Newbie with a Dream

[Johto_Master]

Hello everyone, my name is Ben. I'm a die-hard fan of Pokemon, and have always wanted to make my own Pokemon game. I think it's about time to start.

I've always been fascinated with the Orange Islands, and really want to make a HeartGold hack of basically a "Pokemon Orange Version." I know GBA hacking is much easier, but I want the game to have the updated mechanics, play on an ace card, and look nicer in general. If I'm going to invest any time into something, I want to make it as good as I can.

The problem is, I don't know how to do ANYTHING. I have Desume and a working HeartGold rom with the Freeze fixed, and that's where I stand. I was directed to the PokeCommunity and was told not only do most of the people here know what they're doing and do it very well, but they can be exceptionally helpful.

I'm not very computer savvy, know nothing about coding or how any of the DS hack tools work, but I am very determined to put a LOT of time into this project and am willing to learn. At this point I guess I am asking to be pointed in the right direction, or dare I ask, get a personal tutor.

The game won't need much I think, it's not like I'm adding any new Pokemon. I just want to transform the Johto/Kanto landmass into the Orange Archipelago. The game would focus mainly on the side story due to only 4 gyms in the archipelago, so I'm trying to learn C# (I believe that's what I need to know, correct?)

So, I'm a guy with a dream and would love any help I could get.

 

[Meta Paradox]

Welcome to the forums, Johto_Master!

If you're on to DS hacking, you should have a proper plan set out before you take any action. When you've got the plot, the data, and the layout, you should scout around for the tools you need. There are some tools around here, but try searching the 'Net for more. Once you've found your tools, search for tutorials. Once you've learned the tool, start the hack! Always make backup copies of your ROM, so you can test things if they work. Once you've made quite a framework, try releasing a beta. Let other players test your hack and ask for bugs, or glitches, or suggestions. Try fixing things up and make the most out of your hack!

I'll be looking forward for Pokemon Orange!

[Then again, you might wanna try reconsidering to hack GBA ROMs instead. It's much easier and you can do a lot more.]

Hope I helped. :)

What I meant by data is the scripts, the offsets, that kind of stuff.

Personally, I'm totally clueless about DS hacking. I've had some experience with GBA hacks before I tried to do my first proper hack (to be released soon). If you're on to the graphics part of your hack, try working a DS hack. But if you're more on the gameplay (the essence of the game), the possibilities (Can you do this? Can you do that?), and the compatibility (Can it be played on other systems, like a PSP?), I recommend hacking a GBA ROM instead.

You might want to search for other advice, I'm jsut a starter here, too. :)

Good luck!

What I meant by data is the scripts, the offsets, that kind of stuff.

Personally, I'm totally clueless about DS hacking. I've had some experience with GBA hacks before I tried to do my first proper hack (to be released soon). If you're on to the graphics part of your hack, try working a DS hack. But if you're more on the gameplay (the essence of the game), the possibilities (Can you do this? Can you do that?), and the compatibility (Can it be played on other systems, like a PSP?), I recommend hacking a GBA ROM instead.

You might want to search for other advice, I'm jsut a starter here, too. :)

Good luck!

 

[Johto_Master]

I've got the plot, and lay out down, but I'm not to quite sure what you meant by data.

What are the necessary tools and what are they called? I know I need a map editor and some kind of script editor I guess.


Or are good DS Hacks even possible at this point? I've looked around and could't seem to find any, should I just resort to GBA?

I heard someone here named Link is working on a map tool, and I found his thread. I decided to just wait until that's finished, and work on stuff like sprite edits for now.

 

[Lautrec]

Hey there and welcome to the forums.

Unfortunately, there are far more tools (even loads that are adapted to newbies) for GBA hacking. Also, you're gonna have some competition since it only takes YouTube/Google search to see that there have been many attempts in the past of such a game.

Nevertheless, I wish you good luck. You may wish to invest time into making one from scratch using scripts in RPG Maker XP (which happens to have all sorts of add-on gimmicks for making a Pokemon game, and you don't need to worry about things like 'Limited Colour Pallets' and 'Rom-Riddled Errors'), although it'll only be for PC and unless you figure out how to make one in RPG Maker VX, the people who play it will need RMXP as well.

Anywho, best of luck! And I hope you enjoy your stay here in the forums!

 

[Palamon]

Dreams are great. I hope yours comes true. Welcome to the forums! Jotho_Master, and enjoy your stay!

 

[Johto_Master]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the input.

Oh, and Shut Up Tyranitar, I've thought of doing RPG Maker and decided against it for the reason that it can't be played on anything else. I really want to bring this hack around on R4s and stuff, and desperately want it to have 4th Gen mechanics. I guess I'm just gonna have to wait. Gen 3 wasn't easy at the beginning, was it?

 

[Dawn]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the input.

Oh, and Shut Up Tyranitar, I've thought of doing RPG Maker and decided against it for the reason that it can't be played on anything else. I really want to bring this hack around on R4s and stuff, and desperately want it to have 4th Gen mechanics. I guess I'm just gonna have to wait. Gen 3 wasn't easy at the beginning, was it?

You're right! We've been working on making 4th gen games hackable for a while. I'm sure we've made massive progress since last I checked out the scene.

Welcome to the Pokecommunity. We're home to the biggest rom hacking community I know, so yeah, you came to the right place. You should look around the ROM Hacking Section for help with ROM hacking.

As for Link and his map editor, here is his thread on that. https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=234065

You want to go to the link that says "View on Google Code", which will take you to a google code page. You should click "Downloads" on the top tab on that page, which will show you links to several zip files of the program. The current revision was updated March 17th of this year. Pretty recently. It looks neat! Even promises support for Gen 5.

Hope I helped~

 

[Johto_Master]

Well, in Link's thread there are posts saying it might be as long as 5 years before it's finished. I'm not sure I want to wait that long SOO I'm just gonna suck it up and do a Gen 3 hack. I'm aware Orange Islands hacks may have been done before, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to make one the best I can.

Now, even though Gen 3 is easier, I'm still new to hacking and know nothing. What hack tools should I download? Where do I get them? Where can I watch tutorials? FireRed, LeafGreen, or Emerald? Any help is much appreciated, as now the goal of completing this thing is realistic.

 

[Johto_Master]

I'm having trouble getting a couple hack tools to run on my computer, such as Poketronic and AdvanceText. (It uses windows 7 64 bit)

Whenever I try to open them, I get this error:
'Component 'Comdlg32.ocx' or one of its dependencies is not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid.

I've tried googleing and tried the answers I got, such as moving it to the SysWOW64 folder ad doing some register command in the Command Prompt, but still nothing. I would think those to be pretty necessary tools, does anybody know a fix, or is this even the right place to ask?

 

[kecinaj]

I am new here. I hope I am welcome here and I am also a fun of pokemon cartoon. Its been a while since the pokemon here in our place have not aired.

 

[Ninja Caterpie]

Welcome, it's always good to see new ROM Hackers, but I have a few tips for you.

Don't make a hack.

Okay, maybe that was only one tip, but I'm serious. Don't make a hack... yet. You've only just started, you have no abilities whatsoever and, let's be honest, if you make something now, it's probably going to end up pretty bad. So I advise you to not make and/or publish a hack - just mess around with the tools, learn how to script to an at least intermediate level and just all-round practice your stuff. Ask questions in the Simple Questions/Script Help threads, post your maps in the Map Rating Thread and just work on elevating your skills at the start.

Oh, and A-Text is bad (wtf is Poketronic, doesn't look particularly good to me either). Just download XSE the script editor, find a scripting tutorial and try to learn. :P It's a bit boring, but it's really simple to learn. Even if you end up getting someone to help you or do it for you, being able to write simple scripts and understand the scripts they do for you is still good.

G'lux to you!

 

[Johto_Master]

Welcome, it's always good to see new ROM Hackers, but I have a few tips for you.

Don't make a hack.

Okay, maybe that was only one tip, but I'm serious. Don't make a hack... yet. You've only just started, you have no abilities whatsoever and, let's be honest, if you make something now, it's probably going to end up pretty bad. So I advise you to not make and/or publish a hack - just mess around with the tools, learn how to script to an at least intermediate level and just all-round practice your stuff. Ask questions in the Simple Questions/Script Help threads, post your maps in the Map Rating Thread and just work on elevating your skills at the start.

Oh, and A-Text is bad (wtf is Poketronic, doesn't look particularly good to me either). Just download XSE the script editor, find a scripting tutorial and try to learn. :P It's a bit boring, but it's really simple to learn. Even if you end up getting someone to help you or do it for you, being able to write simple scripts and understand the scripts they do for you is still good.

G'lux to you!

XD good advice.

I've got a little bit of a brain on me, and never planned to jump right into it. I've been playing with advance map for weeks, and needed the other tools to get used to. Trust me, I want to make it good, so I will LEARN.