ANYWAYS… How to install the PC version FF7, on modern computers.

First off, I’ve seen a number of sites telling people to turn off UAC, DO NOT DO THIS!! UAC is VERY important security wise and turning it off will open a HUGE amount of security flaws!! I will NEVER advise people to do this and the internet would be a better place if everyone else did the same. All of my tutorials assume UAC is active and you should never have to turn it off to get your games running.

This tutorial is largely focused on Windows 7 as that is what I use, but these instructions should also work on Vista and XP. This method is designed to work with the original game, many pirated copies of this game will NOT work with this tutorial. I have also not managed to get this to work with any no-cd cracks so don’t try that either. If you know how to install FF7 and it’s updates already just skip on ahead to step 3.

Step ONE: Install FF7

• Using the INSTALL DISK right click on the program called “ff7inst.exe” and choose “run as administrator”. If you’re using xp just double click on it.
• Ok click next on the “Welcome” screen with Areith on it. That should bring you to the “select components” screen with Cloud on it, here you should deselect all three options. We don’t want any of these outdated files on our systems.
• On the “Setup Type” screen with Tifa on it, be sure to choose “Maximum install” (very important).
• The “Choose Destination Location” screen with Barret on it isn’t too important I like to choose “c:\Program Files (x86)\Final Fantasy VII” but I’m weird that way. Just click next here.
• Click next on the “Select Program Folder” Screen with Yuffie on it. (anyone else think her smile is creepy in that pic?)
• After this Vincent should start up right away and install the files over. Once that’s done the FF7 cd will brag about how awesome it’s 3d technology is and bug you about the also equally awesome 3d drivers on the cd. Ignore this message as they obviously don’t know what there talking about. This game was glitchy as hell from day one and even in it’s day the graphics were average at best. DO NOT USE THE DRIVERS ON THE DISK!!
• When the read-me pops up make sure you read the part about the controls, as they are f’d up and it’ll probably mess you up later if you don’t remember what these are (You can change them later in the game don’t worry).

STEP TWO: The official 1.02 patch

• In a attempt to fix there f-up Edios released a patch for ff7 to try and fix some of it’s graphics problems, this worked for windows 98, but there’s still allot left to be desired from this update. Still though, it does still fix a few things so make sure you install this. Download the patch from one of these links.

Link 1 <– Includes alternate languages

• Inside that zip file are the “fixed” .exe files for FF7. Overwrite the files in your ff7 folder (Probably c:\program files\square soft, inc\final fantasy vii), with the files from the zip.

STEP THREE: the FF7_OpenGL mod.

This mod is a brilliant piece of programming by Aali from the Qhimm Forums. It translates the graphics instructions from FF7 into OpenGL instructions that modern systems can understand. He’s also added a number of other changes including some patches that fix glitches that destroyed a few parts of the game (mostly the mini-games). Here is where you can download this.

Link 1 <– Check the first post.

• Ok applying this mod is fairly simple, same as the 1.02 patch, just copy the entire contents of the zip file into your FF7 folder.

Now this is the part where some people were saying to turn off UAC, you don’t need to. There are two options, the easy way is to change the compatibility mode for ff7 and ff7config to always run as administrator, it works fine but I don’t like it because it gives the game admin rights, there is another way to make it so the game will run without compromising security.

STEP FOUR: Changing FF7 Security Settings.

If you are using XP you can ignore this step because XP doesn’t have UAC. Also if your lazy you could just run FF7 as admin and skip all this. (not recommended)

• browse to where your FF7 folder is stored, since mine is saved in “c:\program files (x86)\final fantasy vii” I would browse to “c:\program files (x86)\”  If your ff7 is in “c:\program files\square soft, inc\final fantasy vii” then browse to “c:\program files\square soft, inc\”
• Next right click on the “Final Fantasy VII” folder and click on “Properties”, then choose the “Security” tab near the top of the window. After that click on the “Advanced” button.
• This windows shows you the security settings for the FF7 folder, what we need to do is give the user group “Users” full access to this folder. This will allow ff7 to write to it’s own folder without giving it admin access. This will also make modifying the files in this folder easier because UAC won’t bug you every time you want to change something.
• We do this by clicking on the “Change Permissions…” button, next double-click on the entry that say’s something like “Users(Name of your computer/Users)   Read & Execute”.
• Next check the “Full Control” check box, then click ok. Near the bottom of the “Advanced Security Settings for Final Fantasy VII” window, there is a checkbox that says “Replace all child object permissions with inheritable permissions from this object”, make sure that box is checked. Then click ok, then next. You can close out of all the other windows now.

This should make it so you can now change the display settings without any problems.

STEP FIVE: Changing the display settings.

• Run FF7Config.exe, Click on the “Graphics” tab and set the “Renderer” drop down option to “Custom” it should give you a message about passing a test, just click ok on that, then click ok to exit the program.

Technically your done. You can play the game to your hearts content, the game works 100% the way it was intended. But what if you don’t want to play it a it was intended. In addition to the graphics fixes that the ff7_OpenGL provides it also provides a small set of other tweaks that you can turn on if you wish.

The only thing I’m gonna cover here is setting a custom resolution, there are a number of cool hacks in the same file but I’m not gonna spoil the surprise by telling you what they are….

• Open the ff7_opengl.cfg file in notepad or some other basic text editing tool.
• Scroll down to the area that says “window_size_x = 0”, the settings in this section lets you change the resolution to whatever you want, I’m going to change them like this….

# set the window size (and fullscreen resolution) of FF7
# 0 means use original resolution (whatever ff7.exe provides)
# preserve_aspect adds black borders as needed to preserve a 4:3 aspect ratio
window_size_x = 1024
window_size_y = 768
preserve_aspect = yes
fullscreen = yes

OPTIONAL STEP SIX: Changing the music.

The built in music sucks as it’s midi, but don’t worry there’s a way to fix that!

The folks over at the Qhimm forums have been working on this one for a while, but basically what it does is it mutes the midi music and plays the original PSX version of the music in the background. It checks what part of the game you’re in and what song is supposed to be playing, then it plays the appropriate song. The best part of this is that you can change it to play whatever you want.

There is an easy installer file available here…

Link 1 <– Check the first post

• Ok install the program with the default settings, then browse to the root of the c drive (C:/)
• Ok if you’re running Windows XP you’re done, you don’t have to do the next few steps. And again you could just run everything as admin and ignore all this, but I recommend against it.
• Here I want you to do the same thing as we did with the Final Fantasy VII folder. Give the users group full access, this way ff7music can write to it’s own folder without having to be run as admin.
• right click on the ff7music folder and choose “Properties”, then switch over to the “Security” tab, next click the “Advanced” button.
• Click on the “Change Permissions…” button, next double-click on the entry that say’s something like “Users(Name of your computer/Users)   Read & Execute”.
• Next check the “Full Control” check box, then click ok. Near the bottom of the “Advanced Security Settings for FF7Music” window, there is a checkbox that says “Replace all child object permissions with inheritable permissions from this object”, make sure that box is checked. Then click ok, then next. You can close out of all the other windows now.

And you’re done. In order to use the ff7music mod you have to first open ff7music, then run the game. The installer also includes a icon that does this for you, it should be on the desktop named “Final Fantasy VII”.

Other mods:

As you’ve probably noticed everything here is from the Qhimm forums, there are a ton of other mods on that site and I highly recommend going there and checking it out for yourself.

http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?board=19.0

Yep, it’s finally here. Episode one. It’s late, I’m tired, and after three LONG days of encoding (well more swearing at a P.O.C. program as it crashes for the millionth time), the episode is finally done.
that last ep 1 didn’t count. neither did the one before that. hell this one probably won’t count a year from now but I DON’T CARE!!!

This episode we went to Animethon 16 and Fragaplooza 2009 which so happened to be on at the same time in two different cities (well kinda). We still found a way to go to both. Here we talk about our exploits in this grandiose adventure.

Click below to see the show notes… (unless you’re viewing the full article… then ignore this)

First off there are the websites for the two events, both of which are in need of volunteers.

Animethon.org
Fragapalooza.com

Ok Mentioning the things I seen in Fragapalooza 2009…. yeah sorry but I kinda forgot to write down everyone’s name so I have no Idea who any of these cool systems belonged too. If any of you see this then drop me an e-mail and I’ll give you proper credit.

There were a few things that I did remember to keep track of however and I will show that now.

Thermal Electric Cooling was at the Gigabyte booth, but the coolers is made by a company called CoolIT Systems in Calgary. And yes, I can and I will be building high end machines with these things if anyone is wondering (I as in CustomPC).

The BFG-Nvidia booth was where they had the 3D gaming setup, this is compatible with some games for the 360 and PS3 but more importantly this is compatible with almost any 3D game for the PC, although only a over hundred are officially supported. However there are a few limitations, inorder to use this technology you must have windows vista or later and have either a 3D compatible HDTV or a 120hz Flat Panel monitor. Also if you are using this on the PC, games require TWICE the gfx power. BFG says at least 1 GeForce GTX 275 is required for newer games.

The BFG-Nvidia booth also had some neat cases from Danger Den. Unfortunately I cannot affordably get the cases on display in Canada. I haven’t given up yet though!

Next there’s the Animethon BBQ information. This is on Facebook only so you require a Facebook account! Click here for that.

I think that’s about it for the show notes… If I missed something or want to ask anymore questions be sure to leave a comment here.

*EDIT*

the Animethon BBQ has been moved to Coronation Park, on Saturday, September 26, 2009 at 12:00pm – 5:00pm. This was the e-mail I recived…

Alexandra ﾘｲｻﾁ Chretien sent a message to the members of BBQ at Rundle park.

——————–
Subject: Due to unforseen curcumstances

ok so the venue has changed (sorry to do this so close to game time). the new site is coranation park same day same time and at this current second im still working on catering (Fat fraks is too busy) any suggestions or would it just be easier to have a cosplay in the park day need to know asap!!

<3 you all!!!

Lexa and the staff

P.s. coronation park is just behinde the Space and science center!!! will up date map cost if i dont find a caterer will be FREE!!!! but it will be a bring ur own picnic situation.

I, Jared and David has just finished a mammoth task of filming and participating in 4 of probably the most exhausting days of my life; We traveled far (for us anyways) and rocked hard!! I and my friends went to both Fragapalooza 2009 AND Animethon 16, and soon I will post an episode about it!!

The show will now officially have a one month schedule, and we went the extra mile for the first ep. So stay tuned everyone. The episode should be done in about a week and a half.

This game is either gonna be a brutal failure, or a awesome legend! Either way though, It’ll ROCK your socks off!!
I can’t wait till it comes out to see.
Available Rocktober 13, 2009 for PS3 and XBox 360.

It’s Nostalgia Goggles time!!

iPod Version
PSP Version

Dragonball Z has been shortened and re-released onto Japanese Television screens as a new Anime named Dragonball Kai. With this repackaging of an old classic, they indeed turned down the suck, and turned up the win! However Even though they cut out the fat (or constipation as some would call it), nothing really important happens till ep3, so that’s the one I posted here. This one is a Must Download, even if you hated the series before I recommend you give this new series a try.

“We’ve all seen the Mac vs PC ads mocking us, claiming that Macs never get viruses. If that were true, there wouldn’t be a botnet of infected Macs completely controlled by unknown hackers.

Botnet? Infected Macs? What?

Security researchers at Symantec recently discovered a group of thousands of Mac OS X computers infected with a Trojan horse application embedded in pirated copies of iWork 09.

The infected users had installed the software without scanning it for viruses, no doubt in part because of Apple’s commercials implying that Mac users don’t need to worry about security.

Once the hacker managed to get his malware installed on these zombie Mac computers, the entire group was fully under his control – and he began to use them to attack web sites, but they could be used for other, more nefarious purposes: like sending spam!

Wait, a Mac can get a virus?

That’s exactly right: no operating system is immune to viruses, worms, Trojans, or even spyware. To be fair, the vast majority of all malware targets Windows users, especially unpatched and horribly insecure Windows XP machines – but that doesn’t mean other platforms can’t or won’t get viruses, especially as Apple gains market share and attracts the notice of the hackers.

My problem with this whole story is that Mac users should be educated – you simply cannot download software from BitTorrent and start using it without doing a virus scan first, and Apple should stop mocking security in their commercials.

But this Hack Required User Intervention, it’s Not Apple’s Fault!

That’s quite true! This problem was caused by users downloading software illegally, entering their admin password, and installing it by choice. Hardly Apple’s fault.

But… this is part of a broader issue: Lying about security features will not keep the hackers away! Apple needs to take security more seriously, or else they will run into the same problem that Microsoft did with Windows XP: massive virus/worm infections across the board, and millions of zombie computers sending us spam.

Case in point: last month, a couple of hackers were able to crack a fully patched MacBook in a few seconds, requiring nothing more than clicking on a link using the built-in Safari web browser. If Mac users are conditioned into thinking that they don’t need to worry about security, these types of attacks could escalate in the future.

Perhaps it’s time to recommend security software to Mac users?”

[How To Geek]

A code failure has resulted from moving the site from one server to another and another and so on and so forth. This has resulted with me having to scrap the old site completely and starting fresh. This may take another day or two so hold tight.

I have also aquired the use of CustomPC.ca to go with a Buisness I now own by the same name. The site will be a technology blog that’ll also advertise sales for the computer store I own. Also as a result of this, ClintIsAGeek.com and CustomPC.ca will be linked to KillerOtakuRobots.com mostly as the main Advertisers, but also CustomPC will be providing equipment and storage for K.O.R. to assit with our filming efforts. In the end I’m really just helping myself by using equipment in my store, and actully planning time in my busy work scedual to work on K.O.R. and maybe actully get some episodes done. But at the least I’ll start posting more.

Well simply no, we did not choose the theme JUST because of Fallout 3. First off I’m not completely pleased with what they did with that game, and second I’m not silly enough to base a theme off of JUST that!

What the Fallout series reminds us of is that sweet and warm dream that we all have in our hearts, that fantasy where the world and everything in it has been NUKED a-fucking-sunder and that because of that all laws and society have been thrown out the window.

This creates a Post Apocalyptic type scenario that several stories both fantasy and fiction come from. Stories such as Rifts, Macross, Scrapped Princess, many Gundam and even Final Fantasy stories were based off of this concept. Even Hollywood has taken it’s fare share out of this idea with movies like Mad Max, the Matrix, 12 Monkeys, Dune, Planet of the Apes, hell I could go on forever here!

Even the bible has it’s apocalypse tale, and many religions Pray for such a thing to occur. Many people believe these END TIMES will be a sort of rebirth, a restructuring of our society into something more holy. The Christians believe Jesus will come again and take all the Christians away to heaven as the other are left behind to suffer; the Norse religion has a all out brawl between the gods; the Mayans predict a series of natural disasters (i.e. earthquakes, volcanoes, floods etc.); And the Buddhists believe that the world as we know it, will be destroyed by our lack of morals (the most likely I.M.O.).

The Hopi native tribe has a fairly decent record of being somewhat accurate with their predictions and they claim that their have been three world catastrophes so far, first by fire, next by ice, most recently by a great flood around 8498 BC, (in fact most religions have myths about this flood from the same time period).

“1st world: ended when all of the volcanoes of the world erupted and an all consuming fire engulfed and destroyed the first world.

2nd world: ended when the poles shifted and the Earth was covered in ice. Mountains fell into oceans and seas.

3rd world: ended when the waters flooded the world. Large continents sunk and broke apart into small islands. The Chosen were warned by the Spider Woman and built large boats out of reeds.”

“The end of the fourth world (called Tuwaqachi by the Hopi) is described by Frank Waters. Eventually a gourd full of ashes would be invented, which if dropped from the sky would boil the oceans and burn the land causing nothing to grow for many years (atomic bomb). This would be the sign for a certain Hopi to bring out his teachings in order to warn the world that the third and final event would happen soon. That it could bring an end to all life unless people correct themselves and their leaders in time.”

The prediction then describes World War 2 the lunar landing and power lines, a recent prediction was also made by Dan Katchongva (1865-1972).

“World War III will be started by those peoples who first revealed the light (the divine wisdom or intelligence) in the other old countries (India, China, Islamic Nations, Africa). The United States will be destroyed, land and people, by atomic bombs and radioactivity. Only the Hopis and their homeland will be preserved as an oasis to which refugees will flee. Bomb shelters are a fallacy. The war will be ‘a spiritual conflict with material matters. Material matters will be destroyed by spiritual beings who will remain to create one world and one nation under one power, that of the Creator.”

“That time is not far off. It will come when the Saquasohuh (Blue Star) Kachina dances in the plaza and removes his mask. He represents a blue star, far off and yet invisible, which will make its appearance soon. [Some Hopi spokespersons suggest that Hale-Bopp is the Blue Star.]”

The time is foretold by a song sung during the Wuwuchim ceremony. It was sung in 1914 just before World War I, and again in 1940 before World War II, describing the disunity, corruption, and hatred contaminating Hopi rituals, which were followed by the same evils spreading over the world. This same song was sung in 1961 during the Wuwuchim ceremony.

“The Emergence to the future Fifth World has begun. It is being made by the humble people of little nations, tribes, and racial minorities. ‘You can read this in the earth itself. Plant forms from previous worlds are beginning to spring up as seeds. This could start a new study of botany if people were wise enough to read them. The same kinds of seeds are being planted in the sky as stars. The same kinds of seeds are being planted in our hearts. All these are the same, depending how you look at them. That is what makes the Emergence to the next, Fifth World.”

So there you go and this concludes the introduction to the new theme of the month.

P.S. So yeah, ok I lied, It really WAS just because of Fallout 3. All this other stuff were things I learned in writing this article. I really am that silly.

Well anyways for us last month was Politics Month with the Canadian election and the last month of debates with the American election (THANK GOD Mc Cain didn’t win), but this month all of us here seem to be finding ourselves doing something different, playing Fallout 3. Therefore we have voted to make this months theme APOCALYPSE MONTH. We will make it a point to post a few topics based upon this theme, and maybe I’ll even change the sites layout or something…

Yesterday morning in Beijing several people were brought into the Beijing United Family Hospital reportedly dead on arrival.  Though the cause of the deaths were not initially known it was believed to be yet another new virus.

Within hours of the bodies arriving at the hospital there was a commotion at thye hospital and many people came running out, screaming of people killing the doctors and other patients.  Dr. Zhi-Rong Teng told reporters that the commotion started in the morgue and he had heard screams coming from there just before one of the supposedly dead patients came through the door blood dripping from his mouth.

Precious little has been learned since that small amount of information as the Chinese military showed up only half an hour after the first instance of violence occured.  Gun fire and screams could be heard as all reporters and civilians were turned away and warned to stay away and even phones were taken away to prevent any pictures from leaving the scene.

Similar scenes happened at the Beijing International Medical Centre, Xinjiang EMS Center, Shandong Qianfoushan Hospital, and Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital as well as grisly reports of people that have been ripped apart that may be connected.  Information of any kind has seemed to be impossible to get as the chinese goverment has gone far our of the way to put a information blackout on the newest and potentially deadliest of virus outbreaks in china.