Messages

151

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1.2)

« on: 2019-04-13 03:35:51 »

In the current version of the mod, Omega Weapon uses a different opener than normal (not Lv5 Death), deals noticably more damage with his attacks (especially spells) and can use Light Pillar anytime. The latter is no longer an instant death attack in this mod, but very difficult to survive.

Other than that, Omega Weapons physical attacks are harder to dodge, as the Speed gains through junctions - and therefore also Evade stats - have been toned down by quite a bit, and he can't be easily put under the Vit 0 status effect by just casting Meltdown, so the fight will probably go on longer than usual - also because Squall's, Zell's and Irvines' Limit Breaks no longer inflict absurd amounts of damage. Character stats are generally harder to max out since the latest update, which should help with the difficulty of this battle as well.

I'm not sure if this is enough to turn him into a nightmare, but it should be a noticable step up frome the base game. I guess there's still more potential to this battle, like slightly more randomization of attacks, so his pattern becomes less predictable. I'll think about something for the next update, which should release soon.

152

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1.2)

« on: 2019-04-08 03:56:01 »

I was wondering how do you obtain Seifer's card now since Cid doesn't seem to have it.

Nothing has changed in regards to the Seifer card, only the Kiros and Zell card locations are different from the original game.

Are you playing at his office? The probabilties of Cid using the Seifer card are different depending on where you play him. It's only 20% in his office, while later at Edea's House chances increase to about 50%. So I'd suggest keep trying.

153

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1.2)

« on: 2019-03-30 00:35:15 »

@Nikito: Irvine's strong points are his Speed and Luck, to offset his lower HP, Strength and Vitality compared to Squall and Zell. His natural Speed growth is planned to be increased further for the next update, while Speed gains from junctions will be lowered, so Irvine's advantage in Speed over the other characters will always be noticable (only Selphie will come close). Besides that, all of his weapons will receive an innate critical hit bonus, not just Exeter. I hope this will make him more worthwhile overall.

@demondrakeza666: Yes, the Zell card has become part of a sidequest in this mod, rather than being won by a Triple Triad player. This sidequest can be completed at the beginning of disc 3 at the earliest, until the point of no return at the end of disc 3 at the latest. You don't have to care about any prerequisites prior to disc 3, the card can be found anytime during disc 3, no matter the circumstances. If you need more information about where to find items, cards etc, let me know.

[Spoiler:]

154

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1.2)

« on: 2019-03-19 16:02:37 »

Ok, here's the guide for remaining characters. Also made a correction to Squall's Twin Lance (I confused Orihalcon and Giant's Ring in the description).

Spoiler: show

Zell's weapons

[Maverick]
Dragon Fin x1
Spider Web x4

Notes: One Dragon Fin can be found as part of the Dog sidequest in Dollet when doing it on disc 1 or 2. Two more can be stolen from the Iguions at the end of disc 1. Note that Dragon Fins can be also used to create the valuable Double spells, so if there are only a few Dragon Fins in your inventory, think carefully about what to spend them on. Spider Webs are won from Caterchipillars, as usual.
 

[Gauntlet]
Giant's Ring x2
Fury Fragment x2

Notes: Only a few options are available for getting a Giant's Ring before they become available in Esthar. One can be found in the Chocobo Forest of Fun on the Centra continent, while another can be received from Zone in exchange for the Girl Next Door magazine. Fury Fragments can be stolen from Blue Dragon in the snow covered forests on the Trabia continent, on any level.


[Ehrgeiz]
Phoenix Spirit x1
Dragon Skin x4
Inferno Fang x2

Notes: At the moment, the only way to get a Phoenix Spirit is by refining 20 Phoenix Pinions using GFAbl Med-RF, which can be costly and requires Eden to be unlocked. A Phoenix Spirit will be very likely added as a sidequest reward soon. Dragon Skins are most easily won from high leveled Anacondaurs around Dollet's mountain range, and Inferno Fangs from high leveled Ruby Dragons that appear at their usual places in the late-game (if you want to fight them as early as possible, check out Grandidi Forest on disc 2).



Irvine's weapons

[Ulysses]
Steel Pipe x1
Bomb Fragment x1
Screw x2

Notes: I think the materials are unchanged from the base game. Steel Pipes can be stolen from Wendigos in Timber Roshfall Forest, on dirt ground near Deling City, and in D-District Prison a little later. A Bomb Fragment is sometimes dropped by Bombs, even the low level Bombs inside Fire Cavern. An encounter that has Bombs in it will be likely added somewhere on the Galbadia continent soon, in case they didn't drop one in Fire Cavern or the player doesn't want to use Card Mod.


[Bismarck]
Steel Pipes x2
Dynamo Stone x4
Screw x8

Notes: Dynamo Stones can be stolen from med-high leveled Blitzes that are common on the Centra Continent. It's not a guaranteed steal, but chances to get one are high.


[Exeter]
Dino Bone x2
Shaman Stone x1
Star Fragment x2
Screw x18

Notes: For getting Dino Bones as early as possible, use LV Up on the T-Rexaurs on the Balamb continent until they reach LV 40+, then mug them or get them as a drop. Shaman Stones are rare, but one can be stolen from the final sorceress at the beginning of disc 4. Can be also won by modding the Bahamut card in this mod. As for Star Fragments, fight Iron Giants or get a few by doing the Dollet Dog sidequest on disc 3. This weapon is the only weapon that has received an inherent crit bonus that is entirely independent on Irvine's Luck stat.



Quistis' weapons

[Slaying Tail]
Magic Stone x1
Sharp Spike x1

Notes: Magic Stones are dropped by low level T-Rexaurs and by Granaldo on disc 1. Sharp Spikes can be dropped by Geezards in this mod as well, but it's not a guaranteed drop.


[Red Scorpion]
Ochu Tentacle x4
Dragon Skin x8

Notes: Ochu appears in Timber Forest (most frequently towards the end of the area) when playing as Laguna, so you might want to take advantage of that to get some Ochu Tentacles. For the Dragon Skins I would recommend fighting high leveled Anacondaurs near Dollet or med-high leveled Blue Dragons in the snow covered forests around Trabia Garden.


[Save the Queen]
Earth Stone x8
Malboro Tentacle x2
Energy Crystal x4

Notes: Earth Stone is one of the new items and is sometimes dropped by Armadodo and Abyss Worms. It can be also stolen from T-Rexaur on any level, or bought at the new Deling City Shop with the Familiar Ability unlocked. Malboro can be encountered at the usual places and the Energy Crystals can be still farmed by doing the scripted Elnoyle battle in Esthar over and over.



Rinoa's weapons

[Valkyrie]
Magic Stone x1
Shear Feather x2

Notes: Magic Stones are dropped by low level T-Rexaurs and by Granaldo on disc 1. Shear Feathers are a common steal/drop from Thrust Aevis that is pretty much everywhere around Timber and Deling City.


[Rising Sun]
Wind Stone x1
Saw Blade x4
Screw x8

Notes: Wind Stone is the other new item and is sometimes dropped by Thrust Aevis and Abyss Worms. It can be also stolen from Death Claws that can appear in the forest near the orphanage, in Balamb Garden during the Norg scenario and in Galbadia Garden on disc 2. Saw Blade is a guaranteed steal from Belhelmel that can be found around Galbadia Garden on disc 1, and is also usually dropped by them.


[Cardinal]
Cockatrice Pinion x8
Mesmerize Blade x4
Curse Spike x2

Notes: The earliest opportunity to fight Cockatrices is around Dollet (grassland area) or Timber Roshfall Forest. Mesmerizes are found pretty much everywhere on the Trabia Continent. For Curse Spikes, I would advise stealing some from Tri-Face that now appears in a scripted encounter during the Norg scenario in Balamb Garden, or waiting until reaching the MD Levels where they can be encountered as well.


[Shooting Star]
Windmill x2
Regen Ring x1
Force Armlet x1
Energy Crystal x2

Notes: Same as in base game, nothing has changed here. Windmills are a little harder to come by in this mod though. The first opportunity is likely by fighting high leveled Abyss Worms in Kashkabald Desert on the Centra continent. A Regen Ring is now rewarded for helping out Balamb Garden students during the Norg scenario, so you might want to save it for Rinoa's best weapon later.



Selphie's weapons

[Morning Star]
Steel Orb x2
Sharp Spike x2

Notes: A few Steel Orbs are dropped by Diablos, and Sharp Spikes are sometimes dropped by Geezards. If you don't want to use Diablos' Steel Orbs for upgrading the weapon, you can fight Wendigos in Timber Roshfall Forest to get Steel Orbs as well (as a drop only).


[Crescent Wish]
Wizard Stone x2
Life Ring x1
Sharp Spike x4

Notes: 5 Wizard Stones can be found as a treasure in one of the Chocobo Forests on the Trabia continent. They are generally rare until the mid-late-game, so you might want to take advantage of this relatively early opportunity. Life Rings are sometimes dropped by Mesmerizes, also found on Trabia. As for Sharp Spikes, fight Geezards or Grand Mantis on the Centra continent.


[Strange Vision]
Adamantine x1
Star Fragment x3
Curse Spike x2

Notes: Same as in the base game. Adamatine from high leveled Adamantoises, Star Fragments by doing the Dollet Dog sidequest on disc 3 or by fighting Iron Giants, Curse Spike from Tri-Faces in Balamb Garden disc 2 or Deep Sea Research Center on disc 3 or 4.

I would love to add more bonuses to weapons, such as giving some a Magic Boost, as you suggested. Unfortunately, it's one of the harder changes to make. FF8 tool support is still relatively young though, so it might be possible more easily at some point - fingers crossed.

155

Scripting and Reverse Engineering / Re: [FF8] Ability data and Angel Wing mechanics

« on: 2019-03-18 13:13:31 »

Ok, so I checked out your patch, waited for all table spells to be cast at least once, put Rinoa under several status changes, killed her, revived her etc, all while being under Angel Wing, and I didn't notice anything wrong. The only thing that surprised me was that it took very long for Thundaga to be used, way longer than Demi, Bio etc, but it was most likely just bad luck.

Guess I'll change these probabilities again, making sure the sum is always 256. Really a good idea to implement the table the way you did, so every user can set up the spells they want, and change again any time. Good work!

On another note, does Rinoa actually receive a Speed bonus while under Angel Wing? Some sources state it, some not. Never noticed it myself to be honest, as her ATB bar never seemed to go any faster.

156

Scripting and Reverse Engineering / Re: [FF8] Ability data and Angel Wing mechanics

« on: 2019-03-17 22:13:27 »

Alright, will do, and report back soon.

Weightings look good, but I actually wanted the -aga spells all be at 11, but that was my mistake. I guess I could always change these numbers easily anyway.

I wonder if having a look at Selphie's Slots could help with a better fix? Because the spells that appear there are completely independent from what Selphie has in her inventory. So there should be a way to make Angel Wing spells ignore the inventory check completely as well, at least theoretically.

Just a thought - I don't really know how it's all set up in the exe and if this comparison makes any sense, but Slot is the first thing that came to mind.

157

Scripting and Reverse Engineering / Re: [FF8] Ability data and Angel Wing mechanics

« on: 2019-03-17 20:12:45 »

Wow, great findings!

On the one hand, I'm relieved that the mechanics around Angel Wing have been finally demystified, but on the other, the fact that spell selection can be further manipulated by moving them to certain slots is kind of saddening... That means that even more offensive spells other than Meteor can be safely kept to make Rinoa cast Meteor regularly. Removing all offensive spells except Meteor is at least some kind of trade-off, but it doesn't even seem necessary at all... Oh well.

Well anyway, I've prepared a table you could likely put into a code cave, and then hijack the function and make it jump to that table:

Code: [Select]

rnd = [0..255]
if (rnd < 11) {
   Spell ID 3 (Firaga) {
}
else if (rnd < 22) {
   Spell ID 6 (Blizzaga)
}
else if (rnd < 32) {
   Spell ID 9 (Thundaga)
}
else if (rnd < 38) {
   Spell ID 0A (Water)
}
else if (rnd < 44) {
   Spell ID 0C (Bio)
}
else if (rnd < 50) {
   Spell ID 2D (Pain)
}
else if (rnd < 56) {
   Spell ID 31 (Meltdown)
}
else if (rnd < 62) {
   Spell ID 0D (Demi)
}
else if (rnd < 94) {
   Spell ID 12 (Tornado)
}
else if (rnd < 126) {
   Spell ID 11 (Quake)
}
else if (rnd < 174) {
   Spell ID 0F (Flare)
}
else if (rnd < 222) {
   Spell ID 0E (Holy)
}
else if (rnd < 238) {
   Spell ID 10 (Meteor)
}
else {
   Spell ID 13 (Ultima)
}
I'm pretty sure that these 14 spells are the only ones I want to be compatible with Angel Wing - no more pointless Scans, Sleeps etc. If that works, I'll make them all break the damage limit and increase the damage multiplier to 4 or 5 again (it's currently at 3). Let me know if you need more information, and thanks for all your work!

158

Scripting and Reverse Engineering / Re: [FF8] Ability data and Angel Wing mechanics

« on: 2019-03-16 16:38:22 »

Thanks, I'll have a look at it.

I generally think that this Limit Break is in dire need of a redesign. There are only the two extremes - either being next to useless when carrying multiple offensive spells, or just broken when leaving Meteor as the only spell. Of course, we could just change Angel Wing's damage multiplier (thanks to your efforts), or just add a status change like Vit 0 to Angel Wing using Doomtrain, but I don't think this alone would be enough. Ignoring the inventory check and setting spell probability would be very helpful to balance this out too.

[Spoiler:]

159

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1.2)

« on: 2019-03-16 15:50:08 »

Yes, the Queen of Cards sidequest has been slightly changed indeed. The chain now starts with losing the Quezacotl card instead of the Minimog card, to move this entire quest to disc 2 and onwards, as most of the cards that can be won from it still refine into something very useful.

Make sure to ask the Queen about her artist father whenever she is in Dollet to always get hints about where new cards appear (in the original, these hints are very easy to miss) - the Kiros card holder has been changed as well and is now found at Winhill inn rather than Deling City streets. Other than that, the Queen now requests the Pandemona card instead of the Sacred card, but the rest of the questline remains the same as in the original game.

By the way, here's a full guide on how to get Squall's weapons as early as possible. The other characters will soon follow.

Spoiler: show

[Shear Trigger]

Steel Pipe x1
Screw x4

Notes: A Steel Pipe and 5 Screws can be received in Timber by helping the guards dealing with the Galbadian Soldiers near the inn (first visit only). Otherwise, mug Steel Pipes from Wendigos in Timber Roshfall Forest or on dirt ground near Deling City and get the Screws from Geezards.


[Cutting Trigger]

Betrayal Sword x1
Screw x8

Notes: Betrayal Swords are dropped by low level Forbiddens that can be first encountered inside the Tomb of the Unknown King. A fixed encounter that consists of 3 Forbiddens (all at level 18) has been added there, so it's pretty much guaranteed the player will get a Betrayal Sword on the way to beating the Brothers. This is the only weapon that can be acquired early by modding cards right after the beginning of the game - disc 1 Lion Heart is no longer possible in this mod.


[Flame Saber]

Mesmerize Blade x1
Dragon Fang x8
Screw x8

Notes: Fight Mesmerize for the Blades and Blue Dragon for the Fangs after getting control over Balamb Garden on disc 2. They can be both encountered on the Trabia continent, albeit Blue Dragons are rare (the highest chance is the snow covered forests). Dragon Fangs can also be bought at the new shop in Deling City with Familiar Ability unlocked. I am aware of this weapon's availability being quite far away from Cutting Trigger and too close to Twin Lance, so it will likely be changed to an earlier point in the game soon.


[Twin Lance]

Orihalcon x2
Red Fang x2
Screw x12

Notes: One Orihalcon can be stolen from BGH251F2 (2nd), and they drop from med-high leveled Adamantoises, as usual. Red Fangs can be stolen from Hexadragons that now appear in forests on the Centra continent (instead of Ruby Dragons that in turn have been moved to Grandidi Forest) or won as a high level drop. Hexadragons also appear in Galbadia Garden on disc 2 now, alongside Tri-Faces and Death Claws.


[Punishment]

Dino Bone x2
Chef's Knife x1
Laser Cannon x1
Screw x8

Notes: For getting Dino Bones as early as possible, use LV Up on the T-Rexaurs on the Balamb continent until they reach LV 40+, then mug them or get them as a drop. Chef's Knife is dropped by Tonberries, as usual. As for the Laser Cannon, it's still possible to get it from high leveled Belhelmels as a rare drop, but there are other options that are more convenient. For one, it can be stolen from the Elastoid that appears during the final Laguna flashback and also from the Elastoids that can be fought as part of a new sidequest at Lunatic Pandora Laboratory after the Lunar Cry events, for as many times you like.


[Lion Heart]

Adamantine x1
Moon Stone x4
Pulse Ammo x12

Notes: Get the Adamantine as a drop from high leveled Adamantoises at various beaches on the world map, as usual (I would recommend the one near Cactuar Island, at which they are most common). Two Moon Stones can be acquired as part of sidequests (Winhill vase quest, Chocobo Forest) - the remaining two can be most easily won from Toramas after the Lunar Cry events. Not much has changed about the Pulse Ammo availability, other than the new possibility of farming them at Lunatic Pandora Laboratory, by refining the Elastoid's Laser Cannons into Pulse Ammo.

160

Scripting and Reverse Engineering / Re: [FF8] Ability data and Angel Wing mechanics

« on: 2019-03-15 00:37:37 »

One more question, this time about Angel Wing:

I am currently searching for the instruction that restricts Rinoa's spell usage to what she has in her inventory, in hopes of finding a way to disable this, so she can cast any offensive spell.

Would be also interesting to know what determines the probability for each spell being used. I'm pretty sure it's not just weighted based on spell power, as Rinoa would still cast Fire way more often than Ultima, even after setting Fire's spell power to max. Another thing I have observed is that when changing the default target of the Fire spell to own party, it would no longer be used under Angel Wing at all.

I have checked the few unknown bytes in the Magic Data section in kernel.bin, and none didn't seem to have any impact on spell usage under Angel Wing. Also tried searching memory using debugger a bit, but no good results yet. Does anyone know more?

161

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1.2)

« on: 2019-03-11 02:34:19 »

Hey Nikito, and welcome to the forums.

The first opportunity to get a Steel Pipe is in Timber, right after completing the train mission on disc 1. Make sure to stop by the Town's Gate near the inn and help the two guards dealing with the Galbadian soldiers. Unlike the original game, this will be rewarded with a Steel Pipe and some screws, which is just enough to upgrade to Squall's second weapon. Even if you miss this opportunity, you can still get Steel Pipes shortly after by mugging Wendigos in Timber Roshfall Forest on the world map.

There is no list that contains all the item information yet, but there will be one soon for those who are interested.

162

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1a)

« on: 2019-03-01 17:07:44 »

Version 1.1.2 now out.


Changes Overview


Balance changes

• Natural character stat growth has been further increased.
• HP Bonus, Strength Bonus etc have been removed and replaced with other Abilities.
• HP+10/30/50% structure has been changed to HP+10/20/30%.
• The base power of Irvine's Armor Shot has been reduced from 26 to 22.
• Critical hit rate of Irvine's Shot types have been rebalanced.
• Rapture, Fortify and Ultra Cure appear more often in Selphie's Slots.
• Selphie's Calamity spell inflicts Poison, Darkness, Blind and Sleep (254/255 chance) in addition to its damage.
• Quistis' Homing Laser ignores enemy Spirit.
• Doomtrain and Bahamut summons inflict more damage.
• Gilgamesh's Excaliber and Masamune inflict more damage and can break the damage limit.

Enemies

• A non-escapable extra battle will trigger on the way to the Brothers inside the Tomb of the Unknown King.
• Edea (1st) uses Dispel less frequently when the party is under Reflect, uses Astral Punch more often instead.
• Adel's Energy Bomber has a chance to inflict Darkness.
• Griever is noticably more agile now.
• Abadon is under Auto-Shell while standing (thanks to Sega Chief for helping prevent file corruption on this one).
• Propagators are immune against Silence.
• Jumbo Cactuar is immune against Slow.
• Bahamut's moveset has been changed in resemblance to what he uses in Final Fantasy V.
• Ultima Weapon's attack pattern has been extended.
• Elnoyle is no longer immune to LV Up/Down.
• Base Soldiers now use Drain instead of Water.

New feature: Easy card rule abolishment



Most players probably know about the NPC pictured above - he is the one who can reset all Balamb rules by just challenging him to a card game. As part of this update, more such NPCs have been added in other regions as well, to allow easy card rule abolishment everywhere, not just Balamb. Using this new service won't be free in most cases though, in order to prevent abuse and also to give players more opportunities to spend their money. Costs vary between 20,000 and 100,000 Gil, depending on an area's default ruleset. I have tested this new feature at least once for every area, and it seemed to work flawlessly, but I can't guarantee it's 100% bug-free. Please report if you discover anything off regarding this feature, like rules not resetting despite having paid for it. The NPCs in question can be found at the following locations:

Dollet | Galbadia | FH | Centra | Trabia | Esthar | Lunar 1 | Lunar 2
 


Other changes

• New mini quest: At Lunar Gate, keep challenging the right guard to a card game until he agrees, then play to earn some items (can be done again after Lunar Cry).
• Due to a glitch, Revive/Renew has its standard effect restored, Awakening Moon has the same effect as a Megalixir for now.
• In order to compensate for the missing Recover Ability, Treatment now restores HP in addition to curing status changes.
• Defeating the 3 Cyborgs at Lunatic Pandora Laboratory yields two additional Friendship items.
• Another Friendship is now rewarded at Chocobo Sanctuary in addition to the Chicobo Card.
• A new enemy Ability, Mind Blast, is now used by a few select enemies; inflicts magic damage that ignores Spr and can inflict Stop.
• The game can be saved in the room where Bahamut awaits.
• Diablos' level requirement for the Enc-Half Ability has been reduced from 32 to 24.
• Flare can break the damage limit when used under Angel Wing.

Many thanks for all the user feedback lately, it has been very helpful

@CeruleanSpirit: 1.1a was the latest version before this one, so I guess you just had a bad RNG and saw her casting Zombie a little too often. The probability of her using Zombie has been reduced for this update as well.

163

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1a)

« on: 2019-02-26 10:01:47 »

Beefed up versions of Elastoids and Gespers can be fought again towards the end of the game, as part of the new sidequest at Lunatic Pandora Laboratory after the Lunar Cry, for as many times you like. They also appear as mini bosses during the last Laguna flashback on disc 3, as usual. Adding them before the Lunar Cry events for Squall & co. would conflict with the reason why they can be fought again later at Lunatic Pandora Laboratory at all, so I think that should do for now.

Esuna can be first drawn from Vysage near the Tomb of the Unknown King in the night areas, and Remedies can be first bought in Deling City instead of being available right after starting the game, to make all the shops more unique, as it is usually the case in all other Final Fantasy games, and also to give Antidote, Echo Screen etc. more relevance in the early-game. If you think the Remedy availability is too late, let me know, and I might add it to Timber Shop.

Seifer and Edea: Locking Edea into casting Zombie over and over by just using Holy Water immediately has been addressed and fixed for the latest version. If you are still on 1.1 try updating and see if that fixes it, or wait for the next update coming very soon (adding in a pretty big quality of life change will slightly delay it). I'll think about your suggestions in regards to Seifer and Edea - it seems she still uses Dispel too often if any character is under Reflect. No problems with Carbuncle being helpful here though, since he is the "new" GF at this point, so making Edea 100% anti-Carbuncle would be a little unfair

164

Scripting and Reverse Engineering / [FF8] Ability data and Angel Wing mechanics

« on: 2019-02-24 23:53:42 »

Does anyone have an insight into how character Ability effects are encoded within the game's executable? I would like to get rid of HP Bonus, Str Bonus etc and overwrite their effects with something new, like Zero Exp for the character who has the Ability equipped, or Auto-Regen.

The max you can do in Doomtrain tool is swapping the already existing Ability effects around (such as Mug taking Med Data's effect and the like), so I suspect that the actual Ability data is somewhere in the exe. In the case of making a Zero Exp Ability work, for example, I guess it would be helpful to look up what makes the Petrify status cause a character to receive 0 Exp after a battle. Auto-Regen would be likely even easier to implement.

There also seem to be some unused character Abilities as seen in the picture below, but from what I've tested, these do nothing at all. Filling these four slots with something new or overwriting already existing effects as stated above would be super nice. Any help would be much appreciated.

165

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1a)

« on: 2019-02-24 22:46:07 »

Hi CeruleanSpirit, and welcome to the forums. It's good to hear that you considered the new Fire Cavern reward appropriate. Adding items for sidequests rewards can be quite difficult as you have to be careful not make the rewards too underwhelming and not too good either. Thanks for the other impressions, it was an interesting read, and feel free to report back again.

@SefiCompacto: Well observed, I noticed this a couple of days ago as well. I've been working on fix, but it seems that creating new moves that can revive and heal at the same time isn't as easy as I thought. Guess I have to revert Revive and Awakening Moon to their standard effects for now (these are the only ones), or make Awakening Moon act like a Megalixir at least, since Invincibility that early in the game is broken balance-wise. I'll try to upload an update today or tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience.

166

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1a)

« on: 2019-02-22 21:39:37 »

Hey Robgatti.

No, keeping levels low is definitely not advised in this mod, as bosses are at fixed levels and stat gains through leveling are higher than in the original game (and will likely be increased even more in future updates), so there isn't much to gain from low level runs, unless you are in for a tougher challenge. One of this mod's goals is to break with many of the conventions that have manifested over the years in regards to the game's playstyle to deliver a new experience to players that are bored by these conventions, making enemies more interesting by mixing encounter formations up, giving them new attacks etc. instead of just skipping them by having Enc-None activated all the time and breeze through the game, including bosses.

Enc-None isn't available until late in the game, similarly to Final Fantasy VI and X,  and Enc-Half unlocks after Diablos reached level 32 (this level requirement might be reduced, as constant random encounters are just not for everyone). If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

[Spoiler:]

167

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1a)

« on: 2019-02-22 08:53:07 »

@Ayoyo: Another extensive report. Here we go.

Spoiler: show

One additional point that calls for a save/menu possibility is that after you trigger the pillar dialogue(it's not our will to fight one), there's no chance to menu anymore and you just gotta fight Bahamut with what you have. Now this would be fine and makes players think ahead because they have 3 encounters to deal with, but it might be more fair and convenient to at least offer a save and menu option before the Ruby/Behemoth/Bahamut gauntlet to prevent cheap deaths to Bahamut only because you were junctioned for easier random encounters.

Hm, I guess it would be best to just enable saving for this entire room, no matter where you stand. Would be very easy to implement and allow saving right before touching the pillar, which would eliminate the need to fly back to the island and sneaking back to the pillar every time your party dies there. 

Raijin&Fujin - I expected to walk over these guys after dominating Ultima Weapon, but they do actually pose a threat even for a geared party if you let them buff themselves. Once again the player is encouraged to use their head and dispel the Auras and the like away, because if you don't, they'll whoop yo ass. I like the scripted meteor, it's kind of like a wake-up call that you've entered endgame.

Agree about Fujin's Meteor. It was really important for me when changing this battle, so I made her cast it quite a few turns earlier than usual, so it's pretty much guaranteed the player will see it (in vanilla she would likely be defeated before getting the chance to cast it). Same goes for Raijin and his different attack pattern after using Aura on himself. All in all, this is one of the many battles that actually had potential and would have been interesting in vanilla already, if they just weren't doing so little damage, casting buffs on themselves repeatedly even though there's no need, and weren't skipping turns like crazy. Glad to hear you enjoyed the revised battle in this mod.

Mobile type8 - Goddamn, this thing just wouldn't yield the damn steals. Not gonna lie, I died twice to this boss trying to stubbornly mug everything even though it has been clearly designed to specifically make this kind of thing difficult with hard counters to every physical hit. In that respect, this boss is super unique and I quite enjoyed the challenge and being made to hesitate constantly hitting it.

Pretty much the same as above. I didn't change this boss much at all, besides making its behaviour and system actually matter by making it switch between modes much faster and fire counter attacks that are threatening enough to keep players on their toes, especially in regards to the other attacks this boss can do. Sorry for your trouble in regards to stealing the items by the way, I guess the probability should be increased as Laser Cannons aren't that unique at this point anymore, as they can now be farmed by keep doing the new battles at Lunatic Pandora Laboratory at the end of disc 3.

Adel - Another unique boss experience. For one, a big chunk of your arsenal, mainly all AoE, is unusable in this fight and I think the Rinoa being drained away- mechanic has been made more relevant(less hp on her/Adel drains more?) so that you really have to support her almost constantly. Casting shell&regen on her right away gave me a lot of leeway in that regard though. I wonder if you can cast zombie on her? Wouldn't she be constantly healed then? Anyways, Adel uses pretty potent spells here and you better keep those shells active. Liked it overall even though it was nothing super challenging.

Yes, the mechanic in this battle has been made more relevant by making Adel's Drains stronger and Rinoa's HP lower, so she can take up to 3 Drains without any player intervention. Rinoa is immune to Zombie in this battle, so she can't be healed this way. I don't really know how to make this battle more challenging to be honest. Adel's spells can be quite damaging already and many attacks can't be used because of Rinoa. Maybe by changing Energy Bomber? At the moment, it's nothing more than a standard physical attack. Maybe adding a status effect to it would be a good idea to spice things up a little.

As for the final battles, the fact that you managed to beat them on low levels with only 2 characters alive leaves room for some more changes for sure. I don't think I'll touch the very last phase again, as she is extremely fast there, using two new attacks than can be very devastating, but the previous phases are indeed a bit on the slow side. Attacks like Thundaga or Blizzaga during the first phase are a little underwhelming as well and feel more like wasted turns by Ultimecia. I'll see what I can do to add in some other attacks in there, and make Griever and the initial 3rd form a little faster. As always, suggestions are welcome.

I'll respond to your latest PM later, don't have the time right now. For now, all I can say is that you made some really good points that sparked interest in making certain changes

[Spoiler:]

168

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1a)

« on: 2019-02-21 08:51:14 »

@Ayoyo:

Spoiler: show

The battles on the way to the Light Pillar inside Deep Sea Research Center can all be avoided by approaching it carefully while it doesn't emit any light. I would be all in for adding a save possibility somewhere there - if not in between the two mandatory battles against Ruby Dragon/Behemoth and Bahamut, then maybe at least right before triggering the pillar dialogue. I'll check that and see how it goes.

@blankdiploma:

You could also just give it a try and see if the provided mod files are compatible with the 2000 PC version as well (after creating backups of all original files, just in case). I've never tried it myself to be honest, since I've never owned this version. It could very well work, I just can't guarantee it.

[Spoiler:]

169

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1a)

« on: 2019-02-18 23:20:28 »

Hey blankdiploma, and welcome to the forums. With crap, do you mean the in-built cheats, like getting full spell stocks automatically and the like? I guess you already know but I better say it just to be sure, but all these things are optional. Other than that, I don't think there are any real differences between the 2000 PC and Steam versions, besides the launcher. Still, I'm planning to make the mod compatible with other versions too, just not sure when.

Ayoyo, that's an extensive report again, thank you. I'll keep the comments in spoilers for now too.

Spoiler: show

From what I remember, the ruby dragon in the Laguna flashback didn't know any new tricks, just a tougher version of its vanilla counterpart. I don't recall what new spells it had but I drew full stacks whilst it slept. Relaxed fight. Blizzaga spam and Diablos dealing 9999 for good measure finished it off rather quickly after the drawing the spells.

Well, the difficulty of this battle depends on whether Ward is with you or not. If he is, Ruby Dragon will use Flare, Tornado and its infamous Breath attack. In the original game, it would be Firaga, Meteor and Breath - Meteor has been removed as it is clearly overused by enemies in vanilla late-game. If Ward is absent, the fight is noticably easier, but still more threatening than in vanilla due to Firaga instead of Fira being used, and the swipe attacks remain quite powerful regardless of party setup.

Abadon hit really really hard but that's the only thing he's got going for him; naturally, I wanted to use Edea for this boss and boosting her magic made her completely annihilate Abadon with triple curagas. A single curaga dealt over 7k damage so that's a whopping ~22k damage per turn. Hot damn. He had no chance. I think a bit of tinkering to make his stances matter more, for example, would make for a more meaningful fight. Right now I didn't even get to see what his stance actually did, seeing as standing up didn't affect his holy resistance at all. So I just spammed curaga for the win. If players had to actually change their strategy completely according to his stances, that'd be more interesting.

Abadon can inflict Death with its tongue attack in addition to just Curse, but I guess you were protected from the status so you had an easier time (leveling up Edea as you said surely helps with the damage output too). Having Curaga at this point shouldn't be taken for granted either, since the only way to get full stocks at this point is by drawing it from the Tonberry King, who is an optional boss. For me it's always important to keep bosses defeatable even with less ideal setups and without having completed every sidequest prior to facing a certain boss.

If Abadon's stance changes, other attacks will be used, and his Vitality and Spirit will increase dramatically as usual, but as healing spells aren't affected by the Spirit stat (nor are they holy-elemental), you can still do full damage with them. What I could do is making Abadon go into Auto-Shell status when standing up, which would at least halve the damage by every healing spell thrown at him. I think that would be a reasonable change to prolong the battle so more of Abadon's potential can seen, even for anyone who already has Curaga and Triple at their disposal.

Argh, more Laguna sequences. And it doesn't even give the option to exchange junctions from Edea to Ward or Kiros, she's not even on the list when it prompts the exchange. I have no idea what happens to her spell inventory and junctions at this point and I didn't care to find out - I loaded from a previous save and took everything off from her before entering Esthar.

I think Edea is not available here as she's the only one who doesn't lose consciousness due to Ellone's actions. Still, if Edea is in the party when entering this Laguna sequence, none of her spells are accessible for the upcoming battles at Lunatic Pandora Laboratory, which would put the player at a disadvantage, as these battles can be rough. I wanted to change that at some point so Edea appears on that list as well, but wasn't very familiar with the field code at the time, so I'll have a look at it again. Thanks for reminding me of this. Should be changed for sure.

At long last, my favorite part of the game; free exploration with Ragnarok. I couldn't wait to fight some bosses so I go to measure myself against Cactuar, who spanks my arse with Ker Plunk right off the bat. 2 ultimate weapons later I return and cast protect on everyone so that his physicals are just strong enough to put people in critical HP, allowing me to Renzokuken him to oblivion. Ultimately, he's a bit underwhelming - a little buff to his speed ought to be enough to make players struggle with maintaining comfortable limit break spam a bit more, or at least an immunity to slow(I think it worked on him?).

Jumbo Cactuar already attacks far more often in the mod. In vanilla, he would skip turns like crazy, more than almost any other enemy in the game. Still, you are right about the Slow resistance. At the moment it's 50%, which is low enough to trigger the status easily by having Slow junctioned to Status-Atk to any character with a decent Strength stat. I'll do something about that, thanks again.

I was super psyched for Bahamut fight - I couldn't remember at all what his deal was so junctioning was hard as I tried to divine what kind of attacks he was going to use. I was scared shitless for Mega Flare and had shell up on everyone at all times regardless of how scanning him it said Mega Flare ignores all defenses. When he finally used it, it barely dealt half my HP in damage, making me laugh. Is it supposed to be this weak? Overall this fight was extremely simple and straightforward - my "generic" boss junction setup proved victorious on the first try once again as I absorbed his tornadoes. Got my first Lion Heart proc against him and it finished him off, leaving me a bit disappointed. I think there's room for a stronger gimmick/mechanic with a boss as awesome as Bahamut. Making Mega Flare stronger and maybe even adding a countdown to it harks back to earlier FF games where a countdown preceded Mega Flare and it pretty much wrecks you if you aren't fully healed&protected, but it's not unfair since it's clearly telegraphed. Something like that would be super awesome.

Hm, do you remember the damage done by Mega Flare exactly? It should do around 6000-6500 HP damage that ignores Spirit, which makes it pretty much the most powerful AoE attack at this point of the game. The damage can be halved by having Shell on, that's correct, but also making it ignore Shell? Not sure. Getting a Game Over against Bahamut can be very frustrating, as the two preceding battles would then have to be done again. That's why I decided to not make this battle overly difficult. Compared to vanilla, Bahamut starts using Mega Flare quite a bit earlier, which I thought should do to spice this battle up a bit. I'd rather swap Tornado and Thundaga for something else than making Mega Flare do any more damage to be honest. As for the countdown thing you suggested, there's plenty of that very late in the game, but I'll see what I can do.

As for Ultima Weapon in general, I'll respond to your PM later.

170

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1a)

« on: 2019-02-16 21:39:21 »

Version 1.1a is up.

- Status effects for GF have been changed. After some more testing it became evident that some of the status effects as they were in 1.1 won't really trigger on anything stronger than a Geezard or a Bite Bug. As for Quezacotl and Shiva and their identical probabilities, I'm aware of Stop being the "better" status, but the enemy resistances against the Stop status are generally higher than those against Slow, so it evens out.

Code: [Select]

GF Status Base chance

Quezacotl Slow 150/255
Shiva Stop 150/255
Ifrit Vit 0 150/255
Brothers Petrifying 160/255
Leviathan Death 180/255
Pandemona Confuse        254/255
Tonberry Death 254/255
Alexander Blind      254/255

- Save possibilities have been added right before the battles against Seifer (1st) and Norg. Be careful when using these saves though - when loading, you will be basically thrown directly into battle (well, almost). You have to beat these bosses with what you currently have and there is no way to do any random battles to acquire new spells to increase your stats etc. However, there's always the option to open up the menu before attempting the battles.

- A flaw in Edea's AI (1st) that can lock her into casting Zombie over and over has been corrected.

- The locations for the July and August Weapons Monthly magazines have been swapped as it makes more sense curve-wise.

[Spoiler:]

171

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.1)

« on: 2019-02-14 04:49:07 »

Tons of stuff here, and all of it good. Very neat update. I was going to wait until finishing my playthrough to give myself time to contemplate and then share an in-depth and comprehensive analysis on overarching balance and whatnot, but I might as well bring some pointers up now seeing as this major update already came out.

Thanks again for the feedback, it's been a great help. I have re-checked the possibilities of getting Reflect on disc 1, but didn't find any. It can be drawn from high-leveled Blobras and Adamantoises, but I think they can't reach high levels naturally where you can encounter them on disc 1, and knowing that you try to keep your levels low, it can't be from them anyway. The earliest you can draw Reflect should be from Biggs at D-District prison, but this is admittedly still a bit too early for that spell, considering you have just received Carbuncle a short while back, which goes against the incentive to summon Carbuncle, so I guess Reflect should be pushed back a little further as well.

As for a possible status for the Tonberry GF, I also thought about Death (254/255), as it would somewhat fit the Chef's Knife, which can be refined into the Death spell after all. It would actually be a good trade-off for Tonberry being only single-target with rather low base damage, and Death resistance could be easily re-adjusted for some enemies that are not meant to be defeated easily. I think Leviathan can actually just be left with Death to be honest - even with his much lower status infliction rate, he wouldn't be completely overshadowed by Tonberry, since his attack hits all enemies for more elemental damage that can hit weaknesses.

Adding in some more save opportunities sounds good to me and is not a hard thing to do, so I guess there will be a smaller update within the next couple days (I accidentally left Double in Edea's Draw list anyway), also swapping the July and August weapon magazines (Twin Lance requires Orihalcon and Red Fang I believe; the magazines are not necessary to upgrade the weapons at Junk Shops, but they definitely help since the required materials are often different in this mod).

SefiCompacto, no problem, here's a list that covers the extra things you can do in this mod. It's mostly smaller things, nothing too big yet. The first bigger sidequest will likely be the one related to revisiting Fire Caverns I mentioned earlier, coming soon

Spoiler: show

SeeD Party
Before heading to Fire Cavern, make sure to visit Balamb Garden's Quad. Exhaust Selphie's dialogue until she asks about joining the Garden Festival committee. If you agree, you will receive two items from her during the SeeD party later. If you skip this step, you still have the chance to join the committee during the party, but then you will only receive one item instead of two.

The Cafeteria Lady and her lost son
Listen to the Cafteria Lady's full dialogue at Balamb Garden's Cafeteria before heading to Timber on disc 1. Later on disc 2, this will make her son appear near the station in Fisherman's Horizon after the boss battle against BGH251F2. Talk to Mayor Dobe when he is sitting on the floor, then exit the screen and re-enter. The Cafeteria Lady's son should have appeared to the left now. Talk to him before the FH concert starts (the last chance is when controlling Irvine) and pick the correct answer while Squall wonders who he is to receive an item.

Helping the guards in Timber
When having the chance to fully explore Timber for the first time, make sure to stop by the Town's Gate near the inn. As in the original game, this triggers a discussion between Galbadian Soldiers and Timber Soldiers, but this time, intervening and battling the G-Soldiers will be rewarded.

Dollet Communication Tower revisited
Heading back to the Communication Tower after the SeeD mission on disc 1 triggers a non-escapable battle against a X-ATM092 variant that uses a different AI script and attacks (it would normally just fall down a cliff and that's it). The battle will likely be tough when attempting it at first occasion, as he starts nuking the party with strong AoE's if the battle takes too long. It should be easily doable on disc 2 or 3 though.

Galbadia Hotel
After each stay at Galbadia Hotel in Deling City (at an increased price), the player receives one out of eight items randomly with equal probability. One of the items is the Magical Lamp, in case the player missed the first opportunity to get one by talking to Cid before heading to Timber on disc 1. Additional Magical Lamps can also be traded in for a random Stat Up or an Elixir at FH Seaside Station much later in the game (after the Lunar Cry event).

The old couple in Deling City
Talk to the old man sitting at the bench near the sewer gates. He will complain about losing all his good cards to the old woman nearby and about losing a card pack somewhere in the city. If you manage to find it, you will have the option to pick up the cards for yourself or keep the bundle to give it back to its owner (I would recommend the latter, as this unlocks the old man as a card player as well). This can be done anytime before the point of no return at the end of disc 3. The possible rewards for this quest are as follows:

- 9 monster cards if you take the bundle's contents for yourself
- 3 boss cards or 6,000 Gil if you decide to give it back to the old man

More items in Fisherman's Horizon
Talk to the man near the elevator when controlling Irvine after leaving the concert preparations. After the concert is over, talk to him again with Irvine in your party, and he will apologize for what he said earlier, handing out a Triple Triad card.

Rescuing the girl in Timber
On disc 2 or 3, return to the Timber station and rescue the girl that is cowering on the floor from the arriving train. As in the original game, you will end up at Timber Hotel, but this time, your SeeD Rank increases and you will receive an item.

Trading in Trabia Garden
There is one NPC in Trabia Garden who sells some of her belongings as her savings have been destroyed as a result of the missile attack. The player can use this opportunity to get good value for just 20,000 Gil: 2 boss cards and 3 different items. Buying or creating these items separately would be much more expensive.

The dog in Esthar
Stop the dog running around the streets in Esthar to make him return to his owner nearby. If you then talk to the owner while having Pet Pals Vol.3 in your inventory, you have the option to give it to him for free for an item, or sell it to him for 15,000 Gil. If you don't have it in your inventory, he will hint at it. Can be done anytime before entering Lunatic Pandora as Zell and Edea.

Rescuing the girl at Esthar's Shopping Mall
Talking to the crying girl at the Shopping Mall will trigger a non-escapable and unique battle with 2 Behemoths in it. The reward is an item and a card. Can be done after Lunar Cry only.

Lunatic Pandora Laboratory research project
After the Lunar Cry events, Esthar digs out its old mobile weapons and tries to improve them. At Lunatic Pandora Laboratory, the player has the option to try 3 different battles that consist of stronger variants of Gespers, Cyborgs and Elastoids. The battles can be repeated multiple times for no costs, but the rewards are one-time only.

172

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.0.9)

« on: 2019-02-11 18:31:10 »

Version 1.1 now out. Happy 20th anniversary


Changes Overview


Early game balance

• Esuna can no longer be drawn from Biggs and Gerogero.
• Regen can no longer be drawn from Vysage (has been replaced with Drain).
• Slow can no longer be drawn from low level Elastoids.
• Double can no longer be drawn from Minotaur and Edea.
• Death can no longer be drawn from Cyborgs at Centra Excavation Site.
• A one-time Double Draw Point is now available at Tomb of the Unknown King (refills from disc 2 onwards).
• The Double Draw Point at G-Garden auditorium is now a one-time Pain Draw Point.
• The Sleep Draw Point at Centra Excavation site is now a refilling Slow Draw Point.
• Dragon Fins can no longer be mugged from low level Grendels.
• The amount of Dragon Fins required to get Zell's second weapon has been reduced.
• Remedy has been removed from Balamb, Timber and Dollet shops (requires Familiar Ability).
• Hi-Potion has been removed from Balamb and Timber shops (requires Familiar Ability).
• Spell junction effects on Vit and Spr have been rebalanced.

Battles

• Base Soldiers use Remedy and Hi-Potion on themselves more frequently.
• Edea (2nd) uses AoE spells more frequently if the entire party is under Reflect, occasionally casts Maelstrom no matter the circumstances.
• The evolved Gespers at Lunatic Pandora Laboratory have been made more threatening.

Refine Ability changes

Code: [Select]

Refine Abl. Item Previous Current

Card Mod Grendel Card 2 = 1 Dragon Fin 5 = 1 Dragon Fin
Time Mag-RF Dragon Fin 1 = 20 Doubles 1 = 10 Doubles
Time Mag-RF Rocket Engine 1 = 30 Triples 1 = 100 Doubles
Time Mag-RF Samantha Soul 1 = 40 Triples         1 = 30 Triples
L Mag-RF Chef's Knife 1 = 20 Deaths       1 = 15 Deaths
L Mag-RF Dead Spirit 1 = 15 Deaths        1 = 20 Deaths
Recov Med-RF Tent 6 = 1 Mega-Potion       8 = 1 Mega-Potion
GFAbl Med-RF Whisper 50 = 1 Healing Ring 20 = 1 Healing Ring

Added status effects for GF

Code: [Select]

GF Status Base chance

Quezacotl Slow 130/255
Shiva Stop 80/255
Ifrit Vit 0 80/255
Brothers Petrifying 120/255
Leviathan Death 120/255
Pandemona Confuse        160/255
Alexander Blind      254/255

Siren is now Silence-only again (254/255) and Tonberry ignores enemy Spirit to make his summon more useful for now. I am aware of Eject being more fitting than Death for Leviathan, but if the Eject effect triggers, enemies just disappear at the end of the summon sequence instead of being washed away, which is the case when using Death, so I thought Death is the way to go here.


New Command Ability: Step Mine

Step Mine/Traveler, known from Final Fantasy VI and XII, has been implemented as a Command Ability for this update. It deals damage equal to steps taken / 1000 to all enemies and can be learned from Brothers and Tonberry. Note that the current step count can be checked from the menu if you have received the Battle Meter from Cid. In order to create space for this Ability, the Recover and Revive commands have been merged into a single Ability (now called Renew, learned from Alexander), so Step Mine can take the Recover slot. To accommodate these changes, Healing Ring now teaches Absorb instead of Recover and Leviathan now learns Move-HP Up in Recover's place. Other than that, X-Potion now uses the unique Recover animation to keep it in the game. Step Mine's damage formula might be changed later to make it more powerful. From what I've tested, it takes quite long to make the Ability inflict any meaningful damage, but for now it should at least be enough to kill Cactuars faster and more reliably than any other method.


Other changes

• Zell's time frames for performing Duel have been further reduced (CL3 and 4 mostly, CL1 and 2 changes should not be too noticable).
• A shop has been added to Forest Owls base (talk to the man sitting at the bench next to the save point right before heading to the boss).
• Lightweight and Samantha Soul have been renamed Sprint Shoes and Thamasa Soul respectively to match the Japanese version more precisely.
• Drops of blood have been restored in Gargantua chamber, making it 100% identical to the Japanese version.
• The Fire Cavern time limits have been restructured. Completing the task within 5 minutes yields a special reward.
• The Missile Base time limits have been restructured, and the emergency exit only opens when choosing the lowest setting.
• Choosing the lowest time limit at Missile Base will be rewarded with a more noticable boost to SeeD rank.
• The selling prices for Occult Fan I and II have been reduced.
• The Absorb Command now ignores enemy Spr to make it have an advantage over the Drain Spell in certain situations.
• Quistis' Micro Missiles now does a little less damage as it is a Gravity based attack that can break the damage limit.
• Odin is now the first enemy the player can draw Double From.
• To accommodate the delayed Double availablity, its Junction effect on Str and Mag has been increased.

Things that didn't make it in due to time constraints:

• General Exp disabler
• Odin toggle on/off at Centra Ruins
• New sidequests: Fire Cavern and Tomb of the Unknown King revisited
• New damage types that allow Ultimate Weapons to break the damage limit with standard attacks
• Replacement for Boost Ablility that allows any GF to break the damage limit
• Retranslating Edea's speech in Deling City
• Making the ATB bar stop when selecting targets when it is set to Wait
• Removing some of the Junctioning mess at D-District prison when party changes

Some of that will make it sooner or later. At least Odin toggle, new sidequests, retranslated speech and Junctioning mess relief at prison will likely be implemented soon.

173

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.0.9)

« on: 2019-02-08 17:09:37 »

Hey, thanks again for your detailed report. Some things you mentioned are already planned to be part of the next update. I've been a bit busy lately though, so I can work on it only occasionally. I hope I can get it done before the game's 20th anniversary, which is very soon

Regarding Odin, making him the first enemy you can Draw Double from is what I have in mind too, to raise the incentive to actually defeat and get him. Also, the junction effects for Double will be increased - at the moment, they are rather low and outclassed by early-game spells easily. I could also have Odin use attacks instead of doing nothing, but the problem is that he has no real attack animations besides Zantetsuken. It would work, but would look pretty buggy at the same time, so I thought it's best to just increase his HP and Vit 0 resistance, so the time limit is the real enemy, as in the original game. Other than that, an Odin toggle on/off at the blue orb at the bottom of Odin's tower has been planned for quite some time already, but I still haven't found out all I need to achieve that. I'll look into it once more. Maybe the Hyne tool can help.

The Tonberry summon not being very useful is intended, yes. But I'm open to any ideas that would make it more unique. Shouldn't be too powerful though, as Tonberry's animation just doesn't look like it, and the Abilities he offers kind of make up for it anyway. Other than that, I'm quite relieved to hear that you make use of at least Siren, Diablos and likely Cerberus from now on as well. All the other GF up to that point actually deserve a tweak to become more relevant too. I'll think about it. Diablos learns Enc-Half at Level 32 by the way, if you are still bothered by the increased random encounter frequency here and there.

Seifer and Edea disc 2: There are four invincible items in the original game: Hero-trial, Holy War-trial, Hero and Holy War. Only the first two were removed from the mod, the other two are still in, but very rare throughout the entire game. Edea uses Maelstrom only once at the beginning of the battle after complaints from users. I guess that change was a bit drastic then. I think I'll make it part of her Reflect handling and/or let her use it multiple times again, but with lowered probability.

As for Punishment, have an eye on the Elastoid that appears during the Laguna flashback at the beginning of disc 3. You also don't need it to unlock Blasting Zone; Twin Lance should do, which becomes available after controlling Balamb Garden if you find the required upgrade materials.

kekko1285, I'm glad you figured what was going on and can now finally play the mod for real. Unfortunately, your suggestion about putting the spell stock count next to the characters' names would be difficult to implement. All I can do for now is keeping that idea in mind. Thanks regardless.

174

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.0.9)

« on: 2019-01-25 18:08:21 »

It seems you were very well prepared for Edea indeed. Getting 100 Dispels for everyone can take quite some time though, and you can only have up to two Spirit Junctions at the end of disc 1 - one from Shiva by default, and one from Brothers that needs to be learned first. With the rather short time frame between beating the Brothers and the Edea battle, unlocking the second Spirit Junction before Edea shouldn't be taken for granted (some players might want to go for the third Strength Junction from Brothers first). All in all, it looks like you spent some time on doing extra battles, and if the bosses become quite a bit easier then, that's totally fine. Still, you are absolutely right that the Spirit bonus from Dispel (56) is a bit over the top. I guess the overall early-game balance in regards to defensive stat gains from spells could need some more tweaking. Actually, Protect and Shell raising Vitality and Spirit by 40 each is a bit too much as well, considering the fact you can get these spells from Granaldo already (and then from Gespers a little later). 30 or 32 would do for these, but in turn, Float and Drain - which are available later on disc 1 - could be improved instead, to make it all more on curve, and more dependent on each character's base stats.

In regards to Silence, the soldiers inside Missile Base actually can use Remedy when under the status, it just doesn't happen very often - only 25% chance, so I guess this should be significantly increased (as well as their probability to heal themselves with Hi-Potion, which is even lower). As for the Prison boss battle, getting a cast off Siren was difficult during all my test runs when no GFHP+xx% has been learned before, as one of the GIM52A's often used Ray-Bomb during the first couple of turns, so I guess there was a little luck involved in your case. I think I'll leave this battle as it is, but the one in Missile base will be slightly changed, at least so that the Base Soldiers can't be made crying helplessly on the floor easily

Well I guess there will be another smaller stealth update soon, also with some alterations made to Zell's Duel (decreased time frame especially for the higher CL's). Thanks for all your suggestions so far, they are really helpful.

175

Releases / Re: [FF8PC-Steam] Ragnarok Rebalancing Mod (v1.0.9)

« on: 2019-01-21 18:13:32 »

Mcindus, thank you clearing things up. I hope this will help kekko fixing this issue.

Ayoyo, it's good to hear that at least some of the early disc 2 bosses were able to create a certain degree of tension, after having no trouble with the remaining disc 1 bosses at all. The Iguions' HP could be a little higher indeed, no problem with that. Will likely be changed. As for Edea though, I'm not sure. Other users who have played the mod thought her HP were too high. I'm also a bit surprised you didn't even need Shell to finish her off. Do you remember which spells you had junctioned to Spr at this point? Maybe you just had too many tools available to mitigate her spell damage.

The Elite Soldier's defense against Silence is 90 out of 100, so he should be almost immune. How did you silence him? Just used the Silence Spell, or by having it junctioned to Status-Attack? My plan for this battle was that only Siren can reliably inflict the status (100% if enemy is not immune), but getting a cast off can and should be difficult if the player has never invested in increasing Siren's low HP. Guess his defense needs to get raised to 99 to achieve that, if it still worked easily through other means. Other than that, I'll see what I can do to remove some of the general Junctioning hell inside D-District Prison. At least preventing the game from removing junctions all by itself at several occasions in the early-game should be easily doable.

Regarding the time frames for Zell's Limit Break, they have already been reduced for all Crisis Levels. At the moment, they are like this:

- 4 seconds on CL 1 (down from 4,66 default)
- 6 seconds on CL 2 (down from 6,66 default)
- 8 seconds on CL 3 (down from 9,33 default)
- 10 seconds on CL 4 (down from 12 default)

For those who are already familiar with his Limit Break, the changes are probably still to mild then. Could decrease the frames further, maybe. Altering the button sequence for each move would be possible too. Haven't really thought about it yet. Would you be ok with that? Opinions from others would be appreciated too, of course.