Hello, can anyone help a hacking newb?

[Emeraldragon]

I just registered for the project pokemon forums.

I love the site, and have downloaded pokesav from here. I also use this site's collection of pkms. This is great.

I joined the forums because I am interested in ROM hacking my pokemon diamond game. I would like to add my own fakemon into the game. I have downloaded PPRE, and .NET Framework 2.0, and I was hoping you guys to point me in the right direction from here.

I know next-to-nothing about ROM hacking, but would love to learn how to use the PPRE program to add my fakemon. If you guys could either explain how to do this to me, or direct me to the appropriate forum, I would be very grateful.

Thanks for your time, and I hope someone will help me get my fakemon into my game. :grog:

~Emeraldragon

[evandixon]

You will probebly need ndstool to dump the ROM's contents. I recommend DS Lazy because it is a good GUI to it.

Hope you have a good time at this [rather large] forum.

[Emeraldragon]

Okay, thanks! I'll try that out.

I come from Marriland, which is another pretty big forum. I hope I learn alot while I'm here!

---------- Post added at 04:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 PM ----------

Forgive me, but I really am a newbie to ROM hacking.

Could you give me step-by-step instructions on how to get the ROM data from my game onto the program? I've downloaded dslazy, but I don't know what to do now.

Thanks in advance. I really appreciate any help you give.

~Emeraldragon

EDIT:

One more thing. Could you tell me what 'GUI' stands for?:redface: Thanks.:smile:

[evandixon]

GUI=Graphical User Interface. It beats having to deal with a console :kikkoman:

I can't really help you with ROM hacking, but I can help you with DS Lazy.

1. Open a ROM by pressing the "..." button

2. Press "NDS Unpack"

3. Wait for it to finish, don't pannic if DS Lazy stops responding, there is a command-line tool in the background, wait for that to finish. the folder "NDS_UNPACK" will pop up.

4. Do whatever you want to do with the data

5. When you're finished, press "NDS PACK", and it will assemble a ROM.

If you need help with ROM hacking, I not your man. I think SCV can help, but I'm not sure.

[Emeraldragon]

Where do I find the ROM after clicking the "..." button? Do I need some sort of device to hook my ds up to the computer? Or do I get it off the internet somewhere?

[SCV]

For that version of PPRE you just load the rom. It works directly with the rom, so no need for any ndstool wrappers.

[Emeraldragon]

Where does the ROM come from, though? How do I access the ROM? Do I have to hook the game up to my computer?

[SCV]

Where does the ROM come from, though? How do I access the ROM? Do I have to hook the game up to my computer?

You have to use a flash cart to dump the rom. Not sure how you are using pokesav, but unless its with AR codes, then you should already have what you need. So first question is, do you have a flash cart? If not that's what you need to get. You can edit the original cartrigde.

[Emeraldragon]

I've looked for something like that. I use AR for pokesav, but I really have been wanting to get the flash cart. The problem is, I don't know where to find one. I've looked in Best Buy, and GameStop, but neither have it. Am I looking in the wrong places?

Thanks a ton for your help, I really do appreciate it!

EDIT:

Oh, and which flash cart would you reccommend? Which is the best? I need one that will let me dump the ROM onto my computer, right? Is that all I need it to do? I don't have much money, so one that costs under $100-$50 would be great.

Edited June 25, 2009 by Emeraldragon

[HottSushiz]

I recommend the M3 Real. although if you have a Wii. and you wanna play games like Pokemon Battle Revolution. then i suggest purchasing a CycloDS Evolution. although I'm not so sure how much it is in your area of the world. it's quite pricey. although it's a very high quality flash cart.

But if you just want a flash cart that get's the job done at a cheat price, go for either the DSTT, or the Acekard 2, try visiting Gbatemp.net, and view some reviews on the individual flash carts.

Here are some links to reliable sites to purchase your desired flash carts, and no you can't buy flash carts in retailers such as Gamestop.

>>> Dealextreme.com

>>> Gamebygame.com

>>> Kickgaming.com

If you posses a DSi, or considering purchasing a DSi in the future, then i suggest either waiting for the M3 Zeroi, or buy the Acekard 2i, which are compatible with the DSi, and Lite.

If you have any further question(s) feel free to PM me. :biggrin:

[Emeraldragon]

Thanks so much for your reply!

SCV also recommended Acekard 2.

I do have a DSi, but I have a few problems:

While reading reveiws for the Acekard 2i, I found that nintendo regularly updates the DSi firmware, and a likely update will be a block for devices such as the Acekard 2i. Will I need to worry about this becoming useless in the near future? I also have regular DS lites that I can use. If the Acekard 2i becomes blocked on the DSi, will I still be able to use it with the DS lite? I also read about another flash cart, Supercard DSonei. Apparently, it has an updateable core, meaning it can overcome any blocks nintendo may attempt to enact. Would this be a better option for me? I do want something that will simply allow me to get save files and ROM files onto my computer. I don't need anything expensive and fancy.

Thanks for your time, I really appreciate it!

~Emeraldragon