Problems implementing custom skins into World Editor.

Hello. I was hoping someone could help me. I used to work on a bunch of stuff for WarCraft III about a year ago. I did skins and worked on maps and triggers and a bunch of stuff like that. I really got the hang of things, especially triggers and things like that, but I was never, ever able to get my skins into my maps. I had such trouble. I finally gave up on it altogether and became disenchanted.

Now, about a year later, for whatever reason--I have no idea why--I just started doing it again. I spent about eighteen hours or so on a skin and worked very conscientiously at it. I couldn't remember much at all of how to do any of it, but I read all of the tutorials I could find (several) and got all of the programs they said I'd need. Some were programs that weren't around a year ago and others that I used to use (and that the tutorials called for) seemed to be nonexistent now.

Anyway, I could get only as far as making the skin and converting it back into a .blp file. I wasn't able to get any further until I used TechMPQ as the last tutorial I found told me to do. I finally seemed to have gotten somewhere, after quite a lot of frustration. I opened my map and tried to test the new skin, but wouldn't you know it? I'm having the exact same trouble I had a year ago. I click on the icon in the World Editor and drag the cursor across the screen and there is no little figure following it. If I click to deposit my invisible character, a green and black checkered box appears and complains that it is missing the .mdl file. I had this same problem a year ago and I don't think I ever got around it, but I can't remember. I looked everywhere, read every tutorial and used every program and posted in various forums back then, too, and no one was able to help. I was hoping that, this time, someone could. Would anybody please be able to give me any information as to what I'm doing? Thank you.

There are two ways to implement a skin into a map.

First way, the easiest. Make sure your skin is converted to .blp format and is the same name as it was when you firs converted it from .blp to .tga. Now, open WinMpq (or Mpq viewer equivalent) and open your map file. Click and drag your .blp file over to the window and drop. Use Wc3 Image Extractor II to see the path name, say you edited a blademaster skin. The pathname for it is Textures\, and it's original .blp name is Hero_Blademaster.blp. Click and drag to the Mpq Viewer with your map file open in it, drop, type in Textures\, and hit enter. Close the window, open up your map in WE and it will be there. Note: This method will change all skins using the Blademaster model (Not counting the Chaos Blademaster or Grom(s) into your edited skin.)

Second way, i'm stil figuring out. But, I know you must have the model file with the .blp (skin) already on it and import it to your map through the Importer in WC3 WE. Now to put in the model, go to the Object Editor, and select the Unit category. Go down through your units data until you find model. Double-click, and check the little dot that say Import, Select your .mdl file you imported into the map and it should be there. Note: This method allows you to use the same skin multiple times if you edited it differently each time. Example: Say I have two versions of the same Blademaster skin, I am able to use them both on two different units.

That is all I know on how to get skins to work right now. Hope I helped.:ggani:

Thank you very much for your reply. I appreciate it. I'm still kind of lost, though. I hope you can still help.

You said, "Click and drag your .blp file over to the window and drop. Use Wc3 Image Extractor II to see the path name, say you edited a blademaster skin. The pathname for it is Textures\, and it's original .blp name is Hero_Blademaster.blp." I followed there without a problem. Then you said, "Click and drag to the MPQ Viewer with your map file open in it, drop, type in Textures\, and hit enter." This is where I got stuck. When you say "click and drag to the MPQ Viewer", what was it I was to be dragging? I tried dragging the map and tried dragging the .blp, but it doesn't let me drag anything into it. Also, when you said "with your map file open in it", did you mean the .w3m was already supposed to be showing in MPQViewer? I can't seem to find an option to access .w3m files through MPQViewer. How would I do that, if that's what I need to do? I didn't get any further than that.

As for the World Editor, when you say "Object Editor", I assume it's the same as the Object Manager. I placed the default character on my map (this is the sorceress, by the way, in the human race) and then I went into the Object Manager, under units, found her and double-clicked. There wasn't anything that said anything about importing. Double-clicking on the unit in the list only shows me the same "Unit Properties" window I get if I double-click right on the character on the map. Might I have a different version, or something? I don't have the new expansion yet, by the way, if that's needed.

I haven't done anything to any .mdl files, either. I haven't even extracted any. I used to, about a year ago, fiddle with all of this stuff and I can't remember much now. If I recall, I would tweak the .mdl in a hex editor. All of the tutorials I've looked at lately, though, don't deal with that at all and some say not to change anything but the .blp/.tga files, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing. Was I supposed to have done something with the .mdl file, then?

I'm very sorry I'm so confused and confusing and asking so many questions and needing so much help. I hope you can help me. I really appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

Incidentally, this is the skin I made that I have been trying to get to work.

I just wanted to add that it's doing something different now. I've done so many things I'm not sure exactly what did it, but now the character shows up, but everything is invisible except the part that shows the player's color. There's no detail or shading, either, but only the parts of the skin that change color depending on what player you are are showing up and the rest is a black figure. Have I gotten further or gone backward? ;P Thanks.