205 replies to this topic

[Radien]

TK:

Oh, I'm fine on the visual aspect of it. It's incredibly easy to "cheat" with BS mountains. It's the Roc's Feather part of it that is limited.




So, I think I've finished a first draft of the entire overworld outline map. It was initially made in Excel, as you may have noticed earlier, so the shape of certain landforms is a bit...weird. Just know that it's merely a general idea of the layout. I used a different method to save the file this time, so there are fewer gridlines.

Spoiler warning: if you haven't played Zelda 2: Adventure of Link, this gives away the locations of many of the items and dungeons (which is about the only thing in the game that is spoilable):

http://oi51.tinypic.com/35bgsnq.png

I didn't note the contents of EVERY cave, but whatever. The P-bag and 1-up locations are still marked, because I haven't decided what to replace each of them with. We'll see. Death Mountain and Death Valley ended up surprisingly small, but both maps are rectangular, at least. Consistency is good.

So, what do you think? I am pleased with how quickly this is going. I think I definitely want to try this project.


P.S. - Whoops, forgot to rename the palace on Maze Island. Oh well.

[Twilight Knight]

Looks just right to me. You should definitely stick to that map. I like how you made it too, good overview. Plus, it's quite smart you divide it in individual 8x8 maps, which you connect... Good!

[Sheik]

Looks really good so far. Also, looks like this will work well in ZC. Two thumbs way up!

The P-bag and 1-up locations are still marked, because I haven't decided what to replace each of them with.

How about potions or HCPs?

[Radien]

Looks just right to me. You should definitely stick to that map. I like how you made it too, good overview. Plus, it's quite smart you divide it in individual 8x8 maps, which you connect... Good!

Thanks! I realized pretty quickly that the 16x8 large overworld map would not be useful in this case.

Looks really good so far. Also, looks like this will work well in ZC. Two thumbs way up!

The P-bag and 1-up locations are still marked, because I haven't decided what to replace each of them with.

How about potions or HCPs?

Great, thanks.

And no, I seriously do not like HCPs at all. As for potions, what do you mean? Life-restoring potions? I plan to use the bottle (letter) as a replacement for the Life spell. You'll be able to get free refills in most towns. Hopefully that'll result in roughly the same effect as the Life spell... but it will make it semi-pointless to hide potions on the overworld.

One thing I need to do is count how many P-bag and 1-up locations there are. If there aren't too many, I may have enough quivers, bomb bags, etc. to fill those locations.

Also, since it won't be possible to "level up" your life and magic, I may have more than 4 heart containers and 4 magic containers hidden around. (I know I originally said 10 total, but I forgot that Z2 starts you off with 4 units each; it's the only Zelda game that doesn't start you off with 3 hearts)

[Twilight Knight]

You could also change the graphics of a regeneration potion (blue or red) to those of a life spell and change the graphic of the empty bottle/letter to an transparent tile... Or something like that.

[Radien]

You could also change the graphics of a regeneration potion (blue or red) to those of a life spell and change the graphic of the empty bottle/letter to an transparent tile... Or something like that.

But I do intend to use a magic meter, and at least one actual spell, if not three. If the Life "spell" doesn't use magic, why label it as a spell?

[SpacemanDan]

You can make an actual life spell as opposed to replacing it, if you wanted to. And without scripting too! Basically, make a potion item, but give it a magic cost and uncheck the 'Remove Item When Used'.

I'm not trying to sway you out of using potions, but I did want to offer that in case you were interesting. :3

[Radien]

You can make an actual life spell as opposed to replacing it, if you wanted to. And without scripting too! Basically, make a potion item, but give it a magic cost and uncheck the 'Remove Item When Used'.

I'm not trying to sway you out of using potions, but I did want to offer that in case you were interesting. :3

Shoot, I didn't know that was possible without scripting! Heck, I think I just glanced at a script that accomplishes the same effect. I will look into using the item editor; thank you for the advice.

Although I can see why they decided not to use Life spells in the later games, they are a nice and interesting variation that makes MP more useful (MUCH more useful) in ZC.

[Radien]

Wanted to add a quick note:

Upon listening to the MIDI files for the original Zelda 2, it is becoming apparent to me that I'm going to want a musical director for this project.

Now, I'm not thinking of anything difficult. In fact, I could do a decent job of this myself if it weren't for two obstacles:

1. I don't have a decent MIDI program that I'm familiar with anymore, and
2. despite being enjoyable, it does take time, which would distract me from quest-building.

I'll put a call out later for help with this. But for anyone who catches this post now, basically I'm looking for reinstrumentation of the original tracks at a minimum, and any serious rearrangement beyond that I would treat as a welcome bonus.

[Alestance]

Which songs exactly? I certainly have a few songs available to me that you can use.

Two dungeon themes you could probably add in there(author unknown and Rico respectively):

http://dl.dropbox.co...Temple_midi.mid

http://dl.dropbox.co...45/lastempl.mid

A definite boss theme replacement(author unknown):

http://dl.dropbox.co...45/Z2BOSRMX.mid


And of course this EPIC MEDLEY by JILost:

http://dl.dropbox.co...eFantasyV12.mid

All of them I've found from VGMusic of course, but some of them don't seem to be available anymore.

[Twilight Knight]

I would be ready to attempt rearrangements on those MIDIs. Lately I have experimented more with MIDIs than ever, plus I have learned some composing skills which come in handy. Simple re-instrumentation is easy, but attempting a rearrangement seems like a fine challenge. Only thing is that I would probably want to release the MIDIs to public at some point, but we can discuss that, if you want me to do it. It's actually quite easy to do as there are already MIDIs around which I can take as base instead of having to recompose it entirely (like I'm doing right now for the David Bowie song "Aladdin Sane").

Lemme hear what you think.

[Radien]

Twilight_Knight and Alestance:

Y'know, I like everything that both of you have suggested. I haven't listened to all of those MIDIs you linked, Alestance, but I will try to do so tomorrow.

Basically, I would like to stick mostly to the original Zelda 2 tracks, but having them remixed or arranged would be perfectly fine, especially if it adds depth or lengthens the tracks (since NES tracks tend to be short).

I agree that reinstrumentations are easy (perhaps too easy), while remixes/arrangements are more of a challenge. But I don't really expect to get the whole rearranged soundtrack plopped in my lap just because I requested it... so reinstrumentations are perfectly acceptable, too.

I'm tempted to suggest that you both go ahead and work on parts of it. Would you like that? We could first talk about the style of music to use.


P.S. - Just wanted to give a heads up: if this project proceeds from the planning stages into actual quest creation, I will probably rename this thread. I'll try to make sure it's still recognizable to anyone who has already posted in it.

[Reflectionist]

I'm definitely for it. I played the older Zelda II quest a few years ago as well, and while it was okay, more could've been done for it. I love your interpretation of the first area. The only thing is that it feels a bit small, with the towns being cramped in, but that's such a minor gripe that it's hardly worth mentioning.

Hey, Reflectionist. Haven't seen you for awhile.

-snip-

Definitely love the ideas you have going on here. I can not wait to play this quest. I might even do an LP of it, since I've been looking for something to do an LP of that no one's ever done. This would be perfect for it.

Oh, and I hate magic keys. Quite possibly the most ill-advised Zelda item ever -- they have a tendency to break quests. So either I figure out a way to keep it from breaking the quest, or I give the player a Big Key in its place, and fill level 6 with tons of "boss" doors.

You could do that, and then maybe put the Magic Key in a completely impossible to find place, elsewhere in the game?

---

Also, I'm really, really liking the map. I'm a sucker for maps.

I'll give a shot at some music today, if you'd like.

[Radien]

Definitely love the ideas you have going on here. I can not wait to play this quest. I might even do an LP of it, since I've been looking for something to do an LP of that no one's ever done. This would be perfect for it.

Hey, thanks a lot, your enthusiasm is encouraging. I will continue to work on this!

You could do that, and then maybe put the Magic Key in a completely impossible to find place, elsewhere in the game?

In the original Zelda II, it is necessary to find the Magic Key before you even enter level 6 -- unless you planned on using the Fairy spell EVERY time you encountered a locked door, which would be very difficult. So if I include the Magic/Big Key, it'll only be because it was in the original Zelda II.

Also, I'm really, really liking the map. I'm a sucker for maps.

Maps are fun. Heck, I'm sure most questmakers think they are.

Edit:

Quick update--

This won't reflect the actual quest, but I took some time to create outlines of all the original Z2 dungeons. I want the quest to branch in a manner that is similar to the original game, but I'm essentially adding an additional dimension to the maps, so the actual layout will be quite different in appearance even though the order of events may be similar.

Anyway, here's what I came up with. If any of you find these useful for any purpose, go ahead and feel free to use them. Heck, they might even be handy as a game aid if you're actually playing through Zelda 2...

Levels 1-6 (one image)
Great Palace (separate image)

Anyway, I'll be using these as rough guidelines while creating the remade dungeons.



One other thing I'm going to have to figure out is what to call this remake.


Edit 2:
Whoops, problem with one of the URLs. Fixed it.

[Twilight Knight]

Alestance wasn't offering rearranging the songs and I'd like it if I can work exclusively on the music. If you're interested, you should PM me with ideas and such, if you don't have ideas yet, let me at least know you're interested so I can look into the MIDIs and prepare for rearranging them. I hope you understand I want to do it exclusively, as I don't want to put effort in a complicated rearrangement and then hear like "Oh well, yeah, nice remix, but I like what Person X made more, sorry!" at the end.