Finished latest project: map out Fort Condor. Was kinda fun, but more tricky in some areas than Bone Village (mostly since it involved more variable manipulation, and had some *really* nasty systems I had to go through... you'll see)
So. You first get to access this minigame when you emerge from the Mythril Mines. Fair enough. I'm not going to cover the tactics of the Fort Condor people; they're well documented enough. Let's cover Shinra's tactics instead.
So, how many times do they attack? You'd be surprised. Very surprised.
The attacks are based on our old friend, the Plot Progression Variable. Now, here's a couple of important numbers. You can first visit Fort Condor when the PPV (new acronym for the duration of this post!) is 387. The Huge Materia battle occurs anytime after or at 1102 PPV (the earliest you can actually *get* there for that battle is 1110).
Now. Here's what dictates when Shinra attacks. Shinra will be back ready for another round... if 6 or more ticks have passed since the last battle! Simple, right? However, for ever *70* ticks that have passed since the last battle, they get a free attack, forcing the Fort Condor people to repel them themselves.
Sounds like a lot of battles available. There really aren't. Plot Progression only happens in key locations, and a lot of the time, you can't get back to Fort Condor while you're in the middle of a plot point. Which means there are lots of potential battles you have to skip. However, if you're *sensible*, then you can get back and be able to fight a total of 14 battles (not including Huge Materia battle). How the hell do you manage that? Well, here's the best times to backtrack:
#1: As soon as you get through Mythril Mines
#2: After resting in Junon
#3: After Priscilla shows you how to make Mr.Dolphin jump
#4: After getting the Buggy
#5: After selecting your party for the Gi Caves (YOU MUST NOT CAUSE THE BUGGY TO BREAK DOWN)
#6: After finishing Cosmo Canyon
#7: After meeting Shera in Rocket Town
#8: After getting the Tiny Bronco
#9: After leaving Gold Saucer where Cait Sith gave away the Keystone
#10: After completing the Temple of the Ancients
#11: After awakening the Sleeping Forest
#12: After sleeping in the Forgotten City in Disc 1
#13: After Disc 2 starts
#14: After you get the Highwind
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Okay, back to Shinra's tactics. The minigame gets more difficult the more times you win. Winning includes beating the minigame properly, defeating the Commander, or letting Fort Condor handle it themselves when they have 3000 gil or more. One proviso for that last one: if Shinra attacked one or more times while you're away, the battle you fight when you come back will not include the ones Fort Condor won in the meantime; their wins are only added *after* you beat Shinra's current attack. So if you'd completed Battle 4 the last time you were there, and Shinra attacked twice in your abcense (and Fort Condor had enough gil to repel both of those), you'd return to fight Battle 5, and the next battle in the sequence would be Battle 8.
Note, of course, that if you lose a battle (by the commander defeating you or letting Fort Condor handle it when they have less than 3000 gil), it will count as a loss, and the Battle Counter will not increase.
The difficulty of the battle is Ranked:
Battles 1-3: Rank 1
Battles 4-6: Rank 2
Battles 7-9: Rank 3
Battles 10-12: Rank 4
Battles 13+: Rank 5
The Huge Materia battle is a special case and is considered to be Rank 6.
The Rank of the battle dictates how many enemies will attempt to climb Fort Condor. In addition, you will gain Fire Catapults from Rank 2 battles onwards, and Tristoners from Rank 3 battles onwards.
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Prizes! It's what we all want! However, the Fort Condor battles are stingy. They only give you their prizes if you *beat* the minigame without allowing any enemies to make it to the top. The only condition necessary to beat the game, though, is to destroy all enemies that are *CURRENTLY* on the screen. That means if you can wipe out the first wave quick enough before you get overrun or the Commander shows up, you automatically win!
Anyhow, if you *do* win without being invaded, then you get 200 gil for each surviving ally. And then, you may be given a prize found on the battle field! The prizes depends on the Rank of the battle, and are as follows:
Magic Comb (first time)
Peace Ring (after Magic Comb, win your next Rank 1 Battle)
3 Ethers (after Peace Ring, subsequent Rank 1 Battles)
Megalixir (after Peace Ring, win your first Rank 2 Battle)
5 Hi-Potions (after Megalixir, subsequent Rank 2 Battles)
Super Ball (after Megalixir, win your first Rank 3 Battle)
3 Turbo Ethers (after Super Ball, subsequent Rank 3 Battles)
5 X-Potions (after Super Ball, subsequent Rank 4 Battles)
3 Elixirs (after Super Ball, subsequent Rank 5 Battles)
Note: If you get to Rank 2 before getting Peace Ring, Rank 3 before getting Megalixir or Rank 4 before getting Super Ball... then you can no longer earn prizes for beating Fort Condor properly.
2nd Note: Due to several bugs in the dialog and scripts, the following amusing things happen:
The 3 Ethers are listed as you receiving 3 Tinctures.
The 5 Hi-Potions are listed as you receiving 5 Potions.
The 5 X-Potions are listed as you receiving 3 Elixirs, but the window is too small to see *ANY* text anyways.
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Finally, if you allow the Shinra forces to reach the top of Fort Condor, Cloud's party must repel the invasion themselves. This involves a battle with CMD.Grand Horn. There are three types of CMD.Grand Horn, a L19 one (drops Vagyrisk Claw), a L25 one (drops nothing) and a final L37 one (drops Imperial Guard).
Now, the very first time you fight in Fort Condor, it will automatically be the L19 CMD.Grand Horn. But after that, there are several requirements. Here's the list:
If there are less than three members in your current battle party, you will face the L19 Commander.
Otherwise, if the average level of your battle party is less than 19, you will face the L19 Commander.
Otherwise, if the average level of your battle party is greater than 24, you will face the L25 Commander.
Otherwise, the Commander you face will depend on the Battle Rank and how many enemies you killed before they reached the top:
Battle Rank 1: Always face the L19 Commander
Battle Rank 2: Kill more than 15 enemies to face the L19 Commander, otherwise you get the L25 Commander
Battle Rank 3: Kill more than 20 enemies to face the L19 Commander, otherwise you get the L25 Commander
Battle Rank 4 and 5: Kill more than 25 enemies to face the L19 Commander, otherwise you get the L25 Commander
A few things to note: Aeris does not count when working out the average level of your battle party in this minigame. Having a battle party comprised of a L10 Aeris, L40 Cloud and an L20 Barret would be a three person party with an average level of 30.
Also, in the Huge Materia Battle, you will finally face the L37 Commander.
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Finally. Some useful info for those you guys doing scripting. Compiling all this required me to find out *lots* of PPV values, so here's a list from Mythril Mines to when Cid takes over as leader in Disc 2! (And here's where a large majority of the spoilers are held, so remember: you were warned)
0x183: 387 = Met Turks in Mythril Mines
0x184: 388 = Defeated Bottomswell
0x18A: 394 = After deciding to rest in Junon
0x190: 400 = After Priscilla explains about Mr.Dolphin and the whistle
0x193: 403 = Descend elevator after seeing the Highwind
0x196: 406 = After wearing Shinra Uniform
0x199: 409 = Dismissed after Junon Military Reception (Formation Minigame)
0x19F: 415 = After alarm on Cargo Ship sounds
0x1A6: 422 = Entering Mt.Corel for the first time
0x1AB: 427 = Watching Barret get hit in North Corel
0x1AE: 430 = Corel Flashback
0x1B1: 433 = Boarding the Ropeway
0x1B4: 436 = Exiting the Ropeway
0x1B8: 440 = After Barret runs off in Gold Gate
0x1BA: 442 = Cait Sith joins
0x1BD: 445 = Waking up in Corel Prison
0x1BE: 446 = Barret runs off in Corel Prison
0x1C0: 448 = Beginning of Dyne Flashback
0x1C3: 451 = After Barret watches Corel burn
0x1C6: 454 = After Dyne Flashback
0x1C9: 457 = Barret rejoins party
0x1CF: 463 = After Dyne's suicide, about to ask Mr Coates to go 'up'
0x1D2: 466 = Coates sends you up the elevator
0x1D3: 467 = After the call for the jockeys
0x1D5: 469 = Received the Buggy (Unlocks Cargo Ship travel)
0x1ED: 493 = After leaving Bugenhagen's holographic demonstration
0x1F6: 502 = After selecting your party for the Gi Caves
0x202: 514 = Defeated Gi Nattak
0x20B: 523 = Red XIII rejoins your party (Fixes Buggy as well)
0x217: 535 = Meeting Shera for the first time at the Tiny Bronco
0x21A: 538 = Meeting Cid
0x226: 550 = Shera finishes telling the flashback
0x229: 553 = Cid talks to Rufus
0x22D: 557 = Shera tells Cloud about Palmer
0x236: 566 = Received the Tiny Bronco
0x244: 580 = Cloud accepts Dio's challenge and enters the Battle Arena
0x247: 583 = Received the Keystone
0x24A: 586 = The meeting in the Ghost Hotel
0x24D: 589 = End of the meeting
0x250: 592 = The beginning of the date
0x253: 595 = End of the Gondola Ride
0x256: 598 = Chasing Cait Sith
0x259: 601 = After Cait Sith returns to the Ghost Hotel
0x25C: 604 = Leaving the Ghost Hotel after picking your TotA party
0x261: 609 = After placing the Keystone on the altar
0x264: 612 = After completing the rolling boulder challenge
0x267: 615 = After witnessing Sephiroth stabbing Tseng
0x26A: 618 = Finished talking by the scrying pool
0x26D: 621 = Cloud laughing at the Meteor mural
0x270: 624 = Examining the Black Materia
0x273: 627 = After agreeing to meet Cait Sith at the entrance
0x276: 630 = Cait Sith reaches the mural room
0x27E: 638 = Cloud awakes in Gongaga
0x281: 641 = Barret and Tifa convince Cloud to follow Aeris
0x28C: 652 = The Sleeping Forest awakes
0x298: 664 = Cloud awakes in the Forgotten City
0x29B: 667 = Cloud reaches Aeris at the Water Altar
0x29D: 669 = Cloud feels a sensation on approaching Aeris
0x29F: 671 = Cloud draws his sword
0x2A1: 673 = Defeated Jenova*LIFE
0x2A5: 677 = Scene after Aeris' "burial"
== DISC 2 ==
0x302: 770 = Upon viewing the photograph in Sephiroth's illusion
0x316: 790 = After scene where Hojo witnesses Weapon in Maze Center
0x318: 792 = Start of 2nd Shinra scene in Maze Center
0x31A: 794 = Cloud upside down next to the encased Sephiroth
0x3E7: 999 = The Weapons are unleashed...
0x3E8: 1000 = Entering the Junon Office for first time, heading for execution
0x3E9: 1001 = Entering Junon Branch, 2f for first time, heading for execution
0x3EA: 1002 = Entering Junon Branch, 1f for first time, heading for execution
0x3EB: 1003 = Entering junction (Path 2) for first time, heading for execution
0x3F0: 1008 = After Scarlet puts Tifa in the gas chair
0x3F2: 1010 = After Cait Sith frees Barret
0x3F4: 1012 = After Barret has tried to open the door a few times
0x3F6: 1014 = After Junon panarama of Shinra soldiers at attention
0x3F7: 1015 = Cait Sith joins after suggesting they try another room
0x3F8: 1016 = Sapphire Weapon stands upright
0x3F9: 1017 = Tifa stopped the gas
0x3FC: 1020 = Tifa gets to the name Sister Ray
0x3FE: 1022 = Scarlet catches up with Tifa
0x401: 1025 = Tifa boards the Highwind
0x403: 1027 = After Cait Sith mentions that everyone is waiting
0x405: 1029 = On the cockpit, Tifa notices there's "not enough crew"
0x407: 1031 = Tifa mentions her depression, and wants to see Cloud again
0x409: 1033 = After selecting Tifa's party in the Operation Room
0x44C: 1100 = Outside the Clinic, after Tifa's seen Cloud's condition
0x44D: 1101 = Back inside the Clinic, for Tifa's announcement
0x44E: 1102 = Back on the Highwind after Tifa leaves
0x452: 1106 = Eavesdropping on the Shinra meeting
0x454: 1108 = Outside the Cockpit, Cid as new leader!
0x456: 1110 = After selecting Cid's party in the Operation Room
Enjoy.
