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Final Fantasy VIII Remaster New Screenshots + Comparisons
- Thread starter Wazzy
- Start date
I always wondered what was going on in Squalls mind when getting dressed.
"Yeah, I need three identical belts on my right leg. Also, three around my waits, but two will sag, one on each side. This'll look hella cool."
The background in this image looks really low resolution compared to the character. It doesn't look like they're using any kind of sensible AI based background scaling .. it's gonna look pretty bad at 1080p on a big screen :-/
Have to agree with folks that it really is a shame we didn't get AI upscale backgrounds. One of the best, GUM, is still very WIP and no idea when it will get finished.I always wondered what was going on in Squalls mind when getting dressed.
"Yeah, I need three identical belts on my right leg. Also, three around my waits, but two will sag, one on each side. This'll look hella cool."
Aside from the art getting boosted, the creator is also improving the masks for the transparent stuff so it comes through properly.
Have to agree with folks that it really is a shame we didn't get AI upscale backgrounds. One of the best, GUM, is still very WIP and no idea when it will get finished.
Aside from the art getting boosted, the creator is also improving the masks for the transparent stuff so it comes through properly.
What the actual what? Is that supposed to be an example of fan mods being better? The background is smeared out like crazy and Squall looks like Box-Art Mega Man.
Looks like a PS2 era Square game now, nice.
You serious? This looks awful lol, both the character model and the AI vaseline smeared "upscaled" background.Have to agree with folks that it really is a shame we didn't get AI upscale backgrounds. One of the best, GUM, is still very WIP and no idea when it will get finished.
Aside from the art getting boosted, the creator is also improving the masks for the transparent stuff so it comes through properly.
It was just the first image I found when looking for a similar location to that of the screens we got so far.
My point was that it would have been great to see SQUARE ENIX do the AI upscale approach for the game.
Squall certainly looks weird in that fan mod, but he also looks a bit strange in the remaster.
EDIT - Here is a better example of original game vs AI upscale. If they could achieve this quality throughout, would have been nice to see.
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It was just the first image I found when looking for a similar location to that of the screens we got so far.
My point was that it would have been great to see SQUARE ENIX do the AI upscale approach for the game.
Squall certainly looks weird in that fan mod, but he also looks a bit strange in the remaster.
EDIT - Here is a better example of original game vs AI upscale. If they could achieve this quality throughout, would have been nice to see.
I wish I could agree with you on this particular example, but it may be a perfect side by side as to why Square did not proceed with AI for the BGs: They change the perceived textures and materials. In this instance, snow goes from being very clearly textured as snow, to something more alike to vanilla ice cream? There is the perception of depth in the low res original, and it goes away with smears everywhere on the updated one.
AI algorithms definitely improve the IQ, but they can damage the core artwork if not used well.
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in a perfect world square would've run the backgrounds through AI then had artists touch them up, that would've been fantastic but alas.It was just the first image I found when looking for a similar location to that of the screens we got so far.
My point was that it would have been great to see SQUARE ENIX do the AI upscale approach for the game.
Squall certainly looks weird in that fan mod, but he also looks a bit strange in the remaster.
EDIT - Here is a better example of original game vs AI upscale. If they could achieve this quality throughout, would have been nice to see.
In a perfect world FF8 would be the one getting the complete remake and would be done now. But for a remaster it's unfeasible to expect redrawn backgrounds, AI or not. And since AI doesn't produce a perfect result they'd have to spend a ton of time on touching it up anyway.
Yeah, I know this is why they didn't do it. Tbh though, I hope FF8 (and especially FF3/6) get the remake treatment some day!
This really is a poster child for how a remaster should be handled graphics-wise. Really impressed by the effort Square has put in here, especially for an FF game so widely considered to be one of the less popular entries and a "black sheep" in general.
Honestly, I really wish Square had done something like this for FF VII. I'm REALLY looking forward to FF VII Remake after playing it at E3, but I think a remaster of the OG FF VII in this vein holds a huge amount of appeal in its own way.
Honestly, I really wish Square had done something like this for FF VII. I'm REALLY looking forward to FF VII Remake after playing it at E3, but I think a remaster of the OG FF VII in this vein holds a huge amount of appeal in its own way.
It can definitely be poster child if it also provides some CRT-Scanlines options.
Mostly because they are still using the original BGs with no perceived AI filtering. A scanlines or aperture grille overlay or shader can help to mask the low res or blurry backgrounds very sucessfuly, providing a much more cohesive 3D-2D final look.
I really wish we'd had widescreen redrawn backgrounds. I know that's unrealistic but that's the dream.
Squall looks like someone who's parents shouldn't have stopped dressing himI always wondered what was going on in Squalls mind when getting dressed.
"Yeah, I need three identical belts on my right leg. Also, three around my waits, but two will sag, one on each side. This'll look hella cool."
The work that has been done already is more than what is done for most remasters from the PS1 era, though, so I'm not complaining. That said, I probably have a lower bar than most when it comes to being satisfied with visuals. I'm not that picky, haha. (Not saying you are or would be wrong if you were! I'm just coming at this from a different angle.)
That is super easy when compared to the nightmare that was FF9.....
Can't say I'm a fan of most of their faces, it's like they were run through a bishonen filter.
As someone who's already played the game and wants to coast through the story, these settings are a godsend🤷🏻♂️
This just makes me want to wait for a mod that fixes Squall's hair more than anything.Have to agree with folks that it really is a shame we didn't get AI upscale backgrounds. One of the best, GUM, is still very WIP and no idea when it will get finished.
Aside from the art getting boosted, the creator is also improving the masks for the transparent stuff so it comes through properly.
You are absolutely right that this effort goes beyond other efforts in the industry. However, they could really step it up a bit more by providing quick alternatives to the final IQ rendering.
A scanlines overlay should be a matter of days-hours for their team, and should have neglible impact to performance, for example. (A shader can be more demanding, but an overlay its a good workaround)
They've applied a blur filter. The raw backgrounds in the original Steam release look much better. A bit pixelated, but crisper.
OP
OP
Considering we had to put up with this ugly thing for years:
I think the Remastered Squall looks good enough. Plus modders will hopefully fix up the design a bit which means another platform I own this game on lol
Squalls new hair and face is soooo bad. Getting it on pc, maybe someone can get a mod workways for it. Everything else looks great
