SoulSilver hack: Project Asteroid: SS balance/challenge hack WIP

Hey all, I've been lurking the forums for a while, but figured now was the time to finally make some posts.

For the past few months, some friends and I have been fooling around in a custom Showdown server trying to balance currently crap Pokemon up to current-gen Smogon UU powerlevel. While that's good fun in theory, it's pretty much impossible to properly test all of the Pokemon we want to improve with just a few people, so in the interest of putting our efforts to good use, I decided to make a quickie ROMhack so we could get community input and maybe eventually more population for the server.
We collectively decided that SoulSilver was the way to go, despite the relative lack of modding tools, because we weren't intending to make major changes to maps or story and SoulSilver has better QoL features and a more interesting story as a base game.

I've made a good amount of progress so far on features, but I have a few more things I want to get done before I make an initial release, and I want to get some community input on priorities, because this project is all about getting user input from beginning to end.

Implemented features:
- Added Fairy-type, changed type relations to nerf Steel and Fairy and buff Ice, Grass, Poison, and Bug.
- Changed stats, typing, or movepool for most of the Pokemon across Gens.
- Changed wild Pokemon on every route in Johto to include many previously-unavailable Gen 3 and 4 -Pokemon from the beginning of the game.
- Changed Trainer Pokemon to feature new wild Pokemon.
- Adjusted level curve up in wild Johto encounters and all trainer fights to fix the classic Gen 2/4 problem of stagnant Gym Leader levels.
- New leader and Elite 4 teams to increase variety and challenge
- Completely revamped Rocket Exec teams
- Made every final evolution featured in a meaningful trainer fight- either Match Call, Gym Leader rebattle, E4 teams, Rival fights, or Team Rocket Execs.
- Substantially sped up overworld frame rate (thanks MeroMero!)

To-Do:
- Change stats, typing, or movepool for under-loved Gen 3 & 4 Pokes.
- Add refights for Rocket Execs - either creating a subplot for them in Kanto or making static locations for rebattles in the Frontier (one other consideration is replacing the Frontier Brains with the Rocket Executives).
- Adjust Kanto wild encounters
- Adjust Battle Frontier movesets to account for move, movepool, and type changes
- Add fairy moves, likely in place of low-visibility and low-viability moves like Rolling Kick
- Add competitively-important moves from gen 5+, such as Coil, Hurricane, and Boomburst
- Change TMs, both the moves they teach and how they work (i.e. either make them all purchasable at some point or change to the modern re-usable system).

Continuous:
- Ensure every Pokemon is play-through viable.
- Make the Battle Frontier challenging and interesting while allowing for more variety in strategies.
- Playtest trainer changes and level curve to ensure everything works as it should


What I want from you:

-If you have the time, play the game! The more eyes I have on the work that's been done, the better. Post about what you liked or didn't like, let me know what team you used, and tell me things you wish were different (An early water move on Tentacool, trainers need stronger movesets, whatever you notice).

-If you don't see the current iteration as good enough, let me know what missing features need to be added before you'd give it a go.

-If you have any particular knowledge about Gen 4, especially modifying the combat system or move effects, I'd love some advice - it's not nearly as well-researched as Gen 3.

-If you have a favorite Pokemon that isn't very useful, glance at the changes and suggest some of your own! We are playtesting Pokemon ourselves in our custom Showdown server, so most changes are easy to temporarily implement and test.

Thanks for reading, I look forward to your feedback!

Version History:


Edit: V 0.7 Link, Fairy-type implemented and functional, Hidden Abilities added into slot 1 or 2 if better, lightning rod and storm drain replaced with motor drive/volt absorb/water absorb to better match gen 5+ function.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/pjtt9dxi75n17lj/0.7Asteroid.xdelta

Try this link if you can't get the first one working:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ibpc9q4wklfm6e4/Alt0.7Asteroid.xdelta


Type chart changes:


Type and Stat Changes:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DqBMhh2GOwnuGjHLKr7Sg1BHSO1uPRpCw0muUskMZRA/edit?usp=sharing

Do you have a download link for this? That'd make it easiler for us to playtest this.

Regarding favourite Pokemon, my #1 favourite is a tie between Pikachu and Raichu, and they both aren't very good competitively. Personally, I'd like to see them get a stat boost and more coverage moves of different types. I'm thinking of Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Aqua Tail, and some Fairy moves. Also, maybe make Raichu Electric/Fairy?

Also, could you add the GB Sounds early on in the game? I really hate the version of the Goldenrod City music that plays in HG/SS.

FeraligatrMaster said:

Do you have a download link for this? That'd make it easiler for us to playtest this.

Regarding favourite Pokemon, my #1 favourite is a tie between Pikachu and Raichu, and they both aren't very good competitively. Personally, I'd like to see them get a stat boost and more coverage moves of different types. I'm thinking of Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Aqua Tail, and some Fairy moves. Also, maybe make Raichu Electric/Fairy?

Also, could you add the GB Sounds early on in the game? I really hate the version of the Goldenrod City music that plays in HG/SS.

Click to expand...

The current plan is for Pikachu and Raichu to get the fairy-type, as you expected. I also have shifted points around to make Raichu more physical, since its key moves (Volt Tackle, Play Rough) are physical and it is currently roughly balanced offensively. It also gained 10 pts of speed in the generation shift, which is reflected in its new stat line.

I have the link ready to go, but I now need to get to 5 posts to avoid the spam filter lol. Expect it to be in the OP within the hour. I also have a summary of Pokemon stat-line changes and type-chart changes. The type-chart changes will be in the OP as a spoiler, the stat-line changes will be a google doc.

Hey this hack seems very interesting, will check it out and keep up the work.

Yeah where to download a clean version of soulsilver? Cuz i cant find it and ive tried to download other versions but it wouldnt patch

Looking at the spreadsheet, I notice that most base stat changes from gens 6 and 7 were implemented, but some of them were skipped. In Sun and Moon, Dodrio got 10 extra Speed, Exeggutor got 10 extra Special Defense, Mantine got 20 extra HP, and even some Hoenn Pokemon got boosts that I see nowhere in the spreadsheet. Care to implement those changes too?

Just wondering because i play on my phone. Where to download a clean soulsilver?

oscariothetrainer said:

Just wondering because i play on my phone. Where to download a clean soulsilver?

Click to expand...

Asking for ROMs is illegal, you have to find by yourself :/

Anyway, this hack seems to be interesting. Probably I'll play later.

But i cant find it thats the problem ive tried multiple downloads to no avail and i really want to play this game

When i try to patch it it sayd delta 3 or something like that

FeraligatrMaster said:

Looking at the spreadsheet, I notice that most base stat changes from gens 6 and 7 were implemented, but some of them were skipped. In Sun and Moon, Dodrio got 10 extra Speed, Exeggutor got 10 extra Special Defense, Mantine got 20 extra HP, and even some Hoenn Pokemon got boosts that I see nowhere in the spreadsheet. Care to implement those changes too?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reminder, I got many of them but i wouldn't be surprised if I had missed some. I'll go through and add them right now. I also have changed all trade evos to be "level up while holding" instead. I expect I'll have another version ready some time tomorrow - it'll be in the OP once it's ready.

Out of curiosity, have people been able to get the patch working? I see one person had issues and I'm curious whether that's been everyone's experience or not. I can try a couple things if its not working for anyone.


Edit: Updating the OP now with the new patch, 0.6. I have made changes to just about all of the Gen 3 and 4 mons at this point- I had been holding off before, since not all of them were available in the wild, but I figured I had put it off long enough. Additionally, all of the trade evos have been changed, as mentioned. I may try putting up two versions of the patch file, just in case, since it seems that the ROM is not as standardized as one would hope.

I really want to try this game but i cant patch it on my phone what to do?

oscariothetrainer said:

I really want to try this game but i cant patch it on my phone what to do?

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I would suggest patching it on your PC, then transferring it with either USB or Google Drive. I've got it running on my phone right now without much trouble, though of course that will depend on what phone you have.

I have an samsung galaxy s7 and i have an nintendo ds patcher app but it just says that the soulsilver rom is not compatible with the patch

More move changes incoming for version 0.7, which I expect will be ready by Sunday night. Hopefully some people will have played a bit of 0.6 by then.



Edit: Update is ready and will be added to the OP momentarily. Fairy type is now functional!

You're doing the same thing I was trying to do for years, although my method of balancing is different.

Can you tell me how you made a custom Pkmn Showdown server? I want to create one for myself as well, every time I do the server just load the default stats from showdown server.

Does anyone know where to get a functioning pokemon soulsilver rom because i really wanta play it on my phone and im using unipatcher. Would really be thankfull for it

zoiwillxx said:

You're doing the same thing I was trying to do for years, although my method of balancing is different.

Can you tell me how you made a custom Pkmn Showdown server? I want to create one for myself as well, every time I do the server just load the default stats from showdown server.

Click to expand...

Hah, this project has been in the works for a long while now in one form or another. When I was working on it in previous generations, I think I was aiming for OU, but current-gen OU is so psycho that it's a terrible balance point.

As far as the showdown server goes, you edit the javascript files in the data folder (pokedex/typechart/learnsets). Your changes won't be reflected in the teambuilder- it is totally separate from the server (I believe there is a separate github for the teambuilder files, although it isn't suggested that you use it), but during any actual matches on the server your changes will be active. You can also change the formats file to make pokemon allowed/disallowed. The teambuilder checks format legality against the server as I recall, so you should be able to get that to work at the least.