Is anyone able to get RTR skeletons into BI?

[Cheexsta]

Trying to mod the game to use the RTR skeletons on top of the BI ones is harder than I thought. So far I've:
- Unpacked skeleton.idx/.dat for both RTR 6.2 and for BI.
- Added the RTR skeletons to the BI ones, making sure to update list.txt.
- Repacked the skeletons.
- Unpacked both RTR's and BI's pack.idx/.dat to add in the missing animations.

Now, at this point the game couldn't find a few of the animations that these new skeletons referred to. With Vercingetorix's help (thanks once more), this has been solved (the first error was "Filename not found: Stand 2 push heavy object.cas" - this (and all later errors) was fixed by repacking pack.idx with another line added to anim_list.txt). However, now I seem to be getting this error:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v23/cheex/Random/annoyingashellerror.jpg

Anyone more competent than I able to do it?

[Sundjata Keita]

Did you use XIDX to tell the game where to look for the files? Have you typed anything into the XIDX shell?

[Vercingetorix]

I'll download RTR and try to do what you're doing. If I remember correctly you are trying to port the all of the RTR skeletons to BI so that your new units can use them (while of course retaining the BI skeletons)?

Edit: I just realized how large RTR is. Could you email me the unmodded RTR skeleton.dat/idx and pack.dat/idx?

[Red Harvest]

Vercingetorix,

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I have a related question about SignifierOne's pre-1.3 elephant mounted javelineer skeleton. Is there anything that prevents porting that to RTW 1.3? I really would like to give some factions elephant mounted javelineers. I've been able to use the new RTW 1.3 chariot javelineer skeleton successfully, but I also need one with animations for the elephants...or quick instructions on how to port another javelin animation onto the elephant.

Thanks.

[Vercingetorix]

Vercingetorix,

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I have a related question about SignifierOne's pre-1.3 elephant mounted javelineer skeleton. Is there anything that prevents porting that to RTW 1.3? I really would like to give some factions elephant mounted javelineers. I've been able to use the new RTW 1.3 chariot javelineer skeleton successfully, but I also need one with animations for the elephants...or quick instructions on how to port another javelin animation onto the elephant.

Thanks.

Well, I would ask SignifierOne on that. I haven't installed 1.3 so I don't know what has changed, if anything, in regards to animations.

[Cheexsta]

I'll download RTR and try to do what you're doing. If I remember correctly you are trying to port the all of the RTR skeletons to BI so that your new units can use them (while of course retaining the BI skeletons)?

Edit: I just realized how large RTR is. Could you email me the unmodded RTR skeleton.dat/idx and pack.dat/idx?
Yes, that's what I'm trying to do. I'll shoot you the unmodded RTR files.

Cheers mate. This has been bugging me for a long time...

[Vercingetorix]

After wrestling with BI to install (it said RTW was not installed and when I tried to reinstall RTW it would try to uninstall but fail...) I finally got it to work by cleaning out my registry.

At any rate, I got the same errors as you and have had to come to the conclusion after some trial and error that the old skeletons are not compatible with BI. I think, although I'm not sure, it has to do with the added states of swimming. The same skeletons that are in RTW are in BI, but they're slightly larger to include those new animation states. I can only presume that the game is looking for those states and when it doesn't find them, panics and spews out garbage. So, in order for those RTR skeletons, and any old ones for that matter, to be compatible with BI they must be "re-made." This would simply be accomplished by following the same process you did when you created the skeleton, but use the new BI skeletons as a base. Once again the process of creating skeletons has shamed me due to my hackery in regards to its "support" in xidx.

[Cheexsta]

Ah I see. I have absolutely no idea how to "recreate" the skeletons, I was just trying to use ones that already existed :P

But ah well, maybe there's another solution to it.

Edit: I just tried adding the files to my install of RTW1.3, which is not supposed to have the swimming feature (though I'm not sure - someone who actually plays it can correct me), but the same error came up. Maybe it isn't to do with swimming? I don't know, I'm still a newbie as far as skeletons go...

[wlesmana]

I have confirmed this. The old skeleton of fs_swordsman has 80-something entries while BI's new skeleton has 91. The new berserker skeleton also has an extra attack animation. SO using pre-BI skeletons on BI will not work.

It's really annoying because I have to redo ALL my skeletons and I made a TON of new animations and skeletons.

[Cheexsta]

Ah ok. Time to learn how to do this myself then...

Thanks for the help everyone.