"Link and Zelda: Panoply of Calatia" released on the Quest Database
Link and Zelda: Panoply of Calatia on the ZeldaClassic.com Quest Database
Download the Panoply of Calatia Support Pack (on Dropbox)
Download the Panoply of Calatia Support Pack (on ZeldaClassic.com)
(Includes the Enhanced Music soundtrack, a full Instruction Manual booklet, Secret Guides, and the original script files. The music will not fully work unless you put the Enhanced Music files in the same directory with the quest!)
Download updated files for the Support Pack
(This contains an improved Seashell guide and some scripts that were updated after the first release.)
http://i.imgur.com/252JWdy.png
Link and Zelda embark on an adventuresome quest in the Land of Calatia to rescue Hyrule's King and Calatia's Queen from the dastardly fire warrior Militron!
This quest features a character-switching system, and many, many scripted items, some based on later Zelda games, and some reimagined or new. The primary emphasis is on exploration and item puzzles!
Difficulty:
In terms of combat, the challenge level is meant to be medium/low, with a gradual increase, but there are adjustable settings (and optional items) to make the game easier or harder, however you prefer. There's also a bunch of guides including in the support pack if you get stuck on some of the harder puzzles, or if you can't find some of the secrets- it's all up to you how you want to play!
Inspirations:
I tried to sort of combine everything I loved about Zelda II, A Link to the Past, and certain elements from Link's Awakening- the kind of stuff I always wanted to see in ZC that it wasn't able to do before scripting. This is a quest where you can release a Bee (from LTTP) to fight a Moby (from Zelda II), for example. Things like Bow-wow (LA), the Switch Hook (OoA), a note-by-note Flute (based on OoT), the Spinner (TP), a Parachute Leaf (WW), and even the Beetle (SS) are all in this quest- and many more. I also completely redesigned the Ladder, which is a manually-used button item now.
For variety of items, I think the most inspiring Zelda games were actually the Oracles games, since they had excellent puzzles. For puzzles, I took a little bit of inspiration from The Lost Vikings, though my style is fairly different. In terms of having lots and lots of inventory options, I also took some inspiration from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and my partner system is more than a little inspired by Portrait of Ruin, too.
Story:
I wanted to keep the story simplistic and brief (much more succinct than this post). There are very few cases of multiple-line dialogue anywhere in the quest, and most cut scenes focus more on actions than words. However, there is also a scrolling intro, and the game is meant to be a simple little sequel a while after the events of Zelda II. The full introduction story is inside the Instruction Manual Booklet (in the Support Pack).
Game design:
My other goal was to give the player more options, ways to go to, more different types of abilities to use, and generally have more complex puzzles than standard Zelda fare. There aren't a lot of standard block puzzles, nor true enemy gauntlets; instead, you've got to climb all around with different tools, moving objects, holding pressure switches, switching places, and all that kind of stuff. However, there's also a lot of optional sidequest content, with several minigames, a trading sequence, and secret seashells.
In short, it's a complicated quest that's more about experimenting with a million items and the character switch mechanics than anything else, but it also has a lot of thematic tie-ins to Zelda II.
Advice:
- There's usually more than one thing you can do next
- There's often more than one way to solve a puzzle
- Experimentation with your growing inventory of items is vital
- Most secrets have some kind of hint- keep an eye out for little oddities. There may also be other contextual hints.
- Although the game is nonlinear, most of it is set up such that you usually have something you need before you get to a place where you'd need it for anything weird.
- Don't forget about your old items- they often come back around to be useful again, or even required again, by the end of the quest!
I'm open to answering any questions anyone might have about this game, although that may result in spoilers. I have also left the quest un-passworded so that anyone may edit it and experiment with it's resources, though most of my scripting is kind of confusing and badly organized probably, so this may not be helpful. (I apologize if I'm not around very consistently however, but I will follow this thread!)
