Golden Sun: Dawn of Djinn [Version 2 Released]

[JackitK]

Download to the patch:
https://github.com/JackitK/goldensun-dawn-of-djinn

Summary:
"Golden Sun: Dawn of Djinn" is a ROM hack of GS1 that aims to create an experience where combat feels like a new Golden Sun game, while otherwise maintaining the core elements from GS1. This new "Second Mix" update aims to take this even further by expanding on new elements for players to play with from classes, to abilities, to enemies you face off against.

In addition, this mod takes QOL features from the GS Randomizer, such as fast travel, while introducing new elements of its own. New NPCs and books are scattered throughout the land to ease you into changes this mod offers, provide hints, and more. The main story remains the same as the original Golden Sun, but fans may notice slight alterations in dialogue to abridge certain conversations or introduce a side plot or two.


Combat:
New enemies make their debut and returning ones have increased stats from the original adventure. The mod comes with two different patches for different difficulty settings. 

In casual mode, you get enemies with a similar power level to the base game while still keeping the Dawn of Djinn changes to everything else.

Veteran mode takes inspiration from Lost Age's "Hard Mode" to boost enemies stats to a similar level, though even familiar enemies have more of a buff beyond increased attack and HP. Psynergy also costs more, and summons have been nerfed in power a bit, but that change is balanced out by the wider variety of Psynergy recovery options Dawn of Djinn introduces.

 Combat overall feels closer to the challenge of a playthrough of Lost Age's "Hard Mode" than it does the original adventure. Though the readjusted move pools and occasional liberates with the Hard Mode rules, certain battles may be harder than your average Lost Age Hard Mode playthrough.  Especially late game and in the optional areas.

The video below goes into more details on the differences between casual and veteran mode.

For those who don't find veteran hard enough there is even an add-on patch in the Advance Set up ZIP folder that grants you with optional equipment that divides party character stats to allow enemies to hurt for even more damage.


Updates to Psynergy:
A variety of new Psynergy is scattered throughout the various new classes and equipment throughout the mod.


Updates to Classes:
Basically every class has been updated for Dawn of Djinn to have a different assortment of new Psynergy.

In addition each party character has a new default class with various with a different spread of stats compared to the original, and at least one signature Psynergy that leans into the personality of these new default classes.

There is even two brand new classes that did not exist in version 1 that pull from previously unused Djinn combinations.

Last but not least is the brand new "quad elemental class" family.  The Jack/Toolsmith classes are fairly unique as they there stats aren't great (nowhere as bad as version 1, but still uncertain if the buff was enough to make them viable.)  However, they do have a unique spread of Psynergy via level up.  A Jack Adept can wield all four elements of Psynergy at once and usually have a couple spells reserved for equipment. Plus each party member has a slightly different version of the Jack Adept/Toolsmith class.  Having more powerful spells of a particular pair of elements, and learn a powerful Psynergy once max out in level.

Updated Weapon System
Weapons are now more distinct from each other as there is now a system of pros & cons between each type of weapon.  For example, Axes are the strongest weapons in the game but have a drawback of dropping speed. Maces still tend to be weak weapons but they now have a high crit/unleash rate.

New Weapon Types
In addition Dawn of Djinn offers two new types of weapons, Gloves and Mitts.  They are no longer pieces of armor but weapons with more defensive properties and extra abilities.  Gloves boost defense as well as giving you distinct unleashes and item effects. Mitts are the more magical version of the Gloves.  Boosting elemental resistance, bestowing unique Psynergy for combat, and granting rare unleashes that act like Psynergy in of themselves.
With a couple exceptions, Gloves and Mitts are weapons exclusive to Isaac and Ivan.

In addition, Staff and Ankh weapons have been divided into subcategories in a way similar to Long Sword and Short Sword weapons in the original game.

They both are exclusive to Ivan and Mia.  However, Staffs boost max PP when equipped, while Ankhs recover PP every turn while equipped.

Update to Battle Items:
Recovery items & consumable items have been adjusted and added as well. There are more types of Psynergy recovery items, in case the increase cost is too overwhelming.  Recovery items as a whole also have a wider variety of effects. Each one is varied enough that even the weakest HP recovery item could have uses late game, depending on the secondary traits you desire. This makes item shops much more useful, as the items don't become completely useless by end game.  Enemies also drop new items including equipment and new battle items.  Every battle item that previously existed has been changed and new battle items have been added as well. While they'll may still get out-powered by late game Psynergy, they are much more interesting than in the vanilla game thanks to their secondary effects.  You'll likely find these very valuable for early/mid-game bosses and may even find scenarios that they're an ideal option even later than that.


Djinn Updates:
Last but not least, are the namesakes of this adventure, the Djinn. Every Djinn in Dawn of Djinn is brand new to this adventure. Featuring a combination of abilities reworked to be more viable and brand new Djinn abilities for you to use.  Their overall increase in power should help encourage their use, despite all the mechanics in the series that encourage you to keep them set. Players who find a good balance between using Psynergy, using Djinn, and summoning to get them back on "set", will be rewarded the most by the mechanics of Dawn of Djinn.


Djinni Charms:
In addition to the upgraded Djinn, Dawn of Djinn introduces a brand-new mechanic call the "Djinni Charms".  They are essentially Djinn in a crystallized form, either because they've been weakened or have yet to fully awaken.  Though not wielding their full powers, they can grant an ability to an Adept of their element if they equip them and lend their Psynergy to them. Only Adepts of the same element can equip them, so Isaac can only equip Venus Djinni Charms, Garret can only equip Mars Djinni Charms, Ivan can equip Jupiter Djinni Charms, and Mia can equip Mercury Djinni Charms.  Furthermore, only one Djinni charm can be equipped to an Adept at a time, so you'll have to consider which charms will best assist you for each situation to get the most out of them.


Djinni Charms can be found throughout your adventure, though you are not the only one seeking them. You may find a new NPC along your journey, seeking help with collecting them. New NPCs in general may give you hints on various things throughout your adventure. So it's worth your time to seek out this Charm Warden whenever you see her. These charms won't always come easy though, as some are already in possession of monsters known as Djinni Mimics.  Like normal Mimics, they first appear to be ordinary treasure chests.  If you engage one, they will immediately attack you and wield the elemental powers of the Djinn they've captured.  If you defeat one, you'll be granted with the Djinni they possessed in the form of a Djinni Charm.

Grand Djinni
In this world there are exceptionally strong Djinni known as the "Grand Djinni", like similar Djinni you may encounter if you approach them they will engage you in battle.  However, unlike a normal Djinni, these "Grand Djinni" have strength and abilities that rival even many of the bosses throughout the game. 

However, if you can beat them, they are the best Djinni in the game, having powerful abilities that will give you a strong edge in battle. There is one for each element, so keep that in mind throughout your adventure.

In addition, the Djinn of Dawn of Djinn in general prefer to fight with all their might, instead of running. So it is worth you time to prepare before facing them off in combat in general.


Adjustments to Overworld Abilities/Quality of Life Updates:
While majority of updates to Dawn of Djinn tie to combat, there are a few field exclusive updates.  First off, Retreat not only warps you to the start of a dungeon or town but now functions similarly to teleport when used on the world map.  Using Retreat pulls up the map and you can select any town that you've previously visited to instantly return there.  The linearity of Golden Sun doesn't make this as needed as other RPGs, but it does open up some options that would be unreasonable in the original game, such as Retreating back to Imil to restock on Hermes Water. 


Secondly, Avoid now behaves as a random encounter toggle rather than a wear off effect.  Using it once turns off 100% of random encounters, using it again turns them back on.  The adventure was built, and play tested around fighting all of your encounters, and there are some bugs making it hard to toggle encounters back on that can result from saving and quitting the game while you still have Avoid on. So I'd personally recommend only turning Avoid on for backtracking for a smooth, grind-less experience. Though the option is there for people who want to use it.


Building off the built in Psynergy the Randomizer provided, many utility Psynergy like Growth, Whirlwind, and even Avoid are built right into party members so they have them, regardless of your class. In addition, Psynergy not tied to battle no longer cost Psynergy to use. Though they have different names to distinguish from their battle equivalents. For example in battle Growth still cost Psynergy to use, but outside of battle it is refer to as "Sprout" but otherwise functions the same.

[JackitK]

FAQ:

Is Dawn of Djinn hard?
Dawn of Djinn by default is harder than the original Golden Sun, but is not intended to be "brutally hard".
Previous experience with the Golden Sun series is recommended before jumping in.

On average, monster's stats are multiplied similarly to how they are in Lost Age's hard mode. Though move pools
have been changed to make them more capable than normal, including with bosses.

However, if you find a normal playthrough of this mod to be too easy or hard, you can artificially adjust
the difficulty by equipping either the "Casual Key" or the "Brutal Key" to all your party members.


How do the Brutal Key and Casual Key Affect Combat?
When equipped, the Casual Key will boost your stats similarly to how the enemies are boosted in this mod,
plus gives a multiplier on your max PP to compensate for Psynergy costing more to cast in this mod.
It also has an outside of battle use that will recover all of your party's Psynergy, in case you prefer
RPGs where you only have to manage your stats during battle. It is completely optional to use.
The Brutal Key divides your stats, making you weaker than when unequipped.


Where do I find the Brutal/Casual Key?
In Vale, the shop has been readjusted to have both these key items in their armor section for free.
You'll also find the Casual Key in Vault's shop, in case you forget to backtrack.



How does equipping Djinn Charms work?
Djinn charm are elementally aligned, meaning they can only be equipped by an Adept that shares there element.
Only Isaac can equip Venus Charms, Garret to Mars, Ivan to Jupiter, and Mia to Mercury.
Furthermore, Djinn Charms count as a ring equipment, meaning you can only have one equipped at a time, and trying
equip an actually ring item unequips the Djinn Charm.


Where's the dialogue?
For the sake of easier playtesting, I used a version of Golden Sun that had dialogue turned off for all my work with Version 1.0...
Due to the nature of working off a copy of Golden Sun that already had the dialogue remove, rather than patching it out myself, I have
to basically start with a fresh new patch in order to make a version with the dialogue on.  This dialogue version of the mod is planned
to be made for either a 1.5 or 2.0 release, but I figured since everything else is set to share already that I would release my dialogueless 1.0 version while I'm reworking a dialogue version, hopefully taking advantage of starting from scratch to clean up some "code" that
I probably made a mess of putting 1.0 together.  No set release date for the dialogue version yet,
but it shouldn't take nearly as long as it has for me to make version 1 in the first place.  I apologize in advance to everyone who was
looking forward to enjoying the full experience of Golden Sun's story while playing this mod.

Avoid toggles on and off but monster encounters are still gone, how do I fix this?
This is bug seems to be caused by saving and quitting the game while avoid is still toggled on.
So first and foremost, getting in the habit of turning off Avoid when you don't need it can be helpful.
If you do run into this bug however it is fixable with a little work.
-First toggle Avoid on and off a couple times
-Transition to a new screen, either by entering a town/dungeon or entering the overworld.
-When you toggle Avoid off now, monsters should appear like normal.


Soo..umm..sometimes the sprites of enemies and party members disappear in battle. Is this supposed to happen?
No, but I can't fix all of them.  If it happens in a random encounter, it was likely an oversight
of trying to squeeze too many enemies into that fight and I can adjust it with feedback. 
If it happens during a boss fight, I likely already noticed it but decided not to fix it due to it having too
big of impact on the fight if I flat out removed an enemy.


How do I progress through ____?
Lack of dialogue in version 1 may make certain plot areas a little obtuse.
Feel free to reference the "Event Trigger Notes" text file if you get stuck on your adventure.
In addition there are other text files included in the care package that act as Cheat Sheets for Djinn,
Djinn Charms, and Monster drops if you don't mind the spoilers, and I may add more in the future.

[JackitK]

Lots of work has been going on behind the scenes and things feel closer than ever to a final release (at least of the dialogues version).

Long story short lots of new items, including new Djinni Charms; updated Djinn, new moves, and a rework of all the major fights to adjust for all these new features.  I've done a few videos here and there showcasing my current progress including a stream showcasing a few areas with boss fights included...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaY5k5SGEYI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJStnIf-gis

Here's a link to the Discord if you're curious on a source of updates more frequently then this...
https://discord.gg/bWR3KWyZdW

I'll try to come back here every now and then to give an update though, especially once a patch is released.

Not quite ready to give a date, but I'd be surprised if I didn't have a patch to share in a couple months.  Right now a lot of my focus has actually been on secondary material I want to include with the adventure.  Including but not limited to text files of a Djinn Guide, a Djinni Charm Guide, and a list of monster drops so players don't have to worry about missing out on any new items.

In the meantime, be sure to check out the playlist in the OP post for all the videos of this mod I currently have release and enjoy a few screenshots from my Discord I revived just to have an quick easy way to share mini updates.



Spoilers to one of the newer Djinni Charms and end game area...
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]

[JackitK]

Major update.  Everything is ready for the release of version 1.0 of Dawn of Djinn and I've updated a couple posts in the main page to better reflect the more recent update of content.

Plan is to release to make the Github page for Dawn of Djinn public once I air the trailer on my Youtube channel, sometime tomorrow.  On the off chance I don't get back on the site by then, the Github page is listed below...
https://github.com/JackitK/goldensun-dawn-of-djinn

...also have plans to have a Google Drive back-up for the patch and am also considering getting it uploaded to more mod specific servers...

Edit: Also updated the title of this thread because I realize it doesn't reflect the new title of the mod, despite me finally settling on a name awhile back. 

[JackitK]

Thanks to some feedback I've already gotten elsewhere, I was able to fix the issue I was having making Isaac (and apparently Mia) take more Djinn than the others to get into their quad-elemental classes.  I've also fixed some text and made a small update to the movepool to these classes while I was messing around with all that.  So if you've already started version 1.0, I'd recommend downloading the newest patch and updating so you don't miss out on these updates.
https://github.com/JackitK/goldensun-dawn-of-djinn

[JackitK]

Hey all, it's been awhile.  Haven't been on the forums much, but on the bright side, there's been a lot going on behind the scenes with Dawn of Djinn.  It's been taking me longer than expected to finish Version 2, but I think I'm close to the point of sharing a major update on that.

I'm putting the finishing touches on a playable demo that goes up to Mogall Forest, showcasing everything I've done so far.  While diving my time between more things since the release of V1 plays partly into the long development, I shouldn't downplay just how much more is going into this compared to Version 1.

For one, dialogue will finally be in Dawn of Djinn, including some minor adjustments to reflect the new events and features of the mod. Even more new classes will be in Verion 2, to the point where basically every vanilla class will be replaced with a new one with their own customized line of Psynergy; not just the late game and quad elemental classes. This includes the default classes; Isaac and co will even have a different spread of stats to better reflect the new roles their class gives them. Of course, there will be new Psynergy to go along with these changes as well. I'll reveal more once I actually release the demo patch of Version 2, so stay tuned for more details. Shouldn't take more than a month assuming I don't just forget about the forums.

[JackitK]

Mod update:
Enough progress has been made with Verson 2, that I've released a demo showcasing the updates, more detail below...

I've finished and released a demo of Version 2 aka Second Mix of Dawn of Djinn. It goes up to Mongoll Forest, featuring all of the updates for the planned jump from Version 1 to Version 2. Including but not limited to:

• Dialogue (including a new sub-plot and other minor text changes to ingrate Dawn of Djinn's features into the story.)
• New classes for every Djinn arrangement from base game. Including brand new default classes and changes to their base stats that alter the roles of party members in battle from the vanilla game. (Ie. Garret now behaves closer to a physical glass cannon rather than a tank.)
• New assortment of Djinn and Djinn Charms, different from Version 1.
• Two different patches to pick based on your prefer challenge.
  
  • A casual patch with a level of challenge similar to classic Golden Sun.
  • A challenge patch with difficulty similar to Dawn of Djinn version 1.
• Optional patches to add on top for extra quality of life improvements, such as auto running or speeding through cutscenes.
• Changes to enemies and boss fights from Version 1, possibly featuring brand new enemies along the way.
• New Psynergy, equipment, and items to use in battle; along with those returning from version 1.

Link to everything you should need to run the new demo version is provided in the link below...
(Containing all patches, Readme, and a cheat sheet for Djinn locations and new item drops.)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p4uceJQjSVmLuCCme8LZCx58F5eaBZSG/view?usp=drive_link

[javi3]

muchas gracias amigo, con ganas de probar todo esto

[JackitK]

Taking advantage of the forums being up to make a few quick updates relating to progress on version 2.0...

Long story short, I had to backtrack and redo a lot of work, due to technical issues, but overall mostly past that. Currently, every fight in the game has been worked on at this point. Though most still need testing on the casual version of the mod. But I still have a bit of ways to go between fine tuning boss fights, especially the super boss fight and doing one more round of review/refinement. Both for veteran (new name I have for challenge/default difficulty) and casual mode.

There's also an assortment of other mis. things than still need to be done before release, like minor dialogue adjustments, and all the trailer/promo videos I want to have ready for its release. So no definite date quite yet.

I have made a couple blog posts relating to progress over the past couple months. So you can find out more detail about it all there.
May 2024 Update
July/August 2024 Update

[JackitK]

Version 2 of Dawn of Djinn is finally here. Check out the video below for more details...

As for download, the casual, veteran, and advance set up patches are available over on my github, though I'm slowly working on making them available on other platforms for sharing ROM Hacks...once I figure out where they are these days.
Dawn of Djinn download page

[JackitK]

Dawn of Djinn update.  No major features, but a handful of bugs and minor text adjustments have been made since the initial 2.0 release.  See the Github page for more details...
https://github.com/JackitK/goldensun-dawn-of-djinn