A Call to the Community: Gen IV ROM Hacking Guides

[wundrweapon]

Searching through this subforum, I see the same things over and over again - FireRed tools, gen III tools tutorials for FireRed, guides for FireRed, tutorials for Emerald, gen III tutorials, you get the point. I'm well aware that gen IV ROM hacking is very fleshed-out, and that People do know how to do it, whether or not gen III is better for hacks or for first-timers.

This is why I am here to ask the community of ROM hackers for one thing: a complete, in-depth guide on gen IV ROM hacking. Everything from overworld sprite edits to tile edits to moveset changes to type additions/mods to custom regions to scripting. I wish for the community to make a series of gen IV ROM hacking guides that cover absolutely everything that's possible in D/P/Pt/HG/SS, such that anyone who watches/reads every guide wold be able to make something like Light Platinum DS.

It's time to see gen IV get the beautiful ROM hacks it deserves. Something like Roland's (from Project Pokemon) Perfect Platinum/Heart/Soul or the aforementioned Light Platinum DS.

With high hopes,
~wundr

 

[Hiro TDK]

I think I can write a couple of small tutorials tonight. My HDD crashed, so I haven't been up to much lately. I'm going to try to get MikeLan98 to do a write up on his method of mapping. I also have several tools that took over a month to acquire, so I can link to those. I just need to see what is and isn't corrupted.

 

[wundrweapon]

I think I can write a couple of small tutorials tonight. My HDD crashed, so I haven't been up to much lately. I'm going to try to get MikeLan98 to do a write up on his method of mapping. I also have several tools that took over a month to acquire, so I can link to those. I just need to see what is and isn't corrupted.

Can you do that? It'd be great if you could, because the guides on PHO are sub-optimal imo

 

[Hiro TDK]

I want to point out that I am a master procrastinator, so expect delay. Anyway, I was fired the other day for ... well, I was fired. I've spent the last week looking for a job and playing Overwatch, so I've not done much since I said that.

What I am going to do though is post a couple of things guides on where to find commonly asked for things in the ROM and how and what you'll need to edit them. Things like overworld sprites, which were the largest pain in the ass to do correctly. I did a complete (save for naming and bag screen, though I'm working on the latter) replacement of Lyra with Kris and learned a lot on the way. I created an searchable Excel workbook of all of the texts in the game for anyone interested in changing dialogue or character names. I wrote most of the things down as I was doing them, I'm just working on the motivation to sit down and organize it.

 

[Hiro TDK]

My first tutorial is going to be a step by step on how to edit the opening sequence for HGSS. I'm getting a tad sidetracked, but I am working on it. My goal is to show how to edit each portion of the animation. Here's a preview:

 

[wundrweapon]

I want to point out that I am a master procrastinator, so expect delay. Anyway, I was fired the other day for ... well, I was fired. I've spent the last week looking for a job and playing Overwatch, so I've not done much since I said that.

What I am going to do though is post a couple of things guides on where to find commonly asked for things in the ROM and how and what you'll need to edit them. Things like overworld sprites, which were the largest pain in the ass to do correctly. I did a complete (save for naming and bag screen, though I'm working on the latter) replacement of Lyra with Kris and learned a lot on the way. I created an searchable Excel workbook of all of the texts in the game for anyone interested in changing dialogue or character names. I wrote most of the things down as I was doing them, I'm just working on the motivation to sit down and organize it.

Alright, thanks for doing this at all - you have no clue how grateful I am! (as for procrastination, there's a pile of year-old papers to my right that, to properly dispose of, I need only place them into the recycling bin... and yet I won't do it. I get where you're coming from is what I'm saying)

My first tutorial is going to be a step by step on how to edit the opening sequence for HGSS. I'm getting a tad sidetracked, but I am working on it. My goal is to show how to edit each portion of the animation. Here's a preview:

Ooh, this could prove useful! Thanks!
Side question: will this method be equal or similar to a method to pull this off in Platinum?

I do have a fairly decent tutorial on DS music hacking that seems to have taken some nods from notable names around the scene, although I do really think it's due for a rewrite someday down the road as there's much more new and better tools out there that you can use. I'm hoping to over the coming months refine my technique for such and be able to re-make that tutorial some day as the previous one was, in my opinion, a little rushed.

Do you think you could link me to that? If you do end up remaking that eventually, please link me there as well. Thanks!~

 

[Hiro TDK]

Ooh, this could prove useful! Thanks!
Side question: will this method be equal or similar to a method to pull this off in Platinum?

I do not yet know. I could take a look though. I'd imagine they use the same setup. There's actually quite a bit of stuff left over from D/P/Pt in the HG/SS files. There are of course quirks. For example, there's a palette bug on the screen shown above. After my kids are in bed, I'll take a look and see what's up. It would be a lot easier if I could find a file system list like this.

 

[Salamence™]

Gen 4 isn't that hard to hack. HGSS is the best option imo. Since you can create more content in those game.
There is also a working Lua script in HGSS for X,Y,Z position when you want to insert scripts :)

 

[Hiro TDK]

Gen 4 isn't that hard to hack.

I would agree to an extent. Unlike the previous games though, Gen IV hasn't received a lot in the area of research and development. It's been nearly six years and only just recently has anyone put in the time to figure out how to expand the Pokedex. No one has really put in the research for things like new moves, new move animations. If I'm not mistaken though, MeroMero actually did end up adding new abilities, but I don't think they wrote a guide.

Actual detailed guides are few and far between. Like before, MeroMero figured out how to add Fairy-type to the game completely, including Fairy-type Arceus and Judgement, but didn't cover those last two in their guides.

The most important thing missing is mapping. Mapping is still pretty inaccessible, despite all of the tools being available. But unlike previous games, no one is jumping in to write new tools. Other than SDSME, the only other tool for mapping is simply one for exporting and viewing full-detail maps. The only people to really have this down are from the Spanish hacking forums, and the guides are incredibly outdated and lacking in detail, and for the most part, not in English. I've been hounding Mikelan98 to write a new guide, or to walk me through the minutia of importing maps to no avail. There are no guides on most of it though. Exporting and converting are covered in a few places, but importing, the actual editing, naming, buildings, terrain; none of that seems to be covered anywhere.

Other tools are basically non-existent too. There's nothing concrete for exporting and modifying the models in the game. There's one or two exporters and coverters, but none of them are 100% accurate.

There're only three tools for modifying texture files, which is how overworlds are stored. BTX editor has a 1-in-3 chance of failing miserably. MKDSCM imports single frames at time, but tries to overwrite the palette on each frame, and doesn't read the palette for pre-existing colors, making it practically useless for modifying overworld sprites. The other is Overworld Editor DS, but it requires manually painting each frame. This leaves mostly just CrystalTile2 for anything not covered by BTX Editor.

So, while Gen IV isn't very difficult, there's still a lot standing in the way of decent hacks.

 

[wundrweapon]

Gen 4 isn't that hard to hack. HGSS is the best option imo. Since you can create more content in those game.
There is also a working Lua script in HGSS for X,Y,Z position when you want to insert scripts :)

To a complete n00b like myself who refuses to do anything on the GBA, even just to grasp the basics, it's pretty dang difficult. I may or may not take your advice on that, it really depends on what Hiro TDK's HGSS opening guide turns out.

I would agree to an extent. Unlike the previous games though, Gen IV hasn't received a lot in the area of research and development. It's been nearly six years and only just recently has anyone put in the time to figure out how to expand the Pokedex. No one has really put in the research for things like new moves, new move animations. If I'm not mistaken though, MeroMero actually did end up adding new abilities, but I don't think they wrote a guide.

Actual detailed guides are few and far between. Like before, MeroMero figured out how to add Fairy-type to the game completely, including Fairy-type Arceus and Judgement, but didn't cover those last two in their guides.

The most important thing missing is mapping. Mapping is still pretty inaccessible, despite all of the tools being available. But unlike previous games, no one is jumping in to write new tools. Other than SDSME, the only other tool for mapping is simply one for exporting and viewing full-detail maps. The only people to really have this down are from the Spanish hacking forums, and the guides are incredibly outdated and lacking in detail, and for the most part, not in English. I've been hounding Mikelan98 to write a new guide, or to walk me through the minutia of importing maps to no avail. There are no guides on most of it though. Exporting and converting are covered in a few places, but importing, the actual editing, naming, buildings, terrain; none of that seems to be covered anywhere.

Other tools are basically non-existent too. There's nothing concrete for exporting and modifying the models in the game. There's one or two exporters and coverters, but none of them are 100% accurate.

There're only three tools for modifying texture files, which is how overworlds are stored. BTX editor has a 1-in-3 chance of failing miserably. MKDSCM imports single frames at time, but tries to overwrite the palette on each frame, and doesn't read the palette for pre-existing colors, making it practically useless for modifying overworld sprites. The other is Overworld Editor DS, but it requires manually painting each frame. This leaves mostly just CrystalTile2 for anything not covered by BTX Editor.

So, while Gen IV isn't very difficult, there's still a lot standing in the way of decent hacks.

This is where it gets hard for me - despite the complete knowledge scattered among the expert hackers, there's no good documentation and tools.
As for Mikelan98, I wish you luck - my goal is to come out with a bang using a super-nice hack with all sorts of stuff in it

Good luck again!

 

[Hiro TDK]

You know, for all my complaining, MikeLan98 just posted in Research & Development about those terrain files I mentioned. He says he finally cracked it.

 

[wundrweapon]

You know, for all my complaining, MikeLan98 just posted in Research & Development about those terrain files I mentioned. He says he finally cracked it.

oh wow! what does this all mean for gen IV hacking, tutorial creations, etc?

It would be a lot easier if I could find a file system list like this.

Although it's in Spanish, this may be of use