Plate helm graphic broken for human/half elf.

[Anuril]

Is there anyway to fix the plate helm graphic for humans and half elves? You know what I'm talking about. The visor is permanently welded shut right now which really makes it hard to perform a variety of tasks including hunting, bashing, slaying, and traveling around Norrath in general.

I know what your thinking... "Why doesn't this newb just turn off that ugly bucket helm graphic in the first place?"... but I don't care I want my classic plate helm graphic back if at all possible!


For reference here is what human plate helm should look like on the right.
http://roa.bortas.net/sk2/pics/bortas.jpg

[guineapig]

I thought the half-elf plate helm was always a closed visor?

[nilbog]

I thought the half-elf plate helm was always a closed visor?

:P

http://i50.tinypic.com/23lzb6t.jpg

I found the file needed to fix this in the global_chr.s3d. I suppose it *can* be fixed, but people would need to fix it for themselves individually, as we can't distribute client files.

Anyways, the problem is here. helm24.bmp. I'm not a graphic artist, but I assume if you can make this portion transparent, when it wrapped around the models head, it would make the visor open. I assume there is a similar file for human hats.
http://i45.tinypic.com/2jbmfqc.jpg

[guineapig]

Wow, I have never seen the graphic look like this!

My bad...

[Anuril]

So there is hope! Where are the graphic artists at?

[Skaff]

Yeah, I forget when all the visors all "shut".

Typically a transparent color is something strange like a magenta or a neon green. I have looked around for any information related to it and have come up empty handed.

[Winston]

OK I'm looking for a photoshop plugin @ nvidias site called Texture compression, but can't seem to find it, anyone have any idea on how to go about this?

http://developer.nvidia.com/object/nv_texture_tools.html

is where I'm looking...I think someone told me once that s3d's are really 3ds max file formats, but just a changed format to decrease anyone trying to fuck with the zones/textures?

[doacleric]

The problem is that around 2001, or the era of the DX8 upgrade, many forms of transparency in EQ were broken. If you look at a tradeskill oven, you will no longer see the fire inside. Many lanterns ingame no longer show the flame inside. And, as you've noticed, the helms don't appear correctly.

This might be fixable by editing the texture file itself. But the texture files themselves have not changed since 1999. Only the way the game "recognizes" these transparent areas has changed. Even physically editing the files may not help.

And as many things, this is client controlled, and not something we can really fix.

[Gamkek]

The only problem with this is that editing the bitmap to add transparency isn't going to work, assuming EQ needs the file in .bmp format, because bitmaps don't have channels for transparency!

If we can make it a .jpg without the client getting all fussy then we might have a chance (if someone can get me a copy of the raw helm24.bmp file, I can do this), but otherwise this is just something we'll have to live with. :(

[Skaff]

The only problem with this is that editing the bitmap to add transparency isn't going to work, assuming EQ needs the file in .bmp format, because bitmaps don't have channels for transparency!

If we can make it a .jpg without the client getting all fussy then we might have a chance (if someone can get me a copy of the raw helm24.bmp file, I can do this), but otherwise this is just something we'll have to live with. :(

Like doacleric said, a lot of these textures have not changed since they were put out in 99'. However, either though DX changes or possible internal client changes... something, other than the texture files, changed.

In terms of the bmp file format, you can get transparent behavior from them. That is all determined by the software working with the bmp. Though that is only speaking from a win32 application standpoint and using pretty primitive graphic controls. I am unsure once any DX junk is added to the mix.

[Mmohunter]

n/t

[nilbog]

*mourns the loss of the visor*

http://i46.tinypic.com/2v0ophy.jpg

[PearlJammzz]

We just need to figure out how to make an old client work. That's all there is to it :-p.

We can all load the Winxp virtual machine onto our PCs to let the game run smooth ya?

Is there any other options for clients we can use or are we stuck w/ the current one?

[nilbog]

Is there any other options for clients we can use or are we stuck w/ the current one?

If you get started working on that.. you'll be done sometime in 2020? I dunno. I think the EQC project has been working with the trilogy client for like 5 years, and still are not finished.

edit: short answer, we're stuck with this one as it is the most functional client for our needs.

[PearlJammzz]

haha, alright. I am unaware of the major differences between them all. Hopefully one day *crosses fingers*

[Anuril]

:''(

[Ropethunder]

I have a couple of guesses for fixing this, albeit very unlikely.

[Ropethunder]

Transparent helm, anyone?

Special thanks to Desmoulins for lending me his helm!

If someone would provide a list of all helms I'll provide a diff patch which should be legal to distribute. Is it just humans and half elves?

http://3dfolio.com/files/helm_fix.jpg

[Anuril]

WOOOOOOOOOOOT! Nice work!

[Ropethunder]

And now for the human helm:

http://3dfolio.com/files/helm_fix2.jpg

[Droop]

Once you get them, they should add them into the start-up guide. Or at least sticky the post for it?

I'd suggest making a new thread w/ the files/examples, and letting it become a sticky. Link to that thread in a post here.

Great work though! What did you have to do to fix it?

[Ropethunder]

Here is the patch to apply the helm fix. Simple extract the files to your EQ 99 directory and run "patch.bat". If you're uncomfortable running the patch executable, I am using JojoDiff. You can download and replace the executable yourself from the source.

After you've run patch.bat, you can delete the files jptch.exe and global_chr.s3d.patch.

http://3dfolio.com/files/eqc_patch_helm.zip

And here's how it works:

http://3dfolio.com/files/eqc_helm_fix_example.png

The current EQ client seems to be a mishmash of an old and a new method. Previously, transparency was determined by the color value of the first index in the 8-bit color table of the texture file. It would appear that at some point an additional check was added which verifies if transparency exists by setting to bottom left two pixels to the same color.

The two pixels at the bottom left appear to be required by the half-elf plate helm but not the male human plate helm. I don't know why.

Another oddity is that the index for the male plate helm was already the correct color but did not provide any transparency. By changing the color to #FF00FF (magic pink), transparency was enabled. Simply by adding two pixels to the bottom left of the half-elf plate helm enabled transparency. Magic pink was no required but was added for clarity.

The female human plate helm shares the same texture as the male human plate helm but does not use transparency. As a result of enabling transparency for the male plate visor a small porthole has appeared in the back of the female plate helm. I cannot find a way to disable transparency on a per-model basis so there may not be a fix for this:

http://3dfolio.com/files/helm_fix3.jpg

This is a minor result of the change and is purely cosmetic. It is hypothetically possible to adjust the mapping on the object itself but there are no tool available to do so. You can decide for yourself if you prefer helms with no visor or the occasional porthole for the female plate helms.

But in the meantime, at least you'll be able to see:

http://3dfolio.com/files/eqc_helm_fix.png

I've also added a fix for the eye of zomm. This has been bugging me for a long time. This fix should also propagate to the evil eye models too:

http://3dfolio.com/files/eqc_eye_fix.png

[Aeolwind]

+1000 classic points.

[Ropethunder]

I've removed the patch temporarily while I modify the bat file a bit. I wrote it to delete your old global_chr.s3d which means that you won't be able to apply a future patch based off of the original file.

I'm reworking it now to preserve the old version for future patching.

If you've already applied the previous patch, please restore an old global_chr.s3d, if you have one, or reinstall the client to get it back.

Also keep in mind that this patch will most likely fail if you try to use it with anything other than the titanium client.

[Danth]

It's worth noting that this fix will likely somehow mess up helms on *female* characters, which already work correctly.

EDIT: Suspicion seems confirmed; I snagged the patch before it was removed. Patch fixed male helms, but on human female created a sort of 'porthole' in the rear of the helm. I'll still take that since I play male characters only.

Another edit: Here's a pic of aforementioned glitch on human female.

http://imgur.com/iBt3Q.jpg

Neither I nor my wife have any half-elf characters so we couldn't check half-elf females.

Danth

[Ropethunder]

It's worth noting that this fix will likely somehow mess up helms on *female* characters, which already work correctly.

I may have a fix for this. Working on it..

[Ropethunder]

I've sent a message to nilbog asking about how to address this. It would appear than the human male helm uses transparency while the female helm does not. But they share the same texture.

I wonder if from the server end the transparency can be disabled from one model to another. Or if the female helm can be set to use a different texture instead.

As it stands, I see no way that both of these models could use the same texture with transparency. It just doesn't work with how the female helm is textured.

[doacleric]

AFAIK, the server has nothing to do with telling the client what to do with ANYTHING related to textures. That is purely done by the client itself. The server doesn't control transparency either.

[Ropethunder]

How is it that I've seen guards with the texture on their helmet wrapped the wrong way around? I thought maybe that was related.

Does anyone have any close up shots of a human female plate helm from the front and the back?

[Danth]

"Does anyone have any close up shots of a human female plate helm from the front and the back?"

I can make one if you need one, if nobody else can/will. What do you need exactly, the default/installed Titanium version, or your slightly broken patched version? How close up do you want the shot?

Danth

[Ropethunder]

The default one would be fine. I wish I had something from the original EQ though. I just want to confirm that the female plate helm does not use transparency.

[Danth]

Ok, I reverted my file (from your patch) to using the original global_chr s3d file. That should render things back to as-installed, unless your patch changed more than just the noted file. The human male was back to his broken, "Robocop" form though! All three of the following pictures were taken on the same PC within the span of a few minutes.

Human male (shown as indication that "visor bug" is in effect:

http://imgur.com/JRI3G.jpg

Human female front:

http://imgur.com/2gkIh.jpg

Human female back:

http://imgur.com/gR6dQ.jpg

Hope this helps. Based on the designs, the back of the female helm appears to be using texture space from what appears on the front of the male helm.

Danth

[Ropethunder]

I've reuploaded the patch and added some additional information from my research. There is also an added fix for the eye of zomm.

See my updated post here:

http://www.project1999.org/forums/showpost.php?p=75341&postcount=22

If you installed the previous patch you must either restore your original global_chr.s3d from a backup or reinstall the Titanium client. Sorry for this but I did not have the foresight to add a backup routine to the previous patch. This new patch and all future patches will preserve the original for you.

Thanks to Danth for his pictures of the female plate helm.

If any of you appreciate this fix and are feeling really generous, my character Thimbledorn would love to own a manastone. :)

[Pyrocat]

A+++ work, adding this to the F.A.Q.

is there any chance something similar can be done for wolf/skeleton models?

[Wenai]

A+++ work, adding this to the F.A.Q.

is there any chance something similar can be done for wolf/skeleton models?
We have a complete working fix for wolves (regular and spirit wolves). Have had it since January... We just haven't moved forward in releasing it.

The issue with skeletons is indeed based off of these files. The reason they have a black face/pelvis is that the client attempts to map the Luclin textures onto the classic model.

We actually discovered a full fix at one point (fixing skeletons and wolves) but a texture/object in one of the files disabled caused it to be completely impossible to zone into Feerrott (caused your client to crash). So that is where we stand with restoring skeletons and wolves.

Wolves can honestly be fixed now (and have been fixable) but one of the problems is that it causes the wolves to animate somewhat slowly and they appear to "glide" along the ground. Their battle animation works great though.

Pyro if you are interested in trying out wolves for yourself (local fix) I can give you the instructions to do it. Although your wolves will appear extremely small until/if a fix server-side is added to change the size of wolves.

[Ropethunder]

I will look into this but considering the current research mentioned by Wenai, it may not be possible.

I have a few theories I want to try so we'll see.

[Datante]

Transparent helm, anyone?

Special thanks to Desmoulins for lending me his helm!

If someone would provide a list of all helms I'll provide a diff patch which should be legal to distribute. Is it just humans and half elves?

Impressive work! Looks like plate-wearing human and half elves will no longer need The Force to live in Norrath.

And Wenai, that is awesome news about the wolf (and eventually skeleton) models.

[Pyrocat]

Pyro if you are interested in trying out wolves for yourself (local fix) I can give you the instructions to do it. Although your wolves will appear extremely small until/if a fix server-side is added to change the size of wolves.

I actually have this set up right now, I was curious if there was a way to make them normal sized, which it sounds like there is but it's a server change.

[Wenai]

I actually have this set up right now, I was curious if there was a way to make them normal sized, which it sounds like there is but it's a server change.
It is indeed a server-side change to correct the size issue.

[guineapig]

Here is the patch to apply the helm fix.

http://3dfolio.com/files/eqc_patch_helm.zip


I have a half elf Bard female and will be checking this out tonight. I'll let you know how it goes and thanks for the hard work!

[Wenai]

Someone should try and fix the severely frostbitten feet of some races.

ie. barbarian male, barbarian female, high-elf male I think.

Their feet appear black regardless of what item you are wearing. When I looked into the .s3d files I realized that if you look at for example Plate Boots for Barbarian female you would be looking at the file:

bafft0302.bmp

It appears to be a small black square. I thought the problem was simply that the color was black and therefore armor colors (ie. Rubicite, Golden Efreeti Boots, Crafted Boots etc) were not able to show up because it couldn't tint the black. I tried changing the square to a much lighter white/gray color and found that it didn't seem to help. The feet still appear black. So if anyone has any ideas give it a try. ;)

[synchrite]

Hate to bump an old thread, but I wanted to point out that wood elf male plate helms are missing some transparency too. Not for the eyes, but the edges around the wings on the helm.

[nilbog]

Perhaps the same type of fix can be used for wood elves.

Ropethunder? <3

[Ropethunder]

I have had to take a break for the past several months to work on a very important project. I apologize for having missed the wood elves!

I'm still very busy but I can spare some time to fix this. Please send me a forum PM with your name, a time in GMT (I'm GMT -7), and please provide your own small plate helm for me to test with.

I will meet you on a wood elf alt at Kelethin and complete a fix for you.

Said person with the test helm can be synchrite, nilbog, or anyone else. I just need a helm to work with.

Someone should try and fix the severely frostbitten feet of some races.

Can you provide me with a few different items of footwear for me to test with? I will look into this.

[Uthgaard]

Happy to turn you into whatever race or armor texture you need. I'll be on the beta server.

[warrioman]

wait so if we had the skillz we could edit any texture we want and make the game look like (from our perspective at least) anything we want?

[Ropethunder]

I am waiting at the pod lift beneath Kelethin on the beta server. My character's name is Thimblefixhelm. If anyone has a moment can can drop a helm off to me, I would appreciate it.

Uthgaard, I sent you some tells but I think you're afk.

[Uthgaard]

wait so if we had the skillz we could edit any texture we want and make the game look like (from our perspective at least) anything we want?

Yep. I came up with this while trying to restore the female gypsy model a while back.

http://i51.tinypic.com/raqidg.jpg

[Dantes]

Dude looks like a lady!

[Ropethunder]

Ok, so after a lot of head banging while trying to fix barbarian feet I've found that all of the classic barbarian textures are not being being read from global_chr. I deleted "all" of the texture files and EQ still seems to be able to find them somewhere for the barbarian.

Any idea where they might be hiding?

..

Found them in global4_chr.s3d.

[Lazortag]

Hey ropethunder, could you make a new version of the patch that's compatible with the graphics update (here: http://www.project1999.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2482)? Thanks

[Lazortag]

Hey ropethunder, could you make a new version of the patch that's compatible with the graphics update (here: http://www.project1999.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2482)? Thanks

bump.

[Ropethunder]

I'm very busy right now but will try to get to it when I can. If I don't put out something soon, please feel free to bump this again.

[Lazortag]

I'm very busy right now but will try to get to it when I can. If I don't put out something soon, please feel free to bump this again.

Bump. Thanks again.

[Lazortag]

I'm very busy right now but will try to get to it when I can. If I don't put out something soon, please feel free to bump this again.

Friendly bump. Take your time.

edit: I just realized that I was being silly - I was under the impression that the graphics update was completely incompatible with the transparency patch. Turns out all you have to do is repatch. Sorry if I wasted any of your time.

[Lazortag]

Hey ropethunder, is there a way you could fix the transparency for Trakanon's wings? I just noticed they weren't displaying properly either. All the cracks/holes in his wings are completely black on p99 whereas on live they were transparent.

[nalkin]

lol really geegoo... really? Grats on getting 5/6 posts on one thread page though...

here comes number 6+
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Edit: Gawd wait till Doors sees this shiz

[Doors]

I once wondered where Geegoo got his post count. And now its just all so clear.

[Enygma]

does this still work? I can't seem to figure out how to install it properly.

1. I extract all 3 files into my Eq folder then run the patch.bat file, it asks me if I want to allow this program to make changes to my computer, I click YES.

2. I delete jptch and global_chr.s3d.patch

3. log in and nothing has changed.

PM or post, thanks.

[Enygma]

bump still waiting for answer.

Thanks.