Following Pokemon EX for E19 dev update

[enu]

Hi everyone! Some of you might already know that a new Follower Pokemon mod is in development. While we're not yet done I'd like to give you an update on the current state.

 

We're also looking for a few volunteers to help us. Preferably from someone who is already familiar with Reborn's story, including Post-Game content. More information near the end of this post.

 

Scope

 

Let's deal with the most obvious question first. Why is the mod taking so long? It should be relatively easy to update the e18 mod to e19, right? Well... yes that's technically correct. Updating the old mod is relatively straight-forward. However those of you who played with it know that it was filled with various bugs, had repetitive lines and generally just wasn't all that great in practice.

 

I'm a perfectionist with a high quality standard so no way I'd be satisfied with that so I knew that if I took this on I'd aim much higher. I'd never attempt doing this project properly alone but fortunately I got help from a few others. So instead we're making an entirely new mod and giving it the attention it deserves. Reborn is the best pokemon game and as such we want the mod to meet the same quality. Our work actually isn't based on the old Follower Mod for Reborn. Instead it's based on Following Pokemon EX which is a newer base mod for Essentials-based games. Now to give you an idea about the scope of the project. Make sure to read to the end as the last change is the most important one:

 

Reborn compatibility

 

While Following Pokemon EX is great, it's based on much newer Essentials than Reborn is so of course it doesn't work out of the box. Also Reborn is using many things the mod didn't account for. It took a lot of time and effort to make it compatible with this old version and also all the Reborn-specific changes.

 

Movement fixes

 

I adjusted follower movement to work correctly with all kinds of movement. Jumping over ledges, between stones, ice sliding, surfing, rock climb and Victory Road mine carts should work well with followers. I also fixed the broken walk animation and missing water reflections NPC followers had in pre-e19 Reborn. Most of these fixes have been backported into base Reborn or will be included in the next update.

 

Map transitions

 

Going from one map to another also needed a ton of adjustments to work well with followers. Between simple event-based teleportation, map connections, fly, dive, rock climb, escape rope, waterfall, whiteout and all the other various ways that can take you from one map to another we had a lot of issues. Fixing one thing often broke another. More testing throughout the entire game will be necessary later on but for now it seems relatively stable.

 

Sprites

 

We combined several sources and adjusted the sprites when needed. We're also working on normalizing the sprites between base Reborn and the mod to avoid inconsistencies.

 

Reborn Shinies

 

As you likely noticed Reborn is using different shiny sprites than the main games. However only the battle sprites have been recolored so the shinies would have wrong colors when following you. So Nico and A1mon are recoloring the overworld sprites of all mons to match Reborn's shiny battle sprites.

 

Interactions

 

Now this is most likely the coolest change we're doing. In the main games the interaction lines were quite generic and felt repetitive after a while. It would be much cooler if the pokemon was able to react to what's going on around them. Be it weather, specific map, showing off the item they're holding, having nature-specific lines and various other conditions. We have many ideas what the mons could react to. The old mod had a few map-specific interactions but it was implemented in a way they they overrided any other interactions and the follower soon started repeating the same thing. So I implemented an entirely new subsystem where the interactions are split to groups with weighted chance to be triggered. Also the mod remembers the recently used lines and prevents their selection again for a while. This should greatly improve immersion as the follower will always have an interaction you've never seen before. We've also added several new emote animations which can be used with the new interaction lines.

 

Call for help

 

Now for the part where you can get involved and help us finish the mod.

 

If you read the paragraph above about the new interaction system it might be obvious. While the new system is cool we need someone to write the actual new lines for various conditions. I set it up in a way that no coding is required. Instead we have a shared google spreadsheet where we can just go and add the lines we want. Then I have a script which will download and transform this into a format that the mod can use. UnclePops already singlehandedly doubled the total amount of lines we have but there is more to be added. In particular we'd like the follower to react to the map you're currently in. This needs someone who is already familiar with Reborn's story, preferably including Postgame. DM me on Discord if you're interested in helping us with these. I can give you access to the spreadsheet to let you add all the funny lines you can think of.

 

Another thing is sprites. For certain mons all the existing overworld sprites are pretty much useless as followers for various reasons so preferably we'd need entirely new sprites for those. This of course needs an experienced artist so my hopes for actually finding someone willing to help with those aren't high but it doesn't hurt to ask. Let me know if you'd like to try making a new overworld sprite.

 

Discord: enumag#2976

 

As for release, we don't have any ETA. We'll release the mod whenever we're satisfied with the quality. Which also depends on if we get more of you to help. ;-)

 

That's all for today! Thanks for reading.

 

[xKit]

Spoiler

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA YESSSSSSSSSSSS BEST MOD EVER IS COMING BACK

 

[Chrixai]

Oh nice! I always loved this mod! Can't wait and good lucks!

[CorruptedJ98]

Once this is done this will be so cool me being able to walk with my pokemon sounds amazing also have a wonderful morning, afternoon, day or night.

[Jess]

On 8/26/2022 at 12:38 AM, enumag said:

Hi everyone! Some of you might already know that a new Follower Pokemon mod is in development. While we're not yet done I'd like to give you an update on the current state.

 

We're also looking for a few volunteers to help us. Preferably from someone who is already familiar with Reborn's story, including Post-Game content. More information near the end of this post.

 

Scope

 

Let's deal with the most obvious question first. Why is the mod taking so long? It should be relatively easy to update the e18 mod to e19, right? Well... yes that's technically correct. Updating the old mod is relatively straight-forward. However those of you who played with it know that it was filled with various bugs, had repetitive lines and generally just wasn't all that great in practice.

 

I'm a perfectionist with a high quality standard so no way I'd be satisfied with that so I knew that if I took this on I'd aim much higher. I'd never attempt doing this project properly alone but fortunately I got help from a few others. So instead we're making an entirely new mod and giving it the attention it deserves. Reborn is the best pokemon game and as such we want the mod to meet the same quality. Our work actually isn't based on the old Follower Mod for Reborn. Instead it's based on Following Pokemon EX which is a newer base mod for Essentials-based games. Now to give you an idea about the scope of the project. Make sure to read to the end as the last change is the most important one:

 

Reborn compatibility

 

While Following Pokemon EX is great, it's based on much newer Essentials than Reborn is so of course it doesn't work out of the box. Also Reborn is using many things the mod didn't account for. It took a lot of time and effort to make it compatible with this old version and also all the Reborn-specific changes.

 

Movement fixes

 

I adjusted follower movement to work correctly with all kinds of movement. Jumping over ledges, between stones, ice sliding, surfing, rock climb and Victory Road mine carts should work well with followers. I also fixed the broken walk animation and missing water reflections NPC followers had in pre-e19 Reborn. Most of these fixes have been backported into base Reborn or will be included in the next update.

 

Map transitions

 

Going from one map to another also needed a ton of adjustments to work well with followers. Between simple event-based teleportation, map connections, fly, dive, rock climb, escape rope, waterfall, whiteout and all the other various ways that can take you from one map to another we had a lot of issues. Fixing one thing often broke another. More testing throughout the entire game will be necessary later on but for now it seems relatively stable.

 

Sprites

 

We combined several sources and adjusted the sprites when needed. We're also working on normalizing the sprites between base Reborn and the mod to avoid inconsistencies.

 

Reborn Shinies

 

As you likely noticed Reborn is using different shiny sprites than the main games. However only the battle sprites have been recolored so the shinies would have wrong colors when following you. So Nico and A1mon are recoloring the overworld sprites of all mons to match Reborn's shiny battle sprites.

 

Interactions

 

Now this is most likely the coolest change we're doing. In the main games the interaction lines were quite generic and felt repetitive after a while. It would be much cooler if the pokemon was able to react to what's going on around them. Be it weather, specific map, showing off the item they're holding, having nature-specific lines and various other conditions. We have many ideas what the mons could react to. The old mod had a few map-specific interactions but it was implemented in a way they they overrided any other interactions and the follower soon started repeating the same thing. So I implemented an entirely new subsystem where the interactions are split to groups with weighted chance to be triggered. Also the mod remembers the recently used lines and prevents their selection again for a while. This should greatly improve immersion as the follower will always have an interaction you've never seen before. We've also added several new emote animations which can be used with the new interaction lines.

 

Call for help

 

Now for the part where you can get involved and help us finish the mod.

 

If you read the paragraph above about the new interaction system it might be obvious. While the new system is cool we need someone to write the actual new lines for various conditions. I set it up in a way that no coding is required. Instead we have a shared google spreadsheet where we can just go and add the lines we want. Then I have a script which will download and transform this into a format that the mod can use. UnclePops already singlehandedly doubled the total amount of lines we have but there is more to be added. In particular we'd like the follower to react to the map you're currently in. This needs someone who is already familiar with Reborn's story, preferably including Postgame. DM me on Discord if you're interested in helping us with these. I can give you access to the spreadsheet to let you add all the funny lines you can think of.

 

Another thing is sprites. For certain mons all the existing overworld sprites are pretty much useless as followers for various reasons so preferably we'd need entirely new sprites for those. This of course needs an experienced artist so my hopes for actually finding someone willing to help with those aren't high but it doesn't hurt to ask. Let me know if you'd like to try making a new overworld sprite.

 

Discord: enumag#2976

 

As for release, we don't have any ETA. We'll release the mod whenever we're satisfied with the quality. Which also depends on if we get more of you to help. ;-)

 

That's all for today! Thanks for reading.

 

Do we have any updates for this? I scrolled through the mod market, but didn't find the mod anywhere so I assume it is still in development?

[enu]

Yup, still in active development.

[mayo72218]

oh! I'm looking forward to the day that mod is developed ! 

 Vampire Survivors

Edited August 30, 2023 by mayo72218

[Etaki]

Also looking forward to this! Following pokemon are one of the best features of pokemon games. Is there any chance of making an early release, even if not all characters/sprites are available?

[enu]

8 hours ago, Etaki said:

Also looking forward to this! Following pokemon are one of the best features of pokemon games. Is there any chance of making an early release, even if not all characters/sprites are available?

 

We already have all the sprites except for Aevian Mismagius. (If someone is reading this and wants to try and help with this one please send me a message on Discord.)

 

But I want to make sure everything works correctly. I'm still finding some cases where the follower doesn't behave correctly and need to play through the entire game to find and fix them. Also I want to make sure it's compatible with some other Reborn related projects the community is working on so I will most likely release this mod alongside these projects. However as they aren't my own projects I can't talk about any details nor can I affect their release.

[Etaki]

1 hour ago, enumag said:

 

We already have all the sprites except for Aevian Mismagius. (If someone is reading this and wants to try and help with this one please send me a message on Discord.)

 

But I want to make sure everything works correctly. I'm still finding some cases where the follower doesn't behave correctly and need to play through the entire game to find and fix them. Also I want to make sure it's compatible with some other Reborn related projects the community is working on so I will most likely release this mod alongside these projects. However as they aren't my own projects I can't talk about any details nor can I affect their release.

 

I see, hope development goes well! I recently got back to Reborn and it'd be great to play with followers from beginning, I find it helps bond with our characters. Sadly the only other follower mod is E17. But I guess it's important to release a mod that isn't bugged so it may be worth to wait! Do you have a rough estimate on its release?

[enu]

4 hours ago, Etaki said:

I see, hope development goes well! I recently got back to Reborn and it'd be great to play with followers from beginning, I find it helps bond with our characters. Sadly the only other follower mod is E17. But I guess it's important to release a mod that isn't bugged so it may be worth to wait! Do you have a rough estimate on its release?

 

I'd like to have it out this year ideally but considering the scope of the related projects I want to sync the release with it seems unlikely. So most likely some time next year. I'm sorry it's taking so long but I do believe it will be worth it.

[Etaki]

9 hours ago, enumag said:

 

I'd like to have it out this year ideally but considering the scope of the related projects I want to sync the release with it seems unlikely. So most likely some time next year. I'm sorry it's taking so long but I do believe it will be worth it.

 

Cool, looking forward to it!

[Greenjoe12345]

 

On 10/20/2023 at 4:04 PM, enumag said:

 

I'd like to have it out this year ideally but considering the scope of the related projects I want to sync the release with it seems unlikely. So most likely some time next year. I'm sorry it's taking so long but I do believe it will be worth it.

what project is  related to it?

[enu]

57 minutes ago, Greenjoe12345 said:

 

what project is  related to it?

Can't disclose that.

[Kouteshi]

I'm literally waiting for this to drop so I can finish Reborn's story. Thank you so much for this public service, I love this feature.

[enu]

Next version of Reborn will have some new shinies. My previous artists are a bit busy this time so I need someone new to help with recoloring the overworlds to their new shiny forms. DM me on Discord if you wanna help with this!

[enu]

I saw some questions about the current status of this on Discord recently. So let me just write it down here:

 

Yes the mod is still in works. However I'm also helping out with updating Reborn to the new scripts which Deso e6 and Reju 13.5 are running on. The mod requires the new scripts as well meaning I need the new Reborn to be released first. No ETA on that unfortunately. Plus I was working on an additional tool for developers and modders and a few extra features for Reborn.

 

Also my request from above about needing help with a few shiny overworld sprites is still relevant. I should note that these particular shinies are very nice but also have some aspects that make recoloring the overworld sprites a bit tricky. So it requires previous experience with this kind of art.

[Kouteshi]

Any update on the mod? Will it come out this year?

[enu]

Can't say yet. I'm busy with finishing some things for the 19.5 update for now so the mod has not been my main focus.