[auraplatonic]

I have got myself in a position where I have tried to do so much with this project that progress is very slow and I have strayed away from my original goal. As I started I wanted to focus on stats and equipment edits only but as I learned about all of the tools and options I quickly wanted to do so much more.

Those who have played have seen that mostly in my map edits, but also in event edits that I have shown off. The thing is there are some incompatibilities with editors that can result in some big map problems. While I have been stumping myself trying to figure it out I realized that I will most likely need to re edit everything and keep a separate patch just for maps that I will have to apply. The longer I thought about it the more I realized that none of this was as important as getting a good patch out. I have started to focus so much on the parts of the game that had nothing to do with having an actual difficult game.

So....the best solution I could think of was to put all stuff aside EXCEPT finishing the enemy, character, spell, stat, etc. edits from start to finish. Once I know I have something done that people can chew on for a while I can work on a different patch that incorporates alot of really cool things I want to do. In the end some people will prefer a more vanilla graphical and story experience so its really a win/win IMO. With all that said I will be working on this alot because I am really into it right now and my goal is to have something really nice ASAP.


As always any thoughts/comments are appreciated

[auraplatonic]

I also want to add that I will have the wiki very much edited as well before I put anything into the graphical/event side of things.

[Stann]

The worst part is, is that if you had asked me three months ago I would have told you exactly this, but you seemed to excited about all the new additions you were making so I kept my thoughts to myself.

Patiently waiting for the next Beta.

[auraplatonic]

Stann, on 20 August 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

The worst part is, is that if you had asked me three months ago I would have told you exactly this, but you seemed to excited about all the new additions you were making so I kept my thoughts to myself.

Patiently waiting for the next Beta.

I have so many aspirations for this hack that I don't have time to do them all. I think about all of this extra endgame stuff, just misc. shit when I could be actually working on the meat of the hack. Don't be afraid to let me know what you think because I always like input no matter if its positive or negative.

At work right now I will post more later

[Odal]

Good luck to you. I think you'll find it's still an extremely slow process, even if you do narrow your focus. Sadly there's not as much interest in a balanced game as there is for cool new graphics or monsters or w/e. Especially for a game like this where there are about 18 million different patches and 10 million of them being "hard types"

[ID Bot]

Make a mod you'd like to see created and would like to actually play.

That is all.

[auraplatonic]

Odal, on 20 August 2012 - 03:44 PM, said:

Good luck to you. I think you'll find it's still an extremely slow process, even if you do narrow your focus. Sadly there's not as much interest in a balanced game as there is for cool new graphics or monsters or w/e. Especially for a game like this where there are about 18 million different patches and 10 million of them being "hard types"

I feel you on that. I don't think I can explain how much that I have actually thought about so much stuff that has nothing to do with what really is the most important. My current rom has some map compatibility issues as well due to the different editors I have used. TBH I have combined so many editors, patches, and now hex edits that if there is a bug its impossible for me to find out where it came from. I need to find a workaround for this but in the meantime I want people to be able to work through the difficulty of what I have, and then from there I can tweak even further adding alot of extra stuff that will effect the play of the game as well as the aesthetics. I could have had a working patch off all content ready probably by now if I had not focus alot of time on things editing each character of the menu text more than once. I respect everyones patience and I know that people support whatever but I don't want to have something that is really good but only 1/4 completed. I would rather have something that has a good base that I can build off of with other patches that really reflect my vision of certain things.

ID Bot, on 20 August 2012 - 06:05 PM, said:

Make a mod you'd like to see created and would like to actually play.That is all.

I'm more excited than you know to really get something 100% playable out there. The creation process with things like the Opera House and watching others play it was really exciting for me as well. I think as a whole though those things should go 2nd to the actual main goal of the patch. Its true that the Opera House in general is harder than vanilla in more than one way, but I have to start from a strict enemy standpoint first since that is the bulk of the gameplay.

[Odal]

ID Bot, on 20 August 2012 - 06:05 PM, said:

Make a mod you'd like to see created and would like to actually play.

That is all.

This is really what it's all about. After a year and a half or more of making my own mod on this game, all it's worth is when I get bored one day down the road, I'll have something challenging for myself to play instead of vanilla FFVI. And a project to always come back to. No one will know as much and no one care about this patch as much as you. Don't try to do too much in a short time, or you'll burn yourself out.

[Stann]

Odal, on 21 August 2012 - 01:47 PM, said:

This is really what it's all about. After a year and a half or more of making my own mod on this game, all it's worth is when I get bored one day down the road, I'll have something challenging for myself to play instead of vanilla FFVI. And a project to always come back to. No one will know as much and no one care about this patch as much as you. Don't try to do too much in a short time, or you'll burn yourself out.

Second this. Proper pacing is necessary, especially if you don't have any such inspiration to continue your work, like a steady paycheck. I went from working on CE for 8 hours a day, to working on it 2 hours a week, now I'm back on a steady schedule of about 2 hours a day and I don't feel like I need to force myself to work on it. You should never feel like you need to force yourself to work on a hobby.

[auraplatonic]

Thanks to all


As an update, the porting to a clean rom is going well so far. I have the items about 90% done, I just need to double check and alter some animations for changed items. I will not take the time to do improve the animations to my liking just yet though.

I want to edit the overworld map as well because I want to make sure I can do it before I go too far. Things are looking pretty good, I have WoB about where I want it and the WoR is getting there. The basis of the overworld map edits are not to actually change the shape of the continents or anything; its making it so that the player will either have to walk a little more or so that you would have to walk through more forests or deserts so that its more of a challenge to either fight more enemies or to have a chance to see more enemies. In the WoR especially my goal is to slow it down a little bit because one you get the airship there is no point in walking anywhere. I will be limiting the landing space in some areas so that you will have to walk to certain things, for example to get Bum Rush you will have to walk the long way from Narshe and the enemies won't be easy.

This is partly in the future of course but its important for me to know that these edits are possible and for them to be done so that I don't have to be disappointed later if I face any compatibility issues when I add all sorts of other patches and future edits.


I have also decided not to include the stat growth this time because I don't feel that it is needed. The initial character stats will be pretty low for the most part but with esper boosts and equipment boosts it will be more than enough. I do have alot more patches I will be including but I will need to test the individually for compatibility as I patch them.

[Anima Zero]

If there's one thing I'm hoping for, I hope you don't suddenly make the early parts of Celes' tour in the WoR stupidly easy. Part of my beef with most FF6 hardtype hacks is that when the WoR starts, the enemies feel like they haven't been buffed at all and it makes it somewhat boring until the airship is gained.

That being said, still looking forward to this new update and hope it turns out well like the previous betas have been!

[Stann]

If we've learned anything from the first time you get Celes, I'm pretty sure it won't be easy the second time around.

[auraplatonic]

Stann, on 24 August 2012 - 11:58 AM, said:

If we've learned anything from the first time you get Celes, I'm pretty sure it won't be easy the second time around.

[Odal]

auraplatonic, on 24 August 2012 - 02:08 AM, said:

Thanks to all


As an update, the porting to a clean rom is going well so far. I have the items about 90% done, I just need to double check and alter some animations for changed items. I will not take the time to do improve the animations to my liking just yet though.

I want to edit the overworld map as well because I want to make sure I can do it before I go too far. Things are looking pretty good, I have WoB about where I want it and the WoR is getting there. The basis of the overworld map edits are not to actually change the shape of the continents or anything; its making it so that the player will either have to walk a little more or so that you would have to walk through more forests or deserts so that its more of a challenge to either fight more enemies or to have a chance to see more enemies. In the WoR especially my goal is to slow it down a little bit because one you get the airship there is no point in walking anywhere. I will be limiting the landing space in some areas so that you will have to walk to certain things, for example to get Bum Rush you will have to walk the long way from Narshe and the enemies won't be easy.

This is partly in the future of course but its important for me to know that these edits are possible and for them to be done so that I don't have to be disappointed later if I face any compatibility issues when I add all sorts of other patches and future edits.


I have also decided not to include the stat growth this time because I don't feel that it is needed. The initial character stats will be pretty low for the most part but with esper boosts and equipment boosts it will be more than enough. I do have alot more patches I will be including but I will need to test the individually for compatibility as I patch them.

Just make backups of your patch. Perhaps regularly, like on a weekly basis, and then again when you know you're about to try something that you don't know how it'll affect the game.

Also, as for character stats, I'd say it's worth number crunching now before testing. I know many of the characters' base stats are saved to the save data and edits to FF3USME will only change what a character joins your team with.

[auraplatonic]

Odal, on 26 August 2012 - 06:39 PM, said:

Just make backups of your patch. Perhaps regularly, like on a weekly basis, and then again when you know you're about to try something that you don't know how it'll affect the game.

Also, as for character stats, I'd say it's worth number crunching now before testing. I know many of the characters' base stats are saved to the save data and edits to FF3USME will only change what a character joins your team with.

Yea, the base stats are like that, I realized with some testing when I first started. I am hoping that these will be the last major stat tweaks I make on this release because i don't want people to have to keep starting a new game.

I have SO many backups that I lose track I have files of old backups that are useless now but I can't make myself delete them. You never know I guess.

[jansported]

Hi hi. I guess I'm like a super lurker, but really wanted to post a few things on this mod. This mod in particular really seems to get a lot less focus than other mods on this site for whatever reason. Personally I just wanted to say that I'm really looking forward to it and I hope you're able to finish it. I've been following Archael's work and the work of FFT1.3 for a long time and this is the one game I've really been waiting for a sick hardtype mod for. I just wanted to perhaps give you some words of encouragement and say there are people who look forward to this despite what Odal saying about there being a ton of mods for this being true. I guess I'm someone hooked on the ID brand so to speak.

Nonetheless good luck and I hope you're able to finish it.

[auraplatonic]

Thanks. I would say that because there hasn''t been a release in a while it doesn't leave too much to talk about . Work is being put in as much as I can, I have made alot of progress in the last few weeks. I will keep giving updates and plan the next release sooner rather then later

[Advent]

jansported, on 20 October 2012 - 01:16 AM, said:

I just wanted to perhaps give you some words of encouragement and say there are people who look forward to this despite what Odal saying about there being a ton of mods for this being true.

I wouldn't put too much stock into anything he says, honestly.

[auraplatonic]

I really feel that what I am making is a little different then many hacks out there. The balancing of stats and items is certainly a focal point and most mods do that but I am trying to make a new experience that still feels like the original game. I will do that by incorporating some map changes, and my changing some espers and adding additional content. I don't think that anything I will do will make the game feel less like the original, if anything it will enhance it (thats my goal anyway).

Because of the amount you can actually change you can pretty much make a whole new game if you wanted to. That is such an ambitious thing that many lose interest because there is so much involved, and even with multiple people it can drag on for years (see Pandora's Box). That project specifically looks pretty amazing, but will it ever have a full version?

My hope is that the player will be able to see that I spent alot of time on this and appreciate the experience I am trying to create. Even if a small amount of people enjoy this I feel like I have achieved my goal. I really appreciate everyone's continued support

jansported, on 20 October 2012 - 01:16 AM, said:

Nonetheless good luck and I hope you're able to finish it.

This is something I am 100% confident in(knowing that I will finish it)

[CombatWombat]

Hi Auraplatonic et. al. Long time reader, first time poster. I'm only here to say that I'm wildly excited about this hack. FF6 is one of my favorite games of all time. I literally check the Dancing Mad forums every day. I have also been a big fan of Archael and 1.3. At any rate, I'm really excited about the work that you're doing here and I can't wait to see the next release. I've already got my emulator set up and ready to go. GOOD LUCK!