4964 replies to this topic

[Schwa]

Today, I finished the "Game Start" cutscene that plays RIGHT when you load the Quest for the very first time. It took hours! All for only a couple minutes of player-gameplay! But oh my gosh, I am in love with the result. It was absolutely worth every last bit of the trouble.

And I'm still not done! I got the beginning part of the Tutorial stage done. I got the ending part done. Now I gotta do the middle part.

Man, I will be SO HAPPY to be done with making the Tutorial stage. This area's a key component if I want to get a playable demo out, and it would thrill me to no end if I got one in time for the Spring Expo. Even though I have plenty of time, I can't afford to lose focus if I want to make that deadline...

[kurt91]

I didn't get too much done today. I found the picture file I was looking for with the palette I need to improve my forest area and make it look more foggy, but in the process I had found about four or five different pictures that I had forgotten I downloaded. They're all different maps from a Zelda clone called "Neutopia". It's such a close copy of Zelda that it seems that nearly all of the graphics have a counterpart in the original game, and they look really nice. Some of the enemies look amazing (transparent Gels and Zols, for instance), but I've never been able to find a ripped spritesheet from the game, so I've been scouring a screen-capture made map for all the different areas in the game and looking for the individual tiles for the enemies that I can piece together. Also, I've been experimenting with a fully transparent ice dungeon, and am toying with the idea of a reflective ice floor so you can see Link's reflection as he walks around. Seems simple enough in theory, so a bit of research on how to position it and run the correct graphics to correspond with what Link's doing (flip Link's current tile vertically and re-position it 16 pixels lower, right?) and it shouldn't be too difficult. (I think...)

At the same time, I came up with some more ideas I want to use for custom enemies. I haven't opened ZQuest yet to try and put them in, though. I spent far too long poring over all my old files and images to find resources. (Hint: It is now 2:30 AM where I'm at.) I guess it was mainly prep-work and not actual work for now.

Edited by kurt91, 26 February 2013 - 05:30 AM.

[tox_von]

i made a deku stick which can be held between diffrent rooms and light candles and kill enemys. I put it in my sig if anyone wants it or to give comments on how to improve it. i also made a Alttp lantern a few days ago.

Edited by tox_von, 26 February 2013 - 07:40 AM.

[Schwa]

I didn't get too much done today. I found the picture file I was looking for with the palette I need to improve my forest area and make it look more foggy, but in the process I had found about four or five different pictures that I had forgotten I downloaded. They're all different maps from a Zelda clone called "Neutopia". It's such a close copy of Zelda that it seems that nearly all of the graphics have a counterpart in the original game, and they look really nice. Some of the enemies look amazing (transparent Gels and Zols, for instance), but I've never been able to find a ripped spritesheet from the game, so I've been scouring a screen-capture made map for all the different areas in the game and looking for the individual tiles for the enemies that I can piece together. Also, I've been experimenting with a fully transparent ice dungeon, and am toying with the idea of a reflective ice floor so you can see Link's reflection as he walks around. Seems simple enough in theory, so a bit of research on how to position it and run the correct graphics to correspond with what Link's doing (flip Link's current tile vertically and re-position it 16 pixels lower, right?) and it shouldn't be too difficult. (I think...)

At the same time, I came up with some more ideas I want to use for custom enemies. I haven't opened ZQuest yet to try and put them in, though. I spent far too long poring over all my old files and images to find resources. (Hint: It is now 2:30 AM where I'm at.) I guess it was mainly prep-work and not actual work for now.

I get the feeling you are easily distracted. Are you ADHD? I am almost.

You know what helps with that? Set an alarm to remind you to take a stretch break every hour. Then just stretch and pace and maybe get a snack, for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then get to working again. As nice as the "one long stream of intense concentration" approach is, nothing can defeat the power of good organization in the long run. When you're in control, you Win.

[SpacemanDan]

Finished up the dungeon item for level 4 of my quest. I need to fix it a little, as there are some odd problems. Shouldn't be hard though. I also nearly finished one of the many scripted enemies for the dungeon. I still need to polish it a little, but I'm happy with how it's turning out.

[peteandwally]

I figured out some scripting stuff today!

[Jared]

Schwa, you completely re-reminded me of the Spring Expo. I wonder if I can at least get out a bug-fixed version of my quest out in time? Sadly I only made progress on the third area of the game, and not the second. So...no second dungeon demo, sadly. D;

[kurt91]

Much more productive day than last time. I finally sorted out my forest palette. It turns out that I didn't have enough colors, so I had to try and come up with the last remaining shades, but they turned out alright. I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out how to set up a level palette instead of the main one, and had to post a question on here to see what was going wrong, but that got fixed as well. (Thanks again, Russ!) I also had to do some math to figure out how to get my treasure chest colors to match the new palette, but it looks really good now. Personally, I hate palette work more than nearly anything else, but now that it's out of the way, I can have a bit more fun with this now.

Anyways, I was so happy with how it turned out, I'm using it for my SotW 400 entry. Hope I win!

(Just in case the fact that I worked so much on it is why I like it so much right now, and I end up preferring how it looked before, the best part is that it only takes a couple clicks to undo all the changes and switch back to my normal palette. Win-Win!)

Edited by kurt91, 27 February 2013 - 03:55 AM.

[Orithan]

Today, after a long hiatus, I decided to open ZQ and begun preparing my SotW 400 entry. Let me say that a certain witch... err magician is going to star this one (Spaceman Dan can guess who it is )

[Valientlink]

Worked on the "Cave of Hatred". Started this in November and barely touched it since. Sometimes trying to build a quest all at once can really hinder your building skills, and I was beginning to understand that. It got to the point where I NEEDED to stop, I'd built too many dungeons and had no motivation to continue.

Also, fixed up many bugs and imported some new tiles. Finally getting somewhere!

[SpacemanDan]

Finished up some basic enemies for the 4th dungeon. I'm thinking I'll whip up another 2 or 3 tomorrow and start working on the mini boss and boss of the dungeon. It's not much progress, but it's certainly better than none at all. O:

EDIT: Today, I finished another enemy. This one was a bit more complicated, but I'm glad I got it working. I'll need to go back and tweak it some, but it works for now. Got majority of the work I need to do on the last enemy I want to make. I just need to figure out the best way to go about making it's 'attack'. I'll think about it tomorrow though. >_>

[kurt91]

The Enemy Editor is really fun. I think you'll love toying with it.

Understatement of the year. This is a huge blast! True, I need to have multiple pages of the Wiki, as well as detailed notes on what I'm trying to accomplish, just to do anything with this, but I'm having a ball with the Enemy Editor.

You see, I had a really simple idea for a first boss. It wasn't intended to be overly difficult, possibly even simpler than Aquamentus. The basic idea was to make a slime enemy that splits upon death into smaller and faster enemies, that would make the player have to plan out and strategize their attacks to keep from getting overwhelmed.

The problem? I made the slime too hardcore. I can't even beat the thing, and I'm the one who gave it life! Now I know how all those movie villains feel. I meant to make a Level 1 boss, I wouldn't wish this guy on anybody even at Level 9! I admit, I'm not the best Zelda player out there. I have yet to even beat the first quest. Still, even I can tell that this guy is way too epic for what he was intended for!

The good thing is, I can always just move this boss fight up a couple levels, or just tone down the damage he deals. However, the thing that scares me is that even while I was getting my butt kicked by this guy in testing, the main thought going through my head was "how can I make this guy tougher?" I'm considering making an upgraded (not additional damage) version for an end-game boss as well. The problem is, this guy takes up a LOT of tile space and enemy slots, so I might not have enough room by then.

I swear, when I finish this game, somebody out there has got to LP it. Preferably somebody REALLY good at playing quests so I can see how my accidentally epic baddies stack up.

[Shane]

Made some real progress on my SotW 400 entry. I'm really liking how it's shaping so far.

[Schwa]

Understatement of the year. This is a huge blast! True, I need to have multiple pages of the Wiki, as well as detailed notes on what I'm trying to accomplish, just to do anything with this, but I'm having a ball with the Enemy Editor.

You see, I had a really simple idea for a first boss. It wasn't intended to be overly difficult, possibly even simpler than Aquamentus. The basic idea was to make a slime enemy that splits upon death into smaller and faster enemies, that would make the player have to plan out and strategize their attacks to keep from getting overwhelmed.

The problem? I made the slime too hardcore. I can't even beat the thing, and I'm the one who gave it life! Now I know how all those movie villains feel. I meant to make a Level 1 boss, I wouldn't wish this guy on anybody even at Level 9! I admit, I'm not the best Zelda player out there. I have yet to even beat the first quest. Still, even I can tell that this guy is way too epic for what he was intended for!

How many times do they split? That's probably the kicker.

Try it with just 3 sizes: a Big Slime, splitting into two Medium Slimes, splitting into two Small Slimes, and set their Step Speeds to 50, 75, and 100 respectively. Also tone their Homing Rate down and their Random Rate up so that they're more obstructive and less aggressive. Then, try the boss fight out, and if it is too easy, try it out where you start out fighting two Big Slimes instead of one, and line the borders of the dungeon room with floor spikes, to force players to fight where they are not at an advantage.

To me that sounds like a more balanced first boss. Try it out!

And some protips. Remember that Death Knights are not a well-designed enemy. A well-designed enemy will challenge and not overwhelm. Forgetting the Enemy Editor's limitations for a moment, I think I would have a much more challenging but less frustrating time fighting an ordinary Blue Darknut that had a permanent, orbiting ring of three or four fireballs moving along with it, or had a trail of them trailing behind it sorta like an invincible Lanmola, rather than one that moves at lightning speed and does 9 hearts damage per hit, which is too crazy unbalanced to be "fair" even if your equipment will let you kill it.

even while I was getting my butt kicked by this guy in testing, the main thought going through my head was "how can I make this guy tougher?"

Nah, man. Think about your game as a whole, and imagine someone who's never seen it before playing through it for the first time-- like, imagine you're watching over his shoulder, keeping silent, while he's playing it.

Try to base your designs around that person's reactions. This doesn't count as "pandering to the crowd" either; what you're doing is striving for game balance by doing this, and making your quest feel the way you want it to.

Hope that helps. But yeah, the Enemy Editor's really rad. I almost lost my sh*t when I got Like Likes to charge at the player and eat his Shield. It's probably even more devious with Red Bubbles.

Edited by Schwa, 02 March 2013 - 06:35 PM.

[kurt91]

I never said I was going to USE a tougher version of this guy, I just wanted to think of a fun way to make him tougher.

How many times do they split? That's probably the kicker.

Um... 8. The very last one triples instead of doubles. I figured I could just tone down the homing rate like you said, and reduce the damage down to a quarter heart as well as add some obstacles to the terrain to help keep them away.

At one point, I was considering a version that leaves behind fire trails as an end-game version. That one might have been a bit too much.

Anyways, my other ideas are somewhat simpler, so I should have a much better first boss really soon.