Qhimm.com Forums
Final Fantasy 7 => FF7 Tools => Topic started by: Synergy Blades on 2006-09-04 00:20:21
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Meteor (http://www.alaunus.com/wp/?page_id=4) (Alpha, v0.2)
Meteor is an editor for Final Fantasy 7 PC that is able to edit and create new field files for the game. A field file contains information such as dialog, scripts, and background images that are used to create a 'scene' in the game. The editor is able to load in existing files that have been extracted and uncompressed from field.lgp as well as create new field files.
I didn't want to release it until it got to a certain functional stage, but I've got less and less time now I'm coming to my final year of university and just wanted to get a version out there for people to play with & to get an idea of what it can/will do. Still, got plenty of ideas for future iterations that should make things much easier and enjoyable to use.
Some screens:
Field Overview;
(http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens_sm/1_overview.jpg) (http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens/1_overview.jpg)
Dialog Editor;
(http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens_sm/2_dialog.jpg) (http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens/2_dialog.jpg)
Script Editing;
(http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens_sm/3_script.jpg) (http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens/3_script.jpg)
Field objects on the Walkmesh;
(http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens_sm/4_walkmesh.jpg) (http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens/4_walkmesh.jpg)
Editing multiple components in the Walkmesh;
(http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens_sm/4b_walkmesh_edit.jpg) (http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens/4b_walkmesh_edit.jpg)
Palette tweaking;
(http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens_sm/5_palette.jpg) (http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens/5_palette.jpg)
Editing random encounters;
(http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens_sm/6_encounter.jpg) (http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/screens/6_encounter.jpg)
There's bugs-o-plenty but I do appreciate bug reports, comments and suggestions. You can find my email address on the homepage, or PM me.
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Wow, Great job
Awesome program
Good Luck with school and everything :wink:
Thanks for sharing :-D
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With this, and Reunion's new program... At this rate, it will be only months before it is possible to create a new game on the FF7 engine.
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Well, a demo anyway. There is still more unknown than known.
As one of the mods, we knew about this program for a while (hehehe) you should *See* the stuff we cook up in the special forums. ^_^
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This is great. I can finally look at the scripting in the field files, even if I don't know what that scripting is doing.
I found out that you can't delete entities in this version.
Some problems I've encountered are background being screwed up (in the same way as the incompletely rendered preview) and scripting apparently being messed up. I've noticed this in itown1a; Tifa didn't talk to the dog and skipped to talking to the old men, and the game froze when the third party member said their line in that scene.
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Could you elaborate? Since I haven't implemented any background editing yet, there shouldn't be any issues with background mess-ups in the game itself. Also, entities should be deletable using the Delete button, but you'd need to watch out for REQ and variants in other scripts since they call particular entities. This'll be easier in future since the C-style editor will replace these arguments with the entity names themselves.
I do know scripting is a bit off because they are loaded into the editor sequentially, when some are actually spaced out, such as save points that have a Script 1 and a Script 5 (ish), but they're loaded, and subsequently saved, as Script 1 followed by Script 2. Again, on the Todo list. :-D
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Well now i don't have to edit the levels in hex! :-D
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Well, a demo anyway. There is still more unknown than known.
As one of the mods, we knew about this program for a while (hehehe) you should *See* the stuff we cook up in the special forums. ^_^
That made me feel excluded :(
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I opened up itown1a (Mideel), edited the scripting, and saved. The background had some green areas, like in the merged preview picture. It happens even if I don't change anything.
On the entity part, I created a new entity, made it visible, and then tried to delete it.
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Thanks for that. Looks like somewhere along the line I've tweaked something & now it's miscalculating the required file size. As a result the background section at the end of the file is being chopped off. Some files, it doesn't matter as it's empty data, but in cases like yours it clearly does. Entities, looks like there's a prob with deleting the very last entity, but any other entity should be okay. Again, thanks, and I'll take a closer look.
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Well, a demo anyway. There is still more unknown than known.
As one of the mods, we knew about this program for a while (hehehe) you should *See* the stuff we cook up in the special forums. ^_^
That made me feel excluded :(
Don't feel that way. Most of the stuff is half backed experiments and arguments amognst the gods. All the cool stuff you guys see sooner or later.
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Quick update, recommended for script examiners/tweakers/editors. (Changelog (http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/changelog.txt))
Scripts are now inserted into Meteor in their correct places (see pic below), whereas previously blank script entries were just ignored and added to Meteor as sequential scripts. This means scripts now function correctly in game and, examined in a hex editor, the script offset table from a saved file will now match that found in the original field file.
I also fixed the bugs Vehek found (thanks again) and a few others.
(http://fusionblue.sr34.co.uk/sb/meteor/scripting.jpg)
With this, the save point will now function properly. Before, the blank script entries were ignored & placed the scripts in slots 1, 2, 3 and 4. When saved out and played ingame, the save point acted oddly (difficult to leave the save point since the save dialog kept reopening :-D). I suspect this was the cause of the dialog problem in Mideel that Vehek noticed. Scripts have their assigned places for a reason; what those reasons are, I don't think we know yet. :-D But with this, it might make it easier to find out.
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Not to nitpick, but each "slot" is an activation meathod.
For example init is "slot 0" (split between an Initialize script that's run once and a Base script that's run every cycle.
Slot 1 is "on click"
Slot 2 is "On touch" I think.
There is also "On enter" and "On exit" as well...
The other ones are REQ slots that are called by the other entites.
Maybe I should post this is tech related. ^_^
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But 2 is not always "on click". For example, background on/off code that manipulates doors when you cross a door's trigger on the walkmesh also uses script 2, but is not activated when clicked (uutai1, for example).
I had realised each script had a specific function, but was going to wait off on giving the scripts particular names until we actually knew what they were all for.
Btw, halkun, please check the talk page for IFUB over at the wiki.
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(I just added this to the IFUB talk in the wiki)
That's odd. It might be a destination bank/source bank pair. (Like the maths use) That makes sense as both values being compaired are in the same bank (6 and 6). In that case, the value being compaired is most likely the source bank address. (i.e. not explicit)
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Edit... Wait. Is 6 a valid bank?
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Well, a demo anyway. There is still more unknown than known.
As one of the mods, we knew about this program for a while (hehehe) you should *See* the stuff we cook up in the special forums. ^_^
That made me feel excluded :(
Don't feel that way. Most of the stuff is half backed experiments and arguments amognst the gods. All the cool stuff you guys see sooner or later.
I'll think of it as some sort of spam filter then ;)
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looks awsome, what can the script editor do, looks too good to be true, also any chance in the future it will be able to load up all the files at once, ive been trying to search for the church but its never gonna work unless i know which file holds what
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The script holds all interactions, events and so on that go on in the field. It's an ongoing area as we're still learning how it all works, so it gets updated as we know more about it, but it's certainly possible to code new events and the like. I've been using my own Debug Wutai for some time, playing with the opcodes and adding them to the Wiki.
any chance in the future it will be able to load up all the files at once
Depends, I've several ideas for the future. In the meantime, use Cosmo (since you'll be extracting the fields from there anyway) and check the backgrounds to identify what field is what; for the church, try the file named.. well, 'church'. :-D
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thanks alot Synergy Blades,
theres a few things id like to have a look at with this
http://www.ff7citadel.com/secrets/s_cave.shtml
and there was a cave back ground that didnt have a walk mesh, i think you could reach it from the debug room, this programs opened a few new doors , good luck with the development
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It's sango1. Yes, there is a piece of walkmesh at the top, near the cave, indicating it was possibly meant for walking on (though you'll notice in some other files, there are often bits of walkmesh which aren't actually reachable, presumably left in from the original mesh after converting to a simple walkmesh version). There are no LADER opcodes in the characters' scripts, which explains why you can't climb up; you'll also notice there are no gateways or lines, so even if you could reach the top there would be no 'next field'. But yes, it's possible it was meant to be accessible; can't think why else they would have a significant section of walkmesh leading down to the bottom of the vine.
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Great, now all we need is a tutorial on editing or "how to edit" field scripts :roll:
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Great, now all we need is a tutorial on editing or "how to edit" field scripts :roll:
And we can add a new Materia type with a weird script along with a new field location :D
Hey we could even have something interesting in the cave, like a mini game of sorts. (Boulder dash FF7?)
Just need to use the LADDER opcode right? :D
Cyb - being silly but having fun with it.
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This is some great work. The interface is very clean, and the work the program does is outstanding. Keep it up and good luck in school! :-D
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No, i meant generally. It would be nice if someone could through down a basic guide on how to script in FF7?
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I think once we know exactly what happens with regards to the script, and know at least 90% of the opcodes, that'd make sense. At that point I'll probably write a scripting guide to go with the app anyway, since the C-style editor will probably need even further explanation than just raw editing.
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[StupidQuestion]If this program could create new scripts in-game, could we replace text dialogue with voiced dialogue?[/StupidQuestion]
Just wondering. I remember parts in FF7 where scripted sequences would play sound effects along with the action. If we could use voiced dialogue thats pace was set by time rather than stomping the X button as previously done for text, I dunno just sounds like a neat idea.
I'm guessing that the current scripts point to resources already found in the original game, thus adding new content would:
A) Be impossible
B) Be so time consuming that it's just not worth it
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More of B than A, I reckon. :lol: I mean it's.. possible, if you can add new sounds to wherever they're stored. So instead of (or as well as) opening a window you'd need to play a sound() along with it, and you'd be limited to 65,000-odd sounds (minus the number already used by the game). You'd be working within the confines of the existing opcodes, which were never made for that sort of thing, so you'd need to regulate timing using wait() since I don't think there's a "wait for sound" command.
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Otokoshi:
You might be better served by waiting for a button press instead of trying to pace things from the voice sound.
Apart from waiting for the voice to finish and displaying the text on the screen (highly advisable).
Why? Because some people find it REALLY irritating (this person) when you are stuck in a conversation and someone decides you need to do something. The options are
pause the conversation? (which few games support)
wait for the next cue (IE when it waits for a button press)
Trust me you do NOT want to try and ram a complete conversation down someone's throat in a game. It may not seem like it but RL interrupts VERY often and seldom at a convienent time. So save yourself people complaining a lot and just don't do it. LOL.
Movies (3 minutes tops for most game sections) are never long enough in a game to worry about that. Conversations on the other hand are (30 minutes has been the longest I've suffered through) longer and tend to be highly verbose.
Because of the engines limitations I would lean toward the conservative side in trying such things.
Now for just random sounds such as windows etc it's cool just conversations are going to be quite troublesome. Most games selectively have voice conversations (IE most dialog is unvoiced). Also the voice is used at the start of the conversation (NWN does this a lot), and that is about it.
Always keep in mind that a feature is only useful if it makes the game more fun to play, not if it makes it feature rich. The former is Very important new features are a PAIN to implement and may detract from the game in general. Useless voice acting is a real pain (See 1000 arms).
Cyb
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Those are many excellent points you've made. Believe me I would'nt want to sit through an entire game voiced, with no way to skip it or pause it. I see how leaving the progression to the user would fit the best. I thought it would just be cool for those climatic parts in the game. If it did go overboard the new "feature" would be a nuisance. I liked how an earlier PC title, called Silver, dealt with in-game speech. I haven't played it in ages. *digs around for copy*
Conversations on the other hand are (30 minutes has been the longest I've suffered through) longer and tend to be highly verbose.
Would that game happen to be from the Metal Gear Solid series? :-D
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Actually, the XenoSaga series is WAY worse then even the MGS series (I know that may be hard to believe, but it's true). XS:3 (Als Sprach Zarathustra: Thus spoke Zarathustra) in paticular has over 12 hours of FMVs and dialog. Talk about listening and watching a game, rather than playing it. Hell, XS 1 (Der Wille zur Macht: The Path to Creation) has at least 6-7 hours of FMVs/dialog in it, though you still get at least 40-50 hrs. of gameplay.
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Conversations on the other hand are (30 minutes has been the longest I've suffered through) longer and tend to be highly verbose.
Would that game happen to be from the Metal Gear Solid series? :-D
Xenosaga 1, 2, and 3 as RW_66 has pointed out. It would be insuferable if it weren't for the fact you can pace it and optionally turn off the voices.
Voice acting is great but needs to be carefully thought out, that's all I'm saying. In some ways it can ruin a game (1000 arms english version sucks because of the crappy voice acting usage). An example of good use of voice acting is Soul Reaver. :)
Cyb
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I definitely agree that dialog should be well thought out in both placement and content, with paticular attention payed to proper localization and translation. Too often, the translation or syncronization is poor or even completely ignored. Silver Star: Lunar complete is a fairly good example of the average crappy/overly-campy "translations" (and I use that term VERY loosely) of many natively japanese works. However, MGS 2:SS had some excellent translation and voice-acting that really drew you in and furthered both the plot and story (amazing, since Hideo Kojima is hard enough in Japanese!).
I think a further example of excellent voice acting and translation is the americanized Dragon Ball Z series. The really payed close attention not only to conveying the actual information, but also the emotional context in which it was originally delivered. In fact, if anything, the american version is much more serious and less campy than the japanese version. (I know the japanese like their 'corn', though :-D ).
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I know the japanese like their 'corn', though
Grrr... can't argue... it's true! :-D
Now that I think about it, I really wouldn't want to "mod" so much out of FF7 to eventually ruin it. I guess adding voice acting to an original game based off of Q-Gears one day would be alright. If any was added to FF7 it shouldn't be some crappy voiceover or text to speech software. :lol:
And back on topic, this software rocks! Some very cool things could be done with this. Who wants to add some Easter Eggs?! :-D
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Isnt it just a case of being selective with voice acting?
Key parts/conversations in the game could be voiced.
Some early games on the PSX (Tales of Phantasia/Destiny) / SNES had some voice samples only used at specific moments in the game.
I would recommend parts such as when Cloud faces Sephiroth in the Nebelheim Reactor, When Aeris Dies, in the Temple of the Ancients, etc
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<random n00b question>
I really like what this editor is able to do. but the thing is when I use it I have a problem in-game
ok I start by extracting flevel.lpg and uncompressing it with lpg tools...I edit what I want in meteor..open lpg tools create a new flevel from the extracted one
Play FF7 and the exe crashes whenever I try to enter a town or anywhere ( save is currently on the world map)
I think the problem is I have to recompress the field files..considering the changed flevel is twice the size of the original
how do I recompress them?
thanks :-D
(and I guess I should add that I have only changed dialog so far just to see if it would work....no walkmesh or anything else has changed)
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Recompress it with Fice's LZS (FiceLZS on his FF7 Tools page):
lzs.exe -c5 filename filename_comp
This will generate the compressed file you need to reinsert into the LGP. Bit of a pain, but a necessity (for this version at least).
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Thank You :-D
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Someone could post a new link to download Meteor 0.2, the old one doesn't work...
Thank you =)
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Hey along the lines of voice acting ingame. Is it possible to change the sounds on the attacks in battle, so that when you attack or get hit you get like a grunt as well as a slash. Also in limit breaks so maybe say sample tifa from KH2 when she screams final heaven so you could have that in a battle??
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Sorry, but since I know this program I think it only edit the field level game scripts not the battle game scripts..so..its not possible..I gess..
wowo! Synergy Blades! I really hope youre working on a new release *.*
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I was speaking along more general lines as in, at all possible rather than, possible with this program.
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Sorry then I think I didnt understand well your post^^U (or something..)
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The link is down again. If someone could post a new one it would be greatly appreciated =)
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(Post deleted, old link removed. See first post in thread)
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Aww my hopes were shattered when i read there was no update on it :cry: :-P
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Thank you for the quick response.