Cosmo v0.94 by Ficedula
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FF7 Text Editor: Beta release

Features:
-Edit game text (name of weapons, materia, etc) or in game dialogue
-Listen to and edit sound effects
-View background graphics from levels

Updates in 0.94a:
-Fixed colour codes (Cyan and Purple were swapped in 0.94)
Updates in 0.94:
-Fixed "Run-time error" crash when you exitted Cosmo.
-Added more control codes & updated preview to account for them (see Help file for full list)
-Added 'Help' window that lists all control codes

Updates in 0.93:
-Fixed the "Fix Lengths" option. Actually works now :) Should hopefully allow a few more levels to be edited.
-Cosmo now uses more library code. You don't need DELPHIMM.DLL to run it, but you DO need FICEDULA.DLL. Don't worry, it does make the program even more customisable and upgradable...in theory, at least...
-Speeded up LGP code slightly. I really need to rewrite the LGP code totally, it's a mess at the moment.
-Added "Fast LGP Updates" option. Makes opening and saving to LGP files quicker, at the cost of using more disk space. The "Pack LGP" command will reclaim any wasted disk space, just as before.
-Using a plugin doesn't destroy open LGP's anymore. IE: You can use a plugin, then go straight back into the editor using Open/LGP and other commands that need you to have an LGP open.
-Updated search/replace code slightly
-Moved more updates into the HISTORY.TXT file.
-Recompiled the patch stubs. Now they use the updated editing code.

Updates in 0.92:
-Fixed bug where Open/LGP prevented plugins from working
-Fixed bug that caused first entry in text file to be empty
-Added "Fix Lengths" option. When on, this uses the old-style editing where you can't change the length of a text block, just overwrite it. Necessary to avoid messing up some levels at the moment.

Updates in 0.91:
-Speeded up search/replace a little
-Fixed a small bug in the text decoder
-Fixed a bug which caused FF7 to crash on entering a level once it had been edited
-Added "Pack LGP" as an option on the tools menu
-Reduced memory usage on some levels

Updates in 0.90:
-Fixed plugin system *again*. I really think it works now :) Note that you need DELPHIMM.DLL to run Cosmo now. I plan to write my own memory manager at some point which means you won't need DELPHIMM and will sort out all the plugin problems.
-Improved debug log code.
-Reorganised code. Should reduce the chances of plugin problems, all structure definitions now contained in one unit.
-Switched exe compression to a newer version of UPX. Should fix slowdown problems some people experienced.
-Slight compatibility increase. Now the only level files Cosmo can't open are those containing less than about 3 text items, and most of those aren't worth editing anyway.
-Internal Editor can now edit more data
Editing compatibility in 0.90: 95%

Updates in 0.87:
-Using a plugin tool doesn't break the main editor any more
-Fixed plugin system
-Added more options to Background editor. Now you can view and change the palette (at least, you can try to. I don't promise it will work.)
-Improved debug logging

Updates in 0.85:
-Note: I've got a new website! The old one will still be there, but won't be updated with newer versions of my programs. Address at the bottom of the readme.
-Fixed a bug that caused some names to be cut off in certain levels.
-Improved editing compatibility again
-Migrated more functions to a plugin-style operation
-Started writing Background editor. Only a more advanced displayer at the moment though - can't actually change anything
-May have fixed a bug that altered the midi option in levels by accident
-Added support for most foreign (i.e. accented) characters into the main editor
-Optimised search/replace code - slightly faster
-Note: You'll need to make a new preview index since Cosmo can read more text now
Editing compatibility in 0.85: 91%

Updates in 0.81:
-OK, 0.80 didn't last long before the bugs starting appearing...anyway, background decoding bugs fixed. Hopefully background decoding will now *never* crash.
-Fixed library priority code
-NOTE: Cosmo attempts to read all the EXE's and DLL's in its folder when you start it (to see if any of them are upgrades to be applied). So if you're having problems loading Cosmo, make sure the ONLY programs in the Cosmo folder are Cosmo and any upgrades you've downloaded.

Updates in 0.80:
-Cosmo uses a more general way of finding resources and code, so it should be easier to customise/upgrade Cosmo in the future
-Optimised startup code; doesn't take so long to load Cosmo
-Possible to view debug messages from inside the program
-Improved editing compatibility (how many files can be opened) a lot!
Editing compatibility in 0.80: 90%

Info
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Cosmo is (or will be, when it's finished) a program that edits the 'level' files from FF7, which contain all the data for the in-game locations (ie. not the battle scenes). I'm only planning at the moment to write text editing into it, but it's possible I might find out how to edit other parts of the files. Text editing is very nearly complete - there isn't much more for me to do. There's basic viewing and editing code for other things in Cosmo too.

This readme file contains basic information on how to use Cosmo, but you should read the help file instead which gives more details on how to use it, and looks better too :)

Installing/Running Cosmo
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Not very hard: just unzip it into a folder and run COSMO.EXE. There ARE a few points to watch for:

-You need the file FICEDULA.DLL to run Cosmo; either in the same folder as Cosmo, or (better) in Windows\System. You can download this from my website (address at the end of the readme).
-Don't put Cosmo in a folder containing other programs (EXE/DLL files). Cosmo searches it's folder for plugins and patches, so it's best not to clutter the folder up with other things.
-To actually edit the files in FF7 you need to do a full install of FF7. If you don't, you won't have all the data files installed on your hard drive. You can open them off the CD, but obviously then you won't be able to save any changes :)
-If you STILL can't get Cosmo to work, email me. When Cosmo exits, it saves a file in it's folder called LOG.TXT containing messages from the program; it's usually helpful to email this to me when tracking down bugs and problems.

I don't mind getting emails from people asking questions about Cosmo so long as it's not something I've already answered in the readme or help files! Bug reports especially, or requests for more features (I can't promise anything, of course) are always welcome.


Finally
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Thanks to:

Qhimm (For help with the level file format, especially the background graphics! And of course, his compression code, which I still don't understand, but which works damn well... and now, for the sound file format - once again, saved me figuring out all these files myself).
Jordan Russell (Author of Toolbar97)
Everyone who gave me feedback and bug reports! (Keep 'em coming!)

Email: ficedula@lycos.co.uk
http://www.legacy-ovwp.org/~ficedula/index.html