English Amiga Board - View Single Post - [factory] Eye of the Beholder III abomination fix

Sleeper Grey · 27 October 2021, 22:16

Hello everyone!

The story of fixing poor EoB-III portraits is not over. I could not fix it all completely in EYE.RES version 7_27. So, Version 8_28 plus 8 is available! ^^

Now I fixed all those complex big or small things there that still troubled us.
It will not be a disappointment for EoB lovers.

Also now I know some people even transfer Amber from EoB-2 to EoB-3 so something remains to be done later.

What is done in Ver. 8 is simple. Beside fixing minor problems I completely dropped the attempts to fix or embellish EoB-3 versions of certain portraits. Making better copies of EoB-1 portraits, instead. It looks better. ^^

This is about the Green Elf mage, whose complex portrait composition was simplified by EoB-3 designer, also the Blue Mage who was totally remade in EoB-3 making him ugly and very yellow.
No longer I tried to correct his face, a better copy of EoB-1 Blue Mage is better.
Also it's the case of the Dark Girl. Keeping her "simple" as in EoB-1 is the key.

I added a completely repainted portrait of the Dark Warrior, with horns.

(Never fixed it in the past but it had to be done. I'll mention as to why.)

Please see these cases below.

And the "Plus 8" part, these are totally new 8 portraits that I never touched before.
They were only marginally spoiled in EoB-3, EoB-3 bad artist mainly did it by dimming their eyes. Uhuh, the Dimmer of Eyes is his name...

Now I fixed some details about these portraits and their eyes.
So now they are usable or even just great! As they did not suffer much in the first palce.

The total is ~36~ Portraits fixed in this version.

A short summary of things to feel good about:

Sure, the Green Girl picture where it all started, as it became even less crooked. Can't help but see it was a little crooked in the EoB-1 original.

EoB-1:

EoB-III, reptilian horror with huge nose

Ver. 8

Well, nearly it's EoB-1 in EoB-3 colors. Might be even more agreeable than the original. Cute!

*
The Dark Warrior, with horns, the new one.

Let's see what's the problem with him...

EoB-1

EoB-3

EoB-3 version is crude, the right part. As it was repainted in EoB-3 with -one- continuous steel-grey color instead of 3 or 4 blue colors used in EoB-1.
And more greys.
EoB-3 palette lacks some blue colors, so it was simplified and never corrected before.

Now I used all blue colors and less steel/grey as in the original. The color transfer result is smooth now and looks nice as in EoB-1. And yes, I have fixed the portrait centering... No tilt to the left, now. Ver. 8:

Looks good in the game. Otherwise EoB-3 version was more primitive than that of EoB-1.

*
The problematic Green Elf mage and the Blue Mage.

The Elf had a more complex portrait composition in EoB-1,

Turned primitive (and ugly-faced) in EoB-3:

In my Ver. 7 I restored his face but it was not enough. The portrait composition was still primitive:

Now I have returned the "proper" EoB-1 clothes and composition.
Well, this Elf is much more impressive. Ver 8:

Not to mention authentic.
How good was that EoB-1 artist/designer!

*
The Blue Mage, was the pixel art perfection in EoB-1:

In EoB-3 he was majorly re-painted as an ugly (and yellow) individual.

in Ver. 7 I fixed his face but it was still "not quite" and too yellow.

FIXED! I totally repainted the picture using another color set. It's now as the original or even better, as I use more face colors than EoB-1 (lucky here, huh.)

It's Victory! ^_^

*
The Dark Demihuman Girl,

Was small and simplistic/disheveled in EoB-1,

Turned big, half-elven and sort of posh in EoB-3 but wrong color eyebrows etc.

Now I didn't try to fix these EoB-3 features to make them fit, just returned as much EoB-1 as I could. Including the background and the jagged hair line in the left part. Ver 8:

To me, she looks just great now. Also authentic.

*
Paladin

His kind (EoB-1) face I returned in early versions like 5, that task was clear

EoB-1

EoB-III, unkind face and spiteful as if he has eaten a worm

But I could not remove that ultra-shiny pixel on this right shoulder (pauldron) where his armor collar goes behind this neck.
Now I moved some parts and this pixel shines moderately, all in place

*
Gnome (Demihuman) Girl

A standard case but special in a way... A problematic portrait that was -not- changed by EoB-3 artist. Even the eyes were not dimmed.
Somehow the EoB-3 butcher "artist" did not spoil portraits that were already problematic. ~__~

This lady had a face badly angled (just like the One-eyed Fighter Girl), also neck nearly broken and a very badly painted left eye. Ugh. Bad centering also.

(EoB-1 and 3 are the same here.)

I fixed the face in ver 7 and the neck. But the eye and the centering, well, only now. Ready!

Ver. 8:

She looks just great in the game. So nice.

*
The complex, Gruffy Dwarf with no eyes

In EoB-1

In EoB-3:

The EoB-1 dark violet background color doesn't exist in EoB-3. Not found in the palette.

I tried many other colors but they don't fit the character. Look just dead and boring at best.
By users' comments, blue fits well.

Plain Dark blue is also boring, so, a gradient color change like in One-eyed Fighter Girl portrait:

Mainly the character spirit is there and it's not boring! (as with grey/steel background).

*
Now the rare and sort of weird, Anya.

As it was with the Paladin, the face and the background I corrected long ago but the armor...
It was complex.

Like the Paladin's, this problem originated from EoB-1. It's easy to see Anya's armor shifted somewhere to the middle(!) of her chest.

I expect that happened as these portraits were made with EGA and CGA in mind as EoB-1 supports them. Minor shifts like 1 pixel in VGA were not easily seen on smaller screens, 14" or less. The portraits were very small on these.

EoB-1

EoB-3

EoB-3 has no old modes, olny VGA. The screens by 1993 got bigger. So the picture had to be repainted, I agree. EoB-3 poor artist just removed her exotic armor.
Also spoiling her hair (in 3 ways) her face (in 3 ways) and her body (in 3 ways). Plus the "new" dull background. One may find the differences by comparing these pictures.
Pity.

At last I moved her armor back and it fits!

Ver. 8:

All the other problems created by EoB-3 bad artist I removed and fixed. Anya is ~just gorgeous~ now.

Very complex portrait but great in a way.
I have heard more people take Anya to EoB-3... She is very charismatic!

*
To sum it up I corrected, compared to ver. 7, many dozens of big and small issues.

With hair, background, armor pieces and even faces. (And eyes, those 8 portraits.)

All results are much more agreeable now.

I am happy to upload the ready EYE.RES game file, all portraits included:

https://www.old-games.ru/forum/threa...4#post-1767908

Please see the end of this post for download.

Also there is separate portraits archives set in .bmp and .bin EoB-3 formats.

Congratulations! Indeed, ~many~ changes to the best were made.

My gratitude to dim568 as your converter program allowed a miracle to happen!

27 October 2021, 22:16	#46
Sleeper Grey keeper of the Stone Gem Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Saint Petersburg Posts: 32	I did it, ~Ver.8~ Portraits file for EoB-3 is available! :) Hello everyone! The story of fixing poor EoB-III portraits is not over. I could not fix it all completely in EYE.RES version 7_27. So, Version 8_28 plus 8 is available! ^^ Now I fixed all those complex big or small things there that still troubled us. It will not be a disappointment for EoB lovers. Also now I know some people even transfer Amber from EoB-2 to EoB-3 so something remains to be done later. What is done in Ver. 8 is simple. Beside fixing minor problems I completely dropped the attempts to fix or embellish EoB-3 versions of certain portraits. Making better copies of EoB-1 portraits, instead. It looks better. ^^ This is about the Green Elf mage, whose complex portrait composition was simplified by EoB-3 designer, also the Blue Mage who was totally remade in EoB-3 making him ugly and very yellow. No longer I tried to correct his face, a better copy of EoB-1 Blue Mage is better. Also it's the case of the Dark Girl. Keeping her "simple" as in EoB-1 is the key. I added a completely repainted portrait of the Dark Warrior, with horns. (Never fixed it in the past but it had to be done. I'll mention as to why.) Please see these cases below. And the "Plus 8" part, these are totally new 8 portraits that I never touched before. They were only marginally spoiled in EoB-3, EoB-3 bad artist mainly did it by dimming their eyes. Uhuh, the Dimmer of Eyes is his name... Now I fixed some details about these portraits and their eyes. So now they are usable or even just great! As they did not suffer much in the first palce. The total is ~36~ Portraits fixed in this version. A short summary of things to feel good about: Sure, the Green Girl picture where it all started, as it became even less crooked. Can't help but see it was a little crooked in the EoB-1 original. EoB-1: EoB-III, reptilian horror with huge nose Ver. 8 Well, nearly it's EoB-1 in EoB-3 colors. Might be even more agreeable than the original. Cute! * The Dark Warrior, with horns, the new one. Let's see what's the problem with him... EoB-1 EoB-3 EoB-3 version is crude, the right part. As it was repainted in EoB-3 with -one- continuous steel-grey color instead of 3 or 4 blue colors used in EoB-1. And more greys. EoB-3 palette lacks some blue colors, so it was simplified and never corrected before. Now I used all blue colors and less steel/grey as in the original. The color transfer result is smooth now and looks nice as in EoB-1. And yes, I have fixed the portrait centering... No tilt to the left, now. Ver. 8: Looks good in the game. Otherwise EoB-3 version was more primitive than that of EoB-1. * The problematic Green Elf mage and the Blue Mage. The Elf had a more complex portrait composition in EoB-1, Turned primitive (and ugly-faced) in EoB-3: In my Ver. 7 I restored his face but it was not enough. The portrait composition was still primitive: Now I have returned the "proper" EoB-1 clothes and composition. Well, this Elf is much more impressive. Ver 8: Not to mention authentic. How good was that EoB-1 artist/designer! * The Blue Mage, was the pixel art perfection in EoB-1: In EoB-3 he was majorly re-painted as an ugly (and yellow) individual. in Ver. 7 I fixed his face but it was still "not quite" and too yellow. FIXED! I totally repainted the picture using another color set. It's now as the original or even better, as I use more face colors than EoB-1 (lucky here, huh.) It's Victory! ^_^ * The Dark Demihuman Girl, Was small and simplistic/disheveled in EoB-1, Turned big, half-elven and sort of posh in EoB-3 but wrong color eyebrows etc. Now I didn't try to fix these EoB-3 features to make them fit, just returned as much EoB-1 as I could. Including the background and the jagged hair line in the left part. Ver 8: To me, she looks just great now. Also authentic. * Paladin His kind (EoB-1) face I returned in early versions like 5, that task was clear EoB-1 EoB-III, unkind face and spiteful as if he has eaten a worm But I could not remove that ultra-shiny pixel on this right shoulder (pauldron) where his armor collar goes behind this neck. Now I moved some parts and this pixel shines moderately, all in place * Gnome (Demihuman) Girl A standard case but special in a way... A problematic portrait that was -not- changed by EoB-3 artist. Even the eyes were not dimmed. Somehow the EoB-3 butcher "artist" did not spoil portraits that were already problematic. ~__~ This lady had a face badly angled (just like the One-eyed Fighter Girl), also neck nearly broken and a very badly painted left eye. Ugh. Bad centering also. (EoB-1 and 3 are the same here.) I fixed the face in ver 7 and the neck. But the eye and the centering, well, only now. Ready! Ver. 8: She looks just great in the game. So nice. * The complex, Gruffy Dwarf with no eyes In EoB-1 In EoB-3: The EoB-1 dark violet background color doesn't exist in EoB-3. Not found in the palette. I tried many other colors but they don't fit the character. Look just dead and boring at best. By users' comments, blue fits well. Plain Dark blue is also boring, so, a gradient color change like in One-eyed Fighter Girl portrait: Mainly the character spirit is there and it's not boring! (as with grey/steel background). * Now the rare and sort of weird, Anya. As it was with the Paladin, the face and the background I corrected long ago but the armor... It was complex. Like the Paladin's, this problem originated from EoB-1. It's easy to see Anya's armor shifted somewhere to the middle(!) of her chest. I expect that happened as these portraits were made with EGA and CGA in mind as EoB-1 supports them. Minor shifts like 1 pixel in VGA were not easily seen on smaller screens, 14" or less. The portraits were very small on these. EoB-1 EoB-3 EoB-3 has no old modes, olny VGA. The screens by 1993 got bigger. So the picture had to be repainted, I agree. EoB-3 poor artist just removed her exotic armor. Also spoiling her hair (in 3 ways) her face (in 3 ways) and her body (in 3 ways). Plus the "new" dull background. One may find the differences by comparing these pictures. Pity. At last I moved her armor back and it fits! Ver. 8: All the other problems created by EoB-3 bad artist I removed and fixed. Anya is ~just gorgeous~ now. Very complex portrait but great in a way. I have heard more people take Anya to EoB-3... She is very charismatic! * To sum it up I corrected, compared to ver. 7, many dozens of big and small issues. With hair, background, armor pieces and even faces. (And eyes, those 8 portraits.) All results are much more agreeable now. I am happy to upload the ready EYE.RES game file, all portraits included: https://www.old-games.ru/forum/threa...4#post-1767908 Please see the end of this post for download. Also there is separate portraits archives set in .bmp and .bin EoB-3 formats. Congratulations! Indeed, ~many~ changes to the best were made. My gratitude to dim568 as your converter program allowed a miracle to happen! Last edited by Sleeper Grey; 27 October 2021 at 22:22.