DKC Atlas Forum

[Cyclone]

Just gave you a full of 's.

Great work. Animating the maps was a great move.

[Simion32]

+50 for your hard work, Qyzbud.


The maps are all looking very great.

[VideoViking]

The moving barrel cannons at the end of Tree Top Town make it hard to display its "title"/"alt" text.

[Tompa]

I'm surprised the enemies really spawn that high . And it looks weird seeing the kritters jump in midair.

[Qyzbud]

Thanks for the kind words, and the restocking of my dwindling banana supply, guys! I check my inbox here every day, and I've just spotted 64 new notifications.

Anyway, I just battled a case of local server slowdown (hopefully it didn't affect any of you... ), and can report that today's update did upload as I'd hoped... even if I'm only now able to verify it! So, after some shifting and shuffling, I present to you Tree Top Town's first Bonus Area map! No CSS3 (or JavaScript) magic going on here — just a boring old GIF. One of these days I'll get my act together and build these Bonus Areas in a more efficient and programmatic way... but for now, at least the basics are there.

So here we are — 33%! Almost exactly a third of the way through our 20th anniversary DKC mapping journey! Even closer to a third if you ignore the fact that we're aiming for 101%!

[spaceman2028]

I just battled a case of local server slowdown (hopefully it didn't affect any of you... )

Well i got caught in it too, sadly. Then again, it's probably cause our internet belongs in a trash can...

[Phyreburnz]

Awesome job with everything, Qyz! DK would be jealous of your banana hoard!

[Qyzbud]

Thanks a lot, Phyre! 'Tis a lot of work, but it's all worth it if they are being enjoyed.
I'll be sure to restock DK's hoard when we hit 101% — hopefully he can keep his jealousy in check until then!

VideoViking; right now, missing out on the title text of moving objects probably isn't too big a deal, but I'll be adding a feature soon that ought to help with this matter, anyhow. Also, the title data/'tooltips' will be replaced with a more informative and versatile data card system at some point, so I'll be sure to get things sorted out nicely by then.

Tompa; you're quite right about the weird appearance of the Kritters; I'll make it a priority today to improve the way they're presented, but I'll no doubt revisit them (and everything...) time and time again as I have better ideas about how to do it all.

[Qyzbud]

Our map of Tree Top Town is now complete!


Today's Bonus Area map features a familiar layout — with twist! Having to coordinate the angle and position of the Barrel Cannon in order to collect all of the bananas (and the !) can be a bit of a challenge — especially with the barrel moving around below you, offscreen. For this Bonus Area, I've modified the background in an effort to make it tile vertically. I know the thinner trees might look a little off due to their extremely tall/thin appearance, but hopefully that's forgivable for now. How does it look to you guys?

I've also given the blue Kritters a basic 'walking' animation, rather than having them jump oddly in midair. Hopefully they look better walking oddly in midair. I'm sure I'll find a better way to display them, but perhaps that's enough of an improvement for now.

At 34%, we've now passed the one third mark of this 101% countdown.

I'll still be working on bits and pieces here and there for this map, but of course we're due for something new tomorrow...

Our animated Forest Frenzy map will appear a few hours later than our usual time, but worry not — it'll be available soon!

[Qyzbud]

Our newly-animated Forest Frenzy map is now online!


Zinger movements (among other things) are still a work in progress, but I'm already a great many hours late with this update, so I thought I'd better get something up for you all to see.

We're only a few hours away from the daily update time, so hopefully I'll have not only Forest Frenzy's first Bonus Area, but also a few more Zinger movements in place by then.

Edit: Another distraction has appeared out of nowhere...
The aforementioned update has been launched — half an hour early (GOOD!), but with only one additional Zinger movement path (BAD!).


UPDATE: The Forest Frenzy map is now fully animated, and has both Bonus Areas in place!

[spaceman2028]

LOOK AT ALL THE NECKIES NEAR THE BARREL BONUS WITH THE RAMBI TOKEN

Great work thus far! Methinks once the other levels of world 2 are done we will get some good stuff!

[Qyzbud]

Yep, that's quite a flock of Neckies.

We're halfway through World 3 right now, but there are a few levels I need to revisit now that I've got the hang of CSS3 animations; hopefully I can up the interactivity a little, too, and allow us to click on 'waiting' objects — ropes, barrels, millstones (in the next level), etc. — to make things even more informative, engaging and true to the in-game experience.

*Gets cracking on these new features*

[Qyzbud]

Our newly-animated Temple Tempest map is now online!


I'm trialing a new feature that allows you to initiate a 'waiting' object's movement by clicking on it; try clicking on the bottom of the first vertical rope, or click and hold on the first millstone to see this concept in action!

The rope's movement is triggered using JavaScript, but the millstone is just CSS. It's nice that the effect can be shown using just CSS, but the 'click and hold' method is probably a bit unintuitive. I really ought to have set up the 'click and hold' method for the rope (both to simulate the grabbing of the rope, and because it's a shorter animation, and therefore less tedious to hold a mouse button down for), but oh well. I imagine the 'click and hold' approach would be particularly fitting for other things — such as pulling handles in DKC3's Doorstop Dash, etc... but for the most part, a simple click is probably preferable. What do you guys think?

I'm aware that the transition from the rope's standard 'swaying' animation to its path movement is a bit jerky at times, and I do intend to fix that. This function will be improved over the next few days, and eventually be enabled for all applicable objects. Any feedback/suggestions would be appreciated.

[Qyzbud]

Temple Tempest's first Bonus Area has been added, and I've improved the interactive path movement function a bit; now a simple click anywhere on a rope or millstone is all that's needed to set it in motion, or return it to its previous position! Both 'waiting' vertical ropes respond to clicks, and so far the first two millstones do, too.

I'll continue adding path movements for the remaining millstones one by one, and will also add the ability to set the swinging ropes in motion with a click.

Any thoughts on this feature so far?


We're now 39% through the game.

Update 1: Millstone #3 is now clickable!
Update 2: Millstone #4 is now clickable! I've also fixed the rope movement, which was previously completely wrong for non-WebKit browsers.
Update 3: Millstone #5 is now clickable!
Update 4: Millstone #6 is now clickable! — that's the lot.

[Phyreburnz]

That's so much fun! I love the clickability!!!

[Qyzbud]

Glad to hear it! It does add a certain something to the experience, doesn't it?

Thanks for the feedback.

Update: The swinging ropes are now responsive to clicks, too!

[Qyzbud]

I've had a busy few days, so I haven't found a lot of time to post update info, but I've been pouring as much time as possible into the mapping project itself. Over the past few days I managed to finish up the interactive elements and movement animations of Temple Tempest, and added the second/final Bonus Area, too. I also launched the new Orang-utan Gang map yesterday, and added all five Bonus Areas today!

Our new Orang-utan Gang map — complete with all five Bonus Areas!


Normally I'd stick to a 'one map per day' schedule, and would put any free time into working on upcoming maps and improving various aspects of the current maps... but it seems we were behind in our countdown! I had been counting down to November 25th, but checking around, it seems that the 21st is the date we should be celebrating! I'm open to corrections if this turns out to be inaccurate, but I certainly don't want us to be behind the times.

So! With our five-in-one update today, I believe we're finally up to date — 46% through the game, 55 days of map releases to go until DKC turns 20!

Update: Clam City's updated map is now ready!

[Qyzbud]

Our freshly-animated Clam City map is now online!


I've added trajectory guides to indicate the directions each Clambo shoots, which can be seen by toggling the unused-until-now Overlays 3 button. Soon I intend to indicate the entry point for the hidden room with Enguarde and the , and eventually I'll try to give all of the baddies proper movement paths... but for now things are pretty much complete.

And that's not all...

A brand new Bumble B Rumble map has been added, too!

I'll certainly revisit Queen B.'s lair at some point to give her a basic movement pattern, but the layout's complete as is.

Five map releases yesterday and two today? Yes, I am on the fast track to certifiable insanity — thanks for asking!

That brings us to the end of Vine Valley... tomorrow we begin the journey through the cold and forbidding landscape of Gorilla Glacier.

Update: Snow Barrel Blast's updated map is now up, but is very much still a work-in-progress from a CSS animation standpoint.

[Phyreburnz]

What? only five in two days? Shoulda done six!

Seriously though, awesome job. I can't believe how quickly you've been doing everything. Amazing work!

[Qyzbud]

Well, actually it has been seven maps over the two days... so hopefully that's good enough!

I've been putting in a lot of hours, but there's no way I'd be able to keep up the pace without Simion's help; the object positioning data he has provided is a real game-changer — even after I did the initial groundwork myself, all those years ago.

Thanks for the encouragement, anyhow; I always appreciate it.

[Qyzbud]

Alrighty then... I've finally finished setting up all of the CSS animations for the baddies with pattern movements:

Check out the freshly-animated Snow Barrel Blast map!


Over the next few days (while I add the Bonus Areas) I'll aim to make the Barrel Cannons clickable where applicable, but apart from this feature the main level area is complete.

As I did with the temple background at Raccoon Sam's suggestion, I think I'll also see about modifying this map's background graphics to match the scale they are seen at in-game. Doubling the size was an easy way to make the graphics fit the map area, but it does distort the level's overall appearance somewhat.

We're now at 48% — almost halfway through the adventure! There are now 53 days left on our countdown to DKC's 20th anniversary.

Tomorrow I'll add Snow Barrel Blast's first Bonus Area, and will make sure to set up Gorilla Glacier's world map, too.

[Tompa]

I spot greatness! And it's everywhere!

[Qyzbud]

Thanks, Tompa.

I've got Gorilla Glacier's world map set up now, but I must admit I've taken the lazy (ahem... "true-to-game") approach, and have only added the link for Snow Barrel Blast so far. The DKC overworld map has been updated, too.

I'll be sure to keep updating these as time/game logic permits.

Update #1: Snow Barrel Blast's first Bonus Area is now ready — take a look!
Update #2: I've also changed the background graphics of the main level area to a more authentic 1:1 scale, which I think looks better (before/after). It took less editing than I thought it would, which is always nice.
Update #3: The second Bonus Area has been added!

[Qyzbud]

I haven't been creating new posts for each update lately, but I've still been pushing forward with daily updates.

Our Snow Barrel Blast map is now complete!

All three Bonus Areas are now mapped for your viewing pleasure. The first Bonus Area is clear and sunny, but the later ones are both obscured by blizzard conditions — which look rather neat, I think. In fact, I liked it so much that I decided to enable the snowfall effect for the whole level! Switch it on via the FG2 button. I'll look for an opportunity at some point (perhaps while I'm working on Ice Age Alley) to improve the weather toggling options; hopefully I'll be able to set things up to replicate each phase of the in-game weather experience!

I've also brought our Gorilla Glacier world map up to date, ready for Slipslide Ride's upcoming update — which is a challenge to sort out, I tell you!

We're now over the halfway mark; 51% through the game, with 50 days to go until DKC's 20th anniversary!

[Qyzbud]

Well, I've finally got this nightmarish mess of a level updated for you all to see...

Our Slipslide Ride map is now animated!

Of course, the most awkward and time-consuming aspect of this map has been organising the 30+ animated ropes of varying length and function... and while there's no perfect way to manage them, I think I've got them mostly under control.

There are still bits and pieces I'll be working to improve, but for the most part, it's all ready to check out!

Update 1: Slipslide Ride's first Bonus Area map has been added, and can be seen either at the bottom of the map area, or by hovering over (or tapping on) the entrance point on the map. This feature is an early work in progress, but should be functional enough in its current form.
Update 2: Bonus Area #2 has been added, and can be viewed in the same ways as the first.
Update 3: Bonus #3 has been added, and Slipslide Ride is now complete!

Please let me know what you think!

Edit: We're now 56% through the game, with 45 days left until DKC's 20th anniversary!

Edit: Ice Age Alley is up next, and ought to have been launched by now, but life has been busy! I'll post the WIP when I get a chance.

[Tompa]

I know that Donkey/Diddy ends up at the left side of bonus #1 like that, because of sliding. But it does a look a bit weird =).

Well done with the level anyway. Good decision with the bonuses!

[Qyzbud]

Thanks, Tompa. I do agree with you about the weirdness of putting DK over there on the left... I think I'll change that.

At long last, our Ice Age Alley map is now animated!

Yes, I'm a bit behind schedule with this one, but I've finally got things (mostly) how they ought to be. I have the first Bonus Area in place, too, and am working to get the second one up as soon as possible (edit: done!). There are a few Mini-Neckies that need to be given movement patterns, too — one in particular (just after the ) has actual movement, rather than just hovering in place. At the very least, I hope to have both the entirety of Ice Age Alley and the basics of Croctopus Chase ready in time for the latter level's relaunch tonight (or tomorrow, time zone-depending). Getting all of Croctopus Chase's Croctopus movements animated might take a while, but I'll do my best to get them done soon.

Update: I've now added Bonus Area #2! We're finally up to date.

We're now 58% through the game, with 43 days left on the countdown!

Come hell or high water,

Croctopus Chase's updated map is now ready — take a look!

[Super Luigi!]

Well done, Sir Qyzbud, you've accomplished quite a feat,
Plowing through the maps to make such tight ends meet!

[Qyzbud]

Thanks, Super Luigi. It's good to be back on track.

Our Croctopus Chase map is now animated!

In addition to revealing this level's secret passages, I hope to give each Croctopus its chase path over the next few hours, but so far it's a case of what you see is what you get. Tomorrow's looking to be another busy day away from the keyboard for me, so Torchlight Trouble's update may come a few hours later than typical, but I'll aim to keep the schedule running on time.

I've updated our Gorilla Glacier map to reflect the recent progress, too.

We're now 59% through the game, with 42 days left on the countdown!

Update: I've added the movement patterns for the Ice Age Alley map's Mini-Neckies, and have attempted to improve the timing of the set of three swinging ropes. The rope timing is somewhat reliant on page/file loading time, so you may find that things look better if you load this GIF before loading the map. Or you could just refresh the map after it loads.

I will be experimenting with different ways to improve the synchronisation of grouped/composite objects, but hopefully this is good enough for now.

[Qyzbud]

It has been tough to find development time over the past few days, but here we go...

Our Torchlight Trouble map is now animated!

Platform and Mincer movements are still on the to-do list, and Bonus Areas are yet to be added, but the basic level layout is ready to view. Tomorrow should be better for progress, so hopefully I'll have all of these things taken care of before Rope Bridge Rumble's update.

Update 1: Both Bonus Areas have been added, and the final Mincer is now animated!
Update 2: All platforms are now animated — and the map is now complete!

We're now 62% through the game, with 39 days left on our countdown!

Rope Bridge Rumble's updated map is now online, but I'm still in the process of finishing up some object movement paths.

[Qyzbud]

Our Rope Bridge Rumble map has been updated!

Update: Rope Bridge Rumble's first Bonus Area map is now ready — take a look!

We're now 64% through the game, with 37 days left on our countdown.

[Super Luigi!]

My bananas you have, and my thanks too,
Yet why has nobody else congratulated you?

I wish you good luck, for I know of Australia,
Living there is such a haughty pareidolia!

[spaceman2028]

The more you know about qyzbud...

So then, how DID you profit the site all the way down there? The infamous Austrailium treasure?

[VideoViking]

You might want to rephrase the mentioning of bananas caches. "Beginning in Rope Bridge Rumble, there are no more banana caches," for instance. (I ignore the Loopy Lights cache because I think, originally, that was supposed to be the spot where the Golden Letter "G" resided.)

[Qyzbud]

Good point, VV — I've adjusted that note to make it more informative.

And thanks to you two comedians for your comical comments, I guess.

An end-of-world update featuring Rope Bridge Rumble's final Bonus Area, Gorilla Glacier's boss lair (Really Gnawty Rampage), and the Kremkroc Industries Inc. world map has been uploaded, but is still a work in progress...

[Qyzbud]

With the second and final Bonus Area now in place (plus a handful of other mapping additions)...

Rope Bridge Rumble, Really Gnawty Rampage and Gorilla Glacier are now complete!

I've also started Kremkroc Industries Inc.'s world map, and have utilised Kingizor's fantastic game font generator to add on-hover world names to both that map and the DKC overworld map! Just mouse over any of the level/world icons to see what I'm talking about. This feature will of course be added to the other world maps, too — bit by bit, as time permits.

With this latest update, we're now 65% through the game, with 36 days left on our countdown.

Oil Drum Alley's enlivened map is now online, but there are a few bits and pieces I'm still working on.

[Super Luigi!]

All our dreams are coming true,
Thanks to Atlasites like you!

[KoopaStarRoad]

I just registered to say THANKS. That project is SO awesome!!!
Keep the work going up!

[Qyzbud]

Thanks for making the effort to show your support, KoopaStarRoad! I really appreciate it.
Thank you as well, Super Luigi.

Our Oil Drum Alley map has been updated!

This announcement comes a few days late, but I've been keeping up with the mapping updates themselves; not only are Oil Drum Alley's first two Bonus Areas in place on the map, but all of the world maps now have level labels as per the technique I mentioned in my previous post.

Update 1: A map of Oil Drum Alley's once super-secret third Bonus Area has been added, complete with details of how to enter it!
Update 2: Oil Drum Alley's fourth and final Bonus Area has been added — this map is now complete!

We are now 70% through the game, with 31 days left on our countdown!

One month to go!

To celebrate being only a month away from DKC's 20th anniversary — and to help us keep track of the countdown and mapping progress — I've added the relevant info to the forum header. I intend to improve the information and presentation of this banner, but I thought it'd be a handy reference as is, in the meantime.

[Gaz]

Observations:
*I've noticed that the level names show up in their DKC font when you highlight the appropriate level on its appropriate world map. For example: http://www.dkc-atlas.com/maps/dkc/w2.
*And the DKC:TF slideable CSS/JS header (name?) was replaced by the DKC Mapping project header. Everyone knows that.

Oil Drum Alley seemed to be a tough one to map, given all its bonus levels. I believe that it was just as hard as Orang-utan Gang, which has 5 bonus levels. I'm going to add to Qyzbud's Banana Hoard for his good work (post by post).

We're exactly a month from November 21st. Good luck, Qyzbud!!!

[Qyzbud]

Thanks, Gaz. Well spotted. The Tropical Freeze banner was just a bit of fancy CSS — no JS required.

Our Trick Track Trek map is now animated!

There are a couple of bits and pieces left to organise, but the new map is up. I might be a bit behind time with our next update (busy day tomorrow...), but I'll get to it as soon as I can.

Update 1: Bonus Area #1 has been added!
Update 2: Bonus Area #2 has been added!
Update 3: Bonus Area #3 has been added — that's all of them!

With Trick Track Trek's Bonus Areas in place, we're now 74% through the game!

[PegasusMan]

Hi, I'm new here. Can't anybody edit the maps and add new things? Or is it just Qyzbud that can edit them? But I do like the idea of finishing all the DKC maps!

[Qyzbud]

Hello, er, "Donkey Kong Fan"... welcome to the DKC Atlas community!

The way things are set up, map updates must be made by me. It's a slow and steady process, but they'll all get done in time.


Edit #1: The Elevator Antics map has been updated, but it's still quite the WIP... I'll be positioning and animating various objects for a few hours yet!
Edit #2: I've animated many of the baddies' movements, but will have to do the rest later due to an almighty thunderstorm!

[Qyzbud]

Well, we are indeed long overdue for a proper project update here — sorry to anyone who has been hanging out for info.

Our Elevator Antics and Poison Pond maps are now animated!

Both are still in WIP stages (as is Trick Track Trek, technically...), but they're well on their way to completion, and are certainly worth a look.

Life has been very demanding of me, but I'm as committed as ever to seeing this project through, so worry not!

Although there are plenty of bits and pieces left to fix up, we're now 79% through the game, with 22 days left on the countdown!

Mine Cart Madness is up next!

[Qyzbud]

Ah, finally a map that I've been able to spend some time on!

Our Mine Cart Madness is now animated!

I still have a bit to do to bring the previous three maps up to speed, but at least this one's complete — sans Bonus Areas, of course!

It's now only 3 weeks until DKC turns 20 years old, and we've just hit the 80% mark!

Next up is Bonus Area #1 of Mine Cart Carnage — and I'll be sure to get our WIP maps sorted out, too.

[spaceman2028]

Just in time for HALLOWEEN! MUAHAAHAHAHHAAHHAAHASOFHASFHPIAEDBGHPAIHGBPIQEGHAEIPQPGhpaehgapshegpsiaersgrdhsdrthsdfhsdh...........

...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYWWwWAAAayYyyyYyYyYySSsSsSSSssSSssSSssSssSSsSS...good work!

[Qyzbud]

Really, spaceman? I appreciate feedback, but that post looks like a text representation of actual microphone feedback.

Let's keep things a little more meaningful and on-topic, okay?

Anyhow, I've got the first few elevators moving in Elevator Antics, and will hopefully set a lot more of them in motion today — along with some basic GIF improvements in Trick Track Trek and Poison Pond.

[spaceman2028]

SoRrY, i WaS tRyInG tO mAkE iT sOuNd ScArY tO sOmE pEoPlE sInCe It Is HaLoWeEn...

Oh well, nobody's perfect. Good luck finishing the project in time!

PS:

Really, spaceman? I appreciate feedback, but that post looks like a text representation of actual microphone feedback.

Hooray for clever puns! I'm probably the one getting joked on right now, but seriously that one made me almost freak out with laughter.

[Qyzbud]

No worries! I'm glad you appreciated my humour.

Some more things to appreciate:

• Mine Cart Madness' first Bonus Area has been added!
• Elevator Antics' Elevators are now fully animated!

Now it's just Poison Pond I really need to whip into shape...

Update #1: Mine Cart Madness' second Bonus Area has been added!
Update #2: Poison Pond's missing mincers have been added — although some will only be visible once the animations are set up. DK's starting position and the uncharted terrain grid are now in place, too.
Update #3: Mine Cart Madness' third and final Bonus Area has been added — the map is now complete!

We're now 83% through the game, with 18 days left on the countdown!

[Qyzbud]

Our Blackout Basement map is now animated!

There are a bunch of reasons to check out this update:

• Objects, baddies and bananas are animated!
• Platforms have path movements!
• Terrain and scenery have correct, darker colours, thanks to some recent extraction wizardry by Kingizor!
• The level's faulty lighting effect has been simulated! Flick on FG2 to see it in action!

Like the swinging rope on this map that waits for your click, I'm planning to give the Arrow Platforms on-click behaviour. I'll get Poison Pond's mincers all moving as expected, then I'll see about the Arrow Platforms and other finishing touches for our recent maps.

We're now 84% through the game, with 17 days left on the countdown!

Update #1: I've added a bunch more of Poison Pond's mincer movements — including two mincers that I forgot to put on the map.
Update #2: Blackout Basement's second and final Bonus Area has been added, and Boss Dumb Drum rounds out the finish of Kremkroc Industries Inc.! Poison Pond still needs mincer movements, but at least the Squidges are finally animated.