Nuntar
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Hello everyone! As the RPG 2 project nears completion, it's time for us to share some of the awesome features that have been implemented. Just as we did before the release of TSS, we invite everyone to discuss and speculate about the new features, and we're happy to answer any questions!

(To be clear, I have permission from Mike and Kieran to start this topic, and we are working together on posts.)

I'd like to start with a feature that has already been partially revealed, as an earlier version of it appeared in the 1.3 alpha:

Crates



The Empire is a domain of knowledge, and when you have a lot of knowledge in one place, the question of how to store it all is inescapable. So Tendry, on his new journey, will come across crates of paperwork that can be used to help him deal with the obstacles in his path.

Crates are a new type of pushable that can be pushed with only the body (not with the sword, like mirrors). They can weigh down pressure plates, and they have additional niche uses; but their main use is to facilitate doorwalking.

Once a crate can no longer be pushed in a certain direction, a move towards it will result in Tendry stepping on top of it. From there, Tendry can walk over the tops of other crates or get on top of doors. (Think of the crate as being half as high as doors.)

Be careful where you leave your crates. Once a crate is against a door, the room geometry can make it costly or impossible to move it away and use it elsewhere.

Another use of crates is to cover up floor hazards such as hot tiles or oremites. Provided you can get on top of the crate, this allows the player to avoid the normal downside of stepping on a hazard.

Plenty more features to come! I am really excited about how much of an advance RPG 2 makes and the new possibilities for hold-building, and I don't think any RPG fans are going to be disappointed!

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50th Skywatcher

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[Last edited by Nuntar at 04-23-2025 10:19 AM]

averagemoe
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So, what happens if you close a door with a crate on it, and then try to push the crate onto another part of the door?

And then a follow up question. What if you try to push a crate that's on top of a door onto a wall?

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[Last edited by averagemoe at 04-21-2025 06:42 AM]

Nuntar
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There's enough space above doors for you to push a crate around on top of them, and even from one door to another. However, if one crate is on a door and another is on the floor, you can't push one on top of the other -- that might make physical sense but we don't really want to open the door to the sort of three-dimensional puzzle that could lead to

If a crate is on top of a door and you make a blocked push move, you can still get on top of it.

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Xindaris
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I just have to say, I really appreciate the detail that these are crates of paperwork specifically. Not important supplies or anything, just paperwork.

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averagemoe
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Since you said room geometry can make it hard to get a crate away from a door, I'm assuming that trying to step down onto a crate from a door doesn't push the crate away.

Is it the same with moving from one crate to another? Does a potential push need to be blocked, or will Tendry always transfer between any two adjacent crates regardless of surroundings?

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kieranmillar
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Correct, stepping down from a door onto a crate does not push the crate away, you drop on top of the crate. Similarly you walk across the tops of adjacent crates, you can't push the last one away (from that direction).

Red-XIII
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Do water skippers and seeps harm you if you are on top of the crate?

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There's just this one, just this rock.
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Dragon Fogel
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Xindaris wrote:
I just have to say, I really appreciate the detail that these are crates of paperwork specifically. Not important supplies or anything, just paperwork.

Hey, paperwork is very important! How else will you know whether 249th Raft Clerk should be submitting their regular status reports to 275th Aquatics Manager or to 237th Transport Officer?

Nuntar
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Red-XIII wrote:
Do water skippers and seeps harm you if you are on top of the crate?

Yes, waterskippers, seep, eyes and goblins can all strike the player when he's on a crate. Aumtlich beams cannot.

Seep can also damage the player when he's on top of a door (including on a crate on a door), but other monster strikes are blocked; this is RPG 1 behaviour that has been carried over.

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averagemoe
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kieranmillar wrote:
Correct, stepping down from a door onto a crate does not push the crate away, you drop on top of the crate. Similarly you walk across the tops of adjacent crates, you can't push the last one away (from that direction).

And when standing on a floor-level crate and moving onto a crate on a door, that pushes, right?

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kieranmillar
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No, that's a blocked move, a bump. You can't push the crate because it's not on the same level as you, the crates are too heavy for that. And you can't open or lock doors when on a crate.

Someone Else
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kieranmillar wrote:
No, that's a blocked move, a bump. You can't push the crate because it's not on the same level as you, the crates are too heavy for that. And you can't open or lock doors when on a crate.

I'm sure that's not physical weight, but the weightiness of the import of the documents.

Nuntar
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Next is my favourite of the new features! It's very simple and can be understood in a minute, but the gameplay implications are far-reaching and open the door to all kinds of interesting room design.

Shovels



As Tendry's adventures lead him even deeper underground, he will occasionally have to rely on a new set of tools.

Shovels are a new collectable with a dedicated slot in the UI. (You may also notice that we've given the whole UI a makeover; no more Comic Sans!) They are worth 1 point each in scoring.

Shovels can be picked up in units of 1, 3 or 10, affected by the level multiplier -- if a level has a x5 multiplier, that barrel of shovels contains no less than 50! They are used to dig through dirt blocks, which come in three types, costing 1, 3 and 5 shovels -- these are not affected by the multiplier.



A simple illustration of the type of puzzle shovels and dirt blocks can be used for. If you need the health urgently, it will cost 4 shovels, but then you are spending 7 total to get the health and attack; if you can delay picking up the health until you have enough shovels you can get both for just 6 shovels.

You can also see here that power-ups (potions, gems and keys) can be placed on the same tile as dirt blocks, allowing for nicely compact room design.

And while dirt blocks are somewhat similar to a new type of door, they can only be removed -- you can't doorwalk with them, or use crates to get on top of them.

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averagemoe
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I'm always looking for ways RPG features might be ported over to classic DROD as custom elements. Shovels and dirt blocks, I'm thinking of simply using as a basic door and key mechanism, for gating off parts of a level until you've completed certain rooms, without having to be restricted by geography.

It kind of puts my very specific questions about the crates in context, doesn't it?

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Chaco
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I guess it stands to reason that if Tendry is enough of a maniac to snap a metal key off in the door every time he uses that key to unlock or lock a door, or ruin a pickaxe with one swing, he's also powerful enough to keep breaking shovel handles as he uses them.

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Xindaris
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Thinking about it...
-Tendry can generally only carry one sword and one shield at a time, and has to swap them out to use a new one.
-He can only carry one accessory at a time in the same way.
-The stat gems seem to just be some...magic thing that affects Tendry's physical being or something, not something he needs to physically carry around after collecting.
-Likewise, potions are chugged upon pickup, the bottle no doubt recklessly tossed aside recycled in a conveniently-placed bin nearby.
-Keys obviously don't take up much space at all; they could all fit in his pocket...

-...But now I'm trying to imagine that same person carrying around 10, 20, 100 shovels, and...it starts to sound a lot more like your "typical RPG protagonist" sort of inventory shenanigans.

Not a complaint, just something interesting that came to mind.

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Here are some links to Things!

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[Last edited by Xindaris at 04-24-2025 01:46 AM]

averagemoe
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He canonically picks up a backpack at some point between the two halves of the official campaign, which can hold multiple of each kind of equipment thing.

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[Last edited by averagemoe at 04-24-2025 05:46 AM]

averagemoe
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Also, when Halph robs Tendry, he also manages to take all the stat gems. Maybe he used some sort of nullifying talisman that permanently cancels the effects. Talismans haven't been used as a magic item in the Eighth, and that seems like as good a thing as any to headcanon that they can do.

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kieranmillar
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Actually, the official lore is that the effects of the gems only lasts about 6 hours.

Source: me.

Rabscuttle
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Maybe there are oremites in the dirt that eat your shovels.

Nuntar
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Mist



Recently, there have been rumours of strange tremors opening up cracks in the ground, and a cold mist emerging from beneath. Tendry's duty as a Stalwart drives him to investigate; what could be the source of these tremors, and what connection does it have with the abduction of the Tuenan people?

Mist should not be confused with the similar-looking Fluff. It is light enough that Tendry and other characters can stand in it and move through it.

However, with some exceptions (as noted below) anything standing in mist has its Defence reduced to zero!

Mist connected to a vent will expand, similarly to briar, every time a monster is defeated. If that pesky Rock Golem is too tough to fight, maybe growing some mist under his feet will help to break him down! But be careful -- expanding mist can make things harder for the player as well. Mist will not expand onto tiles containing mirrors, crates, power-ups or dirt blocks, so the player may have to manipulate these carefully to channel the mist into a desired shape.

As with other floor hazards, standing on a crate is one way to avoid the effects of mist. Crates can also be placed over mist vents to block its expansion.



RPG 2 has two new default monsters, Puffs and Constructs. Both of them are immune to mist: puffs thrive in the cold environment, and constructs, being metal, are not harmed by it. Mist immunity is also available as a property that can be given to custom monsters; and the player can find equipment that gives them immunity too!

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averagemoe
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I notice that the puff and construct use new made for RPG tiles, while the rock golem is still just the classic look at twice the scale.

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kieranmillar
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Those are still the TSS graphics scaled up, I just spent a lot of effort doing a lot more manual cleanup on them to make them look sharper. They weren't drawn from scratch.

Dragon Fogel
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Are there any plans to allow scripting to change the effect (and probably color) of mist? Because I can imagine some very fun things to play around with, like an "attack is zero" mist or a "more greckles" mist (no effect on you, but it would allow for a room where you plan kills to get the most money). Or even something wacky like a "monsters and the player are unaffected, potions and stat gems are less effective" mist if given the ability.

Maybe not things that would see a lot of use, but they could make for fun diversions at the very least.

kieranmillar
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No, but you can always make a feature request thread.

This does not sound like an easy request though, so I don't think the odds are very good.

averagemoe
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And I can see that the mist itself is the TSS graphics at the same scale they've always been. Does that mean mist can exist in a 1X1 state, looking like a 2X2 cloud of fluff?

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Nuntar
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Sure. Here's 1x1 mist, shown with and without a vent.



If a vent has no mist above it, the first time a monster is defeated it will spawn 1x1 mist; then it will expand with subsequent monster kills.

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50th Skywatcher

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[Last edited by Nuntar at 04-26-2025 12:22 AM]

Nuntar
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Dragon Fogel wrote:
Are there any plans to allow scripting to change the effect (and probably color) of mist? Because I can imagine some very fun things to play around with, like an "attack is zero" mist or a "more greckles" mist (no effect on you, but it would allow for a room where you plan kills to get the most money). Or even something wacky like a "monsters and the player are unaffected, potions and stat gems are less effective" mist if given the ability.

You can't change the colour of mist, and it can't coexist with potions or stat gems, but the rest is already possible! Here's a script that makes monsters award double GR if fought on mist. (The mist will still have its normal effect as well... but if you are using custom monsters, you can give the player and all monsters mist immunity!)



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[Last edited by Nuntar at 04-26-2025 12:48 AM]

Xindaris
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Whoa, hey, I see another new feature in that screenshot!
"Reset _MyScript variables" looks very convenient and useful!


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Here are some links to Things!

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[Last edited by Xindaris at 04-26-2025 02:05 AM]

Someone Else
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It's also in 5.2! It's very useful.