Editing the Default 3D Models - Mini Tutorial

[Ktulu]

Not sure how many people are aware of this, but modding the existing 3D parks is relatively simple. There's an existing thread for adding real advertisements to the parks, but you can actually do more than that. I'm by no means an expert on this, but this is what I've figured out by just changing things and trying them in game...

Let's start with the files you can work with and what they do.

First take the park you want to work with in the models folder and make a copy of it, renaming it to whatever you want.

Inside the folder there are generally pairs of image files in webp format, one for Day and one for Night. It's easiest to work on one and then use the finished result for the other. I'll use the Day files for the example

The main files:

Stand_day.webp - these are basically the textures that get painted on to parts of the 3d model. This is where you'll find most of the advertisement banners, fence textures, dugouts, luxury boxes etc.

Alphablend_day.webp - this is where you'll find some other stadium elements like the sky line, scoreboard structures and some other things. This is where you can do some cool stuff like completely replacing the Twins structure in CF at Target Field.

Ground_day.webp - this is the field texture. In some parks there are logos and on deck circles painted on the field in this file. In some cases there might be a logo in the Alphasblend file that gets painted onto the field and sometimes there's one in both files.

There are a few other files that I generally don't touch. These control the lighting and shadows and stuff. Stand_lighting, Stand_LM, Spectator_LM etc. You can however control some shadows, one example is in Globe Life where the retired numbers are on the pillers out past LF. If you delete the numbers from the Alphablend file there are still circular shadows where they used to be. So to fix that I found what looked like darker circles in the Stand_LM files, I simply removed them by blending in the white that surrounded them.

Ok so here's a few examples I've done for my fictional league. Mostly just trying to rebrand with team logos and slapping in some fictional ads, some are still a WIP.

[Ktulu]

I'll use this WIP Target Field as an example.

Open the file(s) in your image editor of choice. I use GIMP. (Generally you'll want to work on either the Day or Night files and then copy over your finished work to the other file once you are done.) Create a copy of the original layer and then make it invisible. This is so you always have a reference point and can go back to an original element if needed.

Now you basically want to add your logos or text or whatever. To do this always add them as their own individual layer. Place them over the top of the original elements using them as a reference point. Make sure they don't occupy more space than the original element. At the same time you can have the park loaded in the ballpark editor in OOTP so you can figure out what is used where. To test your changes simply export your file as a webp file replacing the original (In GIMP you have to merge all the layers down to one or else the webp file won't work properly). In game simply reload the 3D Model and make sure the proper time of day is selected.

For the Alphablend file you may want to remove certain elements. In this example I removed the CF Twins structure and replaced it with a Lion logo. I also stole the lattice structure thing to make it look like scaffolding for the Lion. When deleting elements from the original, I recommend first copying them and pasting them as a new layer and making them invisible. This lets you easily toggle them back on and off as a size reference. For example I copied and hid the retired numbers, in the future I can use them as a reference for adding my own retired numbers.

Once I'm closer to completion I want to add the changes to the Night file(s). Because there are slight differences in lighting between the files (example luxury boxes have lights on at night) I don't want to just copy the entire Day file over top of the Night. Instead I'll simply hide the base layer of the Day file so that only my changes are visible. I then copy all visible layers and paste it into the Night file. You may then also have to make changes to the Night file if you removed some elements.

So that's basically it. You don't have to be a graphic design wizard, I'm certainly not. If you can work with layers, copy & paste, resize things it's pretty easy to fully convert a stadium to a fictional team.

[Sweed]

I need to take the time to learn to work with layers. My current limit with graphics software and mods is making a background transparent.

Thanks for sharing .

[micropterus58]

Good job on the tutorial and information. I was never adventurous enough to mess with the alphablends. Now I learned something new. Never too late to learn.

[jparker2112]

Any chance youd be willing to do a youtube video instruction for this??

[curt]

Originally Posted by Sweed

I need to take the time to learn to work with layers. My current limit with graphics software and mods is making a background transparent.

Thanks for sharing .

I can't figure that out even

[Ktulu]

Originally Posted by jparker2112

Any chance youd be willing to do a youtube video instruction for this??

Nah sorry, not worth the trouble. There are plenty of videos out there covering the basics of GIMP and Photoshop and I'm not doing anything complicated. For GIMP check out Davies Media Design youtube channel.

One other tip that I forgot is that you can create a layer on top of everything and use it to help identify where things show up in the game. For instance if you want to know where an ad in the Stand_day file shows up in the game draw a bright pink X over it and then load the files in game (or number each ad). HIde or delete the layer once you're done.

[koohead]

I hate you. Just as I reach satisfaction with my uniform creation skills (for my limited needs at least), you arm me with this. you sure opened up pandora's box now...I may never get to play the game at this rate!

[Ktulu]

Have also been working on making better scoreboards/videoboards.

- Using the windows snipping tool I take a wide screenshot of the mostly finished stadium from within the game (usually at an angle that doesn't have the unfinished scoreboard)
- Then paste it into the file and size it so that it matches the default videoboard/scoreboard.
- Here I also like to add some effects. In GIMP these are in the Filters menu. Experiment with different things. I've been using Noise > CIH Noise. Light & Shadow > Sparkle and I add a lens flare and sometimes play around with Lighting effects.
- Once the field background is done you can put some text or a logo overtop or whatever you can think of.

[Ktulu]

Originally Posted by koohead

I hate you. Just as I reach satisfaction with my uniform creation skills (for my limited needs at least), you arm me with this. you sure opened up pandora's box now...I may never get to play the game at this rate!

Yes it's best to have small leagues sometimes

[DreamTeams]

These look great Ktulu. Thanks for sharing your discovery. Just curious, have you or anyone else figured out how to change the seat color in the default 3D parks?

[Ktulu]

Originally Posted by DreamTeams

These look great Ktulu. Thanks for sharing your discovery. Just curious, have you or anyone else figured out how to change the seat color in the default 3D parks?

Haven't tested this, but the seating is pulled from the models/attendance/ folder. You can see the reference in the Spectator_01.pfx file of a park if you open it in notepad. Don't have time at the moment to test if you can simply change the file name in a text editor...

[Ty Cobb]

After I get through the personal heartaches and catch up on skyboxes, I am soooooo using this. Thank you.

[DreamTeams]

Originally Posted by Ktulu

Haven't tested this, but the seating is pulled from the models/attendance/ folder. You can see the reference in the Spectator_01.pfx file of a park if you open it in notepad. Don't have time at the moment to test if you can simply change the file name in a text editor...

Gave it a try by simply changing the name in the file using a text editor but unfortunately it didn't change the color. Perhaps it's hard coded this time around. If anyone discovers how to change the seat color please let us know. Thanks.

[Ktulu]

Converting Busch...

[Ktulu]

Here's something a bit more advanced and tedious.

This is the signage up in RF for Petco park. The first image you can see how dark it is.

So the first step is to find where this is in the Stand_LM_night.webp file. To do this I create a layer overtop of the base image and then add numbers or paintbrush strokes in black or white*. Export this file over the default and reload the stadium... look around and see where the lighting is changed. You can see the upside down "11" circled in red. So now I know what part of the file affects that signage. (* Another tip is to find the general area of something by dividing the image in to quadrants or sections and filling completely with black)

In the third image you can see I've selected the box area that corresponds with the "11". In the next image you can see that I used the gradient tool in GIMP to fill from white to black. Note that the bottom of this box is actually the top in game.

You can see the result in the last image where the top of the sign is brighter and it gets darker as you move down.

[Ktulu]

Here's one more thing.

This is LF in Petco. The original lights are in the first image, the modded in the second.

I did this by modding the Stand_Lighting_night.webp file. Original and modded. To change the color of the lights I used the rectangle selection around each light I wanted to change and then used the Colors > Colorize function to change the color.

[Ktulu]

The closer to finished product.

[Ktulu]

Just expanding on the tip on how to find the lighting in the Stand_LM_night file:

Here's an example of using layers and filling quadrants and smaller sections in black and enabling the visibility one at a time to narrow down where something might be. In game anything in a black quadrant will be completely black. You could use this method for any of the files really.

Also note that the Alphablend_LM_night.webp file also controls the brightness of certain things (don't ask me which is for what). Using this quadrant method is the quickest way to find something.

[Deft]

I like what you have going on here. Very interesting and good job on your approach.