importing UT99 into UT24k & PS2 into UT99

[EvilGrins]

I recently downloaded a UT2004 package of skins & models from the original UT99 which gives me an interesting opportunity. Rather than put them into the game I'm using them as a platform to see if I can take the skins I've edited for UT99 over the years and put them into UT2004.

I'm hopeful but perplexed. Gotta keep in mind, my editing tools are just ThumbsPlus and Microsoft Paint. Had a few people send me better editors, more specific for UT99, but I gotta admit they confuse the hell outta me...and this isn't even UT99 I'm working on here.

The .int files are...interesting. The .utx seem about the same if much larger. I got no idea how to edit the .ka (Karma Data) and may just leave them as is and pray.

Anybody know a good editor for .dds files?

Moving right along; I also just got models & skins from the PS2 UT99 for the PC UT99. They look pretty cool, though I'm mostly just interested in the Skaarj:


http://www.mediafire.com/?f4mdqjm05fpa267

Cute, ain't he?

[Creavion]

Moved to Skins (hell we should start renaming this section to models and skins)

Paint is not a graphics program, thats just ridiculous bs

Suggestions: Gimp, Xnview, I also used "DXTBMP" for a while .. before I figured out how it works with the alpha channel for tga/bmp (32 bit)/dds textures.

[EvilGrins]

I actually thought of putting it under Skins but given this content isn't strictly UT99 based I wasn't sure. Thanks!

MS Paint isn't a graphics program but it can edit them. The version I have will edit any graphics filetype I've ever heard of. Well, maybe not .dds but I haven't tried that yet. I usually edit UT99 skins with the editor that came with it, alter tints with ThumbsPlus, and then maybe paint up specific minute details with MS Paint.

If you get the feeling I learned skinning without any kind of official guide, you'd be right.

[Creavion]

So, the skin is your work, partly or from scratch?

[EvilGrins]

Skins, plural. Most of them are partly, edited from existing skins.

Example:
http://unreal-games.livejournal.com/22391.html#cutid1

I dated a gal who was addicted to Hello Kitty once. Go figure.

[EvilGrins]

Project Update:
http://unreal-games.livejournal.com/33131.html

Click the link then click the thumbnailed images there for full sized.

May have to hit refresh on the images, livejournal is having issues lately.

[EvilGrins]

I can't work out how to make new files, ones that work anyway, but I can edit the existing ones.



This isn't final. Just wanted to do a little to see if it worked at all.

[EvilGrins]

final note, basically...it worked!

The beauty of insomnia is I had a lot of time to finally finish this up yesterday / early this morning, and while there's still one little issue I'm working on it's more or less as good as it's gonna get. I still have no idea how to make new files but this isn't too unusual, per se. Even editing skins in ut99 I tended to take existing files, copy them to another directory, and then edit & rename them.

Sadly, that modus operandi doesn't work as well with ut2k4 files. Largely as I've no clue, presently, how to edit the Karma Data or the Animation files. Those're still new to me.

Loaded up all of them to the player menu so I could watch them ingame:


http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7grb3
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7hab9
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7kter
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7pa1c
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7qfgx
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7rkq2
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7sda2
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7tg5w
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7wq4g
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7xx4x

There were some subtle glitches I wasn't aware of when I started. For one thing, for whatever reason, ut2k4 seems to like reversing texture files. Not sure if that's a normal thing or with just the ut99 male soldier model. For the most part this wasn't an issue except on the Red Shirts as it put their uniform insignia on the wrong side of their chest.

Also with the blue team color for the Dark Hero skin as that one is Superman and what initially came out was a Bizarro 'S'.
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b81rt3

Both were fairly easy to fix.

There's also an oddity in the .int files I hadn't noticed before. It's common with all of the skins & models in the game so I'm currently unsure how to get around it. The form of a model is broken into 2 categories: Bodyskin & Faceskin. There's an additional one for portrait but that largely is only for the menu and possible conversations ingame.

On the Male soldier it makes it so that team colors only effect the upper torso, nothing below the waist. Oddly the ut99 Skaarj Hybrids use the Faceskin to detail what goes on below the waist...and still display their faces fine. I may opt for that, hoping the portrait just knows what to do with itself with the Male Soldier as it does with the Skaarj Hybrid.

In some cases it didn't look so bad:
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7y8yd

Others it was just plain ugly!
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b7zs2c

In the meantime, I've opted to change the pants for those skins that looked particularly bad, which I may change eventually:
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b82ge6
I'm still not thrilled with the Dark Hero pants. Superhero spandex seems to wish to resist looking dark/unshiny.

I may ultimately choose to not keep these due to 2 things. The upper torso in ut2k4 gets angled to the left, it doesn't ever stand totally straight and prefers to twist at this angle for most gameplay. This has a distorted effect on some textures:
http://pics.livejournal.com/evilgrins/pic/00b8005b
Also, the color white tends to lead to a really annoying glare under most lighting conditions.

[papercoffee]

Ok and how does the rag-doll system work with the UT99 models in UT2k4 ??

[EvilGrins]

Truth to tell, I haven't a clue. I did set them so they're kind of what came with the original model package.

Mostly when they die they just fall down without a lot of wiggling...if they didn't get blown up first.