I've Created a WC4 HD Video Pack

Darkmage said:
Um... we have a way to get the videos working in Wing Commander 3. Simply Hack the Kilrathi Saga/Windows 95 Executable for Wing Commander 3 using HCL's .EXE hacking method, and call an external video player rather than the WC3 internal one. We can also release a Windows 95 upgrade pack for WC3 DOS. We just need permission from EA to distribute the patch files. It'll be ~200MB once you include the wc3music.tre files from each of the 4 CDs. I've already made a Windows 95 upgrade from Kilrathi Saga/WC3 Dos.You can even install/run it all from a hard drive and don't need to burn 4 cds.
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SEEING how EA its getting on the remaster side of late, mainly because of Jim vessela, it wouldn't be a bad idea.
 
Just a quick post, folks.

I've been tinkering with my workflow for remastering the WC3 PSX footage. I've introduced a new AI method for interpolating the frame rate from 15fps to 30fps (which is far more accurate than the previous method), tweaked the AI upscale model and modified my AVIsynth code. So here's another comparison video. I think this bodes well for a WC3 HD Pack V2.0 :)

 
ODVS said:
Just a quick post, folks.

I've been tinkering with my workflow for remastering the WC3 PSX footage. I've introduced a new AI method for interpolating the frame rate from 15fps to 30fps (which is far more accurate than the previous method), tweaked the AI upscale model and modified my AVIsynth code. So here's another comparison video. I think this bodes well for a WC3 HD Pack V2.0 :)

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The results are promising. One thing though, at least with the low resolution the separation beween the CG backgrounds and the live action doesn't stand out so much. I feel like there must be some kind of lighting filter that can add a subtle blend to the edges where there's motion over a static background.
 
Hi all,

Update time - here's:

WC4 HD Pack V4.0
And because I love and miss my European neighbours:

WCIV HD Pack V4.0 German
WCIV HD Pack V4.0 French
Updates to this pack include:
  • New AI model retains/generates finer detail in faces/skin/hair/uniforms etc.
  • Better detail recreation in CGI scenes
  • Audio restored in the Lexington room transition scenes (props to @AD - I got the audio from his Holovids videos)
  • Entirely new AI method to fix low frame-rate sequences (Seether blowing up the Orlando Depot and approaching Blair for the final confrontation)
  • Overall higher quality video compression - I used a far slower process, but it reduced the amount of compression artefacts/image fidelity loss overall
I don't take the time to watch all four hours(!) of the footage back after rendering every version of the pack - so if any Wingnuts out there notice any glitches or oddities in the footage, please let me know and I'll address them and release patches. For example, I know there are a couple of videos that have wonky aspect ratios in the original DVD files (black bars to the left and right, etc.) but I don't know which ones they are without watching through EVERYTHING. If you spot anything like that, just let me know and I'll get it remedied :^)

And of course, here are some new comparison videos:



 
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ODVS said:
Well, I know I said I wasn't going to do this since there's currently no way to play the videos in-game, but:

Here's WCIII HD Pack V1.0
Since @AD and @EmuMusicFan helped me get hold of and extract the PSX videos, I figured I might as well process the lot of them and make them available. If anyone feels inspired to mod the Kilrathi Saga EXE to play these back in-game, that would be wonderful 🙂

I'm afraid this pack is a whopper - there's around twice as much FMV in WCIII as in WCIV - and although the quality is lower because of the source material, once it's upscaled it's still a shed-load of 1080p videos - so this lot clocks in at around 14GB!

If you'd like to download and have a watch, feel free. It's only V1.0, so I'm sure I'll figure out improvements down the line. Once again, though, it's a low priority until we have a method to play the files in-game.
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Disadvantages: pixelated & very sharp :(
 
EG1918 said:
Disadvantages: pixelated & very sharp :(
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Don't worry, @EG1918, I'm working on that. This really was a rush job first-pass, just to get it out there because people kept asking.

I've already started on an improved pack. The quality is never going to be as high as the WCIV remaster because the source material is so low quality, but it's an improvement over this first pass. I consider this a background project, though, until we have a method to play the videos in-game.
 
I've been lurking around for years, but I just had to sign because this stuff just gets better and better with each subsequent release. These movie packs are simply awesometacular and it is so impactful seeing the games that influenced my childhood shining in new splendor. :)

ShadowArm said:
Someone needs to post this thread and the wc3 videos on the Command and Conquer reddit page
Jimmy would be REALLY interested in this.
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I actually pinged Jim the other day and based on what he wrote he is actively following the work that is happening in the Wing Commander community. Feel free to reach out to him. He would be more than happy to connect with anyone in the WC community.
 
Tolwyn said:
I've been lurking around for years, but I just had to sign because this stuff just gets better and better with each subsequent release. These movie packs are simply awesometacular and it is so impactful seeing the games that influenced my childhood shining in new splendor. :)
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Thanks, @Tolwyn 😄
 
Another quick update on my new WC3 remaster workflow, which I continue to tweak to try to squeeze as much visual fidelity as possible out of the PSX source material.

I picked this scene because it has plenty of long, mid and short-range shots. A lot of the scenes in WC3 are mostly shot-reverse-shot dialogue sequences (most likely a limitation at the time of shooting with virtual sets).

The process continues to improve :)

 
Quick question to the latest WC4 update. It is labeled now as v4.0. The links to the files still say v3.0.1. Wrong files or just wrong naming?
 
Question about the French dub - I only see 256 files vs 278 for English. I think the previous pack had 278 for French, are there some that were missed?
 
Wedge009 said:
Question about the French dub - I only see 256 files vs 278 for English. I think the previous pack had 278 for French, are there some that were missed?
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Ah, it'll be the "walking about the Lexington" files that are missing. Since they don't have audio by default on the DVD version, they get missed out in the remuxing phase and I have to add them back in manually. I'll get them added in to the zips and send replacements over to @ChrisReid. Thanks for the catch, @Wedge009

EDIT

Yep, it was those and a few others that didn't have French-specific audio (jump sequences and other clip with no dialogue etc.). Only the second zip will need replacing. I'll get that packaged up and sent to Chris now
 
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