pokecrystal-board/FAQ.md

FAQ

Questions

• What is pokecrystal11.gbc?
• I can't build the ROM, make just prints an error!
  • gcc: command not found
  • "ERROR: UNION already defined"
  • "Segmentation fault" from rgbgfx
  • "Section is too big" or "Unable to place section in bank"
  • "Invalid file or object file version"
  • "Syntax error"
• How do I edit maps?
• How do I edit the colors of an image?
• How do I write new features?
• I need more help!

What is pokecrystal11.gbc?

Version 1.1 of Pokémon Crystal, which fixed some issues with the initial international release. make crystal11 defines _CRYSTAL11 so the assembly builds the changed version.

I can't build the ROM, make just prints an error!

Reread INSTALL.md carefully, and make sure you're following all its steps.

gcc: command not found

You need to install gcc. If you're using Cygwin, re-run its setup, and at "Select Packages", choose to install gcc-core.

"ERROR: UNION already defined"

Download the latest rgbds release. Versions earlier than 0.3.3 will not work.

"Segmentation fault" from rgbgfx

If you are using 64-bit Windows, download 64-bit Cygwin and 64-bit rgbds.

"Section is too big" or "Unable to place section in bank"

If you have not changed any of the asm, make sure you have the latest version of pokecrystal and the correct version of rgbds (see INSTALL.md).

If you added or changed any code, it has to fit in the memory banks. The 2MB ROM is divided into 128 banks of 4KB each, numbered $00 to $7F. The linkerscript pokecrystal.link lists which SECTIONs go in which banks. Try moving some code into a new section.

"Invalid file or object file version"

Run make clean to remove all the old o files, then re-run make.

"Syntax error"

You've made a mistake while writing some of the code. Re-read the modifications you've made to the file it complains about and try to compare them with other code.

If you're not using the latest version of rgbds, update this as well. Don't forget to make clean afterwards.

How do I edit maps?

For asm scripts, read docs/map_event_scripts.md. For blk layouts, try Polished Map or crowdmap.

How do I edit the colors of an image?

Most .png images are paletted PNGs. You can edit these with any program that supports creating PNGs with palette information. These palettes should consist of exactly 4 colors. Additionally, for Pokémon images, the first color should be white, and the last black. Tools such as Paint and GIMP will do the right job, while other tools such as Photoshop might mess it up and output palettes of 255 colors even though only using 4. You may try using tools like GraphicsGale or IrfanView to fix this, or sometimes resaving the image in Paint seems to help.

Some image .png files are greyscale. This indicates that even though these images do have proper colors in-game, they're shared with something else, and as such changing them will affect other things as well. Don't try opening the .2bpp files, these only contain the image data as well, not the palettes.

It really depends on what image you're trying to change the colors of, where these colors are specified. Try looking for related files or .pal files.

How do I write new features?

There are a number of special-purpose scripting languages, as described in docs. For more general features, you'll need to code directly in assembly language. See docs/assembly_programming.md. Some of the tutorials may also be helpful.

I need more help!

Try asking on IRC or Discord (see README.md).