about *.ale files

    is there a mean to edit those files?


    i explain my self: i noticed that in engine_ale.ini, all engines effects reffer to *.ale files in the same folder, so i could think that animation, color, etc.. are included in it. But how open such a file (software?)?

    Great, thanks for the link, i gonna study this right now


    thanks again


    Edit: sorry, impossible to open the software, and the error message tell me nothing about any missing dll, any idea?

    The ale files are more complicaten than you think. Its been pretty long time since I last dealed with an ale effect. I remember that the max I could do is change the shape of an engine effect and it's color. You might want to look at some tutorials before you dive in the world of ale alchemestry. Good luck :)

    Quote from PolarBear

    The ale files are more complicaten than you think. Its been pretty long time since I last dealed with an ale effect. I remember that the max I could do is change the shape of an engine effect and it's color. You might want to look at some tutorials before you dive in the world of ale alchemestry. Good luck :)


    Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

    yeah for sure not the easiest part in modding


    huh, as you say, the most easy for now is too change the effect itself, i tried to use the program and understood absolutely nothing :D, but i will investigate in this more deeply later.

    Quote from Lancer_Solurus

    Agreed, it took me nearly 9 months to write the software, most of the time was spend figuring out how to decode the ale files.


    Not surprised, anyway, thanks to share it with us ;)

    Thanks to the Ale Editor, I managed to open the file i wanted to modify (li_capgun01.ale)


    If I'm not wrong, the colours are coded in the *.anl file, and I read in another topic that colours are RGB values, so 3 values needed, but apparently, there are 4 each time.
    Furthermore, it seems that all alchemy nodes have a CRC value in the *.ael and *.anl files. Example:



    Code
    1. ; ************ Alchemy Node Library Pointer #1 ************
    4. ANL_Nickname = li_capgun_01_flash.app ; 0x044CAC67 72133735
    5. Parent = 3
    6. FX_Slot = 1
    7. Slot_Flag = 0


    I cheked all sections with CRC Calc and found something I don't understand:


    Code
    1. ; ****************************************************************************
    4. [Section]
    5. ; ==> 5
    6. FX_Type = FxSphereEmitter
    9. Node_Name = li_capgun_01flash_Sphere.emt#1.emt ; 0xEFA35962 4020459874


    When I do copy/paste " li_capgun_01flash_Sphere.emt#1.emt" in CRC Calc, it gave me 0xE13BD9C0 3778795968 (I double-checked), and not the values above.


    Is there someone who could explain me?...Because I must admit that I'm a bit lost
    Or:
    Is there a tutorial somewhere explaining the different sections found in the decoded files?


    Thanks by advance

    there is no tutorial on this as the values of each ale file are custom


    there 4 values for colors as there is still an alpha channel that you have to consider


    for the sections you dont need to calculate a crc
    the name just have to match between ael and anl


    the only time you need to calculate a crc is for the effect name itself (this crc belongs to the ini file where the effect and its materials are being definied)

    Quote from SWAT_OP-R8R

    there 4 values for colors as there is still an alpha channel that you have to consider


    Thanks for infos but where is this Alpha Channel? #1 or #4? Okay, I learned on Wikipedia that the standard is RGBA, so Red, Green, Blue, Alpha


    But:....


    ...FriendlyFire on Starport told me that the 4 values are TRGB so "Time, Red, Green, Blue"
    I have absolutely no idea what is "Time" in this case, because apparently, it's not the duration of the effect. The section which interrest me is at line#24, so
    BasicApp_Color -> SubEntry. Or do I misunderstand ?



    Who's right? Who's wrong?

    color values exist in different forms
    the RGBA one or the one in your example (didnt know which one you were refering to)


    the BasicApp_Color often gets followed by BasicApp_Alpha which does definy the alpha then
    however you might also encounter different kinds of fxcolor values which have the alpha channel included (RGBA)


    The T (time) is a timer based on the duration of the section.
    0.00000000000 means that the color is used right at the start when the effect is running
    you can use other (multiple) times if you want to have changing colors or special effects



    maybe this thread will help you a bit eventhough its a bit outdated
    http://forums.seriouszone.com/showthread.php?t=53426

    Ah yes, that's what I call I clear answer :)


    Finally , I have more precise informations and I will surely make some progress thanks to you and Lancer Solurus


    You're the best ! Thanks again


    Best Regards


    ~Myrdhin

    NP, good luck on editing the ales, btw, the time value ranges from 0 to 1, say u have a 5 sec fx, at 0 its at 0 secs, at 1 it is 5 secs, at 0.5 (1/2) then it's 2.5 secs SWAT - wow, thought I lost that info years ago due to a HD crash. It's a bit incomplete but most of it is there