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user:regret-index [2017-10-03 11:09] Claws haunt |
user:regret-index [2018-08-03 01:10] (current) Claws |
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- | I still think Crawl keeps a toxic community and is boiling itself away in a consensus-less desire to cut down a game some people have played far too much of. I'm not coming back for more work. | + | I still think Crawl keeps a toxic community and is boiling itself away in a consensus-less desire to cut down a game some people have played far too much of. I'm not coming back for more work unless development has otherwise essentially completely halted. |
- | I still had old plans and thoughts, though, and since my last absence basically no changes have bothered at all towards the opposition content of the blasted game. I'm exactly anxious and wound up enough to write up a thought dump of this place I scarred myself on, so. | + | I still had old plans and thoughts, though- and since my last absence, basically no changes have bothered with the opposition content of the blasted game. I'm exactly anxious and wound up enough to write up a thought dump of this place I scarred myself on, so. |
+ | |||
+ | ===== Index's Revamps ===== | ||
==== Branches ==== | ==== Branches ==== | ||
=== Lair === | === Lair === | ||
- | Lair has been incessantly cut in length with minimal addressing of how it lacks for variety and depth scaling in a branch meant to provide desperately necessary experience. It should follow the same path Depths took, leaning on a large roster of vaults by reliably placing on every floor- guaranteed minivaults on floors 1/3/5 and large vaults (given more depth scaling?) on 2 and 4. Spawn-wise, the filler spawns porcupines and bullfrogs should also diminish slowly over time (through a negative-starting-value SEMI), weight should be lightly redistributed between common melee-only filler and the rarer spawns, and the MONS_NO_MONSTER jump should hit the second-last rather than last level. | + | Lair has been incessantly cut in length, as a backwards means of addressing its lack of variety and depth scaling in a branch providing desperately necessary earlygame experience. I argue should follow the same path Depths took, leaning on a large roster of vaults by reliably placing on every floor- guaranteed minivaults on floors 1/3/5 and large vaults (given more depth scaling?) on 2 and 4. Spawn-wise, the filler spawns porcupines and bullfrogs should also diminish slowly over time (through a negative-starting-value SEMI), weight should be lightly redistributed between common melee-only filler and the rarer spawns (also bump bears up a little), and the MONS_NO_MONSTER jump should hit the second-last rather than last level. |
- | Also, there's a fundamental redundancy between death yaks and elephants, not that it's easy to remove either. Hippogriffs should use the hellwing swoop feature, as they're some of the plainest spawns and it lets an early monster with no other features introduce blink close (compare to how imps and phantoms establish blink for later casters without being as large a threat as early orc wizards). | + | Also, there's a fundamental redundancy between death yaks and elephants, not that it's easy to remove or adjust either- not sure if there's anything much to do there. Hippogriffs should use the hellwing swoop feature, as they're some of the plainest spawns and it lets an early monster with no other features introduce blink close (compare to how imps and phantoms establish general blink for later casters without being as large a threat as early orc wizards). Likewise, to give queen ants something to do in those anthill vaults, I'd add acid bites- they correspond with the formic acid set-up with entropy weavers and let the queen have literally anything as support. |
=== Orc === | === Orc === | ||
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=== Lair Branches === | === Lair Branches === | ||
- | These are mostly fine, though the spawn scaling could be a little harsher and the absence of vault review with my departure has let dust accumulate on many vaults. It'd be cleaner to have another enemy each for Spider / Snake, and the uniquely un/distinguished layouts could do with guaranteed decor vaults much like Swamp had, but this isn't as pressing as issues in other branches. | + | These are mostly fine, though the spawn scaling could be a little harsher and the absence of vault review with my departure has let dust accumulate on many vaults... |
+ | * Having enough vaults for decorative vaults on every floor, akin to Swamp's levels, would help with the high reduction in layout-types the lair branches have. Snake almost certainly can go do this already. | ||
+ | * I'd add a small number of very ugly things of the corresponding colour to the old_school, _fiery, and _icy swamp rune vaults- this connects them a little closer to Swamp's set for the latter and fits fine now that they're dire elephant levels of damage. | ||
+ | * In the same vein, I'd have a slim, slim chance for entropy weavers and torpor snails to appear in each of the Spider rune vaults, support units rather necessary for "more spiders" to be more felt. | ||
=== Vaults === | === Vaults === | ||
- | Again, this is mostly fine, though it'd be purer to trim down some of the earlier weaker spawns (harpies, plain wraiths, wolf spiders, hornets) inherited from the old D spawns range. | + | Again, this is mostly fine, though it'd be purer to trim down some of the earlier weaker spawns (harpies, plain wraiths, wolf spiders, hornets) inherited from the old D spawns range. I'd also be interested in compressing down orc warlord bands to be v:3-4 spawns with less plain orcs and guaranteed classed orcs (without adjusting Roka's band or Orcish Mines bands), but I don't have enough Beogh experience to say if this'd be fine. |
=== Elven Halls === | === Elven Halls === | ||
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=== Slime === | === Slime === | ||
- | More monster nitpicking, mostly. Branch-wise a second layout would especially help, I think. | + | More monster nitpicking, mostly. Branch-wise a second layout would especially help, but there's little to any chance of that happening with the devs left. |
- | * Golden eyes are weird due to how either they horribly swarm people lacking in MR or just do nothing at all. I think the starcursed mass and dream sheep mechanic could work here too, with HD-based confusion roll + irresistible smite-range damage based on groups, and still hold a unique property compared to those two choirs by being much more spatially flighty. | + | * Golden eyes are weird designs for eyes, with how either they horribly swarm people lacking in MR or just do nothing at all. I think the starcursed mass and dream sheep mechanic could work here too, with HD-based confusion roll + irresistible minor damage based on group-count, and still hold a unique property compared to those two choirs by being much more spatially flighty only to freeze up as they confuse. |
- | * Eyes of devastation are severely bland for their focus on an irresistable bolt that does nothing else anymore- there are monsters with much higher defenses or specific circumstances and effects (top-tier dragons, water nymphs, ragged hierophants) that work with this better, and even in the branch itself acid blobs are more worrisome range. | + | * Shining eyes are somewhat of an issue due to being pure malmutate sources after the resist mutation removal. I'm interested in trying out the convocation-channeling mechanic with Yara's Violent Unravelling on them, to inflict glow and raw damage only when someone with buffs lets them go ahead for several turns. Such stripping of grandeur also seems very appropriate for the Slime Pits. Regardless, I think a guaranteed potion of mutation in the rewards pool might be nice, since they allow gambling to get rid of bad mutations in exchange for new mutations. |
- | * Death oozes are rather lacking compared to the other two top jellies, as rot is ineffectual compared to corrosive shots and high cold damage. Ideally, rot (/ possible statrot) would work like overhauls draining or corrosion in regards to being converted to an experience-based more dramatic effect. Alternatively, a dramatic temporary drop of dexterity or strength akin to flaying would also be a chance to provide a unique effect while those relic mechanics still endure. | + | * I'm tempted to removal Eyes of Devastation with such a change above, due to losing their digging capability and being rather bland ranged outside of a pre-Slime vault summoning them. |
+ | * Death oozes are rather lacking compared to the other two top jellies, as rot is ineffectual (and psych-attacking) compared to corrosive shots and high cold damage. Ideally, rot (/ possible statrot) would work like overhauls draining or corrosion in regards to being converted to an experience-based more dramatic effect. Alternatively, a dramatic temporary drop of dexterity or strength akin to flaying would also be a chance to provide a unique effect while those relic mechanics still endure. | ||
- | I've still got a few ideas for more monsters (morphogenic oozes as weaker spawns with short badform transformation melee, nuclei as lost soul style eye support / zyme-style player mr reduction for lesser eyes + organelle presence justification), but the current above might be enough paired with the uniquely effective form of TRJ. Branch once more direly lacks scaling but this hardly matters for the dive anyway. | + | I've still got a few ideas for one more monster (morphogenic oozes as weaker spawns with short badform transformation melee, nuclei as other organelles with a LOS-style mr- aura and mutating into the first eye slain near them, primordial blobs that permanently absorb one other eye to gain such powers), but the current above might be enough paired with the uniquely effective form of TRJ. The Branch once more direly lacks scaling but this hardly matters for the loot-less dive anyway. |
=== Abyss === | === Abyss === | ||
- | Mostly fine, though the entry vaults for Depths are awkwardly split between plain decorations and a brief taste of contents- they ought to be weirder and supportive of depth-scaled chances for spawns like the Pan entry vaults, possibly through more vault-mashing like what was done with old Abyssal rune vaults. mon-pick curation might be cleaner and support more scaling, but this is the one branch that can excuse being filled to the brim with junk. | + | Mostly fine, though the entry vaults for Depths are awkwardly split between plain decorations and a brief taste of contents- they ought to be weirder and supportive of depth-scaled chances for spawns like the Pan entry vaults, possibly through more vault-mashing like what was done with old Abyssal rune vaults. The mon-pick curation might be cleaner and support more scaling, but this is the one branch that can excuse being filled to the brim with junk. |
=== Depths === | === Depths === | ||
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=== Zot === | === Zot === | ||
- | For a climax emphasizing "weird" contents, the layout is awfully plain- guaranteed decorative vaults and marginal more readied decor would be nice for the odd position this branch keeps. While some higher vault guarantees would most likely be safe at the current roster threshold after some review, most of them being stair vaults would make this most likely a little more obnoxious than necessary. Scorchers and knights are a bit bland, but the rest of the roster has solidified just fine. | + | For a climax emphasizing "weird" contents, the layout is awfully plain- guaranteed decorative vaults would be nice. While some higher vault guarantees would most likely be safe at the current roster threshold after some review, most of them being stair vaults would make this most likely a little more obnoxious than necessary. Draconian scorchers and knights are a bit bland in the set, but the rest of the roster has solidified just fine (though I'd be tempted to just give annihilators or knights fireball and cut scorchers tbh). |
- | === Hells === | + | === Hell-Pan === |
- | As I once asserted before, [[dcss:brainstorm:dungeon:Hell-Pan Roulette]] is direly needed to constrain the excesses and overlaps of extended. A shame that fell through. Most of what's in the old [[https://github.com/crawl/crawl/compare/bosch|Bosch]] branch is almost ready for committing, though I'd probably prefer cutting to five floors (and rescaling spawns to that) rather than four after some arguments. | + | As I once asserted before, [[dcss:brainstorm:dungeon:Hell-Pan Roulette]] is direly needed to constrain the excesses and overlaps of extended. A shame that fell through- I never quite finished the multiple full-floor vaults the designs required. To summarize it and add to its conceits: |
- | One additional matter that comes to mind is that while the Pan unrand lords have become iconic in their gimmicked excesses, the context of frustratingly unpredictable hell effects and the more generic natures of the Hell lords make them far less satisfying to fight. Dispater and Asmodeus in particular have nothing unique beyond their sheer bulk ontop of bogstandard conjurations + summoning spells for extended, and could do with a nerf in exchange for some distinct effect (in particular there's still some free dramatic debilitation: Dimensional Anchor, Cause Fear, AF_CONFUSE, trample, AF_CORRODE). They are of course in the most lethal hells, but a buff to the other two hells (vault revisions integrating mazes and open space and optional buildings together really would bring Tar together) would be good anyway. | + | * Either one of Hell and Pan spawns each game. Extended is long, has a lot of elemental demonic undead overlap, fixed in branches explored, and skill investment / combat approach englaciates. |
- | I never did finish up [[dcss:brainstorm:dungeon:branch:propose:Purgatory]] map designs, unfortunately, and it was always a dicey position in the roulette. Non-roulette branch improvement matters (especially for Pan) could be decoupled for testing purposes before committing to the full effort. I also never figured out any names better than that or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gevurah|Gevurah]], either. | + | == Pan == |
+ | * Killing Pan Lords increasing rune floor chance- killing the four fixed lords dramatically increases it. | ||
+ | * Add a unique, announced demonic rune floor to the rune floor chance list (use the subvaults of layout_pan_divisions to place two of the "guaranteed" vaults) | ||
+ | * Acquiring Pan runes increases a small number of correspondingly-themed classed demonspawn for each unrand lord vault | ||
+ | * (Possibly make Pan a finite depth of either 16 or 20 floors and always place stairs in a guaranteed two randlord vaults a floor) | ||
+ | * Loose layout / monster touch-ups | ||
+ | * Revamp Sap Magic away from lowered spell-success chance, and make it either multiply the mana costs of spells cast or give multiple auts of silence scaling to spell level like Sifcasting. | ||
+ | * Guarantee decorative vaults on alternating levels and on the four main rune floors, there's a big set of those | ||
+ | * Add Hellephants as a very slim pick into the pan floorset chances | ||
+ | * Cut Holy-Pan for the later Holy Hell. | ||
- | === Pan === | + | == Hells == |
- | Changes are again outlined in the Roulette proposal, most of which was implemented (yet not made public) by the absent Brannock. The only lasting issue here was how to implement the guaranteed demonic rune vault floors, the solution to which (make the guaranteed vaults into subvaults of the pan_divisions layout to cleanly always place them both, forgoing the serial vault attempt) came to mind long after he left and I left. | + | A fair bit of this has been implemented in the [[https://github.com/crawl/crawl/compare/bosch|Bosch]] branch. |
+ | * Shrink hell floor spawns sets, differentiate them harder away from constant derived undead, add OODs | ||
+ | * Cut Hells to 5 floors each (4 is a currently-modelled minimum and might be fine) | ||
+ | * Make hell effects pre-warned four turns in advance, use a custom themed list of slightly-more-unique effects instead of re-used spell miscasts, slow down the timer a fair bit to compensated | ||
+ | * Add a single-encompass-vault-floor Holy Hell, Purgatory, which opens up after the other four hells are breached. | ||
+ | * Said vaults should have three sub-vault shrines with an alabaster rune and a seraph randomly positioned in one of them. Each shrine still has some angels and daeva, of course. | ||
+ | * Zin's vaults: cherubim (with guaranteed silver ammo), ophanim (increase speed and give Cleansing Flame), extra enemies over the other two. | ||
+ | * Ely's vaults: apis (weaken base health a bit, given a Channel Mass Health Ward that boosts allies by 50%, remove Ely's enweakening), pearl dragons. | ||
+ | * Shining One's vaults: fravashi (angel-likes with summoning deep elf blademasters and spriggan defenders), dharmapala (retheme juggernauts, don't touch their use otherwise). | ||
+ | * Other adjustments: | ||
+ | * Give Asmodeus a MR-checking MON_SPELL_INSTANT Weakening Gaze and an AF_VULN brand, he's really bland compared to the other lords at this point. Note that people find the pan lords engaging in their excess compared to most of the hell lords, even if the hells are far more lethal. | ||
+ | * Dispater also could be refined, though I'm not sure how outside of Dimensional Anchor or AF_CORRODE. | ||
+ | * Monsters for Gehenna and Tartarus (see further below). | ||
+ | * Adjust tar_old to be more structurally-resistant to progress and tar_mu to incorporate the maze into the whole level (with open spots) instead of being mostly some separate labyrinth. | ||
== Tomb === | == Tomb === | ||
- | I don't have any particular solutions for this beyond reducing the tedium of extended entirely in an external fashion, but gods, mummy priests and greater mummies just don't work as the main content for a branch due to how overwhelming their suite of effects serves as. Playing them down slightly, reducing the enemy spam a bit, and leaning more on the current slipped-in guests will help a fair bit with the tedium and excess danger of the most difficult branch. A unique set of effects for death curses which removes the worst of their contents (summon spam, rot) would also... marginally help, for how death curse bombs necessitate more resting with gambles for extra torment more than anything else? | + | Tomb's monster sets are reliant on a defining design of summoning blocker-chaff to hide behind, with a variety of other designs and cryptspawn guests as dilution that are somewhat thoroughly incoherently mashed up. For the former, I'm tempted to throw out the multiple spellsets and reduce summons by replacing Summon Undead with Haunt (which has player-centered limitation instead of los-of-mummies-centered limits). For the latter, I'd re-weigh the per-floor weighting-sets kinda heavily towards plenty of one guest, the main tomb spawn, and 2% chances for the others in sets of: |
+ | |||
+ | * Guardian mummy: skeletal warrior, ushabti, death scarabs, jiangshi | ||
+ | * Mummy priest: ancient champion, bennu, revenant, lich (with reduced general spawns). | ||
+ | |||
+ | I also think death curses could avoid summon spam and rot, but death curses mostly require ever more resting instead of threatening killing by mummies (short of a very unlucky torment or slow timing) and possibly should be revamped entirely. The branch definitely is a mess between the subvaults, the unique hatches, and the summon+torment spam enemy strategy, and I feel like something has to give. | ||
==== Portals ==== | ==== Portals ==== | ||
- | * Ossuaries really don't have enough to support a whole portal on them, between early D trash zombies and mummies and trap spam all being weak. I think there's a need to lean on necromantic demons shadow imps and hellwings- as they spawn from necromancy miscasts and later mummies summon them, it's hardly out of place. Making scorpions, simulacra, spectrals, wraiths, and flying skulls all less "one layout only" would also help. | ||
* Obviously, completing [[https://github.com/crawl/crawl/compare/gauntlet|Gauntlet]] (needs an update for teleporters, I suppose) and [[https://github.com/crawl/crawl/compare/oubliette|Oubliette]] (needs more vaults) would be great in providing portals that don't pressure | * Obviously, completing [[https://github.com/crawl/crawl/compare/gauntlet|Gauntlet]] (needs an update for teleporters, I suppose) and [[https://github.com/crawl/crawl/compare/oubliette|Oubliette]] (needs more vaults) would be great in providing portals that don't pressure | ||
- | * Desolation is never going to be branch-ified, which makes the spawns designated for it rather awkward in their highly controlled presence. I think super-rare uses of the unique monsters on their lonesome to provide more justified presence for the portal and its contents beyond abandoned future plans would be pernient? Warlocks fit Crypt, Myrmidons and Peacekeepers fit Vaults, and saltlings themselves would hardly look out of place in Abyss? Not, like, a full on dispersal project or anything, as the branch is a discrete concept in and of itself, but a little less split while the branch continues to not exist. (Compare: deep elves in V / Depths OODs, cryptspawn in Hells / Tomb) | + | * Ossuaries really don't have enough to support a whole portal on them, between early D trash zombies and mummies and trap spam all being weak. I think there's a need to lean on necromantic demons shadow imps and hellwings- as they spawn from necromancy miscasts and later mummies summon them, it's hardly out of place. Making scorpions, simulacra, spectrals, wraiths, and flying skulls all less "one layout only" would also help. |
+ | * Baileys could use a pre-Lair / post-Lair split, to push the elves one later, use higher-strength orcs more readily, and get some better use of the mostly-nonpresent base tengu. A dragon-invaded bailey would also be nice for hide-temptation, though there's plenty of Lair vaults pushing on that as is. | ||
* Labyrinths need a generator change to be smaller and support building around arbitrary vault placements, but that war is not one I'm interested in bring back up again. | * Labyrinths need a generator change to be smaller and support building around arbitrary vault placements, but that war is not one I'm interested in bring back up again. | ||
+ | * Nerf Volcano Salamander equipment, as hasted salamanders are by far the most lethal enemies in the set. | ||
+ | * Desolation is never going to be branch-ified, which makes the spawns designated for it rather awkward in their highly controlled presence. I think it'd be pernient to provide super-rare uses of the unique monsters on their lonesome to provide more justified presence for the portal and its contents beyond abandoned future plans. Warlocks fit Crypt, Myrmidons and Peacekeepers fit Vaults, and saltlings themselves would hardly look out of place in Abyss? Not, like, a full on dispersal project or anything, as the branch is a solid discrete concept in and of itself outside of cloud performance issues, but a little less split while the branch continues to not exist (Compare: deep elves in V / Depths OODs, cryptspawn in Hells / Tomb). | ||
+ | * Ziggurat entrances are super plain (just liches and eyes?) for the grand terrors they represent, and I'd like to put together more weird entry vaults for them (some elemental vault with a demon, giant, dragon, and elemental for the four elements is the most obvious one). | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Monsters ==== | ||
+ | Remaining concerns I have left really are just sufficient-set-spawn-size for Snake, Spider, Gehenna, and Tomb (though there's a fair number of redesigns above, admittedly, only one new monster is introduced). Finishing out Desolation would be worthwhile, but feels implausible without fixing that branch's performance issues. | ||
+ | * Salamander Tyrant: Rune-vault-only spawns for Snake, rare lava spawns for Gehenna. Past-Naga-Warrior melee stats with a Weakening Gaze, to be implausible to melee in the way that ghost moths direly hurt spellcasting and to use one of the least-used statuses in the game much earlier. | ||
+ | * Elemental Hotspot: Amphibous lava spawns for Gehenna. Slings bolts of fire, explodes with a fireball into two low-health copies of itself and some fire elementals when brought down to half. Gehenna has nothing unique and this helps with the value of rF+ there. | ||
+ | * Ghoul Gravekeeper: Top-tier undead as rare Tartarus and Tomb spawns. Has ghoul-level bulk and damage, paired with Borgnjor's Vile Clutch to prevent fleeing and support other spawns plus LRD or something. | ||