Pegged as many fans favorite game of the series, Resident Evil 4 is now playable with full high-definition textures and enhanced 3D models as well as revamped lighting thanks to the Resident Evil 4 HD Project.
The developers of the Resident Evil 4 HD Project have spent almost 8 years searching texture libraries and stock photo galleries for original materials used by Capcom when the game released back in the early 2000s. Even traveling to Spain and Wales to source textures to take photographs, which Capcom got on board with. The result? A substantial mod that greatly upscales its visuals.
Here’s everything the Resident Evil 4 HD Project includes:
Restoring the visuals using the original real-world sources: In preparation for the original game, Capcom gathered texture assets by photographing a variety of real-world locations, primarily throughout Spain and Wales. For this project, Albert has gone to these same locations to gather higher-resolution assets. The result is a visual experience that is as true to the original game as possible, presented in resolutions up to 16 times that of the original game.
Correcting texture mapping and 3D modeling issues: Texture mapping and 3D modeling errors that weren’t noticeable in the original game being played on a CRT television become more apparent when playing in HD resolutions. Examples include objects floating above the surface they should rest on, improperly placed shadow layers, seams appearing where textures are supposed to flow continuously. We are correcting these issues throughout the game.
Enhancing flat objects to true 3D models: Due to limitations of the original hardware, objects like lamps, candle-holders, doors, decorative emblems, etc. were originally created as flat objects. In many instances we are able to revise these objects to be true 3D models, observable from any angle.
Remaining committed to the original visuals: Our intent throughout the project is to remain true to the original visuals and artistic intent. The best kind of feedback we receive is when people say that the game looks like what they imagined it to look like when they first played it 10 years ago. While we are not perfect, we continually refer back to the original texture assets to ensure we do not deviate in a significant manner.
Improving lighting, visual effects, collision inaccuracies, and prerendered cutscenes: Thanks to Son of Persia and the tools he developed, we’ve been able to edit all this kind of stuff and raise this project to a new level of perfectionism. Also, Separate Ways’ prerendered videos and the very few videos in the main campaign have been remastered using all kinds of methods: from automated AI upscaling to complete re-creation.
Resident Evil 4 HD Project Devs
And here’s a comparison video for you to feast your eyes upon:
Throughout the almost 8 years, the two main developers have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into the project with just short of 13,000 hours and over $15,000 being put into it. All of that money has now been recovered (and a little extra) through community donations, which is great to see.
At this moment in time the Resident Evil 4 HD Project mod is only compatible with the Steam version of the game and can be download through the official website here. It is recommended that you have a GPU with at least 2GB of VRAM. Other than that, you’re good to go!
