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TLoZ: Crucible Crest

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Crucible Crest Announcement+Demo!


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#1 Mitchfork

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Posted 25 January 2021 - 09:36 PM

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Hey everyone! I am happy to formally announce a new quest project between me and Sheik. This is The Legend of Zelda: Crucible Crest.

With this announcement, there's also a playable demo extending through Level 1 - you can download it now!
Nov. 30, 2022 Update - New Demo Available - Playable in Zelda Classic 2.55, a110/a111 only!

I also wanted to give a brief pitch for the game. I really think the demo stands on its own, so if you're bored by this, just download and play it - and let us know what you think in the thread!

>>STORY / CONCEPT

Crucible Crest is a Zelda 1 "remake" in a very loose sense. It's really a "reinterpretation" (and in fact that was the working title for the project). This is a critically-minded response to Zelda 1, but also Zelda as a series - the way that the story of Zelda is continually retold and repeated in an endless cycle.

You can play this as if it's a Zelda 1 style quest - wandering the world and checking off your boxes. If you want or need more guidance, there are NPC's who can directly instruct you. We've designed a quest state system that allows them to update their dialog based on what you've accomplished so far in the game and what they've already told you so that this is dynamic and always helpful. You can get a taste for this in the demo, even though it's limited in scope.

The rest of the story is best left to the game - so get in there and play it!

>>WORLD

Sheik has designed the overworld for the demo and has done some superb sprite work for the project as a whole. This quest is planned to be a full 16x12 overworld. Locations are basically the same as they are in Zelda 1, but you can already tell by the demo that things have been remixed in subtle and not-subtle ways to help the world flow a little bit better.

>>GAMEPLAY

The gameplay in Crucible Crest is highly scripted to resemble the Game Boy Zelda games in feel. The following features are just some of the changes made:
  • Enemy and player knockback is completely rebuilt to depend on the angle of the hit. This completely changes the feel of combat from Z1's grid-based system. The terrain also factors into combat more - enemies can be pushed into pits, water, and lava just like in the GB games.
  • All enemies are completely scripted from the ground-up. Existing enemies now much more closely resemble their GB counterparts, and all-new enemies have been added as well.
  • Many familiar items are now expanded in their role and usefulness to encourage a variety of play. Try relying on the candle especially - I think you'll find it's really fun!
  • Visual effects - bombs, switches, shutters, warps, etc. - have all been slightly or significantly revamped.
  • New save point, continue, and warping system.
>>DEMO

Here's the link to the latest version of the Crucible Crest demo with the associated GBS soundtrack files.

Nov. 30, 2022 Update - New Demo Available - Playable in Zelda Classic 2.55, a110/a111 only!

Please report any bugs, issues, or just post about your experience and let us know what you liked and didn't like! Here are a few notes:
  • The GBS files are REQUIRED for music. This quest does not include or support MIDI's.
  • The demo only goes to the end of Level 1. You can continue to play and explore afterwards but no new content or dialog exists after this point.
  • Areas on the overworld that are not accessible have been blocked off.
  • An overworld map is planned, but not implemented in this demo. This also affects the overworld warping (which is functional but not fully implemented) as it is planned to rely on the map.
  • The active subscreen is functional, but not complete. This is planned to be replaced by a scripted subscreen to allow use of the EX1 and EX2 buttons to equip items.
  • Related to the above, the passive subscreen has placeholders for X and Y buttons, but are not implemented yet.
  • You cannot get to every cave, chest, and item that are visible in the demo.
  • Anything can change between now and full release!
>>CREDITS

Tiles/ Tileset:
  • EZGBZ 2.5 by Lightwulf, adapted from EZGBZ 2.1 by Akkabus
  • Various Loose Tiles - Shane, Relic, Supindahood
Beta Testing / Feedback:
  • Hubydweyer
  • Aslion
Music:
  • Jake Kaufman (Shantae)
  • Minako Hamano & Kazumi Totaka (Link's Awakening)
  • Minako Adachi & Kyohiro Sada (Oracle of Ages / Seasons)
  • Tsutomo Ishida, Masayuki Iwata, and Atsushi Mihiro (Trip World)
  • Norihiko Hibino (Metal Gear: Ghost Babel)
  • Alberto Jose González (The Smurfs' Nightmare, Turok 2)
  • Hidehiro Funauchi (Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge)

Edited by Mitchfork, 30 November 2022 - 09:04 AM.

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#2 Aslion

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Posted 25 January 2021 - 09:40 PM

:zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz:

 

enemies can be pushed into pits, water, and lava just like in the GB games.

we all know you haven;t scripted lava yet liar


Edited by Aslion, 25 January 2021 - 09:41 PM.

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#3 David

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Posted 25 January 2021 - 09:50 PM

When approving the demo to the database, I was like... wait a minute, what is this and why haven't I seen it before? I realized the project was not publicly released yet and was expecting you guys to reveal it soon, which I'm happy to see it has.

 

This looks really, really good. The example screenshots look really detailed and are flat out gorgeous, for both the overworld shots and dungeon shots, and the gameplay features described sound really fun and engaging. I'm a big fan of quests that stick to the Zelda 1 roots but reimagine and reinterpret fundamentals in a really appealing way, and this seems to follow that concept nicely. I cannot wait to hear more about and see where the project goes in the future.

 

Best of luck to you all on this project! :)


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#4 Matthew

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Posted 25 January 2021 - 10:16 PM

This is easily one of the most gorgeous GB projects I've seen so far. Looking forward to playing this in a bit.


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#5 Jared

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Posted 25 January 2021 - 10:46 PM

Demo was splendid to play. I think I ran into a small glitch: When asking if I wanted to warp to another campfire, I could only press B. It wouldn't let me press to warp to wherever it was.

 

Otherwise, no bugs and I'm excited for more!!


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#6 Mitchfork

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Posted 25 January 2021 - 11:08 PM

Demo was splendid to play. I think I ran into a small glitch: When asking if I wanted to warp to another campfire, I could only press B. It wouldn't let me press to warp to wherever it was.

 

Otherwise, no bugs and I'm excited for more!!

I'm not able to replicate this one.  The menu is definitely a little weird though (as I said above, that interface is going to get redone heavily).  If you have all of the warp points you have to be scrolled all the way down in the menu and then you use left and right to switch options.

 

Are you playing in 2.55 a85?  Come to think of it, I should specify that near the demo download...


Edited by Mitchfork, 25 January 2021 - 11:09 PM.

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#7 Shane

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Posted 25 January 2021 - 11:48 PM

Really cool demo! I think I 100%'d it (save for the expensive item). I did encounter 2 problems however, and I was playing with 2.55 a85:

  • The campfire menu was bugging out on me too. But instead of only being able to press B, I couldn't switch down the menu. Edit: I realized you had to move left and right because up and down were taken for other functions. Whoops!  :P
  • Was the boss room being lit during battle an intentional design choice? It is a little bit weird since there's no real in-game context for it, as far as I'm aware.

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#8 Aslion

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Posted 25 January 2021 - 11:52 PM

 

  • Was the boss room being lit during battle an intentional design choice? It is a little bit weird since there's no real in-game context for it, as far as I'm aware.

 

I brought this up several times during testing. Mitch doesn't care. We just have to pretend the moth is really bright.
 


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#9 Jared

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Posted 25 January 2021 - 11:58 PM

I'm not able to replicate this one.  The menu is definitely a little weird though (as I said above, that interface is going to get redone heavily).  If you have all of the warp points you have to be scrolled all the way down in the menu and then you use left and right to switch options.

 

Are you playing in 2.55 a85?  Come to think of it, I should specify that near the demo download...

Ah, I'm still on alpha 83. Could be why. It seemed to only happen when there was only 1 warp point, I didn't check when there was more than one :P



#10 Sheik

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Posted 26 January 2021 - 09:37 AM

It's great to read everybody's feedback. I'm curious if one of the Let's Players wants to record their playthrough and share some thoughts, too.


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#11 Demonlink

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Posted 26 January 2021 - 11:11 AM

Just gave this a try, and I got to say that I'm very impressed! It closely resembles the Oracle games, and the design is absolutely stunning. I loved it, and I'm already following the project as well. The only minor quirk I have is, when dying inside the dungeon, you spawn at the last campfire? I dunno, it might not be that important, but I feel that at least inside dungeons, it would be more fair to start from the entrance upon losing your health.

 

Other than that, I'm looking forward to this. Best of luck to you! :D


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#12 xanadude

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Posted 26 January 2021 - 12:14 PM

Just finished the demo, and wow. Someone could've told me this was it's own engine and I'd believe them. It plays and looks SO good and it isn't even all show; it's fun as hell too. The items and puzzles were great and this truly feels like the start of something really really special. Love the lore and stuff too; can't wait to play more!


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#13 Mitchfork

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Posted 26 January 2021 - 02:02 PM

Really cool demo! I think I 100%'d it (save for the expensive item). I did encounter 2 problems however, and I was playing with 2.55 a85:

  • The campfire menu was bugging out on me too. But instead of only being able to press B, I couldn't switch down the menu. Edit: I realized you had to move left and right because up and down were taken for other functions. Whoops!  :P
  • Was the boss room being lit during battle an intentional design choice? It is a little bit weird since there's no real in-game context for it, as far as I'm aware.
The brightness was mainly for gameplay considerations - I felt like it made the fight better to have the whole room light up for the boss. And the only reason I don't have it stay lit is because it makes the screen transition look super janky. But, as you can see, other people have thought that what I decided on was janky too, so... gotta think about it a bit more.

Thanks so much for playing the whole thing! I definitely just picked a random big number for that item so I'll probably have to adjust that later. I don't even think there are enough chest rupees to buy everything in the demo anyway.  Balancing the rupee economy is hard...
 

Just gave this a try, and I got to say that I'm very impressed! It closely resembles the Oracle games, and the design is absolutely stunning. I loved it, and I'm already following the project as well. The only minor quirk I have is, when dying inside the dungeon, you spawn at the last campfire? I dunno, it might not be that important, but I feel that at least inside dungeons, it would be more fair to start from the entrance upon losing your health.
 
Other than that, I'm looking forward to this. Best of luck to you! :D

There is a campfire on the first screen of the dungeon - did you see it? If not that's good playtesting info and we may need to make bonfire locations a little more obvious. This is something I struggled with on this particular screen and there were multiple passes on it. Thanks for playing the rest!

I got the idea for the vine walls from your Emblem quest file that you posted a few months back, by the way - your screen design looked great throughout that file. Definitely pushed me in a particular way with the way you did height changes in dungeons as well.
 

Just finished the demo, and wow. Someone could've told me this was it's own engine and I'd believe them. It plays and looks SO good and it isn't even all show; it's fun as hell too. The items and puzzles were great and this truly feels like the start of something really really special. Love the lore and stuff too; can't wait to play more!


Thanks! That's really what I was going for with the scripting, so glad you enjoyed it.
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#14 Professor Bedwetter

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Posted 26 January 2021 - 06:08 PM

i stan the boss room as is


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#15 NoeL

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Posted 26 January 2021 - 06:17 PM

Fantastic demo, guys! Far and away the best quest I've played - everything from visual design to game design to writing is top notch. Fantastic and original(-feeling) atmosphere. You made the bow fun! Woo hoo!

 

Actually, I do have two criticisms of the visual design:

  1. The campfires can be a bit hard to spot - particularly the one outside the tent. And that's usually because...
  2. The ground is too cluttered with detail, more often than not. Particularly in the spooky woods area, where the fog makes it doubly hard to make out environment details. I know Shiek loves to go balls-to-the-wall in this regard, but when it's at the point of negatively impacting gameplay (as it is here) it's time to tone it back. I'd try to lower the overall contrast on the floor details, which could be done by using more low-contrast tiles and/or more "flat-colour" tiles.

Also... slightly bummed that this is yet another Z1 rehash. I personally would've preferred original maps, but it's not the end of the world.

 

Can't wait for the full release!


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