13 replies to this topic

[ywkls]

Part 1

 

Many thanks to Mitsukara for making me aware of the existence of this LP

It may be a year later, but I'm going to go back and watch the whole thing and comment on it.

 

So, yes; this is definitely deliberately derivative of the Oracle Games.

I had this idea of revisiting the lands from them, in a new overarching story.

This is the first volume in that entry.

 

The placement of the Magic refill is a bit of an odd choice, I agree.

I don't think I had MP drops from pots when I made the quest originally.

 

The lack of whistle warps is actually easily explainable.

Whenever I was making this quest, I couldn't get them to work.

So I did without until creating a warp system.

 

I have since further refined this quest, in line with adjustments made to later ones.

If you ever get around to doing those, you will find that Balance of Nature now has similar quality of life changes.

These include shortcuts to significant parts of the dungeon, boss health meters and all scripted bosses.

Also, that title screen now has a timed warp.

 

The color of the rupees is mostly due to me not adjusting how the tileset had them set up.

The secrets reset because many of the rooms have NES dungeon rules,

Edited by ywkls, 13 January 2021 - 11:34 PM.

[ywkls]

Part 2

 

There are certain choices about this quest which were made out of ignorance or inexperience.

One of those is the fact that there aren't a lot of shops.

That's why those bombs were there in the 2nd dungeon, right after obtaining the bomb bag.

 

The real reason why the enemies reappear when you change levels is because they're actually two different screens.

And yes, I did indeed use two-level dungeons to death.

I think they're cool, as well.

However, I've since moved on to other things.

 

The design philosophy you see here is present in a lot of my work.

Usually, it is a few screens of wandering then puzzles or fighting for a key; then go back and open the door.

 

Backtracking, Joel. Backtracking. Well said, Doctor Forrester.

[ywkls]

Part 3

 

Sunset Pit may be one of my more derivative dungeons.

Although you didn't show it off, the pits in that area and the overworld are scripted.

The ladder is too, because I kept having people get stuck on it.

 

Mothula is the first scripted boss you'll encounter in this version of the quest.

He's also something I created.

As you commented, he's designed to fly offscreen and be invulnerable for a bit; then return.

 

Chilling Venue has a history of glitches, sad to say.

There was a time when a combo error involving a push block softlocked people here.

Fortunately, that was very early in the design of the quest.

 

The dramatic nature of the Pengators' deaths is due to a script I made which has bosses explode on death.

They don't use it anymore.

They do return in a later quest, significantly improved. 

[ywkls]

Part 4

 

The adventure continues!

The design of level 6 owes a certain debt to my favorite author.

As for level 7, I knew what item I wanted to have there but I also desired the aesthetic outside to be a certain way,

This resulted in the disparity between the result and its intended nature.

 

I readily acknowledge how short these early dungeons are.

Despite this, I definitely suffered from quest burnout shortly after finishing level 7.

I did create longer and more complex dungeons later.

But, I also no longer included a large amount of detail.

 

The placement of secrets at the beginning of the dungeon which allow progress is indeed a common design philosophy with me.

You'll see this a lot in my other quests.

 

If you ever try the latest version of the quest, you'll find all of the bosses far more creative.

I too felt that they could be improved.

Thus, now all of them are scripted.

 

Having the next trading spot so late wasn't intentional.

Making all of the others relatively close together was also a happy accident.

[ywkls]

Part 5

 

There is music in the caves, it's just really quiet.

Level 8 has a lot of strange design decisions.

It's probably got the highest level of backtracking so far.

 

The convoluted underground waterway was made so I'd have something other than caves.

I didn't realize until afterward that it made things harder.

The cracked wall was a recent addition to level 8, because people didn't realize you needed to.

 

Some of the design decisions, like bombs and magic in chests; are holdovers from a time before those could spawn in pots.

The 2nd floor of Midnight Manor doesn't really fit the gimmick of "shaped like the item" .

But, I had no other ideas for what to use as a reward, so I did the best I could.

 

When I originally played this, I found using bombs on Darknuts easier than other methods.

Placing that sword outside was an early decision; long before I chose the dungeon as level 9.

The boss is known as the Darknut Prince.

The sprite was recently improved.

[ywkls]

Part 6

 

Level 10 and 11 are some of my favorites in this quest.

Especially that one in the trees where you go in and out of the dungeon.

 

The boss of Darunia's Grave is the last non-scripted boss in this quest.

Everything after this was made by me or someone else.

The master of the Refuge of Courage is intended to be Phantom Ganon.

The original version was one of my first scripted enemies.

The one you fought was slightly more sophisticated.

 

The re-use of the Armos Knights was something which bothered me too.

They've been replaced with reappearances of earlier bosses I've made since.

 

I'd like to be able to guarantee that there are no flashing enemies.

Since I can't tell if those might affect people, I had never adjusted it.

I will attempt to alleviate the issue.

[ywkls]

Part 7

 

Sorry about the underwater effect bothering you.

I don't get motion sickness so I was unaware that was an issue.

I'd change it if there was another reliable way to indicate you were underwater in ZC.

A blue filter over the screen might work, though it might not.

Also, I used the same effect again in a later quest.

 

Level 12 is the last dungeon to only have one floor in this quest.

It also covers the largest area.

The boss worked out surprisingly well, though the ring around it didn't precisely behave as intended.

 

The walls of level 13 were all custom designed graphics I made.

I wanted it to feel like you were inside a tree.

It mostly succeeds, in my opinion.

 

The boss is known as the Giant Trap.

If you happen to run out of Super Bombs while fighting him, more drop from the ceiling.

Hopefully you'll remember to open the door to the ammo shop near level 13.

[ywkls]

Part 8

 

Fun fact: it is completely possible to skip level 14 until you reach the entrance of level 18.

This is because you don't technically need the Lens of Truth to progress.

 

I apologize for the bad palette with the invisible Aquamentus.

I actually had to specially script my own Lens effect.

This was because scripted enemies can't normally be seen with it.

 

The largest wallet is one of the few items you can acquire out of order.

I've since implemented a script which allows for progressive items.

I may someday go back and use it here.

 

If it wasn't obvious, I didn't think about the need for an ammo shop until very late in the quest.

I've since remedied this somewhat by making it where pots can drop arrows and bombs.

[ywkls]

Part 9

 

Level 15 may seem a bit bland, but it is also a very intricate dungeon.

By this point, I wanted to begin expanding the number of routes available at any point.

 

The boss is actually intended to be Agahim.

The script has since been improved to be more accurate and challenging.

 

You're drawing close to the conclusion of the quest.

I'd be interested in hearing your overall thoughts.

 

Collecting what's available near the Verdant Maze is a perfectly acceptable choice.

I actually designed that region before deciding the dungeon order.

You're also reaching the point of significantly more contrived floor layouts.

 

Hero's Might is what is known as a Whimsical Ring.

This creates the chance that any melee attack such as sword, hammer or wand; will do critical damage.

This one has a 100 percent chance of doing so.

[ywkls]

Part 10

 

Level 16 is one of my favorites.

I had wanted to do the whole raising/lowering water idea for a while.

The decision to make them 2 separate floors was a natural progression of this idea.

 

I acknowledge the relatively simple nature of the quest.

It was made specifically to be fun.

I had played a number of others where you could wander around for hours without a sword or never find a dungeon.

This was made to be the opposite of that.

 

I learned enough working on this quest to be more ambitious on my next project.

For instance, I learned a sufficient amount of scripting to begin making my own enemies.

This also allowed me to branch out into the creation of other useful features.

 

In case it isn't obvious, I find the bait to be fairly useless.

I had an empty spot in the inventory to fill and that was what I came up with.

This trend continues in the next quest in this series.

[ywkls]

Part 11

 

The aesthetic of level 17 is intended to evoke the idea of summer.

Areas of dry heat and verdant vegetation overlapping one another.

The size of the dungeon follows the natural progression of my quest design.

 

The presence of a large amount of grass definitely reduces the difficulty.

This dungeon definitely has you spinning in circles.

This was only partially intentional.

 

Enemies reappear for the same reason that puzzles reset.

The warps can spawn under you which could create an infinite loop.

The design of Facade has been improved recently to be significantly less bothersome and tedious.

 

If you look at the outside of the dungeon, you'll notice it's also the screen used for the title of the quest.

That's because it's one of the first which I designed.

[ywkls]

Part 12

 

What can I say about the Temple of Seasons?

To start off with, it's the first of 2 dungeons which is 4 floors long.

Second, I knew going in that I would have one item per floor.

Placing the Rod of Seasons and sword upgrade were easy decisions.

The others were made as a result of running out of things to include.

 

The main reason that the Roc's Feather jumps so high is because it isn't scripted.

So, the height is uniform whether you're in sideview or top-down.

That last switch before you exit the sideview area is what opens the path forward.

 

Kholdstare was made by someone else.

However, I was forced to fix it due to an error which made it never die.

 

The Sword of Crystalline Flame is the second requirement for the secret ending.

It's basically twice as powerful as the level 4 sword.

It does indeed destroy everything.

Except an enemy which you will now have to confront.

[ywkls]

Part 13

 

The final dungeon is at hand.

In case it wasn't obvious, my brain was really tired of making unique dungeon rooms by this point.

That's why most of Onox's Lair is large empty rooms with nothing but a few enemies inside.

 

The dungeon itself is 4 floors.

Believe it or not, people used to miss the Golden Arrow chest.

They'd get a large distance in and be forced to go back out and retrieve them.

That's why there's a trigger right at the entrance.

I've since added shortcuts periodically throughout the dungeon.

 

The Pegasus Fruit was made as a a result of a script request.

I liked it so much, I decided to include it earlier in the next quest.

I don't know why the item was changing when you bonked.

There's nothing in the script which could logically be causing that.

 

Do I like hamiltonian path puzzles?

Is water wet? 

I discovered their existence at the same time I was making this area.

Naturally I used them to death.

They make frequent returns in later quests.

You don't have to end up at the right place to solve them, just step on every tile.

 

Just about every boss makes a return appearance in this dungeon.

This is partially to emphasize just how overpowered you've become. 

The two strength upgrades in one dungeon came about as a result of me running out of rewards to give the player.

Edited by ywkls, 25 January 2021 - 11:37 AM.

[ywkls]

Part 14

 

And so our journey comes to a close...

Or does it? As you know, this is the first in a series.

There are currently two sequels out, with two more in production.

 

The design of Onox with one arm was deliberate.

The idea was the his revival reflected his defeat in Oracle of Seasons.

As the first villain to be brought back, obviously he's weaker than later foes.

 

The scenes of the restoriation of Holodrum are all part of the secret ending.

Once you obtain the Sword of Crystalline Flame and the Hero's Might, defeating Onox in Dark Dragon form is the only way to complete the quest.

The boss is designed to wreck you if you're not careful.

Fortunately, you had the Revival Potion to bail you out.

 

I don't believe that the wavy effect returns in Passage Through TIme.

There is a section in Destiny of the Oracles which uses it.

If you ever get around to that, I might be able to come up with an alternative.