My 3D EQ Fan-art

[Whirlwind]

Awesome work, 5 stars for the post [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[toddfx]

Cool guys I'm glad you like the stuff!

Uthgaard that is a very generous offer! The lighting conditions of the game add a lot to the environments, and getting that effect correct is definitely key to recreating an authentic looking EQ scene. As far as staging specific conditions, it'd really be most useful for reference. I was exploring Erudin last night and found a scene that might be interesting to recreate, but unfortunately it was raining out. I am curious to see what this could look like at dawn. I don't have my heart set on the scene yet, but I think it does have some potential.

I am most curious about the possibility of higher-res textures. It's interesting that the server has a bank of images that are not actually used in game. Are you referring to that texture pack update that was offered to the public, or are there actually higher quality versions of classic textures?

Anyway, last night I was working on an interior shot of a fountain in Erudin. Here's the screenshot i'm using as reference, and should hopefully be posting the final image in the next couple of days. I'm currently out of town for the weekend so the work is a little slow on my laptop..but we'll see. I have an exterior shot of EC in the works as well that I should be posting along with the other.

I agree that Velious has some truly beautiful scenes, but I won't be able to grab Kunark or Velious scenes until I have access to those zones...although I guess nothing is stopping me from pulling the models from other servers. Oh however I am currently only running EQLite. Regardless, I'd prefer to stick to classic zones to embrace the P99 spirit!

As far as getting higher-res versions of these, it's hard to say. When I get back to my desktop early this week, I'll see what I might be able to do. I can't promise anything but I should be able to go 1280x720 or so.

Thanks again guys, I should be posting some more in the next night or three.

[Uthgaard]

Originally Posted by toddfx [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I am most curious about the possibility of higher-res textures. It's interesting that the server has a bank of images that are not actually used in game. Are you referring to that texture pack update that was offered to the public, or are there actually higher quality versions of classic textures?

The upgrade you're talking about was for the zone textures. For example akanon.s3d is for the zone itself, akanon_chr.s3d is for the pc/npc models. The textures in the s3d files are used, but sometimes are distorted by the model itself or drawn at a lower quality based on graphical settings and the limitations of the hardware/software.

Here are some examples of textures extracted from the standard s3d files:

Wolf

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Other Wolf

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Metal golem

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Tiger

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Much better detail than most would expect.

As far as staging specific conditions, it'd really be most useful for reference. I was exploring Erudin last night and found a scene that might be interesting to recreate, but unfortunately it was raining out.

This is pretty much what I meant. It wouldn't be any different from the play server, except you wouldn't have to wait for it to start/stop raining, the right time of day, and you would be able to visit the kunark/velious zones. But, it's up to you.

[xshayla701]

This is seriously the best thing ever.. you should really check out neriak commons or third gate if you are planning on doing more. These are awesome!

[toddfx]

So yeah here's a render of the fountain in Erudin. I love the colorful lighting in this city, so I really exaggerated that.

I don't know what it is, but I really seem to struggle with interior scenes compared to exteriors. Perhaps because everything is in such close quarters, which means the details get noticed a lot more and I don't have the option to add dramatic atmospheric effects. I think my next few will be exteriors again. Kerra Isle could indeed be cool..Reminds me of Easter Island [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]


Plus I was working on my laptop this weekend, so between that and my nitpicking every pixel, this one took a little longer than expected. The rendering samples (quality of jagged edges) are fairly low still due to the render capabilities of my laptop, but I was eager to post it anyway.

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Mmohunter thanks for the link to that model viewer! I only had time to briefly check it out, but I can see how this could be a great alternative to capturing the in-game data...it looks like this method will give me the ENTIRE zone at once. If that is the case....I have one word: Fly-throughs.

Cool Uthgaard, those look great! It looks like this model viewer allows me to export textures straight from S3D as well, so i'll see if the ones I now have access to are of similar quality.

[Dunes]

Originally Posted by toddfx [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Anyway, last night I was working on an interior shot of a fountain in Erudin. Here's the screenshot i'm using as reference, and should hopefully be posting the final image in the next couple of days.

Take a look at the before (link) and after... stunning. Taking it a step further (pardon my absolute ignorance in these matters), you mentioned that you might be able to render an entire zone at a time (flyovers)? Is there anyway of exporting the end result back into one of these .s3d files? Surely not - if it were that simple (relatively speaking) to "upgrade" a game's graphics it would be done all the time. Just a fanciful dream I guess...