Tutorials: Importing DAT Files

Before we jump into the process of importing DAT files into our Melee .ISO, there are a few basic concepts that we need to cover.

First of all, what is a .DAT file?

.DAT files, along with .USD files, are the bricks that makeup Melee. There’s a lot of information stored in these files, but for the purposes of this guide, all you need to know is that .DAT/USD files contain the texture, model, and lighting information for various character, stage, and menu files.

How do you edit .DAT files?

There are a lot of methods that someone could choose to edit a .DAT file, each method has a list of pros/cons, and it’s own purpose depending on what you, as the modder, are trying to accomplish. If we are talking about textures specifically, DAT Texture Wizard is by far the easiest and most user friendly method of altering these files.

What do I need to start importing these files?/Where do I download DAT Texture Wizard

For the purposes of this guide, we are going to focus exclusively on using DAT Texture Wizard, which you can download here: https://smashboards.com/threads/dat-texture-wizard-current-version-6-1.373777/

Importing DAT Files/Mods

In the steps below, I am going to walk you through how to import a DAT file using DAT Texture Wizard. For this example, I am going to be using Rainbow Final Destination, but the core concept can be applied to any character, stage, or menu file. Just as a note, USD files and DAT files have more-or-less the same structure, and the process will not vary between them. DAT Texture Wizard includes a variety of labels and shortcuts to help new users find the appropriate files, so I highly recommend exploring the software before making changes and adjustments. Without further adieu, let’s jump into it.

Step 1. Open DAT Texture Wizard

Step 2. Click File | Open Disc. Then locate and open your Melee iso.

Step 3. Once the disc has loaded, click Stages.

Step 4. Find Final Destination (it may be in a collapsed folder if you are editing a 20XX iso), right click the file and select Import File.

Step 5. In the browser, locate and open the Rainbow Redux – Final Destination texture.

Step 6. Once you click open, the color of the file in DAT Texture Wizard should change to red and look like the following:

Step 7. Click CTRL + S to save the import. Upon a successful save, DAT will look like the following image:

That’s the basic concept. You can use this method to import stage textures, characters textures, new menu designs, etc. Once you know which .DAT file corresponds to the desired character/menu/stage, you can replace almost anything in the game! I highly recommend that anyone new to texture hacks visit this comprehensive Smashboards thread for more information.