Wow, that first image looks spectacular!

Another new OCOv2 Hamfat image, this time an evening view of the IC Temple District. Not much point to these recent screenshots, they not being part of an "official" play-through. Still, they serve as reminders of the build process at different stages of completion. Most of the few mods utilized in this shot are old standbys:

ImpeREAL Imperial City - Unique Districts, which among other things add faux upper floors to many Imperial City buildings.

CityLights - Imperial City, which does the obvious of adding extra lights to the city in question.

AWLS, why live without it?

Blue Sky Nebula

Original Color - Darker Nights (Another very early install from my first play-through used ever since.

As for new stuff, only IC textures come to mind, though in this night scene they go largely unnoticed.

Oh yeah, HD iron armor. Surprising myself, I find it one of my favorite new add-ons. First time I've enjoyed viewing an iron clad avatar.

ADDENDUM: Here is an alternative to the above linked image, captured further from my avatar so that is serves more as a scenic nighttime view rather than a character portrait with interesting background. Pick your poison.

The more I look at this and the few other experimental build daytime images the more I feel something lacks. It's lighting, I think. In the near field I don't see any evidence of sun "burn out", where areas exposed to harsh direct sunlight are washed out. If true, the only mods that come to mind that mind cause this are Oblivion Reloaded and Real Lights. I don't believe Real Lights effects the sun, but only interior lighting. If OR, it's prolly some setting I configured incorrectly.

That said, nighttime lighting in the two Temple District shots seems pretty spot-on.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Jul 10 2017, 01:58 PM

I remember long ago in the old Beth forums you mentioned something about your Decrepit Avatar's 'true name,' and nobody else caught this but me. And so I began spamming What is his true name??? over and over until I finally caught your attention. Hamfat Hamlin.

Anyway, he looks angry in these pics. Not that this is a bad thing; he's got a tough job, after all. And I'm glad he's still doing this job. Now that mirocu is taking some sort of sabbatical in his cottage (or whatever) Lothran is not around. Renee Gade III lives in a completely different time, Joan of Arkay and Lady Saga can't handle the roads of Cyrodiil all alone. So we're glad Hamfat is still at it.

The pic of the Black Road is very bright indeed. It hurt my eyes. I'd like to see what a gloomier setting looks like with Oblivion Reloaded, if you don't mind.

This post has been edited by Renee: Jul 10 2017, 03:26 PM

Heh...yeah, I recall those days. You have slightly misremembered his family name (or made a typo), btw. It's Hamkin rather than Hamlin. Remember that, in olden times, families oft derived their surname from their profession, in this case generations of hog/pig breeders and meet producers. So associated became they with their chosen livelihood that it became common gossip that the two were tied by more than business connections. At some point "Related to Hogs" and the like morphed into "Kin to Hams", which in turn became "Hamkin". Whether this final naming was more or less forced on them by circumstances beyond their control or decided on by a marketing savvy family member is lost to history. In either case Hamkins they became, Hamkins they remain.

A bit of success. At last learning the gist of OR's in-game console, I was surprised to see BLOOM defaulted to DISABLED. Enabled it. Poof! Those flat, lifeless visuals I've been complaining about vanished. On a slightly negative note, bloom makes my avatar's face slightly blurry, as seen in this new image of him in the IC Market District. OR has a "sharpness" setting that should fit it, but I've not yet decided if I want too.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Jul 10 2017, 10:00 PM

WOW! These graphics are amazing!!!!

*drool*

I also have that issue, not sure what to do to correct it. Even with fw 38eee 1 it's almost like it's a cloudy day. Have tried to adjust the screen but it doesn't seem to help much.

I think what is missing is sunbeams = maybe angling down/across/between the trees and maybe some shadow below the trees where the sun wouldn't be reaching? The path is a bit washed out, no raised stones/ruts/ (etc)?

@mirocu Hmmm...do you have either HDR or Bloom (can't have both so far as I know, not with vanilla) enabled in the game's Video Settings?

@mALX The image you critique is the one I consider visually correct. The road is washed out due to harsh sunlight. (I use road textures by AmpolX, who tended to make them more reflective than most.) Then it's not washed out individual stones are clearly seen. That said, I notice in my experimental build that that particular road texture "is" a little flat. Its normal map is one of those that's mostly clear, which likely accounts for it. Still, I've never found road textures I like as well as those by AmpolX.

I captured two scenic views today, one standing at the foot of Talos Bridge on the Weye side, camera pointing toward the northwest portion of the Imperial Isle, with Verona Village flanking screen left. It was a spur-of-the-moment shot. I considered it a throwaway. Later on, looking over the two views in Paint.Net, I noticed much to admire in the throwaway image. In the end I tossed the other view and kept the throwaway.

Here it is, a View of the Imperial Isle Bathed in Early Sunlight.

I think the early sunlight effects are captured well nigh perfectly. The only real distracts are, in my opinion, a too obvious seam separating two LandscapeLOD quads and slightly too blurry texturing on those beige (?) rocks nearest camera position. At some point I'll track down exact which texture it is and see if I can find a decent replacement.

That water looks great!

** I tried to find one of Victoria's Oblivion shots to give you a visual example of what I was talking about - not sure which mods she used, but there were actual beams/rays of sunlight between the trees and even some sun's glare over the top of the trees that threw just the right amount of contrast to the shadows beneath them. It was visually stunning to see, and very realistic looking.

Anyway, her Oblivion shots had all been long since moved out to make room for all her Skyrim shots, so I wasn't able to find one - but that is what I was talking about.

This is very pretty, but it lacks something; and I think that it has to do with the way the light is everywhere in the same strength instead of filtered through the scene below it in the varying strengths that going through clouds and trees would cause. There is no visualization of the sun's rays, even though you can see its light.

Here are some examples of what I'm trying to describe (and probably failing) :




https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1...-1441249619.jpg


https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1...-1266626674.jpg


https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1...-1217370664.jpg

I was going to mention that what you describe sounds like the sort sort of graphics improvements best provided by ENBs. Visited Cinematic ENB's Nexus page to find a decent image to link. Turns out, at least one of your links is a Cinematic ENB capture.

I agree that Oblivion Reloaded's default Godrays settings are pretty subtle. Then again OR is not an ENB, though it attempt some of the same manipulations. I installed Cinematic ENB on my experiment build a few days ago and liked the results, but the game micro stuttered too often to suit me. With OR I've not yet noticed any mentionable stutter or lagginess. The true test will come once the build is complete and my avatar can traverse Bravil's Barrowfields with some hope of survival. The Barrowfields' southern sheep pen is a frame-rate killer on my secondary computer. The game becomes a glorified slide show at the point if a beast attacks the flock while my avatar is nearby, as oft happens.

I thought one of these screens said it used something called "Immersive Sunlight," but I don't remember which. All did a really good job of making the sunlight vibrant and real. I know it brings the graphics up to the same level as ESO, really amazing! Not sure if my rig can handle it, but I'll bet yours does, lol. I'd say there must be some fix for that stutter because I've seen a lot of people's screens with this effect. Maybe the stutter is a mod conflict?

Anyway, your close up graphics are Awesome! Much better than mine are!




This post has been edited by mALX: Jul 12 2017, 03:13 AM

@mALX AT some point I'll give the combo of Oblivion Reloaded and an ENB a try. I wanna get much more comfortable with OR first. There ares still functions I can't Enable/Disable with the in-game console, and some I don't know the use of.

Here we see OCOv2 Hamfat in Green Emperor Way, not so White-Gold Tower in the backgound. I had just installed Shademe Enhanced at the time, but noticed little difference in shadowing. I "did" figure out how to get rid of the "soft focus" look. The world's definitely sharper now, and my eyes less sore. I do miss the softness of far distant landscape, but ya can't have everything I suppose.

These recent images document graphical and other "improvements" as I build my experimental Oblivion install. They do "not" chronicle the adventures of an avatar within that install. Official, no avatar has left the Imperial Prison complex. (I've made no saves beyond that point.) I may or may not use one of four already created faces if and when an actual play-through begins.

ADDENDUM. An evening view of Talos District at the statue.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Jul 13 2017, 01:12 AM

@Decrepit - Nope, no HDR or Bloom.


Nice pixies as always, btw

My OCOv2 avatar On the Waterfront. Notice the Bloated Float sign. A bit off-putting, but the Russian mod which provides it is too good to do without. I could of course overwrite those particular textures and meshes with files from some other mod that provides them (or Beth's originals), but sort of like it as is.

I captured an image of my OCOv2 avatar in Weye Village on the 12th. Since then I replaced my beloved AmpolX roadstone and roadstonesmall texture files with those from Imperial Roads?. Here is more less the same view, captured this morning. I definitely prefer Imperial's roadstonesmall texture. I might like Imperial's roadstone texture as well as AmpolX's, though there are trade offs. Imperial roadstonesmall and AmpolX roadstone don't blend together nearly as well as the two Imperial textures combined, which only makes sense. For now that inclines me toward the Imperials.

Imperial Roads includes Cobblestone textures. There the jury is out. I suspect that in this case, when all is said and done, I'll keep at least a few AmpolX cobblestones.

These are Awesome shots, whatever you used on his facial graphics is fantastic! But ... I think he looks lonely! He needs Vilja to come keep him company again!





I do like the Imperial Roads better than Quarles Texture Pack's versions; but didn't know if these two shots at Weye were a comparison of Vanilla vs Imperial Roads (or AmpolX's vs Imperial Roads). If it is the latter, then I most def prefer the Imperial Roads to the AmpolX in that screen comparison.

** Off topic = I did notice him at the Bloated Float, even if it was the Russian one! Was he there to meet Vilja?

I have to agree with you on the sign, it is beautifully done - but unreadable as the "Bloated Float," and = not sure if that wouldn't break a quest or two that rely's on scripting that would be looking for that item (sign) in English? (unless they just copy/pasted the Bethesda name for this sign; I have done that before to make sneaky edits to the game)



This post has been edited by mALX: Jul 14 2017, 05:34 PM

Was he there to meet Vilja. Not really, as this isn't an actual play-through. Not yet at any rate. He did step inside Bloated Float long enough to insure she is in place and ready to go if and when the time comes. I'm using an OCOv2 Vilja patch that gives her a different hairstyle. My initial thought was to use the original hairstyle patch, and might yet switch to it.

The image comparison is between AmpolX and Imperial Roads roadstone and roadstonesmall textures. There is indeed much QTP3 to be seen. The Inn itself. The ground texture immediately in front of the Inn before roadstonesmall kicks in. The bit of stone wall seen screen right. I think QTP3 does well with those. Some QTP3 textures I'm not overly fond of, but those are okay. I load QTP3 early so that much of it is overwritten by other textures.

Have you seen my Vilja? I got her a makeover:


Okay, well I can't show you because Photobucket has hijacked my photos. Unless I upgrade to their premium (400 per annum) membership, I can view my screens on their site, but not post them anywhere.

Grrrrrrr.

I stopped using them years ago because they were over-run with ads and I couldn't remember my password (and had a new email address, so couldn't get that straightened out). So I guess I have lost all my pictures there.





This post has been edited by mALX: Jul 15 2017, 05:20 PM

Scenic view of the Imperial Isle with my OCOv2 avatar screen right. This shot exists solely because I quite like foreground pier texturing. It was conceived as being purely scenic, sans avatar. But the right portion of the view seemed rather blase. My avatar disguises that. His face is bathed by shadow, but that's okay since the focus should be elsewhere.

All I am seeing is an error message saying to update your 3rd party viewing settings.

Okay, well I can't show you because Photobucket has hijacked my photos. Unless I upgrade to their premium (400 per annum) membership, I can view my screens IN THUMBNAILS on their site, but not click on them or post them anywhere anymore.

Grrrrrrr.

I stopped using them years ago because they were over-run with ads. I couldn't remember my password (and had a new email address, so couldn't get that straightened out); and they had "Save this image" blocked so I couldn't even download them to my PC anymore. So I guess I have lost all my pictures there.









Really nice!