Tales from Zilmurik News

[p]A quest log has been implemented into the game so players can keep further track of where they are meant to be. Any time a new quest has been started, a character in the screen will become opaque. Before such quests have been started, the character will be semi-transparent and will direct the player what needs to be done in order to activate the quest.[/p][p][/p][p]The Goddess Nyfrulia will always tell you your primary quest objective. Other side-quests may be added in the future to help fill out the menu. Stay tuned.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]On a whim, I decided yesterday to spruce up the old Mages Guild colony to help not just beautify it, but also space it out better. Whenever I'd walk through the design from 2013-2020, there would be these awkwardly empty areas that would simply scream "fill me!"[/p][p][/p][p]So why not, right? Now extra goodies can be found by leaping across gaps, wading through water and walking underneath roofs.[/p][p][/p][p]I've also utilized one of my favorite tricks to bring the map to life, which I'll be sharing with you below so that you too can make your locales shine![/p][p][/p][p]Question: how many "layers" do you see here? Three, right? That's what RPG Makers 2000 & 2003 typically have, while some of the more recent RPG Makers allow you to put two graphics of the upper tile set on each tile. That's cute - really it is. What if I told you you could have as many layers as you wanted? Well, it's true! Events can be stacked to create significantly more detailed maps than what was intended. [/p][p][/p][p]Now I want you to look a little to the left of the exact center of that screenshot. You see those half-tile tall walls? You see how the tables and stools are right up next to them? That's your typical event work, but if you look above it, you'll see something special. On the tile set, that same wall is only being used once, though in two different ways - this is above the hero where the wall is typically below the hero. Again, typical event stuff, but here's where things really get wild. What's that thing below the wall? A pillar that's also sharing a tile with a diagonal upper layer tile above animated water. That right there is like making quasi-3D in the DOOM engine, in that it shouldn't be possible... right? There's only three layers, right? RIGHT?! [/p][p][/p][p]WRONG![/p][p][/p][p]I'm gonna blow the lid off this. There's a command in the program called "Set Event Location", and it is absolutely going to be your best friend as this is the key to unlocking unlimited layers! By keeping track of the event number and the layer settings (the larger the event number, the higher priority it has on the event stack; i.e. if event #1023 and event #1038 are both set to display "above hero" and transferred to the same tile, #1038 will appear above #1023), you can stack graphics one on top of the other like LEGO while still using the same tile (or in this analogy, stud). In the above example, you've got numerous examples of one event on top of another, but if you look closely at the stalagmite in the river, you'll see three events in a stack, as the tile below the glass pane is another half-tile wall being used as a ceiling, and below that is a semi-transparent rock base meant to look like it's visible through the water.[/p][p][/p][p]Now if you go back up to the top of the update and look closely, you'll see this triple event work done again. Yes, the pillars on top of the glass ceiling supported by other pillars! This trick really takes the kid gloves off and lets your imagination run wild. You start to consider that the possibility behind each tile is actually twice as much as before, and you begin functioning on the half-tile level - creating 3D geometry out of your completely 2D game; taking simple details you've accumulated and combining them without putting pressure on your limited tile sets! RPG Maker is suddenly twice as large as before, and it's all thanks to the Set Event Location command![/p][p][/p][p]Need to show how all a character's belongings are shoved into one side of the room because they're painting the ceiling? Save the space with Set Event Location![/p][p]The easiest way to get this to work is to move all of your events you plan on transferring to one of the far corners of the map and then setting one event as a "Parallel Process" through which all Set Event Locations are referenced. This will prevent your game from lagging by having dozens (if not hundreds) of parallel processes running at the same time.[/p][p][/p][p]Enjoy four layers of decoration on two rows worth of tiles! Happy developing![/p][p][/p]

[p]Over these past few months, I've returned to RPG Maker 2003 and discovered a heartbreaking aspect of its programming - one that had crippled the battle system I'd brainstormed and polished to a degree of complexity I've yet to see in any other games designed using the program: the elemental tables simply did not work the way I intended them to, resulting in many "synergistic" spells behaving the same in terms of damage calculations. Not only did this make spells boring copies of each other outside of the status ailments tied to each elemental family, but the weaknesses and resistances lovingly applied to each foe was all but erased.[/p][p][/p][p]I was crushed, to put it bluntly. How could RPG Maker 2003 be such trash? Would I have to port twenty years of passion into a more advanced program that my computer, frankly, does not meet the requirements to run properly? Would I be gatekept out of my own game for the sake of it prospering?[/p][p][/p][p]Well, the answer would eventually (and thankfully) be found: NO![/p][p][/p][p]Pouring over a paragraph of the Help document, an excerpt jumped out at me: [/p][p]"Damage multipliers are calculated per class, and the results are multiplied together to find the final effect fluctuation percentage that is used in damage calculation. For example, if the damage multiplier for weapon class is 200% and 50% for magic, the final effect fluctuation will be 200% x 50% = 100%, cancelling out each other's effects."[/p][p][/p][p]Surely something could be done with this... surely something that not even the Help document was eager to reveal. I ran some tests and discovered a very, very interesting feature of how skills might work: usually the program doesn't like you using skills that are tied to a physical element unless you have a weapon of that same element equipped, but this can be circumvented by ticking the "elemental defense" box in said skill. Nowhere in the Help document does it say this, though it was the key to fixing my vexing dilemma, this crippling specter that hung over my heart. "What if I were to use a secondary physical element beneath the usual magical elements for these spells, and allowed its multiplier value to effectively decrease a monster's resistances to the primary elements?"[/p][p][/p][p]Now, if I were a Simpsons fiend, I'd say "ho ho ho, delightfully devilish, Seymour." Devilish indeed, as it was the key to bring back the intended diversity - and brutality - of the original combat system. All of the complexity now shines in its full glory, and I'm glad to be able to pass it on to you![/p][p][/p][p]Included with the recent changes are two new status ailments specific to the Divine and Abyss-type spells: Zealotry and Karma. Zealotry gradually decreases the afflicted's mana reserves while Karma does the same to their health pools. Along with this, a brand new function has been applied to the Earth-type spells: now they remove all Strength, Defense, Wisdom, Agility and Regeneration buffs from the target.[/p]

[p]For the better part of a month, I've been writing out enough lore to fill a library (or - rather - every library in Eylin), and at long last, it's finally ready for release. For those who have wanted to know more about the world in easily digestible chunks (and I know you have): you're in luck! Today's massive update (over half a megabyte!) grants you access to a staggering eighty-one unique books for your browsing pleasure, including statistical information tacked onto your status menu (if you're into that sort of thing). [/p][p][/p][p]Immerse yourself in nearly a millennium of world history, lovingly compiled into a yearly timeline, filled with a deep dive into the lives of the heroes, villains and side characters you've come to know, the events which shaped the world and cultural mythos unique to each region of Eylin. The previously renameable protagonists of the Zilmurik Chronicles (or Divine Record, if you so desire) have been given permanent names which reflect the books written about them, such as Siltar the Conqueror (chapters 1 & 2), the siblings Zorn and Trista (chapter 2), Malik and Leala (chapters 3 & 4), as well as General Xander and Rane Salundras (chapters 5 & 6).[/p][p][/p][p]So crack the spine on a book (or dozens) today![/p][p][/p][p]P.S. [/p]

1. [p]The Elven Capital is now called Ernamius.[/p]
2. [p]I've left the door open for potential future rewards for reading all 81 books. Your statistics may come in handy later. We'll see.[/p]
3. [p]As of now, this is likely to be the last significant update to Tales from Zilmurik. Twenty years is a long time, my friends.[/p]

[p]For those plucky adventurers who explore the entirety of Eylin and are left wanting more, this most recent update opens up a whole new view of Ternotris.[/p][p]Anyone who's gotten around to seeing this place previously (since the 2020 release) would recognize it as this:[/p][p][/p][p]But you see, I've come to feel like this isn't a big enough eye candy reward for having completed the quests required to get here, so having become dissatisfied with my previous work, I went back to the mental drawing board and sculpted something entirely new.[/p][p][/p][p]I feel it both flows and looks much better now, and I hope you'll agree.[/p][p][/p][p]Along with this, it's come to my attention that a few revisions I implemented in previous updates created some graphical goof-ups (one that even broke the game!), which I've now gone back and patched. If you found yourself getting confused at why the cutscene camera is showing certain parts of Vermolin you're not currently at, or frustrated by the caverns under Caldinasus soft-locking you by throwing you into the water after seeing Yilphruk do his thing, I've heard from you and addressed them. Now you can get back to playing uninterrupted.[/p][p][/p][p]See you in the next update! Twenty years![/p][p]
EDIT: A brand new patch has been put out because a player has found a scene in the Forest Path that didn't have its display options set correctly, resulting in a black screen softlock. I'm sorry I haven't caught these much earlier, but I do know it was disabled to allow me to extensively playtest the new interior map.[/p]