Calling for someone who knows how to script .swf

[Rorax]

I'm looking for someone who knows how to script for .swf files so that they could fix the LooksMenu.swf for me.
Currently Bethesda has the looks menu only looking for human head parts, which stops you from sculpting/coloring/ or changing the hairstyles of any non human races..

 

I'm just asking for a change to the LooksMenu.swf so that it picks head parts based on player race, rather than assuming they are human.

 

I realize a custom LooksMenu will mean that Console players are locked out of using the mod, but it is the only solution until (if) Bethesda patch the LooksMenu themselves.

 

Thank you for your interest. -Rorax

 

[noahdvs]

Unless you're looking for someone to help you make one of your own mods, this isn't the mod requests section. You shouldn't just ask someone to do something for you here unless you plan on doing some work yourself and share the credit for the mod.

[Rorax]

Unless you're looking for someone to help you make one of your own mods, this isn't the mod requests section. You shouldn't just ask someone to do something for you here unless you plan on doing some work yourself and share the credit for the mod.

You assume I'm asking for a mod -_-

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGxb_YO1Tes

 

Enough of "my own work" for you buster? I'm asking for help with an area that needs fixing in which I have zero expertise. and neither do most modders.

[radiumskull]

I did a lot of Flash stuff a few years ago, before it got put down by iOS. I'm fairly sure that you'd have to decompile the Bethesda SWFs, unless there's some feature in Scaleform that allows you to look at the original code.

 

Are you sure that the SWF is doing the part-picking? ActionScript has features for communicating with external programs, because it's just a scripting language. So I wonder if the SWFs aren't making external calls to the game code. It always seems like the easiest thing to let the SWF do the graphics work, and leave the other processes to more robust programming.

 

You might be asking for more than you think, since it's possible that the character creation system assumes that the player is human, and will never be anything else. If that's true, someone would have to code an entire other branch of the system to include other races.

 

This is ALL speculation on my part. If you know for sure about any of it, that's different.

 

Message me here if you want to discuss it more.

[Rorax]

I did a lot of Flash stuff a few years ago, before it got put down by iOS. I'm fairly sure that you'd have to decompile the Bethesda SWFs, unless there's some feature in Scaleform that allows you to look at the original code.

 

Are you sure that the SWF is doing the part-picking? ActionScript has features for communicating with external programs, because it's just a scripting language. So I wonder if the SWFs aren't making external calls to the game code. It always seems like the easiest thing to let the SWF do the graphics work, and leave the other processes to more robust programming.

 

You might be asking for more than you think, since it's possible that the character creation system assumes that the player is human, and will never be anything else. If that's true, someone would have to code an entire other branch of the system to include other races.

 

This is ALL speculation on my part. If you know for sure about any of it, that's different.

 

Message me here if you want to discuss it more.

Hi Radium thanks for your input,

 

You can decompile Betheda swfs using JPEXS with all the form names e.t.c in tact, and from what I know of other languages (but not this one) I can confirm that the model and part picking takes part in the swf.

 

However that being said, I don't know /this/ language in particular and I could be missing something where it interfaces with the game and not seeing the parts where its hard coded.

 

Although I can certainly confirm that the code does reference the human head parts in particular. Infact every operation of the character creator appears to take place within the swf including changing the facial morph scales, applying tints, changing sex e.t.c e.t.c SO I can't really imagine that there is anything /left/ to be hard coded.

 

If you wouldn't mind shaking off a little rust and taking a look yourself.

You can use the archive tool that Bethesda provides to extract LooksMenu.swf from the Interface archive. And then use JPEXS to get at its inner workings. It doesn't appear that Bethesda garbled anything.

 

Edited June 23, 2016 by Rorax

[radiumskull]

Rorax: I hadn't tried JPEXS before, but it does what it says, which is cool. So I looked through the scripts that came out of it, and it was as I suspected. The bulk of the programmatic action doesn't happen in the SWFs, but the ActionScript files (.as), which I think work a lot like 'includes' in other languages.

 

'LooksMenu.as' seems to be the heart of the operation, and you're right, all the editor values are in there - 'FaceMode, HairMode, SculptMode, FeatureMode', etc. However, looking through the variables, I didn't find the word 'Race'. Which is what I meant when I posted before - the ActionScript in 'LooksMenu' is likely not set up to pick the character's race. They just assume the player will be human. Seems like that's the 'path of least resistance' coding method: don't throw in an extra variable that will never change.

 

There is something called 'Race_Sex_cursor_19', but its script is so short that I think it's only related to swapping genders, and the 'Race' is just a holdover from something like Skyrim (where you can actually pick a race).

 

I've programmed in AS a bit, but I am no kind of serious coder, much less a 'forensic coder' who could do much to figure out how to script an entirely new module to work with all this. So, sorry, but it looks to me like that's what it would take. I'm just not up to that sort of work.

[Rorax]

Rorax: I hadn't tried JPEXS before, but it does what it says, which is cool. So I looked through the scripts that came out of it, and it was as I suspected. The bulk of the programmatic action doesn't happen in the SWFs, but the ActionScript files (.as), which I think work a lot like 'includes' in other languages.

 

'LooksMenu.as' seems to be the heart of the operation, and you're right, all the editor values are in there - 'FaceMode, HairMode, SculptMode, FeatureMode', etc. However, looking through the variables, I didn't find the word 'Race'. Which is what I meant when I posted before - the ActionScript in 'LooksMenu' is likely not set up to pick the character's race. They just assume the player will be human. Seems like that's the 'path of least resistance' coding method: don't throw in an extra variable that will never change.

 

There is something called 'Race_Sex_cursor_19', but its script is so short that I think it's only related to swapping genders, and the 'Race' is just a holdover from something like Skyrim (where you can actually pick a race).

 

I've programmed in AS a bit, but I am no kind of serious coder, much less a 'forensic coder' who could do much to figure out how to script an entirely new module to work with all this. So, sorry, but it looks to me like that's what it would take. I'm just not up to that sort of work.

Hey thank you so much for taking the time to take a look.

At the very least you confirmed I wasn't crazy in what I was seeing, that all the vars are there, and if someone with the appropriate skill level were to come along, they could do something about it.

 

So I guess I'll keep hunting. Fingers crossed that someone like Neanka takes an interest aye xD ?

[noahdvs]

snip

I'm not looking to get into a lengthy argument about nothing, but has anyone ever told you that you're kind of a touchy guy? You're not well known and the way you worded your post, it wasn't clear that you wanted help with a mod you were making. With no context, it sounded like you wanted someone to make a mod for you.

Edited June 24, 2016 by noahdvs

[Rorax]

 

snip

I'm not looking to get into a lengthy argument about nothing, but has anyone ever told you that you're kind of a touchy guy? You're not well known and the way you worded your post, it wasn't clear that you wanted help with a mod you were making. With no context, it sounded like you wanted someone to make a mod for you.

 

You are literally the only person who assumed this. So, speaking of "not well known" try not to speak for everyone yeah? Also. Not a guy. You are full of assumptions.

[noahdvs]

 

 

snip

I'm not looking to get into a lengthy argument about nothing, but has anyone ever told you that you're kind of a touchy guy? You're not well known and the way you worded your post, it wasn't clear that you wanted help with a mod you were making. With no context, it sounded like you wanted someone to make a mod for you.

 

You are literally the only person who assumed this. So, speaking of "not well known" try not to speak for everyone yeah? Also. Not a guy. You are full of assumptions.

 

Oh noes, so touchy.