25 replies to this topic

[Shane]

Hello everybody,

There have been several people asking the same question: How is Sanctuary Tree doing? And I can understand why people would ask that since there's been silence on the matter. To put it shortly: It's cancelled. I was debating about it for a long time and I've come to the conclusion that it's been more of a burden than a project to me.

I'll provide the files since you all deserve them. Although I can't promise these are the most up to date, if I find out they are not the most up to date I'll update the links and notify everyone:
http://www.mediafire...e_Version_1.qst
http://www.mediafire...e_Version_2.qst
(To clarify, version 1 and version 2 are severely different files.)
They're unpassworded and not playable. Feel free to use them however you please, including taking tiles from it, BUT please do not try to finish the quest on my behalf. You can make a spiritual successor with the resources but please do not expand on my ideas. That's all I ask. The only rare exception is giving this quest idea to someone I can trust a lot.

I know people might see this as me typically cancelling another quest but the reasons greatly differ in this case and I want to explain the best I can. I've always had aspirations to create something new and fresh but I have a tendency to stay close to Zelda "conventions" as possible restricting my creativity. I've had non-Zelda ideas for a long time but always wanted to make them outside Zelda Classic because I saw putting them into ZC as wasting a potential idea. That, and it usually demands a lot of custom work which I couldn't invest in.

When Rite of the Storm was released I realized how much I enjoyed making it. I never once asked "Is this what an ideal Zelda fan game would be like?" because it wasn't a Zelda fan game. It was something I had full creative control with. And while a lot of the lore I planned for Rite of the Storm didn't get implemented I simply enjoyed making something I didn't feel confined to. That's when I realized I want to make my own worlds, my own stories, my own characters... And seeing people enjoy it means the world to me. This is what I want to do in ZC in future now.

Now, this other realization I had mentioned in a previous update... I want to go a bit deeper into it. This might spark a bit of heat but I want to get this out of my system and I mean no insult. I think working in private benefits me more than keeping literally everybody up to date. I have a bad habit of showing everything I do and Sanctuary Tree is very guilty of this. As of the past few months, when I showcase WIP projects I feel like my works are being put under a microscope so they can be dissected. Now I love constructive criticism but I usually love it when it helps me as a quest maker, I still lack some confidence in a lot of aspects in quest making but I feel like when showcasing my work I have to focus on moving bushes around or making sure my next screen takes place in Unicorn land and not a standard screen a part from a quest I'm working on.

This realization came about when I was working on a project outside my comfort zone... When I showed a screen I noticed a few people mentioning the old style I had and how it was better. Or how I used the tileset different enough to lack conventional charm it should have. I can't tell these people they're wrong obviously, but I feel like when I show WIP screens I have to devote in making them appeal to the community and not myself, hence why I'm taking my work private. I will show "mock ups" and occasional project screenshots but not as much as I used to. I realized in a way that while PureZC encourages quest makers to do what they want, by the same token the community does seem to have some level of expectation on what you should or shouldn't make and I feel being more private about my work is the easiest solution.

With that off my chest, I want to personally thank Avataro and CDi-Fails for their massive contributions. If they want to give out whatever they made for Sanctuary Tree they most certainly can since their stuff is too good to go to waste. I also want to mention my project server is going to change into a sever for my projects, or it's going to get deleted altogether. A lot of progress might be shown there, but I will mostly be showing a lot of progress to close friends on the forums. What projects should you expect? Well, I won't reveal just yet, but you will see eventually.

In any case, I want to point out I do regret cancelling this but it has to be done. I know a lot of people were excited for it but I think it'd be worse for me to lie and say this project still has a foreseeable future that's bright and positive. This quest holds a special place in my heart because of how much it has taught me and boosted my confidence as a quest maker. I will use the things Sanctuary Tree gave me as a quest maker to keep forging forth and making projects, ones that I will have full creative control over. I don't seek community approval, I don't seek to create the best thing in the world. I seek to create what I want to create. Thank you for reading and possibly understanding. I love PureZC and I feel honesty is what you all deserve. I can't wait to tease what I might be doing next, but that may not be for a while though. But yeah, again, thanks and if you look into the files I sent I hope you enjoy looking through them!

- Polaris

[Moosh]

Well darn, this sure wasn't what I needed to see today...

Oh well, best of luck on your next project.

[Zaxarone]

well shoot.

[Deedee]

RIP, was actually looking forward to this.

[Anthus]

Your sentiments are literally exactly how I feel. Like, seriously. I'm a little bummed, but I do get it. I'll be sure to look through these later.

Best of luck on future projects, Polaris!

[Naru]

You sure suffer from overthinking. You did the right thing, no doubt about that. Your whole post sounds a lot like me when I want to say a simple thing but are so afraid of people's reactions that I make a whole novel out of it to avoid misunderstandings at all cost. Beside your english, writing style and just everything is far above mine

[TheLegend_njf]

I blame Moosh and his Hollow Forest ending. Not a tree survives.

[Norzan]

And another project that i'm following gets cancelled.

 

Spoiler

maybe me following projects makes them more prone to cancellation

Edited by Norzan, 29 March 2017 - 02:47 PM.

[Matthew]

As I said in Discord, this is a shame. However, I can understand your decision.

 

EDIT:

Honestly I feel that we expect too much out of ourselves sometimes. I know that it's good to be critical of oneself, but don't over analyze to the point where it interferes with goals. You're obviously an exceptional quest designer and even though people can give you grief you need to understand what is and is not valid criticism and try to not let the silly things discourage you.

 

Obviously easier said than done, but either way, I think my point makes sense. Regardless, I just wish you the best of luck in future projects. Sanctuary Tree was a learning experience, but I'm sure you'll make all sorts of cool stuff sooner or later.

Edited by Matthew, 29 March 2017 - 04:46 PM.

[Sheik]

I have a bad habit of showing everything I do and Sanctuary Tree is very guilty of this.

I honestly see no fault with this. I personally don't get why everybody is being so secretive about their projects. The forums are about sharing your work and ideas and if you feel to hold back stuff so that people will get something unexpected in the game that is perfectly fine, but I see it that way: every bit I share I can get opionions and feedback on and thus see if I want to change things around and hence the final product will likely be of a better quality.

[Shane]

I honestly see no fault with this. I personally don't get why everybody is being so secretive about their projects. The forums are about sharing your work and ideas and if you feel to hold back stuff so that people will get something unexpected in the game that is perfectly fine, but I see it that way: every bit I share I can get opionions and feedback on and thus see if I want to change things around and hence the final product will likely be of a better quality.

Because every dungeon being announced and showing an entire overworld removes the surprise factor. Zelda is about exploration and discovery and when you show most of it that element will forever be gone. Peoples reactions would be more "oh, it's this dungeon from that update, cool." then "wow, what's this place I stumbled into?" As for feedback... I got close friends that can provide feedback for me. Beta testers too. While the forum can provide a lot of useful feedback, there can be a lot of vague criticisms like "nothing special" or "you should use a different tileset". This doesn't help development at all and frankly I feel the forums is becoming more of an art gallery than anything else when you show a screenshot.

 

If you want to show your progress, more power to you. But being secretive has no faults either and I think it will benefit me as a quest designer which is where I was getting at. I don't see why I need to be convinced to revert my decision.

[Naru]

And there you go again, overthinking things

From what you said your main reason seems to be that showing your stuff does not help your workstyle and influences your progress in a negative way. Put simply you feel responsible for what you show including the opinions you get from others, "polluting" your mind with ideas that are not yours. Working in secret gives you more freedom. Put even more simply as much as you respect others' opinions, they will result in a quest that might be great but doesn't feel like yours anymore.

I think what Sheik wants to say is that the forums are thought to show your progress, doing so is not a bad habit and nothing to feel guilty about and giving his own opinion to this matter. In other words encouraging you. I no way did he ever say anything against your decision.

[TheLegend_njf]

I honestly see no fault with this. I personally don't get why everybody is being so secretive about their projects. The forums are about sharing your work and ideas and if you feel to hold back stuff so that people will get something unexpected in the game that is perfectly fine, but I see it that way: every bit I share I can get opionions and feedback on and thus see if I want to change things around and hence the final product will likely be of a better quality.

 

This is why I've taken a secretive approach with quest design with the community, but have also become completely transparent to quest staff. People who I have hired as staff in my quests gets to know almost every detail sooner or later even if they want to or not. They know that's part of what they signed up for. lol

 

I feel I don't need the entire community feedback to make a decent product, as long as there is a good team to spot my blunders and slip ups and suggest alternatives, I am completely fine with how the results of my quest will turn out. 

 

Even if that means that there will probably be some people in the community that may find the final product to be rather "displeasing", that is a risk I am willing to take because you can't please everybody. 

[Shane]

Not quite sure if I'm overthinking things, but alright, short answers it is then. And short answer: My decisions are final.

 

As for the discord server, I'm not quite sure. I was suggested to make it into a general Zelda Classic focused server where people show off progress... What do people think of that? If not I might just delete the server.

[cavthena]

Don't we already have a PureZC discord?