Originally posted by xXMasterJ360Xx:

I agree I remember when the mods were released in their early days and I must say it required more steps and backing up your files or we had to manually patch both Eng/Jpn launchers. Now everything is done automatically with 0 hassle. Despite having both XIII/XIII-2 playable on my Xbox One I still went out of my way to get them on PC and these mods were the main reason lol.

My biggest hope among these mods is to give Serah more Outfit mods like Texture porting from other games similar to Dead or Alive 5 LR. There was one video on YouTube that had Serah in a Zero Suit Samus Outfit and that was on a modded Xbox360. This game definitely has more modding potential its just the lack of interest is what killed off that potential.

Well some months after the last monster mod release Krisan got busy with in real life stuff and also getting around to working on mods for the other Final Fantasy releases which is understandable and anytime I'd ask Krisan would made it seem like he was every now and then investigating different things with the coding figuring out more things and then eventually it just flat died out. Unless Krisan or one of the others that helped with the monster mod project states that this will still continue I'm just going to assume it's discontinued so I don't get my hopes up for another amazing release. They have worked really hard on this even if it was just a few releases so I'm still proud of what was accomplished by them in such a short span of time. I'm still hoping for more monster mod releases but even if nothing happens at least I can be proud that we got a few characters at least xD

Originally posted by MoMoRIP:

Got the monster mod to work and its really awesome, adds a whole new level of gameplay. These are amazing, many thanks to the creator.

It does and I love the fact that we can use Caius as a monster now though I was excited for their to be a possible Vanille and Fang release and possibly even maybe Shiva or a Chaos Bahamut mod. Unfortunately I think the monster mod let alone XIII-2 modding in general has died which is disappointing as I feel like this had a ton of potential and only got a few releases. Krisan had a vote about 2-3 years ago asking what monster we'd like to see next modded in from a strawpoll and while the winner of the poll was chosen nothing ever came from that. I do kinda wish that their would be some kind of announcement at least saying that the monster mod project has been discontinued or something. Even though it was only a few releases long I still appreciate all the hard work they've put into something like that. I used to come in here and check once every week or two for an update back then but now I come in a couple times a year hoping their might be a new update but I guess we won't be seeing updates anymore. Anyways though despite only being a few releases long I still had a ton of fun with the monster mod and I appreciate all the hard work they put into it and I hope you all are doing well :D

Originally posted by Krisan Thyme:

I have considered a Patreon before, but I'm not really sure the things I do are really well suited for that? I dunno, I don't like asking people for things to be honest, and I don't really expect anything either so.. eh! My donation link is still up and has been for years now though, which is basically a less fancy version of the same thing. Like I said though, it's extremely rare anyone donates as it is (and it usually amounts to about $10 total at the height of a projects hype) so I kind of doubt a Patreon would work out better.

Maybe I'm wrong though. *shrugs*

I'm willing to donate at least $50 to help you get in the swing of things and maybe even get back to this project but even then as long as it helped you out personally that's what matters in the end.

Originally posted by Krisan Thyme:

For reference, over three years ago or so I started work on a translation project for a game.. I made some progress on it, but got stonewalled on an issue and couldn't figure out how to progress with it. That project sat shelved for a solid three years before I started work on it again late last year and finished it - releasing it to the public just before the year came to a close.

Basically what I am saying is, I don't consider anything I've worked on as dead. I might start on something and not come back to it for years, it happens, life happens, problems crop up and make things difficult, etc etc.. But I never forget about anything I've worked on. This series in particular is very memorable for me, and modding it is always in the back of my head - it's just a matter of when for me, I guess? Plus there are still some big unknowns about this series, much like how I was stonewalled with that translation project I find these issues have kept me from doing what I want, but maybe eventually I'll figure them out and make progress, you know?

Also as much as I hate to say this, I am pretty much dead-arse broke all of the time.. I struggle to afford a basic living some months, and none of my modding hobbies help me out financially - I get maybe $10 donated per project on average and that's it. So basically it's more for fun and stress-release than anything else, and sometimes I just don't have that luxury.. Lately I've had a lot of major things going on that have sucked, like my water lines freezing over in a recent cold snap, the lines bursting as a result, and a lot of the older pipelines under the house needing replaced due to their age and risk of future bursts. I'm actually going on two weeks without water now, and it'll probably be three before it's working again. And this isn't an uncommon thing, the house I have is old and it feels like every year there's another major expense..

So yeah, I am just some poor dude who does this stuff for fun when he can, and sometimes I need to take long breaks to reflect on the problems I face in order to solve them later. Also yeah sometimes I just move onto other projects in the meantime, but that doesn't mean I forget about the old ones. And then sometimes like right now, I'm just unable to really do anything because I can't concentrate on a project with all the crap going on in life.

If I had the time, money, and luxury of a stress-free life, I'd probably still be pumping out updates for this and every other project I've started in the past, but sadly it's not so simple, and for that I apologize.

That's completely understandable you should never stress yourself out with things like this. Even if I can help even a bit I'd be more then willing just to see you get back in action and to help you out. Even if another release doesn't happen though I'm still proud and supportive of all the hard work you and everyone else that worked on this that it got to where it did. Your pretty talented with this stuff even if it's not perfect. I've been there having little to no money and things happening that you gotta focus on higher priorities. You should start a Patreon or at least see if you can try to get other donaters. I say this might be dead because even if it takes another year to get the next release out by then their is no telling how many people care about the mod at that point other then me at least that I know of. But you come first and foremost and you should be taking care of yourself first before working on these projects that's for sure and I have your back 100% on what you choose to do but I'm thankful none the less with the work you've put into this so far.

I think it's safe to say this project is dead. We haven't had a new monster mod pack release in the last 2 and a half years and no mention of when we can expect the next one. Thanks Krisan and everyone else that worked on this and I'm sorry to see this project died out. You've probably been looking and researching on this game still from time to time but it's been way too long since the last release and I don't really see anyone making any other comments as to the development to this project. This had really high potential for me once I first saw the Caius mod and used it and thought wow this project could go really far and it has but I feel like it stopped when it had potential to really get even higher but it's understandable that things happen. If this project is not dead and will continue feel free to let me and everyone else know here. I've been coming here what was almost every day to now every few months just to be a little disappointed that nobody talks about this anymore and their are characters still I'd love to see modded and I can't do it myself cause I know nothing about how to make it work so I'm still having my hopes up that this project will make a comeback.

Originally posted by Scarlet Crusade:

Originally posted by ZephyrSonic:

Yes that would be interesting but I'm not sure if Krisan will release another monster mod pack or not. I'd like to think so but since it's been so long since the last one I really don't think their will be another one. Here and there he might be figuring out more things about the modding with this game but I don't think he has any motivation/time to really get back in to releasing these. Personally I don't even see a need for all these Final Fantasy numbered mod threads for modding when nothing is being released for any of them. The intent of my last couple posts isn't to be mean, impatient, rude or upset I just want to know if this project will continue. It really does have a lot of potential and promise but all of these threads keep dying for months on end with no updates and it just really bothers me that we don't get any kind of word on when to expect the next one.

It's likely there will be another release, though it's his personal preference to not announce a release date, rather to release when it's ready. There was a good chunk of time where he was modding Disgaea heavily instead of Final Fantasy XIII-2, and he made some rather impressive accomplishments over there. This was due in part to my (being his tester, as a sub-role, kinda important -- also partial creative designer) being less available due to playing some newer games. As for all the other threads for all the other games, this place was created as a haven for modders to get together and do things, it was never intended nor promised that Krisan would mod all the Final Fantasy games ever, if that was your understanding. The real issue is not enough people stepping up and making mods, or, in some cases, lack of interest or use of mods for other titles. There was a decent bit of work done with V and VI, as well as X, from the top of my head, headed by people other than Krisan. I can't personally promise you anything, because I don't make the mods, my role is that more of a consultant than anything else.

Originally posted by ZephyrSonic:

Last I checked in that strawpoll Krisan held about over a year ago he asked the community that played the mod the next monster they wanted to see as the next monster in the mod pack and if I remember correctly Shiva won though I voted for Bahamut but I believe she won that poll yet nothing has really come of that yet so I apologize if I come across as rude or mean.

Actually, Fang and Bahamut came out on top, with Shiva Sisterrs placing third.[www.strawpoll.me]

Originally posted by ZephyrSonic:

I'm still glad though the progress he has made into this thus far. Even if he quits the project never to return to this I'm proud of all the dedication and work he made into this as I never would have thought of being able to have certain characters like even Caius being as a monster crystal so great work. Will we see another mod pack release though?

We appreciate the sentiments, and we definitely have fun making this stuff. It's just a lot more complex than a lot of you probably realize. It is true that, over time, we came to understand the game and the inner workings better, and were able to get some releases coming out at a higher rate, but the next things on the plate came with a new set of challenges for things that we hadn't run into before. So if that set an expectation that stuff would just keep rolling out so quickly, then we apologize. The last release of Giant Cactuar took a bit longer to do, not necessarily due to the monster crystal itself, but tweaking the AI of enemy Cactuar to transform properly, more like the AI in the first game.

Another example for you, had Shiva Sisters won the poll (and, even though they didn't, they're still in consideration for development), we would then have to figure out how to have both of them on screen at the same time, as Stiria and Nix are separate entities. That would be the ideal. Should it not be possible, of course, there could be two crystals, one for each of them, but because you can only have three crystals at once, having only one slot free if you wanted to use both of them would be kind of lame, so it would be preferable to somehow have them both occupy a single slot and crystal, for the sake of variety, and it would be kinda cool, because if it could be done, then other things might be possible, like having a squad of an Azure Behemoth and two Nightblade Pumas. I'm not promising any of this to actually happen, but it's things that could maybe possibly if figured out how.

The challenge with Fang, then, is how to make her special. The fact is that this game has a ton of COMs already, probably far too many, so just making her a really good COM wouldn't be good enough, she needs something to set her apart better. Valkyria Lightning is pretty much the undisputed champion of being the best at COM, except for maybe Chichu. But let's face it, Lightning is just more fun and aesthetically pleasing to use. So we've been kicking some ideas around as to what to get her to be able to do to really make her stand out. Caius was good practice for making the AI do what we wanted it to do, but getting Fang to do the things that we may end up having her do is a bit more complicated. Maybe not impossible, but it's not something that's as easy as just making a basic unit. Which making Fang just a run-of-the-mill COM just wouldn't be doing her justice. And even after finishing that, there's still the matter of implementation, how you would unlock her. We try and come up with something interesting and appropriate rather than just "oh, here you go," if you haven't noticed.

Besides, who absolutely says the next release has to be a Monster Mod Pack? :FFXIIIvanille:

Hey I appreciate the reply and I'm happy you took the time to explain everything. Yeah I know it's not an easy thing to work on it's just given the downtime I just would have thought their would have been 1 new release since the almost 2 years since the last one and I was just worried this was going to be abandoned. And who says it has to be a monster mod? Well maybe it's a way bigger expansion or something amazing that would be great to see. Also great job as well with the project work Scarlet I think you were one of the people that helped with the mod. I'm interested to see how a number of things work like Bahamut where would his special lie. Personally I feel like either Bahamut would be a nice implement and/or a Caius that goes back and forth in Metamorphosis state and his Feral Link would be Megaflare. Their is also alot of different monsters I'd like to see on how they would work well in the game as monster crystals. Hope this project continues :)

Originally posted by seiferzero:

i'm still waiting the Lebreau and Gadot Monster pack XD

Yes that would be interesting but I'm not sure if Krisan will release another monster mod pack or not. I'd like to think so but since it's been so long since the last one I really don't think their will be another one. Here and there he might be figuring out more things about the modding with this game but I don't think he has any motivation/time to really get back in to releasing these. Personally I don't even see a need for all these Final Fantasy numbered mod threads for modding when nothing is being released for any of them. The intent of my last couple posts isn't to be mean, impatient, rude or upset I just want to know if this project will continue. It really does have a lot of potential and promise but all of these threads keep dying for months on end with no updates and it just really bothers me that we don't get any kind of word on when to expect the next one. Last I checked in that strawpoll Krisan held about over a year ago he asked the community that played the mod the next monster they wanted to see as the next monster in the mod pack and if I remember correctly Shiva won though I voted for Bahamut but I believe she won that poll yet nothing has really come of that yet so I apologize if I come across as rude or mean. I'm still glad though the progress he has made into this thus far. Even if he quits the project never to return to this I'm proud of all the dedication and work he made into this as I never would have thought of being able to have certain characters like even Caius being as a monster crystal so great work. Will we see another mod pack release though?

Originally posted by Scarlet Crusade:

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AHAHAHAHAHAHA that's hilarious that's actually really funny and clever xD

So it's going on 2 years this July since the last monster mod pack release and as great as amazing as I felt the mod was actually going I can only assume the project is dead since we haven't had any updates on the project and nothing to give us any hope we have a new version in the future and here I was looking to recruit even more monsters you can't normally obtain. Krisan if you see this I would really like to know what the future is for this mod. If your still busy and got other things on your plate I understand it's no rush. It's just what I don't understand is a couple months after the last monster mod pack release Krisan held a strawpoll of the next monster we really wanted to see in the release which had a pretty decent fair voting and we won't even get that it seems. So is their any word on whether this project is going to continue or not?

So I'm assuming this project is cancelled cause it's been almost a year and a half since we have had any updates about this. I'm really excited to see how far this will go. Is their any updates regarding the status of the next monster mod pack?