Marathon Classic (M1A1) Hi-Res Weapons / Items Pack

[tim4i]

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EDIT: 27-August-2009
-m1redux has been completed and uploaded to Simplici7y ready for download - Enjoy
Download m1redux MOD at Simplici7y
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Hi peeps. I am currently making a Marathon Classic (M1A1) Hi-Resolution Weapons & Item Pack

*NOTE*
I have borrowed some 3d models from Vicioms wep141 pack. I am currently waiting for a reply that says I am allowed to use them before I release.

Otherwise alot of this is finished. Its nothing fancy. Just a few upgrades I felt that improved my M1A1 experience.
-We already have high-quality textures courtesy of Tim Vogel Simplici7y Link
-We also have high-quality scenery courtesy of Visciom Simplici7y Link Also

What we needed was the hi-res item pick-ups and in-hand weapons.

My pack contains:
-High quality items (based-on and borrowed from Viscioms Wepon Enhancement Pack 1.4.1 pack for M2 & Moo)
-High quality grenades (based-on Viscioms Wepon Enhancement Pack 1.4.1 pack for M2 & Moo)
-High quality rocket (based-on Viscioms Wepon Enhancement Pack 1.4.1 pack for M2 & Moo) - Just the one view though, firing away.
-Smoothed out inhand weapons (these are original BMP's sized up and touched up - so they don't look so blocky on large screens) - These are just the idle pictures that have been upgraded. It only needs to look pretty while I am trekking to my next pfhor carnage pile, or on my way to shoot some button to open up a door to my next pfhor carnage pile. I may choose to do firing sequences etc... at a later date, but that's alot of work.

I did this for fun - It's only up because one of mates thought it was 'nae bad' and said I should upload it for others to use.

I will put some pictures up in the following posts.

[tim4i]

Just some comparison screen shots of the Original graphic and the Updated.
I have a 24" screen - so dunno if they get distorted on 4:3 and 5:4 ratio screens.

These are the items that have been replaced.

[attachment=2552:Compare_Ammo1.jpg]

[attachment=2555:Compare_Ammo2.jpg]

[attachment=2556:Compare_Ammo3.jpg]

These are the inhand weapon shots.
Most are done, some need more work, and some are not done yet ie..Chicken Screamer! (flame thrower).

[attachment=2557:Compare_Alien.jpg]

[attachment=2558:Compare_AR.jpg]

[attachment=2559:Compare_Fist.jpg]

[attachment=2560:Compare_Pistol.jpg]

[attachment=2561:Compare_Rocket.jpg]

[attachment=2562:Compare_Zeus.jpg]

-If you have any thoughts let me know (I might adjust things).
-If you know how to make 3d models and would like to help let me know. I'm not 100% happy with the Rocket and grenade ammo still.

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ALL THESE PICTURES ARE OLD - GO TO END OF POST FOR NEW PICS
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[L'howon]

Well.. Here we go.

As far as ammunition, I see some original work, but I also see the Infinity redux-set pistol and AR ammo boxes. No complaints, just give credit where credit is due.

Also, you are completely right about looking into 3D models. They come off much cleaner than just straightup bitmap modifications
A.) The rockets tail needs to be cleaned up, and there seems to be a small white border around the actual missile itself.
B.) The grenades look nothing like that. That one needs to have it's own original set, at least imho. They are just too different from the M2 and Infinity grenades.
C.) The 1st [?Biobus chip] looks nice. Is that an original by you?
D.)I see a little cleanup on the Alien Rifle, but I'm not so sure about the use of the Plastic filter.
E.) Again with the cleanup on the AR... it's hard to tell though
F.) Ditto on the fist.
G.) Can't tell on the pistol
H.) The SPNKR looks much cleaner, probably the best out of all of them.
I.) The Fusion Pistol is a close runner-up to the SPNKR, it's also done nicely.

I'm no art master, I'm just throwing out what I see needs improvement. We do have other more talented people around that could put you in the right direction though. It's a humble start, but you have the right intentions. And again, as I said, definitely pursue 3D modeling for this. It turns out much nicer and cleaner when used.

[tim4i]

Thanks for the feedback Lh'owon.

Yeah - the 3D stuff does look nice and I would like to model them all from scratch. But i'm not sure what programs etc.. you need. I have Illustrator and Photoshop, and AutoCAD (my bread and butter at work) - Is 3ds better for rendered pics? Or should I just stick to illustrator?

Alot of the weapons have only got a few filters and blurs and manually fixing pixels (I'm assuming there is an easier way to do it). But I don't have the know-how.

This pack is mostly just my quick fix. I don't know enough about graphics design and 3d modelling to do any serious work.
Seeing what Mike & Tim produce makes mine look like crayon drawings. I would think they could produce heaps better work. But they must be busy with college/work or other projects.

This is my pet project for now. Yeah that copland beta is a patch job. Used Mikes' as a base to get the size etc then photoshoped for an hour or two. The rockets are from AutoCAD, I don't like the rendering there.

I am still waiting for a reply from Mike if I can release some of his stuff in this pack. If not - I'll just be keeping it as my own private mod.
(Then again - he might get a '2nd wind' and decide to model everything. His work is fantastic)

[$lave]

This seems like it would be a decent option for a very minor add-on for M1, but the way it looks so far I think you should stick to editing the originals in photoshop/illustrator, as opposed to modeling them. I'd rather see you release a consistent set of very minor-replacements (simply reducing the pixelated look of the outdated graphics) rather than giving the game all-new graphic, and given what I've seen so far I think it would be best to avoid using viscioms models. The main reason for this is that they really just look out of place with the rest of what you've made, and due to visciom making his models out of scratch (while you're editing in photoshop) your replacements are very similar to the originals, while viscioms tend to take a lot more "creative liberty".

So, for now I'd suggest just editing all the original bitmaps with photoshop filters/effects and illustrator, and avoid using any models at all for now.


As for what you have so far, some (such as the fists and fusion pistol) are more impressive than others. I'd suggest toning down the chrome filter on the Alien Weapon a bit; it it looks a bit too "plasticy" to me.

That said, good luck with the project, keep it up.

[visciom]

Tim, I sent you a PM regarding the use of WEP sprites in this project.

If you don't know 3D and don't have the time to learn it, then I would avoid using 3D in this project. You could try doing some sprites in Illustrator if you're good with vector based graphics. Photoshopping low res graphics tend to not look very good. While your sprites do look less pixellated than the original, they still look kind of blurry, although I do actually like the fusion pistol. Also, I wouldn't use the grenade sprite from WEP since it looks completely different from the sprite used in M1A1.

Keep working at it. You've got some potential with this project.

[tim4i]

Thanks Visciom - I got the PM.

All my work has been Illustrator and Photoshop CS and a bit of AutoCAD for the rocket ammo pickup.

I need to make new sprites for the grenade and rocket ammo pickups. These look out of place atm.
-With regards to what $lave said about minor-replacements...I'm still undecided if I want to use the Visciom Sprites for the Pistol/AssaultRifle/Napalm ammo pickups. I might tone them down abit to match the rest of the environemnt. But how much I'm not sure yet.

As for the idle inhand weapons - most are just clean-up jobs, with a few finishing touches. Some still need work (I haven't started the Totz yet, and the AR is still very fuzzy) Just finished the invis pickup today, and adjusted the Alien weapon and removed the plastic filter. Both look more like there originals now.

I am definatley keen to finish this, The marathon series would have to be my all time favourite game.
Will keep posting on progress/comments.

[ukimalefu]

IMHO, the weapons in hand need some work. The Alien weapon is looking the best so far, with the fist in second place.

[tim4i]

Here is the new invis pickup.
[attachment=2564:invis.jpg]

And the Alien Weapon with no plastic filter.
(Depending what people like I may include both in the final release)
[attachment=2565:Compare_Alien2.jpg]

[tim4i]

Current Priority List atm is:

High
-New Rocket ammo pickup (new from sratch most likely)
-New Grenade ammo pickup
Medium
-New Napalm cannister pickup (Viscioms is okay - but it's not quite faithful to M1A1)
-Update Totz inhand weapon view
Low
-Update AR idle weapon view (redefine)
-Update Pistol idle weapon view (redefine)
-Update Alien Weapon Impact (smooth out)

[L'howon]

The invis pickup looks very clean! Is that an original work by you?
The alien rifle also looks a bit cleaner...the area around the teal spot looks a little pixelated though.

[tim4i]

The invis pickup in my last post, I photoshopped - It used Viscioms M3 Powerup as a basis to get the size / proportions right. So I'd say it's a 'patch-job' as it uses his original graphic.

Here are the updated Hypervision, Extravision & Defence Chip pickups.
All were made by extracting the BMP from the shapes file using shapefusion. The rebuilding each sprite in photoshop a layer at a time. All original.

NOTE:
I was going to overlay a 'real circuit board' on to the extravision and defence chip - but I felt it took away from the original. So I just made the circuit tracks, using graphics that were from the original BMP to keep it true to the original as much as possible.

I'm only 95% happy with the hypervision pickup - but I don't know the techniques required to get the finish I wanted. If I discover them later I may update it, but it's pretty much low priority atm.

[attachment=2572:Compare_Ammo4.jpg]

[L'howon]

Wow, those came out really nice. As for the hypervision, I see nothing wrong. But I'm probably missing something thats glaringly obvious to you.. I get the same feeling when I work on stuff. Good work!

[ChristTrekker]

IMHO, I'd like to see updates stay as true to the original as possible, while improving the resolution. So, basically the same size and shape, same colors, etc. If I'd been away from the game for awhile and someone snuck these updates in on me, ideally I'd have been playing for awhile before I even really noticed.

[MoppyPuppy]

NICE WORK!

High Resolution anything slows down my gameplay so I probably wont get these.
So why am I so excited you ask?

Because your the one to come closest to TRUE Hi-Res!

From what I've seen, people have this mentality:

""Normal sprites = Non-HD
So how can I make them HD? Oh! I know, Ill make everything look like it was made of PLASTIC.
Because PLASTIC = HD""

NO.

How about; PLASTIC = HD = (FALSE)

You've made everything look better while still keeping the grittyness the objects originally had.
As if you've realized, unlike everyone else, that many of the objects your editing weren't originally made to look all smooth.
So why should the new version be?

[Zott]

I sort of liked the plasticy Alien weapon. Perhaps not quite as much as was on the first version, but a slight layer with transparency might be nice. I thought it gave it sort of a slimy organic feel to the weapon.

I like the invisibility powerup, clean. Nitpicky: I was wondering if the middle red circle could protrude more . The original looks like the interior circle jets out a bit, while your revised seems to have it indented. This may be mostly to shadowing, or perhaps that tiny bit of outside circle on the revised that seems to be lighter. Don't worry about it too much.

What resolutions "approximately" are the new sprites?

So how can I make them HD? Oh! I know, Ill make everything look like it was made of PLASTIC.
Because PLASTIC = HD""

HD sprites aren't the only thing that took this mentality. For a while all sorts of 3D games plasticized, like Doom 3 and others. This was mostly due to shaders though, and probably computing limitations.

[MoppyPuppy]

I sort of liked the plasticy Alien weapon. Perhaps not quite as much as was on the first version, but a slight layer with transparency might be nice. I thought it gave it sort of a slimy organic feel to the weapon.

I like the invisibility powerup, clean. Nitpicky: I was wondering if the middle red circle could protrude more . The original looks like the interior circle jets out a bit, while your revised seems to have it indented. This may be mostly to shadowing, or perhaps that tiny bit of outside circle on the revised that seems to be lighter. Don't worry about it too much.

What resolutions "approximately" are the new sprites?
HD sprites aren't the only thing that took this mentality. For a while all sorts of 3D games plasticized, like Doom 3 and others. This was mostly due to shaders though, and probably computing limitations.

Ha!

Have you SEEN the so called HD version of the Marathon: Rubicon Assault Rifle?
Which looks better? The original? or the HD version?
Many say the "HD" version.

I say "Debatable."

[VirtualX1]

HAHA! YEAH! I love what you're working on over here, I allready can't wait!

[acks45]

If you release this. do you think you could possibly seperate the biobus chips/pickups from the weapons?
I like the enhanced pickups but I dont think you've done enough to make the weapons look anything more than the original sprites.

[L'howon]

Ha!

Have you SEEN the so called HD version of the Marathon: Rubicon Assault Rifle?
Which looks better? The original? or the HD version?
Many say the "HD" version.

I say "Debatable."

Does anyone know the method they used to create them? They look an awful lot like the Squadron weapons, and those were done with a 3D render.

As far as "HD" goes, who knows. I certainly like being able to actually see what sort of details my weapon has instead of lots of pixels.

[tim4i]

Sprite Resolutions:
-Fusion ammo / Fist was = 400 pix
-Chips, Extravision etc..= 256 pix
All the working stuff is basically 1:1 so it looks clean on my 24" screen (1920x1200) Unless you are running a 30" screen with 2560x1600 it should all look good. (fingers crossed)

When I release I am looking at including both the slimy & standard alien weapon.
The script/repack is pretty easy to use - any graphic you don't want to see, you just delete from the working directory. Easy fix.
There will be some basic instructions so if people want to tinker they can.

-I was originally just going to do ammo pickups - but then went to the next step and smoothed out the weapons. Next step is firing...but I don't have the time for all that. Weapons and Pickups is what I would be content with.

The rocket & grenade bandolier in Illustrator are proving to be a pain. I know what I want...just getting that final product is not easy. I think graphics designers/modellers must have alot of patience.

[tim4i]

Here is the new Grenade Bandolier
-Completely new from Illustrator & Photoshop.
-Not 100% happy on the grey tones, but that can be fixed up later.
-I was thinking about a texture, but I like the clean look it has atm.

Thoughts People?

EDIT - removed white outline on bandolier

[attachment=2610:Compare_Grenade.jpg]

[The Thug]

Looks pretty nifty, well done. The shading on the front tube looks a bit boxy, but I'm not an expert.

Lookin good.

[effigy]

I'd have to agree, with The Thug. There appears to me to be an edge.

I think it looks true to the original, but I wonder if you could add the the appearance of it being full of grenades? A couple of scratches would make for a nice texture.

[L'howon]

Well, Effigy, depends if you want to stay true to the original.

I like it personally, it's a pretty good replica.