Oneiromancer
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Well, since TCB won't be coming out as planned, Mike and I figured that it was time to repeat the question-and-answer thread like Cramp started from 2.0. So this is your opportunity to ask questions about DROD 3.0, and the TCB hold, and if we feel like it, we'll answer it. We're not going to give away huge spoilers, we're not going to say when the release date is (or anything else we don't know yet), and we're not going to answer blanket questions like "please list all the new game elements and, while you're at it, all the new script commands."

I would like to ask the beta testers to please not identify yourselves or answer any questions at this time. We appreciate your hard work but please continue to respect the NDA. All dev team members can feel free to give answers.

So we know you all have questions...bring 'em on!

Game on,

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[Last edited by Oneiromancer at 04-01-2007 02:23 AM]

jbluestein
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OK, then: will we be able to have Journey to Rooted Hold installed into the TCB engine so that we don't need to keep multiple installations lying about?

Note that my asking this question in no way should be interpreted as me buying into the assertion that it's not coming out as planned. It may not be, but I'll believe it when April 3rd rolls around.

Josh

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Oneiromancer
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jbluestein wrote:
OK, then: will we be able to have Journey to Rooted Hold installed into the TCB engine so that we don't need to keep multiple installations lying about?

You will...once JtRH is released as a separate downloadable hold that current owners can download. So if that still hasn't been complete at the time of 3.0 release, it will at least be on the to-do list so you hopefully won't need to keep two installations around for too long.

Game on,

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Chaco
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So, are wraithwings able to trigger pressure plates?

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Oneiromancer
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Chaco wrote:
So, are wraithwings able to trigger pressure plates?

Flying monsters will not trigger pressure plates.

Game on,

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zex20913
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Does that response indicate that there are now more flying monsters in TCB? Or just that flying monsters may be creatures that get included in a future version?

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Oneiromancer
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zex20913 wrote:
Does that response indicate that there are now more flying monsters in TCB? Or just that flying monsters may be creatures that get included in a future version?

Well, the second question is certainly a given, as anything "may" be added in future versions.

Yes, there is a new flying monster in 3.0.

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

coppro
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Which three of the following seven are in TCB (from here):
* A new monster queen
* Pushables
* Something that goes against the 'Guy with big sword kills stuff' rule.
* Something that can be picked up and able to be used in more than the room it was in.
* Lights, lasers, or mirrors
* Ray guns
* Randomness

Beef Row
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Oneiromancer wrote:
Yes, there is a new flying monster in 3.0.

Game on,

Is there also a new wall-dwelling monster?

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Oneiromancer
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coppro wrote:
Which three of the following seven are in TCB (from here):
* A new monster queen
* Pushables
* Something that goes against the 'Guy with big sword kills stuff' rule.
* Something that can be picked up and able to be used in more than the room it was in.
* Lights, lasers, or mirrors
* Ray guns
* Randomness

I'm not going to completely answer that question yet, but in my opinion there are only two things from the list in 3.0. That's because two of the bullets are actually the same object. So fine, there are three bullets from the list in TCB.

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

Oneiromancer
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Beef Row wrote:

Oneiromancer wrote:
Yes, there is a new flying monster in 3.0.

Is there also a new wall-dwelling monster?

Nope.

Game on,

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stigant
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What does "B'hakhgra du s'tra moth'ness ti" mean?

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Oneiromancer
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stigant wrote:
What does "B'hakhgra du s'tra moth'ness ti" mean?

I always interpreted it to mean "The mothingness will consume you" or something like that, but I think only Erik or Cramp knows what they intended when they wrote that (I forget who it was...possibly even Eytan).

Game on,

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eytanz
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Oneiromancer wrote:

stigant wrote:
What does "B'hakhgra du s'tra moth'ness ti" mean?

I always interpreted it to mean "The mothingness will consume you" or something like that, but I think only Erik or Cramp knows what they intended when they wrote that (I forget who it was...possibly even Eytan).

Not me.

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eytanz
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Oneiromancer wrote:

coppro wrote:
Which three of the following seven are in TCB (from here):
* A new monster queen
* Pushables
* Something that goes against the 'Guy with big sword kills stuff' rule.
* Something that can be picked up and able to be used in more than the room it was in.
* Lights, lasers, or mirrors
* Ray guns
* Randomness

I'm not going to completely answer that question yet, but in my opinion there are only two things from the list in 3.0. That's because two of the bullets are actually the same object. So fine, there are three bullets from the list in TCB.

Game on,

I'll add that it's not randomness.

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Banjooie
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What effects are there like the fog? Will there be, for instance, snow?

Oneiromancer
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Banjooie wrote:
What effects are there like the fog? Will there be, for instance, snow?

Besides the fog, there will indeed be snow, as well as thunder/lightning, cloud shadows, and darkness levels (including tinting as if it were sunset/sunrise).

Note that there is a gamma slider in the settings now in case things get too dark (or too light) for individual computers, and if Alpha Blending is turned off (I think that's in 2.0 now) then the lighting is totally disabled, just in case someone really abuses it in their hold.

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

Ezlo
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I'll limit myself to three/four.

Is there a new tar variant? If so, what color?
How many of the new elements are monsters?
Can you have multiple floors in a room? I've been suspecting that ever since the 75% picture.

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[Last edited by Ezlo at 04-01-2007 03:07 AM]

Oneiromancer
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Ezlo wrote:
I'll limit myself to three/four.

What, forever? Or just in each post?

Is there a new tar variant? If so, what color?

Yep. Guess what the color is! Hint: we are flawlessly consistent.

How many of the new elements are monsters?

Oh, about 25-35%. (Mwahaha!)

Can you have multiple floors in a room? I've been suspecting that ever since the 75% picture.

Nope, sorry. I think that was just how the pit looks in one of the new room styles.

Game on,

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NiroZ
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Will TCB be continuing the 25 levels, 350ish rooms tradition?

Ezlo
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I'm going to limit myself per week, although I'm sure TCB is coming out soon enough anyway.

I'm guessing green.

I actually wanted the answer in percent format. Thanks.

Ah well. I was so sure of it. That should be added in 4.0. Great, now I have an awesome question to ask. Should have thought of it earlier. Rats.

eytanz
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NiroZ wrote:
Will TCB be continuing the 25 levels, 350ish rooms tradition?

JtRH had significantly more than 350 rooms; TCB, I believe (though I didn't check lately), has more rooms than either. But there are a lot more non-puzzle rooms in it, so counting is trickier.

Level count is also trickier in TCB, as it is less linearly organized.

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[Last edited by eytanz at 04-01-2007 03:16 AM]

trick
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Ezlo wrote:
Great, now I have an awesome question to ask. Should have thought of it earlier. Rats.

Nope, there's no rats in TCB.

hyphz
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Will there be any elements or room features that are restricted to only the inbuilt hold, to only SmS's, or both? If so, what are they?

(In particular, will cutscenes be available in the regular editor?)

Will Halph and the Slayer still be available to place and use in TCB holds, even though they may or may not be part of the story this time?

Will the effects mentioned in the post above be scriptable?

Will TCB have Xbox Live style achievements, to add to the highscores on CaravelNet? (I don't remember where I got the idea that it would, but I did)

Will the new "battle" key (from the confirmed features thread) do anything different from the "wait" key?

mrimer
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Oneiromancer wrote:

coppro wrote:
Which three of the following seven are in TCB (from here):
* A new monster queen
* Pushables
* Something that goes against the 'Guy with big sword kills stuff' rule.
* Something that can be picked up and able to be used in more than the room it was in.
* Lights, lasers, or mirrors
* Ray guns
* Randomness

I'm not going to completely answer that question yet, but in my opinion there are only two things from the list in 3.0. That's because two of the bullets are actually the same object. So fine, there are three bullets from the list in TCB.

I dunno. The way I interpret it, there are five things on that list in TCB. Not counting vehicles.

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NiroZ
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Eytanz wrote:

Ezlo wrote:
I'll limit myself to three/four.

Is there a new tar variant? If so, what color?

Yes. Green.

HA, it's nice when you guess something, and then have it vindicated by the next post.

How many of the new elements are monsters?

Depends how you count, really. I'd say around 9-10.

Wow, that's quite alot. How many of these have been announced/leaked already?

Can you have multiple floors in a room? I've been suspecting that ever since the 75% picture.

I'm not sure I understand the question - are you talking about image floors?

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[Last edited by NiroZ at 04-01-2007 03:20 AM]

eytanz
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hyphz wrote:
Will there be any elements or room features that are restricted to only the inbuilt hold, to only SmS's, or both? If so, what are they?

No features will be restricted. Only some custom graphics.

(In particular, will cutscenes be available in the regular editor?)

Yes.

Will Halph and the Slayer still be available to place and use in TCB holds, even though they may or may not be part of the story this time?

Yes. In fact, they'll be twice as available

Will the effects mentioned in the post above be scriptable?

The weather effects? No.

Will TCB have Xbox Live style achievements, to add to the highscores on CaravelNet? (I don't remember where I got the idea that it would, but I did)

I don't know what that is, so probably not, at least not upon release.

Will the new "battle" key (from the confirmed features thread) do anything different from the "wait" key?

Yes - it does the opposite of your previous movement.

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eytanz
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NiroZ wrote:

Eytanz wrote:

Ezlo wrote:
I'll limit myself to three/four.

Is there a new tar variant? If so, what color?

Yes. Green.

HA, it's nice when you guess something, and then have it vindicated by the next post.

How many of the new elements are monsters?

Depends how you count, really. I'd say around 9-10.

Wow, that's quite alot.

Can you have multiple floors in a room? I've been suspecting that ever since the 75% picture.

I'm not sure I understand the question - are you talking about image floors?
Heh - I deleted my post when I saw that Neil beat me to it, but I guess I wasn't fast enough...


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Mattcrampy
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Oneiromancer wrote:

stigant wrote:
What does "B'hakhgra du s'tra moth'ness ti" mean?

I always interpreted it to mean "The mothingness will consume you" or something like that, but I think only Erik or Cramp knows what they intended when they wrote that (I forget who it was...possibly even Eytan).

It was me.

I hate to disappoint everyone, but it's got no intrinsic meaning, being mostly there to scare Beethro (and as you'll remember, Beethro merely finds it annoying). It's taken from one of the chants used in the Cthulhu mythos, and trust me, if I could find where I got it from I'd link it. I vaguely recall I borrowed the idea from Shub-Internet, the dark god that causes all network slowdowns, and the chant itself is from Wikipedia back when I liked it, with the Mothingness instead of Cthulhu.

It's also possible that I just mashed letters together in the format of the chants. I'm pretty sure the 'Ti' at the end was my own invention.

Like most aspects of creativity, things get complicated when you're asked to name your sources.

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Beef Row
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Will there be any ingame songs in the main TCB hold, like we've been seeing in most of the SS's lately?

Will any of the new obstacles (furniture, etc) be interactive or animated in any way?

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