Topic: New FF4 Hack Announcement

[bond697]

I have a level 30 Palom and Porom for testing on Baigan...

heh, yeah, i took the grinding to heart.  i wasn't planning on going that far, but with the game sped up, you miss things sometimes.

It's intentional. I'm using existing scripts and it's supposed to be a small joke (the undead repeat the actions of the previous life). It doesn't have much impact though in like 2 formations.

this is pretty cool. that never occurred to me.  i figured it was there for a reason, but that one never came to mind.

[bond697]

why can i not kill the ghasts after killing milon?   i've tried pretty much every way possible between physical and magic, and i can't seem to hurt them.

[Tristal]

I killed Milon at twins' level 22.  Keep in mind that while they have high magic defense, the Ghasts still have the same elemental properties.

[Deathlike2]

why can i not kill the ghasts after killing milon?   i've tried pretty much every way possible between physical and magic, and i can't seem to hurt them.

Keep in mind that while they have high magic defense, the Ghasts still have the same elemental properties.

255 Magic Defense = Magic Immunity

[bond697]

ah damn, i should've looked in the editor first.  every time i would try to hit them with a spell, there wouldn't  be a zero, nothing happened. it seemed wrong, because i haven't played through in so long.    definitely forgot about that.  thanks.

well, that took abut 3 minutes once i realized what i needed to use. thanks.

you know, i pretty much never use bows when i play, but they're certainly turning out to be pretty invaluable here.

i just went back to read the post, and i take it i'm done once i recruit yang? i see the monsters in the waterway are still being worked on.  or do you have baigan and the king done too?

[Deathlike2]

ah damn, i should've looked in the editor first.  every time i would try to hit them with a spell, there wouldn't  be a zero, nothing happened. it seemed wrong, because i haven't played through in so long.    definitely forgot about that.  thanks.

The only monster that normally takes advantage of this is Barbariccia/Valvalis.

you know, i pretty much never use bows when i play, but they're certainly turning out to be pretty invaluable here.

The way I've been setting this up... I'm indirectly endorsing that setup, but was aiming more for Quake immunity.

i just went back to read the post, and i take it i'm done once i recruit yang? i see the monsters in the waterway are still being worked on.  or do you have baigan and the king done too?

The monsters are a work in progress (my version has it more or less done, but they are radically different than what was last posted). I test my own hack "as I go", so it's imperative for me to test out monster balance first. Bosses get their own special time and treatment. Baigan's currently just perfectly annoying and evil... still beatable though. Cagnazzo/Kainazzo is still being developed though.

[bond697]

do i actually have to drain yang's 65k hp?  the battle doesn't end the normal way, so i take it that i do.

and i'm looking at his attack script, and i don't see it ending, so i guess i do. also, this:

If Casted on by Character
    Battle Message $12
    Cast <$36>SpdSong ($BD)

doesn't seem to be happening when i hit him with a spell.  is that what's supposed to trigger it? i hit him with a spell, he says something, and casts that spell?  or is he casting it but there's no animation, so i don't know it's happening?

[Deathlike2]

do i actually have to drain yang's 65k hp?  the battle doesn't end the normal way, so i take it that i do.

You had to do this in FF4 (and not any other version, including FF4A IIRC).

and i'm looking at his attack script, and i don't see it ending, so i guess i do. also, this:

If Casted on by Character
    Battle Message $12
    Cast <$36>SpdSong ($BD)

doesn't seem to be happening when i hit him with a spell.  is that what's supposed to trigger it? i hit him with a spell, he says something, and casts that spell?  or is he casting it but there's no animation, so i don't know it's happening?

If you read the Tower of Bab-il docs, reaction scripts rely on the order they go in. Think about which spells can actually be applied here.

No animation does not always mean doesn't work.... particularly for monster spells.

[bond697]

hmm...  so in the original ff4, the battle doesn't stop after cecil hits yang after his second kick?  you actually have to drain all his hp?  i haven't played through j2e's translation in years, so i don't remember.

i know that no animation doesn't mean it didn't work, thus this: "or is he casting it but there's no animation, so i don't know it's happening?"

i didn't really think about it before, but i started using some utility spells(as opposed to attack/healing spells), and it's really helping.  safe seriously trimmed yang's damage down to nothing, and blink helped me build up the safe barrier.

also, i ended up hitting him with slow as an experiment.  he used a different battle message, so i take it that i got the right spell to cause him to use the speedsong counter, but he still seems slowed down.  maybe it's just me.


i finally got this to a manageable level.  it took like 4 or 5 castings of safe and a half dozen uses of blink by tella to get me there, but he finally can barely hurt me.  now i can just keep plinking his hp down slowly...

[Deathlike2]

hmm...  so in the original ff4, the battle doesn't stop after cecil hits yang after his second kick?  you actually have to drain all his hp?  i haven't played through j2e's translation in years, so i don't remember.

No.. it was just the HP was set to 65000.

i know that no animation doesn't mean it didn't work, thus this: "or is he casting it but there's no animation, so i don't know it's happening?"

Think of the weapon-spells.. animation is an optional component.

i didn't really think about it before, but i started using some utility spells(as opposed to attack/healing spells), and it's really helping.  safe seriously trimmed yang's damage down to nothing, and blink helped me build up the safe barrier.

also, i ended up hitting him with slow as an experiment.  he used a different battle message, so i take it that i got the right spell to cause him to use the speedsong counter, but he still seems slowed down.  maybe it's just me.

I'm pretty sure this is not the case...

i finally got this to a manageable level.  it took like 4 or 5 castings of safe and a half dozen uses of blink by tella to get me there, but he finally can barely hurt me.  now i can just keep plinking his hp down slowly...

Going to straight Safe casting is easier IMO. Eventually the Kick starts being ineffective, and then it's smooth sailing from there.

It's worth pointing out, that you see the entire convo that was intended to be posted, but was originally missing. That wasn't fixed in FF4A IIRC. It was also translated for some reason...

[bond697]

casting slow isn't supposed to cause him to use different dialogue?  maybe it was a fluke then.  he only ever said "ouch" that one time in this one battle when i casted slow, though.

i think i see what you're saying about ff4.  the battle ended the same way-hitting him after his second kick. the difference was that his hp was 65000.

and, yes, i did notice the difference in the conversation.  very cool.

[Tristal]

So multiple castings of Safe work together?  Is it the same with Haste and Slow?

[bond697]

i think haste and slow each only have benefits up to 2 castings apiece.

[Deathlike2]

casting slow isn't supposed to cause him to use different dialogue?  maybe it was a fluke then.  he only ever said "ouch" that one time in this one battle when i casted slow, though.

It is supposed to cause him to use that dialogue (although, it's ironic Slow doesn't actually "hurt" him).

The magicial counter script follows the damage counter script.. so that only "non-damaging magic attacks" are the only one that is applied.

i think i see what you're saying about ff4.  the battle ended the same way-hitting him after his second kick. the difference was that his hp was 65000.

and, yes, i did notice the difference in the conversation.  very cool.

I took a look back at the FF4 stats... I've actually given more than the original (FF4's version is 62000HP).

So multiple castings of Safe work together?  Is it the same with Haste and Slow?

It's always been that way for Safe/Shell up to 255 of either stat (but that doesn't bring invincibility though).

Haste and Slow only affect a speed modifier and it is capped. The speed modifier by default is 16. The possible range is between 12 and 32. Having a lower value makes a character/monster attack more frequently and vice versa is true. Haste normally decreases the speed modifier by 3 (in this hack, it is 4). Slow normally increases the speed modifier by 8.

At this point, I'd suggest reading my FF4 Algo FAQ and/or magic FAQ for supplemental info (although, mind you some spells have changed in the hack, but that's besides the point).

[Deathlike2]

While testing...


I've had more trouble in trying to tweak this than originally imagined.