10 replies to this topic

[MoscowModder]

Tonight I just added the most important feature in the history of EVER.*

Now, you can press B while selecting any item on the subscreen to get an explanation of what the item is and in some cases how to use it.
Of course, this information is always very relevant and helpful.*


Bonus: You can see every item on the subscreen... except the ones covered up by the information box. Also you could see some of the new Water dungeon underneath if you cared.*

Anyway. The next (private) demo with the Water dungeon should be out soon. HUZZAH!



* Expecting a footnote? TOO BAD.

[SyrianBallaS]

Most professional looking subscreen in zelda classic, wish strafling with the sheild could actually block physical attacks depending on the sheild.

[MoscowModder]

Hmmm... I've thought about blocking contact damage with the shield, but now you give me a new idea on the topic. I want to preserve game balance, of course.

 

Perhaps the armors that allow shields could block up to a certain amount of damage each, depending on what size the shield appears. Then contact damage no more than that amount would simply knock you back instead. That should keep the shield useful without making it OP...

[SyrianBallaS]

How about a gauge (invisible) and the sheild breaks depending on the armor and you have to either repair it or buy a new one. Don't know if it's feasible in ZC but it sounds like a nice concept. I still think there should be some unblockable things like stuff falling on top of you and under and the like.

[MoscowModder]

That would be a pretty cool idea. However in Solaris there is only one shield and it's indestructible.

 

What do you think of this concept, as a player?

 

- Projectiles are blocked as usual

- If an enemy hurts you, and it's in front of you, damage is nullified (up to a point) or reduced/left as is (above that point)

- Knockback is left as-is

[SyrianBallaS]

I think depending on how strong the sheild is and how strong the enemies attacks are, there should be modifiers to see how much damage you take. For example, (generic, not necessarily for your game)

 

d = player defense, o = enemy offensive power

 

if d > o nullify attack

if d < o defense is breached

 

if d = 1 and o = 3, you get damaged by one heart. Basically depending on how powerful your enemy is is how much damage you take with the sheild

d = 1, o = 4, damage by 2 hearts. This is just a general example but I think it could work. The way you would want the modifiers to work should be up to you.

 

Your concept is good but concepts are always evolving, the very concept of software engineering. But I think you already know that.

Edited by GhostKnight22, 19 March 2015 - 02:05 PM.

[MoscowModder]

Yep, that's close to what I had in mind. Although there's only one shield, it adapts to your armor by changing size. So with the Phantom Cloak it looks like a little buckler on the arm (emphasis on mobility, after all); with the Lucid Armor it's a full-size knight's shield. With the other shield-compatible armor (unavailable in any released demo), it's a massive tower shield.

 

So, each shield-compatible armor set could also have a shield power level. This could a) Nullify damage up to that amount, and/or b) Reduce damage taken by that fraction.

 

Edit: THERE. Done!

Edited by MoscowModder, 19 March 2015 - 03:58 PM.

[MoscowModder]

Guys, I just had another, related idea: a how-to tab in the subscreen explaining how certain key game elements work. This summarizes the potential content it will have:

 

* Experience and Stats (Unlocked from start)
  * Experience is gained every time an enemy is killed
  * Can raise a stat any time you have the EXP for it
  * Can examine stats for more info

* Switching Armors (Unlocked with Solaris)
  * Can switch armors at any time from subcreen
  * Each armor has different weapons, skills, and attributes
  * Can examine armors to learn strengths, weaknesses, and skills

* Weapon Skills (Unlocked with any weapon skill)
  * Can spin attack/hurricane spin with almost any weapon
  * Can examine armor to learn about unlocked skills

* Magic (Unlocked with any element)
  * Each element increases magic capacity
  * Magic power replenishes with magic stat
  * Hold L to charge up 2nd and 3rd tier spells

* Elemental Stones (Unlocked with any stone)
  * Collect 4 of a kind for a special effect

 

How many people think that this kind of info would help them figure out the game (as opposed to only explaining each thing as you get it)? How many of you would even bother looking at it? Would this be worth the effort?

[SyrianBallaS]

If this was a game for profit I would do it but most ZC players pretty much get the gist of 2d zelda. I would only do it if there were some fancy techniques, kinda like in those Ys PC games. I'd do it if enough people wanted it but if you have some kind of item pickup string or somthing like that, I don't think you'd need it.

[MoscowModder]

That's why I summarized all the items that would go in the tutorial section. They explain the major features unique to Solaris, from the perspective of someone familiar with ZC.

 

So, can someone, preferably who has played the Act I demo, say whether or not those features are confusing enough to warrant a how-to section?

[SyrianBallaS]

I played Act I demo and the new features didn't seem confusing to me, unless you're going to add more or change existing ones.

 

Edit: I'd get more opinions though.

Edited by GhostKnight22, 21 March 2015 - 04:02 PM.