MOGURI MOD 8.2 (a visual mod for FFIX) is out , here's the trailer

snouz

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A video speaks louder than words, but I worked for more than a year to make the graphics of the game as good as possible. The mod (on steam only) uses AI algorithms to upscale backgrounds, but I also did a lot of manual work to improve the visuals, while retaining the original intended look and feel of the game.

You can download it from the official site: https://sites.google.com/view/moguri-mod/install
 
Looks fantastic! I wish we could just send someone like you to S-E HQ and sort out all the PS4 releases!

Has every single Background been done? I see the one in Memorium Crytal World was still 4:3 & the one with The Theatre play.

How did you find managing CGI cutscenes like near the end with Zidane on the vines?

Great work, I might have to et FF9 when it's on sale on Steam next and try this out!
 
Has every single Background been done? I see the one in Memorium Crytal World was still 4:3 & the one with The Theatre play.
Every screen is upscaled and corrected etc. But screens that were 4:3 are still 4:3, it won't zoom or invent some pixels. But pretty much everywhere else, it will show as much from the screen as possible (for example, if the screen is between 4:3 and 16:9, the whole background will be shown, with shorter black borders and no scrolling)
Some exceptions where bugs appear if you have them in widescreen.

How did you find managing CGI cutscenes like near the end with Zidane on the vines?
There are 2 types of videos: normal cutscenes that were of pretty good quality, and moving backgrounds, with 3d stuff on them, like the zidane vine one. The later are of extremely bad quality. I did my best blending them when needed, color correct them, using bits from normal backgrounds, and hiding compression as much as possible. It's the best effort I could do considering the original quality.
 
Hey snouz & welcome to the forums! Thanks so much for sharing, I found this very interesting and impressive! The backgrounds have always bothered be in comparison to the revamped character models, it really separated them entirely! This must have been a true labor of love for yourself & the entire team behind the project! I haven't taken a complete stroll through the website yet but every comparison & details I've see looks splendid. :-) I really like the small details as well! The added crystals were a nice touch and even so much as moving Dagger/Garnet's position in the Plant Brain's lair to a more ideal & natrual way was appreciated.

I wouldn't have even thought about the Zidane vine scene if Vivi-Gamer hadn't pointed it out! I can only imagine how difficult it must have been managing that scene! I always wondered why they decided to do it that way, I always thought it looked so bad. It would have been really cool as a normal cutscene. 😌

I'll give the flipbook a good look through when I've got some more time to sit down! Was there a very challenging part of this project for yourself personally and/or for the team as a whole? :)

Thanks again for sharing! I'm very interested and would look forward to using this in the future on my next play through!
 
I don't have the Steam version (at this stage) but if I do, I'd love to install this.

The upgrades look stunning! Some of the details in the original are very blurry so it would be great to get a cleaner look at certain areas in this. I'm the kind of person who loves to examine the backgrounds for details (things like statues and paintings).

Pontus Hultgren's music is also a marvellous bonus. He's a great guy and I love his work. I'm mostly familiar with the albums he created for KupoCon but whenever I stumble upon any of his tracks I find them to be amazing renditions.

Thanks for sharing this with us. Welcome to the forums! :argor:
 
That looks to be some super work :)

Pontus Hultgren is a great choice for the music refreshed versions, he's doing beautifully orchestrations especially on Final Fantasy tracks
 
Hey snouz & welcome to the forums! Thanks so much for sharing, I found this very interesting and impressive! The backgrounds have always bothered be in comparison to the revamped character models, it really separated them entirely! This must have been a true labor of love for yourself & the entire team behind the project! I haven't taken a complete stroll through the website yet but every comparison & details I've see looks splendid. :-) I really like the small details as well! The added crystals were a nice touch and even so much as moving Dagger/Garnet's position in the Plant Brain's lair to a more ideal & natrual way was appreciated.

I wouldn't have even thought about the Zidane vine scene if Vivi-Gamer hadn't pointed it out! I can only imagine how difficult it must have been managing that scene! I always wondered why they decided to do it that way, I always thought it looked so bad. It would have been really cool as a normal cutscene. 😌

I'll give the flipbook a good look through when I've got some more time to sit down! Was there a very challenging part of this project for yourself personally and/or for the team as a whole? :)

Thanks again for sharing! I'm very interested and would look forward to using this in the future on my next play through!
Know that the flipbook is not up to date at all! Since zepilot created the flipbook, I worked for a year, updating the look of everything by combining several upscales. The most updated look is the trailer, and I'll release a longer version with all the scenes I filmed a comparison in.

The added crystal path is in fact a problem from the psx version, where the giant ball appears in front of the path, making it not really logical. This is supposed to appear like this. Same with the desert palace gates (that took a while to correct!)
The most challenging things were the last point, and probably also the dali windmill. Same, there was a small bug from the PSX version, and I got lost in layers of animation. If I did this later in the project, I might have got the experience to do it faster.
The plant brain scene, well there are a few scenes where characters are burned into the texture, and of course, that looks horrible when upscaled. So I had to find a way, and I found a program that allowed me to browse 3d models from the psx. Well I found a pose that looked close enough for garnet and photoshoped her eyes close and vines and shadows.

For the vine scene, I gave up entirely, because it also causes a crash for some people when using another video for this one. I don't know either why they didn't do a simple FMV. For me, that's the only real bad scene in the game and should be cut entirely.

I don't have the Steam version (at this stage) but if I do, I'd love to install this.

The upgrades look stunning! Some of the details in the original are very blurry so it would be great to get a cleaner look at certain areas in this. I'm the kind of person who loves to examine the backgrounds for details (things like statues and paintings).

Pontus Hultgren's music is also a marvellous bonus. He's a great guy and I love his work. I'm mostly familiar with the albums he created for KupoCon but whenever I stumble upon any of his tracks I find them to be amazing renditions.

Thanks for sharing this with us. Welcome to the forums! :argor:
You'll be served with this, AI upscaling is surprisingly good, you can see entire brick walls that were completely erased in the blurry mess they released in 2016.
Pontus Hultgren tracks are good, but I still prefer playing with the original.

Thanks for your questions and comments, I hope I answered everything?
 
It's amazing how the fans makes better remastered edition that the company themselves. Happened with XIII (with exception of the Xbox One Version), VIII and now IX.
 
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