Update v170709 released. Also...
First off, the update. It fixes that longstanding issue that's been irritating me since Throwback's inception. The tune that plays when you beat the Pokémon Champion is supposed to keep playing when transitioning back to the overworld. It didn't do that properly for the 8-bit version of the track.
Well, now it does! tkim posted a fix for it earlier in the thread, and that's what I'm using here. This was just too big a thing for me to keep hanging in the official release.
Changelog
...
With that out of the way, here's the big news:
You know how I stated in the OP that I'm taking a break from hacking? Well, I was serious. I haven't been compelled to return to hacking since my absence, and it's probably going to stay that way. Does that mean Throwback's done?
Nope. In fact, I'd like to announce a new phase of Throwback's lifespan.
From this point onwards, tkim will be maintaining a new branch for Pokémon Throwback. You may have seen that he's been preparing some tweaks of his own to the hack. As you all can now witness, it's actually working towards far more than just a few fixes and changes. This edition of Throwback includes some extra changes that augment the game into something with its own flair. It also looks like it could become more ambitious than my own work! It might be classified as unofficial, but that means nothing outside of the fact that I didn't oversee these changes.
The official version will always remain available from the OP in the same place it's always been. I might even come back from time to time to add some new features and fixes to it. As of today, though, this new edition will appear first in the post. Any updates to either version will be posted in this thread. tkim will post update information via a new post for future changes he makes to the modified edition of the hack. If I make any changes to the main hack, I'll make an update post and edit the OP, just as I have throughout this hack's life.
I can't thank tkim enough for the support he's given me throughout the life of this hack. He's helped me with it more than even he knows. This is the least I could do to repay him. I see this as a passing of the torch. No matter what happens with regards to my work on the hack, I'm now certain that the future of Throwback is in good hands.