If I am honest- I can see the artifacting straight away. But in this case it doesn't look so bad at all judging from the screenshots. its probably minor in game too, the artifacting gets turned into some general noise at that distance as well, so kinda suits the texture. but you could just as well represent that noise into the smaller uncompressed texture and probably have more controll- at 2048, its 20megs or more per texture, best believe you've got space for crazy detail!

viewing LOD textures from long range isn't gonna show up so bad imo. its when you get 3 feet away from a wall/face/anything you really see the lighting bend off it as little squares. its per-pixel lighting, so those aritfacts can get big and nasty.

I personally use http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=17300 for the landscape color and normal maps for Cyrodiil and Shivering Isles. I think this pack is totally awesome and provides great performance. I encourage everyone to check it out because I believe it to be the best LOD pack ever, period. The author really knows what he's doing regarding textures and formats.

Sadly, this pack is highly underrated and fairly unknown. I use it with vanilla textures but the author recommends QTP3 and Bomret's SI pack. Anyway, just my two cents.

After exstensive testing and comparison I have to agree - these are great and give the best performance to quality ratio. Not as exstensive as PK's though, so I ended up with a mix of both.

The description for these packs is also very goodm especially where he/she explains the rational behind the desicions made to this and previous LOD replacers. Most informative, thanks for the link, I'm gonna give this a try

AmpolX, I would really like to see comparison shots of your texture packs and QTP3R.

@ Brumbek, thanks for the link. I'm going to check that one out.

Correct use of BAIN and you can try them all out in game with little difficulty in switching back and forth like I did http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=957424&view=findpost&p=13834280.

My current LOD BAIN package:

   ├[00 LOD NormalMap Fix MipMap Fix]   ├[10 Border Regions Color -pk- 512]   ├[10 Border Regions Color Blade -pk- 1024]   ├[10 Border Regions Color Blade9722 2048]   ├[10 Border Regions Color Shaja 2048]   ├[20 Normal Maps -pk- 256]   ├[20 Normal Maps -pk- 512]   ├[20 Normal Maps CorePC Vibrant]   ├[20 Normal Maps Deathb0rn 512]   ├[20 Normal Maps Deathb0rn Vanilla]   ├[20 Normal Maps Qarl 1024 Reduced]   ├[20 Normal Maps Qarl 2048 Reduced]   ├[20 Normal Maps Qarl 4096 Compressed]   ├[20 Normal Maps Qarl 512 Better Looking]   ├[20 Normal Maps Qarl 512 Reduced]   ├[20 Normal Maps Xerus 512]   ├[21 SI Normal Maps Xerus 512]   ├[25 Color Maps Main Landscape -pk- 1024]   ├[25 Color Maps Main Landscape -pk- 2048]   ├[25 Color Maps Main Landscape -pk- 4096]   ├[25 Color Maps Main Landscape -pk- 512]   ├[26 Color Maps Important Landscapes -pk- 1024]   ├[26 Color Maps Important Landscapes -pk- 2048]   ├[26 Color Maps Important Landscapes -pk- 4096]   ├[26 Color Maps Important Landscapes -pk- 512]   ├[27 Color Maps Less Important Landscapes -pk- 1024]   ├[27 Color Maps Less Important Landscapes -pk- 2048]   ├[27 Color Maps Less Important Landscapes -pk- 4096]   ├[27 Color Maps Less Important Landscapes -pk- 512]   ├[30 Color Maps Blade9722 2048]   ├[30 Color Maps Blade9722 4096]   ├[30 Color Maps CorePC 1024]   ├[30 Color Maps CorePC 2048]   ├[30 Color Maps Diverse Grasses 2048]   ├[30 Color Maps Diverse Grasses 4096]   ├[30 Color Maps Qarl Better Tiling 1024]   ├[30 Color Maps Qarl Better Tiling 2048]   ├[30 Color Maps Qarl Better Tiling 4096]   ├[30 Color Maps Qarl Better Tiling 512]   ├[30 Color Maps Shaja 2048]   ├[30 Color Maps Xerus 1024]   ├[30 Color Maps Zacherot 4096]   ├[35 SI Color Maps CorePC 1024]   ├[35 SI Color Maps CorePC 2048]   ├[35 SI Color Maps Xerus 1024]   ├[40 Noise Replacer - CorePC]   ├[40 Noise Replacer - HTF 1]   ├[40 Noise Replacer - HTF 2]   ├[40 Noise Replacer - HTF 3]   ├[40 Noise Replacer - Koldorn Light]   ├[40 Noise Replacer - Koldorn Medium]   ├[40 Noise Replacer - Koldorn Strong]   ├[40 Noise Replacer - Xerus]

After all that I often just settle for -PK- versions with HTF noise replacer. Doing it this way is not hard to package together a good bundle and makes testing and management much easier.

I will say though that I've used Qarls Normal Maps (the 4096 compressed version) often and in my subjective opinion it out performed supposedly lower quality LOD packs.

LOD too is one of those things that I've removed from a game only to find that mysterious crashes I would be having would evaporate. My guess is as of yet unidentified issue with LOD packs and how they interact with other replacers or something can go wrong. There had been times when taking them out then having character travel a short distance then put them back in got me past a constant crash without having to tear my load order apart.

If you're interested and fancy stepping up to the plate, I have a mod somewhere that replaces the shader used to draw the distant land. It adds support for DXT5 normal maps (with x in red channel, y in alpha) while still supporting ordinary ones. Just haven't had a good set of normal maps to go with it.

I would love to test it out since my vibrant distant 1.31 normal maps are in dxt5 format once again..

Hey AmpolX!

You mention version 3 of your texture packs. Can't find 'em at Nexus. Are they not uploaded anywhere yet?

-Decrepit

Damned, you have become advanced! What happened to the starry-eyed little noob that used to ask Uncle Petrus for advice?

I'm now a morrowind noob. I once had a guru who spoke of the benefits of having an ongoing attitude of a student. So I guess ideally I could strive toward perennial Noobishness.

Or maybe not.

I was diving pretty seriously into morrowind but now that an operational version of of http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1079607&st=0 has been made I may veer back towards that for a while. That needs cheerleading.

I've only released them to a few members who have kindly asked for them. I did say version 3 fixed those tiling issues, i never said that i released version 3.

What do people think about http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15245? Does it fit in with a base of Bomrets and Vibrant Textures, partly overwritten by Ampol's textures?

Has any good snow/ice textures packs been made? I remember there were at least one very good one for Morrowind.

For Morrowind there are the nice snow textures from Jarrod as part of his Bloodmoon Texture Pack http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=370

Ahh, what a tease! :raises fist in envy: I need to learn to mod something clever and useful so I can dangle it like a carrot for others to drool over... Any expected ETA AmpolX? :drool:

What's up with the http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/images/17300-4-1211595756.jpg? <_<

I tried a new texture replacer - http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1079172, and I it looks like it will be my new main texture replacer for outdoors textures. What I really like is that it's darker and more lush than Brombet's, Vibrant Textures and Ampol's. Dall's Bruma is still my favourite for snow and ice textures.

But amidst all my testing I ran into another problem. Some texture replacers also add different meshes and the wrong mesh and texture combo looks ugly. And to make matters worse the folder structure for Meshes and Textures are not identical, so it seems I must be even more scientific (or geekish) in my organizing of BAIN. I love the way I can make sub-sections with BAIN, so that I can for example divide a texture replacer into Landscape, Caves, Aylied Ruins etc and be able to chose to only install some parts.

http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=957424&view=findpost&p=13861975

Yeah it is unavoidable really if you want it automated. Good news is that it is doable.

Since finally BAIN and Wrye Bash are finally available for Fallout3 I'm slowly doing this for that game and being even more geeky about it and thinking through.

that post above is really outdated and I now have at least 3 packages for world textures. The mesh issue is really the main thing to look for. I designed it so that I could have heavy bigger textures in interiors like caves and ruins with lighter smaller textures on the exteriors.

Then I have other packs that load after - but yeah watch the meshes (not many have them actually).

and yeah mtgr is good stuff need to get around to splitting it up and integrating it.

Petrus - check http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26075 out. also look for Ampols textures too - some of them are outstanding but he often pulls stuff - doesn't like this forum or something - not sure why.

Psymon, your thread about BAIN has in fact been a great inspiration for me. It should be updateted and stickied. :goodjob:


I've tested Ampol's and they were my favourite untill I saw Mtgr's textures. I think Ampol has gotten som flak due to the shader he uses to get the "vaseline effect" on his screenshots. I guess that may have ticked him off.


Do you have a good system for this?

Well it is getting near the end of its life (after over a year) and I was thinking about making a new one with more updated information.

Was thinking of having the first four or five posts reserved with topics - kinda like this:

1. What is BAIN and links to all the relevant material and general discussion of the use of installers (BAIN versus manual and OBMM).
2. Planning your install order and how to think about what should be installed first, middle, last.
3. Step by step how to create the packages and what to do when repackaging (PyFFI, clean, organize, etc).
4. Information on BAIN conversion files (would need Frodo's help on that).
5. Information on other errata like Surazal's Word Macro (maybe he could put that on Nexus).

Then some more or updated examples. Really I'd rather it be helpful to others and such.

And on topic check http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26899 out. Also search swamp on Nexus for a few others.

System for splitting up mtgr23 stuff. Hmmm - hadn't gotten to it yet.

Probably I would follow the other texture packs as in that post with landscape, architecture, clutter, various dungeons each into separate sub packages.

I may yet rethink my whole approach after working on Fallout3 with BAIN in that smaller more specific subpackages loading after larger more comprehensive seems better. While mtgr's package for Fallout3 was extensive there are a few more that are more extensive and I put those in first with his over the top and then even others who specialized on very specific things after that.

But I have it on good authority that MTGR is far from complete with Oblivion textures and there may indeed be more to come! Hopefully that was OK to post. All good stuff.

It would be nice if people quit referring me to about the way my screenshots look. The vaseline effect is rarely seen in any of my ATP 2.0 updates and never used in my most recent releases (My wood textures, godstatue overhaul, my never released creatures.) And I have no problems with this forum. I just closed a lot of projects that I didnt see needed to be up since my attention towards them had died out...

Ampol - truth is we're jealous. Wish I could get my game to look like that.

Seriously - you do great stuff. It is sad to see things just evaporate.

I don't think that when you first posted those shots this forum was prepared for that. As I go back and play with Morrowind and MGE I see that what you presented and how was not at all unusual and actually pretty darn slick.

So sorry if I was part of that chorus.

Sorry about that. Anyway, I've learnt that the only way to truly compare world textures is to download them all and compare by taking my own screenshots. I have a feeling that som texture replacers will look better with HDR turned on and other will look better without.

Thank you for this thread, it's been very educational. After some experimentation, I've been going with Xerus' LOD color and normal maps along with PK's to cover the 23 border regions color maps that Xerus does not include. They look great.

BTW, I love your textures AmpolX. I can't imagine why anyone would be critical and I hope you make more of your work available (and re-release some of those that are no longer available).