Thats right! I didnt think about that 
worth to try (unofficially) 
So you are a programmer?
Not really. 
I studied programming many years ago but I don’t program very often. That’s why I don’t remember all the important settings of project.
I’m a little bit shocked
My experience is that almost all straightforward and simple instructions lead to a bunch of undocumented compiler or linker error so I always expect the worst. 
But I have to admit that combination of a latest Visual Studio and very old DirectX SDKs may not be the typical case.
I thought that finding tool for Special Editions would be even more difficult but apparently it’s not. (Monkey Island Explorer)
The good thing is that MISE does what I wanted from ScummVM - it automatically reads files that are not part of the pack.
If you wanted the game to accept a modified version of “ui/titlescreen/en-mi_startscreen_final_chunk_0_0.dxt”
You would first make an “ui” folder inside the game folder, then a “titlescreen” folder, then you’d put the “en-mi_startscreen_final_chunk_0_0.dxt” file inside it. The game would then use this file instead of the one thats inside the .pak resource file.
Here’s a test:
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Can you feed it alternate resolution dxt files?
I did not dare to try it yet because I don’t think so. The resolution of the background image is 1024x1024. The SCUMM bar is much wider so it is split to several images (1024x1024 each) and I suppose there is an internal reason for it.
Surprisingly it did not crashed but the game used just the upper left quarter (1024x1024) of the whole image (2048x2048) so it’s not really working.
Edit: The first screenshot was resized to 50 % and I forgot to resize the second one too. Sorry. 
Anyway, it’s not perfect but I think 1024 pixel lines isn’t that bad when the original image is about 160. 
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It has been years, fans have been upset about Guybrush look in SE, and they created different modifications to his look…and i was just messing with backgrounds.
Anyway, I think the SE format, should work with .png as well…dont remember.
and for @Vit_Condak here are the upscaled images for MI1 and MI2:
MI1 link
MI2 link
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Thanks for the upscaled images - I’ll try to create some semi-automatic conversion system. =)
Anyway, I think the SE format, should work with .png as well…dont remember.
“That doesn’t seem to work.” 
“layer0_chunk_0_0.dxt” loads but “layer0_chunk_1024_0.png” does not.
Also the existence of Monkey Island Image Converter suggests .PNGs just don’t work.
Monkey Island Image Converter
A program that allows you to convert .DDS images back into the .DXT format used in Monkey Island 1 Special Edition and Monkey Island 2 Special Edition.
I’ve seen your rendered backgrounds but I don’t remember seeing them integrated in the game. Did you make some video of that back then?
2 Likes
Everything is lost, I guess… =(
The problem is that SE backgrounds slightly changed positions and shapes of many different objects.
I think there is no (easy) way how to get decently looking results. The tables and similar objects will be misplaced.
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Looking good, it would need some hand-made modifications, but it shouldn’t be such big problem. Its such tedious work.
More issues will be with original characters and props sprite sheets with animations and their positioning etc. not sure about that.
I would also test MI2SE, it might have better results
More issues will be with original characters and props sprite sheets with animations and their positioning etc. not sure about that.
That’s really way beyond what I had planned to test… 
I hoped the characters and objects in front layer will somehow fit.
So far I took the upscaled image, set its height to 120 % to compensate 320x200 distortion, resized it to height 1024 with fixed ratio and split the result to chunks of 1024 pixels.
When I look at the modified scene in the game I can see that the size is slightly different and it should be moved a bit too, but it’s hard to tell how much.
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@Vit_Condak Might the same be possible with the classic sprites?
I think, we shouldn’t compare it to SE, but we should import all art from classic version, then all fits.
@Vit_Condak and keep just the UI stuff.
then funny thing will happen, we will be switching between same version 
I suppose it is possible but I don’t know if SE uses the same layout of frames as the VGA version. (I don’t have the original frames exported yet.) I suspect it won’t be exactly the same so it will require a lot of hand tuning…
I don’t really think it would be that easy.
E.g. the VGA version of bar includes the “chandelier” but it’s not on the SE background.
then funny thing will happen, we will be switching between same version
It already does strange things. =) I can see the backgrounds don’t quite fit but the transition is too fast to analyze it.
One of the problems of the yesterday’s version was the fact that I ignored files like layer0_chunk_0_1024.png that actually contains the thin bottom part of the screen.
The SCUMM bar is split to 8 textures:
1024x1024 - 1024x1024 1024x1024 769x1024
1024x32 - - - 1024x32 - - 1024x32 - - 769x32
I.e. total size is 3841x1056
So probably I should not resize the height of the background to 1024 but to 1024 + 32 = 1056.
What worries me is that the ratios of heights and widths are not quite equal:
Upscaled image is 2560x576.
3840/2560 = 1.5
1056/576/1.2 = 1.527777
The ratios would be equal with correction 1.22222222…
It suggests that someone from SE team used the wrong height correction ratio (11/9 instead of 12/10).
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I think it looks much better now. =) The door seems to be at right position.
I’m still fighting with ImageMagick arguments to simplify the workflow…
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I wish I was smart and could do all these cool things… like programming and scripting and modding
1 Like
I am testing it now as well… i do edits in PS and i am trying to fit some BGs as well.
I will test both MI1 and MI2, if there is any better precision.
It’s a shame you didn’t include IDs of the rooms. Sorting took me quite a while and I’m not finished with it yet.
138_Monkey Island Beach 1_rlt.png
15_Monkey Island River_rlt.png
16_Monkey Island Great Boulder_rlt.png
17_Atop the Mast of the Sea Monkey_rlt.png
18_Monkey Island Crevice_rlt.png
2_Monkey Island Overview South_rlt.png
20_Monkey Island Beach 2_rlt.png
21_Monkey Island Forest_rlt.png
23_Talking to Elaine Marley_rlt.png
25_Cannibals' Village_rlt.png
27_Cannibals' Prison_rlt.png
28_SCUMM Bar_rlt.png
3_Monkey Island Overview West_rlt.png
30_Melee Island Shop_rlt.png
31_Prison_rlt.png
32_Bell Tower Square_rlt.png
38_Lookout Post_rlt.png
40_Dried-Out Riverbed_rlt.png
41_SCUMM Bar Kitchen_rlt.png
42_Under Water_rlt.png
45_Church Altar_rlt.png
49_Swordfights_rlt.png
4-Monkey Island Overview Middle_rlt.png
50_Shocked Guybrush_rlt.png
53_Inside Governor Marley's Mansion_rlt.png
57-Troll's Bridge_rlt.png
59_Stan's Previously Owned Vessels_rlt.png
5-Monkey Island Overview East_rlt.png
60_Captain Smirk's Big Body Pirate Gym_rlt.png
61_Swordmaster's Hut 2_rlt.png
62-Talking to Swordmaster_rlt.png
6-Monkey Island Overview North_rlt.png
76-Talking to Smirk_rlt.png
78_Church_rlt.png
79_Talking to Mancombe Seepgood_rlt.png
7-Sea Monkey Captain's Quarters_rlt.png
81_Talking to Injured Pirate_rlt.png
82_Ask Me About Loom(tm)_rlt.png
84_Map_rlt.png
85_Melee Island Overview_rlt.png
86_Navigator's Head_rlt.png
87_Sea Monkey Panorama_rlt.png
89-The End_rlt.png
Arrival at Monkey Island_rlt.png
Close to Giant Monkey Head_rlt.png
Do the Monkey!_rlt.png
Fettucini Brothers' Circus_rlt.png
Giant Monkey Head Hall_rlt.png
Hook's Restrooms_rlt.png
House of Mojo_rlt.png
Inside Giant Monkey Head_rlt.png
Introduction_rlt.png
Last Part Guybrush Kicks Butt_rlt.png
LeChuck's Quarters_rlt.png
LeChuck's Ship Brig_rlt.png
LeChuck's Ship Cargo Hold_rlt.png
LeChuck's Ship Crew's Quarters_rlt.png
LeChuck's Ship Deck_rlt.png
LeChuck's Ship Rat-infested Room_rlt.png
LeChuck's Ship_rlt.png
Liquidation at the Docks_rlt.png
list.txt
Meele Island Alley_rlt.png
Melee Island Docks_rlt.png
Melee Island Treasuree_rlt.png
Melee Town Gate_rlt.png
Monkey Island Fort_rlt.png
Monkey Island Panorama Plateau_rlt.png
Outside Captain Smirk's House_rlt.png
Outside Fettucini Brothers' Circus_rlt.png
Outside Governor's Mansion_rlt.png
Outside Hook's Restrooms_rlt.png
Outside the Giant Monkey Head_rlt.png
Part One The Three Trials_rlt.png
Part Three Under Monkey Island_rlt.png
Part Two The Journey_rlt.png
Sea Monkey Cargo Hold_rlt.png
Sea Monkey Crew's Quarters_rlt.png
Sea Monkey Galley_rlt.png
Swordmaster's Hut_rlt.png
If anyone wants to test the automatic conversion from .pngs a to a bunch of .dds with ImageMagick here’s my batch file (each .png should be placed in a separate folder):
"C:\Program Files (x86)\imagemagick\convert" *_rlt.png -resize 150%%x183.33! layer0.png
"C:\Program Files (x86)\imagemagick\convert" layer0.png -crop 1024x1024 -set filename:f "layer0_chunk_%%[fx:page.x]_%%[fx:page.y]" +repage +adjoin "%%[filename:f].png"
"C:\Program Files (x86)\imagemagick\magick" mogrify -format dds -define dds:compression=DXT1 layer0_chunk_*.png
pause
3 Likes
I just placed 4 backgrounds over the SE version and I have to say, that the art direction in MI1SE is terrifying, its soooo bad! I am surprised anybody at LucasArts Malaysia approved those artworks.
btw: MI2SE doesnt work for me…doesnt load the images, it freeze
1 Like