Everquest 2 VanGurk

vangurk

Version: 1.04
Filename: VanGurk_v1.04.zip
Date: 2009-01-28
Infosite: www.eq2interface.com

DESCRIPTION
This is a user interface skin created by gurkoz based on the theme of the game Vanguard Saga of Heroes. It is a complete re-skin bringing the best aspects of Vanguard UI to Everquest 2!

screen

Notes
3 important notes for you to be aware of.

It IS Compatible with other mods such as ProfitUI and EQ2Map.
This skin is compatible with both ProfitUI and EQ2Map. Since it’s only a skin based on the standard components it really should be compatible with just about any mods out there. At least those using the same basic resources as the default skin. Read more about Merging mods under “INSTALL”. Read more about compatibility under “COMPATIBILITY”.
It’s ONLY a Visual enhancement and will NOT effect your setup and how things work in-game.
Since this is a skin and only contains image files it will NOT affect anything other than the visual part of the interface. Things will staythe same, but look different.
You CAN customize what parts to use or not to use.
This is a complete package but if there is anything you don’t like about it you can customize what to include. Read more about customization under “INSTALL”.

FEATURES

Vanguard Saga of Heroes skin theme!
Complete re-skin of all elements currently in use ingame!
Crisp clean graphics in 32bit resolution!
New Dialogue buttons!
New Clock!
New Heroic Opportunities wheel with touched up symbols!
New Heroic Opportunities icons!
New Buttons!
New Scrollbars!
New Inventory equip boxes!
New clean spellbook!
New clean knowledge screen!
New cool looking “Start” button!
New target ring!
New compass!
New Experience bar!
New Target info boxes complete with skulls representing toughness!
New Coins!
New Progress bars!
New Main Menu with new icons!
New Tabs!
New Background plates!
New Main icons with a rounded edge!
New Icon ready animation!
New Mouse over effect on icons!
New smooth backplate for icons!
New Map Icons with better contrast and readability!
New Emotion icons!
New Pet control icons!
PLUS much more including buttons, icons, frames, corners, bits and pieces!

FILE HISTORY

v1.04
- Edited some extra resource files related to borders. This will color some borders gray that where previously using the default skin colors. Thanks to dragonwulf! *high-five*.
- Re-skinned the progress bar.
- Re-edited some elements in the target bar thanks to The-Order.
- Re-skinned old dropdowns.
- Plus some small changes and touch-ups.
v1.03
- Swapped EQ2Map quest icons. This should better reflect on quest update icons.
v1.02
- Re-sized the EQ2Map icons giving better visibility. This should provide a better view of the already crowded maps.
- Re-sized the “spell-ready” animation and added fade in and out. The previous animation was more or less hidden behind the icon-box.
- Re-sized and re-colored the “spell-queue” icon. This really is a great feature but it really needed to be more clear. As of now, spells put in queue waiting will flash with a yellow box.
- New scrollbars for stuff using the old resources. Same Vanguard ui scrollbars on everything!
- Added border on items when moving. This to better see the color coding of picked up items.
- Added border on map icons when mouse over. A better way to really see what icons you are selecting.
- Aligned the compass to better reflect numeric values. Someone pointed out that North was not really north. Should be now.
- And a few other small improvements here and there.
v1.01
- Added support for EQ2Map modification and new map icons.
v1.00
- Initial release.

INSTALL
Unzip the contents of this file to your Everquest 2 folder. This will create the folder “VanGurk” in your UI folder and place a file called eq2.ini in your Everquest 2 root path.

Please note, if you already are using another UI skin, your existing eq2.ini file will be replaced.

If you need to edit your existing eq2.ini file be, sure to set these following lines.

cl_ui_skinname VanGurK
cl_ui_subdir UI/

There is also an internal command to load UI’s in-game using “/loadui” but the results are sometimes strange and incomplete. It is not really the best way and not recommended by anyone.

UNINSTALL
To uninstall the mod just delete the VanGurK folder in your UI path. Also delete the eq2.ini file in your Everquest 2 folder. Or revert back to your previous eq2.ini file and setup.

MERGE WITH OTHER MODS
To merge this skin with your current enabled UI just unzip the folder named “images” to your existing UI path replacing all files. Please note, this could get unwanted results so please be careful. Knowing what files to replace is the best way to go.

CUSTOMIZE
When unzipping the files you have the option to customize what parts of the skin you would like to use. If you like the skin it self but hate the icon changes, just skip the “icons” folder. I won’t go into details about this since using an DDS viewer or reading filenames is self explanatory to select. It’s up to you what to include and what not.

LOW RESOLUTION
The option to run VanGurK in LowRes mode is also available. Read more about VanGurK LowRes version under “AUTHORS NOTE”.

COMPATIBILITY
Since this skin is based on the sole purpose of just replacing Image files and not altering any xml game-files, i am fairly convinced that it will be fully compatible with future versions. It might even be compatible with other mods but i leave that up to you to find out.

It works with EQ2Map and since v1.01 icons has been added.

It is confirmed that compatibility with ProfitUI is good and i will enhance this aspect even more in future releases.

AUTHORS NOTE
I started this project when i recently returned to Everquest 2 again to see if there was anything for me in this long time runner mmo. I’ve played it before for a short period and i now remembered why i left. I just couldn’t get over the fact that the interface annoyed me and made it impossible for me to focus on anything else. I immediately found a lot of areas that could use some improvements. In the end, the options where, to accept the facts or to do something about it. Of course the option to use other peoples ui mods where available but the really fun part was to create your own!

Having previously played the trial of Vanguard Saga of Heroes, i felt there was something that could be done. Vanguard seemed like a nice game and all but it wasn’t for me. And really, the best thing about it i found was the interface. A real work of art but sadly i couldn’t continue playing only for the sole reason of a great ui. Going back to play Everquest 2 gave me great fun and incredible experiences but i never could forget how clean and crisp a nice looking ui could be. The idea of a Vanguard inspired skin for Everquest 2 was soon thereafter born.

First i only did this to my own amusement and really just to be able to play the game without getting annoyed by the default skin. Later i saw the potential in creating a skin other people could use and enjoy and this really is the result of this. The fact that SOE own the intellectual property of both Everquest and Vanguard made a project like this possible.

My plan was to try and see how much can you modify the ui without altering any xml files and only stick to image files. Just about everything i found out to my surprise. Sure there are some borders and text still using the “old” colors but i really think it fits in nice. I might release future addons dealing with the xml styles. Time will tell.

I did attentionl leave out a few parts of the re-skinning process. First i naturally found parts that for different reason didn’t needed to be reskinned. Other parts where the huge amount of old stuff still present in the ui files. I must admit it was quite difficult to know what parts that still where in use. Messy messy. Also, the fact that im pretty much new to this game meant i could only get visual feedback ingame from features available to me at low levels. I feel fairly convinced i missed some stuff but i just will have to go back and fix those in future releases.

Let’s talk a little about the new map system. I was glad to se finally a better system was created. although, the icons where too small and too complicated. Initially i was going to remake every icon but i realized that would take quite some time. Instead i focused my efforts on making the current one easier to differentiate. This had nothing to do with Vanguard but i felt i had to try to do something about it.

Also, i really need to say something about the DDS-files and compression. To get best results for a skin like the one i created, i used the 32bpp uncompressed DDS. This gives a nice clean crisp image with no image loss. Perhaps i could have found some kind of mid level compression with good results but i felt this was the best way to go. Me personally, i hate the mess and smudge all compressions give. Naturally this could produce problems for users with low system memory resulting in lowered performance. Then again, memory modules are cheap these days, go upgrade! Yet i decided to include a separate lowres version for those not sharing my crisp clean ideas. You can find the 8bpp DDS version in the folder named “VanGurK_LowRes”. Replace folders or edit the eq2.ini accordingly to use these alternate files. Anyway, By my calculations, these are the differences in actual filesize of the different versions based upon the files i am using in this skin.

Default Skin: 10,7mb
VanGurK Lowres: 9,11mb
VanGurK Highres: 36,4mb

If you think your system can handle 25mb extra load of ui and you crave crisp clean graphics, use my uncompressed standard version. Or if you have some kind of low-life smudge fetish or are paranoid about memory usage, go for the not so recommended smudge Lowres version. Ultimately the choice is up to you!

And last, since you may be wondering, yes i did get permission from SOE to create a skin like this. Also this would be a good place to point out what great support and spirit SOE shows in letting us create stuff like this! Thanks again for the opportunity and support SOE!

So, Say goodbye blue/gold default skin and wasup VanGurK!

Enjoy!

CREDITS

Sony Online Entertainment
Original artwork of Vanguard Saga of Heroes are the intellectual property of Sony Online Entertainment.
gurkoz
I take no credit in the material used as a base for this skin. What i do take credit for is the insane amount of time i have spent to get this skin in a complete form. It’s no matter of just copying an UI from one game to another but involves a lot of tedious precision work. Other than this i have also created all the Gaps and icons missing from the original material. The process of just figuring out what to go where took quite some time.

DISCLAMER AND DISTRIBUTION PERMISSIONS
This user interface skin is distributed ‘as is’. I am not responsible for any damage or modification this skin does to your hardware or software, if you play Everquest 2 you ought to be tough enough to pick up the pieces yourself and to take full responsibility for your own actions.

GurkoZ is not responsible for any harm or psychological affects, loss of vision, fatigue or general irresponsibility from playing with this new skin. The skin is 100% safe and tested, so you should have no trouble with it. But if you do, please don’t blame me too much.

The VanGurK Skin is freeware and can be distributed freely as long as the zip and it’s content is not modified. If your looking to include this skin in your mod or a collection, please contact me first. Or at least leave me some kind of credit.

I am doing this just for kicks and to honor a great game like Everquest 2!

Sony Online Entertainment
EverQuest® II © 2004-2009 Sony Online Entertainment LLC.
Vanguard Saga of Heroes™ © 2002-2009 Sony Online Entertainment LLC.