Guide to modifying in-game graphics

From Guild Wars Wiki

Warning: Directly modifying the Guild Wars program files through any third party tools is completely unsupported by ArenaNet and NCSoft. If anything breaks, do not contact support for help; there's nothing they can do about it. Also, third party programs not supported by ArenaNet might contain trojans, spyware, adware, and other harmful programs.

Note: AVG, F-Secure, Mcafee, Norman, Norton, and PCtools all detect Texmod as a "virus, backdoor, or suspicious". Ignore the warning. These are known as "false positives".

This is a guide on how to modify (mod) Guild Wars textures using a program called TexMod. By using this program you acknowledge that you cannot hold ANYONE responsible for what happens to your game or account. TexMod can be downloaded here. You can also use one of the following mirrors:

• Megaupload — The MD5 checksum is 2291f3095f14efb847d366e2fbe4be51. The SHA1 checksum is c05a59ef20c5cb682230de2be9973945562ab86d.
• Rapidshare — The this file's checksum is different as it has two (identical) copies of Texmod.exe in it. The MD5 checksum of this file is 8bc62f81e75eafc042b0620f819111ea. The SHA1 checksum is 5dc0c381fbaee563430207ab466d972ecf241026.
• The MD5 checksum of the unzipped texmod.exe is: 3a561b80cfba394a810d528d4c05dc7e. The SHA1 checksum is 6da72f02cb63e04210d590213073ec677bdd20fd. It is strongly recommended that you verify 1 or more of these values.

See the list of player made modifications for individual mod downloads.

[edit] TexMod manual

TexMod Beta Version

TexMod is a utility to find, save and modify Direct3D textures in DirectX 9 or greater(!) applications. In order to share and distribute texture modifications, packages can be created, which are both compressed and prevent a further modification. Benefits are that you don't have to modify any files of your application's installation and you don't need any game specific modding tools.

[edit] Modes

The application interface offers three modes:

1. Package mode: add package files to a list and load them into the selected application.
   • Packages on top of the list are loaded first. Change the package order to prioritize a package if it changes the same texture as another one.
2. Logging mode: choose between several options and start the selected application in logging mode. You can browse through all loaded textures of the application and save the selected one in the output folder.
   • For every saved texture a line will be appended to the texmod.log file in the output folder in the format the Package Builder expects it.
3. Build mode: create a package by selecting a definition file (e.g. an automatically created log file) and entering your name and a comment, which both will be shown when opening the package in the package mode.

Please note: This is an early beta version and does not offer application specific fixes. Don't be surprised if your application crashes or shows other strange behavior and expect a slight performance drop, especially when you use the logging features.

[edit] Definition file syntax

The definition file, which contains a checksum and a path to a texture file has to look like this:

<checksum>|<texture file path>

If the checksum is in hex format, it has to start with '0x', e.g. 0x00ABCDEF. The file path can be absolute or relative to the definition file.

[edit] Controls in logging mode

All controls are located on your numpad.

Key	Function
+	select next texture
-	select previous texture
*	filter drawn textures. Only filtered will be selectable.
/	reset filter mode (show all textures again)
,	reload the replacement definition file (reload modified textures without restarting your application)

[edit] ArenaNet

"As a general rule of thumb, we don't mind if you do things like this to make your own playing experience more fun. Some people really like to mod, and we recognize that this can often be a valuable learning tool. When you're doing it, though, keep in mind that we ask that you don't use our content to mod other games. Please do not attempt to extract anything from your GW.dat with the intent to use it in a mod for another game or project. Also keep in mind that we can't support any changes you make.

In other words, if you try to make some changes and your game crashes, don't contact support because there really isn't anything they will be able to do for you. Make sure you have your disks handy to reinstall.

In case anyone was concerned about this reply, keep in mind that alterations that people make to their own .dat files will not affect the play experience of others. All of that important data is stored server side, so any changes that would be able to be made are purely cosmetic. For instance, if someone re-textures their sword to look like a gigantic pickle, they will be the only one to see this change. You won't start seeing people wielding pickle swords running around in random arena any time soon.

Also keep in mind that we are always interested to see what stuff you guys come up with. If you do something exceptionally cool that you feel would really benefit the community as a whole, don't be afraid to let us know about it." -- Emily Diehl (talk)

"To all modders: It's important to note that the parameters concerning the use of third-party programs do still apply. We cannot condone the use of such programs, and we cannot support the accounts of those who may be negatively impacted in using such programs. That's called the If it eats your hard drive and blows up your refrigerator, don't call us policy.

Honestly, though, as previously stated, it is unlikely that we would actively pursue or action those who use such programs in a positive manner, that is, those whose only interest is creating benign mods of our games. Keep in mind that occasionally people get creative and might bring up the use of a harmless program to attempt to mask other harmful activities. We see that with other situations, such as where they say "But I was only using an alternative OS, why was I blocked?" and we discover they are using major bot programs.

If you feel that this creates a "mixed message," then I guess we should discuss that concern. I can understand where the strict "Don't do that" is clearer than "We can't say you can do that, but we won't take action if you do choose to do it." There are some cases where it's not black and white. One example that comes to mind is the use of emulators to play Guild Wars. We develop only for the PC, but others play on other systems and that's totally ok. However, if they develop difficulties, our Support Team is not available to help them resolve those issues. So we don't prohibit the alternative, we simply decline to support it.

What I want to say above all about this matter is that if you're going to mod, have fun, but do stick with the benign and positive uses of the programs and create mods that impact the game only in ways that are fun and harmless. If there's more information to share, I will do so as soon as it becomes available to me." -- Gaile

[edit] Starting to mod

[edit] Creating a mod

Open TexMod.

1. Click the big folder icon on the Target Application section and select Browse. Find your GuildWars folder and select your gw.exe.
2. Press "Logging Mode".
3. Select the options you want. I would advise you to keep "Show Texture on the upper left corner" and "Replace Texture (with a green texture)" on.
4. Select the Output format (see the table below). Select the "Log with" button (Something that isn't bound to anything else e.g F8). By pressing this button TexMod will extract a texture.
5. Select a folder you can find easily as the "output folder". Press run.
6. We will start off with modifying something easily like the "GuildWars Eye of the North" logo.
   Keep pressing "+"(Numpad) until you find it(Notice the selected texture becomes green) and press the "Log with" key to export it.
7. Close Guildwars and go to the output folder, there should be a image and a TexMod.log file. Edit the image all you want but leave the .log file as it is.
   I took the ArenaNet logo from the official wiki and replaced the Eye of the North one with it. Once you're done, save the image over the same file.
8. Go back to TexMod and press the "Package Build" button.
9. In the Definition File browse to the Output folder and select the TexMod.log file.
10. Enter your name and some comments (e.g. what you changed).
11. Press Build. A new window will open up and ask you to specify a name, give it a name and press save.
12. The Build Status shows you the progress. If all goes well, you will see the Success! 1 Textures.

Now you have a .tpf file which is your mod. You can share it with others or just keep it to yourself.

[edit] Output format

When extracting textures using TexMod, there are a variety of different file types to choose from. This table will try to show which is best for specific uses.

2 textures have been extracted, with various formats.

• 0xF614EDF7 is a Paragon armor texture
• 0xE730F7C3 is a small UI element

0xF614EDF7

	BMP	JPG	PNG	DDS	TGA
File size	1025kb	53kb	379kb	342kb	1025kb
Alpha Channel	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes

As seen here, the ideal filetype to use (if possible) is .dds. It has the smallest filetype which supports alpha, and is the native texture format which Direct3D uses. This means that using .dds does not require your video card to do additional conversions to display your texture, using even less memory and bandwidth compared to the other formats. If your image editing program does not support .dds, plugins can be easily found for Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, and GIMP.

0xE730F7C3

	BMP	JPG	PNG	DDS	TGA
File size	5kb	1kb	2kb	5kb	5kb
Alpha Channel	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Transparency	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

For small textures without a reflection map, the difference is negligible. While .PNG has a smaller filesize and supports transparency, due to its lack of alpha channel it selects black as the color which denotes transparency. Because of this, you may find that .dds is preferable. Despite the slightly larger filesize, it includes an alpha channel and requires no additional conversion by the video card to display the texture.

It is recommended to avoid .jpg format despite its low file sizes. The small size may look attractive, but this format greatly degrades the quality of the image, leading to highly noticeable imperfections in mods, while also lacking transparency features.

It is worth noting that the .dds compression format is not lossless, and can result in some quality degradation. If artifacts are rendered, be sure to save the file uncompressed.

[edit] Additional notes

• Depending on the filetype and image editor used, some textures will show a "shiny" effect in-game when modded. This is either caused by the filetype or the image editor not supporting alpha channels. (IE, JPG format, or editing with MSPaint.) As mentioned above, the ideal filetype to use for modding is .dds. If this is not possible, you can also try editing with BMP. If your textures are still shiny while using BMP, the problem is more than likely the image editor itself rather than the filetype. At this point, there are two options. One is to use an image editor which supports alpha, such as Photoshop, or Paintshop Pro. If you're interested in going this route, The GIMP, which is a free image editing program similar to Photoshop, may be downloaded from here and .DDS plugin here. If you'd rather not use a different image editor, you can then solve this problem by replacing the reflection texture of the original texture with a plain black one (see image). This fix should only be used as a last resort, as doing this will completely remove any shininess the texture once had, and may leave your mod looking dull, or flat.
• On a laptop you will have to press the function (Fn) key to access the numpad, the numpad keys are typically written in blue below the normal function.
• Plain text cannot be replaced with texmod.

[edit] In-game scaling behavior of graphics

The following test results may help you when modding the extracted graphics. As you can see in the screenshot, the size of the edited graphic is not equivalent to the in-game rendered graphic. The origin graphic is scaled linear in X- and Y-axis, however not all over.

Due to the test, the scaling behavior is as follows:

Note: All pixel values refer to the origin graphic.

Origin graphics with height <= 32 pixels (eg.: buttons, inner frames, head of window panels):

• An area of 10 pixels length from the left and right border is not scaled.
• The remaining inner area is scaled linear in X-axis only.
• As an exception frame elements behave like origin graphics with height >= 64 pixels despite the non-scaled-corner-area is 10x10 pixels.

Origin graphics with height >= 64 pixels (all panels eg.: party window panel, inventory):

• An area of 40x40 pixels in each corner is not scaled.
• Starting from this non-scaled-corner-area a stripe of 40 pixels height (in Y-axis) is scaled linear in X-axis only (Y-axis remains as in the origin graphic) and vice versa.
• The remaining inner area is scaled linear in both axes.
• As an exception elements like the radar are scaled linear in both axes all over.

[edit] Running a mod

To use a mod you will need a .tpf file.

Run TexMod.exe.

Click the big folder icon in the Target Application section and select Browse. Find your GuildWars folder and select your gw.exe. Switch to "Package Mode". In the "Select package" section press the small folder icon and find the .tpf file you want to use and select it. And then hit run, if all goes well your mod should work. Enjoy.

[edit] FAQ

Are mods permanent?

No. Any modifications must be run through TexMod, and no changes are made to any Guild Wars files.

What version of DirectX is required?

Texmod currently requires at least DirectX 9 to run.

How can I remove a mod?

Run Guild Wars normally.

Can I use command line switches with TexMod? (such as -password, -dx8, or -noshaders)

TexMod does not yet support command line switches.

Can I create new models / new UI elements?

No. Texmod only supports modification of existing textures, and can not access model data.

Can other people see my mods?

If they have the same mod active, then yes. Otherwise, no, only you will be able to see the changes.

Where can I find mods other people have created?

A list of player-made modifications can be found here.

I downloaded an armor/weapon reskin, why isn't it working?

Many armor/weapon reskins need the item to be a specific color in order to take effect.

I get a strange error message, with the text "D'OH". What does it mean?

This is a general error message used for nearly all exceptions - as TexMod is beta software, error handling isn't up to par.

However some known instances where this error may occur are:

• After being browsed to, gw.exe can no longer be found in that location.
• One or more of the selected .tpf files can no longer be found or are corrupted and cannot be run.
• A virus scanner has blocked TexMod's access to the gw.exe file. If you are using a virus scanner or other malware protection software, it could be detecting TexMod as a threat (see below). Turn your virus scanner off, then use TexMod. Once Guild Wars starts, you should turn your virus scanner back on.

My anti-virus/anti-malware software claims that Texmod has a trojan in it. Is this true?

If your anti-virus/anti-malware program uses heuristic detection, a program's ability to modify the way another program works, it might detect TexMod as a trojan. These scanners cannot tell good modifications from bad ones. TexMod is obviously a false alarm, since the basis of it is to modify how a program runs by replacing textures that the program uses. To verify that you have a valid copy of TexMod, compare the checksum of your downloaded zip file or texmode.exe with the known good checksums (see top of page).

I followed all the directions, have DirectX 9 installed, and nothing changes. Why?

Texmod requires a graphics card that is fully DirectX 9 compatible in order to work. Older graphics cards do not have the ability to fully use DirectX 9. This means that some programs that require it may not function properly, including Texmod. In addition, if a new Guild Wars.exe build comes out, it will restart Guild Wars, which means that Texmod will no longer be modifying the game. If this occurs, simply close Guild Wars and re-run it via Texmod.

[edit] Notes

• In the case of overlapping textures, the .tpf applied first will show.
• Video on how to make mods (using .bmp image format, as opposed to the suggested .dds)