FF8 Triple Triad HD (New release! ~ Tripod)

[Mcindus]

FF8PC emulates the playstation GPU for most parts of the game. Thats bad news for several reasons but just to name a few it means the game has limited memory available for textures, doesn't use relative UV coordinates and does not readily accept textures in any other size or format than it was designed to. I don't think you'll have much luck, unfortunately.

Man... I saw that Aali posted on my topic and i was thinking to myself... "omgwtfbbqyay" and then I read what was said.  I almost cried. 
Why can we upscale the .TEX files that are located in the menu.fs location using Aali's driver and not upscale anything else?  Is it because of the file type (TEX vs TIM)? or is it because they are in the data folder instead of the .exe itself? 
I'm just really confused as to why we can get some things (like the menu) to work, but nothing else (like the magic tims)?  I know I'm no programmer, but it seems strange to me.

Also - if FF8 is emulating the PSX GPU, is there a way to mod that structure to allow for it?  I know I can't do it, but maybe there's a programmer who knows how to beef the emulation. 

It seems like Aali basically just said "It's RaW and SeeD and that's it, sorry guys."   I thought that FF8's structure made more sense than FF7's... but FF7 allows for modding in a way that FF8 can't?   Sigh...  Maybe one day it will be possible -- I'll never give up hope.

 

[DLPB_]

Although structures can be better, and file-systems more efficient, that doesn't have any bearing on this issue.  Games are ported differently, and internally may be very different.  In this case, it looks like luck is out.  But at least most textures can be replaced.

 

[Mcindus]

Although structures can be better, and file-systems more efficient, that doesn't have any bearing on this issue.  Games are ported differently, and internally may be very different.  In this case, it looks like luck is out.  But at least most textures can be replaced.

I see.  Very well put about the structures, etc.

The only textures that can currently be replaced for sure are the menu textures.  I think Deling might be able to do the field textures, but I'm pretty sure they have the same problems with file size once they try to re-import the textures.

 

[Aavock]

You can easily edit all menu textures, also the game won't crash re-importing 512x512px or even 1024x1024px *.tex files (by the way, there's a original 512x512px *.tim file inside the main.fs) problem are the pointers. Another option I was thinking of was to split a texture like they did for hires icon texture: 2x2 256x256px to make 3x3 256x256px (9 *.tex files instead of 4). For the in-game TT cards textures it is even trickier sadly.

 

[Allan Davidson]

Using Deling 0.7b I could easily open menu.fs and field.fs and extract the image files as PNG, altough I didn't know how to repack my changed PNG.

 

[Mcindus]

Bringing this post back to life with some updated artwork and some hope!  Check the original post for the links to the new HD backgrounds for the Triple Triad HD game.

I'm also working on upscaling the in-game text/numbers/elemental icons. Here's to progress! The Edit

At the moment, all I have to say is...

I Love You, Omzy!

 

[Shunsq]

Hi Mcindus!
After upscaling some field backgrounds i'm now investigating about the menu icons and character avatars. The coordinates for the icons are in the icon.sp1 and for the characters in face.sp2. The two files are structured differently. Face.sp2 has a 4 byte header, followed by 256*4-bytes that define the offset for each 16-bytes word pointing to the tiles in the texture.
For example you have at the beginning:
Code: [Select]

40 00 00 00  04  01 00 00 ........

The first 4 bytes are the file header. The following 4 bytes is the offset of the first tile pointer (x104). You then go down to this offset to read the 16 bytes word defining the tile.

Code: [Select]

01 00 00 00 00 00 20 36 20 00 30 00 00 00 8E 00

From left to right:
-It always start with 01 00 00 00
-00 is the destX position of the first tile  in pixels
-00 is the destY position of the first tile
-20 is the page of the texture ( 20 or 60 actually)
-36 is unknown
-20 is the sizeX of the tile ( each head is 32 by 48 pixels)
-00 is the x offset in the menu ( the texture is moved to the left)
-30 is sizeY
-00 is the y offset in the menu
-it always ends with 00 00 8E 00

You have to notice that each "texture page"(16*16-bytes ) appears twice in the file.

I've managed to change the pointers so that the game show another face.
Anyway i don't know how the game manages to use two .TEX for only one .sp2. Would it be possible to use even more ?

NOTE: For unknown reasons Deling.exe cannot compress correctly FACE.SP2 and ICON.SP1 so i use FF8 archive commander instead.

 

[Mcindus]

Hi Mcindus!
After upscaling some field backgrounds i'm now investigating about the menu icons and character avatars. The coordinates for the icons are in the icon.sp1 and for the characters in face.sp2.

I've managed to change the pointers so that the game show another face.
Anyway i don't know how the game manages to use two .TEX for only one .sp2. Would it be possible to use even more ?

NOTE: For unknown reasons Deling.exe cannot compress correctly FACE.SP2 and ICON.SP1 so i use FF8 archive commander instead.

Hi Shunsq!
You are amazing!  Thank you so much!
Between you and Omzy, I think we might have a bright future ahead of us for FF8.

Also - updated my original post with an updated Background art image - I decided to draw in some missing bits by hand and feel that it turned out really well.

 

[Aavock]

Thanks a lot Shunsq! This is exactly what I was looking for; Deling just keep the game crashing on every face.sp2 editing.

All sizeX, sizeY, posX and posY values are working fine; I've imported the 2 avatars files 200% their original size but how do I solve this ? (don't pay attention the weird texture colors)

 

[Aavock]

Hey Mcindus, your cards looks great but I was thinking in trying to get the closest look to the original card; these are not perfect but here's a quick preview of what I mean:

Also, the card selection board is loosing quite a lot of details, I've made this one using other resizing method:
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2014/24/1402861157-4x.png

I'm really excited about this project so let me know your thoughts!

 

[Mcindus]

Hey Mcindus, your cards looks great but I was thinking in trying to get the closest look to the original card; these are not perfect but here's a quick preview of what I mean:
Also, the card selection board is loosing quite a lot of details, I've made this one using other resizing method:

Any chance you can send me that board image you're resizing? I'd like to combine it with the hand-drawn elements and see if I can create an even better background!

Wow! Nice cards! Are you using the enemy model viewer to make those?  I love them.  Mine are all based off the IRL TT game and I've found out that they're a little stretched out when I put them in game, so I'm working on another edit to make the borders better and fix the aspect ratio... but in the meantime...

Check the main post for some really exciting news!

 

[Aavock]

Sounds great! This is actually the first thing I've noticed: most of the enemies are entirely displayed making the monster too small sometimes. I'm using the enemy model viewer aswell; did you manage to insert your card set in-game yet ? How does it look ?

Also, make sure to preserve the exact same main background for both board card selection and the main board (brightness and shadows are different). I'll work on the main board later manually drawing the "Triple Triad" text and cards slots but yeah original textures are ridiculously small.

4x resized board card selection:
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2014/25/1402877803-resi.png

 

[Kaldarasha]

Isn't it possible to put over an painted like filter over the images with Photoshop/Gimp? It would also look better if the cards would get a used and a slightly dirty look. Anyway it's great work so far

 

[Mcindus]

Isn't it possible to put over an painted like filter over the images with Photoshop/Gimp? It would also look better if the cards would get a used and a slightly dirty look. Anyway it's great work so far

Yes, definitely - but for the first release, since we're dealing with 4x quality, etc. I wanted to go minimal and as close to the original as possible.

 

[Kain2]

New Background:
HD Background

New Game Mat:
HD Game Mat

HD Replacement

Hello, I would like to try and make a Triple Triad game for android, and I want to ask permission to use the above materials.

If you allow me to use those materials, please tell me if and how you want to be credited.
If permission to use these graphics is not granted, I will completely understand and will not bother you any more about it.

*IF* I manage to actually make the game (I'm still a bit inexperienced at programming so it might be above my abilities), I will release it for free, since I don't really want to make any profit out of it, but only to have a decent looking Triple Triad game that I can play on my tablet.

Thank you in advance for your time.

 

[Kaldarasha]

I will release it for free, since I don't really want to make any profit out of it, but only to have a decent looking Triple Triad game that I can play on my tablet.

You won't have any choice in this matter either. The game is part of FFVIII so it's Square Enix intellectual property. Even if it would be on a grey zone, I guess the letter you would get from the SE layer would convince to abdomen the project.
But there should be no problem if you make it for free.

By the way, what is the marketing department actually doing by Square. They publish a bunch of stupid game ideas for mobiles, but to create and publish a triple traid game for free, with the 'option' to buy some booster packs, is beyond there horizon? But even if they would do it, they would propably demand an abnormal high price for a simple booster pack and would destroy the game with it.

 

[Mcindus]

Hello, I would like to try and make a Triple Triad game for android, and I want to ask permission to use the above materials.

If you allow me to use those materials, please tell me if and how you want to be credited.
If permission to use these graphics is not granted, I will completely understand and will not bother you any more about it.

*IF* I manage to actually make the game (I'm still a bit inexperienced at programming so it might be above my abilities), I will release it for free, since I don't really want to make any profit out of it, but only to have a decent looking Triple Triad game that I can play on my tablet.

Thank you in advance for your time.

You can use my art on these conditions:

1. You release this app as 100% Freeware
2. You find a way to link to the main post of this thread in your app. (button/ad/etc)
3. You also credit the art to MCINDUS at forums.qhimm.com in your credits area.

Permission is granted only if all points above are maintained through the life of your app.

-MCINDUS-

 

[Kain2]

You can use my art on these conditions:

1. You release this app as 100% Freeware
2. You find a way to link to the main post of this thread in your app. (button/ad/etc)
3. You also credit the art to MCINDUS at forums.qhimm.com in your credits area.

Permission is granted only if all points above are maintained through the life of your app.

-MCINDUS-

Thank you very much for your answer.

IF I actually manage to make the game, I will see that all of these conditions will be met. You will also be asked again for approval just before release.

I have seen a few Triple Triad games in the Android store with paid versions, so I just wanted to make clear from the start that I do not intend to make any profit at all out of it. All I want is a decent Triple Triad game for my Android devices, and since the existing ones do not meet my expectations as a player, I just want to try and make one myself.

As I said, though, I'm still quite inexperienced at programming, so I might fail spectacularly and never finish this project. But I will still try.

Again, thank you very much.

 

[Mcindus]

Thank you very much for your answer.

IF I actually manage to make the game, I will see that all of these conditions will be met. You will also be asked again for approval just before release.

No problem! Glad you have a goal in mind.  also - I would like you to link to the original Tripod post when you do, not this one.

I'm glad people out there are enjoying my work!