Quanons many projects.

[Kexikus 994]

That looks really good

I was already a big fan of your old Malachor skybox, but this one looks even better. Good luck with the top texture, which will probably take quite a bit of try and error but I'm sure it'll be worth it.

[Zhaboka 91]

Awesome. Much more immersive than the original.

[Quanon 263]

Just messing about with 3Ds Max; taking a little break from Malachor

 

[Zhaboka 91]

Very cowl-y. Reminds me of a certain Anakin fellow's mask...

[Quanon 263]

It has been awhile since I last posted anything in this thread. Had a fresh install of windows and all my modding tools and the Kotor games of course. Took me a bit to get setup again and to figure out what I was doing lately

 

Anyway here's my top 3 list of things to do:

 

- New rendered clips of the Ebon Hawk taking of/ landing for the Scrap Yard games

- Lightmaps for my BoS modules ( very buggy afair... ugh)

- Nar Shaddaa expansion, mainly cluttering the area to make it feel alive.

- Malachor Skies V2.0

 

 

Well, today I can scrap the last one from the list, it was nearly complete and it was the least heavy duty work.

I've done my best to deal with the seams. It seems it all comes down to a small shift of one tiny pixel.

It's still not perfect at some spots, but it's less obvious and harsh then in my previous attempts.

 

How does it look, like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll do an update on my Malachor Reskin pack. Releasing these separately seems a bit daft. No?

[VarsityPuppet 1,085]

I'll do an update on my Malachor Reskin pack. Releasing these separately seems a bit daft. No?

 

Makes sense but why does the sky look so grainy? Not like, pixely-grainy but film-grainy

[Quanon 263]

 

Makes sense but why does the sky look so grainy? Not like, pixely-grainy but film-grainy

 

I must have used that sort of effect on my background clouds. I've noticed it as well; that's the trouble with these big textures.

While working on them in PS, it's zoomed out, to keep oversight... I'll see if I can fix this.

[Kexikus 994]

I must have used that sort of effect on my background clouds. I've noticed it as well; that's the trouble with these big textures.

While working on them in PS, it's zoomed out, to keep oversight... I'll see if I can fix this.

 

The grain could also come from rendering in Terragen. That's at least an issue I had with my Korriban skybox. So you might want to check your original renders before searching for the error in PS and if the grain is indeed visible in the renders, go back to your terragen file, open the atmosphere node and under quality set the number of samples to something like 64. 32 might be enough but 64 should definitely work.

 

But otherwise, the sky looks amazing

[Quanon 263]

The grain could also come from rendering in Terragen. That's at least an issue I had with my Korriban skybox. So you might want to check your original renders before searching for the error in PS and if the grain is indeed visible in the renders, go back to your terragen file, open the atmosphere node and under quality set the number of samples to something like 64. 32 might be enough but 64 should definitely work.

 

But otherwise, the sky looks amazing

 

Trouble is, I didn't use Terragen to render the clouds, but took sky pictures from CGtextures. It would seem the grain is within those photos themselves. I've tried to replace the clouds today in PS and noticed the grain wasn't really gone, even when using a new set of cloud pictures.

 

But, since you mentioned Terragen, I might go that route. It might even work out better, since you have a good perspective feel in Terragen, giving a better feel of depth.

[Zhaboka 91]

I like the grain. It could be light rain falling from the irradiated Malachor skies.

[sELFiNDUCEDcOMA 98]

I think the skybox looks great; not sure I'll ever bother to make my own version.

 

The graininess may have a lot more to do with the renderer, it may be more obvious out of game as seen via a screenshot over in-game.

 

Though, you may consider simply downsizing a version of it, then up-scaling it back up to the original size, then overlaying it via the first in PS and playing with transparency and blend modes. Might be a bit quicker than trying to replace certain textures you've used... Just a thought.

 

Regardless, I think most people  -- apart from the odd whiner -- would be really happy with that.

[Quanon 263]

I think the skybox looks great; not sure I'll ever bother to make my own version.

 

The graininess may have a lot more to do with the renderer, it may be more obvious out of game as seen via a screenshot over in-game.

 

Though, you may consider simply downsizing a version of it, then up-scaling it back up to the original size, then overlaying it via the first in PS and playing with transparency and blend modes. Might be a bit quicker than trying to replace certain textures you've used... Just a thought.

 

Regardless, I think most people  -- apart from the odd whiner -- would be really happy with that.

 

Thanks for the tip! I haven't thought of resizing the cloud layer. Should be quicker route then redoing it all. Certainly taking in render times, which can be horrible on my old rig.

[Quanon 263]

When modding goes wrong... You get a good laugh once in awhile

Of late I've been revisiting some old areas I made for a mod. I've been adding fresh new walkmeshes, lots of woes, bastards and best of all Lightmaps to further improve the looks fo things.

 

But going back through these old models wasn't all that easy. Some of the original 3DS Max files are lost or I saved the wrong versions.  >_<

So that means redoing more then you think you would have to do, hahaha, but it pays off in the end.

 

But here's some nice shots when things go wrong; lightmaps are there for all the models, though some of them are... uh, not quite right

 

 

 

Famous problem; TO HELL WITH YOUR UVWmaps! SCREW YOU ROTATION! 

 

 

 

I hope this force field has a return policy.... It has an animation, which makes it even more "wonky" looking.

 

 

Atton piloting skills at his best: CRASH AND BURN!!! AAAAHHH!

 

 

 

 

Well, at least the game didn't crash on loading

[DarthTyren 103]

2 things to check:

 

Make sure all objects are Editable Meshes, and double check the orientation of all objects on export (in the ASCII file). I can't tell you how many times I have faced this problem myself.

 

Regarding lightmaps: I'm not quite sure what to tell you. When dealing with the underside of objects, I would give two or three lights for every one over top. Also, make sure Realistic mode in Max is turned on.

 

Apart from that, unless you released the wrong Max scene in your Released Assets thread, there are others who do have the right scene file (albeit, without the walkmesh).

[Quanon 263]

2 things to check:

 

Make sure all objects are Editable Meshes, and double check the orientation of all objects on export (in the ASCII file). I can't tell you how many times I have faced this problem myself.

 

Regarding lightmaps: I'm not quite sure what to tell you. When dealing with the underside of objects, I would give two or three lights for every one over top. Also, make sure Realistic mode in Max is turned on.

 

Apart from that, unless you released the wrong Max scene in your Released Assets thread, there are others who do have the right scene file (albeit, without the walkmesh).

I've got my assets on my PC, no worries there

I'm already getting better results for the lightmaps, I'm making sure the big ships and some of the filler objects, like the crates, get their own separate lightmap.

It gives far better results, the ships are a real pain in the behind. Ebon Hawk is a model imported from the game, though you can't really tell which data remains within the mesh.

 

The displacement is an obvious one, old X Y Z coords can be really stubborn in 3DS Max to get rid of. Though the most easiest way is to just edit the ASCII file you get after exporting.

The lightmap UVW madness, is something I struggle to get corrected, certainly on these meshes out of the game. They cause major havoc all the time.

 

But taking it step by step often is the best way, too much in one goes wrong like 99% of the time. But sometimes you just get lucky and it works like a charm.

[Quanon 263]

Well,

 

Been awhile since I posted anything in here. I've not been too lazy... well a bit, to be honest.

I haven't done much work for my own mods, just helping out a few fellow modders here and there. Slowly, yes, I'm very content people have the patience to deal with me.

A slug on sleeping pills goes faster.

 

Still; I felt an itch, after playing around with other peoples skins (sounds sick), check my album for those; CLICK BAIT. I just had to have a go at it myself again.

After playing around with the Twi'leks in 3Ds Max and a short play session in Kotor, another playthrough in the running, it was obvious Mission needed attention.

 

So after 4~5 hours of labour here's what I have. Did some hunting on the internet for fleshy skins and portraits. Lovely model, named Adele/ Agness is now Mission Vao.

Glorious. It did take me some time to get the blue tint back. Much going back and forth.

 

There's still some work to be done, you'll see in the renders she has two pair of eyes and eyebrows. I didn't use the UVWmap overlay, I'll need to fix that.

Then giving here outfits a redo as well. Then matching it to the head skin

 

Skin is 2048x2048 at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sithspecter 909]

Hey Buddy! Good to see you back at it again. Looks like the problem you're running into is that you aren't putting the eye texture in the right spot, I think it should go here:

 

 

That other part gets applied sort of to the eye socket/eyelids, I think.

[Quanon 263]

Yeah, I got it fixed. The double eyebrow thing is gone aswell, I switched on the wrong layer

Minor clean up work required, the eyeliner is a bit heavy, the lips don't match just right yet.

 

Then I need to decide to get that "gloss" on her cheecks back, or go for a more make-up effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[VarsityPuppet 1,085]

Yeah, I got it fixed. The double eyebrow thing is gone aswell, I switched on the wrong layer

Minor clean up work required, the eyeliner is a bit heavy, the lips don't match just right yet.

 

Then I need to decide to get that "gloss" on her cheecks back, or go for a more make-up effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think you should keep the freckles, it's part of what makes Mission

[Quanon 263]

Today, had a bit of fun stitching all these parts together.

I used various photos and body parts from a model, to get to this.

 

It's not perfect; I might have to dabble with hand painting the elbow, kneejoints myself.

A photo will never 100% match. The other bits work OK. I just need to get the color from the body to match with the head.

The layer options I used on the head don't really work out on the body.

 

Which I failed to do, it's sort of close, but still too different for my tastes. I'll have to do some research on the subject.

And no fear, she'll be wearing more then what is now on display. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Quanon 263]

I think you should keep the freckles, it's part of what makes Mission

I've started to add them back in, though it's very subtle at the moment. Perhaps a bit too faint.

It's tricky to know how much is needed. Painting and looking at it in Photoshop is different than in the game.

 

But then again, the game does have some close ups in the dialogues.

Do appreciate the comments

 

Luckily, I've got various versions and many layers. I can do a small set (more natural, more make-up, lots of freckles, less... zombie style ) and let the people choose which face to use.

Anyway, here's how things stand so far!

 

I got the face and body to match as close as possible. Also started to add back her underwear.

Keeping the classic look. Grey sport top and undies.

 

I can go back and do a different take on it, but first the classic game look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Quanon 263]

What fun! Being at home for a few extra days, instead of work. I can continue on with my modding project.

I've started to add in more details on the clothes. Nothing overly special. Just a small splash of extra color.

 

And her shoes/ slippers? Are almost done, just the underside is in need of replacement.
I'll then switch back to the skin. Doing these little preview renders, I'm wondering how much I can hide the seams of the UVmap.

 

Right now they're a little exposed I think. The shoulder/ arms and hips/ thighs are going to be the hardest part. Not sure if I can get that really fixed.

Looking at the old skin, they made her underpants and top a little longer, so it "hides" the seems.

 

Another "not sure what to do" are her Lekku/ tentacles? Is it only on older Twi'lek that they are more "gnarly", rimples and dimples? Should I keep them smooth?

At in a an extra color? Any suggestion on what the canon/ lore is on these.

 

Anyway, another preview of things so far:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Quanon 263]

Back with another update: Another afternoon spend on getting all of Missions skins done.

Her regular clothes have had some work done: boots, pants and her jacket are being worked on.

 

The skin for her arm and gloves have had some work done to. I just need to set the color of the skin to blue.

At the moment it's a nice pinky human flesh tone. Perhaps not healthy looking for a Twi'lek

 

Quick little shot:

 

 

 

 

 

[VarsityPuppet 1,085]

Back with another update: Another afternoon spend on getting all of Missions skins done.

Her regular clothes have had some work done: boots, pants and her jacket are being worked on.

 

The skin for her arm and gloves have had some work done to. I just need to set the color of the skin to blue.

At the moment it's a nice pinky human flesh tone. Perhaps not healthy looking for a Twi'lek

 

Quick little shot:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this to turn mission into an adult? Sorry if I missed it somewhere above

[Quanon 263]

Is this to turn mission into an adult? Sorry if I missed it somewhere above

No, not really, just updating the skin. I haven't changed the model

There have been a lot of nice reskin packs out there for the regular armors/ robes, skyboxes and areas in general.

 

I just couldn't find a party reskin to my liking. Not that they are bad, just not my taste or that matches better with the "new" look you can give the game.

If you install a few it can all start to look a bit cluttered.

 

EDIT: Did a last push for today: getting close to be done. 

 

Close up of the face with finished tentacles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothing; just need to do the small pouches on the front of her jacket. And that armband on her rightarm, just doesn't fit. It's ugly as hell, now that I look at it again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingame test: I did a dialogue with her, but that didn't get on a screenshot? I also noticed her teeth and tongue are blue

Another little tweak I need to get done.