Post tutorial Report RSS Ace combat Zero: The Belkan War - Wingman aircraft modding tutorial

This tutorial covers how to swap Pixy/PJ's default F-15C/F-16C with any plane of your liking. Also it will teach you how to change their default liveries.

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ACE COMBAT ZERO - WINGMAN AIRCRAFT MODDING TUTORIAL


///DESCRIPTION:

Due to reasons related to the series' plot/canon, you can't change Pixy/PJ's default aircraft like you'd do in AC5. With some modifications, the aircraft planes used by the wingmen in AC5 can be also used in ACZ, so this guide will guide you in how to swap your wingman's default F-15C/F-16C for any other aircraft of your choice as well change their default liveries.

///REQUIRED FILES/PROGRAMS:

- Have Python version 3.8.5 or newest installed in your computer.

Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War - Wingman aircraft mod pack available here.

[OPTIONAL]:

- ACZ wingman livery injector script file. Included with the Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War - Wingman aircraft mod pack and located in the "ACZ wingman livery injector" folder.

- GFP file to inject


Before we start you will need to have a DATA folder with the contents extracted from the DATA.PAC file. To get yours you will need to follow the STEP 2 of the Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War: Importing aircraft from Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War tutorial.

This tutorial nad files are only compatible with the NTSC-US version of the game [SLUS-21346].


For this example I will swap Pixy's signature F-15C with the MiG-31 and will also be using BelkanLoyalist's MiG-31 -Fire Ghost- livery for the GFP injection tutorial.

Note: The MiG-31 -Fire Ghost- livery currently doesn't have a wingman livery variant.


///TUTORIAL:

Navigate to the Wingmen aircraft data folder and look for the MiG-31 folder. Inside it you'll find two *.dat files: MiG-31_gameplay.dat and MiG-31_hangar.dat:

acz wing tut01

Copy both files and paste them next to the DATA folder:

acz wing tut02

Now rename the files:

- If you want to replace Pixy's aircraft, rename MiG-31_gameplay.dat to 0714.dat and MiG-31_hangar.dat to 0941.dat.

- If you want to replace PJ's aircraft, rename MiG-31_gameplay.dat to 0715.dat and MiG-31_hangar.dat to 0946.dat.

For this tutorial I'll be replacing Pixy's plane, so I will rename both files to 0714.dat and 0941.dat. Drop these files into the DATA folder then rebuild it back into a new DATA.PAC file.

From this point you will need to rebuild both the DATA.PAC file and the entire ISO but I won't type the steps to do that again, so you can check the Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War: Importing aircraft from Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War tutorial and starting from near the end of STEP 4.

If everything was done correctly you will see the MiG-31 sitting in the hangar and flying with you (at least until the "The Stage of the Apocalypse" mission, where Pixy leaves you and his position is then taken by PJ until the end of the game).

gsdx 20211219172305

gsdx 20211219175216


CHANGING YOUR WINGMAN'S AIRCRAFT LIVERY:

By default the aircraft included in the mod pack will use the osean skins from AC5 (except Pixy/PJ's F-15C/-16C) but you can mod them to something else if you want.

Before we start:
- This needs to be done BEFORE renaming the *.dat files.

- You will need to have your custom liveries converted into a GFP file. I will not type the steps to get one here so you can check the ACE COMBAT 5: CUSTOM TEXTURE CONVERSION AND INJECTION tutorial.

- The GFP files that are available in the ADDON section of the Ace Combat 5 ModDB page are also compatible with this tutorial!.

///TUTORIAL

Navigate to the ACZ wingman livery injector folder and copy the ACZ wingman livery injector script file to where the *.dat files are located:

acz wing tut03


Run the script and follow the instructions shown in the screen. Once you are done injecting the custom livery rename the files to the wingman aircraft you want to replace, drop the dat files into the DATA folder and rebuild both DATA.PAC and ISO files.

If everything was done correctly you'll see the aircraft using the custom livery both in the hangar and during flight.

gsdx 20211219183856


EXTRA NOTES:

- Excluding both F-15C and F-16C, the aircraft included in this mod pack will be only able to carry one one Special Weapon (SpW), which is the one they use in AC5 and which you can select by choosing the first option during SpW selection. By selecting the second and third options you'll start the mission with zero SpW ammo.

- The aircraft included in the pack had their parameters altered to make them attack their enemies more often. The modified parameters are:

  • Reduced missile and SpW usage cooldown down to 4 seconds.
  • Increased SpW ammo amount up to 255.

- In some cutscenes the modded wingman aircraft's landing gear will either float above or clip through the runway. Project Aces created the cutscenes with the F-15C/F-16C in mind, so modded wingman aircraft that are bigger/smaller that these planes will also use their coordinates, causing this issue.

- When in hangar, when selecting the PIXY/PJ color of the player-controlled F-15C/F-16C the game will show the modded aircraft instead. This is due to the game using the F-15C/F-16C hangar model for you and your wingman when showcasing the aircraft. This issue only affects the hangar version of the models, as if you select it and start the mission, the gameplay model of the F-15C/F-16C will still be there.

- Aircraft with variable-sweep wing will either fly with their wings open/folded regardless of speed. Sadly I have not found a fix for this yet.

- If you want to restore Pixy/PJ's default aircraft then go to the BACKUP folder and do the following:

  • If you want to restore Pixy's aircraft, rename pixy.dat to 0714.dat and pixy_hangar.dat to 0941.dat then copy both files and drop them in the DATA folder. OK to replace when asked.
  • If you want to restore PJ's aircraft, rename pj.dat to 0715.dat and pj_hangar.dat to 0946.dat then copy both files and drop them in the DATA folder. OK to replace when asked.

Then rebuild the DATA folder then the ISO file.


Tutorial end.


Post comment Comments
Arrow118
Arrow118

Question: Can this method be used to swap aircraft of other NPC's? If so, that would be neat.

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