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-   -   Pokemon Stratos (New Hack with 15 Regions) (https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=391055)

PokeQuality April 8th, 2017 9:10 AM

Pokemon Stratos (New Hack with 15 Regions)
 
The following is an IDEALISTIC GOAL. If it cannot all fit into one game, I will work around it. Go into this read with the intent of support and productivity.

Introduction

Remember that feeling you had when you played G/S/C and reached the credits after beating Lance? Triumph, satisfaction... but also wondering what could be next. Then came your invitation to go to Kanto. Mind blown, a whole other region to explore after all of your travels in Johto. Looking back however, I think it's pretty safe to say that the journey there was rather uneventful and messy. Re-battling the gym leaders and seeing what became of Red and Blue was really cool, but outside of that what purpose did Kanto serve? Maybe you don't feel this way, but I do. As we get older and new games come out, our expectations for content increase and Game Freak tends to deliver (even if it means a Battle Maison here and there).

In 2017, we have a wide selection of fan made games inspired by all of the beautiful work Game Freak has done over the years. A glaringly obvious trend among these games is that they're mainly in Gen 3 or made on RPG Maker. While I don't take up issue with this, I strive to build something based in Gen 5. As far as I'm aware, the only notable Gen 5 rom hacks are basically BW/B2W2 with increased difficulty and more pokemon available. I've enjoyed these, but I really am curious as to what other regions could look like with seasonal changes to boot.

The Concept

A few years have passed since the events of B2W2, and as such the world has changed with time. The spotlight first shines on the Orre region, which has been peaceful ever since the falling of Cipher. Mayor Trest of Phenac City contacted Gym Leader Wattson to lead a massive redesign of the region, resulting in a population increase of both humans and pokemon alike. What was once majorly a barren wasteland has benefited from environmentalists moving over from the Hoenn region and planting many trees and contributing to the ecosystem. With the help of Justy, an official Pokemon League has been established and he is its overseer.

You are a student on the verge of graduating the Phenac City Trainer School, where Justy teaches you and your classmates. Since Justy doubles as the strongest Gym Leader in Orre, you've grown up inspired to be a great trainer and have witnessed countless amazing battles. Each graduates' present is a starter pokemon, and after the final ceremony you're allowed to go out and explore all of the new areas in Orre (notably the northern region above Mt. Battle).

Once you've gathered all 8 Gym Badges, you gain permission to attend the Pilica Conference - a tournament with all of the other trainers who completed their gym challenge. The winner is granted permission to challenge the Elite 4 and Champion. However, when you win you will notice that you are ill prepared to take them on... so you must keep training! But where to go from here?

Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova - Each of these regions will be accessible to take on the Gyms and Elite Four. Over the years, new areas have been built and the roles of familiar characters have changed. You may think you know these regions well, but this hack will give you a lot more to explore.

Fiore, Almia, Oblivia - The Pokemon Ranger regions have met with an increase of pokemon trainers, and battling has popularized here to the extent of them having Pokemon Leagues too! A lot will be added/changed to these regions to better suit a pokemon trainer's journey.

Holon, Skyridge, Aquapolis - These were all locations in the TCG, and Holon in particular has a lot of really interesting lore to look into. While these places don't really have official maps, I've created concept designs based on the cards depicting locations and residents.

Ferrum - Pokken's story and battle stages definitely have enough of an established basis to make a region out of. The concepts shown in the game could definitely make for an interesting plot.

Decolore Islands - While a very short arc in the BW anime, it's still enough to warrant a fun island chain to explore.

Orange Archipelago - I'm far from the first person to want to include this in a rom hack, but with all of the extra-region inclusion, it would be odd to not add in this.


On your journey, you will encounter many familiar faces from all sects on the pokemon universe - many friend, many foe. A big goal of mine is to keep it interesting the whole way through.

Also, I don't have Kalos or Alola planned mainly because of alternate timeline issues and the lack of sprites in B2W2 for Gen 6/7 pokemon

Features

After scouring forums, I believe I've compiled a decent collection of editing tools. Now... a ton of trial and error as I learn to use them. This project is massive, especially since my knowledge on hacking minimal. But I don't care how long it takes to make this as long as the outcome is genuinely enjoyable. Below is the list of things to expect from the game.

- Every region will be large, beautiful and interesting.

- Lots of team options, and an easy ability to change members throughout the game.

- Difficult battles

- Many big subplots all supporting one storyline

(This section will grow as time goes on and I get more ideas).




Potential Features

There are lots of features and pokemon added since Gen 5, but that's not really a focus of mine as of now. If at some point people want sprites for Gen 6/7 to be in this game and people start making them of their own volition, I'd absolutely add them in along with Fairy Typing. I imagine Terrain and Mega Evolution would be difficult to add, but if there's enough support I say let's go for it.


Discussion!

Below, I'd love people to share things they've wanted to see in a hack, or some concept in the pokemon universe they've wanted explored but hasn't been covered as much in the main series. This can include Spin Off games, Anime, Manga, and even the TCG. I want to gauge what people are most curious about in PokeLore. Also, if someone else voices a sentiment you agree with, feel free to say you feel the same or similar.

*Edit* Don't bother commenting your doubts about the project unless it highlights a specific technical issue (like space on the ROM, for example) and how to deal with it. There are plenty of comments already about this being impossible, you're not contributing anything to the conversation by repeating this.

Christos April 8th, 2017 11:22 AM

This sounds way too ambitious, especially since there's little documentation for hacking Generation 4 and up. And I'm not sure if there's actually a limit, but 15 region sounds like way too much data to fit into a NDS ROM. This would probably be achievable as a custom game using RPG Maker. But it's still a lot of work and would take a huge amount of time.

I do like the idea of regions like Ferrum and the Orange and Decolore Islands, as we don't get to explore them in any games. And revisiting regions from the Ranger games as a trainer also sounds great.

PokeQuality April 8th, 2017 11:37 AM

Lol I completely agree with you about it being overly ambitious, but I wanna take it as far as I can.

Dyskinesia April 8th, 2017 1:48 PM

15 regions isn't a good selling point if all of the regions are rushed and boring.

It can take a quality hack years to do even one region well. Dont aim to make a big game, aim to make a good one.

PokeQuality April 8th, 2017 3:55 PM

"Every region will be large, beautiful and interesting" implies that the regions will not be rushed and boring. This is not a quantity over quality thing.

Dyskinesia April 8th, 2017 4:01 PM

As I said, quality hacks can take years for a single well-done region. 15 of them obviously will take an incredibly longer amount of time.

PokeQuality April 8th, 2017 4:09 PM

I'm well aware, I'm expecting this to take 3 years minimum for even a hint of an alpha lol. I don't disagree with you.

Dyskinesia April 8th, 2017 4:32 PM

Where are you getting the 3 years figure?

PokeQuality April 8th, 2017 6:19 PM

Nowhere specific lol. I just have a vague understanding of how time consuming it is to use different editing tools from gen 3, so I'm doubling that time for gen 5 and adding a big fat minimum due to the amount of content planned.

Beyond the work involved, as of now the "impossible" part is even fitting this into one ROM as Christos pointed out. I may have to end up splitting it up into different games or something of that nature. But this thread is supposed to capture the ideal circumstances, then discuss how to practically go about accomplishing them.

Sakib66 April 15th, 2017 6:05 AM

I am thinking when this project will be canceled.

PokeQuality April 15th, 2017 5:22 PM

Christ, anyone got something POSITIVE to contribute?

Christos April 17th, 2017 2:51 PM

It's hard to comment on anything else when you're aiming for 15 regions! Is there anything in specific you need feedback on?

PokeQuality April 17th, 2017 4:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christos (Post 9621084)
It's hard to comment on anything else when you're aiming for 15 regions! Is there anything in specific you need feedback on?

Just some random examples of productive replies

- Recommended Programs
- Concept ideas
- Personal favorite features in a pokemon game
- Alternatives to things considered unrealistic

Christos, your comment was absolutely fine. I'm absolutely cool with criticism and concern, but I'm just surprised the only responses I'm getting are anticipation for my idea's downfall. The exact same post on projectpokemon didn't get as many views, but it was all constructive. I'm not dumb, I understand there are limitations and that gen 5 is greatly unexplored.

Example: There's SO MUCH in each of these regions! Characters, Locations, Changes from previous years, Plot, etc. After all, the actual content and adventure is what fills each region in the first place.

I have lots of programs and tutorials saved, I'm not going in completely blind. But is it hard to ask for real discourse instead of these comments?

KaratGaming April 17th, 2017 4:18 PM

Wow, 15 regions? That sounds amazing, I wonder how many Pokemon would be in that romhack.

PokeQuality April 17th, 2017 4:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeinadWorks (Post 9621150)
Wow, 15 regions? That sounds amazing, I wonder how many Pokemon would be in that romhack.

Currently everything gens 1-5 since there are no community-made fan sprites for gens 6 or 7 for BW/B2W2. It will be challenging deciding how to spread out pokemon since I don't want people's favorites to be available too late in the game.

Spedoinky April 17th, 2017 5:56 PM

I would like to see this happen, to be honest. It would be time-consuming to make and time-consuming to play, but seems interesting.

PokeQuality April 17th, 2017 7:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spedoinky (Post 9621262)
I would like to see this happen, to be honest. It would be time-consuming to make and time-consuming to play, but seems interesting.

I'll surely be doing my best to make the game feel like a fun ride, and less like a tedious amount of effort just to reach the credits

Sakib66 April 17th, 2017 7:41 PM

15 regions will be boring no matter how beautiful those regions are. People wouldn't like to
play that much big game. if you want to make multiple regions, I think 5 regions would be enough.
Plus, how many people you have got in your team for the project?

PokeQuality April 17th, 2017 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sakib66 (Post 9621317)
15 regions will be boring no matter how beautiful those regions are. People wouldn't like to
play that much big game. if you want to make multiple regions, I think 5 regions would be enough.
Plus, how many people you have got in your team for the project?

I mean, a lot of people are expressing interest in the idea. I think it's a matter of execution.

Currently it's just me. I'll get a team together once I'm more rehearsed in how to use these programs.

Go! Squirtle April 18th, 2017 12:39 AM

Wow! What a man you are. A rom hack with 15 regions will be great as like you. From now i am a supporter of this hack.

Adrevi April 18th, 2017 2:47 AM

Sorry, but realistically, this cannot possibly work out. There's a very good reason for why people are being pessimistic about this.

Do you have any idea of how much planning, effort and time has to go into ONE region? Even with something that small, people still have to spend years to make anything of note. Two regions doubles your workload, but at least it's doable. Same for three.

But fifteen? No. Just no.

And that's just the workload itself. There's a plethora of other stuff that'll be amplified fifteen times over if you go through with this.

Sakib66 April 18th, 2017 4:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adrevi (Post 9621513)
Sorry, but realistically, this cannot possibly work out. There's a very good reason for why people are being pessimistic about this.

Do you have any idea of how much planning, effort and time has to go into ONE region? Even with something that small, people still have to spend years to make anything of note. Two regions doubles your workload, but at least it's doable. Same for three.

But fifteen? No. Just no.

And that's just the workload itself. There's a plethora of other stuff that'll be amplified fifteen times over if you go through with this.

Agreed!

Mariow2 April 18th, 2017 9:31 AM

Wow! And I thought Pokemon Prism's goals would be impossible! especially on a Gameboy color!
Well that doesn't matter, If you need help, contact me and we can get things going! I have hardly any plans. I'm free

KaratGaming April 18th, 2017 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PokeQuality (Post 9621159)
Currently everything gens 1-5 since there are no community-made fan sprites for gens 6 or 7 for BW/B2W2. It will be challenging deciding how to spread out pokemon since I don't want people's favorites to be available too late in the game.

Interesting, sounds like a great method.

PokeQuality April 18th, 2017 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Go! Squirtle (Post 9621437)
Wow! What a man you are. A rom hack with 15 regions will be great as like you. From now i am a supporter of this hack.

Well thank you! =) much obliged.


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