redrob41

Yes, I plan on updating a number of my old mods. But like I say, I'm good at making the files, not so good at finishing them up for release. Mostly I've still got to make new screenshots and Read-Me files, plus convert tga to tpc. Then there's my ever nagging perfectionism that causes me to revise them again. Anyway, if I get more answers to my questions in the first post, it will help me to get to the next steps. My contributions to SpaceAlex's mod were small, and I haven't gotten to all of those yet.

Even worse. This is pretty much how it looks when I compile with MDLOps 1.0.2 as well.

I tried it again; the files from the MDLEdit folder comes out like this: Mind you, my old disc version of the game doesn't run well on my current computer (iMac running Win10 through Bootcamp) so I'm forced to use a Steam version of TSL. I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Thanks for the effort, but they don't seem to work any better in-game than mine. Hmmm. My ascii looks just fine in 3DS Max; it seems that it is only after compiling it to binary that the problems start.

As many of the long time members here will know, I had been using MDLOps 7a2 with GMax in 3DS Max, and Taina's Replacer for the longest time. For the past 6 months or so I have switched to MDLOps 1.0.2, KotorMax in 3DS Max and have been enjoying the successes. I like how it allows me to fix more than just xyz coordinates and uvw maps; now I can also fix vertex welds, bone weights, and smooth groups. I was merrily working on more of my 4x Upscale+ mods, and recently started doing PC heads. But, I ran into a snag with PMHC04, PMHH01, and others in TSL. Some of them come out looking like this: When I did the PMHC04 above, all I did was use MDLOps 1.0.2 to make the mdl.ascii file, renamed it, ran it back through MDLOps 1.0.2 to make the bin.mdl & mdx (with "Head model fix link to neck_g" checked) then renamed files and moved to Override folder. I had previously worked on it with much more extensive edits, but every time it would be messed up in-game. PMHC03 on the other hand, I had loaded the ascii into KotorMax and made many changes to it. I broke some of the vertices and welded others; I modified the uvw map and the smooth groups. This was all to get rid of the stretched triangle that went from the back of the head to the base of the flat top bangs. After exporting it, I recompiled to binary and dropped them in the override. This one worked really well. I wish they all went like this. I'm just wondering if there is a setting or something that MDLOps needs, or if I need to hex edit the binary mdl or text edit the ascii mdl or something else? I found out that if the file path and file name is too long, that it can cause problems with read/write in MDLOps, but I don't think that is the issue here. I haven't tried MDLedit yet, is there any tutorials for it? Are there future compatibility issues for re-modding the resultant mdl? I figure that this issue will also affect every head model that I tried to fix a long time ago (TSL Head Model Fixes) since the three mangled heads I've gotten so far coincide with it. I'd really like to be able to fix those head models for good. I've attached three of the ascii models, just in case someone wants to take a peek. Any help would be greatly appreciated. PMHC04-kotormax-Export5-FixUVWsmooth.mdl.ascii PMHH01-kotormax-Export1-FixUVW.mdl.ascii pfhc03-kotormax-Export2-FixUVW.mdl.ascii

Hey KotOR community, I need help. As you may know, I like making model and texture mods. My biggest weakness though, is actually packaging them up and releasing them. I'm sitting on a few small piles that I should just stop nitpicking and release them already. Since I don't check in very often, I fall out of the loop and so I have some questions which leads to option paralysis. Specialized Combat Suits HD I have made 4x upscale versions of my Combat Suits mod, so I'd like to replace the old one. The thing is, I don't know the best way to group the files for the end users. I want to have versions for 4x tga files (2048x2048 px), 4x tpc files, and 2x tpc files. Should I make three separate mod releases or combine them into one 7zip download and ask the user to pick their preferred files? What size icons should I include 128px or 64px? I don't know if there are issues with the icons depending on if someone is using upscaled and/or widescreen menus or maybe it doesn't matter? I do plan on releasing separate K1 and TSL versions. There are eight combat suits to choose from. Here's a K1 sample: Here's a TSL sample: Any advice you have will help me with the Read-Me instructions.

I guess the standard questions of which version of KotOR are you using (I'm testing with my original disk version), and is it fully updated? Are you using the tga or tpc version of this mod? Do you have other mods installed with this one? Have you noticed it with any other textures that use the blending punchthrough shader? For example Zaalbar or other Wookiees; Banthas; or my modified Mission's head (her eyelashes should have transparent hairs). Some environment textures use it, like trees, grass, grates, or netting. I seem to remember a similar problem with other transparent textures having errors due to graphics card compatibility. I just can't remember where I saw it off the top of my head. Have you tried doing a search for "blending punchthrough" or even just "punchthrough"?

When it comes to making my models compatible with other people's modded models, I think that the easiest thing for them to do is to extract my UVW maps and incorporate them into their models. As long as the vertices remain unchanged (no adding, subtracting, or welding faces or vertices) then you can probably convert the binary to ascii and simply copy and paste the "tverts" coordinates in a text editor then re-compile back to binary. I usually prefer the old school use of Taina's Replacer tool (only compatible up to mdlops 7), since it doesn't affect the smoothing groups, but I think it could still work with the newer methods. Feel free to do so. If their models have changed significantly (like I assume the spacesuit mod does), then copying and pasting won't work.

Hey Salk, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to get into this kind of forensic detail on what I have changed, since it takes away time from actually working on textures. But I'll do my best. Instead of using the quote function over and over again, I will just type in my responses in gold color underneath your earlier comments. Quoted from Salk: Hoping to be somewhat of help, I was thinking of reporting some of my findings about incompatibilities with other modifications when it comes to model files: Clashes with K1 Community Patch: (for many of these there is your own comments at the K1 CP's github page that would indicate that the models included in your modification can safely overwrite the K1 CP's models) c_drdwar.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/issues/46) The K1CP mdl has a better rifle and spark emitter. My UVW map is better, but not very noticeable during game play; perhaps only during screen shots and only if you've got a sharp eye. I can't think of any reason why my texture couldn't work with the K1CP model, but I haven't tried it. c_hutt.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/issues/80) I haven't looked at what K1CP changed, but it sounds like maybe the XYZ coordinates of the neck? My UVW map fixes a lot of stretching and seam mismatch. I touched up the mouth and tongue quite a bit. L_alien02.mdl/mdx (https://deadlystream.com/files/file/1290-jcs-dense-aliens-for-k1/) L_alien05.mdl/mdx (https://deadlystream.com/files/file/1290-jcs-dense-aliens-for-k1/) The K1CP have ported the TSL assets for use in K1. Mine is a fix of the default mdl mdx and texture. L_commf.mdl/mdx (the K1 CP .mdl file is roughly double in size) (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/28bf0a80a128b06c50d659cdd352b0c66af2e095) L_commm.mdl/mdx (the K1 CP .mdl file is roughly double in size) (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/28bf0a80a128b06c50d659cdd352b0c66af2e095) I haven't looked at what K1CP changed for the Lite Commoners. Mine have made significant UVW fixes. The textures are rebuilt from higher resolution body and head textures. N_CommF01.tpc -> N_CommF01.tga N_CommF07.tpc -> N_CommF07.tga N_CommM01.tga to N_CommM08.tga -> N_CommM01.tpc to N_CommM08.tpc The K1CP have ported the TSL assets for use in K1. Mine is a fix of the default textures. If you really want to, I suppose that you can port over my TSL versions of the 4x textures. n_commkidf.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/089e77fa155bae591e3c059a9508e1870bcac84c) n_commkidfd.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/089e77fa155bae591e3c059a9508e1870bcac84c) I haven't looked at what K1CP changed for the female kid's head. Was it a problem with the eyelid's or something? For the body models, I made similar UVW & texture fixes as the commoner bodies. I don't think that I made any XYZ coordinate edits. n_darthmalak.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/f2dd8728d439b20d72baeeb3e8c5564ad23af6e2) I haven't looked at what K1CP changed for Darth Malak; is it an animation fix? Mine has many small UVW fixes to reduce stretching. n_darthrevanf.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/76d90816c073357abdca5dbda0d1735c783bb75d) The K1CP added wider bones for shadows, and maybe some cape animation fixes? Mine has significant UVW edits so that there can be more detail added to the gloves and boots; as well as smaller UVW fixes to reduce stretching and fix seams and gaps. The boots and glove changes might make my model less compatible with other texture mods. I did not alter the bones or animations at all. n_darthrevanm.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/76d90816c073357abdca5dbda0d1735c783bb75d) The K1CP maybe fixed some cape animations? Mine has significant UVW edits so that there can be more detail added to the gloves and boots; as well as smaller UVW fixes to reduce stretching and fix seams and gaps. The boots and glove changes might make my model less compatible with other texture mods. I did not alter the animations at all. N_Repsold.mdl/mdx (https://deadlystream.com/files/file/1180-jcs-republic-soldier-fix-for-k1/) I haven't looked at what K1CP changed for the Male Republic Soldier. Mine has minor UVW edits. N_RepSold_F.mdl/mdx (https://deadlystream.com/files/file/1180-jcs-republic-soldier-fix-for-k1/) The K1CP replaced the Female Republic Soldier model with a heavily modified male model. Mine uses the original model with some UVW edits to reduce stretching, fix seams. I focused more on texture edits to greatly improve the look, often using clipped portions of the male texture N_RepSold01, or recolouring portions of N_TSFOff_F01 texture from TSL. n_wookief.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/issues/295) n_wookiem.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/issues/295) The K1CP made UVW edits to the mouth box and tongue. Mine have made similar changes, but probably with more detail. I also made UVW edits to the teeth so that the canines and incisors are aligned better. My UVW fixes also make it possible to add detail to the texture so that there are crowns on the molars. n_yoda.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/issues/479) The K1CP made UVW edits to the mouth box (and maybe tongue?). Mine has made those UVW edits and much more. I go into detail on the GitHub page that you linked to. P_BastilaBB01.tpc -> P_BastilaBB01.tga (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/issues/545) P_BastilaBA02.tpc -> P_BastilaBA02.tga (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/issues/545) The K1CP made changes to the .tpc file to fix the transparency to become Bare Metal shine, I believe? Mine also adds Bare Metal shine, either through txi file or within the tpc file. The K1CP duplicates BB01 and renames it BB02 so that both textures are the same. Mine upscales each separately and keeps the two individual textures. You can always rename my 4x textures the same way. p_zaalbar.mdl/mdx The K1CP made fixes so that there isn't a gap between his head and torso. Mine also addressed this by adjusting the XYZ coordinates and snapping the vertices together. I also made many UVW edits (there is more detail on the GitHub page) pfbes.mdl/mdx pfbfl.mdl/mdx pfbfm.mdl/mdx pfbfs.mdl/mdx pfbhl.mdl/mdx pfbhm.mdl/mdx pfbhs.mdl/mdx I think that I made similar changes as the K1CP (regarding UVW & XYZ fixes), but with additional UVW fixes. The F and G female armors also have XYZ fixes to reduce collar clipping. pfbjl.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/22b5b7c98682ae9257fb24cbc5f673a74d2eb4b3) pfbjm.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/22b5b7c98682ae9257fb24cbc5f673a74d2eb4b3) pfbjs.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/22b5b7c98682ae9257fb24cbc5f673a74d2eb4b3) The K1CP "Added corrected shadowcasting meshes for the skirt of the female Revan/Star Forge robes model". Mine does not. Mine makes UVW & texture fix additional detail on boot tops and gloves. Glove changes may not be compatible with other mods. rep_off_f.mdl/mdx (https://github.com/KOTORCommunityPatches/K1_Community_Patch/commit/f4f7d0ec7df15c049980a4a5b69012d328f9dc06) The K1CP fixed the left eyelid. Mine also fixes the left eyelid (maybe not the exact same way), plus many UVW fixes to reduce stretching, and fixed some bone weights. Quoted from Salk: More feedback and questions as I go through the files: 1: The N_Comm_low_M2.tga (and to a less extend also N_Comm_low_M3.tga) texture's face does not seem to match the original. Was an intended replacement? And in that case, why? For all of the Lite commoners, if I were to do a simple pass through an A.I. Upscale program, the results are minimal improvement. Certainly not worth the extra file size. So, I copied parts of faces from other textures and rebuilt/repainted them. For N_Comm_low_M I used most parts from N_Comm_w_m. They were stretched to fit the low_M face. For N_Comm_low_M2 I used the ear & hair from N_Comm_w_m; the mouth, beard, nose, cheek, eye, eyebrow, & forehead from N_comAMH02. I had to make some manipulations to make them fit the low_M2 face, and it isn't a perfect match, but the resolution and detail is much improved; especially for a character that most people ignore and walk past in the Taris Upper City. For N_Comm_low_M3 I used the ear & hair from N_Comm_w_m; the mouth, moustache, nose, cheek, eye socket, eyebrow, forehead, iris & sclera from N_comAMH02. Again, it isn't an exact match, but it looks much better. 2: In the N_Comm_low_M4.tga texture I noticed that the eye seems shifted to the right compared to the original placement. I'm not sure whether it's relevant or not, considering I know very little to nothing about textures and models. Please feel free to diisregard any of my feedback that proves useless. For N_Comm_low_M4 I chose to have more variety, since the original M4 & M3 are nearly identical except for mustache & sideburns. I used the ear & hair from N_Comm_w_m; most of the face from N_ShaardanH01; heavily modified to fit the M4 face. 3: N_Comm_low_M5.tga seems to suffer from the same issue of N_Comm_low_M2.tga and that's perhaps not surprising considering that the face is the same. Even in this case, it seems that it's replaced by a different kind of face. Nothing drastic, but I wonder why that happened. For N_Comm_low_M5 I chose to have more variety, since the original M5 & M4 are identical. I used the ear & hair from N_Comm_w_m; most of the face from N_comAMH01; heavily modified to fit the M5 face. 4: The face in N_Comm_low_Mb.tga (and in other textures using the same face) shows a complete reversal in the prominency of the eye. In the original texture, the eye is very small. In the upscale, it's very big. Hmm, maybe for those first two MB & MB2 I could have done a better job on the eyes. These screenshots were taken in 3DS Max, not in-game. Hopefully it gives you a better idea of how I changed things. I can sum it up by saying that I used artistic & creative license, rather than just running textures through an A.I. Upscaling program. 5: I have a model file for the rakata that has the following comment about it "Changed slightly the rotation of the Rakata model to make the transition from talking animation to standing position considerably better". I have attached here the file in case you may want to check whether your own model fixes this particular issue as well. And if not, you may want to incorporate that fix into your own model? I have not done that to mine and was unaware of that mod. Also, in regard to the Gammorean & Selkath models, I haven't changed any animations. If you prefer the fixed animation models, then please do use them. Hopefully there aren't too many differences in the UVW maps so that my textures will still work with the other models. 6: In the n_spaceman_low.tga texture I see what seems to be a wrench on the left of the screen which is not present in the original texture. Could you please tell me where it comes from? I painted that to fix the shoulder straps that attach to the back pack. The original just has a black patch there. 7: I have already a set of HD textures for the N_Swoopgang0x series which I honestly prefer (speaking of which I will leave a more general kind of feedback at the end of this session, hoping it may be of some use), but I noticed that my set has the weird green tint that you have instead succeeded to remove from your own set. That green tint is harmless or not? In-game I never noticed any kind of artifact, but I cannot say that I am a very observant person. I attached an image of how one of those upscaled textures look like (which is exactly how they look in the original texture). If you have a texture that you like, then by all means use it. That's the beauty of mods: choice and customization. For the Swoopgang textures, I manually painted a lot of that detail in. From what I can tell, the bright green areas are from the original artists under painting that never got fully painted by the end of their work on those textures. With low res textures on these older models, it isn't so noticeable. But with HD textures, it becomes a little more obvious to me. 8: In my override I have already a .txi file P_BastilaH04. In mine it says "clamp 3" while in the one you provide there is "blending punchthrough". Do you know what the difference might be? This is a choice on my part. I don't know what the original's "clamp 3" is for, but "Blending Punchthrough" makes the alpha channel have transparency, but only on the model face that the UVWs are mapped to. This is used on many models that have hair strands, so I decided to use it on the HD version of Bastila, in order to give her hair more depth and believability. This is also different from the default transparency, which affects backfaces on the model, and would cause visual problems with a head model. 9: The K1 CP includes the models for alien2 and alien5 which are actually coming from JC's Dense Aliens. I noticed that JC's model files are significantly bigger in size. Which files should I keep? Those models are basically ported over from TSL, as is explained in JC's mod. That means that the model files from TSL have been extracted and re-compiled to work in K1's game engine. The reason why they are larger file size is because they have more polygons. They also use two high res textures each, instead of the Lite versions that have a single low res texture each. Keep whichever one you like to look at. If you're a purist and want to get the K1 experience, use my mod. If you wish that the TSL aliens were available in K1, then JC has got you covered. THE MAIN THING TO REMEMBER is that there are bound to be conflicts with other mods. If you try and list every conflict out there, then this is going to be a long, tedious process. If I tried to list every minute detail that I have painted or adjusted on these hundreds of texture files, it would take me another full year before I started working on the next batch. I just spent the better part of a day researching other mods to compare to mine; taking screenshots of Lite models and combining them into large images so that anyone could compare them. It takes time to do all that. In fact, I had to delay the release of my upscale mods by several months as I worked on screenshots and the spreadsheet trying to explain what I have done to each texture. I am very grateful that people are taking an interest in my work. Thank you. I'm tired, I hope I haven't rambled on too much. I'm going to bed now. 😴

I was in the habit of doing the lite versions of characters that are similar enough to their regular versions, even if they aren't actually used in-game. Typically the lite texture is just scaled down from the regular texture, with some minor changes to accommodate the lite model's different uvw map. In the case of Gammorean texture, they are both the same size, but there are some minor uvw differences between their L_Gammorean & C_Gammorean models (around the mouth, hands, and armpit). If I recall correctly, the animations are stored in the .mdl while the uvw map is stored in the .mdx, correct? Still, I don't recommend mixing and matching the files, since there may be some line errors due to how files can be compiled to and from ascii format. If anyone wants to try and apply my uvw map to another model that has the animations fixed, you go right ahead.

Thanks for pointing them out, I have added the ambient & diffuse fix to my list. I could see that the Twi'lek male (twilek_m.mdl) & Corran Falt (n_correnfalth.mdl) had the issue, but the Sith Officer head (sith_off.mdl) looked correct already. Also, the twilek_m02.mdl, twilek_m03.mdl, n_komadh.mdl, n_xorh.mdl, & n_zharh.mdl models in TSL have the correct settings, but are not used in-game. By default the TSL heads.2da file uses twilek_m for all male Twi'leks, and just swaps the alttexture column. So in the meantime, editing the heads.2da file can solve the issues as well. I will still eventually fix the model though, because I can't just let things go 😝

In case anyone was worried about Logan23, I managed to get a hold of him via text messages this week. He sounds like he's doing ok, just real world takes precedence. I know how real world things can get. The past few years have been tough for me too, but I wouldn't want to derail this thread talking about my struggles. I'm here now, making mods, and that's what matters 😃. I can't speak for Logan23, but I consider the models and textures that I create specifically for RoR to not be modder's resources. That would take away from the uniqueness of RoR. I've made some nifty characters that I'd like to keep special just for RoR. Hopefully you'll get to see them someday. N-DReW25 and the team are more in the loop than I am about when things might happen. If I make some models and textures that are more common, then I will probably choose to make those open to all. For example, my Modder's Resource: Specialized Combat Suits for KotOR and TSL v1 was originally made for use with RoR, but I felt that other people can use it too. By the way, I am about halfway done making HD versions of that mod. I just tend to get sidetracked a lot. Like now I'm revamping my Jedi Robe neck fixed models and textures, both for RoR and for a general resource. Always lots to work on. I just found that the more time I spend on the public side (forums, PMs) then the less time I have for painting textures, which is why I was modding in the background for so long.