Qhimm.com Forums
Miscellaneous Forums => Graphical => Topic started by: Mcindus on 2014-02-15 03:10:01
-
Triple Triad HD is now called Tripod and has been released!
Find it HERE (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=15301.msg213961#msg213961")!
(link will be broken until Tripod is approved by a moderator)
-------------------------------
Old Card Set:
Old Cards (https://www.dropbox.com/s/v0c9kyx73act2i1/Oldcardscreenie.jpg)
New Card Set Comparison:
New Cards (https://www.dropbox.com/s/vp3tygl1ngyx65d/SmallerScreenshotofcards.jpg)
----------ADDED 6/10/14---------
New Background:
HD Background (http://www.13tomidnight.net/FF8/artwork/TTBack2Preview.jpg)
New Game Mat:
HD Game Mat (http://www.13tomidnight.net/FF8/artwork/TTMatPreview.jpg)
------------------------------------
Here is a link to preview the whole set:
Triple Triad Master Preview (https://www.dropbox.com/s/ga5hmm700m9sper/TTMasterPreview.jpg)
Please help! I've already done all the work on the art side... and I REALLY hope I don't have to split this up into 56 different palettes like the original TIM is setup...
-
I know we aren't supposed to double-post unless we have extra information about what we're doing, but in the process of editing my original post, I had too many different topics to touch on, so here's an update... I hope I'm not breaking any rules.
So far, I've figured out how to import resized .tims into the .exe but don't know how to edit the .exe for the proper byte size of the new .tims and the program keeps crashing. I believe I have to either do that, or I have to turn the TIM file into an LZS file first... and -then- inject that into the .exe -- but I can't seem to find the file names to replace.
Today I am going to dive into DLPB's Tools (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=13574.0) and dig around in ff8.exe, but I don't know what I'm doing... If only I had some -real- programming experience, I could make a fancy DLL or patcher. Any and all help is greatly appreciated :)
With these mods, FF8 really feels like a shiny new experience and smashes the Steam version to pieces:
- Aali's most recent Graphics Driver (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=14922.0)
- New UI and Game Menu (SeeD v2.0) (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=11960.0)
- Modified Soundtrack (Roses and Wine) (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=13715.0)
- HP cap fix/Harder difficulty (FF8Launcher without dx_hook) (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=8715.0)
I feel like Triple Triad HD would provide an extra dimension to the game, and maybe even create enough buzz to cause some stir for FF8 modding.
If only we could get Magochocobo's new character models into the game...
-
If only we could get Magochocobo's new character models into the game...
That's a wish for years!
-
Just need to promote the mods we have and hope for the attraction of programmers 8)
-
It's not really a lack of programmers stopping us from putting better character models/textures into FF8. It has a lot more to do with the fact that we don't fully understand FF8's model format.
-
It's not really a lack of programmers stopping us from putting better character models/textures into FF8. It has a lot more to do with the fact that we don't fully understand FF8's model format.
This isn't really supposed to get hijacked by the models/textures, but I really don't mind if it helps us mod ff8!
That being said, I would really love to help with figuring out the model format -- but with all of the information on ff8 being so scattered on the forums, it's hard to find all the info we need...
That, and the fact that Qhimm seems to no longer exist -- and I'm pretty sure he was the only one that knew how to do it.
I'm going to post something about the moderators making a FF8 only section... it would really help clear up some confusion and create a place where we don't have to dig 10 pages down in 5 seperate topics for the right information.
-
Fan fact: http://rankass.com/stat/qhimm.com :)
Just need to promote the mods we have and hope for the attraction of programmers 8)
I did my best on steam forums after FFVIII was released. We achieved some graphical and music modifications but nothing about dealing with the programming issues for replacing the models. :/
-
I'm going to post something about the moderators making a FF8 only section... it would really help clear up some confusion and create a place where we don't have to dig 10 pages down in 5 seperate topics for the right information.
Yeah, is there a way I could help with that? The FF8 mod scene isn't as big as VII, and we pretty much have to sift through hella pages to find a specific topic.
-
Yeah, is there a way I could help with that? The FF8 mod scene isn't as big as VII, and we pretty much have to sift through hella pages to find a specific topic.
Send a list of any FF8 pages you come across to me in a pm. I'm going to try to compile a master list over the next couple of weeks.
edit:
Here's the list!
FF8 Forum Posts (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=15047.msg211200#msg211200)
-
Let's carry that on here.
What is the graphic you are trying to change?
-
The goal is to replace the Triple Triad cards texture by a higher resolution one. The entire card set is a single *.tex located in the main .exe and its original size is 1792x256px. Mcindus already tried the import feature using TIMviewer but even re-importing the upscaled set, the game will keep the original axis.
This subject has already been discussed in this thread (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=14870.0).
I think it would be easier to look after this issue using an external texture as a test (like the character's avatars) before the Triple Triad .exe embedded one in order to understand how the game reads them and where to look for.
-
Let's carry that on here.
What is the graphic you are trying to change?
Yes, brilliant idea.
I'm trying to replace the file that starts at 7A9B10 with an upscaled version. I'm still not even really sure if it's a .TEX file or a .TIM file (pretty sure it's a .TIM) -- and could even possibly be a .LZS, but I have no way of telling because I'm a newb.
I used TimViewer to scan the raw .exe for images and it pulled up a lot of images, but the first five files were the images for Triple Triad that I wanted -- located at positions 796A90 (big text/icons), 7A96B0 (small text), 7A9B10 (entire card set as one file), 820B30 (playing grid/mat), and 84AB44 (background). I'm pretty sure they're Tim files because TimViewer had no problem recognizing them and all of their palettes.
The file I wanted to upscale turned out to be at 7A9B10 - so with TimViewer, I extracted it as a TIM - converted it to a .BMP, threw it in photoshop and completely re-did all of the cards in that file with much higher resolution versions (see above photos (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=15006.msg210682#msg210682) for comparison) and then converted it back into a TIM file. It even opens up in TimViewer like a charm... so none of this seems to be my problem.
TimViewer has an option to then re-insert the new TIM file that I've made, but every time I try it causes the .exe to crash. Most likely this is due to the .exe expecting a 1792x256 (449kb) image, and finding a 7168x1024 (7mb) file instead...lol. I guess I shouldn't smash things into .exe's that don't belong there. I was hoping I might be able to find some hex that lets me modify the memory of the .exe to accept a bigger file... or something.
[ EDIT: LOL so I scanned the file again and the size needed for the new TIM makes the current sector need to grow from 487,456 bytes to 7,344,128 -- currently, it's over-writing parts of the .exe and causing my crash. ]
[ EDIT 2: After reading some posts in the Archive, I've run across something interesting. Would there be a way for me to put this TIM at the end of the .exe and then have DLPB Tools redirect the .exe to that TIM file instead of the original?]
Also - as a side note that 5way points out, even if the game could see my new file, it would be looking for images in the wrong pixel locations and I would most likely just get 1/4 of an image in each card in-game, as he did when he attempted an upscale in this post. (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=14870.msg208988#msg208988)
Sorry if it's a lot, but I like to be thorough.
-
I extracted it as a TIM - converted it to a .BMP, threw it in photoshop and completely re-did all of the cards in that file with much higher resolution versions
Not that important at this point but the card texture uses transparency (blue/red background depending if the card is yours or not) did you manage to get transparent background converting the upscaled file to *.tim ?
-
Show me the pictures you are changing also.
[ EDIT 2: After reading some posts in the Archive, I've run across something interesting. Would there be a way for me to put this TIM at the end of the .exe and then have DLPB Tools redirect the .exe to that TIM file instead of the original?]
I would not attempt that. Changing exe size will mean future mods that require the correct size exe will fail. But if there is no other way, yes it could be done, but how... I dunno. Aali would :P
-
Show me the pictures you are changing also.
I would not attempt that. Changing exe size will mean future mods that require the correct size exe will fail. But if there is no other way, yes it could be done, but how... I dunno. Aali would :P
Here are the pics:
Original (https://www.dropbox.com/s/9bgrfznejs08n8h/AllCardsMaster.png)
HD Replacement (https://www.dropbox.com/s/or6qcu4rn77ilr7/TripleTriadMasterCards.png)
It's a shame that these cards look so good in the game menu (with SeeD v2.0) but so BAD in the actual game.
But I guess I shouldn't be messing with the .exe size... sigh.
I guess the only way to get these in the game is with Aali's help at the moment... and I doubt he has the time....
I bet Qhimm could do it. lol. Too bad they're both busy.
-
Any chance to re import upscaled icon, avatars and font textures from the menu.fs ? I already made my research and the icon.sp1 and sysfnt.tdw are definitely not the place to look and as far as I know the UV coordinates data is not part of the *.tex header.
-
Any chance to re import upscaled icon, avatars and font textures from the menu.fs ? I already made my research and the icon.sp1 and sysfnt.tdw are definitely not the place to look and as far as I know the UV coordinates data is not part of the *.tex header.
Hey... I was just thinking to myself... If you can look inside FF8Config.exe, it might have the information that you are looking for - because when you select 'use Hi-Res textures and fonts' in the FF8Config.exe, it re-directs to the .tex files in the hires folder - as well as pointing to new pixel (UV?) locations. The same is probably true for the steam FF8 launcher - so maybe you should dig around in there?
Stop hijacking my thread to talk to DLPB :mrgreen:
-
Well, it is part of the issue if you later get to insert the upscaled cards texture, right ? :roll:
You can't select either lowres or hires anymore in the 2013 version (but the files and data still there), the hires is now a default option and yes, the main *.exe is probably the answer for all our needs.
-
FF8PC emulates the playstation GPU for most parts of the game. Thats bad news for several reasons but just to name a few it means the game has limited memory available for textures, doesn't use relative UV coordinates and does not readily accept textures in any other size or format than it was designed to. I don't think you'll have much luck, unfortunately.
-
That's sad to hear, that FF8 PC is largely a two-bit PS1 emulator. Is the FF8 Steam release any better? If so, which version of the game would be most viable to release such a mod for?
Either way, if the Triple Triad HD cards truly look better than the originals, you could always downscale them to PS1-size and replace the game's original cards with the low-res HD copies. It wouldn't look MUCH better, but it should be an improvement.
-
FF8PC emulates the playstation GPU for most parts of the game. Thats bad news for several reasons but just to name a few it means the game has limited memory available for textures, doesn't use relative UV coordinates and does not readily accept textures in any other size or format than it was designed to. I don't think you'll have much luck, unfortunately.
Man... I saw that Aali posted on my topic and i was thinking to myself... "omgwtfbbqyay" and then I read what was said. I almost cried.
Why can we upscale the .TEX files that are located in the menu.fs location using Aali's driver and not upscale anything else? Is it because of the file type (TEX vs TIM)? or is it because they are in the data folder instead of the .exe itself?
I'm just really confused as to why we can get some things (like the menu) to work, but nothing else (like the magic tims)? I know I'm no programmer, but it seems strange to me.
Also - if FF8 is emulating the PSX GPU, is there a way to mod that structure to allow for it? I know I can't do it, but maybe there's a programmer who knows how to beef the emulation.
It seems like Aali basically just said "It's RaW and SeeD and that's it, sorry guys." I thought that FF8's structure made more sense than FF7's... but FF7 allows for modding in a way that FF8 can't? Sigh... Maybe one day it will be possible -- I'll never give up hope.
-
Although structures can be better, and file-systems more efficient, that doesn't have any bearing on this issue. Games are ported differently, and internally may be very different. In this case, it looks like luck is out. But at least most textures can be replaced.
-
Although structures can be better, and file-systems more efficient, that doesn't have any bearing on this issue. Games are ported differently, and internally may be very different. In this case, it looks like luck is out. But at least most textures can be replaced.
I see. Very well put about the structures, etc.
The only textures that can currently be replaced for sure are the menu textures. I think Deling might be able to do the field textures, but I'm pretty sure they have the same problems with file size once they try to re-import the textures.
-
You can easily edit all menu textures, also the game won't crash re-importing 512x512px or even 1024x1024px *.tex files (by the way, there's a original 512x512px *.tim file inside the main.fs) problem are the pointers. Another option I was thinking of was to split a texture like they did for hires icon texture: 2x2 256x256px to make 3x3 256x256px (9 *.tex files instead of 4). For the in-game TT cards textures it is even trickier sadly.
-
Using Deling 0.7b I could easily open menu.fs and field.fs and extract the image files as PNG, altough I didn't know how to repack my changed PNG.
-
Bringing this post back to life with some updated artwork and some hope! Check the original post for the links to the new HD backgrounds for the Triple Triad HD game.
I'm also working on upscaling the in-game text/numbers/elemental icons. Here's to progress! The Edit (http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=15006.msg210682#msg210682)
At the moment, all I have to say is...
I Love You, Omzy!
-
Hi Mcindus!
After upscaling some field backgrounds i'm now investigating about the menu icons and character avatars. The coordinates for the icons are in the icon.sp1 and for the characters in face.sp2. The two files are structured differently. Face.sp2 has a 4 byte header, followed by 256*4-bytes that define the offset for each 16-bytes word pointing to the tiles in the texture.
For example you have at the beginning:
40 00 00 00 04 01 00 00 ........The first 4 bytes are the file header. The following 4 bytes is the offset of the first tile pointer (x104). You then go down to this offset to read the 16 bytes word defining the tile.
01 00 00 00 00 00 20 36 20 00 30 00 00 00 8E 00From left to right:
-It always start with 01 00 00 00
-00 is the destX position of the first tile in pixels
-00 is the destY position of the first tile
-20 is the page of the texture ( 20 or 60 actually)
-36 is unknown
-20 is the sizeX of the tile ( each head is 32 by 48 pixels)
-00 is the x offset in the menu ( the texture is moved to the left)
-30 is sizeY
-00 is the y offset in the menu
-it always ends with 00 00 8E 00
You have to notice that each "texture page"(16*16-bytes ) appears twice in the file.
I've managed to change the pointers so that the game show another face.
Anyway i don't know how the game manages to use two .TEX for only one .sp2. Would it be possible to use even more ?
NOTE: For unknown reasons Deling.exe cannot compress correctly FACE.SP2 and ICON.SP1 so i use FF8 archive commander instead.
-
Hi Mcindus!
After upscaling some field backgrounds i'm now investigating about the menu icons and character avatars. The coordinates for the icons are in the icon.sp1 and for the characters in face.sp2.
I've managed to change the pointers so that the game show another face.
Anyway i don't know how the game manages to use two .TEX for only one .sp2. Would it be possible to use even more ?
NOTE: For unknown reasons Deling.exe cannot compress correctly FACE.SP2 and ICON.SP1 so i use FF8 archive commander instead.
Hi Shunsq!
You are amazing! Thank you so much!
Between you and Omzy, I think we might have a bright future ahead of us for FF8.
Also - updated my original post with an updated Background art image - I decided to draw in some missing bits by hand and feel that it turned out really well.
-
Thanks a lot Shunsq! This is exactly what I was looking for; Deling just keep the game crashing on every face.sp2 editing.
All sizeX, sizeY, posX and posY values are working fine; I've imported the 2 avatars files 200% their original size but how do I solve this ? (don't pay attention the weird texture colors)
(http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2014/24/1402790375-squall.png)
-
Hey Mcindus, your cards looks great but I was thinking in trying to get the closest look to the original card; these are not perfect but here's a quick preview of what I mean:
(http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2014/24/1402861615-cards.png)
Also, the card selection board is loosing quite a lot of details, I've made this one using other resizing method:
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2014/24/1402861157-4x.png
I'm really excited about this project so let me know your thoughts!
-
Hey Mcindus, your cards looks great but I was thinking in trying to get the closest look to the original card; these are not perfect but here's a quick preview of what I mean:
Also, the card selection board is loosing quite a lot of details, I've made this one using other resizing method:
Any chance you can send me that board image you're resizing? I'd like to combine it with the hand-drawn elements and see if I can create an even better background!
Wow! Nice cards! Are you using the enemy model viewer to make those? I love them. Mine are all based off the IRL TT game and I've found out that they're a little stretched out when I put them in game, so I'm working on another edit to make the borders better and fix the aspect ratio... but in the meantime...
Check the main post for some really exciting news!
-
Sounds great! This is actually the first thing I've noticed: most of the enemies are entirely displayed making the monster too small sometimes. I'm using the enemy model viewer aswell; did you manage to insert your card set in-game yet ? How does it look ?
Also, make sure to preserve the exact same main background for both board card selection and the main board (brightness and shadows are different). I'll work on the main board later manually drawing the "Triple Triad" text and cards slots but yeah original textures are ridiculously small.
4x resized board card selection:
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2014/25/1402877803-resi.png
-
Isn't it possible to put over an painted like filter over the images with Photoshop/Gimp? It would also look better if the cards would get a used and a slightly dirty look. Anyway it's great work so far
-
Isn't it possible to put over an painted like filter over the images with Photoshop/Gimp? It would also look better if the cards would get a used and a slightly dirty look. Anyway it's great work so far
Yes, definitely - but for the first release, since we're dealing with 4x quality, etc. I wanted to go minimal and as close to the original as possible.
-
New Background:
HD Background (http://www.13tomidnight.net/FF8/artwork/TTBack2Preview.jpg)
New Game Mat:
HD Game Mat (http://www.13tomidnight.net/FF8/artwork/TTMatPreview.jpg)
HD Replacement (https://www.dropbox.com/s/or6qcu4rn77ilr7/TripleTriadMasterCards.png)
Hello, I would like to try and make a Triple Triad game for android, and I want to ask permission to use the above materials.
If you allow me to use those materials, please tell me if and how you want to be credited.
If permission to use these graphics is not granted, I will completely understand and will not bother you any more about it.
*IF* I manage to actually make the game (I'm still a bit inexperienced at programming so it might be above my abilities), I will release it for free, since I don't really want to make any profit out of it, but only to have a decent looking Triple Triad game that I can play on my tablet. :-)
Thank you in advance for your time. :-)
-
I will release it for free, since I don't really want to make any profit out of it, but only to have a decent looking Triple Triad game that I can play on my tablet.
You won't have any choice in this matter either. The game is part of FFVIII so it's Square Enix intellectual property. Even if it would be on a grey zone, I guess the letter you would get from the SE layer would convince to abdomen the project.
But there should be no problem if you make it for free.
By the way, what is the marketing department actually doing by Square. They publish a bunch of stupid game ideas for mobiles, but to create and publish a triple traid game for free, with the 'option' to buy some booster packs, is beyond there horizon? But even if they would do it, they would propably demand an abnormal high price for a simple booster pack and would destroy the game with it.
-
Hello, I would like to try and make a Triple Triad game for android, and I want to ask permission to use the above materials.
If you allow me to use those materials, please tell me if and how you want to be credited.
If permission to use these graphics is not granted, I will completely understand and will not bother you any more about it.
*IF* I manage to actually make the game (I'm still a bit inexperienced at programming so it might be above my abilities), I will release it for free, since I don't really want to make any profit out of it, but only to have a decent looking Triple Triad game that I can play on my tablet. :-)
Thank you in advance for your time. :-)
You can use my art on these conditions:
1. You release this app as 100% Freeware
2. You find a way to link to the main post of this thread in your app. (button/ad/etc)
3. You also credit the art to MCINDUS at forums.qhimm.com in your credits area.
Permission is granted only if all points above are maintained through the life of your app.
-MCINDUS-
-
You can use my art on these conditions:
1. You release this app as 100% Freeware
2. You find a way to link to the main post of this thread in your app. (button/ad/etc)
3. You also credit the art to MCINDUS at forums.qhimm.com in your credits area.
Permission is granted only if all points above are maintained through the life of your app.
-MCINDUS-
Thank you very much for your answer. :-)
IF I actually manage to make the game, I will see that all of these conditions will be met. You will also be asked again for approval just before release.
I have seen a few Triple Triad games in the Android store with paid versions, so I just wanted to make clear from the start that I do not intend to make any profit at all out of it. All I want is a decent Triple Triad game for my Android devices, and since the existing ones do not meet my expectations as a player, I just want to try and make one myself.
As I said, though, I'm still quite inexperienced at programming, so I might fail spectacularly and never finish this project. But I will still try. :-)
Again, thank you very much. :-)
-
Thank you very much for your answer. :-)
IF I actually manage to make the game, I will see that all of these conditions will be met. You will also be asked again for approval just before release.
No problem! Glad you have a goal in mind. also - I would like you to link to the original Tripod post when you do, not this one.
I'm glad people out there are enjoying my work!