Final Fantasy Hacktics

I'd say go ahead and give the current version a go. It's very much playable and fun, but it's just different from what I'd do nowadays (it was made years ago, afterall).

So, to answer your question, the changelog on here is pretty outdated. Many of the things in the original post were changed since its inception. As it stands, right now I'm laying out the groundwork to get this back up and running. There are a few challenges (namely time), but I think the next version of GG is going to stick more to its initial roots instead of the direction it was headed before. Ultimately, some of the changes were messy (mostly because of lack of customization with FFTA, opposed to FFT/FFTA2), and I don't like things that aren't clean.

I personally -really- love the idea of using Reverse, and I wish I could use it for KO.

It's been a bit, but I -think- I just changed the text to something else and that fixed the WotL text issues. Sorry I can't be of more help, it's been a really long time.

Chrono, let me know what you'd need to make a version of this for KO. Although I'm not a fan of many of the changes, KO is intended to be a base patch of sorts, so anything you need I'll be more than happy to help with.

EDIT: Would you be willing to use the updated spell quotes from FF: Record Keeper?

2.7 will be out soon. I had some time this weekend to work on it (and thankfully, they're not huge changes, so they don't take very long). Here are some of the changes to look forward to:

-Each fight starting at Zeklaus will have two pieces of equipment to be Stolen that are better than what can currently be purchased.

-Immortal status will be tweaked, meaning bosses will have different debuff affinities. The fights will be tougher to compensate, but debuffs will be more useful on them. For example, Zalmo is a pain in the ass with MBarrier, but in the next update you'll be able to debuff him to make him more vulnerable. In exchange, he may become slightly faster. That's just one example of one potential boss change.

-Fire/Fire 2/Fire 3/Fire 4 have been given +1 Vertical Tolerance.

-Fire 2/Ice 2/Bolt 2/Blind Rage can no longer be used with Math Skill. Instead, Fire/Ice/Bolt/Unction can be Math Skill'd.

-The last Degenerator trap was removed.

-Two Swords will only be usable with Daggers and Ninja Blades- not definite yet.

-Two Hands will only be usable with Swords and Katana- not definite yet.

-The AI will use Protect/Shell/etc. proactively.

-The AI will no longer use Jump to awaken their sleeping allies.

-The AI will properly see the range of Throw Item.

-Squires gain Yell, Cheer Up, and Scream (level 1).

-Protect/Shell/Wall's MP cost is decreased to 6.

-Cure's CT is decreased to 2.

-Holy's CT is increased to 5.

-Blind's MP cost is decreased to 6.

-Many spelling and grammar errors have been fixed. Many descriptions are being cleaned up and edited for grammar/spelling purposes.

Hey guys, you needn't fret. I'm constantly coming up with new and fun job ideas and the like but, as Bonesy explained, it's been hard for me to work on -any- mod lately. I recently got promoted to a new position at work that takes a lot of my free time (and energy- it's hard to come home from a long day at work and want to mod). That said, I've also hit a bit of a drought with my creativity, and I refuse to release anything that doesn't come from my heart. I did that ages ago and learned the hard way that it's just not a good idea. The cool thing about A2 is that it has a ton of room for creative things. I'd like to release a new update sometime soon with the things I've talked about, but the reality is I'm just not -sold- on certain things, and I want everything to be perfect because, ultimately, when I release things like this, I want to commit to them and not change them later.

Barren, thank you as always for your videos. You do a wonderful job and they're always fun to watch.

Neophyte, thanks for giving KO a playthrough! I definitely agree that CCP is for those who are looking for something zany, crazy, and over-the-top fun. CCP does a ton of fun things, and, frankly, the fact that not everything is balanced makes it even more fun, IMO.

KO is a more "serious" patch, by its very definition of being. KO was never meant to be extraordinary, break ground, be particularly creative, or over-the-top. KO is intended to be subtle, like a sharp knife to the gut that you don't feel until you're already bleeding out. For players who've only experienced Vanilla FFT, the new changes are enough to go "wow, that's cool!", but in such a way that it doesn't deviate from Vanilla's feel. In fact, many changes are so subtle that unless you're intimately familiar with FFT's mechanics, you wouldn't know they were there! For example, Protect/Shell lasting longer (making Priests and White Magic in general more viable), or monsters having Reactions other than Counter (making monsters more fun/viable and dangerous). I want KO to be the go-to Vanilla experience. Future updates will also (hopefully) have better descriptions and go more in-depth into FFT's mechanics in the hopes of being accessible to first-time FFT players as well. Sappy as it sounds, FFT was a big part of my childhood. Well, FFT and Castlevania: SotN. I want everyone to be able to experience it.

That is, perhaps, why I value input on KO more than anything, even if it's negative. I want the feedback of both experienced vets and newbies because, at the end of the day, I want KO to be fun for both groups.

I would keep going. None of the changes are going to be substantial enough to change the course of the LP.

Once I get a desk again (I'm currently using my TV as my monitor since I don't have a desk at my new place yet), I'm hoping to release a new update with some changes that should make things a little more fun.

-Each battle past Dorter will have at least two items that can't be purchased for a bit, making Thieves/Steal more valuable.

-I'm going to be revamping boss fights to make them more challenging, and make Immortal status slightly different so that certain bosses can be afflicted with certain statuses again. On the flip side, using those statuses will make the (now tougher) bosses more manageable.

-Move-Find Items will be somewhat improved, as will Poaches.

-Blind Rage will no longer be compatible with Math Skill- replacement to be determined.

-The Level Down trap will be removed. Most of them already were, but the last remaining one at Zeklaus will be axed. It was an oversight and was never meant to be there to begin with.

-There will be some item changes, the exact changes yet to be determined.

There will likely be many more changes, but these are the bigger things at the moment. Hoping to release a Critical Mode update soon as well, for those who prefer a greater challenge.

http://fantasyanime.com/finalfantasy/fftactics/fftactics_saves.htm

This site has saves from literally every battle in the game, so you can pick where you want to start off. Not sure what the levels are in the save, but it's better than nothing. Enjoy!

Yeah, the skill names are correct in-game, but in the Patcher and other editors, it won't appear correctly.

Hey all! Some of you may be familiar with a FF spinoff game for cell phones, called FF: Record Keeper. The basic premise is that you play as a young scholar who goes through the FF worlds and recruits FF characters into the party. The game covers all the numbered FFs and FFT up to a certain point. There was recently a limited time event involving FFT's world that allows you to recruit Orlandu, Gafgarion, et. al to the party. That aside, it also introduced something very interesting: retranslated spell quotes. In boss fights in FFT's world in RK, enemies may incant spell quotes at random, just like in FFT. These spell quotes found in RK are retranslated and are rewritten in a style much akin to Tactics Ogre PSP. Although RK doesn't have -all- of FFT's abilities and thus, we don't have all quotes translated, it does have a select few with more being added later. Thought you all would be interested, especially since these can be used in Complete and other projects. Note that the list below may indicate *MISSING* for a spell quote, indicating that the spell quote is in the game, but I wasn't strong enough in-game to get far enough in the event to see them. Considering WotL didn't have quotes, this is the first glimpse into what they'd possibly be like.

-WHITE MAGIC-

Cure: Unsullied winds of timeless life, hereby renew our falt'ring strength!
Cura: Unsullied winds of timeless life, through sky now dance and wounds make fast!
Regen: Spirit of life in all things found, dwell now in us ere all is lost!
Wall: Long-vanished light asleep below, stir now your gift and rise once more!

-BLACK MAGIC-

Fire: Shatter the stone and corpse consume, red flame now rise from earth's abode!
Fira: Long-dormant spark asleep in dust, awake red flame, the world engulf!
Firaga: Starfire asleep beneath the earth, awake and judge as is your due!
Blizzard: Breath of spirits darkness-born, knife's edge now cast on freezing wind!
Blizzara: Wind that blows through hollow sky, judge my enemies with merciless hand!
Thunder: Fulminating light on high, my blade become and rend the earth!
Thundara: Light in darkness lost, gather to me and unleash your power!

-TIME MAGIC-

Haste: Hither and yon you flit and fly, mark well time's passage swift and sure!
Slow: Incessant Time pray stay your march, bestow your grace on worthy souls!
Slowja: Obey the will of void and sky, by Providence true time abide!
Stop: O spirits steeped in Time's stern mien, from hand divine do hide us well!

-SUMMON MAGIC-

Moogle: Kupo kupo kupo, kupo! Spin 'neat the light, snow-white moogle!
Ifrit: Fires of creation, lord of flame. To ash and dust return, Ifrit!
Shiva: When last you fade on wind and light, our might become, noble Shiva!
Ramuh: Old and wise, o'er all you rule. Mete out your judgement, great Ramuh!
Titan: The earth's foundation as your force, all bonds shattered, hew and crush!
Lich: The corpse-song lifts to terror's hearth, hear now, return from Death's dark shore!
Cyclops: In lightless chill form blades of air, cut deep in flesh and bone alike!

-PUNCH ART-

Aurablast: White hot the whirling rage does burn! Its cry, a roar that knows no bounds!
Shockwave: The earth's wrath flows through my fists! You cannot hide!

-BIO-

Bio: Devour sweet flesh that brims with life, that sacred chalice fill with blight.
Biora: All life by laws divine abides, not even Death may dare defy.
Bioga: Life great and small by sin survives, cleanse now these mortals of their vice.

-DEMON MAGIC-

Unholy Darkness: Defiled air awash in blood, breathe darkness into heart of man.
Karma: By wounds still fresh and muttered curse, taste now the dish you once served!
Gigaflare: *MISSING*

-FEAR-

Ague: Dark lord trapped twixt heaven and hell, close by my side your minions keep.
Fowlheart: In mortal fear your heart beats swift, now chains of iron bind you fast.
Nightmare: In darkness sleeps our gravebound fears, in darkness cloaked it wakes and stalks.
Befuddle: Cast wide your heart to thought unbound, with neither shape nor light to guide.
Aphony: Foul words who gives to thoughts their shape, know now the fear of own thine self!
Petrify: Your future rests in hands divine, your life forfeit I hold in mine.

-DARK SWORD-

Shadowblade: To god-cursed secrets of the blade, bear witness now with your own eyes...

-HOLY SWORD-

Judgment Blade: How short sweet life, but do not mourn, from ash to ash and dust to dust!
Cleansing Strike: Lord on high or servant low, in time all men are equal made.
Northswain's Strike: The Seven ride, their shadows fall. None can escape unyielding fate!
Hollowed Bolt: Ripe trembling air suffused with pow'r, through arm upraised shine forth your light!

-UN-TRUTH-

Nether Ashura: Sword foe of your evil flames! Now burn away the foes we face...
Nether Blade: Through gust and gale, your spark ignite. Bring down your ruin, swift and sure...
Nether Maelstrom: With tears of heaven rend and tear, from this land wash all filth and drek!
Hell's Wrath: Your roar a storm, great wyrm in black. Unmatched the dread your wings portend!

EDIT: Added most of the missing spell quotes, thanks to Enlog on Reddit.

EDIT 2: 5/7/17, added Summon and Un-Truth quotes to the list.

Quote from: Elric on February 03, 2017, 07:09:08 pm
Becoming a DK is not editable by our tools here. As Eternal said, he does not plan to add it in, so if you have any further questions regarding this, post them in the help section. Thank you

This is for the PSP version, which does have a Dark Knight job. The reason those skills are in that skillset are because the old DK skills had certain hardcoded features that I wanted to change for balance reasons. As such, I took those other skills (which weren't being used) and changed them into the "new" DK skills, which have the same name and animations as the old ones, but without the hardcoded silliness. As far as the prereqs are concerned, they've actually been lessened slightly to make the job easier to acquire. It still requires 20 kills, but only needs 5 GEO/DRG/SAM/NIN now instead of 8, though you still need to Master KNT and BLM.

You pretty much answered your own question: it doesn't stay true to Vanilla if I give him Dark/Night Sword. If you find that it makes the game more fun for you if you have those skills, by all means, hack them in.

I'll be perfectly honest: I'm not familiar with Lioneditor. I'm assuming it'd work the same though, since I didn't change anything about the save data. Sorry I can't be of more help. =\

Hey there, Everstill! First, welcome to FFH. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the KO experience, and I'm always accepting feedback. Heavens knows I couldn't do KO all alone and my ideas aren't always perfect, so continued feedback from the community is a crucial part to the constant improvement of KO to make it a more enjoyable experience.

I'll address your feedback point by point in the hopes of providing some clarity for why certain decisions were made and what lies ahead in the future. Before doing so, however, I'd like to note that KO's goal was to rebalance Vanilla while keeping it still feeling like Vanilla. This means that although I -could- be far more creative with certain aspects of the patch, doing so would violate that one fundamental rule that it's based on. Please bear that in mind as I continue to address everything.

-In regards to ambition in changing skills, as noted above, many things simply weren't changed because doing so would remove the Vanilla vibe. I'll go into further detail on the specifics as you bring them up in your post, but very few skills were changed in such a manner that they wouldn't feel like their Vanilla counterparts. Most skills that were changed were done so in a way that they're rebalanced, but are otherwise kept intact. Ultimately, this isn't a patch that strives for ambition, necessarily, but rather, rebalance and fixes.

-Due to the incredibly complex nature of FFT's skill and job system, having each job be completely balanced is an ongoing endeavor. It's one that, frankly, I don't think will ever fully be complete. Can you provide some examples of what jobs you find unbalanced, specifically? Most jobs have some niche that can be filled and used effectively throughout the game.

-Equipment in story battles is fixed, correct. This was done so that players who accidentally overlevel wouldn't have to worry about being stuck on story fights where enemies would have equipment that far outpaces their own. Random battle gear levels with the player. Could it be abused? Certainly. If you want to grind to level 99 to steal the best gear from enemies and that makes you happy, so be it. Being completely honest, there are so many ways to break FFT that it's like using bubble gum to plug a dam trying to get them all. At the end of the day, I care about KO being fun and having the players be able to choose how they want to play, so if you like to grind and steal enemy gear, have at it!

-Random battles are designed to be a way to easily train while picking up monsters of various types to join your family. This is why certain monster types were added, such as Treants to Sweegy- I want the player to have the option of being able to recruit decent monsters early on to augment their party or participate in a Beastmaster run. In fact, most of the 2.6 update was intended to make monsters more viable party members while keeping them true to their Vanilla selves. Also, it makes the random battles more fun when you see different enemy types than Vanilla.

-Stat growth for many jobs have been changed. If you want a full list of job growths, I would advise opening the game in the Patcher, but more or less the stat growths still feel like Vanilla, albeit rebalanced. Stat growth is going to be the focus of the next update, so there'll likely be more discussion in the future about that.

-Many genders were changed in story fights simply because they previously weren't optimal and it made story fights slightly easier than necessary. I, personally, don't feel diversity is an issue even with this change, since you see so many different jobs throughout the game than Vanilla (as you'll see yourself as you progress) that gender isn't a huge deal.

-Wiegraf's all-female party was untouched, as you can see for yourself. As for the Monk leaving the party, it's not anything I'm going to lose sleep over. Maybe she changed jobs before the fight. Maybe she left to Ft. Zeakden. I'm sure there's a fanfic that can be written about this minor detail. In all seriousness though, you have to be careful how many jobs the enemy team has. If you have too many differing sprites on the field at once, it causes graphical bugs.

-Ovelia having Teleport is a lucky coincidence. It's in her skillset, but it's up to the RNG as to whether it'll actually pull it or not. Usually the AI will use Move-MP Up instead.

-Immortal status is something that's also on the rehaul list for 2.7. Ultimately, I agree. I love when buffs and debuffs are useful in fights, and I think what's going to eventually happen is that I'm going to make fights tougher (including bosses), and make Immortal status not guard against everything, and make certain bosses vulnerable to certain debuffs but be tougher as a tradeoff. By the way, learn to live and love buffing and debuffing in KO. Especially in later fights.

-Guests are... a tricky matter for me. I'm in agreement that Guests are a pain, particularly in Chapter I and early Chapter II. That being said, I haven't done a lot of research on that hack and wouldn't feel comfortable using it unless I was entirely sold on it. I honestly don't have a solution for them at the moment, and it's never been an urgent thing for me to think about despite the annoyance.

-Bear in mind that you can only have a limited amount of sprites and type of sprites on screen at once. If you make it so the fights have an added character, certain battles will break without changing up the enemy party to be less diverse. It's how Zirekile gets away with so many types on screen at once- the entire enemy army (except Gaffy) are Knights. As far as Algus not having a weapon, there's an article I'd like you to read that also applies to Ovelia's Teleport: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GameplayAndStorySegregation

-Panthers will keep Caution, namely because Evasion is their thing. I agree that the sprite glitch is ugly, but it's only for a few frames and ultimately doesn't affect gameplay. I made it so that each monster family has their own Reaction. Chocobos already have Counter, so giving Panthers Counter as well would drive my OCD crazy, heh. Likewise, Juravises are meant to be fast, which is why their skills are all about altering Speed. They're frail, but they can easily outspeed you if given the chance. Think of them as rogue-like monsters. As far as Arrow Guard goes... I'm not sure how I feel about changing it to Projectile Guard. It's definitely been in the cards though, so that may be another change later on. Giving Blade Grasp to Ghosts would make them the superior version of Panthers. They'd become very evasive, but immortal thanks to Undead.

-Allow me to take a moment to explain monster abilities in greater detail. The reasons that monsters were given existing skills are twofold. First, creating completely new abilities takes up a lot of ability slots that were better used for other things, such as Ramza's updated Squire skills. Second, again, KO is all about feeling like Vanilla. That means creating as few new abilities as possible. In fact, I believe the only totally new skills in KO are the Oracle's Unction (Add: Oil) and Beowulf's Oil Spellblade, because Oil was fixed and was previously a very rare status. The skills that I gave monsters were to fit their themes that wouldn't feel obstructive or out of place. Also, there are many other FF games where monsters could use skills like Haste. Gobbledegucks and Pisco Demons were given Innate: Monster Skill to synergize with other monsters. Namely, the decision was made as such for people who wanted to use all Monsters on their teams. Chocobos were given AoE Choco Esuna as the sole source of AoE revival in KO, to give them a unique niche. Choco Cure is only single target because otherwise it becomes too annoying to deal with as an enemy early-game and outperforms White Magic too much.

-In regards to skillsets, first let me say that giving Wish to Squires as a generic skill will never happen. It's a huge pet peeve of mine. Thematically, it makes no damn sense. It's a skill given specifically to Ramza/Delita/Teta as a sign of their bonds with each other. It'd be like making a FFVII mod and making Holy a spell accessible to the party as a normal battle skill. It's dumb. Squire skills aren't meant to be good- they're meant to tide you over at the very beginning of the game. That being said, Heal is great, and cures the debuffs that Stigma Magic can't. Gained JP Up remains, because you should still have to work to earn the better skills in the game, and Gained JP Up helps with that at the cost of another passive. That being said, Propositions help tremendously if you don't enjoy battling to get JP.

-Thief is definitely a job that isn't inherently great, aside from their skillset. It's always kinda been their lot in life. That said, they'll likely get some stat changes in the next update and perhaps access to some new weapons. Their actual skills aren't changing. A Poison Bomb skill would be too different from what they had in Vanilla and would defy the purpose of the patch. (Are you noticing a trend yet?)

-Revive is great as part of the Martial Arts skillset as a whole. Consider this: Martial Arts has AoE (Spin Fist/Earth Slash), ranged attack (Wave Fist), instant death (Secret Fist), HP/MP healing (Chakra), debuff clearing (Stigma Magic), and revival (Revive). That's huge. There's no reason for every aspect of Martial Arts to be amazing. It can revive (fairly accurately, at that- it's based on PA so if it has low accuracy, it's because your PA is low) and do so much more. It's part of a great skillset, and that's the boon in it right there.

-Raise is actually -more- accurate than it was in Vanilla. It may be bad compatibility or low Faith causing you trouble on your end. Same thing in regards to Cure magic. It's actually slightly better now.

-Protect/Shell are far more accurate even at level 1 now than they were in Vanilla. The level 2 versions are mostly meant for if you're already engaging the enemy. They won't target enemies and have a larger AoE.

-As with all of my patches (it's kind of become a trademark at this point, heh), Fire/Ice/Bolt are all different from each other. The differences aren't as obvious early on, but become more pronounced as the game goes on. Fire magic has more AoE than Ice/Bolt, Ice magic has more raw power than Fire/Bolt, and Bolt magic is faster than Fire/Ice. Which spell is best depends on the given situation. Giving them elements other than Fire/Ice/Thunder would just make them too different from their Vanilla job.

-Move EXP Up is great for new hires. Move JP Up is great for grinding, and combines with Gained-JP Up. Fusing Movement skills is a pain in the ass and really isn't needed. Instead, I opted to reduce their JP cost so the job itself is easier to master.

-Revival is always a really difficult thing for me. Personally, I'd prefer to be super conservative like FFIII and just make PDs not buyable at all. Raising things from the dead shouldn't be an easy task. That being said, I understand that that's a little too hardcore for people (especially novice FFT players). PDs were made slightly more expensive so that you wouldn't be as inclined to just Rambo the early game- so that you'd actually try and keep your units alive and possibly start using Cure/Protect/Shell. AoE revival on Summoner isn't wise, in my opinion, since the Summoner can do so many other things as well that it makes them a little -too- versatile. I'm sure there's some hack out there that removes permanent removal, but that'd change things up a little too much for my tastes.

-In terms of items, many items will likely be slightly reworked for the next update. The evasion with Swords was always a thing though, even in Vanilla. The in-game text box explains that the higher Evade weapon has a broad hilt or something along those lines to justify it.

Hopefully this answers some of your questions! Looking forward to your continued feedback!

Hey Magic, welcome to FFH! I created FFT KO, so I'm obviously biased, but if you do happen to end up playing it, please leave feedback in the thread. I love hearing back from players and improving the experience!

Great work as always. This topic is really fascinating. Thoughts on Float though: I know I've seen it use Float outside of Critical after seeing an Earth spell. Heck, I think I've seen it used before an Earth spell was used, but the AI still "saw" it in the party's skillset.

For sure! Thanks for doing a playthrough.