E1 Created by Jacobston

Contents:

Introduction Page 2

Tools Needed Page 2

Hidden and Dangerous 2 Texture Names Page 3

Creating Textures Page 3

Choosing a model and altering the .4ds Page 6

Helmets and Pouches Page 7

Appendixes Page 9

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Introduction

This tutorial will hopefully help you to understand how to create your own uniforms for
Hidden and Dangerous 2. Hopefully by the end of this you will be able to make your dream
uniform in Hidden and Dangerous 2.

I know that this tutorial is long, but I wanted it to be thorough.

Tools Needed

You will need a few tools to create the uniform of your dreams, but none of them are
too hard to come by. As a base, you will need:

 Any Hex Editor: This will be your primary tool for editing the .4ds files of your uniforms.
It is also useful for finding textures that are attached to a uniform by default. You can
use any hex editor, but the one I use can be found here: http://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/

 Adobe Photoshop: This is what you will use to put together the textures for the
uniforms themselves. I do understand that Photoshop can be a bit pricy, so feel free to
use whatever image editor you can get your hands on. One I can recommend is
http://apps.pixlr.com/editor/ , which is similar to Photoshop, but is free and can run
right from your browser.

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Hidden and Dangerous 2 Texture Names

The first thing you need to know before you can create your own uniforms is how stock
Hidden and Dangerous 2 names its textures.

Today, we’re just going to learn about the texture names involved in a uniform.

Let’s use the German Infantry uniform as an example. The texture files attached to it are:

 e_ge_fdfr.bmp (The front of the torso)

 e_ge_fdbk.bmp (The back of the torso)
 e_ge_fdfm.bmp (The front of the jacket – under the belt)
 e_ge_fdbm.bmp (The back of the jacket – under the belt)
 e_ge_fdarm.bmp (The arm sleeve)
 e_ge_fdfr_d.bmp (The front of the trousers)
 e_ge_fdbk_d.bmp (The back of the trousers)

If we look at other textures of other uniforms, we can see the following patterns:

 Each name starts with a letter (e_ge_fdfr.bmp). This letter is usually ‘b’ ‘d’ or ‘e’.
 After an underscore is the country code (e_ge_fdfr.bmp). ‘ge’ is Germany, ‘us’ is
America, etc.
 After another underscore is the uniform code (e_ge_fdfr.bmp). This is different for every
uniform for each country.
 After the uniform code is the part of the model the texture belongs to (e_ge_fdfr.bmp).
This is outlined above.
 The File extension is pretty self-explanatory. Hidden and Dangerous 2 only
recognises .tga and .bmp file types. By default, all uniform textures are in .bmp.

Of course when you create your own textures you do not need to follow this format, though it
is recommended to make sure you keep your texture names the same number of characters,
otherwise you have to do more modifications to the .4ds file.

Creating Your Own Textures

When you create your own textures, you will need to know which model you are going
to use (explained below) and the textures that go along with it. I recommend that you copy all
of the textures the model uses and rename them. You will use these textures as a base for your
new uniform, and also have a template for the names and which textures you will need.

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 For this lesson, I will be using the German Infantry uniform as a base to make my own
textures. I have copied them to a new folder (I won’t put them in my Hidden and Dangerous 2
directory yet) and will rename them. As a rule, I only change the first 7 characters of the name.

As a rule, I always like to keep the same format as the original names (letter, country, uniform,
part). This just makes it easier later when I am changing the model. I also like to change the first
letter altogether, as this prevents conflicts with other uniforms.

Since I have decided going to make this a British Summer uniform, I will change the country
code to ‘BR’ and the uniform code to ‘SU’ (but these codes are entirely up to you. I like to
capitalise the letters as well so I know which textures I create). When all is done, the uniforms
should all have ‘J_BR_SU’ in the name.

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Now, we have to edit the textures.

Unfortunately, much of this is up to you. I am not experienced enough with Photoshop to give
you a full tutorial, but I can share some useful tips. The rest just involves you dicking around,
getting a feel for Photoshop (or whatever you use) and how to make things look good in H&D2.

As I said earlier, I prefer to use Adobe Photoshop for this, but Photoshop is not for everybody so
feel free to use what you like. The only thing it needs is the ability to support layers (not
actually necessary, but VERY useful) and the ability to convert the image to RGB from Index.

What you will need to do with all stock textures is: 1) set them to RGB colour and; 2) resize
them.

The stock textures are saved in Index mode and are ridiculously low quality by today’s
standards. In Photoshop, you will have to go to Image > Mode > then select RGB colour. To
make the textures bigger, go to Image > Image Size… and increase its size from there.

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Other than that, it is up to you. When I create textures, I often use the textures from other
games as a base, editing them to work in the game. Other times I will even use photographs
from the internet to port right into the game.

It is also useful to use the original textures as a base, as the originals will give you an idea where
to put things like badges, buttons or other details.

Choosing a Model and Altering the .4ds

This is probably the most important part of making a new uniform, as this will greatly
define what the uniform looks like. Due to limitations in Hidden and Dangerous 2, it is currently
not possible to import new models to the game. It is, however, possible to use an existing
model from an existing uniform and change into the uniform of your dreams.

First, we need to know what models are for what uniforms. These are all outlined in Appendix
A, at the end of this tutorial.

Once we have chosen a model that we would like to use, copy it and rename it to the uniform
you would like to replace.

In this case, I am using the model for the German Green infantry uniform, which is GE03.
Because I want it to replace the US desert Paratrooper uniform, I am going to copy it and
rename it as US03. Now I just have to put the textures I created into it.

To do this, open the model with a Hex editor. You will see a bunch of characters that look like
gibberish, but if you look closely at the text string, you will see the names of the textures you
copied. All you have to do is replace these names with the ones of the new textures.

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 Be careful when you replace the textures. Some uniforms use textures with different
names (either a different country code or a different uniform code) so you will have to make
sure you replace all of the old textures. As you become more familiar with these .4ds files, it will
be easier to spot which textures need to be replaced and whatnot.

Anyway, once you are done replacing the textures in the .4ds, you only have one last
step. You need to save your .4ds and copy it. Rename the copy to an ‘mp_’ onto the front of the
name. The ‘mp_????.4ds’ files are what you see when you are selecting your uniform in the
player setup screen, and if you forget to add this you will still be wearing the old uniform on the
setup screen.

Now that you have your models and your textures, you are done! Your last step is to
move these files to your Hidden and Dangerous 2 main directory. Make sure that the textures
go to maps_U and the models got to the Models folder.

Your new uniform should now be ready to test in game.

Helmets and Pouches

Modifying the helmets and pouches is probably where the game gets most finicky. It is very
difficult to make them work.

Pouches are non-transferrable: they are hard-coded in H&D2 so you cannot make the American
desert pouches work with the British Burmese uniform. You can, however, do a lot in terms of
modifying them themselves. If you happen to have 3dsMax 2013 and hdmaster’s .4ds plugin,
you can actually modify the shape and size of the pouches, to make all new pouches.

To find the models for the pouches, they usually have “vyb” in their name, so a search of
this in the unpacked/models folder should yield results.

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 Helmets, on the other hand, are tricky. They cannot be modded with 3ds max or the
game will crash. You can, however swap helmets to different uniforms by using the same
methods as with uniforms, but with one extra step:

When you open the .4ds for a helmet with a Hex editor, you will see the name of a
model file, followed by ‘.kickitem’. It is important that this matches the name here matches the
name of the file you are viewing.

Must Match

If this does not match the name of the .4ds, then no helmet will show on your head when you
start the game, and the game will crash if you try to take off the helmet.

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Appendix A: List of Uniforms and their Respective Models

Name of Uniform Name of

Model
American paratrooper uniform – desert us03
British green camouflage Battledress en09
German Scientist – Lab Coat ci11
British Officers Uniform en11
British Battledress with leather vest en01
British desert suit-set en02
British set to Burma – green en04
British diver set en06
British arctic white camouflage suit-set en07
British Battledress standard en08
British Battledress with summer camouflage coat en12
British air force uniform en13
German arctic white camouflage suit-set ge01a
German arctic dark camouflage suit-set ge01b
German arctic brown coat with fur ge02b
German green field suit-set ge03
German Alpine green greatcoat ge03b
German gray field suit-set ge04
German gray SS field set with camouflage trousers ge04b
German field commander uniform – grey ge05
German officer uniform – grey ge05b
German tank commander uniform ge06
German arctic green-white suit-set ge02a
German Feldgendarmerie SS uniform ge07
German black leather coat – Luftwaffe ge08
German uniform – Luftwaffe Africa corps ge09
German uniform with a mask – Luftwaffe Africa corps ge09b
German camouflage uniform – Luftwaffe Africa corps ge10
German officer uniform – Luftwaffe Africa corps ge10b

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German paratrooper uniform ge11
German Luftwaffe uniform - Normandy air force field division ge13
German blue-green-gray coastal artillerist ge13b
German Luftwaffe officer uniform – blue ge14
German uniform - desert doctor ge15
German uniform - SS Algemeine ge27
German uniform - SS Algemeine (shirt only) ge27b
German mechanic uniform (rolled up sleeves) ge28
German mechanic uniform ge28b
German SS uniform in spring parka ge31
German SS uniform in summer parka ge31b
German winter uniform (Green Coat) ge02c
German winter commander uniform (Green Coat) ge02d
Italian desert officer uniform it01
Italian desert uniform it02
Italian mechanic uniform it03
Russian uniform – green ru01
Russian officer uniform – green ru02
Japanese officer uniform – green ja01
Japanese uniform – green ja02
Czech railway man uniform ci01
Civilian in a thick sweater and leather vest ci07
Civilian clothes - shirt, trousers, knitted vest ci08
Civilian clothes - blood-stained shirt, trousers ci10
American winter uniform US01
American uniform US02
American Paratrooper uniform US04
Civilian clothes – lumberjack CI03
Civilian clothes – Sygurd CI04
Civilian clothes CI05
German female gray officer uniform ge21
German female blue Luftwaffe uniform ge21b

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Appendix B: Hats/Helmets and their Respective Models

Fur Cap D_CI_BARAN

Civilian Fedora d_ci_cap
British Pilots Cap b_en_brig1
British Hat (Burma) d_en_hat1
British Beret (Black) d_en_hat2
British Beret (Red) d_en_hat3
British Helmet b_en_helm1
British Helmet (Green w/ Netting) d_en_helm3
British Paratrooper Helmet b_en_helmPAR
British Paratrooper Helmet (Africa) b_en_helmPAR2
British Paratrooper Helmet (Arctic) b_en_helmPAR3
British Wool Cap b_en_kulich1
British Officer’s Cap d_gb_brig
German Tank Commander’s Cap B_GE_capTNK
?? German SS Officer’s Hat (Black) B_ge_brigSS
German SS Officer’s Hat (Grey) B_ge_brigSS2
German SS Officer’s Hat (Green) B_ge_brigSS3
German Peak Cap (Black) ge_cap01
German Peak Cap (Desert) B_GE_capAF
German Peak Cap (Grey) B_GE_capGR
German Peak Cap (Mechanic) B_GE_capME
German Hunter’s Cap B_GE_capMY
German Helmet (Green Grey) B_GE_HELM02
German Pith Helmet B_GE_HELMAF2
German Helmet (Africa) B_GE_helmAF2
German Helmet (Grey) B_GE_helmGR
German Helmet (Black) D_GE_HELMNO
German Helmet (Sniper) B_GE_helmSN
German Helmet (SS Camouflage) D_GE_HELMSS
German Helmet (Arctic) B_GE_helmW
German Cap (Africa) B_GE_lodAF

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German Cap (Black) B_GE_lodBL
German Cap (Grey) B_GE_lodGR
German Cap (Mechanic) B_GE_lodME
German Helmet (Paratrooper) b_ge_paraGR
Italian Officer’s Hat (Desert) b_it_brigAF
Italian Officer’s Hat (Sicily) d_it_hat
Italian Helmet d_it_helm1
Italian Pith Helmet B_it_helmAF
Japanese Officers Hat b_ja_brig1
Japanese Helmet b_ja_helm1
Russian Officer’s Hat b_ru_brig1
Russian Helmet b_ru_helm1
Russian Cap b_ru_lod1
American Helmet (Africa) b_us_helmA
American Helmet (Green) b_us_helmE
American Helmet (White) b_us_helmW
Glasses d_glass
Turban d_turban

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