FF7 on STEAM !!!

Retr0gamer · 10-07-2013 12:16PM

Depends. If you are getting it off the European PSN then get the PC version. It plays much better since it runs at the correct speed and not slowed down.

If you are getting it off US PSN then get that version. It runs at the correct speed and is the original version of the game.

snausages · 10-07-2013 03:40PM

PC version has some cool mods, so get that. The music thing is really easy to fix so it's a total non-issue. The pre-rendered assets are the same on each and with motioninjoy you can play with a wireless DS3. Just remember to turn off your wifi so the horrible cloud saving system doesn't cannibalize your saves

Kiith · 10-07-2013 03:54PM

Some of the mods are bloody awful as well though. I've heard some disgraceful fan made music added to the game, changing the world map to some weird techno/dubstep medley. I mean...listen to this travesty.

Some of them are pretty amazing though.

Vojera · 10-07-2013 04:08PM

^^^ Ugh. And they called him Greg? >_>

MitchKoobski · 10-07-2013 04:13PM

I haven't cringed that hard in a while.

Retr0gamer · 10-07-2013 04:14PM

I really don't get why you'd use mods with this game. Play it as the developers originally intended. 320x240 backgrounds and all!

K.O.Kiki · 10-07-2013 04:50PM

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I really don't get why you'd use mods with this game. Play it as the developers originally intended. 320x240 backgrounds and all!

Maybe if the world was still using 4:3 aspect CRT...

Overheal · 11-07-2013 01:28AM

Ive spent more time lately reading about FFVII than playing it.

All the original assets for FFVII were, or at least large portions of it were, discarded. Most of the team that worked on the original game was dismissed, downsized, transferred, truncated, etc. so when it came to the PC Port they hired basically the same team that ported over Tomb Raider 1. In other words, FFVII met a very unfortunate fate in that both the team that created it and its original assets may never be entirely recoverable. Creating any sort of true adaptation or god forbid an HD Remake will meet obstacles that, frankly, probably shouldn't even be attempted. Not unless you really wanna just say **** it and include voice acting and a ton of other shyte into the game.

They can get away with it though. The music would be remastered by a full on symphony orchestra if I had my way, and a rock band and whatever else, when necessary. Just be include the original version on the disc and everyone would be happy either way.

MitchKoobski · 11-07-2013 01:49AM

New PC version gives you the option to use the 1997 models. Thought that was a nice touch.

DECEiFER · 13-07-2013 02:22AM

I've bought Final Fantasy VII on Steam today. I was one of the many who owned the game in 1997 for the original PlayStation and subsequently for the PC. I spent many hours on PlayStation playing it when I should have been doing homework, but it was so addictive and the story was so compelling.

However, then they ported it over to the PC a year or so later, it was awful. The codec they used for the FMVs was crap, the extra dithering added by the game was crap, it actually looked better on the PlayStation. The PC version was also riddled with bugs and as time went on, newer systems struggled to play it (there were patches made to help but overall it wasn't great).

So today I'm on Steam checking out the summer sale to see if anything was worth buying. Going through the pages of games and suddenly, my jaw dropped! They made most of the right changes and released the game for €12.99 (or $11.95 if you VPN to the US), so it's not a bad thing.

Here's a video I made of the first 30 minutes of gameplay:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxuCnhFHn_E

(best watched in fullscreen and 1080p)

The differences compared to the original PC port are:
=======================================
- There is higher resolution and quality FMV (Full Motion Video)/Cutscenes, which was lacking in the original port, which also due to a terrible codec and dithering being used, resulted in it looking crap compared to the original PlayStation version.*
- Filtered textures in battle.
- The character models are a lot cleaner looking and seem to have been re-rendered in a higher resolution.
- The UI has been fixed up nicely to look good on today's higher screen resolutions, also.
- Cloud saving so you can continue your game on another PC.
- Requires a free Square Enix account to play, which you can sign up for upon launching it for the first time.
- The music is wave, likely recordings of the original MIDIs (which is a good...great thing!), so it sounds as it should without needing to configure a MIDI device (MIDI has very limited native support since Windows Vista).

What has not changed:
=================
- The regular background textures are not filtered and look a bit tired from upscaling, however, they wouldn't look any better if you played the original PC port.
- The gameplay; it's exactly how you remember it, if you played the original on the PlayStation or PC in the late 90s.
- The original frame rate seems to have been preserved.

* I've uploaded a screenshot of an FMV from the original port and Steam version so you can compare. The dithering on the original is done in-game as when you play the movie file in your favorite video player in Windows, it doesn't have it. But even without the dithering, the Steam version's FMVs are noticeably better, but unfortunately not HD.

Original:
http://i.imgur.com/ZBxzspg.jpg

Steam:
http://i.imgur.com/UmSgXqo.jpg

SeantheMan · 13-07-2013 12:00PM

You say it needs a Square enix account, do you have to be online to play it ?

MitchKoobski · 13-07-2013 01:27PM

SeantheMan wrote: »

You say it needs a Square enix account, do you have to be online to play it ?

It's been 50/50 for me. Once my save files are loaded and your are playing, it just saves your game locally and lets you keep playing if the cloud saves can't sync for whatever reason.

DECEiFER · 14-07-2013 02:53AM

SeantheMan wrote: »

You say it needs a Square enix account, do you have to be online to play it ?

I'm not quite sure, actually! I'll check that out.

Regarding the music. They really didn't do a fantastic job of it (probably on purpose). Instead of using the official soundtrack (released in 1997, re-released in 2004), they recorded the soundtrack using some crappy synth/MIDI wavetable and they were converted to OGG. Some of it sounds good but remember that epic (boss) battle theme (metal, duddddeee!)? It sounds timid...and boring. The soundtrack is still for sale so it's possible that Square are being stingy.

What I'm doing right now is downloading a 320Kbps rip of the original soundtrack. I'm also downloading Final FanTim's latest remaster in 320Kbps (not easy to find in 320Kbps, mind you, but persistence pays off). I'm going to try and match the OGG file names to the real songs (since the names aren't labeled the same). Hopefully then it'll be a matter of transcoding the official soundtrack's songs over to OGG and giving each the correct file name so that they can be used as the in-game music instead. The same could be done for Final FanTim's remasters (whichever's preferred, each will likely have a different opinion). When I get it done, I'll share with you.

Just note that I don't know how it'll turn out because the lengths on each respective tracks will be different and some on the soundtrack have fade-outs, different endings, etc., so I'm not sure how well they'll loop in-game. I haven't tested it yet but I'll get going on the few that I have been able to match so far.

For example...

Here's the original boss battle theme from the commercial soundtrack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVBM3bX7xdw

Here's the specific remaster (there are lots, as you can imagine):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHaOdUDMRcc

I've taken the liberty of uploading the Steam version's:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2JcPm3gYrk

For me, it's the remaster that wins. I'm just a sucker for any kind of a remaster (even though it's more of a remake than a remaster)!

Also, what they did to One-Winged Angel on the Steam version is too unforgivable. It'll ruin the experience when the time comes.

SeantheMan · 14-07-2013 01:42PM

DECEiFER wrote: »

I'm not quite sure, actually! I'll check that out.

What I'm doing right now is downloading a 320Kbps rip of the original soundtrack. I'm also downloading Final FanTim's latest remaster in 320Kbps (not easy to find in 320Kbps, mind you, but persistence pays off). I'm going to try and match the OGG file names to the real songs

The link on how to do it all is here dude

http://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantasy/comments/1hmgb2/ffvii_is_now_available_on_steam/cavtwhz

DECEiFER · 14-07-2013 03:03PM

SeantheMan wrote: »

The link on how to do it all is here dude

http://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantasy/comments/1hmgb2/ffvii_is_now_available_on_steam/cavtwhz

It looks good. I'm just be worried about the size of the download, as it's big enough to indicate that it contains the music, however, while it's big, it's not big enough for anything above 160Kbps MP3 quality. The only hope for it is if came from a higher MP3 source and is just compressed as an Ogg, which wouldn't be as bad, of course.

Also there's no way for it to add Final FanTim's remake. There are other fan works included, just not his.

EDIT: There's 3 missing. The Steam version (can't speak for the 2012 version) has 94 tracks in the music_ogg folder. The utility is only dishing out 91.

The following are missing from the utility:
comical.ogg
fin.ogg
oa.ogg

What I'm going to do is hang on to those files and replace the rest.

EDIT again:
Apparently comical.ogg and oa.ogg are unused. The same could be for fin.ogg, it's been so long since I've played the game that I cannot remember. You all should keep them anyways as it's always for the best.

It seems the concern about looping was also justified because the Oggs have intros and loops where the intro parts don't loop but the rest do. So it's best to use the utility SeantheMan linked to and enjoy a mix of fan-made, professional-made, and original works, even if none of them are done by Final FanTim (which for me is a shame).

22-07-2013 05:09PM

Ladies & gentlemen, was this the greatest computer game of all time? For me it was, the best story I've come across in a computer game and it looked great for the time it was released. I'm going to buy it for old times sake.

The final battle music in the North Cave still gives me goosebumps!

DECEiFER · 22-07-2013 05:19PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Ladies & gentlemen, was this the greatest computer game of all time? For me it was, the best story I've come across in a computer game and it looked great for the time it was released. I'm going to buy it for old times sake.

The final battle music in the North Cave still gives me goosebumps!

The music is a piss-poor effort compared to the original PS1 music. There are ways to replace it. Posts have been made about it above. You'll be disappointed with One-Winged Angel, that's for sure! The PS1 version is much MUCH better, and there are some nice remakes/remasters out there that are even better again. I'm using the "remaster" by Final FanTim.

Retr0gamer · 22-07-2013 05:26PM

I wouldn't say it's even close to the best Final Fantasy let alone the best RPG. Story goes to pot after leaving Midgar as well.

Still a damn fine game.

snausages · 22-07-2013 05:33PM

^ lol, right on cue

. tbh though I still think it's the best FF. VIII is too dour and IX is a little regressive. X and XIII are too linear and XII was a failed experiment. IV's too old, V I haven't played. VI is practically the exact same game in 16bit but with too many party members that become useless once you get magicite. VII just about tops it for me.

DECEiFER · 22-07-2013 05:41PM

Another example of the difference in music:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/w8kghl

The link is to a zip file containing One-Winged Angel from the PS1, Final FanTim, and Steam.

For God's sake, the Steam version doesn't even have MIDI choir aahs, nevermind real voices.

If anyone wants a replacement OGG soundtrack for their Steam/2012 copies, I'd be happy to upload the few different versions I have, including the PS1.

Retr0gamer · 22-07-2013 07:06PM

snausages wrote: »

^ lol, right on cue . tbh though I still think it's the best FF. VIII is too dour and IX is a little regressive. X and XIII are too linear and XII was a failed experiment. IV's too old, V I haven't played. VI is practically the exact same game in 16bit but with too many party members that become useless once you get magicite. VII just about tops it for me.

VII feels like too much of a rehash of VI to me except a whole lot less coherent and a far simpler and duller battle system. Your characters other than limit breaks are just materia carriers.

You should play FFV. Awful storyline but the Job system is simple magnificent with how gloriously broken it is.

I'd place FFIV (old but has a cracking pace and a lot of fun), FFV, FFVI, FFIX (again simple but the most fun of the PS1 games which is all that matters) and possibly X ahead of it.

That still won't stop you enjoying it though.

BMMachine · 07-10-2013 04:48PM

hey, i got this yesterday and am trying to install the music files in the above reddit link. problem is, and it may be because im an idiot

, i have no idea where steam keeps the original files of the music in this game

if someone could help me it would be greatly appreciated

doh, found it now. it wasn't where google said it was, but near enough. time to go back to midgar then! gonna come up with a theme for naming my characters. no idea what yet. the more bizarre the better

SeantheMan · 07-10-2013 05:46PM

BMMachine wrote: »

hey, i got this yesterday and am trying to install the music files in the above reddit link. problem is, and it may be because im an idiot , i have no idea where steam keeps the original files of the music in this game if someone could help me it would be greatly appreciated

doh, found it now. it wasn't where google said it was, but near enough. time to go back to midgar then! gonna come up with a theme for naming my characters. no idea what yet. the more bizarre the better

name them after Pokemon, Herbs and Spices, Historical Dictators, there's endless options. Just make sure to name Cait Sith - useless

BMMachine · 07-10-2013 06:09PM

SeantheMan wrote: »

Historical Dictators

now thats something I can get on board with. if thats the case, Cait Sith will be called Mussolini

snausages · 07-10-2013 06:22PM

Sephiroth has a genuine Hitler mustache in the PC version so it's a shame you can't rename him

FF7 on STEAM !!!

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