FINAL FANTASY XI: Ultimate Collection Seekers Edition Forum

Hello everyone

I thought I'd share my experience with FFXI in CrossOver Games.
I only just installed it a few days ago and here is what I did:

1. First I created a brand new fresh Windows XP bottle (I think CrossOver Games makes a new bottle Windows XP by default, so don't worry too much about that). And before I even installed the game into that bottle I followed Zachary Tehanakos' advice about installing these Windows applications into the bottle:

CrossOver HTML engine
Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) 3.0
Microsoft DirectX Runtime
Core Fonts

After this I suggest simulating a windows reboot under manage bottles/control panel. I do not know if this is neccesary but I did it just the same ;)

2. Next I inserted my gameDVD
   (Either have CrossOver Games use the autorun that should pop on your desktop. If it doesn't autorun, just use CrossOver Games to to 'Install Software' and then 'install unsupported software' into the bottle, and use choose the disc in your optical drive as destination for the installer)

3. I then installed the POL Viewer, game and expansions into the Windows XP bottle that I had just created. If you have your game on multiple discs I think it's just a matter of installing one after the other, the game won't ask for the next disc. If you have a collection edition the game's installer should jump back to the list of 'install "name of expansion etc."' list after each install.

4. When Installation is finished, go to the Programs/PlayOnline/Final Fantasy XI/Final Fantasy XI Config from the dropdown menu in CrossOver Games and the Final Fantasy XI Config should start up. Set the game to start up in windowed mode and then make sure the resolution of the game is lower than your desktops' resolution ;)
   After that, apply the settings and exit the config.

5. Now, from the dropdown menu choose Programs/PlayOnline/PlayOnline Viewer/PlayOnline Viewer Config and the PlayOnline Viewer Config should launch.
   Make sure the 'Start in windowed mode' is unchecked. Apply settings and exit the config.

6. In the CrossOver Games dropdown menu now go to manage bottles/control panel and hit winecfg. Under the graphics tab check the 'allow windows manager to decorate windows' & 'allow windows manager to control windows' and 'lastly check 'emulate a virtual desktop' and then set the resolution to fit the resolution you gave FFXI config + a little extra due to CrossOver Games now decorating the window you're about to launch the game and pol viewer in.
   NOTE: It is my experience that if you do not choose to emulate a virtual desktop AND allow the windows manager to decorate the windows, you will not have the ability to move the game window around your Mac desktop! But you can experiment with this yourself.

Apply the settings and exit the winecfg.

6. From the dropdown menu choose Programs/PlayOnline/Final Fantasy XI/Final Fantasy XI. This should launch the POL viewer (the game) and the rest you know, if you played this game before ;)

The screen in the POL viewer will occasionally invert itself, but it shouldn't give you any trouble finding your way into the game. Fire the game, update patches and FFXI should now launch :)

It might take little longer for the game to get over the first few log in screens but don't worry it'll get you there :)
And these screens will be extremely laggy, this is actually why it takes a while.

When you first get into the game the lag is still there, but just target yourself and hit 'enter' button twice. This will bring up the /say in the chat box I believe. This will adjust the framerate and you're all set for play! :)

Knows bugs:

• When near light sources such as lamp posts etc. the game renders the light a little strange.
• Shadows will EAT all your framerate per second, so I suggest turning shadows OFF, or at least others' shadows.
• When trying to configure keyboard controls in the game, you'll get the exact same lag as first logging in. Repeat the target self and hit enter twice procedure to solve this.
• Here's the biggest in game bug so far: When sending stuff to your mog house or friends, after you have entered the name in the recipient box, the game will introduce the same lag as after login. This means you're gonna spend some frustration and more time sending stuff, since the framerate is dropped to 1-2 fps when you do this. It's doable, but annoying. After having sent the stuff, just repeat the target self and hit enter twice procedure to return fps to normal :)

GAMEPADS!:

If you're using a gamepad with FFXI, you will notice that when you plug it in, POL viewer config nor FFXI config will recognize it! This is sad yes, and I doubt there is a workaround for it. However the developers from Codeweavers has stated that they are working on implementing gamepad and joystick support for CrossOver games in a future release :)

In the meantime you can use CONTROLLERMATE from www.orderedbytes.com to manually configure your gamepad for use in FFXI.
You will need to use this software to program your gamepad to simulate keystrokes.
For example have your right stick move the camera around by assingning the arrow keys to it's axis' and have i k j and l assigned for the movement on the left stick etc. It's fairly simple, and I can guarantee you it WILL work! :) it has a fairly complicated UI but if you look at their forums you can find excellent guides as to how to do this properly :)
remember that the keys you assign to your gamepad using Controllermate must already be configured to have a function in the game. You can use the game menu's config to do this, look for keyboard controls.

If any any anyone has any questions, feel free to email me at brian.nielsen@kunstakademiet.dk and I'll gladly help if I can :)

I followed all of the instructions you gave, but PlayOnline still will not start. I am able to get music, but the window is just black. Any ideas? Thanks!

ross.kimes wrote:

I followed all of the instructions you gave, but PlayOnline still
will not start. I am able to get music, but the window is just
black. Any ideas? Thanks!
You must have missed a step, I know when I did I had the exact same problem. I took his instructions and made a short version for me to have for next time... [>] means install, [~] open program

> Crossover HTML Engine
> Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) 3.0
> Microsoft DirectX Runtime
> Core Fonts

~Restart~

> POL + FFXI

~ FFXI Config
    - Windowed Mode
    - Normal Settings

~ Playonline Viewer Config
    - uncheck "start in windowed mode

~ CX bottles menu winecfg  
    - 'allow windows manager to decorate windows' 
    - 'allow windows manager to control windows' 
    - 'emulate a virtual desktop' set the resolution FFXI config + a little extra

~ Launch POL

Optional...
> Controllermate to use gamepad
```I think it is within the bottles menu that fixes that.  Good luck and let us know how it goes :)

Where is the option for Windowed Mode in the FFXI Config? I can't find it.

ross.kimes wrote:

Where is the option for Windowed Mode in the FFXI Config? I can't
find it.
On the first screen the General tab. I may have to ask this too, which version of FFXI are you installing? Original disk / 2007 / 2008 collection? It may not be an option in pre2007 collection versions since it was a POL update (i believe)shortly before that.

I found a copy of 2008 online and downloaded it.
1, I pay my monthly fees like I have for that past 5 years.
2, I own real copies of the disks therefore pad for the registration codes(which you can get online from their site).
If you have those 2 things it is the same as the copy if POL that Vista users can install if they own a copy(which they get it for free) :)
You could also check into that free 14 day thing they have the download may be the newest version.

I don't know what year it is, but it is the one that comes with the first 3 expansions.

You may want to say screw it to the game for now and do all the other stuff in the instructions which will get POL running enough to do it's update. Then you would be able to set the windowed mode for the game itself.

I followed all of these directions as well, Ive tried a full install with all of the programs in 3 different bottles and all of the settings are as what you posted yet when I try to open POL Its just the black screen with music in the background every single time. Im not sure if being on a Macbook or a Macbook Pro would make any difference but Im running it on a Black Macbook.

I feel like the biggest idiot, I was trying to install this running the free copy of CX Pro, I didn't realize I had to do this through CX Games until just now... What a waste of time haha

i got that black screen too, solved it with installing directx, not the ms directx runtime thing, the actual directx software

I tried downloading the Direct X 9.0c from microsoft on my pc and bringing the .exe file over and tried to install it that way but when it came to the installation part it asked for a destination to install the files and I couldn't make a new fold in the bottle winxp > DriveC > Program Files folder so it didn't quite work. What did you do exactly?

I have tried every variation of what everyone has said except for the directx thing.please explain how you did that.Is it possible that my macbook wont do it because its not a pro?Its a 2.4 ghz with 4gig ram

Possibly, I have heard similar problems with the 13" macbooks since they have a lower end video card they can't always keep up. Keep trying as new versions come out. You may also condider becoming an advocate for this app, testing against nightlies helps the Dev team out a lot. You never know 1 of them might work.

I am having a problem installing one disk after the other. The installation program on crossover wont let me eject the disk unless I actually press the eject on that menu and when I insert the second disk and pick retry the installation wizard crashes...

You can try to copy all the files from different discs into a same folder and install the game from that folder. I used this method to install my 4 CDs version.

ross.kimes wrote:

Where is the option for Windowed Mode in the FFXI Config? I can't
find it.

As Zak has already mentioned, the option for Windowed Mode comes in a later edition of FFXI Config.
You should be able to get the latest edition if you can get past POL and into FFXI for the update.
Once you update the game you can log off and set the config to run in windowed mode. Not being in windowed mode didn't pose too much of a problem
for me just to update but getting past POL did.
Even in windowed mode things will move very slowly until you get into the game. I almost didn't realize I HAD gotten into the game until I'd left
the room for a couple of minutes and came back to see the character select screen.

I've followed all these steps and went over it many times, been about 3 hours, I get to the first window and as soon as I hit next the screen goes white. PLayonline is still connected because i can hear the music and the buttons when my mouse goes over them, but the screen is completely white. I tried giving time for page to load but that didn't seem to work either. I'm using a 13" Macbook that I bought last august, it's an intel mac and the second upgrade and plays wow perfectly fine while looking pretty good. Any help or suggestions would be welcome :)

Hey Paul,

It seems that at the moment FFXI on CX7.1.1 runs only on certain types of Macs with certain types of graphic boards.
I get the same symptoms too. You can log out of POL using the esc and enter keys. It doesn't help play the game but
it saves you from having to force quit the program.

Lately, I've been trying the nightly builds and I have been able to get to my mog house. There are some bugs and it won't
run 100% yet but I'm sure the fantastic guys at Codeweavers are busting their behinds to get this running and I'm pretty
confident that FFXI will be running perfectly in an update in the not so distant future.

Paul,

Can you tell us which Videocard you have. I had a NV 7300 and it worked fine but since upgrading to an ATI 3870 I get the white screen, disappointing to say the least.

Having the same problem as Paul: as soon as I start playonline, I click next and screen goes white. Macbook Pro 1.83ghz, 2gb ram and ATI x1600 128mb. Hope to find a solution to this problem soon... I do have 5 jobs @ 75 and I'd check AH a couple times per day at school :)

I wanted to install Windows in a dual boot setup just for FFXI but if there's a way to run it on OS 10.5.6, I'd prefer that...

To Julie and Paul

To fix the white screen, use the unsupported beta build of CrossOver Games. It's called CrossOver Games 7.1.2.
This will do the trick.

I've helped other people to get this to work, and the beta build did it for both of them.
However I believe that only registered users of CrossOver Games are allowed to download the beta build.
Anyways...

Install the beta build.

then

Install this software into a new xp bottle:

HTML CrossOver Engine
XML Parser
Direct X Runtime
Core Fonts

Set the winecfg graphics options to 'emulate virtual desktop + allow windows manager to control windows + allow windows manager to decorate windows'

then

Install the POL viewer and the game + the expansions you might have.

then

From the CrossOver Games dropdown menu choose the programs/playonline/playonline viewer/playonline config
Make sure you set the 'windowed mode' unchecked here.

then

Start logging into playonline and update whatever you may need to.

the nature of the beta build should get you past the white screen now

then

Start updating the game files. 3 hours roughly.

then

The game will give you a nice frustrating black screen upon launch after the update.
Fix this by going to the FFXI config from the dropdown menu again. but opps, you're FFXI config isn't working...
So...
Manually edit the windows registry key to enable windowed mode for FFXI (windowed mode for FFXI is a patch update, NOT an expansion feature, thus it should be available as soon as you've updated the game files)

If you already know how to manually edit the registry key, then keep in mind that you're looking for string 0034 and that the hexadecimal must be set to 1 instead of 0.
If you have no idea how to edit the registry keys or would rather have a guided tour through that you can email me at:

briannielsen@me.com

I will send you a comprehensive walkthrough with screens on how to edit the registry key for FFXI.

One small addition to Brian's very comprehensive tip.

This is what I did to change my FFXI config.

Shut down 7.1.2 and launch the FFXI config in 7.1.1.
Any changes made in the FFXI config in 7.1.1 will be reflected in 7.1.2.
Shut down 7.1.1 and launch the game in 7.1.2.

It's a bit of a bother going back and forth but I'm clueless when it comes to editing registry keys
and it seemed to have done the trick.

That's a pretty cool way of dealing with it Polarbear :) I never thought that was possible.

Please let us know if you xan get it to run Paul and Julie.

Hi, where can I get the 7.1.2 beta for Mac? I'd give it a try but I got like many lucky people the free 7.1.1 on Oct 28th. I tried to download the trial version but it's 7.1.1.

Thanks

Julien V-F

I think the beta build is for registered customers only :( that means you'll have to pay for the 7.1.1 of CrossOver Games first. But maybe I am wrong. Perhaps one of the staff members can shed some light on this matter.

@Julien: If you participated in our Lame Duck Challenge, then you should have received in the following days a registration code. That code was only useful for a limited time, but if you used it during that time it added a full entitlement to your account. That full entitlement is just the same as for somebody who purchases CrossOver Pro (which includes a license for CrossOver Games). I don't see the entitlement on your account, though. Perhaps you used a different account?

For somebody with an active entitlement to Pro or Games, you can downloaded the unsupported 7.1.2 build by going to My Account (along the top) => My Downloads (on the left) => the Unsupported tab. Or just go here: http://www.codeweavers.com/account/downloads/?_dl=unsupported

A question about screen size.
Is it possible to set the FFXI screen size to 640x480 and have that run in full screen on the virtual desktop?
I've tried pulling on the corner and the full screen button but they don't seem to work.

Thanx in advance.

I am having lots of problems here :( I have one of the new Mac Book 15" pro's and I followed the instructions as best I could. The only snag is the the FFXI configure tool does not work, it comes up with a blank screen only.

Over all the install went fine. I installed the POL, FFXI + 4 expansion. Then I went through and patched POL and the game with no errors or issues. POL works fine although it does invert itself from time to time as noted. As soon as I start the game it dies. No opening movie, no further menus. I went into the registry and disabled the opening movie and that enabled me to make it to the next menu. Now all I hear is the music and I have a solid black screen. The mouse cursor disappears behind the window and I can not interact with it at all other than listening to the music on the game. When I close out the window it states that POL has a error...

I am using the trial version of Crossover Games 7.2. I have rebuilt this bottle around 8 times and reinstalled the app as well. I have no idea how to get past this screen. People in this forum said they followed these instructions and it worked on their systems. I have no idea what is going on with mine >.>

Also from what I have been able to see on multiple forums FFXI works with wine v1.1.13 CXGames is only using 1.0.1 Will updating this fix the problem?

Please Help!

Hi Lee.

I see that you've been able to patch the game so you should have the later edition of FFXI config that lets you play the
game in windowed mode. The problem is the FFXI config doesn't run on CXGames 7.2.
You can try one of these two things.

Manually edit the windows registry key to enable windowed mode for FFXI as Brian Nielsen has suggested or
try to get a hold of CXGames 7.1.1 and change the FFXI config in there. For some reason FFXI config used to work up till
7.1.1 but stopped doing so since 7.1.2.

Running the game in windowed mode should get rid of the solid black screen problem. The point, I think, is to make a virtual
desktop on CXGames and run the game inside that desktop. You may have to tweak about with the screen resolution a bit but this page
might help.

http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/group/?app_id=22;forum=1;msg=45719

Good luck!

Thank you for the reply. I will look for either v7.1.1, or which registry key to change. I havent been able to find which key in the registry is for that yet >.>

Found the key through some trial and error. Just so people can see it is under HKLM/Software/PlayonelineUS/SquareEnix/FinalFantasyXI/0020. Just change it from a 0 to a 1. Well it fixed the black screen problem.

Now the only issue I seem to be having is that my mouse(trackpad) are not working in the game... Any Idea's

Fixed that >.> Controls are good, its just every monster and player in the game is invisible...

I've managed to get FFXI working pretty well on CrossOver games 7.2 this weekend but I noticed when I do a log off or a shutdown within FFXI, it just goes to a black screen and I have to force quit FFXI. Not a huge problem, except that FFXI won't save any settings/macros I make or change until it's logged off. Anyone else encounter this issue?

Hi Lance.

I can't get FFXI to shutdown properly either. Same black screen and force quit problem.
But I've never encountered a macro gone missing.
You might want to try this.

After you finish changing your settings/macros log out (not shutdown) and go back to the screen where you select the character.
Select your character that you want to save and press option+shift+control+b (for backup).
The macros and mapping data are now saved into POL.
Press option+shift+control+r to retrieve.

You'd probably want to do this if you're coming to CXGames from another platform anyway.
It saves you from having to rebuild your macros.

Thanks Polarbear! I'll give that a shot.

On a sidenote, tonight I'm going to get FFXI working with ControllerMate (or attempt to). Has anyone got a controller mate setup that is similar to the PS2 style of playing? When I played on PC before I always used FFXI config to set my controller up that way...will controllermate let me do the same thing?

Has anyone got this to work on the macbook? I've installed POL and followed the instructions but as soon as I run it, I get a black screen with background music playing... any fixes? Thanks in advance.

Oh and does it matter if I use pro? Or does it have to be crossover games?

If I'm not mistaken CX Pro is designed for compatibility with desktop applications like office while CX games is tweaked for Directx and OpenGL compatibility so unfortunatly you'll need CX Games in order to run FFXI.

oh i see...

i was just under the impression that pro included games for some reason.

Thanks for the response.

xhcl wrote:

If I'm not mistaken CX Pro is designed for compatibility with
desktop applications like office while CX games is tweaked for
Directx and OpenGL compatibility so unfortunatly you'll need CX
Games in order to run FFXI.

Ok after looking at the products page I guess the pro version of CX does include the CX Games with it (I really should have checked that first). If CX Pro didn't have the Game compatibility you wouldn't even get far enough to a black screen with music playing now that I think of it. Anyways, in CX Games version 7.1.x I had a problem where the POL screen would be blank and have music playing, and you're probably having the same problem. The way I worked around this was to switch POL into fullscreen mode, which would fix the problem usually. You can set POL.exe to run in a virtual desktop that way you'll have POL "windowed" through a wine virtual desktop. You can do that using winecfg.
I only have CX Games and it's current version is 7.2.x which has solved the black screen problem. If you own CX Pro (which I think is still in the 7.1.x version) I don't know if you can just download version 7.2.x of CX games so you can fix these problems.

Thanks for the help man... but still no luck. Not sure if i want to splash out on the CX games just yet... will wait to see if anyone with a similar situation has got it working.

So I listened to the post that was a few up.

I am on the black macbook 13 inch, the first one with intel, 2gb ram.

When using 7.2, I could update and everything but couldn't get the FFXI config, so I downloaded 7.1.1 and 7.2. I updated with 7.2 then booted with 7.1.1 and changed config and voila it worked. I was into the game. I couldn't move though, and didn't have keyboard control at one point and then it came back.

The game was seriously slow. I think I need to raise the size of the emulated window (though I thought I did it properly).

It was kind of a hassle going back and forth but once the config is set I think it sticks.

Does anyone know a good way to smooth out the framerate and make it somewhat playable?

Other than that after all my failed attempts I just wanted it to work more than play the game, lol.

Oh sorry I have to clarify, after I booted with 7.1.1. changed FFXI config, i started again in 7.2 and played the game through that. 7.1.1 would just boot the playonline viewer and crash everytime. So, 7.2 seemed to work.

You can try setting pol.exe to vista mode in winecfg, that usually adds a little bit of speed to the game. Although, you may not get playable speed on an early macbook as they have the onboard Intel chipsets for gfx which arent that great (even while running it native in bootcamp). As for getting to move around in game, the easy way to fix that is to open the config menu in game and switch from standard keyboard layout to compact. Compact mode switches your movement keys to WASD instead of the number pad.
If you need to change settings you can also just use regedit to change your resolution and other options that ffxiconfig gives you. there is a post in teh forum that lists all the values you need and where they are. That may be a little easier than swapping to 7.1.1 to config and back to 7.2.2 to play if you are trying to find a resolution that makes things run a little faster.

I have a slight issue. I can't seem to edit the settings for Final Fantasy XI because nothing appears in the Config window. Here's a screenshot:

I can open key regedit but there are only 2 keys showing up in the ffxi folder. POL wont start for me. It pops up black then closes down after a couple seconds =/ I followed all the directions then went to edit the reg but yea...

I've been reading the archives and what people have said but has the problem ever been completely resolved?

No sadly. You still need to edit settings through the registry.

Yes! I finally figured out how to do it but now i cant get onto my character. I can choose who i want to play but i cant just get onto the game. Any advice Gumby? Although i am enjoying messing around trying to get it to work. Im currently in afghan and it keeps me busy on the down time :) But any advice is helpful :)

Only thing I can think of is check that you registered or re-activated your Content IDs and your character accounts. If you did all that and are still having issues, I would recommend contacting Square-Enix via online chat. Best advice I can offer.

BTW I understand you trying to get it to work in your down-tome. I'm unemployed ATM and have been trying to get random ganes to work with CXG for awhile now.

I'll definately post detailed instructions if i get it to work! I'm almost there...And everything is working at home, i had my wife log onto my xbox to make sure. I'd be heart broken if it was banned. Well thanks for the quick responses!

Hi Keath.

Can you tell me what kind of Mac you're on, or to be more precise the graphics card you're using because I'm having the same problems.

Mac Pro, 10.6.2, ATI Radeon HD 2600