Topic: Shadowing Stat Data

[Phoenix]

At the request of Zozma, I finally found my original documentation on shadowing stat data. I've attached the text description with the hex data to paste at various offsets (FF2us v1.0 headered ROM), as well as an IPS patch that I *think* is complete. (Although it might be for my own hack, which means you might have some non-standard data.) This will should properly copy shadow data for all characters when you add or remove them.

Real life has taken over, so I don't have much time for hacking any more, and probably won't be able to answer questions about any of it. Hopefully you guys can figure it out!

[Zozma]

thank you so much for taking the time to find that! phoenix! all 15 of my characters start on level 1 (with no exp bugs) so having them all get put in the shadow party from the start will help a lot.

i know you probably wont have time to answer this anytime soon and i might find out for myself first but
i see that you have it set up so that shadow party members dont gain exp. this part IS optional right? as i do want to keep the exp flowing into all the shadow party.

i also see the part about level up modifiers and pointers. is this going to be different for me since all 15 of my characters have a full set of data starting at level 1? or does this have anything to do with the level up data pointers here "7B700-7B727" because I use different pointers here than the original as a result of what I did.

[Pinkpuff]

Phoenix, once again, you are my hero!

This is such an awesome prospect; I can't wait to try it out.

[Zozma]

ok so ive tested it out a little. things work well except i didnt opt to make the shadow party not gain exp. at any rate, i tested it with kain, took off his gear before i lost him leaving one ot two things equipped. i made the game re add him and he was still on the same level as when he left (level 8) but with jacked up exp for next level amount. all 15 of my characters have level 1 data and i do need them to gain exp... i also tested rydia by adding/removing her in the intro to put her in the shadow, when i got her at kaipo she was still level one but again he stored data at the time she was added was still there...

other than that i must say this is extrodinary! im sure it works pefectly if your characters levelup data hasnt been messed with beforehand.

great job phoenix, this is extremely useful!

[Phoenix]

Thanks, glad it's working. It's been so long since I've worked with it I doubt I could even answer any questions about the code anyway. 

[Zozma]

something about the exp is off when they go into the shadow party, but i think its only as a result of my own tinkering with character level up data.

ill test this on a clean copy and see.

[fedorajoe]

Zozma, how did it turn out?  This looks like super cool work by Phoenix.  Don't know how I missed this earlier.  It's perfect for something I want to do.

[Zozma]

well it works great! however ive only tested this on my own version, which i created level 1 data for everyone, including tellah, and golbez.... (this means my level up data has different pointers)

but the problem i encounter is when you get the character back the required exp is jacked up and they have way too much for their next level... i do not know what causes this, but my characters level 1 data worked perfectly.... its something about their storage and getting them back that messes them up...

now to give a little more detail, i also made it so every character's exp curve is identical to rydia's since her lvl99 exp requirement is very close to the max cap.

[fedorajoe]

Hmm, I see.  Well, good luck with the exp problem!  If I mess with the shadow party and find a solution, I'll be sure to tell you.

[Zozma]

yeah, id love to see someone else test it on a normal game and see if the exp bug is there...

see i really wanted all 15 of my characters to start on lvl1 from the beginning of the game so that any time you get them you dont have to do any grinding to catch any of them up, and, none of them start far ahead of your characters either

another feature of this shadow party thing is that u can disable equip check. making it so the characters come back with the stuff they left with instead of having it overwritten with new stuff. maybe weird but there are other ways you can make them get their new joining equips

[Zozma]

ok so i tested it on a clean 1.0 headered rom and this is the result i get when i load edward back into the party under tellah's second actor. please note that i have changed the Load data, Battle name and Menu name data to match Edward....

Is it because this actor is expected to be lvl20 or above? or is it something else, further testing revealed that this is indeed seems to be the case which might be a problem... I need the game to think any of the actors could be as low as lvl1...
the next downside (for me) is that none of the shadows gain any exp at all...

at any rate, this shadow party hack does in fact work properly with all the natural characters in place... at least as far as i can tell which is awesome.

[Deathlike2]

Phoenix, did you kill some of the unknown bits used in the equipment data? I just need to know. I know one of the bits is the "no critical hits" one... and I believe that this change has been used in Paladin's hack. I know the Ogre Axe is one of those uses this bit (in addition to every whip Rydia can wield).