mkdasher, how is progress on Pokemon Diamond/Pearl?
I had to stop working on it since I didn't have too much time to do it. I plan to continue with it this summer.
I had 1 badge and was going to do the first double battle against Team Galactic, but I noticed a few mistakes so I'll be redoing it from the beginning.
Can anybody confirm if that journal trick is just japanese only? I have tried it on the English version and I can't manipulate RNG with it. I'm basically stucked in Eterna Forest right now, because there is too many grass and no NPC, so it would be quite hard to get through that without encounters.
Currently I'm picking up a Repel on Route 205, it might be the best option so far.
I finally figured out how wild encounters are determined. It is also the first time I try to read any game code:
First of all, the game will check the number of steps you have taken on grass in that area (or steps in a cave). That number is reseted when you change to anotehr area, and when you have an encounter, but NOT when you battle a trainer. If the number of steps is less than 5 (on grass) or less than 7 (on a cave), then the RNG is called, if RNG value divided by 656 is higher or equal than 5, there will be no encounter, else RNG will be called again.
If the number of steps is higher (than 5 on grass, or than 7 on a cave), the first RNG call is skipped.
The number of steps is stored in 0x0228FCB8
On the second RNG call, if RNG divided by 656 is higher or equal than 40 (running or walking) or 70 (biking), then there will be no encounter. Else RNG is called another time, and if RNG divided by 656 is higher or equal than 30 (for grass) or than 10 (for cave), there will be no encounter. If it's lower, there will be an encounter.
The value that is terrain dependant is stored in 0x02291834.
If water, the value is stored in 0x02291900
Just in case the explanation above is hard to understand, I'll write how the formula would look in C code:
Language: c
int terrain_value = readbyte(0x02291834); //On normal grass, terrain_value = 30, on cave, terrain_value = 10.
int counter = readbyte(0x0228FCB8);
int max_counter = 8 - ((terrain_value * 256) / 10) / 256; //for grass, max_counter = 5, for cave, max_counter = 7
if (max_counter > counter){
counter++;
if (rand() / 656 >= 5) return false;
}
if (rand() / 656 >= value) return false; // value = 40 when walking or running, value being 70 when biking.
if (rand() / 656 >= terrain_value) return false;
else return true;
This means that for each grass step, you have a 12% rate of finding encounters, and 0.6% in the first 5 steps, and on a cave, you have a 4% to find an encounter, and 0.2% on the first 7 steps.
If you're biking, then rates are 21% (1.05% on first steps) for grass, and 7% (0.35%) for caves
Can anybody confirm if that journal trick is just japanese only? I have tried it on the English version and I can't manipulate RNG with it.
The journal trick definitely works in Diamond and Pearl English versions (I did it in my WIPs). I recall that you need to access a journal page that says that you caught a Pokemon.
Can anybody confirm if that journal trick is just japanese only? I have tried it on the English version and I can't manipulate RNG with it.
The journal trick definitely works in Diamond and Pearl English versions (I did it in my WIPs). I recall that you need to access a journal page that says that you caught a Pokemon.
Oh I see. Then it's an useless trick for the TAS I'm doing since I don't catch any Pokemon.
I finally figured out how wild encounters are determined. It is also the first time I try to read any game code:
First of all, the game will check the number of steps you have taken on grass in that area (or steps in a cave). That number is reseted when you change to anotehr area, and when you have an encounter, but NOT when you battle a trainer. If the number of steps is less than 5 (on grass) or less than 7 (on a cave), then the RNG is called, if RNG value divided by 656 is higher or equal than 5, there will be no encounter, else RNG will be called again.
If the number of steps is higher (than 5 on grass, or than 7 on a cave), the first RNG call is skipped.
The number of steps is stored in 0x0228FCB8
On the second RNG call, if RNG divided by 656 is higher or equal than 35, then there will be no encounter. Else RNG is called another time, and if RNG divided by 656 is higher or equal than 30 (for grass) or than 10 (for cave), there will be no encounter. If it's lower, there will be an encounter.
The value that is terrain dependant is stored in 0x02291838.
Just in case the explanation above is hard to understand, I'll write how the formula would look in C code:
Language: c
int terrain_value = readbyte(0x02291838); //On normal grass, terrain_value = 30, on cave, terrain_value = 10.
int counter = readbyte(0x0228FCB8);
int max_counter = 8 - ((terrain_value * 256) / 10) / 256; //for grass, max_counter = 5, for cave, max_counter = 7
if (max_counter > counter){
counter++;
if (rand() / 656 >= 5) return false;
}
if (rand() / 656 >= 35) return false;
if (rand() / 656 >= terrain_value) return false;
else return true;
This means that for each grass step, you have a 10.5% rate of finding encounters, and 0.5% in the first 5 steps, and on a cave, you have a 3.5% to find an encounter, and 0.01% on the first 7 steps.
Why so complicated? ...well, it seems complicated with the long explanation, the actual formula makes some sense.
get help from kaphotics,he said he would help when people stopped playing 4th and 5th gen
I want all good TAS inside TASvideos, it's my motto.
TAS i'm interested:
Megaman series, specially the RPGs! Where is the mmbn1 all chips TAS we deserve? Where is the Command Mission TAS?
i'm slowly moving away from TASing fighting games for speed, maybe it's time to start finding some entertainment value in TASing.
get help from kaphotics,he said he would help when people stopped playing 4th and 5th gen
I think I now have anything I need to complete a run. I already had it, but it was how encounters were determined the only thing I couldn't find anywhere, so recently decided to search it for myself.
Editing the formula since I just noticed biking on grass or caves gives you a higher encounter rate. Running /walking is the same still though.
Now formula makes sense, one RNG checks for number of encounters, other checks if running or walking/running, and other checks terrain stuff.
I have a question / suggestion for the glitched TAS, and I need your opinions about it:
The current route, as you guys probably know, consists on doing a tweaking glitch, and then biking in the void for about 5 minutes.
This can look pretty boring, just going through a black screen for 5 minutes, and the only possibility to make it a bit entertaining is using the calculator, stepcounter, and some other useless Poketch apps.
There is an extra Poketch app I could get, called Memo Pad. Basically it's an app that would let me draw on the Poketch, and therefore make the run more entertaining, since I could draw stuff on it while doing the void glitch.
The extra app would take around 20 extra seconds. I wonder what you guys think about this.
There is an extra Poketch app I could get, called Memo Pad. Basically it's an app that would let me draw on the Poketch, and therefore make the run more entertaining, since I could draw stuff on it while doing the void glitch.
The extra app would take around 20 extra seconds. I wonder what you guys think about this.
Oh totally get that. It would be chalked down as a speed/entertainment tradeoff I believe.
effort on the first draft means less effort on any draft thereafter
- some loser
As long as the TAS will save so much time over any RTA that it won't be beaten due to wasting 20 seconds.
The Brain Age TAS can be beaten too. Getting the Memo Pad would allow for inhuman drawing (or in-run commentary, explaining things along the way ("For run comments; see run" is something that'd be neat in a submission text)), which would still allow the run to clearly distinguish itself from normal play.
The Brain Age TAS doesn't aim for speed, but this one does.
My point, which was further explained in the rest of my post, was that speed isn't the only objective. I'm fine with a possibly beatable movie, as long as it is still clearly a superplay.
