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[Dawnlight]

GOLDEN MEMORIES - DEMO #2

Presented by: Dawnlight (Developer) & Xenix (Co-Developer)

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Jared, Ventus, Demonlink, and Shane for beta-testing this demo!

 

WARNING: REQUIRES ZC 2.50.1 TO PLAY!

DOWNLOAD LINK

 

I know I was late for the ZC Expo, but here it is. The second demo for Zelda: Golden Memories. This demo features the complete first part of the game showing off several of its key features and showing how the main game is going to be structured. Those who played Demo #1 will also see brand new changes implemented thanks to all of your critique. I definitely put consideration to all the feedback that you guys gave to me, and I wouldn't be able to make these improvements and without the help of you. Thanks!

 

WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THIS DEMO:

• The first two blocks of the Tower of Memories
• Five overworld maps to explore (Including Stallion's Peak which is a new addition in this demo)
• Two dungeons (Level 1-A & Level 1-B)
• Story elements. 
• Four available Heart Container pieces.

Estimated demo time - 2 hours

 

MAJOR CHANGES FROM DEMO #1:

• New Magic System. Magic now regenerates when used. This is to prevent the player from not being able to progress without magic and to balance out certain items.
• Roc's Feather is now its own dedicated button. It is assigned to EX1.
• Roc's Feather now consumes magic. (To compliment the new magic system)
• The pitfall script is now implemented.
• You can now jump on edges.
• Warps in dungeon entrances now go to the boss room instead of the sub-boss room. <- The most requested feature from Demo #1
• The "Follow the String" puzzle in Level 1-B has been removed and changed to a chess board puzzle.

 

IF YOU FIND BUGS - Please PM Dawnlight and Xenix A.S.A.P.

 

YOUR FEEDBACK IS NEEDED - Once you finish the demo, I really appreciate your feedback! Please go all out when it comes to your feedback regarding this quest. Point out stuff that you liked, disliked, and the things that myself and Xenix can do to improve this quest. We are currently developing new areas and dungeons for this quest, and your feedback can make a huge difference in our design and implementation of future maps.

 

Here is a survey that I prepared that I would really like you guys to fill out once you finish:

GOLDEN MEMORIES DEMO #2 - PLAYER SURVEY
 
1.) How long did it take for you to finish the demo (reaching the 8th floor of the Tower of Memories)?
 
 
2.) What was your favorite overworld map presented in this demo? Why?
 
 
3.) What was your least favorite overworld map presented in this demo? Why?
 
 
4.) Which dungeon (Level 1-A or Level 1-B) did you like the most from this demo? Why?
 
 
5.) I designed Golden Memories in which the player can choose the order in what dungeons to explore to get Triforce pieces spread throughout four parts. What's your feedback regarding the non-linearity portion of Golden Memories? And how can I improve this for later portions of the game?
 
 
6.) Were the objectives in this game too abstract in which you got lost easily? Please list any area of the demo in which you found the objective too abstract.
 
 
7.) How do you describe the difficulty of this demo overall?
 
 
8.) I personally believe that the plot scenes can be improved to a higher degree. What areas do you think I should improve on regarding the story elements found in this game?
 
 
9.) What are your thoughts on the new Magic system?
 
 
10.) Which items do you think is unbalanced overall and could use some nerfing?
 
 
11.) Overall, what elements did you really like in this demo?
 
 
12.) Overall, what elements did you really hate in this demo?
 
 
13.) What other forms of critique do you have regarding this demo?
 
 

Edited by Dawnlight, 22 December 2014 - 01:13 AM.

[TheLegend_njf]

I'm glad to hear. 

 

However, I won't be playing right at this time.

 

However, I will be returning to demos immediately after my Holiday Special with a brand new special. Your demo is included in that special. 

[David]

Perfect! I'm glad to hear that the demo is out!

 

This is something that I will be definitely playing soon. Hopefully I can provide some constructive criticism. I'm sure that this will be an amazing demo, though. Looking forward to trying it.

[Dawnlight]

I'm glad to hear. 

 

However, I won't be playing right at this time.

 

However, I will be returning to demos immediately after my Holiday Special with a brand new special. Your demo is included in that special. 

Awesome! It would be nice if some can LP this demo so I can gather information on what I can improve on for future development!

[Ventus]

Sweet that the Demo is official now! I say everyone this is a must play demo!. The balance in this is fantastic and the world is fun to explore and then some.

I might do a Stream of this on my twitch channel sometime later next week! It shall be a fun one Also let me say Timber Road is best road in the world!

[TheLegend_njf]

Awesome! It would be nice if some can LP this demo so I can gather information on what I can improve on for future development!

You know I will, but that's not always a great thing. As my skills improve, the more critical I have become. I might be a bit nit picky at times. Lol

[Ventus]

Also went ahead and filled out the Survey!

My survey! Answers

GOLDEN MEMORIES DEMO #2 - PLAYER SURVEY

1.) How long did it take for you to finish the demo (reaching the 8th floor of the Tower of Memories)?
4 hours and 31 minutes

2.) What was your favorite overworld map presented in this demo? Why?
Lufina Woods! I loved exploring the woods and finding the secret passage that lead me further into the woods. the over all feel of it is great!

 

3.) What was your least favorite overworld map presented in this demo? Why?
Stallion Peaks... don't get me wrong the area is great but finding them switches <_<  hehe.

4.) Which dungeon (Level 1-A or Level 1-B) did you like the most from this demo? Why?
Level 1-A, I'm more of a fighter and I like over all design of it more then Level 1-B <--It was good too... hate choosing one.

5.) I designed Golden Memories in which the player can choose the order in what dungeons to explore to get Triforce pieces spread throughout four parts. What's your feedback regarding the non-linearity portion of Golden Memories? And how can I improve this for later portions of the game?
It felt good to know that I had a choice in what I wanted to do instead of being told to go here and do this. 

I can't offer much else to that above.  

6.) Were the objectives in this game too abstract in which you got lost easily? Please list any area of the demo in which you found the objective too abstract.
No, it gave enough hints to work with which was a good thing. I got lost a few times but thats just me exploring to much xD

7.) How do you describe the difficulty of this demo overall?
Pretty Balanced not one point did I feel like something was unfair and overkill.  

8.) I personally believe that the plot scenes can be improved to a higher degree. What areas do you think I should improve on regarding the story elements found in this game?
Again I can't offer much on this I'm not really good in the plot depot, But I did like it a bit. Would recomend changing some dialog around like maybe instead of calling "pieces of memories"  Fragments. <-- sounds a bit better to me

9.) What are your thoughts on the new Magic system?
Didn't have any problems with it. I liked that it auto regened itself as I hate running out in the middle of a dungeon.

10.) Which items do you think is unbalanced overall and could use some nerfing?
None, they are all fine as of now.

11.) Overall, what elements did you really like in this demo?
Story, Music, exploration, puzzles, dungeons.

12.) Overall, what elements did you really hate in this demo?
None

13.) What other forms of critique do you have regarding this demo?

None pretty much for me it was great!. I don't have much more to nitpick at :3

[Eddy]

This is terrific news!

 

I've downloaded this and I'll be sure to play this later on in the day.

 

Can't wait to see what you've got in store for us.

[Shane]

SHANE'S GOLDEN MEMORIES DEMO #2 - PLAYER SURVEY

Contains Spoilers

1.) How long did it take for you to finish the demo (reaching the 8th floor of the Tower of Memories)?

 I forgot honestly, but it was a reasonable amount of time. Not too soon, but not too long depending on your course of actions throughout this segment of the game. It definitely gives off that official Nintendo feel where it takes a while to beat the first portion of the game.
 
2.) What was your favorite overworld map presented in this demo? Why?

I'm going to have to agree with Ventus and say Lufina Woods. The atmosphere is complete with your perfect choice of palette and music. The puzzle here is nice too, and the backstory is quite intriguing.
 
3.) What was your least favorite overworld map presented in this demo? Why?

Timber Road. It's pretty and well designed, but transitions have never been fun.
 
4.) Which dungeon (Level 1-A or Level 1-B) did you like the most from this demo? Why?

Level 1-B reeks more atmosphere and continues that interesting backstory I spoke of in question 2. Reminds me of the Forest Temple from Ocarina of Time in terms of gameplay and design. That isn't to say I didn't like Level 1-A, because it certainly was just as fun and well designed.
 
5.) I designed Golden Memories in which the player can choose the order in what dungeons to explore to get Triforce pieces spread throughout four parts. What's your feedback regarding the non-linearity portion of Golden Memories? And how can I improve this for later portions of the game?

I love it. It's not linear, but it has a nice clear sense of direction and progression. Dare I say you nailed that feeling more than A Link Between Worlds did.
 
6.) Were the objectives in this game too abstract in which you got lost easily? Please list any area of the demo in which you found the objective too abstract.

I will admit the maze in the second forest map confused me greatly. Some of the hints were obvious, some of them were just too well hidden or I didn't understand and simply relied on luck and memory.
 
7.) How do you describe the difficulty of this demo overall?

I personally believe it's well balanced so far. I'm not an expert on difficulty, but it certainly felt comfortable, and like I said, balanced. Not much to say about here.
 
8.) I personally believe that the plot scenes can be improved to a higher degree. What areas do you think I should improve on regarding the story elements found in this game?

Hm, this is bit of a tough one. The quest is really amazing in the story department. Well, the introduction could be worked on just a little more. But if memory serves correctly, you are working on that, so I won't harp on too much.
 
9.) What are your thoughts on the new Magic system?

Thank you. That is all that needs to be said.
 
10.) Which items do you think is unbalanced overall and could use some nerfing?

n/a
 
11.) Overall, what elements did you really like in this demo?

Your quest design skills are just overall amazing. I cannot stress how innovative this quest feels - from dungeon design to the story. You and Xenix have been working hard on polishing and improving your quest that to me, it's pretty much flawless save for the intro, which is a very minor nitpick. Two thumbs way up! I'm giving this demo a 5/5.
 
12.) Overall, what elements did you really hate in this demo?

n/a
 
13.) What other forms of critique do you have regarding this demo?

n/a

I'm sorry that I didn't get to help as much as I wanted to, but congratulations on releasing another successful demo!

[Avaro]

This demo made my day. I loved it so much and there is so much to do, so much to explore. Easily one of the best things you'll ever see in ZC! Everything was great. The screen design, the palettes, the areas, the story, the dungeons. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this quest goes in the future. Can't wait to play the whole thing! This demo is not only extremely fun to play, but also very inspiring. I have a few things to nitpick on, but I'll get to that at the end of this post. I'm going to fill out the survey:

 

1.) How long did it take for you to finish the demo (reaching the 8th floor of the Tower of Memories)?
I did not only reach the 8th floor of the Tower of Memories, I've got the spin attack and 3 of 4 HCPs too (1 in Lufina Woods, 1 in the town and 1 in Stallion's Peak I believe). It took me about 3 hours. Nice length for a demo. I didn't play it all in one go.

2.) What was your favorite overworld map presented in this demo? Why?
Hmm, hard to choose. I'd say Stallion's Peak was my favourite, because I generally like mountain areas, especially if they are done so well. I loved all areas though! I'm not exaggerating when I say that every screen in this quest is SotW worthy.

3.) What was your least favorite overworld map presented in this demo? Why?
Well, my least favourite one was probably Aether woods, mainly because I didn't like the maze so much :O. I loved the atmosphere, the music and the screendesign though. With the maze, I think the hints are sometimes too obscure.

4.) Which dungeon (Level 1-A or Level 1-B) did you like the most from this demo? Why?
I liked Level 1-A, the Forsaken Cavern more, I just really enjoyed going through it. Though, I loved all dungeons in this demo really, including the Tower of Memories . Every dungeon had something amazing going for it. Lufina Ruins has this mysterious atmosphere, the interesting puzzles and the great backstory. The Forsaken Cavern has amazing screen design and uniqueness for a cavern dungeon, and I enjoyed tracking down the switches. Also, a Defense System as a boss? Why not! The Tower of Memories is great because it's generally a great idea. A dungeon that does not really exist; or does it? This dungeon has a great music and fun puzzles. It reminds me so much of the Tower of Spirits from Spirit Tracks, and that was one of the best thing that could happen to the Zelda series in my opinion.

5.) I designed Golden Memories in which the player can choose the order in what dungeons to explore to get Triforce pieces spread throughout four parts. What's your feedback regarding the non-linearity portion of Golden Memories? And how can I improve this for later portions of the game?
The non-linearity approach is great! Keep it like that for later portions of the game. I was just too stupid to find the right NPC to talk to for retrieving the motto, so I went to Lufina Ruins first. xD

6.) Were the objectives in this game too abstract in which you got lost easily? Please list any area of the demo in which you found the objective too abstract.
Like I said, I couldn't find the right NPC to talk to for getting the motto at fist. Maybe give out more clues. The other thing is that maze puzzle in Aether Woods which is just way too abstract. I had a problem with this area back when playing the first demo too. If it weren't for Shane, I'd have to resort to trial and error yet again. The idea for the maze is great, though. Maybe try to make the hints more obvious. You could put signs in some of the screens that give out hints on what you should pay attention to.

7.) How do you describe the difficulty of this demo overall?
It's perfect.

8.) I personally believe that the plot scenes can be improved to a higher degree. What areas do you think I should improve on regarding the story elements found in this game?
I loved the cutscenes and the story. They are great the way they are

9.) What are your thoughts on the new Magic system?
Again, it's perfect. Please keep this new system!

10.) Which items do you think is unbalanced overall and could use some nerfing?
I don't think any item is unbalanced.

11.) Overall, what elements did you really like in this demo?
Basically, everything. The choice of music, the palettes and screen design, the story and cutscenes, the puzzles, the overworld exploration and the dungeons. It's rare to see quests that look as perfect as this!

12.) Overall, what elements did you really hate in this demo?
There was nothing that I "really hated", besides the end-of-the-demo-barriers of course. I enjoyed playing through everything in the demo!

13.) What other forms of critique do you have regarding this demo?

Welp, I got some minor nitpicks on a few things. Here's a list:

 

Spoiler

- In the first room of F3 in the Tower of Memories, the push blocks there behave kinda strange. It's as if their undercombo was a solid combo that cycles back to a walkable combo. It's with some other blocks in the quest too.

 

- The falling animation of Link needs one more empty frame at the end so it doesn't loop back to it's first frame. Also, you can still use items during the falling animation.

 

- The breaking pots breaking animation feels a bit too slow, and it's cycling is a bit inconsistent if you know what I mean (sometimes it takes longer to break, sometimes the animation has instantly finished). Ask me if you don't know how you could fix that. I would also make the pot walkable during it's breaking animation because it feels weird waiting for the animation to finish. (Man, I'm really nitpicky here)

 

- For some reason there's no A button icon when you face that first orb in the Tower of Memories.

 

- It feels a bit strange how Lucia gives link the ocarina during a cutscene.

 

- That sound effect that plays during message strings is just a tiny bit overused. I don't think it was necessary for that women in front of Mr. Know-It-All's house, who talks about the clothes. There were also some instances where you used the sound effect twice in the same dialogue. It's just a bit annoying to hear it more than 1 time during a timeframe of 5 seconds (for example that goron that talks about the bomb bag). I'd say watch out so you don't go overboard with it. I generally love the idea though!

 

- There's a sign in Lufina Woods that tells you to look under a tree, but I think it's meant to tell you to look BEHIND a tree.

 

- I've noticed that some step triggers make a secret sound while others don't.

 

- That piece of paper outside the house in Lufina Woods is hard to read because you have to align with the tile in a weird way. The one inside the house doesn't have any problems, though.

 

- The puzzle where you have to slash a chess piece was weird. Pushing it away would've made more sense.

 

-The GB "cling" sound that constant traps produce is very out of place.

Edited by Avataro, 22 December 2014 - 12:23 PM.

[Eddy]

So, I'm gonna go ahead and say this: This is amazing, and it definitely deserves a 5/5.

 

As for the survey, all my thoughts are reflected in there, so open up the spoiler to get your responses. (Responses are in red)

Survey

GOLDEN MEMORIES DEMO #2 - PLAYER SURVEY

1.) How long did it take for you to finish the demo (reaching the 8th floor of the Tower of Memories)?
It took 3:19:09 to make it there.

2.) What was your favorite overworld map presented in this demo? Why?
Very hard choice honestly, but it has to be either Stallion's Peak or Lufina Woods. Both have amazing atmosphere with very interesting gimmicks. They are also very fair in difficulty and the attention to detail is spectacular.

3.) What was your least favorite overworld map presented in this demo? Why?
If I were to be honest, it would probably be the maze Woods leading to Level 1-B (forgot the name). I would say this place because navigating through the maze was quite a pain in the ass, and it had some really cryptic, obscure hints which I never understood nor found (with the exception of that one screen full of boxes).

4.) Which dungeon (Level 1-A or Level 1-B) did you like the most from this demo? Why?
Level 1-B managed to keep me immersed in the game better than 1-A. I love both dungeons as they hold very unique gimmicks, but I preferred 1-B as it had a bit more backstory and had some interesting info as to how Amelia (is that the name?) managed to claim the Roc's Feather. Really interesting stuff.

5.) I designed Golden Memories in which the player can choose the order in what dungeons to explore to get Triforce pieces spread throughout four parts. What's your feedback regarding the non-linearity portion of Golden Memories? And how can I improve this for later portions of the game?
The non-linearity is superb and it really gives you a nice choice as to how you can progress through the game. As for improvements, I can't think of anything to improve on, it's good enough the way it currently is.

6.) Were the objectives in this game too abstract in which you got lost easily? Please list any area of the demo in which you found the objective too abstract.
The objectives were just fine, I had no problems getting anywhere when it comes to the objectives.

7.) How do you describe the difficulty of this demo overall?
It's perfect, everything was balanced and the difficulty flowed perfectly.

8.) I personally believe that the plot scenes can be improved to a higher degree. What areas do you think I should improve on regarding the story elements found in this game?
When it comes to storytelling I got nothing sadly. The story seems fine the way it is IMO.

9.) What are your thoughts on the new Magic system?
It's really good, and it reminds me a lot of ALBW's stamina system.

10.) Which items do you think is unbalanced overall and could use some nerfing?
All the items are just right.

11.) Overall, what elements did you really like in this demo?
Everything. The music, atmosphere, dungeons, overworlds, story, difficulty and navigation. It all tied together perfectly and I loved it.

12.) Overall, what elements did you really hate in this demo?
Nothing.

13.) What other forms of critique do you have regarding this demo?

Nothing.

 

This demo really got me into the project and I wish you and Xenix best of luck for the future on this quest!

Edited by EddyTheOliveira, 22 December 2014 - 02:35 PM.

[justin]

why does trying to exit the Tower of Memories on your first trip there cause Link to get hurt?  the door is closed, why I am falling into a pit that isn't there?

 

the "mini boss" room guarding the warp station, and first memory would look a lot more professional if you used a script to generate each successive round of enemies.

 

 

edit:

ok, how about a clue to figuring out Aether Woods?  looking at my surroundings isn't working for me.  kinda makes the player feel stupid after all the hand holding tutorial stuff for literally every step before this.  i'm tired of just wandering around trial and erroring the maze.  its the kinda thing that makes me just want to stop playing - especially since there doesn't seem to be anything else i can do at the moment...

 

not getting the sense of non-linearity that you refer to in one of your questions.  maybe it opens up past where i quit.  but its been extremely linear to this point.

 

other cons for me:

- sword swing doesn't pick up item-drops.

- the doorway floor tile in the tower of memories.  just stands out too much, doesn't blend in to the rest of the dungeon.

- as Avataro mentioned the pots break animation is weird.  probably due to the combo cycling bug.  could be fixed with single frame animation combo cycling.

- wasn't a fan of the cold open.  i get to explore a smaller part of the starting village where there is nothing to do before finishing the opening credits and intro sequence, yay!

- i got this weird sense of Star Wars during the intro sequence from the background image and some of the dialogue.

- it was really hard to position myself to be able to read the note on the ground outside the house.  didn't matter much, as i already had the key.

- i find the background image for the mini-map to be distracting.

- no spacebar map

 

pros:

- screen design is amazing

- the enemies feel fresh and new

- the music is nice, as are the sound effects.  i especially like the sound effect during dialogue that something happened.

- very professional

Edited by justin, 23 December 2014 - 02:49 PM.

[Dawnlight]

why does trying to exit the Tower of Memories on your first trip there cause Link to get hurt?  the door is closed, why I am falling into a pit that isn't there?
 
the "mini boss" room guarding the warp station, and first memory would look a lot more professional if you used a script to generate each successive round of enemies.

Someone else spotted that. It looks like a bug. As for that script, that would be extremely useful to have something like that.

[justin]

As for that script, that would be extremely useful to have something like that.

 

working on it.  all works, except i need to fake the enemies dropping from the ceiling...  

[Dawnlight]

I'll be more specific next time regarding the Aether Woods puzzle for that was another infamous criticism for people who played demo #1.

 

Here's the solution:

 

Spoiler

Aether Woods Puzzle:

1. Go South - There will be a sign saying to "Keep an eye on your surroundings". - Go West - The flowers to the west are a different color.
2. Go North - The deku scrub that spawned from the north is a different color.
3. Go North - The butterfly marks the north area
4. Go East - No Ghini's spawn from the east
5. Go North - None of the pointed boxes point North
6. Go West - The under-combo from the westernmost flowers is a different color
7. Go West - The butterfly marks the west area.

Edited by Dawnlight, 23 December 2014 - 07:55 PM.