Dungeon Lords - MMXII Interview Part 1 @ GameBanshee

It's definitely garbage in nearly every aspect, but some kind of sick curiosity is driving me to see what lies beyond Fargrove. :)

I'm still holding off - but I figure if you come out with some kind of greenlighting - then it must be worth it :)
 
Heh, that's something I guess… How about the exploration and character development?

I'm not far enough to really analyze the character development, but exploration basically boils down to fumbling around generic landscapes while constantly looking at your map screen because of the pathetically short view distance.

There are hidden switches, etc., in the dungeons though, and some areas actually have a half-assed sense of atmosphere.

The monster design is definitely the game's (only) strong point though. I almost fell out of my chair the first time I tried to lockpick a chest that turned out to be a Mimic.
 
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I'm not far enough to really analyze the character development, but exploration basically boils down to fumbling around generic landscapes while constantly looking at your map screen because of the pathetically short view distance.

There are hidden switches, etc., in the dungeons though, and some areas actually have a half-assed sense of atmosphere.

The monster design is definitely the game's (only) strong point though. I almost fell out of my chair the first time I tried to lockpick a chest that turned out to be a Mimic.

Hmm, yeah - that sounds about right for Dungeon Lords.

It will probably be a while before I get around to trying it again.
 
The monster design is definitely the game's (only) strong point though. I almost fell out of my chair the first time I tried to lockpick a chest that turned out to be a Mimic.

Hmmm … How do Mimics know that a chest is something adventurers want ?

The results of latest scientific Mimic research, carried out by special Mimic scientists and investigators ?

Shown at Mimic conferences by charts and PowerMimic presentations ?
 
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It doesn't even say whether or not the multiclass system is the same as before. I'm assuming you can still have two first-tier classes, two second-tier clasees, and one third-tier class, but it would be nice if that was clarified somewhere.

It's the same. D.W. goes into a bit more detail on the changes here:

linky

Key quote:

"GB: We understand that there are new character classes - are you expanding the core class options beyond the basic four, or will all of the new additions be specialty classes? Can you give us an idea of how many you're adding, and what new roles you felt were needed in the game?

D.W. Bradley: One of the most short-sighted RPG design flubs at the time, in Dungeon Lords and other games such as Oblivion, was having so many magic spells and only 8 hot-key slots for casting them - doh! The new action bar in DL MMXII supports 12 hot-key spells and actions, but the game has many more magic spells than this, and to make this more manageable I decided to revise the four Basic Classes and assign the four schools of Magic spells among them: Fighters auto-learn Rune Magic, Rogues auto-learn Nether Magic, Mages auto-learn Arcane Magic and can acquire Nether Magic, and Adepts auto-learn Crystal Magic and can acquire Rune Magic. Auto-learn means that the magic spells in a specific school are automatically added to your Hero's spellbook when you Level Up. Each of the four Basic Classes also begins with a new special ability: Fighters have Charge Attack, Mages have Flash (super casting speed), Adepts have Divine Aura (absorption shield), and Rogues have Sneak.

A Hero may only cast spells in a school available to its Class, however, multi-class development remains a prime feature of Dungeon Lords, and players may quest to add a second Basic Class enabling them to acquire and cast spells of their secondary chosen Basic Class as well. The initial choice of starting Basic Class will determine the magic spells your Hero automatically learns when you Level Up, and any spells from the other Magic schools available to your Hero must be purchased from characters in the game or found in dungeons. The Tier II Classes were subsequently revised to offer advanced development based upon player's choice of Basic Classes. Each Basic Class still has an advanced Tier II Class equivalent, but the game also has a unique advanced Tier II Class for every combination of the Basic Classes. For example a Fighter-Mage Hero may choose to quest for any two (out of three) advanced Tier II classes for Fighter and Mage: Knight (advanced Fighter), Sorcerer (advanced Mage), and BattleMage (advanced Fighter-Mage). This led to new advanced Tier II Classes for the game, including Tier II Druid (advanced Tier II Adept-Rogue) and Tier II Nightblade (advanced Tier II Rogue).

Players that complete Dojo quests may choose to quest for Tier II Dojo Classes based upon their Basic Class choices - for example, a Fighter may quest for Tier II Samurai Class, an Adept may quest for Tier II Monk class, and a Fighter-Adept may quest for either, but not both. Female Hero characters joining the Sisterhood have exclusive advanced Tier II class options also based upon Basic Class choices, including the new Tier II Bladewitch Class. The advanced Tier II classes generally offer one or more additional skills to augment the hero's development in accordance with the Basic Class choices.

At the highest level, there is a corresponding elite Tier III class for every advanced Tier II class, and this led to new Tier III Classes for the game, such as Tier III Illusionist and Tier III Necromancer. Each Tier III class has an exclusive elite Skill that may be developed to provide exceptional ability, and it makes me laugh when I think how insanely powerful some of these new abilities are, the Ninjalord with Cripple skill that can bleed, fear, blind, stun, hobble, maim and kill enemies, the Dragonmaster with Whirlwind skill granting super speed movement and attacks, War Witch's Seduction skill that stupefies an enemy and compels other monsters to attack it, and Cabalist's Twisted Master skill which takes control of the enemy and compels them to attack the other monsters. Each Hero may only quest for one Tier III class, but Dungeon Lords MMXII now supports unlimited savegames and players may start new games and develop as many different Hero characters as they wish."
 
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Thanks, chamr. It looks like I have some interesting decisions ahead.

That's assuming I can continue to tolerate the flaws long enough to reach that point. :)
 
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Thanks, chamr. It looks like I have some interesting decisions ahead.

That's assuming I can continue to tolerate the flaws long enough to reach that point. :)

lol, yes, that is the struggle for your DL soul. :)

More info on the new class system being put together by the good folks at GB

link-a-licious
 
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With all these new classes, does that mean there are new ascension quests for each? These were quests to go kill someone who would spawn upon your character getting that quest.
New content? Really? I'm getting a little interested. How well does the game play now and does it still have that crappy hiccup when mobs spawn?
 
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How well does the game play now and does it still have that crappy hiccup when mobs spawn?

I'm getting a weird pause sometimes for 3-5 seconds for no apparent reason. It doesn't seem to have any connection to spawning, and it only happens in the wilderness.

Also, the day-night cycle seems a bit wacky. It works fine outside, but it's always dark in Fargrove no matter what time it is.
 
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I'm getting a weird pause sometimes for 3-5 seconds for no apparent reason. It doesn't seem to have any connection to spawning, and it only happens in the wilderness.
Back in the day, I think the prevailing theory was the pause is a spawn check triggered by either a timer or a zone transition. You may or may not roll a spawn, but the pause happened when the code checked. Guess that didn't get fixed in the new version.

Also, the day-night cycle seems a bit wacky. It works fine outside, but it's always dark in Fargrove no matter what time it is.
Sounds about right. :) Not sure I'm remembering correctly, but I think Fargrove is the only place where there is perpetual night. Guess that didn't get fixed either…
 
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Well I got to level 16, and I think I've had enough. I'm just not enjoying this game enough to invest anymore time in it.

The sad thing is that this could have been a decent game. The framework is there, but there's just too many things still wrong with it to be worthwhile imo.
 
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Well I got to level 16, and I think I've had enough. I'm just not enjoying this game enough to invest anymore time in it.

The sad thing is that this could have been a decent game. The framework is there, but there's just too many things still wrong with it to be worthwhile imo.

And I don't like what I'm hearing about the streamlining choices DW made in this version. The quirky game systems were a lot of the charm, imho, and together they made for a unique experience.
 
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Ones eaten by Mimics ? ;)
 
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