Gran Turismo 4 High Contrast mod

[Beansta]

Gran Turismo 4 High Contrast Mod

I present my work in progress mod, a proper Dark Theme mod for Gran Turismo 4. Built on top of GT4 Spec II and using some elements from the HD HUD and UI mod, plus a bunch of custom textures and internal data edits, I have spent the last few days creating a mod that many will want to use. If they are like me and hate using anything that has a light theme, that is...

Anyway. Nearly every single UI element has been modified to be easier on the eyes, and on your screens if you use high quality OLED or AMOLED screens.

Because this is a hybrid mod, as in, makes both external and internal changes, this mod is only compatible with PS2 Emulators. If I can figure out how to physically replace images in the vol data I may make a fully internalised version one day (or someone else can do it...)

Instructions for how to install and use are in the included readme.

It does have the following minor issues currently:

• Diary log text cannot have its text colour changed. It is done internally via scripts, not via the configurable mproject files.
• Endurance Races background may not have been changed. I sadly do not have a save file that can yet access them to dump the textures...

BETA 4 changes the CRC hash of the game, because of modifications done to the executable. The new hash is: C5E004DB - Make sure to update any cheat entries to match that CRC.


Credits:

• TheAdmeister: for his excellent GT4 Spec II mod and for helping me track down some of the more obscure data anchors.
• SilentWinter1: for his excellent HD HUD and UI pack, of which provided about 50% of the source files for this mod.
• Arnie: For getting bored of waiting for someone else to make a Dark theme mod for Gran Turismo 4 so learned how to mod the game to make it himself.

BETA 1:
Initial release

BETA 2:
Modified replay theatre textures
Modified Jukebox textures
American events background has been tweaked
Modified some elements within the "Car Settings" menu
Modified car reward background.
Modified Options menu background and panels.
Modified Options menu settings text and backgrounds.
Arcade Mode selector icons have been improved (sadly because it is a FMV I can't do much about the background right now...)
Fixed "Spec II" Menu footer background colour.
Fixed "Typical Opponents" Menu footer background colour.

BETA 3:
Modified background colouring of event restriction values
Modified colour of the text that is shown when a vehicle does not meet event requirements.
Modified the the "car settings" page.
Modified Championship Prize money backgrounds.
Modified Tune Shop pricing window.
Restored original Diary Log window.
Modified Tuner events transitioning backgrounds.

Beta 4:
Added stand-alone working pseudo-dynamic Racing Line to every track. Disclaimer, some AI use was involved with mapping memory regions, debugging and fixing a game engine related issue pertaining to this feature.
Modified Licence centre test background
Fixed issue whereupon the Car Dealership textures would flicker when switching vehicles. This was caused by a texture that I made opaque that should have stayed with its default transparency.

Beta 5:
Fixed minor shadow colour issue with the Event Synthesizer icon in the
courses modes
Improved tuning menu icons
Updated tune shop icons
Fixed issue where tune shop icons had a texture problem when highlighted


BETA 6:
Modified purchase popup inside GT Auto
Modified Info and Error popups to match the rest of the UI.
Modified the custom clearance messages for cup prize generation in race events

If you are super against any AI use - that is fine, just don't use Beta 4, your feelings about it won't change my decision, though, as I have been asking for help on this for a good while now.




Happy trails

BETA 1 link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/cyawktxrmbqpv3s/GT4_High_Contrast_Mod_BETA.7z/file

BETA 2 Link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/cckqeqikvbczu89/GT4_High_Contrast_Mod_BETA2.7z/file

BETA 3 Link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/gmvppotv6fvblsj/GT4_High_Contrast_Mod_BETA_3.7z/file

BETA 4 Link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/cz9yul67yu2y2e3/GT4_High_Contrast_Mod_BETA_4.7z/file

BETA 5 Link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/nbrb5t459ni1uw0/GT4_High_Contrast_Mod_BETA_5.7z/file

BETA 6 Link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/zor91m38jsrbfvi/GT4_High_Contrast_Mod_BETA_6.7z/file

BEta 4

 

[Old_Setzer]

I think that look incredible.

I'm very bad with mods/pc, but I will try later.

Thanks for this!

Pd: Imagine how cool would have been if we had the option to change between light and dark theme in the og game.

 

[Beansta]

I think that look incredible.

I'm very bad with mods/pc, but I will try later.

Thanks for this!

Pd: Imagine how cool would have been if we had the option to change between light and dark theme in the og game.

That was actually very briefly discussed in the GT Racing Cafe discord with TheAdmeister. It would at the very least require that I redo half of the textures so that we can make them internalised textures. Many of the custom textures are 2560x1920 - luckily an exact 4:1 ratio of the originals.

I do potentially plan on making a fully internal version so that it can be made hardware compatible, after all.

 

[ZGBox]

This will look incredible on my Steam Deck OLED! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Beansta]

Updated the pack

Fixed some bits, updated a bunch of stuff that was missed.

 

[wolop953]

This is sick! Keen to try it out

 

[Beansta]

Beta 3 update out.

Fixes some issues and changes more stuff

 

[rossaccio]

This is amazing! Just a question, will this mod be compatible with a texture pack for the cars and tracks? if yes, which one would you recommend?

 

[Beansta]

This is amazing! Just a question, will this mod be compatible with a texture pack for the cars and tracks? if yes, which one would you recommend?

It very much should, yeah. Most of the track related stuff added here were just boosted resolution billboards and advertising, No car textures are modified.

 

[Beansta]

Beta 4 has been released. This one might be a little controversial for some.

BETA 4

Added working pseudo-dynamic Racing Line for all tracks

I have to put a disclaimer here, Claude was used to perform some of the direct patching required to allow me to add and even load the line objects in the track map data and also to fix a game engine bug in which the R3 button press was supposed to be persistent (there was a flag for it that was not being adhered to) in GT4 proper but wasn't. Now, you may moan about it, but I don't care. You're entitled to an opinion but keep it to yourself because I am not interested. I have been asking for help to get a working racing line in GT4 for at least 2 years at this point.

- This racing line works by adding object data to all races and is basically an exposed CPU driving line path using the look and style of the line seen in the B and A license tests. It is a persistent line and can be toggled on and off with the R3 button (the same way it functions in license tests).

-- What happens is that just before the race starts, the game does some calculations based on your cars stats (it may take slightly longer, around 1 second or so, to enter races), so it will show you roughly where you would need to brake at normal driving speeds. It does not take into account whether you are going slower than that, hence the "Pseudo". This means, for example, that the first corner of any race start will not have the right braking zone for the speed you would be going at that point. That is not something that can be helped because of the way the line itself is built.

Where this has been tested working:

- Everywhere, apparently. This writes directly to the track object data, so anywhere a track loads, the line data will also be present, including practice sessions, GT Mode events, License tests etc.

 

[rossaccio]

Hello, I have tried to install your mod but i ran into a problem: in the dealership, the cars glitch out, and i tried different settings and everything but nothing seems to work. It might be because i applied the patch to the 1.10 version of spec 2, and not the 1.09.

UPDATE: i tried reinstalling the mod on top of a fresh 1.10 spec II game, as stated in the README file, but i still haven't fixed the issue. Even after multiple patching attempts, my CRC stays 646B2E29 and not C5E004DB as intended

UPDATE 2: I finally succeded in installing the xdelta, the CRC is now correct, but the glitches still occur. Do i need to start a new save?

 

[Beansta]

Hello, I have tried to install your mod but i ran into a problem: in the dealership, the cars glitch out, and i tried different settings and everything but nothing seems to work. It might be because i applied the patch to the 1.10 version of spec 2, and not the 1.09.

UPDATE: i tried reinstalling the mod on top of a fresh 1.10 spec II game, as stated in the README file, but i still haven't fixed the issue. Even after multiple patching attempts, my CRC stays 646B2E29 and not C5E004DB as intended

UPDATE 2: I finally succeeded in installing the xdelta, the CRC is now correct, but the glitches still occur. Do i need to start a new save?

Hey.

It turned out the ISO I had built the patch from was broke as ****.

Reuploaded a correctly working patch

 

[Antoine D]

Hello! Thank you for the job! I tried your mod, works fine with Spec II, no problems for the few things i tried but 2 minor things to fix.
1st: The texture 83da545cd588888c-910bdcc02954f67c-r360x270-00002653 (world map) looks like it had not been upscaled (looks like low res to compare with the other parts of the map)
2nd: Can we have the possibility to disable the the racing line on the track? Or at least an alternative version without it?
Thank you again for your work, it looks pretty fine and match perfectly for me coz i use reshade with bloom effect and solaris that can be annoying in the menu with bright lights so... perfect!

Edit: Easy fix for the texture low res problem; if you use the online beta version, just take the texture b9c95188e4fe7436-396a18873bc689f7-r10e000001680000-00006653 and rename it 83da545cd588888c-910bdcc02954f67c-r360x270-00002653. The 2 textures are in the same folder from your downloaded pack.

Just need to remove the race line on the track! Sorry for the "problem that was not realy a problem"!

 

[Beansta]

Hello! Thank you for the job! I tried your mod, works fine with Spec II, no problems for the few things i tried but 2 minor things to fix.
1st: The texture 83da545cd588888c-910bdcc02954f67c-r360x270-00002653 (world map) looks like it had not been upscaled (looks like low res to compare with the other parts of the map)
2nd: Can we have the possibility to disable the the racing line on the track? Or at least an alternative version without it?
Thank you again for your work, it looks pretty fine and match perfectly for me coz i use reshade with bloom effect and solaris that can be annoying in the menu with bright lights so... perfect!

Edit: Easy fix for the texture low res problem; if you use the online beta version, just take the texture b9c95188e4fe7436-396a18873bc689f7-r10e000001680000-00006653 and rename it 83da545cd588888c-910bdcc02954f67c-r360x270-00002653. The 2 textures are in the same folder from your downloaded pack.

Just need to remove the race line on the track! Sorry for the "problem that was not realy a problem"!

You literally press R3.

That toggles it and persistently saves the setting

 

[Antoine D]

You literally press R3.

That toggles it and persistently saves the setting

Thank you!

 

[Beansta]

Thank you!

And thank you for the tip. I will get that sorted when I get around to editing the ad-hoc messages to have the same design as the rest

 

[Antoine D]

I noticed 2 little points that need a fix, see attached files.
The first has a transparency problem (tuning menu, simply need to rework the texture) and the second has text supperposition (need .xdelta patch fix i guess).

I will continu to use the mod (again, it works perfectly fine without any bugs) and report here problems i find.

Thank you!

 

[Beansta]

I noticed 2 little points that need a fix, see attached files.
The first has a transparency problem (tuning menu, simply need to rework the texture) and the second has text supperposition (need .xdelta patch fix i guess).

I will continu to use the mod (again, it works perfectly fine without any bugs) and report here problems i find.

Thank you!

Yeah, that is definitely a patch update and not a simple texture update.

 

[Antoine D]

That second texture was never modified to begin with

I've searched in all the textures folders and found nothing strange so maybe it can be a conflict with the Online Beta version of the game, the Spec II mod... I don't know! My skill allows me only to work on simple textures, not with the game files as mod creating. This problem never happened before. I will try with an other unpatched iso.

 

[Antoine D]

Sorry for the double post, the event synthesizer supperposition text (pre-race menu) is a conflict with your patch i guess coz with the game with Spec II mod without your patch, the re is no problem.

 

[Beansta]

I've searched in all the textures folders and found nothing strange so maybe it can be a conflict with the Online Beta version of the game, the Spec II mod... I don't know! My skill allows me only to work on simple textures, not with the game files as mod creating. This problem never happened before. I will try with an other unpatched iso.

Don't worry. I found and fixed the problem

Also fixed the glitchy tune shop flashing on the icons in the process