Minimaul's Saints Row 2, Saints Row: The Third, Saints Row IV and Gat Out Of Hell tools

[gameqube]

Try deleting all ASMs in your root directory then running Stream2Update.

It pulls the current version of the ASM from the packfiles and then updates them using the files in your SRIV folder.

Very nice tool! I began using it a few days ago, to set myself up for my first play through, and it is a boon.

I got one question though:

What about the advanced mods that some people make, where they are actually tinkering with the ASM files themselves, to add/remove stuff in the file (adding some texture assets for example). If your tool does overwrite their ASM files with the original version from the game, I can see that it might cause problems.

 

[Corrodias]

The asm files are just... descriptive files that tell the game what's in the str2 files. They just need to be kept current with your current combination of str2 files. They're only included with some mods so that people using only that mod don't have to download and run this tool. The tool updates them, so my point is, you don't have to care what was in them before; you just need them to reflect what you have now.

 

[Minimaul]

Stream2Update doesn't add any additional files to the ASMs if there are additional files in a str2. If anyone has a mod around that does this I'd love to support it - link me?

 

[gameqube]

Stream2Update doesn't add any additional files to the ASMs if there are additional files in a str2. If anyone has a mod around that does this I'd love to support it - link me?

I dont have this situation, sorry. I will rather expand on what I meant, in detail, and with an example.

In the upload I added, there are 5 files in the root folder, plus a folder named 'genki bra'. Ignore that 'genki bra' folder until the end of my example.

Ok, put those 5 files in your Steam non moded SRIV root folder.

It does basically bring over the "Hot Boots' item from the Saints Row 3. (from the shoe section at Leather & Lace)

===================================================================
To get this to work, I extracted the files from the two SR3 .str2_pc files and repacked them for SR4

But, I had to modify the Customize_Item.asm_pc file from SR4 to add entries for custmesh_-105344825.str2_pc and custmesh_-105344825f.str2_pc

I did this by using the vPkg tools from Volition. I converted both the SR3 and SR4 versions of Customize_Item.asm_pc into .xml files.

I then copied the sections for the two .str2_pc files from the SR3 .xml file, and appended them to the SR4 .xml file. I added an entry in both cases regarding compression_type, since this seems to be a new entry necessary for SR4

I then reconverted the .xml file into an SR4 Customize_Item.asm_pc file.

I used this file as the .asm_pc file when I rebuilt both SR4 versions of custmesh_-105344825.str2_pc and custmesh_-105344825f.str2_pc by using your tool ThomasJepp.SaintsRow.BuildPackfile.exe

I then modified customization_items.xtbl to put back the entry regarding cf_llk_foot_f_latexboots

I also modified customization_stores.xtbl to add back the entry for the Hot Boots at Leather & Lace
====================================================================

By putting those five files in your Steam SR4 folder, you should now be able run the game and go to Leather & Lace and see that the Hot Boots have indeed be added to the game. Do not buy them, and exit the game.

Now, add the custmesh_62712008f.str2_pc from the Genki Bra folder to your Steam SR4 folder, run your Stream2Update tool. You will notice the tool mentions updating for the Genki Bra .str2_pc file, but not for the two Hot Boots .str2_pc files.

Run the game again, return to Leather & Lace and try to see the Hot Boots. In my case, the game simply crashes. (oh, and my character was already wearing the Three Count Top item, to verify that the Genki Bra mod had indeed been added succesfully to the game).

I dont know if there something simpler I could do to make this work. Right now, I am thinking that I might have to repackage the patch_compressed.vpp_pc file to include the hot boots mod in it, in hopes that the Stream2Update tool would use the customize_item.asm_pc that would be added in patch_compressed.vpp_pc

Anyway, I was wondering if the same kind of modding has been done already with success by somebody else.

 

[Minimaul]

yeah, OK I see what you mean. Bit difficult for me to do automatically as I don't know which asm to add it to...

 

[daks]

So thanks to Gameqube I was able to add the Hot Boots to SRIV. However, I'm trying to utilize a mod that changes the Hot Boots into stockings. The only problem is that it was for SR3, and when I add the customize_items.asm_pc from the sockings mod the game crashes when I try to continue. I assume this is because the .asm_pc file comes from SR3 and so it's not the same. If I use Gameqube's .asm file instead the game works, but the stockings mod doesn't work. So, in order to remedy this I assume I have the update the .asm_pc file, yes? That's good, because you made a tool to do that. The only problem is that, when I run Stream2updater it says that it couldn't find the Saints Row 4 folder. Any idea how to go about remedying this.

Thanks in advance. I'll be happy to give more info. I have a feeling that the solution is very simple but I'm not a modder so I have no idea.

 

[Minimaul]

The only problem is that, when I run Stream2updater it says that it couldn't find the Saints Row 4 folder. Any idea how to go about remedying this.

Thanks in advance. I'll be happy to give more info. I have a feeling that the solution is very simple but I'm not a modder so I have no idea.

Do you have a steam copy of SRIV?

 

[gameqube]

Hi Minimaul,

I have begun tinkering again with the idea of adding the Hot Boots in SRIV, and have found a way to make it work.

If you remember my previous post where I described the problem I had, things go bad when I run Stream2Update. From what I understand, the way it works is that you load a copy of each .asm_pc files that you extract yourself from the various .vpp_pc pack files. And then for each .asm_pc file thus in memory, you begin to check if some of its entries (.str2_pc files, etc) are found in the steam SRIV folder. If there are, you update the data regarding the size of those files, and eventually update the corresponding .asm_pc file that is also in the steam SRIV folder. If the .asm_pc file is not in that folder, you create a copy of the .asm_pc file yourself.

The result of this is that no updating happens regarding new .str2_pc files that had been introduced by my Hot Boots insertion mod, for example.

So, to get around this problem of Stream2Update breaking my modified .asm_pc file, I use a 3 steps approach, that you can see in this batchfile:

ThomasJepp.SaintsRow.Stream2Update.exe "F:\Steam\steamapps\common\Saints Row IV"

xcopy "F:\Steam\steamapps\common\Saints Row IV\asm_pc\customize_item.asm_pc" "F:\Steam\steamapps\common\Saints Row IV\customize_item.asm_pc" /Y

ThomasJepp.SaintsRow.Stream2.exe "F:\Steam\steamapps\common\Saints Row IV\customize_item.asm_pc" update

pause

1. So I begin by running Stream2Update to update everything in my root folder.
2. I then overwrite the .asm_pc file that has been updated incompletely, with my own version of it (that I grab from the subfolder 'asm_pc' that I have created) in the SRIV root folder
3. I then run Stream2 to specifically update my version of the .asm_pc file that I just copied over.

And it works, so I am happy that I can again use the Hot Boots in game, or rather, a mod I have made of them.

I was wondering if it could be possible for you to produce a variant of the Stream2Update that would have the following added behavior:

for each .asm_pc file that you extract from each packfile, you verify if a version of it does already reside in the steam SRIV root folder. If yes, you ditch the .asm_pc file that you have read and proceed to grab the .asm_pc file in the root folder and update the contents according to that file. It would greatly help modding efforts that try to import SRTT assets in SRIV.

 

[monckey4]

Ok so I'm also having issues with it simply not finding my game. It's installed on a separate harddrive, but I don't see why it's not being found (guy above me didn't seem to have those issues). I do generally have issues with my registry, but it's supposed to look for the folder? which it's in?

 

[Minimaul]

Hi Minimaul,

I have begun tinkering again with the idea of adding the Hot Boots in SRIV, and have found a way to make it work.

If you remember my previous post where I described the problem I had, things go bad when I run Stream2Update. From what I understand, the way it works is that you load a copy of each .asm_pc files that you extract yourself from the various .vpp_pc pack files. And then for each .asm_pc file thus in memory, you begin to check if some of its entries (.str2_pc files, etc) are found in the steam SRIV folder. If there are, you update the data regarding the size of those files, and eventually update the corresponding .asm_pc file that is also in the steam SRIV folder. If the .asm_pc file is not in that folder, you create a copy of the .asm_pc file yourself.

The result of this is that no updating happens regarding new .str2_pc files that had been introduced by my Hot Boots insertion mod, for example.

So, to get around this problem of Stream2Update breaking my modified .asm_pc file, I use a 3 steps approach, that you can see in this batchfile:

ThomasJepp.SaintsRow.Stream2Update.exe "F:\Steam\steamapps\common\Saints Row IV"

xcopy "F:\Steam\steamapps\common\Saints Row IV\asm_pc\customize_item.asm_pc" "F:\Steam\steamapps\common\Saints Row IV\customize_item.asm_pc" /Y

ThomasJepp.SaintsRow.Stream2.exe "F:\Steam\steamapps\common\Saints Row IV\customize_item.asm_pc" update

pause

1. So I begin by running Stream2Update to update everything in my root folder.
2. I then overwrite the .asm_pc file that has been updated incompletely, with my own version of it (that I grab from the subfolder 'asm_pc' that I have created) in the SRIV root folder
3. I then run Stream2 to specifically update my version of the .asm_pc file that I just copied over.

And it works, so I am happy that I can again use the Hot Boots in game, or rather, a mod I have made of them.

I was wondering if it could be possible for you to produce a variant of the Stream2Update that would have the following added behavior:

for each .asm_pc file that you extract from each packfile, you verify if a version of it does already reside in the steam SRIV root folder. If yes, you ditch the .asm_pc file that you have read and proceed to grab the .asm_pc file in the root folder and update the contents according to that file. It would greatly help modding efforts that try to import SRTT assets in SRIV.

I'll look into what would work for this. The problem is we don't want to leave asm files around that are invalid.

Ok so I'm also having issues with it simply not finding my game. It's installed on a separate harddrive, but I don't see why it's not being found (guy above me didn't seem to have those issues). I do generally have issues with my registry, but it's supposed to look for the folder? which it's in?

I'll be updating these tools to find SRIV a bit more effectively.