[PC] Aeris 1.4d Background Tool for FF7

[L@Zar0]

Hi,

I proudly present my graphical tool for Field backgrounds. This tool is called Aeris and with it you can do (at this stage of development):

- Load Field (exported from Makou in UNCOMPRESSED FORMAT).
- View palettes, textures, layers, tiles, images, sublayers...
- Play with layers, sublayers (similar style as Makou)
- Zoom
- Export textures.
- Export palettes.
- Export images.
- Swizzle/Unswizzle hashed images dumped from FFNx (also batch process and command line). The swizzle works with upscaled images also.
  (PLEASE: You must be sure to have all the possible hashes for the field, if not, errors may occur.)

I want to thank you a lot to TrueOdin for add to his repository this tool. We have included the source code with GPLv3 license.
I want to thank you also to Satsuki as a hard work tester and help for this tool to work with upscaled textures (he will include from now on SYWV5).

I have done this tool by hobby. It does not represents a substitute of Palmer, although it could be completed to do the same things and even more if anyone wants to continue with it, like swizzle base images (the unswizzle is done), edit tiles, and save fields in uncompressed format. These were the options I had in mind but my main goal was to do the animated textures (hashed images from FFNx).

Sample:

Link to source/binary:

https://github.com/LaZar00/Aeris


The tool has been developed using VS2015, VB.NET with Framework 4.8. So, you will need this runtime to run the compiled canary.

You are free to post anything, but don't expect I modify anything and I'm not open to requests.


*** UPDATE 01/07/2021 ***

I decided finally to update this tool with new features for anyone who wants to do improvements to FF7 Fields Backgrounds.
With Aeris 1.2 you have/can:

- Tool converted to C#.
- Added a new process for working with layer images that is faster than the old version (using a new class with Direct Bitmaps).
- Save modified vanilla field if needed.
- There is a Tile Editor. You can edit the Tile Info and the Tile Image (if palettized).
   To access the Tile Editor you must click on the big Tile Image (down of Texture).
- Selected Tile in Textures can be Marked in Layer Image of the Stage to know what tile have you selected in texture panel.
- Export all swizzled textures of a field. This has command line *.
- Import a texture of a field, ONLY Direct Color textures.
- Process hashed swizzled textures into hashed unswizzled base images (output from FFNx). This has command line *.
- Process hashed unswizzled base images into swizzled textures, even upscaled (usage for FFNx). This has command line *.
- Process internal swizzled textures of a field and output them in unswizzled base images. This has command line *.
  This process, a difference of Palmer, has the ability to use Templates. There are templates for 102 fields.
- Process unswizzled base images to swizzled textures, externally (for upscaling, for example). This has command line *.
- Export/Import Palettes (export in Gimp/Microsoft .PAL formats, import in Microsoft .PAL format only).
- Feature for fix field fr_e (only from vanilla one).
- Has some fixed fields with wrong tiles/images: ncorel (entrance to tent), ealin_2 (doors), las2_3 (cutted ripple), fr_e fixed.
- Now you can maximize the tool to see/work better with the Stage images.

* Command line. To check the help you must run aeris.exe from command line with at least 1 argument. If not, graphical interface applies.


Samples:
This is a Palette Import:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/767680963895230484/853031450190413834/FF7_2021_06_11_23_57_41_821.mp4

This is ncorel fix:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/731918078564237322/850663428183162890/FF7_2021_06_05_11_09_50_470.mp4

This is new imported background texture into field fr_e:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/731918078564237322/855891447642193971/FF7_2021_06_19_21_24_38_370.mp4

This is the Tile Editor and Marked Tile in the Stage:

*** UPDATE 24/08/2021 ***
This is what includes Aeris 1.3.1:

- Fixed bug when doing the swizzle process of hashes for field ancnt2
- Added global var for remember the "Save As..." folder
- Fixed the tiles of fields fship_1 and fship_12 when the door for entering Highwind is opened.

This is the fix for fship_1 (and fship_12):
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/767680963895230484/879654649320329226/FF7_2021_08_24_11_12_09_191.mp4


*** UPDATE 11/01/2023 ***
This is what includes Aeris 1.4a:
* Updated/Fixed tiles for field shpin_3
* Updated hashed exceptions for field ancnt2
* Added NEW FEATURE: Unswizzle External Base Textures (even Upscaled), in Stage menu
* Update Title visual style


*** UPDATE 23/04/2023 ***
This is what includes Aeris 1.4b:
* Fixed unswizzle external when fields have textures > 15
* Added BITemplate for field mds7plr1


*** UPDATE 24/04/2023 ***
This is what includes Aeris 1.4d:
* Improved visuals (resizing/redrawing) in main window and for different zooms
* Code cleaning

Hope you enjoy it!

[TrueOdin]

It is my pleasure hosting your code. I really look forward to this tooling being a full fledged Palmer replacement one day. Also, It has been my honor working with you on this and enabling yet another great achievement in FF7 modding, providing to end players that remastered feeling everyone was awaiting from Square-Enix.

This year brought great things, I'm truly excited to see what the next one will bring

Thank you again for opening the source of this app!

[orichalcon]

i'd like to be able to take a field, unswizzle it, work with it in an image editor, reswizzle and put back into the game and have it working

is it likely this tool will be able to help accomplish this?


even if not, great job

[L@Zar0]

Hi,

although it could be coded (I had it in mind) to do so, this is not an actual feature that Aeris can do. Very sorry.

Apart of this, I wanted to edit ONLY tiles (not unswizzled images), because the process of doing this is extremely complex and we should know the method used by Square to create the field images.

 I'm not sure if will ever exists a tool that can do the complete field. Do the tiles is easy. Do the unswizzled image (I mean import it) is extremely complex because normally a field is composed of more than 1/2 swizzled textures. Normally, each texture, uses more than 1-2 palettes. And if you change the colors of the palettes as they are, and unless you know the original algorithm to create the field from unswizzled image, probably you will not have the correct result when importing.

For now, the viable solution would be edit the tiles one by one (for example for solve the bugs of masked colors in some tiles of some fields). This is not complicated to do.

Apart of this, you have another choice, that this works right now with Palmer, but you can NOT import the image to the field and you should use the image externally, putting it into the direct folder for example.

[orichalcon]

thanks for the response, was just curious

either way this tool unblocks a dead-end that the upscales were stuck in, cant wait to see the new animated fields thanks to this

[satsuki]

thanks for the response, was just curious

either way this tool unblocks a dead-end that the upscales were stuck in, cant wait to see the new animated fields thanks to this

Comming soon in my v5, FFNx 1.8.0+ will be mandatory to run them

[cloudiar]

Could this be used to edit layers in the future?

It would be great news, since fields like unused honey bee inn could work correctly, do you plan to achieve this?

Great job!

Greetings and thanks.

[L@Zar0]

Hi Cloudiar.

The tool is not prepared to work with new layers intrinsically. But if you have it from PSX (we talk of this in Discord) in PC format UNCOMPRESSED, you can view this and export the layers (if the format is correct). I show to you the honey bee beta field opened with this tool. You can download the canary and test it by yourself.



If Palmer works well with this new fields, you could even upscale it and swizzle again with Palmer.

I have not intention to follow the work with this tool, sorry.

[L@Zar0]

Updated Aeris to version 1.2.

[cloudiar]

Thank you for this great job

[Salk]

Congratulations on this new release!

[L@Zar0]

Updated Aeris to v1.3.1 with some code fixes and new fields fixed.

[L@Zar0]

Updated Aeris to v1.4a version.

[L@Zar0]

Updated Aeris to 1.4b with a pair of things.

PD:
Updated Aeris to 1.4d with two more things.