40 replies to this topic

[SCKnuckles]

https://www.youtube....?v=2DTAXzMYteE Part 1 Everything has changed

 

https://www.youtube....?v=sG7Fv8WUY34 Part 2 From one dungeon to another

 

 

Balance Of Nature is a Zelda Classic quest created by ywkls.  This quest sort of has a similar feel to Oracle Of Seasons and has a lot of going into dungeons and getting upgrades one at a time.  Enjoy!

[TK8305]

Good luck with this quest Knuckles.  w00t!

[ywkls]

The moment I've been anticipating/dreading since I learned this was going to happen has arrived at last.

 

A few notes about this game, for anyone who's interested. The entire fast screen scrolling thing is a Quest Rule, 'No Screen Scrolling.' I enabled it to hide some graphical glitches that can occur as you transition between areas that use different palettes.

 

This was the first game that I created which was designed from the ground up to use scripts. That being said, very little of what is included was actually scripted by me. Most can be found in the database or on the forums.

 

One of the most important decisions that I made when designing this quest was that I wanted something that went counter to what I saw as a trend to make the hardest quest ever. I had lost track of the number of times that I would download something, only to spend hours wandering around trying to find the first dungeon and locate a sword.

 

Now that the LP has started, I have to wonder how long it's going to take you to figure out that the Gossip Stones are treasure chests in disguise.

[Deedee]

Oh come on now, I was in the middle of a stream LP! How could you do this to meeeeeeee

 

Er, I mean, this is a pretty fun quest. I never really completed it, so I finally get to see how the final dungeons go. Now, back to watching this.

 

Edit: Hey, you got up to where I ended off last playthrough! You've only missed 1 major item and a couple of flames so far, but you'll likely get back to them later. Can't wait for next episode!

Edited by Dimentio, 24 March 2016 - 11:59 AM.

[ywkls]

Oh come on now, I was in the middle of a stream LP! How could you do this to meeeeeeee

 

Er, I mean, this is a pretty fun quest. I never really completed it, so I finally get to see how the final dungeons go. Now, back to watching this.

 

Edit: Hey, you got up to where I ended off last playthrough! You've only missed 1 major item and a couple of flames so far, but you'll likely get back to them later. Can't wait for next episode!

 

In case you forgot, I told you whenever you started streaming this that SCKnuckles had said he was going to do an LP so you didn't need to; but you went ahead and started (then never finished) your stream anyways.

 

The final dungeons are long, complicated and some-what similar to all the others. Explore a bit, get a key to reach a new areas and.. get another key. There are items too.

 

I believe from what SCKnuckles has told me that he's close to the end if not already done with his playthrough. It is definitely something that I'll be watching as it is released.

[Deedee]

In case you forgot, I told you whenever you started streaming this that SCKnuckles had said he was going to do an LP so you didn't need to; but you went ahead and started (then never finished) your stream anyways.

 

 

To be fair, the line was meant to not be taken seriously and more of a joke

 

Anyways, Twili Keep certainly feels longer than Level 2. What is with that odd design choice?

[ywkls]

Anyways, Twili Keep certainly feels longer than Level 2. What is with that odd design choice?

 

I never know how I'm going to design a dungeon and its rooms until I actually do. I usually start by deciding the basic shape of the map. In Balance, the theme is based on the item you get in the dungeon. Then I place the boss, item and boss key. After that, i work on the internal mechanics. Which is probably one of the reasons I didn't realize when making Level 2 that you can't get the compass until you're almost done with the dungeon.

 

Many of the levels are all over the place in terms of difficulty and I went berserk on the over-under mechanic. That, and this game really has way too many dungeons. Of course, most of the games I've released that I created myself have a lot of dungeons. (My first had 11, I think.)

 

Since one of my objectives is to learn from my mistakes, you can see in the sequel how I improved on many of the choices I made in this.

[SCKnuckles]

https://www.youtube....h?v=tpQ2BI4QzKoPart 3 A Bow and Arrow Dungeon?.....This isn't randomizer

[SCKnuckles]

https://www.youtube....h?v=Dz1Kgbz2omoPart 4 More Dungeon Completeness

[ywkls]

It should be noted for those of you following along that the 5th dungeon was one location that early on had a major flaw in its design. Good to see that's cleared up now.

 

Also, I'm not sure how much completion percentage that you tried to get, SCKnuckles; but it is strange to watch someone rush from one area to the next with almost no exploration in between. Of course, there really isn't much to explore right now either.

Edited by ywkls, 27 March 2016 - 10:52 PM.

[SCKnuckles]

https://www.youtube....h?v=XTrtM3hwPl8Part 5 The Tower that lends a hand

[ywkls]

A few more notes on design choices for this game; since I have no real way to know whether you ever discovered these facts in your playthrough, SCKnuckles.

 

I consciously chose to make it where the candle fire and bombs didn't hurt you in this quest because I've always found that to be annoying. Another thing I left out was the ability for Like-likes to eat your shield. (Which also allowed me to avoid having to put in a shop where it is sold.)

 

The puzzle design in this game was often rather lazy, as evinced by this stone slab clue. That's the only place in the entire game where that clue can be found, though it is used to solve multiple puzzles. In many cases, I was adding this sort of detail at the last minute and not really thinking through things.

 

Another thing you might not realize from this video is that those bridges in the wasteland are over-under type, which as I've mentioned before; I used to death in this game.

 

Still no Crystalline Flames, though. You're starting to make me wonder whether or not I should have a clue in-game about how to collect them.

 

Also, this is my 700th post.

Edited by ywkls, 30 March 2016 - 10:23 AM.

[SCKnuckles]

https://www.youtube....h?v=GvXW0Kv-130Part 6 Level 8.....should that be in part 15 or something and not this early?

[SCKnuckles]

https://www.youtube....h?v=C8Zb4q5rmGoPart 7 Level 8 done....this early?

[ywkls]

That there was (almost) the last of the dungeons in this game that are only one floor long; though I don't know if the others will take you any longer to finish or not.

 

As for the Magic Boots, I've had the feature where they actually use Magic turned on before and they always seemed to drain it far too quickly. So, I just disabled that setting and kept the name because I couldn't think of anything better.

 

There are actually 19 levels in this game, so at the end of Level 9 you're nearing the halfway point in terms of dungeons. One of the many reasons I termed this a dungeon-romper.

 

I don't know if you actually got the Crystalline Flames and if not, I'll probably post something here about what you get for turning them in. You've also failed to purchase anything, but maybe that will change after you get the treasures from level 9.

 

In my opinion, this is the part were things start to get more interesting....