Recent Discoveries Roundup
Posted by: Sherkel
Date: 2018-11-27 13:35:51
Speedrunning has provided previously unheard of incentive for glitch research, as reaching the credits without save corruption involves many possible arbitrary code execution entrypoints. The most recently discovered one in this category, currently a required step in all "race to the Hall of Fame" runs, is the Red/Blue Viridian Forest D618 script. The previous "no save corruption" route involved very calculated use of Move 0x00 corruption (the "Cooltrainer move" we've known about for over ten years!), never previously so thoroughly documented. Those looking to "catch 'em all" also need to learn the LOL glitch in addition to its many variants. Ever wanted to throw a Master Ball out of battle and catch whatever you wanted with it? Now you can!
However, not only were glitched runs affected by advances in research; glitchless ones were too, thanks to the discovery of luck manipulation mechanics! Forms of this exist in all games and were mandatory skills for competitive players in Generations IV and V; however, its discovery in Generation I led to greater attention being given to the accuracy of emulators, as due to instructions passed from the BIOS to the ROM, none of the existing ones worked the same way as a console until these discoveries, giving us forks of emulators such as Dabomstew's Gambatte-Speedrun, in addition to updates to BGB.
Generation IV research has undergone startling advancements this past year.
Not only did GCL's Cryo discover a way to finally obtain the Hall of Origin Arceus via the void glitch, but the aptly-named RETIRE also found a way to change the location Arceus is located! If you've ever felt like the real place Sinnoh was birthed was the Veilstone Department Store or the Hearthome Contest Hall, as we all have at some point or another, watch this.
Various other discoveries by these two can be found in the forums' Generation IV section. The RETIRE trick itself is a central part of many of these new exploits.
Saving the best for last, it turns out tweaking itself has been obsoleted, thanks to RETIRE's Union Room Wrongwarp! The thread and video explain it best; go check them out! Navigating through Sinnoh has never been easier.
Speaking of which, did you think Generation I had the only games where you could change tiles at will to trigger whichever event you wanted? That's not quite correct anymore.
Returning to work done by the GCL crew, Torchickens has been working on a brand new MetascriptDex, which seeks to point out highlights within the countless sets of instructions the Generation I games run through meta-map script activation, those being parent scripts for each map in Kanto. To get a clearer idea of what that all means, have a look at any of the contents (the aforementioned Viridian Forest exploit is among them.)
Thanks to the tremendous efforts of coloradohugge and Torchickens, we now have expanded the GlitchDex to include species from games in regions overseas! (Psst: This includes the leaked Gold and Silver demos!)
Finally, massive thanks to everyone involved with making these discoveries and explaining them to the public. We understand the GCL Wiki has much to catch up on as PSR continues chugging along, and have been internally discussing what to do about the heavily-outdated layout and article organization. Rest assured, glitchology itself is still alive and kicking. Whether we know you or not, any contributions to the wiki are both appreciated and encouraged!