FF power system that is lacking in VTR

[Mr. Cogito]

Hello,

I have played and finished  over 15 years ago. I remember it very fondly.

Being struck with nostalgia I decided to try Freedom Force and was astonishing with it's intelligent implementation of power system and how flexible it was. After that I decided to use GOG version of FFvtr instead of my old copy and try FF classic mod.

In that moment I realized something and quickly switched to FFvtr campaign to check it after so manny years. I was struck with fact of how much three bar system destroyed the whole power dynamic from OG Freedom Force. I remember people complaining many years ago about how  ffvtr has destroyed some part of legacy and now I have discovered what it was. It's like making DS game without stamina bar and infinite spell casting (costless spells).

Due to it  ffvstr become so easy that I have to switch to Insane difficulty to get at least part of original Freedom Force experience (which even on normal difficulty appear to be really challenging and satisfying). Manny powers and my favorite character mechanic from    in    become completly useless.

Maybe that was the reason why  ffvtr flopped compared to Freedom Force according to this article.

 https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/06/26/the-past-present-and-future-of-freedom-force

My question is: Is there a possibility to bring back old  power system (even without changing UI) to  (the five degrees of power intensity ( the <<, <, O, > and >>)?

Sorry for repeating potential subject from past of this forum.

Have a nice day

[Epimethee]

Hello Mr. Cognito. As far as I know, it's not possible to bring back the original power system to FFvsTTR. The closest you can do is to use the FFX mod's Control Centre app and check the "Overspend EP w/ Stun Risk option".

[MarvelHero]

For .

The transition is indeed annoying but it get's better.

Just change your basic attacks to no cost and make them very low in damage.

Or make them no cost and only stun effect.

Their special skills should be medium or high in damage. The same with knockback. The energy consumption is up to you.

It works for me in Custom AI Battles. And it feels like Marvel Future Fight because of the non stop explosive action.

[BentonGrey]

Yeah, I think that the power system is the single greatest weakness of  .  If I had one wish to change the game, it'd be to restore the classic system.  As MH offers, there are things you can do to mitigate the trouble, but it isn't really the same.

[MarvelHero]

You are right mister Benton. My methods are only for compensation to what was lost. Which was very sad.

If only modern python coders would take a crack at FFVT3R.

MUA and XML2 gets boring real fast for me. I just can't imagine Batman not prowling on the rooftops.

[Epimethee]

If only modern python coders would take a crack at FFVT3R.

If by that you mean modding the game using its Python (version 1.5, the first Python version!) scripting engine, as we did in FFX, it's not possible. The game engine's API only gives access to a limited number of functions. Going beyond that would require much more advanced techniques, such as hacking the in-memory game executable (something modern operating systems make basically impossible, AFAIK).

At this point, this is a quarter-century-old game that was never hugely popular... It's not likely to attract the kind of programming talent and dedication needed to push the envelope much further. With today's great free game engines (Unity, Unreal, Godot) and the rapid evolution of AI-assisted code, creating a new game altogether is probably a more fruitful endeavour, in my opinion – that is, if someone has a few thousand hours available. But then again, there's no guarantee: Dr. Mike's Adventureverse got to the alpha pre-release a couple years ago and then went dark.

[Jimaras8]

Hey Epimethee is it possible to change the Castle state swap fx for a specific character? The red portal fx is awesome but i need to use castle to Lockjaw and his tp effects are white. Can it be done? I know teleport state swap has that option but i haven't found it for castle

[Epimethee]

Hey Epimethee is it possible to change the Castle state swap fx for a specific character?

Yeah, I should have made that customizable... rookie oversight. If you don't need the default FX for other characters, the simplest solution would be to change the hard-coded FX directly:

1. Back up ffx.py and open it in a pure text editor such as Notepad.

2. Go to the section under def makeroqued(target, source, intensity): (starting at line 19151, at least in my version of the file):

Code Select Expand

def makeroqued(target, source, intensity):
    MPSendMessage(MP_ROQUE, Object_GetAttr(target, 'ffxMPID'), Object_GetAttr(source, 'ffxMPID'), intensity)
    cshelper.disable(target)
    cshelper.disable(source)
    Object_PlayEffect(target, 'effect_portal_core')
    Object_PlayEffect(source, 'effect_portal_core')
    targetDestination = Get_ObjectPos(source)
    targetDestination = FFQ_tupleToString(targetDestination)
    sourceDestination = Get_ObjectPos(target)
    sourceDestination = FFQ_tupleToString(sourceDestination)
    RegTimer('OnRoque',0.1, 0, target, targetDestination)
    RegTimer('OnRoque',0.1, 0, source, sourceDestination)

3. There are two lines with the function Object_PlayEffect(). Replace effect_portal_core with the exact name of the FX of your choice in both.

[Jimaras8]

Right, so that would change it for every character in the future who has the castle swap right? It's good that it's a unique ability not many characters would use  . Thank so much much for you the info, i'm always scared to play around with py files

[Epimethee]

Right, so that would change it for every character in the future who has the castle swap right?

Exact.

Thank so much much for you the info, i'm always scared to play around with py files

My pleasure! And don't be afraid to break things; as long as you back up the files you play with first, start small and check script.log for unexpected errors when things don't work, you should be good.

[MarvelHero]

@Epimethee - Too bad for the FF community. I will still stick to it though.

Adventureverse looks very promising.

[RingsOfReznor]

It's not just the energy system...

The last thread on differences between the games highlighted that physics objects no longer inflict knockback - quite a change when  placed so much emphasis on using the environment like a superhero would.

Abilities like arcane bolt and microwave beam were long range, dealt moderate damage and were cheap enough that you could throw these continuously in combat. In  they're short range, low damage and put you in the awkward position of having a cast range just barely outside the game's minimum range zone.

The heroes start with more skills available but most non-damaging powers aren't worth using. Medium cost status effects with medium power are in the worst bracket of being unreliable but also too expensive to enhance. Case in point Instinct Dominance was Mentor's greatest asset in  but in  Electron Beam is his only reliable contribution. Lullaby is also hot garbage and almost never worth using.

On the positive side I think hero resistances and attributes were greatly improved in

If I were to make a change to the game without overhauling the energy system it would be enabling us to modify powers and hero stats. Something like upgrades at the mission briefing screen that you can equip to your squad to reduce power costs, or boost range... across the board or even just to specific powers. Creeper World 4 has a system like this during the mission itself - maybe scavenging upgrades from Blitzkrieg's experiments would be the best way to incorporate them into the story?

[MarvelHero]

The knockback still exist in powers. Maybe they just turned it off or something for the objects.

Only a good hacker could make this happen.

There is no modern game like FF and FFVT3R. Only MUA and XML2 are similar. The coders there hacked the game literally.

I will try convincing a coder once more in a different site. I tried last year. With no luck.

[RingsOfReznor]

The knockback still exist in powers.

Significant reduction in this department. Remember how many powers caused knockback in  ? All of Minuteman's melee after Smash (this was so definitive of MM and they downgraded him to a ranged harassment hero...  ), Diablo's Inferno, Wallop & Focus, Arcane Bolt, Pressure Punch, Thorax Punch, etc...

The few powers that still do knockback make  feel like the first game again. Try rushing Hellfire on diablo (you can have it for red oktober's base) and see the difference it makes - the fire element sucks in this game but it's easily one of the best skills in the game with its long range, knockback, area and extra projectiles.

[MarvelHero]

I agree with you, FF is just better. And the attacks have more weight to it.

Tbh, I would re-convert all my edited characters if they would make FFX4 for FF. No kidding.

I can only hope.

[Epimethee]

@Epimethee - Too bad for the FF community. I will still stick to it though.

I hope you do! As long as your expectations are in check... or that you're ready to try your hand at some of what you want yourself!

[MarvelHero]

@Epimethee - Too bad for the FF community. I will still stick to it though.

I hope you do! As long as your expectations are in check... or that you're ready to try your hand at some of what you want yourself!

You mean python coding? It's hopeless for me.

But I did try to mix and match FFX3 scripts. In an attempt to emulate flymelee and failed.

I did found out that I can hit a character when he is in a stucked state of some sort during flight. Literal aerial melee can be used using contacts not leavehand. It was a long time ago.