[FF8R-PC/Steam] FF8 Remastered (Lunatic Pandora) Mods Progress

[Mcindus]

Updated a few mods!
Enjoy!

[billybutcher374]

Updated a few mods!
Enjoy!

Thanks!
Will the upscaled FMV also be included in the Lunatic Pandora: Remaster mod package?

[Mcindus]

Thanks!
Will the upscaled FMV also be included in the Lunatic Pandora: Remaster mod package?

That is not currently the plan due to the many different FMV mods being offered as it would make the mod HUGE. In the future, I will be doing my best to work with Darziak, Fated Courage, and Klitlika to create the best FMV pack possible that I will THEN include in an addendum/update/separate installer to the main LP pack.

[olearyf2525]

That is not currently the plan due to the many different FMV mods being offered as it would make the mod HUGE. In the future, I will be doing my best to work with Darziak, Fated Courage, and Klitlika to create the best FMV pack possible that I will THEN include in an addendum/update/separate installer to the main LP pack.

Hey McIndus, have you ever heard of video enhance AI? It's video upscaling software that can add details, made by the same company that made gigapixel. I don't know much about modding but I bought video enhance AI to upscale old anime/shows/etc (you can also download a free 30 day trial, I don't think it adds a watermark or at least it didn't use to?) so if you are able to provide me with the ff8 video files I could upscale them with that program and then you guys could manually adjust from there if possible/needed, I think it's the best video upscaling software on the internet right now. Unfortunately I only have a laptop with a 1660ti so it takes me about 20 hours to upscale a 720p video 40 minute video to 4k.

[wingie]

thank you so much for all your hard work on this, it's really made the game feel like the remaster it should have been!

[ViagraPolice]

Thanks for all your work on this. I just recently bought the remaster to relive nostalgia from my teenage years. Supported your patreon to try out AngelWing and can't get enough how amazing everything looks. Finally the backgrounds look as high quality as the character models.

[billybutcher374]

That is not currently the plan due to the many different FMV mods being offered as it would make the mod HUGE. In the future, I will be doing my best to work with Darziak, Fated Courage, and Klitlika to create the best FMV pack possible that I will THEN include in an addendum/update/separate installer to the main LP pack.

Thanks for your efforts. I can't wait to try the game with Lunatic Pandora mods. Btw are there any update about the public release?

[Albeoris]

Terrible character faces. Highly contrasting textures in the world. This gives me the same disgust as the remaster. But (!!!) apart from game design, a lot of work has been done. It seems to me that the author did the best that he could without ordering new graphics.

This is Squall:
https://i.imgur.com/IT9ukgK.png

Unfortunately, the mods feature a completely different character.

[decency_breakin3]

Yeah? Well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man....

[T0NB3RRYK1NG69]

Hello MCINDUS and Fated Courage,

I have been following this project for ages.
I first got interested when I discovered that fans were remastering the
prerendered backgrounds in Final Fantasy VII using AI upscaling programs for the Remako mod.
My excitement went through the roof for what fans would upscale next.
My mind immediately went to Final Fantasy VIII because it was the first
game I played in the series and was a major part of my childhood.   
I instantly feel in love with the series and Squaresoft, and played them all, and completed most.
Then the Final Fantasy IX Moguri mod started and I became even more
confident that the Final Fantasy VIII fans would deliver.
Sure enough, you and the fan community have been making dreams come true.
I appreciate all the hard work you have done.  THANK YOU!!!

I have couple thoughts and rabbit holes I have dived into that I wanted to share and get peoples insight on.

First off, I wanted to share this website, https://www.kusanagi.co.jp/art/.
This is an art studio in japan that worked on a lot of the concept art and prerendered backgrounds for Squaresoft
during the time they worked on Final Fantasy VII - X along with many other great game developments and anime.
Just thought I should share this bit of history because they do amazing work and it is fascinating.

I also wondered and dreamed of what other games could get the HD AI treatment and
thought of Legend of the Dragoon, Chrono Cross and Koudelka. 
I found that fans are working on Legend of the Dragoon but I haven't yet seen anything for
Chrono Cross and Koudelka. I know that the process to do these fan mods are VERY complicated
and rely heavily on reverse engineering everything and coding programs to rip assets, and programs
to allow bigger higher resolution images back in and make everything line up and work perfectly.
Amazing stuff! I know that is probably why the PC ports of the Final Fantasy games were used to mod.
Legend of the Dragoon, Chrono Cross and Koudelka don't have pc ports unfortunately.
Looking at the The Legend of Dragoon Upscale Project page, https://legendofdragoon.org/2021/01/01/upscale-project-debut/ , I noticed that they are, "Currently we are still only targeting the upscale to work on RetroArch with Beetle PSX HW."
This gives me hope that all Playstation games with prerendered graphics can be
updated and have mods and patches used on emulators. Keepin' the dream alive!

Since I've been following this project I have been collecting all of the upscaled images that have been released
and have had them cycling as my desktop background. It even inspired me to go into the game and capture footage
to make gifs of the the backgrounds with animations.

Ever since I was young child playing Final Fantasy VIII the clock in Ultimicia's Castle has bugged me.
The roman numeral 4 is shown as "IIII" instead of "IV". I know both are considered correct but I
much more prefer "IV". (Big Ben in London has it's 4 as "IV")
Anyway, I plan on modifying this background in Photoshop once the mod is complete just for my own amusement.

This also got me thinking. The prerendered backgrounds could be completely changed as long as the places where the
characters walked were still the ground and things that they interact with also need to be considered.
This would be the easiest way to make a fan sequel, side quest or new environments or whatever.
Not that it would be easy but not impossible.

I've just barely been holding back from paying the 2 measly dollars to MCINDUS's Patreon
only because I don't want to try the mod until it's ready. MCINDUS has said though that is
very close to being ready and that it will then be released to the public.
I want help in any way I can to the project but just don't know how I can help or contribute.
I am kinda really hurting financially right now too. I can pay $2 though.
My only question is though, what can I do to help with the project?
I have a background in graphic design and have Photoshop.

This project seems to be in more than capable hands and is turning out epic! Thanks again!

[Brart]

Agree 100% the FMV Squal looks way cooler than the Kingdom hearts Squall. That's why FF VIII was so successfull, the characters and the world seemed more real per se but at the same time "fantastical.

FF 8 is undoubtedly the best FF game imo. been recently playing 9 and 10 and 15 and , the 8 story is by far the most compelling. The sound and Music is just super cool. It's an Incredible world that diserved the Remake and not 7. Anyone know about a remake of 8 or they are really skipping it and going for 9 only

[T0NB3RRYK1NG69]

Hello again everyone,

Expanding on my last post I decided to make google drive with
all the Final Fantasy VIII stuff I have been collecting.
My hype for this mod has sent me down a rabbit hole and I have
collected miscellaneous things related to Final Fantasy VIII that
I thought would be fun to share and make more easily accessible
to other fans just like me.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MEfj9luDVIsLVi4uOeq85ppqfZ8sV1C_?usp=sharing

This folder contains the following:
-Concept art
-Fan Art
-Fan 3D renders
-Fan videos of upscaled videos and recreations of Balamb Garden
-Pre rendered background captures
-Pre rendered background gifs
-HD remakes of the Pre rendered backgrounds (mostly from MCINDUS and Fated Courage)
-A fan Unity demo of Final Fantasy VIII combat
-Square 5.1ch Movie Collection (a dvd released by Squaresoft only with the purchase of
a specific Toshiba DVD player to show off Final Fantasy VIII cutscenes. It is higher resolution
then what is a available in any of the games but only has a few cutscenes and a Squaresoft
watermark in the corner.)

I am constantly finding new interesting things that I add to this folder.
Let me know what you think and if there is anything you would like to see added.

I also have made smaller similar folders for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX, Legend of the Dragoon,
Chrono Cross, Bravely Default, Fantasian, Blade Runner PC and misc other games with prerendered backgrounds.

These worlds help inspire me and get my creative juices flowing.
Hopefully these will inspire others to create something that we will all enjoy.

[jubs1982]

Is there a special launcher? I followed the youtube video on how to do everything.. launched the game and to my surprise nothing was modded =O

[deadbody]

all the mod links seems dead?

[deadbody]

nm fixed it

[ATMA]

I've been searching for a while and have been looking on how to extract the character models for FF8R, but aside from viewers or original PS models my Google-Fu has failed me.
I've got the mods I chose working as I'd like and have been editing character textures thanks to Demaster.  However, I'd really like to see the textures on a model as I'm editing it to make the process easier and simpler to do more detailed or creative textures.  As I have been doing so far has been referencing screenshots of whichever character I'm editing and hoping my edits look alright, but besides simple recolouring or minor changes, it's really hard to tell how any edit will look until I load it in game.
I don't mind doing the work and extracting myself, don't need a hand out of the models (tho, that would be awesome) mostly I just want to know if the models are even extractable at the moment.

[Shady91]

Hi, i have downloaded demaster but how Can i play the game in widescreen ? Actually in 4k i have black bars at the left and right of the screen

[acrossmacross]

Hi, i have downloaded demaster but how Can i play the game in widescreen ? Actually in 4k i have black bars at the left and right of the screen

You would need to download Reshade 4.3.0 in order to utilize the Magnify feature to stretch it.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/jl5gh1ir8k6jl1t/ReShade_Setup_4.3.0.exe/file

Install steps are explained at this link:
https://www.naguide.com/final-fantasy-viii-8-remastered-widescreen-fix/

You then need to edit the file BasicFX.cfg file located within reshade-shaders\Shaders\ReShade of your FF8R folder with the width and height you want to use. Here's an example I use for 2560x1440p:

Code: [Select]

////-----------//
///**Magnify**///
//-----------////
#define USE_Magnify 1 //[Magnify] //-

//>Magnify Shader Settings<\\
#define magnifyStartPixelWidth 240 //[undef] //-
#define magnifyStartPixelHeight 31 //[undef] //-
#define magnifyEndPixelWidth 2340 //[undef] //-
#define magnifyEndPixelHeight 1409 //[undef] //-
#define Magnify_ToggleKey RFX_ToggleKey //[undef] //-Toggles the magnify shader
This thread on Steam lists the values for other screen resolutions:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1853489359

If you are also using SpecialK to fix the low FPS issue that's where it gets tricky. You'll need to use SKIF to launch the game (delete SpecialK from your FF8 directory before installing reshade) and inject the driver globally. When all is said and done you'll get something like this hopefully:

[Shady91]

You would need to download Reshade 4.3.0 in order to utilize the Magnify feature to stretch it.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/jl5gh1ir8k6jl1t/ReShade_Setup_4.3.0.exe/file

Install steps are explained at this link:
https://www.naguide.com/final-fantasy-viii-8-remastered-widescreen-fix/

You then need to edit the file BasicFX.cfg file located within reshade-shaders\Shaders\ReShade of your FF8R folder with the width and height you want to use. Here's an example I use for 2560x1440p:

Code: [Select]

////-----------//
///**Magnify**///
//-----------////
#define USE_Magnify 1 //[Magnify] //-

//>Magnify Shader Settings<\\
#define magnifyStartPixelWidth 240 //[undef] //-
#define magnifyStartPixelHeight 31 //[undef] //-
#define magnifyEndPixelWidth 2340 //[undef] //-
#define magnifyEndPixelHeight 1409 //[undef] //-
#define Magnify_ToggleKey RFX_ToggleKey //[undef] //-Toggles the magnify shader
This thread on Steam lists the values for other screen resolutions:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1853489359

If you are also using SpecialK to fix the low FPS issue that's where it gets tricky. You'll need to use SKIF to launch the game (delete SpecialK from your FF8 directory before installing reshade) and inject the driver globally. When all is said and done you'll get something like this hopefully:

I have an error at the launch of the game, it seem demaster is not compatible with reshade 

[krazyq]

I applied all the mods but everything looks the same almost like I didn't do anything
Wondering if I missed something

[Euron-Crows-Eye]

Hey there, just wondering if Angelwing Ultima is still in Alpha phase. I have been following this project for ages, I hop on here like once a week to check the board - you guys do incredible work. Any chance we'll see a full release here in the near future?

[acrossmacross]

I have an error at the launch of the game, it seem demaster is not compatible with reshade 

I’m using demaster, the screenshot I posted has the field texture mod. Make sure you’re using the version of reshade that I linked or try reinstalling ff8-r and try demastering it again maybe? Hard to say without the exact error you’re getting.

[Mcindus]

Hey there, just wondering if Angelwing Ultima is still in Alpha phase. I have been following this project for ages, I hop on here like once a week to check the board - you guys do incredible work. Any chance we'll see a full release here in the near future?

Yes, but it will very soon go public. Just squashing the last of the bugs and making sure I have everything ready for my Lunatic Pandora Ultima Pack as well. When I drop LPU for Patrons/VIPs/Donors, the AW:U mod will go public for anyone to download and install themselves

[gunner_1207]

Yes, but it will very soon go public. Just squashing the last of the bugs and making sure I have everything ready for my Lunatic Pandora Ultima Pack as well. When I drop LPU for Patrons/VIPs/Donors, the AW:U mod will go public for anyone to download and install themselves

YES waiting eagerly and patiently for your sweet sweet wizardry

[Euron-Crows-Eye]

Wow fantastic! Thanks to you this excellent game is getting the true remaster it deserved! Looking forward to it!