aLu
9th October 2010, 11:28
I just played through the old Myst series again & marvelled at how immersive they still are, at least if you've forgotten how to solve some of the puzzles. :rolleyes:
I wonder if anybody has come up with a workable idea how to upscale these pre-rendered slideshow games - they run at native screen resolutions of 640x480 to 600x800, and as a result look a bit noisy (more so if color compression is involved). Like everybody else, I've become more used to the smooth look of 3D.
Since upscaling and smoothing video content is no problem, I wonder why any other image couldn't, theoretically, be treated the same way before it reaches the screen. It's probably a bit more complicated with interactive stuff, but the basic task is straight-forward: upscale/smooth the image while keeping the game "thinking" it runs in its normal environment.
I couldn't find anything via Google on this, so chances are there's no software around at this point. But to any aspiring programmer: if you want to impress daddy by giving his favorite game keepsake a graphical overhaul, or if you indeed love this old stuff yourself... go for it! Even if it turns out not to be possible with all games, like those that use 3D elements. :goodpost:
Edit: I just found some interesting pages on the subject - as it turns out, using the right keywords with Google is really important...
It turns out LCD monitors apparently upscale low-res content by default, whereas VGAs/CRT monitors don't. I never owned or used a TFT for gaming, so I wouldn't know. :o It seems some people are happy with the results, some aren't.
ATI and Nvidia cards have a "GPU scaling" setting where you can manipulate this behavior. If this thread from 2008 (http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=67032) still holds true, the term is fake anyway - the real upscaling is done by the end device (monitor), not the graphics card. Exceptions: the X-Box, and maybe some newer graphics cards... I wonder if ATIs "Eyefinity" technology has an in-built scaler that works with any output device, the website (http://sites.amd.com/us/underground/products/eyefinity/whatiseyefinity/Pages/what-is-eyefinity.aspx) isn't clear on that.
Pixel art scaling is what you do to upscale games with mostly line art - here are some screenshots of various algorithms:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=221725
There appear to be lots of algoriths, but applications are tailored to specific games, or used in emulators for older or handheld platforms.
http://www.vertigogaming.net/E3/YI1.png
http://static.pici.se/pictures/FutDpQBQV.jpg
I wonder if anybody has come up with a workable idea how to upscale these pre-rendered slideshow games - they run at native screen resolutions of 640x480 to 600x800, and as a result look a bit noisy (more so if color compression is involved). Like everybody else, I've become more used to the smooth look of 3D.
Since upscaling and smoothing video content is no problem, I wonder why any other image couldn't, theoretically, be treated the same way before it reaches the screen. It's probably a bit more complicated with interactive stuff, but the basic task is straight-forward: upscale/smooth the image while keeping the game "thinking" it runs in its normal environment.
I couldn't find anything via Google on this, so chances are there's no software around at this point. But to any aspiring programmer: if you want to impress daddy by giving his favorite game keepsake a graphical overhaul, or if you indeed love this old stuff yourself... go for it! Even if it turns out not to be possible with all games, like those that use 3D elements. :goodpost:
Edit: I just found some interesting pages on the subject - as it turns out, using the right keywords with Google is really important...
It turns out LCD monitors apparently upscale low-res content by default, whereas VGAs/CRT monitors don't. I never owned or used a TFT for gaming, so I wouldn't know. :o It seems some people are happy with the results, some aren't.
ATI and Nvidia cards have a "GPU scaling" setting where you can manipulate this behavior. If this thread from 2008 (http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=67032) still holds true, the term is fake anyway - the real upscaling is done by the end device (monitor), not the graphics card. Exceptions: the X-Box, and maybe some newer graphics cards... I wonder if ATIs "Eyefinity" technology has an in-built scaler that works with any output device, the website (http://sites.amd.com/us/underground/products/eyefinity/whatiseyefinity/Pages/what-is-eyefinity.aspx) isn't clear on that.
Pixel art scaling is what you do to upscale games with mostly line art - here are some screenshots of various algorithms:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=221725
There appear to be lots of algoriths, but applications are tailored to specific games, or used in emulators for older or handheld platforms.
http://www.vertigogaming.net/E3/YI1.png
http://static.pici.se/pictures/FutDpQBQV.jpg