FireRed hack: Hidden Ties

[KaiVii]

totally excited for this!

 

[trebornosliw]

Oh, a note for you all. I could really use some help with this project. I've been doing everything so far by myself, and I'm making out alright, but some assistance would really be appreciated. At the moment I need a World Map drawer/inserter, an intro screen editor, and a sprite inserter/tester. If you can help out, let me know, all of these are areas that I'm weak in.

 

[Hedgehogger]

Right now I've got no ideas for a special side quest/mission...But for the Setmaptile scripts, you could put a setmaptile command in the Map's level script, after it checks a certain flag. I think that should make it work.

 

[trebornosliw]

Right now I've got no ideas for a special side quest/mission...But for the Setmaptile scripts, you could put a setmaptile command in the Map's level script, after it checks a certain flag. I think that should make it work.

Hm, yeah, I heard something to that effect from the Script Help thread, but I wasn't exactly sure how to work that. For the moment I'm just going to take the easy way out, as at this point it really doesn't matter that much at this point, but I'll have to mess around with that some. Thanks for the tip!
I'm going to go ahead and reveal one of the side quests, just to give you an idea of what they're like, and to bare it to suggestions for improvement. Basically, this first side quest is just a simple endurance-battle challenge, only one that's run by wild Pokemon rather than trainers. After you reach a certain point in the game, you will be able to access an area from which you were previously warned away. There you'll battle a series of wild Pokemon, all high in level. After beating each Pokemon, if you take one step back from the tile on which that Pokemon challenged you, the battle is reset and you have to do it all over again. Defeat all of the wild Pokemon, either by knocking them out or capturing them (note: I inadvertantly created an ideal opportunity to 'farm' rare Pokemon here, but I suppose it can't be helped...), and you will be able to face off against the area's "Guardian." I might also throw in a treasure room of some sort. Anyway, it's a pretty basic idea, nothing too original, but I'm a great believer in the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" (which is why I'm using Firered tiles too, btw :P).
Finally, I also have a story update. Here's chapter 3, be sure to let me know what you think! Again, this is probably a lot more detailed than the event in the hack itself will be.

Chapter 3: Inner Strength

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

The Sneasel's sharp claws dug painfully into Gift's chin as he gazed, eye-to-eye, at the diminutive assailant. Blood began to trickle down his neck, and the Sneasel drew glinting claws back for a decisive slash. Wham! Ralts' small body hurtled into the would-be killer, jolting Sneasel sideways, his claws leaving a jagged red line across Gift's cheek in a thwarted strike. Hissing, Sneasel backhanded Ralts viciously across the midsection, sending the little Pokémon tumbling backwards. As Ralts came crashing to a halt against Gift's knees, Sneasel lept after her, all claws and teeth and shadow.
"Ralts! Flash attack, quickly!" A blinding burst of luminescence illuminated the chamber, and Gift heard Sneasel shout in surprise. Eyes closed, Gift leapt to the right, blindly pulling Ralts along with him, and heard a sinister whistle as Sneasel's claws ripped through the space previously occupied by Gift's head. There was a dull thunk as Sneasel impacted the far wall, and opening his eyes, Gift yelled "Tackle!"
Ralts went sailing into Sneasel's back, driving the Pokémon hard against the unyielding stone wall. Gift heard a grunt of pain from the dark Pokémon, then in a flurry of blindingly fast, swiping movements, Ralts was thrown brutally across the passageway, crashing into the hard floor and barely rolling aside in time as Sneasel came slashing down on the spot where Ralts had fallen. Sparks exploded from Sneasel's claws as they scraped grooves in the tunnel floor, and Gift darted forward, lowering his body and delivering a low, sweeping kick to Sneasel's legs. His foot met only air and floating gravel as Sneasel leapt above the attack, eyes flashing and teeth bared as he sliced a vicious gash in Gift's leg with the claws on his feet. Landing, Sneasel made another mighty leap, avoiding Ralts' desperate tackle, spinning around in midair, and kicking off from the ceiling to hurtle at Gift like a scything bullet. Gift almost failed to see the attack coming in the semidarkness of the tunnel, rolling aside at the last moment and receiving a stinging slash to the left shoulder.
Gift spun himself around on the floor, tearing one of his backpack straps and kicking out blindly at the spot where Sneasel had landed. He was surprised to feel his foot make contact, and he heard another grunt as Sneasel tumbled backwards head over heels. Gift rolled up onto his feet, blinking a trickle of blood out of his eye as he cautiously advanced. Back in the Grove, Machop had taught him some basic sparring techniques, but Sneasel was simply too fast, too skilled for those to be of any real use. Even as Gift was thinking this, he brought up his right arm to deflect a slash aimed for his face, earning another gash across his forearm for the trouble. Sneasel pressed the attack, and Gift backpedaled furiously to avoid the scything claws, finally coming up hard against the wall. Sneasel ducked under Gift's desperate guard and came up directly in front of the boy, eyes glinting, claws pressing delicately into Gift's neck.
"I'm impressed," Sneasel remarked. "You're the first trainer I've met who didn't make his Pokémon do all the work for him. Still, nobody trespasses on my territory. I let you through, and soon everyone will think this is some sort of public highway for them to use whenever they please. So it's nothing pers-" Wham!
Sneasel was once again thrown to the side as a battered and scratched Ralts slammed into his side. Wasting no time, Gift pounced upon the one course of action left open to him, the only thing that might actually work. Hissing in anger, Sneasel leapt to his feet and darted forward… straight into the PokeBall that came flying from Gift's hand. Surprise and fury showed for a brief moment on Sneasel's face, and then the Pokémon was enveloped in a blinding flash of white light and vanished into the red and white sphere. Immediately the ball began to quiver as Sneasel fought to break out. Grimly, Gift fished another PokeBall out of his back and strode forward just as the quivering ball exploded, and Sneasel leapt snarling back out. Even before the PokeBall had finished opening Gift was pivoting on his left leg, bringing his right up, bent, and straightening the leg into a vicious side kick that caught Sneasel in midair, slamming the Pokémon hard in the midsection and sending him flying backwards into the wall. Giving the assailant no time to collect himself, Gift threw the second PokeBall, momentarily glimpsing Sneasel's enraged expression as he was enveloped in a second wave of light.
The ball clacked shut and began immediately to vibrate. Gift watched the orb warily as he selected another ball from his pack, cocking his fatigued arm for another throw. This proved to be unnecessary. With a final shudder, the quivering ball fell still, the button at the sphere's center popping outward with a sharp click!
Gift bent down, scooped the ball into his pack, and looked around for Ralts. The spunky little Pokémon was standing, shaking with fatigue and pain, on the tunnel floor. Though she was obviously badly injured, Gift could see a satisfied smile on her face.
"Here," Gift slung off his pack and sat down in front of Ralts. "Gardevoir gave me some potions before we left; let's fix you up."
Too exhausted to reply, Ralts nodded, and slumped gratefully into the crook of Gift's bloody arm as he sprayed her with the curative liquid. It felt good to rest, and Gift lay gratefully back as he waited for the Potion to take effect. Eventually he became aware of a large number of Zubat, all eyeing his wounds rather hungrily, and, heaving himself to his feet, Gift scooped Ralts up in his arms and trudged onwards, towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[KaiVii]

I like this chapter, but my only question is, how will you play out that battle scene?

 

[trebornosliw]

Like I said, the game won't be near as detailed. I'll just have the murmers from the dark, then a battle with a wild Sneasel.
Oh, and I'll also mess with Ralts' moveset, obviously.
UPDATE: I've finished the first alpha. Now to beta test and clean up any bugs, then I should have a release for you.

 

[trebornosliw]

Okay, hopefully this update will be my last before the big release :)
Giradialkia, Hidden Ties' illustrious and impossibly cool beta tester, just informed me that my houses are warping him to the middle of nowhere. Literally (though, in all fairness, the middle of nowhere also warps you right back). The good side of this is that these mess-ups on my part let you gain access to trainers earlier than you normally would. The downside, those trainers are roughly twice your level :P
I'm working on fixing that, along with a ladder that doesn't like to be used and a few other issues. Luckily there haven't been any really major bugs yet, as far as I know, so I'll just fix these issues and send it along for another test, at which point, well, we shall see...

 

[Hedgehogger]

Okay, hopefully this update will be my last before the big release :)
Giradialkia, Hidden Ties' illustrious and impossibly cool beta tester, just informed me that my houses are warping him to the middle of nowhere. Literally (though, in all fairness, the middle of nowhere also warps you right back). The good side of this is that these mess-ups on my part let you gain access to trainers earlier than you normally would. The downside, those trainers are roughly twice your level :P
I'm working on fixing that, along with a ladder that doesn't like to be used and a few other issues. Luckily there haven't been any really major bugs yet, as far as I know, so I'll just fix these issues and send it along for another test, at which point, well, we shall see...

Cool, I can't wait to play the Beta release. I don't know about the 'warping to the middle of nowhere' part, but I can fathom a good guess why the ladder doesn't work. In the games, the ladder/cave exits have tiles directly around them with specific Behavior Bytes:

Spoiler:

62-Arrow right => warp right of block
63-Arrow left => warp left of block
64-Arrow up => warp above block
65-arrow down; warp under block

I hope it helps.

 

[trebornosliw]

Cool, I can't wait to play the Beta release. I don't know about the 'warping to the middle of nowhere' part, but I can fathom a good guess why the ladder doesn't work. In the games, the ladder/cave exits have tiles directly around them with specific Behavior Bytes:

Spoiler:

62-Arrow right => warp right of block
63-Arrow left => warp left of block
64-Arrow up => warp above block
65-arrow down; warp under block

I hope it helps.

Lol, yeah, actually I had already fixed this. I just used the basic "use warp" behavior byte. Thanks though!

 

[FoggyDoggy]

Don't EVER write text in the grass... it looks plain ugly... BLEGH

 

[trebornosliw]

Don't EVER write text in the grass... it looks plain ugly... BLEGH

Lol, sorry. It doesn't look as bad in-game though.
Okay, fixed issues with the first attempt and sent it back for a retest... we're having some problems with warps that don't make any sense.

 

[KaiVii]

Like I said, the game won't be near as detailed. I'll just have the murmers from the dark, then a battle with a wild Sneasel.
Oh, and I'll also mess with Ralts' moveset, obviously.
UPDATE: I've finished the first alpha. Now to beta test and clean up any bugs, then I should have a release for you.

Makes perfect sense to me :)

 

[trebornosliw]

Okay, the warp problem has been fixed, though it messed up the ROM enough that I had to pull out a backup and reconstruct a lot of what I'd completed thus far. It's going through a second beta-test, and hopefully will have some new Pokemon inserted as well.

 

[Dark.vs.Light]

Oh, a note for you all. I could really use some help with this project. I've been doing everything so far by myself, and I'm making out alright, but some assistance would really be appreciated. At the moment I need a World Map drawer/inserter, an intro screen editor, and a sprite inserter/tester. If you can help out, let me know, all of these are areas that I'm weak in.

If you still need help, I'll give you a hand. I'm fairly good with inserting sprites via UNLZ, if that's what you mean by a sprite inserter/tester. This project has slowly grown since I first saw it. So, yeah, I'd like to help in an way possible.

 

[trebornosliw]

If you still need help, I'll give you a hand. I'm fairly good with inserting sprites via UNLZ, if that's what you mean by a sprite inserter/tester. This project has slowly grown since I first saw it. So, yeah, I'd like to help in an way possible.

Thanks, I really appreciate it, but I've already got a sprite inserter for the time being. However, if the need arises, would you be able to insert a new set of hero sprites, back and front?
Oh, and do you do custom sprites, btw? I'm going to need at least one, probably two of those, one Pokemon and one trainer.

 

[Dark.vs.Light]

Thanks, I really appreciate it, but I've already got a sprite inserter for the time being. However, if the need arises, would you be able to insert a new set of hero sprites, back and front?

I suppose I could. Depends if they need to be custom or if they are going to be from another game. I'm not great with custom stuff, you see.

Oh, and do you do custom sprites, btw? I'm going to need at least one, probably two of those, one Pokemon and one trainer.

I could have a go, I think. I'm not great with custom stuff, as I already mentioned. But if it'll help this hack along, I could take a look at spriting tutorials, and get something done for you.

Edit: Reuploading banner at Trebornosliw's "request."
Here it is again with a proper BBCode this time.

(BBCode) Remove the stars! [IMG*]https://i12.servimg.com/u/f12/14/62/07/92/banner10.png[/IMG*]

 

[zein]

the maps look's good but i dont like the palettes...you can get better palettes.

 

[trebornosliw]

@DarkvsLight, okay, well, I've got someone doing the hero sprites for me so those will be pre-made. I'll get back to you on the customs, first I need to figure out exactly what I'll need. Thanks!

...WHOA! That's awesome! I didn't even see that banner till just now. I'll stick it on post 1 right away, thanks a bunch!
...............................why is it gone when I refresh?
Okay, have it back now. Thanks again!

@Zein, you mean the OW palettes? I agree. Care to offer an alternative, from an in-game palette?

 

[Dry]

This is a high quality hack.
Not many people appreciate the time and effort that goes into a short sequence ingame.
Comming up with new revolutionary ways to play the game is by far what seperates this hack.
There are thousands of hacks that have the same type storyline in them, several however have risen up to meet a higher standard of hack.
One being Toxic purple, that truely gave everyone a glimpse of what hacking should be like pure new untainted ideas.
Your storyline is that of a proffesional writer. The features are collected together in a mix and match type way that works along the basis that our actions contribute to an outcome. The time you have obviously put into this is monumental.

Anyone who reads this pleease give the creator some praise. In which his hack is truly worthy of.
I have high expectations for this hack.

 

[trebornosliw]

This is a high quality hack.
Not many people appreciate the time and effort that goes into a short sequence ingame.
Comming up with new revolutionary ways to play the game is by far what seperates this hack.
There are thousands of hacks that have the same type storyline in them, several however have risen up to meet a higher standard of hack.
One being Toxic purple, that truely gave everyone a glimpse of what hacking should be like pure new untainted ideas.
Your storyline is that of a proffesional writer. The features are collected together in a mix and match type way that works along the basis that our actions contribute to an outcome. The time you have obviously put into this is monumental.

Anyone who reads this pleease give the creator some praise. In which his hack is truly worthy of.
I have high expectations for this hack.

...............................................................................................................................................................................................
Wow. Thanks! Maybe I should submit this for some sort of Nobel prize.
Erm, anyhoo, I want to let you all know that beta testing is just about completed. I've instituted all the changes recommended by Giradialkia, and I'll be making the final test tonight. By tomorrow, if all goes well, you'll have an alpha!
Thanks for your support everyone, especially Dry, whose support is beginning to border on idol worship (but in a good way).
Oh, and we've Giradialkia has inserted five new Pokemon that you should run into at some point, most taken from my personal favorites (hint: Weavile is God).