I love hearing your reactions; it's almost like watching a let's play... or like reading one I guess...
Fun fact: Let's Plays were originally text based, some of the more entertaining ones can still be found here and there in archives, they ordinarily have a lot of pictures and a good host, I'm afraid I lack qualities of both.
Hmm, did you re-include Magic Evasion? I noticed that Goblin Punch against an EvilShell seemed to have a range of 8-64!
What do you mean by "re-include"? I don't recall doing anything special in that regard...
enemy Magic Evasion and Evasion in the original game is bugged (or purposely sabotaged by the makers) to never actually be put into monster's stats. So enemies that were supposed to mitigate good amounts of damage don't because they have no actual evasion and the original game only has a defense rating max of 5 for monsters because someone got very. Very lazy.
Ok so, "putting it back in" would equate to giving some monsters magic defense indexes that included a positive percentage?
Not exactly. when Evasion and Magic Evasion are placed for monsters into their data in battle they are entered into Magic Defense and Defense and a few instructions later are replaced. So either someone at Square was really stupid not to have noticed this, or it was done purposely because of a failure to ever balance out evasion.
Thanks! I wanted her to be comparable to the other "main fighter / secondary mage" type characters. The elemental arrows all have 0 attack; the power just comes from the bow, except for the wooden arrows (and later the yoichi arrows) which are vanilla but give an attack power boost.
That is good to know, I just picked up some Lit Arrows from a random encounter, so that would eventually be why they wouldn't give attack. That would have confused me down the line.
Since Rydia will be learning the four normally optional summons does that mean the Summon Orbs is a different range of spells for a different character?
Not as of this writing, but that is an interesting idea I hadn't thought of! Currently they've just been removed as item drops (unless I missed one by mistake or something).
The information on the range of the four spells is old, but it is still valid, but if you need me to refind and refine the info. just let me know.
Love the new animation you used for it, even down to the Summon Orb sound. There's Technically an unused Map Sprite in the Visual Effects for Summon Orbs (and Black Magic as well) but there's no way to easily activate them in a normal sense without custom code. Now Rydia has one of my favorite Summons! I like the Bomb Summon because it's not just Fire Elemental, but its damage is based upon Rydia's HP which is a neat concept. The Mist Dragon uses a similar one except without an elemental.
In this hack, Bomb is neutral (I thought it was neutral in the original too) and MIst is Holy.
It is neutral in the original... ahem, I think it is Fire-elemental in the remakes though. I know it definitely is in The After Years.
And that's Mt. Hobbs done. A good little display of the skills acquired so far. Mainly though Allure wrecks most of the enemies in the place.
Do you think it's too good? Should I perhaps lower its hit rate or raise its casting time?
I think Allure may be just a bit too good, yes. I think lowering its hit rate would be a better option than increasing its casting time. Out of curiosity what is its current hit rate? It seems near 100%.
Hmm, the Mythril Knife however may not have been the best investment, with its only difference that I can see being +5 attack from the Dagger. Mythril Staff seems a bit useless for this party setup, but it's something to hold onto for later with the +5 Will it provides.
Mythril staff casts Cure as an item (can be split or single).
Ah. I had assumed since the Staff was unchanged the Mythril Staff would be also. I stand corrected and that would have been great to know a little earlier, hehe.
Edward learned the Life Song, thank goodness! That will make getting through here on the return much more manageable, haha.
Life song has the advantage of being "free" but the disadvantage of taking its sweet time to cast, during which time the monsters are (probably) attacking you. Also the healing is proportional to the target's max HP, so the fighters will get more out of it than the mages.
If I may make a slight suggestion, perhaps the Harps could increase Edward's Will? I noticed that all of his Songs are considered White Magic and as it stands they are a little bit useless on their own at the moment. (Though I suppose the Dreamer Harp has some strategic use being able to Sleep a Foe.)
What exactly does will affect in these spells? Defense -> nothing, it's a static defense increase; Speed -> again, nothing, it's a static increase; Alure -> the chance of it working maybe, but it's already pretty high; Life -> it's a fixed amount proportional to max HP
I was unaware that Life Song was based on character's Max HP. With that knowledge... yeah, Will is pretty useless to toss onto the Harps, and really if Allure's hit rate is dropped that will give renewed use to the Lamia Harp as the Dreamer Harp trumps it heavily because of its ability to deal 100% Sleep.
You have no idea how happy that makes me! ^_^ Though you and chillyfeez (and possibly others) deserve at least some of the credit for helping me get certain things to work.
Seeing the fruits of our labors played out in our various hacks and mods always brings me joy and you have made a wonderful showcase of the editor with this mod thus far.
And back to the game...
Before resuming the journey proper I should probably pick up the Shadow Armor for Cecil since I saw him taking a Lot of damage from those enemies in the Waterway.
Hmm, the Handaxe has been reinstated but it doesn't seem to have its +3 Strength bonus anymore. It is a little more accurate than the Hammer though.
With a bit of arranging Cecil is equipped mostly with Shadow gear and a Headband whereas Cid has the Kenpo Gi and a bunch of Mythril Armor, a Handaxe, and a Mythril Shield.
What many people may not realize about Cid by default is because he is limited to two-handed weapons he won't ever get any Defense Multipliers since Shields are needed for them. Hence why he takes a lot harder hits than Cecil or even Yang, Yang makes up for his lack of Defense Multipliers with Agility.
Made it back through the Misty Cave and onto Mist.
FireBombs in Mist are much more useful than the Bomb Fragments of the original at this time.
Ah, there's the Fire Rod.
Wow there's some really good stuff in Mist's Armor Shop (complete opposite of the originals "Bard Robe".)
I see, so this is still the classic Rune Ring.
Oh, you changed the Beret's bonuses. It now gives just Vitality, but it seems you also made it equippable by everyone so its a tempting choice for Mages and Light-Cloth users.
I'll give the GaiaGear to Rydia since she has the Rune Ring to keep her from Silence so she'll no longer need the Bard Robe.
And I am now out of money.
Looks like Rydia's Mom stored some pretty good equipment away this time around.
I see you balanced the Gold Hairpin for having a Wisdom-user in the party instead of the 10 Wisdom of the original it now gives 3 Wisdom and Will also making it useful for Porom later on.
You also balanced the Wizard Robe to give +3 Wisdom and Will instead of just 3 Will. Wizard Robe will go to Rydia then and the GaiaGear to Edward.
...And I wasted 1200 GP on the Fire Rod, haha!
Well, preparations are made, I'll have my dinner and ascend the Misty Mountains!
Whoa! You did a fantastic job with this place! You used the Cave Tileset strategically enough that it works really well and seems fully unique!
Looks like we're fighting Magnes Cave foes, a good time to do so actually.
This is where Blind really shows its worth against the foes here.
Whoa! Viking Helm from a random battle with Ogres!
Gives a bit more defense than the Mythril Helm.
Hey, a new Harp!
As far as I can tell the Fairy Harp does not have a Status Ailment to inflict... I could be wrong though. It does deal some decent physical damage though.
From Magnes Cave foes to Mt. Ordeals foes in the next area. Now the Fire Rod should show its quality.
Hmm, do Revenants have a bit more HP? After taking a Shiva, it withstood three more physical attacks.
You were even kind enough to put a Save Point here, wonderful!
Eh? A Balloon this early? I did notice you have it showing up alone. That is an interesting idea and one I toyed with, in having a formation of a much stronger foe with a rare chance to find.
Roc Baby's hmm? Well this could be interesting (Use Blind, they proceed to Petrify my party..) Run!!!
I did not expect to run into Scarmiglione up here!
That's... a rather powerful drain, much moreso than originally.
...You did not fool around when designing Scarmiglione! That Bio is some powerful stuff!
I... lost. Hah, now I know how to approach this though. Do Not Kill all 4 Ghasts or You Will Die!
Oh Scarmiglione counters Any attack with Calcify, that could be real trouble.
Whew, that was close, not so much because of Scarmiglione's attack, but because of Calcify continually. When you attacked you had to make sure it counted!
But I've played this RPG before! I'm going back, saving, switching my rows, before fighting his second form.
Imp Captains and Needler formations in a dungeon? It works well enough. It does provide some good fodder for the Dark Wave.
I noticed also that the GaiaGear doesn't prevent Calcify any longer. I imagine that was done to prevent a basic invulnerability during the Scarmiglione fight so I can't really blame your choice.
Mages know Wave? What? It dealt only 2-3 damage as well.
Oh geez! He opens with Quake! That weakened my party significantly.
He also has Demi and a physical counter. He could be rather difficult.
Ah, I accidentally still had the Dreamer Harp equipped to Edward rather than the Mythril Knife and Rune Ring, I was wondering why he was taking loads of damage from Quake.
Gah! He can Curse as well?! This is an intense battle, and one I may not have been prepared for as far as Remedy's are concerned! Which means... I may have to trek all the way back to Baron to get some.
Wow! A lucky "Help!" Got me Leviathan who ended up taking him out, I think without that I was facing a slow defeat.
This is a new scene, I like the role of informants, I especially enjoy when the governments in FFIV are Actually governments. This has been the second hack now where the Mysidian Tower of Wishes is also treated as a seat of governance.
Is the Elder's line "Truly?!" A reference to the two or three times a leader says that in the original translation of FFIV?
It went by a little quickly but did the Elder say "do the mages tell you" instead of "do as the mages tell you."? It may have just been quick reading on my part.
I enjoy this scene of the Twins seeking to learn more about the world, I somewhat imagine that this is how the conversation went when they got word that the villainous Dark Knight was back in their town seeking help.
Well that seemed a little cruel. So Leviathan does get his revenge after all (and to think I just summoned him to beat Scarmiglione) if that was indeed Leviathan, I noticed the name wasn't dropped as in the original.
I also enjoyed the reference to Warp since it is now a White Spell rather than a Black Spell it would be Porom who knows it.
Hah! Early place to get the Gaia Hammer!
No Stat bonuses from it surprisingly enough though.
Another rematch with the Roc Baby's they may have few HP but they pack a punch!
And ridden down the Misty Mountain falls! You even threw us on the side of Troia that has the Chocobo Forest you need to cross the river into Troia, great use of the area!
Dark Wave + Gaia Hammer's Quake + Kick = Good crowd clearing.
Because of this combo the Gaia Hammer is infinitely more useful than the (I'm around for three more battles!) original.
I was one level away from Rydia having learned Ifrit in the Misty Mountains, heh.
And here we are at Troia.
Cursed Weapons? That's a new one to me.
The little boy in the Black Chocobo Farm says the title of a book "Stars of Dream".
Since I'm in a village...
Buy 99 Remedies!
Troia has a nice selection of armor from the various shops we've come across from Fabul to Mist.
The Fairy Harp and Gaia Hammer are on sale here in case you didn't pick them up in the Misty Mountains, good idea.
Doesn't look like much has changed in the "Cafe" I'll pick up a Pass when I have enough GP though.
The Black Chocobo's appear to be missing from the Northern Forest, I wonder if they appear now on a Flag basis...
So... let's go to Troia Castle!
Oh... Oh that's unexpected.
Golbez?!
Tellah! You hero for the ages!!
Now that was awesome. I also noticed that Meteo was a White Magic now, I suppose that goes along with it being classified as a Time Magic, I wonder if that means a certain Archer will be learning it in the future...
Tellah's quip back to Cecil is fantastic. "I was, wasn't I?"
Aw... I'm losing Edward for now? Ah well. He was a great character though. I loved what you did with him.
A Tome with every known spell? I'll keep a look out!
I did noticed you used the "hooded monster" sprite for the Shadow Dragon, out of curiosity would a changed palette "dancer's leg in water" make any kind of convincing Dragon?
Two of the Clerics still say "What's that?!" as if responding to Kain's voice. The rest have appropriate dialogue, smart way to segue into that. I also like this line of reasoning, a peaceful country doesn't want any trouble so they hand over their crystal for the moment to a party that they can see has kept the Crystal of Water safe from Golbez.
Well with that wrapped up now am I hitching a ride on a Black Chocobo?
Now I am free to fly anywhere I like!
While I'm in the area I may as well check out Mt. Ordeals and Mysidia.
Fire blocking me at Mt. Ordeals...
Hah! Drop of a Thunder Rod from Mini-Mages that could be useful early on.
When you go to Mysidia there is a neat introspection scene, but it is displayed with whatever character you have up front. Perhaps that is intended. I enjoy that "Suspicion" continues to play even after the event is done.
Dark Wave is great for taking out the trash, and now that I see this I have to wonder why they decided to not replace it with any sort of equivalency. It's dealing pretty good damage here at Level 21 it is dealing 180-220 damage to all foes, which is more than respectable.
So let's head to Eblan then.
Did not see this scene coming so soon! Edge returning to try and take the fight to the enemy is very much in his character and Rubicante's aimed questioning suits his character well.
For the first time in FFIV history Edge now joins at a level Higher than the rest of the party! Shock of shocks!
I'm glad I held onto that Mythril Dagger...
That's right, he's a respectable Wisdom-user in this, rather than just novelty skills.
Wha? Enemies in Eblan Castle? I mean, I did the same thing in my hack as well, since it makes a good deal of sense, still caught me by surprise though.
StaleMan dealt Massive damage to Cecil anywhere from 400-500, but only 20-80 to Edge who was in the Backrow, hmm... the GaiaGear doesn't protect against Giants does it? I noticed the GaiaHammer dealt really good damage against him so you may have turned the StaleMan into a Robot or change the Gaia Hammer's race advantage. And to think I was about to put Cid in the backrow for Edge in the front.
The Flame Blade! That is a worthy prize!
Oh, a healing pot in Eblan itself? That is nice to know.
Ah right... Stalemen are weak to Fire and the Gaia Hammer is Fire Elemental, that makes sense then.
You have the Flame gear stashed away in Eblan... that makes a great deal of sense when I think about it.
Stoneman is another devestating foe. Seemingly with the same resistances as Staleman.
It would seem the FlameDog's stats and rewards have been drastically decreased to compensate for where they are encountered. Again, it is a smart idea to put fire creatures in a place that was destroyed by Fire.
Eblan Castle Round 2!
Oh that's neat. Edge joins the team with 5 Shuriken. Nice touch.
I'll probably head back to Kaipo though, if given the opportunity pick up 99 Daggers for throwing since they deal 300-400 per throw.
Landed Curse on Staleman and his 400 damage decreases to... 1. Might just have been RNG though.
Oh god! It's Rubicante! What is he doing at the bottom of Eblan?!
Fire 2 is reasonable... Glare is still a killer!
Oh I see... those Fire2 Counters start to add up, and fast!
It only took like a literal six tries, but I managed to time a Shiva to hit him when his cloak was down!
This... literally leads me to the Eblan Cave with no way out. I... did not expect to be trapped here. I wonder what else I missed on the Overworld...
Finally! A Shop that sells Hi-Potions!
Judo? I imagine that's the renamed Black Belt?
You read my mind on the Daggers! This weapon shop is perfect for Edge (which you'd expect it to be)
Blind Dagger, always nice to see new items.
And you added a save point, wonderful...
Well the plot continues to thicken, but it is very late and this seems a good of a stopping point as any, I've dealt with Cagnazzo, Scarmiglione, and Rubicante, and of the original four all that remains is Barabariccia.
Once again, amazing work.
We have EVEN MORE themes now, but some old ones are gone...