CRC or .aln problem?

First, go for renaming everything that refers to gf_rh_smallengine02_fire.
I would do that the following way: Find and replace all: gf_rh ==> my_own.
Do the same for the ael and the aln as well!

Then use the DB_Hash_CRC_Calc (LS’s CRC Calculator app) to get Signed CRC values for the renamed nodes. The first two codes will need to be inserted into the file. I usually just copy-paste and then delete the <> sign and make sure there is only one space there.
Long story short, rename everything to unique and make sure the CRC values match for them! And make sure you do it in both the ael and aln files. Do not forget about the “original filename” entries at the top of both files, rename them as well!

You have got the rest done correctly, except: EFFECTS.INI! Add it there as well.

Yeh, I’d wager leaving the effects.ini entry out is what is preventing it from showing up in-game. But as stated, you should go through and update all the old names, otherwise you can get crossover problems with the old effects if a ship using them approaches. Before LS’s ALE editor, you could actually get by with just renaming a couple items (making sure you stuck within the same character limit as the prior name). The emitter sections could keep their old name and still work, but yeah you run the risk of funky things when encountering the old effects (particularly with re-sized and recolored effects).

Note: anything with a semicolon acts the same as in an ini file, it’s only there to provide in code documentation for you.

Note2: if you’re combining / patching together effects, you have to remember to update the ael file’s Slot_order to reflect your changes

anl = alchemy node library
ael = alchemy effects library

I just like to stick to the stricter version all the time, that is if I modify the comment lines that doesn’t do much harm - but say, if by any chance they would not be ignored by the encoder, that could cause me a headache if I did not modify them as well:p

The ; is for comments only, you do not have to change or include them.

ale editor?

I WANT THAT!

Download ALE Editor HERE

The download doesn’t seem to work for me and i’m actually in need of the ALE editor, so could someone be kind and upload it somewhere else?

Thnx mindhunter for the tool

Heya Cyb3r, head to the Digital Brilliance site, hit the forum and the ALE editor thread. The first page has a working link to version 0.008 (last version). Might be an issue with v8 though, hearing some effects are not decrypting properly.

Hmmm and again i can’t get registered (happened to me on another board using the same board software >.<)

You don’t have to register to get the download, just click the download button at the top.

that one doesn’t work for me either lancer ….

Why’s Guide to Duplicating Effects!

Duplicating effects is one of the most important things an effects modder needs to do. It took me a long while to figure out the full process, but I know it now, and here goes.

First off, pick your effect. For this tutorial I will use the ku_missile02_drive.

First things first, extract the ku_missile02.ale from FX. ALE files actually tend to contain multiple effects, so you will typically not find exactly the effect name you are looking for, but something very close.

With the ALE extracted, you now have two files. The ANL, and AEL. The AEL is your structure file. This defines what your components are, and their orders. I recommend you do not touch these numbers, as it is very easy to screw the entire effect up. What we are interested though is duplicating the effect though. You can mess around all you want later. For my example, I am going to make an effect called gf_supermissile02_drive.

Open up the AEL first. Simplest way, replace (Ctrl-H in Notepad) all references of ku_missile02 with gf_supermissile02_drive. Here’s an example of a couple lines.

Type = Layer0
[Section]
; ==> 1

Effect_Name = ku_missile02_drive

ULParams = 0, 0, 1

; *** Param #1
ANL_Nickname = Main_Node ; 0xEE223B51 3995220817
Parent = NULL
FX_Slot = 1
Slot_Flag = 0
; *** Param #2
ANL_Nickname = ku_missile02_drivethrust#1 ; 0xFF03EA94 4278446740
Parent = NULL
FX_Slot = 3
Slot_Flag = 0

And here is after.

Type = Layer0
[Section]
; ==> 1

Effect_Name = gf_supermissile02_drive

ULParams = 0, 0, 1

; *** Param #1
ANL_Nickname = Main_Node ; 0xEE223B51 3995220817
Parent = NULL
FX_Slot = 1
Slot_Flag = 0
; *** Param #2
ANL_Nickname = gf_supermissile02_drivethrust#1 ; 0xFF03EA94 4278446740
Parent = NULL
FX_Slot = 3
Slot_Flag = 0

Simple enough. Now do the same for the ANL. Simply replace all references to ku_missile02 with gf_supermissile02.

Pack up the files using hte ALE editor to create your TALE. Simply rename this to ALE and you are good to go. Plop your ALE into whatever relevant folder, in my case, this would be the DATA\FX\WEAPONS folder.

Not done yet! You have an ALE and effect, but the game does not know how to use it. So open up the relevant folder’s ini. In my case, this would be DATA\FX\WEAPONS\weapons_ale.ini. In this file is a list of all effects and their associated ALEs. Since I copied the ku_missile02_drive, I will find the entry for ku_missile02_drive, and duplicate it.

[VisEffect]
nickname = ku_missile02_drive
alchemy = fx\weapons\ku_missile02.ale
effect_crc = 81439903
textures = fx\smoke.txm
textures = fx\planetflare.txm
textures = fx\sarma.txm

And this then becomes…

[VisEffect]
nickname = gf_supermissile02_drive
alchemy = fx\weapons\gf_supermissile02.ale
effect_crc = 3980468032
textures = fx\smoke.txm
textures = fx\planetflare.txm
textures = fx\sarma.txm

DO NOT FORGET THE EFFECT CRC. This is extremely important and easy to miss. Using the CRC and Hash code generator that you can find on Digital Brilliance, you must generate a CRC value for your effect. Copy and paste the name of your effect, not ALE, into the CRC generator. Then copy and paste the second value that appears in either the Unsigned CRC or Signed CRC fields.

Ok, so now we have a visible effect. The game still doesn’t know how to use it yet though. Now we need to go the general effects.ini which is found in DATA\FX\effects.ini. As before, I find the entry of the effect I duplicated and then copy and paste it, then change the name to match my stuff.

[Effect]
nickname = ku_missile02_drive
effect_type = EFT_MISSILE_DRIVE
vis_effect = ku_missile02_drive
vis_generic = min_missile01_drive

Becomes…

[Effect]
nickname = gf_supermissile02_drive
effect_type = EFT_MISSILE_DRIVE
vis_effect = gf_supermissile02_drive
vis_generic = min_missile01_drive

And that should be all. From there, Freelancer should recognize your newly duplicated effect. Use the effect on whatever you need it to by calling it like you would any other effect.