Red hack: Shin Pokemon Red/Blue/Green/JP builds (Bugfix, AI, and QoL patch)

[jojobear13]

By the way, I was also wondering how the trainer randomization works. It says it only affects trainers with no roster customization. What does this mean?

Trainer roster data comes in two code formats. Boss trainers, such as the gym leader and rival fights (basically anyone with an actual name), are formatted such that each of their Pokémon can have its own level. These are not affected by the randomizer due to some details I have yet to work out.

No-name trainers, the regular shmucks hanging out on routes and in caves, are formatted such that all their Pokémon share one level value. Gamefreak did this as a space-saving measure. These folks get randomized.

 

[LusoTrainer]

Here's a suggestion for an interesting feature: is it possible to add color to trainer sprites like the Pokémon ones?

 

[isnowwayne]

I created an account (been a lurker for years) to thank you for these amazing QoL changes!

I appreciate these the most:

1. The separate slot for HM moves is a godsend. I was never a fan of HM moves!
2. Running shoes in Gen 1 is always a treat!
3. The instant text and shortcut usage for HMs hastened my progress a bit.
4. The Spaceworld rear sprites are far more detailed, and I have no idea why GF/Nintendo didn't stick with them in their Red/Blue release. I could Google this one later, though.

I do have suggestions:

1. I did notice you said before that a full color hack would require another year, but I may have missed the sprites discussion. Could you make a patch that uses Gen 2 front sprites? It feels awkward to have polished rear sprites while the front sprites are still... Gen 1 being Gen 1.
2. The level scaling is too much. I'm fresh out of Viridian City with a Charmander with Ember and a Nidoran♂️ with Horn Attack. The Bug Catchers in the Forest always wreck me with their Fury Attack Beedrills. It doesn't help Viridian City has no Potions. I can't level up in the wild, because it would strengthen the Beedrill and give them Twineedle. Perhaps it's better if the enemy level matched the level of the strongest Pokémon in the party, as opposed to them being at least 3 levels higher (from what I've observed.)
3. In the battle screen and Pokémon moveset/stat screen, is it possible to display the moves' Attack and Accuracy? I often have to Google these for Gen 1, so I can better pick which moves to keep.

In conclusion, though, it's still a top-tier hack. Thanks for your dedication!

 

[LusoTrainer]

I did notice you said before that a full color hack would require another year, but I may have missed the sprites discussion. Could you make a patch that uses Gen 2 front sprites? It feels awkward to have polished rear sprites while the front sprites are still... Gen 1 being Gen 1.

But these backsprites from the SpaceWorld demo match the Gen1 front sprites from Red/Blue. You can add the Gen2 front sprites, but if you're doing that, why not match them with the Gen2 back sprites as well?

 

[isnowwayne]

You can add the Gen2 front sprites, but if you're doing that, why not match them with the Gen2 back sprites as well?

Yeah, I can dig that. Though, I don't know how to put Gen 2 sprites into this hack.

 

[MStern]

Gen 2 has a very different atmosphere from 1. If you really want those graphics, you can play a backport of R/B on the gen 2 engine. There is one that gives it full colors, which I find to very soulless l and why I like this hack better.

 

[isnowwayne]

Gen 2 has a very different atmosphere from 1. If you really want those graphics, you can play a backport of R/B on the gen 2 engine. There is one that gives it full colors, which I find to very soulless l and why I like this hack better.

I agree with the atmosphere. If anyone could help educate me how to apply Gen 2 sprites into this hack, I'd appreciate it!

Edit: I found a bug.

I'm playing the master development patch 1.23.04. This is how you reproduce the bug:

1. Start a new game. For specificity's sake, I had these options: "Fast!" text speed, "On" Battle Animation, "Set" Battle Style, and 60FPS.
2. Get a starter. I chose Charmander.
3. Do not fight Blue! Save the game, and then close it.
4. Load the game. You'll find yourself in front of mom's house.
5. At this point, you can go to Viridian City and get Oak's Parcel.
6. Go back to Oak's laboratory and your rival will challenge you. He leaves afterwards as usual.
7. Oak gives his parcel speech and then your rival returns as he should.

That's it. Nothing game-breaking, but I thought to mention.

 

[jojobear13]

Here's a suggestion for an interesting feature: is it possible to add color to trainer sprites like the Pokémon ones?

I did notice you said before that a full color hack would require another year, but I may have missed the sprites discussion. Could you make a patch that uses Gen 2 front sprites? It feels awkward to have polished rear sprites while the front sprites are still... Gen 1 being Gen 1.

It's the scope of this rom hack to keep things Gen-1, particularly pre-1997. That includes color choices and art direction. Doing gen-2 color or sprites is out of scope for this project. The next revision will make it easier for people to add Gen 2 pokemon sprites and recompile on their own.

The level scaling is too much. I'm fresh out of Viridian City with a Charmander with Ember and a Nidoran♂️ with Horn Attack. The Bug Catchers in the Forest always wreck me with their Fury Attack Beedrills. It doesn't help Viridian City has no Potions. I can't level up in the wild, because it would strengthen the Beedrill and give them Twineedle. Perhaps it's better if the enemy level matched the level of the strongest Pokémon in the party, as opposed to them being at least 3 levels higher (from what I've observed.)

The level is determined as follows: [highest player pokemon level] + [0 to 3] + [0 to 3 if the gym leader or champion theme is playing]. This mode was actually built for late/post-game rematches and New Game+ where it's assumed you have an evolved team with good moves (and the catch-up exp mechanic syngergizes with it for power-levelling). Turning the scaling off and playing in SET mode will give moderate difficulty. Despite this, I have chosen not to restrict the feature because some Sisyphian players actually like their playthroughs to be a constant unforgiving uphill battle.

In the battle screen and Pokémon moveset/stat screen, is it possible to display the moves' Attack and Accuracy? I often have to Google these for Gen 1, so I can better pick which moves to keep.

Not without some creative engine rewrites that I haven't thought about. That information is stored in a different area that is not readily accessible on the status screen.

 

[isnowwayne]

The next revision will make it easier for people to add Gen 2 pokemon sprites and recompile on their own.

I understand the purist Gen 1 graphics approach. Would you include instructions on how to recompile the Gen 2 sprites?

This mode was actually built for late/post-game rematches and New Game+ where it's assumed you have an evolved team with good moves (and the catch-up exp mechanic syngergizes with it for power-levelling).

Yeah, I figured it'd be better to enable this after I'm finished with Misty, so I'd at least have some coverage. It's nice to hear this confirmation, and I'm very eager to see for myself what the New Game+ has to offer!

 

[jojobear13]

I understand the purist Gen 1 graphics approach. Would you include instructions on how to recompile the Gen 2 sprites?

You would replace the sprite files of your choosing in the space world folders and recompile clean. That's all. Tech support for compiling should go to the pokered disassembly project.

I'm very eager to see for myself what the New Game+ has to offer!

It's a 90s-style NG+. So everything is the same except your old progression is carried over. Like Chrono Trigger or Threads of Fate.

It was made as an experiment in circumventing the one-save-file restriction. All your boxed mons and Pokédex info is preserved. This way you can play fresh without losing your old team. This also means you can smash your way through Kanto with an over leveled team, play with your old boxed Pokémon from the beginning, or activate scaling to make things interesting.

 

[jastolze007]

Not sure if this was fixed in a future version (I'm on an older source version) but the item ball pictured in the attachment causes the game to either softlock or totally crash the emulator.

The first time I tried to pick it up, the game said something glitchy and included the name of the last pokemon I battled then changed the music to play strange background noises.

The second time, it just crashed. I didn't battle anyone on that route that time so it didn't mention any names.

 

[jojobear13]

Not sure if this was fixed in a future version (I'm on an older source version) but the item ball pictured in the attachment causes the game to either softlock or totally crash the emulator.

The first time I tried to pick it up, the game said something glitchy and included the name of the last pokemon I battled then changed the music to play strange background noises.

The second time, it just crashed. I didn't battle anyone on that route that time so it didn't mention any names.

It was fixed one or two updates ago. It's caused by referencing TM 20's name data from the right address but the wrong bank.

 

[Carmilla]

how do u evolve pokemon that evolve by trading? and is there a detailed walkthrough for this rom hack?

 

[jojobear13]

how do u evolve pokemon that evolve by trading?

They evolve at level 45.

and is there a detailed walkthrough for this rom hack?

Define "walkthrough". There is a readme file with a massive changelog that details everything that has been modified. There is a New Player's Guide for an overview on all the useful new stuff the player can take advantage of. There isn't a guide that walks you through the game step-by-step since the single player is pretty much the same as the original. For everything else, that information is open and available in the files within the data folder.

 

[isnowwayne]

I'm proud to say that, after 45 minutes of research, I've managed to get Yellow sprites. Maybe I could research how to put Gen 2 sprites into it on my day off.

On a side note, my first Nuzlocke attempt failed due to Champion Blue's Alakazam. The AI improvements are amazing.

My only other QoL suggestion is to shorten the Poké Flute's cast time, if possible. Remove the long tune and make it work quickly, as though it's an Awakening?

I also couldn't figure out how Pay Day in the first slot would tip me off in the slots. Oh, and there's still the infamous trash can second switch bug in Surge's gym, but I suppose there's no way around it.

 

[Actually a Fungus]

No updates, just thought you'd get a kick out of this! https://www.dropbox.com/s/otve88jaoluqn91/20220422_020615.jpg?dl=0

 

[jojobear13]

I'm proud to say that, after 45 minutes of research, I've managed to get Yellow sprites. Maybe I could research how to put Gen 2 sprites into it on my day off.

Easiest way would be to use the "make clean" command. Then replace all the gen 1 png files with gen 2 png files. Remember that gen 2 back sprites need to be treated the same as the spaceworld back sprites due to their size.

I also couldn't figure out how Pay Day in the first slot would tip me off in the slots.

I buried it in the readme file. If the pokemon at the top of your team knows pay day, go around and interact with all of the slot machines. If the slot machine is a lucky one, your pokemon will play its cry before you are asked if you want to play. Note that slots machines that are unplayable can be lucky.

Furthermore, your pokemon will cry when playing the slots. Like real slot machines, the slots in the game corner will rarely allow you to win unless it algorithmically determines you are allowed to win. Especially for jackpots, which the machine will never let you win unless allowed (the reel will move to cheat you like the last row of a Stackerz game). But your pokemon will let you know when these special modes are active. 1 cry means the next pull is set to be a "win state" by the machine for non-jackpot wins. 2 crys means the machine switched into "fever mode" which gives a very long string of winning pulls. 3 crys means the machine is in "jackpot state" and it will allow you to line up 3 bars or 3 sevens.

If you don't hear a cry, it means your pull is likely to be a losing one. Optimize your gains by betting 1 coin on these pulls.

Oh, and there's still the infamous trash can second switch bug in Surge's gym, but I suppose there's no way around it.

It's fixed. But the second switch can appear in an adjacent can you've already checked. I'll look into that.
EDIT: Okay, so I understand what Gamefreak was trying to do and why they coded it the way they did. But the implementation itself is kinda bad, and it was coded with some incorrect assumptions about how binary ranges work. I did some rewriting of their code and moved some things around so that the trash cans work as intended. The switches are now both randomly set at the same time, and they can be discovered independently of each other. Vertical adjacency is now also just as likely as horizontal adjacency.

 

[isnowwayne]

Easiest way would be to use the "make clean" command. Then replace all the gen 1 png files with gen 2 png files. Remember that gen 2 back sprites need to be treated the same as the spaceworld back sprites due to their size.

You're referring to the PNG files in the /pic folder, right? For what it's worth, I couldn't find a place to download Gen 2 PNG files by batch. There must be a better way than to download them one by one.

I buried it in the readme file. If the pokemon at the top of your team knows pay day, go around and interact with all of the slot machines. If the slot machine is a lucky one, your pokemon will play its cry before you are asked if you want to play. Note that slots machines that are unplayable can be lucky.

Thanks for pointing it out. I missed the "#Tricks and Secrets" section in the README. I never play with audio, so I didn't notice the cries.

Oh yeah, in my attempts to figure out how to insert Gen 2 sprites, I ran into colorful challenges.

I succeeded in inserting Yellow front sprites, but I noticed I didn't have the option to enable Nuzlocke mode in the game. That freaked me out that I didn't have the latest master development patch 1.23.04. I also noticed certain folders available in the master_dev branch were not present in my local copy of shinpokered. Later on, I took a closer look at the code:

git clone https://github.com/jojobear13/shinpokered/ -b master --single-branch
cd shinpokered

Then, it dawned on me that I should replace "master" with "master_dev", like so:

git clone https://github.com/jojobear13/shinpokered/ -b master_dev --single-branch
cd shinpokered

It's a victory, because that gave me the missing folders and also Nuzlocke mode. So, you may want to revise the code in master_dev's INSTALL.md.

 

[Carmilla]

They evolve at level 45.


Define "walkthrough". There is a readme file with a massive changelog that details everything that has been modified. There is a New Player's Guide for an overview on all the useful new stuff the player can take advantage of. There isn't a guide that walks you through the game step-by-step since the single player is pretty much the same as the original. For everything else, that information is open and available in the files within the data folder.

thanks that covers everthing i have one more question why do i always get a level 247 dratini and how can i evolve it? (it's lvl 247 if i have space in my party, 255 if it's stored on pc and after i draw it, it becomes lvl 237 in my party :/

 

[abyssthesavior]

Could this be put on the 3DS as a custom VC inject and possibly be compatible with Pokemon Bank, or is that latter part unlikely?