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Heroes Community > Heroes 4 - Lands of Axeoth > Thread: Infernal Gates texture mod
Thread: Infernal Gates texture mod This thread is 2 pages long: 1 2 · NEXT»
Unknown_dark_g
Unknown_dark_g


Hired Hero
heroes galopping in his heart
posted June 01, 2022 07:44 PM

Infernal Gates texture mod

Hello heroes of Axeoth

I started creating my second texture pack for heroes 4. This one will make demons from homm 4 appear as demons from Ashan.
So far there are these plans:

1. Changing Devil Combatactor to appear as  the Pit Lord from h6

2. Changing female magic hero Combatactor to appear the Succubus from Homm 6

3. Changing Venom Spawns to appear as Breeders from Homm 6 in Combat.

4. Changing the Combatactors of Zerberi to appear as a mixture of homm 4, 5 and 6 Zerberi.

Now I actually do plan to apply certain changes in fact quite some radica ones to the animations. For example I have the philosophy of demons not having any weapons. I believe a demon has the strenght to kill without the need of physical steel. The Pit lord will not have a sword but will touch his foes with the evil metaphysical energies of his unholy spirit.
There are also some ideas which I have not yet implemented into any plans but here is what they are:

1. Changing efreet combatactor to homm 7 efreet.

2. Creating a Kha-Beleth (H5) unique hero model (the way Nimostar does make unique heroes in Ultimate)

3. Changing the combat actors of Nightmares to h5 nightmares.

4. Changing the fireball anim to have similarities to H5.



Here is a preview of my work:


https://imgur.com/gallery/m89BGPF


All of the homm content belongs to Ubisoft
and they have the rights to the textures.
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If death is worse then life then birth is is of all deeds the darkest. If life is inevitable then what is the purpose of the preverse?

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NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted June 01, 2022 10:55 PM

Very interesting. I did say we ned more different creatures sprites for Heroes 4. And more demons is one of the missing things (I would say one could add the red creature inside the old man, but this requres significant sprites editing as there is a single animation for it).

About your demons in particular, tho, Iw ould focus on qality of sprites rather than quantity.

There is several things to take into account:

- That sprites have an adequate number of animated steps. Too few states and they will look "choppy". Generally any anim needs at least 8-10 frames if not more to look good enough.

- Resizing can lead to blory images. H4 style generally isn't blurry, try to make images look somewhat sharper (you can use sharpen Photoshop tools, but not abuse them - getting the sharpness and base image of the correct size is more important.)

- I worry that these demons are somtimes too tall/big to fit in.

Other than that, good job and keep improving. I do think these look better already compared to the fire elementals.
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Unknown_dark_g
Unknown_dark_g


Hired Hero
heroes galopping in his heart
posted June 02, 2022 03:50 PM

NimoStar said:
Very interesting. I did say we ned more different creatures sprites for Heroes 4. And more demons is one of the missing things (I would say one could add the red creature inside the old man, but this requres significant sprites editing as there is a single animation for it).

About your demons in particular, tho, Iw ould focus on qality of sprites rather than quantity.

There is several things to take into account:

- That sprites have an adequate number of animated steps. Too few states and they will look "choppy". Generally any anim needs at least 8-10 frames if not more to look good enough.

- Resizing can lead to blory images. H4 style generally isn't blurry, try to make images look somewhat sharper (you can use sharpen Photoshop tools, but not abuse them - getting the sharpness and base image of the correct size is more important.)

- I worry that these demons are somtimes too tall/big to fit in.

Other than that, good job and keep improving. I do think these look better already compared to the fire elementals.


Thx a lot for all the feedback and insights regarding animation. I am surprised you did not mention my biggest weakness: Shadows. I kinda can't get those right.
Unfortunately the resizing is something unavoidable for me (There is a strange bug in one of my animation softwares that causes things to get bigger or blurrier after rendering. Fortunately I recently discovered a way to reduce the amount of exports needed.), which makes a sharpening tool very useful.
Unfortunately I do not have the budget for photoshop which is why I use Gimp and irfan view and MS picture manager. I have not yet found a way of sharpening if you or someone else knows a free software that has that feature I will higly appreciate that.
As for the amount of frames I use: I actually highly vary in frame quantities:
The spellanim of the new female death hero combat actor has 22 frames.
The teleportation disappearance of the new devil has like 6 frames and then the deathanimation of the Succubus has like 15 frames and the Waitanimation of the Breeder has like 9 frames.
My general strategy on how I handle framequantity is the question how fast, do I want my movement to be. If I want a movement that is very subtle and barely noticeable (waiting, walking) my anim will have something between 6 and 10 frames.
If I want a very quick, sudden and dynamic movement (castanims, attacks, deaths) I usually add more then that.
____________
If death is worse then life then birth is is of all deeds the darkest. If life is inevitable then what is the purpose of the preverse?

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NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted June 04, 2022 03:02 AM

Quote:
I am surprised you did not mention my biggest weakness: Shadows. I kinda can't get those right.


Welllits kind of ovus in that there are no poper shadows thus why i didn't mention that I would actually reccomend to lower the dark outlines, tho---

(drawing shadows individually for each frame is surely not practical and even if they are demons I do not wish anyone that particular kindof hell)

I think 6 frames is too little even for a teleport... specially suden movements as you nitice, because fast anims actually need more frames to look good.


Quote:
I am surprised you did not mention my biggest weakness: Shadows. I kinda can't get those right.


There is a sharpening tool in gimp, see it in "enhancements", I will send a screenshot later.

And about photoshop... well, I would send you a link
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Never changing = never improving

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Unknown_dark_g
Unknown_dark_g


Hired Hero
heroes galopping in his heart
posted July 01, 2022 06:56 PM

Ok guys, as you can see, I have new demon animations to showcase!

https://imgur.com/gallery/p3MdKsq

I started with creating adventure actors, though I find it very hard to work at such a low pixel resolution. I am trying my best to make the new pit lord look threatening.

The Breeders now have a deathanimation and both at being hit and flinching a bunch of slimy particles splash out (those are recoloured venom spawn particles.)

Also I started with the Cerberi. They are a mixture of H5, H6 and H4 Cerberi and I find those Cerberi really terrifying. Those glowing eyes full of hatred ...
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If death is worse then life then birth is is of all deeds the darkest. If life is inevitable then what is the purpose of the preverse?

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baronus
baronus


Legendary Hero
posted July 01, 2022 11:18 PM

Great you work on H4 creatures! We need creatures bank! Try do it maximum differrent than h5/6/7. No manga no gigantic armor. No weapons higher than man! You know how is H4 style. But we need creatures I as said! Now we have something like small WoG to H4 in progress.

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Unknown_dark_g
Unknown_dark_g


Hired Hero
heroes galopping in his heart
posted July 02, 2022 03:45 PM

baronus said:
Great you work on H4 creatures! We need creatures bank! Try do it maximum differrent than h5/6/7. No manga no gigantic armor. No weapons higher than man! You know how is H4 style. But we need creatures I as said! Now we have something like small WoG to H4 in progress.


As you see, my interpretation of sheoghian demons has no weapons or that much armor at all. My philosophy on the children of Urgash is that one no longer needs a worldly weapon to destroy for the demons of Chaos are blessed with a magic that far exceeds mortal flesh. I believe a demon has far more powerful ways of annihilating his foes then a blade of steel.

This mod however is not a Wog for Heroes 4. It is just intended as a texture pack that changes the visual look of things. It will neither add new mechanics nor will it add new Campaigns or maps. (Much like the powerportraits texture pack.)
____________
If death is worse then life then birth is is of all deeds the darkest. If life is inevitable then what is the purpose of the preverse?

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baronus
baronus


Legendary Hero
posted July 02, 2022 11:19 PM

Ok. In fact you are a creator I only suggest. Good we have a lot 9f H4 modders! Im suprising! Really I want more mods when I came here years ago and I see it now!  :ô)))

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szaman
szaman


Known Hero
posted July 03, 2022 01:40 AM

I will be a Doubting Thomas on this one. I have never seen a custom model for H4 (except H4 Ultimate) and you have done some kind of texture mod pack?

Could you provide some short video? Hard me to belive that this all is real.

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iliveinabox05
iliveinabox05


Honorable
Famous Hero
posted July 03, 2022 04:10 AM

szaman said:
I will be a Doubting Thomas on this one. I have never seen a custom model for H4 (except H4 Ultimate) and you have done some kind of texture mod pack?

Could you provide some short video? Hard me to belive that this all is real.


Well, you could take a look at his previous thread.

Also, with the ability to add completely new units, we're going to show some custom models (reskins) that have been done but not released.

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NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted July 03, 2022 11:29 AM

szaman said:
I will be a Doubting Thomas on this one. I have never seen a custom model for H4 (except H4 Ultimate) and you have done some kind of texture mod pack?

Could you provide some short video? Hard me to belive that this all is real.


Unknown_dark is very dedicated to what he does. His sprites still don't fully fit the normal H4 style since they are very hand-edited while normal H4 ones are bright and prerendered, but he's still learning and improving.

There was some extra custom creatures I could have used in H4 Ultimate as well such as Red Ridinghood and the Dryad, but given no new creature could be added back then, this wasn't fully worth it.

Since the new build dll system from h4zero still has a way to go before it can be used in full mods, Ultimate will be the latest playable full mod release for at least months. Unknown_Dark also didn't modify all creatures of the game or near to it, just a few of them, and it's purely an aesthetic artistic endeavor from his perspective.

I hope to be able to icorporate some buildings done specially for ULTIMATE mod and from 3D models with Unknown_dark anims, but sadly real life is prevenmting me from doing so.
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Never changing = never improving

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Unknown_dark_g
Unknown_dark_g


Hired Hero
heroes galopping in his heart
posted July 07, 2022 12:16 AM

szaman said:
I will be a Doubting Thomas on this one. I have never seen a custom model for H4 (except H4 Ultimate) and you have done some kind of texture mod pack?

Could you provide some short video? Hard me to belive that this all is real.


I am surprised you have never seen custom graphical models in heroes 4 mods besides the ultimate mod.
The creator of the Ultimate mod also created the greatest mod which had a lot of cool models (especially the adv. map models.) He also made the hero creatures mod which is also a great system for creating unique models for heroes. Then there is the Restoration project which released a teaser of pretty epic models and then there is the powerportraits texture pack which not only changes portraits but also creatures.
Also you can find the mod made by Zer0 who opened up new paths for adding new creatures and did some artwork too.
As far as I know there once was a user named Mirage who did many models. Sadly I havent seen him active for a while. I hope he returns for he could surely teach me a lot when it comes to digital painting. As far as I know there are also a lot of map object collections for modders here. Some of them look amazing.
So yeah, for those who dig into this forum , a lot of fascinating stuff is to be discovered.
____________
If death is worse then life then birth is is of all deeds the darkest. If life is inevitable then what is the purpose of the preverse?

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Unknown_dark_g
Unknown_dark_g


Hired Hero
heroes galopping in his heart
posted July 13, 2022 08:57 PM
Edited by Unknown_dark_g at 20:58, 13 Jul 2022.

There is some new material for me

https://imgur.com/gallery/6gXhzqe[/url]

As you see the Breeders are finished and now also have adventure actor sequences.

Cerberi no longer just bite. After all theres a lot of biting in H4. Wolf bites. Sea monster bites. Tiger bites. Griffin bites. Cerberi now breathe a cone of fire instead. You can not see this in the screenshots but the flames turn into brown smoke that gets taken away by the wind.

I also remade the flinchanimation for the Succubus hero. The old one used to have the mouth opening in pain.
I thought that it kinda does not fit a hero. No hero opens the mouth in pain. They all endure it showing their pain in a much more subtle way.
Besides the old Succubus flinchanim was way more blurry then the new one.
Now the anim will likely not stay like that. I also think about making the eyes glow brighter. The actual frames do glow brighter but my editor kinda does not capture that small glow, so I guess I will increase it.
____________
If death is worse then life then birth is is of all deeds the darkest. If life is inevitable then what is the purpose of the preverse?

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iliveinabox05
iliveinabox05


Honorable
Famous Hero
posted July 13, 2022 09:22 PM

Keep up the good work!

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NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted July 14, 2022 02:12 AM

Considering the hero screams one can hear in sound, I guess they do open their mouth

But, this seems good news.

I hiope you finf the time to clen up the frames of a certain portal...
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Never changing = never improving

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baronus
baronus


Legendary Hero
posted July 15, 2022 11:14 AM

Yes train to get skill in model projecting. If you like H4 in future you can add new factions made by you! By replacment town graphics and new units pluggin its possible just now!

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Unknown_dark_g
Unknown_dark_g


Hired Hero
heroes galopping in his heart
posted July 17, 2022 04:12 PM
Edited by Unknown_dark_g at 19:17, 19 Jul 2022.

Ok guys, the first release of my first version is coming closer. I already added portraits and all combat_actors are ready. Now only the adventure actors of Cerberi need to be made and I will release it.

Here is some more insights into the progress made:

https://imgur.com/gallery/IuDub2G

As you can see Cerberi now have deathanims and flinchanims. They also have a similar fidgetanim to original H4 where the cerberus ignites its feet and bows its head.
For the Succubus (female necromancer) I replaced and improved several animations, including the standanims, fidgetanims and waitanims from pretty much all sides. For the Ne and Nw flinchanims the legs are a little more in motion, making it overall more dynamic. The new ones are also sharper compared to the old.
As you see, I also showcased the Abyssal worm, that is currently being worked on. The worm will replace the sea monster, however he will not be released in the upcoming version, but likely far later.

As you also realize, I did not yet show their new portraits, some surprises are left for the release.

____________
If death is worse then life then birth is is of all deeds the darkest. If life is inevitable then what is the purpose of the preverse?

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Unknown_dark_g
Unknown_dark_g


Hired Hero
heroes galopping in his heart
posted July 18, 2022 09:44 PM


Here it is, the first Release of the infernal portals mod!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fz2WtOAFV31S6dkKiZjCfL63U0znXGJl/view?usp=drivesdk

enjoy!
____________
If death is worse then life then birth is is of all deeds the darkest. If life is inevitable then what is the purpose of the preverse?

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NimoStar
NimoStar


Responsible
Legendary Hero
Modding the Unmoddable
posted July 22, 2022 07:06 AM

Downloading... good that you took my advice on sharpening also, fidget anims is good.

What is your process for doing the adventure actors? I'm curious

Mirage didn't include adventure actors for his creatures and I would like to make one for werewolves instead of reusing troll with fidget
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Never changing = never improving

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Unknown_dark_g
Unknown_dark_g


Hired Hero
heroes galopping in his heart
posted July 23, 2022 04:37 PM

NimoStar said:
Downloading... good that you took my advice on sharpening also, fidget anims is good.

What is your process for doing the adventure actors? I'm curious

Mirage didn't include adventure actors for his creatures and I would like to make one for werewolves instead of reusing troll with fidget


Huge thanks to both you and Iliveinabox05 for all the feedback, both technical and artistic! Without you guys, all of this would never have been possible.

The way I made adventure actors is not exactly an optimal way but if you want to hear it here it is:
I use Synfig to import an original adventureactor image from homm 4.
I then open the images of my combat actorsequence in Gimp and Oversharpen them. (VERY IMPORTANT:  Do NOT close Gimp after exporting the images, otherwise you will not be able to Reverse that Oversharpening afterwards.)
Then do the import Sequence option in Synfig and get your Oversharpened Frames there.
You can now resize the oversharpened frames all at once into the size of the adventure actor frame you imported before.
When you exported the frames you will have to rename them and resharpen a second time.
(Synfig has this weird bug that it imports stuff blurred thats why we oversharpened it at first. We do the second sharpening because we resized aswell.)
The last step is to reverse the Gimp stuff on the combat sequences to normal pressing CTRl+Z

As you see my way of doing it is kind of a messy non-optimal way. You might wanna search for a proper resizing software.
____________
If death is worse then life then birth is is of all deeds the darkest. If life is inevitable then what is the purpose of the preverse?

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