Shoals Surfer
Posts: 293
Joined: Tuesday, 25th October 2011, 05:04
Friday, 17th July 2015, 20:46
Proposal to Make the Midgame More Interesting
Why Make a Change?
Every player with a few wins under their belt knows that the stretch from Lair to Depths is the least interesting part of the game. People still die there, mostly due to carelessness or boredom, and new players can find this section difficult due to their unfamiliarity. The midgame has been shortened and changed several times already to make it more interesting.
Why is the Midgame Boring?
The simplest answer is that, for a competent player, there is no tactical situation in the Lair--Depths section that can't be avoided or trivialized with smart use of consumables. And, unlike the early game, you WILL have the consumables you need (97% of the time). The result is that there is no tension for the player. If you pay attention, you never need to think too hard about your next move.
How Can it be Fixed?
I'll start by saying how it SHOULDN'T be fixed (in my opinion). The midgame shouldn't be made harder outright. Increasing the generation of dangerous monsters like black mambas and orc priests doesn't fix anything--it just makes players more likely to die. This is especially true for newer players, who already have a hard time getting into the game. About a year ago, I convinced a friend to give Crawl a try. He liked it at first, but gave up after getting killed by a spiny frog for the third time. He said that it didn't feel like there was anything he could do.
That got me thinking: making tactical situations increasingly deadly is both frustrating and uninteresting. Therefore, instead of making the midgame harder, I propose that we make it smarter. I feel that, in general, Crawl would be more fun if it took more brainpower, and involved less bashing open XP pinatas.
My Two-Fold Proposal
First: the midgame should be where you make long term decisions about your character. It already is that, to some extent, but XP is currently so abundant that you can branch into anything you need by the time you reach Zot. The Lair and its branches can be shortened again, but I think a more elegant solution is to reduce the base XP given by certain pre-Depths enemies. For example, basic frogs shouldn't give more XP than orc wizards and priests. With lower experience, you have a new decision: "Should I specialize to keep my damage/defenses competitive with upcoming enemies, or should I start training skills that are more situational?" There's also a risk-reward question for lower-level characters: "Is the XP I would get from these popcorn enemies worth the chance of having to use a consumable?" If the answer is no, you move on and come back later if necessary. The midgame can keep its current level of "Danger" for new players while adding a layer of depth for veterans.
Second: add diverse tactical challenges that can be avoided or mitigated by strategy. I don't necessarily mean adding spoiler-heavy enemies and branches, but that can be part of it. What I'm thinking of is something similar to Portal Vaults: risky tactical situations with commensurate rewards, which you can choose to avoid. Existing vaults can be turned into mini-branches that are generated like Lair branches. Two or three are guaranteed to appear. When combined with the lower experience proposal, situations will arise where you're behind the power curve and need to decide whether you're ready for one of the mini-branches you come across.
There are other possibilities for tactical situations that require strategic thought beforehand. I had an idea for an enemy that travels through walls and moves quickly, but it has poor hearing and often forgets where you are. It would probably do something that indicates its approach, like changing the color of nearby walls. This enemy complicates the usual tactic of fighting in a corridor and is hard to lure out due to its hearing. Fighting requires situational awareness and knowledge of your escape options. There could also be a unique merchant that starts out neutral to you and acts as a wondering shop. You can try to kill him to get his stuff for free, but he's basically a Spelunky shopkeeper who can kill you very quickly.
Every player with a few wins under their belt knows that the stretch from Lair to Depths is the least interesting part of the game. People still die there, mostly due to carelessness or boredom, and new players can find this section difficult due to their unfamiliarity. The midgame has been shortened and changed several times already to make it more interesting.
Why is the Midgame Boring?
The simplest answer is that, for a competent player, there is no tactical situation in the Lair--Depths section that can't be avoided or trivialized with smart use of consumables. And, unlike the early game, you WILL have the consumables you need (97% of the time). The result is that there is no tension for the player. If you pay attention, you never need to think too hard about your next move.
How Can it be Fixed?
I'll start by saying how it SHOULDN'T be fixed (in my opinion). The midgame shouldn't be made harder outright. Increasing the generation of dangerous monsters like black mambas and orc priests doesn't fix anything--it just makes players more likely to die. This is especially true for newer players, who already have a hard time getting into the game. About a year ago, I convinced a friend to give Crawl a try. He liked it at first, but gave up after getting killed by a spiny frog for the third time. He said that it didn't feel like there was anything he could do.
That got me thinking: making tactical situations increasingly deadly is both frustrating and uninteresting. Therefore, instead of making the midgame harder, I propose that we make it smarter. I feel that, in general, Crawl would be more fun if it took more brainpower, and involved less bashing open XP pinatas.
My Two-Fold Proposal
First: the midgame should be where you make long term decisions about your character. It already is that, to some extent, but XP is currently so abundant that you can branch into anything you need by the time you reach Zot. The Lair and its branches can be shortened again, but I think a more elegant solution is to reduce the base XP given by certain pre-Depths enemies. For example, basic frogs shouldn't give more XP than orc wizards and priests. With lower experience, you have a new decision: "Should I specialize to keep my damage/defenses competitive with upcoming enemies, or should I start training skills that are more situational?" There's also a risk-reward question for lower-level characters: "Is the XP I would get from these popcorn enemies worth the chance of having to use a consumable?" If the answer is no, you move on and come back later if necessary. The midgame can keep its current level of "Danger" for new players while adding a layer of depth for veterans.
Second: add diverse tactical challenges that can be avoided or mitigated by strategy. I don't necessarily mean adding spoiler-heavy enemies and branches, but that can be part of it. What I'm thinking of is something similar to Portal Vaults: risky tactical situations with commensurate rewards, which you can choose to avoid. Existing vaults can be turned into mini-branches that are generated like Lair branches. Two or three are guaranteed to appear. When combined with the lower experience proposal, situations will arise where you're behind the power curve and need to decide whether you're ready for one of the mini-branches you come across.
There are other possibilities for tactical situations that require strategic thought beforehand. I had an idea for an enemy that travels through walls and moves quickly, but it has poor hearing and often forgets where you are. It would probably do something that indicates its approach, like changing the color of nearby walls. This enemy complicates the usual tactic of fighting in a corridor and is hard to lure out due to its hearing. Fighting requires situational awareness and knowledge of your escape options. There could also be a unique merchant that starts out neutral to you and acts as a wondering shop. You can try to kill him to get his stuff for free, but he's basically a Spelunky shopkeeper who can kill you very quickly.
