How Mud remodeled Resident Evil 4’s graphics from scratch

Albert Marin took very specific vacations. In Wales, he visited Raglan Castle to take photos of his stone wall. At the Palau Güell in Barcelona, ​​he took careful photos, not of the building itself, but of the marble floor and its unique veins.

His travels follow in the footsteps of Capcom, who has found pieces of real architecture in Europe Resident Evil 4, which was originally released more than 16 years ago. “I have collected a large number of sites that the developers of the game use as source material,” Marin said. The edge.

Fast forward to 2021, and Marin has been working on a remaster project for seven years now Resident Evil 4‘s vague GameCube-era graphics in sharp HD, in part using high-resolution photos he took of everything from surfaces and doors to general architecture that apparently made their way to the original game. Although Capcom released its own PC remaster in 2014, it was not Marin’s idea of ​​a true HD version of the game, and he and a small team went through the files of the game to faithfully pick up each texture. dates.

In some cases, they work with what Capcom has already done, sharpening the images with a mix of appropriate applications and custom tools. Other times, Marin makes handmade textures based on high-resolution photos or photos he took himself. If you own the Ultimate HD version of the game on Steam, you can actually test a running version of the texture pack right now. Eventually, every stone, wall, knob and knob will be redone by this small team of muds.

The supporter is funded Resident Evil 4 HD Project is almost at the finish line and should be completed later in 2021. Marin says he has collected more than 4,500 Photoshop files and put in more than 9,000 hours of work (just from his side) to get to this point.

I emailed Marin about his experience of tackling a project of this scale, and the balance between expectations of fans who are just as passionate about the game, how the team was able to deconstruct the files of the game, and more.

How exactly can you resize the footage? Do you redraw textures from the ground up, or do you have a specialized way to increase the resolution of the original without compromising its quality?

Most textures are recreated from scratch using some texture library images as a base. The original textures need to be analyzed several times to make sure that the new source images match the color, lighting and even the material.

For example, a rock structure: it may sound like an easy challenge, and if you do not have an original texture, you have to be true to it. You can not imagine how complicated it can be to find a rock surface that matches the original among the hundreds of different types of rocks that nature offers!

What kind of applications and technology are you using to achieve your goals with this project?

A talented mud and encoder, “Son of Persia”, helped us a lot: he developed most of the tools I use to edit 3D models, lights, effects, collision data and more. I found out how some files work, but I had to edit them manually in a hexadecimal editor. This means it will take several hours to edit.

“Son of Persia” took all my findings about these files and generated automated tools that would make them work manner easier. And he also deciphered how other files of the game work and what they do, and he generated the necessary tools to edit these types of files as well.

We also use Photoshop, 3ds Max and dozens of custom tools with permission from “Son of Persia” and other mudguards. These tools extract all the game files and turn them into editable data (mostly intelligible .txt files and 3D files that can be opened with most 3D editors). Once the data has been modified, it can be repackaged with the same tools. But I have to admit that sometimes I also edit a few things manually in a hexadecimal editor.

Is it intimidating to make certain adjustments in a game with such a passionate fanbase, or are you confident in your changes?

We are on the safe side, because one of the main goals of this project is to be true to the original. And here subjectivity plays an important role: low-resolution textures leave a lot to the imagination, and you know … every person’s imagination is different!

Sometimes we get complaints, even when we use exactly the same texture, but in HD resolutions, because the low-resolution textures looked like they were dirtier or muddy or something. But the HD re-creation seemed too clean in comparison, depending on what the person interpreted when he looked at the low-surface.

And then we have all the lighting and effect changes I made. Most of them are well received, but I know that my personal taste plays a role to some extent, which is why I am always open to feedback, which is why I post all the videos and comparison photos.

I changed a very things because of the feedback we receive!

What are some of the biggest and smallest changes your team has made? RE4 during this project?

The biggest change is by far a whole piece of territory being created from scratch in the Separate Ways mini-game. The transition between one room and the other made no sense. I combined the 3D structure of the connection areas and found that part of the road was missing.

The smallest changes are any small texture and small 3D enhancement done here and there. In fact, there are hundreds of small changes that I’m sure most people will never notice.

As an example, I remember some design changes in certain ammunition bowls. This computer port has an HD texture option. The HD textures are 95 percent a whitewashed and filtered version of the original [GameCube] textures, but some of the textures are redone or slightly modified.

Image: Albert Marin

In the picture (above) you can see how they changed the design of the TMP ammunition box. The “J” and the wolf drawing on the side are different. As I upgrade the texture, I take the opportunity to restore the original design of previous versions of the game.

What were your favorite sections in the game for upgrading textures for?

The castle area, by far, because I used a lot of photos I took myself during the trips I made through Spain and Wales. It was very satisfying to identify and improve all those architectural surfaces!

Which part (s) of the game required the most work to remaster?

The laboratory and factory areas on the island are probably the most time consuming in terms of texture and 3D retouching, as there are many strange and vague control panels, medical and military devices and cables. Any slight inaccuracy becomes really apparent, unlike the organic textures of the town or the old architectural surfaces in the castle.

Is your HD project strictly focused on footage, or has work been done on the sound quality and other parts of the game as well?

Unfortunately, I do not have enough sound knowledge to remaster the sound of the game. Although I fixed a few bugs, mostly related to wrong sounds playing at the wrong time or low quality sounds during the Separate Ways campaign (shipped as part of the PS2 port and all the ports that follow) .

I also resolved a few stages of collisions here and there.

Image: Albert Marin

You are currently accepting donations to help fund the money RE4 HD project, but do you plan to sell the completed project as soon as it is released?

No, it will be free. Mudding and recreating this game is also a game for me.

What kind of reception did you get from this project, and who do you hope to achieve with it?

It surpasses everything I imagined. I think some people, websites and communities have spread its existence. But still, Resident Evil has a huge fanbase, so I think it’s very understandable. A few thousand of these fanbase are interested in the remaster process of one of the best games in history.

About our target audience, I would say, all those who like the remasters for the sake of the visual pleasure; or to play their favorite games that you like, without touching any haze, or simply the people who like this kind of fan project but do not like the game at all!

Because this project is more about the journey than the final result. After all, it can not compete with any subsequent game in terms of footage, no matter how bright the textures are or how round the models look.

Image: Albert Marin

Have you worked with Capcom (or any of its current or former employees) on this project in any capacity?

No. We were in touch with them at the beginning. Someone at Capcom was interested in our project, and he took the time to send a planning document, but I think the other Capcom people in Japan were not interested because the communication ended there. In addition, there was no help to make the project.

Since Capcom recently launched the RE3 remake, it is likely that a RE4 remake is in development. Is your team worried that Capcom is finally stealing your thunder, so to speak, with an improved version of the game?

No, the remakes are really different games. Even now, the original Resident Evil 2 & 3 receive their own mods and visual enhancements (Resident Evil 2 and 3 HD Seamless Project). They are different and complementary experiences. Just think of any Hollywood remake. Most of them do no harm to the original film, and this is an alternative vision of the older title.