(12-05-2023, 05:11 PM)McCrodi Wrote: 1. Can you add stuff from other levels by using it and making it into a proper .alcmod? (even if it breaks the game)
This is
technically possible to do with Alchemist but not supported that well because that's what my level editor is for.
If you weren't concerned about breaking things or sharing the mod then the easiest way to do it would be to import the igz file you want into the level pak you want to add it to. If you tick the boxes for importing all dependencies and generating a new package file and then save the pak, when you play that level the extra file should be loaded.
To get that in alcmod form you should then be able to create a new alcmod and import both the file you added and the level's _pkg.igz file, this time importing all dependencies but
not generating the package. And you can just make a copy of the level pak you're using instead of importing to the original, and then delete it when you're done, to avoid modifying the original level files.
The main issue with this though would be that level files often reference other level files and so doing something like loading L102_JungleRollers_Crates.igz into L101_NSanityBeach.pak will include other files from Jungle Rollers that do weird things like make you respawn in the wrong place and with the wrong camera after you die. The simplest fix for that is probably to go into the strings section of L102_JungleRollers_Crates and replace the references to other files like L102_JungleRollers_Cameras with nothing or gibberish.
So it is theoretically possible but only with some annoying workarounds. Level editor obviously takes care of all this stuff automatically if you don't mind the wait
(12-05-2023, 05:11 PM)McCrodi Wrote: 2. Would it be possible to add the controllable camera, as shown in this video, using this tool?
https://youtu.be/FAJJLFq7vpU?t=1140
Using that camera involves loading files from one level into another so the method for doing that would be the same as above. Although instead of getting it from a jet ski level like I did in that video I would recommend importing from C1_Intro.igz inside C1_Intro.pak instead, because that has the same camera but is a cutscene level so is a lot less cluttered.
The camera that Shadow mentioned is much easier to implement just using Alchemist if you don't need the adjustable zoom levels and up/down controls etc. But it's worth noting that "LegacyCamera" files aren't relevant to that camera, it's just what happens when the game can't find the camera it's looking for. So you can replace a camera file with any level file and it'll give you that camera. Or if you go into the level's main file (eg. L101_NSanityBeach.igz) and find the mention of the camera or camera file in the strings list you can again just change it to something else.
(12-05-2023, 05:11 PM)McCrodi Wrote: 3. Not really a question, but I don't seem to be able to open the "L121_SlipperyClimb_Bonus_Brio.igz" file, neither on my PC nor Laptop and unsure if it's the issue on both my ends or in general.
This is an Alchemist bug that causes some files not to extract correctly, I'm not sure how I managed that because it's the same method of extraction as the level editor which doesn't have this problem but I'll fix it eventually. Until then you can use other tools like the pak explorer that Shadow mentioned, or there's a QuickBMS script that works pretty well that I can't find the source of now but still have saved if anyone wants it.
