Custom SoD Login and Loadscreen Art

[Grinkles]

NOTE: Updated, improved versions of the artwork shown here have been officially patched in as of Summer 2017. Download links have been removed.​

Shards of Dalaya's login and loadscreen splashes haven't been updated since the release of Ikisith way back in early 2010. I remember being thrilled to have new art welcome me into the game at the time but quickly grew tired of how Ikisith-centric it is. All but one picture have something to do with Ikisith and/or the Iksar race! Furthermore, whichever artist/dev took the screenshots must've done so with a poor lightsource equipped (along the lines of a Torch or Fire Beetle Eye), because roughly half of the images have a yellow tint to them.

So, I decided to make my own updated art with the aim of 1) representing a wider array of SoD's content than just 55+ Ikisith, and 2) immortalizing some of the server's more memorable and iconic figures:

The login screen remains Ikisith-oriented, though instead of an armed (and very yellow) Luclin Iksar, I've opted for a scenic view of the highly-important late-game quest locale, the Dreadlands Refuge. The loadscreen is the more interesting of the two and depicts the following:

• Bottom Left: Empress Penerlia
  • the archnemesis of any DHK puller/splitter
• Bottom Right: Frost King Rymaz Sunbane
  • Penerlia's rival, of course
• Middle Left: Ghost of the Headmaster
  • farming goodies from this mob has become a rite of passage among lowbies ever since he first appeared
• Middle Right: The Dryad sisters
  • feature prominently in the middle stages of the Main Quest
• Top Left: A blue-clad Sadri Malath guard
  • this starting city may seem passé to SoD veterans, but remember that the zone was originally a low-level dungeon full of Kerrans; what a change!
• Top Middle: Cyrtho Malath's tomb guardians
  • any player hoping to enter one of the server's most rewarding 6-man dungeons must first get past this gruesome twosome
• Top Right: Rabb the Rat
  • who better to represent the server's popular Adept mechanic than this wily, wimpy rodent?
• Center: Warlord Kaezul gazes upon his mistress at the foot of her deadly spire
  • a wartime reunion? a tearful farewell? perhaps Saitha in the midst of a fever dream? you decide...

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DOWNLOAD/INSTRUCTIONS​

If you'd like to download these splashes, follow these steps:

1. Backup these files within your SoD install directory in case you need to revert later on:
   • Resources > loadscreen.jpg
   • uifiles > default > ...
     • eqls_background_01.tga
     • eqls_background_02.tga
     • eqls_background_03.tga
     • eqls_background_04.tga
     • eqls_background_05.tga
     • eqls_background_06.tga
     • eqls_window_pieces_01.tga
     • eqls_window_pieces_02.tga
     • EQLS_WndBorder_01.tga
     • EQLS_WndBorder_02.tga
     • EQLS_WndBorder_03.tga
     • EQLS_WndBorder_04.tga
     • EQLS_WndBorder_05.tga
     • EQLS_WndBorder_06.tga
2. If a folder titled loadscreens exists within uifiles > default, delete any files contained therein or move them elsewhere.
   • These are EQ Live's intrusive "help" infographic loadscreens which use an incompatible resolution and show up stretched/distorted in SoD; the info on them doesn't apply here anyway.
3. Download the following .zip folder:
   • Custom SoD Splashes (Filesize: ~1.6 MB)
     • EDIT: Removed link as an updated, improved version of these has been officially patched in.
4. Unzip the folder and place its contents in the appropriate folders (refer to Step 1), overwriting the old files when prompted.
5. Open the SoD patcher and start the game as usual, this time with fresh artwork for the first time in almost seven years!

==========​

I hope at least a few people enjoy these. Let me know if the images are too dark/light or otherwise problematic and I may be able to tweak them on a case-by-case basis. It's very difficult to know how something will look on someone else's monitor.

If any brave guinea pigs get this working on their end, please post a response here so I know it works for others.

P.S.: You win the internet if you recognized the font I used. It's Menuetto, the very same font used in the EverQuest logo.

 

[Paxit]

Once upon a time there was a fame reward offer for original artwork and log in screens for the new client release, you sir have earned fame in my book. Good stuff you do here in SoD Grinkles.

 

[Grinkles]

I've updated the download link and Step 1 in the original post to include additional custom art, this time for the EULA, patch notes, and server select screens. These three screens all pull from the same UI file, meaning it was only possible to add one new piece of art to span them all. However, this gives the login process aesthetic consistency. I've also changed the "button selection" color from blue to golden brown to be in line with the borders I've used throughout all custom artwork included here.

This is what the new addition looks like in action:

The image on the top left is a demented gruplok from The Murk lounging in his beloved barrel, famous for his central role in the Voices quest that grants each class its Murk spell. Opposite him is Lyjan Vahl of The Vah, which many veteran players regard as the server's most memorable (and difficult) questline.

Enjoy, fellow Dalayans!

 

[Chiifin666]

I'll be downloading once i get home!

 

[Rattenstien]

The loadscreens worked just fine on the Steam version of Everquest F2P Thank You very much for the artwork.

 

[Swight]

The art links are no longer working