Arcane Dimensions -HD overhaul-

[TheKillingJoke]

The files you want to replace must be in similar named folder structures and have the same file format and name. You can stack pk3s, if you give them ongoing numbers at the end (pak0.pk3, pak01.pk3 and so on). Maybe you want to read a thing or two about the whole quake modding stuff before you start over the next time. What you have in mind is also a not a mod or a built but a compilation of other peoples work. Compiling and reuploading a bunch of other peoples babys without their permission is not a good idea.

i figured the only people who would be upset about it are the ones that are stuck in the past and have a marked disdain for hd modders and people with new ideas, i.e. the curmudgeons.

About that: Son. Don't prejudge people. There are a lot of people who like the hd stuff, others don't or do not have a machine to run the hd textures. There's nothing retarded in don't liking hd textures. And no reason to look down on them, even if they say they don't like the idea of an AD hd-package. And don't mind about simon not answearing, just accept it. Your request has been declined, probably even just because his inbox is overflowing with a lot of mail. Maybe he answears in a week, when he clens out his inbox, who knows?

Good luck for your idea.
But don't step into that big bowel full of shit in front of you.
That's well meant :-)

[z1n]

yeah i thought about deleting the files in ad and simply renaming the new files and pasting them in, but i'm not sure they would work. won't hurt to try it though, but i was really hoping i could just stack pk3's. looks like there will be surgery being done. i figured the only people who would be upset about it are the ones that are stuck in the past and have a marked disdain for hd modders and people with new ideas, i.e. the curmudgeons. i actually emailed simon about a different map altogether for a quake 3 build i was doing, but i haven't heard anything from him. seeing as to how displeased i am with the choice of low res textures i doubt he'd be too motivated to to help lol.. or i hope not anyway.
the whole thing has been really frustrating, i must have made more than 60 gigs worth of test builds so far, just starting over each time, for days on end, trying to slap[ together something that works while being a noob to quake 1 modding in the process, learning as i go.
i know 100% exactly precisely what i want, just trying to make it absolutely perfect.

[TheKillingJoke]

Hello z1n,
i am sure that some of the AD particle-effects are models, not particle effects.
You won't be able to change them to some shiny hd-particles unless you replace their models or write your own AD mod. You are right if you say that the pics are too small. it could also be, that you use an effectinfo.txt which has its particle definitions from darkplaces, not fte. For example DP uses "color", but fte "rgb" to define the color of a particle. Those two engines have their differences and it needs some converting, a thing, that i will have to do soon for a mod i'm working on. Shouldn't be too hard.

About the disappearing ammo & health models: It's worth a try to delete the shader folder before replacing them Edit: if there is one. Also, do your replacements and the AD ammorboxes have the same file names and are in the same folders? I don't know a thing about ADs internal structures, just guessing here.

About your idea to offer an AD package similar to the Epsilon-mod: Be careful and ask for permission from the respective authors before you do that. If they decline don't do it. And even if everybody allows you to use their work, be ready to take some fire for it. As an alternative you could write a manual on how people can make use of the AD hd packs and the fte engine, how to make it all work.

Greetings.
TKJ

[z1n]

ok guys, sorry again this stupid server uploaded my images to a small format. why would anyone ever want that X.x
i will try to fix it, doesn't make sense at all, they should be large pictures that you simply click on to view. I even told it fullsize!!!
talk about infuriating. already irritated enough dealing with the aforementioned in ad, now i ahve this server fucking up my pics so you guys can't even see what the hell i'm talking about.

[z1n]

others are still stuck at low res, as shown here:
vlcsnap-2017-12-07-14h30m18s691.pngvlcsnap-2017-12-07-14h29m31s701.png

Again I haven't bothered to go deeper into the maps because I'm going by the logic that if the problems exist at the start they will obviously exist everywhere else in the maps.

The only thing holding me back now is the problem with the health and ammo boxes not being hd and animated, and some monsters not conforming to the bestiary pack, and the ugly gibs and effects issue which i've never seen present in other mods.

I do find it quite baffling and a bit infuriating that such an awesome mapper who makes some of the absolute best maps I've ever seen would insist, this day & age,
on building the mod using low res hard to look at textures when all the hd options are out there, especially since it unarguably makes the game look a lot better, and brings us
into the now, instead of being mired in the limitations of yesteryear. I can understand some people's enthusiasm for grainy, low res "old game" appeal however it would have made a lot more sense to simply just make that an option instead of spending countless hours trying to make it proper. No offense to the mapper but it really doesn't make sense to me that if you're going to spend the time to build something and use textures to use low res ones instead of simply just using the hd ones, but I don't map, so perhaps I'm missing some technical limitations,
which again I don't understand since you can edit the hd stuff in afterwards it would make me think that was possible from the original building phase.

But of course it is my full intention to release an out-of-the-box hd mod of arcane dimensions based on what's available here and the fte engine after I get everything sorted out, where you simply run the game and everything automatically just works perfectly like the epsilon build, to save everyone else precious time who would like to enjoy arcane dimensions in a much more pleasing to the eye format.

Any help here with fixing the health and ammo pickups to run the standard modern animated hd versions and to get rid of the strange particle issues with the effects and use the ones from the epsilon build or whatever epsilon is using would be greatly appreciated. that's basically the last thing holding me back that I can find.

[z1n]

however as can be seen here the fires look great, and don't have that funny looking triangle thing going on however still have those annoying squares in the effects
that I can't seem to get rid of:
vlcsnap-2017-12-07-14h51m14s477.png


and while some enemies look great and the hd addons are obviously working (or they are defaulting to beastiary pack) as shown here:
vlcsnap-2017-12-07-14h29m58s534.pngvlcsnap-2017-12-07-14h27m49s495.png

[z1n]

I'm at a loss here, and have been racking my brain for days trying to fix this. In page 1 of this thread, this is mentioned, but it basically stopped there,
and I have yet to find much info at all anywhere else. I'm not sure why this isn't covered in great detail like all other aspects of going hd with ad are here,
as hd health and ammo boxes are an extremely important aspect of completing a hd conversion.

I desperately need help with the hd animated ammo boxes and health packs, and it would also be nice to get rid of these strange particle animations shown below, where you get squares and other odd shapes in the effects, with the same sort of thing plaguing the gibs and monster fire. they don't look good and I want them gone.
here's the "problem particles" in the teleporters, as you can see the squares and such present in the teleporter effects:
vlcsnap-2017-12-07-14h25m48s912.png
and the issue with the enemy fire, and gibs.. again the squares and other bits:
vlcsnap-2017-12-07-14h27m19s649.png

[z1n]

I will just be using azad for an example. I haven't bothered to dig deeper into the other maps because upon entry they all look good now.
as you can see the textures look perfect:
image_2809.png


I have tried deleting the mdl files of all the health boxes, however the models disappear entirely instead of defaulting to the
ones from the packs i've installed, as can be seen here:
vlcsnap-2017-12-07-14h28m54s380.png

the pictures here should be fullsize, like i clicked when i added them. this backwards ass server seems to have fullsize and thumbnail mixed up. i have tried and tried to fix it to no avail.

[z1n]

***I had to break this post up into many sub posts because this server for some reason limits you to 3 measly pictures in your post***

First off, I am using the fte engine, which out of all the available engines I have found this one to be the most modern, comprehensive and up to date solution:
http://fte.triptohell.info/index.php?p=downloads

This engine allows for downloading and installation of all the best known packages from within the ui. also, the option exists to install an in game map editor.
Before finding this engine I was convinced the epsilon build was the absolute best out of the box solution for a pristine HD quake, as the textures are the crispest, the effects are
wonderful, and everything just works. I still regard it as such, however Iran into issues when trying to run map jam9, ad, etc. and so I needed an engine that will allow me to do my own build
but work properly with anything I throw at it.
I found fitzquake, quakespasm, vkquake, and the like to be limited in menu options, lacking support for the enhanced graphics features I throw at them, and consequently inferior in comparison to fte.

I currently have these packages installed in the engine:
packages.jpg
and these packages installed in id1:
packages2.jpg
and my ad folder:
packages3.jpg

*I did a big long write up containing many images but due to the apparent and somewhat annoying limitations of this server, I will now have to break up the post and spend more time on it*

[Dutch]

talisa

I'm no expert at high-def textures, so maybe the following method won't work, but I've found that once you have your texture finished in a clean, neat appearance, you can take a sharp brush in your image editor and drag some very faint scratches across the texture. Try not to make them too long or unique, or else a consistent pattern will emerge on large BSP brushes.

Next, you can take a 'roughing' brush so to speak in your image editor and apply very faint and highly randomized splotches of dirt. Muddy up the texture. Maybe this could be rust on metallic textures. Again, this has to be sparingly and in a way that it's not obvious.

Finally, a very soft touch blending across all layers to smooth out the edges of the dirt and scratches, which 'ages' everything.

Just an idea, it works well with Quake palette stuff but like I said I'm no expert with high def stuff. Either way, these textures look amazing. I REALLY like your textures in Zendar.

[talisa]

oh no no, no worries. i didnt took any kinda offense to your critique whatsoever and i know that you always mean well and i appreciate your constructive criticism
and do see what you mean and do totally agree... i wish i were able to make textures that looked more dirty and old, its pretty difficult to give textures that kind look.

and thanx once more. i always try my best and try to constantly improve my work and use new techniques i pick up as i experiment more and more with the tools from paintshop

[MadGypsy]

Just please know that I think you are super talented and produce some really beautiful work. My little opinion was just a friendly critique. I have a pretty good eye but, I couldn't make textures as nice as yours even if all I did was try.

[talisa]

hmmm yeah i agree with you gypsy, some of my textures do look quite clean-ish and
i do try my best to avoid that and to make my textures look more 'dirty' like the originals

but its kinda difficult and a lot of work to make textures look used and dirty,
and i dont really have much experience yet in how to do so

.


and yeah, the whole picture would definitely look better with RT-lights added for rich colorfull lighting.
the original quake lighting is kinda dull and lacks any color. some vibrant colored realistic lighting would add a lot

[MadGypsy]

Of course your textures are awesome and beautiful but, for some reason I think AD looks better with the low res textures. I can't put my finger on why. Looking at your screenshots I was struck with a feeling of them just not being right (only some of them). Maybe the lighting does not compliment highdef images or something, I don't know. Just my opinion...probably one that is not shared by many (anyone). Excellent work none-the-less. It should be obvious to the most casual observer that you have worked very hard on your graphic art skills.

An example of what I mean is this image. I don't know what but something seems very off about it, to me. Maybe it's because the monsters are so low def it's throwing the rest off. Or maybe it's just too clean, everything sort of looks brand new. Yup, I think that's what it is...too pristine. The low def images make it seem more "used" and that lends heavily to the atmosphere. Maybe that could be the next level of your graphic art development...making high-def images that somehow maintain the feel that the lowdef images give. I have zero suggestions on how to do this or even where to begin. Maybe you could make highdef lowdef images, where instead of trying to create more realism you only really remove the blockiness of the lowdef textures.

[talisa]

here's a mirror on my google drive so that those files are still available
untill blood vengeance gets around to creating new mirror for the files himself

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4...1lESEo3MEVOQjg