Download:High Quality Blasters

[Sithspecter 909]

 

File Name: High Quality Blasters

File Submitter: Sithspecter

File Submitted: 16 May 2016

File Category: Mods

K1R Compatible: Yes

 

 

A KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC MODIFICATION

 

High Quality Blasters

By Sithspecter

 

Description:

 

When Knights of the Old Republic won Game of the Year in 2004, none of the awards were for the blaster models. While the storyline and gameplay are top notch, the default weapons are sadly lacking in quality. Extremely low polygon models combined with 64 px by 64 px textures make them horrendous to look at. On my last playthrough of KotOR, I had enough of the ugly blasters. Who wants to pay thousands of credits for a terrible looking grey-ish blob that's supposed to be a top notch firearm? Nobody, that's who! So I sought out to fix this problem and provide high quality models and textures.

 

This mod completely replaces the existing blasters with newly modeled firearms, complete with high quality textures. Special care was taken to retain the form and look of the original items, but in a high quality package. Each weapon was carefully textured based on close examination of its default counterpart. It's a much improved package that I hope will be a permanent addition to your KotOR override folder for years to come.

 

Use:

 

Use of High Quality Blasters is extremely easy. Put all the files in your Override folder, then play the game. That's it!

 

The new models will automatically appear when you load up your last save.

 

However, this mod does make a couple .uti changes to avoid doubling up on weapon textures. I've applied a new model and texture to a few items that share a model and texture in the default game. The following items are affected:

 

Baragwin Assault Gun
Baragwin Disruptor-X Weapon
Baragwin Heavy Repeating Blaster
Baragwin Ion-X Weapon
Carth's Blaster
Genoharadan Blaster

 

What this means is that if you already have one of these items, it will still show up as high quality, but it will share a texture with another high quality item. If you re-acquire one of these through cheats or KSE, it will appear properly. If you start a new game, everything will appear properly. This will not negatively affect the gameplay in anyway.

 

A note about the Sith Sniper Rifle:

 

I discovered that the Sith Sniper Rifle is widely used as a blaster wielded by Sith Troopers. It looks somewhat comical used by them (predominantly fired from the hip). So, I have included something of a patch that allows the Sith Troopers to use a regular looking version of it with the new texture. The Sniper version can be found at Kebla Yurt's store in the Upper City North of Taris and in a container in the Sith Academy on Korriban. If you want to cheat more Sith Sniper Rifles that look like a sniper, use the following code:

 

giveitem g_w_blstrrfl006

 

Installation:

 

1. Run "High Quality Blasters Installer.exe" in the zip file.
2. Follow the on screen instructions, and point the Installer to your game folder (not Override folder)
3. Profit

 

Version 1.1:

 

If you have installed High Quality Blasters previously, you can install this version over it and it will still be fine. However, if you want to fix the bug of the blaster randomly appearing under the Ebon Hawk on Tatooine, you must remove the following files (make sure of exact filenames):

• w_ionrfl_004.mdl (NOT w_ionrfl_04.mdl)
• w_ionrfl_004.mdx (NOT w_ionrfl_04.mdx)
  

 

INCOMPATIBILITY:

 

IF YOU HAVE TOASTY FRESH'S TOTAL WEAPON OVERHAUL OR FALLEN GUARDIAN'S WEAPON MODEL OVERHAUL TEXTURE REWORK, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO INSTALL THIS MOD OVER THOSE MODS WITHOUT AN ISSUE.

 

HOWEVER: DO NOT INSTALL TOASTY FRESH'S TOTAL WEAPON OVERHAUL OR FALLEN GUARDIAN'S WEAPON MODEL OVERHAUL TEXTURE REWORK OVER THIS MOD. IT WILL LIKELY CAUSE THE TEXTURES TO BE WRONG.

 

Bugs:

 

Due to differences between the body models (especially female), the weapons will sometimes appear to clip the hands especially in the female off-hand). There is nothing I can do about this without introducing more issues, it is something that happens with the default weapons, and you will have to live with it.

 

Changelog:

 

Version 1.1:

 

Fixed an issue where a blaster rifle randomly appeared under the Ebon Hawk on Tatooine.
Fixed an issue where Bith instruments were replaced by pistols.
Fixed the Assassin Droid and War Droid models to accept the high quality repeating blaster texture for their weapons.

 

Credit:

 

Thanks to 90SK, Fair Strides, Varsity Puppet, and Kexikus for providing feedback for this mod.
Credit goes to Kexikus for the inspiration from your screenshots. They look fantastic so I modeled the screenshots for this modafter your High Definition Skyboxes mod.

 

Permissions:

 

Do not upload this mod or assets from this mod, modified or not, to other sites without my express permission. I have uploaded this mod to multiple sites and can provide support on those sites.

 

Legal:
THIS MODIFICATION IS PROVIDED AS-IS AND IS NOT SUPPORTED BY BIOWARE/OBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT, LUCASARTS, DISNEY OR ANY LICENSERS/SPONSORS OF THE MENTIONED COMPANIES. USE OF THIS FILE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND THE ABOVE MENTIONED COMPANIES OR THE AUTHOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED TO YOUR COMPUTER FOR THE USAGE OF THIS FILE.

 

 

Click here to download this file

[Sithspecter 909]

Please leave a comment and let me know which is your favorite blaster from this pack!

[Salk 368]

Sithspecter,

 

first of all, thanks for creating this pack. I have a question: does it replace all the models included in Toasty Fresh's Total Weapon Overhaul/Fallen Guardian's Weapon Model Overhaul Texture Rework or would there be a reason to have both?

 

Thanks!

[Eauxps I. Fourgott 81]

Hard to pick a favorite, really. They're all good. Just to pick one, I'll say Jurgen Kalta's carbine.

 

This did bring to my mind an old question, though, which is: How come the repeating blaster rifles don't have any special characteristics besides slightly increased damage (such as an extra attack)? Maybe that can be one of my first mod projects if I decide to start modding this summer.

[Sithspecter 909]

Sithspecter,

 

first of all, thanks for creating this pack. I have a question: does it replace all the models included in Toasty Fresh's Total Weapon Overhaul/Fallen Guardian's Weapon Model Overhaul Texture Rework or would there be a reason to have both?

 

Thanks!

 

There is a reason to have both: Toasty Fresh's mod does include most melee weapons in addition to the blasters. I hope to also do a High Quality Blades this summer as well if I have the time. If you want to install all three, here is my recommended installation order:

 

1. Toasty Fresh's Total Weapon Overhaul

2. Fallen Guardian's Weapon Model Overhaul Texture Rework (you'll need to manually install this one, extract all the files from the tslpatchdata folder except for the .uti files that are blasters)

3. Install High Quality Blasters

 

That should get you the blades with the new textures. Also, I've updated the file with a TSL Patcher install in case you snagged the earlier manual install. This should help quite a bit.

 

Hard to pick a favorite, really. They're all good. Just to pick one, I'll say Jurgen Kalta's carbine.

 

This did bring to my mind an old question, though, which is: How come the repeating blaster rifles don't have any special characteristics besides slightly increased damage (such as an extra attack)? Maybe that can be one of my first mod projects if I decide to start modding this summer.

 

I've wondered the same thing as well, and hope to release a mod that improves the effectiveness of blasters later in the game.

[Salk 368]

There is a reason to have both: Toasty Fresh's mod does include most melee weapons in addition to the blasters. I hope to also do a High Quality Blades this summer as well if I have the time. If you want to install all three, here is my recommended installation order:

 

1. Toasty Fresh's Total Weapon Overhaul

2. Fallen Guardian's Weapon Model Overhaul Texture Rework (you'll need to manually install this one, extract all the files from the tslpatchdata folder except for the .uti files that are blasters)

3. Install High Quality Blasters

For my current game I had installed 1 and 2. Fallen Guardian's modification was installed via TSL Patcher though. Why would I need to install it manually?

 

I have just unzipped the whole content of your HQ Blasters into the Override and replaced around 120-130 files. Note: I suppose there would not really be any difference with the new version you uploaded that uses the TSL Patcher?

 

Would this procedure cause any kind of issue, in your opinion?

 

Thanks again!

[Sithspecter 909]

For my current game I had installed 1 and 2. Fallen Guardian's modification was installed via TSL Patcher though. Why would I need to install it manually?

 

I have just unzipped the whole content of your HQ Blasters into the Override and replaced around 120-130 files. Note: I suppose there would not really be any difference with the new version you uploaded that uses the TSL Patcher?

 

Would this procedure cause any kind of issue, in your opinion?

 

Thanks again!

 

Fallen Guardian's additional modification changes several of the blaster .uti files. I'm guessing it's just the model variation, which should be fine if you have the old or new version. I just recommended that to play it safe.

 

The new version makes a couple of changes and fixed a problem where Kebla Yurt's store sold the wrong Sith Sniper Rifle. Your install should be fine, but to get the sniper looking "Sith Sniper Rifle", you'll have to cheat.

[Purifier 22]

Very nice, Sithspecter. I like what you did with these better looking blasters.

 

I know I mentioned that I prefer the hack a slash methods using blades in the game, but what I didn't mention was that was mostly only with my player character and some of the party members who are Jedi. I do equip Carth, Canderous Ordo, Zaalbar  and HK47 with blasters. So these in their hands will definitely look a damn site better than the game's vanilla originals.

[Haveayap 127]

Looks great SS, have to try it on my next playthrough... Whenever that'll be

[djh269 264]

I love them all! But I'd have to say the Heavy repeating blaster, it scares me 

[xander2077 80]

I cant make my mind up on what I like best, but some of the mando stuff sticks out for me. I also really like the updated rotary cannon. That is awesome. I am glad you made this mod.

[Box 8]

So uh, while I really like the pictures, you don't actually have any screenshots per se. Since I'm not really in a position to boot up K1 at the moment and I'd really like to see what these look like, do you think you could take a few actual screenshots so I can see what these look like in game?

[redrob41 86]

Superb work SS. Top notch. I don't think that I could pick a favourite, but some of the things that stand out for me are; the handle of the Blaster Pistol, because it looks like it has a pivot point so that the handle can fold; the off hand vertical grips of the Blaster Carbine & Sith War Carbine; the off hand grip (under the barrel) of Jurgan Kalta's Assault Rifle and the Blaster Rifle; the recessed glass in the scope of the Sith Sniper Rifle; the barrel venting and grip of the Baragwin Assault Rifle; the overall design, highlights & shadows of both the Ion Blaster and Verpine Prototype Ion Blaster.
 
The only things that I find distracting are the odd shadows across the disc of the sonic weapons. I'm guessing that it's due to rendering and not actually part of the texture?
Another thing is that sometimes the use of embossing makes the details look a little cheap, like vacuum formed plastic. They're too smooth. An example would be on the Cinnagaran Carbine (the circles on the side of the scope, and the rectangles on the side boxes). Then again, maybe that's intentional, to make them look like mass manufactured weapons.
 
Overall, it looks like an excellent mod

[Quanon 263]

Great to see this released! Stunning work SS!

Download this ASAP and give it a go. 

 

I'm still into a new run through Kotor with various mods installed, this one should improve my sessions even further!

Do you think TSL is a next project to consider? As both games use mostly the same models only a long session of recompiling is needed.

 

Though of course a few unique items would need a new model. Anyway just thinking / wishing out loud

[Sithspecter 909]

So uh, while I really like the pictures, you don't actually have any screenshots per se. Since I'm not really in a position to boot up K1 at the moment and I'd really like to see what these look like, do you think you could take a few actual screenshots so I can see what these look like in game?

 

It's true, I thought people would prefer more detailed images of the weapons. I'll try to get some screenshots from in KotOR that show what the weapons actually look like. It's honestly a blast playing with them though. So much so that sometimes it hindered my progress Once you install it, you'll never go back.

 

Superb work SS. Top notch. I don't think that I could pick a favourite, but some of the things that stand out for me are; the handle of the Blaster Pistol, because it looks like it has a pivot point so that the handle can fold; the off hand vertical grips of the Blaster Carbine & Sith War Carbine; the off hand grip (under the barrel) of Jurgan Kalta's Assault Rifle and the Blaster Rifle; the recessed glass in the scope of the Sith Sniper Rifle; the barrel venting and grip of the Baragwin Assault Rifle; the overall design, highlights & shadows of both the Ion Blaster and Verpine Prototype Ion Blaster.

 

The only things that I find distracting are the odd shadows across the disc of the sonic weapons. I'm guessing that it's due to rendering and not actually part of the texture?

Another thing is that sometimes the use of embossing makes the details look a little cheap, like vacuum formed plastic. They're too smooth. An example would be on the Cinnagaran Carbine (the circles on the side of the scope, and the rectangles on the side boxes). Then again, maybe that's intentional, to make them look like mass manufactured weapons.

 

Overall, it looks like an excellent mod

 

That's very high praise coming from you RedRob. Thanks for the detailed critiques! I'm glad you noticed the Ion blaster. By default, KotOR uses the same model for the disruptor and ion pistols. I almost went the same route as well, but decided against it, though the designs are quite similar. I chose to kind of emulate the feel of the ion rifle with the sights so there was a bit more of a connection.

 

The odd shadows are a side effect of quick and dirty rendering. I rendered all 51 guns from 2-3 different views. I ended up spending hours making the images, and sometimes I wasn't too particular about how they turned out...

 

The Cinnagaran Carbine, now that I look back on it, is one of the worse textures. Admittedly, the quality of the texture work varied somewhat between the beginning and end of the project. It took me a bit to establish the aesthetic I wanted to work with. The carbines were first up, and I probably could have done better on the Cinnagaran especially. Some of the other, less used weapons (sonic rifles, cough cough), didn't receive as much attention either. I almost started texturing an abysmal model of the sonic pistol, but I made myself go back and start over to do it right.

 

I did spend a bit of extra time on a few, the ones that stand out to me are the; Mandalorian Assault Rifle (it's my opinion that's the best texture I've ever made), Repeating Blaster, Blaster Carbine, Disruptor Rifle, Mandalorian Ripper, Sonic Rifle (I believe I did a fine job of transforming that terrible design into something less ugly), and actually the Sonic Pistol (it may be small, but that texture was actually quite nice).

 

I would have liked to have a unique and from scratch texture for each and every one of these, but unfortunately that just wasn't realistic. There were a lot of elements that were reused, but hopefully those can be overlooked. Which is one nice thing about not being able to see the weapons up close and personal in KotOR. KotOR really hides the flaws pretty well, but still showcases how much improved these are over the originals. I'll try to get some screenshots that can show how they look in KotOR and what I've done with the alpha channel.

 

Great to see this released! Stunning work SS!

Download this ASAP and give it a go. 

 

I'm still into a new run through Kotor with various mods installed, this one should improve my sessions even further!

Do you think TSL is a next project to consider? As both games use mostly the same models only a long session of recompiling is needed.

 

Though of course a few unique items would need a new model. Anyway just thinking / wishing out loud

 

Thanks Quanon! I have all the original ASCII files, so I should be good to give this mod the TSL treatment as well. There are a few more textures that I might do, or maybe just repeat (like the 6 or 7 sonic pistols?! Why are there so many?). I will probably take a couple weeks to have a break from this mod, and then I'll get back to the TSL version.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Salk 368]

Hello, Sithspecter!

 

I noticed that Zaalbar's bowcaster seems to be unchanged after installing your modification. I am just guessing here but perhaps the relevant files are w_bowcstr_03.mdl/mdx/tga?

 

I do have them in my override folder but they were likely put there by Fallen Guardian's Weapon Model Overhaul Texture Rework.

 

Do you think that is a possibility?

 

Thanks!

[Sithspecter 909]

I'm sure that is the case. For my mod, Zaalbar and Chuundar's bowcasters use the same model/texture (w_bowcstr_002). Fallen Guardian's texture mod alters the .uti for Zaalbar's bowcaster to use another (w_bowcstr_003) that my mod does not override. The easiest course of action would be to copy w_bowcstr_002.mdl/.mdx, and rename them to w_bowcstr_003. You shouldn't need to do anything else.

[redrob41 86]

The odd shadows are a side effect of quick and dirty rendering. I rendered all 51 guns from 2-3 different views. I ended up spending hours making the images, and sometimes I wasn't too particular about how they turned out...

 

The Cinnagaran Carbine, now that I look back on it, is one of the worse textures. Admittedly, the quality of the texture work varied somewhat between the beginning and end of the project. It took me a bit to establish the aesthetic I wanted to work with. The carbines were first up, and I probably could have done better on the Cinnagaran especially. Some of the other, less used weapons (sonic rifles, cough cough), didn't receive as much attention either. I almost started texturing an abysmal model of the sonic pistol, but I made myself go back and start over to do it right.

I've been looking at the actual texture files, and I take back the comments of the Cinnagaran. Your use of embossing looks appropriate, especially next to all the fine grit and surface texture detail you have used. I think the "cheap, vacuum formed plastic" look can be chalked up to the rendering. Those are some nice metal filters and you certainly get reflective lighting to look authentic on the cylindrical surfaces. I wish I had your skill at doing item textures from scratch like this  (my stuff is usually deft manipulation of existing game assets; I'm an editor, not really a painter).

 

You deserve a hearty pat on the back my friend 

[Sithspecter 909]

 I wish I had your skill at doing item textures from scratch like this  (my stuff is usually deft manipulation of existing game assets; I'm an editor, not really a painter).

 

You deserve a hearty pat on the back my friend 

 

Thank you, but don't sell yourself short. You do amazing work. I've been playing your version of Aurra Sing and it's incredible. All your work on character models is great, and I never have come close to doing anything as good as you in that department. And I have to also give credit to the designers for the original KotOR blasters as well. They packed a shocking amount of detail into 64 by 64 textures, and all I really did was copy it in a larger form.

[Malkior 476]

Those look just.. Incredible!.. You have achieved current-gen quality for about 50 models within an hour. Great job, I might have to PM you for pointers.

 

We are well on our way to getting Kotor out of its aged state.

[Salk 368]

I'm sure that is the case. For my mod, Zaalbar and Chuundar's bowcasters use the same model/texture (w_bowcstr_002). Fallen Guardian's texture mod alters the .uti for Zaalbar's bowcaster to use another (w_bowcstr_003) that my mod does not override. The easiest course of action would be to copy w_bowcstr_002.mdl/.mdx, and rename them to w_bowcstr_003. You shouldn't need to do anything else.

 

Thank you for your suggestion!

 

Do you know if there might be other similar incompatibilities between the two modifications?

[Sithspecter 909]

Those look just.. Incredible!.. You have achieved current-gen quality for about 50 models within an hour. Great job, I might have to PM you for pointers.

 

We are well on our way to getting Kotor out of its aged state.

 

Just to clarify, I was working on this for several months before I made the "WIP" thread. Feel free to PM me if you like.

 

 

Thank you for your suggestion!

 

Do you know if there might be other similar incompatibilities between the two modifications?

 

No I don't know, but this is why I suggested installing Fallen Guardian's mod manually and removing any .uti files that deal with blasters.

[Malkior 476]

Just to clarify, I was working on this for several months before I made the "WIP" thread. Feel free to PM me if you like.

 

 

Oh... : °

 

I have learned something this day..

 

Yeah, I am definitely interested in how you got such crisp detail on the Disruptor Rifle, especially. I am all about using the emboss tool in Photoshop, but metal still takes me a bit of work to look right with it.

 

I also have a weapon UTI mod in the works; so I was wondering, did either this mod or FG's change the UTI files? Until now, I've been using the Vanilla assets.

[Sithspecter 909]

Yeah, I am definitely interested in how you got such crisp detail on the Disruptor Rifle, especially. I am all about using the emboss tool in Photoshop, but metal still takes me a bit of work to look right with it.

 

I also have a weapon UTI mod in the works; so I was wondering, did either this mod or FG's change the UTI files? Until now, I've been using the Vanilla assets.

 

Check out the PSD textures in the Modder's Resource Pack, I included them for just such a reason. It mostly takes practice. Find all the tutorials you can for various things and practice. My texture skills are a culmination of 7 years of messing around in Photoshop.

 

Both FG and HSB change the UTI files. It's not a problem if you use the TSL Patcher. You can use it to change item properties of already existing files.

[xander2077 80]

Yeah, I am definitely interested in how you got such crisp detail on the Disruptor Rifle, especially. I am all about using the emboss tool in Photoshop, but metal still takes me a bit of work to look right with it.

 

that is why i miss photoshop sometimes, the emboss tool could be used to greater effect, but now i avoid it like the plague in gimp. only in very special situations does it work correctly. with a very very clean source image/layer created from scratch. basically just black and white with no artifacts.

 

another technique you can try is using gradient and then using a bevel filter on a selection. not exactly the same but applied to a model it will work.

 

usually the trouble with using filters is you have to be aware of the direction of shadows, and this can be problematic depending on the orientation of the texture island. in photoshop there is more fine cotnrol over that. in gimp you almost have to make it neutral (shadow both sides of details) because there is no fine control.

 

there is someting to be learned from viewing psd layers. if i am trying to teach someone how to use filters and techniques i can send them an xcf file (the gimp equivalent of a psd) with 20 layers or more just for one texture so they can see how i do things. so SS posting those in the blasters for modders download is a huge help for anyone trying to learn. seeing how it is done is always pretty cool.

 

if you look at the layers there is a lot of layering going on to give it depth. SS has even more layers than i usually do. but the technique is similar.

 

one thing i always like to recommend is a set of brushes called texturebox. which is a free download on deviantart. i believe there is both a gimp and a photoshop version as well. it will set your brushes to dynamic so they spin, but that can be turned off if you need.

 

the reason for the dynamics is so the same stroke is not applied the same way twice. that way it looks more random. and this is importand for adding dirt, scratches, cracks, anything to age a texture if you want that. as well as giving shadows a softer edge that doesnt look stamped.

 

sometimes you want more control over a brush, like on organic textures, sometimes a specific angle is needed, and that can be done as well.

 

just mess around with a blank psd or xcf some time and try out the different brushes and filters. before long you can master them and make them work for you.