AVP Editing Tools
Contents contain:
AvP_GE Level Creator.zip (containing 3D Studio Max 3 and 3.1)
avptools.zip (the officially released Gold tools and source code)
Old Modding Tools.zip (most if not all of the old modding programs for AVP Gold), including:
AvpLauncher, Avptweak, FastfileBackup, FastfileExplorer, Leadworks, LevelTweaker, nelev, Patch Editor, Patch Installer, PREtweak, ProfileTweaker, RIPLEY2, ScreamED1.2, ScreamED2.0.1, Smackerw, and Texture Infector.
AvP_GE Level Creator: Includes 3D Studio Max 3, 3D Studio Max 3.1, and 3D Studio Max 3.1
configs.
3D Studio Max is a 3D drawing and animation program. It was used by Rebellion to create the level architecture in AvP. In order for it to be of any use, you need to install the official Avptools (located in avptools.zip), find the 3DS plugins, and put them in the 3DSMax\plugins folder.
Avptools.zip: These are the official Gold Tools and source code. It comes with a helpful BIBLE.
Old Modding Tools
AvpLauncher: Launcher by Leinen brothers—Christopher and Henry Leinen—for AvP Gold that allows you to make debug mode tweaks and enter any level at the click of a button on its interface.
Avp Tweak: An early modding tool by Christopher Leinen, this is a very simple level tweaker that allows allowing the user to enable or disable any weapon he wants in any level.
Fastfile Backup: Another program by Leinen brothers, this helps you save your original (or modded) fastfiles (texture and sound files) to any location you want. It also contains a backup of the originals should you choose to restore your game to its vanilla setting.
Fastfile Explorer: This program, also by Leinen brothers, is one of the most important. It allows you to view, edit, import, and export .rim and .wav files that constitute the bulk of the game’s textures and sounds. If you want to make edited skins or sounds to your game, this is the program I recommend the most.
Leadworks: The AvP Gold level editor again by Leinen brothers. This requires two installations, the first is a .msi, and the second is simply a .exe of the extra files. This can be used as a sort of substitute for 3D Studio Max for level design. Ultimately if you want to make levels, you will probably want to familiarize yourself with both programs.
Level Tweaker: Again by Leinen brothers, this is an alternate version of Avp Tweak. The interface is slightly different but overall it has the same effect, giving you different weapons in-game.
Nelev: This is the first program on our list not by Leinen brothers. This program is by Andrew “Acefrag” Papierowski and I believe the program’s title is a play on words: “Nelev,” “Any Level.” This allows you to quickly choose to play any level as any species or even in Deathmatch or Cooperative multiplayer modes.
Patch Editor: This program allows you to edit .pfp’s. It’s basically useless without the Patch Installer and Texture Infector, and since you can choose to automatically install this with Texture Infector, I recommend simply installing Texture Infector instead.
PFPinstall: This program is used to install .pfp’s, which are essentially texture and sound patches. This program might be useful if you run across some .pfp’s in your ventures into the lost world of AvP skins and archives. However, you can choose to automatically install this with Texture Infector, so I suggest simply installing that instead.
PREtweak: Yet another level tweaker by Christopher Leinen for the PREditor team. This seems like version 1.1 of the level tweaker. As such, it isn’t apparently much different from the others except in its interface.
Profile Tweaker: Another program by Christopher Leinen, this program edits your save profile by changing which levels you have completed, on which difficulty, and can quickly unlock any and all cheat modes.
Ripley2: This is a program by Alex “Nalsor” Ross in 1999 as a way to rip textures and sound files from the game. It was one of the earliest attempts at finding a way to mod the game. Nowadays, it has trouble running on 64-bit operating systems and is obsolete by better releases such as Fastfile Explorer.
ScreamED_1.2: This is a program by the PREditor team that allows the user to edit sound files. It functions very much like Texture Infector, in that it allows you to create .pfp patches, but it doesn’t have anything to do with textures. There are, therefore, better tools out there to use for modifying sounds.
ScreamED_2.1: Same thing as above, whatever updates or improvements they made, the changes aren’t enough to warrant this program’s use over Texture Infector or Fastfile Explorer.
Smacker for Windows: This is an old version of the Smacker tool, which allows you to convert movies to .smk format, thereby allowing you to make your own .FMVs for the game. Keep in mind that the dimensions for the video must be 128x96.
Texture Infector: This is a program by Leinen brothers that is almost identical to FastFile Explorer. The main difference is that this program is also able to generate .pfp’s. PFP stands for PREditor Fastfile Patch. It is now a defunct file type but what it essentially does is patch in any new texture or sound file instantaneously to the user’s game. It has a very quick installation but the downside is that you can’t manually control which files are changed. Nevertheless, it was used heavily in the early days of modding. You will need to include PFPinstall and PFPedit in the installation. Personally I recommend Fastfile Explorer instead of Texture Infector because nobody will even know how to use .pfp’s anymore, but to each his own.
