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Planing a return

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(08-29-2019, 10:20 AM)PowerPanda Wrote: For the World of Ruin, you either need to make ALL of the character recruitment part of branching scenarios, or you need to make NONE of them part of scenarios. However, if you could figure out a way to make Terra mandatory, that would fix the issue where she just shows up in the ending cutscene if you don't already have her.
That's one of the biggest advantages of writing in a branch there: you can make more characters mandatory for recruitment and so you have more guaranteed characters available for use during the ending (the escape from Kefka's Tower).  It saves you from having to use Edgar, Celes, and Setzer in every scene.
You could still leave some characters optional, though, I don't think it's an all-or-nothing situation.  None of the branches go to Narshe, so Mog and Umaro can remain secret characters.  Whether or not Zone Eater gets used, Gogo could remain secret too.  Strago's a fanatic unless you fly to meet him; there's no reason to force him into a scenario split.  And lastly, Shadow would need to be recruited outside the branches anyway, to handle the possibility he died on the Floating Continent.

I'm picturing
(1) Locke -> Jidoor (Get Relm, get Rust Rid ["Paint Thinner"]) -> Zozo (Get Cyan/Leo [depending on which plot we're using, Vanilla or Divergent]) -> Maranda again (Follow pigeon) -> Kohlingen (Rumors of a gambler)
(2) Celes -> Tzen (Get Sabin, set flag for Nikeah tavern event) -> Nikeah (Get Edgar, save Figaro) -> Kohlingen
(3) Terra -> Veldt (Via underground caves, get Gau in Cave on the Veldt) -> Hunt Zone Eater (Get Gogo) -> Coliseum (back exit of Zone Eater) -> Kohlingen

Such would require breaking Mobliz off from the Serpent's Trench, which isn't a huge deal.  It'd also involve setting an event flag to prevent the Zone Eater from swallowing you after the scenario, or to move the Airship to the Veldt or to the Coliseum based on which exit the player takes.  The biggest problem is reworking Phunbaba's scenes; Terra would need to regain her ability to fight on her own before setting out to find her friends.

(08-29-2019, 10:20 AM)PowerPanda Wrote: For the events at Thamasa, you would need to do some re-routing. The parts to keep in mind are:
1. Relm and Strago need to be in Thamasa in order for the events of that town to play out correctly. Taking either of them out will have drastic effects on the storytelling.
2. Strago also needs to be in the Esper's Cave to explain the 3 Statues. You could potentially get away with having Leo or Celes explain them, but not Locke or Terra.
3. The Ultros fight is set to only end with Relm sketching Ultros, so you will have to update that script and drop the HP if Relm isn't there. You would also need to explain why other party members have such a visceral response to Relm offering to paint Sabin's portrait.
3. Terra needs to be in the Esper's Cave for the scene with Yura to work.
4. From a gameplay perspective, the Thamasa events are meant to bring Terra up to speed on her skills, and also allow you to get skills started for Strago and Relm. The inclusion of Locke was necessary from a story standpoint, but it doesn't work that well for gameplay since he's also required for the Vector run. In Divergent Paths, I've switched out Locke for Leo.
Locke for Leo sounds like a good trade for that spot.  I was thinking it was a good time for a split because the imperial team breaks ranks before you even check into town, and then Shadow joins them after the fire.  I was trying to come up with a situation where Clyde could save his daughter without being in both scenarios, but maybe he _should_ be in both.
Perhaps in the spirit of cooperation, Locke and Celes go to Thamasa (with Celes giving him the cold shoulder until the burning house) while Terra and Leo go to the mountain.  But that still leaves Relm unplayable until Floating Continent and it raises the issue of the sketch tutorial...

...Unless...
Unless she faces off against Kefka during the Thamasa raid and fends him off with a portrait.  Yeah, her threat to Sabin needs to be removed but it certainly gives her an extra point in awesome, standing up to the madman.  That works better with your Leo setup than with the Vanilla game, though.
That also lets Ultros serve as a real boss for the Espers branch (and a threatening one at that, given his elemental reactions in that fight).

(08-29-2019, 10:20 AM)PowerPanda Wrote: I love the idea of an Edgar scenario though. That would include Edgar, Sabin, and Cyan for sure. From a gameplay perspective, you'd probably want to include Setzer, as he needs some time to build up his skills. However, he's also the easiest absence to explain, as he and Cid are fixing up the Blackjack. I would NOT recommend using Gau or Mog for this, as every event that includes them would have to include a check for if they're not there. That was extremely difficult for me when I added Shadow to Locke's scenario in Divergent Paths. It could be handwaved though with a single scene, where Edgar explains he's going undercover, and Gau and Mog would stand out too much.
Poor Mog.  Confused Pummel
He was the game's mascot, and he doesn't get any screen time because he's optional.  I wonder why he didn't join up during the Narshe Esper defense... that fight was an actor short anyway (lazy Banon!).

Anyway, it's fun to theory-craft this stuff, even if it is wildly infeasible.
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Messages In This Thread
Planing a return - by Catone - 08-13-2019, 11:10 AM
RE: Planing a return - by PowerPanda - 08-13-2019, 03:56 PM
RE: Planing a return - by C-Dude - 08-13-2019, 05:51 PM
RE: Planing a return - by Catone - 08-14-2019, 09:57 PM
RE: Planing a return - by Imzogelmo - 08-27-2019, 11:19 AM
RE: Planing a return - by C-Dude - 08-28-2019, 04:10 PM
RE: Planing a return - by PowerPanda - 08-29-2019, 10:20 AM
RE: Planing a return - by C-Dude - 08-29-2019, 08:35 PM
RE: Planing a return - by PowerPanda - 08-30-2019, 11:06 AM
RE: Planing a return - by Catone - 09-01-2019, 08:49 PM
RE: Planing a return - by C-Dude - 09-02-2019, 12:59 AM
RE: Planing a return - by Catone - 09-02-2019, 08:30 AM
RE: Planing a return - by C-Dude - 09-07-2019, 02:58 AM
RE: Planing a return - by Lockirby2 - 09-02-2019, 02:56 PM

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