• Just a reminder that providing specifics on, sharing links to, or naming websites where ROMs can be accessed is against the rules. If your post has any of this information it will be removed.
  • Ever thought it'd be cool to have your art, writing, or challenge runs featured on PokéCommunity? Click here for info - we'd love to spotlight your work!
  • Which Pokémon Masters protagonist do you like most? Let us know by casting a vote in our Masters favorite protagonist poll here!
  • Red, Hilda, Paxton, or Kellyn - which Pokémon protagonist is your favorite? Let us know by voting in our poll!
  • Welcome to PokéCommunity! Register now and join one of the best fan communities on the 'net to talk Pokémon and more! We are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or Nintendo.

[Scripting Question] After learning ruby, How do I understand pokemon essentials script?

  • 2
    Posts
    7
    Years
    • Seen May 2, 2021
    I learned Ruby and now I want to change the pokemon essentials script.
    But it's too hard to understand. Is there any way to learn to edit the script. For instance I want to do something like making a pokemon not leave a party
     
    I learned Ruby and now I want to change the pokemon essentials script.
    But it's too hard to understand. Is there any way to learn to edit the script. For instance I want to do something like making a pokemon not leave a party

    Trial and error. That's like the only way to learn anything that doesn't have a tutorial (note: this is a piece of advice not only for coding, but for life overall).

    For Essentials (and for other things like sports or writing or arts), start small, make small edits, and as your confidence and knowledge grow, you will be able to do bigger projects.
    I suggest you start with new items / abilities / moves. These are the easy things that require few edits, and are easy to test debug, and revert. But they will still allow you to get familiar with how the battles work.
    Don't worry to much about making a clean code, for now just worry about making a code that works.

    Making a Pokémon not leave the party is part of the easy things to do. I suggest you look at the function pbStorePokemon, and study how it's used in Essentials. Maybe it's not this function that you'll have to change, maybe it's one of its dependencies, but it's a starting point.

    Whatever you do, backup your code before edits. Imagine you break something: you're screwed.
     
    Last edited:
    Trial and error. That's like the only way to learn anything that doesn't have a tutorial (note: this is a piece of advice not only for coding, but for life overall).

    For Essentials (and for other things like sports or writing or arts), start small, make small edits, and as your confidence and knowledge grow, you will be able to do bigger projects.
    I suggest you start with new items / abilities / moves. These are the easy things that require few edits, and are easy to test debug, and revert. But they will still allow you to get familiar with how the battles work.
    Don't worry to much about making a clean code, for now just worry about making a code that works.

    Making a Pokémon not leave the party is part of the easy things to do. I suggest you look at the function pbStorePokemon, and study how it's used in Essentials. Maybe it's not this function that you'll have to change, maybe it's one of its dependencies, but it's a starting point.

    Whatever you do, backup your code before edits. Imagine you break something: you're screwed.

    From personal experience, this is the best way to get to know how things work. I mean, I pretty much don't know ruby at all, much less coding, but through raw curiosity, trial and error I was able to do things I never thought I could before.
     
    From personal experience, this is the best way to get to know how things work. I mean, I pretty much don't know ruby at all, much less coding, but through raw curiosity, trial and error I was able to do things I never thought I could before.

    Exactly this. I have no formal training in coding whatsoever, and still to this day barely understand how the majority of Essentials works, or why. And through sheer stubbornness and trial & error I've been able to make a variety of popular mods that people seem to enjoy. It's really satisfying being able to see your own growth as you learn more and more, which is the main reason I find so much pleasure in doing it.

    It does take a lot of time, though. As long as you go into it with the midset that you're doing this for fun and to learn, rather than with a specific end goal in mind, you're bound to make progress. However, if you only focus on the end goal, you're going to end up disappointed and frustrated when you hit roadblocks, or when it's taking too long for you to figure out.
     
    Exactly this. I have no formal training in coding whatsoever, and still to this day barely understand how the majority of Essentials works, or why. And through sheer stubbornness and trial & error I've been able to make a variety of popular mods that people seem to enjoy. It's really satisfying being able to see your own growth as you learn more and more, which is the main reason I find so much pleasure in doing it.

    It does take a lot of time, though. As long as you go into it with the midset that you're doing this for fun and to learn, rather than with a specific end goal in mind, you're bound to make progress. However, if you only focus on the end goal, you're going to end up disappointed and frustrated when you hit roadblocks, or when it's taking too long for you to figure out.

    Stubbornness is a way to put it, but yeah, you're damn right. I feel so happy whenever I take a peek at someone's game and see one of my scripts.

    But it's true, coding isn't for everyone. However, if you're willing to give it a shot, I would recommend starting with something simple. Heck, my first try at coding to change the Mart Scene to look more like BW Games, and I didn't even post as a resource, but rather as a step by step guide, so I could easily understand what did I changed (in other words, a tutorial of sorts)

    So, try to start with something simple and if you feel like you need any help, you can always come here with your findings
     
    Stubbornness is a way to put it, but yeah, you're damn right. I feel so happy whenever I take a peek at someone's game and see one of my scripts.

    But it's true, coding isn't for everyone. However, if you're willing to give it a shot, I would recommend starting with something simple. Heck, my first try at coding to change the Mart Scene to look more like BW Games, and I didn't even post as a resource, but rather as a step by step guide, so I could easily understand what did I changed (in other words, a tutorial of sorts)

    So, try to start with something simple and if you feel like you need any help, you can always come here with your findings

    Yeah I agree. Starting with something simple to familiarize yourself with the code is a great way to start. The first script I ever made was modding the Summary screen to display stars next to the Pokemon's stats to indicate IV quality, as well as displaying their egg groups. Looking back, this was pretty basic, but it became a jumping off point for me that led to much more complicated projects.

    Also, I agree with StCooler's suggestion with making custom abilities. Those are a great place to start in familiarizing yourself with the battle code. You'll start to get a feel for what code related to battle is supposed to look like vs code related to screen displays, or code for other sorts of things.
     
    Back
    Top