Endless Ocean Blue World HD Project v2.0 (May 28, 2019)

[Matrix2525]

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Information (Updated May 28, 2019)

With my recent foray back into texture work, and starting a couple other projects, I knew I wanted to revisit this project as well, converting the pack into a resource pack for the most recent versions of Dolphin, as well as releasing a substantial update.  So, here we are, Endless Ocean Blue World HD Project v2.0, with almost three thousand reworked and upscaled textures.  This update is mostly an AI upscaling pass on most of the environment, wildlife, and character textures in the game, using a combination of Topaz Gigapixel, ESRGAN, and some personal touches.  To be fair, many of the original textures in the game look pretty good, and therefore results vary greatly from textures looking just a little sharper, to other textures looking much better than the originals.  The largest difference can be seen in the various wildlife textures, as some creatures have pretty low resolution source images.  Overall, I'm pleased with the results, and this a good intermediary step before possibly doing some more retextures "by hand" for wildlife, etc.  The texture pack now includes "most" textures in the game.  I'm using my own save file and have not unlocked and seen everything, so there are various textures missing, including some random moon phases, certain unlockable diving gear, and currently the largest omission, all of the Cavern of the Gods environment textures.  Also, the game uses a lot of decently large textures (especially compared to my recent Gamecube projects), so the texture pack is quite large, now, at a whopping 3.81 GB... sorry about that, heh.  Enjoy!

Previous Updates:

Spoiler: (Show Spoiler)

June 08, 2018
After a bit over half a year, I found some time to return Blue World, having fun playing the game, and adding several new textures.  At this point, the majority of the game's text and UI has been either redrawn or upscaled.  I have also redrawn and upscaled some other choice textures, including the Nineball Island table area, which serves as a hub menu for the player, and is seen up-close.  I've learned a lot retexturing this game and I think I've managed to improve my artistic abilities at least a little.  Moving forward, if I release any future updates, I think I'll be focusing on character, marine life, and other diving gear textures next.  Until then, enjoy the texture pack as it is now!


Original Intro:
I was recently reminded of this game when I another HD Texture Project for it from earlier in the year get bumped back to the top of the forums last month.  It's unfortunate that the other project didn't seem to pan out, but I've had some free time recently and figured I would try my hand at reworking some of the game's textures.  Spending time with the game again also reminded me of just how much fun it is.  Scuba diving games are about as niche as they come, and I believe the developer, Arika, has probably made the most within the last two decades (starting with Everblue 1 and 2 on the PS2, and then Endless Ocean and EO: Blue World on the Wii).  I happen to be a recreational diver, myself, and I think the Endless Ocean games do a pretty good job of capturing the overall atmosphere and wonder of diving, even with the hardware and budget limitations.  It only seems fair to give the game a bit of a face-lift to maybe help it stay relevent a little longer.

Therefore, I would like to present the Endless Ocean: Blue World HD Project to anyone interested in the game.  The texture pack is pretty small, with only 194 textures reworked.  Most of my efforts have gone into improving the game's UI. I have completely redrawn, and upscaled the majority of the UI.  Past that, I have reworked some of the main game textures as well.  I have retextured all of the standard diving fins, not including some special fins.  I have also retextured a few key elements on the island that acts as your home base in the game, and four fish (out of hundreds...).

My current stretch of free time is ending, and as such, I don't know if I will have more time to work on it and post updates.  Therefore, this texture pack is provided "as is".  If any other members of the community would ever like to incorporate elements of this project into their own, I give my permission, provided I am credited for any of my work used.  Enjoy!

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Screenshots

View the full album [color=#3399ff]Here[/color]

Spoiler: (Show Spoiler)

Before / After
 

 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Endless Ocean: Blue World HD Project Downloads

Important: This texture pack requires a [color=#3399ff]Development Version[/color] of Dolphin to work correctly.


Version 2.0 (05/28/2019)

Resource Pack Link: Download
*NOTE: Texture pack is now a resource pack and requires a recent development version of Dolphin to work correctly.  Installation instructions are below.

Older Versions
Link: [color=#3399ff]Folder[/color]

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Changelog

Version 2.0 (5/28/2019)


- 2891 textures redrawn and upscaled
- Most environment textures upscaled (excluding Cavern of the Gods)
- Most effects upscaled and cleaned (water caustics, surface animations, waves, detritus, etc)
- Most wildlife upscaled and redrawn
- Most diving gear redrawn and upscaled
 - inc: BCD vests, gloves, boots, tanks, fins, masks, special wetsuits (f), bathing suits (f)
- Most characters upscaled and redrawn
 - inc: Oceana, Jean-Eric, Hayako, GG, Nancy, FF, Mathilda, the dog
- Various UI textures redrawn

Previous Changelogs

Spoiler: (Show Spoiler)

Version 1.2.1 (06/09/2018)


- Changed Orange Juice Carton Logos to something not potentially copywright infringing (just to be safe...)

Version 1.2 (06/08/2018)
- 285 Textures Redrawn and Upscaled
- Added new Nineball Island Table area textures
- Redrawn Radio, Table, and table clutter (map,
    water bottle, orange juice carton, glass,
    plate, sandwich, beer can)

Version 1.1 (05/28/2018)
- 282 Textures Redrawn and Upscaled
- ~98% of the UI is complete (I think... I keep finding more elements)
- Fixed some texture seams
- Fixed some font errors (cut off letters, spacing)
- All Title Icons (Achievements) redrawn
- Upscaled Aquarium exhibit icons
- Upscaled new game player portraits
- Upscaled some job client portraits
- Complete title and post-game credits
- new fish retextured (Luna Lionfish)

Version 1.0 (11/27/2017)
- Initial Release
- 192 Textures Redrawn and Upscaled
- ~95% of the UI is complete
- All regular scuba fins retextured, minus special fins
- a few select fish retextured (Yellow Tang, Emperor Angelfish, Bicolor Parrotfish, Humphead Wrasse)
- a few select environment textures redone (Nineball Island Table Menu)

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Installation

1. Copy the .zip archive into "'Username'\Documents\Dolphin Emulator\ResourcePacks"
2. In Dolphin, go to "Tools -> Resource Pack Manager"
3. Highlight "Endless Ocean Blue World HD Project" in the list and click "Install" on the right hand side.
4. When the resource pack title turns green, click "Okay" to exit the resource pack manager.
5. Enable custom textures in Dolphin by going to:

  Graphics Settings -> Advanced Tab -> Check Load Custom Textures
6. Start the game and enjoy!

Alternatively, you can still use the resource pack with older versions of Dolphin:
1. Extract the archive to a convenient location
2. Copy the entire "R4E" folder into "'Username'\Documents\Dolphin Emulator\Load\Textures\"
3. Enable custom textures in Dolphin
  Open Dolphin -> Graphics Settings -> Advanced Tab -> Check Load Custom Textures
4. Start the game and enjoy!

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Fun Facts

In my search to find high resolution assets to assist with retexturing via Google, I discovered Arika apparently had the same idea when creating some of the original textures for the game.  I have so far come across three instances where I have found the original, higher resolution artwork that the game artists' "apropriated" and edited and scaled for use in the game.  This includes the world globe texture, which had much of the clouds erased, and the landmasses selected out, with a light blue gradient used to fill in the ocean; an air mail envelope on the table at nineball island that serves as a menu hub; and the texture for the game's bicolor parrotfish, taken from a reasonably high resolution photo.
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[MayImilae]

*waves her magic moderator wand*

Moved to Custom Texture Projects!

[Matrix2525]

Thanks for the quick move! I had something come up right after posting and didn't get a chance to notify anyone yet, heh.

[InquisitionImplied]

I like it! A couple of the fonts could be changed to fit the originals, but it's great it got a HUD pack!

[TheRealHP]

Hey man, I am the creator of the other texture pack. How about we work together? Let me know if youre interested and how to contact you privately

[Mr. Parrot]

Yeah, one of my favorite games on the wii is getting a texture update!

[Matrix2525]

Even if it's just a little, it's nice to see some activity in one of my texture threads!  I'm back! ...or at least dropping in with an update for Endless Ocean Blue World.  I've had a little free time for the spring/summer this year so far, and got back to playing some Endless Ocean, which in turn made me feel like working on some more textures for the game.  I haven't posted in quite a few months, but I did notice that I can't seem to edit any of my previous posts anymore, including the initial post in this thread, so for the time being, I'll put all the new stuff right here.  First off, here's a screenshot comparison showing off the new luna lionfish texture and redrawn photo magazines:

Spoiler: (Show Spoiler)

Here's the Download:
[color=#3399ff]Version 1.1 (05/28/2018)[/color]
DDS Link: [color=#3399ff]Download[/color]
*DDS Pack uses BC7 Compression, and therefore will not work with older revisions of Dolphin.  It also requires a DirectX11+ capable video card.

PNG Link: [color=#3399ff]Download[/color]
*Provided for compatibility

[color=#3399ff]Older Versions[/color]
Folder: [color=#3399ff]Link[/color]

And the changelog:

Spoiler: (Show Spoiler)

Version 1.1 (05/28/2018)
- 282 Textures Redrawn and Upscaled
- ~98% of the UI is complete (I think... I keep finding more elements)
- Fixed some texture seams
- Fixed some font errors (cut off letters, spacing)
- All Title Icons (Achievements) redrawn
- Upscaled Aquarium exhibit icons
- Upscaled new game player portraits
- Upscaled some job client portraits
- Complete title and post-game credits
- new fish retextured (Luna Lionfish)

So, I've managed to re-texture about 98% of the game's UI now, a few world textures, including wildlife, and some other odds and ends, bringing the total up to 282 textures.  While I would like to keep adding more textures, most of them will be more complicated now, minus any UI elements I've managed to miss, and therefore more time consuming to work on.  Assuming real life doesn't get in the way, I would like to maybe be able to post another update or two before another six months passes, but we'll see, haha!  Also, as niche as this game may be, anyone looking for a relaxing game to zone out with a bit during the summer should give it a try.  Even in 2018, I still think it's one of the better diving games out there.

@TheRealHP: Thanks for the interest and the outreach, but this is a pretty intermittent project for me.  I'm not looking to actively collaborate on any projects right now, since I don't know how much time I'll have to spend on them.  However, if you would like to edit or incorporate my textures into your own work, you have my permission to do so, provided you credit me for the donated textures.

[PeanutReaper486]

HUD/UI facelifts are the best, huge props on the project.

[Matrix2525]

It may be small, but here's another pack update! I've been working on a few of the table-area textures from Nineball Island. This is basically the in-game menu hub for the player, and zooms in on the table to access all of the menus. So, I wanted to make sure it looked nice. Here's a before and after comparison:

Spoiler: (Show Spoiler)

Here's the Download:
[color=#3399ff]Version 1.2 (06/08/2018)[/color]
DDS Link: [color=#3399ff]Download[/color]
*DDS Pack uses BC7 Compression, and therefore will not work with older revisions of Dolphin. It also requires a DirectX11+ capable video card.

PNG Link: [color=#3399ff]Download[/color]
*Provided for compatibility

[color=#3399ff]Older Versions[/color]
PNG Link: [color=#3399ff]Folder[/color]

The full changelog is available in the topic post. Enjoy!

[Kolano]

(06-09-2018, 08:10 AM)Matrix2525 Wrote: It may be small, but here's another pack update!  I've been working on a few of the table-area textures from Nineball Island.  This is basically the in-game menu hub for the player, and zooms in on the table to access all of the menus.  So, I wanted to make sure it looked nice.  Here's a before and after comparison:

Spoiler: (Show Spoiler)

Here's the Download:
[color=#3399ff]Version 1.2 (06/08/2018)[/color]
DDS Link: [color=#3399ff]Download[/color]
*DDS Pack uses BC7 Compression, and therefore will not work with older revisions of Dolphin.  It also requires a DirectX11+ capable video card.

PNG Link: [color=#3399ff]Download[/color]
*Provided for compatibility

[color=#3399ff]Older Versions[/color]
PNG Link: [color=#3399ff]Folder[/color]

The full changelog is available in the topic post.  Enjoy!

You'll likely want to revise the OJ logos to something non-existent to avoid the possibility of trademark lawyers chasing after you.