Well hello there! You must be interested in making/adding mods into this fine little beat-em-up game now don't you? Well, rest assured, I am here to help.

Before we begin, it is important that I do this in case somebody screws up.


With that out of the way, let's begin!

I recommend that you get your hands on some archiving software in order to get access to the files. You can use whatever you want, like Winrar, and some installations of Windows come with archiving software base, but I like to use this one right here....

https://www.7-zip.org/

Due to the new way you install mods, it is no longer necessary for you to unpack and repack assets like you might have before. Instead, all that's needed now is a "mods" folder in the root directory for Fight N Rage. Where is that? Simple!

Find Fight N Rage on your steam library page. Right click it, and select "Properties." Then select "Local Files." Then select "Browse Local Files"

Reference the images below for visual help.









And congratulations! We're here! All you need to do now is right click somewhere in the empty space in the window, select "Create New" and then "Folder."

Name this folder "mod" without the quotation marks.

Now that you have created your mods folder, it is time to create the next folders for the game assets that you wish to mod over. This is where things can kind of get tricky, because there's a lot you can put here.

For most people, all you'll want to do is create a new folder named "characters" without the quotes. However, in the mods folder, you can also create folders named "sounds," "bg," and so on (documentation still needs to be done on this it'll take a while), each folder being the place where you will put the appropriate mods for.

But like I said, for most, you'll really only want to put in "characters" so go ahead and make a new folder in the mod folder and name it "characters" without the quotes.

Unfortunately, dear reader, you're not getting away from having to unpack the game assets. The difference is that all you need to now is ONLY unpack assets, and not pack them back in.

SO, without further ado, let us begin the "hard part."

In order to mod in the sprites that you wish to use in Fight N Rage, you need the appropriate .xml file. The .xml file is used by the game to make sense out of the sprite sheet, where things are placed, and what not. Where are the .xml files? Not too far away from the original source sprites. You will need to go back to the root folder for Fight N Rage and then to "data," where you will likely see something like this...



Below is a list of all the main playable character .dat files so you can find them fast without having to extract everything. Each are organized to include where you will find the image file and the corresponding .xml. You must extract the files from the .dat files by using archive software, like 7zip or Winrar. I suggest 7zip, because it's quick and easy. You do this by right clicking on a .dat file, and then opening it with your archive software, such as "open with 7zip." A new window will open up, and simply drag and drop the file inside the archive onto your desktop, or another open window (preferably an empty folder).


Gal: Codename "girl"
Costume 1: 154.dat (image) 155.dat (xml)
Costume 10: 156.dat (image) 157.dat (xml)
Costume 11: 158.dat (image) 159.dat (xml)
Costume 12: 160.dat (image) 161.dat (xml)
Costume 13: 162.dat (image) 163.dat (xml)
Costume 14: 164.dat (image) 165.dat (xml)
Costume 15: 166.dat (image) 167.dat (xml)
Costume 16: 168.dat (image) 169.dat (xml)
Costume 17: 170.dat (image) 171.dat (xml)
Costume 18: 172.dat (image) 173.dat (xml)
Costume 19: 174.dat (image) 175.dat (xml)
Costume 2: 176.dat (image) 177.dat (xml)
Costume 3: 178.dat (image) 179.dat (xml)
Costume 4: 180.dat (image) 181.dat (xml)
Costume 5: 182.dat (image) 183.dat (xml)
Costume 6: 184.dat (image) 185.dat (xml)
Costume 7: 186.dat (image) 187.dat (xml)
Costume 8: 188.dat (image) 189.dat (xml)
Costume 9: 190.dat (image) 191.dat (xml)


F.Norris: Code name "master"
Cosutme 1: 224.dat (image) 225.dat (xml)
Costume 10: 226.dat (image) 227.dat (xml)
Costume 11: 228.dat (image) 229.dat (xml)
Costume 12: 230.dat (image) 231.dat (xml)
Costume 13: 232.dat (image) 233.dat (xml)
Costume 14: 234.dat (image) 235.dat (xml)
Costume 15: 236.dat (image) 237.dat (xml)
Costume 16: 238.dat (image) 239.dat (xml)
Costume 17: 240.dat (image) 241.dat (xml)
Costume 18: 242.dat (image) 243.dat (xml)
Costume 2: 244.dat (image) 245.dat (xml)
Costume 3: 246.dat (image) 247.dat (xml)
Costume 4: 248.dat (image) 249.dat (xml)
Costume 5: 250.dat (image) 251.dat (xml)
Costume 6: 252.dat (image) 253.dat (xml)
Costume 7: 254.dat (image) 255.dat (xml)
Costume 8: 256.dat (image) 257.dat (xml)
Costume 9: 258.dat (image) 259.dat (xml)

Ricardo: Code name "minotaur"
Costume 1: 260.dat (image) 261.dat (xml)
Costume 10: 262.dat (image) 263.dat (xml)
Costume 11: 264.dat (image) 265.dat (xml)
Costume 12: 266.dat (image) 267.dat (xml)
Costume 13: 268.dat (image) 269.dat (xml)
Costume 14: 270.dat (image) 271.dat (xml)
Costume 15: 272.dat (image) 273.dat (xml)
Costume 16: 274.dat (image) 275.dat (xml)
Costume 17: 276.dat (image) 277.dat (xml)
Costume 18: 278.dat (image) 279.dat (xml)
Costume 2: 280.dat (image) 281.dat (xml)
Costume 3: 282.dat (image) 283.dat (xml)
Costume 4: 284.dat (image) 285.dat (xml)
Costume 5: 286.dat (image) 287.dat (xml)
Costume 6: 288.dat (image) 289.dat (xml)
Costume 7: 290.dat (image) 291.dat (xml)
Costume 8: 292.dat (image) 293.dat (xml)
Costume 9: 294.dat (image) 295.dat (xml)

Now that you have the assets out, you need to rename them appropriately. Let's use Gal's first costume, as a base line first and then you can do the rest on your own.

Gal's first costume is found in 154.dat, which you should have extracted to your desktop (or some other folder). You should now have a file named "154" that is blank, that isn't an image, or a text file. Rename this file, "154" to "girl.png"

Now the file is an actual viewable image, and depending on your OS's setup, you should see Gal's sprite sheet. You can then copy and paste this file into the "characters" folder you just made not too long ago.

But we're not done here. Just having the image file alone isn't enough. You need the XML.

Gal's xml for her first costume is located in 155.dat, which you should have extracted somewhere onto your computer. This file is floating right now as just "155" so rename it to "girl.xml"

You can now take this file, "girl.xml" and copy paste it into the "characters" folder.

This is basically all you need to do now for your mods to work. I know I just had you put Gal's normal costume in the mod folder, but it makes for a great example because this new system is fairly simple.

For this next example, we will do things a little differently. Go ahead and look for my "Shotgun Gal" custom skin, and download it (you can find it here in this guide, along with many other skins I have made. You don't have to use "Shotgun Gal," as you can really use any skin.)
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2730545302

Let's say we want to put this skin over Gal's costume 11. SO, this is what we need to do...

1.) Find Costume 11's .xml file (the file named 159), and rename it to "girl_c11.xml"
2.) Rename the skin you just downloaded, "Shotgun Gal," to "girl_c11.png"
3.) Copy paste both of these files into the "characters" folder

Ta-Da! The next time you boot up Fight N Rage, Gal's costume 11 should look very different than normal.

If it doesn't work, then nothing will happen. The game will boot up normally. You need to go back and repeat the steps again.

You must repeat this process for any and all characters you wish to mod over.

Gal's code name is "girl"

For example: "girl_c2.png" and "girl_c2.xml"

F.Norris' code name is "master"

For example: "master_c5.png" and "master_c5.xml"

Ricardo's code name is "minotaur"

For example: "minotaur_c12.png" and "minotaur_c12.xml"

Note: Every character's first costume is just their code name.

For Gal, that would be "girl.png" and "girl.xml"
For F. Norris, that would be "master.png" and "master.xml"
For Ricardo, that would be "minotaur.png" and "minotaur.xml"

Only the first costumes use this pattern. The rest use the "character_c#" format.

You can't just put any skin over any costume number.

Trying to put a skin of Gal that has cat ears over a skin where Gal has the bow in her hair will have negative results. You must put a "cat ear" Gal skin over another "cat ear" Gal costume. You must put a "bow" Gal skin over a "bow" Gal costume, and a "bowless" Gal skin over a "bowless" Gal costume.

The same is true for F. Norris and Ricardo. You must put a "hooded" F. Norris skin over a "hooded" F. Norris costume, and you must put a "no hat" Ricardo skin over a "no hat" Ricardo costume.

This is fairly straight forward.

AND THAT'S ABOUT IT!

The new method of installing mods makes it easier in the future for users to mod the game, it just takes time to set everything up for that to happen. Now that you have the game setup for easy modding, life should be easy.

I will likely fiddle with backgrounds, sounds and music at a later date, but I imagine it is a similar structure.

Anywho, this guide is finished. Have fun modding!