9 replies to this topic

[ywkls]

The 18th dungeon is done! The 18th dungeon is done!

Whew. When I came up with the idea "base each floor on a season and make it where the player has to use the Rod of Seasons to switch floors" I didn't know how complicated the final process would be. In the end, to get to the end of the dungeon, collect all of the items and beat the boss; you must go through the whole thing 3 times. (There are times whenever I'm designing an area and I think to myself, why can't this be a little bit harder? Then I make it too hard and have to undo some things. I'll wait until I'm playtesting to see whether this was the case here.)

Anyway, I've got things set up where you can't enter the final dungeon until you've gotten all of the items from the 18th dungeon, but I think that I need to include one more so that you have to beat the boss of the dungeon to enter the final area. (What? Somebody might decide not to complete a dungeon, collect a heart container and watch a cutscene? Inconceivable!) Which brings us to the matter of Onox's Lair.

I thought that the Temple of Seasons was large, but this place is going to be even larger. New items will be found inside, including the Fire Boomerang, stronger versions of the Glove and possibly a fifth Sword upgrade. I'd also like to replace the Cane of Byrna with something else. I haven't put it in my quest yet and it doesn't really seem to do that much anyways, so I'm debating whether or not to try and use it. I'd include the Din's Fire, Farore's Wind and Nayru's Love items built in but that would mean making space for them on my equipable items subscreen and I'd rather only replace one thing there. However, there are three extra items in the area reserved for stuff that is always active, such as the Flippers and various Bags and Quivers. So I'm thinking of creating some kind of collectible (if I can find a script that will let me do that) with a reward for getting them all. The other items in that spot are the Amulet (which is basically useless once you have the Lens of Truth) and the Stone of Agony (which is also pretty useless). I''m going to be looking over existing scripts for various weapons and try to learn how to include them as well as set it up where they can be used to solve puzzles. I'm also going to set a slightly lower bar for myself as I work on Onox's Lair. Normally, I'd try to make each screen slightly different from the others, but considering the size of the place (four maps, three of them 6 wide by 8 tall and the last one even larger) I may not do that.

Of course, I could always change my mind later on, but since I'm hunting for new things to add to the game; it may be a while before I get done with it. (I can finish the design for a two floor dungeon in about a day, but making each room unique takes a bit longer and putting in puzzles and enemies even longer. When I say a dungeon is finished, I mean that each room is different; puzzle and mini-boss type rooms are set up and warps are in place to carry you from one section to another.) If I get an idea I want to try or anybody posts something I think would be interesting to add, I'll post what I think about the subject here until I'm done with Onox's Lair. But don't expect anything too soon. From what I've seen, incorporating scripted weapons and items can be a bit tricky and I may spend a while trying to work out the bugs.

[ywkls]

I know it has only been a couple of hours since I posted my original update, but I think I've found what I want to use as a replacement for the Cane of Byrna. That would be the Pegasus Boots. The code I'm using as an attempt to do this can be found here.

 

http://www.purezc.ne...showtopic=38916

 

I've got my global scripts combined and imported everything into my file,  compiled it successfully, put the script in an item script slot; assigned the custom item to a place on the subscreen, assigned the script to the action slot of the custom item and loaded my game to try it out.

 

And... nothing happened. It makes a sound, but that's about it. I don't know if I'm missing part of the setup or what, but until I can figure it out, I'm going to keep looking. (I know that there are other Pegasus Boots scriptsout there, so I might be able to get them to work. The only other option I think might work is the Ice Rod.)

[ywkls]

I don't know the precise rules about how often I should post information relevant to what I've already discussed in this topic, but I'm sure somebody will let me know if I make a mistake.

 

Well, it took me about a day and a night to figure out, two different scripts and a lot of adjusting; going into the game and readjusting... then wash, rinse repeat... but I've finally got a working collectible system in place. Of course, I won't be creating the actual collectibles just yet (haven't decided what to use yet) or placing them (haven't decided how many I want to have yet) or what you get for finding them all. Still no luck with the Pegasus Boots. That script on the other topic is six years old and there are obvious problems with it. (Such as the fact that it incorporates functions which are now included as part of std_functions.) I guess that I'm going to have to start a script request if I'm going to get it to working. (Or find out what in the world I'm doing wrong.)

 

In the meantime, that's about all I'll be able to do on the game until tomorrow. But, considering that I viewed creating a working collectible system to be a major hurdle that I didn't even know whether or not anybody had created yet and I've now overcome that barrier; I'd say that definite progress has been made. I'm also thinking about renaming some of the items that you get in the game. While the standard names are fine and all, they're not really that original. And if I can find an item other than the Pegasus Boots that I can get to work, so much the better. (The Bombchu looks promising, but the setup seems to have the same level of difficulty as the Pegasus Boots and I'm not quite ready to give up on them yet.) I'll probably spend the day at work mulling over things I could have tried and stuff I might want to add since nobody has made any suggestions.

[Demonlink]

Sounds good, and given that nobody has commented on this yet, all of these implementations sound good overall! For the collectibles, I could suggest some sort of "Mysterious Crystals", or "Star Shards", similar to those from ST and PH. As for the Pegasus Boots, I might be able to take a crack at it, given I somehow made them work in the past, if not, you could try asking LTM given he's using such script in Fairy Dream...

 

Still, all of this sounds good and hopefully progress goes swell for you

[ywkls]

Okay, now I have a new debate on the collectible front; that is how many I should have. I kind of wanted a nice even number like say 50 or 100 but then I realized that my main overworld is crowded as it is. There is always the underground area (where Subrosia was in the original game) but there are a few problems with that. One is that I'm leaving any references to them other than cameos out and the other is that I've designed the spots on the world map that give you the collectible and in the underground area I'd have to either completely recolor them or redesign them from scratch. I'm setting things up where there will be multiple points in the game where you can get something for collecting 1, 5 and 10 of the item and I've already placed about a dozen of them on the world map. They're going to be called Crystalline Flames and will look something like a fire that has frozen into crystal. So at the moment I'd leaning towards one of two options. Remake the object which surrenders the Crystalline Flames or make the whole world larger. While the latter would be more time consuming, it would allow me to spread out my locations and increase the size of the areas which comprise each season. The only other option I see would be to reduce the overall number of collectibles. Until I decide what to do, I'll probably turn my mind back to designing the interior of Onox's Lair. (Like I should have done a few days ago.)

[Demonlink]

How about instead making lesser of them? I'm making 20 collectibles in my quest and it's going to be a huge overworld around that of 24x24 and I think that's a fair number Or even this, make it around 10 so that they're super rare and make the reward worth it for finding all 10. It's all up to you in the end

[ywkls]

Apparently less is more and with that in mind, I've settled on a total of 25 Crystalline Flames. They're going to be in some of the underground areas now too, but recoloring the object which houses them and getting it to look right wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I've also created all of the reward points for them and placed them in appropriate locations throughout the world. You should find yourself collecting at least 1 Crystalline Flame between every dungeon, although some have more and others less (due to the way the dungeons are set up in relation to one another). Now for a discussion of the rewards.

 

For turning in your first Crystalline Flame, which is done after watching a mandatory cutscene; you get 50 rupees. This is available right after you start the game, before the 1st dungeon.

For finding 5, you get the Large Quiver, which holds 60 arrows. This becomes available after the 3rd dungeon where you get the bow and arrows but before entering the fourth. (You don't have to get it then, that's just the timing window for when you can reach the right place.)

For collecting 10, you can get the Large Bomb Bag, which holds 60 bombs. This can be done after the 6th dungeon, on the way to the 7th.

For obtaining 15, you can get the Magical Boomerang. This can be done after the 12th dungeon and before the 13th.

For scrounging up 20, you can get the Hero's Wallet, which holds 999 rupees. This can be done between the 14th and fifteenth dungeons. (This wallet is also needed to buy the Hero's Quiver, which holds 99 arrows.)

Lastly, if you get all 25; you'll get the Sword of Crystalline Flame. This weapon is twice as powerful as the level 4 sword and always shoots beams. Although the spot where you can get this is near the beginning of the game, you won't be able to collect it until you're almost through.

 

Speaking of renaming items, all of the Swords now have new names. They'll be in this order.

1. Adventurer's Sword.

2. Balanced Blade.

3. Virtuous Sword.

4. Hero's Sword.

 

I'm also trying to include another new item, to replace the Amulet. That would be the Revival Potion, based on code posted by MoscowModder and Gleeok. While you can buy more than one of these from the game's only shop; it is sold for an exorbitant 255 rupees to discourage you from abusing its power.  It took a little time to set up, but it works just like you'd think it should.

 

Now maybe I can finally devote some of my mental energy to what I set out to do when I first posted this update; namely, finishing designing the game's final dungeon.

Edited by ywkls, 12 December 2014 - 11:38 PM.

[ywkls]

I now have working Pegasus boots! (Yeah!) This is all thanks to a script request answered by Lejes. The actual problems with the code I submitted to that topic may seem to have been minor, but when you don't know what code should go where; what is missing and why certain things are set up in a certain order then figuring out the problem yourself can be a bit frustrating. The code seems to be a modified version of what's in the old script database, with the changes mostly being in the order of commands and replacing stuff that is out of date with code that works. Now that that is out of the way, I'm going to be doing two things. 

 

First, continuing my work on Onox's Lair. (I haven't drawn any screens yet, but I have worked out in my mind where I want transitions between floors to be and on what floor certain items are obtained.) 

 

Second, searching for another passive item to place on my subscreen. This would be something that is always active, like the Flippers or Magic Book is. I haven't been able to come up with any ideas about the sort of effect I'd like to create, but here's a list of the things I'm already using.

 

Row 1: Shield, Ladder, Raft.

Row 2: Glove, Magic Book, Revival Potion, Crystalline Flame.

Row 3: Magic Key, Magic Boots, Heart Piece, Flippers.

Row 4: Tunic, Wallet, Bomb Bag, Quiver.

 

Every row has four items except the top one. (Which currently has the rather pointless Stone of Agony in the last slot.) I've been perusing the forums, searching for code for items I'd like to include; but nothing has struck me as being right yet. I thought about using the spot for some sort of trading quest, except that might mean I'd have to create something else to reward you with for finishing it. If I find something or a suggestion appears that I'd like; I'll post information about it here.

[ywkls]

And now hopefully the last update before I finish with Onox's Lair. I've decided what to put in that last item slot on the subscreen. It's going to be... a trading quest! (Yeah, I know it's been done before. But I've never done it and I thought it was important both to learn how and then include it once I did so I could utilize one in later games.) There are ten items in the quest, scattered around the world in various locations. Once you have collected all ten, you get an item called Hero's Might. This is a variation on the Whimsical Ring which has a one in one chance of increasing the strength of you attack by as much as the strength of the strongest sword. (If this doesn't work, I'll use the attack ring script I've seen to accomplish this same goal.) That is the last extraneous thing I feel the need to add to my quest; so I'm going to hunker down; finish designing all of the screens and devise the ending. Once my work is through on design, the next step is probably the longest and most tedious. (Layers, enemies and cutscenes... oh my!) Expect a final update in this topic once I (finally) get done with Onox's Lair.

[ywkls]

This is the end, the end of the game as we know it... and I feel fine. As I went through the process of deciding how the interior of Onox's Lair was going to be laid out, where the treasures, warps between levels, mini-bosses and pot rooms would be I came to a decision about this last dungeon which I may change later as I work on the more mind-numbingly dull portion of the game... there will be no puzzles in this dungeon.

 

Seriously, designing puzzles is hard for me. At times, I'll just stick four random triggers in a room, make it where the player has to hit all of them to proceed and call it a puzzle. Nope just going to be content to place various objects around the (currently empty) rooms, perhaps changing a few of their shapes (which I find almost as hard to do as making puzzles, since there are just so many shapes a rectangular room can take) and devising the ending. (Along with writing my Credits strings.) That'll probably take me all day tomorrow at which time I'll probably start a new update topic related to the next section of making this game. Since only one of the cutscenes that I plan to have happen between the dungeons has been designed yet; I'll be covering anything related to those there, along with possibly screenshots of completed areas. But since practically every screen is going to have layers, only expect updates after I finish a Overworld or Dungeon map.