Full credit to Eidolon over on the thread linked here to generating an ItemPT file that can take Episode 4 at all:
www.pioneer2.net
However, when I went to look at it and use it, while some of the information was in place and properly configured, the bulk of it was just copied straight from the Episode 2 data. Wanting to have something properly configured to use as a basis, I went through the (somewhat painstaking) process of picking through and configuring all of the Episode 4 data and information to at least decently suit its place and unique area structure. In order to hopefully save other people the hours of work that takes, I figured I'd share the result here.
The following is a full rundown of all of the specific changes made to Episode 4 data/numbers for this version of the file:
ItemPT.gsl for Blue Burst (w/ Ep4 data)
The Tethealla zips in the main thread are big endian GameCube files that only include Ep1 and 2, and challenge mode for both. Can someone supply me with an ItemPT.gsl that has the Ep4 data too? (Big or little, doesn't matter, though I suspect people only have it in little form). For reference...
www.pioneer2.net
However, when I went to look at it and use it, while some of the information was in place and properly configured, the bulk of it was just copied straight from the Episode 2 data. Wanting to have something properly configured to use as a basis, I went through the (somewhat painstaking) process of picking through and configuring all of the Episode 4 data and information to at least decently suit its place and unique area structure. In order to hopefully save other people the hours of work that takes, I figured I'd share the result here.
The following is a full rundown of all of the specific changes made to Episode 4 data/numbers for this version of the file:
- Weapon drops
- Normal
- Sabers, Handguns, Canes appear in all zones, upgrade in Central Crater, and upgrade again for boss drops.
- Weapon types that start appearing in Caves can be found in all areas of Crater and upgrade for Desert.
- Weapon types that start appearing in Mines can be found in Central Crater and upgrade for boss drops.
- Weapon types that start appearing in Ruins can be found in Desert.
- Hard
- Sabers, Handguns, and Canes upgrade in Central Crater and again for boss drops.
- Weapon types that start appearing in Normal Ruins start at a lower tier and upgrade in Central Crater and for boss drops.
- Rods and Wands start at a lower tier and upgrade in the Desert.
- All other weapon types upgrade in the Desert.
- Very Hard
- All weapon types start at the next-to-highest tier and upgrade in the Desert.
- All Difficulties
- Some modification to tiers is in place for existing unfavored weapon types attached to section IDs.
- Normal
- Area Patterns for weapon photons
- For all difficulties, Central Crater was taken as the standard. All other Crater areas were downscaled slightly from this and then normalized.
- For Ultimate, all areas were boosted slightly so as to make Desert 3 the equivalent of Episode 2 Towers/Lower Seabed.
- Special weapon drop rates
- For all difficulties, Central Crater was taken as the standard. All other Crater areas were downscaled slightly from this and then normalized.
- For Ultimate, all areas from Central Crater on were then boosted by about a 2% rate.
- In addition to Episode 4 modifications, a typo for Episodes 1 and 2 that resulted in an 82% rate instead of 28% was corrected.
- Tool item drop rates
- Only normal was affected, as all other difficulties were already largely standardized.
- For Normal, all areas of Crater were normalized to Crater North (equivalent of Spaceship 2) values.
- Techniques
- All difficulties, unless otherwise stated
- The four starting Crater zones dictate the range for all Crater zones, with the split between Grants/Megid and Reverser/Ryuker maintained where applicable. Percentages are normalized based on Crater North.
- CCA, Seabed Upper, and Seabed Lower/Tower equivalent values are transferred to the three Desert zones. After this, boss drops are normalized to Desert 3.
- Anti is ignored for any tech level boosts.
- Very Hard
- If the technique's highest level is 15, the lower bound is increased by 1. Otherwise, the upper bound is increased by 1.
- Ultimate
- Percentage values for all areas were recalculated and normalized based on the most common values used.
- Ryuker and Reverser were updated to have a drop rate of 0%, as they had been removed from Very Hard but reintroduced in Ultimate.
- If an offensive technique had a possible level 30 in the original values, this was disregarded in range and drop rate calculations and a value instead calculated based on the other, equivalent techniques.
- Level 30 offensive techniques are redistributed in the episode based on logic found below, with the 1/1000 drop rate applied. When 1/1000 drop rate is applied, the drop rate that was attached to that technique is distributed to the other two techniques of the same tier, or the alternate of Grants/Megid as applicable.
- After the above changes, if the techniques highest level is not 29 or 30, the upper and lower bounds are increased by 1. If the technique's highest level is 29 after other rules are applied, the lower bound is increased by 2. If the technique's highest level is 30, the lower bound is increased by 1.
- Level 30 offensive techniques are distributed based on the following rules:
- The four starting Crater zones each get either one simple or intermediate technique.
- Central Crater gets one each of simple and intermediate techniques.
- Desert 1 gets one advanced techniques.
- Desert 2 gets one advanced technique and Megid.
- Desert 3 gets the last advanced technique and Grants.
- All difficulties, unless otherwise stated
- Box Data
- For all difficulties, only the Meseta values possible from a crate are affected.
- For the first four Crater zones, the minimum and maximum values are shifted to be shared across all the areas.
- The last three zones are shifted to be Desert 1-3, with the two boss drops normalized to Desert 3.
- After the above changes, all values are increased by 10%, rounded up.
