0 of 0
About this mod
An arena expansion mod with 52 more combatants using unused designs in the game files or unobtainable designs, inspired by Arena EX by TKGP.
- Permissions and credits
Mod has been updated for the latest patch, content updates are planned for the future, the current version of the mod will be the last of this version but will be left uploaded.
Credits section has been updated with further credit to TKGP for their help between updates.
--| Sub-Arena 1.5
Requires a legitimate Steam installation of ACVI App Ver. 50/Regulation Ver. 1.05
Other copies and versions are not supported.
Not compatible with other regulation editing mods.
Back up your save files before use whether you use an existing save for the mod or a new one.
I'll be using the description of Arena EX as a template to provide a familiar description for more clear explanation in addition to it letting me answer questions that are shared with the original mod.
This mod adds 52 new opponents to the singleplayer arena utilizing the design files that are located in the game.
NPC AC's use these design files and overwrite entries in charaInitParam, aka no matter what alterations you make to a loadout in that param in mapstudio/etc the design won't change, originally the only way to change that was by erasing the design ID for a character which comes with the issue of making the AC grey, the other is by renaming an existing design file with the number ID of another, however this just makes one design look like another and doesn't offer real customization.
However since the initial release of the mod, a tool was uploaded on the public Dark Souls/Fromsoft Discord server that allows one to dump AC designs from a save file, thus those are problems of the past.
Beyond the ones actually used inside the game by the various NPC AC's you fight with or against, there are several that go unused, in addition a few are not granted to the player as an AC preset, examples include NPC’s without Arena profiles such as V.II Snail’s OPEN FAITH on the Ice Worm mission with its different weapon loadout, the training mission AC's, or the various test AC’s that Fromsoft had in the files for one reason or another, the latter were chosen based on how interesting they looked, I wanted people to be able to see and appreciate these designs on a wider scale than just as screenshots posted about them. This is only a selection of them as many were bland-looking gray AC’s that were used for weapon/part tests, hot-messes visually such as ones that heavily used Decals that slowed the game down, or had issues such as overburdened and EN limits.
This mod is intended to allow players to receive these unused AC's in a hopefully entertaining method of fighting them much like the player submitted AC's in Arena EX.
2 of the fights are based on AC's seen in the Reveal trailer, you'll recognize them when you see em, only 1 of the fights is something that is entirely original from myself and not a design file or a trailer design, that being the second G7 Hakra with a full weapon loadout, I felt like as a Redgun they deserved it.
Like with Arena EX the new fights unlock as soon as the arena itself does in the latter half of Chapter 1, and can be found in additional tabs in the arena menu.
Difficulty of the mod: This mod is not listed by difficulty but by themes of the groups based on unlock order, so the difficulty will flip back and forth, I've made sure that I could beat all matches at least 5 times (each with a different loadout) before releasing the mod, so even the hardest fights in the mod are possible to beat and I'm not a super amazing player so hopefully that assure anyone who reaches a wall with any opponent in the mod, just keep trying with different loadouts and you'll get em.
Please don't go online while using this mod.
Submissions
------------
As of the initial release of this mod, 16 combatants from the mod don't have proper names or bio descriptions, these currently use codenames for the callsign/AC name and short descriptions for the Profile Bio.
This mod has two sections of AC fights, the first being dedicated to characters that would be associated with various groups/factions such as the Balam Redguns, etc. The bio’s for these are written by myself.
The second is dedicated to independent mercenaries and will be where submissions take place, there are 16 designs that I do not have names or biographies for, however the designs and emblems have already been chosen by myself, the latter of which can optionally serve as a connection to the name and bio but isn’t required.
Instead of creating even more than what I already made for the mod, I want to bring in some of that community flavor that Arena EX has by allowing any of you to submit a callsign, AC name and short bio to fill in the gaps for these remaining combatants.
Submissions can be submitted in the google form in the links below, I will update the mod in the future with these submissions, this section will be edited afterwards.
Edit: Current version of the mod has an AC nicknamed Astro that will be removed from the next update going forward as ultimately it's barely different from a generic AC without the paint, so avoid submitting for that one.
Submission Hub
Google Form (Please read the Hub for rules)
Instructions
------------
To play:
1. Extract the entire mod folder anywhere you want
2. Make sure Steam is running
3. Run launch-mod.bat from the mod folder
Mod Engine is included and preconfigured to run the mod with an alternate save file, so it won't interfere with your ability to play online when launching the game normally.
If you need to manually manage your save for the mod, you can find it by following the shortcut included with the mod, or navigate to %appdata%\ArmoredCore6\<Your Steam ID>.
The mod's save file is named AC60000.aex. As a safety precaution, your main save file is also copied to AC60000-pre-sub-arena.sl2 the first time you run the mod, in case you need to restore it.
If wanting to carry progress over, you may rename a copy of your original save file to AC60000.aex
Known Issues
------------
- Why do G8 Blue and the second G7 Hakra have grey colored AC's in their Arena Profile images instead of colorful ones?
Leftovers from the first build before design file creation was possible, will be fixed in the next content update.
- Replaced Emblems still show their original versions in boss health bar and in parts of the emblem selection menu!
Emblems in the game come in big individual images and a one single image that has smaller copies of them on one sheet, I have not yet addressed the latter as I wanted to get the update out before New Years, this will be fixed in a future update whether I continue with emblem replacement or go back to standalone emblems if I can find a way to have them be rewarded, I needed to do this in prep for using decals on AC's in the future like I did with G7 Hakra and G8 Blue in the update..
- What's with the parts that have numbers instead of proper localization?
A small amount of AC's in the mod come with their own custom parts that are normally not given to the player, the majority of these however are statistically identical to the player-obtained copies, they simply don't have proper names but are functionally fine, I don't currently plan to give them localization as it's a minor visual issue only that effects a very small majority and even fewer come with actual unique parts.
These custom parts is another reason as to not go online while using this mod.
- It says I unlocked an emblem but I didn't actually unlock an emblem!
Making the new emblems (read any I actually made and didn't repurpose a base game emblem for) was for the benefit of the combatants and priority wasn't given for being able to use them, to get around this one can replace any base game emblem with the ones from the mod that aren't granted to the player.
- All the modded text is missing!
Localization only supports English for the time being.
- The AI is kind of weird sometimes!
Much like the original mod I'm using the AI scripted for the main game, not every AC in the mod is 100 percent compatible with every AC loadout, sometimes you'll get a dud of a fight and I encourage people to retry a fight if such a case happens, although ultimately some fights I can only do so much with such as those that have 1 or 2 weapons...there's not much one can do to make them a challenge besides making them a bullet sponge and thus making it a test of endurance...still wouldn't make them anymore dangerous, thankfully these are very few fights and it's mostly for the sake of getting their looks anyways.
Special shoutout to G8 Blue who has no compatible counterpart in the game that I could find that allowed them to be able to use all 4 weapons since only a few AI have weapon-bay support and none of them use shields, thus I chose for them to be able to use 3 while forgoing the use of the Dizzy, I could of changed that weapon to an Earshot but then it would not be accurate to the reveal trailer Tetrapod AC that Blue is meant to be, they didn't even use the Dizzy in the trailer anyways so it's serviceable.
- There's no voice-acting!
Much like the reason in the original mod, sound editing isn't possible, don't think this is going to change anytime soon if ever.
Compatibility
------------
- Does it work with Arena EX?
Out of the gate no. Theoretically it should if one did the manual work required to merge them but it's not something I've tested yet, however I set up the groundwork to be able to merge them but there are several things that prevent it from being an easy merge but I'm just going to get the big one out of the way.
Since you have to use Witchy to unpack files to merge the two there's the whole thing with the witchy.xml text file that the program requires for knowing what to pack together and when adding or removing things in there that text file needs to be edited, but each entry inside that file is numbered in order, this is mostly a simple quick change except for a few certain folders in this mod's case: the 00_solo ones that is responsible for so many images from the Arena Profile, to AC emblems, to stuff not edited by the mod such as Archive images or the 1 of a several-many individual bits used in the Emblem editor, and the amount of entries in that witchy file in total for this mod are 1453 entries.
And each one has a manual number in that order that would have to be changed by an amount that depends on how many entries you add or remove, to keep
it short...that is a very long tedious time to manually edit all that unless you are using something to mass-edit those rows at once like I did, aka this is a time consuming process as it was for just the mod as a standalone even with the mass edit speeding things up significantly, I'm in no rush to set up a merged mod because of this step alone, as a comparison the Arena EX mod has 1504 entries in that witchy.xml file.
But yes, it is probably possible but one thing I think might effect the game's speed is the sheer amount of AC data presets there would be with both mods combined, you got 52 from this mod, 61 from Arena EX, 42 from base game Arena, 1 pre-order DLC and your default LOADER 4, that's a big damn number of presets to scroll through and I have no idea if the game can actually handle that.
Changelog
---------
1.5
- Update 1: Fixed minor issues like typo's and most UI/GFX troubles, gave the Arquebus Grunt, G7 Hakra Full weapon and G8 Blue proper colored designs, updated Orange Loader 1 to use a duplicate design that doesn't have issues with loading screens although visually they remain the same.
In order to make (almost all) the emblems obtainable for use, I have replaced several base game emblems with ones from the mod, these are player presets which I made the decision to replace as I don't believe their used as often as either player-made emblems or ones from the actual characters.
1.0
- Initial release
Credits
-------
TKGP - General advice, creating the GFX related files and giving information on needing to include stuff from the base game's files. Not to mention for Arena EX itself which served as a resource for reference while making the mod, additional thanks to them allowing me to package the mod with the same Mod Engine/DLL that Arena EX uses.
In addition to my eternal appreciation and gratitude for their Design file dump tool which now makes it possible to add even more fights or edit existing ones.
ivi - Advice on how to create the Arena profile images used in the mod.
Submissions:
To be updated once submissions are accepted.
Mods Included
-------------
Mod Engine 2.1
Armored Core 6 Alt Saves 0.0.1
Armored Core 6 Title Skip 0.0.1
Credits section has been updated with further credit to TKGP for their help between updates.
--| Sub-Arena 1.5
Requires a legitimate Steam installation of ACVI App Ver. 50/Regulation Ver. 1.05
Other copies and versions are not supported.
Not compatible with other regulation editing mods.
Back up your save files before use whether you use an existing save for the mod or a new one.
I'll be using the description of Arena EX as a template to provide a familiar description for more clear explanation in addition to it letting me answer questions that are shared with the original mod.
This mod adds 52 new opponents to the singleplayer arena utilizing the design files that are located in the game.
NPC AC's use these design files and overwrite entries in charaInitParam, aka no matter what alterations you make to a loadout in that param in mapstudio/etc the design won't change, originally the only way to change that was by erasing the design ID for a character which comes with the issue of making the AC grey, the other is by renaming an existing design file with the number ID of another, however this just makes one design look like another and doesn't offer real customization.
However since the initial release of the mod, a tool was uploaded on the public Dark Souls/Fromsoft Discord server that allows one to dump AC designs from a save file, thus those are problems of the past.
Beyond the ones actually used inside the game by the various NPC AC's you fight with or against, there are several that go unused, in addition a few are not granted to the player as an AC preset, examples include NPC’s without Arena profiles such as V.II Snail’s OPEN FAITH on the Ice Worm mission with its different weapon loadout, the training mission AC's, or the various test AC’s that Fromsoft had in the files for one reason or another, the latter were chosen based on how interesting they looked, I wanted people to be able to see and appreciate these designs on a wider scale than just as screenshots posted about them. This is only a selection of them as many were bland-looking gray AC’s that were used for weapon/part tests, hot-messes visually such as ones that heavily used Decals that slowed the game down, or had issues such as overburdened and EN limits.
This mod is intended to allow players to receive these unused AC's in a hopefully entertaining method of fighting them much like the player submitted AC's in Arena EX.
2 of the fights are based on AC's seen in the Reveal trailer, you'll recognize them when you see em, only 1 of the fights is something that is entirely original from myself and not a design file or a trailer design, that being the second G7 Hakra with a full weapon loadout, I felt like as a Redgun they deserved it.
Like with Arena EX the new fights unlock as soon as the arena itself does in the latter half of Chapter 1, and can be found in additional tabs in the arena menu.
Difficulty of the mod: This mod is not listed by difficulty but by themes of the groups based on unlock order, so the difficulty will flip back and forth, I've made sure that I could beat all matches at least 5 times (each with a different loadout) before releasing the mod, so even the hardest fights in the mod are possible to beat and I'm not a super amazing player so hopefully that assure anyone who reaches a wall with any opponent in the mod, just keep trying with different loadouts and you'll get em.
Please don't go online while using this mod.
Submissions
------------
As of the initial release of this mod, 16 combatants from the mod don't have proper names or bio descriptions, these currently use codenames for the callsign/AC name and short descriptions for the Profile Bio.
This mod has two sections of AC fights, the first being dedicated to characters that would be associated with various groups/factions such as the Balam Redguns, etc. The bio’s for these are written by myself.
The second is dedicated to independent mercenaries and will be where submissions take place, there are 16 designs that I do not have names or biographies for, however the designs and emblems have already been chosen by myself, the latter of which can optionally serve as a connection to the name and bio but isn’t required.
Instead of creating even more than what I already made for the mod, I want to bring in some of that community flavor that Arena EX has by allowing any of you to submit a callsign, AC name and short bio to fill in the gaps for these remaining combatants.
Submissions can be submitted in the google form in the links below, I will update the mod in the future with these submissions, this section will be edited afterwards.
Edit: Current version of the mod has an AC nicknamed Astro that will be removed from the next update going forward as ultimately it's barely different from a generic AC without the paint, so avoid submitting for that one.
Submission Hub
Google Form (Please read the Hub for rules)
Instructions
------------
To play:
1. Extract the entire mod folder anywhere you want
2. Make sure Steam is running
3. Run launch-mod.bat from the mod folder
Mod Engine is included and preconfigured to run the mod with an alternate save file, so it won't interfere with your ability to play online when launching the game normally.
If you need to manually manage your save for the mod, you can find it by following the shortcut included with the mod, or navigate to %appdata%\ArmoredCore6\<Your Steam ID>.
The mod's save file is named AC60000.aex. As a safety precaution, your main save file is also copied to AC60000-pre-sub-arena.sl2 the first time you run the mod, in case you need to restore it.
If wanting to carry progress over, you may rename a copy of your original save file to AC60000.aex
Known Issues
------------
- Why do G8 Blue and the second G7 Hakra have grey colored AC's in their Arena Profile images instead of colorful ones?
Leftovers from the first build before design file creation was possible, will be fixed in the next content update.
- Replaced Emblems still show their original versions in boss health bar and in parts of the emblem selection menu!
Emblems in the game come in big individual images and a one single image that has smaller copies of them on one sheet, I have not yet addressed the latter as I wanted to get the update out before New Years, this will be fixed in a future update whether I continue with emblem replacement or go back to standalone emblems if I can find a way to have them be rewarded, I needed to do this in prep for using decals on AC's in the future like I did with G7 Hakra and G8 Blue in the update..
- What's with the parts that have numbers instead of proper localization?
A small amount of AC's in the mod come with their own custom parts that are normally not given to the player, the majority of these however are statistically identical to the player-obtained copies, they simply don't have proper names but are functionally fine, I don't currently plan to give them localization as it's a minor visual issue only that effects a very small majority and even fewer come with actual unique parts.
These custom parts is another reason as to not go online while using this mod.
- It says I unlocked an emblem but I didn't actually unlock an emblem!
Making the new emblems (read any I actually made and didn't repurpose a base game emblem for) was for the benefit of the combatants and priority wasn't given for being able to use them, to get around this one can replace any base game emblem with the ones from the mod that aren't granted to the player.
- All the modded text is missing!
Localization only supports English for the time being.
- The AI is kind of weird sometimes!
Much like the original mod I'm using the AI scripted for the main game, not every AC in the mod is 100 percent compatible with every AC loadout, sometimes you'll get a dud of a fight and I encourage people to retry a fight if such a case happens, although ultimately some fights I can only do so much with such as those that have 1 or 2 weapons...there's not much one can do to make them a challenge besides making them a bullet sponge and thus making it a test of endurance...still wouldn't make them anymore dangerous, thankfully these are very few fights and it's mostly for the sake of getting their looks anyways.
Special shoutout to G8 Blue who has no compatible counterpart in the game that I could find that allowed them to be able to use all 4 weapons since only a few AI have weapon-bay support and none of them use shields, thus I chose for them to be able to use 3 while forgoing the use of the Dizzy, I could of changed that weapon to an Earshot but then it would not be accurate to the reveal trailer Tetrapod AC that Blue is meant to be, they didn't even use the Dizzy in the trailer anyways so it's serviceable.
- There's no voice-acting!
Much like the reason in the original mod, sound editing isn't possible, don't think this is going to change anytime soon if ever.
Compatibility
------------
- Does it work with Arena EX?
Out of the gate no. Theoretically it should if one did the manual work required to merge them but it's not something I've tested yet, however I set up the groundwork to be able to merge them but there are several things that prevent it from being an easy merge but I'm just going to get the big one out of the way.
Since you have to use Witchy to unpack files to merge the two there's the whole thing with the witchy.xml text file that the program requires for knowing what to pack together and when adding or removing things in there that text file needs to be edited, but each entry inside that file is numbered in order, this is mostly a simple quick change except for a few certain folders in this mod's case: the 00_solo ones that is responsible for so many images from the Arena Profile, to AC emblems, to stuff not edited by the mod such as Archive images or the 1 of a several-many individual bits used in the Emblem editor, and the amount of entries in that witchy file in total for this mod are 1453 entries.
And each one has a manual number in that order that would have to be changed by an amount that depends on how many entries you add or remove, to keep
it short...that is a very long tedious time to manually edit all that unless you are using something to mass-edit those rows at once like I did, aka this is a time consuming process as it was for just the mod as a standalone even with the mass edit speeding things up significantly, I'm in no rush to set up a merged mod because of this step alone, as a comparison the Arena EX mod has 1504 entries in that witchy.xml file.
But yes, it is probably possible but one thing I think might effect the game's speed is the sheer amount of AC data presets there would be with both mods combined, you got 52 from this mod, 61 from Arena EX, 42 from base game Arena, 1 pre-order DLC and your default LOADER 4, that's a big damn number of presets to scroll through and I have no idea if the game can actually handle that.
Changelog
---------
1.5
- Update 1: Fixed minor issues like typo's and most UI/GFX troubles, gave the Arquebus Grunt, G7 Hakra Full weapon and G8 Blue proper colored designs, updated Orange Loader 1 to use a duplicate design that doesn't have issues with loading screens although visually they remain the same.
In order to make (almost all) the emblems obtainable for use, I have replaced several base game emblems with ones from the mod, these are player presets which I made the decision to replace as I don't believe their used as often as either player-made emblems or ones from the actual characters.
1.0
- Initial release
Credits
-------
TKGP - General advice, creating the GFX related files and giving information on needing to include stuff from the base game's files. Not to mention for Arena EX itself which served as a resource for reference while making the mod, additional thanks to them allowing me to package the mod with the same Mod Engine/DLL that Arena EX uses.
In addition to my eternal appreciation and gratitude for their Design file dump tool which now makes it possible to add even more fights or edit existing ones.
ivi - Advice on how to create the Arena profile images used in the mod.
Submissions:
To be updated once submissions are accepted.
Mods Included
-------------
Mod Engine 2.1
Armored Core 6 Alt Saves 0.0.1
Armored Core 6 Title Skip 0.0.1