[FE8] [COMPLETE] The Pen (SIGURD)

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The Pen is a 1-chapter hack revolving around all your combat units having 3 freely interchangeable forms - Past, Present and Future:

  • Past forms have low bases but high growths.
  • Present forms have balanaced stats but cannot grow.
  • Future forms have high stats & legendary weapons, but negative growths.
Features
  • Control four shapeshifting units, using unique items such as a staff stealing equipped weapons or a 1-use tome summoning provoking zombies.
  • Rewrite your characters with your bard, granting them an additional, temporary 4th form.
  • Fight four different bosses, each with their own item set & special abilities.
  • A story about a fake tournament between writer-summoners.
Screenshots

ThePen-4ThePen-9ThePen-5ThePen-6ThePen-0ThePen-1

Download

Patch to FE8U. I recommend using mGBA.
Source code is available here.

Credits 
Buildfile bases, references & tools:
-SkillSystem by FEU (https://github.com/FireEmblemUniverse/SkillSystem_FE8/blob/master/CREDITS.md)
-fe8-chax-template by MokhaLeee
-SRR_FEGBA by Vesly
-TMGC by Retina

ASM/C:
-7743 - Handaxe Wildcards
-7743 - Add Event: Display and recover the effect when using the item
-7743 - Add Event: Silent Give Item
-7743 - Even in fog, it ensures visibility at specific coordinates. ver3
-7743 - Change Map BGM
-7743 - Change Battle BGM By Chapter
-7743 - Continue Battle BGM
-Vesly - ExtendWeaponDescBox
-Vesly - TiaMfLNiAyotDI
-Vesly - Autosave (modified to be autosave killer)
-Vesly - PreventAttacking
-Dragz/GigaExcalibur - Auto-Refreshing Weapons
-Dragz/GigaExcalibur - GrowthGrades (not used directly, but heavily modified for negative growth display)
-Leonarth - GetKillerUnitID
-Leonarth - GetDeathUnitCoords
-circleseverywhere - Monster Weapon display fix
-HyperGammaSpaces - Always show BWL
-Kyrads - Support disable
-Huichelaar - Multipalette Colour BGs
-Nintenlord - No Easy Mode
-PhantomSentine - AI4 as Group AI
-Zane - Modular Minimug Box
-Contro - SendInventoryOnDeath
-Tiki, Aera - Hackbox Extension

Portraits:
-LaurentLacroix - M. C. Illios
-Eden, L95 - Morbius (Future)
-ZessDynamite - Athena
-ZessDynamite - Game Master
-SSHX - Nogist
-JiroPaiPai - Emcee
-JiroPaiPai - #3811
-Alexsplode - #2136
-Alexsplode - #6048

Battle Animations:
-Pirate (F) - [Pirate-Reskin] Variant [F] by Nuramon: Nuramon, MarioKirby, Wan.
-Princess - [FE8 Ephraim-Custom] [F] T2 Heavy Infantry by Nuramon:
 Original animation by Nuramon.
 Female variant by ZoramineFae.
-Queen - [T3 Bishop-Reskin] [F] AS Aylanda T2:
 Matriarch (F) by MrNight48.
 Aylanda edit by NamelessX.
-Halberdier - [Custom Halb] Halberdier +Axes [M] by TBA:
 Base animation by TheBlindArcher. Further improvements added by Spud, MeatofJustice.
 Lance by TheBlindArcher.
 Unarmed by TheBlindArcher.
-Sentinel - [Custom Lance] Sentinel [U] by Nuramon: Nuramon.
-Lich - [Skeleton-Custom] [U] Specter by Alexsplode:
 Vanilla Shaman animation by IS.
 Vanilla Sage animation by IS.
 Vanilla Skelton animation by IS.
 Specter animation by Alexsplode.
 Scripting by Alexsplode.
-Hunter - [HunterM] Hunter [F] by MeatOfJustice: Leo_link, Spud, MeatOfJustice.
-Adventurer - [Trickster] [F] Trickster V.2 by Leo_Link:
 Original Animation by Leo_Link.
 Script by Epicer and Kanto Emblem.
 Female Edit by Sable Mage.
-Dragon Slayer - [Sword FE16 Custom] [F] Dread Fighter by Nuramon: Nuramon.
-Berserker (F) - [Berserker-Reskin] Armored v2 Repal [F] by eCut:
 Made by eCut.
 Scripted by Skitty.
 This is a variant made by Natsumi, AKA Serif.
-Werewolf - [Manakete-Custom] [M] Faoladh by Sirknite31:
 Animation by Sirknite31.
 Kitsune base by ZoramineFae and Clendo.
-Dragon Rider - [WL Base] [U] Vanilla +Weapons:
 Vanilla animation by IS.
 Bow by PrincessKilvas, Spud.
 Bow (Fixed Palette) by PrincessKilvas, Spud, Blue Druid.
-Bard - [Bard-Base] [M] Elffin +Weapons:
 Vanilla animation by IS.
 Refresh (FE7-8) by Eldritch Abomination.
-Tactician - [Tactician] [U] Tactician by SALVAGED: SALVAGED.
-Mechanist - [T2 Summoner-Reskin] Plague Doctor [F] by DATonDemand:
 Reskin by DatonDemand.
 Base body by Velvet.
-Doll - [Monster-Custom] [F] Living Doll by DatonDemand:
 Axe by DATonDemand.
 Bow by DATonDemand.
 Handaxe by DATonDemand.
 Scripting done by Sable Mage.
-Vengeance - [Monster-Custom] [F] Nether Dryad by Alexsplode: 
 Original Fire Centaur sprite from Demon Hunter Legend 4.
 Nether Dryad animations by Alexsplode.
 Scripting by Alexsplode.
-Sceptre - [Monster-Custom] [U] Ghost - Breath of Fire: Eldritch Abomination.
-Living Blade - [Monster-Custom] [U] Cursed Sword by SALVAGED: DerTheVaporeon, Team SALVAGED.
-Living Armour - [Monster-Custom] [U] Living Armor by Sphealnuke: 
 Animation by Sphealnuke.
 Commissioned by ZarG.
-Living Masterpiece - [Monster-Custom] [U] Blast Golem by Alexsplode:
 Original Balrog sprite from Pocket Kingdom: Own the World.
 Blast Golem animations by Alexsplode.
 Scripting by Alexsplode.
-Spirit - [Monster-Custom] [M] Sylph by Alexsplode:
 Sylph animations by Alexsplode.
 Scripting by Alexsplode.
-Cleric (M) - [Priest-Base] [M] Repal v2 by Eldritch: Flasuban, Eldritch Abomination
 
Map Sprites:
-Pirate (F) - StreetHero
-Princess - blood
-Sentinel - Der, Pushwall
-Lich - Ryn, N426
-Hunter - MeatOfJustice
-Adventurer - StreetHero, blood
-Dread Fighter - Nuramon
-Berserker (F) - Pikmin, Der
-Werewolf - UltraxBlade
-Tactician - SALVAGED
-Mechanist - DATonDemand, Unknown
-Doll - DATonDemand
-Sceptre - Eldritch Abomination
-Living Blade - Der
-Living Armour - Sphealnuke, topazlight
-Living Masterpiece - Alexsplode
-Vengeance - Alexsplode
-Spirit - Alexsplode
-Zombie - Pikmin

Class Cards:
-Sceptre - Eldritch Abomination
-Living Blade - Der
-Living Armour - Sphealnuke
-Living Masterpiece - SamirPlayz
-Halberdier - TBA
-Sentinel - Der
-Dread Fighter - Nuramon
-Hunter - Spud, Jj09
-Berserker - ZoramineFae, Der
-Pirate - HyperGammaSpaces

Music:
-TrikkiNikki - Rhapsody of the Forsaken (Castlevania Order of Ecclesia)
-TrikkiNikki - An Empty Tome (Castlevania Order of Eccelsia)
-TrikkiNikki - Heathern (Lock's Quest)
-TrikkiNikki - Furio Tigre ~ Swinging the Tiger (Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations)
-TrikkiNikki - Reminiscence ~ Shadow on Dusky Bridge (Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations)
-TrikkiNikki - Cross-Examination - Moderato 2007 (Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney)
-TrikkiNikki - Organ Jaws (Epic Battle Fantasy 2)
-TrikkiNikki - A Bleeding Fight (Epic Battle Fantasy 4)
-TrikkiNikki - Boss (Final Fantasy 4)
-ArcherBias - Scattered and Lost (Celeste)
-ArcherBias - Normal Battle (Pokémon Conquest)
-ArcherBias - Deep Sea BassCoral Riff (Crypt of the Necrodancer)
-SurfingKyogre - Uncontrollable (Xenoblade Chronicles X)
-SurfingKyogre - Emperor Arvis (Fire Emblem 4)
-SurfingKyogre - Power-Hungry Fool (Fire Emblem 9)
-Sme - Venus Lighthouse (Golden Sun)
-Sme - Bloody Tears (Castlevania II Simon's Quest)
-Kaidras - Combat ~ Adversity (Triangle Strategy)

Item Icons:
-GoudaGrabber - Steel Longbow
-GoudaGrabber - Command
-GoudaGrabber - Book of Death
-GoudaGrabber - Inevitable End
-GoudaGrabber - Oldwane's Fang
-GoudaGrabber - Acid Flask
-GoudaGrabber - Character Scroll
-GoudaGrabber - Perfect Reflection
-GoudaGrabber - Dollcraft
-GoudaGrabber - Encroaching Fog, Fog Level
-GoudaGrabber - Eternal Blade
-GoudaGrabber - Self-Assembly
-GoudaGrabber - Promotion Tier
-Zelix - Recap
-Zelix - Saw
-Zarg, SmithyGCN - Recurring
-Zarg - Avenger
-Ryan914 - Pistol
-Batima - Flame Lance
-FuriousHaunter - Finishing Touch

Tilesets:
-Desert Bastion - HyperGammaSpaces, ZoramineFae, Venobennu
14 Likes
2

I’m in the middle of playing this and it’s just freaking awesome. it definitely poses a challenge and is taking me multiple attempts on normal mode. I love how unique it is gameplay-wise. The comedy sprinkled within is also much appreciated.

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Okay, I played the hack. It was fucking great! The CGs were beautiful, the music choices were awesome, the new mechanics were really cool, I appreciate the different takes on storytelling, with Korovai, I mean Mad Chicken, being really cynical about everything and Taraji i mean Athena just making SCP references (which is really interesting in and of itself, it shows her nihilistic perspective or whatever idk). I’m really blown away by the alacrity which you displayed in making all this custom code for gameplay modifications.

However. I couldn’t beat it. (Disclaimer: these opinions are from me playing hard mode and resetting a few times. I’m sure I coulf beat it if I grinded at it for a while but it ended up just frustrating.)

mucho texto

My main issue with this hack is ironically its greatest strength: its incredibly diverse array of mechanical changes. Due to its nature as a mini hack, the game throws you right into the madness and expects you to come out on top. It can get hard to remember each character’s gimmicks, and I would recommend (for a next project) there to be a more comprehensive guide just so you It can get overwhelming very quickly, especially on turn 2 as the 3 bosses join. There’s just not enough tutorialization within gameplay either probably. I guess revenant bros exist to be like “ooooh you want to use grinding form so bad” but like yeah those wyvern lords fuck you up. The central form shift concept just felt like you were incentivized to use past forms for easy/early encounters and present forms for others and almost never bring out the future forms, at least in my experience.
However, some of the future forms just seemed worse than the present? Bill is just a straight upgrade but he was always really unremarkable as a unit. Bow lady is definitely a lot worse because of her lack of flier eff and range access. It feels really cruel to her to additionally cause HP loss as well, and it feels like she should just never use that form. Valeria, uh… maybe it’s good? I have no freaking clue honestly. Maybe she can become a second healer when Morbius becomes cringe??? By the way. It’s time to talk about morbius. It feels like the only reason to go lich mode is the summons for an EP, giving up healing is fucked and evil man. Inevitable end is just bad and I don’t think it’s really useful when you get own zoned on counter idk also i cant believe you named him morbius i take it back the story gets -2/5 for that

However, I really liked the rewrites as an alternative to dancing. Having them be unique parts of your skillset which are in some way restrictive (except for hunter lady, she just becomes god) meshes very well with the core gameplay mechanics.

But anyway enough of this. It’s time to talk about the real reason I dropped the hack. That stupid fucking fog asshole. It felt like on HM i had absolutely no idea what the intended strat was other than grinding bow lady really hard and praying you hit. Also, it seems like instead of hit in excess of avoid becoming crit it was a threshold which became 100 crit, which seemed misleading to me? 40 avoid is evil man I have lost multiple runs to simply not hitting the guy. There’s also, uh, the deer fuckhead who spawns the turn after and has 7 move. I think the issue with that is it can spawn directly on your army so the first time it happens you just die and it feels really bad. It feels like the intended solution to fog asshole is to rush him down, and all the bosses have some sort of anti turtle mechanic to them but this is both a blessing and a curse as I just ended up getting overwhelmed really qu—

wait

hold on

how much was hard mode tested? i’m starting to believe normal mode was the intended difficulty and hard mode just made the gimmicks more evil, removed stuff and was undertested. frog could probably beat it because they made the thing. it makes sense with the fog too, it’s like a “dev knows where the enemies are” classic romhack situation. If that is the case I would probably gladly try this again on normal maybe.

Despite all the hating this is a really good hack I think, or at least it is almost one. I promise it just needs more testing to not become less than the sum of its parts I think. I would feel it to be fair if you won SIGURD (not having played all of them yet but yeah) if some of the judges are more epic gamers than I am and can handle the weighr.

tldr: this frog guy really likes transformation gimmicks huh

2 Likes
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Hey, thank you so much for playing & the feedback!
The tldr is that Normal is definitely the intended mode for everyone except me, and was designed to give you way more breathing room to get used to the mechanics & make mistakes; while Difficult was designed pretty much purely for me (aka someone with perfect game knowledge & a lot of experience with the mechanics) - it would obviously be very frustrating for a new player! My biggest mistake was not communicating that clearly enough probably, which is definitely on me.

More detailed replies

I recommend just playing it on normal first, since this is mostly hard balancing discussion - most of the stuff here shouldn’t be relevant for normal (aka you should be able to beat it without knowing this), and if it is, then that’s a pretty big problem probably.

Bill’s & Sintel (bow lady)'s future forms are essentially boss slayer forms - especially Sintel’s was meant to counter powerful boss weapons such as Finishing Touch or some vengeance weapons. I do agree though that it ended up not being nearly good enough for the drawback: I usually use it with the (stolen) Audhulma, which uh, should’ve definitely been a sign to buff her initial weapon. Bill’s however is really good against the living weapon boss from my experience, for defeating too powerful dolls, or helping against vengeance in a pinch with the brave lance.
As for Valoria: using Command to gain certain powerful weapons - or even just stop/delay strong enemies like dolls - is absolutely essential on hard. It’s probably the future form both me & my one playtester used the most, so I’m surprised you didn’t use it much. Although it does render Valoria useless if you spam it.
As for Morbius - yeah, it’s more of an emergency button with the zombies, although it also helps him a lot with defeating the later bosses: he can easily reach 30 mag/skl/spd if you transform near the end, and Inevitable End is more meant to be used for its high might than the secondary effect. Losing healing is evil, which is why you start with elixirs on Normal, but I agree that it’s probably still too much.

Well, on hard the intended strat is indeed using the bow lady - she should be able to take a critical hit even after gaining only 1-2 levels, even on max fog, due to her naturally high res. And worse case, this is why Oldwane’s Fang exists, so you wouldn’t need to eat a counter. On Normal you have more options thanks to the Hoplon Guard, like Rewrite Morbius (this is how my friend beat this boss).
The weapon should work as described - however, on hard the fog grows so quickly it does become 100 crit almost immediately. If there’s actually a bug here that’s on me, I tested that skill early on in development and never in the final version, sorry if that’s the case.
About the 40 avoid - that’s a good point, I don’t even remember why I gave it 20 luck and it does suck. Probably the thing here I regret most…

This one I’m curious about, since both me & my one playtester didn’t have much trouble with this boss, especially on the first spawn (the subsequent ones on Hard are absolutely evil though). Which weapon did it spawn with for you? I tried giving you plenty of options to defeat it (rapier, brave lance, Oldwane’s Fang, all of which should 1 hit/round after an Acid Flask), and you should have all player units nearby & ready already since you just beat another boss.

Funnily enough, if anything Normal was undertested, since I playtested this exclusively on hard & only asked my friend to try it on Normal twice. But yes, as you’ve gathered, it is definitely not intended for new players.

And you got me there :slight_smile:

2 Likes
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you see, I had lost Bill and, uh, someone else i dont remember, due to missing 80s against fog asshole

I think part of the problem is that it was around 11:00 pm when I started so I was getting frustrated due to being tired. I’ll probably come back to it later

See I think the main issue with bow lady’s sword form is that her move is kinda bad lol. It just feels like you’re taking away threat range

1 Like
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I thought The Pen was fantastic. Very fun framing of the fight, the many forms were extremely cool, and loved the wildermyth CGs.

I also love the central map concept. Needing to shut down 3 bosses quickly who each bring the pain to the player as long as they’re on the map, as well as a 4th super boss who needs to be fought each time one boss goes down.

Special shoutout to the gun being usable and reloadable by anyone. I loved “pistolmaxing” with the otherwise offenseless while everyone else does work so he can take out some of the deadly magic enemies.

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I think there’s two things that can really trip a blind/savestateless player up. One is how deadly group AI is. Pulling one unit might cause an instant unwinnable situation next turn without the player knowing before hand (e.g. pulling the shaman below the mechanist, the bishop above fog spirit), since the enemies pulled will require the player’s complete focus while they might be fighting something else. Definitely requires a good bit of trial and error and work around what’s pullable.

Another is that the hit rates feel a tad unreliable for how tight the action economy is, even on normal. A lot of the promoted enemies/bosses, even with a good match up, rely on hitting high 70s/low 80s which on a miss, can just end a run right there.

I also think the dragonslayer is a little undertuned . While her fellows can farm stats easily off basic enemies as past form and their future forms are usually a game changer, she alone has pitiful output in both past and present, and her future form doesn’t start with a weapon she can use without crippling herself (and usually doesn’t even kill a threatening enemy!) She has good match ups against specifically wyverns and the bishops, but feels crippled against basically everything else on the map.

3 Likes
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Thank you for playing and the feedback, glad you liked it!

Replies

This is an excellent point, I was always very careful not to accidentally pull a powerful group when playing, but obviously had perfect knowledge of which group everyone belonged to which most players don’t. I guess this is why Closing Act has the squad item indicator, and I probably should’ve done something similar here.

You’re the second person to mention this so it’s definitely a problem. I changed skill to give 3 hit per point, but that obviously wasn’t enough… I actually hate low hit rates too, just was afraid for some reason to give everyone always 100 hit so made the pistol for example intentionally inaccurate, which was a mistake for sure.

The dragonslayer was balanced around being excellent against 3 out of 4 bosses & wyverns/bishops like you said, so I made her intentionally bad against most physical enemies. But in my runs I always stole the Killer Bow and Audhulma, without which she is significantly worse - and should’ve been a sign to buff her base kit. Also giving the druids high defense probably wasn’t a good idea, since she should be good against all magic enemies.

I’ll probably post an updated version with balancing fixes once the competition is over.

2 Likes