Introduction

The Lunarian Shuffle is a game randomizer that will take in a FF2US v1.1 ROM and turn it into a brand new strategic challenge!

The following aspects of the game are randomized, within reason:

• Which character corresponds to whom.
• Which items are sold in which shops.
• Which items are found in which chests.
• Which level each character learns each spell.
• Which equipment each character is wearing when they join the party. 
• Optionally, each character may inherit its abilities and magic from another character.
• Optionally, each character may inherit its list of permitted equipment from another character. 
• Optionally, each weapon and armor in the game can be randomly generated!
• Optionally, your party can be reshuffled each time you win a battle!

Also, the extra combat commands and the extra combat consumable items found in the "Hard Type" version of the game have been restored, and I have optionally included Golbez as a playable character.

The goals are not randomized - enemies, bosses, and dungeon layouts are the same as in the original.  Your task with each playthrough is to plan ahead regarding what equipment to hunt down and how many levels to earn for which characters in order to survive the upcoming challenges with the parties that will be present for each fight.

More detailed information is on the left panel of the program itself.

Get The Lunarian Shuffle here!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B9k5jnZ_x-ijRG5BTE1objljbzQ?resourcekey=0-0RFE3TC3A3VnxLH4vaqIdA&usp=sharing
If you have difficulty installing, refer to the Readme document.

Want to talk about The Lunarian Shuffle?  We have a Discord server here:
https://discord.gg/V2pUVGH


Making a good randomizer is a lot of work!  If you would like to thank me for this project, and especially if you would like to see me create similar projects in the future, please donate (and leave a message, if you like!) here:
https://twitch.streamlabs.com/iICrowIi

To follow me on my future projects and speed runs, visit my Twitch channel:
https://www.twitch.tv/iicrowii

Enjoy,
- Crow!

Feature update! v1.141 is live.

 A minor feature update is now live!  TLS version 1.141 provides a 'tooltip' feature in the Inventory menu and in weapon and armor shops.  Simply point to a piece of equipment and press Select to see a summary of what the item does.  I plan to eventually extend this feature to the Equipment menu and the Exchange screen, but that will have to come another time.

As always, get it from Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B9k5jnZ_x-ijRG5BTE1objljbzQ?resourcekey=0-0RFE3TC3A3VnxLH4vaqIdA&usp=sharing

In other news, I will be presenting The Lunarian Shuffle during the Buckeye Speed Bash speedrun marathon this weekend!

See the schedule for the event here: https://horaro.org/bsb2022/schedule

Watch the event at its twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/buckeyespeedbash

Links Updated

 Hello TLS fans!

The link to the Google Drive folder which contains this randomizer unfortunately was rendered useless by an update Google executed a week ago or so.  I have updated this blog's links to the new format.  If you continue to have trouble reaching the page, or if you know of any other sites that need this new link, please let me know in the Discord server.

In other news, here's a preview of the tooltip feature I've been working on recently:

TLS Updated! v1.136 is now live.

Hello, Lunarian Shufflers!

There has been a minor update to TLS.  The change list is below, mainly focusing on bug fixes.  One new feature, though, is that when randomized equipment is active, the game will now randomize the Avenger as well!

One thing I'd like to highlight is that if you randomize equipment permissions, TLS for some time now has been supposed to grant characters with the Karate and Ninja equipment styles a higher than normal likelihood of being ambidextrous.  However, that system wasn't actually working.  The fact that it now actually does will make those equipment sets a lot better than they were before, at least on average.

Also: the PC version might require existing installations of TLS to be removed before this version will be installed.
As always, get the latest version here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B9k5jnZ_x-ijRG5BTE1objljbzQ?resourcekey=0-0RFE3TC3A3VnxLH4vaqIdA&usp=sharing

Change log:

• Added the Avenger to the items randomized by the equipment randomization option.
• It will always be 2-handed, and its stats will always be physically oriented.
• Restored proper stat bonuses for the Legend and Excalbur swords when randomized equipment is active.
• When equipment permissions are shuffled, made Karate and Ninja style equipment wielders actually have a higher likelihood of being ambidextrous than characters at large.  The code that allegedly did that before didn’t work.
• Fixed a  bug where, with shortened cutscenes active, instances of item #1 were being removed at the game’s start, potentially stripping the main character’s weapon.
• Fixed a bug where weapons that were supposed to be guaranteed an element (such as Air for arrows) were not getting that element when equipment randomization was active.
• Mitigated a graphical issue where the 2 handed equipment error message (which doesn’t even work correctly in vanilla anyway) would interact strangely with the modified equipment screen.

Have fun,

Crow!

Quality of Life Update! TLS v1.134 is now live.

Hey guys!

I've got a small update to the Lunarian Shuffle. Most of these changes are things I've been sitting on for a while now, intending to release them alongside the next major release, which will feature randomized dungeon layouts as well as an ancient cave style alternate game mode. Unfortunately, development on that feature has stalled out a bit, so I thought I'd get these changes finalized and into your hands.

Change Log:

• Added the long-requested ability to dash on the overworld!
• Added a new check box for randomization options called “Rarer Encounters.”  It makes battles much less common (effectively, you have to “encounter” 6 fights before the game actually makes you fight one), but also makes those fights much slower to run away from.
• Removed the “Match Music To Characters” check box.  That option is now always active.
• Fixed a glitch in randomized equipment generation where equipment that hurt your agility or strength would automatically qualify to be given the Headband icon instead of a normal hat one.

As always, get it here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B9k5jnZ_x-ijRG5BTE1objljbzQ?resourcekey=0-0RFE3TC3A3VnxLH4vaqIdA&usp=sharing

Feature improvement release 1.133 now live!

Hey guys,

I've just released the newest TLS version.  The focus of this release is improving the randomized equipment feature, now that we know a bit more about its abilities and limitations.  I had to hack the game to make it more flexible than it was, but I think it was worth it!  Equipment should start giving the player more compelling choices even in the early game, while still progressing to better gear in the late game.

Also included are a couple hacks that are looking forward to the next big TLS feature: randomized dungeon layouts.  That will only come out once v1.140 is ready, and we are still about a month away from that, in my current estimate.  However, some groundwork is already being laid for code I'll need to make that work.

One final teaser before I just list the change log: once I finish randomized dungeon layouts, I intend to make an "Ancient Cave" style game mode where the player traverses through a long chain of random dungeons until they defeat a final boss!  The Lunarian Shuffle has always had a problem that it takes too long to complete in a single sitting, but a game mode like this could make a shorter, more streamer or racer friendly experience.

Enjoy!

[EDIT: This post originally indicated the Windows version only was released; since then the Android build has been added as well!]


Change log:

• Implemented various improvements and bugfixes to the randomized equipment generation routine. In general, early game equipment should be more interesting, while still leaving room for mid and late game gear to be better as well.
• Relatedly, added a patch, active when randomized equipment is on, that allows equipment more flexibility in what sorts of stat bonuses and penalties they give.
• This does, unfortunately, require expanding the ROM.
• Turning on debug / spoiler output will no longer disable specifying or identifying the RNG’s seed. Instead, turning on that output will change the results of randomization, such that someone can’t pretend to be playing blind when they did gain access to that information.
• When Hard Mode is off, the randomizer will now check whether it thinks you have access to the Life spell for Valvalis and the end game, as well as whether it thinks you have a way to heal your characters in between battles for Rubicante and the end game, and will add Life and Cure2 potions to shops as necessary if not.
• Added a patch by Aexoden that fixes the glitch that prevented characters from learning spells from different schools of magic in the same level up. This gives FuSoYa especially a little more flexibility in which levels his spells can be learned.
• Added a patch to mitigate the 64-floor glitch. Now, if you go more than 64 floors deep, the game will forget the oldest non-overworld destination in the “return stack” but otherwise proceed normally.
• TL;DR: Warp does what it’s supposed to, unless you cast it 63 times, then it leaves the dungeon, no matter what.

As always, get it here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B9k5jnZ_x-ijRG5BTE1objljbzQ?resourcekey=0-0RFE3TC3A3VnxLH4vaqIdA&usp=sharing

Bugfix release v1.132 now out

Another bugfix release is now out.  v1.132 resolves two issues that affected adult Rydias in non-rejoining character positions.  It also fixes a textbox mix-up between the Pale Dim and Plague rewards.

In other news, if you haven't already voted in this straw poll regarding possible new features for The Lunarian Shuffle going forward, please do!  Not everything can get in, and it's not a strict democracy (some features require a lot more work than others), but I value knowing which things people are more interested in me trying to get working.

Have fun,
Crow!