F50
04-07-2008, 03:47 PM
The thread Dungeon Danger Levels, an interesting idea came up that I would like to discuss further
3. I don't know if dungeons are generated mid game, but we could have something like, lets say you have a dungeon that's equivalent to level 10 on a mountain somewhere... years of game time go by and it hasn't been touched by the player or sacked by some NPC. Gradually this dungeon danger level will increase. When it hits certain milestones, like level 20, 30, 40, new level 1 dungeons are created in the nearby area. This would indicate that untamed areas would become more dangerous over time if nothing is done to check their growth.
Dungeons changing allows the player to return to an area or stay relatively in one place. You don't have to take huge treks to another area, just go to a dungeon that you haven't been to before a little ways from where you currently are. If the world doesn't change dynamically, you will ultimately end up progressing linearly from a low danger zone to a high danger zone. Furthermore, this allows the player to start wherever he/she wishes (if dungeons near towns are less dangerous then the player can start near any town, but that is still quite free and intuitive) and the rest of the world will get more dangerous so that moving in any direction will make your next stop. Instead of causing the player to follow a path, the path follows the player so to speak (assuming the player has no interest in a main quest).
So how should/could the JADE world change once the game has begun?
1. places that are left alone become more dangerous.
2. More places appear in areas left alone. (I think these should be more than just dungeons, see Overmap Alternatives to Dungeons thread).
3. Locations encourage similar locations to flourish and different ones to wither.
For example, say you have a town next to a small orc dungeon. It does not make sense that the small orc-based dungeon will get a lot more powerful over time. Surely the town would be more prudent than to leave the caves unchecked until they have huge masses of orcs swarming down upon them! The orc dungeon should not get stronger over time, but perhaps even become weaker. On the other hand, a nearby trading post will become stronger faster, assuming the trading post is significantly smaller than the town.
This should also apply to encounters. There should be more orcs running around an orc dungeon and fewer orcs where a gnoll fortress ravages the countryside.
3. I don't know if dungeons are generated mid game, but we could have something like, lets say you have a dungeon that's equivalent to level 10 on a mountain somewhere... years of game time go by and it hasn't been touched by the player or sacked by some NPC. Gradually this dungeon danger level will increase. When it hits certain milestones, like level 20, 30, 40, new level 1 dungeons are created in the nearby area. This would indicate that untamed areas would become more dangerous over time if nothing is done to check their growth.
Dungeons changing allows the player to return to an area or stay relatively in one place. You don't have to take huge treks to another area, just go to a dungeon that you haven't been to before a little ways from where you currently are. If the world doesn't change dynamically, you will ultimately end up progressing linearly from a low danger zone to a high danger zone. Furthermore, this allows the player to start wherever he/she wishes (if dungeons near towns are less dangerous then the player can start near any town, but that is still quite free and intuitive) and the rest of the world will get more dangerous so that moving in any direction will make your next stop. Instead of causing the player to follow a path, the path follows the player so to speak (assuming the player has no interest in a main quest).
So how should/could the JADE world change once the game has begun?
1. places that are left alone become more dangerous.
2. More places appear in areas left alone. (I think these should be more than just dungeons, see Overmap Alternatives to Dungeons thread).
3. Locations encourage similar locations to flourish and different ones to wither.
For example, say you have a town next to a small orc dungeon. It does not make sense that the small orc-based dungeon will get a lot more powerful over time. Surely the town would be more prudent than to leave the caves unchecked until they have huge masses of orcs swarming down upon them! The orc dungeon should not get stronger over time, but perhaps even become weaker. On the other hand, a nearby trading post will become stronger faster, assuming the trading post is significantly smaller than the town.
This should also apply to encounters. There should be more orcs running around an orc dungeon and fewer orcs where a gnoll fortress ravages the countryside.