Rejoice! Another video for your viewing!

Here you go. Another short clip showing of some great footage. This is actually of the Bouken Battle System, a topic more interesting than the last. Take a look at this epic battle between Link and a flying electric jelly fish who burns you on contact... WHAT?

As a side note: I've decided to make things a little more formal about the videos. Most likely, I'll implement a "Friday Media" day where I release a piece of media (screenshot, video, music, character art, etc) instead of the scattered stuff throughout the week.

Speaking of character art, look forward to a big batch of my sketches after March 26.

Bouken Battle System: The First Boss!

Ever since I started the ambitious idea of the Bouken Battle System, I knew that I'd someday have to face the task of creating a boss. Like in any other Zelda game, the boss is not usually defeated by hacking and slashing. Often times you need a special weapon, or a certain combination of actions before he is vulnerable to damage. With those thoughts in mind, yesterday I started work on the programming of the first boss. I don't want to give much away yet, but let's just say it's coming along really nicely. There's a bit of puzzle involved with it, but the majority is, of course, fighting. But one thing you'll find fighting (and beating) this boss in Daibouken that you wont' find in any other Zelda: the satisfaction of knowing that fighting all the monsters before him actually made you stronger!

Video: A Weapon Sampling

Here's the first of the "Feature Video" series U Division has decided to do. Not quite a trailer, but worthy enough to be Youtubed.

You may be wondering why I moved Link around during this video. Well, it wouldn't be real-time if you could only stand when you changed it... right?

Just in case you didn't catch Daibouken's earlier Youtube.com debuts:

Trailer 1:


Trailer 2:

Daibouken Demo Goes Golden!

Feature Demo Version 1.0 is hereby on G-Status

By going golden I mean getting 50+ (53 as of now) downloads. I don't know whether that's a good number or not but it doesn't seem that bad. Hopefully, this will be the standard in which I am to judge other demo releases by. In all honesty, I haven't done too much on Zelda recently. Aside from some work on the Dungeon Map, I haven't as much as touched the game. However, I work in cycles and once I tire of drawing, writing, playing Twilight Princess or Madden Wii, I may just go back and pick up good ol' Daibouken.

Well, if you haven't already done so:
Download the Demo

First Addition to U DiVideos: Naruto Opening 10 LQ

I might as well put that thing to use, however, the first content added to udivideos.4shared.com is not game related. It's the much anticipated opening for the show Naruto: Hurricane Chronicles. Give it a download if you're interested.

Naruto Shippuuden Opening 10

A feature you'll probably never use...

...is the Current Dungeon Map. But it's there anyways. You can find out which floor and room you currently occupy after finding the in the dungeon. The black lines represent doors that require a Small Key, and the green box means a floor-changing staircase.

As far as coding goes, it's really not that hard to do so I might as well put it in there anyways.

Tuss "I'm a Hustler" Third: A Mugen character by C Division

UPDATE: Picture of Tuss

As the title stated, Tuss is a character created by C Division. However, due to technical difficulties, this is not the latest version of Tuss. Expect an update of him soon. With this addition, all three Divisions of ICU Gigasoft have a character on the site. You can be the judge of who's the best by giving a download to all three.

Tuss v.9
K'oss v.1.0 beta
Kai Version 0.8

Software Review #3: SUPER

SUPER or Simplified Universal Player Encoder and Renderer is the answer to all of your video/audio encoding needs. With the right settings, you can convert any type of video to any other. Combining this software with the Video Downloader extension for Firefox is also very helpful for changing Youtube.com's FLV files into AVI. The best thing about it is that it's free. According to the message that pop's up when you close out of it, writing the software that allows video converting is not rewarding. This means that they don't feel the need to charge for such a tool, while many other products try to scam you into thinking that.

The link:

SUPER

U DiVideos: Public Access

Thanks to a new feature at www.4shared.com, you can now access the folder that hosts all of the video downloads.

U DiVideos

Month in Review: January 07

As the tradition continues from the pre-blog U Division, at the beginning of every new month we will post the most important updates and downloads from the past month. It's basically the one stop place to shop instead of navigating to the rest of the website.

New/Edited iTems:
Bouken Battle System Page: New screen shots, new info
Feature Demo Page: Completely new page complete with screens and a download
Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced Review: Info on a great GBA game

Downloads:
Daibouken Demo: Features Edition (v1.0)
Daibouken Battle System: Non-Battle Log Video
The Legendary Sword: Ultimate Combo Move

Progress Log: (Sorry, you can't turn this one off)
-Blocking system prototype coded
-All real-time weapon changing completely coded
-3 New spells added to Link's arsenal, as opposed to having 0.
-Non-real-time weapon changing in the CMS is 100% complete
-CMS (Custom Menu System) redesigned for better legibility
-OSM (On Screen Menu) updated to show currently equipped weapon

For those of you who aren't into RPG's...

Daibouken Battle System: Non-Battle Log Video

At any point in teh game when your menu is accessible, you can choose for a message box to pop up and tell you how damage you've given/receiven. This is for those of you who like RPG's and numbers and are interested in how strong you are. Aslo, some weapons due different amounts of damage depending on you and your enemies stats. (i.e. Bombs are great against enemies with high defense, but against one with low defense your sword may be the same/better. The bow and arrow are weak, but they pierce through defense as well.)

However, U Division acknowledges those who favor more traditional gameplay. And that is why this option is included. However, it is still important for you sto see how much EXP and Rupees you get so that message is still left there.

Custom Menu System: Graphical Update!

Click for Full Picture.

How you like? The first one proved a bit too hard to read and "ugly" as it were. This update isnt' really prettier but you ca actually read it.

It is here... Daibouken Feature Demo (v1.0)!!

DOWNLOAD THE DEMO (V1.0)


I've shown screenshots, made videos, writen descriptions, you name it. But there's only one way to truly experience Daibouken... by playing it! However, you wont find the true glory that is Daibouken in this demo. I'm sorry, but not all of the wonderously cool features that make Daibouken worth playing are ready for their demo debue. It's sad, but this little 10 minute (I think) game is all I have to show you right now. However, all the features in the Demo are 100% complete.

But of course, there might be mistakes. Leave a comment in the comment section if you run into any bugs. However, do not post about the following:

-I jumped onto the red thing and he didn't bump me! (That's supposed to happen)
-I got burned by fire and didnt die! (This demo wasn't made to show off HP... that's mundane.)
-The narrator/instructor person is a complete jerk! (Well... uh... sorry.)

Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced Reviewed by C Division

Seems like the C Division wanted in on the game reveiwing business. Well, here's his review of the hit GBA Game:

Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced

Score: 8.8 out of 10

Bouken Battle System Update: Blocking

Now that I'm finally working on Daibouken again, I've been playing around with a couple of features for the famed Bouken Battle System. The main quesitons I've been dealing with are:

• What aspects can I add that are enjoyable in other action RPG's?
• What can I add that wouldn't be too ambitious (i.e. impossible)?
• What can I add that will give it more of a Zelda feel?

Well, at this point there are still many possibilities in where I can take this Battle System. But recenlty, as the above picture shows, I've decided that blocking would be a good addition. Just like FFXII, blocking is automatic and it' s rate of success depends on your shield. This gives a good reason to have more types of sheilds, insead of Sheild A < B < C. One may provide little defense, but have a higher chance of blocking. (If you think about it, sheilds shouldn't give you ANY defense stats because it's either they hit the shield or hit you.)

So the list of confirmed Bouken Battle System features grows:
-Weapon Combos
-Over 15 different weapons in 5 categories
-Toggle-able Battle Log Box
-Conditions Zelda games never had (Poison, Confusion, etc)
-Experience Point Based Leveling up system
-And More!

Lack of updates... Don't blame me, blame Wii!

In all honesty, I came back to the U Division Game Studious (*coughdormroomcough*) ready to work on the ever-promising project called Zelda. I can't tell you the specifics, (this is the internet, ya know) but it winds up that a Wii one kid bought over the Christmas Break could only be played in my... office because TV's weren't allowed in other... cubicles. Thanks to a TV card and duel monitor action, the Wii was set up in my... office.

As you could have guessed, I've been playing the Wii ever since. I've been playing Twilight Princess (for research purposes of course) and Wii Sports (for... shut up, that's why!) and it has been fun. Seriously. And for such reasons, I haven't even as much as opened the Daibouken Project file. Hopefully, I'll remember my priorities and be able to disconnect myslef from the hypnotic swaying of my personal Mii in Boxing. Either that or the guy finally figures out a way to set it up in his room.

Demo Possibilities or Beta Test Thing

Recently, U Division has been debating whether or not to release a series of short demos of the up and coming projcect "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Daibouken." These demos would not neccesarily reflect the completion level of the game. As in there wouldn't be Demo A that goes all the way up to Dungeon 1 and Demo B to Dungeon 3. However, they'd be short and small and would only show off a certain aspect of the game. Examples would be a Battle System Demo, a Puzzle Solving Demo (Zelda styled of course), or maybe a demo showing off a map I thought was really well done (Hopefully myHyrule field would be that category).

U Division Games... Blog Everything!

That's right! The switch has officially been made. The U Division sight now uses the power of Google Blogs to keep you up to date on the projects and goings on of this gaming "company." Despite the big move, I don't have anything to celebrate it with except for that movie of 2 days ago. Don't worry, you'll be seeing and hearing more about Zelda once the break is over. Until that time, quench your thirst for Hylian adventure with this:

The Legendary Sword: Ultimate Combo Move (Daibouken)

Or freakin' buy Twilight Princess already. Sheesh.