Author Topic: FFVIII Remastered  (Read 83116 times)

Yagami Light

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #75 on: 2019-08-20 17:33:55 »
Squall looks off and Zell looks like a kingdom hearts character, but its still a vast improvement over the original, the original steam release was a cash grab, considering this is the most effort Square Enix has put into re-releasing FF games, I disagree with this being a cash grab at all, backgrounds and battlegrounds will be getting mods eventually so it doesn't matter too much.

Terid__K

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #76 on: 2019-08-20 18:23:16 »
I'm disappointed there's no discount for owners of the original on Steam. Not to mention the regional pricing on the remaster is much, MUCH worse.


Aavock

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #77 on: 2019-08-20 21:57:38 »
Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1026680/FINAL_FANTASY_VIII__REMASTERED/
The game is only 5GB. Pre-order now and get 2 wallpapers: hooray!

Note that there's no "full audio" check mark so what happened last month in the official webpage source code was simply a mistake.

Latest in-game screenshots:















gunner_1207

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #78 on: 2019-08-20 22:21:31 »
Whiners...  yeah, that's a convenient cop out to anyone that differs with your own view, isn't it?

The character models they've changed are a joke.  They no longer look like the actual character anymore.  Backgrounds, as far as I remember, where just a rather crap upscale.  Nothing of note has changed at all.  It's just a flagrant cash grab, which is what I object to most.  Rehash on rehash, remake on remake, "HD" on "HD"  - it's laughable and also annoying - because it cripples creativity and it's also a missed opportunity.

The only thing that makes this remotely worthwhile for me atm is the audio engine. If that's just a shitty replacement, then the whole thing is a waste of time.

People disagreeing with you does not make them "a whiner". People have different views and, in this case, legitimate objections.  Deal with it.

19.99 for a 1998-9 game that's now got poor models. A game we've seen re-released already and some of us have owned multiple times.  I've got a few adjectives lined up, but "amazing" is definitely not among them.

DLPB Yes ***king preach, couldn't agree more you literally read my mind. its so lazy i cant even..most of those character models look gd i will admit, apart from zell he looks bout 10, and squall i don't know WTF they have done to him ....you modders create such beauty from so little compared to a big fish like square, its insulting what they are pushing out, pissing on all of us.

-Ric-

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #79 on: 2019-08-20 22:42:56 »
Wow, 20 bucks for a THIRD release of the same game except now it has 10 updated models, retextured summons/bosses and backgrounds smeared in vaseline yet some fanboys STILL think they're paying an amazing price.

It is an amazing price. And yes we "fanboys" will happily pay for it. Not only that but I feel sorry for anyone who believes 20$ is a lot of money.

Arthandas

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #80 on: 2019-08-20 22:47:37 »
Can't agree with this enough.  And I've said it before 1000x but this is why we get nowhere with today's game companies.  They know they can get away with laughing in our faces.
Yeah, and to add insult to injury, the current owners are expected to buy it again with no discounts for almost twice the price of the original :D

-Ric-

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #81 on: 2019-08-20 23:29:41 »
Yeah, and to add insult to injury, the current owners are expected to buy it again with no discounts for almost twice the price of the original :D

Why are you "expected to buy it again" exactly? if you already have the old version and are happy with it, who's forcing you to buy it again...?

And again... Discount... on a 19.99$ piece of software. Damn...

Terid__K

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #82 on: 2019-08-21 03:58:09 »
Man, the backgrounds really do look awful (everything else looks great though, IMO. Well except for Squall, he looks 5 years younger than everyone else). I don't know what Square was thinking, but then again, they did think what they did to the FF9 backgrounds looked good enough.

BTW, it would be funny if they kept the file structure exactly the same as the original and we could just copy and paste these improved models into the non-remastered version.

« Last Edit: 2019-08-21 04:04:28 by Terid__K »

Fewtch

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #83 on: 2019-08-21 04:28:59 »
Man, the backgrounds really do look awful (everything else looks great though, IMO. Well except for Squall, he looks 5 years younger than everyone else). I don't know what Square was thinking, but then again, they did think what they did to the FF9 backgrounds looked good enough.

BTW, it would be funny if they kept the file structure exactly the same as the original and we could just copy and paste these improved models into the non-remastered version.
*shrugs* Its what they did for FFVII on Switch, except they neutered the exe and made it difficult to go over a certain file-size. womp womp

Yagami Light

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #84 on: 2019-08-22 16:04:31 »
Couple gameplay videos from Gamescon floating around, some pc bugs still left in the release version are blue coloured alphas for magics/effects and world map UV might be still broken, there is no true 360 degree analog support either only 8 directions. Steam page says its directx 11 so if they ported it to unity for multi platform releases it might make modding easier. Looks like they implemented a new lighting system for characters on the fields too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=197r5l9nuoQ
« Last Edit: 2019-08-22 16:10:21 by Yagami Light »

Aavock

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #85 on: 2019-08-22 16:41:44 »
Some pc bugs still left in the release version are blue coloured alphas for magics/effects and world map UV might be still broken, there is no true 360 degree analog support either only 8 directions.
Now, that's lazy. They didn't even try, they can't even get the grey gradient right.
It also suffers from the usual over-the-top vibrant colors (especially on Elvoret) and contrast to attract more.

Steam page says its directx 11 so if they ported it to unity for multi platform releases it might make modding easier.
Hopefully there will be some equivalent to FFIX' Memoria to make it true widescreen, customizable font, true analog support and more.
On the plus side, enemies re-texturing are looking great.

Maki

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #86 on: 2019-08-22 17:37:36 »
Steam page says its directx 11 so if they ported it to unity for multi platform releases it might make modding easier.
They just upgraded the wrapper like they did upgrade the DirectX to EIDOS release. They said they replaced the music, so no more DirectMusic and Dx11 makes it multi-platform friendly. (At least for PS4 I can confirm from deploy/devkit side- even better for XOne but I don't know about Switch)
I really wish they did Unity, but that's not what Dotemu does - if remaster was in hands if Silicon then I could get my hopes up for rewrite.
« Last Edit: 2019-08-22 17:39:32 by Maki »

LeonhartGR

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #87 on: 2019-08-22 20:30:14 »
I guess I have to start getting used to the new Squall model after all... the absence of character portrayed in the new model, one of Square's signature points while creating models, makes me recall the ol' traditional FFVII quote:
"Face it Squall...All you are is just an empty puppet after all..."
« Last Edit: 2019-08-22 20:35:57 by LeonhartGR »

Spooniest

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #88 on: 2019-08-22 21:22:04 »
I'm not going to pin labels on anyone's point of view. You don't think what SE has done is worth $20, you don't think what SE has done is worth $20. Fair enough.

I think it's worth $20. Sure, no prob. I liked this game the first time they released it, I'll like it now.

I do think that if you currently have the 1998 PC game in your Steam Library that you should get something that a person newly buying it doesn't, but I am not the decision maker for SE marketing and boy HOWDY do I not want that job.

rotschleim

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #89 on: 2019-08-23 01:23:55 »
They also better hope that they have implemented an audio replacement - or that RaW is compatible out of the box - because I'll say it now:  There is no way I am making RaW compatible with this game if it isn't by default.  I won't lift a finger to aid this version and waste yet more of my time.
https://twitter.com/Dotemu/status/1138723243999801344

imo, you should make that message clear in your RaW thread just in case, though. who knows what dotemu may or may not have messed up.

sorry if this offends, i mean no harm. keep on truckin' :D
« Last Edit: 2019-08-23 01:26:04 by rotschleim »

Terid__K

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #90 on: 2019-08-23 01:39:52 »
there is no true 360 degree analog support either only 8 directions.

I guess analog movement is an alien concept to the people updating these old games. FFIX didn't have it either.


Mcindus

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #91 on: 2019-08-23 03:09:41 »
They also better hope that they have implemented an audio replacement - or that RaW is compatible out of the box - because I'll say it now:  There is no way I am making RaW compatible with this game if it isn't by default.  I won't lift a finger to aid this version and waste yet more of my time.

Well... this just makes me sad.  This will likely make all gameplay mods non-functional due to how RaW and HextLaunch work. This will make the UV patch non-operable, also.
I was going to put in a bunch of effort into modding this new remaster, since we will likely be able to do model replacements needed to 'fix' what's been done; and this news is a bigger bummer to me than the lack of effort that SE put into the remaster.

Maki

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #92 on: 2019-08-23 09:47:54 »
19.99$ is very cheap and affordable. it's basically one cheap lunch.
One cheap lunch for whole family*

anyway if FFVIII didn't use DirectMusic then we probably wouldn't get any kind of audio replacement- it's simple, Dotemu was forced to change that component with something more current-gen. The music is going to be OGG and work like RaW- I bet it
« Last Edit: 2019-08-23 09:49:45 by Maki »

Yagami Light

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #93 on: 2019-08-23 11:55:18 »
Yeah its unlikely its using Unity which is a shame, them using the buggy pc build as a base and not fixing all the bugs because they assume its working as intended is what I feared, they never looked at the ps1 version, they even copied the black font to the remaster which doesn't exist in the ps1 version. But they have fixed some bugs such as Bahamuts cloud effects not appearing.

« Last Edit: 2019-08-23 11:57:32 by Yagami Light »

DLPB_

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #94 on: 2019-08-23 12:29:17 »
I don't rule out  adding hext support to it.  But def not the audio component.  Looks like I won't have to.  8)

I'd only change my mind if there were significant improvements and we can mod those god awful models

rotschleim

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #95 on: 2019-08-23 16:28:04 »
I compiled a version differences list in case anyone was asking questions about it.

Important:
- Original PS1 music will feature.

- Chocobo World has been removed, and its items were moved to Angelo Search. No word yet on if the rates of Angelo Search were increased or how Boko's special move will power-up.

- Button prompts return, as opposed to green-colored key or button names. (Speculation, but I'm assuming there will be no problem reassigning trigger buttons on the Steam release this time.)

- Steam release will have "highly-customizable system settings."

- Same achievements as 2013 Steam, but the following have been removed:
Professional Player (Win 100 games of Triple Triad)
Collector (Collect all cards)
Magazine Addict (Hold all Weapons Monthly, Combat King, Occult Fan, and Pet Pals magazines)
Top Level (Have one ally reach LV 100)
Contrived Finish (Finish the game with Squall at LV 7)
Blue Magic Master (Teach Quistis all Blue Magic)
Dog Trainer (Teach Angelo all tricks)
Maximum Gil (Collect 99,999,999 gil)
10000 Kills (Kill 10,000 enemies)
Choco Loot (Return Boko to FFVIII from Chocobo World after he's collected an item)
Top Level Boko (Return Boko to FFVIII from Chocobo World after he's reached LV 100)
(In addition, Card Club Master has been renamed "CC Group Master.")


Graphics:
- Redesigned 3D models/textures for playable characters, NPCs, enemies, GFs, weapons, etc. Basically, anything that's a 3D object (Not a 3D background) has been redone.

- Anti-aliasing added to both new and old 3D.

- Newly upscaled FMVs. (However, the blurry upscale job from the 2013 Steam release should be compared to this new attempt, just to see if they didn't simply reuse assets.)

- Pre-rendered 2D backgrounds have bilinear filter applied, in an effort to hide pixellation caused by original PS1 320x240 resolution.

- World map and battleground scenes have linear filter from PC versions applied, with no option to shut it off.

- 2D UI elements redesigned.


Cheats:
All platforms will receive the following.
- HiSpeed (Game speed x3. Same as pressing F1 on Steam port.)

- Battle Assist (HP and ATB gauge are always full, Limit Breaks always available. Same as pressing F2 on Steam port.)

- No random encounters (New!)

Steam users get these in addition to the above.
- GF Level and AP Max (GFs' AP will be set to max, and they will be LV 100. Same as pressing F4, "AP Max," on Steam port.)

- Magic, Ability, Item, and Gil Max (Tweaked from Steam port's F5, "Magic and Gil Max." Unsure as to what the new item and ability functions of this cheat entail.)

- The Magic Booster from the 2013 Steam version will not return.


Anything not specifically mentioned here is the same as the 2013 Steam release. This means Siren refines Dark Matter at any level, Omega Weapon's level scales to the team's, no 60 FPS battle UI, no circular analog field/world map movement, incorrect UV mapping on the world map, potentially no vibration.
« Last Edit: 2019-08-23 22:16:03 by rotschleim »

nfitc1

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #96 on: 2019-08-23 16:38:40 »
So how much does anyone want to bet that CW is STILL in the code, but the menu was disabled. That'd be an easy check. If Mog Dance is now an Angelo search that'll make it even more rare. Not like it was a super useful action to begin with. At least I never found it helpful. Didn't GFs get all their HP back at the end of battle? It's been so long I can't remember. Just have to walk around a lot. Oh well.

With all the pictures here I'm not sure which is which. The gradient looks fine on the steam pics, which is something that always bothered me about the '99 release. Not sure I like some of those models, but some look just fine. I'll want to see some actual in-game footage before making any more judgements.

Oh yes! The original build of FFVIII PC had a problem with the Tonberry summon not displaying the "Doink" text in the text box. Did that get fixed in future releases?
« Last Edit: 2019-08-23 16:42:51 by NFITC1 »

Kaldarasha

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #97 on: 2019-08-23 18:34:52 »
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1034860/GRANDIA_HD_Remaster/

I will better put may money into this (even though it's also garbage ATM) rather than supporting this pay-for-a-patch behavior. Also openVIII looks more promising than this sloppy work.
Nothing against dotemu, they only do for what they are paid for but SE is kicking their customers with shoes. This only shows how they will milk the remake with better versions of the same game. "Upgrade the graphics of your PS4 version of FF7R for only $30 to experience true UHD graphics with amazing details on your PS5!"
« Last Edit: 2019-08-23 18:45:29 by Kaldarasha »

Wiseman

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #98 on: 2019-08-23 20:56:45 »
Is the Grandia remaster really garbage though? The filter doesn't look that bad and people who hate filtered sprites must be a minority considering developers keep adding those.

Anyway, I want that on Good Old Games. I'm hopeful since Grandia 2 is already there.

gunner_1207

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Re: FFVIII Remastered
« Reply #99 on: 2019-08-23 21:05:38 »
Well... this just makes me sad.  This will likely make all gameplay mods non-functional due to how RaW and HextLaunch work. This will make the UV patch non-operable, also.
I was going to put in a bunch of effort into modding this new remaster, since we will likely be able to do model replacements needed to 'fix' what's been done; and this news is a bigger bummer to me than the lack of effort that SE put into the remaster.
Mcindus!! don't lose heart my man we need you!!