[FE 8] Fire Emblem: Genesis

[Praising_Intensifies]

(Curretly 10 chapters are playable: Prologue - Chapter 6 + 3x,5x,6x)

Kamusta gamers,[A]

I’ve been working on this FE 8 ROM hack for quite some time now. So much to the point where I think I need to get a few secondhand opinions on my map design, balance, etc before I proceed any further. Right now, 10 chapters are playable. I estimate that all of that encompasses roughly 6+ hours of gameplay/story.

ScreenShots:

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Gameplay

• There are currently no 1-2 range Swords, Axes, Spears, or Bows.

• Support/Talk doesn’t end a unit’s turn.

• Only master seals will be used for promotions. (That aren’t story-based promotions)

• All classes will get only one promotion choice.

• Gaiden/Echoes style Resistance growths/bases. Magic is really integral to this ROM. Gameplay and Storywise.

• The battle preparation shop items can be bought at normal price.

• There will never be a silver or member’s card.

• Stealables will never appear on reinforcements, or on fog of war maps.

• Terrain bonuses have been slightly nerfed. Hit-rate on all weapons has also been buffed across the board.

• Swords, Axes, and Lances have four tiers: Iron, Steel, Mithril, and Silver

• Heavy variants of each weapon also exist. (Claymores, Greatlances, Greataxes)

• Bows have been given the same treatment, but with different names: Oak, Yew, Redwood, Ebony
  (Bows, Warbows, Longbows)

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Supports

Supports will not be gained traditionally in chapters. There will be designated party banter maps where units can support with their partners freely, regardless of how much they were deployed. (Currently not yet implemented in the October 2022 build.)

Support bonuses

• Fire: +2 Pow +5 Hit

• Thunder: +1 Pow +10 Crit

• Wind: +5 Avoid +5 Critical +5 Crit Avoid

• Ice: +1 Pow +1 Def/Res +5 Crit Avoid

• Dark: +2 Pow +5 Avoid

• Light: +1 Def/Res +5 Hit +5 Crit Avoid

• Anima: +5 Hit +5 Avoid +5 Crit Avoid

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Plot

One year ago, the high king of Azalea was murdered by his advisor, Avalone. Upon discovering that Avalone usurped the crown, the Northern clan of Fresia and the Southern clan of Bataria revolted in open rebellion. While the Northern Realm has been able to hold its own against Avalone’s forces, the Southern Realm struggles to repel their invasion.

The story starts at the Western end of Bataria, where our heroes make a chilling discovery that just might turn the tides of war in their favor.

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Gaiden Requirements

Ch3x

Malcolm and Gillian survived chapter 3.

Ch5x

Automatically unlocked

Ch6x

Automatically unlocked

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UPS Download (FE-8)

FE Genesis Demo 10-31-2022.ups

Archive

Dropbox - FE Genesis Demo 1-30-2022.ups - Simplify your life
Dropbox - FE Genesis Demo 2-3-2022 - Simplify your life
Dropbox - FE Genesis Demo 8-1-2022.ups - Simplify your life
Dropbox - FE Genesis Demo 10-29-2022.ups - Simplify your life

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Credits

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Patches

Skill Systems 20201128: Circleseverywhere

16_tracks_12_sounds: Agro/Brendor

Fix CG Fade Glitch: 7743

Change Battle BGM By Chapter: 7743

Set Victory BGM By Chapter: 7743

Convert Chapter Titles to Text_ver2.1: circleseverywhere/7743

Actions After Support/Talk (Contemporary Style): circleseverywhere/7743

Continue Battle BGM Between Map and Combat 20200919: 7743

Drumfix: circleseverywhere

Display Escape Menu: 7743

Fates EXP: CrazyColor

Rogue Robbery: Tequila

ModularMinimugBox- GFE1R Style: 7743

NarrowFont: Scraiza

Show Heal Amount: Tequila

Skip the event using the opening world map: ?

SOUND_NIMAP2(Native Instrument Map): Alusq

Stairs 20191031: Snakey1

Add blink to portrait image on status screen: Stan

UnitActionRework: Stan

Display All 8 Weapon Ranks : Kirb

Exceed The Portrait Hackbox By 4 Tiles : Misaka Mikoto

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Music

Literally just Mycahel

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Battle Animations

[T1][SWD][Myrmidon](Lyn style)[M]{Leo_link,Tsushi,Iscaneus}

[T1][MAG][Mage](Dark Mage)[M]{Jj09, Pikmin1211}

[Fighter-Reskin] [M] Tellius-Style Clothing by Leo_Link

[Archer-Reskin] [M] Der’s Hat

[Archer-Variant] [F] Der’s Improved

[Sniper-Reskin] [M] Hat +Quiver by Nuramon

[Soldier-Custom] [M] FE10-Style by Nuramon

[Soldier-Reskin] [F] FE10-Style by Flasuban

[Custom Halb] [M] Halberdier by TBA +Axes

[Custom Halb] [F] Halberdier by Black Mage

[Mercenary-Variant] [F] Mercenary by SALVAGED

[Mercenary-Variant] [M] Mercenary by SALVAGED +Axe

[Hero-Variant] [F] Armored +Short Hair by Nuramon

[Hero-Variant] [M] Armored by Nuramon

[Myrmidon-Reskin] [F] Karla by Greentea

[Myrmidon-Reskin] [M] Fur Coat by Its_Just_Jay

[Swordmaster-Reskin] [F] Karla by Greentea

[Thief-Reskin] [M] Hooded by Solum

[Assassin-Base] [M] Jaffar Vanilla +Weapons

[General-Reskin] [M] Baron Cape +Weapons

[Knight-Variant] [M] Generic by SALVAGED

[Sage-Variant] [F/M] Battle Sage

[Mage-Reskin] [M] Hatless by GabrielKnight

[Custom Oracle] [F/M] Oracle by GabrielKnight

[Eliwood-Variant] [F/M] Mage Lord by TytheBub

[FE7 Eliwood-Reskin] [M] T1 Long-Haired by Xenith

[Grand Paladin] [M] Generic Repal

[Paladin-Custom] [M] Bow Knight by Spud

[Paladin-Variant] [M] SALVAGED +Weapons

[Paladin-Custom] [U] Gold Knight by Nuramon

[Peg T1 Base] [F] Repal v2 + Weapons by Flasuban

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Map Sprites

Lord (M) Sword Generic 16x16 (Leif)-stand

Lord (M) Ephraim Sword {Teraspark}-stand

Great Lord (M) Ephraim-Infantry Alt Lance {Dellhonne}-stand

Great Lord (M) Hector-Harbinger {SD9K}-stand

Shaman (M) Hoodless Magic {Ash3wl, L95}-stand

Monk (F) {Teraspark}-stand

Mage Lord (M) Eliwood 16x16 {TyTheBub}-stand

Mage Lord (F) Eliwood {TyTheBub}-stand

Bonewalker (U) Legion Bow {Seal}-stand

Bonewalker (U) Legion Sword {Seal}-stand

Bow Knight (M) {Der, Pikmin}-stand

Cavalier (F) {SALVAGED, Pikmin}-stand

Cavalier (M) {SALVAGED}-stand

Horse Standing {L95}

Griffon Rider (U) Bow {N426}-stand

Wyvern Knight (U) Axe {ArcaneEli}-stand

Wyvern Rider (M) Axe {flasuban}-stand

Dark Knight (U) Helm {Unknown}-stand

Berserker (F) Hawkzerker Axe {Pikmin, Der}-stand

Brigand (F) Axe {Skitty}-stand

Brigand (F) FE13-Style Axe {Glaceo, Skitty, blood}-stand

Brigand (M) FE13-Style Axe {Glaceo}-stand

Fighter (F) FE10-Style Axe {Pikmin} 1-stand

Fighter (M) FE10-Style Axe {L95}-stand

Warrior (F) Axe {FEGirls}-stand

Archer (F) Improved {Der}-stand

Archer (M) FE14-Style Thief Bow {Rasdel}-stand

Hunter (M) MeatOfJustice-style {knabepicer}-stand

Marksman (M) Nuramon-style {ArcherBias}-stand

Dragoon (M) v2 Lance {Pikmin, Unknown}-stand

Halberdier (F) Amelia 16x16 {blood, Dei, dondon151}-stand

Halberdier (M) 2.0 {TBA}-stand

Soldier (F) FE10-Style Lance {flasuban}-stand

Soldier (M) Echoes Lance {FireEmblemier, flasuban}-stand

Spartan (M) Lance {Der}-stand

Hero (F) Gerik-Style Sword {Nuramon}-stand

Hero (M) Gerik-Style Sword {Nuramon}-stand

Mercenary (F) Improved Sword {flasuban}-stand

Mercenary (M) Sword Improved {Flasuban}-stand

Myrmidon (F) Karla-Style {Raulster}-stand

Myrmidon (M) Awakening-Style {Leo_link}-stand

Swordmaster (F) {IS}-stand

Assassin (M) Hoodless {RobertFPY}-stand

Baron (U) Magic {WarPath}-stand

General (U) Shield Lance {Nuramon}-stand

Knight (U) FE10-Style {Unknown}-stand

Guardian (M) Berwick Saga {SSHX}-stand

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Class Cards

Brigand FE-13 (M) Axe {SamirPlayz}

Brigand FE13 (F) Axe {SamirPlayz}

Berserker (F) Fixed Leg Axe {ZoramineFae, Der}

Fighter (M) Tellius-Style Axe {flasuban}

Fighter (F) Axe {Pikmin, flasuban, Jj09}

Warrior (F) Axe {Jj09}

Archer (F) Improved {Der}

Archer (M) Improved {Der}

Archer (M) FE14-Thief Bow {Rasdel}

Sniper (F) Long Hair Bow {flasuban, L95}

Soldier (M) FE10-Style Lance {flasuban}

Soldier (F) Lance {flasuban}

Halberdier (M) Lance {TBA}

Halberdier (M) Dragoon - Custom Lance {Kenpuhu}

Spartan (M) Lance {Der}

Bow Knight (M) Updated {Der, HyperGammaSpaces}

Mercenary (F) Sword {Uncredited}

Hero (M) Sword Shield {IS, SamirPlayz}

Hero (F) Sword Shield {RobertFPY, SamirPlayz}

Myrmidon (F) Sword {L95}

Swordmaster (F) Sword {L95}

Baron (U) Magic {flasuban}

Baron (U) Lance {SamirPlayz}

Knight (M) SALVAGED Axe/Lance/Sword {SALVAGED}

Monk (F/M) Magic {Blademaster}

Bishop (M) Staff {IS}

Bishop (F) Staff {L95}

Mage (F) Fire Magic {L95}

Mage (M) Alt Hoodless {L95}

Dark Knight (M) Hood Magic {Pikmin}

Heavy Infantry (M) {SamirPlayz}

Harbinger (M) Magic {flasuban}

Tent {Laurent Lacroix}

Trickster (M) Sword T2 {Jj09, Scraiza, Sword of HaE}

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UI

Sokaballa’s Battle Screen
Stat Screen Blitz 1 - SaXor_2

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Item Icons

EldritchA, Indogutsu Tenbuki, Ereshkigal, Beansy, Lisandra, CamTech075, Celice, Jubby, Zelix, Gabriel Knight, Sacred Stones, Zane

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TileSets

ZoramineFae - Revamped Fields, Updated Stronghold, Village Port City.

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Portraits

Abzel (@iamblz_twt) : Laurence, Archer (M/F), Knight (M/F), Soldier (M/F)

Atey (@o_Atey_o) : Vyce, Oskar, Marnas, Malcolm, Nathaniel, Dante, Matthias, Rin, Beatrice, Mendax

Glaceo (@Glaceo776) : Aiske, Colt, Teresha, Caelum, Katchua

X0_000 (@x0_000) : Gillian, Shireen, Elizabeth, Jerryl, Atlas

(The rest are repository assets.)

GabrielKnight

LaurentLacroix

Levin64

Nickt

RandomWizard

Raymond

Imperial

CobyTheCoober

FateBorn

Auto

MeatofJustice

CapibaraInSpace

JiroPaiPai

[ArcherBias]

Tactics Ogre Music

Impregnable Defense

[Xilirite]

Looks pretty nifty, I think I’ll give this one a playthrough

[knabepicer]

I played the first few chapters. My thoughts:

Gameplay

The game is fairly challenging (I played on normal), with the enemies having good stats, and the increased accuracy on weapons meaning you can’t easily rely on dodging. I’m not opposed to high difficulty but the tightness does lead to some annoyance in parts. I can see there was effort put into to making these maps play out like there’s an actual story instead of just “go kill some dudes and then the map ends”, but some of the choices in practice I think need tweaking.
Prologue: This is a pretty frustrating opening map, since it boils down to just slowly advancing with Ashur into the fog, since Vyce being 2hko’d by the enemies means he’s a liability until after Ashur takes out most of their health. I’m not a fan of low unit count prologues to begin with (gimme at least 4 units to work with), but this chapter in particular is just kinda tedious.
1: The flow in this map is kind of odd. You pretty much just wait for the enemies to come to you since they all end up charging, and they hit too hard for you to readily advance. It’s not bad, but it’s not what I’m used to, so maybe I’m biased.
2: This is kind of a repeat of the previous map where you just wait in place for the enemies to come to you, except here you have the mountains to dodgetank on. Although you do have to send someone to go fetch the priest and fight the brigands, it really feels kind of uninteresting in terms of what the rest of your units are doing.
2x: I can infer some of what the story reason for this map being here is (the chapter title is a good hint), and it does do a good job of at least making you have to pay enough attention to keep Oskar alive, and be brutal enough that the other 3 are probably dying.
3: This is definitely a larger map, but you have enough units who all can put in work here. And cracking the formation with the master seal soldier before being run down by the boss is engaging. Probably my favorite map so far.
3x: I get what you were going for here (again almost forcing the sacrifice of the armor) but it’s a very tight map, and not only do you have to keep the cavslayers on the cavs, but it really feels like Gillian needs to get at least 1-2 dodges against the axe cavs to be able to make it to the tents in time. I’d maybe ease off at least a little bit here.

There’s a lot of tilespam and other bits in the maps, I’d recommend doing a visuals pass at some point.

Story

I was actually really impressed by the story so far in this hack. Although there were maybe a bit too many proper nouns thrown around to remember, I can tell that there’s been effort in fleshing out this world, not just in terms of “there was nations w, x, y, and z, and a great war and-”, but in terms of having it feel like a place where people actually live and have a culture. It’s a real breath of fresh air.
The enemies having stats vary based on where they hail from is fun, but I assume it’s not a super huge effect.
The characters too, have solid dialogue and don’t fall into stock character archetypes, although I would recommend against having the alignments on the 4th stat page; it just really takes you out of it. I’m interested in seeing where the plot goes; it’s certainly not derivative.

[Praising_Intensifies]

Thanks for playing!

Prologue

As long as Vyce stays on that Forrest tile directly below him, he can tank that one enemy with the use of his vulnerary. I know that there’s not too much happening here and that I probably forgot it isn’t exactly obvious that you should just send Ashur directly southeast, to face the boss since it’s fog of war. A few tweaks in this map may do some good.

Ch1

I actually like how this map is set up. I think the starting position of the units basically tells you that you need all three mages on one side to basically kill the enemies before they get a chance to swarm you. Vyce at this point is the only one that can take several hits, so it’s a much easier time if you have him tank the right side for 2-3 rounds then rejoins the group before the archer can reach him. Hopefully, the boss wasn’t too tricky, as he’s meant to fold if you sick all three mages on him at once. Of course, this is still just a demo. A few tweaks here and there can probably be a good thing.

Ch2

I’ll admit that the flow of ch2 isn’t that interesting, as it basically involves plugging the holes with Vyce and someone else, then picking off any stragglers that can weave their way around. The boss having savage blow, as well as that archer was an attempt to have the player have to perhaps change their strategy a little if their positioning was off.

Ch3

I’m glad you like Ch3, it’s probably my fav next to ch3x and ch5x. Although, 5x might need some tweaks.

Ch3x

I tried playing this map several times to make sure it was actually doable at the cavs base level. While Malcolm does his job just fine on the southern side, I do believe Gillian’s intended side has a bit of rng on it. It’s unfortunate because just removing one of the enemies on her side might completely trivialize the need for careful positioning, but it might be necessary.

Also uh……

Caelum was nerfed in that 2-3-2022 patch (-4 HP down to base 20)

In the later maps, he was starting to juggernaut a bit.

I was actually nervous it might’ve been too easy. Guess I’ll put that plan to buff all enemy growths by 10% on the back burner. >_>

Story

Yeah, that opening scene kinda just gives you a short history lesson. It’s probably for the best if I get a map intro at some point. Glad you think the story is immersive enough though.

I wouldn’t say the stats bonus based on clan is too important, it basically follows this formula.

Boon +2 in that stat, +4 if HP or LCK.

Bane -1 in that stat, -4 if Luck, -2 if HP

Generally speaking, I think it makes certain enemies scarier based on their clan (Try not to get doubled by Batarian brigands and mercs. Don’t try to kill a Torian Knight with a physical unit.)

I kinda do like the alignments on the 4th page. Of course, it’s basically just fluff, but it’s the type of thing that was displayed in tactics ogre: Let us cling together, which was a pretty big inspiration for this game.

Also, I’m not exactly sure what the term tilespam means.

[Rivian]

Gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised. The story has a solid premise, dialogue does a good job of building up characters without being tedious and I’m certainly seeing the importance of magic lorewise. I will continue, but I would like to give some feedback on the map I did play.

Prologue

The first map is critical to giving a good first impression, but I don’t this map is good for it. There’s little strategic merit with almost a 1 unit map and just slowly advancing forward with the hero, as Vyce is of little value besides trying to pick up some quick exp. Well I recognise that it is 2 units for story reasons, I think it might be worth reworking it such that all 4 units in prologue are all playable (maybe they get separated after the fight) and maybe have more wildlife to give more vision across the map, because as it stands it leaves a poor first impression.

Minor issues are that eldritch has no description and wildlife has no generic minimug.

Ch1

After playing deity device, seeing a focus on magic mentioned immediately makes me think of magical units making physical units obsolete, but that was not the case here as Vyce’s bulk made him crucial. As all the enemies charge, I ended up playing ring around the rosie, chipping down enemies with a retreating Vyze giving mages to clean up the left side and then finish the job. This map flow is atypical to the usual map flow of steady advancement I am used to, so it threw me off a bit.

A very odd thing I found here was that when I started a chapter for the first time, Vyce’s HP falls to 0 but anytime restarting, he ‘survives’ the hit. I had to check multiple times to make sure I wasn’t losing it.

Ch2

Seeing every enemy on the map charge was really spooky. I assume the intended approach is choking at the two forts, which turned out to be pretty reliable with no need for dodge tanking. However, stting at a point at just grinding it out doesn’t make the map all that interesting.

I’m guessing you know this already, but the monk has jiggling talk frames and fe7 colors. Speaking of which, Dussell’s partner also has fe7 colors.

Ch2x

There’s not really much to say here besides I thought the gameplay-story integration here was quite nice, even if there’s not much gameplay its nice for story reasons. It sells monsters being such a threat much more than the piles of twigs in vanilla FE8.

Ch3

I was surprised that the map would be this big for 6 units, but then the arrival of the 2 cavs solved any worries there. I like how the map flows here compared to previous maps, an initial steady advance into a chokepoint to fight off a big wave, then a rush to the objective before the boss squad can get moving while the cav take down bonus tonic objectives.

I’ve also noticed that enemy cavs and boss have charge, but they cannot use it in builder version of skill system due to not being able to count their movement.

Ch3x

Usually I say 2 unit maps have little strategic merit as its the same turns each time, but it wasn’t true here. It took me 4 tries to beat it, having to optimize reposition canto on every empty turn, position to maximise charge damage on tents, ensure horseslaying matchups as much as possible and even then, I think without a few lucky dodges, 1 extra turn to tonic might have defeated my 4th attempt. I think its a very interesting map, and with how short it is restarting wasn’t a big issue, but the timers on it are pretty damn tight.

Units and misc

Enemies were generally pretty tough, and were a solid threat to the squishy units while taking a decent chunk of damage to bring down.
However, I’ve noticed that infantry defence stats tend to be very high, even for the least bulky of units. This has rendered the thief to be near useless at combat especially when he doesn’t have enough speed to double. Its not an issue at the moment with four casters and I’m pretty early in, so I don’t know how well this will scale.
A boon of 4HP/2DEF on their own already adds quite a lot to bulk, both is an absurd amount of bulk.

My Vyce levelled speed every level and can exactly double every enemy except sword users, so his offences are way more than they should normally be.
Also, seeing tactic ogre music, the name Vyce in combination with his role in the story so far, not sure how far off my guess is going to be.

I thought res growth being equal to unit base and Lawrence being a lawful evil in a starting party of neutrals and goods were both pretty funny.

The maps could be improved visually with less straight forests/cliffs/rivers.
Tilespam means to use the exact same tile across large patches of the map, commonly referring to grass tiles. Looking at this tileset, it looks like there’s only grass tile so not much can be done there. However, the trees and thickets can certainly be varied more with more use of interconnected patches of trees in combination with individual trees.

There’s a bug that I wanted to report before moving onto chapter 4, and that’s selling the red gem in chapter 4 (and anything else) got me 0 gold back. Epicer gave the probable cause of it being due to chapter 4 replacing 5x, with all of 5x’s specific jank.I think the patch 'unlock various restrictions on 5x/show gold in 5x/fix prep screen in 5x is probably the way to go.

Looking forward to continuing the hack. The early chapters felt a bit rough but chapter 3 picks up the slack, so got high hopes for what’s down the road.

[Praising_Intensifies]

@Rivian

Gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised. The story has a solid premise, dialogue does a good job of building up characters without being tedious and I’m certainly seeing the importance of magic lorewise. I will continue, but I would like to give some feedback on the map I did play.

Prologue

Unfortunately, I don’t think having Caelum and Laurence there in the prologue can be a thing. The whole premise of ch 1 mostly was the revelation of what they can do. I’m probably gonna have to put a lot more thought in this map if it’s to radically change.

Ch1

I have no idea what causes that weird 0% crit in that cutscene

Ch2

Most of the challenge in that map was to not get screwed by the savage blow boss or archer. Then again, I actually never tanked on the forts, I met them halfway in the forest to block chokepoints. Maybe some tile changes and some fancy Ai that made it so certain groups charge at different turns can change it for the better.

Don’t worry too much about the wonkiness of Marnas and Katchua. They’ll have their own custom portraits eventually.

I hope.

Ch3

I had no idea enemies didn’t utilize charge. TBH I don’t feel like it’s a big deal they don’t benefit from it. While I want the Cavs to have a skill in addition to canto and reposition, most of the other ones seem like they would be too powerful in combination.

Ch3x

Yeah, I think the Northern side needs to be nerfed just a tad for Gillian to have a reliable strategy there.

Msc

I’ll try to look back at the maps and see what visual changes I can do to them.

Thanks for telling me about that patch for “5x.” I was aware of the issue but had no idea how to fix it.
Oh and I’l definitely buff Matthias. Nathaniel too probably.

[Rivian]

On second thought, that suggestion for prologue is pretty silly. Could maybe do a generic squad or something along the lines.

Chapter 2 could maybe use a manual change in AI by coordinate as a turn event to better specify the gap between squads.

Another minor thing is the jump between enemy stats from Batarian to Torian is rather unexpected. Physical units would probably get a significant viability boost when they switch from fighting Torian enemies.

A suggestion could be to use map sprites or animations, like using hunter anims for archers, or the like 5 different soldier anims, axe merc for fighters etc. It’s a lot of work for something so minor but it might add to the expression of cultural difference.

[Praising_Intensifies]

Whoops, totally forgot to respond to this. My bad.

But I have been working on several things since then,

Prolouge

I did a small redesign to make more utilization of the wolves giving vision to the player. They more so function as a subtle guide to where Vyce and Ashur should head for their best matchups. Also, the enemies don’t deal as much damage, meaning Vyce isn’t prone to being 2-shot anymore.

Ch2

The enemies attack in waves now, meaning it’s much more manageable to do a steady advance.

Ch3x

Small changes to the enemy placement make Gillian’s survivability much more reliable. Also, there’s an extra turn before the anti-turtle incentive spawns.

Other Maps

Looking back at Ch5x and Ch7, I wasn’t too satisfied with how they functioned, so I went back and did a total redesign of them.

5x is a much more steady advance towards the bottom.

The original idea of ch7 is still there. Incentives for one army to rush towards the village, while the other half fends off a big wave and prevents Jerryl and Elizabeth from being surrounded in the South.

(I’ve also made chapters 8 and 9. And Just got started on 10)

Balancing

When it comes to player characters and enemies, I started working with a considerable deflation to both their hp stats. Enemies also have a bit less defense on average as well.

The “Boon” that Torians, Batarians, etc. get was also nerfed to be in line with the banes. Now the formula is more along the lines of:

Boon/Bane: +/-1 in that stat. +/-2 if HP or Skill. +/-4 if Luck

Also, a lot of the steel weapons in the early game were removed for iron variants. On average, I think this lessens several units getting 2-shotted at certain times.

Msc

It seems rather difficult to connect the “Puffy” Forrest. Most of the time, it feels like it’s missing a part that would make certain Forrest formations work better. The other forest type just seems more versatile when it comes to that.

Considering that there will eventually be generic Torians, Batarians, Fresians, Zamoans, and Veelahans, I don’t think there are enough animations for each class type to go around. Let alone ones that actually represent the culture.

I did fix a few things mentioned before:

• The red gem not selling in ch4
• Vyce “dying in the ch 1 cutscene”
• I bunch of spelling errors here and there (Mostly in ch 7)

[Praising_Intensifies]

It’s definitely been a hot minute since I’ve posted here.

For this next release, I wanted to go back and make some extensive changes to the chapters that were previously available. This new patch still just goes to chapter 6 + the gaidens. I didn’t log all of the differences between this and the last patch, but in a nutshell:

• The Prologue, Chapter 2, 4, 5, 5x, 6, and 6x have been completely overhauled. Chapters 1, 3, and 3x also have some minor changes.

• Several portraits have been updated

• New tilesets have been implemented

[Locos]

Will wait for it to be complete before tryinggg looks amazing

Can we have a detailed mapped out and recruitment guide something like code of the black knights if possible?

[Ilmoro]

I managed to make Rennac survive in ch 3x

[Praising_Intensifies]

@Locos

Can we have a detailed mapped out and recruitment guide something like code of the black knights if possible?

Sure, I can make a recruitment guide. However, some names may be blurred out to avoid major story spoilers.

And to be fair, all recruitments will be very straightforward, if not automatic.

@Ilmoro

I managed to make Rennac survive in ch 3x

Welp, that’s awkward. I just double-checked myself and managed to do it too.
I guess I forgot to triple-check if that was possible when I revised the map. I’ll make sure to revisit it.

[Praising_Intensifies]

Minor update today:

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Edits to Ch 3x have been made.

• Changes to enemy units and terrain.

• The armored knight is much more likely to die.

• Gillian and Malcolm should definitely be able to solve the map, even if they didn’t level up at all on the previous map.

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Edits to Ch 4 have been made.

• Reinforcements no longer appear from the mid-east on turn 10.

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Marnas should now be shoveable.

• His retreat AI used to be set to 20 on his join chapter. The game will display that he can move, but he won’t leave the fort as a green unit.

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• Chapter 6 end event expanded.

• Minor grammar edits.

• Tenebris tome’s description from the FEE3 video is back.

[Rivian]

I started a new run and went through all available chapters in a day.
Genuinely one of the best hack experiences I’ve had this year and believe me, I’ve played an unhealthy amount of hacks.

Maps

Looking back through old map screenshots, I really appreciate the revamp both aesthetically and in gameplay. Prologue was a real map and chapter 2 felt much smoother. (Rip 2x.) 3x seemed to be more lenient which was nice. Rennac could maybe use a 4th screen?

I found the generic squad chapters pretty fun. It’s a different gameplay experience when I can afford to be more lax with my casualties and generics come with a variety of classes and gear. Evacuation was a neat chapter objective.

I have basically no complaint with anything, it felt great to me.

Units

Units felt pretty good to use. Physical infantry felt more competitive in the damage department. I like that healers had decent chip except high defence but generally do less damage.
The biggest damage dealer was Laurence whenever he doubled.
My favourite units would have to be Annie and Flinn, but the canto+ mounts come pretty close.

The hybrid units quite exciting, with what looks like a good trade off between magic and physical, looking forward to when (if) they join the main party. Incredibly, I got a 0 stat up on Rin.

I’m surprisingly sold on wary fighter armor knights, their placement and stats makes them almost a mini boss fight and not a mook that gets one rounded more easily than regular units. Generic playable armor knights were exceedingly epic.

Visuals

The mug aesthetics upgrade is huge. Each custom character design feels like they stand out very well. My favourites are Gillian because cool armor and Jeryl because cool armor.

The generic portraits are also very appreciated, especially when them being playable a lot of the time. The small visual differences between faction variants are neat.

2 visual bugs I noticed was Gillian’s blink frame and the lord map sprite having a glitchy frame, but you probably know these already.

Really looking forward to more, that was fantastic.

[Praising_Intensifies]

Thanks for checking it out again!

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Also, another hotfix today to address those issues:

• Gillian’s feathers are no longer present in her status screen since they break it.

• Rennac’s bio is now viewable.

• Generic priests’ palette updated.

• Lord, Female Sword Cavalier, and Crusader map sprites were fixed.

• You are now rewarded with a metis’s tome for clearing 6x without any casualties.

[bpat]

At the recommendation of @Rivian, I’ve been playing through this hack and it’s been a lot of fun! Its gameplay design differs quite a bit from what I’m used to seeing in both mainline and other hacks but it’s been a refreshing experience as a result, and it’s clear a lot of effort was put into designing the gameplay. The story’s also pretty solid so far, since the main cast is fun. I also like all the Shiki music, I haven’t thought about that show in ages but it’s a good one and has a nice soundtrack. I’m currently at chapter 5; I’ll post more detailed feedback once I finish the current patch, but for now I’ll post a few minor inconsequential bugs and typos below.

Sword cavalier map sprite is buggy.

Objective is supposed to be defend, though actually I think it’s a survive map because there’s no clear defend point.

Should be “someone has recently gone missing.”

[Praising_Intensifies]

Thanks for checking it out! It’s nice to get feedback from forum veterans, as it really makes me rethink how to approach my design philosophy.

Sorry for the radio silence as of late. Things have been hectic lately, and I haven’t worked on this as much as I should’ve. Still, I haven’t forgotten about this project and I’m still brainstorming ideas on how to introduce new mechanics.

And I’ll definitely jot those bugs down for the next release.

[Kmoran2085]

Any hack cool enough to include not one but two tracks from Enderal is good in my book. The OST for Forgotten Stories especially lives rent-free in my head.