Just a couple of tips for newbies...

[Skipper]

~<QUEST DEVELOPMENT FOR NEWBIES!>~

Lots to see and do here...
Well...shall we begin?
Here, you can post tips for wannabe quest developers. Here are a couple of mine:


Step one: Developing your quest!
~Using the tiles.~

Tip #1: Always use the tiles in the right way. Like, for example, do NOT mix mountain tiles with house tiles.

Tip #2: Colors wrong? This may be because of the current pallette. Go to Data-pallette, and choose a pallette. This allows you to view a pallette. Now, go to quest-Dmaps, and set up a Dmap. Somewhere, it should say what pallette you want to use for the Dmap. Choose your pallette.
Or, if you did that, and still no success, you can always change Csets. To do this, while making a screen, on the right side of your keyboard, are the + and - sign. Press these to toggle Csets.

Tip #3: Want your tile to animate? Go to Quest-Graphis-tiles, and look for the tile you want to animate. Now, count the number of tiles that comes after. Now, remember that number, and exit the tile page. Now, in the combos page (Right side of screen), Right-click on one of those red squares, and look for the tile. Now, a screen should pop up. Under Animation frames, type the # of tiles in the animation you want. Below it, is the animation speed. If you want to show someone walking in place, I reccomend typing 35 or so.

Tip #4: Put some detail into your screens. If it is an overworld, you should put some trees in the screen, preferrably Link to the Past trees. Put some sprites in the screen. Hide items in the screen. Add those little "grassy" tiles: Not the tall grass, but the squiggly-line grass. In my opinion, I think having tall grass everywhere makes me think that the quest maker is too lazy to puit some work into it.

Master these, and you will be on the way to making GREAT screens!


~Beta Testing.~

Tip #1: Always have an experienced quest maker test your games, not a newbie or someone new to ZeldaClassic.

Tip #2: If YOU are the one testing, always look for the bugs first. From typos to misplaced tiles, or even misused layers, remember it.


Step 2: Giving your quest that extra flare.
~Layering~

Tip #1: Suppose you want Link to walk under something, but not ALL of it. Take a tree for example. Now, in order to do this, you must use layering. How do you do this, you say?
Easy, once you get the hang of it.
Now, make your screen. Place ONLY the stumps of the trees, not the top part of it. Remember where the top part of the tree would go if you were to put it on the screen.
Now, this time, go to a seperate screen. Place the top part of the tree EXACTLY where you would think it would go on the other screen. Now, remember this screen number, and the map number.
Go back to the previouse screen with the tree stumps. Go to Data-layers, and under 3, type in the map # of the screen, and the actual screen # of the screen with the top part of the trees. Now, click done.
If successfull, the top part of the trees should show up.
Here is a quick run-through of each layer #:
1-2: Appears under Link. In other words, if not solid, Link can walk over it.
3-4: Appears over Link. In other words, Link walks under the combo. Keese and bats can still fly over it, though. And, if the object is solid, Link can still go under it.
5-6: Appears above Link and above flying enemies. Good for:
1: Message boxes.
2: Rain/weather effects.

Tip #2: You might have noticed the transparent check-box. Check it if you want the layer to be transparent, or "see-through".

[Pineconn]

Isn't there a thread like this in the Quest Announcement/Discussion forum? Anyway, I'll post some pointers that will make a decent quest into a top-notch quest.

1. Grammar. No one likes reading misspelled words and the such, like "Go to Teh forrest annd use the Bomb On thwe swicth." Very annoying.

2. Try to prevent a "blocky" overworld; that is, do try to mesh the screens together. Don't always put trees on the border of the screen. This will show up on the overworld map and you can identify each screen.

3. Test, test, test! Once you've finished your quest, get beta testers to play through the game, and you should even play through it.

4. Make it fair. Don't make it extremely difficult, as people will get frustrated with it and quit. Also, make sure you'll have a decent amount of rupees at times you need to spend them. Nobody likes having to spend an hour cutting grass to get 200 rupees just to buy that boomerang or that super bomb.

5. Make the difficulty increase progressively. Allow the player to find his or her bearings in the beginning, and maybe around Level 2 or 3, crank up the difficulty.

6. Color and variety make the difference. An entire overworld of green grass and green trees is very boring. Throw some flowers, dirt, mountain face, and water in to make it more interesting. Maybe even differently-colored trees.

7. For the love of God, think of the normal player! Don't create these disgustingly difficult and complex (AND VAGUE!) puzzles that no average player will figure out. Also, we don't have the cheat level 4 code and the asterisk button! (That would replenish life.) Play through the entire quest without cheating.

8. Use a tileset. There are some great tilesets, like Pure, LttP, and New 1st just to name a few. You'll never finish your quest if you're making every single tile, sprite, and pallette.

9. Implement [original] puzzles. What is a Zelda game without those trademark puzzles? Sure, push block puzzles are great, but a quest with only push block puzzles will get boring quickly. But how about a puzzle that uses the hookshot and a well-timed bomb? Sit down with paper and a pencil and design some great puzzles. Sure, ZC has its limitations, but you could make some nice puzzles.

10. A storyline and cut-scenes are always nice. They aren't necessary, but they would truly make your quest much more interesting.

11. Finally, use common sense. Don't make us have to bomb some random tile of grass in the middle of the screen to continue the game. Those kinds of things will really kill it.

[rocksfan13]

Yes there is. It's here: http://www.armageddongames.net/showthread.php?t=79665

[Cloral]

2. Try to prevent a "blocky" overworld; that is, do try to mesh the screens together. Don't always put trees on the border of the screen. This will show up on the overworld map and you can identify each screen.
This is good advice, but remember that playability must come before aesthetics. Keeping the action towards the center of the screen tends to play better because along the edges you have the borders where the enemies cannot go. Having a long open edge is generally a bad idea since the savy player will be able to just run along the edges and avoid fighting the enemies entirely.

[Pineconn]

That is very true. Additionally, you can't even use the sword facing in certain directions if Link is on the border of the screen. But what I really meant was try to minimize unnatural landscape. Nature isn't square, it's very round and, well, not straight. You can still achieve this and keep action in the somewhat-center of the screen.

[Skipper]

Yes there is. It's here: http://www.armageddongames.net/showthread.php?t=79665
Whoops, never saw that thread...
Anyway...
Yeah. I'll try to have more soon.

[linkman652]

can someone give me zquest 2.11.

[LinkMaster500]

Regarding puzzles, MAKE SURE THEY WORK AND ARE SOLVABLE. What I like to do is to create a warp from the starting screen right to the puzzle room--just to test the puzzle out. It saves you from having to navigate through the entire dungeon.

Also, be very prudent about where you place the various items. For example, try not to give many Heart Containers or Heart Container pieces too early in the game unless the player cannot get the sword upgrades until later. Also watch where you place the Rings as you don't want to accidentally make dungeons and fights easier than you intended.