ExtracTOR WIP
extracTOR, by UltimaKaosXIII, is the Windows app that extracts SWTOR's resources (2D, 3D, audio, etc.) from its game files. This extraction doesn't affect those files in any way, so, it's perfectly safe to do without risking your player account.
- If you were a Slicers GUI user.
- Downloading the app.
- Using extracTOR.
- How to reduce the size of the extraction.
extracTOR is a replacement for Slicers GUI, our previous (but still functional) game assets extractor. Its pros are:
- 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). Updating extracTOR is as simple as downloading the most recent version and overwriting the previous one.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- It takes advantage of multiple processor cores: on an Intel i7 13700 it can do a full extracttion in less than two minutes. Slicers GUI had similar or slightly inferior performance.
- 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, or the historic game betas.
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.
The app, extracTOR.exe, is located at its Github repository's Releases page. As it is still in beta, check the page's most recent release's Assets section (we might need to twirl its little arrow to show its files) and click on the file to download it.
Even if the app can be placed anywhere (such as, say, the Desktop), it is convenient to place it in a folder of its own for tidiness' sake, as its use will produce some accompanying files (pref settings, hash file, readme).
To launch extracTOR, we double-click its file. Most probably, Windows will produce an unrecognized app alert, preventing us from running it.
To disregard it, we click the More info link and then the Run anyway button.
Upon actual launch, if it's the first time and, so, there is no downloaded hash list file (the list of known SWTOR resources) next to the app, extracTOR will show a notice window reminding us that we'll have to use its buttons to download it:
Once we okay it away, we are presented with the app's user interface:
Its settings and options are:
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Asset Folder field: were we tell it where the SWTOR installation's "Assets" folder is. This folder contains a series of .tor files (a compressed format akin to .zip, .rar, .7z and similar, which extracTOR understands). Its position is:
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For a Steam-based installation:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Star Wars - The Old Republic\Assets -
For a traditional swtor.com launcher installation:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\BioWare\Star Wars - The Old Republic\Assets
If we installed our games in a different drive, we'll use the relevant drive letter instead of C:
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Output Folder field: the place where we wish to store the results of the extraction.
We can navigate to the folders using the buttons next to each of those fields. Also, extracTOR will remember our choices between sessions.
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Live / PTS buttons: "Live" (the default option) refers to extracting resources from the normal game files. "PTS" refers to using files downloaded from the Public Test Server ones, instead. The results of each are stored differently: "live" resources are stored directly in a resources folder. PTS ones put their resources folder inside a pts one.
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Check Hash List: compares the present hash list to the one at Jedipedia.net's File Names page (the "All" one) and prompts us to update it if we want to (typically we would).
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Download Hash List: downloads the most recent hash list (the previous step isn't needed, really).
With everything filled and set, we can use the actual extraction button:
- Extract: launches the extraction process.
- Progress bar: shows the extraction's progress.
Once the extraction is done, the app shows a notice.
