Final Fantasy Hacktics

So I'm basically working on some blueprints for my first mod, and I could use some help to make sure I'm not overlooking anything.

This weekend, I want to go through and write out all the new text for the new job classes I'm coming up with.

I want to make sure I'm not overlooking any text related to the generic job classes (or non-generic job classes).

So far my checklist is:
+Job Name
+Job Description
+Skillset Name
+Description of the Skillset
+Ability Names within the Skillset
+Descriptions of Abilities within the Skillset
+Quotes said by characters when using those Abilities
+Formation Screen Quote for non-Generic Characters/Classes

I feel like I'm almost certainly missing some of the text related to the jobs themselves.  Is there anything within the Brave Story about the generic job classes?  I really have to go through the Brave Story and read it from top to bottom.  Maybe I can get that done this weekend too.

Thanks all.

Around the beginning of 2009, I came across this site shortly after arriving back home after finishing my enlistment.  With my newfound free time, I was ecstatic that there was such a dedicated following (this site) to pretty much my favorite video game of all time.

There was a lot of information even back then, and I dove right in trying to take it all in.  However, due to my time spent in the military the previous 4 years, some computer skills that I otherwise already would have had, I did not have at that point in time.

When I first got to these forums, I set about on a small personal project that I was hoping would also be useful to the rest of you:

http://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=2609.0

The idea was to record a video of every single spell / ability / item animation, and upload them in an organized manner to Youtube, for reference use.  That way, if you wanted to see what a spell/ability's animation looked like, you didn't have to boot up the game, get into a random battle and cast the spell / use the ability.  You could simply jump on over to my list, click the one you wanted to see, and instantly watch it.

However, I was totally learning all the necessary computer skills/tools/programs on the fly at that point in time, meaning I ended up re-doing a lot of the work multiple times over.  It was a very inefficient (and extra time-consuming) process because of that, and I was also having problems with Youtube decreasing the quality after I uploaded the video files (turns out the main issue there was that Youtube doesn't work well with video resolutions that aren't typical).

Anyway, to make matters worse, a severe lightning storm (I hate Florida weather...) shortly after my last response in that thread absolutely NUKED the new quad-core / nicely spec'ed computer I'd just bought after finishing my enlistment.  Unfortunately, ensuing financial problems regarding my parents meant I was unable to allocate the necessary money to replace it at that time.  In short, life reared it's ugly head in a most devilish way.

Now things have settled back down for me somewhat, and I'm very interested in getting back into the swing of things here.  At first glance, it seems that the available knowledge has increased on an order of magnitude since I was last here, and that makes it even more appealing to me.

After much thought during the past four years, I think I've mostly decided on what I want to use my G.I. Bill (military college scholarship) on as far as field of study - I'm pretty positive I want to go into the videogame industry as a career.

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I obviously need to re-familiarize myself with the available tools before even considering a cool patch of any decent scope.

To start my own smaller project first, I think I'd want to learn how to do the following (seemingly basic) things:

1) Create new job classes
2) Create custom ability lists / tweak those abilities.
3) Import sprites (I was just going to use the ones already publicly available here: http://ffhacktics.com/sprites.php - this wouldn't be for a public release, just a small quick personal project to get my feet wet so I know what I'm doing going forward)
4) Create new items (especially editing the name of the items / attributes / and defining the color palette of the item as shown on this chart: http://ffhacktics.com/items.php )

Basically this was my simple goal:

You know how when you start a new game in Final Fantasy Tactics, you start out with a bunch of generic squires/chemists?  I wanted to create a customized party to replace those generics (keeping Ramza, as last I recall playing around with him comes with a few catches that can cause game bugs).

Each of those characters I'd be creating would be similar to Mustadio, Beowulf, Agrias, etc.  I forget what the term is without looking it up (non-generics?), but basically they'd have their own unique job class, along with a unique skillset to go with it, and a customized sprite/avatar (which I would simply get from the list provided above, until I learn the finer points of creating a customized sprite from scratch).

Lastly, I'd want to be able to create custom equipment / items for them.

I feel this would be a good starting point that doesn't seem like anything too difficult.  I definitely realize that actual projects can take a great deal of time, so I'm not expecting to snap my fingers and have this completed overnight.

If someone can jumpstart me by letting me know which programs/tools I need to accomplish the above requirements, that would be most helpful and I'd be completely appreciative.

I'm going to start reading up on everything now.  I'm extremely stoked about finally getting to come back to this!

First, let me be clear.  I'm in the process of designing my own project, and I was originally doing this for my own reference purposes, but after talking to some of the members in the chat, I realized that it could be a rather good tool for anyone else working on their own FFT project.  So.

I'm recording a short video clip of EVERY SINGLE ABILITY AND SPELL ANIMATION.

I originally started doing this at Mandalia Plains, and got about 15 done before a suggestion cropped up that I record inside of the Deep Dungeon.  Doing so silhouetted most spells (though I also need to compare to see if spells that have a lot of black need a different background to be best viewed, such as white).

The problem with the Deep Dungeon is primarily with larger area spells.  The heights with the terrain cause parts of the animation to be blocked from view.  So what I need is a completely flat map, with the blackness of the Deep Dungeon maps.  Several people have said it's possible, but they weren't exactly sure how to do it.

Because I've already had to start over twice, I've put the recording project on hold until someone can give me instructions on how to get the map setup as explained in the paragraph above.

For an example of what the end result will look like, go here:

http://www.ffhacktics.com/wiki/Robrain_dont_delete

Thanks for the help.

[edit: alternatively, if anyone knows how to make a map transparent, that would be the most ideal solution.  Currently we have all characters partaking in the recordings as transparent sprites, so a transparent map on a black / white background would be the perfect solution]