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///// 01. Background ///// Hey folks, I wanted to learn about reskinning, modding, etc. I noticed this last time that the star maps could use some tender love and care, so I thought I'd give them a shot. Here's an example of one as well as its skin as a reminder: ///// 02. Prep ///// After locating all of the model files, I wanted to first know where everything fell on the model, so I made a grid and applied it as the star map skin: Resulting in the following: I then took screen caps of various angles, locations, etc. ///// 03. Planning ///// I knew I wanted the textures to be a much higher quality as well as much more realistic. I perused through various metal textures, corroded, rusted, etc to find one I liked at still fit into the time period. I found old, abandoned trains to be a great source of inspiration/textures. Regarding the runes on the model, I wanted them to stand out much more and thought were a very cool feature that could be integrated. I made them a bit more front-and-center and added a glow via CM_Bright. ///// 4. Work Thus Far ///// Okay, enough stalling, here's what I have so far: ///// 05. Challenges ///// Lining up the indentations was very difficult and they honestly don't line up on every side. I just got them as even as I could considering the sides and hoped for the best. As you can see in the above screen caps, there's discolored between the body and the feet, though this isn't the same for every location. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that. Lining up the circle piece is pretty tough, as the surrounding areas' texture is also about 40% larger so it's just a matter of finding that balance. ///// 06. Next Steps ///// Figure out what the hell to do with that base. I'm not even sure I like what's there originally. Maybe leave it blank? Or does it need something, I dunno. General seam clean-up. Retexture the sphere in the middle as well as a couple other pieces once the map opens. ///// 07. Future Plans ///// In thinking about a version 2, I'd like to actually edit the model files. I think some edges could be softened, but mostly I'd like to adjust the mapping to avoid so many repeated areas of the texture. I'd also like to adjust the lighting in a couple of places. Would I go as far as to customize it for every zone you find a map? I dunno, that's a big endeavor. ///// 08. Final Remarks ///// Well there you go. Thanks for reading through this wall of text. Feel free to leave any constructive criticisms or advice. I'm open to any and all!

You can change the Unescapeable flag in the module's ARE from 1 to 0. But that will only work before entering the area for the first time. Otherwise you can do it via script, probably best done with an armband that will work for whatever current module you're in.

You can always just put some basic examples in the release thread and link to an external site like screenshotcomparison.com where people can do more in-depth comparisons. Or maybe even just whip up your own site if you are so inclined. Simple image sliders are pretty straightforward. I believe Github Pages (i.e. github.io) allows Javascript and CSS, so you could do it via a repo without needing a hosting solution.

🙂 Yes it's Brianna. These cutscenes are still WIP, she probably won't even wear her former outfit in k3 since she's moving on from her past, forging her own path. Back on mdlops, I decided it was taking too long porting it to C++, so I looked for other options. I found mdledit much faster, it still won't handle super-complex maps, but it's way faster than mdlops. I had to fix a couple of issues to make my tool compatible with mdledit but now it works... except for one thing: directional light is gone! tbh I kind of like this stylized look, but that's not how it's supposed to be. I'm still not very familiar with k2 maps and mdledit, but my first guess is that mdledit ignores "sunlight" and expects me to use lightmaps instead. Which I don't want to build now, since maps are still subject to change. Of course the game is playable even in pitch black like this, but I'll have to solve this issue sooner or later. Any idea?

🙂 I started fleshing out YAN2, the village, and picked a few free models I'm going to put inside: P.S.: I probably won't be very active in the next few days, I have to study for an important exam.

Progress with planet Keflos:

You did an admirable job in that short time, dont let your shoulders drop People tend to wait to make sure that something rocksolid is in the making, but then, with a clear task, they will help. Btw, about reusing modules, Thor110 has converted the K1 planets as ressources, you might wanna check those out - im sure, if you reskin them, they could be used to mimic very different environments from vanilla. Or even further by piecing together small bits of area models like dungeons, shops, hallways from both games to create a unique huge new district.

This is quite tricky. The reason the Qel-Droma robes in-game look like any other Jedi robes is because they all share the same 3D body model. There is only a small number of body models that can be used in KOTOR, ranging from Model A (being the underwear model) to Model J (the Star Forge robes model), which are determined in appearance.2da as columns. While it's possible to add appearance rows in appearance.2da, the number of model columns is hardcoded. In practical terms, this implies that if one were to replace the Qel-Droma robe model, they'd end up replacing the entire batch of Jedi robes in the game. Now typically there are two workaround for this: either replacing the Star Forge robes model or introduce a new model as a disguise. The latter is ideal for stuff that also covers the head of the wearer, but when the character's head is meant to be visible, then it gets tricky because you'd have to create a new row in appearance.2da for each of the playable heads. Yikes. Besides, a mere retexture, however well-made it may be, won't cut it if you want to achieve the look on those pictures, simply because the robes models don't quite look like on the pictures. Depending on the direction you'll want to take for this I'd gladly create a new model quite close to the one in your pics. However, as I'm already working on several projects at the time and because of IRL stuff, I won't create the texture for it. Someone else would have to join in and do that.

Looking good/some great work and quick progress you have been making, great to see somebody working on new maps and content for the game in general. Always good to have more KotOR