Aphelli
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Everything posted by Aphelli
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Hey! Thank you for all your answers in the poll! I'm closing it now, but feel free to comment. You won't have any battle this chapter... But don't worry, you'll have plenty in the following chapters... After all, it's called a finale for a reason. So I'm writing the finale of Part 2, making the pictures (which takes a lot of time because battles, among others), so Part 2 should be completely online by the end of the year. Chapter 40: Novel Nihilism Character rates:
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Do you know which color the lake is supposed to be on Azurine Island in Reborn 18.4.1? I'm on my first visit, and it's blue. But in TTar's playthrough (for instance), and in my memory as well, it was always brown at that point... Am I mistaken or is there something wrong?
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I have just finished the first draft of the last part of Part 2's finale of The Odd One Out.
I'll probably need to retune it a bit, write the latest chapters' character rates...
And then there will be all the pictures for the chapters 41-45.
I said it earlier, the idea is one of the earliest ones I had and one of those I was most eager to write. So I really hope it works and you enjoy it...
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IIRC they did a lot of work so it's really not the Essentials AI anymore, so much that it's a massive chunk of code, with at least thousands of lines. This kind of length and complexity makes it very easy for tiny mistakes to have dispoportionately large impacts, completely straying from the intended behavior (or worse, weird combinations of correct and subtly wrong code to produce something that looks like a mostly correct output). That's really hard to debug. And it's not even in the "oh, what a nice puzzle" way, more in the "omg, how do I untangle this 1000-string knot?" way. Another analogy would perhaps be: imagine a 20,000-tile mosaic (so any two tiles have the same shape) showing a blue sky. You know how it's supposed to look like in the end, but how do you know that you put every tile at the right spot?
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Okay... It's been about a day, so I hope you have managed to calm down. First, regarding an easy mode: do you realize that's a lot of work, given the sheer number of battles? You very probably won't get it from the devs, especially when you so rudely demanded. X-Items are indeed available after 7 Department Store stickers (in Obsidia), but they're easy to miss or to give up on (*cough forest puzzle cough*). Here are the locations: https://www.rebornevo.com/forums/topic/9720-sticker-guide-episode-18/ There is also a variety of options if you still want X-items but aren't this far. If you really need some things that appear later in the game, you can use the Sandbox: https://www.rebornevo.com/forums/topic/27076-pokemon-reborn-sandbox-mode/ If you want the level cap gone, there is also (apparently) a mod for that: https://www.rebornevo.com/forums/topic/53754-mod-remove-disobedience-mod/ If you still want to play and beat the game "the way it was intended to", you can still ask the forum. Someone will probably come up with a clever suggestion to help you beat whichever battle you currently don't manage to win. If the difficulty is too much for you to enjoy, perhaps you can watch playthroughs of the game instead (tbh that's what I'm doing with Rejuv and Deso since I'm scared of their gigantic maps and boss battles -- Rejuv has a more casual difficulty setting though iirc). On a more hopeful note: I've been playing Pokemon for well over a decade and I'm still hopelessly bad. But I managed to beat E18, with grinding and training and breeding and looking the battles up and way too many healing items. You can do it too.
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Ugh... Every time I'm seeing one of these jerk-allies, I can't help but wonder how exactly they were educated. Are manners so rare a sight in the Pokemon world? (or perhaps parents are). Also, it's very suspicious that the natives believe that Felicia is lying before even meeting her. Could there somehow be something unnatural at play here? Good chapter. I'm looking forward to the next ones.
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Sometimes I should just sleep instead of writing late as if I was trying to get nightmares...
I just finished the first draft of the second-to-last chapter of the second part of The Odd One Out. Here are the last sentences:
Spoiler"Gabriel, are you alright?"
I certainly wasn't.
I didn't know any word, any idiom, any expletive in any language that could remotely express how utterly terrified and panicked I was.
... I think this finale is going to be online for Christmas. How ironic.
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I'm not very good at the game (and often abuse shift mode+items, especially for this fight) so don't hold my suggestions in too high an esteem. But perhaps you could detonate Electrode? It's a roll, but IIRC Explosion is pretty broken in early gens. You should check it, but it's possible that Electrode outspeeds and oneshots Garchomp with it. About the Quagsire and Palossand, I'd advise that you teach Arcanine Roar (I think it can relearn it). The seed effects are forgotten (and the seed is consumed) once Terra's mons switch out, so they get their regular weaknesses back. I'm not sure about Blissey's movepool at your point, but if you can get a good set it's probably worthwhile. If anything, it definitely can do some PP-stall on Quagsire or Palossand. A final possibility for you is to change the field (Prankster Psychic/Misty Terrain to get the seeds to not activate?).
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Trubbish is also good for Acid Spray if I recall correctly. But if we’re speaking Bug types, I should also suggest Kricketune, who is (the) one Pokemon that’s absolutely great for all the early game.
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Do you sometimes worry that your own stories will make you lose sleep?
I just wrote my protagonist into a pretty bad situation. It was planned a while ago, but funnily enough it’s more emotionally demanding than I thought. How am I going to sleep tonight?
But there’s actually a more fearsome question. He’s going to end up pretty quickly (after an emotional roller-coaster, doubtlessly) in even worse trouble – how will I manage to sleep then?
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Choice? What choice? I can’t see any choice anywhere. There always are obvious deci – (author: whisper whisper mumble) Oh. Er... Hi Evi! Nice new profile! Funny you mentioned a choice. Actually, the funny thing is, what you’re thinking of, well, it’s not the ma – (author: mumble mumble growl) What do you mean, you know where I live? Wait, where did you find that picture? .... .... Okay. (sigh). Got it. So Evi, that nutcase who wants to be called the writer insists that he’s going to kill Gabriel off unless I stop foreshadowing on that particular plot point. Sorry that I was unable to give you a proper answer! And let’s feel sorry for Amaria by anticipation – there’s no way she’s getting a happy ending, is there? Regarding the lectures, it might be a good idea... But come on, this is Reborn here, Arceus forbid anything might do Gabriel some good.
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I think it is authorized... She’s weird, but not that kind of weird imo. Isn’t she supposed to be the smart one?
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Wow, that was a worthy last ditch effort. Anthony sure didn't waste his time preparing for Unova champion. Perhaps it might have worked out if someone hadn't just reset his Pokemon. Am I the only one here that feels that Nastasia is way out of character in this scene though? I mean, in the plot of the game itself. After 11 new versions I still can't understand what on earth she's thinking she gains by sinking the ship and taking everyone on board. Especially if her sole purpose is to get Nancy.
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Thank you for your comment @sayar! Regarding the pictures: well, my first step is to take quite a few pictures of the game itself. It can help for dialog, or to find room elements I'd like to use, or even because I like the background, tiling... anything I don't want (don't know how) to recreate from scratch. Then I use an image editing program (paint is a bit crude, but paint.net is nice, although it has its limitations) to add some more sprites to the overworld, or to remove characters which don't gain to be on screen. I also sometimes alter the buildings, and that's just adding some tiles in the continuity of what's in the picture, so it's not that hard. I take the sprites usually from the Graphics folder of the game (for characters, tilings, "furniture" and sometimes Pokemon); sometimes, I use Pokemon Ranger sprites for overworld attacks; for overworld Pokemon, I'm mostly using the Graphics folder of the follower mod. For dialog, I usually copy-paste a dialog box from one of my screenshots, copy-paste to make it empty, and then copy-paste my own text, which I used the game's font to write (it's not that straightforward actually because due to some "shading", I have to write the text three times in some light grey color and one in some darker grey color to make it acceptably look like in-game text). For the reduced dialog boxes you just saw, I just cut the middle of the dialog boxes and made the two ends closer. So in a nutshell it's a large copy-paste.
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"Bow before death, Gabriel..."
This isn't his deadly enemy's line, but it could as well be.
Gabriel is in the lion's den, surrounded by dangerous Meteors who have attempted to kill him. How will he get out of this?
The Odd One Out's new chapter is online!
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Thank you all for your answers on the poll (and also for reading and commenting in general, of course)! I'll keep the poll open till chapter 40, just in case some more people have thoughts to express. Now, I was feeling really bad for submitting you to this cliffhanger last time... where there shouldn't even have been one. So I'll post the final part of the Blacksteam chapter a bit faster than usual (nothing to do with procrastinating the other stuff I have to do, nothing whatsoever). Chapter 39: Blacksteam's Battles Player's note Character ratings: Death count: Now, perhaps I'll add a small comment about my progress in the story -- I'm about three chapters ahead, with all but one needing pictures, and the last one needing perhaps some rewriting. And afterwards... there's something I'm quite nervous to write about because it's been one of the first scenes I envisioned... It's the finale of Part 2. I really hope I'll manage to get it right.
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Anyone cares to mention that Neville must have gone into orbit, seeing how long he was up? And fell on Saki unscathed? When you just about died to a mere four-story fall? What do you mean he was just stuck in the roof? It's great that you're back! I loved the new chapter and am eagerly awaiting the next one.
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Well, he is the main antagonist (and leader of the bad side) for a good chunk of the game. I actually think he's made himself cold, rather than be naturally cold. I think I'll hint a bit about the timeline at some point, but let's just say that PULSE projects have been in the works for a while. It'd be surprising for Solaris to not be so. Yes, I was really moved when I learnt their story. It's indeed a terrible one. Fun fact: individually, the "lawful guys" could probably understand and sympathize with Cain's motivations, if they were explained to them. But because, at a larger scale, he's attacking without any justification a city institution, they can't let it slide. Isn't the power of collectives amazing? That's just my two cents here, but being sadistic with your characters isn't a bad choice -- in many cases, you have to make them suffer to make them move forward and grow. In one of the series I'm currently reading (and enjoying a lot), the writer almost boasts that he tries to find the most sadistic thing to be done to his protagonist. But it's definitely not easy to do well, as I can see a lot of mistakes that can be made (and who knows? perhaps I'll make some, too.) It is not easy either to make a lore which is both consistent and compelling to read about, and that's where "light" (as in, mostly canon-compliant) fanfiction is much easier than deeply modifying the lore (which is what you're trying to do, I guess) or start from scratch.
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For a while I didn't understand why "Father vs daughter" was in the chapter. I thought it was an odd way for the parents to say goodbye... until I saw the rather unexpected battle. That's a nice touch. But Felicia does lose points in my opinion for failing to inform her parents of the day she's leaving, when she's known months in advance. Now that the prologue is over, we'll be able to get to the main story. I'm excited to see how you'll write it!
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What's inside Blacksteam Factory? Or, more precisely, who is there? What nefarious schemes could they be enacting?
The Odd One Out has a new chapter.
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The thing is, we all know Cain's supposedly doing the right thing, but I wanted to show that there are very often consequences to doing the right thing over the lawful thing... usually unintended ones. I suppose it's a very first-world-lawful point of view, but I don't think that makes it wrong. Yes, it's hard, isn't it? The thing is, it never stops being hard. I was thinking that writing the buildup to the climactic end of Part 2 (which is very close) would be easy, but... no! There are battles to write, actions to justify, and it all has to make sense! It's still difficult. And let alone said end for which I'm very motivated and nervous to mess it up... About a "good" story: it helps a lot to have appeciative readers, such as you, but I'm starting to (very slowly) realize that I don't have to worry about whether it's good or not. Thank you. To be honest, they were supposed to remain in the background, because it's mostly about Gabriel, but he needs special circumstances to take decisive action.^^ Anyway, after a tedious grinding session (and stressful Cal battle write-down, I hope it's decent but if it isn't I still have some time to fine-tune it), I'm presenting you he next chapter: Chapter 38: Threat Thresholds Just a small comment about this chapter.
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Well, it looks like Felicia is having some bright prospects. A newfound friend, a new place to help and explore, a lot of Ranger experience... What could possibly go wrong?
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I meant, separate these parts from the rest of the text, with stars, tildes, or something... So that we know that it's some sort of back-and-forth, instead of happening in the same temporal succession. I don't know what to feel about Felicia going alone to confront someone threatening to kill her. I mean, it's pretty stupid, and very human at the same time. Very nice chapter overall. Now that Felicia's team is complete, I guess she can go to Ayrith now? But I suppose some great stuff is going to happen beforehand.
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So many amazing findings... also, why indents? Happy birthday Candy !!
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Nice chapter. It's a good thing Kevin decided to do something to break Felicia out of her sorrow. It's much better that she managed to get better and be decisive to this Elite Ranger mission. It's yet better that Felicia finally got the promotion she desired. But, I think, the best of the best will be when the Rangers decide to change their procedures. How about, instead, letting people sleep and not rush them into mysterious ceremonies before even breakfast as a way to announce a promotion? Just a small writing thing (if I may): when you shift points of view and especially times (your back-and-forth between Felicia's speaking and the two Elite Rangers' dialog, in the first third of the chapter), could you mark it somehow? I found it a bit confusing at first.
