I'm really loving this hack so far but I'm also feeling extremely frustrated by the total lack of guidance in some regards. I've played a lot of exploration heavy games but this one is honestly to the point of pissing me off despite all the other things I like about it.
Silversky Forest is especially confusing, I've gotten stuck a multitude of times on different things - what to do after the Rocket event, where to use Tizzle's Key (though I liked that one when I figured it out), how to get into Lola's gym, etc.
Now I can't for the life of me find Cut. And I know it's apparently a pretty obvious thing to find but I'm totally lost. I've done everything else in Silversky and I should be able to move onto the next town now but I'm an idiot and hints are doing nothing for me. I heard a "boy" mentioned who gives it to you but talking to everyone has done nothing for me. if somenoe could just PM me the answer I'd really appreciate it.
Now to the things I really like about this hack: the mapping is really really aesthetically great, and not just the tiles. I love how there's grass and trees and ponds all over, Taejo has a beautifully wild look to it and it's the kind of thing I eventually want to emulate in my fangame (I'm no hacker haha :P ) I also love the alternate passages and backdoors everywhere. Makes it really fun to just run around and take in the landscape.
I like a lot of the new moves and changes to old moves and movesets. Everything about Punk Buggy is perfect, the name, the usage (because bugs don't really have anything for the level 20~ range in the canon games), I want it it to be a real move so bad haha. Pounce is also nice and it was really cool to see my Poliwag learn Wish at level 10.
A couple concrete suggestions: to make the more directionless segments a bit less frustrating for the average player, it might be better to show the results of the player's actions through an event so we can see what has changed. For example, show Lola or one of her friends returning to her gym, or show their suitcases from their vacation outside of the gym or something. Sometimes just a hint of what the previous event caused would be enough.
Also making tiles that you're required to use an item on look or act just a teeeeny bit different - like how in LoZ bombable walls would make a different sound with your sword when you hit them. Maybe, for example, they could have a very subtle animation relevant to what you';re supposed to do to them. Like the wall at the very beginning of the game you need to use the Scripture on could have a subtle rectangular indentation to place the scripture in. (Also, pertaining to the scripture, you don't really put paper on walls randomly? maybe make it more obvious it's a stone tile or something.)
Also I think making time based events something necessary to proceed is an interesting idea but also kind of cheap. Making players wait until a certain time for an event that's barely even hinted at as being necessary to continue with the main story trips a lot of people up, as they could be playing at another time and go through everything and see no way to proceed and to paraphrase "how not to write a novel", if someone has to decide whether they're stupid or your hack is stupid, they know what they're going to pick, because they're sure not stupid.
Some of the areas are really barren in wild Pokemon variety during certain times of day (first route during daytime, silversky at night with no weather.) I'd suggest maybe adding a couple more or evening out the rarities. I'd really love to do a Nuzlocke LP of this someday and I feel like my team options might be too slim for it at the moment.
And this is really minor and it might just be me - but the little rock shapes on the ground you can step over... They look like something you shouldn't be able to step over, I think it's the outlines honestly. I know they're passable terrain but I keep getting confused and thinking they aren't. The green mounds, by contrast. DON'T look like obstacles but are - maybe it's too much Dragon Warrior Monsters (they look similar to the hill tiles in that game which are passable...) I'd suggest removing or lightening the outlines on the rocks and adding in outlines on the green circle thingies (I'm not sure what they're supposed to be. If they're bushes the tiles could use a revamp.
I'm a pixelartist, I'd be happy to make some small tweaks to stuff if that interests you at all. Maybe make the G-Pokemon more than recolors. Hit me up if you think you could use some help on the graphics front.
EDIT:
Quick update, found the Cut guy. I think it's a bit confusing to have him be a while away (in fact a tunnel away) before you need Cut, and THEN to have the trees in Silversky only the slash lady can chop down look exactly like your typical Cut trees, which seems to imply that you shouldn't have Cut before that point at all...
Easy fix would be to reposition him somewhere in Silversky. There sure are enough trees the poor dude can't cut in that forest haha.
