Special levels in random dungeons

[Lipa]

Random dungeons in the wilderness probably won't be that important to the story, right? They will probably be there just for fun, and for the player to test, level up, gain experience...

Well, here’s an idea that would IMHO make random dungeons much more interesting:

Perhaps you could make a set of *fixed* special levels... Have you played ToME? ToME, for example, has special levels in dungeons like Orc Caves (Orc Stronghold), Helcraxe (The Sunken Ship), etc...

What I have in mind for Portralis is this:

First, make a set of fixed special levels (I don’t know how many... 20 perhaps). These fixed levels should have some powerful monsters, but also some powerful items, and at least one powerful artifact that can be found *only* here. This artifact, more than anything else, would make the level highly desirable and interesting.

Then, when each random dungeon in the wilderness is generated, it has a *chance* that its bottom level becomes one of these fixed special levels! The bottom of the dungeon thus becomes set, and this special level isn’t going to appear anywhere else. And so, after a number of generated random dungeons throughout the wilderness, these special levels get randomly distributed between a number of randomly generated dungeons!

But the player, of course, would never know whether there is a special level down below or not. But since these levels would be very desirable (artifacts!), the player would be much more interested in exploring these random dungeons too. Because the reward, if there is a special level below, would be great!

Well, I really think this could be a fun feature.

Oh, by the way, then you could also make a whole bunch of parchments lying around, which would “advertise” these special levels, perhaps telling some legends about them, and what artifacts there may be hidden within. And the world, the legends, the story - all would add to the general atmosphere of the Portralis world, which would thus become even more interesting.

Anyway, this is an idea. I don’t try to force anyone into it, I’m just sharing my thoughts.

Have fun!

[Variaz]

Indeed, that could be fun, and I was also thinking about random quest levels at the end, with perhaps a few magic items at the end of dungeons... and perhaps a tough monster guarding it! Remember the wilderness and the random dungeons are still beta, and much more will be done with them!

Parchements will definitly be added to the game, and there will be many of them! They will give various clues, and will make the story much richer and much deeper! Some of them will be very rare, and collecting them all may reveal some well hidden and obscure secrets...

I already have a couple ideas for good stories...

[Lipa]

Great! ;D

As I said before, these “special levels idea” would be especially nice for three reasons:

a) Apart from the main story and plot, the player would also face the challenge of finding these special levels. This wouldn’t be important to the main game, but just plain fun. It would be a kind of a “sub-quest”.

b) Random dungeons would become more interesting.

c) Since these special levels would probably also be quite easy to code, you could always add another to the list, and with each new release of the game, you could surprise us with another special level or two.

But if you plan to make even special quests for these random dungeons, even better! ;D

In either case, random dungeons should in the end have something that would make them interesting and fun.

Keep up the good work!