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ReCast FF3: War of the Magitek

#1
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Version 3_16
.zip  ReCast V3_16.zip (1.64 MB, 6 downloads)


RHDN also has Version 3_16
Download from RHDN


Hello Play as Banon.  Confused  Recruit Mog early.  Huh Recruit the sasquatch early.  Finger No more Gogo, sorry.
No more art scale clash, monsters are sized relative to the player!
Fiends don't drop gold, but humans drop twice as much.
Zombie status inverts healing and occasionally scrambles who gets targeted.
Relm, Strago, Mog, and the mercenary learn magic as they level.  Playable with just natural magic, but it will be a challenge!
Sad Smile Surprised New scenario split in the World of Ruin!
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  • Data (06-01-2020), Gi Nattak (01-25-2020), jack5881 (05-01-2019), madsiur (05-01-2019), Robo Jesus (09-05-2019), Setzer (06-24-2020), SSJ Rick (05-19-2020)

#2
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Nice project man!
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  • C-Dude (12-09-2019)

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Almost to the end of my 2nd (w/Espers) playthrough... finding that the extra magic doesn't make the game as easy as I thought. The bug fixes really ramp up the difficulty.

Fixed a few fringe typos. Trying to make the animations a little more interesting too, and I want to revise some spells and some monster scripts (a few monsters are wildly unfair, particularly on the World of Ruin map). Also debating changing up more of the monster graphics (such as turning Enuo into a dark sorcerer... so THAT's where he ended up when the void swallowed him!).


My big snag, though, is figuring out how to approach displaying enemy statuses. I'm graphically depicting them with dummy spells that are conditionally cast.

(1) I can display them two at a time in a cycle using a monster script, but this will eat up a space in every formation to make room for the invisible "Status Monitor" monster. I've got a proof-of-concept script for this, though which monster displays a status each turn is selected at random.

(2) I can HYPOTHETICALLY repurpose the Condemned counter, set it to a non-level based limit (10-30 seconds), and have it cast a spell on expiration based on the monster's current status. This doesn't eat up a monster slot but measures have to be taken to ensure every monster has condemned status and players never get it (that is, unless they're being subjected to Overcast). This system will also only allow me to display one status at a time, either locked into priority like vanilla player statuses or selected randomly (resulting in a lot of empty Condemned clears).


Believe it or not, (1) would be easier to implement (it's just a lot of busy work). I think (2) is a better approach, but it's going to eat up basically all of the leftover freespace in C2 (so nobody else would really be able to use it) and the randomness involved will be frustrating. I'm still putting together some Hex for (2); haven't tested anything yet. If anybody wants a closer look, I can share the monster script for (1) and the notes I've got for (2) in a follow-up post.

What are your thoughts?
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#4
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Just a little update. Well... info. New version isn't ready yet. I also didn't make it clear in the last post that I haven't pushed the typo fixes into a new patch, so the link in the first post will still have them.

Anyway, I doubled down on the status monster (I was getting fatigued working in Hex and I didn't want to burn out), I've placed it into [almost] every formation, and now I'm revising monster scripts accordingly (or I will, when I finally get around to it). I also made some adjustments to shops to spread out when tools can be acquired (so that Darryl isn't so powerful out-of-the-box), to ensure that the four armor types are more readily available, and to make sure Locke can ammo up his Throw menu sooner. Crystal remains the best armor you can buy (in WoR Maranda), but the last of the typed armors instead appear in earlier stores.

Once I've finished tweaking monster scripts, I've got to do another full run to make sure I didn't break anything. So... it's going to be a while before an updated patch is available.

On an unrelated note, Wartpucks are back to being weird bulbous aberrations. I felt the charging boar was too mundane for unsealed War of the Magi monstrosities.
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  • Robo Jesus (09-05-2019)

#5
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Update time.

So I got to the Floating Continent (or rather, to the IAF attack BEFORE the floating continent) and I hit a difficulty snag. While I was working on addressing it, I kinda got distracted with adding new features (such as HP Inversion Zombie), and now I've got to start my test file over from the beginning again to make sure I didn't mess up the difficulty curve (or blork the game somewhere).

My fix for the difficulty spike was a huge buff to two character commands, so I want to see how that plays out. Also, HP Inversion Zombie is a huge mechanical change and I need to make sure it didn't break anything. As far as commands go, they're all pretty overpowered at this point, but my reasoning is that it makes up for the low damage formula (and makes Moogle status more detrimental).

There are other things I'm eager to try with the hack (mainly event and map editing), but I want to make sure the battle component is up to par before I dabble in that (IE release a Version 2 first). That way, if I can't cut it with events I'll at least have something to show for all this effort.
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Found a game-breaking bug. If you're playing Version 1, steer clear of the CzarinaRing and the CzarSignet. If they trigger at the start of battle, the game will soft-lock.
I've fixed this bug in Version 2. Racing to get it ready for release; my playtest just made it to the Falcon.
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  • Robo Jesus (10-15-2019)

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Updated to Version 2, yay! I've added info to the first post and changed the attachment to reflect the new patch version.

There are a lot of changes, so read the update notes in the zip file. Also, this version is NOT compatible with 1_0 saves or vanilla FF6 saves; you will have to start over. I anticipate that--given the extensive changes each version will deploy--this will always be the case.

Version 2 is harder than Version 1. You'll want to be Level 40ish across the board going into Kefka's tower. Good places to level are the Phoenix Cave and the Fanatics Tower.


Moving forward, I want to do some extensive event edits for Version 3, such as:
+Recruit Mog in the Moogle Cave after the "Defend the Esper" battle.
+Recruit Biggs in front of Maduin after getting the Airship (former Mog recruitment spot)
+Restructure the Ramuh scene to include everyone (more like the 'down the stairs' chat that follows it)
+Move Banon into character slot 11 (Gau's former slot) and write him into the World of Ruin
+Move Gau into character slot 13 (Biggs' former slot) so that he has 'polymage' magic instead of esper selection.
+Move Biggs into character slot 12 (Ashr's former slot) so that he has 'guest-ish' magic instead of polymagic.
+Apply PowerPanda's "Uneventful Dream" patch for event space
+Add a graphics change for Gau upon reaching the World of Ruin to reflect a growth spurt.
+Add a scenario split after Celes boards the raft in the World of Ruin.

That last one's the biggest aspiration: I want to make Relm, Locke, Gau, Terra, Cyan, and Clyde mandatory so that the end-game scenes can be more interesting. As an added bonus, that'll let me make the Phoenix Cave a bonus dungeon, so I can boost the rewards there.

The extent of the event editing I've done thus far is adding Mog to the Esper defense battle, so the above are ambitious desires. I make no promises that I can deliver on them, in a timely fashion or at all. Still, I wanted to clarify that while Version 2_0 is playable and enjoyable to the end of the game, I do have ideas on how to improve the hack further.
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  • Gi Nattak (10-26-2019), jack5881 (10-26-2019)

#8
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Information update.

So, I settled on swapping Strago with "Gogo" to make room for Banon instead of Gau. Gau's Veldt business and Shrodinger recruitment seemed too complicated to mess with. Strago lifted out easier, having only one spot to change in C2 (the character necessary to learn lores).
Because he's now in one of the guest slots, he will be unable to learn magic on his own (though he can still equip espers). I'll add a brief explanation for it in the burning house so that players (hopefully) understand.
I tried in vain to set up a "Lore on Level up" mechanic for him, but discarded it. Thus, come Version 3 Strago will not have any natural magic. Neither will Banon (who is taking Strago's old slot) because he has no reason to accrue magic like the infused. Strago still fills the niche of natual magic with Lores, though, especially with the Geo spell series (one of which he starts with, one he should learn in Crescent Mountain, and the last becoming available from late-game bosses and in Kefka's tower).

I've updated the Battle Scripts accordingly, so now I need to venture into the terrifying maw that is the game's event script. I've got Madsiur's guide to lead me, but it's still frightening.

EDIT: Oh, I also gave more characters surnames in the ending credits. Didn't have room for them all, though, since the pointers have to be in C2. Gau and Mog remain surnameless... though I might reference Gau's real full name in a text box.

My goals currently are:
+ Apply Uneventful Dream (Yeah, I keep putting that off. Gotta apply it to a clean rom, then make sure the changes line up with vanilla spots in my rom)
+ Move Gau's 'My fair lady' scene with the party to the World of Balance (hopefully by just flipping the event bit checked)
+ Trade instances of Sprite 07 with Sprite 0C and vice-versa
+ Trade instances of Actor 07 with Actor 0C and vice-versa (excluding most of the endings)
+ Find room to place Actor 07's naming function in the Returners Hideout (allowing the player to name Banon)
+ Turn the two Phantom Train ghosts into moogles

If I can accomplish all of that, my future plans will include.
+ Make Mog recruitable in Narshe after the Esper defense... or possibly mandatory recruitment during the instructions cutscene of the Esper defense
+ Overhaul the Ramah scene to be a full cutscene with the entire recruited party, not just the characters taken to Zozo.
-Use Ramah's NPC event (Ramah to Magicite) to move the party to the Zozo stairs scene
-Accomodate for Mog being recruitable at this point
+ Make Biggs recruitable in the World of Balance, in Mog's old spot (Lone Wolf hostage)
+ Add Leo to the party after the Vector Banquet, using him in place of Locke at Thamasa (Locke will be present before boarding the boat, but will leave to chase Celes upon arrival)
+ Change Gau's graphics to Sprite 11 upon reaching the World of Ruin
+ Call a second "Select a Scenario" event after Celes boards the raft, reusing the event bits from the World of Balance


It's a tall order... hopefully I'm up for it.
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  • Robo Jesus (11-04-2019)

#9
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Making my first pass through the event script and mercy, event editing is an ordeal!

First, some business. If you're playing through either V1 or V2, do not carve the grave incorrectly in Setzer's Tomb. I found a pointer error as I was progressing through the event script and it will cause an ugly crash if you put in the wrong options.

Clipped off the Dragon's Head Colosseum and Mobliz in the World of Ruin map (with rivers) and relocated the chocobo patch to the forest near Maranda (for Relm's branch). Also moved Phoenix Cave closer to Kohlingen for story purposes (Learned its entrance is a tile property too, which is good to know).

I've yet to add any new NPCs, though... I'll have to get around to that eventually as I'll need at least one for Mog for the Opera balcony. Haven't decided if it's better to add a new NPC in the map editor or to create one in an event and assign an event pointer to it. I'm wary of changing pointers so if anyone has any advice on which is better, I would be grateful.

At the moment, I'm editing the Ramuh scene. I've drafted what I want to happen and now I've just gotta work out the hex for it. I'm drafting in Zone Doctor (without saving, of course), but it likes to crash after adding about 6 lines, so the going is slow. The scene now involves all current party members (except Banon, who has to stay in Narshe) and will automatically transition into the "Zozo Stairs" scene after it concludes. My goal is to free up some dialogue threads from the formerly caseword-sensitive script and make the scene a little more compelling.
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  • madsiur (11-22-2019), Robo Jesus (11-22-2019)

#10
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Progress Report:

2/3 scenarios set up in World of Ruin (nothing tested yet, have more event cleanup to do first).  Having some trouble motivating for the last one.  Once it's hooked into the scenario exit, I've gotta make adjustments to the reunion in Kohlingen too.

Got some cleanup to do with World of Ruin recruiting, mainly for the optional characters.  Gotta set up Banon's recruitment (Cave on the Veldt, requires Locke), need to fix some animations with Duncan (Motion $2C, since he uses an NPC sprite now), need to make some small insertions to the end of the Phoenix Cave, need to fork Biggs' recruitment to compensate for the possibility he was recruited in the World of Balance, and need to put... something at the end of the Zone Eater.  Listing all this here mostly to make sure I don't accidentally forget something important.  ...Probably need to move around some of the World of Ruin encounter zones too, either that or nerf some monsters.

Lastly, I've got to add Banon to the events at Thamasa, which means some scene adjustments.  Hopefully I can find some room for dialogue for him at Leo's funeral, since I've got only a handful of bytes left for dialogue script.

Sounds like a lot, but most of this is actually just busywork.


...Crossing my fingers that I didn't catastrophically break something, though, as I've been unable to test these changes.  I reserve the right to bail out if I encounter a crash I can't debug.
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  • madsiur (12-09-2019)



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