Crunch Time

[jman2050]

Can we make it before the end of the year? Now I'm not so sure. I'll o the best I can though, though it's hard since my family is preparing a move. Expect a new beta sometime soon that addresses some of the more prevailing concerns.

Meanwhile, for everyone, NO bug is too small. If it's an inconsistency in gameplay, a tiny glitch that won't be noticable to anyone else, or whatever, REPORT IT. We want ZC 2.5 to be as polished as possible, and that won't happen until we can get all the little kinks out. And remember, the important part in quest compatibility is compatibility with 2.10 quests, NOT with beta quests. So make sure that your 2.10 stuff works exactly as it does in 2.10, and if not, report it AS A BUG in the appropriate forum. We're running out of time, so make sure to start testing aggressively, and hopefully the end-of-year deadline will be met. If not, then we're certainly not gonna wait till February or March to release a new version if that's what you all were thinking

[_L_]

Hey, other developers, here are some long-standing bugs that I have no idea how to fix:

* Smart scrolling walkability detection bug!
* NES movement move-while-charging bug.
* Charging Link sprites don't animate in-game!
* Script bug #1: 'this' can't be used in functions (solved by making it so that 'this' always points to the FFC running the script.)
* Script bug #2: multiple instances of one script causes problems with variables.
* Mac OS X tile paste crash.
* Mac OS X fullscreen->windowed crash.

Also, the following features are unimplemented:

* Cane of Byrna's orbiting magic.
* L2 Amulet.
* When "More Sounds" is checked, the Lens of Truth sound effects play when the Lens is toggled on or off.
* More String Editor stuff. (I'm doing this.)

Also, we're going to need to have:

* Default jumping and charging Link tiles in the appropriate dat file.
* Default enemy tiles in for all of the new enemies in the appropriate dat file.
* Default item tiles for all of the new items.
* Default effects tiles for Nayru's Love, Cane of Byrna, Hover Boots and Fire Magic.
* Default sound effects for WAV_ZN1DINSFIRE and WAV_ZN1FARORESWIND.
* An updated zquest.txt.

P.S: What a coincidence... I'm moving house this week as well.

[Dlbrooks33]

Default jumping and charging Link tiles in the appropriate dat file.

Radien took care of that.

Default item tiles for all of the new items.

I took care of the Cane (Slashing and All) and the Feather.

[*b*]

Can we make it before the end of the year? Now I'm not so sure.

I'll say it again: TAKE YOUR TIME. Focus on making 2.5 the best release ever, and not on pressuring yourselves to do as much as you can as quick as you can with a deadline you yourselves set. I seriously doubt it's even possible you'll get all the bugs before December 31, 23:59:59. Just don't even try

That said, I'd be happy to help with any graphics you may need for the upcoming release

[Shoelace]

I say take your time. Now that you said you were making the dialogue editor, I want it bad. Really, really bad I mean. Like so bad that I would throw a fit if it was not in 2.5 as I stopped EotM because I am waiting for it. Anyways, I promise that next time you make a beta release I will test the whole game of HoD and report any small bug. I couldn't test it on this beta because of the raft and mirror shield bug.

Anyways, take your time, I think February is a good looking date if there isn't anything big after the dialogue editor added. But I know you will release it before then. And I will be bug testing like crazy as I am almost done with my graphics update in EotM, so now I have time to test.

[_L_]

I say take your time. Now that you said you were making the dialogue editor, I want it bad. Really, really bad I mean. Like so bad that I would throw a fit if it was not in 2.5 as I stopped EotM because I am waiting for it.

Well, there's really 2-4 parts to the dialogue editor as we imagine it:

1) The dialogue editor.
2) The combo type that displays a message when you press A next to it.
3) The as-yet unimplemented ZScript command void ShowMessage(int m).
4) The item property where you choose the string that is displayed when you pick up the item.

Right now, I've jiggered up the normal String Editor such that, by inserting obscure numerical codes and backslashes* (for example \1\5\12) within the string's text, you can change the text colour and text output speed of portions of the string itself. Also, some codes allow you to dynamically set Link's HP, magic and rupees, and play sound effects of your choice. Furthermore, you can pick the upper-left tile of a 2x2 frame for the string, and toggle the translucency. Additionally, you can pick the sound effect (normally SFX_MSG) that plays as each letter of the message is "typed".

What I have yet to do is make "If"-style codes that switch to another string if Link has or has not got an equipment item, some rupees, or something else. Also, decisions (yes/no choices) might be a bit too much work.

Also, fonts. Because many of the fonts have different widths and heights, you can't switch fonts within a string itself. (For what it's worth, I doubt any Zelda game allowed this either.) So, you can only choose one font for the whole string. Also, because many of the fonts have different widths and heights, it's likely that the number of characters per line will change if you use a different font. Thus, it's going to be a bit tricky to implement.

I have decided not to implement scrolling textbox text on the basis that only four Zelda games have it: Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, and the Oracles. In all of the others, the textbox text never scrolls. You may not immediately believe this, but see for yourself!

Lastly, positioning. There doesn't seem to be any point to altering the X position of a string, so only the Y position of the string can be altered.

* This is because I wanted the markup codes to take up as little space within the string (as it is being edited) as possible. Rest assured that these codes will be copiously documented.

P.S: What does EotM stand for? "Eyes of the Medusa", a quest that blends Miyamoto's Hyrulean mythos with the legends of ancient Greece? Or "Egg of the Monkey", a retelling of Journey to the West in Zelda format?

P.P.S: I, being both youthfully energetic and highly ambitious, would quite like to break the "2.5 in time for Jan 1" promise that someone made.

[Petoe]

I'm a bit torn here... :p

I don't want you guys to rush it, but I don't want to see it delayed by any more months either. A new stable ZC is just needed so badly.
Is it necessary to add a dialogue editor in to 2.5? Can't that wait? Or any other new features? Just finish the features that are unfinished and fix the bugs and there we have a perfectly fine and fantastic ZC. Sigh... can it be so hard??

[Imprisoned]

Yeah, please don't rush it! We don't want a ZC 2.10 with just some new features, but still all the bugs!

*b* is right, take your time.

I would like to see ZC 2.5 on February 23, because that's my birthday

I recommend focusing on smashing the bugs, for now.

[Shoelace]

Yeah, awesome I love you now because of the string editor. *drools* Anyways, about the font size in the same string, I don't mind, I don't think it is that big of deal, however, you it doesn't change font in any Zelda game. Wind Waker does though. Don't mind though. As long as you can change the color in the same string. So we can do OoT clues where the key words are in red and such.

[Imprisoned]

Changing the colour would be alright to me...
When you open the string editor, it would say something like

"BUY SOMETHIN WILL YA!"

Then you could select a color from a small dropdown menu with colored lines, then just click to a letter and it will change the color. Then just click a button or something with "Return to string writing". Just my thoughts.

BTW, could it be possible to create strings with 4 lines?