Author Topic: [FF7PC-98] Shalua Rui: A rebalance (0.3)  (Read 46770 times)

Auraplatonic

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance
« Reply #50 on: 2010-03-30 00:46:00 »
all of these rebalance mods sound interesting, but my i suggest a bit of unification? everyone seems to be doing some things the same and other different, but working against each other. Not to sound condescending, but a bit of Team Avalanche spirit could help all of you. I can think of 3 or 4 mods like this around here now, but not a single one gets it "right", or packages multiple levels in a single installer.

I LOVE these mods, but there are too many that are too similar.
Join forces, together you are more powerful than alone.

ps... i will play this mod no matter what action you take ;)

lee


I don't think joining forces is a bad idea but I don't think it would work.  The reason being is that the mods themselves are different and the mod makers are different as well as far as their goals of what they want.  With Hay's mod it is more of just an edit on the monsters to make the game reasonably difficult.    Gjoerulv's mod is really(I mean really) hardcore difficulty with new monsters and bosses.  Bosola is working on new mechanics and spells while also adjusting the difficulty.  For my mod in particular I am not adding any new monsters, spells, or items.  I am changing monster stats, drops, attacks, and changing materia and spells.  There will be the same spells just altered to rebalance them.  A good example would be Beta which will become a Fire/Gravity elemental spell.  This will help curve its overpower and also make sense with its animation.  I want to stay true to the game but also rebalance it, thats why I don't want to add new stuff to it.  I also want to make it interesting and make you incorporate new strategies.  I am making the bosses with strategies to go along with them that you will have to figure out.  I want the boss encounters especially to be memorable because they are just that: bosses.  My hope is that when you play it that it doesn't feel like the same battles you have already been through, but you know that it is still the game you know and love.


Basically what I am saying is that I am always willing to collaborate but I think its good to have different mods because someone may be looking for different things when they look for a mod.


Also, I added patching for FF7.exe to alter the shop prices!  This is another important part of the mod as shops are pretty different.  This will patch any FF7.exe but it will revert it to just a plain 1.02 patch with the new items/prices.  Just use YAMP again to put whatever patches you want, it should work fine.


http://www.mediafire.com/?om22mwja3mj

« Last Edit: 2010-03-30 04:35:17 by Auraplatonic »

Auraplatonic

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance
« Reply #51 on: 2010-04-10 07:44:28 »
Two new videos up!!!

Aps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsNSZiqRzGA

Bottomswell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAVlwNaYDIY



I am pretty much done up to Jenova BIRTH, so I will have that video and a playable version soon.

Timber

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance
« Reply #52 on: 2010-04-10 20:12:18 »
Two new videos up!!!

Aps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsNSZiqRzGA

Bottomswell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAVlwNaYDIY



I am pretty much done up to Jenova BIRTH, so I will have that video and a playable version soon.

Thanks for the update Aura, looks like it's coming along nicely.

Also I dunno how you are encoding your videos, but it looks very strange.
Give Avidemux a try, with x264/AAC/MP4 settings http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/

Auraplatonic

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance
« Reply #53 on: 2010-04-11 04:27:19 »
Two new videos up!!!

Aps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsNSZiqRzGA

Bottomswell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAVlwNaYDIY



I am pretty much done up to Jenova BIRTH, so I will have that video and a playable version soon.

Thanks for the update Aura, looks like it's coming along nicely.

Also I dunno how you are encoding your videos, but it looks very strange.
Give Avidemux a try, with x264/AAC/MP4 settings http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/



Thanks, I'll give it a try.  I'm using camstudio right now, kind of sucks because it records slower than real time.  I am using windows media maker to add in the song, basically just with the default encoding settings.

Auraplatonic

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance
« Reply #54 on: 2010-04-15 18:32:02 »
NEW VERSION RELEASE!  0.2


This takes you all the way to Corel, right before the Gold Saucer. Enjoy!

http://www.mediafire.com/?mymmxzkzzjf


Also, Jenova-BIRTH video is up.  Thanks Timber for the info, I think it looks a bit better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k2956EIRvY


Colonel Ramsay

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance v0.2
« Reply #55 on: 2010-04-15 19:08:03 »
I am also going to make a difficulty mod :)  And maybe we can share ideas at a later date

Nightmarish

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance v0.2
« Reply #56 on: 2010-04-15 20:20:59 »
Looking nice.
In this last run i've been making i've found myself killing bosses almost like regular mobs (until i got the buggy, that is, after that i grinded a bit) so this mod interests me. For starters to the game it might be too much but for veterans it might be fresh new air, since everyone can see people soloing with cloud Ruby weapon (without any materia!!!).

Anyway, it would be nice to add more optional bosses, crystal weapon or pearl weapon for example, with an higher grade of difficulty, but that would demand also a graphic designer and maybe some guy who was able to do some coding to spawn these new mobs in certain areas in a certain time.

obesebear

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance v0.2
« Reply #57 on: 2010-04-16 02:02:46 »
Anyway, it would be nice to add more optional bosses, crystal weapon or pearl weapon for example, with an higher grade of difficulty, but that would demand also a graphic designer and maybe some guy who was able to do some coding to spawn these new mobs in certain areas in a certain time.
Meteor can already do this.  And if you're a hex editing guru (gjoerulv) then it's also possible to do this

Auraplatonic

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance v0.2
« Reply #58 on: 2010-04-16 08:03:50 »
Looking nice.
In this last run i've been making i've found myself killing bosses almost like regular mobs (until i got the buggy, that is, after that i grinded a bit) so this mod interests me. For starters to the game it might be too much but for veterans it might be fresh new air, since everyone can see people soloing with cloud Ruby weapon (without any materia!!!).

Anyway, it would be nice to add more optional bosses, crystal weapon or pearl weapon for example, with an higher grade of difficulty, but that would demand also a graphic designer and maybe some guy who was able to do some coding to spawn these new mobs in certain areas in a certain time.


At least right now my goal for this is not to create new monsters.  Basically I am trying to keep the game the way it is, but balance things around to make all of the things you come across actually useful, and increase the difficulty curve but not crazy high.  A good example of what I have most recently done is try to make Throw more useful by making 4-point shurikens a buyable item at a lower price.  I always thought that throw really wasn't helpful, especially because weapon prices were a bit high.  I wouldn't want to spend forever trying to steal Atomic Scissors either lol.  I actually decreased all weapon prices, but materia and item prices are generally higher and you don't get as much gil from enemies.  Also there is a good variety of combat items you can get at certain shops.  

Of course all of this is subject to change based on testing, so that is where you all come in :P

Meteor can already do this.  And if you're a hex editing guru (gjoerulv) then it's also possible to do this


His hex skills amaze me.  Nightmarish, you should check out his mod, it is a lot of fun and hard, with all the kinds of things you were talking about.


I am also going to make a difficulty mod :)  And maybe we can share ideas at a later date

Just let me know :)

« Last Edit: 2010-04-16 08:05:59 by Auraplatonic »

Nightmarish

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance v0.2
« Reply #59 on: 2010-04-16 09:24:05 »
Also if the HP limit of 9999 is removed in your mod (or you plan to add it to other mods that remove it), there should be more bosses doing over 9000 (!!!) dmg, 1 hit ko, etc.

Timber

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance
« Reply #60 on: 2010-04-16 12:12:00 »
NEW VERSION RELEASE!  0.2


This takes you all the way to Corel, right before the Gold Saucer. Enjoy!

http://www.mediafire.com/?mymmxzkzzjf


Also, Jenova-BIRTH video is up.  Thanks Timber for the info, I think it looks a bit better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k2956EIRvY



Sweet! Wish I had time to test this out :(

Auraplatonic

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance v0.2
« Reply #61 on: 2011-06-06 06:51:40 »
Well, the project is still around.  I have gone through a lot of computer and life issues since the last time I posted.  In any case I still want to try to work on it.  I have many ideas and will be somewhat starting from scratch(not that I had a terrible amount completed anyway :P). 

Some have said that the people making these type of mods should try to get a Team Avalanche type thing going...however at least for me I don't see that as something I would be interested in.  That isn't to say anything against anyone or their mods because I have played other FF7 mods around here and I like the work very much.  I tend to think of it as similar to the D2 modding community where there are several different modifications and they good for just the fact that they are different.  Mods like this have a personal touch and a specific goal.  Many of the mods I have seen choose to add many new bosses, spells, and even change the way the game works in some respects.   I am not opposed to this from the stance as I would play and most likely enjoy it but from the standpoint of how I would modify the game it is not the direction I want to go in. 

Anyway I am just doing this for fun and I figured that I might as well share it with the community just in case anyone was interested.  I will be posting an update in a day or two with my current changelog.  :) 


EDIT:  Here is a list of some of the base changes:

For now I won't alter character stats so much as there will be enough customization with weapons, accessories, and materia.  I'm not 100% happy with the current curves but that is something I will toggle with later. 

My goal is for you to come across 1 of every materia in some way whether it be as treasure or the gold saucer, or if a character comes with it.  Purchasing materia from a shop will be just extra, and it will cost much more because I feel this will allow the player to use other options  such as physical attacks(which will generally be more useful especially early on) and items that have different effects.

I will make items more useful i.e. potions healing a bit more, maybe I will add a mega-potion item as this is nothing new to final fantasy games.

I found that throw materia was pretty useless because weapons cost too much to stock up on in bulk(and stealing is very time consuming), and the damage of throw doesn't really justify that cost.  To make the ability more viable I will make some type of throwing weapon at a cheap cost purchasable in shops.

Speaking of shops there will be some tweaks mostly in costs of materia.  I will gauge other costs as I playtest.

As far as equipment goes I have a couple of thoughts on it, and hopefully some input from the community will help me find the best way to go.  I could just do a general alter of the equipment which really wouldn't change all that much but I was thinking about the concept of initial equipment.  The buster sword and gatling gun are the two initial equipment items that you can't sell because they are story based.  I always found it kind of silly that the weapon that was good enough to be treasured by great members of SOLDIER would be easily outclassed by a mythril sword purchasable at a shop.  With this thought I want my goal to make all equipment more usable, possibly even interchangeable as the game progresses.  Each weapon will have a defined role and will have some use even later on depending on the situation based on stat boosts, materia slots, etc.

I want to make physical attacks more viable which can be achieved a couple of ways: through boosting weapons and making some enemies weak to the weapon "elements" (cut, shoot, etc.)

These are a few of the base changes and I will speak more on enemies later.  I will also update the original post soon to reflect my progress.  Thanks in advance for any input you may have :D
« Last Edit: 2011-06-11 16:37:16 by Auraplatonic »

Auraplatonic

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance
« Reply #62 on: 2011-06-29 22:54:32 »
I have edited the original post of this thread to reflect the current status of the project.

Auraplatonic

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance
« Reply #63 on: 2011-07-18 04:25:31 »
Version 0.3 has been released!!

Check original post  for all the details  :-D

http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=9470.msg128485#msg128485

Auraplatonic

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance
« Reply #64 on: 2011-08-07 01:31:04 »
Back to work. I've been spending a lot of time with my kids since they have been over for the summer but also been thinking about this.  I have made a few tweaks already, increased enemy damage a bit and a few shop edits.

For anyone that has downloaded this, was installation ok?  I am starting to teach myself stuff and something like NSIS may be eventual but I was trying to make something to teach myself and test what I can do.  Also if anyone has any feedback i.e. this is too easy, or too hard let me know.  I am trying to aim for something that is difficult but doesn't make you pull your hair out.  Well, maybe a battle or two I will make that way lol.

For anyone who does start a new playthrough I hope you like the flevel edits.  I am trying to mix it up a bit treasure wise, improving some and changing locations of others.  I am trying to make a good balance where items and materia can be useful simultaneously and not just a couple items getting decent use and spamming magic/summons.


EDIT:  I have made a new video;  all the other video links besides OP in this thread are dead as things changed and new videos needed made. 

Aps battle: http://youtu.be/UzP75GfNsGk
« Last Edit: 2011-08-07 04:40:29 by Auraplatonic »

xLostWingx

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Re: [WIP] Shalua Rui: A rebalance
« Reply #65 on: 2011-08-08 04:28:53 »
I like it.

One of these days everyone is going to complete their rebalance at the same time and the world will explode.