Final Fantasy VII Interactive Demo README.TXT --------------------------------------------- 1. Demo System Requirements 2. Game Controls 3. Technical Info 4. Final Fantasy VII FAQ 5. Web site information =========================== 1. Demo System Requirements =========================== The Final Fantasy VII Interactive Demo has the following minimum system requirements: Pentium 133 32 Megs of RAM 4x CD-ROM drive 3Dfx video card Windows 95 DirectX 5.0 DirectMedia 5.1 ================ 2. Game Controls ================ KEYBOARD Arrow Keys - Movement and Menu Selection Enter - Action (OK button) Left Ctrl - Cancel, Run (in field when used together with arrow keys) Left Shift - Menu Space - Switch Page Up - Page Up (in menu), Escape from battle (together with Page Down) Page Down - Page Down (in menu), Escape from battle (together with Page Up) End - Highlights targets (in battle) Insert - Pause (during battle) Delete - Help pointers (in field) and Help window (during battle) Ctrl-Q - Quit GAMEPAD Direction Pad - Movement and Menu Selection Right Button - Action (OK button) Bottom Button - Cancel Top Button - Menu Left Button - Switch L1 - Page Up (in menu), Escape from battle (together with Page Down) R1 - Page Down (in menu), Escape from battle (together with Page Up) R2 - Highlights targets (in battle) Start - Pause (during battle) Select - Help pointers (in field) and Help window (during battle) Playing the game: This is a limited alpha demo of Final Fantasy VII. You will be able to explore some of the area of Mt. Corel and talk to the citizens of North Corel. Use the movement keys to walk around Mt. Corel, and the Action key to talk to the people you encounter. The Action key is also used to pick up the various items that you will find. Menus: The Item Menu is where you organize and use the various items that you find. Selecting an item will display the uses of each particular item. Simply select the item you want, push the Action key, and select whom you will use the item on. Some items can only be used in battle. These items will be grayed out in the item menu. The Magic Menu allows you to see each character's magic spells and to cast spells such as Cure and Life on your characters. The Materia Menu is where you arrange your materia. Materia allow you to cast the various spells in the game. The Equipment Menu is the place to organize the weapons, armor and accessories you find or buy. Selecting armor or weapons will show your current attack and defense ratings, and the effect that the selected items will have on these ratings. The Status Menu shows you the current status of the selected character. The Battle System: As in any RPG, one of the most important parts of the game is the combat. In Final Fantasy VII, this system may vary from the traditional RPG mold. Combat uses the Active Time Battle (ATB) system. In the ATB system attacks are time-based, not turn-based. Various stats, such as your characters speed, etc, will determine how soon the time bar will fill for your next attack. If you hesitate, the enemy may seize the opportunity to attack before you do. If you wish for a more traditional setting, you may change the ATB settings in the Config menu to either "Active" or "Wait". While in combat, the Action button is used to select which combat option you desire. The Cancel button is used to go back in menus. The Switch button will hide the battle menu box so you can see your character's HP and Limit Break status. Here is a handy definition for all the commands you'll have at your disposal for the demo: Attack: This option attacks with your equipped weapon. Magic: This will cast one of your spells from your equipped Materia. If the spell name has a little red arrow next to it, that means it is paired with an "All" materia and can be cast on an entire group of targets. In the lower left corner, the number there represents how many times you can cast that spell on a group of targets during this battle. Summon: This option allows you to use your Red Materia to call upon one of your Summon Monsters. The number in the lower left represents how many times you can call upon this monster this battle. Item: This option allows you to use any of your items that can be used while in battle. You cannot equip new weapons, armlets or accessories in battle. You cannot use items that raise your permanent statistics in battle either, (i.e. Speed Up, HP Up, etc.) Sense: This option allows you to scan the enemy for any weakness and to determine how many HP/MP they have. If you have the Battle help window open, it will keep a running count for you throughout the battle. This is handy for determining whether to attack, or deciding that "wouldn't be prudent." Change: This option can be accessed by moving off the far-left border of the selection menu. If you select this, the party member whose turn it is will change positions from front row to back row, or vice versa. After the battle is finished, that party member will return to the position he/she was assigned at the beginning of the battle. Defend. This option can be accessed by moving off the far-right border of the selection menu. If this option is selected, this party member will not attack, and will take half the normal damage from affected attacks. It is equivalent to putting that character in the back row for one turn. Materia: This is where all the fun begins! By placing Materia into the slots on weapons or armor, the characters can access many new abilities, such as summoning monsters or casting Bolt spells. There are five types of Materia: 1. Independent Materia (Purple) - These Materia give the character a special advantage, such as increased HP or higher Luck. For example, Aeris has the Long Range Materia equipped in her Striking Staff. This allows Aeris to attack without penalty from the back row or at enemies in back row. 2. Magic Materia (Green) - These are the most common Materia. They allow you to cast certain Magic spells. Magic will be more effective against certain enemies and less effective against others. You'll want to keep in mind the enemies that you can encounter in each location and equip accordingly. Not all Magic harms the enemy. By using these Materia creatively, you can often turn the tides of a battle faster than with just brute force. The Restore Materia and Revive Materia are the key to keeping your party in good shape. Try using Transform Materia that you find for a taste of things to come! 3. Support Materia (Blue) - Support Materia must always be paired with another Materia. An example of a paired slot is Cloud's Mythril Armlet. Initially, Cloud has an All Materia paired with a Lightning Materia. This lets Cloud target the entire group of enemies when casting Bolt. Another useful combination is All and Restore, which lets you heal the entire party at once for the same MP cost. 4. Command Materia (Yellow) - These Materia add to the commands that can be used in battle. For example, Aeris' Sense Materia adds the Sense command. Use this to find out more information on your enemies. This is great for finding their weaknesses. 5. Summon Materia (Red) - Undoubtedly, the coolest of all the Materia. Use these Materia to summon monsters of extraordinary magnitude! Just check out the Bahamut Materia that Cloud has! Through the course of the game, Materia will increase in ability much like the characters gain levels. The Materia's counterpart to experience is AP. One trick to speed up Materia growth is to equip the Materia that you want to level up in Double growth slots like those in Cloud's Force Stealer. Higher level Materia let you summon more times or gives you access to more powerful versions of existing spells. For example, a level 3 Restore Materia will give you the Regen spell. One minor caveat is that equipping Materia affects the character's stats - often sacrificing physical attributes for increased magical abilities. Variety is the spice of life and experimentation is the key to using Materia effectively. Try different combinations of Materia and test them on various enemies. You never know what you'll find! ================= 3. Technical Info ================= Setting up the game: Run the SETUP.EXE program on the CD to install the FFVII Demo. You will be prompted to choose a folder and a program group in which to install the game. You will also be prompted to install DirectX 5.0, DirectMedia 5.1 and the 3Dfx driver that works properly with the FFVII Demo. These are all needed to run the demo. ALT-TAB and Win95 Keys: If you ALT-TAB from the FFVII Demo, you will not be able to get back into the game. The same holds true for the Windows 95 keys on some keyboards. Savepoint and PHS: The Savepoint and PHS are disabled in this demo. Normally, the Savepoint would allow you to save your game, and the PHS would allow you to reorganize your party. ======================== 4. Final Fantasy VII FAQ ======================== Q.1) Is a 3D card required to play FF VII when it is released for the PC? No. A 3D accelerator card will not be required to play FF VII on the PC although it is recommended. We will be releasing a list of compatible 3D cards before the game's release later this year. Q.2) Are there plans on bringing more titles to the PC besides FF VII? FF VII, scheduled to be released for the PC sometime this summer, is the only PC game in development by Square Soft at this time. It has not been determined yet if future PC titles will be planned for development, but it is hoped that a successful launch of the PC version of FF VII will aid in the realization of future PC titles developed by Square Soft. Q.3) Will the PC version of FF VII be the same as the PlayStation version? Yes. Both versions of the game will have similar gameplay and storyline issues. Basically, the content found in the original PlayStation version will remain intact and unchanged for the PC version. Q.4) For the PC version of FF VII, will there be an opportunity to correct the English grammar and spelling mistakes missed in the PlayStation version? In a game the size of FF VII, there may be instances where a spelling mistake occurred or a translated phrase appeared a bit off and was not caught or corrected in time during the testing cycle. Measures will be in effect to ensure that these instances are identified and corrected during the development and subsequent testing of FF VII for the PC. Q.5) How do I get information on becoming a beta tester (for FF VII PC)? All job information can be found in the Employment section of our websites (www.squaresoft.com and www.eidosinteractive.com). There are no plans to include any external beta testing for the upcoming PC release of FF VII as all testing is currently done in-house. Q.6) On what exact date will FF VII PC be released? The specific release date for the game has not been determined, but it is hoped that it will be released sometime during this summer. Q.7) What will the minimum system requirements be for the final version? P133 (w/ 3D accelerator card), P166 (w/out 3D accelerator card) 32 MB RAM 4X CD-ROM DirectX 5.0 compatible sound and video card (AWE64 or XG-MIDI compatible sound card recommended) ======================= 5. Web Site Information ======================= The official Final Fantasy VII PC web site is located at http://www.ff7pc.com.