After wandering around in the game, I started feeling a need to go back and tweak some textures. I was just not happy with some of the combinations. Sometimes it’s just best to strike while the inspiration is strong. So I have spent quite a bit of time adjusting colors, cleaning up some of my more “questionable” decisions, and generally making them all play a little better together. I especially tried to tone down the floors and ceiling so they don’t clash or draw away from the walls. Some of the texture combos are much easier on the eyes now. For some of them, I removed the splotches or other weird marks that I had left to stay close to the original…the resolution/texture sizes are just to low to be that craz…er creative.
Breaking away
I have stopped trying to adhere strictly to the source material in interest of keeping the textures unique and fun. Additionally, I plan to add some “detail” to the wall sets that are just a group of plain walls (e.g. a small object on the wall). I want each wall image in a set to be unique but I’ll be sure to keep unadorned walls too to balance the aesthetics.
Floors darkened to not match the tables and added minor definition to the ceiling
Removed splotches and added shelves
Floor tamed, darkened walls and trim at top to better see the gold (now just need to do the ceiling)
As I have worked on several games, I have noticed various oddities. I have covered one before: unused assets. However, there are a few others. In the game TES:Arena, most SET files are reserved either for walls or for floors. The exception is this one:
Which gives us the below separate ingame dungeons:
Skulls on the Wall
Skulls on the floor
So far, it’s the only SET file to do that. Not sure what happened or why it’s like that. The main challenge with is that while I liked it on the floor against the dark walls, I don’t care for it as a wall texture. I’ll have to go back and tweak/balance it later. In theory, with further modding of the INF files (they determine which art files each level uses), it can be made so that a different file is used but I’m not inclined at this time to do that.
Ummm…what
Right off the bat, I’ll admit that my “working” copy of TES:Arena has been in use since I first started this project (several years now). It is now a Frankenstein-mess of my experiments. I expanded that executable file with an ancient program, expanded all the resource files, installed “WinArena” over top, fiddled with the INFs, etc. So I don’t know if the weird things I see in the game are my fault or not (easily enough to verify but I don’t really care that much).
Alot of mage guilds have this odd blank spot
Floating wall glitch
I even had a very odd problem of an Imperial City textures completely changing from one style to another. I just walked into a mages guild and came out to a completely different looking city. I wished I had made a video of that weirdness.
*This post was originally drafted in 2012 but never submitted. I have revised and updated it.
The next brief diversion was an even older game called The Elder Scrolls:Arena. It is the first game in one of my favorite video game series and I did play this one a lot when it first came out in ’94. I found a website that packaged it (and it’s sequel) in a neat, easy to install package. But, the low resolution graphics (320 x 200…trust me it’s very low) were so pixelly that it was hard to play and enjoy for me, particularly in the cities where anything in the distance was just a blob of small blocks.
Mods?
After some quick checking, I found that there were NO graphic altering mods out there. No one on the forums seems to think it was even possible. I found that hard to believe and felt the “challenge bug” nibbling at my toes. I wanted to find out how to do it. But I only got as far as checking how the files were stored (container file ending in .bsa). I did find that someone attempted to remake the game (didn’t get finished). It claimed to allow you to extract the art file out of the BSA file for you. BUT in actuality, it converts them to a common image format that the original game can not recognize and thus was not a viable option. Due to real life busyness (yes I mean busy-ness), this too faded to the background. Eventually, I did come back to it later (much like Darkstone) and succeeded in extracting all the files (using a old program).
Original screenshots
You did what?
Even though the image files were not in any common standard format, I figured out how to open them in GIMP (free editing software). This involved loading the images as RAW images with a offset header of 12 (think “ignore first 12 bytes of file”) and then loading a special palette files. I could then save it as a RAW image. The drawback to this method was that for images that had the 12 bytes that needed to be ignored (all the IMG files), the saved image wouldn’t have those bytes. That meant that I had to (BRACE YOURSELF) open the file in a hex editor (think super nerdy ), copy all the bytes, then open the original file and paste the copied bytes over starting at byte 13. Then, I tossed that file in main file directory as the game. The only way to see how it worked was to load the game and look for the texture. It was a overly cumbersome process that eroded my enthusiasm and by the time my “interest” (i.e. attention span) waned, I only completed 8 textures. Although I moved on to a different project, I came back once in a while to do a texture or two. I deluded myself in thinking that over time (probably decades), I would eventually finish it.
Progammer in Shining Armor
It wasn’t until Hallfiry released his “Arena Modding Suite” that the project took off in a major way. His tool not only unpacked the entire BSA resource file (BSA = Bethesda Softworks Archive) but converted most of the textures into PNG files for easy editing. Afterwards, it could be used to “repack” the BSA easily without destroying the “working folder” and converting the files back to the original format. Besides some textures that used a funky compression, it had removed the technical barriers to changing images in the game. Now to date, I have completed 126 of 172 SET files (wall texture sets) with 12 additional ones that aren’t even used in game. The two biggest challenges for me now are: making unique interesting textures that work well in game (after having already made 126 of them) and figuring out how to do some of the more organic textures to match my style (since the pixel dimensions are very limited). 64 x 64 does limit the amount of creativity I can use.
I spent some time this week searching in-game for textures yet to be done using a pre-edited overpowered save file so I could roam unimpeded. I looked for dungeons, cities, wilderness, etc. that hadn’t yet been retextured. The side effect to this is that I found places where the textures WERE done but I had never seen them in-game or at least not in combination with other textures. From this I learned that some textures don’t work as well in-game as I hoped.
Proud Poppa
However, there are many that I feel are just right (or close enough for me to be happy). These I feel keep a unique appearance AND work well not only for their intended purpose but also with other textures. For example:
Tomb – cleaned up but still true to the original ( I think…it was so blurry so what may have been an angel is now a reaper)
Wilderness tavern – one of my favorite combos (with the snow)
Mage guild – cleaner appearance still rings true to the original
Avert your eyes
Of course, they all can’t be winners. I expected that I would have to go back and tweak later, but some textures combos were just horrible. To be fair to myself, I had two limitations: one, I was trying to make each texture unique and two, some textures were awful to begin with (one of the mage guild textures is a complete mess). These will be easy to tweak up though as all the hard work is already done.
Beside the awful table (which I may leave depending on other changes) the pink blotches have to go
Uh…yeah
it’s like wearing a plaid shirt with a polka dot hat and paisley pants
Dirty walls and floors
I have starting tackling some of the vague pixelly mess of some wall and floor textures that I have been avoiding. The limitations on resolution and colors will probably force me to deviate from “source” more than I care but it can’t be avoided. There are so many in the DW series alone (A through S). The reason I started looking for textures in-game was so I could see the context in which the textures were being used.
Here is the before and after for the in-game menu. I probably should have shown it more clearly in the last post (and the video). Overall, I’m very pleased with it.
I’ve held off on doing the in-game menu because I didn’t feel the necessary inspiration to tackle it yet. For me that texture is the face of the game; the one the player sees most often and serves as a sort of “anchor” for the player. Another factor may have been that I knew I would end up spending several hours on it to get it just right. Going in, I knew I wanted to keep the ARENA word at the top in roughly the same shape but with a much cleaner design and that it needed to be similar to the HUD on the main screen. That covered most of the core design and all I was lacking was gumption.
Once I finally found the urge to tackle it, it didn’t take long for my mojo to kick in. I knew that although I only had 75% of the design mapped out in my head, the other 25% would either come to me while I was editing or result from trial and error (that’s my favorite part anyways). Although I sped this video up twice as fast as the last one, you can still see spots where I paused to consider how to continue and where I changed my mind or adjusted on the fly (very evident with the Save, Load, Quit buttons on the bottom). In the end, I even found room for the project name!
I try to stick to colors pulled from the original image. This eliminates any guesswork on making sure the colors match the palette file (really only important for older games that use palette files). Once I have a rough idea of what colors to use, I try and gauge what I want the new image to look like. For bricks and stone, I’ll usually try to draw inspiration from what I start with. In that I mean that I will try and mimic the rough shape and design of the original. I do try and give each set of images as unique an appearance as possible while being aesthetically pleasing.
Video
Since one of my main motivators for creating this website was to chronicle my artistic endeavors, I decided to make some time-lapse videos to highlight the process. The first one below demonstrates what I’m talking about for “easy” textures.
Points of interest
A couple of things to point out from the video:
1. I outlined the shapes ahead of time to create a frame when I colored in the shapes.
2. I colored in one image in the SET file to get a good feel of the colors and general appearance that I’m going for.
3. I do a lot of on-the-fly tweaking (and sometimes overhauling). Sometimes what I end up with is nothing like what I started with.
4. I have to check the image in the game in order to see if there are any issues AND to make the final decision on whether I like it or not. In this case, I ended up changing several of the other textures because I didn’t like how they looked. Note in the image below that the city wall and road are different (and in my opinion better) than in the video.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, my experience in working with game art resources has revealed that the game creators often leave behind orphan files that aren’t actually used in the game. It is very frustrating to spend a couple hours on a texture only to not be able to see it in game (as I did many times in for Torchlight texture pack). To combat this waste of time, I have started “marking” texture files so that I can see if they get used in game or not. For example; Arena has SET files (2-6 textures all in one image) and IMG files (single image). I have discovered that many wall and ground sets are repeated in both SET and IMG formats. So a single “Wall” set would have up to 4 IMG files that mirrored that SET file. For any suspect files, I would mark the IMG file and see if it shows in game. Then I could avoid redoing a texture that isn’t even used. In theory, I can save time and shrink the overall pack size by eliminating these orphan files. Lastly, using this process I can find the file in the game to see how it looks when I texture it.
SET files (multiple images in one)
IMG sets (single images)
The process
The process is fairly simple. After completing some wall SET files for ADP, I tested them. I could see my new textures in-game so I knew these were correct files. But when I did the same for ground SETs, they didn’t show. So I decided to “mark” the IMG files and see if they were used or not.
STEP 1: I loaded about 30 IMG files in GIMP at one time (only the ones I was unsure of). Since they are so small (64 pixels by 64 pixels), GIMP could load them without too much trouble.
STEP 2: One by one, I would draw a symbol (nothing fancy) on the texture. I would use a color that stood out so it would be easy to spot in game. I tended to use the alphabet then numbers then symbols so I could narrow them down easily if needed.
STEP 3: Since I have a fancy Logitech keyboard that supports macros, I created a macro that would overwrite the original file then close the file (about 12 keystrokes each). Then all I had to do was hit the macro key a bunch and it would keep executing the macro; saving and closing each file one by one. I managed to do this all in an hour or so while watching a football game.
STEP 4: I would load the next 30 or so and repeat the process until all the textures in question were marked. In all I ended up marking 150 files (all wall and ground textures).
Results
After a preliminary check, I realized that ground textures seem to favor IMG formats (to allow better mixing and matching in levels?) and walls were almost exclusively SET files except for city walls. Out of 150 textures marked, I have so far only found 3 in game. The caveat on that is that I haven’t explored a lot of the game. I will most likely go ahead and texture all the ground and outer city wall IMG files and then check again. But if even half of those are just junk files, it would well be worth the saved time.
I mentioned that right now I’m “mostly” focusing on doing the easier images in Arena’s SET files. By easier, I mean contain simple angular designs that have minimal curves and diagonals. Why? The reason is that with these extremely low resolution art assets (most tiles are only 64 pixels by 64 pixels), curves and diagonals don’t look like smooth straight lines. With my Minecraft project (PinkertonCraft), I expressedly made almost ALL the art clean linear horizontal and vertical line combinations with no curves even implied.
Nether Ores – Original Minecraft 16 x 16
Nether Ores – PinkertonCraft (still 16 x 16)
Unlike that project, in the ADP, I simplified most curves and diagonal lines but did not eliminate them. My goal with this project is cleaner textures but not abstract images.
Palette Files, oh my!
The first thing I do with an “easy” texture is try to picture the rough color scheme that I want to use. Since many of these type of images are brick or stone walls, that means deciding the color of the bricks or walls. I gauge if I am going to want lighter or darker colors from sight and then decide which color(s) already existing in the image to use. I have two reasons for doing this: the first is that it helps maintain a little integrity to the original unmodified image and second, it removes the issue of colors being changed when imported and converted to the original palette colors (the import tool approximates to the closest color if one doesn’t match a color in the palette file).
The base palette of colors most Arena images use. Each image contains a single reference point per pixel to this file rather then the using the standard 3 numbers ranging individually 0 to 256.
NOTE: Arena uses a palette file for images. This means that exact colors for each pixel are found by referencing a separate file (palette). Consider a palette file as a real hand held paint palette: like a painter, Arena draws/paints it’s images using the colors from the palette. The whole reason to do this was to save space on the disk which was a concern in the early 90’s.
I made a lot of progress on the SET files and a few of the image files. However, I have decided to not count the files as often so as not to distract from getting work done. The Surface Pro has really allowed me to capitalize on downtime away from the main computer. So when I just want to sit with the family while they watch a show, I can work on more art files for the game. I’m trying to complete most of the simpler defined (and geometric) sets first since they require less “artistic license” to complete but every now and then I tackle a more difficult one (e.g. sand, gravel, swirly designs, etc.)
Not so easy
Easy
Bookshelf
So far the most involved SET file has been the bookshelf ( actually 4 bookshelves in one SET). The original was awfully blurred and visually unappealing all around up close. It’s one of the more obvious examples of artwork that was created at a higher resolution and then downsized (sampled?) to fit the game engines format and palette. I have been working on it on and off between other images for 2 weeks now and have finally finished. As with all my textures, I hope to retain some of the character while “cleaning” up the image or adding a more artistic appeal (you’ll need to click on the photos for a better view of the difference).
Art In Pinkerton 