WIP a patch to convert new FF7 to old

[BloodShot]

So this basically converts the needed files to the original FF7 PC so re-release users can use Aali's driver and do things like modpath?

[Tenko Kuugen]

Essentially. I forgot if the new music system still works, making ff7 music redundant

[BloodShot]

I thought it wouldn't work because it's done through the driver?

[Tenko Kuugen]

I said I forgot. I don't actually know anymore, so it might not work.

[Kranmer]

In that case Mako is wrong.  I did think it was odd they wouldn't work tbh

It isn't the that FMV doesn't work as such, it does but it does give a sound buffer error (i haven't looked into why yet but its possibly due to the container format or maybe just the audio they used, as i say i haven't looked into it yet)

So this basically converts the needed files to the original FF7 PC so re-release users can use Aali's driver and do things like modpath?

Yeah that's it, it just converts the New version to the Old version so people can use mods. most of the files in the new version are the same, the only thing that appears different is flevel.lgp so a patch was made to convert the new flevel to the old flevel, most of the files appear to be the exact same just a few minor changes so the patch isnt very big at 2mb, so we patch flevel and copy the files that are in different places to the old versions path's to allow mods to work.

Essentially. I forgot if the new music system still works, making ff7 music redundant

I highly doubt the new music system works with this, but since i can't test myself i can't say for sure but this uses the original 1.02 EXE and Aali's driver so you will most likely need FF7Music for music.

[Sebuzzie]

Ok so here's my report.

I've installed the new to old patch, which after a bit of trial and error on my part now works great.

Also installed the bootleg over it and that works aswell!

Tried to install the Anxious Heart mod after that, but that sadly doesn't work. (weither I choose old or new version doesn't seem to matter)

So overall: once again a great job by everyone who made these mods!

[DLPB_]

Once you have used new to old patch, you should be choosing OLD in the installer.  At the end it should open ff7music for you.  Unless I have made a mistake it should work fine.  It may be that you need to open ff7config.exe to configure the soundcard?

[Sebuzzie]

Do you mean changing the sounddriver? Cause when I do that I have no sound at all.

[DLPB_]

I mean making sure the game is properly set up with ff7config.exe

Someone else may have an idea what is going on if not.  Try to install covarr's music installer and see if that works.

[Sebuzzie]

Ok I managed to fix it.

The problem was that there's a FF7Music folder and a ficedula folder. I kept opening the FF7Music.exe in the FF7Music folder and that didn't work. When I opened the FF7Music.exe in the ficedula folder it did!

You people have made me very happy! Whenever you need a tester or if there's something I can help with let me know

[DLPB_]

You should have selected ff7music in the installer, at the end, it opens the correct one.  The other you have there is from covarr's.  You don't need it if you intend on using anxious heart.

[Scope]

I have a question.

If I were to purchase the new FFVII from the square Enix store - and patch it up with this conversion patch to be like the OLD...

Will features like the Achievements and Cloud Saves still work?

I am trying to weigh up whether or not its worth buying - These features are enticing me, but If I am unable to use mods without losing these features then I wont be buying it. I still have my old FFVII disks - so it would be pointless to buy it if it is only going to be the same as my current install.

[DLPB_]

The answer is no.  You are lit converting to the old PC game.

[TheNathanParable]

If we are literally converting the new to old, wouldn't this theoretically remove the need for SecuROM?

The impression I got was that SecoROM was not tied to the game itself, but to the launcher. You can't load the game without the launcher, and you can't use the launcher without activating the game. Similar to The Sims 3; by default, you can't play the game without the launcher, and you can't use the launcher without the disc being in the drive.

Since this patch replaces the new launcher with the original launcher, one that does not require an internet connection or any activation whatsoever, couldn't this theoretically bypass the (completely unnecessary and appalling) DRM? If I remember correctly, you are not asked for your activation code until after the game has already installed.

Even if this is the case, I can't see this as being much of an issue. The SecuROM is namely there not for the game itself, but for the features provided exclusively by the new launcher (DirectX, Cloud Saves, Achievements, etc), features that are disabled when converting to the old version.

[ajmrowland]

Havent really been on in a while, but I try to install the converter and it says it cant find the source file. I've tried putting it in the game's root folder and in the data folder, and of course installing from outside the game entirely but it's the same error. I've done this before trying FF7Config(which works okay but without the converter, it doesnt affect the new version) and havent even downloaded Aali's driver yet.

I've also only ever modded and patched Oblivion and Kingdom Hearts II, so I'm still a little new at this.

[omega res novae]

your install directory is wrong. when installing the new to old patch make sure your folder path is 100% correct.

watch this video
http://youtu.be/p_-f0xVt70A

[ajmrowland]

Alright, that helped. thx!

[ajmrowland]

I know double-posting is frowned upon, but I have a couple questions about the renaming method for running the game.

1.Does the attached drive have to be empty?

2.Is the game affected if the thing is unplugged?

[Covarr]

BishyT, not quite. The 1998 version has DRM too, albeit not very effective DRM.

That being said, does anyone know of any way to check for valid activation? It'd be better if this patch refused to apply to a non-activated copy.

[dziugo]

If we are literally converting the new to old, wouldn't this theoretically remove the need for SecuROM?

The impression I got was that SecoROM was not tied to the game itself, but to the launcher. You can't load the game without the launcher, and you can't use the launcher without activating the game. Similar to The Sims 3; by default, you can't play the game without the launcher, and you can't use the launcher without the disc being in the drive.

Since this patch replaces the new launcher with the original launcher, one that does not require an internet connection or any activation whatsoever, couldn't this theoretically bypass the (completely unnecessary and appalling) DRM? If I remember correctly, you are not asked for your activation code until after the game has already installed.

Even if this is the case, I can't see this as being much of an issue. The SecuROM is namely there not for the game itself, but for the features provided exclusively by the new launcher (DirectX, Cloud Saves, Achievements, etc), features that are disabled when converting to the old version.

SecuROM is in both Launcher and ff7_(language).exe. And it's also (kind of) protecting the new graphics driver file. You can't directly (by double clicking) run ff7_(language).exe, because it needs the settings from the launcher (through IPC).

I can't actually test it (because I don't have two accounts), but SecuROM is most likely just for DRM, it doesn't handle the cloud saves/achievements. Once it's feeded with correct code and activated, it's just transparent (well, maybe there is a little bit of debugging protection, but not so much).

If someone has 2 accounts, you can check if logging to another account changes your saved games - that would be a simple proof of SecuROM only handling DRM since logging to another account doesn't change the SecuROM activation data stored in registry.

I know double-posting is frowned upon, but I have a couple questions about the renaming method for running the game.

1.Does the attached drive have to be empty?

2.Is the game affected if the thing is unplugged?

1. It can be empty, ff7.exe just checks for the label.
2. Kind of - it does cd-checks when you advance to the next disc/load a new game, so unless you do that, you can unplug it.

Edit:

BishyT, not quite. The 1998 version has DRM too, albeit not very effective DRM.

That being said, does anyone know of any way to check for valid activation? It'd be better if this patch refused to apply to a non-activated copy.

You can run it from within the Launcher ;p If launcher is up, it's activated.

[TheNathanParable]

Ah, so the patch won't remove the DRM then, the game will still require activation? That's probably for the best, wouldn't want to anger Squeenix now would we?

Someone actually called me an idiot over PM for asking about that publicly, but I think it's important to get that question answered now instead of later. Stops any potential copyright drama from happening.

[dziugo]

Well, if the old ff7.exe wouldn't touch the new protected files (and it doesn't ), the DRM would effectively be bypassed (but still in place, should you decide to run through the new Launcher). You could say that the DRM protects the new engine, not the data.

[omega res novae]

i called you an idiot for making it publically known. I figured this out 2days ago and alerted kranmer of this. Yes it needs to be fixed but it shouldnt b known to everyone that it can b used to bypass the activation

[TheNathanParable]

All I did was ask a question. I didn't even know if the patch would bypass the DRM. I had a theory based off what little information I knew, and asked if I was right or wrong, and I actually turned out to be wrong. You're the only one who's making it publicly known by officially confirming that this is an actual problem (I didn't even mention your name, so I have no idea why you felt the need to do that).

Also, I don't even see why you're fussing over this. The previous patch doesn't even fully work, hence the fact that it's only version 0.2, so it's not like anyone could take advantage of it anyway. Besides, isn't it better for problems like this to be openly discussed so that other talented modders could potentially help to solve the problem?

[omega res novae]

you asked a question but i think you already knew the answer. You weigh things differently than me. You think a head on faster approach is best while i think a quieter one is. Back to the topic at hand. if the serial is stored in the registry or somewhere couldnt we find it and have the patch ask for a serial if it matches it runs if not patch halts