MINI GAMES PATCHER -  BETA release. 11/27/2k5

Program by DZIUGO (u_kasz@wp.pl)
Readme by EmperorSteele (ff7universe@hotmail.com)

All info based on content from this thread: http://forums.qhimm.com/viewtopic.php?t=4554
If you have any concerns not addressed in this readme, please consult that URL and ask =)

===

Files in this Archive:

patch.exe
MGP README.txt (this file)

===

USAGE: This program will enable a frame limiter for the Bike and Snowboarding Minigames in FF7PC,
allowing them to run at normal, manageable speeds on mid-to-high-end systems.  It ALSO helps to
solve crashing issues that some people may experience with the snowboarding game.

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Note that this is a COMMAND-LINE program.  As such, simply double-clicking it will *NOT* do.

First, extract "patch.exe" to your main FF7 directory
(C:\Program files\Squaresoft,inc\final fantasy 7\  by default) from this RAR archive.

Assuming you are running Windows, hit START, then RUN.  BROWSE to your FF7 directory
and find "patch.exe" and double-click it.

Now, we need to set some parameters.  Next to "patch.exe", type in "-decfrhigh X -decfrsnow Y",
(without the quotes) where X and Y are the FPS (or how fast, rather) you wish for the minigames to run.
Between 30-40 is good for the Highway Bike game, and 40-45 is good for the snowboard game.  A lower
number is slower than a higher number.

So the command-line box should look something like this:

*your ff7 directory*\patch.exe -decfrhigh 35 -decfrsnow 40

Hit OK.

(There are also other variables you can use here, but we'll get to those later, as they are not as
vital to the completion of this patching process.)

A DOS prompt will appear on screen, and ask you to hit any key to continue. So, hit any key!
After a moment, the DOS prompt will dissappear.

Now, find your FF7 directory (if it's not already open) and find "ff7.exe" and "patched_ff7.exe".
Rename "ff7.exe" into something like "ff7.exe.BAK", and change "patched_ff7.exe" into "ff7.exe".

-note: You may not see the .exe file extensions.  If this is the case, find "Tools" in the
upper part of the window, and hit "options", and click the "view" tab.  Uncheck the
"hide extensions of known file types" box (Its set this way in WinXP... in earlier versions
of windows, you may have to check off a box labeled "show file extensions")

Anyways, now you have a patched version of FF7.  Insert a disk, double click FF7 and see if
it works =)

NOTE: If anything went wrong, you SHOULD get an error message, otherwise, everything should
have gone smoothly.

IMPORTANT: If you ever wish to change the FPS again, do NOT re-patch a previously patched ff7.exe!
Revert ff7.exe.BAK into ff7.exe, and patch that instead.

===

ADVANCED USAGE: 

There are a few more "switches" which can be used with this tool that, while not vital
to its primary functionality, can be helpful for more advanced users.  These would be placed
along with the FPS variables in the "RUN" command box.

-debug [0/1] (Default 0, or "off"): When set to 1, "patch.exe" will display debug information
while patching is in-progress.  Useful if something keeps going wrong.  In addition,
add > C:\Debug.txt to have the patcher make a text file of the debug information.

-errors [0/1] (Default 1, or "on"): Will display error information in the event of an error.  You
have the option to turn this off, if you wish.

-in [input_file_name] (Default "ff7.exe"): This is the file that patch.exe will attempt to alter, in
case you want to patch a differently named file other than ff7.exe (So if you want to patch
ff7backup.exe or something)

-out [output_file_name] (default "patched_ff7.exe"): This will change the name of the finished,
patched executable.  You can change this to, say, "ff7.exe" if you don't want to be arsed with
renaming "patched_ff7.exe" when you're done.

-nopause: Will get rid of the "Press any key to continue" DOS prompt.

-hijack [hex digit]: This seems to allow the minigames to work with a different memory address,
hopefully to circumvent a crash (The basic reason that the chocobo races will not work in winXP
w/out a patch: It tries to access a restricted memory address.  Sometimes, other minigames will
do this, as well).  However, I do no know which hex variables are safe to use with this function,
so I recommend leaving it alone.

===

OTHER ISSUES:

"Help, the snowboard game still crashes!": This may be due to a corrupted/unreadable files from
off your CDs.  I suggest doing a full installation of FF7 to avoid dependancy of your CDs.  Also,
some downloaded versions of the game have been known to have damaged/missing files.

"The games run too slow/still too fast!": Revert back to an unpatched ff7.exe, and re-apply the
patch with different variables.  For instance, if you used "40" originally, try "35" for slower
or "45" for faster.  Do NOT re-patch a ff7.exe that's already been patched; it may cause trouble.

"Everything was fine before, but now something else is screwed up!": In most cases, people have
found problems with FF7 unrelated to MGP which affect gameplay; make SURE that this wasn't a
pre-existing issue (revert back to your old ff7.exe and try the same part again).  Then, if you're
positive that MPG caused the problem, register at the qhimm.com forums and post in this thread:
http://forums.qhimm.com/viewtopic.php?t=4554 , OR e-mail the author, Dziugo, at u_kasz@wp.pl .
Please be as specific about your problem as possible, and make sure you know your system specs.

===

Copyrights + pimpage:

FF7 Is copyright Square-Enix.  The Minigames patcher is the work of Dziugo.  This readme
was compiled by EmperorSteele, though most info was copied verbatum from
http://forums.qhimm.com/viewtopic.php?t=4554

Feel free to distribute this patch, as long as you do not modify any of its contents.  All
credit goes to Dziugo for his hard work.

qhimm.com
ff7-universe.com