Reshaper256's Thread of Stuff Going

hope u get to feeling better soon. oh and happy birthday.

 

Well, school's out, and I've now only got a lingering sore throat from allergies. I'm sorry to admit I haven't made progress since I last checked in, but I'm writing this with the intentions of getting cracking as soon as I'm done typing this. My files are laid out and ready, and I got a new 22" flat widescreen monitor so I've got a lot more workspace, both on screen on on my actual desk. I just got an email from our music guy, so I'm about to reply to him, and I recently got a quick message from GM, so I've got him to reply to as well. Things are looking up, however.

Sorry that I don't have progress to report, but I promised myself I'd check in here, even if I had nothing. So that's what I'm doing, I hope you'd rather me do this than post nothing at all. If nothing else, it helps me get refocused on the project.

edit: Oh, and thanks darkprince909!

 

I hope you'd rather me do this than post nothing at all.

Yep. Much better this way.

 

We're right there with you. Good on you for carrying the project like this!

 

Finally decided to register here... (yeah it's a lot of work, really)

 

Well, I'm back.

Whew, finally managed to get myself to work through porting all the collision handlers. I'll admit, it was more a product of me just not sitting down to work on them than anything else that took so long, but they're done, ported over, and I'm almost done with them. I'm now entering the "debug phase" for all the collision routines... I found that my weapon vs. sprite handler wasn't working exactly right last night, and will have to fix it. Attacking with basically anything other than the hammer or sword seemed to do no damage, but then if you followed those attacks up with the sword, they would take the damage they *should* have taken when hit before.

For example: I hit my bots with the firerod. They should have been torched, instead they were just knocked backwards. Then I hit them with the sword. They were torched, instead of taking the sword damage. Obviously the damage type is being selected, but not followed through with until the sword/hammer makes contact, actually overwriting the appropriate sword/hammer damage. I think I know how to fix it, however. The world vs. sprite collision handler, basically dealing with 8x8 tiles, seems to work fine. I haven't encountered any problems yet. I still need to test the Link vs. sprite handler. It compiles fine, but I still need to hook my original code to it to see if it has any nasty bugs.

My next step, after fixing any bugs, is to go in and write some new code to make it easier to control all the aspects of our new sprites. What if we have a special sound effect we want to use when it gets hit, besides the normal sound? What if we want it to behave differently in the face of a certain 8x8 tile type, in a way that other sprites don't? I'd like to make it simple and easy to make these distinctions when building sprites, so that writing more specialized code doesn't interrupt the creation process.

Also, thanks to andwhyisit and The5thHerring for the encouragement, and MathOnNapkins, glad to see you finally found your way here. I know it's a hassle to register here too, I wish it were easier. Thanks for everyone's support!

 

Lots of progress! I've begun reorganizing my code, and experimenting with xkas macros, to make coding new sprite AI a more painless, faster process. Common segments of code, such as random number generators, dealings with counters, dealings with sprite movement, and all kinds of others are becoming faster and easier to deal with. I've also decided to break everything down into separate files for better organization... it works wonders on the eyes, and I can now find stuff when I want it.

Not much else to say, really, except that things have been getting done, at a fairly fast pace recently. BTW, in case any of you have somehow missed it, GameMakr24 has posted a diary entry, so go check it out!

edit: Also, I fixed that bug with the weapon vs. sprite handler, basically a value in one of the work registers was getting overwritten, if that makes any sense to you. A fairly easy fix, I was jumping to a routine I didn't need to, to get the information for what new sprite type it was. I had already fixed it so it saved that information in a RAM table when the sprite was initialized, for easy access, so I just got the info from there, avoiding the whole conflict.

 

I don't remember if I've mentioned this here, but I worked on the script revision of Parallel Worlds (along with Dr. Floppy, who handled the actual implementation and did some of his own editing). After v1.1 (mostly the script changes) got put up, Seph made a website to inform everyone about his progress on v2.0... which has now been deleted for several months, as most of you know.

The point is that I had been following this project long before I had even heard about ZPW--and now, long after the information on ZPW2 has become unavailable, I can still get progress updates on Calatia and know that it isn't dead. Gamemakr, this really will be a milestone in homebrew games: not just through the breakthroughs you guys are making in assembly and in editing capability, but through the sheer transparency that existed from the beginning. The long run-up will do nothing but increase the game's eventual recognition, since it's a run-up full of tantalizing information.

Not to get all sappy and what. All this news of efficiency and organization is pretty cool, so I guess I got excited.

Incidentally: Reshaper, since you're such an experienced coder, maybe you and Gamemakr could put your heads together and work out some kind of automation scheme for tile mapping? I'm just thinking about his diary entry-- it seems like that's kind of a huge, time-sapping problem, so perhaps a side project of that kind could save a lot of time and heartache in the future.

I have no coding experience whatever, so I'm sorry to say I can't suggest any avenue. I can only encourage you guys to think about it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_810qadtQY

NEWSPRITES.ASM WORKS again!

Everything is now out in the padding, and editable; the kind of freedom I was talking about wanting months ago. I had to use a fresh ROM, so I lost the inserted bot graphics in the process, but that's not the point at the moment. The thing works. It behaves as it should. All the macros work as they should, and the routines seem to be working as they should. I'm happy. Quite happy. Hopefully some of you will find the link above entertaining... it's the first thing I saw, when I finally got all the bugs worked out of the code, and the game finally ran with the code inserted without crashing. I chose a new room to showcase the sprite in, as you can see in the video.

It's so nice to have something moving on the screen again.

The5thHerring: Thanks for your reply, it's really encouraging to have such fans of the project still hanging out for updates. As for me somehow helping GM with the OW development, I'm not really sure I could do much. I'm pretty good at coding, but it's strictly in assembly, which isn't much help when manipulating overworld data on the scale GM is trying to. However, there may be some help on the way eventually, as MathOnNapkins continues to make progress on his new Zelda 3 editor, Black Magic.

But still, it's great to have your support.

 

Custom enemies ftw. Can't wait to play this.

So what's next on the agenda?

 

Hi to all those Zelda3C fans out there from austria.

I read the diary since 2003, I step in every 2 or 3 days, hoping to find some news about progress being made.

I showed some screenshots to friends. And believe it or not, they all had big smiles on their faces. We are Zelda3 fans from the beginning and that evening we talked about the game for many hours, remembering the first time we started the snes with this special game inserted, in which shop we bought the game and how wonderful it would be to play a "Zelda 4".

So we want to encourage reshaper256 and gamemakr to keep up the good work. You can be pride in what you reached so far.

Tesslaar

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkFq2bB35JU

Hello again! Another video...

andwhyisit: Thanks, but where to go next? I guess I'll just keep on playing with the sprites, honestly. I'm not really sure what else I should be doing, it's important to get good at making simple monsters like bit and bot do what I want before diving headlong into more complex creations.

tesslaar: Thanks a lot, it's great to hear that your friends are interested in the project as well. Hello to all Zelda3C fans in Austria, from Reshaper256. ^_^

 

Most up to date progress on Black Magic's overworld editor, for anyone interested. Feature suggestions welcome but even more welcome if you've used Hyrule Magic in the past . Those are the people that tend to know from experience the difficulties of editing the overworld.

Oh and @Reshaper, neat new video. I've noticed that you've started using macros. Beware the dangers of macros though . Since they hide much of the heavy lifting they can tend to make for slow code sometimes. Would love to see what you've got cooked up so far.

 

Hey, nothing special this time, just checking in. I've recently started my summer job, as a teacher/worker for the local middle school's summer camp. This is going to eat up some of my time, but it's worth it, cause I'm making $10 an hour, 6 hours a day, for 5 days a week. That, and I'm gaining some work experience, considering that I hope to get a job at this same local middle school.

In other non-Zelda3C related news, I'm hoping to get married this time next year, so wedding planning has already gone into action (and is the main reason why I need this summer job). I haven't "officially" proposed yet, but we've been together 6+ years already, so you can go figure. Add that to finishing student teaching and college, and I've got a busy year ahead of me.

Now, concerning Zelda3C...

Here's what I'd really like, right now. Sprite suggestions. Ideas for things that you'd like to see come to life, on screen. To be fair, if you post your idea here you probably won't get much feedback, as I don't want to spoil anything for anybody else. So if you post your idea in this thread, don't expect an "Oh yeah, perfect! That'll definitely go on the list!" from me. Also don't expect to see your sprite in the game just because you mentioned it in passing, or even if we take time to discuss it. There's a LOT of stuff involved with whether your sprite can/will come to life, including if GameMakr24 and I like the idea. You *can* post your ideas here, but remember that warning. But if you email me directly, (jajomart at gmail dot com) I can give more feedback and we can actually discuss your sprite ideas, and perhaps brainstorm some more.

Also, MathOnNapkins: I'm really liking what I'm seeing with the overworld editor so far, as I've mentioned to you in chats. Concerning what I've gotten done so far with the sprite code, I'd like to clean it up a little more before letting you check it out. I have a few more routines to alter, and I'd like to find a nicer way to organize all these files. BTW, thanks a lot for introducing me to notepad++. I'd checked it out before, but never realized you could configure it for custom languages. It's a lot cleaner, and easier on the eyes.

Well, I have kids to fight with in the morning. Adios for now.

 

In other non-Zelda3C related news, I'm hoping to get married this time next year, so wedding planning has already gone into action (and is the main reason why I need this summer job). I haven't "officially" proposed yet, but we've been together 6+ years already, so you can go figure.

Good luck.

BTW, thanks a lot for introducing me to notepad++. I'd checked it out before, but never realized you could configure it for custom languages. It's a lot cleaner, and easier on the eyes.

I prefer Crimson Editor myself.

Here's what I'd really like, right now. Sprite suggestions. Ideas for things that you'd like to see come to life, on screen. To be fair, if you post your idea here you probably won't get much feedback, as I don't want to spoil anything for anybody else. So if you post your idea in this thread, don't expect an "Oh yeah, perfect! That'll definitely go on the list!" from me. Also don't expect to see your sprite in the game just because you mentioned it in passing, or even if we take time to discuss it. There's a LOT of stuff involved with whether your sprite can/will come to life, including if GameMakr24 and I like the idea. You *can* post your ideas here, but remember that warning. But if you email me directly, (jajomart at gmail dot com) I can give more feedback and we can actually discuss your sprite ideas, and perhaps brainstorm some more.

I'll send you a PM.

 

ya this is off topic, but.....


has anyone seen or heard from josh lately? i havnt seen him on for a while. gettin a little worried

 

andwhyisit: Hey, thanks for the ideas, I'll reply to you in full soon.

darkprince909: I talked to Josh a few weeks ago in an email. Guess I need to check in and see what he's up to. ^_^

As for progress, there hasn't been very much since last time, sorry to say, only in the form of new ideas popping into my head. I've been pretty busy with the summer camp job... but it ends at the end of the month, so I'll still have July and much of August with more spare time. Hopefully things will become less hectic before then, and I'll be able to get some hacking in. Just a reminder -- you can email/PM me your sprite ideas, or any other ideas you may have. You can email GameMakr24 your ideas as well, I'm sure he'd love to hear them too.

Peace out, y'all.

 

Hey, thought I should check in. I thought you all would like to know that I had couple of long chats with GameMakr24, Friday night and last night. It's been a while since we had a good brainstorming session. I'm still busy with the summer camp job for the next two weeks... so don't expect to see major progress, but at the same time don't think we're dead.

We're just busy. When I get thinking about Zelda3C, I start having new idea after new idea... I'll have to start writing them all down to suggest to GM. Hopefully I'll have some good progress to report soon.

 

We're just busy. When I get thinking about Zelda3C, I start having new idea after new idea... I'll have to start writing them all down to suggest to GM. Hopefully I'll have some good progress to report soon.

Hey guys,
I'm glad to see there's work still going on. I played the original ZC last year through another forum, and it was the best hack I've played. Keep the updates coming, I'd love to be able to play Z3C!

 

hey theres a new post on gm's diary page. this one is cool! woot gm!!