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How to add new outfits for Squad Mates in LE3 & ME3

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munchyfly edited this page Mar 28, 2022 · 6 revisions

by munchyfly

Introduction


This is an in-depth (or tries to be) & noob friendly (again, tries to be) guide on how to add new outfits for Squad Mates.

As an example, in this tutorial, I will be adding Tali's Casino outfit which I have already released HERE. Please do not re-upload my mod.

Please let me know if any information is lacking. I am terrible at writing tutorials.


Notes

  • The names used in this tutorial are not required. As I said, this is just an example. You can use any naming convention you want.
  • Big thanks to Mgamerz for the feature and the documentation.

This tutorial...

  • ...is made on LE3. I do not play the original trilogy anymore but I'm told it should work the same way.
  • ...assumes you have all your meshes and textures ready for use. Padme4000 made an awesome tutorial on how to setup your items for import.
  • ...does not cover mesh & texture editing.
  • ...assumes you know how to import meshes and textures. If not, I suggest you read this tutorial fully or skip to Step 16.
  • ...assumes you have a backup of your game.

Making a DLC


First off, we need to make a new DLC. For this, you need the ME3Tweaks Mod Manager.

If you don't have developer mod enabled already, go to Actions > Options > Enable Developer Mode.



Under Tools, go to Generate new DLC mod (Starter Kit) > Mass Effect 3 (Legendary Edition).



Fill out the form with the info you want. Remember to use a unique Mount Number. You can check which Mount Number is in use in the sidebar or through the Known DLC List.



The files you need


SquadmateMergeInfo.sqm

This file is the one that will add the outfits for you. It's is a regular JSON file that you can edit in a text editor (like Notepad++, Sublime etc.).

Create a new text file then rename the extension from .txt to .sqm

It should be placed inside your CookedPCConsole.

This is it's structure:

{
	"game": "LE3",
	"outfits":
	[
		{
			"henchname": "Tali",
			"henchpackage": "BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00",
			"highlightimage": "GUI_Tali_Casino_Images.Tali0Glow",
			"availableimage": "GUI_Tali_Casino_Images.Tali0",
			"silhouetteimage": "GUI_Tali_Casino_Images.Tali0_locked",
			"deadimage": "GUI_Tali_Casino_Images.Tali0",
			"descriptiontext[0]": 104900,
			"customtoken[0]": 26
		}
	]
}

game = the game you are adding the outfit to. Accepted variables: ME3 or LE3

henchname = the code for the squadmate you want to add the outfit for. The following are accepted:


Squadmate Code
James Marine
Tali Tali
Garrus Garrus
EDI EDI
Liara Liara
Ashley Ashley
Kaidan Kaidan
Javik Prothean

henchpackage = The name of the main file where your assets will reside.

highlightimage = The image that shows when you select a squadmate. This value is taken from the SFXHenchImages_[MOD FOLDER NAME].pcc (see below for more information). No need to add the PCC name.

availableimage = The default image shown during the squad selection screen. This value is taken from the SFXHenchImages_[MOD FOLDER NAME].pcc (see below for more information). No need to add the PCC name.

silhouetteimage = The image that shows when your character is unavailable. This value is taken from the SFXHenchImages_[MOD FOLDER NAME].pcc (see below for more information). No need to add the PCC name.

deadimage = The image that shows when your character has died during the storyline. This value is taken from the SFXHenchImages_[MOD FOLDER NAME].pcc (see below for more information). No need to add the PCC name.

descriptiontext[0] & customtoken[0] = are related to strings. I personally don't use any of this so I won't cover it in this tutorial.


PCC Files


Right-Click on the mod you just created and select Open mod folder.



Navigate inside your DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO to the CookedPCConsole folder.



Now open a new explorer window and navigate to your LE3 backup folder > BioGame > CookedPCConsole.

Copy the following files to your new CookedPCConsole:

  • BioH_Tali_00
  • BioH_Tali_00_Explore
  • BioH_Tali_00_LOC_DEU
  • BioH_Tali_00_LOC_FRA
  • BioH_Tali_00_LOC_INT
  • BioH_Tali_00_LOC_ITA
  • BioH_Tali_00_Explore_LOC_DEU
  • BioH_Tali_00_Explore_LOC_FRA
  • BioH_Tali_00_Explore_LOC_INT
  • BioH_Tali_00_Explore_LOC_ITA
  • SFXHenchImagesTali0

You should now have something like this:



IMPORTANT: You must include the LOC files for DEU, FRA, INT, and ITA or the henchmen, when wearing your outfit, will not have combat banter in that language.


Now for the naming. The only file that is required to have a specific name is the SFXHenchImages, which is the one that hold the images during the squad selection.

It should always be named SFXHenchImages_[MOD FOLDER NAME]. In this tutorial's case, SFXHenchImages_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO.

The rest can be named whatever you want but for convenience sake, follow this structure, as to avoid potential conflicts:


BioH_[CHARACTER CODE]_[MOD FOLDER NAME]_[NUMBER].pcc


[CHARACTER CODE] = The code of the squad mate you are adding the outfit for. See the table above for the codes.

[MOD FOLDER NAME] = The name of the mod folder.

[NUMBER] = Can be whatever number you like.

So for this tutorial, our files would be named:

  • BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00
  • BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00_Explore
  • BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00_LOC_DEU
  • BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00_LOC_FRA
  • BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00_LOC_INT
  • BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00_LOC_ITA
  • BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00_Explore_LOC_DEU
  • BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00_Explore_LOC_FRA
  • BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00_Explore_LOC_INT
  • BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00_Explore_LOC_ITA
  • SFXHenchImages_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO


Importing your assets


Now we are going to import our assets.

First, open up BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00.

Navigate to BIOG_QRN_ARM_TLI_R. Inside you will find a folder called TLIa.



Right-click on it > Clone Tree



You should now have a folder called TLIa_0 and it's assets in yellow.



Now we are going to rename these new assets.

On the right side, go to the Metadata tab. In the first field, type any name you want, then press ENTER. You will get a prompt to add this new name. Select OK. Then at the bottom, click Save Changes.


Repeat the process for all of the new assets you just cloned.

Save your file.

Now you can import your mesh(es) and texture(s).

Remember to import the GUI Images. You should also rename these. These, however, are not stored in a TFC, rather they are Package Stored.



Referencing the new assets


In order for the game to recognize these new assets, we now need to change the references from the default files to the new ones.

Inside TLI_CSNO, jot down (wherever you like) the numbers beside the materials (MaterialInstanceConstant) & the mesh (SkeletalMesh).



Now go inside the TLIa folder.

Right-Click on the first material > Find References



A pop-up will show, telling you where this assets is being referenced. You can keep the pop-up open and work at the same time.



In this case, the material is being referenced in 3 different places. You can ignore the mesh reference as we will be changing that as well.

Double-click on the first line. It will take you to where the material is being referenced.



Go to the Properties tab. Select the line which says Parent. Inside the little box above it, insert the name of the new material you just cloned. So in our case, we input NUMBER, which is the first material and ENTER or press the Set button. The box will now change to reference your new material.



Repeat this for the other two lines.

Now you will repeat this process with the other material & the mesh.

For the mesh, when you select the reference, under the Properties tab, you will replace the value located under SkeletalMesh.



You can tell what you have to replace since it will show you the name & number of the asset.

Repeat the process for the BioH_Tali_DLC_MOD_TLI_CSNO_00_Explore file. It's good practice to use unique names so, for example, in the Explore file of this tutorial, you can type in TLI_CSNO_EXPLORE and so on.


Extra (but not required) steps...

Once your all done with all that, it's recommended that you pass your mod through the TFC Compactor. This will greatly reduce the size of your mod while maintaining the quality. It's not a required step for your mod to function but it's good practice.


Open the TFC Compactor...



...,set the staging folder and navigate to your mod folder, where your CookedPCConsole folder is.




Wait for the program to scan the PCCs inside your folder, then click the Compact TFC button at the bottom.



Once it's done, "TFC Compaction Complete" will show up at the bottom left.



IMPORTANT: If your adding more than one outfit in one mod, you should ALWAYS have all the PCCs inside the CookedPCConsole folder BEFORE running TFC Compactor. The Compactor removes any unused references so if you don't have all the PCCs in the same folder, the TFC will not contain the texture information for those that aren't present.

A Few Notes..

  • You can add multiple outfits at once! Yes, you read that right. Here is an example from my James New Armors mod (which you can find HERE):
{
	"game": "LE3",
	"outfits":
	[
		{
			"henchname": "Marine",
			"henchpackage": "BioH_Marine_DLC_MOD_JNA_BF_00",
			"highlightimage": "GUI_MARINE_BF.James0Glow",
			"availableimage": "GUI_MARINE_BF.James0",
			"deadimage": "GUI_MARINE_BF.James0",
			"silhouetteimage": "GUI_MARINE_BF.James0",
			"descriptiontext0": 204993,
			"customtoken0": 25
		},
		
		{
			"henchname": "Marine",
			"henchpackage": "BioH_Marine_DLC_MOD_JNA_N7_00",
			"highlightimage": "GUI_MARINE_N7.James0Glow",
			"availableimage": "GUI_MARINE_N7.James0",
			"deadimage": "GUI_MARINE_BF.James0",
			"silhouetteimage": "GUI_MARINE_N7.James0",
			"descriptiontext0": 204993,
			"customtoken0": 25
		}
	]
}



AAAAAANNND, your done! Install your mod and check it in-game to make sure everything is working.

This has been my TED Talk on Squad Mate outfits. I hope it helped! Have fun adding new outfits!

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