Shackles Graphics

How do I separate that atrocious red beam from the aerial shackles spell? I got rid of the net easily enough, but there doesn't seem to be any reference to the "missile" art at all...

You'll probably have to edit HumanAbilityFunc.txt for this one... a lot of spells can't have their graphics changed directly through TFTWE :/

Yes, yes. Already looked. That's how I was able to change the buffart. I guess it can't be done... :(

It's probably got the chain lightning syndrome then...
undable to be changed :(

*grumble grumble*

Thanks for the reply...Ill stay tuned with high hopes all the same.

hmm ... if you were unable to change it through the abilityfunc.txt, then the only way will be to find the art you want and rename it to "abilities/aerialshackles.mdx" or whatever its name is and import it into the map.

[and btw, the chain lightning art CAN be changed in the splats/lightningdata.slk file]

hehe, didn't know that, thx

So if you make that .slk point to a different file it'll change it ingame?

Will it work on someone else's comp if I import it into a map or does it have the same curse of not working on bnet as cliffdata.slk and metadata.slk have?

Has this even been tested yet? :)

I'm having the same problem with life drain, I recolored the beam to be red for a vampire thing, but the two graphics that occur on the units, drainin.blp and drainout.blp, for some reason insist on being green still. I've edited and imported them in the same fashion as I did the beam (which I think is drainlightning maybe?), but those two other things won't change.... :(

Aerolus, how did you switch the color of the beam? Is it a complicated process? If you could let me know what tools and some of the steps, I'd really appreciate it, as it would make my map look much better...

All I did was pull it out with WC3 Image Extractor (I think I used to use something else, but I stopped this madness for about a month during finals and I've lost/forgot what tools I usually used), and it saves as a .tga.

THEN, open it up in Adobe Photoshop, select all, add adjustment layer: Hue/Saturation, and just played with the sliders until it looked like a real dark red bloody color. Then put it back in with the TFT WE and set the path to the same path I pulled it out with WC3 Image Extractor (just hit ctrl-f and search for the drain graphics and it'll give you the path).

But like I said, the problem is the beam is red but it doesn't work when I do the same process to the graphics which overlay the caster and the target, they're still green *sigh*

Thanks for the reply, Aerolus. I didnt realize this was done by just recoloring the skin. I'll keep that in mind in the future.

2 problems I'm having, tho.

My version of image extractor is not able to take the targas I save from my version of Photoshop. The Image Extractor I am using is version 2.0, and the Photoshop I have is 6. Am I doing something wrong? Its also failing to take Command Buttons I put into it, which is a real downer.

Also, I can't find a bitmap that corresponds to the aerial shackles beam. I looked in abilities\spells\human\aerialshackles (or whatever) and in splats. Am I missing something?

Edit: Could it possibly be the "coloredglow" objects in the textures directories (ex:redglow) that I need to change? When I get desperate enough, I may try this. Any advice as to the side effects of this change?

ctrl-f and look for "weather"

I wonder what sort of crack they were sniffing when they arranged the files, but inside the weather folder there's all sorts of beams and lightning, adn there's one that I think is the aerial shackles beam... not quite sure, but I think so. If it looks like a net on a rope, that's it

:) Dunno about your wc3ext/photoshop problem... sawwy...

Weather is definately the last place I would have looked. Many, many thanks. Ill let you know if this works...