Okay! Fifteen scripting/mapping/spriting/misc. tutorials later, several broken ROMs, about 100 MB in programs downloaded, and some discarded work, I present to you.... NOTHING!!!

Not really. This is the official development thread for Code Pokemon, a romhack of FireRed that I've started. Its a hybrid of both Code Lyoko and FireRed, combining plot elements from both.




Hack name: If you've taken a look at the title of this thread or the header, and you still don't know what it is, you don't deserve to live. O_O
Hack of: Pokemon FireRed (EN-US)


What will be special about this hack is:
- New characters
- Exciting and engaging gameplay (i.e. you don't hit "A" a million times and don't read any of the NPC text; this game will require you to think and to have good reflexes)
- A plot, as stated above, combining the gameplay of Pokemon and the storyline of Code Lyoko
- Old Pokemon
- XANA and his minions
- New and old places
- More to come as I actually begin work on the hack


Kadic Academy never fully recovered from the hurricane. Tens of thousands of dollars were lost due to damage, the city had to cordon off the entrances to the school to prevent anyone from getting hurt, and the mother of a student died. Scarred by the loss of this life, the school temporarily closed down its doors. It was probably a good idea, too, since the swarms began that year.

No one expected them. No one was ready for them. But they came. And in the process, they revolutionized the face of humanity as everyone knew it.

Ten years later, Kadic now stands as the best competitive battling university. Seminars are held weekly by the best battlers, breeders, and collectors of Pokemon. Admission is strict, as they only allow fifteen students per year based upon IQ tests and the ability to love and care for their Pokemon.

You were one of the few selected. Surrounded by new faces, you try to make your way through a new life. You see new faces, and meet rivals who will face you for the rest of your school career. The curriculum is tough, but all seems normal.

One day, after the end of class, you see a white light and lose consciousness. Surprisingly, you wake up in your bed... at the beginning of that day.

Kadic school life will never be the same again.


As its name implies, this section will outline what I am doing with my hack.
1/23/10 - Searching for this tool called "Sphere," which will make titlescreen insertion much easier, apparently. Coded a template for the trainers who will offer Pokémon to you along your journey, and just to make things interesting, I'm beginning to code a new template for trainers who will offer trades for certain Pokémon that might not be easy to find (as in, you might have to complete an entire string of trades before you can get this Pokémon or go back to Passsage D-1 to find it). Also began plotting out the series of exams that will substitute for the Pokémon League, as well as Lyoko's worldmaps and sectors.
1/30/10 - Uploaded some old sprites that I had sitting on my flash drive. I began coding the initial scripts for the beginning of the hack. For those who are interested, I'm being heavily reliant on flags to progress through the game, and as such, you can't just edit a few scripts and get right up to the Elite Four. You'd have to edit every script to get through the game. Also, I've coded the first Exam Proctor (M. Chardin) into the ROM. And, on a somewhat related note, I'm doing a fairly complex runthrough of unedited FireRed, and working on this hack has ruined the runthrough for me. I now can understand exactly how the game does what it does... it's kinda scary.


This is the first in many, many screenshots to come. If Windows, Wine, and Photobucket decide to work with me, more will come faster than usual.
Also, any images that are NOT maps will be reduced to 16 colors as to heed technical limitations imposed by the ROM (titlescreen, cutscenes, etc.).



Because I'm using XANA's monsters in my hack, I need to make appropriate sprites for them (read: find images on CL.fr and Photoshop out the monsters from the pictures). Here are the ones I have so far. You should be able to tell what monsters they are

Personally, I think the sprite for the Kankrelat is the best of the four so far. It was relatively big in the image that I extracted it from, and it was facing in an ideal angle. If anyoneCarth can get some better screenshots for the others, or make some new ones, I'd be grateful.

Are you doing a ROM Hack, or a custom engine? Either one will probably be more difficult than it first appears, but a good learning experience. (I would note that the Pokemon battle system has gotten insanely elaborate under-the-hood...)

sounds cool

Added some major new details... Hopefully, actual work will begin soon (which probably won't happen, since one of my support groups is Un Monde Sans Travail )

Hey, I'm experienced in XSE if you need someone to do the scripting. I can also make sprites. (I'm making my own Pokemon hack currently! )

well good luck, Can't wait to see it

If you ever need any help with a website or some basic desktop apps, i can help. Not sure exactly what i would be doing though

Posted some updates and the first of the screenshots.

By the way, when I finish this hack later in the year, how should I distribute it? Due to PokéCommuniy's rules, I can't distribute the ROM with all of the patches in place already (besides, that would contain my test save data). Should I use Lunar IPS or HackMew's new A-Patch? Both of them create files that get applied to a standard ROM of FireRed. This isn't a pressing issue right now, but it'd be nice to know for the future.

whoa awesome, where can ya find the screenshots?

As I continue coding the game, I might take the occasional screenshot of a map and upload it. When I finish the initial alpha of the game, I'm going to begin playing it to check for bugs and glitches. As I do that, I'm going to take screenshots of the game in action.

So far, the only screenshot is of the copyright screen bitmap, because I haven't begun major mapping.

Oh, are you using tools or are you doing it by hex edit?

A bit of both; I'm using A-Map, PKSV (and its script generator, thank god for those), A-Trainer, and some other tools by HackMew and others for the bulk of the game, and for some of the titlescreen hacking and more advanced functions, I'm using some low-level ASM as well as hex editing.

awesome can't wait to see it.

if ya need some oc

Updated with sprites I've made in full color (it'll have to be 16-color later... ) and updated the Hack Log.

cool

If you can, find a program called XSE. It is SO much better than the PKSV one.

I already have XSE, and I do like it, but there are two things that I like better about PKSV:
1) It works on a Mac under Wine (a Windows emulator so I don't have to start up an XP machine and drain battery power). None of HackMew's tools work under Wine, which is a shame. If only he was a Mac programmer....
2) Script generator. Given the ridiculous amount of scripting I'm doing (and a somewhat obsessive reliance on flags and other variables), having a script generator tailored to FireRed is a godsend. I just have to enter the trainer IDs and the text and it generates it for me. It's also good for stuff like boulders or item crafting and whatnot.

Also, if you're interested, I'm using J-PAN's hacked engine, so you might see some things like OW sprite replacement in Lyoko or permanent status inducers or swarms, timer events, or *gasp* BEING ABLE TO RUN INSIDE BUILDINGS!!! (To be fair, I need to do that manually. I think it's at an offset somewhere in the 0x86000 range, but that's not relevant, since it's all on PC).

Yeah, I'm double posting. Strike me down now.

Since this is largely going to be for the fans of Code Lyoko, I'm going to need some community member input before I get down to the nitty-gritty. This week, I'm gonna work on music composition based upon real-life songs.

There's going to be a dance hall that is actually relevant to the story located near the Mountain Sector Way Tower civilization. Based upon what day of the week it is (thanks to the RTC on PC for FR... yay acronyms!), it will play a different song. Therefore, I want the users of LF to help me here.

I'm definitely including AT LEAST one Kita Khyber track, but that's only good for one day. Which other songs would you like to hear in the game?

Quick edit: I forgot to mention that I cannot synthesize any music that includes lyrics. It's gonna be converted into 16-bit MIDIs, so it can't be too complex. Also, I'm a bit lazy, so if it repeats a lot (which I can loop and make my life much easier), I'll be happy.

awesome siggy pick
umm let's see. what do ya think of requim of a dream
nightwish : Moondance
and william theme?

Believe it or not, I've never listened to "Requiem of a Dream" or "Moondance." *heads off to YouTube to hear it*
But the William theme, in both variants, are definitely in as the William Boss battles.

And thanks for the sig compliment. As soon as Photoshop listens to me, it'll be animated and look pretty.

By Applefreak's request, this thread is LOCKED