Total Request ASM: All armor replaced by shoes

[Pickle Girl Fanboy]

In SaGa Frontier, humans have four armor slots, where you can equip one of any type of armor, provided the don't cancel each other out:
* Full body suits cancel out headgear, body armor, gloves/rings, and leggings, but not clothes (which are the clothes you wear under your armor, I guess) or accessories.
* You can equip multiple accessories; they don't cancel each other out.  However, they suck - they're earrings and necklaces and crap like that.

spoiler

Unrelated to this, but they also have four weapon/shield/expendable item slots.  So you can equip four swords, four shields, four potions, and choose which one you attack with each turn.

Could make for some interesting mechanics, though I can't wait to see how the AI will screw it up.  I'm more interested in making new equipment types though.  Like different types of mantles and shields, one type each for warriors, mages, and balanced jobs; separting gloves, rings, and footwear into three separate types, and a few other things I forgot.

About your level-down fix: did you figure out how to change it so that leveling down is exactly the reverse of leveling up?  IIRC, leveling down removes more raw stat than leveling up gains, so if you level up/down with the same growths, you'll end up with lower stats than you started with.
EDIT
BLARGH, I found it.  You need to move all your hacks to the front page, boyo.

Do you think you could make something for the Equip X Supports that will check what items an Equip X Support grants and restrict any class that can already equip all those items from equipping that ability?

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Do you think you could make something for the Equip X Supports that will check what items an Equip X Support grants and restrict any class that can already equip all those items from equipping that ability?

http://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=6505.msg144169#msg144169

[Pickle Girl Fanboy]

I'm aware of that.  But what if you used all the inherent abilities for other things, and don't have room for more?  Thus,

Do you think you could make something for the Equip X Supports that will check what items an Equip X Support grants and restrict any class that can already equip all those items from equipping that ability?

So you won't need to waste precious inherent ability slots denying the AI a chance to be stupid.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Set the AI Learn Chance of Equip X to 0% and force-equip it when you want them using it then?

Tis what I do, since many times, the AI coming with /any/ Equip X is a chance for them to be very, very stupid.

[Pickle Girl Fanboy]

That's what I usually do anyways.  It's fine, I just wish there was something better.

And I never set anything (except player-only abilities, like equip change) to 0%.  5% is my minimum, and 95% my maximum.  Most of the time the enemy will misuse it, but that one time the enemy gets it right is worth the ten times it doesn't.

[pokeytax]

Yeah, the first hack sets level down shrink = level up growth (suited to flat job growths patches).
The second hack sets level down shrink = level up growth, AND changes stat loss on level down to a job-independent 1/L of stats gained (suited to variable job growths patches), but is unable to completely preserve the minor HP/MP variation between units.

The inherent support limitations either don't apply to AI or are coded outside of my hack, so my adding them would only help the player, not the AI.

The randomized enemy unit generator, like passive abilities, is something I thought ALMAscript would resolve but I'm going to have to do a separate hack for, because I want the capability to just assign a flag to an enemy in ENTD and have the game spit out a random level-appropriate enemy that isn't embarrassing to look at. Likewise, I want the ability to have two mutually exclusive job passives ('specializations"), and while I can have ALMAscript to nuke both of these and refund JP when both are selected, it's clunky as hell.

[Pickle Girl Fanboy]

Reworking most all of the R/S/M abilities would fix most of the AI problems, but, as I understand it, that ball is in fdc's court.  I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to help him, short of learning MIPS.

http://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=6885.0;attach=6981
This is how I would do it, if I could.

Er.  Pokeytax, could you do me a favor and copy the contents of the *.txt files in this topic to spreadsheets, while preserving their formatting, so they look more like the attachment to this message and less like a giant piece of crap?  I don't mean the formatting: I mean the data retains it's hexadecimal conventions, like 00 doesn't turn into 0.

Also, would you teach me the finer points of data validation in Gnumeric.  Specifically:
1. Having drop-down boxes organized according the order the data is in, not alphabetically.
2. Finding a way to set every entry to it's default value without having to do it entry by entry.  There are 12000 entries in FFTA item data (bytes per row * number of items); there's no way I can set these to their default values by myself.

[pokeytax]

I don't mean the formatting: I mean the data retains its hexadecimal conventions, like 00 doesn't turn into 0.

It looks like Gnumeric did okay pulling in the values themselves, just screwed up the hex formatting. Looking at abilities.txt:
- enter the formula =dec2hex(hex2dec(A11),2) in cell A424
- copy that formula across the rectangle all the way to cell AB835
- copy the entire rectangle
- select cell A11 and go to Edit > Paste Special, Paste as Values.
- delete the lower rectangle

1. Having drop-down boxes organized according the order the data is in, not alphabetically.

Good luck. Excel does this automatically and I don't see an easy option. Personally I would label "01 Weapon" "02 Shield" "03 Head", still ugly but a lesser evil.

Finding a way to set every entry to its default value without having to do it entry by entry.

I'm assuming your setup is like mine - allow a selection from a dropdown list, use VLOOKUP to get the matching hex for that. So just invert your tables on another worksheet: put the hexes first and the associated selections second. Use the ROM dump as your source and get the matching selections, then paste them as values into your entry area. Maybe not lickety-split, but easier than hand entry...

[Pickle Girl Fanboy]

Just had an idea, for how you could make extra elements (like a restore element) that will work with FFTPatcher.

Why not make anything that flags as multiple, opposite, or improbable elements (you choose) be overridden by the replacement element?  It's like a way to get extra flags, though it would rule out items like 108 Gems bracelet that strengthen all elements.

Or you could use something like a bit in some semi-related thing to flip the switch, as it were, between the normal set of elements and another set of elements, though that means you could only use one set or another.  Like, 0x40 in Jump for items, and 0x80 in Ability Learn % for abilities.

[Tea]

If I'm right, then there are 8 elements, so 8 flags, for 8*7*6*5*4*3*2 combinations. That's a lot, and you can keep the option of something doing something to all elements and more if you make this a table of sorts, like this:

spoiler

flags = element
1 = a
2 = b
3 = c
4 = d
5 = e
6 = f
7 = g
8 = h
1+2 = i (healing a for example)
1+3 = j
etc.

It's like assinging attributes!

[Eternal]

I have an ASM request, if it's not too hard.

Soldier's Office units cost 3000 Gil flat, with no gear equipped.

[Pickle Girl Fanboy]

If I'm right, then there are 8 elements, so 8 flags, for 8*7*6*5*4*3*2 combinations. That's a lot, and you can keep the option of something doing something to all elements and more if you make this a table of sorts, like this:

spoiler

flags = element
1 = a
2 = b
3 = c
4 = d
5 = e
6 = f
7 = g
8 = h
1+2 = i (healing a for example)
1+3 = j
etc.

It's like assinging attributes!

You still have to be careful.  It would have to be some combonation of elements that no one ever uses.

[RandMuadDib]

sorry its not 8! = 40320 possibilities, rather its 2^8 = 256 possibilities.

[pokeytax]

Soldier's Office units cost 3000 Gil flat, with no gear equipped.

Well, the gear edit is easy, I dunno why Razele didn't include it with his pre-raws:

spoiler: Edit starting gear and displayed price

These edit your starting equipment for male and female, respectively.
They follow the order of http://ffhacktics.com/wiki/Formula_Hacking beginning at 1A; the default string for male is 9D BA FF 13 FF FF FF.

SCUS_942_21
0x4F111
AABBCCDDEEFFGG

0x4F11D
AABBCCDDEEFFGG

Displayed male cost, displayed female cost, base unit cost (halfwords in hex, so defaults are DC05/7805/E803)

WORLD_WORLD_BIN
0x58E8C
XXXX
0x58E98
YYYY
0x58458
ZZZZ

The actual price of a unit is equal to the base unit cost plus the cost of its equipment, but the displayed price is shown regardless.

The problem with this elemental scheme is that equipping an item with Cancel: Fire when your job innately has Cancel: Dark suddenly gives you Cancel: Alligators or whatever. Plus you have to rework a ton of code all over the place, some in SCUS. In the grand scheme of things, eight elements seems like plenty to me? I'm not one to talk about wasting a ton of freespace for some added functionality but this is a lot of work for a few extra flags.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Agree with Pokeytax on the Element thing, there's plenty of leeway between 8 Elements to do all kinds of things if you're willing to use them as flags and not strictly FIRE = FIRE.  The logistics needed to do what was described are too atrocious, and the space requirement probably too high for what's honestly a very low net gain.

As for that pre-raw info: many thanks for posting that, Pokeytax!  I'll add that to my Pre-Raw Stat Spreadsheet once I get my laptop screen replaced, which should be within a week or so.  Though, its super easy, so anyone wanting to edit using that info before then should be able to just hex it up.

[Pickle Girl Fanboy]

Well, the gear edit is easy, I dunno why Razele didn't include it with his pre-raws:

spoiler: Edit starting gear and displayed price

These edit your starting equipment for male and female, respectively.
They follow the order of http://ffhacktics.com/wiki/Formula_Hacking beginning at 1A; the default string for male is 9D BA FF 13 FF FF FF.

SCUS_942_21
0x5E911
AABBCCDDEEFFGG

0x5E91D
AABBCCDDEEFFGG

Displayed male cost, displayed female cost, base unit cost (halfwords in hex, so defaults are DC05/7805/E803)

WORLD_WORLD_BIN
0x58E8C
XXXX
0x58E98
YYYY
0x58458
ZZZZ

The actual price of a unit is equal to the base unit cost plus the cost of its equipment, but the displayed price is shown regardless.

The problem with this elemental scheme is that equipping an item with Cancel: Fire when your job innately has Cancel: Dark suddenly gives you Cancel: Alligators or whatever. Plus you have to rework a ton of code all over the place, some in SCUS. In the grand scheme of things, eight elements seems like plenty to me? I'm not one to talk about wasting a ton of freespace for some added functionality but this is a lot of work for a few extra flags.

And another harebrained idea bites the dust.

[RavenOfRazgriz]

2 things:

1. I noticed a bit of space between where the male and female beginning gear and such is.  What goes there?  I assume it's related to Level / Brave / Faith, but some explicit knowledge would be nice, especially so I can add it into my Spreadsheets if its anything worth editing.

2. Random request when you have some time:  Would you happen to know how to edit which units have the Stepping Stone trait?  That's another thing I'd like to edit for myself, and another thing that seems like it could be made into a quick and dirty Spreadsheet if it works somehow like I'm thinking it does so that others could do the same.  It's a niche detail, but it's still nice to be able to get the niche details right.

[RandMuadDib]

2. Random request when you have some time:  Would you happen to know how to edit which units have the Stepping Stone trait?  That's another thing I'd like to edit for myself, and another thing that seems like it could be made into a quick and dirty Spreadsheet if it works somehow like I'm thinking it does so that others could do the same.  It's a niche detail, but it's still nice to be able to get the niche details right.

Isn't that just having a jump value of 80+?

[Dome]

"Defend" sucks, because if you misclick it, it doesn't even give you a "Are you sure?" message, and your turn is lost defending
Question: How hard would be making an ASM that makes that message pop out?

[RavenOfRazgriz]

Isn't that just having a jump value of 80+?

It uses the x80 part of the Jump Byte, not a Jump of 80, so even if that worked it'd need to be a Jump greater than 127-128, assuming that'd even work to begin with.  I kind of doubt it though.

"Defend" sucks, because if you misclick it, it doesn't even give you a "Are you sure?" message, and your turn is lost defending
Question: How hard would be making an ASM that makes that message pop out?

This is also true with Teleport.  Having the "Are you sure you want to Move here?" pop up for Teleport would be great.  I know I'm personally always fucking up my turns because I click forgetting I don't get a warning and weeeeee.