Have trouble getting FF8 to work with new SY-XG50 4.0 XP/2k

[FF_Lover]

Hi
as i posted earlier, Yamaha finally released an XP/2k compatible version of their XG emulation software. Works fine when used in normal windows usage, i.e. windows media player etc etc but FF 8 configuration does NOT want to detect it under the Music tab, it only finds my SB Live! FF80 port and Microsoft Music Synth and NOT the XG synthesizer. This of course is drving me insane, since I thought i had finally found a solution for the XG dilemma and then the configuration program is too dumb to use the INSTALLED software synth :/
If anyone knows of a way to fool FF8 into using it by using the registry
entries necessary to point FF8 to the XG synth or somehting please tell me...
There's a key for MIDIGUID in the registry to identify the selected output device for midi, so basically i think if one would know the GUID for the
SY-XG or how to find the GUID if it's different for each system so that it could be changed manually.
The funny thing is, that the FF7 configuration program detects and uses it just fine, FF8 config does not. I mean, what the heck ?
Please help figure this one out, I'm sure other people would like to see this work too. Btw, running 1.00 of FF7 on XP without any patches no problem in software mode so far, german version, FF8 is US version 1.2 Nvidia Update Patch.

[Aaron]

Err, FF8 Config Utility doesn't let you use a lot of stuff

If you wanna use the S-YXG50, download the FF Configurator 2.0 from the FFSF Web Site and use it.  Although, I don't really see why you'd want to use the S-YXG50 instead of the Microsoft Synth with, say, Samuel's DLS

[FF_Lover]

Aaron: Although, I don't really see why you'd want to use the S-YXG50 instead of the Microsoft Synth with, say, Samuel's DLS

Thanks for the info :)
Now got it to work real swell with the XG emu. If you have ever looked into XG or even owned an XG board before (i have an ISA SB16 with XG50 daughterboard) you will know why I wont touch soundbanks that even with 20 megabyte dont sound half as good as 4 megs of XG ROM :P
XG technology and midi extensions are just plain awesome and offer functionality that general midi can only dream of having. That's probably
the reason they chose XG....I think Nobuo probably chose to compose in XG
and then "boiled down" the original midis to General Midi compatibles to offer a choice between a compatible standard every card can manage and a high-end midi toy from yamaha that just has a lot of neat little features for a composer to use.....
And a software emu from the company who produces the hardware is the next best thing one can use to a hardware board....That's why I use it :)

[Goku7]

Actually, it does have an option to use the Yamaha synth.  Check this out:

Put your FF8 install disc in the drive and explore the directories via the "My Computer" icon.  You should find an install program that will update any S-YXG50/70/100 class softsynths with the code necessary to handle the DirectMusic engine.  Unfortunately, they didn't put a shortcut on the main FF8 install program that launches when you put the disc in, so that's why you have to look for it manually.

However, it still won't sound heavenly, even with XG.  Wanna know why?  You'll get missing instruments, because the instrument assignments in the songs are geared towards the Original DLS file that is used with the game normally.

Oh, speaking of DLS, you know how it says that the DLS is an XG one?  That's actually a lot of BS.  About the only things that are definitely XG samples are the Bank 0 instruments, and that's from the S-YXG20 series, and its samples are about 5 steps below that DB50XG you were talking about.

[Sukaeto]

I will agree that XG MIDI is good (if it's used right) but FF8 (like Goku says) doesn't have any real XG MIDIs (the ones that say they are XG sound pretty bad . . .)

I've actually used the SXG50 with FF8 before . . . Sam Slight's DLS is much better.  It's amazing.