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Most issues reported these days stem from users not enabling their emulators to use the required amount of RAM.
We also tend not to use the search feature but post our issues within the texture pack release page.
Failure to load a texture pack should not be posted in the release thread unless you have already patched the emulator.
If you don't have the resources to use Large/HD texture packs please do not attempt to do so.
Users should have a minimum amount of System RAM not less then 4GB's.
If you have less then 4GB's of RAM do not post about how your emulator crashes,
RAM is dirt cheap so invest some money into your PC.
I would like to say thanks to squall_leonhart
for posting this Solution.
Zelda Ocarina of time Community Retexture Project
- Thread starter death--droid
- Start date
Chieftain459
New member
It may be an issue with the new image size. Is it exactly 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, 32x, or 64x the original size?
X-Fi6
New member
This reminds me.... anyone interested in making an SVN repo for this? Maybe I can put one up and make a list of all the areas in the game and whether work has started on them and about how much of it is done, percent-wise, and whether a background has been made for it (n/a if none applies) and Notes for each area.
If you guys are actually gonna use SVN why don't you tell me. I won't make it if nobody wants me to.
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Hoping To Help
This project is the most incredible thing I've see in emulation for quite a long time. When I first read about it, I was nearly speechless.
I'd love to try and help. I don't have much experience, but I've got plenty of time to learn and have been experimenting the past couple days.
Railroads I've seen it with a few other textures I've been playing with. Often times, the game code seems structured to copy and paste a single row of pixels in a texture to fill in another area. During normal gameplay with the original stock textures, this wouldn't be a problem. This could be the case here, which if it is, we would have a hard time getting around it.
But that particular section seems to be the target to which you shoot your hookshot right? If so, then perhaps there's something else at play b/c i don't remember the game cloning the last row/column of the texture.
One other issue i've seen when working with sprites (may not be applicable in this case) is that when working with one of the PNG files containing the alpha channel (which I still don't fully understand what the heck the alpha channel is; Anyone that would care to explain this would be most appreciated) if one of the pixels on the new texture bumps right up against the last pixel on the edge of the picture, it causes an issue too. I've only had this happen with 1 texture i've worked with, but i was able to recreate the effect just to make sure i wasn't loosing my mind.
X-Fi6, I think such a list is a good idea and may become necessary in the future if many more people jump into the project. Post count = 1 so I understand my opinion is not much at this point, but there it is
This project is the most incredible thing I've see in emulation for quite a long time. When I first read about it, I was nearly speechless.
I'd love to try and help. I don't have much experience, but I've got plenty of time to learn and have been experimenting the past couple days.
Railroads I've seen it with a few other textures I've been playing with. Often times, the game code seems structured to copy and paste a single row of pixels in a texture to fill in another area. During normal gameplay with the original stock textures, this wouldn't be a problem. This could be the case here, which if it is, we would have a hard time getting around it.
But that particular section seems to be the target to which you shoot your hookshot right? If so, then perhaps there's something else at play b/c i don't remember the game cloning the last row/column of the texture.
One other issue i've seen when working with sprites (may not be applicable in this case) is that when working with one of the PNG files containing the alpha channel (which I still don't fully understand what the heck the alpha channel is; Anyone that would care to explain this would be most appreciated) if one of the pixels on the new texture bumps right up against the last pixel on the edge of the picture, it causes an issue too. I've only had this happen with 1 texture i've worked with, but i was able to recreate the effect just to make sure i wasn't loosing my mind.
X-Fi6, I think such a list is a good idea and may become necessary in the future if many more people jump into the project. Post count = 1 so I understand my opinion is not much at this point, but there it is
OP
- Thread Starter
- #507
Personally i would rather not use a SVN for a texture project plus at the moment since I'm the one handling all the textures so I don't reckon we should plus many wouldn't know how to use it .
Oh yeah Datadyne i've updated the first post with a small list with the areas that are finished or partially finished.
Oh yeah Datadyne i've updated the first post with a small list with the areas that are finished or partially finished.
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Death--Droid, you're the one in charge here with the project so as far as I'm concerned, what you say is scripture. Thank you for spear-heading this project in mode7's absence!
Railroads: Glad you fixed the issue. Honestly I didn't think about the larger-than-4X issue b/c on my PC anything larger than 4X simply doesn't load at all and instead defaults to the original ROM texture. Perhaps this is an issue that I should ask for help with at a later time (along with texture flickering; as that is a major issue for me).
My opinions on your retextures: the first pic of the bricks is absolutely outstanding. Totally top notch! I'm very impressed. Obviously there's an issue with working out the transition from brick to sand, but besides that, i'm loving those bricks.
Second pic: I'm liking the look of those shale stones as the wall. Very good texture. However, in general the texture seems to lack a little cohesion. Meaning, while the overall theme of a shale-brick-masonry is totally awesome, when applied to the game they are just not lining up correctly. Some parts seem too warped in areas and don't seam together well in others. I can imagine this being a major pain in the butt to correct, but I'm sure you'll get it with enough time.
Death--Droid, do you have a running list of "works in progress" for the people that have called dibs on specific areas? Such a list would be awesome if it's easy for you to produce. I would hate to waste time on a section that someone else is already working on, yet they haven't uploaded their progress to date.
Railroads: Glad you fixed the issue. Honestly I didn't think about the larger-than-4X issue b/c on my PC anything larger than 4X simply doesn't load at all and instead defaults to the original ROM texture. Perhaps this is an issue that I should ask for help with at a later time (along with texture flickering; as that is a major issue for me).
My opinions on your retextures: the first pic of the bricks is absolutely outstanding. Totally top notch! I'm very impressed. Obviously there's an issue with working out the transition from brick to sand, but besides that, i'm loving those bricks.
Second pic: I'm liking the look of those shale stones as the wall. Very good texture. However, in general the texture seems to lack a little cohesion. Meaning, while the overall theme of a shale-brick-masonry is totally awesome, when applied to the game they are just not lining up correctly. Some parts seem too warped in areas and don't seam together well in others. I can imagine this being a major pain in the butt to correct, but I'm sure you'll get it with enough time.
Death--Droid, do you have a running list of "works in progress" for the people that have called dibs on specific areas? Such a list would be awesome if it's easy for you to produce. I would hate to waste time on a section that someone else is already working on, yet they haven't uploaded their progress to date.
Chieftain459
New member
@Railroads:: Going along with what Zeckron was saying about the shale texture, I think you're running into a problem I had a while back--right in the corner (I think this is where it looks "warped"), the texture mirrors itself, rather than simply tiling. In other words, the texture flips horizontally, rather than repeating itself normally. What this means is that any grain direction other than horizontal gets turned the opposite way, and looks weird.
In short, it sucks. In my opinion, these are the worst/hardest areas to texture--not because it's hard to find a good texture, but because you have to plan for the flip, and make sure whatever looks good one way looks good the other way, and that the place where the flip occurs looks good, too. I suggest 2 things:
1--keep the shale thing. I'm with Zeckron on this one--it's great stuff. Just find a way to keep the lines between stones from tilting up or down near the edges. This should help with the mirroring.
2--experiment. Try some other texture sources, or other variations--you're sure to get it. Post some options here, too, so we can help you.
Keep the good work coming!
In short, it sucks. In my opinion, these are the worst/hardest areas to texture--not because it's hard to find a good texture, but because you have to plan for the flip, and make sure whatever looks good one way looks good the other way, and that the place where the flip occurs looks good, too. I suggest 2 things:
1--keep the shale thing. I'm with Zeckron on this one--it's great stuff. Just find a way to keep the lines between stones from tilting up or down near the edges. This should help with the mirroring.
2--experiment. Try some other texture sources, or other variations--you're sure to get it. Post some options here, too, so we can help you.
Keep the good work coming!
Excellent information Chieftain, thank you! This type of an issue is something I've not yet run across, so I'll definitely keep this in mind on future textures.
On a different note: my thought was at first to start with a simple and small retexture. Things such as one dimensional sprites and "2.5 dimensional" objects (2.5 objects such as the grass inside the Hyrule Castle gates, not the inner castle on the way to meeting Zelda, but the tall grass along the iron fence before you crawl into the hole).
Come to find out, these types of 2.5d objects are more complex than wall or floor textures due to the fact that they use 2 or 3 separate PNG files since they use a transparency around the main graphic of the object. I'm still trying to learn about "alpha channels" and what that means in regards to photo editing, but basically these types of objects are much more complex than the others.
It's tempting for me personally to forget about these objects, and stick with wall and floor textures since they only compose of 1 or 2 simple (and most often identical) PNG files. If you're experimenting with these types of 2.5D objects I suggest you hold-steady and keep practicing with them. If you take a look at the retextures that others have done with OOT, you'll see that 95%+ of them are walls, floors, ceilings, etc rather than sprite objects. I mean no disrespect on this point, b/c I know they're a major pain in the neck. But keep experimenting with them and you'll learn the pattern of what you can do to them, and what you cannot.
I still haven't figured out an absolute rule when working with such objects, but it's getting a little easier now.
On a different note: my thought was at first to start with a simple and small retexture. Things such as one dimensional sprites and "2.5 dimensional" objects (2.5 objects such as the grass inside the Hyrule Castle gates, not the inner castle on the way to meeting Zelda, but the tall grass along the iron fence before you crawl into the hole).
Come to find out, these types of 2.5d objects are more complex than wall or floor textures due to the fact that they use 2 or 3 separate PNG files since they use a transparency around the main graphic of the object. I'm still trying to learn about "alpha channels" and what that means in regards to photo editing, but basically these types of objects are much more complex than the others.
It's tempting for me personally to forget about these objects, and stick with wall and floor textures since they only compose of 1 or 2 simple (and most often identical) PNG files. If you're experimenting with these types of 2.5D objects I suggest you hold-steady and keep practicing with them. If you take a look at the retextures that others have done with OOT, you'll see that 95%+ of them are walls, floors, ceilings, etc rather than sprite objects. I mean no disrespect on this point, b/c I know they're a major pain in the neck. But keep experimenting with them and you'll learn the pattern of what you can do to them, and what you cannot.
I still haven't figured out an absolute rule when working with such objects, but it's getting a little easier now.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #512
Zeckron sadly i have no idea what is currently in WIP because of my absence from here.
darksouledge
New member
7zip Error
Hi,
I downloaded 7zip and part 1 and 2 of the texture packs. Thing is it wont let me extract part 2. Gives me an error saying:
Cannot Open File, as archive.
I already re-downloaded it couple of times, say 4-5 times. Still get the same error. Can some one check this out please?
Thanks in advance,
DarkSoulEdge
Hi,
I downloaded 7zip and part 1 and 2 of the texture packs. Thing is it wont let me extract part 2. Gives me an error saying:
Cannot Open File, as archive.
I already re-downloaded it couple of times, say 4-5 times. Still get the same error. Can some one check this out please?
Thanks in advance,
DarkSoulEdge
OP
- Thread Starter
- #514
Make sure your using 7Zip and right clicking on the file and then clicking 7Zip then open archive.
darksouledge
New member
Hi.
I did that for the 1st one. Tried doing that for the 2nd one and nothing happens, it just gives me that error. I even tried testing the archive with 7zip, still gives me the error. Maybe something went wrong with the upload cuz I already tried downloading it several times now <.<.... this would be my 10th time trying -________-
Thanks,
DarkSoulEdge
Chieftain459
New member
I was under the impression that when you opened the archive for part 1, it included the files in part 2. Therefore, you do not need to open part 2, you just need to have it in the same directory as part 1. I may be mistaken.
@death--droid: Could you tell us how large the final root folder is (after compression) so we can make sure we have everything?
@death--droid: Could you tell us how large the final root folder is (after compression) so we can make sure we have everything?
Chieftain459
New member
@Zeckron: Couple things to help answer questions/clear things up...
Alpha channels are actually fairly easy to understand, but it requires a paradigm shift (some out-of-box thinking). Put simply, an alpha channel is like a layer mask. It's a black-and-white thumbnail which tells a program what parts of a rectangular image to show, and which parts to hide (or make transparent). Photoshop uses alpha channels in a number of ways. If you ever made a layer mask (the little gray rectangle with a white circle inside it on the bottom of the layer panel), you're using an alpha channel. Quick mask is also a derivative of alpha channels. Then there's the literal "alpha channel," a channel in the channels panel called "Alpha #" which is simply a method of storing selections. The way they work is actually very simple: Areas of an alpha channel that are black (or red in a quick mask) are areas that are selected. White (or transparent in quick mask) is areas that are not selected. Grey areas are just that--areas that are partially selected based on how dark they are (the darker it is, the more that is selected). Literally, alpha channels provide a way to "paint" your selection, providing a very accurate means of extracting detail from an image.
In the case of PNG files in retexturing, you will find that many textures include a separate PNG file with their alpha channel. In this case, imagine the alpha channel is like the one in Photoshop, but add a step. When the textures are loaded, the alpha channel is used as a mask--black areas are masked (hidden or made transparent) while white areas are visible in the game. Gray areas provide levels of transparency in the game (so that other things can be seen through the texture).
Fortunately, there is an easy way around all of this. You will notice that PNG files in the png_all folder do not have alpha channels. This is because they are actually not necessary. PNG files, unlike JPEG, BMP or TIFF can store transparency/opacity information. If you start your new texture in a document with a transparent background, and create your texture while maintaining transparency information where appropriate, then save the PNG with the appropriate address (based on the file names in the png_all folder), there is no need to create an alpha channel--the game will load the PNG's opaque pixels, and discard the transparent ones, leaving you with the same effect as if you used an alpha channel, without the confusion.
Hope that made some sense... and I hope that it helps some...
Oh yeah, if you're working on textures for things that don't move (ie walls, floors, other "rigid" objects), chances are you're better off using textures and addresses found in the ci_by_png folder. I find that to be more reliable than trying to find textures in the png_all or png_by_rgb_a folders (sometimes textures don't appear in those folders).
Alpha channels are actually fairly easy to understand, but it requires a paradigm shift (some out-of-box thinking). Put simply, an alpha channel is like a layer mask. It's a black-and-white thumbnail which tells a program what parts of a rectangular image to show, and which parts to hide (or make transparent). Photoshop uses alpha channels in a number of ways. If you ever made a layer mask (the little gray rectangle with a white circle inside it on the bottom of the layer panel), you're using an alpha channel. Quick mask is also a derivative of alpha channels. Then there's the literal "alpha channel," a channel in the channels panel called "Alpha #" which is simply a method of storing selections. The way they work is actually very simple: Areas of an alpha channel that are black (or red in a quick mask) are areas that are selected. White (or transparent in quick mask) is areas that are not selected. Grey areas are just that--areas that are partially selected based on how dark they are (the darker it is, the more that is selected). Literally, alpha channels provide a way to "paint" your selection, providing a very accurate means of extracting detail from an image.
In the case of PNG files in retexturing, you will find that many textures include a separate PNG file with their alpha channel. In this case, imagine the alpha channel is like the one in Photoshop, but add a step. When the textures are loaded, the alpha channel is used as a mask--black areas are masked (hidden or made transparent) while white areas are visible in the game. Gray areas provide levels of transparency in the game (so that other things can be seen through the texture).
Fortunately, there is an easy way around all of this. You will notice that PNG files in the png_all folder do not have alpha channels. This is because they are actually not necessary. PNG files, unlike JPEG, BMP or TIFF can store transparency/opacity information. If you start your new texture in a document with a transparent background, and create your texture while maintaining transparency information where appropriate, then save the PNG with the appropriate address (based on the file names in the png_all folder), there is no need to create an alpha channel--the game will load the PNG's opaque pixels, and discard the transparent ones, leaving you with the same effect as if you used an alpha channel, without the confusion.
Hope that made some sense... and I hope that it helps some...
Oh yeah, if you're working on textures for things that don't move (ie walls, floors, other "rigid" objects), chances are you're better off using textures and addresses found in the ci_by_png folder. I find that to be more reliable than trying to find textures in the png_all or png_by_rgb_a folders (sometimes textures don't appear in those folders).
Chieftain459
New member
Much better! Thumbs up from me on the shale.
The first picture: is the sand on the wall as well? It's hard to tell... if it is, I would suggest some sort of transition. You had one before I think. It wasn't quite right, but I think something is needed there. Maybe try the bevel layer effect on the sand layer, with a rounded bevel. Also, try making the line more wavy, as opposed to a straight edge.
My only complaint with the bottom picture is that the blocks look to...regular and even. Perhaps try something with a little more variation in it. Not too much, but right now it seems too clean to me.
That's just my opinion, though.
The first picture: is the sand on the wall as well? It's hard to tell... if it is, I would suggest some sort of transition. You had one before I think. It wasn't quite right, but I think something is needed there. Maybe try the bevel layer effect on the sand layer, with a rounded bevel. Also, try making the line more wavy, as opposed to a straight edge.
My only complaint with the bottom picture is that the blocks look to...regular and even. Perhaps try something with a little more variation in it. Not too much, but right now it seems too clean to me.
That's just my opinion, though.
Chieftain459
New member
Actually, on closer look, the shale still doesn't tile right... are you making sure to do the offset filter in Photoshop so you can make sure the edges tile?
Go to Filters>Other>Offset, and in the boxes, type in half of the dimensions of the image (if it is 256x256, type in 128x128, for example). You might notice that halfway across the image (in either direction) there is a line between the stones. Use the clone stamp tool to cover the line and blend the stones together so they look right. Then do the offset filter again. This should make for a seamless texture.
Go to Filters>Other>Offset, and in the boxes, type in half of the dimensions of the image (if it is 256x256, type in 128x128, for example). You might notice that halfway across the image (in either direction) there is a line between the stones. Use the clone stamp tool to cover the line and blend the stones together so they look right. Then do the offset filter again. This should make for a seamless texture.