Ideas for a PSII Hack

Ok, I've got mr2 well on the way to creating a PSIII hack, and while I've been stumped on some of that data, I peeked at PSII and immediately found Nei's initial stats and a few monsters. I'm sure I could find more if I tried. It doesn't look like it will be the epic project my PSIV hack was; there isn't nearly as much data to look for.

Anyway, I'm being invaded by house guests for the next few weeks and likely won't have my usual amount of time on the computer, so in lieu of thinking up a PSII hack, I'm opening it to suggestions. I can't think of what to do with it. If you've played my PSIV hacks, you know what kinds of things I can change. Story-wise, I keep my hacks identical to the originals.

Here's a few ground rules for what is and isn't possible to change:
1. Graphics... as you all probably know, are outside my realm of skills.
2. Equipment is likely to all be editable within reason. Turning a gun into a Sword probably won't work, but it could be possible.
3. I should be able to find Techniques, and whom learns what. (Those are two separate things.)
4. Text, is AN ENORMOUS pain to edit, as you have to keep the same amount of characters in a block as was in the original game, so I'm going to outlaw this unless there is some necessary change that was a clear misspelling or misrepresentation.
5. Initial Character Statistics can be edited to any extreme.
6. Level-up data is random in this game, which requires finding the function for it in Assembly code. I most likely can't find it.
7. Monster data will of course be entirely editable.
8. All Shop Data should be pretty easy to find too.

I think that covers it. Fire away!

Well, I'll say it before someone else does: make Nei revivable at the cloning shop if you can. I suppose that wouldn't be a good thing unless you can convert equipment from type to another, though. With no new weapons or armor, she wouldn't last long in the late game.

On text, the only thing I can think of that might be useful to change is that Lutz bug. You know, the bit where one guy starts spewing Lutz's lines. I'm not sure that would be worth including, though.

Thoul wrote:

Well, I'll say it before someone else does: make Nei revivable at the cloning shop if you can. I suppose that wouldn't be a good thing unless you can convert equipment from type to another, though. With no new weapons or armor, she wouldn't last long in the late game.

I knew it! She would need new stuff though, for sure.

Quote:

On text, the only thing I can think of that might be useful to change is that Lutz bug. You know, the bit where one guy starts spewing Lutz's lines. I'm not sure that would be worth including, though.

Is that guy in Paseo?

I think he was in one of the other Mota towns. I want to say Uzo, but I'm not sure if that is right. I'm pretty sure it's not Paseo, though.

Thoul wrote:

I think he was in one of the other Mota towns. I want to say Uzo, but I'm not sure if that is right. I'm pretty sure it's not Paseo, though.

Uzo...wasn't that the island with the Maruera trees?

Anyways, one thing that always bothered me was when you observe/search the water where Climatrol is located and the dialogue's cut off. I think it'd be an improvement to fix that one small detail.

Even out the experience growth so everyone besides Nei levels at the same rate as Rolf if possible.

Maybe alter the power levels so everyone besides Rolf, Rudo and Nei gains one every five levels, if possible. That would reduce the annoyance caused by the random level-ups.

Uzo wasn't a town in PSII but indeed the Island with the Maruera trees. If you can change the text, I always found it annoying that names were fully capitalized...as if everyone were screaming at me.

Quote:

"Good morning, ROLF"

I must have been thinking of PSIV Uzo for some reason. I'm not sure where that guy was offhand, then.

Shinuzzo wrote:

Even out the experience growth so everyone besides Nei levels at the same rate as Rolf if possible.

Maybe alter the power levels so everyone besides Rolf, Rudo and Nei gains one every five levels, if possible. That would reduce the annoyance caused by the random level-ups.

6. Level-up data is random in this game, which requires finding the function for it in Assembly code. I most likely can't find it.

I definitely try and find those though; that would be a nice change.

Fogeltje wrote:

If you can change the text, I always found it annoying that names were fully capitalized...as if everyone were screaming at me.

I could probably pull that off. Too bad it isn't like PSIII and PSI; those games don't use any compression for the text and is readable in a hex editor.

The Komrade wrote:

Too bad it isn't like PSIII and PSI; those games don't use any compression for the text and is readable in a hex editor.

You could read it in a Hex Editor? That is interesting..