About This File
[TSL] Defaultenvmap Restoration
By Darth InSidious
Description
Both KotOR games were designed to have environment mapping, i.e., reflections on armours and weapons that
looked like the area the player character was in, rather than generic shinyness.
In the default game, this is switched off, perhaps for performance reasons. This mod partially restores this
feature, using the environment maps for the game which Obsidian included in the default game files.
As a result, not every area has environment maps, but I have been able to enable the feature in about 50 areas (out of c. 95),
listed below. This includes numerous Ebon Hawk cutscene areas, parts of Peragus and Telos, a large part of Dxun,
parts of Onderon, large parts of Dantooine, parts of Korriban and M478, and most of Malachor V.
In addition to reflections on armour, this mod also adds back in reflections on most melee and ranged weapon types.
This mod is intended as much as a proof-of-concept as a restoration in itself. A full restoration would likely
require cube-mapping all the areas in the game, which I don't have the time or resources to do. If someone
feels like doing that, and knows how, let me know.
The full list of areas included in this mod is:
003EBO
004EBO
005EBO
006EBO
007EBO
102PER
104PER
201TEL
202TEL
203TEL
204TEL
205TEL
209TEL
231TEL
261TEL
351NAR
352NAR
401DXN
402DXN
410DXN
411DXN
421DXN
501OND
502OND
504OND
505OND
506OND
510OND
511OND
512OND
601DAN
602DAN
604DAN
605DAN
610DAN
701KOR
702KOR
710KOR
711KOR
801DRO
802DRO
803DRO
804DRO
901MAL
902MAL
903MAL
904MAL
905MAL
906MAL
907MAL
950COR
Known bugs and compatibility issues
Because each area has only one environment map, sometimes the reflections will be wrong for a given part of an area
which looks different. Also, because of the limited number of environment maps included in the game, I have
reused several of them in different places. Hopefully this isn't too obvious, but it may mean that the environment
mapping isn't always exact.
You may experience performance issues with this mod; I have not tested for this.
The mod currently installs as a series of .are files directly into your Override. This is because it's
difficult otherwise to take account of .mod files with the same filename as the game's default .rim area files,
so it was difficult to make the mod work with, e.g., TSLRCM modules.
This mod hasn't been tested for compatibility with TSLRCM, but I don't anticipate issues for the most part,
since the .are file isn't used for much that can be modded.
*Nevertheless, this mod *may* cause some compatibility issues in some areas with TSLRCM.*
Installation
Double click on "Install Defaultenvmap restoration", and hit the "install mod" button.
Uninstallation
Delete the .are files from your Override folder, and restore the baseitems.2da file
backup made by TSLPatcher on install, and placed in the "backup" folder.
If no such baseitems.2da backup exists (i.e., you haven't used any other mods that modify this file)
simply delete baseitems.2da from your override folder.
Credits and thanks
Thanks to JC, DarthParametric, and Cortisol, for their feedback and help during development of this mod.
Disclaimer
All materials and copyrights belong to LucasArts, Bioware and Obsidian Entertainment Inc.,
Kotor Tool belongs to Fred Tetra, NWNSSCOMP belongs to Edward T. Smith.
I own none of the materials, and I'm not making any money out of this mod. It is to be distributed
as-is without alteration, unless by permission of the mod author. This mod is not to be distributed for profit, either.
Use it how you like, but if you're going to post it up somewhere, or make a derivate mod, or use it in another mod, you must
ask for my permission first.
