General Gaming AI Upscaling Old Games

[crispy4000]

 

Alright D1P, it's time we had a thread about this.  Not sharing any files, just posting about the wonderful, crazy thing that is AI upscaling.

Emulators have been adopting support for custom hi-res texture loading in light of new AI upscaling algorithms (ESGAN, Gigapixel, etc).  N64, Gamecube, Wii, 3DS, Dreamcast, PSP, and now original Playstation games are seeing support for texture packs that stay true to the original art.  PC modding is possible too.  Videos can also be AI upscaled (see EA's excellent C&C remaster).

 

Progress is very decentralized at the moment, and result can vary.  You'll see better results with pre-rendered backgrounds and Dreamcast-era and later, and also with how much effort is put into cleaning up artifacts and training models.  That said, someone's upscaled the entire N64 library, and is currently working on Dreamcast.

 

Perhaps the most developed upscale project so far is the FF9 mod on PC:
 

 

Chrono Cross is still early, but should be another impressive example.  Huge deal to see this in action finally, considering a remaster has never been attempted for it:

 

 

SSX 3 is one of the better ones I've found too.  Digital Foundry gushed about playing this on the XBX not so long ago.  But this is a further step up:

 

 

And this?  Insanity.

 

 

Even smaller differences can add up with videos...

 

 

[SimpleG]

Holy shit at the Muramasa upgrade.

[SimpleG]

@crispy4000

Can you PM the details on where one could study these games for a strictly scientific purposes please

[crispy4000]

5 hours ago, SimpleG said:

@crispy4000

Can you PM the details on where one could study these games for a strictly scientific purposes please

 

Check video comments / descriptions.

 

A few more Chrono Cross captures to illustrate just how big the difference is:

 

 

Even that isn't nearly as impressive as Baten Kaitos will look once it's finished.




 

That's derived from a 17 year old game folks.

[dualhunter]

I already did a replay of Muramasa on Dolphin so I don't know if I'd do another. I do plan on replaying FF7 with Remako (it's supposed to be easier to set up now with more enhancements) and I was planning to replay Chrono Cross at some point so improve image quality would be great.

[Keyser_Soze]

I got stuck in Chrono Cross and never finished it but this kinda makes me want to go back to it.

 

Any screens of Parasite Eve?

[Keyser_Soze]

 

[eggydoo]

That ff9 mod makes me want to replay it.

[crispy4000]

New trailer for a new version of the FF9 mod.

[Nokt]

8 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

New trailer for a new version of the FF9 mod.

As happy as I am for this mod, it makes me sad that so much of the original was lost.

[Bloodporne]

Jesus, these look great. Also, I've never played Muramasa and that game looks super cool. Might order it online today, my Wii is still hooked up.

[Keyser_Soze]

7 minutes ago, Bloodporne said:

Jesus, these look great. Also, I've never played Muramasa and that game looks super cool. Might order it online today, my Wii is still hooked up.

 

Do you have a Vita? They re-released it for the Vita. It might be more enjoyable than playing it raw on the Wii.

[Bloodporne]

38 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Do you have a Vita? They re-released it for the Vita. It might be more enjoyable than playing it raw on the Wii.

Actually don't, no. I haven't had a handheld since the original Game Boy actually, damn!

[crispy4000]

 

First time SquareEnix has actually used an AI upscaller for backgrounds.  Progress!

[crispy4000]

A different type of FF7 remake.

 

That's actually highly impressive for the source material.

[Greatoneshere]

So how do I use these upscale mods on my emulation? Or are none done yet?

[crispy4000]

7 hours ago, Greatoneshere said:

So how do I use these upscale mods on my emulation? Or are none done yet?

It depends on the platform being emulated and the emulator.  PC mods are also an option for games that are ported (like FFIX).

 

There's Discord channel called Gaming Revived which is tackling entire platform libraries.  They finished N64 and are working on Dreamcast now.  Can only download on Fridays though.  I don't always think upscaled N64 textures look good either, PS2-era is kind of the sweet spot.

 

Gamecube/Wii games are probably your best bet for high quality finished stuff at the moment.  But there's projects all around on supported platforms.  3DS, PS1 and PSP are the new kids on the block for texture support.

[Greatoneshere]

3 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

It depends on the platform being emulated and the emulator.  PC mods are also an option for games that are ported (like FFIX).

 

There's Discord channel called Gaming Revived which is tackling entire platform libraries.  They finished N64 and are working on Dreamcast now.  Can only download on Fridays though.  I don't always think upscaled N64 textures look good either, PS2-era is kind of the sweet spot.

 

Gamecube/Wii games are probably your best bet for high quality finished stuff at the moment.  But there's projects all around on supported platforms.  3DS, PS1 and PSP are the new kids on the block for texture support.

 

Much thanks! This helps. I was specifically wondering for Baten Kaitos on Dolphin in this case. I was Googling stuff but it didn't seem clear how to get these mods and install them. Any thoughts?

[crispy4000]

1 hour ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

Much thanks! This helps. I was specifically wondering for Baten Kaitos on Dolphin in this case. I was Googling stuff but it didn't seem clear how to get these mods and install them. Any thoughts?

 

Haven't heard any updates on Baten Kaitos sadly.  People have done some of the backdrops, but haven't completed a full pack yet or put them into the game.

[Bloodporne]

I just got Metroid Prime 2 to run via Dolphin with an AI-upscaled texture pack and it looks crisp as fuck. It's kind of amazing to see honestly. 

[stepee]

On 6/27/2020 at 2:24 AM, Keyser_Soze said:

 

 

kinda like a chubby bill hader?

[crispy4000]

 

This one's a biggie.  Author is working on BK: Origins next.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

didn’t Bioware say ME1 was AI upscaled? 

[projectmayhem]

Been playing FF9 with the Moguri mod, really has breathed new life into the game for me. Also makes that official FF8 remaster for Ps4 an absolute disgrace in comparison. 

[Keyser_Soze]

 

This mod replaces the character models in the original FMVs with these modded ones, so basically re-recorded the FMVs in FFVII

[stepee]

On 6/19/2020 at 4:31 AM, crispy4000 said:

 

Check video comments / descriptions.

 

A few more Chrono Cross captures to illustrate just how big the difference is:

 

 

Even that isn't nearly as impressive as Baten Kaitos will look once it's finished.




 

That's derived from a 17 year old game folks.

 

@squareenix u c this

[crispy4000]

6 hours ago, stepee said:

 

@squareenix u c this

Apparently their port teams don't communicate.
 

lol

[crispy4000]

 

 

Character models aren't an upscale.  They literally recreated entirely new 3D models to capture images from.  Insane.