Glitched Lightsaber Hilt Fix - TSL Aspyr 1.1

Will this work with Schematic Lightsaber Mod 2024 by Kaidon Jorn?

no those models would need to be patched

This is really cool that you figured out this problem, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to make that change in blender for the custom saber models I use. 

I'm not really sure what I'm doing wrong, having never used blender before. I installed blender, installed the kotor blender.zip from disk. I created a new file, imported a kotor mdl file, try to make that one change (lightsaber to other), export the mdl file, drop the new mdl and mdx in the override and.... the game crashes to desktop on load.

    Most likely just need to check the TSL box when exporting.     

 I was looking around some other mod requests and found this oddity. Than I remembered an old reddit conversation too.

https://deadlystream.com/topic/10981-attention-needed-major-bug-found-please-fix-the-lightsaber-brightness-glitch/

https://www.reddit.com/r/kotor/comments/zh6n6f/proof_that_crystal_color_changes_lightsaber/

Are you able to pinpoint the exact cause and provide a fix? Bio Ware should have used sabers from Jedi outcast or galaxies.

Mystery cause?  

On 5/28/2025 at 2:19 PM, Bespokey said:

 

This simply isn't true. The lightsaber models and textures for different colors are identical except for the color (and a bug with the cyan animations). I think what this person was seeing was a combination of an optical illusion—different hues can appear brighter or darker—and that the screenshots were taken at a different angle, especially the one of the red lightsaber.

Nope it's got nothing to do with blades or colors. Those blades or colors also appear to have differing textures. They were not drawn by the artist to be identical. I examined each texture under a fixed model/hilt and broken hilt. The fixed hilt animated each color with a solid blade from every angle. No brightness issue. Plus each texture/color was uniquely shaped/displayed but not broken from behind.

The lightsaber blades glitch or thin out because of the hilt models. Crazy34 states this brightness issue and resolves it with a newer model replacement away from vanilla. I agree with the mod requester and having explored other hilts that displays normal blade textures properly regardless of color.

https://deadlystream.com/topic/6882-please-drop-any-lightsaber-hilt-mods-you-have-created-here/page/2/#comments

Those particular hilt models don't have the issue which is inclination that this saber blade glitch is resolvable.

Lightsaber colors result from the blade textures used. They are one and the same.

Cyan bug glitch results from bugged hilt model. I examined this and found the altered files in the community patches. There was no blade texture to resolve that issue. However the fix for that glitch changed the cyan hilt from having a properly displayed blade with the bug remaining that switched on (After every loading session) from having a broken hilt model with brightness issues that eliminated the turn myself on cyan blade bug at least.     

Example: If your using crazy 34 lightsabers and don't disable vertex buffer options those blades will also thin out/lose brightness. This gives us a clue that disable vertex buffer=1 is targeting the actual hilt models not blades while fixing the metallic shader issues somewhat on hilts too. 

This can be proven. Use one of DP lightsaber hilts from above while having Disable vertex buffer enabled. That is, don't alter it after installation. You will see no brightness issue and a solid blade/beam from every angle with a fixed hilt. 

What we are analyzing here is two opposing viewpoints and just by finishing my own testing: I conclude that the issue is in the hilt models not blade texture or colors. There is no optical illusion. There is most certainly a graphics error. 

Example: Install high poly tin cans for either game. Notice the brightness/thinness/blade textures from behind? This particular Modder has managed to apply the equal setting all across the hilt models. Yes these hilts have all broken blades from behind. High poly tin cans have all the same brighter more stable blade textures when viewed ONLY at the front.

My consensus echoes the request.

Bespoke is far from the expert but I enjoyed discussing this

Be well and happy gaming. 

23 hours ago, Bespokey said:

Those blades or colors also appear to have differing textures. They were not drawn by the artist to be identical.

Of course they have different textures. As I said, though, the only difference is the color. The person in the Reddit thread you linked was insinuating that lightsaber colors had differences in the textures themselves beyond that.

23 hours ago, Bespokey said:

The lightsaber blades glitch or thin out because of the hilt models.

That's part of it, yes. The lightsaber is not a solid mesh or billboard but rather different 2D planes arranged in a circle. The thickness of the blade is different depending on the viewing angle. As I said, the screenshots in the Reddit post you linked were taken from different angles, so this likely accounts for some of what the person was seeing.

23 hours ago, Bespokey said:

Cyan bug glitch results from bugged hilt model. I examined this and found the altered files in the community patches. There was no blade texture to resolve that issue. However the fix for that glitch changed the cyan hilt from having a properly displayed blade with the bug remaining that switched on (After every loading session) from having a broken hilt model with brightness issues that eliminated the turn myself on cyan blade bug at least.     

If you're referring to the KOTOR Community Patch, it does not include any change for the cyan lightsaber model. Regardless, this is an unrelated problem.

23 hours ago, Bespokey said:

The lightsaber blades glitch or thin out because of the hilt models. Crazy34 states this brightness issue and resolves it with a newer model replacement away from vanilla. I agree with the mod requester and having explored other hilts that displays normal blade textures properly regardless of color.

https://deadlystream.com/topic/6882-please-drop-any-lightsaber-hilt-mods-you-have-created-here/page/2/#comments

Those particular hilt models don't have the issue which is inclination that this saber blade glitch is resolvable.

That mod replaces the 2D planes I described above with a solid mesh. While this makes the lightsaber appear consistent from any viewing angle, it creates other graphical errors with motion blur. The tip of the blade looks solid even when it is in motion, kind of like a baseball bat. Personally, I don't believe this resolves the issue, and I prefer the look of the original game models.

23 hours ago, Bespokey said:

Example: If your using crazy 34 lightsabers and don't disable vertex buffer options those blades will also thin out/lose brightness. This gives us a clue that disable vertex buffer=1 is targeting the actual hilt models not blades while fixing the metallic shader issues somewhat on hilts too. 

This can be proven. Use one of DP lightsaber hilts from above while having Disable vertex buffer enabled. That is, don't alter it after installation. You will see no brightness issue and a solid blade/beam from every angle with a fixed hilt. 

What we are analyzing here is two opposing viewpoints and just by finishing my own testing: I conclude that the issue is in the hilt models not blade texture or colors. There is no optical illusion. There is most certainly a graphics error. 

Example: Install high poly tin cans for either game. Notice the brightness/thinness/blade textures from behind? This particular Modder has managed to apply the equal setting all across the hilt models. Yes these hilts have all broken blades from behind. High poly tin cans have all the same brighter more stable blade textures when viewed ONLY at the front.

The issues with the DisableVertexBufferObjects and the Aspyr patch apply to all lightsaber models which do not use the above recommended settings. However, that is a separate issue from the blade thickness appearing to differ based on the viewing angle.

It seems like you are under the impression there is one simple cause to all of the visual discrepancies, but frankly that is not the case. There are many other factors beyond what you are suggesting.

23 hours ago, Bespokey said:

My consensus echoes the request.

As Jiiprah said in the description of this mod, other modders can use the prescribed settings to fix their lightsaber models. I don't believe fixing every lightsaber model mod in existence is within the scope of this mod.

I'm currently having a graphical error with vanilla_sabers_patched. Anybody else? Did few re-installations with no other mods added besides C3-FD_patcher_2.0

which is gorgeous by the way :)

I'm hoping the crazy34 version is ok.

Thanks JC for your responses I think we agree on most things. I really appreciate your insight!

I would love to see your version of crazy34 blade textures JC and I'm sure you can make something outstanding. I love lightsabers way too much. 

2 hours ago, Bespokey said:

I'm currently having a graphical error with vanilla_sabers_patched. Anybody else? Did few re-installations with no other mods added besides C3-FD_patcher_2.0

which is gorgeous by the way

I'm hoping the crazy34 version is ok.

Thanks JC for your responses I think we agree on most things. I really appreciate your insight!

I would love to see your version of crazy34 blade textures JC and I'm sure you can make something outstanding. I love lightsabers way too much. 

 

 

oh gross. yeah the vanilla files do have this issue. ill look into it.

crazy34 saberblades, with the fix, do not have this bug.

EDIT: I made a mistake. I'll upload a new fix