Pokemon: Return to Johto (Title not final)

[DrCoolSanta]

Pokemon: Return to Johto

As you can pretty much see, I have run out of any ideas for titles. This isn't much creative. Help me out please.​

Pokemon: Return to Johto, as the name says, is a remake of the metallic games. This isn't totally like how the games were in their time, this is going to be a lot different. This is about Johto in 2020, everything has developed. The maps have changed a lot, cities look so different. However, I decided not to keep the same boring story. After all this is my game, I can do whatever I want to do.

Story
You start as a teenager in New Bark Town. Prof. Elm has become a very renowned Pokemon professor. New Bark has become a station for Pokemon research. You are his grandson. You've been pestering him to allow you to start your own adventure, however he's shown reluctance till now. Finally he decides that there is nothing wrong with it since he expects you to have picked up his abilities while living with him. You get an option to choose from your classic Johto starters. The rest is pretty much the same, you still get the Togepi egg and various other things unique to Johto still happen.
But however, on your way you meet Team Rocket, they are back with a new leader to cause havoc. This time, neither their grunts nor the leader are as weak. They are professionals.
Before narrating you Team Rockets plans, I'd like to tell you this first.
Bill created a system to store Pokemon. He found minerals which could absorb the energy of a Pokemon. With it he was able to convert Pokemon into electric charges and store them in PCs. The machines at his home work as servers for the storage of these Pokemon. Since these Pokemon have changed into electric signals, they can't feel anything, it is as if time is frozen for them.
Team Rocket's researchers are trying to hack the PCs to somehow modify the electric signals in the PC to get the ultimate Pokemon, including the legendry Pokemon and what not.
During the story line you encounter them very often and are able to stop them from causing havoc in Johto. Later Team Rocket moves from Johto to Kanto in order to kidnap Bill and make him work for them. Once again it is your job to stop them.
At the end you finish the story by completing to the Elite 4.

Features

• Custom tilesets
• Shinys with a stat boosts
• Online features including trade and battles and maybe MMO stuff
• Variable number of Pokemon in team
• Certain events increase the maximum level of Pokemon
• Can load Pokemon from emulator cartridge saves and transfer to them as well
• HMs don't occupy an attack slot. Badges allow the Pokemon to use them without having to waste an attack. This also means that you are deprived of using the attack in battle.
• A more evolved and developed version of the Johto and Kanto region
• Full Kanto and Johto Pokemon
• All the features found in the games themselves including daycare, time of day, weather, etc.

Features will be added as I can come up with them and as the game progresses.

At the moment I have nothing much to show you here. That's the reason it is in this section. I am not interested in using kyledove's sprites, they are his, I'd rather use programmer art or the original game art.
Or I'd have somebody to create graphics for this game only. I am not fond of stuff not being so original.

As for the fakemon, I am not very interested in them, but I am going to ask some of my friends to give them for this project.

Your thoughts please?

 

[Neo-Dragon]

Sounds interesting with the online stuff and loading pokemon from a emulator save (really?).
What are you developing this with?

 

[DrCoolSanta]

C++, that's probably the sole reason this is possible XP

 

[Neo-Dragon]

C++, that's cool.
Have you began coding yet, or is this still concept?
If you have started coding, what have you done?

 

[Wichu]

Loading Pokémon from an emulator save is interesting. However, then you have the problem of people cheating in the emulator, and transferring the cheated Pokémon over. Are you going to do anything about that?

The other features look pretty neat, too. It's nice to be able to see Johto again in the future.

But I bet that you could do those features without using C++ :P
I know all of those, possibly bar MMORPG, would be possible in RMXP, and even that could be done in Sphere. Of course, it's your choice to use C++, but it would be a lot harder (since you have to make your own mapping tool etc). Good luck; I'm looking forward to seeing some screenshots, and eventually, a release.

 

[DrCoolSanta]

C++, that's cool.
Have you began coding yet, or is this still concept?
If you have started coding, what have you done?

This is basically a concept not much done to show here.

As for the amount of coding. I picked up one of my half done game's engine. Now I am adding Pokemon elements to it. So basically I am designing the prototype.

None the less, I wanted to to first see everybody's reaction on this.

@Wichu: I guess. I havn't used any engines like the RPG makers, nor have I used Sphere in itself for substancial amount of time.
As far as C++ is concerned, I have had experience with it and since I had never done RPGs in it ever before, I wanted to take up this challenge.
Now that you make me think of it, Pokemon could be cheated, levels I suppose and to catch them. Some stat boosts? I guess, I would make the game recalculate the stats. The rest is something I can't detect. I believe I would ban all legendries from being transferred. And without any EVs and IVs and not enough badges, that all would be useless.
I wanted to create a system like Pokemon Stadium.

 

[~P.S~]

I love the story. It caters to older fans. But not sure if the younger people might grasp it. Anyway I always wanted a Johto Remake.

 

[Ac1d]

I see by what you're planning that your idea is rather similar to that of mine and xLink.
There are some aspects that are very different, and some that are scarily alike.

It should be interesting watching our two games develop side by side.
Good Luck dude :D

- DJ

 

[DrCoolSanta]

Thank you people. I guess it is so PS, and I'd want to let it be the way it is.

And Ac1d, it's nice that you show your interest. Personally, I don't actually find anything much similar in the two games except for the higher value and nature of both our programming languages.

Of course, I'd like to see our games being developed together.

And as far as updating this topic is concerned, I am working on the artwork atm, I have already planned out how half of the systems should work and be programmed. I expect this thread to stay in this section a little longer, since I will only have something to show you in a while.

 

[Waudby]

Well in all honesty, most of these features would be possible in Sphere, even the loading emulator save files.

That's even possible in RMXP. It's just a matter of working on the file system and how it's stored.

Maybe consider using pre-made tools to work on this, Sphere has it's own map format, maybe you can adapt your engine to use this, so that you can take advantage of the map editor etc.

 

[Ac1d]

And Ac1d, it's nice that you show your interest. Personally, I don't actually find anything much similar in the two games except for the higher value and nature of both our programming languages.

Of course, I'd like to see our games being developed together.

Aha, It's what you don't know that's similar, plus extra's :P
I really like the sound of it, It's nice to have some games on PC that AREN'T made using RMXP or Sphere, although the products of such programs have brought some quality..

But it's nice to be able to edit everything from the user-made engine, to the graphics :D Without using a program such as RMXP, but instead, editing the source, then compiling etc..

 

[DrCoolSanta]

Well in all honesty, most of these features would be possible in Sphere, even the loading emulator save files.

That's even possible in RMXP. It's just a matter of working on the file system and how it's stored.

Maybe consider using pre-made tools to work on this, Sphere has it's own map format, maybe you can adapt your engine to use this, so that you can take advantage of the map editor etc.

I already mentioned that I didn't pay much heed to understanding either. I have already created my own map format and I have mapping software to curb any problems.

Aha, It's what you don't know that's similar, plus extra's :P
I really like the sound of it, It's nice to have some games on PC that AREN'T made using RMXP or Sphere, although the products of such programs have brought some quality..

But it's nice to be able to edit everything from the user-made engine, to the graphics :D Without using a program such as RMXP, but instead, editing the source, then compiling etc..

OK . . .
Yeah, thats the reason i love using languages like C++. Even though, much of the stuff remains similar, just that now i create my own mapping sotware.
BTW you'd know, if you plan on spending enough time on a game as to program it, then it ought to turn out with better quality, ain't it so.
That's what makes me dislike things like wysiwyg editors, the quality deteriorates . . .

 

[Maruno]

BTW you'd know, if you plan on spending enough time on a game as to program it, then it ought to turn out with better quality, ain't it so.
That's what makes me dislike things like wysiwyg editors, the quality deteriorates . . .

That's debatable (and indeed, there's a discussion related to this going on at the moment). All you're doing when writing your own Pokémon game is reinventing the wheel. Yes, you may end up with a better wheel that more suits your purpose, but you may also end up with the same kind of wheel that you could have just borrowed with no hassle. And modifying an existing wheel would be easier than making a new one from scratch.

No one method is better than another.

 

[DrCoolSanta]

That's debatable (and indeed, there's a discussion related to this going on at the moment). All you're doing when writing your own Pokémon game is reinventing the wheel. Yes, you may end up with a better wheel that more suits your purpose, but you may also end up with the same kind of wheel that you could have just borrowed with no hassle. And modifying an existing wheel would be easier than making a new one from scratch.

No one method is better than another.

You know I am not so fond of thiese debatable issues. And oh well, you don't get what I meant anyway.

 

[Maruno]

No, I got the "more time spent = better" part. I just think that you can make even better things if you spend that same time improving something that already exists (the downside with using a Starter Kit is that it may not be as customisable as you'd like, so it all depends how technical you want to get and what's physically possible with different languages).

 

[Ac1d]

No, I got the "more time spent = better" part. I just think that you can make even better things if you spend that same time improving something that already exists (the downside with using a Starter Kit is that it may not be as customisable as you'd like, so it all depends how technical you want to get and what's physically possible with different languages).

Personally, I think that the more time you spend creating the backend, the more you appreciate said project, and therefore are less likely to quit :) IMO anyway.

 

[DrCoolSanta]

No, I got the "more time spent = better" part. I just think that you can make even better things if you spend that same time improving something that already exists (the downside with using a Starter Kit is that it may not be as customisable as you'd like, so it all depends how technical you want to get and what's physically possible with different languages).

Its a rule of nature,
you hurry something, its not going to turn out as well.
However, that was not what my post was related to, I meant something else. You didn't get it.

Personally, I think that the more time you spend creating the backend, the more you appreciate said project, and therefore are less likely to quit :) IMO anyway.

He did.

Anyways, let's drop that topic, that is the topic of discussion on the forum, it has its own place, lets not start one here.

I created a title screen for this, I'll tweak it a little bit and update you soon.

 

[Zeffy]

Oooh, I hope this game would be finished. I really like to return to Johto. And I like the idea of saving from an emulator save. I don't know how to do that!!

 

[Improfane]

You guys using the low level languages have more way more work to do than us and so you're the least likely to actually finish your games. Shouldn't you guys work together rather than compete? I wrote my game from ground up but not in a compiled language. You'll spend all your time writing your engine over making the actual game content. Who actually uploads save games from game boy to computer? Or are you aiming at people who play on emulators? It's a cool feature but I don't see the reasoning. Make it into a library so other people can use it.

(see the link in my signature about home games)

GSC are very nostalgic games for me. They make me happy just playing them because I love how the time has passed between them.

Johto in the future would be awesome, what kind of change could we possibly expect though? What would be different? Would you move things around and change leaders to make it a bit varied? The thing I loved about GSC is how things DID change and things were different. Like how Blue became leader of Viridian city's gym. I was not happy that the Safari zone was removed though.

You made me realise that if the Pokemon universe had a hard drive crash, lots of Pokemon would die.

 

[KaoruMikami]

You made me realise that if the Pokemon universe had a hard drive crash, lots of Pokemon would die.

As bad as that sounds I couldn't help but lol when I heard it. XD

But anyway I personally suggest using RPGMXP. I know it's not something you're used to but it'd be a good start for a demo at least. As for the online portion it's still highly possible, more so because you actually know how to use C++ and you could improve on the already made server in the pack.

I understand the points made by people though that say the starter kit has its weakpoints, but it's also just a start off. True you could start with scratch, and thats perfectly fine, but by using it you can see some good areas that could be fixed, and worked on. It's not more of a starter kit persay, but a tool to help improve on an already made system. All it takes is just time and some good editing here and there.