the amount of weight in the stats from ranking up is extremly high imo, and taking away alot of meaning in weapon choice, I think this could be an area to take a look at
The issue I ran into with Strength is that the range to work within can get very cramped compared to Magic, which has no weapon modifier to consider (except for magic bonus on certain weapons but this typically doesn't exceed 30). Strength has to be split between:
-) Weapon
-) Character's base stat
-) Lower/Upper ceiling of Rank-Up boost
-) Armour
-) Accessory
-) Materia
-) Innate (if applicable)
One thing I could do is separate the Weapon strength from character strength and have this be used in the physical damage formula on its own; that way, a weapon with higher base power will always be better than a weapon with lower base power in the event that the stat approaches its cap of 255.
As for redistribution, it depends. Having a new character development system, I wanted it to be worthwhile and it was replacing stats from levels so it needed to be significant. Moving the stat boosts more onto the equipment is just as viable (and could potentially be better, depending on how it is implemented).
After clearing the 3 Junon Leagues, I went back and talked to the soldier that registers you for the league. When he asked which league I wanted to pick, I selected "cancel" and it caused a softlock.
Also, I was fighting Carmine Weapon without the Underwater Materia. I beat it, but as the victory fanfare played and my characters did the victory poses, the timer hit zero and I got a game over. When I reloaded the save file, I was back at the world map by the sub, but the experience screen and item screen with the earth harp and gil appeared and I couldn't interact with them.
And is there an updated version of the "where is the thing" guide? I'm trying to find all the ultimate weapon materials and I assume the list provided can't be right because I found some of the things before the crater, which is where they're listed as existing.
I had a fix implemented for the menu when I updated the installer/IRO and hotfixes; are you on the latest version? Let me know if you are, as I'll need to re-attempt a fix.
What you ran into with carmine was a rare(ish) glitch that exists in the original game and has to do with the way the game handles memory:
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Emerald_Weapon_countdown_glitchSome interesting effects can be achieved with the glitch, but it can be dangerous. There's a video on that wiki page showing some of them.
I added some of the weapons to drop outside of the crater earlier, but copies of them are still acquired from Crater enemies by drop and steal; for the steal though you'll need a sneak glove equipped which can be obtained from Wall Market as before.
Hello - just started your mod and really enjoyed it so far. Problem is I just got to Red 13 and noticed he does not have E. Skill equipped. I think this may be because I didn't switch the mod on in 7H until after the first sector bombing. Is there anyway to get reset it so that it works properly going forward or do I need to restart the entire game?
You'll be missing more than that, the kernel initialises the 'starting state' of the game's characters such as their stats, equipment, etc. Tifa is supposed to join with Cover Materia, Aeris with Barrier, Heal, Earth, and Revive, Red with E.Skill, elemental, and Demi. Barret, Tifa, and Aeris will likely have joined with triple AP weapons equipped as well, because I converted their original starting weapon into one (they each have an extra weapon tier that's behind Buster Sword).
When playing a mod for the first time, it's important to always start from a new game.
As for your options now, I would recommend using a save editor to add/change the equipment and stats of your characters to get back on track. Black Chocobo save editor is the best one to use, but as a precaution make a back-up of your save files before doing anything.
Using default weapon names as these are how the save editor lists them
Cloud
STR: 43
VIT: 28
MAG: 27
SPR: 32
DEX: 16
LCK:14
Barret
STR 45
VIT 43
MAG 9
SPR 37
DEX 8
LCK 12
Starts with Assault Gun (remove Gatling Gun from inventory)
Tifa
STR 47
VIT 12
MAG 23
SPR 18
DEX 32
LCK 9
Materia: Cover
Starts with Metal Knuckle (remove Leather Glove from inventory)
Aeris
STR 22
VIT 11
MAG 47
SPR 22
DEX 32
LCK 25
Materia: Barrier, All, Earth, Revive, Heal
Starts with Mythril Rod (remove Guard Stick from inventory)
Red
STR 35
VIT 27
MAG 32
SPR 25
DEX 35
LCK 12
Materia: Destruct, Gravity, Elemental, Enemy Skill
Same equipment as default game
Yuffie
STR 37
VIT 8
MAG 38
SPR 11
DEX 50
LCK 12
Materia: Throw, Added Effect, Exit, Time, Enemy Away
Cait & Vincent - initialised in .EXE so no worries about these guys
Cid
STR 50
VIT 34
MAG 12
SPR 10
DEX 11
LCK 90
No materia, default equipment