[Mauron]

Possibly. It's probably got a countdown similar to the other status effects, so it depends on the initialization code.

[ThegreatBen]

That would be great, I'd like to give things like that more importance.

Also want to give status effects more of a role.

[The Timekeeper]

Hey, Ben. I took the liberty to style your readme a little bit and clarify some things. I'll post it here and if you like it, you can use it. But before that, there's some things unclear to me (and perhaps to others, as well).

1. What's the 'destroyed dome'?

2. The both sides of which factory must you complete?

3. What does the 'magical attack' effect do?

4. Is there a difference between the 2300AD dungeon under the New content section and the coliseum under Restored content? It's unclear to me as to why you listed them twice, then.

5. The nes difficulty patch says that 'In the base hack Haste is full party [...] this patch undoes this'. But I have this patch applied and Haste is still full party. Did you mean something else?

6. The nes difficulty patch reduces WHICH money by half? The ones gained from defeating enemies?

7. Also, maybe it's not intended, but when you beat Spekkio in his last form, you can no longer fight him.

8. Do you still plan on adding the Singing Mountain location?

[ThegreatBen]

Sure, sounds good.

Proto Dome used to use the same dome tiles as the other domes, now it uses the previously unused destroyed dome tileset.

The 2300 ad factory, you now need to do the right side of it.

Not sure if I'm going to keep magic attack as it doesn't do much.

The coliseum exterior is an unused tile set, the interior is an entirely new dungeon.

Nope, guess haste needs to be fixed.

Yes, enemies drop half money.

I guess people might want to fight him again, I'll take a look.

I won't say no but Singing mountain isn't a priority right now.

[The Timekeeper]

Waaaait. Don't fix Haste. I think it should target the whole party, regardless of the patch. I really like your nes difficulty patch and makes the game more challenging, but it would suck to have Haste only target one member.

Also, you can still boss rush Lavos if you take on him from the bucket at the end of time. I do suggest that you leave this in the game for those who want to go through the boss rush. Maybe even mention somewhere that if you take the bucket of time, Lavos will go through the boss rush.

Maybe Gasper could say an extra line when touching the bucket of time:

[...] But be warned that fighting Lavos through that bucket will give him the strength of 9 other enemies you faced before.

[ThegreatBen]

Are you sure you didn't load a vanilla ROM by mistake? The boss rush was eliminated like 5 patch versions ago, I used it's AI to make the Frog King and Prophet battles.

[The Timekeeper]

How could have I loaded a vanilla ROM and also be so far in the game at the same time? Wouldn't that mean I would have had to start from scratch (loading a vanilla ROM)?

[ThegreatBen]

As long as you loaded the game in a previously existing area, your save would probably work on a vanilla ROM, seriously though how far in the game were you when you fought the boss rush?

[The Timekeeper]

I guess it was the first run of the game, probably after rescuing Crono, but I am not very sure. I am 100% sure I was playing your version because I used the 'load recent game' function of Snes.

[Mauron]

SeraphSong's initial setup is done at the same time as a bunch of other cooldowns, which would be tricky to change but not impossible. The reset, after the first restoration, is at 0x18B6E. Reduce that to make it faster.

[ThegreatBen]

SeraphSong's initial setup is done at the same time as a bunch of other cooldowns, which would be tricky to change but not impossible. The reset, after the first restoration, is at 0x18B6E. Reduce that to make it faster.

Do you know what other cooldowns will be affected?

[Mauron]

I looked into it a little more. Changing the default setup would affect all status effects, but I can change MP Regen separately if you give me 17 bytes to work with, reserved in Temporal Flux.

[ThegreatBen]

I can spare 17 bytes, but also curious what other status' would be affected if I change the default, cause I wouldn't mind poison damage occurring faster too.

[Mauron]

Poison, HP Drain, Stop, Slow, Haste, Barrier, Shield, 2.5x Evade, 2x Evade, and an unknown status effect. The first application of each per target would be altered.

[ThegreatBen]

Ya that's more than I can chew, I'll look for some unused bytes.

Also what do I need to alter to make the shield and barrier items last all battle?

[Mauron]

If you want more altered, I can do that too, but it'll need a little more space, depending on what you want changed.

It looks like the status item code is a little more complicated than I thought. I'll get back to you on that.

[ThegreatBen]

I guess for now just speeding up the SeraphSong is enough, I'll be getting a lot more time to work on hacking at the end of the month.

[Mauron]

I looked a little more into it, and the confusion I was having was because spell status effects do wear off. Only status effects from equipment last all battle. To make spells and consumables last the battle, change 0x01DC35, 0x01DC3A, 0x01DC53, and 0x01DC58 from 4A to 4F.

[The Timekeeper]

So I added other missing changes that were not in the readme. I left out the 'Haste not affecting all party' from Nes because maybe you changed your mind and left it that way. Or if you didn't, at least please make separate nes patch to include haste affecting the entire party.

I also left in the Lavos boss rush through the bucket of time + I added your other optional patch of characters hitting 999HP when reaching max level. Do correct as you see fit.

I am still not 100% clear: which both sides of which 2300 factory must you complete? Geno Dome (Robo's Quest) or the very first factory you run into (needed to open the time gate before the end of time)? I am leaning towards Geno Dome.

Also, have you considered making an optional patch for Marle's tech? An ultimate for her (Ice Age) and making Cure 2 a heal-all tech?

Spoiler:

RESTORED CONTENT

1. Battle2 and Singing Mountain music tracks added.
 
2. Octorider, Johnny and Frog King can now be fought as enemies.
   (Beating the Frog King makes the Hero Medal effect permanent)
     
3. A few restored lines from the pre-release re-added.

4. Unused Weapon effect 'Magical attack' added.

5. Added unused guns for Lucca with unique projectiles.

5. Destroyed Dome and Coliseum map tiles added.

6. Magus' castle is now fully visible on the world map.

7. Zeal secret dungeon re-added.

8. A few DS or Japanese uncensored equipment and Tech names restored.

             

LINEARITY CHANGES

1. Crono is an optional character for most of the game now.

2. Porre Ferry goes to Choras allowing it to be explored from the beggining.

3. The first trip to 65,000,000BC can be made anytime after arriving at the End of Time.

4. Magus can be recruited or fought or avoided altogether on the Northern Cape,
   anytime after the Ocean Palace, making him available for the Blackbird.

5. Spekkio is optional allowing for no magic runs.

6. Must now complete both sides of the factory north of Proto Dome.

7. Can now leave the Black Omen between the fight with Zeal and the fight with Lavos.



NEW CONTENT
   
1. MSU-1 music fully integrated (still requires the tracks).

2. The two other islands in Zeal are now fully explorable.
     
3. 1999 is now partially accesible.

4. Full new dungeon in 2300AD (Coliseum).
     
5. Chrono's mom has her own bedroom.

6. Choras has a small ferry station.
     
7. Reptite Village in 65,000,000BC.

8. Optional battle with the 'Prophet' in the second visit to Zeal.

9. The red scythe (Reaper) for Magus is now available for obtaining.   

9. Frog will be in his human form in cutscenes if Magus is beaten.
  Hopefully a fully playable Glenn will be available soon.                 
     
10. All items now have descriptions.   
     
11. Zeal can be saved by beating Lavos in the Ocean Palace.



REBALANCING OR GAMEPLAY CHANGES

1. All Rock Triple Techs are now learned permanantly through events and
   no longer require an accessory slot.

2. Spekkio will now change forms when beaten and will no longer depend on player level.
   (Once his last form is beaten, he can no longer be fought).

3. Charm tech is less effective but Twin Charm tech is more effective.

4. Filling house with cats is much less grindy.

5. Leveling up is quicker overall, but stat gains spread out to level ** instead
   of 50, making the game more challenging but with better progression.

6. The Kilwala in the 600AD Guardia Castle forest no longer drops a Shelter,
    if the player has at least a Shelter in their pack.

7. Marle and Lucca have much better Hit stat growth, allowing them to use physical
   attacks more effectivly.

8. Required TP is adjusted to keep the characters learning at the same rate.

9. Haste, Protect and Magic Wall now target whole party instead of one member. 

10. Charming MegaElixers from enemies is no longer possible.

11. Few enemies will now drop items when defeated.

12. All single healing Techs have reduced power.

13. Lightning 2 and Life are swapped to make Chrono consistent with the others.



OPTIONAL PATCHES

1. Magus' cape turns red like in the animated cutscenes.

2. Autorun makes run the default, hold B to walk.

3. Characters will all now hit 999HP upon reaching the maximum level.

4. NES difficulty:
   - Money dropped by enemies is reduced to half.
   - Reptites are a little stronger.
   - The damage power of Ultimate Techs is slightly reduced.
   - Only up to 10 of one type of item can be purchased from any shop.
     (This does not apply to finding items in chests or winning them from enemies)
   - Starting HP is higher and Lavos' Shell is slightly nerfed in the original hack.
     Both are undone in this patch.

[ThegreatBen]

I looked a little more into it, and the confusion I was having was because spell status effects do wear off. Only status effects from equipment last all battle. To make spells and consumables last the battle, change 0x01DC5, 0x01DC3A, 0x01DC53, and 0x01DC58 from 4A to 4F.

Will that make confusion sleep and stop permanent as well? That could could result in a few cheap game overs.

So I added other missing changes that were not in the readme. I left out the 'Haste not affecting all party' from Nes because maybe you changed your mind and left it that way. Or if you didn't, at least please make separate nes patch to include haste affecting the entire party.

I also left in the Lavos boss rush through the bucket of time + I added your other optional patch of characters hitting 999HP when reaching max level. Do correct as you see fit.

I am still not 100% clear: which both sides of which 2300 factory must you complete? Geno Dome (Robo's Quest) or the very first factory you run into (needed to open the time gate before the end of time)? I am leaning towards Geno Dome.

Also, have you considered making an optional patch for Marle's tech? An ultimate for her (Ice Age) and making Cure 2 a heal-all tech?

The readme layout looks good, a few corrections are needed though.

Number 6 under restored content should say Zeal not Kajar as it's original location was never known.

It is the factory north of Proto Dome not the Geno dome.

Number 6 under Rebalance is unnecessary as it's implied in number 5.

Number 8 under Rebalance belongs in a different category.

If there is still any trace of the Lavos boss rush it will be removed shortly, so it doesn't need to be mentioned.

I never noticed Magus'cape on the over world, that'll be fixed.