Static custom image as portrait

[ottoskorzeny]

I wanted to add a custom character image into the game. How would I do that? I want to make a custom immortal character, sort of an arch rival I can set up to compete with to have continuity through the years. I remember reading a post about it on the AGOT mod having something to do with cultures or something? Like you need to make a new culture for every specific custom image you want to use?


For example, let's say I wanted to have Darth Vader be the emperor of the HRE. I think I understand I have to take a picture of him, make it into a gfx file, and add it as say "darth_vader" in cultures or something?


Thank you for any assistance you may have.

 

[JonStryker]

You can use the diseases to do that e.g. replace the red dots you get for having measles (?) by his portrait. Have a trait that only vader has to assign it.

 

[TheTeaMustFlow]

I suggest looking at how Muhammed's portrait is done (he's in the title histories for the caliphates and the family trees, but obviously they can't show his face, so there's just an Arabic character - the one for Muhammed, I guess)

 

[JonStryker]

@ottoskorzeny
Why did you pick that as your username?
He probably was a badass special forces guy but still, Nazi officer from WWII

 

[Korbah]

I suggest looking at how Muhammed's portrait is done (he's in the title histories for the caliphates and the family trees, but obviously they can't show his face, so there's just an Arabic character - the one for Muhammed, I guess)

Nah, Mohammad's image is done via a single-frame texture file and the occluded = yes line. This will work, but it means everyone with occluded = yes will have the custom portrait. I don't think you can dynamically generate new occluded = yes characters during play either.
What you want to do is something like Jon said; in Elder Kings I use the "blinded_eyes" file, expanded with additional frames to allow Werewolves to appear as Werewolves during a rare event which drives them insane (uses flags instead of traits), and for polymorphing. It requires more modding than just adding the frames though as you will need to tweak the portrait_properties.txt too.

 

[ottoskorzeny]

@ottoskorzeny
Why did you pick that as your username?
He probably was a badass special forces guy but still, Nazi officer from WWII

I picked this name when I was about 16. I had just seen a documentary about him and I thought he was cool. I played with this nick for years, grew up a little, and then started reading up on him and read about how he didn't actually do most of the things he is credited for. He was just a poster boy for the Nazis and an opportunist charlatan. I haven't changed the name, despite acknowledging the dude was a fraud and evil man, because if I run into people I used to know from other games online they can recognize me. It's a terrible excuse, I know, but there it is.

Nah, Mohammad's image is done via a single-frame texture file and the occluded = yes line. This will work, but it means everyone with occluded = yes will have the custom portrait. I don't think you can dynamically generate new occluded = yes characters during play either.
What you want to do is something like Jon said; in Elder Kings I use the "blinded_eyes" file, expanded with additional frames to allow Werewolves to appear as Werewolves during a rare event which drives them insane (uses flags instead of traits), and for polymorphing. It requires more modding than just adding the frames though as you will need to tweak the portrait_properties.txt too.

In the Game of Thrones Mod forum, I remember seeing a thread (it is now since deleted or archived) in which one of the developers was talking about how they put in their "Giants" characters and their "Children of the Forest" characters. From what I gathered from that, they said you could set a new culture, in their case it was old_races, and then within the culture file set which gfx the game would use for the culture. So if you went into the game made a custom ruler, you could set your culture as "Giant" and there would be this static picture of a troll looking giant. The picture was not set up so it would age or anything, it was like the Mohammed picture. Just a static image. What I would like to do is something like that, and I wouldn't want it to age because I want that character to be present throughout the entire game. Sort of like a Sauron or something, an arch nemesis that my dynasty has to deal with. Does that still work or was there a reason that thread was deleted on the AGOT forum?

 

[JonStryker]

In the Game of Thrones Mod forum, I remember seeing a thread (it is now since deleted or archived) in which one of the developers was talking about how they put in their "Giants" characters and their "Children of the Forest" characters. From what I gathered from that, they said you could set a new culture, in their case it was old_races, and then within the culture file set which gfx the game would use for the culture. So if you went into the game made a custom ruler, you could set your culture as "Giant" and there would be this static picture of a troll looking giant. The picture was not set up so it would age or anything, it was like the Mohammed picture. Just a static image. What I would like to do is something like that, and I wouldn't want it to age because I want that character to be present throughout the entire game. Sort of like a Sauron or something, an arch nemesis that my dynasty has to deal with. Does that still work or was there a reason that thread was deleted on the AGOT forum?

Easiest really is the Mohammed thing: Use the occluded=yes to replace the portrait by that one static image. Then replace the Arabic scripture with a picture of your arch enemy.
If you want to have more than one person that has a special portrait do what I said above. The Birthright mod has plenty of examples for that.
What you've seen in the AGOT forums is actually a lot of work. They made a custom set of portraits that only contains a fixed picture. The Birthright mod has that, too (for the Gnolls).

 

[Korbah]

I have no idea about the AGOT forum, but their method is only advisable if you're going to render your unique guy infertile else his children have a high chance of taking his culture. The method of using a frame from blinded_eyes or another of the "miscellaneous" layers is that they work across cultures (meaning your "nemesis" can be frankish for example, and still have frankish children that work as normal characters). It does require a little more work though.

Basically take blinded_eyes in portraits.gfx, move it to the end of the layer lists for every culture.

			"GFX_character_background:p0"
			"GFX_western_male_clothes_behind:p3:c0"
			"GFX_western_male_headgear_behind:p5:c1"
			"GFX_western_male_hair_behind:p1:h:y"
			"GFX_western_male_beard_behind:p4:h:y"
			"GFX_western_male_base:p2"
			"GFX_western_male_neck:d0"
			"GFX_western_male_cheeks:d4"
			"GFX_western_male_chin:d1"
			"GFX_western_male_mouth:d2:o75x49"
			"GFX_western_male_nose:d3:o80x65"
			"GFX_western_male_eyes:d6:o47x74"
			"GFX_western_male_eyes2:d6:e:o74x92"
			"GFX_character_scars:p7:y"
			"GFX_character_reddots:p8"
			"GFX_character_boils:p9"
			[COLOR="#FFFF00"]"GFX_character_blinded_eyes:p10"[/COLOR] <- move this from here.
			"GFX_western_male_clothes:p3:c2"
			"GFX_western_male_headgear_mid:p5:c3"
			"GFX_western_male_ear:d7:o27x54"			
			"GFX_western_male_beard:p4:h:y"
		   	"GFX_western_male_hair:p1:h:y"
			"GFX_western_male_clothes_infront:p3:c4"
			"GFX_western_male_headgear:p5:c5"
			"GFX_character_imprisoned:p6"
			[COLOR="#FFFF00"]"GFX_character_blinded_eyes:p10"[/COLOR] <- to here.

Then inside portrait_sprites.gfx find;

	spriteType = {
		name = "GFX_character_blinded_eyes"
		texturefile = "gfx\\characters\\shared\\blinded_eyes.dds"
		[COLOR="#FFFF00"]noOfFrames = 2[/COLOR] <- change this to 3.
		norefcount = yes
		can_be_lowres = yes
	}

Then in portrait_properties.txt scroll all the way to the bottom and find

# p10 blinded
10 = {
	0 = {
		factor = 100
		modifier = {
			factor = 0
			trait = blinded
		}
	}
	
	1 =  {
		factor = 100
		modifier = {
			factor = 0
			NOT = {
				trait = blinded
			}
		}

	}
[COLOR="#FFFF00"]	2 =  {
		factor = 100
		modifier = {
			factor = 0
			NOT = {
				#Either a character flag or a unique trait.
			}
		}
	}[/COLOR] Add all the yellow, replace the comment with your flag or trait.
}

Then do the following in the same part;

# p10 blinded
10 = {
	0 = {
		factor = 100
		modifier = {
			factor = 0
			trait = blinded
		}
[COLOR="#FFFF00"]		modifier = {
			factor = 0
			#Either a character flag or a unique trait.
		}[/COLOR]
	}
	
	1 =  {
		factor = 100
		modifier = {
			factor = 0
			NOT = {
				trait = blinded
			}
		}
[COLOR="#FFFF00"]		modifier = {
			factor = 0
			#Either a character flag or a unique trait.
		}[/COLOR]

	}
	2 =  {
		factor = 100
		modifier = {
			factor = 0
			NOT = {
				#Either a character flag or a unique trait.
			}
		}
	}
}

After that's all done, open blinded_eyes.dds, expand it to 3 frames and place your custom portrait in there. Save it. Add your custom trait or flag to the character in the history files and then when you start up he should have that custom portrait.

 

[ottoskorzeny]

Thanks for the explanation, I intend on trying that, but I have a question about that. Doesn't that mean that whenever someone is blinded (like half of the Byzantines) they will turn into my custom image?


Also how would I go about expanding the frames of the image?

 

[Korbah]

Thanks for the explanation, I intend on trying that, but I have a question about that. Doesn't that mean that whenever someone is blinded (like half of the Byzantines) they will turn into my custom image?


Also how would I go about expanding the frames of the image?

It won't, no, but your custom character will never get the "blinded eyes" overlay (which is probably a good thing, they fit badly enough as it is on standard portraits).

You would use an image editor, such as GIMP or Photoshop.

 

[ottoskorzeny]

Well my game crashes to desktop now each time I try to load it with the mod clicked. :blink: