See also o11c's version.
This is taking the "Project Kaizei" and "Barbarians of the Ancean Isles" idea of game simplicity and applying it to a different approach on game play and world design. It is a different game than the mainline, but can be created easily within an existing TMW-eA data. It should be easy to add to an existing TMW-eA game, with some alteration and adjustment depending on configuration and balance.
Inspiration: Legend of Zelda, Legend of Zelda: Link into the Past, Nethack, Crystalis, Secret of Mana, Diablo 2, Balder's Gate: Dark Alliance, Balder's Gate Dark Alliance 2, Dungeons and Dragons: Shadows over Mystara, Gauntlet 2
"Adventures" Development Conventions
TMW-eA Adventures has no overland map. Instead, it has a central town map linked to area maps through warp NPCs.
Map naming: A1-11 = TMW-eA Adventures Map Area 1 - Building Interior, Level 1.
0 - Exterior, 1 - Building Interior, 2 - Cave
Each area can have 10 levels for each type of map using this standard.
100x100 size maps with 20 tiled black border (140x140 total size) broken into 4 parts per map. Each part leads the character on a trail towards a sub-boss until the final boss is reached.
The character starts with a full suit of armor (chest, legs, head, hands, feet), a sword and a bow, which the character upgrades with monster points.
The monsters are based on "event monster" scripted encounters, with passage ways being blocked until the event is completed. The character will find skills, spells, mana potions, arrows, heal potions, concentration potions, iron potions, rings and amulets to help them on their quest.
Finding stuff on maps will be done through treasure chests. Keys will be dropped by monsters. Merchants will be located at the beginning of the map or in the town.
Balance is strike based, using the typical number of strikes a character must make with the minimum amount of strength they have, with equipment levels based on shaving strikes + high strength/dexterity occasionally shaving a strike or two. The bow is an inferior, but distance weapon.
Town NPCs: Warp, Merchant, Monster Point Register, Monster Point Equipment Upgrader, Skill Focus NPC, Storage, Barber, Banker
Though the demo is starting within a bandit lair, a town will be the center of TMW-eA Adventures. From there, the character will be warped to different areas available at different levels.
Drommond's Bounty: TMW-eA Adventures Demo Project
Plot Synopsis: The King of the land has issued a bounty for the capture of Drommond, a lord of bandits. Given the amount, Drommond must be brought to justice, for the good of the kingdom and the wealth of a lifetime!
Items and Equipment
(5 levels per Item)
1 Slayer Sword +10 Adds Str every other equipment level
2 Defender Sword +10 Adds Vit every other equipment level
3 Bow +5
4 Arrow +1
5 Magic Arrow +5
6 Chest - Adds Highest Def. every level +5%
7 Legs - Adds Agility every other equipment level +2%
8 Head - Adds Int every other equipment level +1%
9 Hands - Adds Dex every other equipment level +1%
10 Feet - Adds Luck every other equipment level +1%
11 Amulet of Power (Strength and Luck)
12 Amulet of Resistance (Vitality and Luck)
13 Amulet of Evasion (Agility and Luck)
14 Amulet of Brilliance (Intelligence and Luck)
15 Amulet of Precision (Dexterity and Luck)
16 Ring of Strength
17 Ring of Vitality
18 Ring of Agility
19 Ring of Dexterity
20 Ring of Intelligence
21 Key
22 Heal
23 Concentration
24 Iron
Additions After Demo: Possible additions to the database after the demo is complete. These reflect adding magic to the game and more complexity to monsters and area quests. Magic will use consumable scrolls with their command written on them. Magic level access will be limited to when a scroll is acquired rather than through a character experience system.
25 Mana
26 Scroll 1 (Target Blast)
27 Scroll 2 (Area Blast)
28 Scroll 3 (Protection)
29 Scroll 4 (Summon Ally)
30 Scroll 5 (Summon Ally Swarm)
31 Monster Drop 1
32 Monster Drop 2
33 Monster Drop 3
34 Monster Drop 4
35 Monster Drop 5
36 Monster Drop 6
37 Monster Drop 7
38 Monster Drop 8
39 Monster Drop 9
40 Monster Drop 10
41 Treasure 1
42 Treasure 2
43 Treasure 3
44 Treasure 4
45 Treasure 5
46 Treasure 6
47 Treasure 7
48 Treasure 8
49 Treasure 9
50 Treasure 10
Rounds
A series of rounds will be implemented. For testing the rounds can be selected, but within the storyline, the rounds will happen after the game is "completed" and the person wants to play through again on a harder difficulty. Difficulty selection may also become an option.
Typical Map Section Rounds
- First Wave, the Guards and Defenses - This group is composed of normal monsters and "key monsters" which, when killed, set the variable for opening barriers.
- Second Wave, the Response Team - This group also uses a key monster, though the second wave may have several key monsters and the character must fight through several waves before moving on to the next round.
- Sub-Boss (win a random ring of appropriate encounter level)
After 4 Sub-Bosses (4 sections) are defeated, a Boss round happens. After the defeat of the Boss round, the character wins a random amulet of appropriate encounter level and can move to the next map. Each map will allow the character to warp back to town, then return based on the quest variable. In town the character can upgrade equipment, buy beginning equipment again, trade equipment for potions, reset their stats, change hair style, gender and other activities.
After the demo, the town will be used to get to various other area quests and to meet other players to do an area quest together. Defeating area quests should take only a few hours at most...typically a half hour area quest would be best to encourage team play for brief periods.
On Using Variables
This style of game is an attempt to reduce variable use while offering a vast wealth of game activity with little advanced development knowledge to create. Some variables will be used to keep an interesting infrastructure for the game, but most new quests should repeat the same variables in a way that prevents exploits and bugs. This concept will expand with time.
Data Files
Changes and Additions to data files necessary to run this game.
server-data:
data/resnametable.txt (Added a1-11 map)
npc/_import.txt (Added a1-11 map)
npc/a1-11 (a1-11 map data)
conf/char-athena.conf (starting zeny 0, starting equipment sword and chest armor)
conf/battle_athena.conf (equipment breaking "yes" at 1000 (.1%))
db/item_db.txt (item entries for TMW-eA Adventures at 5001-5250)
db/mob_db.txt (monster entries for TMW-eA Adventures)
npc/functions/treasure_chestheal1.txt (treasure chest function for treasure chest NPCs)
npc/functions/treasure_chestarrow1.txt (arrow function for treasure chest NPCs)
npc/functions/treasure_chestiron1.txt (iron potion function for treasure chest NPCs)
npc/functions/treasure_chestconcentration1.txt (concentration potion function for treasure chest NPCs)
npc/functions/mob_points.txt (monsters added for monster points)
npc/scripts.conf (adventures functions added to function list)
client-data:
graphics/maps/a1-11.tmx
items.xml (Added 5000's items for tmw-ea adventures) monsters.xml (Add monsters for tmw-ea adventures)
New Concepts
Prepare Demo version very bare minimum rather than just altering the existing content of tmwA. Keep the 5 levels and so on for equipment as designed, but after release, prepare an expansion to it to be released for new server administrators to clone and design for. Its simplicity and ability to grow after the for server release will make it easy to design unique servers that aim to offer tmwA: Adventures as a dungeon crawling experience where existing content can be quickly altered or added to the game, just by using what exists. Change the map, the dialog of a script, the monsters the script spawns (or in different quantities), the reward and the NPCs, you have a new thing to conquer for dungeon crawling enthusiasts.
Maps can also be prepared as: PvE free spawning, but the open range maps offered in tmwA: Adventures will also be PvP, which adds areas where players can contest each other for control of open hunting grounds. This style of combat must be emphasized in the game as balanced. The use of scrolls and potions in combat can be crucial in determining the outcome, as well as the equipment upgrade numbers and where these upgrades were given. This helps creates interesting character builds.
The single town of the Game should be big enough to allow sitting and socializing, but also surrounded by a small woodland area where bandits randomly spawn. This map is a teamwork map with the lowest monsters in the game to help new players grow.
The Demo
The Demo needs just the small town map with 3-5 houses. Each house can be identical as can the interior. A portal exists just slightly north of the town in a cave. From the portal, a character is transported into a world of hack and slash dungeon crawling. The objective is to collect monster points to buy equipment upgrades and to run through a series of adventures that bring the character up. The very first monster will spawn surrounding the town at a low number, for extra monster point hunting outside of regular adventures.
The number of adventures given will be enough to raise the character to level 30 in the demo, providing hours of play. It could be higher after I begin furthering its actual development.
New Storyline
You come from a small village, Buldinsville, long protected by a powerful wizard in the Northern Woods of Argaes. That wizard died and now it is up to you to fight off the bandit and monster threat.
