Emerald hack: Pokescape [FINAL RELEASE v1.0.4] - A Pokemon Escape Room

[wiz1989]

CAN YOU MAKE IT OUTTA HERE?

Do you have what it takes to make it past the superior trainers, come up with original strategies and progress through this challenge on your own?
Or will you be beaten countless times, crawling back to the Game Master begging him for hints? 😈

It's all up to you, your skill and determination!
There's no mercy for the unskilled and uninspired!


Updated to version 1.0.4 (probably the final release) - see download link in this post
The final version has plenty updates like added running shoes, instant text, removed money and a few bug fixes. The HONOR MODE option was removed as it was basically never used and tended to confuse players at the very start.
In case you are encountering REAL soft locks (not fixable by Game Master) or some unlogical situations please get in touch. General feedback is also always appreciated of course. 😊

———————-

This Escape Room like mini rom hack got inspired by this video by SmallAnt:

If you haven't seen it yet, take the chance. It's big time fun and super interesting how good these Pokemon veterans actually are coping with complex game mechanics.


This game features gen 5 move learnsets (important to know) and can take between 30min to 6hrs of in-game time to complete (depending on the number of hints taken).
It is a combination of riddles and special Pokemon fights to progress through the map. You start in front of the Pokemon Center and have to reach the house on the left where the play clock stops and you will get your final completion time.



I wanted the game to be beaten without reloading the save state so it features a Game Master NPC that gives you helpful advice in exchange for an additional 30min of game time, in case you are getting stuck. Final time is what matters when comparing to other players.




The game is completed by now and realeased as a final version 1.0.4. Still any critics, suggestions or additional ideas are highly welcome!


NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

Since this is an escape game it means that you can only play it once and spoilers would destroy the fun.


Download:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7i76....0.4.zip?rlkey=hq021ihd7dx9ca83m62lxrp2x&dl=1

Important remark: Make sure to only use mGBA emulator for playing the game. Other emulators could result in unexpected issues like screen freezes. Also make sure to run the newest version of mGBA to avoid errors.
For Android users: You can use the mGBA core of RetroArch.


Youtube Streams & Videos:
Here's a collection of streamers that have already played (the beta) on stream.
DISCLAIMER: Don't watch them if you want to play it yourself.

Spoiler:

ackolade - Stream

Astroid - Stream

Freezai - Video Clip

Sephiron - Stream (German)

CREDITS:

Spoiler:

The fine people who created the pokeemerald and pokeemerald-expansion decompilation projects as well as poryscript.
Special thanks also to Archie and the crew from the Team Aqua Hideout and of course @alemazzini for his support and game tests!

Tools Used:
- Porymap

Version history:

Spoiler:

version 0.9.1 fixes:
-grinding into struggle of the first opponent no longer possible (was never planned to work that way)
-acquiring multiple master balls no longer possible (damn map reloading!)
-Scyther can no longer enter the hill

version 0.9.2 fixes:
-changed PP settings to allow only one possible solution for the first fight

version 0.9.3 fixes:
-temporarily deactivating pokemon storage system as it could be abused to heal Pokemon
-balanced Pokemon stats
-added new item to improve the mechanics of the last battle

version 0.9.4 fixes:
-fixed few incorrectly set flags
-improved hints
-improved mechanics of last fight (much less RNG impact now)
-plenty of polishing

version 1.0.0 fixes:
-changed Game Master logic so that the same hint won't charge play time multiple times
-generally improved Game Master logic (included some more cases for rare potential situations)
-added HONOR MODE
-added important explanations after starting the game
-added missing credit for myself
-fixed palette issue with May sprite
-updated NPC hints
-improved balancing of battles

version 1.0.1 fixes:
-improved hint wording

version 1.0.2 fixes:
-further text updates
-replaced sand attack as it enabled an additional RNG grinding solution
-replaced the tree sprite with a berry tree

version 1.0.3 fixes:
-removed crits from the game
-minor changes of Pokemon stats to polish the user experience
-added correct Pokedex entries (National Dex was flawed before)
-minor text updates

version 1.0.4 fixes:
-added running shoes
-added instant text option
-removed HONOR MODE
-removed money
-updated text messages
-fixed rare candy farming bug
-Meganoum no longer gives XP
-slight rebalancing

 

[StCooler]

Approved!

 

[wiz1989]

Game description updated as it needed quite a bit more information and loot. ;)

 

[aj9797]

Just finished playing through the game. While I really appreciate the effort put into the puzzles, there's unfortunately an easy loophole that completely negates the second part of your puzzle.

Spoiler:

After getting Wooper and the Masterball, all you need to do is Capture Scyther-> Teach it Cut -> Faint Wooper by battling the Wild Pokemon -> Skip the double battle and you're done. This basically completely negates the need to use thief on Cradily for the dawn stone, get the sweet apple/Kirlia and finally evolve it to a Gallade, to Finish the Game.
I guess you could solve this by making Kirlia Hold on to HM Cut. I would also change the method of obtaining the sweet apple as it intuitively doesn't make sense how you only get it when you have Girafarig on your team.

 

[wiz1989]

Just finished playing through the game. While I really appreciate the effort put into the puzzles, there's unfortunately an easy loophole that completely negates the second part of your puzzle.

Spoiler:

After getting Wooper and the Masterball, all you need to do is Capture Scyther-> Teach it Cut -> Faint Wooper by battling the Wild Pokemon -> Skip the double battle and you're done. This basically completely negates the need to use thief on Cradily for the dawn stone, get the sweet apple/Kirlia and finally evolve it to a Gallade, to Finish the Game.
I guess you could solve this by making Kirlia Hold on to HM Cut. I would also change the method of obtaining the sweet apple as it intuitively doesn't make sense how you only get it when you have Girafarig on your team.

Thanks a lot for the feedback!
I already got the same complaint (and even more) and made a fix for this.

So in version 0.9.1 the following is fixed:
-grinding into struggle of the first opponent no longer possible (was never planned to work that way)
-acquiring multiple master balls no longer possible (damn map reloading!)
-Scyther can no longer enter the hill

It looks much better to me know. Hope it really brings up the challenge now that I wanted it to be! It's supposed to be difficult. :D

 

[aj9797]

That's awesome! I have a few more additional comments and queries regarding the puzzles.

Spoiler:

1) You don't really need TM Dig to beat the first fight. You can pretty much stall out Solar Beam with Protect and finish the battle. The same goes for the Geodude as you don't need to grind Makuhitta at all to get Whirlwind. The AI usually switches out to Clefable and goes for Misty explosion and the meganium ends up getting Poisoned and eventually falls.
2) There's the part where Nurse Joy says she's sick and refuses to heal your Pokemon. Is there a particular reason for this? As you can heal your Pokemon using the PC Box.
3) There's also the guy in the Pokemon Center who initially mocks you for not having enough Pokemon and later says Yamask doesn't want to learn any moves. I'm guessing the initial comment is to prompt the user to get a new Pokemon. I'm not sure what the second part of the conversation

 

[wiz1989]

That's awesome! I have a few more additional comments and queries regarding the puzzles.

Spoiler:

1) You don't really need TM Dig to beat the first fight. You can pretty much stall out Solar Beam with Protect and finish the battle. The same goes for the Geodude as you don't need to grind Makuhitta at all to get Whirlwind. The AI usually switches out to Clefable and goes for Misty explosion and the meganium ends up getting Poisoned and eventually falls.
2) There's the part where Nurse Joy says she's sick and refuses to heal your Pokemon. Is there a particular reason for this? As you can heal your Pokemon using the PC Box.
3) There's also the guy in the Pokemon Center who initially mocks you for not having enough Pokemon and later says Yamask doesn't want to learn any moves. I'm guessing the initial comment is to prompt the user to get a new Pokemon. I'm not sure what the second part of the conversation

Much appreciated!

Answers to your remarks/questions in spoilers below. Another tiny fix already deployed to make sure the first fight has no more easy stalling way out! ;-)

Spoiler:

1) You do need it now. The intended battle mechanic could be played around with simple stalling tactics. It's no longer possible. Give it a try! Should be much more difficult to solve, now!
2) That is intended. But you should not be able to heal them with the PC. I wasn't aware at all that this is an actual feature. Will be fixed shortly!
3) In fact, this guy simply should let you know that your Yamask doesn't learn any new moves at all. So you are not confused why it never does when leveling up or using TMs.

 

[wiz1989]

Version 0.9.3 published.
See version history in first post.

 

[wiz1989]

Thanks to alemazzini and aj9797 I was able to identify and fix open ends/flaws/unnecessary difficulties. 🤗
The game should now be able to be played and won without any major issues. Feedback is still appreciated of course. 😊

Version 0.9.4 is now available in the first post.

Enjoy!

 

[TheRedDevil]

How do you get the masterball to catch scyther?

 

[TheRedDevil]

HOW do you get to the masterball

 

[wiz1989]

HOW do you get to the masterball

maybe keep the stuff in "Spoiler brackets"? ;-)

But in this case: Just talk to the Game Master. That's why he is there.

 

[TheRedDevil]

maybe keep the stuff in "Spoiler brackets"? ;-)

But in this case: Just talk to the Game Master. That's why he is there.

Thank you i will remember that for future rom hacks and issues i may encounter

 

[alemazzini]

I'm a bit late to the party, but I had the pleasure to playtest the rom and playing at the end as intended! Is so clever and so well made you can tell there is some serious thought and love put behind. I love it and hope you will make more and more of theese 😍. I also spammed it to my friends and had some huge laughs watching those who couldn't figure it out! we had some good nights thanks to this

 

[Serendepitys]

was there an EXACT way your supposed to "beat" the 3rd battle? it took decent AI RNG for me to accomplish the goal. which im assuming means it wasn't the intended way. was fun though!

 

[wiz1989]

was there an EXACT way your supposed to "beat" the 3rd battle? it took decent AI RNG for me to accomplish the goal. which im assuming means it wasn't the intended way. was fun though!

Good question! Third battle is not completely balanced just yet. I am working on an update with less RNG involved. Probably won't make it to be 100% RNG independent, though. But should be doable in like 1-3 gos after I release it and in a certain order that was already flipped around a few times.

It should be ready later this week!

Glad you liked it! :)

 

[wiz1989]

Getting closer to the final release now.
I just implemented an "Honor mode" that you can choose to play with which adds penalty time for any save state resets your are doing.
Think it's a cool feature since any kinds of potential soft locks can be navigated with the Game Master NPC.
It is available for the player's personal challenge and won't have any other effects than this.

For the time being you can enjoy the following Youtube streams/videos that have already been done with the current beta. I will share them in the main post as well.

DISCLAIMER: Don't watch them if you want to play it yourself.

ackolade - Stream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCU0JdwnnpE&start=1662

Astroid - Stream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXe1k2dWBxc

Freezai - Video Clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNcBnV4BA10

 

[brunjox]

Hello, very excited to play this game! The ROM is booting perfectly fine on Linux with mGBA, but not on Android 10 using MyBoy! 1.8.0. Specifically, it freezes after hitting New Game. Any tips to make it work? Thanks!

 

[cinna]

I really enjoyed this, it's not too complicated while still being satisfying to piece together, although I think an extra hint about May's lost item couldn't hurt. I found it quickly but it was kind of sheer luck :p Probably took me an hour and a half or so, but my final time at the end said like 16 hours for some reason lol. I did use a lot of save states to get through the last battle, which I also ended up RNG cheesing to win. I got what I was probably supposed to do afterwards, funnily enough. But honestly gives me incentive to do it better if and when you update again!

I have a couple thoughts, including a suggestion about the sweet apple:

Spoiler:

If you catch Scyther and interact with the tree, it still says you should catch more Pokemon and come back. I think it must be specifically checking for Girafarig in your party. I think this might be a little misleading, though. If someone catches Scyther, looks at the tree, and then resets to catch Girafarig, they might assume they still can't interact with the tree yet. I'd suggest making it possible to get the apple as long as you have at least three Pokemon, regardless of which.

It's also not quite clear or intuitive that the game master can help you get past potential softlock situations.

Spoiler:

I actually think that it might make sense for the NPC in the Pokemon Centre who tells you about Yamask not learning moves to have new dialogue every time you get a new Pokemon, and then if you catch Scyther he offers to trade another ball for it. If he comments on Wooper, there'd be precedent for visiting him to see what he says about other Pokemon. I think this would be a more logical way to navigate the situation. This way, rather than forcing you to either reset or get awkwardly bailed out if you don't figure out the intended solution right away, it's just less efficient and loses you time. Maybe he says something about seeing a Kirlia outside if you catch Girafarig?

Spoiler:

Finally, just a minor curiosity: since it and Kirlia already know Thief, why is Girafarig holding the TM? You can teach Quagsire but it doesn't seem necessary.

 

[wiz1989]

I really enjoyed this, it's not too complicated while still being satisfying to piece together, although I think an extra hint about May's lost item couldn't hurt. I found it quickly but it was kind of sheer luck :p Probably took me an hour and a half or so, but my final time at the end said like 16 hours for some reason lol. I did use a lot of save states to get through the last battle, which I also ended up RNG cheesing to win. I got what I was probably supposed to do afterwards, funnily enough. But honestly gives me incentive to do it better if and when you update again!

I have a couple thoughts, including a suggestion about the sweet apple:

Spoiler:

If you catch Scyther and interact with the tree, it still says you should catch more Pokemon and come back. I think it must be specifically checking for Girafarig in your party. I think this might be a little misleading, though. If someone catches Scyther, looks at the tree, and then resets to catch Girafarig, they might assume they still can't interact with the tree yet. I'd suggest making it possible to get the apple as long as you have at least three Pokemon, regardless of which.

It's also not quite clear or intuitive that the game master can help you get past potential softlock situations.

Spoiler:

I actually think that it might make sense for the NPC in the Pokemon Centre who tells you about Yamask not learning moves to have new dialogue every time you get a new Pokemon, and then if you catch Scyther he offers to trade another ball for it. If he comments on Wooper, there'd be precedent for visiting him to see what he says about other Pokemon. I think this would be a more logical way to navigate the situation. This way, rather than forcing you to either reset or get awkwardly bailed out if you don't figure out the intended solution right away, it's just less efficient and loses you time. Maybe he says something about seeing a Kirlia outside if you catch Girafarig?

Spoiler:

Finally, just a minor curiosity: since it and Kirlia already know Thief, why is Girafarig holding the TM? You can teach Quagsire but it doesn't seem necessary.

First of all, I am really happy you liked the hack and thank you so much for this comprehensive feedback!

I think by now I managed to reduce the RNG elements further, so let's see how it works out for you after the 1.0.0.
16 hours is REALLY a lot. But I guess it's easy to achieve playing at 10x speed lol. In the beta it was also possible to spam the Game Master for the same hint multiple times and he added 30min each. The final version will handle this in a way that already given hints are repeated for free.

Let's get into the Spoiler talk now. ;-)

Spoiler:

Apple:
Yeah, the tree and Scyther. It's a bit of a dilemma here. To make the Game Master work I need the player to execute certain milestones in the right order. Otherwise it would be impossible with the current design to get the Game Master to give the right hint at the right time. So this is a design issue that I can't really change. I could be more specific with the hint, but then again don't want to give away too much information too early. Only chance I see is that I change the message after catching Scyther, because at this point it's quite clear you took the wrong decision.
By the way, the sign hint at the grass patch is to be understood quite literally: "Gira is a great thieve" -> TM Thief & "Scyther is holding the secret to cut bushes" -> Holding HM01. Meaning basically: get thief and thieve HM01 from Scyther.

Game Master:
I agree. This is something I learned from the recent Youtube streams. People expect soft locks to happen because they do in similar challenges. I added a new intro text when starting the game that makes it clear what to expect. Afterall this is a new concept, which people haven't interacted with, yet.

Scientist:
I am not sure, just yet. Gotta wrap my head around it. I also learned from the streams that people are kinda expecting/hoping he might give away more information about other Pokemon. And I personally do like the idea. Just gotta make sure I am not giving away too much too early.

Thief:
I have to ask you a question back: How did you pull off to thieve Venusaur if it wasn't with Quagsire? Cause that shouldn't be possible by design.
Here is the original idea:
-you obtain TM Thief with Gira
-all Pokemon able to learn it already know it --> I want the player to understand that he is not supposed to use it on those
-the girl on the rock giving the hint that certain Pokemon enable new movesets after evolving (Wooper can't learn Thief, Quag can)
-all other Pokemon except Quagsire should usually faint in the last fight since only Quag can't be fainted when played correctly.

I am pretty much done with all the open tasks I had gathered by now. Will do a little bit of play testing and check if I can/will add some of the proposed changes to the game.
Again, thanks so much for your honest opinion on the UX!