Final Fantasy Hacktics

I see. Considering how the changes to the accuracy modifiers worked, I thought it might be something like that. I know that the exact formulae for accuracy, damage and every other mechanic has been cracked, though. With knowledge of the location of the accuracy values, couldn't something be extrapolated about the damage calculations?

But really it's a bit of a deeper issue. I've enjoyed using the tools in this forum a lot, but at the end of the day, I don't know much about the architecture and data structures in GBA games. Like, the editing of hex values containing the data is one thing, but I don't know jack about the assembly and the actual code of the games. Do you guys know where I could find a "for dummies" version, as it were?

Huh. How come the AIO lets you assign the unused ability effects after D0 to an ability, though? Would that crash the game or just do nothing?

Hello again! Sorry to necro, but this is like literally the only place in the internet to ask, so might as well. I was applying some of Darthatron's changes from the minor hacks section, and I was left wanting to modify some of the other S-Abilities. Is there anywhere where it's documented which entries correspond to which abilities and their values (for instance, attack modifier of Weapon Atk+)? I figured I should ask before moving onto trial-and-erroring it and taking the risk of coking everything up.

Ah, another thing. When working within the modules, is there a way to see the exact address I'm modifying? I want to make a few new ability effects, but the Nightmare module (unlike the AIO) doesn't allow me to edit the unused ability effects past D0, and if I knew the exact address I could at least do it manually.

I mean, FFTA2 isn't a terribly hard game, especially if you know what you're doing. And your patch is making several classes quite a bit more powerful. Have you considered modifying enemies so that they'll pose more of a challenge by using said improved abilities in useful combinations?

No kidding? Man, talk about serendipity. I should have all I need for the moment, now. Thanks a ton for all the help! I'm gonna go lab what changes exactly I want to make, should come up with something interesting.

I can get behind buffs over nerfs. Are there any changes to enemy formations?

Yeah, from what I saw there's a big range of effects that the AIO ignores due to being empty, but can still be modified with the Nightmare modules. EDIT: Derp, other way around. Nightmare ignores, AIO shows. Anyway, should be interesting. I also noticed that the Gadget Defense Up effect is unused in the game, so that's an easy modify.

Okay, so I'm not quite out of your hair yet. Bill me for the shampoo. I noticed that unlike FFTA2, there don't seem to be any ally-only targeting effects in FFTA. This isn't terribly relevant, but I wanted to have the option in store, so. In the ability effect module, there are two addresses for targeting (0x07 and 0x11) that are unused. If I wanted to use one of these to make an "allies only" targeting constraint, would that require getting into the assembly? It seems to be outside of the realm of just hex editing.

(Also, seconding what bcrobert said -- I really appreciate the help, you've been super informative and polite!)

Alright, progress has been going well! Just a couple more questions and I'll be out of your hair for the time being.

-In "FFTA Notes v12.2", there's a section called "minor hacks" which lists several addresses to edit for various effects, including modifying the accuracy bonuses of Concentrate and Turbo MP. Is there anywhere else, be it in AIO, a Nightmare module, or just a hex address listing, that can allow editing of the properties of other Support abilities (such as the damage bonuses for Doublehand or Weapon Atk+)?

-The Formation editor works perfectly with the only exception of the starting party formation. Should I start a game from scratch in order to see this modified? (For reference, I modified this formation when the save file I was testing in was after the first mission, but before Herb Picking.)

-I noticed that to add an ability to an item, you have to assign to it the ability set. In the High Jump example I was using above, this means that the Odin Lance would have to get the same ability set that Wyrmtamer (the replaced ability) was in. This also meant that the Buster Sword, which normally teaches Wyrmtamer, now teaches High Jump. Is there any way to circumvent this?

-Is there any way to set an ability effect to target all allies (or allies exclusively)?

-And finally, is there any way to create a class from scratch (assuming I had the appropriate sprites, of course) without replacing any existing ones?

Thanks again!

This is really interesting. Looking forward to giving it a try!

Thanks for the prompt answer! Alright, so:

* In the text changer tool, will it change every instance of the string? For instance, say I make a new A-Ability called Ruin and save it under the name Goblin. Does that mean every Goblin in the game is gonna be called Ruin?

* To which dropdown menus do you refer? As far as I can see, the only access to support abilities in the editor is in the class editor, which still wouldn't allow access to abilities of any kind outside the race. EDIT: Wait, hold on. Apparently, you can keep going further after the race's ability list ends in order to access another race's. Huh.

* Got it, thanks!

Okay then! Please bear with me if this is terribly trivial, I just started using this tool. In order to get my bearings and make 9-year-old me proud, I was trying to make/modify a High Jump ability for the Dragoon, just a stronger Jump. Making a new ability with the proper flags and stats, no problem.

First hurdle: the name. Can I give it my own name? I only saw the drop-down menu, with preset names according to the text that's already in the game. For the moment, I saved it as "Dummy".

Second: making it accessible to the Dragoon. From what I see of the job menu, all abilities are in an ordered list, and you can only change the start and end points of the sub-list containing the class' abilities, no cherrypicking. And the custom ability gets added to the start of the list for that race, so in this case, I'd have to include all Warrior abilities (who's first in the Bangaa list) in order to "reach" the custom ability. Is there any way to circumvent this need?

Item numero tres: binding the ability to an item. I chose the Odin Spear, being properly endgame and all. (Buffed its stats too, since I was already on it.) However, trying to attach to it the Dragoon ability pool gives me an out of bounds exception. This is the sort of error that a readme of some sort would do me good -- I have a working knowledge of programming and so on, and having a better way to troubleshoot than just trial-and-error within the AIO would be nice, as well as reduce the amount of question I'll need to ask of y'all.

And finally, not directly related to the above, but I might as well ask -- is there no way to add or modify S- and R-Abilities, and no way to mod one race's abilities onto another?

Told you I had a lot of questions

This is a fantastic tool -- I cannot begin to thank you enough for it. Can't imagine the work it must've taken. Is there any sort of guide or readme somewhere? There's a few details I want to see some more info on, but I'd rather not spam the forum with questions.

Hey all! I'm Ninety. For want of a general questions thread, I'm doing a full introduction here (if there is one, I'd appreciate a pointer). I'm a long-time fan of the Tactics series, TA and TA2 over FFT. I've been interesting in modding the former two for a while now (gameplay, mostly), but didn't know where to begin, so here I am! I wanted to know -- how in-depth and accessible are the tools available, and what level of prior knowledge is required? I have some basic knowledge of programming and computer architecture, but I haven't done any work on ROMs or general modding yet. Looking forward to working with you all!