Zelda - Link's Awakening Hack WIP (update thread)

[IcePenguin]

Thanks for the comments guys!    njosro has been busy this week, but he will post a new update as soon as he is able.  For now, here is another little preview.  It's a video demonstrating a very minor thing, but it adds even more variety to the world.

When you cut grass, pick up rocks, or anything like that, there can now be unique gfx tiles that appear underneath them.  The original game was limited to plain grass and dirt, but now we can make grass and rocks more fitting to the environment!  No more weird, out of place grass squares. 

Video:
https://youtu.be/CoNpTQOaZZo

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

Glad you like it.  When I drew them, they felt very silly because of how small they are.  Even now I find them a bit comical, but so far it's been a nice addition to the file select screen.

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.

Unfortunately, there is no current way to play it, but we have talked about releasing a demo or something.  We will let you know what happens with that, but for now you'll have to wait.  Sorry to disappoint! 

[lexluthermiester]

Thanks for the comments guys!    njosro has been busy this week, but he will post a new update as soon as he is able.  For now, here is another little preview.  It's a video demonstrating a very minor thing, but it adds even more variety to the world.

When you cut grass, pick up rocks, or anything like that, there can now be unique gfx tiles that appear underneath them.  The original game was limited to plain grass and dirt, but now we can make grass and rocks more fitting to the environment!  No more weird, out of place grass squares. 

Video:
https://youtu.be/CoNpTQOaZZo

Nice. Literally looks like a seamless replacement of Link with Marin.

Glad you like it.  When I drew them, they felt very silly because of how small they are.  Even now I find them a bit comical, but so far it's been a nice addition to the file select screen.

Yeah looks like it fit right in. And if they highlight as you acquire each potential instrument, it looks like a solid indication system.

Unfortunately, there is no current way to play it, but we have talked about releasing a demo or something.  We will let you know what happens with that, but for now you'll have to wait.  Sorry to disappoint! 

After reading his comment I was wondering if there was a beta floating around that I'd missed. LOL!

[hmsong]

Unfortunately, there is no current way to play it, but we have talked about releasing a demo or something.  We will let you know what happens with that, but for now you'll have to wait.  Sorry to disappoint! 

Damn.

[IcePenguin]

We recently finished some major features to the inventory, and njosro will post an update sometime this week, when he gets time to do so.  Look forward to that!

Also, just wanted to post another smaller update talking about some cool things you'll encounter.  The first screenshot shows the inside of a brand new shop on the island.  Different shopkeeper, different items for sale!  (too bad his dialog is covering the shelf lol)     The second screenshot show the inside of the Zora's house.  The Zora has a new custom coded mini game that will probably make you mad.    The reward is an entirely new (and cool) item, so it is well worth it.  The third screenshot shows the desert area.  The sand will reduce your movement speed by quite a bit.  Don't be hasty!

[Dreamwhale]

Everything looks lovely, as far as I'm concerned.

[Ok Impala!]

My goodness, this is some next-level hacking stuff! Great work! Can't wait to play this, since I really like Link's Awakening!

I especially like the changes you made with the ground under the rock. The new environments look interesting as well. Keep it up, I'll be keeping track of the updates here! 

[spotanjo3]

Can you compared to an old version of Nintendo's and your hack version ? Thanks. I am a huge fan of Zelda since my childhood.

[IcePenguin]

Created a day & night system which will affect certain elements of gameplay.  For example, enemies will be stronger at night. 

Video preview:

https://youtu.be/wI-uFXdbwMc

These screenshots will give a comparison between the night and day.

In town:

Spoiler

[close]

In forest:

Spoiler

[close]

[GTM604]

All you need now is a prompt when it switches from day to night and back again saying "What a horrible night to have a curse" and "The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night"

but seriously very cool.

[StarWolf3000]

I've been following this hack for a few years now, and I'm really impressed on what you can add and change in the game Can't wait to play demos and of course the final game.

Also for the day & night system, how long will be a full cycle?

[lexluthermiester]

Created a day & night system which will affect certain elements of gameplay.  For example, enemies will be stronger at night. 

Video preview:

https://youtu.be/wI-uFXdbwMc

These screenshots will give a comparison between the night and day.

In town:

Spoiler

[close]

In forest:

Spoiler

[close]

This is an interesting effect. Are you just experimenting or will this be a game feature?

[IcePenguin]

All you need now is a prompt when it switches from day to night and back again saying "What a horrible night to have a curse" and "The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night"

but seriously very cool.

Haha, love the Castlevania reference.  Maybe we'll include the slow text, as a bonus! 

I've been following this hack for a few years now, and I'm really impressed on what you can add and change in the game Can't wait to play demos and of course the final game.

Also for the day & night system, how long will be a full cycle?

Thanks!  The duration hasn't been decided, yet, but night will definitely be shorter.  I looked up the day/night cycle durations of all Zelda games that have it, and it varies quite a bit.  OoT surprisingly had a very short day and night.  I'm thinking this will be around 5-8 minutes.

This is an interesting effect. Are you just experimenting or will this be a game feature?

This will be a game feature.  It is fully functional, and now we are planning to add more depth to it.  (other than aesthetics)  Currently, the enemies become stronger at night time.

Can you compared to an old version of Nintendo's and your hack version ? Thanks. I am a huge fan of Zelda since my childhood.

Do you mean side by side screenshots?  (not sure I understand, lol)  This project is a complete overhaul, so it will be vastly different than Link's Awakening.

[lexluthermiester]

This will be a game feature.  It is fully functional, and now we are planning to add more depth to it.  (other than aesthetics)  Currently, the enemies become stronger at night time.

Nice! Saw the Youtube vids, very cool indeed. If I may suggest, slow the transition down a bit so that it seems more naturally gradual. Maybe space out each step by 30 seconds?

[IcePenguin]

Nice! Saw the Youtube vids, very cool indeed. If I may suggest, slow the transition down a bit so that it seems more naturally gradual. Maybe space out each step by 30 seconds?

That's a good idea!  We will definitely keep that in mind.  The complexity of altering palettes and creating a custom animation routine was more than expected, but if we make it more efficient maybe we will add in dusk and dawn.  The routine would probably have to be re-coded, though, to properly allow the 2 extra phases.  Simply extending the duration of the intervals of the animation wouldn't work.  Each phase (day, dusk, night, dawn) would need its own transition.

Though, I could be overthinking it...  haha. 

[lexluthermiester]

The way it looks in the vid is great and to go from night to day just reverse the sequence. What I was thinking is that you have to run that routine on a timer of some sort, just slow down each step of the transitions. It'd look great and if I understand how you're doing it correctly the existing code you've made should only need minor adjustment rather than a complete recode.

[MysticLord]

Have you considered adding a shape-change element to the day-night cycle? Lycanthropy, vampirism, ghosts/incorporeality?

[SC]

Planning on using the time-cycle in side-quests? I got stuck with that on my AlttP hack, but I think it could be worth it.

Did I say your hack seems awesome? No? There!

[Miles]

Love the effort which goes into the project. Will definitely check it out when it gets released!

[IcePenguin]

Thank you all for the comments. 

The way it looks in the vid is great and to go from night to day just reverse the sequence. What I was thinking is that you have to run that routine on a timer of some sort, just slow down each step of the transitions. It'd look great and if I understand how you're doing it correctly the existing code you've made should only need minor adjustment rather than a complete recode.

You are correct, there is a timer specifically for this cycle that activates the transition after a set amount of time. (different times for day and night)  When the transition is activated, it starts a sequence of animation frames that darken the rgb values, or it restores them if going to day.  I will do some tests with the animation timing to make it longer.  Hopefully no major issues arise!

Have you considered adding a shape-change element to the day-night cycle? Lycanthropy, vampirism, ghosts/incorporeality?

That's a very interesting idea, as it would add a unique element to gameplay.  We will keep it in mind!  I'm a huge fan of werewolf and vampire folklore.  If it were to happen, though, we would probably stick to monsters from the Zelda series.  Redead, keese, wolfos, etc.

Planning on using the time-cycle in side-quests? I got stuck with that on my AlttP hack, but I think it could be worth it.

Did I say your hack seems awesome? No? There!

Thank you!  We definitely plan to have some side quests use the day/night cycle.  Or at the very least, have it affect how npcs behave.  (like certain npcs not appearing outside at night time, etc.)  Let's hope that it works out, and isn't too difficult to implement.  (sure seems like a challenge, though!)  That would be a cool feature for ALttP.  Are you still working on your hack?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

The new 8x8 font here is looking fantastic. Can I see all of the characters please?