Messages

51

Team Avalanche / Re: *Team Avalanche: WMRP(WorldMap Retexture Project)*

« on: 2009-10-26 03:01:33 »

hell no!
I leave tomarrow around 3pm, so consider this my last communication until i return! Don't burn down the forums while I'm away

lee

I'll try to keep surprises to a minimum

Surprises can be good... just keep the bad surprises down, mate.


Besides..... interwebs are what I DO on vacation... seriously. I went on a 7 day cruise and had to bring my wifi "tools" with me to keep my interwebs....(though they did cut out a lot)

52

Team Avalanche / Re: Current Progress

« on: 2009-10-26 02:55:01 »

Those note heads are fairly inconsistent in size. They're also too big for the staff. Nobody would notice, were it not for perfectionist jackass music majors like me.

Nobody would notice in my old music class either... our musicbooks had notes of similar disproportionality.

53

Graphical / Re: Costa07's Models

« on: 2009-10-21 04:51:45 »

Just remember this.

A good texture can sometimes make up for a bad model, but a good model will always look bad with a bad texture.


The trick is to get the model as small as possible and make up for as much as you can through textures. Once you get it looking OK, if you have more polygons in the budget you can use them to make the model look better, but you should always shoot for efficiency over shear beauty.

Your model has more polygons for less effect than an entire player model for an average Xbox 360 or PS3 model. (They carry a 6k to 10k average depending on size-on-screen and company)

An average PS2 model is generally under 4k with quite a few being within tens of 2500.


I entirely agree with what halkun said, I said 1000 before, but I also said it was excessive. Do remember that the entire Highwind is only about 3-4 inches or less on an average sized monitor, and not much bigger on the larger ones.


Try looking at the model from a distance and see if you can count the individual polygons... In the majority of cases, you should be able to count the polygons when looking at the on-screen size of the model. (Few exceptions include highly detailed areas like character faces and hands, or joints that need to move fluidly.)


Again, round areas at your size, I'd suggest no more than 8 radial divisions.


Also, the more polys you have, the more difficult the model is to work on.

54

Graphical / Re: Costa07's Models

« on: 2009-10-21 00:09:17 »

You'll never see the effect of that many polys in the game...

12 is about the most divisions you need to make a cylinder look round at that size. 8 would likely suffice, and most games from the PS2 era used 6...

If you weren't using blender I'd suggest using the Reduce function... Regardless... your model is pointlessly over-round.

55

Graphical / Re: Costa07's Models

« on: 2009-10-20 21:38:30 »

Judging by the relative size of the on screen model, and the slowdown factor...

I'd say 750-1000 polys isn't too high. It might be excessive, but it would still be within the technical OK area.

You really shouldn't need that many if you're an efficient modeler.

56

Team Avalanche / Re: Graphical overhaul - Screen Shots

« on: 2009-10-20 18:52:16 »

tineye? explain. Is it a search engine that takes an image as input and outputs all the results it finds that are similar? (I could use something like that...)

57

Team Avalanche / Re: Graphical overhaul - Screen Shots

« on: 2009-10-20 18:30:06 »

Lol, photos from japan of the moon and photos from the US of the moon will be slightly(not much) different.


I'm interested to know how you cleaned up those clouds... They're the same clouds, no doubt about it, but they're much better defined...

58

Team Avalanche / Re: [REL] Team Avalanche's Graphical Overhaul

« on: 2009-10-20 05:52:38 »

Personally, my opinion is that adding color seems to detract from the overall serious tone of the game, as well as the cold, gritty, technopunk aesthetic.

Final Fantasy IX was less serious, and overall more vibrant in aesthetic and tone, so colored icons worked there. FF's VII and VIII just don't have the right mood for it; My opinion.


The contrast and such may be tweaked and may even produce better looks afterward, but I made the icons as close to the originals (without pixeling each by hand) as possible.




On another note, the coloring doesn't look bad from a technical standpoint. In fact the color choice on a few of them is impeccable, and rivals such that I would use if I were to color them.

Essentially, your work isn't bad, I just feel it doesn't fit.

59

Team Avalanche / Re: Team Avalanche needs your help!

« on: 2009-10-20 05:44:44 »

I'd SO join, but I know absolutely nothing! I feel ashamed of myself. 

If you're weak, grow stronger.


As for decisions and contribution, I'll help out whenever I'm around and able.

60

Team Avalanche / Re: [REL] Team Avalanche's Graphical Overhaul

« on: 2009-10-17 18:58:57 »

The final version of the Icons is now done. Pester sl for pics.

61

Team Avalanche / Re: *Team Avalanche: WMRP(WorldMap Retexture Project)*

« on: 2009-10-16 22:33:11 »

Ah, that looks *much* better

I'm very pleased to see how this is coming along. Usually, people make big plans for big mods but never follow through with them; it would seem that this is not the case for Team Avalanche

That's because we gathered support rather than being one guy trying to do all the work...

And it is indeed looking good.

62

General Discussion / Re: new retextured gf's for FF7

« on: 2009-10-16 06:04:03 »

then again, a mandatory quiz about the rules would be funny too, you have to get a perfect on the quiz to be able to post, or be branded too retarded to be a member of the forums

That's actually not a bad idea... it could be inserted as part of the ToS agreement (If we have one...? I don't remember when I signed up... it was long ago...)

Then it could be mandatorily retaken every so often...3 weeks seems like a working number that wouldn't be TOO annoying and would still be enough to remind people...

It could also be used as a form of punishment... People who make enough posts to catch some form of attention, but not necessarily enough for permaban could be required to retake the test before each post XD

in any case, it has naught to do with me in the end...

63

Team Avalanche / Re: *Team Avalanche: WMRP(WorldMap Retexture Project)*

« on: 2009-10-14 22:19:16 »

we'd probably just remake the entire map from scratch it'd be much faster hehe.

dont you even say that! at least let me finish before it become obsolete!

A. I wasn't suggesting adding new functionality to the map, just using an image plane to cover up bad corners...

and B. this isn't currently even feasible, so don't worry.

64

Scripting and Reverse Engineering / Re: FF9 models: how to match the right anims and textures?

« on: 2009-10-14 15:10:34 »

XNA is standard C#. I reiterate, all that stuff is a consequence of the way I did things, not the way XNA makes you do things.

XNA is C#, yes, but as I haven't messed with it before, I am unsure of the special methods and revisions that exist that make it separate from normal C#.

I'm assuming XNA uses an SDK of some sort and isn't built directly into C#. After all, it wouldn't need a name like XNA if it were a standard part of existing C#.


Invariably when using an SDK of some kind, there are changes in the way certain tasks need to be handled, some are more drastic than others. I was simply stating that I don't know enough about XNA to know how drastic the changes in handling of basic windows forms is.


Quoth the Satoh: Nothing more.


Again, good luck on whatever your current project is.

65

Team Avalanche / Re: *Team Avalanche: WMRP(WorldMap Retexture Project)*

« on: 2009-10-14 03:32:22 »

My suggestion:

Copy the shapes of the brown edges on the original texture... Rescale it to the new size, and draw, on a new layer, the same shapes, but don't follow the exact pixel corners. Follow the implied edges freehand. (if something looks like it should be round, make it round.) But don't use any blur.


Did that make sense? I really think the only way to get a flowing texture is to copy the shapes they originally used. As for corners... well... they didn't bother to make them flow, so you'll likely have to deal with whatever happens there...(by that I mean, "Put up with") OR add geometry to the corners, that you have textured yourself. (But as I don't think map geometry is currently moddable....)

If you could SOMEHOW manage to get the game to read some other file format for 3D map mesh... you could use a new model entirely... but that sounds even more difficult and pointless...(I think Aali is probably the only one who could even attempt it and I don't think he knows much to do with 3D... could be wrong... but I don't think it's his specialty.)

66

Scripting and Reverse Engineering / Re: FF9 models: how to match the right anims and textures?

« on: 2009-10-14 03:18:56 »

ok, I see what you're saying. Rather than actual "user-friendly" stuff like pretty GUI buttons telling you what you can do, you meant it doesn't have the flexibility to run without the exact setup you are running it from.

That would be a real issue. Well... I can see that it won't be done in the next few seconds (or probably days, likely weeks, considering the whole unfunded programmers having personal lives thing)...

Regardless of how long it takes, I am eager to get an up close look at the models.


I'll be waiting with high hopes for progression speed, but low expectations thereof.



(In truth I generally just slap a bunch of random-ass buttons on things that each do another process that I've already built... but I don't know if XNA is quite as forgiving as standard C#...)


In any case good luck with whatever you're currently working on.

67

Scripting and Reverse Engineering / Re: FF9 models: how to match the right anims and textures?

« on: 2009-10-12 04:07:30 »

So, the viewer is working, just not "user friendly"? Is it directX based?

3D's Via and Ripper DX can steal from DX9 applications....

Via can supposedly rip from Open GL as well...

And, while that isn't as preferable as a full file conversion with animations and all... It would be nice to just be able to get the models at all at this point...



Why not make a sort of WIP release... something so we can at least look at the models for now...

68

Team Avalanche / Re: *Team Avalanche: WMRP(WorldMap Retexture Project)*

« on: 2009-10-12 04:00:32 »

the problem is the fading on the snowy bits... snow isn't transparent anyway, so give it hard edges and it'll immediately be easier to work with.

69

General Discussion / Re: About ripped models...

« on: 2009-10-09 20:45:46 »

Just to add to the issue of "custom models made by other people" like the Jedi models:

Public Access, as halkun put it, is the right of the user to use the file for the purpose that it was made.

IE: If it was a JK model, it can be used in JK. This does not mean there is permission to use it elsewhere.

For instance, look at gamefaqs guides, most of them are public access, but have a rule: "This file is to be displayed only on GameFAQs, and legal issues may result if it is discovered on any other site without express permission."

Public Domain means a file can be used in any form for any reason(provided it isn't used for illegal actions, such as blackmail, murder, etc.)
If, for instance, a song is public domain, it can be used as many times in as many ways as liked by the user. It could be placed in movies, on the radio, games, etc.




By default any file created (that doesn't violate a previous copyright) is copyrighted to the creator. This means that unless the author specifically states it may be used in a certain way, it is not meant to be used that way.

If I draw a picture of my character and leave it in the open on a website, that picture is still illegal to be used without my permission. (If I don't put any act of protection on it, it may or may not hold up in court, but it is still considered illegal.)



I'm not arguing with anyone, I am just trying to better explain the effect of the laws, to better exemplify what halkun is saying.(not that he needs it, I just like to keep all things clear)

70

Scripting and Reverse Engineering / Re: FF8 Models, How did Qhimm rip them?

« on: 2009-10-09 20:06:06 »

whoa whoa whoa! Don't say you haven't had much luck! I can tell the first one is Quistis!

You've obviously made some progress!

It looks like you're having a problem determining which verts are attached to which bones, how much weight they have, or some similar issue.

I have some very high hopes for all this now.

71

Team Avalanche / Re: [REL] Team Avalanche's 2D Overhaul

« on: 2009-09-04 03:20:57 »

The lag is only able to be fixed with a new version of aali's driver that precaches the textures
And the patch.bat should take a little while to complete

Wait... he released a new version and I missed it??

No, I think he's saying a new one NEEDS to be released that has a precache...

EDIT: "A new release" as opposed to "The new release"

72

Team Avalanche / Re: [REL] Team Avalanche's 2D Overhaul

« on: 2009-09-04 03:17:45 »

Either that or buying a solid state drive...

A motherboard mounted one at that... the reason external graphics cards don't work even in theory would be the same as the reason a solid state drive wouldn't help a terrible amount...

That being that electrons, while fast, aren't fast enough to move around that much wire... and not be noticeably slow.


In order to fix it as much as possible, the entire computer would need to be a single chip: Processor, subprocessor, motherboard, graphics processor, AND storage.

73

Team Avalanche / Re: [REL] Team Avalanche's 2D Overhaul

« on: 2009-09-04 03:11:47 »

@sl1982

Will your next release fix the issue of the slowdown or lag? Sorry to put this out of the blue but I would really like to know...


I notice when I used the patch.bat  everything likes flashes so fast and evryone here in the forum says it doesn't really change the bytes of the lgps..So Iw as wonderin if this is normal occurence in your MOD...

thanks have a good day!...

TEAM AVALANCHE - Aeris/th Fan

No, it will make it unnoticeably worse simply because of how this mod works.

HOWEVER: Once the mod is done, I will release a second and third version that has slightly lower resolutions but should greatly increase the speed.

74

Team Avalanche / Re: [REL] Team Avalanche's 2D Overhaul

« on: 2009-09-04 02:54:12 »

I think the menu items should look like the originals...

75

Completely Unrelated / Re: Where One-Winged Angel Music?

« on: 2009-09-04 02:40:56 »

Nomura gets hard-ons from unexplained references to all kinds of religions, Norse paganism being a firm favourite in FF7

Unexplained and usually erroneous...