[Archive] ROM Hacking Newsletter 2008 | Issue 1 - 18

10.0 to 9.0 - Masterful
Its almost impossible to make a hack that is perfect, but ratings in this range get pretty close. These hacks are flawless in all aspects of hacking, they are innovative and engaging.

8.9 to 8.0 - Impressive
Hacks that we feel are outstanding and are exceptional in at least one aspect will receive ratings in this range. Hacks that we feel are worthwhile and that everyone will find enjoyable. You'd need to put in a lot of effort to get this rating.

7.9 to 7.0 - Good
An excellent hack that is let down by a one or two major problems. Above average in all aspects but just missing a few things it needs to be great. Not amazing but has potential.

6.9 to 6.0 - Passable
Hacks that are just above average. Nothing to really get excited about. Nothing particularly horrible about the hack but nothing all that great either.

5.9 to 5.0 - Mediocre
A hack that provokes no emotion, standard, run-of-the-mill whatever you want to call it, these hacks are as average as they come.

4.9 to 4.0 - Lackluster
Hacks that do not have enough effort put into them. Probably not worth the attention for the time being. Has some potential to be better, but not enough to become something spectacular.

3.9 to 3.0 - Poor
Hacks that are flawed in all areas, most likely caused by inexperience by the author rather than effort. Not worth checking out regularly, will probably be cancelled the next week.

2.9 to 2.0 - Bad
Hacks that we recommend you avoid, not worth playing. Might have a few interesting ideas but ultimately is just very poorly executed. Major flaws in all aspects.

1.9 to 1.0 - Terrible
A hack we believe should not have had its thread accepted. These hacks are not even worth browsing over. These hacks are usually made by people trying to achieve internet stardom.

0.9 to 0.0 - Abysmal
Hacks that are not even truly hacks, more like edits. A few small changes to the original game, achievable in mere minutes.

thethethethe says (9:49 PM):
Alright, hopefully there's no problems anymore?
Darthatron says (9:50 PM):
I'm ready when you are
thethethethe says (9:51 PM):
I guess I'll start with the simple question. How did you get into hacking?
Darthatron says (9:52 PM):
Well unlike the most people, I just stumbled upon PokeCommunity forums by accident. I then noticed the ROM Hacking section and got excited about it
Darthatron says (9:52 PM):
I played about 5 minutes of a hack, then decided I wanted to hack aswell.
thethethethe says (9:54 PM):
What hack was that?
Darthatron says (9:54 PM):
To be perfectly honest, I've forgotten. I joined nearly 3 years ago, you know.
thethethethe says (9:56 PM):
You're fairly well renowned for your programming talents. But what made you choose to create tools and things instead of making an actual hack?
Darthatron says (9:57 PM):
Well, the same year I joined I started doing a programming course at school.
Darthatron says (9:57 PM):
I wanted to learn how to HEX Edit, but it was rather annoying to learn, due to my short attention span.
Darthatron says (9:58 PM):
So, then I decided to try making tools, since there weren't many at the time.
Darthatron says (9:58 PM):
I found learning HEX Editing was much easier when I was making something as well.
Darthatron says (9:59 PM):
Don't get me wrong, though. I still think hacking is good, but I prefer to make it easier for other people, rather then doing things the hard way.
thethethethe says (10:00 PM):
Some time ago, I remember a hack of yours popped up in the scrapbox. Whatever happened to that?
Darthatron says (10:00 PM):
Well, I've been working on it less and less as the months went by. But be sure it's still coming.
Darthatron says (10:01 PM):
I prefer working on scripts, you see. And have barely any mapping skills.
Darthatron says (10:01 PM):
So it's difficult for me to progress.
thethethethe says (10:02 PM):
So you're somewhat similiar to me.
thethethethe says (10:03 PM):
But we haven't really seen too much from you lately. Why haven't we seen any tools from you recently?
Darthatron says (10:04 PM):
Well, as you might know, I took a rest from hacking for about a month. It was good, it let me get good at other things.
Darthatron says (10:04 PM):
I'm currently working on a tool that will helping with making title screens, and also world maps.
Darthatron says (10:04 PM):
Not a tilemap editor, though.
thethethethe says (10:05 PM):
There's like four of those now. No need for one more anyway.
Darthatron says (10:06 PM):
Indeed.
thethethethe says (10:06 PM):
In that break you took, did you ever consider not returning to rom hacking?
Darthatron says (10:07 PM):
Well, when I first went on the break, it was going to be me quitting. However, after getting very, very bored I decided I'd come back, after a month.
thethethethe says (10:08 PM):
Well, we won't all be hacking forever, how much longer do you see yourself doing this?
Darthatron says (10:09 PM):
Well, I like to think I'll be doing this for a while. But I do have other things to do as I get older... I think I'll probably stay in the community for another year and a bit. If you're lucky.
thethethethe says (10:11 PM):
Coolboyman is quite open about his ideas of hacking today. How do you feel about the hacking community, or even hackers themselves today?
Darthatron says (10:12 PM):
Well, when I first began hacking you needed to be fairly smart, since most of it consisted of HEX Editing. Now days there are lots of tools, and most are just copies of each other.
Darthatron says (10:13 PM):
I think most of the hackers in the community are... too young. The average age is about 12 now, it used to be around 15.
Darthatron says (10:13 PM):
Oh well, they're still not complete idiots.
thethethethe says (10:13 PM):
I see.
thethethethe says (10:15 PM):
If you could change one thing about the hacking community, what would you change?
Darthatron says (10:15 PM):
That's a hard one.
Darthatron says (10:16 PM):
I'd probably make it have less hacks that never get finished, and make people work on 1 hack at a time.
thethethethe says (10:18 PM):
Forcing people to work on only one hack at a time sounds great. I mean if you have enough energy to work on three hacks. You could probably put lots of time into just one.
Darthatron says (10:18 PM):
Exactly.
thethethethe says (10:24 PM):
You mentioned earlier that it seems like the average hackers age is about 12 or so. If Pokemon was to be aimed at a slightly older age group, do think hacking 'scene' would be different today?
Darthatron says (10:24 PM):
Definately.
Darthatron says (10:25 PM):
You look at the hacking scenes for Halo, and you can tell the maturity difference instantly.
Darthatron says (10:25 PM):
As an example.
Darthatron says (10:26 PM):
Even the cheating forums for games like RuneScape, or WoW are much more mature compared to Pokemon.
thethethethe says (10:32 PM):
With hex being something that is almost taboo in newer hackers, do you see any possibility of the fourth generation and a possible fifth generation being as advanced as the second and third generation hacking?
Darthatron says (10:33 PM):
I think that once the people who know HEX leave, that the community will begin to die.
Darthatron says (10:33 PM):
But, we are pretty set for the 4th generation. There are lots of tools in development as we speak.
Darthatron says (10:34 PM):
I'm not too sure about the 5th Gen, however.
thethethethe says (10:34 PM):
Have you ever tried to hack anything other than a Pokemon rom?
Darthatron says (10:35 PM):
Yes, I've tried hacking some of the Zelda games, and also Super Smash Brothers (64).
thethethethe says (10:38 PM):
You're apart of the ROM Reaverz Hacking Team, do you think a team works better than an individual?
Darthatron says (10:39 PM):
I think if you're good at everything you should work alone.
Darthatron says (10:39 PM):
But when you're like me and don't have graphics/mapping skills, then a team is best.
thethethethe says (10:40 PM):
But if someone knew were to have just begun hacking, would you recommend them to join a team quickly?
Darthatron says (10:41 PM):
No, I think learning things and giving them a go for a while is good when you first start.
Darthatron says (10:41 PM):
But if you've been hacking for a while and still lack the ability to do things, then join a team. But still, keep learning.
thethethethe says (10:42 PM):
Well, we should probably wrap this up soon. Is there any hack you'd like to recommend?
Darthatron says (10:44 PM):
I would recommend X-Buster's hack "Flame Of Rage" because it's has some briliant ideas and good game play.
thethethethe says (10:45 PM):
And what you said before could be considered advice but is there any other advice you'd like to give to new hackers?
Darthatron says (10:45 PM):
Try and learn as much as you can. Ask for help, but try and do things alone first.
Darthatron says (10:45 PM):
And, treat your elders with respect.
thethethethe says (10:46 PM):
Ok, thanks for the interview Darthatron.
Darthatron says (10:46 PM):
No problem, thethethethethethethethethethe

So the guest recommendation this week goes to Liquid Crystal:

10.0 to 9.0 - Masterful
Its almost impossible to make a hack that is perfect, but ratings in this range get pretty close. These hacks are flawless in all aspects of hacking, they are innovative and engaging.

8.9 to 8.0 - Impressive
Hacks that we feel are outstanding and are exceptional in at least one aspect will receive ratings in this range. Hacks that we feel are worthwhile and that everyone will find enjoyable. You'd need to put in a lot of effort to get this rating.

7.9 to 7.0 - Good
An excellent hack that is let down by a one or two major problems. Above average in all aspects but just missing a few things it needs to be great. Not amazing but has potential.

6.9 to 6.0 - Passable
Hacks that are just above average. Nothing to really get excited about. Nothing particularly horrible about the hack but nothing all that great either.

5.9 to 5.0 - Mediocre
A hack that provokes no emotion, standard, run-of-the-mill whatever you want to call it, these hacks are as average as they come.

4.9 to 4.0 - Lackluster
Hacks that do not have enough effort put into them. Probably not worth the attention for the time being. Has some potential to be better, but not enough to become something spectacular.

3.9 to 3.0 - Poor
Hacks that are flawed in all areas, most likely caused by inexperience by the author rather than effort. Not worth checking out regularly, will probably be cancelled the next week.

2.9 to 2.0 - Bad
Hacks that we recommend you avoid, not worth playing. Might have a few interesting ideas but ultimately is just very poorly executed. Major flaws in all aspects.

1.9 to 1.0 - Terrible
A hack we believe should not have had its thread accepted. These hacks are not even worth browsing over. These hacks are usually made by people trying to achieve internet stardom.

0.9 to 0.0 - Abysmal
Hacks that are not even truly hacks, more like edits. A few small changes to the original game, achievable in mere minutes.

Before you start making it you need to get an idea of what you want you're titlescreen to look like. Genesis is all about, well... Genesis! The beginning of the Universe so naturally space is an ideal background. I also included the two main Legendaries; Arceus and Giratina. Here is the rough version I made in PS.
Keep in mind that it may not be possible to get it looking 100% the way you want.

Now we need all the images and tile maps for out titlescreen. I got the space background from a resource sheet of Metroid and the two Platinum sprites of Arceus and Giratina from M_X's site. Next are the tilemaps which you need to export out of the rom. They UNLZ numbers are below, courtesy of thethethethe's tutorial at PHO.

2010 - Pokemon Logo Tilemap
2012 - Charizard Tilemap
2014 - 'Press Start'/'Gamefreak' Tilemap

So, we have a total of 3 tilemaps to work with and 5 separate images. Obviously the trick here is to combine images. But which images do we put in which tilemap? Well lets think about this. If we remember the original FR titlescreen we know that the Pokemon Logo appears at the front with the Charizard behind that and the Press Start at the very back.

There are a few alternatives but I opted to have the Space Backgroud go in the Press Start tilemap. Giratina, Arceus and a custom (unflashing) Press Start will go in the Charizard tilemap and the original Pokemon Logo with my custom Genesis version title will go in the Pokemon Logo Tilemap.

You may have already spotted a problem. How can Giratina and Arceus both go in the same image? We need to insert that image as an indexed 16 colour file, surely Giratina and Arceus will take more that 16 colours? And its true, they do but there is a way around that, one that I will come to when we need to. For now simply place them both in the same image without indexing, load your favourite tilemap editor and tile away!

(11:57:01 AM) Malin: Ready to begin?
(11:58:09 AM) HackMew: Kinda.
(11:59:00 AM) Malin: You've been hacking for a very long time now but what first got you into it?
(12:00:10 PM) HackMew: I would say curiosity.
(12:02:40 PM) HackMew: I like and always liked to understand how things work behind the scenes. And to adjust them to fix my desires, eventually.
(12:05:40 PM) Malin: So, currently your most well renowned tool is eXtreme Script Editor or XSE. XSE began production when it was voted most wanted in your own little poll. Was there any distinct reason as to why XSE was apart of that list?
(12:13:11 PM) HackMew: Actually XSE development started more than one year ago. And from a certain point of view I could say it's my first tool, even if I released A-Starter (early named Different Start R/S/E). If you're interested I'll explain you more about that. Regarding the little poll, XSE was part of the list mainly because I knew already that was people really wanted indeed. The first place was rather obvious. The results confirmed that.
(12:16:32 PM) Malin: Oh yeah sure, that'd be great
(12:16:44 PM) HackMew: Okay, fine.
(12:23:17 PM) HackMew: Since I took hacking seriously, I decided to learn as much as possible about scripting. At the time I was using ScriptEd which was a quite good alternative to a hex editor. Soon I learned about the bugs and the limits ScriptEd got. Luckily enough I found out there was a source code available, and the source was written in VB6. I knew just a little bit of VB6, but I decided to go ahed and edit the source to fix whatever my limited knowledge could dare. That's how my Enhanced ScriptEd got life.
(12:25:02 PM) Malin: Enhanced ScriptEd? Did you release that?
(12:26:10 PM) HackMew: Somehow, I only released a preview copy on a Pokémon forum.
(12:26:28 PM) Malin: Oh I see.
(12:26:43 PM) Malin: I've heard that there is a new version of XSE currently being tested, but how much longer will it be before we see that?
(12:27:03 PM) HackMew: Less than you may think, I guess.
(12:27:35 PM) Malin: Could you give us an idea of some of the new features?
(12:28:49 PM) HackMew: Yeah, sure.
(12:33:05 PM) HackMew: First of all I've improved all frequent taks such as compiling/degugging, loading files and so on. Those were fast enough already, you may say. True, but when things work, why not make them work faster?
(12:33:45 PM) Malin: I agree, anything else?
(12:36:14 PM) HackMew: Second, I did a large amount of bug fixes. Finally come the new features. For example there's the ROM Resizer, which will let you expand or shrink it back any ROMs. Of course, XSE will be fully compatible with expanded ROMs.
(12:39:35 PM) HackMew: For those who use the Hex Viewer, they will be probably happy to see it features a bran new scrollbar.
(12:39:35 PM) HackMew: Multiple comments are supported too, namely ' ; //
(12:39:35 PM) HackMew: While closing XSE with unsaved scripts and multiple tabs, now there's a new prompt which can handle not just Yes, No and Cancel but Yes to All and Not to All as well.
(12:39:35 PM) HackMew: The File menu got a little addition: Print. Though it was already there but commented out since early betas, I decided to re-enable it to its full glory.
(12:39:35 PM) HackMew: Under the Options menu instead, there's the Decompile Options submenu now.
(12:45:27 PM) HackMew: What does it mean? Basically that you can choose between 3 different decompile modes and 3 differents comments to use while decompiling.
(12:45:42 PM) HackMew: The 3 modes are Enhanced, Normal, and Strict.
(12:46:06 PM) HackMew: Normal is enabled by default and it's just the same as any XSE user is used to when decompiling.
(12:47:06 PM) HackMew: The Enhanced one will go one step futher. That it, it will retrieve more extra information.
(12:48:01 PM) HackMew: A simple giveitem script, with Enhanced mode on would look like this:

#org 0x800000

giveitem ITEM_POTION 0x1 MSG_FOUND

end
(12:48:23 PM) HackMew: Same would happen for givepokemon and many others.
(12:49:54 PM) HackMew: What about strict mode? More or less the opposite, since it's just the Normal one with any comments stripped out.
(12:52:07 PM) HackMew: The file association got a nice addition: now you can associate (or deassociate) your .gba files with XSE at any time. When associated, a "Open with XSE" would appear when right-clicking your .gba files.
(12:53:47 PM) HackMew: And there's a good news for all non-admin people or Vista users with UAC on: file association does not require admin right any more.
(12:57:20 PM) HackMew: The Text Adjuster got improved too. Now you can throw in any text to get it adjusted in no time. Now supports re-adjusting too. Which means you can easily edit your own text by simply pressing Shift+Ctrl+A.
(12:58:18 PM) HackMew: Shift+Ctrl+F is another new shortcut which will open the folder of the current loaded script/ROM.
(12:58:51 PM) HackMew: A full list of those shortcuts and much more will be shown in the updated guide.
(12:59:41 PM) HackMew: There are two little progress bars now. The first will eventually appear in the status bar while you compile or debug a script.
(1:00:19 PM) HackMew: The second one will be activated once you open the Find and Replace dialog to use the Replace All function.
(1:02:06 PM) HackMew: While compiling there will be some extra checks now.
(1:02:21 PM) HackMew: Too less or too much parameters, and invalid command.
(1:02:46 PM) HackMew: If you're wondering about the second one, think about compiling a textcolor command into a Ruby ROM.
(1:03:18 PM) HackMew: That commands exists on Fire Red but not on Ruby, indeed.
(1:04:11 PM) HackMew: So it would produce no effect in-game. No need to compile it then.
(1:06:14 PM) HackMew: And there's the Inline Command Help now.

As soon as you type a command, a construct or a directive, a little tooltip will appear telling you what params are needed.
(1:07:34 PM) HackMew: The tooltip will disappear after a short time, unless you press Esc, Enter or you mouse click somewhere. If you really want, you can even turn it off permanently, using the Options menu.
(1:07:59 PM) HackMew: Last but not the least, there's an auto update checking feature.
(1:10:45 PM) HackMew: As soon as you start XSE, it will checks for updates. If some updates are found, the updated window will be shown letting you download and updated your own copy. Otherwhise nothing will happen. Even this can be turned off and back on if someone likes to.
(1:11:59 PM) HackMew: We can say those are the main improvements/features introduced so far.
(1:13:06 PM) Malin: Wow, that sounds great! All those features sound very useful.
(1:13:30 PM) HackMew: Hehe, nice to hear that.
(1:14:23 PM) Malin: Within that list of tools that XSE came from, some of them have come into fruition since your poll ended. Will all those tools still be made after the completion of XSE.
(1:14:31 PM) HackMew: Yep, my answer is yes.
(1:15:06 PM) HackMew: I planned to make them and I will make them, someday.
(1:16:11 PM) HackMew: Oh, yeah... back to XSE for a bit, I forgot to say there's even a French translation available.
(1:21:03 PM) Malin: You had your own hack, Oro Sole. With Shiny Gold nearing it's end do you see any reason in continuing your own Gold Remake?
(1:22:32 PM) HackMew: I don't see much point in not continuing my project just because there's ShinyGold. After all, when I started it, ShinyGold wasn't even posted. I do it for fun with the goal of top quality in my mind, and that's it. I don't care if it's not in the first page or if it's not famous enough. If people will like it, good. Otherwhise I'll go ahead anyway.
(1:23:44 PM) Malin: Are you still working on it now, even though the thread is closed?
(1:25:37 PM) HackMew: Not at the moment. My priority is still focused on XSE. But I already planning something.
(1:26:05 PM) Malin: Have you ever tried to hack any other games, other than Pokemon?
(1:29:53 PM) HackMew: Yes, but no ROMs.
(1:30:28 PM) Malin: Oh? Such as?
(1:32:17 PM) HackMew: Uhm, quite a lot. Can't remember all of them right now XD

But even removing an intro video was hacking for me.
(1:32:40 PM) Malin: I see.
(1:32:41 PM) Malin: If there was something you could change about the way hacking is today what would it be?
(1:33:02 PM) HackMew: Quite a lot.
(1:33:45 PM) HackMew: Most people today have great ambitons but almost no knowledge.
(1:34:33 PM) HackMew: It's like as soon they learn mapping and how to edit texts they want to release something.
(1:35:06 PM) HackMew: A sadly truth, but luckily there are still some good hackers out here.
(1:36:00 PM) HackMew: I can't really understand all those people demanding custom scripts.
(1:36:51 PM) HackMew: Or those who don't read tutorials, for example.
(1:37:28 PM) HackMew: If you want to learn, you need to mess around with tools and ROMs. Trials and errors, and everyday you'll learn something new.
(1:38:05 PM) HackMew: Instead, it seems most people are even scared by trying something.
(1:39:27 PM) HackMew: So they ask - or better, demand - for help.
(1:40:57 PM) HackMew: While it may seems the easy way, it's not always the best.
(1:41:10 PM) HackMew: What if no one answers?
(1:41:56 PM) HackMew: You need to rely on yourself. And then on the other hackers.
(1:41:56 PM) HackMew: If you have no idea what a "compare" command does, you shouldn't use it and the complain your script doesn't work.
(1:49:14 PM) HackMew: You asked me what I would change in the way of hacking. The way of hacking, though is strictly related to hackers. Till hackers are the same, their hacking way will be the same.
(1:50:29 PM) HackMew: Needless to say I was talking in general. No offense intended.
(1:50:44 PM) Malin: Before we wrap things up, is there a hack you'd like to recommend?
(1:52:56 PM) HackMew: I think I just can't because I'm not used to look at the many hacks posted in the showcase.
(1:53:45 PM) Malin: Thats fine, anything else you'd like to say before we finish?
(1:55:57 PM) HackMew: Happy hacking to you all. Expect a brand new XSE soon!
(1:56:38 PM) Malin: Ok, thanks for the interview HackMew.
(1:56:44 PM) HackMew: You're welcome.