Modding flags and signals – a tutorial

[TheKingOfUm]

In this tutorial, you will learn everything that you need to know for changing the way flags and signals look in the game.

The Basics – get your flag in the game in 10 minutes

To begin, let's modify the design of the Ranked Season 6 award flag. You will need:
 

• The WoWS Unpack Tool – from here https://forum.worldofwarships.eu/topic/113847-all-wows-unpack-tool-unpack-game-client-resources/
• Image editing software that is capable of saving .dds files with the required settings – I suggest paint.net, which works well and is free. You can download it here: www.getpaint.net
• World of Warships game client

 

1. Open the Unpack Tool and unpack the original flag from the game client. Flags can be found in content/gameplay/common/flags. The reward flag for Ranked Season 6 is called rankedflag_6.dds.
   
   
   After unpacking, you can find the file in folder World_of_Warships/res_unpack/content/gameplay/common/flags.
   
    
2. Open the unpacked flag in paint.net...
   
   
   ...and change the design.
   
    
3. Save the file in .dds (DirectDraw Surface) format. Make sure to use the correct settings, B8G8R8A8 (Linear, A8R8G8B8), otherwise the mod will not work.
   
   
   Also, generate Mip Maps so the flags will look good when seen from further away. Super Sampling is a good setting.
   
    
4. Install the mod. To do so, Open the folder World_of_Warships/bin/. Inside, you will find several folders with numbers as names. Open the folder with the highest number, then open the folder res_mods inside that number folder (for the purpose of this tutorial, that folder has been named 999999 – in your installation, it will have a different number, and the number will change with every update). Next, open the folder World_of_Warships/res_unpack in a new window. Move the changed flag file, including the entire content/gameplay/common/flags folder structure, into the folder res_mods that you have opened before.
   
    
5. Finally, start the game and check what your flag looks like.
   

 

 

For experts – make your flag look the way you want

 

Now that you have made your first modded flag, learn how to use the full potential of the tools.

 

• You can make the .dds flag files bigger or smaller, however the biggest possible size is 256 pixels for the longer dimension (e.g. 256x168 pixels). The flags have a certain object height in 3D, and the width of the flag is adjusted according to the texture width. This means that if you make your .dds file bigger or smaller, you don't get a bigger or smaller flag, instead you get a flag with a higher or lower resolution.
  
  Biggest possible file, highest possible resolution in the game:
  
  
  Very small file, very low resolution in the game:
  

 

• If you want to change the shape of the flag, such as making it square, simply change the dimensions of the file.
  
  
  Yes, you can also use this to make flags that are very long, and yes, a flag that is 100 metres long is possible, but looks silly.
  

 

• To give your flag an irregular shape, such as a swallowtail, you need to edit the transparency of the file. Just delete the part of the flag that you want to make transparent.
  
  
  You can also use this to make flags that have a reduced height. Just leave parts of the file transparent.
  

 

• Have you edited a flag that you don't own yourself and now you have no way of testing it? Simply change the name of the flag file to the name of a flag that you own, and then you can test. Don't forget to change the name back afterwards.

 

• If you are having trouble finding the file for a flag, the easiest solution is just unpacking the entire content/gameplay/common/flags folder and looking for it visually.

 

• If you want to, you can also change the preview picture in the exterior tab. They are inside folder gui/exteriors/ensigns and in .png format. Just treat it like the .dds flag files, i.e. unpack, edit and install. The only difference is the file format and the folder structure.
  
  
   
• It is also possible to change the name and description of the flag in the exterior tab. Internally, any text in the game is just a unique identifier. For example, the Ranked Season 6 award flag is called "IDS_PCEE498_RANKEDFLAG_6" internally. Depending on the language that your client is set to, this identifier is replaced by the name in that language. To do this, World of Warships uses gettext. This system looks up the identifier in a dictionary file and replaces it with the translation. The dictionary file for English is located in World_of_Warships/bin/[highest number]/res/texts/en/LC_MESSAGES/global.mo. The files for other languages are in the corresponding language folders, World_of_Warships/bin/[highest number]/res/texts/es/ for Spanish, World_of_Warships/bin/[highest number]/res/texts/fr/ for French, and so on. Here's how to edit this file, using English as an example:
   

1. First of all, do not edit the file in World_of_Warships/bin/[highest number]/res/texts/...! This is the original game file and should always remain unchanged.
   
   
   Instead, copy the file and its folder structure to the res_mods folder:
   
    
2. Then, you need to edit the copied global.mo file. There are several free tools available for this, I would suggest Aessaya's GNU-MO-File-Editor, as it is lightweight and easy to use. You can get it from here: https://forum.worldofwarships.com/topic/154616-mo-file-editor-v12/
    
3. Open the copied global.mo file in the editor, search for the text that you want to change, make your changes and save. (When using the GNU-MO-File-Editor, keep in mind that it cannot overwrite an opened file, you have to save in a different location and then manually replace the old file in Windows.)
   
    
4. Then start the game and check
   
    
5. Keep in mind that this only changes the text for one language and you will have to repeat the process with the other global.mo files for the other languages, if you want to change the text for all languages.
    

• Modding signals works very similar to modding flags, the only difference is that the preview pictures for the exterior tab are in gui/signal_flags, not gui/ensigns.

 

• World of Warships is updated regularly, and that means that mods need to be updated and reinstalled regularly as well. What do you need to do when a new update has been released?
  
  After the update is installed, you will find a new folder in World_of_Warships/bin with a number as a name. That number will be the new highest number. This new folder is the folder for the new game version. To prepare your mod, you need to install it again in this new folder.
   
  • If you have changed the .dds files for the display of the flags in game, you don't need to update the files. Simply install the existing files again in the new folder.
  • If you have changed the .png files for the preview in the exterior tab, you don't need to update the files. Simply install the existing files again in the new folder.
  • If you have changed the global.mo files for the texts in the exterior tab, you have to remake the mod. Every update adds new content to the game. Your old modified global.mo file will not have the text for this new content, which will cause problems in the game. That's why you need to redo the whole process of copying the original global.mo file to the res_mods folder and editing it, as described above.

 

Tips and Tricks

 

• To get a realistic look for your flags, use muted colours. In theory, you can make a flag in the game that has a very intense blue. But during the time frame of the game, such dyes were not yet in use, so it would look unrealistic. Likewise, do not use true black and true white, but very dark and light grey instead.
   
• While it is possible to keep all your important files in the res_unpack or res_mods folder, you shouldn't do that. These folders are part of the game client, which means that installing a game update or using the Unpack Tool could erase all your files. Keep a backup copy of all files in a safe place to avoid losing them.
   
• If you want to use a different image editing software that cannot export the .dds files with the proper settings, you can save the flag files in an exchange format that paint.net can read. The format should be lossless and preserve Alpha channels. I like to use TIFF for this task.
   
• If you have a lot of files to save as .dds and are comfortable with using a command line interface, Compressonator (from here https://compressonator.readthedocs.io) is worth a look. Use the settings -fd ARGB_8888 -miplevels 6.
   
• You can find a lot of flag designs online that are very helpful when making a flag mod. As long as you use the mod on your private computer only, you are free to do whatever you please. But if you want to make the mod available to others, it is important to respect the copyright under which the original flag designs were released. Likewise, it is a good idea to respect the rules of the platform on which you release the mod. For example, there are restrictions on what can be posted on the official Wargaming forums.

 

[TheKingOfUm]

As of update 0.11.6, the folder for the preview pictures has changed (and "_des" preview files have been removed as well). The manual has been updated accordingly.