My CAW "Bag of Tricks"

[xirtamehtsitahw]

Here is a list of tricks I've used to help create more advanced CAWs than the game would normally allow.

 

Perhaps the simplest one (and the one most people probably already know) is to remove the underwear/bra layer(s). This will open up one or two more layers.

 

A more advanced trick is to hijack the eyebrow, eyelash, lip and teeth layers by substituting them with other NON-LOGO layers (putting logos here WILL cause your CAW to crash).

 

This layer-hijack trick also lets you have a Horns and an Other layer on the same CAW (normally you can't do this). One caveat, however: the Horns and Other layer will necessarily share the same color scheme. You can also double up on boots, gloves, and other items you normally can only have one of.

 

Another trick I learned is to hack logo sizes to larger than normal. Of course, this was through the help of Code-X's "The Immortal" (actual name composed of various difficult-to-type symbols), as he was the one who first posted the layer-size addresses. A word of advice: in most cases, don't hack logos to have a horizontal and/or vertical value of greater than 10 (hexadecimal 0x0A), as this will distort the logo to look like a chunk was taken out of the bottom (possibly due to a wraparound effect).

 

Finally, the most recent trick I learned was how to make certain items "disappear" without entirely deleting them from a CAW's layer list. There is a transparency byte just after the two (possibly three) color bytes which is usually not accessible through the in-game color editing menus.

 

This transparency byte is almost always set to 0xFF and is found on nearly every layer, including those for the eyebrows, eyelashes, lips and teeth (you can make the teeth invisible, but not the gums).

 

In addition, those accessories/pieces of clothing which affect the shape of the CAW's body (certain gloves, boots, shirts, et cetera) will continue to do so even if made completely transparent.

 

This fact can allow you to give a CAW using a diva template a flat, masculine-looking chest by applying a certain top after minimizing the size of the chest and bust, then rendering the top completely transparent. I used this trick to create a nearly perfect (albeit tailless) Mewtwo.

 

Additional tricks I've learned over the years are how to edit a CAW's attributes beyond the game's normal limits (you can give a CAW up to 255 in every attribute--do NOT input the value of FF, as this will make the CAW have a true value of 0 (zero) in that attribute, due to the wraparound offset the game uses (a value of 5 is shown as 4). Thus, the highest value is FE for any given attribute.

 

Another thing regarding attributes: there are actually still EIGHT attributes used by the game, but the eighth one is usually "zeroed out", and may explain why many in-game characters take so long to recover after having taken even moderate amounts of damage--it's the Stamina/Recovery attribute! By default, this attribute is always set to 70 (45 in hexadecimal) in CAWs.

 

There is also enough space to give a CAW or in-game superstar or diva up to EIGHT abilities, and yes, even superheavyweights are compatible with the Outside Dives and Springboard Dives abilities, but you have to hack them in.

 

There is also a fifth weight class, Ultra-heavyweight, which still works for table finishers and other things, but its limitations on attributes are very bizarre--some attributes are limited to a paltry 5, while others can be easily maxed out at 100.

 

A "debug-weight" weight class also exists at the value of 7F, which allows you to completely max every attribute out at 100. However, this weight class does NOT have a table-finisher animation, and thus will "statue up" when a finisher is attempted on the "debug-weight" wrestler, or if they attempt a table finisher on someone else.

 

Finally, I've found how to hack CAWs' movesets, and I have a master moveset template I use when creating "uber" CAWs, such as Mewtwo.

 

You can even place created finishers in a CAW's signature slots, but only the created finishers used by the CAW in their finisher slots.

 

Give that CAW the Fired Up ability, and they will be able to land FOUR consecutive created finishers, much to the painful dismay of their opponent(s)!

 

The final thing I will reveal is that I have learned a thing or two about the game's misc.pac and PreLoad.pac files. There are certain variables which can be edited via hex editor (such as HxD), which will drastically change how the game is played (such as how quickly you and your opponent(s) can get up after selling a move, or how long the finisher state lasts).

 

I hope this info can be of some use to somebody out there, who still plays this game (I know you're out there )