Editing The Database: Using NPC/Locked Costume Pieces

[Halloween]

make a costume using Icon's NPC mode and use the npc parts you want. Save that costume and then you can open the costume file with notepad and see the references to them.

How do we get into NPC mode in Icon? Is that through a launch parameter?
Edit: For those wondering this same thing, check out this thread: http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,10076.0.html

[FloatingFatMan]

How do we get into NPC mode in Icon? Is that through a launch parameter?

Instead of asking to be spoon fed, why don't you attempt to help yourself by either reading the ICON thread, or looking at the ICON wiki page?  Everything you could ever need to know is in there.

Yes, I'm going to be THAT GUY that says what most folks are thinking, and this is to everyone, not just you personally. PLEASE read the threads before asking questions that have been asked hundreds of times before. You're just wasting your own time, and everyone else's.

[Leandro]

Right-click icon.exe and select Create Shortcut. Right-click this newly made shortcut and select Properties. In the Target field, add -n at the end; so if it currently reads "C:\Coh\Icon.exe" it should read "C:\Coh\Icon.exe" -n (the space before -n should be there; the quotes, if present, should stop after .exe). Double-click this new shortcut to launch Icon in NPC mode.

[Halloween]

Instead of asking to be spoon fed, why don't you attempt to help yourself by either reading the ICON thread, or looking at the ICON wiki page?  Everything you could ever need to know is in there.

Yes, I'm going to be THAT GUY that says what most folks are thinking, and this is to everyone, not just you personally. PLEASE read the threads before asking questions that have been asked hundreds of times before. You're just wasting your own time, and everyone else's.

Actually, what I do is ask, then go look for myself and see which route provides me with the quicker answer. I did already figure out how this is done through the popmenu download, and have tried applying it to Paragon Chat. I'll be modifying my previous post accordingly. I'm assuming these wearable NPC parts don't include creature costume parts, because... weird things happen when they're applied to player characters.

Right-click icon.exe and select Create Shortcut. Right-click this newly made shortcut and select Properties. In the Target field, add -n at the end; so if it currently reads "C:\Coh\Icon.exe" it should read "C:\Coh\Icon.exe" -n (the space before -n should be there; the quotes, if present, should stop after .exe). Double-click this new shortcut to launch Icon in NPC mode.

Thanks! I didn't even see this. I'll have to try it out.
Edit: @Leandro, this is exactly what I wanted to see! Thank you!

[Kassandros]

it is possible but I am bad at explaining the how.

My instructions in the original post are the best I can offer. You need a program that can read and edit the database... you need your original costume file (with the pieces you want) as a reference so you know what to copy and paste into the database to replace what is currently there. I've also found that the costume you're looking to alter needs to have "something" in the slot you want to alter. For example...



The "belt cape" I am using here uses the standard cape slot. The costume itself has no "back cape" so I didnt have one when I original made the character for Paragon Chat. When I wanted to edit the DB to add the belt cape, I found I needed to go back and first add a regular back cape to the character in Paragon Chat so the slot would show up in the database for me to edit. I also had to copy other things from the original costume file for that slot to make it all show up correctly.

In your case you'd need to make sure the costume you're editing in the database already had wings of some sort. Then you'd edit the database and replace whatever is listed for the wings with whatever its called in your costume file. You might also have to copy whatever is listed as the textures for your dragon wings and replace whatever is listed for the textures of your placeholder wings to make it all work right.

Like I said I am bad at explaining this in a way that easy for the layman to understand... I mostly just fiddle with stuff and figure it out via trial and error.

You just explained perfectly!

I followed your advice and it worked. Of course, I then found out that the costume part has been added to the latest version of Paragon Chat, but now I am able to add other stuff if need be. So thank you very much. ^^

One of these nights I'm going to have to delurk and start talking to people on the server. So exciting to see people there.

[Antipode]

I have a feeling that the answer is going to be obvious and I'm going to feel stupid, but I'm pretty sure I understand about ninety percent of  the instructions...

And then it gets to the color part and I'm just lost.  How do I find what color the NPC parts are when I'm replacing things?  What do I put in there?  Can someone provide me an example swathe of data from an NPC costume file and highlight the relevant parts, because I can't find them. D:

[Kyriani]

I have a feeling that the answer is going to be obvious and I'm going to feel stupid, but I'm pretty sure I understand about ninety percent of  the instructions...

And then it gets to the color part and I'm just lost.  How do I find what color the NPC parts are when I'm replacing things?  What do I put in there?  Can someone provide me an example swathe of data from an NPC costume file and highlight the relevant parts, because I can't find them. D:

Here's where I don't have the know how to help directly. All I can tell you is what I did to get the colors I wanted. All I did was I made sure whatever part was in the slot I was editing was already the colors I wanted. That way I didnt have to edit colors in the DB editor. If you're going to use an item with two colors make sure the placeholder item can take two colors as well and set them to the colors you want them to be. If they show up reversed just edit the DB again and switch whatever values are on the two color sections.

[gammagirl]

Ok, after rereading this several times I have two questions.

Once you edited the DB does that replace the costume part across the board? For example, you replaced a cape with a loincloth so does everybody wearing that cape now appear to have the loincloth now?  Kind of like how the old mods used to work.

Next, assuming first question is not true... you have made this costume and loaded it into Paragon Chat, if you go to a tailor and edit that costume, does it yell about invalid parts or that works ok?

[Pengy]

Editing the database replaces a part on your character with another. It doesn't affect a different character.

The tailor will complain and try to confiscate your loincloth.

[gammagirl]

The tailor will complain and try to confiscate your loincloth.

This statement has triggered one of the greatest battles of willpower of Gamma's career...

[gammagirl]

So, I sunk my teeth into this and I'm rather pleased with the results. If you plan trying this be prepared to spend time on it. Each time you load the database and start editing, you'll realize you forgot some other detail on the target costume.

[gammagirl]

[Katzen]

tooting the bike horn here.

so if anyone DOES know how to do this and doesn't mind posting a visual tutorial (pictures are fine too.) i would be so happy.
i've wanted to do this but my tiny brain can't comprehend this stuff.

[Blightrix]

I've been playing around in the DB recently and I'm playing around with my character's scale (I don't plan to make him obnoxiously large, just a little larger than normal) and I've noticed a cell called "bonescale" I've increased it up to 20 and I don't see any sort of difference. Anyone know exactly what it does?

[Pengy]

I've been playing around in the DB recently and I'm playing around with my character's scale (I don't plan to make him obnoxiously large, just a little larger than normal) and I've noticed a cell called "bonescale" I've increased it up to 20 and I don't see any sort of difference. Anyone know exactly what it does?

It's the "physique" slider.
Edit: The physique slider also moves ShoulderScale, ChestScale, WaistScale, and HipScale. AFAIK, no other slider changes BoneScale except for the physique slider.

[Noyjitat]

I personally prefer SQLite Studio: http://sqlitestudio.pl/?act=download

For the color, take the 3 numbers; they are red, green and blue values. Multiply blue by 65536 and green by 256 and add them together. So for example, white would be 255,255,255 = 255*65536 + 255*256 + 255 = 16777215.

So is there a reason paragon chat used this instead of the normal BGR? Or I guess it technically still does but why the extra numbers?

[impiousimp]

IS there anyway for the Big cat head to be used with the Wild hair style?  I want to have less mane, more mohawk.

[Codewalker]

So is there a reason paragon chat used this instead of the normal BGR? Or I guess it technically still does but why the extra numbers?

The reason is that it's convenient because I can just drop a single integer (which is how it's received from the COH client) into the database instead of having to break it into byte-sized pieces.

The database was not designed with ease of end-user modifications in mind. While I don't actively try to prevent them, they're not supported and the database's primary concern is quickly and efficiently storing the data that Paragon Chat needs to operate.

[Noyjitat]

I hope you won't decide to prevent us from doing this modification because some of those npc costume pieces and fx are nice to have.

Thanks again for all your efforts and free time spent on the community.

[Slid]

Yeah, my primary RP character can't be played without the DB modification - he's a Rikti. As long as you don't go out of your way to prevent DB modification, he'll work just fine. It's been working out great so far!

This program is SUPER cool. I'm immeasurably impressed with how well it works!