How to become the monster

[Xanthia]

After much tinkering around I believe I have discovered how to turn a player into a monster of their choosing! That is right! You can run around in the fur, scales and slime of your enemies- look like them, move like them and even sound like them! And all it takes is renaming a few files. Interested to find out how? Allow me to explain it all step by step.

Things you need to know beforehand-

• This is purely for aesthetics- you will not acquire any of the abilities and stats of the monster you become.
• Only YOU will be able to see the changes. Everyone else will see your character as normal.
• As always, you should make copies of any and all files described below and ONLY use the copies where modifications are required- you should leave the originals alone. This way should something go wrong you will still have the original file untouched.

Step 1: Choose a costume.

The first thing you need to do is pick one of the Halloween costumes that are available ingame. As you know, when used, these costume allow the game to swap your character's normal model for that of a specific monster. So the Satyr Zombie Costume will always turn you into a zombie satyr and only that.

Essentially what we are going to do is make it so your costume of choice can be use to swap your character with any monster of your choosing. It doesn't matter what costume you decide to use- but I recommend choosing a monster that is not actively ingame. This way the change will not affect any monsters, npcs and/or players unless they are wearing the same exact costume.

For the purposes of this walkthrough, lets pretend you chose the Female Satyr Zombie Costume.

Step 2: Pick the monster you want to become.

This step is pretty self explanatory. You can choose any monster you want, but to make it easier to explain, lets pretend you picked a Werewolf.

So the idea here is we are going to turn Female Satyr Zombie Costume into a Werewolf "costume".

Step 3: Change the skeleton.

Alright now comes the fun part- renaming files! As stated earlier you should make copies of these files and use the copies- leave the originals alone. This is to ensure that should you accidentally corrupt or delete the file- you will still have the original safe and sound.

Now before we can do anything we need to locate some files.

Go to "My Computer" and click on the C drive.
Click where it says "Program Files", scroll down and open the folder that says "Virtrium" (may also be called Artifact Entertainment or Tulga depending on how old your version is).
Open the "Horizons" folder and there you should see a folder called "resources". Inside that folder you want to open the folder called "definitions".
You should see another folder called "monsters". As you will see, it is filled with many more folders containing the files for each monster within the game.

So in short the file path should look something like this:
C:/Program Files/Virtrium/Horizons/resources/definitions/monsters

Because we decided to become a werewolf in this example- open the folder that says "werewolf_m". What you are looking for is the character definitions file. (it's the file that ends with "_char"). In this case, it is the "werewolf_m_char". This file is responsible for the skeleton of the model- basically it tells the game where certain objects (like a weapon or shield) should attach to.

Because we want to turn the Female Satyr Zombie Costume into the Werewolf model we have to switch the skeletons. Therefore, take your "werewolf_m_char" file and rename it "usatyr_f_char" (We find this name by looking in the monster folder label "undeads").

Great! Set this aside for now.

Step 4: Change the model.

Like step 3 we need to look for the file that is responsible for the shape of the model- Lucky for us it is located in the same (werewolf_m) folder. There you should see a folder that says "body". Open that. What we need is the "geo_body" file for the monster we want to become. In this case it is the one named "werewolf_m_geo_body_n_n". And like before, we rename this file with the name of the zombie(undead) equivalent- which is "usatyr_f_geo_body_n_n".

Set this file aside for later.

Step 5: Change the texture

Great- so far we've change the files responsible for the skeleton and the shape of the model. Now we need to change the texture- essentially the "skin" that goes over the model.

To find this file, we need to go back to the "resource" folder. Open the folder labeled "entities". Inside you see another folder called "characters"-open that. Now you should see yet ANOTHER folder- this time called "monsters"-go ahead and open that.

Inside you will note that there is a lot of files here. Each of these files are the different skins that all monster in Istaria wear. As you know- some monsters are essentially the same model but wrapped under a different skin- which is why there are multiples of entity files for the same exact monster.

For now, let concentrate on locating the werewolf's skin. Scroll down and you should see 6 different files for the werewolf. ("werewolf00_m.ent", "werewolf01_m.ent", "werewolf02_m.ent", "werewolf03_m.ent", "werewolf04_m.ent", and "werewolfundead00_m.ent")

The reason there are 6 is cause werewolves come in many different colors including black, red-brown, white, brown and "undead". For now, lets take the "werewolf00_m.ent" file (which happens to be black-fur werewolf).
Rename this to "usatyr_f.ent".

Last step: Put in the resource_override

Alright, if you have done everything correctly you should have a total of 3 files- all which should have been renamed so they appear as such:
usatyr_f_char
usatyr_f_geo_body_n_n
usatyr_f.ent

All that is left to do is place them in the resource_override folder and start the game.

Once the game is started- "put on" your costume (the Female Satyr Zombie Costume in this case) and assuming you did everything correctly you should now be in the skin of the monster of your choice!
See picture below.

[Shian]

I only see three usable "undead costume" folders in the undead section:
Saris and two genders of satyr. The other 4 are generic and the last only works on NPC dragons.

[Xanthia]

I only see three usable "undead costume" folders in the undead section:
Saris and two genders of satyr. The other 4 are generic and the last only works on NPC dragons.

I am assuming you are concerned that you are only limited to the 3 undead costumes? If that the case don't be. I only picked the satyr's undead costume as an example to make it easier to explain how you would go about modifying the files.

Recall costumes don't just come in zombies- they also come in ghosts, skeletons and mummies. So you have several costumes you can choose from. (You should check and make sure you have all the required files in order to do this).

Edit
Also are you sure the rest of those are just "generic"? Personally I think the folders "undead01" "undead02" and "undead03" are probably the remaining zombie costumes ....that for whatever reason someone decided to name poorly.
As for the dragons ones only working on npcs- I'll admit I didn't bother testing this with the dragon costumes. That being said are you sure it is only works on NPC dragons? Yes, I see it says "udragon_u_sk00_cbase_npc" but that just a name. Doesn't necessarily mean it only works for npcs.

[meepsa]

Something you might wanna add is that there is no geo_body file in the undead dragon folder, because it uses the main dragon geo_body (just guessing here)

and that there are 3 geo_bodies for dragons, Fat, Muscle and one normal one (dragona_u_geo_body_n_n) this last one should propably be used

[meepsa]

Something you might wanna add is that there is no geo_body file in the undead dragon folder, because it uses the main dragon geo_body (just guessing here)

and that there are 3 geo_bodies for dragons, Fat, Muscle and one normal one (dragona_u_geo_body_n_n) this last one should propably be used

Tested it and it....failed

going to try the same monster on my satyr now (myloc queen is what I'm trying to get)

[Xanthia]

Shain's post

I only see three usable "undead costume" folders in the undead section:
Saris and two genders of satyr. The other 4 are generic and the last only works on NPC dragons.

Edit
Also are you sure the rest of those are just "generic"? Personally I think the folders "undead01" "undead02" and "undead03" are probably the remaining zombie costumes ....that for whatever reason someone decided to name poorly.
As for the dragons ones only working on npcs- I'll admit I didn't bother testing this with the dragon costumes. That being said are you sure it is only works on NPC dragons? Yes, I see it says "udragon_u_sk00_cbase_npc" but that just a name. Doesn't necessarily mean it only works for npcs.

Argh I am so stupid! Please IGNORE my last post-I made a huge mistake and for that I apologize.

I was thinking more about the matter of why it is that the "undeads" folder only has 3 folders for the zombie Saris and the two zombie Satyrs. And the answer is quiet simple.

If you look in the "ghosts" folder you notice it has every single ghost model for every race (cept dragon). Yet the "undeads" folder appears to be missing a few and the "mummies" folder seems to have none.

And then it hit me.

Let me ask you this question: What is the difference between the ghost model of say....a Sslik (for an example) to that of a zombie? Think about it-does the skeleton change? No. Does the model's shape change? Nope.
(Reminder we know from my original post the "_char.def" file is responsible for the skeleton while the "_geo_body_n_n.def" file is responsible for the shape.)

It is the same exact thing- just a different skin! (the skin is affected by the ".ent" File)

The reason many of these folders appeared to be "missing" from the "undeads" and "mummies" folder is because it is borrowing the files of the ghost versions!

Confused? Lemme try to explain by showing you what I did to test this out.

I decided this time to use the Sslik Zombie Costume for my testing. As Shian has already pointed out- there is no folder for the sslik zombie/undead. So it would appear you are missing the vital "_char.def" file and the "_geo_body_n_n.def" file. But in actuality the files for the zombie are the same exact files for the ghost- which are the "sslikghost_u_char" and "sslikghost_u_geo_body_n_n".

To test this theory I decided to take "baby steps" and see if I can turn the Zombie costume into a mummy. Because the "_char.def" and the "_geo_body_n_n.def" are the same- I don't need to touch these.

All I need to do is copy the "sslikmummy00_u.ent" (found in the entities folder) and rename it to "sslikundead01_u.ent". And it worked!


Then I tried to turn the zombie costume into a ghost.
Took the "sslikghost00_u.ent" file this time and renamed it to "sslikundead01_u.ent". And got this:


Now you are saying "But Xaaaaan! We already have a costume for both of those! We don't need to edit those files to get them!'

.......You are missing the point. The point isn't to see if you can turn yourself into these monsters.... it is to identify what happened to the supposed missing "-char.def" and "_geo_body_n.n.def" files for the zombies and mummies. NOW we know they share the same file with the ghost because I just proved that the only difference between them are the entity/skin files.

Perhaps you aren't convinced? You want proof that I can turn this sslik zombie costume into something other than just a sslik with different skins? Fine you non-believers. This is what I did next:

I took the following files:
"mylocqueen_f_char"- (located in C:/Program Files/Virtrium/Horizons/resources/definitions/monsters/spiders/myloc_queen_f)
"mylocqueen_f_geo_body_n_n" (located in the same place inside of the "body" folder)
"mylocqueen00_f.ent" (located in C:/Program Files/Virtrium/Horizons/resources/entities/characters/monsters)

I renamed them as follow:
"sslikghost_u_char"
"sslikghost_u_geo_body_n_n"
"sslikundead01_u.ent"

This was the result:

(note her size- she is not as big as the real thing. Just use /setscale if you have it)

Neat right? Lets try another one to really wow you.

I took the following files"
"maggotlord_u_char"
"maggotlord_u_geo_body_n_n"
"maggotlord00_u.ent"

I renamed them as follow:
"sslikghost_u_char"
"sslikghost_u_geo_body_n_n"
"sslikundead01_u.ent"

And the results:

(notes: While the Maggot Lord does have all his animations- he is a stationary monster. Meaning while he does have a "running" animation- he will run in place....So if you are going to change into him for a picture or something make sure you are already in the spot/location you want before putting on the costume.)

Another thing to note is that you don't need to be that race in order to put on a costume- So you don't need to be a Sslik in order to wear a Sslik costume. My character Pam tested all these using the Sslik zombie costume and she is a Satyr.

Now I am sure you dragon players have notice that I 've only been talking about bipeds and their costumes..... There is a reason for that. Unfortunately....as hard as I tried I can't seem to get the dragons two costumes to work. So as it stands- this is only good for bipeds. Sorry. I am not saying it is impossible- I just haven't figured it out yet.

[meepsa]

Shain's post




Argh I am so stupid! Please IGNORE my last post-I made a huge mistake and for that I apologize.

I was thinking more about the matter of why it is that the "undeads" folder only has 3 folders for the zombie Saris and the two zombie Satyrs. And the answer is quiet simple.

If you look in the "ghosts" folder you notice it has every single ghost model for every race (cept dragon). Yet the "undeads" folder appears to be missing a few and the "mummies" folder seems to have none.

And then it hit me.

Let me ask you this question: What is the difference between the ghost model of say....a Sslik (for an example) to that of a zombie? Think about it-does the skeleton change? No. Does the model's shape change? Nope.
(Reminder we know from my original post the "_char.def" file is responsible for the skeleton while the "_geo_body_n_n.def" file is responsible for the shape.)

It is the same exact thing- just a different skin! (the skin is affected by the ".ent" File)

The reason many of these folders appeared to be "missing" from the "undeads" and "mummies" folder is because it is borrowing the files of the ghost versions!

Confused? Lemme try to explain by showing you what I did to test this out.

I decided this time to use the Sslik Zombie Costume for my testing. As Shian has already pointed out- there is no folder for the sslik zombie/undead. So it would appear you are missing the vital "_char.def" file and the "_geo_body_n_n.def" file. But in actuality the files for the zombie are the same exact files for the ghost- which are the "sslikghost_u_char" and "sslikghost_u_geo_body_n_n".

To test this theory I decided to take "baby steps" and see if I can turn the Zombie costume into a mummy. Because the "_char.def" and the "_geo_body_n_n.def" are the same- I don't need to touch these.

All I need to do is copy the "sslikmummy00_u.ent" (found in the entities folder) and rename it to "sslikundead01_u.ent". And it worked!


Then I tried to turn the zombie costume into a ghost.
Took the "sslikghost00_u.ent" file this time and renamed it to "sslikundead01_u.ent". And got this:


Now you are saying "But Xaaaaan! We already have a costume for both of those! We don't need to edit those files to get them!'

.......You are missing the point. The point isn't to see if you can turn yourself into these monsters.... it is to identify what happened to the supposed missing "-char.def" and "_geo_body_n.n.def" files for the zombies and mummies. NOW we know they share the same file with the ghost because I just proved that the only difference between them are the entity/skin files.

Perhaps you aren't convinced? You want proof that I can turn this sslik zombie costume into something other than just a sslik with different skins? Fine you non-believers. This is what I did next:

I took the following files:
"mylocqueen_f_char"- (located in C:/Program Files/Virtrium/Horizons/resources/definitions/monsters/spiders/myloc_queen_f)
"mylocqueen_f_geo_body_n_n" (located in the same place inside of the "body" folder)
"mylocqueen00_f.ent" (located in C:/Program Files/Virtrium/Horizons/resources/entities/characters/monsters)

I renamed them as follow:
"sslikghost_u_char"
"sslikghost_u_geo_body_n_n"
"sslikundead01_u.ent"

This was the result:

(note her size- she is not as big as the real thing. Just use /setscale if you have it)

Neat right? Lets try another one to really wow you.

I took the following files"
"maggotlord_u_char"
"maggotlord_u_geo_body_n_n"
"maggotlord00_u.ent"

I renamed them as follow:
"sslikghost_u_char"
"sslikghost_u_geo_body_n_n"
"sslikundead01_u.ent"

And the results:

(notes: While the Maggot Lord does have all his animations- he is a stationary monster. Meaning while he does have a "running" animation- he will run in place....So if you are going to change into him for a picture or something make sure you are already in the spot/location you want before putting on the costume.)

Another thing to note is that you don't need to be that race in order to put on a costume- So you don't need to be a Sslik in order to wear a Sslik costume. My character Pam tested all these using the Sslik zombie costume and she is a Satyr.

Now I am sure you dragon players have notice that I 've only been talking about bipeds and their costumes..... There is a reason for that. Unfortunately....as hard as I tried I can't seem to get the dragons two costumes to work. So as it stands- this is only good for bipeds. Sorry. I am not saying it is impossible- I just haven't figured it out yet.

dawwwww xaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, you beat me to it XD, anyhow, I recorded some funny stuff and uploading a vid at this very moment, will post it once it's done

[meepsa]

aaaand it's here: My mod messing vid :P (with dragon totems ).

also found out you shouldnt jump when you are a mob.....yeeeaaah

[Pryzm]

Im gonna try that out tomorrow Thx alot thats opening a new world of videos ^^