jjohn7418
Level: Master Delver
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Registered: 08-24-2003
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Just a question: How many rooms is too many? I am currently working on a hold where one of the levels has 49 rooms. Is this too many? Would it become boring after a while?

Let me know what you think.

Thanks, Jim

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Nillo
Level: Smitemaster

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It depends... If the room style is varying, it's almost exactly the same as if it were separate levels. However, some tilesets have music that gets irritating after a while.

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eytanz
Level: Smitemaster

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Well, you can swap tilesets mid-level too, so that's not really a problem.

The main issues in having many rooms in a level are -

A - You can get lost if you skip a room (assuming the level isn't completely linear, and the restore screen is cumbersome for very large levels.
B - If you upgrade the hold, everyone who updates loses all progress in the levels, but can start in any level they've been. So, if you have multiple levels, people have to replay less.
C - Level breaks allow for a better sense of progress for the players, plus the ability to have fun title screens.
D - Level breaks do interrupt the flow of the game a bit. A single level may feel more cohesive (especially if, as Nillo suggests, it sticks to a single theme).

But basically, it's up to you - just do what feels best for your hold.

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Nillo
Level: Smitemaster

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Plus, with separate levels, you can use secret level warps

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“Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin' off Nantucket Sound from the nor' east and the dogs are howlin' for no earthly reason, you can hear the awful screams of the crew of the 'Ellie May,' a sturdy whaler Captained by John McTavish; for it was on just such a night when the rum was flowin' and, Davey Jones be damned, big John brought his men on deck for the first of several screaming contests.”

jjohn7418
Level: Master Delver
Rank Points: 161
Registered: 08-24-2003
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Thanks for the comments. I have tried to incorporate different themes in each room. I also have 4 levels and some level warps. Basically the one level with the 49 rooms is 7 across and 7 down, which is one big square. Is it easier to get lost is a box, or linear?

Next question is: If I wanted to take some of the rooms out, do I have to start the whole building the level from scratch or can I just delete some rooms?

Thanks,
Jim

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Schik
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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jjohn7418 wrote:
Next question is: If I wanted to take some of the rooms out, do I have to start the whole building the level from scratch or can I just delete some rooms?

You could copy rooms and paste them into a new level if you decide to split it up.

My input on the issue - For playtesting, yeah, it might be a pain in the butt if there are problems. That's a lot of rooms to replay just to get to one changed room. But for a finished, playtested hold - I think I'd love it, assuming it's not a 7x7 maze or something intentionally irritating.


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DiMono
Level: Smitemaster

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jjohn7418 wrote:
Next question is: If I wanted to take some of the rooms out, do I have to start the whole building the level from scratch or can I just delete some rooms?

If you're in the main build screen and click on a room in the overmap view, a pale blue outline will appear on the room. You can now do the standard copy, paste, and delete functions, thus negating the need to redo the level from scratch.

To paste the room to another level, or another hold, or even just another place on the same level, you need to have an existing room selected before pasting. This has the obvious effect of removing the contents of the room you're pasting over, so as long as you're careful you can do whatever room manipulations you want without having to start over from scratch. Just be careful

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