Qhimm.com Forums
Miscellaneous Forums => Archive => Topic started by: Lone Lobo on 2003-04-05 05:37:23
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I'm making a FFVII mod for PC. Anyone want to help or give suggestions? Thanks
-Lone Lobo
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Well, what kind of Mod?
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It's a complete change on the game. We're planning on changing about everything.
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Ummm I'm not sure what you mean..
Are you changing the games graphics?
Changing the Game Data?
Changing the Game Sound?
Changing Sephiroth to be someone else?
If you are changing everything, I suggest making your own game from scratch instead :)
Cyb
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and who is "we" ?
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Hmmm I think I can answer those questions...
Ummm I'm not sure what you mean... (We're planning on changing about everything)
Are you changing the games graphics? (It's a complete change on the game)
Changing the Game Data? (It's a complete change on the game)
Changing the Game Sound? (It's a complete change on the game)
Changing Sephiroth to be someone else? (It's a complete change on the game)
http://www.sajidakhtar.homechoice.co.uk/ff7/ff7index.htm (Remake)
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That site hasn't been updated in a year. :\
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I noticed that as well. :)
It seemes Fice is a bit busy ;)
It was kind of cool to look at but all the links are DOA :)
Cyb
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if there is anything you should change in ff7pc, its the "out of battle" chars, horrable man, they are like 10 polys each.
and get ready to make a longhorn patch.
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In the current build of Longhorn, FF7 works fine with the XP fixes.
In fact, the current version of Longhorn is almost identical to XP, except some new funky visual stuff and some other features that are not entirely functional.
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scru longhorn man, i just figured out how to change visual styles, and enough eye candy will make me not want to change.
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Hmm, on my Longhorn machine I am using the "Windows Classic" visual style (same on my XP machine) because I don't care much for the new styles.
Also, on the Longhorn machine, I have disabled all the new-but-not-quite-working-right stuff, so what I have is Windows XP with the "Sidebar." The "Sidebar" is the only thing extra in Longhorn that I am using...
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for the most part, i like to keep things simple.
i seen what longhorn has to offer, and i dont like it.
depending on if my machine gets scured up again, i might even move back to windows 98
ps, i have to reformat my hd yet again, because of a kazaa lite worm, and because microsoft money 2002 tries to install everytime i goto ie, or mycomputer, or , alot of things....its getting me quite sdghklas478jghkl8sd, angry.
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Really though...a FF7 remake...that would be kinda nice. I mean, the graphics in the old game compared to modern games are sh!tty...may as well just use Quimm's program, Garden, and re-do FF8...it's easier, and less flawed...maybe then u could do something with the crappy plot in 8 ^_^. :lol:
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why not just remake ff7 on a new engine?
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Heh, I have been really busy at uni this year, but I've had time to do a *bit* of work on the Remake. I'll get around to putting my site & some screenshots up again ... at some point ... ;)
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Fice.. YOU busy? NAHHH! ;) hehehe
Anyhow good to know you breath still, remake looks like a cool project, I assume it tain't going to be open sewer (sourced). :)
Cyb
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Hey Lone Lobo, are you planning on changing the music? I could write the music for it. !!! I've wanted to write the music for a game for a while and have some ideas. I can do midi or mp3 whichever is better. I hope I can be of some help. I would really like to
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heh, ill make i soundfont for it.
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I'm planning on changing the music, I just didn't want to write it (I would have if no one offered). And that would be cool if you made them.
Also, if you don't mind, would you make a soundfont for it?
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How big can it be. What is the limit.
Also, tell me what format you want it in, or even multiple formats.
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How big can it be. What is the limit.
Also, tell me what format you want it in, or even multiple formats.
You see, I've never made soundfonts before, I don't even know much about them. Go with the average size/format if you could. And could you explain to me about soundfonts, I've not learnt much about them. thanks
-Lone Lobo
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it will be anywhere from 8mb-12mb, and in sf2 and dls format.
a soundfont is kinda like, umm, a downloadable...umm...lol
its something you can load into your system memory so when a midi file plays back, it will play the instruments in the soundfont.
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it will be anywhere from 8mb-12mb, and in sf2 and dls format.
a soundfont is kinda like, umm, a downloadable...umm...lol
its something you can load into your system memory so when a midi file plays back, it will play the instruments in the soundfont.
I thought so (seriously) because some of the soundfonts in FFVII have different instruments.
About the soundfont, a 16 mb limit (you said 12, just to be sure 16) sounds efficant. And can both formats be read in FFVII?
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SF2 soundfonts can only be used by cards that support that format, i.e. SoundBlaster Live!/Audigy, but can be used in any program.
DLS soundfonts can be used by cards that support them and by any card using the Microsoft Synthesizer, but it would be trickier to get these to work in FF7.
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SF2 soundfonts can only be used by cards that support that format, i.e. SoundBlaster Live!/Audigy, but can be used in any program.
DLS soundfonts can be used by cards that support them and by any card using the Microsoft Synthesizer, but it would be trickier to get these to work in FF7.
Thanks
Mofokubik, make the soundfont a SF2 if you could.
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im making it in sf2 and dls...both...because its no extra work.
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cool. Because from what Aaron said, I dunno if my friends soundcard can handle it.
EDIT - SF2s I mean.
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Cyberman: Heh, I know, but us students do have to work SOME of the time. The final year is a fairly good time to do so, I've found... ;)
Anyway, I've re-posted some of the Remake screenshots at http://www.warwickcompsoc.co.uk/~ficedula/remake/ ... no new ones right now, I'm afraid, but in case anyone missed 'em last time around.
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Cyberman: Heh, I know, but us students do have to work SOME of the time. The final year is a fairly good time to do so, I've found... ;)
Anyway, I've re-posted some of the Remake screenshots at http://www.warwickcompsoc.co.uk/~ficedula/remake/ ... no new ones right now, I'm afraid, but in case anyone missed 'em last time around.
Hey Fice, could you help me out with my mod?
Also with your one editor, I can't use it (when I open it, it goes offscreen).
-Lone Lobo
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Lobo:
Fice is part of the remake project, he's busy.. but I suppose no harm asking.
I've been twiddling with the data files looking at making conversion tools.
Fice:
Is that Remake's engine running FF7's data files?
I suppose it would be silly to change the backgrounds to 3d :)
Cyb
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3d backrounds would be nice, also new out of battle models.
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I'm far too busy now for, well, anything. Can't work much on the Remake project, never mind anybody else's...
Cyberman: Yep, Remake can read original data files to *some* extent. Field backgrounds are problematic, we can't decode field files fully, but it can read enough of the graphics to let designers re-use them.
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Fice.. there are a bunch of things that field files can do I've noticed.
1: have up to 2 images in them
2: have up to 16 animated/frame images in them.
I believe the flags have something to do with the sprites that are pasted over the background. Some of the animations have -1 frames but at most 0 - 7 frames (sometimes skiping the 1 frame). So there is a lot to the encoding that well.. Snailrush knows and I don't (not sure what you folks know).
If you get any time have a look at Snailrush's (http://snailrush.online.fr) PSX util. He has decoded QUITE a bit of it. I've been working on it myself, the PSX looks like it LZS compresses the field files also. This doesn't surprise me any really. Looking at the data I have found it's NOT exactly the same as the PC version (no duh). I think Eidos did that because they were.. well LAZY. The data is encoding quite efficiently on the PSX.
Also looking at the game script a lot is mirroed in multiple backgrounds IE the DAT files are the same size for a few backgrounds and the data is almost identical. So.. anyhow.. I think the Movies are queued from the scripts in the background images too (which would be handy huh?).
Anyhow.. I assume remake can't use the world map yet, but can grab the models of things that are in the 'scene' that is being viewed. These are in the script (which ones can be in it) I assume. Hmm anyhow.. more to tinker with.
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When you open a window and it goes off-screen, hit ALT, SPACE, then select MOVE. Then, use your arrow keys to slide it back onto the screen.
I love Tech Support. I do.
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We know how to decode the animations and the transparencies; about the only part of the field background that isn't sorted is removing those damn black dots...
It's the field script we know nothing about.
And yeah, nothing done on world map I'm aware of, although the models are standard HRC/RSD/P, so they can be displayed easily enough.
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why not just remake ff7 on a new engine?
Well... Call me crazy if you want, but I have a suggestion of 3D Engine : Crystal Space. It's an OpenSource, OpenGL-Based 3D engine. With some patches and additions, you could very well boost the graphics of FF7. Example : render the In-Game, out-of-battle chars like the in-battle chars. No?
Could also be used to make FF 8 Remake.
I love that 3D engine.
EDIT : http://crystal.sf.net
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No real reason to. We *are* writing the Remake on a new engine; our own custom one. The problems we face aren't really to do with graphics and the like. The main problems are that a) we don't fully understand most of the file formats that FF7 uses, so we can't use all the existing data; and b) we need more active story developers...
TBH, a lot of the coding is so Remake-specific *anyway*, we'd have to do it regardless of whether we were using our own engine or an existing one like Crystal.
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Ok, there are much code-specific things in your multi-platform port - remember that it's on OpenGL, and OpenGl is compatible with Linux, Windowz, MacOS (X), etc...
BUT the Crystal Space engine could be a very good start it you only use the Event Engine from FF7 and the text (i.e. if you rewrite all so that the backgrounds are generated "on-the-fly", the characters don't look like beer bottles, etc...).
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Another idea : a swich between top-view and 45-degree-elevated-from-ground view?
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Yeah, but we already have an engine that works; why discard it (even in part) for another one? By the time I'd totally learnt my way around Crystal, I could've spent the same amount of time to pretty much finish off my own engine. It doesn't contain much platform specific code, either; if I had a Linux box, I could probably port the engine to Linux in a matter of hours. The only external libraries the Remake engine uses are OpenGL for graphics, and FMOD for sound, both of which are very cross-platform. Internally, it uses Borland's RTL for most stuff, which is directly available on Linux; and Free Pascal have an equivalent set of code, the FCL, for most other platforms worth considering.
If we were starting the project *now* then an existing engine would be worth considering; but I'm still not convinced we'd want to use one. The point about the Remake engine is that the majority of the hard code is stuff that's very FF7 specific, so using an existing engine isn't going to help you; you might as well code your own for exactly the needs you have. Especially given the learning factor: learning how to use an existing engine takes time. If most of the things you need to do aren't going to be solved by it, then you're gaining very little benefit from it.
In addition, of course, Crystal is in C++, which is an immediate negative point from my point of view; I can code in C++, but I prefer not to given a choice.
'sides, like I said, the problems facing us at the moment aren't really to do with the engine. Of course, I'm in no position to criticise wrt lack of time; my finals at university start next month, so I can't work on the project either. But the programming side of it is not really an issue at the moment.
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Well C++ is a tool Fice..
It's neither good nor evil.
C++ definately has some anoying problems to deal with.
Polymorphism sucks if you are writting embeded code.
Static objects are difficult to control which is instantiated first requiring a forced (IE non portable) method to set the instantiation so that you don't have 'free radicals' or objects instantiating themselves that rely on other objects that haven't been instantiated. <- HUGH FRICKING PROBLEM.
For embeded programing EVERYTHING is a static object, that makes C++ a real PITA.
I've been playing with GBA programing, and I'm doing a port of a well known and understood and ported game engine as my first serious project for it. It's all in C (which is also a pain too), seems to be coming along.
As for the problems being programing, Yep Fice that's the real thing, very few problems in the world are technical! :)
Cyb
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Oh yeah, I'm not calling it EVIL per se. I just don't like it. There are some circumstances in which C++ is the best tool, period, and you really should be using it ... I just think a lot of time, that isn't the case - especially not for me; as well as the technical problems with it, I personally dislike its syntax.
As for the problems being programing, Yep Fice that's the real thing, very few problems in the world are technical!
Well, yeah. Programming is an "understood" problem. If you need to do something, either it's possible (in which case, 99% of the time somebody else on the internet has done it already and can maybe give you a tutorial/some tips), or it's not (in which case you don't need to worry about it: there's nothing you can do). And usually, you can sort it out ONE way or other within a week or two; you just need to take the time. It's non-programming problems that really kill things...