r/kingdomsofamalur • u/shawnikaros • 9d ago
Game Mod I MANAGED TO INCREASE GRASS DRAW DISTANCE, NEXT UP - LODS AND ENEMIES!
Before and after.
The distance is tripled and seems stable. Increasing it further brings issues with the grass grids and draw capacity and I'm currently looking for ways to increase those too so we could have truly modern draw distances eventually. I've already found a few promising leads for LODs, and with the concentrated hunt for LOD distance, I'm sure I'll find the other draw distances too.
And yes, obviously I'm using AI for the reverse engineering. This kind of work wouldn't have been feasible before and only available to handful of people who know how to poke and hunt bytes and paths from memory. And no, it's not just "AI gib me mod".
The modification itself is just a simple byte change, quick and easy.
Edit: Slight update since posting a 20 minutes ago, the grid increase test WORKS. The grass distance is so far you don't see it being generated. Remains to be seen if it's stable or not, but so far so good.
Double edit: This has been over a week in the making alongside a few other mods, just now hit a proper breakthrough which might speed up the other work too.
Triple edit:
I've got LOD distance doubled now. Running some tests. Currently it's basically so far that you only occasionally see pop in if the zone is very large and unobstructed.
8
u/Apart_Ad4102 9d ago
Hell yeah! Good work. Will this work on Steam Deck install?
6
u/shawnikaros 9d ago
If the mod framework on nexus works, then yes. I could technically make this a standalone injector or modified .exe mod, but then I'd have to setup github for transparency and I don't care enough to do that. It's going to be a json patch for mod framework so everyone can directly see what addresses are changed if they care to look.
3
u/Loud_Stomach7099 9d ago
Mod framework does work on steamdeck, I've got mine running modded at the moment. You just need to add an override as mentioned here: https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomsofamalurrereckoning/mods/9/?tab=forum&topic_id=10731733
Also it opens with focus on the mod framework window, so you need to switch the focus to the game window.
4
3
u/NookieCrusher 9d ago
Will you be sharing the files/mod?
15
u/shawnikaros 9d ago
Of course not. I just wanted to show everyone that they can't have this.
(When it's ready, maybe this week).
3
u/Spazza42 9d ago
Modding a game is usually only difficult because it requires decompiling or reverse engineering to some extent to figure out how the game handles its settings. A lot of games just have modifiers and multipliers inside an .ini files that can simply be edited using Notepad+.
Obviously not all games are editable this way, but most of the battle is figuring out where the settings are buried and how to talk to them. AI tools are a great way of speeding this up.
Good work, would love to see the Switch 2 see an update to fix the skybox glitch.
4
u/shawnikaros 9d ago
Oh yeah absolutely, most games aren't hardcoded with their own propertiary engine either, which makes this particular game extra challenging. I've done plenty mods where it's basically just poking around unpacked files and changing script values.
Mods created pre-AI (for KOA) are basically all just manipulating values that are freely available to change. Modifications like this require some heavy reverse engineering and some knowledge how games generally work, I'm a 3D generalist and a hobbyist game developer, so I kinda have a hunch where to poke, but without AI I would have zero idea about hunting down specific memory addresses and paths. I just know how the grass is likely handled and what components it likely has.
2
u/milorddionysus 9d ago
Very nice! Just a small question - will it work with Reckoning too or only Re-Reckoning
4
u/shawnikaros 9d ago
At first only Re-Re. But considering I know the paths and structure converting it to Reckoning could be doable with relative ease. No promises though.
2
2
u/Nehred-21 9d ago
lol, I was looking for a way to increase draw distance and stumbled upon this post which was posted 7 hours ago. Looking forward to it, I wish the modding community was bigger for this game, I didn't find any interesting mod on Nexus even though the game has potential. I'd like to learn how to replace textures and eventually make an UI overhaul with a WoW-like style.
0
u/KeyWorker5773 9d ago
Didn't find reforged interesting? The Qol features are stuff being asked since ever , companion system retexture , etc in the works
1
u/Nehred-21 9d ago
Didn't come across this mod while searching on Nexus (I see that it's because I have the AI-Generated Content flag blocked) and it's also my first time playing this game so I don't want too much gameplay altering features for my first playthrough. It's mostly the UI I don't like.
1
u/KeyWorker5773 9d ago
The content flag is there for the help with untangling the chaos the engine is , there's no actual art content ai generated in the mod.
1
u/Nehred-21 9d ago edited 8d ago
I see you're the author of the mod. If AI was only used as a helping tool and none of the files uploaded are actually AI generated (such as the code, the flag isn't just for art), then it should be safe to remove the flag. I'll keep an eye out.
Edit: There's an "AI Assisted" flag, which could be more fitting.
1
u/Calvin_HC 8d ago
did u fix the bugged quest items? cuz if so ill be reinstalling KoA right away
1
u/KeyWorker5773 8d ago
The bug fixing part is coming, I'm always asking for specific bugs since there's no comprehensive list and there are many
18
u/shawnikaros 9d ago
Increased grid size test, I'd love to get the fade in/out working to the increased distances too, currently the vegetation just pops into existence at the red arrow but it's honestly way less jarring than the grass disappearing right in front of your nose.