When you hack, what do you do first?

Ive just started but im going to try and import my map create the towns and routes but before that i thought of town names and routes then planned stoof.

I get the basic premise down, without direction from the start it can be difficult to go back later and make all the pieces fit. If you get your beginning and your end down first, it is easy o thread the content between the two, and you have a much better "jigsaw" by the end.

After that comes sketching the worldmap. I don't usually do names except as a sort of reminder, usually based on landmarks or their correlation to real-world locations if they are base on a physical region, as the canon games are (I did the Nile Delta once). I leave actual final-draft names for when I get to actually mapping them, at which point I do whatever seems to fit.

If there are Fakemon, designing them's the next step. Only then does the actual work begin, usually with implementing any majour mechanical hacks I know how to do that I want in the hack, then doing the rest as I go along.

I usually first think of the hack's name, then I create the first town or city and afterwards I write down the plot. At the same time I think about which events should occur at the beginning and how they have to look in-game. Then I hack graphics (tiles, title screen, world map) ;)

Map as far as I need to for the next installation, then images. Scripting last, or whenever I feel humorous. And then all over again for the next beta/alpha, etc.

First I think about the title(name of the hack) ONLY THEN comes the mapping stuff

Ruby: Map 1/8 of the game. Add all the sprites and edit them. get up to 3/8 of the game mapped. Look for errors I have in maps. Play through the game. Finish playing thru it. Map 6/8 of the game. Play through again. Get all the Pokémon i want. Map the rest of the game. then script.
Firered: Map pallet town and route 1. Add pokémon. Forget about firered.

1) Storyline
2) 1-2-3 Maps
3) 1-2-3 Maps script

This is my usual start

I do the mapping first with script oppertunitys in mind, then go for scripting and other values.

I first think of a good storyline and how everything I think of can work in the game. Sketch fakemon's and new trainers and tries to sprite ( ;_; )
Map and then let someone help me with scripting is usully what I do :D