HD textures, video & subtitles

All optional. Textures and movies are generated from your own disc; narration subtitles are files you supply. None of them are distributed here.

HD textures

The Windows renderer supports replacement textures as well as live texture upscaling. To generate the AI pack from a source checkout, follow the HD texture reference. The workflow needs NumPy, Pillow and a configured realesrgan-ncnn-vulkan upscaler with its models.

python -I analysis/scripts/hd_pack.py extract --iso "D:/MyDiscs/Drakan.iso"
python -I analysis/scripts/hd_pack.py upscale

Extraction writes to build/hdpack; upscaling writes replacements to dist/DrakanPC/textures and can be resumed.

Turn HD texture replacement on or off in PC Settings. Rebuilds keep the pack. Linux and browser builds can use it too.

Surdana: HD — Same frame, same input. Drag the handle to compare.

Surdana: Original — Same frame, same input. Drag the handle to compare.

Upscaled movies

Replaces the intro, outro and logo with 4× upscaled frames generated from your ISO (Windows). Needs FFmpeg with IPU decoding and Real-ESRGAN. The normal build does not create it.

From the repository root:

python analysis/scripts/fmv_hd_pack.py list --iso "D:/MyDiscs/Drakan.iso"
python analysis/scripts/fmv_hd_pack.py build --iso "D:/MyDiscs/Drakan.iso"

Use the script's --help for explicit FFmpeg, upscaler and output paths. Its default output is dist/DrakanPC/movies, which the game builder preserves. See the FMV reference for frame matching, decoding and synchronization details.

The Windows runtime enables the replacement path when a compatible pack is present. To use original movies, close the game and set this in drakan.ini:

[video]
hd_movies = 0

Set hd_movies = 1 to enable it again. Missing HD frames fall back to the original video.

Dragon attack: 4× upscaled — The same movie frame from the disc (512×512) and from the generated 4× pack (2048×2048), both shown at 4:3.

Dragon attack: Original — The same movie frame from the disc (512×512) and from the generated 4× pack (2048×2048), both shown at 4:3.

A dragon illustration in the locally upscaled intro movie — Intro movie, upscaled 4× from the disc.

Dialogue versus narration subtitles

Gameplay dialogue: the original game already supplies subtitles. Use Options → Audio → Show Subtitles (or the corresponding game-sound setting in the modern UI).

Intro and ending narration: the PC port adds an SRT subtitle overlay because the PS2 narration has no subtitle text. Matching files must exist locally. For English, place your local files in:

local/subtitles/intro_english.srt
local/subtitles/outro_english.srt

The canonical builder copies these into the playable subtitles folder and preserves existing subtitles across rebuilds. Other languages use the same <intro|outro>_<language>.srt naming pattern. Missing translations are not generated automatically.

Enable Narration subtitles in PC Settings and ensure the game's Show Subtitles option is enabled. Subtitle size can follow the window or use an explicit scale. The subtitle reference contains implementation and timing notes; its earlier proposal sections are historical.

Intro narration with the added subtitle overlay — Intro narration with subtitles.

DLSS and ray tracing

Palace gate: DLAA — NVIDIA DLAA at internal scale 1, where its antialiasing is easiest to see. Same frame.

Palace gate: DLAA off — NVIDIA DLAA at internal scale 1, where its antialiasing is easiest to see. Same frame.

The installer offers an optional NVIDIA DLSS download, subject to NVIDIA's licence and compatible RTX hardware. A source build can use a local SDK as described in Build from source. DXR water and shadows require compatible hardware and a build with the required shader tools.

Use Graphics & PC settings to turn enhancements on or off. Advanced Windows renderer features do not automatically carry over to Linux or browser builds.