Final Fantasy Hacktics

Cerabow's mod (https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=12487.msg231540#msg231540) is really great, but while playing through I was frustrated by the need to move to specific tiles to unlock the next level of deep dungeon. This led me to create the attached hack that can be patched directly over an ISO that was already patched with Cerabow's ppf (0.13.2668) so the next level of deep dungeon will auto unlock when the player wins the battle at the current deepest level.

I've also attached a version compatible with the vanilla game (the only thing changed is the location offset), but if you're working with the vanilla game, it would probably be better to edit the conditionals using the spreadsheet: https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=12859.msg231014

I also tested the deep dungeon light fix (https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=12525.0) over Cerabow's, and didn't have any issues.

While making a mod for the first time, the tutorial link index (https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=9204.0) was awesome, but also a little overwhelming. This post is to summarize the things I learned with the help of discord and poking around in files, the forum, and the wiki.

What is event editing (aka eventing) and how is it different than (assembly) ASM hacks?

While all changes mods make end up as assembly, event editing seems somewhat unique in that all events get compiled into a large blob, so mix and matching event edits is far less feasible. Event editing is performed with either "easyvent editor super perfect" or "JuraviS". Some complex events, such as TLW NewGame+ and Credits events, should only be compiled with JuraviS. "Events" include things such as cutscenes, dialogue in battle, game over, bethla sluice trigger, deep dungeon unlocking deeper levels, TLW Remix "Preparation menu", etc.


What are conditionals and how to edit them?

World conditionals tell the game when to trigger events. These can be edited using a spreadsheet to create the xml. I used the conditionals v4 spreadsheet from the TLW resources. Note, TLW conditionals spreadsheet has hidden columns, rows, and sheets, but you don't need them to make edits.
What are event conditionals? I don't know, I didn't try to mess with them.

https://ffhacktics.com/wiki/Process_Scenario_Conditionals
https://ffhacktics.com/wiki/Process_Scenario_Conditional


Learning about xml files

Each xml patch can have the following:

A name and description - used by FFTorgASM so people know what they are applying

file - The file that will be edited. Files can be seen by opening the FFT iso with CDmage. If you know the memory you want to overwrite with a hack, the appropriate file can be found with https://ffhacktics.com/wiki/Routine_Locations

offset (ie. memory location in the file) - this is where the assembly will be overwritten. Multiple offsets can be given by separating them with commas

offsetMode - When set to  RAM, the offset is actually a different location. Routine's documented on the wiki use the RAM location. Mentioned near the end of Glain's tutorial (https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=8408.msg166663#msg166663). RAM location to file location needs to substract the value from this table: https://ffhacktics.com/wiki/Routine_Locations

mode - mode="Data" seems to overwrite the hex directly, while mode="ASM" allows code functions (https://ffhacktics.com/wiki/R3000_instruction_set https://ffhacktics.com/wiki/PSX_instruction_set) and variable symbols, which then get converted to hex by FFTorgASM. ASM mode is usually (always?) used with offsetMode="RAM".

The "jal" instruction goes to another function. Search the wiki for the memory value without the leading 0x to find what it does. For example, for the instruction "jal    0x8017e7e4" search the wiki for "8017e7e4".

Some of the most common memory locations can be looked up on the wiki quick links:
https://ffhacktics.com/wiki/Battle_Stats
https://ffhacktics.com/wiki/World_Stats
https://ffhacktics.com/wiki/Variables

Some hacks use psuedo instructions (https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/classes/fa12/cse141/project/pseudo.html) which aren't on the wiki pages, but follow similar naming conventions. Examples include:
move - is an addu instruction where the source register is r0
li = "load immediate" behaves like lui, "load upper immediate" but instead of just setting the upper half of a register, it sets both halves. This takes 2 instructions,
Lui
Ori

If FFTorgASM says an xml can't be loaded because of a bad string input, check to make sure all locations that use offsetmode="RAM" also use mode="ASM".

mode="DATA" example:
<Location file="MAP_MAP107_GNS" offset="30, 44, 58, 6C" mode="DATA"> B9 </Location>
mode="ASM" example:
<Location file="BATTLE_BIN" offset="00070d84" mode="ASM" offsetMode="RAM">
    ori r2, r0, 0x00    # make it so the map can't update when a crystal is laid
</Location>



XML Variables

Each variable needs a "default" value and a "name" that FFTorgASM will show. There seem to be two ways to do variables:

1. Directly write the value at the offset

2. Set symbol="true" so the variable name can be referenced later in the patch. Variables are referenced with %NameNoSpaces


Directly writing variable example:
<Variable file="MAP_MAP107_GNS" offset="30" default="B0" name="NOGIAS Light Level" />

Symbol variable example:
<Variable name="Always On" bytes="1" default="00" symbol="true" />
<Location file="BATTLE_BIN" offset="158210" offsetMode="RAM" mode="ASM">
    ori r1,r0,%AlwaysOn <!-- check if the player turned it Always On -->
</Location>

How to Patch TLW to a vanilla ISO using resources:
1. Make a backup of a vanilla ISO
2. Open the vanilla ISO in ShiShi and expand it (File -> Expand ISO). It may not look like anything is happening, but the "Max SPR size" should change from 4something to 6something. If you don't expand the ISO some of the sprite images will give error saying they are too large when you attempt to import them.
3. Import all the sprites. For each sprite, select the correct sprite number from the top dropdown in ShiShi and then Sprite->Import BMP. Set the sprites SHP and SEQ to match the file name (Type 1, 2 or MON). For example, to import Balthier's sprite, first select the "19 - Rafa (Guest)" in ShiShi, then import the file, then set SHP and SEQ to TYPE1.
"Sprite->Import all sprites" did not work for me.
4. Import all other images. Go to the "Other Images" tab. Image->Import all images
5. Use CDmage to open the ISO and navigate to EVENTS and find the TEST.evt file. Right click the file within CDmage and import the TLW TEST.EVT
Order of steps 6 and 7 does not matter as far as I know.
6. Use FFTPatcher (I used 0.497) to patch "TLW FFTPatcher" - File->Open patch,  PSX->Patch ISO
7. Use FFTactext to patch "TLW Tactext" files. File->Open .ffttext then ISO->Patch ISO
8. Use FFTorgASM in each folder ("AMS FFTP 0.495 B1" and DATA FFTP 0.482) to patch all the ASM.
8a) Highlight "all" in the list on the left. Press "Check all" button. All boxes should have a check mark.
8b) Optionally open the conflict checker - there shouldn't be any conflicts.
8c) Press "Patch..." then press "Patch..." on the new window.
Some people have said they had success with all the xml files being patched at once with the latest FFTorgASM instead of in two separate rounds with the two different versions of FFTorgASM.

FFT:TLW g edition 1.05 (PSX Mod)

Changelog
1.0 - bugged and could not progress past 2nd battle (Gariland)
1.01 - Rebuilt following best practices. Significant bugs still present.
1.02 - Rebuilt using qol and job extension hack versions from TLW remixed. Tested through Chapter 2 Dorter battle.
1.03 - Modified experience hacks. Units will get exp and jp even if they are dead or petrified at end of battle. Uploaded experience hack collection. Probably bugs lurking due to one hack writing at the incorrect location.
1.03.1 - Slightly lowered the base jp gain per enemy from 24 to 20. Tested through beginning of Chapter 2. Probably bugs lurking due to one hack writing at the incorrect location.
1.04 - fixed hack that lets dead/petrify units gain exp/jp.
1.05 - exp and jp will be gained per enemy at end of battle, regardless of their status. Previous versions only gave exp/jp per KOed enemy.
1.06 - 1) Fixed bug that dead units would not gain jp (fix was by overwriting checks in Store JP routine). 2) Exp and jp awarded at end of battle is now awarded 5 times, independent of number of enemies. Many battles have five or 6 enemies, so this mostly makes a difference for the single zodiac demon battles.

BUGS
...

My goal for this mod are the following:
- Provide a mod I would recommend to my brothers who only played the vanilla game 20+ years ago. Like many other mods, the goal is basically "vanilla but better".
- Avoid significant balance changes to retain the "vanilla" feel and keep the battle mechanics guide (BMG) mostly applicable.
Some of the changes below don't strictly follow the above, but I think they improve the experience enough they are worth including.

It's based on FFT:TLW 2.031 with the following modifications:
- Fix for short name glitch in balthier event - https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=13075.msg232720#msg232720
- Ashley Riot battle won't trigger. The world conditional checks if story progression equals 01, but story progression will always be greater than 01 when entering zeklaus - I think this fight could cause frustration for my brothers due to the difficulty. Combined with it not being optional and not being in vanilla I'm choosing to disable it from the mod.
- Deep dungeon events auto unlock the next floor when winning the battle (events attached)
- Deep dungeon levels are permanently dimly lit (based on updated version of Pride's xml - https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=12268.msg226249#msg226249, https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=12525.0)
- Exp/jp gained after battle. Exp and jp gained are not dependent on successful actions (Based on Glain's xml) - This is a significant departure from vanilla, but I feel the vanilla exp/jp gain system is one of the biggest flaws of the vanilla game.
EXP amount = 5 * {18 + [4 * (RamzaLevel - UnitLevel)]}
JP amount = 5 * {(Job Lv * 2) + [(Unit's Level / 4) + 20]}
- Learn on Hit applies to any unlocked job (Glain's xml)
- Quality of life changes 1.14 including the 1.14e cancel movement - https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=12769.0
- Used Razele's "Broken / stolen items can be bought back at Fur Shop" instead of "extended warranty". When I tried using qol 1.14 "extended warranty" I experienced a bug causing black screen when entering battles.

To do: Figure out if I can incorporate the following from TLW Remix (https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=13119.0)
- Preparation Menu, allowing you access to a wide variety of options before a battle begins. No more will you be stuck just randomly guessing what you might want to send out on the field before even seeing it.
- Game Over recovery, allowing you to immediately retry the battle or even return to the world map (provided you aren't in the middle of a battle sequence).
- Dark Knight (F) and Bard have been swapped around. This should now cause Dark Knight JP to spill over with other Dark Knights, and Bards with Dancers, rather than the mix we had before.
- Guests have been brought back, at least for a first playthrough. They should remain as battle-only Guests in New Game Plus.
- When Mustadio, Agrias, and Ovelia are temporarily unavailable during Chapter 2, as well as Rafa during Chapter 3, they're flagged Missing instead of being removed from the Roster. Upon reappearing, they use the stats and equipment they had saved in battle. (Sadly, Ovelia is then removed for good at the end of Chapter 2.)
- Alma joins the party after the final battle against Altima. Once she joins, she automatically learns Ultima 2 and All-Ultima. Ramza still has to pay to learn these skills in the Depths of Murond New Game Plus menu. Like Ramza, she has both Male PA and Female MA, and cannot abandon the party due to low Brave or high Faith.
- Several maps/events that didn't have Move-Find Item options now do. Mostly because of the Reveal Treasures option in the Preparation Menu. Battles which don't let you deploy units now have at least one controllable unit with Move-Find Item. The player's inventory will no longer be reset after the Orbonne Monastery prologue battle, allowing the items there to be retained for Chapter 1.
- You can skip the Wiegraf fight and get straight to Velius.
- Any unit can flip the switches at Bethla, not just Ramza.
- New version of the Roster Hack which allows the return of Guests during the first playthrough. Slots 18, 19, and 20 start out reserved for Guests, decreasing as the game goes on and fewer slots are needed. Units can also be flagged as Guests without NEEDING to be in the Guest-designated slots, allowing Beowulf and Reis to be flagged accordingly during their sidequests as needed. The Load Formation functionality is now ignored if units aren't in the Roster, rather than loading junk data. The Bench Hack ignores Guests and can't be used to fill the slots designated for Guests until they're no longer reserved for them. Guests can be freely deployed in battles they aren't already reserved for - meaning you can bring units like Alma and Ovelia along to battles as long as they're still in the party.
- A customized version of the Permadeath Terminator has been included, which can be toggled on or off. When active, once a unit's timer runs out, it becomes unrevivable, but does not turn into treasure or a crystal. It is currently enabled for all Rendezvous battles, meaning that you can't permanently lose units during those battles.
- Scene skipping: for non-battle events, hold Start at the beginning of the scene, after a camera movement, or as a dialogue box is finished in order to instantly skip the scene. In order to better facilitate this change, Start now also works as a text advancement button, the same as O, X, or Select.
- Missing units can have their equipment and skills changed, preventing any of them from locking their gear away from others - or being unable to have their gear reset before returning for a future battle.

Dream wishlist for future (these are unlikely to ever happen):
- Streamline the sidequests. My brothers are unlikely to look up guides or move around to every city or read rumors, so it would be nice if the cutscenes/events auto triggered regardless of location and map battles displayed red when they become available.
- Let crystals in deep dungeon increase light, but never have the light decrease to zero. Edit event to have Elidibs set light to zero part way through battle.
- Make Ashely Riot battle optional. Maybe triggered through a rumor.

Thank you to the FFHacktics community for helping me in discord. The ppf should be applied over a vanilla iso.

I have not tested a full playthrough yet of the complete mod.