Myth Busted: Vita "Skins" Kontent on the Komplete Edition Discs

Patrick McCarron

TRMK Admin, Co-founder
Staff member
There is a rumor going around with the release of MK for the PS Vita that the MK Vita skins are "on the MK KE disc". This video is the one being used.


Unlike everyone spreading this news, I checked, and it's flat out not true. I may post more proof as needed, but this is just a quick post I built as I examined this "rumor"

Here is part of the contents, sorted alphabetically, of the CHAR portion on the MK Komplete Edition disc. The 15-16MB CHAR_* files are the models for the characters. If a character is playable, they'll have one of these. Each skin has it's own CHAR_ file too, so it's not just one file per character but one per SKIN.

Screen%20Shot%202012-05-02%20at%205-2-12%2012.28.08%20PM.png


You'll see here that Mileena has only 4 skin files on MKKE disc: A, B, D & E. Mileena has 5 skins on Vita: Costume 1, Costume 2, MK2, MK3 & the Nude costume. So she'd need another "C" skin file as well in order to have her MK2 skin.

I don't currently have a way to browse the Vita files, but if we did you'd see more CHAR_ files for the new skins on it compared to the KE disc.

You'll also above that Rain, Kenshi and Skarlet both have only one skin file on disc. No alts for them here either, or the other ninjas.

But the rumor is the CODE is there... not a model!

That was also said to, and it's actually partially true. There is in fact a configuration section for MK2 Mileena in the game's config file. And here it is:

Code:
[CHAR_MILEENA_C]
SourceAsset=CHAR_RetroNinja_Female_MK2
Mileena_Expressions=RetroNinja_Female_MK2_Expressions
SourceMapping=CHAR_Mileena
MeshName=RetroNinja_Female_MK2
BabyName=NPC_Mileena_C_Baby
BabyScript=NPC_Mileena_C_Baby.mko

This isn't CODE but rather a configuration for how things are treated. Lots of stuff like language localizations are in here too. Without the backing model data file and additional lines of configuration and actual in-game CODE, this bit of config is useless. This config data has been here since MK9 1.0 actually. It's not something new on MK9 KE. No other Vita exclusive skins exist in the configs at all, KE or otherwise.

Screen%20Shot%202012-05-02%20at%205-2-12%2012.41.15%20PM.png


Why did they not ship with her skin then? You may ask

That's easy. Each character file is 16MB, plus all the extra FATALITY and BABALITY models that'd be needed for this alternate skin. So it's not tiny and they likely ran out of room when they shipped MK9 and had to cut her from the game.

But the "Komplete Edition" has a lot more content on the disc now! They had the room!

Yes it does NOW but it may not have then. There is a reason that is possible though. Microsoft reserved over 1GB of space on that their discs for copy protection and other stuff. That all changed with the fall console update in late 2011 they changed that rule and gave 1GB of space back to developers to use. That more than likely allowed them to put all the skins and characters released as DLC back onto the new KE disc.

They likely NOW had room to add Mileena's MK2 skin onto the Komplete edition disc, but no other users would have that skin. Without that skin on everyone's game, it's useless online. They could add it in a patch, or "title update", but they have size limitations (hence the DLC "compatibility packs") and cost a lot of money. NetherRealm is likely trying to avoid patches as well to avoid future desync issues with online games.

Then why no Vita skins in "Komplete" edition?!

As I said above each character skin is a whole new model and is about 16MB on the Xbox/PS3. Adding in another 16 skins would make the game at least 256MB bigger, but that doesn't count the FATALITY and BABALITY support files that are also on the disc FOR EACH SKIN. So it'd likely be closer to 0.5GB for all those skins.

The Xbox 360 MK disc clocks in at 7.85GB, just barely under the 7.95GB limit of a DL DVD. And for all we know, they were at their limits already and this extra 100MB is just extra free space on the disc used by MS. Clearly no room for 400-500MB of extra content.

So again there is no room for the Vita skins, if they even exist. For all we know the new skins for Vita were designed for the Vita only. They may not exist in the console art pipeline at the size and resolutions needed for Xbox or PS3.

Could they be created and offered as DLC?

Sure anything is possible, but this would require a lot of extra work, QA and a costly console Title Update. So wont be cheap AT ALL. Then we may also get into the desync issues online again if things go wrong since not everyone would have the new content and no one wants that.

I'd rather have NetherRealm focus their attention on whatever is next for Mortal Kombat instead of adding skins to a year old console game.
 
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Re: Myth Busted: Vita Skin "Code" on the MK KE Disc

I know I don't understand anything about game developing but MK2 Mileena, Scorpion, Reptile, Sub-Zero and Ermac don't have to be created but just paller swapped or you also mean giving those costumes characters' animations?
 
Re: Myth Busted: Vita Skin "Code" on the MK KE Disc

First off sorry this post updated before I was done, I've since updated it again.

I know I don't understand anything about game developing but MK2 Mileena, Scorpion, Reptile, Sub-Zero and Ermac don't have to be created but just paller swapped or you also mean giving those costumes characters' animations?

No palette swapping is now just a term that is used incorrectly. Back in the 2D sprite days with 256 colors per character sprite, palette swapping was actually how it was done. You'd have one piece of art and one color palette you'd swap out for another palette for the same piece of art. It was a great trick.

But when MK went 3D they were no longer "swapping" a color palette because it, while not impossible, isn't practical with 16 MILLION colors per texture now. So instead they create copies of the other models and it's textures and make the texture image and model changes required for the other character. So now each character has their own model files, one per skin as you see in the list above.
 
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They may not exist in the console art pipeline at the size and resolutions needed for Xbox or PS3.

Could they be created and offered as DLC?

Sure anything is possible, but then we get into the desync issues online again if things go wrong or not perfect and no one wants that. I'd rather have NetherRealm focus their attention on whatever is next for Mortal Kombat instead of adding skins to a year old console game.

I agree.
While I'd love to see NRS put the UMK3 costumes on PSN \ XBLA (specially since I use RAIN a lot), if it's going to cause more bugs and desynchs online, then maybe it's better for NRS to just focus on MK10.
Who knows?
Maybe they can even put the UMK3 costumes in MK10.
 
Re: Myth Busted: Vita Skin "Code" on the MK KE Disc

First off sorry this post updated before I was done, I've since updated it again.



No palette swapping is now just a term that is used incorrectly. Back in the 2D sprite days with 256 colors per character sprite, palette swapping was actually how it was done. You'd have one piece of art and one color palette you'd swap out for another palette for the same piece of art. It was a great trick.

But when MK went 3D they were no longer "swapping" a color palette because it, while not impossible, isn't practical with 16M colors per texture now. So instead they create copies of the other models and it's textures and make the texture image and model changes required for the other character. So now each character has their own model files, one per skin as you see in the list above.

Oh I just noticed I misspelled "palette swapping", my bad.
If each costume is created separately then why is it that characters in classic costumes become grey when some fatalities are made on them?
 
Re: Myth Busted: Vita Skin "Code" on the MK KE Disc

Oh I just noticed I misspelled "palette swapping", my bad.
If each costume is created separately then why is it that characters in classic costumes become grey when some fatalities are made on them?

Visual effects is my guess.
 
Not arguing with you, but if they dont do palette swaps anymore and they copy the skins, where are the files for the darker colors etc, like purple pants jax or shakka kahn with blue armour? I repeat i am not, arguing, rubbishing or anything of the kind
 
Not arguing with you, but if they dont do palette swaps anymore and they copy the skins, where are the files for the darker colors etc, like purple pants jax or shakka kahn with blue armour? I repeat i am not, arguing, rubbishing or anything of the kind

It's not palette swapping but you can programatically make color shifts to the colors of images in code. You can't replace all red with green, but you can do a lot of things to the image to alter how it looks. I called it "image special effects" above because is a good lay mans term for that.

But to be specific, those darker "Player 2" skins may actually BE in the that single model file. I haven't looked in almost a year now but I bet it is in there. Since they aren't changing the model, animations, etc just making a few changes to the textures itself. It doesn't take 16MB just for the model, that file contains a lot of data. It has the 3D model, textures, light maps, and even the animations and special move stuff specific to that character. Basically it holds stuff needed during the fight.

I also forgot to mention the Fatality/Finishing Move files and how each one of those new skins gets all new Finishing move data files, a Babality model, and other misc support stuff for the character. That's why the babies have the right outfits when you do it. These are likely loaded off disc just as you perform the moves, but that's just a hunch.
 
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I agree.
While I'd love to see NRS put the UMK3 costumes on PSN \ XBLA (specially since I use RAIN a lot), if it's going to cause more bugs and desynchs online, then maybe it's better for NRS to just focus on MK10.
Who knows?
Maybe they can even put the UMK3 costumes in MK10.

I hope MK10 isn't too far away.
 
I hope MK10 isn't too far away.

Who knows if MK10 is what NRS is doing next, I'd just rather have them focus on making new games instead of adding skins and not actual playable GAME CONTENT to an older game. Make more games is my thought on the matter.
 
I hope they make good new games. Its what worries me about the future of MK. They tried something new before and in hindsight have been deemed as creative failures(despite them selling loads).With this release been a nostalgia title, a revamp it worries me they wont be able to do anything fresh again.

Then again i can imagine if its going to be the MK4 timeline it will add some nostalgia to folk and people complaining about not including the Prison Stage or something.

I just hope they keep what they have, refine it and build on it
 
I like to compare what MK did to exactly what Star Trek did with their new movies franchise. They literally went back in time and "rebooted" itself, but made significant changes in the timeline so they can move forward without having to re-tread old ground exactly. Things are changed, some things stay the same, but they can be free of having to deliver the exact same story line as before and move to a new future for the franchise.

How will it do? Time will tell. They have the flexibility to do anything they want now story wise, but they also have to remember the hardcore impossible to please fans want to see the old stuff. Hard to cover all bases, they got a lot of work ahead of them to out do this last game.
 
Who knows if MK10 is what NRS is doing next, I'd just rather have them focus on making new games instead of adding skins and not actual playable GAME CONTENT to an older game. Make more games is my thought on the matter.

Sounds good enough. I just hope MK10 will also be in the PS3.
 
Very knowledgable post! Thanks for sharing McCarron!

Thanks. It annoys me of constantly hearing the same "facts" with no proof. I heard it three times yesterday and a total of 10 times in the last few weeks. So I wanted to look into it myself, which no one else did, and lay the issue to rest.
 
Y'know, had we not seen Skarlet's now PSVita exclusive alternate skin in a "leak" last year, it would have all been gravy at this point but we did, so there was no reason given why it wasn't included in at least the downloadable form when she originally released onto the Playstation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace. NetherRealm Studios had people eating out of the palm of their hands last year, if they didn't choose to create and release the highly demanded UMK3 skins then well, hey - their loss.
 
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