Alas, the Dragon Priest cloak from Cloaks of Skyrim mod was not all I hoped it would be:
So it doesn’t wrap around the front at all. The “v” cut in the back really isn’t that big a deal either – I have learned how to “cut” models by making parts of them transparent so I can cut a v in anything really. Think of it as having a great pair of scissors but no sewing needle. I can subtract, but I can’t add. And where a hood would be, there’s nothing. But while I had the mod installed, I wanted to see some others…
COUNT KATIA! Ok, no hoodie. Neck thing is rediculous (but remember those scissors!). Does wrap around pretty good though. Frankly, this is the most likely I’ve found yet (with a lot of cutting!). But obviously it still doesn’t cover anything in the front.
The rest all appear to be variations on this theme (though I’ve only looked at a FEW, there must be HUNDREDS in this mod!) Different colors, textures and lengths but all basically similar:
There are quite a few with hoodie-type things on the back though.
So, what to do… Best from this mod that I’ve seen is Dracula cloak (Daedric technically but throw some red inner lining in and we’ve got dracula!) Do I want to start work on this, knowing that it won’t look canon? Frankly, I don’t think so. Not yet anyway. I want to see a few other mods first before I commit. So, no mod work yet. Besides, I haveotherstuff to do too.
Yes, it’s that time again. Time to begin a new Skyrim mod based on Prequel. This time, Cloak of Grey Gray Tomorrow. (Stay Cannon! GRAY not GREY!)
This one’s gonna be tough I fear. First, let’s reiterate one thing – I can’t do mods from scratch – I’m just not good enough for mesh editing (though I did do some VERY slight mesh editing on Arena armor). So it’s critical I first find some existing mods to work with.
But even before that, I need to figure some things out. First, going as canon as possible, I’ve only got 2 images to work with right now:
So this first one has the cloak on but not the underneath outfit. So… should the cloak be separate? I think so. Also, here the hood is down so THAT should really be separate too. (or a version with cloak hood up and another with it down – either way). So we’re really looking at 3 separate items here. 1-hood, 2-cloak,
3-undergarment. The cloak is the most important of those though.
And here we have the undergarment with it. There’s a .gif where she pulls the hood up, but it’s so short we don’t really get much of a look at the hood. Fortunately the original designer gave enough of that here:
(bottom right) so when it’s time to start creating the texture file for that, we’ve something to go by.
Ok – now back to the cloak itself. It has some features that are going to be hard as hell to imitate. First, it covers a significant chest area. Almost (if not all) the existing cloak/cape mods I’ve found mostly just cover the back like a cape and nearly nothing over the shoulders. Here’s some I’m looking at:
Velvet Robes and Cloaks
Not much in front, but beautiful cloak. Problem is it would not reflect the swooping curve from the front to back. But all have problems, this may be the least!
Winter is Coming
Has the advantage of much more in the front, but all Furry and quite mounded over the shoulders. Plus, there’s still no way to make that swooping curve from front to back.
Cloaks of Skyrim
This one has me interested. I’ve yet to see a good front-view of it though, but it does appear to carry around quite well around the shoulders from this view – plus it has a split in the back that is canon. the tatters around the bottom may not be an issue either as it needn’t be quite this long and I’ve proven I can “erase” with no problem using the texture file.
So I’ll probably at least try first with that Dragon Priest cloak from Cloaks of Skyrim mod – if the front isn’t just too “off”.
I may take a (SHORT!) hiatus from KM updates in the near future. The
Cloak of Grey Tomorrow outfit in Prequel has me intrigued. When the
winner is decided, I’m going to go full steam ahead to design a Skyrim
mod for it and may get a chance to use it in KM once done. I’ve already
established that she’s left some “stuff” in the Whiterun inn. That may
include the CoGT outfit if so. Probably the enchantment may be worn
off so it might not DO anything, but it would be a great way to
introduce a new outfit to KM. (and maybe work as pajamas – sleeping in Arena armor can’t be comfortable – and Skyrim doesn’t allow for blankets apparently.)
I also have my own idea of what it
should look like. Since I can’t draw, I may try and create a mod and
screenshot that to the Fanart page as another entry. Mine will include a
catsuit underneath, probably based on this existing mod but with modified coloring:
Because… catsuits are appropriate in every conceivable way. 🙂
Also,
I’m finally going to reveal H with the next update. I need to NOT have
him offscreen all the time if he’s going to be a character. Maiq has a
twin brother (or maybe it actually IS Maiq! He must do SOMETHING
besides wandering around Skyrim all the time.)
If I can do this
next update as I intend, it will be the largest scene I’ve done yet so
it’s a bit intimidating. But I think it will work out OK.
I got through most of the major character introductions needed. I’d like to throw some more in before the plot really gets moving, but I’m afraid they’d be tedious to shove them all in back to back, so I’ll forgo that and work them in after things get going.
Plot should become apparent after the next 2 updates, and perhaps then I’ll feel I’ve got enough going to hold an audience beyond “oh look, more furry ass and scaly tits!”.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to promote this thing? It’s a bit tricky with the Adult nature, but I do wish I could get some people to take a look at the thing.
I had the “Ask a question” turned on for a bit, but I didn’t realize it would post directly to the blog, and I don’t want them there. I also got Disqus working, but it wouldn’t hurt to make it more prominent.
So, I’m up to 7 characters now. A couple still mandatory to introduce to make the plot work, but they can come after it gets moving:
Katherine Managan – protagonist and only real connection to Prequel. H – Lord of the Manor and owner of “Tails of the …” monthly mags. Sabhira, mentor to Katherine. Udaran, friend of Sabhira. Milahme, bitchy argonian model. Red/Muz-Ra outspoken and oversexed Argonian model. Ubergard, giant Argonian guard.
Still to come, Lydia – the only human model and recent addition to modelling staff. Unnamed (as yet) human guard. Unnamed (as yet) khajiit.
And I have one small bit of plot I’ve yet to figure out exactly how to do. I need to see if I can call a Dragon on command. Guess I’ll find out if I can do that when I get there!
Oh, this IS fun. I just hope I can figure out some not-too-spammy way of promoting it. Oh, and KillerfishSG, I totally understand about not wanting to reblog it. It would take a certain kind of blogger to do that. But awfully glad to have you guys at least along for the ride!
Ok, got Steam/Skyrim all fired up and my base, unmodded Katia in-game. WOW it’s been a long time since I’ve seen unmodded khajiits. (Wow they’re ugly!) No offense Katia! It’s not you its just…
…rough. There’s a river right there Katia. How about you go wash those undies huh? ^_^ But at least I don’t have to worry about showing nudity anymore!. Yeah, this is the model I’ll be using. Stock. Standard. Not even yellow. But no, this mod is about the armor, NOT about Katia. So lets just say this is Katia’s third cousin, twice-removed…
…on her father’s side. Oh Pepsidude ain’t gonna be happy with that flat tush. But remember, it’s all about the armor (keep repeating that… it’s all about the armor, it’s all about the armor… You CAN survive this unmodded horror that is default Skyrim!)…
Maybe not. I need a name for her I can remember since she’s definitely not Katia. Let’s call her Tackia. Well, this is about as good as I could do with all defaults and no mods. And no, I’m not going to mod her this time. We’re going full-defaults here.
Some other new adventures we get though will include the Creation Kit. I never used it before, so I guess I’m going to learn how this time! Also, I cheated with my other mods. I just replaced an existing armor with my mod’s files. By doing that I didn’t have to sweat getting it into the game or what stats it should have. This time I’m going to build a new armor and I’m hoping the Creation Kit will help me to get it in-game like that.
Which also brings up the question of what the armor itself should be like. I’ve been concentration solely on the visual aspects of it. But should it actually be GOOD armor, terrible one-step-above-rags armor, superpowered magical kick-ass armor or what? Should it have any magic powers? I mean really, to be canon it really probably shouldn’t be much. But if you play Skyrim at all, you’re not going to want to keep this on when your a level 46 Assassin unless it’s got something special going for it.
I’m really open to opinions on that. If you have any, go right ahead and respond to this.
Well, that’s it for now. No, I haven’t done any of the other tweaks I had in mind. Maybe I will someday but – I know me better than that. I probably won’t. But I did succeed in what I set out to do so. Maybe when Katia goes spelunking in the sewers of Kvatch, Kaz will see fit to equip her in a new outfit. If so, rest assured that I’ll be back with a new series to recreate that one in Skyrim too! So for now, goodbye Katia! We’ll meet again!
Thanks for following! It’s been my first real Tumblr series. Hopefully there’ll be more. There’s been a lot of talk about the future of Katia and Prequel. But I know from first hand experience that everyone waxes and wanes periodically in their enthusiasm for a project like Prequel. (No, I’ve never done anything like a webcomic, but I do have my own little pet project that has it’s own small fanbase).
I think Kaz just went through a lull, but he’ll not be able to leave Katia so easily. She’s lurking inside his head and won’t leave him in peace till he leaves HER in peace (one way or another!). Of that I’m sure. I’ll be honest, in the last few months I’ve been pretty mad with Kaz. He’s infuriated me with his constant delays and predictions. To be fair, he never PROMISED anything. Just suggested time frames for the next update that never came to pass. But no one ASKED him for predictions, he just volunteered them and yes, that did piss me off. Yet, as he said, I find myself coming back daily to check Just In Case. Damn him and his story-telling abilities! I feel like a puppet on strings, but it’s worse – I KNOW I’m a puppet and still I keep coming back willingly.
So, should he ever read this – yeah, I’m still one of your loyal minions. Maybe a grumbling a bit, but I still trudge on following for a chance at another crumb. Hey, if I can wait a year for the next Game of Thrones season (or even longer for the next book!), I can wait a few months to see Katia in action again. And no need for some hyped-up super-flashy minigame thingy. I’ll be happy to see her do anything. I must confess though that I hope her storyline doesn’t hit another bottom again. I know the narrative has to rise and fall, but it’s just human nature that we hope the falls get shallower and the climb gets higher to see SOME progression. Yet I’m bound by the author-reader alliance. Your will be done. (but dammit, I don’t have to LIKE it!) ^_^
And, finally, if fictional characters have any sort of reality somewhere in the multiverse – (And in some way, I think they do. But that’s waxing metaphysical which a computer geek should not try.) – good luck Katia! We’re still rooting for you. There’s Hope For You Yet!
As “proof” of sorts, here she is with a different outfit. What does this prove other than that I’m a pervert and install sexy mods? Well, she has no blue pants here, THATS for sure!
Yeah, you keep dreaming shopkeeper. This kitty ain’t for you! She’s given up the booze and the one-night stands… (well, maybe not wearing that outfit!)
Ok, enough silliness. So when last I left off, I had an upper-half-khajiit body that worked beautifully with the rest of the armor (which allowed me to have a 2nd body inside the armor with the blue pants texture) – but it was only available at max-size. I tried making a minimum size body, cutting out the same vertexes using 3ds Max program, but it either crashed the game completely or in-between things went hyper-wonky because the vertexes didn’t match up exactly between the two.
(weight settings other than Max and Min were failing miserably – not now as you can see!)
I even went so far as to post for help over at Nexus – (with no results). But then I got an idea – what if I import the complete, max size body into 3DS Max, along with the complete min size body AND the partial, max size body. With all three in at once, I can edit both complete bodies precisely to match the partial max-size I had. Then, when I exported them after removing the lower half, the two originally complete bodies SHOULD be identical. The same process will have been done with both bodies so the result should match too. It worked. IT WORKED! Hurrah!
Ok, so there are still some small touchup things I want to do – plus this is still the Ragged Trousers clothing and it needs to replace an existing armor. (I’ve no plans to create a truly NEW armor in the game here – I’ll just replace an existing armor mesh/template)
So not really done yet – but nothing is stopping me now. And now, for something completely different. First, for HoodieKatia, the closest I could find in Skyrim!
More like HoodED Katia but it’s still cute!’
Anybody like succubus-es? (Succubi?) How about Katia as a Succubus? Maybe if she hangs out more with Nah she might someday…
(And this shows the problem with lazy modders – max-size body regardless of the weight settings you choose. Not MY mod tho! But perhaps for a succubus mod I guess that max size might be somewhat more appropriate.)
Ok, enough of my screenshot-fest. I’m going to go head to the beach and see if I can catch Katia there. Or at least take a break from this for a few days. A few tweaks still – I’d like to work on that belt a bit, got a few clipping issues (minor though), maybe re-work the wolfs head. For now though, something with ice and rum sounds good!
Ok, the pauldrons took a bit more than just copy/paste but really just revising the names of some objects and copying some “bones” over. I’m really getting close to being done with this CHSBHC model version, and it will be better than my original because the blue pants are part of the armor this time, not a separate body texture that applies to ALL Khajiits!
So, the latest. First, I still have the problem that I can’t reduce the size of her below max, so I know you’ll all think I’m some sort of big-boobs pervert. I may be a perv, but not for unreal silicone. I can appreciate them as well as the next hetero type, but I KNOW this can’t be Katia with those mammoth mammaries. I’ll try to explain as best I can what the problem is.
As I mentioned before, there is an actual body underneath all armors (that have any sleeveless, breast or leg showing anyway). But I can’t just paint the legs blue to simulate pants – if I do, ALL khajiits will have blue legs. I want them to come-and-go with the armor though. Well, I did figure out how to do that. Inside I now have TWO bodies. The lower half is separate from the upper half, with transparent texture on the upper half so you never see it. Very fortunately, I found a mod that had an upper-half-only body too so that’s what we see for the arms and chest. Problem is, that mod ONLY had the full-size body. It didn’t have the corresponding minimum size body. So I’ve been looking for a mod where someone has just the upper-half as a minimum size for CHSBHC shape. I’ve not found a SINGLE ONE! Everyone is just creating single-size CHSBHC mods…
or their armor is full-coverage and thus there is no minimum body or it’s a full body. And I can’t use a FULL body – the lower half must not exist. While I can make the upper part of the blue pants body transparent, I can’t do the same for the lower part of other body because the other body’s texture is used by ALL female khajiits. They would be floating around legless! I’ve got an idea that I may be able to use a non-CHSBHC upper body though – so I’ve still got hope. Meanwhile, I HAVE gotten a lot of other stuff done…
Pauldrons obviously, and I fixed the texture issue with the pants – and made them shiny. (I like shiny things.) I even tried making the main armor shiny, but – though these screencaps show the shiny version – I’ve gone back and put back the duller version so it wont have the sheen you see here (except her leggings – like I said, I like shiny!)
WARNING – MORE KHAJIIT BUTT AHEAD! HIDE THE CHILDREN!
Anyone who has worked on textures knows the bane of the “seams”. Seams are hard to avoid when you have a 2D texture laying over a 3D model.
Two are quite obvious here on her butt. I could try and minimize them, but then I realized that, in this particular case, they’re actually a benefit! While in reality her “pants” are really just bodypaint for all practical purposes. But those seams, normally a bad thing, help create the illusion that the pants ARE leggings and not just paint. Ok, not MUCH, but a little bit at least. So I’m going to leave those as-is.
I had another problem – hard to see in screenshots, but just above her tail there was a section where both the upper body AND lower body textures were in the exact same place. Causes weird flashing colors when that occurs as one texture gets slightly over the other and then vice-versa. I solved that with some VERY careful editing of the blue texture to just the point where the upper body starts. End result is good as the tail actually joins with the upper body texture and not “poking through” the blue.
If you look close, you’ll spot a bit of clipping (blue poking through the armor) at her hip. I should be able to fix that too with some careful texture work. So I’ve got quite a bit of tweaking to do when I’m finally finished with the last major hurdle – the ability to tone down her curves to a reasonable level! But I’ve a fighting chance now and the end is in sight.
So, with some luck on my current plan to use a non-CHSBHC model for the upper half minimal-size version, I might just be able to pull this off yet! If it works, the next update may actually show Katia’s sammich-loving sister trimmed down and with some breast-reduction and butt reduction – they go together. Just so you needn’t fear that her butt must always be so… well… round?
bdprequel 