DRESS BLUE



CURRENT STATE / UPDATE

DRESS BLUE is pretty much feature complete now!

Howerver, I will try to make an all DLC Version sometimes in the future where I will also reduce the Textures from 4k to 2k for some of the background NPCs for stability.


I will now tidy up the mod page and might release some compatibility patches to other mods. If you have a specific request, please comment. After that, I will move to ME2 and ME1 to see if the same can be done there.  

Please leave feedback and an endorsement and have fun!
Best regards
askavian



SPECIAL THANKS & CREDITS

The base files needed to make the Patch for EGM are owned by KKJiro and the Expanded Galaxy Mod Team. Thank you very much! 

Special thanks to Mellin, Jenya and Mgamerz for their endless support on Discord. You really make a Nooby feel welcome!

Special Thanks to moonknight1993 for his tips on the Normandy Characters!

 


INTRODUCTION

DRESS BLUE reimagines and updates the Alliance Tunics to be more in line with realistic military standards, that might grow from a Unified Earth in the future and introduces customized and character-based individual medals, nameplates, and ribbons based on the character's prior service history.  



KEY FEATURES
 

• Unified Look (less Gold)
• Individual Nameplates for each Character
• Individual Merrits and Medals (based on Character History)
• Rank System (based on MASS EFFECT Lore)
• Alliance Insignia & Wings
• 4K High-Resolution Textures
• More Characters in DRESS BLUE (Kaidan, Vega, Traynor, Adams, and many more...)
  

Basically this for MASS EFFECT 





INSTALLATION

The installation comes in THREE Parts. This is to ensure maximum compatibility with other mods. 

PART 01of03 is a DLC Mod
-> Just install it like every other DLC mod using the Mass Effect Mod Manager

PART 02of03 is the Main Texture Mod (TPF)
-> Install it using the ALOT Installer

PART 03of03 is your Shepard (TPF)
-> Select ONE of the EIGHTEEN (18) available Options and install it with the ALOT Installer 
-> The Eighteen Variants are based on Rank (Lieutenant Commander vs. Staff Commander), Personal Background (Sole Survivor, War Hero or Ruthless), and Skintone (Black, White, and Latino)

OPTIONAL
If you are using the Expanded Galaxy Mod, please download and install the Patch (DLC) as well from the Optional Section.

 

KNOWN ISSUES & BUGS

VANILLA
1. CITADEL_DLC / In the Restaurant Scene with Shepard and Joker, Maya Brooks will first appear in the regular Uniform when she stands in the Crowd at the french bouncer. -> I don't know why this is the case, but it looks a bit like a pre-rendered video playing.   
2. PROLOGUE_EARTH / The Council Aide and the Female Council Member share the same Uniform -> FIXED in v2.1
3. PROLOGUE_EARTH / Both Male Council Members share the same uniform -> FIXED in v2.1
4. PROLOGUE_EARTH / The Background Extras share the same uniform -> WON'T FIX 
5. CHARACTER SCREEN / On the character screen you will see Shepard in the Council's Uniform (CTHa)
6. PROLOGUE_EARTH / For a split second when the Reapers attack both Male Council Members wear the same outfit (very minor)
7. CITADEL_PURGATORY / Cortez wears Joker's Uniform in Purgatory -> Will fix that in an upcoming release

EGM
1. PROLOGUE_EARTH / Ashley Williams will not wear the right uniform during the prologue on earth 
2. PROLOGUE_EARTH / James Vega wears his standard outfit during a cutscene between the prologue on Earth and Mars -> FIXED in v2.0
3. CRASH AFTER INTRO / There is an issue with Vega that leads to a crash right after the intro sequence -> WORKAROUND: Change James Vega's Outfit back to his default T-Shirt in the EGM Settings (You can change is to Dress Blue anytime later. -> I will try to fix this in a later version  
4. NORMANDY/CITADEL / Ashley Williams wears Shepards Uniform -> FIXED in the latest EGM Patch (v2.2) 



COMPATABILITY 

DRESS BLUE is generally compatible with all other mods that do not change the casual appearance of an Alliance Member (i.e. Joker, Kaidan, Vega, etc...) and other NPCs that wear the DRESS BLUE

It is fully compatible with PROJECT VARIETY (The Citadel Air Traffic Controller however gets changed by PV)

For the EXPANDED GALAXY MOD you will need a Patch that you will find in the Optional Download Section of this mod. 

If you encounter any errors or you need help, please let me know.  



RANKING SYSTEM 

The Rank System is based on the Codex/Humanity and the Systems Alliance

For consistency reasons, I had to add the following ranks:

• Serviceman 3rd Class / Private 2nd Class (NO RANK INSIGNIA)
• Fleet Captain (4 Gold Bars on Black)
• Vice Admiral (2 Gold Bars on Brown)
  

These ranks are not named in the Codex but make sense. There would be "something missing" without them. 
My rules for designing the Ranking System are simple: 

• Insignias need to be as lore-friendly as possible
• Ranks shown on the characters in-game, are fixed
  

Of course, you run into issues, by sticking to these rules, ar Bioware is not very consistent and quite lazy in designing textures for minor characters. They are character and story-driven after all and you cannot expect everyone to be as pedantic as I am about that stuff.   

Here is an example issue: 
Anderson is referred to as "Captain" in the ME1 and shows three gold bars on his shoulders.
-> Conclusion: Three gold bars are the sign of a "Captain" in the Alliance
BUT
-> Mikhailovich and Kahoku are referred to as "Rear Admirals" and show only one gold bar on their shoulder, the same as the lesser officers. 

The solution for me here was, to introduce a different baseplate color for the Flag Officers (Leather Brown). Hackett and Anderson have a brown stripe underneath their gold bars anyway.  

If changes need to made that deviate from established lore, I tried to stick as close to the source material and common sense as possible. That means, whenever I need to adept, I look into the actual military and naval history for reference (Mostly UK's Royal Navy, the USMC, and the USAF). 




MEDALS & AWARDS

The Merrit System is based on the established Lore (Comics, Movies, Games, etc...)

Most awards and medals are Achievements. 

For consistency reasons, I had to add a couple of medals simply to have enough to work with. 

For some Characters in the Mass Effect Universe, it is pretty simple to find out what kind of medals and awards they received during their service. 

i.e. Lieutenant Commander James Vega received the Medal of Honor for his fight against the Collectors and in addition to it, he is a Shepard "fanboy" and wears a remembrance plaque for the SSV Normandy on his Chest Armor. 

For other Figures, the Source Material is quite slim. i.e. Admiral Anderson is multiple times referred to as "one of the most highly decorated officers" but never actually finds out what exactly he has been awarded for and what medal he holds. 

Here are my medals based on established lore and educated guesses: 






This is my first mod, so I hope you will give me constructive criticism and some feedback.

I hope you enjoy my work and the approach I am taking with this.