redrob41

Hello KotOR modding community. It has certainly been a long time since I've posted here. While life has been busy and can get in the way of modding, I have been working on a big project in secret. For the past few years I have been chipping away at my own version of an A.I. Upscale 4x mod for most of the default character files in both games. Because it has been slow going, I didn't want to get distracted by constantly responding to "when is it going to be ready?" prompts when I could be spending time on the files. I also didn't want to get anyone's hopes up about it, only to then keep delaying because I'm often too much of a perfectionist. But after so much time has elapsed, I keep thinking that I need to put something out, even if it is incomplete in my books. To give you an idea of how big a project this is, I have completed 329/475 textures that are common to both games, 71/214 textures for K1, and 184/419 textures for TSL. That makes for a grand total of 584/1108 textures or 52.71%. I'm using the textures as the basis for completion, but there are also 459 models for K1 and 648 models for TSL completed so far. I've attached a spreadsheet with a list of all the files involved. The reason why it is so slow going is that this mod is more than just a simple process of running all the character textures through an A.I. upscaling program. The purpose is to increase the size and fidelity of the character textures while maintaining the painterly style of the original game artists. I have also been attempting to fix many of the UVW mapping errors, lighting errors, and some XYZ errors that the original model .mdl & .mdx files may have had. One problem of upscaling textures that I've found is that the model seams become glaringly obvious at higher resolution, so I've been painstakingly painting those to look seamless. Anyone who is familiar with my previously released mods will know how much I try to fix those pesky model errors. The other thing about A.I. upscaling software, is that I haven't found one that gives perfect results. Instead of relying on one result, I usually run texture files through an A.I. upscaling program multiple times using different settings. Some settings result in "crunchy" textures (high contrast, sharp edges). Some result in "soft" textures (smooth gradients, lower contrast, blurry edges). Some result in better straight/parallel lines. Early tests used Vance AI; Deep Image; ImageUpscaler; or Let's Enhance. Eventually Topaz Labs' Gigapixel AI was chosen and used on the majority of textures. Then I combine textures in a multi layered Photoshop file, using layer masks to isolate the best parts of each upscaled image. This allows for some portions to be smooth (like skin, glass, metal or tubing), others to be sharp (like burlap, skin folds, hair, scratches, etc). Then I manually paint away errors, fix seams, and make additional changes. At any rate, the reason for this WIP post is that I've been out of the loop for so long, that I don't know the best way to package and upload the mod. I usually use 7zip, so that's not the problem. I currently have 378 tga, tpc, & txi files (4.09 GB) that are common to both games; 459 mdl, mdx, tga, tpc, & txi files (1.07 GB) specifically for K1; 648 mdl, mdx, tga, & txi files (2.90 GB) specifically for TSL. I was originally planning on packaging them up all together and letting the user to put them into their respective override folders, making the common files only needing to be downloaded once. The other option is to make two download packages, one for each game, where the common files are included in both packs. This would result in having to download the largest batch of files twice, but it would be easier for installation. To complicate it further, I would also make download packages for a tpc only installation (for smaller file sizes and easier to run in-game). The other questions I have are: which upload method do users prefer: single download for both games (smaller size overall), or two files (one for each game makes installation easier)? how many screenshot images can be uploaded to showcase the contents of the mod? I currently have 197 pngs for a total of 561 MB, and would like to make more. I've attached a few to sample a range of the types of changes the mod tackles. are there any samples for the Read Me file regarding Permissions and Credits? I want to make the tga version into a modder's resource. Where is the best place to put a link to my "Buy me a Coffee" tip jar? I'm hoping to use any funds towards software upgrades for future modding. I don't know if I'll ever actually finish this mod, but I need to share what I've got before the universe jumps in again and makes something impossible for me. Anyway, happy New Year. I hope to continue more of this work in 2025. Screenshot samples: KotOR upscale completed list v0_52.xlsx

Thanks. Yeah, it was really frustrating to be so close when Windows 10 decided to make the old tools stop working. I'm really glad that the modding community here is still so alive. The new tools are working great, and I should be able to actually get something done 😄. Hopefully you won't have to wait years again for the next one 😉.

View File Party Model fixes and HD Bastila The main purpose of this mod is to fix many of the party models that have uvw errors. Some of these errors may be too small to see in-game, but most become glaring when using some of the HD texture mods here on this site. The only HD texture that I have included here, is for Bastila Shan's head model (P_BastilaH04) which is now 2048x2048 pixels. I have tried to remain true to her original look. The models that I have fixed, and are included, are: default clothes models for Bastila Shan Canderous Ordo Carth Onasi Jolee Bindo Juhani Mission Vao HK-47's whole body model head models for Bastila and Carth HD head texture for Bastila head texture for Jolee (to fix the mustache) two additional clothes textures for Carth Each of these character's files can be used separately, so that the user has the option of mixing and matching with other mods. Many of the screenshots are animated with before/after scenes that flip every 7 seconds. There are included text files with much more detail as to what has been fixed in each. There are also a few files included that other modders can use for helping their own texture mods (some uvw maps and a few Photoshop psd files with multiple layers already separated). Submitter redrob41 Submitted 06/09/2018 Category Skins K1R Compatible Yes  

Is it ever. I know I disappeared for nearly 2 years, but it's a great feeling that the modding community here is alive and well! I've been downloading and trying out the new tools, and is it my imagination, or did someone figure out how to get bumpmapping to work? That would be amazing!

Thanks VP. I've been downloading the new tools, and trying them out. It'll still take a lot of work to make my lizards compatible for TSL (basically gotta do all the models from scratch), but at least now it is possible.

Hey, long time no see. I know I’ve been busy for a while (being a dad is worth most of my time). Once upon a time, I did have plans to make TSL versions of my lizard people. The skins are mostly done, they just need refinement for the larger texture size. The real problem is making the head models. Ever since I upgraded to Windows 10, I can’t get the NWMax plugin to work. That means I can’t load a model to do any work on it. If anyone can point me to a fix or update, I’d really appreciate it.

I’m not completely disappeared, lol. I’ve just been too busy being a dad to spend much time on my own hobbies. I’ll admit, this week was the first time in a long time I’ve even browsed the forums. Plus, ever since I started using Windows 10, I’ve been having trouble playing K1 or TSL, and I can’t work on models because the NWMax plugin keeps getting blocked. Which is unfortunate, because I want to merge some TSL head models in order to re-create the K1 playable heads. If anyone can point me in the direction of a NWMax update, I’d be really thankful.

I've been looking into that, and I think that you can get away without having to do any uvw edits. If you extend the mustache texture down so that it covers the upper lip texture, it should solve most of the weirdness. That whole part of the model should be mustache that overhangs the upper lip. The actual upper lip model is uvw mapped to two completely separate areas (the main area is below the teeth, the other is to the right of that). I've made up a quick version to illustrate that, and hopefully you can use it as a guide:

Old files are always a nice trip down memory lane. "I remember back in aught six, when I was just a newbie modder...back then, all we had for tools was gumption and a can-do attitude!" Q, you certainly have invited the floodgates of suggestion with this one I've noticed that Jolee's basic clothes have some random uvw errors on the front of the jacket (that I intend to fix). Also, is there something weird about his top lip? It's like the model vertices were designed specifically for his mustache, but then the uvw map puts some of his lip on there, and the model portion for the actual lip looks flat. Is it just my imagination? I don't know if it's something that requires a uvw fix, or just a texture fix?

I've always thought of his colour as rusty. I've found that if the texture has an alpha channel, while rendering, 3DS max applies it as a flat overlay of white, so everything gets washed out. If you make the alpha 100% white, you should be able to see the original texture properly.

Do you mean, can I make a version where the default one-piece swimsuit stays the same, but the boots become olive green to match?

Major update for this mod. I've overhauled a few models, and added a few characters. Plus nicer screen shots Most notable are Atton and Mical are new, Mira now has dangly shirt ties, and there are better dancer models all around. Enjoy

When Schizo made the mdl, did they add, delete, or weld any of the vertices? If not, then I'd suggest using the Taina's replacer method to basically transform the original mdl's coordinates to match the new one. Using this method only changes coordinates, and doesn't affect the poly face normals (which affect rendered shadows). At a guess (I'm not on my modding computer ATM), I'd say that there must be a hard edge along the lip, and compiling with MDLOps (and then using the HeadFixer) might be the cause of the weird shadow that you're seeing.

This is the tutorial I refer to when dealing with dangly mesh: http://harvestmoonconsortium.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=15384&sid=a6a21f745212a9ee075ffe4a129b6236

Yeah, I'll put them out this week. They're only the standard size (512x512) not Quanon size . I'll try and get you my psd file, so that you can at least have the individual parts broken out onto their own layers, to get you started. With the amount of work that you're putting in on these hi-res versions, maybe I can help by saving you some time.

Well I found my old file, and I was able to quickly make a version that looks like that concept art. I also updated the mdl file, because there were some uvw issues. They aren't very noticeable with the default texture, but it's much cleaner now for modded textures.

You know, I think I might have an old texture that I made for Carth, where I colorized it to be Republic red & gold. I'll have to dig that out. I think my problem was that I wanted to make it (texturename)02.tga so that it wouldn't overwrite the original, but I couldn't get the cutscene to use 02 instead of 01. Plus, I wanted to do red and gold for all the player default clothes too, but never got around to it.

You're welcome Q. I don't know if I'll ever find myself in Belgium, but if I do, I might have to waive my non-drinker status, although chocolate would be a good substitute As for why she looks older, one thing that I can think of is that the mdl has some unfortunate shadows that happen at the outside corners of her eyes. These aren't a part of the texture, but rather the in-game rendering. The reason for it is that there are some unwelded vertices all around her eyesocket. Normally this is so that there is a hard edge where the eyelids are, but in her model's case, there are a few extra verts that aren't welded, but should be. I tried to fix it in max, but somewhere along the process (either de-compiling with MDLOps 0.6a1, or exporting from 3DS max 2016, or re-compiling with MDLOps 0.7a2) all the seams get buggered just a tiny bit. This results in a little bit of flickering when animated because the seams don't line up perfectly anymore (similar to many of the models in TSL). I'm guessing that it has to do with the vertex coordinates getting rounding differences. The only thing about the texture that I can see that might make her appear older, is that the laugh lines around the corners of the mouth might be a little off. I noticed that your source image has the woman in a great big laugh, which makes the folds (where the bottom of her cheeks wrap in towards her mouth) end up very deep and shadowy. In most of the K1 head models, the face textures are painted with a neutral expression, so that the fold isn't very pronounced. You might want to find some photo source that has a nice, neutral or blank facial expression. Edit: Although, the latest screenshots (post #314) look pretty good

Ok, so I'm looking at the model in max, and I can see now that there's just a crisp row of polygons under her lip, and they make a hard shadow in-game. I think I'll soften that out a bit, since it's only one pair of vertices that need to move. They kind of undercut the edge of her lip by being concave contours. At least its something that can be fixed with Taina's method alone.