[FF7PC-98/Steam] New Threat Mod (v2.0.99994)

[Sega Chief]

Poisona is still kicking around on 1.2; it heals Dual in addition to Poison, but in the end it was too situational, didn't have a unique animation, and was basically out of the running when Antidotes were around (which are one of the cheapest items at 80gil). Osmose, it's replacement, is much handier and solved a problem where players might end up without any Ethers early-game.

Debarrier could be merged into Dispel, but it's not on the cards just now. If I was adding another new spell in, though, then it'd be on the list of candidates.

I'm actually considering returning Cure back to normal. People were saying that Cure spells were useless whenever MBarrier was up, but to be honest I haven't found that complaint to hold water. I also don't like using a fixed formula for Cure which 1.3 currently does (it was the only way I could find to make it ignore MBarrier); makes it basically an item that needs MP to use, and isn't subject to split penalties either.

[Rufus]

never heard of dual until that post, according to this article it does nothing.

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Dual

did you make it do something?

[Sega Chief]

Dual is paired with another status called 'Dual-Drain', which doesn't appear in a character's listed status ailments in-battle. My understanding of it is that if you inflict Dual-Drain without the Dual status, the game crashes so they need to be inflicted together. Dual-Drain has the opposite effect to Regen, and is only seen once in the default game when fighting with Bottomswell; specifically when he casts Waterpolo on someone.

[Aquarii]

Hi Me again,

How do i get Tifas Final Heaven in Nibelheim?

Greetz Aquarii

[Sega Chief]

Board the Highwind and head for the Operations Room; a new NPC is opposite the original one. Talk to this guy and change your party leader to Tifa. Now head for Nibelheim and play the piano as normal; she'll find the letter from Zangan like in the default game, but some additional text is here directing the player to the Nibelheim Reactor. Head up there (Tifa must still be party leader) and go inside. A new boss is waiting in front of the Jenova door. Kill that guy for the Limit Break.

[Rufus]

man you need to explain in the game that i had to change party leaders, how was i meant to know that? i just wandered around the whole area with tifa in my party and nothing happened.

[Sega Chief]

Yeah, I probably should. I thought the new NPC on the Highwind's deck mentioned or alluded to it in some way, but I just checked and he's about as vague as it's possible to be. I'll add script, etc.

[Zara9]

hey sega chief

your mod is becoming more popplour now

[Rufus]

also didn't know what to do with barrets one, I'm very sure i spoke to everyone in the village.

I was a bit confused about dios thing, ! think he said to come back later, am i meant to do the other new threats before doing that one.

[Sega Chief]

Well, the first thing is to unlock it all by reaching the bottom of the North Crater and then returning (the last place just before the point of no return, when the party meets up again: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/w2Ju3zJfk8E/maxresdefault.jpg

A phone-call from the Highwind confirms that the new content is unlocked; it's an old trigger I'm going to revise soon. As for Dio, 1.2 doesn't have the Dark Cave sidequest which is why he has that dialogue.

[Rufus]

i did go to the bottom to unlock the new threats, hopefuly that will be changed though as you said.

i did go to red XIII's and aerith's one, but barret's never happened, I'm sure i spoke to everyone in town.

watched a video playthrough, oh okay barrets is at the reactor, do any of the towns people tell you to go there?

and atm scorpion again, with no battle music, i thought it would be dyne,maybe he survived that fall, he already did survive the first one, I don't know, but something better would be in order, cloud, aeriths and cait siths were soo cool, so i wouldn't change them.

is there no way you could import a ff8 boss model into ff7 for barrets boss, that way you wont have to create a whole new boss model, you could also use some ff8 music quite easily, or maybe that's not allowed.

[Sega Chief]

Yeah, the Scorp battle's music was a bit screwed up due to the sound effects that play just prior to it. I think I sorted it out for 1.3 (this is one of those times I regret not keeping a change-log). There should be a new NPC near the entrance of North Corel who directs the player up to the Reactor, he only appears once the content is unlocked.

As for importing models, I dunno. If Kimera can read and work with FF8 model parts like FF7 ones then maybe? It'd depend on whether the textures used by FF8 enemy models can be converted into ones usable by FF7, as FF8 models are mostly textured while FF7 ones are shaded polygons and very few textures.

[Rufus]

just thought it would be a cool and easy way to add a new boss without you having to make a truly new boss,  I don't know if you could carry the move sets and animations along with it.

but it was just an idea to try a different boss for barret, but if you're happy with barrets boss then I guess it's okay.

but it may be a cool idea in case you wanted to add yet a new boss somewhere.

do you think you could explain the whole ruby/emerald weapon superbosses and what things you get from them for your mod.

-) Kalm Traveler reworking

I would like to request the kalm traveler get reworked, mostly in his image and location, it just seems so bizzare and not in line with the big quest to deal with the superbosses, honestly it feels very strange to take on the superbosses, win and some standard guy gives you the amazing mastered materia, you think to yourself, how the hell can this guy have this materia yet we couldn't even get this.

I'm not sure how it could be reworked, one idea is that it could be in nebielhiem mansion, in a secret shinra safe, with highly experimental materia written on it. and maybe the emerald weapon drops a key, and you use that key to unlock the safe, then you get the mastered materia.

for ruby weapon, i never understood the chocobo thing, I don't see how it's useful, and can be obtained in other ways, so a second drop could maybe be mastered MP/HP+ materia? with the 9999/999 break lifted that could be useful.

For the underwater materia, yeah the original game is pretty bad for that, I think you should get it by defeating another new boss added by yourself, ideally the new boss should be on the sunken ship, that would make the most logical sense, the boss itself can drop the materia if that can be done.

but honestly, with your new threat bosses I don't see where the emerald weapon sits, i guess you defeat hojo at level 40, you then defeat the 8 or so new threat bosses putting you at level 60, then maybe the superbosses?, in which case now you do the last remaining story bosses.

[Sega Chief]

Ruby and Emerald have actually been down-tuned in this mod, and while they're tougher than quite a few of the enemies in this mod they're not the toughest on the roster. The items they drop, Earth Harp and Desert Rose, are given to the old man in Kalm like before but instead of getting Master Materia and a Gold Chocobo you instead get two very tough fights (and a third for the Guidebook, which used to get you Underwater Materia). Two of these fights, the Guidebook and the Desert Rose, use a rare Enemy Skill at the end when they're defeated. The Earth Harp fight is for getting an item needed for Red XIII's ultimate weapon (1.3 only, though the item can still be obtained).

[Rufus]

ah okay so you get 3 mini bosses basically, and with them your saying you get a rare enemy skill for two of the bosses, and you get another way to get red XIII's ultimate weapon with the 3rd one.

well i agree with getting rid of the mastered materia, that should not be allowed in the game, but I think instead you should give out mastered HP+ and MP+ for defeating these , this would be a really cool thing given that in the world of new threat mod you can't get HP+.

if you think mastered is soo much that's okay, maybe you can put a special lock on it so its permanently level 1, it may only increase HP by 500 on a 8000 party member, but it would be something cooler than an enemy skill, but of coures its up to you if you think enemy skill is better.



we should figure out some better place and character for this person to be, maybe at the icicle in town, where ilfalna used to live, a secret safe could be there, this safe could be ifalnas safe that is brought down to each surviving cetra, you unlock the safe with the items the weapons would drop when they were defeated.

or some other proper story/explanation as to why you would be able to use something you got from the weapons to get those items, not just some passerby with no real connection to the story like the original game.

Overall I think it should be laid out like, get underwater materia from new boss in sunken ship, defeat the two weapons , give the two lunar harp to kalm traveller for key to Midgar key item, then give desert rose to kalm traveller for HP/MP+ materia locked to a certain level, I wouldn’t add the extra bosses in, simply because I think its weird to fight a superboss, then get a drop, then you give the key item to someone in exchange for another mini boss fight, especially when that boss fight doesn’t have a battle map that matches the location.

That’s how I’d do it ,BUT it’s your mod so you can do what you want.

[Rufus]

Two more requests of sorts.

-) Overworld enemies leveling with you

I suggest once you get the highwind the overworld enemies level with you, this is because once you have full world access in the game encounters become far too easy in the Midgar area, so if they level with you, there is a reason to fight and get decent experience.

-) Better ‘Midgar key’ drop

I suggest you get this from one of the super bosses, this would prevent you from doing cids new threat boss unless the superboss is defeated, but it sounds like a cool idea.

In fact if the kalm traveler gives you the Midgar key for the lunar harp, it might make more sense, as it’s something he may genuinely have.

or at least find some better way to give the player the Midgar key, as the original game doesn’t make it clear where to go to get it.



-------

could you also explain about the ultimate weapons, when I look on your database it just says Gerols weapons shop, but where is that weapon shop.

[Sega Chief]

Two more requests of sorts.

-) Overworld enemies leveling with you

-) Better ‘Midgar key’ drop

In fact if the kalm traveler gives you the Midgar key for the lunar harp, it might make more sense, as it’s something he may genuinely have.
or at least find some better way to give the player the Midgar key, as the original game doesn’t make it clear where to go to get it.

I had an experimental AI that boosted enemies after a certain point, but I didn't really see many enemies being worth fighting again. I think Corel is one of the few places where you need to back-track through but it's only something like 2-3 battles if you rush through. The enemies using the AI for a boost felt lop-sided, and weren't much challenge anyway.

What you need to remember is that a lot of people are very familiar with this game. Moving something from it's established location tends to raise questions (a common question I get is usually about the location of 'X' materia/item, etc. because a lot of those locations were altered). There is a process for finding that key; in the default game (and NT because it's unchanged) you 'discover' the key by trying to re-enter Midgar on foot, finding the new NPC there, working out that he dropped his key in Bone Village, and then using the surveyors there to eventually find it.

Same thing with the Kalm Traveler, lot of players know that when they get the Earth Harp and the Desert Rose they're to take these items to him to trade for Master Materia and a Gold Chocobo; NT mixes up the rewards a bit, keeping that sidequest mostly intact because it doesn't need any in-game player direction (for the most part). Moving the places where you turn these items in would need some kind of event that points players to these locations. NT has something like that for it's content with the NPC on the Highwind's bridge but it's not very efficient.

Trading in old Key Items for other ones might work, but it depends on the triggers for certain events. If the Sleeping Forest checks for that Harp in your inventory whenever you first enter it, then it needs to stay in the Inventory. You can't have multiple key items either, because they're handled by variable switches not an actual item. What I can do is overhaul the way the game directs the player to extra content, and I'll have it maybe point to pre-existing stuff as well just to cover all the bases.

As for HP+ and MP+, MP+ should be in the game already; it's on one of the branching paths in the Crater (left-down I think). HP+ and the others could be made into special one-time drops now that I know how to adjust the bonuses they give and make them 1-star, etc. but I'd like to maybe reserve those for NG+.

Edit: The Weapon Shop is basically this one, the blue house near Gongaga: http://oyster.ignimgs.com/mediawiki/apis.ign.com/final-fantasy-vii/d/db/Seller.jpg

[goodmorninpluto]

Thank you for this mod!
This gave me motivation to finally buy steam version and start another playthrough of this brilliant game.
I like the mod so far, however I encountered something strange - Aps Senior HP was 12500 in-game which led to 20 minute long fight. I checked its HP on some videos of 1.3 on youtube and within Proud Clod tool, and in both cases it says 2250. I am using 1.3 with hotfixes. Dunno what to make out of this and kinda worried that this HP error gonna prevail on following bosses =/

[HeaN]

I really need to say your mod is epic. I spend around 60hours on it
I will try to be active to report any bugs I can catch.


First one i got is that after the hot fixes (10th-16th may) it rains everywhere for me even inside buildings.

[Sega Chief]

Thank you for this mod!
This gave me motivation to finally buy steam version and start another playthrough of this brilliant game.
I like the mod so far, however I encountered something strange - Aps Senior HP was 12500 in-game which led to 20 minute long fight. I checked its HP on some videos of 1.3 on youtube and within Proud Clod tool, and in both cases it says 2250. I am using 1.3 with hotfixes. Dunno what to make out of this and kinda worried that this HP error gonna prevail on following bosses =/

Yeah, I noticed that recently myself. I've no idea how he got that ridiculously high HP value into his AI because I haven't tweaked it in a long time; only Aps appears to be affected from what I've seen so far (his stats, and some other enemies, are set through AI because he appears as the 8th battle in the pre-Bronco Battle Square, and enemies in Battle Square were getting a stat boost which was too much considering the mod's tweaked enemy strength).

I should probably upload a scene patch early; I've only done up to Kalm in the re-balance playthrough I'm currently doing but 12000 is too much to leave it as it is.

I really need to say your mod is epic. I spend around 60hours on it
I will try to be active to report any bugs I can catch.

First one i got is that after the hot fixes (10th-16th may) it rains everywhere for me even inside buildings.

Glad you're enjoying it, but it seems I've made a mistake with rain; that's handled by a variable switch so if I've enabled it somewhere but not disabled it for indoors, it'll just keep raining. Think of it as your own personal raincloud following you about (I'll get that fixed up pronto).

[Rufus]

-) Kalm Traveler reworking

Well im just making suggestions, to me the original game seems pretty poor about this sidequest/superbosses in terms of prizes, where you get them, and who gives them to you, but if you wanted to change it the location and person giving the prizes, the same new threat NPC could direct the player to it, and just pretend it’s a new threat boss/quest in some way.

One suggestion could be where you gave the key of the ancients to Bugenhagen, you could go there and see bugenhagen’s ‘spirit’ he can say ‘if you can vanquish the Weapons laid by the ancients, you will receive a special rare materia not seen in centuries’, that would give the player a lot of excitement, once defeated he would give the party locked HP+.

-) Overworld enemies leveling with you

Yeah story wise you don’t need to backtrack, but its just when moving around the map generally, I was just thinking of getting the levels to at least be the same, that way no complex AI would need changed, this makes it so you aren’t a level 50 party hanging in Midgar area then fight level 10 enemies that die in one hit.

-) Better ‘Midgar key’ drop

Sorry I meant trade EARTH harp for the key, I just thought it was something that the kalm traveler could genuinely have, which makes more sense than vanilla mastered materia or NT where he throws a mini boss fight at you where the battle map is outside the house.

But the original Midgar key location was okay, I think wetalked about changing is dialogue as it was preety ambiguous where to go, but it can still be there.


I have two other suggestions

-) Highwind can land on rock

I suggest you allow the highwind to land on rock, in this case you can land right outside cosmo canyon, I’m not sure if doing this would break the game by giving you access to areas your not suppose to.

-) Ultimate weapon ‘shop’

Okay so its beside the house near gogondo in the world map, but does your mod say that’s where to go,maybe your new threat NPC could mention it if you haven't bought a weapon from him, if you have bought at least one weapon from him it could be removed from his dialogue.

[Sega Chief]

I'm not having Bugenhagen turn up as a ghost; Red XIII might cry.

While it would be nice to land a little closer to certain locations, it'd probably need an .exe hack of some kind. That and it'd make any chocobo below Gold kind of pointless.

I'm gonna rework the NT NPCs anyway, so no worries. That, or I'll put a big neon sign over the weapon shop guy's house saying 'HERE BE GOODIES'.

[HeaN]

I wonder. Somewhere I read the max cap is set to Lv70?!



Aerith is Lv71 Maybe another bug?


anyways I don't think that the mod is unbalanced. It feels just perfect. You shouldn't change too much in my opinion

[Sega Chief]

Nah, I removed the level cap recently. It wasn't working very well and I found a much more discreet solution to the physical attack formula issue that occurs once you start to reach higher levels.

As far as balance goes, I won't do anything too extreme. I'm just tightening it up a bit.

[goodmorninpluto]

Finished Midgar, now on my way to Junon.
I had to replay bike minigame three times before taking on the boss - was it intended or glitch? If it was intended, I think some kind of message is needed here, otherwise it's confusing.
I'm trying to learn Chocobuckle, but I guess it's impossible right now - looking at your database, it says that it costs 24 mp now, while these poor chocobos near Farm got around 13-16. I just get the message "Chocobo MP was depleted" when they try to cast it, and then tey run away