BAD NEWS BEARS - 2K Enhanced Textures is a mod that brings out the detail and depth of the Bethesda hi-resolution textures, while improving the colors as well. The sheer size of the bear meshes obscured the detail of the original hi-res textures, so I did my best to enhance them while maintaining the file size.
I hope people enjoy the results of my efforts.
Edit: Since I received so many comments asking for comparison pics, I decided the easiest way to show the difference between my 2K bear textures and the Bethesda 2K bear textures was to show the texture files themselves. Seeing the two polar bear textures side by side should clearly show how mine are different from the vanilla hi-resolution version.
I hope this satisfies those people who wanted a clearer illustration of the differences.
Version 1.1: I changed the normal map compression from DXT5 to DXT3, which is showing improved detail on the meshes. It's a subtle, but I think a worthwhile improvement.
Bears are crisper and slightly more colorful while still fitting into the game's aesthetic. I'm glad I use a perk overhaul that grants a passive effect that makes wild beasts neutral. I can admire them up close and enjoy the nicer look.
Because downloading and seeing it for yourself is so hard? I know from experience, that pictures don't always show the true difference in textures. You need to see it in the game.
Still, you do make the potential users a favor by uploading comparison pictures. Then they can see exactly what has been changed/improved, so they'll know exactly what they get. It's a nice thing to do, really.
The majority of users on the nexus prefer to see what they're downloading first. If I don't see any evidence of before and after shots I won't download because I don't know if there's that much of an improvement. Because frankly, from these pictures, I don't see much of an improvement at all. I just see normal bear textures for all I care.
You can see what you're downloading..... I provided very clear pictures. If people don't want to download, that's their business. I'm working on other things right now.
Yes but if you want this mod to be seen and popular you've got to provide images that show the improvement from vanilla textures. I get that you provided the after textures but it REALLY helps to see the difference! I myself am not going going to download because I can't see a real improvement from vanilla textures. If you showed some pictures of the diffuse map and texture map side by side you'd see the real difference and people would know what they're downloading. Eg: http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/images/38301-4-1373737563.jpg
This is an image from the DCE Rugged face textures. That shows a MASSIVE improvement and just by seeing that image I downloaded instantly. I hope you now know what makes user's minds tick when they download something. Well I am speaking for a lot of Nexus Users.
You do only have things to win by providing comparison pictures. You get to show off your improvements, and you are more likely to convince people that this mod is worth downloading. Very win-win.
I'm not sure how more work for me constitutes as a win/win. I've done the work making the mod, and I'm now working on other things.
Either people download the mod, or they don't. It's not like I'm making money off it either way. It's amazing how people can get something for free, and they still find reason to complain about it.
@Gamwich We're not finding reasons to complain about this, we're just making it better for you. You obviously uploaded this mod to the nexus to get some attention, why not make it easier to see the difference and get even more attention? I can see your point, but what I don't understand is, you make a fancy looking mod page, you upload nice looking screenshots, we ask a simple request for comparison screenshots, you tell us that you don't care if this mod doesn't get downloaded. I just don't understand why you go to the effort for making a fancy mod description and go to the effort of nice pictures and say you don't care if it doesn't get attention.
I did not want to complain. I just wanted to give some feedback/suggestions on how you could (visually) present this mod in a more attractive way. Of course you do not need to follow any suggestions, if you don't want to.
God damn people, in the time it took for you to complain about there being no comparison pics, you could have downloaded the mod, looked at the textures, and then compared it to the vanilla versions for yourself. Actually you don't even have to go that far. Just google Skyrim bears and compare the pictures. That's like five times faster. I did that before finishing this post. Straight away you'll see this mod's textures are much more sharp and definitely resolve the blurred look.
Thanks for the support. I'm glad a few people have taken the time to see the difference for themselves.
It's a little surprising the lack of interest shown in this mod. I don't know of another bear retexture that improves the blurry appearance as my mod does.
Yes, before and after pics. People can't remember what in-game vanilla textures look like off the top of their brain. The dds comparison is nice, but it's not representative at all.
Gamwich I already have your excellent BPT Animal and Creatures textures installed; will installing Bad News Bears still be of benefit to me? If I understand correctly with BPT I have 2k textures and 1k normal map for bears, and this will give me 2k textures (not sure if it's the same or different texture to BPT?) but with a 2k normal map also.
Apologies if you've already answered this elsewhere, thanks for any guidance you can give.
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I hope people enjoy the results of my efforts.
Edit: Since I received so many comments asking for comparison pics, I decided the easiest way to show the difference between my 2K bear textures and the Bethesda 2K bear textures was to show the texture files themselves. Seeing the two polar bear textures side by side should clearly show how mine are different from the vanilla hi-resolution version.
I hope this satisfies those people who wanted a clearer illustration of the differences.
Version 1.1: I changed the normal map compression from DXT5 to DXT3, which is showing improved detail on the meshes. It's a subtle, but I think a worthwhile improvement.
Eg:
http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/images/38301-4-1373737563.jpg
This is an image from the DCE Rugged face textures. That shows a MASSIVE improvement and just by seeing that image I downloaded instantly. I hope you now know what makes user's minds tick when they download something. Well I am speaking for a lot of Nexus Users.
Either people download the mod, or they don't. It's not like I'm making money off it either way. It's amazing how people can get something for free, and they still find reason to complain about it.
@Gamwich We're not finding reasons to complain about this, we're just making it better for you. You obviously uploaded this mod to the nexus to get some attention, why not make it easier to see the difference and get even more attention? I can see your point, but what I don't understand is, you make a fancy looking mod page, you upload nice looking screenshots, we ask a simple request for comparison screenshots, you tell us that you don't care if this mod doesn't get downloaded. I just don't understand why you go to the effort for making a fancy mod description and go to the effort of nice pictures and say you don't care if it doesn't get attention.
It's a little surprising the lack of interest shown in this mod. I don't know of another bear retexture that improves the blurry appearance as my mod does.
Apologies if you've already answered this elsewhere, thanks for any guidance you can give.