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NFSHS to NFS3 Car Conversion Tutorial
- By Justin Martin aka IH8COPS
The purpose of this tutorial is to teach people how to convert NFSHS cars to NFS3. Please do not email me with questions regarding this tutorial, i'm not going to run a tech support service when you screw up your conversion.
There is basically no risk of messing up the game, however, there are a few things that might cause the game to not run. Even in the worst case scenario, simply removing the converted car will cause the game to start working again, because editing cars will not corrupt the game. Remember, you are using this tutorial at your own risk, and I am not liable for any real or imagined damages you inflict on your game.
Remember, if you are converting a car that someone else made, always get the original authors permission before you release any copies of the car. To build a car can take months of work, and many authors ask that they be asked before any modified versions are released, simply so they can ensure that only high quality mods of their cars are made public. Also, always give the original author credit for making the original car.
Index
Part 1: Converting the body parts
Part 2: Converting the dummies
Part 3: Converting the mesh
Part 4: Converting the texture
Part 5: Finishing up
Tools Needed:
Part 1. Converting the body parts
NFS3 uses a different naming system than NFSHS for the mesh parts. In addition, unlike NFSHS, the order in which those parts are arranged is critical. Here are all the correct NFS3 part names and the order in which they must appear, plus the equivelent NFSHS part names.
NFSHS has several parts that are not used in NFS3. NFS3 cars did not have transparant windows, so they do not feature interiors, drivers or removeable convertible tops. NFS3 also lacks seperate parts for the outside mirrors and pop-up spoilers.
The first thing you need to do is open the NFSHS car in FCETweak. Select the :HB, :OLM, :ORM and :OS parts, and press "F". (note: your NFSHS car may not have :OLM, :ORM or :OS parts, if it doesn't, don't worry about it) This will fuse the mirrors and pop-up spoilers to the main body.
This is where you have to make a few decisisons. For a NFS3 car to have transparant windows, the windows themselves must be remapped to a spot on the texture with a transparant alpha channel, because there is no poly flag for transparancy in NFS3. If you do not wish to remap the windows, delete all the parts except the ones listed above.
If you do decide to make the windows transparant, use FCETweak to fuse the :OC, :OD and :OH parts to the :HB part. If your car is a convertible, and you want the top to be up on it, fuse the :OT part to the :HB also.
Now, open the mesh in CarCad, and using the table above, rename the parts from their NFSHS names to the NFS3 names. If you have any NFSHS parts that won't work in NFS3 left over, delete them. In the case of the car i'm converting, I have a :OT and :ODL part left over, both of which I deleted.
Part 2: Converting the dummies
The dummies in NFS3 are simply the point from which a light originates. In NFSHS, there also dummies for smoke, water and license plates. Here's a list of NFS3 and NFSHS dummies. NFS3 dummies are rather simple, there are no license plates, reverse lights, marker lights, no way to select color or intensity. Here's a basic chart of the names.
Simply find the dummy in your NFSHS mesh that is in that location, and rename it to the name for a NFS3 dummy in the location. For example, I have a HWYN550 in the front right position, so I will rename it HFRE.
Part 3: Converting the Mesh
The first thing to do now is to open the NFSHS car.fce in NFS FCE Converter. Select "Open NFSHS", then "Save NFS3". You're done! Well, not quite. There is still more work to be done.
In the case of the car I was converting, the parts were not in the correct order, which caused the MEDIUM BODY to be displayed in the game instead of the HIGH BODY. Therefore, I had to change the order of the body parts. This is done in CarTool. In order for a car to be viewed in CarTool, you must have a file called car.art in the folder with the car.fce file. CarTool comes with a folder called Countach, copy the car.art file from that folder to the folder with the car you are converting.
CarTool has four .exe files, MRC.exe, MRC3DFX.exe, MRCD3D.exe and MRCSOFT.exe. It depends on your video card as to which one you use. I use MRCD3D.exe, it's the only one that works with my video card. If the program doesn't load within 30 seconds, pres ctrl-alt-delete, close CarTool, and try one of the other .exe files.
When you get to the main menu, select "Fuse Parts". On the left side of the screen, you will see a list of all the parts, with the one on top highlighted. Use the up and down buttons to move the highlighter. To move a part, highlight a part with the highlighter, and hold Shift down while pressing the arrow keys. Simply arrange the parts into the correct order, shown in the chart below.
HIGH BODY
LEFT FRONT WHEEL
RIGHT FRONT WHEEL
LEFT REAR WHEEL
RIGHT REAR WHEEL
MEDIUM BODY
MEDIUM R FRONT WHEEL
MEDIUM L FRONT WHEEL
MEDIUM R REAR WHEEL
MEDIUM L REAR WHEEL
SMALL BODY
TINY BODY
HIGH HEADLIGHTS (only used on cars with pop-up headlights)
Part 4: Converting the Texture
In NFSHS, the cars are mapped with the texture right-side up. In NFS3, they are mapped the opposite, with the texture up-side down. When you convert a NFSHS car to NFS3, the mapping will be flipped. Therefore, you must flip the texture as well. Also, NFS3 uses different colors for the alpha channel mask, but i'll get to that later.
The first thing to do is flip the texture. Open the texture in your graphics editor, (i'll use Paint Shop Pro 5.0 as the example) select "Image" then "Flip". Now, you must flip the alpha channel to match the texture. Select "Masks" then "Load From Alpha Channel", then "OK". Select "Masks" again, then "Edit". Now select "Image" then "Flip". You should see the alpha channel flip to match the now up-side down texture.
While you have the Alpha Channel loaded, let's change it to NFS3 colors. What I would do is open a NFS3 texture, load the Alpha Channel, and use the Dropper (the color selector thing to you newbies) to select the colors in the NFS3 alpha channel, then use the Flood Fill tool to paint the entire area of the converted texture the NFS3 color. For those of you techies, here's a chart showing the different colors. The colors are in the Grey Scale Palette Index form.
If you converted the top and interior with the mesh, set those to the NFS3 secondary color.
Now, select "Masks", then "Edit" so the mask edit mode is turned off. Now select "Masks", then "Save to Alpha Channel". Select the "Alpha Channel 1", then press "OK". Now select "Masks", then "Delete", and press "No" when asked if you wish to merge with the current layer. Now save the texture.
Part 5: Finishing up
If you import your converted NFS3 files into the NFSHS car.viv, it will not work. Therefore, you must start with a NFS3 car.viv file. In the case of my car, I was converting the NFSHS Corvette Convertible to NFS3. (NFS3 has a Corvette Coupe) So, I simply took the car.viv file from the NFS3 Corvette, put it in a new folder called "Ccor", and imported my converted files into the car.viv using NFSWizard.
I also had to change the serial number and folder name in the fedata.eng file. Simply double click this file (which is located in the opened car.viv) and it should be obvious how to edit it.
- By Justin Martin aka IH8COPS
The purpose of this tutorial is to teach people how to convert NFSHS cars to NFS3. Please do not email me with questions regarding this tutorial, i'm not going to run a tech support service when you screw up your conversion.
There is basically no risk of messing up the game, however, there are a few things that might cause the game to not run. Even in the worst case scenario, simply removing the converted car will cause the game to start working again, because editing cars will not corrupt the game. Remember, you are using this tutorial at your own risk, and I am not liable for any real or imagined damages you inflict on your game.
Remember, if you are converting a car that someone else made, always get the original authors permission before you release any copies of the car. To build a car can take months of work, and many authors ask that they be asked before any modified versions are released, simply so they can ensure that only high quality mods of their cars are made public. Also, always give the original author credit for making the original car.
Index
Part 1: Converting the body parts
Part 2: Converting the dummies
Part 3: Converting the mesh
Part 4: Converting the texture
Part 5: Finishing up
Tools Needed:
| Editor | Website | Creator |
|---|---|---|
| CarCad 1.5b | NFS CarCad | Chris Barnard |
| FCE Tweak | Included with CarCad 1.5b | Chris Barnard |
| NFS FCE Converter | Addict Arts | Addict & Rocket |
| Car Tool | TotalNFS | Electronic Arts |
| Graphics Editor | n/a | Paint Shop Pro recomended |
| VIV Wizard | NFS Toolbox | Jesper Juul-Mortensen |
Part 1. Converting the body parts
NFS3 uses a different naming system than NFSHS for the mesh parts. In addition, unlike NFSHS, the order in which those parts are arranged is critical. Here are all the correct NFS3 part names and the order in which they must appear, plus the equivelent NFSHS part names.
| NFS3 Name | Equivelent NFSHS Name |
|---|---|
| HIGH BODY | :HB |
| LEFT FRONT WHEEL | :HLFW |
| RIGHT FRONT WHEEL | :HRFW |
| LEFT REAR WHEEL | :HLRW |
| RIGHT REAR WHEEL | :HRRW |
| MEDIUM BODY | :MB |
| MEDIUM R FRONT WHEEL | :MRFW |
| MEDIUM L FRONT WHEEL | :MLFW |
| MEDIUM R REAR WHEEL | :MRRW |
| MEDIUM L REAR WHEEL | :MLRW |
| SMALL BODY | :LB |
| TINY BODY | :TB |
| HIGH HEADLIGHTS | :OL |
NFSHS has several parts that are not used in NFS3. NFS3 cars did not have transparant windows, so they do not feature interiors, drivers or removeable convertible tops. NFS3 also lacks seperate parts for the outside mirrors and pop-up spoilers.
The first thing you need to do is open the NFSHS car in FCETweak. Select the :HB, :OLM, :ORM and :OS parts, and press "F". (note: your NFSHS car may not have :OLM, :ORM or :OS parts, if it doesn't, don't worry about it) This will fuse the mirrors and pop-up spoilers to the main body.
This is where you have to make a few decisisons. For a NFS3 car to have transparant windows, the windows themselves must be remapped to a spot on the texture with a transparant alpha channel, because there is no poly flag for transparancy in NFS3. If you do not wish to remap the windows, delete all the parts except the ones listed above.
If you do decide to make the windows transparant, use FCETweak to fuse the :OC, :OD and :OH parts to the :HB part. If your car is a convertible, and you want the top to be up on it, fuse the :OT part to the :HB also.
Now, open the mesh in CarCad, and using the table above, rename the parts from their NFSHS names to the NFS3 names. If you have any NFSHS parts that won't work in NFS3 left over, delete them. In the case of the car i'm converting, I have a :OT and :ODL part left over, both of which I deleted.
Part 2: Converting the dummies
The dummies in NFS3 are simply the point from which a light originates. In NFSHS, there also dummies for smoke, water and license plates. Here's a list of NFS3 and NFSHS dummies. NFS3 dummies are rather simple, there are no license plates, reverse lights, marker lights, no way to select color or intensity. Here's a basic chart of the names.
| Location | NFS3 Name |
|---|---|
| Front Left Headlight | HFLO |
| Front Right Headlight | HFRE |
| Rear Left Tailight | TRLN |
| Rear Right Tailight | TRRN |
| Rear Left Brake Light | TRLNN |
| Rear Right Brake Light | TRRNN |
Simply find the dummy in your NFSHS mesh that is in that location, and rename it to the name for a NFS3 dummy in the location. For example, I have a HWYN550 in the front right position, so I will rename it HFRE.
Part 3: Converting the Mesh
The first thing to do now is to open the NFSHS car.fce in NFS FCE Converter. Select "Open NFSHS", then "Save NFS3". You're done! Well, not quite. There is still more work to be done.
In the case of the car I was converting, the parts were not in the correct order, which caused the MEDIUM BODY to be displayed in the game instead of the HIGH BODY. Therefore, I had to change the order of the body parts. This is done in CarTool. In order for a car to be viewed in CarTool, you must have a file called car.art in the folder with the car.fce file. CarTool comes with a folder called Countach, copy the car.art file from that folder to the folder with the car you are converting.
CarTool has four .exe files, MRC.exe, MRC3DFX.exe, MRCD3D.exe and MRCSOFT.exe. It depends on your video card as to which one you use. I use MRCD3D.exe, it's the only one that works with my video card. If the program doesn't load within 30 seconds, pres ctrl-alt-delete, close CarTool, and try one of the other .exe files.
When you get to the main menu, select "Fuse Parts". On the left side of the screen, you will see a list of all the parts, with the one on top highlighted. Use the up and down buttons to move the highlighter. To move a part, highlight a part with the highlighter, and hold Shift down while pressing the arrow keys. Simply arrange the parts into the correct order, shown in the chart below.
HIGH BODY
LEFT FRONT WHEEL
RIGHT FRONT WHEEL
LEFT REAR WHEEL
RIGHT REAR WHEEL
MEDIUM BODY
MEDIUM R FRONT WHEEL
MEDIUM L FRONT WHEEL
MEDIUM R REAR WHEEL
MEDIUM L REAR WHEEL
SMALL BODY
TINY BODY
HIGH HEADLIGHTS (only used on cars with pop-up headlights)
Part 4: Converting the Texture
In NFSHS, the cars are mapped with the texture right-side up. In NFS3, they are mapped the opposite, with the texture up-side down. When you convert a NFSHS car to NFS3, the mapping will be flipped. Therefore, you must flip the texture as well. Also, NFS3 uses different colors for the alpha channel mask, but i'll get to that later.
The first thing to do is flip the texture. Open the texture in your graphics editor, (i'll use Paint Shop Pro 5.0 as the example) select "Image" then "Flip". Now, you must flip the alpha channel to match the texture. Select "Masks" then "Load From Alpha Channel", then "OK". Select "Masks" again, then "Edit". Now select "Image" then "Flip". You should see the alpha channel flip to match the now up-side down texture.
While you have the Alpha Channel loaded, let's change it to NFS3 colors. What I would do is open a NFS3 texture, load the Alpha Channel, and use the Dropper (the color selector thing to you newbies) to select the colors in the NFS3 alpha channel, then use the Flood Fill tool to paint the entire area of the converted texture the NFS3 color. For those of you techies, here's a chart showing the different colors. The colors are in the Grey Scale Palette Index form.
| Color | NFS3 Color | NFSHS Color |
|---|---|---|
| Transparant | 0 | 0 |
| No Color | 255 | 255 |
| Primary Color | 100 | 223 |
| Secondary Color | 200 | 96 |
| Driver's Hair Color | not used | 224 |
| Car Interior | not used | 164 |
If you converted the top and interior with the mesh, set those to the NFS3 secondary color.
Now, select "Masks", then "Edit" so the mask edit mode is turned off. Now select "Masks", then "Save to Alpha Channel". Select the "Alpha Channel 1", then press "OK". Now select "Masks", then "Delete", and press "No" when asked if you wish to merge with the current layer. Now save the texture.
Part 5: Finishing up
If you import your converted NFS3 files into the NFSHS car.viv, it will not work. Therefore, you must start with a NFS3 car.viv file. In the case of my car, I was converting the NFSHS Corvette Convertible to NFS3. (NFS3 has a Corvette Coupe) So, I simply took the car.viv file from the NFS3 Corvette, put it in a new folder called "Ccor", and imported my converted files into the car.viv using NFSWizard.
I also had to change the serial number and folder name in the fedata.eng file. Simply double click this file (which is located in the opened car.viv) and it should be obvious how to edit it.