Final Fantasy VIII

[Spectro]

Hi, first off. I'm new.. to these forums and emulators. So please be nice.
I've read the rules and stuff because I don't want to be :cuss2:'d at.
Anyway, here is my problem. First of all, I did not download FF8. I bought it! Just letting you know. What I get is a black screen. Yes, I have seen the faq, but like I said, I'm a noob at this so bare with me.

All I get is a black screen.

* look at the console (the DOS window). are there any errors? what are the errors? based on that, make adjustments to the plugins you use (i.e. if it has a CD reading error, try a different plugin, different drive, or make an ISO)
Where is the console/DOS window? I don't see it. Therefore I cannot see if there are any errors.
* get a PPF patch, if you have a copy protected PAL game. check NGEmu's PPF page for our downloadable database of PPF patches.
How do I know if my game is "PAL"?
* does anything show up when you run the BIOS? (File-->Run BIOS in ePSXe). if so, then you know it's a problem with the game not the emulator in general.
Yes.. a screen pops up that is kind of colorful. It has "Memory Card" and "CD Player" menus.
* does the game work on a real PSX?
Yes.

My questions/answers are in bold above.

Thanks in advance,
Spectro

[masque]

If you are using ePSXe 1.6.0 (you probably are) then the DOS window does not appear by default. go to RUN --> enable logs to turn it on.

Your game is most likely NTSC cause you live in the US.

Try running the game with the logger on, then tell us what your PC specs, Plugin's, and any error messages are.

Also, my computer runs the first 15 sec's of FF8 really really slowly, so you might try just waiting a while if you haven't already.

[Spectro]

OK, these are the errors:
Error reading CD: 0, 2, 16
Error reading CD: 0, 2, 0

my pc:
Windows XP SP2
AMD Athlon XP 3000+
1GB RAM
Radeon x850 PRO video card

[hushypushy]

just look on the CD case. it will tell you if it's NTSC or PAL. like masque said, it's probably NTSC (but if you bought it off ebay from some foreign land, it could be PAL).

try playing it with a software plugin, see if that works.

what are your system specs?

[Spectro]

I see that it is NTSC.
I posted my system specs moments before you posted.. hehe.
the plugins I am using:
Pete's D3D Driver 1.76
ePSXe SPU Core 1.5.2
ePSXe CDR WNT/W2K core 1.5.2

Oh.. and like I said. I'm a noob. What's a software plug-in? Can I get it on the ngemu.com main site?

[masque]

I'd switch your graphics pluging to Pete's OGL2, and switch your audio plugin to Eternal, though it won't fix your problem.

notice it says CD Read Error. I'd say that your CD is scratched somewhere, or maybe is just dirty. If you bought it new, I'd take it in and say it was scratched, they might let you have a replacement.

You could also try ripping the disc to your hard drive using error-correction, and then playing off the image. there's some guides to that hanging around here somewhere. I personally use CloneCD and DaemonTools to emulate my PSX games.

edit 1: or does this have something to do with subchannel reading/caching? try playing with those buttons in the cd-rom options section.

edit 2: software plugin uses your computer's CPU to do the graphics work instead of the graphics card. I find it works better for 2D games (street fighter, for one).

[hushypushy]

ah, i didnt even see the system specs.

well, use OGL2, check out this thread, Eternal 1.41 for SPU (FF8 fix checked!), and use Xeven's CDR plugin.

[Spectro]

I've installed all the new plugins, and it works. But it seems like it is going really fast or lagging or something.
Also: I want FF8 to look, sound, and play the best it can be. Can anyway specify what settings everything should be on?

[hushypushy]

i just posted a link to the thread that answers your question

[Spectro]

Oh, ok thanks. I didn't notice it at first.

Edit: With using a config that "Novalon" posted, I'm getting black dots around objects, lots of flickering in places, and when a movie plays it looks like the screen is being cut in half. Any suggestions? Also, I looked at the config you posted as an img, and some of the options I have are not in yours.

[Spectro]

Originally Posted by Spectro

Oh, ok thanks. I didn't notice it at first.

Edit: With using a config that "Novalon" posted, I'm getting black dots around objects, lots of flickering in places, and when a movie plays it looks like the screen is being cut in half. Any suggestions? Also, I looked at the config you posted as an img, and some of the options I have are not in yours.

Any advice?

[masque]

I haven't tried playing this game in some time, so I can't vouch that this will fix your problem. Here are my settings from the last time I played it (went all the way to the end).

Also, if you haven't, you might try upgrading your video card drivers. I did that once and it fixed some glitches.

Plugin: Pete's OpenGL2 Driver 2.8
Author: Pete Bernert
Card vendor: ATI Technologies Inc.
GFX card: RADEON 9600 x86/MMX/3DNow!/SSE

Resolution/Color:
- 1024x768 Fullscreen - NO desktop changing
- Internal X resolution: 1
- Internal Y resolution: 2
- Keep psx aspect ratio: off
- No render-to-texture: off

- Filtering: 0
- Hi-Res textures: 0
- TexWin pixel shader: on
- VRam size: 128 MBytes

Framerate:
- FPS limitation: on
- Frame skipping: off
- FPS limit: Auto

Compatibility:
- Offscreen drawing: 1
- Framebuffer effects: 2
- Framebuffer uploads: 0

Misc:
- Scanlines: off
- Mdec filter: on
- Screen filtering: on
- Shader effects: 0/1
- Flicker-fix border size: 0
- GF4/XP crash fix: off
- Game fixes: on [00000002]

[hushypushy]

in that post, i was using an older OGL2. the options are the same, just moved a little. all you have to is read and think about it a little bit. did you try my settings? dbhankins' settings?