So after playing a few more rounds of the latest Alpha (0.1.21) I noticed a few Game-play mechanics that could improve, plus some ideas to make the game more enjoyable for the average player.



*Tutorial

The tutorial of DoTE is pretty basic, but it doesn't explain the most useful of game-play mechanics, such as Modules, Generators, Passive and Active Skills, Items and Item Types, among other ideals. This could all be easily taken cared of with an interactive Tutorial. A player will learn the controls and mechanics faster if he/she interacts with the game rather than looking an image of the controls. Granted, this may take some time to get right because there are a lot of mechanics to cover, but covering the fundamentals (Controls, Objectives, and Obstacles) is all that is needed.



*Controls and Ideas

The Controls of DoTE are not too hard to understand, but players (Myself included) don't use each and every key to their advantage. Why is that? Well personally, the mouse is the most useful tool to my arsenal, it allows me to use each and every Menu fast and efficiently. So what is the problem? Well, there are times in which the mouse just isn't enough. I usually use the WASD keys to move around the Dungeon, I use the Space Bar to Pause the game and get a good glimpse of the situation I am in, and lastly, I use the Number Keys (1-4) to reach my Heroes fast. I know there are more key shortcuts in the game, but I don't use them because the Mouse takes care of most of them. So how can we improve this small problem? Well we can let the player bind keys to their preference, after all, this game is about a personal level of enjoyment. Also, some keys could have extra effects, for example, holding a number key would allow the player to focus on a character and follow that character. This and many more ideas can be added to add more usefulness to the keys.



*Game Mode Ideas

DoTE has 1 game mode so far, and that is enjoyable enough. But there could be more game modes that can add more in depth strategies for the players. Here are my ideas for more Game Modes.



-Survival Mode

The goal for this mode is to survive as much as possible while protecting the Crystal.

The Obstacle of this mode is that every 2.5 minutes a wave of Hostile Creatures will spawn, every 3rd wave, the Hostile Creatures will grow in strength.

The setting will be a large room with 4 doors, 2 Generator Slots, and 8 Module Slots. There will also be a Merchant's Shop, in this small building, a Merchant will sell his equipment to the Player (The Merchant won't be able to be killed, he will close his store during each wave).

The player will start the game with only 4 Heroes (Chosen by the player). The Player will also start with 20 Industry and Food. After each 3rd wave, the player will be allowed to lock all 4 doors for a small period of time. During this time, the player can Level Up Heroes, Upgrade Modules (This feature will be implemented once Science and the Tech Tree are implemented), or spend Dust to obtain new Equipment.

-Endless Mode

This mode will be basically the same as the original game, but it will have infinite levels.

-Realism Mode

In this mode the player will have to gain as many resources and items to face off against Boss battles.

Every 5th level, the player will not be able to build a Generator, and the player must fight a boss in this level. The goal to this mode is for the player to make it as far as possible without loosing all of his/her Heroes.



I am sure there will be more modes added in the future, but this are just some simple ideas, there are plans for a Co-op mode, so maybe that can use one this ideas to work.



*Game Icons

Personally, I have never had a problem with the icons of the game, but if I had to be picky, I will have to say that the icons for the Passive and Active Skills are kinda, well boring, and inconsistent. Whenever a wave of Hostile Creatures is about to spawn, a nice, non-pixelated icon appears, this looks nice, and consistent with the other icons of the game (module types). Basically, I just think that if all icons looked as if they were done by the same art style, it would be neater.



*More NPCs and more Room Events

So far, the only NPCs in the game are the Merchants, which are essential for a good game run, but they are the only Character that the player can interact with, this means that meeting a Merchant more than once, can loose it's luster, so if the game had more NPCs, this will add a bigger variety to the experiences that the player will have. Here are some of my personal ideas for new NPCs and their events.



-Generic Officer: This character is a generic law enforcer that worked at Prison Ship before it's catastrophic failure. This Character will be found a room fighting Hostile Creatures, if the player helps this NPC, the Officer will give Dust to the player.

-Engineer: This is character that can be found in a large room, this room will be powered without the help of the player. In this room, the Engineer will have Modules that will attack anything, including the Player, if the player kills this NPC, he/she will gain a nice amount of Industry.

-Thief: A fast character that will hide behind unopened doors, once the player opens said door, the Thief will rush outside and run with some of the Dust of the player. The player will have to kill the Thief to gain his/her Dust back.



This are just some small ideas, but the point is that, more events and more NPCs will definitely add more life to the game.

Good ideas Dan, especially the game modes. As a fellow player I would love to see some multiplayer modes too. However, I am sure they will work on the tutorial and more room events and npcs as the alpha progresses.



I have an idea to add to this. The equip/ unequip ability should be locked when there are mobs still around. Players can take advantage of item swapping while battling mobs. For example, a player can use wit/ speed boosting items as the door is opened and then switch to the defense and offense weapons then the mobs arrive in order to get optimal boosts. I think a hero should be locked with his equipment set until all mobs have been cleared to prevent this.

That actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it, I mean, would you really change from one piece of armor to the next while you have a giant blue serpent trying to eat your flesh off? I think that would be pretty neat.

Hi,

I confirm that we will improve the tutorial and continue to work on the controls

Releasenote0.1.14 wrote:
Remark: until we develop a dedicated interface, you can modify, at your own risk, the shortcuts in Registry.xml (Documents > Dungeon of the Endless > Users > Username). Use this list: http://docs.unity3d.com/Documentatio...e/KeyCode.html to add / remove keys (you can write several keycodes with spaces between them). If you want to retrieve the default values, remove the file and launch the game.

And yes, we're working on the diversity in the game by planning for example more events. Thanks for your suggestions!



@Valiot: good idea indeed, Ail suggested the same thing yesterday in the VIP forums and we will seriously consider it

Mysterarts wrote:
Ail suggested the same thing yesterday in the VIP forums and we will seriously consider it

Actually it was two days ago. ^^



I think it's kinda double-edged.



On the one hand being able to do so increases the potential to maximize you efficiency in the game. On the other-hand it's very tedious to actually do it.

For me, it's interesting because this emphasises on the importance of being ready before the opening of the door.

Personally, I haven't really "exploited" this, but I can see how it can be done for the benefit of the player. With this feature, the player will have to use equipment efficiently to add the best bonuses for the right Heroes.