[Developing] Pokémon Apex Version

[PokeCody]

nice. i love the screenshots. i would love to help people make pokemon games. but im only a senior in high school and looking for a job so i can get money to buy myself a good gaming computer. maybe then i can help. im also planning on going into Game Designing

[UltimateDillon]

Originally Posted by PokeCody

nice. i love the screenshots. i would love to help people make pokemon games. but im only a senior in high school and looking for a job so i can get money to buy myself a good gaming computer. maybe then i can help. im also planning on going into Game Designing

Hey, thanks, the screenshots will be updated soon to include a couple of maps. And actually, I am also only a senior in high school and I currently have a rubbish computer (actually its a laptop) I'm looking to build myself a custom gaming computer after my birthday. Where are you from?

[PokeCody]

I'm from Maine, in the united states. computer got fixed but... not good with games anymore (tho it wasnt that good to begin with but minecraft used to work good but not now). hmm.. maybe i can still help. " I'm a bit of an artist. xD hmm... i also saw pokemon idea videos on youtube before black and white came out. Alot of the pokemon had like a dinosaur theme, which i think is kinda cool, i like dinosaurs. lol wow i just came up with an idea for a long pokemon game o.o

[PokeCody]

man.. what i want to make is like... an apocoliptic version of pokemon. have radiation and mutated pokemon.... or have a game with more... skeletal pokemon... (thats probably due to the fact that i love skeletons.) or like undead like pokemon. X3

[UltimateDillon]

Originally Posted by PokeCody

man.. what i want to make is like... an apocoliptic version of pokemon. have radiation and mutated pokemon.... or have a game with more... skeletal pokemon... (thats probably due to the fact that i love skeletons.) or like undead like pokemon. X3

Ooooooh that seems interesting!

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Updates: Added Maps! Check inside the maps spoiler tag to see them!

[PokeCody]

ikr? xD all this talk about zombies and stuff. why not have an apacoliptic pokemon game lol.

[oldbarrel]

Looks pretty cool. Your maps however are a bit square. I would work on that. Good work though!

[gimmepie]

Seems like you're progressing nicely, can't wait to see some screens for your gyms and stuff

[UltimateDillon]

Alpha Release Announcement! Yep. You heard it. I have decided that I will release an alpha demo which will let you play up to the first gym. I have the basic maps ready so all I need to do is tweak the maps and put in the events. NOTICE: I will need someone to tell me how or if I can release the game as a standalone. If you can't do that, can someone tell me the best way to go about releasing it. Thanks in advance.

[PokeCody]

Originally Posted by UltimateDillon

Alpha Release Announcement! Yep. You heard it. I have decided that I will release an alpha demo which will let you play up to the first gym. I have the basic maps ready so all I need to do is tweak the maps and put in the events. NOTICE: I will need someone to tell me how or if I can release the game as a standalone. If you can't do that, can someone tell me the best way to go about releasing it. Thanks in advance.

as a standalone? what do you mean by that?

[EpicJackman]

Originally Posted by PokeCody

as a standalone? what do you mean by that?

Basically a .exe that can load the files of the game. I have no idea how people do it though.

[UltimateDillon]

Originally Posted by EpicJackman

Basically a .exe that can load the files of the game. I have no idea how people do it though.

I'm not sure if its actually possible with RMXP but I think there must be a way to make a desktop shortcut load the game from a different directory. Maybe by using an installer or something? I'll look into it.

UPDATE: I think I have figured a way to make a standalone. I have created a way to do it via Batch (.bat) I need to take it into further testing for security and fail-proof reasons but I think I'm on to something. I'll update again once I have tested this fully.

[EpicJackman]

Originally Posted by UltimateDillon

I'm not sure if its actually possible with RMXP but I think there must be a way to make a desktop shortcut load the game from a different directory. Maybe by using an installer or something? I'll look into it.

UPDATE: I think I have figured a way to make a standalone. I have created a way to do it via Batch (.bat) I need to take it into further testing for security and fail-proof reasons but I think I'm on to something. I'll update again once I have tested this fully.

Actually the easiest way to do it is:
1. Open the game in RPG Maker (obvious)
2. Go to File>Compress Game Data
3. Check the first box so people who download it can't edit it. Check the second box too if you used anything from the RTP.
4. Upload it to a storage website (I prefer MediaFire).

[UltimateDillon]

Originally Posted by EpicJackman

Actually the easiest way to do it is:
1. Open the game in RPG Maker (obvious)
2. Go to File>Compress Game Data
3. Check the first box so people who download it can't edit it. Check the second box too if you used anything from the RTP.
4. Upload it to a storage website (I prefer MediaFire).

I know, I had already looked into that. However, I want to make it look as if there are no files and so it will automatically install. I'm gonna have an automatic installer which will place the files in a directory like My Documents or something and place a shortcut on the Desktop.

[EpicJackman]

Originally Posted by UltimateDillon

I know, I had already looked into that. However, I want to make it look as if there are no files and so it will automatically install. I'm gonna have an automatic installer which will place the files in a directory like My Documents or something and place a shortcut on the Desktop.

Well I came across a program from the ClickTeam called the "Installer Creator." If you don't want to see the advertisement at the end you'll have to buy the full version. You can also make one in Visual Basic,,,

[UltimateDillon]

Originally Posted by EpicJackman

Well I came across a program from the ClickTeam called the "Installer Creator." If you don't want to see the advertisement at the end you'll have to buy the full version. You can also make one in Visual Basic,,,

Well, the thing about that is, I'm not too good at Visual Basic. In fact, I haven't ever used it or thought about using it. What do I need to do to make one using Visual Basic?

[EpicJackman]

Just search technical-recipes.com on Google, click on "Microsoft Visual Basic," and then find , "How To create an Installer With Microsoft Visual Studio." Sorry, I can't post links until I have 15 posts.

[UltimateDillon]

Originally Posted by EpicJackman

Just search technical-recipes.com on Google, click on "Microsoft Visual Basic," and then find , "How To create an Installer With Microsoft Visual Studio." Sorry, I can't post links until I have 15 posts.

Okay. Thank you for the help. I'll do that now.

UPDATE: I have good news and bad news. However, Please read this whole post in detail because it explains some shocking things about the software I've tried...

Good News: I did it! I completed the first version of the installer! I didn't use Visual Basic though. That was going to be too complicated, so I was reading a post made on some forum by a disgruntled InstallShield* user who said InstallShield* was rubbish. Anyways, he linked to a good alternative which turned out to be way easier and better than InstallShield* It's called Inno Setup 5 and you can get it here, FOR FREE. This is surprising because it offers more features than InstallShield Premier which costs £2,849!!!!!!!!!!!! (More than $3,000!!!!!!)

Bad News: The installer is ready, but the game is not. During the past two days, I have been working so much on a way to distribute the alpha. Because of this, I haven't made any progress on the game and we're still looking at about another 1 or 2 weeks before the actual alpha release.

If you REALLY want to try the current version, PM me and you can become some of the first beta testers. You will be able to get hold of each release before anyone else, but you will need to write a bug report for every release. So PM me and I will explain your tasks and give you a download link.

*InstallShield is the better version of the Visual Basic installer template. It is still used via Visual Basic but is better than the default installer tools. Despite this, it's still crap.

[EpicJackman]

You were right about bug city! Here are some I can name off the top of my head:
-You have to get the PokeBall on the table (in house) twice for the mom to activate the tutorial message.
-The running sprite period.
-Oak is invisible and reappears after he finishes talking.
-The points where you end up after exiting a building. After I exited Oak's Lab I got stuck in a house.

I'll play more tomorrow.

[UltimateDillon]

Originally Posted by EpicJackman

You were right about bug city! Here are some I can name off the top of my head:
-You have to get the PokeBall on the table (in house) twice for the mom to activate the tutorial message.
-The running sprite period.
-Oak is invisible and reappears after he finishes talking.
-The points where you end up after exiting a building. After I exited Oak's Lab I got stuck in a house.

I'll play more tomorrow.

Thanks lol. Yeah I wasn't even planning on releasing this build. I just wanted to show you guys that i'm actually working on it. Some actual material helps to keep people following the project.

[gimmepie]

Once you have fixed the bugs that have been mentioned I might be able to take a look for you. I should also have designs for those characters to you very soon.

[UltimateDillon]

Originally Posted by gimmepie

Once you have fixed the bugs that have been mentioned I might be able to take a look for you. I should also have designs for those characters to you very soon.

Ok, thanks. That would be awesome. Anything I can help with?

[UltimateDillon]

Ok so I have spent all day building a GitHub Repository for this game. It allows you to do several things:

• View the latest updates and news on a customized GitHub page.
• Report bugs and problems.
• Download the latest version.
• View a Readme on how to install and use the game.
• Comment on Issues about bugs and stuff.
• And More...

It also allows me to:

• Update the website, repository & other stuff in one place.
• Tell people new additions/fixes as they are added.

The repository can be accessed here.

The Updates & Download page can be accessed here.

DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE GAME WITHOUT FIRST MESSAGING ME TO RECEIVE VITAL DETAILS!

I will give more detailed info as it becomes available.

[gimmepie]

Sounds like a good idea. As for anything you can do to help not much right now I'm afraid.

[UltimateDillon]

IMPORTANT! I'm just about to update the game. Once the files are updated and ready to download, I will update this post, letting you know it's updated. Here's the list of changes:

• Fixed invisible oak bug.
• Fixed getting stuck on a roof when you exit the lab.
• Fixed transfer events. You should be able to walk all the way to Magnas City.
• Added Pokémon Center in Magnas City.
• Fixed other small inconveniences.

I will update this list if I remember any other changes I made.

UPDATE: You can download the game here.

UPDATE | 0.31a:

• Fixed some bugs that came with the 0.28a update.
• Fixed the error about not being able to find RGSS104E.dll

The game can be downloaded from the same link as above.