First Mod

[bluemarauder]

Hey guys! I just got the tes constructor about a week ago, and im part of the way into making my first dungeon, and I was thinking about what I should put in there.. so I figured I would poll you guys and see what you think would be cool to see in it.

so far, the basic setup of the dungeon is that its gonna be like a gauntlet, where you gotta battle certain things to get the keys to unlock the next door, and so on.. insert traps here and there... and the like. I got enough of it built almost for a demo on it, but I want to get some opinions from some guys who have better modding knowledge than I do.

[DM8954]

If you come up with a reason or story behind the gauntlet, it might help you think of good traps and ideas. If everything is just random and put there for its own sake, it won't be very cohesive. If you're just doing it to learn the how-to side of it that would be ok but a theme or story could still give you guidlines and ideas to help you along the way.

Now, apart from that I did just think of a possible puzzle/trap. You could have one tunnel along the way split into 3 small chambers. Mark each one with a certain symbol and maybe have a sign or something explaining (in as little detail as possible) what you have to do. Have you ever been to an Aylied ruin that has the big square slab in the ground that either drops out from beneath you or crushes you into the ceiling? Well, each chamber in the puzzle could have one of those and also a secret rock-covered cave entrance. That way each one is identical. If you don't have the secret tunnel behind each, the player can see that on the overview map. Then you either have to activate the correct switch...or all the switches in the right order. (the second one would require you to learn a little scripting) You could even make it so that each chamber is at the end of a long tunnel from the 3-way split. Then if you choose the wrong one, not only are you dropped or crushed but traps (things jabing out of the walls) are activated that you would have to navigate back through them all if you get it wrong (but not on your way in, so you're not expecting it right away-and keep the tunnels dark through that area with bright lights at the split and the ends)

Maybe I gave too much detail and ruined it for you... but I'm just getting the idea out of my system. I'm sure that there's even more you could do with it.

Oh, you could also have a system of underwater tunnels to navigate. Always a good labrinth test to add.

[bluemarauder]

hmmm, thats a really good idea..  since i decided to put the link to the outside in the graveyard at bravil.. maybe go w/ a necromancer theme..

that trap idea is brilliant, though.. ill have to fit it in

[DM8954]

Even though I was at work when I read this and replied, you got me thinking about all sorts of ideas for a labrinth and traps. Now I'm pretty interested in doing one myself. I haven't decided if I'll keep all the ideas to myself or not but I'll share a few more with you.

The first one will work well for your necromancy theme. You could make a room either in a larger chamber or next to some adjacent tunnels with windows in it. Seal it up completely, though, so that there are no doors. Put Skeleton Archers inside, sealed off for eternity to protect all territory in their sight. It would probably be preferable to have them elevated compared to the players who will walk by. Make sure you test that they can fire arrows through the holes and 'windows'.

You know the giant Aylied stone-block traps I mentioned above? Well, the ones that push the player up toward the ceiling might be able to be reused in a different way. Hopefully, it would be possible to rotate or mirror them so that they are completely upside down. That way they slam down to the ground, then slowly pull back up. It makes it a much more natural animation. There are warnings about never rotating interior cells because the textrues will probably be messed up... but if it's mirrored vertically, I have a feeling it might work. It'll be kinda like a "thwomp" in Mario.

The last idea is to incorporate into a maze area, as system of moving walls (secret rock-doors in some cases) that are liked to push-blocks. You need to use scripts to make it so when you walk to a certain area, one door will open and another will close. Sometimes you could use more than two doors. Every time you move to one of these locations, entire sections of the maze can change. It's also good for the begining of a large maze to dramatically close the door behind the player at the entrance.

[Shelby Morgan]

Obviously you want the bosses to get progressingly stronger. Unfortunately up until recently, I've had trouble making the perfect end dungeon boss. What I've learned is that creatures and monsters don't really make good bosses. Use actual NPCs. They can be scripted a lot easier and increasing and decreasing difficulty is quite simple. For the final boss, It depends on your theme. If the gauntlet is to test your strength, have a strong knight, warrior, or beserker. If you are more interested in stealth, fight a fast light armored warrior. If you are more interested in magic, have a necromancer, mage, or conjurer. My suggestions, do a bit of scripting and make it so the player can choose which final boss they want to fight. Make sure you have the boss leveling as you level and I would suggest the bosses stats go something like this:

Stealth Boss:
Fast enough to prove a real threat to mages and fighters and is really only fit to be fit by another stealthy unit. Script him so he uses bows at range and melee as the player moves in.

Fighting Boss:
Strong enough for anyone who's not heavily armored to fall quickly. Give him a random set of weapons (strong ones mind you) and probably make the enchanted.

Mage Boss:
Make him be able to summon buddies. He should be able to lay down some strong spells that can take you down quick if you arent pretty agic resistant to survive.


Just some ideas.