[Archive] ROM Hacking Newsletter 2008 | Issue 1 - 18

[Thrace]

Rom Hacking Newsletter

Issue 5 - Sunday, 29 September 2008

Introduction

Opening words

Argh, damn it! I was hoping to get it in before Monday but its 12:33 PM as I'm typing this. Lol, I just realized daylight savings started today, I made it! I've decided to keep the rating descriptions in all issues from now on for easy reference. For the time being they will be in the Hack News section. We've got our first ever actual report courtesy of Visual this issue so make sure you check that out.

This weeks interview turned into a sort of one sided debate which gave me an idea. How about having a debate via IM on things in the hacking community? I think it would be quite interesting. For example we could discuss the pros and cons of making teams/rom bases/tools etc. It'll be quite difficult to pull of I think. Please post your comments.

Article by dshayabusa​

Hacking News

Staying current with the rom hacking scene

Production of Pokémon: Tree of Peace Slowed
Due to school being too hectic during the week, production has been slowed to weekends only on Tree of Peace. Kawaii, Inc. assures that he will continue to work on the hack at every available opportunity on such days.

Pokemon: The Dragon Lineage makes a comeback
Most people won't remember since the thread was closed a couple of days after making it but I have another hack in the works. The Dragon Lineage will be based around Lance and Claire. It is no longer set in Johto. It is completely different to the ideas I had before. If you want to see the first town take a look in the Map Rating Thread. I'll open the thread sometime this week.

Hack Rating System
RHN will follow a standardised rating system similar to that of IGN, ratings and their meanings are described below.

Spoiler:

10.0 to 9.0 - Masterful
Its almost impossible to make a hack that is perfect, but ratings in this range get pretty close. These hacks are flawless in all aspects of hacking, they are innovative and engaging.

8.9 to 8.0 - Impressive
Hacks that we feel are outstanding and are exceptional in at least one aspect will receive ratings in this range. Hacks that we feel are worthwhile and that everyone will find enjoyable. You'd need to put in a lot of effort to get this rating.

7.9 to 7.0 - Good
An excellent hack that is let down by a one or two major problems. Above average in all aspects but just missing a few things it needs to be great. Not amazing but has potential.

6.9 to 6.0 - Passable
Hacks that are just above average. Nothing to really get excited about. Nothing particularly horrible about the hack but nothing all that great either.

5.9 to 5.0 - Mediocre
A hack that provokes no emotion, standard, run-of-the-mill whatever you want to call it, these hacks are as average as they come.

4.9 to 4.0 - Lackluster
Hacks that do not have enough effort put into them. Probably not worth the attention for the time being. Has some potential to be better, but not enough to become something spectacular.

3.9 to 3.0 - Poor
Hacks that are flawed in all areas, most likely caused by inexperience by the author rather than effort. Not worth checking out regularly, will probably be cancelled the next week.

2.9 to 2.0 - Bad
Hacks that we recommend you avoid, not worth playing. Might have a few interesting ideas but ultimately is just very poorly executed. Major flaws in all aspects.

1.9 to 1.0 - Terrible
A hack we believe should not have had its thread accepted. These hacks are not even worth browsing over. These hacks are usually made by people trying to achieve internet stardom.

0.9 to 0.0 - Abysmal
Hacks that are not even truly hacks, more like edits. A few small changes to the original game, achievable in mere minutes.

HOTW Winner

Spotlight on the Hack of the Week

Pokémon Distant [Link]
Hack Author: Disturbed
Reviewed By: dshayabusa

Pokemon Distant is a hack by Disturbed aka Maraudah from the Map Rating Thread. This hacks main appeal is by far the mapping. Marudah is a great mapper but his maps seem to be hindered by his choice of tiles. Don't get me wrong, Don Patch's tiles look great but if you're going to use his tiles you have to adapt to them. It doesn't just mean new palletes you'd also need to develop a different style of mapping. If you look at the maps made my Don Patch his mapping is very unique, not even close to what Nintendos looks like yet very professional.

According to the credits, Megiddo has done the scripts so far. Megiddo is a great scripter but it would be nice to see Disturbed making his own scripts. The story is quite interesting, the start certainly is unique and executing it will be easy yet very effective. There are also going to be 3 starters instead of one, its an interesting idea and I'll reserve judgement until the first beta. Most of the other features are pretty standard. It still needs some work but I can tell it'll be quite interesting hack to watch.

Article by dshayabusa​

Hack Review

Hacks in review

Pokémon Black and White [Link]
Hack Author: ҳ̸ҲRichie
Reviewed By: thethethethe
Reviewer's Rating: 9.1/10

I'm usually a bit uneasy when looking at Spanish hacks. They usually have amazing graphics, average scripts, fail in the English Translation and have a bland storyline. Never Black and White shattered almost all of my previous perceptions on Spanish Hacks.

Graphics is Spanish hacks seem to always be impressive. I don't know how, but they seem to always have the most amazing sprites with near perfect palettes to get a highly visually appealing hack. I'd rate this hack as one of the most beautiful hacks I've ever seen.

The storyline is somewhat reminiscent of the Final Fantasy games. The player is searching for his lost identity and many plot twists only make this more difficult. Working together with the storyline, the scripting is consistent. When I look at hacks, the scripting is what I tend to enjoy looking upon the most. From what I saw the scripts don't show anything totally outstanding. They only do just enough to compliment the storyline. I'd be much happier, even if it's pointless, is just to see one script that blows me away. Just something that stands out from the rest, and is an unforgettable event.

The thing I was overjoyed to see was that the text was not lost in translation. Many translated hacks seem to lose their point in their translation to English, and the storyline therefore becomes hard to follow. This hack did not fall into that category. In fact the translation was near perfect. I'm not sure how it appeared in Spanish, but in English, the text appeared almost of a Shakespearian dialect, which is the perfect fit for the storyline. We have text in the style of the cryptic language of Shakespeare working together with the search for the unknown identity found in the storyline. It just shows how well thought out this hack really was.

This is a remarkable hack which is truly worth playing. This is one hack you can't afford not to play.

Article by thethethethe​

CSS Cool?

An insider's report by Visual

CSS Designs, we all love them, we all have them, but whats the point behind them? Most of us just want a fancy presentation that looks nice and simple, some just want to copy others. First, lets get to know what CSS is a bit. CSS is a type of code, just like HTML but it is allowed in threads and signatures because theres no danger behind it. It's nice and easy to understand, basically you create layers on top of layers, first off you would start with a background, add a border and some text and you have a CSS box. Which is where the rest is developed from. But it does look quite appealing.

Modern day hacking has made a sudden jump into CSS, requesting it from other people or just taking it from their threads. I do find it funny though, hackers have spent so much time learning how to script and change tiles but cannot be bothered to learn some simple CSS. But it doesn't matter that much, it still all appeals to us, we still find it nice, but it does seem to be becomming more un interesting.

CSS is evolving like our whole civilization, months ago you wouldn't find it anywhere, whenever you did you thought someone had hacked into their signatures and added those boxes, now they're in everyones signatures and threads and still dramatically increasing. But pretty soon something new will be discovered and people will start using that instead, and while that new discovery increases CSS will slowly fade away, but i'd pay to see that happen.

And remember kids: cool looking things are cool when they're rare. The more people possess something, the more uninteresting it becomes.

Article by Visual​

Tips and Tricks

A cool new trick that you may not have known about

This weeks tips come from HackMew. This time its all about msgboxes. Below is a description, script example and in-game shot of the different msgbox types.

0x2

Spoiler:

Description:
This is the msgbox used for normal people. Using this type means that you don't need to use the lock, faceplayer or release commands.

Script:

#org @start
msgbox @hello
boxset 0x2
end

#org @hello
= Hello my name is dshayabusa.

In-Game:

0x3

Spoiler:

Description:
Used for signs etc. No Lock or faceplayer effect. Only shows the sign textbox when used on an actual sign.

Script:

#org @start
msgbox @sign
boxset 0x3
end

#org @hello
= You are here

In-Game:

0x4

Spoiler:

Description:
A normal msgbox except for the fact that it does not close. Command 68 must be used to close it. No lock or faceplayer effect.

Script:

#org @start
msgbox @hello
boxset 0x4
end

#org @hello
= Hello, my name is dshayabusa.

In-Game:

0x5

Spoiler:

Description:
Used for Yes/No questions. No Lock or Faceplayer effect.

Script:

#org @start
msgbox @question
boxset 0x5
end

#org @hello
= Is this statement false?

In-game:

0x6

Spoiler:

Description:
Normal textbox. Has no Lock or Faceplayer effect.

Script:

#org @start
msgbox @Hello
boxset 0x6
end

#org @hello
= Hello, my name is dshayabusa.

In-game:

Tip donated by HackMew​

Interview

An in-depth chat with... Megiddo

Spoiler:

(3:11:48 PM) Malin: So what first attracted you to hacking?
(3:12:20 PM) Adam: The commonly heard shiny gold. I think I first saw it on youtube.
(3:13:22 PM) Malin: And did you immediately think, I want to do that too?
(3:14:14 PM) Adam: Yep and my love of video games also influenced me.
(3:14:51 PM) Malin: Interesting.
(3:15:01 PM) Malin: What aspect of hacking do you find most enjoyable?
(3:15:17 PM) Adam: Scripting.
(3:15:38 PM) Malin: I see, and what do you find most challenging?
(3:16:09 PM) Adam: Getting the perfect graphics.
(3:16:38 PM) Malin: Ah yes thats always a challenge.
(3:17:51 PM) Malin: You've been in many hacking teams before, what in your opinoin is most effective? Hacking in a team or individually?
(3:19:00 PM) Adam: I believe hacking individually is most effective. There's not the issue of waiting on someone else. You also learn much more and gain experience.
(3:20:39 PM) Malin: Good point, its always frustrating when you have to wait for someone to finish something before you can start.
(3:23:34 PM) Malin: What are your opinions on the rom hacking community today?
(3:25:31 PM) Adam: I think that there are a lot of original hacks out there. Whether they be on pc or elsewhere. The community is large and diverse. Although, I think some people should wait to post their hacks until they have done a substantial amount of things.
(3:26:42 PM) Adam: The programmers do a great job with their tools, which really helps everyone.
(3:27:13 PM) Malin: But aren't tools sometimes the cause of problems in the community?
(3:27:51 PM) Adam: Only in parts, though perhaps we should create a new system to control the flames.
(3:29:12 PM) Adam: I know this is an issue in pokemon hacking.
(3:30:25 PM) Adam: It would take awhile to make a map in hex.
(3:30:43 PM) Adam: or manually create a sprite
(3:31:57 PM) Malin: True, what about rom bases though?
(3:33:56 PM) Adam: Rom bases dock off originality, but provide newbies a good start. I don't find them that bad. It's a personal choice and not something that speeds things up exponentially.
(3:34:19 PM) Adam: They're less usefull than tools.
(3:38:30 PM) Malin: What do you think about the vast amount of tutorials that are available now? Doesn't it prevent creative thinking if everything its already written out for you?
(3:40:34 PM) Adam: I agree it does do that. A scripting tutorial is needed as it's not the easiest to learn without any sort of explanation on usage and what not
(3:41:03 PM) Adam: Once you learn some scripting it's easier to figure out unknown things without a tutorial.
(3:41:14 PM) Adam: But in the beginning
(3:46:06 PM) Malin: What attracts you most to a hack when you're browsing PC?
(3:47:03 PM) Adam: At first glance there is only the name and posts. Out of the two the name usually catches me most.
(3:47:50 PM) Malin: By posts do you mean the number of posts or the people who have posted?
(3:51:02 PM) Adam: The last poster and the number.
(3:51:23 PM) Malin: Interesting.
(3:51:41 PM) Malin: Is there a hack you'd like to recommend for our readers?
(3:52:20 PM) Adam: I enjoyed playing Liquid Ocean.
(3:54:01 PM) Malin: Who wouldn't?
(3:54:05 PM) Malin: Any last words?
(3:54:27 PM) Adam: Good luck to all.

The guest recommendation this week goes to Liquid Ocean:

Interview by dshayabusa​

Closing Notes

Some house keeping

This segment is starting to become redundant. I actually have nothing to say. If you have anything you would like the rest of the community to know about PM me and I'll put it in the Hack News segment. I think having 1 or 2 reviews per issue is best, anymore will cheapen the concept of it. Uhh, yeah, so thats it. Oh, also thanks to whoever changed the name of the thread, if you could just do that whenever you have the time that'd be great. It would save me having to PM you and you having to read it each time.

Article by dshayabusa​

CSS design and graphics by dshayabusa. Ask for permission if you want to use it!

 

[Chimchar 9]

this is an intresting news letter and one of the tips and tricks really helped me in scripting.
there are 2 great hack viewed on the news letter but there is no rating for pokemon distant
even there is no alpha or beta yet there still should be a rating for the hack

 

[Neti]

always nice to read this
keep on going

 

[Ninja Caterpie]

Hmmaaah!

Very very interesting... The whole lot of it was very grand indeed.

A debate, eh? Great idea! If we do: First topic'll be That teams are better than solo working!
Pah, I'm talking too much. Maybe cos I'm going hypo cos it's 10:32pm here in Sydney. Geegegegehehehheheheh.!

PS: Neti, that's pretty much spam.

 

[Neti]

Hmmaaah!

Very very interesting... The whole lot of it was very grand indeed.

A debate, eh? Great idea! If we do: First topic'll be That teams are better than solo working!
Pah, I'm talking too much. Maybe cos I'm going hypo cos it's 10:32pm here in Sydney. Geegegegehehehheheheh.!

PS: Neti, that's pretty much spam.

why is it spam to say i like it?
must have missed taht part of the rules... or doesnt it exist?

anyway ild like to participate in that debate, let me know when and how it will be

 

[Zeturic]

If thethethethe reviewed Black and White, and openly praised it, as well as saying "It's a remarkable hack that is truly worth playing", why, I must ask, did he give it .5\10?

And yes, I do know it was a typo, that he gave it 9.3. I just wanted to point it out - not that it matters.

 

[thethethethe]

If thethethethe reviewed Black and White, and openly praised it, as well as saying "It's a remarkable hack that is truly worth playing", why, I must ask, did he give it .5\10?

And yes, I do know it was a typo, that he gave it 9.3. I just wanted to point it out - not that it matters.

I thought I gave it 9.1. I assume it's just been left over from the previous issue when I gave Bloody Diamond 0.5.
A debate sounds great, but it'd probably need two sessions, like twelve hours apart, to give most people a fair chance at catching it.

EDIT: Just noticed a little typo in the tips and tricks. callstd 0x4 is closed by command #68. You wrote command #86.

 

[Darthatron]

I would love to be in a debate about the pros and cons of this community. If you ever do have one be sure to include me. ^^

This weeks news letter was very nice. I enjoyed reading it, keep it up.

 

[Thrace]

this is an intresting news letter and one of the tips and tricks really helped me in scripting.
there are 2 great hack viewed on the news letter but there is no rating for pokemon distant
even there is no alpha or beta yet there still should be a rating for the hack

I'm going to have to disagree. Without a playable version you can't really tell what the hack is going to be like, even maps are hard to judge when there are only screenshots available.

why is it spam to say i like it?
must have missed taht part of the rules... or doesnt it exist?

anyway ild like to participate in that debate, let me know when and how it will be

It'll probably be done on MSN so someone would just invite everyone to chat. The time is a really big problem, I can do it at pretty much anytime since I've got school holidays.

I thought I gave it 9.1. I assume it's just been left over from the previous issue when I gave Bloody Diamond 0.5.
A debate sounds great, but it'd probably need two sessions, like twelve hours apart, to give most people a fair chance at catching it.

EDIT: Just noticed a little typo in the tips and tricks. callstd 0x4 is closed by command #68. You wrote command #86.

Two sessions? I think we could do it in one, if we had it around this time most people would be online then.

This debate idea is going to be quite difficult to pull off. We should discuss numbers and who is involved in the team thread.

 

[Zeikku™]

Thats pretty neat, this issue has probably been the best one yet :)
keep it up man

 

[Satoshi Sugimori]

NIce to read this :D But only one thing it was a little short in my opinion XD
But who cares as long as it's fun it's alright :D:D
Can't wait for Issue 6 :D BOL!

btw the debate thing seems nice :D It would be very educational (not sure if I wrote it good) and very fun to :D
But i've got an idea! What if you make some sort of price like HoTW but then Map of the Week :) It seems like something nice and just too small for it's own thread so you could incorporate it in the RHN :D Just an idea :)

Well again BOL!

 

[Neti]

NIce to read this :D But only one thing it was a little short in my opinion XD
But who cares as long as it's fun it's alright :D:D
Can't wait for Issue 6 :D BOL!

btw the debate thing seems nice :D It would be very educational (not sure if I wrote it good) and very fun to :D
But i've got an idea! What if you make some sort of price like HoTW but then Map of the Week :) It seems like something nice and just too small for it's own thread so you could incorporate it in the RHN :D Just an idea :)

Well again BOL!

me and dshayabusa are already talking about the map of the week thing

 

[Satoshi Sugimori]

me and dshayabusa are already talking about the map of the week thing

Woaa that's great :D:D hope it comes in the RHN :)

 

[TB Pro]

Yes! This is great, wonderful! The debate idea sounds nice, and It'd be cool to be part of it! I liked the interview, it was nice. Anyways, BOL!

me and dshayabusa are already talking about the map of the week thing

Ahhh, that would be a grand idea!

 

[+Sneasel™]

That was great! I enjoyed reading it.
I completely agree with the rating on Pokemon Never, I loved that beta!
I also agree with the CSS thing.

The debate idea sounds cool too! I can't wait for that!
The interview was alright, I mean, it seemed more like a simple chat than an interview...but it was better than before (and megiddo is cool).

Can't wait for the next one!

 

[colcolstyles]

Mm, this thing seems to get better with every issue. I especially liked the tips section this week; it was nice to have the Boxset command fully explained. And you guys lengthened the interview as well. Anyways, overall a great issue and I'm looking forward to the next one (but don't rush it!).

 

[destinedjagold]

well, I enjoyed reading the newsletter. ^^
It's longer than the previous one, made my eyes a bit sour. :P

anyways, a debate sounds nice. :P
it'll be complicated, but it'll be fun to read. :laugh:

about the tips and tricks, are they applicable for this format as well?

boxset 2
boxset 3
boxset 4

though I also agree that all spanish hackers have really amazing graphics... :D

continue the great work, though... ;)

 

[thethethethe]

about the tips and tricks, are they applicable for this format as well?

boxset 2
boxset 3
boxset 4

Yes they are.
boxset 0x2; boxset 2; callstd 0x2; callstd 2
They are all the same thing.

 

[colcolstyles]

Just read through the readme. No-one reads readme's, do they?

Sometimes it seems like I'm the only one...
There are a bunch of nifty tips in Advance Map's readme, for anyone who wants to know.

 

[エロカメ]

Wow, I have to admit - very good layout. The description is just amazing. Good ideas, such as interviews etc.