DOD:S Visual Upgrade

NOTE: DO NOT INSTALL THE HUD (MOH2) IN THIS SET IT IS TOO OLD AND BUGGY

DAY OF DEFEAT: SOURCE VISUAL UPGRADE

DODSVU ver. 1

by Wile E. Coyote.

Watch it on YouTube:

From Wile's Readme...
DODSVU ver. 1
27 March 2007

ABOUT:

All skins are the default sizes. The only things added were normal map and phong shaders to the v_model weapon skins. Performance-wise, if your computer can run DOD:S, it can run this add-on pack. The DOD Underground is simply a reference to the collection of dedicated modelers, skinners, coders, sound engineers, mappers and even players that work outside the official Valve radar to improve the content of the game.

OBJECTIVE:

When Day of Defeat: Source was first released, there were many people, like myself, who just couldn't help but feel the game had a "rushed" look to it. The models are some of the best I've ever seen, yet a few of the model skins (especially the player models) looked as though they were unfinished. They looked like beta skins. They were not on-par with other HL2 releases at that time. I personally was absolutely certain there was going to be an update to replace them. It hasn't happened yet. Furthermore, Valve's practice of mipmapping all the first-person weapon model textures caused many video cards to blur out what were indeed very accurate and well-done skins. In my opinion this was an unnecessary precaution on their part since the impact on the overall system is pretty darn insignificant. To be blunt, if your video card cannot handle the v_model textures un-mipmapped, you probably don't want to be using that video card to play DOD:S

The goal of this add-on pack is to bring DOD:S to full life WITHOUT affecting performance very much, if at all. All the skins are meant to keep the DOD:S look and feel while at the same time adding a lot more eye-candy and perhaps even a bit more realism. Hi-res textures, hi-poly custom models, skins that do not look similar to the defaults, bumpmaps for often-repeated map textures and models, class based player models - these things have been left out of the main installation file intentionally. There are many excellent works out there for DOD:S that did not fall under the guidelines I set for this pack. On the links page you will find many links for stuff like that if you are interested in looking further.

INSTALLATION:

Use the "Setup DODS Visual Upgrade Pack.exe" to install the main files. It will automatically find your DOD:S installation. Use the check boxes to select which components you want to install. Use the included pictures as reference for finding out what each component is BEFORE you install it.

The main installation creates an uninstall that can be found in your DOD folder. If you accidentally install something you don't like, just use uninstall to remove everything and use the installer again, this time making sure to "uncheck" the item you do not want.

Alternate file installers do NOT have an uninstall.

ALTERNATE FILES:

Alternate files are included in ZIP files.

• Hi-res 2048x2048 for player and infantry rifles. If your card can handle these they are highly recommended. You will notice the difference in death-cam mode or "ironsight" mode
• Hi-poly .30 cal v_model. Exactly the same as the default model, only the the polygon count was significantly increased to make the rounded edges smoother. Uses the default skin. There are a lot of round edges on this model in particular and the 5000+ default polycount just wasn't enough to do a convincing job. This model pushes that count up to 8000+ (the default tiger tank is 10000+) and in my opinion it definitely worth installing if your computer can handle it.
• Non-phong shader VMT's. Installing these will prevent your video card from rendering phong shaders. Made for older video cards that cannot handle the new shaders.

COPYRIGHT:

As far as I know, most authors involved allow the re-use/modification of their work as long as credit is given to the original author (unless they have changed their mind since I last talked to them). The exceptions to this are eSkwaad, Soul-Slayer and DODSS-Kuggan; It's up to you to contact them personally.

At least 3 people in this pack (myself included) that I am aware of have stated they do not want their work displayed at FPSBanana.com, so it follows that this pack may not be uploaded to that website.

DISCLAIMER:

re·skin [ree-skin]
verb(used with object), -skinned, -skin·ning.

To replace or repair the exterior surface or coating of source

Terminology. I know of only 2 types of skins: New skins and Reskins. Here’s my interpretation – and a widely accepted one. If you altered the appearance of an original skin in ANY way, it is a reskin. If a skin is 100% new material, nothing reused, it is a new skin for that model. A full reskin means you have changed / replaced / added to every part of that skin. It does NOT constitute a 100% brand new skin. If you differ in opinion, that does not make me a liar. I achieved EXACTLY what I set out to do – make the originals better, nothing more, nothing less. I NEVER was going for total skin replacement. Not ever.

SUMMARY:

I hope that you find something worthwhile in this pack. I think you will. Admittedly I geared the install pack towards newcomers to DOD:S who aren't terribly familiar with custom files and to the crowd that has yet to try DOD:S. However I think that there is still a large crowd of veteran players out there that look for 1-shot installs like this every now and then when looking for a change or re-installing the game itself. Much thanks goes to the DOD development team - I know they have not abandoned DOD. They have been given other assignments which keep them busy, and will return to DOD with new content when they are able. But until the time that update comes, I bring you this collection to use in it's place.

Wile E. Coyote