Springheel's Stuff

[Fidcal]

I see 4 models: medium, short, tall, but there is also a plain 'commoner' model. Is that obsolete? There is no entity for it.

[Fidcal]

I've committed three variant colours of the beggar tunic: grey, green, and blue - not so much for beggar but other poor folk or lowly servants who don't have shoes. Can't yet get the skins to work. Do they have to be added into the ai def? Also made same for commoner but not yet committed.

[Springheel]

Nearly impossible to categorize the compass

 

I think I'll just put it in player tools, and then make a larger version and put it in nautical.

 

I see 4 models: medium, short, tall, but there is also a plain 'commoner' model. Is that obsolete? There is no entity for it.

 

I'm not sure. It's possible that was the default before I broken them into three sizes. I'll have to check.

 

I've committed three variant colours of the beggar tunic:

 

I think the one on the left looks fine, but the other two are awfully saturated for ragged clothing--only really expensive clothes would have bright, strong colours.

 

Did you do that with shaders or with new textures? My next job was to start working on skins for the various characters (I designed them so it is easy to swap and share textures) and I was going to look into adding colour in a way that didn't require large new texture files.

 

I'm going to be a making a bunch of skins for the commoner and for nobleman characters, so if you just wanted some extra variety for the mapping competition, I'll have a batch in a few days. If you really just want to get into making skins, that's of course fine.

[Fidcal]

I agree the blue and green are a bit saturated. I was thinking of toning them down. But at the same they want to be distinct.

 

Yes they are new image files processed from the original. But if you have an idea for making variants then I'll leave that to you. I just got carried away with these new characters. I'd got about 10 or 12 different ones not counting colour variations or special attachments. This whole thing is a great idea for making lots of different characters.

 

If you can come up with some colour variants for the beggar and commoner bodies not needing extra images they can be deleted later.

[Springheel]

This whole thing is a great idea for making lots of different characters.

 

Yep. We should have plenty of variety, as I've set them up so you can easily mix and match different textures. I'll put together a few simple skins tonight, and then work on some more complex ones.

 

If there are specific character types you need for a map you're working on, just let me know.

[Fidcal]

Well, someone to work in the kitchen - though I've no idea how that might look. Is there any way to have some sort of grubby apron? I don't even know if that would look right. Otherwise all these characters are fine for general use around the house and many of them could work in the kitchen. Another idea might be someone who works in the cellar shovelling coal. With really dirty black smudged clothing and smudged face. But that is not something essential for my mission; just an idea for a new character.

[Springheel]

Is there any way to have some sort of grubby apron?

 

I actually have a grubby cook character, but he won't make 1.0 any more. An apron of sorts is doable for the commoner model, though it will need some normalmap support.

[Fidcal]

OK, thanks. Don't worry though if it is not do-able in the next few weeks.

[Springheel]

I'm going to move your beggar shaders to tdm_ai_commoner.mtr. I have my own system for organizing springheels_characters.mtr and I'd like to keep it just for my own use.

[Tels]

I'm going to move your beggar shaders to tdm_ai_commoner.mtr. I have my own system for organizing springheels_characters.mtr and I'd like to keep it just for my own use.

 

Uh, actually, why? And why is "springheels_characters.mtr" not named "tdm_something"? Won't it be released?

 

 

Btw, in releated news, I think it would be cool if we had a sort of "zoo" map where we present each character in a niche, with an overhead lamp. That way we could also just plug that map into the release script and it would automatically pick up all relevant files (textures, normalmaps etc), and we are sure that we don't miss anything. (It also ensures we can see that each character is looking fine).

 

Maybe we can even add a button on each nice, which then plays all animations one after another in a loop?

[Springheel]

Uh, actually, why?

 

Because for more than two years, I have been the only one making character textures and skins. Keeping them all in one file makes it easier for me to keep track of them while I work; I don't have to worry about other people messing with them or running into conflicts if I don't commit changes immediately. Additionally, many of the textures in that file are for AI models which are not animated yet.

 

Won't it be released?

 

No. As textures/characters are finalized, the shaders get moved out into the appropriate files.

 

I think it would be cool if we had a sort of "zoo" map

 

Feel free to make one.

[Springheel]

Ok, I've created 10 different skins for the beggar character (basically the beggar is distinguished from the commoner by the ragged tunic and rope belt). These skins were all created from existing textures--I haven't even had a chance to experiment with the colored keyword yet.

 

That should be enough for the mapping contest. I'll get a few commoner ones done next.

 

Here are a few samples:

 

[Fidcal]

Should be plenty. Thanks Springheel. The more characters the more believable.

[Flanders]

There were some weird characters (a line with equals) in tdm_ai_townsfolk_beggar.skin. I removed them and uploaded the file.

[Springheel]

I had already fixed that locally but I haven't actually uploaded the files yet.

 

Uploading now, along with a new nobleman placeholder for the contest maps. It's just a citywatch skinned with nobleman heads, but it looks a hell of a lot better than the old placeholder. Hopefully we'll be able to get the new nobleman mesh ready for 1.0, but if not I could be satisfied with this.

 

[Springheel]

Ok, I've thrown together ten different skins for the commoner as well. There is potential for many more even just using textures that already exist, but this should do for the map contest. Here are a few examples:

 

[Fidcal]

This is looking really great now. I'll have to look at these in a few days when I get my basic layout finished. I'll mention this in the contest thread because not everyone realizes maybe.

[Crispy]

Wow, tons of variety going on here. Good stuff!

 

The nobleman is surprisingly convincing despite being a citywatch re-skin.

[HappyCheeze]

I too like the variety. Nice work Spring.

[Springheel]

Some of the new props I've been working on lately. Cups, new goblets and food, some skull decorations, hanging garlic, etc.

 

After starting to play Oblivion I've been quite inspired to add more variety to our props.

 

[Crispy]

Cool. The skulls are a nice touch!

[HappyCheeze]

Those skulls should go nicely with some pagan places

[Fidcal]

Yes, Oblivion is a real source of inspiration. Even though it has a different gameplay style it has a lot of good architecture and models that would fit right into Dark Mod.

[Ishtvan]

Those new props look great and should add a lot to missions. There's nothing like a good dinner and conversation with the skulls of slain enemies.

[Springheel]

Yes, Oblivion is a real source of inspiration. Even though it has a different gameplay style it has a lot of good architecture and models that would fit right into Dark Mod.

 

Agreed. I'm taking lots of screenshots as I play. I've also taken on the project of retexturing some non-loot objects that look very similar to loot (and adding lots of extra skins at the same time).

 

For some reason when I first started with the mod I assumed that we only needed a small number of props--probably because I was used to the original games where there weren't very many. But there's something to be said for lots of variety even in simple things like goblets or bottles.