Red hack: Pokemon PureRGB (QoL romhack) (Complete!) (New version just released Nov 13th 2024!)

[Vortiene]

Hello, the best gen 1 remake I played. Question: is there any way of getting past the dark channeler?

No, there is no way of getting past the dark channeler, just like the NPC says

 

[erpster8]

and besides, there's really nothing on the stairs that are next to that dark channeler

also, I didn't realize that the newest version of shin pokemon (the recent 1.24.0 release) has a much improved itemfinder that when it beeps or detects a nearby hidden item, it flashes two small lines pointing the player in the direction where the hidden item might be found

a description from here:

Improved itemfinder function

If an item is detected, it will play 1 to 3 chimes depending on how close it is (more chimes means closer to the item).
Lines will point in the direction of the item and flash with the chimes.
If the player is right on top of the item, no lines will show and the chime till play four times.
If the SELECT button is held while selecting to USE the itemfinder, then the original itemfinder function is used.

maybe incorporate that into a future version of pureRGB if possible

 

[Vortiene]

maybe incorporate that into a future version of pureRGB if possible

I don't see the point, the itemfinder in pureRGB already points you towards the item and plays a different sound when you're on top of the item. Even more direction with visual arrows and such I feel is probably a bit too much info. As for indicating how close it is, pretty much every hidden item is in a spot that has a minor visual indicator (in some cases ones I added), so it's not all that important.

 

[JSepol]

Great game, very fun overall. I've just beaten the Pokemon League and this has been the most fun I've had with a GEN I romhack! Congrats!

All in all, I have one questions:
- Do enemy trainers still have infinite PP? The improved movesets and the ability to give enemy Pokemon stat experience makes it really cheap when they can infinitely out-heal you in the later stages of the game. It happened a lot, especially with the Rival's Alakazam (who just kept recovering and meditating, ad infinitum..), and also with later-game Wigglytuffs and Snorlaxes. I wonder if you'll consider a game option disabling infinite PP?

 

[Vortiene]

Great game, very fun overall. I've just beaten the Pokemon League and this has been the most fun I've had with a GEN I romhack! Congrats!

All in all, I have one questions:
- Do enemy trainers still have infinite PP? The improved movesets and the ability to give enemy Pokemon stat experience makes it really cheap when they can infinitely out-heal you in the later stages of the game. It happened a lot, especially with the Rival's Alakazam (who just kept recovering and meditating, ad infinitum..), and also with later-game Wigglytuffs and Snorlaxes. I wonder if you'll consider a game option disabling infinite PP?

Yes, I haven't changed PP

Maybe in a future release, or for specific moves, I will check PP

If I do, it will probably be optional

 

[JSepol]

Yeah, I think you could apply a special clause for recovery moves, in case enemy EVs are enabled.

 

[XxMrHaSaNxX]

One of the best Gen 1 rom hacks I've ever played. I've just beaten the game for the second time.

I have one thing only I wish is there. I wish that you mentione the locations of the new post game areas. It will save a lot of time actually.

 

[Vortiene]

One of the best Gen 1 rom hacks I've ever played. I've just beaten the game for the second time.

I have one thing only I wish is there. I wish that you mentione the locations of the new post game areas. It will save a lot of time actually.

The only postgame locations I've added so far are supposed to be secret

The one I am adding in the next release is a lot easier to find

 

[JSepol]

Hey again, Vortiene. Now that I've finished the game, Here's a couple thoughts and suggestions, in case you want to take them into consideration.

I'm happy to know you're working in an update with new locations and I'll be glad to retry the game soon:

What I really liked:
- the beta / new moves that overall increased the game balance
- the fact you could easily find late-game Pokemon quite early, giving you more chances to assemble a different team than the one you'd use in a typical playthrough
- the post-game plot involving the topsecretkey and figuring out where to use it
- the movedex is nice and rewards exploration/collection of something else you otherwise would pass over.
- in spite of all the upgrades, it's still a classic RBY experience

What I think could be improved:
- as previously mentioned, it would be more fair if opponents had limited PP, especially in the use of healing moves such as Recover, since they can pretry much stall you out, particularly in a generation where critical hits are not affected by your own stat boosts;

- could you make it so alternate types could be opptional for every pokemon that was changed? I agree with some modifications (Seadra being water/dragon, Doduo being flying/ground) but not with others (namley, Ninetales being Fire/Ghost). It would be cool if we could manually toggle these changes for every single pokemon (like with the alternate sprites). Also, while we're at it, why not make Gyarados water/dragon and Magmar Fire/poison instead of psychic (magma - as a matter - is also toxic and Magmar learns moves like smog and smokescreen in the original games). This way it would also work better with the Jynx/Electabuzz trio - one of them being part Psychic, the other part Fighting in this iteration.

- alternate colors. Cute, but I don't see much of the appeal in collecting rare color variations and trading with NPCs if there's no changes in their level-up learnsets or alternate typings for different colours. Would that be possible to implement? Or, instead, having someone give you a reward if you collect all color variants?

- dark Channeler: I was genuinely spooked with the Gengar event, so kudos for that. Still, if there's nothing on that staircase, why have an NPC guading it? I get Gen II Silph Co flashbacks out of it. For ages, I was trying to figure out how to get past something that isn't there. How about implementing some bonus content there like a Special Ghost/Trainer with your party so you can battle yourself downstairs? Or rebattle ghost version of gym leaders with more powerful Pokemon/teams?

- Mew: growing up as a kid during gen One, I remember the rumours about Mew below the truck. However battling Mew there felt a bit anti climatic, as it appears you can do it as early as Fuschia. I would rather receive an item below the truck (similar to the topsecrekey) so we could unlock Mew / a special event related to it in the post-game. Maybe you could make it happen in the room where you can also "change" Mewtwo, adding a bit more backstory to that place.

- Pyschic types were overpowered, hence everyone learns Barrage. While fun, it can become predictable over time. With only 156 moves or so, I undestand it's difficult to have much variation, still I felt most late-game teams used the same moves, including the need to have a sure-fire counter against Psychic types. Now I wonder: what if there was an option where Psychic types could be weak against themselves? Early TCG had most Psychic types being weak against their own type - so it's half-canon.

Like I said, just a couple suggestions. Congratulations on what you've already done!

 

[Vortiene]

as previously mentioned, it would be more fair if opponents had limited PP, especially in the use of healing moves such as Recover, since they can pretry much stall you out, particularly in a generation where critical hits are not affected by your own stat boosts;

working on it

- could you make it so alternate types could be opptional for every pokemon that was changed? I agree with some modifications (Seadra being water/dragon, Doduo being flying/ground) but not with others (namley, Ninetales being Fire/Ghost). It would be cool if we could manually toggle these changes for every single pokemon (like with the alternate sprites). Also, while we're at it, why not make Gyarados water/dragon and Magmar Fire/poison instead of psychic (magma - as a matter - is also toxic and Magmar learns moves like smog and smokescreen in the original games). This way it would also work better with the Jynx/Electabuzz trio - one of them being part Psychic, the other part Fighting in this iteration.

changing pokemon back to their original types is in the next release

gyarados is way good enough as it is, giving it dragon type on top of its crazy stats is too much I think

I think there are enough poison types in gen 1...I'll leave magmar as it is. (It also learns psychic, teleport, and psywave in the original game.)

- alternate colors. Cute, but I don't see much of the appeal in collecting rare color variations and trading with NPCs if there's no changes in their level-up learnsets or alternate typings for different colours. Would that be possible to implement? Or, instead, having someone give you a reward if you collect all color variants?

i'm not really interested in introducing different pokemon variants other than in specific cases, for example in the next release you can enhance your onix stat-wise, because onix has to be somewhat bad stat-wise or brock will be impossible

- dark Channeler: I was genuinely spooked with the Gengar event, so kudos for that. Still, if there's nothing on that staircase, why have an NPC guading it? I get Gen II Silph Co flashbacks out of it. For ages, I was trying to figure out how to get past something that isn't there. How about implementing some bonus content there like a Special Ghost/Trainer with your party so you can battle yourself downstairs? Or rebattle ghost version of gym leaders with more powerful Pokemon/teams?

it's just to give the dark channeler a reason to be down there and it's kind of cool to think that there's catacombs down there (they're talked about in a document in the cerulean rocket basement too). If there were more ghost pokemon, maybe I'd make a new area there, but there isn't much to put there if I did. I figured people would think there's something down there...it's kind of part of the joke. The other reason is because the dark channeler has exactly 1 sprite...facing forward...and I wanted them to be positioned in a way where you can only ever talk to them from below...so they have to be in a complete corner or in front of something...this is what I thought made sense.

Mew: growing up as a kid during gen One, I remember the rumours about Mew below the truck. However battling Mew there felt a bit anti climatic, as it appears you can do it as early as Fuschia. I would rather receive an item below the truck (similar to the topsecrekey) so we could unlock Mew / a special event related to it in the post-game. Maybe you could make it happen in the room where you can also "change" Mewtwo, adding a bit more backstory to that place.

I'm not really interested in changing how mew is obtained, this is how it was foretold by the urban legends...yes, you can get it after fuchsia...same time you can get other legendaries such as the legendary birds.

Pyschic types were overpowered, hence everyone learns Barrage. While fun, it can become predictable over time. With only 156 moves or so, I undestand it's difficult to have much variation, still I felt most late-game teams used the same moves, including the need to have a sure-fire counter against Psychic types. Now I wonder: what if there was an option where Psychic types could be weak against themselves? Early TCG had most Psychic types being weak against their own type - so it's half-canon.

The next release has less barrage in level-up movesets. Also, ghost is unique in that it has become a dynamic type. What it means, is that if your base attack is higher, ghost attacks will be physical. If your base special is higher, ghost attacks will be special. This allows pokemon like gengar to do more damage with ghost moves. As for psychic types being good...did you know Haze makes your current pokemon immune to psychic moves? Please do not ask for features that I specifically say I will never implement on the features page (modification to type matchup chart is one of them)

 

[Vortiene]

New version 2.5.0 was released. Many new features were introduced. You can read about every single new thing added and download the new version here: https://github.com/Vortyne/pureRGB/releases/tag/v2.5.1

 

[Vortiene]

A bugfix version 2.5.2 was released. It fixes a couple of bugs I introduced, like spin tile animations not working (been that way since 2.0), a glitch that can lock you out of the new champ arena, two of the front sprite options not working correctly, and fixes the mew glitch so it works as expected in cerulean as it did in the original game with the trainer with a slowpoke and the trainer with a shellder.

 

[Ziko577]

I just tried your hack and am having a lot of fun with it right now! I love the sprite options as well as the stuff you added in there in terms of lessening the grind and hassle the game had before. I finished my second Shin playthough and then thought to myself, should I give your hack a shot? I did just that and so far, it's been great! I'll probably continue my playthrough until something else catches my eye.

 

[Ilya-kun]

Very nice hack with all the QoL adds and other personal choices. While not so vanilla as other projects, makes playing gen 1 really enjoyable while keeping its essence. The only thing I'd be missing are more options for the sprites (I'm missing some of my faves from Green), and trainer rematches, I really enjoy those. Everything else is pretty cool as it is. Worth playing.

 

[Vortiene]

I don't really want to do trainer rematches as they kind of trivialize the level curve of opponents if you can just rebattle until you're high level.

As for the sprite options, if I added them for every pokemon i'd fill up the game's remaining banks pretty quick. I probably won't add any more as I'd like space to add other stuff, and people can change the sprites on their own in the code and build their own version with their preferences if they like.

 

[Vortiene]

A new bugfix version v2.5.3 was released

 

[Ziko577]

You latest update made the game crash. It was alright in 2.5.2 and I made sure to save at a Pokemon Center before I did it.

 

[Vortiene]

You latest update made the game crash. It was alright in 2.5.2 and I made sure to save at a Pokemon Center before I did it.

Can't really guarantee saves will work between versions. Try saving in various places in 2.5.2 and see if it will load up on 2.5.3

 

[Ziko577]

I did just that actually! It fixed itself once I flew to Viridian City's Pokemon Center on 2.52 before updating to 2.5.3. I managed to beat Erika not long afterward and now will probably go straight to Fuschia so I can get Surf & Strength before I fight Koga & Blaine. I really need to grind as the level curve is slowly kicking my behind and I am close to having 80 Pokemon in the dex to get the Booster Chip. I'll keep doing that as a precaution from here on in as that seems to be the best approach. I should've known better as the latest update moved some stuff with the maps around and my experience playing these hacks can lead to weirdness like that.

 

[Vortiene]

I did just that actually! It fixed itself once I flew to Viridian City's Pokemon Center on 2.52 before updating to 2.5.3. I managed to beat Erika not long afterward and now will probably go straight to Fuschia so I can get Surf & Strength before I fight Koga & Blaine. I really need to grind as the level curve is slowly kicking my behind and I am close to having 80 Pokemon in the dex to get the Booster Chip. I'll keep doing that as a precaution from here on in as that seems to be the best approach. I should've known better as the latest update moved some stuff with the maps around and my experience playing these hacks can lead to weirdness like that.

The game was balanced around choosing one team to use, so if you switch up pokemon a lot you might fall behind level-curve-wise. The way I balanced the game was to only use pokemon I intended to use in my team, and refrain from using any RARE CANDYs. So rare candies can help catch up too. In the end the level curve won't get too bad though because in fuchsia you can repeatedly fight trainers in the safari zone if you want to level up quickly. They reset every time you enter the safari zone on FREE ROAM or RANGER HUNT modes. Another thing to note is that trainers down route 12, 13, 14, 15 towards fuchsia are 2-3 levels higher than trainers down cycling road. So taking that route to fuchsia is slightly more difficult.

You can also fight CHANSEYs on route 23 to quickly level up before the elite four. Now that I think about it, I might change that route up to have more varied pokemon and just increase their exp yield specifically on that route.