Rescuing Ashley

Hello everybody! 3-room update again 🙂

Despite dozens and dozens of blurry textures that blocked my way, I finally managed to ki… ahem… rescue Ashley.

The first two areas (20c-20f) were  a mapping mess. Even thorough re-texturing work was not enough to solve some major issues. So, the Stage Model Tool from Son of Persia (a member of the Resident Evil Modding Forums) was really helpful this time. Remapping and some minor modeling work was applied, as well as a new specular effect on the blue marble columns. (Yes, simple specular effects and additional bump-mapping is now possible when needed :))

Again, original source textures were found in some instances, real life locations in some other cases, and there are completely re-created textures as well.

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”58″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_width=”240″ thumbnail_height=”160″ thumbnail_crop=”0″ show_slideshow_link=”0″ template=”/var/www/wp-content/plugins/nextgen-gallery/products/photocrati_nextgen/modules/ngglegacy/view/gallery.php”]

This entry was posted in Progress Updates and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

41 responses to “Rescuing Ashley”

  1. Lukas says:

    Amazing work, of course, but I have to say; #2 is disappointingly different. :^)

    • Lukas says:

      Also, sorry for being so critical, but the door with a black tint on the top, i’d suggest be fixed instead as that was obviously done becaause of technical problems (and I know you’re good enough at Photoshop to fix it), as a commenter noted on the last “Look Familiar?”

    • albert says:

      Hello Lukas! I know, but it was done like this on purpose. The original textures, as you can see is a complete mess to say the least.

      The original texture is using the wall and columns of one Spain’s cathedral. Capcom inserted over that wall a window from another different Spain cathedral to create the wall you can see in room 201.

      For this room, Capcom took the modified texture with the window and then they applied over that those terrible brick patches to hide the window they applied before instead of going back to the original wall (which doesn’t have any windows at all).

      I simply used the original cathedral wall. No overlapped windows and no overlapped bricks anymore. Just the original wall.

      This is one of those instances in which the rule “original work is sacret” must be taken with a grain of salt. And I almost can say certainly and objectively that Capcom did a bad bad job with this wall and walls in rooms 207 and 20f which share almost the same geometrical issues.

      I hope you understand my reasons! 🙂

  2. NEGAARMAX says:

    Recreation + Real Spectacular Maps Oh Man Looks Amazing Have Plans To Put Spectacular In Other Parts Of The Game?

    • albert says:

      Thanks!
      Surely we’ll find some other places in which the implementation of this effect improves significantly the graphic experience 😉

  3. Lafazar says:

    This is just completely bonkers. It boggles my mind how dramatically you managed to improve the look of this game and what lengths you are going to.

  4. Sergey says:

    Well, I’m speechless right now. Fantastic job!

  5. togan says:

    Thanks for giving us the goods albert. I only see minor issues,starting with 20CC
    http://i.imgur.com/dFHZMtu.jpg
    The stone/mortar work,do not match the time era of Old Castle. Look at the size
    difference of stones,large chunks Vs modern slender brick. Also the Column area,
    highlight “green” X looks more like single cut of stone Vs “brick” work you have.

    2nd rm 206A
    http://i.imgur.com/yiROzud.jpg
    This door almost looks “brand new” 😉 I tried highlight “green” areas where stain
    needs to be applied,also the lower part of door should be most “wear” affected,
    by persons boots,weather/moisture/mould.

    3rd rm 206C
    http://i.imgur.com/CObs681.jpg
    Again,this looks fresh from “Store” =) The white/grey in the “nooks & crannies”
    are when water/moisture rots the wood,is this door from “Sewer” underground
    area? That would explain why it is so rotted in appearance. Finally the two loop
    latches/handles do not match shape of original work,they should be more oval
    shape not so round. The metal looks to be iron,very black;not so steel-like.

    All the rest of the previews look AWESOME!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK

    • albert says:

      Hello togan! Thank you for the feedback!

      “Quick” respones 😉 :

      20CC
      If you look closely you’ll notice the central column in HD-version is using the exact same real-life column than in Original version. The rest of the wall I used is from the same place the central column came from and they are exactly like this in real life.
      In original texture the central column and the lateral columns are using the same part of the texture. In HD version they are different but they are from the same building and the same kind of material. So, the differences you are seeing are due to the low resolution of the original texture.
      Central part of the wall: You can see in the lower part of the wall (over the stone border) there are the same kind of bricks I used for all the wall. I simply removed that square patch from the central part of the wall and I gave priority to the original bricks the real life wall has. Those textures are 2 more revisions to be finished so we can change our mind and give priority to the original central bricks and change all the wall again. We will decide it later! 😉

      206A
      Most things you have highlighted match with HD texture. Those are the wood grain. The difference is the colour. I don’t know the exact reason but with years that wood grain changed from red to something paler. Keep in mind Capcom took the picture around year 2000. My picture is from June, 2014 and this door is exposed to sun all day. And this wear you are seeing is due to the low resolution of the original texture. Most times the texture looks older because of that. But I can asure you there is no that big diference when you overlap old texture over the new one in Photoshop.

      206C
      No, it’s not the sewer, Is the room in which Saddler kills Luis. This door needs an additional dust layer but that’s it. Again, the crappy look in the original texture is emphasized by its low resolution. The handles… well… They are a little more yellowish in original texture but… it’s so blurred I can’t see the original design at all :/ And I guess it’s a matter of imagination…

      Remember all this you are seeing is 2 additional revisions pending. So, you can expect some of these tetures will suffer from slight to major changes hehe 🙂

      Thank you again!

      • kaludio says:

        well, in my pinion, the HD texture look fine as they are, specially since they lend themselves better to the low polygon count of the re4 walls. They layer of dust would be nice, but they is no need for a major overhaul, IMO. Changing subject, could you elaborate more on the shadow shifts and how can they be used to improve the game. What other improvements do y0u guys have in mind now that the tools are available?

        • albert says:

          The shadow shift is areally simple. Shadows are poligons like any other 3D mesh with a black/dark grey and transparecncy textures applied on them. So, I just moved the wrong positioned vertices.

          Almost anything is possible now: hi-poly models, new textures and bumpmaping or simple specular effect without bumpmaping, or new transparencies. But we will fix just “broken” meshes, bad mapping and obvious and easy things like that specular effect in the blue column 🙂

  6. Pedro says:

    You have been doing an amazing job!! Look at the 3rd, the 9th and the 10th pictures!!! I would like very much to see the lever of the 7th picture with more subdivisions and see the columns of the 12th picture reworked with more polygons.

  7. Lukas says:

    Hey. I have a suggestion for one part I really think needs a 3D model revision. The nasty pile of skulls and maggots in the house of the very first Ganado. It looks really bad because of low-poly models.

  8. Re6joke says:

    Amazing work.

  9. Terminento says:

    Woah! This is simply breathtaking!
    I know the priority is giving the HD treatment to every texture, and that should come before specular, but seeing those pillars made me droll thinking about how many sufaces would inmensely benefit from specular mapping, making the game look almost present gen:
    -Every marble or ceramic reflective floor
    -Every varnished or laquered piece of furniture
    -Characters’ hair. If done right, it would create an impressive effect, since they are moving around light sources at all times.
    -The vases inside the castle that you break at all times, these would look awesome since you move the camera around them a lot. (and they already have a fake reflection highlight painted on them)
    -The iron rings on the barrels, making them “pop” from the wood as a separate piece
    -Non rusty metallic surfaces
    -Glass windows
    -The typing machine (making the keys “pop” from the hollow areas, instead of the simple specular highlight it has now)
    -Moistened textures, and textures that have puddles or pools painted on them that have no reflection effect. The moisty parts would become instantly noticeable
    -The merchant stalactites cave: it’s moisty, full of bumps on the walls, and the lighting there is amazing
    -Parquet flooring (subtly)
    -Lockers (subtly)
    -Chandeliers, candlesticks, golden pieces of furniture and jewelery, picture frames, cutlery
    -Glassy parts in needle indicators in machine pannels
    -Scythes, sickles, axes, spiked maces (maybe not so noticeable because of how briefly they are on screen and how fast they move)
    -Slightly polished concrete surfaces. The island has a lot of industrial surfaces that would benefit greatly from this
    -This one is tricky, and I wouldn’t touch the eyeballs at all (it can create odd reflections in eyes as in RE2 FMVs) but a very subtle bit of specular mapping on characters faces would make them more lifelike, specially around the cheekbones, and lip shine on female characters. It would gove them a layer of detail that would erase the need to touch the actual face textures. As an example I will cite Metal Gear Solid 4. I don’t think those character face textures are any better than RE4 ones, but the extra layer of specular shine on the cheekbones, forehead, chin and around the mouth makes them look way better: http://img.bhs4.com/90/8/9082f83cca7fb4d1c3215b3e60d452ea80ffafa7_large.jpg
    -Doors nails, knockers, hinges…
    And so many more
    These would make lighting more noticeable, and would make the game feel as if it had more volume to it. Hell! Even if not so noticeable at first (because the village is mostly matte, rusty and coarse), it would make some areas of the game look current gen!

    • albert says:

      Hello Terminento!
      Because of the complex 3d models and files structure of this game we will just add specular effects when the inprovement is really noticeable and needed. Even if we add specular effects to some models, the effect is barely noticeable sometimes. It all depends of light sources of the room, and limitations of the game graphic engine it makes impossible this game to look like current gen games. Most times you can’t barely notice the effect unless you stand in front of the model and you make the camera to rotate in circles.

      This blue column was like a test and because this room’s 3D models (exceptionally) has a very simple file structure.

      Anyway I have to “experiment” a little more!! 😉

      • Terminento says:

        If it is too complex, don’t sweat over it. The game looks great the way it is right now 😉

  10. Terminento says:

    On an unrelated note, Not actually necessary and totally out of the scope of this project, but since there are portions of the FMVs in Separate Ways that are copy pasted from the main game, has anyone thought of recording the retextured cutscenes in full HD to substitude those bits in the videos?
    Also, and I’m just asking out of curiosity here, you said that you can now edit geometry slightly. Is it possible to extract models and scenery and use them, say, in 3d Studio max? Could be a way for animators to re-create the other bits of separate ways FMVs using the actual models that were used, using the low res cutscenes as animation reference. Just hinting at the possibility here… I, more than anyone else, now for a fact how hard it is to animate, since I’ve done it before.

    • Pedro says:

      Unfortunately, they lost the original animations. So, would be very hard to maintain the original aspect.

      • Terminento says:

        Nah… Having the original low res video for animation reference is a very good way of matching the movements (not as easy as mocap, but kind of like rotoscoping in traditional animation). I’m not saying it’s easy, I’m saying that, having the 3D assets, replicating the animations is possible.
        I know this because I recorded myself in order to replicate the movements for my 3D animation. You can see it during the credits, in a kind of mini making of at the end of the video (it starts with a prologue of static images, but 3d action kicks in real soon):
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r2BzpkwnI4

        BTW, I’m the guy with the lumberjack shirt tied up to a chair. I recorded my face to make my facial animation match up with my voice, LOL

        As I said, I’m not saying this is easy, I’m just pointing out that it’s possible. Hell, it took me one year to have that animation ready!

      • kaludio says:

        have you seen what the sorce filmmaker community does for fun, i wouldn’t say it will be easy but at least is not impossible

  11. Lukas says:

    2 questions/suggestions (one that I posted earlier)

    >One part I really think needs a 3D model revision. The nasty pile of skulls and maggots in the house of the very first Ganado. It looks really bad because of low-poly models. I think this scene could be redone.

    >The painting with the turkey and the wine: I highly doubt it’s a real painting since it’s not as well painted as the other paintings in the game. I suggest contacting a good painter on DeviantArt and ask him to remake it as close as possible; if you find an artist that’s also a Resident Evil fan then that person might even do it for free.

    • Terminento says:

      1- Nah, I don’t think that should be touched upon. 3D touch ups should remin the way they are right now, to remove mistakes here and there. If they started adding more polys and reworking the geometry, then the entire game would have to be remodeled. Not worth it.
      2-I thought by watching the video that the painting had been redone… Not obviously pixelated, so I don’t think that’s a priority either…

      • Lukas says:

        1. They said they would do it for parts where the 3D modeling is especially bad/extremely low-poly, so I think that part fits their criteria. The first time I replayed the game on UHD edition, I could barely see what it was at first. It looks like absolute shit.
        2. Well, it looked pretty pixelated if you ask me.

        • Lukas says:

          Also, I still really think the door on picture #6 should be reworked on the top. Compare it with the door on 1:48 in the video; the ugly “shadow” was obviously put there because the door (as you can see in the previous post) is partly blocked at the top, but I think, that, Albert, with his great editing skills, should consider completing the entire door that Capcom was too lazy to fix, so the top is part of the door. Just my opinion though.

          • albert says:

            Capcom restored the hidden parts of that door. So they added that shadow for other reasons. There was no need to hide anything. The texture was complete.

            We didn’t had the tools to edit 3D models by the time we were working on the village textures. So, we must go back to the village area and evaluate ourselves what models realy need to be adjusted 🙂

            Tha painting is upscaled and filtered but not recreated… yet.

          • Lukas says:

            Alright, fair enough then.

          • Pedro says:

            Idk, looking to the original door side by side with the in-game texture, it’s possible to see the missing piece.

  12. Re6joke says:

    At last, it will be really magnificent architecture 🙂

  13. arthur says:

    create hd water like resident evil 4 gamecube

  14. Fahad says:

    i think you guys really outdid yourselves with this one