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Question about the Monster Formation Wiki - NPCnextdoor - 10-07-2019
Hello, I would want to have more information about Monster Formations. I've read the Wiki, but it seems a bit unclear to me still.
It says that the first four bits of byte 1 is VRAM map. Is it the "mould" that I remember seeing in FF3usME? (I can't use it as I'm on Linux and it doesn't seem to work with Wine. Also, I'm too lazy to create a virtual machine only to run that.) Also, what is the MSB Monster Index? Finally, how does the unused " Monsters Loaded to BG1 (unused)" works? Thanks in advance!
RE: Question about the Monster Formation Wiki - Everything - 10-08-2019
(10-07-2019, 11:44 PM)NPCnextdoor Wrote: It says that the first four bits of byte 1 is VRAM map. Is it the "mould" that I remember seeing in FF3usME? (I can't use it as I'm on Linux and it doesn't seem to work with Wine. Also, I'm too lazy to create a virtual machine only to run that.) Also, what is the MSB Monster Index? Finally, how does the unused " Monsters Loaded to BG1 (unused)" works? Thanks in advance!
Yes, the "mould" is the same as the VRAM map. That determines how the monster graphics are loaded into VRAM.
The monster index MSB is the "Most Significant Bit" of the monster index. You'll notice that the monster index is only 8 bits per monster. That would only allow you to select monsters 0-255. The MSB is the 9th bit which allows you to select monsters 0-511. I think there are only 383 valid monsters in vanilla. Setting the index to 511 means the monster slot is empty.
AFAIK, the "Monsters Loaded to BG1" bits are unused and have no effect. Monsters are normally displayed as sprites, but can be displayed on the BG1 layer during certain attack animations. The switch from sprites to BG1 is seamless and you would probably never notice it unless you turn layers on and off using an emulator. I think it's possible that the game designers wanted an option to show certain monsters on BG1 all the time, perhaps to allow larger monster images to be used. But this doesn't appear to have been implemented in the code at all.
*Shameless Plug* - If you can't get FF3usME to work in wine, monster formations can be edited using FF6Tools, which should run in your browser even on Linux. I just added a VRAM map view which allows you to see how the monster graphics are stored in VRAM.