old style graphics ok?

[Alexfrog]

I'm making a quest and am looking for some feedback.

Is it necessary to make a quest using the BS-style graphics, modified item graphics and so on, to get people to play the quest, or do people also play the ones that look like the zelda 1 original graphics?

I figured I would ask before getting too far along to switch.

Would there be significantly more players for a quest with the more recent graphics, or do people like the old ones, or is it determined entirely by the worth of the quest?


Regarding the quest itself, do people like the ones that make you work for the wooden sword (give you a boomerand or candle or whatever and you have to fight some things before you get the sword), or not? I was thinking about making people kill a bunch of bats with a boomerang for money to buy the first sword. (Kill all bats on the screen to get money, since of course they dont drop items). Dumb? Cool? Waste of time?

How about linearity? Is having a fairly linear quest with some side areas more engaging to most people, or the wide open style of the original zelda game? (I think it takes longer to play the wide open ones due to more time spent searching/exploring)

If you start playing a custom quest and it is fairly linear and you understand what to do next, are you more likely to keep playing it, or do you prefer ones where you can go all over the place trying to figure out what to do, like in zelda 1?


What difficulty level do you prefer? My goal is to make my quest at a difficulty level that is challenging for me, but that I can get through it. That would be harder than the original quest #2, easier than the original demo quest by phantom menace (which is a wide area to fit between)

[Foxx]

Hmmm. Well, people in general are tired of the original classic graphics and won't play a quest with them unless it's very, very good. There is actually a warehouse of tilesets available for use in quest-making, you can find it here.

http://www.purezc.com/index.php?page=tilesets

As for everything else, people are OK with whatever you do as long as it's well done. But the trend has been to have you go through a small stretch of stuff before handing you the sword, it adds more freshness.

[Alexfrog]

Thanks for the tileset link...

I'm doing it in the BS graphics. I realized you could just load the BS quest and delete the maps and then have the tilesets all set up. :)

[bonegolem]

The BS Tileset grosses me out. I like the V.190 gameboy graphics best, but for nostalgic pleasure I always like a good blocky NES graphics quest. But, if you want the quest to look more interactive and interesting, try the V.190 tileset.

Make the quest challenging, but don't make it impossible. Im talking about beginning the quest with bombs and you have to travel 35 screens to bomb an unmarked wall to get the boomerang and having to go thru a dungeon full of enemies that won't die from the boomerang and then finally the boss is a room full of keese and after you defeat them, you get the wood sword.

[Alexfrog]

Well, I am doing it in whatever the graphics are that are in '182test' that comes with the latest version.


Regarding the impossible uest you described, yeah that very stupid. I think the quest I am working on has a good challenge level. We'll see.

[JayeM]

Everybody has different tastes in graphics...just use whatever you like best. If it's a good quest people will play it.

[Aranda]

An 3rd quest which is more difficult than the 2 quest again? Heres my guide lines if your using 192 that is.
1. Ust only the newer bosses & strong enemies.
2 Drop the magic sword and red ring and make it so you don't get the blue ring till at lease level 6 or 7.
2. Make it so the stronger items appear later in the game.
3. Never use the magic key and the magic book should be well hidden."
4. Try putting more than 1 boss enemy in the same room and turn on the screen flag [non-monster enemies always return.]

Difficult enemy combos:
7-10x Stalfos3's: They're fast and shoot 4 swords
5x Wizzrobe fire: Need a light any one?
10x Gleeok, 4 heads: This is hard to beat but possible.
2-4x Manhandle2: A good boss near the end of game.
10xDeathknights in a empty room: Easy if you got the hammer and magic shield.

[Dart Zaidyer]

Is it necessary to make a quest using the BS-style graphics, modified item graphics and so on, to get people to play the quest, or do people also play the ones that look like the zelda 1 original graphics?
Releasing a Classic-style quest is not a good way to start out your ZC career. Also, releasing a Pure-style quest with no graphics changed at all can also be a turn-off. Whatever set you use, do something to make it your own. (Preferably not by making it worse.)
If the quest is really, really amazing, people will play it anyway, but don't bet the farm until you're genuinely experienced.



Regarding the quest itself, do people like the ones that make you work for the wooden sword (give you a boomerand or candle or whatever and you have to fight some things before you get the sword), or not? I was thinking about making people kill a bunch of bats with a boomerang for money to buy the first sword. (Kill all bats on the screen to get money, since of course they dont drop items). Dumb? Cool? Waste of time?
Personally, I don't enjoy having to plod through room after room after room of foes with no sword, especially ones that can't be killed by whatever I'm carrying at the time. Areas like that almost have to be boring or easy, because Link is almost completely helpless. If you're going to make me wait for the sword, I'd prefer not to wait for an entire dungeon or cave area.


How about linearity? Is having a fairly linear quest with some side areas more engaging to most people, or the wide open style of the original zelda game? (I think it takes longer to play the wide open ones due to more time spent searching/exploring)
Linearity seems to be all the rage these days, but I really enjoy quests where you have the freedom to do whatever you want all over the place, taking dungeons out of order or perhaps even getting some important items early on. Plus, it's easier to design that way, because you don't have to think as much about how to restrict the player. I'm not saying "don't have a structure", but don't bind the player to it so closely that the only thing he can do is go from point A to point B with no dilly-dally in between.



What difficulty level do you prefer? My goal is to make my quest at a difficulty level that is challenging for me, but that I can get through it. That would be harder than the original quest #2, easier than the original demo quest by phantom menace (which is a wide area to fit between)
Don't throw insane situations at the player too early, or you'll scare him off. Fighting a squad of six Blue Darknuts in a tiny room in Level 1 or 2 before being allowed to proceed, for example, does not a fun quest make.