DKC Atlas Forum

[Qyzbud]

Previous convo, for context:

Spoiler!

Barrel Cannon Canyon's second and final Bonus Area is now up!


This is one of the few Bonus Areas in the game where you can't collect all of the tangible treasures in any given attempt [...]

You can't get all the prizes, eh?? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seNXFuf8vuA

Oh, my bad on the wording... I'm including bananas as treasures, but well done indeed on that proof of concept.

The prize type is also a factor into collecting all three in one go. The "touchbox" of the Enguarde Golden Token makes Tompa's video possible. But what about a different token? A Golden Letter, perhaps. You'll need to test out a few scenarios, Tompa.

Yes, the animal tokens have a wider hitbox than the bananas, otherwise this would not be possible. It also works with DK barrels.

So the bonus in Stop & Go Station will work, as it has a frog on the right side and the one in Millstone Mayhem will work as well, because of a DK barrel on the left.

Are there any more of these bonuses? Can't remember any others..

Honestly I don't recall there being more than three bonuses in this format, but I could just be forgetting one.

Sounds like it's possible to do pretty well in all of them, if your timing (and Kong choice) is impeccable.

[Qyzbud]

I'm posting this a little later than usual, as there were quite a few last-minute structural tweaks to make (and I'd forgotten to set up the music!), but here we go...

Our first DKC boss map has been launched: Very Gnawty's Lair!


So there we have it; Kongo Jungle's maps are finally available in full here at DKC Atlas.

Interestingly, boss battles don't add towards your game completion percentage in DKC, so they shouldn't be factored into our 101% countdown. Less interestingly, the reason I've dedicated a release day to this boss map is primarily because I realised that I started our map releases a day early — so although both the days left and percent complete counts i was providing were accurate, we had a day "up our sleeve" as map releases go. I could've used the final day to launch all of the "misc" maps (Animal Token Areas, etc.), but I wanted to make sure we would hit 101% on the anniversary day — and I wanted to ensure we were on schedule to do so before I forgot that we had an extra day.

Edit: Actually, I may well have my dates mixed up still...

Anyhow, as of today (and yesterday...), we are 14% through the game. I'll get this worked out eventually.

I'd better get the world map navigation system set up for World 2, now!

[Tompa]

In a 101% speedrun, it is actually faster to use warps to skip some bosses. So far no real time run is using this however, but my upcoming TAS (Which will "never" happen...) will be using it for sure.

Not really much to say about Very Gnawty. Small and simple enough =)

[spaceman2028]

by the way the map looks a bit odd with the removal of the second reptile rumble entrance and no split between both sides of Kongo jungle, but that's my opinion.

[Qyzbud]

Thanks for the feedback, gents.

We're starting a new world today — Monkey Mines! First up, it's the smallest level in the series (and as such, my favourite for testing new map ideas). Check out...

Our improved Winky's Walkway map!


Beyond the usual animation speed improvements, I've given the light fixtures a bit of animation (the beams of light aren't yet animated — maybe someday), and have even used CSS3's animation capabilities to give the Zinger near the end an orbit to match his in-game movement! This is something I'd like to do more of, but I intend to make it an option that can be switched on/off.

You may have noticed courtesy of the first link in this post that I've also provided a clickable world map for Monkey Mines. I'm currently working to create and position the Kong Family icons (Cranky, Funky and Candy), as well as incorporating Simian Segue into the world maps — so check back soon!
Edit: The Kong Family icons are now on both world maps!

[Jeeves]

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I have to say I'm impressed with Tompa's bonus demonstration. Almost twenty years have gone by, and I never knew it was possible to gather all three prizes in that kind of bonus room. I honestly shouldn't be surprised; learning little secrets like that was why I first fell in love with the Atlas. If my memory serves me, I discovered this place while searching for a list of the hidden warp barrels after picking up the trilogy on the Wii.

As for the actual subject of this topic, the maps are coming along nicely. It's great to see Funky, Cranky, and Candy's faces in their proper places! It's also nice to see a boss map here for the first time. Keep up the awesome work, Qyzbud!

For once I have a real suggestion for an improvement: since you are including individual world maps as clickable menus for accessing individual levels, why not include the main overworld map as a similar menu for accessing the world maps? I know this has probably been thought of and brought up before, but I've a little more to add to it. You could have the inaccessible Donkey head that appears before Kongo Jungle take you to the Animal Buddy bonus cave. I've always wanted to believe there was something hidden there. It seems like an appropriate place to put it, seeing as the bonus cave can only be reached by inputting a code at the title screen.

[Qyzbud]

It's never too late to get in on this party; it'll be raging until at least late November, and even after then, I'll no doubt be around still, tidying up and eating leftovers. But yes, Tompa impresses me regularly with new tricks and observations in a game I thought I'd played inside-out. Such precise manoeuvres are indeed a pleasure to see.

Thanks for the feedback regarding the WMNS (world map navigation system); I'm glad the efforts so far have been positively received. I agree that it's an improvement having the other Kongs in place, even if they are currently just for show. I do have some ideas for how to make them useful — or at least fun! — but even just seeing them there is nice.

As for the DK Island overworld map; yes, you're quite right — it's on my to-do list! Hopefully I'll get it in place before/during today's map launch. Good suggestion regarding the inaccessible DK icon that appears next to DK's treehouse on the overworld; I had considered making it a link to the Jungle Hijinxs map (which holds DK's treehouse), but I do like the idea of giving it a more unique purpose — such as providing access to the special token cave.

I'd be interested to hear what others think about this idea.

[Qyzbud]

I had delayed this post, thinking I'd have a clickable overworld map to share ( ← which has since been finished!), but I let myself get distracted.

Winky's Walkway's Bonus Area is up! ...and has been for a few hours now.


So, the first level of Monkey Mines is now complete!

Our next map update will perhaps be more of a treat, as the current version is a rather bare-bones experience. In fact, I think all of the maps added/updated from here on will be substantial improvements where animation is concerned, as I only got up to Winky's Walkway with my previous animation efforts.

Anyhow, our new-look maps are 16% complete!

Edit: In case you missed the link I edited in atop this post — the DKC map index page is now equipped with a clickable overworld map!

[Qyzbud]

There are no Bonus Areas here, but we're finally we're getting some really significant map animation updates.

Our Mine Cart Carnage map has been animated!


Many of our previous maps were at least somewhat animated already, but this one had only had DK and the Continue Barrel in (slow) motion. Well, those two have been brought up to speed, and the rest of the of the animated game objects are now animated, too.

Here's what's new:

• All objects (DK Barrels, banana bunches, etc.) are animated!
• All bananas are animated!
• Two Krashes are animated! (Only the ones on flat track sections — true to the game)
• All K-O-N-G Letters and Animal Tokens sparkle!
• Edit: An overlay based on DKC3's Warp Barrels has been added!

We are now 17% through the game!

The improved Bouncy Bonanza map is now ready (minus a few animations that I'm feverishly working on...) — take a look!

[Raccoon Sam]

Well color me impressed!! The new maps (and the world map navigation system) look absolutely amazing, but I think the greatest addition yet is indeed the CSS3 animation on the Zinger. I can't stress enough how much impact it has on the map overall and I'm very confident that it needs to be eventually added to everywhere applicable.
It's the many little things that make the one huge difference

Keep up the good work!

[Qyzbud]

Thanks a bunch, Sam — that means a lot!

If you like that one particular Zinger's movement, Bouncy Bonanza (which I'm currently slaving away at) will be quite a treat!

[Raccoon Sam]

Fantastic! While you're at it, can you give me a reason why Jungle Hijinxs looks like this instead of this? I mean, the pixel aspect ratio of the background hdma gradient masks is way off.

[Qyzbud]

There's no good reason — I just liked the way it looked while I was trying different techniques. Basically, without modifications, the last section of the level looked quite odd, so I just doubled the size of the graphic. I'm more than happy to work on a closer approximation of the original style. I also like the idea of creating a series of alternate backgrounds, including hand-drawn styles and the like — all optional for the viewer, of course.

Also, I was a little slow uploading the CSS3 data, so if you looked right on time, and weren't overly impressed, hit refresh! I have a few yet to do, but it's pretty close to fully animated now.

[Raccoon Sam]

yeah wow ok ffdsgdf that might be just the coolest thing I've seen all year. I'm not sure if I can word this properly.

Absolutely astounding job. It's both a testament to the greatness that is DKC, but also beautiful web development.

[Qyzbud]

Well, thanks a million.

I do wish I'd been a bit more organised, so that everything was looking perfect at launch time, but I'm glad the effect was still impressive! Just a few more bits and pieces left to animate, and it'll be done.

[Qyzbud]

Today's map update kicks the CSS3 animation concept up a notch...

Bouncy Bonanza's map has been brought to life!


For the first time ever, we have near-perfect movement simulation for all objects and baddies in a level.

• Kritters jump back and forth!
• Zingers swoop in their correct arcs!
• Moving platforms move up & down! (or side-to-side!)

It's as close as a DKC Atlas map has ever come to being a complete simulation of in-game action.

The Kritter movements on this map are currently just largeish GIF animations, as their sprites need to match up with their movements, but the Zingers and platforms use CSS3 animation. Since they rely on relatively modern (and still not 100% supported) CSS3 animation techniques for their movements, some older/less capable browsers may not show the Zinger/platform movements, but the objects will still be visible.

I studied the movement range and timing of the moving objects very closely, so they should all be pretty faithful to the in-game behaviours. I even engineered a set of cubic bezier values to adjust the 'end of path' easing to be more true to Rare's formula.

Anyhow, it too a lot of R&D, but I'm happy with the result — and I hope you are too!

[Tompa]

Seems like the moving Zingers don't work on Firefox, though works fine with Chrome. They are just still in Firefox .

*Edit: Should probably have read your post better. *cleans glasses*

[Qyzbud]

Hmm, they all worked fine in Firefox for me. Have you tried hitting refresh, Tompa? There are changes to the maps.css file that tell the browser how to animate the map, so if Firefox is just using a cached version of that file, there won't be any movement.

Unless of course you're using a way out-of-date version of Firefox...

Either way, perhaps I ought to embed new animation rules within the maps themselves, to prevent this caching issue from happening.

[Qyzbud]

Bonus Area #1 and the "Winky Room" have been added to our Bouncy Bonanza map!


They are both very small, simple rooms (with nearly identical layouts), but they are essential to our mapping quest! Of course, the Winky Room isn't essential to DK and Diddy's quest, as it doesn't add to their completion percentage, but Winky likes any chance he can get to stretch his legs — and squash a few Zingers!

Two maps, one percent... that makes a total of 19% of our journey done.

Edit #1: I've added graphics for the set of two gold Kritters just after the Winky Room.
Edit #2: I've corrected (reversed) the movement of a green Zinger by Banana Set #24.

[Tompa]

Just noticing that the midway barrel is placed a bit too far to the right. Time to be picky .

Seems now that most zingers move fine with Firefox too... Except for two of them: one at the DK barrel before the Winky cave and the other after the last DK barrel before the kritters.

[Qyzbud]

Two silly oversights that I fixed on my local copy, but forgot to upload. All good now — thanks for the catch, Tompa.

[Jeeves]

The animated Zingers and jumping Kritters in Bouncy Bonanza are truly a sight to behold, bravo! Speaking of animated enemies, I don't believe I had ever noticed previously that Krash only moves in his cart when riding on flat tracks. It really feels like I'm learning something new every day from this project, and I really appreciate it. I can't wait to see more marvelous maps!

[Qyzbud]

That's great to hear, Jeeves — I'm learning a whole lot as I go, too, which is a very cool feeling.

Today we finish up the Bouncy Bonanza map with Bonus Area #2!


This one's a little more interesting than the last two with a spinning Barrel Cannon to fire out of and a series of tires to bounce around on; the level designers must've given this one more thought, as there's actually a cave-like gloomy atmosphere to set it further apart from the previous rooms.

We're now 20% through our adventure!

[Qyzbud]

Check out our animated, switchable Stop & Go Station map:

• Objects, baddies and bananas are animated!
• Toggling FG2 switches the map to "STOP" mode, and FG1 switches it to "GO" mode!
• Hanging lights and Switch Barrels change colour/mode when FG mode is toggled!
• Golden tokens sparkle! (of course!)

I'll be tinkering away to improve and enhance various aspects of this map (such as allowing STOP/GO switching by clicking the barrels, and having the Rockkrocs respond to the STOP/GO mode!), but I wanted to make sure you could all see the progress so far.

We're 21% along our mapping journey...

Stop & Go Station's first Bonus Area map is now ready — take a look!

[Qyzbud]

Very brief (and late) update today... my internet is down, so I've borrowed a neighbour's connection!

Anyhow, please take a look at the (hopefully!) complete Stop & Go Station map!

Newly added:

• Bonus Area #2
• Rockkrocs now react to the STOP/GO modes!
• Each Switch Barrel will enable 'STOP' mode for as long as it would in-game!

I'm sure there are quite a few bugs and oversights, but I'll get those sorted out as soon as possible; hopefully my internet connection will exist again before too long.

[Raccoon Sam]

Lookin' good!!
Are the lamps supposed to look like that, though? There's a few red pixels that don't look too good.

[Qyzbud]

Well, they do look a bit funny, but those are the graphics used in-game. I'm not sure if it was a palette restriction issue or what, but those red pixels persist even in 'GO' mode.

Rare's designers dodged most of the issue by ensuring that camera boundaries never let the upper part of the light fixtures (the cable) be visible, so having it all visible on this map does make the issue more apparent.

It'd be an easy thing to fix (heck, I could just use the regular light fixtures from Winky's Walkway), but I figured I'd keep things as true to the in-game content as possible.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Raccoon Sam]

Wow – that's weird. Well, the more you know
Good luck with Millstone Mayhem!

[Qyzbud]

Yes, you're not wrong!

I've been working hard to give all of the millstones movement, but my internet is still down; I've had to make today's update from my phone, so I expect there may be some issues...

Our Millstone Mayhem is now animated!


Please let me know if you spot anything that needs fixing.

[Raccoon Sam]

Looks smooth! Only complaint is the background. Because the millstones occupy the SNES Layer 2, this level only has a 2bpp Layer 3 as its background and I can tell that's not it.
Still, spot-on job with the CSS3 animations!

[Cody]

Is there really a warp right there at the beginning? I never knew that! Interesting!

[Super Luigi!]

What, the warp right at the beginning of Stop and Go Station? You never knew about that Cody? Man, I thought everyone did!

[Cody]

I'm referring to the Millstone Mayhem warp... I knew the GBA version had one, but I strongly recall it being to the far left after blasting out of a barrel (the one where going to the right makes a tire come out of the ground).

What's weird is that I never noticed the warp while working on the level in my 20th Anniv. hack....I must've thought it was a barrel I'd moved to the side during early editing.

[Qyzbud]

The Millstone Mayhem warp can only be accessed by DK, and the tire used to reach it is notoriously difficult to get in place. I think this was the last DKC warp I found out about, and perhaps the only one I didn't find just by playing the game.

Here's our guide to reaching this warp (and others).

Looks smooth! Only complaint is the background. Because the millstones occupy the SNES Layer 2, this level only has a 2bpp Layer 3 as its background and I can tell that's not it.
Still, spot-on job with the CSS3 animations!

I'm very glad to hear things are mostly looking smooth/spot-on at your end.

I must say you've kind of caught me out with regards to getting artistic with the background graphics again... right after I said I was aiming for accuracy over 'prettiness'.

I suppose the difference here is that the background graphics just plain don't fit the map if they're not adjusted, and in this particular case the low colour depth of the temple background looked particularly unpleasant when stretched, so I decided to use a bit of artistic licence. Hopefully it at least looks kind of nice, rather than just plain wrong...

[Qyzbud]

Another phone-based update today (this is getting quite bothersome... ), but hopefully all will be sorted with my home connection tomorrow.

I've added Millstone Mayhem's first Bonus Area, which features a CSS3 animated barrel:

http://dkca.net/m125

I spent a silly amount of time trying to get the movement just right, and I think I finally worked out an acceptable cubic-bezier value for the easing. This should be the most accurate CSS3 animation on our maps yet.

I've obviously had to shift things around to accommodate the Bonus Area in its present location, so please let me know if this (or anything else I've done via my phone-based meddling) causes any issues.

Edit: To make up for originally forgetting to add DK's starting position entirely, I've just added a composite animation of DK bouncing on the tire at the start of the level.

Spoiler!

I've worked out that a good way to approximate the correct in-game animation speed for a full-frames GIF like this is to set the sequence to a 0.03 second delay per frame, but then to adjust every fourth frame to have a 0.04 second delay.

[Raccoon Sam]

well, since all 2bpp backgrounds are 256px high and the level height is 512, I padded the missing top 128px a with blue and the bottom 128px with black. This is the result. Opinions, guys?


more accurate, yes. more appealing, ...?

But nagging aside, DAMN those CSS3 animations really really put the map to life. I mean, they feel so alive..! Outstanding job, as always

EDIT: WAIT A MINUTE. Since allcitation needed far backgrounds are a simple x-loop of a 256x256px image, could.... PARALLAX SCROLLING be implemented?

[Qyzbud]

You know what... I actually think that does look a bit nicer than the blurry mess I created. I'm quite sure I originally tried the exact method you have used, and just didn't like the way it looked... But it seems now I do.

Of course, that could just be due to me currently viewing your design on my phone, which has a particularly nice screen.

At any rate, I might have to play with the simple 2bpp version again now, just to see where I currently stand on the issue.

Either way, I suppose the good news here is that I will eventually make multiple versions of each background (and perhaps foregrounds, etc.) available for people to choose between. When that system's in place, hopefully everyone can find a look they enjoy.

As for the parallax suggestion; I've certainly given it some thought in the past, and now might be the perfect time to try a few techniques out. Thanks for the nudge; expect a demo to try out soon.

Edit #2: So glad you're loving the CSS3 efforts! I completely agree with you that they inject a lot of life into these maps, and although it can be a slow process getting them looking just right, I think the end result makes it all worthwhile.

[Tompa]

The jump height of the kritters is a bit too high. Should be about half.

Off-topic glitch videos/descriptions spoilered by Qyzbud:

Spoiler!

"The Millstone Mayhem warp can only be accessed by DK, and the tire"
And just because I feel like being annoying with dumb glitches =):


To do that, have Donkey killed next to a slope. He will need to make a jump up in midair for it to work. Sometimes he just keeps running, which this glitch won't work for.
Next, get a new Donkey, kill Diddy and have Donkey land on an enemy when he jumps out. Hold B and you can go as high up as you want!This is the speedrun method for entering the warp barrel. The same glitch is also used in Forest Frenzy to skip the parts with the ropes, though done with Diddy instead as he is faster.

And just for fun, here is the stupid, slow and pointless method:


(Yes, you can just go back with Winky instead... This also works with Rambi and Expresso)
When fooling around with that, I noticed that Winky can open bonuses the same way as Rambi can, actually had no idea before .

[Qyzbud]

You're right about the Kritters, Tompa — not sure how I missed that.

Those glitches (fascinating as they are) probably ought to be posted elsewhere, though.

I'm happy to report that my home internet connection has been restored! Turns out some random idiot had cut our phone line.

So, I've now remedied the Kritter issue, and have set Raccoon Sam's suggested temple background design as BG2 — so just disable BG3 to take a look. If you have a preference between the two background styles, please feel free to share your thoughts. I've also tucked the Warp Barrel away in the first overlays layer, as it only 'appears' for DK.

[Qyzbud]

As attentive adventurers may have noticed, Millstone Mayhem's second Bonus Area map quietly appeared a few hours back.

In-keeping with recent trends, I've aimed to replicate the movement patterns (and the flashing effect) of this Bonus Area using CSS3, rather than relying on GIF animations. I have noticed one or two objects/animations have occasionally appeared to be slightly offset from where they ought to be, but this isn't something that happens every time I refresh, so I'm not sure what to make of it. Hopefully all will look right to you guys.

I've been a little slack in keeping track of our progress, but we're at 26% today! I'll be aiming to keep up with regular updates/posts again, now that I'm back online.

[Qyzbud]

As well as finishing up Millstone Mayhem's map with Bonus Area #3, I've added a basic layout of Monkey Mines' boss battle — Necky's Nuts!

I do plan to add more interesting behaviours/animations for Master Necky, but at least he has made an appearance.

We're at 27% now, with Monkey Mines complete; check back tomorrow for the start of Vine Valley!

UPDATE: Vulture Culture's updated map is now available, but I'm still working on a few of the baddies' movements.

[Tompa]

Saying things like "Great, awesome, beautiful!" seems so unneccesary, as it is too obvious that that's the case.

, Q!

[Qyzbud]

Anyone who took a peek at the Vulture Culture map since the update countdown timer elapsed will know that:

Our Vulture Culture map is now animated!

3-1 (reduced).png (60.73 KiB) Viewed 194981 times

That's right; the revamping of Vine Valley's maps is officially underway.

This update post is much later than I would usually aim for, as I took longer than I had hoped to develop certain new features:

• We have our first baddy that turns around during its movement — with correct momentum, just like in-game!
• Perched Neckies are each animated based on the number/rate of nuts they throw.
• Although they match one another's movements, the orange Zingers near the end have two separate, asynchronous CSS3 animations assigned to give the 'out of phase' motions they have in-game.

I hope these little touches help to make the map more interesting, authentic, informative and enjoyable.

That's 28% of our adventure done!

[Tompa]

The two mini neckies after the are too close to eachother, should be higher up. And the brown Zinger afterwards is supposed to be moving around in small circles and not stay on the same spot.

[Qyzbud]

Thanks for the eagle eyes, Tompa; I'll be sure to revisit those matters. EDIT: Done!

The close-together Mini-Neckies are an odd pair... Up until now, I've gone with their starting positions rather than their resting positions, which is why they look a little cosy. I think I agree with you that they ought to be shifted a bit, though.

[spaceman2028]

Another problem is with one of the neckies having one of it's sprites freeze in place while the animation remains...if you want a general idea, move your mouse over the second flying necky in the level, just before the first perched one(the one that sits on the tire). I don't know if it's CSS3 failing with the animation that turns around over and over, but it really looks like it could use a fix.

[Qyzbud]

Thanks for the report, Spaceman.

So, is it only when the mouse is hovering over the turning Necky (and the orange Zingers at the end) that this happens? It seems to be a side-effect of the stacked animation techniques that I'm using, but I'm not exactly sure what's causing the frame-freezing effect. I'll see if I can find a simple fix, but if it's only happening on hover, I'll consider it a minor quirk for now.

Actually, if I can fix this for you guys, but keep this happening at my end, it could be really helpful for checking the precision of my motion range values. This could end up being quite a serendipitous little bug.

I'll get Tompa's suggestions taken care of (EDIT: Done!), then I'll have a play with the animation layering when time avails.

[Qyzbud]

I've just added the first Bonus Area to our Vulture Culture map.

This Bonus Area is very similar to the other "spelling bee" Bonus we saw in Millstone Mayhem, but the letters move a bit more quickly this time! There are a few other subtle differences (other than a new word to spell — KONG!), but I'll let you play spot the difference.

One thing I will mention is that (as with the Millstone Mayhem equivalent) I've indicated the prize by placing it in the middle of the rotating letters. This time I've added a subtle 'pulse' effect, and the prize becomes opaque when hovered. What do you guys think of this feature? I'm sure there are many other ways the prize could be indicated, so feel free to make suggestions if you have ideas for how it can be improved.

We're 29% through!

[Qyzbud]

Today's mapping update features the appearance of Bonus Area #2 on our Vulture Culture map.

To give some extra info about this Bonus, I've decided to trial a new info panel; hover over the newly-added Bonus Area to see what I'm on about (it should appear to the right of the Bonus Area). If it's permanently visible (and/or things look kind of funky) be sure to refresh your browser.

I've made a few other adjustments here and there — giving a bit more prominence to the "thanks" message, in particular — so do let me know if you like/hate anything, or if I've broken something.

We're now at 30%!

Vulture Culture's third (and final) Bonus Area map is now ready — take a look!

[Qyzbud]

Today's newly-animated map is Tree Top Town!

So far, all of the CSS3 action on this map takes place in the second half, as the early Barrel Cannons tend to wait until a Kong enters before they move. I do intend to give these 'waiting' barrels movement, too, but I've yet to set this up.

There are a few other animation aspects that I'm currently working on (the baddies, in particular), but for the most part it's good to go.

Yesterday's update was 31%, so today we're at 32%!