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[The Finest Brew]

The new upscaled backgrounds look like garbage. Not because of the upscaling, but look at the tile seams. WTF is this?

I don't get it. They make the first port of this game ever, and once again they are lazy and incompetent. How hard would it be to spend some time with a team of artists to draw over the old backgrounds in true high resolution? It's going to sell no matter what FFS. It's so irritating. If we got a proper HD version of VII-VIII with the models upgraded, the UIs made in higher resolution and the backgrounds drawn in true high resolution. I wouldn't ever need to ask for a remake.

Maybe I'm just blind as a bat, but I'm not seeing these 'seams' you're talking about.

 

[Sblargh]

How do you play a final fantasy with no encounters? Do you just run around talking to people and then finish the game? Not even boss fights?

 

[Basileus777]

How do you play a final fantasy with no encounters? Do you just run around talking to people and then finish the game? Not even boss fights?

It'll be a toggle and it's just for random encounters. You're not going to leave them off forever unless you are going for some sort of low level challenge or speed run.

 

[texhnolyze]

Maybe I'm just blind as a bat, but I'm not seeing these 'seams' you're talking about.

You have to look closer.. as close as you play on PC.

 

[reelbigtink]

Maybe I'm just blind as a bat, but I'm not seeing these 'seams' you're talking about.

You're not the only one. I have no idea what's going on in that picture.

 

[AgeEighty]

How hard would it be to spend some time with a team of artists to draw over the old backgrounds in true high resolution?

Are you asking that question facetiously or seriously? Do you understand how much art there is in this game that would have to be redrawn? "Hard"? No. Costly and time-consuming? Yes.

Also, your version of the Alexandria market image doesn't really look that great, either.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

ff 9 has my favorite ending, have it already on ps3 and phy disc, not sure if i want to triple dip

 

[jholmes]

I have a serious problem getting anywhere in FFIX. I played it at launch and got to the third disc, then had my save file wiped. I bought it again later and made some real progress, found out I have a defective copy and realized the disc wouldn't load through part of a mandatory cutscene, borrowed a friend's copy to get past that, then lost all interest. Then I bought it on PSN to pick up from there, played for an hour and then wondered why I bought it on PSN anyway.

I really like how equipment is used in the level-up system so I really want to give this a proper shot. There's nothing I dislike about the game, I think it just doesn't grab me enough to overcome all the stupid crap that's gone on around it. Maybe playing it on Steam will be what I need. Who knows at this point.

Well, they didn't screw up VII. But that didn't have a simultaneous mobile/PC release. Great, now I'm worried.

VII is unplayable on PC without a keyboard because one screen while booting up requires you to press X on a keyboard. Square could update that, and probably could've updated a lot of the Steam version when they released the PS4 port, but nope. So yeah they sorta did screw up the UI, maybe not in the ugly graphical way they did with VI.

 

[agiantenemycrab]

Thanks! I think I meet the minimum.

Core 2 Duo 2.53ghz
4GB RAM
GeForce 9600M GS

But I think I'll wait for a hopeful PS4 version so that I don't make any compromises. My processor ain't exactly an i5.

Perhaps it is worth bearing in mind that the original version of this game was written for a machine with 3MB of memory in total and a 33MHz CPU. Your machine will easily run this game at full speed without even breaking a sweat. The spec they give as the minimum requirement is likely the weakest machine they could find to test it on. That's generally what minimum requirements means.

This is maybe going a bit off-topic but do people not understand just how large a power gulf there is between something like a PS1 and a PC? (Even a 10 year old PC is thousands of times faster than a PS1).

 

[Cerity]

The 'seams' are hard to pickup on the darker areas. More noticeable on the brighter/lighter sections. If you zoom in it's easier to pickup - notice the square/tile impressions.

It's definitely there, not sure if it'll be an issue for most. I'd hazard if SE don't fix it some modders will fix it pretty quickly.

 

[AgeEighty]

The 'seams' are hard to pickup on the darker areas. More noticeable on the brighter/lighter sections. If you zoom in it's easier to pickup - notice the square/tile impressions.

It's definitely there, not sure if it'll be an issue for most. I'd hazard if SE don't fix it some modders will fix it pretty quickly.

Yeah, if you have to zoom way in on an image to pick up something like that, it's not a grievous, foaming-at-the-mouth problem like that other guy was pretending.

The images look fine to me at normal size, and those seams were always there. In fact I'd venture to say they stuck out more.

 

[The Finest Brew]

Yeah, I wouldn't call it atrocious really. Definitely not something that'll ruin my experience playing this again. Not like FFV/VI PC's blatantly obvious seams between tiles either.

 

[texhnolyze]

Not to mention that those won't be noticeable in motion.

 

[Arkeband]

Seven boosters, just so you can experience your favorite game while "just getting it over with", while being confusing to new players all at once!

2X speed would be alright, since we've all collectively agreed 3X is too fast for FF7, but these other cheat codes on a toggle are a disgrace to the JRPG genre. Work for your dinners!

 

[Grief.exe]

FFVI port was so strange

Whatever upscaling filter Square used in that port just creates this strange blur. I wonder if they are doing something different in FFIX with the backgrounds.
Standard:

Nearest Neighbor Upscaling:

http://www.fortressofdoors.com/doing-an-hd-remake-the-right-way-ffvi-edition/

 

[Mobile Suit Gooch]

Steam remains THE platform for JRPG fans.

Not for me it is.

 

[jax]

OK, I've done a comparison with the PS1 version emulated at the same resolution as those screenshots. Nice to see that it's not just the main party members that get updated models.

Doing the lord's work. Thanks Xanonano. This really looks like a huge upgrade. HYPE!

 

[Anteater]

hope you can turn off the filtering, for me it looked better without when I played it on emulator, just apply a lot of fsaa onto the characters and they blend together really well

especially now that the characters are fixed with higher quality models, I'm looking forward to it

 

[Stumpokapow]

The 'seams' are hard to pickup on the darker areas. More noticeable on the brighter/lighter sections. If you zoom in it's easier to pickup - notice the square/tile impressions.

It's definitely there, not sure if it'll be an issue for most. I'd hazard if SE don't fix it some modders will fix it pretty quickly.

... you sure that's not just JPG compression from the Steam screenshots?

 

[agiantenemycrab]

... you sure that's not just JPG compression from the Steam screenshots?

It looks suspiciously like the edges of several JPEG macroblocks.

 

[AgeEighty]

... you sure that's not just JPG compression from the Steam screenshots?

I was wondering about this myself. Why would there be "tiles" in a 2D pre-rendered scene? That kind of art doesn't even employ textures.

 

[Alvarez]

Have you guys seen the seams on Stumpokapow's avatar?! Absolutely disgusting!

 

[BasilZero]

I been waiting 10 years for this since the last time I played FFIX on PS1.


Will likely get it day 1

 

[Cerity]

... you sure that's not just JPG compression from the Steam screenshots?

Quick look through, they don't seem to exist on the character models. Someone with a better eye or more knowledge of filtering or whatever might be able to verify.

 

[AgeEighty]

Quick look through, they don't seem to exist on the character models. Someone with a better eye or more knowledge of filtering or whatever might be able to verify.

Sure they do. On the shot with Zidane and Blank, look at Zidane's hip. You can see the artifact if you trace it over horizontally from where the seam is in the background. You can see it on Blank's arm, too. And Zidane's sword.

Actually kind of proves that jpg artifacts are exactly what they are.

 

[Alvarez]

Quick look through, they don't seem to exist on the character models. Someone with a better eye or more knowledge of filtering or whatever might be able to verify.

Looks like they used seam carving to generate the new backgrounds, which are a different aspect ratio from the original backgrounds? They needed a way to stretch the backgrounds horizontally but they didn't actually want to stretch them.

That's a lot of effort when they could have just left it at the original aspect ratio.

 

[AgeEighty]

You can also see the "seams" on Vivi's tunic and hat.

 

[BONKERS]

lol, your understanding of this is a bit....weak. It would take a lot, actually.

Yes, it's a lot of work. But no more work than many other things.Especially for an old PS1 game getting it's first port ever.

Even Ubisoft did EXACTLY that with HOMM3 HD. And it looks gorgeous.

Look at Crapcom and RE0. They even did it partially with REmake HD.

Day of the Tentacle Remastered is another.

There are plenty of examples that it can be done. It will sell, so there's no way they wouldn't recoup any kind of investment into it. Instead we can't even get fucking properly UPSCALED backgrounds.
It's insulting.

 

[Mr Nash]

Wow. 20gigs seems like an awful lot. =S

 

[mieumieu]

Yes, it's a lot of work. But no more work than many other things.Especially for an old PS1 game getting it's first port ever.

Even Ubisoft did EXACTLY that with HOMM3 HD. And it looks gorgeous.

Look at Crapcom and RE0. They even did it partially with REmake HD.

Day of the Tentacle Remastered is another.

There are plenty of examples that it can be done. It will sell, so there's no way they wouldn't recoup any kind of investment into it. Instead we can't even get fucking properly UPSCALED backgrounds.
It's insulting.

have you counted how many backgrounds there are and how many moving parts there are? ff9 is a massive game. Every frame will need to be redrawn or retouched.

you dont know how much budget this game has but I can assure you it is not a lot. There is no lazyness involved. Budgets are everything, ESPECIALLY with outsourcing projects.

 

[Movalpolos]

Steam remains THE platform for JRPG fans.

Get some Atlus love on here and we'll talk.

 

[AgeEighty]

Yes, it's a lot of work. But no more work than many other things.Especially for an old PS1 game getting it's first port ever.

That is... not true. It's more work than a lot of other things. Most notably, it's a huge amount of more work than what they actually did.

Even Ubisoft did EXACTLY that with HOMM3 HD. And it looks gorgeous.

Look at Crapcom and RE0. They even did it partially with REmake HD.

Day of the Tentacle Remastered is another.

There are plenty of examples that it can be done. It will sell, so there's no way they wouldn't recoup any kind of investment into it. Instead we can't even get fucking properly UPSCALED backgrounds.
It's insulting.

Day of the Tentacle is a poor example because it's all cartoonish, flat 2D art with no layering, and with many fewer actual pieces of art to redraw than FFIX has, and the art it does have is much easier to redraw than the highly detailed backgrounds of a game like FFIX.

HOMM3 also had a lot less art to redraw and quite honestly, the HD version looks very meh.

Could S-E have redrawn everything? Sure. They could have spent a lot more time and money, and it's not at all clear they would have recouped that investment. If it's so "easy" like you claim, why didn't the Steam releases of VII or VIII—two games that sold in greater number than IX originally—get that kind of treatment? The answer is obvious: It's a lot more work than you think it is.

It's not just about what they can do, but what they can do with a reasonable amount of time and money.

 

[Cerity]

The thing is the 'seams' aren't consistent and they only really appear on the pre rendered backgrounds. The squares/tiles are ridiculously consistent in this screen, yet when you look at the 3d models it becomes more difficult to spot them.

When you take a look at the inbattle screen shots (here and here), which are mainly 3d rendered you don't see them at all. If this was artifacting, I'd expect the road in the first shot to also have the 'seams' but it doesn't.

 

[AgeEighty]

The thing is the 'seams' aren't consistent and they only really appear on the pre rendered backgrounds. The squares/tiles are ridiculously consistent in this screen, yet when you look at the 3d models it becomes more difficult to spot them.

I think the seams are quite easy to spot on the character models in that shot.

But like I said before, I think it's irrelevant. If you have to blow up screenshots to pick out flaws, they're not worth complaining about.

 

[Wedge7]

Oh baby, loved ff9, would love to replay it. Looks like they actually put some effort in this one for once as well.

 

[AlanOC91]

Do we have any idea why the release date changed from January 2016 to Early 2016?

 

[AgeEighty]

Do we have any idea why the release date changed from January 2016 to Early 2016?

Whoever posted the page on Steam probably was misinformed, and it was corrected.

 

[Agent_Carnage]

Oh hell yea. I love FF IX wish they remade that one instead. Can't wait

 

[Dunkley]

Seriously? No. You just press Sharpen and it's done.

Final Fantasy IX: Toddyhancer Edition™

 

[BONKERS]

Yeah, if you have to zoom way in on an image to pick up something like that, it's not a grievous, foaming-at-the-mouth problem like that other guy was pretending.

The images look fine to me at normal size, and those seams were always there. In fact I'd venture to say they stuck out more.

No they weren't always there and I have proven that with my own images upscaling the backgrounds.

Here's some more comparisons
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/157121/picture:1

And they don't look fine at normal size. (1080p)If they did, we wouldn't notice them to begin with.

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/377840
/ss_6647e64e75874c91bcb797d5d98ddcfea24dd3d6.jpg?t=1452102661

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/ste...d989739f3ccff2a19aba91b4d883.jpg?t=1452102661

Compare the last one to this.
http://u.cubeupload.com/MrBonk/upsace.png Upscaled from the file used in the game.
Compared to the ACTUAL art of the original

FFS, SE if you aren't going to bother doing it right. At least upscale the pre-rendered backgrounds competently.

 

[Styles]

Just be happy that they are even porting this to PC. Jesus.

 

[BONKERS]

That is... not true. It's more work than a lot of other things. Most notably, it's a huge amount of more work than what they actually did.



Day of the Tentacle is a poor example because it's all cartoonish, flat 2D art with no layering, and with many fewer actual pieces of art to redraw than FFIX has, and the art it does have is much easier to redraw than the highly detailed backgrounds of a game like FFIX.

HOMM3 also had a lot less art to redraw and quite honestly, the HD version looks very meh.

Could S-E have redrawn everything? Sure. They could have spent a lot more time and money, and it's not at all clear they would have recouped that investment. If it's so "easy" like you claim, why didn't the Steam releases of VII or VIII—two games that sold in greater number than IX originally—get that kind of treatment? The answer is obvious: It's a lot more work than you think it is.

It's not just about what they can do, but what they can do with a reasonable amount of time and money.

BOTH of those releases of VII and VIII are nothing more than lazy re-releases of the original shit ports from the 90s with next to nothing changed. Why bother do any more work than the bare minimum? You already have these ports, why bother adding anything of significance to them? That just dwindles the profit margins when you know your fanbase consists of apologists who will take anything they can get no matter how low quality and low effort it is.

And every example i've shown, shows that no matter the art style it can be done.
HOMM3 looks gorgeous, it shows exactly how you update an old pre-rendered game while preserving the intended art style.
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison.php?id=108270
If you think that looks "meh" then GTFO. Seriously.

RE 0 also says hello
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison.php?id=131584
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison.php?id=131586

AND yes, I get it would be a lot of work. That doesn't mean it's not economically unfeasible and unreasonable in anyway. It's a far cry from modern AAA games.

Not to mention, it's NOT just being released on PC, it's being released on SmartPhones. Which is a HUGE worldwide market.

Just be happy that they are even porting this to PC. Jesus.

Why? I can rip my own Playstation discs and play this in an emulator already.
With the likes of Retroarch it's easier than ever and with CRT shaders looks very good.

Despite my very legitimate bitching and moaning.
BARE MINIMUM, i'm asking that they at least upscale the backgrounds competently. Which they don't.

 

[AgeEighty]

And they don't look fine at normal size. (1080p)If they did, we wouldn't notice them to begin with.

Lol, that's not how that works. "We" didn't notice anything; you noticed the lines and posted some blown-up shots showing them off. When all you posted was the normal sized image with stuff crudely circled, no one could figure out what you were talking about.

Compare the last one to this. Upscaled from the file used in the game.

Yes, you already posted that image. And I already told you it's a pretty crappy-looking upscale job. It maintains detail but it's barely any improvement at all over what was already in the game.

Compared to the ACTUAL art of the original

People really need to quit comparing anything to the high-res art shots. Those were never going to end up in this game. As far as we know only a handful of them are still floating around.

FFS, SE if you aren't going to bother doing it right. At least upscale the pre-rendered backgrounds competently.

Sorry, but all I'm getting out of your posts is that you had completely irrational, illogical and unrealistic expectations for what a remaster of this game was going to look like. You're trying to paint this as some sort of a hack job, and it just isn't.

 

[AgeEighty]

AND yes, I get it would be a lot of work. That doesn't mean it's not economically unfeasible and unreasonable in anyway. It's a far cry from modern AAA games.

No, you really don't get anything at all. Completely redrawing the several hundred pieces of background and foreground artwork in one of the Playstation Final Fantasy games is a MASSIVE UNDERTAKING requiring a huge amount of time and money. It can't be automated; to do it right requires artists working painstakingly by hand.

Why do you think people have been saying for years that Final Fantasy VII—Final Fantasy VII, of all games! A legendary title beloved by millions the world over!—would never be remastered? Why do you think S-E went to all the trouble of completely redrawing its world in 3D rather than redoing the original art, which almost everyone would have been completely happy with? It's because redrawing all that art is a HUGE job. So huge that remaking the whole damned game completely in 3D was the more attractive option.

So, no. You really don't have a fucking clue what you're talking about.

Not to mention, it's NOT just being released on PC, it's being released on SmartPhones. Which is a HUGE market.

You mean the market where 90% of users refuse to pay over a dollar for an app (if they ever pay for anything at all), and where almost all of the most successful apps have a fraction of the production values of a mainline FF title? That market?

Again: not a fucking clue.

BARE MINIMUM, i'm asking that they at least upscale the backgrounds competently. Which they don't.

No, that's not the bare minimum of what you're asking. You were going off about why they didn't redraw all the art.

You just want people to be as angry as you are about your ridiculous expectations that are completely disconnected from reality. Not gonna happen.

 

[TyphoonStruggle]

I tried this game on PS1 recently and was impressed at how well it stands up today

Better than FFXII did (I'd love a HD remaster since the detail level is fine but LOD is extremely severe especially for NPC's)

This is probably the only FF from PS1 and PS2 that holds up, imo opintion of course. The reason for that is that FFIX is just a fun and lighthearted story.

 

[AlanOC91]

I really wish some people would stop putting a complete downer on this for everyone else. If your not happy with it, just don't purchase it and leave it at that. Don't try to shove examples of why people should hate it or not purchase the port.

I'm just happy it's coming to PC at all. Heck, ask me 2 months ago and I'd have told you it will never come to PC.
I have the PS1 discs at home but god damn would I prefer playing this in my steam library, boot up big picture mode for the night and play away on my TV while being able to type and chat away to my steam friends. I'm delighted that this is coming. Bring on FFX next please!

 

[BONKERS]

Lol, that's not how that works. "We" didn't notice anything; you noticed the lines and posted some blown-up shots showing them off. When all you posted was the normal sized image with stuff crudely circled, no one could figure out what you were talking about.



Yes, you already posted that image. And I already told you it's a pretty crappy-looking upscale job. It maintains detail but it's barely any improvement at all over what was already in the game.




People really need to quit comparing anything to the high-res art shots. Those were never going to end up in this game. As far as we know only a handful of them are still floating around.



Sorry, but all I'm getting out of your posts is that you had completely irrational, illogical and unrealistic expectations for what a remaster of this game was going to look like. You're trying to paint this as some sort of a hack job, and it just isn't.

Right, BLOWN UP SHOTS RIGHT?

Not just the DIRECT IMAGE LINKS FROM THE STEAM PAGE?

I'm not the one posting blown up shots. I linked, every single time to shots from the steam page when using these examples.

I am asking for no higher a bar for bare minimum than competent upscaling. If they had done that, and there weren't block seams every where on every background. STRAIGHT from the Steam Page that aren't 3D rendered battle arenas. Then I wouldn't be complaining.

A hack job? When the vast majority of the game consists of low resolution bitmap backgrounds. You better get that done right in some way possible.

 

[May16]

How can Final Fantasy X | X-2 be on both PS3 and PS4 first, but FFIX debuts on Steam earlier?

To be fair, people were asking for a PC version of this game for like a decade before asking for a PS4 version ^^;

 

[AgeEighty]

RIGHT, illogical BLOWN UP SHOTS RIGHT?

Not just the DIRECT IMAGE LINKS FROM THE STEAM PAGE?

Which had to be magnified to get anyone to see anything. You posted an image with a bunch of Unabomber-looking circles on it, and no one could see what you were seeing.

Even now I look at that image and I can't see any seams unless I look at the blown-up versions.

 

[aravuus]

I LOVE the booster stuff

Can't fucking wait to replay this game for like the 10th time!

COME ON

RELEASE IT ALREADY