'To Do' thread for Ibsen's Ghost

[Koniption]

Originally posted by Ibsen's Ghost
I'm using the Photoshop plugin instead. I might update the list because I generated the rootworm normalmaps with the Photoshop plugin and was satisfied with the results. If they need changing, I could always redo them from the original textures.

However, I noticed that, whilst creating the normal maps, I kept getting an error message or something saying that I would lose alpha channel information or something. Would that affect the original .dds texture files and is this something I need to do something about? I wondered whether this were responsible for the lighting in the tunnels being especially dim or if this was purely due to the current lack of lights in there (I'll probably use the glowshrooms to some extent here and see if they fit okay).

I don't use Photoshop, but saving a normal map of a regular texture, as long as the normal map is a different name (even if you added the "_n" to make it work in Oblivion, when you saved it) when you saved it, it won't overwrite the original regular textures.

But if you re-saved the original regular texture with the same name of itself, and Photoshop is giving that error, you might have also messed up the regular texture, by resaving it under a different dds format, possibly.

For the rootworm textures, here's how I would save the various textures:

Firstly, you need a dark enough version of the regular texture and save it as - DXT1, RGB. Then you need the normal map for the dark enough texture. If the reg texture is dark enough to prevent shine in the game, sometimes you don't need an alpha channel in the normal map. Therefore, save the normal map as - DXT1, RGB.

Sometimes you do need an alpha channel in addition to a darker texture, or if the darker reg texture was too dark to even look right for your purposes (in other words, you needed to make the dark reg texture lighter, to the point that it will start to shine a bit). In this case -

Regular texture (and almost all regular textures that have pure texture covering the whole visible area, such as tileable and seamless textures): save as DXT1, RGB

Normal map to prevent bright glare: DXT3 or DXT5, plus RGBA8

But if your textures need to have alpha in the regular texture too (like in how some Oblivion plant reg textures need to do in order to show only the petals and certain leaves, that have have invisible areas. Suppose using Nifskope, you export the UV texture map of a NiTriStrip or NiTriShape from an Oblivion nif to your PC Desktop. If you compare the exported UV Map, and the colored in and finished regular texture, and you see that the finished texture, in some same area between the two of them, did not have all the "enclosed lines" (that would still be visible on the UV Map) representing a mesh part fully colored in, but instead the shape of the texture part there was cut out from a picture/photo/other and pasted in that area with precision (and the surrounding UV Map lines/seams erased, so they don't appear in the texture). A good example is the petal area of the flower in my Hibiscus plant textures. If this is the case, then a regular texture of yours with similar build, needs to also be saved with alpha channel (DXT3 or DXT5, plus RGBA8). Of course, you need to add the alpha layer to the regular texture first, before saving in aformentioned format to allow the alpha layer to be "active".

Koniption

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Thanks Koniption :goodjob:

I shall have a good exploration of this soon...just got back from my weekend's activities. =)

@B2M - Here's the link: http://developer.nvidia.com/object/photo...ugins.html .

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Not much time today but I got working on the other interior textures that lacked _n files. Once I'm done I'll begin work on finishing some more interiors, preparing the archive, setting up the Everglades region and, perhaps most importantly, recruitment!

Edit - I finished doing the normal maps for the textures that needed them doing. Now I need to remake the stained glass windows for Stormhold and start looking at this archive reshuffle. btw, I was hoping to put Stormhold into its own WS so I'm hoping to do this before passing on the full Stormhold claim....unless someone fancies the job of setting up this sub-WS (it would be greatly appreciated!). Anyway, I'm hoping that Easter will provide me with enough modding opportunities....

[Back2Murder]

Originally posted by Ibsen's Ghost
@B2M - Here's the link: http://developer.nvidia.com/object/photo...ugins.html .

Thanks Ibsen,

Annyway, good job so far ibsen!

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Awful quiet around here lately! I'm afraid I stopped before going ahead with recruitment due to the Jungle Region hold-up but I thought it was worth mentioning that I'm getting back down to things now. I've located a more suitable set of cells to base the Jungle Region on and I'm working on fine-tuning my choices for replacing vanilla items with custom ones (and I'm being particularly careful this time around)....but it takes time and I've been working hard during my (supposed) break in RL.

Some better news is that, after speaking to ThePriest909 of 'Gates to Aesgaard' fame, it seems that my old friend would be interested in helping out a little. Any help on landscapes and dungeons would be superb and he is a perfect person for the team! Let's hope he can find the time.....more recruitment soon.

I've also been experimenting with a few ideas for a new 'Hist Dimension' WS but it's still very much in its early stages as I'm only just starting to grasp some other features of the CS...but things should be getting very surreal around that Hist sap... =)

[InsanitySorrow]

'Tis awfully quiet these days

I have been rather busy myself these past weeks, been meaning to finish the tenmar wall stuff, such a simple and quick job has taken far too long. Its a shame

Anyway, thats on my to-do list

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Well, I had a busy day today but one thing that IS doesn't have to worry about any more are the textures for the Tenmar Wall Jungle huts as I did them myself! :yes:

I am currently setting up the latest archive along with all of the updates to send to sandor for merging. This will include the work so far on the Hist Dimension, an updated Tenmar Wall, Razorwing's Agora brought back from the dead (or at least immense purpleness), new stained glass windows in Stormhold (together with a better sanctum), Koniption's script-based items ready to be used (such as the boiling kettle and exploding seedpod) and new interiors made available for people to get cracking on the Pholmolo interiors. Joey2k has just joined us so I wanted to make sure that there was something new immediately available for him.

These screenies are only basic CS shots and don't look too flash but they give you an idea of how it's progressing.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

I updated my to do list. See the OP for details.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

I managed to clean up a lot of the archive today. I still have a bit more to do but this means that the next archive update should actually be smaller as opposed to larger....unless, of course, I decided to add a few more things as well. I did some work on sorting out the assets properly as I was very inexperienced when I added things previously and there was quite a lot in the wrong place.

Again, I was shocked by how disorganised things were from the previous team.....it seems no one feels obliged to pass on information to the rest once they leave a project....very rude IMO. X(

I'd hoped to get this sorted tonight so I could send updates to sandor. The next update will probably be another biggy.....especially if sandor manages to find the time to generate the Everglades Region. Hold tight, folks! I'm getting there.

[PhiniusMaster]

I don't know what your current plans are on this issue, but I think that leveled lists should really just be randomizers for spawns, and that creatures shouldn't be leveled like in vanilla Oblivion, but rather in a mod that makes all creatures spawn from level 1.

Just my 2 cents.