[ShadowOne333]

Here is what it changes:

0x2A00:  12 12 12 12  (blue magic flash)

0x1C9FA:  16 16 16 16  (red death flash)

That's it!

Nice!
I'll go for the official ones instead, which should be these ones:

• 0x2A00:  02 03 02 03
• 0x1C9FA:  35 36 35 36

That should cover the seizure-inducing flashes with more toned-down versions, so people who are photo-sensitive can also enjoy this hack without worries

[IcePenguin]

0x1C9FA:  35 36 35 36

For this one, I recommend using 05 06 05 06 instead.  It's a dark red.  The official bright pink doesn't really fit well with dying, ha ha.  But either work.  There is no more flashing at least. 

[ShadowOne333]

For this one, I recommend using 05 06 05 06 instead.  It's a dark red.  The official bright pink doesn't really fit well with dying, ha ha.  But either work.  There is no more flashing at least. 

I managed to fully replicate the one in the Gamecube version with 07 26 07 26.
Try it out, I quite like it!
I think 02 03 02 03 at 0X2A00 is actually quite good for spells and the boss flash, what do you think?

[IcePenguin]

I managed to fully replicate the one in the Gamecube version with 07 26 07 26.
Try it out, I quite like it!
I think 02 03 02 03 at 0X2A00 is actually quite good for spells and the boss flash, what do you think?

Ah, cool!  The flashing is easy on the eyes with the Gamecube palette.  For the magic flashing, if you slightly change it to 02 02 03 03, you'll get a bit more of the flashing effect.  Can't really see it otherwise.

[Shade Aurion]

God damn you guys work fast. I'd say you're pretty close to a definitive edition of Zelda 2 :3
I might have to redo my lets play haha

[IcePenguin]

Updated the new Exp leveling system.  The original post has details and code for the new changes.  Biggest change is this:

To open the level menu, press UP then START.  This way, you don't have to go into the inventory menu at all, making it way more accessible.  Feel free to spend those Exp at anytime!  Or not at all, if you are feeling dangerous.   

[DarkSamus993]

Getting there...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWoZ7hwtx1Q

The 'copy save' menu is not finished yet, which is I didn't show that off. The copy menu is effectively the 'erase save' menu, but with a flag set to copy data instead of erasing it (also a title bar change so you know what menu you're on).

[ShadowOne333]

Updated the new Exp leveling system.  The original post has details and code for the new changes.  Biggest change is this:

To open the level menu, press UP then START.  This way, you don't have to go into the inventory menu at all, making it way more accessible.  Feel free to spend those Exp at anytime!  Or not at all, if you are feeling dangerous.   

Awesome!
I'll grab the IPS and try it out tomorrow
Thanks, bud!

Getting there...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWoZ7hwtx1Q

The 'copy save' menu is not finished yet, which is I didn't show that off. The copy menu is effectively the 'erase save' menu, but with a flag set to copy data instead of erasing it (also a title bar change so you know what menu you're on).

Oh wow, it's coming along really nice!
I can see that now the cursor goes into every position, including the empty save files, and that pressing Start on an empty save file, gets you directly into the Register Name screen, which is amazing!
So many details, it's coming off great!
Thanks for giving this a try and showing off the results, it's really appreciated!

[IcePenguin]

Getting there...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWoZ7hwtx1Q

The 'copy save' menu is not finished yet, which is I didn't show that off. The copy menu is effectively the 'erase save' menu, but with a flag set to copy data instead of erasing it (also a title bar change so you know what menu you're on).

Awesome work, DarkSamus!  That menu is 1000x better than the original. 


Here is another little thing that could be fixed.  On the title screen, there is a star in the sky that overlaps with the game logo.  This isn't normal behavior for stars in the sky.  This odd star is actually grouped together with stars in the ocean.  An odd little bug that is probably unknown.



Changing its sprite priority doesn't place it behind the logo, much like the other stars in the ocean.  I believe they have this unique behavior because they are supposed to appear over the tiles in the ocean, which is a different background layer than the sky.

At 0x168C9, this is the data for this star.  If you change the 78 to 90, it will place this star in ocean to be with its other fellow stars.  This would be the most minor of changes, but I thought some people might like to know this little bit of info. 

Edit:

There is an error in the title screen text.  There is no space between the "," and the word "CRYSTALS".

"TO BREAK THE SEAL,CRYSTALS"

Edit:

In the bank used for town gfx, the "," to the left of the "?" tile should be blank.  Random commas appear in dialog when talking to NPCs.  This one is my fault.  I accidentally placed it there when adding that smaller font.  Sorry about that! 

Edit:

I have a question about Bagu's (Bug's) new text.  He says: "Show this letter to the ferry landing man", so is this more closely in line with the japanese version?  It doesn't really make sense, as there is no indication that the game has a ferry landing - except maybe at Mido, but at this point in the game you wouldn't know about Mido.  I'd suggest something like "Show this letter to a guard at Saria Bridge."  I tested it to make sure it would fit, and you'd need to repoint the line of text to fit the 3 extra characters.  Anyway, makes a lot more sense.

Edit:

Link now has a Blue and Red tunic! Upon using the Shield spell with a Defense level between 1-4, you'll get the Blue tunic. Once you get up to level 5-8 of Defense, you will get the Red tunic

Another bug report:  In your current version, it's set to check Link's sword level, not defense level.

[mdtauk]

Getting there...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWoZ7hwtx1Q

The 'copy save' menu is not finished yet, which is I didn't show that off. The copy menu is effectively the 'erase save' menu, but with a flag set to copy data instead of erasing it (also a title bar change so you know what menu you're on).

Looking great!  I have a couple of thoughts...

Can you change the palette for the Erase and Copy screens?  Erase would be in shades of Red, Copy maybe Green?  I think this would really emphasise the danger of the Delete screen.

Instead of Copy Save and Erase Save, perhaps change them to Copy File, and Delete File.

I would still change the cursor from the fairy to an animating Arrow.

[IAmCaptPlanet]

Updated the new Exp leveling system.  The original post has details and code for the new changes.  Biggest change is this:

To open the level menu, press UP then START.  This way, you don't have to go into the inventory menu at all, making it way more accessible.  Feel free to spend those Exp at anytime!  Or not at all, if you are feeling dangerous.   

AWESOME. this is gonna be my favorite thing yet. it's so pesky to try to level one stat and not the other with it always popping up that i usually go the direct route. this is a godsend! (a icepenguinsend really!)

also, everyone knows button combos arent ideal, but they are better than changing the length the button is held (which is how i understood it to work).

that way my controller wont shut off (from holding start for a few seconds) lol

also, i'm def ready for a playtest, so flippin excited! the ips i downloaded other day had a moon in the sky and altered graphics though, looked real nice, but are the graphical styles gonna be optional patches too?

[ShadowOne333]

@IcePenguin, every little bug you mentioned was fixed
The "SEAL,CRYSTALS" one I believe left it in intentionally, because if I add a space between the comma and CRYSTALS, the word "CRYSTALS" would be placed too much to the right, and you could only read it once it gets out of the mountain's view.

With that said, let's touch on a couple details you mentioned:

I have a question about Bagu's (Bug's) new text.  He says: "Show this letter to the ferry landing man", so is this more closely in line with the japanese version?  It doesn't really make sense, as there is no indication that the game has a ferry landing - except maybe at Mido, but at this point in the game you wouldn't know about Mido.  I'd suggest something like "Show this letter to a guard at Saria Bridge."  I tested it to make sure it would fit, and you'd need to repoint the line of text to fit the 3 extra characters.  Anyway, makes a lot more sense.

Interesting point you bring here.
This is the direct translation from the Japanese text that I took as reference:

BAGU IS MY NAME. SHOW MY NOTE TO RIVER MAN.

| オレノナハ　バグ　ダ | ワタシバノ　オトコニ | コノテガミヲ　ミセロ{END}

| My name is Bug. | Show this letter to | the ferry landing man.

I could probably change it to something like "Show this letter to the Saria ferry man." or "to the ferry man in Saria", something similar.
What do you think?

Another bug report:  In your current version, it's set to check Link's sword level, not defense level.

Dumb me, for some reason I swapped the addresses that I had to read.
I'll make the change real quick, thanks for pointing it out!
Should be a matter of changing the LDA $0777 to LDA $0779 at around $2B00 (or somewhere around that, can't recall where I placed that routine)

[IcePenguin]

Reduced the amount of HP the Bubble (and Giant Bubble) enemies have. Should now go down with like 10 Sword swings instead of a damn million (having FF in their lives was really something stupid for such a meaningless enemy), and they have also been made non-respawnable to avoid abusing grinding of these enemies, since their EXP hasn't been modified.

Something doesn't feel right about this.  I've been playing through the game, testing things, and one thing that stands out as a glaring issue, is how much weaker these Bubble enemies are while still granting the same 50 Exp.  I know they aren't re-spawnable, but there are so many of these enemies in dungeons, that you gain massive amounts of Exp with little effort.  That one room in Palace 1 has like 6 of these enemies.  That's wildly unbalanced.    In the original, only someone willing to spend a few minutes killing those would get that Exp, but now it can be done with ease.

Then there are those Skull enemies, doing that wavy pattern, who are now much stronger, but give less Exp than the Bubble.  I don't think you changed these enemies, but in comparison to the new Bubble, it makes them feel a lot strong with less reward.

These two enemies should be about on par with each other.  I'd suggest increasing the Bubbles health to around the same as the Skull enemy, and give about the same 20 Exp.  A player could still use the Bubbles to grind a ton of Exp just by leaving palace.  Making them not respawn isn't enough to balance their low health.  I suggest making some improvements here. 

@IcePenguin, every little bug you mentioned was fixed
The "SEAL,CRYSTALS" one I believe left it in intentionally, because if I add a space between the comma and CRYSTALS, the word "CRYSTALS" would be placed too much to the right, and you could only read it once it gets out of the mountain's view.

It works fine on my end.  I did some testing to make sure it wasn't a line space limitation, but the word CRYSTALS appears with no issue.

About Bug's text, that's pretty cool that you used the Japanese version.  I wonder if any other text has mention of the ferry?  Interesting.    I do like this one:  "to the ferry man in Saria."  Just having the town name in there makes it much better.

Edit:

I see you fixed the Shield spell to check Defense.  Cool!  This little hack is nice, I like it a lot.

[ShadowOne333]

Something doesn't feel right about this.  I've been playing through the game, testing things, and one thing that stands out as a glaring issue, is how much weaker these Bubble enemies are while still granting the same 50 Exp.  I know they aren't re-spawnable, but there are so many of these enemies in dungeons, that you gain massive amounts of Exp with little effort.  That one room in Palace 1 has like 6 of these enemies.  That's wildly unbalanced.    In the original, only someone willing to spend a few minutes killing those would get that Exp, but now it can be done with ease.

Then there are those Skull enemies, doing that wavy pattern, who are now much stronger, but give less Exp than the Bubble.  I don't think you changed these enemies, but in comparison to the new Bubble, it makes them feel a lot strong with less reward.

These two enemies should be about on par with each other.  I'd suggest increasing the Bubbles health to around the same as the Skull enemy, and give about the same 20 Exp.  A player could still use the Bubbles to grind a ton of Exp just by leaving palace.  Making them not respawn isn't enough to balance their low health.  I suggest making some improvements here. 

Mmmm interesting.
I remember the Bubble and Giant Bubble giving me a lot of troubles, mostly the Giant bubble, because for some reason if I modified its health just a bit much, the Giant bubble won't show up, only the small Bubbles will. So I left his health at just the breaking point where the Giant bubble still appears. I think the Hex value is somewhere around E0 or something like that for his health.

Right now, I left it so the Bubbles of all kind give 30 exp instead of 50, how does that sound for balancing?
If that still doesn't cut it, here are the exact addresses for HP and Experience values for all the Bubble enemies (the ones that say Blue/Orange Skull Head I assume is the one you refer to with the wavy movement):

Code: (Health bytes (Convert to decimal to get the full health value)) [Select]

HP:

Temple A/B
0x011437 - HP for Slow Magic Stealing Skull = FA
0x01143F - HP for Fast Magic Stealing Skull = FA
0x012937 - HP for Slow Magic Stealing Skulls = FA
0x01293F - HP for Fast Magic Stealing Skulls = FA

Great Temple
0x015445 - HP for Slow Magic Stealing Skull = FF
0x015446 - HP for Fast Magic Stealing Skull = FF
0x015448 - HP for Large Magic Stealing Skull = FF


Temple A/B
0x01143B - HP for Blue Skull Head = 38
0x01293B - HP for Blue Skull Head = 08

Great Temple:
0x015447 - HP for Orange Skull Head = 60
For the EXP, only the second nibble of the byte is the one that modifies the Exp:
.... xxxx   Experience Code (0-F)
So for example, you can see that the Bubbles (Magic Stealing Skull) has a value of 87, which means the 7 from it determines its Exp value. So in this case, 7 is the value for giving out 50 Exp. Right now, I changed the 87 to 86 so it gives 30 Exp instead.
You can check the whole table for Exp values in here:
https://datacrystal.romhacking.net/wiki/Zelda_II:_The_Adventure_of_Link:Enemy_Data#Enemy_Bits

Code: (EXP bits) [Select]

EXP:
Temple A/B
0x0114EB - Bits for Slow Magic Stealing Skull = 87
0x0114F3 - Bits for Fast Magic Stealing Skull = 87
0x0129EB - Bits for Slow Magic Stealing Skull = 87
0x0129F3 - Bits for Fast Magic Stealing Skulls = 87

Great Temple:
0x0154F9 - Bits for Slow Magic Stealing Skull = C5
0x0154FA - Bits for Fast Magic Stealing Skull = C5
0x0154FC - Bits for Large Magic Stealing Skull = C0


Temple A/B
0x0114EF - Bits for Blue Skull Head = D5
0x0129EF - Bits for Blue Skull Head = CC

Great Temple
0x0154FB - Bits for Orange Skull Head = 55
Let me know if giving the Bubbles 30 Exp is okay, or if I should change something else.

About Bug's text, that's pretty cool that you used the Japanese version.  I wonder if any other text has mention of the ferry?  Interesting.    I do like this one:  "to the ferry man in Saria."  Just having the town name in there makes it much better.

Had to leave it as "Show this letter to the Saria ferry man." due to space limitations.
If that still sounds odd, let me know, I think I can move the string somewhere else to have some more room to work with.

[Prince Valmont]

Had to leave it as "Show this letter to the Saria ferry man." due to space limitations.
If that still sounds odd, let me know, I think I can move the string somewhere else to have some more room to work with.

Isn't it usually spelled "ferryman"? By combining that into one word, does it leave you any additional space to adjust?
What about "Show this letter to the Sarian ferryman."?

[IcePenguin]

Temple A/B
0x01143B - HP for Blue Skull Head = 38
0x01293B - HP for Blue Skull Head = 08

Temple A/B
0x0114EF - Bits for Blue Skull Head = D5
0x0129EF - Bits for Blue Skull Head = CC

Just have to point out, that this info on datacrystal, for Temple B, is incorrect.  The Blue Skull head HP in Temple Type B (3, 4, 6) is at 0x12940, and its bits are at 0x129F4.

The values that are listed on datacrystal are actually associated with the Riding Blue Iron Knuckle.  The 08 doesn't do anything if I remember correctly, because its HP is located elsewhere, but CC is indeed its bits.  The data structure for enemy HP and bits is not organized very well in the rom, so it's not surprising that there could be some errors. 

As for the balance of Bubbles, it might be good to consider the properties of other enemies in deciding the their balance.  The Blue Skull Head, for example, now has more HP than the Bubble, and is definitely more challenging, so shouldn't it have more Exp than a Bubble?  In that case, I'd give Bubbles 10 Exp.  Still sufficient for gaining Exp at low levels due to their quantity, but not totally unbalanced.  As they are now, they are lesser than Ropes or Octoroks, so should offer less Exp.

If the Bubble HP has issues when changing it, it'd be fine to leave as it is, as long as the Exp is balanced sufficiently.  I recommend Bubbles give 20 exp, and then increase the Blue Skull Head to 30 Exp.  Those things are a pain, ha ha.

[ShadowOne333]

Just have to point out, that this info on datacrystal, for Temple B, is incorrect.  The Blue Skull head HP in Temple Type B (3, 4, 6) is at 0x12940, and its bits are at 0x129F4.

The values that are listed on datacrystal are actually associated with the Riding Blue Iron Knuckle.  The 08 doesn't do anything if I remember correctly, because its HP is located elsewhere, but CC is indeed its bits.  The data structure for enemy HP and bits is not organized very well in the rom, so it's not surprising that there could be some errors. 

As for the balance of Bubbles, it might be good to consider the properties of other enemies in deciding the their balance.  The Blue Skull Head, for example, now has more HP than the Bubble, and is definitely more challenging, so shouldn't it have more Exp than a Bubble?  In that case, I'd give Bubbles 10 Exp.  Still sufficient for gaining Exp at low levels due to their quantity, but not totally unbalanced.  As they are now, they are lesser than Ropes or Octoroks, so should offer less Exp.

If the Bubble HP has issues when changing it, it'd be fine to leave as it is, as long as the Exp is balanced sufficiently.  I recommend Bubbles give 20 exp, and then increase the Blue Skull Head to 30 Exp.  Those things are a pain, ha ha.

Ah yeah, just saw that indeed the info in DC was wrong for Temple B.
I did change the D5 to C6 (because enemies should no  longer steal experience), so the Skull head now gives 30 Exp, and the Bubbles I changed the slow ones to 20 Exp, and the fast ones to 30 Exp.
How does that sound?

EDIT:
Modified the Data Crystal page to reflect the proper entries for the Blue skull head and the Riding Blue Iron Knuckle

[IcePenguin]

Ah yeah, just saw that indeed the info in DC was wrong for Temple B.
I did change the D5 to C6 (because enemies should no  longer steal experience), so the Skull head now gives 30 Exp, and the Bubbles I changed the slow ones to 20 Exp, and the fast ones to 30 Exp.
How does that sound?

EDIT:
Modified the Data Crystal page to reflect the proper entries for the Blue skull head and the Riding Blue Iron Knuckle

Oh nice, that actually sounds nicely balanced.  I didn't consider there being 2 types of Bubbles, even though it's always been that way, and you just posted the info, ha ha.     That is quite reasonable to give more Exp for the fast ones, since they are more trouble than the slow ones.  Plus, the fast ones are rarer, so not as easily used for grinding.  Good idea!  Those changes along with the increase to the Blue Skull Heads seems perfect!

Edit:

Just to clarify a bit on the Riding Blue Iron Knuckle.  Each of the 2 phases for the boss has separate HP and bits.  Some for the mounted Iron Knuckle and some for the walking Iron Knuckle.  So the bits I mentioned I believe are for the mounted one.  It's all sorts of confusing, and I recall having issues with it in the past.  I've long forgotten exactly how it works, though.

Isn't it usually spelled "ferryman"? By combining that into one word, does it leave you any additional space to adjust?
What about "Show this letter to the Sarian ferryman."?

That is true!  It is spelled "ferryman".  Though I think it could work either way...

[ShadowOne333]

Oh nice, that actually sounds nicely balanced.  I didn't consider there being 2 types of Bubbles, even though it's always been that way, and you just posted the info, ha ha.     That is quite reasonable to give more Exp for the fast ones, since they are more trouble than the slow ones.  Plus, the fast ones are rarer, so not as easily used for grinding.  Good idea!  Those changes along with the increase to the Blue Skull Heads seems perfect!

Very well then, so it will stay that way
Thanks for the feedback.

That is true!  It is spelled "ferryman".  Though I think it could work either way...

I ended up having the line as: "Show this letter to the ferryman in Saria."
Everything brought up to this point should now be in same link as always.

[IcePenguin]

I ended up having the line as: "Show this letter to the ferryman in Saria."
Everything brought up to this point should now be in same link as always.

That's a lot better than before.  It uses the Japanese version as its source, but adds more to it.  Very nice!