List of Known Bugs/Solutions

[Zunnoab #931]

Edit March 22, 2021:
Quoted at the end of this (regarding controllers and an idea to bypass crashes):
http://steamcommunity.com/app/382890/discussions/0/1698293255130098336/

Edit: A short note here for those not crashing. A mod now exists to eliminate the bilinear filtering. Here is a link to the FF mod group's FFV index:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ff-modding/discussions/2/451848854988454786/

This game has some clear issues that must be patched, some more severe than others. I don't see any other consolidated list. Both for a list for people to refer to for common issues and in the off chance SE has someone browsing the boards, I figure it would be useful to have a topic tracking these things. Unless something unforeseen happens I will try to update this post with confirmed issues, focusing first on crashes and bugs, and edit it when the game is patched.

Please post for any additions/corrections!

Here's a link to a GameFAQs topic discussing bugs too.[www.gamefaqs.com]

Critical Bugs:

Crash/Failure to start due to some OpenGL issue.

Solution
Rename OpenGL.dll as per the solution quoted here. It probably forces the game to use another version installed somewhere on the machine.

Originally posted by ZeSmork:

Hi, I have found this comment by GinAndChris on a different thread:

"I had this issue. I went into the final fantasy directory and found the OpenGL.dll and change it to OpenGL.dll.bak (might be OpenGL32.dll). Once I restarted the game this problem was fixed."

Indeed I renamed the OpenGL32.dll file and it solved my problem.

Crash on encountering some/all non-English letters in the Windows profile path.

I've seen people that speak Russian, French, Portuguese and possibly Spanish report this issue. This is an absolutely critical bug that needs fixing. I do not know the specific characters and since some of these likely are the real name of people affected it's not really possible to get a list. Maybe people can post the specific characters that existed in affected names though?

Workaround:
Create an alternate Windows profile (using only English letters) to play the game under. How to do this depends on the Windows version. Whenever they get around to fixing this issue you can find the game save data to copy to your main Windows profile at:
%localappdata%\FFV_Game

The game closes with no error message, failing to launch. This is sometimes caused by the game failing to install required C++ redistributable packages.

Solution:
Install the required C++ files. You can find them as follows:
1.) Right click "FINAL FANTASY V" in your Steam games list.
2.) Click "Properties"
3.) Click the "Local Files" tab.
4.) Click the "BROWSE LOCAL FILES..." button.
5.) Open the "_CommonRedist" folder.
Here you will find several subfolders. It cannot hurt to try running each, but try the C++ stuff first. Note, 64 bit machines still use the 32 bit files as well (I'm not even sure if FFV uses the 64 bit ones honestly, but it cannot hurt to install them all)!
_CommonRedist\vcredist\2012\vcredist_x64.exe
_CommonRedist\vcredist\2012\vcredist_x86.exe
_CommonRedist\vcredist\2013\vcredist_x64.exe
_CommonRedist\vcredist\2013\vcredist_x86.exe
Please note that even though they have the same name, the different years' vcredist installers are not identical. Run all four if you have the issue.

If it still crashes try running:
_CommonRedist\DirectX\Jun2010\DXSETUP.exe
_CommonRedist\OpenAL\2.0.7.0\oalinst.exe

The game will render at a different resolution than chosen, or may outright crash in some circumstances when Windows DPI settings are used. This is because the game seems unaware of Windows DPI settings and does not disable the scaling when it needs to.

Workaround:
1.) Right click "FINAL FANTASY V" in your Steam games list.
2.) Click "Properties"
3.) Click the "Local Files" tab.
4.) Click the "BROWSE LOCAL FILES..." button.
5.) Right click "FFV_Game" or "FFV_Game.exe"
6.) Click "Properties"
7.) Click "Compatibility"
8.) Check "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings."
9.) Repeat the same for FFV_Launcher/FFV_Launcher.exe, though that may not be necessary.

The steps may be slightly different depending on Windows version.

Originally posted by biggs:

The only file being upload to the cloud server is the .ini configuration file but not the save data.

The game is listed as supporting cloud saving, but if only the configuration file is synchronizing that is a very serious problem.

Confirmed Bugs:

There is an issue with the Steam overlay and streaming/recording.

Workaround:
Described in detail here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/382890/discussions/0/392184522712257861/

The game remembers the player's cursor position incorrectly in battle if repeated input commands are sent. This is speculated to either be due to hitting an input just as the command window disappears or appears, somehow causing a bug that moves the cursor to an erroneous command. For example, a player repeatedly choosing fight but hitting the button before the command window appears or repeatedly after already choosing the command may find the cursor move to "Row" or "Defend" or another incorrect command. While the exact cause of the bug may be unknown, it can easily be duplicated by jamming on the confirm button while fighting. This is particularly annoying when accidentally using an item or changing rows due to the bug.

Workaround:
Do not press the confirm button when the command window isn't active, and don't hit confirm extra times when confirming a command.

Originally posted by samurai goroh:

Toggling running after exiting the menu: When you open and close the menu (for whatever reason you needed it to) sometimes the running button will be toggled (you need to have Sprint equipped, either innate like Thief job or just the ability), this is due to using the same button for both actions. I don't see this as a big deal, but nonetheless it bothers me that is inconsistent.

There are numerous controller issues, but they vary enough that they cannot easily be summed up here. I do not know of any consistently confirmed issue. In at least one case, someone said if they mapped the "select" command to the number pad, they could not use the command at all on either the controller or keyboard. I could not duplicate that issue however.

This is an example of a topic about the controller issues:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/382890/discussions/0/523898291494429045/

Originally posted by samurai goroh:

Auto Mode with controlled monster: When you control a monster and later on set the Auto Mode, the character controlling the monster (and therefore the monster too) will skip their turn. This seems to be due to the AI thinking you should be repeating Control and not whatever action you set the enemy to perform (even after letting the enemy perform their attack). This can be abused if such enemy only has attacks that would free him from their control (like only physical moves) & you let them skip their turn.

Originally posted by samurai goroh:

Triggering a different background in world map: Due to being able to walk freely (in float numbers instead of integers) and move to spaces normally you couldn't (walking between the border of forest and mountains) in the world map, is possible to trigger a plains background where you normally shouldn't. Now the problem here is that enemy group formations in world map are determined by the land tile you step (plains, forest, desert/swamp & sea), so you can get an encounter you previously couldn't (at least not on the exact same tile). Another example can be seen on this image, I triggered a land formation while still on the boat:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=531486659

Since I do not want to misrepresent the bug, here are some quotes explaining:

Originally posted by samurai goroh:

Battle Speed / Mode is not consistent: It seems that the Mode Wait doesn't work on this version, it seem to work again when you get the Time magic Speed and use it, but you would have to do it every time you start/resume the game. In prior versions you could kill Wing Raptor with not problems if you set the speed to 6 (4 is tight but that's the earliest unless you get the worst luck) if you didn't stop to level up. Due to the Wait Mode not working you won't be able to act in time (even if you smash the button) to kill him before he defends. I haven't tried using Auto Mode, but IMO this one is one of the priority bugs that should be fixed, which makes the game unnecessarily harder, at least for newcomers.

Originally posted by samurai goroh:

Let me put Wing Raptor as an example (He has 24 agility, same as Freelancer Job).

In every battle you and the enemy may have a chance to be +/- 1 of your speed stat (Like the Wing Raptor could be 23, 24 or 25 agility) but lets assume neither gain or lose a point.

Battle Speed 4 gives you like 0.3 seconds to perform your command before the enemy does (at battle speed 3 is the same for both sides, no advantage but also no disadvantage). Battle Speed 6 gives quite some time (almost 2 secs) while Battle Speed 1 the enemy attacks faster than you do with the same speed...

Note that this timing is considering Wait Mode, but in Active Mode if you perform your commands quickly enough, you should still keep the advantage, at least in speed 6 which gives you more room. But this is not the case in this version as the Wing Raptor will still be faster than your team performing 10 commands & finishing him when you rush to him w/o gaining extra levels...

Aesthetic/Sound:

The game applies a filter in a manner that creates very visible seams between tiles that actually match much better before filtering. It is speculated that it filters tiles before they are composed into the scene, but whatever the direct cause is, something is going wrong with the filtering that causes very noticeable seams to appear on many tiled textures.

Edit: A mod exists for this now, as linked to at the top of the post.
Partial workaround:
In the launcher settings choose "640x480 @ 60Hz" as your resolution, and make sure "Full Screen" is checked. While this may not entirely eliminate the seams, it should dramatically reduce the extent to which the scene is filtered. The reason this works is that the game is not actually using Full Screen mode, it renders in "full screen windowed mode," actually using 640x480 but stretching the result to fill your screen without the aggressive filtering normally used at higher resolutions (anyone please correct me if that is incorrect).
Note: if you are affected by the DPI scaling bug strange issues can occur no matter which resolution you choose, but that is unrelated to this issue.

The background music resets after each battle. In the GBA version it does not and picks up where it left off at the conclusion of a battle.

I don't think there's a workaround for this, but it would be nice for it to be fixed.

Hironobu Sakaguchi is missing from the credits!

If this is correct (I have not confirmed it myself yet) it really should be fixed!

Things less easily described in an objective manner:

The game seems to run at 30FPS with 60FPS merely duplicating frames. This is most noticeable when the game scrolls, such as when flying or walking around.

I'm not sure if there is any bug that causes the view to stutter or if that is purely a function of running at 30FPS. There is no workaround that I am aware of, especially if that's just the way the game runs to begin with.

Differences that are not necessarily bugs:

Originally posted by samurai goroh:

Also, I would have to check it on other versions but IIRC when you had several magic equipped (Like !Blue and !Time), it did remember where you left the cursor on each one not mattering if you switched from Magic used, but in this version if you change back and forth when you go back it will start at the top and not on the last magic used.

Originally posted by samurai goroh:

You can't walk into some tiles: You were used to be able in some of the tiles that you are not able in this version. Most notable are: Behind walls, pillars, prison bars & even the box on the Shipwreck. I clearly remember in the first TAS I ran all over the place, but in this version the space is quite reduced, which limits me from running like crazy. Note that this issue does affect some parts where you could save steps because it forces you to walk more.

Originally posted by samurai goroh:

Triggering battles where you wouldn't before: This may actually be called a fix, but is inconsistent with the prior versions so I was surprised by it. Before there were tiles where you could interact with objects (like the switches on the Fire-Powered Ship, where now an exclamation mark appears) and you wouldn't be able to trigger a battle (therefor saving steps). Due to moving freely, it seems that steps are registered as you would normally assume, so is just something that affects primary speedrunners. Well considering that avoiding monsters in world map (by opening the menu) was also fixed, they would had needed a new route anyways...

I'm not going to give this a big heading since these are not bugs, but it doesn't hurt to consolidate common feedback:
The portraits do not match the in game sprites color wise. This is not a bug though, but in FFVI the portraits are colored to match. There are mods for this, however.

The character sprites are not shaded and composed consistently with the original game or the backgrounds, and for some people that clashes badly. This is moddable but I don't think there are any mods for it yet. It is probably unrealistic to ask for this to be tweaked, since the original sprite artist in fact designed the changes. Of note however that it may look better for some people when running at 640x480 due to more extreme filtering smudging the sprites at higher resolutions. Since that is purely subjective, there is no one correct answer.

Edited in March 2018:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/382890/discussions/0/1698293255130098336/
Here's another post with suggested ideas:

Originally posted by Cyber:

First let me say that I haven't seen anyone mention this fix in other threads/forums, so here's how I got my game to work: Simply delete or rename the file "FFV_Launcher.exe" to something else. Then, start the game clicking directly on the file "FFV_Game.exe" . Voila, the game worked. You could make a shortcut to the desktop to make things easier.

I also had to apply the "DPI settings fix", as seen here, cause I'm running the game on a Windows 10 PC at 1080p with 125% DPI scaling: http://steamcommunity.com/app/382890/discussions/0/487870763294376234/

Another thing I discovered: if I start the game with my (wireless) Xbox one controller turned ON, the game ALWAYS crashes. But, if i turn the controller on only AFTER the game starts, I can use it normally. Not sure why this happens.

That's it, happy gaming

[samurai goroh]

I made a topic on Gamefaqs with some of the bugs I've had encountered:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/180970-final-fantasy-v/72550870

[Zunnoab #931]

Originally posted by samurai goroh:

I made a topic on Gamefaqs with some of the bugs I've had encountered:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/180970-final-fantasy-v/72550870

Interesting thanks. Are there any you consider easily reproducible enough that I should add it to this list here? I'm going over yours but you seem to have found quite a few interesting ones. I find the random encounter where there wasn't before, and the tiles you can't walk to that you couldn't before interesting because it suggests it really was a full remake they tried to make nearly 100% faithful to the original.

For the one about the battle speed it sounds to me like it may have been an exploit in the past to always be able to go first with slow speed, if I understand what you're saying. Typically ATB progress is randomly assigned at the start of a battle I thought? I'm sure there are experts that know the battle code of various FF games inside out that know the real answer to that though.

I'm having a hard time sifting out the ones that are bugs and not just changes. I suppose there comes a point when the line gets blurred.

[samurai goroh]

I can explain them if you want:

Memory cursor doesn't save the cursor: This has been mentioned here on Steam on another other topic. Setting the cursor to memory should remember the last command. There are instances that it changes what you had set and moves to something different like Items or Defend. Note that this bug happens even if you don't have the cursor on memory.

Also, I would have to check it on other versions but IIRC when you had several magic equipped (Like !Blue and !Time), it did remember where you left the cursor on each one not mattering if you switched from Magic used, but in this version if you change back and forth when you go back it will start at the top and not on the last magic used.

You can't walk into some tiles: You were used to be able in some of the tiles that you are not able in this version. Most notable are: Behind walls, pillars, prison bars & even the box on the Shipwreck. I clearly remember in the first TAS I ran all over the place, but in this version the space is quite reduced, which limits me from running like crazy. Note that this issue does affect some parts where you could save steps because it forces you to walk more.

Battle Speed / Mode is not consistent: It seems that the Mode Wait doesn't work on this version, it seem to work again when you get the Time magic Speed and use it, but you would have to do it every time you start/resume the game. In prior versions you could kill Wing Raptor with not problems if you set the speed to 6 (4 is tight but that's the earliest unless you get the worst luck) if you didn't stop to level up. Due to the Wait Mode not working you won't be able to act in time (even if you smash the button) to kill him before he defends. I haven't tried using Auto Mode, but IMO this one is one of the priority bugs that should be fixed, which makes the game unnecessarily harder, at least for newcomers.

Triggering a different background in world map: Due to being able to walk freely (in float numbers instead of integers) and move to spaces normally you couldn't (walking between the border of forest and mountains) in the world map, is possible to trigger a plains background where you normally shouldn't. Now the problem here is that enemy group formations in world map are determined by the land tile you step (plains, forest, desert/swamp & sea), so you can get an encounter you previously couldn't (at least not on the exact same tile). Another example can be seen on this image, I triggered a land formation while still on the boat:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=531486659

Triggering battles where you wouldn't before: This may actually be called a fix, but is inconsistent with the prior versions so I was surprised by it. Before there were tiles where you could interact with objects (like the switches on the Fire-Powered Ship, where now an exclamation mark appears) and you wouldn't be able to trigger a battle (therefor saving steps). Due to moving freely, it seems that steps are registered as you would normally assume, so is just something that affects primary speedrunners. Well considering that avoiding monsters in world map (by opening the menu) was also fixed, they would had needed a new route anyways...

Toggling running after exiting the menu: When you open and close the menu (for whatever reason you needed it to) sometimes the running button will be toggled (you need to have Sprint equipped, either innate like Thief job or just the ability), this is due to using the same button for both actions. I don't see this as a big deal, but nonetheless it bothers me that is inconsistent.

Auto Mode with controlled monster: When you control a monster and later on set the Auto Mode, the character controlling the monster (and therefore the monster too) will skip their turn. This seems to be due to the AI thinking you should be repeating Control and not whatever action you set the enemy to perform (even after letting the enemy perform their attack). This can be abused if such enemy only has attacks that would free him from their control (like only physical moves) & you let them skip their turn.

[Zunnoab #931]

Okay I tried to incorporate everything that wasn't there before (other than the battle cursor memory which was already up there) and added a new section for just differences that might not be bugs.

I do not fully understand this so I didn't edit it in yet:

Originally posted by samurai goroh:

Battle Speed / Mode is not consistent: It seems that the Mode Wait doesn't work on this version, it seem to work again when you get the Time magic Speed and use it, but you would have to do it every time you start/resume the game. In prior versions you could kill Wing Raptor with not problems if you set the speed to 6 (4 is tight but that's the earliest unless you get the worst luck) if you didn't stop to level up. Due to the Wait Mode not working you won't be able to act in time (even if you smash the button) to kill him before he defends. I haven't tried using Auto Mode, but IMO this one is one of the priority bugs that should be fixed, which makes the game unnecessarily harder, at least for newcomers.

I do not fully understand what this means. Is it merely executing queued actions that were already chosen rather than waiting for the menu to close, or is it something different?

Thanks!

[samurai goroh]

Let me put Wing Raptor as an example (He has 24 agility, same as Freelancer Job).

In every battle you and the enemy may have a chance to be +/- 1 of your speed stat (Like the Wing Raptor could be 23, 24 or 25 agility) but lets assume neither gain or lose a point.

Battle Speed 4 gives you like 0.3 seconds to perform your command before the enemy does (at battle speed 3 is the same for both sides, no advantage but also no disadvantage). Battle Speed 6 gives quite some time (almost 2 secs) while Battle Speed 1 the enemy attacks faster than you do with the same speed...

Note that this timing is considering Wait Mode, but in Active Mode if you perform your commands quickly enough, you should still keep the advantage, at least in speed 6 which gives you more room. But this is not the case in this version as the Wing Raptor will still be faster than your team performing 10 commands & finishing him when you rush to him w/o gaining extra levels...

[Zunnoab #931]

Okay after a long delay I added that to the first post. I opted to just quote you rather than attempt to explain it in my own words.

I'm pretty sure you can skip controlled monster turns anyway just as you can with other characters since I did as such when recovering from level 5 death in the library the other day, meaning the turn skip bug on auto isn't something you could abuse unless I misunderstand the situation you refer to.

[Gundam_01]

when is the first update ??
i cant play ... app crash is my problem :(

[Zunnoab #931]

Originally posted by Gundam_01:

when is the first update ??
i cant play ... app crash is my problem :(

Did you try the suggestions in the post? I'm not saying their lack of patch (or any communication whatsoever) is acceptable, but did you try them?

The three known things that can cause issues are:
1.) Non-English letters in the Windows user profile. The workaround is to make another Windows profile with only English letters and play from there for now.
2.) Sometimes the C++ Redistributable files are not automatically installed, but are required. See the first post for instructions on how to manually install.
3.) The game doesn't detect DPI scaling and sometimes breaks. Again see the first post for suggestions on that.

If it's not anything listed here what are the symptoms of your crash?

[Zunnoab #931]

I finally bothered loading the Android version up and yep, the background music restarts after each battle in that one too. That stinks, though off hand I think the series started not doing that in general starting with FFVI+, even if the GBA version didn't have this problem.

[MischiefGodLoki]

Bug: Tried remapping controls on my keyboard to match what i normally use in emulators - Using ASZX as my ABXY, DC as my page-up/page-down, etc. I had no control and had to revert to default mapping before I could play the game.
Very frustrating. Enter/backspace is a horrible map.

[Zunnoab #931]

I do not understand how you tried to map them? I'd try to see if it affects me too to see if it is a universal bug.

[Natzor]

Originally posted by Zunnoab #931:

I do not understand how you tried to map them? I'd try to see if it affects me too to see if it is a universal bug.

Not necesarrily a bug, but more of an exploit i just recently discovered. Apparently, after stealing an item, it is permanently stored in your inventory, and won't be lost after using actions like "flee" or "teleport". Again I am not sure it is intended to work like this (elixir farming/dragon lance farming makes it a ton easier than wasting mana killing the guy after stealing it). It might be something that hasn't been changed since the SNES version tough, but still it is an exploit that can be abused.

[Zunnoab #931]

Yeah I think that is original behavior.

[Zunnoab #931]

Several people have commented about the controls but again it's nothing I understood how to duplicate reliably. If there is some control bug (or solution) not listed or described correctly in the initial post please do tell.

[Zunnoab #931]

I don't typically bump things, but since the game seems to have a little uptick due to the sale I figured it's worth it to do so. I also edited in a link to the mod to get rid of the filtering.