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Caravel Forum : DROD Boards : Architecture : 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (210 short but engaging levels, using nothing but AE elements)
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azb
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (0)  
And again, as mentioned earlier, due to the hardcoded behavior of the AE era 'Neather, you can't customize how he behaves in each room so a lot of the rooms in levels 201 thru 210 will be more similar to the actual KDD level 25 compared to all the earlier sections, which are all my own interpretations of the KDD levels but never use the rooms directly (because I wanted to challenge myself and not rip off content lazily).

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11-22-2024 at 12:27 AM
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Nuntar
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (0)  
L85 (DROD Wizard): Short and inoffensive, but I can't help noticing that pretty much identical rooms appeared earlier in "Slightly Tarry", and a slightly different wall layout isn't enough to distinguish these. Ultimately it's your hold and you can do what you like, but my suggestion is that if a level doesn't have a strong enough concept to justify inclusion, don't be afraid to cut it. You don't have to have 210 levels just because that was your original target.

L86 (Orbs, Orbs, Orbs): Okay, the denser walls meant there were a couple of places where I had to think a little, but ultimately this is just doing more of the same thing I just did.

L87 (Red Fangs): Despite the intro text describing this level as "annoying" (not a good idea; you don't want the player to start off poised to dislike the level), the Entrance is a much better puzzle room than the previous two levels :thumbsup

But then 1W rather spoils it by asking you to do the same thing four more times. This much repetition just isn't fun; it's boring and there is no reason for it. You could cut this down to just the Entrance, or merge that with a different level, or keep it and find a way to make it different rather than four copy-pasted puzzles.

L88 (On the Clock): This is good! :thumbsup Carving through tar under a time limit is an interesting challenge that feels different from what I've had to do before. The only thing I would point out is that 1W has a very generous time limit, so it ends up feeling easier than Entrance; and Entrance's (17,8) checkpoint should be (18,8).

L89 (Intrepid): Also a good level. I like the way there is more thought required to get to all the trapdoors while leaving a route to the eyes afterwards, and the way that dropping the trapdoors creates new obstacles.

L90 (Knives 'n' Stampedes): Not really my favourite, but I appreciate that the room asks me to do something different and that keeping an eye on the mimics and Beethro at once is more of a challenge than in previous levels. Also nice that this was only one room.

L91 (Dragon Tail): I appreciate what this level is doing, and although I found it very easy because I have a lot of DROD experience, new players may find it good training for tar-cutting.

L92 (Pinball): Interesting gimmick, but I'm not sure that right now Entrance works as intended? You can just run all the way south and then clean up. 1S is very easy but quite fun, and has its own flavour.

L93 (Ghostbusting): Entrance is trivial, just wait on the trapdoor and kill off all the wraithwings from north and west. 1N is much more interesting because you have to find a tactic with the mimic to make it possible to get to safety. Cleanup is a bit dull but sometimes that's an unavoidable downside to a puzzle idea.

L94 (Hubby): I appreciate that these rooms are each a bit different, although getting through lots of snakes is rather trial-and-error. 1N is a good exercise in sending snakes north, but would be better if it didn't have so many.

L95 (Maze of Doors): Neat mini-puzzle. The hard part is surviving the very start; once you're down to one snake it's easy to finish. You could cut a couple of trapdoors without changing the puzzle at all.

L96 (Ganging Up): Really nice level! :thumbsup Entrance looks impossible to start with, but as soon as you realise you have to go for the invisibility potion straight away, it's manageable but not trivial. The other two rooms each have a distinct flavour with some fun horde/snake tactics.

L97 (Breakthrough): Both rooms were very easy for me (in Entrance, hide in the NE alcove; in 1W, hide in the room entrance) but maybe new players would find these to be decent "aha" moments?

L98 (Ways to Go): Entrance and 1W are okay, again not my cup of tea but players who haven't seen lots of these rooms in other holds might enjoy them more. 1N is a massive difficulty spike -- you have to thread the eye through the serpents so it approaches the SE corner from the north specifically, but the chaos of so many snakes makes this very tricky. At least the player has the option of waiting in the room entrance until only a few snakes are left. And I'm not saying you need to tone this down, just that it took me by surprise, and new players would definitely struggle here.

L99 (The Crowd): Interesting and difficult horde rooms, especially 1W.

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11-28-2024 at 04:42 PM
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azb
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (0)  
Thank you so much for all the feedback.

I will revise all the levels and rooms you mentioned according to your suggestions, so for level 85 I will make the rooms more challenging like level 86, and for level 87 I will make it only one room long.

Level 92 and 93 Entrance are intentionally easy/trivial, but everything else I will fix.

My next version will have section 13, levels 101 thru 108 added.

Some levels are mazes like KDD level 13 proper, while other levels are inspired by other things like Domain of the Grinfidel or the Claythro Tower eye mazes.

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11-28-2024 at 09:14 PM
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (0)  
Drod Wizard: the two rooms are almost the same. Why not adding some walls in 1W to enforce some thinking in cutting the tar? Same thing goes for “orbs, orbs, orbs”. Also, I’d put checkpoints near the tar babies too.

Orbs, orbs, orbs: some checkpoints between the yellow doors might be good.

Red fangs: the entrance is good. 1W is just repetitive though. Unless, you could exploit movement order to force the player to think about which serpent to use for each roach. Also, the SW and SE section could use a checkpoint, the one beneath the tar is useless.

On the clock: The entrance is neat, you need to be quite efficient. NE checkpoint not useful. 1W has a more lenient timer (which is ok I think) and the western checkpoints, again, not useful.

Intrepid: not too much I can say here, maybe checkpoints on top of the trapdoors? Straightforward rooms.

Knives ‘n’ stampedes: fun room, though it can be trivialized if I clear all the tar in Beethro’s section.

Dragon tail: actually not too bad, it was not trivial.

Pinball: the entrance can be broken since the tar baby is not really stuck on the arrows.

Ghostbusting: entrance is quite trivial. 1N is actually quite tough, I did by placing the mimic next to me on the east side and using diagonal movement.

Hubby: maybe 1N could use a checkpoint near the broken wall.

Maze of Doors: it can be broken if I immediately go at (4,3) and wait until only one serpent remains. They kill each other.

Ganging up: the entrance. I don’t know why I decided to torture myself, but I managed to complete this room without the invisibility potion! It took me over 2 hours, over 1100 moves, and many different strategies (e.g. taking shelter using roach eggs). I played it in the editor so I don’t have a demo, but I made several screens to show my route. I started by killing the SW and SE queens, and then danced around until the serpents were dead due to roaches. After that, I started climbing from NW, one roach queen at a time (as the screens show). Once the NW section was cleared, the rest was a piece of cake. Depending on how cruel you want to be, you can add this challenge, but I would not do it.
1N: challenge: don't use the mimic.


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[Last edited by Red-XIII at 11-28-2024 09:59 PM]
11-28-2024 at 09:55 PM
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azb
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (0)  
Nuntar already commented on all the rooms you commented on, and I made the appropriate changes in my newest version I uploaded just about less than half an hour ago.

Now I have up to level 158 (the end of section 19) polished in more detail.

Section 20 will basically be just an intro to brains, but then section 21 will be more intense hordes, the same deal with how KDD proper introduced brains, but for now I am just waiting for Nuntar or someone else to comment on levels 101 thru 108 (section 13) first before I publish any more levels.

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11-28-2024 at 10:00 PM
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azb
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And to recap:

Section 14 will be an intro to goblins, but focus mostly on goblins with nothing else really interesting

Section 15 will be monster-free trapdoor puzzles

Section 16 will be an intro to tar mothers

Section 17 will be tar mother efficiency puzzles

Section 18 will be no tar at all, but have an assortment of various monsters especially goblins and serpents

Section 19 will be goblin-free as well as tar-free, and focus on manipulating all the other monsters you've mastered by now

Section 20 will be an intro to brains

Section 21 will be intense brained monster hordes, but no tar in this section, mostly on roach queens

Section 22 will be manipulating multiple mimics in a room at the same time as the main gimmick, just like KDD level 22 proper

Section 23 will be about juggling multiple goblins to kill serpents, it won't be as easy as section 18's puzzles, but no brains for this section still

Section 24 will just be a big city of everything and anything, tar mothers and brains included, cause you've mastered all the elements except for the 'Neather this far in the dungeon

Section 25 will be a big showdown against the 'Neather, and you kill him and win the hold for good if you survive this one (you can't win if you don't kill him in the final room, just like in KDD proper)

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11-28-2024 at 10:07 PM
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azb
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And to recap for section 13, in more detail for each level:

101 is a really straightforward mini-maze with a bunch of roaches

102 is a level like Domain of the Grinfidel, requiring you to take a specific entrance to win each room

103 is basically exactly like the Claythro Tower eye mazes

104 is a more complex maze than 101 with only one roach total, like KDD 13 proper, but not as large to reduce frustration and annoyance

105 is basically a recap level of earlier concepts from the hold

106 is a maze in a linear path rather than a maze in a square like 104 and KDD 13 proper

107 is a level where every step counts in each room

108 is a maze like 104, but with wraithwings and pits added so it looks like an earthquake struck it

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11-28-2024 at 10:13 PM
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azb
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I also added the warp rooms to levels 30 and levels 97, referencing the warp rooms in the original sections they are in (section 4 and section 12).

I made sure to check the stairs in each warp room to see exactly which levels they would take you to, to make the stairs in my version match the sections exactly (so the stairs that would take you to level 2 in the original will take you to the beginning of section 2, level 9, instead, and it's the same logic with every stair).

Note the warp in level 97 is intentionally not accesible for now, and won't be until level 127 (the beginning of section 16, the latest the warp took you to the original) is published.

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11-28-2024 at 10:39 PM
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azb
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I could also add the non-required rooms for sections 14 and 15 as well, like the original KDD had, in whatever section fits it best (so the tricky serpent in level 15 of the original will be in level 119 that is appropriately titled "Challenge")

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11-28-2024 at 10:41 PM
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azb
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Now I have up to level 168 (the end of section 20) drafted.

I'm gonna finish the hold in no time flat cause sections 21, 22 and 23 rely on only one simple gimmick like the original levels being referenced, although I do have to think of good ideas for sections 24 given it's basically an ultimate recap level with not one specific theme (except for it being an underground monster city).

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11-29-2024 at 02:37 PM
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azb
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (0)  
And again, section 25's rooms will intentionally be most like the original level being referenced and not have my own ideas not out of laziness, but because the hardcoded 'Neather from the 1.0 era of DROD can only behave in very specific ways for each room and you can't change that without hacking the DROD engine itself (which would then make it not DROD).

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11-29-2024 at 02:39 PM
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azb
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And after I finish off the other 4 holds, my TSS hold's flashback level will have in this order:

* Gunthro witnessing the king getting murdered (GatEB took place before AE/KDD chronologically)

* Gunthro getting revenge in Tueno

* Gunthro getting thrown in Akandia's jail with the Captain

* Gunthro learning the Captain didn't actually kill the king

* Gunthro confronting the True Court about their shady schemes and getting expelled

* Beethro clearing section 3 of Dugan's Dungeon

* Beethro clearing section 9 of Dugan's Dungeon

* Beethro clearing section 17 of Dugan's Dungeon

* Beethro clearing section 24/Neatherville of Dugan's Dungeon

* Beethro clearing section 25 of Dugan's Dungeon

* Beethro finishing Dugan's Dungeon, finally killing the Neather

* Beethro back up in section 10, wondering what's behind the mysterious door

* Beethro coming back with the portable orb, to figure out why the dungeon was re-infested after he just cleared it

* Beethro meeting the 39th Slayer for the first time

* Beethro meeting the Pit Thing for the first time

* Beethro breaking Halph out of the Goblin Jail in section 13

* Beethro learning from the Pit Thing Dugan doesn't want him anymore

* Beethro killing the Poppy Brigade

* Halph running away to the Empire, thinking Beethro is a vicious murderer

* Beethro at the Infohut for the first time

* Beethro at the Gate of Namedeness without an Empire name

* Beethro meeting 84th Negotiator for the first time in the city

* Beethro at the Grand Library for the first time

* Beethro entering the Uncturage for the first time

* Beethro learning the true meaning of the Mothingness from the Pit Thing

* Beethro being told the briar infestation was the Empire/Library's fault

* 84th Negotiator doing negotiations to get Beethro an Empire name

* Beethro at the gate of the Express Route to Dugandy

* Beethro in the Echo Chambers, being reminded Dugan thinks he's a heretic and wants him killed on sight if he chooses to enter Dugandy by the Pit Thing

* Beethro stealing a guard disguise

* Beethro confronting Dugan himself head on

* Beethro being chased out of Dugandy down the River Dugan

* Beethro meeting 1st Archivist for the first time in the Holding Vats

* Beethro meeting the Negotiator to learn he can finally get an Empire name

* Beethro slaying the Slayer candidates at the Naming Office

* Beethro at the DAA Headquarters, learning Halph has joined them and doesn't want to go back with Beethro

* Beethro at the Slaymasters' Hall, being told he needs a pass to actually get in

* Beethro in the Archival Catacombs to get the pass, being told by the Pit Thing about 1st Archivist's true nature

* Beethro swiping the pass from the guy in the Catacombs

* Beethro at the Slaymasters' Hall, learning about the Great Removal

* Beethro blowing up the Slaymasters' Hall to stop the Great Removal from actually happening

* Beethro warning Glotthered about the Great Removal, only to be accused of making conspiracy theories and being told to deal with a real threat (pirates)

* Beethro killing the pirates, but the captain escapes

* Beethro telling the bad news and being brushed off as not a real exterminator/smitemaster

* Beethro at the Hall of Answers past the Gate of Firstedy, not getting a real answer

* Beethro back at the Infohut, learning the actual way to get to Lowest Point was really easy this whole time

* Beethro witnessing the Stalwart Army get slaughtered by the Aumtlich

* Beethro meeting Tendry Dimpalm, and both agreeing to stop 1st Archivist no matter what it takes

* Beethro being riddled by the Pit Thing what is lower than Lowest Point

* Beethro meeting Halph again, being told he was ordered to stop him from reaching Lowest Point

* Beethro at Lowst Point, seeing the Second Sky in person

* The Empire's Announcers telling the Empire not to listen to Beethro's nonsense about 1st Watcher or Lowest Point

* Beethro meeting Halph again, and both staying in the Empire to stop 1st Archivist from destroying the surface

* Beethro meeting 1st Chemist for the first time

* Beethro learning about the nature of the Truth Vessels from 1st Chemist, and the True Tongue

After this, the flashback ends and goes back to the start of the TSS tribute in the Older Holding Vats.

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12-01-2024 at 01:49 PM
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azb
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For level 171 detail wise, I know cause it's in section 21 the ice theme will have tons of broken walls (like it's chiseled ice) for shelter against the roach queen hordes, and all the other level ideas I posted earlier are self explanatory (like level 170 is "don't hit the orbs", level 173 is "backtrack after solving the main puzzle", level 175 is "watch your step constantly", etc)

And the levels in sections 22 and 23 are self-explanatory as well (like level 180 is an ultimate battle with multiple mimics in the room at the same time as the gimmick to win, or level 187 is about pits everywhere with barely any actual floor to walk on, etc)

And I am thinking detail wise for level 195 it can be about wraithwings that are helpful and hostile at the same time, and serpents that are helpful and hostile at the same time as the monsters of choice, and for level 198 it should be a lot of evil eye and tar puzzles for concentration needed to solve and the answer won't just jump out at you, and for level 200 it should be a lot of manipulation puzzles as well as tar mother puzzles (not the mother free ones of 198, to make that level easier than this one) for the hardest puzzles in the game at that point

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12-01-2024 at 02:32 PM
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azb
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (0)  
And to recap, for all my holds difficulty wise:

Levels (as in section in this context) 1 thru 3 will be the most basic

Levels 4 thru 7 will be more detailed but still relatively harmless

Levels 8 thru 10 will be where things really get tricky

Levels 11 thru 14 will be slightly more difficult than levels 8 thru 10

Levels 15 thru 20 will be even harder

Levels 21 thru 23 will be some of the most difficult

Level 24 will be the most difficult period, basically like an ultimate recap level for every hold

Level 25 will not be the hardest, but will be like a climax/showdown with rooms of various difficulties next to each other.

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12-01-2024 at 08:41 PM
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azb
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (0)  
Now I have up to level 177 drafted, the first level of section 22.

I still bet the hold will be finished in no time flat!

And I know obviously as always to publish later sections only after the current ones are commented on (section 13 in this case) rather than spamming all 210 levels at once for no reason.

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[Last edited by azb at 12-02-2024 12:27 PM : Typo: "Current ones", not "currents one"]
12-01-2024 at 10:46 PM
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azb
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (-1)  
And there will be snappy level titles for each flashback scene in the TSS hold after all the other holds are finished in full:

* For the Rasarus king getting murdered, it will be "Eyewitness Program"

* For Gunthro entering Tueno with his buddies, it will be "Vengenace Shall be Ours"

* For Gunthro and the Captain getting thrown in jail, it will be "Citizen's Arrest"

* For Gunthro confronting the Captain in the Inner Chambers, it will be "Learning the True Secret"

* For Gunthro getting expelled to Dugandy by the True Court, it will be "Contempt of Court" because Gunthro accuses the True Court of setting up the whole thing

* For Beethro in section 3 of Dugan's Dungeon, it will be "Welcome to the Dungeon"

* For Beethro clearing section 9 of Dugan's Dungeon, it will be "On Cloud Level Nine"

* For Beethro clearing section 17 of Dugan's Dungeon, it will be "Sticky Situation"

* For Beethro clearing section 24 of Dugan's Dungeon, it will be "The Monstrosity Beneath"

* For Beethro meeting the 'Neather, it will be "Stop! Hammer Time!"

* For Beethro killing the 'Neather and finally clearing the entire dungeon, it will be "Finishing 'Em With Style"

* For Beethro back at the mysterious door in section 10, it will be "The Mystery Beyond the Door"

* For Beethro coming back with the portable orb, it will be "Revenge of the Portable Orb"

* For Beethro meeting the 39th Slayer, it will be "Meet Your Unmaker"

* For Beethro meeting the Pit Thing, it will be "The Voice from Below"

* For Beethro rescuing Halph from the goblin jail in section 13 of JtRH, it will be "Jailbreak"

* For Beethro learning that Dugan think's he's a heretic in section 19 of JtRH, it will be "The Anti-Hero"

* For Beethro killing the Poppy Brigade in section 25 of JtRH, it will be "Popping the Poppies"

* For Beethro learning Halph thinks he's a mass murderer after killing 39th Slayer and the Poppy Brigade, it will be "Budkin the Butcher"

* For Beethro at the Infohut the first time, it will be "Useless Info"

* For Beethro at the Gate of Namedenss without an Empire name, it will be "At the Gate With No Name"

* For Beethro meeting 84th Negotiator for the first time in the Empire's city, it will be "Let's Make a Deal"

* For Beethro at the Grand Library for the first time, it will be "Hitting the Books"

* For Beethro entering the Uncturage for the first time, it will be "Doing Unction"

* For Beethro learning what the Mothingness really means from the Pit Thing, it will be "The Real Mothingness"

* For Beethro learning the briar infestation was the Empire's fault, it will be "Trimming the Briar"

* For the Negotiator being succesful changing a rule for Beethro to get an Empire name, it will be "Negotiations"

* For Beethro at the express route talking to the gate-keeper woman, it will be "Expressly Forbidden"

* For Beethro in the Echo Chambers being reminded by the Pit Thing Dugan doesn't want him anymore and wants him killed on sight, it will be "The Caves Below"

* For Beethro stealing a guard disguise, it will be "Outsmarting the Guards"

* For Beethro confronting Dugan head-on in his throne room, it will be "All Hail the King"

* For Beethro riding down River Dugan after Dugan's entire army chases him out of Dugandy, it will be "Row Row Row Your Boat"

* For Beethro meeting 1st Archivist for the first time in the Holding Vats, it will be "The One Behind it All"

* For Beethro back in the city learning the rule change was a success, it will be "Re-changing My Name"

* For Beethro at the Naming Office killing the other Slayer candidates, it will be "Slaying the Slayers"

* For Beethro at the DAA Headquarters learning Halph doesn't want to go back with him, it will be "The DAA"

* For Beethro at the Slaymasters' Hall learning he needs a pass to get in, it will be "No Pass, No Access"

* For Beethro in the Archival Catacombs learning about 1st Archivist's true nature, it will be "The Archivist's Backstory"

* For Beethro finally getting the pass, it will be "Gimme the Pass Already!"

* For Beethro in the Slaymasters' Hall learning about the Great Removal of all surfacers, it will be "The Great Removal"

* For Beethro blowing up Slaymasters' Hall, it will be "Blowing Up Their Plans"

* For Beethro at Glotthered trying to warn the Chief about the Great Removal, it will be "Warning the Surface"

* For Beethro failing to kill the pirate captain after killing all the other pirates, it will be "Pirate Panic"

* For Beethro getting dismissed after failing to kill the captain, it will be "You Are Not Worthy"

* For Beethro at the Hall of Answers not getting a proper answer as to where Lowest Point is, it will be "Finally! Answers... or Not."

* For Beethro back at the Infohut learning the real way to get to Lowest Point, it will be "Getting the Actual Answer"

* For Beethro witnessing the Aumtlich slaughter the Stalwart Army, it will be "The Stalwart Slaughter"

* For Beethro meeting Tendry, it will be "Meet Tendry"

* For Beethro at Upper Lowest being riddled by the Pit Thing what is lower than Lowest Point, it will be "Learning the Empire's Secret"

* For Beethro meeting Halph at the end of Upper Lowest, it will be "The DAA Hates Your Guts"

* For Beethro seeing the Second Sky in person at Lowest Point, it will be "The Sky Below the World"

* For the Empire telling no one to listen to Beethro's nonsense about Lowest Point, it will be "The Budkin Who Cried Wolf"

* For Beethro meeting Halph and them both wanting to stop 1st Archivist from destroying the surface, it will be "Reunited and It Feels So Good"

* For Beethro meeting 1st Chemist for the first time, it will be "The Forgotten Ones"

* For 1st Chemist explaining the true nature of the Truth Vessels, it will be "The Truth Will Set You Free"

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12-02-2024 at 02:45 PM
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (-1)  
And now that I am basically finishing up the KDD hold, and there isn't any plot to it except for "clear the dungeon", I will give the plot of my JtRH hold:

For section 1, Beethro is accused of not clearing Dugan's Dungeon properly as it was re-infested soon after he cleaned it thoroughly in this hold.

He decides to bring Halph along because he whined and harassed Beethro constantly about becoming a smitemaster just like him when he grows up.

Halph immediately wanders off after Beethro leaves the first room, and Beethro is obviously upset and worried about him.

Beethro eventually comes to the 10th section/84th level unopenable door, with a portable orb the Smitemasters' Guild gave him to get past it and figure out the cause of the repopulation.

As he goes past it, he discovers there's stairs leading to other dungeons connected to Dugan's Dungeon, and Beethro happily exclaims "wait til I tell them back at the guild!"

In section 2, Halph comes back and Beethro yells at him about running off, and also tells him since he decided to come along he's going to help Beethro clear all the monsters.

Later on in the section, the two meet 84th Imperial Defender (no Negotiator in this particular interpretation), who is sent to defend the Rooted Empire of knowledge from aboveground intruders like the Budkins.

After outwitting the defender, Halph wanders off again in section 3 and Beethro meets 39th Slayer for the first time soon after.

39th Slayer states he was sent to kill Beethro for intruding too far into the Empire's territory, and that he's not actually in Dugan's Dungeon anymore.

Beethro states he can take on the 39th Slayer fine, and the chase begins.

At the end of the section, Halph comes back and Beethro yells at him again about running off, and warns him the Slayer wants to kill Halph as well as Beethro.

Halph promises not to wander off again, and the two work together to lose 39th Slayer at the end of the level.

39th Slayer states he'll be back even though they won for now, in his ever ominous way.

Immediately in the next level in section 4, 39th Slayer tells them not to think they've gotten away and that he's always watching them, and sets up a Messanger system to warn the Empire about the Budkin menace.

In a secret room in this section however, the Messanger system is shown to be flawed and acts like a game of Telephone where the message is not translated exactly as the sender says, and important details are left out.

In section 5, Beethro learns about wubbas, and at the end of the section Halph is shown goofing off and playing with some wubbas.

Beethro yells at him about running off yet again, but very soon after Halph wanders off another time because some more wubbas are blocking him from following Beethro.

Beethro sighs the boy never listens, and then section 6 starts.

In section 6, rock golems are introduced and state they must crush Beethro for being soft and not a rock.

About midway through the section, 84th Imperial Defender comes back for a second round, but Beethro states he knows how to outwit him and if he's done it once, he can always do it again.

Later on at the end of the section, 39th Slayer comes back and states Beethro didn't lose him if he thought he did, and he's got him cornered for good now.

At the very end of the section, Beethro loses the Slayer for a while again, and the Slayer curses him out for another defeat, and foolishly reveals his strategy for next time, which Beethro taunts him about.

In section 7, Beethro meets the Pit Thing for the first time, who prattles on about the Mothingness without explaining what it is, and essentially tells Beethro to jump down a pit.

Beethro yells at him that he's not going to fall for any of his tricks, and he's a seasoned smitemaster and proud of it - he can handle going the long way down.

At the end of the section, 39th Slayer is tired of chasing Beethro and decides to camp in one spot, hoping to nail Beethro then, but Beethro manages to still get past, and the Slayer says he should have stayed longer at the training school and Beethro taunts him about not being as professional as he thought he was.

In section 8, Halph and the Slayer come back, and Beethro tells Halph he can get himself killed for all he cares cause he never listens to Beethro's warnings, and 39th Slayer says the career of Beethro Budkin finally ends with this next appearance of his.

After outwitting the Slayer yet again, the Slayer curses "Oh, rot!" and that the next time they meet the design won't be as forgiving.

In section 9, the Slayer angrily states his reputation as a professional is at stake because of Beethro's antics, and Beethro states he's glad to hear it cause he wasn't good at his job to begin with.

There is another room of the Messangers in a secret room in this section where the Slayer's message gets misinterpreted again, and at the end of the section there is no dialogue for losing the Slayer this time.

In section 10, in a secret room, 39th Slayer sarcastically taunts "Good luck!" to Beethro, obviously hoping he will get killed in a brutal fashion instead.

In section 11, the Pit Thing taunts Beethro "Moth'ness Ti!" without saying anything else in a secret room, and Beethro tells him to shut up.

At the end of the section, Halph is trapped in a room with bombs, and Beethro tells him hopefully this room is a life lesson about why he shouldn't run off if the Slayer wasn't already.

In section 12, Beethro meets his first Tar Technician, who marvels at the beauty of the stuff before crying for help being rescued from it.

When Beethro rescues him, he states he specifically made the tar to be this way, and that he loves the stuff with full passion.

He then explains the Slayer was actually engineered to be a Slayer, and wasn't just trained the way Beethro was, and warns him to go back home while he still can.

Beethro states that this doesn't change the fact the Slayer has been doing a lousy job so far, and that this won't stop him from going further down.

In section 13, the first goblin Beethro comes across his second time around the dungeon basically states "don't kill me", and Beethro states he has to in order to open the green door.

At the end of the section, Beethro meets the Goblin King, who kidnaps Halph and puts him in jail until Beethro pays him 5000 greckles for his destruction of section 24 of Dugan's Dungeon/Neatherville.

Beethro yells he knows he doesn't have such money, and the Goblin King explains he can get the money further downstairs.

At the end of section 14, Beethro learns Mud Coordinators exist in the same way Tar Techinicans do, and there is a debate between the two of which is better, with the Tar Technician pointing out not only did the Mud Coordinator copy his idea with only a small change, he even copied existing tar rooms from Dugan's Dungeon and made only a small change for all the rooms in section 14.

After clearing the majority of section 15 with no eventful dialogue, Beethro comes back to section 13 to meet the Goblin King again, yelling he knew the whole time there wasn't any money down there.

The Goblin King responds he likes to set Beethro up for a joke, cause he hates him as deep as the pits.

The Goblin King then escapes to try to kill the Budkins another day, and Beethro rescues Halph from the goblin jail, where Halph then states he's having second thoughts that Beethro is the good guy after killing all those goblins.

Beethro reminds Halph he's only doing his job as a smitemaster, and Halph then goes "Hmph!" angrily in response.

After going back down to section 15, Beethro yells Halph's wandered off yet again, and he's going to get himself killed for sure one of these days.

At the end of section 15 after coming back from rescuing Halph, there are more Messangers sending a faulty interpretation of the Slayer's warning to the Empire.

At the beginning of section 16 in a secret room, the Pit Thing taunts Beethro by pretending to be 39th Slayer and Halph, but Beethro calls him out on it right away, stating he can't actually hear the Slayer coming up behind him, and that Halph is too dumb to act scared in the way the Pit Thing acted.

The Pit Thing states Beethro would scream, and Beethro says he's had enough of his taunts because at least the Slayer is a real physical threat, even if he's poor at actually killing Beethro.

At the very end of the section, 39th Slayer comes back and states he's got Beethro cornered this time, and Beethro points out the rattlesnakes everywhere blocking him from reaching Beethro, and the Slayer states he's a fast learner.

The very next level, 84th Imperial Defender tries to block Beethro from killing monsters for the last time, and if you win against him this level you can actually kill 84th Imperial Defender for good, who will protest it was all a test if you actually decide to kill him, which makes Beethro snap back "a test of my patience... and my life!"

In the middle of section 17, there is the final instance of the Messangers, where the Slayer's message has been twisted so badly now Beethro is getting help and not the Slayer.

As soon as you start section 18, 39th Slayer is right there waiting to kill you, yelling "I will not be ignored, Budkin."

At the end of section 18, 39th Slayer states Beethro can't run away from him anymore and actually has to cooperate with him to win these puzzles, and there's no chance he's going to cooperate anytime soon, but Beethro manages to trick him and win.

In section 19, the Pit Thing tells Beethro Dugan has knocked down his Roasted Roach Grill and that he doesn't want Beethro anymore as he's destroyed a place he wasn't supposed to, like the 39th Slayer warned Beethro when they first met.

Beethro asks how he knew, and the Pit Thing states he can listen in on any conversation at will, being the entity of all knowledge.

The Pit Thing then also tells Beethro the Empire is recruiting Halph as he's shown promise, whereas Beethro has just been destroying the Empire's resources non-stop.

In section 20, in another secret room, 39th Slayer taunts Beethro "good luck" sarcastically hoping he will die a brutal death, the same way he did in section 10.

At the beginning of section 21, Beethro meets Halph who states the Empire is recruiting him as one of their Architects.

At the beginning of section 22, 39th Slayer comes back for revenge again and states now that he's got brains to make the other monsters smarter, Beethro has no hope of winning now.

Beethro points out he already has experience dealing with both brains and the Slayer, and so the two combined isn't going to make them harder anytime soon.

In the middle of section 22, in a puzzle where you have to kill a serpent with Halph, 39th Slayer states "that's not fair!" after the serpent dies, and then states he should get some assistance of his own.

Beethro taunts him that it's because he's admitting he's hopeless as a Slayer, but the Slayer comes right back at Beethro and states that if Beethro can cheat by using Halph and not killing all the monsters by himself like he's supposed to, it's only fair the Slayer can cheat in the same way.

At the end of section 23, 39th Slayer announces that Beethro has breached the majority of the Empire's defenses, and so sections 24 and 25 are on red alert and that he's enlisted the Poppy Brigade to help him kill Beethro.

Beethro states that the Poppy Brigade probably won't be as bad as the Slayer makes it sound, because the Slayer himself has been hopeless at killing Beethro by himself so far.

At the end of section 24 in a secret room, there's a Monty Python sketch with the Pit Thing, and in another secret room the last Messanger of the hold tells Beethro the Slayer sent the message that he's waiting for him in the next section, prepared to do whatever it takes to kill Beethro using the Poppy Brigade to help him.

In section 25, 39th Slayer orders the Poppy guards to kill/seize Beethro, and gets angry when Beethro can kill the Poppy guards with ease, with Beethro pointing out the guards are just as much of a joke at killing him as the Slayer has been in the first room after killing the guards.

At the end of section 25, the Slayer states there's no way out for Beethro this time, and Beethro points out the fuse in the room.

As Beethro approaches the fuse, 39th Slayer begs Beethro not to kill him, and Beethro points out 39th Slayer has been putting Beethro's life in jeopardy since they first met.

39th Slayer states that it's not the same because Beethro is an abovegrounder, but he gets cut short with the realization that killing anybody is still murder, regardless of whether they're from the Empire or the surface.

Before finally killing the Slayer, Beethro points out maybe the Slayer needed to think about that sooner.

After Beethro blows up the Slayer, Halph is shown talking to the pits (you can guess the Pit Thing from context) and then accuses Beethro of being a murderer/serial killer/etc, and Beethro points out it was all in self-defense, and Halph states that it's not an excuse because Beethro was intruding in a place he didn't belong in the first place, like 39th Slayer and the Pit Thing reminded Beethro already earlier.

After Halph runs away, the Pit Thing reveals that it was indeed him talking to Halph, and he was the one who convinced Halph that Beethro was a murderer with no good intentions whatsoever.

Beethro yells at the Pit Thing about brainwashing Halph, and the Pit Thing states that Beethro doesn't have a chance in getting to the Empire with all their defenses, and Beethro states he's going to get there no matter what it takes and finally get some real answers as to why Dugan's Dungeon was re-populated and where in the world Halph ran off to.

____________________________
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12-02-2024 at 08:42 PM
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azb
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icon Re: 210 Levels of Terror: AE Edition (-1)  
While we're here, we can also do the plot for TCB, cause I have drafted the majority of the JtRH hold as well:

* Beethro comes to the fabled Rooted Hold/Empire from the High Path. If you choose to go back, he refuses because it took him forever to reach Rooted Hold

* His first Empire citizen is the Infohut guy, who tells him he has to go down a huge pit to the south to reach Lowest Point

* Beethro misunderstands him, thinking he wants him to jump down and kill himself, and calls him out of his mind

* The Infohut Guy then says the other way to Lowest Point is through the Empire's three gates

* The first gate requires Beethro to put away his sword to enter the main city

* In the main city, there is some conversation between the citizens, goblins and golems about Beethro not having an Empire job

* At the second gate, the gatekeepers refuse to let Beethro in because he doesn't have an Empire name, and explain he can get one at the Naming Office

* Near the Naming Office, Beethro meets a citizen complaining he doesn't have an Empire name, and Beethro assigns him one, "1st Tarluke Mudwrit"

* In the Naming Office, the official refuses because Beethro is obviously a surfacer and not Empire born, and rules are rules

* To the north of the Naming Office, there are two gossipers talking about how they've heard Beethro is giving out names (but don't know him directly, just that someone in general is)

* The next room introduces briar, and how a guard fails to save a goblin from getting killed by some

* The next room introduces 84th Negotiator, who tells Beethro she can change the rule about surfacers not being allowed to get an Empire name, and that he can get answers as to where Halph is at the Grand Library, but he needs to clear some trials first

* After clearing the trials, the Grand Library fails to answer clearly what the Mothingness actually is, something the Pit Thing mentioned during his first appearance, and Beethro can only ask one question per visit

* In the Uncturage south of the Grand Library, Beethro meets his first Slayer apprentice, who isn't a Slayer yet, but will become a Slayer after killing his next abovegrounder

* Deeper in the Uncturage, Beethro meets another Slayer apprentice who is very easy to kill because of the hot tiles in this section, and Beethro laughs about it once the Slayer burns

* At the very end of the Uncturage section, the Pit Thing reveals the Mothingness is the sense of duty flowing deep in the Empire citizen's blood, forcing them to follow the rules they are assigned to a T rather than being free-willed like Beethro

* The Pit Thing then sends Beethro back to the Grand Library to ask about "butterflies" specifically, and Beethro states it's a prank/joke at first, but then when he actually goes to ask,

* The butterfly section is shown to be infested with a briar breakout, and as Beethro cleans it the Pit Thing states the infestation was the Empire's fault because the Librarians only recorded the data but didn't have the foresight to preserve it

* The Pit Thing then tells Beethro he has to go back up to Dugandy through an express route in the city, because there's literally nowhere else for him to go without an Empire name

* After fully clearing the breakout under the Grand Library, the game cuts to 84th Negotiator doing negotiations to change the rule in Beethro's favor, and it ends up succesful at the last room

* After the negotiation scene, the game cuts back to Beethro, who is told the gatekeeper of the express route can't let him in without knowing where the source of the brair is to rereoute the pipe to the orb, and Beethro gladly states it's under the Library (if you haven't been there already and stumble upon the gate by accident, then the conversation ends at "tell me where the infestation is and I'll open the gate for you")

* In section 6, the first one of the express route, Beethro encounters multiple Slayers in one room for the first time

* In section 8, the Pit Thing taunts Beethro Dugan has set his guards to kill him on sight when he goes back up to the surface

* Before section 9 officially starts, Beethro notices the Smitemaster's Guild hallholder, Bombus, collaborating with some Empire architects and Beethro gets upset that he's been working behind Beethro's back this whole time

* In section 9, Beethro steals a guard disguise to not be spotted by the guards, and takes it off after clearing Dugan's New Dungeon to confront the king himself head-on

* Dugan doesn't listen to reason, and orders Beethro killed on sight, and Beethro escapes the throne room through a secret passage

* Beethro escapes Dugandy through the River Dugan/section 10, and he meets another Slayer apprentice in the caves below later on in section 10

* Beethro meets 1st Archivist for the first time in the Holding Vats, who tells Beethro the Slayers were only one of his creations and that he has far worse things prepared ahead, and that he doesn't like Beethro meddling in his affairs

* After Beethro exits section 11 succesfully, 84th Negotiator returns with the info that the negotiation was a success and that Beethro can apply at the Naming Office

* After re-applying at the Naming Office, Beethro has a flashback to him killing 39th Slayer in the JtRH era, and has to kill some other Slayer candidates/apprentices first before officially becoming a Slayer himself

* After earning his title as 256th Slayer, Beethro meets Halph at the DAA who states the Architects are trying to save the surfacers and it's the Archivists and Slayers who are the bad guys, and he still doesn't trust Beethro enough to go back with him

* At the Slaymasters' Hall, Beethro learns he needs a pass to get in, and it's at the Archivist Headquarters

* At the Archivist Headquarters, 1st Archivist states he will never give Beethro the pass in all his life as it's meant for real (Empire-born) Slayers, and Beethro ends up chasing one of his apprentices in the catacombs below

* During the chase sequence, the Pit Thing alludes to why 1st Archivist is the way he is by stating "when he listened more deeply to the Mothingness, it told him to do something more than just his assigned job and carry it to extremes" basically

* After getting the pass and getting the Slaymasters' Hall, Beethro learns about 1st Archivist's plans to kill all the surfacers

* Beethro immediately destroys the Slaymasters' Hall, killing all the Empire Slayers in the process making him officially 1st Slayer, but 1st Archivist still managed to escape and will indeed prepare something far worse to kill all the surfacers

* Beethro can't go back the way he came due to the rubble, so instead he goes through the Empire's network system to warn Glotthered about the plan to kill the surfacers

* He is told he needs to deal with a real threat, a pirate invasion, first, to be taken seriously

* He clears the majority of the pirate invasion, but the captain escapes

* He comes back with the bad news, and is told he is not worthy of the Chief's attention and is kicked out of Glotthered

* He heads back to the Empire's city, and gets past the Gate of Firstedy to the Hall of Answers to ask where Lowest Point is

* He only gets "Yes" or "No" answers and not a real location, and after coming back from being told he can only ask a limited number of questions and has ran out, the Pit Thing tells him the way to Lowest Point was at the Infohut the whole time

* Beethro yells at him about not revealing this sooner and making him play all those games, and the Pit Thing reminds Beethro it is against his nature to speak directly, and that besides, the first answer the Infohut guy gave him meant something different than what he assumed, and it was his fault for assuming it meant to kill himself

* Back at the Infohut, Beethro learns there was a rope letting him climb down gently to Lowest Point this whole time, and that the Infohut guy never meant that Beethro should kill himself.

* After climbing down the rope, Beethro meets the Stalwart Army preparing to take the Empire head-on, and Beethro tries to warn them about how bad the monsters are but they don't listen,

* And end up all getting killed by 1st Archivist's new creation, the Aumtlich.

* In the forgotten ruins after this area, Beethro meets a surviving Stalwart named Tendry, and they both agree to stop the horrible 1st Archivist no matter the cost.

* At the end of the forgotten ruins, there are the last gossips of the hold stating the Stalwart Captain died just from the sheer will of the Empire.

* In section 23, Beethro meets builders who are ordered to stop his progress in killing the monsters so he can't reach Lowest Point.

* During the section, the Pit Thing riddles to Beethro what is lower than Lowest Point, hoping Beethro will figure out the answer himself as to what the Empire's true secret is.

* At the end of the section and throughout the next section, Halph himself is ordered by the DAA to command builders to stop Beethro from reaching Lowest Point at all costs, because he'll get himself killed as soon as he discovers the secret it contains.

* After outwitting Halph and reaching Lowest Point, Beethro sees 1st Watcher's dead body and the Second Sky, the sky below the world, first-hand.

* Beethro runs away in shock and awe, with the intention to tell everyone about it as well as 1st Archivist's plans to kill the surfacers, although it wasn't clear how he would try next after Beethro had killed all the Slayers and Aumtlich, but he always knew the guy always had a plan up his sleeve.

____________________________
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12-03-2024 at 06:27 PM
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