The Effects tab edits the effect files of the open model and of the spell you picked on the Spells tab. It covers RF Online; on other games the tab says there is nothing to edit.
The file list
The list at the top holds:
- every effect file the open model attaches: its glow, the particles and effect meshes the glow names, and their materials;
- once you pick a spell on the Spells tab, every file that spell uses at the chosen level, with the weapon in hand. Clicking or casting a spell picks it, and its files are listed whether it has played or not.
Each row shows the file's name and its kind: Particle script, Spell track, Glow (.eff) or Mesh material. An asterisk marks a file with unsaved edits. Changing the spell, its level or the weapon lists the files again, and so does an edit that adds or removes a track.
Click a file to edit it. Its name and folder in the client show under the list.
What you can change
| kind | the whole file | each keyframe, track, record or layer |
|---|---|---|
| Particle script | count, life, time speed, blend, size, alpha, color, speed, gravity, sprite | time, alpha, color, size |
| Spell track | projectile speed | start, size, tint, alpha, fade in, fade out from |
| Glow (.eff) | the node it rides, three particle slots, an effect mesh, the glow and surface layers with their textures, movement and speed, the texture folder | |
| Mesh material | blend, tint, alpha |
Pick a keyframe, track, record or material from the list under the file's own settings, then change its values. The line under each setting says what it does.
A value the game picks at random between two numbers stays a range: the slider moves the low end and keeps the gap.
Blend sets how a sprite or layer mixes with the scene; Bright is the additive glow most effects use. A glow or surface layer's movement is one of None, Distortion, Scroll, Distortion cycle or Metallic sheen.
Particle slots and effect meshes
A glow record's particle slots and effect mesh take a number from the client's own Particle.ini and Entity.ini lists. The file that number names shows beside it. 0 empties the slot. The Node list offers the parts and helper points of the open model.
Adding and removing
Under the list of keyframes, tracks, records or materials:
| in a | you can | limits |
|---|---|---|
| particle script | add or remove a keyframe | up to 11; the new one starts with the values the particle already has at that moment |
| spell track | duplicate a track, add an empty one after it, or remove one | up to 64; a track another track is placed on cannot be removed |
| glow | duplicate or remove a record | up to 27; the last record stays |
| effect mesh | duplicate a material at the end, or remove the last one | only a material no face uses can go |
| effect mesh material | duplicate or remove a layer | up to 16, at least one; materials made of texture and mask pairs refuse both |
Seeing an edit
Edits play at once. The model's attached effects rebuild, and once you have played the spell, an edit to it replays the spell in the phase you last played. Switch on Loop the spell while editing to keep it running while you work.
Every edit is read back the way the game reads the file. One the game would read differently from what you set is refused, and the reason shows under the settings.
If nothing shows, check Show effects under Effects on the Scene tab; the Effects tab warns when effects are hidden.
Saving
Under File:
- Undo and Redo step through your edits to every file; a slider drag is one step.
- Save writes the edited file into the project's client files. Install puts it in the game.
- Revert drops the edits and deletes the project's copy, so the game's own file plays again.
The note under the buttons says whether you are playing an unsaved edit, the project's saved copy, or the client's own file.
To see your edit next to the game's, use Compare with the original. It is offered as soon as an effect differs, saved or not.
Giving an item or monster a glow
An item or monster with no glow of its own shows Add glow on the Effects tab. It covers weapons, shields, armour, cloaks and monsters. Monsters need Dragonborn, Age of Patron, 1.5 or Golden Age. NPCs, animus, units and towers are not covered.
- Open the item or monster.
- On the Effects tab, pick the Node the glow should ride, or Whole model. For an item, check the model code Studio filled in.
- Optionally type a
Particle.ininumber to start with a particle. - Choose Add glow.
Studio writes a new glow file into the project, with the rows that lead the game to it: the item lists for an item, Monster.ini for a monster. The glow plays at once and appears in the file list, ready to edit like any other. An item or monster that already has a glow is edited rather than given a second one.
Revert on a new glow deletes the glow file but leaves the rows; the game skips a glow file it cannot find.
A new particle script or effect mesh
A particle script or effect mesh that a glow uses has a New script or New mesh section under its settings. Type a name and choose Save as a new script (or mesh): Studio saves the file as you have edited it under that name beside the original, and adds the Particle.ini or Entity.ini row for it. The message that follows gives its number. Put that number in a glow record's particle slot or effect mesh to use the copy, and the original stays as it was for everything else that uses it.
Spell scripts have no such list, so they are edited in place.
What stays view only
- Which spell effect plays where.
- The rows of
Particle.iniandEntity.ini, apart from the ones a new script or mesh adds. - An effect mesh's shape and its animation.
- Textures: change their colors with Recoloring textures, or extract them and paint them; see Editing skins and hot reload.