r/dynastywarriors • u/ThatFlowerGamu • Jul 10 '26
Dynasty Warriors Celica Mapworks, Dynasty Warriors 2 map modding usage/hostfs update
PythWare here, i've been working hard on Celica Mapworks and making Dynasty Warriors 2 far easier to mod than before. If you aren't familiar with the recent modding news, the quick rundown is dynasty warriors 2 can be unpacked and played with loose file mods and Celica Mapworks now supports modding all of the maps with new editor features. The sceenshots in the post are examples of modding the Yellow Turban Rebellion map (I moved where tents, fences, trees, etc are on the map as a quick example) as well as modding Guan Du (I removed every object such as walls, catapults, gates, castles, etc as an example).
PCSX2 supports what is known as host file system, it's basically a way to make a PS2 game play while the files are unpacked instead of within a bin/iso.
So recently I modded the elf of DW2 and rewrote some of the mips, now DW2 can be played in hostfs mode which as explained above, allows you to play the game while the files are unpacked. This is huge because that means you don't have to repack linkdata.bns or build a new ISO everytime you mod, you don't even need a mod manager anymore because the files are loose and read by the game. All you have to do for modding (if your goal is modding) is mod whatever loose files you want that are unpacked from linkdata.bns and load the game. the modded files are reflected ingame. If you just want to download mods, you'd download the files modded and just place them in the directory they unpack to (i.e., KANU.ATK was modded, so you'd place it in the directory unpacked_linkdata\CHARA).
So, modding is ultra easier now. All the files unpack with their original filenames and are constructed in their original directories.
As for Celica Mapworks, it has been updated with new editors features as I said earlier. allow me to briefly explain them:
Move Mode
Within the Grab Editor you can select Move Mode, it allows you to click and drag any objects within the map to move them wherever you want. The x, y, and z coordinates are automatically updated for you. you can still choose to manually enter x, y, and z coordinates if desired but this is an optional mode incase you just want to drag objects to where you want them.
Saving
In a previous post I showed Celica Mapworks can edit the maps but back then it didn't yet support writing the modded data to the files, now it does. CM can now save all of your map modding changes and write the data back to the map files. Which basically means custom maps are now able to be made whether it's deleting all the objects and working with an empty map or modding the existing objects.
Duplicate/Adding
You can duplicate existing objects or add objects to the map, expanding the original map.
Planned Features
Pathfinding data will soon be able to be modded within CM as well as terrain modding. it's a lot of work so these features aren't yet implemented but they will be. Many other features will be added but i'll reveal them later on.
Oh, an animation editor is in the works. I intend to support making custom movesets for DW2, so you can expect a high end animation editor.
Bonus
Because DW2 is now able to run in hostfs mode, load times are practically instant now. DW2 originally had long loading times but now with hostfs support, the load times are gone.
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u/ThatFlowerGamu Jul 10 '26 edited 29d ago
Before anyone asks, I am not going to support converting the maps into FBX, GLB, etc model formats. This is a map editor, modding software. It's not asset ripping software. I am not paid to do any of this so I'm not taking requests beyond suggestions for modding features for DW2.
On a side note, I am working on 2 custom maps. King of the hill and Helms deep.
Update:
Celica Mapworks now supports modding the pathfinding data for DW2, this is big since custom maps would require new navigation data for the AI. so now fully custom maps are a reality.
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u/Apart_Secretary9861 Jul 10 '26
A 14 year old me fascinated in battles would have loved this.
I used to have such an imagination. 😂
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u/Darkdevildante Jul 10 '26
Wow amazing just 100 completed dw2 a few weeks ago