Custom PSI powers don't trigger fire animations

[Ghostlines]

I've been playing around with custom abilities, and encountered something that has me stumped.

 

I did a copy-and-paste of the Soulfire function, only renaming the name of the generated template (and yes I'm loading the template correctly, and the custom ability is associated with my custom class correctly). In the Tactics debugger, the mechanics for this custom Soulfire (WildSoulfire) work fine. The pre-cast with the amplifier works, damage is registered, the unit dies if it takes enough damage, all of that is fine.

 

But the actual fire animation AFTER the pre-cast animation, the purple projectile launch and the purple explosion on hit, doesn't happen. The soldier's animation, palm out to fire the thing, is happening, but the projectile and explosion are gone.

 

Likewise with a custom Stasis power (my attempt to have a standalone Stasis Shield with actual shielding like the ADVENT shieldbearer units). The mechanics work as expected, but the actual blue stasis effect animation doesn't happen.

 

I'm seeking help from those with more experience in this area to explain what's going on here, if certain animations are coded somewhere to only work with certain explicit abilities (template names), and how to work around whatever is going on so these animations work as expected.

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited February 22, 2016 by Ghostlines

[Ghostlines]

Finally got an answer elsewhere. This is a fairly tricky thing.

 

Many animations are bound to certain abilities or effects in Archetypes. You'll need to use the XCOM 2 Editor (launchable from the Tools menu in modbuddy) to do any kind of meaningful interaction with the resources here.

 

There are a LOT of assets present. One thing that tripped me up is the packages section was completely squished and hidden from view. Had to resize several of the elements above it to see the content.

 

You'll need to create a custom package (in the content folder of your solution) for any changes you want to make (this only gets created when you copy assets into a custom package (which may not exist yet).

 

(Later, you'll need to add the package to your solution in one of the ini files)

 

The search filter is your friend. You can specify the type as archetypes to narrow things down. When examining an archetype file, at the top will be dropdowns for associated ability and effect. Just choose the ones you want to associate with, and ensure you've saved, and you're likely good to go.

 

Still having a rocky time getting the changes I want working. Basically creating a standalone stasis shield ability that also adds a purple shield (like the shieldbearer). Got it ALMOST working. The original stasis effect isn't appearing (it was working earlier), and although the purple shield is working when I target others, it doesn't appear when I cast it on myself.

 

The search continues....

[davidlallen]

That is great! Where did you get the answer? I am on the lookout for more guides to add to the pinned resource thread.

[Ghostlines]

Reddit user Rumrunner711 answered my call for help on the reddit counterpart thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/xcom2mods/comments/46xpmb/firing_animations_not_playing_with_custom/). I thought it only fair to make sure the solution made it here too.

 

Before they chimed in, I had no idea the XCom 2 Editor even existed, animations and anything graphical were just in a handwavy netherzone that I didn't need to know about.

 

It is a clunky thing to use, though, and I've encountered my share of errors.