thethethethe says (9:49 PM):
Alright, hopefully there's no problems anymore?
Darthatron says (9:50 PM):
I'm ready when you are
thethethethe says (9:51 PM):
I guess I'll start with the simple question. How did you get into hacking?
Darthatron says (9:52 PM):
Well unlike the most people, I just stumbled upon PokeCommunity forums by accident. I then noticed the ROM Hacking section and got excited about it
Darthatron says (9:52 PM):
I played about 5 minutes of a hack, then decided I wanted to hack aswell.
thethethethe says (9:54 PM):
What hack was that?
Darthatron says (9:54 PM):
To be perfectly honest, I've forgotten. I joined nearly 3 years ago, you know.
thethethethe says (9:56 PM):
You're fairly well renowned for your programming talents. But what made you choose to create tools and things instead of making an actual hack?
Darthatron says (9:57 PM):
Well, the same year I joined I started doing a programming course at school.
Darthatron says (9:57 PM):
I wanted to learn how to HEX Edit, but it was rather annoying to learn, due to my short attention span.
Darthatron says (9:58 PM):
So, then I decided to try making tools, since there weren't many at the time.
Darthatron says (9:58 PM):
I found learning HEX Editing was much easier when I was making something as well.
Darthatron says (9:59 PM):
Don't get me wrong, though. I still think hacking is good, but I prefer to make it easier for other people, rather then doing things the hard way.
thethethethe says (10:00 PM):
Some time ago, I remember a hack of yours popped up in the scrapbox. Whatever happened to that?
Darthatron says (10:00 PM):
Well, I've been working on it less and less as the months went by. But be sure it's still coming.
Darthatron says (10:01 PM):
I prefer working on scripts, you see. And have barely any mapping skills.
Darthatron says (10:01 PM):
So it's difficult for me to progress.
thethethethe says (10:02 PM):
So you're somewhat similiar to me.
thethethethe says (10:03 PM):
But we haven't really seen too much from you lately. Why haven't we seen any tools from you recently?
Darthatron says (10:04 PM):
Well, as you might know, I took a rest from hacking for about a month. It was good, it let me get good at other things.
Darthatron says (10:04 PM):
I'm currently working on a tool that will helping with making title screens, and also world maps.
Darthatron says (10:04 PM):
Not a tilemap editor, though.
thethethethe says (10:05 PM):
There's like four of those now. No need for one more anyway.
Darthatron says (10:06 PM):
Indeed.
thethethethe says (10:06 PM):
In that break you took, did you ever consider not returning to rom hacking?
Darthatron says (10:07 PM):
Well, when I first went on the break, it was going to be me quitting. However, after getting very, very bored I decided I'd come back, after a month.
thethethethe says (10:08 PM):
Well, we won't all be hacking forever, how much longer do you see yourself doing this?
Darthatron says (10:09 PM):
Well, I like to think I'll be doing this for a while. But I do have other things to do as I get older... I think I'll probably stay in the community for another year and a bit. If you're lucky.
thethethethe says (10:11 PM):
Coolboyman is quite open about his ideas of hacking today. How do you feel about the hacking community, or even hackers themselves today?
Darthatron says (10:12 PM):
Well, when I first began hacking you needed to be fairly smart, since most of it consisted of HEX Editing. Now days there are lots of tools, and most are just copies of each other.
Darthatron says (10:13 PM):
I think most of the hackers in the community are... too young. The average age is about 12 now, it used to be around 15.
Darthatron says (10:13 PM):
Oh well, they're still not complete idiots.
thethethethe says (10:13 PM):
I see.
thethethethe says (10:15 PM):
If you could change one thing about the hacking community, what would you change?
Darthatron says (10:15 PM):
That's a hard one.
Darthatron says (10:16 PM):
I'd probably make it have less hacks that never get finished, and make people work on 1 hack at a time.
thethethethe says (10:18 PM):
Forcing people to work on only one hack at a time sounds great. I mean if you have enough energy to work on three hacks. You could probably put lots of time into just one.
Darthatron says (10:18 PM):
Exactly.
thethethethe says (10:24 PM):
You mentioned earlier that it seems like the average hackers age is about 12 or so. If Pokemon was to be aimed at a slightly older age group, do think hacking 'scene' would be different today?
Darthatron says (10:24 PM):
Definately.
Darthatron says (10:25 PM):
You look at the hacking scenes for Halo, and you can tell the maturity difference instantly.
Darthatron says (10:25 PM):
As an example.
Darthatron says (10:26 PM):
Even the cheating forums for games like RuneScape, or WoW are much more mature compared to Pokemon.
thethethethe says (10:32 PM):
With hex being something that is almost taboo in newer hackers, do you see any possibility of the fourth generation and a possible fifth generation being as advanced as the second and third generation hacking?
Darthatron says (10:33 PM):
I think that once the people who know HEX leave, that the community will begin to die.
Darthatron says (10:33 PM):
But, we are pretty set for the 4th generation. There are lots of tools in development as we speak.
Darthatron says (10:34 PM):
I'm not too sure about the 5th Gen, however.
thethethethe says (10:34 PM):
Have you ever tried to hack anything other than a Pokemon rom?
Darthatron says (10:35 PM):
Yes, I've tried hacking some of the Zelda games, and also Super Smash Brothers (64).
thethethethe says (10:38 PM):
You're apart of the ROM Reaverz Hacking Team, do you think a team works better than an individual?
Darthatron says (10:39 PM):
I think if you're good at everything you should work alone.
Darthatron says (10:39 PM):
But when you're like me and don't have graphics/mapping skills, then a team is best.
thethethethe says (10:40 PM):
But if someone knew were to have just begun hacking, would you recommend them to join a team quickly?
Darthatron says (10:41 PM):
No, I think learning things and giving them a go for a while is good when you first start.
Darthatron says (10:41 PM):
But if you've been hacking for a while and still lack the ability to do things, then join a team. But still, keep learning.
thethethethe says (10:42 PM):
Well, we should probably wrap this up soon. Is there any hack you'd like to recommend?
Darthatron says (10:44 PM):
I would recommend X-Buster's hack "Flame Of Rage" because it's has some briliant ideas and good game play.
thethethethe says (10:45 PM):
And what you said before could be considered advice but is there any other advice you'd like to give to new hackers?
Darthatron says (10:45 PM):
Try and learn as much as you can. Ask for help, but try and do things alone first.
Darthatron says (10:45 PM):
And, treat your elders with respect.
thethethethe says (10:46 PM):
Ok, thanks for the interview Darthatron.
Darthatron says (10:46 PM):
No problem, thethethethethethethethethethe
So the guest recommendation this week goes to Liquid Crystal: