Replacement Config Tutorial – Arma 3
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This is a guide how to create an addon to replace the look of a given weapon/unit/vehicle with a different model from another community made addon. To avoid issues the replacement should be of the same type and behavior as close as possible. Generally the goal is to achieve a better visual look or better sound experience.
Required tools
- A good text editor; best with regular expression support. Recommended: EditPadPro (and/or PowerGREP)
- Ability to create a config dump from system memory while the game is running
- A tool to create pbos. Recommended: mikero's tool suite (makePbo)
Overall process
Basic preparation
- Download the desired addon(s) you want to use for the replacement
- Load it/them via a modfolder
- Make a config overview for the above mentioned config dump mission in the editor; cfgVehicles for infantry or vehicles, cfgWeapons for weapons (or make subsets like CAManBase, AllVehicles, Tank, Cars, etc); for sounds cfgAmmo and cfgMagazines are also relevant and a few other specific classes for UI or terrain sounds
- Extract the classes of the desired vehicle/infantry/weapon item/set/type/faction to replace
- Extract the classes of the replacements
- Clean both their content for all but the relevant parameters (see below for more information); this regex will remove all but the mentioned parameters:
^(?!.*?(^\tclass|parameterA|parameterB|etc)).*\r\n
Preparing the addon
- Create a new folder in your @test\addons modfolder
- Give the folder a descriptive name like YourTAG_ReplacementSet_With_AddonName
- Create an empty text file
- Rename it to config.cpp (make sure to have windows show file extensions)
- Add a cfgPatches header - see sample below
- Give it the same name as the folder
- Add the cfgPatches class dependency of the addon used for the replacement in requiredAddons definition
- Add the cfgWeapons/cfgVehicles body
- Add the desired vehicles/infantry/weapons classes you want to replace
- It should include the base class
- The definitions should be strip of all unnecessary parameters at this point
- Disable all the remaining parameters (by adding '//' at the start of each line to comment it out) - they only serve as a reminder what you have to replace for a given class
Sample config:
class CfgPatches
{
class YourTAG_ReplacementSet_With_AddonName
{
units[] = {};
weapons[] = {};
requiredVersion = 0.1;
requiredAddons[] = { "DependencyToAddonsCfgPatchesClass" };
};
};
class CfgVehicles
{
class SoldierWB;
class B_Soldier_base_F : SoldierWB
{
// model = "\A3\characters_F\BLUFOR\b_soldier_01.p3d";
// nakedUniform = "U_BasicBody";
// uniformClass = "U_B_CombatUniform_mcam";
// hiddenSelections[] = { "Camo" };
// hiddenSelectionsTextures[] = { "\a3\characters_f\blufor\data\clothing1_co.paa" };
// linkedItems[] = { "V_PlateCarrier1_rgr", "H_HelmetB", "ItemMap", "ItemCompass", "ItemWatch", "ItemRadio", "NVGoggles" };
// respawnLinkedItems[] = { "V_PlateCarrier1_rgr", "H_HelmetB", "ItemMap", "ItemCompass", "ItemWatch", "ItemRadio", "NVGoggles" };
// class Wounds
// {
// tex[] = {};
// mat[] = { "A3\Characters_F\BLUFOR\Data\clothing1.rvmat", ... };
// };
};
class B_Soldier_F : B_Soldier_base_F
{
// nakedUniform = "U_BasicBody";
// uniformClass = "U_B_CombatUniform_mcam";
};
};
Defining the replacement
- Next you have to select which addon unit should replace each given source class; generally one copies GL over GL, MG over MG and so on
- You do so by copying the parameters of the addon class into your replacement addon for the given class
- Very important is to keep the parameter inheritance in mind in both addon and source class; in other words you need to check carefully where each required parameter is set and if you need to replace it in the given/specific class or at the base class level
To make some examples for infantry classes:
- class Wounds or the model are often set only in the base class; except for specific types like snipers, officer, pilot/crew classes
- whereas the linkedItems list/array is mostly defined per specific class
- make sure what parameters are set in the base class of the replacement addon
Building the addon
- Once each class of has the required parameters set/overwritten with new definitions from the desired addon
- Check your config for error (brackets, semicolons, etc) - rapify/mikero's tools have the feature to verify a config for correctness
- Build your addon folder to pbo
- Load your new pbo in a modfolder, as well as the addon it depends on
- Verify in the editor that the replacement works as desired and that you have no onscreen errors and none in the rpt
Different types
Visual replacement
Infantry
Relevant config parameters:
- model
- hiddenSelections[]
- hiddenSelectionsTextures[]
- class Wounds
- nakedUniform
- uniformClass
- linkedItems[]
- respawnlinkedItems[]
- backpack (somewhat problematic as it may have gameplay impact - better to replace the backpack look itself in its definition/class)
Sample config:
class CfgPatches
{
class AiA_ModelReplacement_BAF_With_STALKERGBs_BritishInfantry
{
units[] = {};
weapons[] = {};
requiredVersion = 0.1;
requiredAddons[] = { "AiA_ActivateA3Models_ModelReplacement_CO", "STKR_BritMTP" };
};
};
class CfgVehicles
{
class SoldierWB;
class BAF_Soldier_base_EP1 : SoldierWB
{
model = "\STKR_BritMTP\Rifleman";
uniformClass = "STKR_UBACS";
backpack = "Brit_MLode";
linkedItems[] = { "STKR_Osprey_R", "STKR_MK7_Scrim", "STKR_HMNVS", "ItemMap", "ItemCompass", "ItemWatch", "ItemRadio" };
respawnLinkedItems[] = { "STKR_Osprey_R", "STKR_MK7_Scrim", "NVGoggles", "ItemMap", "ItemCompass", "ItemWatch", "ItemRadio" };
class Wounds
{
tex[] = {};
mat[] = { /* ... */ };
};
};
// ...
};