henrikomagnifico

Zelda Skyward Sword 4K Texture Pack 1.0.3 Patreon Release

Added 2021-03-02 13:01:01 +0000 UTC

Good morning all Patrons! ☀️

This is another update for Zelda: Skyward Sword 4K, with a focus on completely overhauling the user experience. Previously, the controls were pretty great provided you were using a real WiiRemote + Nunchuck. Sure, it wasn't any different from playing on a real Wii. You got to play Skyward Sword how it was intended (with all it's strengths and weaknesses). However, most people don't own Wiimotes with nunchucks anymore AND also owns a version that is WiiMotion Plus compatible (or have a WiiMotion Plus adapter, remember those?). Furthermore, even less people also own a USB compatible Dolphin Bar- which without one makes it impossible to connect to Ishiiruka Dolphin anyways. This setup worked, but far from everyone could use it. And you still had to deal with the controls Nintendo set up for Skyward Sword by default, with no way to customize the controls at all.

Hence, I proudly present the Ultimate Gamepad Preset 5.0!

This is the latest revision of the default controller preset for Zelda: Skyward Sword 4K. It makes it possible for you to enjoy the full game with any regular gamepad. Like an Xbox, PS4 or Switch Pro Controller! The full configuration has been redone from scratch to feel responsive and comfortable. Here are some of the major improvements;

Flying is no longer a pain!

This is probably the biggest improvement to the configuration overall. Previously, flying was absolutely horrible. And I apologize to everyone who had to endure flying that way, or to those who gave up during the flying race ceremony (I don't blame you!) Either way, the flying is now much more intuitive and easier to control. Simply tap the left or right backside button (LB & RB) to go left or right in a gentle fashion. Use the right stick to move up or down, or to fly faster to either direction. Use the right trigger to flap your wings (to gain height) and lastly use A to boost. That's it! No much fiddeling with both sticks at the same time. No more crossing your fingers to hit three buttons on different sides of the controller at the same time. And no more random 180 degree turns out of nowhere! I hope this change at least makes up a little bit for previous versions of the controls. And even if it doesn't, I hope you you give it another try with this updated version!

Combat Overhauled

The combat controls have been reworked from scratch as well and are now much more responsive. Simply move the right stick to move Link's sword to that direction, and then press RB (right backside button) to slash your sword!

Remember how annoying Skyward Strikes were to do before? Maybe you didn't even manage to do one at all? Well, in this version you just move the right stick upwards and keep it there- that's it. It seriously couldn't be any simpler.

What about the feared spin attack? Is it easier to do?

Yes! Very much so. It no longer requires three hands. In fact, it doesn't even require two. Simply press RT and RB (both the backside buttons on the right side) while holding the right stick to any direction and Link will automatically spin attack towards that direction. Whether it's vertical or horizontal, both work perfectly. And there's no longer a "stab" after the spin attack- because that was just annoying.

What about stabs?

You couldn't do stabs outside of doing a spin attack first, in previous versions. Now you just press down the left stick (L3). Easy!

But, jump attacks then?

Even easier! Before you couldn't even do them properly. Now you just sprint and press RB.

And last but not least, thanks to user SEEK-R on Discord for this idea: You can now simply press down the LEFT STICK or RIGHT STICK for A and B actions respectively.

This makes aiming and shooting a breeze, since you use just one thumb for both. You can of course still use the regular A and B buttons on your gamepad to do the same thing, but it's way less comfortable or precise.

I'm still confused. Is there a video guide somewhere in case I forget some of this?

Glad you asked! There's in fact a brand new video guide showing how to use all three controllers layouts with both gameplay and synced real-life hand fotage.

It's finally here: proper Switch Joy-Con and Switch Pro Controller support- with motion controls!

This is probably one of the most wanted features of the whole texture pack, according to the people asking for help on Discord with setting it up. Many people who would like to enjoy Skyward Sword in glorious 4K also own Nintendo Switch systems (strange coincidence, eh?). This means they also own two perfectly fine (provided they're not drifting) Joy-Con controllers, and perhaps even a Pro Controller alongside them. These controllers (when they're not drifting) are totally awesome, because they have gyroscopes and accelerometers inside them! This means that, in theory, you could have the motion controls in Skyward Sword be handled by actual motion controls through the joy-con or pro controllers! (See where this is going?) This has been vastly rumored by people on the web for a while now, regarding a potential Skyward Sword remaster for this year's 35th Anniversary of the Zelda franchise! Will Nintendo do this? It's anyone's guess- but I sure already have!

So yes, with this update, you can play Skyward Sword 4K with Joy-Cons or a Switch Pro Controller WITH motion controls for things like menus, flying, skyward strikes and even slashing your sword (that's optional, though). See the video below for instructions on how to use motion controls with Skyward Sword 4K, and for more detailed descriptions of the various input methods.

Check out the new video guide here!

There are two versions of the texture pack you get to select once you've downloaded it. One is the "Post Processing Edition", which includes all the post processing effects showcased in the trailer like ambient occlusion, tone mapping, bloom and more. The other version is the "Standard Edition" which doesn't include these features but has some other benefits instead.

The Post Processing Edition utilizes Ishiiruka Dolphin to achieve these features, which unfortunately means gamepad/ wiimotion plus emulation is not possible in this version- you must use a REAL wiiremote & nunchuck combo using an external device like the Dolphin Bar. It also requires Windows 7 or higher and a dedicated graphics card. The standard edition includes a controller preset for common gamepads like the Xbox One controller, which means you can play the game without using a real wiiremote & nunchuck! This version also alleviates some minor Dolphin bugs present in Ishiiruka Dolphin and support MacOS & Linux, too! Both versions look stunning so if you're uncertain I recommend you play the standard version- you won't miss out on anything big!

I made a short video on how to play using only a normal controller. Watch it here!

Enjoy!

This update, 1.0.2, is available to all you Patrons here, with a public release in two weeks from when this post was published (in 1080p)!

There is also a 4K version available, if your computer can handle it! Please feel free to try it out!

Notice: The 4K version will look better than the 1080p version, even if you don't have a 4K display. This is because the 4K version has physically larger textures with more detail!

(Only available for the Dolphin Emulator on PC or mobile (Android/iOS), the texture pack does not work on real Wii or Wii U consoles).

You can find more information about my HD texture pack here.