44 replies to this topic

[Anthus]

Welcome to PureZC's second Dungeon of the Month Contest. Thanks again to everyone who has entered, and made this possible. If you are interested in entering, please read the first post in the DotM Discussion thread. The rules are simple. Play each dungeon, and vote for the one you liked the most.

 

Now for this month's entries. Let me know if you guys have a preference for spoiler tags or not. I'm going to post this contest without them, and see how it looks. We have four entries gracing your presence this month, so let's get right to it!

 

NOTE: It is highly recommended to play Quests in the correct ZC version, if possible. Bugs may occur if you don't, and that won't be fun.

 

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RedTribeLink - Hyrule Castle: Sewer Prison (ZC 2.50.2)

 

 

 

- This is most of a dungeon from a project I haven't worked on in ages.  It has a classic Link to the Past feel with a sense of exploration and discovery.  To me, it's one of my best early dungeons.
- Try to use all of your items at your disposal.
- Not all enemies die to the sword, but can die from another weapon.
- The submission ends at the Big Key (In case you are curious, it just leads to Hyrule Castle where you spend another while finishing stuff there, but for the sake of the contest, we will just worry about the prison section.)
- I hope you enjoy!

 

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Maikeru D. Shinigami - Level 1: Stalfos' Lair (ZC 2.50.2)

 

  

 

The only thing I haven't set up is the the warp at the end of the Triforce room. So whatever the game does when Link picks up the Triforce, it will be different later on.

I went through every room and fixed any little bugs I saw. It's a little mixture of puzzling and combat. But I think it works well for a level 1.

 

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NoeL - Zelda Prophecies: Forest Temple (ZC 2.50)

 

  

 

 

[no description]

 

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NewJourneysFire - Danger Candy (ZC 2.50.2)

 

  

  

 

"Danger Candy!! A place named after the candy it creates! Because Hyrule in this world does not have a castle or any kind of government what so ever, we don't believe in safe workplace conditions! We are committed in providing our customers the best experience possible, even at the expense of our own staff. Hell, do we even have any employees left? Probably not! I'd say most of them fell into the molton hot candy juice found throughout this entire building. But don't let that form a conspiracy, it could possibly add to the flavor! All this is made possible by the Samson Corporation!"

(Note: Link's Flash effect is a little broken due to recent changes to Link's sprite. Sorry about that! We'll have a fix in the future)

 

EDIT: You can press L/R to jump in sideview areas.

 

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That's our entries for this month. Voting will be open through May 7th, 2016. You may also submit an entry for DotM 3 at any time.

[TheLegend_njf]

I find it interesting how me and RedTribeLink got similar themes going on here. 

[Matthew]

I can already tell NJF's dungeon is going to be seriously good. Downloading right now!

[Eddy]

Looking forward to trying all of these out later on. NJF's and RedTribeLink's is looking really nice from those screenshots.

[TheLegend_njf]

There's one thing I like to say (especially during an even amount of vote because I don't want people to mistake it as me complaining because I'm not satisfied with my votes), is that it seems like some people has voted without really even playing the dungeon.

It's one of my concerns about this contest is that I believe some people are voting on just looking at pictures alone.

This is why I must compliment Eddy and Shane and a few others who'd actually play and provide input for the actual dungeons and not just look at an image and vote.

Like in DotM 1. I simply had no time to play the dungeons, so I didn't vote at all. But I guess everyone will vote how they please. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for my votes, but I just thought I'd suggest to people "At least try and play before you vote"

Edited by NewJourneysFire, 08 April 2016 - 07:35 AM.

[Shoshon the Elegant]

There's one thing I like to say (especially during an even amount of vote because I don't want people to mistake it as me complaining because I'm not satisfied with my votes), is that it seems like some people has voted without really even playing the dungeon.

It's one of my concerns about this contest is that I believe some people are voting on just looking at pictures alone.

This is why I must compliment Eddy and Shane and a few others who'd actually play and provide input for the actual dungeons and not just look at an image and vote.

Like in DotM 1. I simply had no time to play the dungeons, so I didn't vote at all. But I guess everyone will vote how they please. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for my votes, but I just thought I'd suggest to people "At least try and play before you vote"

It doesn't sound like complaining. I mean, look at NoeL and I. We have 0 right now. And I personally think from what I've played that all of our dungeons are solid. I am really leaning towards RedTribe's right. But I wanna finish everyone's before saying for sure.

Like me though, I'm not interested in the votes themselves. I'm more interested in the feedback for the first dungeon I've actually made and completed, so I can see where people think I've done right and wrong and where I might be able to improve in the rest of my quest.


Also, do note everyone who reads this far, my dungeon IS a level one. And I did not make it with the intention of being overcomplicated or hard. It is somewhat linear, but you may still have to backtrack or search around to figure something out.

If you get lost, feel free to PM me. I have tested the entire dungeon and I know the only thing I have to do is set up my warp after the triforce room.

So, just consider the dungeon to be done as soon as you grab the triforce.

[TheLegend_njf]

That's one of the problems with just dropping a vote. Feedback is much better. I mean, how is Noel gonna get any votes when people are voting on pictures.

[Shoshon the Elegant]

That's one of the problems with just dropping a vote. Feedback is much better. I mean, how is Noel gonna get any votes when people are voting on pictures.

Feedback imo is more important than the contest. Cause we could all be blown away by one dungeon that is just so superb in every way that the rest of us don't have a chance. But that doesn't mean that any of our dungeons are bad or anything.

I've got probably half way througb NoeL's and despite a couple gripes it is very good. I also quite love the tileset and the music.

[TheLegend_njf]

I'll get Anthus to update my submission with this very important note. It might not instantly strike people who's never played TRIFORCE to know that you can press L or R to jump in sideview screens. I made the mistake assuming this was common knowledge by now for this quest. So ya, if you're having trouble figuring out where to go, you can press L or R to jump in sideview screens. 

Edited by NewJourneysFire, 08 April 2016 - 11:43 AM.

[Anthus]

There's one thing I like to say (especially during an even amount of vote because I don't want people to mistake it as me complaining because I'm not satisfied with my votes), is that it seems like some people has voted without really even playing the dungeon.

It's one of my concerns about this contest is that I believe some people are voting on just looking at pictures alone.

This is why I must compliment Eddy and Shane and a few others who'd actually play and provide input for the actual dungeons and not just look at an image and vote.

Like in DotM 1. I simply had no time to play the dungeons, so I didn't vote at all. But I guess everyone will vote how they please. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for my votes, but I just thought I'd suggest to people "At least try and play before you vote"

 

This is a concern for me too. I really want people to play each entry, and it is technically a guideline to attempt playing all of them before voting. The reality is, there just isn't a way to realistically enforce that, unless I go to everyone's house, and make them play each entry

 

There will be people who inevitably vote based on pictures alone, and that is kind of unfair, but there are also people who will honestly play each entry, and give informed feedback.

 

It doesn't sound like complaining. I mean, look at NoeL and I. We have 0 right now. And I personally think from what I've played that all of our dungeons are solid. I am really leaning towards RedTribe's right. But I wanna finish everyone's before saying for sure.

Like me though, I'm not interested in the votes themselves. I'm more interested in the feedback for the first dungeon I've actually made and completed, so I can see where people think I've done right and wrong and where I might be able to improve in the rest of my quest.


Also, do note everyone who reads this far, my dungeon IS a level one. And I did not make it with the intention of being overcomplicated or hard. It is somewhat linear, but you may still have to backtrack or search around to figure something out.

If you get lost, feel free to PM me. I have tested the entire dungeon and I know the only thing I have to do is set up my warp after the triforce room.

So, just consider the dungeon to be done as soon as you grab the triforce.

 

That was another point of the contest too. I want designers to be able to get solid feedback. 

 

That's one of the problems with just dropping a vote. Feedback is much better. I mean, how is Noel gonna get any votes when people are voting on pictures.

 

I was thinking the same thing. NoeL is a ZC verteran who has made some amazing stuff, and I hope people will give his entry a fair shot, and not shrug it off cause of no screenshots.

 

I think for the next contest, I will try to find another way to make the poll. Maybe I'll have categories of some sort, so it is not such a back and white decision but we'll see.

[TheLegend_njf]

A contest like this would probably need "Best Presentation" and "Best Quest". Best quest could have an option "haven't played yet" so that they can still vote for the other poll.

[Naru]

Started with Danger Candy. Though the tileset is not mine it is used very well. I am also not a fan of Jump n Run and Shooters and have some troubles with these parts, but again very well done. Might take some time before I finish this one. [Edit] Same like with Noel, a bit tricky, would prefer to finish this in the actual quest. I have some trouble to see what is what, especially the hookshot grab is a problem.

Next is Noels Forest Dungeon. Not sure if I want to finish this, I would prefer to play the Quest as a whole. I have pretty big troubles to get to the manhandela unharmed and even with full hearts I have troubles with beating them. Only thing I dislike so far is the bomb tree, it looks bad how the bomb vanishes first if I am near the exit and I can get a bomb only once. While the enemys fit perfectly into the dungeon, I have troubles to define what the walking enemys could be. Also the forest theme and the "evil bloody plant"-theme mix not too well for me, I would prefer either forest (no eyeballs/blood) or horror (more blood, some shockers to create the effect of a living dungeon). So far my favorite. [Edit] finally beat the manhandela, mostly because I managed to get there with full hearts. The Endboss is a whole other dimension though, at times I manage to harm him but I do not realize what exactly I did to harm him. (Pushing all the weapons at the weak spot, most likely I do not hit the right combo most of the time) combined with my incapability of avoiding fireballs I doubt I can handle the endboss with 3 hearts.

Next is Shinigami. It is nice how you put block puzzles and similiar things in any room, even if some feel a bit too pushed in (like its existence is the purpose), also this will be highly annoying if you do this in each dungeon. Still very nice, got stuck at the same spots like NJF though. The black and the music fit well together, but I am not too happy about such black dungeon design in Koten (hell, first time I played Koten, the foes are gorgeous). Also it does not really fit the theme of STALFOS lair, not sinister/threatening enough.

Last and least comes RedTribeLink. Solid WiP, I also like the use of the warps though there exist better solutions. It feels like a short little mini dungeon for fun and it does that very well. Still I think I enjoyed Shinigamis dungeon more.

RedTribeLink and Shinigami have both solid dungeons for enjoyment without any tricky situations, but feel like they need some more work. I haven't finished Noel's or NJF's entry but have seen enough to rate. Danger Candy is an outstanding dungeon, very well made and perfect for anyone who likes tricky situations and difficult jumping passages - in other words not for me. The forest temple is made very well and in this case I have to rate the tileset, too since the enemys have all sprites especially for the dungeon. It is a really great dungeon, one of the best ones I played so far on ZC, it might has nothing really new or outstanding (beside the tileset) but it also has nothing that I really dislike and it is a lot of fun si I voted for Noel.

Edited by Naru, 15 April 2016 - 02:40 PM.

[Anthus]

A contest like this would probably need "Best Presentation" and "Best Quest". Best quest could have an option "haven't played yet" so that they can still vote for the other poll.

Having a "haven't played yet" option for different categories is actually a really good idea, if something like that was implemented. I am thinking about making a poll and seeing if people would rather have categories. I don't want to say anything too final yet cause I want to see this contest play out, and gauge interest and level of involvement from there. I might even do a third month before implementing a new voting system, if people are interested, that is. I'd be okay either way, but I'm in favor of making voting more fair.

[Deedee]

I've finished all of them except for Noels. I'm stuck because I used all my bombs, and it's seemingly impossible to get more.

 

RedTribeLink: Splendid dungeon design here. This dungeon is filled with good game design and balance. I'd personally say it's the most balanced one here.

 

4.7/5

 

Maikeru: I came in expecting something bad, because SotW. But it was actually pretty okay. In fact, I guess you can say it was...

 

 

3/5

 

Noel: I like it for being unique, yet dislike it for feeling a bit old-school.

 

3.5/5

 

NewJourneysFire: 

Man, it sure is fun getting stuck inside walls!

 

...Okay, bugs aside, this is my favorite entry. There's so much charm to it, and it's pretty fun too. The dungeon length is great, the puzzles are nice, and the bosses are fun. I expected a Hookshot 2 inspired quest, and I got that and more. The only thing I would tone down would be the flies, and the backtracking. Other than that, fantastic job!

 

4.8/5

[TheLegend_njf]

How on earth did you ever??? Haha! My bug testers need to step up their game.

Edited by NewJourneysFire, 08 April 2016 - 10:25 PM.