I personally only own the English PAL, and the two Japanese versions (original release and International).
I don't remember where I got the English NTSC .img file from (I know the Qhimm forum will not approve of this confession, but given the current situation I will order an actual physical copy of my own so please don't make a fuzz about this) and whenever I convert it to an .iso file I can't run it. I tried both simply changing the file type and using a converter but neither gave me a working game file.
However when I rip a game via Alcohol120% myself, it gives the desired .iso type file. This is why I can mod the first Japanese release; because I ripped it into an .iso file which is what Hack7 works with.
I want to be able to work with the English NTSC as well, and I'd rather avoid the PAL version as NTSC is my primary one.
To pick an example of a successful mod change, I viewed MTCRL_9 via Makou Reactor and activated a disabled border (border2) so that a hidden scene could be triggered. I believe this counts as "actual field changes".
The reason I want to be able to mod the game freely is because I am writing a series of articles about the unused text of FFVII.
http://thelifestream.net/final-fantasy-vii/8344/ffvii-the-unused-text-part-1/However for the commentary to this article series to be complete I need to unlock and understand parts of the game that require more than just flag and plot progression value manipulation. This is partially why Part 2 is not online yet; I am experiencing technical difficulties with some unused scenes.
Though it seems Hack7 doesn't always want to accept a mod. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. I don't believe it was meant for modding the field data aside from the text, but nevertheless I did manage to unlock the MTCRL_9 scene.
Hmm, I am usually very careful not to double post. It won't happen again.
EDIT: As I experiment more with this, it looks like using Hack7 to mod FFVII is more limited than I initially thought. After making some changes in MRKT3, trying to trigger Aeris' Script#9, Hack7 doesn't want to detect MRKT3 and not even display its text. It won't save the change into the .iso.
Which means that I'm stuck again.
SECOND EDIT: At least it allowed me to unlock the unused version of the "Cloud and Aeris goes to her house" scene. There is an unused version of that scene unfolding from the overhead perspective, in EALIN_1 rather than in EALIN_12.
But I noticed that whenever I use this MakouReactor->Hack7 method, all the text boxes of that field become messed up. They become way too thin. At first I thought that it was because, well, some of the text windows in the unused script ARE messed up in size. But this happens for every field in which I make an edit. There is some conflict going on between Hack7 and Makou Reactor.
I also noticed that when the size is limited this way, you can't move the pointer when there are dialogue options. You have no choice but to pick the default option.
