FireRed hack: Pokémon Normal (Build 3.0 RC 2.73 Live Update)

[FrozenInfernoGSC]

Thanks for the acknowledgment! I am currently in the process of importing and updating the original Taejo and Seijo maps (they will be retaining their original graphics, but improved upon!). Some of the later towns and routes will be changed DRASTICALLY. Pokewood City is getting a major overhaul. Powerstone City will be renamed to Goldsea Beach, a town complimenting the infamous Silversky Forest. The two region maps are already in. I also decided to leave the scripting alone and only work on the mapping of the entire region so I can see where my scripts will fit and thoroughly make sure everything is clean and is assured the highest of quality that I can output.

There are going to be a lot of updates with this game. A lot of events will be improved. There will still be Youngster Joey's revenge, but scripted completely different. There will be no more annoying (haha) Super Rockets, Tizzle and Criminal Ego. There will be a new team in town called Team Continuum. I am going to be toning down the mild humor that I once scripted as a teenager and focus on a more official tone of speech for the characters, but it will still have that language of light comedy and media references that I am aiming for in this game, it will just be more in a professional way. It's just going to be "less silly." All in all, I am focusing on accuracy, clean cut scripts, and no more glitches!

The BIGGEST thing, upon feedback from this great community, it seemed that the game was very poor in providing a sense of direction which as an effect infuriated and confused a lot of players. The plan that I had for the game (that I executed poorly) was to have a difficult game, but not in the likes of the typical Pokemon battles, but more so in the transverse of the region. I wanted more of a "go figure it out yourself!" kind of vibe. However, that experiment failed because I saw where some people were coming from. There were honestly some things that were almost impossible to figure out, such as the 4 shards scattered throughout the region and the secret switch that required you to run around in circles for a bit in order to activate.

The Navigator was made to help this, but so poorly scripted. By that time, I had so many scripts and events done, that it was almost impossible for me to figure out which flag/vars I needed to check. But the Navigator is going to be new and improved and be MUCH more helpful this time!

I will be creating a new thread within the next few months with a demo: Pokemon Normal Rechargedd!
With credits to the resources I have used thus far.

EDIT: Now featuring a slightly more electrifying experience. Pokemon Normal Rechargedd will be more influenced with a normal/electric-type theme. For example, a title screen featuring sky-forme Regigigas with a white and yellow electrifying color scheme. The game will also feature slightly more electric-type creatures during the early parts of the game. Frozen Fire Lake has been renamed to Lake of Energies (related to spiritualism, time, space, etc...)

And also more upbeat energizing regional music! However, Seijo will feature a more relaxed tone.

 

[Inner Rhymes]

Back in 2012, I wanted to make a game that was "different" with a different feel. I wanted a game with a different language per-se. Giving more life to the NPC (having different personalities) for example. Such as: the annoying lifting Fighter Bros in Taejo act and talk differently from the "more mature" Fighter Bros in Seijo (that call themselves a different name). I am going to borrow a lot of concepts I had left behind with my first Pokemon Normal game and make a newer efficient game. The game looked graphically pleasing on the outside and polished, however, within the game's coding, it was very inefficient and plagued with "a knot-tying mess" as I referred to in my last post.

The game will still be called Pokemon Normal (featuring sky-forme Regigigas) and it will be heavily GSC inspired. The game will still follow the research and earth science theme that I have presented with it prior. I am thinking about omitting Frozen and Inferno as characters, not sure yet. But honestly those two characters could be rewritten with more potential. I am also thinking of replacing Criminal Ego with a better team (looking back, I think they were a little weird haha, I definitely did not execute them the way I could have). I also really liked the dark and angst "void of life" theme I have set in the southwestern part of Taejo. However, there needs to be some improvements with it. I also want to improve the mysterious "555 mark of the beast character." He is a very important character that builds up more into the last game of the series. All in all, the game will be centralized around the meaning of life (and death)... the past and the future... things that are polar opposites with a binding force of normality... in between...

The Taejo (more Kanto/Johto themed) and Seijo (more elements of Hoenn/Sinnoh) regions will return exactly how they are/were mapped (with maybe a few convenient improvements).

Also (updated name) Pokemon History Teal (the pre-sequel) will eventually become a thing and will be an Emerald based hack.

The last game will be the third and final game of the trilogy with a far unplanned time frame, but it will be re-titled as Pokemon Future Grey.

I have all the time in the world now. With these long lasting stay-at-home orders, I'll be able to dwell a little bit back into one of my favorite side hobbies again, just like my teenage years.

I am so happy to see you again. Pokemon Normal really holds a special place in my heart for being one of the most non linear ROM Hacks I have ever played. Really looking forward to the reboot!

 

[FrozenInfernoGSC]

Thanks! And it will be making an electrifying comeback!

Pokémon Normal Rechargedd will be more influenced with a normal/electric-type theme. For example, the title screen featuring sky-forme Regigigas will have a white and yellow electrifying color scheme. The game will also feature slightly more electric-type Pokémon during the early parts of the game. Frozen Fire Lake has been renamed to Lake of Energies (related to spiritualism, time, space, etc...).

And also more upbeat energizing regional music! However, Seijo will feature a more relaxed tone.

 

[ashamaxa]

Oh man, this is getting revives/revamped? Pokemon Normal was awesome, but it certainly needed some work. Nice to see the creator coming back to it :D

Good luck mate!

 

[Imbecille]

Boii i'm so excited for Normal Version to get a revamp, thank you soo much

 

[FrozenInfernoGSC]

Ahh... a little bit of GSC nostalgia... I'll need to make a script to safely hop over that third rail...

Here's a little bit of what I have been working on. Importing and updating all of my favorite maps from the original game while making completely new ones for some places.
I also want to give the Route House a small graphical update, but still brainstorming.

Once I completely MAP AND TEST THE ENTIRE TAEJO AND SEIJO (note to myself haha) regions, then I will make a new thread for this updated game.

 

[cybershaell12]

I always wondered, the isolated part in the Seijo map that the town map doesn't know what it is. Is that part of Uiyto?

 

[FrozenInfernoGSC]

I always wondered, the isolated part in the Seijo map that the town map doesn't know what it is. Is that part of Uiyto?

Hmmm, with my memory, I believe that was a placeholder for an event with a lore behind it, as Seijo at that time was still in a huge beta planning stage. But now a few years later, I got new ideas and plans for it over time. Honestly, most of the places besides Birth Crater, Peacemaker Town, Blue Leaf Town, Gamechanger City, Downpour Town, Funderwater Town (haha), and South Port District, are all getting renamed. I even slightly remodeled that north isolated part of Seijo very slightly. It's now going to be a post league Seijo "sub region" much like in DPPt, but you will face the toughest of trainers and wild Pokemon there. The Battle Frontier will be located in that area and some legendary secrets will be uncovered there. (Taejo will have their counterpart "Trainer Tower" at Coaster Island).

Also, regarding Uiyto, the only part of that region that is in existence in this game is that area directly northeast of the Taejo League (now renamed to Heraus Plateau). It has been updated with a mini "snowy mountainous" spot as you can see in my signature. During the game, you will learn that the region is currently barren and wiped out and is undergoing an Ice Age (by Frozen). Regigigas during the past (In Pokemon History Teal) has been corrupted and caused a series of tectonic plate shifting events and caused that area (and Taejo's original Route 55) to move slightly southward towards Taejo, forming a divergent sea ridge. Thus, the island (that was once attached to the main region of Uiyto) you see east (also part of Uiyto) was then renamed to Sea Ridge Island by the Uiytian government.

 

[lollyke]

I'm stuck at Silversky Forest. My game doesn't get into "night time", so I can't proceed with the story. Can I somehow get further with the game or can I change my game to night-time?

 

[FrozenInfernoGSC]

This game (in reference to this game only and not its remake), is 99% compatible with the PC emulator VBA-M as I have tested the game countless of times on that over the years.

However, may I ask what emulator you are using? And if you have the RTC setting applied?

 

[lollyke]

I use the VBA-M and have just found the RTC-setting. I enabled it and then I changed my PC clock to 8 pm, but it still didn't became night.

 

[FrozenInfernoGSC]

Okay cool. Also, did you check off the save type for the game to be 128kb?

 

[lollyke]

Ok, I don't know how exactly, but it works now. I even found a shiny porygon! :D

 

[FrozenInfernoGSC]

That's good to know! And I'm assuming you found that shiny Porygon in Gym Leader Lola's Garden? OR in National Park? (I forgot where I scripted it). But anyways, Lola's Garden is a super secret place that was supposed to be open to the public on Saturday mornings after defeating her. But my script for it had some flaws, thus some loopholes for gaining entry at other times sometimes. But that was inexperienced me!

Here are some beta stuff! And my current beta tester haha. Arceus, my new companion, is helping me build Taejo and Seijo tile by tile. And as you can see, I am utilizing the wildly versatile engine created by the primary developers Skeli- and ghoulslash. The engine is amazing, extremely efficient, and the code is very clean. I am also utilizing other resources from that thread such as the BW selection screens. Kudos to all of the contributors' hard work! Routes are also no longer going to have secondary names.

Murk Cave is getting a complete overhaul, I felt that cave was lackluster regarding its mapping. It is now being renamed to Mute Cave. There will be some in-game references to Johto's Dark Cave, as that cave holds a special place in my heart as a child playing Crystal.

And lastly! The region maps are getting a graphical update and structural one too (still adding the map headers to the map including Seijo's). (I also have not updated the FR head sprite yet). As you can now see, the northern part of Taejo now leads to Uiyto directly from that unnamed Uiyto town (beta name). So to clarify, Uiyto is in fact north of Taejo, BUT it also extends south to Taejo (northeast of Heraus Plateau, the renamed Taejo League). Sea Ridge Island and that area right above the island is Uiytian soil! The Uiyto region map for History Teal will be slightly updated to accommodate the "once connected lands").

And observing the beta Uiyto map, the region is broken up into 4 sub-regions. North/West/Central (where the starter town is located)/East. Route names will be picking up where Hoenn left off, starting with route 135. Route 144 and 145 will be accessible in Normal Recharged on Sea Ridge Island. West Uiyto will be interesting to explore because players will be able to see what the original Taejo Ignite Heights and Route 55 used to look like. Also, those random pocket points may be excluded (they were for exclusive travel with Zygarde utilizing a signature move to access them), by traveling through random hidden tunnels throughout the region to get there. I'm still thinking if that feature should remain.

 

[axelzz89]

Hii!
Im playing the game right now and im wondering about trade evolutions such as Politoad, Gengar and Golem etc..
Is there a level up evolution instead of trade evolution?
The music in the game is amazing and i love the overall look of the maps and areas!

 

[Inner Rhymes]

That's good to know! And I'm assuming you found that shiny Porygon in Gym Leader Lola's Garden? OR in National Park? (I forgot where I scripted it). But anyways, Lola's Garden is a super secret place that was supposed to be open to the public on Saturday mornings after defeating her. But my script for it had some flaws, thus some loopholes for gaining entry at other times sometimes. But that was inexperienced me!

Here are some beta stuff! And my current beta tester haha. Arceus, my new companion, is helping me build Taejo and Seijo tile by tile. And as you can see, I am utilizing the wildly versatile engine created by the primary developers Skeli- and ghoulslash. The engine is amazing, extremely efficient, and the code is very clean. I am also utilizing other resources from that thread such as the BW selection screens. Kudos to all of the contributors' hard work! Routes are also no longer going to have secondary names.

Murk Cave is getting a complete overhaul, I felt that cave was lackluster regarding its mapping. It is now being renamed to Mute Cave. There will be some in-game references to Johto's Dark Cave, as that cave holds a special place in my heart as a child playing Crystal.

And lastly! The region maps are getting a graphical update and structural one too (still adding the map headers to the map including Seijo's). (I also have not updated the FR head sprite yet). As you can now see, the northern part of Taejo now leads to Uiyto directly from that unnamed Uiyto town (beta name). So to clarify, Uiyto is in fact north of Taejo, BUT it also extends south to Taejo (northeast of Heraus Plateau, the renamed Taejo League). Sea Ridge Island and that area right above the island is Uiytian soil! The Uiyto region map for History Teal will be slightly updated to accommodate the "once connected lands").

And observing the beta Uiyto map, the region is broken up into 4 sub-regions. North/West/Central (where the starter town is located)/East. Route names will be picking up where Hoenn left off, starting with route 135. Route 144 and 145 will be accessible in Normal Recharged on Sea Ridge Island. West Uiyto will be interesting to explore because players will be able to see what the original Taejo Ignite Heights and Route 55 used to look like. Also, those random pocket points may be excluded (they were for exclusive travel with Zygarde utilizing a signature move to access them), by traveling through random hidden tunnels throughout the region to get there. I'm still thinking if that feature should remain.

Oh wow, this is great news! I was actually playing the the old beta release that was hosted here and I'm actually enjoying it. Really fresh experience. I love the screenshots you've posted so far, and the world map seems to hint that each region is going to be laden with content! Eagerly waiting!

 

[FrozenInfernoGSC]

Hii!
Im playing the game right now and im wondering about trade evolutions such as Politoad, Gengar and Golem etc..
Is there a level up evolution instead of trade evolution?
The music in the game is amazing and i love the overall look of the maps and areas!

Thanks for the acknowledgement! And regarding evolutions in the game, I will need to look that up. It's been years I have worked on that game. Also, the updated "Normal Rechargedd" game that I am currently working on is a completely different game from this one.

I think Poliwhirl evolves by holding a Kings Rock while leveling up. I'll get right back to you on these!

Oh wow, this is great news! I was actually playing the the old beta release that was hosted here and I'm actually enjoying it. Really fresh experience. I love the screenshots you've posted so far, and the world map seems to hint that each region is going to be laden with content! Eagerly waiting!

Thanks! And yeah, these regions will be filled with content! I always liked how GSC had that two region thing going on, but was disappointed in how open and limited Kanto was. So I took it upon myself to make a full fledged two region game. Each region will have its own identity! I like designing region maps because I'm really into geography and earth science, so why not create my own world?!

And here is the final Seijo map, completed with all locations and route layouts remapped. Seijo has the routes 80 to 99. And here's a fun fact (besides the puppy shaped region haha. YOU CANNOT UN-SEE IT), the area where Peacemaker Town is located in the deep east part of Seijo (by the mountains) is technically Taejo, dubbed as West Taejo in-game (which now hosts the routes 77 to 79). However, over the years, the citizens that live in West Taejo have been more assimilated and cultured to the Seijo region. Thus, you will still hear Seijo regional music when traversing West Taejo.

As for Taejo, I finally decided to scrap the entire southwestern gory theme and replace it with the territorial boasting Team Continuum HQ located north of that Voyager 3 City. You can imply what that location will be about in-game!

 

[Imbecille]

Wow keep going dude, this will be amazing

 

[lollyke]

I found a second shiny, a Zangoose this time at gravesend town. 😃

But now i'm stuck at Powerstone city. I already got surf and I know I should go to the cave north of the city. But I can't get any further into the game. I found the ced stone, but I can't get any further. What are the steps to trigger the game from measuering my heart? Apparently it has to do that, but I can't find out how.

I really like the game, but to be honest, I hate the time specific events which make me always get stuck and I can't figure out how they work.

Ok: I kept running around and talking to the stone and it finally worked!

 

[FrozenInfernoGSC]

For some reason my last post never got posted. But yeah, I have been working a lot on mapping and graphics for the last weeks. In my remake game, since it deals with space and time, my original game takes place in an alternate timeline. Thus, you will encounter some in-game references to certain original content that was in my original game, such as Marshall John's whereabouts and what he's been doing after the Aqualight takeover, etc.

---
Gravesend Town gets recreated into a new city based on the Pokeworld's Voyager spacecraft. However, Gravesend Town will be referenced in the remake game as an alternate timeline city explaining the events that happened there. I really liked the ghost and dragon coexisting theme I have made in the original. I may implement the theme of the town into a future game or in Seijo.

---
The Seijo map in the original game had some minor glitches (that no one would have noticed), but those have been fixed and updated. Also, much like the Sinnoh post-game area, this area will be Seijo's post-game area and it will also feature a really cool concept.

---
Silversky Forest is being updated with better quality housing and also giving Route 52 an interesting layout for a secret event.