The Ultimate Turnoff - What You Don't Want to See in a Hack

[axlefoley]

Oh yeah I thought of something else a hack that doesn't take itself seriously I hate it and Gamefreak are guilty of this as well, e.g. When you save at Battle Frontier in Emerald "I just have to save your game" I hate this because if you immerse yourself in a game and it's like Ok save game now it stops you dead in your tracks. another example is When you see those sprites that are playing the game in the game. If you make stuff like that make it the context of the story. Make up games that people in the Pokemon world would play because they wouldn't play a game like Pokemon Firered in that world they would live it. In BF they wouldn't be like ok save game now they would be like we have to register you or something and we need to record some details or something to that effect.

P.S. Sorry if this made no sense

 

[Alistair]

For me, the real turnoff is the real lack of effort. If you are going to show off your work, make sure you did it right. I mean, you can easily create a good, worthwhile hack if you really try. Look at ShinyGold and Liquid Ocean. Both are splendid hacks, with exceptional demos. Zel and Christos put a lot of effort into making these hacks a new experience, rather than the same, bland thing. The storylines are not clichéd (too much) and are good, the graphics and look spectacular, the spelling and grammar is spot on, and the scripting is simply amazing. These hacks are also extremely well balenced, gameplay-wise. Both of these hackers show that they obviously took a lot effort in creating these hacks. Also, even though hacks like Plasma Red and Prism use older ROMs, they are better then many of the new FR/LG/RSE hacks here (Including mine, i'll admit it). Alot of hackers (noobz) will not put any effort, and just post whatever they can for attention. Boring, uninspired and highly flawed maps, too cliché or nonexistant storyline, legendary starters, and terrible palettes and/or sprites are a plague among hacks. The only reason they get the attention is because they post rushed and terrible betas. So, put some thought and effort into your hack before posting it.

 

[natanel]

to me, a turnoff is:
low quality,
over powerred pokemon(one's that the ods to beating them = way out of your league).
low plot,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
and that's more or less it.

 

[Hahahaohwow]

WHATS WRONG WITH YOU?!

Nothing at all is wrong with him. I prefer it over OoT myself, too.

I guess some of my peeves would be grammar, as I'm a grammar fanatic. And unoriginal hacks. A fresh, creative, interesting storyline is always a plus in my book.

 

[Deokishisu]

I like alot of the points you guys have brought up throughout the thread. So, to make this easier to go through, I've compiled a short list of the things I saw pop up over and over again and attached it to the first post. Keep 'em coming! People need to know what's not liked in a hack!

 

[Yingxue]

Most, most, most hacks with Fakemon I see s-u-c-k. No offense, but offense.

I hate them because they look so awful and tacky, which is why I tend to stay far away from them. Plus they have stupid names, too.

 

[zman27]

What I hate is when people, in an attempt to create a new look, will create horrid tilesets which make my eyes cry out in protest every time that I look at them. I may be new to hacking, but I feel that the original tiles are perfectly fine, make an adjustment here or there, but dont change it into a horrid color scheme

 

[Whatthehell]

things that turn me off a hack is made up Pokemon :( i really hate them

 

[+Sneasel™]

Normally i don't like playing with fakemon, except when i played Quartz, that made me realize that if done right, fakemon can turn out really well. Now im waiting to play Battle fire because those fakemon look great.

I also hate bad grammer, i mean once in a while its ok to make a mistake, but like when its every person you talk to it just gets really annoying.

 

[S_Vaporeon]

One thing which I just LIKE to see: if your character can talk.
So...
1. It's fake when ( for example ) Gary says: " I'll be the Pokémon Master!
Huh? You? NO!!! "
2. Fakemon which REALLY looks like eachother.
This is in Pokémon Quartz.
ALL Pokémon looks like the other one.
I'll forget which Pokémon is which!

 

[Ice Lightning]

I hate it when:

1.Pokemon are clamed to be new pokemon but are really just two pokemon combined (Like Charizard with a Starmie jewls all over it)
2.Really bad grammer (EX(this is the opening of the game were it explains what your doing): Hi there, this is like a pokemon (sends out pokemon), your sopposed to like catch them, and make them fight others, and maybe get some shiny things, I think there called bages, or somethin', you get them then you take on these like really tought guys called the elite four, and maybe you could like deafeat the evil dudes called team whatever. So what is your, duh, name.)

I hate that because the person talking mostly takes up the time you could be playing saying "Like, dude, maybe, and I guess" all the time.

 

[+Sneasel™]

I hate it when:

1.Pokemon are clamed to be new pokemon but are really just two pokemon combined (Like Charizard with a Starmie jewls all over it)
2.Really bad grammer (EX(this is the opening of the game were it explains what your doing): Hi there, this is like a pokemon (sends out pokemon), your sopposed to like catch them, and make them fight others, and maybe get some shiny things, I think there called bages, or somethin', you get them then you take on these like really tought guys called the elite four, and maybe you could like deafeat the evil dudes called team whatever. So what is your, duh, name.)

I hate that because the person talking mostly takes up the time you could be playing saying "Like, dude, maybe, and I guess" all the time.

Yeah, i hate bad beginnings.
Example:

Hi, welcome to pokemon. You will battle and collect badges, then battle the elite four. I'm prof. oak. I like pokemon. You will go on a big journey!
[name]
[rival]
Be careful of team rocket!

It's so basic that it's boring.

 

[SilentWing]

The vast majority of the points made here make a good impression on me, but there are some exceptions I'd like to mention (caveats, if you will):

1. "Use of Fakemon" shouldn't be listed as a category in and of itself. Perhaps appending "shabbily drawn," "unoriginal," or "repetitive" to the general category of Fakemon is in order. Clearly, one of the most compelling features of a hack such as Battle Fire is the "Use of Fakemon" of very high standards.

2. "Remake," for what it's worth, can't possibly exist alone as an undesirable trait. Shiny Gold, for instance, is loved by so many fans worldwide that naming such a category as "undesirable" is effectively counterproductive. If the remake truly does bring something new to the proverbial table, or it is in some way unconventional, it is highly sought, supported, and cherished. Although some fans here identify themselves as fans of any and all G/S remakers, as a classic example, it is obvious that some such remakes are of much higher merit and warrant significantly higher attention than the majority of said remakes.

3. Bear in mind that the Gym Leader Challenge, Elite 4, and professor starting screens (not to mention situations requiring forced saving) are very difficult to remove by novice hackers. Simple sprite changes and text edits are all that can be expected here.

Some hacks based primarily on graphical changes (thus violating other points aforementioned) are still quite appealing if presented and developed correctly. Even if added storyline elements seem flimsy of haphazard, the general sheen of Blue Sea Edition, for example, is hard to ignore, much less pass off as "the ultimate turnoff."

Perhaps it deserves mention that the very reason for my initial infatuation with the Pokemon hacking community were two hacks in particular--Shiny Gold (a remake) and Blue Sea Edition (a graphical tour de force); and, assuredly, I'm not alone in such beliefs. Therefore, before flippant suggestions are made on the spur of the moment, it would be prudent to consider contrary examples and refine the metrics with which "the Ultimate Turnoff" can be differentiated from what may in actuality be considered quite the eminent feature in many a distinctive instance.

 

[demonmike]

What I dont like to see in a hack?

Dead babies. Nothing worse than playing a hack and an irrelevant dead baby comes up on screen.

That and a terrible script, your either making a remake and using the old one, or your doing a new version with a good story to it, anything terrible script-wise is a turn off.

 

[AntiRellik]

Ultimate turnoffs for me in a hack are:
-Graphics that don't blend.
-Map tiles that are used incorrectly.
-Swering in text edits.
But most importantly the bad use of mapping....

 

[bradenm]

A pokemon rom hacked into a mario, kirby, sonic etc game (imagine having to use mario as your character in the game *shudders*)

 

[andreliu]

what i really hate in a hack and non hacks is when they give you no choice at all for who your starter is and u just get it. its annoying you might really really like the storyline and everything about the hack but your starter is usually your strongest pokemon for a really long time. but if your starter ends up being something u dont like then it ruins the whole story, so if you cant choose your starter it might be really annoying.

also ppl that hack a game and put the 3 legendary birds/dogs as your starters and you choose which one u want, THATS STUPID! why would you do that legendarys are supposed to be a special if they are one of your starters it ruins the specialness.

 

[GKS]

I really am thankful for people creating hacks.
Usually these disturbs me the most:
1. Similar story, only the professor and town names are changed.
2. Same tiles and building at the same place.
3. Bad Grammer, does not look professional.
4. Same people saying/ doing the same thing, but only at a different place.

 

[Infinipede]

Why do people hate hacks with Fakemon? Personally, I'll only play hacks with them. They're what makes hacking unique.
but yeah, bad grammar and stupid storylines are a definite turnoff.

 

[Commander_Latios]

hmm.... what really turns me away from a hack...

Badly written or cliche storyline.

really bad sprites (and I don't mean pokemon quartz. The sprites look really wierd, but they're not badly made)

Bad grammar

Bad mapping

The unbalancing of redicoulously powerful starters for the player and rediculously useless ones for the rival. example: Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza for player, weedle, caterpie, wurmple for rival.

Scripting errors (I'll admit, i suck at scripting. But since I know that, I don't bother even trying. That certainly makes sure there won't be any errors)

I really don't like it when the story is changed, but not the characters. It just doesn't seem to fit together the right way to see brendan and May save the world from Darkrai or something like that, or for professor Birch to show up in Sinnoh.

And, on a personal note, I don't like it when people overuse words like crazy, insane, etc. Don't bash insanity. Some of the greatest people in the world were considered insane. Christopher Colombus, Albert Einstein, The Wright brothers.... Everybody thought they were absolutely crazy. And yet, they made some of the greatest discoveries or advancements in history.

but I tend to ramble, don't I?

I'm just glad nobody has complained about using real people in pokemon games... It would be rather discouraging to hear something like that.