Does anybody else...

[hinsburg]

...find making quests needlessly complicated? The layers system seems completely random and I still can't figure out bits about combos.

[Russ]

It's actually easy when you get used to it. A lot easier than some other game makers out there. Try these tutorials. http://www.ermock.com/zctutorial/

[Pineconn]

ZQuest is not a complicated program. It, instead, is a very powerful and full tool that allows you to edit the original The Legend of Zelda game in nearly every way imaginable. In fact, it is definitely the easiest way to make a full Zelda "game" without working for Nintendo of Japan. If you find it to be a "needlessly complicated" program, then you either:

1) Haven't used tutorials,
2) Don't care enough to learn all the features, or
3) Haven't used ZQuest enough to be mostly efficient [likely this one].

Now, bear in mind that some features in 2.5 betas are still rough or incomplete, so if you are mainly referring to these, then you have a point. However, the layer system is complete and intuitive, so refer to the list above.

Most 2D game editors use tiles. ZQuest goes a step farther by applying special properties to these tiles (solidity, CSet, etc.). There are definitely some advanced features, like combo cycling, FFCs, and freaking scripting. :p

If you have a specific question, please feel free to make a thread in the editor help forum. I'd be glad to help you.

[The_Amaster]

...what he said.

[Shazza Dani]

It's confusing when you're new to it, but ZQuest is actually very simple.

(That's not referring to the new betas though, 'cause they're getting a bit more complex.)

[ShadowTiger]

A bit, yes. But nothing truly groundbreaking unless you start to script.

I'll tell you a bit about ZQuest. It looks intimidating at first, only because of all of the things that the program can accomplish with what is actually technically 'so little.'

In truth, ZQuest has far fewer features than many game editors I've seen. The overall effects you can manage to create with them, however, are virtually infinite in number. How is this possible?

It's all an illusion. It's all in how you yourself manage what you can do in ZQuest. It's because the graphics of the game don't necessarily have to match up with reality is what makes it so great and powerful. You can make mountain combos walkable, you can make bird enemies combos and make them NPCs by placing stair combos that look like the ground in front of them, then copy and paste the screen to another screen on the map and give it a string and a warp-back step. This is how ZQuest works.

[Revfan9]

I've never seen anyone take a look at a swiss army knife and say "Why does it have so many features? It's needlessly complicated."

[MasterSwordUltima]

I've never seen anyone take a look at a swiss army knife and say "Why does it have so many features? It's needlessly complicated."

I say that all the time. I just need a knife and its like, how am I going to stab my enemies with a comb or a wrench?


Anyway, ZQuest really hasn't gotten any more complicated since I first used it back with the 1.84 build.