It looks like I may just have a day or two to sit around and work on the project. I am making good progress, but the scene work is tedious and repetitive in some cases. I have many factors to consider when adjusting enemy stats. For enemies that are usually present at x point in the game, it is a bit more straightforward (Edit Formations, Beef up stats, Set Exp/Gil/Items). For enemies that I've transplanted from other points in the game, it is a bit more complex. For instance, I've stuck some SOLDIER 2nds and Death Machines in Sector 6 (where you usually see Hell Houses) and given them stats similar to other enemies for that point in the game - except these two enemies have various multi-attack actions. Each Death Machine blasted me with Matra Magic, then proceeded to 100 needle me twice, THEN W-Machine gun me twice. Basically they performed 2 Multi-Target attacks, then 4 single target attacks. Other enemies at this point in the game attack the player only once, sometimes twice. Therefore, these enemies' stats need to be reduced comparitively speaking (they were meant to be the toughest enemies around at this point, but they are a bit too powerful).
Another factor that I need to pay attention to is what can be won at different points in the game. Seems basic, but certain semi-bosses can give you some excellent items - which in their own right are appropriate for that stage of the game, but once you have 3 of them, or choose to farm them for gil, you can become quite wealthy fairly quickly.
While testing my changes, I've noticed that many battles just aren't tough - but then I ask, "Do I want every single battle to be a challenge?" The answer is no. However, I am hesitant to increase the Exp/Gil/Ap/Item rewards for tougher battles because they are the standard, and the easier battles are the exception. So here it is - about half the random battles will be a moderate challenge. A few random battles will contain semi-bosses of varying difficulities (some semi-bosses that are not too tough, some that are nearly as tough as a boss). The other half of the random battles are there for your benefit - take advatnage of the fact that you can still gain average amounts of Exp/Gil/AP/Items from these enemies, because they are not the only ones lurking around.
I am beginning to experiment with battle stages. Just as with the Hundred Gunner -> Heli Gunner battles, and Hojo ->Helletic hojo -> Lifeform hojo battles - there will be many battles that transition into another battle. I had more to write, but I gtg, I will edit this later.
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Alrite well transition battles work perfectly. Now I have a few thousand more options when it comes to altering this scene.bin. I can basically have any battle transition into any other battle in the game.
Right now I am still just fixing all the little nuisances and whatnots up through Midgar. Mostly just little things (Adjust HPs, Strs, Item Drop rates, Enemy positions in battle). The only major issue I've encountered so far is the Elevator Boss battle ceases to progress if a SOLDIER tries to use a Short Range attack. Two possible fixes - make their attacks long range, or replace the enemies in this battle. FIXED, but otherwise the mod is looking great. I may be posting a new video once I get the fixes taken care of.