Mod idea: "REALMASTERED" - turning cgi into reality - what do you think? (examples included)

[Palmute]

Hey everyone!

Long time F95 user but this is actually my first post.
Anyways, I have experimenting with AI lately and getting increasingly better results.

This lead me to a certain idea: What about instead of turning people into art/cgi, as most common, instead doing it the other way round, and turn cgi characters into actual people?
And what better way to do this on than some visual novels.

Images tell more than words, so here is a quick example of what I mean, case study: Dating My Daughter:



Side note: I find it incredible how the AI even turned the low-poly door knob into something realistic. In general this method makes the whole picture look more natural and photorealistic.

In the attachements you find some more comparison examples.

Now my question is to you - do you find this idea interesting or just stupid?
Also, mind you, in no way do I want to say the original artists work is bad and needs improvements, it's meant to just be an interesting way to experience some beloved games and maybe do a second playthrough.

Well IF you find this concept worthwile, I would also need some hints from you about which games would fit this approach and maybe some help down the line.
There are obviously some constraints on what kind of images this method works well out of the box without too much manual work (although that cannot always be avoided):
- It works best for games with mostly (straight) POV angles
- Images with multiple persons are problematic, as it would need a seperate pass and composition for each character - doable, but work
- Daz based renders work best, I also tried it with Honey Select games but the unrealistic face proportions make it difficult
- Animations/movie files are obviously out of the question, but I guess it would be ok if the game has some of it, that would just not be changed, as long as it doesn't rely too heavily on it

Any particular games that come to your mind?

Personally I would love to do it on Holiday Island, as I really like the game (and big boobs in general) and the tests I did turned out great. The images are already sorted by characters, which is also a huge help. However, the game is HUGE by now so replacing all images is a daunting task.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

[Meaning Less]

I can see the appeal for people that like real porn, but I prefer non-real porn.

And you are giving examples of a single character, I doubt it will be easy to keep the same face consistent throughout multiple cgs of the same character.

But I don't see an issue as long as the original artwork is still available.

 

[anne O'nymous]

And you are giving examples of a single character, I doubt it will be easy to keep the same face consistent throughout multiple cgs of the same character.

Anyway is it really better ?

Take Being a Dick by example, except the eyes (that are a real problem with Daz Studio), the original feel more real than the AI modified one. There's the collar bone that is a bit higher and less marked on the AI version, but it's not really unnatural in the original one.
And of course there's the eternal problem when it come to AI, the hands are almost always fucked up in a way or another. By example the AI version of Amy from Holiday Island remove one phalanx to the pinky, and put it to middle finger.

But the look isn't the only problem. The CGs are supposed to represent a situation matching the context, when not directly carrying a part of the information. And the AI modified version sometimes alter it way too much.
For Lust Academy, in the original she clearly looks at MC's dick and is conflicted. But in the AI modified version she's looking MC in the eyes, and kind of seem to want to kiss him. The same apply for Alice from Holiday Island, who is happy to see you in the original, and neutral in the AI modified. As for Eva, still from Holiday Island, she have a kind of surprised expression in the original, and once again a neutral one in the AI modified.

In the end, what make the AI modified versions feel more real is mostly the eyes and lack of lipstick. When the render have been thought and use good skin/hair shaders (BaD by example), there isn't more effectively added by the AI

And you are giving examples of a single character, I doubt it will be easy to keep the same face consistent throughout multiple cgs of the same character.

More important, they are all clothed examples.
The drape of clothes isn't really important and can perfectly be inconsistent from one CG to the other (in fact it's how it would feel more real), but it isn't the same for the body curves and shape. It's also there that an AI would reach its limits, because they all tend to lack of quality when it come to the small details, having the bad habit to generate weird knees and elbows, to have floating navels, and I don't talk about the issue when the time will come to represent the good parts. I wonder how many labia a girl can have seen from an "AI mind", and how many time in a row a male character can loose then gain back his foreskin.

Feeling more real is useless if in the same time you looks like a metamorph instead of a human.

 

[Hagatagar]

Generally speaking, this can be interesting, especially for people who find the DAZ models a bit odd looking.

While the realistic looking faces do remove or at least reduce the uncanny valley problem that many DAZ-models suffer from, the bodies stay more or less the same (all they got was a skin/texture touch up) and it creates an even greater discrepancy.
Also since the backgrounds still look like the CGI they are, the images resemble super cheap cgi-greensceen movies.

Overall if it isn't a closeup headshot like DMD, it kinda looks like a photo glued photoshopped on a CGI image.

For it to really work, the entire image would need to look realistic, not just the face.

 

[Palmute]

And you are giving examples of a single character, I doubt it will be easy to keep the same face consistent throughout multiple cgs of the same character.

That's actually pretty easy to achieve with a little trick: taking celebrities as face input. That way the face can be consistent over multiple shots. For example for Alice in Holiday Island I took Alice Eve as replacement. See some more examples in the attachments.
If you want to avoid that a character resembles a particular celebrity too much, it is also possible to mix different ones into a sort of new fantasy creation.

Also since the backgrounds still look like the CGI they are, the images resemble super cheap cgi-greensceen movies.

Hehe, yeah you are right, it reminds me of rendered backgrounds in TV shows or bad Hollywood CGI. But to me it is not really an issue, as backgrounds aren't that important in VNs usually and often they are out of focus anyways.

 

[Guntag]

I think it's a real good idea. I'm not saying all games should be like this of course, but it would provide a nice and new kind of design.