Topics

1

Support / [FF7PC] How does FF7 handle transparency for magic textures?

« on: 2020-12-24 08:40:57 »

I'm upscaling FF7 magic textures for my mod. However I noticed that some magic textures can be converted to flat images with a black background instead of transparency (alpha channel). This helps the upscaler as it can't handle transparency well.

So these images will have the magic effect and then a black background when you look at the raw images on your PC. But in-game they'll look normal and transparent where the black background is. However this trick doesn't work for all the magic textures. So those will render as non-transparent sprites in the game.

Does anyone know what the rules behind transparency for magic textures are? When will they accept the black background trick and when do they need have an alpha channel?

Hope someone can help me. Thanks in advance.

2

General Discussion / How to get to FF7 end credits for mod testing purposes?

« on: 2020-12-21 10:02:39 »

I need to get to the FF7 end credits to test redone graphics for that part. Does anyone know what the quickest way to get to them is?

Maybe one of these options:
1. A trainer program that can let me skip to there?
2. A cheat code that can let me skip to there?
3. The closest possible save point to the credits plus a way to quickly kill of any enemy encounters past that save point?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

3

7th Heaven / FF7 FMVs brighter in-game than in a media player

« on: 2019-05-12 07:09:24 »

I've been modding away and configuring 7th Heaven for a while now, so I'm far from a clean install at this point. Anyway, I'm now noticing that my in-game movies are showing up much brighter than I think they should be. Looking at these FMVs in a media player confirms that they are indeed brighter in-game: blacks have become grays, etc.

Has anyone seen that before? Is it something I F-ed up during modding, a faulty 7th Heaven setup, etc.

Hope someone can help me solve this problem. Thank you in advance.

4

Releases / [FF7PC] Remako HD Graphics Mod (AI enhanced field backgrounds) - [cancelled]

« on: 2019-01-28 19:31:04 »

THIS MOD HAS CEASED DEVELOPMENT, SEE THE BLOG POST HERE FOR AN EXPLANATION:
https://captrobau.blogspot.com/2021/03/remako-is-cancelled-and-heres-why.html



Return to a Midgar like you’ve never seen before, in this faithfully remastered graphics mod for Final Fantasy VII (PC). The Remako HD Graphics Mod features improved graphics with 4x the resolution of the original. This was accomplished by using state-of-the-art neural networks to upscale the game’s graphics.

The mod improves the quality of among other things the pre-rendered backgrounds, battle, world textures, as well as the game’s full-motion videos (FMVs). Remako is also compatible with many other mods, such as The Reunion (R03C) or 3D model mods, for the ultimate Final Fantasy 7 experience.

Remako Mod is compatible with all PC versions of FF7: the CD original, the Square Enix Store version, and the Steam release.

News
Version 1.0 has been released. Check out the release post I wrote on my blog:
https://captrobau.blogspot.com/2019/05/remako-mod-version-10-released.html

Screenshots

https://captrobau.blogspot.com/p/screenshots.html

Videos

https://captrobau.blogspot.com/p/videos.html

Downloads

Click on the link below to go to the download page.

https://captrobau.blogspot.com/p/download.html

Installation Guide

Getting Final Fantasy 7 ready for mods requires several steps. That's why I made this helpful install guide. I recommend everyone use it, even those who played the beta (as there have been some changes).

https://captrobau.blogspot.com/p/install-guide-ff7-mod-manager.html

Credits

• Satsuki for making the 4xCut tool, which was essential in getting my upscaled images into the game.
• Midnight Mode, who made a music track used in the FF7 Remako Mod Comparison Trailer. The track was licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
• The crew that made 7th Heaven, the mod manager for FF7.
• Fewtch for some hand-improved battle textures.[/i]
  

If you notice a bug, just post it in this thread (preferably with a screenshot).

What do you think?
Once you've got a chance to play Final Fantasy 7 with the Remako HD Graphics Mod, I'd be interested in hearing what you think.

5

WIP / [FF7PC] Remako HD Field Mod using AI neural networks (WIP)

« on: 2019-01-03 21:46:44 »

What is it?

The Final Fantasy VII Remako HD Field Mod is a project I’ve been working on for a bit. Major strides have been made in making FF7 look much better. Yet, the field backgrounds have always remained behind. Traditional upscaling such as Waifu2x leaves a lot to be desired and manual remodelling such as Team Avalanche takes a lot of time.

I’ve been looking into machine learning to do the upscaling and landed on a great program called Gigapixel. Initial results were very good and after some more tweaking with the generation algorithm I ended on a good setup for upscaling FF7’s low-res pre-rendered field backgrounds by 400%.

After some in-game testing (boy, can FF7 be a chore to set up for modding) I’m now working on a mod that uses these AI-enhanced upscaled images. Among other things, this means lots of nights of leaving the program on to do its magic. I expect an initial release to be possible within a week or two.

Screenshots

Below is a comparison of the opening scene with vanilla at the top and Remako at the bottom. As you can see it’s a marked improvement and at times it looks like it’s a rerendered image.



Some other examples of the 400% upscaled field backgrounds (these shots are not in-game):







Let me know what you think!