Tutorial: Adding/Playing as a custom character

[Brooksy]

I just posted this as a reply to another thread, but thought some people who want to know how to do this might not look in that thread, so i decided to make another one dedicated to it, here goes...

open the editor, and you have to do this part as soon as you open the editor, cos of some wierd bug, but go into the actor classes browser

Untick the box at the top that says "Placeable classes only"

Scroll down to and expand the "Pawn" group

Expand "GamePawn" and then "Warpawn" then "Pawn_Infantry" then "Pawn_COGGear"

Next just chose one of the COG soldiers, doesnt really matter wich one I dont reckon, but I chose Marcus, right click on him and select the only option there, "Create Archtype"

Enter a package and a name

In the generic tab, find your package that you created the archtype in

Right click on the archetype and select "Properties"

Scroll down to the group of properties called "Pawn"

Expand the "Mesh" part of that properties group

Scroll down the bit you just expanded, and second from last is a box called skeletalmesh.. change that to your custom model

Now, if you close down the properties box and with the archetype still selected, if you go into your map and right click, go into "add actor" and there will be an option to add your archetype.. there you go, you should now have your own character in game... but, if you want to go further and actually play as your own character, then...

Click on the model of your archetype that was placed on the map, with it highlighted open kismet

Right click somewhere and click on the option to "Add object var using (whatever character you based it off)"

Now rigth click somewhere and go add action -> pawn -> Possess pawn

Link the pawn target box up to your achtype object you added in

Right click somewhere and go new variable -> player -> Marcus

Link that marcus variable up to the target box of possess pawn

Now just hook the in box of possess pawn to the event you want to trigger the character swap, probably a level loaded and visible action

and one last thing to do, is to get rid of Marcus that you start as, click on the posess pawn action you created, and tick the top box in teh properties list "bKillOldPawn"

Hope this helps

And by the way, if you play around with the archetype properties before you place it, you can change a lot of otehr things too, liek your health, running speed, characters voice, starting weapons, whether he wears a helmet or not and what model to use for it, some ai properties if you dont plan on playing as the character, helth recharge rate, meelee attack range (hit them from the other side of the map ) etc etc

Oh, and one MORE thing, this technique could theoretically be used to create custom weapons.. (well it can) i just have no idea how to go about giving the characters teh wepons at teh moment, but thats what im workin on workin out

[Tanasoo]

Good work, Thanks a ton!

[mycatfield]

Holy crap that's a ton of great information...and good news!! I was about to abandon mod hopes on Gears, but with all the variables you just mentioned being available, a lot of that is restored.

Any possibility you could do some vid tutorials on some of these processes?

Thanks!!

[Kno One]

Thank you Brooksy. You are a god among men. Now I can start the work on my new nade type.

[Brooksy]

well, I WOULD do a video tutorial, but im not a very good speaker, and it would probably make it three times more confusing.. and well.. i thought those written instructions were good enough

[Tanasoo]

Okay, I have been messing around with this a little. I was trying to make a Baird pawn with his lucky hat, but I have been unable to get it working... I have looked at pawns with attachments (like Carmine, Redshirt, and Cole with the resonator) but they are all the same, and I don't see anywhere where you can put the helmet in. There is the "HeadSlotStaticMesh" under the war pawn rollout, but it is always the same locust helmet, and if I change it it doesn't appear.

Could you please give me a hand?

[cannedmushrooms]

MY LITTLE GUY LIVES!!!!!!

you rock brooksy

Ok so im guessing the animation names need to be the same as the character you based it on?

[Brooksy]

Im sorry, but i dont know.. Im not really an expert or anythin, i just played around and got lucky and just posted my findings really. The only thing i can think of is so just compare the settings to someone else who has a helmet/hat such as carmine.. but you already tried that so i dont know, sorry.. could be a bug or something, theres plenty of them..

[Brooksy]

Im not sure about custom animations, i never tried them, but the bone names have to be identicle..

[Tanasoo]

For the animations, just use the skeleton provided by epic.

I've tried looking at the characters with attachments, but no luck, they all seem to be the same to me. So I tried duplicating a Carmine archtype I made, and changing the skel mesh, and that worked... But I still have no Idea how to change it, or set its position =\

[cannedmushrooms]

hmm not really mines a 4 legged purple lizard that glides over to you while wagging his tail



This is more of an animation driven thing I think.

[Tanasoo]

Well, if that's the case, you'll have to use custom animations. I think they are psa files.

Is that chunk of meat attached to his head? If it is, mind telling me how you did it?

Edit: yeah, they are PSA files. Make a new animation set in your package, double click it, and import your animations. I'm not sure where to go from there =\

[cannedmushrooms]

OMG there is a PIECE OF MEAT ON MY HEAD!!!!!!!!!


O ya thats right I did that on purpose
and heres how
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v1486374yHxSRZne

[Tanasoo]

Oh, yeah, I knew that method. Unfortunately, when you zoom in, the object mooves off you the head slightly. There is a different way that I'm trying to figure out that they use to attach the helmets, and the resonator.

[Tanasoo]

OK, Mushrooms, you wanted to know about the animations? Check out the AT_MarcusTestAim animation tree in the COG_MarcusFenix_LD package. If you look over that, it should tell you all you need to know about how to make the character animate for whatever it is doing.

When I first looked over it, I was a little intimidated about the size of it, but start at the beginning (left) and work your way over. Move the sliders around to switch different modes, and look at the character on the left change his animation. Then follow the wire down(the active ones turn orange) and move the slider there, too. After a little bit it all starts to make sense.

Now, back to trying to figure out those darned attachments!

[cannedmushrooms]

Well figured it all out
ya started on that to Tana Reverse engineer is the name of the game

has nothing to do with bones AT ALL

The key is the Animation Tree!!!!!!!!!

So I made this exsample for now until i get around to a tut. Which I'll totally credit you brook for finding that key.

the Lizzard thing still has the gun if you want it gone take it out of its inventory and it wont kick your A$#

So if you want to look at the exsample load this package
Click on Lizzy_char_new
Right click on your map and add as a archtype

And launch game and run

Hes very fast lol

Keep in mind I did his walk cycle in like 5 mins so I won't win any pixar awards for it

http://www.jasonwelsh.com/gow/MyPackage.zip

Now I hope UT3 is this easy

I cant believe how Gui this all is screw source this is way easyier!!!
Must get his physics death working also so if you kill him he flops around
looks easy enough though to get working

Updated with jump attack!

[Tanasoo]

Glad to hear you got it working!

I've made a little progress on the attachments, too. If you clear all of the text(square button) from the head slot static mesh, it will remove the helmet. Then if you add a new static mesh component (blue triangle), it will make the helmet come back, even if you don't change any of the settings. And in the primitiveComponent of the head slot static mesh, you can change the Pos, Rot, and Scale... But I still have no Idea how to change what mesh it is, or what bone it is attached to...

[Mefisto]

Hi, I have been trying this technique and I have some problems when the character is covering (only in one side of the cover, the other cover side works perfectly. and the other problem it`s no weapons and no attachments are there. I have been checking the marcus model and have discovered the "sockets" where the guns are attached. could be this the cause of all the problems? thanks, wainting for someone to answer

[Brooksy]

yeh, You need to add sockets for where the equipment models are attached, otherwise they are just invisible

[Ultrimo]

You are a god among men.

quote from fear

[cannedmushrooms]

There are other issues involved
Animation like punches kicks and melee stuff is not located anywhere on the trees. Yet they are clearly located within the animation set.
Meaning this method will work great if you want a crappy little character in game that walks and covers. O and hides a mythical gun while he shoots you with air.
So now one might wanna try to figure out, what runs stuff like fighting AI.
I love how we are a bunch of random people trying to pick this stuff apart and it takes weeks and weeks to figure out a small import.
We have no reference
No help by any experts
Half the items are locked up

Meanwhile you know theres some guy from epic/microsoft/whoever laughing his @#$@ off at us while we are beating this engine to death with a stick.

Put the #$#$% donut down for the sec and post a small blurb to help us out.
lol

[Mefisto]

So the sockets are going to fix the covering issue also? (when he covers on the left it`s good, but when he covers on the right the gun and his arms are posed very weird)
thanks for thew fast answer !!!
bye

[Brooksy]

im not sure about that, i think THAT problem has something to do with the mirror tables (which can be found in the animation viewer) but that is just an educated guess to be perfectly honest..

[Tanasoo]

Mushrooms, it might be in another animation tree.

Mefisto, are you sure you are using the exact skeleton Epic provided?

[Mefisto]

it`s exactly the same and in the skeletal mesh viewer I have used all the anims of marcus sets and the character moves exactly the same as marcus. I have rotated the character -90 degrees like the marcus model is ( on the skeletal mesh editor) . another bug its when I go around the map and try to fire it doesn´t aims where I am Aiming. shoots but in diferent direction . this could be from the missing sockets I guess.
Ahh and the mirroed tables are giving me the same errors in my model and in marcus, so it`s weird....
I`m going to post some images later
Thanks anyway, if someones can replace marcus 100 % please let me know...
bye

[gamemasterjustin]

con you do this for multi player too???

I can only figure out how to get Dom and Marcus swapped what about the locust. I have 8 character I want for our multi player mod and not sure how to get the other swapped?

-game

[Mefisto]

I have found the solution. the sockets, as you told me, works perfect now and I don`t know if the copy of the mirror tables from marcus helped, or was the physicsasste that I forgot to use . I applied that and my character works great.thanks to everyone.
now I`m trying to export from the packages an enemy to 3dsmax so I can look the bone structure and copy exactly the same. I want to replace them .
anyone knows something about that???? I foud the way to export the .T3d (I think it`s a mesh format) can I import it in max????
thanks a lot, good luck.
PD, I don`t have any Idea of replacing more player for multiplayer... sorry

[gamemasterjustin]

you can see the bone naming in the animation editor just click on the show bones Icon

-game

[Tanasoo]

If you use a player variable instead of a marcus or dom one, you could replace any player's mesh. I don't know how you would choose what players, but you could do it.

t3d is not the mesh file, it is a generic format for text export. All of the playable characters (including locust) use the exact same skeleton.

[mycatfield]

All of the playable characters (including locust) use the exact same skeleton.

Is that true? What about the locusts that have the hanging dynamic cloth trenchcoat thingies? The red guard guys...don't they have a different skeleton?

I know that all characters have the same proportions and moveset, but all have the same skels?

[NotLive]

Meanwhile you know theres some guy from epic/microsoft/whoever laughing his @#$@ off at us while we are beating this engine to death with a stick.

I think you have summed up the difference between $50 and $1,000,000.

Thanks for the tute videos. Us non-millionaires appreciate them very much.

[Tanasoo]

Yes, the skeletons are all the same, they all use the same animations. They might have different attachment nodes, I'm not sure 100% how they do it in the unreal engine. And all of the "dangly things" are done with cloth sims, not bones or anything like that, so you don't have to worry about them.

[Mefisto]

all them have the same skeleton, but I want to replace the wretchs, I want to make a single player campaign and replace the wretch it`s very difficult. it doen´t have the same skel, and it`s very wierd indeed, bone rotations are very differents to marcus skeleton. I f anyone have a skeleton similar or knows something please, tell me. if I can find it I will post it.
Thanks

[Brokaliv]

I'm definitely new to this and I don't understand what to do to make Marcus in single player a different player..such as Cole or a Theron Guard.

I get to Marcus and Create an Archtype...I assume I name the package and name anything I want. I get to the skeletalmesh and have no idea what to do from here. Do I retype the skeletalmesh as SkeletalMesh'Locust_Theron_Guard.Mesh.Locust_Thero n_Guard_Cloth' instead of SkeletalMesh'COG_MarcusFenix.COG_Marcus_Fenix_CamS kel' to make it the Theron Guard or am I doing it completely wrong?

*Edit*

I was over thinking it and got it fixed. I got the Theron Guard to work in say Prison part 1 but how do you get your created character to be in the whole level and not room to room?

[ModderX]

But how u link an specific animation to an specific action with animtree and archtype??

[SoftChicanery]

I'm definitely new to this and I don't understand what to do to make Marcus in single player a different player..such as Cole or a Theron Guard.

I get to Marcus and Create an Archtype...I assume I name the package and name anything I want. I get to the skeletalmesh and have no idea what to do from here. Do I retype the skeletalmesh as SkeletalMesh'Locust_Theron_Guard.Mesh.Locust_Thero n_Guard_Cloth' instead of SkeletalMesh'COG_MarcusFenix.COG_Marcus_Fenix_CamS kel' to make it the Theron Guard or am I doing it completely wrong?

*Edit*

I was over thinking it and got it fixed. I got the Theron Guard to work in say Prison part 1 but how do you get your created character to be in the whole level and not room to room?

How did you do such stuff? I really love Theron Guards, and I'd love to know how to play as one in the single player...maybe even get Marcus to stay as a TG during cinemas?

[Species8472.5]

According to this, it's possible to issue console commands in Gears...
http://gamenotover.com/cheats-36463-...rs-of-war.html

Since we know that the console reference to the player character is "WarfareGame.Pawn_COGMarcus", wouldn't it be possible to issue a console command which just loads another mesh (like Dom, Cole, or a Theron Guard) onto the pawn? I'm sure a lot of folks would appreciate just being able to do that much...

[BloodRaven14]

Ok, I made it so i play as carmine, but how do you make it so they dont have infinente ammowith the lancer? I looked for this but could not find anything......




EDIT: The best way I found to do this was delete the default weapons except the pistol, then, at the begining of your map place a lancer, a shotgun and some frags. The only down side to this is your pistol will have 999 bullets forever. if anyone finds anything more please reply.

[TrueNess]

dosent work for me
in the game itself can some one help me
i put a character and its fine from here but how do i play with him can some one
post picture how kimset should be in picture dont understand that part plz!!
wanna play on campigan other then marcus!!!

[TrueNess]

its doin dom as enemy not me playin him dont get it
edit: WOW after i kill him i go to his body and i go into walkin cam what the ..