The Improved Golfer Utility Available
Posted: May 1st, 2023, 10:45 pm
The grind in my personality paid off big this time. I posted about 12 hours ago that I had my butt kicked when it came to getting the ani files packed back together so they would work in the game. Now, there are 4 golfer utilities that will allow you to look at every aspect of the animation file. Let me explain (Adelade, you want technical? Here you go).
Animation files are made up of a bunch of files that are packed together to form the animation we see in the game. The golfer utility simply allows us to view those files, extract and change them and then pack them back together. I figured out the golfer utility in the last 12 hours so now we will all have access to everything that makes up a golfer in the game.
1. The graphic textures: These could be .TGA, .BMP or a combo of both. These are the files that make up the face, skin, hats, shirts, pants, shoes, etc.. The original golfer utility was deliberately setup to only be able to view .TGA files. This is how they kept us normal folks from seeing all of these textures. So, locked would be .BMP and unlocked would be .TGA.
2. Configuration Text Files: In the animations I've opened so far, there are 6 important text files that define some really cool stuff.
Script.txt: This is the file that I posted awhile back. It defines which skeleton (I'll mention below) is used along with how many textures and the type of textures and all the reactions that a golfer makes to any given swing event. It also has all the club variables and whether or not a ani is locked or not. This is the most exciting file that I now know how to use that I was completely stumped with. This file, once extracted, is very easy to understand and change. This should allow this community endless possibilities with animations now.
DRIVERSWING.TXT: This file is loaded with all times and sequences of the driver swing animation. I haven't messed with it at all, but if you want a faster or slower driver swing then this is the file you will modify. Using my revised utility (posted below) you can see all of these parameters very easily and they are easy to edit. This will take some experimenting, but should open up a world of customization of swing types, etc..
IRONSWING.TXT: Same as DRIVERSWING.TXT only for swings using the Irons
PUTTERLONG.TXT, PUTTERMEDIUM.TXT and PUTTERSHORT.TXT: These do the same as the DRIVERSWING and IRONSWING.TXT do, but they define the parameters for putts at different lengths because those swings can by slightly different (backswing length, etc.).
3. .SKL (Skeleton Files): These are the files that define the mesh or body type of the golfer. I really have to figure this out and haven't done anything more than look at these to know they can be modified. These are the files that will need modified in order to make taller, shorter, fatter, etc. golfers. It looks fairly easy to modify, but again, no testing whatsoever so far. What's cool about this is that the game only has a few of these that are then customized and defined in the Script.txt file. If I'm seeing this correctly, you could technically have an infinite amount of these as long as they are defined in the Script.txt file and then packed back with the animation file.
So, here is what I've done. I've modified the original golfer utility program and created 3 additional utilities. I've uploaded them to the below Google Drive shared and made them available for everyone. Should I have done this? That's debatable, but it was the only way to get to my goal so I don't really care at this point. The game is 20+ years old, I'm not selling it and I'm trying to keep the damn thing alive and relevant longer.
GolferUtilityTGA.exe - Allows you to open an .l3 file and see, extract and re-pack all the TGAs
GolferUtilityBMP.exe - Allows you to open an .l3 file and see, extract and re-pack all the BMPs
GolferUtilityTXT.exe - Allows you to open an .l3 file and see, extract and re-pack all the TXTs
GolferUtility.SKL.exe - Allows you to open an .l3 file and see, extract and re-pack all the SKLs
Is there a way to get a single utility to open everything at once? Probably, and if I figure that out I'll post it. It's not that important to me though so not high on my priority list. Enjoy the new toys. I know I will.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing
Animation files are made up of a bunch of files that are packed together to form the animation we see in the game. The golfer utility simply allows us to view those files, extract and change them and then pack them back together. I figured out the golfer utility in the last 12 hours so now we will all have access to everything that makes up a golfer in the game.
1. The graphic textures: These could be .TGA, .BMP or a combo of both. These are the files that make up the face, skin, hats, shirts, pants, shoes, etc.. The original golfer utility was deliberately setup to only be able to view .TGA files. This is how they kept us normal folks from seeing all of these textures. So, locked would be .BMP and unlocked would be .TGA.
2. Configuration Text Files: In the animations I've opened so far, there are 6 important text files that define some really cool stuff.
Script.txt: This is the file that I posted awhile back. It defines which skeleton (I'll mention below) is used along with how many textures and the type of textures and all the reactions that a golfer makes to any given swing event. It also has all the club variables and whether or not a ani is locked or not. This is the most exciting file that I now know how to use that I was completely stumped with. This file, once extracted, is very easy to understand and change. This should allow this community endless possibilities with animations now.
DRIVERSWING.TXT: This file is loaded with all times and sequences of the driver swing animation. I haven't messed with it at all, but if you want a faster or slower driver swing then this is the file you will modify. Using my revised utility (posted below) you can see all of these parameters very easily and they are easy to edit. This will take some experimenting, but should open up a world of customization of swing types, etc..
IRONSWING.TXT: Same as DRIVERSWING.TXT only for swings using the Irons
PUTTERLONG.TXT, PUTTERMEDIUM.TXT and PUTTERSHORT.TXT: These do the same as the DRIVERSWING and IRONSWING.TXT do, but they define the parameters for putts at different lengths because those swings can by slightly different (backswing length, etc.).
3. .SKL (Skeleton Files): These are the files that define the mesh or body type of the golfer. I really have to figure this out and haven't done anything more than look at these to know they can be modified. These are the files that will need modified in order to make taller, shorter, fatter, etc. golfers. It looks fairly easy to modify, but again, no testing whatsoever so far. What's cool about this is that the game only has a few of these that are then customized and defined in the Script.txt file. If I'm seeing this correctly, you could technically have an infinite amount of these as long as they are defined in the Script.txt file and then packed back with the animation file.
So, here is what I've done. I've modified the original golfer utility program and created 3 additional utilities. I've uploaded them to the below Google Drive shared and made them available for everyone. Should I have done this? That's debatable, but it was the only way to get to my goal so I don't really care at this point. The game is 20+ years old, I'm not selling it and I'm trying to keep the damn thing alive and relevant longer.
GolferUtilityTGA.exe - Allows you to open an .l3 file and see, extract and re-pack all the TGAs
GolferUtilityBMP.exe - Allows you to open an .l3 file and see, extract and re-pack all the BMPs
GolferUtilityTXT.exe - Allows you to open an .l3 file and see, extract and re-pack all the TXTs
GolferUtility.SKL.exe - Allows you to open an .l3 file and see, extract and re-pack all the SKLs
Is there a way to get a single utility to open everything at once? Probably, and if I figure that out I'll post it. It's not that important to me though so not high on my priority list. Enjoy the new toys. I know I will.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing