Help with editing SLK files to modify ROC (not TFT)

I currently have both ROC and TFT installed. I'm trying to modify the units in the original Warcraft 3 campaign (not the Frozen Throne). The modifications need to appear in skirmish games using ROC (not TFT). The steps I've followed are:

1. Using WinMPQ, extract the UnitBalance.slk from War3.mpq (the original ROC MPQ).

2. Edit the SLK file using Microsoft Excel. Then open the SLK file in notepad and remove the corrupt extra tags from the header - Excel adds these tags when it re-saves the SLK file. If you don't remove them, it'll cause your games to crash.

3. Use WinMPQ to add the updated UnitBalance.slk into War3.mpq.

Result: Modifications do not appear in any skirmish games in ROC.

From which MPQ file do I need to extract the UnitBalance.slk? There are several choices:

War3patch.mpq - Modifications will appear in TFT skirmish, not ROC skirmish
War3x.mpq - The original TFT mpq
War3local.mpq - Not relevant as UnitBalance.slk not in this MPQ
War3.mpq - The original ROC mpq, changes made to this MPQ not seen in ROC.

I've never had any problems with Excel adding information to .slk's. It's always asked if I wanted to use such an inferior format, to which I always say, "Yes, you spawn of Microsoft!"

Since you have TFT installed, it looks for information first in the map, then in war3patch.mpq, then in war3x.mpq, and then war3.mpq. If it finds UnitBalance in any of the places before war3.mpq, it loads it from there instead.

Not all of the unit modifications can be made just with UnitBalance, by the way. There are several other .slks that contain other aspects of the unit data.

...such as UnitAI and UnitData.slk, not to mention UnitAbility.slk. However, UnitBalance.slk contains the data I'm interested in. In regards to the corrupted headers - just compare the 'saved by Excel' .slk to the original .slk using Notepad. You'll find that several font tags have been added to the 'saved by Excel' .slk. If you don't remove them, the game will crash while loading a map. FYI, I have Excel 10.4302.4219.

Tried another tack - re-installing ROC only and then editing the UnitBalance.slk in War3Patch.mpq as well as the War3.mpq. No changes in the Unit stats when starting a skirmish map. This implies that editing .slk files is only useful in TFT Skirmishes, not in ROC. Also interesting to note that editing the .slk files won't affect the Single Player campaign. I think Blizzard mentioned in other forums that they won't allow their original campaigns to be edited due to legal issues.

Did u import the file keeping the pathname?
The path should be Units\UnitBalance.slk

I still use .slk's in maps, even now, and have never had an issue with it being corrupted. I've also never heard of such an issue.

I've never used .slk's in .mpq's of any kind, since I'm not interested in changing Warcraft 3 itself. However, before TFT was ever released, I know several mods were importing .slk's into the .mpq's successfully, just like I was importing them into maps (that was, after all, the only way to edit abilities at that time).

I'm not sure exactly what your problem is at this point, but unless Blizzard specifically disabled loading custom .slk's from a particular .mpq, I very much doubt that it's not possible for RoC, based on sheer previous experience.

You will also wish to change other appropriate files, like UnitAbilities.slk, unitUI.slk, and UnitWeapons.slk. UnitMetaData.slk shouldn't have anything that will help you, but I seem to recall that successful unit editing means making sure that all of the Unit*.slk's match up perfectly.

As far as the campaigns, they will use your custom data if you extract the maps and play them independently. That is, if you can get your custom data to start registering.

Hi
I have one another question about .slk. I try to add some event sound reference for my campaign, i find the good slk... when i change it in war3patch, its updated.. but not when i put it in my campaign file (w3n)...I dont want to make an installer.. Do you have a solution to update it by the campaign file ?