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

[Tyrantrum]

I feel bad for Seth AND me. :[
I work for Mistic Dreams, and the mapping part..is my fault. I'm not good at caves, and I didn't want to edit the first town too much...

Anyways, the overall news letter was good, though I didn't read everything! xD
I might come back to it later, since I have just woken up.

 

[.Seth]

I completely understand the problems, thethethethe. But, whoever said the events have to happen as soon as the game starts? I mean, since when was that rule around?

On another note, I'd be glad to add color to the scripts, but it was rather rushed. I know nobody likes to see their hack get a poor review, but that, honestly, was just harsh.

And, actually, I'm working on the graphics of the game right now. As in, the titlescreen, tiles...etc.
And, so what if I reused old, useless scripts? They're there for the taking, gosh.
Oh, and by the way, that storyline in the thread is the BACKGROUND STORY!!

Background story - Story that will happen sometime in the hack, but not right away. Events will lead up to the events in the background story.

What actually happens - All the events, including the ones Before and After the Background story.

There's a difference!

I also noticed that you only pointed out the bad things of my hack. And, let's see... if my hack got a 2.8, then there must be some good things about it, no? I'd like you to kindly tell me exactly What those good things are.

 

[TB Pro]

Hmm...This was a good issue. Hmm...I can't say I agree totally with the review this week, but who am I so say anything ;) Visual's article is exactly right, and that is sad. I remember when there was five or six hacks in the showcase. They were all good/average hacks as well. Now, there is ten to fifteen hacks, and the majority of them are rubbish. Not all of them, some have some potential. The tips and tricks section was nice, I can't wait for the second part ;) This weeks interview was one of the best so far. A nice, long interview with a great hacker. I completely agree with everything Hackmew had to say, the community is going downhill, in a hurry. If there was only a way to get the community out of this hole it's in at the current time. I noticed a few places, where, Hackmew's name wasn't in green :P Nothing major, just thought I'd point it out for you ;) This was another great issue, keep it up! BOL!

 

[thethethethe]

Your quote was too long joined with this post, but I might as well try and justify what I said here.

Well by 'release 3', your words not mine, I'd be expecting some inkling of some nature of the storyline. My old hack, Legend of Dragons had probably only a little bit more gameplay wise done than yours but it at least mentioned Rayquaza, which was something that was to be apart of the main plot line later in the game.

I couldn't care about the graphics honestly. Mapping is so easily changed so I don't mention very much about it. The titlescreen, tiles didn't get mentioned because I assumed they would be changed at some stage. So I don't understand why you mention those graphics.

Whether the story in your thread is a Background Story, as you call it, is redundant. There's nothing in your third preview to the game to say 'Look at Me'. Nothing to draw me in to watch the hack and play me next time. No idea on what's happening next.

But instead there was a mention of an elder being in a house. In that house was the class from Viridian City. What's the point in that? All you had to do was maybe add in the first elder's script, and maybe include some mention of the GS ball. I don't want to be half way through a hack, and then the main plot (or even a sub plot) begins.

And, if you're whole hack is just talking scripts with nothing important except for a starter Pokemon, WHY RELEASE ANYTHING? Being rushed is no excuse. You decide when you release your hack. Not other people on forums. If you don't think it'll be ready by a time you mentioned, post in the thread saying it won't be ready be then. People won't care as long as they get the preview at some stage.

All this hack reminded me of, was my first hack that no-one bar one or two people ever saw. I felt this release felt a bit pre-mature and should have been released later. You want to hear the good things? Or the mediocre things that lifted it? Honestly, only judging from that gameplay, there wasn't anything that was really all that great. Just things that were okay.

But here's the good things I can say about this hack so far.
-It was better than the couple of hacks I played just before I played through this one
-There's a large amount of room for improvement.
There's only a tiny bit done, and there's so much more to add to it. I can only rate what I see. I can't see what's happening on your computer with it. I only rated this on demo 3.

I honestly, don't want to put you down and make you quit the hack because I gave you a bad review. Maybe it's just the way I am, and if someone tells me I'm crap at something I normally try to improve and get better. Maybe I'm just hoping everyone's like me, but I hope you keep working on this, just to prove that this was just a poor rating on my behalf and prove it was worth more.

 

[/Circa]

Haha, I was reading the interview, did you get a bit bored there dshayabusa? With HackMew going on about all the new features, which I cant wait to see :D!

 

[.Iramet]

I just started reading the newsletters recently and have to say they are great!
ALthough I do feel bad for seth because the hack wasn't really that far along and I don't think he was ready for a review...

 

[hi sir tomato my password is syvniti]

This version could have been a lot better....
"(1:13:30 PM) HackMew" Why was hackmews's name not written with green?

 

[Zeikku™]

could I review a hack next week?
this is actually amazing! :D

 

[+Sneasel™]

Great job guys!
A great issue, and a great tips and tricks section (FINALLY!)
Well, I don't get why everyone is saying that the review was a little 'harsh'. He just rated it based on his opinion, nothing harsh about it...you can't get mad at the critic...
Lastly, you messed up, it says he got a 2.8 in the big blue thing, but in the hack description it says he got a .4/10...

 

[Thrace]

Haha, I was reading the interview, did you get a bit bored there dshayabusa? With HackMew going on about all the new features, which I cant wait to see :D!

Err, I might've gotten a bit impatient. XD

I just started reading the newsletters recently and have to say they are great!
ALthough I do feel bad for seth because the hack wasn't really that far along and I don't think he was ready for a review...

He isn't ready for a review after 3 demos?

This version could have been a lot better....
"(1:13:30 PM) HackMew" Why was hackmews's name not written with green?

Oh, hey you're unbanned.

could I review a hack next week?
this is actually amazing! :D

You'll have to apply in the team thread. I think there might be enough already since we are only doing 1 review each week.

Great job guys!
A great issue, and a great tips and tricks section (FINALLY!)
Well, I don't get why everyone is saying that the review was a little 'harsh'. He just rated it based on his opinion, nothing harsh about it...you can't get mad at the critic...
Lastly, you messed up, it says he got a 2.8 in the big blue thing, but in the hack description it says he got a .4/10...

Grr!! I always seem to make some mistake in the rating. >=(

 

[Surf]

Err, I might've gotten a bit impatient. XD


He isn't ready for a review after 3 demos?

Seth wasn't ready because the demos were only intended to be a short look at the game and he wasn't even up to a beta

 

[Ninja Caterpie]

Then why give THREE? I see dshayabusa's point 100%.
I mean, why be so impatient to release something? I mean, I'd find it fine for them to have one small demo and then go a while before a beta, his choice, but THREE sounds like a pretty big thing.

 

[Surf]

Then why give THREE? I see dshayabusa's point 100%.
I mean, why be so impatient to release something? I mean, I'd find it fine for them to have one small demo and then go a while before a beta, his choice, but THREE sounds like a pretty big thing.

You again have a point
3 demos is bad (but not as bad as the pre alpha i did)
anyway great letter
i think Hackmew wanted to tell all about his new XSE features (which i am looking forward to)

 

[Kaizer-X]

Ok ok things are begging to get ugly here. All i can say is CHILL guys! Don't have to get work up over this. Well the review is just about what the reviewer thinks about the hack, i think x4the is expecting more from the hack so... anyways use this criticism as an inspiration to make you hack better. Good luck with it. :)

 

[Lady Berlitz]

Yeah, this is the opinion of one person only. Although some other people might think the same as the person who is reviewing it, the person reviewing it is the only person who is pointing it out.

Although I completely agree with thethethethe's reasoning, I don't see the point why we should start an argument.

Also, what's this about thethethethe interviewing me?

 

[EarthsVisitor]

The interview was interesting this week.
I felt like the newsletter was missing something this week, but it was still good.

I think the "essay" by Visual was nice, but not the best way of doing something like that.

I was thinking more of a "question" every week, and you asked maybe 6-10 people what they thought about a certain topic, or issue in Rom Hacking. Or a general question like, "What's your views on blah blah?"
Maybe a paragraph answer from each person, and you put 5 of them in the newsletter.

 

[Thrace]

The interview was interesting this week.
I felt like the newsletter was missing something this week, but it was still good.

I think the "essay" by Visual was nice, but not the best way of doing something like that.

I was thinking more of a "question" every week, and you asked maybe 6-10 people what they thought about a certain topic, or issue in Rom Hacking. Or a general question like, "What's your views on blah blah?"
Maybe a paragraph answer from each person, and you put 5 of them in the newsletter.

Thats a great idea EarthsVisitor. Although I have some doubts on whether this will become permanent (namely issues on reliability), this is a great alternative to the debate idea for now. We'll have a trial run next issue with members of the team.

BTW you'll see you're Beginner's Corner idea in next weeks issue too. :D

 

[hi sir tomato my password is syvniti]

Then why give THREE? I see dshayabusa's point 100%.
I mean, why be so impatient to release something? I mean, I'd find it fine for them to have one small demo and then go a while before a beta, his choice, but THREE sounds like a pretty big thing.

I find it dumb, to count progses in game in demos...

Would Shiny Gold then have 29 betas, just because they're translated to differnet langueses?!

 

[Neti]

I find it dumb, to count progses in game in demos...

Would Shiny Gold then have 29 betas, just because they're translated to differnet langueses?!

i disagree with you, a new beta should contain new features and bugfixes
why should someone release something new without any changes or just minor ones?
and you shouldnt release stuff to early, for my hack ive only planned 2 betas before the full release

but i think this is kinda offtopic, we should stop arguing about the review and accept it
aven if its not appropriate (i cant tell, i didnt play the demo), the review is just thex4's opinion, and where i live everybodys free to tell people his opinion

 

[EarthsVisitor]

Thats a great idea EarthsVisitor. Although I have some doubts on whether this will become permanent (namely issues on reliability), this is a great alternative to the debate idea for now. We'll have a trial run next issue with members of the team.

BTW you'll see you're Beginner's Corner idea in next weeks issue too. :D

The Question of the Week does not have to be limited to "debate" issues and problems of Rom Hacking, heck, it could be something as simple as "Who is your favorite hacker?" "What's your favorite hacking tool?" "How do you balance Hacking and other stuff." "What was your experience when you first started?"

:]
- EarthsVIsitor