Dungeon Danger levels

[Tannis]

The tracks make sense. Orcs wander about all the time, and unless they were born in that cave they had to have entered it somehow.

[reich]

Returning to dungeons's challenge levels - maybe they could be based on the geographical location of a given place.

For example a cave just outside a village on the plains would be fairly easy. On the other hand, a dungeon high in remote mountains, in the middle of a desert or on a secluded island could be more challenging. Pretty easy to figure out, I guess

So the danger level could rise in proportion to the proximity of civilized settlements, or something like that!

[jomiolto]

Perhaps there could be a message that would give you a rough idea of how difficult the dungeon is when you first enter it or see it? Something like "This dungeon gives you a strong sensation of danger. You shiver." or "This cave doesn't feel too bad."

[Nezur]

I've never seen a monster come out of a dunegon though, how could it have left footprints outside? Perhaps it's different in JADE anyway.

Orcs wander about all the time, and unless they were born in that cave they had to have entered it somehow.

In ADOM monsters were "born" and always stayed inside their dungeons unless the player lured them out. I suspect this will be the case in JADE too. Nevertheless the game could simply place the monsters on to the dungeon level and then generate more or less random wandering history for them by creating tracks.

Though it would be great if you could actually enter the wilderness square where the cave entrance exists and see foes wandering around it, going into the cave and coming out of it.

Returning to dungeons's challenge levels - maybe they could be based on the geographical location of a given place.

For example a cave just outside a village on the plains would be fairly easy. On the other hand, a dungeon high in remote mountains, in the middle of a desert or on a secluded island could be more challenging. Pretty easy to figure out, I guess

So the danger level could rise in proportion to the proximity of civilized settlements, or something like that!

Good idea. I proposed that among other things in a lengthy post earlier in this thread.

[reich]

Good idea. I proposed that among other things in a lengthy post earlier in this thread.

oh, sorry I didn't notice You even described it way better!

In general an alternative to this idea would be a complex leveling system, where you would always face enemies adjusted to your own level. ADOM uses some subtle leveling, which can even get a little unpredictable at times!

In mainstream rpgs, the fixed dificulty system is present in the Gothic series, while leveling is prominent in The Elder Scrolls. Personally, I think the former is better and more realistic!

[Mad Minstrel]

I've never seen a monster come out of a dunegon though

In ADOM non-hostile monsters can leave a dungeon with you.

[Grey]

I like the idea of some sort of message when you enter a cave, perhaps depending on skills or your perception etc. The game would compare your character level with the dungeon difficulty and tell you whether the cave looks boring/forboding/etc.

All dungeon levels linked to character level is an awful idea I think - it just makes every dungeon feel the same, and the game gets boring quickly. Dungeons should each have their own individual theme, and that will obviously involve some being more difficult than others, with even dangerous places around early on. A clever player will of course check out rumours in the local town before just waltzing into a nearby cave.

[NMBLNG]

I like the idea of geographically and character based difficulty.

Say, each dungeon has a base difficulty, which is a randomly determined level.
If it's close to a town or castle, it goes down. Farther in the wilderness, it goes up.
If the character gets stronger, deeper levels get harder and levels near the surface get easier (monsters might want to hide....)
Story-related events can also alter the difficulty.

There might also be guaranteed dungeons with specific difficulty, too.

[Epythic]

I like the idea of geographically and character based difficulty.

Say, each dungeon has a base difficulty, which is a randomly determined level.
If it's close to a town or castle, it goes down. Farther in the wilderness, it goes up.
If the character gets stronger, deeper levels get harder and levels near the surface get easier (monsters might want to hide....)
Story-related events can also alter the difficulty.

There might also be guaranteed dungeons with specific difficulty, too.

+1, noone would build a city near an uber-dungeon and no city would allow a new dangerous dungeon in the neighborhood

[F50]

If the character gets stronger, deeper levels get harder and levels near the surface get easier (monsters might want to hide....)
Story-related events can also alter the difficulty.

please no, if my PC gets stronger, I don't want to have to slog through weaker levels near the surface before things start getting good.

I agree with the message idea.... come mid-level, if we don't have some sort of tip, in most dungeons we'll either be bored or dead.

agreed.

I also think there could be a couple of other things regarding dungeons too, that would be realistic:

1. Dungeons that are far away from towns should be more dangerous than those close to towns. Any dungeon within 10 squares of a town will likely be levels 1-3.

good idea. However, after a certain point (25 squares away) the town's influence should not affect the dungeons in that area. This means that dangerous dungeons are about 30 squares away from a town (and there are more dungeons in that area because of #3).

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.

Excellent idea. However, I would suggest that most of the location spawns would not be dungeons, but other kinds of things like small fortresses, half-dungeon half-open areas, and hostile cities/camps. All spawns should be at least danger level 5. Dungeons and fortresses should grow just like their parent locations.