76 replies to this topic

[Laprabi]

The Legend of Zelda:
The Tower of Dawn

Well, after watching a video tutorial on Zelda Classic and how to use ZQuest, I was inspired to make my own one. I first tried just making stuff up as I went along, just to get a general idea of how to use the program. I went through a few projects until I started planning this one, which will be my first custom quest that's meant to be played.

I am using a very old version of Zelda Classic for this quest, more specifically, 1.92b183, which is very outdated, I know. But I'm not switching to a newer version until I've gotten a general feel for good ways to plan quests out. Seeing as this is only my first quest, I don't plan to insert scripts or custom bosses or anything (other than the fact that I don't know how to script), so I feel that 192b183 is fine. I'll be using 2.5 or 2.10 for any future quests I make.

Scratch that, I've recently updated to 2.10 because my new laptop can't run 1.92b183.

Well anyway, my first quest is entitled Legend of Zelda - The Tower of Dawn, which is a blatant reference (I'll leave you to figure that one out).

Here are a few screenshots of the game:







Notes:

- I am aiming to give each level a specific gimmick, which I think will make the quest unique, especially for a first quest.
- There is one level with a gimmick that I have never seen before, so I hope it's original. When you do the level, you will see it.
- I've only planned just past Level 2 at this point.
- The game has eight areas in one overworld DMap. These are the Eastern Mountains, the Desert, the Marsh/Lakes, the Forest, the Beach, the Northern Plains, the Southern Plains and the Western Mountains.
- In each of these areas there will be one Dungeon, except in the Western Mountains, where there are two. I have planned that you need certain items to get to certain parts of the game, like the boots to get to the desert and the raft to get to the marsh/lakes, etc.
- I am planning for there to be three complete rows of Heart Containers (which makes 24, I think). This means that there are 4 Heart Pieces in each level, with a Heart Container for the boss. This also means that there will be 20 Heart Pieces in the overworld, but I'm not sure how to scatter them yet.
- I'm not sure whether to implement the upgraded items (Gold Ring, Master Sword, Golden Arrows, etc), so could anyone help me on that if possible? Also, how much does the Gold ring reduce health by?
- If I do decide to implement these (somewhat game-breaking) items, they will probably be optional or really well hidden.
- I probably will implement cheats, but I need to figure out what the passwords should be first. I also need to figure out if I should put the cheats somewhere in the quest. Maybe in hidden rooms or something.

So far, the quest is nowhere near finished. I still have a lot to plan out and a lot to make. So what do you think so far? Am I doing well for someone who's never made a quest before, or do I need to uninstall Zelda Classic and never come back to this website again?


Side Note: Does anyone know where I can get one of those awesome looking support bars?

Progress:

- Overworld: 80%
- Level 1: 100%
- Level 2: 100%
- Level 3: 100%
- Level 4: 100%
- Level 5: 100%
- Level 6: 100%
- Level 7: 98%
- Level 8: 1%
- Level 9: 1%


EDIT: Changed the screenshots to .png.
EDIT2: Added title screen.
EDIT3: Percentages changed. Added screenshots.
EDIT4: Updated percentages.

EDIT5: OH MY GOD WOW IT WORKS. Gonna redesign Level 2 I'm unhappy with how it turned out. Level 7 looks amazing though it's just a matter of testing it. Computers are painful, plus massive bug testing will be required because I have now updated the quest using the 2.5 editor (no idea if there's a newer one out yet) but my game doesn't crash when I bring up the item menu anymore at the very least.

Edited by Laprabi, 27 January 2015 - 12:22 PM.

[Sheik]

Ah, right the quest. Well, yeah, I already told you in chat, I think it's a pretty solid project. It looks kinda oldschool with the default BS set and the 1.9/2.10ish layout of the screens, but it's your first quest, so I can't really complain. I'm looking forward to see progress on this one, good luck!

[Laprabi]

Cheers. I'll update as I get ideas, although I'll post the more daring ones here to see what people think. Or something.

[4matsy]

- I am planning for there to be three complete rows of Heart Containers (which makes 24, I think). This means that there are 4 Heart Pieces in each level, with a Heart Container for the boss. This also means that there will be 20 Heart Pieces in the overworld, but I'm not sure how to scatter them yet.
- I'm not sure whether to implement the upgraded items (Gold Ring, Master Sword, Golden Arrows, etc), so could anyone help me on that if possible? Also, how much does the Gold ring reduce health by?
- If I do decide to implement these (somewhat game-breaking) items, they will probably be optional or really well hidden.

For these two points (powerful items and 24 hearts), I'd say pick one or the other.

The gold ring reduces damage by 7/8, so even with only 16 hearts it'd be game-breaking (you'd probably never need another potion). The master sword does twice the damage of the magic sword (so 8 times the wooden sword), and the gold arrow does the same amount of damage as the master sword AND rips through every enemy that isn't armored.

Having just one of these three items makes you a bit overpowered. If you combine all three, you're pretty much invincible. They really do break the game, so yes, make them REALLY well hidden if you decide to include them.

[Laprabi]

^Thanks for clearing that up. I'll probably only include the Master Sword if I decide to. I'll have to hide the Gold Ring at the end of some really hard mini-dungeon or something.

EDIT: Or I could just include the Gold Ring with 24 Hearts and fill the last dungeon with Cracktorocs, Death Knights, Mirror Robes and 20 Headed Gleeoks.

Edited by Laprabi, 15 October 2010 - 04:45 PM.

[Laprabi]

Just a little update:



Notice any difference?


Apart from creating custom dungeon maps, I changed the layout of Level 1 a bit. I added the custom maps because otherwise it's not clear what level you are in, due to the levels having names and not numbers. At least it gives my first quest a feeling of originality, although I'm obviously not the first person to have ever done this.

EDIT: I also changed the MIDI of the first dungeon.

Edited by Laprabi, 16 October 2010 - 03:03 PM.

[CitricPenguin]

Simple note on the powerful items!

You can have all 3 in the game just make them END-GAME items. After you defeat the final boss you can make a door/rock/waterfall/WHATEVER open up and have a message string at the end tell you about it and there you can have one of the many items you can get!

Simple note on the powerful items!

You can have all 3 in the game just make them END-GAME items. After you defeat the final boss you can make a door/rock/waterfall/WHATEVER open up and have a message string at the end tell you about it and there you can have one of the many items you can get!

Sorry for quoting myself I have a bit more to add. Even though they are end game items you can add a 2nd quest in your quest where you can unlock them later if you finish the 2nd and make a 3rd quest to unlock the final "uber items." Or you can make you character start out with one of them in the next quest and make the next quest harder.

These are just ideas off the top of my head and are not neccasary (spelt that wrong) but if you want them in your quest and you want your quest to have GREAT replayablility then I would usggest this!

EDIT: Sorry about the double post didn't knwo you could edit your old posts! happpy hunting!

Edited by CitricPenguin, 17 October 2010 - 12:43 PM.

[Laprabi]

Thanks for the input. Anyway, I spent the last few days making some custom graphics for my quest. Here are some screenshots of them (in ZQuest):





Yeah, I had to do them in ZQuest because I'm planning to use these graphics in dungeons that I haven't made yet. The second screenshot is on a planned screen, showcasing the graphics. I'm also editing the where the doors are.

EDIT: Also, I'll probably have an area in Level 9 where you get to pick one of the three items. Or maybe a shop where each item is 999 Rupees. I don't even know yet.

Edited by Laprabi, 18 October 2010 - 05:00 PM.

[Laprabi]

Bumping with a few updates:

~ Made some updates to Level 1 to make it more interesting. Also 'borrowed' some MIDIs from other quests to use.
~ I got permission to use an idea, so I will be implementing it later.
~ I've planned out Level 3, some of Level 4 and expanded the overworld.
~ I also have plans that allow you to do Level 4 and 5 in any order, as I'm planning for both of the items you get in the levels to be required to reach Level 6.


I've also just discovered the hard way that Trigger Perm combos are only permanent on Overworld DMaps, which would require using an entirely separate DMap if I wanted to implement one into a dungeon, which is a pain.

[Laprabi]

Bumping with the last bump post I can make.

~ Added a title screen to the game.

[octorok]

This looks pretty awesome, I'd love to see some more screenshots!!

[Koh]

The only thing I can suggest is to ALWAYS close the corners of the screen, but other than that, good luck!

[Laprabi]

^With the title screen, right? Or just generally? Either way, I'm currently redesigning the title screen just to see what people think.

[Koh]

Any screen. Doesn't have to be the title screen, but when you have open corners, it basically implies the room/overworld is bigger than what it is, and that there might be Screen Following going on, but it's just a turn off when you get over to the corner xD. It also helps prevent collision issues .

[Jared]

Ooh, very nice so far!
Can't wait to see more