Chit-Chat: ROM Hacking Daily Chit Chat

[Blah]

Here are the rules to get your ROM hack #1 in the popularity charts:

- Answer community questions frequently

- Graphics. If your hack is completely default graphics, no one cares about it. The style of graphics can be kept the same as the original base, as seen in Gaia, while still looking rather attractive.

- Post updates frequently (they don't even need to be big updates..stuff like a picture of a revamped mart will excite the fans...I know...but it works apparently)

- Sometimes you don't even need updates, just post stuff like "Guys just 8 more hours!!!" - GoGo 2014

- New generation Pokemon/moves/mechanics

- Lastly, ASM is a great one to have. Features which can't be done by normal means makes everyone excited.


Misconceptions:

- Most people think you need an early beta, you do not. Update frequently with hype stuffs.

- Good story makes a hack. No, good graphics and game play makes a hack around these parts. The story is secondary, the most successful stories seem to be the standard Pokemon story anyways.



Anyways, that's my research on making a successful hack after lurking about for so long :D

 

[machomuu]

- Good story makes a hack. No, good graphics and game play makes a hack around these parts. The story is secondary, the most successful stories seem to be the standard Pokemon story anyways.

I don't really think that's a misconception. The vast majority of hacks have standard Pokemon formula stories (which, as I've mentioned before, bothers me quite a bit).

I think it's a larger misconception, not about becoming a popular hack but being a hack in general, that you need to have a standard formula story if you're making a hack. It seems like a lot of people restrict themselves to it when really, thanks to the current state of hacking, you could make it almost anything you want to, Pokemon or otherwise.

 

[Blah]

I don't really think that's a misconception. The vast majority of hacks have standard Pokemon formula stories (which, as I've mentioned before, bothers me quite a bit).

I think it's a larger misconception, not about becoming a popular hack but being a hack in general, that you need to have a standard formula story if you're making a hack. It seems like a lot of people restrict themselves to it when really, thanks to the current state of hacking, you could make it almost anything you want to, Pokemon or otherwise.

You're absolutely right! There have been hacks in the past which have tried to not adhere with the classic formula and introduce rather complicated stories and potential game play enhancements. But most people end up giving up because they reach a loss when it comes to implementation. There's definitely room for potentially different story formats, but the ROM base itself better for the classic formula in terms of work needed.

I'm gonna change the subject slightly, and ask about people's opinions on Slowpoke's evolution in the anime vs in the games/hacks. Most people have a leveled evolution, but wouldn't it be more interesting if we did something similar to the anime? How would the stats be affected? How would we make it work? This is something I've been thinking about recently, and I'm genuinely interested what others think about it.

 

[HidoranBlaze]

Here are the rules to get your ROM hack #1 in the popularity charts:

- Answer community questions frequently

- Graphics. If your hack is completely default graphics, no one cares about it. The style of graphics can be kept the same as the original base, as seen in Gaia, while still looking rather attractive.

- Post updates frequently (they don't even need to be big updates..stuff like a picture of a revamped mart will excite the fans...I know...but it works apparently)

- Sometimes you don't even need updates, just post stuff like "Guys just 8 more hours!!!" - GoGo 2014

- New generation Pokemon/moves/mechanics

- Lastly, ASM is a great one to have. Features which can't be done by normal means makes everyone excited.


Misconceptions:

- Most people think you need an early beta, you do not. Update frequently with hype stuffs.

- Good story makes a hack. No, good graphics and game play makes a hack around these parts. The story is secondary, the most successful stories seem to be the standard Pokemon story anyways.



Anyways, that's my research on making a successful hack after lurking about for so long :D

But, but FBI!! I thoughts requirements were

1. Have steep level curve!!1!!

2. Have edgy plots!!11!!

3. Have Satan sympathizer for protag!!11!!

4. Have Kaizo trap!!11! Best trap!

2nd for Best Gameplay, 2nd for Most Engaging and 3rd for Fan Favorite. This works!!11!!

... Lol, in all seriousness, I'd dispute the graphics criteria, since there are hacks with default graphics that have succeeded. (Check YAFRH for reference)

You're absolutely right! There have been hacks in the past which have tried to not adhere with the classic formula and introduce rather complicated stories and potential game play enhancements. But most people end up giving up because they reach a loss when it comes to implementation. There's definitely room for potentially different story formats, but the ROM base itself better for the classic formula in terms of work needed.

I'm gonna change the subject slightly, and ask about people's opinions on Slowpoke's evolution in the anime vs in the games/hacks. Most people have a leveled evolution, but wouldn't it be more interesting if we did something similar to the anime? How would the stats be affected? How would we make it work? This is something I've been thinking about recently, and I'm genuinely interested what others think about it.

I'm assuming you're talking about how Slowpoke needs to evolve with Shellder in the anime? Implementing that would be more realistic, but gameplay wise, that'd be annoying, unless hackers made sure Shellders are readily available. Even then, I can imagine scenarios where people forget how the new evo works, and lose their Shellder by accident. (if the evolution is implemented so that the Shellder disappears after Slowpoke evolves, which would probably be the realistic way to approach it) So I'm not sure if I'd like the idea of an anime evolution, but I guess it'd be interesting for an anime hack.

 

[Christos]

I'm gonna change the subject slightly, and ask about people's opinions on Slowpoke's evolution in the anime vs in the games/hacks. Most people have a leveled evolution, but wouldn't it be more interesting if we did something similar to the anime? How would the stats be affected? How would we make it work? This is something I've been thinking about recently, and I'm genuinely interested what others think about it.

I've actually thought of it and I think it would be interesting to see it in a hack. Mantyke evolves by having Remoraid in the party, but if you'd do something similar with Slowpoke, Shellder would have to be "deleted" as it's attached on Slowpoke's tail.

An alternative is Slowpoke only evolving in certain maps, where Shellder can be found in the wild, maybe sea routes? It wouldn't be clear why it evolved this way, but I'd be okay with it if it was explained by a NPC. I also wouldn't want to be able to evolve a Slowpoke as soon as I catch one, so either Slowpoke or Shellder should be available later in the game, or the evolution is only possible after a certain level.

And by the way, Merry Christmas!

 

[Danny0317]

Decap. on hacks, you guys like or no?
I do.

 

[Percy]

Decap. on hacks, you guys like or no?
I do.

I like Decafps, too. I don't know why. Maybe I'm a perfectionist :O

 

[Danny0317]

Same. Random POKEMON names and ITEM names as well as PEOPLE'S name is annoying in my opinion and it looks bad..

 

[Akashi93]

Good Evening everybody, hope you're all enjoying holidays!
Can someone give me a list of the current gba hacks that features Mega Evos? Thanks!

 

[Dionen]

Same. Random POKEMON names and ITEM names as well as PEOPLE'S name is annoying in my opinion and it looks bad..

I like the capitalization. It gives me some "nintendo feelings" and that makes the game seems more original instead of a hack-rom.
~dionen hides away from stoning~

Good Evening everybody, hope you're all enjoying holidays!
Can someone give me a list of the current gba hacks that features Mega Evos? Thanks!

Fully functional? None, I think ;-;

 

[Danny0317]

I like the capitalization. It gives me some "nintendo feelings" and that makes the game seems more original instead of a hack-rom.
~dionen hides away from stoning~

Fully functional? None, I think ;-;

My question is, why try to get the Nintendo feel? That's actually one of the things I'm trying not to do.

 

[DJTiki]

My question is, why try to get the Nintendo feel? That's actually one of the things I'm trying not to do.

The larger point of why hacks are so popular is captializing on what is Nintendo-made. Having something offical and made by Game-Freak is far more better than what we do.

Would you rather have:
A.) Something that is sure to be stable and have everything a hack, wish it could have.
or
B.) Settle for something that can be potentially lesser when Nintendo can do 300x better than us.

Honestly, we don't have big money or the largest names backing us up. That's why having a game that can replicate that feeling is an attractive factor. Hacking isn't "gods work", you know? XD

 

[Blah]

I like capitalization in the games. It helps the player identify between names of things/places/items which may be foreign to them vs. normal words. For example, if someone who hasn't played the games read this:
"I used repel to get to Pallet safely. I can't wait to visit Berry".

Most of the names I've used are common English words. If you read them like that then, that sentence makes no sense whatsoever. Try this one:
"I used REPEL to get to PALLET safely. I can't wait to visit BERRY".

If you're consistent with the convention then it's easy to tell that these are names. It removes most of the ambiguity. Though that's the biggest thing about capitalization. You need to be consistent if you're using it.
Recently people have been trying to use colored text to overcome this, but 90% of the time that's more annoying than the capitalization imo.

 

[Dionen]

I like capitalization in the games. It helps the player identify between names of things/places/items which may be foreign to them vs. normal words. For example, if someone who hasn't played the games read this:
"I used repel to get to Pallet safely. I can't wait to visit Berry".

Most of the names I've used are common English words. If you read them like that then, that sentence makes no sense whatsoever. Try this one:
"I used REPEL to get to PALLET safely. I can't wait to visit BERRY".

If you're consistent with the convention then it's easy to tell that these are names. It removes most of the ambiguity. Though that's the biggest thing about capitalization. You need to be consistent if you're using it.
Recently people have been trying to use colored text to overcome this, but 90% of the time that's more annoying than the capitalization imo.

Practically the same thing happens with mapping style
Gamefreak's focused on clarity and natural tries to keep things "real"

 

[Danny0317]

I like capitalization in the games. It helps the player identify between names of things/places/items which may be foreign to them vs. normal words. For example, if someone who hasn't played the games read this:
"I used repel to get to Pallet safely. I can't wait to visit Berry".

Most of the names I've used are common English words. If you read them like that then, that sentence makes no sense whatsoever. Try this one:
"I used REPEL to get to PALLET safely. I can't wait to visit BERRY".

If you're consistent with the convention then it's easy to tell that these are names. It removes most of the ambiguity. Though that's the biggest thing about capitalization. You need to be consistent if you're using it.
Recently people have been trying to use colored text to overcome this, but 90% of the time that's more annoying than the capitalization imo.

Properly decapitalized would have been Repel instead of repel... I also think of someone's playing a hack, they're pretty much used to Pokemon, not to mention iirc, Pokemon is now decapped.

The larger point of why hacks are so popular is captializing on what is Nintendo-made. Having something offical and made by Game-Freak is far more better than what we do.

Would you rather have:
A.) Something that is sure to be stable and have everything a hack, wish it could have.
or
B.) Settle for something that can be potentially lesser when Nintendo can do 300x better than us.

Honestly, we don't have big money or the largest names backing us up. That's why having a game that can replicate that feeling is an attractive factor. Hacking isn't "gods work", you know? XD

Eh, what?

 

[DJTiki]

Eh, what?

*sigh*

What Nintendo makes will always be more efficent and stable than what hacking could ever do. Therefore, having that "Nintendo Seal of Approval" feel in hacks is an attractive factor.

 

[Danny0317]

*sigh*

What Nintendo makes will always be more efficent and stable than what hacking could ever do. Therefore, having that "Nintendo Seal of Approval" feel in hacks is an attractive factor.

And captitalizing things that shouldn't be capitalized give the "Nintendo Seal of Approval?" In my opinion it just makes it look ugly.

 

[Akashi93]

I like the capitalization. It gives me some "nintendo feelings" and that makes the game seems more original instead of a hack-rom.
~dionen hides away from stoning~

Fully functional? None, I think ;-;

Really? D: that's a shame ;-;
well I hope that exist some hacks with something similar..

 

[Blah]

Properly decapitalized would have been Repel instead of repel... I also think of someone's playing a hack, they're pretty much used to Pokemon, not to mention iirc, Pokemon is now decapped.

No it wouldn't be. I don't call my spoon, "Spoon" or my fork "Fork". They're both tools and names of items, just like repel. For you second point, that's not true at all. My first hack was Shiny Gold, it was also one of my first Pokemon games (after Red).

 

[machomuu]

*sigh*

What Nintendo makes will always be more efficent and stable than what hacking could ever do. Therefore, having that "Nintendo Seal of Approval" feel in hacks is an attractive factor.

I disagree. We shouldn't assume that what Game Freak does is the "Be All, End All" for what hacks should be. Heck, I'd say Rijon Adventures feels more official than the official games do. Just because Game Freak does something doesn't mean that it's the best we can hope to aspire to, because lemme tell you, 3rd Generation isn't exactly the Holy Grail of game and grammar design.

My point is, we can always do better. There's a huge difference between making a cheap, unproffesional looking hack, making a hack that could be the spitting image of the official games, and making a hack that just oozes professionalism and intelligent design. The penultimate and last examples can be the same, but that doesn't mean they always are. Similarly, there's nothing to say that the final example isn't better looking than the one that copies Game Freak's style to a T.