Pokémon: Shadow of the Wastes

[Kaylee Krysteenah Fynch]

The game's not dead - just the thread. And when I'm the last to post, my updates automerge. :(

http://www.shadowofthewastes.webs.com
By Kaylee Krysteenah Fynch

Origin of the Game/etc.

I thought of the region of Alacci before I knew I would ever get the chance to make a real, working Pokémon game. Since then, my sister and I have roleplayed the region, and with some help from her, I've built up an extensive backstory.

The first way I heard of to make that region - and many of its special quirks - a reality was ROM hacking... and even at that, I didn't post here right away. But I realized something - just this once, I feel like I can finish a project. So I posted a thread in the scrapbox.

Then, after a little more time, I looked into RMXP. That's what I'll be using now, with the Pokémon Essentials starter kit. BUT! Don't leave yet! One of the things I find the most awesome about switching over is the art quality that is possible! That means I'm doing a huge graphical overhaul... which will take time, I will warn you, but my new graphics... well... they speak for themselves...

Note that not all of that is final, and some of the changes are already made.




What is it?

First and foremost, this is an exploration game; many events, if all works out as planned, will be dependant on other events, yet you will not be forced into doing what is required. The player will be able to access most towns before aquiring a single "badge".

Also, for the sake of logic as well as for the spirit of Alacci, some things will work differently. This includes the Gym system, the levels of Pokémon, and the mapping of routes, at the very least.

Also, I intend on making all current Pokémon available, as well as a few of my own. One reason I switched to RMXP was the ability to include more Pokémon alongside the official ones (because I hate replacing or leaving out Pokémon).



Alacci
the inspiration behind the game

Here, there is a quick briefing on the region that actually started the whole project.

Spoiler:

It started as simply a place for a "game" I thought of (which has on meaning now except as the origin of Alacci), but has since expanded into something much more than that.

Alacci, for reasons only speculated, is home to many hostile Pokémon; it is very much a case of man vs. nature. In fact, there is a particularly hostile kind of Pokémon called a Miraou, a dark/ghost cat, which will attack anyone it catches out after dark. Thankfully, they usually lose intrest once the prey is unconscious...

Due to this, very few people live outside of the towns and cities. Paths between them are kept clear for the citizen's safety, and rest houses are provided in case travellers are caught on the road near sunset.

Despite this, most Alaccians like to live in that region. Many are proud to, in fact - believing it makes them hardier and braver than people from other regions.

Competition
May the battle commence!

Read on to learn about competition, Gyms, and the Pokémon League in Alacci.

Spoiler:

This is it. The place you go when you know you're good. This is Alacci.

Trainers from all over come here, to this hostile region, to try their skills against the Alaccian League, whose 5 members were specially chosen for their skills. From Port City, they head west along a long road, until the reach the gates of Fight City...

Those entering Fight City are checked carefully by the gate guards; only those with Fight City ID cards, work passes (for deliveries and such), or eight Badges from one of the Regions may enter.

But local Trainers can't enter? No, that's not true...

In fact, there are things called Mini Gyms around the region, which give Pins to winning trainers. These Pins can be shown to the Fight City gate guards, and Alaccians often think of a Pin as being superior to a foreign Badge, though officially they are said to be the same value.

Inside are the Gyms (also known as the Great Gyms) encircling a tall, grand, building - which is a Pokécenter and a department store, all in one building. It is the centerpiece of Fight City, sometimes called the Grand Hall.

There are four gates in the walls around Fight City: North, East, South, and West. All of them see frequent traffic - except the North Gate. Past there are dead, poisoned lands, known by locals as "the Wastes", leading up to a tall, bleak mountain wreathed in poisonous mist and water: Poison Mountain. On top of that mountain is the Pokémon League of Alacci, said to have been built there when the mountain was beautiful and clean.

​

Training
Young trainer, there are tough challenges ahead...

Alacci is a harsh region! Knowing this, special rules and considerations were made for those from the region who aspire to become trainers.

Spoiler:

The first thing a new Trainer should know, is that as long as they stay on the road, they are safe. If a Trainer is on or within a yard or so (a square or two) from the road, only weaker Trainers may challenge them. Because the Pokémon in the grass will be at least level 25, this is a good way to protect them; stronger Trainers may go off the road and challenge each other.

Of course, those crazy enough to go even farther from the road, into caves and deep woods, for example, are even stronger; and you should be also, should you choose to venture there.

The other main thing for a rookie Trainer to keep in mind is ways for them to raise their Pokémon while it is young. Cities and towns are kept clear of strong Pokémon by special devices, so training in a city is always an option.

Also, there is a Training Center in one of the towns, which has robotic "Pokémon" called Pokebots built especially for training. They can teach your Pokémon to attack or defend better, to be faster, to endure more damage - or, drop all the strategy and simply train for levels, it's really up to you.

There is a daycare, too - but, it is on an island north of Port City, and therefore is only accessible by more experienced Trainers. Perhaps you will find someone else to watch them... but perhaps not.

Teams and Plot stuff
Did you say... is it... the STORY?


Well, not all the story. Here, I'll reveal the Legend of Alacci; thus revealing the new Legendaries to a certain degree. Also, I'll talk about Team Adauchi... a mysterious Team whose goal is revenge...

The Legend

Spoiler:

Once, long ago, two beings lived in harmony; a dragon of life, and a dragon of death. Because they were in balance, the region of Alacci was also in balance - things lived their appointed time, and then died; the Pokémon were much like those of other regions, with no huge gaps between battling levels; and the kitten Pokémon Purrdy never evolved unless it was in a Trainer's care.

Spoiler:

Then, a man came along to capture the Pokémon of death, seeking its power to cause chaos and destruction in return for something done to him; the exact event has been lost in the passing of time. Armed with a device made from a very rare Aprikorn, the man sought to capture the poisonous dragon, but his mate, the dragon of life, blocked the primitive Pokéball and was captured instead.

Furious, the dragon of death breathed a Dragonbreath attack at the man, and he was never seen again; but the dragon of life was still trapped within the Pokéball. Thinking his mate to be dead, he retreated into the beautiful caves in the north, and cried himself to sleep in the pit of the mountain.

About a week later, a Purrdy - who was walking by the place where the capture occurred - saw a glow coming from a black and purple sphere. Amused with the pretty colors, it pushed the ball around until it fell off a ledge onto a sharp rock and broke into bits, releasing the dragon of life from her captivity. Free once more, the dragon looked for her mate, but to no avail. Though she called his name, there was no response. Neither could she find the man who had captured her, to see if he had merely abandoned her and caught him afterward. Bitter and sad beyond all words, the dragon flew out to the beach, where she and her mate had spent many sunsets, and then swam across the water to a quiet island that she had always loved, and curled up in a shallow cave.

That was how the balance in Alacci was broken; and from these two points the essence of the dragons began to spread. The mountain to the north became poisoned and dangerous, and the beach to the east became tranquil and pure.

Feeling the upset balance in their land, Pokemon began quarreling, becoming much stronger. Purrdy, who evolve based on the feelings of those around them, began evolving without trainers; on the beach they evolved into Felite - their light form - and then into Anjat, but elsewhere they evolved into Shadine - a dark Pokemon - and then into Miraou.

Team Adauchi

Spoiler:

Cloaked in black. Faceless, genderless, bent on revenge. Who is a member? You never know... It could be him, or her, or your next door neighbor... It could be the Professor, a police officer, even a Team Rocket member... In fact, how can I tell that you aren't one of them?!?

Like spies, they infiltrate society, due to the secretive nature of their uniform, which they only wear for Team business. In fact, as far as anyone knows, only their head, the Shuhan, knows the identity of every member. The Shuhan, however, remains a figure of total mystery...

Their goal, however, is not a secret. The goal of Team Adauchi is nothing less than the complete eradication of Team Rocket. It is said that the Shuhan desires the final honor of tormenting Geovanni, should the Rocket Boss ever be captured by them, for some personal wrong that was done.

Adauchi will go to any lengths to bring down Team Rocket, which often means sabotaging Rocket missions, or stealing something that the Rockets are after merely fore the sake of keeping it away from the Rockets. Some people whisper that there are Adauchi spies in the Rocket ranks, others add that even Boss Rocket is watching his back.

So, the question is... if the bad guys face off, is that good for society? Or, will they just cause such turmoil that greater forces unfold...

The Main Character
If you've got to be somebody, be somebody special...

(These are old sprites, from the hack. I'll be redoing them, no worries.)


You're 18 years old, and you just moved to Forest Town with your pet Eevee. Your folks were Dragon trainers in Blackthorn, but that structured life was just not your style. Now you're on your own, in a big place your parents gave you for your birthday.

You have a strange dream the night after your move, about a woman in a lab coat, who talks about dark things, and seems to think she's seeing you in a vision. You wake up in bed in a strange room... until you get up, and remember where you are. On your first day in a new place, what will you do? It's really up to you. Exploring and stumbling onto strange happenings, can you find out what's going on in Alacci before it's too late? And when the pressure is on, will you rise to your destiny? Or fall in utter defeat...?


Progress?
is good. Except sometimes. I think.

This is where I say what I'm up to now, and, if I have an estimate as to how close I am to a goal of mine, I will put that here as well.

Spoiler:

Despite not having much knowledge of RGSS, I am thrilled to announce I have the battle half of the Poison Mist weather working! At least, as far as I can tell, after having tested it in game. I still need to figure out what to do about map functionality for it, however.

Also, some progress has been made with the female OW, though I'm now more bored with it than frustrated. Ugh. Still working on it off and on.

Screenies!
Because seeing is believing.

It's quiet, but people who read the thread seem to like the screenies.
These screenies are a little old, because I've been too lazy to revamp this post for a while,
but they will give you some idea of what to expect. Not all graphics are final.

Spoiler:

Team
-sort of-

Me: almost everything
Illuminknigt: some of the music

At the moment, I had to restart my team - because, of course, this is a game now. That said, I hope to do most of this myself, which will slow production but ensure the game develops the way I want it to.

I will accept other team members, though, under certain conditions:

Spoiler:

If I can do the thing in question, I reserve the right to use my own work should I deem that necessary. I can be picky, and sometimes it is just easier to do a thing yourself.

If you decide, for some reason, that you need to quit the team, any work you have already given me is free for me to use as long as I still credit you.

If you're still interested, you can send me a PM: please include what you're requesting to help with, and hopefully a proof of work.

If possible, some help with creating surf water that poisons your surfer would be appreciated. If not... Well, I got the battle part of the poison mist working, so maybe I'll be able to get that, too.

Support
Support is help, too!

So if you want to support me, here are some userbars and banners.
I don't know how to put in a working codebox, so you'll have to replace ( ) parenthesis with the square brackets to get it to work.

By me:

Spoiler:

(url=http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?p=4609673)(img)http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s247/ladykrysteenah/Pokemon/SotW_userbar2-1.gif(/img)(/url)

Spoiler:

(url=http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?p=4609673)(img)http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s247/ladykrysteenah/Pokemon/SotW_userbar1-1.gif(/img)(/url)

by Poke:

Spoiler:

(url=http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?p=4609673)(img)http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3587/3289284907_8aa24fb55e_o.jpg(/img)(/url)

In case you didn't know, previewing your signature will mess up any image links you have, and you will need to redo them if you redo your signature.
​

 

[DamianLeonhart]

Those are some good sprites. I suggest you jpeg them though, or they will end up in another fan game. I know they wont look as pretty, but most likely they wont be stolen either.

 

[Kaylee Krysteenah Fynch]

^^ Let 'em try it. They won't have the rest of the Pokémon, and they won't have the shinies of those, so it'll just look silly. If I introduce more, I'll jpeg 'em, though, how 'bout that?

I might not even post them here, though, might just go with screenshots from now on... when I get some, of course. I intend on not doing that until more of the graphics are updated.

 

[kevcrash]

O_o
I'm baaaaaack! Same story and everything still sounds just as cool. I hope to play it! MWaahaha

 

[Conan Edogawa]

I really like your ideas. And those sprites are great. I think you made the right choice in switching it to a game and not a hack.

 

[Kaylee Krysteenah Fynch]

Decided to reply after all since the thread is so young...

Honestly, it is nice to hear that you think I made the right decision. I thought so, too... it wasn't just a whim of mine where I thought "hey, how about I do this instead?" I mean, yes, I thought that... but, then I thought it through before making my decision.

Also... welcome back, WillBill? XD I hope to get you something you can play, definitely, but with all the graphical work I have to do, I'm not sure how long it will take, exactly... XD

 

[Yuoaman]

Seems like an interesting concept. Nice to see a thread in the Plots section so well thought out, and well structured. I wish you luck on this project, and if you need any advice or anything, you just have to ask.

 

[Kaylee Krysteenah Fynch]

Thank you. I want to stay right here until I feel my game is ready to move, the same way I was going to when I was going to make it a hack. It keeps pressure down, and allows me to release a quality product when I am ready.

^o^ By the way, everybody, I got the Light type in the game! And working! Now all I have to do is make my Light Pokémon and Light moves. (I already fixed the existing moves I felt should be Light type.) I'm so happy! If this was still a hack, I could never have done that on my own!

6(^o^)9 *does happy dance*

 

[PokemonLeagueChamp]

I'm afraid I have no idea how to play an RMXP or get player, so I may not see this in its completed form.
At any rate, I can't really keep tabs on this anyway. I'm starting work on music in my hack and I'll soon move to mapping. Let me know when a beta is out. Well, and where to get something to play it, too.....

 

[~Poke~]

I'm afraid I have no idea how to play an RMXP or get player, so I may not see this in its completed form.
At any rate, I can't really keep tabs on this anyway. I'm starting work on music in my hack and I'll soon move to mapping. Let me know when a beta is out. Well, and where to get something to play it, too.....

It's a .exe file I think.

 

[DamianLeonhart]

It's a .exe file I think.

You are correct all RMXP games once packed are .exe files which means no program is needed to run them.

 

[Yuoaman]

Ummm... Yes you do need something... You need the RTP (Run Time Package), or else no games, or even the program itself, will work.

 

[~JV~]

Yuoman it looks like you don't know how the rtp works... It's just a pack with the basic rmxp resources. Essentials is totally independant of the rtp. All you need is a dll called rgss102e.dll that normally comes in the demo folder so that anyone can play a rmxp game.

EDIT: Yes, it's needed to run the rmxp itself though.

 

[Kaylee Krysteenah Fynch]

Busy, busy, busy...
Busy, busy, busy...

Looks like none of the new comments are really for me... :P

If you want to know what I'm up to right now, I am currently drawing some of the new "fakemon"... :D

*goes back to working*

 

[PokemonLeagueChamp]

Well, we're all busy here. But I'd like to see some fakemon of yours. I may recruit you to help with some.
*goes back to Anvil Studio window*

 

[kevcrash]

How's the progress Kaylee? Got the light type up and running?

 

[DamianLeonhart]

Busy, busy, busy...
Busy, busy, busy...

Looks like none of the new comments are really for me... :P

If you want to know what I'm up to right now, I am currently drawing some of the new "fakemon"... :D

*goes back to working*

Sorry we kinda hijacked your thread there for a moment. I like the work that you have done with this. Everything seems very well thought out. With some screen shots this would be ready for the Showcase I am pretty sure. How is new work coming along?

 

[Kaylee Krysteenah Fynch]

Aww, thank you... o^-^o

Mmmnn... I was getting a little annoyed with some of the graphics...
I can say, however, that I have the heroine's backsprite all done and working.

My frustration was chiefly with some graphics for the intro, which, if I can get it working right, I think will be really cool... but I need a break from that, because it wasn't working well. XP

I was working on more of the graphics in the tileset instead. XP

You know that even if I get those screenies (I could, you know, from a playtest, but I want the graphics to be more ... uniform ... before I do) that I might not rush for the Showcase. I don't know, we'll see. I suppose if I get mobbed by people who want this in the Showcase, or think it should be or something, that I'd have to indulge them. XD

 

[kevcrash]

Yo! So I heard you have some screenies here! I want to see them! Btw, your Bulbasaur and Eevee sprite things are AMAZING! Again good luck

 

[Kaylee Krysteenah Fynch]

Hehe...
Anyways, yes! Screenies for all! Only three, but they were only meant as teasers of the as-of-yet unfinished graphics, as well as what I did with the TV...


Your room, which is spacious and comfy... (yes, the OWs I still need to do, I am dreading it... >.<)

And, you now have control over your TVs...

I didn't think it necessary to show you, but you can also turn the TV off again. If anybody really wants to see it, I can get screenies of it. The computer also lights up when you turn it on, but since I haven't fixed the graphics for the computer yet, I also didn't show that.

And if somebody wants a teaser of what you can do with the fridge, you need only ask... :D
...But no, it doesn't open, and at the moment I don't plan on trying to implement that. ^_~