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Miscellaneous Forums => Graphical => Topic started by: Sonicmfc on 2014-06-30 01:13:54

Title: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-06-30 01:13:54

Enemy Battle models retextured!

(http://i60.tinypic.com/119o18g.png)

Hello! I'm here with the intention to hopefully offer something worthwhile to the community. My aim is to eventually replace all the enemy battle models of the game starting with boss models.


I was going to release the files in packs of monsters (like 10 at a time or so) but if anyone wishes to use this model immediately ask and I will happily do so!

*Click to enlarge pics when the page and images have fully loaded*

(http://i57.tinypic.com/287jgvd.png)

(http://i59.tinypic.com/rm4dvl.png)

This process will take a long time as re-texturing just one model and fitting it together again is very time consuming but I will do my best to dedicate as my time as I can to this project.

Huge credit to the owners of all tools used including Kimera and Pcreator. Also to various users for helping me out and showing me how to make this possible. If I've forgot to credit someone tell me and I'll add it.

Models completed/first release ready:
Air buster

In Progress:
Aps

Models completed by other modders already:
 Motorball  (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=14510.msg203748#msg203748)
 Guard Scorpion  (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=13943.msg195547#msg195547)
 Sweeper  (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=13943.msg195598#msg195598)

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: LeonhartGR on 2014-06-30 08:11:12

Nice! Looking forward to it!

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Kaldarasha on 2014-06-30 13:15:58

I like the idea but when you have the model in Blender you can easily do more:
Use a subsurface modifier and a modifier for sharp edges: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr3ufYhsu3M

Instead of painting the whole texture by hand you can bake the Material color to a texture. The basic idea is to give several parts the material color you like and then you can bake the whole thing to one or more textures. After this you can do a lot more nice stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQcD5N8QYKc

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: dkma841 on 2014-06-30 13:18:52

.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-06-30 13:41:51

Quote from: Kaldarasha on 2014-06-30 13:15:58

I like the idea but when you have the model in Blender you can easily do more:
Use a subsurface modifier and a modifier for sharp edges: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr3ufYhsu3M

Instead of painting the whole texture by hand you can bake the Material color to a texture. The basic idea is to give several parts the material color you like and then you can bake the whole thing to one or more textures. After this you can do a lot more nice stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQcD5N8QYKc

Thanks I'll watch and try to learn I only started using blender on Friday so it's quite difficult for me to know how to produce the best quality textures with it I'm using this project as an opportunity to continuously improve my experience with the tools so I appreciate the advice!

Also, if anyone would like to contribute to the project you are more than welcome especially human models like Rufus I wouldn't be able to model them very well but someone with a bit more experience could produce very good models I imagine.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: EQ2Alyza on 2014-07-03 15:07:52

I've always wanted to learn how to model using Kaldarasha's methods. I think he can teach a lot and have others recreate his work. We need to finish the field models and, of course, start on the enemy models. I'm happy someone is starting on it. Don't give up! It will take awhile to complete, but patience is a virtue and good things always come in due time.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-03 15:34:33

Yeah even since posting that first air buster retexture I have learnt a lot more about making the new textures look much tidier and redoing them more efficiently  :) Yet, I am struggling when it comes to making the model itself look better and less sharp edged for example the modifiers I have tried smooths the model but leaves gaps as certain parts of the model have shrank and I don't know how to correct this issue. I have the Aps model completed but I'm redoing his skin and want to make the model parts look smoother as it doesn't look right ingame if someone could help me fix this issue I'd really appreciate it?

Edit: http://i61.tinypic.com/14j2q7b.png

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: cmh175 on 2014-07-03 16:29:09

I was hoping to be able to use either MakeHuman or Fuse to make HD field models but it isn't looking good so far. At least with MakeHuman, and I missed Fuse on the Steam summer sale. Could lead to better alternatives or ideas though and be helpful finishing the field models.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Kaldarasha on 2014-07-04 08:17:37

Quote from: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-03 15:34:33

Yeah even since posting that first air buster retexture I have learnt a lot more about making the new textures look much tidier and redoing them more efficiently  :) Yet, I am struggling when it comes to making the model itself look better and less sharp edged for example the modifiers I have tried smooths the model but leaves gaps as certain parts of the model have shrank and I don't know how to correct this issue. I have the Aps model completed but I'm redoing his skin and want to make the model parts look smoother as it doesn't look right ingame if someone could help me fix this issue I'd really appreciate it?

Edit: http://i61.tinypic.com/14j2q7b.png

Remove all doubles before using subsurf. In edit mode on the left side under tools: Remove Doubles.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-04 13:15:09

Thanks that's that sorted thankfully! The modifier is great and allows me to make models look much nicer but when I went to try it on the face of Aps the teeth get disconnected as they too got smooth. Naturally I want the teeth to look sharp anyways so is there anyway to apply the subsurf modifier to only certain parts of an object? I tried putting the teeth into a vertex group but the modifier still does the whole model anyways...

http://i58.tinypic.com/vdwlg.png

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Kaldarasha on 2014-07-04 14:35:57

You can select the base of the teeth and change the mean crease level to 1, it's on the right side at the very top in the 3D editor window. Sadly I haven't found a way to leave the top spiky. You will need to edit this by hand after you have applied the Subsurf modifier. In the button menu is a symbol which looks like ... well... like condom if you ask me  :-[. When you click on it will enable Proportional editing, so you can grab one vertex and move his surrounding vertices a it with it.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-05 16:48:53

Thanks I think I've finally got it the way I was wanting it to look! I redid some of the texture work I had done and I'm happy with how it came out. I've still got to sort the black parts out and properly shade the orange parts as i basically just splashed them with some darker colors in texture paint but I think now I'm actually going to do some smaller models which you encounter at the start of the game as these big models with so many parts are very time consuming to do it'd be better to start small so when I get round to finishing the big models I'll be more experienced!

(http://i58.tinypic.com/9vjbyv.png)

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: ff7rules on 2014-07-05 19:59:18

Loving this great work!!

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-05 22:33:10

Thanks!  :)

EDIT: Nevermind problem solved. Turns out you can't have the subsurf modifier number higher than two or it can't handle it

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Mayo Master on 2014-07-06 17:00:41

Quote from: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-05 22:33:10

EDIT: Nevermind problem solved. Turns out you can't have the subsurf modifier number higher than two or it can't handle it

???
Normally in Blender you can have a subsurf up to 6 (and even stack subsurf modifiers to pretty much any number you want - until you're limited by the capabilities of your computer). What exactly isn't handled if you have a subsurf greater than 2?

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-06 17:50:37

Whenever I go to load the 3ds file in Pcreator to convert the model to a format which Kimera can correctly import and add a texture the model simply refuses to load in Pcreator when subsurf is above 2. 2 and below works find it's annoying but I'm not sure if there's any other solution other than to not raise it above 2  :-\

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Kaldarasha on 2014-07-06 19:15:10

If the model has a proper texture attached you could save as a 3ds file and load the piece directly in Kimera you need to twist the texture by hand with an image editor, because you can't twist the UV like in pCreator.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-06 21:56:12

So I was trying that method out when I ran into yet another problem, this time with Kimera. it seems Kimera can't handle subsurfed pieces as when i went to include the body piece into Kimera it simply crashes. I then went back and removed the subsurf modifier and the piece loaded in fine. interestingly it can load smaller subsurfed pieces as it loaded the head piece in but there must be a limit as importing the body piece causes crash without fail everytime. It seems me and FFVII modding tools just don't get along  :cry:

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Kaldarasha on 2014-07-06 22:02:41

Can you send me a PM with the model (the blend file and all textures)? I look at it tomorrow, I'm too tired yet.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-06 23:17:39

I sent a PM but not sure if it actually sent as the inbox isn't showing anything tell me and I'll resend it?

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Kaldarasha on 2014-07-07 21:16:48

Ok, I have clean up the model. The texture are only examples. Don't use smart UV, it is better that you learn to set seams yourself. I'm not good at this myself and have to still to learn it. As you will see I have set materials and added some generated texture on them, I have also prerendered ambient occlusion and saved it as texture. This should be at last a good example of the possibilities you have in blender.

Click on the render button (the camera symbol) open the Bake tab, change the bake mode to texture and then click on bake.
A subsurf of one looks totally fine for me, two is more than enough so you shouldn't go higher than this. You should import the model at whole at once so you can place the UV on one or two textures.

https://mega.co.nz/#!qMkBRAqb!ZQjqmVCILoSCqs-Ie_QEgqhCS5CyAGLe-AxY7kzTZ-I

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-07 22:17:52

Were you able to successfully import this piece into Kimera into the guards model? Could you outline the steps to which I can convert the blend file and the ambient occlusion etc into a file ready to be imported and fitted as I'm not used to doing what you've done to the model so I'm a little confused?

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Kaldarasha on 2014-07-09 17:20:11

I guess I will make a small Blender tutorial in the next week. It should be fairly easy to swap the models from my model overhaul to textured ones and I think if I made a step by step tutorial some people could help me with it. This will also help you with your project.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-09 19:10:25

Yes Kaldarasha that would be a massive help!  :) I think having a simple tutorial on here could also encourage more people to get involved with modding the game's models too as it'd make the process more inviting.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-07-13 02:57:28

Was hoping to make some more progress but I admit I've been slacking as I started a new FFVii fully modded (literally using every mod on here) save. This process will obviously be slow but hopefully be continuous.

However, I do have something to show. Just finished this off tonight and was looking some feedback? I redid and recolored a few parts I personally felt needed more to them as the model doesn't have much to it overall. NB: I'll be doing all the monsters in an area and THEN going back and fixing any issues which I potentially get from feedback. I'll be redoing Air buster tomorrow using some modelling techniques and better textures so it should look much better.

For now, 1st Ray!

(http://i59.tinypic.com/rm4dvl.png)

Back picture included in first post, make sure to click on them to get the full picture!

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: foubou on 2014-07-22 23:42:34

WOW !I have been waiting for a mod like that for a long time !
Good job :)

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: XVermillion on 2014-08-01 00:56:15

Man, this looks really great!

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Sonicmfc on 2014-08-06 18:44:37

Thanks guys! So I redid the air buster model as I knew I could greatly improve on my previous work. i redid the entire thing from scratch and gave it a lot more polish and attention to detail. Now if only someone could do the battleground textures as now the characters and enemies look too detailed for the backgrounds ???

I've updated pictures on the first post to reflect the updated model. Progress is slow but that was expected with such a big project I'm taking it one model at a time at this stage.

(http://i60.tinypic.com/1051wua.jpg)

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Hellbringer616 on 2014-08-07 14:06:14

Looks pretty good, but it looks like he's made out of stone instead of metal

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Mayo Master on 2014-08-12 05:08:03

I think one of the issues is that (to my knowledge) you cannot have glossy/specular shaders in the game, only diffuse. Because of that, it is extremely difficult to make something look like metal.
As for the battle backgrounds, as far as I'm aware Bloodshot has been working on making high-res version, they would certainly look better with more detailed models.

Title: Re: [W.I.P] FFVII Enemy battle models retextured!
Post by: Rufus on 2015-04-29 01:01:57

I think this looks great, I hope it gets added to 7th heaven.

at the time of writing only 3 story bosses have been retexttured and released on 7th heaven, lets hope someone adds this one to make it 4.