scope idea

[MirindoR 10]

i've had a project in mind for a very long time but ive never really gotten to do it, this is something i had thought of ages ago, the old thread is here

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=89830

i think opticalsnare did something very similar as he states in that very thread but i dont think he ever came back to check after that post.

what i want to do (for now) is to change aimpoint zoom and switch the red dot with something else, to see how it looks.

thanks for the help

PS

i'm a total n00b so i would appreciate step by step instructions and a list of the programs i need to edit the reticle. thx

---------- Post added at 02:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:03 AM ----------

ive opened a pbo weapon file from arma 2's addons folder and there's a bunch of p3d files in it, i guess theyre what i have to edit. does anyone know which program i need?

ive googled it but i dont feel like trying exe's downloaded from random sites..

---------- Post added at 03:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:39 AM ----------

ok after some search i downloaded the bi editor tools and now im trying to open weapon pbo's with oxygen 2 but i get an error saying it is unable to load bynarized version of the pbo, mesh loadedinto the editor is only known bounding box of the p3d model..

no idea what this means nor how it is fixed

[W0lle 1046]

You can not edit the A2 models because they are binarized (O2 can not open them).

And before anyone gets any ideas about posting how the models can be converted: Don't even think about.

The A1 weapon models however are available in MLOD format, there was an aimpoint optic too you could use.

I'm no expert either but for changing the zoom and aimpoint color you don't need to edit the model. The zoom is a value in the config.cpp and the color is a texture you need to edit.

[MirindoR 10]

You can not edit the A2 models because they are binarized (O2 can not open them).

And before anyone gets any ideas about posting how the models can be converted: Don't even think about.

sounds like a copyright problem?

where does everyone else get the models then? for all the different versions of m4s and m16's, i always thought they were just arma 2's modded ones

---------- Post added at 03:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:23 AM ----------

I'm no expert either but for changing the zoom and aimpoint color you don't need to edit the model. The zoom is a value in the config.cpp and the color is a texture you need to edit.

ok sounds easier, how do i go about changing that? i dont wanna just change the color (i.e: blue aimpoint), i want to put a different shape in its place too, if that makes a difference.

---------- Post added at 03:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:25 AM ----------

ps even when i try to open non-bis pbo's i get the same error :/

[[frl]myke 14]

sounds like a copyright problem?

where does everyone else get the models then? for all the different versions of m4s and m16's, i always thought they were just arma 2's modded ones

Could it be they modelled it themselves? At least it is a matter of knowledge, not magic.

[MirindoR 10]

in all the addons i see them giving credit to bis for the models so i assume they didnt make them themselves, anyways how do i go about changing the aimpoint?

[PuFu 4591]

sounds like a copyright problem?

where does everyone else get the models then? for all the different versions of m4s and m16's, i always thought they were just arma 2's modded ones

...

in all the addons i see them giving credit to bis for the models so i assume they didnt make them themselves, anyways how do i go about changing the aimpoint?

Al the A1 models are available in MLOD format. You can get those from HERE or by cheking the old ikonboard forums

ps even when i try to open non-bis pbo's i get the same error :/

Every addon maker is pboing his models. It is a good habit (the engine is optimized to work with binarized models) to protect your work...as much as possible

ok sounds easier, how do i go about changing that? i dont wanna just change the color (i.e: blue aimpoint), i want to put a different shape in its place too, if that makes a difference.

You will need to hex edit the texture of the aimpoint_dot_ca.paa to one that you have created, for the weapon you want to change (for instance M4A1_Aim.p3d).

Not sure what you mean by shape though...

[MirindoR 10]

i mean its not gonna be a dot anymore but a chevron, so i dont wanna just change the color but the "drawing" inside the aimpoint

what does hex edit mean? :/

sounds nasty, hope its a n00b friendly thing.

i was hoping itd be something like making the reticle on MSpaint and then importing the file into the pbo or something. is it something like this or does hex edit mean changing all sorts of values in a script?

thx for the feedback

[PuFu 4591]

i mean its not gonna be a dot anymore but a chevron, so i dont wanna just change the color but the "drawing" inside the aimpoint

You only need to change the .paa file, yes.

what does hex edit mean? :/

HEX EDITING

sounds nasty, hope its a n00b friendly thing.

It is not really

i was hoping itd be something like making the reticle on MSpaint and then importing the file into the pbo or something.

MSPaint is evil dude. Use Gimp, it is free

You can use the SEARCH function on those forums, your questions about hex editing have been asked N^x times before...

[MirindoR 10]

i downloaded gimp it doesnt open paa files :/ anyone know how to open em?

am i supposed to just amke a bitmap file and change the extension to .paa?

i cant modify the .paa file itself becaus eit cant be opened by paint nor gimp

[[frl]myke 14]

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?t=83808

[MirindoR 10]

myke ill quote myself from the first post:

ok after some search i downloaded the bi editor tools and now im trying to open weapon pbo's with oxygen 2 but i get an error saying it is unable to load bynarized version of the pbo, mesh loadedinto the editor is only known bounding box of the p3d model..

no idea what this means nor how it is fixed

besides i came to understand i dont need those tools to simply change the reticle texture, but i still cant figure out how to do it

the thing here is ive really no experience in the matter so i would need someone to tell me in a detailed step by step way what exactly to do.

as instructed i got gimp but that doesnt open paa files so i cant modify the aimpoint textures, how do i do that?

btw hope you release your f16 update soon :)

Edited August 11, 2010 by MirindoR

[[frl]myke 14]

You wont need O2 probably but TexView2 can convert .paa/.pac to .png and/or .tga which can be used with Gimp. And your last question was about how to open textures in GIMP, wasn't it?

[MirindoR 10]

Yes you pretty much answered that, will give it a try soon, thanks

[MirindoR 10]

when i try opening a paa file with texview2 i get error loading file :/

[MirindoR 10]

bump!

[DaSquade 0]

Did you install the tools and did you install them correctly, as they need the shaders etc to work.