A cargo pet mod. Beetle to hatchling.

I made this mod earlier this year when I came back and played a little bit. I'm not sure if anyone else has done it yet. After talking with Pryzm today, I decided to share it and let everyone know how to modify it.

I really don’t like beetles and I thought it would be fun to change the cargo pet to look like my alt, Nasith. A level 87 hatchling that I still intend to get up to 100. Someday….

After a lot of trial and error, I managed to get it working. However, there are a couple of things to consider should you choose to use it.

1. It modifies a file called “EffectsKeywords.def” which is located in the base /resources folder. This file cannot be overridden by placing a copy in the /resources_override folder. So this means that you have to overwrite the original file and that every time the game patches, you will have to overwrite it again.
2. In addition, the “EffectsKeywords.def” file controls how mobs appear. If new monsters are added, copying the modified file over the updated one could result in those monsters being invisible to you. You would have to get the new file then modify it to copy in the changes I made. Just open the modded file and search for “nasith”. Copy the lines under the Goliath pet beetle entry. I don’t think the Eostre entry needs to be changed but I haven’t erased it from when I was experimenting. Note: I do not know if the EffectsKeyword file has been updated since I made this. I'm way out of touch with current changes.

To use this mod, unzip the files in the following link into your /resources_override folder. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_...XZUQWRsVndoTGs
Copy the EffectsKeyword.def file into Istaria’s /resources folder and overwrite the original.
Launch.
If you have a beetle pet equipped, it should appear as my Nasith next time you launch. He is fully flighted and will fly and glide along behind you. Though he is slower which I’m not sure if that is a problem with the mod or the beetle itself.

But you don’t want to stare are my hatchling chasing you around all the time, do you? Well, here is how you can make your own hatchling or even an adult or ancient to replace Nasith with one of your own alts. It is a little complex, so read carefully.

1. In /Istaria/world_cache/{servername}horizons, delete or move the /character folder out of /Istaria. This is necessary so that you can find the textures you need. I would recommend moving it out so that your client does not have to download the hundreds of files in there again. Don't worry, it won't break anything.
2. In /Istaria/prefs, open ClientPrefs_Graphic.def and scroll down to the bottom. Change bool usePNGcache to equal true. Save and close. This is necessary so that the client will save .png versions of the composited textures of the characters folder instead of the compressed versions that are normally in there.
3. Launch the dragon character of your choice. After it loads, exit the game.
4. In /Istaria/world_cache/{servername}horizons/character there may be a few folders, depending upon how many NPCs and players were around you when you launched. Open each one and look at the .png files until you find your character’s texture. There should be different resolutions. Obviously, pick the best body and head textures and copy them to the Nasith mod folder.
5. I would advise changing bool usePNGcache back to false after you have the files you want. Not sure but the folder being full of .png files might not be as efficient as the compressed versions. If you moved the /character folder, erase the one just created and put the original back now too.
6. Rename the copied .png head and body files to the same as the corresponding Nasith .agh files.
7. You now need to convert the .png files to .agh. Forgive me for this, I never used the automatic method of converting png to agh, but someone should be able to chime in on how to get the client to convert the files when launching. I always used a dev command.
8. After you get the files converted and you launch the next time (provided the game hasn’t patched and replaced the modified EffectsKeyword.def) you should see the texture of your character overlaid on the hatchling model instead of Nasith’s.
9. And if that is the head type you want, you are done until the next game patch. If not, then you need to modify the “cargopet_nasith_u_char.def” file. Open the file and find the line that contains “dragonj_u_geo_head01_n.def” If you know the number of the head model you want, change the 01 to match. Otherwise you will just have to change, save and launch over and over until you find the one you want. It starts with 00. 00 is the "bulldog" head, if I recall correctly
10. If you want an adult or ancient model instead of the hatchling (though I think the hatchling is much cuter) then rename the appropriate adult or ancient file that are included in the zip to “cargopet_nasith_u_char.def” and choose the head you want as in step 9.

That should be it. Other than having to copy the EffectsKeyword file after every patch, I think it worked pretty good for me. The only problem being now all the cargo beetles that dragons have will look like your alt. But if you wanted to get screenshots or make videos with both characters in view it should work out decent for you.

Also, for whatever reason that I could not figure out, the ancient model will not land like the hatchling and adults do. I'll look at it later on to see if I can fix it. But it is late and I need to get to sleep.

If you have issues, shoot me a question. I still check the forums usually every day.

Nasith is too cute to change him XD. If you allow i keep it that way :).

Sure. Just make sure you work him hard. He is getting fat and lazy hanging around my lair all day long. He needs to get in better shape for that push to 100.

Just curious how many people used this mod.

And curious how many followed the directions to pull the texture of an alt to apply to the model. Did it work for you? Any problems?

I should note that when the game patches, you will still have the hatchling but the textures will be screwed.

I just tried this. I'm glad I found your mods!
I had a few problems with changing the character's appearance though. I changed the bool usePNGcache to equals true, but after I launched the character I wanted textures from, that bit automatically reverted back to equals false. Then under the new /character folder and under the one folder that showed up after I left the game, I couldn't find any png files, only a def file and a bunch of gbi files.

So unfortunately, that failed. :( But Nasith is adorable!

I wonder if you could make the switch in the game and it would keep the setting. Or maybe find the developer option and set it to true.

Try launching the character, type "/setpref developer true", type "/setpref usePNGcache true", exit, clear the cache again, relaunch. Hope that works. There have been a lot of changes to the client since I used to work on the game so maybe something changed so it won't keep those settings any longer.

Nasith may be adorable, but he is a brat. Is he getting fat? I haven't looked in on him for a while. ;)

I think, my beetle-hatchling is sick? XD

https://kyuubidragon91.deviantart.co...etle-729543685
https://kyuubidragon91.deviantart.co...etle-729543685

I have long wanted a pet that looks like a gruok or chicken. Now I have my present for a pet so I don't care, but the choices for pets need to be expanded and then people would not have to do mod work.