Recolours and Refits

How do I change this item?

Summary

Created & Published: August 20 2023 by @manavortex Last documented update: Oct 17 2024 by @manavortex

This will guide you to the process of making your own custom edit of my Netrunner Suits mod. It has several sections, which you can find linked below (but please check the wiki's navigation tree anyway).

Wait, that's not what I want!

• For a comprehensive (standalone) guide for refitting for the flat chest body, see Refitting for flat chest

• If you just want to change the colour of an emissive (glowing) item, check R&R: Emissive

Assumed level of skill:

You know how to read — if you can read and struggle with this guide, then it's not yet good enough. Please reach out to manavortex on the Redmodding Discord so that I can improve it.

The steps in this guide teach you how to recolour or refit almost every item in Cyberpunk. Keep reading!

Time to complete:

• Setup:

  • If Wolvenkit is already set up: ~ 5 - 30 minutes for MLSB

  • Full setup: 30 minutes to ~2 hours (most of which you can spend afk)

• Recolouring: 5 minutes once you know how it works, < 1h to get there

• Refits:

  • Import Export: 5 minutes once you know how it works, < 1h to get there

  • Actual refitting: as long as you fucking want >.<

If you are editing modded items, you should seek permission first. For your personal use, you can (legally) do what you want, but making mods takes time and effort.

Please respect mod creators' wishes in that regard.

You can check find the standard permissions on a mod's Nexus page, Description tab, under the Permissions and Credit header right next to the requirements.

Tools and versions used

Wolvenkit (short: WKit)	the latest stable (stable | nightly)	The Cyberpunk modding tool — this lets you browse files and pack your custom mod.
For recolours: MLSetupBuilder (short: MLSB)	the most recent, but at least 1.6.8 (see the wiki for help)	A plugin for Wolvenkit, installed from inside Wolvenkit. You need this to make recolours.
For refits: Blender	>= 4.1	You only need this if you want to do refits. A fully-blown 3d editing software (free and open source).
For refits: Cyberpunk Blender IO suite	>= 1.5.5.2	You only need this if you want to do refits. The Blender plugin for integration with Wolvenkit

Skipping and skimming

TL;DR

Do not skip or skim anything. Also, if you find a TL;DR block, this sums up all sections until the next header (in this case, until Overview).

Don't skim - think of the kitten!

I'm writing these guides with the minimal amount of fluff and no background information — that will be linked, but not included, which is the opposite approach from the rest of the internet and the Lord of the Rings.

The sections are annotated with a rough estimate of how long a total newbie would need. They're guesses, so if you're slightly off, don't worry. If you're wildly off, you might want to get in touch.

If you skip or skim in these guides, you will get in trouble. Unless a section's first paragraph offers you to read on somewhere else, do not skip. Don't skim and do ok it was something like this. You're supposed to stick to the road, where you won't run into monsters, and the guide will not tell you what to do if you encounter any.

The bright side of this approach is that you don't need to understand what you're doing as long as you do what the guide says.

Links

You will find two kinds of links. It's usually clearly annotated which is which.

The first will help you do something, leading to other guides on this wiki. They usually link the specific section that you need to complete. Please be thorough here as well, as the rules above apply.

The second contains background information and references (like "here's how this can look"). They are optional, you can browse or ignore them, and skim all you want.

Overview

To do this, you must have MLSetupBuilder running at least minimally. If you don't, then please complete the section "Step 0: Setup" below.

This guide will walk you through the following steps

1. Doing the necessary setup

   • If you already have MLSB working, please read Netrunner Suit Preview!

2. Creating a Wolvenkit project with the right files

3. Editing a colour variant of your choice in MLSB

4. Refitting the Netrunner suit to a different body

Step 4 will require you to use Blender. Don't worry, there are screenshots and instructions for everything!

R&R Step 0: Setup

This section will link you to guides for installing Wolvenkit and MLSetupBuilder, which allows you to use the cool preview of which parts of an item you're colouring.

You will also be told how to download and extract the files for the Netrunner Suit Preview.

If you have done both, you can skip it and proceed with creating a Wolvenkit project.

1. Download and install Wolvenkit: You need Wolvenkit on your computer, and you need to be able to start it. Follow the steps in the linked guide until you can open the program.
2. Follow the steps under Configure Wolvenkit until you reach Configure MLSetupBuilder.
3. Make a decision if you want to use these features independently of the Netrunner suit:

   
4. Yes: you need to configure MLSetupBuilder. Follow the steps on the linked list until you have a full depot, then proceed with Netrunner Suit Preview

   • If you can't set up a depot in MLSB (because computer go brr), you might want to hit up the Redmodding Discord to find help with your problem, or file an issue on github (Wolvenkit | MLSB). You can still use the Netrunner Suit Preview.

5. No: You have to options now. Please pick one.

   • Partial preview: I've prepared a bunch of files for you. Netrunner Suit Preview will show you where to put them.

   • No preview at all: This will make it harder because you're recolouring blind, but if you're cool with that, you can proceed with R&R: Your own Wolvenkit project.

Netrunner Suit Preview

In this step, we'll enable custom previews by downloading the files I've prepared and extracting them into MLSB's depot. It should take you no more than five minutes.

The Netrunner suit uses custom multilayer masks. To get an accurate preview in MLSetupBuilder, you need to complete this section.

You can make recolours blindly by just tweaking the colour values. If that's okay for you, skip ahead toInstall the mod.

MLSB's Uncook Folder

This is where MLSB (and Wolvenkit) store the files they extracted.

1. Go to this Nexus page. You can find two files here, one with the modded multilayer masks, one with the original ones

2. Download the archive with the modded mlsetup

3. Extract the entire archive into MLSB's uncook folder, or drag and drop the base folder from inside the archive there. You can find the path in MLSB's settings:

Find the uncook folder under MLSB's File -> Preferences

1. Open the Model Library and search for t0_005_pwa_body__t_bug.

Interface version MLSB 1.6.7 - 1.6.8 will look different. Select t0_005_pwa_body__t_bug.

1. Click on the entry. If a 3d model shows up, you're done here and can go on.

2. If no model shows up, select View -> Logs from the taskbar. It will complain about files being in the wrong spot. You need to make sure that the files you downloaded in Step 1 end up in exactly these folders and none other. If the file paths are ending in .dds, open MLSB's preferences and configure it to use pngs instead.

Install the mod

The tutorial assumes that the mod is installed manually rather than via Vortex. If you have already done that, no sweat — it means that a few files might be in different places. There will be extra instructions for you.

If you don't want to keep it simple, just deactivate the mod in Vortex and follow the steps below.

TL;DR

Extract the downloaded archive directly into your and go to the next section.

Detailed instructions

1. Download the mod from Nexus

2. Open the downloaded .zip file. You will see something like this:

This shows the 7zip interface. If you're using a different program, this won't look the same, but the general steps are the same.

1. These files need to go directly into your Cyberpunk 2077 game directory, where they will merge with the existing folders. (Check the link if you're not sure how to find it)

2. Extract or copy them to that folder. If you're asked to overwrite existing files, click Yes.

Step-By-Step: Extract with 7zip

1. In the 7zip window, select either everything or nothing

2. Click the Extract button in the taskbar (it looks like a blue minus)

3. Find the Copy To field and do either of these things:

   1. Paste the path to your into the field

   2. Click the … button next to the field, navigate to your and click OK

4. Click OK

5. If you get a Confirm File Replace popup, click Yes to All.

1. Optional, but recommended: Launch the game and make sure that the mod works:

   • Equip a suit in the Atelier Store's preview OR

   • Spawn one via Cyber Engine Tweaks and equip it (e.g. Game.AddToInventory("Items.mana_netrunner_suit_nylon_black_gold"))

OK, what now?

Now that you're all set up, we'll create a Wolvenkit project.

Source: Steve Gorton and Tim Ridley, Alexander Hafemann/Getty Images