About This File
This mod attempts to address some of the issues with holograms in TSL. In the vanilla game, the majority of holograms have things like eyeballs and teeth being visible through the head. This is caused by the way the game handles transparency, in conjunction with the order in which it renders the individual meshes that a model is comprised of. By changing the hierarchy of the meshes within these models, certain elements can be occluded, resulting in less cases of “bug-eyed” holograms. This is not a perfect solution however. Because meshes do not self-occlude, visual glitches still remain during certain animations and camera angles, but this is likely the best that can be done without being able to make alterations the game engine itself.
Additionally, because their interactions are primarily via hologram, this mod includes a revised version of Jinger/Kreia’s Admiralty Mod, which changes the appearance of Admirals Cede and Onasi to give them outfits more fitting of their rank. And while I was at it, I also revised certain appearances with head swaps and custom model merges (hair, etc.) to try and reduce overuse of the same heads and make NPCs a little more distinct.
N.B.: TSLRCM is a requirement for this mod. It is not compatible with the vanilla version of the game.
Specific Changes:
- Ebon Hawk: Bastila hologram (Light Side male Revan)
- Ebon Hawk: Bastila hologram (Dark Side male Revan)
- Ebon Hawk: Carth hologram (Dark Side female Revan)
- Ebon Hawk: Carth (Admiral Onasi) hologram (Light Side female Revan)
- Ebon Hawk: Canderous hologram
- Ebon Hawk: Jedi Master Atris hologram
- Ebon Hawk: Jedi Master Kavar hologram
- Ebon Hawk: Jedi Master Vash hologram
- Ebon Hawk: Jedi Master Vrook hologram
- Ebon Hawk: Jedi Master Zez-Kai Ell hologram
- Peragus: Administration Officer hologram
- Peragus: Dock Officer hologram
- Peragus: Maintenance Officer hologram
- Peragus: Medical Officer hologram
- Peragus: Security Officer hologram
- Peragus: Coorta hologram
- Peragus: Coorta thug #1 hologram
- Peragus: Coorta thug #2 hologram
- Harbinger: Republic Captain hologram
- Harbinger: Republic Navigation Officer hologram
- Harbinger: Republic Doctor/Med Officer hologram
- Harbinger: Republic Soldier hologram (partial)
- Harbinger: Admiral Cede hologram
- Harbinger: Admiral Onasi hologram
- Telos: Admiral Cede hologram
- Telos: Admiral Onasi hologram
- Telos: Admiral Onasi physical appearance
- Dantooine: Jedi Master Vandar hologram
- Dantooine: Jedi Master Vrook hologram
- Dantooine: Admiral Cede hologram
- Dantooine: Admiral Onasi hologram
- Nar Shaddaa (Goto's Yacht): Goto hologram/projector VFX
- Korriban: Bastila hologram (Dark Side male Revan)
- Korriban: Jedi Master Vash hologram (M4-78)
- Korriban: Jedi Kaah hologram (M4-78)
- Malachor V: Bao-Dur hologram
Known Issues:
- There are still visual artefacts from overlapping sections of individual meshes, particularly noticeable in the case of the neck being visible through the jaw which occurs with certain animations and/or camera angles. This is not addressable by model edits. The problem is the way in which the engine renders overlapping transparency within a single mesh.
- The Republic soldier on the Harbinger has been replaced as of v1.3, however the helmet is still somewhat problematic. I'm not sure that is addressable without completely remodelling it, and perhaps not even then given its shape.
- Hair planes with alpha transparency don't function as intended as holograms, so typically look pretty terrible (e.g. Peragus Maintenance Officer). There's not much that can be done about those, other than completely remodelling the hair to rely on geometry rather than texture transparency.
- Dangly meshes used for hair bangs tend to look conspicuous due the requirement of placing them under the head mesh in the hierarchy. Particularly egregious examples may warrant having these elements being turned into skinned meshes in a future update.
- No doubt there are still a few holograms that need attention that I have missed. If anyone can provide a list of such cases, I may address it in a future update. Note that some holograms look fine in their vanilla state. I am only interested in hearing about ones with issues like those already addressed in this mod ("bug eyes", etc.).
Compatibility:
- I've edited UTCs to point to custom appearance.2da entries, so the mod should be compatible with any other mod that only edits the vanilla 2DA entries. However, it will not be compatible with any mod that forcibly overwrites the module files this mod edits, that outright replaces the UTCs in question, or that also edits the UTC appearance values. Install any such mods first, then this mod afterwards.
- To make it clear, do not use this in conjunction with Jinger/Kreia’s Admiralty Mod or Darth Hayze's TSLRCM Compatibility Patch for said mod. They are superseded by this mod.
- A separate patch is provided for M4-78 to handle its version of the Korriban academy module. After installing the main content of the mod, run the installer a second time and select the "Additional Patch" option from the drop down menu.
- An optional patch has been added to give the robe-wearing holograms unique named textures for use with robe mods that use the same filenames as vanilla robe textures. This will prevent texture issues (but note that they will still be wearing the vanilla-style robes).
Acknowledgements:
- Thanks to Fair Strides for creating a customised version of TSLPatcher to handle filename clashes, which made this mod practical.
- Thanks to Jinger/Kreia for permission to release a revised version of the Admiralty mod's content, the textures from which (with modification) are used in this mod.
- Thanks to zbyl2 for permission to redistribute TSLRCM's module files to ensure compatibility for Steam Workshop users
- Thanks to JCarter426 for permission to use the female Republic soldier body model from "JC's Republic Soldier Fix for K2" and his adjusted N_CommM04 texture from "JC's Minor Fixes for K2".
- Thanks to bead-v for KOTORMax and MDLEdit, and ndix UR for MDLOps 2K18 Edition, all of which were required at various points to get this to work.
- Thanks to ndix UR for TGA2TPC
- Thanks to Malkior for providing the impetus for the mod via this thread.
- Thanks to L0ki194 for offering input on the case of the Harbinger's "Doctor" vs "Medical Officer".
What's New in Version 1.6 See changelog
Released
- Added a custom holo Goto model which addresses the usual issues like visible eyeball meshes, etc.
- Changed the holo emitter VFX used by the droid on Goto's yacht to use an improved texture and a more appropriate blue colour
- With version 1.6:
- Download