New Co-op/Single Player models

[|iR|Focalor]

In past paks that I made, I took some of the stock game models and re-did the texture mapping and textures to make them look a little more detailed.

For example:







I've decided to try re-doing a bunch of other models as well. It's probably a ways off before I actually release/post any new models or a new pak, but I thought others might be interested in seeing some of it in progress. It's still early into this and I haven't gotten far at all. Currently I'm working on the "Key" models. I've done the Data CD key, which was really simple and quick. Now I'm almost finished with the Blue Key which I've been puttering around with for the last 2 or 3 nights. I've decided this model is simple enough that I probably won't have to remap the texture to get a good result. I used a screenshot from Npherno's Skin Tool get an enlarged version of the original texture along with a bright green wireframe representation of the mapping to use as a template. So if you notice lime green lines on it, those will NOT appear in the finished version, it's just there temporarily as a guide.

I haven't don't the shading and highlighting of the sides yet either, but most of the details are done.





And the new Data CD.

[rikwad]

Looking pretty sharp.

[|iR|Focalor]

New security pass is done I think.

The old one.



The new one.



Made it a bit lighter colored with more contrasting features to make it stand out more. The old one is often hard to see at times depending on where it is placed. Hopefully this one will be more visible.

[|iR|Focalor]

Power cube turned out half decent I guess. This is not a new model. Just a new texture mapping using the stock model.

For those who don't know, within the md2 model file is a portion of data that defines the directory location of the texture it will use and where/how the different parts of that texture image will display upon the triangles of the model. I re-mapped the layout of these triangles differently upon the 2d texture image to where it would be easier to create a higher resolution texture.

Anyway, here she is:

[|iR|Focalor]

Re-mapped reskinned pyramid key is complete.

"Technically" this is a new model. Starting out, I loaded the stock md2 into QuArK in order to change the texture dimension from 152x92 to 200x200, that way my PNG texture could be 800x800 (I figured I might need more vertical space in which to re-map the sides of the key flat and accurately on the texture. So when I exported that result from QuArK, like I said, technically it's a new model,... and I suspect that some of the vertices from the original md2 might've shifted positions and changed the shape of the model a little bit in certain places.

After that, I remapped the triangles to the new 200x200 texture, and then created the texture in Photoshop.



Next, I'll be working on the red key. The red key stock texture appears to be very similar to the blue keys stock texture. I'm hoping I can just use the template I made for the blue key, rework a few things, color things red, and it'll go pretty quick.

But I'm also going to be revisiting the blue key again and making some changes to the coloration used. The version I made is far too bright blue colored. The original blue key was sort of washed out and almost sky blue colored, so I want to try to match that color a little better.

As you see, on the left is the stock texture with a light blue colored key, and on the right is my new texture with a bright true blue color. It just looks strange in the game. Gotta fix it.

[|iR|Focalor]

Finished the re-do of the blue key. The "OLD" in this pic is the original Quake2/stock PCX texture, and the "NEW" is the newest recolored version, and will probably be the final version I guess.



Compared to the first version I did...



...I think this re-do looks a lot closer to the original.

[|iR|Focalor]

Like I said, the red key texture is pretty much the same as the blue key, so I didn't have to spend time making a new template. I just made a few tweaks to the blue key template, and it was done. Although I might go back again and tweak the color a little bit. The original Q2 color palette never really had a bright red color on it, and the "red" key was actually a little more orange colored than red probably. For a base color, I picked a color directly from an in-game screenshot of the original texture to use on the new skin, but perhaps I could've made it a bit darker. Not sure if I'll change it or not.

So... opinions? Good the way it is? Change the color some more?

[rikwad]

Nice that you kept it close to the original, but sharper and cleaner. Looks okay the way it is, I think.

[|iR|Focalor]

Think I'm done with the data spinner skin now.



Took a couple of artistic liberties, but probably no more than I did with any of the others so far, and it still looks identical enough to the original. Added a leather texture to the handle with some finger grooves. The original looked like it just had one function button on the control box part, and instead of replicating that, I did an 8-button pad (power, play, stop, pause, record, etc). For the readout screen I used a picture off Google of the old green Apple IIe boot screen.



Spent lots of time playing Oregon Trail on one of those pieces of shit in my elementary school days.

If you'll notice on the blue key, the little LCD screen says: blue pass code - 55378008. There used to be some joke kids in school would tell about Dolly Parton's famous big tits using a calculator and some math problems and at the end she was "BOOBLESS" (55378008 upside down).

And for the red key, the screen says: red pass code - IDSPISPOPD (the cheat code for walking through walls in Doom).

I was gonna do a before/after pic with a screenshot of the original data spinner, but for some reason the stock skin is showing up overly bright in the game. As far as I can tell, it's successfully loading it from the pak0, and yet the colors all seem to be over-exposed.

If someone could do me a favor here, I'd like to see how the data spinner is showing up for other people. Can one or two people post screenshots of one for me?

A walkthrough of how to do it just in case:

• Before starting Q2... Make sure set cheats "1" is added to your command line - R click your desktop shortcut and add it.
  example: Target: C:\Quake2\r1q2.exe +set cheats 1
• Start up Quake2
• Multiplayer > Start network server > Begin (Q2DM1 please)
• when game starts, enter spectator mode (spectator 1)
• fly to the middle of the open center arena
• open console, type: give data spinner
• type: drop data spinner
• take several screenshots of the data spinner (F12 key, pics should be in c:/quake2/baseq2/screenshots)
• post those screenshots in this thread
• get free handjob voucher (see Beatdown to redeem)

Just wondering if it appears the same way for everyone else or if maybe I have wonky settings for my games lighting. I don't think I do. But if I do,... gonna need to go back and change how much I darken the final skin.PNG's.

[rikwad]

3 for regular GL and 3 for R1GL -No hand-job required. 

[|iR|Focalor]

Yeah, when I look at the stock model in Npherno's Skin Tool that I use for remapping and getting a wireframe screenshot for a painting template, it looks like the first 3 shots. But when I load it up in the actual game (I'm also using r1q2 w/ r1gl), it looks like yours. Although from the looks of the map in the background, you have your lighting turned pretty high.

I've got a second install of 100% stock Quake2, and I've tried loading it up to see the data spinner in 3.20 for myself, but it seems that the "gl_coloredlightmaps" setting doesn't work with 3.20 like it does with R1Q2, so everythings getting colored by the colored lights. And the only thing I've found to do so far to add some light to the game is "gl_modulate 9", which I know is probably too high (I'm using "7" for r1q2).

edit: I don't think any kind of lightmap setting is gonna change what result I'm getting, seems like the colors on the cd are still just as over-exposed to the point of turning white that they were in r1q2. So.... I dunno what the hell the problem is. Perhaps it's my video card or something. No fuckin' clue.

another edit:
I think I figured out what the problem is. For a while I thought it was some kinda gl setting for lighting. I set gl_modulate down to 1 (stock), I had coloredlightmaps off, and I was trying to figure out what in the hell command was making the lighting flash on all the items. Still never figured it out. If anyone knows what the command is, if it even exists, please share.

But I think I figured out that it was my "intensity" setting, which I had at 2, and probably also had it at 2 for my stock install of Q2 as well. I installed it a few years ago just because I wanted to play through Q2 single player with all the cinematics and shit.

[rikwad]

My gl_modulate was 5, intensity 2, and vid_gamma .6. I did some shots now with gl_modulate 1, intensity 1, and v_gamma .6 for R1GL. 

 I think we have the same 6450HD too, but I am running linux atm so different drivers. Also using wine to run 3.20 exec with RIGL. I was also using Knightmare's version of open GL with the 3.20 exec because the original ID version of GL crashes with newer Linux drivers.

[|iR|Focalor]

Yeah, not really sure if 1 or 2 is the default setting for intensity, but I did some comparison between the two settings with my newer PNG skins and the results were negligible, so I don't think whatever my current settings are should effect the way I'm painting textures and how they'll appear for others.

When I make the skins, they are at normal brightness, but before I load them into the game I always use photoshop to go:

image > adjustments > hue/saturation >
Lightness: "-60"

...which darkens the PNG skin, but the lighting in the game brightens everything back to where it's supposed to be. In other words, if you DO NOT darken the skin, your texture WILL DEFINITELY appear over-exposed and too bright in the game.

I was afraid that maybe my own settings for lighting were too high and it might've been effecting how I'm finalizing the textures which would result in overly dark textures for others. But I don't think it'll be a problem.

------------------------

Started on the airstrike marker last night. Did a complete remap for the texture. Also got the wireframe template ready for painting. Will probably start painting it up sometime later tonight or maybe tomorrow.

When the airstrike marker is done, probably gonna go back and make some changes to the security pass. Not really happy with how it turned out. It looks too different from the original.

After that, I'm gonna go through some of the other models and see if there's anything else I'd like to take a stab at re-mapping and re-texturing.

Might also try to make some new brightskins for the male, female, and cyborg models, something kinda similar to my camo brightskins I did several years ago.


http://focalor.tastyspleen.net/Focalors_Camo_Brightskins_Pak.html

[|iR|Focalor]

I think the airstrike marker is done.



That's all 8 of the "keys" models done. There's also the Commander's Head in another folder somewhere which I didn't do. I'll take a look at it and see if maybe there's something I can do to upgrade it, but probably not.

Dunno what else I'll do after these. I'll look through the models folders and see what else there is. If there's nothing else I feel like reskinning, then perhaps I'll get on to making some new brightskins like I said.

[|iR|Focalor]

Update:

I'm currently working on a new pak file, Focalor's Pak v12, and when it's done, these will be included in that pak.

After it's done and posted up on my page for public consumption, I will likely create an additional pak containing these new reskin/re-map models from this thread,... as well as my previous reskin/re-map models from older paks... and also any and all high resolution models (from Wirehead studios - used with permission) that I've used in other paks over the years. The idea being to create a pak that features nothing but the upgraded high res models that keep a "stock" look to the game, for people who want one easy drop-in solution to models but don't want anything funky or "custom".