Uniform Updates for PS2 NCAA games

[Harry97]

Hi, I'm trying to import some uniforms from NCAA 09 into NCAA 06. The uniforms I wish to import are smaller sized files than the ones I am replacing, so the process h4wduk3n and StingRay68 discuessed earlier in this thread should work.

Using DFR even when I extract a copy of a compressed file from the UNIFORM.DAT (for example; File00050 - Comp. Size = 166406 - Decomp. Size = 375912) and then re-insert this file into the the same slot I am left with a smaller sized UNIFORM.DAT file, which causes errors when adding back into the iso (I am using apache for this).

I have used DFR before to replace music files in the game (in that case I had to resize the smaller asf files using a HEX editor before I imported them so that they matched the file size of the files being replaced). I was assuming this would be a similar process but even after reading through this thread I am still confused.

I seen posts mention uncompressing the uniform files but I am unsure if I need to do this or what programs to use. If anyone could provide advice on the programs to use and quick steps to follow for just replacing uniforms from NCAA 06 with smaller file sized unforms from NCAA 09 it would be really appreciated.

As minotauri pointed out, the main thing when rebuilding the disc is to delete the QKL files. The process h4wduk3n described earlier was before we learned that deleting the QKL files on the disc removes the UNIFORM.DAT per slot file size restrictions. If you delete the QKL files, you can freely swap any uniform file, compressed or uncompressed without a problem, at least as it relates to any uniform file from NCAA 07-11 PS2, they should work in NCAA 06. (Not sure if NCAA 2005's uniforms would be compatible in NCAA 06, I'm not sure anyone's tried that yet, but if I'm not mistaken, NCAA 2005's uniforms are in PLADATA.DAT which was before there was a UNIFORM.DAT which IIRC started in NCAA 06)

But you shouldn't have any problem importing NCAA 07-11 PS2 uniforms into NCAA 06's UNIFORM.DAT as long as you delete the QKL files when rebuilding the disc. The challenge though is to match up the uniform you are trying to swap in UNIFORM.DAT from game to game, as the uniform slots (which team/uniform each slot is) in UNIFORM.DAT does change from game to game. There's ways to figure it out but it's not exactly self explanatory.

I've never used apache, but it sounds like it works if you've been able to successfully replace music and rebuild the disc. As far as uncompressing the uniform files, there's several ways to do that if you intend on editing uniforms. There's a specific program for it, or you can use MUER to do it if you have Madden 08 PC. Once an NCAA PS2 uniform is uncompressed, you don't need to re-compress it, you can just import it back to the slot and rebuild the disc. If you're trying to edit a decompressed NCAA PS2 uniform externally that may be a bit of a challenge. I'm not sure there's a dedicated external editor to edit decompressed NCAA uniforms from the .DAT.

What I did a long time ago before we knew how to edit textures in PCSX2 was I took a decompressed NCAA PS2 uniform and split it into its various parts through a QuickBMS script, then through another program was able to view each part and made changes to it that way, by hex editing the part then opening it up in the viewer. Through trial and error hex editing I was able to somewhat edit the decompressed uniform. With the DAT editor program that was released a while back that decompresses NCAA PS2 uniforms, I think it also displays the decompressed uniform in its various parts. (Helmet, Jersey, Pants, Shoes, etc) I'm not sure if you can use that program to actually edit the NCAA PS2 uniforms externally. The need for that isn't what it once was since the NCAA NEXT team came along and showed how to edit and create uniforms through PCSX2 texture memory editor features.

I've been editing uniform textures through cheat engine for a lot longer than the NCAA NEXT team has been editing texture through the PCSX2 feature, but the way I did through cheat engine was much more limited than what can be done through PCSX2 texture editing. The NCAA NEXT has updated uniforms and made HD recreations of every team with current day uniforms that can be used in NCAA 06 through PCSX2 which is phenomenal. And not just uniforms, but they're also able to update field textures and stadium textures as well.

If you don't use PCSX2 through, or you just want to test some NCAA 07-11 uniforms in NCAA 06, you should be able to do that simply by swapping compressed uniform files and deleting the QKL files on the disc when rebuilding the disc. If you have any questions about any of this, or run into any issues while trying to do this, be sure to let us know.

[nobuko24]

Thank you for all of the replies and information shared earlier. I was able to try everything again this weekend and found that deleting the QKL files before rebuilding the disc has resolved any issues faced after replacing files. Being able to replace files in the UNIFORM.DAT and then adjusting the TUNI / UNIF tables has worked really well for getting uniforms swapped between games.

[minotauri]

Thank you for all of the replies and information shared earlier. I was able to try everything again this weekend and found that deleting the QKL files before rebuilding the disc has resolved any issues faced after replacing files. Being able to replace files in the UNIFORM.DAT and then adjusting the TUNI / UNIF tables has worked really well for getting uniforms swapped between games.

Glad that is working! An easier way to update uniforms is to just use emulation and replace the texture files that way. They are dumped as basic png files and easily swappable. That's what we do on the NEXT mod. But we also have internal tools to edit the uniform graphics in UNIFORM.DAT as well, but they just don't look as pretty as our 5K resolution emulator swaps.

[esayem]

Hi, I'm trying to import some uniforms from NCAA 09 into NCAA 06. The uniforms I wish to import are smaller sized files than the ones I am replacing, so the process h4wduk3n and StingRay68 discuessed earlier in this thread should work.

Using DFR even when I extract a copy of a compressed file from the UNIFORM.DAT (for example; File00050 - Comp. Size = 166406 - Decomp. Size = 375912) and then re-insert this file into the the same slot I am left with a smaller sized UNIFORM.DAT file, which causes errors when adding back into the iso (I am using apache for this).

I have used DFR before to replace music files in the game (in that case I had to resize the smaller asf files using a HEX editor before I imported them so that they matched the file size of the files being replaced). I was assuming this would be a similar process but even after reading through this thread I am still confused.

I seen posts mention uncompressing the uniform files but I am unsure if I need to do this or what programs to use. If anyone could provide advice on the programs to use and quick steps to follow for just replacing uniforms from NCAA 06 with smaller file sized unforms from NCAA 09 it would be really appreciated.

As minotauri pointed out, the main thing when rebuilding the disc is to delete the QKL files. The process h4wduk3n described earlier was before we learned that deleting the QKL files on the disc removes the UNIFORM.DAT per slot file size restrictions. If you delete the QKL files, you can freely swap any uniform file, compressed or uncompressed without a problem, at least as it relates to any uniform file from NCAA 07-11 PS2, they should work in NCAA 06. (Not sure if NCAA 2005's uniforms would be compatible in NCAA 06, I'm not sure anyone's tried that yet, but if I'm not mistaken, NCAA 2005's uniforms are in PLADATA.DAT which was before there was a UNIFORM.DAT which IIRC started in NCAA 06)

But you shouldn't have any problem importing NCAA 07-11 PS2 uniforms into NCAA 06's UNIFORM.DAT as long as you delete the QKL files when rebuilding the disc. The challenge though is to match up the uniform you are trying to swap in UNIFORM.DAT from game to game, as the uniform slots (which team/uniform each slot is) in UNIFORM.DAT does change from game to game. There's ways to figure it out but it's not exactly self explanatory.

I've never used apache, but it sounds like it works if you've been able to successfully replace music and rebuild the disc. As far as uncompressing the uniform files, there's several ways to do that if you intend on editing uniforms. There's a specific program for it, or you can use MUER to do it if you have Madden 08 PC. Once an NCAA PS2 uniform is uncompressed, you don't need to re-compress it, you can just import it back to the slot and rebuild the disc. If you're trying to edit a decompressed NCAA PS2 uniform externally that may be a bit of a challenge. I'm not sure there's a dedicated external editor to edit decompressed NCAA uniforms from the .DAT.

What I did a long time ago before we knew how to edit textures in PCSX2 was I took a decompressed NCAA PS2 uniform and split it into its various parts through a QuickBMS script, then through another program was able to view each part and made changes to it that way, by hex editing the part then opening it up in the viewer. Through trial and error hex editing I was able to somewhat edit the decompressed uniform. With the DAT editor program that was released a while back that decompresses NCAA PS2 uniforms, I think it also displays the decompressed uniform in its various parts. (Helmet, Jersey, Pants, Shoes, etc) I'm not sure if you can use that program to actually edit the NCAA PS2 uniforms externally. The need for that isn't what it once was since the NCAA NEXT team came along and showed how to edit and create uniforms through PCSX2 texture memory editor features.

I've been editing uniform textures through cheat engine for a lot longer than the NCAA NEXT team has been editing texture through the PCSX2 feature, but the way I did through cheat engine was much more limited than what can be done through PCSX2 texture editing. The NCAA NEXT has updated uniforms and made HD recreations of every team with current day uniforms that can be used in NCAA 06 through PCSX2 which is phenomenal. And not just uniforms, but they're also able to update field textures and stadium textures as well.

If you don't use PCSX2 through, or you just want to test some NCAA 07-11 uniforms in NCAA 06, you should be able to do that simply by swapping compressed uniform files and deleting the QKL files on the disc when rebuilding the disc. If you have any questions about any of this, or run into any issues while trying to do this, be sure to let us know.

2005 and 2004 have different uniform files than 06 and later so an easy swap in the emulator or I imagine DAT files won't work. For instance, in 2005 and I believe 2004, the pants are broken into two separate files. Then there is the jersey and the sleeve being separate. I am not positive, but I believe 2002 and 2003 are different from 04/05 and then of course 06-11.

Helmets are the same from 2005-2011 however. I am unsure about 02/03, but I doubt it.

[Harry97]

2005 and 2004 have different uniform files than 06 and later so an easy swap in the emulator or I imagine DAT files won't work. For instance, in 2005 and I believe 2004, the pants are broken into two separate files. Then there is the jersey and the sleeve being separate. I am not positive, but I believe 2002 and 2003 are different from 04/05 and then of course 06-11.

Helmets are the same from 2005-2011 however. I am unsure about 02/03, but I doubt it.

The problem with NCAA 2003 is that, if I'm not mistaken, the .DATs can't be read or have files extracted from them. 2003 is like a completely different format. Not sure about 2002. From what you're saying about the uniforms, the only uniforms that would be compatible would be NCAA 06 - 11. But the NCAA 2005 helmets are in the same format as NCAA 06-11, that's interesting. I may be interested in using some of the helmets from NCAA 2005 in place of some of the ones from NCAA 06. In my experience, many of the uniforms in NCAA 06 are preferable to the ones in 07-11, but some of the helmets are actually better in NCAA 07-11. San Diego State's helmet for example, their helmet from NCAA 08 is much better than the one from NCAA 06.

[esayem]

2005 and 2004 have different uniform files than 06 and later so an easy swap in the emulator or I imagine DAT files won't work. For instance, in 2005 and I believe 2004, the pants are broken into two separate files. Then there is the jersey and the sleeve being separate. I am not positive, but I believe 2002 and 2003 are different from 04/05 and then of course 06-11.

Helmets are the same from 2005-2011 however. I am unsure about 02/03, but I doubt it.

The problem with NCAA 2003 is that, if I'm not mistaken, the .DATs can't be read or have files extracted from them. 2003 is like a completely different format. Not sure about 2002. From what you're saying about the uniforms, the only uniforms that would be compatible would be NCAA 06 - 11. But the NCAA 2005 helmets are in the same format as NCAA 06-11, that's interesting. I may be interested in using some of the helmets from NCAA 2005 in place of some of the ones from NCAA 06. In my experience, many of the uniforms in NCAA 06 are preferable to the ones in 07-11, but some of the helmets are actually better in NCAA 07-11. San Diego State's helmet for example, their helmet from NCAA 08 is much better than the one from NCAA 06.

I found something very interesting today. This is with texture replacements, mind you.

The uniforms from 2002 and 2003 can be used on 2004 and 2005. The player models on 2002-2004 are different from 2005, but the uniforms work, as they are the same format.

I did notice the jerseys are a little different in design: 2002-2004 the jerseys are mesh all the way around the torso. In 2005, they have a solid material on the side of the torso. Not a big deal, but I noticed it.

When you get into the later games, the designers started to put the conference and manufacturer logos on the jersey file. The older games have actual graphics that can be removed or replaced, which is awesome for changing conferences. This leads to the graphic problems in later games with logos on top of logos; they never removed the graphics from the previous version.

[Harry97]

I found something very interesting today. This is with texture replacements, mind you.

The uniforms from 2002 and 2003 can be used on 2004 and 2005. The player models on 2002-2004 are different from 2005, but the uniforms work, as they are the same format.

I did notice the jerseys are a little different in design: 2002-2004 the jerseys are mesh all the way around the torso. In 2005, they have a solid material on the side of the torso. Not a big deal, but I noticed it.

That's good to know. So you're saying, you use the older PCSX2 build that the NCAA 06 NEXT team uses before PCSX2 texture replacement stopped working, you load up NCAA 2002 or NCAA 2003, you dump specific team's uniforms, then load up NCAA 06 and import those NCAA 2002/2003 uniforms through PCSX2 texture replacement. That's very interesting if you are able to do that and get those old uniforms to load in NCAA 06 that way. Still, I'm not sure that we have any way to actually extract the NCAA 2003 uniforms through the .DAT as NCAA 2003 .DAT files, to attempt to put them into the NCAA 06 UNIFORM.DAT. since, in NCAA 2003, extracting anything from the .DAT, or even the roster if I'm not mistaken, doesn't seem possible due to the format of NCAA 2003 being incompatible with any of the tools that we use to extract files from NCAA 04-11.

When you get into the later games, the designers started to put the conference and manufacturer logos on the jersey file. The older games have actual graphics that can be removed or replaced, which is awesome for changing conferences. This leads to the graphic problems in later games with logos on top of logos; they never removed the graphics from the previous version.

That would perhaps explain why that, for some teams, like Michigan State for example, if you put their NCAA 08 uniform file into the NCAA 06 UNIFORM.DAT and run it on NCAA 06, their uniform logo does not appear properly, instead all you see is like a black glitched texture where the conference logo should be on the uniform.

[esayem]

I found something very interesting today. This is with texture replacements, mind you.

The uniforms from 2002 and 2003 can be used on 2004 and 2005. The player models on 2002-2004 are different from 2005, but the uniforms work, as they are the same format.

I did notice the jerseys are a little different in design: 2002-2004 the jerseys are mesh all the way around the torso. In 2005, they have a solid material on the side of the torso. Not a big deal, but I noticed it.

That's good to know. So you're saying, you use the older PCSX2 build that the NCAA 06 NEXT team uses before PCSX2 texture replacement stopped working, you load up NCAA 2002 or NCAA 2003, you dump specific team's uniforms, then load up NCAA 06 and import those NCAA 2002/2003 uniforms through PCSX2 texture replacement. That's very interesting if you are able to do that and get those old uniforms to load in NCAA 06 that way. Still, I'm not sure that we have any way to actually extract the NCAA 2003 uniforms through the .DAT as NCAA 2003 .DAT files, to attempt to put them into the NCAA 06 UNIFORM.DAT. since, in NCAA 2003, extracting anything from the .DAT, or even the roster if I'm not mistaken, doesn't seem possible due to the format of NCAA 2003 being incompatible with any of the tools that we use to extract files from NCAA 04-11.

When you get into the later games, the designers started to put the conference and manufacturer logos on the jersey file. The older games have actual graphics that can be removed or replaced, which is awesome for changing conferences. This leads to the graphic problems in later games with logos on top of logos; they never removed the graphics from the previous version.

That would perhaps explain why that, for some teams, like Michigan State for example, if you put their NCAA 08 uniform file into the NCAA 06 UNIFORM.DAT and run it on NCAA 06, their uniform logo does not appear properly, instead all you see is like a black glitched texture where the conference logo should be on the uniform.

So you're saying, you use the older PCSX2 build that the NCAA 06 NEXT team uses before PCSX2 texture replacement stopped working, you load up NCAA 2002 or NCAA 2003, you dump specific team's uniforms, then load up NCAA 06 and import those NCAA 2002/2003 uniforms through PCSX2 texture replacement.

Yes, but 2005, not 06. I don't think 2002-2005 would work for 06. At least the jerseys and pants won't. I've also had trouble with facemasks.

As far as the textures in later games, yeah I have noticed conference logos or Nike logos on the actual jersey files. In the older game they are a standalone graphic. Sometimes even a team's word mark is a standalone graphic.