Pokémon Starter Kits

[Pia Carrot]

Starter Kits

Welcome to my small collection of Pokémon Engines for your fangames :D Today I will be providing many links for you to use to your advantage. Please take the time to read this and feel free to ask any questions regarding what to use or if you have problems downloading stuff. there are some outdated links in this thread.

Index:

• Introduction to Fangames
• Pokémon Essentials
• Pokémon Script Project
• Game Maker
• PyPokémon
• Other
• Conclusion

Introduction to Fangames

What is a fangame? What is the difference between ROM Hacking and Game Development? These are common questions I get from users who are potentially interested in making a game, but tend to be drawn off because hacking "looks easier," when really it's a lot harder and more limited. Game Development is writing a game from scratch, essentially. Daunting? Nay, only if you wanted to really start your own engine. Many people online have had similar interests and created their own public kits for others to use.

A screenshot from Crystal XP, a
modification of Pokémon Essentials
by Pia Carrot.

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Pokémon Essentials

PE has significantly become more stable and newbie-friendly within the last year or so, with the successor Maruno taking charge of the project. The latest versions have many bug fixes and new features, but are definitely geared more towards a sad 4th generation styling. The only downsides I see with PE is that it is made in RPG Maker XP, which uses Ruby (RGSS) language, and the lack of a realistic DS-like 3D engine. I highly doubt it will ever get to the point where it will have such 3D (excluding the horrific Mode7 and its variants). The great thing about PE though is that it?s already made for you to start working on your game, with some considerable progress. Unfortunately, the engine has its bugs, along with messy coding that can be a pain to navigate through. A prime example would be Battle Factory, which has apparently never worked since Poccil, the original coder, spawned it. The games can also lag when making large maps or using newer graphics. I will say I am impressed with its variety of sound files it supports, ranging from MIDI to MP3 to OGG files.

I give PE a 7/10 for being Newbie-friendly and stable.
You can get the latest version (9) here: [Link]

Image Line:

Some Popular fangames made with Pokémon Essentials include, but not limited to:

• Pokémon Raptor
• Pokémon Mint
• Pokémon Phoenix Rising
• Pokémon Lightning Yellow

Q: How do I use it?
A: First off, you need RPG Maker XP, which in this case you can pay $60 for the full version or use the 30-day trial. Do not ask me how to get the full version for free.

Q: Help? I don't know how to use this!
Perhaps reading some tutorials on general RPG Maker XP (RMXP/RGSS/RPGXP) usage will help. If that's not the case, check out the official Wiki; it has great tutorials and information!

Q: Is this...It?
A: I'm sure a lot of you won't be able to code DPPt/HGSS/BW/2 style games right away, which is why I am sharing a few kits I've collected. There are a few I don't mention just because they are gross and I don't feel you should use them at all.

Pokémon Essentials Kits

• Pokémon Crystal XP
  This is not an up-to-date version, and the next release won't be until all the menus are completed. I only recommend using this if you are making something small or need tilesets/maps. Not too far from being finished, this is my own engine using PEv.7, and is made to play almost exactly like a GBC Pokemon Game. There are some faults, such as modified menus due to my inexperience or the buggy camera, but they can be fixed with some skill?I think?
  Link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53284931/CXP.rar
  
  
  
• Pokémon Essentials BW
  (Buggy) ? This is what Rafael-animal posted before he decided to try and make money off of his kit. It can be laggy and the battle system needs a bit of tweaking, but here it is.
  Note: Sukiyami is working on something better, but there is no guaranteed release date or much progress lately.
  Link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53284931/Pok...tials%20BW.rar
  
  
  
• Pokemon Essentials Online v0.8 (by Alexandre) ? Dusty, decrepit, and outdated; I don?t know why anyone would use it. Battling doesn?t work correctly, and it?s extremely hard to set up. There are other similar projects being made, but none with definite release dates. Feel free to check it out. It may serve some usefulness in the future.
  Link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53284931/Pok...ine%20v0.8.rar
  
  
  
• Older Builds
  The farther you go back, the buggier and more GBA-esque they become. Thou hast been warned:
  http://pokemonessentials.wikia.com/wiki/Downloads

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Pokémon Script Project

Pokemon Script Project

The Script Project is a French game development community that has been working on their own RPG Maker XP Pokemon Kit. It has had fantastic updates, with a great DS engine that came out way before Essentials started updating. It also features a dual screen by default. My only complaints are that it is in French only and can be rather unstable, but it has much higher script compatibility, being more RPG Maker XP oriented and not so much on text files with a completely rewritten engine. There is an English translation started in 2011 by Pia Carrot and Sukiyami, however, there is no established date of release.

Images:

Rating: 7/10

Downloads:

• GBA Script Project (Original)
• 4G+ Script Project
• Ds Script Project
• Translation (no link yet)

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Game Maker

Game Maker

Game Maker is a pretty beautiful and simple game designing program. It has 3D support, and can be manipulated to look just like a DS dual screen. There are several projects online, but they seem to all have major flaws. There are two specific ones I have absolutely fallen in love with, and I hope I can somehow combine them once the main battle engine one is complete. These projects are made by DaSpirit and Manuel777. DaSpirit?s kit has many severe bugs to the point you cannot make a playable game with it. Bugs include, but are certainly not limited to, Lack of leveling up properly, enemies don?t actually die, cannot exit a battle (if trying in a trainer battle it will glitch up). However, it has a very nice BW-esque battle system and has a lot of potential for the future. The other kit I mentioned has absolutely no battle system, but instead a DP 3D map engine. It was made in GM6, and I cannot seem to get it to work for myself, but when I do I?ll update you guys. Renekokkie's BlazeRuby and AquaSapphire have made amazing progress.

Images:


Above Image owned by Renekokkie

Rating: 6/10 for potential and astounding progress
Downloads/Links:

Manuel777's post on Yoyo games (since forum linking isn't allowed, I will quote the post)-

Originally Posted by Manuel777

This is an engine ive been working the last few months, ive decided to release the source so i can start working on my own pokemon project...

You are free to use this engine, as long as you give me some credit

Important:
Before you test the GM6 file remember to include the external files into the project, else you will get several error messages and the game wont run. The external files must be extarcted to a temporary folder created by the game

It also includes a small crappy map editor to make the .MEF files, read the readme.txt file for the controls and info

Download: (the files is a gm6, but its compatible with all later versions, even 8)
LinkA (This one is more updated and secure)
Link B
Gmk users - Thanks Mocgames998!

Please, do post what you think about it, so i can improove, fix, update, etc..

Here are the link you'd use:
Gmk users

And here is DaSpirit's latest alpha, if you are really that interested. You will need Game Maker 8. Please do not ask me where to get the full version for free. It will not work on Lite, but there is an .exe demo:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53284931/Pok...it%200.2.0.zip

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PyPokémon

Python Pokemon is a project being worked on by our very own Full Metal. He decided he really hates Ruby/RGSS, so he decided to make his own engine (I guess). So far it?s in a fairly early stage, with him having to rewrite code. However, he has made fantastic progress. I have had the pleasure of trying out the engine in private.



Rating: 6/10
There are no downloads publicly available yet. but you can check out his thread for updates: http://forums.pokecascade.com/showth...Python-Pokemon

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Other

This section is short as I have little to no knowledge on these:

Flash
I?ve never attempted it myself, nor do I plan to. Basically there have been projects made in a flash player, but I?ve yet to see one myself.

Rating: ?/10


Phone Apps
I?ve never attempted it myself, nor do I plan to. Basically there have been projects made in an android app, but I don?t own an Android or an iphone so I can?t say anything about these. They tend to not really be Pokemon, but rather spin-offs to avoid copyright infraction.

Pokémon Starterkit VXA
This kit was announced by Crazyninjaguy shortly after RPG Maker VXA was released. It's been making splendid progress and we hope to see a release soon.

Pokémon Starterkit VX
This kit was announced by Tsuka. Unfortunately, his activity is long-gone and there is a large doubt we'll ever get to see this engine released.

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Conclusion

Thanks for reading. It was a pain in the arse to write and I hope you found it helpful. It will be updated accordingly and more info/downloads will be added at a later date. Please feel free to ask questions here or leave me a VM/PM.

Thanks for reading,
Pia Carrot

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[3dd13]

great thread mate! Is there any further updates since posting? I am wanting to work with unity 3d over game maker, but have considered either a viable option shy of simply coding the game engine from scratch in unity3d.

[Pia Carrot]

This list is kind of old, and really only goes over existing Pokemon Engines. Some of these have since been abandoned so I don't really know what works or what doesn't. You are better off making your own engine from scratch or using Pokemon Essentials.