Final Fantasy Hacktics

General => Archives => Mercenaries => Topic started by: LastingDawn on April 12, 2009, 05:18:42 pm

Title: Feedback on Mercenaries
Post by: LastingDawn on April 12, 2009, 05:18:42 pm
You've now experienced it for the first time, all of the months of preparation and planning! Now please tell me what you think of it, an honest critique is always for the best.

Was there an overpowered skill or class?

The weapons too weak, too strong?

Armor not changed enough?

Too many useless skills?

Broken game mechanics?

Please, any thoughts would be fantastic and can only help to improve the project!
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Post by: ffzman on April 12, 2009, 07:05:04 pm
Wish was WAAAAAAY OP. >___>
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 12, 2009, 07:10:56 pm
Haha! Wish is a Debugging Tool! Please don't use it unless you find yourself without any other way to find a battle! (A programming error for instance)
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Post by: Smitson on April 12, 2009, 11:02:42 pm
Lol ownage with Wish

- Ramza has fucked up stats
- In the first battle Rad used Ramzas sprite, in the second Lavians
- Gaffy glitches while talking to the cadets
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Post by: boomkick on April 12, 2009, 11:38:02 pm
I dont know but i see some Japanese characters in the names. Like instead of Mettle it would be Mett(Jap character).

And the damage is all messed up. Mythril sword on Delita with 7 PA does 2 damage. (Mythril sword has 1 WP?)
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 12, 2009, 11:43:33 pm
Not quite... the description reads 7 WP, but it has in fact been lowered to 1 WP (which I should look at, since that's not large damage anyway you look at it) maybe I took the nerfing of weapons too far...

Also the story of the patch is Relatively unplayable! Please keep that in mind, if you have a file past Dorter 1, please use that!
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Post by: tithin on April 13, 2009, 12:46:50 am
The damage on many attacks is bizarre, Gafgarions night sword doing 8 damage? What?
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Post by: ffzman on April 13, 2009, 12:50:14 am
Quote from: "Smitson"- In the first battle Rad used Ramzas sprite, in the second Lavians

In the formation screen he's Mustadio.
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Post by: Smitson on April 13, 2009, 01:33:51 am
Ill breeze past dorter 1 on vanilla 8).
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Post by: boomkick on April 13, 2009, 02:59:03 am
I think you should keep the attack damage on the weapons a little les than their vanilla versions or whatever you had before (that you nerfed). Seeing a knight do 60 damage with a skill and 10 damage with an attack is really really bad.
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 13, 2009, 10:35:35 am
Heh, the weapons are pretty bizarre, I need to rebalance those accordingly with skills or lower the power of the skills, all together.

Though I found the cause of the glitches with all of my storyline events, I apologize for the inconvenience with that, once they are all 100% fixed, I will release again.
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Post by: boomkick on April 13, 2009, 08:14:53 pm
First battle needs to give Delita and Ramza much better weapons. They do so little damage and get raped by Abraxas/Invoker stuff.
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 13, 2009, 08:19:07 pm
Delita has an Earth Saber, right? That's 6 WP, Ramza has an Enhancer, which is a rare weapon that increases PA by 1. Abraxas's power has fallen a bit from the previous iterations, but... the Traitor's Bow, does that make it too difficult? The goal is merely to take out Algus as fast as possible.
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Post by: boomkick on April 13, 2009, 08:21:32 pm
i applied your patch from the first post, seriously. Still having Delita hold the mythril sword.

Algus still has nightkiller

EDIT: o yes, now the cantor has Time Magic primary.
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 13, 2009, 08:35:39 pm
O...kay? That... must be my mistake.
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 13, 2009, 08:40:33 pm
File reupload, your patience is probably being tested by this point... my apologies.
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Post by: boomkick on April 14, 2009, 01:41:36 am
Magic is reeeeeally strong in the beginning (invoker that is). Rod is a very interesting twist LD. Esperblade (Earth Splitter) from the first Mandalia planes battle (from the Scryer). Many items are very high leveled compared to the shops.
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Post by: CT5Holy on April 14, 2009, 02:43:12 am
Quote from: "boomkick"i applied your patch from the first post, seriously. Still having Delita hold the mythril sword.

Algus still has nightkiller

EDIT: o yes, now the cantor has Time Magic primary.

This is happening to me too =x
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Post by: Verdeni on April 14, 2009, 03:32:17 am
Boomkick, the reason the item's are so strong is because the whole first chapter is "skipped"... technically.
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Post by: boomkick on April 14, 2009, 10:28:39 am
Yeah i know, but I think there at least needs some kind of balance. IMHO i would have rather had Ramza and co. start at level 1. But then the abilities would be strong and etc. Or have the buyable items in the store at level 10 :).
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Post by: CT5Holy on April 14, 2009, 01:04:23 pm
In the opening scene, Ramza sometimes has a staff in his hand when he 'attacks' the voices.

Gafgarion can attack from two panels away with a Mythril Sword.

Weapons do much less damage than skills.

HOLY CRAP Gafgarion attacked with Earth Splitter, Titan triggered and did ~230.
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 14, 2009, 02:12:05 pm
Titan's good, yeah. Probably overpowered at the moment though. The Mythril Sword is supposed to have two range, it's one of it's
"niches" low attack power, but 2 range attack keeps you away from nasty reactions. Yes, Ramza seems to have any weapon he wants at that point, well it his "dream world" so I don't think it's our place to say what he should and shouldn't have, hehe.

Though the one you're playing on... does it have Time Magic, or any screwed up text in battle? I rebalanced weapons, or so I thought...?
EDIT: IF you are playing the right version from the first post, then Algus should be equipped with the "Traitor's Bow" a very simple way to tell if it patched right.
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Post by: CT5Holy on April 14, 2009, 04:35:50 pm
Well, it says Night Killer, but it adds Protect and Shell. I haven't read up much on the new abilities and equipment, so not sure if that's the Traitor's Bow.

Oh, if someone is Berserk and you check their status, it says "Bonsonk." XD

Random hiragana are floating around, Cantor has Time Magic primary. I'm using the patch on the first post of the Easter Sunday Surprise topic. And I am patching on a clean ISO.
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Post by: Smitson on April 14, 2009, 04:48:07 pm
The knight at sweegy woods can attack from two panel's away with a sword( i dont remember which one).
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Post by: CT5Holy on April 14, 2009, 05:54:29 pm
Never mind, I was using the wrong patch...

Everything's feeling much better now. No random hiragana, melee attacks do better damage compared to before.
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Post by: FFMaster on April 14, 2009, 07:43:19 pm
(http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj174/FF255Master/mercs.jpg)

Any way you can make the chemist and squire face the front? It's kind of bugging me. I just like the polished feel from a game.

Sorry for being nitpicky. Will post more stuff if I find something that doesn't feel right.
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 14, 2009, 10:22:20 pm
Haha! Certainly, honestly I haven't touched events since I started tweaking the battle system. The next patch will just be an all around fixes of what I currently have, then probably a description bonanza, getting our descriptions, then it's back to the story drawing boards.
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Post by: Smitson on April 14, 2009, 10:28:25 pm
Yeah and in the battle after, Lavian turns to Algus. But is this more of a bugs thread or a feedback thread?
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 14, 2009, 10:34:48 pm
Feedback, those aren't really bugs... they're just event portions I haven't gotten to yet.
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Post by: boomkick on April 15, 2009, 06:06:33 pm
O yes, i found a way to train ramza and get some good experience. In mandalia plains, if you come from Igros' side, you might be able to get enough accumulates to get a good PA. Do this while moving all the way to the left of where Ramza faces at first, going to where there is a spike you cant stand on and one space next to it in a corner where only one monster can attack you at a time. Get Auto-Potion and stand there, waiting for them to attack. Hopefully your auto potion may heal up damage for low levels you can do one hit kills (if your a monk). Eventually you may win.

Other then that i don't know how ramza can solo very many (random) battles.

EDIT: Chocobos are stupid.
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Post by: beawulfx on April 15, 2009, 06:37:30 pm
I just finished Zeakden and Gariland. I recorded them too and I'll be uploading them to Youtube soon! They were both very difficult battles. I had to play really defensively. In Gariland I had no healing at all, would have been screwed if not for a couple crystals. They really bailed me out. It was extremely fun though. So different. I had no idea what any skills were, had to spend some time researching on the board here before attempting it.

Algus is tough with Runic... something counter, healing 50 damage and his Traitor Bow absorbs health too! I had to lay back and wait for his protect to run off, then I used my Knight to haste everybody, and a beast rune to put him to sleep. Once he was asleep Ramza took him down with two blows. Took a few tries to come up with this plan, before that I got my butt kicked trying to rush him.

Gariland was also very exciting. The Scryer enemies were interesting to fight against with distance attacks. Not very damaging, but added up. And the Knight in the back was strong once she got into the fray. She must have had slow on though cause she hardly got any turns, luckily. With no healing I would have been dead meat if she wasn't slowed.

Like I said I'll be posting the videos soon and I am now on the world map so I have a bit more freedom. I am looking forward to checking out the world of Mercenaries. This is really awesome so far I have to say. I'm very pleased.
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Post by: boomkick on April 15, 2009, 06:59:25 pm
You should at least open up Zeklaus Desert lol.
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Post by: beawulfx on April 15, 2009, 07:03:16 pm
Well it will be open after I finish Mandalia, Sweegy and Dorter right? Or are is there something I'm missing here?
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Post by: boomkick on April 15, 2009, 07:08:24 pm
It doesnt activate o.O
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Post by: beawulfx on April 15, 2009, 07:21:59 pm
Yeah I see now! I just tried to move from Gariland and screen went dark, Ramza ran around a bit, the Chapter 2 logo came up and now I'm sitting on this map :)

[pt 1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFNqXWQfDMg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFNqXWQfDMg)
[pt 2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrmKuCEW ... onse_watch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrmKuCEWC-E&feature=response_watch)

Even though the map is all messed up it looks like I can still do the fight at Mandalia so that's what I'll be doing next.
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Post by: Smitson on April 15, 2009, 08:42:30 pm
LD did you make wish like that purposely?
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Post by: boomkick on April 15, 2009, 09:22:29 pm
After Dorter 1
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Post by: ffzman on April 15, 2009, 09:32:27 pm
Quote from: "Smitson"LD did you make wish like that purposely?

It's a debug tool, I wondered the same.
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 16, 2009, 12:20:20 pm
Quote from: "beawulfx"Yeah I see now! I just tried to move from Gariland and screen went dark, Ramza ran around a bit, the Chapter 2 logo came up and now I'm sitting on this map :)

[pt 1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFNqXWQfDMg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFNqXWQfDMg)
[pt 2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrmKuCEW ... onse_watch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrmKuCEWC-E&feature=response_watch)

Even though the map is all messed up it looks like I can still do the fight at Mandalia so that's what I'll be doing next.

Thanks for the videos! Sounds and looks like you had quite a time against Algus! Well the maps not really "messed up" per se... the map has a few more open areas, at the time when I was testing, the second event there goes by really fast, but I also used it as a testing event. In the final version it will be Ramza cutting his ponytail and donning the mercenary armor, while Rad, Ramza, and Gafgarion celebrate at a local pub. Currently though it's just a quick placeholder that doubled as testing for me (notice if you go to the Brave Story you'll have the fact section) in the final version of the game it will be Memoir's of a Cadet, with the first chapter unlocked.

Also you just need to load a file past Dorter 1, then the game will be fine. ( I... think, the beta remnants of my Blansch and Bolmna battle might still be at Sand Rat Cellar...)


EDIT: Chocobo's are glitched at the moment, they don't physically attack, they only use Moogle it looks, I think I know why though... also Accumulate, Throw Stone, and Medical Kit are being nerfed next update)
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Post by: beawulfx on April 16, 2009, 12:47:27 pm
Thanks for the info! That would be a cool scene to see.

Yeah Medical Kit is very good, perhaps too good for an instant free skill like that. I haven't tried out throw stone yet, now I'm curious. I love Rad's double spells, got lucky and that helped me out in the Mandalia fight which will be up later today. Also, Healing Staff is quite good early on with a decent 5 wp and a chance to add regen, I like that. Oh and are Rods supposed to be a distance healing item? That's an interesting feature. Lavian has some great skills as well, Manastrike helped nerf the creepy Mage perverts. Well the Invoker still tore me a new one because I kept bunching up like a fool. Their skills cost extremely little MP which makes them hard to stop, especially with what seems to be innate move mp up (the Invoker had like 11 mp, and it's Engulf spell was only costing I think 2 MP, which doesn't match their info in the job thread so just want to confirm you are aware of that as well)

I'm already feeling attached to the characters too, Rad is very charming, and I like Gaffy's attitude, he seems a little friendlier (so far anyway!). Great dialogue all around in the Mandalia battle :)

On to Sweegy and the tournament! I'm going to try and get the Longibunne! (if it's still in the demo of course)
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 16, 2009, 12:56:11 pm
That it is! You just need to be lucky enough to have the Golden Dragoon come back. Indeed, I had to find a way to level the immense power of the Invoker's without it becoming far too powerful. I managed this by making their MP 11, with their skills costing 2 MP. Now, the reason this was done was because nearly every new class has an MP killing tool, I originally wanted Invoker's to have an innate Maintenance which also prevented MP damage, unfortunately Razele's vanished so I had to use another alternative. Which was Move MP up, if one character is devoted to Mage-Slaying, then MP moves could continually be renewed on them. It takes two turns for them to recover enough MP to use a skill again. Though regardless as it stands they are very powerful, at the time I didn't put in the ASM hack which gave their skills % to hit, but that will be in the next release.

Also I am glad to see you enjoying the character's attitude, character plays immensely into Mercenaries.
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Post by: beawulfx on April 16, 2009, 03:17:20 pm
Well I finally made it through Sweegy with the Longibunne! Took a while to get that darn Dragoon to show up, heh. I encountered a weird bug that I can't imagine is my ISO. I've not done anything differently and in my other videos I noticed nothing strange, maybe I just missed it though. Well anyway, I had Ramza with the Long Sword on and his damage output seemed normal on everybody except the Golden Dragoon. When I hit him it hit for ~174 damage 0_0 Everybody else was in the 40-60s depending on compatibility... And I should have had WORST compatibility with that Dragoon as well, so yeah, I repeat 0_0

I knew that I would inevitably finish him off anyway since he was hitting for ~26 so I was just going to do an attack/body rune chain until he went down, but I was not expecting that obviously. So now I'm a little confused. I'm going to back in again with a different weapon and check the damage on him and with the Long Sword again. I don't know how that would happen to say the least.

Any ideas? I mean I just can't imagine how I made any patching mistakes or anything and I didn't notice any weird sword damage in the other battles but maybe I just missed them...

EDIT:

Here is Mandalia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJSZ8YoGBrM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJSZ8YoGBrM)

and Sweegy;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV0wR5jCk9Y (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV0wR5jCk9Y)

Please if anyone watches'em let me know if you notice any damage formula errors or if this is a standalone error.
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Post by: boomkick on April 16, 2009, 06:25:09 pm
I used a monk in this battle and accumulate. I was doing 100+ per punch after running away a lot. Radiant Claw was a killer too. (I got the Golden Dragoon on the first try! :))
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Post by: Sephirot24 on April 16, 2009, 07:12:13 pm
What's that Golden Dragoon you're all talking about?
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 16, 2009, 07:35:47 pm
He's the host (and holds the ultimate prize) of the Sweegy Woods Showdown fight.  

I figured out the problem though, it's far from apparent and no one else but me could have known it...

You see the Long Sword (or now... Fencing Epee) is Water Elemental, the Golden Dragoon decided to equip a Fire Shield so he got quite unlucky. (The reasoning why it's water elemental is in the description of the Fencing Epee)
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Post by: Sephirot24 on April 16, 2009, 07:47:15 pm
Oh, now that I saw the video I remember him from the Mercenaries preview Arch uploaded long ago.
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Post by: Smitson on April 16, 2009, 09:25:12 pm
Hey LD, I got two questions. Number one is, where does the demo end? Number two is, does the feedback help you?
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Post by: LastingDawn on April 16, 2009, 09:31:28 pm
The feedback has helped in many ways, indeed. Seeing videos allows me to also see a few things I must have missed, not to mention the text really shows many of my own faults in the project so far (so far a few skills I hadn't noticed as overpowered was... overpowered). The demo ends at Dorter 1, but also it's a skill demonstration , using files past Dorter 1 is highly suggested.
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Post by: beawulfx on April 16, 2009, 10:31:59 pm
Yeah after the Dorter 1 battle you get sent to the formation screen and are left to fight Queklain all alone with Ramza, heh heh.
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Post by: boomkick on April 16, 2009, 11:58:17 pm
Hard unless you can use accumulate a few times and manage to haste yourself AND manage to use medical kits AND manage enough damage before he rapes you with Order!
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Post by: Smitson on April 30, 2009, 11:57:10 pm
Does this have ASM hacks in it? What i'm getting at, is it psp playable? I didn't know what topic to post this in... :cry:
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Post by: LastingDawn on May 01, 2009, 06:58:12 am
Sort of, Dominic said it was plyable, I think... not on WoTL though, just on the PSX emulator for the PSP.