Adventures In Texture Editing
- Thread starter Grinkles
- Start date
darksabbath
Dalayan Master
that looks awesome Zaela!!
Well, you're the second person to say something like that ;p Though I can't imagine how you would make something like that work in EQ, considering the general lack of non-combat puzzles and doors that lock behind you in dungeons...
Was saying elsewhere, though, that it might be neat and very doable to have a weapon's particles turn on and off at certain trigger points, for example carrying around the plain sword and having it "ignite" its blue fire particles when you enter combat and maybe linger for a minute afterwards before "extinguishing". Could make some custom weapons feel more "alive" and special that way, more than just a blob of particles. Interesting possibilities, but it seems like I'll have to work on my own server before it shows up anywhere ;p
Rather than relying on doors that lock behind you, you could always add untargetable Wallmasters (cursed hand model) that pop in behind you when you enter the room and teleport you to a set location in that room (or maybe ungracefully KB you) if you try to run back out the door.
With the right Combat Abilities tweaks I could actually see this sort of thing working without any Autoattack usage, too. It's hilariously awesome.
Also, teleportation songs that require Wind Instruments (hint: only wind instrument in the game is Link's Ocarina). Oh yeah! :3
Any idea if this can be applied to robes? I've tinkered with 'Frankensteining' a few custom robes out of various textures from Velious armor and such, though I never thought it'd be worthy of pursuit given that so many people use Luclin models.
Also, I'm wondering if you might have any ideas for creating robe wireframes/meshes for (classic) Trolls, Dwarves, etc. Female Halflings, for instance, already have a lower half that could pass for a robe if textured just right, though I wouldn't have a clue how to match that up with robe textures. Wood Elves have identical proportions to Dark Elves (except for the head), so maybe in that case the referencing/mesh/wireframe/whatever data could be duped and rejigged to work for Wood Elves...? Probably a pursuit too specific to be worth exploring, but it's still fun to think about!
Luclin models are still a mystery to me, but I noticed that later clients (like 2.5's) have a text file that seems to set out which race+slot+material combinations match up with which armor model IDs and possibly which combinations are valid (it's not super clear).
For classic models I dunno either ;p I always assumed there was something hardcoded there but I guess that probably doesn't have to be the case. I think I'll take a look later -- I've been looking at this stuff long enough now to think there's a good chance robes for non-robe races would work if only they were given a proper entry. Could potentially allow for actual armor meshes on classic models too if it's a sufficiently generalized thing, who knows.
For classic models I dunno either ;p I always assumed there was something hardcoded there but I guess that probably doesn't have to be the case. I think I'll take a look later -- I've been looking at this stuff long enough now to think there's a good chance robes for non-robe races would work if only they were given a proper entry. Could potentially allow for actual armor meshes on classic models too if it's a sufficiently generalized thing, who knows.
You guys make me hopeful for a graphical renaissance. Small though each thing may be, it adds up to a lot of flavor very quickly.
If anyone does manage to figure out the Luclin models, I'd be curious to hear about that as well. (I often wish I could have Luclin era models with classic-style animations and have it actually work out - since I usually prefer the way Luclin models look but hate they way they move - but such is life. xD)
If anyone does manage to figure out the Luclin models, I'd be curious to hear about that as well. (I often wish I could have Luclin era models with classic-style animations and have it actually work out - since I usually prefer the way Luclin models look but hate they way they move - but such is life. xD)
Arashai Noir
Dalayan Beginner
Grinkles If you still watch this post, I have a request if possible. All i want to do, is replace the ogre male model with a dark elf model. Complete swap. So i wont even see ogres in the game anymore. If you could let me know how to do this or even provide a file to download that would be fantastic
I have little experience in tinkering with actual models. Textures are much simpler to deal with, as there are several utilities readily available to deal with them. It is probably possible to do this with a great deal of effort editing .wld files and copying+pasting Dark Elf entries over Ogre entries while also compensating for any filename or prefix changes, though I simply don't have the experience or skills to advise on the matter. Furthermore, I could foresee some issues if this were done. Ogres employ a rather large hitbox and are markedly taller than Dark Elves, and tricking the game into rendering them as Dark Elves could pose problems for hit detection, Z-axis/height calculation, and so on.
Your request strikes me as odd given that I received the following PM from another person (whom I presume wasn't you) on February 21st of this year that went as follows:
Strange that two people should come up with identical requests several months apart - changing all Ogres into Dark Elves.
Nonetheless, I had to tell this person that I had no experience in swapping around actual models. Sorry to disappoint, Arashai!Arashai Noir
Dalayan Beginner
Dang. Well i appreciate the quick reply, thats pretty much what i thought had to be done. I even tried to be sneaky and just copy some of the s3d files and rename them to their ogre counterparts. to many other associated files tho to dig through. Haha yah that is funny that someone had the same request, ya and thats not me lol
Perhaps a post like this will be "old hat" by this point, but I thought I'd share anyway just for fun.
I've always liked the geonid/gemathian model (which is technically called rgm, short for Rock Gem Man, according to the files). However, I also wondered why such a versatile model was only ever given a single texture set when rocks/gems can be found in such a wide variety of areas. As such, I decided to do a little tinkering with this texture set. Note that ALL altered textures are pulled from other texture sets within the game files; an ice texture may come from the wall in Thurgadin while a dirt texture may have been pulled from a walking path found in The Breeding Grounds, for example.
For reference, here is a picture of the Rock Gem Man as he normally appears:
My first experiment didn't stray very far from the original palette, though it would still make for an interesting alternate texture in areas where there are loads of these things (e.g. Crystal Caverns or the caves of Faentharc). Such a texture set could be added alongside the original and the mobs could be coded to randomly pick one or the other upon spawning just for a bit of visual diversity:
The next experiment is when I decided to heat things up by going for a lava look. Lots of reds, browns, and some charcoal for good measure:
I then decided to give Zaela's nifty Transparentifier application a go to go for a pure ice look, which I think works fairly well for this particular model:
Lastly, I wanted to try a sand or desert theme. The color palette for this one is dull, but so is the palette for most desert areas!
There aren't all that many places where gemathians show up across Dalaya, but if any of these would suit a particular area, I'd be happy to produce the relevant files. The gemathians in Tears of Elael may be due for a change of wardrobe. The Icebound Gemathian in the deepest reaches of Crystal Caverns might also benefit from a change of texture; currently, the only thing that sets him apart visually from the other hundred gemathians in his domain is a slight boost in size.
(In case you decide to pop in at some point, Zaela, I'd like to compliment you on the Transparentifier. It works like a champ for flagging specific non-transparent regions to be semi-transparent! The only downside I can see is that there seems not to be a reverse function within the program; I was unable to flag the natively transparent portions of this model to be non-transparent, which might've been a nice way to distinguish one or two of the texture sets from the rest. Maybe I've simply overlooked it...)
I've always liked the geonid/gemathian model (which is technically called rgm, short for Rock Gem Man, according to the files). However, I also wondered why such a versatile model was only ever given a single texture set when rocks/gems can be found in such a wide variety of areas. As such, I decided to do a little tinkering with this texture set. Note that ALL altered textures are pulled from other texture sets within the game files; an ice texture may come from the wall in Thurgadin while a dirt texture may have been pulled from a walking path found in The Breeding Grounds, for example.
For reference, here is a picture of the Rock Gem Man as he normally appears:
My first experiment didn't stray very far from the original palette, though it would still make for an interesting alternate texture in areas where there are loads of these things (e.g. Crystal Caverns or the caves of Faentharc). Such a texture set could be added alongside the original and the mobs could be coded to randomly pick one or the other upon spawning just for a bit of visual diversity:
The next experiment is when I decided to heat things up by going for a lava look. Lots of reds, browns, and some charcoal for good measure:
I then decided to give Zaela's nifty Transparentifier application a go to go for a pure ice look, which I think works fairly well for this particular model:
Lastly, I wanted to try a sand or desert theme. The color palette for this one is dull, but so is the palette for most desert areas!
There aren't all that many places where gemathians show up across Dalaya, but if any of these would suit a particular area, I'd be happy to produce the relevant files. The gemathians in Tears of Elael may be due for a change of wardrobe. The Icebound Gemathian in the deepest reaches of Crystal Caverns might also benefit from a change of texture; currently, the only thing that sets him apart visually from the other hundred gemathians in his domain is a slight boost in size.
(In case you decide to pop in at some point, Zaela, I'd like to compliment you on the Transparentifier. It works like a champ for flagging specific non-transparent regions to be semi-transparent!
The only downside I can see is that there seems not to be a reverse function within the program; I was unable to flag the natively transparent portions of this model to be non-transparent, which might've been a nice way to distinguish one or two of the texture sets from the rest. Maybe I've simply overlooked it...)
I found myself revisiting the Old Froglok textures that first sparked this thread all those pages back. It's blocky and awkwardly posed, but who doesn't love the classic Froglok? These guys are all over the place in Dalaya, and the model really could use some diversification.
First, two simple palette swaps. Is anywhere in need of a murky brown Froglok? If I were to revise this design, I'd probably take more green out of the arms and darken the loincloth. Nonetheless, here's the result:
I never noticed before just how yellow the Old Froglok's skin actually is. (While doing the above palette swap, I had to single out yellows to apply the brown color to rather than greens. I wondered at first why picking greens was doing nothing, then it dawned on me how much yellow is there!) So, what about a dark green Froglok? Perhaps it's a bit oversaturated....
Now for the more interesting stuff. I noticed while playing with these textures that they are arranged very similarly to playable race textures, and this means they can be given armor! This is not a trait necessarily unique to this model (for example, the Lizardman and Gnoll model can also work fairly well with this concept), but for now I'll stick to the Old Froglok just to illustrate the point.
First, I lifted a platemail bracer texture from the Female High Elf and edited it to an easy-to-spot blue color. I resized it as necessary and superimposed it over the Froglok's forearms and ankles. The result may not be very intricate, but at least it shows that it can be done. A dark gray or bronze color could easily simulate shackles or simple Froglok jewelry if nothing else. Anyway, here's what the blue shackles look like:
This can be taken a step further to include full-body armor, though if such a thing were to go into the game, it would require more fine-tuning than I took the time to do for this demonstration. Here is a Froglok dressed in Male Halfling Velious armor:
Close analysis will show that the full-body armor effect tends to "show its seams" much more than the subtle shackle/bracer effect above. However, I think the right amount of tinkering could make the concept work using various armor sets, particularly those of Velious. The textures could also be heavily recolored to give them a unique twist. (I didn't take the time to do this here.)
Finally, my favorite -- Given the abundance of spellcasters within Mielech's dungeon, I wanted to see how well this could be applied to a robe texture. I decided only to do the robe from the waist up to avoid having to work with the Old Froglok's chicken legs, and the model's belt seemed like a decent cutoff point for a robe. If something like this were implemented, the robes could always be diversified further to give the Froglok casters their own unique look. Anyway, I think the result ended up being fairly workable and cool-looking:
Oh yeah, and sometimes NPCs can be so inconsiderate! Here is (I think) Guard Halcia photobombing me just as I went for the first screenshot on the robe look:
First, two simple palette swaps. Is anywhere in need of a murky brown Froglok? If I were to revise this design, I'd probably take more green out of the arms and darken the loincloth. Nonetheless, here's the result:
I never noticed before just how yellow the Old Froglok's skin actually is. (While doing the above palette swap, I had to single out yellows to apply the brown color to rather than greens. I wondered at first why picking greens was doing nothing, then it dawned on me how much yellow is there!) So, what about a dark green Froglok? Perhaps it's a bit oversaturated....
Now for the more interesting stuff. I noticed while playing with these textures that they are arranged very similarly to playable race textures, and this means they can be given armor! This is not a trait necessarily unique to this model (for example, the Lizardman and Gnoll model can also work fairly well with this concept), but for now I'll stick to the Old Froglok just to illustrate the point.
First, I lifted a platemail bracer texture from the Female High Elf and edited it to an easy-to-spot blue color. I resized it as necessary and superimposed it over the Froglok's forearms and ankles. The result may not be very intricate, but at least it shows that it can be done. A dark gray or bronze color could easily simulate shackles or simple Froglok jewelry if nothing else. Anyway, here's what the blue shackles look like:
This can be taken a step further to include full-body armor, though if such a thing were to go into the game, it would require more fine-tuning than I took the time to do for this demonstration. Here is a Froglok dressed in Male Halfling Velious armor:
Close analysis will show that the full-body armor effect tends to "show its seams" much more than the subtle shackle/bracer effect above. However, I think the right amount of tinkering could make the concept work using various armor sets, particularly those of Velious. The textures could also be heavily recolored to give them a unique twist. (I didn't take the time to do this here.)
Finally, my favorite -- Given the abundance of spellcasters within Mielech's dungeon, I wanted to see how well this could be applied to a robe texture. I decided only to do the robe from the waist up to avoid having to work with the Old Froglok's chicken legs, and the model's belt seemed like a decent cutoff point for a robe. If something like this were implemented, the robes could always be diversified further to give the Froglok casters their own unique look. Anyway, I think the result ended up being fairly workable and cool-looking:
Oh yeah, and sometimes NPCs can be so inconsiderate! Here is (I think) Guard Halcia photobombing me just as I went for the first screenshot on the robe look:
taosanterior
Dalayan Elder
As usual this stuff is all awesome Grinkles! Also, is it just me or is that dark green froglok definitely Slippy Toad?