First it was called "M-Quest 2". Then, as a development name, it became "M-Vania Quest". Finally, after a couple months of brainstorming for a name that reflected either the gameplay or the general plot, this quest's finally been given a proper title. I present to you "The Legend of Zelda: Balance of Power".
As of right now, I'm not ready for a demo just yet. Every issue with the demo provided back during the Expo has been taken into account and rectified. However, I haven't yet been able to come up with new content. Every location currently built is the same as what was there in the Expo demo, with a singular exception.
So, you're probably wondering what exactly is new to warrant creating a Quest Project Feed now, of all times. Well, let me explain what I've gotten done in the months since you've seen this last.
First of all, the Subscreens have gotten a massive visual overhaul. The generic black void with dividers to separate different sections has been replaced with a new subscreen with sections partitioned from each other via engravings and risen plaques. Even the individual counters have been shaded to give the look of the digits being engraved directly onto it, and the different labels given shading to attempt to look like carved and inset gems.
The experience system has been fully integrated into the game as well. There are now three distinct types of experience that can be collected: Energy Spheres, Force Gems, and Guard Orbs. Each type, when enough have been collected, will provide a permanent upgrade to Link's maximum HP, attack power, and defensive power, with visual changes to the Sword and Tunic occurring over time. While the HP and attack increases are handled the typical way most games would, the Tunic's defense upgrades are a bit more interesting.
The Tunic comes in four power levels, Green, Blue, Red, and Gold. Each power level will defend against attacks, but at a price. If you run out of MP, your Tunic will no longer be able to keep you safe, and you'll start taking much more damage than you would otherwise. That's where the secondary levels of the Tunics come in. The belt and trim of the tunic will change from brown leather, to silver, and then gold to show how efficient the Tunic has become. A Tunic with Gold-level efficiency will require much less MP to protect you than a less-efficient Silver-level. Be careful, though! Once you've fully upgraded a Tunic, your next level-up will sacrifice that efficiency for increased protection, requiring you to power up the efficiency levels once again. At some points, you may consider avoiding Guard Orbs so that you'll have more reliable, albeit weaker, protection instead of the more powerful, yet more draining, protection that stronger Tunics would provide.
A couple bosses have been fully replaced with newer scripted bosses, for more balanced and more interesting battles. Even if a foe looks like a familiar opponent, you may have to deal with new strategies in order to come out ahead. For instance, everybody's dealt with a Patra before. Now, how would you handle one with rotating mini-Patras that are fully immune to every one of your weapons? If you think that's easy, what about a damage-sponge boss that can quickly regenerate and multiply to leave you hopelessly outnumbered and overpowered? Hope you've been leveling during your travels so you can keep up!
Many anti-annoyance features have been added in as well, to prevent the more common subtle frustrations that most ZC quests have. For instance, the Low Health Warning SFX is so widely hated, it is the only sound with a dedicated setting in the player just to get rid of it! Now, with a more gentle and natural sound replacing it (Link starts breathing heavy when badly injured), players will be encouraged to actually turn that setting off for once. Even more subtle, multiple sound effects are cycled through for each of the most common actions such as swinging the sword and striking an enemy, so that the player won't be hearing the same single sounds ad-nauseum until they're reaching for the mute button.
Finally, as can be seen above, the oh-so-affectionately nicknamed "Eyestrain Woods" have had the fog slightly thinned out to make it easier to see. (big cheers all around for that one!)
So, hopefully I can finish this quest and get it released. If I can, this will be my first quest, and something I can be really proud of letting other people experience.
Edited by kurt91, 25 May 2014 - 09:34 PM.
