Doom Neural Upscale 2X [v 1.0]

[Soundblock]

On 12/6/2018 at 3:21 PM, kb1 said:

What is amazing is that fact that the data needed to upscale "accurately" simply is not there. The upscale process is a guess at best, because the data describing what's inbetween the pixels is simply non-existent. So, yes, the results are amazing!

One might postulate that if R=X, G=Y & B=Z then Doom’s original palette might provide spatial coordinates that could be in agreement with the intended artistic expression, revealable or suggested by algorithm.

[Xenocyde]

Hi guys, I'm trying to run this in GZDoom, but can't figure out how. Any suggestions, please?

[VGA]

8 hours ago, Rikimaru said:

Can someone give me a run down on how to install this?  I have the Steam versions of Doom and Doom 2.  

First you need to get a source port like GZDoom

https://zdoom.org/downloads

 

Then you use the doom.wad and doom2.wad from your steam installation. I mean you copy those wads into the GZDoom folder, leave the Steam Doom's installation unchanged.

 

So after you got GZDoom up and running and playable THEN you also download and load this mod for the improved sprites.

[Xenocyde]

9 minutes ago, VGA said:

 

 

So after you got GZDoom up and running and playable THEN you also download and load this mod for the improved sprites.

How exactly do I load this mod? Do I have to edit the ini file? What do I add there and where exactly? Is there a ZDL alternative for GZDoom that allows easy management of mods?

Edited December 13, 2018 by Xenocyde

[VGA]

17 minutes ago, Xenocyde said:

How exactly do I load this mod? Do I have to edit the ini file? What do I add there and where exactly? Is there a ZDL alternative for GZDoom that allows easy management of mods?

Just load the zip itself with GZDoom. When you click on the zip in the original post, Google Drive shows you the contents which may be confusing, just press the Download button and get the zip, a single file. I use ZDL, I think you can just drag and drop the zip on gzdoom.exe

 

There are other Doom launchers, too, ZDL is a basic and simple one. If you google you'll find at least 2-3 more.

[Xenocyde]

2 minutes ago, VGA said:

I think you can just drag and drop the zip on gzdoom.exe

Ah forgot about the drag and drop feature... also did not know we can drag and drop zip files directly, thanks for this :D

[NightFright]

What are the chances that this mod will either be made 100% compatible with the spritefix mod or its fixes getting implemented? I'd hate to lose the improvements coming with that mod and don't want to remove it from autoload.

[Scuba Steve]

I was bullshitting with Ling last week about how I would LOVE to see this mod become an almost unofficial/official "Doom Remaster" since the quality of the upscales is so ridiculously good you actually forget there is twice the detail in every texture and sprite. This would be my laundry list of "must-haves" in an 'remaster'...

• Continue playtesting and cleaning up fonts, sprites, and animations that look a bit odd after the upscale
• Merging most of the changes in the 'Minor Spritefix' mod into this project (especially those relating to proper rotations of enemies and the player and wonky animation repairs like the revenant and Spidermastermind... I'm less concerned about the things like the Lost Soul "fix")
• I'd actually replace the upscaled title/intermission screens with hires scans instead (I think Brutal Doom did something similar and it looks really clean)
• Incorporate many of the weapon animations from "Smooth Doom" into the project (with some minor tweaks that bug me)
• Use the high quality sounds from the "HQ SFX" mod that recovered many of the original sfx Doom used from sound libraries.

I'd refrain from making too many changes that make the game less "vanilla" since I think the point is to recreate using much higher fidelity for 2018. What I couldn't figure out was how it would be packaged... do you just release it as a wad that's compatible with source ports capable of high resolution sprites and minor dehacked fixes or do you use something like Chocolate Doom and write a new "vanilla-ish" executable that runs the new "Doom Remaster" but on modern hardware?

 

I dunno... but this project has tons of potential and I'd love to see it all come together.

[Hellbent]

My friend just told me about this project, even though he doesn't visit these forums. He sent me this link: https://www.techspot.com/news/77805-using-neural-networks-visually-overhaul-doom.html?fbclid=IwAR0oKdUDDaxz_K1r1huca6kzS4oJqRIAuuRN_BM6sCKGWij1x7Vft2nm0X8 Pretty cool article devoted to this very cool project!

[Gifty]

 

5 hours ago, NightFright said:

What are the chances that this mod will either be made 100% compatible with the spritefix mod or its fixes getting implemented? I'd hate to lose the improvements coming with that mod and don't want to remove it from autoload.

I feel like a lot of the fixes in that mod are offset related, and the remainder of them (baron hoof color, etc.) could be backported when we retouch the sprites by hand. And hopefully a lot of the errant miscolored pixels will have disappeared in the upscale process anyway. :P

 

Quote

I'd actually replace the upscaled title/intermission screens with hires scans instead (I think Brutal Doom did something similar and it looks really clean)

Do you know if anyone has ever pulled out a high-quality scan of the Doom 2 interpic by scanning the Master Levels limited edition poster? I keep thinking that's one of the official art assets that's never been posted in full high quality, that could look excellent in a remaster project.

Edited December 16, 2018 by Gifty

[elend]

+1 what Scuba Steve said. Yet, I would also include "Smooth Doom" since I can barely live without it anymore. Maybe as an "option" for people who really want a vanilla experience.

 

Other than that, I must admit, that I am not a fan of scanning highres intermission / title screens. The original screens are based on those artworks, yes, but changed significantly by hand and thus have their own charme. A neural upscale retains that charme.

[holaareola]

Just wanted to drop in and say that this looks utterly amazing. Great work!  Can't believe how good the results are - everything looks pretty much as if it was simply hand drawn at a higher resolution.

[DooM_RO]

Who needs 3D models when you have this and Smooth Doom??

 

These two are basically shaping up to be better than most remasters. Are these two mods going to become one at one point? Maybe also include Perkristan's excellent sound remasters as well.

Edited December 17, 2018 by DooM_RO

[VGA]

You can't have this AND Smooth Doom, unless all those resources get upscaled, too :D

[Manuel-K]

Even if all the missing frames from Smooth Doom would magically appear, I'd rather have an upscaled version that only incorporates the sprite fixes.

[Scuba Steve]

The reason I suggest weapons and not the rest of Smooth Doom is because I think the rest of the "smoothed" animations are superfluous and personal taste... but the weapon, since they are directly in front of your face, are really important to even out. The low number of frames for the weapons' animations starts becoming more noticeable because of the higher resolutions and the fact that they are right in front of you.

Changing too much starts becoming a personal preference, and I think the ultimate goal of a remaster is to keep the game as similar as possible, while increasing fidelity... incorporating much more than the weapons from Smooth Doom, I feel, ruins that aesthetic.

[ReaperAA]

I really like the smooth animations(both weapons and monsters) of smooth doom. However that being said, upscaling all of SD animations is going to be a big task. So initially implementing SD weapons only is probably a good idea. Like Scuba Steve said, they pop out much more and they should be easier to implement than the monster animations.

[Nevander]

When I play Doom these days, I only use smooth weapons. I don't care for smooth monsters or anything else alongside it usually. The weapons are far more important to be smooth.

[Bauul]

If the above mentioned changes were bundled into a single uber-mod as Steve suggests I'd love to see it done in a modular approach.  Some of the things mentioned I love (e.g. this mod and the Minor Sprite Fixing project), others I don't enjoy playing with (e.g. Smooth Weapons and especially that HQ SFX mod). 

 

I do like the idea of a curated "Hi-Def Doom Pack" but I definitely wouldn't want to see them all so tightly integrated that certain mods couldn't be switched off.

[JPL]

+1 vote for merging this excellent project with Smooth Doom and Perkrisitian's SFX remaster, though I know that is a *lot* of new sprite frames to upsample and clean up.

 

Re: smooth monster animations, my suggestion for a pure "vanilla but upscaled" compromise is to leave out the variant death animations that Smooth Doom adds. Those are by far what make the mod feel most non-vanilla.

[Teder]

and 16 frames rotate animation for all sprites ;)

[DooM_RO]

3 hours ago, Scuba Steve said:

The reason I suggest weapons and not the rest of Smooth Doom is because I think the rest of the "smoothed" animations are superfluous and personal taste... but the weapon, since they are directly in front of your face, are really important to even out. The low number of frames for the weapons' animations starts becoming more noticeable because of the higher resolutions and the fact that they are right in front of you.

Changing too much starts becoming a personal preference, and I think the ultimate goal of a remaster is to keep the game as similar as possible, while increasing fidelity... incorporating much more than the weapons from Smooth Doom, I feel, ruins that aesthetic.

 

I don't agree. I want everything to be smooth. Just an opinion. There can be plenty of options for those who want to customize their experience. I want the whole package.

Edited December 17, 2018 by DooM_RO

[DooM_RO]

4 hours ago, VGA said:

You can't have this AND Smooth Doom, unless all those resources get upscaled, too :D

 

Of course, and I would LOVE to see that happen.

[Manuel-K]

2 minutes ago, DooM_RO said:

I want everything to be smooth.

But even then it wouldn't be as smooth. If you increase the resolution you need more frames for the same level of smoothness.

[Dragonfly]

Perhaps make it modular; so the core HD version (which imho should be true to the sprite-fix mod which fixes offsets etc), then a version which is smooth, then the HQ sounds, etc, so people can pick and choose as appropriate to taste? :)

[DooM_RO]

1 minute ago, Dragonfly said:

Perhaps make it modular; so the core HD version (which imho should be true to the sprite-fix mod which fixes offsets etc), then a version which is smooth, then the HQ sounds, etc, so people can pick and choose as appropriate to taste? :)

 

Oh man that would be truly epic. It would enhance the ageless graphics of Doom to PERFECTION!!!

[DooM_RO]

5 minutes ago, Dragonfly said:

Perhaps make it modular; so the core HD version (which imho should be true to the sprite-fix mod which fixes offsets etc), then a version which is smooth, then the HQ sounds, etc, so people can pick and choose as appropriate to taste? :)

 

Maybe also give the stock maps a facelift too. Doom the way Id Did if Id had Better Hardware. Nothing too radical, a bit of visual spit and shine here and there.

[Dragonfly]

I'd consider that a separate project entirely from the sprite job, something along the lines of KDIZD but... more vanilla.

[DooM_RO]

1 minute ago, Dragonfly said:

I'd consider that a separate project entirely from the sprite job, something along the lines of KDIZD but... more vanilla.

 

Yes yes! Like that!

[NiGHTMARE]

Well, the working title for my project is Doom the Way Id Might Have Done If They Had No Engine Limitations (And Everyone Knew How To Align Textures), will that do? :)

Edited December 17, 2018 by NiGHTMARE