Some tips for beginners!

[Panda_Venom]

I don't want to offend anyone, I'm very happy that so many people have started making HD packages, but unfortunately I see that in many cases the quality is quite poor. Again, I don't want to point at anyone, I just want to help with some tips.

- First of all, quality over quantity! If a package is completed in one day, then you are doing something wrong or you are just lazy. There are projects that I work on for weeks or months. Everyone wants quick results, but in most cases this only brings poor results.

- Delete unnecessary or bad textures! You have to check each dump to see if it can be used! It's unnecessary to pour everything into an upscaler app, it's just a waste of time and space.

- Sort the textures into folders! Use subfolders! After that, debugging will be much easier and looks more professional.

- Keep testing! Check the textures to see if they display correctly, especially the alpha channel!

- Use an image editor (like GIMP or Photoshop), especially for low resolution textures and text.

- Don't be afraid to ask for help! Ask your friends to test your HD pack! Ask others for their opinions! As I see, most people want the credit for themselves, sometimes in a very selfish way, but teamwork always brings better results! Especially for larger projects.

- Experiment! Use multiple approaches for best results. Look for alternative models. Don't use one model for everything! It is worth returning to old projects from time to time, they can always be improved over time.

- If you want to use someone else's dumps or upscaled assets, no problem, just ask for permission! This is important! Don't steal other people's work!

- If you want to make money from the HD packages, then you are doing something very wrong and illegal. Ask for support, but don't make this your only goal!

I know that most of these are completely obvious to many, but I still see that people forget about them in many cases. I really didn't want to offend or bully anyone with this, if you feel that you don't need these advices, then there is no problem, do as you wish. The point is to have fun while making HD packs!
And sorry for the poor grammar, English is not my first language!

 

[GengarsGhostlyGiggles]

I've got some code that automatically converts textures dumped in a given folder, is there any way to have emulator reload textures when hd ones are found on the fly ?
That way you could have ai based hd textures as you play the game

 

[SomberShroud]

I've got some code that automatically converts textures dumped in a given folder, is there any way to have emulator reload textures when hd ones are found on the fly ?
That way you could have ai based hd textures as you play the game

I'd imagine as you're dumping the textures, you would have every new file get added to a queue for the upscaler to add to replacements folder. check the load textures in emulator settings since you can have custom textures and still dump at the same time.

Post automatically merged: Nov 21, 2023

I don't want to offend anyone, I'm very happy that so many people have started making HD packages, but unfortunately I see that in many cases the quality is quite poor. Again, I don't want to point at anyone, I just want to help with some tips.

- First of all, quality over quantity! If a package is completed in one day, then you are doing something wrong or you are just lazy. There are projects that I work on for weeks or months. Everyone wants quick results, but in most cases this only brings poor results.

- Delete unnecessary or bad textures! You have to check each dump to see if it can be used! It's unnecessary to pour everything into an upscaler app, it's just a waste of time and space.

- Sort the textures into folders! Use subfolders! After that, debugging will be much easier and looks more professional.

- Keep testing! Check the textures to see if they display correctly, especially the alpha channel!

- Use an image editor (like GIMP or Photoshop), especially for low resolution textures and text.

- Don't be afraid to ask for help! Ask your friends to test your HD pack! Ask others for their opinions! As I see, most people want the credit for themselves, sometimes in a very selfish way, but teamwork always brings better results! Especially for larger projects.

- Experiment! Use multiple approaches for best results. Look for alternative models. Don't use one model for everything! It is worth returning to old projects from time to time, they can always be improved over time.

- If you want to use someone else's dumps or upscaled assets, no problem, just ask for permission! This is important! Don't steal other people's work!

- If you want to make money from the HD packages, then you are doing something very wrong and illegal. Ask for support, but don't make this your only goal!

I know that most of these are completely obvious to many, but I still see that people forget about them in many cases. I really didn't want to offend or bully anyone with this, if you feel that you don't need these advices, then there is no problem, do as you wish. The point is to have fun while making HD packs!
And sorry for the poor grammar, English is not my first language!

I'm glad someone is upping the ante on the quality around here. I've been labeling my Packs in a "Tiered" system to make it obvious the level of quality I'm producing. I'm trying to get all the games I want an HD pack for first with a silver tier (4xHDCube) which does a really good job at being lazy and have dropped ESRGAN and CUGAN, at least as a single upscaler option. In my experience I've only had 2 games mess up badly with alpha channels, 1 game I don't really care for that much, the other I plan on making a gold tier upscale. I get the want for higher quality and it's admirable but keep in mind, this is a hobby for most of us and a lot of us don't have the time to spend weeks on a project. I'm pretty satisfied with a Silver Tier upscale for most of my games. You make amazing gold-tier upscales though and I appreciate it.

 

[GengarsGhostlyGiggles]

I'd imagine as you're dumping the textures, you would have every new file get added to a queue for the upscaler to add to replacements folder. check the load textures in emulator settings since you can have custom textures and still dump at the same time.

Post automatically merged: Nov 21, 2023

I'm glad someone is upping the ante on the quality around here. I've been labeling my Packs in a "Tiered" system to make it obvious the level of quality I'm producing. I'm trying to get all the games I want an HD pack for first with a silver tier (4xHDCube) which does a really good job at being lazy and have dropped ESRGAN and CUGAN, at least as a single upscaler option. In my experience I've only had 2 games mess up badly with alpha channels, 1 game I don't really care for that much, the other I plan on making a gold tier upscale. I get the want for higher quality and it's admirable but keep in mind, this is a hobby for most of us and a lot of us don't have the time to spend weeks on a project. I'm pretty satisfied with a Silver Tier upscale for most of my games. You make amazing gold-tier upscales though and I appreciate it.

yea, i've got everything setup in python and api ai for upscaling (https://pythonhosted.org/watchdog/ is great for windows directory monitoring). but the emulator doesn't seem to reload textures dynamically when I'm playing.

Ideally the process would be, playing a game, dumping textures, api converts textures, code writes to hd texture directory, and game uses new textures when found dynamically.

 

[SomberShroud]

yea, i've got everything setup in python and api ai for upscaling (https://pythonhosted.org/watchdog/ is great for windows directory monitoring). but the emulator doesn't seem to reload textures dynamically when I'm playing.

Ideally the process would be, playing a game, dumping textures, api converts textures, code writes to hd texture directory, and game uses new textures when found dynamically.

have you tried binding the texture replacements hotkey and manually enabling and disabling it every so often?

 

[SadOrigami]

I've got some code that automatically converts textures dumped in a given folder, is there any way to have emulator reload textures when hd ones are found on the fly ?
That way you could have ai based hd textures as you play the game

You can just bind a key to the reload textures option and then create a macro in order to refresh the textures every couple of seconds/minutes.

Anyway, that seems like a terrible idea. AI can't upscale game textures correctly yet, and if a single model is used you'll end up with ugly and messy textures unless you use an specific model made for an specific type of game, but even then...

 

[SomberShroud]

You can just bind a key to the reload textures option and then create a macro in order to refresh the textures every couple of seconds/minutes.

Anyway, that seems like a terrible idea. AI can't upscale game textures correctly yet, and if a single model is used you'll end up with ugly and messy textures unless you use an specific model made for an specific type of game, but even then...

I think 4xHDCube does a fantastic job without any support. only on rare occasions does it mess up.

 

[GengarsGhostlyGiggles]

Good idea I'll try that this weekend!

have you tried binding the texture replacements hotkey and manually enabling and disabling it every so often?

Good idea I'll try that this weekend!

You can just bind a key to the reload textures option and then create a macro in order to refresh the textures every couple of seconds/minutes.

Anyway, that seems like a terrible idea. AI can't upscale game textures correctly yet, and if a single model is used you'll end up with ugly and messy textures unless you use an specific model made for an specific type of game, but even then...

AI is supremely advanced now.
I like ersgan, but I've also been testing out stable diffusions based reimagining upscaling with controlnet : . My results have been almost as good as this reddit example.
Stable Diffusion with controlnet takes a lot of gpu's to run in real time tho

 

[xRainmakerRSx]

Boa ideia, vou tentar isso neste fim de semana!

Boa ideia, vou tentar isso neste fim de semana!

A IA está extremamente avançada agora.
Eu gosto de ersgan, mas também tenho testado difusões estáveis baseadas em reimaginação de upscaling com controlnet: . Meus resultados foram quase tão bons quanto este exemplo do Reddit.
Difusão estável com controlnet requer muitos GPUs para rodar em tempo real

Incrível! Isso realmente é um absurdo! Lindo! Que sonho ver nossos queridos jogos de luta com sprites em alta definição assim! Basicamente é como imaginamos no passado, como realmente deveria ser!

 

[Raed_555]

I don't want to offend anyone, I'm very happy that so many people have started making HD packages, but unfortunately I see that in many cases the quality is quite poor. Again, I don't want to point at anyone, I just want to help with some tips.

- First of all, quality over quantity! If a package is completed in one day, then you are doing something wrong or you are just lazy. There are projects that I work on for weeks or months. Everyone wants quick results, but in most cases this only brings poor results.

- Delete unnecessary or bad textures! You have to check each dump to see if it can be used! It's unnecessary to pour everything into an upscaler app, it's just a waste of time and space.

- Sort the textures into folders! Use subfolders! After that, debugging will be much easier and looks more professional.

- Keep testing! Check the textures to see if they display correctly, especially the alpha channel!

- Use an image editor (like GIMP or Photoshop), especially for low resolution textures and text.

- Don't be afraid to ask for help! Ask your friends to test your HD pack! Ask others for their opinions! As I see, most people want the credit for themselves, sometimes in a very selfish way, but teamwork always brings better results! Especially for larger projects.

- Experiment! Use multiple approaches for best results. Look for alternative models. Don't use one model for everything! It is worth returning to old projects from time to time, they can always be improved over time.

- If you want to use someone else's dumps or upscaled assets, no problem, just ask for permission! This is important! Don't steal other people's work!

- If you want to make money from the HD packages, then you are doing something very wrong and illegal. Ask for support, but don't make this your only goal!

I know that most of these are completely obvious to many, but I still see that people forget about them in many cases. I really didn't want to offend or bully anyone with this, if you feel that you don't need these advices, then there is no problem, do as you wish. The point is to have fun while making HD packs!
And sorry for the poor grammar, English is not my first language!

thanks for tips Panda, but I have a question about if we can compress textures and how ?

 

[Panda_Venom]

thanks for tips Panda, but I have a question about if we can compress textures and how ?

Easiest method: use this https://vvvv.org/contribution/dds-converter
For most textures use DXT5 (clamp / alpha). For UI assets, icons, small 2D images use RGBA.

 

[Plaidray]

How to change the transparency from original png dumps?

 

[SomberShroud]

Easiest method: use this https://vvvv.org/contribution/dds-converter
For most textures use DXT5 (clamp / alpha). For UI assets, icons, small 2D images use RGBA.

I read on the gamecube upscaling wiki from a member saying BC7 is the best compression for DDS and BC5 is outdated and shouldn't be used so I assume the same goes for DXT5 (even ChaiNNer calls the DXT5 option legacy).

 

[Panda_Venom]

I read on the gamecube upscaling wiki from a member saying BC7 is the best compression for DDS and BC5 is outdated and shouldn't be used so I assume the same goes for DXT5 (even ChaiNNer calls the DXT5 option legacy).

As I said, the "easiest method". Yes, BC7 is better, and ChaiNNer can convert textures to BC7, BUT many android/mobil emulators don't support BC7 yet.
DXT5 perfectly fine for most textures.
BC7 has better quality in higher resolution (4K or more), but has compatibilty issues sometimes.
For 2D assets, like menu/icons/etc the best choice is the uncompressed RGBA.

 

[ps2_love]

@Panda_Venom What programs do you use to batch convert to bc7 if you can guide me and what settings to use?

 

[SomberShroud]

@Panda_Venom What programs do you use to batch convert to bc7 if you can guide me and what settings to use?

You can use Custom Texture Tool PS Launcher from the Gamecube upscale wiki as a standalone tool for batch converting PNG's to DDS BC7 but Panda would recommend using the DXT5 compression instead for mobile EMU compatibility.