# General Mod Creation
# Material Colorsets (Pre-Dawntrail)
Note: Materials are getting changed a bit with the release of Dawntrail, so the following information may not be accurate once that expansion comes out.
A general understanding of UV Maps and Exporting/Importing with Penumbra is assumed for this page.
## The Basics
Colorset information is stored on the alpha channel of the normal map for a given gear item. By default if no colorset information is defined (the alpha channel is all white), all parts of the mesh will change color with colorset row #16.
To assign different parts of the UV map to different colorset rows, those areas should be colored with different shades of gray. The following table described what shades corrospond to which rows.
Row
Hex Color
1
\#000000
2
\#111111
3
\#222222
4
\#333333
5
\#444444
6
\#555555
7
\#666666
8
\#777777
9
\#888888
10
\#999999
11
\#aaaaaa
12
\#bbbbbb
13
\#cccccc
14
\#dddddd
15
\#eeeeee
16
\#ffffff
## Adding Colorset Information
Lets say you want to add more colorset options to a gear item that only uses one row.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/tcszliZRFDWGEwd9-colorsets-one-colorset.gif)
You will first need to export your normal map. If using Photoshop, it is best to use the DDS files as the alpha channel could get lost otherwise.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/lXsgSinOgkWvw1t1-colorsets-export-normal.png)
The normal map looks like this:
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/6jBnma9LSZBQMcD8-colorsets-normal-example-2.png)
And here are the labels for what each area corresponds to.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/tlv59PaMTlfnVT0x-colorsets-uv-labels-2.png)
### Editing In Photoshop
I unfortunately need to leave the Photoshop steps as a "rest of the owl" situation as I don't have Photoshop. But in general if you have the Nvidia DDS plugin, you should be able to import the normal map and draw onto the alpha channel.
Once done export that normal back out to import it back into the game.
### Using Vismut
[Vismut](https://gitlab.com/vismut-org/vismut) is a cool technical tool that allows you to copy color data between channels on textures.
With any photo editing tool we can draw the colors we need based on the areas of the UVs. It will look roughly like the following picture based on the normal shared above. Essentially we have the sleeves, cuffs, hood, and waist seam as different colorset items.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/nOlrxzg5P2PISgTx-colorsets-data-to-transfer-2.png)
Using Vismut we can transfer this data to the alpha channel by setting it up like this:
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/w4uZnkflMQtWQX3w-colorsets-vismut-example.png)
### Importing to game
Once your new normal is created, import it back into the game and replace the existing normal map.
Then you should be able to go to the materials tab check your colorset rows.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/o5Zt4IWXvQWA25CX-colorsets-different-rows.gif)
# Material / Texture path Basics
This guide aims to explain how material and texture pathing works. Without covering the more complicated topic of creating meshes, materials, and textures.
At a general level, most physical items in the game will have a model `mdl`, some materials `mtrl` and some textures `tex`. For the sake simplicity, the below is referring to gear items, as other items may operate slightly different.
## General Pathing
The game knows to link these files based on the following diagram. The model specified is materials, and the materials specify their textures. Because of this you can typically rename the material or textures as needed as long as the files that reference them are also updated.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/zrri3czRobSS3NV8-material-texture-path-graph-2-1.png)
### Viera Ears
After testing more with viera ears. I was not able to get as much flexibilty with the names for the ear materials. Only specific names for the material files worked for me.
For example when putting a new material in the folder for Viera Ear 2. I originally named it the following which works fine.
```
chara/human/c1801/obj/zear/z0002/material/mt_c1801z0002_c.mtrl
```
But this name did not work.
```
chara/human/c1801/obj/zear/z0002/material/foo.mtrl
```
Oddly enough names poiting to the wrong race worked as I was able to get this to work.
```
chara/human/c1801/obj/zear/z0002/material/mt_c0801z0002_c.mtrl
```
I have not figured out why this works for gear items but not ears.
## Example
As an example of how this works and how you can change the material and texture names around, lets look at the "Fingerless Gajaskin Gloves of Striking" item `591-5`.
The model for this item is located here:
`chara/equipment/e0591/model/c0201e0591_glv.mdl`.
Since this is variation `5`. Any new materials we may want to add will need to be in that variations folder:
`chara/equipment/e0591/material/v0005/`
And the textures will all live in the gear items main texture folder:
`chara/equipment/e0591/texture/`
Since materials reference textures by full path, the textures may not need to be put in this folder if you are adding new materials for a model. But it will keep things less confusing to just put them there for now.
If you are only overwriting the base textures and material, then you will most likely not need to change anything here. But say we want to add some new materials with their own textures.
### Referencing New Materials
Here is a picture of a mod that takes the hand and cuts it up into three parts with different styles. We are going to use 3 materials for this mod. The first is the base bibo+ skin for the upper arm, the second is a material for the black band, and the third is a material for the transparent hand.
(This document is not going to go into the creation of this for simplicity, but this mod is essentially the bibo+ hand cut up into three parts to style differently with different materials, then imported into a glove item in game)
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/z3yuKK0F2MJH6sJW-material-texture-path-game-pic.png)
We are going to add 2 new materials and 5 new textures to accomplish this. Here is what our penumbra imports look like. The first item is our update model, then we have materials / textures for the band and the hand (ice). Notice the mod paths in green vs the game import paths in white. The text in the green paths does not matter to the game, where as the text in the white paths is very important for the game to find the files correctly. (Your mod file structure does not need to mimic the games file structure. For example the `chara` folder could be named anything)
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/c9NKpnlwHvnxFkrw-material-texture-path-penumbra-imports.png)
Now we need to tell our model about these new materials. Since we are updating variation 5, the model will look in the path `chara/equipment/e0591/material/v0005/` for its materials. In the previous step we put our materials in this folder. The game will look in that folder for the materials based on the names we provide on this panel. So all we need to do is specify their names in the "Materials" section of this tab, then in the "Meshes" section we update the material for each mesh with the corresponding material we want to use. `Mesh #1` is typically the body mesh, so it should be using the skin material for whatever body the mod is for. (In this example this gear mod will only work for the bibo body)
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/f5UhPVLISw0Vdfh8-material-texture-path-penumbra-models.png)
For the last step we need to go update the materials to point to the right texture files. Materials typically reference textures by their full path. Just use the white text file paths we created in the "File Redirections" tab to point to the right texture for each of Diffuse/Normal/Specular.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/8CA0o6EDtGLHY4ML-material-texture-path-penumbra-materials-band.png)
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-06/kw02EBkMxm4tNIER-material-texture-path-penumbra-materials-ice.png)
That's it, you should be able to redraw and see your new materials at this point. 
# Editing Weapon Idle Position
### Using VFX Editor to Offset Weapons on Idle Stance
Before you start, make sure you have the VFX Editor plugin for Dalamud (as well as using XIVLauncher to run Dalamud). You will also need Penumbra to implement the mod if you do not want to load up VFXEditor all the time.
## Step 1 - Open VFX and Select ATCH:
Open up VFX Editor by typing /vfxedit. Proceed to click the “atch” button.
atch in the VFX Editor window.## Step 2 - Select Race and Gender:
In the new window, under Loaded Atch (the first line), click the Search button, and in the new window, select Character, then select base Race/Gender. Pick you character's race/gender, then hit Select.
(For this example, this guide will use Hyur Midlander F)
## Step 3 - Select Weapon/Tool/etc:
A new list will pop up on the Atch Editor window (you can close the Atch Select \[LOADED\] window).
This contains a list of all weapons, tools, and other related things. Please refer to the bottom of the guide to see which affects which classes/jobs.
## Step 4 - Select Replaced Race:
Below "Loaded Atch", on the line Atch Being Replaced, click that search button's icon, and repeat step #2. This is for the one you want to load to. Use the same choice as you picked for Step #2
## Step 5 - Select the Weapon:
Now with the job or class you want weapons adjusted, make sure those weapons are currently shown. Click the weapon (forehand or backhand, whichever you want to adjust) and you will see six lines that are named "State".
You want to edit State 1, and should either have "kosi" or "sebo" in the name (Kosi for hips, Sebo for back):
j\_buki\_kosi\_<l/r> → Sheathed Weapon (Hip)
j\_buki2\_kosi\_<l/r> → Sheathed Weapon (Hip2)
j\_buki\_sebo\_<l/r> → Sheathed Weapon (Back)
Press the small white triangle button to expand the window of that weapon's State 1, and you should see some numbers like in the example above.
## Step 6 - The Trial and Error Part:
This part will be the trial-and-error part. Change only one value (use increments of 0.1 or 0.01) at a time, then hit the green UPDATE button to see a change on your weapon. If things went well, the weapon on your character should have moved in some way…
- Focus on Offset and Rotation part. These values do not necessarily coordinate with X, Y, and Z, and this moves only one weapon for the class/job for that particular race/gender. (Offset moves placement, rotation changes weapon orientation. This affects you idle standing position with weapons sheathed.)
- Use Change Pose (in-game) to see how the weapon looks on different standing idle positions. I start at the base standing position where both arms are just straight down. (I do not know how to "reset" a value, so I write down the base numbers in case I need to start from base.)
- Save your workspace by going to File > Save As, then select where you want to save your workspace (then use Save when you make further changes). Use Open (or Open Recent) to load this up again in the future.
## Step 7 - Saving it all:
Once you have made all your changes for every job you want adjusted for that single race/gender, click Export, then pick either Penumbra or Textools, then fill in the information for your modpack then Save. You can also export the RAW ATCH file as well (the button to the right of the green UPDATE button), espcially if you want to use your adjustments for other races/gender.
If you want to edit other races/gender, click the + button (see below) and then repeat the previous steps. You can keep one Workspace file if you want to adjust multiple races/gender.
## Finalizing and Notes:
Turn off VFX Editor, then load the .pmp or .ttmp2 file to see if it worked (and that you do not need to load in VFXEditor each time you log into the game).
- Not all races/gender will share the same exact values for 1 weapon, will need to adjust for each if planning to do all.
- Hand collisions will occur on idle positions. Move the weapon again if it bothers you.
- Using **Change Pose** can make some weapons look further out/in. I tested with the standard idle position (arms straight down).
- If you use **Customize+**, you will need to adjust for that (load your C+ setting for your character before adjusting weapons). C+ Weapon Offset is **NOT** working as of now.
- If you edited one race/gender, and if you want to load those settings on another, you can save that workspace into an .ATCH file, then load that file in Loaded Atch (first line). Note that it will use the base of the loaded race/gender combination, and may not reflect the natural weapon positions of the target race/gender. This can save work, but weapons can appear farther on other races/gender, and may need more fine tuning.
- Crafting main tools will either have a side hip tool or a back tool position. (If you need to test back tools, use **Glamourer** and switch to an Aesthete tools)
- This guide is for adjusting weapon positions on the idle position. For drawn and everything else, I think you would need to adjust the other States (personally have not tried this).
**Special Thanks to:**
*ReqRider for writing the Original Guide.*
*Saenomaed for Teaching ReqRider this technique.*
*Everyone involved in VFXEdit, especially ocealot.*
ATCH Weapon Code List
```
ATCH Weapon Items Code List
Paladin (Gladiator)
swd -Sword (hips)
sld -Shield (back)
Warrior (Marauder)
2ax -Greataxe (back)
Dark Knight
2sw -Greatsword (back)
Gunbreaker
2gb -Gunblade (back)
Dragoon (Lancer)
2sp -Spear (back)
Reaper
2km -Scythe (back)
ebz -Reaper Shroud (none)
Monk (Pugilist)
cls, clw -Claw (hips)
clg -Glove (none)
Notes: I found cls may work rather than clw, like with tonfa weapons
Samurai
2kt -Katana (hips)
ksh -Samurai Sheath (hips)
Ninja (Rogue)
dgr, (dge) -Dagger (hips)
frg -Ninja Frog (none)
rbt -Ninja Rabbit (none)
Notes: dge may not affect daggers, have not found a use
Bard (Archer)
2bw -Bow (back)
qvr -Quiver (back)
flt -Flute (none)
hrp -Harp (none)
Machinist
2gn -gun (back)
bag -Machinist Bag (hips)
msg -Machinist Shotgun (back)
mwp -Machinist Cannon (back)
gsl -Machinist Deployable (none)
syl -Machinist Sniper (none)
Notes: Shotgun and Cannon are normally deployed quickly, may not need to adjust these
Dancer
chk -Chakram (hips)
Black Mage, White Mage (Thaumaturge, Conjurer)
2st -Greatstaff (back)
stf -Staff (hips) [single hand staffs, 1.0, 2.0 content]
Summoner, Scholar (Archanist)
2bk -Book (hips)
Red Mage
2rp -Rapier (hips)
orb -Red Mage Focus (hips)
Blue Mage
rod -Blue Mage Rod (hips)
Astrologian
2gl -Globe (back)
crd -Astrologian Deck (hips)
Sage
2ff -Nouliths (back)
Carpenter
awo (back)
saw (hips)
csl, csr (none)
Blacksmith
hmm (hips)
Armorer
aar, abl (back)
hmm (hips)
ytk (none)
Goldsmith
agl (back)
mlt (hips)
tbl, tgn (none)
Leatherworker
alt (back)
fry (hips)
prf (none)
Weaver
ase (back)
tmb (hips)
ndl, whl (none)
Alchemist
aai, aal (back)
ali, alm (hips)
mrb, mrh (none)
Culinarian
aco (back)
fry (hips)
stv (none)
Miner
pic (back)
Botanist
htc (back)
nph (none)
Fisher
fsh (back)
fha (none)
sic (none)
Unknown:
Hips -rap, gun, yt2, ytc
Back -sht
None -atr, avt, col, cor, cos, crr, drm, egp, elg, fcb, fch, fdr, fl2, fud, gdb, gdh, gdl, gdr, gdt, gdw, gsr, hel, let, lpr, nik, oum, pen, sxw, syr, syu, tcs, trm, trr, trw, vln, wng, ypd
```
# DT Iris Material Editing
# Asym Sclera
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/3QVWZjMpXQQop76M-asym-sclera.png)
> Required Tools for this Tutorial:
> \* Midori's Asym Eyes Framework: [https://www.xivmodarchive.com/modid/20415](https://www.xivmodarchive.com/modid/20415)
> \* Textools 3.0
> \* Penumbra Transaction is not necessarily required, but it does make life a lot easier. I will be using it in this tutorial.
>
> Notes:
>
> - This will work on all races/genders/faces, however my example will use Male Xaela Face 1.
> - You cannot do this specific process without the Asym Eyes framework by Midori.
> - If you just want both sclera to be black, I have a mod already available for everyone: [https://www.xivmodarchive.com/modid/110516](https://www.xivmodarchive.com/modid/110516)
> - This is achievable in Penumbra with this same base mod we are using, through editing the constants within the material file, but this is *not* an accessible method right now. I would not recommend this method unless you have experience adjusting Atramentum Luminis values in Endwalker. The Material Editing Kit has not been updated for DT and is unlikely to come back before Atramentum Luminis does, so I will not be covering editing these values in Penumbra for now.
> - I will not cover Penumbra Transaction or Textools installation in this guide , but I will link to some resources that go over it. While Penumbra is in beta, you are responsible for your own mod usage and breakage, use these tools at your own risk.
> - Midori's Framework splits the Vanilla eyes into two seperate models, and allows for two seperate materials and therefore, asym eyes, meaning you can have different texturres. ''IRI A'' material will only affect the left eye and ''IRI B'' will only affect the right eye. Please make sure you read their notes on the mod page about installing custom eye textures.
#### Resources:
- Textools 3.0 Handbook - [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-NnGriuqhh5ZmItSZSH-nrIgsiFBN2\_gFWWzPRVk-3s/edit](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-NnGriuqhh5ZmItSZSH-nrIgsiFBN2_gFWWzPRVk-3s/edit)
- TexTools 3.0 - UI & Basics - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UknILJmCe\_A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UknILJmCe_A)
- TexTools 3.0 - Transactions & Intermediate User Tools [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-iulzH8Txs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-iulzH8Txs)
- TexTools 3.0 - Penumbra Attach Demo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nr\_PvEJAp0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nr_PvEJAp0)
- TexTools 3.0 - Projects & Auto-Import Demo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Q23GC1sNY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9Q23GC1sNY)
- Yuria's DT Modding Guide: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-FW2qpGza1nFyT8T6VQmeWQtBSTo0ULWriUGwsO5MhE/edit](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-FW2qpGza1nFyT8T6VQmeWQtBSTo0ULWriUGwsO5MhE/edit)
- Yuria's Penumbra Attach Workflow: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzL5ZC1B06A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzL5ZC1B06A)
### **So what's the deal with the Iris shader, and how did you get the eye whites to look black/white/funny other colour without a texture edit?**
Due to changes in the Iris shader in Dawntrail, it's now possible to adjust the colour of sclera without using textures. In Endwalker, the Iris shader was a lot more limited, and dynamic catchlights were not possible, that is until Dawntrail where the shader catchlights follow the light source. Of course this means we lost our custom static catchlights, but we gained so much from the change, and I want to talk about one of the constants in the Iris shader in particular - 11C90091 aka eye white colour.
Textools Iris Shader Constants Editor:
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/vu6yl7gqZJDfwfk2-image.png)
## **Let's Get Started**
**Step 1:**
Our first job is to enable the Penumbra Transaction system so we can easily see our changes in game without needing to log in and out. I have made a new folder called Asym Sclera for this tutorial, and I will be connecting to that folder inside my Penumbra mod repo.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/sL3K6fxkAG2gOsq0-image.png)
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/Nk9V298wAIPHQffd-image.png)
**Step 2:** With Penumbra Transaction ready, I am installing the Asym Eyes Framework, for this tutorial I am only editing Male Xaela face 101, so I am going to ignore the other asym Male Au'ra faces.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/KVqST7PjleoS0sA7-image.png)
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/0RFLisBXPNgyXEcx-image.png)
You will know the transaction has been successful if the Transaction Manager populates with a bunch of files, along with the "Import Complete" notification within Textools itself.
**Step 3:**
From here, we go to the left hand menu of Textools, and go to "Character" > "Face" > "(Your race and gender here)" > "(Your face here)"
So for me, I am going to Character, and then Face, and then Male Au'Ra and then to face 101.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/YnXjmdBNFhedkNo5-de97cae76fcbe1f8ae56d80a0943155b.gif)
**Step 4:**
Now we can start editing the sclera!
Some notes on how to understand how the shader works - the 3 values 1/2/3 correlate to RGB, and I'm guessing value 4 might be an alpha value, but you don't need to worry about that. What we're mainly looking at is the RGB in order to set one eye black and the other white. Right now the default Xaela sclera is set to 0.3 x 0.3 x 0.3 which results in that dark greyish colour that's unique to them. We are only editing the white eye colour today, so this is the only value I will show edited.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/NHzDRmL4wAeEWqu3-image.png)
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/Wc1Wg6CInRT3ZjzT-image.png)
In order to edit this constant, we need to enter into the shader constants, and luckily for us, there's a big button with Shader Constants on it. This is what we need to access and edit.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/HMImGLDmAmzbjr5J-image.png)
In order to get black sclera, we need to set all 3 values to 0.
For white, what I found best on Male Xaela was 0.7 on all 3 values, but your mileage may vary, be prepared to tinker. It took me 30 minutes to find a shade for my OC (fem viera) because it's a very finicky value set and not every gender/race/face share values, some races vary differently to the others, Au'ra especially.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/xykKdZ2dAy8fVgmK-image.png)
Now with all 3 values set to 0 on the Iris A material, the left eye will gain a black sclera after we confirm in the shader constants page and then save the change to Penumbra.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/ODTIOH7vRRWwnbvh-image.png)
Save to Penumbra and watch yourself automatically redraw in live time!
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/AfbrKzjI6gh53pGF-image.png)
**Step 5:**
Now we can edit the other Iris material. For this I'm going for a white look. As stated above, I'm going to use the value 0.7 for all 3 values, but your mileage may vary, have a fuck around and find out what looks best for you. Make sure you note down your original values just in case you need to reset. We basically repeat step 4, but we're using the different, higher, value and instead of editing Iris A, we are editing Iris B.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/lmpzuFNzx6La2YvM-image.png)
And Finished!
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/gc9BQaGvDeDqxtAq-image.png)
And yes, you can do any colour you want really, as long as you're working in the RBG space, the world is your oyster.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/gV0WK5CuEP4djbbz-image.png)[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/9kvneiZ6tkb8Z5xj-image.png)[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/uepOOA1iBAJPDDAj-image.png)
If you have any questions or need more clarification, or if a video tutorial would be additionally useful, I can be contacted on the site formerly known as Twitter at @serenity\_viator
# (TUTORIAL) How To Create a Custom Animation Mod in FFXIV Brio Style.
Hello, and welcome to my guide on how to create a Custom Animation in FFXIV as a mod, but with the similar knowledge you already have from Brio. If you know how to pose this will be a very simple thing to learn as we'll only be using the bare minimal.
**NOTE: This is not a guide on how to create a custom animation from scratch. This is a guide on creating animations similar to how you would in Brio**
Before we start this guide, there are a few things you are going to need to start, and we'll go through some of the basic terminologies as well. So for the following guide you will need.
**[Blender](https://www.blender.org):** (To create the animation)
**[XAT (Standalone)](https://github.com/Etheirys/XAT):** (To Convert both the animation into a Blender Ready file, and to convert the Custom Animation into a FFXIV Ready File)
**VFXEditor (Plugin):** (To grab the Animation File and Skeleton, and create the Mod)
**Penumbra (Plugin):** (To Install as a Mod)
As for Terminologies we have
**SKLB** - The Skeleton file of your character.
**PAP** - Ingame animation file.
**FBX** - 3D Model File for Blender.
With that out of the way, if you have all these programs now, you're ready to begin. We're not going to be going over anything too intricate, as this is just a tutorial, not a full guide into 3D Animating.
***Step 1: Getting the SKLB File. (VFXEDITOR)***
The first thing you're going to do is open up your vfxeditor, and on the list of tabs at the top click "sklb" from there you click the magnifying glass next to 'Loaded sklb' which will open a new window.
In that new window. under "Game Items" click "Character". Now a lot of Characters share the same Skeleton, and Midlander is usually the base most people go for. However if you're making this just for you pick your race and gender. For this guide we'll simply just do Midlander M. To the right near the top you'll see your race code ending with a b0001.sklb. This is the one you want, click the checkmark on that.
Now return back to the main window, and you'll see a big green button that says "Update" next to that you will see a picture of the hardrive with a down arrow. Click that to save your SKLB file and put it in whatever folder you desire.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/kxSsNJYRu6wlkE4L-sklb-file.gif)
***Step 2: Getting the PAP File. (VFXEDITOR)***
This is a very similar procedure, you click the "PAP" window at the top, and the magnifying glass on the loaded PAP. Now there are several options you have here. Action: Is for Skill actions. Emote is for character emotes, Character includes Idle and Movement and Job is for classes. For this one we're going to do a basic Idle. So click on Character, choose your race. Click on the check mark next to "IDLE" that appears on the right, and once again save it the same way you saved the SKLB File.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/z2VnGs7BLsP8AG6w-step-2-pap.gif)
With that you now have both the PAP and SKLB file and are ready to move onto the next step!
***Step 3: Creating the FBX File. (XAT)***
With those two files gotten we're now done with FFXIV for a while, we're now going to be opening the XAT Program that you downloaded earlier!
When XAT Is Oppened, the first thing you're going to see is this!
The first thing you're going to want to do is click the page icon, and load in the PAP File that you've taken from FFXI, and then Load in the SKLB File into the second open box underneath it. Undrerneath "Animation Select" should show two options, click cmnm\_id0 (Which stands for Idle, DMG stands for Damage these files are named super simply thank goodness) When both are done, go to the Export button, and set it to "Autodesk FBX" and click Export, save that FBX Wherever you want as well. None of these files need to be in the same folder.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/CLL6tvmvLFqhtWnA-step-3.gif)
***Step 4: Importing Creating your Pose, and Exporting (BLENDER)***
**4a. Importing the FBX**
This will be the longest step in the guide, Posing experience will save you a lot here.
This is where Blender comes in, Blender is an intimidating looking program however because of what we're doing you don't need any knowledge of Blender besides knowing how to import, and export an FBX!
In Blender Click File, go over to Import, and go to Import FBX and find your FBX to import. HOWEVER DO NOT IMPORT IT YET!
***IMPORTANT: WHEN IMPORTING TO THE RIGHT YOU WILL SEE 'PRIMARY BONE AND SECONDARY BONE' MAKE SURE PRIMARY BONE IS "X" and SECONDARY BONE IS "Y" OR THIS WILL NOT WORK!******[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/tSWRZkniTUDbJROa-image-2024-07-28-221519360.png)***
Anyways, if you've done it correctly it should look like this!
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/dOFUP8ubi7gIMYdm-image-2024-07-28-221640830.png)
Unfortunately there's no way easy way to import this with the skin intact, so you'll be dealing with the bare minimal. On the bright side, these bones do help showcase where your body will be. (Body Mods withstanding) so you can get a good idea where your bones will overlap.
**4b. Posing the character.**
Now there are three things you're going to need to do when you start posing.
The first thing is click your skeleton so that it's glowing orange around it. When that's done, under the tabs you should see a solid Square with "Object Mode" Highlighted, click that and click on Pose Mode. There you will be able to click every bone individually like you would in Brio and Ktisis.
The second is more for convenience, to the left you should see a picture of a square with a mouse in the center being highlighted with a line of icons underneath it. Click the icon that is a circle going around with arrows pointing in a CounterClockWise motion. If you do that, the bone you have highlighted wlll have a rotation circle around it, very similar to what you see in your usual posing tools and works the same way.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/Wn32u3haakJ4e0QI-step-4.gif)
The Third is the most important, to the far right you should see a list of icons including a green bone. Click it, if it's already highlighted click off of it to another tab, and then click on it to create a new tab on the right of it. If you see a bone name that is not N\_Root in the black box above Transform than you did it correctly. If you see "N\_Root" that means you need to click off the tab and click back on it.
***IMPORTANT: Now there you'll see a Transform tab with Location, Rotation, mode and Scale. Ignore all of those and look at "Mode" and it will say "Quaternion WXYZ" click that and set it to XYZ Euler. It HAS to be on XYZ Euler or it won't work. For every bone you click, you will have to manually set it to XYZ Euler.******[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/dQSzhqbbgzDvjqLr-step-5.gif)***
Once that's done, you can now pose the bones as you would in Brio, and as you see when you play the animation. The pose will remain to how you set it up. If you didn't follow the third step correctly, when you press play it will automatically swap back to it's default animation instead. So play around and make your pose as you would.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/ha4W8c8iprbchgO2-step-6.gif)
**4c. Exporting**
Once you feel satisfied, Go to File, Export, ***HOWEVER DO NOT EXPORT YET***
***IMPORTANT: WHEN EXPORTING, JUST LIKE IMPORTING TO THE RIGHT YOU WILL SEE 'PRIMARY BONE AND SECONDARY BONE' MAKE SURE PRIMARY BONE IS "X" and SECONDARY BONE IS "Y" OR THIS WILL NOT WORK! IT IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY SET TO YOUR IMPORTING OPTIONS******Update 29/07: Optional but if you reimport your newly made FBX into Blender to fix something up and you see new added bones at the end that's because "Add Leaf Bone" is checked. If you uncheck it, you'll have the exact same bones. This doesn't mess up anything in the game, it just makes things less of a cluttered mess if you reimport it into Blender.******[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/6y7P9tgFhN1VVmmL-image-2024-07-28-223225530.png)******Step 5: Making it Game Ready!. (XAT)***
So now that you've created your FBX, open up XAT Again, and we're doing everything we did before. Load the original PAP and the SKLB file the same way you had before, click id0. However instead of exporting, go to the IMPORT Option, And import the FBX File you JUST created. There you should see a 'Track' option. There should only be one option there called 'XAT' click that. There click Import, and after it's finished importing go to Save on the right and Save it as a PAP where ever you want it to, no special naming or anything needed!
As this is overwriting an already existing animation you don't have to worry about any of the extra options! With that done we're at the homestretch and onto the final point go back to FFXIV!
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/sifxiq4zoMlizzVs-step-7.gif)
***Step 6: Swapping Animations \[VFX Editor\]***
Now we're back in VFX Editor! If you closed VFX Editor, you'll want to open it and click on the 'PAP' tab once again! First Click on Loaded Pap, and instead of 'Game Items' click on Paths, click on Local Path, and load in the new PAP that you created! Once that's done, go back to the Pap Editor window, and click on "Pap Being Replaced" and under Game Items choose the PAP you are replacing (Which is the original PAP you selected at the very start to extract in this case Midlander M Idle). Once both are loaded, go to Pap Editor one more time and click Update. It will redraw your character and their idle pose (OR whatever you replace) should now be updated to look like the one you've made! Congrats! All that's left now is...
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/P9m2p9qgWhkOGThf-step-8-idle.gif)
***Final Step: Making the Mod File***
At the top of PAP Editor there's an 'Export' option to the far left. Click that, and choose Penumbra or Textools (PMP or TTMP2 file). There you can set the Mod Name, the Aurthor and what version it is, and there's a list of files underneath it. Pap will have 0/1, check the box next to it to turn it green and have \[1/1\] and then click the Export File, and save it (again wherever you want to) as a new file! Once done, you've done it! You can now install that file into Penumbra as a mod and your idle is now a bonefied modded file! Congratulations!
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/usmupoX6jLm0AzaY-image-2024-07-28-224946011.png)
Food for thoughts:
\- This is a very basic way to creating animation mods, so all the technicals you would normally need to know do not apply here. Making a full on animation mod will require a lot more know how.
\- You are trapped to the animations motions just like you would be in Brio. This is not to create a full on 'custom animation' this is to just edit an existing animation to your liking.
\- Please refer to Brio, Ktisis or any file that lists bones to know what bones go to what. These are not simply 'Elbow L, Elbow R' ect.
# How to make a simple SFX replacement mod
This guide will teach you how to make a simple SFX replacement for any given skill.
### Step 0: What you need
There are three main things you will need to create a SFX mod.
Firstly, you will need *XIVLauncher* for Dalamud and access to plugins.
Secondly, you need *VFXEditor*. This is a default Dalamud plugin and how we'll be actually creating the mod.
Thirdly, you will need any audio editing tool. I like using *Audacity*, it's free, open source, and easy to use even if you've never done audio editing before. You'll need this to prepare your file for use with the game, making adjustments such as increasing the volume or trimming it down to only the important parts.
Optionally, you may want a few more things:
Penumbra, for actually using your mod longterm. It's a custom repo: [`https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Ottermandias/SeaOfStars/main/repo.json`](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Ottermandias/SeaOfStars/main/repo.json)
If you don't know what to do with that link, check out Serenity's guide to installing Penumbra and more here: [https://reniguide.carrd.co/](https://reniguide.carrd.co/)
A recording tool, such as OBS, for Marketing your mod.
An Image Editing tool, such as Paint.net, for Marketing your mod.
### Step 0.5: Prepare your audio file
If you're making an audio mod, you need a sound for your mod. For the purposes of demonstration in this tutorial, I'm going to be creating a mod that replaces the SFX for "Infuriate" with the "aaaaawubadugh" sound from Halo CE.
My own primary method for getting sound files is as simple as youtube and a youtube to mp3 site. Try to get a sample of your sound with minimal or no background noise - any background noise can quickly become irritating for someone using your mod.
Now that you have a sound file, open it up in your audio editor of choice. I'm going to use Audacity for this. I'm going to load my audio file into audacity and...
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/xFg4nRIn6Tuk7XQp-aawubadugh.PNG)
Here you can see the waveforms that make up your sound file. You can see one small waveform and one larger waveform. In this case, the sound I'm using has a "noticing the player" sound at the start, and an "Agitated yell" for the rest of the file.
##### Trimming your clip
So, considering the context of the replacement I'm trying to make - you're already mid combat, so having a "noticing the enemy" sound doesn't make sense. It's infuriate, you want just the angry parts. In this case, I've already identified the part I want, and the part I don't want, and the audio clip is thankfully clearly divided between the two. Take your mouse, click on one end of the part you want, and drag to capture the entire bit you want.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/icOB0tkUjPr2E5Ml-aaaaatwoobadugh.PNG)
Now you can hit the big green "play" button to preview your trim and see how it sounds in isolation. Good to hear how exactly your trim will sound ingame, and damn near essential if you're making a tight cut in a crowded audio file. If you need to make precise adjustments, you can grab either side of the selection and drag them to change the selection.
Despite having our clip right now, we're not going to export it just yet, there's one more thing to consider:
##### Audio balance
The #1 mistake I see audio mods make is being totally inaudible. It's an audio mod, you need to hear it!
If you just take a sound and import it, it might sound fine in isolation, but the moment you get into actual gameplay it'll be quickly drowned out by the action combat music and other sfx.
What follows is FAR from scientific, but this is my own common practice for making my mods audible and reliably balanced.
With your selection...selected, look to the top bar: hit "effect > volume and compression > amplify"
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/HJwAczFxu0N0nCaZ-volume.PNG)
Once you open this window, Audacity will have a default "suggested" amplification level, in this case it recommends I amplify my sound by about 7db
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/12z6Y5Rr0Il3NoDD-amplification.PNG)
Now my strategy to make things very audible, is to take this figure, and add exactly 10 to it. We're going to amplify this sound by about 17db.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/XLUr2QqkSVGJOblJ-amplify2.PNG)
We're going to put in that 17, and hit "Apply"
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/wB4XvZpM0i0GmjmF-amplified.PNG)
Beautiful. Now a word: This might look (and sound) a bit unpleasantly loud, but that's *usually* fine. The game does it's own volume wrangling under the hood, and it won't be this loud when you hear it in game.
Also, remember: you're not amplifying every sound you make by 17! You take whatever audacity gives you, and add 10 to it. Some sounds may only need exactly 10. Some may need less than 10. It's very dependent on the sound file itself.
Now, I am no audio engineer. This will not be appropriate for every sound, and some types of audio ingame are amplified by the game at different levels. I recently replaced a voice line file and my usual amplify+10 created something FAR too loud. Make sure you test your mod to see if it's an appropriate volume before you finalize anything!
For now, we'll call this done. While your sound isn't currently playing, hit "File > Export Audio..."
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/kTWFW3gUGn1FxEz8-export.PNG)
I've never really paid attention to what's listed here: Just make sure you have "Current Selection" chosen, and you're placing it somewhere you can find it later. Also, make sure you export as either .wav or .ogg, as those formats are supported by vfxeditor.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/hnMk1iIf0K96tb6K-export2.png)
### Step 1: VFXEditor
Download and enable the vfxeditor plugin.
Now, while ingame, type in /vfxedit
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/nPEw314vwexSlMpe-vfxeditor.PNG)
Intimidating. But all you need to pay attention to here is the little button that says "scd". Hit it.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/pEVQLOYZ1q2p56sM-scd.PNG)
This new window will open. Still a bit spooky, but it's easier than it looks.
Hit the magnifying glass in line with "Loaded Scd" to open another little nifty interface.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/FePXzldOhKmgE0qC-scd-select.PNG)
I'm covering actions, so we're going to ignore all the other tabs and just focus on Game Items > Actions here. You could probably do nifty stuff with the other tabs, but I'm not qualified to teach you anything about them, as I don't know myself.
We're making a mod for "Infuriate" so I'm going to type Infuriate into the search box
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/6AtKBbzD2QdriGpP-infuriate.PNG)
Three infuriates? What the hell??
The reason for this is the game keeps depreciated versions of skills, as well as NPC-only versions of skills, and those are what vfxedit is seeing. But thankfully, there's a really easy way to tell - hit the one with the correct icon. In this case, we can clearly see the topmost infuriate is the player used version. Click on that one
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/8VgsbRMRjpucBiYh-infuriate-2.PNG)
Now this is handy, only one sound. Some abilities have multiple entries here - I'll go over what to do in that case later. For now, we're hitting the checkbox.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/hPLcqj7kSf0h2VDc-editor-2.PNG)
Infuriate loaded? Audio 0? Poggers. But we're going to ignore that right now - repeat the previous process on the "SCD Being Replaced" tab with its magnifying glass. Make sure you select the same things. Now that you have both loaded, hit that tempting "Audio 0" button.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/7WJzEwQYPiNLswxl-editor-3.PNG)
Here is where you are doing the actual replacing. If you hit the "Play" button right now, you'll hear the default sound in all its isolated glory. If you want to actually export this sound for your own use, you can hit the floppy disk to save it as a wav. This is especially useful if you want to ADD to a sound rather than completely REPLACE it. I'll also go into this later.
We're going to hit the upwards arrow. This will open your file explorer. You need to find your prepared sound file from earlier. Click it and press ok. Or double click it.
You'll be back at the previous screen. Now, hit the play button again. If you've done everything right, you should hear your own sound! Pog! Be warned, it may still be very loud, but this still isn't representative of what will happen in gameplay.
Now, hit the big green "UPDATE" button. This applies your change to the actual game itself. Now go use your ability! See if it sounds how you want it to sound. If it doesn't, you'll want to go back into your audio file, change whatever you want to change, re-save it, re-import it, and re-press the big green button.
### Step 2: Exporting your mod
Now that you've made it how you want it, don't rest easy just yet. Your vfxedit is temporary and will disappear next time you close the game. We're going to *export* the mod as a Penumbra modpack. Return to the Scd Editor tab and take note of the "Export" button. Hit it.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/hDDWqezVFBUlUYCg-export-thing.PNG)
Prompted for penumbra or textools, you want to hit "Penumbra"
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/BIF8fCfGnisKl5W1-exporting.PNG)
Another spooky screen. But worry not, this is just where you need to put in a little bit of mod metadata and tell it what to actually export.
First, name your mod. You'll want a descriptive name - even if you don't plan on uploading this, you will want to be able to sort through your own mods. Secondly, make it snappy, and keep it simple. It doesn't look good if it goes too long. I'm going to go with the simple and descriptive "Aaaghwubadugh Infuriate". It's pretty clear what it does and what it replaces.
Secondly, name yourself as Author. I'm Mahogany, so I'm putting in "Mahogany" here.
Lastly, you need to tell vfxedit what to actually export. See the big list down there? We're exporting an scd, and scd should say \[0/1\] (or more). Click on the empty box next to Scd to put in a tick, and it will change to Scd \[1/1\] (or more)
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/E3H02BXu7gZHPyQl-export-end.PNG)
As you can see, my mod has a name, I'm credited as the Author, and Scd is checked. Now, we hit "Export" in the top right!
Once more, your file explorer will open. Save your mod somewhere you can find it.
You're technically ready to upload and share your mod now! But I like to make extra sure. At this point, I restart my game (to make sure vfxeditor is cleared), open penumbra on the title screen, import my mod and enable it. Now, I load into the game and make finally sure it still super works when going through penumbra.
And it does! If you're just making this mod for yourself, you can consider yourself done now. The mod is done! Congrats!
Next, I'm going into what to do if you want to share your mod with others.
### Step 3: Marketing
First things first, you'll need to sell people on your mod - installing a mod is a hard sell without knowing exactly what it does. You'll want to do this before uploading the mod itself. As an audio mod to an ability, you need a video to properly demonstrate what your mod does.
If you have a modern Nvidia graphics card, you have access to shadowplay as an incredibly convenient recording option. This is what I personally use. If not, a commonly available option is OBS - [https://obsproject.com/](https://obsproject.com/)
Another useful plugin to help with this process is Personal Orchestrion. This is in the default repo, and will let you set your background music to "None" - perfect for recording your demo without music being distracting.
Another useful tool is the "Scroll Lock" button, which disables your UI by default. This is great for recording a cleaner video.
So, my own personal process is this - make sure my mod is loaded into penumbra. Head to a striking dummy (if you have a house or find one with a striking dummy this is great for avoiding other noise) - set music to none with personal orchestrion - toggle off UI - hit record - use the skill - hit end recording.
Now, just upload it to a video sharing website. Here's my own video of the mod I just made for this guide! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTREOKCDnWw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTREOKCDnWw)
Secondly, I advise you to make a custom thumbnail. Before the user sees the video, they see a thumbnail. This is how you grab people's attention in the first place. I prefer making my thumbnails easy to understand and not have excess information.
You'll need an image editor. I like using paint.net for my own edits - grab it here: [https://www.getpaint.net/](https://www.getpaint.net/)
My own process is to generally grab a base image based on whatever sound I'm using, and then put ffxiv iconography over it. I recommend the ffxiv consolegameswiki as a great place to grab icons from the game. Also, use the "Layers" function to make sure you're not making those annoying transparent squares show up. Here's the thumbnail I made:
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/ihlhwN7fUMLCFQtF-aaaawubadugh-infuriate.png)
It's simple and to the point. Combined with the name and your mod category, people can tell from a glance what they're getting.
Congratulations! You're now totally ready to upload your mod to any number of XIV Mod sites. I personally use xivmodarchive.
Remember to tag your mod correctly, follow the rules of the website you're using, and attach the thumbnail and video you made.
Congrats on making and publishing your audio mod! If you're interested in the mod I made for this demonstration, you can grab it here: [https://www.xivmodarchive.com/modid/111585](https://www.xivmodarchive.com/modid/111585)
### Addendum: Special cases
#### I want to add to a sound instead of replacing it!
Dirty hack incoming. Remember when I showed you the "Export sound" button in vfxeditor? Hit that. Find the file that was exported. Open up Audacity again, add both your custom sound and the game's regular sound.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/4Qiuwbs2lehQCh6K-combined.PNG)
Here we can see an instance of my own aaaawubadugh mod combined with the default Infuriate sound. I actually sneakily did this without telling you in my own creation process, which is why you can hear infuriate in the preview video.
You can see there is a bit of an imbalance here: Most sounds in this game are pretty quiet. If you want to make the default action as audible as the added sfx, you can make the same volume adjustment you did for your own custom sound. Export this file again (Make sure you're exporting the whole thing this time!) and from here, import this new file into your vfxeditor and you now have your custom sound with the default sound as well.
#### Actions with multiple associated sounds
Some actions have multiple sounds associated with them. We'll use Tactician as an example.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/OsVzYtQ7QWCNVOes-tactician.PNG)
This is an example of a partywide mitigation ability. It has two parts: The "casting" sound, when you press the button, and an "application" sound, played for and on each person who recieves the effect.
In general, the thing you probably want to change is the casting sound. Out of these two, the casting sound is #0. If you look at the file names, one ends with "c\_re" and the other ends with "t". I remember this as "C = casting" and "T = Target"
However, the ability to change both the casting sound and the "target recieved effect" sound does open the door to more creative applications.
Here's an example from a mod I made, "Cuno doesn't care (about physranged defensives)" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO9ws5xBemY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO9ws5xBemY)
In this instance, the casting sound is "Fuck does cuno care?" and the target sound is "Cuno doesn't fucking care". You can set up question and answer scenarios with these kinds of abilities which really broadens the kinds of memes you can apply to your effects.
Another example from my mod "Liturgycore" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWabC-lSmTw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWabC-lSmTw)
This one has three parts to it. When you place down the bell, it plays "Let's go gambling!" when the bell is triggered, it plays a buzzer fail noise, and when healing is recieved, each member plays "Aw dang it". You can get very creative with this kind of thing.
#### Pet-related Sounds
Not every ability is tied to one action. Let's take liturgycore as an example again. Opening up liturgy in vfxedit:
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/wmVdUXAIkOMOlRdx-liturgy.PNG)
No "t"? How change "target" sound?
So, Liturgy is kind of a "Pet" of sorts. And "Pet" actions are different beasts entirely internally from the button you press to use it. Liturgy is a pet that uses it's own entirely distinct ability when it's triggered.
Thankfully, that ability is ALSO called Liturgy of the Bell! It's one of those "NPC abilities" I talked about before, and as such it defaults to a cure1 icon.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/4flWUDwrRzNJuwlM-liturgy-thing.PNG)
See this? This is actually the target sound for recieving a liturgy heal, and this is what I tied the "Aw Dang it" to. If your ability uses any kind of pet, you're likely going to have to do something similar to this to find and replace their own sounds.
#### I still can't find the sound I want in the action!
Some sounds are considered "Object" sounds and aren't actually attached to your action in vfxedit. Two examples I've found so far are actually the "Casting" sound of the liturgy's triggered heal, and the "Explosion" sound of Machinist's Wildfire.
This is a bit more annoying. You're going to want to get another plugin, "ResLogger2.Plugin". It's in the default repo.
Reslogger2 is a tool that will print a path to any thing whenever it's loaded or played. I think. Download it, install it, enable it, and type /reslog
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/uzTGS86KjzT2jppJ-reslog.PNG)
What the hell is all this? It's paths to everything that's being played. For sanity's sake, you can type in "Sound" in the path filter to help narrow things down.
Now, you'll want to use the ability you're having trouble with. I'm using Machinist's wildfire for this demonstration. With the window open, I trigger wildfire's explosion sound and...
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/R3ojNXGTl96gH1Pq-timebomb.PNG)
Abi\_Mch\_TimeBomb\_Exp\_t? That sounds like our boy!! And it is. Right click on that line to copy it to your clipboard.
Head back up to vfxedit's scd editor. Now, instead of clicking the magnifying glass, we're going to paste what we got into the field directly.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/UrC9FgESXbvrjwzw-notarealpath.PNG)
Now, that isn't a real path, but it's pretty close. I think the longest path is the best bet, so I'm going to delete everything except for the last part of the string, that starts with sound/vfx/ability and ends in t.scd
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/GchUeO7RgLh3T2Eb-likeso.PNG)
Now we'll press enter and...
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-07/MuQaV9CcVA8dU86R-enter.PNG)
Yippee! Path recognized and you now have access to the sounds you were looking for.
#### Can I set a random sound or set a pool of sounds to be used at random?
**No.** I'm afraid this is beyond the capabilities of SCD editing - or at the very least, beyond the capabilities of the method I've demonstrated here. Each ability and part of ability has one and only one sound associated with it, and that's that.
The best bet for this would likely come in plugin form, but I'm not aware of any plugin that does this at present.
#### The sound cuts off early when it's someone else using it!
I know, this is the worst! Alas, I'm clueless as to why this is. If anyone knows why this happens, pleasepleaseplease contact me.
I have found these sounds aren't prone to cut off when they are a "Target" or "t" sound rather than a caster or "c" sound. Be aware if you choose to make your mod with "t" instead this will cause your sound to originate from the target rather than from the caster.
#### End
Thank you for reading my guide! I hope it was helpful.
Have further questions? Reach out to me on discord - "Mahoganytooth". I am more than happy to offer further help to anyone in creating their audio mod. Don't be shy. Asking me questions helps me improve this guide even further!
# Material Colorsets (Dawntrail)
A general understanding of UV Maps and Exporting/Importing with Penumbra is assumed for this page.
Disclaimer: I still don't quite understand the duel colorsets in dawntrail. So this guide is mainly making the colorsets work the way they did pre-dawntrail.
### The Basics
Colorset information is stored on the red and green channel of the \_id texture for a given gear item.
#### How color hex values relate to colorset rows
The graph at the bottom of the colorset reference table page (linked below) will show the exact hex values that are needed for specific color set rows.
[https://xivmodding.com/books/ff14-asset-reference-document/page/dawntrail-colorset-values-reference-table](https://xivmodding.com/books/ff14-asset-reference-document/page/dawntrail-colorset-values-reference-table)
If you would like to understand more technically how these hex values are determined read on, otherwise skip to the next section and use the reference table to get your hex values.
A color hex value is 6 digits where the first two are red and the second two are green, we will always be setting the last two to 00 for this guide.
The Red value in the hex color controls the colorset row and the green value controls if it is color a or b. So for example if we change the value in the red channel, values 00 to 77 will control colorsets 1 to 8 and 88 to FF will control colorsets 9 to 16. For the green channel, 00 will tell the material to use row B and FF will tell the material to use row A.
Row
Hex Value
1
00
2
11
3
22
4
33
5
44
6
55
7
66
8
77
9
88
10
99
11
AA
12
BB
13
CC
14
DD
15
EE
16
FF
For example if we set the color to #770000 this would make whatever area of the texture we paint be controlled by colorset row 8B in the material. Whereas if we used the color #77FF00 it would make that area be controlled by 8A.
At the time of writing this. I don't actually understand how colorset rows 9-16 work as they seem to blend the colors different than the first 8 rows.
### Adding colorset Information to a gear item (characterlegacy shader)
Open a photo editing tool like Photoshop or Photopea. Import the \_id texture of the gear item you would like to edit or just create a new 1024x1024 texture. When I mention \_id textures, I am referring to a file like this:
`chara/equipment/e6033/texture/c0201e6033_top_id.tex`
Lets start with a texture colored completely with #770000. Save the texture to the \_id texture for the gearset/material. This will make the whole gear item change color with colorset 8B.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/AdakvDY4ALdcHjbU-c0201e6033-top-id-1-copy.png)
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/Ur1GJZAG125ws369-colorset-8b.gif)
To color different parts of the gear item with different colorset rows, we need to figure out what areas of the texture control different parts of our gear item. For example here is a detailed layout of what the uv map looks like for the hoodie in the gif above.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/GnTbpUafJxszhy5k-image.png)
Using this information we can color different parts of the texture and end up with the following setup.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/UH4Or6YXKUHGfU4v-multicolor-id-copy.png)
Importing this texture back into the game over the \_id texture, we will get the following control in the material.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-08/7dRe9PSZizGlNnqW-colorset-multicolor.gif)
# Scrolling Image Overlay for Gear Items
This guide is an expansion of the work done by Bacara, Cordia Qoet, Mimi, Nylfae, and Cultist from the following guide. Without their original work this would not be possible. I created this guide to give a deeper breakdown of the steps in that guide.
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z\_ao7r2hREzQBW1\_5uXJF\_2g-9ePB-MItj42CGyp6qQ/edit#heading=h.nj23sjpj5u97](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z_ao7r2hREzQBW1_5uXJF_2g-9ePB-MItj42CGyp6qQ/edit#heading=h.nj23sjpj5u97)
Some Notes:
- I have a separate game install for textools to work off of.
- It is expected that you have an existing mod to modify for this guide.
- These textures are just scrolling/translating images. We cannot do animated images.
End Result:
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/SKqXa5Ebq6vS8FD5-tsu-animated.gif)
#### Steps
1. Import the hammer mod from the other guide (found at this link: [https://xivmodarchive.com/modid/113134](https://xivmodarchive.com/modid/113134) ) into TexTools
2. Next make a preset of the material/shader for this hammer
1. Search for the "Obscure Hyposkhesphyra"
2. Select the material
3. Click "Safe Preset"
4. Name it something you will remember for future steps
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/uC23r6g4perAL0N1-making-preset.png)
3. Now import the modpack for the gear item you want to edit. For my example im going to edit a mode for the "Ramie Poncho" for female characters.
4. Go to the modded item and export the FBX for the model [](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/UGcnWNuJMO8dMhHQ-image.png)
5. Open blender and import this FBX
6. In blender:
1. Select the mesh for the gear item
2. Change to UV Editing
3. Change to Edit mode, It should look something like this
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/mby2cLxnBBe5a7VN-image.png)
4. Notice in the Data menu in the bottom right (green triangle), there are 3 uv maps. Delete all but the first one, then click the "+" to add a new one and name it to "uv1". (this makes a copy of the first uv map retaining the uv layout, when normally these extra ones are blank).
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/ZpaNXbgkxsqmC12L-making-uv-map.gif)
5. Now export this project as an FBX file.
6. In TexTools click "load" on the model and import our new FBX. Click "Save to FF" in the bottom right.
7. Next click on the materials tab, click load preset, and use the following settings. Click "Save to FF" in the bottom right.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/XLXRtGJNsdHcX60t-image.png)
8. Now this next step is odd. I am not sure if this is just an issue with presets, but we need to click the textures menu at the top right and reimport our textures. Make sure between each one to save.
9. For the "Other" texture that ends in `\_o`, we are going to import our animated texture. Im going to use the blue fire looking one from the original guide. (If this texture is not there, you can add it from the material tab. It needs to use sampler "g\_SamplerCatchlight". [](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/5PHGHkhKu8Y7w7wr-image.png)
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/SYLidXGmnmw2M7v2-image.png)
10. Use penumbra to figure out what colorset row you would like to animate.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/Z8Deu4EUzzttqtjn-colorset-choice.gif)
11. On the material tab in textools, click "View/Edit Colorset". For the colorset row you want to animate, change "Sphere Map Opacity" to 1 and change "Effect Unknown A" to 1. And click "Save to FF" in the bottom right.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/p0FDWx8fObxN1WQx-image.png)
12. On the model tab. Click "Save as" -> "Modpack". And export this modpack somewhere.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/u5hwwTB2waL7k2aw-image.png)
13. When you import the modpack into the game. Go to the material then the colorset row that was picked above. Change the emissive color to see what works best.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/2PAzPadIjfCNlHnb-emiisive-color.gif)
14. At the time of writing this, I feel my results are a bit muddy, so there could be further refinements to do. Or I could be doing a step wrong. One thing I did notice is changing the "Sphere Map Intensity" has some interesting effects.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/7zez3GfRFQR8xSh9-intensity.gif)
15. To change the translation direction we need to edit the material constants at the bottom of the page. Below are the constant reference numbers and what they change (chart from original google doc).
##### Name
##### Colorset A Constants
##### Colorset B Constants
Translate X Speed
0x738A241C
0xE8C5CBFF
Translate Y Speed
0x71CC9A45
0xEA8375A6
Tiling X
0x43345395
0xD87BBC76
Tiling Y
0x4172EDCC
0xDA3D022F
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/wL0sHwpbSGA17wiK-changing-trasnslations.gif)
# Intro to VFX Modding
Series to help people learn VFX Modding through VFX Editor who have never done modding before.
[](https://xivmodding.com/uploads/images/gallery/2024-09/qoQ7KG8z6Ud8i27j-image.png)
### Part 1:
### [https://youtu.be/s56ZNF3bJzE](https://youtu.be/s56ZNF3bJzE)