Guide to Manually

Mark’s

Importing/Transferring Your Livery for

FH4/FM7/FH3 PC
Because PG can’t/won’t fucking fix FH4’s import feature
For the Forza Mods Discord
discord.gg/pa6n7ps

Finding the livery data file

You’ll need a hex editor to find out the contents of certain files. I personally
use HxD. (https://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/)

Go in-game and rename or make a copy of your livery you want to transfer.
(Before you ask, this must be your own livery. See Q&A below.)

Go into your save folder and sort by Date Modified. Don’t close the game to
prevent new files and folders forming and make the next steps easier.
The save file location for the Forza games are:
FH3:
%localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.OpusPG_8wekyb3d8bbwe\SystemAppDa
ta\wgs\
FM7:
%localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.ApolloBaseGame_8wekyb3d8bbwe\Syst
emAppData\wgs\
FH4 (Windows Store):
%localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.SunriseBaseGame_8wekyb3d8bbwe\Syst
emAppData\wgs\
(FH4 Steam uses a different save data storage method. I’ve placed Steam-
specific steps in a different section below)

Go into the newest folder with the long name of numbers and letter. (Not the
“t” folder. The other folders with long names are save data from older games
like FH3/FM6/FH2/FM5 if they’re present. See the Q&A section for more info.)

You should now see a lot more folders, sort them by Date Modified again.

Go into the newest folder again. You should see 5 files, one container file
ending with a single digit and four other files with letters and number.
(If there are not exactly 5 files, go to the next newest folder and so on. The
number at the end of the container file should be a single digit number too.)

Drag and drop the files (you can skip the container file) into an image viewer
(Paint) and a hex editor to find out what they are. These four files are:
 - Two thumbnail files, one big, one small in PNG format. The letters PNG
can be seen at the start of the file in a hex editor. The large thumbnail is
usually the largest file in the folder. They should be of the livery you’re
transferring.

- One header file, containing the name of your livery and your gamertag.
Always less than 1kb. Not used in the transfer process but can be used
for identifying what livery is in the folder.

- One data (C_livery) file, containing only unreadable data when viewed
using the hex editor. This data file contains your entire livery and is
what you’re going to transfer. File size for this can vary depending on
how complex your livery is.

Copy the livery data file to another location. (You can also copy the big
thumbnail image if you want to keep track of the livery outside the game.)
Rename the files for easier readability (add a .png extension for the thumbnail
if you copied that); the livery data file should have the car name to know which
car it’s for (and to avoid applying the livery to a wrong car.)

Also, it’s best to put the name of the game where the livery came from to
know which games that the file can be used for. (The Forza games support
livery files for titles released before but not after. For example, FH3 livery files
work in FM7 and FH4 but not vice versa.)

The livery file is now ready to be imported in another game or shared

elsewhere.
Swapping/Importing the livery data file.
Open the game that you want to transfer the livery to.

Make a new temporary livery using the same model car in the game. (It’s
IMPORTANT that it’s the same model car for now. Read the Q&A on applying
liveries on the wrong car for details.)

Find the livery folder for this new livery in the game save file folder as per the
first section (this time in the new games’ save folder location. If it’s the Steam
version of FH4, read this section until the end then read the Steam section.),
and then find its livery data file. Do keep the game running as usual to prevent
generation of new files and folders.

Copy the livery data file you want to import into this folder.
Copy the name of the temp livery data file, and then delete it.

Rename the copied livery data file to the exact same file name as the deleted
file.

Go back in-game and reload the temp design. You should now see the livery
show up on the car.

Save the livery into a new file and then load the livery from the new file.
(Important! Or else it won’t show up to others online properly!)
You can now delete the old temp design you used to import. You’re now done!
NOTE 1: (Mainly for FM7). If your livery has a manufacturer logo not in the
game, it’ll show up as an invisible layer in the livery editor. (This method does
bypass the block from importing liveries with them using the in-game importer
though.)

NOTE 2: Liveries from older games can get misaligned on certain cars in newer
games. (Assuming you didn’t apply the livery onto the wrong car. See Q&A).
You can mostly fix these issues by using the "Highlight All Layers" and "Position
Highlighted Layers" tools. (Do note some cars model may have changed in a
way between games that make old liveries for them cannot be fixed by just
moving all layers together.)
FH4 Steam Version Import Differences
The Steam version of FH4 stores it’s save files in a different location and using
a different method, with unencrypted file names, file extensions intact along
with all the save data files in one folder rather than individual folders.
However, the format for livery data files (among others) is the same so you can
transfer livery/layer files between Steam and MS Store games
(FH4/FH3/FM7). Please note that file replacements for the Steam version will
require a game restart to see changes, unlike the MS Store version.

Path to save game folder (Assuming default Steam install location):

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\[Steam Account ID]\1293830

\remote\

(If you don’t know your Steam Account ID, just sort the \userdata\ folder by
Date Modified and go into the newest one. This assumes that you were the last
one to use Steam or the only Steam user on the PC.)

Rather than looking for the newest folder for the temp livery, you just need to
find and/or replace the newest data file that has the naming scheme of

Livery_[Car ID]_[Timestamp].C_Livery

The header file ends with .header and the thumbnails images for the livery end
with smallThumb.png and bigThumb.png respectively.

Remember to add correct the file extension (.C_Livery) when renaming the
data file from a MS Store game!
Q&A
How I import liveries from older titles not on PC (FM6/FH2/FM5)?
You’ll have to import them through either PC FM7 or FH3 first, and then do
the steps above to get them to FH4 (The catalog number might end with two
digits for imported liveries).

However, if can’t import the livery due to the car not being in FH3 or FM7, then
you’ll have to look through the save data folder for the older title. The entire
save data for the older titles is downloaded into the PC when using the
import feature as mentioned above, so check in the other folders in wgs for
them. Sorting by time modified won’t help you here since all files have similar
timestamp from the sync process. You’ll have to look into each folder and test
each file to find your livery or use a program that can parse/read UWP games
container.index file.

Can I use this method to steal liveries from other players?

NO, liveries from other players’ downloaded in-game (and cars from the
auction house/gift section) are locked. This means you can’t edit and resave
them. Although you can try to apply the stolen livery onto your car, other
players won’t see it (client-side only) and that design won’t work in the
creative hub and auction house too. (Thumbnails may show otherwise but
downloading the livery/checking the auction house listing will show the wrong
livery.)

This is because saving the livery also uploads the livery to the server, which
gets downloaded by the other players when online. If you replace the livery file
without resaving it, the server still only has the earlier saved version of the
temp livery and will use that one for other players, the creative hub and the
auction house.
(This is also why a creative hub ban also means other users can’t see your
liveries anymore; they are deleted off the servers, forcing you to resave all
your liveries after the ban to reupload them.)
Can I use this method to share my own liveries outside the game?
YES, do note your own liveries are unlocked and stay unlocked for other
players if you share the livery data file directly. They can make edits and even
re-upload them on their creative hub under their name so be careful about
who you share the file with. (This does mean collaborations are possible again
though.)

It’s possible to share liveries from banned accounts or livery with locked
groups with this method (the group remains locked though). You can also
share potentially rule-breaking liveries (such as the General Lee, Rising Sun,
etc) outside the game without risking bans since they can’t be tied to your in-
game account. (Not 100% sure on this though! Be careful about potential
reports by others on your account!)

Can I import vinyl groups with this method?

YES, the steps are very similar (basically just replace “livery” in the the steps
above with “vinyl group”) except you now looking for a folder with four files
instead (for the MS Store games) There’s now only one PNG thumbnail in the
folder that should show your entire group. The data and header file are in the
folder as usual and everything else works in a similar manner. You can share
your vinyl groups with others this way to prevent locking out their design
from being shared on the creative hub. Still keep in mind of other users’ ability
to edit and/or re-upload the group itself though!

The naming scheme for vinyl groups files for the FH4 Steam edition is
LayerGroup_0000_[Timestamp].C_Group
What happens if I apply the livery file onto a different car?
You can try to apply a livery file onto a different car than intended but there
are some potential issues you should know about.

The game can load livery files onto wrong cars without crashing and things
seem fine (if misaligned) at first glance. HOWEVER, there is a problem with
this. Saving this new livery won’t save the livery under the new car model;
it’ll still save the livery under the old one even after edits.

Note that if you use a livery file for a car that is not in the current game, all
layers will not load and the livery may save under the null car that cannot be
applied to anything. Don’t use livery files for cars that are not in the current
game!

But you can try to use this to quickly save a bunch of liveries for different cars
using the same livery folder/file. Plus this allows you to apply manufacturer
logos onto a car of a different make. Not responsible for any unknown side
effects though!
Hey, that livery on the Ford Focus…
That’s outside the scope of this guide, sorry! Try asking on the Discord.
(Besides, if you are on the discord, you should already know about this.)
(And sorry, Robin!)

On a slightly unrelated note, if you own gift cars with special liveries in
FM7/FM6/FM5/FH3/FH2 (such as VIP cars or cars awarded in events such as
ForzaRC or Bash), I’m interested in your save data for “reasons”. Please get in
contact! You might even be able to get “recreations” of them in newer Forza
titles, maybe even FH5! (Assuming they don’t change or break the importing
feature like FH4.)

One extra tip to clean up your save data folder

Remove Empty Directories (www.jonasjohn.de/red.htm) or any other program
that deletes empty folders is very useful if you’re planning on exploring around
your save data folder for the MS Store Forza games. The games will leave a lot
of them lying around on PC, especially if you have a long playtime.

A wise old owl lived in an oak

The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?
-I C U OWL-