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MLSETUP Builder

The tool of your choice for editing multilayered materials

Introduction: What is MLSB?

MLSetupBuilder (commonly referred to as "MLSB") is a Cyberpunk 2077 modding tool to comfortably edit MLSetup files, developed and maintained by Neurolinked.
There is a dedicated channel on the Redmodding Discord and a thread on the Cyberpunk 2077 Modding Discord Server, where you can find a chat history full of undocumented features as well as previews from the most recent development versions.

Installation

For integration with Wolvenkit, install MLSB as a plugin:
  1. 1.
    Click on "Home" in Wolvenkit's title bar
  2. 2.
    Select "Plugins" in the left sidebar
  3. 3.
    If MLSB is installed, you'll see an "Update" button, otherwise, it will say "Install". Do that.
We will now launch MLSB and do the initial setup.
  1. 1.
    In Wolvenkit's Plugin view, click "Open", this will open a Windows Explorer with the install folder (Cyberpunk 2077\tools\neurolinked\mlsetupbuilder)
  2. 2.
    Navigate to the folder with the higest version (at the time of this guide, that is MlsetupBuilder-1.6.7)
  3. 3.
    Start MlsetupBuilder.exe
  4. 4.
    Optional: You can pin that file to your start menu or create a shortcut if you want to launch MLSB directly.

Usage

To make the most of MLSB's features, you will want to configure it first. However, you can start using the tool right away.
Here's how (or scroll down for the screenshot):
  1. 1.
    In the project explorer under Wolvenkit's archive folder, right-click on am mlsetup file This folder will only be visible in the "source" or "archive" tab of your project explorer
  2. 2.
    Select "Convert to JSON"
  3. 3.
    This will generate an mlsetup.json file in your project's raw folder. This folder will only be visible in the "source" or "raw" tab of your project explorer
  4. 4.
    Right-click on the newly created mlsetup.json file
  5. 5.
    Select "Open in MLSetupBuilder"

Using MLSB

As of Version 1.6.7, this is what you will see now:
Start by importing the file from the preview. That will populate the Layer Config box with the MLSetup that you just loaded.
The preview was hiding an empty 3d viewport. To use that, you will need to configure MLSB first, but you can already click through the individual layers and assign material properties (such as roughness, normal strength, base material and colour) from the "Material Properties" panel.
Don't forget to hit "Apply" after you have changed a material.
Once you're done:
  • select File -> Export
  • overwrite the original mlsetup.json
  • switch back to Wolvenkit
  • in the "raw" folder, right-click on your file
  • select "Import/Convert from JSON"
Congratulations — you now have an .mlsetup! If you pack your mod and launch the game, you should now see your changes.

About That 3d Viewport

This is where you can load models from the game for a direct preview which layer will affect which parts: simply click on the "Library" button.

MLSB Library

Here, you can either browse to your model directly, or use text search:
After selecting a model, you can close the library browser again. Now selecting a layer will show you directly which parts of the mesh it corresponds to.
That's it! Happy recoloring!

Configuration

Connecting to Wolvenkit

We're assuming that you have already configured Wolvenkit. If you haven't, please do so now.
  1. 1.
    In Wolvenkit, extract a partial depot (Generate Materials). Note that this window shows you the Depot Path for Step 5.
  2. 2.
    While it is doing that (it may take a few minutes), download WolvenKit Console and extract it to a folder of your choice.
  3. 3.
    Now, switch to MLSetupBuilder.
  4. 4.
    Select "File -> Preferences"
  5. 5.
    Apply the following settings:
Game archives folder
C:\Your\Path\To\Cyberpunk 2077\archive\pc\content
uncook folder
You can find this folder in your WolvenKit's settings as "Depot Path" (you've seen it in the window from Step 1)
Wolvenkit Depot Path
You can find this folder in your WolvenKit's settings as "Depot Path" (you've seen it in the window from Step 1)
Wolvenkit-CLI.exe
The executable of Wolvenkit Console from Step 2
  1. 6.
    Press Ctrl+R to reload MLSB and make sure that the settings are applied.

Building the depot

Again, this step is optional, you can use MLSB straight away.
  1. 1.
    Open the menu "Build" and select "Repository" to uncook the archives:
  1. 2.
    Select the following settings (if you want to uncook everything, this step can take several hours, so we'll only do the essentials for now)
  1. 3.
    Click "Uncook".
  2. 4.
    Wait. Do not interact with the program in any way until the process has finished - especially interacting with the console might just freeze up the entire windows cmd process. This is not MLSB's fault, but due to a Windows standard implementation.
This process can take some time — if you have selected everything, it can be several hours on slow machines. (You should've listened during step 1, choomba ;))
  1. 5.
    When the process is complete, close the Depot Generator window.
  2. 6.
    Optional: if you can't see any changes, press Ctrl+R to relaod MLSB.

Building the Microblend Depot

  1. 1.
    Repeat Step 1 from extract-a-partial-depot, but select Microblends this time
  2. 2.
    In the bottom left corner, hit "Start"
  3. 3.
    Wait.
  4. 4.
    When the process is complete, close the Depot Generator window.
  5. 5.
    Optional: if you can't see any changes, press Ctrl+R to relaod MLSB.
That's it, you're done now and can use the 3d viewport!

Troubleshooting

Help, my Layer Config List says object Object

You need to install the most recent version. If that doesn't make the error go away and your most recent version is something with 1.6.7, update the interface.js — download it here from Neurolinked's github repository, then replace the file with the same name in MLSB's install directory, subfolder resources\app\js.
If you have installed it as a Wolvenkit plugin, that directory will be Cyberpunk 2077\tools\neurolinked\mlsetupbuilder.

There's an exception when generating my depot!

Does the progress bar still move? If yes, then you're good - ignore this.
If not, you haven't left your fingers off MLSB and need to start over. Click "Uncook", then go afk until it's done.
If that doesn't help either, it's worth trying Wolvenkit Console's latest Nightly.

Video Guides

Credits to EzioMavericks for the video