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Releases / Re: FF7 Crisis Core Upscale Project
« on: 2021-03-12 13:47:08 »
But this was all I wanted to say! Thanks a lot for this Mod! I will follow the development with great interest!
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Releases / Re: FF7 Crisis Core Upscale Project
« on: 2021-03-12 12:57:57 »
Thank you for thinking about it! I think people expect to see original textures that are upscaled, because it is called Crisis Core upscale project, not Crisis Core art replacement project. I believe for many of you who have worked hard on this project, the distinction is not so clear anymore as sometimes things had to be remade for a reason. Original texture might have been so blurry, that things had to be made from scratch, or there might be an opportunity to use a little bit of freedom to add extra information on computer screens for example, but it is a different story for key assets that are already relatively hi-res, like the Buster Sword for example. In these cases the original art made by Square-Enix is closer to the original vision than anything fan could provide.
I just want to offer a view from outside. I think this mod is amazing and keeping it focused will help you reach new heights in fan-awareness.
I just want to offer a view from outside. I think this mod is amazing and keeping it focused will help you reach new heights in fan-awareness.
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Releases / Re: FF7 Crisis Core Upscale Project
« on: 2021-03-12 08:02:57 »
Thank you for your reply.
The colors get more saturated in sunlight, but this is a game where you spent time in multiple different lighting conditions so the original developers had to make sure these textures work just as well in sunny Balmora as they do in the Sector 5 slums. The brass of the Buster Sword reflects the surrounding environment. The more saturated version might work for the area with sunlight, but sticks out in the gloomy and dark envinronments of the Shinra Mansion or Wutai Fortress outskirts for example. So the final texture what they come up with is a result of an compromise: it is designed to look as good as possible in all the scenes of the game. The game also aims at color grading with muted colors and it does so in spectacular way. This ensures the muted brass color of the original Buster Sword does not look too out of place, even in sunny scenes of the game.
I think people who want to play your Crisis Core HD mod are looking for an authentic experience and I think you have done hell-of-a-job to ensure that in most cases, but if people run into change that they know is not respecting the original work, they will play the SD version instead. The reason for this is that they can't be sure what else is changed. Same goes for changing character portraits according your own taste for example. When making changes like this, you are placing yourself above the game director at Square-Enix, who has ordered this original artwork for the Zack's portrait. It is your project and you can do what ever you want with it of course, but I think you could choose to be faitful for the original work. It would be something you could be very proud of and you are so close in achieving this goal. I for one, root for your success!
It seems I can't attach any images or textures since I'm a new user on this forum. I used Photoshop CC's smart A.I. upscale 2.0 and a little cleanup for the Buster Sword which I used to replace the one in the current HD mod locally on my PC. The changes that you have made for the Soldier uniform are less offensive but boosting the saturation or changing the color of the shoulderpads makes them stick out in some scenes too much. I would highly recommend reverting these changes as well. You have done amazing job making a higher resolution Zack's textures, and changing the colors is the only issue in my opinion. I don't think anyone really cares if you have taken some liberties in replacing some of the environment textures, but the changes to iconic characters or iconic objects like Buster Sword affect the whole experience from start to finish.
Some people will reject the mod if they don't agree with some of the changes that you have made and that would be a real shame, because I think this mod could be the best way to play the Crisis Core and I would love to be able to recommend it for all.
https://ibb.co/ZM8dzDw
https://ibb.co/BLqfqfN
https://ibb.co/6cK9z7h
The colors get more saturated in sunlight, but this is a game where you spent time in multiple different lighting conditions so the original developers had to make sure these textures work just as well in sunny Balmora as they do in the Sector 5 slums. The brass of the Buster Sword reflects the surrounding environment. The more saturated version might work for the area with sunlight, but sticks out in the gloomy and dark envinronments of the Shinra Mansion or Wutai Fortress outskirts for example. So the final texture what they come up with is a result of an compromise: it is designed to look as good as possible in all the scenes of the game. The game also aims at color grading with muted colors and it does so in spectacular way. This ensures the muted brass color of the original Buster Sword does not look too out of place, even in sunny scenes of the game.
I think people who want to play your Crisis Core HD mod are looking for an authentic experience and I think you have done hell-of-a-job to ensure that in most cases, but if people run into change that they know is not respecting the original work, they will play the SD version instead. The reason for this is that they can't be sure what else is changed. Same goes for changing character portraits according your own taste for example. When making changes like this, you are placing yourself above the game director at Square-Enix, who has ordered this original artwork for the Zack's portrait. It is your project and you can do what ever you want with it of course, but I think you could choose to be faitful for the original work. It would be something you could be very proud of and you are so close in achieving this goal. I for one, root for your success!
It seems I can't attach any images or textures since I'm a new user on this forum. I used Photoshop CC's smart A.I. upscale 2.0 and a little cleanup for the Buster Sword which I used to replace the one in the current HD mod locally on my PC. The changes that you have made for the Soldier uniform are less offensive but boosting the saturation or changing the color of the shoulderpads makes them stick out in some scenes too much. I would highly recommend reverting these changes as well. You have done amazing job making a higher resolution Zack's textures, and changing the colors is the only issue in my opinion. I don't think anyone really cares if you have taken some liberties in replacing some of the environment textures, but the changes to iconic characters or iconic objects like Buster Sword affect the whole experience from start to finish.
Some people will reject the mod if they don't agree with some of the changes that you have made and that would be a real shame, because I think this mod could be the best way to play the Crisis Core and I would love to be able to recommend it for all.
https://ibb.co/ZM8dzDw
https://ibb.co/BLqfqfN
https://ibb.co/6cK9z7h
4
Releases / Re: FF7 Crisis Core Upscale Project
« on: 2021-03-11 11:07:31 »
I want to thank you for an awesome project. Crisis Core is a very important game for me as a Final Fantasy 7 fan. Overall the project looks insanely good, but I think some issues arise when artistic liberties are taken with upscaled textures. I believe this mod would get universal appreciation from Final Fantasy fans, if the original colors, saturation and contrast was kept intact in all textures. PSP was a limited hardware and even though Crisis Core engine is brilliant in many ways, it has a lot of limitations regarding the lighting and post-processing for example. For this reason the color grading for example was "baked" in the textures and this results in colors that some might think are muted and would like to fix them.
Great example of this is the Buster Sword texture. I understand why the artist have thought he made the right decisions by upgrading this texture the way he did, but it stands out in the screenshots unfavourably due to the inconsistent saturation and contrast compared to the rest of the game. Same applies for some other minor liberties that was taken, like altering the colors of the Soldier outfit ever so slightly. As we know, brown can appear purple or even black under certain lighting conditions. I believe Square-Exix has done a hell of a job to ensure consistent look for the game on PSP hardware and it should always be respected when upscaling the textures and improving the look.
I am an CG artist myself, so I have fixed some of the problematic changes for my own playthrough, but since you have the best understanding of your own project, it would be great if you could provide a "purist" version of the upscale project. Thank you!
Great example of this is the Buster Sword texture. I understand why the artist have thought he made the right decisions by upgrading this texture the way he did, but it stands out in the screenshots unfavourably due to the inconsistent saturation and contrast compared to the rest of the game. Same applies for some other minor liberties that was taken, like altering the colors of the Soldier outfit ever so slightly. As we know, brown can appear purple or even black under certain lighting conditions. I believe Square-Exix has done a hell of a job to ensure consistent look for the game on PSP hardware and it should always be respected when upscaling the textures and improving the look.
I am an CG artist myself, so I have fixed some of the problematic changes for my own playthrough, but since you have the best understanding of your own project, it would be great if you could provide a "purist" version of the upscale project. Thank you!
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