Shukumei Star

Hoo boy! Some things have happened in the five and a half years since the last update.

Windows dropped MIDI support

Windows 7 was released, and as it turns out, all versions of Windows going forward have dropped native MIDI support. MIDIs will still partially play in-game now, but in order to hear these game MIDIs in their full glory, you need to install a third-party MIDI synthesizer.

I've been using VirtualMIDISynth:
https://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynth
with the following setup for soundfont load order:

(i.e. SGM loads last and takes priority.)


New Font

Additionally, the process to automatically install a font has changed, so I'm leaving it to you to download and manually install the new font, TibsRPG2. This font is new as of Jan 2019, so you should still install it, even if you have the previous TibsRPG font:
https://rpgmaker.net/games/1639/downloads/10407/


Why the update?

Aside from the technical stuff above, I wanted to adjust the game again because I was never really satisfied with the difficulty balance of random enemies and bosses. As I began to tweak and re-balance all the enemy stats, I got along to tweaking other things like spells. And then I found a few stupid mistakes and oversights in the previous versions that I have now corrected.


Save file compatibility

Please note that the new install directory is now different from previous versions. I have no idea if save files are forward-compatible, so copy over your old save files with caution.


Changelog as of 03 Jan, 2019:
This log is not exhaustive, because I might have changed very minor things like spelling mistakes and a couple tile/entity positions.

MAJOR update: Now using Cherry's amazing DynRPG plugin system, which I've customized to do the following:

• Makes message windows translucent
• Adjusts battle timing
  
• Displays battle icons when characters gain MP
  
• Fixes Reflect crash, so now a couple enemies can cast Reflect

MAJOR update: New font (TibsRPG2) that is a modification of the RM2000 font
MAJOR update: Battle background have been updated: specifically re-worked to take up the entire screen rather than having the awkward black bar at the bottom. (See below)
MAJOR update: Many heroes are renamed. Some of their original names were taken randomly and sporadically in a spark of inspiration—for example: named after a friend's pets, which happened to be named after historical or mythical figures. Many of the old names today have contemporary pop culture associations (e.g. Pandora, Loki)
MAJOR update: As alluded to above, monster stats have been completely re-worked. The EXP they grant and their appearing locations have not been adjusted (mostly), but now the game should be easier overall, with fewer difficulty spikes.
MAJOR bugfix: Monsters never used to cast spells that only gave a buff (e.g. Fast, Wall, Regenerate). Now they do.
MAJOR bugfix: Status effects that claimed to halve/double Defense incorrectly affected Mind instead, and vice-versa!
Bugfix: Status conditions in general had numerical priority ratings. A spell that was supposed to grant multiple conditions with equal priority (e.g. Mutate) instead applied their effects based on these priorities. Now they should correctly apply multiple conditions.
Bugfix: Using a teleport item/spell in an improper place does not consume the item/MP.
Bugfix: I can't prevent you using buffing battle items outside of battle, but I CAN remove the buffs they give you! Don't use them outside of battle and you won't waste them.
Bugfix: Airship entering/exiting has been fixed, I HOPE.
Update: The shortcuts added by the installer are now flagged to open the game in windowed mode by default, which loads MUCH faster.
Update: Quetzalcoatl now randomly grants Reflect rather than Dodge/Regen
Update: Reflect status lasts longer in battle.
Update: Crusade's success rate has been lowered from 100%.
Update: Mutate can now cause Reflect.
Update: Gravity and X-Gravity have slightly lower success rate, but now can also inflict ½ ATK, ½ SPD, Stun
Update: Black Hole is now an advanced, multi-target gravity spell.
Update: Overhauled non-weapon equipment so that stat bonuses make more sense and are fairer.
Update: Elemental/Status resistances are now included in item descriptions.
Update: Black Hole and Reflect have swapped positions in the Abacus.
Update: Enemy spell usage has been updated. Enemies now cast spells more/less frequently if they own many/few spells, and enemies near the beginning of the game (mostly around Shide/Corax) have different spell sets.
Update: Overhauled class stat growth. Now the extremes in a given stat will vary by a factor of 2, and not 8. This ought to prevent e.g. characters with obscenely low agility from being agonizingly slower than other characters. Similarly, the attack and magic combo algorithm has been re-written, and now maxes out at 4 instead of 8 hits.
Update: Overhauled monster stats to likewise reduce individual "swinginess"
Update: Summon animations now fade in. Originally they did not, due to archaic reasons.
Update: Removed Herobrine.
Update: Abacus graphics have been updated for clarity. (See below)
Update: Abacus now has a Free-Roam mode where you can read about what each spell does, rather than having to guess based on its name.
Update: Hidden stars are no longer items to be used on characters to boost their stats. Instead, upon locating them, they instantly boost the stats of EVERY character, including those not in the party or not found yet, and remain in your inventory as trophies.
Update: Enemy distribution/EXP in the super-secret dungeon has been changed, and you get much less of the completion reward.
Update: Enemies in super-secret dungeon now play alert sound effects at the start of battle.
Update: Removed MANY traps and ambush tiles from Corax Temple, to make it less horrible.
Update: Removed Traps Radar: now Secrets Radar reveals both traps and secrets.
Update: Secrets Radar now stays on for four seconds, and makes a tick every second.
Update: Prem soldiers in the Dokutsu cave showdown now have different sprites than the Dyros soldiers.

Known bugs:
-If a character gets petrified while selecting a battle command, the game will hang because the player can't choose a command and the battle can't proceed until the character chooses a command.
-If an enemy simultaneously selects a spell at the same time that it is disallowed from casting spells (Mute, Berserk, etc) then the game will crash. This happens especially against the Lion enemy.


Graphics update samples
As mentioned in the changelog, some graphics have been updated: in particular, battle background have been extended, and the Abacus stat graphics have been updated to look more like an abacus:

Changelog from 13 Aug, 2013:
-New Game + has been "fixed," in that your characters' stats won't be wildly unpredictable.

Changelog from 30 Sept, 2012:
-Thanks to Seeric, I spotted a couple bugs. The enter/exit airship bug has been fixed (I think). Just to be safe, don't spam the "cancel" button as you enter or exit the airship.
-Leviathan should vanish when beaten, not leave behind a symbol.
-Sprite bugs have been fixed, including one on the sketchbook: it's supposed to show left/right arrows for -1/+1 page (top-left controls).

Older updates:
-The second boss battle (in the cave) has been made easier. The Knights will no longer cast any spells.