Get and Extract the Tutorial Pack
I have created a package where all stuff is included to get your environment up.
The installation will take some time but it will save you much time later and prevent many problems like corrupted WoW files or that you use the wrong files to mod.
http://www.file-upload.net/download-8969417/WoWModding.zip.htmlFilesize: 45MB
So please first download the ZIP archive and extract it on the root layer of one of your harddrives.
Do not put it onto your desktop or in some other folder. It MUST be directy located on a drive top layer.
C:WoWModding
D:WoWModding
E:WoWModding
F:WoWModding
What ever
This drive should have:
* A minimum of 70GB free space for pack and all client copies
* One of the following drive letters: C, D, E, F
I will use F for my paths in the rest of the tutorial. So you just have to swap it with the letter you have chosen.
Now you have a folder called WoWModding on your drive like the one you see in this image.
Folder Description
* Client335aNoggit = The source WoW for noggit.
* Client335aTest = The source WoW for ModelViewer and testing your patches.
* Client Files = All files of the client extracted. This way you can quickly get to the right files.
* Projects = The folder where all your projects will find a home.
* Tools = Tools and useful stuff we will use in this tutorial.
Now a list of all the stuff inside Tools
* 010Templates = Templates for the 010 Hex editor to easyer do hex work on files.
* ADTAdder = A tool that creates new map ADT copies from a source ADT.
* AllWaterGui = A Gui application to modify water layer of an ADT
* BLPConverter = Converts PNG files to BLP
* BLPShellExtention = Show BLP Files as Thumbnail preview inside the windows explorer.
* CMD = A set of needed CMD tools.
* DriveLetter = Setup files for this pack. Set the configs to the needed drive letter.
* FuTa = ADT alpha map import/export. Usefull for fast texturing.
* MPQEdit.1.1 = Manage the MPQ files.
* MPQEdit 3.2 = Manage the MPQ files.
* MyDBCEditor = Editor for the WoW client database files (DBC files).
* NoggitSDL = ADT Map Editor
* ProjectTemplate = Empty folder structure to start a new project.
* Taliis = WoW File editor. We use it to create WDT files.
* WoWModelViewer7 = View M2 and WMO models as well as import models into noggit.
Setup Your Modding Environment
After you have extracted the files you have to do the following steps to get everything working
>> Open up the following folder
F:WoWModdingToolsDriveLetter>> Open the subfolder fitting to your drive letter you have extracted the pack to.
>> Copy the containing tools folder and past it into the following path and overwrite existing files.
F:WoWModdingThis will copy the config files of some applications that are configured to your driveletter to the right folders.
>> Copy the content of a clean WoW 335a game client folder into the both client folders. The files should be located directly in these both folders. Don't just move a wow folder inside there. It will not work.
F:WoWModdingClient335aNoggitF:WoWModdingClient335aTestWhy 2 client folders that waste my drive space? The problem is that 2 apps that access the same WoW game folder can destroy the game data in it. So if you want to have 2 applications opened at the same time, you need 2 clients. The Client335aNoggit is configured as the source of noggit. The Client335aTest is configured for the ModelWiever and you can test your own custom patches in this client.
>> Now open up the following apps to see if everything is working
F:WoWModdingToolsNoggitSDLnoggit.exeF:WoWModdingToolsWoWModelViewer7wowmodelview.exe
If the applications just close again after start, you perhaps have the "read only" option set on folders or the folder rights are set wrong.
This often happens if you copy a wow over from another harddrive or downloaded it from the internet.
- Rightclick on the Client335aNoggit folder
- Deselect the read only checkbox and hit ok
- Rightclick on the same folder
- Select properties
- Select the security tab on top
- Select the extended rights button on the bottom right
- Check the option that tells you to bequeath all rights to all subfolders and files
Repeat this with the Client335aTest folder if needed.
Extracting the MPQ's
It is possible that more than one version of a file exists in the WoW MPQs. They can also have different versions. So if you use the wrong file in your patch, it will force wow to crash on startup.
To avoid this we will extract all MPQs in the order of the following list into the ClientFiles and overwrite existing files.
All MPQs to extract into ClientFiles:
From the WoW/data folder
* common.MPQ
* common-2.MPQ
* expansion.MPQ
* lichking.MPQ
* patch.MPQ
* patch-2.MPQ
* patch-3.MPQ
From your localization folder (data/enUS for US clients or deDE, enGB or frFR are other locals)
* locale-enUS.MPQ
* expansion-locale-enUS.MPQ
* lichking-locale-enUS.MPQ
* patch-enUS.MPQ
* patch-enUS-2.MPQ
* patch-enUS-3.MPQ
>> So open up MPQEdit 3.2 from the tools folder.
>>
MENU > File > Open MPQ>> Select the first file from the list below and open it up. Its common.MPQ in the wow/data folder. Just take the MPQs from Client335aTest.
>> In the left tree view of the MPQ folder structure select the top item like in the image above named also common.MPQ.
>>
MENU > Operations > Extract>> Set all options in the following window like you see in this image.
The path should point to the following directory.
F:WoWModdingClientFiles 
The MPQEditor will now extract all files included into this folder.
>> If it asks to overwrite then click yes to all.
>> Repeat these actions with all MPQs from the list above.
Now you always have the right file and you can also search with your OS search function for the filename.
You also should install the tool BLPShellExtention from the tools folder. It will add a preview function to the windows explorer. This way you will find textures and images faster. It looks like this.
Some Words On DBC Editing
DBC's are data files including information for the client or the server in data form. You can think about them like excel tables. Every DBC is a big list of information like how the ground is named you are standing on, what weather set is located in the area you are or what spell´s exist.
In many cases you also have to copy your DBC's to the server you are using. Many times the server takes the information it gets from the client and compares them with the values in it's DBC's. So if for example a spell is different in the client and in the server DBC, it will just not work.
We will have to edit DBC's during many tasks of modding. Perhaps just have a look at them to get a feeling and an overview of what they are.
>> Open the MyDBCEditor from
F:WoWModdingToolsMyDbcEditorMyDbcEditor.exe>> MENU > File > Open
>> Navigate to
F:WoWModdingClientFilesDBFilesClient>> Open the file map.dbc.
Here you see the list of all maps you have in wow.
A good place to get an overview what all of these DBC's do and what most of the values are is the WoWDev wiki.
http://www.wowdev.wiki/index.php?title=Category:DBC_WotLKSo now everything is ready for use. Now we will setup a testserver in the next chapter.
Or skip this if you still have one and start with the first build.
This guide has been completely proof-read and corrected in grammar by Mountainlion. Feel free to message him.03 - Setup local Trinity testserver04 - Your first island in Noggit
