The team on EA’s new Command & Conquer Remastered have been hard at work hunting down the original assets used in 1995, though some creativity is needed when files go missing.
EA has posted a new video with Producer Jim Vessella, chronicling his search for the original HD copies of Command & Conquer‘s iconic FMV cutscenes. The team decided that they had to use the original footage, as remaking the cutscenes would never be the same, but finding the files was a challenge.
While Vessella managed to track down archival tapes of the footage, it was only saved in a low quality VQA format. The only option left was to upscale the footage, using AI to improve resolution, increase frame rate, and improve the audio.
To get the best result, Vessella went to the community, with some fans having already worked on their own upscaling projects for C&C’s beloved FMV cutscenes. The final result was only possible with the help of fans, which underlines how much passion is going into this remake.
The result is shown as a side-by-side in the video, and while it’s not perfect, it’s still a smooth graphical update on some of the most iconic FMVs in gaming.
As a bonus, the team managed to unearth over four hours of never-before-seen B-roll footage, which will be packaged with the remake on release.
The team behind Command & Conquer Remastered continue to chronicle the work that goes into remastering a 25-year-old game, providing a fascinating insight into how remasters happen as well as the broader history of game development. You can read more about how the team dealt with lost audio files here.
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