Support NeoGAF

[MaLDo]

This started two months ago when I found stuttering problems in Rayman 3 PC. After giving up in the process of fixing the framerate, I started to move PC textures to the Gamecube version using Dolphin emulator. I created a few of new textures too in order to improve the textures with lower resolution. So I uploaded the texture mod and then, RibShark from Rayman Pirate Community contacted me with a surprise; he extracted textures from the 360 HD version of the game. Lots of the textures are really the original version with 2x the resolution of the pc version (that already were 2x resolution of the gamecube version). The problem with the HD version (360/PS3) is that it's 720p and has framerate problems too. So I started again from scratch using best version for every asset and adding a few of new ones like loading screen, menus, skies, fonts, etc. After that, I wanted to search for the best version of every old Rayman and ended with this compilation.

You will need consoles bios and obviously, the games.

Rayman (PSX) using Retroarch mednafen (with 4xbr-hybrid-crt shader)
Rayman 2 (Dreamcast) using DEMUL (with Cartoon shader)
Rayman 3 (Gamecube) using Dolphin (with DolphinFX and texture mod)

Rayman 3 mod comparison

Backgrounds, particles, HUD
Original
Mod

Alpha errors, skies
Original
Mod

Menu, buttons, fonts
Original
Mod

Swamp, plants, clouds, trees, piranhas
Original
Mod

Tower of Leptys
Original
Mod

Pirates!
Original
Mod


Before upload the package, I have to ask if it is allowed here. I mean, can I upload pre-configured emulators?

EDIT:
X-Padder profile if you want to use it -> http://www.filedropper.com/backquit
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rayman -> http://www.filedropper.com/rayman

You have to put PSX bios into "Rayman\system" folder and .cue and .bin ISO files into "Rayman\ROMS\Rayman (USA)"

There is a Rayman.exe using AutoHotKey that launches X-Padder so you can quit the game holding 3 seconds the back button. If you have X-Padder in your PC use the profile I've uploaded, change the program folder in the Rayman.ahk file to match yours. If you don't have X-Padder, use Rayman_noxpadder.exe instead.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rayman 2 -> http://www.filedropper.com/rayman2

You have to put Dreamcast bios (dc_bios.bin and dc_flash.bin) into "Rayman 2\ROMS" folder and GDI ISO files (disc.gdi, ip.bin, track01.bin, track02.raw and track03.bin) into "Rayman 2\ROMS\Rayman_2_PAL_GDI"

There is a Rayman2.exe using AutoHotKey that launches X-Padder so you can quit the game holding 3 seconds the back button. If you have X-Padder in your PC use the profile I've uploaded, change the program folder in the Rayman2.ahk file to match yours. If you don't have X-Padder, use Rayman2_noxpadder.exe instead.

After creating your profile in the game, you have to enter in the video options (game menu, not emulator menu) and select 16:9 aspect ratio.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rayman 3 -> http://www.filedropper.com/rayman3

You have to put ISO file (Rayman 3.iso USA version) into "Rayman 3\ISO" folder.

There is a Rayman3.exe using AutoHotKey that launches X-Padder so you can quit the game holding 3 seconds the back button. If you have X-Padder in your PC use the profile I've uploaded, change the program folder in the Rayman3.ahk file to match yours. If you don't have X-Padder, use Rayman3_noxpadder.exe instead.

After creating your profile in the game, you have to enter in the video options (game menu, not emulator menu) and select 16:9 aspect ratio.

 

[Tizoc]

Links to Mods are ok but emulators arent since u would risk putting up files that shouldnt be distributed especially on gaf

 

[capitalCORN]

Whatever happens with the project, gotta say I'm impressed. The Rayman series have been a long favourite of mine, although I never played 3. I would love to see the mod version in person for my first playthrough!

 

[hodgy100]

Links to Mods are ok but emulators arent since u would risk putting up files that shouldnt be distributed especially on gaf

id imagine emulators are fine, but linking to bios files and .iso files arent.

emulators are legit as its all original code.

 

[MaLDo]

Links to Mods are ok but emulators arent since u would risk putting up files that shouldnt be distributed especially on gaf

Can I find what files are not allowed? So I will put only the rest.

 

[dh4niel]

Is Dreamcast emulation any good? Haven't tried it myself but there's a few games I'd like to play.

 

[GhostTrick]

Speaking of which, why aren't all 3 first Rayman on Steam or even Uplay ?????

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

I'm pretty sure all the Rayman games are available natively on PC, I can't imagine why you would jump through the extra hoops emulation requires.

Edit: Ah, framerate problems, I missed that part of the OP.

 

[Tizoc]

Can I find what files are not allowed? So I will put only the rest.

Read the post above yours :3

 

[nkarafo]

Is Dreamcast emulation any good? Haven't tried it myself but there's a few games I'd like to play.

Demul runs everything pretty great for me so far.

 

[MaLDo]

I'm pretty sure all the Rayman games are available natively on PC, I can't imagine why you would jump through the extra hoops emulation requires.

Edit: Ah, framerate problems, I missed that part of the OP.

And emulated versions are better.

 

[potatohead]

Is Dreamcast emulation any good? Haven't tried it myself but there's a few games I'd like to play.

Use DEmul.

NullDC is older, easier to run performance wise, but has far worse emulation and compatibility.

DEmul is very nice though, but more hardware intensive.

 

[KatamariOnTheRocks]

Great idea OP, thanks for doing this.

I've always wanted to go back to old multi-plat games and do precisely this so it's really cool to see someone else doing it.

If I do ever get around to doing it for some games myself I'll be sure to make them available to other people assuming it's ok to do so in terms of copyright stuff.

 

[Joqu]

Amazing work OP, it's something I've looked into myself in the past with Rayman 2 and 3.

I hope it's okay if you're able to share your work on here. If not maybe create a space you can gather your work on. A tumblr perhaps?

 

[MaLDo]

Read the post above yours :3

Great. So what I said in the OP. I will upload later. Thank you.

 

[Kiddy Dong]

Emulation is nice for Rayman 1, but no filter comes close to RGB on a pro CRT monitor, on original hardware. 240p looks unbelievably good when done well.

 

[SURGEdude]

Wonderful. Great games and thanks for all the hard work.

 

[Nvzman]

Use DEmul.

NullDC is older, easier to run performance wise, but has far worse emulation and compatibility.

DEmul is very nice though, but more hardware intensive.

More intensive CPU-wise or GPU-wise?
Because I have an i7-4790 CPU but a 750ti GPU lol

 

[bomblord1]

Awesome job OP it's a ton of work adding, editing, and renaming files into dolphin (or any emulator for that matter)

 

[MaLDo]

Rayman -> http://www.filedropper.com/rayman

You have to put PSX bios into "Rayman\system" folder and .cue and .bin ISO files into "Rayman\ROMS\Rayman (USA)"

There is a Rayman.exe using AutoHotKey that launches X-Padder so you can quit the game holding 3 seconds the back button. If you have X-Padder in your PC use the profile I've uploaded, change the program folder in the Rayman.ahk file to match yours. If you don't have X-Padder, use Rayman_noxpadder.exe instead.

X-Padder profile if you want to use it -> http://www.filedropper.com/backquit

 

[Joqu]

Rayman -> http://www.filedropper.com/rayman

You have to put PSX bios into "Rayman\system" folder and .cue and .bin ISO files into "Rayman\ROMS\Rayman (USA)"

There is a Rayman.exe using AutoHotKey that launches X-Padder so you can quit the game holding 3 seconds the back button. If you have X-Padder in your PC use the profile I've uploaded, change the program folder in the Rayman.ahk file to match yours. If you don't have X-Padder, use Rayman_noxpadder.exe instead.

X-Padder profile if you want to use it -> http://www.filedropper.com/backquit

Thanks. Second one isn't working though. Also a bit concerned how long those downloads are going to last, something like google drive would be more reliable I imagine

 

[k91191]

Great work! Gonna try these later.

 

[MaLDo]

Rayman 2 -> http://www.filedropper.com/rayman2

You have to put Dreamcast bios (dc_bios.bin and dc_flash.bin) into "Rayman 2\ROMS" folder and GDI ISO files (disc.gdi, ip.bin, track01.bin, track02.raw and track03.bin) into "Rayman 2\ROMS\Rayman_2_PAL_GDI"

There is a Rayman2.exe using AutoHotKey that launches X-Padder so you can quit the game holding 3 seconds the back button. If you have X-Padder in your PC use the profile I've uploaded, change the program folder in the Rayman2.ahk file to match yours. If you don't have X-Padder, use Rayman2_noxpadder.exe instead.

X-Padder profile if you want to use it -> http://www.filedropper.com/backquit

After creating your profile in the game, you have to enter in the video options (game menu, not emulator menu) and select 16:9 aspect ratio.

 

[MaLDo]

Thanks. Second one isn't working though. Also a bit concerned how long those downloads are going to last, something like google drive would be more reliable I imagine

Just fixed the link. Feel free to upload wherever you want.

 

[Joqu]

Just fixed the link. Feel free to upload wherever you want.

Yeah, no worries. I'll grab em all and I'll put em up somewhere else if needed

 

[nkarafo]

More intensive CPU-wise or GPU-wise?
Because I have an i7-4790 CPU but a 750ti GPU lol

Use Demul.

Emulators are mostly CPU intensive programs.

 

[MaLDo]

About PC differences

this is dreamcast version of Rayman 2

this is PC version

 

[Byvar]

About PC differences

this is dreamcast version of Rayman 2
<snip>
this is PC version
<snip>

Not to mention the Dreamcast version has built-in widescreen support as well as higher texture quality in some parts, one or two additional cutscenes and better music. The only disadvantage in comparison to the PC version is the replacement of the overworld (the magical Hall of Doors was changed to the Isle of Doors).
I think the PS2 version (Rayman Revolution) is generally better though. It came with far more content than even the Dreamcast version and upped the quality of the models and some textures. Is there a reason why you didn't go for that, aside from possible performance issues running PCSX2 or is the Dreamcast version just your personal preference?

 

[MaLDo]

Not to mention the Dreamcast version has built-in widescreen support as well as higher texture quality in some parts, one or two additional cutscenes and better music. The only disadvantage in comparison to the PC version is the replacement of the overworld (the magical Hall of Doors was changed to the Isle of Doors).
I think the PS2 version (Rayman Revolution) is generally better though. It came with far more content than even the Dreamcast version and upped the quality of the models and some textures. Is there a reason why you didn't go for that, aside from possible performance issues running PCSX2 or is the Dreamcast version just your personal preference?

PS2 framerate is really bad even in original hardware. And I love the jumping mushrooms animation. In PS2 mushrooms are not lovely sprites but terrible polygons

 

[MaLDo]

Rayman 3 -> http://www.filedropper.com/rayman3

You have to put the gamecube ISO file (Rayman 3.iso USA version) into "Rayman 3\ISO" folder.

There is a Rayman3.exe using AutoHotKey that launches X-Padder so you can quit the game holding 3 seconds the back button. If you have X-Padder in your PC use the profile I've uploaded, change the program folder in the Rayman3.ahk file to match yours. If you don't have X-Padder, use Rayman3_noxpadder.exe instead.

After creating your profile in the game, you have to enter in the video options (game menu, not emulator menu) and select 16:9 aspect ratio.

 

[MaLDo]

These are mushrooms to which I referred before


Rayman Revolution PS2

Rayman 2 Dreamcast

 

[Joqu]

Thanks again for your hard work here dude.

These are mushrooms to which I referred before


Rayman Revolution PS2


Rayman 2 Dreamcast

Oof, I haven't played Rayman 2 in a while, but are the textures that poor in the ps2 version or it just the shots or the area shown? I mean I can tell it's a different one :/

 

[MaLDo]

Thanks again for your hard work here dude.



Oof, I haven't played Rayman 2 in a while, but are the textures that poor in the ps2 version or it just the shots or the area shown? I mean I can tell it's a different one :/

For some terrain materials, Dreamcast version adds an unfiltered "detail" layer and that's what you're seeing here. The grass base texture is the same in both screenshots.

This is from a real Dreamcast

Anyway, Dreamcast version is overall more coherent and consistent. PS2 seems like a proof of concept where some aspects are improved here and there, others are bad decissions like the navigable hub that feels really empty and then the framerate wich is a big no way. Dreamcast is 60 locked fps and Revolution in PS2 is 30 fps with slowdowns.

 

[23qwerty]

2nd two look good, but I hate that weird smoothy scaling on pixel based games as shown in the first one, give me nearest neighbour scaling every day

 

[MaLDo]

2nd two look good, but I hate that weird smoothy scaling on pixel based games as shown in the first one, give me nearest neighbour scaling every day

F1 -> Quick menu -> Shader options -> Shader layers = 0 -> Apply changes

Nearest is already selected.

 

[23qwerty]

F1 -> Quick menu -> Shader options -> Shader layers = 0 -> Apply changes

Nearest is already selected.

Awesome

 

[Joqu]

For some terrain materials, Dreamcast version adds an unfiltered "detail" layer and that's what you're seeing here. The grass base texture is the same in both screenshots.

This is from a real Dreamcast

Anyway, Dreamcast version is overall more coherent and consistent. PS2 seems like a proof of concept where some aspects are improved here and there, others are bad decissions like the navigable hub that feels really empty and then the framerate wich is a big no way. Dreamcast is 60 locked fps and Revolution in PS2 is 30 fps with slowdowns.

Thanks, that's pretty nifty. Yeah I gotta say I greatly prefer the look of the Dreamcast version with that detail layer, even in that native shot. The game has got some great texture work in general but it really does improve it, makes it hold up way better. But of course it's crazy how well that game holds up general to this day, it's gorgeous.

The framerate is the big disappointment with the PS2 version yeah. There's no real reason that console shouldn't have been able to handle the game at 60fps as far as I'm aware.

 

[Spierek]

Just wanted to say that OP is doing God's work here.

Haven't played Rayman 2 in several years, hoping to try out this modded Dreamcast version soon since it looks really good.

 

[Warxard]

So is the DC version the definitive ver of Rayman 2? I only ever played Revolution.

 

[AerialAir]

Too bad Dolphin runs like a potato in OS X.

 

[zsidane]

Great job man!

Came in here just to say that Rayman 2 is one of the greatest games made, ever.
I must have completed it on N64 like 3 or 4 times, and 3 other times in the DC.

I think I just play it again, time to dust off my DC!

 

[Ryng_tolu]

Man, what a epic trilogy... i think all people should play it at least one time.