legends [Finished] [K1] Selven "Legends"

[ebmar 893]

[Completed: July 09, 2018]

 

 

# 00. Disclaimer #

Yes, very much influenced by @CarthOnasty's approach of organizing a WIP thread [it is obvious that I'm a big admirer of CO's systemic way of preparing a mod]- I'm starting my first now

And as the current development is reaching above 30% marks, now I have the confidence to officially labeled this project a "Work in Progress".

 

# 01. Background #

"Now you'll see why I'm the most dangerous assassin on Taris."

A line that make most of KotOR players be like "Really? Hmm... let's see what you've got then, Selven!"- and less than 20 seconds later, it feels like nothing is really happening then #truestory.

Bugged with the fact that Selven could possibly be beaten in less than 20 seconds with under-leveled PC and companions, along with her looks that just too ordinary point to the fact that she was a female Human high-profile assassin who became infamous for extermination of the Ulgo family on Taris and tons of other assassination attempt; the project was started then. So, for an introduction- here's the vanilla Selven:

[Updated: June 17, 2018] Brief description:

Selven began her career as a mere killer in the employ of Davik Kang, the local crime lord of the Exchange on Taris. Eventually, she abandoned her service to him to work as a freelance assassin for the highest bidder.

Sometime during or prior to 3956 BBY, possibly under the employ of House Organa, Selven murdered six civilians -an entire family of House Ulgo- along with all their bodyguards. This massacre was only the first of a chain of killings that would lead to the extinction of the entire house on Taris. Day after day, more and more Ulgos fell at the hands of Selven, whether gunned down on the streets, poisoned in their own homes, or a variety of other methods. In spite of the level of security stacked against her, Selven was always able to elude the authorities, proving herself unstoppable to all the guards and droids that the Ulgos could muster for their protection. By the end of her killing spree, no Ulgo remained alive on Taris, and she had earned a reputation as the best assassin on the planet.

In the aftermath, House Organa fiercely pressured government authorities to place a contract on Selven's head, arguing that for this mass murderer to run loose threatened the lives of countless innocents. Despite this, the bitter rivalry that had existed between House Organa and House Ulgo was well-known, and there were many in the public that speculated that it was the Organas that had hired Selven to eliminate the Ulgos, and that they hoped her death would keep this secret from being exposed.

In 3956 BBY, her bounty was posted by Zax, the Hutt in charge of the bounty office at Javyar's Cantina in the Lower City. Numerous bounty hunters attempted to collect the bounty, but every last one of them were killed by Selven. When the Sith Empire occupied the planet during the Jedi Civil War, the assassin was not intimidated by the Sith troopers that confronted her, slaying any that treated her as a hostile.

Wookieepedia

 

# 02. Planning #

• [Completed: June 17, 2018] Changing the looks; both to the head and the body to make Selven more unique- and to fit her description being "the best assassin on the planet".
• [Completed: June 26, 2018] Changing the .utc to enhanced her skills and abilities so she's tougher to fight- and you wouldn't want to probably! And to equip her with Stealth field generator- referring for her being always able to elude the authorities, in spite of the level of security stacked against.
• [Completed: June 17, 2018] Alter the voice, so it kind of fit her new personality [stick with the original VO- a slight of change to the pitch only].

 

# 03. Work in Progress #

• The looks has been changed; both the head and body texture are unique now. Could say her appearance is already in its final form, seems fitting with a future plan of her to make. Big THANKS to @DarthParametricfor the massive help, I could say 99% of this project has DP's involvement there
• [Updated: June 16, 2018] Been learning about normal mapping recently, so put what I learn [some basic things] to good cause with the head texture.
• [Updated: June 16, 2018 - latter] Realized that for mapping tattoos, it would be legit to have the bump going outside, not inside as pictured above so, rough-fix to the texture.

Using that reference as the starting point, I'll use that approach of bumping the tattoos "outside" going forwards.

• [Updated: June 18, 2018] Been working on the body texture; it have not been finalized, bet still have to work on some things for sure- but self assured, it is on the right track.

To tell the truth, this was that very moment when the "Less is More" consideration kicks in.

• [Updated: June 19, 2018] The head and body tex's has been finalized; using legit way of normal mapping. The objective has been accomplished, and personally happy with result.

Hats-off to DarthParametric! Again-and-again, for the ultimate guidance.

• [Updated: June 26, 2018] Done with the .utc, as Selven's harder to fight now. Tried to battle-tested her with Lvl 7 Carth and Lvl 7 PC in Normal difficulty and we both ended up being meatbags so, mission "mini-boss Selven" is quite accomplished there. Also, the Stealth field generator is now in the inventory- along with some other upgrade-downgrade tweaks to keep her "balanced".
• [Updated: June 14, 2018] Out of plan, the vibrosword she's carrying has been changed to a unique one. With the fact that I've been given permission from @DeadMan to use assets from [K1] Vibrosword Replacement Pack, the "SL7 Vibrosword" development get its one's feet wet now [late to notice that it is stated in the mod description that everyone may freely use the assets as long as they stick to the agreement but, having a "green light" from the mod's author itself is quite a pleasing moment to tell the truth]. As attached:

My pleasure from asking, DeadMan! Always.

• [Updated: June 20, 2018] Ultimately, the final puzzle of this 1.0 saga has been resolved. Permission has been granted from @Sithspecter to use the assets from High Quality Blasters! And it seems SS even have the original files uploaded as a resource so, we'll absolutely go with that! Much thanks, SS! As attached:

I'll do my best Sithspecter! I'll do my best.

• [Updated: June 23, 2018] The blaster had details engraved, referring to the designer-craftsman of the blaster- Sithspecter. The blaster is now called SS-SL7 Rapid Blaster.

• [Updated: July 05, 2018] The blaster have it looks updated, and the look was pleasing as-is. And more importantly, the shade and tone is fitting with Selven itself.

• [Updated: June 26, 2018] The sword had details engraved, referring to the craftsman of the sword- DeadMan. The sword is now called DM-SL7 Vibrosword.

• [Updated: July 07, 2018] Been decided that the normal map feature will not be utilized either on the head, body, blaster nor the sword's texture; for the sake of the game and the mod itself. So, along with seems to be the final update before the 1.0 release, is presented to you; yes- this is the final form of Selven "Legends" version 1.0:

• [Completed: July 09, 2018]

  Been thankful that the plan's running as intended. The mod was submitted today, and its been released now- thanks moderators! And with this update, it is being confirmed that; the 1.0 version of Selven "Legends", is finished. 🎇

  So, do really hope you enjoy the mod as much as I do!

  I'm leaving an extras here for that bit of entertainment. See you on the next update!

• [Completed: July 09, 2018] Preview to the released version of Selven "Legends" down below:

   

# 04. Next Steps #

• [Completed: July 09, 2018] The 1.0 version of the mod is has been released.

# 05. Future Plans #

• Changes to the scripts would be a possibility in 2.0, 2.1, or later version of this mod. I'm having this thought for not having Selven deceased at Taris, but she instead escape from the assassination attempt to a planet which I don't think about it yet. Long way to go there
• As DP suggested; there would be an additional VO for an expanded version which I believe, would lead Selven to becoming a cybernetics assassin.
• Having Selven her new looks to fit with the plot mentioned in the first point and second point of the future plans.

 

# 06. Final Remarks #

Critiques, comments, suggestions, questions and any feedbacks are very much appreciated. Thank you, for taking your time here

Edited September 27, 2018 by ebmar
Added logo

[DarthParametric 3,781]

I was thinking of a way you could keep her original voice for the Taris encounter, but still have the option for additional VO for an expanded version where she escapes and you fight her later on another planet. You could say she was severely wounded in the first fight and needed to have cybernetics implanted. That would free you up to use a robotic sort of voice filter to distort whoever did the new VO and provide an easy explanation for why she has a different voice in a subsequent encounter.

[ebmar 893]

28 minutes ago, DarthParametric said:

I was thinking of a way you could keep her original voice for the Taris encounter, but still have the option for additional VO for an expanded version where she escapes and you fight her later on another planet. You could say she was severely wounded in the first fight and needed to have cybernetics implanted. That would free you up to use a robotic sort of voice filter to distort whoever did the new VO and provide an easy explanation for why she has a different voice in a subsequent encounter.

Yes! I'm thinking about her severely wounded in the first fight and would have her some "battle scars" on the next encounter; and of course with her ramblings about it too 🤣 That is why I intend to use the non-mirrored UV texture you gave me for future release, to get her a one-sided battle scar on her face. For to having cybernetics implanted and to use robotic sort of voice filter on her; Wow. That is something else DP, that is amazing idea. I'm having a dilemma here 🤣 and IF she's a "cyborg" in the latter, who would have helped her on becoming one? Did she join the Sith? 🤔

[DarthParametric 3,781]

I don't think she'd necessarily need to side with any faction to get cybernetics. They should be common enough for someone of sufficient means. I'm sure Czerka has them for sale.

 

Probably a bigger question is how she either get off planet past the Sith blockade, or survived the bombardment.

[DarthVarkor 384]

19 minutes ago, DarthParametric said:

Probably a bigger question is how she either get off planet past the Sith blockade, or survived the bombardment.

I think the only explanation for Calo getting off Taris is his line: "I am hard to kill, Lord Malak". A similar line could work for Selven, too.

[Sith Holocron 2,476]

Or something like . . . 

Selven ". . . The only question is 'Do I kill you fast or kill you slow?'"  

PC: "How did you get off of Taris?" [One of oh-so-many possible responses to her cliche line]

Selven: "Who's asking the questions around here?"

[ebmar 893]

51 minutes ago, DarthParametric said:

I don't think she'd necessarily need to side with any faction to get cybernetics. They should be common enough for someone of sufficient means. I'm sure Czerka has them for sale.

Probably a bigger question is how she either get off planet past the Sith blockade, or survived the bombardment.

What about the severe wounds she gets from the first fight? Because I imagine a quarter of her face is robotic as you mentioned "robotic sort of voice filter" there 🤣

And I'm kind of assuming she'd having similar fate with Malak being jawless, but maybe she's not that unlucky- she'd still have her jaw intact. There is this tiny vision that point to her becoming a dark Jedi, I'm not so sure though 🤔

 

30 minutes ago, DarthVarkor said:

I think the only explanation for Calo getting off Taris is his line: "I am hard to kill, Lord Malak". A similar line could work for Selven, too.

Yes! Could it be "We were hard to kill, Lord Malak"? Then it could leads to a double-ambush on Tatooine, is that legit? I don't know for sure 🤔

 

8 minutes ago, Sith Holocron said:

Or something like . . . 

Selven ". . . The only question is 'Do I kill you fast or kill you slow?'"  

PC: "How did you get off of Taris?" [One of oh-so-many possible responses to her cliche line]

Selven: "Who's asking the questions around here?"

Oh my 🤣 Of all the possibility of some threatening lines, it seems she still go with the legendary ones.

[DarthParametric 3,781]

1 hour ago, ebmar said:

What about the severe wounds she gets from the first fight? Because I imagine a quarter of her face is robotic as you mentioned "robotic sort of voice filter" there 🤣

And I'm kind of assuming she'd having similar fate with Malak being jawless, but maybe she's not that unlucky- she'd still have her jaw intact

Yeah I had pictured her face more or less intact. You don't want to copy the Malak gimmick and, besides, it's a hell of a lot easier to slap some bits and pieces of electronic guff on her face and texture in some burnt meat, scars, etc. than it is to create a whole new jawless head model. It doesn't even have to be her face so much. Some sort of collar indicating neck damage would probably be sufficient for the cybernetics. Larynx damage is all you need to justify the electronic voice. Although maybe losing an eye an having a cybernetic one would be kind of cool. I'm sure SWTOR and other games can provide some inspiration on the look of the cybernetics.

[ebmar 893]

1 hour ago, DarthParametric said:

Some sort of collar indicating neck damage would probably be sufficient for the cybernetics. Larynx damage is all you need to justify the electronic voice. Although maybe losing an eye an having a cybernetic one would be kind of cool. I'm sure SWTOR and other games can provide some inspiration on the look of the cybernetics.

Hmm... maybe I would need your help again with remapping texture to a non-mirrored UV set again DP, if you don't mind

But save it for later surely.

Yes! I agree with the collar indicating neck damage as it would provide an explanation for why she has a different voice later.

And sure, I'll keep those suggestions noted and along with that- I'll search for some inspiration on the look of cybernetics.

Quote

Yeah I had pictured her face more or less intact. You don't want to copy the Malak gimmick and, besides, it's a hell of a lot easier to slap some bits and pieces of electronic guff on her face and texture in some burnt meat, scars, etc. than it is to create a whole new jawless head model. It doesn't even have to be her face so much.

Don't worry, those things never crossed my mind. As always, take the easiest path if possible.

So, I have been playing with the mirrored texture, resulting on this pretty much rough-preview of the "cyborg phase" 🤣

[DarthParametric 3,781]

This is probably a bit extreme, but I was thinking you could use something like this as a guide:

http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?41894-Pretty-Boy

[ebmar 893]

Wow, is that kind of result would be possible without doing change to the current model @DarthParametric? To tell the truth I kind of digging that looks but, referring to my current skill- still much have yet to learn then! 😂

[DarthParametric 3,781]

You'd need to make some model edits if you wanted to go the whole hog and have the mutilated ear and distorted mouth, but like I said I wasn't thinking you need to go that extreme.  I was just suggesting that it might be useful as a guide for the style of injury, that sort of burned/damaged flesh. The folds in the skin you could mostly do in the texture, although you could also generate a normal or bump map from that as well for some added depth.

[ebmar 893]

7 minutes ago, DarthParametric said:

The folds in the skin you could mostly do in the texture, although you could also generate a normal or bump map from that as well for some added depth.

So those folds in the skin if applied to the current model- would only be how it "looks" and is not actually "bumpy" then?

[DarthParametric 3,781]

They'd be "bumpy" if you generated a normal/bump map.

[ebmar 893]

6 hours ago, DarthParametric said:

They'd be "bumpy" if you generated a normal/bump map.

Assuming that the texture is ready, how to generate a normal/bump map out of it then?

[DarthParametric 3,781]

There are a number of different tools you can use to generate a normal map from a diffuse texture, but for best results you typically need to approximate a height map. Make your image greyscale and tweak it so that high areas are approaching white and the low areas approach dark grey. Then you can feed the image into something like the nVidia PS plugin, CrazyBump (or its free alternative AwesomeBump), NormalMap Online, etc. There are a zillion of them these days.

[ebmar 893]

Just now, DarthParametric said:

There are a number of different tools you can use to generate a normal map from a diffuse texture, but for best results you typically need to approximate a height map. Make your image greyscale and tweak it so that high areas are approaching white and the low areas approach grey. Then you can feed the image into something like the nVidia PS plugin, CrazyBump (or its free alternative AwesomeBump), NormalMap Online, etc. There are a zillion of them these days.

Thanks! I just run through some tutorials here- Is bump mapping has anything to do with alpha channel DP?

[DarthParametric 3,781]

Only when you are trying to combine it with an envmap, which you won't want to do in your case. You can just keep the alpha solid white. I wouldn't worry about testing a normal map in-game before the texture is finalised though, as you have to recompile the model to enable the bumpmappable/tangentspace flag, and save the texture as a TPC. A lot of screwing around that is best saved for last.

[ebmar 893]

A quick update here:

This update focused solely on Selven's "Unique Vibrosword".

As I have been given an "official" permission from DeadMan to use assets from [K1] Vibrosword Replacement Pack [detailed matter in the opening post of this thread], I decided to put this feature in 1.0 version of this mod because the reason is obvious; why not? So far it fits the plot seamlessly and there's a plot been implanted onto the background too.

So, more or less- this how Selven would be with DeadMan's "SL7 Vibrosword".

Any updates of current development will also be posted in thread's introduction post.

[ebmar 893]

[Updated: June 18, 2018 - latter] The body texture has been finalized; some tweaks been done, and quite happy with how it seems.

Next step:

Create a custom .uti for Selven's unique Stealth field generator as it seems I can't find the said belt inside Selven's .utc\inventory\belts.

Any updates of current development will also be posted in thread's introduction post.

[DarthParametric 3,781]

They are under Stealth Items -> Belts in the inventory editor.

[ebmar 893]

3 minutes ago, DarthParametric said:

They are under Stealth Items -> Belts in the inventory editor.

Oh my.. thanks for pointing that out DP!

Anyway, I've been there when to generate the normal map, blending the diffuse with the normal using PS- and then export them to a .tga. And I have noticed you once saying this

Quote

... you have to recompile the model to enable the bumpmappable/tangentspace flag, and save the texture as a TPC.

So, anything I have missed there?

[DarthParametric 3,781]

Use TGA2TPC to convert your normal map:

Make sure it has a white alpha channel and save it as DXT5. Create a TXI or select the text option to just manually enter the info. You don't need it afterwards - the info is stored in the TPC.

[ebmar 893]

8 hours ago, DarthParametric said:

Use TGA2TPC to convert your normal map

I noticed there's a quite significant difference [have no idea whether it's the render or texture quality been produced] between TPC and TGA, especially with those details below the breast plate. I'd take it; the TGA have better quality than TPC, noticeably in-game. TPC produced a grainy texture [on my screen] which cannot be seen here, while TGA doesn't.

Is that normal or is it just me not doing things right, DP? And was it necessary to do some edits to the model to have that optimum result with the texture? As for the head texture, the result was pleasing [especially with notably reduced data size- which would be helpful!] but it seems I'd have to compromise for not using the alpha channel which is put to use with her earrings. Is there any way to utilize alpha channel to TPC?

Sorry for the long asking. Again and again- thanks!

[DarthParametric 3,781]

Yes, DXT1/5 is DDS compression and will result in artefacts.  I would not convert the diffuse to TPC - leave it as a TGA. The normal map must be converted to TPC or the game will freeze/crash when loading.