Xaltus
Level: Roachling
Rank Points: 10
Registered: 06-19-2011
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File: King Dugans quest.hold (51.5 KB)
Downloaded 71 times.
License: Public Domain

I just made this hold and wondered if you had some tips to improve it

da rogu3
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 491
Registered: 04-06-2011
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Welcome to the forums, Xaltus

Don't have time to make detailed comments right now, but just wanted to say that this is a very nice hold start

It's nice to see a hold which goes back to the old days of hack + slash.

I'll give some more detailed feedback when I finish playing all of it.

Elfstone
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1285
Registered: 03-01-2006
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May I also extend a warm welcome.

I've started to play through your hold. Like mx, I will give more detailed comments later, when I've completed it, but while it is fresh in my mind - The Goblin hold: 5S,2W - save squares please!! In a room which involves clearing quite a lot of tar and mud save squares are so important.

Edit: there is also a backtracking issue with that room - one cannot reenter it from 5S, 1W, because of the black door; that could be easily fixed with a force arrow.

____________________________
Winner of: Novice Architect Excellence 2006.
FAPCA - Technical Design Excellence in Layout and Aesthetics

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[Last edited by Elfstone at 06-19-2011 07:54 PM]

Chaco
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 3659
Registered: 10-06-2005
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Welcome to the forums! We hope you have a good time here. I really appreciate that you're open to constructive tips and I'll try and give some detailed feedback.

Right now I'm playing through the hold and taking notes, and I'll post them when I'm done.

==

Another important thing about The Goblin hold 5S2W is that it is impossible to open the black door after re-entering the conquered room because many of the tar blobs are unclearable as they stand. The black door can only be opened while the tar mothers are alive.

I think, therefore, that the best way to fix this and preserve the architect's intent to make the player clear all tarstuff while the mothers are alive would be to replace the black door to the east with a green door, and put a tar baby or similar monster behind a black door, so that conquering the room requires clearing all tarstuff, but then passage back and forth between 5S1W would be easy.

____________________________
Quick links to my stuff (in case you forgot where it was):

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[Last edited by Chaco at 06-19-2011 06:14 PM]

da rogu3
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 491
Registered: 04-06-2011
IP: Logged

Some initial comments (I'm on the pits level now)
King Dugan En - you can kill the 4 guards at the top of the room
King Dugan 1E - okay, this is kinda cool, although the guard killed most of the monsters in the final section
King Dugan 1W - you can kill all the citizens here
Dungeon 4N1W - a nice intro puzzle, but the NPC guards are killable again. Also, I recommend a checkpoint before the mud section.
The goblin hold - every single room needs to have some checkpoints here. Also, why does the style change between Foundation and Deep Spaces?
The goblin hold 1N4W 2N4W - I'm not interested in secret wall mazes.
The goblin hold 5S2W - destroying all the tar and mud is tedious and boring
Dungeon En 1N - again, the style changes seem a bit pointless
Dungeon 5N2E - checkpoint please
Desert - the level was okay, but a bit too repetitive