Wow, a bunch of questions.
I see that at least a majority if not all of your Kokiri forest is mapped out. That being said, what's the likelihood that we may see a graphical demo, or perhaps even a video of gameplay in the near future?
That is a big piece of the puzzle right there. My first main goal is to get a video out of the initial engine. I think that will give everyone a feel for the game. I plan on doing this when we complete everything up to the first dungeon. Then a major demo release.
Also, I'm a big proprietor on the "use cave tiles for the deku tree interior" thing; honestly I think it'd look amazing with a filter applied. That way you don't have to worry about using sub-par tilesets (including my old Deku Tree interior tiles) for such a beautiful project D:
I'm striving for a totally original set. If that doesn't pan out the way I would like. (Which I doubt will happen) Then your old set will be first on my list. As it seems to be the best out there. I have some ideas in my head I'd like to try out. Also, the talented TomPel has lent his skills, so expect to see some work from him.
I would be very willing to make a super detailed entrance ala FSA if you'd like. (Kinda like how in FSA they have some hand-drawn larger tiles that add additional detail)
Your Samus picture was amazing. I have no doubt you could accomplish this in the FSA style. I just want to be sure of the finalized tile set first.
I should also note that in the event that you have the engine completed, and you no longer feel the drive to continue the project, I would totally finish it if you passed the torch D:
Don't know if you read my interview for project of the month. But on major releases, or if I ever decide to quit. (Whichever comes first) I will be dumping all source and resources for anyone to continue or refine.
Just out of curiosity, what are your computer specs and how long does it take to load the game?
It's a HP laptop:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo t5600 @ 1.83Ghz
Memory: 987Mhz 1.5GB of RAM
Video: GeForce Go 7400
Loading Time: (From when the loading bar is visible) 3 to 5 seconds. This will be faster when I optimize the resources. Like halving sprites and such. Everything is in test mode at the moment.
Zelda is always Zelda, so with Zelda fangames it's always the little things that stand out.
The day-to-night counter behind the rupees is subtle. I never would have thought to put one there, but it turns out to be the perfect placement. It looks very cool.
The minimap is fantastic. I read your interview, but the screens are what really does it justice. Very good idea there.
If I'm getting excited about a minimap, I can't imagine how good the actual game will be.
I think when a video is released, it'll show how smooth this game can run. I also plan on having 2 FPS modes: 30 and 60. Just in case 60 FPS is too intensive. Learned that from 4Sword.
I believe he's using Gmare for his rooms, which actually makes things load super quickly.
This is pretty spot on. I have found by experimentation that creating tile objects in GM is kinda slow. The GMare .bin files are really small, and load very quickly. It doesn't create tile objects from the data. Instead tile data is drawn directly to the screen.