[Other] Hello, I have some questions and would like some advice (general Emerald ROM hacking)

Hi, I am starting a large project, and I am happy to read and research a lot to learn things, but I would like some general advice to save me some trial-and-error. Or really any information people may think would be useful, had someone told it to you when you started.

Firstly, I have expanded the Emerald ROM which I intend to use, with the expand ROM function in XSE. Now, I am under the impression I can just use all that free space it added for all the extra things I want to add into the game. Is there anything about this expansion process I may have missed? Anything I should be aware of to avoid problems? I make lots of backups, but I want to make sure all the time I spend on this will not be wasted by errors I could have avoided at these early stages. There is nothing about having the ROM size expanded which could harm playability of the ROM?

Is it okay to just create new maps and insert them into the free space, and create new events, essentially just creating my own game in this new free space? The only stuff I really want to use from the Emerald game is the pokédex and battle system, the menu, etc. So would it be fine to delete or overwrite the old maps too? (Basically, I want to make a big game with several regions).

Next, is there a good resource for seeing where all the scripts are, and what they do? Other than me just spending lots of time looking through maps in AdvanceMap to find offsets of scripts. Is there a better way for me to find scripts, and study them, to understand more about making my own? Or to put it another way, a list of scripts that exist in the game and where they are located?

I have a lot of questions about things, but I think I am getting the hang of many of the things I need to learn like inserting new sprites and palettes to use. If there is any other good information you think would be useful, I would appreciate it.

My advice:

1. Do a small project, no multiple regions

2. Don't delete maps, create new ones on existing maps. Deleting maps causes errors

3. Read Diego's scripting tutorial

4. Forget about sprites, tiles, music, ASM etc. Just focus on MAPPING & SCRIPTING

Panamanian said:

My advice:

1. Do a small project, no multiple regions

2. Don't delete maps, create new ones on existing maps. Deleting maps causes errors

3. Read Diego's scripting tutorial

4. Forget about sprites, tiles, music, ASM etc. Just focus on MAPPING & SCRIPTING

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, to clarify, I've read a lot of the tutorials and practiced a little, and think I can work out most simple scripting and mapping. I've already made a few map hacks when I was younger, I'm good at mapping from using RPGmaker so much as a kid. I'm still practicing in a test ROM though to make more complex scripts using variables and stuff to make more interaction between events and using them as triggers for other events etc.

I agree with focusing on mapping and scripting though, I mean the way I figure it, I can just add tiles and stuff later once my islands are all laid out. And music to me is really a non-issue until the game is finished. I have to change a lot of sprites though because I want most of the trainers and characters to all be original, I'm already able to do that anyway.

From your post, I think what I will do is hold back on the design of most of the game for now, and just keep making practice maps in another ROM to get better at creating interesting events and scripts.

Thanks for the advice!

dot hash said:

Thanks for the reply, to clarify, I've read a lot of the tutorials and practiced a little, and think I can work out most simple scripting and mapping. I've already made a few map hacks when I was younger, I'm good at mapping from using RPGmaker so much as a kid. I'm still practicing in a test ROM though to make more complex scripts using variables and stuff to make more interaction between events and using them as triggers for other events etc.

I agree with focusing on mapping and scripting though, I mean the way I figure it, I can just add tiles and stuff later once my islands are all laid out. And music to me is really a non-issue until the game is finished. I have to change a lot of sprites though because I want most of the trainers and characters to all be original, I'm already able to do that anyway.

From your post, I think what I will do is hold back on the design of most of the game for now, and just keep making practice maps in another ROM to get better at creating interesting events and scripts.

Thanks for the advice!

Click to expand...

You're welcome bro.

Deviantart is a great place for inspiration for good maps if you ever get stuck. J use it a lot for my maps.

I'm kinda interested in what idea you have for games. Do you have any plot in mind for a game if you were making one today?

I hope your future project is successful btw

Panamanian said:

I'm kinda interested in what idea you have for games. Do you have any plot in mind for a game if you were making one today?

Click to expand...

Well, without giving too much away, the main story is going to be that you start out as a research assistant to one of the Prof. in the region. They send you to a couple of caves and forests to catch certain Pokémon or investigate some weird occurrences similar to the red Gyarados in Silver and Gold.
As it goes on it will reveal that Team Rocket have come to the region, and are using some weird ancient technology from hidden temples around the region to try and cause a new type of evolution in some Pokémon. So you'll have to go to each temple, beat a bunch of Rocket goons, and restore each temple. Eventually going to a huge ship that is Rocket's secret base. (originally I wanted the ship to fly to space lol and go fight some moon pokémon in space, but that seems too silly.)
It'll have gyms and a league too, but they're going to be partly post-game. I know that sounds weird lol.
The main focus of the game is going to be a lot of big and detailed maps, with lots of secrets and a large pokédex you can complete. After the main story, going around beating the last few gyms that were not in the story, beating the league, then visiting a few islands with legendaries and other cool stuff on them.





My main issue right now, is trying to work out how to make more map names available in the game. I feel like I will not have enough map names for all the crazy dungeons and islands I want to add. Unless someone has worked out a clever alternative system of naming maps, but I haven't found the answer yet.

dot hash said:

Well, without giving too much away, the main story is going to be that you start out as a research assistant to one of the Prof. in the region. They send you to a couple of caves and forests to catch certain Pokémon or investigate some weird occurrences similar to the red Gyarados in Silver and Gold.
As it goes on it will reveal that Team Rocket have come to the region, and are using some weird ancient technology from hidden temples around the region to try and cause a new type of evolution in some Pokémon. So you'll have to go to each temple, beat a bunch of Rocket goons, and restore each temple. Eventually going to a huge ship that is Rocket's secret base. (originally I wanted the ship to fly to space lol and go fight some moon pokémon in space, but that seems too silly.)
It'll have gyms and a league too, but they're going to be partly post-game. I know that sounds weird lol.
The main focus of the game is going to be a lot of big and detailed maps, with lots of secrets and a large pokédex you can complete. After the main story, going around beating the last few gyms that were not in the story, beating the league, then visiting a few islands with legendaries and other cool stuff on them.





My main issue right now, is trying to work out how to make more map names available in the game. I feel like I will not have enough map names for all the crazy dungeons and islands I want to add. Unless someone has worked out a clever alternative system of naming maps, but I haven't found the answer yet.

Click to expand...

I really like that story. I feel it has a lot of potential, because it reminds me of the ancient weapons in an anime called One Piece (Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus).

Each area that has the ancient weapon could have it's own backstory and unique city that hosts the weapon.

I think you have enough names for maps, because you can rename all the default maps, and theres alot of them.

Good luck with the game man. Keep us updated

Panamanian said:

I really like that story. I feel it has a lot of potential, because it reminds me of the ancient weapons in an anime called One Piece (Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus).

Each area that has the ancient weapon could have it's own backstory and unique city that hosts the weapon.

I think you have enough names for maps, because you can rename all the default maps, and theres alot of them.

Good luck with the game man. Keep us updated

Click to expand...

Thanks for the support, after a few days of working on it, I think I have a good handle on the skills I need to create the basic framework of the game and most of the resources. I can get better with more complex changes as I go (ideally I want to eventually add my own mini-games similar to game corner or surfing pikachu). I think though it's going to take several months or more lol.
I've made a lot of the maps and events for the early phases of the game, it plays okay but it's a little 'generic' as it plays a lot like any hack does at first. I need to use more custom resources like new tiles to make it fresh. I have a bunch of questions each day but most of them I can find answers to with a bit of searching.
I think in a month or two I will make a new thread with more info about the game, hoping for feedback and suggestions on the progression and layout of the story path and dialogue, and help with writing more complex processes. I am open to a lot of conceptual help but I am adamant that I want to keep control of the project myself and maintain my own direction with how it is created, so it's tough for me to ask for example for someone else to make sprites for me.
I'm glad I got a response from you, I'm hoping this community can help me through the process as I try and make this one of the best hacks recently developed. Stay tuned for a big release update in the next couple months!