Total Request ASM: All armor replaced by shoes

[pokeytax]

What is desirable in a broad skillset hack affecting what appears in the "Act" menu?

Just having a few more copies of Equip Change/Defend, combined with ALMA, covers most of what I can think of.

The only other thing would be adding ways to replace Attack (e.g. a FFX-2 White Mage with Pray instead of Fight, FFVI DragoonBoots changing Fight to Jump).

It looks like you get graphical issues when you try to add more than five commands (Attack, Primary, Secondary, Equip Change, Defend). I guess I'd better code in a max of five.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

I'd personally like the ability to null the special coding of the Attack Command to place a skillset inside of it without the AI bugging out (then you can use trickery with ALMA to replicate the FFX-2 and FFVI stuff possibly; you can add a skillset to it currently using the Generic Skillset Fix but the AI will try to use the original Attack Command still and bug out) and maul Support Abilities (preferably at user's choice) into more skillset-calling ones a-la Defend and Equip Change, which is basically what you have listed there.  That, combined with the completed versions of ALMA and its accompanying hacks, the Formula Hack, and some ARH fun should cover most things anyone would ever want.

Xifanie said you could go up to 7 sets without glitches.  Either way, I wouldn't personally waste code on a hard cap, it makes the hack itself longer than it needs to be and makes your debugging potentially more painful.  Just post that you get a graphical glitch after 5  skillsets, 7 skillsets, whatever, and if your end user is too retarded to read then, to mimic the great Carlos Mencia, they're *duh* retawhded!

That's me, I wouldn't waste the time and code and debugging hell to hard-block something that can be avoided with a 10 word cliffnote.  That, and over 5 sets would still be something of theoretical use for an AI unit that you want to have access to all of Attack / Jump / Throw / Geomancy / Item / Draw Out / Charge / Defend or something for... whatever insane reason that would serve, and there's no reason to stifle that option since it doesn't cause error.

[pokeytax]

the AI will try to use the original Attack Command still and bug out

Ugh... well, will worry about that later.

Either way, I wouldn't personally waste code on a hard cap, it makes the hack itself longer than it needs to be and makes your debugging potentially more painful.

Well, if for example your Monk class had innate Geomancy and equipped Item and Aim, that would trigger an ugly window. Even if that's not the case, I can see someone else doing it in their patch. I'll just leave it adjustable, since I already wrote the code anyway.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Ah, I see.  If you already have the code written, I suppose.  Just seemed like a minor thing that'd send you through debugging hell trying to get it to work properly for something you can just go "DON'T LET MORE THAN FIVE WINDOWS APPEAR UNDER THE ACT COMMAND OR IT LOOKS LIKE SHIT" in big letters next to the hack to resolve.

If it's already done though, keep it I guess.  But yeah, there's some freaky AI hardcoding around the Attack Command.  Using Xifanie's Skillset Hack you can toss anything you want in there and the player can use it without issue... it's the AI that's a huge pain in the balls on this one.

[pokeytax]

Okay, this is by no means tested thoroughly but I'm going to post it so anyone who wants to can play with it. ALMA will now generate two hacks, one for skillsets and one for the rest.

95% of the conditions are almost useless, but it cost nothing to add them so why not. If even one person is able to use, say, "player is immune to Curse" as an item attribute and save an RSM slot, it's worth it.

Still need to check the AI. Rather than editing skillset 01, the hack entirely replaces it, so maybe the AI won't vomit when faced with the change?

Wonder if you can use the generic skillset fix to make a command like Pray that just executes the command without calling up a skillset?

EDIT: Ugh, this is player-only, it looks like. AI units are unaffected. Back to the drawing board... obviously the AI can use added skillsets, see Defend, but delving into the AI to figure out how and why is not my idea of fun. Looks like it's going to be a wholly separate fix for the AI side. Glitchy with some commands as well.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

It's because the game processes the Attack Command differently from the rest, I imagine.  Attack takes an ability slot but the data initially inserted into it is basically garbage, then fed through a bunch of doohickyness to read the weapon's formula and then attack with it properly, then a ton more code is added to tell the AI wtf is going on because it can't read that garbage data by default either.  The whole thing's a mess, really.

The AI can probably use commands from Defend because it doesn't go through a million hoops to make Defend work then a million more to make the AI get it.  Just a bit of hardcoding for 100% Self-Defend.

If it helps and you didn't know, "Attack" is the topmost ability slot in FFTPatcher, so you can always play with its settings to configure something you can easily trace through, though I don't think changing its formula will do anything because like I said, the default formula there is basically a garbage proxy that I'm pretty sure the game ignores.

[pokeytax]

Huh... took a look, should be able to hijack the "all units gain innate A9 skillset" hack to add up to one command for AI according to a priority list (how on Earth did you figure that one out, Xif?) but I'm not tackling replacing the Attack command for AI, that is a litany of pain right there.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Huh... took a look, should be able to hijack the "all units gain innate A9 skillset" hack to add up to one command for AI according to a priority list (how on Earth did you figure that one out, Xif?) but I'm not tackling replacing the Attack command for AI, that is a litany of pain right there.

Good.  I was actually meaning to point you in that direction a few days ago but I got sidetracked with stuff and kinda forgot, heh, sorry.  Glad you found it on your own instead of being forced to reinvent the wheel.

[LastingDawn]

Actually this "Faith Status changes Attack to Talk Skill" hack sounds like it could have great potential! I see great use for it combined with the ARH. Of course this is in the assumption that Faith and Talk Skill are able to be modified with other status and skillsets.

Say in a slightly modified normal game that a special character like say... Agrias is in her Holy Knight job. When you cast a new Ramza only skill called Inspire this would give her the "Talent" status effect. Which will allow her to use "Southern Cross" which would cause... blah, blah, blah. You see where this is going.

This being deprived from the AI isn't necessarily a bad thing but has great potential as a tool for specialty moves that people would want to use, best combined with the ARH, in my opinion.

[The Damned]

As always, LastingDawn has an excellent point.

As ever, I must ask for a points of clarification, pokeytax: Does this "Faith" making "Attack" become "Talk Skill" thing overcome Faith's other effects? Or it is just an additional change like most of the things with ALMA?

There are a few other things that have just occurred to me:

1. This only works with humans as they are now, correct? Given that (vanilla) monsters all have separate "attacks" (or, rather, attacks they can "call" when not Berserked or whatever), I'm guessing this doesn't work for them, correct?

2. Similarly, what happens to Counter, Berserk and such if the user of the reaction is "Faithed"? Does it work like normal? I'm guessing it would given the above monster example of Berserk, but I'm curious now that I think about it.

3. What Talk Skills does the Faithed unit have access to? Just the ones its learned? Or all of them? Does anything wonky happen if the Faithed unit does even have Mediator open (or can't get it open, ala monsters)? (I'd imagine not with regards to the latter.)

4. Finally, I'm guessing this calls from the normal vanilla Talk Skill skill set, right? It feels pretty obvious that it would/does, but it's something I want to confirm.

[pokeytax]

Uh, I should be more clear, maybe!

This thread title is just my usual goofy title, detailing the silliest thing you can do. Download the hack and you'll see that it is much more general: any RSM or active status can enable any skillset or replace the Attack command. Combined with a little ALMA you can do the following, for example:

- give player Geomancers Elemental in place of Attack
- have Throw Item enable "Item"
- have Critical enable "Limit"
- have "White Signet" accessory enable "White Magic"

The Damned:

0) yes, this is all add-on functionality
1) yes (AFAIK, still not very tested)
2) probably nothing
3) for normal generic stuff, what it's learned; for special skillsets, I think it depends on learn % and that kind of thing

[LastingDawn]

Uh, I should be more clear, maybe!

This thread title is just my usual goofy title, detailing the silliest thing you can do. Download the hack and you'll see that it is much more general: any RSM or active status can enable any skillset or replace the Attack command. Combined with a little ALMA you can do the following, for example:

- give player Geomancers Elemental in place of Attack
- have Throw Item enable "Item"
- have Critical enable "Limit"
- have "White Signet" accessory enable "White Magic"

The Damned:

0) yes, this is all add-on functionality
1) yes (AFAIK, still not very tested)
2) probably nothing
3) for normal generic stuff, what it's learned; for special skillsets, I think it depends on learn % and that kind of thing

Oh, I see now. Yes, I missed that "Replace Attack" command in ALMAs until you just mentioned it here in the thread.

Ah, one other thing. In the thread you mention about nullifying a lot of the Move X UP, skills, but they don't appear to be in your .xml file for the patcher.

[pokeytax]

This is so simple it seems implausible no one's done it yet, but it seems to work.

spoiler: Merge Supports and Movements

WORLD.BIN
0x000429EC
FD010234
0x000429F8
C6010334

The base .xml is quite outdated, I'm leaving that for later when I have a healthy % of the disables done. Haven't had a lot of time recently.

[LastingDawn]

It's no trouble. You took the time to write out how to do it in normal Hex, just feeling a little lazy is all, hehe.

Though what does this do now? As in when I go to put on a Support Skillslot or Move Skillslot, I can make them both either Support, Move, or one of each?

[pokeytax]

Though what does this do now? As in when I go to put on a Support Skillslot or Move Skillslot, I can make them both either Support, Move, or one of each?

Yes. Two Swords and Attack UP, Move +3 and Jump +3, Defense UP and Move-HP UP, and unfortunately, Move +1 and Move +1, which is still just Move +1.

[LastingDawn]

Very impressive! Though that leads to some clearly abusable situations... It does add a new level to tactics and attempted balance though!

EDIT: Hmm, how difficult would it be to create a "Serpentarius" Support? It's only real purpose would be to nullify Zodiac Compat, but it may also have good value combined with ARH.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Very impressive! Though that leads to some clearly abusable situations... It does add a new level to tactics and attempted balance though!

Yup.  This is probably one of the more defining mechanics in my Patch, actually.  It was something on FDC's list of stuff to figure out how to do if Pokeytax didn't, but it's very nice to see he got it and that it seems to be a simple edit that doesn't even take freespace.  Great job.

Have you worked through the A9 base to get the AI to use the attached skillsets properly yet?  Once that's done and you update all the various xml related stuff ALMA's going to be quite the useful little behemoth.

[pokeytax]

Hmm, how difficult would it be to create a "Serpentarius" Support? It's only real purpose would be to nullify Zodiac Compat, but it may also have good value combined with ARH.

Very easy, and philsov already put the request in, but I'm waiting on most Support edits until after the epic formula overhaul is done.

Have you worked through the A9 base to get the AI to use the attached skillsets properly yet?

I'm currently doing nothing and hoping this codes itself. It's on the list.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Very easy, and philsov already put the request in, but I'm waiting on most Support edits until after the epic formula overhaul is done.

[fakespoiler]You'll be able to set specific abilities to ignore Zodiac Compatibility and easily hijack that feature to make this Support super-easily, so you're very smart to wait.[/fakespoiler]

I'm currently doing nothing and hoping this codes itself.

Eh, worked for Squaresoft.

[pokeytax]

Does anybody actually want Speed growth? Judging by every patch having it set to 255, I should just hack a way to turn this off.