The key to a good hack?

[hackerofdarkness]

Dedication,focus,honesty and originality,think if you're not dedicated the hacks not going anywhere,lack of focus can cause the hack to come to a complete stop a prime example for this would be Shiny Gold,due to the fact that Zel's interest in Pokemon is fading away,for originality,few hacks have a good story but during a specific process that story ends up in the trash then becomes the same old traditional 8th badge quest for becoming the champion of that specific region.

 

[shinyabsol1]

Aside from all of the things others have mentioned above, another key to making a great hack (in my opinion) is actually finishing it.

There are so many incomplete hacks that their creators have given up on or quit in the middle....Naranja comes to mind. Sure, I thought Naranja was awesome when I played it, but was sorely disappointed when it ended unfinished after like two gyms.

Find the dedication to go far with your hack!

 

[Rock Star Incorporated]

I have only been hacking for like a month, but I am pretty hooked on it and wish I could do stuff...

What I think makes a good hack is having a strong direction of events. There needs to be a clear path to follow throughout the hack, so that it flows smoothly, however not having blatently obvious solutions to problems which would occur. Probably the hardest aspect (in my opinion) to engage the player, is the scripting of new events which excite and make things interesting as a game progresses.

Basically, you need a neat concept, and the skills to execute it.

 

[Logan]

Hunger.

The hunger to want to be the best and have the best hack will drive you forward better than anything else.

 

[PaulGR]

gRAPHICS

Graphics by my opiion is making a hack a good one....

 

[Cronozona]

What about making a password script to obtain Pokemon?

 

[bcrobert]

What about making a password script to obtain Pokemon?

Um...that came way out of left field. Do you mean that the player would enter a password and receive a pokemon in exchange? Like a cheat code? :\

 

[Deokishisu]

Let's see. Storyline is definitely important. Even if it is the stock 8 badges/thwart evil team story, something must be done to make it more original, defining, and most importantly, stick out in the player's mind. You have less creative leeway with the badge plot in this scenario than with your evil team.

Speaking of which, when creating your evil team, it's VERY important to prevent villain decay, something even the mainstream Pokemon games seem to forget. Team Rocket is a good example of villain decay. They never win, you thwart them at every turn. By the end of the game, they're more of a nuisance than a serious threat. Sometimes, the player just has to lose. A tactical loss makes for an unexpected and interesting plot twist while also solidifying in the player's mind that, "hey, these guys are serious."

Overall, storyline is most important, but I do have to add in that if a hack has terrible mapping I will flat out refuse to play it. Which is probably a terrible thing, but horrendous maps are something that I simply can not look past. They'll ruin the experience for me. I'll be too busy spotting tile errors, bad grass placement, squareness, and bad town planning to enjoy anything the hack has to offer.

That's just my two cents.

EDIT: Also, a good "aftergame" is important. Your post Elite-Four story should preferably be comparable in length and quality to your pre Elite-Four story. Or better. That works too. You certainly don't want a remake of the hour long Sevii Islands. Because that was engaging. /sarcasm

 

[U.Flame]

In my opinion, story is the most important part of a hack. Features attract more people but the story is what really matters. My favorite stories are the ones that don't focus on badges and evil teams, but something deeper. I'm not saying badges ruin a story but they shouldn't be the main part. A good story is one that doesn't follow the over used world domination, or teams and gangs that the law completely ignores. *cough* *cough* Black and White *cough *cough* Also, if the player lives with a parent/guardian, they should care and contact the player occasionally instead of not caring and ignoring the danger. *cough* *cough* Inuyasha *cough* *cough* So that's my opinion.

 

[Ray Maverick]

a) Originality
What most hacks lack, and to me, it's the most important, because it's the source of all key-aspects of the hack (story, mapping and some scripting).

b) ROM Hacking knowledge
Know the limits of your tools. Because you can't make a touch screen in a GBA game which is played in VBA..

c) Dedication!
This includes practice, as well as endless motivation (meaning that making your own game is really the best of your dreams) and patience.

 

[iamhot4u2]

I think a good hack is something which is fun and harder than the original and also more confusing, so it's not just harder battles.

 

[Putin]

It all depends on the hacker and the person playing.

We make this mistake of macrocosmically calling anything interactive, entertaining and electronic a "video game"; and in the microcosm of ROMhacking Pokémon, I see too often the mistake of comparing completely different hacks. FireRed Omega, ShinyGold, AshGrey, FloraSky and Snakewood are all very different hacks working toward different ends, to give a decent sampling of the spectrum. You can't say that AshGrey sucks because it doesn't have the gripping atmosphere of FloraSky, that FireRed Omega sucks because it lacks the plot of AshGrey, FloraSky or Snakewood, Snakewood sucks because of the lack of gyms, FireRed Omega sucks because it's not "different" enough... Each is a good hack, for different reasons. I have enjoyed all immensely.

I think as a general rule, if you change the plot, it should not resemble a canned GameFreak-style "collect the eight badges, fill the dex and defeat this team" thing, especially if you've just, say, swapped some names and changed Kyogre and Groudon to sand and hail beasts or something. If it's a very original or offbeat plot, I think a certain amount of campiness is actually beneficial; Of the above, I think Snakewood is the best example. It's ridiculous and farcical, but has a decent plot and is fun to play. Another thing is that people like a certain amount of fanservice, but sticking a trainer with Red's sprite named Ash with a Pikachu at level 100 in the game is just cheesy and will often illicit little more than a sigh. Writing an original plot or original facet for a canon character (without making it too cliché fanfiction "meeting my Mary-Sue") is a good tactic, though.

On a final note, I think people are too afraid of Fakémon. I don't know if it's the spriting (some of the Quartz designs were great, but fell short in spriting, for example) or what, but people seem to both detest making and playing with fakémon; Personally, I love them.

 

[redriders180]

For what its worth, I'll add my two cents.

From what I've learned, a hacker needs to not be lazy, as people above me have said. They need to work on it, and if need be, completely redesign a town, until it fits what its supposed to do. Making towns is tricky...You have to balance how good it looks, make it original, make it navigable, etc. Don't do a half-a$$ job making something.

 

[bcrobert]

It all depends on the hacker and the person playing.

We make this mistake of macrocosmically calling anything interactive, entertaining and electronic a "video game"; and in the microcosm of ROMhacking Pokémon, I see too often the mistake of comparing completely different hacks. FireRed Omega, ShinyGold, AshGrey, FloraSky and Snakewood are all very different hacks working toward different ends, to give a decent sampling of the spectrum. You can't say that AshGrey sucks because it doesn't have the gripping atmosphere of FloraSky, that FireRed Omega sucks because it lacks the plot of AshGrey, FloraSky or Snakewood, Snakewood sucks because of the lack of gyms, FireRed Omega sucks because it's not "different" enough... Each is a good hack, for different reasons. I have enjoyed all immensely.

I think as a general rule, if you change the plot, it should not resemble a canned GameFreak-style "collect the eight badges, fill the dex and defeat this team" thing, especially if you've just, say, swapped some names and changed Kyogre and Groudon to sand and hail beasts or something. If it's a very original or offbeat plot, I think a certain amount of campiness is actually beneficial; Of the above, I think Snakewood is the best example. It's ridiculous and farcical, but has a decent plot and is fun to play. Another thing is that people like a certain amount of fanservice, but sticking a trainer with Red's sprite named Ash with a Pikachu at level 100 in the game is just cheesy and will often illicit little more than a sigh. Writing an original plot or original facet for a canon character (without making it too cliché fanfiction "meeting my Mary-Sue") is a good tactic, though.

On a final note, I think people are too afraid of Fakémon. I don't know if it's the spriting (some of the Quartz designs were great, but fell short in spriting, for example) or what, but people seem to both detest making and playing with fakémon; Personally, I love them.

That's very well thought out. And I agree with the vast majority of what you've said here. I love both Fire Red Omega and ShinyGold. It's obvious that one took a lot more work than the other but it's important to note that they both achieve their intentions. But at the same time, I'm tempted to push you toward an answer of a different element. What types of changes do you, personally, value the most? I don't mean to imply that we'll ever come to a definitive answer on this matter. The simple fact is that I just like gathering the detailed opinions of others into one place and comparing them to see if they fit together in a meaningful way.

And in regards to your side note, I personally am torn about fakemon. I feel like it's possible to create a well done, elaborate new fakemon. But just a handful of poorly conceived pokemon can ruin an entire generation for me (I'm one of those people that have forsaken black & white). And I've been with the franchise since it first hit the USA, so I have no choice but to admit that I have a bit of a nostalgia complex.

 

[demondismon]

well for me i would have to say a good story line one you can follow and a good structural mapping as in not many errors you can follow and like.... one of the big things for me though would be the maps and fakemon

 

[Putin]

And in regards to your side note, I personally am torn about fakemon. I feel like it's possible to create a well done, elaborate new fakemon. But just a handful of poorly conceived pokemon can ruin an entire generation for me (I'm one of those people that have forsaken black & white). And I've been with the franchise since it first hit the USA, so I have no choice but to admit that I have a bit of a nostalgia complex.

Really? I loved BW's new characters, IMO they were the best since second generation. With the exception of Vanilluxe, which I hate, and Druddigon, which I'm pretty meh about. Though nostalgia often makes it difficult to accurately judge a sequel on its own merits. I wouldn't say I'm split about fakémon, either; A lot of people that think like me say that, when they mean that people make bad fakémon and they dislike that. I love fakémon if they are good, but if it's not something you're good at, you should be able to say, "hey, I'm not good at this," and try to make a good hack without them. It's like, say, fixing a bicycle. If you're good at it, you might as well improve it and add an horn and maybe a better chain and gears while you're at it; If you aren't, maybe you should just pump up the tires, replace the chain and hope everything turns out alright.

What I find most important, I suppose, is a storyline. Of those that I mentioned, Snakewood was my favourite; It had an original, complex story, and I derived more pleasure from that than from the others. Real difficulty (as opposed to fake difficulty, a la Flora Sky, wondering for hours trying to figure out what you're supposed to do next) is also an important factour for me, and Snakewood also had that.

 

[Plumpyfoof]

You're playing a hack or any game for that matter, and you're having fun for 8 hours and then bam you've finished the game and now you're done with it never to play it again. What's the point really? Unless you can go back again and again to the same game it's not worth the effort imo.

 

[Putin]

Well, that's kind of just how it is in the medium. Some games are replayable, and some provide long-lasting enjoyment (while some, I'm looking at you every single paid-for MMO, focus solely on grinding to ever-new heights to keep you paying every month, in a kind of Skinner Box), and some are just a linear, extremely enjoyable single playthrough and that's it. When you read a book, you do not complain that you are going along and reading it, and enjoying it, ad then it ends and you can't keep getting enjoyment from it, nor do you say so for a movie. Well, some people do, which is one of the two reasons that series exist (the other being that is story is too large for a single book), if in reality it's not necessarily "people want to keep enjoying it so let's make more" so much as "people will keep paying for more so let's make 'em."

Take Portal, for instance (just the first one, I haven't even played the second). It's a story-and-puzzle-driven (much like Pokémon) game, that is extremely linear, with the only interactivity, in the end, being fooling around with the portal mechanic; Even the puzzles all eventually have to be solved in the same way every time. It's not very replayable because of this, and depending on how good you are at it, it is between a one-hour and six-hour play, and that's it. However, it's also one of the best games made in recent years, and one of the most acclaimed; Because the story was good, the game was good, the humour was good, the mechanics polished, and in general, there was nothing wrong with it. Replayability or a longer game would have just been a bonus. Competitive play, in my opinion, would have actually been detrimental, though it's what drives the official Pokémon games as far as making them last after you beat the game.

 

[Platinum Lucario]

Many people really do want to create a great ROM hack that will be inspired by nearly everyone in most of PC. So if anyone is aiming to create one ROM hack that everyone will be wow'd about, here's what many should do.

First of all, a ROM hack has to be made with graphics that is not the generic ROM base graphics, by that... I basically mean the graphics that are normally on a FireRed/LeafGreen or Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald ROM. Now surely GameFreak doesn't re-use the graphics on more newer ROMs these days do they? Take a look at Diamond/Pearl for instance and compare it to Platinum. You'll notice how the textures are different, and that shows how things can be revamped and not re-used, the only time when GameFreak did re-use graphics is when they made Pokémon Emerald, which they only edited the normal field grass (not the grass with the wild Pokémon in it though). The best thing everyone should do... is create their own tilesets and textures from scratch, that is one way to create tilesets and textures that can truly revolutionize the appearence of a ROM hack. You can use other people's ones that you've found in the ROM hacking resources, as long as you give credit to them when you use it. After all, a generic FireRed/LeafGreen Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald original tileset really does make the appearence of a ROM hack look boring. Hence this is why most ROM hackers change the tilesets completely.

Next up is the characters, Pokémon and object sprites. Surely if you're looking to make a ROM hack not look anything similar to the original ROM bases, the best way to doing it... is changing the sprite to look different to that of the original ROM base. Technically I would consider changing the sprite to look totally different from the ROM base and the Nintendo DS generation ROMs (which I mean by 4th and 5th generations), what I think of usually is creativity. Though it's not like anyone has to do it or anything, you can use the sprites from the NDS generation ROMs, but it's always best to make them from scratch. Like for instance, for an item you might as well have a different sprite for potions or any other types of medicine, so you can see what it really is. Changing a backsprite for any of the characters or Pokémon is also a great way of making a ROM hack look so much better as well as the overworld sprites.

Making up a storyline for a ROM hack is one of most easiest of all things. "Why is that?" you ask? Well because all you basically have to do... is type in your ROM hack thread. xD As for editing the whole intro would also be a great idea along with changing how you enter your name or removing the part where you enter your name, that is if you know how to. And I don't basically know how to yet either. It probably would require ASM hacking. It also great to change the titlescreen completely as well, changing it completely may also require some ASM hacking to change the animation and stuff.

ASM, one of the things that can revolutionize a ROM hack. ASM stands for "Assembly", one of the things that can be edited and replaced in the coding. There is a tutorial on how to use ASM to create for a script in the game, but I'm not sure if there's one about changing the intro completely or something like that. We may need to research even further into this.

There is one thing that people do not like in a ROM hack, and that is none other than the bugs, glitches and errors. Some can prevent people from progressing in the ROM hack, while others can screw up certain conditions or crash. Anyone who experiences any of that always posts it in author's ROM hack thread or PMs the author of the bug or glitch in the ROM hack. You can also use a debugging emulator to identify the glitch or the bug in the ROM hack and show the breaking point to the ROM hack author, which then helps them research further into it, which then can help them learn new ways of editing stuff and possibly creating a tool for it.

Audio... one of the things that we all hear from our ears, correct? Something we all think we can totally change the way we hear a certain song or sound effect. The best thing that can be done in this manner, is that anyone can simply insert a song into a ROM hack and test it out, when anyone does this, you can also change the offset for the soundbank that is used. If you're creating a ROM hack with very creative tilesets, then you would also need very creative music along side it as well. What I'd technically do is create my own songs from scratch for a ROM hack rather than trying to use what is used in a different game or a different generation of Pokémon. Usually it's only necissary to insert music from other games of Pokémon if you're including a region from a different Pokémon game or something. But here's one thing that makes a ROM hack less interesting: using the songs that come with the ROM base (eg. Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and FireRed/LeafGreen) that you're using to create the ROM hack. The reason to this is because it makes it sound too generic and just feels like you're playing the ROM that the ROM hack is based off.

This is all the advice about the keys to creating a very creative ROM hack. Good luck! ;)

~Davin (aka Platinum Lucario)

 

[RHIOneAlbum]

What would you say is the most important aspect of making a crisp, playable hack? Some people want novelty (a gripping new plot) whereas others want tradition (the classic 8 badges). On the technical side we have mapping, scripting, pokemon data, sprite editing, text edits, new features, etc.

For me the most important thing is a balance between progress and security. In other words, I like to see how new a hack can feel without too many major errors or inconsistencies popping up unintentionally.

But now I'd like to get a feel for the general views of the forum. What do you think is the key to a good hack?

Personally to me, it's a rom hack. They WILL be buggy. But they should be playable. Similar to Bungie's Halo franchise, buggy, but playable. (not for me lol, I hate fps unless it's resistance)

I think it needs to satisfy what people want. First when making music and programs, I asked people what they wanted that they didn't have. They were stumpted, and so after thinking for a while, i decided to ask myself what type of music do i want to hear? What programs do I want? And when I got into ROM hacking I thought the same way I did then.

Innovation. New things that don't satisfy people's wants, because those are currently being discovered and developed! And they are few. Innovative things not only spark new interests, but they satisfy the unknown need.

New graphics? Sure. New Pokemon? Yup. New concept? New format? New IDEAS? That's what I look for. That's why I loved LC, it satisfied the need for a remake of crystal with new graphics and stuff, but it was original. The twisted story by LaZ and Zeikku with Axel and Team Static. Orange Islands finally complete (in a future release of course)

LC wasn't totally innovative, but it was a minor example of what I look for.

Keep on hackin'
~Team RHI

What would you say is the most important aspect of making a crisp, playable hack? Some people want novelty (a gripping new plot) whereas others want tradition (the classic 8 badges). On the technical side we have mapping, scripting, pokemon data, sprite editing, text edits, new features, etc.

For me the most important thing is a balance between progress and security. In other words, I like to see how new a hack can feel without too many major errors or inconsistencies popping up unintentionally.

But now I'd like to get a feel for the general views of the forum. What do you think is the key to a good hack?

Personally to me, it's a rom hack. They WILL be buggy. But they should be playable. Similar to Bungie's Halo franchise, buggy, but playable. (not for me lol, I hate fps unless it's resistance)

I think it needs to satisfy what people want. First when making music and programs, I asked people what they wanted that they didn't have. They were stumpted, and so after thinking for a while, i decided to ask myself what type of music do i want to hear? What programs do I want? And when I got into ROM hacking I thought the same way I did then.

Innovation. New things that don't satisfy people's wants, because those are currently being discovered and developed! And they are few. Innovative things not only spark new interests, but they satisfy the unknown need.

New graphics? Sure. New Pokemon? Yup. New concept? New format? New IDEAS? That's what I look for. That's why I loved LC, it satisfied the need for a remake of crystal with new graphics and stuff, but it was original. The twisted story by LaZ and Zeikku with Axel and Team Static. Orange Islands finally complete (in a future release of course)

LC wasn't totally innovative, but it was a minor example of what I look for.

Keep on hackin'
~Team RHI

Ps I wrote this whole thing on an iPad, took forever.