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Released Pokémon Birdcall

This project has a release available. The full version is still a work in progress.
Project Status
Released
Project Version
1.1
Professor Finch needs you to help him investigate the open world around his lab, find some powerful birds, and collect their special feathers!
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If you have the latest version, the titlescreen should say Version 1.1 at the bottom.
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This game was originally made for the Relic Castle game jam #4, and was spotlighted by the community with its' own badge! Thanks everyone!
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→Download the game here!←

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Plot and Features:
As a pro Birdkeeper, you have been hired by Professor Finch to help him investigate some bird business. From his lab you need to head out in each direction to find some special birds and collect their feathers! In this game you can expect to find:

›Birds!
›Choose your starter from a pool of options that include different movesets and abilities!
›Hidden/Bonus starter choices!
›Soft resetting for that shiny starter? See it instantly when you start the game!

›So many boss battles
›Fight Boss Birds to unlock the paths to secret boss battles in other areas!
›You can beat the bosses, but they're all able to be captured if you want to challenge yourself!
›Fight those bosses in any order you choose, because this game is open world!
›Find Mini/Optional Bosses!

›What else is in this game?
›Field moves that aren't tied to learning specific HM moves!
›But if you like moves there's tons of TMs to customize your team!
›More characters appear as you play! That means more trainers with stronger Pokemon!
›Optional sidequests!
›Hidden items everywhere


MCJpzzd.png

Frequently Asked Questions:
Q:
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How do I get the Birdcall Badge?
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A:
Check out the thread about all Relic Castle badges! Basically, if you've played Birdcall enough to have both the Clear Bell and the Tidal Bell, then you can send your save file to a Relic Castle staff member as proof to get the badge! (I can't give badges, please message Relic Castle staff about any questions)

Q: Why won't my emulator run this game? What emulator do I need?
A:
This isn't a hacked game. It's made with RMXP, so no emulator needed!

Q: Can I play this on mobile?
A:
There has been some success playing with JoiPlay, but I haven't tested it myself. There might be some issues...

Q: How do I use the Clear Bell and Tidal Bell?
A:
The Bells were included to mark the halfway and finishing points of the game, and we meant to use them in the postgame. However at the time of writing there's no postgame update, so for now the Bells just hang out in your bag as your proof of completion!

Q: Why do I have to play as [x] character? How do I get the other ones?
A:
The player character's appearance is chosen randomly when starting up! They all play the same and don't have any assigned pronouns/gender/race used by the game. If you prefer a certain one of the four options feel free to soft reset a couple times before starting a save file.

Q: What's going on with the starters?
A:
There's multiple of each species because each one has a chance to be shiny, have an egg move,a hidden ability, or something like that. If you check them out there should be some flavor text to give you a hint. And yes, their stat/movepools have been adjusted a bit for this game. Doduo, Pigey, and Spearrow aren't the only starters though!

Q: What's the shiny chance in this game?
A:
Higher than usual! Starters' chance of being shiny is calculated differently.

Q: Where do I go? What order should I go to each area?
A:
I recommend picking any direction to start, completing that area, and then moving clockwise to the next area. Then you'll get to use your new ability right away...but there's no wrong way to play this open world game! You might enjoy visiting the lab between areas instead of waiting for the end though, the Professor gets really wordy if you save all your feather reports for once.

Q: I'm stuck! How do I use the static Feather?
A:
This answer is a direct spoiler since this is one the more obscure uses of a feather. Sorry for not making it clear enough!
So, you're looking for the true/secret boss in the Quarry, and can't figure out how to use the Static Feather? Just go to the area outside where several workers are standing around one of the drilling machines! (Yes this involves going through the caves and doing an ice puzzle before coming out) Check out their machine from the back/bottom side

Q: What are the cheat codes, the easter eggs, the secret names?
A:
There are a few names that you can give your player character and affect this game. You may have accidentally discovered one of these names and gotten an extra starter or item because I added a bunch of presents for my friends! Anyway, I'll officially reveal some names that act as cheat codes!
Name your character:
  • Hilbert, Nate, Hilda, or Rosa = The main bosses are all changed to different Pokémon
  • Barry, Dawn, or Lucas = The mini/optional bosses are all changed to different Pokémon
  • Lyra, Ethan, or Kris = The true/secret bosses are all changed to different Pokémon
  • Candela, Spark, or Blanche = Get this character's respective legendary bird as a starter, and applies the all the boss changes of the names above
  • Ash, Ethi, Relic, or Voltsy = Start the game with a special bonus Pokémon
  • Good Egg = Start the game with a bonus random egg
  • x = Start the game with a bunch of x items
  • GALMI = Start the game with a party and items more appropriate for GALMI (Yes this is probably overpowered and dumb, it's not too serious but I stole Birdcall's idea from them so they deserve all the shoutouts)


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Changelogs and Credits:

#===============================================================================
Version 1.1 (August 22nd 2018)
#===============================================================================
Made shortcuts more obvious and accessible
Deployed the Feather Scouts
Added a couple extra items laying around
Fixed Pokémon that should have been Fairy type lacking the type and various moves
Fixed a bug where a certain Pokémon would scramble other Pokémon's movesets after encountering it
Fixed a bug where an NPC cared about her missing Pokémon a little too much
Fixed a couple sprites
Tweaked various NPCs and objects in the lab
Tweaked levels of wild Pokémon and various bosses
Tweaked a couple of trainers
Empowered the Mime
#===============================================================================
Version 1 Patch 1 (August 11th 2018)
#===============================================================================
Fixed a door in the factory that was trapping people in the wall
Called Tom a nerd
Changed how steam works. All the steam can be interacted with now, and when cooled it disappears completely
Changed the reward for checking all the birdhouses because that item was already available somewhere
Changed the descriptions of the bells to be more fitting
Added descriptor text to a couple of things that didn't have any
Fixed the girl worried about her lost Pokémon
Kicked the itemfinder a couple times until it started reading properly
Gave it to x
#===============================================================================
Project Credits
#===============================================================================
Aki
Deo
Nuclear Omega
Atomic Reactor

#===============================================================================
Pokemon Essentials starter kit
#===============================================================================
Flameguru
Poccil
Maruno

#===============================================================================
Scripts
#===============================================================================
Simple HUD Optimized - by FL

#===============================================================================
Audio
#===============================================================================
Gen 3 Sound Effects Replacement Pack - by Deo, iteachvader

#===============================================================================
Graphics
#===============================================================================
Better Unova backsprites (Gen 4 style)
Dreadwing93
========================
Gen VI Overworlds
========================

-princess-pheonix
-LunarDusk

-Formatted by Sparta
========================
GenI-V Overworlds
========================

-Neo-Spriteman
-MissingLukey
-help-14
-Kymoyonian
-cSc-A7X
-2and2makes5
-Pokegirl4ever
-Fernandojl
-Silver-Skies
-TyranitarDark
-Getsuei-H
-Kid1513
-Milomilotic11
-Kyt666
-kdiamo11
-Chocosrawlooid
-Syledude
-Gallanty
-Gizamimi-Pichu
-Zyon17
 
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Involuntary Twitch

Pixel Artist & Writer
Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2017
Posts
28
You're looking in the right place for Regice, but just like with the other two Regis, there's a feather that will give you access. Warm Feather for Registeel, Cool Feather for Regirock...so something the Static Feather would work on. :3c

The Clear Bell doesn't unlock anything, at least not yet! If/when we get the chance to work on another big release I would add in some "postgame" bell content.

I caught Zapdos and got his feather already, but the pathway's still not opening. Maybe I'm just clueless?

And ah well, I was hoping for a battle versus Ho-Oh and/or Lugia but I suppose not, this is a jam game after all. Still, it really would be nice for one final send-off to test your strength.
 
I caught Zapdos and got his feather already, but the pathway's still not opening. Maybe I'm just clueless?

Okay don't look in the spoiler unless you really wanna know! :3c

Okay so you know where the crack is in the Quarry. There's actually not a pokemon, move, or even item in your bag that can affect that crack! What the Static Feather will work on though is a big machine like those automatic drills. If you check out the backside the drill should power up and break through that cracked wall!
 

Iron_Rx

Novice
Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2017
Posts
32
I'm done too!

I'm a naturalist in real life and I thought this was a clever game, A+.

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Shiny Murkrow sadly did not survive.
 
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Okay, it's time for me to come clean.
I deceived you all; Birdcall isn't really just a cute game about feeding and befriending birds. I've updated the description in the main post but here it is as a bump post:​

Actual features in this game include
›So many boss battles
›Fight Boss Birds to unlock the paths to secret boss battles in other areas!
›You can beat the bosses, but they're all able to be captured if you want to challenge yourself!
›Fight those bosses in any order you choose, because this game is open world!
›Find Mini/Optional Bosses!

›And of course we've still got birds!
›Choose your starter from a pool of options that include different movesets and abilities!
›Hidden/Bonus starter choices!
›Soft resetting for that shiny starter? See it instantly when you start the game!

›What else is in this game?
›Field moves that aren't tied to learning specific HM moves!
›But if you like moves there's tons of TMs to customize your team!
›More characters appear as you play! That means more trainers with stronger Pokemon!
›Optional sidequests!
›Hidden items everywhere

Now if you've played already, thank you thank you! I hope you enjoyed discovering all the secrets for yourself! n_n
 

McDudely

Rookie
Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2017
Posts
1
Really fun game! They are not kidding about having items everywhere and while it only took like 4 ingame hours to complete for me it took way longer to capture all the bosses with resets. I limited myself to a bird exclusive team because there are A LOT of OPTIONS. Probably going to replay because of that.
The free move tutor, infinite rematch chansey, and the assortment of TMs makes customizing your team easy and satisfying. The trainers are always a little low level for me but the challenge laid in capturing the bosses and I love stall teams. It meant my sweepers went kind of unloved but in a more trainer battle focused situation the defensive ones would have been in their position so I think it's fine considering one has to be favored. I haven't played many capture oriented games instead of trainer battle oriented ones, so it was a nice change in formula for me.
It made exploring and revisiting areas rewarding and interesting with useful hidden items like every screen. You don't get a lot of strong healing items from what I saw but you find hyper potions around and budgeting that is a fun angle to play with especially given the infinite money from rematches. I liked the trainer dialogues (the workers around the machine freaking out after you use the static feather in particular).
There are a lot of pokemon but these ones are mine:
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And the boxed pokemon, including Lup the Mandibuzz and honorable mention who did not make the team. Don't @ me about nicknames I have reasons for all of them and none of them are good. I caught 3 "fateful encounters" in each area (and the trubbish and, thanks to deo, the mime) and grouped them accordingly. I think that's everyone?
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This guy was weird for some reason. I don't know why he has that moveset or pokerus? Pokerus could just be a fluke but the moves definitely aren't. Then I caught Moltres later in the same session and it also had these moves with no pokerus. I closed the game for unrelated reasons and when I caught my next poke it didn't have any issues. Don't know what happened and it didn't ruin anything since I have the move tutor if I wanted to fix him.
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Hey guess what!? We've got a new version of Pokémon Birdcall ready for release. Wow!

This release still doesn't contain the post game content we'd like to include at some point, but it does have various bug fixes, tweaks, and some new NPCs. Take a look for yourself!

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#===============================================================================
Version 1.1 (August 22nd 2018)
#===============================================================================
>Made shortcuts more obvious and accessible
>Deployed the Feather Scouts
>Added a couple extra items laying around
>Fixed Pokémon that should have been Fairy type lacking the type and various moves
>Fixed a bug where a certain Pokémon would scramble other Pokémon's movesets after encountering it
>Fixed a bug where an NPC cared about her missing Pokémon a little too much
>Fixed a couple sprites
>Tweaked various NPCs and objects in the lab
>Tweaked levels of wild Pokémon and various bosses
>Tweaked a couple of trainers
>Empowered the Mime

Go grab the download off the first post in the thread! Enjoy!
 

PhantomTheEevee

Member of the Aether Foundation
Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Posts
105
I guess I found a Bug today.
After either defeating or catching Articuno and turning to Prof. Finch to collect the reward for the Cool Feather (right after he says that he'll send in Rangers to the Quarry) the Game freezes if trying to talk to the Professor again. I sadly cannot add a screenshot as I've saved already after he finished talking as I've lost a bit of progress due to that.

Apart from that, I'm absolutely enjoying to search for loot with the Item Finder. :>
 
Last edited:
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-snip-

Apart from that, I'm absolutely enjoying to search for loot with the Item Finder. :>
Thanks for the report, sorry that happened to you! We'll definitely look into it.

And glad you found that enjoyable! I figured if we're going to include hidden items, we should probably add an Itemfinder. And if we're adding an Itemfinder, we should make sure there's lots of hidden items. What a slippery slope that was!
 
I think with Voltsy playing more people have become aware of this, or you might have seen a hint on Twitter...One of the discoveries you can make in Birdcall is by trying out different names for your player character. You'll know you've done it correctly because Professor Finch adds on extra dialogue just before letting you choose a starter.

What names, what happens?​
Well obviously there's names like 'Voltsy' that give out a gift, you'll actually find a number of familiar names on that list like 'Ethi'
There's silly ones like that name I mentioned in my first post about Birdcall
And there's some more serious names that will change the game enough that I hope you'll replay just to try a couple.
I don't wanna give them all away, but a fave of mine I'll mention is a name to get a special egg starter. If you're not a fan of the six birds to choose from, or just like the excitement of a more randomized starter, try 'Good Egg'
 

PhantomTheEevee

Member of the Aether Foundation
Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2018
Posts
105
Lots of Hidden Items are best, I mean - What's the use of an Item Finder if there's barely anything to find? :>

Got another Bug to share, this one doesn't freeze nor breaks the Game though - it more like does nothing than displaying an error message on screen (copied it down below). I figured it always occurs when either me or a foe tries to use Knock Off, it doesn't matter whether it's in a battle against a Trainer or a wild Pokemon, the move triggers the error message, skips the user's turn and then continues as if nothing happened.
[Pokémon Essentials version 17.2]
Exception: Errno::ENOENT
Message: File Data/formspecies.dat not found.
MiscData:171:in `initialize'
MiscData:171:in `open'
MiscData:171:in `pbLoadFormsData'
Pokemon_MegaEvolution:7:in `getMegaForm'
PokeBattle_Battle:450:in `pbIsUnlosableItem'
PokeBattle_MoveEffects:6644:in `pbModifyDamage'
PokeBattle_Move:1139:in `pbCalcDamage'
PokeBattle_Move:1267:in `pbEffect'
PokeBattle_Battler:2730:in `pbProcessMoveAgainstTarget'
PokeBattle_Battler:2686:in `each'
[Pokémon Essentials version 17.2]
Exception: Errno::ENOENT
Message: File Data/formspecies.dat not found.
MiscData:171:in `initialize'
MiscData:171:in `open'
MiscData:171:in `pbLoadFormsData'
Pokemon_MegaEvolution:7:in `getMegaForm'
PokeBattle_Battle:450:in `pbIsUnlosableItem'
PokeBattle_MoveEffects:6644:in `pbModifyDamage'
PokeBattle_Move:1139:in `pbCalcDamage'
PokeBattle_Move:1267:in `pbEffect'
PokeBattle_Battler:2730:in `pbProcessMoveAgainstTarget'
PokeBattle_Battler:2686:in `each'
[Pokémon Essentials version 17.2]
Exception: Errno::ENOENT
Message: File Data/formspecies.dat not found.
MiscData:171:in `initialize'
MiscData:171:in `open'
MiscData:171:in `pbLoadFormsData'
Pokemon_MegaEvolution:7:in `getMegaForm'
PokeBattle_Battle:450:in `pbIsUnlosableItem'
PokeBattle_MoveEffects:6644:in `pbModifyDamage'
PokeBattle_Move:1139:in `pbCalcDamage'
PokeBattle_Move:1267:in `pbEffect'
PokeBattle_Battler:2730:in `pbProcessMoveAgainstTarget'
PokeBattle_Battler:2686:in `each'
[Pokémon Essentials version 17.2]
Exception: Errno::ENOENT
Message: File Data/formspecies.dat not found.
MiscData:171:in `initialize'
MiscData:171:in `open'
MiscData:171:in `pbLoadFormsData'
Pokemon_MegaEvolution:7:in `getMegaForm'
PokeBattle_Battle:450:in `pbIsUnlosableItem'
PokeBattle_MoveEffects:6644:in `pbModifyDamage'
PokeBattle_Move:1139:in `pbCalcDamage'
PokeBattle_Move:1267:in `pbEffect'
PokeBattle_Battler:2730:in `pbProcessMoveAgainstTarget'
PokeBattle_Battler:2686:in `each'

Finished the Game today as well, and I'm definitely looking up for some post-game content! I didn't end up catching all the Bosses and Mid-Bosses, partly due to them fainting my team before succeeding on it, partly due to wanting to explore the world more with my shiny starter. <3
tumblr_pdc6zawdiE1vh0d58o3_r1_540.png

This special bird also appeared when placing some Birdseed into a Birdhouse.
tumblr_pdc6zawdiE1vh0d58o4_r1_540.png

I think with Voltsy playing more people have become aware of this, or you might have seen a hint on Twitter...One of the discoveries you can make in Birdcall is by trying out different names for your player character. You'll know you've done it correctly because Professor Finch adds on extradialogue just before letting you choose a starter.
Is there a way to have several Save Files?
 
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Is there a way to have several Save Files?

Huh, I never thought about adding that as a feature but maybe I should... Technically you can have several save files for any Essentials game, since you can move them in and out of folders at will the hard part is keep track since the save is just called "save file" and isn't really attached to it's original game :3c

Thanks for the bug reports! And I love seeing the birds you picked up while playing too, that special bird is such a nice catch!
 

Marina

Cooltrainer
Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2018
Posts
125
wow Aki, has made a new game!
I really like it, I might try to play it these days!
I like the game's name and that you're a birdkeeper in the game.
 
Just a heads up that we're working on v1.2 of Birdcall... and we're looking to finally include the post-game and a bunch of other tweaks and additions. No ETA, but stay tuned!

UR2gT7Y.png


If you've played the game and have any feedback, suggestions, or comments: please send them via DM to either Aki or myself to take into consideration while working on this update! Thanks!
 

Karpy

NinjaFish Legion!
Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2018
Posts
37
so i finished the game again... you mind if i give feedback?
 
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Karpy

NinjaFish Legion!
Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2018
Posts
37
Of course we'd love to hear your feedback!
k thanks! so ill start with the bad stuff then to the good so u dont feel angry by the end.

thing i would ask to change/add:
* when you finish the game, respawn the legendary Pokemon. because you can not catch then due to needing their feathers.
* add female gender.
* add the plume fossil when you beat regirock? cause its a bird pokemon.
* add ho-oh after you beat the regi's and legendary birds for a final boss battle

put offs/things i disliked:
* you cant choose your gender. i really dont like the character and their Mohawk.
* the legendary birds are to op with their STUPID roost move making them full health and they are always 5 lvls higher then your Pokemon.
* level scaling in boss battles
* the ice puzzle to get to articuno is to hard. i gave up and randomly started moving around.

thing i loved:
* being able to get absol at the start of the game.
* move tutor free of charge.
* side quests like the looking for the kid rangers.
* the nurse being a different skin tone.
* being able to battle the nurse.
* getting the only shiny in game

thats all i can think of right now.
 
Thank you Karpy, I really appreciate the feedback! We're still working on the next version of Birdcall, so I'll keep this stuff in mind. n_n

I wanna comment on these two points though:
* when you finish the game, respawn the legendary Pokemon. because you can not catch then due to needing their feathers.
* add female gender.

Feathers are way too important to miss out on, so you'll get that feather you need whether you choose to defeat the birds, or catch them.
And there is a female gender, the character is just randomly chosen when you start up the game. All of them have mohawks though, sorry!
IdJKPYd.png
0klCOe4.png
tJidcs7.png
uX7cdPo.png
 

Karpy

NinjaFish Legion!
Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2018
Posts
37
Thank you Karpy, I really appreciate the feedback! We're still working on the next version of Birdcall, so I'll keep this stuff in mind. n_n

I wanna comment on these two points though:


Feathers are way too important to miss out on, so you'll get that feather you need whether you choose to defeat the birds, or catch them.
And there is a female gender, the character is just randomly chosen when you start up the game. All of them have mohawks though, sorry!
IdJKPYd.png
0klCOe4.png
tJidcs7.png
uX7cdPo.png
oof ok. thanks.
 

Poq

Cooltrainer
Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2018
Posts
113
Finally sat down and played this delightful game. It's a really nice, self‐contained little world - easy to play through, but providing some fun challenges. And (this is crucial), got me to use a team with several pokémon I've NEVER used in a playthrough before.
All in all, I really enjoyed it!
 
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ArcWisel

Rookie
Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2017
Posts
1
I think Shuckle is too OP. I have beaten Articuno,Moltres and Zapdos with only Power Trick &Rock Slide xD.
 
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