.ZAR files

[Valkyrie]

Is there any way to view these portraits? If none, how do I install them in the game?

Oh, BTW, n00b alert, so sorry if this has been taken up before.
Thank you! 8)

[Lynxer]

No. U will need to sort out what file corresponds with which portrait in order to do this.

Core_rec_***.zar files in the gui/char folder represent the portraits of the recruits that are available to you at the Bos bunkers.

Hm = Human male
Hf = human female
Dc= Deathclaw
ect.

to find out if a file corresponds with the appropriate portrait u need to load the editor and place certain HM entities in a map (this can be any .mis file). Judging by their appearance (colors, hair, skin, size) you should be able to determine the recruits identity.

Core_rec_hm08.zar = Stitch, so if you want to replace his portrait, swap the Core_rec_hm08.zar file with ur customized portrait.
Know that u need to convert png to zar with the editor (its obvious what this means after u loaded the editor) in order to be able to apply your portraits
Core_rec_hm09.zar = Stoma (the big guns guy). Same story...

good luck. If you have any further troubles just say so and ill see what i can do to aid you in your cause.

[OnTheBounce]

Go to the Freelancer download page and you'll see a Zar and Til 2 Gif converter. You can use that to conver the ZAR images (everything from portraits to various pieces of the GUI) to GIF format.

There is also a tutorial called "Fallout Tactics Face Making Manual" that is only a 52kb dl. I can't say if it's any good or not since I've not read it, though. Also, check the FoT Tutorials Page here on DaC for the "How to make Custom Prefab Characters" tutorial which includes info on character portraits.

If you still have questions after all of that, let us know.

Edit: Here's a list of all of the recruits in the core campaign by their Display Name. (I'd cut out the descriptions, but I'm feeling lazy at the moment. )

name_CORE_rec_hm01 = {Robin}
desc_CORE_rec_hm01= {Sometime discretion is the better part of valor! Robin can slide in and out of an encounter like a sharp knife into a Brahmin steak.}

name_CORE_rec_hm05 = {Jax}
desc_CORE_rec_hm05= {Need to take out some dug in enemy snipers? Rush Jax in to flush them out. If he dies in the process well... that's war! He's good with small guns, big guns and energy weapons.}

name_CORE_rec_hm09 = {Stitch}
desc_CORE_rec_hm09= {Your typical battlefield medic. If you step on a mine he'll patch you together again, assuming there's anything left to patch!}

name_CORE_rec_hf03 = {Farsight}
desc_CORE_rec_hf03= {Farsight was trained by her father to shoot from long ranges in adverse conditions. Very steady hands and good eyesight are her strengths.}

name_CORE_rec_hf11 = {Torn}
desc_CORE_rec_hf11= {Surviving a childhood growing up in the wilderness meant that Torn had to develop fast and deadly hand to hand combat skills. She also developed a sharp eye and keen sense of danger.}

name_CORE_rec_hm11 = {Trevor}
desc_CORE_rec_hm11= {In 20th century America, Trevor would have been a Quarterback. If you want something thrown then Trevor is your man! Not very bright but very good at throwing. Did I mention he can throw?}

name_CORE_rec_hm12 = {Kevin}
desc_CORE_rec_hm12= {Kevin likes to get up close and personal with his enemies, and has spent his life so far perfecting his abilities in that area. He's also handy with a spanner, and likes to fiddle with anything that can be pulled apart.}

name_CORE_rec_hm06 = {Brian}
desc_CORE_rec_hm06= {Brian is a grunt. Put a shotgun or a SMG in his hands and point him in the correct direction. He'll fight loyally till the bitter end.}

name_CORE_rec_hm03 = {Rage}
desc_CORE_rec_hm03= {In a decent society, Rage's psychosis would be a problem. But in the Brotherhood it's a BIG advantage! Clever and very motivated with regards to killing, he loves Burst mode on SMGs or both barrels with shotguns. Actually he just loves guns.}

name_CORE_rec_hf15 = {Rebecca}
desc_CORE_rec_hf15= {With a decent rifle Rebecca can immobilise a baby deathclaw at 200 yards. Give her a proper sniper rifle and she'll castrate it, too. She is also good at first aid.}

name_CORE_rec_hf05 = {Ice}
desc_CORE_rec_hf05= {Cool and collected and not easy to piss off. She won't flirt and won't mess around with the boys. Most think she is just stand-offish, but Ice has simply honed her warrior spirit so well that she feels little need to interact with the outside world.}

name_CORE_rec_hf06 = {Jo}
desc_CORE_rec_hf06= {Jo went through Initiate training with Ice, where they became close friends. But the pair have drifted apart ever since the "Rage incident". She is great with small arms, but Jo is never happier than when she is behind the wheel of a tuned-up Hummer, out on the open wastelands.}

name_CORE_rec_hf10 = {Mandy}
desc_CORE_rec_hf10= {A talented field nurse who cares about the people she treats, Mandy is sometimes a bit squeamish about her job. Consequently, while she's better at patching people up than actually performing surgery, she prefers to avoid it altogether and perform scouting runs into enemy territory.}

name_CORE_rec_tr05 = {Fleetfoot}
desc_CORE_rec_tr05= {Ahhh... The wild plains were once home for Fleetfoot, where he would run with the rabid dogs. Fast and quiet, he has since learnt to apply the same skills to battle. Works best on his own.}

name_CORE_rec_tr01 = {Target}
desc_CORE_rec_tr01= {Target (pronounced Tarjay) would have been the winner of the 22nd Appleton "Throw the Spear" contest... except that he was the only contestant to actually kill someone. A judge. Which is why he is now in the Brotherhood.}

name_CORE_rec_tr03 = {Keith}
desc_CORE_rec_tr03= {Keith hates killing, but he also hates living in a mud hut. He joined the Brotherhood, seeing it as an opportunity to use his healing talents on people that really needed them, instead of people that sort of need them but can't pay.}

name_CORE_rec_hm04 = {Stein}
desc_CORE_rec_hm04= {Stein works well at a distance or in support. He couples great long-range skills with heavy weapon skills, making him perfect for breaking enemy bunker positions. Likes to keep at the back of the field, picking off unsuspecting enemies.}

name_CORE_rec_hm14 = {Stumpy}
desc_CORE_rec_hm14= {Small guns, melee attacks and traps. What more could you ask?}

name_CORE_rec_hm08 = {Stoma}
desc_CORE_rec_hm08= {Big and strong and stupid. He loves really BIG guns. Although he can handle a pistol or SMG, Stoma doesn't feel complete without a rocket launcher or flamer in his beefy grip. A little on the slow side, but no one's willing to tell him.}

name_CORE_rec_hf02 = {Stevie}
desc_CORE_rec_hf02= {Stevie has the lithe body of a dancer, the reflexes of a cat and the killer instinct of a Deathclaw. She is light and agile, and likes to reflect this in her armaments. Useful for that quick surprise attack.}

name_CORE_rec_hf12 = {Beth}
desc_CORE_rec_hf12= {Beth is a big girl! Not fat just BIG! Although quite agile for someone of her strength, she makes up for it by being a bit thick. Combat for Beth should be kept simple: fists, or a good piece length of pipe will keep her amused for hours.}

name_CORE_rec_tr04 = {Slicer}
desc_CORE_rec_tr04= {Slicer got the highest votes in the 22nd Appleton "Girl most likely to stay a Virgin" contest, primarily because most of the men she has known have met bizarre, disturbing and sometimes inexplicable ends. Scary girl.}

name_CORE_rec_tr02 = {Sharon}
desc_CORE_rec_tr02= {Her mother can trace their bloodline all the way back to Essex England, or so she says. Sharon spends a lot of time working on her hair. Her vanity can be a distraction, but Sharon handles guns well enough to keep her out of trouble.}

name_CORE_rec_go04 = {Frank}
desc_CORE_rec_go04= {Do your squad members suffer from broken bones, missing body parts or ruptured spleens? Do bits keep flaking off, or is there a crippled limb you just can't do without? Then call Doctor Frank! If he can't fix it, then you're probably already dead!}

name_CORE_rec_go01 = {Babs}
desc_CORE_rec_go01= {Babs is exceptionally beautiful, for a ghoul. Very slim, to the point of some body parts being missing altogether. This lends her a certain flexibility, but leaves her physically weak, so to get by she has concentrated on developing her thieving abilities. Don't leave her alone in the equipment store.}

name_CORE_rec_go03 = {Billy Bob}
desc_CORE_rec_go03= {Billy Bob grew up unhappy in a mid-western town, eventually running away from home to join the circus. Unfortunately the circus kicked him out because he was too much of a freak. The shock of the experience left him quite bitter, so he squashed his anger up into a little ball and used it help him focus on his weaponry skills.}

name_CORE_rec_dc01 = {Shaav}
desc_CORE_rec_dc01= {Small, fast and agile, even by death claw standards, Shaav is so stealthy that he sometimes sneaks without even meaning to. The first (and last) thing most enemies know about Shaav is that his breath is terrible.}

name_CORE_rec_dc02 = {Krldraav}
desc_CORE_rec_dc02= {Fast and strong. Krldraav (pronounced krldraav) specialises in disembowelment. It's a living.}

name_CORE_rec_dc03 = {Shriek}
desc_CORE_rec_dc03= {A young death claw with high ideals. Shriek's ideal is to kill as many non-deathclaw beings in as brutal a way as possible. In the normal run of things, Shriek would have ended up at the wrong end of some maligned town's shotguns, but now he is working for the Brotherhood...}

name_CORE_rec_dc04 = {Mother}
desc_CORE_rec_dc04= {Mother is big, hairy and scary! She saw her brood enslaved and almost destroyed by the Beast Lords, so she is wary of most humans, and a little uncomfortable with the alliance she now has with the Brotherhood. Very strong and fast, with deadly hand to hand attacks.}

name_CORE_rec_ra01 = {Creeper}
desc_CORE_rec_ra01= {Creeper hated life in the raider camps. Creeper hates life in the Brotherhood. Creeper just hates his life, and he's happy to share this fact with everyone he meets, especially people who are trying to kill him. At least the Brotherhood provides him with the opportunity to polish his sneaking and combat skills, but one day...}


name_CORE_rec_ra02 = {Pain}
desc_CORE_rec_ra02= {Pain joined the BOS for one reason only - so he could kill things without the threat of a hanging. He's not very good at it yet, liking smaller guns and melee weapons. But he's working on it.}

name_CORE_rec_ra03 = {Hurt}
desc_CORE_rec_ra03= {Hurt used to be a dentist in a raider camp, where she earned her nickname through the agony she inflicted on her unfortunate patients. She has now turned her talents to the broader area of general medicine, where she is expecting to have the opportunity to REALLY inflict some distress upon the injured.}

name_CORE_rec_ra04 = {Malice}
desc_CORE_rec_ra04 = {Malice by name, malicious by nature! He hates everyone including the Brotherhood, but is willing to tolerate a life in the bunkers in exchange for access to some sweet weaponry. Malice works best with an SMG in burst mode, so he can be a liability in a crowd.}

name_CORE_rec_ra05 = {Boomer}
desc_CORE_rec_ra05= {Boomer just loves to play catch with the enemy. She throws them a grenade and then catches the miscellaneous body parts that fly her way! Over her short career she has already generated an impressive collection of other people's bits, which she keeps hidden in her footlocker.}

name_CORE_rec_go02 = {Dillon}
desc_CORE_rec_go02= {Dillon only has one eye... but it's a good 'un! Put a hunting rifle with a telescopic sight in front of him and his accuracy is unmatched. When he's not shooting the aces out of cards, he likes to tinker with things, usually to their detriment.}

name_CORE_rec_go06 = {Harold}
desc_CORE_rec_go06= {Harold loves explosives, the smell of cordite, and the dull thump of an underground detonation. Grenades or traps, it's all the same to him. He'll plant them, throw them or disarm them. He's earned the nickname of "unbreakable", because despite several serious accidents, and over a hundred years of living, he never seems to die.}

name_CORE_rec_go05 = {Martin}
desc_CORE_rec_go05= {One of Martins ancestors used to run a software company in England, until it sank. Martin himself has inherited his ancestor's uncanny driving abilities, and when out of the car is very good at spotting and disarming traps.}

name_CORE_rec_hm07 = {Max}
desc_CORE_rec_hm07= {Max is a big bad mutha! Strong and stupid but great with big guns. He may take a while to get moving, but he's very difficult to stop once he's up to speed.}

name_CORE_rec_hf07 = {Alice}
desc_CORE_rec_hf07= {Alice is Max's sister. The two of them used to practice BBQing Brahmin with a flame thrower. Eventually they realised it would be easier to kill the Brahmin first. Strong and stupid.}

name_CORE_rec_hm15 = {Ed}
desc_CORE_rec_hm15= {Ed is a genius with machines. Whether it is mechanical or electronic, he can get it work, stop it working or tell you what it does. He can disassemble a gun or pick a lock in record time.}

name_CORE_rec_sm01 = {Chuck}
desc_CORE_rec_sm01= {Chuck is short for Charles but that's not where he got his nickname. Chuck is what most people do when they smell him coming! He's got very little to commend him other than his incredible strength and great heavy weapons skills.}

name_CORE_rec_sm02 = {Pump}
desc_CORE_rec_sm02= {This guy's real name is Julia but his friends call him Pump. In fact, everyone calls him Pump. He doesn't like the name Julia at all, and people who call him by it find out pretty quickly why his nickname is Pump.}

name_CORE_rec_sm03 = {Toni}
desc_CORE_rec_sm03= {Toni is not attractive even by Super Mutant standards. She has a heart of gold, though, and loves her new masters the Brotherhood. Clever by Super Mutant standards (and not too smelly), she has a knack for energy weapons.}

name_CORE_rec_sm04 = {Bob}
desc_CORE_rec_sm04= {Bob has huge hands, the sort of hands that in another age would have been great for fielding in a base ball game or holding a new born baby. In this age he just whacks people with them, repeatedly, until they stop moving.}

name_CORE_rec_sm05 = {Cookie}
desc_CORE_rec_sm05= {Life is simple for Cookie. She can throw things (big heavy things) a long way. She can hit things with other things, quite hard. She's also more agile than most of her mutated friends, and has a highly developed fashion sense.}

name_CORE_rec_hf13 = {Kaisa}
desc_CORE_rec_hf13= {Kaisa is the last in a long line of gorgeous blonde Fins. Her family was famous for their mobile phones and delicious pastries. Kaisa continues this tradition by being an expert with high tech equipment, but her cooking skills are totally unappreciated.}

name_CORE_rec_hf01 = {Fran}
desc_CORE_rec_hf01= {Fran has learnt many things, living in the shadow of her brother, an Elder within the Brotherhood. She has learnt the value of discretion. She has learnt how grace can triumph over brawn. She has learnt that a swift stab in the back with a sharp knife solves most problems.}

name_CORE_rec_hm16 = {Karl}
desc_CORE_rec_hm16= {Well what can we say about Karl? Blew his senior officer's brains out all over the training center with a badly timed grenade. He had to clean the mess up afterwards though. But that's bloody grenadiers for you. No brains between the lot of them, but a lot all over them.}

name_CORE_rec_hm10 = {John}
desc_CORE_rec_hm10= {In an earlier age John would have been a great brain surgeon or a concert pianist. In this age he is a medic in the Brotherhood, and uses his medical skills and agility in the field. Not content to just sew people up, John has also developed his heavy weapons skill to tear them apart.}

name_CORE_rec_hf04 = {Vector}
desc_CORE_rec_hf04= {Vector used to be a stripper, but is now a class act as a sniper. She can lie in a ditch or on a roof for hours without flinching, and then let the bullet fly at the exact right moment.}

name_CORE_rec_rv01 = {Mac}
desc_CORE_rec_rv01= {Mac knows a lot about tech stuff. Lithe and elegant, she would make a good dancer if there was anywhere left to go dancing. Like all Reavers, she wears a lot of leather and plastic. The difference with Mac is that she really _likes_ to wear it.}

name_CORE_rec_rv02 = {Dos}
desc_CORE_rec_rv02= {Enhanced eye sight and surgical implants in his hands make Dos very good at sniping. He designs his upgrades himself, and is always looking for new ways to tweak his body even further. Unfortunately, he has trouble convincing others of the viability of valve-tube augmentation.}

name_CORE_rec_rv03 = {Hardrive}
desc_CORE_rec_rv03= {Big guy with a strong sense of purpose. Hardrive can use most weapons well but is particularly partial to energy weapons.}

name_CORE_rec_rv04 = {Seedee}
desc_CORE_rec_rv04= {Seedee spent most of her young life wired on tranquillisers, and since she went cold turkey she has lost all sense of fear. Traps don't scare her, and she's always looking for a new risk to take. The rest of the recruits have learnt not to play poker with her though. You just can't tell when she's bluffing.}

name_CORE_rec_hf14 = {Debbie}
desc_CORE_rec_hf14= {Debbie is very talented with her hands. She is a good field medic who can fix most non-critical injuries. Her delicate touch also enables her to detect and remove sophisticated traps.}

name_CORE_rec_hm02 = {Slim}
desc_CORE_rec_hm02= {Slim used to eat nothing but happy pies washed down with Nuka-Cola. Then he got radiation sickness, and now he is slim. But the rad-fever didn't dull his intellect, so he's adept at fiddling with technology and very quiet on his feet and.}

name_CORE_rec_hm13 = {Shaky}
desc_CORE_rec_hm13= {Shaky had a bright career as a trapper until his accident. But since then he has mastered every type of vehicle the Brotherhood owns. Extremely competent behind the wheel and a skilled mechanic. Pity about his nerves though. And the narcolepsy. And the secret addiction.}

name_CORE_rec_hf16 = {Peta}
desc_CORE_rec_hf16= {This girl has studied energy weapons for four years. Lasers, Plasma rifles and EMP weapons hold no surprises for her. When she uses melee weapons, she always tries to pick out something that gets an extra jolt from her friend, electricity.}

name_CORE_rec_hf08 = {Box}
desc_CORE_rec_hf08= {Box is muscular even for a Brotherhood soldier. She's now so buff that she finds it difficult to squeeze into power armour without a serious run-up. Loves big guns like rocket launchers but she is also pretty tasty in a fistfight.}

name_CORE_rec_hf09 = {Clarise}
desc_CORE_rec_hf09= {Clarise is the complete antithesis of her old Initiate buddy, Box. But while she looks frail as a broc-flower, she has a hidden inner-strength. An inner-strength that lets her wield high-end energy weapons, or lob grenades long distances.}

name_CORE_rec_robby = {HR1205}
desc_CORE_rec_robby= {Robot 1205 was liberated by the Brotherhood from repair station 10.92. It is a standard bipedal perambulating humanoid assault robot, built on designs from the Acme company for contract 10056-567 American Government. It is an ass-kicking machine, literally.}

name_CORE_rec_pipboy = {Pip}
desc_CORE_rec_pipboy= {Is he a bizarre genetic freak? Is he an animatronic, escaped from some long-destroyed amusement park? Is he an educational aid gone wrong? NO! He's PIPBOY, dammit, and he's here to kick ass and take names!}

name_CORE_rec_riddick = {Riddick}
desc_CORE_rec_riddick= {Riddick is a criminal on the run from all sorts of people and authorities, but exactly who he refuses to mention. While he's happy to fight other humans, he prefers to try out his exceptional night vision on the lethal critters of the wasteland.}

name_CORE_rec_joeGrimm = {Joe}
desc_CORE_rec_joeGrimm= {Joe has a brother Jim. Together they are the brothers Grimm. So called because things can get pretty grim when they are around. Joe likes to bash things and act all masculine. He is the brawn of the outfit.}

name_CORE_rec_jimGrimm = {Jim}
desc_CORE_rec_jimGrimm= {Jim has a brother Joe. Together they are the brothers Grimm. Jim likes to dress in women's clothes, which really pisses his brother off. Jim is the heavy weapons expert and the brains of the outfit.}

OTB

[Lynxer]

Ahaha, a converter, sure beats my orthodox means.

[OnTheBounce]

Ahaha, a converter, sure beats my orthodox means.

I got tired of doing it that way, or by using screenshots and modifying them in Photoshop. Um...just don't accidentally convert all of the ZAR files in the game to GIFs...like I did once... :oops:

OTB

[Lynxer]

Well, i usually backup all files prior to the conversion.

[OnTheBounce]

Oh, it doesn't simply convert the ZARs to GIFs, it makes copies of them in GIF format. It's just that I picked up over 20 megs worth of GIF files that I had no use for.

OTB

[Valkyrie]

OTB, AH!! Just what I need! THANK YOU!!!

Lynxer and OTB, its great to know someone's willing to help =)

Here's my plan so far:
Create a doc/trader character to be my main character (so he is the leader, high CH and INT), so he handles the promotion and trading and healing.
Edit some characters to get 2 assault guys, 2 snipers, and a scout/jack-of-all trades.

To do this, I have a few questions:
1.) Can anyone give me the characters available right after the first mission? This way, I can edit them to be my "preferred" people.
2.) What program to use to edit these characters?

That's all for now! Thanks!

[OnTheBounce]

...its great to know someone's willing to help =)

See, I'm not the fascist bastard you mistook me for at first.

1.) Can anyone give me the characters available right after the first mission? This way, I can edit them to be my "preferred" people.

Okay, here they are:

hf03.ent
hf05.ent
hf06.ent
hf11.ent
hf10.ent
hf15.ent
hm01.ent
hm03.ent
hm05.ent
hm06.ent
hm09.ent
hm11.ent
hm12.ent

These are all of the 'cruits flagged either "Mission 0" or "Mission 01" in the campaign.txt file and will appear in the 'cruit pool as soon as you get back from Brahmin Wood. (You might want to edit Farsight and Stitch into some of your people so that you can take them through all of the way from the beginning.)

2.) What program to use to edit these characters?

Use the Entity Editor that comes with the v1.27 patch. If you need pointers on that, let me know.

Cheers,

OTB

[Valkyrie]

See, I'm not the fascist bastard you mistook me for at first.

Hehehe... agreed. It was honestly quite a shock for me, but it's okay Peace!

These are all of the 'cruits flagged either "Mission 0" or "Mission 01" in the campaign.txt file and will appear in the 'cruit pool as soon as you get back from Brahmin Wood. (You might want to edit Farsight and Stitch into some of your people so that you can take them through all of the way from the beginning.)

I thought Farsight and Stitch could not be edited.... am I wrong? How can I edit them?

A few words (okay, so maybe a lot of words) for help in the editor would be very, very useful! Like I said earlier, n00b alert! :!:

[Valkyrie]

HELP!!!

I got the Zar-2-Gif file converter, and I fiddled around with it. Somehow, I turned one pic into a gif file, but can't seem to do that to the rest. Then I tried setting Windows to use the Zar2Gif converter file (zar2gif.exe, IIRC) to be used when opening .zar files, and now I can't open/convert anything!

HELP!!!

The zip file I downloaded doesn't contain any instructions on how to use the program... the readme doesn't explain anything either...

[Valkyrie]

problem solved....

**sigh!!** the life of a n00b can be exciting sometimes :roll:

Will try to edit my characters now.... wish me luck!

[Lynxer]

Bah, seems the .zar converter wont run on my system....bummer.

You need ME of XP or something in order for it to work properly?

[Valkyrie]

Nah... you run it in MSDOS mode... took me a while to figure that out...

Um, the pics and the text of a character can be changed in-game, right?
Or once the game is started and you change pic/text, the game crashes?

[Lynxer]

changing portraits and descriptions is a matter of swapping files in the FOT/core/appropriatefolder direction.

Msdos...ic.

[Valkyrie]

Lynxer, so it doesn't crash, huh? Cool...
er, check PM btw...

[Valkyrie]

hmmm... for some reason, my gui_0.bos and locale_0.bos are missing. I reinstalled the whole game. The tutorial on making custom characters in this site tells me to open that locale_0.bos by changing it to a zip, then editing the characters.txt there, but I didn't find it, but I found it in the core/locale/game folder. Would editing this file change the character descriptions?

Anyone tried the Fallout Booster available at www.freelancer.ag.ru? I suspect it was the one that took out my gui and locale .bos files... Is there any other way to "optimize" the game to make it run faster on slow machines?

Is there a way of viewing the videos of the game too? My notebook PC can't handle it, it skips every 2 seconds.

Thanks for the help! 8)