FAQ

• What emulator should I use?
  I recommend melonDS. Desmume and Drastic on Android also work well.
• Can I play the game on hardware?
  I don't know and have no way of testing.
• Is Hardlove Gold built with Emerald-Expansion or CFRU?
  No. It is built with hg-engine.
• Is Hardlove Gold harder than Null or Run&Bun or Platinum Kaizo?
  I don't think it's harder overall. However, the endgame is more unfair than Run&Bun's.
• Is Hardlove Gold just Run&Bun in Gen4?
  It definitely leans in that direction, but hopefully, it brings something novel to the table and mixes things up enough to stand on its own.
• Why did Run&Bun heavily influence the making of Hardlove?
  In my opinion, Run&Bun created an entirely new genre of difficulty hacks with the balancing, restrictions, and mechanics it introduced. I really liked them. Kudos to the creator.
• Does Dekzeh know you "stole" so much from Run&Bun?
  No. I reached out to him, but never got an answer.
• [insert name] is also in Platinum Kaizo. Did you copy it from there?
  No. I have had no prior knowledge about Platinum Kaizo before the release. I don't know the creators either. Furthermore the entire time my repo and commits were public.
• Who created the AI for Hardlove Gold?
  I did. I wrote it from scratch with some help from the Run&Bun's specs document. I also asked Rain and Terra for their opinions on certain topics.
• Does the AI cheat or read player inputs?
  No.
• Why does the AI calc switch-in scores against both Pokémons in double battles?
  By doing this, the AI plays very aggressive or tries to attempts to pivot into more stable positions, before sending out frail sweepers later in the fight.
• Why did the AI do [insert name] in situation [insert description]?
  I have no idea. I would need a save file to debug or see the debug output from that situation.
• Sometimes the fights seem unfair and unbalanced?
  Yes.
• Why do I have to fight every trainer? Why are so many rng moments?
  I see Pokémon as a gigantic slot machine. Enough unfair and rng moments to widdle down the players team and box, so that the boss fights finish you off.
• Why do Pokémon [insert name] does not have [insert name]?
  With the current state of hg-engine there are still a few unimplemented moves, abilities and mechanics.
• Do I have to play it as a Nuzlocke?
  No. Although the game is optimized for nuzlocking, you are welcome to play it however you want.
• The game is too hard for me. How can I play it anyways?
  There is a built-in easy mode you can choose at the start within Mom's dialogue. (I appreciate any feedback on this to create a more casual playthrough.)
• I got a Rayquaza. Was this intended?
  No. This was built for me to speed run the game for debugging a certain situation. I never removed it.
• Why is the rest of Kanto missing from the game?
  I want the adventure to take place mainly in Johto. Including Kanto would have made the game bloated and way too long.
• Did you beat Run&Bun/[insert name] as Nuzlocke?
  No. I am terrible at playing Pokémon.
• Is Pokémon [insert name] in the game?
  There is a comprehensive list of unobtainable Pokémon in the encounter documentation.
• Why is Pokémon [insert name] not obtainable?
  Simply because I chose to do so.
• Why are so few Gen 9 Pokémon obtainable?
  I don't like them that much.
• Which Pokémons are changed or buffed?
  There are no type or stat changes. A few Pokémons have had their ability changed for balancing purposes.
• Does the game has custom maps?
  No, only minor functional changes to a few maps.
• Some Pokémons show up as Bulbasaur in battle?
  This is the fallback sprite in hg-engine if a specific Pokémon's one is not yet finished. It is just a placeholder for the sprite.
• How long did it take to make the game?
  It took roughly 3 years, although most of time was spent modernizing hg-engine.
• How did you manage to work so long on one thing?
  I spent almost 10 years working in software engineering. I have sat through countless of unecessary meetings, warned managers about stupid decisions, watched those warnings get ignored, and then being tasked to fix the exact problems I warned them about. This builds frustration tolerance. (But hey, it was fun too, sometimes.)
• Who helped you built the game?
  The core development team consists of exactly me and my cat. A few awesome individuals helped out with minor map edits, playtesting, or team balancing. I also owe a massive thank you to the many contributors of hg-engine! If you want to help or provide feedback going forward, I highly appreciate it.
• How do I reach out to you for helping?
  Just join the Hardlove Gold Discord.
• I want to make a game like this. How do I start?
  Learn to programm (a bit). Seriously. Hg-engine is not beginner friendly compared to Gen 3 hacking tools. That said, Gen 4 also has some easier hacking tools that require less coding skills.
• I encountered a bug. How do I report it?
  Ideally you open a thread on my the Hardlove Gold discord. General battle engine bugs can also be reported on the hg-engine github repo.
• What does the cat actually contribute to development?
  I don't have a cat. (It is a joke.)
• Do you stream your playthroughs?
  No, I am not a streamer.
• Are you planning to build more rom hacks?
  No.
• Should I know anything else before I start playing?
  Just dive in and consult the documentation if you need to. Enjoy!