Brainstorming New Areas For The Game

[HousePet]

Seems odd that the Far East doesn't have any Spellblaze affected areas. Can't think of any suggestions though.

How about a ruined Sunwall faction town, filled with Rak'Shor necromancers raising negative celestial talent using undeads?

An area with Steam Giants and/or Yetis. Yetis might be too weak for the player at that point though. Would be a good foreshadowing.

Speaking of foreshadowing, we need a Pocket of Distorted Time where you *gets eaten by DarkGod*

[Davion Fuxa]

The Neverwake swamp was my idea for an area affected by the Spellblaze.
The Celestial Temple is sort of my idea of what a ruined Sunwall area might look like.

Yeti's might be a good candidate to add along with the Rockgrass Steppes, Featherwind Foothills, or Bellowing Caves.

[Davion Fuxa]

Not really an area idea, more of an enemy idea - perhaps something could be done to use 'Statues' as enemies. Could be its own dungeon or something else...

Statue of Blades - Normal Enemies
Essentially slow acting enemies that have been enchanted with magic. They make use of the Beyond the Flesh/Telekinetic Grasp talents to flay the players character. They use Mindhook and Telekinetic Leap to get the player's character in range of their attacks. Statues are 'technically' immobile enemies that unlike Golems or other constructs lack any joints for movement. However, the Telekinetic forces these statues employ could grant them to the ability to move around.

Statue of Arcane - Normal Enemies
Statues of Blasting make use of Arcane spells against the player. They fire bolts of magical energy at the player. They make use of Phase Door, Shielding, and Aegis talents for defense while they harry the players character. This statue would be entirely immobile and could be subject to the same speed limitations of the Statues of Blades.

Statue of Stars - Normal Enemies
Statues of Stars make use of of a mix of Celestial talents to harry the player. Whether using Glyphs, Circles, or just blasting the player with the barrage of Light or Dark themed attacks, the Statues of Stars seek to decimate the player with its arsenal of abilities.

Statue of Time - Normal Enemies
Statues of Time are themed on the use of Paradox talents, manipulating time and space. They can move about with Dimensional Step and Swap places with the player while dumping an array of talents on the player.

As a thought - maybe these enemies could pair up with Golems in some dungeon?

[Davion Fuxa]

This really should probably be thrown into Dreadfall, but I figured I'd note it in this thread since I'm throwing other Enemy Ideas in here:

Poltergeist - Elite
A ghost that manipulates his environment, they make use of Mindslayer talents to to attack the player.

[Davion Fuxa]

An idea for perhaps a potential pop-up event, or one that could reside in one of Maj'Eyals Towns...

Alchemist Laboratory

You are approached by a rather sketchy looking man.
Sketchy Alchemist - "Your an adventurer correct, perhaps you can be of some... discreet help."
Player Character - "How so sir?/Sorry, Not Interested."
Sketchy Alchemist - "I own a laboratory - though not for potions. You see, I was planning on creating magical constructs that could be used as servants. Unfortunately however, while it is an easy enough task to control a few constructs, trying to control an array is a bit difficult..."
Player Character - "As in, they have gone Berserk?/I'd rather not enter a place as dangerous as an Alchemists Laboratory, goodbye."
Sketchy Alchemist - "Indeed they have. I need someone to go in and hit the control levers that power the Automated Assembler. You'd be free to collect whatever you wish from my laboratory as payment. Just note though that I've bolted my Laboratory shut to keep the constructs in, and I will lock it back up when you enter."
Player Character - "I'll see to it./So I'll be trapped? I'm sorry, but this sounds too dangerous."

Area Composition

It's a one way in dungeon, with lots of 'magical' constructs inside. Maybe this could use the Statue Ideas above along with Golems and other 'Alchemist Construct' type enemies. The Boss of the instance could be an indestructible 'Automated Assembler' which churns out Golems that randomly wander around causing problems for the player.

The Goal is to hit 4 or 5 levers in one big instance to turn off the Automated Assembler. Doing this also deactivates all the constructs as well - makes them turn to the Neutral faction and no longer attack the player (and preferably no longer give experience or items). The exit/or entrance rather, opens up as well.

[Davion Fuxa]

This is sort of like the Neverwake Swamp idea but changed up a bit to have more of a Temporal theme to it instead.

Timeless Mists

The boundaries of time and space seem to blend and twist within the mists of this swamp. You cannot tell whether you are coming or going or if you are here or there. Is this land still within Eyal, or have you gone somewhere entirely different?

Area Composition

The area is a swamp, so it is the same as the Alternate Trollmire map with water and trees. Perhaps some space tiles that the player couldn't enter but could see/shoot over could exist. The Walls could perhaps include hat of the Unhallowed Morass or the initial entry into the Temporal Rift mixed in.

The Enemy types could consists of Aquatic Horrors, Temporal Horrors, Temporal Elementals (which could pace over space tiles), Losgoroths, and Mana Worms.

[anonymous000]

Good ideas here and there, but keep in mind that the looks and the enemies may not be the most important thing in introducing new areas, but the context is (at least to me).

A good example will be the Dark Crypt. The enemies there are nothing special (excluding the demon spawned from Melinda), and by the looks the Dark Crypt is just a dwarfed normal dungeon, but to me the Dark Crypt is the best dungeon in the whole game. Why is that?

1. The context: Why are you going to this dungeon? The Dark Crypt provided a very clear purpose for that, and a good one too (rescuing a girl from whatever terrible things that are tormenting her). Ok, the purpose may be an old-fashioned one, but it is communicated very well. As you enter the next level, a text message pops up and indirectly suggesting the awful things that are being done to Melinda, keeping you fully engaged. In contrast, most zones fail to convince you to enter them, you just enter them to gain some experience points.

2. The gameplay: In the first few levels you are often surrounded by dangerous casters because of the small size of the dungeon, and in the final level you need to kill 4 corruptors in a limited time. The Dark Crypt provides a challenge that other zones seldom provide

3. The reward: You save Melinda's life and is given an extra story line. The other zones are often far too one-off

With so many zones suggested, it may be time to move on. Select the more interesting zones and discuss the things above, some suggestions below:

1. Add a solid storyline. The backgrounds are there, but why do we need to enter the zone, what are we going to do, any lasting impact to the story, these had been missed. Text messages pop up at each level to keep you engaged also helps

2. Add interesting challenges to these zones, like small size / put stuff to a particular location (like the final battle) / time limit to accomplish the mission / special disadvantage, etc

3. Involve NPCs, be it about fighting your opponents with an NPC like Aeryn or about rescuing an important person like Melinda or about fighting a vastly powerful demon with the help from Zigur, etc. Try to make the NPCs prominent, contrary to Norgan who never say a damn thing.

4. Add rewards, learn new talents/special items/etc

[Davion Fuxa]

Some thought for some of these dungeons can be derived simply from the 'rewards' for completing the instance.

-With the Mercenary Outfit, I noted the idea that perhaps we could have 'Mercenary Patrols' running around and that clearing the Mercenary Outfit would reduce said patrols.
-The Rockgrass Steppes is sort of a 'Wilderness' type of idea similar to that of say the Old Forest or Trollmire; moreso the Old Forest though since it could have the entrance to the Featherwind Foothills towards the end of it.
-The Featherwind Foothills could spawn 'Featherwind Patrols' or just from time to time attack Patrols in the Far East/The Player's Character. Clearing the instance could affect this Patrols; maybe turn them friendly (so they only attack Orcs) or just stop attacking the player.
-Clearing the Prisoner of War Camp would spawn more friendly Anorithil/Sun Paladin Patrols to attack enemy Orc Patrols in the Far East.
-The Orc Workshops would be much like Vor's Armory - LOOT, LOOT, LOOT!

In some cases I think the reward can help warrant entry quite a bit.

Also of note, the Mercenary Outfit has the potential to be a replacement dungeon for one of the main continents dungeons - I'll note again I don't think much of Daikaira, I wouldn't mind seeing it get the boot to the Far East as well now that it has an Alternate version which sort of ruins the Lore somewhat. Some other dungeons might be worthy of being dropped over in the Far East too.

[Davion Fuxa]

So more thoughts then on everything I included here and how I sort of categorize some things...

Main Continent Dungeon Ideas:

Mercenary Outfit - Could be classed as a replacement for one of the 'Into the Darkness' quests, a stand alone option dungeon, or perhaps even as a dungeon that could appear as a sort of event. The purpose of the Mercenary Outpost is to fill the void left by perhaps moving one of the other dungeons over to the Far East.

My initial thoughts is that the Mercenary Outfit could be a dungeon that could house 'Brutish Rogue' type enemies. This of course means Skirmishers, Marauders, etc - not the usual Thieves and Assassin type Rogue enemies. I also chimed that they could be tied to Zigur - that would give some ability for Zigur type enemies to be made available to fight for the player. In many ways, a main draw of the area might just be the enemies.

An idea might be that this dungeon could be a quest offered by Linaniil -after- defeating Urkis in Tempest Peak. Maybe the Mercenaries stole something of importance in one of their raids or she has just grown tired of their operations and wants them dealt with.

Alchemist Labratory - This sort of idea is one I came up with in an attempt to perhaps include some 'in town' quests. Kind of like the Arena quests or Tannen's Towers, this could perhaps have the player delving into a dungeon located in a town instead of the usually wilderness. Perhaps this could be located in the empty building located in Derth? Or perhaps it could be made as a sort of draw for players to come to Shatur, the Thaloran Elf Capital.

In many ways I picture this to be a sort of 'challenge' dungeon that the player can undertake - but unlike the Dark Crypt or the Unknown Tunnels, the player can really do it at any time - much like the Lumberjack Village or Tempest Peak.

Far East Wilderness Area Ideas:

Rockgrass Steppes - This is not really a dungeon with much purpose more then serving as a filler dungeon between two points. In many ways this could be seen as another dungeon like the Old Forest or Eruan - you aren't going to those dungeons for the dungeons themselves but for the Sher'Tul Temple or the Charred Scar that follow after them.

That said however, there could be some Lore similar to the Old Forest here. As an example I gave the idea that the Featherwind Foothills dungeon could be connected to this one. Perhaps there is some Orcish Lore talking about the dealings of the Rockgrass Steppes or the Featherwind Foothills - maybe there is a Stralite Deposit they want to make use of and there is a lot of Silk being produced in the area. Alternatively maybe some Orcs simply drew too close and got attacked by Featherwinds and now they are encroaching on the area in retaliation.

Featherwind Foothills - I sort of thought of the idea of including a 'primitive uncivilized' type of humanoid race due to conversation in the Ogre-Magi thread. To be honest, I don't see why we couldn't perhaps have some hostile humanoids in game. As a note, this is sort of similar to the Prisoner of War Camp idea in providing some alleviation to Orcish Patrols. After clearing the instance maybe the Featherwind Patrols or attacks or what not could only be directed at the Orcs.

Additionally, part of the reason I noted this idea was due to the fact that this could be another way of making Celestial talents see more use in game. It coudl also provide an interesting way of throwing in some Skirmisher talents. Also of note was the idea of a sort of 'Wilder/Arcane' hybrid type of enemy with the Featherwind Lightning Caller.

My hope is that the Boss Fight for such an instance like this could be made really interesting - maybe you battle a bunch of Orcs in the end as they try to destroy the Featherwind Nests.

Bellowing Caves - Much like the Featherwind Foothills area, this idea corresponds to having a sort of hostile 'uncivilized' humanoid race. In many ways it is an alternative idea that sort of takes a different approach to incorporating enemy types that make use of talent sets not really used as much in game - this time being stuff like Shouts, Oozemancer stuff, Reaver types, and a sort of reverse idea on a 'Wilder/Arcane' hybrid enemy from above.

I have no clue as to why the player might venture here outside of just 'wanderlust' and looking for another dungeon to explore. Maybe someone else will have some thoughts on it though.

Neverwake Swamp - To be blunt, this is just a simple idea to attempt to re-include enemy types that the player doesn't see a whole lot in game. It also attempts to sort of build on the catastrophic nature of the Spellblaze a bit more as well.

Regardless of the sort of re-hash this idea presents, there should be some good background to go with to get some lore going to make it work for inclusion.

Far East Orc Area Ideas:

Prisoner of War Camp - This is just an idea for a replacement to the Orc Breeding Pits. The main purpose I thought of for this dungeon was that it could help 'alleviate' problems with Orcish Patrols near or around the Gates of Morning by providing additional Sunwall Faction patrols.

This is probably also a good dungeon for simply producing Lore with, opening up a plethora of content on how Orcs treat their prisoners as well as just indicating that the Orcs 'do' take prisoners. It could also somewhat touch on why Aeyrn is somewhat questioning of whether you are a friend or a foe when you initially arrive at the Gates of Morning.

As for enemies, it could be a good place to make use of perhaps 'Bleed' type of damage effects, Celestial talents, a place to drop some 'Afflicted' enemy types, and perhaps some other interesting stuff.

Celestial Temple - The Sunwall has been beaten back to the Gates of Morning, but perhaps they could have some abandoned areas of note where stuff is happening. The initial idea I had here was that Orcs could have perhaps taken up residence in what would have maybe been a 'Celestial Talent' school for Sunwall users, and are now attempting to learn Celestial Magic for their own uses.

This would go well in sort of showing the 'learning' nature of the Orcs, where they simply will do what they can to better themselves to survive. It is also yet another area were Celestial Talents could make an appearance in use - since very limited amounts of enemies really use them against the player.

Orc Workshops - Maybe the Orcs could have a bit of an Industrial background? The Orcs have four (known) Prides, so it shouldn't seem that far off that they could have a sort of 'factory' zone available where they produce wares. What's more, it provides another means of obtaining lots of loot for the player.

In many ways, one of the reasons I sort of thought up this idea was so that we could maybe showcase what all the different types of 'professions' might be in the game. Kind of like how World of Warcraft has various neutral professions outside of the combat stuff, maybe we could see a bit more of that sort of nature get presented in the Tales of Maj'Eyal universe.

Temporal Zone Ideas:

Shattered Plains/Timeless Mists - I realize these are different ideas but more or less they run along the same theme - Temporal. The reason I suggested them was to add a sort of static temporal dungeon concept. Unlike with the Temporal Rift, the purpose of the dungeon is to sort of have a Temporal Zone 'within' Maj'Eyal rather then sort of outside of it.

Much like some of my other suggestions for the Neverwake dungeon, it is also about bringing back some elements from past dungeons. This could include specific dungeon elements such as the Phase Door idea from the Abashed Expanse or just simply enemy types that aren't as commonly used.

Frozen Charred Scar/Boggy Eruan - Sort of a build on for above ideas, this sort of attempts to make the Temporal Zone idea include a sort of 'throw the player around' concept. Unlike with the Temporal Rift where this is done though, the actual dungeons get seriously altered in style to something entirely different.

As a sort of lore build up, the idea is sort of to match the fact that 'The Creator' can have a huge influence on things, and this could be sort of a taste of what he can potentially do.

[Lubaf]

The following is a RL message proposed for nuclear waste dumps, in case somebody 9000 years from now uncovers it:

This place is a message... and part of a system of messages... pay attention to it!Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful culture.

This place is not a place of honor...no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here... nothing valued is here.

What is here is dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.

The danger is in a particular location... it increases toward a center... the center of danger is here... of a particular size and shape, and below us.

The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.

The danger is to the body, and it can kill.

The form of the danger is an emanation of energy.

The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this place physically. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.

I'd like to see a dungeon with a sign with a modified version of that message in the entrance, signed by the Sher'tul. Does that get your brain pumping?

Thanks
Luc "High Level, Obviously" French

[MarginalMagus]

Lukep, I love that! I especially like it because the unspecific nature lends itself very well to a complex fantasy setting like this one. This could be a great opportunity for a Temporal Warden themed dungeon!