Red hack: Pokémon Roaming Red - Beta 3.1 available

[The Shadow Knight]

Pokémon Roaming Red
An experiment in level scalability and free progression in Pokémon

This hack was created using the pret/pokered disassembly as a basis.

The goal of this hack is to let players traverse the Kanto region with more freedom than ever before.

Features

• Choosing your starter town from any of the major towns in the game
  
  

  
• Choosing your starter Pokémon among all base form Pokemon in the game(legendaries excluded)
  
  

  

  
• Dynamic levels and evolution stages for wild encounters and trainer battles:
  Enemy Pokémon levels will align with the highest level Pokémon in your party and as your level grows they will appear in their more evolved stages!
  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
• Updates to events and maps to allow the player more freedom, to see what changed exactly please play the game!

Known Issues

• 0012: Marowak encountered in Pokemon Tower will trigger the Ghost Marowak's event text
• 0014: OAK's text after beating the E4 prints garbage when trying to show the starter species name

Version log

vb3.0 feature and bug fix release
features

• Fully in-game randomizer that lets you randomize the following aspects:
  • Wild Pokemon(if selected minimum catch rate will be applied, every ball will have atleast 1/3 chance to catch)
  • Trainer Pokemon
  • Learnsets(if selected all Pokemon will be compatible with every HM to avoid scenarios where the player can't progress)
  • Items received
• User interface that allows the user to choose which parts of the randomizer to enable and allows them to modify their seed when starting a new game
• Tweaks to level scaling:
  • Scaling is less likely to result in trainers with large parties having a high number of overleveled Pokemon
  • Scaling is toned down until the player receives their first badge
  • Level variance for trainer Pokemon now uses the same stable random approach as the randomizer, meaning that variance will be consistent for a given trainer's Pokemon on any given save file
• An improved run button implementation courtesy of Anniversary Red
• Instant text is now hold to progress
• Further updates to movepools to make more Pokemon more viable
• Updates to evolution levels so that they're in line with the evolution scaling
• Made Missingno. appear in its familiar form again

Bug fixes

• Fixed Raichu not downscaling to Pikachu
• Fixed a corrupted sprite appearing on the starting town selection screen

Known issues

• Items currently do not use the stable random implementation and will not be consistent on a given save file

Old releases

Spoiler:

vb2.1 bug fix release

• Resolves issues 0010, 0011, 0013(see resolved issues section)

vb.2 Feature and bug fix release

• Resolves issues 0003-0009(see resolved issues section)
• Update to move pools
• Update to moves to better reflect their modern version
• Removed trade evolutions
• Updated the Rival's roster to reflect his GSC roster
• Made the roster of the rival scale with the number of times he is encountered
• Added Instant text speed option for people that like to go fast, select from options menu
• Added run button, also for people that like to go fast

vb.1 Initial beta release
vb1.1 bug fix release, resolves issues 0001 and 0002

Resolved Issues

Spoiler:

Resolved in version b1.1

• 0001: Using Fly without having visited Pallet Town causes the Fly mechanic to misbehave
• 0002: The cut tree in front of Mewtwo's cave blocks players from leaving

Resolved in version b2

• 0003: The player can't rest at mom's house.
• 0004: Repels are useless
• 0005: Cut trees still block progress in Celadon gym
• 0006: Pokemon encountered through fishing are not level scaled
• 0007: Pokemon revived from fossils are not level scaled
• 0008: Pokemon received from the game corner are not level scaled
• 0009: The Hitmon gift is not level scaled

Resolved in version b2.1

• 0010: Some movepools are not properly terminated
• 0011: Ghost Marowak is not level scaled
• 0013: Sleeping Snorlax encounters do not scale

Credits

• All contributors to the pret/pokered dissasembly
• The creator of RBMap, a gen 1 map editor that is compatible with the pret/pokered dissasembly
• All contributors to the Red++ project for providing a great reference on how to extend the size of the ROM and how to get around the size limitations of the home bank. Also the run button.

Downloads and links

Save your game in a Pokemon Center before upgrading to a new version!
Upgrading requires a clean base ROM!

Release b.3.1, Beta 3.1

If you wish to discuss the game through direct messaging you are free to join this discord server I've set up.

The source code is available at https://github.com/tshadowknight/Pokemon-Roaming-Red

 

[FeraligatrMaster]

An open world version of Pokemon Red? Count me interested!

 

[Silent S]

It is worth noting that if you choose to start anywhere other than Pallet Town, then obtain HM02 Fly and the Thunder Badge and attempt to use Fly without having visited Pallet Town, the cursor will be stuck on the bottom right corner of the map and you have to press A or B to get it unstuck; this will trigger a glitched battle against a Tentacool with 0 current HP and the Poison status, and mess up sprites until you view a non-glitched sprite in the overworld. Also, Fly takes you right back to the same spot you were standing at before attempting to use it instead of your intended destination.

So, yeah, don't use Fly if for some reason you haven't visited Pallet Town already.

 

[The Shadow Knight]

It is worth noting that if you choose to start anywhere other than Pallet Town, then obtain HM02 Fly and the Thunder Badge and attempt to use Fly without having visited Pallet Town, the cursor will be stuck on the bottom right corner of the map and you have to press A or B to get it unstuck; this will trigger a glitched battle against a Tentacool with 0 current HP and the Poison status, and mess up sprites until you view a non-glitched sprite in the overworld. Also, Fly takes you right back to the same spot you were standing at before attempting to use it instead of your intended destination.

So, yeah, don't use Fly if for some reason you haven't visited Pallet Town already.

Good catch! Thank you for reporting this bug.

 

[Silent S]

Well, that's what I'm here for.

Another issue I just discovered, and this isn't so much of a bug as it is an oversight you made when you were editing maps: due to the placement of a Cut tree directly in front of the entrance to the Cerulean Cave, if you don't have any Escape Ropes and none of the Pokémon in your party know Dig, you're stuck in the cave until you black out, since the Cut tree forces you back inside each time you try to exit. I ask, why is there a Cut tree there instead of the guard? Shouldn't Mewtwo's lair remain blocked off until defeating the Elite Four like in the regular game?

 

[The Shadow Knight]

Well, that's what I'm here for.

Another issue I just discovered, and this isn't so much of a bug as it is an oversight you made when you were editing maps: due to the placement of a Cut tree directly in front of the entrance to the Cerulean Cave, if you don't have any Escape Ropes and none of the Pokémon in your party know Dig, you're stuck in the cave until you black out, since the Cut tree forces you back inside each time you try to exit. I ask, why is there a Cut tree there instead of the guard? Shouldn't Mewtwo's lair remain blocked off until defeating the Elite Four like in the regular game?

Ah, I did not test that interaction.

I repurposed Cut as optional for completing the game, but required for legendaries(see also the Power Plant and Seafoam Islands). There's a fair bit of stuff that is now optional that the player has to go through to get Cut so it seems like a fitting reward. Though I do agree that having Mewtwo be locked behind the same things as the birds feels a bit off.

 

[Stoffles67]

This looks amazing!

Are you planning adding any extra features? Something similar to Red++?

 

[The Shadow Knight]

This looks amazing!

Are you planning adding any extra features? Something similar to Red++?

There's nothing officially planned at the moment, it's something I'll look into once I have a (pretty much) completed vanilla Red version.

 

[Stoffles67]

There's nothing officially planned at the moment, it's something I'll look into once I have a (pretty much) completed vanilla Red version.

Dope.

I really love the sheer potential for replayability of this. Good luck!

 

[Emotionless living thing]

Do you think you will add all 807 and the exp share in the future?

 

[The Shadow Knight]

Do you think you will add all 807 and the exp share in the future?

I can't see myself going for the full 807, but exp share is on the table.

 

[ablahblah987]

This is a cool idea for a hack. It would be great to see features from newer games, such as P/S split and later gen moves and types added.

 

[solidsmeagol]

Would you mind bumping the thread every time there's a release? I didn't even know there was a second beta.

 

[Ax461]

I like the concept, I'll try to implement something similar for polished crystal

 

[The Shadow Knight]

I like the concept, I'll try to implement something similar for polished crystal

I might have a look at porting to base Crystal myself, which is something that you may want to wait for.
Feel free to give it a shot, of course!

 

[Ax461]

I was also thinking about a more sophisticated level modifier:

12% probability to be -2 or +2 levels from the highest level pokemon (or the party level average)
26% for -1 or +1
24% to be of the same level

 

[The Shadow Knight]

Beta 3 is now available.

 

[Pedroizt]

It's possible to catch all pokemons even if wild encounter isn't random?

Great idea! Loved it.

 

[PkMn Trainer Murasaki]

Is This 151 As Well?

 

[Ruvaldak]

You should add a toggleable Nuzlocke option!