ExtracTOR - SWTOR-Slicers/WikiPedia GitHub Wiki
ExtracTOR (WIP)
ExtracTOR, by UltimaKaosXIII, is a new Windows app that extracts SWTOR's resources (2D, 3D, audio, etc.) from its game files.
The latest release can be found HERE(requires installing Microsoft's .net 8 first)
Extracting the game assets is an operation that doesn't alter SWTOR's files in any manner: this tool just reads their contents and copies them, uncompressed, to our HDDs or SSDs. It's very similar to decompressing a .zip file.
- If you were a Slicers GUI user: why this new extraction tool?
- The first time you run ExtracTOR.
- Using ExtracTOR.
If you were a Slicers GUI user: why this new extraction tool?
Because Slicers GUI has, for a long while, been unstable.
There have been multiple instances of people needing help to install and configure Slicers GUI. This ExtracTOR aims to simplify that. We have also had problems getting the most recent PTS (7.6 #4) files extracted with Slicers GUI, so out of frustration and desperation to update his Terrain ExtracTOR, UltimaKaosXIII built this one.
ExtracTOR is somewhat early in development, and testing isn't that exhaustive yet, but so far everything seems to be working. As usual in these cases, exercise some caution.
NOTICE: This tool DOES connect to the internet to get the latest hash list information from jedipedia and ONLY to get the latest hash list information from Jedipedia.
So, ExtracTOR's pros are:
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No install/uninstall process required: it's a self-contained executable, and launching it is all there is to it (although it'll place some three auxiliary files in the same folder the app is in, so, we recommend putting it inside a folder to keep things tidy). Updating ExtracTOR is as simple as downloading the most recent version and overwriting the previous one.
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Very simple to use: you just tell it where the game files are and where you want it to place the results of the extraction. No need to think about things such as SWTOR's language settings or extraction presets.
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It can download the latest hash file (list of known SWTOR resources) by itself: it can also use any that is manually placed in the same directory.
(You can also download them manually from Jedipedia's File names page: get the one in the "All" row)
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Less error-prone: by virtue of its simplicity (we used to have tons of mystery issues with Slicers GUI, in addition to the known bugs).
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It takes advantage of multiple processor cores: on an Intel i7 13700 (with NVMMe drives) it can do a full extraction in less than two minutes. Slicers GUI had similar or somewhat inferior performance.
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It handles both current SWTOR 64-bit game files and old 32-bit ones in a single app: the latter is less likely to be needed, as we have their useful bits stashed away, but still is something of use for exploring resources previous to Broadsword's graphic renovations of the game.
On the other hand:
- It always does a full extraction (90-100 GB): that's the price of its simplicity. That said, there are ways to reduce that size, by temporarily setting aside some of the game's files to avoid extracting from them, and/or by deleting extracted assets that aren't useful to our goals afterwards (audio, GUI graphics, areas' files if you only want characters or viceversa, etc.).
The first time you run ExtracTOR.
ExtracTOR was programmed using Microsoft's .net 8, which we need to download and install. This is its download link.
ExtracTOR is an app that doesn't need an installer and runs directly by double-clicking it.
You'll probably get the typical message about Protecting your PC. It's fine. Click More Info, and then click Run Anyway.
Expect to see a message saying it can't find a hash list.
This is also fine: simply click OK, and then, in the app's main panel, click either the "Check Hash List" button or the "Download Hash List" button. That will make the app download the latest hashes_filename.txt file hosted by Jedipedia.net in its File names page.
This file holds the latest list of SWTOR game assets known so far. As as a big text file it isn't very efficient, ExtracTOR converts it on the fly into a hashes.bin binary file.
As long as you have a hashes_filename.txt or a hashes.bin file in the same folder as ExtracTOR, the app will be able to work even with no internet connection.
(If for some reason these buttons don't work, you can manually download it by going to that Jedipedia page and clicking the download link in its table's "All" row, then placing the downloaded file next to the app).
Using ExtracTOR.
1. Choose the Assets Folder.
This is where SWTOR stores the game's assets, as a series of .tor files.
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If you're using the SWTOR Launcher from the SWTOR website, that's usually something like:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\BioWare\Star Wars - The Old Republic\Assets -
If you're using the Steam version of SWTOR, that's usually something like:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Star Wars - The Old Republic\Assets.
(If you installed SWTOR in a different drive, change the "C" to the right drive letter)
2. Choose the Output Folder.
This is where you want the extracted files to go (they'll be placed in a subfolder named resources inside this one).
You can select any location: your PC's internal drives, an external USB drive, a share in your network… Also, you can move the results somewhere else more convenient at any time.
3. Choose a Radio Button option.
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Live (normally this is the one): it tells ExtracTOR that you want to extract files from the normal, playable version of the game.
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PTS: tells ExtracTOR that you want to extract files from the Public Test Server version.
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Beta: tells ExtracTOR that you want to extract files from old betas versions.
4. Press the Check Hash List button.
Checks that you have the latest hash file (compares the hashes.bin date and the Jedipedia hash list date). If there is a newer one in Jedipedia.net, it will prompt you to press the Download Hash List button.
5. …Or just press the Download Hash List button anyway.
Skips the date check and downloads the most recent Jedipedia hash list.
6. Press the Extract button.
Performs the game assets' files extraction (that is, it extracts the files from the .tor archives if they exist in the hash list). It works as fast as your PC can, taking advantage of modern multicore processors.
When a extraction finishes, a message box will pop up letting you know that the extraction is complete and where you can find your extracted files.
The game's assets are held in a folder named resources. Depending on the radio button that was pressed (Live, PTS, or Beta), this resources folder will appear directly inside the selected Output Folder or deeper inside a pts or a beta one.
(As this way of organizing things keeps each extraction type's results separate from each other, you can have them all inside the same Output Folder without them getting mixed up)
