Messages

1

Archive / Re: [WIP] Cloud hires motorbike replacement

« on: 2009-08-28 03:38:46 »

It doesn't make sense to me. He doesn't even have the hard edge at that time in the game. he has the buster sword. o.o??
why did they give him the hard edge anyways?

You can steal it from the Shinra Soldiers in the Shinra HQ in the original game. I couldn't be bothered to waste my time in that place to get it. You can buy it at Junon and Gongaga for 1500 gil, but personally, I would just buy the Butterfly Edge at Junon and skip the bother for the Hard Edge. To be honest, I rarely used it and I didn't care much for it at all, after all it did look like a paper thin rectangle on a handle.

2

Archive / Re: [WIP] Cloud hires motorbike replacement

« on: 2009-08-28 03:17:44 »

Personally, I would prefer the Buster Sword over the Hard Edge while on the Motorbike. You probably would too, otherwise you may not have suggested changing it.

3

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-14 04:38:36 »

I fixed Bombing Mission so that the beginning sounds as it should when it loops. Just a minor change though...

4

Archive / Re: How to get your FF7 MP3 soundtrack to loop [as] seamlessly [as possible]

« on: 2009-08-14 04:25:55 »

I also have version 1.5.1.1 and I do not have that option... Although I could add it, but I am not certain as to whether or not that would be good for this program version.

These are what came in version 1.5.1.1 when I downloaded it.

[Setup]
InputPlugin=C:\FF7\in_mad.dll
OutputPlugin=C:\FF7\out_wave.dll
Volume=255
Pan=0
Profile=OSTRemastered
Paths=C:\Mp3\;C:\FF7\OstRE\
ProfileList=PSF;FilenamesOnly;OSTRemastered
Loop=1
Remember=2
ResumeExclusions=aseri2,bat,chu,chu2,crwin,crlost,fanfare,fan2
ResumeAfter=aseri2,bat,chu,chu2,fan2,
ObeyStop=1
MidiDevice=1
MuteMidi=1
MaxMidi=0
PassThru=0
EmulateRamp=1
StopDelay=0

5

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-12 03:49:30 »

Wouldnt it be alot easier to code the music player to loop back to a specific time index in the mp3 so that it sounded like it was continuous?

Yea.

I don't think many people would want to try to tackle a program that can alter midi's or psf's because there would probably be too much coding as well as trial and error to be done in order to get it working and even then it probably wouldn't work the way intended for quite a long time after.

6

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-12 03:26:47 »

I could have this backwards but I recall the last time I tried that wav to mp3 was quick and mp3 to wav was slow.

EVEN IF you wrote a program that recognized notes and instruments and recomposed them into a midi type file, the way it sounds would vary based upon the playback drivers. It wouldn't be the same. not even close. You'd be converting music to notes. I'm saying a conversion is impossible because they aren't the same thing. MP3's are audio files, MIDIs and PSF's are basically digital notesheets. You can't convert oranges to carrots.

First off, of course the program would start off making it sound different, but that is where "Trial and Error" comes into play. That is how ALL programs come into play. After a lot of adjustments, I am certain someone could get it to sound pretty much identical. It's like how Instruments were originally used to create Midi's and PSF's. Those instruments probably sounded pretty identical to the playback of a midi or psf based off of how many sounds the midis and psfs could make. Imagine if those Instrument sounds actually came from an mp3 or another audio file and were modified into a midi/psf the same type of way an instrument was and the program used to convert those audio files actually made the midi/psf sound like the audio file used.

Data does not need to be the same thing in order to be converted into another format... Programs convert data the way they were programmed to. It is a completely different concept than your oranges and carrots.

7

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-11 09:44:17 »

Not to mention converting mp3 to wav is a lossy, time consuming process. I'm not even actually sure that it would eliminate the (>1 second) lag. Although if you want to test it out, Seifer, tell me how it works out.

If you can change a psf into an mp3, it is possible to reverse that process, the only thing is, is that it might take a different program per mp3 to psf conversion.

Postulate: If an entity can be changed from one state to another, an entity of the second state can be changed to the first.
Rebuttal: Even though a live person can be made dead, a dead person cannot be brought back to life.
More applicable rebuttal: Even though Midi and PSF tracks can be recorded and encoded as mp3, mp3's cannot be converted to MIDI or PSF.

There are so many reasons why that can't be done. Check out an explanation of how MIDI format music works, read it thoroughly, then just keep in mind that PSF files work in some vaguely similar manner. Sorry if this is coming off as egotistical, it's just a peeve of mine when people state things that I can prove wrong... sometimes people do it just to mess with me  .

But yeah, I'm not really sure why you need something to cut to an exact millisecond.... I'm pretty sure Audacity has a feature to do that, it's just tucked away somewhere, but quite frankly, if you zoom in far enough, then just cut the line wherever it seems to stop being horizontal, you'll get it to within the millisecond. Anything more than that isn't practical since there's already a <1 second delay that will be there regardless of how close you cut the track, so .002 ms more won't really be noticeable.

You cannot compare life and death to this because they just do not match.

So basically, a device would need to be able to read an mp3 and be able to turn it into event message signals or a device would have to be able to listen to the audio and mp3 creates and digitize it as event message signals... How is that impossible? It was done before, not from mp3's, but instruments and other things, and those can also be heard from an mp3 through your speakers, yet you guys say it is impossible.

If you still think it is impossible, try to think on what would be needed to make it possible. I already stated something that would be needed to make it possible, which means the possibility exists. Sure, it would probably be extremely difficult to make, but that doesn't make it impossible.

I don't want to argue this any further.

8

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-11 03:53:47 »

I just tested it on Audacity and I don't seem to have any problems. I even tried going as far zoomed as possible and still no problems. I just wanted to get it as close as possible to a certain sound ending and I have done it on Windows Movie Maker on a worse computer.

I have no clue as to what you mean by "countless times of reverse/forwarding of a song" seeing as I am only playing the song forward from the point in which I place the line at in Audacity. As for 100+ songs at once, I am only playing 1 single song. Haven't tried playing multiple songs at once, if it can.

My main goal was to eliminate delays when mp3's changed over while using FF7Music... This is one way of making that gap smaller.

9

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-11 03:08:29 »

Yes it can.  You need to zoom in on the track.  It can cut down to nanoseconds almost

I was meaning the ability to tell it a specific number to go to rather than placing a line.

Sony didn't create .psf files and there is no way you can recreate a .psf file from an mp3, it would be like trying to recreate a game from a recording of it.

You see, .psf is just a handy modular format for PSX machine code. The actual music player was ripped from the game, not just the samples or whatever.

Who created the original PSF files for use on a Sony Playstation CD? I am not meaning the person who created the PSF file (Niel Corlett), I am talking about the origin that started it... Also, how were PSF's originally created?

The Music Player you would be talking about would be... FF7Music?

10

Archive / Re: STICKY: FF7 Music

« on: 2009-08-11 02:21:44 »

I have a question... Who are the creators of FF7Music?

11

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-11 02:13:13 »

Quite frankly I don't know how FF7Music is implemented but I do know that there is some buffer time (less than a second) when looping a track. There are many ways to counteract this, but they all entail editing the source code for FF7Music (or completely making a new version).

BTW Torazo, a lot of your questions have already been addressed in this thread.

Also, a .psf file is just a music file that was ripped from a PSX disc and re-encoded into the .psf format (by someone?), so you're half correct in stating that it was made by sony. The initial encoding was devised by sony and burned onto CD's, but the .psf file itself was made by someone who ripped them from those CD's.

That thread helped me little, that is why I asked my own questions. If a question is not answered the way someone is looking for, then the question is not answered for them. I still needed more clarification regarding the few questions that I asked that were addressed.

As for the PSF files, I was talking about before it was ever ripped off of a CD. The person that ripped it just happened to call it PSF to help clarify what it was. It was originally placed on a PSX CD as a music file, which we now call a PSF today because of that ripper.

As I said, it is *Impossible* to change MP3 to PSF.  PSF are more like a midi file.  They are justa  collection of instruments and instructions being used by a plugin which emulates the sound programming of the playstation.

I highly doubt it is "Impossible"... They are stored as data on a computer just like mp3's. If you can change a psf into an mp3, it is possible to reverse that process, the only thing is, is that it might take a different program per mp3 to psf conversion.


These are completely off-topic though.

Does anybody know of a free program that can cut mp3's to the millisecond? I am looking around and I will be checking out Audacity. Audacity works. Only thing is, you cannot specifically tell it from what millisecond to start at.

12

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-11 00:36:11 »

It's just that, when I play FF7 with FF7Music going, whenever it attempts to loop a song, it tends to stop for a second or two at the end of each play through of the mp3. I am trying to figure out a countermeasure to this.

I have thought of an idea, but it would require to preload each mp3, which FF7Music does not allow right now. Basically, instead of FF7Music having 1 mp3 loaded at a time, it loads the 1st one, which is playing, and it loads the 2nd one in case it needs to loop. This should prevent the music from cutting out upon looping. Unfortunately, I have no control over the changes for FF7Music, nor can I create my own.

Right now it is...
Load mp3, play mp3, load mp3

My idea is...
Load mp3, play mp3, while playing mp3, preload the next mp3 to prepare for a loop.


Well... Seeing as Sony created PSF's, I would assume that it is possible to change various audio files into PSF, but we just don't know how to do so... Would be nice to be able to copy, cut and recreate a PSF file though.

13

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-11 00:15:46 »

just remove # next to #music_plugin = plugins/ff7music.fgp in the ff7_opengl.cfg file
that enables it once you remove the # so it looks like this
music_plugin = plugins/ff7music.fgp instead of this
#music_plugin = plugins/ff7music.fgp

Thanks. Now FF7Music works with Aali's OpenGL Driver.

Is it possible to have smooth music transitions, when FF7Music changes from one mp3 to the next or where it repeats the same one, it will start right away instead of having a delay?

Do PSF's have smooth transitions? If so, is it possible to cut a minipsf file into 2 minipsf files where the first has one portion of the music and the second has the second portion? I have searched and have only found that you can turn a minipsf into an mp3, but I haven't seen one where you can change it back.


Also, does anybody know of a cutting program that can cut an mp3 to the millisecond rather than to the second?

14

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-10 20:14:18 »

Correct! Actually oa or Opening.mp3 is actually playing with the First Video of the game. So you only need to find Bombing Run (looped). Search in the internet, The one I have comes from Crisis Core entitled First Mission

Getting the music to go from one mp3 to the next makes it stutter a bit and makes it lose a very short period of time when changing over... Hmm

I need to find a way to get rid of the delay before it decides to start looping again...

Hmmm.. Have ta see a sample picture of it for me to analyze...

Ah! Yosh! Don't use the old ones ... Use the HD version of the same AVI  that's the one you should use..Not the old one mostly because It needs the Indeo thing...Thats why ya really need Aali's custom Graphics Driver..

If you could show me some pics or send it to me thru PM..I can manage to help ya more...

Could Ya show what pops out everytime it doesn't run? Error message or something

It would seem as FF7Music does not have any errors when this happens. Would it have something to do with setting fake_midi to true? If so, I have no idea where to go to change that.

Just so you know, the version I have is 0.7.1b

15

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-10 05:54:49 »

Well, umm..no What I meant is Once you split the mp3 file. Opening will just be opening. And after the train scene. The Bombing Run.mp3 should kick in and supposed to be looped and that's that..( You have to time the split so It would not sound awkward once the bombing.mp3 loops.) If you're really confused Check this in your FFVII Music:

1. Open FFVII Music Prog.
2. click Configure
3. Click Files Tab
4. Browse thru the profile you're usin. Mine is OSTRemastered ( I'm using The Remastered OST's)
5. look for this names= oa and ob
    oa Should be the Opening.mp3
    ob should be the Looped Bombing Run.mp3

That should be there correct placements in game.

I am also using OSTRemastered

oa and ob have "02 - Opening ~ Bombing Mission.mp3" which indicates they are playing the same mp3 file which would explain why it does that... I guess I just need to replace the one that runs and repeats second, which means I need Looped Bombing Run.mp3... I would just need to find a cut version of the mp3 or find a program that can allow me to cut the music up while keeping the quality and reducing the size of the mp3.

You just have to redownload it man.The files you received are corrupted I think. Check your connection. Although its a really big video file (AVI that is). And it wont work if you're not usin Aali's Graphics Driver.

I would love to have Aali's working properly with FF7Music... Not sure why it doesn't initially.

not your windows dude...The Aali's Custom Graphics Driver's version is what I meant.( Latest is 0.6.10..I think)
 Hmm..Your usin CCCP Codec pack?..Well, everyone insists you should use KLite because This would also help in fixing the video problems you'll encounter in the game...  

I downloaded the newest one and tried it. I use CCCP mainly because I have had problems with KLite in the past. After changing, the only problem I have really had was that I cannot use the videos created and placed for download on this site...  The 1:59 video is one that I have yet to see, but that is because I need the Indeo Codec to view it in any of my players... Otokoshi's opening video.

Hm.. I'll try to upload later. It is in Mp3 version. But its no different than the PSF counterpart

Found the problem... oa and ob are both playing the same mp3. Just need to replace ob with the proper, Looping mp3 instead of the Opening mp3.

Aiya....Nope.  It shoud not stop the FFVII music from workin..Actually It helps to make it work...Hmm..Could you pls. Specify? Did you change the config.ini included in Aalis Custom Graphics?

I didn't change anything at all. I downloaded it, followed the instructions and played... The game worked fine, but FF7Music wouldn't work.

Ok, don't install the Indeo codec pack.  Or any of the other packs like K-Lite and so forth.  There is no reason if you're only doing it for FF7.  Aali's driver has the codecs included with it to properly play ALMOST anything

That's good to know. Would like to be able to play the video in Media Player to see what it's like though. So even if I cannot view Otokoshi's 1:59 video in a player, I would be able to view it in game if I had Aali's Drivers installed?




On a side note, you may have noticed that my replies seem like I don't know something, but then I come up with something, it is because I am searching the site as I go through each section so I am much more thorough.

16

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-09 14:24:59 »

-------Well as they say earlier in this thread you could use a program that can split these...What I Only have is a list of the midis used and a tutorial with the OST that can be used in-game including the time of a specific song you can literally use ( soundtrack coming from FFVII:AC and Reunion )

How would splitting the mp3 work with FF7Music? The original midi starts when Aeris pops up in the cinematic, but continues once the train arrives and goes from there, then repeats from the train arrival... If they are split, wouldn't there be 2 different Bombing Runs that FF7Music would need to work with? Is it possible to get FF7Music to load 2 mp3's and get it to load part 1, then repeat part 2 once part 1 finishes?

I tell you man its awesome..It came from the PS3 show and it fits the bill...Well the music kinda delays....But still is great!

Which video are you talking about? There are a few that I have found. There are also a bunch of zipped downloadable videos that have broken files which means you cannot extract the files.

I can't use it either but somehow it manage to work after I installed Aalis graphics driver...May I know which version you're using?

Version of... Windows? I use Vista Ultimate 32-bit. I also should have been more specific about the Indeo Codec... The installer starts, but will just freeze partway in. It might work if I could find an alternative way to install the Indeo Codec... I currently use the CCCP Codec Pack and I don't plan on changing it for KLite.

----  What? That can't be right...that's how I got it to work in the first place...well if you want I got the MP3 version Of Bombing.. If you like I'll post it here..But that is if its okay with the moderator....  

Weird... I would love to hear the version of Bombing Run that you have. I don't think the moderators would mind, but I have no clue. You could always send a private message regarding it.

There's a work around on how you can fix that...But if you want...I have a MIDI.LGP that can save you the trouble...although its already available here if you search carefully...

A way to prevent Aali's Custom Graphics from stopping FF7Music from working?

17

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-09 12:02:00 »

I am attempting to find another version of Bombing Run suitable for this on these forums and on google, but every version I have tried starts out the same and starts at the point in which Aeris shows in the opening video. There are a couple I have found that aren't mp3's though... Would be pretty cool to have them split into 2 different mp3's, but I don't know how that would work, nor do I know how to properly do something like that.

I guess I will try replacing the opening video in the mean time, but it would still start playing the mp3 after it ended would it not?


I can't use the Indeo Codec on my computer and Aali's Custom Graphics Driver stops FF7Music from working, so I can't even use the Higher Quality videos...

18

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-09 02:57:26 »

The only thing I have a problem with so far is the cycling of the first song while playing the game from a New Game. Despite the fact that the first tune is supposed to end just as the train arrives and the next tune is supposed to kick in, for some reason it restarts the first tune from the point where Aeris first shows on with her face pointing towards the screen and plays through, then it will restart the tune from that point again. Is there a way to split those two tunes apart so they can play more properly according to the game?

Yes, it can be done, but that would be a whole different tutorial. Audacity should be able to do it easily enough.

Does the PSF version have this problem too? I haven't tested it extensively, only trying it on a save game partway through, but I know that the PSF file has looping cues, and I think that FF7Music should be able to obey them.

The PSF also does this at the start of the game. Kind of weird having it cycle back to that point in the song while in the middle of a fight heh.

19

FAQs and Tutorials / Re: [Tutorial] Covarr's New FF7Music Tutorial

« on: 2009-08-08 22:32:57 »

I just got the music working properly... Both PSF and OstRE work fine for me. I placed all of the Remastered Songs in C:\FF7\OstRE and all of the PSF files in C:\FF7\FF7_PSF exactly where the FF7 Music Configuration Files have it linked to.

Note that these are the exact same songs that Covarr links to in the first post of this thread and I basically followed his steps directly. I did not have to use Steps 7 through 11 in order to get them to work although I will be testing them out to see if they make things easier.

The only problem I am having is that the tunes tend to stop for a brief moment when they finish then start again... The most annoying one is the very first one when you start a New Game. It plays two separate tunes as if they were one, which is probably how it was created despite the fact that they are two separate tunes.

Well, I tried Step 7 and it stopped playing back all of the music... I tested this by changing things around about 10 times. Although, now that I look back, it was stated to set a line to fake_midi=true. I ended up having to reinstall the game. After I reinstalled the game and set everything up again, the music playback using Ficedula works. Note that I am using LoopBe1 (mute) to disable the FF7 Midi playback while playing the game.


The only thing I have a problem with so far is the cycling of the first song while playing the game from a New Game. Despite the fact that the first tune is supposed to end just as the train arrives and the next tune is supposed to kick in, for some reason it restarts the first tune from the point where Aeris first shows on with her face pointing towards the screen and plays through, then it will restart the tune from that point again. Is there a way to split those two tunes apart so they can play more properly according to the game?