Grim Fandango Remastered is here! And it's great!

Go get yourself a copy of Grim Fandango Remastered for your PC, PS4 or Vita now!

Ok, so that should have been published on January 27th, earlier this year, but it doesn't make it any less true.

That also means that, unless this project morphs into something different (like an additional polish pass for Remastered), that it will probably pass away peacefully in its sleep. No need to mourn, however, because Grim Fandango can now be enjoyed by anyone -- in the best possible version.

Thanks DoubleFine!

See what else I'm up to on my blog: http://thunderpeel2001.blogspot.com

Grim Fandango Remastered is coming January 27th!

Well we finally have a date, and some great footage to boot:

I'm sure you'll agree that the new lighting system looks fantastic. I'm so happy with how much it adds to the overall feeling of Grim Fandango. Additionally the new score really adds to the depth of the original. That said, there are some disappointments, too.

Tim Schafer has confirmed that the models themselves haven't been altered in any way (other than increased textures). This is a shame. The character's fingers still are comprised of "x"s instead of three dimensional shapes, and thing look very angular in places (especially Manny's head and Glottis).

There's also a few visual glitches in the videos (see below), but I hope that these are fixed before release.

More great footage (with Tim Schafer too):

On the whole, I cannot wait to play Grim Fandango Remastered. It looks (and sounds) AMAZING... but maybe Grim Fandango Deluxe isn't finished after all.

Tim Schafer remastering Grim Fandango?!?

Out of the blue has come the most wonderful news. It appears that Tim Schafer and Double Fine will be involved in remastering Grim Fandango for the PS4 themselves!

This is completely unexpected and absolutely fantastic news! Provided they do as good as a job, or better than, the contributors have already done for Grim Fandango Deluxe! ;)

Seriously guys, don't mess this up! :)

Grim Fandango - Point and click is here!

Ever felt fed up with Grim Fandango's controls? Missed being able to play an adventure game with your mouse? Well one fan has taken it upon themselves to create an incredible mod for ResidualVM allowing you to do just that.

The mod's creator, a programmer named Tobias Pfaff from San Francisco, has single-handedly added a traditional point and click interface to the game. Even more exciting is that you can play this new version right now (provided you own the original, of course):

Get the mod here!

I have played with the new mod and can confirm that it works amazingly well.

Great work Tobias Pfaff! (Maybe you should consider a job at a certain SF-based game studio? ;)

We're not dead!

Seriously. We even have a new forum and everything (courtesy of the guys at ResidualVM). It may take us a while to get momentum going again, and we may even splutter and stop for a while before we reach the end, but right now you can join/follow the development here:

http://forums.residualvm.org/viewforum.php?f=2

Hurrah.

First year Manny is done!

Thanks to the efforts of Nitrus, I'm ecstatic to be able to announce that we now how a fully functioning Year One model of Manny that you can use RIGHT NOW.

Watch him in action here:

Download him here:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/39978570/datausr.lab
Thank you, Nitrus!

Please note: You must enable "Load user patch" in ResidualVM 

And remember that the ResidualVM team don't support such patches. Thanks!

Hi-res Manny Teaser Video

Blacksad, the person who created the new hi-res model of Manny, has put together a nice little teaser featuring the new model (and a nice new pair of shoes for Manny :)


You can compare him with the old model, here:


Pretty sweet, I'm sure you'll agree!

Hi-res Manny is here!

Thanks to the work of somaen, cplhenshaw, BlackSad (for the new 3D model), and other members of the ResidualVM forums (including mogul!), we now have our first ever hi-res version of Manny!

Sadly he's still a little buggy, so this can only be considered an Alpha release, but you can at least play with him for yourself.

Known major issues are:
1. No facial animation.


As a say: There are plenty of bugs to iron out, but it's still fun to see what's possible thanks to ResidualVM!

To see hi-res Manny in Grim Fandango for yourself, simply drop the following file into your Grim Fandango folder (where your DATAxxx.LAB files live), and run ResidualVM!

http://www.thunderpeel2001.com/grim/DATAUSR.lab

None of your game files are affected by this!

Enjoy!

Running Grim Fandango on Windows Vista, 7, 8 and OSX

New instructions

Simply buy it and play!

Instructions for playing the original with ResidualVM

Amongst the excitement surrounding this project it seems that a lot of people aren't even aware that they can play Grim Fandango right now on modern PCs/Macs (provided you own the game), including Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, OSX, Linux, and... Amiga(!). It works perfectly with x86 or x64, and all modern graphics cards, including those made by NVidia and Radeon.

Here's the steps you need to take to play Grim Fandango on your computer:

1. Own Grim Fandango -- Unfortunately the hardest step as the game is no longer available to buy new. Your best bets are eBay (US/UK) or Amazon (US/UK).

Note: If you decide to get the game by nefarious means, I cannot guarantee it will work as expected!

2. Copy the Grim Fandango files to your Hard Drive -- the following files from your Grim Fandango CDs to a new folder on your computer. The files should be found in a folder called "data" on your Grim Fandango CDs.

For example, copy them into a new directory located at c:\grim

Copy all the LAB files into your new directory. For example:

CREDITS.LAB
DATA000.LAB
DATA001.LAB
DATA002.LAB
DATA003.LAB
DATA004.LAB
MOVIE00.LAB
MOVIE01.LAB
MOVIE02.LAB
MOVIE03.LAB
MOVIE04.LAB
VOX0000.LAB
VOX0001.LAB
VOX0002.LAB
VOX0003.LAB
VOX0004.LAB
YEAR0MUS.LAB
YEAR1MUS.LAB
YEAR2MUS.LAB
YEAR3MUS.LAB
YEAR4MUS.LAB

Note: You may also have additional .LAB files if your version is non-English.

Some files are found on both CDs, just click "OK" to overwrite them if prompted.

3. Add the official patch - Download the free official LucasArts patch from here:

http://www.lucasarts.com/support/update/grim.html

Place the Gfupd101.exe file you downloaded into the folder you previously created above (amongst all the .LAB files).

You should now have a directory on your harddrive (e.g. c:\grim) that contains the following files (filesizes in bytes are in the brackets):

CREDITS.LAB (19,399 bytes)
DATA000.LAB (29,163,069 bytes)
DATA001.LAB (116,140,627 bytes)
DATA002.LAB (115,377,732 bytes)
DATA003.LAB (65,997,693 bytes)
DATA004.LAB (81,392,084 bytes)
Gfupd101.exe (2,272,959 bytes)
MOVIE00.LAB (7,121,597 bytes)
MOVIE01.LAB (119,199,457 bytes)
MOVIE02.LAB (70,712,720 bytes)
MOVIE03.LAB (88,576,747 bytes)
MOVIE04.LAB (107,184,933 bytes)
VOX0000.LAB (4,315,773 bytes)
VOX0001.LAB (58,011,176 bytes)
VOX0002.LAB (93,358,525 bytes)
VOX0003.LAB (38,906,667 bytes)
VOX0004.LAB (38,561,440 bytes)
YEAR0MUS.LAB (6,995,569 bytes)
YEAR1MUS.LAB (61,363,647 bytes)
YEAR2MUS.LAB (81,147,716 bytes)
YEAR3MUS.LAB (43,866,360 bytes)
YEAR4MUS.LAB (63,489,389 bytes)

If you don't have at least these files, the game will not function properly. If you do have these files and you're having some issues, try comparing the filesizes to see if they're the same.

4. Download and install ResidualVM - This amazing bit of software will be running the game for you and can be downloaded here:

http://www.residualvm.org/downloads/#daily

Just download the correct copy for your system and run the file to start the installation.

5. Let ResidualVM know where Grim Fandango is installed -- Within Residual click "Add Game..." and then navigate to the folder on your Hard Drive where you copied the game files (e.g. C:\Grim) and click "Choose".

6. Enjoy Grim Fandango -- If all goes well you just need to select Grim Fandango and click Start!

Happy New Year!

This is just a small post to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and also to share a wonderful Grim Fandango related project with you.

A stunning 3D Render of Celso's skull by project contributor Chay

The Grim Fandando Stop-Mo Project plans to use stop-motion animation to recreate the famous opening sequence that introduced us to Manny Calavera, and his less-than-desirable client, Celso. (Stop-motion is the style of animation you've seen in Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit, The Nightmare Before Christmas, etc.) The level of detail and attention being put into the project by its creator, Pixyfrog, and his contributors, is nothing short of stunning! I can't wait to see the finished video.

Follow its progress here: Grim Fandando Stop-Mo Project

While you're at it, why not take a peek at Chay Hawe's incredibly detailed and unique take on Manny Calavera on his portfolio website Chayground.

Calling all 3D modellers!

Thanks to the efforts of cplhenshaw we now have some tools that allow us to convert the original Grim Fandango .3DO objects to .OBJ files, which can then be opened in all major 3D modelling software.

This means that if you feel you've got the skills, you can now help the project by improving Manny's form in 3D...

 
OBJ versions of Manny and Glottis can be downloaded here:
http://www.thunderpeel2001.com/grim/MannyOBJ.zip
http://www.thunderpeel2001.com/grim/GlottisOBJ.zip

Please read the following post regarding limitations of the Grim Fandango 3D format:

Remodel each piece of the model separately, i.e Don't fuse his arms onto his torso. For any piece you want to update place it over the top of the old one so that they are positioned correctly. 

It probably won't work first try, but as long as all the pieces you remodel remain separate you won't need to redo any modelling and it should just be fiddling around with the exporters and file formats until we get it right.
 

When you're done:

Please either send your finished OBJs to me at:
grimfandangodeluxe@gmail.com

Or share them in the Residual thread here: 
http://forums.residualvm.org/viewtopic.php?t=100

Thanks!

Grim Fandango in Widescreen!

A user known as ultraneonoirantihero took it upon themselves to try and crack the problem of running Grim Fandango in a higher resolution... and in widescreen! Hacking Residual and adding additional artwork to the sides of the existing screens, they've done an amazing job. 

Watch the video for yourself!

Update: ultraneonoirantihero has explained how they put the video together in the Residual forums. It was actually all done in video editing software and PhotoShop (and not Residual), but it's still very impressive indeed! You may not immediately appreciate just how much work went into it, in fact. Take a look for yourself.

Adding detail to Grim Fandango's textures...

When I first opened up Manny's suit in Photoshop I was a little perplexed... where do you add the detail? 

Should we be able to see the fibres of his suit? Should there be more detail in the suit's pattern? Should it look photo-realistic? If not, how do you add detail to something so basic and cartoony? I didn't know where to begin, and it made me wonder: Just what does Grim Fandango look like in "high-resolution"?

The promotional material surrounding Grim Fandango actually used models from the game, and so wasn't any help.

I was trying to recall when if ever saw a detailed close-up of Peter Chan's creations, when I remembered the game's inventory screens:

Looking at these it was clear that if we could "zoom in" on the Grim Fandango world that it would look hand-drawn, not photo-realistic, and very deliberately so. (I guess this ties in with the idea that the characters are hand-made calacas, although I personally like to think that Manny and company are actually made of bone, not papier-mâché.)

The understanding of the look of the world of Grim Fandango led to the first texture test we did:

Transforms to..

There's probably still ways in which this could be improved, but I was quite pleased with how it looked in the game itself.

Think you can do better? Coming soon: A guide on how those with texturing skills can help the Grim Fandango Deluxe project!

Grim Fandango Deluxe featured in the MixNMojo podcast!

The fine people at MixnMojo.com asked me to join their podcast and explain a little more about what Grim Fandango Deluxe is all about. You can go here and listen:

http://mixnmojo.com/news/CC-15-Grim-Fandango-Deluxe

While you're at it, why don't you subscribe to their podcast and get all the latest LucasArts, DoubleFine, TellTale and other game news each week?

Welcome!

Click to see fullsize.

Welcome to the Grim Fandango Deluxe project, an unofficial fan-made mod for Grim Fandango. This blog will document the project's progress. Here's a brief introduction...

Grim Fan-what-now?
Grim Fandango is arguably the greatest graphic adventure game ever released. It continues to be praised by critics and still appears in "Top PC Games of All Time" lists to this day. It was designed by the legendary Tim Schafer (of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, Brutal Legend and Psychonauts fame) and released by the equally legendary LucasArts Games. It's a film noir-inspired journey into the Mexican Land of the Dead, with all the humour and imagination you'd expect from Tim Schafer and LucasArts.


This Project's Aim
While Grim Fandango is a masterpiece, with many stunning attributes, its 3D character models (limited by the technology of its day) sometimes detract from an otherwise stunning presentation:

The Grim Fandango Deluxe project aims to try and improve the quality of these models, perhaps to the level of quality seen in some of the in-game videos:

Especially note the quality of the hands/objects.

How?
This entire project is made possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of the people behind the ResidualVM project, an open-source interpreter that allows a user to run their copy of Grim Fandango on modern machines (and even non-PC platforms). If you're familiar with the ScummVM project, you may recognize it as a sister project for the 3D LucasArts adventure games.

You can download ResidualVM for free here: http://www.residualvm.org/downloads/


But what will you change?
Every effort will be made to stay as true to the original spirit of the game as possible. Only changes that enhance what is already there will be considered. Specifically there appear to be three possible routes to enhance Grim Fandango's graphics:

1. Increase the texture quality (a test of which can be seen in the Manny image at the top of this post)
2. Adding polygons to the game models
3. Upping the game resolution to 1280x960

Great! When will you be done?
Unfortunately even with Residual's help there are still technical problems that need to be overcome before we can even begin all of the above work.

These problems are:

1. Textures -- We have found a way to increase the texture quality (see the image at the top of this post), but we are still limited by the game's 8-bit palette. Ideally a 16-bit palette would be supported, allowing for better quality textures.

2. Polygons -- We just need some skilled 3D modellers to volunteer their time. See here for more information: Calling 3D Modellers

3. Resolution -- This particular chestnut still needs to be cracked.


If you want to help out with any of the above aims, you can either drop me email here:

grimfandangodeluxe@gmail.com

Or you can join in the up-to-the-minute discussions about these problems at:
http://forums.residualvm.org/viewtopic.php?t=100 (this is really the best place to jump in - don't feel shy!)

Please get in touch either way, if you feel you can offer something to the project!

Links:
DoubleFine Games - Tim Schafer's game company
LucasArts Games - Original publishers of Grim Fandango
Residual - Home of the software that allows modern machines to run Grim Fandango

Remember: This project is completely fan-made and unofficial. It has no affiliation with LucasArts or DoubleFine or any other official body.