johnparker007 Posted September 27, 2020 Report Share Posted September 27, 2020 (edited) Hi there I was just having a quick play with AI upscaling (as it'd be possible to build a tool to automatically upscale existing layouts, removing pixellation). I've been away from the scene for a long time - has this already been done? Here's an example, where I took Dr Who's dark 'lamps off' background image and processed it. Better results could probably be obtained with further fettling, but it shows the 'depixellation' effect well enough. Original image: Processed image: Original image: Processed image: EDIT: came back to this, and grabbed an image of an older machine (Super Nudge Gambler) from one of the posts on this site, to see how the process would look with that: Original image: Processed image: EDIT 2: grabbed another era of machine from an image from this site, and processed that to see how it would look: Original image: Processed image: Original image: Processed image: A test of some larger artwork: Original image: Processed image: Original image: Processed image: Edited September 27, 2020 by johnparker007 added another example 9 5 [ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net | Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e | Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo [ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665 [ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz [ Fruit Machine ROM Archive ] The archive: https://tinyurl.com/3jhzbueb [ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch [ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis [ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slasher Posted September 27, 2020 Report Share Posted September 27, 2020 Now then mate! Good to see you are still about the scene! Hope you're well? Very impressive upscaling! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy Posted September 27, 2020 Report Share Posted September 27, 2020 Wow!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infection Posted September 27, 2020 Report Share Posted September 27, 2020 Damn that looks amazing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnparker007 Posted September 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2020 Hiya there Slasher Yep still do odd bits of scene stuff in my limited free time, just seem to never get enough of it! I'm well ta, hope you're good too man 3 [ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net | Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e | Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo [ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665 [ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz [ Fruit Machine ROM Archive ] The archive: https://tinyurl.com/3jhzbueb [ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch [ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis [ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene02 Posted September 28, 2020 Report Share Posted September 28, 2020 Hey JP. Glad you joined up here my good friend That upscaling is amazing mate, really impressive. If you want a tester, I have access to 4K screen etc. Peace out bro x J 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene02 Posted September 28, 2020 Report Share Posted September 28, 2020 By the way upscaling has not been incorporated into mfme, as far as I am aware anyway. J 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davep180 Posted September 28, 2020 Report Share Posted September 28, 2020 Wow! The results speak for themselves. Very impressive. Is there a way to implement this? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnparker007 Posted September 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2020 Hiya A:E Thanks for the info and offer to test Hey davep180 For various reasons (that I don't want to get into on this thread), we won't know the best way to progress this tech into something usable for a few months. Something will come of it though - I did a project involving FME layouts in the past, and was always bothered by the issue of low resolution (especially as 4k and 8k monitors are already available). 4 [ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net | Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e | Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo [ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665 [ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz [ Fruit Machine ROM Archive ] The archive: https://tinyurl.com/3jhzbueb [ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch [ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis [ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slasher Posted September 28, 2020 Report Share Posted September 28, 2020 3 minutes ago, johnparker007 said: Hiya A:E Thanks for the info and offer to test Hey davep180 For various reasons (that I don't want to get into on this thread), we won't know the best way to progress this tech into something usable for a few months. Something will come of it though - I did a project involving FME layouts in the past, and was always bothered by the issue of low resolution (especially as 4k and 8k monitors are already available). With regards to the other project, I believe I still have all the files on my server if you ever need anything from it or wanted to kick it back up again 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy Posted September 28, 2020 Report Share Posted September 28, 2020 47 minutes ago, slasher said: With regards to the other project, I believe I still have all the files on my server if you ever need anything from it or wanted to kick it back up again Now what the bloody hell are you two up to, what project, sounds exciting? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene02 Posted September 28, 2020 Report Share Posted September 28, 2020 It was JP’s amazing work with mame and fruit machine emulation. He enabled me to create the first Deal or No Deal machine to run. I only built the layout JP did some impressive under the hood stuff. He also created a tool that could convert any mfme layout to mame. A shit ton of work, that he devoured lol Maybe a section for that but I’m not sure mame is the thing going forward ? J 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnparker007 Posted September 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, slasher said: With regards to the other project, I believe I still have all the files on my server if you ever need anything from it or wanted to kick it back up again Cheers Slasher I do have the work backed up (though not the website backend), and good to know there's more copies out there! Just had a little play with some reel symbols as they were always low res (I don't know if that's changed with newer layouts): These are purely upscaled: These had a couple of extra stages: For the upscaling, I'm using the waifu2x library (setting 16x 0n), and for the bars above I ran an unsharp mask and saturation post pass. Edited September 28, 2020 by johnparker007 2 1 [ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net | Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e | Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo [ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665 [ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz [ Fruit Machine ROM Archive ] The archive: https://tinyurl.com/3jhzbueb [ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch [ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis [ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene02 Posted September 28, 2020 Report Share Posted September 28, 2020 Great work fella They look pretty sweet. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infection Posted September 28, 2020 Report Share Posted September 28, 2020 2 hours ago, johnparker007 said: Cheers Slasher I do have the work backed up (though not the website backend), and good to know there's more copies out there! Just had a little play with some reel symbols as they were always low res (I don't know if that's changed with newer layouts): These are purely upscaled: These had a couple of extra stages: For the upscaling, I'm using the waifu2x library (setting 16x 0n), and for the bars above I ran an unsharp mask and saturation post pass. Does this mean you can enhance flyers which are poor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amusements Posted September 29, 2020 Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 Very interesting, and ideal for MFME, especially as we can not always find high quality images of older machines. Definitely something positive and exciting for the future:). Just looking at waifu2x library (https://deepai.org/machine-learning-model/waifu2x). Are you using a stand alone program, or the deepai server? Just thought....This would be fun to try with grainy UFO pics. 1 Treat every day like your last, because one day it will be! Fruit Machine <<<My new project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnparker007 Posted September 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 (edited) Hey guys I had been using a less user-friendly command line lib with a custom batch file for recursive runs, but I've found a more user friendly way so the non-coders can get in on the upscaling action straight away; this has a GUI. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys upscale! Note that for the [BAR] reel symbols above, they benefitted from some post processing steps (I think it will be best to always perform these after the upscale stage is complete). The version including a GUI is here: https://github.com/AaronFeng753/Waifu2x-Extension-GUI I think a tool could be developed to automatically upscale the massive back catalog of existing MFME layouts, but that's a conversation for a few months time. This would potentially open up very detailed textures for a 'photorealistic' 3D renderer (generated from 2D layouts)... allowing for VR arcades (with a non-headset mode), so one could reel peek etc, and the visuals would stay sharp even when just the reels and surrounding glass are taking up a lot of the screen. Also new layouts could be hand-constructed from a lower resolution flyer/photo/scan that has been upscaled/processed, to provide sharper graphics in general. Have fun For a crude text I scaled my browser rendering down to 25% and took a screengrab of my post above - view this below at 100% zoom in your browser, and it should show the sharpness improvements more clearly at a closer scale to what you'd see when running a layout on a 1080p screen (which I am using). You would see better improvements with a 4k display and viewing the original reel images further up. Edited September 29, 2020 by johnparker007 3 1 [ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net | Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e | Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo [ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665 [ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz [ Fruit Machine ROM Archive ] The archive: https://tinyurl.com/3jhzbueb [ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch [ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis [ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amusements Posted September 29, 2020 Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 16 hours ago, johnparker007 said: For the upscaling, I'm using the waifu2x library (setting 16x 0n), and for the bars above I ran an unsharp mask and saturation post pass. Thanks for the info. I had a play with the 64bit UI but ran out of time (Visitor). Just wondering which waifu engine you had running, and if you could maybe explain a bit more about the post process a bit. Thanks:) Treat every day like your last, because one day it will be! Fruit Machine <<<My new project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnparker007 Posted September 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 (edited) Bear with me, I'll knock up a quick guide with some screenshots as this GUI version makes it very straightforward - then everyone can start using this for fun or even building/improving layouts straightaway (albeit manually). Edit - ok that's done - see below GUIDE TO INSTALLING AND USING WAIFU2X GUI TO UPSCALE IMAGES USING AI (1) Download latest stable build Installer from this link: http://d0.ananas.chaoxing.com/download/f2addaafa64f1bd0a7dc0eb7eeb74d1e?fn=Waifu2x-Extension-GUI-v2.56.52-Win64 (note the link above may expire - then visit: https://github.com/AaronFeng753/Waifu2x-Extension-GUI and scroll down to find the link to latest stable Windows build) (2) Then extract the downloaded 7z to a folder on your desktop (you will need to install 7zip if you don't have it, it's free: https://www.7-zip.org/ ) (3) Open the folder (A) on your desktop and launch the program (B) (4) Have an image to hand to upscale, and drag and drop that image onto the area indicated in the waifu2x window (here I'm using an image from an old converted MAME layout I dug out of my old project backup files) (5) You should now see your file details in the top area (A). Now set the values in the area (B) as shown (users with slower PCs may wish to reduce the scale from 16 to say 2-4 if they want quicker results and a smaller scale; also noise can be set to -1 if the source image is very clean) (6) Now click Start (A) and the image will be upscaled and saved with a file suffix in the same folder as the source image (B) ... (in my case desktop to make this guide clearer) Open up that new file and zoooooooooom in! Edited September 30, 2020 by johnparker007 5 [ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net | Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e | Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo [ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665 [ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz [ Fruit Machine ROM Archive ] The archive: https://tinyurl.com/3jhzbueb [ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch [ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis [ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnparker007 Posted September 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 19 hours ago, infection said: Does this mean you can enhance flyers which are poor? I hope so (the AI might run into problems with moire/rosette artifacts inherent in the printing process, prob depends on scan resolution to original dpi ratio). That said it'll probably be perfectly fine - I have no flyers to test, though I've put a full guide above that should help get you going for simple manual AI upscaling of images. 5 hours ago, Amusements said: Thanks for the info. I had a play with the 64bit UI but ran out of time (Visitor). Just wondering which waifu engine you had running, and if you could maybe explain a bit more about the post process a bit. Thanks:) The post process stuff - I only had to do that to those BARs, but it's standard Photoshop / gimp stuff. Unsharp mask is a good tool for sharpening images (it's not AI upscaling though!), and saturation is just increasing the colour saturation of images that look a little 'washed out'. 5 [ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net | Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e | Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo [ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665 [ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz [ Fruit Machine ROM Archive ] The archive: https://tinyurl.com/3jhzbueb [ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch [ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis [ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infection Posted September 29, 2020 Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 1 minute ago, johnparker007 said: I hope so (the AI might run into problems with moire/rosette artifacts inherent in the printing process, prob depends on scan resolution to original dpi ratio). That said it'll probably be perfectly fine - I have no flyers to test, though I've put a full guide above that should help get you going for simple manual AI upscaling of images. The post process stuff - I only had to do that to those BARs, but it's standard Photoshop / gimp stuff. Unsharp mask is a good tool for sharpening images (it's not AI upscaling though!), and saturation is just increasing the colour saturation of images that look a little 'washed out'. Ok mate I've tested it on image of Jugglin jackpots and the image looks good for a dx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnparker007 Posted September 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 2 minutes ago, infection said: Ok mate I've tested it on image of Jugglin jackpots and the image looks good for a dx That was fast! The ink on my guide I just posted hasn't even dried yet Glad you got it going 1 1 [ Arcade Simulator ] Pre-alpha installer: http://arcadesimulator.net | Known Issues: https://tinyurl.com/yz4uom2e | Donation info: https://tinyurl.com/yzvgl4xo [ Community Drive ] The drive: http://tinyurl.com/yckze665 [ Fruit Machine Database ] Initial google sheets (WIP): https://tinyurl.com/2c5znxzz [ Fruit Machine ROM Archive ] The archive: https://tinyurl.com/3jhzbueb [ MFME Launch ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/MFMELaunch [ Oasis ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/Oasis [ Sound ROM Editor ] Source code: https://github.com/johnparker007/SoundRomEditor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Posted September 29, 2020 Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 Brilliant - thank you for this - I have just the machine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Posted September 29, 2020 Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 Will try this at the weekend. This is the actual size, always liked the red one but the layout was a little small so this could be very good. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infection Posted September 29, 2020 Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 This is image 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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