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201

Discussion / Re: The Lengend of Zelda : No title yet

« on: October 20, 2006, 04:28:55 pm »

The game starts off One hundred years in the future and you start off as the decendant of Link and he at school in a area some what like Tokyo and the Main character is famous for a game called Mechanism  in this game you fight with a weapon that looks like a Corny Dog and  you fight your opponents till they lose all there machanisms the mechanisms make your weapon stronger and if you dont have any mechisms your wepon starts get slow so anyway you fight this kid your rival and you two make a bet that whoever loses has to leave the city for a month and you lose well actually the game forces you to lose (lol) then you have to leave and you meet a gang that want to kill you but they dont get to cause  you tell the police on your cellphone and when the police get there they through you down a ditch where you find a humonges rock so you pick it up and you see a Ice cube and you see some thing inside of it you wanna know what it is and you crack it open and you see a boy and a day later he wakes up while your a sleep and makes a shed not a good one and you wake up inside of it and you ask what time is it and he says I dont know I dont even know where I am and you say tech city and he says huh and he ask where you are from and he says hyrule you say shut up thats just a farie tale whats your name any ways and he says Im Link yours and you say WWWWHHATTTT your my great great great great great great Granfa nothing never mind Umm never mind Oh my name is Kai Link says you said that twice you say O my bad we gotta get you dressed in some real clothe.

That has to be the most bizarre thing I've ever read in my life.

Still, you get a point for making me laugh.   ;D

202

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: The Cloud of Darkness

« on: October 12, 2006, 05:34:15 pm »

The movement code is so buggy I don't even know where to begin to offer advice or suggestions... Perhaps start it from scratch? Use someone else's?!
But you've already got more than a lot of the projects here, so good work. Just needs some fine-tuning before you show it again, perhaps?

203

Discussion / Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

« on: October 12, 2006, 05:23:16 pm »

Well, we could always look at it this way:

How would you feel if another member of ZFGC started making a fan game based on one of your own original games, using your name, characters, sprites et all. Would you not feel like he is stealing your work, and could give your game a bad name?

I don't know how I'd feel, but I would like to think I wouldn't screw the poor !@#$% for every penny he's got! That's the difference... 

204

Other Discussion / Re: What smiley set do you use?

« on: October 12, 2006, 05:18:00 pm »

I use Rinku. It's easily the most... emotive.   

205

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: The Shadowgazer (2/10/2006 - Update w/ sketches)

« on: October 05, 2006, 05:24:21 pm »

Best Zora I've seen, same for the lizalfos, too bad you did em in MC style. ;D

But the lizalfos looks kinda like he's smiling.

Yeah, I know what you mean, but it's intentional. When I did the sketch I had a long lizard-like snout in mind, but when I was spriting it I experimented with a few things. I brought the ridge on the skull forward to make it look more dinosaur-like and decided I preferred it that way, and I don't know about you guys but it always looked to me like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park had evil smiles on their faces so I tried slapping a grin on his face for the hell of it and bang, I'd nailed it! I'm really pleased with that one actually...
Oh, and by the way - the Zora is still very much a WIP. I'm confident the body can be made smaller, or at the very least cleaned up. Not convinced about the colours either. The MC palette clearly wasn't chosen with Zoras in mind, but I'm not gonna let that restrict me. And I'm really struggling with doing a front-facing view. I don't want to dis anyone's spriting skills, but I've never seen a forward-facing custom Zora that really looked like, y'know... a Zora. It's a tough one.

In my never ending quest to find something wrong with this game, I've finally done it - speed. Nothing big, but when Link is moving diagonally, the speed in the direction he isn't facing should be diminished. For example, if Link is moving up right and facing up, he should move up at normal speed, and his speed to the right should be lessened. This isn't a huge deal, but it is something I feel really makes the whole movement smoother and have that Zelda "feel" - otherwise it seems to generic and jerky, and it makes sense if you think about it.

Wow. I've played every Zelda there is and I never noticed that. Capcom never noticed it either - check The Minish Cap.
Makes sense though, and I could change it I guess, but I don't know if I can be arsed! There are seperate objects for Link walking, walking carrying something, walking with the shield, walking with the bow poised - probably more that I can't recall off the top of my head, plus at least one I don't want to reveal - and I honestly don't know if I can be bothered to go back and change all the code...! We'll see, but it would be right at the bottom of the list of things to do. Nice try, though. Must do better!
There have been a few comments about the walking speed - some suggesting I change it, some saying it's just right, and I want to explain why this, and some of the other things, are the way they are. Put simply: it's what feels right when I'm doing it.
I'm not trying to improve on the mechanics of Zelda but equally I'm not gonna let myself get bogged down trying to create a carbon copy of the engine. Plus I'm still learning GML so I'm just trying to build it up from scratch as naturally as possible. In the end it has to play well in its own right, above playing like a Zelda clone, in my opinion. But we'll see how things develop. This game has evolved so much since I started it...

If you cancel the game, I will hunt you down and throttle you in your sleep, then throw your dead body into an incinerator and... oops, sorry. Didn't mean to ramble on like that ;D!

I don't sleep. That's when the nightmares come...

I see those sketches and man - I admire you, I really do. Awesome. But there's one thing really, REALLY bugging me. You're so frickin talented, your game (or demo, anyway) feels so real when I play it, it makes me wonder...

... why don't you go for a whole custom style? Gee, I know you got what it takes, damn. Seeing these sketches, seeing that Lizalfos and Zora, I mean what the hell. Your project would be a 11/10 if it had custom style, really...

Hm, well. Still stunning, I can just repeat myself. Yet I'd appreciate an answer on why you don't go for a custom style. :3

Heh, this project is enough of a time-sink as it is! Do you want me chained to my computer?! Nah, I could't devote the time needed for something like that. This is just a hobby, you know, and I don't want to spend any more time on it than I already do. Besides, I like Minish Cap style!
Maybe I'll do something 100% my own creation after this... Maybe I'll never want to do anything like this again! Who knows? But thanks for the compliments.

When will there be a demo?

He said it maybe in a year.

Kame's right. I'll take this opportunity to remove all doubt as to my intentions for the demo.
Assuming the next z3 takes place roughly the same time next year, i.e. August 2007, you can expect it then.
I think this gives me enough time to get done everything I have planned. If the next z3 occurs much sooner than that, say it becomes a six-monthly thing, it will probably have to wait until the following one. But as of recently I am working on stuff in the sequence they appear in the game. That means I'm working on tiling, spriting and populating the starting area, and when that's done I'll move onto its neighbouring rooms, and keep branching out that way. This is so that even if I don't quite get everything finished in time - and I fully intend to! - the demo can be played all the way up to whatever point it is complete.
Having said that, if I find myself completing it ahead of schedule, you'll still have to wait until z3 to play it! And I wouldn't be adding any more to it than I've previously stated. The end of the first dungeon is a good place to leave it. After that there will be no further demo. Just the finished game.

this game looks super sexy and i hope you dont plan to make it so long that you dont finish it.
and if you ever finish this ill like suck your DICK or something >_>.

Hmmm. I'm assuming you're a Bob as in Robert and not Roberta, right? Then I'll pass if it's all the same to you...

Although, you know, I guess the inside of a man's mouth must feel pretty similar to the inside of a woman's mouth...

JOKING.

Cheers all!

206

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: The Shadowgazer (2/10/2006 - Update w/ sketches)

« on: October 02, 2006, 02:20:09 pm »

Quick update: started spriting/tiling the starting area, Kakariko Village. Lot of work to be done there, but as it's where the game begins, it make sense to get it done first. Basing them on the houses from Minish Cap but adding custom roofs which will enable me to extend the houses to any size.
Also doing a lot of conceptual drawings, so I thought I'd show you some stuff from my sketchbook. As always, the best stuff is under wraps but it'll give you some idea of how I work. 

Wow just started to pay attention to this and boy am I impressed. Very nintendo-ish so much like how nintendo would do it, only prblem is that incase yo havent noticed only the early games and TP have people titles you should have an item title, something that lets you enter the dreams, unless the shadowgazer is an item. Also in most Zelda games there is somesort of transformation, fairy human, hylian bunny, the different masks of MM, big small, young teen, Hylian Wolf, so maybe Link takes on a certain form when he enters dreams?

There's no transformation in this game, no. But I can confirm that the Shadowgazer is an item - it's the thing in my avatar - but to complicate matters, it's also a person... 

207

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: Midnight Phantasm - LAST DEMO SPEC TEST (Bug Fixed)

« on: October 01, 2006, 12:50:34 pm »

So you settled on a title then?   

This plays beautifully, Scooter. Only criticism I would make is, as Soulrivers  says, some of the collisions are a little too sensitive. This is only an issue with things like the sign, stuff you need to be touching to interact with. You can slip right past them. Otherwise they're spot-on.

No techincal errors for me either. Never drops below 60 FPS and it looks silky-smooth.

I'll be watching this one closely. Good luck.

208

Discussion / Re: Spirit of fan games... is fading?

« on: September 29, 2006, 06:38:37 pm »

Now that's a radical, yet efficient idea... It might even work! We would only have something worth of showing

Nah, a radical idea would be to just ignore the linkw204s of this world. 

I'm sure if you ignore them - denying them 'the fame' - those that aren't serious will get bored and leave. Mentioning no names, but there are those who are immature and impatient, yeah, but that's 'cause, y'know, THEY'RE CHILDREN. Bullying them doesn't exactly show us in a good light...

I dunno, maybe we're putting the emphasis in the wrong place. We're tending to waste time making negative posts in these dead-end topics. It's up to us to give the community a lift and put more positive input into the topics of the good projects. I'm guilty of it: I've not posted any comments or questions in anyone's topics in a while when I know I should, and no-one has in mine. Just feels to me like we're on a bit of a downer at the moment.

209

Discussion / Re: Spirit of fan games... is fading?

« on: September 29, 2006, 06:09:02 pm »

Maybe the solution is to do away with the Early Ideas and Production board altogether. If you've got nothing to show for you project but a generic title and a load of hot air, you can't post it here. Not 'til you've put the hours in.

210

Discussion / Re: Are Fan Games Legal?

« on: September 26, 2006, 07:06:44 pm »

The only instance I can recall of a fan game ever being shut down was a fairly high profile (think OOT2D back in the day) Chrono Trigger project.  Apparently Square contacted them and asked them to desist. Whether there was any basis in truth to that - numerous fan games have been sent similar, but bogus, e-mails from disgruntled fanboys - I do not know...

I fail to see why the big guns would get their pants in such bunches about humble fan projects - provided, yeah, they're not done for profit, obviously. How is it any different than fan art or fan fiction? No different, if you ask me. Just people paying tribute to their favourite game in their own way. Besides, there are a ton of fan games being made and are hardly being kept secret, and nobody's suing them...

All I know is fan games are looked upon by the wider fan communities in a different way than other fan works. Can't explain why. The crap thrown at the mere mention of a new fan project on some Zelda forums is bizarre. Ironically, they're ones who seem most interested in shutting Zelda fan games down... Especially when you consider how they lap up some of the !@#$%-poor fan art/fiction. And hentai. And Link/Ganondorf slash fiction. *shudder* Surely they're more harmful to a company's intellectual property?

211

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: The Shadowgazer (2/9/2006 - Update)

« on: September 06, 2006, 06:06:36 pm »

There's already a tech demo. Mob's probably gonna release a full demo in a month or something around that. The 1st demo will go as far as Dragon Roost Island was on Wind Waker, around the same amount of gameplay time, he says. That's 20-30mins gameplay, so I don't really care how long it takes... me wants that demo!!

Whoa there! It certainly won't be ready one month from now! I was thinking more like one year! There's an absolute ton of stuff still to do for the demo, and I was/am working toward getting it all done by the next z3 - assuming that occurs on a similar date next year... Sorry to disappoint, but it's a long way off yet, mate. Thanks for your continued support though. That goes for everyone.  ;D

And I would be very surprised if you could even speed-run that much of WW in 20-30 minutes! 
That portion of the game is pretty lengthy... Maybe you're overlooking some stuff. There's a fair bit of running about on Outset, the journey on Tetra's ship, all the sneaking around in the Forsaken Fortress, exploring Windfall, sailing to Dragon Roost island, getting into the dungeon, and then actually completing it... Nah, that takes longer than half an hour, particularly if you're doing it for the first time.
But I think it's a good like-for-like comparison: there will be a couple of villages to explore, a mini-dungeon like the Forsaken Fortress, some travelling... It's fair to say there will be a lot to see and do before you get into the first proper keys 'n' boss dungeon. On your first time through, exploring everywhere and talking to everyone, my best estimate says it'll be more like an hour's gameplay. I want to release something substantial, not little bits here and there, and something that's genuinely representative of the finished game.

Edit:
Freakish coincidence - The Hylia today posted the first part of a WW speed-run, and it takes 22 mins to leave Outset for the first time... 

212

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: The Shadowgazer (2/9/2006 - Update)

« on: September 02, 2006, 12:45:17 pm »

Sorry guys, time for a long overdue update...
Just some screens of my work on the lava dungeon:





Since starting the first dungeon the enormity of the project has really hit me. All the work I'd done so far, like building the engine, was fun because I was doing something new all the time. But it'll always raise a smile from now on when I see someone sprite something in a single forward-facing pose and ask for credit if used. Like it's of any use in a game without a full set of animations...  With the amount of custom mobs I wanted to put in the first dungeon it's just taking ages to animate them - and it's not the most exciting thing to do. So I'm mixing it up a bit, if I get bored with something I'll move on to something else, then when I'm bored of that I'll go back to the other. Keeps me sane but as a consequence nothing is getting finished! Although I did finally complete the up and down animations for the horse, so I guess that's something...!

Not annoying, but still taking up a lot of my time, is the actual design of the dungeon. Trying to make it flow properly without making it  a linear progression of rooms, logical stuff like getting the exchange of keys and locked doors right, and thinking up puzzles - it's fun to do but it's constantly evolving. I had it all sketched out on paper, but that's way out of date, and I've just chopped off a whole wing of the dungeon that was just pointless padding. And at the back of my mind is the thought that I've got several more dungeons to do so I'd better not pour all my ideas into this first one...

So I'm keeping busy, but there's just not much to show for it at the moment. Getting the engine together was like the first obstacle, it's at a stage now when I'm starting to climb the next - transferring all the ideas I have on paper into pixels... So maybe that's what I show you in my next update, some scans from my sketchbook...

Later,

KM

213

Entertainment / Re: Big spoilers on TP - Read at your own risk

« on: August 21, 2006, 04:18:41 pm »

Not so much a spoiler, and not worthy of its own topic, but it seems Nintendo have back-tracked on the sword-swinging with the Wiiimote:

Sword Controls For Zelda
Swing the Wiimote to control Link's sword.
by Anoop Gantayat 
August 21, 2006 - Nintendo has made some major changes to the control scheme for the Wii version of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Speaking to Japan's monthly Nintendo Dream publication, producer Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that the game will now allow players to swing the controller for sword slashes.

At E3, players used the B button to swing Link's sword, with Nintendo explaining at the time that players would likely get tired having to actually swing the controller. "Upon actually playing it, it's more interesting this way," said Miyamoto to Nintendo Dream about the new control scheme.

Going along with this change, Nintendo has made modifications to the game's bow and arrow controls. In the E3 version, players aimed with the Wiimote, then actually shot out arrows using the D-pad. With the B button now free, Nintendo has moved the action to the B button. Miyamoto felt that that shooting the arrow with the D-pad was too difficult, and the B button allows for quicker and easier shooting.

It's unclear if the game will require the new control scheme or if players will be able to chose between different methods of control.

Nintendo Dream closed off by asking Miyamoto to name the version of Zelda he personally prefers. The master game maker said that he'd play the Wii version, but added that both versions will be fun.

"I can't talk about it yet, but this Zelda has a lot to it," said Miyamoto. "What you played at E3 was just the tip of the nail." Regarding Nintendo's statement at E3 that Twilight Princess would be the best Zelda in history, he said, "Yes. It's coming along quite nicely."

With Twilight Princess due out at launch, GameCube and Wii owners will get to fully explore the potentially greatest Zelda game ever in just a few months. Stay tuned for more!

Link:http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/726/726748p1.html

214

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: The Shadowgazer (20/7/2006 Update)

« on: August 14, 2006, 05:13:15 pm »

I am desperately awaiting the next update after having seen it's empty space at Z3. I hope this game pulls through the hardest production stage of all: Step 2: The Main Game Loop.

I'll take your word for it... 
Actually, I'm looking forward to your step 2 - when it starts to resemble a game, and not an aimless interactive animation, which is what it feels like at the moment. I'm still spriting/animating for the first dungeon and it's slow going, but I'll post an update soon. I might let myself get sidetracked again and start working on something more interesting to show you...

215

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: The Shadowgazer (20/7/2006 Update)

« on: July 20, 2006, 09:08:35 pm »

Good work, as always. Are you going to enter this in Z3?
I like the new blue colours, it looks perfect. I think Link and the stones should keep their day-time look, however.
Although, please try to optimize the code, it's runs slower on other computers...

Thanks. I've thought about it a lot, and I've decided I won't be entering z3, sadly. I don't have the time or, given the tight deadline, the inclination to prepare another demo just for the sake of showing something nobody's seen before. My intention to release the opening part of the game as the demo proper still stands, and for now, that's not gonna change.
I don't want to give the impression that I'm down on the whole thing, but it's just too short notice for me to take part. Just one of those things, I guess. But The Shadowgazer will be there at the next one. With a vengeance. ;D

EDIT AGAIN: I just played the demo its good but link was a little slow on this comp but it didnt lock up he just moved slow (my comp is crap so thats probably the problem) btw do you have your ingame menus done?

Seems to be a few people saying the demo's running slowly on their computers. I'll see what I can do to optimise the code for the next demo, but I have a feeling any slowdown is due to the sheer number of objects and tiles in that room. I'll experiment with a few things, but I can't promise any huge improvement...
And, yes, I have my menu subscreens done now. Still using a few placeholder graphics, but the layout is pretty much finalised.

Since its night shouldn't link get a bit darker? (Bright green in the middle of the night dosen't look right)

Nah, I'm just trying to create an atmosphere, not simulate realistic lighting. It's a stylistic decision rather than a technical one. All the character sprites will retain their original colours, as they did in the graveyard in MC.

On that subject, the clock has been fully integrated now. Each 12 hour period lasts roughly 5 mins, though the timings will change when I can get more of a feel for how the gameplay flows. And I've not quite decided how the transition between day and night should happen. At the moment the change is instantaneous, but this is obviously a temporary measure.

That was me being sidetracked though - work on the first dungeon is still the main focus. At the moment I'm spriting and animating some of the mobs. For example, the Lizalfos:

Still a WIP, and as they're based on the Lizalfos from TP, they probably won't stay nekkid.

Not much of an update, I know, but it's slow going at the moment and there's really not much more to show!

216

Entertainment / Re: Big spoilers on TP - Read at your own risk

« on: July 14, 2006, 04:00:55 pm »

This guy's a boss - most likely a mid-level boss, as Link wears the magnetised iron boots during the fight, suggesting it takes place in the Goron Mines.
Some (very blurred) images from the E3 2006 trailer showing the fight:



Looks like you've got to pick him up and throw him off that platform...
I'm guessing he's a regular Goron corrupted by the twilight, like the monkey with the boomerang fromthe E3 2005 playable levels.

And here's another crappy shot from the trailer:

217

Entertainment / Re: You bought as many Zelda-Games as possible? Then click here.

« on: July 07, 2006, 05:42:53 pm »

Seen this?
Utterly barking.

First person to start a TFPRCRL-style fan game gets, I dunno, a peanut.

218

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: The Shadowgazer (4/7/2006 Update: Day/night cycle)

« on: July 06, 2006, 05:49:02 pm »

Eh, since I'm a big fan of MC, I can tell that you just used the graveyard tiles for "night" (recoloring a few things like the grass, bushes, flowers, etc.) so to me, it just looks like a spooky-ish graveyard place rather than nightime.

Sure, but I always assumed that the stuff in the graveyard was designed to look like it was set at night... But I agree, and I don't think it's right for this purpose. I think it's the way to go, but maybe it should be more blue than purple:

That work any better?

i tried demo1, and it was pretty good
the game ticks too slow, increase gamespeed
crashing into things works, but we both know its not a linear motion

We do? Sorry, I have no idea what you mean by that.
Still, faint praise from the brains behind "the best zelda engine there is"? I must be doing something right!

219

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: Essence of the Triforce ~ UPDATE 7/6 - NEW TEXT BOX SCREEN

« on: July 06, 2006, 05:19:49 pm »

Looking better and better with each update. Nice work!

220

Zelda Projects / Re: The Legend of Zelda: The Shadowgazer (26/6/2006 Update)

« on: July 04, 2006, 08:50:46 pm »

This week's update is just a few words about what I've been working on this week, and a little insight into how I'm developing some of the gameplay concepts.
Work is continuing on the first dungeon. Still building the rooms, but I've just coded some overlays and floating ember particles to try and make the place look hot-like-a-volcano-hot.
I've also been experimenting with how I'm going to show the difference between day and night. I didn't just want to darken the room. I think it only makes things look murky, and I wanted to keep the colourful look of MC, so I tried re-colouring a sample screen. Just a mock-up, but here are the results:
Day:

Night:


My game probably makes more use of its day/night cycle than most - makes sense if the game revolves around sleep - so I'm trying to make it look pretty unique.
I've decided to give every NPC their own unique sleeping patterns, because I was worried it would make for a linear playing experience if everyone went about their business during the day and slept during the night. I thought it would remove any need to go into the nightmare world during the day. So I figured if I put, for example, a bar in the game it would need a barman who would work evenings and sleep during the day, plus it would need patrons... So you should be able to go into the nightmare world whenever you wanted and there would still be something to do.
But that led me to thinking "If these people were being plagued by such bad nightmares all the time, why would they ever want to go to sleep?! Surely they'd want to stay awake as long as they could!?" So I came up with the idea of using a rotating, Majora's Mask-style, three day sequence, basically just placing key NPCs in certain places at certain times - giving them more of a 'life' beyond on/off sleeping. Nothing disastrous is gonna happen at the end of these three days though - no moons fall from the sky, the sequence just starts over. You'll be able to keep track of where people are and at what times, and what their sleeping habits are, using a Bomber's Notebook-style planner.

As ever, your comments would be welcome!
Cheers,

KM