[Discussion] Debugging options

[Maruno]

This is a discussion thread for everything related to the various debugging tools in Essentials. There are three main debugging "centres":

The Pause menu's Debug menu
This is definitely the largest single set of debugging tools in Essentials. In here you can change the values of switches and variables, add/remove items and Pokémon, set metadata and encounters, test battles, extract and compile text, connect maps, make animations, and do a variety of other things too.

The External Editor
This is the separate program that comes with Essentials. In it you can do many of the things that you can in the above Debug menu (except those directly affecting a game in progress). The tools unique to the External Editor are:

• Sprite Repositioner (both individual sprites + batch)
• Export All Animations, Import All Animations
• Create/Edit Individual Trainers (i.e. not trainer types, the trainers themselves)
• Create/Edit Items

The Party screen's/Storage screen's Pokémon-specific Debug menu
This is the same in both of the places you'll find it. Here you can change a Pokémon's species/level/nature/gender/ability/form, teach it moves, copy or delete the Pokémon, view the hidden values (EVs/IVs/happiness/ID/form), and generate cheat codes (which apparently you can use to spawn that Pokémon in Ruby/Sapphire games somehow).

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That's all well and good, but I'm sure it's lacking in various respects, and some of the options could be better organised. My question to you is: how?

For instance, do you think it would be a good idea to put the External Editor's features into Essentials proper, then just get rid of the External Editor? Is a particular debugging tool restrictive, enough so that you think it needs improving? Are there tools you think are useless and should be gotten rid of, or tools you'd like to have? Is there another "centre" you think should have debug options (e.g. in battle), and if so, what options?

Any and all comments are welcome, even tiny ones. I want to know how using Essentials could be made easier for you.

 

[FL]

I like the editor (even preferring to edit the PBS manually), it is more friendly to the new users.

I agree to merge the External Editor functions with the debug menu. If you do this, please put a option to access the debug menu in Continue/New Game/Options selection and put a confirmation to some options that change the PBS, mainly "Reposition all".

Suggestions:
-Back button works in some debug options (like battle versus a wild pokémon).
-When tests a trainer battle can select if it is single or double.
-Put coordinates entry in "Warp to map". Sometimes I get lost in my own maps! Every time that the option is pressed a random ones is generated for the ones who like the old way.
-An option to pokémon in Day-Care, if they can, generates a egg.
-An option to refresh the map ('$game_map.need_refresh = true'), because when I am debugging and changing the switches/variables sometimes I need to exit and enter again in a map to activate some events.
-In pokémon menu an option to change the happiness.

Maybe "Toggle menu" is useless?

Probably isn't necessary, but what you think about an option to test wild battle, but with a pokémon with edited moves to test the moves?

 

[FlipelyFlip]

I would wish for the next verson an additional point by editing the trainer pokemon which defines the form of the pokémon. The function for shiny and dark pokémon is good, but I'd like to set it for pokémon like Unown to be an A, an C or maybe an K for the trainer battle.

~flipy

 

[Nickalooose]

I'd like to see an option to set Gender for Trainer Pokémon or maybe this can be edited through the script section itself I dunno... Just something I'd like to see!

 

[Maruno]

I like the editor (even preferring to edit the PBS manually), it is more friendly to the new users.

I agree to merge the External Editor functions with the debug menu. If you do this, please put a option to access the debug menu in Continue/New Game/Options selection and put a confirmation to some options that change the PBS, mainly "Reposition all".

Suggestions:
-Back button works in some debug options (like battle versus a wild pokémon).
-When tests a trainer battle can select if it is single or double.
-Put coordinates entry in "Warp to map". Sometimes I get lost in my own maps! Every time that the option is pressed a random ones is generated for the ones who like the old way.
-An option to pokémon in Day-Care, if they can, generates a egg.
-An option to refresh the map ('$game_map.need_refresh = true'), because when I am debugging and changing the switches/variables sometimes I need to exit and enter again in a map to activate some events.
-In pokémon menu an option to change the happiness.

Maybe "Toggle menu" is useless?

Probably isn't necessary, but what you think about an option to test wild battle, but with a pokémon with edited moves to test the moves?

I'm not sure there's a need to include the Debug menu in the load game screen, since you can access it easily from the pause menu anyway. It's not that much slower to load a savegame before pressing X/Esc.

You made some good suggestions there. I'm looking to see what people want out of the debugging features, and clearly there are important parts missing.

"Toggle menu" is extremely useless, particularly as you can't undo it (you need to open the pause menu in order to toggle it back on again). I don't even know why that option exists, or when the player would ever not be able to access the pause menu.

Regarding the "refresh map" option, which debugging options should have it happen automatically after using them? Changing switches/variables, I suppose, but are there any others? Should any of the options automatically refresh the map at all? "Refresh map" will also be its own option as well, of course.

I would wish for the next verson an additional point by editing the trainer pokemon which defines the form of the pokémon. The function for shiny and dark pokémon is good, but I'd like to set it for pokémon like Unown to be an A, an C or maybe an K for the trainer battle.

~flipy

That's not a debugging option, that's just a game setting. It'll come eventually.

I'd like to see an option to set Gender for Trainer Pokémon or maybe this can be edited through the script section itself I dunno... Just something I'd like to see!

That's not a debugging option, that's just a game setting. It'll come eventually.

 

[IceGod64]

I like the idea of having the Editor.exe, in its entirety, in the actual project for Pokémon Essentials. My reason is this:

Currently, the only way to edit the editor to match updates/changes to your game involves renaming the editorscripts.rxdata to scripts.rxdata after copying/renaming your original scripts. This isn't really a mess of any sort, nor is it complicated, but it seems rather unnecessary to me.

One thing I'd like to see added is a debug option to edit a Pokémon's EV's and IV's on the spot. Also, I don't recall if it's possible to change forms through debug, if not, that's something to add too.

 

[Nickalooose]

My mistake... In all fairness, the editor how it is, is fine, bar the few bugs it holds, looking at the way it is led out, it's fine in my opinion, personally sometimes having debug always on is sometimes annoying, especially when you are trying to test an HM, for obvious reasons, as debug can use HM's without actually owning them... I know somebody came up with a way to cancel this, but still annoying...

Giving Essentials the external editors options I think would be a horrible idea, but, maybe adding ANIMATIONS to Essentials proper, possibly... The editor is good for this I think, but using Essentials would be more convenient...

Maybe the editor/debugging options are a bit early of a work plan, to be worked on, seems alright to me at the moment, plus, almost everything the editor can do, anybody can do manually and in my experience, I think manual is a lot quicker!

Do I think you can make the editor better than it is... Not particulaly!
More convenient... Possibly!

Unless anybody can come up with anything to prove/show any difference, I stand by that and wouldn't change anything.

With your experience, there are alot of bugs and such that you should/could be looking to iron out, or, adding more features like the couple stated in previous posts.

 

[FL]

Maybe is good to set a "false clock" to test time-based events or maybe this isn't necessary as you can change the computer clock.

I'm not sure there's a need to include the Debug menu in the load game screen, since you can access it easily from the pause menu anyway. It's not that much slower to load a savegame before pressing X/Esc.

You made some good suggestions there. I'm looking to see what people want out of the debugging features, and clearly there are important parts missing.

"Toggle menu" is extremely useless, particularly as you can't undo it (you need to open the pause menu in order to toggle it back on again). I don't even know why that option exists, or when the player would ever not be able to access the pause menu.

Regarding the "refresh map" option, which debugging options should have it happen automatically after using them? Changing switches/variables, I suppose, but are there any others? Should any of the options automatically refresh the map at all? "Refresh map" will also be its own option as well, of course.

Regarding the debug menu in the load game screen, think about someone new to Essentials, he can have a better access to this options and even it is a good thing to show fast some Essentials features and make him more interested. And something can be annoying to create a save/do all the new game introduction thing to use the editor features. Wait... maybe is a very good feature to put something like: Hold control in Oak lecture to skip to the "Are you a boy or a girl" part.

Regarding the "refresh map" option, I think that the best think is to make it only activates in its own option, because sometimes I want to test some switch change without refreshing the map. Or can have even a option to set it auto or manually in debug/settings?

My mistake... In all fairness, the editor how it is, is fine, bar the few bugs it holds, looking at the way it is led out, it's fine in my opinion, personally sometimes having debug always on is sometimes annoying, especially when you are trying to test an HM, for obvious reasons, as debug can use HM's without actually owning them... I know somebody came up with a way to cancel this, but still annoying...

You can play the game without opening RPG Maker XP, but I thinks that a Debug option to making this flag false (with confirmation, please), can be a good thing. I don't think that it can be useful apart of changing switches/variables.

 

[FL]

In "Add Item", after you select an item its close, so if you pick the item 300, you go back to 1, this can be bad if you want to pick the items from 300-310 without "Fill Bag". This can be expand to others like "Add Pokémon".

My mistake... In all fairness, the editor how it is, is fine, bar the few bugs it holds, looking at the way it is led out, it's fine in my opinion, personally sometimes having debug always on is sometimes annoying, especially when you are trying to test an HM, for obvious reasons, as debug can use HM's without actually owning them... I know somebody came up with a way to cancel this, but still annoying...

Or also this skip HM requirement thing can only occur if the player hold control.

I don't think that it can be useful apart of changing switches/variables.

This phrase is about of "refresh map" but I put on wrong place.