Full boots or half boots?

In Gmax you have to set which polygons on the suits become gloves and boots. Suits really don't function well at all without setting those fiddly stuff in Gmax first.

The gas file that relates to this is located in world\global and is called "Armor Lookup". I don't do 3D modelling, but based on ChickenGeorge's reply it's not something to mess around with unless you are familiar with modelling, gmax and all that other stuff.

// This file needs to be relocated to the peroper location! --biddle
[armor_subtype_lookup]
{
	// armor body type =  boot sub-type, gauntlet sub-type

	a1 = b, b;
	a2 = b, b;
	a3 = a, a;
	a4 = a, a;
	a5 = a, a;
	a6 = a, a;
	a7 = c, a;
	a8 = a, a;
      a9 = a, a;
}

@Longshen and @kathycf
You both are geniuses! Bravo to both of you.
I just tested an edit to the armor_lookup.gas file and the results were promising indeed.
I just switched armors 1 through 6 to b, b.
When loading the game, at first it did nothing.
But I took off the suit and put it back on,
and the gloves and boots are no longer mittens and shoes.

Well done Longshen and kathycf.
This is very good information to know.
Well, I get excited over this stuff anyways.

Hi ChickenGeorge

That is interesting! I will have to try a few experiments myself. Sometimes the gloves and boots look really goofy.

I didn't realise we could do this - have a forum topic not assigned to any particular forum, I mean.

These are DS1 armour types I know (a7 being the mage robes). a8 and a9 must be LoA additions? Are they the same in DS2 too?

More or less self explanatory. It's on Nexus Mods as "Better Layering"

https://www.nexusmods.com/dungeonsiege1/mods/67

I fail to see how an empty zip file is more or less self explanatory Eksevis, an explanation with more detailed instructions is required me thinks.

Better Layering-67-2-1608506595.zip
(Better Layering)
folder 0KB

That.. really f**king pisses me off. I do not know how i can accidentally upload an empty zip. Well, thanks for informing me. I've properly uploaded the patch now.

No probs, you got there in the end.

@ChickenGeorge & @kathycf

First and foremost, THANK YOU! When a texture starts looking like what I envision, I get excited also.
Now, while it's probably a bit silly to post to your replies before I've done anything with the info you provided, I just wanted to stop and give thanks, period!

Next, I'm adding a quick snip of what I was working on and why I asked for this info in the first place.

From the artwork in the far left panel "1", you see the boots are outside of the armor, that's why. I was trying to get a texture much closer to the original art work than what was provided as default in the U5L mod, panel "2". Btw, the faces in panels "2" & "3" are mine . While I could get closer in some aspects to the artwork if I favored one sex over the other, I've been trying to find a happy medium because as I'm sure you've noticed this armor "a3" textures distort really badly, esp. on the female frame. Seriously, why did they make one shoulder higher than the other... I did what I could to fix or move textures, but since the texture is shared between the male and female, it's quite the balancing act. Anyhow, I wanted to share where I was at with this an will happily take any suggestions on how to improve.
You all rock! ~Longshen

I see what you mean when looking at your screenshot. I think most of what's bothering you isn't so much the texture of the armor but the underlying armor mesh itself and the way it is fitted to the male and female models.

I suspect that all the armor meshes were originally designed for the male model and then converted over to the female, instead of making each individually. Doing it that way makes sense to save time or whatever, but at the expense of visual quality. I need to keep in mind that DS is a really old game also.

The A3 model is just not that flattering to the female figure. It squishes the bosom in a lot (ouch!) and the shoulders are not really in proportion. If the shoulders on the girl were smaller and the chest less squashed I think that would minimize much of the distortion and the texture would look better.

One way you make the armor look more like the artwork is to make the pants leather instead of chain. Wearing armor made all of chain has got to be really tiring simply due to all the weight. Boiled leather pants would provide protection as well as being a lot lighter. If someone is running around and fighting they aren't going to survive long if they are worn out by lugging all that armor around. Eh, just a thought. I wish I could help better, but I'm not sure.

Keep us posted on what you are doing and how your project is going. Your custom faces look cool. The woman in the middle has kind of a "witchy" look to her.

You're correct Kathycf, it's the texture mapping on the mesh itself that's bugging me. I've been working on 3D modeling, but I haven't got to texturing yet so I cannot re-map/re-texture a model (mesh) yet. Also, unfortunately, the leather pants cannot be done without affecting the arms. Unlike some other armors, "a3" armor doesn't have a separate texture for the arms and legs, their textures are shared. There is plenty of room on the texture (raw) itself to separate arm and leg textures, but I guess they were in a hurry/lazy when mapping. When you said you believe meshes were originally designed for male models then converted to female, I believe that also. In my mind I see the job they did as like having a pristine beer can (male) and crushing it in you hand into a new shape (female) with all of the weird mesh / texture mapping distortions as collateral damage. In terms of visual quality, I did increase my textures from 256x256 to 1024x1024.

Here is a closer look at the witchy face. I'm trying to get her nose correct to the mesh still and do something with her hair, but the hairstyles provided are kinda meh...

~Longshen

Hey Longshen-

Actually, you can change the texture if you like. You can browse regular DS A3 and pick out what you want. Change as you desire. Modify the ultima template to use the new texture, tank it and that should do it.

I forgot to add that in my last post. I was all dithery because I had a dental appointment today.

Yeah, she's pretty cool looking. Is she supposed to be a demon, since the red eyes really stand out. Whatever she is, I think you did very well with her. Especially the lipstick but the mascara is a nice touch. I totally agree with you about the hairstyles. Wish there were more options.

Hi Kathycf,

Oh that's funny! I modified those two parts all at once. Had I done them one at a time I would have realized what you just told me!! Thank you! I will definitely make that change and post an update. Next, thank you on the face, it's been a fun challenge. Finally, I did find and update the correct file (to make the boots and gauntlets fully visible) and tanked it, but I haven't got it to work yet in U5L...

~Longshen

in addition...

Oh yeah, now I remember... the "Arms" and "Legs" textures were split mapped between the two mesh body parts! Please see attachment. So the "Leg" texture is the back of the arm and the front of the leg and the "Arm" is the opposite compliment. I remembered that they were connected in some way, but forgot exactly how until now. I'm not sure, but I'm wondering if the same thing happened on the armor you posted above. Also, unfortunately, this a3 armor has the extra chain mail between the red tabard and the leather pants. It may be that your specific mesh/texture maps the texture differently where the "Arm" and "Leg" map independently. If so, it definitely would require me to change to apply the leather pants!

~Longshen

Right, I should have labelled those sections as front and back. I also completely goofed up the texture because I forgot that. I was rushing myself instead of just waiting until I got home from the dentist.





I noticed in your first screenshot you used the a4 armor on one of the women. You might find the A4 easier to work with because the arms and legs are two separate areas. The shorter ones in the middle are the arms and then the legs are on the side. I have a reduced shoulder A4 mesh for farmgirl that looks better. ghastley, one of the members here made it. I attached it to the post.