[tombom81]

There are dozens, if not a hundred items in Elex 2 which I'd like to make pickable.

As you may know it's easy to insert new items into world sector files but replacing vanilla items is not possible so far.

So we come up with the following problem:
a) everything nice, the sword is pickable.

[Bild: E2_TAV_Fort_Deco_replaceVanillaDecoSword.jpg]

b) bad surprise! After we've picked it the vanilla sword is still present.

[Bild: E2_swordStolen_vanillaPresent.jpg]

The reason: all decorative assets are baked into the world's staticscene blob files.

I wouldn't claim they did that intentionally but it prevents proper modding here.

[Cerulean]

Hi Tombom!

You're always ahead of the curve, my friend!

...

If it works at all like Elex 1, You might be able to find a way to make/load an alternate sector that doesn't feature the sword object after you've picked up the weapon.

Of course this would be remarkably time consuming, especially with permutations. But it could work conceptually.

[tombom81]

Hi Tombom!

You're always ahead of the curve, my friend!

Haha, you might think so. But I'm always struggeling. I really wish some of the talented E1 "data miners" came back. They only lasted on summer long.

If it works at all like Elex 1, You might be able to find a way to make/load an alternate sector that doesn't feature the sword object after you've picked up the weapon.

Elex 1 has blobs, too. So far alternate sectors work with (original or new) pickable items (which are savegame relevant), the contents of chests etc. But in my experience the decoration entities are doubled in the blobs. The only way to get rid of them is to disable a blob file, afaik.

You could replace the gap in the world then but since it's a just square hole cutting every deco asset which isn't "aligned" this is a very poor solution.

[Cerulean]

Elex 1 has blobs, too. So far alternate sectors work with (original or new) pickable items (which are savegame relevant), the contents of chests etc. But in my experience the decoration entities are doubled in the blobs. The only way to get rid of them is to disable a blob file, afaik.

You could replace the gap in the world then but since it's a just square hole cutting every deco asset which isn't "aligned" this is a very poor solution.

Do the .blobs work in the way where they create an instance of an object from the basic template file and create it in-game in the way other files do?

If so, you could take all the original objects and replace them individually with a blank, nothing, object in the game files.

From there, you could place renamed versions of the original objects in the game files. And then create a network of localized sectors that put the objects back in game as if they were new. Actually, each object could be its own sector at that point.

Then every time you pick an object up you could receive it, and set the sector to disable so the object disappears.

Because the .blob is now drawing from blank model files, there won't be any doubled-up objects.

Maybe?

[tombom81]

Do the .blobs work in the way where they create an instance of an object from the basic template file and create it in-game in the way other files do?

From my assessment: 'no'. For me it looks as if they were created using a special tool which bakes the whole world into more than 87000 blobs.

This is the explanation for the "doubled" houses I found in Elex (1) years ago.

While the worldsector files look totally understandable with house entities for example which refer to a mesh (see for example Msh_Bld_Cle_Burg_Warehouse_L1.elex2msh in the mesh folder) we find the houses vertices in blobs, too (sometimes in an adjacent blob when crossing the border).

If so, you could take all the original objects and replace them individually with a blank, nothing, object in the game files.

Will not work as long as the vertices in the blobs exist.

What worked in Elex 1 was to create a new c_1_na.pak file without worldsector files. (Some were mandatory - without them the game crashed. But I don't remember which ones.) I still had the blobs, but not sure.
The world was empty then. I need to check this (if the pak still exists on my old PC).

edit: forgot to mention that the collision with walls and grounds for example is gone if you simply erase a blob.

[Cerulean]

From my assessment: 'no'. For me it looks as if they were created using a special tool which bakes the whole world into more than 87000 blobs. ... Will not work as long as the vertices in the blobs exist.

Dang, that's really too bad.

I'd test by removing an object file from game, if they still use those, just to see what happens.

Not knowing how Elex 2 works at all, I'm now out of ideas.

But Tombom, if anyone can find a way, it's you!

Which isn't just a platitude, as short as this message is

[tombom81]

But Tombom, if anyone can find a way, it's you!

Well, no. Would take me ages.

(Baltram or George were better candidates, but I fear they don't love Elex as much as their "current stuff". )

What I could think of would be to delete some blobs and fill the holes with heightmaps in a first step.
(but how to create collision shapes? That was solved for Gothic 3, iirc, but not for Elex)

So if you started with heightmaps it would make more sense to me to invest your time into UE5.
(I'd suggest to try out the "city sample" - which I didn't get working so far...)

[Cerulean]

Well, no. Would take me ages.

....

So if you started with heightmaps it would make more sense to me to invest your time into UE5.
(I'd suggest to try out the "city sample" - which I didn't get working so far...)

Yeah, it sounds like one of those things that could end up taking more time than you want to spend on it, or otherwise just move off to something else that is more productive and fun anyways like UE5, like you were saying

Ahh well, PB did a good job making something that was - mostly, but not always - simple and accessible. I appreciate them for that!