FF VIII "Ultima" Mods for FF8 FFNX!

Hey if you all remember MCINDUS made a guide for use with the legacy way of modding the game (Tonberry)
I have taken the time to convert a large chuck of the mods available, now for use with FFNX
(v1.19.1.0 FULLY, v1.20.3.0 has some minor glitches (though might be driver bugs still testing)
[SEE Author's Note at bottom of guide] when MCINDUS drops his packs they will replace mine on the guide.

This guide will take you to the original forum links and downloads to my converted packs and has setup instructions much easier than using Tonberry (Simple drag 'textures' folder from mod of choice to (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/mods/)

Covered in this guide is MCINDUS' Reshade config, how to add quality Music to the game and and texture packs for alot of the sections of this game and also controller button addons. FFNX comes with the World UV Texture Patch enabled by default.

Thanks goes to the original authors as listed in the guide and me for converting (alot by hand) them to be in the new format FFNX uses.

FFNx Setup

FFNx is a mod engine for FINAL FANTASY VII/VIII. it is hosted on GitHub (FFNX)[github.com] where you can also find its installation instructions.

Simply download the latest release, extract it, and paste its contents wherever your FF8_EN.exe file is located (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/) (when asked, select "Replace All").

Keep posted as the team that updates FFNX is currently fleshing out the texture support for FF8 so with newer Stable releases soon they will be done with a standard filename and format for all the packs soon so MCindus can finish his higher quality packs he is working on which will replace mine.

My packs will serve as a preview of the great texture support FFNx is currently finishing off!

(The latest Canary - Beta build is fleshing out the texture support pretty quickly so I'm optimistic we will have a standard default filename system soon then MCindus can release his versions of the packs!)

Also the reason this version of the game will be superior to the Remaster is:
1. Official PSX music directly from the PSX files. (DONE and covered in the guide)
2. Voice acting support as being worked on with the ECHO-S 8 mod. (DEMO is out)
3. Controller Vibration support already enabled just like the PSX version just needs to be finished.
4. Possible widescreen support for Battles and In Game Area's that support them as seen in FF7 (started to be implemented)
5. 60FPS support as seen in FF7 with this driver (Work has been started to implement)

Music

OPTION 1:
How To Restore The Original PSX Music (Using FFNx) [Windows/Linux] by Benji
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2724995162

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPTION 2:

How To Restore The Original Yamaha S-YXG MIDI Music (Using FFNx)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3354551137

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPTION 3:
Roses and Wine (RaW)[thereunion.live][thereunion.live]by DLPB in 'Software'
This music mod is moderately easy to install and is by far the best music mod available. Choose between PSX/Original Sountrack, Orchestral Soundtrack versions, Rock/Metal versions (The Black Mages), or even input your own .OGG files to loop in the game!
***NOW Easy .bat file to import and rename files with the official installer then clean up and uninstall RaW afterwards***

Just download and move to (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/) then double click after installing the Roses and Wine mod with your choice of music options.
Link to batch file RaW to FFNX[pastebin.com]

Then edit with notepad.exe - FFNx.toml in (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/) and change these lines to this -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#[USE EXTERNAL MUSIC]
use_external_music = true
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#[EXTERNAL MUSIC PATH]
external_music_path = "music/vgmstream"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*The .bat file is completely safe to use in your FF8 directory *AFTER install of RaW
As seen in pastebin.com -
*The 'ren' command renames the .ogg music files
*The 'move' command moves them to a folder for FFNX
*The 'del' command deletes the two .dlls RaW installs that hook the game for music (not needed in FFNX)
*The 'rd' command deletes the 'RaW' install directory and the '/Data/Music/dmusic' directory then the next command renames the 'dmusic_backup' directory created there by RaW to 'dmusic'

Now all the files are back as they were before RaW installed and the music is renamed and moved to 'music/vgmstream' for FFNX to use!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPTION 4:
For using :music from FF8 Remastered

OLD WAY:
Simply copy all the .ogg music files in (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII Remastered/) from -
"data/music/dmusic/ogg"
to
(~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/music/vgmstream)

NEW WAY:
The music files are now packed in a .zzz archive in the latest update.
Grab zzzDeArchive 0.1.7.[forums.qhimm.com] unzip it to where ever. Open then select (1) extract give the path to the other.zzz archive which the music is now stored in - (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII Remastered/other.zzz)

Then enter a directory path to extract the remaster music files, say you extracted DeArchive to downloads - (C:\Users\***\Downloads\zzzDeArchive_0_1_7_5\OUT\) you can get the path by using the address bar at the top of file explorer by clicking right of the name of the folder you are in at the top, (copy and paste into the zzzDeArchive cmd window).
Now hit enter and it will extract the files in other.zzz to \zzzDeArchive_0_1_7_5\OUT\, navigate to that folder and goto "data\music\dmusic\ogg"

COPY all these files to (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/music/vgmstream)
Congratulations you now have the remastered music from that version! Now just follow the steps below to enable support.

Edit with notepad.exe - FFNx.toml in (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/) and change these lines to this -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#[USE EXTERNAL MUSIC]
use_external_music = true
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#[EXTERNAL MUSIC PATH]
external_music_path = "music/vgmstream"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Always use original filenames when looking for external music files.
# Example: `005s-battle.ogg` instead of `battle.ogg`.
# Use this option if you want to use OGG files from Remastered Edition directly in external music
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ff8_external_music_force_original_filenames = true

Graphics

MCINDUS' FF8 ReShade v1.3 Config Profile[forums.qhimm.com] (For use with ReShade v3.0 or later!)
Anti-Aliasing, Post Processing FX, CRT Scanlines Shader Option, Color Enhancements, Bloom Shaders, Lens Flares, Godrays, and more!
(Pick rendering backend when you install ReShade as set by FFNX, example seen in Troubleshooting section)

The following were converted to FFNX by hand mostly and took a lot of time so i hope you enjoy.

SeeDReborn v4.1+Options [EN]-FFNX[drive.google.com]
Release Thread[forums.qhimm.com]
Text, Menu, and GUI Overhaul by MCINDUS
*Includes ENGLISH Language so far*


Tripod v1.3-FFNX[drive.google.com]
Release Thread[forums.qhimm.com]
"Triple Triad" Card Game Texture Overhaul by MCINDUS


RebrthFlame-v1.3-Mago-FFNX[drive.google.com]
Release Thread[forums.qhimm.com]
Character Texture Project by FatedCourage
Art by Magochocobo, with additions/edits by Devina, Crestian, and Yagami Light
Big thanks to Mortael and Shunsq!


HorizonPackRemaster_v1-0-FFNX-v1.0b[drive.google.com]
Release Thread[forums.qhimm.com]
World Texture, Map, and Vehicle Upscales by MCINDUS and FatedCourage


LunarCry-Remastered_v2-1-FFNX[drive.google.com]
Release Thread[forums.qhimm.com]
Enemy Upscales (100% Complete) by MCINDUS


FieldModelTextures_v1-0-1-FFNX-Testing+LunarCryUpdate[drive.google.com]
Release Thread[forums.qhimm.com]
Removed main chr field textures currently replaceable by the REMASTER (Not the same models)
--
ALL enemy Field Model Textures! (Fixes Lunar Cry Issues!)
Downscaled from (6x) to (4x) resolution to be compatable, use these LunarCry ones instead
*Only covers (textures/field/model/second_chr/) LunarCry's (textures/battle/) folder should be used for the battle enemies upscales
--
Mostly For testing and feedback read the [PLEASE Readme.txt] file first.
If you would like just the LunarCry updates they are in a seperate folder.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TODO:

Project AngelWing Release Thread[forums.qhimm.com]
Gigapixel (or Waifu) Upscaled Field Backgrounds by FatedCourage

*Mcindus Mods[www.patreon.com] Mcindus Patreon page includes a download link to a full set of Field - Project AngleWing - Ultima with his new AI method and they look amazing, much better than AngelWind 3.0 so i willl leave this to MCIndus and his mods


Old Angelwing v3.0 (Top) vs New Angelwing - Ultima (Bottom)


*To subscribe it is only $3 then download AngelWing and extract it's (textures/field_bg/) folder and all the two letter folders in it to (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/mods/textures/field/mapdata) then they should show in the latest FFNx Stable build.


BattleFieldPack Release Thread[forums.qhimm.com]
*MCIndus' AI upscaled texures should give you the best experience so I'm waiting for full Tonberry support in the battle section before we proceeed with this.
*Here is an upscaled AI enhanced version of the BattleFieldPack so to finish off the circle you can download this, i haven't had time to test it but as far as i have seen looks like it was done to recommended specifications converted by G-Nite *Install Before LunarCry
BattleFieldPack v3.1[drive.google.com]
BattleField Upscales Project by MCINDUS and FatedCourage

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project Hellfire Release Thread[forums.qhimm.com]
GF Summon Replacements/Upscales by MCINDUS and FatedCourage

Apocalypse Release Thread[forums.qhimm.com]
Boss Upscales by FatedCourage

Controller Icons

FF8 Controller Button Icons v2.0[forums.qhimm.com]
For PSX and Xbox360 by MCINDUS and Norwin
For HD icons use Mcindus texture set converted to FFNX: FF8 HD icons Link v1.1[drive.google.com]


Simply drag the 'texutures' folder of your choice to (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/mods/)

Then edit with notepad.exe - FFNx.toml in (~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/) and change these lines to this -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Use icon textures for gamepad buttons instead of "B1", "B2", etc...
# By default the PS1 icons are used from the game data.
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ff8_use_gamepad_icons = true
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Includes PSX 1, 2, 3, 4 and XBOX 360 controller icons of your choice.

For PSX controllers the icon sets are divided up into different mappings depending on the way you have your controller connected.

If you have your PSX controller mapped to be the Same as XBOX 360 default for windows then use the -
"FF8_Buttons_Shunsq_PS_PS2" textures folder!

Gameplay Add-on's

Add-on's with installer or download and extract the files as instructed to steam FF8 root directory then save the chosen mods .bat file to steam FF8 root directory and it will install the mod for you step by step, recommended you do this after installing texture mods.

FF8 Root folder is described at top of Troubleshooting section if you are having trouble finding it.

Uninstall .bat file for all my .bat file mods Uninstall File[pastebin.com]


Echo-S 8 (Voice Acting Mod)
Echo-S 8 is a fully voice acted mod for Final Fantasy 8 on the PC. (Not the Remaster)

This demo includes:

• Full voiced dialog for every spoken text box in this demo
• Fully Voiced FMVs
• Automatic text scrolling to allow conversations to feel more fluid
• A slightly altered dialogue to help deliver the story

The demo is roughly 4 hours, depending on your playstyle, and the installer can be downloaded here: https://www.tsunamods.com/echo-s-8/

How to play:

Download and run the installer, it will download and install Echo-S 8 for you.


[FF8PC-Steam] [New Threat Mod v0.3]*[forums.qhimm.com]
[Overview]
FF8 NT is a gameplay overhaul mod that's aiming to rebalance the game's systems while introducing new/revised content. The level of difficulty is intended to be accessible to all players, with grinding being optional rather than mandatory. Random enemies and boss battles have been revised with new mechanics, story scenes are tweaked with some deactivated scenes renovated for use, and some quality of life additions have been made. The central idea to the mod is to make the game a fresh experience but to also make it 'more of itself'; that means trying to maintain as much of the core game as possible but with adjustments to make the different gameplay elements work together better.The current build extends to Disc 1 only.

New Threat Mod - Read over the Qhimm Official post first, if you decide to try this mod i have created an easy windows Batch file to install. Just run this .bat file in the FF VIII steam root directory first then unzip the 4 files and 4 folders in the mod download to the FFVIII steam root directory then continue to run this .bat file in the FF VIII steam root directory. (Will back up FFVIII Data files for you and rename and move files into their proper place)

QUOTE from Sega Chief: I'm working on it a bit more now, so I'm hoping done by the end of this year (2024). (At which time I will update the .bat install file)
New Threat Mod DISC1 FFNX[pastebin.com]


[FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.2.3 & v1.1b) [forums.qhimm.com]


Hello everyone, and welcome to the Ragnarok Mod. This mod was created with the aim of rebalancing several gameplay aspects of Final Fantasy VIII, such as usefulness of all characters in battle, the power level of Limit Breaks, or the ways of obtaining powerful tools to become stronger. Not only does this mod limit the gains from playing Triple Triad or makes enemies more challenging, it also adds various convenience functions not present in the original game, such as lifting the Draw cap in battles, providing additional save possibilities or giving the characters basic spells right off the bat.

Overall, the mod is for those who look for a new challenge and maybe those who would like to relive Final Fantasy VIII the way they did during their very first playthrough, when they didn't know the game inside out yet. Of course, new players are welcome as well, but should get accustomed to how the general gameplay mechanics work first.

Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod - Read over the Qhimm Official post first then if you decide to try this mod i have created an easy windows Batch file to install. Just run this .bat file in the FF VIII steam root first then unzip the 2 files and 4 folders in the mod download to the FFVIII steam root directory then continue to run this .bat file in the FF VIII steam root directory. (Will back up FFVIII Data files for you and rename and move files into their proper place)
RagnarokMod_FFNX[pastebin.com]


[FF8-PC Steam/Switch] FFVIII Crystal 1.5.6 / Remastered Version 1.1.6[forums.qhimm.com]

FFVIII Crystal is a rebalancing mod for FFVIII that began as a self-imposed class-based challenge playthrough roughly 10 years ago and still retains some of its features. It attempts to make each character more distinct, dial back some of the overtuned mechanics and abilities of FFVIII, and make the game more challenging while keeping the "flavor" of the original game.This mod is intended for the English 2013 Steam release of FFVIII and is playable from start to finish.

FFVIII Crystal Mod - Read over the Qhimm Official post first, if you decide to try this mod i have created an easy windows Batch file to install. Just run this .bat file in the FF VIII steam root directory first then unzip the 3 files and 3 folders in the mod download to the FFVIII steam directory then continue to run this .bat file in the FF VIII steam root directory. (Will back up FFVIII Data files for you and rename and move files into their proper place)
CrystalMod_FFNX[pastebin.com]


Final Fantasy 8 - Gameplay Releases

Visit Gameplay Releases - Qhimm Forums[forums.qhimm.com].

Troubleshooting

If you don't know where the FF8 root directory is as described on this guide
Navigate to your Steam install folder on your C: drive -
(~/Steam/steamapps/common/FINAL FANTASY VIII/)

If you get low FPS on the World Map try deleting:
"wmset" folder from "/FINAL FANTASY VIII/mods/textures/world/dat/" and
"esk" folder from "/FINAL FANTASY VIII/mods/textures/world/"

If you get crashes in game, try deleting:
"second_chr" folder from "/FINAL FANTASY VIII/mods/Textures/field/model/"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Try changing the renderer if game crashes on launch:
Edit "/FINAL FANTASY VIII/FFNx.toml" with notepad and change this to desired.

#[RENDERING BACKEND]
# Available choices are:
# - 0: Auto ( default, will pick the best rendering backend for your GPU )
# - 1: OpenGL ( works fine on Intel/Nvidia, MAY break on AMD )
# - 2: UNUSED ( used to be Direct3D9, no more supported )
# - 3: Direct3D11 ( works fine under any GPU on Windows )
# - 4: Direct3D12
# - 5: Vulkan
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
renderer_backend = 0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some recommended options to enable in your default FFNx.toml config "/FINAL FANTASY VIII/FFNx.toml"

#[RENDERING BACKEND] - Choose rendering backend for better performance as seen above.
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
renderer_backend = 0

#[FULLSCREEN]
# If off, it will run in window mode.
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
fullscreen = true

#[COLOR GAMUT] - Simulates the color gamut of the 1990s Japanese television sets that FF7 and FF8 were originally designed for
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
enable_ntscj_gamut_mode = true

The folder name in your game Documents path "Documents\Square Enix\FINAL FANTASY VIII Steam\user_XXXXXXX"
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
steam_game_userdata = ""

#[STEAM ACHIEVEMENTS EXTENSION]
# This flag will enable steam overlay and steam achievements (Steam MUST be running and you must be online and
# connected to the Internet to unlock achievement).
# Note: incompatible with mods that change dramatically the gameplay (for example, New Threat mod), use it at your own risk
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
enable_steam_achievements = true


*Change your texture folder save textures if ever getting a crash in game so i could fix the problem

##[TEXTURE PATH]
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
mod_path = "mods/SaveTextures"

Dump internal textures to PNG files in the mod_path
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
save_textures = true

For using music from FF8 Remastered:
# Always use original filenames when looking for external music files.
# Example: `005s-battle.ogg` instead of `battle.ogg`.
# Use this option if you want to use OGG files from Remastered Edition directly in external music
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ff8_external_music_force_original_filenames = true

# Use icon textures for gamepad buttons instead of "B1", "B2", etc...
# By default the PS1 icons are used from the game data.
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ff8_use_gamepad_icons = true

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other than that these packs do require full game testing, you can PM me errors encountered and i will try and update accordingly!

ENJOY!

Author's Note

P.S.
I just read on MCindus' Patreon page i signed up for yesterday he is in the process of converting packs for FFNX so my bad i've had some of these packs ready for awhile but was waiting until they finished the texture support for FF8 in FFNX. I hope that alot of my work isn't to waste. I will keep updating this Guide. He has now told me he is going to cover FFNX as he's not just focused on the Remaster, once FFNx FULLY finishes it's texture support which it has already fully implemented and now just finishing off!

He had been away for over 2 years until He posted again on qhimm forums a bit ago this month on (5/7/2024)...

I honestly though he had died from covid as he has been away from the qhimm forums for a huge amount of time.

The purpose of this guide with all my work was to be a continuation of his "Ultra" mods guide for use with Tonberry he hadn't updated since 2019 but for FFNx this time to show some support for the project as it's been a year since they have had texture support and no one has come out with ANY packs or texture mods.

He also noted that sky is the limit with this driver as to HD texture support compared to the legacy Tonberry's 1024x1024 texture limit size! So keep your hopes high for this projects potential!

They will be done with a standard filename and format for all the packs soon so MCindus can finish his higher quality packs he is working on which will replace mine.

Link to MCindus's Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/mcindusmods/


For anyone that is wondering:
These PIC files work in either .dds format or .png format you first have to dump the textures you would like to update by playing the game through each section with save_textures set to true

Dump internal textures to PNG files in the mod_path
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
save_textures = true

then you must reformat the pic files to be in the correct format, always in multiples of what the original was, say it was 256x256 the multiple of the PIC file in Tonberry's format would be either 512x512 or 768x768 or 1024x1024 like that. Most of Tonberry's mods that don't use the full 1024x1024 limit have the PIC file cropped to say a quarter of the 1024x1024 PIC file. GIMP is easy and free to use.


ABOUT UPDATES:!

I will try and update this (have been very busy), they recently did alot of work on FF8 in FFNx and now im going to test and update the guide for use with the newest build so far i've only run into a few problems with my pack but as far as I can see they were working in 1.19 so im thinking that this is just driver bugs as i've noticed some textures drawing from the wrong folder!

Also I've just converted FieldModel Textures v1.0.1 by MCINDUS which will fix the LunarCry Issues and add the missing pieces for LunarCry. The rest of the pack is for testing so if you would like to help it needs a playthrough on alot of sections of the game. Instructions are included in "PLEASE Readme" text file so read it before testing. Download is in the Graphics section!

Currently there is no support for MCindus's BattlefieldPack ULTIMA (Remastered) pack (he has for free in .dds format on his patreon page) will add instructions when that comes, but the jewel is his Angelwing the AI editing is amazing if you would like to pay $3 and it does work in the latest FFNx build v1.20.3.0 (Though i've noticed there are some errors in the field files rarely (like on the train)

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOVE REGARDING UPDATES!

[Marcycle]

FFNX is nice, but it seems to have broken the soft reset functionality. Ctrl-R is supposed to perform a soft reset for both the vanilla FFVIII installation, and the FFVIII installation with FNx installed. Now that FNx is installed, Ctrl-R no longer performs a soft reset. =/

[InstantClassic17]

Any instructions for how to get this working on Steam Deck?

[DemetriusKlein]

We need better instructions to Project AngelWing, many folders and not working.

[OmegaKnuckles]

Note to anyone attempting to use a No-CD patch (GC World, etc): It will NOT work with FFNx by default because its autoconfiguration scripts rely on the existence of the user_xxxxxxxx folder in FINAL FANTASY VIII Steam documents directory.

You will have to submit your information to Square Enix in order for the user folder to be generated including registering a new account if you don't have one.

Maybe this will be made less of a hassle in the future but don't bet on it. Works great other than that.

[Bass_Man1981]

Can you use the links for Project Hellfire and Apocalypse and if so where are these put or are you waiting on FFNx versions

[DR.Mad ♥]

i cant find FFNx.toml when trying too change the button prompts ;-;

[Dazh88]

Hi all, many thanks for the guide, it works fine for me with ff8 steam version, but i have now an issue when loading a savegame in the worldmap, it loads in the middle of the sea and the character is stucked there. This happens whatever is the savegame in terms of game progress or map location as long as it is saved in the worldmap. If i save in the cities or dungeons it works fine. If i remove ffnx mod, the issue disappear and no problem on those same savegame. I tried fresh reinstalling and also use older rev of ffnx but still no solution. Any suggestion here? Thanks

[G-Nite]

@Char - I did take a look at converting the freely available backgrounds for Project AngelWing (MCINDUS' work is on patreon so I won't be looking at that) - however the Tonberry file format for these is so very different re-creating the backgrounds so they work with FFnx is too great a task for me to do :-( - apologizes - there might be a way to automate the conversion but I couldn't find it.

[Holidae]

Additional: when modding the music, make sure you also edit the FFNx.toml line "external_music_volume". there's an issue where it plays any external music far, FAR too loudly and causes it to completely drown out any sound effects. it's set to -1 by default which is supposed to autodetect settings, but i found setting it to 25 is a perfect middle ground.

[Holidae]

Fantastic stuff converting these

I see you did the RebirthFlame Mago pack. Is there any way you could also convert the "Upscaled" version of the mod? I just really like the old face models and would love to be able to keep them but upscaled.

Upscaled:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxTDk8nuGukdWE8yVVVMZnlKVE0/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-ZdnsMMStVzg3P6cK78XfGQ