Alpha Build 4 Now Available!

The wait is finally over! Build 4 is here, bringing a heaping helping of new content and story. This is the biggest update yet, almost doubling the amount of content found in Build 3.

Here are some of the big features you can expect in this Build:

Expanded story and maps! The player can now venture beyond Sagaxis Forest into the high-altitude Acacia area and beyond. This update contains 15 new maps, including 2 new dungeons and loads of wild Pokémon to catch.

Trainer battles! We’ve got a bunch of original trainer classes for you to battle, including a few surprises. Nearly all trainers can be registered in your phone for rematches.

New phone screen! The protagonist can now check their phone for loads of information, such as the map, text messages from NPC’s, call registered trainers, play music, and read copies of notes found throughout the game. Many of these features were coded from scratch by yours truly!

Revamped expressions! A collection of new expressions have been added, and the default ! and ? expressions have also been updated. Characters are now more expressive than ever!

Original soundtrack! 16 new music tracks have been added to the game, and nearly every map now has original music.

There are, of course, loads of additional changes. Make sure to check out the full changelog for details.

Please note: This is the first version of a major update and there will almost certainly be bugs. As always, please report any issues you find on the subreddit. If you want to chat about the game and shoot the shit with the community, make sure to visit our Discord server.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to give a huge shoutout to a few people who helped contribute to Build 4. First we have Lesser Bay who has composed a whopping 16 tracks for the game as of this build (I’m still amazed, myself). Next is Melissa, who created some of the lovely trainer sprites that you’ll find in Build 4. I’m incredibly thankful for the hard work that these two have put into helping me develop this game. If you’d like to become a contributor, just send me a message on Discord. Specifically, I’m looking for sprite artists and animation artists.

Lastly, I would like to announce the Apex Launcher, the new official way to start the game. The launcher is a standalone program that I created from scratch for the game. It features automatic game updating, blog and subreddit viewports, and more. Downloads and more info on the Downloads page.

Visit the Downloads page to download the game!

Edit: Patched to fix a crashing bug with battles. If you downloaded in the first hour or so, you’ll need to redownload.

Full changelog:

Additions

Added 16 original soundtrack pieces

Added a mysterious new miniboss to the RevTex factory

By popular complaint, an antidote vending machine has been added to the RevTex factory

Added Acacia Town and various sub-maps

Added the protagonist’s cell phone. Bleep bloop!

Added notes to the cell phone

Added text messages to the cell phone

Added a new field item: Glowsticks!

Added new emotion animations and revamped existing ones.

New shortcut key: P - Phone screen

New shortcut key: S - Registered item

New shortcut key: 2 - Party screen

New shortcut key: 3 - Bag screen

New shortcut key: 4 - Phone screen

New shortcut key: 5 - Trainer card screen

New shortcut key: 6 - Save game

Added custom phone menu graphics!

Added a completely new battle sprite for Dante.

Added new battle status bars

Added new naming screen graphics

Added new loading screen graphics

Added a hidden event in the suburbs that allows the player to skip to the starter choices. (Will be removed in the final release)

Changes

The party background graphic is now dark gray to match the game’s color scheme.

Added a new title screen graphic, with a sexy new logo

The map Jagged Pass (now known as Jagged Pass South) has been completely retextured.

Jagged Cavern has been completely finished.

“Quit Game” option in the menu now returns to the title screen instead of quitting completely

Balance

All starters now gain perfect IV’s when given out

Swapped Astonish and Night Shade in Duskull’s moveset (114)

Dahlia’s Roselia has been lowered to lv 15

Party limited to 3 slots. This can be increased later in the story. Related to the level cap.

Trapinch line gets Bide replaced with Endure to force it to actually use good moves during battle.

Dratini line gets Slam and Dragon Rage switched in moveset to prevent it from completely annihilating any opponents at similar level.

Increase PP of Aqua Tail from 10 to 15

Tweaks

EV-modifying items have more specific descriptions

Visible radius doubled in dark maps

Sagaxis forest secret caves now slightly easier to spot

Removed some decorative pipes in the factory to improve player flow

Allowed running under the middle tile of upright steel beams in the factory

Holly now gives you a bit more detail about your next move

The map scrolling cutscene in Nascene City now shows the player the location of the school and lab

The bag screen now shows a bookbag regardless of player gender

Levitate and similar abilities and effects now say that the target avoided the attack instead of making it miss, which makes more sense in double battles. i.e. “X avoids Ground moves with Levitate!” instead of “X makes Ground moves miss with Levitate!”

Time of Day shading is now lighter and more gradual for better visibility in realtime-enabled maps

Flowerpot tiles (the ones used in Holly and Dahlia’s house) now better fit the game’s perspective.

Rival’s apartment name now uses their name instead of just “Rival” i.e. “Heather’s Apartment” instead of “Rival’s Apartment”

Health bars animate at half speed to improve animation quality

Corrective action will be taken if players attempt to bring Victini or over-leveled pokemon from older builds

Raised player pokemon sprites by 10 pixels to better display some back sprites (such as Ducklett)

The foreman of the construction site in Nascene City will push you out of the site if you try to enter

Shortened a rival walking event in the abandoned house

Fixes