The unused 'Palmer scene' of the Honey Bee Inn

[Shademp]

Read the spoilers after watching the video.

Spoiler

YES, you just saw that. Yes, that tune playing is indeed "Comical"; the unused music track that had previously been unearthed from the PC version and made famous via FF7citadel.
Link: http://www.ff7citadel.com/secrets/sp_music.shtml
Now in the video I just uploaded you can hear it in true PSX glory. Finally, after all these years, we know at least one scene where this music track belongs.

The scene can only be triggered in 'JORG', the first Japanese release, as you can only roam the unused Honey Bee Inn lobby in that version (but this requires cheats).

By reading JORG via Makou Reactor, I figured out what had to be done and then asked BrutalAl to create the required cheat code to unlock the scene. He delivered and thusly the scene could be viewed.
(Read the video's description to find the cheat codes.)

The trick was to set a flag/bit from 1 to 0, so that the Shinra Manager NPC would appear on the field. Talking to him three times triggers the scene.

I kept quiet about this scene for a while as I wanted to save it for the "Honey Bee Inn" article in my "Unused Text" series but when I realised the considerable time it will take before that article is completed I understood that it would be a crime not too reveal this scene.

Translations may be supplied at some point, but the problem with the script of the three JORG-exclusive Honey Bee Inn fields is that the kanji is messed up. If you try to translate the dialogue much of it will make no sense. GlitterBerri is currently working on trying to find a pattern and see if she can restore the originally intended kanji.

Even so, without translations people should get the jist of this scene. Shinra Manager is talking shit, whether it be something disrespectful about Palmer or how much fun he is gonna have at the Honey Bee Inn, Palmer doesn't approve of Shinra Manager's presence and possibly overheard his bullshit, and thus the conflict ensues. The rat tail NPC (who may or may not be Johnny's friend from Sector 7, I am not sure yet...) then has this talk-to dialogue as a response to what just happened.

Now, try to soak this all in. This scene was unlocked for the first time in early April of 2011. I can claim this with much confidence as far as the English speaking side of the Internet goes as I have found no mention of this anywhere nor has anyone figured out that 'Comical' is used in here.

Early April of 2011... That should be about 14 1/2 years after the game's development in 1996.

What is FFVII? A wonderful huge pile of secrets!

 

[Tetsujin]

I'd thank you 10 times if I could.

 

[Mormz]

Missing scenes? In a game imported from Japan?!

Seems like any sort of media that we get from Japan is missing some sort of special scene or event. Guess that's just the way it goes.

The scene itself isn't that important, but the fact that apparently no English speaker on the internet knew about this is pretty incredible.

Nice work, mate.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

It's not really a 'missing' scene; the file is unused entirely, it's not in any version.

 

[Alex Strife]

I am amazed that 14 years after the release of the game, new things are still being found.

 

[Shademp]

I am amazed that 14 years after the release of the game, new things are still being found.

And more unused stuff will continue to be discovered, I assure you.
To pick an example of something that is not directly related to the field script; there are various unused pre-rendered backgrounds for the game that are not encoded and can't be viewed (so no, they can't be visited either). Even if the data becomes encoded, the background is divided into graphical tiles and they will be heavily disorganized so someone will have to figure out the formula for arranging the tiles back into their intended order and recreate the intended background.

Hopefully someday these backgrounds will be encoded and reconstituted. =)

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Holy crap. You -- and this game -- never cease to amaze me, dude.

I've got a hard-on with your name on it right now.

 

[TheEdgeofDespair]

I'm surprised that there are still unused scripted sequences to be found in FFVII. One would surmise that, after fourteen years, the fans would have already decompiled the C++ source code of FFVII and analyzed it line by line. Nevertheless, this is an incredible find and it raises further questions as to exactly how much content was left out of FFVII, whether it be due to time constraints on the developers or other reasons.

 

[Shademp]

I'm surprised that there are still unused scripted sequences to be found in FFVII. One would surmise that, after fourteen years, the fans would have already decompiled the C++ source code of FFVII and analyzed it line by line. Nevertheless, this is an incredible find and it raises further questions as to exactly how much content was left out of FFVII, whether it be due to time constraints on the developers or other reasons.

The explanation lies in the fact that pretty much all people who create or find the software to view the internal workings of FFVII do so because they want to create their own mod of the game rather than to catalogue its secrets. They want to create something new and updated rather than to review the old and discarded.

The PC version is the most popular one to modify and the modding tools are mostly made solely for that version.
Add to this that very few people own the first Japanese release, even fewer have bothered to rip it onto their computers and pick the game apart, and we have a clear understanding of why the Palmer scene went undetected for so long.

FFVII is a huge game and finding all its secrets is a daunting task. I aim to find as much as I possibly can and hopefully recruit the people with the programming skills to achieve that which I cannot do myself.

 

[Octo]

Yays! Now unlock the scene with the dirty Tseng/Elena/Reno threesome thankyouplease!

 

[TheEdgeofDespair]

The explanation lies in the fact that pretty much all people who create or find the software to view the internal workings of FFVII do so because they want to create their own mod of the game rather than to catalogue its secrets. They want to create something new and updated rather than to review the old and discarded.

The PC version is the most popular one to modify and the modding tools are mostly made solely for that version.
Add to this that very few people own the first Japanese release, even fewer have bothered to rip it onto their computers and pick the game apart, and we have a clear understanding of why the Palmer scene went undetected for so long.

FFVII is a huge game and finding all its secrets is a daunting task. I aim to find as much as I possibly can and hopefully recruit the people with the programming skills to achieve that which I cannot do myself.

Well, if you ever need a C++ programmer to take a look at the source code, I can take a crack at it.

 

[Elisa Maza]

... Am I the only one who thought that the Shinra head, Palmer and that Honeybee Inn chick were going to have a threesome at the end the way they were leaving?







... Ah.

 

[Octo]

Translations may be supplied at some point, but the problem with the script of the three JORG-exclusive Honey Bee Inn fields is that the kanji is messed up. If you try to translate the dialogue much of it will make no sense. GlitterBerri is currently working on trying to find a pattern and see if she can restore the originally intended kanji.

Shademp, does this apply to the kanji in the background on the tv screens? I mean I'm assuming it says something along the lines of:

"Blowjobs 50gil
Anal 150gil
Please note: 20% gratuity will be added for parties of 6 or more. Thank you."

But I'd just like to know for sure

 

[Shademp]

Shademp, does this apply to the kanji in the background on the tv screens? I mean I'm assuming it says something along the lines of:

"Blowjobs 50gil
Anal 150gil
Please note: 20% gratuity will be added for parties of 6 or more. Thank you."

But I'd just like to know for sure

GlitterBerri's translations of the background text can be found on her website.
http://www.glitterberri.com/final-fantasy-vii/unseen-text/honey-bee-inn-part-3

"Special Courses:"
"30 Minute Course"
"150 Minute Course"
"How about some honey?"

You know, Octorawk, to fulfill your "desires" you could always learn how to mod the game.
Create the FFVII of your dreams.

Edit: It doesn't look like the background text's kanji is messed up.

 

[Octo]

"Special Courses:"
"30 Minute Course"
"150 Minute Course"
"How about some honey?"

150 minutes?! Jeeeeeezus. Thats no way to run a business. Unless of course the punters pay in advance and then the girls to their best to...uh...exhaust them as soon as possible. I'm giving this too much thought.

You know, Octorawk, to fulfill your "desires" you could always learn how to mod the game.
Create the FFVII of your dreams.

In 20 years time when I am a successful games designer being interviewed for IGN or something: 'So Octorawk, how did you get started in this business?' 'Well its funny you should ask, I started with a dream...a dream of erotically charged Gourard shading.....'

Its a slippery slope

 

[Ite]

What a find!! Anyone here up to translating it for little old me?

edit: okay, Glitterberri's working on it.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Do you feel the worship coming at you from every side, Shadey? Do you feel your powers growing?

I have minimal knowledge of programming and I can't even begin to understand what it is that you are doing, let alone how you do it. I'm just glad that you can.

 

[Scias]

Poor Shinra Manager, not even in unused scenes is able to win anything!

No but seriously now: This is impressive, incredible. Kudos to you Shademp.

 

[Shademp]

Do you feel the worship coming at you from every side, Shadey? Do you feel your powers growing?

Yes, I can sense it... I can tap into all the energy of the Universe! Yes, even LIIIGHTNING!

But seriously, I would be lying if I said that the praise doesn't go directly to my head and into my ego. =)
Though thanks also goes to BrutalAl for creating the cheat codes. Only after this discovery have I began to finally create my own and his knowledge helps a lot.

I have minimal knowledge of programming and I can't even begin to understand what it is that you are doing, let alone how you do it. I'm just glad that you can.

Actually you and I are pretty much on the same level. I am no programmer. I simply use the tools that others have created. All it takes is a little patience and you can start to understand software like Makou Reactor.

The only real programming knowledge required was that I learned how to read two forms of 'bitwise operators'. Fortunately I had a friend who knew how those worked and he taught me. So now I know the basics, but I still have barely memorized how the calculations work.

I stand atop the shoulders of giants, that is all.

 

[Dana Scully]

Yes...I can tap...LIIIGHTNING!

Though I read the entire sentence, this is all I took away from it.

You lucky dog.

Seriously though, major kudos to you and GB and BrutalAI and anyone else who puts all the work into finding these awesome little tidbits.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Wow...there are no words. That's pretty fucking awesome. Thank you so much Shademp!

 

[Dashell]

Shademp:

Seriously that's amazing XD
I had no idea there was anything left in that game. I wonder what else you can find...

 

[Dashell]

also I demand to know why this isn't main paged.

 

[Cthulhu]

I'm surprised that there are still unused scripted sequences to be found in FFVII. One would surmise that, after fourteen years, the fans would have already decompiled the C++ source code of FFVII and analyzed it line by line. Nevertheless, this is an incredible find and it raises further questions as to exactly how much content was left out of FFVII, whether it be due to time constraints on the developers or other reasons.

Hah, good luck with that . C / C++ doesn't decompile easily (if at all), at least not as easily as modern languages like Java etc, which retain some information about their original format.

Reading Assembly / machine code is what it's all about, and even then it's doubtful anything that makes sense can be found.

Speaking of, is the game's event code (as in scripted events) written in C / C++ or some scripting language? I'd imagine the latter - developing and tweaking such events with a compiled language would suck, plus the scripters would have to learn a language only intended for tha r33l pr0z.

also I demand to know why this isn't main paged.

 

[ForceStealer]

It'd be better to frontpage this when we have the dialogue translated, imo.