Mount & Blade Banner and Flag Standardization Pack v2.01 (updated April 12, 2010)
This pack makes adding your own banners and flags to Mount & Blade faster and easier, while making your results more predictable.
This pack replaces the default method for making banners and flags and requires minimal coding changes to use.
Download the Banner and Flag Standardization Pack v2.01
Features
Example Screenshots
Alpha Channel Example Screenshots (optional feature)
Template Screenshots
Tools you will need
How to Install
Installation requires installing files into your resource and textures folders. You will also need to make some small changes to module.ini. Detailed instructions are included with the pack.
About the Included Templates
Individual Templates:
These templates are pre-sized to what your banner or flag needs to be. The .psd files also have texture overlay layers and discoloration layers built in to make banner creation faster and easier. From here you can copy the texture onto your grid after you have tweaked it to your liking. Examples are included to show how to use them.
Grid Templates:
This is the collection of individual banners and flags that the game looks at, or what you typically consider a texture. The .psd files have guides built in to help in positioning, which you will definitely want to use (snap is very handy).
If you want to import all of your own banners, use the empty grid templates.
If you just want to change a few, use the pre-populated grid templates. These templates already include all of the layers for native's default texture, so adding one is a snap.
Details and Other Info
The top fabric roll of your banner is made out of the 10 pixel buffer at the top of each banners in the grid sheet. It is often best to copy a part of your banner and paste it in here, but (unlike in native) you get to be the one to choose what goes there. The sides of the banner roll (which you will probably never see) come from the far ends of this top section as well. The wooden sections of the flags and banners are mapped to ...you guessed it, the wood texture.
When you use the vertical flag, the banner texture is reused for your convenience. Since this model has no top roll, the 10 pixel buffer is not used.
All pixels on the flag should be reflected on your model. The UV-mapping goes right up to the edge, so squeeze in the detail.
Using Alpha Channels
I HIGHLY recommend using a transparent alpha channel for the spacing between flags and banners. The in game animations for flags have a way of bringing back the purple separation layer if you forget to do this at higher zoom levels. This is probably due to the mipmaps not scaling perfectly. So use transparency and you'll be happier.
You'll also notice that by default, none of the flags or banners used in this pack use the v-cuts that were used in native. Native achieved this by having it built into the model.
This pack allows you to do the same thing, but at the texture level. You can add your own v-cuts to any flag or banner by adding a transparent alpha channel to your current textures. You can use this same effect to create the square flags that native uses. You could even use this approach to create tears, cuts, rips, and holes in your flags and banners.
Combining Flag Types
You can use both vertically and horizontally oriented flags at the same time, but you'll have to do some editing of the brf files. Detailed instructions are included with the pack.
Special thanks to Highlander for donating his animated horizontal flag models and his assistance on this project. What a guy!
Revision History
This pack makes adding your own banners and flags to Mount & Blade faster and easier, while making your results more predictable.
This pack replaces the default method for making banners and flags and requires minimal coding changes to use.
Download the Banner and Flag Standardization Pack v2.01
Features
- Your banners and flags show up the way YOU want them to
- Remapped and clearly defined areas in the textures where your banners and flags are taken from.
- Support for both Vertical and Horizontal animated flags
- Banner sizes are standardized to 132x330 pixels (2:5 aspect ratio)
- Flag sizes are standardized to and 132x220 px (3:5 aspect ratio)
- Separate textures for banners and horizontal flags to prevent stretching
- Shared textures for banners and vertical flags for convenience
- Same width on flags and banners means easier recreation of horizontal flags from banner textures and less work for you!
- Standard area on banners (10 pixels tall) lets you define the pattern of the top roll of the banner - No more surprises from natives UV maps!
- Native's default textures included for both flag types
- Removed V-Cuts from all models
- Full Alpha Channel Support means you can easily add v-cuts, holes, tears and rips at the texture level.
- LOTS of templates and examples to get you building your own banners quickly (.psd and .bmp).
- Compatible with heraldry enabled armors and shields.
- Fully compatible with Mount & Blade v1.011 and Warband v1.105.
Example Screenshots
Alpha Channel Example Screenshots (optional feature)
Template Screenshots
Tools you will need
- Photoshop (preferably) or a program that can open .psd files. Alternatively, a lesser image editor can be used with the included .bmp files.
- Basic Image editing skills
How to Install
Installation requires installing files into your resource and textures folders. You will also need to make some small changes to module.ini. Detailed instructions are included with the pack.
About the Included Templates
Individual Templates:
These templates are pre-sized to what your banner or flag needs to be. The .psd files also have texture overlay layers and discoloration layers built in to make banner creation faster and easier. From here you can copy the texture onto your grid after you have tweaked it to your liking. Examples are included to show how to use them.
Grid Templates:
This is the collection of individual banners and flags that the game looks at, or what you typically consider a texture. The .psd files have guides built in to help in positioning, which you will definitely want to use (snap is very handy).
If you want to import all of your own banners, use the empty grid templates.
If you just want to change a few, use the pre-populated grid templates. These templates already include all of the layers for native's default texture, so adding one is a snap.
Details and Other Info
The top fabric roll of your banner is made out of the 10 pixel buffer at the top of each banners in the grid sheet. It is often best to copy a part of your banner and paste it in here, but (unlike in native) you get to be the one to choose what goes there. The sides of the banner roll (which you will probably never see) come from the far ends of this top section as well. The wooden sections of the flags and banners are mapped to ...you guessed it, the wood texture.
When you use the vertical flag, the banner texture is reused for your convenience. Since this model has no top roll, the 10 pixel buffer is not used.
All pixels on the flag should be reflected on your model. The UV-mapping goes right up to the edge, so squeeze in the detail.
Using Alpha Channels
I HIGHLY recommend using a transparent alpha channel for the spacing between flags and banners. The in game animations for flags have a way of bringing back the purple separation layer if you forget to do this at higher zoom levels. This is probably due to the mipmaps not scaling perfectly. So use transparency and you'll be happier.
You'll also notice that by default, none of the flags or banners used in this pack use the v-cuts that were used in native. Native achieved this by having it built into the model.
This pack allows you to do the same thing, but at the texture level. You can add your own v-cuts to any flag or banner by adding a transparent alpha channel to your current textures. You can use this same effect to create the square flags that native uses. You could even use this approach to create tears, cuts, rips, and holes in your flags and banners.
Combining Flag Types
You can use both vertically and horizontally oriented flags at the same time, but you'll have to do some editing of the brf files. Detailed instructions are included with the pack.
Special thanks to Highlander for donating his animated horizontal flag models and his assistance on this project. What a guy!
Revision History
Version | Date | Comments |
2.01 | 04/12/10 | Warband Files Bug Fix - Previous version included invalid models |
In following M&B Warband v1.105 Native example, Texture Sheet G now replaces Texture Sheet F. | ||
I am including them both the textures and templates, but please note that Texture Sheet F is no longer referenced! | ||
2.0 | 04/11/10 | Now Compatible with Warband 1.105 and M&B 1.011. |
Changes made for Warband Files: | ||
Texture sheets B,C,F changed to reflect changes made to native textures | ||
Texture sheet G added | ||
Banners and flags now present for new textures | ||
Texture sheets B,C,F changed to reflect changes made to native textures | ||
Kingdom banners now follow standard format | ||
Kingdom banner and flag models added | ||
UI Shield models now use standard banner textures | ||
CTF Flag models now use standard banner textures | ||
Changes made to M&B 1.011 files: | ||
None | ||
1.2 | 02/08/09 | Compatible with M&B 1.011 (Now uses twice as many textures) |
Compatible with heraldry enabled armors and shields (Centered designs still give best results) | ||
Default banners have not been converted to standard sizes | ||
1.1 | 03/05/08 | Vertical Map Flags supported (uses banner textures so no additional work is needed on your part) |
Added Full Support for Alpha Channels - can be used to recreate v-cuts, square maps, tears, cuts | ||
Renamed BRF Files to std_flags_vertical and std_flags_horizontal for clarity purposes | ||
Renamed Textures to avoid collisions with native textures | ||
Renamed Templates for consistency | ||
1.0 | 03/01/08 | Initial Release |
Horizontal Flags (animated, without v-cuts) supported | ||
Vertical Banners (non-animated, without v-cuts) supported |