I want to mess with pokecrystal but idk what to do! I have some mechanics ideas and some general design ideas but as far as actual content goes I don’t really have anything.
I don’t even know what kind of hack I should make. A rebalance and/or reskin? A full custom hack feat its own region? A demake? Something wacky?
Which is why I thought: maybe some of my friends at FEU can help me? We could make some kind of community (pokémon) hack! Depending on what we end up going for, we’d need idea people as well as probably people that are willing to make maps. People that can make art would be a nice bonus, but that can also come later. I could be in charge of anything tech related and more generally be the “gets everything together and working” glue man.
So here’s the plan: tell me if you’d want to partake in the making of a gen 2 pokémon hack. If I feel like enough people show interest I will open up a Discord server and invite y’all and then we can start doing magic. Also throw down ideas in this thread maybe?
I would like to do hacking! (= make maps probably)
I would like to contribute ideas!
I would gladly play the hack once it’s done!
I don’t like Pokémon!
0voters
Note: gen 2 pokémon tilesets are super easy! I think. We can also make our own ofc
How technically sophisticated are you looking to make this? I’d imagine a rebalance/reskin would be fairly straightforward given the hacking tools.
I played a bit of this Emerald rebalance (Feels like a disservice to call it that) and generally liked the approach to add more pokemon, add in newer mechanics, etc.
For Gen 2 (my personal fav), anything involving QoL and improving the level curve would probably get my attention.
But again, depends on how ambitious you want to be with it. (ie are we looking to go full custom or just tweak some numbers/mechanics?)
If nobody steps up to assist me in actually hacking and if I still want to do something really bad I’d probably end up making some kind of rebalance. If I find a friend or two then maybe we’d do something partially or fully custom.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think the level curve in actual Gen 2 is fine. It just doesn’t work in HGSS where the updated EV mechanics no longer gift the player with very bulky Pokemon compared to the AI. But in actual Gen 2 I never found the level curve to be much an obstacle.
Gen 1 and 2 mechanics stack the deck so much in the player’s favor that as a kid I didn’t realize I was bad at Pokemon until I got Pokemon Stadium 2. I was in college before I managed to fully complete both stadium games.
This might be a silly idea… but what about a Fire Emblem based Pokemon hack?
Basically either set within a Fire Emblem type universe or utilizing Fire Emblem iconography within a traditional Pokemon game experience? (Like your trainer is a Tactician, starter is a famous Lord? For example.)
I’m curious about the idea anyways. I do sprites and general concepts and characters for what it’s worth.
I would certainly say at least the Pokémon company does not agree, as they never did another game with a similar curve (outside of the remake). The major issue with it arises once you get to both the elite four and the Kanto gyms, when you’re almost forced to grind to get to a comparable level. Red is even worse.
Where’s the “I would like to learn hacking” option
I have no clue what the standard tools for hacking any generation of pokemon but it’s something I’d like to get a real start on. I did an emerald redux before with whatever tools I could find which may have been standard 20 years ago, dunno if that’s useful experience or not.
I’ve always wanted to see more Pokemon projects that don’t follow the standard concepts of linear-ish route through region, 8 gyms, forced villain team (usually after Gym 7), etc.
Depending on how bendable and breakable things are, I’ve had ideas for things like a large desert or jungle map with many large interconnected sections on the map and camps or Poke Centers scattered about to give flight points or respite. Like, if you took, say, the Gen 4 map style, this large feature would be the size of several large city areas all linked together in one “blob” instead of traditional narrow routes between areas.
Alternatively, I’ve always wanted to see something that wss a mix of the Battle Frontier but mixed with the tall grasses from Gen 2 National Park, the Safari Zones, and mixed with the Wild Area from SwSh. A highly dangerous, overgrown wildlands/Outback in between towers or facilities. Think BotW Shrines or the dungeons and areas to be gone through for treasure hunting in Mega Man Legends.
Something that isn’t strictly the same kind of experience that we usually see in Pokemon fan projects that strictly seem to want to do the same thing as the main games. Maybe something like an RPG or dungeon crawler with boss fights vs strong Pokemon instead of Gym Leaders. Also, puzzles (maye using Unown to make catching them useful)!
