Mario Making Mods

  • Normal user
Since: 05-08-18
From: Planet Earth
This is a tutorial on how to make custom Normal Maps for Super Mario Maker.

A little background here, this was actually possible a *LONG* time ago, but I was kind of stupid back then and allowed one little mistake to stop the whole test before I tried it out in-game. So here you go!

Requirements:
1. Paint.net
2. Original SZS w/ BFRES Already exported
3. Abood's BFRES Tool v4.1
4. The Normal Map that you want to replace the original with.

So you're gonna want to make a new folder, name it whatever you want and place everything in the "Requirements" Section into that folder. (Not Paint.net, that should not be in the new folder) Open BFRES Tool v4.1 and click "File" then "Open". Navigate to find your BFRES and double click it. you should automatically see a couple or a ton of DDS Files in the folder of the original BFRES.

Find the DDS with the words "Nrm" in the name. Rename the file at the end from .DDS to .DDS2. Windows will probably ask you if you *really* want to change the name because then it might become unusable but just click "Yes". Once you do, open the DDS2 with Paint.net and just paste your custom Normal Map in there. Note that the normal map will have to have the Blue Channel already removed. Here is a Tool to help you remove channels if you dont know how to do so: https://www.vg-resource.com/thread-26680.html.

So your Normal Map should probably look like this:



Once you've done that, press "File" then "Save as". Change the format from DDS to DDS2 and replace the original one that BFRES Tool v4.1 had exported for you. In the Settings bar, for the formats, change the Format from whatever it was to "BC5 (Linear, DX 10+). In In the Error Metric bar, press "Perceptual". Then click "OK" on the Bottom-Right Hand Corner of the page.

Exit out of Paint.net and rename the DDS2 ,that Paint.net has exported, back to DDS.
Open BFRES Tool v4.1 and re-open the orignal BFRES again. Scroll down to find the name of the DDS that you edited. Click it, navigate to the one that you edited and double click it. A little window should pop up saying "Done!" that means that you've sucessfully imported a custom Normal Map into the BFRES.

NOTE: If you open up the BFRES with Wexos Toolbox and you see that your Normal Map is transparent, that does not mean that it didnt work. It did, trust me, this was the mistake that I did a while ago.

Now Compress your BFRES with Yaz0 and import to SMM. Boot SMM using CemU or SDCaffeine to boot it on your Wii U.

If you have any questions or troubleshooting isssues, then post then im in the
Posted on 08-19-18, 12:13 am