Again with the grass...

[Legacy_NWN_baba yaga]

               Well thats just to stupid even for me. Not worth my time and any more word-_-
               
               

               

                     Modifié par NWN_baba yaga, 09 juillet 2013 - 06:55 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               Ok, guys, I may do some tweaking here and there on a minor scale, but I believe this is the final version of my rural grass... That is, unless someone comes up with some breakthrough or a decidedly better version!



Like I said last time, I tried to get a fusion of the two most recent versions. I toned down the brightness and saturation of the eye-burning green grass and kind of went the opposite way in terms of detail. Originally, the floor texture was used to bring variety in coloration, while the dynamic grass provided a uniform scale of color. This time, I did it backwards. The reddish/yellowish tints went into the dynamic grass in order to compensate for the "greener" look of the texture. This is how Skyrim managed its grass, and pretty much how I like it.



The first pic is set on an open grassland, so you get to see the grass in itself, and this latter one goes to show you how it comes together with the rest of the elements in the tileset. I know the lighting may not be the best one for showcasing, but such was deliberate. This is how it looks in regular, different, vintage modules, which is what populates most of the Vault, and the tweaks are meant as a "one-for-all" override.

I thank you all for your contributions in this matter, and hope to see other's approaches!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Zwerkules]

               I think that the TNO rock textures can not be used with your grass textures or vice versa. The TNO textures have been sharpened a lot and look more like a painting than a photo while your grass texture is more photo-like.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_NWN_baba yaga]

               I agree with Zwerk on the texture. The texture looks very good together with the dynamic grass but it´s looking like you have 2 different games combined. When you later use placables with another art style from ProjectQ, the random CEP, NWN2 or whatever else you just have a mess of many different designs and quality.

But everyone can use what he wants... just my 2 cents again;)
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               Well, I use the TNO rock textures because I haven't found any others I like best when it comes to overall usage, Zwerk. I've tried pretty much every other one available, but as you know, the issue is tiling. When they are hi-res and very detailed, they look great in the file, but the repetition is obvious in-game, which breaks all ambiance and eye-candy. And when they are less detailed, they look smeared/cheap. If you noticed, in the forest tileset I am also using modified versions of TNO's rock. Same goes with the Cave/Mines tileset, for which I use Pstemarie's reskin, which is also a modification of TNO's rock.

As for the placeable issue, Baba, I totally agree with you, which is why I have been actively replacing each and every element in the game and modules I choose to keep to play more than once. Sometimes it's as easy as changing a single model. Sometimes the placeable needs a total re-texture, and sometimes you need both. Thankfully, most of my overrides work as cohesively as possible, thanks to the authors somewhat following the same aesthetic principles. If you work with Project Q and Zwerk's work, they are pretty seamless in theme. When a "one-for-all" solution is simply unavailable, then I go and modify the modules individually, placeable by pleaceable, creature by creature. It's tedious and time-consuming, but... well, as they say, if you want something done your way...

I also agree on it somewhat looking like different games pasted together, but... that's pretty much the best I can do for now with the available resources. You see, sometimes I find great content that unfortunately is at odds with the overall goal I am seeking, but the alternative looks even more mismatched. The most obvious example of this comes to weapons and armor, or body parts. When you put the KOTOR heads converted by Estelindis along with CODI's heads, youre bound to get very different types of elements, but what's the alternative? The original heads are very low quality. D20's heads are too blocky and,...well... modern. My point is, I choose the available resource, and TRY to fit it in as best as I can, but I am not nearly as talented or knowledgeable to make it seamless! This entire thread is an example of what I can do and can't do! Like I said to 3RavensMore: Compromise is the curse!

Of course, if you guys have content hidden away in your HD's that would work better with this... ^___^
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Fester Pot]

               Are these custom changes you made going to be available as a download? Either as an individual tileset or an override?

I think it looks great and the work you've put into it should be shared.

FP!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               Well, these pictures were originally meant to be inspiration for others to do their own changes, and to get feedback from some content creators so as to refine my own tweaks. Also, the changes are extensive. This is not just a reskin of the original tilesets, but more of a reworking. To get this to work for other gamers we would need to release it as a tileset to override the existing one, much like the Bio enhancing packs. Not that it is much problem in itself, though. The real issue has always been getting permission by the original authors.

For starters, the interior micro-sets all use textures by Zwerkules and Project Q. The models themselves are a mixture of Zwerk's biointerior and Hardpoints' A Dungeons and Dragons. Also, bear in mind they are far from finished! I sort of go through them on a tile per tile basis as I find "blank" or mismatched tiles while playing!

The rural and forest changes are based on a mixture of textures and models as well. The rural tileset is a merge of both Chico's NWNCQ project and Toro's rural override, both using textures released by yet again Zwerkules, Project Q, Toro, Wormz and Sixesthrice. There are also tiles extracted from Six's Wildlands and Wild Woods. The forest is all based on NWNCQ and Bioforest. These, we could say, are fairly done. Some tiles may be missing the change, but... those I rarely see in-game, if ever.

I tried releasing an earlier version of these years ago, but couldn't get permission from some of the authors, so that's basically why they've never been made public. If they gave their blessing, though, I would gladly share.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Master Jax, 26 juillet 2013 - 08:13 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Pstemarie]

               As long as proper attribution is given, why on earth would anyone want to block the release of such a tileset? Isn't the point of CC creation to get the stuff out there and used?

If anything I've made is in there feel free to use it and re-release it!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Master Jax]

               Thanks, Pstemarie!

Well, it's not that authors were against it per se. At least not all of them!

Back then, you weren't supposed to release content that included other's resources unless you got their clear permission. I went over this with Maximus, and he told me I needed to contact them and ask for it if the work I based mine on wasn't explicitly open for edition and repacking. So, I did as he told me, but there were some issues.

First, some of the authors I contacted or tried to contact were MIA by most accounts. I remember the particular case of Ascadia. Then, there was the case of authors who were still around but just ignored my messages. I'm not saying they didn't get them. They just chose to ignore them, for whatever reason, since they confirmed one way or another, to know about my petition.

I went back to Maximus, and he told me I couldn't go on under such conditions due to copyright issues and site rules.

Finally, there were very few, but still present, cases of people who decidedly declared their content off-limits.

As for proper attribution, well, as you can see, I have already mentioned all of the original authors to the resources I used, so there's no issue there. I would do the same if the project ever got all of the consents! None of this is my work, really, so there would be no strings attached, save for those the original authors chose themselves.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Tonden_Ockay]

               

Man I really want to use the reskin work you have Master Jax. I just really like what you have done with the work others have started. I wish I could get it for my own personal use.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Jedijax]

               

Happy modding! Once you get the hang of it, I will post the Forest and Rural config for the dynamic grass here, as I told you.

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[Legacy_Jedijax]

               

In case anyone reads this but doesn't visit the new Vault, the Forest modifications shown here are already up at

http://neverwinterva...pak/le-jax-mods

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