tomwearsglasses - AEW, WWF, WCW - Showcase Mode, Dusty, Flair, Steamboat, Whipwreck, Valentine, Rection, Morris, Heenan, Hennig, Piper, Martel, Warrior, Oz, Studd, Ryzing, Mastino, Jacquelyn, Madusa, Sherri, Liz, Managers, Boss, Harts, Rick Rude RIP Flair

[tomwearsglasses]

2 hours ago, XfallofparadiseX said:

I really love these old schools attire mods! Quick question...

The Mid Atlantic 84 Dusty, for some reason his CH pacs are both the entrance attire. Any way to upload the in ring version?

Thanks!

The in-ring one should be the same minus the sunglasses.  Is that not how it shows up?

[XfallofparadiseX]

10 hours ago, tomwearsglasses said:

Thanks!

The in-ring one should be the same minus the sunglasses.  Is that not how it shows up?

Oh sorry, my fault. I thought it would take all of the entrance attire off. Everything's fine with it then. I just didn't know.

[tomwearsglasses]

3 hours ago, XfallofparadiseX said:

Oh sorry, my fault. I thought it would take all of the entrance attire off. Everything's fine with it then. I just didn't know.

I left them on to make it feel more distinct compared to the Starrcade attires. For some reason I enjoy seeing Dusty give people elbows while wearing the hat . But I also wouldn’t mind uploading an alternate version. Would you rather lose the  shirt or just the hat for the ring attire?

[tomwearsglasses]

Hugh G. Rection released!  Grab it from the first post.

Just when you think he's not gonna pop up this year, my Hugh G. Rection emerges once more!  This time - I updated the skin textures, fixed some t-shirt glitches, and upgraded the hair to a more realistic and animated model.  I'll work on the regular Hugh Morris next.

 

____________________________________________________________

 

Now that I finished my General update, here's a more general update.

 

As always, I'm still interested in expanding the available WCW universe, with the hopes of turning it into a bigger mod project down the road.  I'm painfully waiting to hear about the roster, DLC, and new features in 2K20.

Glad that the Hulkster is coming back to the roster - but otherwise I don't have a great feeling for WCW characters and arenas.  They keep upping the NXT and women's rosters - which is cool - except that it seems to be coming at the expense of legends content.  Realistically, if we get any new WCW alumni added, my logical top contenders would be: Eric Bischoff, Shane Helms (as The Hurricane), or Jeff Jarrett because they all work backstage now.  Another long shot would be Torrie Wilson - since she went into the Hall of Fame.  Obviously, guys like Chris Jericho, Dustin Rhodes, and Arn Anderson aren't coming back.  In fact, I can see them downplaying WCW assets because people might relate them with Turner/AEW.  If Flair keeps suing them I can see him not being in 2K21 next year - which would effectively tear the heart out of a WCW universe.  I hope I'm wrong but we'll see.

My real big dream is to collect as many WCW characters/arenas/renders/etc. from any modder willing to contribute, redesign all of the menus, and release what would effectively be a new WCW game.  But this has been my goal for several games now, and I'm still working on roster conversion work, so we'll see.  However far I get, I suspect that this will ultimately end in either 2K19 or 2K20.  At minimum, as part of this bigger project, I do plan to port my previous mods forward.

Which takes us, once again, to Survey Time.  Curious as to what others are thinking about my ideas and 2K20 in general.

[HEELColeman]

In regards to your last post, I personally would like to see you expand further on 2K19 and complete the project even after 2K20 comes out. Unless there is a very large difference in a major area, I suspect 2K20 would be most of the same as past games.

Would give people the option of basically having a completely alternate WCW game if you get the menus and stuff down, and prevent you from having to start from scratch with 2K20.

[motishow]

Thanks a lot to update Hugh Morrus mod

[tomwearsglasses]

On 9/19/2019 at 9:55 PM, HEELColeman said:

In regards to your last post, I personally would like to see you expand further on 2K19 and complete the project even after 2K20 comes out. Unless there is a very large difference in a major area, I suspect 2K20 would be most of the same as past games.

Would give people the option of basically having a completely alternate WCW game if you get the menus and stuff down, and prevent you from having to start from scratch with 2K20.

The longer they go without revealing info the more I agree with your suspicion.  I definitely don't see future games being particularly WCW-friendly like 2K16 & 2K17 were in terms of built-in content.  My one hope, and the reason I'll wait until the last second to make a final call on this, is that if the game is in some ways more fun to play than that would make it worth it to re-port characters and other content.

<rant>Specifically, I hate the promo engine and the fact that you can't integrate the wrestler's unique personalities into Universe mode.  All I've ever wanted was the 2K14 Create-a-Story feature in a PC game.  But at this point I think I need to come to terms with the fact that 2K has effectively crushed that dream.  But even if they just added in more flexibility to the promo engine (for example: letting you write your own lines, incorporating character taunts, offering in-ring and backstage interview style options, etc.) - would add so much to the experience.  Even some minor progress in that department might be enough to sway me.</rant>

As far as starting from scratch...most of the menu work I've done was in 2K16 & 2K17 - so either way I've got my work cut out for me 🤷‍♂️.  I've been focusing on character models and entrance videos because those things are easier to re-use from game-to-game.

[HEELColeman]

I 100% agree with your Universe rant. Not a fan of the Road to Glory or Towers modes, so after I finish career and showcase Universe is all I play. When this is a game you try to play year round and there's only one mode to play, it needs to be good and not just a rehash every year. The past couple games have actually had the WORST universe modes I've seen. No matter who you put into rivalries, you get the same thing over and over again. I really liked what they did a couple years ago with the "historic rivalries" or whatever they were called, where if you put two superstars together you'd get special cut scenes and stuff. That's what universe should be - not just the same 4 matches and 2 crappy promos on a show every week. The lack of game modes and long term enjoyment is why I switched over to PC and the modding scene to begin with. I got sick of the game by December, stopped playing until all the DLC was out, played for another week or two and then would just stop playing all together. There is nothing unique to keep players around more than the time it takes to complete career and showcase, and that's the biggest problem with this franchise.

 

I don't have experience porting character models, I have a few in particular I've just sat around hoping someone would do them. Without a step-by-step tutorial or program I'm completely lost and any attempt is complete trash. I've got a massive archive of trons though. Hex, renders and trons are my specialty - basically the easy stuff, hahaha.

[tomwearsglasses]

*sigh* So, to make things more difficult, yesterday they announced the 2K20 updates to the Universe Mode.  Basically, they upped the arbitrary limits they set previously for stuff (7 things to 9 things!  3 things to 4 things!) and claimed them as new features.  Granted, they're all good changes, but they're really minor tweaks that don't really evolve the experience.  However, they do have one super-vague line item that says:  Players have more freedom to delete and add promos and matches.  I'd love to see some footage of how this actually works in practice.  If it actually gives us more control over what happens on our shows (i.e. can you add cut scenes as well, and can you customize the promos any more?) - then that would be an interesting draw for me personally.

On 9/22/2019 at 12:21 AM, HEELColeman said:

I don't have experience porting character models, I have a few in particular I've just sat around hoping someone would do them. Without a step-by-step tutorial or program I'm completely lost and any attempt is complete trash. I've got a massive archive of trons though. Hex, renders and trons are my specialty - basically the easy stuff, hahaha.

Yeah, I really wish it was easier.  I spend much more time troubleshooting issues with stuff I'm working on ... than actually working on stuff.

I also got lucky in that I started with 2K16.  The 2K16 file structure doesn't have all the weird compression stuff, so the files are a little easier to understand and work with.  2K17 added SDHC compression for the pach files, and one of the last two games added OODL compression on top of that.  They also split the texture files and the character/model files - which I think they did to save space (so they can re-use textures) but it adds another level of complexity.  That being said - if I can do it I'm sure you can too.  You might have to piece together stuff from multiple tutorials but there is a lot of good info on the new wiki here.  The best way to approach it is to start as simple as possible, and slowly learn about how everything works together by trying things.

[tomwearsglasses]

I realize that a Hugh G. Rection might be a bit too much for some of you, so as promised - here's a Hugh Morris alternative.

Hugh Morris released - link in first post.

____________________________

Moving on!

Does anyone know of a good tutorial or have any suggestions for combining 2580 animation files?  I'm trying to put different hair, jacket, and pants models together - and I can survive with just the hair animating but obviously it would look better if they all worked.

[Red Rooster]

Nice work on Morris, hes going on my WCW roster for sure. Thanks

[prowrestling]

that hugh morris is no laughing matter

[tomwearsglasses]

AEW Dynamite Show Intro - Colorfully Exploding onto the First Post!

Got inspired by watching the AEW commercial 100 times today because I have TNT on in the background.  I did this super-quick and it's admittedly unpolished.  Includes:

AEW Dynamite Theme Song - with the last few seconds on a loop for when the commentators talk

AEW Dynamite Show Intro VIdeo - labeled to replace 205 Live by default.

Issues: It cuts off the last few seconds.  Also, it seems to trigger a glitch where it loops the show transition sound - so if you can figure out what the show transition sound is you might want to import a blank sound file over it.

Somewhere down the line - I'll get a higher quality version of the intro video and a full version of the theme and re-release it.  For now, this for anyone that just can't wait for 8pm tonight.

[motishow]

Thanks for awsome Hugh Morrus, is it possible to fix the legs?they are so thin respect the suit

[tomwearsglasses]

20 hours ago, motishow said:

Thanks for awsome Hugh Morrus, is it possible to fix the legs?they are so thin respect the suit

Unfortunately it's the other way around.  The legs are normal size - but the singlet doesn't map nicely over his body so I had to make it bigger so that it isn't glitching as much.

[tomwearsglasses]

As I feared...2K has not been kind to the WCW roster this year.

2K20 WCW Losses:

Alundra Blayze (Madusa)
Bam Bam Bigelow
British Bulldog
Chris Jericho
DDP
Goldust
Greg Valentine
Jacqueline
Lex Luger
Mr. Perfect
Rick Martel
Rick Rude
Ricky Morton
Robert Gibson
Sid
Vader

2K20 WCW Returns:

Hulk Hogan
X-Pac

2K20 WCW New Additions:

Molly Holly

Also for consideration: not sure if there will still be classic Sting and multiple slots for Ric Flair (even more doubtful for Savage & Dusty).  I'm gonna get the game, but still undecided whether I focus on moving stuff forward to 2K20 or backwards to 2K19.  It'll probably come down to whether the Universe updates make a difference and if the new DLC format is fun.

On the bright side - I can't wait to get to work on Miss Madness '99!

[Red Rooster]

Hmm yeah shite for Legends fan, Im gonna give 2k20 a miss

[CMRyder]

23 hours ago, tomwearsglasses said:

As I feared...2K has not been kind to the WCW roster this year.

2K20 WCW Losses:

Alundra Blayze (Madusa)
Bam Bam Bigelow
British Bulldog
Chris Jericho
DDP
Goldust
Greg Valentine
Jacqueline
Lex Luger
Mr. Perfect
Rick Martel
Rick Rude
Ricky Morton
Robert Gibson
Sid
Vader

2K20 WCW Returns:

Hulk Hogan
X-Pac

2K20 WCW New Additions:

Molly Holly

Also for consideration: not sure if there will still be classic Sting and multiple slots for Ric Flair (even more doubtful for Savage & Dusty).  I'm gonna get the game, but still undecided whether I focus on moving stuff forward to 2K20 or backwards to 2K19.  It'll probably come down to whether the Universe updates make a difference and if the new DLC format is fun.

On the bright side - I can't wait to get to work on Miss Madness '99!

Worst of all, Disco Inferno still isn’t in the WWE2K series (officially)!

[tomwearsglasses]

5 hours ago, CMRyder said:

Worst of all, Disco Inferno still isn’t in the WWE2K series (officially)!

Honestly!  2K is being very disrespectful.  I'm surprised they're not on the Disco list.

The timing would be perfect too.  Just this week the WWE Network released the rare Festival de Lucha pilot - in which the main event features the two true legends of lucha libre: Konnan vs Disco Inferno.  They could've had a Festival de Lucha DLC pack with those guys and maybe a few Villanos.  It's basically a license to print money.

[Fawuwu]

ya i've wanted konnan in the the game ever since the nWo pack in 2k14

[Clarityman]

2K has given me so many reasons to skip 2K20 this year, but the #1 reason is the shaft to the legends roster. The loss of Rick Rude is particularly unacceptable to me.

It's not like they dramatically increased the current roster either, with personal favorites like WALTER and Xia Brookside missing also.

It will be a breath of fresh air sticking to modding 2K19 and enjoying the incredible work that's been done by this community.

[tomwearsglasses]

43 minutes ago, Clarityman said:

2K has given me so many reasons to skip 2K20 this year, but the #1 reason is the shaft to the legends roster. The loss of Rick Rude is particularly unacceptable to me.

It's not like they dramatically increased the current roster either, with personal favorites like WALTER and Xia Brookside missing also.

It will be a breath of fresh air sticking to modding 2K19 and enjoying the incredible work that's been done by this community.

Well, either way tonight I'm clearing space on my hard drive.  And tomorrow I'll start to find out if I bought a new game or spent $90 for the right to back-port Molly Holly 😨.

The only reason that I've been holding out hope that 2K20 would be modding-viable is because I have a really fun idea for a big mod project utilizing the DLC.  For that reason I haven't written off the game entirely yet.  But staying with 2K19 is seeming more and more likely.  Especially if people are willing to keep investing in figuring out how to do more with the game.

 

[Clarityman]

1 hour ago, tomwearsglasses said:

Well, either way tonight I'm clearing space on my hard drive.  And tomorrow I'll start to find out if I bought a new game or spent $90 for the right to back-port Molly Holly 😨.

The only reason that I've been holding out hope that 2K20 would be modding-viable is because I have a really fun idea for a big mod project utilizing the DLC.  For that reason I haven't written off the game entirely yet.  But staying with 2K19 is seeming more and more likely.  Especially if people are willing to keep investing in figuring out how to do more with the game.

 

Fair enough! I'll be hoping for a backport of Chyna personally, but beyond that, I'm just really disappointed in what I've seen, and I'm not confident the modding community will take off for this new version (and even if it does, those are a lot of losses to cover adequately, with restoring audio, animations if they've been removed... eh). But I do hope I'm wrong, and either way I hope you enjoy. One thing's for sure... your work, as well as others, will continue to find playing time on my version of 19.

[tomwearsglasses]

Quick Update:  I downloaded 2K20 last night.  Fired up the game this morning for a half hour before work.

First Reaction: Never been so excited to leave for work.

[tomwearsglasses]

Memo: From the Office of the President (of WCW)

 

Sorry for all the wordy posts recently.  Smacktalks has been very therapeutic for me as I work out my personal issues with the 2K series .  I think I’ve got a decent game plan now so let me make like a DX theme and break it down…

1) 2K20 is presently broken.

I mean...like..I choose a menu option and the game crashes broken.  Until the developers do some serious patch work, the game isn’t playable - let alone moddable.  I got out my frustrations in this thread yesterday:

So I’m at peace with it now but I also don’t plan to invest much time into it unless it gets waybetter.  Still, I paid for the full game with DLC and I’m not returning it. I’m hopeful that some of the amazing people that are good with tools and file types can figure out how to access the content, and that eventually things improve.

At the very least, I’m eyeing a few characters for back-porting, and that Southpaw DLC arena looks like a sweet base for a Spring Break Nitro … maybe a little too sweet .

 

2) I like the momentum behind the ‘what can we do with another year’ 2K19 movement.

Since several modders have said they’re cool with sticking with 2K19 for a while  - I think it presents a great opportunity to push the boundaries of what we can do.  I can’t overstate how helpful some of the recent improvements to the modding tools have been for me this year.  Like @pozzum's 00CA and 00CE editors, for example. If we keep poking around and experimenting who knows what else we can do.  I’ll bet it’s possible to do more with custom entrances and animations at least. Personally, I’d love to see if anyone can pick apart the game files related to things like cutscenes, loading videos, promo engine, towers, etc.  If 2K doesn’t want to update Universe mode or add back Create-a-Story, maybe we can do it ourselves?

3) I still have big dreams for WCW mods.

If 2K20 had been a good game, I had two big mod ideas I was excited about:

I.     Replace Roman Reigns’ 2K tower with Ric Flair’s Space Mountain challenge (16 classic matchups with promos interspersed).

II.    Replace the Bump in the Night DLC with some sort of Dungeon of Doom vs Sting/Hogan/Savage storyline.

I can’t make those happen in 2K19 because it relies on game mechanics and strategic game-triggered videos.  But as I mentioned above, maybe we can figure out ways to do different but equally cool things with this engine.

_________________________________________________________________________________

So … for now I have some short-term plans for the game.  First is to port the rest of my 2K16/17 stuff to 2K19. I’ll release the WWF ones as I finish them (see first post for Rhythm ‘n Blues Greg Valentine to start).  The WCW ones are gonna get stockpiled for a future big drop release.

Next will be to take a fresh look at the game as if it was just released, and see if I can figure out anything new.

After that, I’ll work on finishing up a few attires I have in-progress (like part 2 of the Roddy Piper collection).

Then I’ll re-assess, and potentially start putting together something much bigger.  ‘To be named much bigger thing’ would be in the kinda-distant-future and involve collecting and organizing as many mods and assets as possible, so if anyone is interested in collaborating, that would be amazing (feel free to PM me whenever).

 Woooooooooooooooooo!