Markarth retexture

[Octopuss]

Does anyone know about any good one that isn't a blatantly obvious upscale raped by the same Photoshop filter over and over again like most stuff from that MysteryModder (Skyrim Ultra HD Texture Pack), or that doesn't looks completely out of place (there's one that makes the city look like a cartoon)?

 

It's surprising how many retexture mods are out there, and how few aren't complete crap.

Obviously, doing it properly requires "some" skills and a bit of an eye for aesthetics, but even then, in 3 years not that much quality stuff was released. It sucks.

[Mebantiza]

Give this a try-Markarth the White City. I use it, looks good. Simple and minimalist, but nicely done in a lore-friendly way.

 

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/31733/?

[Octopuss]

Ah, that's one of the mods I saw before.

I gave it a shot now though. It's not bad, actually. Unfortunately, the textures are only 1k Some people might argue it's perfectly enough, but it really isn't. I guess it's fine if you don't get closer than 5 metres to things, but that's not how most people play, I guess.

[alt3rn1ty]

Osmodius textures ? http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/996477/?tb=mods&pUp=1

 

There's one under the Project Parallax series for Markarth, and from what I have seen of Osmodius work its good ( I was recently looking at his Windhelm textures especially the ground textures in which he has a very nice work around for the streetstone problem textures )

[Octopuss]

I believe those are only parallax textures, which are meant to be added to whatever texture pack you might be using (there are several variants, like for SRO).

His standalone textures packs (Solitude and Windhelm) are great. Too bad he didn't want to cover more textures (it looks a bit weird when you have textures of different style in one place, one typically being blurred lowres).

 

I contacted the author of the white city mod. He actually believes his textures are 2k, just like the hires dlc (huh). And he has a really weird approach to modding:

 

It is 2k some smaller textured are 1k just like in the hi res dlc putting does in 2k would mean putting the big onee at 4k. And no i dont plan any update to that mod. If im going to put time in modding i prefer to make something new.

(I don't even understand what is he talking about here...)

 

Just why the fuck do people always have to abandon their work, leave it half completed, etc.?

[alt3rn1ty]

Ah yeah you are right in the Markarth files Osmodius is just providing the meshes and _p.dds files, so you would need vanilla flavoured hi res textures for matching the bumps on those.

 

 

Just why the fuck do people always have to abandon their work, leave it half completed, etc.?

 

Well, most of the great mods throughout the years have come from people who had a need and could not find anything, so made their own and contributed to the community.

 

 

Doing what you are looking for though is really not an easy job ( of course you know this, otherwise if it was easy you would be making your own and not moaning about other people ), and even if you get a professional graphics artist doing a project that you would like done in their own time, how they see it being done is going to be subjective to their style / wants / RL problems etc, not yours. You cant really go cursing people for doing things for free .. And that attitude by people probably contributes to some of the best ones getting burned out and leaving our community.

 

I think Starac ( SRO ) before he was banned from Nexus was getting annoyed by people who did not like or understand his artistic direction, and others who were just plain rude. I think thats why he went off site originally and then the whole thing with him only giving updates to people who donated ( or something similar which broke Nexus rules ), then probably out of frustration ( not being a native speaker ) he got all confrontational with the staff and that was the end of that talent.

 

Unfortunately there is another thing I have noticed over the years since Morrowind, genuine graphic artists who are initially enthusiastic, are also likely to be sensitive and highly combustible, psychologically they are not hard wearing, especially in the face of the typical nexus crowd these days.

People with certain genius traits are likely to be mentally vulnerable more than others and react in extreme ways to other peoples opinions.

Recently in the news Robin Williams ( R.I.P ), probably the most loved man in the world is an example of what I mean, there have been many genius comedians before him who have gone the same way, manic depressive suicidal. There always seems to be a bad down side to very gifted people.

 

 

Thats one of the reasons why its always best if you dont like something to walk on by and not comment.

 

It takes a dedicated person to keep providing a project for free over years, aswell as maybe biting off more than they could chew life could be treating them not so kindly which you dont know anything about, but add insult to injury by expressing your impatience on a project they started doing because they enjoyed doing it ( past tense ).

[Octopuss]

I am simply just pissed off how few good artists are out there. And when a good mod appears, it gets abandoned in lots of cases. That sucks. I am perfectly aware that mod authors are not obliged to do anything. It's a great shame promising stuff gets buried.

 

I am not moaning. And there's nothing wrong with my attitude. You're probably just reading my post wrong. Let's not go that way. Just because it was Octopuss who said something doesn't automatically make it wrong/insultive/whatever.

[lmstearn]

The gates of oblivion are carved from incomplete mods (but all roads lead to oblivion and we all like to take the one least travelled etc).

 

Life happens. Something else crops up. Some folk just get bored. Others wear their hearts on a sleeve. Others we know about: Sydney666

Artists are strange folk- sometimes a thing smells a bit funny and they're off. Never to return. Leaving the rest of us cussing in the lurch.

And most folk out there don't bother to call for anyone to take over the project. Would you do it? I wouldn't. Fact is, they know that it someone out there is as good as them, they probably won't take the reins, as they are too busy on their own incomplete projects. Absolute waste o' time as far as they are concerned.

 

Texturing as I see it is pretty close to drudgery. Tedious, I might give it a go but not right now. Some way off. In my dotage.

 

At EOD there has to be a rethink on money for these things. Should Nexus review its Terms & Conditions? Go back to the days of Shareware/Nagware? No thanks,

 

Consumerism is such that, whosoever pays or not pays, a few are going to bite the hand that feeds, In some cases unwittingly and unfeelingly.

Demanding more. Voracious. Food Chain. Want out o' here,

 

Heck, let's go and play Skyrim.

[Hana]

Texturing as I see it is pretty close to drudgery. Tedious...

Pretty much this. I can't tell you how many retexture projects I have sitting half finished, or half-assed started.

[alt3rn1ty]

Something also to consider, we are now I think getting into the start of the long term phase of dedicated modders and enthusiasts, where bigger projects will become a reality, new mod authors start to gain more experience, and we have a basis of dependable tools appearing which people can rely upon.

Game knowledge and its quirks, and the CK knowledgebase are pretty well established ..

 

The projects this site is based on, the UPP, have already got the light at the end of the tunnel in sight. Having all the games bugs squashed in one mod which everyone relies upon as a basis for a good setup is also a good encouragement for development.

 

I remember Oblivion took about 5-6 years before it got to this stage, and then you start to see the good stuff and more dedicated modders finishing up projects.

A stable community with established tools to make tasks easier also encourages specialists who dont want to get involved in the underlying technicalities of the game to come forward and do their thing.

 

If the permissions allow, some of those unfinished projects may even get taken on by someone with more ability to see the project through to completion.

Being a hobby, mods can take ages to come to a polished stage.

 

Patience young Octopuss

[Octopuss]

Who knows what happens a year from now.

But I'm afraid most people wouldn't start a retexture project for something that already exists, no matter the quality or state.

[Arthmoor]

I don't think it would be overly surprising if nobody did start a major new retexturing project. For Obllivion, once QTP3 had come into being, everyone else kind of just stopped. There were a few short attempts at something to replace it eventually but none of them ever really got anywhere. So at some point the community does tend to decide "these options are good enough" and they move on to other types of projects.

[alt3rn1ty]

I preferred CorePC's Vibrant textures for Oblivion and the Shivering Isles, which came later than QTP3 .. Though probably not the same level of detail ( QTP3 was aiming for more photo-realistic appeal ), CorePC preferred staying roughly close to vanilla in style, but was very good at blending edges which in vanilla were a bit rough and in this regard I think his textures outclassed QTP3. He did do higher resolution choices too .. Vibrant Textures Weather DistantLOD Vanilla Enhancements by Corepc

 

Edit : Oh just remembered to mention this, dont know if its your thing Octopuss but Gamwich recently did ONE MOUNTAIN To Rule Them All - Its rock and mountain meshes you can use either with its own textures .. Or choose your own ( I use his Mountain or MoleHill textures which also have their own custom mountain LODs to match, like this mod does ) - Basicly the premise is, all mountain and rock meshes which employ the two textures Mountainslab01 and Mountainslab02 .. Now only use Mountainslab02. Apply your own texture if you wish to that idea Markarth benefits greatly.

[Octopuss]

Haha I am a happy user of Vivid Landscapes series (though I must admit I was extremely surprised to find out even Hein84 did the 4k mountain texture by simply upscaling the existing stuff. just... why?!)