For anyone still watching this thread, the Quest Project (and newer downloads) are now available here:
http://www.purezc.net/index.php?page=projects&id=224
I didn't quite make the August deadline -- real life interfered -- but we're getting very close to complete now. Depending on schedule, a first draft could realistically be done in a few weeks.
Another update: the game is now playable from start to finish. There are still lots of bug testing to do, and I have to do the ending cinematic. Otherwise, though, its complete. Basically it's in the same shape Dreams of Yesterday was when I left it behind. This time, however, I'm going to stamp out the bugs and tweak the game myself before calling it quits.
On another note... Shockingly little activity on these forums anymore, huh? I wonder if anyone is still around.
Wow, you finished it! This was the quest that made me want to learn how to script, so this is really exciting.
Yeah, AGN is still recovering from its crash; we were overrun with spambots for a while and it's been difficult to regain the confidence of the community. But we're trying and that's all we can do.
It's only "finished" in the gameplay sense. You'll keep seeing updates over at my project site on PureZC until the ending is done and the bugs are gone.Originally Posted by CJC
Well, keep doing your best. I can say that PureZC's system for allowing users to store and update quest projects is amazing, and really adds to the appeal of using that site. AGN is a little broader than just ZC, I can see, but it would be a great feature.
Yeah, AGN is still recovering from its crash; we were overrun with spambots for a while and it's been difficult to regain the confidence of the community. But we're trying and that's all we can do.
Those who have not checked out Zodiac in awhile should go examine the latest downloads. I've replaced just about every LOZ enemy the game with a completely scripted new enemy. I need people to play the game and give me feedback on them; are they too easy, too hard, too durable, etc. Check it out!
It has been quite a while since I tried this out. I really admire your dedication. Scripting that many enemies really shows your drive. I don't play quests often but this has now jumped to the top of my list.
Thanks! Yeah, I really want to make sure this game stands on its own and is not a glorified tech demo the way Dreams of Yesterday ended up. I don't want to have to call in ShadowTiger to revamp the quest to fix every bug in it. Plus, I'm using this as a kind of training grounds, as I want to move into Allegro after I'm done and make my own projects from scratch.
Before you play: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. Some people don't understand they need to configure the A, B, L and R buttons correctly and they have a bad time right away.
As far as the custom enemy scripting goes, it's actually a pretty tame part of the whole project. Once I got the generic outline done, many of the enemies are formulaic:
1. Fire up MSPaint and draw some enemy sprites.
2. Import sprites.
3. Do some math to set up the draw_creature function to display the sprites correctly. It's virtually a copy-paste job if it's the same size and has the same amount of animation as a pre-existing enemy.
4. Script a few states of behavior for the enemy and plug that into the existing shell.
This sounds like a lot, but for simple enemies without complex behavior I can crank one out in twenty minutes. Palette swaps that are stronger/faster/better/harder versions of existing enemies can be done in like five minutes.
No, the enemies are just one tiny fraction of the massive work going into this. We're at about 95,000 lines of script at the moment, and we'll break 100,000 before being done. That's not much as far as games go, but it's hella big for Zelda Classic. At this point, the ZClassic engine itself is being used almost only as a data structure, the secret flag system, and FFCs as game sprite objects. Very little else remains, and that which does is often more of a limitation than a benefit.
It's been a big learning experience, however, and without ZClassic's pre-existing structure, it would have been impossible to keep interest going. The ability to see results instantly and make playable games even before all of the code is written is huge.
I don't know if anyone still reads these forums who does not also read PureZC, but just in case...
I'm in the final stages of bugfixes and polishing for a final beta. I'm doing my own playthrough and taking notes, and after that, I plan on maybe one more beta release before I add some additional content and call the game complete. So, if people want to offer feedback, now is the best time to do it!
Polished beta is out, and I'm busy at work adding the additional/optional content. Go forth and prosper:
http://www.purezc.net/index.php?page...wnloads&id=557
For those who would rather watch the game than play it yourself, MeleeWizard is working on a Let's Play of the final beta of Zodiac. Check 'er out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-R1...VM6oYn6aW4YALT
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