[REL] SteelViking's Interior Mod

[reaper7]

Originally Posted by SteelViking

@ Reaper7, please make sure to keep me in the loop about how your .GR2 file editing goes. As you know, Privateer and I are both very interested in getting any information on them that we can. Oh, and what hex editor are you using? XVI3 is what I use.

No problem, will keep you update on what progress I make.
Although it will be next week before I get to do anything with it.
Yes thats the same Hex Editor I'm using, got it from the downloads section.

[reaper7]

Ok just took a quick stab at it.
Copied all the files from the NLL to the NKL and renamed them to suit.
Edited the NKL.cfg and NKL.1st to show the dir as:
3DModelFileName=data/Sea/NKL/NKL and data\Sea\NKL\NKL_FX.GR2
Placed a new skin called NLL_AO04.dds in the NLL folder (Skin is red in colour).

Here's the results:

When viewing model from afar:


Notice the red skins on every second ship model . Thats good as every 2nd one is a warsupplies version thats not linked to the red skin.

Now look what happens as we move closer:


The red skin disappears and is replaced by a Grey skin .

I noticed this behavior for the stock models too. Look at the next 2 pics.
The middle ship is Grey from afar.


But as we get closer it changes to camo.



So what I have concluded from all this is

A. The Lod.gr2 only points to a Base skin for the model that is used as the standard paint job.
B. Alternative Skins are not assigned from the Lod.gr2 but elsewhere - I have no idea what file controls these. Are they randomly assigned once placed in the models folder ???

[SteelViking]

Did you change all the skin names in the .GR2 to use this new texture? I am not really sure how the skins for the ships work as I have not looked into it but you might try renaming all of the skin .dds files to use the same one.

Also, if you are only going to change one skin file name in the .GR2, make sure that you change every instance of that file name. When using the find string search, keep running it and changing the file name until it says string not found. There is usually 3 instances of the same texture file name in any given .GR2.

[reaper7]

Originally Posted by SteelViking

Did you change all the skin names in the .GR2 to use this new texture? I am not really sure how the skins for the ships work as I have not looked into it but you might try renaming all of the skin .dds files to use the same one.

Also, if you are only going to change one skin file name in the .GR2, make sure that you change every instance of that file name. When using the find string search, keep running it and changing the file name until it says string not found. There is usually 3 instances of the same texture file name in any given .GR2.

Yes renamed all instances of the NLL_AO01.dds to NLL_AO04.dds (My Red skin).
Now if you look thru the Lod file NLL_AO01.dds is the only skin refrenced anywhere - so its a default skin for long distance that is applied to the model.
Now the other skins in the folder NLL_AO02.dds (Blue) and NLL_AO03.dds (Camo) are not refrenced in the Lod.gr2 file at all.
This lead me to conclude that alternative skins from the base skin are assigned elsewhere, the problem is where .

[SteelViking]

Originally Posted by reaper7

Yes renamed all instances of the NLL_AO01.dds to NLL_AO04.dds (My Red skin).
Now if you look thru the Lod file NLL_AO01.dds is the only skin refrenced anywhere - so its a default skin for long distance that is applied to the model.
Now the other skins in the folder NLL_AO02.dds (Blue) and NLL_AO03.dds (Camo) are not refrenced in the Lod.gr2 file at all.
This lead me to conclude that alternative skins from the base skin are assigned elsewhere, the problem is where .

Huh, this is weird, I just looked through all of the .GR2 files for the NLL in hex, and you are right, there are no references to any other AO files. So, where the heck are they coming from.......

Also, you probably already know this, but the AO files are just the light/shadow maps for the ship, they are not the actual textures themselves for the ships. The actual textures for the ships come from the Ship_T0.....dds files. Again, you most likely already know that, wanted to say it just in case.

[reaper7]

Originally Posted by SteelViking

Also, you probably already know this, but the AO files are just the light/shadow maps for the ship, they are not the actual textures themselves for the ships. The actual textures for the ships come from the Ship_T0.....dds files. Again, you most likely already know that, wanted to say it just in case.

No I wasn't aware of that, was full sure they were texture skins.
Thanks SteelViking for the info.
Why is NLL_AO2.dds in camo print, does it just make the camo darker .
Also where are the SHip_To...dds files located, maybe they are the key to the puzzle.

[SteelViking]

Originally Posted by reaper7

No I wasn't aware of that, was full sure they were texture skins.
Thanks SteelViking for the info.
Why is NLL_AO2.dds in camo print, does it just make the camo darker .
Also where are the SHip_To...dds files located, maybe they are the key to the puzzle.

The thing is, the camo is not actually being rendered with the ship textures themselves, it is being simulated by a light overlay produced from the shadow map(NLL_AO02.dds). The Ship_T0.....dds files are located in the Textures/TNormal/tex folder. I ran across them a long time ago looking for interior textures.

[TheDarkWraith]

NLL cloned far:


NLL cloned close:


made the textures darker on clone to see difference Took less than 10 mins to figure out. I made them render but there's more work to be done to be cloned correctly.

[SteelViking]

Yes, but they are still changing at different distances, which is what is confusing me.

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by SteelViking

Yes, but they are still changing at different distances, which is what is confusing me.

just because of the way I did the textures. I did that on purpose to see the LOD kick in at far distance and go away at close distance. I wanted to see an obvious change in the color when LOD kicked in.

[reaper7]

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

NLL cloned far:


NLL cloned close:


made the textures darker on clone to see difference Took less than 10 mins to figure out. I made them render but there's more work to be done to be cloned correctly.

This is what I have above , this was not the issue but its on the right track but SteelViking has pointed me in the right direction
But it proves the Lod is for the base skin, and as SV says the other dds files for just shadow maps.
In process of doing a new skin and see if it renders on the clone.

[SteelViking]

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

just because of the way I did the textures. I did that on purpose to see the LOD kick in at far distance and go away at close distance. I wanted to see an obvious change in the color when LOD kicked in.

Ah, it makes sense that the AOs would turn on at whatever the lod distance was set on, I have seen those controllers around before. For instance, the Unified Render Controller has lod distance incorporated in it. Only thing is, I just looked through Goblin, and I cannot find an lod controller at all for adjusting what distance it renders for the NLL(have not looked at any other ships yet).

[TheDarkWraith]

is this better for you?

close:


far:

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by SteelViking

Ah, it makes sense that the AOs would turn on at whatever the lod distance was set on, I have seen those controllers around before. For instance, the Unified Render Controller has lod distance incorporated in it. Only thing is, I just looked through Goblin, and I cannot find an lod controller at all for adjusting what distance it renders for the NLL(have not looked at any other ships yet).

actually the AOs kick in at close distance (less than specified LOD distance)

[SteelViking]

Originally Posted by reaper7

This is what I have above , this was not the issue but its on the right track but SteelViking has pointed me in the right direction
But it proves the Lod is for the base skin, and as SV says the other dds files for just shadow maps.
In process of doing a new skin and see if it renders on the clone.

Are you editing the files I told you about, because I think that is the only way to truly re-skin the subtypes(clones). You will still have to edit the .GR2 for the clones in order to point to the newly made Ship_T0....dds files.

P.S. By the way TDW, remember a while back when I said that I was not going to take the time to figure out Hex Editing.......well.....I lied I am not an expert by any means, but I have already used it for a number of things. So, I am sorry for not listening to you in the first place.