Inexplicable Laggy Video/ Choppy Sound (and some other stuff)

[LowRyder2005]

All right, I'm on the verge of a temper tantrum here.

Here is what I did, step 2 to 5 about four or five times:

1. Download every mod needed (by the way, I noticed that the "ff7music_install15112.exe" in the Bootleg link is the 15111 version)
2. Fresh Installation of a legit, working, original copy, (Windows 7)
3. Install Bootleg and patches with some customizations along the way (checking things I want and I do not)
4. Edit/Sound/Midi/CFG
5. End installation with apparently no error messages (got through the "set SOUND/MIDI" request, .cfg file and final readme)

But when I try to run the game in any way (Admin, compatibility, different Hardcore/Lost Wing/Normal modes), the same happens, in this order:

- "You have an error in your config file, some options may have not been parsed. (no such option 's')"
- "Failed to load shaders, check APP.LOG" (tried to put every file from shaders in nolight, as I read in a topic here, but to no avail)

Then it starts with a rather laggy EIDOS video and choppy sound which makes it impossible to play the game.

BratCode is: 111001111001111000
and here are the contents of the APP.LOG:


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INFO: FF7/FF8 OpenGL driver version 0.7.11b
INFO: Auto-detected version: FF7 1.02 US English
ERROR: parse error in config file
ERROR: no such option 's'
INFO: NVIDIA Corporation GeForce 7300 GS/PCI/SSE2 2.1.2
INFO: OpenGL 2.0 support detected
INFO: Found swap_control extension
INFO: Max texture size: 4096x4096
INFO: Number of texture units: 4
INFO: Original resolution 640x480, window size 640x480, output resolution 640x480, internal resolution 640x480
INFO: Shader limits: varying 32, vert uniform 1024, frag uniform 2048
INFO: main program link log:
Vertex info
-----------
0(18) : warning C7050: "tbn_matrix[2]" might be used before being initialized

Fragment info
-------------
0(38) : error C5041: cannot locate suitable resource to bind parameter "tbn_matrix"
0(38) : error C5041: cannot locate suitable resource to bind parameter "<null atom>"
0(38) : error C5041: cannot locate suitable resource to bind parameter "<null atom>"
0(38) : error C5041: cannot locate suitable resource to bind parameter "<null atom>"

ERROR: failed to load shaders, reverting to fixed function
INFO: FFMpeg movie player plugin loaded
INFO: FFMpeg version SVN-r25886, Copyright (c) 2000-2010 Fabrice Bellard, et al.
INFO: No shaders, codecs with YUV output will be slow.
LOCK UNLOCK TEST
MATRIX INITIALIZE
INITIALIZE DD/D3D END
initializing sound...
creating dsound primary buffer
reading audio file
loading static sounds
sound initialized
INITIALIZING MIDI...
selecting device 0:Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth, mid=1, pid=27,
midi data type: GENERAL MIDI
using midi data file: C:\Program Files\Square Soft, Inc.\Final Fantasy VII\Data\midi\midi.lgp
midiOutGetVolume returned: ffff
MIDI INITIALIZED
set music volume: 127
MIDI set volume: 127
100% of 127 = 127
set music volume: 127
MIDI set master volume: 100
MIDI set volume: 127
100% of 127 = 127
Entering MAIN
Exiting MAIN
START OF CREDITS!!!
INFO: C:\Program Files\Square Soft, Inc.\Final Fantasy VII\movies\eidoslogo.avi; h264/aac 1280x960, 15.000000 FPS, duration: 10.193000, frames: 153
INFO: slow output format from video codec h264; 0
WM_CLOSE
END OF CREDITS!!!
Field Quit
MIDI stop - OK
resetting MIDI driver volume - OK
UNINITIALIZE DD
END UNINITIALIZE DD
END UNINITIALIZE DD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Yeah, I know, video card is... a little old.)

Among other issues/bugs:

- Although I checked the "AnyCDLoader", it always asks me for the CD.
- Bootleg Installation used to get stuck during the "deglitching textures" phase; unchecked the box and it worked fine
- I installed the custom music (FinalFanTim remastered quality ones), but I got no sound effects even though I'm pretty sure I checked the New SoundFX button.
  Oh, yeah, there were some tracks overlapping, but I read about a way to fix it here, so I guess it's no big deal.
- Headless classic Cloud in battle (I read it will be fixed in your next release)
- Maybe the most important issue: I can't seem to edit ANY part of the .cfg file, neither by the bootloader GUI itself (I keep "writing" it, doesn't work), nor by manually retouching the .cfg file
 (in that case, my selected options are ticked, but I don't think they work anyway: i.e. it goes always fullscreen even if I set it otherwise, I think that's why I can't solve the laggy intro problem).


Funny thing is, I was able to get it all set on a previous installation, albeit on a slightly different set of mods, but there were a few things bugging me
(mainly headless classic Cloud Model and no sound effects whatsoever)... I was even able to fix somehow the choppy sound/laggy graphics issue just by
trying out some graphic combinations in the original FF7config.exe (and I'm positive I never got that strange "options not parsed" warning from the beginning) and the game was running smoothly
even with my cheap video card (now I don't know why, but I am apparently unable to edit anything!). That's what is bugging me the most... it can't be a codec problem, nor the card. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks for your patience.

[tysonrss]

May not be needed, but try downloading the truemotion codecs after installing the k-lite package. After, open the "ffdshow" under the "k-lite" category in all programs, scroll down and disable truemotion once it has been installed.

Also, if you have opengl.cfg(from aali's driver), post that too.

[LowRyder2005]

Thanks. Actually I have been able to make it work via Windows rebooting (I have no clue how, but it worked).

I re-installed the bootleg yet again, and with my current OpenGL settings it works perfectly fine as for now (still have the headless Cloud model and I don't really like the APZ remix, though... anybody knows if there is a way I can fix it by myself? I saw a lot of tools around here which I thought could do the trick).
I believe I still can't edit the OpenGL file, but I won't touch it, since I have a feeling that this time I got lucky, LOL.

Here is the configuration that worked for me (just edited through the installer, didn't touch anything else):

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# ff7_opengl-0.7.10b config file



## USER OPTIONS ##
## If you just want to play the game, these are the only options you'll want to change.

# set the window size (or fullscreen resolution) of FF7
# 0 means use original resolution (whatever ff7.exe provides)
# preserve_aspect adds black borders as needed to preserve a 4:3 aspect ratio
window_size_x = 1280
window_size_y = 960
preserve_aspect = yes
fullscreen = yes

# mod directory
# subdirectroy of mods/ where textures will be loaded from
# does not affect the old external textures feature, those should still go in textures/
mod_path = bootleg

# check your driver settings if this option doesn't seem to work
enable_vsync = yes

# limit snowboard, coaster and highway minigames to refresh rate / 2, i.e. 30fps for a 60hz display mode
# vsync must be enabled and working for this to have any effect
minigame_framelimiter = on

# same thing, but for the battle swirl
battleswirl_framelimiter = off

# allow FF7 to use linear filtering for its textures
# some things look slightly better with this option on, but alot of textures just lose their detail
linear_filter = off

# plugin used to play music, the FF7Music plugin MUST be enabled for FF7Music to work.
# If no music plugin is loaded the game will play MIDI as usual but FF7Music will NOT work.
music_plugin = plugins/ff7music.fgp



## ENHANCEMENTS ##
## All the little extras that weren't part of the original game, default options include only trivial bug fixes.

# make all dialog boxes transparent, same effect as the transparent dialog boxes YAMP patch
transparent_dialogs = on

# allow max hp/mp to go over 9999, same effect as the YAMP patch by dziugo
break_9999limit = no

# include armor in magic defense calculation
mdef_fix = yes

# expand battle viewport to cover entire screen and make the battle menu transparent
new_battle_interface = on

# post-processing shader, used to apply fullscreen effects
post_source = shaders/bloom2.post
enable_postprocessing = no



## ADVANCED OPTIONS ##
## Don't fiddle with these unless you know what you're doing.

# use shaders, if available and supported
# turn shaders off to use the OpenGL 1.1 backend
use_shaders = no

# prevent glitches due to rounding errors by rendering in the nearest (larger, if supported)
# multiple of the original resolution and up/down-scaling
prevent_rounding_errors = yes

# enable alpha blending for textures without an existing blending effect
fancy_transparency = on

# display frames per second counter in upper right corner
show_fps = no

# display some real-time debug information
show_stats = no

# store external textures in a compressed cache for increased performance
# compression is not lossless, some artifacts may appear when this option is in use
# texture cache does NOT update automatically if the source image changes, however, deleting anything from the cache
# will cause that file to be recreated from the source
compress_textures = yes

# use pixel buffer objects to speed up texture loading
# will probably crash horribly on ATI cards but should work for NVIDIA users
use_pbo = yes

# replace FF7's default framelimiter timer source
use_new_timer = yes

# use a more stable (but less accurate) timer to control FF7's framelimiter
# this option has no effect unless the use_new_timer option is on
use_stable_timer = no

# plugin used to play movies, FFMpeg is the only choice for now
movie_plugin = plugins/ffmpeg_movies.fgp



## MODDER OPTIONS ##
## These options are mostly useful to modders and should not be enabled during normal play.

# read files directly instead of using LGP archives
# for example; if FF7 is looking for aaab.rsd in char.lgp, this option will make it open direct/char/aaab.rsd first,
# if this file doesn't exist it will look for the original in the LGP archive
direct_mode = off

# show every failed attempt at loading a .png texture
show_missing_textures = no

# Disable Error Notifications
disable_popup = on
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



This time FXs work great, but I can't hear music at all. I'll make a backup, try re-installing the music patch and see how it goes.

EDIT: re-installed ff7music_install15111 version, and music works!
The only remaining issue is Headless Cloud.

[tysonrss]

Maybe try installing this model of Cloud. It's the model used in the last battle of the game. I use it instead of the default one since it goes with the overworld I changed to.

https://rs51l34.rapidshare.com/#!download|51l3|20358203|4._Higher_quality_Cloud_mod__by_Dreakon.zip|544|R~0|0|0

[LowRyder2005]

I was looking for that model too, LOL.
In fact I was trying to edit the siaa - sida files (Cloud last battle model) in my new battle.lgp from and old battle.lgp, but Highwind freezes on 3/4 when I try to extract the files for my next repacking.
Anyway, it doesn't work, game crashes when starting a battle. But thanks.

[PitBrat]

That Dreakon Cloud model is has some ugly glitches.
I recommend Bloodshot's Cloud model:
Models.7z                                       Bloodshot       Various models                          Qhimm FILE

Classic Cloud's head is missing because I made a mistake and Bootleg installs his head into Battle.LGP instead of Char.LGP.
This misplaced file is AABA.P.