#head morphs

[mydaz3dcharacters]

Ingrid

[modding-dao]

Tutorial - Replacing A Player Character Head

Pre-Reqs:

Install Siramod's face replacer (link)

Have a basic understanding of how to load, edit, and export head morphs (link)

Embiggen: To view larger versions of the images below, see here.

Player character heads are not as easy to replace as NPC heads, as the warden's appearance is saved as part of the game save files, not as a separate MOR file.

Replacing an existing warden's head with a new one used to be a moderately tricky process that involved copying arcane information from one game save file to another manually. There are now third party tools available that do all the arcane bits for us. For this tutorial, we're going to look at using Siramod's Face Replacer from the Dragon Age Nexus to replace my warden's head.

Our dashing test subject for today is a random mercenary!Alistair Cousland I have floating around on my hard drive.

The first step is to create the replacement head morph I want to use as a replacement. In this case, I'm going to use a head I already have available in the toolset, a clean-up version of Oswyn, Bann Sighard's son.

All I really need to do in this case is load the head, right-click, and "Post to Local", to make the MOR version of it available for me to use in the face replacer tool.

Now, the tool does automatically backup the files when it modifies them, but I like to go into the game beforehand and make a specific named backup save anyway. That way I can very easily revert to it if I'm unhappy with the end results.

After I make the named save, I do a quicksave. It's the quicksave I'll be using the tool to modify. This way my named save is not touched, and reverting to the original head just requires reloading the named save instead of the quicksave.

So I load up the tool:

Then I click on the first "Browse" button. The tool navigates automatically to my characters folder, so all I have to do is click on the right character name, then the quicksave folder, and then select the quicksave file:

After that I click on the second "Browse" button, navigate to my packages/core/override/toolsetexport directory, tell the tool I want to see the *.mor files, and select the one I want to use as a head replacement:

With both files selected, all that remains is to click on the "Import" button at the bottom. The tool automatically takes the head in the second item and swaps it into the save game in the first.

I then exit the face replacer, and reload my quick save. My player character has changed to his new appearance:

Tip: If you've played for a while and then decide you want to revert to the original head, you don't have to revert to the named save and replay; just use the tool with your current place in the game as the save game to be modified, and the named save (or any earlier save) as the source for the replacement head.

Tip: If you like the idea of being able to have your character change their appearance over the course of the game, then the best way to accomplish this is to start by creating your character's head morph in the toolset (which has tons of extra editing options), then export it to the game as a preset (link) which you then use to create your new character. As you play, you can use the toolset to edit your character's MRH file in order to evolve their appearance, and replace the in-game head morph whenever desired.

Note: There is unfortunately no way to go backwards from an in-game MOR file to an in-toolset MRH file. If you want to use the toolset to edit a MRH for a character that you originally created using the in-game character creator, you're going to have to start off by attempting to duplicating their appearance in the toolset.

Last Modified: April 3, 2013

[modding-dao]

Tutorial - Turning A Head Into A Preset

Pre-Reqs:

Install the head morphs from the Core and Single Player Game Resource Files (link)

Have a basic understanding of how to load, edit, and export a head morph (link)

Embiggen: To view larger versions of the images below, see here.

Character presets are head morphs that will show up on the "Preset" slider bar in the character creator. There are several reasons why you might want to make one; the two most common are that you might want to play through as if one of the canon NPCs had become the warden, or you might want to create a custom warden in the toolset (where you have much greater control over appearance) and then get it into the game.

In this case we're going to take an existing head morph and turn it into a playable character preset. Let's go with Shianni, the city elf. The first step is to locate her among the head morphs files. The earliest place she can be found in the game is the City Elf origin, so that's the logical place to check first. And there she is:

We need to load her file, then do a File -> Save As, close the tab, and reload it from the new location before we're able to edit it. Once that's done, go to the "Export Settings" tab in the Object Inspector.

There's just a single setting there, with a true/false setting. By default it is false, and the toolset will export heads to MOR format, which is the in-game head morph format. We want to change this setting to true instead, which tells it to export to MOP, the format for character preset heads. Once it is true, then right-click on the head and "Post to Local".

The final step is done outside of the toolset. We need to navigate to the directory the head morph was exported to - packages/core/override/toolsetexport - and find the MOP file with Shianni in the filename:

And then we need to rename it to match the file naming convention for character presets, which is as follows:

a single letter prefix to indicate the race of the preset - d, e or h for dwarf, elf or human

a single letter prefix to indicate the sex of the preset - f or m

the character pre-set code "_cps_p"

a two-digit suffix which indicates which character preset slot the preset is to appear in, from 01 to 08

So for Shianni's file, we want to change the name to ef_cps_p0? were ? is a number from 1 to 8. I've already got a few presets in use in my toolset, so I'll set her to one I haven't used yet, and make her the sixth preset:

And finally, I go in-game, start a new campaign, and go to any of the places where I can make an elven female (the game will not care if I make Shianni a Dalish or mage elf instead of a city one). Drag the preset slider over, and there she is:

Last Modifed: April 3, 2013

[modding-dao]

Tutorial - Editing An Existing Head Morph

Pre-Reqs: Install the head morphs from the Core and Single Player Game Resource Files (link) Embiggen: To view larger versions of the images below, see here.

One of the easiest modifications to make to the game is to edit an existing head morph.

We will begin by loading one of the existing head morph files downloaded and installed earlier. Click on File -> Open and then navigate to where you unzipped the head morphs earlier. You'll see a bunch of subdirectories, as follows:

Most heads are organized into folders based on what section of the game we first encounter that character in, and/or which major quest line that they're a part of. Usually this is fairly intuitive, but there are a handful of characters who were originally created for one area and then ended up elsewhere, or who show up in multiple parts of the game and may require a little hunting to find.

We'll start with an easy to locate head. All of our followers are in the Global subdirectory. Let's edit Alistair!

When we first open his file, you'll note that there's a red bar underneath his tab in the preview window, letting us know we can't currently edit him. See how all the entries in the Object Inspector are also greyed out and uneditable. All of the head morph files have been set to Read Only by default so that we don't accidentally overwrite them; so we'll always have the unmodified head MRH files available.

What we need to do is do a File -> Save As and save this head elsewhere. Put it somewhere you can easily relocate it, and don't change the filename. For example, any time I work on a head morph I save it in a named subdirectory of my D:\Dragon Age\Faces directory.

Once you've saved it, the bar will turn green but the Object Inspector entries will still be greyed out; we still can't edit him. Right-click on the tab, close it, then File -> Open and open the file from its new location. The editor will now have a green bar and the Object Inspector entries will be active. We're now ready to begin editing his appearance.

Let's go to the "Part Selection" tab in the Object Inspector, where we can make a couple of very minor changes. This is where we can change things like eye colour, hair colour, facial hair colour, hair style, etc.

Click on the like marked "Hair". You'll see that a square with three dots on it appears at the end of the line:

This indicates that we can bring up a menu of choices. Click on the three dots; the game will pop open a file dialog that lists all available hairs. The file names are pretty arcane; we can either try randomly to find one we like, or look at the Morph page of the toolset wiki to see previews of each (link).

I've now selected a different hair for Alistair:

Let's also give him some extra stubble. Drag down the slider at the right side of the Object Inspector until the goatee/soul patch/moustache/pork chops options appear. He already has values in the first two, let's also give him some of the others. We can either drag the slider bar back and forth to set values, or click where the numbers are and type in values manually. The higher the value, the more opaque (darker) the stubble will be.

Click on File -> Save. We're now ready to export our modified Alistair to the game. To do so, right-click within the preview window and select "Post to Local".

The editor will automatically put the head in our packages/core/override/toolsetexport directory, with the right filename to replace the default Alistair head (hm_genfl_alistair.mor). The Log Window will report back to us about this to let us know where it put it, and that the export was successful.

And then the last thing left to do is to load the game and admire modified Alistair in all his glory!

Note: To get rid of the modified Alistair, go to your packages/core/override/toolsetexport directory and delete the hm_genfl_alistair.mor file

Tip: When modifying a head, you can have both the game and the toolset open. Every time you reload the game, it will reload the heads as well, so for fast testing iterations you can put yourself by the character you're modifying, do a quick save, and then do a reload after each time that you post the edited head to local. Especially useful when trying out custom hairs, which tend to show up in the editor as a blue polygonal mess instead of being properly textured.

Last Modified: April 2, 2013

[modding-dao]

These are very useful things for modders to have on hand. They're the uncompiled versions of a number of game resources used to create the original single player game, such as head morphs and level layouts. Their use is entirely optional, however, so feel free to skip downloading these.

The list looks rather intimidating, so we'll start by getting organized. You'll want to create an easily re-locatable place to store these files. It should not be within the directory structure of the game and/or toolset itself, unless otherwise specified. In my case, I created a D:\Dragon Age directory to store all these sorts of miscellaneous files in.

Now, on to which files of these core resources you'll want to download!

If you plan to do things such as edit your companion's heads, or make a playable character who is the twin of one of the game characters, then you'll want to be sure to grab the Core and single player head morphs.zip file.

If you plan to create custom level layouts, and would like to have access to the base game's level layouts to use as bases (or to grab bits and pieces of already-arranged decor from) then all the *layouts.rar files are ones you'll want to have as well.

There are also files available for working with making your own sound effects, visual effects, and animations; these are entirely optional and are not within the scope of the modding tutorials I plan to include here.

Once you have downloaded and extracted the files you are ready to proceed!

Last Modified: April 2, 2013

[avoskorm]

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO EXTRACTING HEADMORPHS FROM SAVEGAMES (Dragon Age: Origins/Awakening)

Okay, so because my current delusion of grandeur involves headmorphs of various RP characters, I’ve taken it upon myself to create a guide for morph extraction, using the DA Face Replacer mod, which is an excellent mod by NewByPower, which I heartily endorse.

Note: I usually use the older 020 version, because, for extracting morphs at least, I find it a hell of a lot easier to use. That version is available for download on the same page, in the downloads archive.

1) After you download your Face Replacer, extract it into whatever directory you want it, as you would with any other mod. Then click the .py file. It’s not a regular mod that you put into your game; it’s a type of executable Python script that goes alongside it.

2) With the Face Replacer open, click <Click to choose Source file>

You’ll be presented with a new window. Find your character file in the Dragon Age folder, which will usually be under Documents.

For Windows 7 users, this directory will usually be under:

C:\Users\[Your PC Name]\Documents\BioWare\Dragon Age\Characters\[Your character name]\Saves\[Whatever title you gave that specific save]

Note: on the right hand side of the File name bar, there’s a drop down menu, which by default will say DAFR Face file (*.mor). Be sure to switch this over to DragonAge Savegame (*.das) (as shown above).

3) Now you have to choose a destination file, where your extracted head morph is going to end up. This could be as simple as setting it to the desktop, but you can put it wherever you like. Be sure to name the file so you can find it later.

4) Click EXTRACT.

And your extracted headmorph will be right where you decided to put it :D

[avoskorm]

Okay, so I'm getting bored of individually going through my followers to send messages

SO I'M GOING TO ASK PUBLICLY AND LOOK LIKE A CREEPER.  IN PUBLIC.

Anywho.

Any of ye who've RPed (Fade Bar and/or Tweetwall), have you got a headmorph(s) of your RP character(s) I could... borrow.  Yes, let's go with that.

I need these for reasons.

That's DAO headmorph.  For any Hawke characters I haven't already recreated in the toolset, some reference pictures would be great, too :D

That is, if you all don't think I'm weird and creepy and decide to disown me.  That's perfectly reasonable XD

[avoskorm]

dfgkjasdfkjas WHY ARE NOSES SO HARD TO CREATE IN THE TOOLSET

*Tableflip*