Underwing Color (Wing Membrane Color Mod)

[Racktor]

This mod gives your character's wing membrane a colorful underside or under- and topside! It's activated by clicking the blue stance, but this can be changed to be any other stance by renaming "aug_stance_blue.def" to "aug_stance_<color>.def". Each character texture has its own selection of files to match your character the best possible, so make sure to choose the right one or you might get some oddities here and there.


The downloads are placed in an organised Google Drive folder. Make sure to go through the "Read Me" to make sure you're getting the right texture and for information on multi-color compatibility!

Download Here!

Download & Installation Instructions

1. Navigate to which texture the character you are going to mod has. (Examples are shown in screenshots in the main folder if you don’t know. Text descriptions are in the "read me" file.)
   
2. Choose whether you want the top and bottom of your wings colored, or only the bottom of your wings. Go to the respective folder.
   
3. Double-click on the color you would like to download.
   
4. Move your cursor to the black bar at the top and click the download button. (The download button is an arrow pointing to a line below it)
   
5. Move the <COLOR>.zip folder to your \...\Istaria\resources_override\ folder.
   
6. Right-click the .zip folder and click “unzip”.
   
7. Restart or run Istaria.
   
8. (Optional) Delete the .zip from resources_override.
   

Conflicts and Compatibility:

This mod will conflict with any other mod that uses the stance definition files and Layers.def. An example of that is my war paint mod. It's possible to circumvent incompatibility with other mods by combining the definition and layer files so you use both images at once.

My war paint mod includes a compatibility version to work this this mod, so make sure you read the instructions on how to install both if you are unsure.

Otherwise, this mod should be compatible with everything else.


Example Images:









..and some more in the replies to this thread


*Note: This initial post was edited nearly a year later. Replies before September 19th, 2015 might not make sense to this post, but will make more sense to the original one:



Original Post:

After a while of not having my AGHviewer working on my desktop, I was on my laptop and remembered suddenly that it works here. So I got my hands dirty in the world of modding and whipped this up over the course of about an hour.


Click for Image


The color is triggered by using red stance and will only show up on characters with red stance, as seen here -


Click for Image


If I have the time or interest too I might put together a pack of these with all different colors to choose from, considering there's really only 3 or 4 main textures for the wings and recoloring them a few times can't kill me. Of course, that's only if people actually want it. Otherwise I just decided to share my bored adventures.


It goes over your wing's markings and only shows up on the underside of the wing, as implied by title, but I can make it happen over both sides and probably go underneath the markings if I had the interest too. Since my characters only ever have the underwing color varying I didn't bother.


Edit:

Download Link for this Version: https://www.mediafire.com/?c5hvh3ob61oh756 It only has the shown texture and color, please note! Check latest posts to see if I've actually gone through and given other versions.

[Arzel Rashemi]

Oh that is really neat Rack! Would you put up a download link for it when you are finished with it? I'd love to have something like that for a couple of my dragons.

[Racktor]

Sure - I've edited my first post now to add a link to download this version, as well as made it so that all stances trigger it (go into the folder and delete the .def files for the other stances if you only one want to trigger it). ^^ It's only the version I showed in the screenshots though, as I wrote in the first post, so it may not look fabulous on all characters.

I also went back and made a version for another texture pretty dang fast so if I get the will to continue working on it after hitting lvl 20 with a character I've been mucking with for the last age (lvl 17 atm) I'll probably work on other versions and compile it all in a big Google Docs folder.

[Galdethriel]

Wow Rack! That looks absolutely amazing, it makes the wings look a lot more natural. I love it!

Downloaddownloaddownloaddownloaddownload!

[Solitaire]

Racktor, nice job. Do the dorsal and ear fins also. It'll look amazing. I wanted to do that for a creation option for dragons but the tech did not exist for it. And preserving existing dragon appearance would have been difficult but not insurmountable. Attached is a concept image that I had working back then.

Some model work would have been required to get it looking better cause there was some goofiness occurring on the wings but for the most part I was excited about it. It is one of my regrets that I never got that into the game.

And a tip. Use a shaded alpha from black to white. If you are laying a membrane texture on top of the base skin, you should be able to get a blend from the base color to the replacement color. I was also working on tinting the horns and a fade was one of the things I was playing with.

[Racktor]

Thanks, Galdethriel and Soli! ^^

I was actually planning on doing that after going through the first time but it really depended on how much time and effort I wanted to put into this project, honestly. Going back and individually selecting the fins would have drove me completely crazy at some point I'm sure. :P I will think about it though.

Your initial attempts at adding this into the system actually is what inspired my 'mod doodle' here. ^^ I wanted to give people at least a taste of what could have been even if it won't ever get implemented. Wish I knew enough about Istaria's workings and codings to work with it myself in my freetime but alas I don't. Nor am I a dev anyway. xD

Unfortunately AGHviewer doesn't work on this computer still but I have gone through and saved every. single. dragon. texture. file. on my laptop and I'm currently in the process of moving it to my desktop. /aghconvert should work here, would be weird if it didn't, so I'll keep trucking on with this in my spare time. ^^
(By 'AGHviewer doesn't work' I mean that I double-click it and it just instantaneously crashes without even opening a main window. Pops up "AGH Viewer has stopped working" and that's all.)

[Darkwing_Duck]

sorry for the Derpyness, but I can`t get the mod to work. where do I put it? I tried resources_override, I tried putting it right into the string you posted. textures_agh\characters\characters\drag on_u\clothing
but nothing. Even tried using the combat stances to see if they`re linking. but nope. am I just a dummy? or or it interferring with any other specific mod?

[Racktor]

It should work just by taking any of the folders with color names from that link (black, blue, dark green, etc) and putting it into your resources override. Blue stances should trigger it - if you have any mod that uses blue stance to trigger an effect, it's incompatible. I think there's the Teraflare mod that uses it but I can't think of any other mod that uses blue stance.

You also won't be able to see it immediately upon log in, you have to hit blue stance first, but I feel you knew that since you mentioned using stances.

Also, I'm having an annoying issue now. No matter what I do, this happens when I try to put the mod (even with the corresponding texture) on my character.

The bottom weird snippet is the texture file itself to show that nothing's there. Considering that follows the edge of the model I feel like some other texture file is throwing this in there but it doesn't appear until I use my stance and trigger the effect. It's also only on the top of the wing. Any idea where the heck this could be coming from? I checked the texture file over 8 times at least and I can't find anything.

[Darkwing_Duck]

Got it to work thanks to Galdethriel! the glowing metal one looks wicked on Nega

[Racktor]

That looks sweet on Nega Love how lava-ey he looks!

I've updated the drive with Pebbleskin 2 now, the very similar but not perfectly the same texture as Pebbleskin 1. This one has the fins on the neck and back rather than a full-on frill and larger scales overall. It's only the top and bottom version and to fix that bug seen earlier I had to add extra texture files to fix it. They're optional but only if you want the compatibility with other mods or deal with that bug I posted earlier. It's only needed if you use the top and bottom texture.

[Solitaire]

Racktor, The ghosting of texture on the trailing edges of the wings appears to be a few stray pixels. I've seen that happen before. Even though you don't see anything there, take an eraser tool and run it around the edges of the wing texture edges. And be sure to make a new alpha after. Sometimes you have the faintest of pixels that can't really be seen but will show up like that in the game. Sometimes inverting the image will help make them appear.

Also, if you want your stripes to appear on the wing membrane, you need to change the order of the layers. In your /Istaria/resources folder is a file called "layers.def". Open that up and look for the "Dragon_skin" section at the bottom. I didn't get your mods so I don't know what layer you used for the membranes, but find the layer you are using and move it between "baseskin" and "muscle_tone". The layers of a character's texture work just like an animation cell. First in the list is the bottom most texture then the others lay on top of that.

Oh, and one more suggestion. There is a lot more model after the visible trailing wing that is invisible. If you extend the trailing edge of the wing you should be able to increase the visible wing area in game. I always hated how thin the wings are near the body. It is not anything I experimented much with, though.

And another tip: Do not anti-alias the trailing edges of the wings. That is where those black edges are coming from. It gives you a nice blend into the base texture around the arms and fingers but for some reason turns black on the trailing edge. Maybe it has something to do with two semi-transparent layers on top of each other.

What program are you using to do the editing of the textures?

Nice work!

[Racktor]

Racktor, The ghosting of texture on the trailing edges of the wings appears to be a few stray pixels. I've seen that happen before. Even though you don't see anything there, take an eraser tool and run it around the edges of the wing texture edges. And be sure to make a new alpha after. Sometimes you have the faintest of pixels that can't really be seen but will show up like that in the game. Sometimes inverting the image will help make them appear.

I did do that actually, I ran the eraser there a bunch of times and relogged a lot. I filled in the background on different layers with different colors and found nothing. I ended up having to just erase the texture line from the muscle and base files so it'd go away. The black area there is because of my markings, though, which go further off my wing than they should. It appears even on normal Istaria so it's not something I caused, luckily. Also the stray random pixels appeared as that weird dark color even on textures that would normally color it white or blue.

Also, if you want your stripes to appear on the wing membrane, you need to change the order of the layers. In your /Istaria/resources folder is a file called "layers.def". Open that up and look for the "Dragon_skin" section at the bottom. I didn't get your mods so I don't know what layer you used for the membranes, but find the layer you are using and move it between "baseskin" and "muscle_tone". The layers of a character's texture work just like an animation cell. First in the list is the bottom most texture then the others lay on top of that.

Yep, I realise that. ^^ I just have the texture going over the wings for now because in my opinion it looks better overall, but I will change the layers.def file so it will be under the markings as an option. Thanks for the location, though, that'll definitely save a lot of time of messing with the files. I'd never guess "muscle_tone" being the layer with the markings.

Oh, and one more suggestion. There is a lot more model after the visible trailing wing that is invisible. If you extend the trailing edge of the wing you should be able to increase the visible wing area in game. I always hated how thin the wings are near the body. It is not anything I experimented much with, though.

I've looked into that occasionally and i remember you mentioning it back when I did the Ripped Wings mod, too! After this I may go back and play with the wing textures to make them longer but I'd have to basically redo this mod to make it match the new length, unfortunately. I'd also probably be copy/pasting and splicing the texture files to make it longer more than anything considering copying the texture perfectly isn't really in my area of expertise. It's something I have kept it mind though through this time, I haven't forgotten it. ^^

And another tip: Do not anti-alias the trailing edges of the wings. That is where those black edges are coming from. It gives you a nice blend into the base texture around the arms and fingers but for some reason turns black on the trailing edge. Maybe it has something to do with two semi-transparent layers on top of each other.

Strange, but noted. I never anti-aliased the edges more than they are in the base texture, though. I've only done so along the 'fingers' and 'arm' so that it blends better and isn't so jarring.
Btw, looking at the texture file this is where those little specks come from, even in the unmodded (wing texture wise) main game:

Edit: Click on the picture to view original size so it's easier to see.
Turned the texture red and the background black so it can be seen easier. I can guess exactly where this came from too - those little extra pixels line up perfectly with the edge of the other 'Pebbleskin' texture. The wings were copy-pasted into this texture, selected using the magic wand, the selection trimmed down to the wings, inverted, and the artist then ran an eraser along the edge. Selecting like that leaves a small line of pixels usually in some programs. It's also there in the muscle file. The "texture fix" I put in removes those little stray pixels.

What program are you using to do the editing of the textures?

Nice work!

Photoshop, though I'd prefer to use SAI it doesn't preserve transparency. ^^ Thank you!

[Racktor]

Quick update, since I can't edit my previous message anymore - Moved the "wings" layer around on the Layers.def as you specified, Soli, and it still overrode the patterns. o.o I'll keep messing with it though.

[Cilok]

Fiery looks great on Cilok, the darker colors go nicely with his deep red. Now I need to look again and find a good icy-like one for Turacegos.

[Cegaiel]

I likey, reminds me of this commerical when I was a kid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEXzx-TINc

[Aleron]

I am having a small issue...some reason if I use multiple colors but change the stance trigger it still will not show another color?
Any ideas?

[Racktor]

Is this what's happening?

1. Download red, green, blue
2. Assign red wing to red stance, green to green, and blue to blue by modifying the filename "aug_stance_blue" to other colors.
3. You click red to have red wings, but clicking green doesn't change it to green.

If so, try using the neutral stance to remove the other buff first. I think I've had multiple on at one time and it worked, and I don't see why it wouldn't if you change the filenames around... Check if you have any conflicting mods, to be sure

[Icestream]

Hey Racktor, very nice mod, I love the idea of having wing colors that are different from the body. However, I'm having an issue setting different colors to different stances.

1. Download red, green, blue
2. Assign red wing to red stance, green to green, and blue to blue by modifying the filename "aug_stance_blue" to other colors.
3. You click red to have red wings, but clicking green doesn't change it to green.

If so, try using the neutral stance to remove the other buff first. I think I've had multiple on at one time and it worked, and I don't see why it wouldn't if you change the filenames around... Check if you have any conflicting mods, to be sure

I've got a couple questions, as i've tried to rename the file "aug_stance_blue" to "aug_stance_red" or "aug_stance_green" but it doesn't seem to take, and the wings change color based on the recently added color, for example; I'd add light blue, purple and yellow, in that order and all the stances would take to yellow even if it was set for green. Am i doing something wrong with file naming? or does it have to specifically be Red/Blue/Green wing colors?

also which mods are currently conflicting with this one?

[Racktor]

Very nice! You are really getting good at this.

Thank you! ^^ It really isn't that hard, just time consuming as all heck.

I likey, reminds me of this commerical when I was a kid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEXzx-TINc

Haha, I don't think I ever saw that commercial xD Glad to hear though

the white looks nice on light colors
horizons_1442601503.jpg

Looks cute Your hatchie reminds me of ice and snow there... or it could just be Snowfall in the background. xD

Hey Racktor, very nice mod, I love the idea of having wing colors that are different from the body. However, I'm having an issue setting different colors to different stances.

I've got a couple questions, as i've tried to rename the file "aug_stance_blue" to "aug_stance_red" or "aug_stance_green" but it doesn't seem to take, and the wings change color based on the recently added color, for example; I'd add light blue, purple and yellow, in that order and all the stances would take to yellow even if it was set for green. Am i doing something wrong with file naming? or does it have to specifically be Red/Blue/Green wing colors?

also which mods are currently conflicting with this one?

Ahh crap, re-reading that post I realised I made a mistake.

When trying to install multiple colors, it's a bit more than just multiple stances. Let me explain.

Each stance has a file that is read when they're activated to see what to change on the character. For us, this means that it looks at the file and sees to "equip" a texture for the wings of the dragon. It then looks for the file, and displays it. In this case, this is the file "underwing.agh".
You can see that in the file aug_stance_blue.def:

	{
		{
			string texFilename = "underwing.agh"	
			string groupName = "head"	
			string layerName = "wings"			
			string offsetName = "dragon_head"			
		}
	}

Now, when you have 3 files in there each with the stance, they all read the same thing. And they all look for "underwing.agh". I wrongly assumed they would just use the one in their own folder - it's more likely that they will use the one the game is reading currently and not change.

What you will have to do to get multiple stances, you would need to rename "underwing.agh" to something else - say, "red.agh". Now, go into the aug_stance_COLOR.def file you have and rename it there, too. As long as the names match, it's fine. Istaria might not let you save the file into the resources_override folder as a .def, though, so direct it to your desktop then drag it in and overwrite.

In my old example of red for red and green for green, you'd do this:
Let's take red as an example:

1. Rename aug_stance_blue.def to aug_stance_red.def
2. Go into the file and rename "underwing.agh" to "red.agh". Save.
3. Go into the file's folder (either "...\Red\textures_agh\characters\characters\dragon _u\clothing" or "...\Red\") and rename "underwing.agh" to "red.agh".
4. Restart Istaria

That help? Sorry for the confusion, I had no issues with it switching colors around for whatever reason. It's guaranteed to work this way, but the other way is very iffy.

[Icestream]

Thank you for the quick response ^^

yes it worked 100% You sir, are my hero \o/