[auraplatonic]

Stann, on 02 February 2012 - 11:45 PM, said:

Enemies hitting hard is good. Almost every fight in FF6 was a joke anyway. This is one of those games that require a huge overhaul on the battle mechanics, since the player has so many options to break the game. For instance, Vanish gives you 100% evasion of physical attacks. Against a boss without magic, you're invincible. And against bosses that only cast spells, you can just throw on a wall ring and you're invincible once again. (Umaro + wall ring makes the magic tower mindlessly easy) This is also one of the few games that I know most of the game breaking combos, lol, so I'll be interested to have my knowledge of the game tested when dealing with the bosses.

Super excited for this project, if you couldn't tell

I have been thinking about that, I am thinking of removing Wall Ring because you will have ample access to reflect. Although I can also add variety to enemies where there is a way to use game breaking combos. I want to balance this though because I don't want to totally remove Vanish from the game. I was thinking about a rare Reflect Mail like armor.

Jon, on 03 February 2012 - 01:53 AM, said:

I'd really like to test this once a demo is out! I don't have much to add, Stann pretty much said it all already. You said in your very first post that you added evade, how much exactly? Like 50% or +? I think I should add some evade to monsters in mine XD

Looks pretty good, keep up the awesome work!

Well I decreased chance to hit alot since there are more than a few attacks that can't miss, there is actually a "cannot be dodged" effect that is set to Blitz, SwdTech, Tools to name a few. The decreased chance to hit does the job for the most part, so if I give enemies too much evade they will be really hard to hit. I have a few enemies this way that I think should be fast, but other then that the reduced hit chance is enough. Autocrossbow WILL miss enemies because in the beginning Autocrossbow is so OP that just a reduction in attack isn't enough.


Evade % on equipment is reduced, in the end you will be able to get decent evade but no-one will be able to max it. Reason being is that not everyone can equip shields although I haven't taken into account Merit Award yet...guess I will have to wait to test this.

[Stann]

I think the never-miss attribute wouldn't be bad for some blitzes that just seem underpowered compared to the rest. Pummel? Suplex? Is there a way to select individual abilities for this trait, or is it just for the Blitz command in general? With abilities like Fire Dance, Aurabolt, and Air blade that are all elemental and magic-damage, a lot of the single-target physical blitzes aren't very useful, especially since you can use Earrings to boost the damage of the magical ones.

I was just checking out the stats on the Blitzes, and it says that Pummel ignores defense. I know you said you were going to remove a lot of the removes defense traits, and it seems like the never-miss trait would be good as a replacement to keep the abilities different. Dealing lower damage but never missing seems preferable to dealing really high damage regardless of defense but with a chance to miss. Or was it that you were going to reduce the damage on the penetrating defense abilities? Okay, I went back and read your post, so yeah, feel free to ignore this paragraph.

[auraplatonic]

Stann, on 04 February 2012 - 07:42 PM, said:

I think the never-miss attribute wouldn't be bad for some blitzes that just seem underpowered compared to the rest. Pummel? Suplex? Is there a way to select individual abilities for this trait, or is it just for the Blitz command in general? With abilities like Fire Dance, Aurabolt, and Air blade that are all elemental and magic-damage, a lot of the single-target physical blitzes aren't very useful, especially since you can use Earrings to boost the damage of the magical ones.

I was just checking out the stats on the Blitzes, and it says that Pummel ignores defense. I know you said you were going to remove a lot of the removes defense traits, and it seems like the never-miss trait would be good as a replacement to keep the abilities different. Dealing lower damage but never missing seems preferable to dealing really high damage regardless of defense but with a chance to miss. Or was it that you were going to reduce the damage on the penetrating defense abilities? Okay, I went back and read your post, so yeah, feel free to ignore this paragraph.

Sabin's regular attack is a lot more viable compared to blitz now. If you can survive him in the front row he does nice damage and can get procs from the claws. His blitzes are still useful but at least in my playing so far it is much more balanced.


Ill give you a rundown of the blitzes:

Pummel: Reduced power, can miss, but still ignores defense. Will be useful on high defense enemies but not usually better then just attacking.

Suplex: Pretty much the same except I lowered the chance to hit. The thing with Suplex is that is has its own check on enemy defenses...there are not a lot of situations where the ability was better than Pummel in vanilla. It does double damage to the enemy if it is the only one left, but bosses and flying enemies are immune to it. I kept it pretty much as is because it can be a niche ability but I haven't really tested it much yet.

Aurabolt: reduced power, can miss. It does good damage still and is magical so if Sabin is under Darkness status it can be useful as well as against undead.

Fire Dance: reduced power, can miss. This isn't as OP as when you first get it but should still be useful

Mantra: renamed Chakra. I changed how this heals but have not tested it yet. Right now it will heal 25% health on everyone. This will hopefully give Sabin some better utility in the healing department since he doesn't have the best magic power to utilize cure, and it didn't heal him before.

Air Blade: same as Fire Dance

Spiraler: I changed this as well. It will revive all allies but at very low HP(1/16) and Sabin does not get removed from battle. Could be OP but you get it later in the game, again still need to test this. Percent chance to hit is only 75% on this so it won't always hit, this will hopefully balance it.

Bum Rush: One of the most OP abilities in the game IMO. The original damage formula is based on magic power and does REALLY high damage considering who uses it as well as ignoring defense. You also can get this as soon as you get the Airship so its an easy way to become OP in no time. I don't think Sabin needs anymore pure offensive Blitzes so I have made this a OHKO that will always hit if the enemy is can be targeted by the death status. There will be a few enemies this will be good against so it should be useful enough.

I can edit them pretty freely, they should still generally hit but they have just had their accuracy normalized, this means that if Sabin gets hit with Darkness his physical blitzes won't really hit well.



Progress report:

Got 2 of the 3 split scenarios done, just need to do Sabin's. Locks scenario has some changes that I will leave for the player to discover. Tunnel Armor has a totally revamped AI and should prove to be a tricky battle. Hopefully I will have a Beta release tomorrow or Monday night.

[Stann]

Sounds good. Starting monday morning I have a bunch of time off, so I'll probably do an LP of your demo. Looking forward to it.

EDIT: Of course, assuming I kick this cold. Or at least get rid of the sniffles :|

[auraplatonic]

A little bit of a setback...I am experiencing a crash error when jumping into the Serpent Trench that is from some map editing I did for Locke's scenario. If I can't fix it I will have to revert to my pre-map edit backup which is fine but I will have to redo all of the edits I made after it which will take some time. I really want the edits but I don't know. Its going to be a few more days guys :/

[Jon]

Omg that's really weird. You got some error too? I got an error that whenever Kain jumps the game crashes...

When you release the demo, like how far into the game is it going to be? I'm really looking forward!

[auraplatonic]

Woah thats a weird bug. I kept a backup before I edited the map which saves me a bit, but I have to redo some stuff if I can't get this map situation fixed. I also have to think about how I want Lockes scenario to be now that I can't do what I wanted

[auraplatonic]

Ok....so I worked on this all night. I have it pretty much ready to go, I just need to test Kefka a bit more. I am going to get some sleep and then do all the finishing touches to have a beta release later today.

[Anima Zero]

Sounds nice. Considering how many FFVI mods I've played through, I could probably whip through this beta within a day or two.

..."Could" being the operative word here, heh.

[auraplatonic]

Anima Zero, on 08 February 2012 - 06:12 AM, said:

Sounds nice. Considering how many FFVI mods I've played through, I could probably whip through this beta within a day or two.

..."Could" being the operative word here, heh.

I am hoping it will be tough but not seem impossible. I have to put the finishing touches on still but I should have the release before I go to work.

[auraplatonic]

BETA 1 RELEASED!!!



Installation instructions:

You will need Lunar IPS, I think ID has a link
You will need Final Fantasy III (U) 1.0 rom without a header(The first one you can find will probably be good but let me know if you have problems)

Use LIPS to patch the file onto the rom
Have fun

This will take you up to the battle with Kefka in Narshe. I have not beat him yet but my party set up probably wasn't good enough, I am going to try again tonight. In advance I want you give some pointers:

-Keep at least a save back from where you are
-Utilize shops as much as possible
-Steals and drops can help when you don't have access to a shop
-Grinding should not be needed but a few battles in between areas would not be a bad idea
-Damage rushing is not always a great strategy


Some noticeable changes:

-SwdTech gauge goes faster, much more useful now
-Stat Growth is now in game, you will gain a random +1 to a stat when you level
-Original Title screen
-Physical evade and dark status work now
-Some enemy formations are different, to help encounter rare enemies easier. I will probably tinker with this more when it is finalized
-Lockes scenario is a bit different(Not the way I wanted it but you will still have to act differently)
-Vargas battle is different, if you don't already know you will find out
-Changed an optional battle in the very beginning, this will also effect a Monster-in-a-box encounter
-TunnelArmor's AI is totally revamped
-Most enemy AI's are totally different, I made them more simple but effective so the player can develop strategies. Expect to see different spells, counters, etc.
-Experience, GP, steals, drops have been changed
-Rages are a little more balanced and useful for the most part(I think). Not many rages use a normal attack, most use their special and if they use another spell in battle they will probably use it. No more Marshal with Wind Slash BS, no more OP Cat Scratch, that sort of thing
-SwdTech's have new names and effects, I will elaborate if you have questions
-DPS and/or accuracy of 99% of attacks have been reduced, but this will start to go up decently as you level
-Other stuff I can't think of, let me know if you have any questions




Please let me know if you see any shops selling wacky stuff, or if an enemy drops anything wacky, or if there are any weird bugs, or just your general opinions(OP or too easy) so I can improve this. I will be working on more coming up and my next release will probably be up to the Magitek Factory. Enjoy!






Also, giving thanks where they are due:

FF3usME Multi-Editor by Lord J

FF6 Misc Data Editor by Drakkhen

Evade bugfix by Lenophis

SwdTech speed up patch by ArmorVil

Title Screen mod by Yazoo

Vanish/Doom fix by Terii Senshi

[Anima Zero]

Very nice! I'll give this a go tomorrow after I get a couple things done and let you know how everything goes.

[Stann]

Not bad so far. I just beat the Magitech Knights outside of Figaro. The difficulty seems to be at a nice point so far, I haven't been pulling my hair out trying to beat these fights, but I've also been making full use of the items and spells at my disposal. I'm loving the hero drink by the way. I've decided to restart though, and do an LP to show off all the mod has to offer.

[auraplatonic]

Thanks for the input! What level are you? Did you get Noiseblaster? If you did I think many battles may be much easier. Could be OP but I didn't have the gold to get it when it was available so I have not tested. If anyone thinks it is OP I can tweak enemies a bit.


Difficulty should step up even more in Mt Koltz, could be frustrating if you are not prepared. Hero Drinks are really helpful, you can steal from a couple bosses and if you are lucky get a drop here and there. There is also one in a chest that should be helpful when you get it, but if you pass on it you can get a better item later. Some of the chest that change contents have been changed so if you can wait it should be worth it.


For anyone who tests this, do me a favor and fight 5-10 battles in each area with new enemies and rate them for me, so I can see what you think vs what I am aiming for. Thanks in advance

[Stann]

I managed to buy the noiseblaster during my first trip to Figaro after selling a Tincture. It made the battle against the Magitech Knights alot easier, especially since I was assuming Locke would be healed after resting in the bed. He started the battle poisoned at 1hp, hahaha. I also didn't have any Fenix Downs after the rescue Terra mission, so I managed to beat them with just Edgar and Terra. They were fairly resistant to confusion though, so it wasn't easy, and they can also heal confusion.

I'll try out some of the new fights along the way during my LP, I noticed the Leafers cause sleep the last time I was out and about on the world map. That was surprising

[Anima Zero]

Well, I started this last night. It's definitely hard, that's for sure ;P.

Decided to record my experiences up to defeating Whelk. That 4th battle didn't go too well, heh.

Not going to showoff much in the way of the story, if anything, because I'm sure everyone knows it by heart at this point. All you missed after Whelk was me getting into one random fight with Were-Rats en route to Tritoch, collecting the Elixir in the house when Terra's your only party member, then walking all the way to the first save point with no more random fights.

WIth that, here's the video.

[auraplatonic]

Stann, on 11 February 2012 - 03:30 AM, said:

I managed to buy the noiseblaster during my first trip to Figaro after selling a Tincture. It made the battle against the Magitech Knights alot easier, especially since I was assuming Locke would be healed after resting in the bed. He started the battle poisoned at 1hp, hahaha. I also didn't have any Fenix Downs after the rescue Terra mission, so I managed to beat them with just Edgar and Terra. They were fairly resistant to confusion though, so it wasn't easy, and they can also heal confusion.

I'll try out some of the new fights along the way during my LP, I noticed the Leafers cause sleep the last time I was out and about on the world map. That was surprising

I had forgot that I reduced the accuracy pretty decently. That should balance it though because a 100% accuracy confuse for free is pretty OP. It should still be really helpful though.

Status ailments are part of most battles. It helps balance the enemies a lot. If you see an enemy special attack, it either does extra damage or inflicts a status. You can think about this later when you get their rage so you will know what attacks they will use. Those statuses come in handy when you can rage them

Anima Zero, on 11 February 2012 - 05:32 AM, said:

Well, I started this last night. It's definitely hard, that's for sure ;P.

Decided to record my experiences up to defeating Whelk. That 4th battle didn't go too well, heh.

Not going to showoff much in the way of the story, if anything, because I'm sure everyone knows it by heart at this point. All you missed after Whelk was me getting into one random fight with Were-Rats en route to Tritoch, collecting the Elixir in the house when Terra's your only party member, then walking all the way to the first save point with no more random fights.

WIth that, here's the video.

Looks good! Did you think the Whelk battle was too long?

[Anima Zero]

auraplatonic, on 11 February 2012 - 07:45 PM, said:

I had forgot that I reduced the accuracy pretty decently. That should balance it though because a 100% accuracy confuse for free is pretty OP. It should still be really helpful though.

Status ailments are part of most battles. It helps balance the enemies a lot. If you see an enemy special attack, it either does extra damage or inflicts a status. You can think about this later when you get their rage so you will know what attacks they will use. Those statuses come in handy when you can rage them




Looks good! Did you think the Whelk battle was too long?

Based on my video, it would seem like the fight was way too long. Maybe not so much because of the HP, but more due to the fact that every attack I did seemed to get met with a Slime counter, meaning time spent having to cure that or likely face a nasty Mega Volt counter.

Of course, I should have also realized that when playing a movie, it won't matter if you saved in the .zmv recording if you decided to stop FRAPS recording after that boss battle and closed out ZSNES, meaning that save went poof when you go back to record more ;P.

Ended up dealing with Whelk again (Off camera of course!), but this time I was able to get in at least 2 Fire Beams every time Whelk came out of its shell. Pattern I had was Fire Beam - Heal Force away the Confusion - Fire Beam - Heal Force away the Confusion. While Whelk was in its shell, I healed up any wounds, then started attacking again when it was appropriate. I think the fight took roughly half as long as it did in my video.

So...yeah, I can't really say clearly if Whelk takes too long, especially when utilizing my strategy above (I think one time I even managed to get in 3 Fire Beams before Whelk retreated into its shell, heh).

That being said, once I get on the other computer, I'll probably upload the next video which has the Marshal sequence and my experiences in the Beginner's House soon after.

I am tempted to reload to my previous save so I can remember to unequip Mog's weapon and give it to Locke while also seeing if Marshal has anything worth stealing (Betcha it's some armor I could give to Terra ;P).

The reason it's merely tempting and not outright a desire to reload before that fight? During the recording, I got two Hero Drinks from a single battle. Rather nice.

So...we'll see later on this morning what I decide to do.

[Stann]

Quote

Status ailments are part of most battles. It helps balance the enemies a lot. If you see an enemy special attack, it either does extra damage or inflicts a status. You can think about this later when you get their rage so you will know what attacks they will use. Those statuses come in handy when you can rage them

I can see myself using Gau even more than I currently do.

[auraplatonic]

Anima Zero, on 12 February 2012 - 04:22 AM, said:

Based on my video, it would seem like the fight was way too long. Maybe not so much because of the HP, but more due to the fact that every attack I did seemed to get met with a Slime counter, meaning time spent having to cure that or likely face a nasty Mega Volt counter.

Of course, I should have also realized that when playing a movie, it won't matter if you saved in the .zmv recording if you decided to stop FRAPS recording after that boss battle and closed out ZSNES, meaning that save went poof when you go back to record more ;P.

Ended up dealing with Whelk again (Off camera of course!), but this time I was able to get in at least 2 Fire Beams every time Whelk came out of its shell. Pattern I had was Fire Beam - Heal Force away the Confusion - Fire Beam - Heal Force away the Confusion. While Whelk was in its shell, I healed up any wounds, then started attacking again when it was appropriate. I think the fight took roughly half as long as it did in my video.

So...yeah, I can't really say clearly if Whelk takes too long, especially when utilizing my strategy above (I think one time I even managed to get in 3 Fire Beams before Whelk retreated into its shell, heh).

That being said, once I get on the other computer, I'll probably upload the next video which has the Marshal sequence and my experiences in the Beginner's House soon after.

I am tempted to reload to my previous save so I can remember to unequip Mog's weapon and give it to Locke while also seeing if Marshal has anything worth stealing (Betcha it's some armor I could give to Terra ;P).

The reason it's merely tempting and not outright a desire to reload before that fight? During the recording, I got two Hero Drinks from a single battle. Rather nice.

So...we'll see later on this morning what I decide to do.

How did you feel about Marshal? He is similar to vanilla but I just increased stats a bit and cleaned up his AI. You should be able to get Terra fully equipped without getting the two armor chests in the solo Terra part, through stealing and optional battles.

Also Mog's weapon is not usable by Locke. Mog uses special knives that are specific to him. Think of him as like a Dancer from FF5

Stann, on 12 February 2012 - 07:52 AM, said:

I can see myself using Gau even more than I currently do.

Yea, his only downfall is that is defense is lower. His equipment selection is similar to Sabins but he has a little less HP