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[WIP|Test] VC GFX


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This mod will add "real reflections" and specular lighting to Vice City.

 

Download:

http://www.3dhole.com/gtafiles/vc_gfx.rar

 

Instructions:

dump both .asi files, and the ini file into the same directory as your gta-vc.exe. I only tested this on an american 1.0 exe!

There are no keys to press to activate the mod, it should be active as soon as you enter the game.

 

the "real reflections" are basically what you see onscreen while playing, but without vehicles sprites or a hud, projected onto the model, and scaled down to a smaller image size. the idea isn't new, it was mentioned as a candidate for SA:PC, but rejected. it did find its way into the psp and ps2 versions of LCS and VCS though.

The specular lighting is accurate for every light in the scene, and respects each lights position, color, attenuation and direction.

 

Important note on specularity: This uses the specular level defined in the materials, of each model. If the materials on a model are too shiny, or not shiny enough, it is preferable to re-export the model, with the corrected material settings. Pedestrians are a good example of this. but like you, i don't want to fix and re-export 100+ pedestrian models tounge.gif

however if you DO want to fix a ped model so it's not shiny, you can do it, just set the specular value to 0.0 for each material you want to disable spec on.

 

Other known issues/bugs/etc are listed in the included readme.

 

Still to do:

-enable/disable switch for reflections

-user-definable reflection map size (currently locked @ 128*128)

-reflection multiplier (true chrome, ("high blending" for zmodeler users) is possible and looks sexy)

-trails option

-optional "sphere" mapping for vehicle reflections

-water stuff

-culling stuff

-???

 

Screenshots:

 

user posted image

"Self reflecting" issue i mentioned in the readme. note the grille of the escalade, reflecting on itself - doesn't look right.

user posted image

Spec on the gun looks good too.

user posted image

Spec reflecting nicely across the hood..

interested parties can find the escalade seen in these pics, here.

 

Q/A

Q:"Why is this in the vehicle showroom?"

A: Because most of the people who use this, will be using it to make their vehicles look better. But it will be moved to editing / Tools shortly after the initial post.

 

Q:"Why does your stuff look alot shinier / more reflective than mine?"

A: During development of this mod, i figured out how to stuff that isn't in this release, and will be added at a later time. increased reflections is one of those things, and my escalade was designed with that in mind.

 

Q:"Can you port this to SA?"

A: Not easily. Sa works very differently. It is also capable of more than VC, and i would like to take advantage of that if i can.

 

Q:"Can you port this to GTA3?"

A: I won't. Yes, the ideas and techniques this mod uses could probably be ported to gta3, but i have little to no interest in doing so.

 

Special thanks to Ak-73 and Modelingman for their help. this mod wouldn't exist without them.

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ok, there's a updated version, me and modelingman have been poking at this morning, which should eliminate spec on the street pedestrians. it semi-works in cutscenes; they start out ok, but once the camera cut to a different view, spec is back. only in cutscenes though.

 

anyway, it's an improvement over before,

peds should now be as dull as ever!

download link is the same.

 

@ [CTD]LaBan - multisampling is low priority, since it can be forced through your video card drivers.

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Lol, you stole my name! wink.gif VC:Graphics. wink.gif

 

Kidding aside... does your .asi enable both setting of intensity of specular reflection (per R-G-B) *as well as* gloss level? If you'd care to remember - my VC:Specular used some system to specify gloss level *and* intensity of specular reflection with a single float. The way it did that required some familiarization but allowed fine grain detail upon export. smile.gif

 

If you make the stuff open source, then I might add my own enhancements in time. smile.gif

 

Alex

 

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Yep, it does work like a charm (but not at all on non-standard EXEs, but that's the least issue I think), but I'm in serious trouble because it gets more and more difficult to maintain the VC root dir tounge.gif . Thanks to AK-73 in particular there are many ASIs and accompanying config files cluttering up the dir*, but that's possibly a good thing because it means that there are many hardcoded aspects of VC freely modifiable now. So icon14.gif for you! Looks very good now.

 

 

*AND I'VE NOT EVEN DOWNLOADED SQUIDDY'S MP3CONTROL YET! turn.gif

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Excuse me for beeing a little bit offtopic now.

 

SteaVor, that's a good point you're mentioning. If more and more DLLs are developed, we might think about agreeing on some kind of standard? Maybe creating a directory called "plugins" or "config" and moving all config files there. So at least the config files are easy to find and all in once place.

 

Just a thought.

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I've been thinking about that for quite some time; XP displays 34 files in my VC root dir - most of them are LC-specific of course, but your MP3 mod would be the 6th non-LC-ASI in there, so it's maybe no urgent matter, but since all the ASI makers are here there could as well be an agreement about a shared subdir used for the configs.

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I've been thinking about that for quite some time; XP displays 34 files in my VC root dir  - most of them are LC-specific of course, but your MP3 mod would be the 6th non-LC-ASI in there, so it's maybe no urgent matter, but since all the ASI makers are here there could as well be an agreement about a shared subdir used for the configs.

 

It's an idea I have had quite some time ago already - being the main source of all the clutter myself. I had been thinking of the folder name "custom content". All that is necessary in the VC dir is an .asi that scans through all the folders within "custom content" - that enables developers to bunlde their mods in an appropriate way.

 

But I have been too busy with other stuff to create that one. Sounds like a fitting job for someone with decent c++ or whatever skills to have shot at creating a simple .dll. smile.gif

 

Alex

 

PS Dexx, I think there *is* a way to introduce specular lighting (+normals) to all desired models without re-export but via coding and a .cfg file.

 

 

Edited by AK-73
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I've been thinking about that for quite some time; XP displays 34 files in my VC root dir  - most of them are LC-specific of course, but your MP3 mod would be the 6th non-LC-ASI in there, so it's maybe no urgent matter, but since all the ASI makers are here there could as well be an agreement about a shared subdir used for the configs.

 

It's an idea I have had quite some time ago already - being the main source of all the clutter myself. I had been thinking of the folder name "custom content". All that is necessary in the VC dir is an .asi that scans through all the folders within "custom content" - that enables developers to bunlde their mods in an appropriate way.

 

But I have been too busy with other stuff to create that one. Sounds like a fitting job for someone with decent c++ or whatever skills to have shot at creating a simple .dll. smile.gif

 

Alex

 

PS Dexx, I think there *is* a way to introduce specular lighting (+normals) to all desired models without re-export but via coding and a .cfg file.

I agree as well. It'd certainly be more "user-friendly" for people who are less experienced in the world of modding, and it makes logical sense. Not that I could program anything that would make it work, but I hope someone out there can.

 

smile.gif

 

@DexX - looks great, I'll be sure to check this out when my uni holidays start next Wednesday. icon14.gif

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Awesome mod man, only 1 problem. instead of being able to see realtime reflections, all the cars with reflection display some weird sort of funny discoulered refmap which never changes or moves...

 

- M57

/me has same problem

 

is it possible to add blur effect to VC like THAT

It have been done with San Andreas...

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LaBan,Jun 15 2007, 16:56]
Awesome mod man, only 1 problem. instead of being able to see realtime reflections, all the cars with reflection display some weird sort of funny discoulered refmap which never changes or moves...

 

- M57

/me has same problem

 

is it possible to add blur effect to VC like THAT

It have been done with San Andreas...

Same problem here biggrin.gif

Is it my sh*ty graphic-card? =0

 

btw. the water looks like a bottle full of awesomeness happy.gif

I want those real time reflections too cry.gif

 

pictures:

http://i11.tinypic.com/681gpok.jpg

http://i8.tinypic.com/4vq1h8n.jpg

Edited by MoeRonimoe
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Ok, for those of you having problems, there's a couple things:

-your having trouble with the "reflection map" - "specular maps" are something else entirely, and this mod doesn't use them. The specularity you see is calculated per vertex, and no textures are involved. not trying to nitpick, but we're all going to get confused if we start using incorrect terminology. your issues are with the reflection map.

Your video card should not make any difference, since i'm only using functions that are already in the game. since i'm re-using code that shipped with the executable, you should not see any new errors. More than likely, there is a difference between the exe you are using (by "you" i mean everyone with the reflection problem) and the one i tested this mod against. As i mentioned in the first post, i was only able to test it against an american 1.0 exe. if you know this is not the exe you have, please tell me which one you are using.

 

@ Squiddy/Steavor/Ak - i'm ok on standardizing a certain plugin folder, and that's probably the name of the folder i would cast my vote for; "plugins". short, simple, and intuitive.

 

@Ak - the specular power is set in the ini. i had planned on somehow tying it in with the weather (along with some other attributes) so the effect would be dynamic, and actually change over time. That, i would be willing to help code an external config file for, but i would still like to keep the material specular multipliers, and the specular power, as separate floats.

 

@ ir and masterk - i'll probably add a spec multiplier for peds, since they do look a little more dynamic with it. then people who don't want it, can simply turn it off, and you can set it to whatever you want. best of both worlds.

 

 

is it possible to add blur effect to VC like THAT

It have been done with San Andreas...

maybe, but it would take some work (besides turning on trails and putting on full AA). part of the reason it looks like that, is because R* is notorious for touching up their screenshots outside of the game engine.

 

@ everyone else - thank you for the feedback!

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GamerShotgun

Well, i'm using an american 1.0 nocd exe.. same as my friend.. But at me it isn't working, the funny thing is that, it's working at my friends vc confused.gif

 

Soo... I havn't got any other mods installed (hence my fresh install of vice city).

I've tried changing some settings in catalyst, nothing happens..

 

EDIT: Could it be a directX version problem?

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I've tested your mod, your screens look great, but it doesn't work. Not in my LC-modified Vice, or in my clean Vice City folder, both tested with the original uk .exe version, and the No-CD .exe. I'm thinking, since most people who have posted with problems haven't got the US version, the problem might be the different .exe's.

 

Would be great if you got it to work for the other versions too smile.gif

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Ah yeah, the vcversion.dll allready was in the LC folder, and I just tried it with the .dll in the VC folder, still nothing. I don't know where I can see what version of directX I have installed, but I thought it was the latest version. I can't think of anything else that could cause the problem, I'll see if I can find a directX update.

 

Hope that solves it.

 

EDIT: I've updated my drivers, and checked my DirectX, and that's also up to date now. It still doesn't work. Pity.

 

Any more ideas?

Edited by LCSurvivor
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