Crystal hack: Pokémon Polished Crystal (update 2.2.0)

[sonic65101]

Does Mother 3 let you play the music even if it's not unlocked? That I could do, and just hide the title. Skipping it entirely would involve rewriting the player.

Voltorb Flip can wait until 3.1. As for Pokéradar, where did you get that idea? I don't plan to add it and don't see it in Crystal Complete. How would it even work without the DS's dual screens?

If you're going to use the Voltorb Flip code from Twitch Plays Pokémon Crystal Anniversary, there's a graphical glitch that occurs when successfully completing a level.

 

[WorldsBoss]

Does Mother 3 let you play the music even if it's not unlocked? That I could do, and just hide the title. Skipping it entirely would involve rewriting the player.

Voltorb Flip can wait until 3.1. As for Pokéradar, where did you get that idea? I don't plan to add it and don't see it in Crystal Complete. How would it even work without the DS's dual screens?

You're correct. Mother 3 lets you play all the music from the very beginning of the game, but doesn't show you what it's called until you get to the point in the game where the music is used. Until then, the song's description is represented by three question marks. So yes, if you could temporarily hide the titles as you suggest then that would be perfect :)

The creator mentions the Pokéradar here in a list of possible features (with a question mark after it, suggesting that it's a distant idea rather than an immediate reality). I can respect the decision not to add it, but it didn't really need the DS's two screens. The only thing the bottom screen was used for while chaining was knowing when you got to 40, but that could be replicated by pressing Start and having the number in the top left corner (like how the Safari Zone in the early games shows how many steps you have left).

 

[Rangi]

The music player interface is now cleaner, and the info overlaid on the piano roll can be disabled entirely.

WorldsBoss, I like the idea of hiding the titles, but it isn't working yet. In the meantime, at least they have the original titles (e.g. "X/Y Rival Battle", not "Spoilers You Fight Lyra").

 

[WorldsBoss]

I like the idea of hiding the titles, but it isn't working yet. In the meantime, at least they have the original titles (e.g. "X/Y Rival Battle", not "Spoilers You Fight Lyra").

Nice one! I'm glad you like the idea :) Thanks again for all your hard work on this!

 

[abradolf]

Hey Rangi,

Glad to know you took in some of my suggestions. I just noticed that the description for Toxic Spikes states that mons that switch out get poisoned when, in fact, it's the ones that switch in that do. Speaking of the move, will it (and Spikes) have the layer(s) mechanic they do in newer gens?

A couple more questions/suggestions:
1. Now that Roost is available to many (if not all) Flying mons would you also consider swapping Sky Attack for Brave Bird? Those two moves go really well together. Btw, Dragonite should have Roost in its moveset rather than Recover; and Roost's effect is, as of right now, listed as Normal Hit rather than Effect Heal or its own effect. I know you just started implementing the new moves but I thought I'd let you know in case it was an oversight.

2. A long time ago you said you said you wouldn't add Aura Sphere as Focus Blast filled the same role. What made you change your mind? Those two moves are "relegated" to play as coverage since there are no special Fighting type attackers. Since all Aura Sphere users in this meta can learn Focus Blast would you swap it for something else?

3. Scratch and Tackle are both physical, Normal type attacks with the same base power that have no additional effect; woukd this similitude make the former replaceable by the latter? If I recall correctly this was the very same reason Pound got discarded, but I'd understand if you decided to keep it (akin to the the Fury Attack/Fury Swipes scenario a while ago).

4. Is the increased chance for critical hits mechanic implemented at all (Karate Chop, Stone Edge, et al)?

5. Egg Bomb is another move that is unusable by the two lines that learn it: Exeggutor is a special attacker in PC and Chansey/Blissey just don't deal direct damage.

6. Is it possible to have wild mons' color variation restricted to a certain range for specific areas? It would be interesting to see, for example, blue-ish Geodude(s) in Ice Path/Seafoam Islands that know Ice Punch or red-ish Graveler(s) that know Flare Blitz.

7. I'm not entirely sure about the usefulness of Twister... I mean; I know about the additional effect but the move is so weak (even when it comes early in the game: Pidgey/Pidgeotto, Onix, Gyarados and Dratini are all physical attackers) even with STAB from special attackers (who all come late into the game, the earliest being Horsea/Seadra who learn Outrage at level 31 anyway)... And it's not even good for coverage since the level 10 tier at the Battle Tower is gone...

If you decide to swap some of the moves and you're not particularly keen on any of the remaining ones from my previous list here are some more:
a. Aqua Jet (physical Water type attackers need some love)
b. Brine (debatable as Water type special sweepers are powerful enough already)
c. Worry Seed/Gastro Acid (limited spread but massively increases the usefulness of the mons that get them, plus they also make interactions with abilities more interesting)
d. Venoshock (would harmonize extremely well with Toxic Spikes plus it makes Poison types more useful)

 

[Rangi]

Hey Rangi,

(snip)

Thanks again! This is the kind of close look at the game's overall move potential that I am frankly not up for. I'm more open to replacing Gen 1–2 moves with better ones now than back in 2.2.0, since abilities have made the game so much more like a later-gen one anyway.

1. I'll probably replace Sky Attack with Brave Bird. Sky Attack's animation is too good to give up, but it works just as well for Brave Bird. (And I fixed those move effects.)

2. Aura Sphere is available for Blastoise, Togekiss, Mewtwo, Mew, Remoraid/Octillery, and Raikou. It's an improvement on Focus Blast that legendaries deserve, and it sets apart the few non-legends that get it.

3. Scratch and Tackle, like Fury Attack and Fury Swipes, are too different flavor-wise. I've already merged Spider Web and Mean Look, Detect and Protect, Mind Reader and Lock-On, Pound and Tackle, etc; too many mergers and all early Pokémon will feel the same move-wise.

4. Yes, critical hit moves were already in GSC.

5. If there were only one egg-based Pokémon I might remove Egg Bomb, but with two it's a neat move for flavor. At least it's not a TM. ;)

6. Color variation is based on DVs, so no.

7. Twister is learned by a lot of Pokémon, and it's the only low-tier Dragon-type move.

Here's a spreadsheet of the current move pool by type and damage, with special moves in italics and plain-damaging moves in gray:

Spoiler:

Judging by that, Aqua Jet does look useful. I also really like the idea of an ability-suppressing move; not sure whether Gastro Acid or Worry Seed would be superior. (FWIW, I can more sensibly give Gastro Acid to Worry Seed users like Venusaur and Exeggutor than vice-versa.) The question is what to eliminate. Will think about it.

Edit: Okay, so current the current plan is to replace {Sky Attack, Twister, Egg Bomb, Haze, Morning Sun, Moonlight} with {Brave Bird, Aqua Jet, Skill Swap, Knock Off, Amnesia, Healing Light}. ("Healing Light" is a made-up name that combines Synthesis, Morning Sun, and Moonlight; I could try and give it a different animation for each user.)

 

[WorldsBoss]

While we're on the topic of move changes (and since Roost is now in the game), Mantine learns Roost as of gen 7, but has never been able to learn Recover. In my opinion, Recover should be replaced for Roost in its learnset.

 

[Fipliptoon99]

While we're on the topic of move changes (and since Roost is now in the game), Mantine learns Roost as of gen 7, but has never been able to learn Recover. In my opinion, Recover should be replaced for Roost in its learnset.

I think this too since Roost is a great move for Flying types, Specially in Mantine's movesets because it'll take the x4 weakness to electric and just transform it in a x2 weakness.

 

[DarioEMeloD]

Thanks a lot for adding the music player, but I'd like to suggest you change the duty cycle "pie charts" with something more appropriate and intuitive.

It also makes more sense next to the wave channel waveforms.

 

[abradolf]

No worries, glad I can contribute a little.

2. Aura Sphere is available for Blastoise, Togekiss, Mewtwo, Mew, Remoraid/Octillery, and Raikou. It's an improvement on Focus Blast that legendaries deserve, and it sets apart the few non-legends that get it.

3. Scratch and Tackle, like Fury Attack and Fury Swipes, are too different flavor-wise. I've already merged Spider Web and Mean Look, Detect and Protect, Mind Reader and Lock-On, Pound and Tackle, etc; too many mergers and all early Pokémon will feel the same move-wise.

Fair enough; I guess this is just me being more pragmatic when it comes to moves' stats and roles. Consider that if you were to merge Scratch with Tackle (which is a pretty broad term anyway) and Fury Attack with Fury Swipes (Fury Strikes?) you'd be able to implement two moves which can make up for the early uniformity and increase moveset alternatives.

5. If there were only one egg-based Pokémon I might remove Egg Bomb, but with two it's a neat move for flavor. At least it's not a TM. ;)

Yep, but flavor is only, um, flavorsome if it also serves a purpose. Crabhammer and, to a certain extent, Octazooka are good examples of this.

6. Color variation is based on DVs, so no.

Lame. :( I guess that you *could* give mons special "forms" (actually just a different base colors) if they have a wild-exclusive move, but I understand if it's too much work/there isn't enough space to implement.

I also really like the idea of an ability-suppressing move; not sure whether Gastro Acid or Worry Seed would be superior. (FWIW, I can more sensibly give Gastro Acid to Worry Seed users like Venusaur and Exeggutor than vice-versa.) The question is what to eliminate. Will think about it.

I guess it depends mostly on what typing you want to buff: Worry Seed would most likely be exclusive to Grass or Bug types. while Gastro Acid *could* be given to a few non-Poison mons.

Edit: Okay, so current the current plan is to replace {Sky Attack, Twister, Egg Bomb, Haze, Morning Sun, Moonlight} with {Brave Bird, Aqua Jet, Skill Swap, Knock Off, Amnesia, Healing Light}. ("Healing Light" is a made-up name that combines Synthesis, Morning Sun, and Moonlight; I could try and give it a different animation for each user.)

Sounds good. My two cents on two of the moves you suggested:
1. Knock Off is *too* meta defining IMO, kind of like Stealth Rock.
2. How would "Healing Light" work when the amount of HP MS/ML heal depends so much on the weather?

P.S.: Butterfree learns Morning Sun twice.

 

[Rangi]

Sounds good. My two cents on two of the moves you suggested:
1. Knock Off is *too* meta defining IMO, kind of like Stealth Rock.
2. How would "Healing Light" work when the amount of HP MS/ML heal depends so much on the weather?

P.S.: Butterfree learns Morning Sun twice.

Fair point about Knock Off. Can I get some second opinions from competitive battlers? I think it's useful for the same reason as Skill Swap: I've added lots of new held items and abilities, so it's nice to have moves that interact with those.

Synthesis, Morning Sun, and Moonlight have exactly the same mechanics in Gen 7 except for their type and animation. I can customize the animation of Healing Light so it's like Synthesis for Grass types (except Oddish), otherwise like Moonlight at night (and for Oddish), otherwise like Morning Sun.

 

[abradolf]

Fair point about Knock Off. Can I get some second opinions from competitive battlers? I think it's useful for the same reason as Skill Swap: I've added lots of new held items and abilities, so it's nice to have moves that interact with those.

Actually I just did some proper research and found out that Knock Off's power is increased by 50% (rather than doubled) if the target's holding an item. Whoops. My issue against it was all Ghosts and Psychics in PC (other than Mismagius and maybe Hypno) are OHKO'd by a(n incorrect) 130 base power, without accounting for STAB and weaknesses. Even now that I stand corrected I still have mixed feelings about it since it can be taught to so many mons...
If you're keen on Skill Swap then you might want to consider Trick (or Switcheroo) as it'll have the same level of interaction.

Synthesis, Morning Sun, and Moonlight have exactly the same mechanics in Gen 7 except for their type and animation. I can customize the animation of Healing Light so it's like Synthesis for Grass types (except Oddish), otherwise like Moonlight at night (and for Oddish), otherwise like Morning Sun.

Yeah, just properly read about Moonlight and you're absolutely right. It's kind of funny that MOONlight restores more HP during harsh SUN. :P

 

[Rangi]

If you're keen on Skill Swap then you might want to consider Trick (or Switcheroo) as it'll have the same level of interaction.

Good idea, I'll think about it.

Yeah, just properly read about Moonlight and you're absolutely right. It's kind of funny that MOONlight restores more HP during harsh SUN. :P

Its original name is just にほんばれ or 日本晴れ, "Clear Sky".

 

[Rangi]

Thanks a lot for adding the music player, but I'd like to suggest you change the duty cycle "pie charts" with something more appropriate and intuitive.

It also makes more sense next to the wave channel waveforms.

You're right, square waves make much more sense. Here's the latest UI:

Something else new: pitch and tempo editing. That song is playing at a higher pitch and faster tempo (nightcore mode!). If you exit the music player, those edits will still apply while playing the game, although they won't be saved.

The UI is complex enough now (though not complicated, I hope) that I'll be writing documentation for it when 3.0 is released. (Which keeps getting delayed, but hey, a week ago I did not expect to have a music player at all.)

 

[Ziko577]

I'm glad that you're inserting a sound test. I can use it to rip the new tracks with VBA-M and listen to them myself. With your permission, can I upload them somewhere else Rangi?

 

[Rangi]

I'm glad that you're inserting a sound test. I can use it to rip the new tracks with VBA-M and listen to them myself. With your permission, can I upload them somewhere else Rangi?

You'll want to ask the original artists—Mmmmmm, FroggestSpirit, Pum, and others—but since they've made their music open-source I'm sure you can use it as long as you give credit.

 

[DarioEMeloD]

I would prefer a GBS rip to be honest, Froggest did it for his tracks at least.

 

[Ruvaldak]

Ok so weird bug on latest compile - just listen to "Lyra departs" (song 9) and tell me if that's the intentional sound..

For me it's a high pitched screeching noise with no hint of music...

 

[lisl]

I know they are completely different games, but is it possible to break the Pokedex limit like it was done for Fire Red (Nameless Fire Red) and Emerald (Theta Emerald EX)?

 

[Cestero]

Hello! First of all, I apologize for my English because I am Italian.
I would like to congratulate the work done so far and for the beautiful hack. I would try the hack for the first time when version 3.0 is released, so I do not know if the suggestions I'm going to give will already be taken into consideration or useful.
1. You can make a pokemon id free by joining Nidoran m and Nidoran f in an id and differentiating sprite like unown and color variation by sex and differentiating gender-based evolution.
2. For the color variation of Starmie, I thought that the color of the nucleus could be changed as it is said in pokédex (Its 7 colors in the rainbow shine on the rainbow. Some consider it a precious stone.)
For Ho-oh it's the same thing but with the wings feathers (Tell the legend that this POKéMON tirelessly overtakes the world with gorgeous wings of seven colors.)