Final Fantasy VII supports all DirectX 5.1 supported audio cards. You should use the latest audio card drivers for your audio card. The latest audio card drivers at the release time of FF7 are included on the Installation CD in the Drivers\Audio directory. You can get the very latest drivers from the web sites of the various audio card manufacturers.


If your current MIDI device is a previously installed software synthesizer, please either select your sound card driver (not the software synthesizer) as the MIDI driver in the FF7 Configuration program OR install the Yamaha S-YXG70 software synthesizer.


Windows 95 note: You need to have the Audio Compression component of Multimedia installed. Under Control Panel, click on Add/Remove Programs, click on the Windows Setup tab, click on Multimedia, click on Details, and check to see if the Audio Compression box is checked. If the box is not checked, check the box and click OK. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete installation.


CREATIVE LABS SOUND FONT MANAGER


If you have a Creative Labs AWE sound card, you can enhance your music in the game by installing the Sound Font Manager for AWE32,64 (if you have not done so previously). Please read the SoundFont Manager README file for more information. *Note: We do not provide tech support for Sound fonts use, you must use the information found in the readme file or contact Creative for proper use of the Sound Font manager, and how to properly load the sound fonts data properly.


YAMAHA SOFTWARE SYNTHESIZER


If you do not have a wavetable synthesis audio card, you can still play the game with the high-quality Final Fantasy VII music by installing the Yamaha sound synthesizer (SXG70) that is provided on the game's Installation CD. Yamaha has created this special version of its software synthesizer specifically for Final Fantasy VII.


In the FF7 Configuration program, select General MIDI as your MIDI Data for use with the Yamaha software synthesizer. (The XG MIDI data type is for XG MIDI compatible sound cards.)


Also in the FF7 Configuration program, the Logarithmic Volume Control check box should be checked for sound cards that support logarithmic volume control. Most newer sound cards support logarithmic volume control. To test if your card does, please adjust the volume control test slider bar and listen to the volume at various levels. If the volumes do not seem to match the slider bar settings, please try checking/unchecking the box and test again. Choosing the correct volume control mode will allow for correct volume control in the game.


If you notice some skipping or jerkiness in the music while playing, please open the S-YXG70 Configuration under Yamaha SoftSynthesizer in the Start Menu. Then, change the Sampling Rate to 11K, uncheck the Reverb checkbox, and/or increase the CPU Load percentage. Increasing the CPU Load percentage will slow down the gameplay, however, so please increase the CPU Load percentage only as high as necessary. Please refer to the Yamaha Help files for more information about the Yamaha software synthesizer.


Yamaha Software Synthesizer installation notes: You must restart your computer if you install the software synthesizer. If you also install DirectX or DirectMedia (Movie Player) during installation, you will be prompted at the end of the entire installation to restart your computer (so you should answer "No" at the Yamaha restart computer message). Also, if you are reinstalling the Yamaha Software Synthesizer, you MUST uninstall your current version first before reinstalling.