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:           ~~ Final Fantasy... the Ultimate Epic ~~               :
:                The First Saga (Chapters 1-10)                    :
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Thank you for downloading Final Fantasy... the Ultimate Epic.
Please read this file before watching the movie so you can get
the full experience that it has to offer.


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: Table of Contents :
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1. How to use this file
2. How this movie is structured
3. Why "Final Fantasy"?
4. System "requirements"
5. Fonts
6. A word about midi
7. Disclaimer, of sorts
8. Troubleshooting
9. Contact information


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: 1. How to use this file :
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This file is a plain ASCII text file and can be read using any text
editor.  It was designed to be used with the default window size of
Windows Notepad without the use of Word Wrap, but any way you can
read this works.  If words are spaced strangely or anything, simply
maximize the window.


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: 2. How this movie is structured :
-----------------------------------

Final Fantasy... the Ultimate Epic is not a normal movie like you
would see on the silver screen.  Instead, it incorporates some features
found in real movies and others found in 3D Movie Maker movies into
one film.  There are several unique aspects of Final Fantasy... the
Ultimate Epic that you will notice as you watch.

One feature you will notice in the movie is that sometimes characters
speak in text boxes.  These situations indicate that the character is
thinking, and so through these text boxes it is possible for you to
see what they are thinking and percieving what is going on.

Another unique feature you will notice is its immense length.  Final
Fantasy... the Ultimate Epic is a story I have written, and this movie
progresses exactly like the novel does; everything that happens in the
novel also happens in the movie.  This makes for a movie that is very
long.  But being long, every detail can be presented, explained, and
resolved with great clarity and reason.  I feel that storyline is the
single most important aspect of any great movie, and as such Final
Fantasy... the Ultimate Epic is very long to portray its complex,
involving story.

The final aspect you will notice is that the movie is split into
chapters, just like a novel.  Not only do these splits act like
intermissions, easily allowing you to quickly come back to the movie
later should you need to stop watching it for awhile, but they also
allow other events in the movie to progress in a parallel process,
a very important concept that must be kept in mind.  Being so complex,
the storyline often must jump around to other characters in order to
keep the flow of time correct.  You will notice that chapters at the
beginning of the movie will seem to speed by very quickly; this is due
to the disparate nature of the story at that moment: by keeping chapters
short, parallel processes are easier to keep track of.  However, as the
movie progresses, chapters will begin to get longer and more complicated
as different storyline points converge.

On a side note, it is interesting to point out that this movie began in
1999, and since then has been evolving in so many ways it confuses me
sometimes.  If I did not start making something with 3DMM, I would never
be pleased enough with my story and thus would never have finished this
first part of the movie.  As such, you will see notable changes in skill
and style of the movie as it progresses.  These evolutions are the result
of years of writing, re-writing, creating, and re-creating the movie.
So in a sense, this film is also a story about how I as a 3DMM director
evolved over time, if you read it correctly.


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: 3. Why "Final Fantasy"? :
---------------------------

When I originally started making this movie, I had named it "Final
Fantasy IX... the Ultimate Epic".  This was to continue what I had
done in my previous movie, "Final Fantasy VIII... the Legend
Continues", which was more or less a continuation of Final Fantasy
VII.  After I began production, however, I decided not to try and
continue it with the "IX", since the real Final Fantasy IX game was
already on the way.  But "Final Fantasy" still stuck, so I created
the story in Final Fantasy tradition.

This "tradition" is followed in several ways.  First off, it includes
a character named "Cid", which is a constant in nearly every Final
Fantasy game.  Furthermore, it concentrates on themes of life and
love, and includes a central conflict that is much more universal
than local.

Another thing that I did in this story (which will appear in future
installments) is introduce many scientific and theoretical scenarios,
ones that are obviously fantasy but are close enough to reality that
they could seem almost real.  One of my friends called this type of
movie a "science fantasy," and I hope it sticks well.


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: 4. System "requirements" :
----------------------------

This movie has been built over three computers, each with very
different specifications.  The first was a Pentium 200 MHz with 64
MB of EDORAM running Windows 95, the second was a Pentium III 800 MHz
with 384 MB of SDRAM running Windows 98 SE, and the third was a Penium
4 2.40 GHz with 1024 MB RDRAM running Windows XP Professional.  Thus,
as you will notice, scenes later on in the movie will get more and more
complex and CPU-intensive.  If you notice that the framerate is going
slowly because your computer is not fast enough or for some other reason,
please refer to "Troubleshooting" below.

Aside from a speedy processor, a good sound card with quality
speakers or headphones is required to hear the audio at the highest
quality possible, and a wavetable (or equivalent) midi synthesizer is
absolutely necessary to hear the midi music correctly.  Please refer to
"A word about midi" for notes on midi and "Troubleshooting" if you have
problems with sound.

Due to the framerate issues with 3DMM and various versions of Windows,
you may experience some instances of music and sound effect desynchron-
ization.  While most of the movie was made with Windows 95 and 98, the
last few chapters were made with Windows XP.  These segments of
desynchronization should not interfere with the movie too much, but if
they happen please be aware that processor speed and/or operating system
version is the most likely cause.

Finally, this movie looks best when the brightness of your monitor is
not turned all the way up.  If you normally have your monitor set to
be very bright, it is recommended that you turn down the brightness a
few clicks.  This prevents dark areas in the movie from becoming
unnaturally illuminated, and enhances shadows and other lighting
effects.


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: 5. Fonts :
------------

The fonts included with this text file are needed to view the movie.
It is imperitave that you extract and copy the fonts to your
Windows\Fonts directory and then restart your computer before you
watch the movie.  Many fonts are standard, such as Times New Roman,
but I included them anyway just in case.  If an included font is already
installed on your computer, I recommend uninstalling it and replacing
it with the new version.  If you do not, some of the words in the movie
could be distorted or may not work at all.  If you are unsure of how
to uninstall fonts or you would rather leave your fonts alone, you
can still see the movie, but be aware that some words may be distorted,
misaligned, not visible, and so on.

You can tell if a font on your computer is not working in 3DMM correctly
if it looks like the default System font on your computer ("Fixedsys").
If this is the case, refer to "Troubleshooting".


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: 6. A word about midi :
------------------------

Due to the massive size of digital audio, many of the musical scores
you will hear in Final Fantasy... the Ultimate Epic are midi files.
Midis work by giving your midi synthesizer a series of commands, which
in turn causes the synthesizer to output sound through speakers or
headphones.  Since midi files are just sets of commands, they usually
run no more than 100 KB in size and are highly compressible.  The unique
feature about midi files is that, although they contain the same set of
instructions, they will sound different on every sound card.
Unfortunately, this can cause some problems.

Every midi synthesizer is different, and thus every midi synthesizer
reproduces midi sound differently.  Old cards often use what is known as
frequency modulation synthesis (FM-synth), in which the card modulates
sound waves to reproduce musical instruments.  This type of synthesis
usually sounds very mechanical and lifeless.  Newer cards use wavetable
synthesis in which actual digital sounds of musical instruments are
encoded into the wavetable microchip.  Midi through these sound cards is
much better in quality; often you cannot distinguish between a midi file
and an orchestra.

Since Final Fantasy... the Ultimate Epic uses midi files, the music in
it is going to sound different on every computer.  I have tried my best
to select midi files that do not make use of complex midi commands,
thereby increasing compatability of the midis to nearly every sound card
capable of reproducing midi, be it FM-synth or wavetable.  However,
there are still some midis that will not sound correct on an FM-synth
sound card or a wavetable one that cannot process simple fades,
tempo changes, or pitch modulation.  Therefore it is highly
recommended that you use a high quality sound card that can reproduce
wavetable midi with no problems.  That way the music in Final Fantasy...
the Ultimate Epic will sound just as good as they do on my computer.
If you have an old sound card or your midi device does a shoddy job
reproducing midi, you will definitely not get the same impression of
this movie than if you had a good one.  Just be aware.

Additionally, every midi file used in this movie has been edited,
optimized, and enhanced by myself to ensure maximum quality and
relevance to the story.  I have also taken great pains to edit songs
to allow them to sync up with the action of the movie in many
locations.

When running 3D Movie Maker in the Windows XP operating system, midi
volume may become an issue.  Please refer to the troubleshooting section
below for some information on how to solve the problem.


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: 7. Disclaimer, of sorts :
---------------------------

One point that I must make is that this story is in no way meant to
be a Final Fantasy spoof, continuation, or anything like that.  It is
almost a sort of "fan fiction", but nevertheless it is a completely
original idea I came up with on my own.  I did use some traditional
Final Fantasy elements in the story, and the Mind Dweller concept was
loosely based on the Guardian Force concept of Final Fantasy VIII.
None of the events that take place in the movie were meant in any way
to mimic or be related to events that occur in other Final Fantasy
games, the movie Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within, or any other movie
on the silver screen or made in Microsoft 3D Movie Maker.  Some parts
of the story may have been inspired by them, but what is in the movie
are my original ideas.  

Furthermore, the characters in the movie are not based off of any
person, living or deceased.  Any people, events, or places that are
similar to other people, events, or places in real life are purely
cooincidental.  Additionally, the storyline of Final Fantasy... the
Ultimate Epic is an original work created by myself.  As stated above,
it is not meant to resemble any other Final Fantasy story.  The story
was not copied or modified from another story, movie, or concept; it
is a work solely by myself.

And finally, all digital music clips in this movie were used without
the permission of their original creators for non-commercial purposes.
If for whatever reason this movie should go commercial some day in the
future, I will be sure to compose all the music and sound effects myself
in order to honor copyright laws.


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: 8. Troubleshooting :
----------------------

Problem: FFEpic won't load!
Possible solutions:
- Is the 3DMM CD in the drive? (Please...)
- Make sure the 3DMM CD is clean and free of massive scratches.  It
may require cleaning.
- Since 3DMM uses the C: drive for temporary use when playing movies,
you must be sure there is at least enough space to store the entire
.3mm file on it.  Delete unnecessary files and uninstall unused
applications to free up space.
- Although FFEpic does not use any of the new props, characters, or
sounds from the Doraemon Expansion Pack, there is a chance the movie
will not load unless the Pack is installed.  Please visit Dragon Films
to download the Doraemon Expansion Pack, install it, and reopen the
movie.

Problem: FFEpic runs too slowly on my system!
Possible solutions:
- Close any other open programs that may be running.
- Try opening the Scene Organizer before playing the movie.  Sometimes
this "precaching" improves the speed at which textures are displayed.
- If you have a wavetable sound card with adjustable voice settings,
turn the number of midi voices down.  This will make the midi less
processor-intensive.  Note: this only applies to midi that is not
hardware-accelerated.
- When the movie is not playing, press Ctrl+Shift+I then select
"Better speed".  This will severely deteriorate movie quality, but it
should speed up the framerate.
- If all else fails, your computer will just have to be faster.  This
is much easily said than done, for it can cost a nice hunk of cash
to upgrade your processor, purchase more RAM, or get a whole new
computer.  If you are not planning to upgrade your computer at all
anytime in the near future, you will just have to settle with FFEpic
running slowly.

Problem: The midi in FFEpic is all screwed up!
Possible solutions:
- Make sure you are using a wavetable (or comparable) midi
synthesizer.  If you are not, then there really is not much you can
do but buy a new sound card or settle with wonky-sounding midi.
- Be sure your synthesizer is making use of wavetable capabilities
and is not using FM-synth.  Many sound cards offer both, and can be
switched from one to the other through Multimedia in the Control
Panel.
- Stop the movie and then start it from the same spot.  This will
fix stuck notes, but will also cause digital sounds that were playing
to stop.  Back up a few frames to where the digital sounds begin and
play from that spot.

Problem: The midi is too loud in FFEpic!
Possible solutions:
- Check Volume Control and make sure midi volume is not all the way
up.
- Some systems, including ones running Windows XP, may not be able to
let 3DMM control the midi volume.  In this case, try this.  First, set
3DMM to run in windowed mode (press CTRL+SHIFT+I when in 3DMM and click
"Run in Window"), then open up Volume Control.  If during the movie the
midi becomes too loud, stop the movie and slide the midi volume down in
Volume Control.  This technique, though, may prevent sounds from finishing
if they were playing when you stopped the movie.  In this case, simply
backtrack a bit and restart the movie before the sounds in question begin
to play.

Problem: Sounds are out of synchronization in FFEpic!
Possible solutions:
- Sounds that are supposed to be synchronized with action will work
perfectly on a fast computer.  Your computer is probably too slow to
sustain the maximum framerate, or your processor is not getting ample
time to do so.  Refer to "FFEpic runs too slowly on my system!".
- Windows XP tends to run 3D Movie Maker movies at a faster speed than
earlier versions of Windows.  This problem is unavoidable, although should
not create too big of an impact with the movie, especially for the last few
chapters, which were made with Windows XP.

Problem: Sounds will not play in FFEpic!
Possible solution:
- Many sounds and voices in FFEpic are compressed using the MPEG-Layer 3
and GSM 6.10 codecs.  In order to play the sounds, you must have these
codecs installed on your system.  If you are running Windows, these codecs
should already be installed on your computer.  If not, then consult an
Internet database for information about how to download and install the
codecs.

Problem: Fonts look really weird in FFEpic!
Possible solution:
- Install ALL fonts included with this movie.  If you have a font
already installed on your system and do not replace it with the one
included with the movie, you may still experience strangely positioned
fonts and other small glitches.
- If you have not rebooted your system since you installed new fonts, do
so.  Sometimes a reboot will kick the fonts into action.

If you have any other technical problems with this movie that are not
mentioned here, contact me below!


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: 9. Contact information :
--------------------------

You can contact me through e-mail any time at gerf@cwru.edu.  Please let
me know of any bugs or problems with the movie so I can fix them as soon
as possible.  Additionally, if you happen to know the names of any of the
many composers of music I was not able to identify in the credits, please
inform me and I will make the appropriate updates!

To get the latest information about FFEpic and other things 3DMM,
check back to Dragon Films at http://dragonfilms.cjb.net.

Thanks for downloading this movie!

Greg Strnad
Dragon Films

This is version 1.00 of The First Saga (Chapters 1-10).
Finished: 08-21-03 2:43 AM EST.  Approximate run time: 104 minutes (WinXP)