1.3.4 - DDS support + widescreen Pre-release doesn't work.

[LeiFangBaby]

The 1.3.3 version of FF8_demaster works fine, but if I replace the .dll with new one from the pre-release package from here https://github.com/MaKiPL/FF8_demaster/releases it simply doesn't connect the mod to the game, the command window closes and it launches vanilla unmodded game. Regardless of which .conf I use.

Played via Steam, so fully updated version of Final Fantasy VIII Remastered (1.0.3).

[crashGG]

I guess the Japanese version you are using, 1.3.4 pre-release currently only supports for English.

[LeiFangBaby]

No, I have English version from Steam. Maybe I am missing something else to install for pre-release?.. Or just DLL alone is enough?!

[MaKiPL]

The pre-release is indeed EFIGS (English) only. The pre-release compiled library comes just with one debug compiled DLL. Basically just get the latest working version of demaster and only after that apply the pre_release DLL.

[LeiFangBaby]

I just backed up my game and reinstalled it clean from Steam, installed Demaster 1.3.3, specifically ff8_demastered_1033.7z\EN_FR_IT_DE_ES_LATIN version, it worked. Installed 1.3.4 pre-release on top, it doesn't.

Checked the game language and I have EFIGS languages AND Japanese to select. The game has .dlls for both. But Windows tells me the FFVIII.exe file is Japanese for some reason... but I am in Ukraine, not Japan. Says filesize is 581 КБ (595 736 байтів).

Does Steam install Japanese or some other, international version for Ukrainian players?

[caomhe]

I'm also running into this issue, using Steam in the USA. 1.33 EN works, but when I try to copy over 1.34 pre-release, demaster refuses to launch. I followed the instructions here. I did check my FFVIII.exe file, and it says the language is Japanese just like the other commenter. Did I do something wrong in installing? Is there a way to get a non-Japanese coded file from a U.S. Steam account so I can get 1.34 to work?

[MaKiPL]

maybe I actually compiled the binary for japanese version... Give me a sec, I'll try to see what's going on

[MaKiPL]

Ok, let's try this one. It's recompiled, but I've made sure it's english version. ff8demaster_140_recomp_20240117.zip

[caomhe]

Ok, let's try this one. It's recompiled, but I've made sure it's english version. ff8demaster_140_recomp_20240117.zip

This one didn't work for me, unfortunately. I've taken a screenshot of my folder and the properties of my .exe just to see if there's anything there that might have impacted it.

[LeiFangBaby]

Tested the new upload too, and have the same issue, it doesn't recognize the .exe, which has the same version, size, and language marked as Japanese as in caomhe's screenshot above.

Hmm, maybe you need to do it the other way around and compile the Japanese binary instead? Cause it says it's Japanese in our games despite the game being Multilingual EFIDEJ.

[LeiFangBaby]

Hello, is there any update? It seems that it doesn't work for us two, and I don't know if anyone else tested it and confirmed it working (apart from the author) for them so we can see the difference in our game versions.

[emeraldroguefan]

Hello, is there any update? It seems that it doesn't work for us two, and I don't know if anyone else tested it and confirmed it working (apart from the author) for them so we can see the difference in our game versions.

The pre-release does not work at all for me either. thought it was just me, but I guess it's just bugged for now

[MaKiPL]

I'd need to come back with commits and see where I screwed up... ;-; I'm sorry, I'll try to find some time

[emeraldroguefan]

I'd need to come back with commits and see where I screwed up... ;-; I'm sorry, I'll try to find some time

Hey no worries, looking forward to it whenever you do get around to fixing it. Curious to know if you have any pictures or videos showcasing the preliminary widescreen support though, because that is the biggest drawing point for me (no FF8 pun intended)

[MaKiPL]

Ok guys, I need your help. I've reverted to specific commits in past and built the DLL. Please try to locate the one that stops working. Please proceed one by one and see when it stops working (which number)

1. So, I'll get back to 1.3.3 and recompile the code, to be sure that it's 100% the DLL issue. Hash: 6e07701 Please provide info on which number it stopped working EXE_recompile.zip but I think I've found- missing fmtd library in testB, but anyway, please test

[LeiFangBaby]

Ok guys, I need your help. I've reverted to specific commits in past and built the DLL. Please try to locate the one that stops working. Please proceed one by one and see when it stops working (which number)

1. So, I'll get back to 1.3.3 and recompile the code, to be sure that it's 100% the DLL issue.
   Hash: [6e07701](https://github.com/MaKiPL/FF8_demaster/commit/6e07701981f3f70c787d30518de210aa88be6a4b)
   Please provide info on which number it stopped working
   [EXE_recompile.zip](https://github.com/MaKiPL/FF8_demaster/files/14319613/EXE_recompile.zip)
   but I think I've found- missing fmtd library in testB, but anyway, please test

Tested. 1, 2, 3 and 4 work, last two have stretched widescreen by default.

Neither 5 testA nor 5 testB work. No idea what fmtd.dll in the second one does, tried unpacking it into game folder and it didn't change a thing. Easy for me to check on working because I have UI textures changed so I can confirm it break in main menu, but I loaded the game and it had the filtered background and other vanilla stuff.

BTW, is it possible to make it fill the screen but with correct aspect ratio? Like, the original game has a weird letterbox on ALL sides, just maxing it to full screen size without stretching wider would be nice if filling isn't possible without redrawing BGs.

[emeraldroguefan]

I am unable to download the test, Opera says: "Interrupted: Virus detected"

I know it's a false positive, I just don't know how to bypass it lol

[Sebanisu]

Windows defender runs on your downloads. You can like check your Protection History and mark something it detected as not a virus. Then download it again. I think I haven't done that in a while.

You could also temporarily disable Windows defender. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/turn-off-defender-antivirus-protection-in-windows-security-99e6004f-c54c-8509-773c-a4d776b77960

I think because Opera/Chrome/Edge don't have an antivirus built it it uses the one installed on your computer. Which by default is Windows Defender.

[emeraldroguefan]

I was able to make an exception in Windows Defender, now the tests:

4 ran, but had some issues. The game kept minimizing on fullscreen mode and kept losing focus on borderless fullscreen. There were strange bars on the top and bottom, otherwise widescreen is working-ish? Also there is some weird visual corruption on the config menu, I will attach screenshots

3 works seemingly as intended, just has black bars on the top and bottom. Would be cool if you could just make it zoom in to fill in those black bars, otherwise this is perfect

I have to get back to work but I will report back on 1, 2, testA, and testB when I can

[LeiFangBaby]

Any update? We pinpointed the mod stopped working after version 4, but even that had scaling issues.

[MaKiPL]

Any update? We pinpointed the mod stopped working after version 4, but even that had scaling issues.

Yes, yes. Thank you kindly for the tests. Honestly/ I didn't expect that. I checked the code and couldn't find something else than switching to other logging info what might be causing such weird behaviours.

I'm rolling back to the version that worked well and just port the DDS and widescreen features to it without all the code changes (most of them were refactoring to make the project more appealing for my thesis.

I'm hardly finding any free time, but I'll do my best to finally sit on it and do it correctly.

[LeiFangBaby]

Sorry for being annoying, I just really wish to cut off those black bars... Your work is amazing, and I am using a few simple reskins to keep the game fresh!

One note, when I tried installing HD character skins, they didn't work unless I installed entire FieldModel Textures pack from qhimm. But if I used that, everyone stops blinking. I gave up and just used skins with basic resolution, just thought I'd mention that issue with HD textures losing their animations.

When you port Widescreen into new version, can you make an option of simple stretch to fullscreen while keeping aspect ratio? You know, stretching without distorting proportions.

[emeraldroguefan]

Sorry for being annoying, I just really wish to cut off those black bars... Your work is amazing, and I am using a few simple reskins to keep the game fresh!

One note, when I tried installing HD character skins, they didn't work unless I installed entire FieldModel Textures pack from qhimm. But if I used that, everyone stops blinking. I gave up and just used skins with basic resolution, just thought I'd mention that issue with HD textures losing their animations.

When you port Widescreen into new version, can you make an option of simple stretch to fullscreen while keeping aspect ratio? You know, stretching without distorting proportions.

MaKiPL did say he's having trouble finding free time to work on this, so I understand why it's taking a bit.

That said, I don't really care too much for modding the game. All I have ever wanted for Remastered was proper widescreen, so as soon as the black bars are gone, I will be able to play lol

[LeiFangBaby]

I don't think it's possible to make proper widescreen without redrawing the backgrounds as those are in different aspect ratio (unlike 3D scenes, 2D doesn't scale properly). Battles and map can be proper 3D but scenes with prerendered BGs will either get stretched or black-boxed. UI is an issue too, but should be easier to fix the few dozen screens menus have than all 100500 backgrounds (especially minding some of them have animations.

Anyway, demaster already works fine as it is, lets me play in second monitor without issues, and replace textures as long as I use the same resolution. I like how it works right now, when battlefield textures get filtered but backgrounds do not too, because pixelated spell effects just look bad, they're made for filtering... I really just post stuff like this to document issues and help bugfix however I can, am not demanding any updated ASAP, that can be grating.

[emeraldroguefan]

I don't think it's possible to make proper widescreen without redrawing the backgrounds as those are in different aspect ratio (unlike 3D scenes, 2D doesn't scale properly). Battles and map can be proper 3D but scenes with prerendered BGs will either get stretched or black-boxed. UI is an issue too, but should be easier to fix the few dozen screens menus have than all 100500 backgrounds (especially minding some of them have animations.

Anyway, demaster already works fine as it is, lets me play in second monitor without issues, and replace textures as long as I use the same resolution. I like how it works right now, when battlefield textures get filtered but backgrounds do not too, because pixelated spell effects just look bad, they're made for filtering... I really just post stuff like this to document issues and help bugfix however I can, am not demanding any updated ASAP, that can be grating.

Sorry, let me reiterate. I realize that true widescreen isn't possible without redrawing the assets lol

I want exactly what you want, the game to be cropped to remove the black bars, even if that means the left and right are slightly cut out of view. I know that's not true widescreen, but it's perfect for what I want haha

[LeiFangBaby]

You can't cut the view either (it would be top and bottom cropped if it zoomed in) because the game often has paths you need to go, NPCs to interact on the edges. So it's either stretching or black bars. Max that's possible to do is stretching it while keeping aspect ration, so minimizing black bars, i.e. so they only appear on sides and not on top and bottom. I think it's possible to do even with ReShade, I just don't know how exactly.

[MaKiPL]

The current widescreen mod that doesn't work on latest version does NOT zoom-in the view, but rather tells the game engine to not "cut" anything outside the 4:3 aspect ratio. The behaviour varies between the modes. On world map it can cause triangles to appear and disappear- it's much better on battles- it works flawless. The menu corruption might be related to lifting-off the screen draw limit as the modification is applied to every possible case the rendering is using "cutting" method. The fields varies. The BG is for sure not prepared for 16:9, so you might be actually possible to get your character out of the background. So I'm thinking... What if the widescreen be applied as screen zoom-in for everything except the battle? O might see if I'll be able to relax the triangle cutting algorithm on worldmap to also utilize real widescreen, but right now... The newest versions are broken. So as I understood correctly- the latest fully working version is version 3 from the builds ai prepared here? And version 4 is having some minor issues with the window. I'm rolling back now, porting everything to version 3 state and recompiling.

[emeraldroguefan]

So I'm thinking... What if the widescreen be applied as screen zoom-in for everything except the battle?

Yes that is exactly what I was trying to suggest, sorry if my wording was a bit confusing. If you could apply the zoom-in to everything except the battles, that would be perfect. Also sorry it took so long to respond, I got busy with work. Please let us know if you need any additional testing, that is what we are here for.

[MaKiPL]

By the end of this week the demaster is going to support DDS + widescreen test mod. This is a promise.

[emeraldroguefan]

By the end of this week the demaster is going to support DDS + widescreen test mod. This is a promise.

Were you able to figure out how to do the zoom-in effect to everything minus battles? :D

[MaKiPL]

Ok, so I grabbed 1.3.3 release and ported the DDS support from newer, broken version. By using the DDS only files in fields_bg I'm able to load them and display in HD. Please see if it works for you: (EFIGS, non JP). If you encounter some weird window overlay - ignore it ff8_demaster.zip

I'm going for widescreen now

[MaKiPL]

You know what- the widescreen is there too 👌🏻 I'm posting slightly updated DLL that fixes battle stages DDS support + demaster.conf so I know we use the same settings ff8_demaster.zip

[emeraldroguefan]

Downloaded the latest zip you posted here. Not sure if your comment implied that you added the zoom-in to non-battles, but it's not there. But also the battle map didn't load for me. I will try reinstalling the game fresh after this comment to see if that fixes the battle map issue

Another issue I have had with demaster is that every time I try to launch it, it prompts me to unpack the game, even though I have the game unpacked. I freshly unpacked it before this test

[MaKiPL]

It won't fix the battle issue (the reinstallation). I know what's happening. I'm going to fix it. About unpack- it's known bug. Please don't use the manager after unpacking.

[emeraldroguefan]

It won't fix the battle issue (the reinstallation). I know what's happening. I'm going to fix it. About unpack- it's known bug. Please don't use the manager after unpacking.

Ok yeah, came back to say that the reinstallation didn't fix it lol

I will be around for a few hours, will test the fix whenever you post it

[MaKiPL]

ff8_demaster.zip Fixed battle stages + animations

[LeiFangBaby]

Tried to test it, ran into another problem, my FF8 Remaster install now launches in quadruple size screen and I cannot fix it as I can't even see the confirm button on menu... Might be because of dual monitor setup but even plugging the other monitor doesn't help anymore. It's like 1/4th of 4k screen on 1080 and 8k screen on the 4k one...

Anyway, what buttons do you press on keyboard to reset settings to default or to confirm resolution or windowed/fullscreen change? I keep changing it but it doesn't save and I don't see hints on bottom of the screen or menu buttons outside of resolution and mode toggle. I had similar problem in original game but it was fixed in old demaster (but now even that doesn't work, must be because I changed the monitor).

Edit: I found a way to fix my problem by searching for game save folder and editing config.txt (deleting works too). I set resolution to 1920 by 1080, and it loads. But everything is stretched, guys are WIDE and so are menus, background doesn't keep aspect ratio AND there's black bars on top and bottom, the one thing I wanted gone, squashing the image further... Is this how the last Demaster version supposed to work or my config is still screwed somehow?

P.S. for people having same issue, you can press ESC to open graphics menu, and then Circle/B on gamepad to move the cursor to default/apply/cancel buttons. This is one the most convoluted ways to navigate menus.

[LeiFangBaby]

So, new version finally loads and works fine. There is still no fullscreen mode and widescreen option removes the wrong set of black bars. See, this is how it looks FILL_ASPECT_RATIO=0

Black bars on ALL four sides, which makes it possible to zoom in without ruining aspect ratio. There's no reason for black bars on top and bottom. This is how it looks with FILL_ASPECT_RATIO=1

As you can see, it stretches everything making characters and menus wide, but does nothing with black bars at the top and the bottom, which are squishing the image further, is it possible to remove those black bars in widescreen? Here's my mockup of a fullscreen image stretched to 107.5% in Photoshop, removing one set of black bars and making the other smaller without distorting proportions:

IMO the game looks much better like this. But even for full 16:9 aspect, it would be nicer if the top and bottom bars would be cut off, so the proportions would be less squashed.

Also LINEAR_PATCH=1 disables filtering on menus and in battle, which creates artifacts, I wish there was an option to ignore filtering of UI, something people did in Final Fantasy VI original PC port (not Pixel Remaster), where the defilter mod screwed menus, while fixing the sprite blur. For now I just keep LINEAR_PATCH=0 as this still keeps background unfiltered in fields (but filtered in battle).

Anyway, MaKi, thanks for your work on this! Newer version finally works, and we can probably resize/crop image ingame with ReShade or even just zoom in OBS for recording without setting it to 16 by 9 for Final Fantasy VIII Remastered to look better.

[emeraldroguefan]

ff8_demaster.zip Fixed battle stages + animations

Tested and can confirm it works, but there is a new issue (or at least, an issue I never noticed before if it's been there) in that there are strange lines in the text now. You can see it immediately if you just open the menu.

I also have to agree with the above, I think that eliminating the black bars on the top and bottom would look significantly better than stretching the window out to be widescreen. I think if you can make like, "no top and bottom black bars" as a toggle, that would be perfect.

[LeiFangBaby]

I noticed the text issues are fixed with LINEAR_PATCH=0 at least for me. Nearest neighbor filtering generally doesn't work for UI elements, since when it stretches it creates half or quarter pixels and NN only deals in whole and duplicates them where it isn't needed. It helps fix blurriness and seams between textures that linear filtering introduces, but has its own issues.

Ideally we need filtering on some objects but not others but it's not always possible to do. FFVI patch made filtered text and menus but not sprites, but FF3/4 3D versions only enable filtering globally, which is artifacts galore... I dunno what's possible in FF8.

[MaKiPL]

There are several places in code that handle the filtering for specific places. One of them might be the UI. I noted the black bars suggestion. Thanks!

[LeiFangBaby]

IIRC, with LINEAR_PATCH=0 it doesn't filter the backgrounds in fields, but filters the map, and battle backgrounds, which might be desirable as unfiltered...

It also filters battle effects, which IMO look much better with filters, I mean things like fire puffs, lighting blasts etc., magic and GF effects in general.

But yeah it if is possible to toggle separate code for filtering, it's better to have as many options as possible, right now whatever we choose, there's no linear filtering on any of the field maps, which is probably for the better, but still it's the first thing noticeable between Demaster mod and vanilla, you can't turn the filter back on.

[MaKiPL]

closing this one

[emeraldroguefan]

Does that mean it was fixed? Always willing to test it