FFVIIR Nostalgia mode

[hian]

Was sitting here playing the Japanese version of FFVII on my PS Vita when I looked through the thread on the new game-play trailer for the remake and came upon the HD screen-grabs from the video (which are awesome btw) and found myself thinking : "damn this looks grey and washed out compared to the original. I wonder what happens if I do some tweaking with these using approximately the same set-up in my image processing software that I use for filter on my video-game project" and what I got was....

Well, probably what FFVIIR would look like with a soft cell-shade filter, and holy cow, I wish they'd add an option for this in the remake. Like just for 80's 90's nostalgia geeks like me who loved the bright and screaming color palette of the original.

Anyways, have a look - or don't if you love the "hyper-realism" of the remake as it is, and don't want to hurt your eyes on the loss of detail incurred by the filter (don't say I didn't warn you) =P :

(Warning - lots of big pictures)

Spoiler: YOUR EYES WILL BURN

More generally though - given that the game is being made on Unreal 4, various graphical settings and options for filters etc. should be possible (at least on an eventual PC version through modding). Anyone else here feel that at the very least the game could due with a bit more saturation, if not an option to adjust it in game?

Maybe some other graphical tweaks while we're at it?

 

[Shademp]

It's Man of Steel all over again! My eyes greatly enjoy this increased saturation and I hope the graphical settings in the game will allow the experience to be something like the above.

 

[Flintlock]

Nice pictures. I definitely prefer the increased green saturation. Or maybe it just looks better against TLS's colour scheme.

 

[Animexcel]

I'm kinda getting this poster vibe.

 

[Mayo Master]

As you suspect, we don't have the same tastes when it comes to that
That being said, personally, I believe that part of the more "saturated" look in the OG comes from 2 aspects (regarding the environments, at least): a/many environments were CG renders, old-school lighting and rendering techniques tended to yield more saturated results - one needed to "fake" indirect lighting for one thing. b/the PS1 color palette was a lot more limited since each RGB value had 32 possible values (instead of 256), which causes visuals to be more contrasted/less nuanced.

 

[hian]

I really think the filter does Midgar justice. I'll see if I can't find any other good scenic parts to apply it too. After all, Midgar wasn't just dark - it had a lot of glow and charm to it as well.

As you suspect, we don't have the same tastes when it comes to that
That being said, personally, I believe that part of the more "saturated" look in the OG comes from 2 aspects (regarding the environments, at least): a/many environments were CG renders, old-school lighting and rendering techniques tended to yield more saturated results - one needed to "fake" indirect lighting for one thing. b/the PS1 color palette was a lot more limited since each RGB value had 32 possible values (instead of 256), which causes visuals to be more contrasted/less nuanced.

FF9 was considerably more subdued though, so the PS1 wasn't incapable of producing color nuance.

But taste is taste. Personally though, I'm kinda nonplussed by the way realism is often portrayed in games these days, because as far as my eyes tell me, the world is a lot more vibrant color-wise than what a lot of so-called realistic games give it credit for =P

 

[ForceStealer]

Keep in mind though that everything in the trailer is taking place in the middle of the night in areas that even in the original were pretty dark.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure this game will absolutely be less saturated than the original. But this trailer probably isn't totally representative of the whole thing.

 

[hian]

Keep in mind though that everything in the trailer is taking place in the middle of the night in areas that even in the original were pretty dark.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure this game will absolutely be less saturated than the original. But this trailer probably isn't totally representative of the whole thing.

The original game did as well though. I just think it would be nice, consider the versatility of the Unreal Engine if they added some graphical options, or a filter mode, to tweak the presentation of the game.
It could be a really good way to give the game extra value for a broader audience, the "nostalgia crowd" included.

If not, and a PC version is coming somewhere down the line, I'm definitely getting that so I can screw around with it.

 

[Flintlock]

If you own a half-way decent TV/monitor, you should be able to change its colour settings manually or choose from a list of presets. I know it's not the same as using a graphical filter but it will produce a similar effect.

 

[Mayo Master]

But taste is taste. Personally though, I'm kinda nonplussed by the way realism is often portrayed in games these days, because as far as my eyes tell me, the world is a lot more vibrant color-wise than what a lot of so-called realistic games give it credit for =P

Don't worry, I was certainly not among the folks who were bitching about Fallout 4 having a fair amount of color
On my end I feel like the lighting/rendering presented in FF XV is spot on. Actually I've been a bit puzzled as to why they wouldn't use Luminous for FF7:R. Why did they pick UE4? Is it to facilitate (outsourcing) the production of assets?

 

[Wolf_]

I hope they keep it all dark and miserable and contrast it with the rest of the world. Like the grass becoming a more vibrant green the further away from Midgar you get.

 

[hian]

Don't worry, I was certainly not among the folks who were bitching about Fallout 4 having a fair amount of color

You thought Fallout 4 for had a fair amount of color? =P
Guess it did had more than 3.

On my end I feel like the lighting/rendering presented in FF XV is spot on. Actually I've been a bit puzzled as to why they wouldn't use Luminous for FF7:R. Why did they pick UE4? Is it to facilitate (outsourcing) the production of assets?

Not a big fan of FF XV color palette - still too drab for my taste. I like visual spectacles and deep colors. Enjoy the general design of the game though - but the nature found in episode Duscae was positively uninspiring. Deeper greens and blues would go a long way to make that world look more alive.

I did think the color palette and saturation levels of the in-game graphics of games like Crisis Core, Dissidia and KH were all fantastic though =P

FFVIIR is being worked on by several outside companies at once according to the interviews, with CC2 being just one of them, so that's probably the reason.
I don't think you could contract as many people if you were working on an engine that pretty much only SE staff has any idea and experience on how to work with.

I hope they keep it all dark and miserable and contrast it with the rest of the world. Like the grass becoming a more vibrant green the further away from Midgar you get.

Granted Midgar was dark, and miserable, it wasn't colorless by stretch though, and it was a vibrant place in its own right - as an urban jungle - so I hope they manage to get that across in the remake.

 

[hian]

Just had to do this to see how it would look (just threw something together) -

 

[e.suna]

The saturated colors definitely hail back to the OG! So that's what's been missing. I couldn't quite put my finger on it...

AC felt so dreary and monochromatic, it would be a shame for Midgar to be the same in the remake. While playing the OG I remember thinking what a strangely beautiful city it was, despite it being a miserable place for the characters to live.

I hope they can maintain that special quality of color/lighting. If not, I guess I'll raise the saturation on my TV

 

[ForceStealer]

AC's color palette was pretty intentional, I believe. They were establishing the mood for the movie, not necessarily matching VII's world. (It gets sunny once Cloud's back to 100%) And Advent Children Complete added more color and more sunlight earlier on. Further reasons why it's better in every way.

I don't know how Midgar will look, of course, but the original trailer definitely showed an accentuated contrast between the Upper Plate and the slums.