Help:Adding items: Difference between revisions

Mods that deal with items will often edit items that already exist in the game. However, this can lead to conflicts between mods, so it is generally advised to make a new item, instead. This tutorial will cover all of the steps needed to add new items, as well as multiple methods for completing each step.

Adding new items requires several tools, most of which are described and are available [[Help:Setting up tools|here]].

'''Do not skip this section, it is very important.'''

This tutorial will use several terms that you may not be familiar with, or will have specific definitions you may not have used before:

Vanilla weapons have the same name as their actor, model, and <code>bfres</code> names. For example, the actor <code>Weapon_Sword_001</code> has the model name <code>Weapon_Sword_001</code> and its resource files are in <code>Weapon_Sword_001.sbfres</code>.

If you are ever told to open a Powershell window and run a command, you can do that by holding shift, right-clicking somewhere inside the folder and clicking on "Open Powershell window here." Anytime you do this, it will be to run a Python script. All BotW modding Python scripts do not print '''anything''' to the Powershell window if they run successfully. If, at any time, one of the commands prints something to the Powershell window, stop right there and see if you can figure out what the problem is, or ask in the Discord.

The folder structure is important, as BotW will only load files if they're in a certain location. To begin with, you will want to create a folder structure that looks like this:

Note that these names are case-sensitive.

First, figure out what item (that already exists in game) behaves closest to your new item. Find the <code>sbactorpack</code> file for that item, and copy it to <code>content\Actor\Pack</code>. You will find the original file in your dumped UPDATE files (not the base game files), in the same location. (<code>content\Actor\Pack</code>) Make sure you copy it, and don't move the original.

Once you have your mod files assembled navigate to the folder that contains your BreathOfTheWild_[MyAwesomeModName] folder, open a Powershell window, and run the command <code>hyrule_builder unbuild BreathOfTheWild_[MyAwesomeModName]</code>. It will take a bit of time to convert the files, and then create a new folder called BreathOfTheWild_[MyAwesomeModName]_unbuilt, which contains the files you will be editing.

The actor pack files will be located in the various folders inside <code>content\Actor</code>. There will be certain parts of the files that you need to change. All instances of the old actor, model, and BFRES names will need to be changed to the new actor, model, and BFRES names. The following is a list of many of the changes that need to be made, but note that some of these may not apply to your item, and there are some changes that may not appear in this list. Be thorough when you look through the files for things that may need to be changed.

[[File:Addingitems_aampfilenames.png|alt=Actor pack file name changes|thumb|The underlined items need to be changed for this actor pack (in addition to the actor pack name and the contents of each file)]]

Once you've made your changes, '''make sure to save'''.

The previous step saw you creating the actual actor. This step is for creating the actor metadata that the game uses so that it knows your new actor exists. It also stores most data that appears in menus like the pause menu, crafting menu, or store menus.

Inside <code>content\Actor\ActorInfo</code>, you will find a file for each actor in the game. Find the one for the old actor that you are using as your base, and copy it, changing the name of the new file to <code>[NewActorName].info.yml</code>, then open the file in a text editor. Change the following lines:

Once all the info is changed, '''make sure to save'''.

This section will cover the files that actually tell the game what the 3D model of the item looks like, in game. You'll need to copy the resources for the original item that you're modifying to your mod's <code>content\Model</code> folder. You will find the original resource files in your dumped UPDATE files (not the base game files), in the same location. (<code>content\Model</code>) The files will be called <code>[OldBfresName].sbfres</code> and <code>[OldBfresName].Tex.sbfres</code>. '''If you are modding for WiiU or Cemu, there are actually three files you will need: <code>[OldBfresName].sbfres</code>, <code>[OldBfresName].Tex1.sbfres</code>, and <code>[OldBfresName].Tex2.sbfres</code>. If <code>[OldBfresName].Tex1.sbfres</code> is not present in your UPDATE files, you will need to find it in your BASE GAME dumped files. This is the case for most, if not all, vanilla (non-DLC) items.'''

When you are done, select any file or folder from the model <code>sbfres</code>, in the list on the left, and save it. Switch Toolbox will ask if you want to Yaz0 compress the file, click Yes. Then click on any file or folder from the texture <code>sbfres</code>, in the list on the left, and save it. Switch Toolbox will again ask if you want to Yaz0 compress the file, click Yes. If you are editing a WiiU texture <code>sbfres</code>, it will then ask you to save the Tex2 sbfres, so save it and Yaz0 compress it, as well. And that's it, you are done with the files that tell the game what the new item looks like.

This section covers the inventory icons, the square images you see in the inventory grid in the pause menu. These files are kept in <code>content\UI\StockItem</code> for inventory items. Copy the old <code>sbitemco</code> file for the item you are using as your foundation, to the same location in your mod files (<code>content\UI\StockItem</code>). An <code>sbitemco</code> file is pretty much the same thing as an <code>sbfres</code> for textures, so you will edit it the same way, using Switch Toolbox. Make sure to change the name of the file to <code>[NewActorName].sbitemco</code>, the name of the file it contains in Toolbox to <code>[NewActorName].bitemco</code>, and the texture it contains to <code>[NewActorName]</code>

For the in-game text concerning your item, you will need to navigate to <code>content\Pack\Bootup_[XXxx].pack\Message\Msg_[XXxx].product.ssarc</code>. There are many <code>msbt</code> files here, and all of them have text data for the game. For your actor, you'll look in the <code>ActorType</code> folder. Find the file that fits your item type, and open it in your text editor of choice.

When you're done, '''make sure to save'''.

Now that all the files have been edited, you will need to pack them all back up. Go back to the folder that contains BreathOfTheWild_[MyAwesomeModName]_unbuilt, open a Powershell window, and run the command <code>hyrule_builder build [--be] BreathOfTheWild_[MyAwesomeModName]_unbuilt</code>. '''If you are modding for WiiU or Cemu, add the --be. If you don't, the error you get will seem very confusing. This is because it's looking for the Switch paths and not finding them.''' After a little bit of conversion, a new folder will be created, called BreathOfTheWild_[MyAwesomeModName]_unbuilt_build. That folder contains your completed mod. Delete the old BreathOfTheWild_[MyAwesomeModName] and rename the completed mod folder to BreathOfTheWild_[MyAwesomeModName].

And now you are done! To use the mod, open <code>bcml</code> via Powershell (just run the command <code>bcml</code>) and select Install... Then select Add Folder, select the <code>BreathOfTheWild_[MyAwesomeModName]</code> folder, and click OK. Wait for it to install, and you're ready to play the game with your new item!

Make sure the actor's info entry (part 5 of the tutorial) is correct. Formatting is important here. It's also important to make sure your actor's name is valid. If it isn't, the game won't know what to do with it, so it won't create it. For example, weapons need to be named <code>Weapon_[WeaponProfile]_[AnythingElseYouWant]</code>, while armors need to be named <code>Armor_[ThreeDigitNumber]_[AnythingElseYouWant]_[Head/Upper/Lower]</code> (Except <code>Armor_001_Head</code> or <code>Armor_001_G_Head</code> both work, but <code>Armor_001__Head</code> doesn't because it has two underscores between 001 and Head)

This one's difficult: Something, somewhere, in the actor or in one of the resource files, is broken. It could be just about anything except for the text and flags. Whenever the game encounters something it doesn't expect, it silently fails and doesn't create the actor, but doesn't tell you why. There isn't really any better way to pinpoint what could be causing the issue.

Another difficult one, but typically this is because the way you placed the item in the world (which is not covered by this tutorial) was wrong, or, if it's crashing when equipping it (if an item) or when loading it into the world (if it's a field object), it's because the model is broken. Check the model replacement tutorial for info on the "vertex buffers" and what to do about them.

Depending on how many mods you have installed, the number of game data flags your game has can cause it to crash. The game loads all flags into a special section of memory when booting up, and if too many flags are loaded, the game doesn't have enough memory to hold them all, and crashes. The Wii U version is limited to about 650 more flags than the vanilla game has. We don't know the limit of the Switch version, but we do know that it is much higher, due to the much larger amount of memory the Switch has.

[[Category:Guides]]