Mods and some questions

[Seraphyx]

Been wanting to play this game for quite a while (waiting for a bigger discount on it currently) and the thing that put me off the most were the very outdated character models and to a lesser degree some textures. Now I don't need this to look like Crysis 3 or anything ridiculous, just something slightly more refined and updated.

Most of the visual "mods" I've seen are simple reskins but no actual character model upgrades. Is this simply not possible to do? Create new character models and import them into the game to replace the old lower poly ones.

Animations, is it possible to modify and replace animations to have them be smoother or anything like that? I don't recall seeing any mods that focused specifically on redoing or improving animations.

Lastly, are there any good resources on HOW to get started on modding VtMB, visually, things like creating new models for characters, weapons, whatever various assets and adding them into the game. Same with animations.

Thanks in advance.

[R.I.P]

Old version 1.0 current version 1.15
http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=178792

A little Sweetfx goes a long way.

[Seraphyx]

Originally posted by mater_tenebrarum:

Old version 1.0 current version 1.15
http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=178792

A little Sweetfx goes a long way.

Awesome, thanks.

[R.I.P]

Also,all of the tools are included in the UP patches,and more info.You could download the patch and install it to desktop "new folder".
Tools are in the "Extras" folder.

[Seraphyx]

Well, seems importing new models into the game is not possible. It sucks, but I expected as much.

Really hoping someone will make a sequel or new VtM game which is also more modder friendly. Would absolutely love to see this same kind of darker art style with more modern graphics and gameplay. Seeing as it's been over 10 years though, probably wont happen ;\

[R.I.P]

Maybe after it gets converted to the Alien Swarm engine.
http://www.bloodlinesresurgencemod.com/forum/index

[Seraphyx]

Might still try my hand at messing around with it, I have never actually deformed models or anything so that will be something to learn (or maybe I have and just didn't realize it).

Resurgence looks interesting, from what I understand it's going to be single player game or mod for bloodlines but starting off as a multiplayer mod for testing?

Thanks for all the info so far.

[scintillating luminescence]

Unofficial patch installs a text file in the Extras folder, "VTMB ModDevGuide.txt". You should look at it. Here's some stuff from it on animations and models/skins.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VI.7 Creating new Animations
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1) The Reality

No one has been able to add NEW SKELETAL ANIMATIONS to the game (aside
from facial lip animations). Luckily the game comes with hundreds if not
thousands of existing animations that can be applied to any NPC with a
human like skelton.

2) There is no spoon...

If a particular animation is necessary for a mod, there is a time
consuming workaround: Basically, you can deform a model in a series of
steps. (Think about someone melting for example). With each step, you save
off a seperate mdl file. You can then use a sequence of ScheduleTask()
commands to execute SetModel() on the target npc in a timed sequence to
immitate an animation.

Unfortunately, the animation would involve many mdl files and thus be
huge. It would also only be applicable to a single model. You would
likely only use this hack for a final boss fight or possibly a foe that
is extremely common (sabbat?).

==================================
VII. > > > > Editing Models/Skins
==================================

This section covers a broad range of topics. Before I begin, let me
re-iterate what was said in the very first section of this tutorial:

YOU CAN:

- Edit textures (referred to as re-skinning)
- Deform existing models (deform means you can move existing vertices
around: Make the nose longer, face thinner/fatter, etc... )

YOU CAN NOT:

- Create or Import models that were not based off of an original
VTMB model. (ie : you can not import a model you downloaded from
turbosquid)
- Add/Delete vertices from existing VTMB models.