Author Topic: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]  (Read 59203 times)

Aali

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Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« on: 2014-01-05 08:13:54 »
http://backup.ninjaloot.se/share/ff7_opengl-0.8b.zip

Installation
1. Extract the archive into your ff7 or ff8 folder
FF7:
2a. Apply the registry information in ff7_opengl.reg
3a. Change your settings in ff7_opengl.cfg
FF8:
2b. Make sure EAX is properly installed (run EAXUnified.exe to install it if unsure)
3b. Change your settings in ff8_opengl.cfg
4. Play!

Changelog

  • Fullscreen mode defaults to desktop resolution instead of 640x480
  • Old external textures feature is gone
  • Vsync-based frame limiters are gone, framerates should be consistent now
  • New music plugin based on vgmstream
  • Patched FF7Config is not included anymore, the plan was to make the driver fully configurable from FF7Config but that is not going to happen so I'll be happy to get rid of that ugly hack
  • 9999 limit break option is gone, just use the original patch
  • New battle interface option is gone, hopefully DLPB can incorporate it in his patch instead
  • OpenGL 1.1 backend is gone, its not worth the effort to support it anymore and OpenGL 2.0 is supported everywhere these days
  • Texture cache is limited in size (configurable) and the game will no longer crash due to it loading too many textures at once
  • Mipmapping (anisotropic filtering) is supported for modpath textures
  • Many minor bug fixes

Lots of old cruft cleaned out in this version, a bunch of features gone, some of them because they were difficult to maintain, some of them because they don't belong and never should have been included in the first place. Some of you will miss them that's for sure but trust me, it will all be worth it in the end.


If you find any issues, please post screenshots, relevant information from app.log and if possible, a savegame.
If you get a crash, provide a copy of crash.dmp and app.log (preferably in a zip archive, this will make it 10x smaller)

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #1 on: 2014-01-05 08:21:25 »
omg omg omg

EQ2Alyza

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #2 on: 2014-01-05 08:35:21 »
 :-D!!!!!!!!!!

Kaldarasha

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #3 on: 2014-01-05 10:18:05 »
For those, like me, who are trying to use the native Ogg-support of this new driver:
Delete the '#' before 'music_plugin = plugins/vgmstream_music.fgp' and create a folder called music in your Final Fantasy main folder. In it make another one with the name 'vgmstream' and in this folder you must place your Oggs. The file names must be identical to the rereleases.

Finally the downpath of the game is lossless and the game runs even better. Great job. :-D

LeonhartGR

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #4 on: 2014-01-05 12:01:33 »
I was expecting the server to experience high stress after this release lol... Do we need to change anything in the music file structure in ff7 (ff7music mod) or ff8 (DLPBs mod)? Thank you Aali! I wish it would support external videos for the FF8 though but hey ho...

Mcindus

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #5 on: 2014-01-05 12:04:37 »
I think my head just exploded...

 :mrgreen:

Sega Chief

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #6 on: 2014-01-05 12:30:08 »
Looks like a lot of the textures are working properly now too; thanks a tonne!

Kaldarasha

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #7 on: 2014-01-05 13:40:17 »
How is it possible to disable the popups? The 'disable_popup' command doesn't work anymore.
I also can't get rid of the tearing. However vsync seems to work (at last the driver doesn't show a popup that it doesn't), but I guess it's a Nvidia issue.
For example I couldn't use vsync in KotoR II, which use opengl, too.

DLPB_

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #8 on: 2014-01-05 13:41:29 »
Excellent.  And with Aali's help I will pop the battle interface back as a patch.  Finally...  PROPER MUSIC!!!

I will also rerelease Anxious Heart soon.
« Last Edit: 2014-01-05 13:44:24 by DLPB »

Kein

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #9 on: 2014-01-05 14:27:47 »
Oh shi~, a new year update.

Rundas

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #10 on: 2014-01-05 16:06:13 »
Soon I'll be able to play the game again. If only I had the will to stop playing DOTA 2 for a second...

DLPB_

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #11 on: 2014-01-05 23:45:08 »
Bugs:

1.  Sound sometimes plays when it is set to 0.  Music also can play when set to 0.
2. Coaster minigame is still running at 30 fps instead of the correct 60fps.  The aimer has not been fixed(?)
5EE279 = 05
5EE29A = 05
5EE2BD = 05
5EE2E0 = 05

3. Snowboard minigame is running at 30fps instead of the correct 60fps.

4.  FF8 crashes

INFO: FF7/FF8 OpenGL driver version 0.8b
INFO: Auto-detected version: FF8 1.2 US English
ERROR: unhandled exception


« Last Edit: 2014-01-06 00:53:53 by DLPB »

cmh175

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #12 on: 2014-01-06 02:09:42 »
I thought I'd set everything correctly, but now the game boots in fullscreen, with the actual video screen really small (probably the original resolution) and menu options and everything look like the originals, and the game is asking for Disk 2.

~I tried adjusting the internal resolution, disabling popups, and a few others, but they aren't saving. This is in bootloader btw. Also, getting something about an unknown option "Fantasy" that pops up before the game can start.
« Last Edit: 2014-01-06 02:17:41 by cmh175 »

Mcindus

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #13 on: 2014-01-06 02:34:53 »
4.  FF8 crashes

INFO: FF7/FF8 OpenGL driver version 0.8b
INFO: Auto-detected version: FF8 1.2 US English
ERROR: unhandled exception

Same here. :(  I go back to 0.7.11 and everything is ok.

Aali

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #14 on: 2014-01-06 06:54:08 »
You know the drill, I need a crash log or atleast an offset for those FF8 issues. (It works fine on my end)

DLPB:
I hadn't had time to verify this but the framerates are fully configurable with these options; snowboard_framerate, highway_framerate, coaster_framerate and battleswirl_framerate.

Kaldarasha

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #15 on: 2014-01-06 07:25:24 »
Here is another bug:

Textures, which should be semi-transparent are non-transparent now. It also effects the balloons in the snowboard-minigame and the round-map in the Chocoborace.

DLPB_

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #16 on: 2014-01-06 07:58:39 »
Crashdmp
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36889302/FF8/crash.zip

Hope it's not something I've done :P

Also, cheers for minigame fix!  To everyone else, this is what you want to add to the config file:

Code: [Select]
snowboard_framerate=60
highway_framerate=30
coaster_framerate=60
battleswirl_framerate=60

Coaster aimer will probably be uncontrollable though, but wait for my aimer fix in Reunion :)
« Last Edit: 2014-01-06 08:10:17 by DLPB »

Aali

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #17 on: 2014-01-06 08:34:21 »
Here is another bug:

Textures, which should be semi-transparent are non-transparent now. It also effects the balloons in the snowboard-minigame and the round-map in the Chocoborace.

The screenshot you have provided is a problem with the mod you're using, the original full-size worldmap is still transparent. This is a very tricky issue though, if you could provide screenshots of every occurrence of this issue that would be great.

The FF8 bug was a minor derp on my part, if you use the "nvidia" version of the 1.2 patch it works fine.

Mcindus

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #18 on: 2014-01-06 09:14:35 »
The FF8 bug was a minor derp on my part, if you use the "nvidia" version of the 1.2 patch it works fine.

Hm.  Well, I popped in the Nvidia version of the 1.2 patch and now RaW crashes with "not compatible with GeForce" error. rofl.   :-\

I also keep getting an error where ff8 says "can't compress textures" while I'm seeing any text - and in my APP.LOG, I have a whole bunch of them.
I am using the SeeD mod, which is probably why, but I don't know if it's supposed to compress the menu textures.  And for some reason, I can't disable those popups.  I will try again without the mods folder enabled and see what happens.

** so, I opened up ff8 without any mods and it works great.  i don't think the driver likes trying to compress the .PNG files in the mods folder that are replacing the original game textures, and I guess without Non-GeForce support for this driver, I can't use RaW.  I can't use SeeD right now only because of the annoying red popups, and the driver gives an error message with disable_popups.  I really don't want to play again until I can use SeeD and RaW... for (I hope) obvious reasons.

Oh hey -- they blink again!! And is it just me, or are the animations smoother?
« Last Edit: 2014-01-06 09:54:48 by Mcindus »

Aali

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #19 on: 2014-01-06 09:54:14 »
I also keep getting an error where ff8 says "failure to compress textures" while I'm using any menu - and in my APP.LOG, I have about 25 instances of failure to compress textures.
I am using SeeD mods, which is probably why but I don't know if it's supposed to compress the menu textures. And for some reason, I can't disable those popups.  I will try again without the mods folder enabled and see what happens.

You could turn on "opengl_debug" in the config file and see if that gives you any clues as to why the texture could not be compressed. If that doesn't help I suggest just turning off texture compression, you'll get worse performance if that option is turned on but not actually working.

Kaldarasha

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #20 on: 2014-01-06 11:26:10 »
The screenshot you have provided is a problem with the mod you're using, the original full-size worldmap is still transparent. This is a very tricky issue though, if you could provide screenshots of every occurrence of this issue that would be great.

The FF8 bug was a minor derp on my part, if you use the "nvidia" version of the 1.2 patch it works fine.

Yes, without the mod the worldmap is transparent, but the issue is still in the minigames


In the previous building of the driver they are transparent, but the texture of the balloons is rendered wrong too. (Didn't noticed that before  :oops: )

I think the texture should be used as additive.

This how it looks on psx.



DLPB_

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #21 on: 2014-01-06 12:05:06 »
I can sort that world map from TA... I am guessing all I need to do is just fade it out (alpha channel 50%).

Hm.  Well, I popped in the Nvidia version of the 1.2 patch and now RaW crashes with "not compatible with GeForce" error. rofl.   :-\



Latest Raw is compatible.  Go to thread.  It also doesn't crash... it simply told you it couldn't be used.  You need to download the new raw.dll.

Also, new battle interface is sorted.
« Last Edit: 2014-01-06 12:36:39 by DLPB »

Aali

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #22 on: 2014-01-06 13:42:34 »
Something will have to be done about that transparency issue that's for sure.. DLPB hold your horses on that until I've decided how it's gonna go down.

The balloons looking like crap is not my fault though, I dug into it and it turns out we got robbed with the PC port. First of all the texture is all messed, those dark borders that look all out of place? They should not be there at all. However it's not just a botched conversion job, there's also a slight difference in how it is used, the PC version uses a "neutral" texture with vertex coloring to make all the different balloon colors while the PSX version has a separate palette for each.

Kranmer

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #23 on: 2014-01-06 14:02:47 »
Thanks for the new version of your driver Aali. Just got around to testing it and it seems to be working (after updating to the latest Nvidia beta driver from 327.23 which doesn't work right with your latest driver, on the old version all i got is a white screen when loading FF7). only problem i am having with FF8 so far is my controller doesn't work (works fine without the driver and with old version), i am using a official 360 Controller, i tried official driver and the XBCD driver, both have the same problem and just don't seem to work in-game when using this latest driver.

Aali

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Re: Custom graphics driver for FF7/FF8 [v0.8b]
« Reply #24 on: 2014-01-06 14:25:47 »
Thanks for the new version of your driver Aali. Just got around to testing it and it seems to be working (after updating to the latest Nvidia beta driver from 327.23 which doesn't work right with your latest driver, on the old version all i got is a white screen when loading FF7). only problem i am having with FF8 so far is my controller doesn't work (works fine without the driver and with old version), i am using a official 360 Controller, i tried official driver and the XBCD driver, both have the same problem and just don't seem to work in-game when using this latest driver.

I changed it to not accept input if the window doesn't have focus, that might be causing issues with the controller support, I will look into it.

EDIT:

I've noticed myself that the battle swirl looks weird in 640x480 and that the texture cache can get a little confused sometimes and unload some textures which are still in use, leading to trashed text or dialogs.
« Last Edit: 2014-01-06 14:29:44 by Aali »