Introduction

[!IMPORTANT] Please do not use this guide to convert mods that you didn't make without permission!

This guide will cover how to convert your RE Engine mod(s) from Non-RT (Non-Ray Tracing) to the RT (Ray Tracing) versions. This method will mainly pertain to both Resident Evil 2 Remake and Resident Evil 3 Remake as these are older games that have completely new builds to distribute the Ray Tracing update. This process can also be applied vice versa (RT to Non-RT).

[!NOTE] Resident Evil 7 biohazard Non-RT is not supported by majority of the available modding tools and is excluded from the Non-RT to RT conversion process.

More info regarding the Ray Tracing update can be found here: https://www.residentevil.com/7-re2-re3/en-us/

Identifying the game version

Depending on which version you want to convert your mod to. We need to make sure we're on the correct version of the game first. An easy way to identify this is by checking the the game's title in your Steam library. They will appear like this:

DirectX 12/Ray Tracing version:

• Resident Evil 2
• Resident Evil 3
• Resident Evil 7 biohazard

DirectX 11/Non-RT version:

• Resident Evil 2 [dx11_non-rt]
• Resident Evil 3 [dx11_non-rt]
• Resident Evil 7 biohazard [dx11_non-rt]

Notice the "[dx11_non-rt]" tag appended to each title. This is the Non-RT version. If the game appears in your library without this tag, it means you have the Ray Tracing version installed.

[!NOTE] You are required to manually downgrade to the Non-RT version of each game if you want to play it. If you haven't done that, then you automatically have the Ray Tracing version.

You can switch between the two by right clicking either game and clicking: Properties > Game Version & Betas

Preparation

File types that will be covered:

• *.mesh
• *.mdf2
• *.tex

For more info on these files types, please visit this page.

Tools that I personally use and recommend:

• Blender (also on Steam)
• REasy
• RE Mesh Editor
• REE Content Editor

Once you've downloaded and installed the following tools, we are ready to get started.

Converting your mesh

Because we're converting an existing mod, this guide will assume that you are either converting a character or a weapon. Both of which are models that have armatures and already fully rigged. Converting meshes are very simple and will be the easiest part for most.

[!NOTE] Resident Evil 2 Remake and Resident Evil 3 Remake share bone names for their armatures.

Open Blender and import your mesh: File > Import > RE Mesh Editor > RE Mesh

I will be converting my Kendo Glasses mod that I made for the Non-RT version of Resident Evil 2 Remake as an example.

Now that the model is imported. We're going to immediately export it: File > Export > RE Mesh Editor > RE Mesh

In the Blender File View, click the Mesh Version dropdown menu and select "Resident Evil 2 / 3 Ray Tracing" and then Export RE Mesh.

A console window will appear for a brief moment while it begins to export your mesh to the new version. Once it's finished, your mesh has been successfully converted to the Ray Tracing version.

Converting your materials

As of right now, materials in RE Engine are game specific and are exclusive to the games that use them. Which means that you cannot just convert an MDF file from one game to another and expect it to work right out of the gate. The material shaders more than likely won't exist and it will also introduce issues that I will get to in a bit.

Resident Evil 7 Teaser: Beginning Hour, Resident Evil 7 Non-RT, Resident Evil 3 Remake Non-RT and Resident Evil Resistance are the only games that share hybrid file formats, this includes:

• *.mesh
• *.mdf2
• *.tex
• *.mmtr

...and other various files.

These games have some identical material shader names. But that doesn't automatically mean that they will work if you try to convert the MDF that uses them for either game.

[!CAUTION] Avoid converting MDF files for another game even if they share material shader names. Converting an MDF from Non-RT to RT and vice versa will cause issues and may even crash the game.

Not being able to convert materials isn't an issue. You will just need to find and extract the same materials you used for the Non-RT version but now from the RT version.

If you need to extract the RT version files before continuing, visit this page.

[!NOTE] If you don't have the disk space to extract game files, you can use REasy's PAK Browser to only extract files that you need.

Since my mod makes changes to Kendo's head mesh. We can simply find the RT version of that material at: natives\STM\sectionroot\character\player\pl5000\pl5050\pl5050.mdf2

I made this mod when I didn't understand materials very well. So I'm gonna take this chance to update them.

Because this mod gives him glasses, I don't think the material for his face will be a good fit. Instead I'm gonna use the materials from his character model: natives\STM\sectionroot\character\player\pl5000\pl5000\pl5000.mdf2

These glasses are taken directly from Tyrell's head mesh from Resident Evil 3 Remake. While we obviously can't convert the MDF file for Resident Evil 2 Remake. We can make copies of Kendo's existing materials and work off of that.

[!TIP] Use your Non-RT MDF file as a reference when converting to keep your materials identical. This also includes any material flags. You can directly transfer parameter values and texture paths from one MDF file to another.

Both Ada and Ben are characters that wear glasses too. So we can take their glass materials and use them for the lens.

When you're finished, it should look something like this:

Double check your texture paths to ensure that you don't have any typos. Having typos will cause infinite loading when we are preparing the mod for testing later.

[!IMPORTANT] If there are texture types that you don't have textures for. Import your MDF with the RE Mesh Editor and press the N key to reveal the sidebar, then select a material and then select Nullify Texture Bindings for that material. Export the file when you're finished.

If you need to find specific materials to import. Then you can move on to the next step.

Finding specific materials

[!NOTE] If you already know what materials you want to use, you can find their RT versions instead and skip this step.

If you need to find a specific material, you can use the File Search feature in REE Content Editor. This will scan and find all existing MDF files based on the master material (*.mmtr) file and texture paths they use.

To find specific master material files, we can use REasy's PAK Browser tool. You can find this by opening REasy, clicking Tools at the top and then PAK Browser. This will open a separate window.

To be able to properly browse PAK files, we need the game's list that we want to find files for. The repository for Ekey's REE.PAK.Tool will usually always have the most updated list for an RE Engine game. You can access every list by clicking the big green Code button and clicking Download ZIP.

Once it's finished, open the zip file and then open the main folder to expose the Projects folder. This is the folder that contains lists required to browse RE Engine PAK files. Because we're converting a mod for the RT version of Resident Evil 2 Remake. We're going to find and extract RE2_RT_STM_Release.list. This guide won't go in depth about how these file names are structured. All you need to know is that STM stands for Steam.

Once you have the RT list extracted. Click Load .list... inside the PAK Browser and then select RE2_RT_STM_Release.list.

Now we have to find and select the game's main PAK file. Click Add PAK inside of the PAK Browser and then find and select re_chunk_000.pak from the root directory of where Resident Evil 2 Remake is installed.

Once you've done that, all that's left is to tick Show only valid files. This will ensure that the list is only reading files that are readily available from the added PAK file.

Now we are ready. Go ahead and find the Filter and type in the following: mmtr

This will find all of the available material shaders that are included within the game. Once you have found a shader that you want to use. You can open REE Content Editor.

Once it's open, immediately head for the top and select: Game > Configure games

This will open a new window. Select the Games dropdown menu and then select Resident Evil. Find Resident Evil 2 (RT) and select it, this will open another dropdown menu.

All we need to do now is set the Game Path and File List. The game path needs to be set where Resident Evil 2 Remake is installed. We can also use the same file list that we just used for REasy for REE Content Editor too.

Once both are set, close REE Content Editor to apply the changes.

Open REE Content Editor and find Windows at the top and click File Search. Make sure you select MDF2 before typing in the Query and starting your file search. Select the Search button when you are ready. This will immediately form a list of materials that are in use of the material shader that you searched for.

[!TIP] Always find an existing MDF file using a similar material in the game that you're wanting to convert to.

[!NOTE] If the location path is too long, you may need to extend the File Search window to reveal the Copy and Open buttons.

Once you have found the material you want to use. Select Open to open the material inside of REE Content Editor and then Save As to wherever you want.

Converting your textures

[!IMPORTANT] Fluffy Mod Manager can automatically convert textures from Non-RT to the RT version. If you prefer that, you can skip this step.

Converting textures is very, very simple and will be the fastest part of the conversion process.

Open Blender, find your mod textures and drag and drop them into the 3D view. This will convert them back to .dds. Video example here.

Press the N key to reveal the side panel and select RE Mesh to show the current Active Game.

[!NOTE] Active Game does not need set when converting .tex to .dds. Only when converting .dds to .tex.

Once converted back to .dds, change Active Game to Resident Evil 2 Ray Tracing and drag and drop them into the 3D view again and select Convert Image/RE Tex Files when prompted. Make sure to move the converted textures to your mod folder if they haven't been already.

[!WARNING] If the game is crashing after testing your mod, convert your textures back to .dds and save them in Targa (.tga) instead and then convert them back to .tex.

Preparing your converted mod

Make a copy of your mod folder and rename it to have it separate from the Non-RT version. For this guide I will be naming my mod folder Kendo Glasses (RT).

[!IMPORTANT] The "x64" folder after the natives folder for Resident Evil 2 Remake was changed to "stm" for the RT version. This change has already been made for Resident Evil 3 Remake Non-RT and RT.

Find your converted mesh and updated materials and put them in your mod folder. Once that's done, open Fluffy Mod Manager to install our converted mod and then we are ready to test it.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/56d19f56-372f-4571-b28c-925440e400de