Tweet
NOTE I suggest you skip the intro as its very long and just get on to the pictures section. Unless you really want to know how I broke down this project, you do not need to read. Just read the pictures parts and the release info and thats it. If you wish to know why I write up such long posts is because of this: I am a comp sci major, yet I feel I'm rather interested in Journalism/English. I was taught to speak my mind and write a lot and put through a lot of stress when it came to writing so I am used to seeing posts longer than this and a 15-20 page reasearch paper. I also have to outline my work for my professors and other people all the time so I have a nasty habit of doing it on forums. Not saying I'm perfect grammatical wise on here, but I sure as hell am when it comes to my papers hehe.
Intro
Well after taking my history exam on Tuesday (It was hard as shit), I thought I did well on it so I started modding again. If I knew I failed, I would of not modded.
Like I said before......umm I don't think I did on these forums, my bad, but I said I was going to work on my ninja project instead of working on my FF7 project for the time being. That is what I did.
So I was looking at my ninja project v2 files and said to myself, "I don't think I can do a viable update to these textures & models and should just just start again with new models and textures." That is exactly what I did and thus began my ninja project v3.
I needed some kind of inspiration or a image you could say as usual. So I decided to base my model on Ayame from Tenchu : Dark Shadows version. I am not going to post the image, do a google search and then when you find the image, match the model up with mine. There will be slight differences, but ultimately, its the same thing.
I cannot make the same textures as those of what ayame wore in DS as FFXI's graphics engine is utterly retarded. So I had to use my own creativity and thinking. Problem is, I did not want to start on the textures just yet as you'll find out later on that this was the hardest thing to do for this project.
So this project seemed kinda complicated yet impossible, but since I have been working with VRS once again (For those that didn't know, I took a 2-3 month break from modding and sorta forgot everything) and regained all those useful tricks and techniques along with some new ones. So basically, it was a lot of planning as I could do the work.
So I did the models and made 1:1 ports on most things. Go me >,>.
Textures were next. I was regretting this as I did not want to do them. So after taking about a hour or two figuring out how I wanted to design this baby, I worked and worked on them until the final product looked good to show to the public.
I then said, "You really need to work on your head model for HF again." This is because everytime I take a long break from modding in general and come back, I think and analyze things differently that what I used to. So I did that and updated the head model to my liking
.
So eventually I had to get to the point of sheaths. I already knew sheaths were near impossible to do (Meaning the PC can take them out and put them back in; designing sheaths is easy guys and gals). This is where the project got a little complicated as I did some rather complicated things in VRS to achieve my result.
So I made a Rikimaru 2h'ed sheath version and a Ayame sheath version. The Rikimaru one wasn't planned and is geared towards male characters. I only did it because I was testing something in VRS and decided to go with that.
Ok so at some point, most of the textures were done along with the sheaths and I said, "People are going to think I based the texture color for the models off my hair lol." So I decided to make a blue version.
This is where things got a little complicated, but only made the process even longer. I noticed that after I did the blue version, I spotted out and fixed many bugs both texture and modeling wise that the original version had. I also fine tuned the graphics ever so slightly. Not a true fine tuning, but was good enough.
Then I ran into another problem.....the textures of the sheaths. I cannot so easily go in changetex and change the textures for the sheaths. I will crash changetex the minute I try to replace it. So I was about to have to do some more work that was time consuming until I found a way to do this rather quickly. This will help when I do more color variations.
The Pictures
Well after all the trial and error and finishing off the textures, I guess its time to show it to the public. It took me about 8 hours to do, but I am glad I am somewhat done. It looked like a total mess at start and I was planning to give up on it, but thats not my nature.
Here is the original version. It sorta used the same colors as my hair, but umm, that wasn't planned. These 3 shots don't have the updated fixes I did for the model and textures along with the head model. You will notice the head model update when you look at the last 4 shots as I gave her a eye change and some makeup.
This is the Rikimaru 2h'ed Katana sheath style. Note, due to how these forums limit you on images, I had to make some urls -.-.
Front
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...%20v3/npv3.jpg
Back
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...v3/npv3B1S.jpg
Side
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...v3/npv3F1S.jpg
This is the ayame style.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...0v3/npv32x.jpg
Now this is the blue version. This has all the necessary fixes that the original didn't have.
Yes, the katanas don't come out of the sheaths. Here, let me prove it just so you know. They are purely cosmetic for now.
Problems
Well, I am happy to say unlike my previous ninja projects that this version is actually quite bug free and could be released (Note, I do not release via forums unless its via pm, they are put on my site)....well almost.
- The pants/legs model has problems with the her actual leg overlapping the clothing on some animations. You may kinda pick up on this in the shots above and you may not. Doing the pants were a pain anyways.
- The 2h'ed Rikimaru sheath version is sorta not good to use for every day use. This is because considering the animation she does, that sheath will be out of place. I was going to attach it to her body, but the problem with that is that I had very wierd results. Mainly corruption. I will fix this in the future, but as of right now, it is of no concern since I wasn't making a Rikimaru version.
- Hmm if using the Rikimaru version and using a 2h'ed weapon such as a Great sword, Axe, staff, etc, it may not look right lol. I would use the ayame version.
Hmm, think that is about it bug wise. The ayame version can be released, but I am debating on the rikimaru version.
Fixes
- Guys, I know about the back of her feet (The black part in the HQ render...could say her legs). This is a texture problem that I didn't address yet. The modelviewer and 3dsmax render will show that part differently as the 3dsmax render shows it as a complete solid black color while the modelviewer one doesn't.
- Hmm, I really didn't give the shoes any textures yet. Sorta forgot lol. Will be fixed in the next update.
Future plans?
- Mainly color variations and possibly different designs. I have no plans of making another body model. I designed about 4 so far for this project (from v1 to v3).
- Probably about 4-5 different pant designs modeling wise. And probably some shorts and/or a bottom cape on one of the body models.
- Actual taking the katanas out of the sheaths version? I know its impossible, but I've been thinking of some rather complicated ways of achieving this. I have in the past in one of my projects made a sheath mod that actually had it where the weapon comes out of the sheath and when you put it back on your side, it goes in the sheath. So do you think its impossible now? It still sorta is because the sheaths are on her waist/back lol! I'd have to modify the animations which is impossible to do currently. Make me a program to extract the animations and a 3dsmax plugin and I'll do whatever you want.
- Everything that was planned for the v2 project to be finished. This is mainly weapons and other armor designs/color variations.
- Hmm, a dual wielding masamune version. I've always wanted to dual wield 2x Masamunes lol. Yes, I'll release and port that to other races whenever I do it.
- Strings on the sheaths like the original image I based my work on? Yeah, I'll definitely do it at some point.
Porting
I have no plans of porting...........let me rephrase that.
I did a male ninja version long ago for EM. I thought to myself at that time, "This needs no updates as it looks exceptionally well." It was based off my Ninja project v2. To this day, I still think it is the best looking model & texture wise for males. So I don't feel the need to make a v3 for males. I will make a Gi version for males though. This was from v2, the Gi version.
BUT, I am planning to update this version with the sheaths and plan on releasing that on my site when I have it finished. Note that the male version is available for d/l already so I will just change the filepath and the comment on the EM page.
I was going to port the EM version to HM, but never did. I may do this at some point, but I highly doubt anytime soon.
So what am I saying? This is both HF and EM exclusive, but I am planning on bringing it to HM and Galka in the future. Why those 2? Galka b/c I'm tired of hearing the complaints of lack of galka mods and the fact that my cloud mod is HM.
I don't have the time of day to port the v3 of this to the other female races because of how complicated this whole project was. You may think its very simple to port, but in reality its not and I don't want to relive all the stuff I did the past hours lol.
If you wish to be ported to your race (The races I did not say above), you will need to find someone who knows VRS, how to make/modify good textures, and knows Metasequoia exceptionally well to port this. I used my own skin textures for the female version which will not look right on other races at all. Thats just one example. The male version is rather simple to port in its current state, but after the addition of sheaths, it gets just a tad interesting. If you found someone to do this, they would need to contact me, but right now since only the male version was released partially, no need for this yet lol.
Release
I'm generally a azzhat when it comes to the release of any of my mods, but....
I was going to release a beta of the female version until I decided that I shouldn't. I need to fix the pants problem, finalize textures, and finish making the rest of the stuff. Though I will say that if you're a modder and I've seen something you've done that I think is exceptionally well or is on my site, I'll let ya try it out (You would have to pm me), but I doubt that there are many modders who are HF so whats the point lol.
Hmm, the whole project itself (from v1 to v3) would prolly be released in summer 06 lol. Yeah, I'm quite a busy person. If I could go back to middle school and high school years, I'd have this done in under a week.
Current Status
-This is on my forums. You do not need to see this section.
Jokes
Don't laugh at my earrings xD! I think I designed those about 3 or 4 months ago and I have yet to make good earrings xD. I think they look pretty tho xD.
Thats about it. I appreciate any comments, but just know if you have suggestions about something, know that I will not do as you say. This is my project and I make it how I want it. I am just posting this for you to know of, not to get feedback on it. If I wanted that, I wouldn't of wrote this much now would I? I already spotted out all the problems with the project instantaneously so no need for you to help me hehe.
Offtopic, but if you wish to have shades on your character 24/7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, I am going offer you this one time deal. You will need to send me a PM stating the following things...
Race
Head Model # (DO NOT DESCRIBE IT, GIVE ME A # LIKE 7A or 2A. I don't like guessing at it and I won't do it thus you will not get a reply back -.-)
What type of shades? Bone, Gold, or Cloth
After I get that information, I will make a head model version where you have shades on all the time and give you a link to d/l it via pm. That means you can wear a robe or a hat and still have them on. Note if you post that you want this in this topic, I prolly won't catch it as I rarely come back and check on posts on any forums except mine. I probably won't get many that want this so less work for me.
Old shots of my nin project? I'll post old shots of the previous versions in a future post. I don't have the time right now lol.
Hmm, guess I'll mention this before I go. Hmm, in like a month or so (I don't keep up with dates so I'm just guessing lol), it will be 3 year modding aniversary xD. I twas jus a wee lil lad back then who designed awful looking mods when most people did not know about ffxi modding. But I've graduated from tee lil lad class after my first year xD. Just something I thought was worth saying.
I'll come back at another time and post new shots of things, but for now, I'm going to go see how this looks in game. Yes, I will actually come back and post more shots >,>. I'm thinking most think that I won't come back lol.
Intro
Well after taking my history exam on Tuesday (It was hard as shit), I thought I did well on it so I started modding again. If I knew I failed, I would of not modded.
Like I said before......umm I don't think I did on these forums, my bad, but I said I was going to work on my ninja project instead of working on my FF7 project for the time being. That is what I did.
So I was looking at my ninja project v2 files and said to myself, "I don't think I can do a viable update to these textures & models and should just just start again with new models and textures." That is exactly what I did and thus began my ninja project v3.
I needed some kind of inspiration or a image you could say as usual. So I decided to base my model on Ayame from Tenchu : Dark Shadows version. I am not going to post the image, do a google search and then when you find the image, match the model up with mine. There will be slight differences, but ultimately, its the same thing.
I cannot make the same textures as those of what ayame wore in DS as FFXI's graphics engine is utterly retarded. So I had to use my own creativity and thinking. Problem is, I did not want to start on the textures just yet as you'll find out later on that this was the hardest thing to do for this project.
So this project seemed kinda complicated yet impossible, but since I have been working with VRS once again (For those that didn't know, I took a 2-3 month break from modding and sorta forgot everything) and regained all those useful tricks and techniques along with some new ones. So basically, it was a lot of planning as I could do the work.
So I did the models and made 1:1 ports on most things. Go me >,>.
Textures were next. I was regretting this as I did not want to do them. So after taking about a hour or two figuring out how I wanted to design this baby, I worked and worked on them until the final product looked good to show to the public.
I then said, "You really need to work on your head model for HF again." This is because everytime I take a long break from modding in general and come back, I think and analyze things differently that what I used to. So I did that and updated the head model to my liking
.So eventually I had to get to the point of sheaths. I already knew sheaths were near impossible to do (Meaning the PC can take them out and put them back in; designing sheaths is easy guys and gals). This is where the project got a little complicated as I did some rather complicated things in VRS to achieve my result.
So I made a Rikimaru 2h'ed sheath version and a Ayame sheath version. The Rikimaru one wasn't planned and is geared towards male characters. I only did it because I was testing something in VRS and decided to go with that.
Ok so at some point, most of the textures were done along with the sheaths and I said, "People are going to think I based the texture color for the models off my hair lol." So I decided to make a blue version.
This is where things got a little complicated, but only made the process even longer. I noticed that after I did the blue version, I spotted out and fixed many bugs both texture and modeling wise that the original version had. I also fine tuned the graphics ever so slightly. Not a true fine tuning, but was good enough
.Then I ran into another problem.....the textures of the sheaths. I cannot so easily go in changetex and change the textures for the sheaths. I will crash changetex the minute I try to replace it. So I was about to have to do some more work that was time consuming until I found a way to do this rather quickly. This will help when I do more color variations.
The Pictures
Well after all the trial and error and finishing off the textures, I guess its time to show it to the public. It took me about 8 hours to do, but I am glad I am somewhat done. It looked like a total mess at start and I was planning to give up on it, but thats not my nature.
Here is the original version. It sorta used the same colors as my hair, but umm, that wasn't planned. These 3 shots don't have the updated fixes I did for the model and textures along with the head model. You will notice the head model update when you look at the last 4 shots as I gave her a eye change and some makeup.
This is the Rikimaru 2h'ed Katana sheath style. Note, due to how these forums limit you on images, I had to make some urls -.-.
Front
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...%20v3/npv3.jpg
Back
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...v3/npv3B1S.jpg
Side
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...v3/npv3F1S.jpg
This is the ayame style.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...0v3/npv32x.jpg
Now this is the blue version. This has all the necessary fixes that the original didn't have.
Yes, the katanas don't come out of the sheaths. Here, let me prove it just so you know. They are purely cosmetic for now.
Problems
Well, I am happy to say unlike my previous ninja projects that this version is actually quite bug free and could be released (Note, I do not release via forums unless its via pm, they are put on my site)....well almost.
- The pants/legs model has problems with the her actual leg overlapping the clothing on some animations. You may kinda pick up on this in the shots above and you may not. Doing the pants were a pain anyways.
- The 2h'ed Rikimaru sheath version is sorta not good to use for every day use. This is because considering the animation she does, that sheath will be out of place. I was going to attach it to her body, but the problem with that is that I had very wierd results. Mainly corruption. I will fix this in the future, but as of right now, it is of no concern since I wasn't making a Rikimaru version.
- Hmm if using the Rikimaru version and using a 2h'ed weapon such as a Great sword, Axe, staff, etc, it may not look right lol. I would use the ayame version.
Hmm, think that is about it bug wise. The ayame version can be released, but I am debating on the rikimaru version.
Fixes
- Guys, I know about the back of her feet (The black part in the HQ render...could say her legs). This is a texture problem that I didn't address yet. The modelviewer and 3dsmax render will show that part differently as the 3dsmax render shows it as a complete solid black color while the modelviewer one doesn't.
- Hmm, I really didn't give the shoes any textures yet. Sorta forgot lol. Will be fixed in the next update.
Future plans?
- Mainly color variations and possibly different designs. I have no plans of making another body model. I designed about 4 so far for this project (from v1 to v3).
- Probably about 4-5 different pant designs modeling wise. And probably some shorts and/or a bottom cape on one of the body models.
- Actual taking the katanas out of the sheaths version? I know its impossible, but I've been thinking of some rather complicated ways of achieving this. I have in the past in one of my projects made a sheath mod that actually had it where the weapon comes out of the sheath and when you put it back on your side, it goes in the sheath. So do you think its impossible now? It still sorta is because the sheaths are on her waist/back lol! I'd have to modify the animations which is impossible to do currently. Make me a program to extract the animations and a 3dsmax plugin and I'll do whatever you want
.- Everything that was planned for the v2 project to be finished. This is mainly weapons and other armor designs/color variations.
- Hmm, a dual wielding masamune version. I've always wanted to dual wield 2x Masamunes lol. Yes, I'll release and port that to other races whenever I do it.
- Strings on the sheaths like the original image I based my work on? Yeah, I'll definitely do it at some point.
Porting
I have no plans of porting...........let me rephrase that.
I did a male ninja version long ago for EM. I thought to myself at that time, "This needs no updates as it looks exceptionally well." It was based off my Ninja project v2. To this day, I still think it is the best looking model & texture wise for males. So I don't feel the need to make a v3 for males. I will make a Gi version for males though. This was from v2, the Gi version.
BUT, I am planning to update this version with the sheaths and plan on releasing that on my site when I have it finished. Note that the male version is available for d/l already so I will just change the filepath and the comment on the EM page.
I was going to port the EM version to HM, but never did. I may do this at some point, but I highly doubt anytime soon.
So what am I saying? This is both HF and EM exclusive, but I am planning on bringing it to HM and Galka in the future. Why those 2? Galka b/c I'm tired of hearing the complaints of lack of galka mods and the fact that my cloud mod is HM.
I don't have the time of day to port the v3 of this to the other female races because of how complicated this whole project was. You may think its very simple to port, but in reality its not and I don't want to relive all the stuff I did the past hours lol.
If you wish to be ported to your race (The races I did not say above), you will need to find someone who knows VRS, how to make/modify good textures, and knows Metasequoia exceptionally well to port this. I used my own skin textures for the female version which will not look right on other races at all. Thats just one example. The male version is rather simple to port in its current state, but after the addition of sheaths, it gets just a tad interesting
. If you found someone to do this, they would need to contact me, but right now since only the male version was released partially, no need for this yet lol.Release
I'm generally a azzhat when it comes to the release of any of my mods, but....
I was going to release a beta of the female version until I decided that I shouldn't. I need to fix the pants problem, finalize textures, and finish making the rest of the stuff. Though I will say that if you're a modder and I've seen something you've done that I think is exceptionally well or is on my site, I'll let ya try it out (You would have to pm me), but I doubt that there are many modders who are HF so whats the point lol.
Hmm, the whole project itself (from v1 to v3) would prolly be released in summer 06 lol. Yeah, I'm quite a busy person. If I could go back to middle school and high school years, I'd have this done in under a week.
Current Status
-This is on my forums. You do not need to see this section.
Jokes
Don't laugh at my earrings xD! I think I designed those about 3 or 4 months ago and I have yet to make good earrings xD. I think they look pretty tho xD.
Thats about it. I appreciate any comments, but just know if you have suggestions about something, know that I will not do as you say. This is my project and I make it how I want it. I am just posting this for you to know of, not to get feedback on it. If I wanted that, I wouldn't of wrote this much now would I? I already spotted out all the problems with the project instantaneously so no need for you to help me hehe.
Offtopic, but if you wish to have shades on your character 24/7, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, I am going offer you this one time deal. You will need to send me a PM stating the following things...
Race
Head Model # (DO NOT DESCRIBE IT, GIVE ME A # LIKE 7A or 2A. I don't like guessing at it and I won't do it thus you will not get a reply back -.-)
What type of shades? Bone, Gold, or Cloth
After I get that information, I will make a head model version where you have shades on all the time and give you a link to d/l it via pm. That means you can wear a robe or a hat and still have them on. Note if you post that you want this in this topic, I prolly won't catch it as I rarely come back and check on posts on any forums except mine. I probably won't get many that want this so less work for me
.Old shots of my nin project? I'll post old shots of the previous versions in a future post. I don't have the time right now lol.
Hmm, guess I'll mention this before I go. Hmm, in like a month or so (I don't keep up with dates so I'm just guessing lol), it will be 3 year modding aniversary xD. I twas jus a wee lil lad back then who designed awful looking mods when most people did not know about ffxi modding. But I've graduated from tee lil lad class after my first year xD. Just something I thought was worth saying.
I'll come back at another time and post new shots of things, but for now, I'm going to go see how this looks in game. Yes, I will actually come back and post more shots >,>. I'm thinking most think that I won't come back lol.
Take The Quiz Yourself!
Comment