Dragon Cavern and Fortress of Fear are a family of scenarios by Josh Mills. 25 maps (8 in Dragon Cavern Lite) and new graphics in Fortress of Fear II await the player.
One of these days, I'd like to say that I have ported the complete modding portfolio of Josh Mills. This is the next step. According to the chronology I have on hand, Dragon Cavern/Fortress of Fear came some time after Xeen/Lost Souls, though the final part, called Fortress of Fear II, came before Tiger Cavern. But these factoids probably don't mean much to you, so let's move on to more salient points.
As usual, this entry in Josh Mills' modography comprises several separate modding entities. Early on in the chronology, we have Dragon Cavern 2.0 (unfortunately I don't have anything earlier), which is 25 maps for the Third Encounter... Well, technically it's 26 maps, but the final one is inaccessible; despite its presence in game files, even the editor does not seem able to access it. Dragon Cavern is supplemented by Dragon Cavern Lite; just like Castle of Lost Souls Lite it's an 8-level demo presumably meant to demonstrate the game's best sides. And then, at some point, the project underwent name change to Fortress of Fear. There are three different releases under this moniker: Fortress of Fear, Fortress of Fear 2.0, and probably the most interesting, Fortress of Fear II.
Why is Fortress of Fear II the most interesting? Because it brings new graphics to the table. The other games are all mapsets, but part II introduces neat azure bricks, interesting wood paneling, some nice recolors, the hell wall from Spear of Destiny... there are also new enemies and a few decorative sprites. They fit together reasonably well. Other than that, every mod in this series seems to be using the same set of 25 maps. While I can pinpoint some small mapping differences between, say Dragon Cavern and Fortress of Fear II, I'm hard pressed to find notable changes between Fortress of Fear and Fortress of Fear II for example. Because of this, I believe the main point of interest in this collection is Fortress of Fear II as the most complete release of the bunch. The others can be regarded as historical curiosities.
===CREDITS===
Josh Mills.
