sELFiNDUCEDcOMA

Thanks as always Milestails!

Some stuff I started working on after doing those screens...

I've also started to improve the structural texture as seen from Telos station looking out:

Previous version:

I want to see whether I can hex edit it so that the upper mesh and lower mesh can use different textures; but, I'm guessing that they have been linked together as they use the same texture, and I'll need to get it to work by using the one texture only.

Wait, found a few more I forgot about...

Another set, probably the last set of high rez shots of things I've already shown...

Some more higher rez screens:

Recently I adopted a 1920x1080 resolution monitor and wanted to setup TSL in order to take some screenshots in order to set one as my desktop when I noticed the following:

Which is not the only difference I noticed in that with others visual errors were pretty much fixed due to the new resolution -- not sure went wrong there, would need to check it to see who I implemented the change. Anyway, I was wondering what resolution people were playing the game in, old box monitor or something more widescreen / HD..?

Anyway, some more screenshots taken at the higher resolution if people want to see the difference:

Not much that I can show you to be frank; most of it has been research in how I'm going to solve various bottlenecks along with research for quests I want to add eventually.

Every now and then I look at this screenshot in particular, and against my better judgement, I start to think about what I want to do next. As disappointing as it is to some, it is still focused around Peragus, as it and the Harbinger represents a part of the game that once the player is finished with it, they never return to again -- so it's kind of self contained that way, along with being very linear. It's kind of a nice big test-case for me to see what I can and can't do; currently most of the "can't" has to do with models as what I can do in that respect is very slow work -- it's very poor as far as "pipeline" is concerned, with much not being possible.

Apart from that it is things like getting "generic" things like effects, armor, weapon and placeable models done as this affects the entire game, and not any one planet. None of which I've touched in a long while as I tend to find something pops up that is more pressing for me to focus on -- that or something like an injury occurs or a computer hardware problem occurs that eats into my productive time.

But, I figure I should at least complete the things I've started before I decide to abandon it .

With other modding sites, there is a policy of: "if it ain't reported, then we don't delete mods from the site." I know from discussing it with moderators due to an issue I found with mod assets I was using that the "author" gave permission for me to use but who neglected to tell anyone that he wasn't the original author of those assets. They further stated that they don't actively go looking for mods to delete, they only deal with issues when they are reported. Which is probably different to Deadly Stream in that the number of new mods isn't as high -- which means that everyone one can be checked.

Another unspoken policy is in regards to game development studios and publishers: "if you don't ask us, then we don't have to tell you about our official policy on the matter." As with the Bestheda example, they don't want to discourage modding, rather, they've gone out of their way to encourage it for a reason. They know that it increases the longevity of their games as well as builds and cements their brand. This longevity also translates to continued sales of their titles many years after their release.

Anyway, I'm pro porting because TSL has models from KoTOR but with missing textures, and textures, that don't go with any models as the KoTOR ones are missing; these assets due to this are never used even if they work just fine. Further, they may have been made by different companies, but, they are the same franchise and share the same technology base. Certain assets are hard to recreate as the tools available aren't able to create them. Being able to re-purpose KoTOR assets means you get to add "new" content that isn't already found within TSL. And it's a bit odd to say "no" to such porting of assets from one title to another from the same franchise when I've seen mods listed on other prominent modding sites where there are assets used from one Star Wars franchise used in another -- like KoTOR within Jedi Knight. No one has called them out on it yet .

I also think porting all of KoTOR so that it works with TSL would be very cool for those with both the games and who want to play KoTOR on a better and less buggy engine for Win7 (or 8). I know that I like KoTOR, perhaps more so than TSL, however, I'm reluctant to mod for it as I see that TSL is a far better in way of game engine -- at has more potential.

Anyway, that's my reasoning.

I know this was brought up recently enough -- just noticed it myself -- but I wanted to see what people's take on this was exactly; especially with LucasArts being acquired by Disney and this NOT being LucasForums .

I'm sure there is some "legal" issue here that people rightly or wrongly are stuck on, but, if you were to have a disclaimer as part of you mod, that the mod uses assets from K1 for a TSL mod, and, that you need to have both a legitimate copy of K1 and TSL in order to use the mod, well.. is there really an issue here if you make it clear that you don't support pirating and place the onus on the end user to take responsibility for their actions and that you (or the site) are not liable if you by chance happen to be using the mod without owning copies of both games..?

I'm pretty sure this is something that other sites do, where modders use assets from one game within another -- for example Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 3; especially when it comes to mods that uses assets from a DLC. 

Especially as I think that most of the fans of these games will likely have legitimate copies of both games -- I do for both along with for XBOX -- and if I'm not mistaken, there is a version of the game that was sold that had BOTH games on the same disc, perhaps even launched by the same loader. Which makes things a tad bit more "gray" than black and white.

If I'm not mistaken, it's the other way around. Linux and OS X are cousins in a way.

Not 100% sure to be honest, I'm going off of my understanding of both from more than a decade ago, and back then the Linux GUIs were emulating that of the Mac; I think later on with the more newer Mac OSs Apple used the Linux (Unix) kernel as a core starting point for later OSs -- though I think it would be radically different to Linux by this point; not that I use Macs all that much these days. Kinda like what Google did with Chrome and to a lesser extent what Valve are doing with Steam OS.

Anyway, don't want to go off topic.

I've tried mounting drives, but at the moment it's still gibberish for the most part for me, and since the process seems to require in-depth knowledge of it, I'd need one-on-one assistance to avoid breaking things..  I'll definitely keep it in mind though when I'm working with someone better qualified on a solution, though. I've also been approached by a friend about installing Linux, but I could barely get through the GUI when I was trying it on their system. That said, when you get past its learning curve, Linux seems like a really great deal, and if I somehow get better trained at MSDOS or whichever coding structure it uses, I plan to use it on my future computer setups. 

Yeah, it's not as difficult as it sounds; maybe my wording makes it out that way. To make it a bit more clear, you don't install Linux on your computer but rather use one of those tools to install Linux onto a USB thumbstick flash drive. You then boot Linux off of that. Hardest part is if it requires you to make a change to your BIOS settings, which for some I can imagine is a bit daunting. Most Linux GUIs are modeled on that of the Mac OS, so, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out; still, some user friendly touches are missing as most who use it would be more technically minded and want to do everything via commands via a console.

If you Google guides on how to fix or get your files from a failing hard disk, most will tell you to first backup your files from the drive, however in most cases I've experienced, the drive that is failing is the system drive which means that Windows won't even load up. And when it's another hard disk, Windows won't show it via My Computer -- you can "see" it via a hard to find Control Panel option, but, you won't be able to get access to your files that way. Why I recommend having Linux on a flash drive, as it provides you with a GUI file system to access and copy files with along with actually allowing you to see and access the disk in question. Windows won't; also, it's disk tools seem to have been largely unchanged since they were first created for MS Dos. Speaking of which, another option if you can still use your OS and install programs, is to have a look online for your disk manufacturer's disk diagnostic tools if they have them in order to fix your drive once you've backed up what you can -- though I think Seagate SeaTools will work with all drives. These will likely be far better than what Microsoft has decided to go with and tailored to your drive.

Anyway, I won't push the Linux option any further as it does require you to do some research and trial and error on your own; it's not for everyone .

An update yet again..

 

So, my computer is experiencing distress in the form of me not being able to use it. It's not a total loss, but I can't access the data currently on it or use my copy of Photohsop; so projects have reached a standstill.

I've come to find that Linux is your friend when it comes to hard disk failures -- what Windows will not mount Linux will. Though not ideal for all situations -- as I've found this won't work with my current notebook due to the Windows 8 and/or the proprietary BIOS -- but installing one of the Linux distros as a bootable USB thumbstick will allow you then to load Linux up if you setup your BIOS to boot from a flash thumbdrive. Once it loads up you should then be able to mount your drive and get access to your files; maybe even repair your drive when Windows tools will likely fail every time.

It's a bit involving, in particular, as Linux though has a GUI it isn't as communicative as you'd expect -- I suspect that when you tell it to mount a drive, it will auto-repair certain things like file-system errors without actually telling you. Anyway, if you want to give it a shot, I suggest using: Backbox Linux and using either PenDrive or LinuxLive to creat the bootable USB.

I've only ever used PenDrive but will use LinuxLive next time around for the persistence and no reboot support. You can use any Linux distro you like but I find Backbox to have a clean UI along with a decent range of apps included. You will need to look at the File System settings to make sure that Linux is mounting drives if it isn't a system drive but an external; if it ain't an external then it should show up when Linux boots up.

The rendered UV map used as an overlay may not be of much help, some of the faces may overlap into a mess of lines, along with various being reversed. Why the dots and lines so as to see how things actually are when the texture is applied to the model.

Malachor is starting to actually look good!

Not sure where the topic is as a lot of posts and stuff have happened since last I was here, but, I found the issue with the skyboxes being that they aren't cubed, or sphere, but have tapered edges -- from those I've opened up and looked at in Gmax. I guess the idea was to make them feel more natural, however, as most games use a simple cube (flat) surface to render the textures on, when you try to use regular skybox textures via the TSL tapered edges cubes they get rendered weird because of it. It's got nothing to do with the texture, in reality, but has more to do with how the texture gets stretched and squished to fit something it was not meant to fit. Trying to "trim" the textures and all will not improve it but rather make it worse -- requiring a lot of manual hand tailoring of the images to "fit."

Not really sure why they went with this approach, especially, as all the end skybox textures clearly were made to be used with a regular skybox cube. I guess they planned to create and use a tool to render out textures specifically for them but never got around to it.

Bit hard to compare them with the vanilla versions, but, looking good .

Nice to see I'm not the only one who has to resort to weird colored dots and lines to work out the UV mapping for textures, too .

The K1 helmets look good -- very Mandalorian. The skybox is also looking good, but, really need to see it within context to know how it's going to look. It's been a while since I've played / seen Malachor in game so not sure if the existing level architecture and environment will match the skybox. My guess is the existing textures will let it down -- still, I'm sure it will be a major improvement to the vanilla game one .

I'm unclear on one point- did you import the old walkmesh? Kotor models don't import with their walkmeshes. You have to import them after you import the model. Apologies if you already did so.

I was going to test this all out to be certain but I just don't have the time at the moment to get into it -- as I have to familiarize myself where I saved the different versions of the mdl files to test it all out with to begin with. All I can say is that I also tried what VP said, in that I tried to update an existing mdl file's mesh(es) with MDLOPS, but, can't recollect if I did this for the walkmesh as well by mistake; don't recall all the meshes being named meaningful names, so it could of been easy to do .

When I'm ready to revisit the problem, I'll give it another shot before looking at an alternative solution; but at the moment any spare time I have I'm using for something else I'm working on and want to get out of the way before moving on to something else. It's a bit difficult juggling tasks when those tasks aren't at all alike .

I don't recollect doing anything to the walkmesh at all, it may have been "lost" due to the export / import process. I'd have to have a look at it all again to see if that may have been the issue or not. Do recall trying to simply replace / update the static mesh of the mdl file rather than using than generating a new one from the Max export, not sure if I accidentally also tried to update the walkmesh as well.

As I said, have to look at it all again as it has been a while -- means figuring out some processes again -- but it would be nice if it ends up being that simple .

Pieces of crap like this one that refuse to look better no matter what texturing tricks I use:

Don't have a compiled list or anything, but generally they are K1 ones that weren't used all that much in K1 and aren't used at all in K2; like the generic kiosk types that look like they were done by an intern. You can see from that example that not only is it low poly, but also the texture is poorly mapped.

I'd change it but it seems like there are issues with replacing placeable meshes, in that if the camera moves over them, you will see them pop out of game existence. Not sure is there is a setting or something I've missed for Max or MDLOPS, but from what I tried I hadn't been able to make them stay put. Though, I'm pretty sure I can get them to stay in place based on the work I did with updating the Czerka sign placeable mesh. However, I think that solution in certain situations, may cause problems :/.

Still, I think it's worth updating these regardless, as like other K1 placeables that aren't used in K2 that I've already updated:

If they aren't already used anywhere, then they won't affect anything. So when they are placed, you can make sure to place them where they won't cause a problem -- I think. That way I can make use of them, or, they can be made use of by others as a modder's resource if this mod is installed.

No, it's not quite abandoned yet.

Had an injury a while back which left me unable / unwilling to use a computer for a long while until it got better. Since then I've been playing catch up with work along with placing my focus on other projects I've wanted to get done for a long while now.

Though I did do some work on textures before the injury, it was just some placeable work for models that really need NEW models to make any improvement at all. Realistically I've hit a bottleneck on how quickly I can make progress now and I have to decide what I'm prepared to do if I want to move ahead with this mod at all. Especially as initially there will be a lot of work with little to show and I have to weigh up what benefit there is to me in doing so, when I could be doing other things that I may not prefer to be doing, but, do pay the bills -- or are more likely to help on that front in the short-term to mid-term.

Yeah, going through 20 pages of posts to find the info... Is kind of part of what I meant .

Anyway, this was far more helpful.

Are these (minus Darth Bandon) all TSL mods?.. And, could you edit your first post to have links to the Nar Shaddaa and Korriban mods at LF -- or where ever screens may be found, thanks .

Trying to find stuff via LF is a real pain, why I tend not to frequent the site.

Beautiful textures, keep up the good work man. The way this looks it'll be one of those "forever" mods that you just can't play TSL without.

Thanks. It would be nice if it were.

Sweet baby Jesus these textures look awesome! I've never been interested in downloading texture mods before, always been a stickler for not getting them (I can't explain why). But after seeing this work I pretty sure I've changed my mind. I can't wait for the finished product.

Thanks, nice to see that my work can change people's minds -- really need to see if I can change the title of this thread, though, as it won't just be texture work in the end.

 

Here's what I got: Floor changed, overall texture change, ship changed (duh), ceiling's darker, screen's changed, Peragus Nebula added, space has changed, the windows looks changed too, without the ugly bars at the lowest part... Hitting any close to mark or what?

 

Nicely spotted. Specifically it is Peragus that now has a nebula, asteroids floating in front of it, and, the correct Peragus artwork that matches all other instances of when it is seen -- I decided to use the one replaced as the basis for the corporate-art floor mosaic. It's not perfect as I'm limited to the mesh that's in place, but still, it is the small details that can end up making a big difference.

Probably shouldn't of made a point of it on hindsight, as it is a distinct fix, perhaps not as stand-out as others, but one that makes my mod unique. Doubt it will remain "exclusive" to my mod for very long, though .

Just right-click on any one of your images, select "search Google for this image", and at the middle of the window a bunch of images show up with the words "visually similar images" underlined. 

Right, oddly did not try to think to do that even though I use Chrome. Odd results... They still need to work on this I think .

Positive on the marble pool texture? It just looks kinda dirty. Suppose it looks better in game.

 

EDIT: At second glance, it looks good, the different green colors look kinda weird though.  Like the yellowish hues with the green, I mean.

It does look better in game but I didn't think it looked right. I was planning to switch it with another alternative texture I was using for something else, but, wanted to see how it was used in game -- in the right context.

I just decided to go with my original instincts and switch them anyway:

Some other stuff I was working on up until the end of last November:

Excellent, excellent stuff. Fits the vibe/plot of Peragus a lot more.

Thanks Zhaboka; and for being so quick of the bat with the praise .

This Hex-edit work you have been doing is evidently bringing the texturing work of Peragus to a whole new level. I am blown away. I always loved reskins of Peragus, tried a whole bunch of them. I tried like 3 versions by Xarwarz but this first room has always been annoying to anybody that tries modding Peragus. This work you are doing is formidable and will undoubtedly result in a superior work. The floor and roof being different gives a whole new feel and is a great refresher from vanilla. Peragus always felt too neat or too repetitive. Now it looks like a proper mining station might.

Thanks MrPhil, makes the extra work I've had to do to make it more unique worthwhile.

I did not notice the "big change" you spoke about, because I don't remember vanilla enough, though should you provide a before shot, I'm pretty sure I'd find-it :-P

Yeah, I figure most people won't notice it until I point it out; I'll wait until later to do that.

I like this spot of light on the floor (specular uh? not a word I'm familiar with, being french myself, but hey, whatever, I'm pretty sure I get just about enough to know what you mean  )

Specular is the reflected shine you get off of surfaces, most noticeable with hard shiny surfaces like metal. In particular the specular will move about as you move about the environment; with various features of the texture being highlighted. You can see if clearly with the metal roof tiles in that shot I pointed out as well as with the raw rough rock texture used for the walls in spots. Bit hard to tell as they're static images and all, much more noticeable when you're moving about the game environment.

The prison looks so much better! 

Yeah, that took quite a bit of work to look good. Surprisingly.

I retract all of my previous statements. This looks marvelous!

 

Job well done and the idea with the mosaic is pretty good. I know this may not mean much coming from me of all people... but it had to be said.

Thanks.

SIC is a master of remastering!

Damn straight!

It's cool to see how our styles diverge when comparing the screenshots side-by-side.

Yep, let's keep it that way

 Your visual theme reminds me of an early 1990s action film (something like, Escape from New York or Fortress 2)

Never thought of it that way; though I do have a soft spot for late 80s and early 90s action sci-fi flicks like Running Man -- like the black humor they had.

BTW.. Fun exercise: do a quick google search of your screenshots and select the "visually similar images" button.

As far as I can tell, there is no such button.