The abyss of the darkness

I updated today. Yep, that's right - an ACTUAL update and not a few nitpicky typo corrections. I'm making myself finish up the weapons page before I move on to add anything to the Focus pages. Oh yeah and the words files? Horribly out of date. That's the downside of having a dozen files all containing the same data. A change in one takes time to copy and paste (and potentially reformat) to the other files.

The following is a reprint of my last To-Do list post for Street Fighter. This is to help me remember what needs attention. I'm starting with the weapon section and continuing on as I've already got a (small) list of Focus maneuvers that need some work and every other category should be done. Even if it's not it can wait. Those that were already double-starred have been cut from this incarnation of the list to save space.

WEAPON


** Ankle Cutter [same problems Ankle Smasher has]
** Arc Axe [feint clarified]
** Art of Destruction [mirrored changes to Tamashiwara]
** Astral Blade [unblockable blade strike]
** Backhand Fighting [allow knife skills]
** Bandit Chain [proofread, clarify Breakfall]
** Batting Hero [remove abort line, proofread]
** Baton Smash [original description was written before changing to an all non-soak roll ruleset, may be a standing or crouching maneuver]
** Blade Toss [weapon throwing that isn't scythe/knife]
** Choke Chain [lower requirements, proofread]
** Circular Reason [baton maneuver, revised rules]
** Concussion Smash [AE damage + stun]
** Crescent Overhead [changed 2nd strike to Punch]
** Crescent Rush [clarify, modify backhand rules]
** C.V.B. [proofread, consider knockback and parry rules]
** Daikyo Burning [modify damage to the weapon, proofread]
** Dark Hold [increased speed and effectiveness]
** Deflecting Parry [small upgrade to parry it provides the full soak bonus vs. multi-hit attacks]
** Deflecting Strike [needs a full re-write because it's use is ultimately redundant, add speed penalty to other duelist due to the deflection]
Double Strike [proofread, remove willpower cost]
Double Weapon Strike [needs name change and rewrite]
Ni-jihan Press [Sodom's sai grab and ground slam]
** Parry [needs clarification, soak bonus only applies to the first incoming swing]
** Phoenix Blade [weapon mod only applies to 1st hit]
Reflection Slice [contested Ref+Grab vs. weapon attack roll in order to grab the weapon followed by second attack roll to attempt to inflict return damage]
Riposte [rewrite]
** Scorpion's Tail [multi-hit whip maneuver]
Slice Upper [proofread]
Spinning Stroke [specify strike rates and establish as a different maneuver from Circular Reasoning]
** Staff Spin [proofread, Energy/Missile Reflection use]
Weapon Channeling [proofread]
** Wall of Steel [strikes are automatic meaning the duelist cannot opt not to strike allies]

 -- page going through all the steps of character creation w/full freebie point costs and the added customizing steps

     >> LEADING TOO >>

-- Build headers and in-line links in the House Rules and Errata pages, make sure to clarify the various elemental types of Hado (including non), the effects of the Dark Hado on humans - including vulnerability to later mental affects, Ler Drit

-- Errata page: all new rules concerning maneuvers themselves can be found there:  Grab clarifications,
breakfall, knockdown negations, conjunction maneuvers, Focus maneuver carry-through [a link at the top of every move page needs to be written for errata and house rules]

-- do a complete write up of all Kalindo moves, benefits, and penalties

** -- make sure that the Breakfall modification table has every move that causes damage via impact with the ground on it, also sort the table first by difficulty, then alphabetically (solution: place the moves to negate Breakfall at the top, alphabetically, then list ALL other maneuvers that include ground impact damage) - this is not 100% complete as maneuvers other then grab/block/weapon may need to be added

-- create list of Katas (mostly for duelists) and Rites since I now have a handy dandy new Rites background and very little to use it for as-is.  Yes this adds a lot more work to my list but I think it's well worth it to inject mystery and danger into NPCs who aren't street fighters.

-- finish the Totem writeup I started

-- finish the Hybrid and Cyborg page

-- since I'm already mining Cyberpunk for some Life Paths tables I might as well convert cybernetics too

-- need to do an efficiency audit for weapon moves

---------------------------------------------------

----------------
Now playing: Kouji Niikura & Kaori Takazoe - The Nightmare is Finally Over...
via FoxyTunes   

Just a short little semi-ranty post tonight on the subject of cyborgs. Let me be clear in stating that I am NO fan of having cyborgs in the game. There presence requires special rules be drawn up that only apply to them and arbitrary limits on the technology they can have. If a cyborg can simply buy a blaster with the same effect as Fireball what's the point  of all the training other fighters have to do? Not to mention the inherent segregation of powers by style!

However, they exist despite my dislike of them. They are canon for the RPG. Echoes of the technology appear in the games and the anime. So I can't just ignore them.

The main problem is: How do you determine what implants a given cyborg is, how they work, and what drawbacks they have if any? That's not as easy as it sounds. In the Player's Guide cyborgs start with a penalty to permanent Honor that can put them into the negatives. I'm not particularly fond of that solution and it's the chief reason I haven't gone ahead with converting the Shadowrun method of eroding humanity.

Honor is a weird stat. It is both the perception other fighters have of your honesty and reliability as well as your own sense of moral dignity. There are lots of ways of gaining or losing Honor related to shaming and simple loss of conscience. If you establish that, by default, all cybernetics drops the Honor cap (which I should point out is something that not even Ler Drit can do) you run into a problem of stereotyping the prosthesis in a way that is completely unrealistic. Is a person with a prosthetic arm more likely to develop a psychosis purely because of the artificial limb?

Once phrased in that light it seems not only ridiculous but downright cruel. Because of that reason I haven't been able to make myself finish the cyborg rules. If any stat would be penalized, besides maybe Appearance, it would be the maximum Chi cap. That at least can be justified by saying the loss of flesh reduces the avaible mass for generating energy. Of course that runs into another problem. If that is true then why wouldn't larger people have bigger Chi caps?

The search for a solution is ongoing.

----------------
Now playing: Scott C. Lee - Palace Theme
via FoxyTunes   

Ok, I admit I've been rather lax on updates lately. Let me get right to the point: It's incredibly boring work. That and I'm trying to reign myself in. The game really doesn't need a ridiculous number of maneuvers anyway. In the meantime, here's a cookie.

Ashura Blade
Requirements: Focus ******, Echo Blade
Power Points: Elemental: Darkness 5
Description: This ability is not a blade – although it can be formed into a blade-shaped projectile with sufficient mental control. Focusing intense energy into a chi blast the elemental generates a short-ranged, purple and black pulse of intensely destructive energy. Although it can harm living creatures the properties of the Blade are more destructive against matter unprotected by chi.
System: The range of this projectile attack is limited to Intelligence in hexes. It does not lose strength when passing through barriers or other projectiles as it, like Echo Blade, does not actually impact them. It can be stopped by another Ashura Blade or Echo Blade. It cannot be reflected or absorbed except by another darkness elemental. The difficulty of this maneuver’s damage roll is unaffected by surprise or even consciousness owing to the automatic nature of the defense.

Damage from this attack is soaked using Intelligence + temporary Chi instead of Stamina. As the Ashura Blade damages targets by shredding them at the molecular level any object destroyed by this blast is utterly annihilated and it always inflicts aggravated damage. Handling this energy is just as dangerous and the elemental suffers one health level of aggravated damage when using this ability.

Cost: 3 Chi Speed: -1 Damage: +4 Move: none
Source: editor

I uploaded a fresh copy of the Athletics page with school system power point costs. I also removed the Lunge maneuver and renamed Lunging Wheel as Rocket Wheel. This was done because Lunge was too similar to Pounce. The similarities had been bugging me for quite some time so I decided to go ahead and deal with it. Rocket Wheel functions exactly like it's old maneuver counterpart but has a prerequisite of Pounce instead of Lunge.

I also ran some spell/grammar checking and cleaned up some typoes and case errors. I swear I don't intend to sound all garbled when I write this stuff but the sheer volume of it ensures that errors sneak in. A while back I split the Focus page in twain - because Dreamweaver was experiencing severe lag whenever I tried to edit it. Neither page has been updated with the school system. The custom pages are also out of date as well as the downloadable Word/Open Office files.

I also don't know what I'm going to do with the Native American Wrestling school. I'm not happy with how it stands right now but I'm hesitant to take it further into a semi-animal handler school.

EDIT: After much thinking and some editing the Native American Wrestling school has seen vast improvement. I'm never 100% happy with anything I do with this project but it's a respectable school that still straddles the delicate line between wrestling, mystical arts, and tradition.

----------------
Now playing: Neostorm - Crystalis House Leaves OC ReMix
via FoxyTunes   

Here are the numbers I'm looking at for starting characters:

Age: 16 - 18 range, any nationality but must be able to speak English, you attend the same school (cliched I know :P) - Westlin Kennedy High School

The group will be based in San Antonio, Texas so keep in mind how you got there, why you're there, and how you plan to support yourself in the meantime. You will be starting fighters and so an alternate source of income would be a good idea.

Attributes: 9/6/5 (cap of 5)
Abilities: 11/8/5 (cap of 4)
--may choose and gain 1 rank of emphasies for 3 abilities for free
Backgrounds: 7 -- the first rank of your School: Your school is free (cap of 4, school rank cap of 3)
--do not neglect buying school ranks as ALL your special maneuvers require that you have a rank = the style's PP cost
--this also helps me understand how much you know and understand about your style as well as your effective "school rank" that NPCs will use to assess your knowledge
--if you have multiple schools either from the Heritage table or the Dual Styles merit your first dot in each is free
Techniques: 10 (cap of 4)
Special Maneuvers: 12
Renown: 3 (cap of 5)
Chi & Willpower: as style, all styles split a pool of 7 points so if unsure use that as a guide
some values for currently unlisted styles:

--Mystic: Chi 5, Willpower 2
--Dirty Fighting: Chi 1, Willpower 6 (this style includes all generic weapon duelists)
--Demon Hunter: Chi 2, Willpower 5
--Kibatsumejutsu: Chi 3, Willpower 4
--Kalindo: Chi 2, Willpower 5

Special Maneuvers:

All characters will use the Hado guidelines as set forth in the last campaign. Everybody will be at Hado rank 0 unless you study Ler Drit in which case your Hado is unlocked and you are at -10. Maneuvers that require Chi and/or are rank 3 or higher require the Hado to be unlocked first. Exceptions are: Demon Hunters may use ranks 1-3 Qiao normally, vampires studying Kibatsumejutsu may have Toughskin and Regeneration, and Animal Hybrids may purchase and use Kalindo maneuvers that use only one Chi in total.

When purchasing maneuvers please keep in mind school limitations (listed below).

Choose 3 - 5 special maneuvers to represent your character's "ultimate potential." As before these maneuvers are not restricted by rank limitations. If you study Ler Drit ignore this as you have already unlocked your Hado.

Schools:

Each style is considered a School in a larger set of styles. Most styles have an affinity and a deficiency. My running list of abilities and whatnot is included after the cut. You are free to devise rank techniques that you feel would be applicable for your character and which I have the final say on. I want to keep it open-ended so every player can flesh out their fighting styles to meet their own needs.

Available Backgrounds: Any but Cybernetics or Ring Doctor
Merits and Flaws: Any related to cybernetics will not be allowed. You may have prosthetics but they will not be battle-ready devices.
Merits are capped at 20 points worth. Flaws are capped at 30 points worth. If you decide to take the Bad Fortune flaw I will need to see the roll. You can choose a point value if desired but I will ultimately decide what that actually means game-wise.
Any result on the Heritage Table is alright.

Multipliers: On a number of backgrounds there are multipliers. At rank 6 and up these drop, universally, to 1.5. Round fractions of a point down. The base multiplier for buying backgrounds with experience is desired rank times 4. Calculate this number then apply the secondary modifier to reach the final point value.

FREEBIE POINTS: 15 base

I know in the past we've just applied freebie points at a 1:1 ratio but for the sake of not having a bunch of roving badasses at the outset I'm going to implement conversion rules. These are a slight modification of what's in the book.

You may choose to swap starting points, at a 1:1 ratio, between Abilities, Backgrounds, Health, Chi, and Willpower. You must stay within the caps. Remember that your school rank is capped at 3.

Cost Conversions: Attributes = 5 per dot; for Animal Hybrids increasing physical attributes costs 4/dot, socials cost 6/dot, mentals cost 5/dot, and the increased physicals only apply in hybrid form if you are also a shapeshifter

Abilities = 2 per dot; Backgrounds = 1xMultiplier (if applicable) per dot; Techniques = 5 per dot; Maneuvers = 1 per power point; Renown (Honor/Glory) = 1 per temporary dot or 5 per full rank; Chi or Willpower = 2 per dot; Health = 3 per dot; Hado ranks = 7 per rank either way to a cap of +/- 5.

NO modifications to maneuvers to start with. I want that to be the result of experience and training.

ELEMENTAL ABILITIES

One element per character unless you study Lua. If you study Ler Drit your "element" is automatically Psycho Force. You can choose to have no element but I need an idea of how your Hado manifests itself when invoked.

LIFE PATHS

I have all the tables handwritten but not all of them are typed (none of them are HTML-formatted yet). This shouldn't be an issue during initial character creation.

RITES

The background is listed on the site and I have a hand-written list of rites (this includes Katas). If you put points into this background keep in mind you may only begin play with a single rank one Kata.

STARTING MANEUVERS

The following are maneuvers all fighters start with for free: Block, Jump, Grab, Throw, Move, Jab, Strong, Fierce, Short, Forward, Roundhouse, Sprint (athletics), Taunt (block), and Stunt (block).

WOUNDS AND HEALING

Bashing damage = 15 to 20 minutes, Incapacitating = a number of health levels per day equal to your Stamina, Aggravated = 1 per day

TWENTY QUESTIONS

Answering all 20 gives you an additional 5 freebie points to spend as you wish. If you also describe your signature, taunt, and costume get another 3 freebie points.

Street Fighter 20 Questions

1.) Describe your character. What do you look like? How old are you?

2.) Describe your family and/or immediate relations. If your family is deceased describe the person(s) caring for you.

3.) Who is your sensei? How did you meet them?

4.) Do you train in a dojo or other training facility? If so describe it. If not please explain where and how you train.

5.) Do you have any rivals? If yes describe them. If not describe the person you see on a regular basis who annoys you the most.

6.) After graduating school (or getting out of the military if applicable) what do you plan on doing with your life? For example, what career path are you planning on pursuing?

7.) What are your likes and dislikes? Do you have any hobbies?

8.) Do you have a job? If yes how do you manage it, your martial arts studies, and your schoolwork?

9.) Have you ever been to an official tournament before? If yes please describe your experience. If not describe what you’ve heard about the circuit.

10.) What is the most important aspect of your life? If this is another person please describe your relationship with them.

11.) What do you think of the concept of Honor? Does it mean anything to you or is it just a cute concept that died out a long time ago?

12.) Describe the best experience you’ve had in the past five years.

13.) Describe the worst experience you’ve had in the past five years.

14.) Do you keep your knowledge of the martial arts a secret or are you open about it?

15.) Do you have a personal hero or mentor you look up to? If yes describe them. If no explain what you’re looking for in a mentor.

16.) If you could change any one thing about yourself what would it be and why?

17.) Have you heard of Shadoloo? What do you think of it and organized crime in general?

18.) If you saw a crime in progress would you actively intervene to stop it? What if there was a good possibility an innocent bystander would be hurt in the process?

19.) Do you have any dark secrets or potentially-damaging traits you’d rather keep secret? What about your sensei? If your answer to these two questions is no then please describe what qualities you admire the least in others.

20.) Why did you decide to continue studying the martial arts? Was it because it was expected of you or because you felt it was necessary? For an extra bonus point describe one weakness you perceive in your style and how you’d fix it.

School abilities are now exclusively over on the schools page.

So I was wondering just how I was going to handle the problem of maneuver fighting for all the "minor" styles in Street Fighter. There are a few solid styles with their own move sets *coughwushucough* but the majority get to duke it out for their own pathetic little niches. It occured to me while reading some old White Wolf sourcebooks that Street Fighter isn't the only game of theirs to have that problem. Hence the impression that there are a few top dogs in the pack and everyone else gets to fight over the scraps.

That doesn't make for a very interesting system if you ask me. So, since so many styles will have nearly-identical movesets anyway why bother with pretenses and create bigger groups that include several styles each with common umbrella sets? Then give each style a few special abilities and limitations for flare. I consider this more of the Legend of the Five Rings idea. Sure each school has it's own set of techniques in that game but take a look at the shugenja schools. There is one common set of spells for everybody and each school get's it's own technique/bonus/broohaha.

With that in mind these are groupings I'm thinking of. It's just a list with no abilities or anything.

Inner Path: Aikido, Tai Chi Chuan, Hwarang-Do and Pakua

Non-Human: Kalindo and Kibatsumejutsu

Boxing: Boxing and Kolaripayit

Kickboxing: Western Kickboxing, Thai Kickboxing, Savate, and Tae Kwon Do

Mystic: Mystic, Baraqah, and Kabbadi

Ler Drit: M. Bison’s personal fighting style

Karate: Shotokan Karate, Pentjak-Silat, Chin Na, and Bando

Kung Fu: The many forms of Kung Fu including Kanzuki-Ryuu and Saneda Kung Fu.

Grappler: Jiu Jitsu, Sanbo, Wrestling, Native American Wrestling, Sumo Wrestling, Lua, Pankration

Military: Hapkido and Special Forces

Hunter: Ninjitsu, Spanish Ninjitsu, and Shih Demon Hunter

Wu Shu: It’s Wu Shu. It’s Chun Li’s sacred fighting style.

Dirty Fighting: This remains the catch-all style for the self-taught fighters of the world.

I'm NOT looking forward to the workload this brings with it.

----------------
Now playing: Tosihiko Sahashi - 08-APOLOGIZE
via FoxyTunes   

Over on YouTube I'm finishing up a playthrough of a horror adventure game called Prodigal. All that remains are my final thoughts on the game. Links to video(s) will be placed here when they are ready. What follows are the textual points I jotted down while going over the game in memory. A link to the AGS page and the official Prodigal website will be included with the video update.

Video Part One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUGO70mEPxA

AGS Page: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/games.php?action=detail&id=644
Prodigal's Homepage: http://prodigal.aedmark.com/

Prodigal

POINTS OF CONSIDERATION

1.) The cabin, deep caverns, and Ulisigi Ela parts were the best while the entire middle section felt like a big time sink intended to keep the player busy for awhile. I would have loved to explore more of the cabin. From the outside it looks it should be a two-story structure.

The supernatural elements of the game were undoubtedly the best parts. Ulisigi Ela seemed entirely too short for a dimension that is supposed to stand guard for paradise. The fact that there was little in the way of supernatural occurences during the middle portion of the game did alot to weaken the narrative and shift the game's genre from horror to spy/espionage. I feel that if the game had gone the road of slipping through the ruins of that installation rather then trying to pass the Delmeza off as living would have made a stronger narrative. The point could have been masked by the Tsvsgino appearing and killing people.

2.) The Delmeza were probably best heard and not seen. The outfits seemed silly - particularly for people working in an underground, dark mining facility. They did not seem like they were an actual quasi-religious cult at all.

There also were no left-over echoes of their inhabiting the cabin. More structural damage and the ability to see just how run-down the place should be after being uninhabited for years would have helped the atmosphere. The ripped off bathroom door went along way to setting the intial tone - even more so than all the blood stains.

Bleeding alone doesn't do a whole lot. KNOWING that something ripped that door off of it's hinges and tossed it aside is a more visceral demonstration. I would have put in a close up of the door so the player could see the claw marks on it.

3.) Why oh why was Jacob running around making BBQ chicken? That really hurt the game's mood. It would have been more interesting if Jacob was trying to find the lost key to the portullis by tracking down the Delmeza who used to own it and is now hiding for fear of his comrades tossing him out to the Tsvsgino. Of course said man is already dead so what Jacob would have tracked down would be the memory of that terrified man in the tower. I know he currently serves as  Mr. Exposition but that job could be shifted to reading books instead.

This brings me to the plastic bowl picked up in the cabin. There is no logical reason why Jacob should pick it up and he even admits as much. In fact it isn't even necessary. There are plenty of dishes in the kitchen.

4.) The Tsvsgino were pretty interesting creatures and the fact that no two were alike was a good choice. Why are they all bright blue though? It didn't take long to realize that no matter what Jacob couldn't die and that is a real shame. Those Tsvsgino shouldn't hold back. Mike may be able to influence them but if they are truly an integral part of Ulisigi Ela then their duty is to protect the portal and they should carry it out in ruthless, bloody fashion.

Tzing I can understand because it stands on a solid rock ledge while Jacob is on a flimsy wooden board. If it charged out the board would snap. Self preservation stays it's murderous intent in that case. However, the player should be allowed to do whatever stupid things they want to try with these demons - and get killed in horrible ways.

The Tsvsgino posing as a helpless maiden spoils the surprise prematurely because Jacob just walks to her and stands there like a dolt. Some dialogue would have helped make the human incarnation a bit more convincing. She could have asked for something to free her and claimed to be the missing girlfriend Raewyn even. It's not like Jacob ever met the woman. It also would have been nice if that Tsvsgino
randomly revived and killed Jacob on returning to the room. Randomness would make the room dangerous and nerve wracking without breaking the necessity to return to earlier rooms to gather items.

Nice nod to Shadowgate and classic fairy tales, however.

5.) The characters walk like they have two broken arms. Their wrists flex in an unnatural way. Movement in the arm should be anchored first to the shoulder blade then the elbow.

6.) Leaving some rooms is a pain because the door out is behind the camera and there is no visual indication of where it actually is. A visual marker would be greatly appreciated. This can be as simple as a pool of light added to the rendered image in post. The bubbling pool is a major offender in this category.

7.) The trap waiting to decapitate Jacob is visible upon entering the room and fairly obvious because of the color contrast. The fact that it is precisely where the player's eye will naturally drift to figure out where to go doesn't help conceal it. This could have been hidden behind a bit of architecture or a railing. The second trap, which is hidden in the ceiling, does a much better job in this regard. It is still visible but the dark shadows on the ceiling prevent the hole from standing out unless the player is actually looking for it.

More traps please!

8.) Removing the assorted notes from inventory or putting them in a separate GUI would have helped. Once read they really are just clutter. The very first note just poofs without any explanation. That's another potential source of freaking out Jacob that wasn't seized upon. They could burst into flame, dissolve into smoke, or simply not be there when he looks through his things next time.

9.) I can understand that damage possibly claimed the original staircase from the first to the second floor of
the cliff dwellings but why is there no ruin and why did no one amongst the Demelza think to install a ladder?

For that matter how in the world did they transport all the materials down to the dig site in the first place? We're talking not just heavy equipment but (literal) tons of steel, wiring, wood, and other construction materials necessary to build the stations. Where did all the rock they would have had to have dug away go?

10.) Why is there electricity underground? There is no sign of a generator anywhere and all the equipment still works perfectly after 30+ years when it would have broken down pretty quickly within the first without maintenance. Caves are not nice places to setup shop.

11.) What tribe of Native Americans did the World Walker's hail from? They have a generic vibe going - feathered headdress, adobe cliff houses, evilness, etc. Part of this could be chalked up to an unreliable narrator in the form of the old Delmeza.

12.) It appears that there are two "sides" to Ulisigi Ela: the dark, twisted side that emanates evil and the natural, pristine side seen at the very end. It is unclear what the difference between these is and if the dichotomy is natural to the dimension or is a result of the barrier erected by the World Walkers. The cell that forms the dividing line traps it's inhabitant and "keeps [them] alive but not comfortable." That isolation is liable to drive a person insane - which is what seems to have happened with Mike. He stated that the Key to Knowledge gives it's weilder immense influence (which is not defined) over Ulisigi Ela. Does this mean that the Key's holder can actually reshape that dark plane? I think that is likely. The radiating evil is the incarnation of all the suffering of the trapped.

Could there be more than one person trapped in that cell at a time? It is theoretically possible. It isn't even considered that the cell could work in reverse. No one ever thinks to try.
----------------
Now playing: Children of the Monkey Machine - Super Metroid Norfair (Frailty Awaiting) OC ReMix
via FoxyTunes   

My continued efforts to get Tone's text to display without repeating has resulted in the game now crashing once the dialogue chain ends. I'm getting a better handle on the dialogue system but I'm still puzzled about that behavoir. There appears to be no way in the dialogue tree, ITSELF, to check for Tone's presence in the party. Obviously the code supporting each dialogue tree is built separately and the two are connected by pointers. Without actual knowledge of programming I cannot even locate this set of instructions let alone begin to correct them.

This supporting code system and the inability of dialogue trees to check or set flags makes me believe that the unused tree for dialogue with Lord Erek was not used because the complex checks required weren't in place. Presumably the game would have to check to make sure the player had a specific party set-up before that conversation could be seen. That brings along a problem that any other configuration, even possibly the same 3 knights but in a different slot order, would not reveal important information regarding the relationship between Erek and the Blacksmith. Were the developers planning on a more dynamic dialogue system? One can only hope so.

Unfortunately the game was rushed through development and anything unfinished or buggy was cut or stripped down to the bare essentials.

Hmm, I haven't updated my journal since February. My bad. Sometimes I just get embroiled in what I'm doing and forget. I still have quite alot of work to do for Street Fighter but I'm a bit burned out right now. Looking through my to-edit notes I think I'm actually done with Focus maneuvers and just need to format the HTML page. *looks to see what state that is in* Yup, I was definitely doing that when I stopped. :P Anyway, the title of this post concerns hacking for Knights of Justice so here's three nice screenshots of that: (click thumbnails to see them full size):




The first, which I did get the overflows fixed and the filler no longer goes offscreen, is from Blackroot Keep. I kept this screenshot because it is self-evident that it's been altered. The second shot is from the forest around Camelot where you get Breeze's shield. I couldn't remember whether or not the useage message found in the ROM is ever displayed so I checked and yes it is. However it was boring so I changed it.

The third is the most frustrating. I am not a hacker. These were simple brute force edits in WindHex with lots of trial and error and a bit of deductive reasoning. I got Tone's dialogue to display despite the fact that he's not even in the party and the key is still on the pedestal. What's even more annoying is that the dialogue then repeats once.

Flying Omelette has a page dedicated to the weirdness of the Knights of Justice but I think she's missed a few things.  You can find her site right here: http://www.flyingomelette.com/koj/oddities.html

To begin with some text is compressed and some isn't.  How do I know this? Because I've looked through both the ROM and multiple save states in a hex editor. In the ROM none of Merlin's hint text appears in plain text format but it does appear in a savestate made at the end of the game. Note: This text does NOT appear in a savestate made at the beginning of the game.  Thus it seems logical that the game decompresses these hints as they are needed and loads them into temporary memory which is then never erased.




(There are more screenshots if you click through to the album on Photobucket.)
edit: 2/17/09: links above fixed, darn you LJ!

( Read more of the text dump... )

EDIT 2/14/09: Merits and Flaws should now be complete.  There might be a few typos to fix but I can't think of anything else I want to add at this time.  Backgrounds should also be done as detail has been added to Technique Mastery and Technique Confidence as well as some limits put on vampiric disciplines.

-----------------------

When I started working on merits and flaws for Street Fighter I began by looking through other White Wolf games.  After that I started looking through entries for Legends of the Five Rings.  Now I've progressed to just writing down whatever crazy new things pop into my head.  I blame derangements - as in trying to make sure the Derangement list had everything that could possibly pop up.  Here are some of the newer entries and a few quick thoughts about them:

Weak Constitution: tend to be sickly and prone to infections, Stamina considered 1 less (minimum 1) to resist poison and disease
Gossip: very hard to keep secrets, enjoy spreading stories and seeing the reactions on people's faces
Matchmaker: can't help but pair up people - even imaginary ones - and will vehemently defend these pairings
Major Allergy: a life threatening allergy, Ack! Peanuts!
Superstituous: look for supernatural explanation to everything that happens and "celestial patterns"
Stolen Life: seemingly erased from memory, victim of identity theft, or deliberately mislead about important part of their identify [multiple tiers], generally traced back to Shadoloo's activities
Gaslighting Victim: target of attempt to drive the character off the deep end that wasn't totally successful
Wanted: warrant out for the character's arrest
Hypochondriac: obsessive about health and staying clean to the point of imparing social activities

Ok, I admit it, a Hypochondriac would be absolutely hilarious in Street Fighter.  That's not exactly a setting where you expect characters to suddenly whip out antibacterial wipes for every little cut.

----------------
Now playing: Kenji Ito - Mosperiburg
via FoxyTunes   

Yup, I've been ill for most of last week.  I won't go into details but suffice it to say that it was miserable and I got zero work done for Street Fighter.  I did, however, play some Final Fantasy 4 and some Battle Realms.  I would say it was low-stress but I was building and testing a new map for Battle Realms for 2 versus 6 skirmishes so I'd be lying.

Anyway I'm well enough to go back to what I was doing.

Entries marked with ** still indicate they have been finished, for now.

FIFTH UPDATE: (2/01/09): New maneuvers and updates to Punch and Kick are now live.  No update notes are yet available explaining all the changes but it is a mixture of simple clean-up, tweaking, and boosting up some of the weaker entries *coughTripleStrikecough*.  There's also a very basic Errata page that is live simply for the purposes of not having a dead link.  I also have to go back through Merits and Flaws ... again ... because I was reading over the page and started taking notes about inconsistencies and potential stacking issues.  On the other hand I've also got basic notes for 6 new merits and just as many new flaws.

SIXTH UPDATE: (2/19/09): Grab maneuvers should be done within 48 hours of this update. I've also cleaned up this post so that information is easier to find.
------------------------------

The following is a list of revisions and updates that need to be finished.  This is an expansion of the Revision List I posted with my last update notice but with some notes attached to it.  There's ALOT of work that needs to be done - especially now that I'm playing in a game of Legend of the Five Rings and therefore have tons of new material to scour.  Tehehe!

I'm also working on more Merits and Flaws to include proofreading the stuff I've already got and tweaking it as necessary.  I *might* include some basic conversion rules for abilites from Vampire: The Masquerade.  By basic I mean exactly that: Fortitude, Potence, and Celerity.  I'm also hammering out Backgrounds which will include some abilities used in the campaign that I didn't want to post while that was still running.

Street Fighter moves that need review (copied from a text file). Headers in blue are links to finished pages.

PUNCH

** 1,000 Punch Uppercut [Dashing Punch with 2nd uppercut]
** Art of Breaking [clarify dice pool and attack method]
** Atemi Strike [modify requirements and useable styles]
** Banishing Punch [added some limits to reduce abuse]
** Bushin Lightning Elbow [reduce speed, add clarity and flavor]
** Criminal Upper [movement and damage adjusted]
** Cross Counter [needed clarity particularly concerning aborts]
** Dashing Clothesline [proofread]
** Dashing Punch [must move in straight line]
** Dashing Uppercut [efficiency check, proofread]
** Double Hit Punch [proofread]
** Double Punch [clarified]
** Dragon Punch [edited system text for grammar]
** Ducking Fierce [add Block pierce]
** Ear Pop [clarify Honor loss, add agg. damage line]
** Elbow Drop [base stats as Fist Drop but specialized for Muay Thay/Savate]
** Fingertip Attack [add conjunction line]
** Fist Drop [minor grammatical change]
** Flash Chop [proofread]
** Leaping Rake [specify claw modifier and ending position]
** Lunging Headbutt [attached cost, revised]
** Lunging Punch [proofread]
** Monkey Grab Punch [system overhaul]
** Palm Strike [proofread]
** Reverse Elbow [Elbow Strike delivered to person standing behind the fighter]
** Sho-ouken [Sakura's semi-Dragon Punch]
** Sonic Fist [proofread]
** Spinning Serpent Punch [Radial chi-powered punch w/0 move but hits all adjacent hexes]
** Triple Strike [increased damage and speed]
** Turbo Spinning Clothesline [remove Capoeira]
** Vortex Palm [proofread, check knockback]

KICK

** Air Hurricane Kick [KD vs. aerial]
** Baby Scorpion Kick [clarified mechanics]
** Barrel Roll Kick [reduced damage booster]
** Claw Catch [clarified grab]
** Crack Shot [knockdown unpreventable]
** Double Dread Kick [edited for grammar]
** Double Kick [clarified]
** Double Wheel Kick [placed prereqs in the right order]
** Falling Axe Kick [edited for grammer, savate useable]
** Flash Kick [edited for grammar and clarity]
** Flurry Kick [adjusted the prereqs and added flavor text]
** Flying Thrust Kick [edited for grammar]
** Foot Sweep [edited for grammar]
** Forward Somersault Kick [grammar, added knockback]
** Genocide Cutter [edited for clarity]
** Jugular Kick [Elena's 3-hit crouching kick, fixed move of 3]
** Kyoja [clarity, damage increased]
** Lightning Dash [Chun-Li's special dashing Lightning Leg]
** Stepping Double Kick [Kung Fu exclusive]
** Thunder Kick [grammar, added knockdown]
** Tiger Pounce [Elena's springing double-hit Sobat]
** Tornado Kick [minor grammar tweaks]
** Trap Kick [changed reverse movement value]
** Ze Sho Hohou [2nd damage portion and movement]

BLOCK

** Counterstrike [improved and clarified this a bit]
** Destructive Block [clarified vs. multi-hits, added additional styles to the useable list]
** Dodge [proofread]
** Kick Defense [specify is a block maneuver]
** Leg Catch [clarify mechanics]
** Maka Wara [only damaged on contact with arms/legs]
** Missile Reflection [MAJOR overhault to make this more consistent with real world physics]
** Mirror Image [edited to make timing clear]
** Roll With the Hit [limited stacking]
Stunt maneuver [speed +0]
Taunt [speed +0, gives temporary Glory if succeeds]
** Weapon Block [added some flavor and clarity]
** Wing Defense [stacking w/other block maneuvers]

--this also completes Custom page 1.

GRAB

** Aerial Backbreaker [like Air Throw except damage via Backbreaker]
** Ankle Smasher [Kick Defense hook]
** Back Body Drop [add Grappling Defense hook]
** Barrel Roll Throw [adjusted mechanics of this throw]
** Bite [inflicts aggravated damage]
** Butterfly Drum [clarity]
** Choke Throw [requires Neck Choke]
** Disengage [original wording was confusing]
** Fish Hook [clarity]
** Grab [the basic maneuver which has long been ill-defined]
** Ground Leglock [Ground Fighting addition, adjusted requirements]
** Hangman's Noose [needs to be looked over]
** Headlock Kicks [increased speed and damage]
** Head Twist [adjusted dizzy modifier]
** Hooligan Combo [specify where the damage comes from]
** Jaw Spin [KD in same hex]
** Joint Break [added Lua/Sanbo to style list, expanded effects to include neck breaks, added flavor text, defined healing times and penalties]
** Joint Lock [added Lua/Sanbo/Judo/Jiu Jitsu styles removed Pin requirement, made harder to soak]
** Judo Throw [added many new useable styles, flavor text and adjusted the mechanics to make it more friendly]
** Judo Power Throw [increased speed]
** Leglock [basic leglock hold]
** Leg Scoop [added Capoeira and KD]
** Leg Smash [hold w/legs and use lower body strength to force opponent against objects/ground]
** Leg Twist [as an upgrade to Hooligan Combo, ditto]
** Leverage [added Chin Na, added some bonuses when used alongside other maneuvers]
** Mandara Twist [Kick Defense hook re-write]
** Monkey Flip [clarity]
** Schoolboy [increased damage slightly]
** Scissor Sweep [added dex check]
** Soul Drain [define the base damage instead of using an 'as basic grab' line]
** Soul Shock [added knockback]
** Spinning Neck Lock [added more requirements, aerial]
** Spinning Wristlock [Punch Defense hook re-write]
** Sunset Flip [added Leglock as a maneuver so adjusted this maneuver to work with it]
** Tonga Death Grip [attack penalty for the person in the hold due to intense pain]

--changed all entries which listed North American Wrestling to Native American Wrestling

ATHLETICS

** Claw Driver [one of Vega's special moves in SF4]
** Displacement [deleted some redundant text]
** Flamingo Stance [added Dex/Athl check, clarity]
** Kick-Up [removed turn delay]
** Lunging Wheel [knockdown for both unpreventable]
** Spinning Kippup [this one was always an ambiguous thorn in the sytem but now should be more practical]
** Torrent Crash [changed move change to 4 hexes]

-- this also completes Custom page 2.

FOCUS

** Astral Projection [out of body experience]
** Comatose [enter a comatose state to awaken later]
** Crashing Wave [increased wave width]
** Cryokinesis [change shock roll from Focus to Focus + Mysteries w/optional defensive skill at increased difficulty]
** Elemental Guardian [change wall of text to a nice table]
** Guided Fireball [requires complete concentration and drains 1 chi per turn maintained]
** Psycho Crusher [change to match actual useage - line attack]
** Quicksand [attach cost of 2 Chi + 1 per additional hex]
** Raging Storm [proofread, custom entry has extra line break]
** Sword Eater [proofread]
** Teleport Slide [needs native speed/move mod, use dmg from kick maneuver, be cheap to buy]
** Zen No Mind [cannot be used with conjunctions]

-- this also completes Custom Page 3.

WEAPON

** Ankle Cutter [same problems Ankle Smasher has]
Art of Destruction [mirror changes to A.ofB.]
** Backhand Fighting [allow knife skills]
** Bandit Chain [proofread, clarify Breakfall]
** Batting Hero [remove abort line, proofread]
** Baton Smash [original description was written before changing to an all non-soak roll ruleset, may be a standing or crouching maneuver]
Blade Toss [weapon throwing that isn't scythe/knife]
** Choke Chain [lower requirements, proofread]
** Circular Reason [baton maneuver, revised rules]
** Crescent Overhead [changed 2nd strike to Punch]
** Crescent Rush [clarify, modify backhand rules]
C.V.B. [proofread, consider knockback and parry rules]
Daikyo Burning [modify damage to the weapon, proofread]
** Deflecting Parry [small upgrade to parry it provides the full soak bonus vs. multi-hit attacks]
** Deflecting Strike [needs a full re-write because it's use is ultimately redundant, add speed penalty to other duelist due to the deflection]
Double Strike [proofread, remove willpower cost]
Double Weapon Strike [needs name change and rewrite]
Ni-jihan Press [Sodom's sai grab and ground slam]
** Parry [needs clarification, soak bonus only applies to the first incoming swing]
** Phoenix Blade [weapon mod only applies to 1st hit]
Reflection Slice [contested Ref+Grab vs. weapon attack roll in order to grab the weapon followed by second attack roll to attempt to inflict return damage]
Riposte [rewrite]
Slice Upper [proofread]
Spinning Stroke [specify strike rates and establish as a different maneuver from Circular Reasoning]
** Staff Spin [proofread, Energy/Missile Reflection use]
Weapon Channeling [proofread]

 -- page going through all the steps of character creation w/full freebie point costs and the added customizing steps

     >> LEADING TOO >>

** -- finish up Merits and Flaws (more changes INC)

** -- full Skill and Background lists

-- under House Rules the section previously titled Conjunction Maneuvers was changed to Maneuver Modifiers as there is now a formal section on Errata with Conjunction Maneuvers and that would have provoked confusion

-- Errata page: all new rules concerning maneuvers themselves can be found there:  Grab clarifications,
breakfall, knockdown negations, conjunction maneuvers, Focus maneuver carry-through [a link at the top of every move page needs to be written for errata and house rules]

** -- New Backgrounds [Technique Confidence, Technique Mastery, Chi/Will Regeneration, Eidolon, Mentor, Psycho Force, Psychokinetic Infusion, Rites, Status, Hado Synthesis, Kalindo]

-- do a complete write up of all Kalindo moves, benefits, and penalties

-- make sure that the Breakfall modification table has every move that causes damage via impact with the ground on it, also sort the table first by difficulty, then alphabetically

-- create list of Katas (mostly for duelists) and Rites since I now have a handy dandy new Rites background and very little to use it for as-is.  Yes this adds a lot more work to my list but I think it's well worth it to inject mystery and danger into NPCs who aren't street fighters.

-- finish the Hybrid and Cyborg page

**  Heritage Table needs to be drawn up (will use the L5R table as a base) plus the Cyperpunk history tables

-- since I'm already mining Cyberpunk for some Life Paths tables I might as well convert cybernetics too

-- specify the Hado paths on House Rules (or split to own page if needed) w/elemental oppositions, the effects of the Dark Hado on humans - including vulnerability to later mental affects, Ler Drit

     >> MANEUVER CHANGES >>

** -- combined Kanzuki-Ryuu into Kung Fu and Ni-Jihan Desu into Dirty Fighting

-- need to do an efficiency audit for weapon moves

---------------------------------------------------

-- need to start on the Forbidden Techniques [Veil of Hate (AE Psychic Rage), Death Sentence (ticking death clock), Seal (lock technique use), Dark Shroud (Akuma's deathly aura), Instant Hell Murder (Akuma's WTFpwn maneuver), Assassin's Serenade (song inflicts bad status), Synergy (twin harmony), Rise of Murderous Intent (release repressed negative energies), Anima Force (animate objects), Seraphic Wing (AE mass light/chi attack), Gravity Well (AE mass gravity attack)

-- need to specify which Block maneuvers give the +2 speed bonus and which do not

-- need to finish Bleeding and Weapon rules specifically for dual-weilding

-- do stat write-up for the Dark Acolytes

-- add special grab mods to the Mod Table for Zen no Mind and Extendible Limbs

-- add section in Forbidden Arts about Strings

-- add Ground Leglock to the abort list [has +0 speed]

-- Guard Crush - Background?, tied to Technique Mastery?, incorporates Block technique somehow [might drop]

-- add special mod to the Mod Table concerning adding a damage test via ground impact, what the starting Breakfall difficulty will be, and the cost to increase the number
----------------
Now playing: KOEI - Give You A Chance To Live ~Circuit~
via FoxyTunes

Well the campaign is over.  Our GM didn't know where to take the story so we had one big final hurrah fight and called it quits.  We didn't get to finish all the tournaments in China but oh well.  Here are some things of note that happened since my last update (it's been awhile but our playing schedule has been very erratic).

Masters Daisuke and Shobu were revealed to be under the control of a man known as Deacon Sorber - a powerful fighter of Shadoloo who gains his power by stealing the abilities of others.  This resulted in all the other masters, including Master Winkai but excluding Kaori, being captured by Shadoloo and dragged off to their fortress.  Kaori wasn't kidnapped because Marianne noticed something was strange about Daisuke.  When she reported this to Master Winkai he revealed that he had been warned by Master Azada of a prophetic dream she had had.  Winkai gave Marianne a powerful necklace to look after and the next day Kaori was put back in charge of the team by Winkai.

So it was that she was with the team when Shadoloo launched their bid to capture all the masters of Sonada Kung Fu.  During this long day with Shadoloo threatening to kill team members they captured if we didn't return Isaiah it was revealed to Kaori that she was in fact Master Winkai's daughter.  Marianne left no doubt about this when she gave Kaori the necklace of Sonada Yukimura - the most treasured relic of the temple.  Already quite powerful the necklace also holds all the wisdom of the art within it and that is something that can only be unlocked when worn by a master of the discipline.  (Infinite Chi FTW!  ^.~)

Isaiah and Mortimer were also kidnapped by Shadoloo and forced to undergo brainwashing in a potent Hado-sucking machine they had.  This effectively made them Deacon Sorber's puppets and took three maneuvers from each of them for his personal use.  The next day the two show back up at the tournament all brainwashed and end up fighting Jolienne and Suki.  The evil duo loses and Jolienne snatches the unconscious Isaiah so the whole party can leave.  Mortimer had to be left behind because Team Evil wasn't having any of that.

Through much stumbling around (and Isaiah shocking the hell out of people) we get the two back to normal and learn where Shadoloo's base of operations is in the city.  So there we go and sneak inside to dismantle Shadoloo's operation the blunt and forceful way.

Much ass-kickage ensues.  Mortimer and Isaiah fought and defeated Deacon in a two-on-one fight.  Trust me, it wasn't unfair.  Deacon was running around with 30 health, auto-regen every turn, and pretty high stats.  Not a pretty fight but as the one controlling Deacon in that battle I blundered and Psycho Crushered right into Isaiah's damage shield Elemental Skin.  Oops, oh well.  Deacon never trains so he's a bit of an idiot in using his powers.  I could have just kept chaining Psycho Warp until he regened back up a bit but I thought he would be too aggressive for that kind of strategy so I didn't.

The final mass brawl was Marianne + Hiroshi (being mentally attacked) + Juan Duprey (acting to prevent Hiroshi from attacking Marianne) versus Deacon Sorber - still a fight that was damn rough especially at the beginning when Hiroshi could do nothing but stand there trying desperately to resist Deacon's control while Marianne fought him one-on one.  Then we had Mikhail + Celia versus Franco Martinez (Celia's old enemy from Mexico) + Boris (a Ukrainian Sanbo mob boss).  That was ugly.  Lynessa had to heal them about halfway through the fight.  Finally there was Mortimer + Isaiah versus Isaiah's evil brother Ray Rey + his partner Joshua.  Isaiah was knocked out early by Ray Rey's Flash Kick but a little spiritual intervention got him back on his feet.

Jolienne and Curtis were going to take on the other dozen or so Shadoloo fighters themselves but suddenly, SURPRISE, Megumi shows up with Kin and her students from Kenpei to join our side.  Considering her brother Master Taiki is one of our instructors and the two of them get HUGE bonuses when fighting together ... yeah.  Jolienne and Curtis were quickly able to go on searching for Master Winkai while everyone else finished up.  Masters Daisuke and Shobu fought for Shadoloo and were demolished by Masters Katashi and Tsukiko on our side.  Master Kaori squared off against Sagat himself.  All the NPC battles weren't role-played but the GM rolled one d12 for Sagat and one d8 for Kaori and she beat him 2 out of 3.  Sagat had to back down seeing as all his allies were being knocked out/killed (Juan killed Deacon - he richly deserved it, prick).

That was it really.  The cavalry rode in late as usual and the game ended with the Chinese government kicking us out of their country.

Well I spent my weekend reformatting all the custom maneuvers pages (yes, there are now multiple pages).  It was tedious and mind-numbingly boring but the satisfaction of having it done is well worth it.  Eventually I'll change the maneuver list at the top of each page into a set of links once I learn how to do that.  For now the list is there so that it's easy to find out if the maneuver you're looking for is on that page and search for it.

It was something I had to do eventually.  Dreamweaver was lagging badly every time I wanted to edit anything with all that stuff in one file.  Originally I was going to put all the Grab, Athletics, and Focus maneuvers on the same page.  Then I realized putting the two largest categories together was dumb and split off Focus onto it's own page.

I've also got alot of revision to do.  I think I know how I'm going to handle all the maneuvers that work off of XXX Defense [Punch, Kick, and Grappling].  Basically it will be as follows:  You will have 2 speeds for that round.  The first is for XXX Defense and the second is for the offensive maneuver.  Your soak total only applies until you launch the attack portion.  When you are attacked in that round with a maneuver that can be countered (ex. Ankle Smasher --> kicks, Spinning Wristlock --> punches) you compare your second speed value to the attacker's speed.  If it is higher then you make the contested roll and if that succeeds proceed with the interrupt and attack.  This ends your opponent's turn.  If it isn't a higher speed the attack fails and you end your turn still in XXX Defense.  You may NOT then continue into a combo that required the attack to succeed but may continue with one that uses XXX Defense.

Although XXX Defenses are maneuvers that can be aborted to any XXX Defense junction maneuver cannot be aborted to.

( New Revision List... )
----------------
Now playing: Masami Ueda, Saori Maeda - The Opening
via FoxyTunes   

Why yes I have been trying to glitch sprites so that they appear in areas they aren't supposed to. I want to know if anything interesting pops up. I'm using the Zug because it's semi-reliable in not wanting to crash. However, I have to keep infinite life enabled because if Arthur dies the emulator will crash. It is interesting in that the Viper sprite is loaded into memory as soon as you enter his room. That's good because once you close the menu and start fighting the giant snake you can't re-open it to try another warp until Viper is dead.

How did I do this? That's simple. I warped to the screen with the creature I wanted to transplant then warped to the Swamp of Zagar. The first critter's sprite will, at times, overwrite the second one's. I would try taking the Zug someplace else but the way it works is that it spawns offscreen and charges Arthur. At the moment it spawns the game goes into combat mode (a special script is running) until the Zug has been offscreen for a few seconds on the opposite side where it then despawns.

It's probably just as well. The Zug is invincible. Believe me, I've tried to kill that thing!

This will work with any screen up to memory position 255. Trying to warp to a position any higher doesn't work for some reason. This means I can't take any boss creature to any of those screens. I was hoping I could drag the ogre into the last room in Blackroot Keep but it simply refuses to work. That room is item 258 in the list. It's already enough of a pain getting multiple warp codes working in unison. Oh well I guess there's not much I can do about it.

Click the LJ cut if you want a list of all warp memory positions I've located.
( Read more... )
----------------
Now playing: Koji Kondo - Surrounded by Flames
via FoxyTunes   

Well part 32 is rendering and eventually part 31 should be done processing over at YouTube.  The game is steadily winding down now but I've got a good chunk of material yet to cover what with warp code oddities and all.  Oh and I'm sure I'll die to Morganna a bunch of times too.  I might finish the game before the new year.

Might being the key word there.  Oh well, there's really no rush.  I have other games I want to play but there's no reason to get worked up.  I've yet to try the Final Fantasy Tactics or Shining Force 2 hard mode hacks/redesigns.  I'm almost scared to see what they've done to Final Fantasy Tactics.  I love the game but some of those battles *coughWeigrafcough* were pretty tough to begin with.

See my strategy with Weigraf has changed very little over several runs.  It's always been Ramza as an Archer with Concentrate and Auto Potion (with only X-Potions in inventory), 2 Ninjas with the best swords you can get at the end of the chapter, 1 Summoner, and then 1 other - usually a healer type to revive Ramza at the beginning of the second part.

In the first part Ramza moves in a set pattern that forces Weigraf into one of the two pits so the knight loses a turn trying to jump out meanwhile letting Ramza pelting his foe with arrows and healing as necessary.  When Weigraf turns into Velius Ramza almost always dies to the demon's first nuke while the two Ninjas each run up and start killing the archaic demons.  The Summoner calls Golem and prepares to tank Velius and the last person revives, heals, or attacks depending on how Ramza is holding up.

Once Ramza is down the Summoner is next on Velius's hit list being squishy and all that.  She can take one physical strike before needing to summon Golem again.  This is a critical point where the strategy can fall apart.  If Velius is too fast he can attack again and kill her.  I had one fight where he had 99% to hit and missed TWICE.  Pheh, she got her barrier back up and by the time Velius pummeled it back down the ninjas had finished their work and started carving him up.

The new swords that become available after clearing the forest in front of the castle make a world of difference.  With the next down my ninjas wouldn't do quite enough damage to kill one of the archaics.  That's bad, really bad.  Speed is critical to limit the amount of punishment Velius can dish out.

Another strategy example from FF Tactics:  the battle versus the engineer in Murond (his name escapes me right now >.<).  I'd bring in Mustadio, beef up his Brave, and have him stay at the starting point with Hamedo, protection from the nasty status effects, and a gun.  Hehe, shoot me now you bastard.  Mustadio couldn't kill anyone because of the Chemist there healing but he soaked up nasty hits by Hamedoing them before they fired and left the rest of the group to deal with the nasty critters.

I like Mustadio.  He's one of my favorite characters in that game.  Don't Move and Don't Act are just so useful.

----------------
Now playing: Kenji Yamamoto - VS GFed Trooper (Long)
via FoxyTunes   

Today I added more merits and flaws to the website.  It's still not quite done - I have more merits and flaws (chiefly from Werewolf) to transfer and I haven't yet decided how I'll handle ambidexterity.  That's been a thorn in my side for awhile and has been hindering further work on weapon combat.

----------------
Now playing: Yoko Shimomura - Nights of the Cursed
via FoxyTunes   

As I type this update Part 26 of my Knights of Justice playthrough is rendering in VirtualDub.  I've made it all the way to Warlord Viper.

Ahem, let me rephrase that.  I've DIED to Warlord Viper - about a dozen times already in the span of an hour.  Phew, talk about a brutal boss.  The design is so simple yet so very sadistic.  I've been using Trunk for the defensive boost but every hit from Warlord Viper still takes a considerable chunk out of my butt.  It doesn't help that damage is tied to frame contact and there is NO invincibility period in Knights of Justice in order to recover from a blow.  One bad hit can take Trunk from full health to dead.

Seriously.  That's not an exaggeration.

This is a boss that takes considerable practice and luck to defeat.  I really should be keeping count of how many times I've died so far.

----------------
Now playing: Akitaka Tohyama - Immortal Flame
via FoxyTunes   

Today's the big day.  It's the day that going over 50k puts you in the winner's limelight and here I am sitting at my computer trying to get through the last thousand words to that milestone.  I have some handwritten stuff that I'm working through but in the process of writing it I'm finding that I keep changing things - extending scenes, adding dialogue and right now I just added to a scene with Nadine that I was thinking "Oh well this is just wordcount fluff that I'm including to keep a sense of what she's doing at this point in time."

Apparently Nadine can see ghosts now.  Otherwise she's rapidly descending into batshit bonkers territory.  It's so much fun to write what happens to the pilots of the Voloth series.  The Voloth have psychic abilities.  A human who bonds to them undergoes drastic physical and mental changes (See also: Orocho puking up blood) as their physiology is modified to better suit the Voloth's needs.  Now I'm not saying writing the other Akutenshi isn't fun.  Heck I had a blast with Salon's politness.  However the Voloth are more, uh, I guess you could describe it as ethereal.  They don't see the world through the same set of priorities and platitudes that humans do.

So I'm just sitting here listening to music from Twilight Princess and the idea just pops into my head that Nadine should walk around a corner and BAM there'll be someone standing there watching her.  Then I thought, but why would anyone bother to check that room and I debated it with myself for a few minutes.  Well I didn't have long to ponder before I had to start typing again so I just ran with the idea and about halfway through the description it occured to me that it should be a ghost or something.  I haven't decided what exactly.

Hmm, maybe I'm just trying to subconsciously come up with any excuse possible to have Nadine keep talking with Voloth-D.

Anyway I should finish up tonight.  I'm just shy of 49k today.  What's sad is that the plot has hardly moved 24 hours.  Combine a large cast all in different parts of the world with a verbose writer and the need to describe in painful detail everything that happens and you get a large wordcount that takes very little "real time."  It's not that nothing has happened it's just that nothing has been resolved - or even anywhere close to being resolved.  One character is out and out missing (I know where she is, she's right under everyone's nose), two others have severe memory loss, three are only just starting to realize the gravity of their situation, one is in the custody of the military, one is alone wandering around a cruiser that was boarded by Hylin a short time prior, and the other two I've introduced thus far are looking for the missing character.

I guess I should mention that I haven't yet introduced the main "villians" yet.  Ugh, it's genuinely hard to think of them in such - I don't want to say shallow but that's the only words coming to mind - terms.  I'd rather keep the heroicness or villaininess of each character ambiguous.

----------------
Now playing: Koji Kondo - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Snowpeak
via FoxyTunes