to the images showing up...If any of the images are off (say 1024x1023 or 1025x1025), they will not show up.

Dana

[freegentile]

Thank you, guys. Senor Juan Jr., I'll fire 'em to ya.

[freegentile]

Matching up the size exactly did the trick, sir. I can actually see my DDS now when the game comes up!

Bentonian, your instructions were right on.

It's a little stretched, in height, but I'll fiddle w/ that. I kept stretching the canvas size in Photoshop left & right, & didn't mess w/ the height too much, but it's great to actually get it to work!