[V] MrPlow
Volition Staff
Unfortunately for SR2, due to issues arising from the original port (specifically, nobody is quite sure where the final version of the code lives), our ability to modify and add features to the actual game code is pretty much zero at the moment. We do have the code for all of our PC asset creation tools, however, so I'm hoping to be able to provide a set of tools that will allow you to do most/all of the things you're mentioning here, at least in the case of swapping in a replacement for a built-in NPC.
For SR3/SR4, the process for creating NPCs changed, and they are constructed directly in 3ds max instead of built using the customization interface. We definitely want to open up the ability to add new NPCs to the game, though, so I'm looking into providing tools and documentation for the character mesh format and associated table data, and a character mesh crunching tool. I don't have any ETA for this at the moment, but I'll try to keep you up-to-date as much as possible.
For SR3/SR4, the process for creating NPCs changed, and they are constructed directly in 3ds max instead of built using the customization interface. We definitely want to open up the ability to add new NPCs to the game, though, so I'm looking into providing tools and documentation for the character mesh format and associated table data, and a character mesh crunching tool. I don't have any ETA for this at the moment, but I'll try to keep you up-to-date as much as possible.