Online Information Topic

[Marcello]

Depending on when you're reading this topic, it will either be something you more or less expected, or something you are very surprised by. I do hope that regardless of which of those groups you fall into, you are as excited for this as I am!

Alright so, Online Functionality is big. There is quite a lot of things going on with it. So I would very much like to ask everyone to please read this topic before using online, and definitely before asking any questions about it. If you've used similar online systems in other pokemon fangames I ask that you still read over this topic as we have a number of features that were put in from scratch and some of them may well have some things you may want to ask about. I'll try to explain everything you need to know and, hopefully, answer a number of question I believe will be commonly asked.

So, with that out of the way, lets start at the beginning:

How do you access online?
-Online is currently accessed via the pokegear, and the option is enabled right at the start of the game as soon as you get your starter and pokegear. This may be subject to change in the future, but that's how it is for now.

The initial screen
-Once you have connected you'll be presented with three options. 'Login', 'Register' & 'Options'. The first two are rather self explanatory, Register allows you to make an account with which to access the online servers, Login allows you to, y'know, login to said account and do online things. Options, however, deserves a bit more explanation.

Options
-So, this is a bit of a misnomer as, at current, it is just a single option. In here at allows you to select what battle music you would like to play during online battles, you can choose from all battle music currently in game. It will remember your selection so you will not need to set this every single time you want to battle, however it will naturally only stay on what you choose if you save afterwards, so be sure to do that!
-What options is generally for is small features, like the online battle music, that are just able to enhance your online experience. At current this is the only feature but more may come in the future, and you can feel free to make suggestions (although naturally some things will be more possible than others, I'll see what I can do with features that there seems to be a real want for.)

So, once you've logged in you are presented with two further choices: 'Trade' & 'Battle'.

Battle
-In here you are presented with three options. The first two you may recognise from my announcement of the Challenge system for online some time ago: 'Challenge' & 'Wait for Challenge', which work about as you would expect, allowing you to challenge specific other users to a battle, and there is even an option to select what field effect you would like to battle! For more information on the challenge system, I recommend you look at the relevant topic in the Development Blog. Now, however, onto the third option...

Random Matchup
-This is what you would expect. Selecting this option matches you up with a random other user to do an online battle with. You can not choose to battle in a field with this option, but it gives you the freedom to battle even if you lack a particular opponent to organise it with. Also, field effects ARE still fully functional, so if even though these battles start without the field, doesn't mean you can't change that fact by using the right moves!

So, that's that for battles, but we still have trading, the other key cornerstone of online in pokemon.

Trade
-Once again, you'll be presented with three choices. The first two, 'Request Trade' & 'Wait for Request' work more or less exactly the same as the challenge options for battles, allowing you to start a trade with a specific other user. It should be noted that you can only trade mons currently in your party, NOT from the PC like in the more recent official games. The third option, however, is probably my favourite feature of the whole of online, and definitely the one I'm most excited about...

Wonder Trade
-Yes, you read the right. One of the major things I have worked to get into our online functionality is Wonder Trade which you will no doubt have fond (or perhaps unfond and bidoofy) memories of from the official games. This allows you to choose a pokemon to trade, which is sent off and then traded with another random user that has selected to do the same thing. Who knows what you'll get? You could get a Goomy. Or a Torchic. Or someone's super high level Haxorus. Or you could get earlygame trash. Probably that last one but lets not dwell on those details.
-Amethyst and myself would also like to strongly encourage you to share the stories of interesting mons you get from wondertrade, either in this topic, or perhaps someone could make a topic dedicated to it! If you get something funny or interesting I'm sure everyone else would love to hear about it and share in your enjoyment. I'm sure there'll be lots of interesting trades, and maybe they won't all be bidoof!

Now, there is one more thing I would like to talk about here in this topic. Many of you will no doubt have heard about the illegal mon system we are implementing. It has gone through a lot of changes over the course of development, so here's the lowdown on what you need to know.

Illegal Mon System
-So, it has been decided that we will only be checking mons IN YOUR PARTY. As there is currently no way to change your team once you have logged into online, what's in your pc or the daycare isn't going to hurt anybody.
-The system is checking mainly for mons with illegal moves (either moves they are incapable of learning, or moves they learn through currently inaccessible move tutors/tms), as well as illegal mons (pokemon species' which are currently unreleased in Reborn). Now, because I expect to get asked a few times I would like to make this now as clear as possible:

If you have a Gengar or Gyarados from previous versions, or any mons that have learnt Shadowball by TM (provided that is the only way they can learn that move) or have had currently inaccessible TM moves bred on to them using now-outdate TM breeding mechanics WILL be recognised as illegal by the system. This also applies to any other mons or tms which have been axed.

-This system will tell you if it's a mon or move that is illegal. If, after all this, you still don't know what it is catching as illegal, then feel free to ask, but please please PLEASE make sure first it is not the above situation.

 

-As an extra addition, there as also a nickname filter, similar to what is in the official games, although we have at current narrowed it down to racial slurs and overtly sexual stuff. To be clear: If you have a pokemon in your party that the nickname filter blocks you will be told which nickname and not allowed to access Online whatsoever until you change it's name or remove it from your party.

 

-As of the public release, there is also now a filter on your trainer name. If it is found to be offensive you will be offered to change your name  and your Pokémon' OTs will also change accordingly. If you have a genuinely innocent name being blocked by the system, feel free to post a bug report or message me directly.

-Okay now last thing, what does the system do? It has been decided at this point (subject to possible change) that it will NOT be a permanent flag on your savefile. It will check every time you try to log on and, if you have an illegal mon of some kind , it will flag you for that connection session, and if you do not, you will not be flagged for that session. So you can feel free to back out, put the mon in question in the pc, and then go back online.
-As for the actual function of the system, as long as you are recognised as having an illegal mon in your party you will NOT be able to Wonder Trade or battle via Random Matchup. If you want to trade or battle with specific people using your Gengar, or whatever else, go for it, you two are choosing to trade/battle with eachother so we won't stop you. (It works slightly differently for the nickname filter, as explained above)

That, I believe, is all there is to say. Beyond that, any bugs should be posted in the relevant Online Error topic rather than here, but you can feel free to use this topic or make your own for discussion! Enjoy online and the features it brings!

[Sapphire]

Nicely described. ty. =)

I tend to replace a lot of Reborns soundtrack with other music (i.e. I replace the Gym theme with the Kanto gym theme). I'm assuming that the music thing will still work (can't think of a reason why it wouldn't)?

[Marcello]

Just now, Sapphire said:

Nicely described. ty. =)

I tend to replace a lot of Reborns soundtrack with other music (i.e. I replace the Gym theme with the Kanto gym theme). I'm assuming that the music thing will still work (can't think of a reason why it wouldn't)?

 

Provided you've given them the same name as the old tracks when you replaced them it should all work perfectly fine with the music option.

[Asuta]

Will i be able to trade pokemons between different playthroughs?

[NickCrash]

Technically that should be possible. Even in WonderTrade, I got some of mine back.

[thedeath245]

Has anyone been able to do random battle ? I keep trying and waiting without any result.

[Sapphire]

How exactly does Wondertrade work? Does it have to be done at the same time, or is a mon 'stored' somewhere till someone else comes along?

[Amethyst]

It's stored in one of a number of slots, yeah. The slot you receive from is randomly selected, provided you did not place it there.

 

Random Battles are probably low responsive just because there are not a ton of people playing online at any given time, so timing is everything.

 

 

 

[Nederland]

When accessing Pokegear, the online option does not appear.
Would you know how to help me?

Edited December 8, 2016 by Nederland

[loveDBZ]

Whenever I try to do the random battles it always says "You opponent either ignored or declined your request" And this happened after I was in the middle of a random battle and it crashed after I used Leech Seed ?? Are they connected issues ?? 

[Enigma Shot U]

If I could make a Battle song suggestion, could you possibly use the Hardy/Scarlett Battle theme from Desolation?

[alaneapen]

i know this may have been noted but are Pokemon supposed to be lv 100 even after online battles.

[UltimateEmperorJ]

Is there an option to disable hack-check if you want a Hackmons battle with a trusted friend?

[Cataline]

10 minutes ago, UltimateEmperorJ said:

Is there an option to disable hack-check if you want a Hackmons battle with a trusted friend?

You can't use normal online services such as random matchup and wonder trade but battling with a friend is all good. 

[UltimateEmperorJ]

1 minute ago, Cataline said:

You can't use normal online services such as random matchup and wonder trade but battling with a friend is all good. 

Nice.

 

You know how the game has a Nature-Changing NPC? What if it had a type-changing NPC that could add extra types to a single-type Pokemon, take types away from a dual-type Pokemon, and change the types of both? I've always wanted a Grass/Dragon Charizard. You could make it prohibitively expensive, so it doesn't get abused. I'd be ok with that.

[Cataline]

11 minutes ago, UltimateEmperorJ said:

Nice.

 

You know how the game has a Nature-Changing NPC? What if it had a type-changing NPC that could add extra types to a single-type Pokemon, take types away from a dual-type Pokemon, and change the types of both? I've always wanted a Grass/Dragon Charizard. You could make it prohibitively expensive, so it doesn't get abused. I'd be ok with that.

Reborn's going to stick with normal pokemon not including PULSE, and while Rejuv has a bit more freedom it would break the meta of the game, which would drop the difficulty level by a lot. Even if NPCs used it, there's a lot to consider (and I mean the teams need to already consider a lot!)

tbh it sounds like a Showdown OM of the month. Maybe you should see if something like that will happen on SD soon. 

Also Moneys a non problem. Cheat Devices could be used, as well as just rebattling trainers in Opal w luck incense.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Cataline

[Chilibunny]

Hey. A question about legality.

 

Back when there was no Online functionality people traded through an intermediary who deleted Pokés from old save files and added them in the new ones (from scratch, meaning that there might be some differencies in the data, for example I had a few that had wrong location met data and one of those had IVs in the wrong order, but I didn't really mind. We are all people and I was thankful for just the possibility of trading).

 

The thing is: does the Online system recognize Pokémon "generated" by an intermediary as illegal? Do people trading and battling here consider such Pokémon or Pokémon bred from parents received "trading" that way legal? My fav Shiny Volcarona was bred from another Shiny Volcarona I received in a trade as a Larvesta, and I'd really love to use it in battles if I play online. So – does the system allow it to pass and do people consider such stuff legitimate enough here to allow battling with such a thing? That was the only way of trading back then. Some others I use might be bred using traded mons too, but I cannot remember for sure.

 

(It's a shame Pokémon bred in older ep's to allow TM breeding are blocked by the game D: I suppose they will be allowed when the moves they might have will be made accessible by the game?)

 

Thanks peeps!

[Marcello]

Okay so the only things the online system legality cares about are:
1) Is the pokemon obtainable in the current release of the game?
2) Is it legally able to learn all the moves in the current release of the game?

 

And that is all. So anything that was put in via the 'old' trading method should be fine provided it is tradeable and hasn't been given unreleased TM moves or somesuch (So a Volcarona sounds totally fine!). And TM breeding stuff will be usable as soon as the relevant TM is available and thus the mon can learn it normally by TM. Indeed once all pokemon and TMs are available in the eventual final release, all the system will really check for is if the mon has a move it's impossible for it to get.

[Chilibunny]

Hi! Great to hear, thank you Marcello. I suppose I'll battle with it without shame too, haha, when I get around to trying the online functions. Same thing with other stuff (mons, items, I already released some mons though heh) I might still have from "old" trading or things bred with Poké parents traded the old way.

[DragonType]

When going online which name is displayed, is the name of your character or the account you register as

[pyrromanis]

Ok, I have some suggestions for the Online Play. I know some of them are not needed but it will be nice to have them. Also I dunno if all of them can be added.

          For Battles:

• Access field notes during battles. I know this sounds weird but not everyone has memorized all field effects and not having a text file with all fields up to date anymore makes searching for them frustrating. It could be exchanged as an option with the items option in battle, since items can't be used anyways.
• Team preview and choosing lead. This is quite simple since this is how battles are since gen5. No preview can still stay as an option but having team preview helps a lot with players not getting steamrolled just because they were unaware of opponents team (and we are not back in gen4 where the pokemon options wasn't that big).
• Clauses option. Have people decide if they want to battle with some of the most common clauses like sleep, OHKO moves etc. Tbh, this is not a top priority to be added but it will be nice to have (also I'm unsure if it can be added).
• Trainer Sprite. Make it an option in the Options menu before you login. Choose any Trainer sprite from the game to be your avatar for online battles (let me be T3RR4 for god's sake).
  
  For Trades:
• Summary option in Wonder Trades. Simple as it is, we should be able to see the summary of our pokemon before we wonder trade. This can solve mistakes in case you traded the wrong pokemon, assuming you had 2 of the same species in your party. It also will save a lot of time of re loging in for whenever you get a pokemon for WT and you are unsure if you want to put it back or keep it in case it has good stats/moves etc.
  
  Miscellaneous:
• Cancel when you are waiting. God damn this is probably one of the most annoying things in Online play right now. Whenever you are waiting for a trade or battle request if you press the cancel button you are send all the way back ingame and have to relog again! Just send us back to the Online Menu when we are logged in. It is so frustrating when there is a misunderstanding between players or whenever the request wasn't sent properly and you have already pressed to wait for battle/trade.

[Celestial Fire]

online battles don't work

[Starry Knight]

6 minutes ago, Celestial Fire said:

online battles don't work

Or is it just nobody is currently on them very rarely do they get used

[Celestial Fire]

I don't know maybe we should ask mods.