An experiment to turn the 2D field files into 3D (w/video)

[halkun]

Could someone post the backgrounds of the first few fields in ff7? I just need the first 6 backgrounds or so... I'm gong to try and extrapolate 3d data from the 2d backgrounds...

[Hellbringer616]

Extract the flevel.lgp and then open up the files with Aali's Palmer (link: http://backup.ninjaloot.se/share/palmer-0.2a.zip) you can even export as a png, But it will export as parts not a whole solid picture (as FF7 reads the field in parts not one picture)

I know the very first field is mdstin, and md1_1 is the second frame, so moving in that md*_* are the files you want. Hope this helps you out

[halkun]

I got it...
Here is my experiment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOjeNWdKsSg

What do you guys think? Not bad for an hours worth of work...

[halkun]

It's an experiment, it's a technology that may prove useful at a later time.

[Hellbringer616]

Well one thing he could do is a proper resize and rerender of the field, might make it look better. Or ad a 3d overlay on over the 2d field, so when you load it up everything scales properly and looks nice

[Xelane]

Halkun, if you can do this well, then i fully support this idea. It seems like a good experiment if you ask me.

[apz freak]

FFVII related or no, it's still quite an impressive feat! Hours worth of work vs weeks worth of work means you're the better choice in a developers eyes!

[Aali]

Does this include the walkmesh in the calculations? If not, that might be a good way to get some more detail.

[obesebear]

That is quite impressive!

With all those "create your own game" softwares I wonder if these 3d models could simply be inserted?  Followed by inserting .obj characters?  Followed by someone writing a decent camera script.

Keep us posted

[Prince Lex]

That's actually awesome. You made it look so easy in that video. I'd spend hours doing that if I knew how.

[pyrozen]

nice work! i had actually considered trying this with sketchup after i read a tutorial on create 3d images from 2d ones.  Only problem is see is that while it looks fully 3d, the textures are still very low res and would need to be re-done in order to fully reap the benefits of this.  Also, a static camera ingame will take alot away from the fully 3d objects you've worked so hard on because a 2d picture in layers can convery the same thing.  What we would need would be full T&L in towns and dungeons to make your work really shine.

It's still a very impressive project though, and i would love to see you expand on this idea some more!

lee

[halkun]

Does this include the walkmesh in the calculations? If not, that might be a good way to get some more detail.

No it doesn't. I haven't found a program that can display the walkmesh properly. The field editor crashes on my computer. The walkmesh would be very helpful.

[Aali]

The walkmesh format is really simple though, and you don't even have to bother with the access pool.

[halkun]

The walkmesh format is really simple though, and you don't even have to bother with the access pool.

Heh! You assume I code

I'm a data analyst - Same planet, different world.

[Aali]

You want it in .obj format? It's like 10 lines of code.

[halkun]

You want it in .obj format? It's like 10 lines of code.

My program takes 3ds and DXF files. I can probably convert an obj file with blender. If you can knock out a very dirty walkmesh converter, that would make tracing out the levels a lot easier.

[Viashino]

well.... i discovred a way to convert any texture to 8-bit and not lose any color i did it with cc models i did it with kh 1 and 2 models,  and it worked fine for dessidia models and i used them in a test in my ff7 and i didnt loose color so, if you make a high quality background ill convert it for you so that its usable in ff7 and if you get that to work then ill add it in my HD project if you dont mind.

[Aali]

My program takes 3ds and DXF files. I can probably convert an obj file with blender. If you can knock out a very dirty walkmesh converter, that would make tracing out the levels a lot easier.

3ds is a nasty format and DXF I know nothing about. Blender will take care of that though.

Every walkmesh in the game, along with the script that dumped them:
http://backup.ninjaloot.se/share/walkmesh.zip

[Covarr]

Also, a static camera ingame will take alot away from the fully 3d objects you've worked so hard on because a 2d picture in layers can convery the same thing

Except using this technique to make 3D images, and then converting them back to 2D but at a higher resolution than the original, would still get vastly improved field images, just because they'd have sharper edges on a lot of buildings and such.

Think of it like running the game in a higher resolution, the characters' textures (eyes and such) and text still look blocky, but it's still an obvious improvement vs running it at 320x240 on the PSX.

[halkun]

What are you guys trying to do?

It's an experiment. You can use the program to trace out the 3d topography. If you have the lower resolution textures you can improve those and reapply.

I just think it would be cool to have 3D version if the field screens to play with, mostly it's for my own amusement to recreate some of the scenery. Maybe with it you could re-render the models with better textures.

Keep in mind, it's just an experiment, there are hundreds of field graphics not to mention Square would go bananas if I released it.  It's just for my personal amusement.

[Hellbringer616]

Even if you just resize and texture them then make them 2D again instead of making 3d ones?

[Chrysalis]

would this make it then possible for 3d drivers to apply AA to the bg etc.?

[halkun]

No it means with about a few days worth of work, by both modeling and texture touch-ups, you can get a 3d version of a field picture with the proper camera angle for unlimited mangnifacation (Keep in mind, not everything needs to be textured and the "backs" can be left blank.

The system works by having the human "trace out" what you perceive as being 3D. (The computer can't do this) The computer then projects the rest. Having the walkmesh makes it easier because those were taken from the original renders, and gives you elevation data. (As least where the characters walk) and you could extrapolate the rest. Putting the model in 3D also allows you to re-texture details easily.

I'll experiment more tonight.

[Xelane]

halkun, how long do you think it would take for you to render all of the areas in the game like this? if you could make a patch for that i would definately use it.

[Hellbringer616]

If this works and we cut it up properly to be used with Aali's Palmer, the backgrounds will look so much nicer. We could even make it less blurry then the original blurry backgrounds at native res

Assuming this works that is.

halkun, how long do you think it would take for you to render all of the areas in the game like this? if you could make a patch for that i would definately use it.

Sadly i don't think you can ever add true 3d backgrounds to FF7 without A LOT of trouble