Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

[udonegoof]

Is it possible to mod this game? I haven't really tried yet cause' I got a lot on my plate right now. I made this as a thread for anything on UMvC3 as well.
IT'S MAHVEL BABYEE!

[LarsAlexandersson]

Yes. But we'll have to wait from other modding community besides on SF's zetaboard & its other modding communities

[Tony Stark]

Looks like the game uses DX9, so you'll probably be able to use texmod for skinning, if nothing else.

[LarsAlexandersson]

https://www.reddit.com/r/mahvelmods/new/

If one of you can't enter here. Plz bypass your internet dns first. This reddit is actually safe

[LarsAlexandersson]

These are the tutorials provived in reddit by the user who publish the instructions

Part 1: Character & Stage Arc IDs (650fosho)

Character Arc IDs

Character .ARC files location: \ULTIMATE MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3\nativePCx64\chr\archive\ 
00XX_YY.arc => where XX is the character, YY is the costume slot 

Code Select Expand


00XX_00 (default costume) 

00XX_01 through 00XX_05 (the other color versions of the default costume) 

00XX_06 (H&H Color)

00XX_07 (Alternate)

00XX_08 (gold H&H) - only Akuma, Doom Wesker and Dorm have this


Example: 0032_05.arc is Taskmaster's 5th costume slot, his black regular costume.

Capcom Characters

Code Select Expand


0000 - Cpu Dummy 
0001 - Ryu 
0002 - Chun-Li 
0003 - Gouki (Akuma) 
0004 - Chris 
0005 - Wesker 
0006 - Viewtiful Joe 
0007 - Dante 
0008 - Trish 
0009 - Frank West 
0010 - Spencer 
0011 - Sir Arthur 
0012 - Amaterasu 
0013 - Zero 
0014 - Tron Bonne 
0015 - Morrigan 
0016 - Lei-Lei (Hsien-Ko) 
0017 - Felicia 
0018 - Crimson Viper 
0019 - Haggar 
0020 - Jill 
0021 - Strider Hiryu 
0022 - Vergil 
0023 - Naruhodo (Phoenix Wright) 
0024 - Red Aremer (Firebrand) 
0025 - Nemesis 


Marvel Characters

Code Select Expand


0026 - Spider Man 
0027 - Captain America 
0028 - Wolverine 
0029 - Magneto 
0030 - Hulk 
0031 - She Hulk 
0032 - Taskmaster 
0033 - Iron Man 
0034 - Thor 
0035 - Doctor Doom 
0036 - Phoenix 
0037 - Shuma Gorath 
0038 - Modok 
0039 - Dormammu 
0040 - Deadpool 
0041 - Storm 
0042 - Super Skrull 
0043 - Sentinel 
0044 - X-23 
0045 - Nova 
0046 - Rocket Racoon 
0047 - Ghost Rider 
0048 - Iron Fist 
0049 - Dr Strange 
0050 - Hawkeye 
0051 - Galactus 


Stage Arc IDs

Stage .ARC folder location: \ULTIMATE MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3\nativePCx64\stg\ 
Inside are currently 19 folders, each with the .ARC file dedicated to stage

Code Select Expand


000 - Training Room 
002 - Daily Bugle 
003 - Metro City 
004 - Demon Village 
005 - Kattlelox Island 
006 - Hand Hideout?
007 - S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier 
009 - Asgard 
010 - Tricell Labs 
011 - Fate of the World 
100 - Danger Room 
102 - City That Never Sleeps 
103 - Days of Future Past 
104 - Demon Village Redux 
105 - Bonne Wonderland 
106 - Shadowland 
107 - Shield Air Show 
109 - Asgard: Sea of Space 
110 - Chaos at Tricell 


Background Music (.sngw) IDs

Location: \ULTIMATE MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3\nativePCx64\sound\bgm\source\ 

bgm_cr_xxx (Character Themes, Classic BGM only)

Code Select Expand


000 - Ryu 
001 - Chun-Li 
002 - Chris 
003 - Wesker 
004 - Viewtiful Joe 
005 - Dante 
006 - Trish 
007 - Frank West 
008 - Spencer 
009 - Arthur 
010 - Amaterasu 
011 - Zero 
012 - Tron Bonne 
013 - Morrigan 
014 - Felicia 
015 - C. Viper 
016 - Gouki (Akuma)   
017 - Haggar 
018 - Hsien-Ko/Lei-Lei 
019 - Jill 
020 - Spider Man 
021 - Captain America 
022 - Wolverine 
023 - Magneto 
024 - Hulk 
025 - She-Hulk 
026 - Taskmaster 
027 - Iron Man 
028 - Thor 
029 - Dr. Doom 
030 - Deadpool 
031 - Super Skrull 
032 - X-23 
033 - M.O.D.O.K. 
034 - Phoenix (Jean Grey) 
035 - Dormammu 
*Here lies the remains of Dr. Octopus' character slot :(* 
037 - Storm 
038 - Sentinel 
039 - Shuma Gorath 
040 - Galactus 
041 - Phoenix Wright/Ryuuchi Naruhodou 
042 - Phoenix Wright/Ryuuchi Naruhodou (Turnabout Mode) 
043 - Vergil 
044 - Nemesis 
045 - Strider Hiryu 
046 - Firebrand 
047 - Nova 
048 - Iron Fist 
049 - Ghost Rider 
050 - Rocket Raccoon 
051 - Doctor Strange 
052 - Hawkeye 


bgm_gm_xxx (Game Modes)

[WIP] 

Code Select Expand


011 - Continue accepted 
014 - Gallery 
015 - Online Lobby 
016 - ??? 
017 - Mission Menu 
018 - Arcade mode final results 
019 - Character Select alt. 1 (Take You For A Ride) 
020 - Arcade mode ending #1 
021 - ??? 
022 - ??? 
023 - ??? 
024 - ??? 
026 - License menu 
027 - License menu (again?) 
028 - Character Select alt. 2 (Take You For A Ride techno) 
029 - Character Select alt. 3 (Take You For A Ride rock) 
030 - Character Select (Classic BGM) 
031 - Character Select (Dynamic BGM) 
032 - VS splash screen 
033 - Results (Classic BGM) 
034 - Results (Dynamic BGM) 
035 - Main Menu (Classic BGM) 
036 - Main Menu (Dynamic BGM) 
037 - Comic book intro 
038 - Heroes & Heralds mode 
039 - Heroes Menu (1) 
040 - Heroes Menu (2) 
041 - Heralds Menu (1) 
042 - Heralds Menu (2) 
043 - Credits? (after each character theme plays) 


bgm_st_xxx (Stages; Dynamic BGM only)

Code Select Expand


000 - Training Room 
011_1 - The Battle for Earth 
011_2 - The Battle for Earth 
011_3 - The Battle for Earth 


(The rest of the stages use _b at the end for 2nd version) 

Code Select Expand


001 - Danger Room 
002 - Daily Bugle 
003 - Metro City 
004 - Demon Village 
005 - Kattlelox Island 
006 - Hand Hideout 
007 - S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier 
008 -Okami stage (Unused) 
009 - Asgard 
010 - Tricell Laboratory 


[LarsAlexandersson]

Part 2: Tools (posted by 650fosho)

Download the latest tool package, contains everything you need to get started: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/288557004564201473/300167747067969537/04-2k17_UmVc3Tools.zip

SNGW-Dec

This tool Decrypts Encrypted SNGW Files which is related to sound. Originally made for DMC4SE & RE Revelations 2.

http://www.sb-online.org/maluc/index.php?did=sngwdec

ArisenTools

https://github.com/mhvuze/ArisenTools

https://github.com/mhvuze/ArisenTools/blob/master/DDDAarclist/DDDAarclist/ExtensionHandler.cs

A Subversion that contains very notable tools made for Dragon's Dogma's Steam port.

Old Files & Links

UMVC3 Tools by smb123w64gb

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/288557004564201473/289007727496265729/UmVc3Tools.zip

Requires python to work, simply drag your .arc files into the arcUnpack.py then, you can drop in a character folder into arcRepack.py to repack into a new .arc file. The repacker uses a text file to give instruction on what to pack, you can find this in your character folder, for example we'll use Ryu's slot 1: 0000_00/manifest.text. You can edit this text document to include new material such as effects or even models. Use the TEX_check.py and inject.py to extract and repack texture files, you can find more information about this in our texture tutorial under cosmetics.

Contains

-Arc extractor/repack

-Tex injector/extractor

ARCtool-PC-batch.rar & ARCtool.rar

http://www.tzarsectus.com/tools/

Same as the UMvC3 Tools python scripts, but may be a bit easier to understand for some, you can also edit the manifest which is in the root folder of the extracted arc called 0000_00.arc.txt (Ryu's example)

copy a folder that has .arc files from your UMvC3 folder and place it somewhere else, like your desktop

place the ARCtool.exe and the pc-dmc4se.bat (the latter is primarily used in cmd) inside a folder with an .arc file

drop the .arc file of your choice on the pc-dmc4se.bat and you should see a DOS window appear then create a folder moments later.

open contents of folder and enjoy!

[LarsAlexandersson]

Part 3: Texturing (by 650fosho)

Video Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTO6CHr2Ct8

Other than UMvC3 Tools & ID References:

* The latest Python version or this one: https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-2712/

* Image editing software such as Photoshop, Paint.net, or GIMP(I will be using Photoshop for this)

* NVidia's DDS plugins: https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop

Seeking and Extracting the Archive

Be sure to keep backups of the official files so you don't have to verify integrity cache when something goes wrong!

OK first off you need to choose a character whose skin you want to edit. For the purposes of this tutorial I will be using Strider Hiryu's 5th color.

Now to get to it we need to go into the game files. There's a shortcut you can do by right clicking the game on Steam, selecting Properties, and going to "Browse Local Files".

http://imgur.com/fGMAcwt

From there we can just go to nativePCx64/chr/archive and we're there.

Meanwhile, be sure to download the UMVC3 Tools if you haven't already and put them in their own folder. You also have to have Python installed if you haven't done so. Otherwise the tools won't work.

Next we need to find our character. Strider's character ID is 21 and the 5th costume is 04 because 00 is the first costume. This means we copy 0021_04.arc and paste it in the folder we have the tools in.

http://imgur.com/84SkQGq

Now, we begin the process by dragging the Archive onto arcUnpack.py and a folder with the name of the arc will be made.

If you want to get to the character textures, we go deep in the folders. In the case of Strider's 5th color, the directory is 0021_04\chr\Hiryu\model\5p. When we get there we'll see a .mod file, a .mrl file, and a bunch of .tex files.

http://imgur.com/orcgmKv

Before we continue I have to explain one important thing. Texture files in UMVC3 have Suffixes in their names that denote what the texture is for, just like Resident Evil 5. _BM = Bitmap(Color Map) _NM = Normal Map a.k.a. Bump Maps _MM = Specular/Shadow Maps()

Right now the tool doesn't always extract the Normal or Specular maps correctly, but that's not a big deal right now. For editing textures, we just need the color map, so we copy the .tex files with the suffix of _BM and paste it in the directory where we have the tools. Then we drag all of them one at a time onto the Tex_Check.py and it will produce a .dds file for you to edit. BE SURE NOT TO RENAME ANY FILES. From there you open the .dds in your favorite image editing program of choice. I'm using Photoshop.

Notes on Editing the Texture

While you edit, keep an eye on the channels. Make note of whether or not you see an Alpha channels.

Now when you're done you just close and save the changes. Now when you save it you'll see a dialogue box that asks about the format. Now what we need to do is choose between DTX1 and DTX5. If the texture has transparency we go to DTX5. However, this texture does not so we choose DTX1.

http://imgur.com/kwq9D9o

Repacking and reinsertion

Now to put this modified dds back into the .tex we just drag the .tex into the program Tex_Inject.py. The names must match for this to work. Then we copy the .tex files we modified(no need to touch others if you didn't do anything with them) and we copy and replace the .tex file with the same name back into the place it was in the folder the tool made. In this case we return to 0021_04\chr\Hiryu\model\5p.

Lastly we return to drag the entire folder, yes the whole thing, onto ArcRepack.py. Out will come a duplicate file with the suffix -repacked. This is our modded texture archive. we can rename it to remove the suffix and return to the game's Steam files and replace the archive.

http://imgur.com/Zo02KfB

From there we load and test.

Note: As of now there is no way we know of ATM that will let us edit UI elements because the tool cannot export nomips .tex files correctly. Will be updated when this is possible.

[LarsAlexandersson]

Part 3: Effects (by 650fosho)

http://s15.zetaboards.com/UMvC3_PC_Mods/topic/10161710/1/ (Currently in progress)

Reference link from Infernal Works: http://s1.zetaboards.com/InfernalWorks/topic/5840576/1/

Intro

First, read up on the reference link from Infernal Works which is the DMC modding forum which helped us a great deal in getting started.

Now then, you want to learn how to edit effects? There are two kinds of effect files but they are all an .efl extension and can be opened in a hex editor of your choice. The first kind are found in a characters palette, for example 0031_00.arc which is She-Hulks color 1 slot. Not every character has an effect for their palette, it depends if they have specific effect colors based on their color. For She-Hulk, she has effects that modify her attacks to specific colors based on her skin tone, green on green skin, blue on blue skin, etc. Zero also has palette files for his intro/outro teleport as well as his after image effects on his dash-teleport specials.

The palette efls can be found in an unpacked arc file in: chr/CHARACTER/effect/efl

The first file will be named 1010 (each file is named based on palette, 2010 would be for slot 2 and 3010 for slot 3, etc.).

The main efls are located in the characters cmn arc, 0001_cmn.arc would be Ryu's common arc which contains the colored effects for all his attacks. In general 0000.efl is for normal attacks but every character is different and some characters may not have a 0000.efl. It's important to note that 0002-0008 are reserved for XF and hit effects, so it's best not to touch those. For example if you wanted to change the electrical effects characters receive when they take damage, you would have to modify all 50 characters cmn.arc, which isn't feasible, so ignore these for now.

These files are also located in: chr/CHARACTER/effect/efl

You can use the ID reference link above to help you on your search but every character will be different, for example Thor's normals were all contained in 0000.efl but Magneto's were not, so it's best to first try and identify which files you are editing by making a mass hex change and observing the differences in game (hint, you can drop in custom .arc files while the game is running, you simply need to return to character select in order to reload the changes).

ID'ing the codes
First, we're going to do a search in the hex editor (ctrl+F) and look for BM (as you get better at this, you will learn to find the correct codes to replace elsewhere). Reference Image 1: http://i.imgur.com/MZdpQZo.jpg

In the above image, about 4 lines up from the BM search, we can see 2 sets of matching code, anytime we see 2 sets of matching code near the BM mark, it's a color code. However there are exceptions, whether capcom was lazy, stupid or going for some kind of blended color, there may be entire efl files without any matching sets of code! There are also sets of code which really aren't sets of code, so we'll need to take caution and identify codes.

Primary position; this is the most common position you will find a color code, even if the codes don't match, it's more than likely a code. (notice the light blue at the bottom highlighting my "BM" search term: http://i.imgur.com/9janDX5.jpg

Example 2; another example showing a pair of codes that do not match but it is a color code due to it's position, a couple lines above the BM search field: http://i.imgur.com/sgWVE1Q.jpg

Secondary position; this example shows a secondary color code below the "tex" field (eft\cmn\tex\CMNelectric00_BM), FF FF FF FF is the code for white, it's not a good idea to use the replace function to mass replace this code as there are multiple areas in the efl with FF FF FF FF that aren't color codes: http://i.imgur.com/BVYFnjR.jpg

NOT A CODE; the reason why this is not a code is for a couple reasons, the main give away is that the C2 B8 B2 BD code doesn't appear twice in a row, which as seen from example 2 proves that codes *can* be different, however the sequence of code 1 C2 B8 B2 BD and code 2 C2 B8 32 3E appears twice in a row without a gap in code which is a not a true code. If we also use color-hex we can confirm what the color C2B8B2 is, which is an ugly yellow/green, if your character does not have a type of color related to this, then it's definitely not a code:
http://i.imgur.com/UX9DgBQ.jpg

Correct group codes; the pattern here is that there is always 2 sets of code followed by one set of blank code, then another 2 sets of code, another blank and so on. The start of the code is: http://i.imgur.com/PYzxkBJ.jpg

Code Select Expand


00 FF 00 67, 00 FF 00 67

0A 00 00 00 (BLANK, do not touch)

46 FF 00 28, 46 FF 00 28

14 00 00 00 (BLANK, do not touch)

FF FF 00 00, FF FF 00 00

END


There may be multiple groups like this right next to each other, but they always appear in a similar pattern.

[The end of the document]; you will know the document is near it's end when there are no more BM fields below, this code under the "tex" field is the last code left in the efl file: http://i.imgur.com/7O6nqlr.jpg

Hex editing
Now that you have an understanding of the locations of codes, how do we change them? It's a good idea to find a color you like by using a hex color converter on color-hex website and making note of that code. I used a light blue for a Thor lightning mod (http://gamebanana.com/effects/5704) and that code was 82 DF FF. Now you may notice that codes are in pairs of 4, the last set of code is for intensity. 82 DF FF FF would be the light blue at maximum intensity (according to this chart on ascii converter, FF = 255 which is the maximum value)

So for example, in this image, 00 28 97 is the color code and F8 is the intensity level. We can also check this 002897 color and see if it fits with any of the color schemes for that character. When I replace code, I will usually keep the intensity level the same as to not cause any ill effects, so I would swap 00 28 97 F8 with 82 DF FF F8: http://i.imgur.com/9janDX5.jpg

Now remember that replacing code with the same color through out will give us a monochromatic color change, meaning any moves that have layered colors, like multiple shades of yellow that blends, you will instead get a single type of color. For this reason it's best to leave any white (FF FF FF) color codes alone as the white usually adds to the dynamic range of the effect. Also keeping the intensity levels the same is important to help create a layered effect that looks nice.

Tips
Always create back ups of your efl files, I like to create several folders where I will do test runs then drop the files in that I know work. You may notice that sometimes when you make a change that the color looks crazy or the effects start going haywire, this is because you may have to adjust the intensity levels of your codes and it's important to have back ups you can reference.

Keep a note pad open and make note of the locations where you are changing code, in this the code is located at 12F0 and I will make note of that change, and cross reference my back up files in case there's an error somewhere: http://i.imgur.com/9janDX5.jpg

In some cases, colors will shift for no reason or there may be a code modifier somewhere altering your code, when this happens its always important to test your effects and check your notes to see where this issue may occur. For my Thor mod, the only move that gave me issues was Mighty Strike and it was specifically the streaks that appear at the tail end of this move. For some reason the game was turning my color from a bright blue to a dark purple, why? I suspected that it was shifting the hue to a bit more red as when I changed my blue codes to white, it appeared pink. In order to solve this I offset my code until I was happy with the results, meaning I took my original 82DFFF code and use the hex color picker to find a different shade that would offset the red tone.

There may also be cases where you change a color and the effect appears distorted, this is probably because the effect you are recoloring has transparency and is not meant for such drastic monochrome adjustments. You may need to turn down the intensity and use the conversion to find a value that works for you within ascii conversion

Did you know you can pack the generic cmn efl files into the character palettes? This means you can set up color slots to only use specific effects, to do this you simply copy those cmn files into your unpacked palette arc's chr/CHARACTER/effect/efl folder, then edit your manifest.text or arc.text to include these new files.

Tools
Hex Edit: http://www.hexedit.com/
- the tool I use for this tutorial

Hex conversion: http://ascii.cl/conversion.htm
- useful if you want to understand which hex codes correspond to intensity

Hex color converter: http://www.color-hex.com/
- you can type in the hex codes here and it will show you a color, you can also pick a color and obtain the hex color code

[LarsAlexandersson]

Part 4: BGM (by 650fosho)

First, download Audacity

Next we're going to click the Edit button up top and go down to "Preferences", go to Import / Export and select "Use Custom Mix (for example a 5.1 etc)", you should only need to do this once. http://imgur.com/UgLUMBO

If you want to default all future audio tracks as 16, go to "Edit -> Preferences" and go to "Quality" change "32 bit-float to 16"

(however it appears that setting a song to 16 bit or 32 doesn't make a difference)

Adding a song

Now, drag and drop your custom song into Audacity, more than likely it's a stereo mix and will result in two channels

Make sure the song is formatted to 48000Hz! This is very important, look below at your Project Rate, if it says 44100Hz, then we need to convert this to the correct format. In order to do this, set your Project Rate to 48000Hz then export to a .mp3 file. Now open a new audacity project and drop the new file in, if its 48000Hz in the project rate as well as on the track itself, then you are good to go.

Now in order for UMvC3 to read this audio, it needs to have 6 tracks total, your first two are stereo audio, so now go up top to Tracks and "Add New -> Audio Tracks", since your stereo track counts as 2 tracks, we only need 4 extra. Each extra track you add should be set to 48000Hz (bit rate doesn't matter)

If you aren't concerned about looping, you can simply use a very long song and begin exporting.

Exporting

Now hit "File -> Export"

You need to look into the part 1's BGM section. All the background music in the game can be found in /steamapps/common/ULTIMATE MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3/nativePCx64/sound/bgm/source

Every single .sngw file can be easily converted into .ogg by changing the file extension. Alternatively, if you have the right codecs, MPC-HC can play .sngw files by associating them to it. Here's what I've gotten labeled so far.

Change the name of your song to a title of your choice, if you want training stage then name it bgm_st_000

Make sure you select Ogg Vorbis File and click "Options" and set quality to 10

Next you will see an "Edit meta data" window appear, this is important, hit "Clear" to remove old data, then create a new field underneath "comments" and manually type in "Ver" (there is no auto fill, correct spelling is important!), select the value box next to it and type in "0002", you want to see this: http://imgur.com/VQ9kPvF *(dont worry about the looping values for now, see section below)*

You will know you've done things correctly when after the Meta Data window, you will see this: http://imgur.com/KtdsyHE

After it's complete, find your file and rename it from a .ogg file to .sngw

Go to: /steamapps/common/ULTIMATE MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3/nativePCx64/sound/bgm/source

Back up your old file then replace it with your new one.

Open the game then go to Gallery to find your music or play with the appropriate character/stage/menu/etc to test it

Set up Loop

Remember this image? http://imgur.com/VQ9kPvF

You will notice a LoopStart and LoopEnd Tag, this is how the game registers where to loop the files by it's sample.

First to make this a bit easier, go down below and change your "Selection Start" to read as "Samples": http://imgur.com/WxHoEHg

Now the hard part, we have to figure out where we want to start our loop and where to end it, that will be up to you and how good you are finding the loop point will determine how choppy or perfect the transition is

Open a text editor to make this easier to keep track of the data, within Audacity select where you want the loop to begin, this will be trial and error but you want to make sure you are as close to the downbeat as possible (usually where the kick drum starts it's loop)

Here is an example: http://imgur.com/YDQBIic

Here is a further zoomed example: http://imgur.com/H8UxWHD

Notice how I am just on the edge of where the wave file starts to ramp up

Take note of your Select Start at the bottom, here I have 754,287 and I make note of this in my text editor

Next we need to find the end of the loop, this is a bit trickier but hopefully you have a song that already loops on itself, if that's the case then we need to find the audio space between the last piece of the loop and just before the next downbeat: http://imgur.com/TSRCGmj

You will notice how I'm aiming for a similar spot later in the song, except now our Selection Start is at 4,351,505

Now when you Export your song, enter fields for LoopStart and LoopEnd as I had it in this image: http://imgur.com/VQ9kPvF

We don't need commas, just input the raw numbers that you tracked earlier then export your file using the steps we went over above.

Test your song and listen to it a few times to make sure it loops properly.

Remember, you don't need your loop to start at 0, many songs will have a quick intro before going into the looping section

Dynamic BGM
Dynamic BGMs are a bit different in nature, there are 2 audio files for each stage (except training stage) that holds the music files. If you open up the original sound file (for example we'll use bgm_st_001 which is danger room) in audacity you'll see there are 6 tracks but the bottom 2 also has a song. Dynamic BGMs alter the song based on how many characters are left, the first character is set to the top two tracks, the second character is stored in bgm_st_001_b and the 3rd character is set to the bottom 2 tracks. So how do we make a custom dynamic BGM?

First, make sure your source audio is already set to 48000Hz BEFORE you drop it into audacity, please refer to the Adding a Song section above

Drop in your .mp3, it can be stereo

Add 2 more blank tracks

Drop in the same .mp3 below your blank tracks so you have a total of 6 but INCREASE the volume of the bottom 2 tracks by +4 DB (however this may be a case by case basis and requires verification on your end to ensure volume levels are the same throughout each stage transition)

Do your normal looping procedure as explained in the Looping section

Use the same export options that we went over above to make a bgm_st_XXX.ogg

Keep your same project and delete the bottom 4 tracks so you have your original two tracks still, export as bgm_st_XXX_b.ogg (your looping meta data should carry over from your first export)

(tip: you can save your meta data by clicking the "save..." and make an .xml file for reuse or as a template for other projects with "Ver 0002")

Troubleshooting
Still having issues? it's probably because the original song you are using is at 44100Hz, in order to fix this, drop in your music in a new project, if you see 44100Hz, you should also see 44100Hz at the bottom left where it says "Project Rate" and set that to 48000Hz. Then, export your song to a .mp3 file. Next, make a new project and drop your new .mp3 file in and it should be set to 48000 correctly.

Problems with your 3rd transitions audio on your Dynamic BGMs? Again, try upping the volume meter on your bottom 2 tracks (should be 5th/6th), I use +4 but each song may be different. Quickest way to test your volumes is by going into the gallery and selecting your stage music, if you have another audio program with a way to record your desktop audio (sometimes referred to as "what you hear"), you can alt-tab to that and check the volume meters through your software while it's playing.

Link from DMC4 pastebin that is of use
http://pastebin.com/raw/hTBxweH8

[LarsAlexandersson]

Part 5: Movie (by 650fosho)

Want to add your favorite video as an intro?

file needs to be rendered as a .wmv 1920x1080 with 24 FPS

rename to 0000.wmv

back up your old file and replace it here

steamapps>common>ULTIMATE MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3>nativepcx64>movie

NOTE: Any longer movie you replace will be forced to end at the same length as the original movie.

We currently don't know where that time is dictated but it's likely hard coded somewhere like a lot of stuff in this game. It is recommended to make longer videos abridged to fit the length of the original video.

Part 6: Tools (by Sixfortyfive)

SNGW-Dec

This tool Decrypts Encrypted SNGW Files which is related to sound. Originally made for DMC4SE & RE Revelations 2.

http://www.sb-online.org/maluc/index.php?did=sngwdec

ArisenTools

https://github.com/mhvuze/ArisenTools

https://github.com/mhvuze/ArisenTools/blob/master/DDDAarclist/DDDAarclist/ExtensionHandler.cs

A Subversion that contains very notable tools made for Dragon's Dogma's Steam port.

Old Files & Links

UMVC3 Tools by smb123w64gb

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/288557004564201473/289007727496265729/UmVc3Tools.zip

Requires python to work, simply drag your .arc files into the arcUnpack.py then, you can drop in a character folder into arcRepack.py to repack into a new .arc file. The repacker uses a text file to give instruction on what to pack, you can find this in your character folder, for example we'll use Ryu's slot 1: 0000_00/manifest.text. You can edit this text document to include new material such as effects or even models. Use the TEX_check.py and inject.py to extract and repack texture files, you can find more information about this in our texture tutorial under cosmetics.

Contains

-Arc extractor/repack

-Tex injector/extractor

ARCtool-PC-batch.rar & ARCtool.rar

http://www.tzarsectus.com/tools/

Same as the UMvC3 Tools python scripts, but may be a bit easier to understand for some, you can also edit the manifest which is in the root folder of the extracted arc called 0000_00.arc.txt (Ryu's example)

copy a folder that has .arc files from your UMvC3 folder and place it somewhere else, like your desktop

place the ARCtool.exe and the pc-dmc4se.bat (the latter is primary to use in cmd) inside a folder with an .arc file

drop the .arc file of your choice on the pc-dmc4se.bat and you should see a DOS window appear then create a folder moments later.

open contents of folder and enjoy!

[LarsAlexandersson]

Part 7: Parameter Files (xxxx_param.arc) (by 650fosho)

The parameter archives for each character define pretty much all of the gameplay characteristics for those characters: vitality, attacks, inputs, combo rules, and so much more. Most of the files within these archives have a similar header area, which contains a pointer table to all of the individual data entries contained within that file. The data that follows the table varies depending on what type of file it is.

Basic File Outline
The vast majority (but not all) of the files in the param.arc files follow this structure:
* 0x00 file header, first 4 bytes are the file extension
* 0x08 # of data entries stored within the file
* 0x10 pointer table

After the pointer table, all of the entries in the file are stored one after another.
* There is a 0x10 length footer at the very end of most of these files, which often repeats some information from the header.

Pointer Table
* 8 bytes per entry
* first 4 bytes = index # of data entry, increases in sequence but sometimes has gaps (in anmchr.cac, for example)
* last 4 bytes = offset for that entry's info in this file

Use the pointer table to locate the starting point of each data entry within the file.

Files Descriptions

ATI Files (Attack Info)
* atkinfo.ati = info for all melee attacks
* the "shot" folder has individual .ati files for each projectile attack

These files contain several important attributes for various attacks: damage, meter gain, pushback, OTG properties, some cancel properties, and much more. Generally speaking, these files define what happens whenever an attack makes contact with the opponent. The info for the majority of a character's attacks are all stored together in a file named atkinfo.ati, which includes normals, specials, hypers, crossover attacks, snap backs, TACs, and most (all?) other physical attacks. Info for projectile attacks tend to be separate from the rest and stored in individual .ati files within the character's "shot" folder.

Each entry has 0x18C bytes of data.

CAC Files (Animations)
* anmchr.cac = most character animations
* anmtdown.cac = ?????

These files contain the animations and actions that a character performs, and these are the files that other paramater files tend to reference when attacks are actually executed.

For example, when you perform a character's s.L, the game checks baseact.cba to see what that button is programmed to do, and baseact.cba might say "execute animation 96." The anmchr.cac file is where the so-called "animation 96" is stored.

When executing an animation, the game will first check for that animation in the character's anmchr.cac file. If no such animation is found there, then the game will attempt to run that action from anmcmn.cac in the "default" character archive (0000_00.arc) instead, which contains a set of universal animations (mostly movement and damage-related).

CBA Files (Basic Actions)
* baseact.cba = base actions (Normal operation mode)
* baseact_easy.cba = base actions (Simple operation mode)

These files define the actions performed when pressing single-button and single-direction inputs. They only define actions performed in neutral stance conditions, not in combos.

The order of actions within these files appears to be: standing normals, crouching normals, jumping normals, command normals, taunt. (Not all characters have been checked.)

Each entry has 0x20 bytes of data.

CCM Files
* cmdcombo.ccm = combo rules (Normal operation mode)
* cmdcombo_easy.ccm = combo rules (Simple operation mode)

to-do

CHS Files
* status.chs = basic gameplay parameters

Contains vitality, number of permitted air actions, attack/defense/speed buffs, and more. Some characters have multiple status entries, which often apply to different "forms" of a character (ex: Devil Trigger, Wesker with glasses on and glasses off, etc).

Each entry has 0x350 bytes of data.

CLI Files (Collision)

* atkcollision.cli = hitboxes?
* bodycollision.cli = hurtboxes?

to-do

CPI Files
* profile.cpi = ?????

CSP Files (Special Actions)
* cmdspatk.csp = special attack commands (Normal operation mode)
* cmdspatk_easy.csp = special attack commands (Simple operation mode)

These files define the input commands of special moves, as well as a few of their other properties.

Individual entries within this file can have different amounts of data. . The first 0x20 bytes follow the format on the first part

On the second part, additional blocks of data follow after the first 0x20 bytes, and each additional block is another 0x20 in size. The "size" value from the first block (from the first part offset) determines how many more blocks remain.

The data in the remaining blocks seems to vary in function by quite a bit, so there are a lot of properties left to figure out here. The second value in each block appears to describe what type of data that block contains. Type 02 contains info about the actual inputs needed to perform the action. Type 09 contains the action ID to execute; changing these values will change the move that the character will perform.

The "shot" sub-directory

Projectile parameters are stored in a sub-directory. Each projectile has its own .ati and .sht file associated with it, and the .ati file follows the same format as atkinfo.ati. Start your ID from 0x018, you can confirm this is the start of the file by going to offset 0x060 and confirming the damage value.

There is also an .lsh file in this sub-directory with a master list of that character's projectile attacks.

Links
Param Infos (currently ATKInfo): http://boxdox-marvel.dantarion.com.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/index.html (by dantarion)
File Offset Tables: https://mega.nz/#!oUYU1baT!yBGR8CbD570thaaJgnWx3koC7H-Zo3SSJCHAY7irXFs

[LarsAlexandersson]

Message for 650fosho:

Anotak has been working hard on creating tools that makes move editing easier, here is his github
https://github.com/anotak/MarvelEditTool/releases

click the MarvelEditTool.zip to download, he updates this regularly for new IDs we discover, so save the link.
install into any folder you want:
1. open statuseditor.exe to open the param.arc's atkinfo, status, cmdspatk and more.
2. Use amnchr.exe to open the animation files in amnchr (all animations) and amntdown (how opponents respond to capture state moves, includes damage and KD info) files.

These tools are especially great because you can export individual IDs and import them into other locations or even on other characters. ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR FILES!!!

These tools are very handy because many things are labeled, but use these pages for further references:
nearly every animation reference you could need: http://s15.zetaboards.com/UMvC3_PC_Mods/topic/10191456/1/?x=0#post10004352
a bunch of reference tables for ati files and such: https://www.reddit.com/r/mahvelmods/wiki/param

A rather useful tip, for status editor, it converts the hex codes into decimals for each entry, Anotak has made it convenient by adding in tags such as "doublejump" or "hardKD" but in the case where a tag may not be available, you'll have to convert your modified hex into a decimal value and paste into the edit window.

UPDATE from 650fosho: MSD Editor added allow you to edit UI texts

[LarsAlexandersson]

Arcade Edition Beta Balance is out:
http://s15.zetaboards.com/UMvC3_PC_Mods/topic/10218731/

Credit the publishers

[LarsAlexandersson]

EX Edition

https://www.reddit.com/r/mahvelmods/comments/6hyknf/project_marvel_a_balance_mod_for_the_pc_is_now/

[LarsAlexandersson]

EX Edition is up. See here: http://marvelmods.com/forum/index.php?topic=10002.msg186964#msg186964