[Idea] Manipulating the weather

[Cepheus]

First of all:

I know that you can manipulate the weather with changing your Computers date etc.

but this can be so damn annoying... for me at least, and I think some of you feel the same

If you want to force a weather based event, because you want a specific pokemon. (like Budew)

You have to carefully watch your current weather cycle in the TV and set your date.

Maybe even repeating the process a few times because you don't get the weather you want in your week.

And since everyone seems to doing this, can't we make it more easy to manipulate the weather?

Maybe just temporarily, like 30 minutes.

I don't know the future plans for the game... but I thought of some things:

1. Add a Weather Research Center, where you can Change the current weather (or add it into the Route 1 Nature Center)

2. Make Weather-Moves usable out of combat.

- Sunny Day = Clear sky + Chance of windy

- Rain Dance = Rain + Chance of Thunderstorm

- Hail = Snowstorm (not in game yet)

- Sandstorm = Sandstorm (not in game yet)

Of course this powerful tool should not be available from the start:

1. The Weather Station could be located in an area we can't access yet (Route 3 or 4??), so it is fairly late in the game, and a long travel to certain event locations (without fly). With Integration into Route 1 Nature Center... maybe they just need some more time adjusting settings, until you get a certain badge or Item.

2. The Weather-Moves may require a certain Gym-Badge. Since we can get Sunny Day and Rain Dance from the Aqua/Magma-Quest already, and some Pokemon learn these moves by Leveling up.

Just a thought... don't know if it is even possible...

Until then I'll just Keep waiting/searching for that magical windy day, so that I can get my eevee.

(I just want to breed a full eeveelution-team... If you can't tell by my Avatar, that I like eeveelutions... on that note: I hope Ep.13 will make Glaceon available [it's my favorite], since Ep.12 will not introduce us to the snow-Region.)

Edited May 21, 2014 by Cepheus

[Saber12]

......man you could of put this under my Lets talk Game Design topic. It's all thorough too.

Well luckily I know that the first option would be easy to implement. How of course? I tested pokemon essentials so it's do able. Ame might consider it but I don't know what her plans are. I've got a hunch that she might allow free weather control at some point but who knows.

The second option is much more interesting though it will probably bit more code heavy. This reminds me of the anime. I can see it right now just like that episode from pokemon advanced where the traveling son of the Winstrate family had his Alakazam use rain dance to stop the flaming eruption from a Camerupt.(I think that's how it went) You've got to be a powerful trainer to control the weather and the gym badge requirement seems to mesh so well with this idea. I would definitely want to go with this option if I could. However, since Ame's game is currently in the development phase I don't think she'd want to mess with this option because well she's halfway there to finishing the whole game. I'd assume she'd want to finish it up with the plans she already has. Although it is fun though to look at what parts of a game should change according to the players power so I don't see a problem in suggesting idea's to discover other possibilities.

[Magus]

I really don't see the point for only 30 min, while weather is already pretty much permanent for that time. Although this could be more convenient then just swapping dates on your computer if you don't get what you want. Maybe more than 30 min at a time?

Edited May 21, 2014 by Magus

[Saber12]

Can't you already manipulate rain by checking the T.V and changing your computer clock to that day. That was how I defeated Noel in my first playthrough.

True but whats the fun in that when you've finally become epic enough to legitimately control the weather with your own pokemon?

[Cepheus]

This is just an idea, no need to rush things...

I don't want it now and immediately, just a thought to 'legalize' the external game manipulation, with ingame mechanics.

I respect Ame for everything that is in the game, because the game is totally amazing, and I couldn't even do something like that because I'm not into all that coding stuff, and I don't have the patience for it^^ (I toyed with the RPG-Maker 2000 back then but couldn't even reach 25% of it's potential xD)

About the time:

The 30 minute time-limit is also just a thought, an example. Maybe 1 hour.

Or even pay the operators of the machine (in case of weather center), some Pokedollars or items (like shards) for specific amount of time:

1500P$ = 30 minutes

2750P$ = 1 hour

4000P$ = 2 hours

or something like that

Why It shouldn't be permanent:

Playing with the weather is like playing GOD! (and maybe it could screw up the internal weather forecast thingie, I don't know, I'm not a coder, like I stated above...)

Have you any idea what catastrophe it would cause if you permanently changed the weather? -> If not, you may want to play Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire coming this November... (or replaying the original Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald)

If you would make it rain permanently, a flood would be inevitable, and would cause a drought somewhere else!

Action and Reaction + simple weather physiscs.

It would be to dangerous!

And in the case of the Weather Center, it would need a HUGE amount of energy to change the weather!

IF Ame decides to put something like this into the game... there is enough time, we only have half the badges now. And maybe it could even be End-game content, after the league, just to get these missing event Pokemon.

[DashingStorm]

You can already manipulate weather and call yourself "god"..

All you really have to do is check the TV constantly for the weather forecast and adjust your computer's date/time. :l

[Cepheus]

You can already manipulate weather and call yourself "god"..

All you really have to do is check the TV constantly for the weather forecast and adjust your computer's date/time. :l

yeah... we all know that.

But with such an mechanic directly ingame, it would be much more comfortable and faster... that's the whole reason

no need to check the TV, adjust the computers date/time... look at TV again, adjust it again etc.

Just 'I want THIS weather NOW!'

*click*

Specific weather with one or two button presses.

Now TV check are what 5 button presses to get through the textboxes?

adjusting your date/time are unnecessary mouse-movements, and at least 5 additional mouse clicks... which one saves more time?

[Yash]

ohh.. i like this concept.. though instead of the whole time thing it should be area specific.. so if you are in coral ward.. you get your pokemon to use sunny day or rain dance.. and then as long as you are in coral ward without entering houses etc. the weather will be like how you choose.. also it could be that the pokemon require a certain item to be held before using the move..

[Rosesong]

I like the idea, but I think it should be Pokemon specific. Anyone see a Castform-related event for this reason?

A Castform could be causing havoc with the weather, so you catch it and now can control the weather in specific towns by using one of Castform's weather changing moves.

[Shamitako]

RD, that's cheating >

I

absolutely love this idea. Not exactly certain which direction it should go, but the concept of using Sunny Day/Rain Dance as field moves is neat to me

[Lost Lore]

No one should leave me in charge of the weather. I'd make it rainy 24/7 because of how much I love the rain. My poor Fire-types, though...

Anyway, though, this is actually a really interesting idea. While it's true you can just as easily change the date to get different weather, that is pretty time consuming (since you also have to get the weather forecast to come up on the TV to do that... and for some reason, I rarely, if ever, can seem to do that) so another method would be swell.

[Simon]

No one should leave me in charge of the weather. I'd make it rainy 24/7 because of how much I love the rain. My poor Fire-types, though...

Anyway, though, this is actually a really interesting idea. While it's true you can just as easily change the date to get different weather, that is pretty time consuming (since you also have to get the weather forecast to come up on the TV to do that... and for some reason, I rarely, if ever, can seem to do that) so another method would be swell.

e.e My game lags way more when its raining, can't do that..

But yea, I like the idea and Rose gave a good suggestion of giving a use for Castform besides rotting - er.. I mean relaxing in my PC.

[Saber12]

Why It shouldn't be permanent:

Playing with the weather is like playing GOD! (and maybe it could screw up the internal weather forecast thingie, I don't know, I'm not a coder, like I stated above...)

Have you any idea what catastrophe it would cause if you permanently changed the weather? -> If not, you may want to play Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire coming this November... (or replaying the original Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald)

If you would make it rain permanently, a flood would be inevitable, and would cause a drought somewhere else!

Action and Reaction + simple weather physiscs.

It would be to dangerous!

And in the case of the Weather Center, it would need a HUGE amount of energy to change the weather!

IF Ame decides to put something like this into the game... there is enough time, we only have half the badges now. And maybe it could even be End-game content, after the league, just to get these missing event Pokemon.

Your right in this case you would be playing God since you'd be controlling the weather for ALL of Reborn. However, the time limit suggestion sounds like it would be doable.

ohh.. i like this concept.. though instead of the whole time thing it should be area specific.. so if you are in coral ward.. you get your pokemon to use sunny day or rain dance.. and then as long as you are in coral ward without entering houses etc. the weather will be like how you choose.. also it could be that the pokemon require a certain item to be held before using the move..

I like the area specific weather idea a lot. I don't know if this would be code heavy or not since the weather is always the same in every outdoor area. If a global variable is being used for the weather(I assume it's one of those variables since one weather type exists throughout the whole outside world) then this would probably take some time.

But it's such a cool idea though! It would keep players from becoming too dependent on drought Ninetails or drizzle Politoad since you could start battles in the sun or rain ahead of time. There are a couple of ways to lower the abuse of this ability.

-As Cepheus mentioned a time limit. (Acquired Late/Post Game)

-You could also limit the amount of times a player could change the weather each day/or the amount of times the player could use Sunny Day, Hail, etc. (Acquired Late/Post Game)

-If there are more battles like the one with Cal outside and the weather control becomes too useful to players then the weather could revert back to the usual pattern of the forecast before every trainer battle. Which would neglect the automatic drought/drizzle ability the player would get before trainer battles and only let players use it for catching event pokemon.(Acquired Mid/Late Game)

I love this kind of stuff.

[Cepheus]

Speaking of a Castform Event: why not let Team Meteor us a PULSE-Castform as part of their plan to destroy Reborn?

It would fit perfectly!

As I mentioned, Controlling/changing the weather could be disastrous, and a Reborn-wide disaster is what Team Meteor seems to need, since their PULSE-Project were restricted to small Areas:

Tangrowth = Park + small forests

Muk = Harbor

Camerupt = Apophyll beach

Abra = Crisolia Forest

Lets just say we have beaten one of the last Gym-Leader (just so that we are far enough in the Story)

We step outside of the Gym and... the weather has gone crazy!

Hailstorms on Apophyll beach;

Sandstorms in the Snowy Mountains;

Thunderstorms in the desert

and other crazy stuff!

What the Hell is going on?

A scientist runs past us, yelling for help at the Nature/Weather Center and that Team Meteor has taken control of it.

Once there, we fight a high ranking Meteor with a Level 100 PULSE-Castform!

During that battle, the weather is constantly changing, making castform Change his forms every turn!

Of course it woul know powerful moves like:

Solar Beam, Blizzard, Fireblast and Thunder!

Or something like that... just an idea

Also I'm glad you like my idea and have come up with your own ideas how it would make a well rounded experience and how it would fit into reborn.

Edited May 22, 2014 by Cepheus

[Yash]

ohh i like the idea about the shifting weather in the castform battle.. maybe this could be added to the rainbow field effect?? a random change in weather while the field effect is valid..

[Deleted User]

I like #2.

[Cepheus]

So... while the forum was down the past week I thought about this a bit further.

I somehow came up with dialogue and encounter, for this weather-station event and something for later

(You shouldn't leave me alone with unfinished story-thoughts... I always come up with thoughts like "That would be totally awesome! Or this! Wait, what about..." etc.)

I just wanted to show it to you guys, and see what you think.

Let's start where we left - we are at the 'Weather Station' where the Pulse-Castform is manupulating the weather.

We defeated all Meteor Grunts and enter the room where the PULSE is located, and we see a new face, a scientist, operating the machine, and a Glaceon at his side.

(I put it into spoiler-tags, because I didn't like the wall of text. Every spoiler contains one scene, or the respective team in the battle.)

Scientist ???:

"Hm... so you are the cause of all that noise from before, kid.

You must be *Playername*, are you not?

I heard the Meteor Admins talking about you, and how you always

get in their way.

Let me introduce myself.

My name is Ceph, and this is my trusted partner and best friend Celsius"

(Name open for debate... I chose it because of 2 obvious reasons: number 1 - I came up with this. number 2: eeveelutions!!^^)

Scientist Ceph:

"Now don't judge me... I don't like the intentions of Team Meteor either.

But I have my reasons to work on this project. You see... I'm a scientist

and a scientist without research to do is nothing.

They gave me a choice: Either I work for them willingly, and make a bit of a profit myself

or they would just make me work for them... You have met with them before, you know

their methods.

I'm sorry, but they have cameras set up in here, so if just let you destroy this machine they

will eventually get rid of me, I guess you know what I mean.

To make it look real, you have to battle me first."

Battle starts:

Items:
3 Full Restores

Weather: constantly changing! (due to PULSE-Castform in the room)

Team:

Team-Level: Whatever the Level-Cap is at that time

Jolteon @Air Ballon
Nickname: Volt
Ability: Quick Feet
Moves:
Thunder (Electro)
Pin Missile (Bug)
Volt Switch (Electro)
Shadow Ball (Ghost)

Flaroen @Muscle Band
Nickname: Ifrit
Ability: Guts
Moves:
Flare Blitz (Fire)
Will-O-Wisp (Fire)
Dig (Ground)
Bite (Dark)

Vaporeon @Leftovers
Nickname: Undine
Ability: Hydration
Moves:
Hydro Pump (Water)
Acid Armor (Poison)
Blizzard (Ice)
Aqua Ring (Water)

Leafeon @King's Rock
Nickname: Flora
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moves:
Leaf Blade (Grass)
Synthesis (Grass)
X-Scissors (Bug)
Sword Dance (Normal)

Sylveon @Light Clay
Nickname: Sylph
Ability: Pixilate
Moves:
Moonblast (Fairy)
Light Screen (Psychic)
Hyper Beam (Normal -> Fairy through Pixilate)
Reflect (Psychic)

Glaceon @Brightpowder
Nickname: Celsius
Ability: Snow cloak
Moves:
Blizzard (Ice)
Mirror Coat (Psychic)
Dig (Ground)
Double Team (Normal)

(Move-sets and Items are open for debate... on my normal playthroughs I almost always go brute force with attacks with minimal status-attacks.^^

Eeveelutions are NOT for debate... as I like my eeveelutions to much, and I know ZEL has a Glaceon... but Glaceon is my favorite.. *me* without my Glaceon? NEVER! )

Scientist Ceph:

Alright... I knew you were strong.

Now... let's see if you have enough strength left for the PULSE!

*immediatly after the first fight! no chance to go to the menu and heal up!*

Battle against PULSE-Castform

Weather: constantly Changing because of PULSE-Castform

(PULSE-)Castform @Leftovers Lvl.100
Ability: Forecast
Weather Ball (Normal -> Changing)
Thunder (Electric)
Solar Beam (Grass)
Future Sight (Psychic)

Scientist Ceph:

You've done it kid. You destroyed the PULSE and stopped the weather-chaos.

I ain't even mad... actually I'm glad, that I could witness your power. With this data

I might be able to defeat you next time.

You heard me right kid - next time. Team Meteor has a backup-plan. They knew

you would come here to stop this.

I have to leave now and report to them. I cannot tell you where that backup-plan takes place,

for I don't know yet either. But please kid... you must stop them at any cost!

Oh and kid, mark my words: In the end, it is I who shall bask in the applause...

no matter who applaudes me...

Come Celsius we need to leave.

This is just the first encounter with the scientist. As he said, there was a backup-plan he is attending...

Edited June 1, 2014 by Cepheus