Author Topic: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.  (Read 54609 times)

Ragna

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #50 on: 2016-01-11 14:50:28 »
Not sure what you're looking at in reddit /final fantasy a guy had screenshot comparison from the video to the ps1 to an emulator. There was a significant improvement on the models, on the cutscenes, and some improvement on the fields, though I wouldn't say significant. Then again it's just a trailer, maybe they did some video editing magic or something, but I doubt it, people would be pissed.
I only saw the teaser:
[OK] FMVs? The same originals with some nice pre-applied filter.
[OK] 3D Models? I doubt they have touched them now, it's way more probable they just had them from the very beginning in the PlayStation era (but ended up being polycount reduced).
[OK] Textures? Same as original, just with anisotropic filtering, probably.
[BAD] 2D Backgrounds? Same as original low res, except implemented poorly with visual glitches and of course, no image filtering.
[? ? ?] Audio.

In no way one can call that a "true HD Remake" like NFITC1 said.

olearyf2525

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #51 on: 2016-01-11 19:01:17 »
I only saw the teaser:
[OK] FMVs? The same originals with some nice pre-applied filter.
[OK] 3D Models? I doubt they have touched them now, it's way more probable they just had them from the very beginning in the PlayStation era (but ended up being polycount reduced).
[OK] Textures? Same as original, just with anisotropic filtering, probably.
[BAD] 2D Backgrounds? Same as original low res, except implemented poorly with visual glitches and off course, no image filtering.
[? ? ?] Audio.

In no way one can call that a "true HD Remake" like NFITC1 said.

Can't post this image with the img tags for some reason. Here is the link. Two photo comparisons of in game and then a video of the fmv comparison.
http://imgur.com/a/TE26t


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifJIMUJnvsg
Here is a video where he shows the fmvs comparison at the start but actually syncs up and compares an emulated ff9 to this new one, there is a huge difference in the player models, the font looks crisper and hd, and the backgrounds look a bit less blurry.
« Last Edit: 2016-01-11 19:13:05 by olearyf2525 »

Ragna

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #52 on: 2016-01-11 19:53:51 »
Can't post this image with the img tags for some reason. Here is the link. Two photo comparisons of in game and then a video of the fmv comparison.
http://imgur.com/a/TE26t


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifJIMUJnvsg
Here is a video where he shows the fmvs comparison at the start but actually syncs up and compares an emulated ff9 to this new one, there is a huge difference in the player models, the font looks crisper and hd, and the backgrounds look a bit less blurry.
And all that agrees & aligns with what I said.

nfitc1

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #53 on: 2016-01-11 20:22:02 »
[OK] FMVs? The same originals with some nice pre-applied filter.
Pre-applied filters look like trash. It's like the originals either A) rendered without compression B) rendered in a higher res. From what I've seen it's like A. The teaser (keep in mind, it's just a teaser so it's all subject to change) is taking crisper looking original source. Still lots of upscaling artifacts in the teaser.
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[OK] 3D Models? I doubt they have touched them now, it's way more probable they just had them from the very beginning in the PlayStation era (but ended up being polycount reduced).
That I'm going to disagree with. The image olearyf linked to cleary shows higher polycount models. How is it "more probable" that they had higher polycount models since the beginning?
Quote
[OK] Textures? Same as original, just with anisotropic filtering, probably.
Not with what we saw. Again, referencing the image that you say "agrees & aligns with what [you] said", the collar on Zidane's chest is NOT the result of some stock filter. The ruffles have a different shape.
Quote
[BAD] 2D Backgrounds? Same as original low res, except implemented poorly with visual glitches and off course, no image filtering.
OK, yeah. Backgrounds look like trash. I'm hoping it was just because they wanted this teaser out and just used hastily rendered/filtered original material.
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[? ? ?] Audio.
Can't really comment on this, of course.

For a teaser weeks after the announcement it looks like work's being done to move the game to a higher resolution. That's HD remake. I'm not going to say it's 1:1 with the original, but the Zidane model is definitely different.

gjoerulv

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #54 on: 2016-01-11 21:25:36 »
The pre-rendered backgrounds is the only gripe I have with this one. Like NFITC1 I hope it's a work in progress. I don't demand much to begin with, as the game looks pretty good even on the PS1. At the same time I understand that they can't release it as is for the kids who demands HD graphics.

obesebear

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #55 on: 2016-01-11 21:58:01 »
The pre-rendered backgrounds is the only gripe I have with this one. Like NFITC1 I hope it's a work in progress.
I've been pretty impressed with how well the waifu2x rendering worked for some of the textures.  Hopefully it can be used to good effect on these backgrounds too

KaidenJames

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #56 on: 2016-01-11 22:09:39 »
IMO this looks quite a bit better than the original. I fired up epsxe last night with opengl2 shaders and sweetfx and although it looks great, i'm excited for this version to come out. Here's a couple screens of my epsxe set up.




Ragna

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #57 on: 2016-01-12 15:02:41 »
Pre-applied filters look like trash. It's like the originals either A) rendered without compression B) rendered in a higher res.
From what I've seen it's like A. The teaser (keep in mind, it's just a teaser so it's all subject to change) is taking crisper looking original source. Still lots of upscaling artifacts in the teaser.
If you look closely you will see the traces left by the FMV super heavy upscaler (you'd be surprised by the quality produced by offline super scalers).
They might have used slightly higher res versions, but it doesn't seem like the source used is even DVD quality.
And it seems they've trimmed the upper and lower sides to make them 16:9.
That I'm going to disagree with. The image olearyf linked to cleary shows higher polycount models.
How is it "more probable" that they had higher polycount models since the beginning?
At the time the game was developed, it was usual to have reduced quality assets as the end product for a game.
So there is a high chance they had slightly higher quality models and textures during development.
Not with what we saw. Again, referencing the image that you say "agrees & aligns with what [you] said",
the collar on Zidane's chest is NOT the result of some stock filter. The ruffles have a different shape.
See point above.
OK, yeah. Backgrounds look like trash. I'm hoping it was just because they wanted this teaser out and just used hastily rendered/filtered original material.
I hope so too. I wish they surprise us with the original source backgrounds, but the chance is... near zero.
For a teaser weeks after the announcement it looks like work's being done to move the game to a higher resolution.
That's HD remake. I'm not going to say it's 1:1 with the original, but the Zidane model is definitely different.
Clearly what you mean to say with the word "remake" is remaster. It is not a remake. Which is what I was trying to convey the first time.

By the way, I want this remastered half-decent (until they fix gackgrounds) port to be awesome and polished, since FF9 is my favourite FF along with 6 and 7 (though I've never been able to put those three competing in a ranking since they're different enough).

Now let's just hope they don't mess up with audio quality. Should be lossless, ideally.

PS: Comparing screenshots from a seemingly half-remastered port with a glitchy and inaccurate emulator's barely enhanced output is... silly.
Example: super blurry or badly filtered output against crispy looking images.

nfitc1

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #58 on: 2016-01-12 18:48:09 »
If you look closely you will see the traces left by the FMV super heavy upscaler (you'd be surprised by the quality produced by offline super scalers).
They might have used slightly higher res versions, but it doesn't seem like the source used is even DVD quality.
And it seems they've trimmed the upper and lower sides to make them 16:9.
Yes I noticed all this. What I thought you were saying is that the original FMVs (the ones from the disc) were upscaled. I'm basing all MY argument on what was done with the Steam release of FF7. It was all done with the final assets from the PSX and PC games. Upscaling those awful 240p videos is vomit worthy. And that's considering the original PC vids were worse! That's exactly the opposite of how I want this port to end up.
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At the time the game was developed, it was usual to have reduced quality assets as the end product for a game.
So there is a high chance they had slightly higher quality models and textures during development.
Was it? I'm not going to say you're wrong since I have no idea. But these clearly higher poly models/higher res textures don't directly scale down to what we ended up with. Regardless of if they had them before or not they are clearly better quality than what was on the original game.
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Clearly what you mean to say with the word "remake" is remaster. It is not a remake. Which is what I was trying to convey the first time.
I suppose you're right. I tend to get those confused. The upcoming FF7 is a remake while the recent PS3 FFX compilation is a remaster and that's throwing me off.
Quote
Now let's just hope they don't mess up with audio quality. Should be lossless, ideally.
It needs to be at least as good as it was and preferably better (though that's always subjective).

-Ric-

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #59 on: 2016-01-13 15:43:05 »
If they mess up with the audio i'm gonna be pissed... While i did love the new updated graphics on the PS3 version of Final Fantasy X, their "remastered" audio was simply distasteful... Lets hope 9 won't go down the same path and IF it does, let's hope there's at least an option to switch  between "original" and "remastered".

Ragna

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #60 on: 2016-01-13 17:08:15 »
If they mess up with the audio i'm gonna be pissed... While i did love the new updated graphics on the PS3 version of Final Fantasy X, their "remastered" audio was simply distasteful... Lets hope 9 won't go down the same path and IF it does, let's hope there's at least an option to switch  between "original" and "remastered".
Don't worry about that. Since this port is not being done by any of the main development teams at Square, I don't think they're gonna put that much effort and call Uematsu for soundtrack re-arrangement.
Anyway I was not that pissed by the remastered FFX HD OST, some tracks seemed somehow better to me while others just had a different taste (not better nor worse).

KaidenJames

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #61 on: 2016-01-13 20:25:02 »
Don't worry about that. Since this port is not being done by any of the main development teams at Square, I don't think they're gonna put that much effort and call Uematsu for soundtrack re-arrangement.
Anyway I was not that pissed by the remastered FFX HD OST, some tracks seemed somehow better to me while others just had a different taste (not better nor worse).

If Uematsu isn't coming back for FFVIIR, then I highly doubt he'd be back for a FFIX port. Sucks, but true. Hopefully they just leave the music as is. Doesn't need to be messed with imo.

Zara9

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #62 on: 2016-01-14 16:38:39 »
hey

can't wait for ff9 on steam

Aussieroth

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #63 on: 2016-01-19 04:31:47 »
And of course, what a shock, I want to see if there is a chance to make a voice acting mod for FFIX... and FFVI for that matter.

Tekkie.X

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #64 on: 2016-01-21 16:23:34 »
I'm hearing that this could very well launch within the next week possibly today,  but it's just hearsay and rumour for now.

Covarr

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #65 on: 2016-01-21 16:45:51 »
If the Steam version is launching today, we'll know in fifteen minutes. Steam always updates at 10:00 am pacific time.

But I'd wager, even if the game is launching today, it's only the Japanese version, which likely won't even be on Steam, and the international one will be later.

Tekkie.X

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #66 on: 2016-01-21 17:20:31 »
It's still listed as coming soon but is now in the new releases section, could be today but will release later possibly some time between midnight GMT and midnight CST.

Covarr

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #67 on: 2016-01-21 17:52:16 »
Oh goodie, a standard VALVE fern-up. I'm guessing it was supposed to release today, and they added it to the list, but either Square Enix changed their mind and delayed it (and VALVE forgot to remove it from today's New Releases list) or VALVE added it to New Releases but forgot to actually make it live.

It's rare for them to do any sort of updates except at 10am Pacific, but not entirely unheard of. They have been known to make exceptions in a few cases:
  • Major commercial releases, to coincide with GameStop's midnight launches (big stuff like GTA, Call of Duty, etc.)
  • First-party games (Portal 2 got delayed at the last minute by several hours, for example. This is VALVE operating in VALVE time).
  • Store screw-ups, such as this.

I don't know for sure what's going on, but it does not seem to have been on purpose.

nfitc1

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #68 on: 2016-01-21 18:05:51 »
The release date is still "Early 2016" on the Steam store page. The New Releases section just says "January 2016" and it's not the only one that's not released yet. Though the others are early access and multi-platform. This smells more like a Square panic button moment than a Steam screw up.

Kaldarasha

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #69 on: 2016-01-21 20:30:25 »
 I assume Steam has to wait for a global launch. So I think it is up tomorrow when the sun says hello to Japan.  8)

Tekkie.X

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #70 on: 2016-01-21 21:43:55 »
It's reverted back to just early 2016, Valve cock up it is then.

-Ric-

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #71 on: 2016-01-28 11:30:55 »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBjGozSt_fM

The first gameplay video (on an IPhone but still, gives an idea of what to expect)
Graphics look good but then again, it's being played on a mobile screen and it's not hard to have lower resolutions look good on small screens, we'll have to wait for the Steam one to draw the conclusion on textures. The interface seems ok, the FMV's look great but the battles still seem to be super slow.. especially the ATB bars...  Also it seems the music has not been touched which to me is GOOD!

Covarr

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #72 on: 2016-01-28 15:07:54 »
They've finally done it. A mobile UI that doesn't look like garbage placeholder graphics.

nfitc1

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #73 on: 2016-01-28 18:46:51 »
I hope it only runs slow because it's the mobile port. If PC gets an upscaled version of THAT I'll be pissed.

Tekkie.X

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Re: Final Fantasy IX coming to PC and mobile... finally.
« Reply #74 on: 2016-02-01 22:47:59 »
Should be this month, nothing concrete but Steam is claiming Feb 2016 at the moment.