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About this mod
Fixes issues with Thedosian Grey Wardens' normal maps. 4k and 2k available.
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This mod fixes the normal map issues in Thedosian Grey Wardens , where the mage normal map lacked detail and the other two normal maps were pointing the wrong way.
Mods prominently shown in screenshots:
Mage
For some reason the vanilla grey warden mage's normal map in DAI is half the size of the other two (ie 1k), and in Thedosian Grey Wardens a replacement was generated from the diffuse texture in order to be 2k. However for most applications other than small detail textures, generating a normal map from a diffuse texture doesn't create the correct results:
As a quick fix, I've upscaled the vanilla DAI normal map using AI (and stole the gloves section from the heavy armour since it had a higher starting resolution) and converted it to DAO, restoring the sculpted details. This is particularly visible on the shoulder griffin.
Heavy and Scout
Normal maps contain data for the lighting engine to change the direction a particular pixel appears to be facing, turning it more up or down, and left or right. They have two channels: one for the up-down direction (green), one for the left-right direction (originally red; swizzled into the alpha channel for DAO). It's important that these are the right way round, or the model will not be lit correctly. Additionally, there are two main coordinate systems for normal maps: OpenGL and DirectX. While otherwise identical, their green (up/down) channels are the inverse of each other. DAI uses OpenGL; DAO and DA2 use DirectX. It is important for this to be correct too, or the model will appear to be lit from the wrong direction.
Unfortunately the normal maps for Thedosian Grey Wardens have the up/down and left/right channels swapped, producing incorrect lighting. I have also used the vanilla DAI normal map converted to DAO to correct this. This effect is most visible when the armour has a metallic effect, so that's what I've used in the screenshots. (These textures are a WIP and not currently available.)
I have provided two sizes: 2k, which is the same size as Thedosian Grey Wardens and is essentially just the fixes, and 4k, which is twice the size for those with larger monitors or who want to zoom in close.
Extract in the usual override folder (\Documents\Bioware\Dragon Age\packages\core\override).
To uninstall, delete the files at any time.
Will clash with any other mod that edits the normal maps for Thedosian Grey Wardens (ending in "0n"). Will not conflict with diffuse/specular edits (ending in "0d" or "0s"), and therefore compatible with most retextures.
Mods prominently shown in screenshots:
- Coattail Edits for Thedosian Grey Warden Mage by commanderstrawberry
- Tint Fix for Thedosian Grey Wardens
- A mysterious WIP mod by Hermaen2000
About
Mage
For some reason the vanilla grey warden mage's normal map in DAI is half the size of the other two (ie 1k), and in Thedosian Grey Wardens a replacement was generated from the diffuse texture in order to be 2k. However for most applications other than small detail textures, generating a normal map from a diffuse texture doesn't create the correct results:
- The source image is treated as height data, meaning that darker colours are treated as "lower" and lighter colours as "higher", whether that is appropriate or not. Consider a mole on a face; this would be treated as an indentation.
- The original normal maps are created by baking a high-poly sculpt onto a low-poly game mesh; the normal map then fakes the appearance of this higher-detail sculpt. A diffuse texture doesn't contain any of this information, so it is lost when generating a normal map from it.
As a quick fix, I've upscaled the vanilla DAI normal map using AI (and stole the gloves section from the heavy armour since it had a higher starting resolution) and converted it to DAO, restoring the sculpted details. This is particularly visible on the shoulder griffin.
Heavy and Scout
Normal maps contain data for the lighting engine to change the direction a particular pixel appears to be facing, turning it more up or down, and left or right. They have two channels: one for the up-down direction (green), one for the left-right direction (originally red; swizzled into the alpha channel for DAO). It's important that these are the right way round, or the model will not be lit correctly. Additionally, there are two main coordinate systems for normal maps: OpenGL and DirectX. While otherwise identical, their green (up/down) channels are the inverse of each other. DAI uses OpenGL; DAO and DA2 use DirectX. It is important for this to be correct too, or the model will appear to be lit from the wrong direction.
Unfortunately the normal maps for Thedosian Grey Wardens have the up/down and left/right channels swapped, producing incorrect lighting. I have also used the vanilla DAI normal map converted to DAO to correct this. This effect is most visible when the armour has a metallic effect, so that's what I've used in the screenshots. (These textures are a WIP and not currently available.)
Installation
I have provided two sizes: 2k, which is the same size as Thedosian Grey Wardens and is essentially just the fixes, and 4k, which is twice the size for those with larger monitors or who want to zoom in close.
Extract in the usual override folder (\Documents\Bioware\Dragon Age\packages\core\override).
To uninstall, delete the files at any time.
Compatibility
Will clash with any other mod that edits the normal maps for Thedosian Grey Wardens (ending in "0n"). Will not conflict with diffuse/specular edits (ending in "0d" or "0s"), and therefore compatible with most retextures.