The Legend of Iowa [UPDATE: Version 1.13 Released!!!]

[Dr. Floppy]

The only lake I see is the purple one near the top. I can drain and get the door but nothing beyond that yet.

Look again...

Made it through the larger part of lab 9 found the arrow, armor, and some people but haven't deciphered any hints from them yet.

One of those hints is very important. (Now may be a good time to run thru a Top Ten list of Iowa's largest cities.)

Also what's the Patra replacement looks like a shield with a line through it? Thought it might be a  sports thing again but nothing I looked up seemed to fit.

That's the UNI Logo!

[Sam Atoms]

Greetings!  I'm thrilled to see this is finally out after being so long in the making.

The look and gameplay is better than I would have imagined, but an old problem is giving me trouble.  I'm playing the 1.13 patch.  Every time I pick up an Iowa Piece, the associated counter flashes up to 1 and then goes back to 0.  I must have picked up at least four Iowa Pieces, but it didn't add to my life meter.  The counter at the character selection screen, as it happens, is a garden-variety death counter.

I'm using Nestopia v1.4.1, in case it matters.

--EDIT!!--  Since I haven't been here in forever, I looked back at some of my recent messages, more for fun than anything.  Good thing.  The "Load recent" feature in Nestopia had thrown me off again; I had made the same fapping mistake and was actually playing an older patch somehow.  With the new patch, the Iowa Pieces work fine.  Forget everything I posted that wasn't breathless praise.

Although, some of those flashing meth lab rooms are going to give somebody epilepsy...... 

[Dr. Floppy]

Glad to see the hack made it into your graces, Mr. Atoms! And yes- I've been convinced to release an alternate "Epilepsy Friendly" edition once the regular edition is finalized.

Btw, I've been meaning to ask: were you the one who submitted the sultry Summer Landscape?
I know you were a Special Guest Meth Lab Designer for the 2nd Quest, so at least that much has been appropriately credited.

[MegaOctobot]

Look again...

One of those hints is very important. (Now may be a good time to run thru a Top Ten list of Iowa's largest cities.)

So first off I figured out this happens if I drain water.



That color scheme, I prefer it so much more to the normal one. Not sure if you're interested in changing it but yeah it's cool. Also chiming in on the flashing rave screens, I don't have epilepsy but that is terribly annoying. It's a neat idea but I generally run through those screens as quickly as possible.

Not sure if you mean look there again or for another lake. Everything else just looks like a river to me (besides the four screens mid left) but I'll scan over it again. I do run into a few trees/corn fields that seem like secrets but just appear to be dead ends maybe I'm missing something there. So is this geographically accurate to actual Iowa all the rivers/water I mean?

Unfortunately I'll have to see those dudes again to get the exact hints unless I just need to know Waterloo. I see that it's sort of NE on an Iowa map but nothing seems to particularly stand out. I'll just have to keep checking for secrets.

Welp still have to figure this stuff out but in the meantime I went ahead and finished the game. That boss is uhh...not what I expected. Umm also I walked up in the final room and immediately teleported through the table to the dudes side. Didn't have to kill fire or anything. Not sure if that was intended.

[Sam Atoms]

Glad to see the hack made it into your graces, Mr. Atoms! And yes- I've been convinced to release an alternate "Epilepsy Friendly" edition once the regular edition is finalized.

Btw, I've been meaning to ask: were you the one who submitted the sultry Summer Landscape?
I know you were a Special Guest Meth Lab Designer for the 2nd Quest, so at least that much has been appropriately credited.

Hmmm.  I do recall sharing ideas about the landscapes.  As I recall, it involved the distant horizon and/or a river.  I'm not sure it got incorporated though.  I still have my design plan image files for "Level X," but not the landscape.  It's likely I'll be able to recognize the summer landscape one way or the other, when I get to that point....

[Dr. Floppy]

That color scheme, I prefer it so much more to the normal one.

You found "Indian Summer"! Yeah, that was a happy little accident I discovered during early testing. I liked it so much, I decided to keep it.

As for Spirit Lake, it's definitely a place of interest. What was that one throwaway song in Pocahontas- something about a riverbed?

So is this geographically accurate to actual Iowa all the rivers/water I mean?

Yes! (I did have to stretch things a bit horizontally, as IRL Iowa's dimensions are roughly 3:2.)

Fun Fact: The Overworld Iowa Piece is located where I almost drowned as a lad.

I walked up in the final room and immediately teleported through the table to the dudes side. Didn't have to kill fire or anything. Not sure if that was intended.

Yeah, that's a holdover from the original game. Without spoiling anything, did the ending text display correctly on your emulator?

[MegaOctobot]

You found "Indian Summer"! Yeah, that was a happy little accident I discovered during early testing. I liked it so much, I decided to keep it.

As for Spirit Lake, it's definitely a place of interest. What was that one throwaway song in Pocahontas- something about a riverbed?

Yes! (I did have to stretch things a bit horizontally, as IRL Iowa's dimensions are roughly 3:2.)

Fun Fact: The Overworld Iowa Piece is located where I almost drowned as a lad.

Yeah, that's a holdover from the original game. Without spoiling anything, did the ending text display correctly on your emulator?

Yeah I didn't notice anything wrong with the text.

I figured you'd have that level of accuracy. I looked up some pictures of Iowa divided by counties I almost thought you'd even matched them to the amount of screens. Just around the...well perhaps I'll load it up and tool around some more.

[Dr. Floppy]

Most of Iowa's 99 counties are divied-up rather uniformly, albeit in a shape more conducive to a 240 x 256 screen resolution than the existing converse.

I take it you won't be surprised in the least if I reveal that the Overworld of my next major hack does the same bloody thing, only to the entire continental United States?

[MegaOctobot]

Most of Iowa's 99 counties are divied-up rather uniformly, albeit in a shape more conducive to a 240 x 256 screen resolution than the existing converse.

I take it you won't be surprised in the least if I reveal that the Overworld of my next major hack does the same bloody thing, only to the entire continental United States?

That sounds like the obvious next step or perhaps 50 games for 50 states. Yeah compared to over here in PA it's county separation is much much neater.
So this door does this. I go in and no cave just immediately spit out there.



Anyway I have tried burning, bombing, and running into things over and over on screens around the little lake and that hidden screen with no luck. Pretty sure I've gotten everything in lab 9 assuming the item isn't in there... The hints-men are probably confusing me more than anything at this point I'm learning things about Iowa but not sure it's what I need.

[Dr. Floppy]

Yeah compared to over here in PA it's county separation is much much neater.

I was surprised to learn that Iowa's actually slightly larger than Pennsylvania, landmass-wise. They both have the same general shape & latitude. I'm looking forward to mapping-out Centralia.

Anyway I have tried burning, bombing, and running into things over and over on screens around the little lake and that hidden screen with no luck.

First off, the doorway on that screen isn't supposed to be there. Which emulator are you using? As for Spirit Lake,

Mild Hint:

Spoiler

How many ways are there to access that river?

[close]

Modest Hint:

Spoiler

10th enemy set up us the bomb, and 10th tree just plain sets us up!

[close]

Dead Giveaway:

Spoiler

Go to the barn south of Spirit Lake. Walk thru the false tree on the right, then play the cornet to drain the river near Spirit Lake. Walk west along the riverbed to find the UFO hiding the Infinitane™.

[close]

[MegaOctobot]

I was surprised to learn that Iowa's actually slightly larger than Pennsylvania, landmass-wise. They both have the same general shape & latitude. I'm looking forward to mapping-out Centralia.

First off, the doorway on that screen isn't supposed to be there. Which emulator are you using?

Centralia awesome!
Figured it was a glitch I'm using FCEUX

[Chpexo]

.

[Dr. Floppy]

I seem to recall myself making chickens for your hack due to a help wanted ad. Were they added in?

Not yet. I went orchids-out for ten days straight getting the revised Iowa Piece counter to not violate the game's secret Sanity Check for revision 1.13. After that experience, I'm giving myself a break so as to not violate my own sanity check.

The new chickens (along with a few other aesthetic upgrades) will be in the next rendition.

[MegaOctobot]

Mild Hint:

Spoiler

How many ways are there to access that river?

[close]

Modest Hint:

Spoiler

10th enemy set up us the bomb, and 10th tree just plain sets us up!

[close]

Dead Giveaway:

Spoiler

Go to the barn south of Spirit Lake. Walk thru the false tree on the right, then play the cornet to drain the river near Spirit Lake. Walk west along the riverbed to find the UFO hiding the Infinitane™.

[close]

I'll spoiler this just in case

Spoiler

I ended up going to every screen(I'm pretty sure I hit'em all) and playing the cornet I found that there's a third river that drains and gives an Iowa piece. Still no luck with the other stuff. I assume you mean the blue barn one screen down but unless I am making the same mistake over and over(which might be possible) I can't get to that barn.

[close]

So a hint about how to get there would be appreciated.

[Spooniest]

Did you happen to include anything resembling the Quad Cities in the game?

[Dr. Floppy]

I assume you mean the blue barn one screen down... I can't get to that barn.

Ah!

One screen to the left of that blue barn is

Spoiler

an hourglass-shaped formation of trees. Burn the tree two-down-from-center, leave and return. The center tree will now be a grotto entrance (which I think leads to a PBS hag). Skip the grotto by walking over the top half of its entrance, and proceed to the blue barn. Grab the Iowa Piece inside, and walk North thru the tenth tree from the left.

[close]

Did you happen to include anything resembling the Quad Cities in the game?

Not officially, but they did get a snazzy bridge in the Second Quest!

[MegaOctobot]

Ah!

One screen to the left of that blue barn is

Spoiler

an hourglass-shaped formation of trees. Burn the tree two-down-from-center, leave and return. The center tree will now be a grotto entrance (which I think leads to a PBS hag). Skip the grotto by walking over the top half of its entrance, and proceed to the blue barn. Grab the Iowa Piece inside, and walk North thru the tenth tree from the left.

[close]

Ok so I thought that that was another glitch and hadn't walked back onto that screen. Weird how that works. I assume you programmed it that way, just seems a little esoteric, or maybe I'm just ocd because now there's this thing just sitting there that I can't get to. Now to find the last 2 Iowa pieces. Also here's a question I couldn't figure out the equivalents for the gel/blob enemies did you just remove them entirely?

So you were talking about sprites and I did some customizing here and there. The pigs bothered me because they looked 2 legged and shoot arrows so if you wish there's a reasonably good looking 4 legged sprite. I would have had them shoot mud balls or something but I didn't want to get into any code editing. Also I made the lab tables look 4 legged, again if you want to use em feel free. I also thought of turning the butterflies into crows but have not yet worked that one out. Just to be sure I've thoroughly enjoyed the game so no disrespect meant.

[Midna]

I'm not sure if your table is an improvement. It doesn't look like it'd be able to stand up in real life.

[MegaOctobot]

I'm not sure if your table is an improvement. It doesn't look like it'd be able to stand up in real life.

but now it has 4 legs...perhaps that is more suitable.

[Dr. Floppy]

Also here's a question I couldn't figure out the equivalents for the gel/blob enemies did you just remove them entirely?

Yeah, although I think the original intent was to replace them with lithium batteries. Not sure exactly what happened there, but it probably involved the realization that swappable CHR-ROM enabled every Dungeon enemy to appear on the same spritesheet (minus a few sacrifices). Similarly, the Traps (hashtag-looking things) and Wallmasters were removed for lack of meth-related counterparts.

Speaking of Wallmasters: I've been playing the 3DS remake of Ocarina..., and have taken particular delight in bypassing that stupid rock GREZZO put at the Bottom of the Well entrance via the Acute Angle Clip + Cucco Glide trick. It occurred to me that, from the Cucco's perspective, Link must seem like a Wallmaster himself! And since the Cucco doesn't enter the subdungeon with you, it's safe to say he probably respawns in the village at his preset "entry" point... just like Link does when grabbed by a Wallmaster! So now I'm wondering if every Wallmaster going back to the days of Zelda 1 wasn't really an enemy, rather some sequence-breaking mercenary just using Link to further its own agenda?