H4: Is this possible?

[WhiteAvatar]

You have to be a computer programmer geek to do this:

You have to copy graphic files of the screen you want to the game dir.
Then rename them to the original game names, and then you can play with a new start up screen.

Computers work logicaly, if you want to change the intro screen
just search with explorer for .BMP or .Gif. or .JPG files, until you find a match
then you have the name of that file
then replace it with your own screen
and give it the name of the original file
simple

Greetings from the nerds and hackers Heroes IV Beer-community.

Edited out the "fix" for illegal game/ Pitsu

[Akul]

You... don't get it, do you?

Do you think that you are the only one who can do that? If that was so simple, nobody, but really nobody, would ask for help.

The files are in no Picture Format.

[Metathron]

TheUndeadKing's method is probably the easiest and most practical method to change the background and music. Works like a charm with as little sweat as possible.

[TheUndeadKing]

Thanks for the feedback, Metathron. Glad I could help.

My method is indeed the easiest, unless you want to use your own custom music. It (only) works perfectly fine with H4 tracks. The problem with my method is, you still have to edit the mp3 file if you want to use your own custom music tracks (I'm also looking for an "easy" method for this, too.)

[Metathron]

I am trying TUK's method on my new computer, and it won't work for some reason. When I try to do this:

6. Open the extractor (1) and click Options > Build a h4l file. Then select the "new.h4l" file you just created (4).

it gives me an "Error in the lst file!" message.

Any ideas why?

I extracted the Gathering Storm wallpaper and music this time, not the originals, so maybe that could be the reason?

[TheUndeadKing]

It's because of the "space" characters, that's why. I didn't know the extractor was sensitive to space characters. The solution to your problem is fairly simple:

When you copy-paste the script above ([H4R File List] blah blah...), you will notice some empty spaces at the end of each line in the text document. Delete them. Then save the document as "new.h4l". The rest of the steps should be the same.

[AKuHAK]

I found a way how to add any music file into H4. I'm not sure about link posting but here is my light "mod" which replaces grass theme with "Wandering" theme and main menu theme with my so-called "remix" (i just paste together main menu themes from all three versions of game and fix differences in volume level - starts of course with Gathering Storm theme).

http://depositfiles.com/files/4g3h3xvvx - just put this into Data folder.


Step 1
So if you have any mp3 file (CBR 128 kbit/s, joint stereo, ms stereo, 2ch, 44,1 kHz). Open it into hex editor. Get the full file size by pressing Ctrl+A in hex format (e.g. my sound.main_menu.mp3 has 3E1AE0). Write it somewhere in reverse 4 byte format (e.g. 3E1AE0 -> 00 E0 1A 3E).

Step 2
Then open your file in some kind of audio editor (im using adobe audition) and write down samples number (in my example - 11218176 samples). Then multiply this value on 4 (e.g. 11218176 * 4 = 44872704). Convert it into hex (44872704 dec = 2ACB400 dec) and finally write it in reverse 4 bytes hex (2ACB400 -> 00 B4 AC 02)

Step 3
Return into hex editor and add such 13 bytes into beginning of file (header).
01 00 00 10 02 44 AC 00 00 00 B4 AC 02 01 00 E0 1A 3E 00
01 00 - ??
00 10 - 16-bit (per sample)
02 - stereo
44 AC 00 00 - 44100 Hz (Sampling rate)
00 B4 AC 02 - sample count*4 which we get in step 2
01 00 - ??
E0 1A 3E 00 - exact mp3 size which we get in step 1

[cuc]

Good job, AKuHAK! You solved all the music problems in one swoop!

Admins, would you host AKuHAK's small mod file on CH itself? Files uploaded to Depositfiles are not permanent, and I think he has made a valuable contribution.

Step 3
Return into hex editor and add such 13 bytes into beginning of file.

By "add", do you mean "replace the first 13 bytes", or "insert 13 bytes"?

P.S. By the way there is in official heroes 4 OST disk track called "13 - The Mountain Song". Can somebody tell me where in the game it is used?

It's part of the grass.mp3 file in game.

[AKuHAK]

Step 3
Return into hex editor and add such 13 bytes into beginning of file.

By "add", do you mean "replace the first 13 bytes", or "insert 13 bytes"?

I mean insert 13 bytes. Any files in heroes4 has such "first inserting bytes" - campaigns, bitmaps, text files and so on. But all of them has different so-called checksums (i know only for music, campaigns, and bitmaps).

P.S. By the way there is in official heroes 4 OST disk track called "13 - The Mountain Song". Can somebody tell me where in the game it is used?

It's part of the grass.mp3 file in game.

Yes but as i know all tracks are part of the original grass theme But thanks for fast answer.

[Irv1n3]

Yes but as i know all tracks are part of the original grass theme But thanks for fast answer.

Wandering from the official OST is unused in the game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyckwhnqCkg

I think we have to remember (or read for the first time) this interesting topic : http://www.celestialheavens.com/forums/ ... hp?t=11812

[AKuHAK]

new version of heroes resource editor

http://depositfiles.com/files/70aaxhioe
this is mh4 v0.96

[Duzeom_]

Is this possible to change and/or add new prologues/epilogues images and voices in H4?

[jeff]

Is this possible to change and/or add new prologues/epilogues images and voices in H4?

I don't know of any, but it would sure be nice if the Equilibris team could do something along the lines of their face tool. I would definitely use new images.

[AKuHAK]

Links is dead so here is new link
https://yadi.sk/d/3kdw7Df_bRu5o

[Slavax]

Hello everybody and sorry for necro-posting. I just tried to convert that new H4 map from Ubi into a new menu, but i have a problem. After making a .h4r file and putting it into Data folder, Main Menu becomes black. I am using Equilibris 3.51 and here are the menu graphics: http://www7.zippyshare.com/v/tqypyt6E/file.html. Programs that I used: GIMP (editing graphics), mh4 (making a .h4r file), ResEdit2 (extracting original menu graphics as .bmp). Anybody can help me?

[Baronus]

This program:
MH4.96 + txtedit simple link:
http://supershare.pl/?d=FCC7BF2C2
Resedit doesnt work perfectly.
....
Edited
Thanks. MH4.96
http://supershare.pl/?d=FD5A42D32
First link is map of Axeoth made yesterday for me from orginal creators maps and Marzhin works (unkown areas).

[Pol]

@Baronus
I'm afraid that you have that link wrong. It's lead to Map of Axeoth.

Edit1
In past I used Game Extractor - imperfect but interesting multi games editor, together with Resedit2 and MH4 0.06. So, you mentioning newer version of MH4 is quite interesting.

Edit2
@Slavax
Resedit2 is having issue with extracting to .bmp, it does shift them in some cases. However in your case it seems more like that you have problem with pcx colour map. (The original archived pic was pcx right? Not sure for h4 but this was the case for h3 portraits.)

[Baronus]

Thanks for extractor. Resedit damage orginal files... It maybe not work. You can add menu but file is no correct. But maybe it works. I think in HIV there are bmp files converted to raw lay etc. extensions.

[Slavax]

So I made menu image in 3 sizes, they only lack EQ logo.




I still don't know how to put them into the game. Maybe if Duzeom came here (he succeded in it with MC) things would get simplier.

[Pol]

@Slavax
Send him PM