Ryan Smith on 16/4/2018 at 08:40
I'm not really able to run DromEd very well on this computer, so chances are I wouldn't be the one to make this happen. (My skills are limited anyway) But anyone who makes missions here is more than welcome to pick up this idea. In fact I highly encourage you to.
Essentially, this idea is basically the original missions, exactly as they are designed, but with things added to it. By added, I mean it in someway boosts the difficulty and complexity of the level. Example:
3 Difficulty modes, rather than Normal, Hard, Expert, could be named something like Master, Grand Master, and Legend. Each difficulty branches off from Expert and adds more enemies, possibly different or less items in strategic locations. Normal has its standard number of foes, Hard has more, Expert has even more. Master would add more from Expert, and even more in Grandmaster, etc.
Each level would replace the standard difficulties with Master, Grand Master, and Legend (easier than coming up with a way to thread 6 separate difficulties together in one chain).
Examples of how difficulties would be implemented (Using Bafford's Manor as an example):
Master:
Adding a sword guard near the staircase going up from the basement.
Adding an archer to the upstairs hallway, heading to and from the study.
Halving the number of water arrows and broadhead arrows in the stash on the streets near Bafford Manor.
Increasing the number of spiders in the room under the well from 4 to 5.
Adding a Bafford Sergeant by the back gate used for the exit.
Grand Master:
Removing the stash of water arrows and broadhead arrows.
Adding a servant which patrols around the swimming pool on the first floor.
Adding two archers that stand watch from both sides of the tiled floor above the swimming pool (both should see the entrance to the grassy area on both sides)
Turning one of the spiders from small to the big green one in the room under the well.
Have the crate in the basement near the stairs give the player one flash bomb instead of two.
Remove the Key from the accounting room's wall in the basement.
Legend:
Adding a sword guard that patrols the hallway leading to the accounting room in the basement.
Adding a bafford sergeant that periodically wanders from wall to wall in the throne room.
Adding a servant inside the room with the spa just outside the throne room.
Replacing the flash bomb inside the crate in the basement with a water arrow.
Adding an archer patrolling the storage room just before the staircase leading up from the basement.
Adding a female servant which patrols from the basement, all the way to the room with the fireplace just before entering the hallway leading to the throne room.
Removing the healing potion from the crate in the basement before the two guards have their chat about security.
This is just to give you an idea of the changes and challenges I'm going for here. They're not to make the level impossible but add new and interesting challenges which make the level increasingly more complex and challenging. I can't do this myself so someone else will need to pick up this idea and put it into action. I'd LOVE to play this though and stream my experiences with it.
Aemanyl on 16/4/2018 at 08:53
Great idea! Some vanilla levels are just too easy for experienced taffers like us. Adding additional objectives could be interesting as well, e.g. "find lost Bafford's ring" (it will be guarded by spiders in the famous underwater cave). I can't do it myself either, as I have no experience in DromEd. But is it really possible to add more than three difficulty levels in mission briefing screen?
Ryan Smith on 16/4/2018 at 08:56
Quote Posted by Aemanyl
Great idea! Some vanilla levels are just too easy for experienced taffers like us. Adding additional objectives could be interesting as well, e.g. "find lost Bafford's ring" (it will be guarded by spiders in the famous underwater cave). I can't do it myself either, as I have no experience in DromEd. But is it really possible to add more than three difficulty levels in mission briefing screen?
The current idea is to rename the three difficulties so all you have to do is make a separate version of the same level, add in the extra stuff, and viola! I like the idea with extra objectives though.
Aemanyl on 16/4/2018 at 09:04
I know, I was just wondering. It's kinda sad that Thief 1 does not support optional objectives, but on higher difficulty levels these goals would be mandatory to complete. They won't be available from the beginning, you would have to trigger them by e.g. reading a certain scroll in the mission. What do you think? I'd be happy to post some more ideas.