Retexture Project

[pheroux]

Hi,

With tools like azone and 3D spy has anyone tried to do a retexture of the old zones with higher resolution textures? Similar to what people are doing for Skyrim mods?

I never tried those tools, I don't know if its doable?

Thanks,

Phil

[501st]

I'm sure it's possible as I've modified zones/character models. Also they made retextures of Classic-Velious zones to be higher definition and released it as a downloadable pack. (And it's packed by default with SoF-Underfoot.). It's possible to change the size of textures so long as the ratios stay the same.

I don't know how they did it with Skyrim (Like the High Def civilian clothes etc as i use those mods too heh) but I'm pretty sure to increase the appearance you would mostly have to completely rebuild the texture from scratch. You can remove data that's there but you can't make what isn't there just appear, you know? =/

If you want to try though, here: (This is for editing race models but zones would function similarly)
http://www.peqtgc.com/phpBB2/viewtop...t=9313&start=7

[pheroux]

Originally Posted by 501st

I'm sure it's possible as I've modified zones/character models. Also they made retextures of Classic-Velious zones to be higher definition and released it as a downloadable pack. (And it's packed by default with SoF-Underfoot.). It's possible to change the size of textures so long as the ratios stay the same.

I don't know how they did it with Skyrim (Like the High Def civilian clothes etc as i use those mods too heh) but I'm pretty sure to increase the appearance you would mostly have to completely rebuild the texture from scratch. You can remove data that's there but you can't make what isn't there just appear, you know? =/

If you want to try though, here: (This is for editing race models but zones would function similarly)
http://www.peqtgc.com/phpBB2/viewtop...t=9313&start=7

Awesome! Do you know where to find the download pack for higher definition classic-velious?

[Speedz]

I toy'd with the thought of redoing zones with smoother geometry and different textures. Same layouts but just more...natural looking?

Partly for the look and partly for the ability to have zones that are not copyright material therefore the ability to share.

[pheroux]

I found the classic retexture on the Luclin CD's. They look very nice!

Phil

[PixelEngineer]

There are quite a few problems with your goal (none of these are your own fault). The old EQ zone format/engine capabilities are quite outdated. They don't support a lot of what a modern day engine can and should. I am developing an EQ client and have decided it will contain two ways to render old zones. Simply pressing a button will swap between the rendering methods.

1. Default textures, per-vertex lighting, everything exactly as it was.

2. High resolution textures (loaded externally) with normal maps, parallax mapping, per-pixel lighting, water with cubemap reflections, high resolution skydomes, etc.

If you would like to help with the high resolution component, pop over into the development forum. I am working on finishing up the lighting code.

Let me know if you are interested.

[knowom]

Is there any way to possibly configure zone textures? That would be really handy.

I've got a few zone_points where the textures between one zone to the other looks marginally off slightly awkward where that kind of thing would be really handy to fix and correct.

For the most part it looks relatively decent despite that and I can live with it, but it's something that would be nice to be able to touch up and fix.

[Nydosa]

Sorry to help further necro a necro-ed post, but I think those interested in alternative textures would find this thread very interesting.

http://forum.shardsofdalaya.com/showthread.php?t=28215

Funny how much a little surface change could make the game interesting in a whole new way.

[knowom]

Originally Posted by Nydosa

Sorry to help further necro a necro-ed post, but I think those interested in alternative textures would find this thread very interesting.

http://forum.shardsofdalaya.com/showthread.php?t=28215

Funny how much a little surface change could make the game interesting in a whole new way.

Yeah I saw that thread and forgot all about it. Grinkles second post response in that thread is what I had in mind about cosmetically altering zone textures.

I wasn't looking to use custom textures not previous a part of EQ however like he did in his case, but simply have a way to pick and choose textures that EQ does in fact use and swap them around as I like between various zones.

Like if I could turn a wooden textured building into a mossy stone, granite, or brick one instead as a example. I want it in my case for zone lines to better match different custom zone line transitions from one zone line to the other.

Is it possible to just rename zone texture files and use them for different zones? Like could I reuse Rivervale textures for Freeport zones? and vice verse?

If that's the case a simple .bat file would be a easy way to customize zones that could be distributed legally just having it backup old textures to a folder and then having it copy, rename, and overwrite (replace) the previous textures with the ones you wanted to swap over.

This guy also has some texture modification stuff people might find interesting.
http://www.project1999.org/forums/sh...d.php?t=121490

[Galelor]

Originally Posted by knowom

Is it possible to just rename zone texture files and use them for different zones? Like could I reuse Rivervale textures for Freeport zones? and vice verse?

If that's the case a simple .bat file would be a easy way to customize zones that could be distributed legally just having it backup old textures to a folder and then having it copy, rename, and overwrite (replace) the previous textures with the ones you wanted to swap over.

It is going to be more complicated than a .bat file because of the way textures are actually stored. (I have been doing some texture modifications and I post as daffie/galelor on the SoD/P99 forums respectively.) I will even go so far as to say that the version of eq you have running effects how you modify the textures. As an example, SoD textures appear upright once extracted with eqspy while p99 and live seem to be inverted. There are also other differences. (I can't think of any other way to explain this unless the SoD guys extracted, modified, reintroduced all textures, and then rewrote the engine to use the textures in an upright position... I highly doubt this is the case...)

That said, the textures are fairly well organized by location/name. Depending on the texture sizing, it may be possible take background textures from one zone to use them in another zone.

[lerxst2112]

Originally Posted by Galelor

As an example, SoD textures appear upright once extracted with eqspy while p99 and live seem to be inverted. There are also other differences. (I can't think of any other way to explain this unless the SoD guys extracted, modified, reintroduced all textures, and then rewrote the engine to use the textures in an upright position... I highly doubt this is the case...)

They don't need to extract anything, they have the source material used to build the files in the first place. It's not uncommon for a file format to change over time as features and optimizations are done to an engine. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if they decided that storing the files a different way worked better for them in more recent clients.

[knowom]

So S3DSpy is pretty nifty. I wish it could extract all your .s3d files into separated folders then have a user configuration session file type thing sorta like nlite to create custom windows installations like that would be a absolute godsend.

Anyway here's a teaser screenshot of a project I might work on converting a bunch of zones over to Luclin textures. Here's the higher resolution version .s3d file of Unrest zone with a couple Nexus zone textures replacing a couple. Oh noes where did the grass go?!?!?


See if I could make configuration files for entire .s3d conversions some way easily it would make it relatively easy to create zone_points connecting pretty much any zone to another outside of the hard coded one's at least.

[Galelor]

Originally Posted by knowom

So S3DSpy is pretty nifty. I wish it could extract all your .s3d files into separated folders then have a user configuration session file type thing sorta like nlite to create custom windows installations like that would be a absolute godsend.

I'm 100% with you on how awesome it would be if S3DSpy was improved upon. You can't even direct bulk extraction to a specific folder!!!

[knowom]

Originally Posted by Galelor

I'm 100% with you on how awesome it would be if S3DSpy was improved upon. You can't even direct bulk extraction to a specific folder!!!

The easiest method is to simply make a new folder for you .s3d file and either point the tell S3DSpy where your folder is to it or just copy the .s3d file your working with to a folder that it always points to then copy the contents of it to to another folder after. It's not ideal, but it works.

You can bulk extract holding shift click on the top file and then clicking on the bottom file in your .s3d though you can't use ctrl key to pick and choose what to extract you'll have to do that in the folder you extract them to after to delete or copy them wherever.

All I'm really interested in is program to configure custom texture edits via a .bat or .txt file of some sort to do something a bit like this. Which is a partial conversion of Unrest to Katta Luclin graphics.

katta.s3d to unrest.s3d katroof03.dds replaces 1roof.bmp
katta.s3d to unrest.s3d katcathwindow_s.dds replaces interiorwall.bmp
katta.s3d to unrest.s3d kattagrass.dds replaces xgrasdir.bmp
katta.s3d to unrest.s3d kattagrass.dds replaces xgrass1.bmp
katta.s3d to unrest.s3d kattower01.dds replaces floor.bmp
katta.s3d to unrest.s3d katta_hrock03.dds replaces newbrickwall.bmp

It could be configured to use your base .s3d files and thus be fair and legal use and you could distribute your custom settings around. Want to turn Freeport into a frost covered town? Want the ground in Beholder to look like the sand texture in Nro? Need to change over Lake Rathe zone line to blend in naturally with Qeynos Hills then connect the took with zone_points and do away the Karana's area entirely? It opens up a ton of customization options that will look and work a whole lot nicer.