Creating custom sprites over existing

[BeoulveBlack]

since i've been hacking this for a while, i'm ready to move on a step or two forward. right  now, i am currently in the process of creating a custom character with custom job command/name, description, the works. it's a slow work in progress, but it could be sped up with some help from the veterans here.

1. palette changing and sprite reconstruction is slow for me; i fear it's due to old/outdated software. what are some of the newer, more effective programs others are using these days?

2. i hear that custom sprites tend to not act so accordingly when given the 'attack' directive; does this extend to skills that use the attack sprites, such as with the holy sword skills, or is it simply the attack directive? (this can seriously change the direction my character goes in)

3. since algus dies after the first chapter, i am planning on replacing his sprite sheet with the custom sprite in my experimental copy of FFT.img; i want to use a head-swapped, palette changed ch.1 ramza (after ch.1) with some of his unnecessary parts removed AND some additional costume design (some things will be dropped; some added) so they sit directly on top of algus' sprite sheet. is this good or has someone tried it and found it to be a no-go?

any assistance appreciated

[Cheetah]

2) The newest version of the tools Melonhead has developed called FFTPatcher (look at the download section of the main page) includes a tool called ShiShiSpriteEditor. This solved the problem of the messed up attack animations and makes custom sprites work perfectly.

For the rest of your questions I would suggest looking in already existing topics. Most of this stuff is pretty is explain pretty thoroughly in tutorials and varioius topics.