Monday, June 13, 2011

Converting Mods Between SF4 Vanilla and AE

Note: these instructions were written pre-release and are subject to change. They're based on the file structure used in the Xbox 360 version of Super Street Fighter 4 - Arcade Edition but will hopefully apply to the PC version, as well.

The biggest, most obvious difference between vanilla and AE is the fact that AE no longer uses the formerly ubiquitous *.emz bundles--*.cos.emz, *.col.emz and *.cmn.emz--around everything. This makes it easier for us to move costumes around within the character folders, as you no longer have to hex edit the files; just rename them and you're all set. It also means we don't have to muck around with the emz indexes, which really served no purpose and were a total hassle to create from scratch, even with Kensou's SF4tool.

Vanilla to AE

This is the easier conversion of the two, and the only tool you need is piecemontee's Asset Explorer (aka SF4 Viewer).

To get started, find the file(s) you wish to convert and open them in the Asset Explorer. I'll be using my Santa Rufus mod (both cos and col files included) as an example.

Once the files are loaded in the Asset Explorer, click the plus signs to expand them to the point that you see the components of the emz bundles, as pictured:
Then, just go down the line selecting each component file and then right-clicking and choosing 'Raw dump' from the context menu:
Once you have the components busted out of the emz containers, you're all set. Easy, eh?

AE to Vanilla
This one's a little more complicated, but not by much. It also uses just one tool, but this time it's Kensou's SF4tool, which greatly simplifies the creation of emz containers and indexes.

So, to get started, collect all of the component files from an AE character (*.obj.emo, *.shd.emo, *.nml.emb and *.bsr for a cos.emz bundle, *.obj.emm and *.col.emb for a col.emz bundle or *.skl.emo, *.skl.emm, *.obj.ema, *.fce.ema, *.cam.ema, *.bac and *.bac for a cmn.emz bundle) and put them in an easily-accessible folder (your Desktop works just fine for now). Again, I'll be using my Santa Rufus mod, which I just converted for AE a few minutes ago.

Next, we'll open Kensou's SF4tool. If your SF4tool folder does not already have a folder in it named 'emz' go ahead and create one now and drag our desired component files into it. This probably goes without saying, but we have to work with the cos and col components separately; you can't just dump them all in there at once.

Now, open SF4tool. It should look like this:
Then, in the big window area on the right that shows your file structure, double-click on the emz folder (the one we just created if it didn't exist, remember?) and click the left-hand button (the one crudely circled in red in my screenshot). It should automatically populate the smaller window area with our component files, like this:
Unfortunately, Kensou's tool doesn't know the appropriate order for our emz bundles, so we'll have to move some of the components around to suit. Just click right into that little window and edit the entries that are there until they're in the right order. You might want to open a normal vanilla file in the Asset Explorer first to see which order things should be in (obj, shd, nml, and bsr for a cos bundle).

Once everything is in order, click on the right-hand button (the one that ends in emb) to bundle everything up. This window should pop up if you did it correctly:
Now, back in your emz directory, you should have a shiny new file named "newpack.emz." Just rename that to match the numbers of the component files (in my case, CHB_01) and to reflect the type of file you just created (cos, col, cmn, etc) and you should be all set.

11 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your knowledge !

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  2. Hello hunter! Forgot my password and can't figure out how to join aemods - do you mind updating cviper with my ae conversion at http://darkerthoughts.deviantart.com/#/d4dgi3y

    ? Thanks :)
    Cheers. robtelog

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey D4rknezz! Good work. Thanks for sharing the updated version!

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  4. Hi, I've read a few of your articles (pixel shading, youtube video unavailability and sound replacement to name a few) and not only do I think you are an expert, but also more of a surgeon than a doctor!

    I admit that I got scared when I read your mod conversion from AE back to vanilla (those tributaries especially) so I was wondering if it is possible for you to convert this:
    http://kimkim10.deviantart.com/art/Chun-Li-nude-originaledit-317661894

    For me to IV. I would be most grateful if you could lend a hand thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey man, I'd love to help you out, but I don't have a DeviantArt account, so it won't let me access 18+ files/images.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ah in that case why don't you get one? Registration takes just a minute with activation.

    I need help :(

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello again Hunter could you help?

    I'm sure you can :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yup you're an adult now and you should not only no longer need your mother's permission but also you should stop telling poor lies.

    You can do it, you're not that worthless I guess =D

    ReplyDelete
  9. I don't have an account there and I don't feel like making one just to help you perform a process that I already explained in the post (that's why I wrote it, after all). It's not a difficult process, and I'm happy to give advice if you get stuck.

    Here's a link to download Kensou's Tool:
    http://www.mediafire.com/download/wogi4znx2nn/Kensou's_Tool.rar

    and here's one for the Asset Explorer:
    http://sourceforge.net/projects/sf4viewer/files/latest/download?source=files

    ReplyDelete
  10. There there poop face you took your own sweet time and you've come clean about your motivations haven't you?

    Who cares what you feel? At least you show your true colors now instead of wasting people's time with your dumb useless blog and lies. Better late than never?

    But learn not to waste my time if you can't do it too. You inconsequential garbage.

    ReplyDelete
  11. And yeah, you lying bastard doctor wannabe ugly flop, for all the time that you waste with your no ability you would do best to go fuck yourself.

    Pity your likewise mother who didn't throw you into the dumps right after your mistaken birth.

    ReplyDelete