Can we get a new variety of hacks, please?

[Live Update King]

Its been here for years so it be strange without Scrapbox :( Plus I haven't made my first hack yet

 

[Cello]

The lack of a variety of hacks can't really be helped.
People start hacking with one intention and then lose motivation when the truth peeks its head around the corner.

There is nothing to hacking other than to have a meaningless hobby to spend spare time on. I mean, hacking a ROM isn't going to get you a dream job or get your game mentioned on the front of a gaming magazine. You can't put "I successfully hacked a pokemon gameboy advanced ROM" on your resume when you're applying for an open position. And I know that's what the majority of you are thinking, because when you're laying on the couch thinking of your hack, you're thinking of it as finished and a pretty big deal.
There's no motivation in hacking other than to make modifications on an already existing game for a crowd of a couple hundred other hackers. It's just a fun time killer, but that lack of motive is what drives the ROM hackers to quit working on their hack.

As for the scrapbox;
It is a partial spam box, but I do think it's a necessity for a lot of our beggining hackers
There's no use in arguing for it to not be deleted, though, because it was a administrative decision, and we should know by now that if they want it done, it's going to be done regardless of what everyone else thinks.
No offense, but it's true, and a rather selfish decision at that just because apparently keeping the scrapbox in order is too hard to handle.

I think there will be a lesson learned in it all, though.
You close the scrapbox and the spam will just forwarded to another section of ROM hacking.
I thought that would have been clear, too.

 

[Banjora Marxvile]

As for the scrapbox;

It is a partial spam box, but I do think it's a necessity for a lot of our beggining hackers
There's no use in arguing for it to not be deleted, though, because it was a administrative decision, and we should know by now that if they want it done, it's going to be done regardless of what everyone else thinks.
No offense, but it's true, and a rather selfish decision at that just because apparently keeping the scrapbox in order is too hard to handle.

I think there will be a lesson learned in it all, though.
You close the scrapbox and the spam will just forwarded to another section of ROM hacking.
I thought that would have been clear, too.

May I just add 1 point to this. You moderators will get more SPAM for approvals in Progressing Hacks. SPAM that can get reported and closed when noticed, and ignored in the Scrapbox, will turn into SPAM threads waiting approval, like the other GOOD threads need approving, as well as threads that lack crucial things as well, that would fit in the Scrapbox, but the noob hackers don't read rules and post small threads for approval in Progressing Hacks. This will make you annoyed, most chances, due to a possible flood, and make you busier. That is my opinion though...

Your call, you made it, may be good for our visual site, but we will see what consequences this has, and then... Who knows?

Of course, this is all just me thinking. You clever people will probably have a solution for this. And if so, I wish you luck with your choice.

 

[Perri Lightfoot]

Not all hacks retell the Nintendo storyline; and even some that do demonstrate enough variety in mapping; scripting; spriting; music editing and/or other features that make them stand out and worth playing. For someone who considers story the most important aspect of a hack for her own work, I agree that it's a little annoying and tiresome to see so many repetitions of "become a Trainer, get eight Badges, whip the bum of an Evil Team, confront and catch a big Legendary, and become Champion." But is story why we really play the actual games made by Nintendo in the first place? Hardly (if there's someone who does play for the story, I've never met them) - it's for all the other features they stuff their games with, and if ROM hackers can come up with enough cleverness to circumvent their story retread, than I don't see much of an issue. Would seeing new stories be awesome? Oh, heck yes it would. But the world of ROM hacking is always going to have Nintendo plot retellings, and if that is the sort of story the thread creator has their heart set on telling, I think the best thing to do would be offer advice (when I review, I generally acknowledge generic storylines as being what they are - generic - but also emphasize that it's not the end of the world if other aspects of their hack have the potential to shine); mainly on the other elements that make up ROM hacking and encouraging originality and creativity in sidequests or mapping and other areas, rather than writing them off completely for not having a thrilling story.

 

[RedBaron474]

May I just add 1 point to this. You moderators will get more SPAM for approvals in Progressing Hacks. SPAM that can get reported and closed when noticed, and ignored in the Scrapbox, will turn into SPAM threads waiting approval, like the other GOOD threads need approving, as well as threads that lack crucial things as well, that would fit in the Scrapbox, but the noob hackers don't read rules and post small threads for approval in Progressing Hacks. This will make you annoyed, most chances, due to a possible flood, and make you busier. That is my opinion though...

Your call, you made it, may be good for our visual site, but we will see what consequences this has, and then... Who knows?

Of course, this is all just me thinking. You clever people will probably have a solution for this. And if so, I wish you luck with your choice.

Your completely right, Deviation. Moderators are going to get spammed like there's no tomorrow. I almost feel sorry for there Inbox. XD

 

[NarutoActor]

Your completely right, Deviation. Moderators are going to get spammed like there's no tomorrow. I almost feel sorry for there Inbox. XD

That's there job.(or more like responsibility since they don't get paid XD) If a newbie spams them too much then they will be banned.

I am new at all this stuff, well actually, am new to almost everything with the exception of AdvanceMap. But may I ask what do you guys consider "poo" and not "poo"? The hack that I'm helping work on is not very far along at all, mapped up to the first gym, but I want to know what's original and not.... I mean, we're trying to make a completely new region and stuff, whilst trying to incorporate our storyline into the Pokemon timeline. I don't want to sound like "oh, this hack is truly unique" etc., because I know that there are amazing plenty of amazing hacks out there, as well as many not-so-great ones. I just wanted to know your guys's opinion on this stuff.

Like all things in life its not how much you completed, but how nice the work that you have made. You can map the world, and if you mapping is crappy then it's worth NADA. So If you don't want poo in what ever you do make sure to learn about what you are doing to it's fullest, then try your hardest. After that take some suggestions fix it up, and post it for more comments. If this is done I can insure you, you will never make poo. So to speak,

So... Actually, I am amazing myself when I say... Yeah, you're right. They should learn, and some do. Shame the vast majority don't... But you seemed to be generalising. You did seem to act like you thought all new hackers did it. But, I digress, as you didn't mean that, as I now understand.

It seems a shame. The ones who needed the scrapbox abused it the most, and now they, and every other potentially great hacker are paying the price...

No, if a so caled "Potentially hacker" Realy has potential, then they can read a dang tutorial and come up with four screen shots. If they can't then they don't have potentially. Hence no reason for the scrapbox.

I agree with this. New hackers SHOULD be treated fairly. Not all of them act like the SPAMers yep they really should be treated nicely

You can still act like a newbie and not spam. Sating Chelsea lines like my hacks the best thing ever. Or putting together crummy tiles and expecting everybody to praise you. or even just starting a team and getting a member for every aspect of hacking, it's un realistic. I will treat you with respect if you are HUMBEL and try to read up on some aspects of hacking and invest some time. If you are interested, then show that you are.

True, there may be some of the worst hacks ever there, but hacks have to start somewhere. You can't just expect a new-to-the-forums hacker to go straight to the Progressing Hacks. So I think that "scrapping" the Scrapbox is being somewhat unfair to new hackers.

R.I.P. Scrapbox!!

Yes you can, you only need one screen shot. It forces a hacker to make some sort of commitment.

 

[FoggyDoggy]

Well, if people were to stop producing 'poo' and actually get things done then maybe there would bee less poo and more diamonds.
I think of it this way, there are 4 levels of hackers.

Newbies: They either just got started, or never improved from the time they had hacking. The hacks made by them are usually small, weak, pitiful. Simple edits, such as 'MAKING ALL POKEMON AVAILABLE IN POKEMON FR/LG OMFG LOLOL" and things like that usually come from them. We have all had this stage, if you never did, you are either lying, OR you went straight into...

Rom "Hackers": These are where a large portion of failed or abandoned hacks come from. The people here knew what they were doing, but either lost interest, or moved onto the next stage in this little list here. These people still reply on tools for a lot of things, but have actually TRIED to learn, unlike the last level, who look for simple ways out. These people probably read a few tutorials, and tried there hand at hacking.

REAL Rom Hackers: These are the people who produce those diamonds... or from time to time a really poorly cut opal. We get some decent hacks from them, and some great ones, look at Zel, LaZ, ME even, I fit into this group well. These people have done their homework, have patience enough to actually read a tutorial all the way through. We Hex Edit without fear, and usually end up doing some pretty neat stuff.

ASM and Above: These people have evolved from just Rom Editing, to Rom HACKING, not changing some hex with a tool, or repointing some data to expand it, but go so far as to change the game itself, to make it do things it was never made to do in the first place. A few examples? JPAN, ZodiacDaGreat, HackMew, interdpth, we all have come to know and love these names, and if you don't know who they are... I pity you. These people have done their homework, turned it in, got an A, and then some! You gotta have some real knowledge of computers, or at least an assembly compiler to be here, good luck!



My theory, if people were to skip the Newbie phase by actually learning to have some patience, read some tutorials, and try things HANDS ON, instead of asking for help 24/7/ then we would see less 'poo' and more' diamonds'.

(PS. Still waiting for another ASM tut... lol)

That's there job.(or more like responsibility since they don't get paid XD) If a newbie spams them too much then they will be banned.

Like all things in life its not how much you completed, but how nice the work that you have made. You can map the world, and if you mapping is crappy then it's worth NADA. So If you don't want poo in what ever you do make sure to learn about what you are doing to it's fullest, then try your hardest. After that take some suggestions fix it up, and post it for more comments. If this is done I can insure you, you will never make poo. So to speak,

No, if a so caled "Potentially hacker" Realy has potential, then they can read a dang tutorial and come up with four screen shots. If they can't then they don't have potentially. Hence no reason for the scrapbox.

You can still act like a newbie and not spam. Sating Chelsea lines like my hacks the best thing ever. Or putting together crummy tiles and expecting everybody to praise you. or even just starting a team and getting a member for every aspect of hacking, it's un realistic. I will treat you with respect if you are HUMBEL and try to read up on some aspects of hacking and invest some time. If you are interested, then show that you are.

Yes you can, you only need one screen shot. It forces a hacker to make some sort of commitment.

Wise words indeed, yes, though I don't think the scrapbox should be scraped.
Some pretty decent hacks come out of there.
As well as the motivation factor, if a newbie posts a hack idea in the scrapbox, and it is a good idea, then good on him/her. If it isn't a good one, then that is where people can tell that person that.
A big problem in that stage is that most people don't tell people the truth, and butter it up, saying the hack would be a good idea, so when the newb continues, they end up abandoning the project, or people don't like it when it hits the "Progressing Hacks" section.
If people were to just be blunt and tell the newbie what they need to hear we'd get some more quality out of that poop.

 

[NarutoActor]

That's the thing. People get mad at you when you are blunt, they even go so for as to call you rude! Not necessarily the creator, just a fan, or a bystander. More People need to know the definition of "Tough Love". Also If every one had the moral of self preservation, and believed something made with ones own hands in the end of the day is more valuable; then there would be no newbie class. ( I am not saying don't ask questions. But use questions as a LAST RESORT after you tried yourself, and did some homework. Anything worth having, is worth working on.)

 

[remake]

NarutoActor, I don't see why people shouldn't be discouraged from asking questions. If a "newb" asks a question that's already been answered, a simple link to the previous thread would be suffiecient with instructions to PM someone knowledgeable for further questions. That's how I treat "newbs" on other forums.

Personally, especially when I don't know much about a certain subject (like what has been hacked for a game I haven't looked at yet, what can be modified with a tool, and what requires ASM checking), I'll ask questions just to know the scope of hackable features ahead of time so I can plan my approach better.

Mind you, I haven't checked the Scrapbox much myself but mostly that's because I believe people shouldn't post a "hack" unless they have the basics (storyline, item/Pokemon/trainer/world edits, tilesets) at least on schedule (as in all the major features can be reported ahead of time in the first Scrapbox post), assigned to various team members (if they have any). (Hence why I haven't posted mine yet.) A simple story with 2-3 screenshots shouldn't be posted.

 

[NarutoActor]

no that's just plain lazy-ness. If you want your question answered look first. The title of the thread is SEARCH BEFORE ASKING.

 

[~Teh Panda~]

I agree full hearted with your post Interdpth.

Really this site attracts a lot of youngsters though as it is a pokemon site so we would come to expect a lot of those to be prepubescent people who got their new Pokemon Platinum Version wishing to explore into the world of trading pokemon and etc. They become somewhat active on those subsections and one day take a step out and realize the vast sections this site provides. I mean look at that German hacking site (whats it called??). The hacks there stump what the general hacker here is. Graphically and the scripts also correspond to this. Really the downfall is the user base.

........

Now that being said there is a light ahead, one which could bring happy days to all here. I know a lot of hackers whom have potential, also a lot here who still may be young still have potential and if they have the strive then I really would not doubt seeing some come out as top notch hackers. I really liked that "4 classes of hackers" that OA came up with. Really I too consider my self a level 3 of the four "REAL Rom Hacker". I have been here 2 and a half years and had my share of learning. As we can recall last summer the MASS rush of so called Newbies whom I personally think some greats could come out of. There really are some diamonds in the batch of coal and lets go harvest them!

........

Newbies who read this, GET busy LEARNING!!!!!!!

BAI :D

 

[Sarcastic Prince]

I agree.
Why make Johto GBA Hacks
when there's HG/SS?

It's pointless.

Hacks like FR/LG remakes are
pretty pointless aswell.

Why make a remake of it when it's
already awesome and a
really good base?

 

[interdpth]

Wow, this thread went to the deep end real fast. :(

Proof of what I said is in this thread.

 

[~Teh Panda~]

Wow, this thread went to the deep end real fast. :(

Proof of what I said is in this thread.

...What? Actually all I see is a nice little debate here with a few worth while posts. I don't see proof of anything really here. Yet maybe some hypocritical posts from hackers who are themselves "nublets". Even you yourself still have skills which hinder from what I have seen such as graphics maybe? (No not ASM graphics like the title. I mean mapping and that such.) Really no one is perfect in my opinion and no one EVER will be. We are all humans sharing this same basic structure. Anyone can make a mistake. Yet anyone ALSO can learn.

Now I did not mean to get off topic or anything but really I just had to point out your post was a bit blunt...

 

[Full Metal]

IMO we need a "I'ma post my idea here and then let another person take over the entire hack and give up" section....
The scrapbox in IMO should have been for people who actually had screenshots, and updated it from time to time. I realize that making a hack is quite a long process, and should be reserved for doing over the summer, which is why i mostly do updates on my sinnoh patch/small work on my hack which is progressing mawr and mawr, plus i work on tools and a small (really, miniscule) research on the gba...for example, right nao i'm working on a pallette maker/editor etc that works with png files. I know its redundant with all the tools available nao, but i'd like to "consolidate the toolkits". And since most of the tools available are not open source (or in the case of hackmew...in a language i understand...as in !vb ), i have to do a bit of my own research.
So yea...i gotta wonder if half the people who had threads in the scrapbox are still here....

 

[interdpth]

...What? Actually all I see is a nice little debate here with a few worth while posts. I don't see proof of anything really here. Yet maybe some hypocritical posts from hackers who are themselves "nublets". Even you yourself still have skills which hinder from what I have seen such as graphics maybe? (No not ASM graphics like the title. I mean mapping and that such.) Really no one is perfect in my opinion and no one EVER will be. We are all humans sharing this same basic structure. Anyone can make a mistake. Yet anyone ALSO can learn.

Now I did not mean to get off topic or anything but really I just had to point out your post was a bit blunt...

I suck at graphics, music, dialogue, all sorts of stuff, I openly admit it :) Which is why I get friends to help me XD

 

[~Teh Panda~]

I suck at graphics, music, dialogue, all sorts of stuff, I openly admit it :) Which is why I get friends to help me XD

:P, I didn't mean to be harsh just was trying to pass a point. I do admit though asm far stumps the difficulty level of learning all those!