lodextract/README.md

This is a set of scripts which shows how to unpack all bitmaps and animations of Heroes of Might and Magic 3 into PNG images and then back into the formats understood by VCMI.

These scripts are probably the first open source implementation of a writer for the Heroes of Might and Magic 3 animation format called DEF. They are meant to make it possible for artists to create a free replacement for the proprietary assets VCMI currently needs.

Install VCMI and then install original game files via any of the following methods:

vcmibuilder --cd1 /path/to/iso/or/cd --cd2 /path/to/second/cd --download
vcmibuilder --gog /path/to/gog.com/installer --download
vcmibuilder --data /path/to/h3/data --download

Symlink sprites to Data directory

ln -s Data ~/.vcmi/Sprites

Backup original archives:

mkdir ~/lods
for f in H3ab_bmp.lod H3ab_spr.lod H3bitmap.lod H3sprite.lod; do mv ~/.vcmi/Data/$f ~/lods; done
for f in hmm35wog.pac "wog - animated objects.pac" "wog - animated trees.pac" "wog - battle decorations.pac"; do mv ~/.vcmi/Mods/WoG/Data/"$f" ~/lods; done

Extract archives:

for f in H3bitmap.lod H3sprite.lod H3ab_bmp.lod H3ab_spr.lod hmm35wog.pac "wog - animated objects.pac" "wog - animated trees.pac" "wog - battle decorations.pac"; do python lodextract.py ~/lods/"$f" ~/.vcmi/Data/; done

Backup original DEFs:

mkdir ~/defs
mv ~/.vcmi/Data/*.def ~/defs
rm ~/defs/sgtwmta.def ~/defs/sgtwmtb.def # these are having higher offsets than size

Extract all DEFs into JSON files and directories with PNG images:

for f in ~/defs/*; do python defextract.py $f ~/.vcmi/Data || break; done

(optional) modify all frames:

for d in ~/.vcmi/Data/*.dir; do python shred.py $d || break; done

(optional) modify all bitmaps: for f in ~/.vcmi/Data/*.png; do python shred.py $f || break; done

Repack all JSON:

for f in ~/.vcmi/Data/*.json; do python makedef.py $f ~/.vcmi/Data || break; done

In case you followed the optional steps, enjoy your LSD infused game now :)

After above steps you will have a mixture of DEF files as well as JSON files and their *.dir data directories. All parts of vcmi that support it will read the animations from the JSON files now. All others will fall back to reading the DEF files.

You can now make changes to either the PNG images in the Data directory or in the *.dir subdirectories. If you make changes to PNG images in *.dir subdirectories you might have to repack them into DEF files for all animations which do not support JSON animations yet.

I only tested these scripts on Linux because I do not own a license for Windows or MacOS. Patches welcome.