ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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So I was asked in e-mail recently what the best order to play the official DROD holds is. There are more answers than one. It depends what's important to you. I would say that if you are completely new to DROD and are worried about learning it, then start with Journey to Rooted Hold. Finish that game and then decide what your strategy for playing future holds will be.

By Chronology (by story, not release)
King Dugan's Dungeon
Journey to Rooted Hold
Perfection
Beethro's Teacher
Master Locks (not released yet, and may be renamed)
The City Beneath (not released yet)

The following official holds are off-canon, so don't have a story chronology:
The Choice
Beethro and the Secret Society
Halph Has a Bad Day
Smitemastery 101 (not released yet)

By Difficulty

Smitemastery 101 (not released yet, for kids 8-12)
Journey to Rooted Hold
King Dugan's Dungeon
The City Beneath (not released yet)
The Choice
Master Locks (not released yet, probably will come in two difficulties)
Halph Has a Bad Day
Beethro and the Secret Society
Perfection
Beethro's Teacher

I haven't played all of these holds, and may change the order of difficulty based on player's opinions. And guys, please don't ask me TCB questions. I will be a stone wall.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

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[Last edited by ErikH2000 at 07-10-2006 03:54 AM]

Banjooie
Level: Smitemaster

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Can you imitate a stone wall from TCB for us?

Briareos
Level: Smitemaster

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So I take it we'll be getting stone walls in TCB?

____________________________
"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
R.I.P. Robert Feldhoff (1962-2009)

UrAvgAzn
Level: Smiter

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See this post.

Uhh, here.

Keep posting,

____________________________
"The leaf, still green, must someday fall.
Such grief, such joy, to live at all."
- T.A. Barron, The Lost Years of Merlin

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

Rank Points: 2794
Registered: 02-04-2003
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Guys, please don't derail the topic. I'm not planning to say a word more about TCB at this point. That's what I mean by "stone wall".

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Niccus
Level: Smiter
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I can't say much yet, but I'm guessing Smitemastery 101 would be an excellent first hold (well, hopefully)... Does it only go into the elements in KDD or does it also include the new elements from JtRH?

Maybe it's just me, but I think any newcomers should try out KDD 2.0 before the original KDD on Architect's Edition, even though AE is free -- The undo button is worth it...

I also think that KDD should be played before JtRH -- The Slayer takes a little away from the focus on specific monsters like in KDD. I value alone times.

Can't say anythihng beyond that, no money

Mikko
Level: Master Delver
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Sorry for not obeying your request, Erik, but I feel that my TCB-related question is very much on topic.

Perfections and Beethro's Teacher are both very difficult holds (allegedly, I haven't tried Beethro's Teacher myself), but still part of the official story. Will we get a summary of past events at the start of TCB or is the plot of the SS holds a secret reserved only for expert players? And how awkward is it generally to play the official holds without knowing what has happened before? I've played everything in chronogical order so I can't really judge.

ErikH2000
Level: Legendary Smitemaster

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Mikko wrote:
Perfections and Beethro's Teacher are both very difficult holds (allegedly, I haven't tried Beethro's Teacher myself), but still part of the official story. Will we get a summary of past events at the start of TCB or is the plot of the SS holds a secret reserved only for expert players?

I would welcome someone to summarize the plot events of the canonical SmS holds. We could put it somewhere on the site with a spoiler alert. And again, I'm not saying anything about TCB.

And how awkward is it generally to play the official holds without knowing what has happened before? I've played everything in chronogical order so I can't really judge.

Other people might want to answer that. I'm not really in a position to judge either.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

coppro
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Hmm... I think that I agree with your difficulty ratings muchly (of course, that wall isn't helping me decide about the unreleased ones). This needs to go somewhere.

Alneyan
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ErikH2000 wrote:
And again, I'm not saying anything about TCB.

Well, you did say more than a few things about TCB - whole sentences even! *Ducks*

I would also put KDD before JtRH difficulty-wise. KDD is a bit easier on the whole, though the bulk of the learning curve is fairly early on. JtRH has a much better learning curve, but some of the rooms are trickier than any place in KDD.

I would also recommend promoting KDD 2.0, since it is technically a wholly different hold, not compatible with plain ole KDD (either for AE or Drod 2.0). Undo makes some of the rooms a lot smoother all of a sudden, though that feature is also available with KDD-Drod 2.0.

Perfection seems harder to me than Beethro's Teacher, but that's more a matter of style (trickiness v. efficiency) than anything else. Of course, I'm still on Perfection 6, and I'm missing some rooms from Beethro's Teacher, so mileages are relative or something to that effect.