899 replies to this topic

[MaximumCDawg]

The robot at the beginning of Scorpio, the one that brags about testosterone.. it was handing me my ass the first couple of attempts, and then the third attempt I just seemed to randomly warp to the cutscene at the end of the fight. Are you supposed to deplete its life entirely? I really wanted to prove to myself that I could beat him, but somehow the fight felt incomplete.

 

This was in the previous version. I'll give it another go with the update.

 

EDIT: Now in the new version the big ship boss guarding the entrance just disappears mid fight and leaves me flying perpetually upward.

I cannot recreate this bug. Did you have F11 on, by chance?  That would stop the warp from working after the boss was complete...

[Erased Memory]

I cannot recreate this bug. Did you have F11 on, by chance?  That would stop the warp from working after the boss was complete...

Nope. And it happened mid fight, with the meter still somewhat full. On both attempts where it happened I was kinda flying right up in the ships grill. I just tried again hanging further back and it seemed to work fine.

[MaximumCDawg]

UPDATE ============

 

http://www.solidfile...d/ZodiacUpdate_(7-21-14).qst

 

===================

 

So, the last update's addition of SHMUP enemies to the labyrinths broke the jump function.   I didn't have the brain power to fix the code, so I just rearranged the FFCs.  Point is, everything works again now.  Hurrah!

 

Also, please remember to keep spoilers down in this thread.  You've all been doing a good job of that.  Part of this game involves figuring out what is going on, and just like last month, these updates are now resolving huge questions posed by the game.  I am particularly happy that String No. 666 is exactly where the characters figure out the true nature of the approaching doom...

Edited by C-Dawg, 22 July 2014 - 01:34 PM.

[ShadowTiger]

For anyone having difficulty with the URL, it's Here.

Apparently that webhost doesn't like parentheses in file names, and might even be messing with the resulting BB Code.

Thanks... will keep going!

[MaximumCDawg]

====================== UPDATE ==================

 

http://www.solidfile...d/ZodiacUpdate_(7-25-14).qst

 

===============================================

 

Okay, no bugfixes this time really.  Just completed Aquarius Corridor 1,  expanded the plot through basically the end of the game, and finished making the Supernova Armor and Voltiac Key fully functional.  

 

Next steps involve Leo 2 and Aquarius 2, the final two corridors.  This is firmy "bend the player over" mode at this point, so I'm thinking of tossing two bosses at the player simultaneously during these last corridors.  

 

After that, I have to fix the Grapple 2 and the Screw Attack, since one doesnt work and the other works, but oddly.  

 

Then it's just the final battle with Iron and the Guardian against the enemy.  Figure a spaceflight to get there, which will require me drawing a battleship about ten screens tall to use as the backdrop of that flying stage, then a battle inside the ship, a boss battle with the antagonist switching between all your Zodiac weapons (think the last boss of E.V.O. kind of), and then, finally, a battle with an alien life form wrapped around the ships' engine.  Might be interior, might be a flying boss, not sure.  The bosses I can probably crank out in a day each one I have all the sprites drawn, since I've streamlined the process of making them substantially.  Getting the co-op mode with Iron will take some noodling.  

 

Then, we're done.  Except for bug fixes.  

 

I'm going to be traveling across country for the next few weeks, though, so my progress will be blunted for awhile.  I'm still hopeful that we'll have a rough draft done in August, and be able to put out the call for more beta testers to come in and help me figure out all the errors.  I would prefer not to have another Bugfest like Dreams of Yesterday!  Poor old Shadowtiger probably couldn't do much to fix all the kinds of exotic bugs I've created here.

[ShadowTiger]

Pretty exciting! I can tell that this is going to be an amazing year for Zelda Classic through this quest alone. Revolutionary. You just don't see very much of this type of quest. It definitely has a feeling of exploration attached to it. Also extremely exciting to have an ally in a fight for once. When has that ever happened in ZC before?

So where are you going cross country? Anything exciting to see?

[MaximumCDawg]

For me, sure.  For other people, not so much.  Just friends and family.

 

You're right about ZClassic.  It's sort of stagnated.  Armageddongames forums are all but dead, and while folks here are doing very competent and professional things with the engine as intended, no one seems to have really pushed the envelope since scripting was new.  This really puzzles me, particularly since Saffith's scripts seem like they have the potentially to completely revolutionize how people use the program.

 

I wonder if its just that people who understand scripting quickly run into the limitations of the engine and move on to better things, like Allegro, or software like Stencyl, and just make their own games that way.

Edited by C-Dawg, 25 July 2014 - 05:49 PM.

[DarkFlameWolf]

Then let your quest be the last final hurrah for ZC and let us all move on? :tard:

[MaximumCDawg]

.....or, you could put your overalls back on and make a successor to Lost Isle that combines your gorgeously anal-retentive attention to detail and quality with modern scripting capabilities...?

 

To be clear, there's nothing WRONG with what Zelda Classic is capable of.  It's probably the best game engine out there (for top-down adventure games).  I'm just honestly surprised that we don't have a quest in the true style of Z3 or something yet.  From the tech demos I've seen just on the forums of this site, the tools are all there.  

 

Maybe it just needs a dedicated project lead, eh DFW?

Edited by C-Dawg, 25 July 2014 - 09:47 PM.

[DarkFlameWolf]

We should hook up...make a quest sometime...or something.

[MaximumCDawg]

I'm committed to helping the wife with other programming endeavors starting in September, but if you want script input, I'm happy to collaborate once Zodiac is done.  You tell me what scripts / special effects you need, and I guess I'd be your Peyote?  Or whatever his name is?

 

EDIT - In fact, I'd been mulling over the idea of a game whose central mechanic is changing the shape of the main character.  Instead of getting items, you'd change into the shape of a different creature who has different abilities.  I was thinking either an alchemy system of mixing different materials or a way of "stealing" the enemy's body temporarily. Could be side-scrolling or overhead.  If I were to code up the mechanic, would you commit to going ahead and making a game out of it?

Edited by C-Dawg, 25 July 2014 - 10:13 PM.

[Moosh]

EDIT - In fact, I'd been mulling over the idea of a game whose central mechanic is changing the shape of the main character.  Instead of getting items, you'd change into the shape of a different creature who has different abilities.  I was thinking either an alchemy system of mixing different materials or a way of "stealing" the enemy's body temporarily. Could be side-scrolling or overhead.  If I were to code up the mechanic, would you commit to going ahead and making a game out of it?

Have you been in my head recently? Because I happened to have a similar idea and have already started toying around with an enemy posession mechanic.

[Gleeok]

I had thought up of something similar to that also. My idea was there were no active selectable items, and instead you could shape-shift into any enemy type you wanted (granted it is on screen and within special attack range for you to do so) and inherit all of that enemy types' abilities. Obviously wizzrobe-types would be pretty fun with teleporting and phasing etc., but each type has strengths and immunities vs. other types as well. This would add a whole new dimension of puzzle designing--not only for combat but for dungeon navigation. Technically, this is also super simple to script since most of the time you just add/remove items and change the LTM.


I haven't checked out the newer stuff in Zodiac since you posted at AGN, but I think I will when all the items and other cool stuff gets finished.

[MaximumCDawg]

Well, since several people have thought about this... howabout somoeone actually make a game out of it?

[Din]

Man, it's been a long time, but I'm happy to see that this is being continued.

I'm playing through it again, and I'm up to where I got the bombs. My thoughts so far:

Man, I missed this game. I don't think I talked about this before, but I just wanted to say that you absolutely nailed the atmosphere and feel, at least for me. It truly does feel like the love child of its main inspiration, with a bit of Cave Story, Metroid, and Megaman thrown in for good measure.

I love the use of terminals. It really adds a lot atmosphere-wise as opposed to those odd Guardian Legend-esque round aliens in place before and helps to make the place feel desolate, lonely, and dangerous. Awesome.

Coming back to this, I can see where folks are coming from with the bosses. Namely, at the beginning at least, they take so long to beat that they just aren't a lot of fun. While the Jellyfish feels just about right HP-wise (though threatless and trivial, as he can't even hit you if you're on top of a block), Pheagon and, as I think others have covered, Iron take forever to beat if you're going at it with the sidearm, far after I thought I deserved to win those fights. However, the intro flight boss and the boss guarding the bomb were great.

Keys drop from enemies now, which is... strange to say the least.

Speaking of the boss guarding the bomb, after he was beaten, I still got warped to the fight after I got to the bombs and tried to exit. Had to Save and Quit my way out of that one.

Edited by Din, 31 July 2014 - 12:30 AM.