Update v2:Version 2 is here! I've been sitting on this for months now and finally decided to finish it and upload it. This version is closer to the original vanilla sky in color. I know some didn't exactly like the orange sky of v1 so i decided to make a blue one for those people. Which is about 10 people at this point...
Also, i added new custom warp icons to the v2 files so when you install it the icons will match the area. If you use my other skybox remix custom icons just let this mod overwrite them.
BTW, i know this detail may escape people but i tried to make the background match the terrain that is beyond Majula a little better. In the original skyboxes there is some out of place large clif that just doesn't exist so i added jagged rocks and a smaller bit of landmass. It actually matches the world now. Okay, enjoy.
Update v1.1:I added a new high-res version, It has a 4k star field (high setting only, 2k on medium) along with uncompressed skybox textures so there are no more compression artifacts. I also fixed a very minor seam problem.
I also fixed the seam problem in the standard-def version that is already available. Also, i changed the medium setting star field textures to uncompressed so they are clearer. It looks much better and it's still small in size.
That's it.
WARNING!!! THESE TEXTURES DO NOT WORK WITH THE DX11 VERSION OF THE GAME. THEY WILL NOT WORK UNTIL GEDOSATO IS UPDATED TO BE DX11 COMPATIBLE.
Hola, todos tus mods y la mayoria que hay son para el dark souls 2 y no para el dark souls 2 sotfs no? quiero obtener uno pero instalarle mods sobre todo los que tu subes pero no se cual debo comprar
The original appearance for the Forest of Fallen Giants skybox from the demo had the sunset much more prominent there, but you're right that it wouldn't go well with the new lighting conditions on the ground. Just to throw around some ideas, perhaps there would be streaks of orange from the sunset (the sunset visible over the ocean later in the area) over the normal clouds, and perhaps some breaches in the clouds letting the sky show through or something like that, or you could simply take the original art direction and enhance it, making the clouds and such more high definition.
[size=0]Do you have any links or suggestions for a search i can use to find the demo images or videos? All i can find which i'm not sure is correct is i'm seeing images where the sky seemed much darker but that's it. I never watched any of the old demo stuff so i'm clueless why anything used to look like.
Edit: I've been fiddling around. I finally figured out the layout of the pieces of the skybox. So maybe i'll have something soon. My fiddling produced slightly more blue to the sky behind the clouds, i added more saturation to the actual skybox and that's more vibrant. So who knows where this is going.
If you can possibly point me to the old beta footage or images of the area it'd help a lot.[/size]
The skybox in this video is the one I'm thinking of. And making the skybox more vibrant would help a lot, since it's very dull and gray in most places.
Okay, so i saw that there was almost no cloud cover over in the area of Drangleic castle, in fact that little prop wasn't even there, same with the mountain range right beside it. I saw much more blue skies out that way too. The rest i have to be honest with you i think i already have achieved a very similar look. I add more orange to the skies. added a bit more saturation, i tried cleaning up the skybox to remove compression distortions from the original skybox. Overall it looks similar with one exception and that's the extra cloudiness of the newer skybox and that's what i'm currently pondering doing something about. I can remove the cloudiness but it might not look right knowing that over at Drangleic Castle it is so dark and rainy..
So i'll keep working on it. If i can make something that looks okay i'll upload it.
Edit: Wow, this skybox (FoFG) is a pain in the arse. There is some stuff (the mountain range right behind Dragleic Castle) that is specifically made for a dark background so if you lighten and/or change the color of the actual skybox it shows some sloppy texture editing by From... It's really hampering me because the mountain range can't be edited other than the color of it, you can't make it transparent, or edit it to get rid of the mistakes. There are also textures that are directly linked to Majula so if you change it for FoFG then it changes things in Majula. This is complicated but i'm doing my best.
If you want to be a guinea pig and want to test out the files with me then PM me an e-mail address and i'll send them to you. I need someone else's opinion on this.
Edit 2: Very close to having something worth releasing. It's closer to the demo but still looks like the final released version. There's a lot more blue to the sky, more orange. the sunset is richer and more vibrant. That one mountain range can f*ck off because it has caused many headaches already. They didn't properly mask off the edges of the mountain texture and if the skybox doesn't exactly match the original colors it will show a seam. It's so aggravating.
That said, my only worry is people thinking it too close to OG. I can tell it's different but someone who passively glanced might not. Ehh, who cares... I overthink this sh*t too much.
Alright, good to hear you made some progress on it. I would have checked in more frequently and taken up your offer on being your guinea pig if I hadn't come down with an illness and got distracted.
I can completely see how aggravating the lazily-done mountain range must be, as I had my fair share of dealing with seams while doing my Texture Improvement Project, but what you have on your hands sounds like a nightmare for a texture modder.
But yeah, the colors around the mountains should be drab anyways due to the fact that the area past those mountains (Shaded Woods and Drangleic Castle) are overcast and stormy. I'm sure you've done a great job with it despite the troubles, knowing your awesome track record.
I'm practically obsessed with small details and can notice small touches more than the big picture at times, and I know there are plenty others like me, and it is people like us who appreciate this kind of mod.
Looking forward to release! Congratulations for enduring the horrific trials of Dark Souls 2 texture seams.
You can still be my guinea pig if you want. It's at a point where i'm basically done but i'd still like an opinion on whether it's different enough to even bother releasing it. Let me know. Otherwise i'll just release it later and see what happens.
As an aside. If that goddamn mountain wasn't there or hideable/editable or anything i could make the skybox look so much better and as close as possible to the beta skybox. But that f*ckin thing has me handcuffed. I think you can sense my frustration lol...
I have to figure out a way to offer videos because screenshots just don't capture what i'm trying to show. I'd love to make them but i'm not really interest in using YouTube to do it.
Okay, so i finally got set up to make videos and i'm in the process of waiting for the video to become available on YT. Crossing my fingers that it works okay.
Thanks, it would have looked even better if i allowed myself to go to 4k texture size like i wanted to do. Unfortunately the texture sizes were very large when i did that.
I had one more in me before my mini-vacation from modding. Hope you guys like it.
The reason i made this is because i hated how disconnected it felt from Majula. Sure you could still see Majula in the distance but it felt like a completely different world. This is my attempt to at least try to connect the two a little better. I also kept the overall feel of the original while making the sky more closely match Majula, it's just a bit darker, like you had to make a short trip to get there... Which you did, obviously.
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Also, i added new custom warp icons to the v2 files so when you install it the icons will match the area. If you use my other skybox remix custom icons just let this mod overwrite them.
BTW, i know this detail may escape people but i tried to make the background match the terrain that is beyond Majula a little better. In the original skyboxes there is some out of place large clif that just doesn't exist so i added jagged rocks and a smaller bit of landmass. It actually matches the world now. Okay, enjoy.
Update v1.1: I added a new high-res version, It has a 4k star field (high setting only, 2k on medium) along with uncompressed skybox textures so there are no more compression artifacts. I also fixed a very minor seam problem.
I also fixed the seam problem in the standard-def version that is already available. Also, i changed the medium setting star field textures to uncompressed so they are clearer. It looks much better and it's still small in size.
That's it.
WARNING!!! THESE TEXTURES DO NOT WORK WITH THE DX11 VERSION OF THE GAME. THEY WILL NOT WORK UNTIL GEDOSATO IS UPDATED TO BE DX11 COMPATIBLE.
This version will be closer to the original in color (i.e. blue sky). I'll upload it later tonight if i don't die of heat stroke.
Just to throw around some ideas, perhaps there would be streaks of orange from the sunset (the sunset visible over the ocean later in the area) over the normal clouds, and perhaps some breaches in the clouds letting the sky show through or something like that, or you could simply take the original art direction and enhance it, making the clouds and such more high definition.
Edit: I've been fiddling around. I finally figured out the layout of the pieces of the skybox. So maybe i'll have something soon. My fiddling produced slightly more blue to the sky behind the clouds, i added more saturation to the actual skybox and that's more vibrant. So who knows where this is going.
If you can possibly point me to the old beta footage or images of the area it'd help a lot.[/size]
The skybox in this video is the one I'm thinking of. And making the skybox more vibrant would help a lot, since it's very dull and gray in most places.
So i'll keep working on it. If i can make something that looks okay i'll upload it.
Edit: Wow, this skybox (FoFG) is a pain in the arse. There is some stuff (the mountain range right behind Dragleic Castle) that is specifically made for a dark background so if you lighten and/or change the color of the actual skybox it shows some sloppy texture editing by From... It's really hampering me because the mountain range can't be edited other than the color of it, you can't make it transparent, or edit it to get rid of the mistakes. There are also textures that are directly linked to Majula so if you change it for FoFG then it changes things in Majula. This is complicated but i'm doing my best.
If you want to be a guinea pig and want to test out the files with me then PM me an e-mail address and i'll send them to you. I need someone else's opinion on this.
Edit 2: Very close to having something worth releasing. It's closer to the demo but still looks like the final released version. There's a lot more blue to the sky, more orange. the sunset is richer and more vibrant. That one mountain range can f*ck off because it has caused many headaches already. They didn't properly mask off the edges of the mountain texture and if the skybox doesn't exactly match the original colors it will show a seam. It's so aggravating.
That said, my only worry is people thinking it too close to OG. I can tell it's different but someone who passively glanced might not. Ehh, who cares... I overthink this sh*t too much.
I should be done tomorrow.
I can completely see how aggravating the lazily-done mountain range must be, as I had my fair share of dealing with seams while doing my Texture Improvement Project, but what you have on your hands sounds like a nightmare for a texture modder.
But yeah, the colors around the mountains should be drab anyways due to the fact that the area past those mountains (Shaded Woods and Drangleic Castle) are overcast and stormy. I'm sure you've done a great job with it despite the troubles, knowing your awesome track record.
I'm practically obsessed with small details and can notice small touches more than the big picture at times, and I know there are plenty others like me, and it is people like us who appreciate this kind of mod.
Looking forward to release! Congratulations for enduring the horrific trials of Dark Souls 2 texture seams.
As an aside. If that goddamn mountain wasn't there or hideable/editable or anything i could make the skybox look so much better and as close as possible to the beta skybox. But that f*ckin thing has me handcuffed. I think you can sense my frustration lol...
What to do...
The reason i made this is because i hated how disconnected it felt from Majula. Sure you could still see Majula in the distance but it felt like a completely different world. This is my attempt to at least try to connect the two a little better. I also kept the overall feel of the original while making the sky more closely match Majula, it's just a bit darker, like you had to make a short trip to get there... Which you did, obviously.
Enough rambling. Enjoy.