How does the community react to (obviously) modernised content in NWN?

Dark_Ansem

Take for example, Project Q, or any other Skybox such as "real skies" and the ceiling project. They are all good, but of course most of the time they don't blend well with NWN's (nowadays) outdated graphics. I wonder what is the general attitude towards this.

DerpCity

I personally like the game's original models and graphics, and I love to see high quality models made for the game. The problem is if they're too high quality or not. The Project Q cat models, for example, are skinned and look completely out of place in the game (on top of using only the Panther animations for things like tigers instead of giving us the large cat animations, but that's another can of worms). Then theres the issue that some of the amazing creature models have what I feel are poor animations, which stop me from using them. In the recent Dinosaur CCC on the Vault, the T-Rex based ones have their feet fall into the floor and overall just have awkward animations that don't look natural. The models look superb, but the animations just kill them.

Dark_Ansem

DerpCity said:

I personally like the game's original models and graphics, and I love to see high quality models made for the game. The problem is if they're too high quality or not. The Project Q cat models, for example, are skinned and look completely out of place in the game (on top of using only the Panther animations for things like tigers instead of giving us the large cat animations, but that's another can of worms). Then theres the issue that some of the amazing creature models have what I feel are poor animations, which stop me from using them. In the recent Dinosaur CCC on the Vault, the T-Rex based ones have their feet fall into the floor and overall just have awkward animations that don't look natural. The models look superb, but the animations just kill them.

I wonder if the re-release will allow for some improvement in that regard, with fewer "impossible to work with nowadays" formats.

hda_nwn

when high quality asset shine in the middle of low quality/older assets it can be clearly out of context or doesnt blend well.

But the more quality options you get the less low quality/older assets you use, so....

I dont bother.

Mecheon

DerpCity said:

In the recent Dinosaur CCC on the Vault, the T-Rex based ones have their feet fall into the floor and overall just have awkward animations that don't look natural.

Meanwhile my Anurognathus is just too obscure for anyone who isn't me to use (Seriously though, animations are just a pain)

I mean, as a builder I have this obsession towards preferring things to resemble what's ingame. Heck, my Anurognathus is a badger-headed, rat-legged, pseudodragon-bodied, seagull animation using thing with a skin based off of the bear, the bat, the beholder and the kobold (For the mouth), so I obsessive worry about that. But as long as it looks nice, I'm generally okay

Dark_Ansem

Again, I hope that the re-release will improve in this regard. Easier formats?

Mecheon

Dark_Ansem said:

Again, I hope that the re-release will improve in this regard. Easier formats?

Will literately not change a thing. We're talking about stylistic choices here, not the ease of conversion

Dark_Ansem

Mecheon said:

Dark_Ansem said:

Again, I hope that the re-release will improve in this regard. Easier formats?

Will literately not change a thing. We're talking about stylistic choices here, not the ease of conversion

Then I hope Beamdog provides us with newer, better tools, because GMAX is dead and I don't think the plugins even exist anymore.

InflatableFriend

Easier formats would be good, just make sure you upvote the card on Trello.

Dark_Ansem

InflatableFriend said:

Easier formats would be good, just make sure you upvote the card on Trello.

There's one?

InflatableFriend

https://trello.com/c/D04UtzOt/108-new-resource-data-formats-for-higher-performance-quality-and-compatibility

That one should cover it, most notably the optional industry standard .dds, and support for modern content authoring packages via .fbx and others.

DerpCity

To my knowledge Neverblender works great, but I don't really know how to work Blender very well. I did figure out how to import NWN models into Blender, though - I had to run them through a NWN model cleanup tool before they could be read by Neverblender properly. I was planning to create a model for one of the creatures in my setting, but then I realized I merged all the body parts on my model into one before I got Neverblender to work properly... Wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing, considering each of the parts on the NWN models was considered a separate mesh, so I just kind of stopped working on it.

ShadowM

DerpCity said:

I personally like the game's original models and graphics, and I love to see high quality models made for the game. The problem is if they're too high quality or not. The Project Q cat models, for example, are skinned and look completely out of place in the game (on top of using only the Panther animations for things like tigers instead of giving us the large cat animations, but that's another can of worms). Then theres the issue that some of the amazing creature models have what I feel are poor animations, which stop me from using them. In the recent Dinosaur CCC on the Vault, the T-Rex based ones have their feet fall into the floor and overall just have awkward animations that don't look natural. The models look superb, but the animations just kill them.

I do not seeing this as a modernizing, but more of just art style. You can have two "modern" models but both have different art styles and they will clash or you can have a low poly model with great textures and you like that fit great. I'm love any art assets, because the builder can pick and choice the art style(quality) they are looking for. NWN is game in constant changing flux with newer asset and systems coming in especially now with EE and that a positive. Oh and on the T-Rex do not worry that will get fixed it just a matter of time like most things with NWN.

Dark_Ansem

ShadowM said:

DerpCity said:

I personally like the game's original models and graphics, and I love to see high quality models made for the game. The problem is if they're too high quality or not. The Project Q cat models, for example, are skinned and look completely out of place in the game (on top of using only the Panther animations for things like tigers instead of giving us the large cat animations, but that's another can of worms). Then theres the issue that some of the amazing creature models have what I feel are poor animations, which stop me from using them. In the recent Dinosaur CCC on the Vault, the T-Rex based ones have their feet fall into the floor and overall just have awkward animations that don't look natural. The models look superb, but the animations just kill them.

I do not seeing this as a modernizing, but more of just art style. You can have two "modern" models but both have different art styles and they will clash or you can have a low poly model with great textures and you like that fit great. I'm love any art assets, because the builder can pick and choice the art style(quality) they are looking for. NWN is game in constant changing flux with newer asset and systems coming in especially now with EE and that a positive. Oh and on the T-Rex do not worry that will get fixed it just a matter of time like most things with NWN.

I don't disagree. I'm concerned that using these ancient formats and tools won't help modders because most tools that used to work with them are inadequate nowadays

TarotRedhand

To the question posed by the title of this thread I have a simple answer - I'll let you know when I actually see some.

TR

NWN_Töml

There are still some creature models that look odd that the community improved a lot. But they are no original models so to say. Take the ettercap and troll model as an example from the original NWN. They look just stupid and not dangerous at all. So updating some creature models would be a huge improvement imo. Maybe I do a list about creatures i hate some day...

Oh and a suggestion for new creatures/ animals. I would like to have goats, sheeps and a pig
The pig model from the CEP looks not that good...

DerpCity

NWN_Töml said:

Take the ettercap and troll model as an example from the original NWN. They look just stupid and not dangerous at all.

No offense, those are some of my favorite models in the game, so forgive me if I don't agree with those examples exactly. I think more to the bat, which is probably the lowest quality model in the game outside of the detail they put on its face.

NWN_Töml

No problem. It´s a matter of taste