Some cool 1.5 exclusive screenshots (**As seen on TV!**)

[Darkness]

If they redo all the backgrounds, it won't be 1.5. You have to leave the things we associate it with.

[ajrich17901]

Agreed, there is a difference between making your own version of 1.5 in retail style and changing everything that made the game so unique. My fear is they're gonna change so much that it won't even feel like 1.5 anymore..or people will lose interest. Now would be the perfect time for a demo >.>

[Graco]

While I can understand why some would like the backgrounds that are "good enough" to remain unchanged it would raise an issue with consistency; some rooms would look exceptionally polished compared to others. It would look like messy patchwork as a whole.

That said, I would rather certain things be left unchanged. I see no reason to remove the reflection of light from the floor. But if the connecting rooms don't share the similarity then I can understand why it would look out of place.

[NEOMEGA]

Speaking of good enough, I wonder if they are going to tweak with any of the existing tracks. All the ones present sound pretty finished except for the garage monkey battle theme. I cant say that its a bad theme, it just is clearly in rough instrumentation and lack of editing. The morgue theme is good, all it needs is a bit of editing on the choir voice so it fades out better each time.

[MeganGrass]

...not sure if anyone mentioned this, and forgive me it someone has, but...

A lot of these rooms (for example, the one with the security cameras pictured a few posts ago) simply don't have enough data. Specifically, it lacks any camera sprites (masks, as they're known around here), and a few other tidbits of data.

I don't know if anyone has tried lately, but creating that kind of data from scratch can be next to impossible to accomplish. Even with the proper tools, it's a matter of unnecessary trial and error that can be entirely avoided by just recreating the room. Otherwise, someone would have to butcher the prerendered background, create the camera sprites and then finally adjust many variables to get them 'just right'.

IGAS' version looks better than CAPCOM's work, anyway.

[MeatSMurderer]

If IGAS redo all of the renders it would still be 1.5. The layout will still be the same, the overall feel of the game would be the same. By that logic Skyrim with a HD texture pack isn't Skyrim anymore...
We also have no real way of knowing how far along they really are...They've tended (afaik) to release screenshots for which we have some comparison. The are exceptions of course... The point is how do we know they haven't already done 99% of the background work? Re-rendering all the vanilla backgrounds may not push release that far back at all.

[Guest]

Things are looking good IGAS, must be so hard to please the public. I for one am happy you guys are putting so many hours into this project.

[News Bot]

People seem to forget that 1.5 was incomplete. Meaning anything could've been changed at any time and much of what is already there is unfinished. The "standard" people are holding it up to is false.

[Ultimacloud123]

Couldn't have said it any better News Bot.

1.5 was very incomplete. For all we know the last build before 1.5 got scraped could of been completely different in regards to textures. Even if IGAS doesn't have it in possession they may still have more info. on it then anyone with the exception of those who are in possession of the 80% build.

[Eteponge]

People seem to forget that 1.5 was incomplete. Meaning anything could've been changed at any time and much of what is already there is unfinished. The "standard" people are holding it up to is false.

Yeah, it's just an extension of the "Pure Build" silliness.

[B.Zork]

A lot of these rooms (for example, the one with the security cameras pictured a few posts ago) simply don't have enough data. Specifically, it lacks any camera sprites (masks, as they're known around here), and a few other tidbits of data.

I don't know if anyone has tried lately, but creating that kind of data from scratch can be next to impossible to accomplish. Even with the proper tools, it's a matter of unnecessary trial and error that can be entirely avoided by just recreating the room. Otherwise, someone would have to butcher the prerendered background, create the camera sprites and then finally adjust many variables to get them 'just right'.

you are very right. adding some portion of missing data is much of challenge for existing room. a mask or layer in background can become automated and more easy to complete if carved from same output you get if first texturize and skin collision data from RDT and use this same system you use for generation of same layer data in backgrounds for new rooms, but this only possible if RDT already there. will need new collision data for room without and maybe then need recretation anyway. some room only had quick render anyway. this game is headache.

[Gemini]

It's curious they let out of their render the specular reflects on the floor and change the colors of the vigilance cameras.

Looks more like a fix than the artist forgetting about them. The original is definitively applying incorrect Phong placement, which results in those flashy reflections that shouldn't be really there to begin with; you can tell the render wasn't even barely close to the quality of other ones produced at the same time (no wonder if was utterly locked away from the list). To make it worse, that batch of renders was kept exactly the same on the Bioflames pictures due to lazyness or whatever (you can tell by the lack of masks even at that point of development).
There isn't a single reason to keep that mess and a better replacement does it justice for good, no matter if smaller details like camera material color or ambient lighting are different. I bet CAPCOM would have changed them anyway at some point, same thing that happened with the many redesigns on retail. There's no point in whining for these little changes, they are improvements after all and for the better, more so when the original material is so poor it's a punch in your left eye.

[Enigmatism415]

Fortunately for the background designer, the Archive Corridor was pretty bare-bones anyway.

Personally, I don't mind recreations when they're deemed necessary by the experts. As long as the updated backgrounds are consistent with existing media and the blueprints remain unaltered, then recreations can only improve the quality the project. As Newsbot and Gemini have said, this prototype was, by definition, never finished, and the original development team would have likely improved the backgrounds themselves if given the opportunity to do so.

That being said, I don't believe that every single 'flawed' background should be recreated from scratch. Some backgrounds are quite beautifully detailed and their flaws are small enough to reasonably ignore; most of the Laboratory backgrounds and some of the Factory backgrounds from the Trial Edition come to mind. As for the missing masks, it would seem that they are worth the trial and error if the background in question looks otherwise acceptable. The heavy precedent of recreating each background that contains anything even remotely disagreeable will ensure a seemingly eternal production period. I trust that IGAS will manage to adequately judge for themselves which backgrounds are worth the time and energy to recreate, masks or no masks.

[Rick Hunter]

you are very right. adding some portion of missing data is much of challenge for existing room. a mask or layer in background can become automated and more easy to complete if carved from same output you get if first texturize and skin collision data from RDT and use this same system you use for generation of same layer data in backgrounds for new rooms, but this only possible if RDT already there. will need new collision data for room without and maybe then need recretation anyway. some room only had quick render anyway. this game is headache.

So basically you can't directly use any of the trial edition backgrounds? You'll have to recreate all of them from scratch? The lab has complex backgrounds compared to the RPD, it must be really time consuming.

[B.Zork]

many recycled design for labs. almost possible to create automatic corridor and room creation template if desirable for such stage. if you make rendering profile, models and texture reference database for something like this, in some cases it almost easier to recreate all of a room instead of use time on doing retrofit for existing render. i personally like recycling original reference data as much as possible and when is possible. never change just to change. never add where nothing needed. not sacrifice without gain. less is more. all good sayings and ways to work by.