Movie upgrades using AI

I started messing with the AI software to see what it would be like to upgrade Swat 3's movies to higher resolution.  Shockingly it seems to work really well but with just a slight increase in contrast.

In my first test I upgraded the opening movie "swat_intro.avi" from the original 640x480 resolution.

I upgraded them to the following resolutions:

1280x960
2560x1920

Right now the idea is to use the AI to make larger than needed resolutions but then shrink it down to its final dimensions.

I kept them at the original 15 fps but when they get "AI upgraded" they get exported as MP4 files.   With this test I will use a second app to shrink the movies back down to their final size and back into the proper .AVI format that Swat 3 uses.

The final method all depends on how well the second app performs so that there aren't any imperfections added.



Two Important Decisions:

If this process does work then there are two decisions that need to be made.

1) The first question is what is the best final resolution?   The game is designed with 800x600 in mind as a default.   However, most of us are probably 1920x1080 gamers (the target of the Last Resort mod really is this resolution).

Perhaps I could have different resolutions of the movies and let people choose what they want to install.

Examples of typical 4:3 original video resolutions:
640×480, 800×600, 960×720, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1440×1080, 1600×1200, 1856×1392, 1920×1440

Examples of typical 16:9 widescreen resolutions:
1024×576, 1152×648, 1280×720, 1366×768, 1600×900, 1920×1080, 2560×1440

If you look at the Last Resort mod's 2D menu resolutions that are included now the obvious sizes for the movies would be 800x600, 1366x768, and/or 1920x1080.


2) The second question is if we release a widescreen-friendly version such as 1920x1080 should the videos be stretched to fit or should they have the black bars on the sides?
 

I'd say just have movies for the resolutions that Last Resort supporting in the 2D menus, this would also prevent like display flickering when it switches between resolutions as for stretching its probably better to the black bar route?

Ya I totally agree the more I noodle this.

The good thing is most of the movies don't need an upgrade since they play in a window in the game for the education part.

Only the 2 opening videos, the 2 mission defeat videos, and the 2 career result videos would need upgrading (thus keeping the Last Resort installer file relatively small)

Update:  I am dealing with issues since different software packages don't convert to the format we need.   I may need a 3rd app just to get to the proper .AVI format.

Cupscale exports to: MP4 format (AI upgrading)
Handbrake exports to: MP4 or MKV format (Adds borders and downsizes video)
TEncoder exports to: .AVI format (final Swat 3 friendly format)

Of course, limiting the number of "passes" is the best option in this process to introduce the least amount of noise.   I am limited by using open source free apps though.

Will keep experimenting to find the best combo.  Ideally, just 2 passes with apps are the goal.

 

I'll see what I can do with Topaz AI

Thanks. I am pretty busy so would love to see how good Topaz AI does.

The format that I am thinking about is this:

This would maximize the compatibility for 7/8/10/11 Windows versions.

Every movie would have to be done in that format.  If you can't convert with Topaz that is fine because we can use a third party app later.


The following movies would need the larger resolution upgrade:

The new default for these 6 movies should be 800x600 but I am also thinking of making custom movie hacks for 1366x768 and 1920x1080 (the movies would have black bars on the sides to keep the proper aspect ratio)

I thought there was one more movie that gets triggered by a failed mission but I can't recall it now.  Will look it up later today.

Update:  Maybe I am wrong.   Do both Whitman Airport and Civil Unrest Abandoned trigger the same plane.avi?  Maybe that is what I am thinking about?

Woops, the plane in Abandoned is a piece of geometry that is to help trigger the Matrix easter egg. Totally forgot.

I swear there was another mission that triggered a mission failure video (airplane of some kind?). I am so senile.