1 reply to this topic

[Nightmare]

A group of NES testers got a hold of ZNR recently and completed my Level 1-3 request that I had asked them for (to answer a question for James Quest: Sidestory)..

A few things that came to note:

1. Level 2 is indeed too well hidden. The testers did not understand the clue when they found it (I will be running this by another person just to triply make sure). This was made more obvious in 2.1 (but we will discuss 2.1's fate later) along with the Arrow Tree opening 6.

2. Apparently my quest style and quest design, even though learnable, might be too forward thinking for most players. I have played The Legend of Zelda (1) since I was 8 and played in this engine since I was 19. I am now 43. I also know virtually every battle trick, mechanic, and way to defeat enemies that's not modern. (I do not know the pass block trick, pass glitches, or 10th Enemy has the Bomb because they all came out post-ZC). So things like positioning on half-tiles, killing Darknuts, Bomb and Stop Dodongos, and all that stuff I have retained where everybody else forgot post 5th Quest when the new generation came in and didn't do their homework by playing the 2nd Quest.

3. Another thing is that I am competitive in a lot of different games and feels, including retro, Pokemon, and especially fighting games. I am an established Platinum in Street Fighter V, play Super Turbo and X-Men vs. SF very well, about an established Diamond in Soul Calibur 2, and using SFV's ranking system, probably equivalent to a Grand Master in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Certain things carried over, including and not limited to: Being taught how to learn patterns and adjusting on the fly and in real time, execution in critical situations, and other skills. And since I'm not a setplay speedrunner, my quests tend to differ in style, be combat heavy (you actually have to learn to defeat certain enemies properly), and rely less on puzzles (I generally don't like those, nothing more frustrating to me having a level beat than to fall to that, feel it's cheap)

Apparently I have gone too far ahead and we are trying to adjust ZNR and Sidestory to the proper difficulty level:

So in light of this, these changes will be made:
1. ZNR 2.1 will be cancelled (this project forum will be open for a good while) and i will be remaking this further and making further balance adjustments and feature adjustments. Don't expect it soon.
2. In Sidestory, we KNOW Level 2 is an issue, we ran out of time in the first wave and are talking about how to adjust it on the second wave. It spikes too quickly and gets hard fast. However, my testers have confirmed that Sidestory is easier than ZNR and is learnable. So if you get your butt kicked, it's expected. Both testers had it too.
3. My goal is to try to have my quests to the point that someone who beat the 2nd Quest able to pick it up. Obviously ZNR up to 2.0/2.1 failed and a complete remake will be now required. Sidestory's only in public demo phase and we will have time to adjust it since this is the first time it's being shown in mostly full form as we are expected to have a 2nd development cycle now and life changes might not happen until the fall.

Again, my testers DID say the quest was OK. and I can 0-game ZNR, so this comes to me as quite a surprise, as I had limited results.

So in the future:

1. I will do better to reach the intended difficulty goal unless otherwise stated.
2. Second Quest is REQUIRED playing before playing any of my quests. Sorry. It's just the way it is, unless I do something of a different engine like LA.
3. This quest is on Normal Mode an Expert-level quest (even though I vehemently disagree, I've been overruled)

Also keep in mind I don't play most other people's work unless it's official contests, someone specifically asks me to look at something, or get pointed in that direction for engine testing. I like to keep my work original and not steal from people. If I need help I'll ask.

Again, sorry this took so long to get any type of clarification on the issue. This will also be in the Sidestory project forum as an update.

-James

[Nightmare]

With 2.1 being pushed back to a remake, I've decided to release all the maps to ZNR 1.0/2.0

This will not be like Imzo's:  Maps are going to be coming every day or every other day and is basically an information dump at this point for those that might want to try to finish.

 

https://www.purezc.n...46#entry1073509

 

-James

Edited by Nightmare, 25 May 2023 - 04:54 AM.