Credits (v1.4.1)

General Information

Pokémon Blaze Black 2 and Volt White 2 Redux have been developed primarily by myself, AphexCubed. However, that isn't to say this was a one-man project, far from it.

• About a year into development, I showed Redux to Drayano. The rest as they say is history, we decided on a name and over the next year began a formal collaboration on Redux.
• I have attempted to credit everyone who helped out in this document. If you feel you should be added, get in touch with me and I'll sort something out :).
• To help anyone looking for somewhere to start in making their own projects, I have included an approximate list of tools used in the development of Redux.

The Credits

Various Areas of Development/Significant Contributions

Dray (@Drayano60)

It's difficult to put into words how helpful Dray has been, all throughout this project.

• Indeed, it was his Blaze Black 2 and Volt White 2 project all the way back in 2012(!) which inspired me to get into Rom Hacking in the first place.

The list on contributions Dray has made to the project is vast and I am massively indebted to him. Here is a shortlist of what he's been involved in:

• Joining me as a developer and giving me permission to release the project.
• Collaborating with me through the projects development, mainly:
  • Playtesting.
  • Dialogue.
  • General Feedback.
  • Scripting support.
  • Providing certain resources to me, such as the Genesect overworld sprite.
  • Getting me in-touch with other members of the community like Kojiyomi (@kojiyomi), who has kindly provided artwork for various different parts of the project!
  • Hosting the project files.
  • Various aspects of promotion.
  • Game balance.

I'm incredibly grateful for everything Dray has done and his help with Redux.

• He's an all-around great guy and lovely to work with <3.

Kaphotics (@Kaphotics)

Without Kurt's old ProjectPokémon guides, resources and documentation, I wouldn't have been able to get Redux off the ground.

• His old written tutorials on Pokecommunity single-handedly got me into scripting and Hex Editing.
• I couldn't have got Redux off the ground without his old documents.

Phunsukh Wangdu (PlatinumMaster)

The creator of SAK and a general source of knowledge on everything Gen V. His contributions to Redux include:

• Various bits and pieces to numerous to list on the technical side of things.
• As noted, the creator of SAK (Swiss Army Knife), a tool designed for making Gen V script editing easy. (More on this in the 'tools' portion of this document).

Hello007

The creator of CTRMap and another valuable source of Gen V knowledge. His contributions to Redux include:

• Helped with various aspects of Map Making, particularly insertion of maps into the game. He is the main reason you can visit Mew on a Faraway Island.
• Helping me understanding how certain scripts function in the game.
• Helping me understand Zones, Headers and Map Matrices.
• Helping to find various commands within the game code.
• Various other bits and pieces.

MeroMero

A retired member of the hacking community, but all the same Redux is built on MeroMero's legacy.

• Created the Fairy Type implementation which Redux is currently using.
• Also created the Gen VI sprite pack, which you can see in party members and the PC.

Aspharon

Creator of Shiny Lock removal codes, found here: https://pastebin.com/Jx5H2j7m

totally_anonymous

• Various technical investigations.
• Discovery, and implementation of the Gem removal from Dust Clouds.
• Allowed for HM moves to be forgotten on the fly.
• Fixing Wave Crash.

Beta Testers and Play Testers

Redux has been extensively tested by a group of people who have very generously given their time up to play through the game. Below is a list of the major playtesters:

• Sergoo
  • The original playtester, the one who has seen it all.
  • Comprehensive bug reports and feedback.
  • Various suggestions and ideas for the project.
  • Putting up with various early scripting issues :).
• Finley
  • Comprehensive Gym Leader testing, under hardcore Nuzlocke conditions.
  • Extremely detailed and insightful information on difficulty.
• Fire
  • Provided important info on Trainer A.I.
• Poke
  • Played through the game under hardcore conditions and broke it wide open - extremely valuable!
• J.P.
  • Like Poke, played through the game under hardcore conditions.
• Ivy
  • Played through under casual conditions.
  • Tested various legendary events and encounters in the Postgame.
• The Lord Of Baguettes
  • Like Ivy, played through casually and helped with general game feel and polish.
  • Also played through on Challenge Mode, doing much the same.

There are also a handful of other playtesters - thanks so much for getting involved!

• TheUziGunner
• StevenIsCoolGuy
• Kya
• Vahegao
• Jibril
• Drxx (@DrxxTwitch)

Map Making

Making a Map and getting it into the game is an involved process, but thanks to these individuals and their hard work, the process of creation was extremely smooth.

• Brom
  • Gave valuable information on how to insert new Maps.
  • Created the tileset used in the Faraway Island.
• Silvy-Ally
  • Information on how layers work.
• Tartar
  • Information on how to get movement working.
  • Taught me how to use Blender to manipulate tiles.
  • Various other bits and bobs.
• Trifindo
  • Making the tool which allowed this, PDSMS.
  • Helping with stairs.
  • Various other bits and bobs.
  • Being lovely to talk to!
• Hello007
  • Help with various parts of insertion into the game and technical debugging.

Tools Used

Redux comes at an extremely exciting time for Gen V rom hack development. Many powerful new tools have become available/are in the works - the future of the hacking scene is bright.

• However, I started Redux before the majority of these tools had been created/were fully functional. Thus, this section is split in two - old and new tools. Everything mentioned was used at some point or another.

'New' Tools

These are more modern and up-to-date tools for Gen V hacking. If you're starting out, use these!

• These tools would have been more heavily used, had I known about them/had they existed when I started Redux.

SAK (Swiss Army Knife)

An all around, multi-purpose Gen V hacking tool, created by PlatinumMaster. It can edit may things, including, but not limited to:

• A robust script editor.
• a Text Editor.
• a Map Editor.

CTRMap

A tool which can edit various aspects of the overworld, with a handy visual interface! It's also got a powerful script editor built in.

• The best bit is the graphical interface, you can 'see' the game as you edit it!

'Other' Tools

These are tools which have been around for a while, but are still extremely useful for Gen V hacking, at the time of writing.

HxD64

I'll start by cheating a little, HxD64 is a hex editor, not traditional tool as you may imagine it. However, it has been the single most used and powerful tool used in Redux.

• Almost all the scripting done in Redux was written in Hex.
• Many, many areas of Redux where edited with hex, from the title screen to the arm9.

NPRE 1226

A tool modified by Kaphotics and now made obsolete by SAK and CTRMap. It parses scripts from the game into a more readable format.

• Without it, I likely wouldn't have been able to get into scripting.

PPNFR

Adds files back into NARC files. So, so many uses in Redux.

Tinke (Various builds.)

Used to explore the Rom, build the rom, extract and insert NARCs, edit sprites and graphics... The list goes on. Another tool instrumental in the development of Redux.

'Old' Tools

These are tools I used developing Redux, which have either since been superseded by SAK and CTRMap, or are generally slow to use/unreliable and buggy.

PPTXT

Used to edit text in the game. Now obsolete with the rise of SAK and CTRMap.

BWTE 2 - 1000

Used to edit trainer teams and rosters. Now obsolete with SAK.

OxAttack

Used to modify move data.

• Buggy, doesn't like certain types of moves and has a nasty habit of breaking moves when editing them.

BWWE

Used to edit wild areas.

BWOE

Used to view and edit overworld sprites. Now obsolete with CTRMap.

ANDT

Used to modify Pokémon learnsets and hidden grottos.

Pokémon Rom Changer (PRC)

Used to edit Pokémon base stats, abilities, types etc.

• Works on absolute offsets, so using it can be a little tricky.
• Can also modify moves, useful to get around OxAttack limitations.