28 replies to this topic

[MoscowModder]

Note: This topic is copy-pasted (and edited for spoilers) from a Solaris dev topic. If you're already on the Solaris dev team, please reply here.

 

I want to start planning out my Water dungeon for Solaris. Being Water-elemental, this dungeon will focus more on puzzles than on combat (not that there won't be combat, mind you).

Setting: An underground aqueduct set beneath a town. It will have stone walkways alongside mostly straight channels of water. Basically, it's an unrealistically clean sewer. But maybe it has some dark secret lying behind/beneath it (in keeping with the ongoing multiple-distinct-areas-per-dungeon theme) which is now exposed.

Questions that need answering:

• What is this secret place hidden behind the benign utility?
• What sorts of enemies are in here? Demons are now a possibility.
• What's the central gimmick or dungeon puzzle?
• What sort of smaller (single-room) puzzles can I put in here?

 

[Binx]

Well, changing water levels seems like the obvious choice for a dungeon gimmick, but it's a bit overused, probably.

[MoscowModder]

Yeah, I've considered that. I've also been hoping for something more original. Of course, there's no guarantee my current idea is really original either.

[Binx]

I'm sure it's more original than anything I could come up with.

[justin]

I had an Archimedes puzzle idea, a play on raising water level. It involves pushing blocks into pools of water to raise the level so it overflows into a channel to fill another pool. Keep doing that to fill a central pool that extinguishes a fire, or allows you to raft/dive to next section of dungeon.

[Deedee]

NVM, Read my reply in the dev topic if you are on the dev team.

Edited by Arceus, 14 December 2014 - 09:37 PM.

[MoscowModder]

@Justin: That sounds pretty awesome, but I'm not sure how easy it would be to design.

[Limebeer]

as a change on the changing water level gimmick, you can start the level with the water at a base level, and as the player progresses and solves puzzles and such, more and more of the dungeon gets flooded as water levels rise, causing some areas to become more accessable, and others to be less so as paths would have to change. You can also have so that certain areas would become inaccessable if you progress too far, giving a sense of impending doom as well as a need to explore the areas you are already in and plan ahead so you don't take exploring for granted.

[Saffith]

I don't know what degree of sci-fi-ness you're going for, but perhaps the water could be used as a cooling system for something. Whatever it is, you can destroy it with bombs, but not directly; maybe they're too big, or you can't reach where they need to go. Whatever the reason, you have to float them on the water, opening and closing gates to direct them to their targets. That could be especially tricky if the gates also serve as walkways.

[MoscowModder]

This quest isn't very sci-fi, but bombing water gates could be a neat puzzle idea. I'll file that one away.

[Nightmeres]

Only another idea here, don't have to use it but ya know I had this one for a while and thought I would share.

Maybey have obstacles where water would push you away from somewhere you want to go. Such as there are a system of tunnels in the dungeon walls and such that act as water ducts that the water treverses in. Then there are certain openings where the water comes out and you can lower or build up the pressure of the water. If it's too high in areas it comes out and pushes you away from doors or pathways, posibly pushing you back to a central pool or the entrance of the dungeon. Fast moving water and such similar to twilight princes's lakebed temple but at a larger scale.

[Binx]

That also reminds me of some of the block puzzles in the Gen 1 and 2 pokemon games, where you had to push blocks down holes to change the flow of water in other rooms.

[Saffith]

The water might be alive, or maybe there's something living in it that's able to control it. You can't swim in it, assuming you could anyway. It creates and removes paths on its own to direct your movement. It might even actively attack, like Morpha. You have to find ways to control it. At first, that would just mean limiting its movement; rather than floodgates, there could be magical panels, pillars, etc. that repel the water to create paths. Later on, perhaps with the level item, you can gain better control of it. You might shape it into bridges, use it to create electrical circuits, maybe even direct it to attack enemies. And there's all sorts of fun stuff you could do if you add in ice and fire magic.

[Limebeer]

You can possibly have it as an Ice -> Water dungeon, basically instead of water levels rising and lowering, have it go back and forth between Ice and Water, or rather Frozen and Flooded.

Or if you want to do something totally different, have almost basically the whole dungeon being swimming and dodging, except for a few areas that you have to fight, until very late in the dungeon where you can finally lower the water level or finally find a way to reach the higher level platform pathways that where out of the water

[Nightmeres]

This is mainly an enemy idea.
You could have puddles or body of water actually be enemies that look to swallow you up. Kinda like the water temple boss from oot. They be on walls, pathways or just in the water. You would walk, swim etc near them, over them through them etc and they would grab you and try to throw you into the water to other enemies, could be sharks, or other water based enimes or they could try to drawn you etc. Whatever you decide really. ( also could be adapted to other elements such as earth, lava, fire, electricity etc.)

Another idea I have is you could have ninjas that move through water and attack the play using water. This could be kinda like Zoras that apear in any body of water, like put water on wals and pathways that they can apear in and attack the player using the water. (The water on the pathways would be walkable or if not dissapears when you defeat the monster.)

You could also aply that to different terain/elements as well if you wanted to.


Also there's also the posibility of verious water creatures such as sharks, snakes birds etc. I have way too many ideas in my head to even write down.

But if you wanted to go the easier rout ie not scripting you can always mess around with the enemy editor and change enimes attack sprites to water or have wizrobes or bathrobes somon bubbles(not the standard ones) but bubbles could be an enemy you create that floats around and shoots water at you. Idk I really have a lot of ideas but I feel as most of them would be either imposible or require heavy scripting. But like anything these are any suggestions. But you defiantly can pull them off since I know you are good at scripting.

Edited by Nightmeres, 20 December 2014 - 02:34 PM.