FXUplift

A Halo 2 to Halo 3 Effect Converter

Requirements

• Requires .NET 4.8 Runtime

Translates:

• Markers
• Events
• Parts
• Particle systems
• Particle physics
• Particle tags
• Function data
• Function curves (function graphs)
• ALL data relevant to the above tag blocks

Usage

1. The executable can be placed anywhere, provided you copy ManagedBlam.dll from H3EK\bin and place it alongside FXUplift.exe. Or put FXUplift.exe directly in H3EK\bin.
2. Run FXUplift.exe. Follow the instructions to select single-tag or bulk-tag modes.
3. Input the requested file/folder paths. E.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\H2EK\tags\effects\scenery\smoke\smoke_thick_large.effect for an effect tag, or C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\H3EK for your H3EK path.
4. The program will now convert the tag data automatically. The output tag(s) can be found in H3EK\tags\halo_2 plus the original H2 tag path, e.g. H3EK\tags\halo_2\effects\scenery\smoke\smoke_thick_large.effect.

Notes

• Bulk mode will convert ALL Halo 2 effect tags found in the H2 tags directory. This may take around 30 minutes to complete.
• Converted effects should require little to no manual adjustment.
• Make sure the exe is placed alongside ManagedBlam.dll, or the program will crash.
• Particle bitmaps are NOT ported. The tag paths are updated to add halo_2 to the start of the tags-relative path. I would recommend obtaining the source-quality bitmaps here

Legal Disclaimer

This project references functionality provided by ManagedBlam.dll, a component of the official Halo 3 Editing Kit (H3EK). ManagedBlam.dll is not included in this repository. It is proprietary software owned by Microsoft / 343 Industries / Halo Studios / Bungie and is provided only as part of the officially released Halo 3 modding tools.

To build or run this tool, users must obtain ManagedBlam.dll through legitimate access to the Halo 3 Editing Kit. No copyrighted or proprietary assets from the H3EK are distributed with this codebase, and this project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft, 343 Industries, or Bungie.

All Halo-related trademarks, assets, and toolsets are the property of their respective owners.

Credits

• PepperMan - code
• Microsoft/343 Industries/Halo Studios/Bungie - ManagedBlam.dll assembly
• Alexis Jonsson | WyvernZu - icon art