[Release] Pokémon Essentials, version 6 - 23rd April 2012

[Maruno]

Pokémon Essentials, version 6 - 23rd April 2012
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That's right, it's out!

It's been almost 3 months since the last release, but I'd say it's been worth the wait. The screen size has now been upped to 512x384 (i.e. the size of a single DS screen), but that's not all. Pretty much everything you can see in Essentials (except the maps!) has now been redesigned to suit the larger screen size.

There has been a host of related improvements too, such as in style, presentation, speed and information. All in all, I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that Essentials is now miles better than it used to be.

I should stress that the goal of this release was to resize the screen, not to redesign everything. The various redesigns that have been made were the necessary ones. This is why the Pause menu looks the same as it used to, for one - it didn't need changing for it to carry on working. Other aspects of Essentials that weren't improved here may well be improved in future.

I've made many many changes in this release, and I'm sure I haven't written them all down in the changelog. If you spot any tweaks that haven't been noted, share them below!

Enjoy!


This thread is only for discussion about this release.

 

[Pharetra]

Dude, you are awesome. Great work so far, I haven´t tested everything at the moment. The DP font isn´t working correctly anymore though, so I´ll fix that soon. I´ll send you a PM when I´m done.

 

[Maruno]

Dude, you are awesome. Great work so far, I haven´t tested everything at the moment. The DP font isn´t working correctly anymore though, so I´ll fix that soon. I´ll send you a PM when I´m done.

I don't think the DP gender symbols were ever fixed - they were just rarely used so it was barely noticeable. Small text uses a different font to normal text, and now all the gender symbols are shown in normal text rather than small.

Thanks for getting on it.

I knew the first reply would be a bug. :laugh:

 

[AmethystRain]

Then allow me to give you a reply that isn't one.

I love that you're putting this all together so neatly. You've done a fantastic job so far, and this new update looks gorgeous as well.

I was poking around this forum a week or so ago and I saw some snarky comment degrading this project on account of only one game having been completed with it. In rebuttal, and speaking from experience, I'd profess that this kit facilitates production practically to light-speed (at least relative to other amateur game design).

While the both of you are here, by the way, is there anything I might need to be aware of applying P-Sign's Ultimate BW Add-on to this version or should it work just as well as with the old one?

 

[Maruno]

Thanks very much. I fully agree that it's not the kit's fault if developers lose interest or get into a DNF loop.

Regarding the BW add-on thingy (I know what it's called; I'm calling it "thingy" anyway), you'll need the graphics and audio as normal. You won't need moves.txt, items.txt or abilities.txt as they're all up to date in Essentials. I recommend you leave the existing species in pokemon.txt alone, and just tag on the extra Gen 5 ones after it, rather than replace the whole file. As for tm.txt, I've attached my Gen 5 version of it, which may or may not be better than the add-on's version.

 

[Pharetra]

Then allow me to give you a reply that isn't one.

I love that you're putting this all together so neatly. You've done a fantastic job so far, and this new update looks gorgeous as well.

I was poking around this forum a week or so ago and I saw some snarky comment degrading this project on account of only one game having been completed with it. In rebuttal, and speaking from experience, I'd profess that this kit facilitates production practically to light-speed (at least relative to other amateur game design).

While the both of you are here, by the way, is there anything I might need to be aware of applying P-Sign's Ultimate BW Add-on to this version or should it work just as well as with the old one?

For as far as I tested my Add-on with this version of Essentials, the graphics behave properly. You might want to watch out with the PBS files, they might be formatted incorrectly. I recommend adding the lines of the PBS files containing data not included in this release of Essentials to the PBS files of this Essentials version. If you need any help, please post in the thread of the add-on.

 

[Maruno]

There's a bug where trying to plant a berry causes the game to crash. The fix is on the wiki.

 

[~Angel~]

I also keep getting this Error message for a door can you tell me how to fix that? Never mind about the start screen post. I just need the door one
Pokemon Essentials
---------------------------
Exception: SystemStackError

Message: stack level too deep

PokemonControls:2:in `pbSameThread'

PokemonControls:46:in `updateKeyState'

PokemonControls:241:in `triggerex?'

PokemonControls:216:in `trigger?'

PokemonControls:216:in `any?'

PokemonControls:216:in `each'

PokemonControls:216:in `any?'

PokemonControls:216:in `trigger?'

PokemonSystem:137:in `update'

PokemonMessages:1734:in `pbWait'

 

[salva123]

I get this error when I try to start it:

---------------------------
Pokemon Essentials
---------------------------
Exception: RuntimeError

Message: scss

PokemonLoad:308:in `pbStartLoadScreen'

DebugIntro:6:in `main'

Main:37:in `mainFunctionDebug'

Main:15:in `mainFunction'

Main:15:in `pbCriticalCode'

Main:15:in `mainFunction'

Main:47

Main:46:in `loop'

Main:55



This exception was logged in

C:\Users\Salvador1\Saved Games/Pokemon Essentials/errorlog.txt.

Press Ctrl+C to copy this message to the clipboard.
---------------------------
Aceptar
---------------------------

 

[~Angel~]

^ I have to tell you this but just Start a new game I learned that through the Wiki. Ctrl+Down+X

 

[Nickalooose]

Just to answer the last answer with another answer...
He means, when he clicks play test... The error occurs!
I get the same error.

To fix that... ERASE, the save game already within the folder, incase anybody has the same problem... Then there is no need to post that as an error.

 

[Pharetra]

Important!
Due to changes in how data is saved, older savegames are incompatible with this version of Essentials. You must delete your old savegame before running this project. It can be found at C:\Users\<Your username>\Saved Games\Pokémon Essentials.

Just pointing something out...

Now that the screensize is edited, how can I edit the BattlerPlayerY, BattlerEnemyY and Battleraltitude more easily? I don´t really want to mess with those values without a graphical interface, as the editor probably won´t do this properly.

 

[Maruno]

Just pointing something out...

Now that the screensize is edited, how can I edit the BattlerPlayerY, BattlerEnemyY and Battleraltitude more easily? I don´t really want to mess with those values without a graphical interface, as the editor probably won´t do this properly.

The Sprite Repositioner (in the External Editor) was one of the things I changed to suit the new screen size. The auto-position calculations were also improved. It's very easy to use, and I assure you it works just fine.

 

[IceGod64]

I get this problem on a fresh new file. All I do is go to the PC and choose "Deposit".

Also, the shop in the main area crashed because it can't find the item "POKeBALL".

Edit: And one more note. I gave myself a Deoxys and set it's form to its Defense form, but it's not showing at all in the Pokédex.

 

[Maruno]

I get this problem on a fresh new file. All I do is go to the PC and choose "Deposit".

Also, the shop in the main area crashed because it can't find the item "POKeBALL".

Edit: And one more note. I gave myself a Deoxys and set it's form to its Defense form, but it's not showing at all in the Pokédex.

I only ever use "Move Pokémon", so I didn't notice this. In PokemonStorage, go to line 1299 and make it say self.y=Graphics.height-352. Fixed.

The shop problem is easily fixed (all item names are in all capitals now).

Do you mean Deoxys' Defence Forme doesn't appear in the list of available forms in the Form page (i.e. it only shows "Genderless")? Yeah, that's not completed yet - it only shows form 0 options at the moment. I want to add an extra line in pokemon.txt which will contain the names of all the forms of a species, but figuring out how to do that was unnecessary for this release. It'll be improved in the future.

The main difficulty will be in deciding which genders/forms of a species have been seen. That is, how to record them when it's possible to change the gender/form of a Pokémon after giving it (which could potentially "see" the wrong gender/form if the seeing process was automated too much). The only way around this is to trust that the users will follow a simple instruction about how to do this properly, and we all know how dangerous that is. The only other option would be to have all genders/forms visible from the start, but people might not like that.

Then of course there's the issue of needing to show the correct sprite in the list and entry screens, and the correct information in the entry screen... It's a hassle.

 

[TACHAN]

Exactly why does save get damaged in the new version? It is to go carefully, since only I want to take some things of the essential.

You are doing a fantastic work with the Pokemon Essential. :D

 

[IceGod64]

Another issue - With this very same Deoxys.

As I said, I simply added a level 70 Deoxys, changed its form to 2, and battled Camper Andrew. I used the move Psycho Shift, and it's not working - Not saying it failed as if it has an unimplemented effect, but rather the script error where it say's it used the move but just skips the animation or damage calculation.

I'm alittle skeptical on asking this since I don't know if it's actually supposed to work in the first place or not, but for whatever reason, it doesn't.

 

[~Angel~]

Ok so I was checking out my Pokémart and Instead of the Items I wanted:
PBItems::POTION,
PBItems::ANTIDOTE,
PBItems::PARLYZHEAL
It gave me the choise of Thick club, Silk scarf, and one that was blank. I don't know why but they had the Icon's of the Item I wanted they just did not have the correct names. I don't know where that blank one came from either can you tell me?

 

[Maruno]

Exactly why does save get damaged in the new version? It is to go carefully, since only I want to take some things of the essential.

You are doing a fantastic work with the Pokemon Essential. :D

Save files contain all the information that needs to be saved, in a particular order. At the beginning are a couple of bits of information that are pre-loaded, because they're used in the "Continue" panel to show the details of the savegame. I slipped an extra bit of information in there, the current map number, so that the location could also be displayed. That's all.

If you don't want the location to be shown, then it's fine for you to leave the saving and loading scripts alone.

Thanks!

Another issue - With this very same Deoxys.

As I said, I simply added a level 70 Deoxys, changed its form to 2, and battled Camper Andrew. I used the move Psycho Shift, and it's not working - Not saying it failed as if it has an unimplemented effect, but rather the script error where it say's it used the move but just skips the animation or damage calculation.

I'm alittle skeptical on asking this since I don't know if it's actually supposed to work in the first place or not, but for whatever reason, it doesn't.

That move's effect hasn't been invented yet. Damaging moves whose effects haven't been implemented will just do damage, but status moves do nothing at all, exactly as you've described.

Ok so I was checking out my Pokémart and Instead of the Items I wanted:
PBItems::POTION,
PBItems::ANTIDOTE,
PBItems:PARLYZHEAL
It gave me the choise of Thick club, Silk scarf, and one that was blank. I don't know why but they had the Icon's of the Item I wanted they just did not have the correct names. I don't know where that blank one came from either can you tell me?

I changed the order of items.txt, so if you've replaced that with a version of your own... well, don't. Aside from that, I don't know what could have happened. Show me the contents of your Mart event.

 

[FL]

Why you put the default BGM volume to 100? I think that is good to don't use the max to may increase the volume for the bgm with low sound without using an audio editor.

About the Shadow Pokémon that are now coloured as Shadow Pokémon everywhere, maybe it is good to make a Setting with this option on, off or only with some trainer variable like '$Trainer.viewShadowPokemon=true' that can be used to to represent Rui/Aura Reader.

Dude, you are awesome. Great work so far, I haven´t tested everything at the moment. The DP font isn´t working correctly anymore though, so I´ll fix that soon. I´ll send you a PM when I´m done.

The old version font is working. I have attached in this post.