Tweaking: Difference between revisions

[[File:Tweaking Glitch.png|thumb|right|An example of a successful tweak.]]

'''Tweaking''' is a [[glitch]] exclusive to the [[core series]] [[Generation IV]] games that causes the game to improperly load the graphics of an area. It is also sometimes referred to as '''holepunching''' to commemorate its discoverer, a GameSpot forums member by the username of "Holepunch".

While tweaking using the bicycle in the fourth gear is the most common method to perform tweaking, the same effects can also occur using only the third gear, although its applications are not as versatile. It is even possible for some limited effects to occur simply by running (as well as {{m|Surf}}ing in {{v2|Platinum}}, which is at the same speed), mainly invisible walls and Z-axis changing rather than more drastic changes.

"42121" (fast bike): Nicknamed a "shortzorch", this has the same effect as a zorch.

Depending on the layout of a section, it may be possible to tweak in such a way so as to load a walkable area (either black or visible) onto a section that does not normally contain walkable surfaces. This allows for a number of shortcuts, such as skipping [[Tohjo Falls]] and therefore {{HM|07|Waterfall}} in {{game|HeartGold and SoulSilver|s}} by loading a walkable area onto the section where the [[ledge]] on [[Route 27]] would normally be. In sections containing buildings that are blocked off by NPCs, it is possible to enter them by tweaking a Z-axis change, allowing the player to walk under or over the tile the NPC would normally occupy. Two examples of minor shortcuts or sequence breaks using this method include obtaining access to [[Mystery Gift]] in {{game2|Diamond|Pearl|Platinum}} before the first badge by bypassing the clown blocking the [[Jubilife TV]] front door, and completing [[Azalea Gym]] before [[Slowpoke Well]] by bypassing the [[Team Rocket]] Grunt in front of the Gym (though this by itself does not allow Slowpoke Well or Rocket Executive [[Proton]] to be skipped entirely, since the game does not trigger the {{p|Farfetch'd}} event that gives the player {{HM|01|Cut}} unless Proton has been defeated).

The '''void glitch''' is a specific application of the tweaking glitch only useful in {{game|Diamond and Pearl|s}}. First, the player must tweak a black area onto a section that would normally contain buildings, making it possible to walk through their improperly loaded walls. Then, by standing exactly one tile above the entrance to a building, reloading the area, and walking south, the player can end up on the interior map of the building, but in the black [[void]] area around the normally accessible portion, similar to the [[Surf glitch]]. As with the Surf glitch, it is then possible to navigate through the interconnecting area of this void to normally inaccessible locations, such as [[Newmoon Island]] and the [[Flower Paradise]] where the [[event]]-exclusive {{p|Darkrai}} and {{p|Shaymin}} reside.

Traveling a multiple of 65,536 steps in the void will cause the game to no longer display only black, but rather start copying the map data of normal areas due to an overflow{{fact}} after attempting to load data past {{wp|4294967295#In_computing|4,294,967,296}} bytes (each map tile takes up 65,536 bytes). Only the visual data is loaded like this; almost everything can still be walked through just as in the rest of the void. These areas are nicknamed "Fake Sinnoh"{{sup/4|DPP}} or "Fake Johto/Kanto"{{sup/4|HGSS}}. 'Fake' regions continue to repeat every 65,536 steps and are about an hour apart when traveling on the Bicycle in fast gear.

As part of the paths to access Darkrai and Shaymin, the player is required to save the game in the void, so the same risks associated with the [[Surf glitch]] occur here, such as becoming trapped without a method of escape. It is also possible for more serious corruption-related effects to occur. In the worst possible circumstance, the game may always immediately freeze upon loading the save file, forcing a new game to be started.

Other areas known to be accessible through this glitch include the [[Hall of Fame]], {{p|Giratina}}'s room in Turnback Cave, and [[Route 227]]. As the void glitch simply requires a [[Bicycle]] and the [[Explorer Kit]] to perform, all of these areas can be reached as early as the game's second [[Badge]].

After the discovery of the Darkrai and Shaymin paths, it was believed (though not conclusively proven) that the [[Hall of Origin]] was inaccessible through this glitch, as it is a closed-off indoor area without a single accessible entry warp, thereby making it almost impossible to safely locate in the void compared to outdoor areas and indoor areas with many warps such as [[Turnback Cave]]. It was also known that, unlike Newmoon Island and Flower Paradise, simply finding the Hall of Origin would not allow the player to battle {{p|Arceus}}, due to a set of reasons involving map scripts as detailed [[Hall of Origin#Trivia|here]]. Due to the combination of these two factors, it was believed impossible to catch Arceus through the void glitch for several years. A method to find the Hall of Origin was not discovered until January 2017, by relying on relatively extensive methods to be able to dynamically control the layout of areas in the void<ref>http://forums.glitchcity.info/index.php?topic=7770.0</ref>. The [[Pal Park Retire glitch]] was documented soon afterward, allowing the player to manually activate the script that causes the player to challenge Arceus, finally enabling Arceus to be caught. The currently documented method to catch Arceus involves reaching the Hall of Origin map while still in the void; there is currently no documented way to see the full, visible Hall of Origin (the way it appears after using the Azure Flute).

In {{game|Platinum}}, {{game|HeartGold and SoulSilver|s|HeartGold, and SoulSilver}}, the void is filled with invisible walls that will trap the player if they go more than a few steps into the void, making it no longer legitimately<!-- definition: no external devices --> possible to navigate through its areas, though the void itself is still possible to enter. Currently the only known way to bypass these invisible walls and proceed through the void is with a "walk through walls" [[cheat]] code. As a corollary, a "walk through walls" cheat code is the only way to see "Fake Sinnoh" in Platinum, and "Fake Kanto/Johto" at all (in HeartGold and SoulSilver). In addition, in Platinum, Darkrai, Shaymin, and Arceus will not appear in their respective areas unless the player has obtained the proper [[event item]].

** [http://forums.glitchcity.info/index.php/topic,7198.0.html GCLF thread]