ZFGC

Projects => Zelda Projects => Topic started by: FrozenFire on March 14, 2010, 01:19:23 am

Title: [ABANDONED - All data released] Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 14, 2010, 01:19:23 am
NOTICE!
SPIRIT'S QUEST HAS BEEN ABANDONED AND ALL THE DATA HAS BEEN RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC
You will find the Spirit's Quest project download link in the last post on page 7.



(http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/5638/titletemporary.png)
(Note: this title graphic is merely a placeholder)
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest


(http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5665/triforcesml.png) (#post_top)   INDEX   (http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5665/triforcesml.png) (#post_top)


Since this is a rather long post, I've made it easier to navigate by letting you jump directly to a section, or sub-section, of your choice. You may also easily jump back to the top of the page by clicking one of the triforce icons (located in the section titles).

Another thing you may notice is that, next to all of the sub-sections listed, there are "last updated" dates. I put them in the sections index so that you may easily find what's been updated lately without having to actually click a link to a section to see if it's been updated or not (as I had it before). To make it even easier to spot new updates, the latest update will be put in bold. Nice huh? ^,^ !


  SECTIONS INDEX:

(http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5665/triforcesml.png) (#post_top)   ABOUT   (http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5665/triforcesml.png) (#post_top)


GENERAL INFO:

     Name: "The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest"
     Type: Platformer
     Genre: Action, Adventure
     Players: 1 player only
     Graphical Style: 2D, Custom (Link's character style is based off of Cave Story's main character)
     Resolution: 320x240
     Dev Tool: Game Maker 8.0
     Influences: Cave Story, Zelda II, anime, Legend of Princess, many other Zelda games and Zelda-related things.

Total Progress: (http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/6192/progress101.png) 2%
(Note: There's no way to tell exact percentage at this point in development. Actually, true percentage is impossible to show, so this will always be a rough estimate.)




STORY:

     TLoZ: Spirit's Quest once again puts you in the boots of the young hero, Link. However, instead of Link embarking on a quest to save Hyrule or another land from a great evil as he usually does, Link will find himself being forced to fight for his own life (though, ultimately, if Link dies then Hyrule is in danger, no?).

     It all starts when Link is sleeping peacefully in his house (no doubt dreaming of that hottie, Zelda ;p) when he is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a seemingly demented Wizzrobe. After the Wizzrobe introduces himself as Tangle, he tells Link that he wants to play a game with him. As Tangle explains the rules, he reveals that Link must face a dungeon of trials in which Link must pass in order to escape the dungeon. After Tangle expresses the joy he will get out of watching Link fight for his life, Tangle transports Link into an eerie and dimly lit dungeon room. Link has no choice but to "play" Tangle's game if he wants to win his freedom. And so it begins.




MAIN CHARACTERS:

(http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/3018/charlink.png) Link:
     Yep, it's that guy in green again. In this game, Link is a teenager living in a small house within a secluded forest area. So, what's Link's backstory? Why is he living in a secluded forest area? My answer is this: We don't ask why, we don't care why, all we know is that we want to play an epic adventure and stab things!

(Pic N/A) Tangle the Wizzrobe:
     This guy is the big evil of the story. It's clear that there's something terribly wrong with this guy, I mean, even more so than other Wizzrobes.

(http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5838/charsprite.png) Sprite, the Fairy (or is it Fairy the Sprite? ...):
     Sprite will join Link on his adventure. To Link's surprise, Sprite will end up being very unlike the nice fairies he's previously known and heard of. Sprite's not like them at all, no way! Sprite is like a powerful ball of magical anger, just waiting to kill! Kill!! KILL!!!

(Pic N/A) Tangle's 5 Bros and 5 Sissys: (To prevent over-spoiling, there will be no pic)
     That's right, there are more Wizzrobes like Tangle, 10 to be exact. Tangle's bros and sissys can't wait to play with Link.

(Pic N/A) Marty the Ghost:
     Marty runs "the shop" in the game. Marty is a ghost, yes, but he's like Casper, he's friendly (sorry if you don't get the reference). He's just there to help you out as much as he can, but hey, he needs to make a profit ya know, so he's going to ask you to pay up! I mean, come on, a ghost can only be so friendly.




GAMEPLAY:

     Link will have to run and jump through a massive dungeon, gathering various useful items, fighting many kinds of enemies, solving puzzles, etc. Pretty much what you'd expect from a Zelda... or is it? Actually, though there are plenty of the more-common Zelda elements, there are also some fairly original ones.

     When you first get your fairy, Sprite, she will have the power to heal Link at the cost of magic power. However, her magic does not stop there. As Link progresses on his quest, he will obtain new powers for Sprite to use. Let's just say that, while most fairies can only heal, this fairy will be able to destroy (no more wimpy fairies!). Of course Sprite will also give hints and helps on the quest, as you'd expect.

     The game will be constructed in a way that makes each quest unique. In explaining, Link will have to complete 10 different areas in what is basically a massive dungeon. But, for every new quest, each of the 10 area's will be constructed differently and will contain different treasures. I guess you could say that it's semi-randomly generated, which means that every new quest REALLY is a new quest.

     Also, because of the unique way I'm making the game play out, I'm able to make the gameplay a bit less-linear than Nintendo's official Zelda games. Meaning that you, the player, gets to choose how to play the game (i.e. which areas you want to beat first or save for later, which items you want to have first or save for later, etc).


(http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5665/triforcesml.png) (#post_top)   DEVELOPMENT   (http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5665/triforcesml.png) (#post_top)


STEPS OF DEVELOPMENT:


What's Done?

What's Being Done?

What Comes Next?


Ok, What Comes After That?

     When all of Link's basic actions and animations are complete, I will add in the item sub-screen and I will begin to add in items. Before I do anything with other items, I will add all of Link's sword and shield actions, as this is his main item (the sword and shield act as one item). After the sword and shield are coded in, I will probably add in Link's fairy and set up her AI a bit. Since the fairy plays an important role, I may add in all of her magic skills before doing Link's items, since her magic will be fairly easy to code compared to Link's items anyway. One way or another, I will work on adding things to the item screen, one by one. Of course, I will probably have to make a couple enemies (probably Keese and Gels) in here to test some items and fairy magic on (oh yeah baby!).

     After I get the items done, I might decide to work on the introduction to the game which leads into the menu. At this point I will probably add in settings (for controls, text speed, whether to allow story skip, etc) and saving. Then I will probably add in the very first story part of the game which leads to the starting point of the actual gameplay. Somewhere in here I will have to begin to think in great detail on how I will go about creating the randomly generated rooms, how they will be saved and loaded, etc (the oober tricky stuff). And that's about as far as I can think without developing the game further. But that's the rough plan on how it will go down. I do have a ton more planned, it's just not all together yet because the game needs to come along further first.




VIDEOS AND SCREENS:

LATEST:
     
(http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/3193/iconimgb.png) 07/19/2011 - First Legit Screenshot: The HUD
(http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/1268/enginehuddevscreen002.png)
That's right, you're no longer looking at a mockup. Therefore, this is my first "real" screenshot. The HUD is totally functional except for the yellow action notifier that pops up when Link is able to do various things (e.g. use, climb, pick up, grab, enter, open, etc). The HP and MP bars have drain and fill animations, the sword and shield "glow" when Link is able to do a special attack/defense move, the counts of HP, MP, keys, rupees, arrows, and bombs, are completely functional, etc.
     
(http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/5144/iconvidb.png) 03/18/2011 - Physics and Collision Test 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pht1W1s5QE
In this second video update of the Physics and Collisions (PaC) Engine, all known issues have been fixed and more has been added. The PaC now has part-pixel movement for a much better feel and response. Also, ice physics and moving platforms have been added in.

PREVIOUS:
     
(http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/5144/iconvidb.png) 03/11/2011 - Physics and Collision Test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfQ-R0FdPIw
This test shows the basic physics and some slightly more advanced collisions with hills and even stairways that the character may jump up through and land on or drop down from. Still early on in the physics and collisions here though, as there is more to add (i.e. water, moving platforms, and climbable types) and a few small issues to fix.
     
(http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/5144/iconvidb.png) 04/02/2010 - View Movement Test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRjZ-3pT56U
This tests out the view's fluidity in it's movements, as well as how it follows and "looks" according to what would be the character's faced direction. This also tests the quake effect and the view's ability to switch the object it follows.



DEMO RELEASES:

No demos yet. Patience laddy!




GML RELEASES:

     Nothing to give yet. Unfortunately, very little GML will be released until the game is complete or at least near completion. This is to insure quality of the code. Also, I don't want to end up releasing code that get's changed later on because of a change in the game's mechanics or something. But don't worry, I plan to release my source code eventually, and in the form of tutorials and examples so pretty much anyone can pick it up and understand it. This is the plan anyway.




OTHER RELEASES:

LATEST:
     
(http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/3193/iconimgb.png) 06/27/2011 - A revised HUD mockup.
(http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/8664/mockuphud8.png)
     
(http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/3193/iconimgb.png) 04/14/2010 - Early design of Tangle.
(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9771/chartimmy.png)

PREVIOUS:
     
(http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/3193/iconimgb.png) 03/28/2010 - Item/Menu screen design.
(http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/2104/maininventoryallnonspoi.png)
     
(http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/3193/iconimgb.png) 03/28/2010 - A HUD mockup.
(http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/6582/mockuphud5.png) (http://img692.imageshack.us/i/mockuphud5.png/)
     
(http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/3193/iconimgb.png) 03/28/2010 - An early palette and tile test.
(http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/4509/realmentestit.png) (http://img80.imageshack.us/i/realmentestit.png/)

(http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5665/triforcesml.png) (#post_top)   WANT TO HELP? HERE'S HOW!   (http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5665/triforcesml.png) (#post_top)


PLEASE READ THIS FIRST:

     I began this project with the intent of doing everything myself, and I still expect to do almost all of the work. However, I decided that if anyone else really wants to help out with the game's development, I should let them. If you want to contribute to the project, please read the following before doing anything:

     Below this sub-section, I have many other sub-sections listed, with each sub-section having to do with an area of development (e.g. programming, sprites, etc) in which I may or may not want help with, depending on what the details say.

     As the project progresses, I will update the details of these sub-sections to make sure that I'm asking for things that I need. So please be sure to check up on the "last updated" date (located in the sections index), because, if it has changed since the last time you saw it, that means that I have either taken out something that I no longer need, or I have added in something new that I need.

     Any help given will earn you a place in the credits, according to how much and what type of help you've given to the project. I'm a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due.

IMPORTANT:
     If you plan to help with coding or any of the graphics, understand that I plan to release most of the code and ALL of the graphics so that anyone can use them to learn from and to use in their own projects. Absolutely no graphic will be made strictly for Spirit's Quest use; I will release all the graphics sometime after the game's completion. This means that, if you help out by making a graphic or by giving code, your work will be released as a resource for anyone to use in whatever way they please. If you wish to be credited for something, make sure to let me know, otherwise I will label it as, "...by (your name). No credit required." If you don't want your work to be given out freely as a resource then don't submit anything to this project, or you can just help out in another area of development besides programming or graphics.




PROGRAMMING:

     Sorry programmers, but I plan to code everything myself. However, I will not hesitate to ask for help if I need it. Furthermore, I do plan to release a few of my engine tests in GMK format ( Game Maker 8 ). This means that, if you have Game Maker 8, you can look at the code and offer any suggestions that you may have to make it better. If your suggestion is good, I will make the necessary code adjustments myself and you will be credited accordingly under "code helps".

     When the game is complete, if you wish to port this to another language (a "real" one), feel free to ask me. If I think it's a good idea, I will give you the GMK of the game and I'll offer whatever help necessary to make it happen. (Note to Mamoru: If you still plan on porting this to your Surface Engine, then so do I.)




SPRITES:

     I have no specific things to list at this time. Be sure to check up on this for an update every now and then, as I'm sure I'll have something to post here eventually.




TILES:

     I have no specific things to list at this time. Be sure to check up on this for an update every now and then, as I'm sure I'll have something to post here eventually.




MUSIC:

     I currently have no openings for music. For one thing, the project isn't quite at the point where music is needed. Another reason why I don't have any openings is because I already have Darklight helping with music, and I plan on doing some music myself as well. Furthermore, it's best to keep the number of composers at a minimum, for quality consistency reasons as well as a few other reasons. I don't expect I'll ever need another composer for this project, but you never know.




SOUND EFFECTS:

     Usually, most people use ripped sounds from other Zelda games. I might end up doing just that, since making custom sound effects is something I know practically nothing about. If anyone here actually makes sound effects and wants to help out in this area, send a PM my way or make a post in this thread. However, at this point in time, I'm not really concerned about sounds as much as other things like programming and graphics.




OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

Feedback:
     It's greatly appreciated when you play around with any released demos and/or engine tests and give me feedback on your likes, dislikes, what you would change, etc. The same goes for any aspect of the game, whether it is regarding the graphics, gameplay, item functions, the HUD layout, anything. If you don't have any constructive criticism to give, then just letting me know how much you love the project is also appreciated.

Testing:
     Once I get some demos up, you can try to break any of the demos that I've upload and let me know of any flaws you might find (please be as detailed as possible) so that I can try to fix them and upload a new version with the fixes. I really want solid quality here, so the more testers the better. Thanks in advance testers!

Enemy Ideas:
     One area that I can definitely say is open to suggestion is what enemies the game should have. However, bosses are pretty much figured out at this point in time, so I'm not looking for any boss suggestions. This does not mean I will not be able to use bosses of previous Zelda's as normal enemies. This game is going to need some pretty intense enemies toward the end, so feel free to suggest any enemy of previous Zelda games. I'm not just looking for names of enemies from previous Zelda games but I'd also like to hear how you think the enemy AI should work and maybe even give me some new ideas for actions not seen in previous Zelda's. You could even throw out a design for the enemy if you wish. Lastly, though I'd like to have mostly familiar Zelda enemies, I do want a few original ones, so feel free to throw an original enemy idea at me, just be sure to give good details on it's design (throw me some concept art if you wish) and it's AI. As I said, I'm totally open to any enemy-related suggestions.


(http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5665/triforcesml.png) (#post_top)   WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?   (http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5665/triforcesml.png) (#post_top)


THE TEAM:

FrozenFire - Project Lead, Programmer, Game Design, Graphics, etc.
Darklight - Music.




CREDITS:

PROGRAMMING:
FrozenFire

CODE HELPS:
Mamoruanime (helped me without even knowing it!)
Aero88 (suggested to use parents)

GRAPHICS:
FrozenFire
Ryuza
(also some placeholder graphics from Nintendo, i.e. some of the title)

MUSIC:
Darklight
FrozenFire

SOUND EFFECTS:
N/A

TESTING:
FrozenFire

CREATIVE CONSULTANTS:
Martijn dh
Darklight
Ryuza
Niek

SPECIAL THANKS:
ZFGC - Thanks for the support guys!
Pixel - This game would not exist without Pixel's game, Cave Story.[/td][/tr][/table][/td][/tr][/table]
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Cassyblanca on March 14, 2010, 01:29:45 am
Definitely sounds interesting, BoilingWater. Lemme know if you're interested in having it programmed in C++. ;P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Zhello on March 14, 2010, 04:31:11 am
Dude I like you HUD  XD keep it up FF.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 14, 2010, 07:13:38 am
Quote from: MiNalien on March 14, 2010, 01:29:45 am
Definitely sounds interesting, BoilingWater. Lemme know if you're interested in having it programmed in C++. ;P

I WOULD be interested in having it programmed in C++, only I know very little about coding in C++ (almost none), which means I would be no help there. So, if you were offering, it would mean that you'd code the entire thing yourself.

If I program it all myself (as planned), it's going to be programmed in Game Maker 8, using GML. I don't have the time to learn a "real" coding language. ;p Honestly though, I would like to program it all myself anyway. I'm not much of a team player when it comes to coding. It's just one of my things.

And, BoilingWater, ha ha.

Quote from: Linkwolf48 on March 14, 2010, 04:31:11 am
Dude I like you HUD  XD keep it up FF.

Thanks and I definitely will keep it up.


BTW, HERE'S AN UPDATE ON WHAT I'M WORKING ON NOW:

What I'm about to begin working on is the "View Engine" (but I'm not home and I don't have my regular computer; I'll begin working on it when I return home this Monday):

Making the View Engine is pretty much the first step I'm taking in the actual coding of the game. The goal here is basically to make a fluid-like moving view. It's hard to explain exactly, but it will be act a lot like the view in Cave Story (so play the game to see what I mean).

The view will shift more toward the way Link is facing. It will also let the player look up and down (shifting the view upward and downward). The view will be able to focus on any object I tell it to, which will be very useful for cut-scenes. The view will also be programmed with a "screen shake" effect. I'll also code anything else I may need. Of course I'll have the pausing implemented here as well.

For now (until I get back to my computer), I'm just working on a few tiles so I can have something to use with my View Engine (I haven gotten anything I want to show yet though).
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Zaeranos on March 14, 2010, 08:12:39 am
FF, this looks awesome. Can't wait to play the first demo.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mamoruanime on March 14, 2010, 08:25:38 am
In all actuality, if you wanted me to I could easily port this over to the Surface engine once you're finished adding the features you want. =3
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Cassyblanca on March 14, 2010, 05:45:38 pm
God damn it Mamoru bukake, I already threw in my offer to do the programming, so gtfo. :|

Quote from: FrozenFire on March 14, 2010, 07:13:38 am
Quote from: MiNalien on March 14, 2010, 01:29:45 am
Definitely sounds interesting, BoilingWater. Lemme know if you're interested in having it programmed in C++. ;P

I WOULD be interested in having it programmed in C++, only I know very little about coding in C++ (almost none), which means I would be no help there. So, if you were offering, it would mean that you'd code the entire thing yourself.

I work better that way, just as you were mentioning with your GM work. Just give me a general overview of the gameplay, and I'll start playing around with an initial prototype. :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mamoruanime on March 14, 2010, 06:05:24 pm
Quote from: MiNalien on March 14, 2010, 05:45:38 pm
God damn it Mamoru bukake, I already threw in my offer to do the programming, so gtfo. :|

Yeah but my offers better since it doesn't involve re-programming the engine ;3
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 14, 2010, 06:57:29 pm
No offense to either of you guys, but I'd really like to program the entire game myself, since I already have a solid idea of how I want the game mechanics to work, and I just like knowing that my game will get done the way I want it to be done. It just seems easier/better to do it all myself.

So, I'll be making it in Game Maker 8. BUT, when the game is complete, I'll give an editable version of the game out to anyone that wants to port it to another language.
Btw, Mammy, is that kind of what you meant? I really didn't follow what you meant by...
Quote
once you're finished adding the features you want.
?


Quote from: Niek on March 14, 2010, 08:12:39 am
FF, this looks awesome. Can't wait to play the first demo.
The first "demo" will probably only be a beta release of the platform engine, just so that I can get feedback on how it feels to everyone else. I can't really give a date for when that demo comes out, but I will begin to work on the basic platform engine after I complete the view/camera engine (which I begin working on this Monday).
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 15, 2010, 05:11:19 am
Yep, double post, BUT, I bring early concept tiles!

(http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/644/introductionnighttimefo.png)
(Sorry, I know it is very messy, but it's just how I do tiles; I kind of plan-draw.)

     As you can see, I started working on the solid earthy tiles first (obvious place to start). What I'm planning to do is use the ones at the bottom-left of the pic (with the most detail). You might think the grass on top looks like crap, which is true, but that's because I will use "overlays" for the real grass. And I just started working on that over on the right side of the tileset (under the "GRASS OVERLAYS"). You might notice a blade of grass over there; that may or may not be the style of the grass. As I said, it's still very early.

     Of course I will have grass that Link can cut with his sword, as well as grass that is there for looks only (which will probably be shorter and slightly darker than the cuttable grass).

     Anyway, I just got back home and now I've got my good computer again, so I will be able to start programming stuff tomorrow. I'm not starting now because it's late and I plan on getting some real sleep for once. :p
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on March 15, 2010, 05:34:00 am
Now I want to make a cool retro style game in this style :D cause I probably actually could sprite like this.

It'd be awesome if you could program a grass growing and clumping system. eg, when the level's created grass is grown randomly near control objects.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mamoruanime on March 15, 2010, 07:14:28 am
Quote from: FrozenFire on March 14, 2010, 06:57:29 pm
Btw, Mammy, is that kind of what you meant? I really didn't follow what you meant by...
Quote
once you're finished adding the features you want.
?

:P Basically "once you're finished making this"
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 16, 2010, 07:53:32 am
Quote from: Darklight on March 15, 2010, 05:34:00 am
It'd be awesome if you could program a grass growing and clumping system. eg, when the level's created grass is grown randomly near control objects.

Funny you mention that because I had already thought pretty hard about it. However, I ended up thinking the game might be better off without it, just because of the way I'm doing some of the randomized stuff. It'd be cool, but I don't think it would be necessary. I want to spend my time and effort on more important things.

Quote from: Mamoruoekaki on March 15, 2010, 07:14:28 am
Quote from: FrozenFire on March 14, 2010, 06:57:29 pm
Btw, Mammy, is that kind of what you meant? I really didn't follow what you meant by...
Quote
once you're finished adding the features you want.
?

:P Basically "once you're finished making this"

Ah, ok. If you really want to do it then it's totally fine. I don't see too much point in doing so though. Just to satisfy Game Maker haters?


Spirit's Quest - UPDATE

Not much to update on because I expected to work on some coding today but I got called in to work instead. Sucks, but I got MONEY! ^,- Anyway, so all I could do was think about my game and, when I got home, I worked a tad bit more on the tiles (pretty much just the grass).

I made the grass much too tall at first, so I made this because I could:
(http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/2536/lolepicfail001.png)
I have since then fixed up the grass a bit. I'll put up more tiles after I get some more done.
Btw, these tiles are being made for part of the game's intro, but some of them will also be used in the forest area of the actual game.

Besides working on some tiles, I've just been thinking about what enemies should be in the game. It's already planned that the game will have: Keese (obviously), Octorocks, Stalfos, Darknuts, Poes, and Wizzrobes. Besides that, I really haven't given enemies much thought.
The areas are diverse enough for any enemy to be in the game. So anything that might swim in water, jump out of lava, swim in swampy water, or anything that might burrow through sand, etc, they will work fine. I even have a Jabu-Jabu-like area, so tentacle-like enemies will probably be in the game as well.

I'm planning on playing through a few Zelda games over the next few weeks to get more ideas on some things, so enemies will probably get figured out then.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mamoruanime on March 16, 2010, 08:01:48 am
Quote from: FrozenFire on March 16, 2010, 07:53:32 am
Quote from: Mamoruoekaki on March 15, 2010, 07:14:28 am
Quote from: FrozenFire on March 14, 2010, 06:57:29 pm
Btw, Mammy, is that kind of what you meant? I really didn't follow what you meant by...
Quote
once you're finished adding the features you want.
?

:P Basically "once you're finished making this"

Ah, ok. If you really want to do it then it's totally fine. I don't see too much point in doing so though. Just to satisfy Game Maker haters?

More along the lines of "letting mac and linux users play it" :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 16, 2010, 08:15:11 am
Quote from: Mamoruoekaki on March 16, 2010, 08:01:48 am
More along the lines of "letting mac and linux users play it" :P

Aha! Compatibility! That is a very good reason. That sounds like a great idea then!

...I just have to finish the game first. :p Going to bed now (it's 1 AM), but I'll get right back to it after work tomorrow. Oh, and after I finish my final English paper for college... bleh.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on March 16, 2010, 08:45:22 am
http://www.zeldawiki.org/Category:Enemies
That should be a good place to get enemy ideas :)

How about:

http://www.zeldawiki.org/Biri
http://www.zeldawiki.org/Lanmola (possibly the small version)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Zaeranos on March 16, 2010, 08:52:11 am
For normal enemies in water levels you could use AlttP Zora and LA's CheepCheep.

Love to see the boss Aquamentus in a side scrolling fashion.
- http://www.zeldawiki.org/Aquamentus
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Cassyblanca on March 16, 2010, 07:31:36 pm
Quote from: Mamoruoekaki on March 16, 2010, 08:01:48 am
Quote from: FrozenFire on March 16, 2010, 07:53:32 am
Quote from: Mamoruoekaki on March 15, 2010, 07:14:28 am
Quote from: FrozenFire on March 14, 2010, 06:57:29 pm
Btw, Mammy, is that kind of what you meant? I really didn't follow what you meant by...
Quote
once you're finished adding the features you want.
?

:P Basically "once you're finished making this"

Ah, ok. If you really want to do it then it's totally fine. I don't see too much point in doing so though. Just to satisfy Game Maker haters?

More along the lines of "letting mac and linux users play it" :P
!@#$%, you just wanted to steal my thunder. D:
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 17, 2010, 08:49:22 am
Quote from: Darklight on March 16, 2010, 08:45:22 am
http://www.zeldawiki.org/Category:Enemies
That should be a good place to get enemy ideas :)

Wow, believe it or not, I never knew about Zelda Wiki until now. Thanks Darklight! That will be a major help.

Quote from: Darklight on March 16, 2010, 08:45:22 am
http://www.zeldawiki.org/Biri
http://www.zeldawiki.org/Lanmola (possibly the small version)
Quote from: Niek on March 16, 2010, 08:52:11 am
For normal enemies in water levels you could use AlttP Zora and LA's CheepCheep.
Love to see the boss Aquamentus in a side scrolling fashion.

All those enemies are good suggestions. Gotta have em all... POKEMONNN!!! Ahem, sorry about that. It was just so close to that... you know... Pokemon's catch phrase... oh dang, no pun intended. Seriously, it just happened. ;p

As for the Aquamentus: I have an idea for that. It will have a new twist on it though, because I already have bosses figured out (for the most part anyway), and the Aquamentus, as people have previously known it, is a little too weak as a boss for this game. Why too weak? Because various action Animes are the main inspiration behind the fighting I have planned for this game. Meaning, regular enemies can get pretty intense, but bosses have to be more intense (obviously).
Still, your mentioning of the Aquamentus has given me an idea on how I can make a much more interesting boss. Though there is a slight possibility that the Aquamentus will just appear as one of the harder regular enemies. One way or another, the Aquamentus is in.


Btw, I just finished my last paper for finals and Spring Break is just 2 days away for me! So I hope to get some good progress in on this over the weekend.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Xiphirx on March 19, 2010, 05:21:19 pm
Quote from: FrozenFire on March 17, 2010, 08:49:22 am
All those enemies are good suggestions. Gotta have em all... POKEMONNN!!! Ahem, sorry about that. It was just so close to that... you know... Pokemon's catch phrase... oh dang, no pun intended. Seriously, it just happened. ;p

It never just happens ;)

I like how it looks like so far, but I don't like platforming so much :/

The menu looks nice as wel.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 19, 2010, 09:12:08 pm
Quote from: Xiphirx on March 19, 2010, 05:21:19 pm
I like how it looks like so far, but I don't like platforming so much :/

Why don't you like platforming games so much? Is there any way I might change your mind with this game? I guess I can't make everyone happy (and this makes me sad D:).
It just seems like everyone else is doing MC style or ALttP, and I wanted to be more original so I went for a platforming style instead. I also didn't want to use anything ripped* and I'm better at spriting for platform games anyway. Plus, some of my favorite childhood games were platformers (the original Jazz Jackrabbit FTW!). :p

*I did use Cave Story's main character as a base for my Link character. But the only things that remained the same are the eyes and the head's form... which make up about half of the character, lol. I do plan to point that out in the game's credits to give credit where credit is due (to Pixel's game, Cave Story).
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 24, 2010, 05:56:38 am
Here ya go! ^,^
A WIP update of the Midnight Forest Tileset:

(http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/28/tilesetnighttimeforest.png)
Note: Notice how pale Link seems to be against these tiles? Yeah, palette changes will come, just not yet. Also, this is a midnight theme, so Link probably seems brighter than he usually would.

     I kinda scratched the way I planned to do grass. I decided that all tall grass should be cuttable, and thus, it will not be part of the tiles but it will be part of the sprites. Also, I plan on having the grass animated (wind effects). I also plan to have the grass grow back somewhat randomly in "grow spots". Sort of what Darklight suggested. I mean, I can, so why the heck not? :p

     If all goes as planned (which hasn't seemed to be the case lately D:<) I should have a video of the camera/view engine posted by the end of the week, and it will use this tileset (gotta have something to look at for a view test ya know. Plus I'm in a spriting mood ;D).
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Nabeshin on March 24, 2010, 07:51:13 pm
Well, for Quote it's fitting, since he's a robot. Since Link's human, some flesh tone is definitely warranted.

I forgot to say, the tiles look great. I like your use of blue/yellow in the stars and moon.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on March 24, 2010, 08:10:22 pm
Looks pretty sweet!
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 27, 2010, 07:26:40 am
     I just started coding the camera view engine about 10 minutes ago and I had a problem (already!?) with scaling x2 causing weird glitches in the tiles. I fixed it pretty fast though, but it should have worked with the way I was doing it before. But it's Game Maker, so it's to be expected. :-\

     I've attached a screen to show some of the functions I'll be coding. I'm hoping to post a gmk of it once I get everything coded and commented properly. This engine test will show how to make a nice fluid-like moving view. It will also show how to do pausing (prep for the inventory engine) and how to do a simple (yet sexy) quake effect, as well as some other little things. Really, it's pretty basic stuff, but I think it should be helpful for the average GML user. I'm commenting it up pretty good too. :P

     Though it's simple, it's still going a little slower than it should because I'm having to familiarize myself with GML once again, since I haven't really used Game Maker for a few years (oh noes!). So yea, I'm a little rusty, but it's all coming back to memory really fast so progress should pick up real quick.

     After this, I start on the core platform engine. Now THAT will be much more complex and extremely frustrating. I'm really getting into the coding spirit though, so I can't wait to tackle it head on! ;)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mamoruanime on March 27, 2010, 07:34:06 am
XD you totally ganked my quake effect!

Looking nice so far :p
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on March 27, 2010, 08:26:08 am
Nice, I see the tiles are coming along well!
Yeah, gamemaker's scaling system is slightly screwed, I made a scaling system that could be changed by the user a while back, and it had annoying stretched lines and such. I think I got around the problem by stretching it 1 pixel more than twice the original size, and it wasn't so apparent then.

Yep, I found my gmk. The view in room was 320x240, while the port on screen was 641x481. That fixed the tile glitches.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 28, 2010, 07:31:59 pm
Quote from: Mamoruanime on March 27, 2010, 07:34:06 am
XD you totally ganked my quake effect!

Nah. I did a quake effect in Super Bash Bro's Ultimate, and that was years ago. In truth, I had already thought about it in my planning process, because there are certain items that need the quake effect. For example: Bombs will shake the screen a little bit, but there will be "other" uses for the quake effect as well... or did you mean the name? If so, then yes, I totally ganked the name "quake effect". 6,6

Quote from: Darklight on March 27, 2010, 08:26:08 am
The view in room was 320x240, while the port on screen was 641x481. That fixed the tile glitches.

I'm keeping the port the same as the view because it's the port that seems to have the issues. I'm just using scaling (to 200%), which seems to be working without tile glitches.


     Ok, here's a semi-sad update. My computer has been having major issues due to some kind of virus (possibly multiple viruses). I've tried tons of different things, with wiping my hard drive and reinstalling as being my last resort. Anyway, I finally got smart and downloaded the 30-day trial version of Norton 2010 and it has found and killed about 6 trojans and a couple other things. I'm hoping it has gotten rid of the problem(s).

     What was happening was that, after having my computer on for a while, it would eventually act like it ran out of memory and nothing would open. Here's the sad part: It happened when I was working on my camera view engine and I lost most of my data because Game Maker crashed before I could save again. The good news is that I can do it all again pretty easily and fast. I'm just wanting to make sure I've got this thing fixed before I really start hardcore into it again.

     I guess it's also a happy update, because, if Norton fixed this, then I should be getting a lot more done. Lately, I've been doing mostly sprites because my graphics programs seemed to work fine for the most part, unless I closed them, then I couldn't open them again.


     Anyway, I see that my game has been nominated for PotM! XD However, I honestly don't think I should or will win this time around, but next month? Heck yea! I expect to get some major progress in on my project next month. Also, if this virus is gone, I should have the "Camera View Engine Test" uploaded on here by the end of tomorrow. It will be in gmk format of course, so that anyone that has Game Maker 8 can open it up and check out how the code works. (Note: I will make an executable version as well, for those of you that don't have Game Maker 8.)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Ethelon on March 28, 2010, 10:18:44 pm
Man how did I miss this.
Looking great FF, I just think maybe the character could be outlined or something so it's easier to see.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 29, 2010, 12:45:23 am
Quote from: Ethelon on March 28, 2010, 10:18:44 pm
Man how did I miss this.
Looking great FF, I just think maybe the character could be outlined or something so it's easier to see.

     An important rule that I'm following is this: All of the sprites/objects (characters, items, enemies, etc) will be lighter colored than the tiles and backgrounds. Objects are more important than the tiles and they should stand out more (it also has top do with depth). I've noticed that's often the way it is done in games that has similar graphical style. Anyway, that will help greatly in making things easier to see. So I will not be outlining anything, but it will look fine in the end. Don't worry.

     But I'm guessing that you're talking about the graphic I've posted on the first page which shows various actions of Link? I realized that it is hard to see Link against the background if you are using the default theme and not the Midnight theme (which I use all the time). The same goes for my current avatar. But in-game, the graphics will be easy to discern, even without outlining. However, right now I'm more focused on putting some kind of demo out, so I'm trying to focus on more on coding the game than fixing up the graphics.


IMPORTANT NOTICE:

     My computer is not fixed. D: Though Norton found viruses on my PC and fixed them, I think damage has already been done that cannot be fixed without a complete HDD wipe and a fresh install of windows. Of course, before I do that, I am gathering only the my most important personal files (including the data I have for Spirit's Quest), scanning them for viruses, then burning them to a dvd for transfer to my fresh install. This means that I'm still busy trying to fix my computer before I can resume progress on Spirit's Quest.

     From looking at info on the viruses in Norton, it seems that I got multiple viruses from my last LAN party back in early February, after doing some file sharing. It's not a huge surprise, especially since I had to disable all of my protective software during that time. I only had AVG (free version) at that time too, and that program sucks something heavy. I'll have to be more careful from now on.

On the bright side: It's always nice to have a fresh install of windows. ;)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 30, 2010, 03:01:08 am
     Alright, I finally got Windows reinstalled and all my programs and most everything are back to normal. So I got a little progress in on my view engine test. I made a really crappy video for you guys, just because I felt like I needed to show something. I would've used my video recording software, but I haven't installed that just yet, so I was stuck with my little PowerShot camera.. I really apologize for the quality, and I promise that future videos will be a heck of a lot better.

     This is still a very early test, so it doesn't really show much of what I'm trying to accomplish just yet. I know it looks like crap right now, but it will get that fluid-like movement in very soon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW1jY_wmcrU

     Basically, what I've done is implemented the pause function and coded most of the basic code. I've also generated a background of stars and I've begun to code how they will move with the view (not finished on that yet, it will soon look a lot more polished). Also, the focused object (the thing in the middle of the screen) will not always be fixed in the middle like that. I'm beginning to code the good stuff right now, so you'll see. ;)

     One thing I didn't show in the video was that the view can switch it's focused object. If you can't tell, it is always focused on object "1", but it can also switch to the "2" and "3", and I also plan to have another focus object ("4") that circles the moon, so that the view engine will have the ability to focus on things in the background (which could be useful). This means that the moon would not always remain in the top-right corner... that is cooler than it sounds btw. Just trust me on that. :p

I should have more soon, though it might not come until tomorrow because I have to work early. :(
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Martijn dh on March 30, 2010, 05:00:12 pm
What's this? No responses yet?
Look very nice FrozenFire. The tiling also seems along quite a bit.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Aero88 on March 30, 2010, 05:32:29 pm
This is looking great.  I am excited to try it.  I am actually liking the graphic style quite a bit.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Zaeranos on March 30, 2010, 09:46:59 pm
Looks really well. Aren't you almost ready to put this topic over to the WIP section? I do have another question, are you planning to let the background with the moon scroll as well?

What I mean is that when you go to the right in a level that the moon goes slightly left at a much slower pace than the other layers. An the same for going left that the moon goes to the right and going up and down would result in the moon going down and up respectively.

You catch my drift or am I rambling something incomprehensible again.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on March 30, 2010, 11:33:21 pm
It's way back there; I was thinking it could've been a perspective thing, but I could be rambling as well.

Rambling is fun. *listens to Ramble On by Led Zeppelin*
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on March 31, 2010, 05:36:10 am
Quote from: Niek on March 30, 2010, 09:46:59 pm
Looks really well. Aren't you almost ready to put this topic over to the WIP section? I do have another question, are you planning to let the background with the moon scroll as well?

What I mean is that when you go to the right in a level that the moon goes slightly left at a much slower pace than the other layers. An the same for going left that the moon goes to the right and going up and down would result in the moon going down and up respectively.

You catch my drift or am I rambling something incomprehensible again.
What you're talking about is parallax scrolling, and I thought that'd be good too.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mamoruanime on March 31, 2010, 07:16:06 am
There are some fun things you can do with camera movement. Namely making your focus object have this in it's step event-

Move_towards_point(target,distance_to_object(objplayer)/focusspeed)

target being your player, or anything you want to pan to
focusspeed being the amount you divide the speed by. The more you divide, the slower it moves :p
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 31, 2010, 07:19:55 am
Quote from: Niek on March 30, 2010, 09:46:59 pm
Aren't you almost ready to put this topic over to the WIP section?
I'd like to finish the View Engine Test and begin working on the Basic Platform Engine Test before I move it, but yes I am "almost" ready.

Quote from: Niek on March 30, 2010, 09:46:59 pm
I do have another question, are you planning to let the background with the moon scroll as well?
Quote from: Darklight on March 31, 2010, 05:36:10 am
... I thought that'd be good too.

Of course! Like I said, that video is very early. Actually, I've been recoding how the background is drawn in order to prep for that. I struggled for about 10 minutes as I tried to figure out how to make the randomly generated stars scroll properly with the view because they kept scrolling past the room's border (while the view stayed inside, of course). It ended up being that I had the code in the wrong place (I forgot the GM process order, lol). Also, it took me a while before I got smart and started using debug, which has been a major help in revealing those small problems that seem to otherwise evade me.

Anyway, sorry that progress has been kind of slow. I keep finding ways to revise the code as I go along.


Quote from: Mamoruanime on March 31, 2010, 07:16:06 am
There are some fun things you can do with camera movement. Namely making your focus object have this in it's step event-

Move_towards_point(target,distance_to_object(objplayer)/focusspeed)

target being your player, or anything you want to pan to
focusspeed being the amount you divide the speed by. The more you divide, the slower it moves :p

LOL, yep, I'm getting there. ;)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mamoruanime on April 02, 2010, 02:47:49 am
Another thing you haaaavvveeee to do is add some Zelda 2 enemies to this D:

Would be amazing.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 03, 2010, 03:59:24 am
IT'S AN UPDATE ^,^ !

     New video, and you may see it in HD if you wish (I recommend 720p at least). It demonstrates switching between focused objects, looking around, smoother view movements, parallax scrolling for the moon and stars, the quake effect, etc:

(btw, I also recommend that you see it in full screen; very small here)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRjZ-3pT56U

     I have everything coded. I'm just polishing it up a bit. Any questions, thoughts, concerns? I'm planning to upload the final View Engine Test and move this topic to WIP sometime before Monday night, but Easter is looking to be a little busier than I expected with family and stuff.


Quote from: Mamoruanime on April 02, 2010, 02:47:49 am
Another thing you haaaavvveeee to do is add some Zelda 2 enemies to this D:

Would be amazing.

     For sure! But, which ones are you wanting? I'm taking pretty much any enemy ideas. In fact, if anyone feels like spriting an enemy for this game, feel free to do so. If it matches the graphical style well, I will most-likely be able to use it. Anyway, I'll put up more info on things like that later.


EDIT:
Btw, I know the music doesn't really fit that well with the video, but I actually made the music about a year ago and it's the only Zelda music I've made so far, so I had to put it in (music in the last vid is not mine.. probably should have pointed that out before, oops D:).

EDITx2:
Crap, I should have pointed this out long before as well. My trees are also temporary as THEY ARE CRYSTALIS EDITS:
(http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/8100/itsanedit.png)
They are only placeholders, as are any bats you may have seen (which are from Cave Story), and if not everyone knows, Link was based off of the main character from Cave Story (named Quote), though that one is a heavy edit with many new custom frames of animation. And with that, I think I've got it all covered. Oh, also, like I said, the music in the first video (the crappy one) is not mine either. The rest is completely my own custom stuff from scratch. Any placeholders are planned to be replaced with my very own custom graphics. I just needed something to help get my project going; from now on, I shouldn't have any need for placeholders... I think. If I do use other game's/people's graphics as placeholders, I'll be sure to point them out from now on.

EDITx3:
I just realized that I didn't make the focus objects move at all. The number 2 is supposed to stay in place, the 3 is supposed to move through the forest a little, and the 4 is supposed to go in circles. Really though, it's all pretty pointless testing.

Btw, (random piece of code here) I do the quake effect with this:
Code: [Select]
if quakey < 0 {quakey = +(abs(quakey/1.25))} else {if quakey > 0 {quakey = -(abs(quakey/1.25))}};Well, pretty much anyway, besides starting the quake going (quakey = number) and adding it to the view_yview position. Dunno, just felt like throwing a piece of code out there. ;p
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: King Tetiro on April 03, 2010, 10:21:26 am
I have to ask, where did you get that music? It's awesome! (This game trumps all the games here)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 03, 2010, 12:36:06 pm
Quote from: King Tetiro on April 03, 2010, 10:21:26 am
I have to ask, where did you get that music? It's awesome! ...

Which music? The music in the second video or in the first video?

The first music is not mine and I found it at http://modarchive.org. If you go there, make sure to browse by file name and look in the "Z" section (for Zelda). There are tons of Zelda musics; some good, some not so good. However, they are mods, which means you need a media player that can play them (I recommend VLC! It's amazing because it even lets you convert mods to MP3!).

The second one is my own music. I made it using Open MPT (Mod Plug Tracker) and with some 8-Bit wav samples. If you want that last one, I might put it up for download when I move this to the WIP section (if I do, the download will be in the starting post of this thread, since I plan to change that up lots when I make the move).
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: King Tetiro on April 03, 2010, 12:39:08 pm
I just love the music? (I was talking about the second vids)

You have my support and my help if you need it
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on April 03, 2010, 02:23:26 pm
I need to get you some music :p
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 06, 2010, 02:35:39 am
Quote from: King Tetiro on April 03, 2010, 12:39:08 pm
I just love the music? (I was talking about the second vids)

You have my support and my help if you need it

Well, I'm glad you like my music. Though, I hope to make the official music even better than that one. Of course, with the help of Darklight, who has offered to help out in the area of music.

As for help and support. I'm going to have a "HOW YOU CAN HELP" section in the first post when I make the big move to WIP.

Quote from: Darklight on April 03, 2010, 02:23:26 pm
I need to get you some music :p

Go ahead and take your time. Though I am pretty anxious to see what you come up with. :P


UPDATE:

If anyone is wondering why it's taking me so long to move this to WIP, don't worry about it. Progress IS happening. I'm just getting together a lot of thoughts and working out a few details. You'll understand why the delay when I finally come with a real update. ;)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 08, 2010, 08:09:48 am
I've been up to a lot lately, but unfortunately it's more behind the scenes stuff.
Btw, it looks like I'm going to need to make an index for the first post after I modify it. Have a look see:
Quote
SECTIONS INDEX:
- About
     - General
     - Story
     - Main Characters
     - Gameplay
- Videos and Screens
- Engine Progress
     - Demo Releases
     - Engine Tests
- Other Releases
- Want to Help? Here's How!
     - Please Read this First
     - Programming
     - Sprites
     - Tiles
     - Music
     - Sound Effects
     - Other Ways You Can Help
- Who's Responsible for This?
     - The Team
     - Credits


Other stuff I've been working on lately:


     There are a few of you that seem really eager to help, which is great! I've gotten a couple PMs and I just want to let you guys know that I am getting to the point where I will know what I need help with, but that time is not quite here yet.
     As you can see in the quoted sections index, I have an entire section for how you can contribute (under "Want to Help? Here's How!"). Just give me a little more time to get everything in order. I'm trying to set up slowly/thoughtfully for success rather rush in for failure (it'd be epic failure... but failure nonetheless).

     It seems like I keep running out of time really fast (it's already past 1 AM here and I have to work at 5:30!) because of work and stuff. I'm looking forward to the weekend, because I get Sunday and Monday off, so I should get lots done then, but I just can't seem to get much done on this throughout the week. If there's no update before then, expect things to happen on Sunday/Monday! :D
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 11, 2010, 01:42:43 am

I've attached a gmk (Game Maker 8 file) of the View Engine Test.

If you download and run it, make sure to read the info (press F1 in game or view the info in Game Maker itself). It should explain why some things are the way they are. There shouldn't be any problems; I believe it to be solid and just the way I intended it to be.

Anyway, feel free to check out the code and let me know what you think. I know I'm not a professional programmer or anything, so I expect some of you may find things that could be coded better.


As far as the rest of the project goes, lots of stuff has been happening in the background, but I've mostly been stumped on getting together a good palette. I'm trying to keep it simple, yet I want to have good enough color range to have all my bases covered.

I'm trying to find information about making palettes and it's beginning to be quite frustrating because I'm not really finding anything and I'd really like to recolor Link (using the new palette that I don't have) before starting the Basic Platform and HUD Engine. It will save me a lot of time and trouble to complete a full palette sooner than later. If anyone has any tips or can point me to some great info on palette making, please help me out. This is totally new stuff to me.

AFTER A FEW FAILED ATTEMPTS, THIS IS MY NEW APPROACH:
In my attempt to choose colors that work well together, I'm pretty much just selecting a color and then I choose the shades of that color by ONLY changing the luma value:
(http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/3371/itsaboutluma.png)
I select a color at luma 120 (middle), then I end up with 5 lighter shades and 5 darker shades by selecting on every "20" mark (i.e. from darkest to lightest: 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 mid, 140, 160, 180, 200, 220). 0 is black and 240 is white, so I only include those in the b&w.

Is this method simplifying it too much? Any of you graphics experts able to help? :-\
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on April 11, 2010, 02:04:06 am
Lumas are in Paint? I never knew!  :P

Wouldn't that be "luminosity?" Because that's what I always thought it was.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 11, 2010, 02:48:01 am
Oh, right. I'm getting video mixed up with computer graphics. It pretty much means the same thing I guess. Luma is pretty much the same as luminosity, as far as I know...

Quote from: PC Magazine encyclopedia
   
Definition of: luma

The black/gray/white information in a video signal, represented as the letter "Y." Color information is transmitted as luma (brightness) and chroma (color). The luma is a weighted sum of the RGB colors. See luminance, YUV and YUV/RGB conversion formulas.

I believe you are correct though. I've just been hanging around my brother too much (he does video stuff as a profession).
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on April 11, 2010, 05:46:11 am
YOU HAVE A BROTHER? IS HE BURNTICE?
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 12, 2010, 06:38:28 am
Actually I have two brothers, but, sadly neither of them are burntice. D:


Ok, I've been fooling around with palettes a bit more:
(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7812/sqpalettetestmeh.png)
     I'm not liking either of the results. I think I'm just going to go back to my roots of my inspiration and get all of the colors from Cave Story and just use those.

     Ryuza helped me out a bit and gave me that first palette, but now I think it feels a little washed out. But, the one below it that I made makes it difficult to give proper contrast to the objects. And both of the palettes probably have way too many colors. I'm probably going about it all wrong, trying to make every color I'll need before I actually know for sure what colors I'll need. Maybe a normal person would make new colors as they go along and find the need? Well, if the Cave Story palette doesn't work out, I'll try that way next.

     Who woulda thought a palette would be so hard to get right! I guess this is just one of those things that I suck at (another thing I find difficult is cow tipping, dang!! ... jk btw). So yea, I'm going to get the colors from Cave Story together and see what I come up with. Hopefully the result will satisfy my overcritical needs.


     I'm also looking for a bit of C+C: What do you guys think of the heart container I made? And that light icey-colored thing is supposed to be an ice spike... I know, fail. That big blue stuff is supposed to be water. The rest should be obvious..? I think the hearts and water are the best. They're just some of the WIP graphics I've got going. ;)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on April 12, 2010, 06:41:12 am
Now it's starting to look vaguely GSish with the ice spike. I like! Also, I like the palettes!
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 12, 2010, 10:40:46 am
Quote from: Mirby on April 12, 2010, 06:41:12 am
Now it's starting to look vaguely GSish with the ice spike. I like!

Forgive me for not understanding but, what do you mean by "GSish"? Like Golden Sun?

Quote from: Mirby on April 12, 2010, 06:41:12 am
Also, I like the palettes!

Both palettes? But, which one should I go with?


     Ryuza gave me some amazing browns and some great skin tones, which I had a hard time getting right by myself (thanks again Ryuza!). I think I'll take those and some of my more vibrant colors and try to get the best of both worlds. I'm playing Cave Story and some Legend of Princess to study the colors a bit too. I feel like I'm getting more of an idea of what colors I want so I'll get something worked out soon.

     In the mean time, I'm making some various-angled solids and objects for the basic platform test. I'm also figuring out how to have minimal key controls and still keep all of the great actions for Link. Right now I've got it down to 6 action keys, the menu key, and the arrow keys. But 6 action keys is too much imo. I want to get it down to 4, if possible. I need to figure this out now because I will have these actions in the platform test.

Here is what I've got so far on the controls:
Quote from:  CURRENT CONTROLS
[Left/Right] = Look/Move in direction.
[Up] = Look up; climb up.
[Down] = Look down; climb down.
(Note: The arrow keys will probably aim the bow as well. This is a problem I have yet to figure out: how to make the bow work in an action-friendly way in a platform game?... and no, I refuse to use the mouse)

[Down] = Action button - check; open door; open chest; pick up object.
[1] = Attack/Sword button - exactly as it says.
[2] = Defense button - shield Link from attacks; dodges.
[3] = Quick button - makes Link run; modifies some attacks and defensive maneuvers.
[4] = Link's item button - used for the bombs, the bow, the boomerang, and the ********.
[5] = Sprite's item button - uses Sprite's currently selected magic power.
[6] = Jump button - exactly as it says.

[7] = Menu button - pops up the item/menu screen.
As you can see, I still need to work it out a bit more.

     Also, I need to figure out how I will arrange the images in Link's "animated" sprite. I am going to have 2 sprites, one with all left-facing images and the other with all right-facing images. That way I can simply switch images according to the faced-direction while keeping the same sub-image, if that makes sense. I think it will be the most efficient way to do it code-wise, unless someone thinks up something better.


Eh, but right now it's time for sleep... actually, it was that time for me about 4 hours ago. :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on April 12, 2010, 04:54:07 pm
Damn. I can't play this! I have no up key! Oh woe....

I like the first more; in the second palette, the red is too orange. We need RED LINK not ORANGE LINK! That, and although not as vibrant as the second palette, I feel it works.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Nabeshin on April 12, 2010, 06:28:42 pm
You could combine the defense button with the down key. If there's nothing for Link to check, he stands there and defends. Left/right keys could do a dodge roll when down is also pressed. If you want the player to be able to run around while defending though, then you will need a unique button; I don't know your plans, obviously.

Another option is combining Link's items with Sprite's items - is there any reason why that's not viable?

One more option would be to combine the sword and items together, and have one dedicated weapons button like Cave Story. The player could equip 4 items in the menu, along with the defaulted sword to make 5, and toggle through them, which would help the action stay steady.

So in total, I'm thinking:

[Down] = Action button - check; open door; open chest; pick up object. If Link isn't in front of something checkable, shield pops up, dodge with left/right.
[1] = Item button - controls the sword and any other equipped items.
[2] = Jump button - exactly as it says.
[3] = Quick button - makes Link run; modifies some attacks and defensive maneuvers.
[4] = Toggle button - toggle through Link's items. Two buttons would be more convenient, but one does the job.

[5] = Menu button - pops up the item/menu screen.

EDIT: Maybe instead of the quick button, the player could hold the jump button to activate quick moves? Again, you lose the functionality of simultaneous quick + jump, but you'd gain the extra slot for a second item toggle.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 13, 2010, 07:10:04 am
Quote from: Mirby on April 12, 2010, 04:54:07 pm
Damn. I can't play this! I have no up key! Oh woe....

WHAT?! No up key?! Why not? D:

Quote from: Mirby on April 12, 2010, 04:54:07 pm
I like the first more; in the second palette, the red is too orange. We need RED LINK not ORANGE LINK! That, and although not as vibrant as the second palette, I feel it works.

Well, I did a mesh of more vibrant colors with some of Ryuza's and I kinda like the result. I feel like I can make what I need with this one (top sprite set is Ryuza's colors only, the middle set is my old one, and the bottom set is my final result):
(http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/5522/sqpalettetestyeh.png)

     Anyway, I've spent way too much time testing palettes and all, so I'm gonna say that this new one is good enough. Thanks again to Ryuza, you helped me out more than you know. The only thing I don't like is the rupee; I should have used one of the other greens. But the rupee needs a complete redo anyway.


     Nabeshin: Thanks for the thoughts on controls. I've realized that my game is much more complex than Cave Story as far as all of the actions the player is able to do. Heck, it's a Zelda! There's going to be lots of actions for Link and lots of items. I think getting it down to 6 keys in all (including the menu button) will be fine. So I just need to eliminate one. I guess I kind of have to do it myself because I don't want to give away certain things just yet, but I probably will have to eventually. I just don't want to spoil any of the fun for anyone.

     But, I do plan on having special instance attacks, like in WW where the A button would light up and it would let you do something cool. For an example, I'm going to have an attack called "Assassinate" which will just be there for some extra fun. It's these kinds of things that I really don't want to sacrifice. But, if making less keys makes the game more enjoyable, then I will have to lose a few fun things like this. That's about all I'll say about it though.

     Is 6 keys still too much? I guess the best thing to do would be to have 5 keys though, one for each finger. That way the player could set up 4 keys along the bottom, like Z X C and V for the main actions, then use SPACE for the inventory screen, meaning that the player would never have to move his/her fingers. Meh, I'm just thinking out loud. Oh, btw, yes, I will have configurable keys. Being forced to use keys that feel wrong is a terrible crime (one that I'm guilty of in my older games).

... I REALLY should move this to WIP. :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on April 13, 2010, 07:15:17 am
Yes you should. And I have no up key because it... fell off... and I haven't gotten it fixed yet...

The new palette looks perfect, BTW!
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on April 13, 2010, 07:24:44 am
Easiest thing to do is let the player assign their own keys. Options like this are one thing I wouldn't ever leave out, there's always going to be someone who hates the keys you've chosen or they're in an uncomfortable position for them.

Whoops, looks like you said you'd have configurable keys :P I really should read the whole paragraph first.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 13, 2010, 07:27:20 am
Yep, so very true! That's why I'm going to have assignable keys. The problem is figuring out how to limit the number of keys used and to take it from 7 keys down to only 5. Once I figure that out, I'll be sure to ask everyone's opinion on default key settings.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on April 13, 2010, 07:30:49 am
Well, I'm used to O^ K< L> ,V soo... configurable keys would help... Can't even play Braid...
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Ryuza on April 13, 2010, 02:28:00 pm
Well, I'm glad I could help out so much FF :). The complete palette's looking pretty good. I had a few ideas about controls too, what about this set-up (I'll bold the changes):
Quote from: New Controls Idea
[Left/Right] = Look/Move in direction, double tap to run
[Up] = Look up; climb up.
[Down] = Look down; climb down, examine

[1(H)] = Weapon 1 Button (default - Sword)
[2(J)] = Weapon 2 Button (default - Shield)
[3(U)] = Sprite's Item Button
[4(K)] = Jump button

[5(Space)] = Menu button
I was thinking something like the GB games where you could change equipment for two weapon slots, or maybe have one set button for sword and a changable slot with the shield as a default equip for that slot. What do you think?

Also, heres small modification of the rupee sprite, I think yours looks fine as is though, but if you were to have different rupee sizes with various value then these might work: (http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/192/rupeemod.png)

Anyway, let me know if you think of anything I might be able to help with.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 17, 2010, 10:22:41 pm
Thanks for the thoughts on controls and especially for those rupees Ryuza! I will have many sizes and colors of rupees in this game, so I'm sure I'll find use for all 3 of them.

As for controls: I've planned to have the sword and shield act as one item, meaning that they are not going to be separate items. I did this for a few reasons: One of the best reasons was to keep Link's sprites and image index at a smaller number. Meaning, less complexity and overall less hassle. Another reason is because of how I plan to have the game's mechanics work with the battles; I think the gameplay value should benefit from keeping the sword and shield together. I also have another reason that I don't want to reveal and so spoil. Another thing: I want the sword and shield to be equipped at all times because of how action-focused the game is planned to be. This also means that there will be a button that is reserved only for the sword and shield.

Furthermore, I've decided that running was unnecessary because Link's walking speed will be good enough and areas will be designed accordingly to keep the player from feeling like "GAHH!! Can't this idiot go any faster?!", but I took your suggestion of double-tapping and used that as the "quick" modifier. Much better that way IMO.

So this is what I came up with (I didn't list any in-air actions and I left out a few spoilers, but the core controls and some others are here):


THE 5 BUTTONS (excluding arrow keys):

[1] = Sword and shield button.
[2] = Link's item button (also for grab/throw/push/pull).
[3] = Sprite's item button.
[4] = Jump button.
[5] = Inventory/Menu screen.


MOVEMENT AND LOOKING ACTIONS:

[L/R] = Look/Move in direction.
[Up] = Look up. Climb up.
[Down] = Look down. Climb down.


GROUND ACTIONS:

Sword actions:
[L/R] + [1] = Slash.
[L-L/R-R] + [1] = Stab.
[L-L/R-R] + [1] + {BEING CLOSE BEHIND CERTAIN ENEMIES} = Assassinate.
[Up] + [1] = Lunge.
[Down-Down] + [1] = Spin.

Defensive actions:
[L-L/R-R] + [4] = Dodge (used to get behind enemies or to dodge away from their attacks).
[Down] + [1] = Defend w/shield.

When next to a pushable/pullable object:
[2] = Grab object.
[2] + [L/R] = Push/Pull object.

When next to a pickup-able object (e.g. a pot):
[2] = Pick up object.

While holding an object in hand:
[2] = Set object down.
[2] + [L/R] = Throw object.
[2] + [L-L/R-R] = Throw object REALLY hard.

Other:
[Down] = Examine (i.e. enter doorways, open chests, pick up objects, etc).


The only problem that I see with this is that Link will not be able to use items when he's by an object that he can pick up or grab onto. Instead of using his item (bow, bombs, boomerang, etc), he'd interact with the object. Still, I think it would work okay. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

Quote from: H*R
I SAID GOOD GRAPHICS!!!

Here is a concept sprite of Timmy the Wizzrobe, the main bad guy of the game:
(http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/1831/timmy2x.png)

Btw, I REALLY want to avoid using the name "Timmy", so I would like a name suggestion. I was going for something funny-stupid, because the idea is for the player not to take him so seriously. He's a comic relief bad guy, not a Ganon/Ganondorf bad guy. Also, he is demented (but in a funny way, not a horror flick way), which will be obvious in the way that he speaks.

That should be enough info if anyone wants to blurt out a name or two that sounds fitting for the look and personality.
*thinks of a "funny" Zelda character and what his name would be like if he were demented..*
.. I could call him Tangle! Did I just have a stroke of genius??... hmm?


And something to show the new direction with trees:
(http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/7439/tilesetforesttreetest.png)

I know that the background sucks, but that's because it's temporary. Also, I've got the branches figured out, but my first attempt at making leaves ended up looking more like ivy than bushy tree leaves. I'll have to try again later. Tree's are irritatingly difficult to make look right! I'll have to find some side-scrollers that have forests and study their design. Can anyone point me in the right direction by giving me some screens or videos?


I really want to move this to WIP, but I don't want to move it without having the basic platforming physics in the programming process (I'm still busy working on the pre-programming process because this is where a lot of the game has to come together).

Btw, I was planning on releasing various engine tests, like a View Engine Test, Item Test, Physics Test, etc, but I realized that it's pointless to do things is this manner, so I'll just be releasing the SQ Engine as a whole and I'll update it's version as I add new scripts and stuff. When I have enough of the engine coded, I will make the first demo. Btw, the reason why I'm working on tree's and stuff is because they will be used in the first demo, so I'm not really getting TOO ahead of myself. :P

Right now, I'm still trying to figure out the controls and and the HUD. I've been playing OoT and MM and various Zelda games to study how their HUDs work. Unfortunately, I've been taken in by MM and I can't stop playing, lol!

Anyway, even though I said I was going to move this to WIP a long time ago, I just don't feel like this is an official WIP until I actually have some platforming physics and a partially working character. I mean heck, that's the core of the game there.

I confess that I've been a bit lazy lately, but the past few weeks have been pretty energy draining. For one thing, work has sucked pretty hard. The president of the business came by a few days ago, so the boss made everyone work extra hard to impress. On top of that, just yesterday we had our quarterly evaluation, which meant extra hard work from everyone to impress the management supervisors. So, yeah, instead of working on this in my free time I slept and did some gaming to relax. I've also got to do a whole ton of house cleaning because my apartment is looking like a real bachelor pad, and that scares me because I'm a bit of a neat freak.

So, with AAALLLLLLL of that said, just know that I will keep working on this project, but I'm at a slow point in development right now where certain life things need to take priority over this.


.. sorry about the long post.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on April 17, 2010, 10:28:27 pm
No prob! I was excited to see new info! Seriously! I'm stoked for the new info! ^_^
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Breedlove on April 18, 2010, 12:42:45 am
I love everything about this game except the Wizrobe's name, so I'm glad you also would like a different name for him. I'll do my best to offer suggestions. You want him to be comic-relief but he can still have a good name.

I'm at a loss for ideas right now, but if I think of something I'll let you know. Just please for the love of God do not call you antagonist Timmy >_<
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 18, 2010, 03:59:42 pm
Quote from: Breedlove on April 18, 2010, 12:42:45 am
... Just please for the love of God do not call you antagonist Timmy >_<

lol! Don't worry, I promise that it will be changed. It'd be a shame to ruin the game because of it.

What about "Tangle" though? I was sort of joking around at first, but it kind of fits. I mean, he's all "tangled" up in the head (he's crazy), and he's a pain in your @$$, just like Tingle! XD Ok, so I'm still joking around a bit...


Btw, I'm watching some gameplay vids of forest areas from various sidescrollers/platformers to see how the pros do it. Hopefully I'll get some ideas how pull off a good forest look.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Breedlove on April 18, 2010, 04:58:29 pm
Tangle is a lot better but it might be too close to Tingle. How about Jangle :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Zaeranos on April 18, 2010, 05:31:18 pm
Bit to plain. Why not have a two part name, like Bango Jango or Bore Zwiz.

The last one is an anagram :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on April 18, 2010, 06:56:36 pm
Zobe Zwir?
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Nabeshin on April 18, 2010, 08:03:20 pm
Quote from: FrozenFire on April 17, 2010, 10:22:41 pm
[L-L/R-R] + [4] = Dodge (used to get behind enemies or to dodge away from their attacks).
Doesn't that mean you won't be able to simultaneously run and jump?
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Breedlove on April 18, 2010, 10:50:58 pm
The name Tangle is actually growing on me. I'd just go with that. :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Zaeranos on April 19, 2010, 06:42:11 am
Hmm, I just took another look at your wizzrobe, but I must say that I don't immediately recognize it as a wizzrobe. I would sooner gues it is a subrosian, if the explanation wasn't added.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 19, 2010, 07:00:35 am
Quote from: Nabeshin on April 18, 2010, 08:03:20 pm
Quote from: FrozenFire on April 17, 2010, 10:22:41 pm
[L-L/R-R] + [4] = Dodge (used to get behind enemies or to dodge away from their attacks).
Doesn't that mean you won't be able to simultaneously run and jump?

I decided to take out running, so no. I will quote myself to show you what I'm thinking now:
Quote from: FrozenFire on April 17, 2010, 10:22:41 pm
... Furthermore, I've decided that running was unnecessary because Link's walking speed will be good enough and areas will be designed accordingly to keep the player from feeling like "GAHH!! Can't this idiot go any faster?!", but I took your (Ryuza's) suggestion of double-tapping and used that as the "quick" modifier. Much better that way IMO. ...


After thinking about it, I really don't see why Tangle isn't a good name. Have any of the bad guys of Zelda's had two part names? There's Vaati, Ganon/Ganondorf, Veran, Onox, Bellum, etc. The only ones I can think of are the Skull Kid and Dark Link, but I wouldn't really consider those to be two part names. Anyway, I think I'll go with Tangle because it seems fitting and it's a hecka lot better than Timmy, lol.


Quote from: Niek on April 19, 2010, 06:42:11 am
Hmm, I just took another look at your wizzrobe, but I must say that I don't immediately recognize it as a wizzrobe. I would sooner gues it is a subrosian, if the explanation wasn't added.
Wizzrobes have gone through a few designs. I'm going for more of the older look. There's a good range of differences here:
http://www.zeldawiki.org/Wizzrobe (http://www.zeldawiki.org/Wizzrobe)

Of course, it is a concept sprite, so it's not the final product. If you have some ideas on how to make him look more like a Wizzrobe, just let me know what I should change.

EDIT:
I could give him a pointy wizard-like hat. Would that help?
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Zaeranos on April 19, 2010, 07:37:45 am
Quote from: 冷凍ファイアー on April 19, 2010, 07:00:35 am
Quote from: Niek on April 19, 2010, 06:42:11 am
Hmm, I just took another look at your wizzrobe, but I must say that I don't immediately recognize it as a wizzrobe. I would sooner gues it is a subrosian, if the explanation wasn't added.
Wizzrobes have gone through a few designs. I'm going for more of the older look. There's a good range of differences here:
http://www.zeldawiki.org/Wizzrobe (http://www.zeldawiki.org/Wizzrobe)

Of course, it is a concept sprite, so it's not the final product. If you have some ideas on how to make him look more like a Wizzrobe, just let me know what I should change.

EDIT:
I could give him a pointy wizard-like hat. Would that help?
Making a pointy hat would work or a pointy hood. Make the end of the sleeves a bit wider and the inside look like a mini black void (minus the hands if you decide to make hands).

If Tangle is floating, then you could make the bottom of his robe look more pointy/ragged as if parts were torn away. But that is more of a personal preference.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: TomPel on April 28, 2010, 12:40:28 pm
Looking awesome so far. I'm liking the graphics, though they could be a bit bigger.
I actually think you have what it takes to finish this game. And that's a rare thing here :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: King Tetiro on April 28, 2010, 01:23:46 pm
Quote from: TomPel on April 28, 2010, 12:40:28 pm
Looking awesome so far. I'm liking the graphics, though they could be a bit bigger.
I actually think you have what it takes to finish this game. And that's a rare thing here :P
It's the cave story style tompel. Cave story sprites are all 16x16 things
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Random on May 01, 2010, 10:05:04 pm
Woot Now this is the final PotM! (For this mounth. :P)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Zaeranos on May 03, 2010, 05:53:49 am
Congratulations with your (puts up a MK voice) "Flawless Victory".
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on May 15, 2010, 10:56:56 pm
Quote from: King Tetiro on April 28, 2010, 01:23:46 pm
Quote from: TomPel on April 28, 2010, 12:40:28 pm
Looking awesome so far. I'm liking the graphics, though they could be a bit bigger.
I actually think you have what it takes to finish this game. And that's a rare thing here :P
It's the cave story style tompel. Cave story sprites are all 16x16 things

Thanks tompel, and yep, Cave Story graphics are 16x16. At least, the original ones are, and that's my main graphical inspiration.

Quote from: Random on May 01, 2010, 10:05:04 pm
Woot Now this is the final PotM! (For this mounth. :P)
Quote from: Niek on May 03, 2010, 05:53:49 am
Congratulations with your (puts up a MK voice) "Flawless Victory".

Thanks to everyone for getting Spirit's Quest the PotM! This means I need to find time to work on the game.  D: ?!

In case no one has noticed: I haven't been on ZFGC for almost a month, which is a long time away for me, lol. To keep from being dramatic, I'll just say that life is crazier than ever right now (literally), so the game has been put on hold for a little while. I just can't afford the time for it. I feel bad because I haven't been doing much as a mod lately either, and I apologize to 4Sword and my fellow mods for that.

I can't say when I'll be back, but I WILL be back, and so will my game. I'll try REALLY hard to get some good stuff to share for the PotM.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 07, 2011, 09:11:03 am
HUZZAH!!
Ok, so Spirit's Quest is going again.

The project has been lying around for nearly a year and I just recently picked it up again, so don't expect to hear that I've got a ton of new content, because I don't.
I mean, yeah, I have done a bit more tweaking and brainstorming on items, enemies, and a few other things, so this isn't exactly all the new stuff, but as far as the actual engine goes, it is:

What I have here is a "nearly-complete" basic physics test... hey, it's gotta start somewhere, right?
(http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/5672/basicphysictest01.png)
In the screenshot, that yellow object on the right side is the player detection mask. It probably goes without saying, but all the gray is solid and the blue is just background. XD

Right now the player goes up and down all angles and hills as long as they are not steeper than 45 degrees. To put it differently, the character stops if there is a 2-pixel high bump, which is exactly what I'm going for. The player jumps and gravity works perfect. There is acceleration and friction at work. In the air, I made it so that friction is non-existent because it gives a more natural feeling of being airborne (Cave Story does this as well).
Things I still need to do are make the head (sides of his head) actually collide with the walls, which I've studied how Cave Story deals with the whole "small body, incredibly HUGE head" thing and it's really simple, so no problems there. Another simple thing I need to do is allow for jump height variation according to how long you hold the jump button (done it before, not hard). Simple stuff like that. The only thing I'm a little lost on atm is that the head bumping on the ceiling is still slightly jerky, so I gotta take a look at that, but I'm sure it's just going to take a focused look at the code for me to figure it out.

Once the basic stuff is done, then it get's really hard with stairways and ice, which I'm totally looking forward to coding! *note the sarcasm* :P


That is all for now. Sorry that the update isn't anything special, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that Spirit's Quest wasn't dead. The next update will likely include a video, if not a testable physics demo so you guys can feel it out for yourself and attempt to break it.


EDIT:
And I already fixed the head bumping glitch. It's smooth as butter now. But it's about 1:40am now so I'd better grab some sleep dang it.

EDIT x 2:
Basic physics test is now done! I just need to clean up my code and revise comments.

After that, here are my next steps for the advanced physics engine:
- Add drop-through* platforms.
- Add drop-through stairs.
- Add ice with speed increases going down slopes and speed reductions going up slopes.
- Add moving drop-through platforms that are able to move in any direction.
- Add liquid (water, lava).
- Add muck (sinking sand, swamp water).
- Add climbable.

*Platforms that you can land on, but you can also hold down and the jump button to drop off of them.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Aero88 on March 09, 2011, 02:34:21 pm
I like. I like!  May I make a suggestion dealing with Ice?  If I were you I would put a friction variable in a parent object for all ground objects.  This would be the standard friction when you are on normal ground.  When you are on top of a given ground object, you would call that ground objects friction variable and adjust your characters movement accordingly, then all you have to do is lower that variable in the Ice Ground Object (a child of the standard ground object), and wha la!  You have ice, you could even make a more sticky platform by creating a child with increased friction.  I have yet to try this myself.  I actually wish I did this in my Smash Bros Game, but I didn't think of it until after the fact...  Oh well....  Maybe you already have a system that works well for you though???  No matter I am sure it will turn out very nice!

edit:  Welcome back by the way!  XD
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 10, 2011, 06:21:15 am
Quote from: Aero88 on March 09, 2011, 02:34:21 pm
I like. I like!  May I make a suggestion dealing with Ice?  If I were you I would put a friction variable in a parent object for all ground objects.  This would be the standard friction when you are on normal ground.  When you are on top of a given ground object, you would call that ground objects friction variable and adjust your characters movement accordingly, then all you have to do is lower that variable in the Ice Ground Object (a child of the standard ground object), and wha la!  You have ice, you could even make a more sticky platform by creating a child with increased friction.  I have yet to try this myself.  I actually wish I did this in my Smash Bros Game, but I didn't think of it until after the fact...  Oh well....  Maybe you already have a system that works well for you though???  No matter I am sure it will turn out very nice!

edit:  Welcome back by the way!  XD

I have it check if the player is on ice, in the air, in water, etc, all at the very beginning of the movement code (before it moves the player). Depending on what the player is standing on or in, it will set the acceleration, deceleration, etc. Then the movement code uses these variables to figure out how to move the character. For example, in the air, deceleration is VERY small, while acceleration is pretty much the same as on ground (little less), but in water pretty much everything is slow, and your maximum speed is also less. All of these variables are figured out before the movement happens, and it is all called upon in the Player object.

It sounds like you were advising me to set variables in the solids themselves? I don't see any point in setting variables in solids if I can set them in the player (since there is only 1 player and multiple solids). This is the way I've been doing it. I feel it actually is a more efficient way to do it, but parents sound like a good idea if this works...

SO HERE'S MY PONDERING ABOUT PARENTS:
Honestly, I've never used parents. I have 5 solids with ice characteristics (one block and 4 various slope angles). So I'm wondering, if I have the slopes set their parent as the "Ice" object, then could I ask in the Player object if place_meeting(x,y+1,Ice), and it would return ALL 5 of the objects? Meaning I wouldn't have to ask the same question for all of them?

I guess I could just test this out (thought if you knew then you could easily give me a quick answer), but I'm not at the ice test part yet. I've almost got the stairs working.

I've got it so that, in order to climb stairs, you must jump up on them and land on them. What I mean is that Link will always go down stairs by default if he meets both up and downward stairways at the same time.

Quote from: Stairway Example
\
  \
    \_____ <--- If Link walks this way, he will decline stairs, not go up them
    /
  /
/

Also, if Link is walking along the ground and comes to the base of a stairway, he will walk passed the stairs, NOT go up them. It's super annoying to make him walk up them by default, and jumping on them feels natural to me (heck, it's a platformer).

Does that sound right to you guys? I will give out a physics and collisions demo as soon as I get everything in there. I hate how game maker detects collisions so I've been taking a while to work on collisions. I've had unforeseeable difficulties because my character has a huge head and a tiny body, but I've been making good progress just the same (even though it may not look it).

CURRENT TO-DO LIST:
- Fix up glitches in stairs and dropthrough platforms (pretty much complete, should get it done tonight if nothing unexpected happens).
- Add ice with speed increases going down slopes and speed reductions going up slopes.
- Add moving drop-through platforms that are able to move in any direction.
- Add liquid (water, lava).
- Add muck (sinking sand, swamp water).
- Add climbable.

PLANNED DEVELOPMENT PROCESS:
After that I move on to adding Link's sprites and basic animations. Then I add pushing/pulling blocks, which I realized my current sprites need to be revised because Link leans too much and his arms don't need to go that far out. Which is good because I had a hard time trying to make his arms not look stretched, so they will look more natural now, lol. :P Anyway, after I get Link pushing and pulling, I will make the item/menu mechanics, then I'll add in each item one at a time until I've got all of Link's items functional. Somewhere in there I'll add in the HUD functionality and then Link's fairy's ai and her own magical powers. So that's mostly how I plan on going about this. I might decide to make the introduction sequence of the game somewhere in the middle of the item coding, possibly after. We shall see what we shall see.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:
Btw, I may have stated this a while back, but I do have plans to allow anyone to help out with the project if they want to, and I think it will be a nice organized system where I don't rely on anyone much and there isn't the pressure of responsibility to get things done if someone decides that they don't want to do whatever it is that they said they would do. But I'm getting ahead of myself, ha ha, back to programming! XD
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 11, 2011, 12:37:24 pm
Well, I got the stairs working, FINALLY. I've been working on just that for literally 8+ hours. ::)

Anyway, here's a dev video... or maybe it's a "devideo"... :-\
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfQ-R0FdPIw

Stairs were the hard part, seriously, all the rest of the collisions and physics should get done real fast. If you can't tell by my to-do list (on the last post), I chose to code what I thought would be the most difficult things first.

Anyway, feedback is always nice, so if you see something you like or don't like, let your voice be heard!

....  :o i have a bad habit of staying up late (4:30am here)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on March 11, 2011, 02:00:00 pm
After hearing the music to go with that I'm not just gonna limit myself to chiptunes :P. Seems like it's working nicely though.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 12, 2011, 10:28:22 am
Yeah, that music is actually from the "Essence of Lime" Zelda music project. There's some quality music in there. The songs are usually a good hybrid mix of realistic instruments and chippy synths. I love 'em. XD


Anyway, I've got ice coded already! The player now slips and slides and you can get more momentum than ever before if you slide down an icy slope (oh the possibilities for death defying long jumps)! THANK YOU AERO88! I can't believe I've never noticed the power of parents before. I used it with ice and the result is much less code and thus less clutter. Good good good!

I did notice that my friction has a flaw though. The character doesn't take into account "parts" of a pixel. An example of this: If an object is set at a constant motion of 1.25, the object should move 1 pixel the first three cycles, but on the 4th cycle the object should move 2 pixels because the ".25" adds up to a 1 (i.e. 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2). Right now, if I had my character set at the constant rate of 1.25, he would always go 1 pixel, no matter what. D:
Shouldn't be too hard of a fix. I know what's wrong, I just need to think about how to translate it into code. I know it's gotta be pretty simple, I've just fried my brain for the day and can no longer think. :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on March 12, 2011, 11:17:39 am
Quote from: Frozen炎 on March 12, 2011, 10:28:22 am
Yeah, that music is actually from the "Essence of Lime" Zelda music project. There's some quality music in there. The songs are usually a good hybrid mix of realistic instruments and chippy synths. I love 'em. XD
I thought I recoginized it, sounded like hylian lemon's style. My favourite song from the album would have to be water from fire. Love the symmetry city theme :D
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 13, 2011, 07:48:38 am
Alright, well that was simple. I fixed my movement to include "part-pixel" movements. However, I noticed that I need to fix my character's maximum speed and there is a small issue where the character almost never actually comes to a complete stop (but may be going at 0.02 or something). Easy fixes, I just need to revise my acceleration and deceleration code. But it feels loads smoother with the part-pixel movements! For example, stops feel much less abrupt. I'm pretty happy with how this is turning out so far. :3

Here's part of the code that may or may not show you what I mean about part-pixel movements...

It WAS like this:
Code: [Select]
// X MOVEMENT AND HILL MOVEMENT
repeat (abs(floor(xspeed))){
 (movement code follows)
 blah blah blah blah etc etc etc

NOW it includes more code before it, and looks like this:
Code: [Select]
// CODE FOR GETTING "PART-PIXEL" MOVEMENT
// xcount number = last fraction of xspeed plus current xspeed
xcount = frac(xcount) + abs(xspeed);

// X MOVEMENT AND HILL MOVEMENT
// Do movement only if xcount = 1 or over
if xcount >= 1{
    repeat (abs(floor(xcount))){
    (movement code follows)
 blah blah blah blah etc etc etc

That seems to work perfectly (unless someone smarter tells me otherwise). The code repeats single pixel movement checks (not shown) the number of times = to your speed. Simple really, but I'll release that code later, once I get it commented better and possibly figure out a way to shorten some of it (trying to be as efficient as possible). :P

Another thing I noticed outside of the coding is that my animations for Link need a bit of revision as well. I just wanted everyone to know that I've noticed this and that I plan to fix the sprites up. But the best way to fix them is to test them in the engine, so I just need to a few more things done here get a few more things done and then I start testing Link's actions! That shouldn't be too far off!

EDIT:
Strikeout the fail. Perhaps sleep is necessary. :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Zaeranos on March 13, 2011, 01:12:35 pm
4Sword used a similar method for movement in the MCS engine. It has been in there for a long time already.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 14, 2011, 08:38:56 am
Been a little busy, so practically no progress on the engine itself. HOWEVER, check out the beginning post of this topic. I revamped it and loaded it with good stuff! :D !
I pretty much just got it all organized and set up for future development updates. To make it easy on everyone, including myself. XD

Btw, to any mod listening: Is my project going along good enough to get moved to Zelda Projects? Technically, I don't have any "trailers" because the videos I do have just show the engine off. I don't mind waiting for a move until I actually start to put in the pretty graphics if that would make it more official. I should get to that point pretty soon though.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Zaeranos on March 14, 2011, 11:36:57 am
Actually, these days you need to create a project page in the new project system. It will automatically transfer you to the Zelda projects. That is if it still works since the boards reorganization. I don't think anyone has tested it yet.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 16, 2011, 09:39:20 am
Ah, I see. Things have changed a bit since I've been gone. Well, I checked it out, I just don't see how I can link the project back to this page or if it automatically starts a new topic (for the "discuss this project" link). I'd like to keep this topic rather than start a new one. Guess I'm just a little confused on how that works. :/ Anyway, I've decided that I'll wait to create a project page until after I've gotten to the point where I add in Link's animations. That way the game will be far enough along to "look" like a game.

Update:
Good news and bad news, and then some possible good news on the bad news: I fixed the all the speed issues and I only see one more problem before I move on to code the moving platforms. Bad news is that one problem is a glitch where the character may hover over ground if you hit a slope just right. The good news on this bad news is that I think I've narrowed down where the problem is and it shouldn't be too hard to fix once I look it over a bit.

Heh, I probably spend more time testing than I do programming. :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 17, 2011, 01:01:41 pm
I just added in the "Steps of Development" sub-section to the first post. It's where you can easily see what I've got done, what I'm doing, and what my next steps are in the development process. ^,^
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on March 17, 2011, 01:15:47 pm
I think I'll go find my old tunes I was writing for this and fine tune them.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 18, 2011, 10:07:14 am
Awesome, sounds great Dark, though the game is not really there yet. :P
I'd just hate for you to make awesome music that didn't fit with the game.

UPDATE! YAY ^,^ !!!

I fixed the y movement issue. It was the stupidest most simplest thing, I couldn't believe I missed it. Anyway, at least now I don't feel like WHAT THE $%#$^#&!? IS IT DOING THAT FOR?!

Also, here's a vid to show off the ice and the newly-added moving platforms:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pht1W1s5QE
Note: The music in the vid was made by me ages ago, when I only had awful samples at my disposal.

I think the only thing that I might revise at this point is the speed at which the character drops off of ledges.
And, yeah, the moving platforms all do the same thing, but it's all the movement I needed to code to make sure any movement would work, so why waste time making it look pretty? ... So maybe I'm a tad bit lazy, but hey, I made it happen and that's what counts.

Next thing on the to-do list is the liquid type (i.e. a swim-able substance), which should take a tad bit longer than the moving platforms (those took me a few minutes :P). I just need to figure out exactly what I want to do with swimming, and maybe fool around with making swimming sprites to see if i need to have another collision mask or not. Things like that.


Btw, when I get to the point where I add in the HUD, I will put Spirit's Quest in the Zelda Projects category. Hopefully I can transfer this thread over there and not have to start a new one. But I guess it won't matter either way, as long as this one is locked or something (don't want people to get confused).
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on March 18, 2011, 12:01:08 pm
Quote from: Frozen炎 on March 18, 2011, 10:07:14 am
Awesome, sounds great Dark, though the game is not really there yet. :P
I'd just hate for you to make awesome music that didn't fit with the game.
Yeah I was going to say the music I made earlier probably won't fit in too well :p really need to see what the graphics are like/beta test before I can write music that suits it.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Aero88 on March 18, 2011, 06:28:00 pm
Wow, I haven't checked back in for a while, but I am really liking what I am seeing.  Yeah my suggestion for placing the friction variable in the ground object, really only helps if you make use of parent structures, and you have a lot of types of grounds in your game.  It looks like what you have done works very well.  Parent structures can be extremely valuable when you have a lot of objects that need to inherit a certain piece of code or even events.  That way you don't have to recode for every object that could otherwise be in a parenting structure.  I can't wait to see what this will look like with your spirits quest graphics!
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 20, 2011, 05:43:56 am
Alrighty! Water (and any other liquid that Link can swim in) is done! What does this mean?

A screenshot of some water is worth 986 words:
(http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/2995/screenshot100bs.png)

What you see in the screenshot is Link swimming in water! And no, Link isn't animated yet at all; the sprite of Link was just a test.

The water is NOT an object; it is drawn. I went the object route at first because it gave me a bit more flexibility with placing water at various levels, but the object count was so high that the fps dropped to 29, which was enough to tell a difference in speed and that's just unacceptable. Less is more.

Instead, I'm using a variable called "liquid_level" to tell it where the water starts. This is a pretty cool thing because, with water done this way, it keeps things simple for saving and loading water in a randomly generated room. All I have to do is save the water level variable as opposed to saving a layer of water in an array or something. Also, the water level can be changed super easy (useful for buttons that raise and lower water levels). It's got it's pros and cons, but this way is definitely best overall.


Now I just need to code muck and climbable types before moving on to the next big step! ^_^
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on March 20, 2011, 05:59:56 am
I probably would have gone about the multi level water problem by having an array which holds points that define a water area. But whatever :P
Edit: Nevermind, I read the whole post after and saw you considered doing that.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 20, 2011, 06:19:57 am
Quote from: Dark光 on March 20, 2011, 05:59:56 am
I probably would have gone about the multi level water problem by having an array which holds points that define a water area. But whatever :P

Yeah, guess I could do that, but with the way the game is designed there really isn't much point in having multiple bodies of water per room anyway. Also, it's going to be hard enough to do the randomly generated thing without having more to think about. For me, it's all about getting the perfect balance between simplicity and flexibility: I don't want to go for more options than necessary because it will just slow the progress of the game down and may even make things just too much for me to handle, but at the same time I don't want the game so simple that the randomly generated part doesn't offer enough different scenarios to actually make the game feel new every time. But yeah, in the grand scheme of things, I feel that one body of water per room is a good compromise.

Honestly though, I'm a bit of a newb when it comes to arrays. I've never used an array, I've only read a bit on arrays and seen some code for one in C++, so I just have some basic knowledge on how to set an array up. I'm just not at the point in the project where I need to learn that stuff yet. :P
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Martijn dh on March 20, 2011, 07:43:27 am
Arrays are a godsend when you have an large/variable number of (identical) variables. One advantage is that you can very easily loop through stored data. It is probably learn about them early on so you know what options are available! Discovering them later on and having to recode sections is a timely affair. Trust me, I know XD

An array example:
Code: [Select]
....

for (argument[1]=0; argument[1] < obj_Master_Control_Tile.body_sprite_count; argument[1]+=1)
{
     draw_sprite_ext(
                    obj_Master_Control_Tile.body_sprite[argument[1]],
                    image_single, floor(x), floor(y), 1, 1, 0,
                    obj_Master_Control_Tile.body_pallet[obj_Master_Control_Tile.Equipment_B3,argument[1]],
                    argument[2])
};

...
What you see here is a part of the script I use to draw my character (= first example that came to mind).

First just a little description of it's use. What this coding does for me is that I can switch between tunics/frozen/stone appearances on the fly. When I want another set of colors drawn I change Link's tunic variable. If I want to add, remove or alter a set of colors it is as simple as altering the arrays going into this coding. This all makes it so I do not have to physically alter every Link-sprite used when I want to change his colorpallets or when I add/remove a tunic and so on.

First I predefined how many layers my character will consist of using the variable body_sprite_count (There is also a function like Ubound(insert array, insert array dimensionindex) that can also be used, but I prefer using a variable). The sprites I wish to draw are defined in the body_sprite array, which has only one dimension. The colors I wish to use are defined in the body_pallet array which has one dimension to determine what set of colors to use and a second to pick the actual color.

So I circle through a preset number of sprites. For every sprite I wish to draw I retrieve it's reference from body_sprite and draw it in the color associated with the current tunic and sprite.

The arrays used are defined like so:
Code: [Select]
// Layer count
body_sprite_count = 5;

// Body sprites [pallet number ; sprite]
body_sprite[0] = sprite_Link_Body_A;
body_sprite[1] = sprite_Link_Body_B;
body_sprite[2] = sprite_Link_Body_C;
body_sprite[3] = sprite_Link_Body_D;
body_sprite[4] = sprite_Link_Body_E;

// Body colors [pallet number ; color]

// B0. [Default tunic];
body_pallet[0,0] = make_color_rgb(248,248,248); // white
body_pallet[0,1] = make_color_rgb( 56,144,104); // dark green
body_pallet[0,2] = make_color_rgb( 64,216,112); // light green
body_pallet[0,3] = make_color_rgb(136, 88, 40); // arms
body_pallet[0,4] = make_color_rgb( 80,144, 16); // dark green

// B1. [Water tunic];
body_pallet[1,0] = make_color_rgb(248,248,248); // white
body_pallet[1,1] = make_color_rgb(  0, 96,208); // marine
body_pallet[1,2] = make_color_rgb(136,160,232); // light blue
body_pallet[1,3] = make_color_rgb(200, 96, 32); // arms
body_pallet[1,4] = make_color_rgb(192,168, 72); // dark yellow

..... and so on
The only problem with Gamemaker is that it can't handle anything beyond two dimensions.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 20, 2011, 10:27:59 am
Quote from: Martijn dh on March 20, 2011, 07:43:27 am
The only problem with Gamemaker is that it can't handle anything beyond two dimensions.

Actually, you can get up to 14 dimensions if you have a pro version of GM7 or 8 and if you use this golden deliciousness:
http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=480656

 XD

Luckily, I have pro, so I can choose to use an array or a data structure, depending on the situation. So that means I could use the stuff from that link if I find it is necessary. But I definitely need to read up a lot more. I'm finding all this very interesting though and I can already see that my game will benefit GREATLY from learning all this.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 22, 2011, 06:23:39 am
The muck-type has been successfully coded! XD

In muck, Link cannot jump, he sinks very gradually, and his movement is slowed down a good amount. Furthermore, if Link sinks down in muck half his body height, his x movement slows down even more (makes sense and feels great imo). The only escape from muck is to exit via a slope. It's wondrous!
Of course, Link will run out of air if he is under too long, but the air meter is not coded yet (probably will get done when Link is able to die, heh heh >:3 ).

I've also updated the first post and made it easier to see what has been updated lately, and the "steps of development" section has been updated to give a good idea on what's coming soon.


(p.s. yes, I have noticed that I use parentheses far too much and that I can barely make a single post without using them. no one is perfect)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on March 25, 2011, 11:57:35 am
Took a little bit longer than expected but I now have the climbable-type coded in. I fooled around a bit with how and what I wanted Link to climb and even if it would benefit gameplay at all or if it would simply be a gimmick or something that would get in the way of making the game fun. I decided that ladders and such will probably be used sparingly and will most likely show up in puzzles most of the time as opposed to intense battle areas.

Anyway, the PaC Engine is practically done, I just need to test this thing to pieces and revise code, yadda yadda, etc etc. It may take a bit because I want to be sure this is solid before moving on.

If things go as well as I'm hoping, the project should be moved on to the next stage by the start of next month (1 week from now), where we will see the game begin to take steps graphically with the HUD and Link's animations, and possibly a few new tiles. 8)


EDIT:
Not worth making a new post, but I found and fixed a couple small glitches after LOTS of testing. Now I'm just revising and cleaning up code and comments. So, not too much longer before I start making the HUD.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on April 01, 2011, 07:14:32 am
Quote from: Frozen炎 on March 25, 2011, 11:57:35 am
... If things go as well as I'm hoping, the project should be moved on to the next stage by the start of next month (1 week from now), where we will see the game begin to take steps graphically with the HUD and Link's animations, and possibly a few new tiles. 8)

Yeah, had the hopes but didn't quite get there. But hey, I found some more glitches I missed.

First thing I found is that, when jumping up through the stairs, the player will add the y value to climb the stairs as well as the y value for jumping, which creates a sort of jerk upward. I know what the issue is and I think I know how to fix this. There is another problem with the 22.5 and 45 degree ice slopes. The 22.5 degree slopes have inconsistencies in speed. Again, I know how what the issue is, I just have to work on how to fix it. I also noticed that the player would sometimes increase speed while walking up an icey slope, which feels completely wrong. That's sort of linked to the 22.5 degree slope inconsistency, and it should be fixed when I fix that issue. So really there are only 2 more problems found.

It may suck that there are more problems being found, but it also means that the engine is becoming more and more solid as I find and fix them. And that means less hindrances down the line when the game really gets going. Also, it's best to fix problems early on, because it can get harder to find the problem when there is more content to consider. I gotta confess that I really wanted to just save the issues for later and move on, but it'd only bite me in the butt later on.

Also, the project is expected to slow down a bit because work is picking up (more hours) and I found a new synth plugin in Sonar and I just can't put it down. Also, I just got a stock of 36 dunlop nylon picks, 3 sets of ernie ball regular slinky strings, cleaning stuff for my guitar's fretboard and polish for the body, some stuff to make the strings slick and to preserve them a bit, etc, and I'm expecting to get a super sick multi-effects pedal soon:
Zoom G9.2tt Twin Tube Guitar Effects Console (http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Zoom-G9.2tt-Twin-Tube-Guitar-Effects-Console-2-Tubes-USB-plus-2-Expression-Pedals?sku=H70241)
After that, I'm also looking into getting a set of mixing speakers because I finally have the moolah, then my studio is DONE and ready to go! So yeah, I'm officially musically stoked right now. So I'll probably be doing a lot more music than programming in my free time. Just wanted to let everyone know that, if progress slows down a lot, that is why. But I'll probably make a music topic on here somewhere to show some of the stuff I come up with if anyone is interested.


So the Spirit's Quest project is still going, just not as fast as I thought it would.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on April 01, 2011, 12:44:14 pm
Don't stress man, it's great that you're even continuing this and providing interesting updates :)
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: RetroRespecter on May 20, 2011, 09:54:09 pm
This is a unique spin on The Legend of Zelda. I hope for the best.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on June 24, 2011, 08:14:57 am
Quote from: RetroRespecter on May 20, 2011, 09:54:09 pm
This is a unique spin on The Legend of Zelda. I hope for the best.
Thanks, I also hope for the best. ^_^

Alrighty, so awhile ago I somehow posted a new topic in a part of the old zfgc forum "community speak", which seems to be gone. No idea how I did that... anyway, I pretty much just said that I now have three jobs and it's even harder to find time for this than when I had the one job. D: I also said that I was probably going to have to leave ZFGC for a while because of my work schedule... BUT I JUST CAN'T LEAVE! Even though I'm insanely-busy, I'm determined to make this game happen.

Fact: ZFGC will never truly let you leave. What's that? You think you're leaving? HA HA HA! How naive you are! ... ahem..


Anyway, TIME FOR AN UPDATE!!! I paused the game's dev a few months ago when I couldn't fix the stair climbing bug (grr), but I just picked up the project again today and I fixed the stairs. WHOOO! This means that I just need to fix the ice speed issue. I don't expect to see any more glitches besides that one because I have been testing this over and over again and I've gone through the code multiple times. If I'm right, then that means I have just one more bug to fix and I can continue where I left off a few months ago. Yes, FINALLY.

So until next time!
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Martijn dh on June 24, 2011, 10:55:46 am
Jup. Tinkering with gamemaker is like an addiction. The urge to build and create will never let go.
Good thing too, because this is a project I'd actually like to play when finished.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on June 26, 2011, 04:04:44 am
Well it looks like I finally get to move on because I've fixed the ice movement; everything seems to be in order with the PaC Engine. It seemed like I'd never get it done!
I almost regret going beyond Cave Story's physics and collisions with the ice and stairs, but I'm really glad I got them to work.

I'm now figuring out all the actions of Link, items, types of things Link will interact with (e.g. doors), and the button assignments for those things. This will give me the information that will let me know how to go about designing the HUD.
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Aero88 on June 26, 2011, 02:18:40 pm
Great!  It is good to hear that you will still be around.  It was sad to think even for a short time that this project had stopped.  You are right though.  Nobody will ever truly be free from ZFGC or game maker.  Progress sounds very good too.  Keep it up!
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on June 27, 2011, 08:34:24 am
I'm never going to let you forget about this you know :P, I don't care if it takes 10 years or more to make >:D
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on June 28, 2011, 06:23:24 am
I've figured out all the actions Link will be able to perform which has allowed me to complete the HUD design. So I'm going to show you all my mock-up of what I think is a pretty good looking HUD.

With non-transparent background:
(http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/8664/mockuphud8.png)

With transparent background:
(http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/6505/mockuphud8transparent.png)

It's probably obvious but the top-left is the HP and MP. The bottom-left shows keys and rupees. The top-middle shows what action Link is able to take by pressing the "action" button. And finally the top-right shows Link's equipped item and Sprite's equipped item.
I would also like to note that the action notifier is not always there; it only appears when Link can do something such as grab a block, open a chest, kick an old man, etc.

The HUD will most likely go through some minor graphical changes in the future (probably the top-left HP and MP icons will be slightly bigger, also all the text outlining will match each other), but this is the layout I'm sticking with (unless someone gives me reason to reconsider).
I would love opinions. Do you think it's good or does it still need work? Would you keep it the same or would you want to see something changed?

EDIT:
Oh I almost forgot to say thank you Bludleef (I think) for moving this to the Zelda Projects section. ;3
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Aero88 on June 29, 2011, 03:58:11 am
I like I like.  It looks very fitting for the style which is always good.  Can I ask if there is a difference between the bars and the blocks in the upper left corner.  Why both, or do they display differing information?  Or are you deciding between the two?
Title: Re: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on June 29, 2011, 06:40:59 am
Quote from: Aero88 on June 29, 2011, 03:58:11 am
...  Can I ask if there is a difference between the bars and the blocks in the upper left corner.  Why both, or do they display differing information?  Or are you deciding between the two?

Come to think of it, I guess I should revise that a bit. What I was doing is this:
The number and the bar beside it show the exact same thing, which is how much HP/MP is left of the highlighted block (i.e. heart container or magic container). I felt like I needed both because a simple bar wouldn't be precise enough for the player to know exactly how much HP or MP they have, and the player MUST KNOW. And the number by itself just seemed tacky somehow, and I had trouble making sure it was obvious what the number was for. I can definitely see the design I came up with needs work though.

The problem I'm having is that one Heart Container = 20 HP and one Magic Container = 10 MP, so I can't have the usual hearts that are split up in 4 quarters and magic also needs some kind of number and/or bar. And they all can't be a huge bar either because that would take up too much space (and it'd look horrid).
I definitely do need to revise that, thanks for pointing that out. I think I might have some ideas, so I'm going to rework the HUD a bit more, especially since I will need the HUD finalized very soon anyway.


Btw, I'm planning out a lot of things in the background right now, prepping myself for putting Link's animations together. There is a lot to think about because, once the HUD design and functionality is complete, I will put all of my code together (i.e. camera code, physics and collisions code, and HUD code) and I will begin to add in Link's graphics and I will be programming his basic animations and actions. It's a big step because the game will really start to take some shape, and I'm really excited about that! ^,^ !!!
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on June 30, 2011, 08:57:16 pm
Alright, this is what the HUD looks like now:
(http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/4079/mockuphud9d.png)
I just changed the HP and MP and fixed up some minor shadow issues.

This is my current frame-by-frame idea on how the HP and MP will work/animate:
(http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/2264/animationidea100.png)
The idea here is that the next-up HP cube will merge itself with the bar, essentially emptying it's life from itself into the bar. As this is happening, the used cube makes it's way to the end of the line of HP cubes. Of course everything shifts toward the bar as this is happening.

I've attached a gif animation that better shows how it might look (for both losing and gaining HP).

If anyone has any suggestions on how to make this look/work better, I would love to hear them. I'm left feeling like it has something to be desired. It seems to work well enough though, so maybe it's just the perfectionist in me. If you guys like it, then I'll stick with it and continue on. I need opinions and thoughts though.


EDIT:
(putting up the attached animation here so you can all see it whether you're signed on or not)

(http://www.zfgc.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=36112.0;attach=9829)


EDIT (again, because I don't feel that this update is big enough for a triple-post :P):

I've decided to stick with the above HP animation. I've made very minor touches on the HUD design and it's now complete. I've recolored the HUD graphics with my custom palette that the game is using. I figured I might as well recolor now so I don't get mixed up later, wondering if I recolored certain things or not. That would suck. Anyway, I've just now separated the HUD graphics up into sprites and I'm ready to begin the HUD engine. This is the part where important variables start becoming quite numerous, so I'm also thinking about how I can keep things organized. Like, what variables will be saved in a save file and what ones don't need saving. I don't want to be unprepared because the game is going to start getting big and complex very fast. Planning and organization are key here.

If all goes well, I will post a new update when the HUD engine is complete (I might post an earlier update asking for opinions/testing). Though it might take longer than you'd think, because of all the preparation I'm going through. I just REALLY want to set this game up for success; no rushing.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on July 19, 2011, 10:05:21 am
Wow, been a bit busier than I thought I would be, but I've found time to do some more work on the HUD. It's SO close to being finished. Here is an actual dev screenshot for you:
(http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/1268/enginehuddevscreen002.png)
(graphics will be given a little more tlc after all the graphics come further along (the rupee icon especially bothers me))

The only thing that isn't programmed yet is the action notifier that pops up when Link is able to perform various actions according to his immediate surroundings (i.e. grab, pick up, climb, enter, open, etc).

I didn't go with the same style of animation for the HP and MP that I previously showed, but I do have "drain" animations in the bar for when HP/MP is lost. Also, when HP/MP is gained, the HP/MP bar flashes. It seems to look fine to me. That whole animation with the cubes shifting over was scrapped; it just didn't seem as good as this way.

Funny thing: The numbers are actually graphics, not a font. I couldn't find a font that worked and I had no idea how to make one, so I pretty much just used some of the same kind of simple formulas that a person would use to make their own basic calculator from scratch, and walla!

Btw, I learned how to save to a file and to encrypt it and also to decrypt the file and to load it back. So I'm set for that stuff later on, which is great.


I've got another long week of work ahead of me, so I'm not sure how much progress I'll make on this (if any) until the weekend comes along. But feel free to give me some C&C in the meantime. In fact, the more feedback, the better. :3
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Martijn dh on July 19, 2011, 08:00:30 pm
Woot. Progress.

Creating fonts ended up begin somewhat easy when I added some in my own game. Eventually you'll want to add some text somewhere in your own game so learning it might be helpfull. Check out font_add_sprite(). Google it for more info. I remember there being some usefull gamemaker topics on the matter that are really really helpfull since you'll need to understand the order in which a font needs to be presented and such. Or just ask me or someone else on the forum for help if you need it.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on July 19, 2011, 11:25:34 pm
O,O !!! NICE!!! I had no idea Game Maker had that option! I'm going to recode and make my own font. THANKS SO MUCH! I'm stoked now because this is going to make my text box code far easier because I can keep things spaced properly.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Martijn dh on July 20, 2011, 05:03:11 am
Your welcome.
If you want any of the normal fonts used in alttp then let me know. I already created those and I don't mind sharing.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on August 26, 2011, 07:28:25 am
It's been over a month, so I wanted to give a project status update:
Nothing more has been done since the last update. I got sidetracked playing through Borderlands with a girl, ;3 then I got busy with life's responsibilities, but now it looks like I might get a chance to get back on this. The next step is to make my own font. I've read up on it and it seems pretty easy to do a sprite font in GM. Anyway, I'm working on finding a font that is easily readable at a size no bigger than 6x7. Then I will edit the font by adding outlines (with an outline added it would be at largest 8x9).

The sprite font will contain these characters:
(characters 32-96)  " !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`"
(characters 97-122) "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"

I may end up not using the lowercase characters (i.e. 97-122) because the font would probably need to be bigger than 6x7 for them to be easily readable. And a bigger size throws off my HUD. However, without lower case letters it's harder to give that extra bit of expression, so I'm going to try to get characters 32-122 as opposed to just 32-96.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on August 27, 2011, 06:41:01 am
Made the font, but I was trying to figure out a way to simply use a single image like the one attached and have game maker get the font just from that instead of making each letter an individual sub image. If no one has an idea how to do this, then is there an easy way to save this sheet as individual images? Is there a program for that? It would make life soooo nice, and it'd be super helpful for future sprite sheets (I just like doing sheets instead of tons of images bulking up my folders).


Spirit's Quest Font:

(http://www.zfgc.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=36112.0;attach=9906)
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on August 27, 2011, 06:58:00 am
Just call sprite_add() then font_add_sprite() :P You can import a strip of sprites into frames then create a font from the frames.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on August 27, 2011, 07:08:25 am
Ah! Thanks DarkLight.

It shouldn't take much to implement the sprite font, so I should actually have an interesting update fairly soon then. Hopefully ;)

EDIT:
Wow, I feel so stupid not knowing that game maker could do all that with the strips.... *thinks of how many times it would've sped up the process* .... *facepalm*
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on September 30, 2011, 10:22:25 am
As usual, very little has happened with Spirit's Quest in this long time of silence. I mentioned on the NCFC 2011 topic that I decided not to enter Spirit's Quest this year, but instead I will be helping out Drandula a bit with his Flying Rooster project. However, I do plan to enter Spirit's Quest in NCFC 2012. If my new plan of action works out, Spirit's Quest will be very much on it's way by then.

Here's an animated pic showing off a few new beta tiles and graphics:

(http://www.zfgc.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;attach=9930;type=avatar)
This is supposed to be the inside of Link's house (which will look different in the final product), showing the moment when Tangle appears while Link is sleeping. Little does Link know that he is about to be rudely awakened by a crazy Wizzrobe that has a thing for making heroes play life threatening games. In fact, Tangle's prepared a vast dungeon for Link, full of traps and trials. Link will have to use his wits and skills to come out alive. (I've already told the story before, but differently, and I was just so inspired by the animation I made that I couldn't help myself)

I'm still not very happy with my spriting skills, but I'll keep on working at it in hopes of getting better at making thems grafhiz. I at least know that I can make graphics that will pass as placeholders and I can complete the game and come back to fix up the graphics as needed, so I'm not too worried about my sucky graphics at this time. Though I do love pretty graphics. ^_^
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on September 30, 2011, 04:44:14 pm
I leave for a year and what's happened here? Not much.

Like the animation though; the tiles look fine to me, and I'm still looking forward to when you release a playable demo. However long it may take... ;P
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on October 05, 2011, 11:44:51 am
Small update: I just fixed up some errors in my font. The "m" and "n" were offset and the outlining was screwed up on a few characters as well. I've also made the font easier to read. After fixing it up I just ran a test and got the sprite font code working perfect; easiest part of this project by far. XD

This is a screen shot of a text test:
(http://www.zfgc.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=36112.0;attach=9932;image)
So yeah, it will look like that. Nothing special, but it's very nice to have this sprite font working because I can keep the spacing at 7 wide no matter what, which makes text box code far easier to do correctly than if I had differing widths in the characters.

@ Mirby, more has happened with Spirit's Quest in the past year than you probably realize, but yeah, I didn't make nearly as much progress as I expected to. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the days when I had almost zero responsibilities, but I have a life now and I've just got to make it happen anyway. Btw, good to see you back and thanks for the support on the project thus far.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on October 05, 2011, 07:00:38 pm
It's a great font and looks great.

Also, I've always been a supporter, even during my unintentional absence.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on October 06, 2011, 02:01:12 pm
I still want to make some more music for this. Hit me up with a PM :)
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: RetroRespecter on October 09, 2011, 07:11:46 pm
 :'(
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on October 10, 2011, 05:33:21 pm
Quote from: RetroRespecter on October 09, 2011, 07:11:46 pm
:'(

Uhh.. what's that for? Sure, the project is at a slow point, but it will never die. Actually, I talked with DarkLight a few days ago and sent him some information that will allow him to make some fitting music for the first demo that I will release. I have fairly big plans for this project. Things are moving forward, just with a rather slow momentum at this time.

It's true that decided to help Drandula with his Flying Rooster project, which means I will not be working on mine as much at this time, but I will not be helping him forever. I was thinking on helping him through the end of the year as much as possible and then maybe every now and then during the beginning of 2012, so I could focus mostly on SQ at the beginning of the new year. This does not mean that SQ will get zero progress before the new year, but it does mean that there probably won't be a lot. Actually, it kind of all depends on what Drandula says to the last PM I sent him; I might not even be able to help him, depending on what he gives me to work with on the story, but we'll see. It's hard to know how long it will take for me helping Drandula until I hear back from him.

Hopefully that helps with whatever the sadness was about, RetroRespecter. It'd be nice if you'd have a little more content in your future posts so they can be read in context and understood. That as opposed to just a face that could mean many things.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on October 10, 2011, 07:04:06 pm
Yeah, Retro, don't worry. This game won't fail.

I assure you it will have a Demo 4. XD
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on October 30, 2011, 11:16:41 pm
An update on what's been going on:
I've been playing tons of Terraria because I somehow got sucked into it after downloading a Zelda texture pack, but now I'm finally bored of it, so I can get back to business (until they release patch 1.1 for Terraria :P).

During this time, I haven't JUST been playing Terraria. I have also been learning A LOT of different tricks to use game maker more efficiently, mainly being how to cut loading times and to use less resources, so that will benefit Spirit's Quest greatly.
Most importantly though, I've been learning more about graphics design, because what I have so far just isn't cutting it. I realize that this is my weaker point and I really want to get better. Once I know more, it should speed up the game's process because I won't be drawing in the dark so much; I will have better results faster. At least that's what I'm hoping.

That said, if any of you graphics gurus could point me to some internet resources for learning about video game graphic design, I'd appreciate it.

What I'm doing now that I'm back on the game's development:
At this very moment, I'm completely planning out how Link's actions will work, with what takes priority and what exceptions there are to those priorities.
An example of this would be: Link is in front of a signpost but Link is also right beside a pushable/pullable (a.k.a. "moveable") block. The action notifier will say "CHECK" which will check the sign, but if Link is pressing into the block, it will switch to say "GRAB" to grab the block. This is because it then takes priority over the signpost.
So it's not too complicated, but there are a few problems that are introduced when picked up objects are placed or thrown in front of other objects, or when moveable objects are moved in front of other objects. An example would be if you set a pot down in front of a doorway, you will have to smash the pot or move it before you can enter the doorway. On top of that, I'm also planning to implement "finishing" moves for Link, and I planned to use the action key for that as well, but I need to think it out a bit more to see if I can make it work or if I need to use another key, though I'm guessing the latter will be the case because I don't see how I could do it this way without finishing moves interfering with other actions. Just know that "finishing" and "special instance" moves will be in the game, whether they are triggered by using the action key or some other key.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Martijn dh on October 31, 2011, 06:09:27 am
Tricks to decrease the loading time. Do tell.
Title: TLoZ:SQ - Tricks for smart/fast loading in GM + how to encrypt/decrypt ANY file
Post by: FrozenFire on October 31, 2011, 09:32:30 am
Quote from: Martijn dh on October 31, 2011, 06:09:27 am
Tricks to decrease the loading time. Do tell.

I mainly meant this:
http://glog.yoyogames.com/?p=399
Though I'm fairly certain you know all of that already, Martijn.

The trick is to make the player feel like the game loads fast by opening the game up quickly (as opposed to making them wait 10+ seconds for a stupid loading bar), while the game is actually "smart loading" at various points within the game and during the splash screens. You will always want to do in-game loading to some extent. Just be creative and discreet with your loading. The pros do it all the time by having tons of loading going on behind the start up sequences of splash screens, within the menu transitions, in various in-game transitions, etc.

To load my game as fast as I know how, I'm going to keep the executable as small as possible, loading all my sounds, music, sprites, tiles, EVERYTHING (practically) as an external source. And I'm already using encryption for save files, so I can do it with all my other external resources if need be. I've already tested it with PNG files and it works perfectly, and it will still be faster than to have everything compressed within the game maker executable because of how horrible the process is that it has to go through to decompress and all that, AND you get to load whatever you need at whatever time you think is best; so you can actually load things in a correct manner. In the end, knowing WHEN to load resources is the key. And if you don't want to make loading obvious, get creative. If you can, you may also want to test loading times on at least one fast computer and one slow computer; if your loading techniques interrupt the gaming experience for the slow computer but not the fast one, you might want to make some sort of compromise (e.g. like loading all the music during the beginning, because the slow computer can't handle on-the-fly loading of huge music files without noticeably lagging the game).

Here is an example of a good loading technique:
Let's say you enter the boss room which will hold an enormous boss that has a lot of images and animation as well as specific sounds like roars and attacks, and the music is specifically made for this fight. None of this has been loaded at any point before in the game because it was unnecessary to do so. Instead, you have a transition that fades out then fades in between the entrance to the boss room and the boss room itself. During the midpoint of this fade-out-fade-in, you will load the boss images, sounds, and music. The transition should still not be affected much at all, at least not enough to interfere with the gaming experience.
Now, normally game maker would load this at the beginning, along with EVERYTHING else, making the player wait to get into the action, BUT, this way the gamer get's in the action quicker and, if done right, the game will not feel like it's ever lagging/loading. If you plan out your loading in this way, loading resources as needed in creatively discreet ways, you will have a game that makes use of "smart loading" techniques and it will be a step in the right direction for sure.

It is also worth it to note that game maker seems to save all images in a loss-less format, so it is best to keep your graphics outside of the executable and to encode them (if you don't want them tampered with or stolen) and just decode and load in-game. In a finished game (having tons of graphics), this should make a very noticeable difference in loading times.

For those of you that need an easy way to encrypt ANY file, here, I have a gold mine of delicious encryption power for you:
http://gmc.yoyogames.com/index.php?showtopic=245305
Now you don't have to be afraid of the average person stealing your external resources. And the guys that are smart enough to decrypt and to steal it.. well, they won't care.

And that is my knowledge on the matter. There may be better ways to do loading, but those are the best tricks that I have learned so far, and I will be using those techniques in Spirit's Quest.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Nubcake on October 31, 2011, 11:51:44 am
I forgot , how do you load sounds , sprites etc externally with GM?
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on October 31, 2011, 12:21:07 pm
Quote from: Nubcake on October 31, 2011, 11:51:44 am
I forgot , how do you load sounds , sprites etc externally with GM?

Unfortunately, it's only available in the pro version. If you look up "changing resources" in the gm help, it brings up EVERYTHING you need for loading in new resources and even for replacing existing ones. Btw, the top link of my previous post already explained this. ;P

Anyway, I don't really want to get off on a discussion about external resources or encryption/decryption. I probably should've started a new topic about this to avoid cluttering up the Spirit's Quest thread. My bad, oh well.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Nubcake on October 31, 2011, 12:31:38 pm
Quote from: Frozen炎 on October 31, 2011, 12:21:07 pm
Quote from: Nubcake on October 31, 2011, 11:51:44 am
I forgot , how do you load sounds , sprites etc externally with GM?

Unfortunately, it's only available in the pro version. If you look up "changing resources" in the gm help, it brings up EVERYTHING you need for loading in new resources and even for replacing existing ones. Btw, the top link of my previous post already explained this. ;P

Anyway, I don't really want to get off on a discussion about external resources or encryption/decryption. I probably should've started a new topic about this to avoid cluttering up the Spirit's Quest thread. My bad, oh well.

Ah i remember now , the _add() functions :P
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Koh on November 20, 2011, 05:11:59 pm
Graphics inspired by Cave Story I see.  Very interesting concept you have in works here, and the current graphics do look fantastic.  I'll keep an eye on this, and I wish you the best of luck completing these.  Being developed in Game Maker 8, eh?  I still need to purchase it; I've still been developing in 7, currently.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on June 25, 2012, 09:00:55 pm
Hey all,

I just realized that I haven't released all of Spirit's Quest's graphics, code engines, plans, etc. If I did, would anyone find use for them? If I give out absolutely every last piece of information, would anyone be interested in trying to continue this project? I doubt anyone would want to continue with the project, which is fine, but I'd hate to see it ALL go to waste.

Anyway, I won't continue with this project because I have moved on to programming a game called "Sky Winds" (name will most likely change), and I plan to make some money off of it. I guess I just ran out of my young days (still 24 years young though) and had to move on to making a living.

If anyone wants to know what Spirit's Quest was going to be, I have a ton of info and some unreleased graphics and a few fairly useful engines, though they were all intended to be engine parts that would come together to make the main SQ engine. Aw well. :-\
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Kami on June 25, 2012, 09:02:24 pm
I don't mind checking it out. Seems interesting. I could probably find a use for it.  XD
Title: Re: TLoZ: Spirit's Quest (Complete Data Release)
Post by: FrozenFire on June 29, 2012, 02:20:16 am
I've put the Spirit's Quest project files in a zip here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?18f0bqyx60vl621 (http://www.mediafire.com/?18f0bqyx60vl621)
(Note: If you do not wish to download from mediafire, simply suggest a better place for me to upload the file to and I will do so)

The zip file has nearly everything I've ever had on the project (excluding anything that was not in digital format): Brainstorming documents, the main game map and items key, some unreleased graphics, all of the game engines I've done so far (Game Maker 8 project files), etc.

This is gonna show you exactly how raw of a developer I can be because I left pretty much everything as is in the project folder and in it's sub-folders. So you'll get to see how I organize things and how I go about developing my games, if you think that might be interesting for some odd reason... it's definitely not professional, I can tell you that. Mainly it's my code that lacks professionalism, so watch out for that. I'm a bit weird; I like to code inside the objects and then I convert the code into scripts. Unfortunately, I didn't get around to making scripts, so the code is a bit bulky and not as organized as it could be. You will also notice some lazy coding is left in there. Sorry about that. Like I said, it's pretty raw.

I'd like to point out that the engines were all meant to come together to form the Main Engine Core. So the View Engine, HUD Engine, and the Collisions and Physics Engine were all meant to come together to create a solid, basic engine. I wish that I had completed and put the pieces together, but I ran out of time.

Anyway, not to sound full of myself or anything, but there are some seriously great ideas in my brainstorming documents. I'd hate to see them all go to waste. And, if you like humor, you might find the cut-scene brainstorm section to have some entertaining thoughts. Finally, the "Destructus" is my signature sword. If anyone uses that name for a sword, please make the sword total BA, being massive and slightly overpowered.. for me, please? ;3

I really hope someone finds use for this, even if this project is just a means to inspire and none of the resources are used.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Kami on June 29, 2012, 03:22:28 am
If you think yours is messy, I leave everything all over my computer, and by everything I mean everything. It's scattered all over the place. Your's is as neat as a Mansion compared to my stuff that is involved in game design.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on June 29, 2012, 09:16:03 pm
I guess I am pretty organized as far as folders go, but the way I name files can be very odd. I actually deleted a lot of dumped graphics (you're not missing anything) and one of them was named "realmentestit.png" ... I guess it's just my way of keeping things interesting for me? I find a certain satisfaction in naming things with whatever comes to mind in the moment that I save the file. An example right now would be: "SuperFriedOrangeTomatoes", because that's what came to mind just now. ... :-\

Anyway, for anyone that missed it: IN MY PREVIOUS POST I PUT UP A LINK TO A ZIP FILE OF EVERYTHING I HAVE ON SPIRIT'S QUEST. SPIRIT'S QUEST HAS BEEN ABANDONED. Use the resources in whatever way you wish. Except, if I included DarkLight's forest theme (can't remember), you should ask him about using that. I'm pretty sure he had the understanding that anything related to the Spirit's Quest project was going to be released to the public in the end. One of the main reasons I made Spirit's Quest was to create resources for people to use to make it easier for them to make their Zelda idea come alive. I'm a little sad that I couldn't continue this. But it's not really a big deal as the game didn't get far enough along for anyone to really miss it, which is good.
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Mirby on June 30, 2012, 09:41:30 am
LIAR!

I miss it already :<
Title: Re: [Screens] The Legend of Zelda: Spirit's Quest
Post by: Wasabi on June 30, 2012, 12:50:55 pm
Quote from: Frozen炎 on June 29, 2012, 09:16:03 pm
Except, if I included DarkLight's forest theme (can't remember), you should ask him about using that. I'm pretty sure he had the understanding that anything related to the Spirit's Quest project was going to be released to the public in the end.
It's not included from what I can tell, but I wouldn't be terribly worried. I knew it was going to be released at some point, and I'm probably going to be using it as a demo on my site anyway :P. I'll have a download on offer there.
Sad to hear the project's abandoned, but it's great to see you're not letting anything go to waste and releasing all of it :)
Title: Re: [ABANDONED - All data released] Spirit's Quest
Post by: FrozenFire on July 11, 2012, 09:05:41 pm
I just realized that on the first page I said the download link for the Spirit's Quest project was on page 8 but it's actually at the very bottom of page 7, so I wanted to make everyone knew that. Sorry about that.

Btw, I'm locking this topic since the project is now abandoned and it's time for it to rest in peace. If the link for the project download dies or if someone feels the need to contact me about Spirit's Quest for any reason, just send a pm my way.

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