Hacking DS games.

Do you guys believe that we'll ever be able to hack the DS games to the extent of GBA games?
Do you think that'll ever be possible?

There already is but it's just time consuming

Zenas said:

It already is but it's just time consuming

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Ok, has anyone managed to make a true DS ROM hack(completely transforming/changing the game) that works? I've looked around but I haven't found one.

Crizzle said:

Ok, has anyone managed to make a true DS ROM hack(completely transforming/changing the game) that works? I've looked around but I haven't found one.

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This is the most edited once I've seen. It has no release, though.

Tools may be made, but gen III is just very simple and easy to hack.

Crizzle, my team and I are making a DS hack- it completely overhauls everything. We're making a custom game called Pokemon Cobalt and Amethyst.
If you look in the Beginners Lounge area of the ROM Hacking Hub, you should find it on the front page somewhere.

One of the issues that Gen. IV hackers face is the editing of maps, which requires 3D modeling skills. It can make it very hard to get into. Not to mention the general lack of information available for beginners.

Lost Heart said:

One of the issues that Gen. IV hackers face is the editing of maps, which requires 3D modeling skills. It can make it very hard to get into. Not to mention the general lack of information available for beginners.

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Luckily, I did get a few people who can do quite a bit of 3D modelling. It's been an intense time, so far! The progress is going incredibly well, too!

mymycool9 said:

Tools may be made, but gen III is just very simple and easy to hack.

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Hmm, you don't say...

*fires up Xcode*

Tell me more. :)

The way I see it, the primary obstacles to doing that level of DS hacking are the maps and scripts.

The map thing is a pretty obvious problem. Gen 4 and 5 use 3D maps, which just requires an entirely different skillset from what GBA hacking asks of people.

As for scripting, the current tools that we have don't handle level scripts, and there are certain...idiosyncracies in the DS games (especially the Gen V games) that haven't quite been ironed out. I've been working on a Black hack for a bit, and Anville Town and Gear Station are just...weird. Very little about them makes sense.

So, to answer your question, I think it's very possible. We already have some great scripting and file import tools for the DS games, but it'll be a while until we get on the level of GBA hacking.

Just go hack Black 2 and place Fairy type, and Mega Evolution.

jskylinegtr said:

Just go hack Black 2 and place Fairy type, and Mega Evolution.

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I don't exactly get the point of this post. Yes, it could make Black 2 better and more modern, however, you do know how little research has been put into Gen 4/5 games, let alone Black 2, right?

I've been passing this information along wherever I can, because I want Gen IV hacks to be more popular. I'm currently working on bring the level of skill required for mapping Gen IV down a bit. I'm creating templates and tilesets for SketchUp that allow you to create maps almost as easily as you would for Gen III. Obviously, it won't be any easier to create completely custom "tiles", but modifying tilesets won't be very difficult. It gets a little bit trickier when it comes to buildings and objects on the map, though I hope to be able to dumb that down a bit as well.

Is anyone currently working on scripting tools for Gen IV?

Wait a second, we're only now starting work on disassembly of DS games? Wondering because I'm disappointed that the potentially easiest and quickest way to create a Gen VI-style game (ROM hack or otherwise), from a disassembled Gen VI game, may not be possible any time soon, meaning we may be, for now, stuck with the long and, in my humble opinion, considerably more difficult task of creating games from scratch, or else creating, in my humble opinion, inferior-quality Gen VI fascimiles which I like to call Gen V.V games.

ETA: Would it be possible, using current methods, to disassemble a 3DS game? Because if and when I get back to work on Pokémon R3D and Green 3D, I may consider employing such a method as part of the game pair's creation. Personally, I think things will be easier for me in that regard if I already know what the code is that drives the engine, e.g. the battles, the evolutions, the HP bars, the opening sequence, etc.

Crizzle said:

Ok, has anyone managed to make a true DS ROM hack(completely transforming/changing the game) that works? I've looked around but I haven't found one.

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That's a fair point; most of the DS rom hacks I find are just lazy like Pure White/Pitch Black where it just ups the difficulty of the game, not stuff like Pokemon Glazed or Ash Grey where they try to write a brand new storyline or something.

FoundNlost said:

That's a fair point; most of the DS rom hacks I find are just lazy like Pure White/Pitch Black where it just ups the difficulty of the game, not stuff like Pokemon Glazed or Ash Grey where they try to write a brand new storyline or something.

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CoughCough... Cough.