I had no idea G4 made a special about TRON 2.0. Apparently it might only have been shown at GDC 2004, and not aired on G4TV, so that's why I wasn't aware of it until now.
It's a really great retrospective on both TRON and the making of TRON 2.0.
It also basically confirms a rumor I'd heard, as to why TRON 2.0 was delayed from early 2003 to August 2003.
By TronFAQ on Saturday, August 28, 2021 at 11:56 PM
For the 18th Anniversary of TRON 2.0 (released August 26, 2003 in North America) I responded to a challenge from the Lead Programmer of TRON 2.0 (when he was at Monolith Productions), Kevin Lambert.
Time stamps of note:
00:02 - TRON 2.0 Lead Programmer Kevin Lambert's TRON Maze Challenge
00:47 - Response
01:29 - A trace of this idea left in the game
01:39 - Light Cycle improvements in Killer App Mod v1.2
If you want to see Killer App Mod v1.2 progress updates between video uploads to the LDSO YouTube channel, visit here:
Kevin asked if anyone could add a concept that was left out of the final game: Placing the player in a claustrophobic Light Cycle maze like the one seen in the original TRON film, with prompts appearing to let the player know when to turn (somewhat like how the game Dragon's Lair prompted the player when to move).
A fourth Killer App Mod v1.2 Single Player fixes trailer is still forthcoming. Consider this to be a "Preview Trailer 10.5". 🙂
Killer App Mod v1.2 will now include what's needed so you can make your own custom maps/levels to prompt the player to turn when riding a Light Cycle. And we'll most likely end up using this concept in User Error 3, LDSO's upcoming follow-up to the previous User Error 1 and 2 Single Player expansions.
And Kevin did reply to me on Twitter! He was pleased with the response to his challenge to do a Light Cycle "TRON Maze" in TRON 2.0. 😊
Light Cycle mazes with "turn prompts" were something meant to be in the final game, but the TRON 2.0 development team at Monolith Productions didn't have enough time to put them in.
P.S. I do plan to ask Kevin about some things, but I want to give him a bit of space and not come across as too pushy or demanding. So please don't anyone bother him too much, or else he might get annoyed and it will end up doing more harm than good. I believe he works for Microsoft now, so he's probably super busy a lot of the time.
By TronFAQ on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at 11:20 AM
I'm late in covering this, but just in case you haven't already heard . . . it looks like a TRON 3 sequel might finally be "in development" now. Though the news could be bittersweet for many fans. Garth Davis has been named director of TRON: Ares, starring Jared Leto.
This news is personally a bit frustrating and disappointing, because the pendulum between TRON 3 being a direct sequel to TRON Legacy called TRON: Ascension and a spin-off named TRON: Ares has swung back and forth multiple times.
As recently as TheDisInsider article (that kicked off the initial rumor frenzy), it was stating that TRON 3 was "expected to be more of Tron sequel rather than a reboot, and the cast from Tron: Legacy could return". But it's not sounding all that likely at this point.
It sounds like the fact that Garth Davis "aggressively pursued the job, eventually winning over execs" — and no doubt bringing his vision for what the next TRON film should be along with him — is why the TRON: Ares pitch won out.
And another rationale for thinking the TRON Legacy cast may not be returning for TRON: Ares . . . it's already rumored additional casting has begun, and Disney is interested in adding Mulan's Liu Yifei. Yet still no word on TRON Legacy actors.
Thanks to Employee_427 on Twitter and LDSO team member YCP on Facebook for being the first ones to alert me to the TRON: Ares news.
January 19, 2023 UPDATE: After hearing little about TRON: Ares during the past three years, there is news that previously announced director Garth Davis is apparently no longer involved in the project and potentially being replaced by Joachim Rønning, probably best known for directing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
Meanwhile, Jared Leto is still set to star as the character Ares, the lead villain, after which the title of the sequel is named.
TRON: Ares also continues being referred to as a "sequel", and according to an article on Deadline it's rumored to begin filming August 2023 in Vancouver, Canada.
Evan Peters as Ed Dillinger Jr. (replacing Cillian Murphy, sadly), best known as Quicksilver in the X-Men and Marvel Cinematic Universe franchises
Greta Lee
Jodie Turner-Smith
Cameron Monaghan, best kown as the Joker on the TV series Gotham, and as Cal Kestis in the Star Wars franchise
Sarah Desjardins
Gillian Anderson, of X-Files fame
As of now, there is no news if any of the cast from previous TRON films, will be appearing in TRON: Ares. It's also still not known for certain if the film is a full reboot, soft reboot, or true sequel.
Though I'll go out on a limb, and guess the film will be a soft reboot, with only Bruce Boxleitner returning in a cameo appearance as TRON and/or Alan Bradley.
Rumors also persist that TRON: Ares will have a reduced budget compared to its predecessor, and scenes in the electronic world on the grid will be kept to a minimum, as a result. Instead, the film will mostly take place in the real world.
Thanks again go out to Employee_427 on Twitter for being first to alert me to many of these news updates!
Eight levels in roughly 25 minutes. This third trailer showcases many of the fixes to the Single Player levels of TRON 2.0, via the upcoming Killer App Mod v1.2.
These are all the Single Player issues I've personally noticed, or had pointed out to me. But I'm sure I've still missed a few.
The third trailer was originally meant to show all the remaining Single Player level fixes. But the video became too long, so it had to be split and a fourth trailer is still upcoming.
One of the mandates of Killer App Mod v1.2 has always been to fix or enhance the Single Player campaign, a goal partly inspired by the similar (in purpose) System Shock 2 Community Patch (SCP).
Time stamps for notable changes and fixes:
Security Server
00:35 - You can now skip the Security Server level (which consists entirely of one long cutscene) by pressing the spacebar (not shown, just mentioned)
General changes/fixes
00:45 - Experimenting with AI Tools to upscale and enhance the textures in TRON 2.0
Tested Waifu2x, ESRGAN (Manga 109 model), Topaz AI Gigapixel, and SFTGAN. Waifu2x always provided the best result.
When comparing several texture upgrades before and after in-game (more than shown in the video), the results showed little to no difference in the majority of cases. Only a few results showed differences that were noticeable.
Therefore, the conclusion is that doing a replacement of ALL textures is not worth the extra memory and disk space required. But perhaps some selective texture enhancement, in a potential Killer App Mod v1.3, is worth doing.
02:10 - First-person Sequencer disc selection animation enhanced for 16:9 aspect ratio
The wider field of view in 16:9 reveals awkward movement by Jet's left arm, that was previously hidden off-screen in 4:3 aspect ratio. Jet's left arm now pauses, then lowers, in a less awkward way.
02:37 - First-person Cluster disc catching animation enhanced for 16:9 aspect ratio
The wider field of view in 16:9 reveals extremely awkward movement by Jet's left arm, that was previously hidden off-screen in 4:3 aspect ratio. Jet's left arm now lowers, in a less awkward way.
02:57 - Restored gibberish reaction when Rod Primitive is used on a Male Civilian program
03:15 - Old vs. New disc in Main Menu Jet throwing animation
Killer App Mod v1.1 added an animation on the game's Main Menu, featuring Jet throwing the disc. This animation has been updated with a new disc. (See the next item for an explanation as to why.)
Power Oculus
03:49 - Enhancements to ending cutscene (Jet's lips now move while talking, Jet is holding new disc, disc sound plays on-camera, Jet entering beam sound starts on time)
Jet now has a new disc in all cutscenes, including this one. This particular cutscene reveals why the change should be made.
Jet removes the disc from his arm, preparing to throw it. In doing so, it shows the underside of the disc. Revealing how the bottom surface of the disc, in this third-person view, does not match the first-person view. The disc is also oversized (diameter is too wide, and too thick).
The new disc is a bit smaller, thinner, and the underside of the disc now matches what's seen from the disc in first-person view.
City Hub
05:07 - Status changes of moving platform switches now accurately reflect events, third switch added
When you use the switch to call the moving platform, the status changes on both it and the switch on the platform itself, don't properly reflect what's happening.
The status changes now more accurately show what's going on. And a third switch has been added on the other side. It didn't make much sense that a two-way platform would only have a switch to call it on one side. How would any programs on the other side be able to call the platform, in order to get across?
08:46 - Fixed geometry error in the floor of the main City Hub area, creating flickering (caused by Z-fighting)
09:03 - Fixed sign above the Low Level Compiler's "shop" that didn't display any info when highlighted by the reticle
09:09 - Fixed question text and subtitles not matching speech when talking to Low Level Compiler program
09:52 - Added hint for users of permissions cheat when trying to open the Progress Bar door, and added info when door is highlighted by reticle
The player isn't supposed to have all the permissions in this level. Trying to open the Progress Bar door with the permissions cheat results in nothing happening. Added a hint that you need to do something else first, before you can get into the Bar.
Retrieving Ma3a
11:35 - Enhancement to cutscene for 16:9 aspect ratio (wider field of view reveals Crown in base pose with arms straight down, when they should be raised)
Remote Access Node
12:35 - First instance of a lighting error that's been fixed (there are others at later time stamps that aren't listed, to avoid repeating this over and over)
Throughout the Remote Access Node level, there are surfaces that are in dark shadow. While shadows do exist in the "electronic world" of TRON, they're not that frequent and they certainly make no sense here. These particular surfaces are glowing (self-illuminating), so they shouldn't be completely dark.
13:18 - Closed an opening in the ceiling that allowed you to see one-sided geometry
16:06 - Fixed binary bit switch not displaying info when highlighted by the reticle
16:12 - Fixed possibility of an energy drain effect still appearing after all Resource Hogs are removed from the level, once Security Clamp is released
16:45 - Made force field two-sided (it's possible, without cheating but with much difficulty, to reach the other side of the force field where you could see it was originally one-sided)
16:53 - Fixed issues with Exit Port (beam splash present, "socket" has panning texture at rear, trim isn't dark, objective completion message appears on time when entering beam, sound effect when entering beam)
Prepare the DataWraiths
17:19 - Enhancement to cutscene (Crown originally not visible near start, even at 4:3 aspect ratio, then appeared from nowhere)
Thorne's Internal Partition
18:05 - Fixed being able to fall down Data Stream exit, interior of beam not being bright, no sound effect when entering
18:15 - Fixed being able to crawl beside Data Stream exit and then fall underneath level
18:52 - Fixed attempting to enter Data Stream at an earlier point resulting in falling beneath level
Function Control Deck
19:10 - Enhancement to cutscene (beam splash added)
23:02 - Fixed texture errors on all switches on level, and fixed energy bridge switches having no sound effects
23:20 - Fixed texture errors on both energy bridges, and centered both bridges (horizontally and vertically)
23:28 - Fixed a white striped texture missing between the two bridges, also fixed geometry errors on both sides of platform between bridges causing flickering
23:36 - Enhancement to cutscene ("transmission" text no longer intrudes into cutscene, beam splash added, Jet entering beam sound starts on time)
There's no specific date given yet (at the time I'm writing this) on the session's dedicated page, as to when it's taking place. But the conference itself takes place between March 16-20, 2020 in San Francisco, California, USA.
If we're lucky, it's possible upcoming TRON content might be alluded to there.
Thanks to FattyJoker_ on Twitter, for making me aware of this!
By TronFAQ on Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 11:40 PM
A filmmaker has tweeted that a version of TRON Legacy supposedly exists, which has been upscaled to 4K UHD resolution (in 3-D, too).
And, more importantly, that the de-aging CGI effect for CLU (and most likely Kevin Flynn as well, in the flashback at the start of the film) has been greatly improved. No more "uncanny valley" look for CLU. He apparently now looks "normal", and much more human.
I’ve linked to archived versions of the tweets making these claims, just in case they’re deleted.
As to why Disney would withhold an updated version of TRON Legacy (it’s not even on Disney+, as far as I’m aware), I don’t know. But I’m sure they’d release it, eventually. Maybe they’d do a limited 10th Anniversary re-release in theaters, next year? Followed by its release on Disney+/Blu-ray?
Thanks go out to wildchargergame on Twitter, for letting me know about this!
Monolith Productions changed their banner on Facebook and Twitter to include TRON 2.0, for their 25th Anniversary. Nice! (I also especially like NOLF, Shogo, and FEAR too, of course!)
I'm kind of surprised Monolith is acknowledging TRON 2.0 (and Aliens vs. Predator 2, for that matter) because, up until now, Monolith's social media accounts seemed to go out of their way to avoid mentioning their older titles made with licensed IP (from competitors to Monolith's current owner, Warner Media).
Perhaps Monolith obtained special permission to mention them, for the 25th Anniversary. Regardless, I'm glad to see Monolith's entire catalogue of games from the last 25 years will likely be featured in some way!
And Monolith is having two contests (so far).
One is where the person who submits the fastest time, in a speedrun video, for one of the indicated games (TRON 2.0 being among them) can win one of several exclusive posters, specially made for Monolith’s 25th Anniversary.
The speedrun video submission doesn’t have to beat the current record (which is 1h 40m 29s for TRON 2.0, at the time I’m writing this). It just has to be the fastest time submitted to the contest.
This contest ends October 24, 2019.
The other contest is to see who can submit the most artistic screenshot for the games indicated (with TRON 2.0 again being among them), the prize being a 25th Anniversary T-Shirt and signed print of their submission.
This contest ends October 22, 2019.
I’ve already tried coaxing digitalfrontiers into submitting some of his gorgeous screenshots of TRON 2.0, but haven’t received a response yet . . .
There’s also apparently further surprises in store for Monolith’s 25th Anniversary, when it comes to celebrating their classic titles. So there will likely be more TRON 2.0 related content from them, to follow.
October 30th, 2019 UPDATE: Monolith recently released some new concept art for TRON 2.0 I'd never seen before, as part of their 25th Anniversary celebration. I asked for, and got permission, from Monolith to share this new TRON 2.0 concept art. In return, they asked that I provide a link to their Official Monoilith Productions Discord channel, where the new art originated from.
Here are a couple of samples, of the TRON 2.0 concept art that Monolith released.
Last year, for the 15th Anniversary of the release of TRON 2.0, I put together a package on behalf of LDSO containing — among other things — concept art, and made it available to download. The majority of the content in this package is what I've personally managed to collect, and preserve, over the years. But since Monolith released more concept art, I've updated the package to include the few new pieces of art Monolith provided.
I also found out that my friend digitalfrontiers, whom I convinced to enter Monolith's screenshot contest, was one of the winners with his TRON 2.0 entry! So congratulations to him! He wins a Monolith 25th Anniversary t-shirt, and a print of his screenshot autographed by Monolith Productions staff!
Here's a screenshot from Monolith's official Discord channel announcing his win. (He's shown as Nautilus here on Discord.)
The poster of the rumor on Reddit has no posting history, so no track record to go by as to whether this person has been accurate before, or not.
Also, details are extremely vague. Just that it’s supposed to be an "Open World RPG" that ties Single Player and Multiplayer together, has been in development for at least three years, and won’t be coming out until 2021.
The site managed to create a long-winded article out of four short sentences on Reddit, and starts making assumptions while treating them as "facts".
For example, assuming which platforms the game will be on. The article makes it sound like the game will only be coming to the next Playstation and Xbox, as if the author knows this for a fact. It could just as easily come to PC and Switch, too. (Will the game come to the next consoles? Of course. But don’t assume which platforms the game will be releasing on, when you don’t actually know official details. All the rumor said is that the game is supposedly coming out after the "next consoles release". It didn't go into specifics about platforms.)
All that being said, it makes sense for a new TRON game — if there’s going to be one, any time soon — to be released at the same time the TRON roller coaster opens.
I’ve been saying this all along. If any new TRON film/series is going to be in theaters/on Disney+, and/or a new game comes out, it would be in 2021 to coincide with the TRON roller coaster’s opening.
Thanks to another user, Pooker100 on Reddit, for making me aware of this.
But it’s important to note that if you already own TRON Evolution on Steam, it will remain in your game library. You still own it. You can still play it.
To prove that if you own TRON Evolution you can still download it from your Steam library and install it, I’ve added an embedded video below demonstrating this. I downloaded and installed the game on April 22, 2019, which is several days after Evolution was removed from sale on Steam.
Since Evolution was removed from Steam right before the Easter long weekend: even if someone has tried to contact Disney to find out the reason for the removal (since they didn’t make any kind of announcement), we probably won’t find out why for a while yet. If at all.
Because of the lack of an explanation from Disney, there’s been a lot of speculation as to why the game was removed.
I can think of several possibilities, myself. But I feel these are the two most likely reasons:
A number of people reported having issues getting TRON Evolution to work on Windows 10. And due to the number of refund and/or support requests, Disney decided support was more expensive than the profit earned from sales. Making the game not worth selling any more.
However . . . a mistake Disney made with the Steam release of TRON Evolution, is they didn't prompt people to restart Windows after installing the game. For many people, the game won't work until the user does that. If they'd added a prompt to restart, it probably would've cut support/refunds to almost nil.
The other possibility, is perhaps Disney had a contract with Daft Punk to still allow use of parts of their TRON Legacy soundtrack while continuing to sell TRON Evolution. And that contract has now expired. Rather than renew the contract, Disney pulled the game from Steam. Since Disney outright owns TRON and TRON Evolution, there can’t be any other kind of licensing issue.
A third, much more remote, possibility is that Disney hired a third party (GOG? Epic Games?) to update Evolution, to remove SecuROM and Game For Windows Live. And as part of agreeing to remove the junk, that third party will get the exclusive right to sell the game for a limited period of time.
But I seriously doubt it.
Despite some people having trouble getting the Steam version of TRON Evolution to work, I assure you it can and does work on Windows 10. Here's another video, embedded below, showing Evolution actually running on the upcoming Windows 10 May 2019 update.
December 5th, 2019 UPDATE: Before anyone else contacts me about it . . . Yup, I've been aware of the Steam version of TRON Evolution not activating on a new install. I knew about it before Jim Sterling's video. (Though if you've already installed TRON Evolution before now, it should still work.)
Since I've always been quick to bash Disney Interactive in the past: I wanted to give Disney a chance to fix their shit, before talking about this. Expected too much.
Other than applying a crack to the game right now, we'll have to wait for Disney to get off their asses and remove SecuROM from the game so it doesn't need activation any more. The game is almost 10 years old now. I think we're well past the need to "protect" the game's sales.
If the DRM is removed, then maybe TRON Evolution finally could show up on GOG. Hell, Disney might even get GOG to do the work of removing the DRM for them . . .
Remember that Disney never released any official statement, explaining why TRON Evolution was removed from sale. Up until now, the prevailing theory has been that the removal was due to a contract for usage of Daft Punk's TRON Legacy music in the game, that was expiring.
If Microsoft is no longer providing new keys, then if a publisher runs out of keys that were assigned to them: they can no longer sell a game that uses GFWL. Unless they make the effort to remove GFWL from the game in question. Which Rockstar will no doubt do, for GTA IV. (It also brings into question, if Microsoft eventually intends to completely retire GFWL. But as of right now, GFWL continues to function and games that rely on it still work.)
Will Disney remove GFWL from TRON Evolution? That is, to say, will Disney hire a third-party to do it? Since the games division at Disney is a skeleton crew these days, with practically no one left to do this kind of programming work.
I personally doubt it. Thanks to this new information, my latest guess is Disney will not offer TRON Evolution for sale again on Steam — or any other new digital games storefront — any time soon. They'll just do the minimum of removing SecuROM, at this time. If anything. So that at least those, who already own TRON Evolution on Steam, will be able to re-install the game at any point, and still be able to play it.
The CRPG Book, which I’ve talked about a couple oftimes before, had a free online .PDF version you could download in the past.
The creator of the book, Felipe Pepe, had to take down the free version for a time, until a physical copy was printed and sold out.
While I won’t be getting my physical copy of the book until July 2019, Felipe is now allowed to make the free online .PDF version of the book available again. It’s also been updated since the last .PDF release. So if you’ve downloaded it in the past, it’s worth downloading again.
As a brief recap of what the book contains: it has the history, and reviews, of hundreds of CRPG games. Said reviews are written by passionate fans of the genre, along with luminaries in game development or the gaming press, such as: Chris Avellone (Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Fallout: New Vegas), Peter "Durante" Thoman (of DSFix fame), George Weidman (Super Bunnyhop), and Jason Scott (Internet Archive), etc.
It also contains a review of TRON 2.0 written by myself, on page 318.
As it turns out, a lot of people were against the inclusion of TRON 2.0 in the CRPG Book, because they don’t consider it a "true" CRPG. But it does actually fit the definition of a CRPG. So I’m thankful to the creator of the book, Felipe Pepe, for including it. TRON 2.0 deserves to be remembered.
If you have any interest in the history of the CRPG (Computer Role Playing Game) genre of video games, you owe it to yourself to check out this free online .PDF version of the book.
If you have an interest in the modding scene for older games: you may have seen a number of articles on gaming sites, mentioning enhanced texture upgrades created by using AI "Deep Learning" tools, with the most commonly cited tool being ESRGAN.
For the longest time, upgrading the textures in TRON 2.0 as part of the Killer App Mod was something I did not consider doing. At all. For the following reasons.
I believed any enhanced textures would likely not have much of an impact. Both due to the nature of the original textures (I'll elaborate on this point, shortly), and the fact that Monolith Productions were forward thinking, by including fairly high resolution textures in TRON 2.0 to begin with. (For the time, in 2003, anyway.)
Upgrading the textures would also result in requiring more disk space. Much more. Something I'd prefer to avoid.
The work required to manually upgrade any significant amount of textures, would have been an enormous task.
As a side-note: There seems to be a misconception, out there, that previous versions of the Killer App Mod already had enhanced textures in the Single Player campaign. This is incorrect, as the earlier points explain. The only improved textures, are those that replaced some very low resolution ones, on some of the Multiplayer characters. These enhanced Multiplayer skins were done via a laborious manual process, by hand, by LDSO team members.
But with the advent of AI tools, to automate the upgrading of textures: I decided to investigate whether or not using these tools would truly provide any benefit.
I used three AI tools, in my attempts to enhance the textures in TRON 2.0. Waifu2x, ESRGAN, and SFTGAN.
There are others, too, such as Topaz AI GigaPixel and NVIDIA's GameWorks Textures and Materials, with more appearing on a regular basis. But some of these aren't free, or require applying for an account in order to use. So, I stuck with the three aforementioned tools.
Of the three tools, I predicted that Waifu2x would very likely provide the best result.
This is due to the fact that most, if not all, the textures in TRON 2.0 are, effectively, pixel art. Consisting of large bands of single, solid colors, and some line patterns (with many located at the edges of the textures).
Below are images showing the results of using Waifu2x, ESRGAN, and SFTGAN with the various "model" data sets available for them. Each "machine learned" model provided slightly, or sometimes even greatly, different results. The original textures were 2x upscaled while being enhanced. (Except ESRGAN, which defaults to 4x.)
Apologies for using larger .PNG images. But avoiding quality loss, when doing image quality comparisons, is essential.
Please click on the images to open them in new tabs at their proper sizes.
Original texture on Transport Station level
Texture upscaled using simple 2x pixel resize
Waifu2x (UpResNet10 model)
Topaz AI Gigapixel
ESRGAN (Manga109 model)
SFTGAN (default model)
Original texture in-game
Waifu2x texture in-game
Original texture on Primary Docking Port level
Texture upscaled using simple 2x pixel resize
Waifu2x (UpResNet10 model)
Topaz AI Gigapixel
ESRGAN (Manga109 model)
SFTGAN (default model)
Original texture in-game
Waifu2x texture in-game
After testing the various models available for the AI tools, I found that:
UpResNet10 provided the best quality for Waifu2x.
Manga109 the best quality for ESRGAN.
SFTGAN had one default model, and was inferior to both Waifu2x and ESRGAN.
Simple 2x pixel resizing in an image editing program, is also inferior to Waifu2x and ESRGAN.
Based on the results, I only provided screenshots featuring these models.
As predicted, Waifu2x provides the best result in every case. Though ESRGAN, using the Manga109 model, is a close second.
However, when comparing the original and enhanced textures in-game: the results are less than impressive. The higher resolution enhanced textures really don't add much in the way of visual improvement.
The texture at the rear of the Exit Port on the Transport Station level is slightly sharper, using Waifu2x. But the alpha channel seems to have been affected negatively, reducing the glow effect (bloom).
March 15th, 2019 UPDATE: Fixed the problem causing the reduced glow/bloom in the Transport Station texture. The Waifu2x in-game screenshot has been updated, accordingly. If you want to see the previous broken glow/bloom screenshot, it looked like this.
The texture on the wall of the Primary Docking Port level shows almost zero difference in sharpness in-game, using Waifu2x. Even when viewed close-up.
Perhaps more experimentation with different models, or even different AI tools, could provide better results. But for now, my conclusion is: Attempting to enhance textures for TRON 2.0 is not worth the effort.
These experiments will briefly be featured in the upcoming third Single Player fixes trailer video, but I most likely won't be spending any more time on attempts at texture enhancement for the foreseeable future.
March 24th, 2019 UPDATE: Decided to revisit texture enhancement one last time, because I wanted to see how Topaz AI Gigapixel fares against the other tools. Screenshots for Topaz have been added to previous comparisons, and also added a third new comparison where I enhanced another TRON 2.0 texture.
Overall, in all texture comparisons, Topaz produces results similar to ESRGAN using the Manga109 model. With one sometimes outdoing the other, and vice-versa.
Please click on the images to open them in new tabs at their proper sizes.
Original texture on Program Integration level
Texture upscaled using simple 2x pixel resize
Waifu2x (UpResNet10 model)
Topaz AI Gigapixel
ESRGAN (Manga109 model)
SFTGAN (default model)
Original texture in-game
Waifu2x texture in-game
For this third, new texture: Waifu2x once again provided the overall best result. Topaz AI Gigapixel was a very close second.
But, more interestingly, looking at the Waifu2x result in-game actually shows a noticeable, subjectively improved, texture difference for the first time. (The previous enhanced textures for the Transport Station and Primary Docking Port levels, in-game, did not look significantly different.)
This latest result doesn't substantially alter my conclusion, though. Attempting comprehensive enhancement of all the textures in TRON 2.0, still won't be worth the effort based on these results.
Perhaps some selective enhancement of a few textures — where the difference is actually noticeable in-game — might be worth it. Something to consider in a potential Killer App Mod v1.3, but not for v1.2.
By TronFAQ on Thursday, February 07, 2019 at 2:48 PM
Some time in late January 2019, Steam starting prompting people that there were updates for TRON 2.0 and TRON Evolution. (Didn’t notice any mention of TRON RUN/r.) But it’s not what you might think.
The updates weren’t issued by Disney. They don’t patch the games.
These were updates issued by Valve, and they have to do with reducing the amount of disk space used by all the games in your Steam library. (So you should be seeing updates for your other Steam games, all at the same time, too.)
Many games come with what are called "redistributables", libraries of code that the games rely upon to function. They need to be installed first, before your games will work properly.
The problem until now was, every game came with its own copy of the redistributables it needed. But what if several of your games used the same exact redistributables? Why keep multiple copies of them? Why not share one copy of each redistributable, amongst all the games that need it?
That’s what these Steam updates to TRON 2.0 and TRON Evolution were about. Consolidating these redistributables so they can be shared among many games, and therefore stop wasting disk space (by not keeping multiple copies of the same thing).
By TronFAQ on Thursday, January 17, 2019 at 1:54 AM
Eight levels in roughly 28 minutes. This second trailer showcases more of the fixes to the Single Player levels of TRON 2.0, via the upcoming Killer App Mod v1.2. (Some have been shown in previous trailers, but most are new.)
These are all the Single Player issues I've personally noticed, or had pointed out to me. (Some by Mister Julius. Thanks!) But I'm sure I've still missed a few.
The original plan was to do two trailers demoing all the Single Player fixes. But there's too much to fit into only two, and yet still keep them at a "reasonable" length. So there's going to be at least one more, after this second one.
One of the mandates of Killer App Mod v1.2 has always been to fix or enhance the Single Player campaign, a goal partly inspired by the similar (in purpose) System Shock 2 Community Patch (SCP).
Time stamps for notable changes and fixes:
Prisoner Bin level
00:36 - Enhancement to opening cutscene for 16:9 aspect ratio (the actual player model not being visible while an "actor" version of Jet is doing the cutscene)
02:30 - Empty prisoner cells can now be opened with permissions cheat
03:05 - Encryption keys are difficult to destroy with certain weapons, this has been fixed (for the sake of Gold cheat users)
05:03 - Added sound effect for force field (which was missing)
05:59 - Fixed Exit Port beam missing beam splash and sound effects, textures in "socket" behind it dark and not panning
Transport Station level
06:26 - Fixed Exit Port beam not having beam splash or sound effect
06:53 - Fixed Exit Port textures in "socket" behind it being misaligned and not panning
08:09 - Switches at energy bridge now work for permissions cheat users, and the switches more accurately reflect their current status
10:46 - Fixed Mooring App switches not making any sounds, and added objective completion message when boarding transport
Primary Digitizing level
11:49 - Fixed green light "leaking" into area where it shouldn't be visible
12:17 - Fixed switches controlling bulkhead door (right before Ma3a) not being in sync with each other
13:04 - Fixed Ma3a referring to the player as "Jet" too early (instead of "Alan Two")
Ma3a should not be saying "Jet" when he frees her from her dock, and in fact she goes back to saying "Alan Two" in a cutscene right after this. It's not until the next level that Jet asks Ma3a to refer to him by his real name, instead of his User name. From that point on, Ma3a then calls him "Jet".
13:17 - Fixed missing build point and objective notifications when Exit Port is reached
13:33 - Fixed missing Exit Port base and beam activation sound happening too early
Alan's Desktop PC level
13:53 - Enhancements to video archive cutscene for 16:9 aspect ratio (Popoff is more visible at start, she doesn't "pop in" when she begins moving, and camera pans instead of "jumping")
15:58 - Second I/O Node can no longer be interacted with, and task list hint about where to go added
Players often get stuck on this level, when Ma3a says "activate the I/O Node". There's an I/O Node right there in front of them both, but it doesn't respond when used (and the player doesn't normally have the permissions needed to use it).
There's another I/O Node on the opposite side of the COM Port puzzle area. This first one, is the one that's meant to be used. In order to reduce confusion: the second I/O Node can no longer be interacted with at all, and it doesn't show that you need missing permissions any more. This is to tip off the player that this I/O Node is useless. A hint about needing to use the I/O Node by the "COM Port configuration panel" has also been added to Jet's task list.
Why not remove the I/O Node completely? (Which is what the Xbox version of TRON 2.0 did.) Or how about allowing the player to use either one? The latter was something I considered doing, but changed my mind.
I didn't do either, because: when you're using the first I/O Node, and Ma3a is communicating with you, how is she doing it? That's right, she's using that second "useless" I/O Node. Removing it or letting the player use it makes no narrative sense.
16:27 - Silenced distracting beam sounds during I/O Node use, and restored unused Archive Stack help file
17:45 - Restored unused Power Router help file and created artwork for it (since it was missing)
18:24 - Fixed missing build point and objective notifications on exiting level, sound effect missing, beam splash being too opaque
Power Regulator level
18:44 - Enhancements to video archive cutscene for 16:9 aspect ratio (Popoff faces right way from start, she and DataWraith trainees don't "jump", Crown more visible during camera zoom, camera movement more accurately syncs with sound effects)
19:55 - Fixed permissions cheat users being able to activate useless switch (now disabled), missing force field sound added
20:33 - Fixed Escher-like twisted geometry
21:03 - Program NPC now waits to activate bridge
After players eliminate a swarm of ICPs, a Program NPC would activate a bridge leading to the exit. The problem is that it's easy for players to not witness this happening. So they suddenly see the bridge and wonder how it got there. The Program now waits until the player talks to him, before he activates the bridge.
Power Oculus level
22:07 - Fixed textures on Exit Port columns being too dark to see
23:30 - Fixed sign above Protocol Socket not displaying info when reticle is placed over it
23:36 - Fixed ICPs' energy armor persisting after being de-rezzed
Main Processing Core level
24:18 - Fixed minor issues caused by using permissions cheat on force field switch
25:44 - Fixed permission in Archive Bin not costing energy
I’ve posted about the book before. But in case you missed those posts: the book contains reviews of hundreds of CRPG games. Said reviews are written by passionate fans of the genre, along with luminaries in game development or the gaming press, such as: Chris Avellone (Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Fallout: New Vegas), Peter “Durante” Thoman (of DSFix fame), George Weidman (Super Bunnyhop), and Jason Scott (Internet Archive), etc.
If you have any interest in the history of the CRPG (Computer Role Playing Game) genre of video games, you should at least check out the free online .PDF version of the book when it becomes available. But the physical version of the book will be released first. The project is non-profit, and all proceeds from sales of the physical book will go to charity.
As it turns out, a lot of people were against the inclusion of TRON 2.0 in the CRPG Book, because they don’t consider it a "true" CRPG. But it does actually fit the definition of a CRPG. So I’m thankful to the creator of the book, Felipe Pepe, for including it. TRON 2.0 deserves to be remembered.
January 17th, 2019 UPDATE: The CRPG Book is now available for pre-order!
There are two editions of the book. The Standard Edition hardcover at $39.99 USD or £29.99 GBP; and the Collector's Edition which adds an embossed slipcase, poster of the cover artwork, pencil and notepad (for mapping your way through games and taking notes), and postcards of artwork from inside the book for $64.99 USD or £49.99 GBP. (These prices don't include shipping.)
Today is the 15th Anniversary of the release of TRON 2.0 (at the time I’m writing this). The game was released in North America on August 26, 2003. (Though it had a limited release 3 days earlier, exclusively in Germany, I believe.)
The link below will take you to a download that contains concept art, wallpapers, and videos about TRON 2.0. Some of this content probably hasn’t been seen, by the majority of TRON fans, for over a decade. (I’ll also try submitting this to GOG.com, to see if they’ll add it as a bonus "goodies" download for TRON 2.0.)
In addition to this newly released collection of TRON 2.0 content: LDSO has previously released the TRON 2.0 soundtrack and game manual, which can also be found if you visit the link above.
All of the videos in the download, plus more, can be found on the LDSO YouTube channel if you'd prefer not to download them.
The picture to the left, is the very first content I produced when TRON 2.0 was announced. This was even before LDSO existed, and it also preceded my TRON 2.0 Unofficial FAQ, which I became known for (hence the nickname "TronFAQ").
It was a page I named "TRON 2.0 Spoilers and Speculation", and it went live in early 2003. As the name of the page indicated, I posted some spoilers and speculated about what the game would be like, before it was released. Some of the concept art, in the download being released today, was featured on this page.
There’s another story I could tell about the page, regarding how Disney was not happy about it and contacted me. But I’ll save that for another time.
Thanks to Disney, Monolith Productions, Steven Lisberger (who went uncredited for his contributions), Richard Taylor and Syd Mead (who contributed to the game as well), and everyone who worked on TRON 2.0.
Thank you for creating such a memorable, and fun, game. That perfectly captured the aesthetic, humor, and imaginative storytelling of the original TRON. It absolutely had many fans excited and spellbound at release, as the first follow-up to the original film in decades.
October 30th, 2019 UPDATE: Monolith recently released some new concept art for TRON 2.0 I'd never seen before, as part of their 25th Anniversary celebration. I asked for, and got permission, from Monolith to share this new TRON 2.0 concept art. In return, they asked that I provide a link to their Official Monoilith Productions Discord channel, where the new art originated from.
Since Monolith has released more concept art, I've updated the download on this page to include the few new pieces of art Monolith provided.
This trailer showcases many of the fixes to the Single Player levels of TRON 2.0, via the upcoming Killer App Mod v1.2. (Some have been shown in previous trailers, but most are new.)
These are all the Single Player issues I've personally noticed, or had pointed out to me. (Some by Mister Julius. Thanks!) But I'm sure I've still missed a few.
The trailer was originally meant to show ALL the Single Player level fixes. But the video became too long, and showing the rest of the fixes had to be postponed until another trailer.
One of the mandates of Killer App Mod v1.2 has always been to fix or enhance the Single Player campaign, a goal partly inspired by the similar (in purpose) System Shock 2 Community Patch (SCP).
Time stamps for notable changes and fixes:
General changes/fixes
00:36 - Fall damage reduced further (earlier versions of the mod already reduced fall damage, but it's been toned down further)
00:55 - Changing disc and arm colors in Single Player via the Mod Manager also changes Jet's body armor color
01:31 - Jet's thrown third-person discs now look the same as the first-person view discs
02:04 - ICPs' thrown third-person discs now look the same as the first-person view discs
03:16 - Kernel's thrown third-person discs now look the same as the first-person view discs
03:47 - Z-Lots now hold third-person handheld model that reflects which weapon is actually in use (instead of always looking like the Ball Primitive)
Program Initialization level
04:25 - Enhancements to opening cutscene (specifically the laser status board changing what it displays)
07:32 - No penalty for de-rezzing help programs or Byte, by using cheat to obtain weapons early, has been remedied (to be consistent with all other levels)
Combat Training Arena level
10:00 - Added glow to second smaller practice arena platform, to match the first one
11:29 - Fixed switches (not accurately showing status) and energy bridge (texture panning effect missing)
11:50 - Mesh Primitive removed from Archive Bin
The Mesh Primitive was removed because, in terms of the game's story, it makes no sense for it to be available that early. It seems clear this was a mistake, and accidentally left in from earlier game testing. The Xbox version of TRON 2.0 also removed the Mesh Primitive, for the same reason.
Jet is introduced to the Mesh Primitive much later during a cutscene, and from that point onward it makes sense for him to have access to it. Not before.
Even if the Mesh Primitive was left in, the player — SPOILER ALERT — loses all their weapons two levels later, anyway. So the period where the Mesh Primitive can be used early is short-lived.
Program Integration level
12:00 - Fixed regression causing disc to not appear on Jet's left arm in many cutscenes, and updated disc to look identical to first-person view
12:30 - Added Build Note "hint" that only appears when Gold cheat is used, to remind players there is a Beta subroutine they can optimize so they won't get stuck in the level
13:46 - Fixed exploit allowing player to jump into another part of the level early
16:14 - Smaller Quarantine Protocol force fields now turn off along with the larger one (leaving them on after Jet disables security measures didn't make much sense)
17:35 - Changed Exit Port beam to be consistent with other levels, added objective completion message, fixed Kernel Aide's lips not moving when he speaks in cutscene
19:02 - Screenshot of Killer App Mod v1.2 changelog (at the time this trailer was uploaded)
An incredible resource, it covers CRPGs (Computer Role-Playing Games) dating as far back as the early 1970s, all the way up to today’s modern titles. It reviews, and preserves the history of, over 400 games.
The CRPG Book Project is a non-profit digital book, that aims to review as many classic and modern CRPGs as possible. With emphasis on accuracy (development history and game mechanics), and finding reviewers who are knowledgeable and passionate about the game titles that they review.
A printed physical hard copy version of the book is being looked into, which would be sold at cost, since this is a non-profit endeavor. But for now, you can download this 528 page book in .PDF form completely for free!
Read up on over 400 games, in one convenient, attractive package. It covers a great many influential, noteworthy, and even overlooked titles. With some reviews written by game journalists, or even the game developers themselves.
You’ll find ones from luminaries in game development or the gaming press, such as: Chris Avellone (Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Fallout: New Vegas), Peter “Durante” Thoman (of DSFix fame), George Weidman (Super Bunnyhop), and Jason Scott (Internet Archive), etc. in addition to my own review.
TRON 2.0 qualified for inclusion in the book, because it’s a First-Person Shooter/Role-Playing Game hybrid, featuring light RPG elements such as experience points, character progression, "inventory" management, and skill and "equipment" upgrades (subroutines).
My TRON 2.0 review can be found on page 318 of the book.
Again, I’d like to thank the curator/editor of the book, Felipe Pepe, for being patient with me. It took a long time to write, and I kept making endless revisions to the review. (Which was originally much longer, but had to be edited down to fit into two pages. So I had to pick and choose, which points about the game were the most important to address.)
Disney (whose game division seems to continually reorganize and rebrand itself every year, so I've given up keeping track) has updated TRON 2.0 and TRON Evolution on Steam.
The TRON Evolution update occurred on June 28th, 2017. With the TRON 2.0 update following a couple of days later, on June 30th, 2017.
Both are stated as having "Windows 10 compatibility" updates applied to them. While the official news about the update for TRON Evolution posted on Steam is accurate, the news for TRON 2.0 is a bit of a mischaracterization about what the update entails.
The version of Games for Windows Live (GFWL) bundled with TRON Evolution on Steam, until now, was the same version included on the PC Retail DVD disc version. This version of GFWL only worked correctly on Windows 7, Vista, and XP.
Installing the game from Steam on any version of Windows later than 7, would result in the installation attempt failing. The end-user would be required to find, download, and install the most recent GFWL in order to solve this issue and allow installation to complete. With the Steam update, this is no longer necessary.
Contrary to rumor, GFWL has not been completely shut down. Only the GFWL marketplace (where you could buy games) was closed. You are still able to log into GFWL, and still play Multiplayer matches, in TRON Evolution. (GFWL simply utilizes Xbox Live servers in order to function. So there's little reason for Microsoft to end GFWL support, as long as Xbox Live continues to exist.)
But an extra launcher program (TronLauncher.exe) was added to the Steam release. This launcher was flawed, and could prevent the game from starting on Windows 10. (For that matter, it also could prevent the game from starting on Windows 8.1, 8, and even 7.)
I created a patched version of the launcher, and made it available almost immediately after this was introduced to the Steam release. Disney has now patched the launcher in the same manner, meaning the end-user is no longer required to find, download, and install an alternative launcher that would allow the game to run.
However, the game itself has not been updated.
No version of TRON 2.0 (Steam, GOG, and certainly not Retail) has received any Windows 10 specific updates to the game itself. Or official updates of any kind, for that matter. No new in-game features have been added, and no additional bugs fixed, since the game's final retail patch in 2003. Only unofficial fan-made updates exist at this time. (Unless you want to call Steam trading cards, and cloud saves, new features.)
While it's great that Disney has finally addressed both games' issues, I can't help but wonder why it's taken almost three years (since they debuted on Steam) to fix the problems. Disney has known about them, since day one. Both games have received many a negative review, or refund request, in the meantime.
So while these updates are, perhaps, not what people were really hoping for: if they raise awareness of both games, and make people want to play them again, then that is most certainly a good thing. :)
December 23rd, 2017 UPDATE: I've added an embedded video to this article, showing that it's possible to get the original Retail disc version of TRON 2.0 to run on Windows 10, using the fan-made Unofficial Patch from 2003. This, again, demonstrates that the "Windows 10 update" for the Steam version of TRON 2.0 is not what it's been made out to be. TRON 2.0 has always been able to run on Windows 10.
I had already speculated that the game would be showing up there soon, a few months ago. Based on some datamining that someone did of the GOG site. It arrived a bit later than expected (December instead of October), but it’s here!
Right now, I have no idea how well all the mods for TRON 2.0 will work with the GOG version of the game. (Someone posted in the GOG forum that supposedly the Killer App Mod works fine with the GOG version.)
Regardless, I’ll test all the mods and see how they work with it. And make any adjustments to make mods work better with it, if necessary. (GOG did not contact LDSO or give me a heads-up about this release, in any way.)
Right now it doesn’t include any extras like GOG games usually do (wallpapers, soundtrack, etc.), but if GOG is willing to work with me I may be able to provide some rare extras (if they can’t source enough from Disney).
Thanks to Employee_427 on Twitter for the tip! (Apparently GOG hasn't even tweeted about the release on their Twitter account yet, at the time I’m writing this!)
I've also since tested all the existing TRON 2.0 mods with the GOG version of TRON 2.0, and posted my results on the GOG.com forum here. The short answer is that, yes, they all work without needing any updates.
All TRON 2.0 Files- All released TRON 2.0 files, together in one place! Patches, Maps, Mods, Expansions, Utilities, and Tutorials!
TRON 2.0 PC v1.042 Patch- Download this essential update for your TRON 2.0 game as soon as possible, and install it. English only. Download theKiller App Mod to add Français/Deutsch/Italiano/Español.
TRON 2.0: Killer App Mod v1.1a- Download this "killer app" that adds many new features to, and fixes problems with, the PC version of the TRON 2.0 game! Adds 16:9 and 16:10 widescreen support, and Français/Deutsch/Italiano/Español language support to the previously English only Unofficial v1.042 Patch. Also fixes broken Multiplayer on the Retail CD/DVD, Steam, and GOG versions of TRON 2.0.
User Error v1.1a - Parts 1 and 2- User Error Parts 1 and 2 are a two-part Single Player expansion mod for TRON 2.0. This updated version now self-installs, and adds proper widescreen support when used with the Killer App Mod.
TRON 2.0 Mac OSX 10.4 Patch- Download this new installer to help fix the problem where the game won't install on OSX 10.4 (Tiger), or won't accept your serial number (CD key). Go HERE for a workaround that allows the game to run on OSX 10.5 (Leopard) or later.
Site Links
LivingDead System Operators- Site for the LDSO Clan which also features downloads, a message board, and generously hosts my FAQ. Don't forget to visit the message forum while you're there!
LDSO TRON 2.0 Wiki- Find more TRON links and answers to all your questions about the game here! Walkthroughs, Map Screenshots and Descriptions, Troubleshooting Info, plus more!
Xistence Imaginations- Xistence's personal site, where he lists all his current projects, including his upcoming xiDestroy Derez map.
TRON-Sector- Largest TRON site on the internet, with an active message board and many media downloads.
TRON Wiki- A new Wikipedia site on Wikia, dedicated to bringing you detailed information about all things TRON.
https://twitter.com/kevinlambert/status/1431076108301049856
https://twitter.com/MonolithDev/status/1432767099592601602
This rumor and article are so dubious that I almost decided not to share. It originates from a post by a user on Reddit, that's sparse on detail.
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