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Use of ePSXe before 2.0 is highly discouraged. Mednafen, RetroArch, and Duckstation are recommended for playing/testing, pSX is recommended for debugging.


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Topics - Neophyte Ronin

1
Help! / Excising FMV to Save Space (PSX Version)
July 25, 2019, 04:22:27 pm


I understand there are several locations in the PSX's FFT Data (I imagine Event.BIN but I'm likely wrong) that summons seven full-motion videos:

#1: Four that loop in: Opening Cinema, Lion's War Explanation, Cinematic Promotion as seen at Trade Expos, and the bombastic Class Overview.  The first always plays because it resets to the start of said code, while it also checks for what time-delay cinema played last.

#2: Three In-Game Cinemas (one after stating Name and Birth Date and after the Funeral Cinema, one for the Ending and another for Credits unless both of those are combined).

Seven in all.  In contrast, Vagrant Story has two--Title Cinema and Credits--and has far more game from a certain point of view.

If a mod altered the story, classes, or even sported a custom title screen, the FMV sequences interfere due to their specificity.  Stopping playback may involve changing or just "NOP'ing" code pointers; FFT Arena doesn't need to see the opening cinema.  It must be more complicated to ensure the Title Menu appears, but doing this prevents a custom title screen from clashing with an antiquated FMV.

After that, the FMVs take up space.  Question is: would nixing FMVs provide more space for other data if the registers got expanded, just like nixing text data for Kanji and non-translated Magi-Fiction books, or are they some other kind of data that cannot be applied elsewhere without a massive overhaul?

EDIT: Answered--excising FMVs do not expand upon the 700MB writable space as it's a PSX disc hardware issue.

Then again, cinemas can be nixed to display pertinent FMVs or audio data; I assumed the existent data hogged all the space so nothing else could happen without excising existent code and content.  That isn't the case, it seems.

Thanks for replying!
2
Perusing the Wiki's Formula lists, I noticed Formula 38 (100% Set Status) is claimed to be a duplicate of "Apply Status (to Action)" code, which implies it exists elsewhere in the program code.  Abilities that utilize 38 have balance issues (e.g. Boss Status checks are "either you're immune or you die") and I seek to amend them by tying the Abilities with other more suitable Formulas.

So, if I outsource all Abilities, can Formula 38 be pruned, or will it spell doom to "Apply Status (to Action)" also?

EDIT: Solved
(see Glain's first post below for specifics).  0x38 points to an existent formula; to change what 0x38 does (i.e. Set Status 100%), the pointer must be changed to another region in the "Free/Kanji" data space.
3
Celdia's Complete Patch / Brand-New Master's Guide
March 25, 2017, 10:27:09 pm
Since I'm currently picking through the Complete Patch right now, I can't help but notice all the old information displayed in the pinned topics such as the Master's Guide.  I remember when Warriors used Charge/Aim for their chief ability, but those tricks were subsumed by other Abilities and a new listing called Maneuvers (featuring the almost game-breaking Rally Performance Skill) replaces it.  That's just one example.  Is it possible for someone to independently author a Master's Guide, or is this something Celdia will do once the Stats-Revert-After-Level-Up bug gets fixed?  I suppose I could try my hand at covering all the Items and Generic Classes....
4
About Berserk & Blood Suck:

Are Berserk and Blood Suck hard-coded into sending your character into an automatic mode, or can it be switched so that you, instead, must live with some drawbacks while essentially regaining control of your character?

I understand that suffering the status effect means you start to use a particular command constantly.  Does Blood Suck...
A) draw upon the actual Blood Suck Command Ability, or...
B) does it just run around, picking a Ability over and over?

I bet it's B, but that's my point in the first question.

Reasoning:

Berserk, in SaGa Frontier II, dismisses the use of Anima Arts (magic) and enhances the character's Weapon Arts (high direct damage).  Figured this could be make-or-break, meaning the enemy AI could cast it on their own guys if they were so inclined.

Like Silence and Frog, certain monster skills, magic, and intellect-oriented abilities (stock-based ones like Item, Salve/Heal, etc.) would be restricted, while it otherwise enhances virtually every martial technique and permit their use.  Pummel and Cyclone?  Yes.  Chakra, Aurabolt, Shockwave, Doom Fist, Revive and Stigma Magic?  No.  Dash and Throw Stone?  Yes.  Salve and Focus?  No.  Charge/Aim?  Yes.  Stat-Adjusting Break Arts yes (but not gear-smashing ones).  Steal, no.  As usual, reaction abilities except Reflexes and Parry, as well as Movement ability effects that proc something upon resolution, would be negated as well.

Essentially, a playable Berserk featuring limited tactical options.  Considering how Frog works on a character, it's possible at least in theory to make Berserk into something similar.

Meanwhile, Blood Suck has its own Command Ability.  Once you are afflicted Blood Suck, you're automatic and use this ability exclusively, going after the first person you see.  Suppose if you, instead of losing control of your character, ended up playable yet with an alternate, overriding Command Set Ability that featured thematic options beyond sucking blood, taken from the aforementioned Command Ability?  (E.G. able to use Allure to charm any enemy, or a modified Dark Whisper that adds Protect, Shell, Haste, Transparent and Innocent to oneself.  Things you get when you become a vampire, other than going around sucking blood all the time--that's just cheesy).

I know at the very least the Command Ability can be switched so to make those situations where characters with that ability become far more intimidating, like a whole new set of options to torture your party with (I would use the Vampire Cat version of the Ability itself to prevent hair-pulling agony).  As debilitating a condition Blood Suck is, it should rearrange how the character operates in the fight.  If you ditched it for thematic purposes and replaced it with something like "Accursed" or "Insane" (I mean not even Confusion-grade--just really fucking depraved go-after-everybody spiel), if you had the option to make it playable, you'd have a list of unique commands that are just gonzo.

In either case, what does Silence do?  Well, it affects magic across the board, so obviously Berserk handles that and more.  It's just easier to treat because Silence doesn't restrict all possible recovery options.  Berserk would also not restrict Word Skills, while Silence obviously would.  This would apply to Ramza's unique skills, assuming he still has those.

I've checked the FFTPatcher, and there are checkmarks, many of which are blank in their description (and thus, I'm frightened to even touch them), so I suppose someone devised an assembly language hack that I didn't spot.  If not, I will probably be forced to comprise one, assuming it's at all possible.



Draw Out/Iaido

Is it possible to assembly-hack Draw Out/Iaido so it does not check for stock, but instead checks for what the character has equipped in the right or left hand?

Reasoning:

I figured the Samurai needed a facelift, since Iaido is used more than the Class once a player A) gets the blades, B) gets the skills, and C) Class Changes to a fucking Black Mage.

Essentially, tell the game to check for what is equipped in your hands to determine if you may Draw Out the technique.  It would then see what weapon it is, what ability it is associated with, and then ask for targeting and confirmation.

For Iaido, if Equipment-Dependent, you need the following:
Ability Licensing
Equipped Katana
Restrict Katana from Dual-Wielding (sorry assassin girl) to dodge bugs
and Abolish breakage, its purpose during the "stock days" served.

Iaido would become akin to Geomancy, requiring a specific blade held in the hands instead of a terrain type.  The Samurai would have Innate Double-Grip for enhanced sword striking power, longbow and shields are made available, and Innate Re-Equip so players have choices and not pull their hair out, making both the ability and class engaging again.  Given its loss of flexibility, Iaido techniques would receive slightly improved power, or retain the goodness they already have.  Since the AI cannot Re-Equip, enemy Samurai encounters will sport rare, powerful, or useful blades to stay competitive with the player.

Otherwise, with stock access, the Iaido Command in Vanilla is abusive, better than sex because it assumes everyone lugs their entire arrowhead collection around in battle.  It's rule of cool subordinating suspension of disbelief big time.  If I recall Japanese swordsmanship terminology, Iaido is simply quick-drawing techniques, flashy readying of a blade at a moment's notice (bonus points if you hit an enemy and not yourself or a buddy).  Not that adding mysticism on top is a bad thing, but what should matter is not what you have in stock, but what you have in your hands.

Thank you for your time.
5
FFT+ / [Old] Revised Script, First Draft
January 05, 2013, 11:16:53 am
Get ready to drink from the garden hose.

When playing a new version of an old (or modified) game, an updated script creates refreshing immersion, as does altered game assets and mechanics (like with Plus or Celdia's).  Having one is good, marrying them is sweeter.  Why else did WotL become a modest hit?  The major flaw is how it never fixed bugs like the Shirahadori thing; developers didn't care.  Guess we're their antitheses, but ignoring the script completely, especially with content changes, is a fatal flaw.  We're only here for Godzilla--making the game harder or fairer--but few bother with the translation.  Part of what made the game hard is that the bad translation of the tutorial left us in the dark.  Can't we change that?

Enclosed is a preliminary revised script of Final Fantasy Tactics, loosely based on sugnuf's translation, that approximates how I would key the text assets into EasyVent (hence the length and triple columns).  Citing the games' soulless lack of humor, I realize why the WotL version got purple: Tactics really is a dry political treatise disguised as a Final Fantasy gaiden.  Version 0.1 scrubs awkwardness and spices up an otherwise wooden-sounding script.  Author notes help explain changes made or address its absurdity head-on; take it with a grain of salt.  I seek to devise a full revision of all text assets and post them as templates available for download.

Content Warning!  This is neither Teen-rated nor formatted as a screenplay.  I choose not to get shit past the radar, I throw shit at the radar instead.  You may contend changes in this thread, but remember: its gratuitousness is a stealth parody of the coarse themes of FFVII--the analogy follows how "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Watchmen" bore us "Nineties Comic Anti-Heroes".  Everyone followed suit with darker themes, so if Tactics followed a trend, we can rail it.  A cleaner version is pending after the flame war over this one's absurdity.  It will more than likely be a copy-pasta of sugnuf's translation.

Customs are possible on request, provided you PM me a full Master's Guide / design doc and concrete, immutable specifics well beforehand.  (Never change horses midstream).  Don't expect immediate results; the text I've altered due to blind-idiot translation thus far is staggering.  I am almost finished with TacText and yet started there months ago!  Don't forget I'm still doing this for Dome's patch first and foremost.

I understand some {codes} in the draft are inconsistent with EasyVent, such as {0xf4}, TacText's pausing function.  I used these to point out "Beats", literally when the text would pause briefly before continuing for emphasis.  They will be replaced with EasyVent's equivalent, {delay:XX}{delay:XX}.  I bet the hex represents milliseconds.  This is to avoid having to set up multiple {br} break symbols, as I have the paranoid assumption that a character's animations are governed by the number of key-presses during a monologue.  If the number of key-presses must be exact from the original, I'm going to ram my head through the monitor.

Anyway, enjoy!

*  Chapters are displayed as Acts, following all spoken dialogue in order.  Act "V" represents side quests.  Note: Aerith's initial cameo appears in IV as it appears amidst canon events, even though it is associated with special character quests.

*  There is occasional alt text--repeats of an event--for comparisons.

*  People's names are omitted like in WotL, following the fact that, once you've seen their mug, you don't need to see their name in every window.  If you are familiar with the original text box progression, you can discern who speaks what line.  Again, 0.1.

*  Even if its content extends to unapologetic deutercanonical embellishment, characters still say their essential lines and provide relevant information to the audience as the original script demands.  This is adaptation, a case of ghosting if you will.

*  Alternate Character Interpretations include the protagonist's total meltdown.  In that he verbally abuses opponents.

   *  There are many instances of hilarious verbal abuse: silly threats and insults.  I reject the game's "Talking is a Free Action" nonsense by doing this.

*  Fan speculation for the sake of fun paired with author appeal.  Props to anyone who knows the origin of the term genjuu.

*  This is a rough, piecemeal clusterfuck and I'll dive in again once people tell me where to clusterfuck off.

*  The manuscript's tail-end includes the EasyVent Tutorial sections.  I offer Tutorial text changes tailored to a person's game.

*  My TacText sections will be posted in a later update, once I have verified each and every little section and ran through each with a fine comb.  Proposition Results conversations feel like a lesson in torture....
6
Help! / TactText / EasyVent Symbol Compatibility
January 02, 2013, 04:01:03 am
Is there a "Beat" code in EasyVent?  If so, what is it?

I deduced that the {0xf4} code in TacText pauses the progression of text until the player presses Circle--this from checking what Mustadio says in TactText when you query his name in the Formation screen: "Just aim. (Beat) You don't need to charge your gun!"  Beowulf also has a similar setup for what he says.  This led me to conclude that all text (and why not?) has a pause/unpause property as it progresses.  Stop me now if I'm wrong about anything I've said.

TacText is lucid about what it does, while EasyVent is another story.  Is it the same code?  I don't want to make assumptions, even though I'm itching to say yes, because the {Newline} function does a similar function as the {br} (break) function.  Since EasyVent contains all the cinemas and battles, I figured as part of dressing the script, there could be Beats involved.  Unless it would interrupt the game's impression of when a message has ended or the next action has begun, in which case it would cause too much trouble for what it's worth...

Beats in scripts help establish when a meaningful pause of at least a second or three is necessary.  Often, it's after you finish a sentence without quickly skipping to the next one.  It's a good tool for dramatic tension, in other words.  Tactics' script would not suffer for pausing meaningfully.  If not, then the whole script would require countless {br} breaks, and for someone using Square back-scrolling, that might prove tedious while reading a re-translated version of the game.  I'm trying to make this scheme work as well as look pretty.
7
Now, I have been chugging along and being careful about three and eight and the author intent in the most miserably translated, but I still have some questions.

1.  How wide of an area do I have when typing cinema text, in pixels?
This would be Events, courtesy of EasyVent.

That's not even the greater concern.

2.  Is there a function in EasyVent where length is addressed?
The prospect of copypasting between one program and the other does not sound appealing.

Knowing the first and the possibility of a shortcut will assist in making sure the script actually looks beautiful in terms of formatting, and also to smooth the rough edges off.

Much of this inquiry is derived from how game data in TactText appears to be of a particular length of pixels, or points.  For instance, situations as the Work History seem to cram or use special space characters (thin ones, expressed as {SP}) to ensure everything is justified and up to 220 length.

This has become a maddening spiral for a guy who prefers to keep everything equidistant when it is implied that it would look better in the long run.  Frankly, it's enough to drive you insane, given that there are so many little text assets sprawled out around just TactText alone.  EasyVent?  That's the cinema playing out, and that includes battles.  In there, length is not provided.  You have to copypasta, doing adjustments and replacing codes and....

Yeah, this is a pain in the butt.

Label it OCD all you want, but if you want to ensure that the text will not float through the panels or end up in strange places or just freeze the system because it's too long (I have the nagging suspicion that can happen, that text is far more temperamental than first thought), then you have to play by the game's in-house rules regarding length of passages.  And hope to God it fits in the end.

At least one question being answered would save this guy shitloads of heartache.
8
PSX FFT Hacking / The Problem with Transparent
July 17, 2012, 06:29:42 am
Actually, there are several:

First, enemies seem to advance upon you whether they disregard your presence as open for an attack or not.

Second, when you hack it so that doesn't happen, you wind up getting nailed by people before you can execute your infallible weapon strike, forcing you to redo the whole Sunken State thing.  If your Brave ain't 100, there's a chance that you lose the opportunity.

Third: both the hacked and original versions don't really do the concept justice.

On one side, Dome thought of creating a version where you are invulnerable until you strike, and that Sunken State was the only way to cast the effect.  This way, if someone does attack you, you are hit for zero damage and it goes away (State might proc); it only goes away for real if you act.  Not bad, but I don't quite see it happening quite like that.

In my vision (close to FFVI), it shrouds you in a blurring effect.  Enemies have a general impression of where you are, but their attacks are less than accurate.  Kind of like the Blur Artifact from Doom giving you an easier time dodging enemy fire when you put distance between the two of you.  It would double your evasion rating, in other words.

Before you cry foul, devise a caveat to negate magic repulsion to 0%, making for a reasonable drawback we're comfortably familiar with (if you played FFVI and toyed with the Vanish/Doom trick, for instance), maybe even double the success of magic-based skills (but not amp up the outcomes of something like fire magic).  This makes Transparent into Ethereal, a glass cannon defense, even without the doubled success effect.

Seeing that Confusion negates Evasion in much the same way as Sleep and countless others, I don't see why you couldn't negate magic repulsion exclusively in the same vein of adjustments or negation of evasion working in the case of Darkness, Concentrate, Defend, and Abandon.  But I also haven't heard anyone who's tried anything but downsize Transparent to cut back on the unfairness toward the CPU.
9
This one is simple.  It would also kill off everyone's criticisms of Speed Save/Adrenaline.  I noticed long ago that Speed can be revved up to 50 and that Power and Magic get to 99 apiece.  Now, I've noticed a lot of people who will short-change or even remove abilities that have anything to do with boosting Speed to eleven.  It has much to do with how the game operates, how the CT for Spells are written in stone, and how much of a cheat it is to go faster than an enemy (I've done it before on Bosses in Vanilla; I'm guilty of this as well).

But with people getting rid of and taking away at the expense of players, isn't it a little odd that nobody has delved into the game data to actually adjust these maximums and minimums?  Is it hard-coded or what?  There is the effect that, if you equip gear that boosts these amounts, then you can't reduce it to beyond that +1, but if there was a minimum cap of 5, let's say, and then a maximum cap of 15, 17, or 20, then we'd have less abuse.  I'm gunning for 17 myself.  Either way, is it possible?
10
The Knight's multifaceted "Precision" Support Ability makes Thieves, Engineers, Oracles, and possibly Sages into total bad-asses.  From my understanding, it raises the percentage of skills and effects that have a chance of failure.  Standard attacks do not, unless Direct or Magic Evasion are taken into account.

So, how many Command Abilities or just abilities are affected by this thing?  I understand condition effects are covered, but I was wondering about other abilities like Perform.  Are the Perform Abilities with chance of success covered as well?
11
While contemplating the possibility of conjuring up a mod, I have always considered bringing characters to Level 99 from the start, so everyone is on the same page, and rearranging everything about the game's standard arsenal to reflect this change (so even simple daggers have ups and downs when against other weapons).  The trick then would be the Class Levels; having eliminated standard Level progression ala Dome's FFT+, Class Levels would serve to determine a character's worth, mostly in determining what abilities are available.  Prices and qualities would also fluctuate, and getting to Level 8 for whatever reason would be the game's only true source of grinding, outside of cash accrual.  But there needs to be something functional behind acquiring Level 8, and I wish to involve the Class's own abilities into this fold.

Essentially, is it possible to make it so that Class Levels themselves determine not just the miniscule amount of JP acquired, but also affect the power or effectiveness of Action Abilities from that Class?

For example, the Knight's Breakage techniques operate on a fixed formula that adds Power to the equation.  Can we make a formula that starts at 34 and then adds 6 per level (from 40 to 82) percent?  Essentially, Job/Class Level becomes a variable that improves the character's ability effectiveness.  The same principle could also be applied when computing Character Evasion; the Knight starts with 4 but ends with 25 (3 per level).  By extension, is it even possible to add character magical evasion, regardless if the above notion is impossible?

In any case, I'm betting we're talking about something hard-coded and requiring more than just traditional patchwork.  I'm aware of that, at least.  I'm open to interpretation and feedback, including an honest "no" if need be.
12
FFT+ / [Old] Concerning Secret Elixir Battles
May 01, 2012, 06:48:06 pm
From my understanding, in Vanilla Tactics, as you progress through the chapters, enemy formations mature and become diverse.  Mandalia Plains features Black Chocobos, Vampire Kitties, and Gabbledegacks in Chapter Four, for example, even after the initial formations consisted of Red Caps, Yellows, and Red Panthers.

In Plus Edition, Encounters are fixed and only change according to point of entry.  Beginning in Chapter Four, there are also instances featuring hard-as-nails enemies.

One example is in Bervenia Volcano, where the one thing you will wish to bring is a boatload of fire elemental absorption, protection, or just 100% Magic Evasion with an Aegis Shield and watch out you don't get caught casting or charging.  That brawl is sinister without otherwise revival-sandbagging your unit, unless you equip appropriate protection.  I was caught unawares because I expected a routine battle against the Ahrimans and their cohorts who spam Death Sentence and require Abilities or Equipment that circumvent that; I don't like female-only-with-ribbons battle formations if I can avoid it.  Anyway, I stuck through, hammered the little punks and scored me an Elixir for my troubles.  That fight was terrible, so don't assume you're just fighting what you think you'll be fighting.

The above statement is doubly true: the fire-themed formation featured Knights that didn't have Maintenance (for once), but Monster Skill.  The horrifying multi-elemental shot that Bombs and their ilk send your way should be enough to make any player wizened.  Also, a few Knights had Solidify or Float paired with Elemental, with the ability to cast Lava Ball.  Without death protection it will eventually kill your party.  A combination of Instant Death and Fire Protection will help you secure victory.  I approached from Zeklaus Desert when I encountered these fiends; they approached from all angles of the field, too.


If you manage to pull off the impossible and show off your unit at its best, you get acquainted with an Elixir or two.  That compensates for all those times beforehand, when human enemy units would stumble upon and collect them right before your eyes.  If you're really spot-on, you might be able to drag a few of the monster carcasses with you.  However, Dome's modified monsters (ones with hidden stats) cannot be poached, just so you know.  These are nowhere near the fights where a single opponent is twenty levels superior to your unit.  No, they're much further down the spiral, and yet they are appropriate practice before delving into the Deep Dungeon.  Thankfully, thematic as they are, figuring out the gimmick puts you that much closer to victory.

The question is: are these fights relegated exclusively to battlefields available only to Chapter Four, or...

...after I discovered a Revenant with hidden stats and a super-dose of Health while approaching Yuguo Woods from the east/south (if you read certain medieval-era maps, North is the left point, not the top), felled easily after casting Berserk to negate its Incorporeal power and used gallons of Arise Spells...


...do we have to pour through prior battlefields from every angle until the new formations are found?  The phenomenon seems centered on Chapter Four, when new tough formations arrive, so I figured I'd ask before I go hiking across the world again looking for something to kill.  Is this phenomenon widespread or not?