How can I change my face to a custom face model?

[noneofyourbusiness11]

I have a .png file of a face model that I want to include. I don't mind if I'm the only one able to see it. How would I go about changing it in the game?

[Greycat]

I *think* the tools/utilities/downloads section might have info or links about graphics replacement. It would, as I recall, need to be a specific size/format/color depth/etc.

[TraumaTrain]

I want to do this in RL.

[GraspingVileTerror]

I don't have a precise guide at the moment, @noneofyourbusiness11, but if you poke your head around https://forums.homecomingservers.com/forum/60-tools-utilities-amp-downloads/ you may find some helpful resources there.  OuroDev is also a handy resource last I checked (although I recently discovered several of the pages I had bookmarked are now broken/missing).

I know @Solarverse has extensive knowledge with sound replacement, so they may be willing to give a hand here.

[Solarverse]

Yeah, I would say poke around in the Tools section of the forums. There are a lot of helpful folks over there that might be able to help. I know most of them work with either powers effects or sound effects and even costume shaders/customization. I don't recall anyone working with model customization though. However, if anyone can help you, you'll have the highest percentage of a chance of finding that help in the Tools section. The Tools section is a Library of information, programs and even tutorials on how to do things. Good luck, that's about the best help I can give you on that.

Edited November 2, 2021 by Solarverse

[DoctorDitko]

I hope you find what you are looking for, and if you do, please share the image format you are using.

 

I recall on Live there was someone who managed to 3d print CoH characters -- for a hefty price -- but the art has advanced.

I'd love to know how it was done.

[PsiBug]

UPDATE:

I worked out the issues I was having and can now replace face textures successfully.

 

I had some success replacing some of the older smaller face texture files using the resources mentioned in the following thread:

 

 

 

=:P

Edited November 10, 2021 by PsiBug

[PsiBug]

UPDATE!

I revisited my face replacements, and solved some of the problems that I had been encountering. I have successfully extracted a face texture, edited it and returned it to the game in a way that functions correctly.

 

1) If you do not already have the tools mentioned in this post, you can visit the thread linked in my previous reply to download them. You may also want to take the time to read the other thread(s) in order to absorb some of the relevant information discussed there. I also did some simple googling to find youtube videos or other tutorials that helped me find my way through this process.

2) Run Pigg Viewer Pro, use "Open Directory" to open the pigg folder in your game directory. Expand the folder structure in the left pane of Pigg viewer pro and scroll down to texture_library/players and v_players, then  locate and preview the male or female face texture files. After you select a texture file that you wish to replace with your edited face texture, right-click the texture file name in the left pane and select the option to extract the texture file. Save it to a folder where you plan to save your work-in-progress files. The finished file will eventually need to be copied to a specific folder named "data/texture_library..." inside your CoHchat directory, so look at the texture file location in Pigg Viewer Pro and create a matching directory structure in your working folder.
3) Run Detexturizer , and with the XML file option checked,  click "convert file to locate and break the .texture file into an image (usually .dds) and an .xml file.

 

4) Use nVidia's .dds plugin (download info is in my previous reply) to import the image into Photoshop. I did this by locating the .texture file in windows explorer, right-clicking it and selecting "open with... Photoshop". An nVidia dialog box should appear. The import option I used was  "convert to 8bit"  and I did not select the option to import mipmaps. The mipmaps will be re-generated during a later step.
5) Edit the image as desired. Good idea to save the a copy of your edited image (plus layers if applicable) in a lossless format such as .PSD or the native format of whatever image editing software you are using. Remember that the final output image needs to have the resolution and dimensions as the original .dds file. Be aware of the Alpha channel. many of the face textures have a 50% alpha channel (this apparently allows skin and mask colors to be applied) and the eye areas typically have 0% alpha.
6) Save as .dds using nvidia plugin. Use the dxt5  ARGB  8 bit (not dxt5_NM) save setting from the dropdown list. Also select the option to create mipmaps.

The new .dds file should be same file size as original, and should have the same name as the original .dds file.

 

7) ( if you want to keep a backup copy of the source file, delete or rename the original .texture file, or move it to a folder called "source files" or whatever folder name you prefer). Run Detexturizer, with file type: "XML Files (*.xml)" selected in the dropdown menu in the lower right hand corner of the file location window, to locate the original .xml and recombine it with the new .dds into a .texture file:

Again, you should see that the new .texture file is the same size and same name as the original .texture file that it will replace in the game.

 

8 ) Copy the new .texture file to the ...<your city of heroes game folder>/data/texture_library... folder location that matches the directory structure where the original .texture was located in the pigg file. (Completely exit the game before adding new files or the game will crash.)

9) Run the game and test your new texture.

 

10) If the texture you are editing is paired with a bump texture, you can  edit and re-save the bump texture as a .dds pretty much the same way with the correct _bump file name and the same file settings PLUS the following settings under the "Normal Map Settings" button on the nvidia save window.

 

 

=:Psibug

 

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by PsiBug

[PsiBug]

Hi, Here is an example of a face texture that I extracted, edited and imported back into the game. Got the bump map working too by saving the same image with "normals" settings. Things are kind of hectic here, but I'll try to come back and provide more detailed instructions with screenshots when I get caught up on my paid work.

 

 

I'm going to attach the edited texture files in case anyone wants to test drive them.

The correct folder location for the two files will be <your CoH folder>\data\texture_library\V_PLAYERS\AVATAR\Male\Face\CoH_Converted

(If you have videotmaps installed, you will probablyalready have that data folder. If that whole directory structure does not exist, I think you can just add it.)

 

=:Psibug

v_face_Stone_01.texture v_face_Stone_01_bump.texture

Edited November 12, 2021 by PsiBug

[PsiBug]

Getting back to the original question, if you get into the process of adding a custom face image, you will need to extract one of the existing face textures (preferably one of the larger more detailed ones.. and one that you will not be using on any other characters, and one that is gender correct for your in-game persona), pull out the .dds file, open it in photoshop or some other image editor that handles .dds files. You will see at this point , that the face textures in the game are warped in a way that makes them look a little weird when not wrapped around a 3d model. You will probably need to copy your face image into a new layer of the face texture in the .dds file and try to warp yours image in a way that approximates the original face texture. in other words, make the eyes, mouth and nose of your new face line up with the eyes, mouth and nose of the original game face. Then go the the remaining steps mentioned in the previous reply to recombine everything back into a texture file... and test it in the game.

 

That may seem like a lot of confusing gibberish, especially if you don't have a lot of image editing or 3d experience, but if you just take it one small step at a time, like I did, hopefully you can sort it out.

 

Otherwise reply here with questions and I will try to get you on track.

=:P (Psibug)

 

 

Edited November 12, 2021 by PsiBug

[DoctorDitko]

That's great to hear! Excellent research!

 

I'm afraid the link from 2019 doesn't work for me, but I have my browser set to paranoid mode.

 

I do have a tiny contribution, in that the open source, cross platform GIMP handles .dds files well.

 

Nice artwork, BTW!

[ner879]

On 11/12/2021 at 7:19 AM, PsiBug said:

especially if you don't have a lot of image editing or 3d experience

 

For the little 3D conversation I like to use Paint3D on my Windows 10. It really helps to understand the conversation into 3D.

[PsiBug]

On 11/12/2021 at 9:46 PM, DoctorDitko said:

That's great to hear! Excellent research!

I'm afraid the link from 2019 doesn't work for me, but I have my browser set to paranoid mode.

I do have a tiny contribution, in that the open source, cross platform GIMP handles .dds files well.

Nice artwork, BTW!

Thanks!

That link, in my previous reply above, is another thread right here in these forums  (forums.homecomingservers.com). You can find it in the Tools, Utilities, and Downloads section of the forums if you want to check it out. (Or if you were referring to the ourodev link in the other thread, the user that posted it also posted an updated working link in one of his later replies I believe.)

I was able to use GIMP for some vidiotmap editing but the resulting zone maps would not work properly in the game if I recall correctly.

Thanks again!

 

 

On 11/13/2021 at 4:58 AM, ner879 said:

 

For the little 3D conversation I like to use Paint3D on my Windows 10. It really helps to understand the conversation into 3D.

 Do you know if there is an available plugin for handling .dds files? (in Paint3D)

 

Worked on an emblem tonight among other things. Chest emblems seem to follow the same steps and use the same settings as the face texture tested in the previous reply:

 

=:Psibug

 

 

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by PsiBug

[ner879]

On 11/13/2021 at 9:29 PM, PsiBug said:

Do you know if there is an available plugin for handling .dds files?

I think you should convert the file type.  even in windows 10 you can use 3D viewer to get more help, and Adobe Photoshop with NVIDIA DDS plugin also works for .dds file