1) Yeah, that's why I included the feature. I personally love the shading overlay, but it still looks great without it IMO.
2) I'm going to be polishing up the first part of the actual game (As in the story and whatnot) a lot today and tomorrow before NCFC. There's going to be an intro cutscene with Link and his uncle (AKA the lazy swordsman in the Patierna Outskirts...Since I'm using Link's uncle's sprite from LTTP, I might as well make him Link's uncle in this), leading up to the start of the game. Garzo will then shout to you from down at his house, and the view will pan down to him, etc. I plan on making the Deku Nuts not "activate-able" until you talk to Garzo for the first time.
3) Yes, I know. It shouldn't be too hard to implement, but right now, I've just had it as "speed = 0" for when Link collides with a solid object.
4) Sort of. I can change it so you can walk, and then swing the sword. The way I had it checked if Link wasn't moving before doing all the sword stuff. So I changed it.
5) Yeah, I have to fix the rolling sound playing even if he can't roll (Like when he's up against a wall). I'll fix it then, along with the nicer collisions, as the rolling/collision checking will be the same pretty much.
6) Hmm...That shouldn't be too hard. I have it like that in Caleron Field, where it just uses Link's current X or Y coordinate (Depending on which way he's going) and then sets the opposite value to whatever else I have it as. This also reminds me of the "invisible barriers" thing my friend keeps mentioning. I should probably add actual borders to as many areas as I can, rather than having blank space where the player thinks they can walk.
I'm going to be doing a ton of polishing today, along with bug fixes if my friend finds any. Tomorrow, I'll make the starting cutscene with Link and his uncle, and make it so the first part of the game is playable and lasts at least 20 minutes up until the end of the first dungeon (That's average time, right?).
Also, I made another comparison image for the hell of it:
The area in the "new" screenshot is the Fishing Hole, which is below Kodrec Grove. If you go to the area of it where the little stream with the walking bridge is, you'll see a clearing that leads down into another area (With a path surrounded by bushes). Cut the bushes, go down to the Fishing Hut, and then walk through the backdoor, and BAM, gorgeous Fishing Hole.
It's my favorite area in the game personally (Although I like to group it with the Kodrec Grove in general, as they're all pretty much a part of each other). Currently, you can only go on the boat (Which will have the KORL sprite until I find another boat sprite), fishing, etc. I'm going to add the Fishing Hole owner NPC eventually, and you'll be able to rent time in the fishing hole (Advantages will be getting to use the boat, catching fish faster than normal, etc.), as well as show her fish you've caught for prizes.
EDIT:
Ok, so I've fixed everything except for 2 and 6. Gonna start working on the 'start-of-the-game' stuff now.
EDIT2:
I added a few things today, not gonna upload until tomorrow night (Before the NCFC deadline) though...
- Spin Attack! When you use the sword, continue holding X and your sword will start glowing. Release X to perform the powerful spin attack.
- Rolling Jab. After rolling, quickly press X to perform a jab. This isn't exactly useful, but it makes it look nicer than just swinging the sword.
- Water splashing sounds. It felt boring without them, so I added them...Yep...
That's about it. I've been thinking of adding a fairy into the game, that follows Link around, and points out certain things of interest by flying over to them and blinking. It won't talk or anything, just fly around. What do you guys think?
EDIT3 (Someone post already so I don't have to keep editing this post for updates):
- New HUD! Compare the old (Left) to the new (Right):
So basically it's like OoT/MM/Other games, where you just press the buttons to use the item shown. You can only have 3 out now, as seen, but you don't have to switch them to another button (Like what used to be C). It's also a lot slimmer, so it takes up less room.
I'm basically trying to clear up the HUD so there's more of the actual game shown, like people have been suggesting. The hearts take up a lot of space as well, but I can't change those, as there's not really anywhere else to put them. Then again, when the game is complete, you aren't going to have a lot of hearts until further in the game, and by then, you'll most likely have seen what every area has to offer.
And of course, for taking nice screenshots, it's best to use the Pictobox, as there's no HUD in the images, and I've removed the small white border (It was supposed to be like printing paper, but it looked stupid in the long run).
So all I have left to do before NCFC 2011 is bug test. A close friend of mine who's been sort of my "private" beta tester since I started working on the game back in December is going to be helping me, and I'm sure he's going to find something I should change.
