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Before I start with my comparison of Item Creation between Till the End of Time and The Last Hope, I want to start out with the following.
1 - The photo shoot with my Fayt Leingod figures is still on . . . I just need to find my cord to upload the pictures from my camera. In the meantime, posting the pictures from it will be postponed. Taking more pictures isn't out of the question. It might become a two-part posting. We'll see.
2 - Regarding the upcoming weekly schedule: I'm not going to keep saying I'll be posting the next chapter for Destinies Intertwined by Fate when I'm still on the first PoV, which is Fayt. Originally, when I started to write the outline in a notebook, I got as far as chapter three with two of the five PoVs - Fayt and Albel. I am working on the story. The next chapter is forthcoming. I just don't feel right saying it's going to be this week or this week when Fayt is dragging his feet on what he wants me to say. Even Albel doesn't give me this much trouble.
3 - I'm still on the look-out for writing conversations. I'd like to know what other people's theories are. For example, missnox replied to something yesterday and told me about her theory regarding Welch Vineyard and why she's in all four games. It's quite an interesting theory, and one that, while I questioned certain aspects of it, I find to be quite plausible. If there's something you think of, feel free to let me know via PM or comment. Please be sure to write Writing Topic so I know what it's for. If I get to everything before I've finished my first cup of coffee, I might just answer without that reminder.
4 - Arumat's birthday is this coming Tuesday. I have some official artwork of him pilfered from a Google search, a one-shot planned out to honor his day, but if anyone has any artwork, poems, drabbles/one-shots/vignettes they'd like to submit for me to post, I'm still accepting such submissions until Monday, April 23, 2012, at midnight. All submissions should be emailed to me at luthersfayt@gmail.com or linked in either a private message or comment to any entry.
5 - Finally, I'm going to take about a week or two off from the Ask the Star Ocean Character segment, facts about said character, and the character studies. I had a tentative list started in a notebook, and I'm starting to think that maybe I tore it out of said notebook. If that's the case, it's now lost in the ether. I'm not holding out much hope of finding it ever again. Because of that, I'm going to take the time to regroup, reconsider, and plot out which characters will come after Meracle. Be assured, though, it will return, and it will still be as fun as ever (if only for me to write).
Onto the topic at hand.
* * * *
A Comparison Over Item Creation Between Till The End of Time and The Last Hope
I'd include First Departure and Second Story/Second Evolution in this . . . but I know next to nothing about Item Creation in these games, other than the only thing all four games have in common is Welch Vineyard. According to my younger brother, Puffy appears as a compounder in Second Story, but that's about all I know. If Item Creation has gone the way that I think it has in First Departure and Second Story/Second Evolution, there may not be much difference between them and Till The End of Time. The Last Hope seems to have the biggest change. As of right now, though, I'll be relying on what those who've played the first two games say about Item Creation. They know more than I do at this point, and that I respect.
So item creation . . . it's perhaps one of the most fun and most aggravating things to do in The Last Hope and Till the End of Time. For The Last Hope, the creators simplified the process. All inventors are the playable characters from the questing party, and each has a specific skill that s/he is good at compared to others. Not all items are created through the Invent a Recipe process, either. They're found as memos in treasure chests or for completing side quests. Pairing the right people together is the key to all of this, and it's recommended to pair everyone in a various group of combinations to get the items desired. But pay attention to those overall stats (you can check them when you launch Item Creation on The Calnus and get the numbers by moving the hand over each individual). Some characters are not compatible when it comes to item creation.
For example, Reimi Saionji's item creation skill that can be leveled up with skill points is cooking. Therefore, if one wants to invent a recipe for a food dish, Reimi would be required to create the dish. However, pay attention to the Item Creation Skill stats. They're base stats that don't change, even though the skill level goes as high as ten, and the game creators decided to be cute when it came to Item Creation. Here's what I mean.
Reimi is the resident cook on The Calnus. She's a ten when it comes to cooking, the highest number available for Item Creation. By herself, she can create a certain number of recipes. When she's paired with others, her perfect ten either increases or decreases. This is what I mean.
Reimi (10 cooking, 5 crafting) + Meracle (7 cooking, 10 crafting) to create items equals a 17 for cooking and a 15 for crafting.
The above is an example of a win for Item Creation. A positive increase in the numbers gives way for better chances to create useful items, such as armor and food that cures status ailments.
However, this is one that I feel you don't want to see.
Myuria (10 compounding) + Meracle (-10 compounding) equals zero for compounding. I'm not remembering if I've gotten anything out of this particular combination overall, but, if I did, I'm pretty sure I didn't get anything for compounding. Meracle's compounding abilities negate Myuria's. Even worse for compounding would be Myuria + Meracle + Reimi, for a combination of -2, which might mean the Super Aphrodisiac or something as equally as useless. If I knew Myuria's overall item creation stats, I'd be able to point out where it would be gains for Meracle and Reimi for their respective item creation abilities, but I haven't written them down just yet.
Please note: Using skill points to level up Item Creation skills, such as cooking, crafting, compounding, etc . . . doesn't change the base stats. Any negative numbers in the stats will still be there. Leveling up those areas only increases the chances for creating specific items. The numbers don't have to be as close to 100 as possible for getting the better items, and there are no special items that can increase the chances of creating something if the numbers aren't close to 100. Item creation for The Last Hope has been simplified, and it doesn't use coin. It uses party skill points so building those up is a must.
This is very unlike Till the End of Time, where you're recruiting inventors in addition to using the characters in your party. The recruited inventors have a specific skill set. They will have only one number, and that is for their respective trade, as it were. The playable characters have numbers in each area, and while they can be quite low, there are no negative numbers. There also is no leveling up of skill sets like cooking, compounding or crafting, and one has to guess which money amount is going to get which item when you're creating something. Chances increase for item creation when certain items are found - Cherubic Bust, Enchanted Pen, Keen Kitchen Knife (need 2; one for inventing, one to recruit the Killer Chef), etc . . .- which helps when the inventors don't want money to be recruited. They require items made from item creation or that can be found in locations such as Moonbase, the Kirlsa mines, or Sphere 211. Item creation isn't quite as simple as it's become for The Last Hope, but I personally find it to be more interesting and a little more fun. I never know what I'm going to get when I finally settle on a number for Fol to use when I set up my inventing teams.
There's also a wider variety of items in Till the End of Time, I think, than what there is in The Last Hope, and I think it's because there's the whole recruiting inventors thing going on. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on the strategy guides for both games, you can see how long the list is in Till the End of Time when compared to the list in The Last Hope.
Of course, I'm going to admit right now, I'm biased when it comes to Till the End of Time. It's the first Star Ocean game I've ever played, I love the majority of the characters, and Item Creation for the game simply has a larger variety of people to use. I get that it had to be simplified since they were jumping back in time, and I like the simplicity of it, too. I like the larger variety better, though. That's all.
* * * *
Cosplay by Kojika, Part Four
And here we have it today, kids. The last part of Kojika's cosplay, her Faize Sheifa Beleth outfit (whom I think she might adore more than Albel). The pictures are from two different conventions - YoumaCon and Otakon.
Before I post the pictures, I want to say a great big THANK YOU to Kojika for allowing me to post her photos and for sharing it on her facebook page. It has been so much looking at the photos and sharing them with everyone. Her cosplay photos of Faize are what got us to talking, and, when I've asked questions about creating my own cosplays, she's been more than helpful. It is all very much appreciated, more than what words can truly saw. I feel honored that she's allowed me to share her photos. Thank you again so much, Kojika. May we be able to cosplay together in the near future!
On with the pictures. As mentioned before, this is the fourth and final part of Cosplay by Kojika, Faize Sheifa Beleth
Edge and Faize taking a break. Is that goody baked by Reimi, Faize?
( Read more... )
This concludes Cosplay by Kojika . . . for now. As I've expressed an interest to Kojika about creating my own Fayt Leingod cosplay, the idea is that at some point, once I've completed what I need for Fayt, that we get together, either at a convention or some other time (seriously - we live maybe about five to six hours away from each other, eight tops) with her as Albel. So more photos may appear. We'll see what the future holds. :)
* * * *
Character Reinvention
Recently, I thought that, in addition to a regular cosplay for Fayt, I'd like to a reinvention of him. It'd be more in the type of clothes he wears rather than anything physical. Of course, getting the symbols for his powers of Destruction to paint on his arms would be awesome, too, but, aside from perhaps a slight facial scar, that would be the only physical alteration I'd make on Fayt. As for the clothing, I'm not entirely sure just yet as to what I'd do. It'd be bit more rugged - no white; he's endured too much to not finally snap under the pressure of everything he's lost - but as to what the clothes would look like, it's something I'm going to ponder more on.
I bring this up because I've expressed an interest, in conversations with a few fellow Star Ocean fans and in this blog, for sequels to Till the End of Time and The Last Hope. It isn't necessarily in the nature of Square Enix and Tri-Ace to release sequels, but it's been done before with games in the Final Fantasy series. I'm sure if enough interest is expressed, it could happen again for the Star Ocean fandom. The thing is, the outfits for the characters in question wouldn't be able to remain the same. That would be boring and signify that not much has changed when the world is constantly changing. We don't always see it, but it's there. And I think Square was onto something when they decided to do a sequel for Final Fantasy XIII. In the sequel, Lightning isn't wearing the same outfit as before. She's a bit more warrior than before, a warrior to a Goddess, and it shows.
So if you were to reinvent one of the Star Ocean characters, which character would you choose and how would you go about it? I ask, not for ideas on how to reinvent Fayt - that's something I'm going to determine on my own by searching for sewing patterns and retro fashion websites - but because I'm curious as to what others would do for their favorite characters. So which character would you choose (why isn't necessarily relevant, but if you want to say why, I won't mind) and what would you do for the reinvention?
* * * *
And thus concludes today's entry. The original Item Creation - Showdown Between Reimi Saionji and Sophia Esteed short story/one-shot has been renamed to The Great Star Ocean Cookout. Yes. It's going to be a cooking competition of perhaps the silliest proportions. Everyone, please have a good weekend. Tomorrow, for sure, is the upcoming weekly schedule.
1 - The photo shoot with my Fayt Leingod figures is still on . . . I just need to find my cord to upload the pictures from my camera. In the meantime, posting the pictures from it will be postponed. Taking more pictures isn't out of the question. It might become a two-part posting. We'll see.
2 - Regarding the upcoming weekly schedule: I'm not going to keep saying I'll be posting the next chapter for Destinies Intertwined by Fate when I'm still on the first PoV, which is Fayt. Originally, when I started to write the outline in a notebook, I got as far as chapter three with two of the five PoVs - Fayt and Albel. I am working on the story. The next chapter is forthcoming. I just don't feel right saying it's going to be this week or this week when Fayt is dragging his feet on what he wants me to say. Even Albel doesn't give me this much trouble.
3 - I'm still on the look-out for writing conversations. I'd like to know what other people's theories are. For example, missnox replied to something yesterday and told me about her theory regarding Welch Vineyard and why she's in all four games. It's quite an interesting theory, and one that, while I questioned certain aspects of it, I find to be quite plausible. If there's something you think of, feel free to let me know via PM or comment. Please be sure to write Writing Topic so I know what it's for. If I get to everything before I've finished my first cup of coffee, I might just answer without that reminder.
4 - Arumat's birthday is this coming Tuesday. I have some official artwork of him pilfered from a Google search, a one-shot planned out to honor his day, but if anyone has any artwork, poems, drabbles/one-shots/vignettes they'd like to submit for me to post, I'm still accepting such submissions until Monday, April 23, 2012, at midnight. All submissions should be emailed to me at luthersfayt@gmail.com or linked in either a private message or comment to any entry.
5 - Finally, I'm going to take about a week or two off from the Ask the Star Ocean Character segment, facts about said character, and the character studies. I had a tentative list started in a notebook, and I'm starting to think that maybe I tore it out of said notebook. If that's the case, it's now lost in the ether. I'm not holding out much hope of finding it ever again. Because of that, I'm going to take the time to regroup, reconsider, and plot out which characters will come after Meracle. Be assured, though, it will return, and it will still be as fun as ever (if only for me to write).
Onto the topic at hand.
* * * *
A Comparison Over Item Creation Between Till The End of Time and The Last Hope
I'd include First Departure and Second Story/Second Evolution in this . . . but I know next to nothing about Item Creation in these games, other than the only thing all four games have in common is Welch Vineyard. According to my younger brother, Puffy appears as a compounder in Second Story, but that's about all I know. If Item Creation has gone the way that I think it has in First Departure and Second Story/Second Evolution, there may not be much difference between them and Till The End of Time. The Last Hope seems to have the biggest change. As of right now, though, I'll be relying on what those who've played the first two games say about Item Creation. They know more than I do at this point, and that I respect.
So item creation . . . it's perhaps one of the most fun and most aggravating things to do in The Last Hope and Till the End of Time. For The Last Hope, the creators simplified the process. All inventors are the playable characters from the questing party, and each has a specific skill that s/he is good at compared to others. Not all items are created through the Invent a Recipe process, either. They're found as memos in treasure chests or for completing side quests. Pairing the right people together is the key to all of this, and it's recommended to pair everyone in a various group of combinations to get the items desired. But pay attention to those overall stats (you can check them when you launch Item Creation on The Calnus and get the numbers by moving the hand over each individual). Some characters are not compatible when it comes to item creation.
For example, Reimi Saionji's item creation skill that can be leveled up with skill points is cooking. Therefore, if one wants to invent a recipe for a food dish, Reimi would be required to create the dish. However, pay attention to the Item Creation Skill stats. They're base stats that don't change, even though the skill level goes as high as ten, and the game creators decided to be cute when it came to Item Creation. Here's what I mean.
Reimi is the resident cook on The Calnus. She's a ten when it comes to cooking, the highest number available for Item Creation. By herself, she can create a certain number of recipes. When she's paired with others, her perfect ten either increases or decreases. This is what I mean.
Reimi (10 cooking, 5 crafting) + Meracle (7 cooking, 10 crafting) to create items equals a 17 for cooking and a 15 for crafting.
The above is an example of a win for Item Creation. A positive increase in the numbers gives way for better chances to create useful items, such as armor and food that cures status ailments.
However, this is one that I feel you don't want to see.
Myuria (10 compounding) + Meracle (-10 compounding) equals zero for compounding. I'm not remembering if I've gotten anything out of this particular combination overall, but, if I did, I'm pretty sure I didn't get anything for compounding. Meracle's compounding abilities negate Myuria's. Even worse for compounding would be Myuria + Meracle + Reimi, for a combination of -2, which might mean the Super Aphrodisiac or something as equally as useless. If I knew Myuria's overall item creation stats, I'd be able to point out where it would be gains for Meracle and Reimi for their respective item creation abilities, but I haven't written them down just yet.
Please note: Using skill points to level up Item Creation skills, such as cooking, crafting, compounding, etc . . . doesn't change the base stats. Any negative numbers in the stats will still be there. Leveling up those areas only increases the chances for creating specific items. The numbers don't have to be as close to 100 as possible for getting the better items, and there are no special items that can increase the chances of creating something if the numbers aren't close to 100. Item creation for The Last Hope has been simplified, and it doesn't use coin. It uses party skill points so building those up is a must.
This is very unlike Till the End of Time, where you're recruiting inventors in addition to using the characters in your party. The recruited inventors have a specific skill set. They will have only one number, and that is for their respective trade, as it were. The playable characters have numbers in each area, and while they can be quite low, there are no negative numbers. There also is no leveling up of skill sets like cooking, compounding or crafting, and one has to guess which money amount is going to get which item when you're creating something. Chances increase for item creation when certain items are found - Cherubic Bust, Enchanted Pen, Keen Kitchen Knife (need 2; one for inventing, one to recruit the Killer Chef), etc . . .- which helps when the inventors don't want money to be recruited. They require items made from item creation or that can be found in locations such as Moonbase, the Kirlsa mines, or Sphere 211. Item creation isn't quite as simple as it's become for The Last Hope, but I personally find it to be more interesting and a little more fun. I never know what I'm going to get when I finally settle on a number for Fol to use when I set up my inventing teams.
There's also a wider variety of items in Till the End of Time, I think, than what there is in The Last Hope, and I think it's because there's the whole recruiting inventors thing going on. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on the strategy guides for both games, you can see how long the list is in Till the End of Time when compared to the list in The Last Hope.
Of course, I'm going to admit right now, I'm biased when it comes to Till the End of Time. It's the first Star Ocean game I've ever played, I love the majority of the characters, and Item Creation for the game simply has a larger variety of people to use. I get that it had to be simplified since they were jumping back in time, and I like the simplicity of it, too. I like the larger variety better, though. That's all.
* * * *
Cosplay by Kojika, Part Four
And here we have it today, kids. The last part of Kojika's cosplay, her Faize Sheifa Beleth outfit (whom I think she might adore more than Albel). The pictures are from two different conventions - YoumaCon and Otakon.
Before I post the pictures, I want to say a great big THANK YOU to Kojika for allowing me to post her photos and for sharing it on her facebook page. It has been so much looking at the photos and sharing them with everyone. Her cosplay photos of Faize are what got us to talking, and, when I've asked questions about creating my own cosplays, she's been more than helpful. It is all very much appreciated, more than what words can truly saw. I feel honored that she's allowed me to share her photos. Thank you again so much, Kojika. May we be able to cosplay together in the near future!
On with the pictures. As mentioned before, this is the fourth and final part of Cosplay by Kojika, Faize Sheifa Beleth
Edge and Faize taking a break. Is that goody baked by Reimi, Faize?
( Read more... )
This concludes Cosplay by Kojika . . . for now. As I've expressed an interest to Kojika about creating my own Fayt Leingod cosplay, the idea is that at some point, once I've completed what I need for Fayt, that we get together, either at a convention or some other time (seriously - we live maybe about five to six hours away from each other, eight tops) with her as Albel. So more photos may appear. We'll see what the future holds. :)
* * * *
Character Reinvention
Recently, I thought that, in addition to a regular cosplay for Fayt, I'd like to a reinvention of him. It'd be more in the type of clothes he wears rather than anything physical. Of course, getting the symbols for his powers of Destruction to paint on his arms would be awesome, too, but, aside from perhaps a slight facial scar, that would be the only physical alteration I'd make on Fayt. As for the clothing, I'm not entirely sure just yet as to what I'd do. It'd be bit more rugged - no white; he's endured too much to not finally snap under the pressure of everything he's lost - but as to what the clothes would look like, it's something I'm going to ponder more on.
I bring this up because I've expressed an interest, in conversations with a few fellow Star Ocean fans and in this blog, for sequels to Till the End of Time and The Last Hope. It isn't necessarily in the nature of Square Enix and Tri-Ace to release sequels, but it's been done before with games in the Final Fantasy series. I'm sure if enough interest is expressed, it could happen again for the Star Ocean fandom. The thing is, the outfits for the characters in question wouldn't be able to remain the same. That would be boring and signify that not much has changed when the world is constantly changing. We don't always see it, but it's there. And I think Square was onto something when they decided to do a sequel for Final Fantasy XIII. In the sequel, Lightning isn't wearing the same outfit as before. She's a bit more warrior than before, a warrior to a Goddess, and it shows.
So if you were to reinvent one of the Star Ocean characters, which character would you choose and how would you go about it? I ask, not for ideas on how to reinvent Fayt - that's something I'm going to determine on my own by searching for sewing patterns and retro fashion websites - but because I'm curious as to what others would do for their favorite characters. So which character would you choose (why isn't necessarily relevant, but if you want to say why, I won't mind) and what would you do for the reinvention?
* * * *
And thus concludes today's entry. The original Item Creation - Showdown Between Reimi Saionji and Sophia Esteed short story/one-shot has been renamed to The Great Star Ocean Cookout. Yes. It's going to be a cooking competition of perhaps the silliest proportions. Everyone, please have a good weekend. Tomorrow, for sure, is the upcoming weekly schedule.
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