3D Opening Screens / Campaign Screens in 16:9

[pyf]

Hello,

The goal of this tutorial is to make Blizzard's 3D opening screens and campaign screens fit for 16:9 resolutions (tested in 1280x768). (see comparisons the in attached images)

This works with any WC3 version. It is not perfect, but I hope it will encourage people to discover perfect values for 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratios. I also hope someone will develop a program to automate the many steps described below.

Tools used:

• Ladik's MPQ Editor
• MDLXconv 1.04 (unofficial update by ProFeT) - originally developed by Guesst
• Geoset Translation 1.04 - by Oinkerwinkle

Instructions:

1. Using Ladik's MPQ Editor, extract the necessary mdx files from your war3.mpq and war3x.mpq, preserving the folder structure. The folder structure goes into your installed WC3 folder.
   
   RoC's opening screen is located in UI/Glues/Mainmenu/MainMenu3D
   RoC's title logos are located in UI/Glues/Mainmenu/WarCraftIIILogo
   RoC's 3D campaign screens are located in UI/Glues/SinglePlayer/****Campaign3D
   
   TFT's opening screen is located in UI/Glues/Mainmenu/MainMenu3D_exp
   TFT's title logos are located in UI/Glues/Mainmenu/WarCraftIIILogo_exp
   TFT's 3D campaign screens are located in UI/Glues/SinglePlayer/****_Exp
   
   
   
2. Using MDLXconv, convert each MDX into MDL format
   
   
   
3. Using Geoset Translation 1.04, for each MDL file, apply the values provided below for "Scale" (and also sometimes for "Movement")
   
   
   
4. When this is done, convert your modified MDL back to MDX format using MDLXconv 1.04
   
   
   
5. The modified MDX goes into the proper folder structure in your installed WC3 directory, no name must be changed
   
   
   
6. Finally, if not done already, edit the registry to allow local files.
   http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...d1426519868-warcraft-3-hq-allowlocalfiles.zip
   You can view a guide here.
   
   
   
7. Launch the Game, and select a 16:9 resolution
   (I personally use 1280x768, which is pretty close to 1280x720)
   
   
   
8. Enjoy

The values below were found through trial and error (=> weeks of painful work!)


Reign of Chaos: values for "Scale" (and for "Movement" if necessary) :

BlizzardLogo.mdl
??? (is it used anywhere ?)

WarCraftIIILogo.mdl
x : 1.25

MainMenu3d.mdl
x : 0.75

CampaignWarCraftIIILogo.mdl
??? (is it used anywhere ?)

HumanCampaign3D.mdl
y : 1.25 (and movement = 45 for Y) (fit, but not satisfying imho)

NightElfCampaign3D.mdl
x : 0.75 (and movement = 20 for X)

OrcCampaign3D.mdl
x : 0.75

TutorialCampaign3D.mdl (note : light emitter issue ; unfixable ?)
x : 0.75

UndeadCampaign3D.mdl
y : 1.25 (and movement = 40 for Y)
z : 1.10 (and movement = 60 for Z)




The Frozen Throne: values for "Scale" (and for "Movement" if necessary) :

MainMenu3d_exp.mdl
x : 0.8

MainMenu3d_Beta.mdl
??? (is it used anywhere ?)

WarCraftIIILogo_exp.mdl
x : 1.25

WarCraftIIILogo_expbeta.mdl
??? (is it used anywhere ?)

Alliance_Exp.mdl
x : 0.75

NightElf_Exp.mdl
x : 0.8

Orc_Exp.mdl
y : 1.3 (and movement = 30 for Y - necessary for the scroll ; not satisfying)
z : 0.9

Undead3D_Exp.mdl
x : 0.8 (and movement = 80 for X)



I believe such tweaks can be used for ArthasIllidanFight.mdx. But Geoset Translation 1.04 does not seem to be able to fully edit the suitable values.

Have fun and experiment with your own values.

 

[WhiteFang]

Was going to test this,but I receive a error when I try to use GeosetTranslation.Something about a COMDLG32.OCX
Edit:Fixed it,here is the file for those who also get this error,just drop it in your Warcraft III folder http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/pastebin.php?id=fu2yjl Remove it again before launching the game,because it forces the game to launch RoC for some reason

 

[Dr Super Good]

Distorting the models is not really a solution for incorrect projection. Sure you can make it look more correct, but it is a lot of effort for something that really should be fixed by the developers.

 

[pyf]

Distorting the models is not really a solution for incorrect projection. Sure you can make it look more correct, but it is a lot of effort for something that really should be fixed by the developers.

Agreed.

My tutorial is a temporary workaround for proper 16/9 widescreen 3D opening / campaign screens, until Blizzard offers us true native widescreen support for the entire game.

Values provided on first post are not perfect, but mostly close. Ratio for 16:9 is between 1.77 and 1.78. Better values are welcome.

Was going to test this,but I receive a error when I try to use GeosetTranslation.Something about a COMDLG32.OCX
Edit:Fixed it,here is the file for those who also get this error,just drop it in your Warcraft III folder http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/pastebin.php?id=fu2yjl Remove it again before launching the game,because it forces the game to launch RoC for some reason

Thanks for giving it a try.

Speaking of bugs with Geoset Translation 1.04, please also ensure that your decimal symbol (in Windows' regional settings) is a "."

See this post
http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/modeling-animation-276/geoset-translations-166245/

 

[loktar]

Looks great imo. I wonder if there isn't a way to change the FOV for the entire game through modding.

 

[Dr Super Good]

Looks great imo. I wonder if there isn't a way to change the FOV for the entire game through modding.

Because it registers as cheating in Blizzard games and will get your CD Key banned. You could greatly increase your field of view to see more of the battle field so can see more stuff happening that someone playing fairly.

Modern Blizzard games like SC2 and D3 support a few standard aspect ratios which have been fine tuned to be vaguely equal as far as total area seen. WC3 needs such a mechanic to be fair as well, especially for melee play.

 

[loktar]

Well, the important thing is that the game isn't stretched horizontally. I guess that's what SC2 and D3 do, probably most modern multiplayer games.
Would be fine for a singleplayer mod though.

 

[pyf]

Looks great imo. I wonder if there isn't a way to change the FOV for the entire game through modding.

Fundamentally, it is a fixed value stored in RAM. If you can access that precise part of RAM and change the value there... er... nevermind.

You can also change height of camera btw (see end of post)

Because it registers as cheating in Blizzard games and will get your CD Key banned. You could greatly increase your field of view to see more of the battle field so can see more stuff happening that someone playing fairly.

In a multiplayer game, one player cheating is game-breaking for obvious reasons (unfair advantage).
In a multiplayer game, all the players cheating leads to somewhat idiotic situations, therefore breaking game spirit and balance.
In single player, cheating is fine, especially when you have to get out of unexpected situations which are the programer's fault (cf IDCLIP - yes I used to play custom Doom maps a *lot*).

I still have some bad memories of playing on LAN with a natural-born cheater, which was a friend of mine. Trying playing his way did not appeal to me in the end. => So long LAN parties...

FOV : remembers me of some Quake stuff back in ye olde days. The Quake engine allowed soooo much things through the console. ID trusted its customers, and modding was made (relatively) easy.

Would be fine for a singleplayer mod though.

About camera hack (I call it "bird's eye view" to avoid bad connotations, even if it is also cheating in multiplayer games where cheating is not explicitly allowed and accepted by all the players) :

Bird's eye view can be a *wonderful* experience when viewing replays, especially epic ones. I use 16:9 stuff for Starcraft to view replays from GosuGamers. It gives a great view of troop movement, so you can really enjoy the tactics and strategy used by those master players (remember, StarCraft is 640x480). I cannot imagine viewing replays for SC 1.16.1 without it. When the new patch for SC will be available, I shall save some files to go back to that version easily at first.

Using bird's eye view for watching replays really adds to the customer experience, and should be part of every RTS game imho.

 

[PurgeandFire]

I apologize for the delay.

Nice job on the tutorial. It seems like a decent step in the right direction. I've updated the tutorial to have some formatting/minor grammar & spelling fixes.

Approved!

 

[pyf]

Thanks PurgeandFire,

...and no apologies needed.

This tutorial was my first post on the Hive, and my very first post *ever* on any forum btw. Hence the crude formatting. That said, I do not do that much formatting anyway. I trust people can read and understand, without the need for too much fancy stuff. As for grammar, well, I am French.

The second 16:9 tutorial contains a post that wraps it all together, and exposes a wild theory of mine about the 3D Campaign screens. Basically, I say the *widescreen* 3D Campaign screens are all Blizzard's work, not mine.
http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/2819091-post4.html

And about the right direction, I believe it leads to this page.

 

[pyf]

People are kindly invited to have a look here:
[RenderEdge] Widescreen Fix