Final Fantasy Hacktics

I'm the GODDAMNED BATMAN!

Seriously odd that you would not bother with the first few weeks of the Box Office and then show up later to support the Theater.  Performed repeatedly, this will do two things: negate the budget of studios a little bit, thus making them think critically about which project to finance (and how much, which will erode overall quality even though there are theoretically "better" stories that come out), and then in a trickle-down effect, the theaters make less than before due to the fact that later projects will not be on the same par as so-called Golden-Age-Five-Years-Ago Hollywood, which makes the audience leery of shelling out cash to see them.  And then the concessions get jacked up beyond belief.  Again.

In other words, Boycotting an entertainment medium destined for home distribution anyway (because some people like my family doesn't give a rat's fuck about theaters to begin with but will watch movies on occasion, and I bet we're not alone in this sentiment) won't send any kind of message.  Even though money corrupts, it buys you what is needed to finish a job and finish it well.  You want them to make movies on a lesser budget?  Go to see movies made on a lesser budget.  Duh.  If there is one thing everyone must learn out of any of this, it is that you can devise some very low-budget awesomeness by knowing where to put whatever money you have.  It's not what you tell, it's how you tell it.

It's nice these people want Hollywood to catch on, but they're better off getting a screenplay designed to be made on a budget approved and then having it sell several times more than the budget, from advertising to production.  It's a matter of dodging wrenches.  If they have the intelligence to organize a boycott and coordinate with people about it, then they can produce or pen a fucking movie.  It doesn't take much.

You know all those people driving around with their headlights on in broad daylight just because they think it makes them safer?  You know what would be fun?  To smash head-on into a guy like that, just to prove the idea doesn't work.

The GIFT effect.  Anonymity transforms people into savages.  We all wear masks.

I knew it couldn't be because the Lea Monde region of whatever was never something discussed in the original Vagrant Story.  Also, the role of Germonique or whatever was not of a mercenary, but a covert agent serving the empire.  Also, Ajora born in Bervenia of Lesalia and would have little likelihood of ever showing up in Lea Monde since, as the designers put it, had no intention of being part of the whole Ivalice gig and was only referred to for kicks, not a substantial device.  Valiant Saga sounds too pretentious a title.

It comes to conclude that we're better off designing such a game ourselves and not waiting for either uncaring corporate bodies or pernicious trollers to fuck with us forever.

You mean they're repeats of the Black Magic elemental spells?  Why not make a gun that hits for 0 but always casts the spell instead?  The randomness was fun, but if it takes up nine slots, then that's a waste of time.  I don't even like to use Elemental Firearms to be quite honest.  It's much easier with standard firearms, considering elemental weaknesses are, for some reason, unheard of.

What kind of help?  Considering this is now an incomplete project with the desire to reconfigure everything, I guess I should volunteer for something.  I've been beta-testing all along, but if there is something more concrete you'd like me to do, let me know.

I should have clarified that my objective was to create a hack version that would bring everybody's Level to 99 from the git-go, and restructure all the equipment that once worked only with low-level characters into comparable gear with unique, peculiar effects.  Units would have stats comparable to Level 99 in the regular game.  In the context of the regular game, where levels are from 1 to 99, this hack is inappropriate.

In the context of everyone being 99 from the start, that's another matter.  Considering that most hacks make Deep Dungeon require Level 99 to begin with, the proposition that you only use rare or high-tier equipment when inside is just banal in my mind.  If you were 99 from the start, the only thing you'd worry about is getting JP for Abilities. 

The idea of capping Speed based on initial stats of the character should work both ways: half for minimum, one-and-a-half for maximum.  If that exists, I'm for it for regular level growth games, but I would hesitate to apply it in the LV99 case.

Thanks for the input.  I'll also have to consider Ability Charge Time as well.

Why would a foreign entity be developing such a pivotal make-or-break landmark title in a tight-knit story arc made by No-Export-For-You-Happy Japanese types?  Give me a break.

We're almost better off congregating together and designing our own fucking game.

I will play one of those games if I thought the game mechanics were better than good, which is why I still play a couple.  But there are moments where I will ram my head into the wall if I don't have the option to nix an annoying lead character.  If you have the option to switch the punk out and create a dream team, then it doesn't matter how many you got.

Of course, I'm with people on mature characters.  I can't stand how in FFVII people's ages are far, far too damned young to be even thinking about a military career.  According to official timeline, Cloud left for Midgar at fourteen and Zack at around thirteen.  In VIII, it's passable considering the story is supposed to be far-fetched and not well-thought out (it's a story with romance as its main theme, just how rational can you get with that going on?).  But I cross the line when you plant characters designed to appeal to a younger audience despite its extreme thematic inconsistency.  Ivalice and Valendia are grown-up sandboxes.  That whole first chapter in Tactics was a fucking flashback.

But yeah, like I said: it's the game that makes the deal.  Playing Tactics is still cool even if the story is also reasonably cool (still a few undying criticisms of that I won't care to mention).  But X takes it too far, even with a decent game system, and then XII takes one step forward with story and two steps backward with casting.  So, who here wants to consider building a game from scratch?

The prospects of that, however, fluctuate with the designers' ability to correctly program and double-check everything they put into the game, because even though the game is intrinsically fun and addictive, there's a community dedicated to hacking the source code to death for good reason.  It begs to wonder if designers--whether the game turns up a profit or not--secretly regret the execution that their creations had underwent.  That would necessitate the attempt towards a sequel, if just to vindicate oneself of all the mistakes done the first time.

This one is simple.  It would also kill off everyone's criticisms of Speed Save/Adrenaline.  I noticed long ago that Speed can be revved up to 50 and that Power and Magic get to 99 apiece.  Now, I've noticed a lot of people who will short-change or even remove abilities that have anything to do with boosting Speed to eleven.  It has much to do with how the game operates, how the CT for Spells are written in stone, and how much of a cheat it is to go faster than an enemy (I've done it before on Bosses in Vanilla; I'm guilty of this as well).

But with people getting rid of and taking away at the expense of players, isn't it a little odd that nobody has delved into the game data to actually adjust these maximums and minimums?  Is it hard-coded or what?  There is the effect that, if you equip gear that boosts these amounts, then you can't reduce it to beyond that +1, but if there was a minimum cap of 5, let's say, and then a maximum cap of 15, 17, or 20, then we'd have less abuse.  I'm gunning for 17 myself.  Either way, is it possible?

I would fly with this.

Another idea would be to randomize theft with a single ability to steal one or another or another or another.  Then again, I'm not sure if you'd suddenly start resisting each attempt because of the formula (e.g. when multiple status effects are featured, you're immune to a couple, and then it flags the one you're immune to, thus causing a undocumented miss chance).

Capturing dead corpses' gear seems rudimentary.  However, it should happen in reverse: enemy units might pounce if other options are unattractive.  If it doesn't, then we have an ability that's one-sided and favoring the player and not the computer.

Should this go forward, flag it so the AI bandits will pilfer an enemy's gear, providing an incentive to stay alive.  Another issue is Safeguard, or whether you really want to unflag "Stolen" from its immunities.  By extension, would a Knight be able to desecrate a corpse's gear posthumous-like?

Thanks.  It doesn't affect Perform.  Better than nothing.

Talk Skill, Physical beneath 100% success, and Spells beneath 100% success.  Killer.

At least now everybody can wear a ribbon.  I've always figured females were easier to handle by virtue of that fact.

There should be a change log or master document that describes everything we should expect from the game, in case anything gets switched around a great deal.

With a single Sex running the show, that puts the extreme Zodiac compatibility into question.  Will it work as usual?  If so, then nobody should be given the shot of high-octane hits and effects.  It will be halved instead.

Glaring fan-service aside, will there be a concrete, plausible tale behind the incidence of females in the game?  And if that's the case, shouldn't any incidents or graphics featuring males (i.e. the Bar, Shop, Dispatch Office, and Black Market) be redone just like the Title screen?  There are three versions of three of them, then two of the last.  Massive sprite reworking must be conducted before the cinemas look passable.  In any case, that's a load of work.

It's also a load of awesomeness.  Keep it up and be sure to request something specific if you need help.

That's a lot of code to cover.  Is there a way to cross-reference or diagnose code errors or glitches in a side-by-side comparison of console processing and game code?  You know, show everything in green until a piece of errant code turns up red, meaning the computer has trouble with it?

The Knight's multifaceted "Precision" Support Ability makes Thieves, Engineers, Oracles, and possibly Sages into total bad-asses.  From my understanding, it raises the percentage of skills and effects that have a chance of failure.  Standard attacks do not, unless Direct or Magic Evasion are taken into account.

So, how many Command Abilities or just abilities are affected by this thing?  I understand condition effects are covered, but I was wondering about other abilities like Perform.  Are the Perform Abilities with chance of success covered as well?

Neither have I.  That's interesting to note, then.  I suppose if we tried remaking Summon Magic to deal status effects, it would be wise to add that feature so there would be at least some manner of possible drawback.  I bet Summon Magics now use the same formula as Galaxy Stop.

That would be sick if Elidibus used Galaxy Stop; no zodiac similar to his!

Bug report:

It's not listed, but I'm glad to know Stigma Magic cures Blood Suck.  I don't think Vanilla allowed that little loophole, but with the way the Vampire Cat had a 64% chance against my Time Mage one day, I'm glad to have tried it.

At Germinas Peak, during the Black Mage vs. White Mage brawl, one Black Mage used Basic Skill's Dash despite having Item as a set optional command ability.  By extension, several Black Mages had Chakra as an ability despite not having Punch Art set.

Now I remember the incidences better: Deep Night appears to fail every single time against characters with the same zodiac as the caster.  My Bone Snatch, being a Leo, always fails to strike characters who are also Leo with Deep Night.  That might be why those ninjas were avoiding my hits all the time.

While contemplating the possibility of conjuring up a mod, I have always considered bringing characters to Level 99 from the start, so everyone is on the same page, and rearranging everything about the game's standard arsenal to reflect this change (so even simple daggers have ups and downs when against other weapons).  The trick then would be the Class Levels; having eliminated standard Level progression ala Dome's FFT+, Class Levels would serve to determine a character's worth, mostly in determining what abilities are available.  Prices and qualities would also fluctuate, and getting to Level 8 for whatever reason would be the game's only true source of grinding, outside of cash accrual.  But there needs to be something functional behind acquiring Level 8, and I wish to involve the Class's own abilities into this fold.

Essentially, is it possible to make it so that Class Levels themselves determine not just the miniscule amount of JP acquired, but also affect the power or effectiveness of Action Abilities from that Class?

For example, the Knight's Breakage techniques operate on a fixed formula that adds Power to the equation.  Can we make a formula that starts at 34 and then adds 6 per level (from 40 to 82) percent?  Essentially, Job/Class Level becomes a variable that improves the character's ability effectiveness.  The same principle could also be applied when computing Character Evasion; the Knight starts with 4 but ends with 25 (3 per level).  By extension, is it even possible to add character magical evasion, regardless if the above notion is impossible?

In any case, I'm betting we're talking about something hard-coded and requiring more than just traditional patchwork.  I'm aware of that, at least.  I'm open to interpretation and feedback, including an honest "no" if need be.

Strange--I have been using Draw Out sporadically but often enough to notice (more than twenty times, enough to have a blade break at least once), and there have not been Broken notices, or even lost articles.  I still have the same two Kiyomori blades since I bought (found?) them and find they have yet to break under my Hell Knight/Netherseer's care.  So, the ASM still works for me as well.  It might have to do with patching a patch, you know: carelessly adding a patch to what has already been patched.  Make a copy of the original vanilla ISO and then patch the new version to that.  There may be unknown conflicts erupting from a simple human error.  Also, I'm using ePSXe since psxfin won't even let me play the patched version.

Only so long as the artist performing the changes will also perform artwork on the special animations of characters, that cause all the color palette glitches during cinemas, would I ever incorporate new sprites into an old game.  You know, like when you change the Knight graphics and during the Sand Rat Cellar battle, two of the sprites regress to original artwork and look like animated shit?  I saw enough of that in Celdia's Complete Patch and others to seriously reconsider playing them through.  We still have to deal with the Balmafula/Onion Knight glitch effect during several cinemas featuring her.

I understand the chief objective behind Plus was to gut and balance the game itself while retaining the original art assets and general play and tone of Vanilla--just tougher and more refined, with additional, optional challenges.  I recall you rescinded the idea to rename the Archer into the Ranger, even though the Archer now has the "Train" Support Ability (so creatures may be recruited).  It was an effort made to appease anybody who thought that renaming that class was a move against staying true to the original, thus contradicting the project's premise to recreate Tactics in a more playable format.  Ergo, I am on the side that you should not use modified Generic Class Sprites.

If, however, you decide to incorporate them, I suggest the following: consult with Xelodoran and request specific modifications for the Class Changes you wish to incorporate.  That way, you can somewhat guide the art direction for your project.  Of course, that may also require multiple versions from which to choose from, to appease other project heads.  Don't impose if he's unwilling to redo a Class multiple times.  The second bit of advice is to release two patches: one that retains the original artwork, and the other that applies the new skins and palettes.  Neither game should incorporate game elements unique to themselves, unless you want four separate patches.

For now, though, I suggest you continue repairing bugs and tweaking the game to ensure its playability at any rate.  A fancy new character redesign, cross-the-board or just for Generic characters, does not sound like what Tactics Plus was meant to do.  It was a balance/hard-type patch that retained the flavor of the original game.  And so far at least, it's been doing just that.

In other words, don't discuss the other patches--we're not supposed to be competing anyway--and yeah, this edition employs hacks that keep you from....

Hey wait a minute!  This wasn't mentioned before... are you saying that Plus cannot be played on a console?  If not, then what are the culprit hacks responsible for this?  Is it anti-hacking defenses in the consoles themselves, or it is that the consoles cannot correctly read the altered data?