[FF7 PC] Full source code reversing project?

[Kranmer]

Seems 0.14 source is no where to be found

You can still get it at the original location
https://sourceforge.net/p/q-gears/code/ci/default/tree/media/version_old/
0.14 src is the 2nd from bottom file named "2007-05_q-gears_v0.14r_src.zip"

[KnifeTheSky77]

Why regress all the way back to 2007 codebase? Looks like Ogre has a new version out, api docs are still wack

[paul]

Because as discussed in this thread the old version uses the original formats and is far more progressed than then current "generic" version. Also Ogre is a massive dependency to carry, it takes 20 mins to compile latest version compared with about 3 mins of the old.

[Tom]

Exactly, paul is right, there is a lot of progress in that version on the original formats

[Zervox]

compile ogre as a library or as a dll that way you do not have to recompile Ogre source every time you make changes to the things which can be handled through inheritance or components.

[paul]

Ogre is still far more complex than SDL2 when FF7 engine its self is so simple. On things like Travis-CI you do have to compile it everytime or come up with somewhere to store it because its so large. Where as compling SDL2 on travis-CI takes 1 min. This does matter in open source projects that need free CI.


Edit: Oh btw the 20mins figure is for travis to build QGears when ogre is prebuilt!

[Hellbringer616]

What about modability? I'm unfamiliar with SDL2 but ogre accepts a wide range of formats does it not? Would make it easier than trying to maintain an old undocumented format.

Not thay I'm promoting we convert anything to a new format, more like OpenMW where it accepts the old format as well as new formats.

[KnifeTheSky77]

This proj should be approached from a feasibility pov at this point, go for it you madmen

[paul]

Yeah loading a a png or whatever is easy enough, seems the code will need some clean up though. Its still using SDL1, immediate mode OpenGL etc. Another striking issue is everything being global

[Tom]

Paul any progress with that?

Anyone else got any news on FF7 source code decompilation or remake?

[paul]

I believe re-creating just the field module via hooks in to the existing game is probably a viable starting point. That way if nothing else is completed at least there is a standalone end-to-end working field.

[Tom]

Any updates on that or similar projects?

[ergonomy_joe]

I uploaded two parts from my decompilation work:
- the coaster minigame: https://github.com/ergonomy-joe/ff7-coaster
- the world map engine: https://github.com/ergonomy-joe/ff7-worldmap

The code once compiled with visual studio 97 is almost the same as the original code.
But this time I made some arrangement:
.this project build with Visual Studio 2008 (although it may be easy to build it with more recent versions)
.part of the original code is included as LIB files: the main library FF7LIB, the sound library FF7SND and the menu library FF7MENU (I may release as source code later but for now you have to use the libraries).
.I patched a little the original code so that it runs in a window (with a glitch though)
.both projects work as standalone. I included an original .cpp file in both case to launch both engines. Respectively CoasterMain.cpp and FF7WorldMap.cpp.
.you need to build/link with DirectX SDK version 5.0. I didn't try with newer versions. It may work too, I don't know.

Enjoy !

[ff7man]

ergonomy_joe any chance you can share your notes or code from reversing chocobo races? I'm not sure how you have gone about reversing wat files and am interested to learn.

[ergonomy_joe]

I put the reversed code to the chocobo race mini-game online:

https://github.com/ergonomy-joe/ff7-chocobo/

The algorithm are there, it's up to you to make a sense out of it ^_^

Have retro-fun !

(please avoid pull requests)

[ergonomy_joe]

As a bonus, here is an old post where I give some insight of the .wat format:

https://magnetiktank.blogspot.com/2016/01/ff7s-chocobowat-having-fun-with-3d.html

[ff7man]

Brought a smile to my day tyvm

[ff7man]

I legit don't know how you pulled this off... I understand a little about reverse engineering and these decompilations are just absolutely insane. I am still trying to wrap my head around this. You have a gift, good work.

[ff7man]

in case anyone else struggles running ergonomy_joe's stuff I made a quick guide https://ff7man.github.io/ff7decompilations.html