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Miscellaneous Forums => Graphical => Topic started by: TheNathanParable on 2012-10-03 22:14:18

Title: FF7 Edits - New Opening (Version 2)
Post by: TheNathanParable on 2012-10-03 22:14:18
Update: Made a second version of the opening, see here: http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=13711.msg192462#msg192462

~~~~~Original Post Below~~~~~

Youtube Preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmzJOsL00Jo

So i've been seeing some people do edits of the FMVs for the PC version of FF7, namely editing the intro sequence to use parts of the Crisis Core secret ending. It's a good idea, but there have always been a couple of things that put me off from using them:

1. Some of them were too different to the original. I find the part where Cloud introduces himself to be particularly out of place, especially when there is currently no other voice acting in the game.

2. The FMV has to end in exactly the same way as the original (unless you want to have a couple of tiny soldiers standing on top of your movie), and some of them don't really do the transition effectively.

So I decided to do my own attempt at it. It was produced in Adobe Premiere Pro, exported to H.264 mp4 with Adobe Media Encoder using the same bitrate settings suggested by DLPB, then changed into a avi. It starts off with the classic star sequence, then blends into the Crisis Core Aeris sequence, then back to the retro title card (when the screen flashes). From then on it's the classic FMV sequence, with Crisis Core train segments replacing original train segments. The original audio is kept in tact. My goal was to make a version that was close to the original, while having improvements wherever possible.

I've already tried it out in the modern FF7 PC release, and it works perfectly. All you need to do is paste the movie file into your "data/movies" folder, and change the name to "opening.avi" (preferably after backing up the original).

Download Link: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12960659/FF7%20Edits/FF7Edits_opening.7z

Mod edit: https://www110.zippyshare.com/v/LTFwfP5a/file.html
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: ManuBBXX on 2012-10-03 22:23:12
Looks pretty nice !  ;)
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: DEFIANT on 2012-10-04 00:21:32
You stole my idea!!! Thief! Crook!

I like it.

It's funny, the things that turned you off, were actually some of the things that drew me in haha. Good job. It seem we've started a revolution of intros. Keep up the great job.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: JLOUTLAW on 2012-10-04 00:28:10
Where is the ffvii movie directory located so i can switch this one into it?
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: DEFIANT on 2012-10-04 00:38:15
C:\Games\Final Fantasy 7\movies

This is the location I use for the original FF7 not the re-release.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: TheNathanParable on 2012-10-04 00:40:31
Yeah, i'm not too sure what the file structure is for the original release, as I only have the re-release (where it's "data/movies").
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: JLOUTLAW on 2012-10-04 00:53:12
I have C but I cant find "games". And I have the original.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: Tenko Kuugen on 2012-10-04 01:12:28
I have C but I cant find "games". And I have the original.

wow... go check program files/square soft/final fantasy vii
or something similar
do a search on your HD for ff7.exe and just remember the path
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: JLOUTLAW on 2012-10-04 01:21:02
Alright, I copied the movie to the directory but it's still not changing the movie that plays for the intro.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: whitERaven on 2012-10-04 01:38:10
could be the registry thing your missing, I'm not an expert on that so can't give further advise..

This is cool actually, I agree the intro we have here seems too flashy and long, I like watching it in my media player and not ingame, keep up the good work! I'll definitely use this one..
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: Tenko Kuugen on 2012-10-04 01:40:47
windows+R
regedit
computer->HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE->HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Square Soft, Inc.->HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Square Soft, Inc.\Final Fantasy VII

then
MoviePath to whatever your moviepath is
like
K:\Game\FF7\movies\
the last \ is important, include it

if you cant get it working with this, use google
because you're doing it wrong then.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: JLOUTLAW on 2012-10-04 01:54:21
Thanks for the help. Wow. this looks great in-game.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: cirellio on 2012-10-04 14:52:08
THIS is my new favorite intro, thank you.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: freshness82 on 2012-10-04 16:12:22
Wow.. I must admit, that is a sexy new intro. Definitely going to be using this from now on. Bravo sir.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: dkma841 on 2012-10-04 18:00:58
Just blended perfectly :D like as if it was part of the intro 
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: TheNathanParable on 2012-10-04 18:18:58
I'm currently working on a new version that uses segments from the PS3 Tech Demo. I actually managed to find a 480p version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1mmZXRjK5k

Only problem is, now I have the words "PLAYSTATION 3 TECH DEMO" plastered underneath the title. Would anyone have any recommendations on fixing this problem? It seems to be either a case of leaving it there, or covering it up somehow. Otokoshi seems to have found a rather elegant way of hiding the text ( http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=5932.0 ), though I have no idea if it's part of an official graphic or if he/she designed it themself (and the video itself is way too small to consider re-using it with their permission).
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: Kompass63 on 2012-10-05 12:43:49
Hi BishyT

Be careful opening.avi must have a length of at least 1:58.
Otherwise, the music ingame after this scene is not playing.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: TheNathanParable on 2012-10-05 13:24:57
Hi BishyT

Be careful opening.avi must have a length of at least 1:58.
Otherwise, the music ingame after this scene is not playing.

Don't worry, I know this already. The only thing I need help on is the actual logo, which I mentioned in my last post.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: TheNathanParable on 2012-10-05 23:15:06
Youtube Preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7QfxSoujOg

Ok, so i've got a new version of this now. LeonhartGR inspired me with his own intro "with a retro twist" into using footage from PS3 Tech Demo. To solve the issue with "PLAYSTATION 3 TECH DEMO" appearing during the title sequence, I covered it up in the same manner Otokoshi did, with a sort of metallic bar that also contains a part of the meteor and the Japanese title.

Now, I have no idea if Otokoshi got that from an official logo or if he made it himself, so I ended up making my own using the following resources.
http://insertcredit.net/ff7/logo.htm (for the meteor logo)
http://giallo86.deviantart.com/art/free-metal-chrome-pack-styles-187441902 (for the chrome style)

I also went ahead and manually vector traced over the "FINAL FANTASY VII" to make it sharper, as the PS3 Tech Demo was a bit blurry there. I had to do it manually as the apparent font they used (Runic MT) doesn't match up exactly.

Another thing; the Crisis Core version is very blue, while the PS3 Tech Demo is very "mako green". The original FMV is also a lot warmer with more yellows, which made fading into the original train-station at the end very jarring. I ended up editing the Crisis Core and Classic segments to be more green to match the tech demo. I also added the Crisis Core car sound as it drives past Aerith, as the original audio had different timing.

Here's how it is; Classic stars, Crisis Core Aerith, fades into PS3 Midgar during zoom out, PS3 logo with new logo covering it, PS3 Midgar with Crisis Core train clips, then fade into Classic trainstation (with the original colour scheme fading in).

I'll be keeping the original version up in case anybody prefers that.

Download: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/12960659/FF7%20Edits/FF7Edits_Opening_ver2.7z
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: ProtoX on 2012-10-06 02:34:20
much better this time and greatly well done on the fading effects
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening
Post by: cirellio on 2012-10-08 13:27:30
Youtube Preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7QfxSoujOg
Nice job, I especially love how sharp the logo looks now.
Here's a few nigglings I noticed:
-The camera gets jumpy as it's sweeping out of the city.
-At 1:34 you can see the words 'PLAYSTATION 3 TECH DEMO' suddenly pop out of the grey banner.
-Even though you did a good fade-in with an overlay, the transition from the new cutscene graphics to old when the camera is descending to the train station is a bit jarring. It would almost be better if you were to--rather than fade-in--switch to the old cutscene graphics between cuts to the train itself.
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening (Version 2)
Post by: ShadowzI on 2012-10-18 04:56:28
As much as I'll miss cloud's voice calling himself 1st Class soldier, Your fade in (and that logo) is to die for.
It be beyond perfect if you somehow mesh in the crisis core outro... but I'll take it =D
Title: Re: FF7 Edits - New Opening (Version 2)
Post by: LeonhartGR on 2013-01-01 16:05:24
I just noticed that trying to install the new Bootleg for a friend! I like it a lot but I need Cloud's voice as well! My mistake was that I encoded in higher fps so sound is lagged in old computers like my friend's so I prefer to use yours than mine. If you don't mind creating another version with Cloud speaking I would be grateful! If you could put some filters for more sharp pictures and vibrand colors as well... Thanks!