[Other] New to Pokemon rom hacking field (3rd gen)

[Rulep]

Hi, I would like to ask a question. What tools should I be using? I know there is Google, Tutorial/Tool child board, etc. The only problem is I don't know which tools are up to date and good for "certain areas of the ROM". I heard a few stuff about these tools; Fire Red, Emerald and Ruby have different tools for each other. There is Advanced Map 1.92 and 1.95, but one has less features and the other breaks the ROM. Also there is a tool called "Overworld Editor Rebirth" what's the difference between those 2 tools? Those are my questions in general. Lastly I see progress hacks list 8-15 used tools typically, so I have no idea where to start from here.

- Any help is appreciated and thanks for taking to time to read and/or help.

 

[longlostsoldier]

What I do is go to a successful, recent looking hack for the game I want to hack, see what tools (and patches!) they used, and search for them. You'll find lots of interesting stuff that way. Also, make lots of backups; I've used both advanced map versions, mostly the 1.92, and whenever I mess something up or the program messes something up I go to a backup or sometimes I use a hex editor to undo what I just did. The number one tool I use is the XSE script editor, that's up to date.

If you go to the tools section, anything in the first few pages is probably up to date. Frankly I've never had any problems with them. I wouldn't worry too much about out of date tools as long as you backup.

edit: Okay, I should clarify. You probably shouldn't use advancedmap 1.95 unless you really need to for some reason, since that's the version that breaks roms.