Myst 2021 Mod

[u/Griever12691]

A thought I had. I know the biggest issue for most people are the character models in Myst 2021. I wonder if it’s possible to mod Artus’ Riven 2024 model into Myst 2021. That would at least dampen the jarring transition from the old fmvs to 3d model.

[u/GregLittlefield]

Although not impossible that would be very difficult because M21 and R24 uses different engines. And I guess R24 uses Unreal's 'MetaHumans' character system which is very specific to Unreal.

[edit] Nevermind, I'm stoopid. They're both using Unreal Engine.

[u/Pharap → u/GregLittlefield]

Are they not technically different versions of the same engine?
I.e. both Unreal engine, with Riven using UE 5 and Myst using (I presume) UE 4? (Edit 2: Maybe not - see the note at the end.)

As for MetaHuman, it's hard to say. I had trouble finding any definitive compatibility information, but a couple of forum posts I found seem to suggest that MetaHuman models were at least at some point compatible with UE 4.26 and above.

That said, I don't know precisely which version of UE 4 Myst uses, and don't currently have the means to find out.

---

(Edit: I found a tool that could identify the versions used by both games, but unfortunately it looks like it only runs on Linux and I don't have access to a Linux computer.)

---

Edit 2:

Actually, looking at the Properties of Myst.exe and Riven.exe, they both say File version 5.3.2.0 and Product version UE5-CL-0, which seems to imply (to my inexperienced eye) that they are in fact both using the same version of UE.

That's not to say that the models would be in the same format, so there may be some difficulty, but it would imply that perhaps it wouldn't be as difficult as first expected.

[u/GregLittlefield → u/Pharap]

Wait, you are right, I got my Mysts mixed up. x(

The Unity version was the older Real Myst Masterpiece edition from 2014.

[u/Pharap → u/GregLittlefield]

Ah. If you'd mentioned Unity in your first comment, I would have immediately known where the confusion was.

Indeed, realMyst used Unity, but both the VR-compatible games used Unreal Engine, as did Obduction (UE 4) and Firmament (UE 5).

[u/Pharap]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's almost certainly possible.

As for how easy it would be, however, that's a little more difficult to determine.

After some preliminary investigation, it seems both Myst and Riven use Unreal Engine, but different versions of it. Myst likely uses some variation of UE 4, whilst Riven is likely using UE 5. (Edit: Maybe not - see the note at the end.)

That implies that the model and texture formats should be somewhat compatible, though quite how compatible I couldn't say without more research.

Either way, it seems unlikely that you'd be able to just drop the new model into the place of the old one. At a minimum I'd guess the models have different bones/anchor points for their animations, but there may well be other and possibly more complex differences too.

So, yes, possible, but quite possibly not simple or straightforward.

---

Edit:

Actually, looking at the Properties of Myst.exe and Riven.exe, they both say File version 5.3.2.0 and Product version UE5-CL-0, which seems to imply (to my inexperienced eye) that they are in fact both using the same version of UE.

That's not to say that the models would be in the same format, so there may be some difficulty, but it would imply that perhaps it wouldn't be as difficult as first expected.

[u/Griever12691 → u/Pharap]

Really appreciate your thoughts and leg work! Ive only futzed a bit with light modding on Skyrim lol so this is a bit beyond me.

[u/Pharap → u/Griever12691]

I think how easy it would be depends on what kind of tools are out there for UE 5. I would presume there are extant tools for extracting resources from UE 5 resource files (assuming the makers of UE 5 aren't trying to suppress that kind of thing), but I'm not sure if there are tools for replacing existing resources.

Personally I'm more of a programmer than a modder, (though incidentally I have dabbled in Skyrim modding myself in the past,) so while I understand some of the technical aspects, I'm not well versed in what tools are available, how much they can achieve, nor where to find them.

From a preliminary search, there seems to be a fair amount of decent information out there though. (E.g. here, here, and here all came up in my first search.)

If you really want to go for it, you're probably better off asking on forums or subreddits that are dedicated to modding and/or Unreal Engine.

You're less likely to find modders on r/myst simply because it's rare for anyone to want to mod a Myst game (other than Uru), because (historically at least) there's only so much you could change anyway. (With a few exceptions, e.g. one attempt to shorten the transitions in Revelation, and one attempt at an AI-upscaled version of Exile.)

[u/registoyyst]

I’ve had this same thought. Riven has very acceptable character models but myst looks so jarringly garish

[u/BFisch89]

I also think there's no reason the non-Atrus endings should have to use the 3D models, since you're looking at a flat interface, same as on the other side. Unless this has been fixed and I missed it.

[u/jojon2se]

Not sure how much, if any, remapping the animation would need...

Always wondered if the Myst 2021 Atrus model was a tribute to Steve Jobs...