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Crisis Core Research Thread

Thread reserved for any research into gameplay, version differences, ripping media, retranslations, game modding, general analysis etc.
 
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Neat videos by YouTuber Ex Majik.






--------

Copy-pasting CC version differences which were listed in the DC research thread.

CRISIS CORE VERSION DIFFERENCES
- Losing in optional missions.
Japanese: If Zack loses, you get a Game Over.
Localization: If Zack loses, you are brought back to the save point with all the battle spoils still intact. This makes grinding for the Minerva battle much easier, because you can steal 99 Phoenix Down and sell them repeatedly.

- Character surnames.
Japanese: Genesis, Angeal and Lazard are given no surnames in the mails Zack receive.
Localization: Genesis, Angeal and Lazard are all given surnames in the mails Zack receive.
Tres dissected this version difference in this article about their surnames

- The Goddess statue in the Banora Underground.
Japanese: Likeness to Virgin Mary.
Localization: Religious connotation removed by greatly changing the statue.


- Difficulty settings.
Japanese: Only one difficulty.
Localization: Two difficulties. Normal and Hard.

- Parts in the Japanese game that are not voiced ended up voiced in the English game.
This Japanese scene has no voice acting. Compare to English game. Because of the Japanese version waiting for button-input from the player, soldiers can spawn indefinitely in the cutscene.
 

Skan

Pro Adventurer
AKA
dief
I did come across that debug menu in 00000.raw's MBD file.

---

Quick tutorial for extracting game data:

1. Download G's extractor here.
2. Download RINOA here.
3. Obtain a CC ISO. Extract it. You should get two more files: discimg.pkg and discimg.fse.
4. Take these two and dump them into the DATA folder of G's extractor.
5. Run ff7cc_extractor (Linux) or ff7cc_extractor.exe (Windows).
6. Wait for a few minutes as it runs. You will end up with 8725 files in the "output" folder of G's extractor.
7. Take whichever raws from the output that you want to examine and stick them in the "FILES" folder of RINOA.
8. Open RINOA and browse. (The creator of RINOA, koral, and ignitz did most of my legwork for me already with their tables.)

NOTE: I think RINOA can only view game script and model data. I haven't really gone looking for model stuff yet though.

Other options:
Use this extractor, you can unpack and repack with it as long as they are the same size or smaller than the original:

http://forum.xentax.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=5869

ignitz said:
I used TableLib from Klarth. But you have to found and specificate the initial and final pointers.
http://www.romhacking.net/documents/330/

You do the following.

First you extract two files using the UMDGEN and then you split the files using G Extractor. After that you can use the RINOA to extract the text inside of MBD sectors.

---

Here's the breakdown I've been using to save some time (posted by koral over at Qhimm):
00000 - 00005 possibly misc system files, nothing too important
00006 - 00062 Header: "PSMF001" - PSP format Movies / Video files
00063 - 01349 Header: "RIFF" - Audio files
01350 - 01417 Header: "SSCF" - more Audio files
01418 - 01442 Menu and DMW related stuff (I think)
Mix of two types of files:
Header: [seemingly random] - files contain bunch of indexed Long's or something, no idea
Header: "IMG" - guessing they're image / Texture files
01443 - 01445 standard PNG images
01446 Now this is interesting - seems to contain a list of Locations and Mission Titles!
01447 Contains a long list of character names, probably used when talking to NPC's etc
01448 - 01455 No discernable header (pretty much random). Maybe mesh data?
01456 Header: "MBD" - Indices or Counts of something
01457 - 02011 Story progression and Event data
Mix of two types of files:
Header: "GT" - Chapter End Images
Header: "ATEL" - LOTS of these, contain various Textures, dialogue scripts, etc
02012 - 02457 Models: Characters, Monsters, NPCs and possibly also Locations
Mix of three types of files:-
Header: [seemingly random]
Header: "!" - contain single Textures for each Model. Maybe mesh-data too, but haven't found any.
Header: "&&"
02458 - 03352 Tiny files, no common header, no ascii info visible. No idea.
03353 - 08538 unknown, no common header, fairly small files <500 kb. Ditto
08539 - 08622 Monster / Boss Data!
Header: "MOT_" - later also contain "SSCF" data later. Interesting...
maybe "file-names", Event Scripts, Boss Battle scripts, Monster behaviour or something else. Its all there, but no idea what.
08623 - 08627 Header: "zack_" - later also contain "ATEL" data
08628 - 08690 Materia (Magic) effect files!
Header: "MAGIC_W0"
08671 - 08706 unknown, tiny files
08707 - 08725 Header: "PSMF0015" - more Videos

Location models from a quick perusal:
2012-15: Wutai and Fort Tamblin
2016: Crashes RINOA.
2017: Ifrit's pit
2018-19: Banora environs
2020: Gillian's house
2021-23: Banora warehouse
2024: Crashes RINOA.
2025: Banora, post-destruction.
2026: Costa del Sol
2027: Crashes.
2028: ????
2029-32: Junon
2033-35: Midgar streets
2035-36: Mako reactor
2036: Mako reactor (with the cloning pod and Hollander's notes)
2037: Crashes
2038: Aerith's church
2039-40: Frame of Midgar.
2041: ShinRa HQ from outside?
2042: Nothing.
2043-44: Inside HQ, that room where Jenova's held in FF7.
2045: Crashes.
2046: Frame of Midgar.
2047: Snowy mountains around Modeoheim.
2048: Crashes.
2049: That Modeoheim warehouse
2050: Nothing
2051: Modeoheim (outside)
2052-55: Modeoheim bathhouse
2056: ShinRa HQ (inside, first floor)
2057-61: ShinRa HQ (SOLDIER floor, rooms on the SOLDIER floor).
2062-3: Crashes.
2064-5: Nibelheim (outside)
2066: Nibelheim inn
2067: Nibelheim (burning)
2068-70: Nibelheim reactor
2071: Nibelheim (Hojo's lab and library)
2072: Gongaga reactor (destroyed)
2073-4: Gongaga (environs)
2075: Modeoheim mountain pass
2076: Looks like the Bahamut-Fury battlefield
2077: Train station
2078: Crashes.
2079: Gongaga???
2080-1: Nibel mountain
2082-3: Nibelheim mansion
2084: Nibelheim basement
2085: Junon
2086: Nibelheim (burning)
2087: Jenova chamber
2088: By the sea, with the lighthouse, where Cissnei meets them
2089: Highway where Genesis steals Zack's hair
2090: Banora cavern
2091: ???? (don't recall this from the game -- looks rundown, has four cloning pods) Banora?
2092: crashes
2093: Minerva cavern in Banora
2094: Junon tunnels???
2095: ShinRa HQ hallway?
2096: Midgar(????? don't recognize this at all)
2097: Junon
2098: Snowy mountains
2099: Nothing
2100: Wutai

Should probably add that if you press SPACE while looking at a model in RINOA, you'll enter a first person camera mode in which you can walk/look around these location models.
 
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Ex Majik also uploaded the Zack vs Sephiroth Nibelheim reactor scenes and in it I noticed for the first time that the Genesis DMW attack "Apocalypse" has excerpts from Loveless written on the ground. The video is of extremely high quality.

K12oKOS.png
 

Strangelove

AI Researcher
AKA
hitoshura
game script as in dialogue?

i need to know for reasons

and what the hell is going on with that video, why is it so high quality, it's like a hd remaster right there
 

Skan

Pro Adventurer
AKA
dief
Mostly dialogue, but by script, I basically just mean text that appears on-screen in a dialogue box in-game. So you can get stuff like this too:

01457.raw
<TEXT>Please select one of the following:
<M-CHOICE> Save
Delete
Do nothing
<END>

<TEXT>Proceed without saving?
<M-CHOICE> Yes
No
<END>
You get these two in almost every .raw I find containing game script:
<TEXT>Materia has leveled up!
<END>

<TEXT>Nothing more to do, kupo!
<END>

<TEXT>Load failed.
<END>

<TEXT>Load canceled.
<END>

<TEXT>
<CHOICE1>: Open
<END>

<TEXT>
<CHOICE1>: Push
<END>

<TEXT>
<CHOICE1>: Go up
<END>

<TEXT><TEXT>
<CHOICE1>: Go down
<END>

<TEXT>
<CHOICE1>: Use elevator
<END>

<TEXT>
<CHOICE1>: Use gondola
<END>

<TEXT>
<CHOICE1>: Rotate
<END>

<TEXT>
<CHOICE1>: Read
<END>

<TEXT>
<CHOICE1>: Move
<END>

<TEXT><TEXT>
<CHOICE1>: Examine
<END>
<TEXT>Save failed.
<END>

<TEXT><VAR>: Open
<END>

<TEXT><TEXT><VAR>: Pick up
<END>

<TEXT><TEXT><VAR>: Examine
<END>

<TEXT><VAR>: Talk
<END>

<TEXT>Obtained <VAR> x <VAR>!
<END>

<TEXT>Obtained <VAR> gil!
<END>

<TEXT>SP increased by <VAR> points!
<END>

<TEXT><CROSS-PAD><FUNCTION1><FUNCTION1>: Save
<CROSS-SQUARE><FUNCTION1><FUNCTION1>: Delete
<END>

<TEXT>New mission available!
<END>

<TEXT>You've got mail!
<END>

And here's the debug menu from 00000.raw, which doesn't add anything that you don't see in the video:
<TEXT>Where do you want to go?
<M-CHOICE> Battle
Ms. Ishibashi
Mr. Oka
Mr. Kitase
Mr. Kunikata
Mr. Shindo
Mr. Terada
Mr. Maeda
Moriya kun
<END>
 

Strangelove

AI Researcher
AKA
hitoshura
i have tried this on files from the japanese version, but i don't know whether the files are ordered differently or rinoa just doesn't work with the japanese files because i don't seem to get anything
 

JBedford

Pro Adventurer
AKA
JBed
List of non-location models with varying degrees of clarity to focus and sometimes images.

Animation format was never figured out, the posing in the images is all manual.

I have also since extracted locations but getting Noesis to extract them in a way that doesn't mean re-applying 30 or so textures is hard.

As a further note, the statue at 2439 is the English version of the Goddess statue, but if you look at the model of the area where the statue is then this is there. Rather than replacing the model in the field they modeled it separately and placed it as a new added model.

Also Emerald Weapon They didn't model the bottom half.
 

Skan

Pro Adventurer
AKA
dief
@ Strangelove: I think RINOA might not support Japanese script; there were some MBD sections that spat out question-marks at me when I tried to read them (residual Japanese?). You may need to click on certain files multiple times/toggle between files repeatedly, 'cause RINOA's display screen can sometimes lag.

Is it just the script, or are you having trouble with the models too? Do the character/location models show up at least? 02012.raw and onwards should have location models showing up in the display on the right.

EDIT: This is what my screen looks like: one, two, three.
 

Strangelove

AI Researcher
AKA
hitoshura
i can see models, though they don't seem to be exactly in the same numbers as the english ones (or i'm being an idiot and missing it completely). the only text i have seen has just:

<text>

and maybe a few random punctuation after, but nothing more than that. i have yet to see anything with say a full page of text (readable or not)
 

Lex

Administrator
and what the hell is going on with that video, why is it so high quality, it's like a hd remaster right there

They're using the PSP emulator which makes the game look phenomenally good and HD with the right settings (and a good enough PC of course). Yop streamed it with high graphical settings a long time ago. The only noticeable thing that doesn't upscale too well is the main menu.
 

ultima espio

Pro Adventurer
The game has a weird system for models:





Only the weight data is kept in the model, the hierarchy is in the animation. So it's loading Aeris/Cissnei/Tifa's envelopes over Zacks bones, resulting in a garbled mess.

I have no idea why they even bothered doing it that way.

I also dislike Cloud's mom's redesign...
 
- I now have an 8GB memory stick because I was running out of space in my 2GB memory stick. Need the memory for my Japanese Crisis Core saves.

- Began playing JP CC today. Memory stick confirmed to work. Observed a version difference.

Save Points
JP: The square rotating on its edge has a big S on it.
ENG: The square rotating on its edge has the SOLDIER symbol on it.

My goal now is to get PSP emulators working, both for easy gameplay access and for the ability to easily take snapshots and videos.
 

Skan

Pro Adventurer
AKA
dief
What emulator are you using?

Just in case it sounds like I gave up, I did sit my ass down today and pull all the script I could find from 01457 - 02011. It's definitely not all the script in the game, but I'm not sure I wanna go through all the other files to find the rest. I didn't see anything else that was particularly interesting in those files, unfortunately. :( I'll see if Ravynne and I can use what we have to whip the script into postable shape.

I also started going through the location models and tagging them so we know what's what, but some of the models will require another playthrough for me to ID accurately. (I've edited them into my first post in this thread.)
 
What emulator are you using?
So far none, but I'm about to use PPSSPP.

Currently at the following step because I need to turn my Crisis Core games into .ISO files.
To install the 6.60 Firmware, just unzip the archive on your PSP&#8217;s memory stick, in the &#8220;PSP&#8221; folder (you should end up with an &#8220;UPDATE&#8221; folder in the PSP folder, if you do things correctly), then run the update from your PSP menu.
I don't have a way to unzip the archive on my memory stick because I don't have a memory card reader. Going to the city tomorrow so I can get one and connect the memory stick to my computer. Connecting my PSP to my computer with a USB connection was not enough, even with the memory stick inside the PSP during this USB connection.

Also, I somehow managed to delete my Japanese Crisis Core saves. =/ I had created a ton of saves, although only up until the beginning of Chapter 3. Yay.

At least I wasn't experimenting with my other memory stick, which has a hundred English CC saves. If those had been deleted I might have been mildly annoyed.



EDIT: Just found this impressive, very fresh, upload of Crisis Core as a movie. Absurdly HD, longer than other "Crisis Core Films" on YouTube, so I have more confidence that this one is not missing any scenes. Uploaded merely a week ago! I may link to it in our Crisis Core content page. Really the only downside of these HD graphics is that the subtitles become pixelated but that's a very acceptable sacrifice.

EDIT #2: Oddities of HD movie linked above. The FMVs look very dark. They are clearly ripped straight from the game, as they have no subtitles. I remember the FFVII FMVs looking dark after upload unless you chose the right settings. I think this problem could have been avoided if the entire movie was game recordings and not with occasional FMV rips. Also, instead of the Pre-Start-Screen FMV playing at the very beginning, the uploader chose to have it play when Chapter 1 ends. The video did not show the Chapter End Card, which I think is a pity.
 
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Getting paranoid here now. I swear, Zack's uniform when I'm playing Japanese CC right now looks decidedly blue! Did I screw up the game somehow? There is no purple tint whatsoever. Yet recordings of both English and Japanese gameplay show the uniform having a purple tint. Weird.
 
Could very well be that the purple is intensified with the HD-ing process. Not sure.

ppR3xLr.png

C9CJBnq.png

Yes, the other upload of CC as a movie definitely has a way weaker purple tone.

EDIT: Although this older upload includes Chapter End Cards and has subtitled FMVs, every seven minutes a message will pop up that says the recording software is a non-activated version. The message stays for a minute every time. Plus this movie is almost half an hour shorter than the recent HD upload, so I reckon the newer upload includes more scenes.

EDIT #2: After booting up my English copy of CC, I can confirm that my Japanese copy is not glitched. On the PSP 2000 Slim (2003 to be exact) the uniform looks almost perfectly blue for the most part. Emulations seem to make the purple/red element more visible.
 
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The Twilight Mexican

Ex-SeeD-ingly good
AKA
TresDias
Whatever word one would use for that color, I seem to remember an interview where Nomura (or one of those guys) explained that with the changes made to the SOLDIER color scheme for Crisis Core (black taking purple's place for 1st Class), they decided they needed to keep the original color for Zack's initial uniform (it being iconic) even though that would mean other 2nds wore a different color than he did.

I feel it's supposed to be seen as purple. Wish I knew where that interview was.

EDIT: Also, keep in mind that in Crisis Core 3rds wear what is definitely blue, as in the original game.
 
Whatever word one would use for that color, I seem to remember an interview where Nomura (or one of those guys) explained that with the changes made to the SOLDIER color scheme for Crisis Core (black taking purple's place for 1st Class), they decided they needed to keep the original color for Zack's initial uniform (it being iconic) even though that would mean other 2nds wore a different color than he did.
Indeed, I remember that article too. It mentioned that Nomura could not imagine Zack in a red SOLDIER outfit (which, honestly, I don't want to imagine either).

I've done some online searching. A german site translates what I think is the interview you talk about and apparently it was in "Dengeki Maoh". <--Link to Part 1 of the translations, where Nomura is interviewed.

Place the German passages into google translate and you get info very close to this interview we both remember. Google translate of first segment:

Two interviews that were published in September 2007 in the journal "Dengeki Maoh". They were performed with the SE employees Nomura and Yoshinori Kitase.

The Dengeki Maoh deals generally with Japanese popular culture of manga and anime to video games. It has adult men as a target group.

Below you will find the interview with Nomura in which it comes to the characters of the game. The interview with Kitase part is here. Our translation relies on this fan-translation in the ACF.
The link to ACF is no longer functional, naturally.

- Part 2 (The Kitase Part)


EDIT: Just found that this Clerith forum copy-pasted the interview translation from ACF! According to this site, the magazine was the October issue of Dengeki Mao, not September. Sounds a bit odd, given that the forum thread was started on September 5. Who on ACF translated this interview btw?


EDIT#2: Wiki-page on Dengeki Maoh.
 
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The Twilight Mexican

Ex-SeeD-ingly good
AKA
TresDias
Nice find. =) As for who did the translation, I'd guess hito. He did most of those back in the day.

By the way, magazines are oddly released with the following month's name, so a magazine that comes out in September will be marked October. Apparently it's a "display until" date?
 
We are definitely rehosting this. I have now created this page. Article formatting was modeled after this 15th Anniversary interview article.

Contacted hito to see if he remembers who translated the Dengeki Maoh interview.


Stepping back to the Crisis Core movie uploads, I can see that RandomBlackGamer (who uploaded the HD movie) generally tends to upload videos that are a bit off with the hue and saturation (ergo why Zack's unform is more purple and why Genesis is close to looking pink rather than red). His movie upload is still the best one on YouTube, in my opinion, despite its flaws.
 
Thank you Hito for pointing out that an edited version of the translation was on page 2 of that Clerith thread. :D (When I mentioned "post #21" I was referring to the post in this thread we are posting in right now)

So the second version of the interview translation is yours, yes? Then I'll enter that version into the page and credit you.
 
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