Description
Latest version of Dark Realms (v3.1), following a 10-year silence since the previous release. Dark Realms has risen from oblivion! This release contains substantially improved architecture across all the maps, as well as many bug fixes (major and minor). One of the maps has been replaced and redone from scratch, now being much more compact and exciting. The dialogue has been streamlined overall, thereby improving the delivery of the story. As a bonus, this zip file also includes a mildly-revised version of The Elven Gathering (v1.1), the long-lost official prologue to Dark Realms. Aside from some minor text and sidedef clean-ups, this version is still almost identical to the original 2006 release. Future releases of Dark Realms will include subsequently updated versions of The Elven Gathering.
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Well done.
Okay, tried this mod but I didn't enjoy it.
I apologize, but the whole layout of the first level is pretty confusing and seems like you actually designed it this way just to annoy the player. What kind of castle has so many tight corridors (you can't even try to dodge the hits by the monster by going to the right or left side simply because there is no space) and the 'rooms' have the space just to host the players and two-three monsters...
It is too claustrophobic and there is no way for the player to distinguish amongst all these corridors.
And the whole starting sequence where you have to actually go through the mountain could be certainly streamlined to make it less annoying (you have to jump on fit spaces too many times) and better conceived by detailing both the starting story and the thoughts
If you wish for other opinions, just shot me a pm
Regards
I can assure you that I never design maps to annoy the player. In fact I didn't used to get so much criticism over the tight corridors back in, say, the 2000s. I've noticed that newer players in recent days take much bigger issue with them.
The castle map is actually very old, dating back to my earliest mapping days. I was aiming for an old-school grid-based dungeon aesthetic. It may be too much work to redo it from scratch, but I could try expanding the squares to 96x96 (I remember I tried 128x128 a long time ago but the corridors became too long). In future releases, the afrits will be replaced with rats (or other weak monsters) that don't hurl projectiles.
For the record, I am working on a new release which will replace other of the 'tight-corridor' sequences in hub 2.
As for the intro mountain, I will put more descriptive story text into the opening script.
Thanks for the answer.
Honestly I didn't mean to offend you, it was just that the difference between the first level of hexen and the first level of this mod is pretty glaring, given the lack of space.
If you didn't tell me it wasn't a castle, I may have had a different idea, but I still would have been annoyed. A castle is supposed to be big.
And I liked most of the intro, the only part that I've found weird was that you had to jump on these little steps to get to the top at a certain point.
Though, I didn't like that at a certain point you have to go through some black corridors, and you have to fall for a few times just to reach the next point.
Regards
Ok, I have experimented with widening the castle corridors. 80x80 turns out to be really good - it preserves the 'grid-based' feel without being as claustrophobic. Future releases will have these dimensions. I've also straightened the southern hall so that it doesn't wind as much.
Would it be a bad idea that as you fall after the tomb, you get that flashback, then you 'complete' the fall and get yourself into the castle?
That could work. :)
The tighter you make the experience, the more the player will enjoy it. IS there a grid map for the castle? I would like to take a look at it :P
Fiercely crooked and baggy mappak, with illogical riddles...
okay, so is this newer version compatible with any ports?
in the case it's only DOS, can you repackage it to include the DOS patched executable as well?
the executable without WAD files will not constitute as piracy