I'm not Le Pug, but I do have some things to respond to. Not really negatively, either, just my overblown 2 cents.
Correct me if I'm mistaken Le, but I think most of us hackers (and possibly you) have a more particular disdain for the population of mediocre hacks in the forums in general. The storyline is same-same, the tiles are either copied or a paint-made Nintendo edit, there's graphical inconsistencies, or whathaveyou. They just all around kinda suck, and I know that's not the nicest thing to say but it's the nicest way I can possibly put that hard truth.
I'm...not really sure that's the case. People seem pretty happy with the way hacking is, and I won't speak for quality because it's been some time since I've actually played hacks in the plural sense- compared to my younger days I'm a lot more of an observer now, mostly for reasons stated throughout the thread. But I do give hacks a try every now and again. But regardless, the story's no problem to most that I've come across. Samey appears to be just fine to most- which I feel is a large player in why so many ha- well, again, I've spoken on this a few times in the thread, before.
But with that in mind, I'd at least say that the general quality for hacks is much higher than those in 2008. The entry level for a hacker certainly seems to be above what it was back then, and there's a lot more for hackers to do with their hacks. It's certainly easier to get into than back then, that's for sure.
I do want to acknowledge how insanely low the bar is set to for good stories in Pokémon games. Some hacks, like Rose or Discovery, aim at changing that, but the fact of the matter is that most RPG players are a lot more wow'd and dazzle'd by features to do with more Pokémon, DS-style graphics, imported assembly hacks, and the like than simple dialogue. That's not to say there isn't a share of people who wholeheartedly value story over the others, but that those people (myself included) are a stale minority on the face of gaming, in this genre anyway.
What catches my eye here is "RPG players" and I don't think this applies to such a general group. It really seems like it's just Pokemon players or people interested in Pokemon hacks. Because to a general RPG fan, the story would probablybe important, as would various other original elements, but as a Pokemon fan wanting 700+ Pokemon and graphics from later gamer- well, it kind of speaks for itself. They're people looking for more Pokemon in Pokemon, and because there are so many people that look in the hacking section (it's consistently the most populated section on the forum), if something is standard or promised in a lot of hacks, those same things will be requested and looked for in a lot of hacks, even if they don't add things to the hack specifically and are mostly superfluous or are for the individual.
It kind of follows an apparently long-enduring trend where people will just post whatever they can for features because many seem to think that the more features you have, the better your hack will be. It's not true, really, and can actually be harmful (or meaningless).
People just want to battle their Pokemons and collect badges and do that whole mindless thing, and that's what the game is for them! I had friends who'd play hacks all the time in high school and that's the essence of what they did. Speed through all the text, get just enough info to pass through, move on. "Look at my Pokés, man! Level 70 already!" For a vocal portion of us the games are much more, and I guess all we can do as those people is strive forward and make good hacks, and push the collective effort forward in a socialist, GNU-like fashion.
This I just agree with. I look at hacks like...I think an example that comes to mind is an unfinished Ruby Destiny. Life of Guardians. This kind of holds hands with many people trying to mimic the main games but missing a key point. LoG is an example, if I recall (it's finished now, but the version I'm referring to was from 4-5 years ago), that had a world, not a set. It was a world in that there were people, non-essential items, and logical mapping. The difference between a world and a set, here, is that all of these things came together to create a hack that was superfluously designed, mirroring the games and the real world. Some things just aren't there for you to use on an essential level. They're there for decoration or to add to the atmosphere. That's what makes the game feel alive, but when people just ignore the work that has been put into that superfluity...it just feels like a waste. It feels like the design and work put into making the world feel alive is just for not, and that's a shame. I'll always push for superfluous design over the bare minimum, because I'd rather take a hack that has a lot to offer in the way of detail than one that just tries to get you into the action- the "action" being that game I've played several times.
As for the stories themselves, the annoyance is certainly understandable. They're rather lame, but what can you do? I'm not really against one complaining; the premise of this thread is certainly warranted, if for no other reason than to collectively blow off steam, us at best coming up with plans to avert that and raise the bar of quality. I myself just don't know of any solution or other substance to provide forth. I just kinda laugh them off, I guess...? I dunno. I still try to be polite face-to-face, and I guess that's about all you can do.
Well I think you pretty much answered this above, make quality hacks. Lead by example. It's a lot easier said than done, of course, and there's absolutely nothing to say that making a hack that is non-standard or exemplary in different ways will even be noticed, but nothing will change if there's no attempt. I say this pretty hypocritically, as I've yet to actually make a hack that I can do as I've preached with, but isn't it about the only thing that can be done? It's a...naive outlook, I'll say that much, but it's the only option I've come up with.
