Muliplying original graphic resources to make high resolution graphic resources.

[cybragon]

How do you think about making OpenXcom with high resolution graphic resources?

When you install OpenXcom, the installer just copy original graphic resources to OpenXcom folder and use them as is. They were exellent graphic in 1995, but are not in 2015 at all. If OpenXcom don't use the resources as is, but make another graphic resources of its own by doubling (or tripling, or quadrupling) the original resources when installing, we can enjoy high resolution classic X-com by moding and replacing the resources to high resolution ones.

This has two advantages.

The first is that it preserves the original graphics but anyone who wants to improve the graphics of the game can do it by creating a high-resolution graphics mode. The people who want to keep just the original graphics, can do because OpenXcom provides the graphic just as original. The people who want to create and enjoy high-resolution graphic, can make it by themselves or download high-resolution graphics mod made by others.

The second is that high-resolution graphics makes oriental language translation easier. Korean or Japanese requires 10x10 pixel graphic fonts in minimum and 15x15 to Chinese. Because the smallest font size of the original graphic resource is 5 pixels, you need to multiply original graphic fonts twice or thrice ​​to express oriental languages.

In My Opinion, multiplying original graphic resources and supporting high-resolution graphic can make OpenXcom more exiting game.

[volutar]

The first is that it preserves the original graphics but anyone who wants to improve the graphics of the game can do it by creating a high-resolution graphics mode. The people who want to keep just the original graphics, can do because OpenXcom provides the graphic just as original.

It will make battlescape speed 4 times slower (geoscape is already scalable), no matter what tileset you gonna use, sd or hd.
It will eat 4 times more memory for sprites, even for SD (which can become issue for android platform).
Bullet sprites most probably will look bad.
Graphics still gonna be limited with paletted 240 colors (and I strongly advise not to start discussing 24bits).

And moreover, I don't see any disadvantages when using 2x scaled vanilla graphics. It looks oldschoolish and neat, as it meant to.

[Hobbes]

They were exellent graphic in 1995, but are not in 2015 at all.

This is highly debatable. Some of the best indie games that come out recently like Faster Than Light or Papers, Please (who won the BAFTA Games Award for Strategy and Simulation) use low quality graphics. High-res graphics don't make a good game.

[kikimoristan]

nah. pixelated is coming back. look at minecraft is 16 x 16 pixel textures . i was modding for minecraft and i know. is all super low res.  what you want is more like SMOOTH pixels . shaders do that really well.  this is best time for retrogaming. is new generation of kids finding old games. shovel knight just came out  and is all about sidescrolling low res sprites like 80s games.

what you really want is online multiplayer capability to create a community.

[kikimoristan]

a good game is not about graphics but more about how is made and how it plays. civilization 1 is still as fun as civilization 5.  pacman or tetris are just as fun as bioshock infinite.

[Solarius Scorch]

X-Com graphics are close to perfect. TFTD, not so much, but that's another story.

Actually, I wouldn't mind new TFTD sprites. X-Com style.

[yrizoud]

What is it you don't like in TFTD graphics ?

[kikimoristan]

TFTD graphics are awesome..i love the little underwater effects of bubbles and projectile traces in water that kinda dissolve upward

[Gifty]

What is it you don't like in TFTD graphics ?

What's funny to me is that the quality of art in TFTD is almost universally improved... EXCEPT for the aquanaut paperdolls, which are spectacularly hideous.

[Solarius Scorch]

It's rather off-topic, but since you're asking... Well, I agree that TFTD graphics tends to be more detailed. But the first time I launched the game back in the 90s and saw the globe, it looked so bad and primitive I thought I had a buggy graphics, with the ugly uniform yellow of continents. Item design was absolutely awful, the palette was pukey and I still have trouble recognizing which end of most weapons is the barrel. Aliens were mostly okay. Battlescape was nice, if over-the-top (that lava map!).

I have no reason to hate on the TFTD, but I've always found its looks repulsive on most levels.

[Hobbes]

TFTD is a bluish nightmare for most of the game, in all senses. But the ground missions are quite decent visually looking.