did someone order replay value? (Patreon)

more additions! this time for the early game. and by the early game, i actually mean the entire game. close enough.

so, when i redid the intro sequence for e17, i left a note for myself in the comments about where in the intro would be a good place to slot in openings for any kind of special settings. however, i didn't actually have any plans to create any such settings, and also the way in which i thought they might work fundamentally did not work because rpg maker changed the way text entry behaves from normal rpg maker making everything i've known since i was a child useless.

so basically it was probably going to go unused unless some modder came along and wanted to do something with it.
or so i thought,
but what i didn't account for
was my own impulsiveness.

so, what i'm trying to say is we now have a password system to help you play the game in different ways.

at the start of the game (specifically on the train when talking to my still-headed self), new plauyers/files will be asked for any 'instructions'. the instruction is actually a password, so you enter a keyphrase, and some movie magic happens, and some various things will change.

the 'entering a keyphrase' part was what rpg maker hecced up but. we got around it now. wasn't too bad. frankly wish i had earlier cuz that opens up some puzzle opportunities. buuuut that's what postgame is for, i guess.

so here's some of the passwords we have so far:

Rejuvenation-style Hard Level Cap
password: hardcap
Prevents Pokemon from gaining experience once they hit the level cap at each given badge. If they over level using a rare candy, they still disobey.

So, a while ago we had a poll on here about whether or not we would actually shift over to this. Naturally, people familiar with Rejuv, Reborn, and some of the mods that use it all have their own preferences as to which way is actually better... but I was surprised that keeping the normal level cap won the poll before, even over having the option of switching. While I don't wish to dishonor the results of that poll, I feel like there's been a significant game-changer introduced to the affair.

The two biggest concerns I had with implementing the Rejuv level cap (even as an option) were, first, that it is further removed from the canon disobedience system and it might be less intuitive for players coming in from the main series for the first time (whereas many Rejuv players are already familiar with Reborn's style of cap). however, I believe asking for this option in the form of the password means that it won't confuse new players. presumably, anyone using a password already knows what they're getting into. And second, that the amount of EXP that would be necessary between the two level cap modes would be so different from each other that one side or the other would require a lot more work development-side to adjust for... which is where the game-changer comes in,
And that game-changer is the EXP. All 

With that in, and in tandem with the hard cap, everything just felt right. I felt that way pretty much as soon as I got it on our stream of Rejuvenation, and I have definitely been plotting this since. I don't really like the Exp. All for the canon games where there is no upper limit restriction, but there, it feels great. 

so yeah EXP. All is in Reborn now too. For disobedience cap, if it's an issue, you can just turn it right off. I feel pretty strongly that between this and the password implementation itself, there's no need for concern in leaving this as an option. The main game is unchanged, and a new spin on the experience exists for anyone who wants to go this way.

Monotype Helper Modes
password: mono[type] (with [type] replaced by each type's name)
Automatically sets all randomized event pokemon, including mystery eggs, to bias towards the selected type.

Big shout out to BIGJRA for basically doing most of the work on this one. He and I had the idea separately, and then as some folks may remember we hammered out the details on the discord server. 

A lot of folks currently use debug mode or have someone fix their save file so they can get the Pokemon they need (and could get by chance) early on for their monotype runs, but with these 18 passwords, it can be done automatically. We've also replaced the Espurr/Minccino event with a Rock type and Ice type Pokemon when those types are selected, since previously monos of that type would have had nothing available before Julia. 

These passwords apply no restrictions to the file-- that's all still left to the player, especially to account for cases where you might need a differently typed pre-evo, mega, or just an HM Slave.
Then again, HM Slaves are now a lot less important because of the...

No TMX Needed Mod
password: easyhms
Allows HM/TMX moves to be used by any Pokemon provided the machine is held and the badge qualification is met.

This is another existing mod from the modular modpack that we've integrated, so once again, big thanks to Waynolt for this one. Naturally, a lot of people have requested something like HM Items over the years because HMs are fucking obnoxious. 

Although it became a tedious mechanic, the point of HMs was to feel like you are working together with your Pokemon to traverse locations and solve things. The idea of that, and the idea of using Pokemon as more than just battle devices is something I've always found appealing about the series. It continues to be a shame it was not implemented in a more meaningful way. However, replacing that system with items tramples on its entire purpose, and although it is less tedious, it feels very conceptually convoluted and purposeless to me, so I have never liked the idea of adding them. 

Tying this mod to a password is my compromise. HMs are obviously rather integral to the story of Reborn anyway, unfortunately, so I don't want to undermine that relevance for a player who is new to Reborn. But again, for players who know what they're getting into, I hope this password will be a great convenience. I also appreciate on some petty level that you are at least still using Pokemon for it this way, even if it means you randomly end up surfing on a Slugma.
But Slugma's tough. It can take it.
Maybe.

Nuzlocke Mode
password: nuzlocke
Prevents Pokemon from recovering through any means after their hp drops to 0.

No restrictions on catching are included, since there are various locke modes one may want to approach with this, and what each player considers to be a 'new area' is certainly debatable. This is just a small helper tool for completion of the password system. The PC is brought up after you white out and you're required to switch something alive in. If you don't do that, you'll be asked if you want to forfeit the challenge, at which point the mode comes off.

Randomizer Mode
password: randomizer
At the start of the game, reshuffles all Pokemon and Moves, redistributing them randomly.

A randomizer seemed like the last thing that would be necessary to round out our mode selection system. I didn't actually think it would be practical to implement in Essentials, but then I saw that someone had made a Randomizer mod for Rejuvenation, so I was like, well, hold on. let's talk about this.

Then I found out that the way that mod randomizes everything was... less good than I'd hoped for. For one thing, it just chose straight randomly which means trainers would have different Pokemon each reload, and you could theoretically just catch whatever Pokemon in any area by gaming the encounters there enough. I've never actually played a Pokemon Randomizer before, but I talked to Zumi since I knew she just finished a Platinum one on her stream earlier, and I was graciously informed of all the reasons why this way of randomizer was not very effective.
Also, it didn't randomize moves at all, which isn't as fun.

So, having already successfully implemented the mod version of the randomizer into Reborn, I decided to throw 90% of the code from it out and go harrass Cass as she was probably starting to fall asleep about how I could properly do that. I had a feeling that it was feasible with some kind of modulus shenaniganry, but I wasn't able to wrap my head around the details of the process. Frankly, I'd be slightly lying if I said I got all the details even now.
As it turns out, having a girlfriend with a minor in maths has its perks.

So anyway Cass kind of worked out the whole thing and after a solid lot of troubleshooting, it seems to pretty effectively shuffle both moves and species around based on a seed generated at password selection. It's... basically easy mode since all of our carefully crafted teams and such become a jumbled mess of fustercluck... but again, if you select this password, you know what you're getting into.

Unfortunately, due to the strong chaotic energy constantly emanating from this mode, online play is disabled for it.

--

All of the above passwords will be found in plain sight in the Readme where no one will ever see them, but maybe somebody who already knows about them will tell someone else to go look at them and maybe someone eventually will. 

And that's everything for now.

...is what I would say if that were everything for now.
But actually, these aren't the only passwords that have already been implemented. There are also other hidden passwords that can be found throughout the game, but those are less in the way of whole modes, and more easter-eggy easter eggs. Easter egglettes, I guess. 

I'm also somewhat open to password ideas, though what actually gets put in will often come down to how practical it is to implement. So far the Randomizer is the only one of these that has taken much work at all-- and that was only a day or two. 

As a final note, any of these passwords can be used with each other (including the monotype ones in case you want to do a dual type run or something)

I hope you'll all enjoy playing the game in new ways~