Messages

26

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2021-02-16 05:19:10 »

She also needs Squall to share her issues with him and demands his attention then getting shocked by his complete refusal to relate.

  I know, right!? 
  I worked really hard to broaden the tension between the two of them during that scene. I wanted to give them something more tangible to disagree about, rather than just their feelings for each other, while doing my best to maintaining that same emotional dynamic between them.
  Let me know what you think!

27

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2021-02-16 05:06:48 »

I'm guessing this mod will conflict with Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod, correct?
Looking to play FF8 again, but with some new challenges. Perhaps a new story would be great too.

  In regards to Ragnarok, as I have said before, Succession is compatible with anything that doesn't change the field.fs files. That makes it compatible with almost all graphical mods, and around 85% of Ragnarok.

  I use Ragnarok regularly, and love it, and Succession is compatible with all of the battle related changes, and character/ability/junction changes. But any event related changes (extra battles, quests, item rewards, drawpoints, card locations) are, very sadly, not compatible at this point.

28

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2021-02-16 05:00:08 »

Hey there.
Looking at my original comments on this mod, I sounded like a dick. Sorry.
Did you finish the mod as you intended?

  No worries!  I knew this mod was going to be a little out of the box, and not necessarily what most people were looking for.
  I would definitely say that, for the most part, I have wildly exceeded my own ambitions for this mod. But there are a few small challenges I haven't been able to overcome, and other posters here have done a good job of calling attention to them (and I greatly appreciate it).

[Spoiler:]

29

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2021-01-23 19:02:00 »

@zenebazh Thank you for all the feedback!  I was very excited to hear how much you liked it.

Things I would do differently

Rinoa/Ellone:

Spoiler: show

• Rinoa coming-out as sorceress in FH really cheapens Elliones reveal a lot for me. Its just 1 hour of gameplay between it and it does not give the player and Squall enough time to digest. Up untill Elliones confession we just had heard of evil sorceresses,  thus making Squall now revalue his worldview. It doesnt feel natural for Squall to stay calm and not adressing the matter after discovering that another sorceress is in their midst.
  

  Yes, I agree that, in terms of pacing, those two moments are too close together, and I would have changed that if I could. The problem is that there is no other appropriate moment for Rinoa to share her secret with Squall.

Spoiler: show

  I agree with you that Squall needed more time to re-evaluate his view of sorceresses. I was looking for another scene during disc 2 that would give him that opportunity, but I couldn't find one.
  Also, I never wanted for you to think of Rinoa's reveal as cheap, but I did want it to have less of an emotional impact than for Ellone. Squall idolizes Ellone, and for most of the game, he has much stronger feelings for her than for Rinoa. I wanted to make that contrast very apparent by showing how differently Squall reacts to each person's reveal.
  When Ellone tells Squall she is a sorceress, it shatters his entire conception of her, and forces him to re-evaluate how he sees the world. But when Rinoa tells Squall she is a sorceress, he thinks she's joking.
  At this point in the story, Squall doesn't value Rinoa's safety enough to be worried for her, and he doesn't think highly enough of her to realistically consider her a threat. He is also attracted to her, so he doesn't want to consider actively fighting against her. So, until something changes, he is unsure what to do, and he simply agrees to keep her secret for the time being.
  My goal was to highlight how wrong Squall was to dismiss her when we see her pivotal role in the events of the 3rd and 4th discs. This is especially true since I changed the circumstances surrounding Edea's loss of power. It is now the result of direct action that Rinoa knowingly took in an attempt to 'cure' Edea, rather than Rinoa simply being the victim of bad luck.
  Of course, please let me know if I failed to convey any of that.
(Also, which music did you have for the concert scene? If you chose anything but the full 'Irish Jig', then you got a far more truncated conversation. The 'Irish Jig is the only one that gives Rinoa the chance to argue her case for Squall's support, and it's the one I would recommend achieving.)

Rinoa:

Spoiler: show

• I actually liked how in vanilla the player can only guess Rinoas sorceress status after the Battle of the gardens but is still left in the dark untill she finally tells us at the Raganrok. You already put a lot of hints in your rewrite which would make the vanila reveal more natural and coherent already, without losing the arc of anticipation it already had.

  I'm afraid I may be misunderstanding you, but I'll add this for the sake of clarity.

Spoiler: show

  In the original game, no one is a sorceress until they inherit powers from another sorceress. Rinoa did not become a sorceress until the Garden battle, when she gained Edea's power. One of the most significant changes my mod made was to make Rinoa (and every other sorceress) a sorceress from birth.
  That is why I wasn't able to wait until the Ragnarok scene to reveal Rinoa's nature, because in my mod, her entire motivation throughout her life hinges on her being a sorceress, and suffering a massive guilt complex as a result. Unlike the original, I worked really hard to ensure that Rinoa was more than a mere 'damsel in distress'. I really hope I was able to properly convey that.
  What I had hoped to bring to culmination in the Ragnarok was far more than the revelation that Rinoa was a sorceress. I wanted to show her sense of despair that she could never live a normal life because of her 'curse'. This was a fear that had been plaguing her since she was a child, when she first discovered she was a sorceress. After seeing the problems she had caused in space (and elsewhere), she finally gave up hope. And this provides a much more personal sense of justification for her willingness to sacrifice herself for 'the good of the world'.
  I think this is by far the most impactful change to the story that I've made, especially considering how vacuous her vanilla character was. But since I haven't received any particular compliments for it, I'm starting to wonder if I utterly dropped the ball in trying to elevate Rinoa's story.

White SeeDs:

Spoiler: show

• Overcomplicating the White Seeds origin. I dont see any contradictions with them being dispatched by Edea to keep Ellione safe. This explains much better why Laguna wasn't abel to find her again. Instead of thinking she is dead.

  Yup. I'm glad you mentioned this. I didn't see a contradiction either, at first. While it doesn't create a contradiction for the plot, it does create a massive contradiction for the motivations for certain characters, namely Edea and Laguna. And please forgive me ahead of time, because this will be a bit long.

Spoiler: show

  For Edea, there is no contradiction in the original game. She met Squall in the past, and therefore began making plans to create an army that would be able to defeat her at some point in the future. Perfectly fine.
  But in my mod, Time Compression isn't a thing, and she never meets Squall in the past. Without meeting Squall, there is no good reason why Edea would ever strive to create an army to defeat her, especially given the changes I made to her backstory with Cid and the orphanage. I didn't intend this. It was just one of several unintended consequences of removing Time Compression. But it meant that I also had to change where Ellone's protectors came from.

  And for Laguna, the vanilla game has one glaring character contradiction that (in my opinion, at least) is easily as bad, if not as obvious, as the amnesia.
  Why did Laguna ever stop looking for Ellone?
  Please imagine a scenario with me. As a child, you had a father who loved you. But when you were five, he decided to send you off to live with your mother, and you never heard from him again. Then your mother passed away, and you were forced to live in an orphanage until you became an adult. Years later, you discover that he has been the president of Japan for FIFTEEN YEARS. When you ask him what he's been doing with his life, and why he never bothered trying to find you, he says this:

"Your mother was dead.
 You were missing.
 My job kept me busy."

"I was left here thinking
 about this and that
 and before I knew it,
 all this time had passed."

  THIS is how Laguna attempts to justify his utter complacency to Squall. Laguna had become the president of the most powerful country in the world, and yet he couldn't be bothered to divert any resources into continuing to look for his surrogate daughter, the girl he had already traveled across the entire world in order to rescue.
  Somehow, for over fifteen years, he couldn't be bothered to find the time or the money to have someone ask around Winhill in order to discover that Raine had died while pregnant with his child, something that every other member of Winhill most likely knew, or to find out where the kids were sent after Raine passed. I personally have the resources to hire someone who could do that for me right now, and I'm not even the president of a small country, yet.
  This, in my opinion, is not only a contradiction in Laguna's character, it is a ridiculous plot contrivance which only exists to allow the rest of the events of the story to take place.
  Laguna needed a far more definitive reason to stop looking for Ellone. That's why he had to think she was dead.

  I admit that how I accomplished this may be overly complicated, and even contrived, but at least it doesn't allow Laguna to remain a dead-beat father who was apparently indifferent to causing Squall and Ellone significant abandonment issues. Issues that serve as one of the defining aspects of both their characters for the entire game.

Ultimecia/Time Compression:

Spoiler: show

• Your other big rewrite is the Time Compression. Besides the poor execution and explaination, I hadn t such a huge problem with that aspect from vanila, though I understand why others had.
   I like your concept of this ancestor-sorceress power source (reminds me of the Bene Geseritt in Dune), but the way you deal with Ultimecia actually worsens the problem people had with her to begin with. I get that you wanted to keep it ambigous with what she actually is, which would have worked in good Final Fantasy Tradition of a bizarre looking diabolo-ex machina. But she has a very distinct design that gets introduced earlier in the game, which makes it unsatisfying that she is just a personigication of a hive mind. Making her a witch of the past makes more sense with the final dungeon and Ellione junctioning them to the past. Question would still linger why she choose to intervine now? Was she already controling Adel? Was Edea the first who was weak enough to succumb to her? Does the discovery of the lunatic pandora affected it? Pushing Ultimecias introduction by Edea at the start of disc 3 to Odyne at the end is might the reason the explanation feels so cramped

  I think I agree with your first point. I don't have a problem with Time Compression as much in theory as I do with how it was explained and implemented. (Though, as a rule, I would try to avoid time travel in any story unless it was a story specifically about time travel, because otherwise it invariably becomes deus ex machina.)

Spoiler: show

  I definitely agree about how cramped it feels at the very end. It was and continues to be my greatest disappointment with my mod. I had originally intended to keep Ultimecia's reveal where it was, with Edea's scene at the start of disc 3. But I wanted to offer more information about Seifer and the Lunatic Pandora, as well as focus the scene on Rinoa's plight and Squall's reaction to it. I think this was a very good decision, especially considering how much praise I've received for that scene specifically.
  But, in order to keep THAT scene from getting too cramped, I had to push back discussion of Ultimecia all the way to Odine. This is because the plot moves at lightning speed as soon as you get to Esthar. This is great for pacing, but awful for establishing a final villain to an epic tale. This was just as much of an issue with the vanilla story, given how poorly Ultimecia was explained by Edea in the first place. My struggle in this area exposes the structural problems that already existed in the original story.
  What I really want is an extra scene with Odine and Edea discussing sorcery, right after they get to Esthar, before they go to space. (I still don't see any justification for why Squall was allowed to take Rinoa to space in the first place. It was a waste of resources and an obvious danger to everyone. Practically speaking, Rinoa and Edea should have been confined and monitored until Laguna and Ellone returned. And Odine should have used that time to study them both and explain everything he knew to Squall. Of course, then we wouldn't have had all that fun in space.) Unfortunately, I have to work with what we have, not what would I wish for.
  I've got another idea. Would you be willing to accept a data log entry at Squall's desk that explains everything in detail? (Just kidding!)

  I am working on a revision of Odine's monologue, and I'll release it as soon as I am able. And thanks again for all the very astute feedback!  It's been highly valuable, and has helped me clarify my perspective.

30

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2021-01-08 18:27:02 »

Wow.

I finished FFVIII and it was fantastic with your mod.

I have to admit that I'm happy I used it. I was watching my GF play through the rest of the game, and whew.
It's just... not as good as yours. So thanks for the amazing experience. I'll never forget it.

  Thank you so much!  I knew this mod would be a little out of the ordinary. I'm very glad to hear that you enjoyed it.

[Spoiler:]

31

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-27 22:17:33 »

Spoiler: show

I can't really think of an explanation either, aside from (1) Rinoa saving his life (2) Edea spares his life to extract information or (3) Squall is dead theory. It's a tough one. Maybe #2 is Occam's razor.

  I just updated Seifer's dialogue in the cell with Squall, right after Squall wakes up. I sort of took the approach of option 2, not because Edea needs information, but in light of the offer Seifer makes Squall. It's not a full explanation, more of a throw away line that avoids the 'how' in favor of answering the 'why'. It feels like a bit of a concession, but I'm trying to work with what I've been given.

Spoiler: show

Seifer
”Squall...?  What's wrong?
 Haven't you recovered, yet?“
Seifer
”Are you surprised to be
 alive?“
Seifer
”The Sorceress made sure
 to avoid a fatal blow.“
Seifer
”Trust me, if she had wanted
 you dead, you would be.“
Seifer
”You're not entirely useless
 to her...at least, not yet.“

Seifer
”Take him!“

32

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-27 18:59:11 »

I'd be open to a version of the mod where you do all the changes you want even if it is incompatible with other mods, just saying  The only mod I ever use is the music mod so to play your rewrite exactly as you wanted it to be would be amazing

  That's tempting, but it would really be less than a dozen lines at most, and the only plot critical ones would likely be from Ultimecia at the end of the game. Probably not worth anyone's time. Making a version for the Remaster, and a fully compatible Ragnarok version, are far higher on my list.

33

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-27 18:53:17 »

@dillez
  In regards to Ragnarok, as I have said before, Succession is compatible with anything that doesn't change the field.fs files. That makes it compatible with almost all graphical mods, and around 85% of Ragnarok.

  I use Ragnarok regularly, and love it, and Succession is compatible with all of the battle related changes, and character/ability changes. But any event related changes (extra battles, quests, item rewards, drawpoints, card locations) are, very sadly, not compatible at this point.
 
  I do, however, plan to soon release a compatibility version of Martial Law. It is a re-balanced version that plays well with Ragnarok. It is the version I currently use.

34

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-27 18:47:56 »

@FatherMcKenzie
 I've just uploaded the latest update, which includes all of your corrections!

35

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-20 17:14:37 »

@goat
 You're right, but two things can be true at the same time. Quistis desperately wants to be Squall's friend, but she sees it as a means to an end. Friendship is her stepping stone to romance, and she's looking for both from Squall.

  Also, I meant to point out that Quistis suffered from her own sense of isolation as a result of her being such an exceptional student. This feeds into her need for a friend she can confide in. (Something you clearly picked up on.)  In the Orphanage Flashback scene, when she spoke of growing up with Seifer, I wanted to imply that it was something she and Seifer shared. And as she grows closer to Squall, she keeps asking him to meet her on that level. But despite her pleas, that's just not the type of person Squall is.

  My goal was to establish that the two of them had a long history of Quistis making advances on Squall, and him routinely dismissing them, leaving her perpetually 'friend-zoned'. Tragic, I know, but that's her story.

  And let me know if you think I failed to properly convey any of that. I'm always a little concerned about the balance between being too subtle and being too obvious, given the nature of the medium and the uniqueness of the project.

[Spoiler:]

36

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-20 02:59:32 »

QUESTIONS:

Spoiler: show

-The removal of the "Time Compression" subplot and the addition of "Succession" is well done. (Time compression is still referenced in the battle text of Ultimecia's final form, though.)
If I am understanding correctly: Succession is a collective consciousness of all past sorceresses that they can junction to in order to harness their power. As sorceresses die out, their knowledge is added to the Succession which becomes collectively more powerful and presumably more irresistable/innate in future sorceresses. Sorry if I missed this: Is Ultimecia an embodiment of the Succession herself? Or is she just the most powerful user of it?
-Did you change any dialogue in the Shumi Village sidequest? I skipped it, but if you did make any changes, I'd like to see.
-You skillfully filled almost all the major plot holes and replaced weak plot devices from the original, but there's still a couple that stick with me:
--How did Squall not die after getting impaled in Deling? Did Rinoa heal him with her Sorceress powers?
--After the final battle, Squall visits Edea from the past and witnesses Ultimecia transfer her powers to Edea, completing a Grandfather paradox loop. This time, however the cycle is broken and Succession is finally ended(?) Do we know why this particular time, it's different?
--Are Ultimecia and Rinoa the same person? I know this is a fringe theory and if you don't agree with it, no worries. If not, who is Ultimecia and how did she come to be the most powerful sorceress with control over all of the other sorceresses throughout time? (Sorry if this was explained)

(Time compression is still referenced in the battle text of Ultimecia's final form, though.)

I know. If I wasn't more interested in making this mod as compatible as possible with gameplay mods, I would absolutely change ALL battle dialogue.

-Did you change any dialogue in the Shumi Village sidequest? I skipped it, but if you did make any changes, I'd like to see.

  Not at all. It's at the bottom of my list, right below rewriting random NPC dialogue in other towns and cities. (Which will likely never happen.)

Spoiler: show

--How did Squall not die after getting impaled in Deling? Did Rinoa heal him with her Sorceress powers?

  I still haven't come up with a way of explaining this, at least, not without coming off sounding pathetically contrived. Especially because I couldn't find an appropriate place to insert an explanation that wouldn%u2019t be obviously out of place. So, as of now, I guess it wasn't as bad as it looked, and Seifer just laughs it off as an inside joke for the players. (Feel free to reply if you have an idea for how, and especially WHERE I would insert such an explanation. I'm at a loss.)

Spoiler: show

--If I am understanding correctly: Succession is a collective consciousness of all past sorceresses that they can junction to in order to harness their power. As sorceresses die out, their knowledge is added to the Succession which becomes collectively more powerful and presumably more irresistable/innate in future sorceresses. Sorry if I missed this: Is Ultimecia an embodiment of the Succession herself? Or is she just the most powerful user of it?
--After the final battle, Squall visits Edea from the past and witnesses Ultimecia transfer her powers to Edea, completing a Grandfather paradox loop. This time, however the cycle is broken and Succession is finally ended(?) Do we know why this particular time, it's different?

  I had always wanted to be a bit open-ended in the conclusion, but I should have realized that an effective resolution would depend on knowing EXACTLY what happened. I was hoping that Squall's discussion with 'Edea' at the very end would offer sufficient exposition, but that dialogue is on a timer, and I couldn't add nearly as much as I had originally wanted.
  It's clear from your feedback that I should work on Odine's monologue. Our understanding of the entire conclusion rests on his explanation of the events that are to follow. This was a big problem with the vanilla plot, and it's obviously a struggle for me to overcome. Odine's monologue is already very long and very dense, and I'm not super excited that I may need to make it even longer.
  I'll work on making Odine more confident in his conclusions, and more explicit about what he knows. I think this is the only way the player will get all the necessary information.

--Are Ultimecia and Rinoa the same person? I know this is a fringe theory and if you don't agree with it, no worries. If not, who is Ultimecia and how did she come to be the most powerful sorceress with control over all of the other sorceresses throughout time? (Sorry if this was explained)

  Unfortunately, I emphatically reject both popular fan theories, 'Squall is dead' and 'Rinoa is Ultimecia'. This is mainly out of respect for the original work and its authors, but also because there isn't any obvious way of interpreting the original in that way, without torturing it to death. I do, however, find both ideas fascinating, and if Nojima had actually intended them, or even approve of them in any way, I may have tried to incorporate them both.
  Regarding Ultimecia's origin, I had always meant for it to be a bit mysterious, primarily because I didn't really see a way for anyone to ever learn the truth. (I guess I'll probably have to write that Odine learned that information from Adel, too). I never really decided on one interpretation over another, and I think that at a certain point, it becomes a distinction without a difference. But I had hoped that by providing a certain amount of explanation, while still leaving it open-ended, it would retain an intriguing sense of mystery.
  Perhaps I was wrong. I should have figured that, given my limited opportunities to provide exposition, as well as the unique nature of such a rewrite in general, that I should avoid any open-ended interpretations altogether. I seems like it may only lead to confusion and dissatisfaction for the player.
  Side note:

Spoiler: show

  In one particular sense, you could actually say that Rinoa is Ultimecia. But that is only to the same extent that all sorceresses are Ultimecia. Since Ultimecia has a certain amount of control and influence over the will of all sorceresses, she lives vicariously through them. But this is, of course, a far cry from Rinoa's fan theory, and does not rely on any time travel, or sorceresses that can live forever.

[Spoiler:]

37

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-20 02:36:08 »

@FatherMcKenzie
Thank you SO much for all of the feedback!  I have never felt so encouraged that all the time spent on this mod was worthwhile. And thank you for all the corrections. I am already working on the next update.

  The greatest limitation I have had when adding any new content is finding a scene that justifies it. Some scenes seem almost originally designed for the changes I've made, like Rinoa's fall during the Garden battle, or why Rinoa has an Odine Bangle in the first place. But many ideas were not nearly that easy. Within my notes is a long wish list of things (which includes what you've mentioned) that there simple wasn't any room for. I'm actually amazed that I was able to add as much of my list as I did.

THINGS I'D HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY

Spoiler: show

-Quistis' romantic dimension: I understand it was hard finding spots to inject new dialogue. The only real quality one-on-one time with Squall & Quisty happens in the early game [Intro, Fire Cavern, Training Center]. I was wondering if there was any more spots where Quistis could have made her feelings for Squall (and Rinoa jealousy) known, but there aren't many to choose from after the Training Center scene. I enjoyed Dr. Kadowaki's dialogue during Rinoa's B Garden tour where the Doc hinted at Quistis' feelings toward Squall. The CCGroup dialogue is good, but I might consider using that one final opportunity to have more of a heart-to-heart with Squall and let her feelings be known (and perhaps how she's accepted that she can't have him).
-It seems you've removed Rinoa's mention of a relationship with Seifer. To me, that added another interesting facet of drama to the story. I would have left it in and even expanded it. Perhaps Seifer could have taunted Squall about Rinoa, how he was "more of a man," etc. Squall might question if Rinoa still has feelings for Seifer... There's a few opportunities for some custom dialogue like when Rinoa is in the party during the G Garden showdown with Seifer/Edea.
-The game pretty much acknowledges that Squall is Laguna's son, but Squall and Laguna don't ever address the elephant in the room. This is a HUGE development just to be left hanging out there with no formal acknowledgement between the characters themselves. That just always kind of irked me. Squall's mixed feelings at meeting his father for the first time would provide a interesting new dimension in the story.

Quistis:

Spoiler: show

  Trust me, I feel your pain. If I were actually writing my own fan fiction, I may have made a Mass Effect style 'choose your own adventure', where you could pick Rinoa or Quistis. Or perhaps I would have removed Rinoa altogether. But that's not why I'm here.
  I'm looking into the CC match dialogue (which is actually another monologue, unfortunately, since Squall never says anything back), and I'll do what I can. The challenge is that you can complete it whenever you want, so I'll have to be sufficiently vague. Keep in mind that she effectively only has 3 lines to work with, and you'll have to win against her to get them. Expect something like my recent Fire Cavern change, a noticeable improvement, perhaps, but nothing monumental.
  Also, don't forget Quistis' dialogue with Squall on the Ragnarok, after they get back from space. That's meant to be the moment where she concedes that Squall will never be happy choosing her over Rinoa. It's not as emphatic as I would have liked, but that's the only manditory scene with the two of them that I can think of after disc 1.

Rinoa/Seifer:

Spoiler: show

  Yes. I gave their minor love triangle situation a lot of thought before finally rejecting it. While it does add another layer to the drama, it ultimately falls in the same category as the amnesia. It isn't a bad idea, but it needed far more development in order to justify its inclusion. It was simply one more thing that took precious screen time away from the core elements of the plot. Like the amnesia, it was far more advantageous to cut it out, than to develop it into something good.
  One of the main challenges to making their relationship believable is that we don't get a chance to see Seifer behaving as someone who would merit Rinoa's affection. If she liked the person we see as Seifer, it would be an indictment of either her character, or her intelligence, or both. And one of my biggest concerns with Rinoa was how to make her more sympathetic. Having her inexplicably fall for Seifer was a very bad way of achieving that goal.

Laguna:

Spoiler: show

  I couldn't agree with you more!
  The more time I spend with this story, the more it becomes painfully clear that, during development, they had to rush disc 3 and 4 a lot in order to finish on time. (For example, I have a suspicion that the Deep Sea Research Facility was originally intended to be the place where they recovered the Lunatic Pandora from the ocean.) And when cutting, the first things to go were the Laguna flashbacks. Think of how much story Laguna has to dump on Squall at the very end of the game.
  My point is that I think they had originally wanted to develop Squall and Laguna's relationship far more. But since they didn't, there aren't even any scenes to rewrite. This is, again, one more interesting idea that has no scenes to support it. Like with Quistis, I need at least one scene where Laguna and Squall sit down alone and have a chat. When you find that scene, I promise to take a month rewriting it for you.
  Also, did you get a chance to talk to Laguna in the Ragnarok after he gives his speech? If you do, Laguna will actually tell Squall that, if Squall survives, he has something he needs to get of his chest, and that the two of them should have a long talk. This assumes that Squall still doesn't realize what Laguna is talking about.
  While I wasn't able to write the scene we wanted, I was able to allude to the fact that the two of them would eventually get that scene sometime in the future.

38

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-16 19:32:51 »

@Kandy_Man
  For the Fire Cavern scene, Quistis is no longer trying to flirt with Squall. Instead, she’s nagging him with advice, and Squall becomes visibly upset with her.

  I believe this fits the tone much better, and is in harmony with her repeated and overbearing tutorials. Especially because it should be assumed that Squall doesn't actually need these tutorials (like how to use his own gunblade), even if a first-time player does.

  Let me know what you think!

39

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-16 19:13:31 »

@HeavensFury
  Thanks! I just uploaded another update, which includes my correction of the Fire Cavern scene with Quistis. I also updated the first discussion between Rinoa and Quistis on the train after Timber. It was a tertiary scene on my bucket list. Rinoa no longer criticizes Zone's apparent vice.

40

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-16 19:09:07 »

@Circle
 Yes. Follow all of Callisto's instructions, then drag & drop the Succession files last.

41

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-07 17:46:09 »

@goat
  Wow, thank you!  That is high praise. It's perhaps the most encouragement I've had for this mod, yet.

  Regarding the grammatical issues and typos, I may have overestimated my ability to proofread such a large script with no spellcheck or auto-correct. (Which is kind of funny since I’ve worked as a proofreader in the past. But maybe it’s a little different when it’s your own work.)

  I’ve already started another play-through solely for proofreading purposes. I apologize for releasing the mod in its current state, and I’m continuing to release updates every few days with any corrections I make.

42

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-06 23:16:48 »

@Kandy_Man
  After reviewing the Quistis scene, I agree with you 100%. While it is consistent with her character in general, it is definitely out of place within this scene. I'll fix it.
  You'll have to forgive me. I've already changed so much, that I hesitate to change more without a very good reason.

  I went ahead and changed the central square scene, and Cid's office.

  Seifer is a bit different, though. I definitely meant what he said, that he was "ashamed", and to imply that he was ashamed (of her). The tone I imagined was a blend of derision, condescension, and superiority. But that is harder to convey without voice acting. “Disappointed” works, and it’ll avoid any confusion, but it just doesn’t seem to cut as hard as “ashamed”. 

  I just changed it to “I’m ashamed to hear you say that.” I think that helps maintain the sense of superiority that I was after.

Thanks, again!

43

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-06 17:52:03 »

I know it's not possible ATM but i wish so much i would be able to play this mod with randomiser from Maelstorm, but unfortunately they seem to alter one and the same file. Could you make somehow sometime a way to do it, please?
https://github.com/sleepeybunney/maelstrom/tree/master/FF8Mod   

Yeah, I get what you're saying. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly a pro coder, so something like that would be a little out of my depth. I'm sure there are others on the forums that could find a way, but not me.

44

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-06 17:22:53 »

@goat
Thanks!  I have already found a couple myself, and uploaded a small update. Any examples you provide will be fixed as soon as possible. I am my own proofreader, unfortunately, and every scene in this mod has gone through more than one edit. I will continue to update anytime you post any errors.

45

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-12-06 17:17:37 »

...if I had to offer any constructive criticism it would be that it seemed a little odd that Quistis is telling Squall to lighten up in the Fire Cavern after she has been shown up until then to be quite a strict instructor, and continues being quite strict afterwards.  Just a small kind of "huh?" when compared to the rest of her interactions so far.

That's an interesting observation. This moment is fairly faithful to the way the vanilla dialogue plays out, though the original is a little more blunt. If I am interpreting the original correctly, then this is typical for Quistis. One moment her manner is highly professional, and the next she flirts with Squall like a common school girl.

Also, keep in mind the hallway scene outside the infirmary. I believe this scene was also meant to set up the less-serious aspect of her character, where she asked Squall a personal question and then laughed at him while completing his sentences. I think the original was going for something like: confident, pragmatic, and occasionally playful. And I tried my best to stay true to that interpretation of her character.

Maybe I could see about including one more line early on that establishes her playful nature.

46

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-11-28 17:45:54 »

I would encourage you to post this on Reddit, both r/FinalFantasyVIII and r/FinalFantasy

Thanks!  That's very good advice. As a general rule, I avoid Reddit like I avoid drinking mercury. But in this case, I'm sure you're right.

Also, FatherMcKenzie, I am very interested in your feedback on the Squall/Quistis relationship. I took your previous feedback very seriously, and did my best to bring that tension to the forefront in disc 3. There were not a lot of opportunities, but I would like to think I did well with what was available. (Don't forget to complete the Card Club quest!)

47

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-11-28 16:34:20 »

will you ever port this to Remastered?

  I have to be honest, I was VERY disappointed with the 'Remastered' release, especially when comparing it to all the incredible work from the A Class modders on this site. I haven't even looked into modding for it, yet.

  I absolutely plan on making this mod compatible with the Remaster, but I'm not yet sure if it will be an easy process, or a hard one.

48

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-11-28 16:26:40 »

I think next time I play will be using PSIO on the PS1.  Will this mod be in any way compatible?  That would be amazing if so.

  I'm not familiar with PSIO. Isn't it some sort of streaming service? If it relies on local files on your hard drive, then it would depend on the file structure. If the files are the same as the steam version, then this mod should work just fine. But if it functions like an ISO-style emulator, then no.

49

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-11-28 16:20:31 »

My first playthrough of this game is with YOUR script, so for the rest of my life, your version will be the one that shines.

  That makes me very intrigued, and a little nervous... Most people who play this mod will already have a fairly intimate knowledge of the vanilla story, including myself, of course. And I wrote this mod with that in mind. That means that your perspective and feedback will be highly unique, and potentially very informative. You might notice something that I and other players are more likely to overlook. And if your girlfriend is playing the original, perhaps the two of you can compare notes!

  Please let me know if you run into any story moments that appear confusing or contradictory. And don't forget to make liberal use of the spoiler feature whenever appropriate.

50

Releases / Re: [FF8PC - Steam] Succession Mod (v.1.0)

« on: 2020-11-28 16:06:55 »

@Rikku  Thank you so much!

  In regards to Ragnarok, as I have said before, Succession is compatible with anything that doesn't change the field.fs files. That makes it compatible with almost all graphical mods, and around 85% of Ragnarok.

  I use Ragnarok regularily, and love it, and Succession is compatible with all of the battle related changes, and character/ability changes. But any event related changes (extra battles, quests, item rewards, drawpoints, card locations) are, very sadly, not compatible at this point.
 
  I do, however, plan to soon release a compatibility version of Martial Law. It is a re-balanced version that plays well with Ragnarok. It is the version I currently use.