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1141

Feedback / Resource storage suggestions

« on: November 21, 2010, 12:24:42 pm »

Following up on the discussion in the feedback section.
I'd like to propose two things to hopefully improve the appeal of the site:

1. A change in the set-up of how graphics (and other resources) are displayed on the mainsite.
This is initially a question wether or not this is even debatable and to what length.

2. In case of a negative anwser to question nr. 1 then I have an alternative proposal.

I'd like to get a child forum in the Graphics forumsection, named something along the lines of: Graphics database. I create several locked topics, which serve as categories. Think along the lines of MC/Atlltp/LA/Mock-ups/Other Zelda/Other. There will also be a rules topic. People may create topics in the child section where they present sprites to add to the database. If found acceptable then I add them to the locked topics accordingly.

Graphics must be accompanied by information like:
-Description
-Name creator -> in case of custom work, or specificly mentioned
-Location found -> in case of custom work with unknown creator
-Permission asked -> in case of custom work with a known creator
-Credits needed -> yes by default (=when unknown) in case of custom work and no by default in case of rips

1142

Feedback / Re: Hit the reset button?

« on: November 21, 2010, 11:06:04 am »

We'd need people to pull the wagon. Cut up ideas into doable sections and divide those tasks.

Resource gathering is probably one of the easiest things to start with as people seem quick to help. There is just the matter of displaying it in a userfriendly manner. I do not mean this as disrespect for the person who build the current resources overview, but the display could be better. Taking the sprites as examples: on the spriterresource I select the group (mc/alttp/la) and see all the sprites at once on a single screen. Click once and you see the sprites in their actual size.

1143

Feedback / Re: Hit the reset button?

« on: November 21, 2010, 10:50:03 am »

Isn't it sort of a given that people are reluctant to contribute and share? As in a fact of life. We were all like that when we were young at one point or another. Most still are. It's tought.

I agree with FISSURE. What we need are projects to look up to and advertisment, but also a good resources overview (sprites/music/etc) and good resources. Projects probably have more impact but resources also bring in activity. I do not believe any of these things is out of reach.

1144

Feedback / Re: Hit the reset button?

« on: November 21, 2010, 08:11:03 am »

I spaced out here and there while reading this. Not another one? Hitting the reset button is a surefire way to lose members just hoping to replace them. It adresses no issues in itself whatsoever. I'm not saying some of your arguments and ideals are not valid, but a reset is no more then wishfull thinking. Just make suggestions to improve the current site (zfgc -> (z)fgc) or build a secondary site yourself.

1145

Recruitment / Re: Small Projects

« on: November 19, 2010, 05:55:59 pm »

Alright, I can do that really easily, for the Down and Up at least. I don't like lttp style much, but I have the walking. Make for aiming now. The bone one may take a while longer, but they won't all be too hard.

I'll see about implementing them, somewhere this weekend, so you can see it in action.

1146

Recruitment / Re: Small Projects

« on: November 18, 2010, 09:05:07 pm »

Great.
-Mirroring left and right should not be a problem.
-Yes, I forgot. The walking animation sideways is only two sprites long.
-I'm afraid I also want aiming while walking because of how the AI is set up (I'll work with what I get though). Consider the AI equal to that of the soldiers carrying bows in alttp. They see you, try to position themselves in front of you while aiming and then stand still to shoot.

1147

Entertainment / Re: What are your favorite WWII movies?

« on: November 18, 2010, 05:14:52 pm »

I recommend watching Enemy at the Gates (seeing as how nobody mentioned it yet). Not perfect, but it is my 2nd favourite.
It's about russian soldiers/caddle fighting the "glorious" fight for Stalingrad and the motherland. Has a really unique atmosphere I find hard to describe. The welcome to Stalingrad for instance made more of an impact to me then the landing in Saving Private Ryan even, simply because of how surreal it is. It's like: "Are you freaking kidding me? This happened?!".

1148

Recruitment / Re: Small Projects

« on: November 18, 2010, 04:21:24 pm »

If you're bored just tell me. I have plenty of other things I could use help with.
This one basicly IS a sheet request(sorry) but hopefully with small enough sprites/edits that you'll consider it.
If not then I'll request something else.

Don't look if you'd rather be "surprised" in-game then beforehand:

Show content

I'm looking to add in two more skeleton enemies in my game.
1. A skeleton with a bow and arrow. This means I need sprites of the skeleton while walking around with a bow (normally and while aiming at a target) for all four walking directions. The walk cycle is basicly three sprites: standing still, moving one foot and moving the other foot. If you could also sprite in a difference between a skeleton aiming and actually shooting that would be wonderfull, but I don't want to ask for anything too outragious.
 2. A "joke" skeleton which tries to beat you with one of their own bodyparts (head/arm/rib?). Go nuts. I'd need sprites for standing/walking and getting hurt while missing the bodypart it's waving around with in it's hand (for all four walking directions). I'd probabaly also need a sprite of the skeleton reaching for the deadly bodypart. Again, not too ask anything too outragious (though I probably am).
 
You can find the default bow in the character sheet (if that is the one you wish to use). Every skeleton sprite I am currently using can be found in the two strips (don't mind the coloring). The body and head are seperate sprites, but you don't have sprite them that way it that's a pain. If you want more information/sprites then I'll post more.

1149

Updates / Project of the Month - October 2010

« on: November 15, 2010, 08:20:40 pm »

Project of the Month: October 2010
Ocarina of Time 2D


Forum Topic

Developer: Team Dekunutz
Xfixium
Cypras
Ethelon
TomPel
Mamoruanime
DJvenom
noseblunt3
SinkinDevil
darklink45
dotyue
Jeod

Language: Gamemaker 8.0
First Posted: 06 September, 2008
Last Update: 01 November, 2010


Interview:

-Xfixium-

As you've stated, your team will hold out on posting a demo
till it is truly ready. What level of content can we expect
when that time comes?

Hopefully the very best we can offer. We hope to bring out a
very fun and challenging demo. Aiming to make people think
differently about the whole OOT2D concept. Right now we have
the demo slated to go a little past the Deku Tree dungeon. With
extra bonus content.

Are you planning on making any deliberate changes or
improvements as opposed to the original game?

Changes will definitely be made. These are mainly design changes
though. As one would expect, doing a carbon copy of the original
on every level leaves a lot to be desired. So the thinking has to
be shifted a bit, but not ruin the original "feel" of the game.

Improvements have not really been a big focus at this time. I want
to remain as pure to the systems we are copying as possible.

Your game has actually become PotM before. What have been some of
the challenges you've faced since that time?

Various coding challenges. All of which I won't go into detail about.
Because there has been so many. lol The main focus for me right now is
resource management, and keeping the game "slim". Design challenges
are the real issue of late. I have sort of been taking a back seat
to this thus far. Mainly because of the engine upgrade in effect.
I figure when we get to the testing phase of the dungeon, there will
be alot of finalizing going on. Keeping a 2D mindset with a 3D game is
one of the biggest challenges we currently face.

On a similar note. What are some of the future challenges you still
see in front of you?

Plenty of them. lol Dealing with perspective changes on a design level.
Also changing AI for enemies. Like the Octorocks. Since we're using
2D behaviors over 3D behaviors. This will definitely change the feel
of the original. Also maybe introducing certain enemies a bit earlier
within the game, to make it challenging.

Can you elaborate a little on the people on your team and what they have
contributed (or are contributing) to get where you are now?

First off, I'm a pretty picky individual, so to have these guys tolerate
me has been nothing short of amazing. lol Everyone that is involved in this
project are dedicated to making this a quality game. So I definitely
tip my hat off to these guys.

Jeod - He's a C+C guy. He also lends a hand on the spriting side. Giving
us more options and opinions on our graphics direction as a team. He's
very blunt about the WIP work which I enjoy having those kind of opinions
thrown out there, because it makes the quality of the work that much better.

darklink45 - Great spriter, if you didn't know already. He has thrown in
some excellent original enemy sprites. As well as some other miscellaneous
work. I promise you, his Queen Ghoma sprite will knock you off your feet.

DJVenom - Another great spriter. He has contributed some item sprite work,
as well as various dungeon sprites. He's a guy that will pop in and plop
something on the forum, and blow everyone away with it.

Dotyue - A spriting powerhouse. He will keep beating a sprite to death till
it's perfect. He has been everywhere we need sprites. NPCs, dungeon tiles,
menu items, you name it, he's contributed to it. He also plays a big part in
our dungeon design.

Ethelon - He's an ideas guy. As well as a designer. I trust this guy to make
the calls when I've been too busy to do it myself. He's knows the level I'd
like things to be. He also has some art skills.

SinkinDevil - A spriting staple. He has contributed sprites to the project,
as well as C+C to a lot of the graphics work. He's a constant presence within
the team. Constantly helping us with sprites, and sprite refinement.

TomPel - A sprite artist and designer. His work has included interior
work, as well as some dungeon design. This guy can do it all. Part of the
whole that has done nothing but improve everything we do.

Cypras - A programmer. His laundry list of code includes, fairies, NPCs,
ocarina engine, time transitions, rain effects, kokiri particles, and currently
the Deku Scrub enemy.

noseblunt3 - A spriter. He has helped us in the beginning, but has been
absent of late due to personal life. He has set up alot of our earlier
sprite work dealing with Link in MC style. Things like the slingshot,
deku stick, deku nut, and Adult Link animations.

Mamoruanime - A spriter and designer. The driving force behind Dodongo Cavern.
Which looks amazing.

How can other people contribute for your project if they wish to do so?

By just posting on the Ocarina Of Time 2D FSA project board. Whether it be
graphics, code, an idea, or audio, you can bet we will look at it.


-Jeod-

What is your role within the development team?

I just help out here and there. I'm not the top spriter, but then again neither is everyone else. We're all pretty much equals in this team. Every sprite we submit is fashioned to be a bit better by the others in the team. It's kinda like a game of catch. Someone throws something into the mix and someone else takes it and makes something better. In the end we're all satisfied with the result, and it feels good to be able to say the graphics have a little of everyone in it.

What are some of the future challenges you see in front of you?

Dedication. As a team we've been motivating each other quite a lot. But as the project progresses it can go two ways: we can either get more motivation by progress, or lose interest and get more involved with our lives. As a team it's like a side job to keep each other on our feet.

What have been some of the challenges you've faced?

I think most of the challenges have been in the programming aspect, but there have been a few graphical obstacles. Like the mirror shield and the megaton hammer. Those two were real tough to perfect in a 2D form, especially in a fitting style.

How do you feel about the project thus far?

I can honestly say I'm glad I could be a part of the team. Ocarina of Time 2D has been a project lots of fans have dreamed of, and together we've been able to pull off a stunning victory so far. I'm looking forward to the first demo release! I want to know what everyone will think of Team Dekunutz's work.


-Ethelon-

What is your role within the development team?

I do tiling and did a bit of spriting with a few of the menu icons (3/4 is my weak point). I also do alot of design. I focus more on that (design) now because I haven't had too much time to work on tiles or sprites due to a few other projects that came up during X's absence.

How do you feel about the project thus far?

I think it has a huge potential with the team. They're all very capable people, and it's pretty awesome to be able to work with a large team that's good at what they do.


-Dotyue-

What is your role within the development team?

I was recruited as a spriter to design Four Sword Adventure Style Characters of the Orginal game, but wit time it led me to design dungeons, items and bring in ideas for the game itself like gaming modes and dungeon puzzle or boss encounter design. You could say that i try to bring as much creativity of myself into this OoT2D Project

What are some of the future challenges you see in front of you?

The more and more intruding Real Life that doesn't give me the silence and time to sprite, to bring in Design ideas since everyone has his own ideas

What have been some of the challenges you've faced?

To find the true fitting sprite styles and level designs to be true to the original game and feel true to fsa without being too less or much in size and idea and its still a problem in every part we try to convert, every single room has characteristics which afford new sprited tiles or ideas to be searched in 2D Zelda's and ported into the faced obstacle. but with the help of every member we could overcome every problem until now

How do you feel about the project thus far?

When this project actually reaches the limits of the Kokiri Woods with every aspect that the original had and the fun parts we brought in and the People are pleased with that, then much work will be done. The Future has already seeded for some really cool ideas to make the FSA-Type feeling complete for every Player


-TomPel-

What is your role within the development team?

Well, I'm a spriter and a room designer. One of the many . At first I worked more on designing the Kokiri interiors, but nowadays I guess I'm leaning more to spriting. I like to help other's when they have some problems with their sprites. I'm getting lazy I suppose . At the moment I'm working on a room inside the Great Deku tree. It's a pain in the ass, I can tell you  . Many of the tiles must be made from scratch.

What are some of the future challenges you see in front of you?

Well, converting areas to 2D of course. You have to make the puzzles and areas to work in a top-down perspective. Many of the rooms in OoT are pretty spacious. The same doesn't work in 2D Zeldas. The screen mustn't look empty or boring. You have to use a lot of creativity to make the areas work. And of course the custom sprites and tiles

What have been some of the challenges you've faced?

Well, the conversion to FSA-style in general was a whole new challenge for me. Haven't played the game or anything, let alone sprited in the style. Luckily it's pretty much just more advanced version of LTTP-style. It's nice to learn new things. Oh, and the fact that real life seems to always get on the way of this project.

How do you feel about the project thus far?

Great actually. Lot of work and time has been put to this. And I'm proud that this isn't even trying to be just a copy of the original. We'll add our own spices in the mix
We also have a pretty damn talented team!


-darklink45-

What is your role within the development team?

I sprite and animate enemies, bosses and occasionally help with other sprite related things. But I'm trying to do more work now because i haven't been doing much.

What are some of the future challenges you see in front of you?

Trying to finish all that i have started.

What have been some of the challenges you've faced?

Trying to find the time to be more active, and to learn to make to sprite in this style without borrowing too much from other games and port the models to sprites.

How do you feel about the project thus far?

Great, this is a great team that know what they are doing, I feel honored working in this project and I think it will go very far.


-Cypras-

What is your role within the development team?

My role within the development team is a programmer. Xfixium and I do the programming for this game. Mainly I work on individual elements for the game and then the team gives advice and I adjust it. When that's finished Xf puts it into the next build of the engine.

What are some of the future challenges you see in front of you?

The major challenges ahead of us are converting the 3D elements in 2D and make it still enjoyable and OOT like. At the moment i'm facing real life time management. Although it's almost summer holidays so i'll be able to get things done.

What have been some of the challenges you've faced?

Time management in real life. Other than that the team is great with getting things done and right.

How do you feel about the project thus far?

I love how this project is going currently. The team is really great at what they do and Xf just leads us all very well. Not to mention that our team can be very random at times which keeps things cool and fun.


-SinkinDevil-

What is your role within the development team?

My role in this development team is a spriter but I'm also helping the room designers a little bit.

What are some of the future challenges you see in front of you?

All the enemies that needs to be done, that alone will be alot of work.

What have been some of the challenges you've faced?

Find some time to get something done. We all have busy lifes to keep up with such as school ect.

How do you feel about the project thus far?

It's coming along really good. I think that this project is going to go far just because of the great teamwork we have.


-Mamoruanime-

What is your role within the development team?

Dodongo Cavern Extraordinare~

What are some of the future challenges you see in front of you?

Lots of drawererings

What have been some of the challenges you've faced?

Lots of drawerings D:

How do you feel about the project thus far?

I like-like it


-DJvenom-

What is your role within the development team?

I'm the minor graphics dude.

What are some of the future challenges you see in front of you?

Honestly at the moment, between myself and the other artists on the team, I can't think of anything we can't tackle!

What have been some of the challenges you've faced?

Coming up with a consistent menu item style. Our current one is pretty satisfying though.

How do you feel about the project thus far?

As one of the original creators of The Church of OOT2D back in 2003, it will be nice to see the vision of Daniel Barras come to life. It's a shame he can't be involved in some aspect.

1150

Zelda Projects / Re: [SCREENS]Ocarina Of Time 2D

« on: November 14, 2010, 10:14:35 am »

The collision data I refer to is somehow using GM's collision_rectangle function for checks. Have the rectangle shape data within the room binary file read in, and then checking against those values. I'm not too sure how it would turn out, but I figure it's worth a try.

I have been considering a solution for some code I am working on that uses a specific tile layer for simple walls, and then keeping everything that can be corner-cut around as objects.

Sounds interesting, exactly how are you using the layer?

I was wondering at how much cost the overhead of using shapes would be though in relation to using built-in tile functions.

I would still be using built-in functions, the question would be how fast / possible would it be? Overall, there just has to be a more flexible and easier way.

I came to a somewhat simular conclusion. It seems far more efficient and user friendly then using objects for every collision option. When checking for a collision gamemaker generally checks collisions against all other presently active objects. In my game about 70-80% of the ingame objects could be cut away by this new method. So combining those two leads me to believe collision checking elsewhere should become quite a bit more efficient as well. I see no drawbacks.

1151

Zelda Projects / Re: [DEMO] The legend of Zelda 3D Flying Rooster

« on: November 14, 2010, 09:54:41 am »

The story is good enough. It has a clear threatening problem and goal for the main character, with backstory to try and justify it. There are three things that come to mind though:
-Three hero's coming out of nowhere is enough explenation for the intro. If you intend to use these guys for more then just the intro text, then it might be smart if you elaberate on there origins a little (for yourself). Are they for instance man, goron, zora and deku? Where did they come from? Aren't there still (old) characters who still know of them and why? These are a couple of things you could think of if you wish to flesh out your story a little.
-The concept of four hero's not being strong enough then the big bad is okay, but you'd have to be consistent in that the main hero shouldn't be able to fully beat the big bad either. Why can one guy do what four legendary hero's could not? Two other options are that your current hero has discovered a new means or weapon the old heross could never not have had or known of. Or you could edit the story a little so the heros had more or less beaten the evil, but something was going against them and they had to resort to sealing as a last ditch attempt.
-This is more my way of thinking when I read your story. People maintain the temples to keep the seal save. People lose fate in their cause as the memory get's watered down over time, so they eventually no longer go to the temples. After a while the seals inside the temples are beginning to weaken, rips appear and evil beings come out (to explain monsters inside the temples)? The main character needs to close the rips per temple while each individually grows larger. This would explain why the threat increases even though the main character is fixing the problem. The remaining rips get bigger while the character was busy diminishing their numbers. The opposite to me would feel less of an accomplishment. Why is the villain still a threat (or even able to escape) if the main character was able to reimpower the original seal more or less completely?

1152

Other Projects / Re: [Demo] Tech demo - Horn of Balance (working title)

« on: November 11, 2010, 11:12:19 am »

Sorry for the double post but the exams are over. Man, they sure didn't hold any punches this time around, but whatever. I've got more time to work on the game again.

Here is an overview of the recent comments and there status (I'll post it in the first post as well):

1. Game can become more sluggish as it progresses
--> Surfaces are freed up more thoroughly in the next demo. This should improve memory consumption a little.

2. Weird thing happen with the keys pressed while the game has slow framerate. This possibly due to the manor in which Gamemaker tries to catch up, with the key having been pressed, when it falls behind.
--> I'll remember the issue for now. A solution might be to handle keycommands in a different manor. Changing such a thing is easier as I continue tidying up the engine/coding. The problem also sounds like a result of very slow framerate so I'm not sure how many people have these issues and what priority I should give it.

3. A surface error happens when entering and exiting the dungeon too many times.
--> Solution in progress. Repeating the exact same action several times in a row should basically net you the exact same result several times in a row. I'm unsure why this is not the case. Maybe it's a Gamemaker problem with surfaces.

4. On slower computers serious lag may occur when you cut up (multiple) grass, pots or enemies.
--> I'm unsure why this happens with enemies, but I'll see if I can work on removing the slowdown for grass (and possibly pots). When objects like grass get destroyed the ground is edited. This is done by reading an external file and editing that data in a new temporary file. The reason for reading the external data every time you destroy something is to spread out getting the data as oppossed to reading in everything the instance you enter a new room (that could currently result in slowdown on better computers as well). I'll work on this problem.

5. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del deletes all surfaces (= Gamemaker mechanic), resulting in errors.
--> I'll see what I can do. Half the problem should already be solved when number 3 is finished.

6. Link looks like he is standing in front of a statue while standing behind it (= reoccuring problem with various other objects as well).
--> Solving this properly will require a thorough rewrite of some mechanics. This one will be pushed back to a later date.

7. The walkingsound will sometimes continue the loop while Link has stopped.
--> No solution ready right now.

8. The items created by flying skulls can not always be collected.
--> This happens if the items are created on a different floor then you are standing. Fixing it will required quite a bit of time but may also result in solutions for a slight problem with the Pol's Voice.

9. The dungeon can currently be done out of order resulting in unclear goals and closed doors you can walk through.
--> I'll try to adress this before releasing the next demo. This will require me to finish the firerod's magic and torches to light.


Brutus: The only thing that I can advise is that you try again. Not unpacking everything like intended might also result in weird behaviour. I've never tried it.


Edit: fixed issue number three (and one a bit more as well). There was another large surface that was not freed up properly which somehow resulted in the surfaces getting deleted all together. Maybe the overall memory needed for surfaces became to large for Gamemaker as it was a pretty bad memoryleak.

Edit2: Improved some mechanics and that eliminated the temporary decrease in framerate when I cut up multiple bushes at once (on my slow laptop). I'm unsure if this will also fully fix Niek's problem since his decrease was worse, but that will have to be tested when a next demo comes out. I'm considering number 4 closed for now.

1153

Zelda Projects / Re: [Demo] LoZ: The Awakening of a Shadow IS ON PRO NOW!!

« on: November 11, 2010, 08:43:02 am »

Doesn't look bad but I'd like to make some suggestions:
-The copy and erase text isn't centered like the title text.
-The distance between the middle section and the two lower boxes is far less then the distance to the title. I'd raze the middle section a bit.
-Link's status box doesn't allign with the three saved files. You could make the statusbox as big as the three files combined or allign it more.

1154

Other Projects / Re: [Demo] Tech demo - Horn of Balance (working title)

« on: November 08, 2010, 09:42:45 am »

-The destroying of bushes should not result in a slowdown (obviously ). The only plausable thing that happens is a check wether or not the ground needs to be edited (draw the stump if cut and dirt if pulled up). Maybe that's the problem. Does this happen constantly from the very beginning of the game or only after you played a bit.

The slow down happens right from the start of the game and the more patches you cut the longer the lag is.

I tried the game on my own laptop (which also isn't stellar) and I got a simular slowdown. When standing outside the default framerate for me is 30fps. The flying tile decreases that to around 26fps, or at least it seems that way. Picking up stones or cutting grass decreases it as well. The reason for these last two is because the ground get's updated. The ground data get pulled from an external file and edited into a temporary external file. I might be able to speed things up if I discard the temporary external file and save all the grounddata in an object. Since I didn't have any performance issues I figured I'd save some memory. (I'll have to check that out if I find more time).
I'm using the text format for saving the data since I can't use a two dimensional array and each piece of land has more then ten possible states. Each row of land may consist of more then 128 blocks (meaning > 3 screens wide) so the use of numbers will need a pretty clever solution to work.

A little spinoff: The framerate is now better for rooms where you can not dig (my framerate increased from 12 fps to 15 fps). This is because I now discard the groundsurfaces completely in rooms that don't need them. It's completely useless for computers without performance issues, but that's beside the point.

Edit: After some testing I believe the slowly decreasing speed should have been fixed (or at least be a little better now). There were two instances in some older coding where I did not properly free up used surfaces. That's fixed now.

1155

Other Projects / Re: [Demo] Tech demo - Horn of Balance (working title)

« on: November 07, 2010, 08:48:38 pm »

Thanks for the advise. I'd have to change the current use of the surface a little but it should work.
The problem I'm forseeing though is in the actual redrawing of the sprites. The overhead is easy enough but the dug up ground is a whole other story. It's a lot of options to go through which I normally mask by building the ground as you go (= only drawing the piece of ground you just dug up). I could still go through with it and then the player would get a slow framerate for a minute or so when they get back (which, granted, is still far better then errors). I'm also walking around with the idea of storing the surfaces as sprites while the game is inactive but I'm not sure if that's doable, timingwise.

1156

Other Projects / Re: [Demo] Tech demo - Horn of Balance (working title)

« on: November 07, 2010, 02:31:14 pm »

Why in the Link game, can you lift up one of the heaviest rocks?

Because he has the needed gloves in his inventory at that time.

- Serious lag when cutting grass and destroying pots or enemies.

- Link is standing on top of a statue instead of behind (see picture).

- Error message happend in windows XP, after Crtl+Alt+Del and starting the task manager. Then going back to the game. Second came after pressing ignore.
 
___________________________________________
ERROR in
action number 2
of Draw Event
for object obj_Terrain_Effects:

Trying to use non-existing surface.

___________________________________________
ERROR in
action number 2
of Draw Event
for object obj_Overhead_Menu:

Trying to use non-existing surface.


It also happens when entering and exiting the test area too often.

- Some unexplained actions happened. Link did a sword charge and than a spin attack, while moving down and faceing left. This happened without me touching any keys.

- The long I kept playing the more sluggish the game became and the more unresponsive to the keys it became. Which made it difficult to time the strikes on enemie right and Link often kept bumping into them without moving out. But my laptop isn't the fastest anymore, as it is already 4 years old. Although the task manager indicated that it only used about 50% CPU time and no I don't have a dual core. My laptop is still a single core.

Seems like you discovered quit a bit. I'll try to take some time to look at them in more depth after my exams. For now:
-The destroying of bushes should not result in a slowdown (obviously ). The only plausable thing that happens is a check wether or not the ground needs to be edited (draw the stump if cut and dirt if pulled up). Maybe that's the problem. Does this happen constantly from the very beginning of the game or only after you played a bit.
-The visual error behind the statue is known. There is an easy solution (like they did in alttp), but I know it's more of an illusion rather of an solution, so I plan on redoing the entire depth system to handle such issues. That is quit a bit of work so you'll have to bare with it for a long time.
-Ctrl+Alt+Del has that problem and I often use it as a means to cut off a frozen game during development. This is a result of how GM handles surfaces. A screensaver or in this case Ctrl+Alt+Del clears all surfaces. I'll see what I can do when I find the time.
-I need some info on the unexplained action. Can you recreate it and how did you do it? It sounds like a serious glitch.
-The slowdown sounds pretty serious as well. Could you do some testwork for me, maybe? Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del before starting the game and then checking the CPU % at the start and during the game. (You can also look at the framerate number in the header but that's far less accurate). I'd do it myself but I haven't noticed such a slowdown on my own computer at all. I'm hoping the problem is caused by a surface or something I'm forgetting to free after use. If not, then I currently have no idea what the cause might be.

I get those surface errors any time I enter the dungeon. IMO I don't think GM handles surfaces well at all, and I wouldn't doubt if they became depreciated in the next GM incarnation for a better system.

How bizar. Could you post the error messages? If they are exactly the same as what Niek has then there is little I can do. Except maybe not use surfaces.

1157

Other Projects / Re: [Demo] Tech demo - Horn of Balance (working title)

« on: November 07, 2010, 08:43:52 am »

Sorry, i can't seem to reproduce the two things i mentioned, the only one i know for sure that happened was the Stalfos spawning and hitting me when i entered the room, but i can't seem to find the right one anymore, i entered a room that looked like it but the Stalfos spawned away from me. I've tried a few times and neither the 1 kill hit nor the spawn thing seem to be happening >.<

Killing a stalfos in one hit will happen if you are playing with the upgraded sword I believe. It's like that in the original as well.

The spawning I can't help you with then. The stalfos enemies are programmed to move about random so it may indeed be hard to reproduce a previous situation exactly. If you can give me your best guess (who/where) then maybe I can look into that.

the demo was fun for about a minute until it froze my computer

Sounds more like an issue with your computer since you're the first to mention this. If you believe this is something I can fix on my end then I'll need more information. Stuff like: At what point did it freeze up? Did it actually freeze or was it just terrible slow? Did you do anything before? Can you reproduce it? Did you properly unpack the entire game from the compacted folder?

1158

Updates / Re: Nominations - October 2010

« on: November 06, 2010, 05:42:17 pm »

I've got exams I'm studying for (+various other things), which obviously take priority. Bear with me for a week. Maybe I've got time to do it inbetween but don't pin me down on it.

1159

Other Projects / Re: [Demo] Tech demo - Horn of Balance (working title)

« on: November 03, 2010, 12:30:42 pm »

"Vacation" started yesterday, meaning I'm studying these next two weeks for some upcoming exams. It's day one and I'm completely bored out my mind. Just ... 9 more days left :'(

When I'm bored I tend to work on my game off and on to keep my sanity and I felt like taking a screenshot of development. No reason really. I always like those inside looks into things you never end up seeing the end result. Ooh and that picture in the corner. That's me looking ordinary so it's usable for a pasport.... wait for it..... yeah, there go those few followers I once had.

1160

Other Projects / Re: [Demo] Tech demo - Horn of Balance (working title)

« on: November 01, 2010, 06:58:13 am »

Thanks for the feedback FISSURE.

- The naming thing is like in the original, but I'll keep it in mind if I ever recode the starting screens.
- That one stair where you get stuck has been fixed in my personal demo (why does everybody try to go up there ). I'll upload that demo once I'm done with the shock effects. That should be in roughly one week time from now.
- Could you tell me where it was, which weapon you had in hand and which color Stalfos died?
- This usefull information. Could you tell me the room and door you took? If it's the first time you entered that room then I'll have to adjust the enemy positioning or AI. If you just exited with a Stalfos on your tail and you reentered directly after then it's the way it's supposed to be. Also, did you get hit while you had not control over your character or only the instance you regained control?
- Saving does not work indeed. It's on my list (along with a million other things ).

Here is last weeks progress btw:
- Tweaked the Pol's Voice AI some more (to repond better when getting hit).
- Finished the mechanic behind getting shocked by electric enemies (also possible through hitting the enemy with a sword/rod/shovel/net).
- Made progress on the "getting shocked" animation (I'm now at 20+ fps with a more consistent blurring effect, even when the screen moves).