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Vultuz: 2014-09-19 12:20:12 pm
I did a "Cheat" Run once, i didnt finshed it though.

Possible Time for it might be around 3-4 hours (Maybe Less) Depending on your Computer Speed and how it can handle HiSpeed+Streaming/Recording at once.
The only thing you need for it is a decent HP-Junction (Ultima or something) to survive the Griever-Attack during the Ultimecia fight, the rest is Spam 9999 Auto Attacks every fight.
Hi can someone tell me how to run Poxnor's triple triad helper? I'm a computer noob, so i'm used to clicking .exes and okay until things work. >.> I already downloaded and extracted the triadhelper 2.0 beta1. I got it to 'run' using commandprompt, but there was no gui and it keeps saying the card values I input are invalid.
Exoray
Quote from Khaos4wood:
Sorry if this has already been discussed, but the steam version includes "extra features" that would be the equivalent of a gameshark in the original.

This was discussed a couple of pages back: https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/final_fantasy_viii214_288.html
Your comparison to a gameshark is correct and in lines with the decision to it being considered a regular cheat.
:(
Quote from moooh:
Quote from Khaos4wood:
Sorry if this has already been discussed, but the steam version includes "extra features" that would be the equivalent of a gameshark in the original.

This was discussed a couple of pages back: https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/final_fantasy_viii214_288.html
Your comparison to a gameshark is correct and in lines with the decision to it being considered a regular cheat.


Thanks for appealing to my laziness with a link ;p Understood about the cheat thing, it did seem really uninteresting even if it were to be allowed. How about the HiSpeed mode though? Not only does it make the game significantly faster, it also requires a significantly greater amount of finesse in terms of controlling the game properly. It's already been stated that the Steam version is a separate category due to load times, would HiSpeed mode be lumped in with it or be yet another category? I can't imagine why it would be disallowed, it may perform poorly on less powerful computers but that's always an issue to some extent if we're talking about PC. If it were an ini tweak or something, perhaps, but it's already setup and bound to F1 when you install the game; a rough analogy would be the addition of the run button to the GBA versions of earlier final fantasy games.

Also, not to pick bones but puwexil outed the magic booster on the grounds of it being an external tool modifying the save file. This is completely fair, but as for the use of 9999 and the one that levels up your GF's to the max the same argument can be made as I used for HiSpeed - it's completely built into the game, enabled from the beginning, and able to be toggled at the press of a button, with onscreen notifications that they are/have been used. Just a few posts earlier in the page third party controllers were discussed and outed because they would give an unfair advantage to a player with access to them, which is again completely true and fair. However that doesn't apply in this case because, as stated, the Steam version is already a separate category due to load times in the first place and anyone with access to the Steam version will by default be able to access these features - they don't even have to be unlocked.

Either way, I'm not sure I have the willpower or determination to ever produce an SDA quality run, so it's not really a passionate matter for me. However I would hope to get a full definitive ruling in the hopes that I can watch a run in a new category or two someday Smiley
Okay? Okay!
Mate, mate, mate, leave those perverse thoughts.
Final Fantasy VIII PC is so simple, if you want to compete for the WR or at least in the same category, just play the game without extra benefits.
The game, the controller (a normal one) and your hands.

You are free to do whatever you want, so if you want to use the optional stuff to make it easier, you can do it, of course, but you won't compete in the same category.
That's all.
Edit history:
Khaos4wood: 2014-10-14 02:41:17 pm
Khaos4wood: 2014-10-14 02:40:23 pm
Khaos4wood: 2014-10-14 02:40:16 pm
:(
Meh, like I said, I'm not really planning on competing, regardless of category. I would be interested in seeing the game beaten in sub 4 hrs though, which is why it's important to ask these questions as if there's a category with zero competition someone will pick it up eventually. I think the important thing is that we don't shut down the idea for the sole reason that it "feels like cheating." SDA has changed a lot in the years and more and more things that were previously disallowed have been accepted, such as NG+ runs before doing a regular NG (right? my memory isn't the greatest.) Anyway, just because it's different from any other version of the game doesn't mean that it's wrong, it was still placed there on purpose by the developers and is a feature of the game to the point that you only have to press a button to activate it. No passcodes, cheats screen, loader programs, .ini tweaks, or anything of the sort. Press X to attack, press F1 to go fast, press C to cancel, press F2 to do max damage.
There is 0 point to do a speedrun category of something made out of the hacks implemented by the game. There will be no real way to go faster each run apart from just potential optimal movement / ATB:s.

FF8 also comes with an instant ATB feature and all so i dont even know why someone would like to run it as a category?

For fun yes sure, But it would never make it as far to its own category cause it would serve no purpose in terms of competition between runners.
let's make a category for emulator with fast forwarding also; makes about as much sense as using cheats on PC version
Edit history:
Deathtome: 2014-10-23 08:31:58 am
Deathtome: 2014-10-18 12:27:17 am
.
Edit history:
stealinbread: 2014-10-22 07:44:45 am
check your pantry
So I've been thinking.

(PC or PSX) Is it possible to clip into the esthar area using balamb garden? I remember trying to do this as a kid for hours on end, and I almost succeeding at it once using the forests around the outside perimiter of the mountain range, but the garden just got pushed back again after being halfway over the mountain range.

My question is this: first, has anyone tested what happens if squall were somehow in the esthar area in disc 2 and entered the loading zones for any of the towns/etc in that area? Perhaps it would work on the PC version, at the very least? Even if this doesn't help out speedrunning the game, it seems quite interesting.

My theory: At least on the PC version, once gaining control of the garden, you can skip balamb liberation/trabia dialogue/garden fight by somehow entering the loading zone for salt flats, or any other area for esthar (assuming that's how event flags work in this game, perhaps more research can be done on that as well). This is achieved by positioning balamb garden, somehow, inside of esthar territory, and even then, that's assuming balamb can actually land there. If my theory is correct, this would save well over an hour, although even if it was possible, skipping pandemona and cerberus seems risky, and would make the endgame quite difficult.

Thoughts?
Hey guys,

i am currently doing testing on disc 1 to get the Zell-card before returning to Balamb Garden from the dollet mission. Things are working out, i win pretty much 100% of the time (had some draws due missplacing), so that is already a small success. On the other hand, i am getting the feeling that she dosn't really like to play her sons card - even less than usual.
My brain tells me that it is very unlikely that the chance of a card beeing played has to do your current progress in the story, but i still wanted to share my experience here: Does anybody else have the impression that Mama Dincht has a lower chance of playing the Zell card before Graduation, or is ist just my bad luck?
1325
<snip>

nevermind i finally got my answer, sorry !
Edit history:
AzStrocyte: 2014-12-18 04:13:11 pm
Hey Ahramanyu,

I tested that theory long time ago before going zell-card-less. It's possible because mama zell doesn't really play good cards but when the zell card is on her deck it's not that free. So it's a bit risky but allow you to reset more often(you get the zell card ~25 minutes before you should on usual strat). i think in the end it doesn't change much, if you go for zell card you are going to reset a lot and 1/1 on the usual strat will be faster or the same.
I don't remember having more trouble getting the card at this point of the story, in fact i got some first try x)

Hey stealinbread,

I did try this as a kid too, in fact i even try to clip in the sea from balamb to horizon right after the intro xD
This can be huge but i don't know how the game works from that point. At least on psx i don't think it can be possible, because you can assume esthar city is on disc3 and if you clip here during disc2 you will probably go to limbo or just on the continent with no loading zone. I think like that because of how legend of dragoon works, but when you get ragnarok you can go everywhere in disc3 so maybe all the map is on all the disc ? But it's just assumption in fact if no one look at it we will never know.
i don't know if it helps, you must clip to see ^^
And if the cut means no cerberus and no pandemona it's okay. Because you can make detour with ragnarok or something in disc3 and 4, it's gonna be faster to skip anyway.
Hello all o/

Alright. So, Alot of you probably already know that Giru2525s route from Jp has been converted into NA like FF9s JP route and theres afew things we all know changed,

The major concern i personaly had with the route going into NA was the diffrences of the 2 versions like Sorceress being harder, on JP from what i can tell u need to hit around 5000 ? ( some1 else might confirm i might be wrong)
same goes for PC i believe,

However, After some testing and knowledge from before, We only have to hit around 2300/2400 for Yellow Sorceress on NA on the ps2,

So.. Why this post?

Well, After some testing during the night i came up with a strategy that proved being faster in menuing and also in the Sorceress battle as a whole,

The strategy itself is,

Diablos and Cerberus on Squall with Darkside, with all 7 strength ups and 80 triples nets him 83 strength, and with Darkside + Weapon trigger hits for about 2700-2900 range,

Irvine will have Ifrit + pandem as it was originaly from the Zell card route and nothing really changes, Irvines dmg is around 1600-1900dmg,

Now why this?.

Squall can 1 hit kill anything and dont require berserk or the like, and we can keep ifrit on Irvine for the last part of the fight finnishing it in 2 Shots as normal depending on dmg range, ( u can fire 3 shots to be safe. )

Irvine can 1 hit kill the first few with no special strings attached, however. Irvines use is if we potentialy get 2 yellow sorceress Irvines limit break with Fire ammo proves useful, as its normaly double sorceress that has the potential of meteor, Which itself is
not as dangerous as it can be, but its still a risk i rather not take,

Also, This sets us up for less menuing,

If potentialy we have 100 firagas ( this is not tested.) We should hit Tri-point with around 6500 of dmg and Tri-point as Luzbelheim mentioned went max up to 8000? if that number is not valid this might not work.
But 2 hits from Irvine meens we can suicide our third characther during Tri-point with squall while irvines atbs fills.

and the reason this change would be good is we could skip out on 2 Junction Exchanges and no more menuing apart from perhaps a 20second one at Sorceress for adding Str ups and Darkside to Squall, and potentialy refine pulse ammo ( which depends if u got a tonberry card potentialy or not ) we wouldnt need that 5 Pulse ammo.

So how do i set this up?. In esthar Squall is given Ifrit , Cerberus , pandem for Space,
Diablos is given to zell as he is the characther that cames with you from ragnarok when you head to edeas house,

At edeas house we are doing a slight menu for Ammo refines, for which in-case we Swap Squall - Irvine , Squall - Zell  ( Irvine in this case have whatever GF you put on him and dont really matter much.)

which will make Irvine end up with Ifrit + Pandem , Squall with Diablos + Cerberus. ( Cerberus is junctioned onto Squall in this menu ) Now.. at this point we are set for all fights to come with no need to change anything,

If we now could potentialy not having to junc-switch for Tri-point. The next menu we would do would be after Tiamat where we use Rocket Engine or Pandem for Irvine and preparation for Ultimecia.

Otherwise, The "backup" is.. the Forced prompt of characthers entering ultimecias castle you would Junc-switch Squall - Irvine  and then after Tri-point Junc-switch agian,

So, For those of you running on PS2 out there and attempting no Zell Card, i hope you find this strategy useful, Easiest to reach me would be by PM on Twitch at Dtchow if you happen to have any questions regarding the strategy or if you think improvements could be made,  Smiley




Edit history:
Dtchow: 2014-12-25 11:42:33 pm
Alright So, After some testing with Tri-Point i actually came up with a fix to the dmg roll problem,

The 1x Elemental atk that Giru saves in JP we will be saving in NA also, But instead of giving the Firagas to the Ifrit carrier they will be given to whoever holds Diablos and we teach elem atk to either diablos or cerberus whichever, and junction Firaga to elemental attack on that person,

and then Blizzaga on Ifrit carrier who at this point more than likely will be the one carrying Blizzagas ( can also be fixed in esthar otherwise in the menu to exchange the magic.)

Tri-point as we know always start out with fire, and always continues into Ice, So a Fire-Ice combo hit would kill him 100% unless you miss Squall trigger, but would not be any dmg done as he wont mega spark due to the attack being Ice.
Edit history:
AzStrocyte: 2015-01-06 06:07:52 am
hey dtchow,

i'm doing no Zell card on PS2 for more than 6 months now and i can say that In the NA version Sorceress and tri-point are not a problem at all.

First with 100 firagas you deal ~9999 damage to tri-point and it's enough. The problem with tri-point is that you can't take the time to two shot him, because he has a fat counter attack.

You can watch on my PB for exemple : http://www.twitch.tv/azstrocyte/c/5204716
-i'm doing the sorceress menu at 8:30:45
-tri-point 8:39:40

Irvine - Diablos/Pandemona, with str+20% (str 98) and you can one shot any sorceress with darkside
S - Ifrit/Cerberus str+20% str+40% (str 147) you can one shot any sorceress with the trigger                  With S in crit

With that you will hit 2500-2600 the yellow ones

And a renzokuken is enough for the last one.

I am giving all the strUP to S during esthar menu, and the other strUP to Irvine.

After that i'm doing two menu, one exchange before tiamat, and the menu with rocket engine before ultimecia.

At least that's my strats for so long, maybe it's not the fastest. With all of you doing zellcardless i need to watch your runs and improve my route ^^
Yeah, I have a strategy for the end-game already, And its set up so Irvine have Ifrit + pandem, Squall Diablos + Cerberus, I only do the Sorceress menu to refine ammo and add Str-ups to Squall and then i am done,

The menuing and the strategy i built was to avoid doing unnecesary junc-switches, In the Zell-Card rooute we dont really have to do so,

But for Zell-less, i just wanted to reduce some menuing and skip learning some abilities earlier,

So all in all i cut out quite abit of menuing that was never really needed, And it worked great,

The fact not having to Junc-switch at all on Disc 4 is what made the decision easy,

I didnt wanna teach Pandem the 20% as i felt the extra few seconds u need is not worth it, And as i said.

i found a work-around its just not really tested in a run yet, i did do alot of Testing however so it should work out nicely
check your pantry
Quote from AzStrocyte:
Hey stealinbread,

I did try this as a kid too, in fact i even try to clip in the sea from balamb to horizon right after the intro xD
This can be huge but i don't know how the game works from that point. At least on psx i don't think it can be possible, because you can assume esthar city is on disc3 and if you clip here during disc2 you will probably go to limbo or just on the continent with no loading zone. I think like that because of how legend of dragoon works, but when you get ragnarok you can go everywhere in disc3 so maybe all the map is on all the disc ? But it's just assumption in fact if no one look at it we will never know.
i don't know if it helps, you must clip to see ^^
And if the cut means no cerberus and no pandemona it's okay. Because you can make detour with ragnarok or something in disc3 and 4, it's gonna be faster to skip anyway.


Interesting stuff. It would probably softlock the game on PS1, or maybe there's just nothing there on Disc 2. There's hope for the PC version though, maybe similar in a way to FF7? I may be grasping at straws at this point. I have always been curious about it, so I'll test it the next time I stream FFVIII. Thanks for the response by the way!
So, I hear that there has not been a 100% definition decided for this game, and there was some debate on Page 72 about that...so, here's my idea...

1) All GFs (not including the Chocobo World only ones I'm guessing)

2) All Optional Bosses (So Odin, Bahamut, Omega Weapon, and all those guys would be included).

3) All Sidequests (Chocobo Sanctuary, Obel Lake, Timber Maniacs, Shumi Village, and all that good stuff, even though they're completely pointless)

4) All cards in the library (mainly because it's kind of like a Pokedex if you think about it)

How's that?  I'd say that's all reasonably succinct, wouldn't you say?
While it is hard to define 100% definite, there is currently a quite popular opinion on it, spread by Xerokynos 100% speedruns.

"As defined by XeroKynos: Defeat all bosses, get all GFs, finish all side quests, have 1 of each item, have all cards (in possession), all characters have their ultimate weapon, all characters have learned all of their limit breaks, all junctionable GFs have learned all of their abilities (no abilities that can't be taught again were forgotten), all tutorial entries are known, and 12 Timber Maniacs magazines have been obtained."

Personally, i am quite happy with this definition.