DJC'S PROFILE

author=ryan7251
Thanks that helps sorry for not knowing about the rebirth thing i renumber the game saying it suggests auto. But it did not say anything about turning off the rates if you ever update the game it may not hurt to add that info with the message.
also I have been using single mode i will switch to shield for now.
I understand how drops work now and i get why the work would not be worth it I will just hope for good drops :)

Honestly, the rare drop system is a poor implementation due to plugin limitations. I could only shift the drops to a different item for solo battles. That means if you do not encounter the enemy by itself, you can never get the rare drop. You can use the Siren item to call a particular battle, and I made these often solo encounters to make obtaining rare items easier. You can also equip a certain accessory to increase the chance of a rare drop, but again only in these solo battles.

author=ryan7251
Hi i know it's been a while but just wanted to say I'm going to try this game once more and will tell you of any bugs i find but i do have a few questions i hope someone can help me with.

1.I think i installed the new patch right what is a easy way to know for sure?
2.i forget how does the scaling system work like what is the difference between default and auto? also I'm not a fan of scaling is there a way just to have foes not get more powerful as you do?

Hey ryan,

If you installed the full game, then the patch, the title screen should show "v3.34" in the bottom right corner. If it's a lower number version, the patch didn't unzip to the correct folder.

If you don't want the monster difficulty scaling system just leave it on "Default" and avoid "Auto". There's also "Easy" and "Hard", or even "Custom" which allows you to see exactly where the scales are currently adjusted. Nothing will change on its own unless you select the "Auto" option.

You can also turn OFF encounter rate scaling, which is ON at the start and makes encounters less frequent if your level is higher than the area's balance.

@Raywyrm

Always good to hear most of the changes are well received. I do agree Julia's character development is particularly weak. Unfortunately an enormous amount of planned story and character content was cut. Sometimes I feel like making the push to add more content, but it would be a massive undertaking for an old project using an obsolete engine. It would give me a chance to correct the journal inconsistencies and spelling errors you mention, as well as some truly cringe dialog.

Julia's noble house roots and family were going to feature more prominently, with her parents being ambitious aristocrats that side with the Cirigoth and sabotage the Seraphia war effort, using tunnels underneath the capital to blow a hole in the wall surrounding the city during the siege, turning the tide of the battle when it seemed our heroes might actually hold against the attack. Later, after the victory of the Unicon in the War of the Eclipse, Julia's house would be condemned as traitors, her parents publicly executed, and she'd have to deal with the aftermath. Julia would also have an emotional reconcilement with their ghosts after using the Grimoire of Diablos in a cave on the Island Closest to Hell while trying to summon a different soul from the afterlife while the party is investigating how a legendary thief managed to enter Welana Eridwell's tower in the past.

I've also been thinking about a major overhaul of the entire skill system. Most current skills just deal extra damage or inflict conditions for AP cost, but through my own DynRPG plugins I've created lots of interesting possibilities. Quite a few additions are implemented, just not in the game, so players aren't aware of them.

Skills currently work by equipping multiple versions. Before DynRPG, this was my best solution to scale skills as heroes get stronger. More powerful versions of the same skill are equipped if STR or MAG meet certain thresholds. I'm looking at some of the skills in question, and it does look like Sammy's Succor and Celerity lose their condition removal on their final tier in exchange for greater healing, as does Drakeor's Chakra. I'm not sure why I made those changes, and I think I'll restore the conditional removal. It's definitely confusing from a player perspective, and removes skill utility.

Drakeor's Spear Rain is probably working correctly. The final tier of this skill is the only one that inflicts Fragile in addition to damage and lowering physical resistance. If Drakeor's STR is high enough, he gets this version of Spear Rain. If it's below the threshold, he'll possess a weaker version. Equipment that boosts STR or MAG can have a big effect on the skill levels. It's easy to break the game early by equipping Vetu with MAG boosting equipment, so he gets higher tier spells than usual and just obliterates everything.

The double healing effect you are seeing is probably a result of the initial heal followed by the bonus from the user's MAG. It's confusing, but the best compromise I could make quickly and easily for percentage based healing. If I redid the skill system, I could eliminate this extra healing popup while maintaining the bonus, but again a monumental amount of work would be required, and old saves would be totally incompatible with new version.

Shinryu's Atomic Breath should not be dealing anywhere near that insane level of damage. I'm in agreement it's probably the auto balance mechanic, raising the boss attack power. Atomic Breath is actually influenced by STR, but I'll change that so it's fixed damage and players need only gain more levels to survive reliably. You've discovered one of the other mechanics, Reflect, to counter this attack. A Reflect Ring accessory auto casts Reflect permanently at the start of battle, making the initiative weapon strategy unnecessary, though still useful. Another tactic is using the DEFEND command when you know Atomic Breath is about to be cast, halving the damage. It's also a BREATH attack, so a few select accessories or pieces of equipment guard against its damage. It's not a special skill, so Scarab Amulet has no effect. There is power creep built into auto balance mode, so players do continue to grow in stats faster than monsters adjust, but clearly Shinryu's Atomic Breath is broken.

As for the quest missing in your log, it will automatically activate after finishing the main plot and defeating the final enemy. Then after the credits choose Continue+ or New Game+. It's the quest for the bonus dungeon, The Tomb of Khaer Magnus, which is not accessible until that time. It has much more difficult enemies, puzzles, and powerful loot.

Thanks for your feedback. Let me know if you have other questions or find more bugs!

@rocketmoon

You're correct there were some complaints about Julia's backstory, and it was never developed as the game progressed. I do agree the removal has left her without much personality. There was an entire alternate character development path I had planned for Julia, involving her house as nobles of Seraphia secretly aiding the enemy Cirigoth invasion and then suffering a traitor's death after the War of the Eclipse. Like so much else, this was cut.

The Emperor Daevus cut scenes are actually still in the project, but they were removed from the game as excessive exposition and foreshadowing. As a character, the Cirigoth emperor is really never that important or a focus of the story, especially early in the game. The scenes felt like an unnecessary distraction from the plot, introducing too many characters and lore references.

I definitely agree the game's story and characters feel incomplete and under developed, because they are. The amount of additional story material planned was really large. I just don't see much of a point adding it twenty years later. It would be a monumental amount of work for an outdated project.

Definitely another tricky spot where an ability to see secret passages would have been useful. Here's a picture that shows all the tunnels in this area of Silentium Tumulus.