[lexluthermiester]

Actually, just having a beta here in the forum would work. Quite a few authors are doing this and and it's working out really well for them. They get eyes on the project and reports of any bug/glitches found. They post links to the beta patches, we DL them and test away. And because it's here in the forum, most of the general public are not going to see it.

As for the item swap, that sounds awesome! You should make that a stand-alone patch for use in vanilla LA! It would be very popular! The only way I see improving it would be to do a Sel+A(or B) item cycle similar to the Select button cycle mod for the OG LOZ(which cycles through items in order with each press of the Select button). Heck you could do both as separate patches. Trust me, such would be well loved!

[ifightdragons]

Actually, just having a beta here in the forum would work. Quite a few authors are doing this and and it's working out really well for them. They get eyes on the project and reports of any bug/glitches found. They post links to the beta patches, we DL them and test away. And because it's here in the forum, most of the general public are not going to see it.

As for the item swap, that sounds awesome! You should make that a stand-alone patch for use in vanilla LA! It would be very popular! The only way I see improving it would be to do a Sel+A(or B) item cycle similar to the Select button cycle mod for the OG LOZ(which cycles through items in order with each press of the Select button). Heck you could do both as separate patches. Trust me, such would be well loved!

The Select + A/B suggestion is great. It also has the added bonus of not clashing with typical save state shortcuts and Nt mini shortcuts like Select + D-pad directions.

[IcePenguin]

@lexluthermiester; Cool, I will eventually do something with testing.  Getting more feedback would be a huge help to the quality.  And since I'm trying my best to not make this game unfairly difficult, others could keep me in check.  Haha.  We all know how difficult my Zelda II hacks are, and I'm trying to move away from that insane difficulty.

I will look at the OG LOZ item cycle mod to see how it works.  I saw one for A Link to the Past that uses L + R to cycle left or right.  That could've been cool, but wouldn't really work with gameboy's limited buttons, not to mention having 2 item slots in LA, compared to ALttP's 1 slot.  I will work it some more and post an update soon.  Also, that's a good idea to release it as a stand alone patch for the original game.  Will definitely do that!

The Select + A/B suggestion is great. It also has the added bonus of not clashing with typical save state shortcuts and Nt mini shortcuts like Select + D-pad directions.

Well...  I've already used the D-Pad directions for other, useful shortcuts.  Hopefully it won't cause too much issue as this game won't require savestates! 

[ifightdragons]

@lexluthermiester; Cool, I will eventually do something with testing.  Getting more feedback would be a huge help to the quality.  And since I'm trying my best to not make this game unfairly difficult, others could keep me in check.  Haha.  We all know how difficult my Zelda II hacks are, and I'm trying to move away from that insane difficulty.

I will look at the OG LOZ item cycle mod to see how it works.  I saw one for A Link to the Past that uses L + R to cycle left or right.  That could've been cool, but wouldn't really work with gameboy's limited buttons, not to mention having 2 item slots in LA, compared to ALttP's 1 slot.  I will work it some more and post an update soon.  Also, that's a good idea to release it as a stand alone patch for the original game.  Will definitely do that!

Well...  I've already used the D-Pad directions for other, useful shortcuts.  Hopefully it won't cause too much issue as this game won't require savestates! 

You've used all of them?

[IcePenguin]

You've used all of them?

Yeah, they've all been assigned with various shortcuts.  All in an effort to make item management less annoying and certain items passive.  This has also allowed for the addition of new items.  With that said, I am still concerned about these clashes you bring up.  What are the "Nt mini" shortcuts you are referring to?

[ifightdragons]

Yeah, they've all been assigned with various shortcuts.  All in an effort to make item management less annoying and certain items passive.  This has also allowed for the addition of new items.  With that said, I am still concerned about these clashes you bring up.  What are the "Nt mini" shortcuts you are referring to?

It's a bit unfortunate, as it might make the game borderline unplayable for a lot of people. ShadowOne333, for example, took extra care with his excellent Redux hacks to avoid this.

The Nt mini is an FPGA console by Analogue that plays NES and GBC games, amongst others. They will be releasing their Analogue Pocket console in 2021, a handheld FPGA console that will play the entire Game Boy line, plus other various handhelds.

The most common shortcuts that people use to access the menus for these are SELECT + UP.

Keep in mind that many people play on FPGA consoles and real hardware, also via EverDrives. On those, SELECT + D-pad is also a common shortcut.

Anyway, looking forward to this hack. It looks simply gorgeous. Hopefully you'll take this into consideration, as well as try to implement all the QOL fixes that ShadowOne333 did for Link's Awakening Redux.

[IcePenguin]

Hmm, those would definitely clash with the item shortcuts.  I've only tested this on real hardware (GB & GBA SP), so I haven't stumbled onto any issues like that.  To be honest, I have no idea how I could avoid such conflicts without owning the console in question. 

With certain items, there has to be various button combos to access them.  Maybe over time something will be developed, or maybe someone might have an idea for a good solution.  Thank you for letting me know, but for now I won't be able to do much with it.  If you could list all the available shortcuts for the console that would surely help.

There will also be many QOL features in the game.  The original game had so many inconveniences that I've been trying to remove all of them in some way.   

[njosro]

Christmas Eve update!

IcePenguin and I have some exciting updates to share with you. I have been helping out on this project for about a year now, and we've made some great progress.

The first update has to do with the pause screen. You can now see 3 pages of your (widely expanded array of) passive inventory items!

 

Page 3 is under construction, but it will show your stats like play time, and what percentage of treasure chests you've opened.

The SELECT menu that opens on the pause screen has been relocated to overlay your passive inventory items.



Another QOL we've included is an improvement to the warps.
We've greatly increased the number of warps on the overworld, and we programmed a selection system on a map similar to the oracle games



The overworld has a few new aspects to it as well. IcePenguin has done an amazing job with it. It gives a sense of wonder and curiosity on every screen.
There are a few new elements on it as well.



The hack is making excellent progress, and we're excited to share more updates as they come!

[lexluthermiester]

Looking really good guys! Very interesting!

[Vanya]

Nice job! I'm more excited than ever to play this.

[IcePenguin]

It's been so amazing to have njosro help out on this project.  Since he joined last year, we have done many cool things and have improved on many of the original game's mechanics.  He has also taught me a great deal about ASM.  All those things which were once a pipe dream are now possible.  We are having tons of fun working on this project, and we hope in the end that we will have something a little bit interesting for everyone to play!   

Here is a bit of an update:

There are many item shortcuts for you to discover, which will greatly reduce item management and constant opening of the inventory screen.  As mentioned previously, the Bracelet is a passive item, and now the Ocarina is, too.

To help learn these shortcuts, be sure to visit the library!  These books will teach about some of the new stuff:



Exploring the forest at the start of a new game:

[ifightdragons]

Hmm, those would definitely clash with the item shortcuts.  I've only tested this on real hardware (GB & GBA SP), so I haven't stumbled onto any issues like that.  To be honest, I have no idea how I could avoid such conflicts without owning the console in question. 

With certain items, there has to be various button combos to access them.  Maybe over time something will be developed, or maybe someone might have an idea for a good solution.  Thank you for letting me know, but for now I won't be able to do much with it.  If you could list all the available shortcuts for the console that would surely help.

There will also be many QOL features in the game.  The original game had so many inconveniences that I've been trying to remove all of them in some way.   

Most common shortcuts used by EverDrives and the Nt mini for options and save states are: SELECT + DIRECTIONAL INPUT.

If you were to add maybe L or R to your input chain, that would make it playable for everyone.

Please keep in mind, a LOT of people will be playing via either an EverDrive, or an Nt mini.

[IcePenguin]

Most common shortcuts used by EverDrives and the Nt mini for options and save states are: SELECT + DIRECTIONAL INPUT.

If you were to add maybe L or R to your input chain, that would make it playable for everyone.

Please keep in mind, a LOT of people will be playing via either an EverDrive, or an Nt mini.

That's a really interesting idea, but is adding more inputs beyond the gameboy's original eight even possible?  Seems like something that would require hardware level coding/modifications.  I suppose we might have to avoid implementing these item shortcuts so there isn't any conflict.  We will figure something out! 

The only way I see improving it would be to do a Sel+A(or B) item cycle similar to the Select button cycle mod for the OG LOZ(which cycles through items in order with each press of the Select button).

We implemented your suggestion and added a new item cycling mechanic.   There are some cool new menu features to show, so we will post another update soon. 

[ifightdragons]

That's a really interesting idea, but is adding more inputs beyond the gameboy's original eight even possible?  Seems like something that would require hardware level coding/modifications.  I suppose we might have to avoid implementing these item shortcuts so there isn't any conflict.  We will figure something out! 

My bad, the original GB/GBC of course don't have shoulder buttons Maybe using another extra button could remedy the situation

[hmsong]

I'm new to this board.  Is this a hack of LA or Oracle?  Because I see elements of both on this game.

[Shadic]

Link's Awakening. Hence the thread title. 

[IcePenguin]

As Shadic said, this is a hack for LA.  There are some elements of the Oracle games present.  There will be many new features/mechanics in this hack, which will hopefully bring it closer to the scope of the Oracle games.  Those games set the bar pretty high, though!   

Another small update:  (more to come soon)

Made the file select screen more modernized with extra elements to indicate progress.  Added tiny instrument icons which will appear as you collect them, an icon to show that you are playing on hero mode, and a completion icon for when you beat the game!  Keep in mind, you cannot change the difficulty after you have started the game.  It can only be toggled at the creation of a new file by pressing the SELECT button.

Here is a picture showing the funny looking instruments:

[hmsong]

Link's Awakening was what got me into the Zelda (my second gaming console was GB, and Zelda LA came with GB).  And as I played all sorts of Zelda, I was blown away with Oracle games.  I honestly didn't expect much from them, esp after playing the 3D Zeldas.

I'm gonna play this on the weekend.  Thanks.

[lexluthermiester]

Here is a picture showing the funny looking instruments:

I like it. Simple and yet easy to discern. Nice.

[greenghost420]

Looks great! i cant wait to check this out.