Matth85
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Posts posted by Matth85
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1) Solid model! Good job!
2)
There are images on the filepage and it saves bandwidth not re-using those images here again, but if you insist here is an external one:I am sorry, but I get some "snarky" vibes of that comment. Not sure if that was meant or not. But:
1) Nobody loses if a picture is thrown in a post about a custom item.
2) If somebody got internet problems, having to change site is painfull and time consuming.
The pro's for having it really outweights the con's. So I really do not find any reason to "if you insist", as it is something terrible to ask for.
Again, good model!
Cheers,
Matth
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Wouldnt it be an idea to add a picture of it here, not just the readme? We'd see that information if we were interested in dowloading it.
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When the mesh is black or invisible in Oblivion, it just means it doesn't have a normal.
Odd, that is what I said in my first post. Though I also added that the alpha could be the issue. Hapened to me once. However, that means I am "kind of right", not "kind of wrong". Hm...
Thanks for clarifying it though!
Cheers,
Matth
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I'll see what I can do
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By the way Matt, you should learn of some of the Oblivion settings.
If I am kind of wrong, wouldn't it be kind of nice to tell me why I am kind of wrong? Or is this some exclusive knowledge?
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Hm.. I actually found that idea amusing.
It would be like the old movies: An American gets captured by an indian, and start to live together with them. He then needs to adapt and learn the language, slowly.
I could see a small cenario:
- A bunch of foreign people have arrived to Tamriel. They are in a camp. Somebody wants to know what they want, and send you.
- As you approach, you'll get tricked and trapped. You understand nothing.
- Now you must start to learn the language to proceed. Certain people speak english, and will aid you. Then you can find certain books that translates ( dictionary ;P ).
And it goes on. Depending on how big the quest should be.
The problem, though, is that you'd only be able to learn a very little language. Making a huge quest would take a lot of time. And only certain people would like to play it.
But, the concept is nice. We do see that people learn language over games. I see people playing early-released games that is Japanese, since they are there a few months before anywhere else. These people start to learn the language, and can actually read a LITTLE.
But if it was an easier language, they would be able to write it rather good.
This would be better for Skyrim, if you ask me. It would take time, and dedication, to be able to make a mod that would help you learn a new language, and is still interesting. I doubt anybody would like to play a mod going:
- Talk to 1 NPC.
- Talk to 5 more.
- Kill 4 enemies.
- Answer a quizz, to prove you've learned anything.
At best, you'd need a awesome quest, with "foreign" as the main theme, custom models and some fancy effects. The kind of things people seem to like. Not just make the whole game another language. That would cause the mod to be a mod that couldn't be with any other mods. And people who do play mods, usually got more than 1 mod at a time active.
If you one day get a nice idea, you can PM me. I am a 3d modeller. I am also a student, and wouldn't mind learning a new language, or get better at what I got :) I am, however, hopeless in anything other than 3d/2d within modding. I can make the simplest of quests. My imagination is rather dull, and my creativity is limited.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Matth
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I'll take a look at the boots. It sounds odd, it turning black. I'd assume that is an export error, or something wrong with the nifskope values.
Since it is fixed, I'll just delete that part.
And for some critisism, take it as you wish. I mean nothing negative with it, of course:
1) What's up with the texture? It's streched, "corny" and I have yet to figure out what it is. Rock and some kind of leather?
2) Why no specularity? That would go as the alpha in the normal map. WIthout specularity, it looks like plastic.
3) Tons of wasted polygons. A normal map could add in the seam, for instance, and some polygons doesn't even do enough either.
4) Why 2 pieces? Easily smacked together as 1.
5) THe normal is slightly harsh. It looks unnatural. The whole model looks like a solid rock piece with that normal. And I doubt that would be nice.
Just what I noted when I saw it :)
Cheers,
Matth
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My apologize, but I don't quite follow. I believe I know what you mea, but I can't figure out what you want with it.
Care to explain a little better, or do a paintover? :)
Cheers,
Matth
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Okay. Some more information before I head to bed.
The polycount is now at 5k, and 1k for the sword. Not bad!
The UVW is done. I just need to decide wether to split it to 2 texture sheets, upper and lower body, or keep it all in 1 2048x2048 sheet.
I will do some small adjustement and get the final details on the high poly bake.
Tomorrow I will work on the bake and start texturing. Hopefully being done by Sunday.
Then I will start fitting it for a few body replacers, and rig it.
I will update when I got a good part of the texturing done.
Cheers,
Matth
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The legs look a little awkward in shape, but I assume that will be fixed when you adjust it to the body types, right?
Yes. They are currently fitted for the vanilla mesh. And if I may say so: Thoose meshes are so damn anatomic wrong it isn't even funny >.>
I'll get the details modelled in, no problems.
Other than that, it is fine?
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The single view of the weapon from within 3D Max doesn't really lend to giving quality feedback on how well it looks.
Perhaps. Though overall in the topic there are pictures. Together they show what needs to be shown. Showing a wireframe wouldn't help either.
I have yet to get the rough details out though, and a little engraving at the end of the hilt. I also need to change some specularity settings.
Though I think mainly of the armor now. It is what I am more worried about. I currently got 12 other projects I want to finish, and am getting tired of this armor :P I will still not rush it!
I noticed, from this armor, that I need to focus some on organic modelling and learning to use Zbrush. I notice that I can't get the details I want from my standard hard surface modelling. I also do not want to practice/experiment with these kinds of things on a request. I tried that once before, and it always turns ugly.
On the sword, though: How is the color balance? Gold is a tricky thing to get right. It is dark, yet light.
How is the gem? I am adding some more depth in the normal map for it, and a little better specularity.
Perhaps you could post one more picture of the armor, though?Sure, here is 3 pictures. Front, side and behind.
I know some places looks boring, but that is the nature of the model. Elegant, yet simple. Hence I will have to make them stick out more in the texture :)
http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/4734/armor1.jpg
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/8646/armor2.jpg
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6498/armor3g.jpg
And on the finished sword: I will get down a 3-point light setup and get a beauty render out when I've textured the armor. That way it should be easier to see what's what.
Thanks,
Matth
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Well, I am soon done UVW unwrapping the armor. I am also doing the finish touch on the sword.
What I need to know now, before I call the mesh done: Is there ANYTHING that seem wrong? I somehow feel you say "It looks amazing!" just because you know this takes a lot of time from me :) I do not want to release anything, if it is not good enough. I want an honest answer here!
Cheers,
Matth
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many races and creations that were,frankly, more creative than the original ones.
There is a lore built for this game. In that lore there is no half-naked elves running about flawless in look.
Oblivion is also a very old game now, and about everything is outdated to max. So the existing races are sub-optimal for todays standard.
What kind of tax is that on a system. My machine is pretty powerful, but there are limits to everything.The limits are getting less and less, comuter wise. However, the game engine can get troubled fast. So revamping every race would not tax you at all. We could up to triple the polycount per NPC in game, and yet it would go smooth on new computer. I am still not sure how the game engine would hold up having to deal with the doubled polycount pre-scene.
2-How much would people appreciate something like this? Don't want to upload something, then have it flagged as witch magic and burnedFrankly, you would not be able to finish this before Skyrim. Hence I would say it would not get wat it deserved. No mod now gets what it deserves, since half the people are waiting for Skyrim. Heck, the best modders are doing the same.
3- Just how many attachements and downloads would I need? besides the custom race fix, better bodies, and whatever each of those races entitles.I'd assume a good deal. If you want to download every decent race mod out there, and fix any problems with issues merging them.
I have found consistently that other peoples computers are more capable of running mods than mine, despite it's relative powerThis can be issues with the mods themself crashing with other mods, like having 2 things at the same place, under the same ID.
Or it could be your computer having problems with mods. This would be because of security within your OS, I'd assume.
6-How would this effect game experience? I don't want to make it public if people think this would suck.It could be refreshing, however, not lorefriendly enough to be amazing. Playing a Daedra, helping the 'mortals' killing dadreas, is very illogical. As well as playing Legolas or any other weird race.
Different races require different body types as they were created with specific body types in mind.That is easy fixed. All you need is either:
A) pack in the body models in the packacke. This would become messy, but still usable.
B) re-fit every mesh to look like one body type.
C) Modify every body slightly, and save it as 1 kind. This could become problematic with copyrights and stuff from the authors. Not sure if they want their bodies modified.
Some body replacers map the texture differently than others.Right point, kind of. The UVW is different per-model. So 1 body replacer got a different UVW field than the other. Not that it makes any problems. If you export 5 diferent Races, it does not matter if they all got different UVW-field. They still got their texture.
The only way this would become problematic, is if you planned to fit 1 texture to 5 different models. Then you'd need to fit the UVW to the texture.
someone is going to have to take the time to revamp each race to work with a specific texture design, make sure all hair and eyes are aligned correctly and also ensure that each race is adjusted to the same body replacer or to vanilla, the latter being less than appealing to most.The only thing a person would need to do, is to get all the races, switch all the races, add the new ones, change the NPCs, make sure everything works. There will be very little alligmenting and texturing to do. Unless this is an all custom race built off of other meshes. Though that is not what I understand from the OP.
Generally, this is doable. Though not worth the time, nor energy, right before SKyrim is being released. Nothing big must be done, but a lot of small things. This includes:
- a LOT of CS work.
- a LOT of mailing authors and ask for permission to use certain models.
- a LOT of testing to make sure things go right.
- a LOT of debugging. I bet you a lot of texture pathings will go wrong, and you got to fix that.
In the end I want to quote again, just to get out the subtle point I had in the start:
if they had looked into hiring some of you guys(And had the technology to do these things when the game was made)Today the Game Industry is the fastest moving industry there is. Look back 10 years, to 2001. Look at the games. Look at them last year, look at them now. We went from 1024x1024 textures to up towards 4096x4096 today. We went from 1k polygons max per character, and 10k per scene, to 10k-30k per character and 100k per scene. We've gone from low poly, to normal mapping mid polygon models.
Oblivion was a very early game to use Normal Maps to the max. Something every model uses today.
I promise you, the industry proffesionals are tenfolds better than most of the freelancers. Just because they get the newer technology as soon as it is out. We freelancer find it out when we get told about it. We must also struggle to get the softwares. We must either go illegal, pay up to 2000 dollars for a software, or go study digital art to get it for cheap/free.
TL;DR
- Not worth doing, in my humble opinion.
- Lots of small work, annoying things.
- Not too lore friendly.
- Don't give the freelance artist of today too much credit, up against what Bethesda made years ago. It's unfair against the time Oblivion was made :)
Cheers,
Matth
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I'll make the list short:
Technical things:
1) Better shader to work with. Skyrim brings that though.
2) Having a easier game engine to work with. Half the settings within Nifskope is unmapped, and does nothing of value.
3) Using Gloss maps as a texture kind, to make the specularity more defined.
4) Less buggy construction set. This goes for the GECK too - it crashes way too random.
Other things:
1) Being able to code hard coded things. Being able to controll what gives blood splat, without having to make a custom particle system, would be great.
2) Less buggy construction set. This goes for the GECK too - it crashes way too random.
3) Having some real lore-friendly-well-done Dwarf mods, with animations and voice acting. Nothing is more awesome than the Dwarf Noble Origins in Dragon Age Origins!
I guess that's all I want to say. I got more things I wish, but that would be like me bashing a game engine that is from 2004, or so.
Cheers,
Matth
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So, a small update.
Due to IRL the armor will not be done before mid next week or so. However, I figured I might aswell do the sword so I got something to show.
It seem kind of daft at the moment. I need to put in some details, and get out a detail normal map. Should be done quick :)
Bad news if you want the sword though: I don't plan to release one without the other. So I will release the whole set when I am done.
http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/2006/swordt.jpg
Cheers,
Matth
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A good few pieces needs to be smoothed.
Also needs some texture. It's better to work on the texture as you go, since it will become quite the thing to do in the end, if you save it.
I will give you a clap for doing it, but so far this is something that would't fit in anywhere but a LEGO game.
I must admit though, you are good for actually still having motivation for this! Most artist seem to drop something if it exceeds a month. I am guilty of that as well.
Looking forwards for some good renders at one point!
Question, though, do you High poly or Low poly model? Some shots I see high poly renders, and the next 12 items is low poly.
Either that, or you only model low poly, but got some good lightning going on!
Good luck onwards!
Cheers,
Matth
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I'll end it here as well, then. However:
This is a fantasy gameI kind of did take that point a few replies back. Bringing the very same point up, and calling it quit, is really a very bad way to end it.
As I said before, I defend my view, I don't tell people not to play certain mods.
Make a mod in another realm that got another kind of architecture is easy enough. Not too lore friendly, but ok. You can say that a dadreic god made a paradise for a bunch of worshipper. Now you make a quest around that.
However, a MOON base, IRL moon kind of thing. A base on the moon. Halo kind of things. Is not lore friendly, and is what the OP want. You can try to defend it as much as you want, it is not lore friendly. Cool? Sure. Epic? Perhaps. Lore friendly? no.
I would've played it in Fallout, no problems. Heck, I'd help making it for a fallout.
But all right. I'll stop this, as long as nobody reply to me regarding how to make it lore friendly. You simply can't.
Oh, and I do not feel like use smileys to make it sound less serious. I am not serious, I am simply direct. I mean no offense to anybody, neither do I try to provoke too much.
Cheers,
Matth
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Thanks for the picture!
Not making any promises, but I wanted to make that armor as a personal project some day :P Struggled to find the picture though.
So, I am not saying I will do it. I am saying that one day I might end up doing it.
Cheers,
Matth
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Yet again, I end up writing a too long post. I will shorten it down yet again.
Some people take lore to ridiculous lengthsLore is history. History is what makes the game. If you, personally, do not like it, why do you play the game? If you do like it, why do you dislike the idea of people not liking to hold the lore as pure as possible?
fantasy and magic are valid reasons for just about anythingFantasy is a genre, not a reason. Oblivion is medieval themed, so a moon-base-halo-kind-of-thing is not lore friendly in any ways there.
Magic is a concept of what we want to do, but can't do. I would love to shoot a fireball, but can't. It is also bound by lore. If Bethesda meant mages are all powerfull and can port light years away, then it would be fine. However, so far mages are simple wise fighters that master simple magics that aid them.
If you look in Dragon Age, mages are more powerfull, as seen in the spells. Still not strong enough to dematerialize in a second, a light year away, and materialize. Which means magic is bound by lore. Lore is made up by the writters. They can break it if they want, as they made it up in the first place.
The 'lore' is the history of NirnThe lore tells what have been done, which tells us what can be done. If lore says nobody ever teleported everywhere. Suddently teleporting to a new galaxy is not possible. We are talking about humanid creatures, as told in the lore, not super humans.
like saying in real life you cannot do something because it has never been doneIf we humans suddently learn to throw fireballs and teleport around the world, this stands true. As of now, it is not.
Look at the human history from an outside view. Our history is out lore. Could you say "Suddently the allmighty Alfred learned to teleport to another galaxy and shoot lightning from his fingers!"? It is just too far away from what is currently possible.
Could you, however, say: "Bob discovered how dematerialize and materialize a few miles away, in a second!"? That would be possible. SInce our lore says we could do it. Not likely, but doable.
Of course, I understand the view of non-lorefriendly mods. I do not bash anybody for making or playing them. They can be interesting and fun. It is easy to add custom things to Oblivion, so this further builds on that.
However, if a question comes "is this too far away from the lore?" - DON'T come to me and say "It's fantasy and magic can do everything!". It simply does not cut it.
A better excuse would be "Aliens did it." As that is more relevant to the lore.
I do not mean to sound offensive here, I just defend my point of view and bashing down the most overused excuse in the fantasy genre :) Hope nobody gets offended in any way.
Cheers,
Matth
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It looks good. Very grunged, but good.
I must as, though, what is the black spots? and the yellow marks?
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Problem is, retexturing his shield requires his permission I believe
Yes, it does. You also need to credit him when you release a mod. Send him a PM and wait for a reply, and it's all good.
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Let people play the way they want. If they want to go to the moon, it is not your place to try to tell them that they cant, just because of "lore".Bethesda breaks their own lore constantly in every game anyways...
How is that relative? ... I am not saying they should not play/make things like it, I say "fantasy and magic" is not an excuse. Dragging in Bethesda in this is also unrelated. They make up the lore, they can break it down. It's like an author of a book, s/he can do whatevrr s/he wants with it. A random Bob on the street can't make it up, however, and find some excuse why it should work. The authors writes it, the author changes it.
As said, I am not telling anybody anything, and I don't understand where you took that from, I am just pointing out "It's fantasy" is an overused, bad, excuse for about everything. It is bound by lore. Take away the lore, and what do we really got?
This is a poll, by the way. Asking wether you, the individual, would play it, and why. Is it wrong of me to express why it is not lorefriendly and why I would not play it?
Cheers,
Matth
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Oblivion is a fantasy
After a huge rant post, I will cut it short:
"Fantasy and magic!" - is not a valid argument. Oblivion is bound by lore, so is magic. In terms of lore, nothing in Oblivion could reach the moon. Barely any mages could teleport short distances, how would they go to the moon?
The only entity I can think of, in Oblivion, that can teleport somebody to the moon, would be a Daedric God. Why would any of them make a portal to the moon, for the mortal to use?
This idea would suit Fallout a lot better.
Mod for foreign language
in Mod Ideas
Posted
THe argument against that is: Do you honestly got the time? Juggling school/work, modding, gaming and friends is more than you can manage in the houres you got per day. Not to mention the houres you need to sleep.
So why not start combining? You do learn language in school, but not enough. You can't really learn it while modding, and rarely off friends. the most logical way is through gaming. We all know there are kids game to learn languages, but why not make a twist into a nice mod?
Imagin: You get inprisoned by a bunch of foreign eople, you now need to figure out what to do. You learn small language, and you get a very interesting quest mod. Add some foreign kind of custom meshes, and a few particle systems, and you got it all.
Of course, it's a lot of work for something only a few people would bother doing. People are really impatient these days :/
Cheers,
Matth