it's a pun. get it? disclaimer: the first part of this suggestion is fictional effort. it's a story that puts this whole idea into perspective, but it seems I've gone slightly overboard with it. so I put it behind a spoiler-wall for those who aren't interested. the story itself is just for fun, and if Chucklefish decided to use it I'm sure they'd change around the details, much to my dismay. have fun! the second part is the to-the-point idea. mechanics, rewards, some other interesting ideas to keep it fresh. p.s. an unconfirmed end-game story boss appears in the last paragraph. beware all ye who value blissful ignorance. picture it. the lair of the beast, the culmination of all your efforts thus far, and you find a note on the ground. coordinates, but a lot of the pieces are missing. then the final boss appears. [insert final boss fight and story implications.] after saving the universe (probably) you remember those shattered coordinates and ask around various outposts, you ask the friends that accompanied you on your adventure. through trial and error, wandering through more worlds than you ever expected, you fight fugitives and monsters and help the locals to discover the missing pieces. and soon(-ish?) it makes sense. the pieces are found, and half of your journey is over. you immediately set out for this new, mysterious world. so mysterious it is, how you load in the coordinates and the planet is nameless; no actual information regarding the planet is shown. it's an only child, even the star it orbits is nameless. However, SAIL automatically assigns names as per its programming. (and you wanted to name it something cool, something like... "The Last and First Planet," or something.) at any rate, hyperspace awaits. Godspeed you, Keybearer. Godspeed. upon touching down, you notice that the planet is... quiet. no obvious signs of cultivation, landscapes that have been sleeping. it's so eerily perfect. you note the intimidating lack of alien lifeforms and natural vegetation. the air is calm and receiving, the skies are a lovely cloudy blue. it's like spring forever. scary. looking around, you see very faded - almost footsteps all heading west. and so you walk. and walk. and walk further still, until you see a single Swordstone Seed and race to it. it's now before you, testing you. you try being Link and removing the sword, but it does not budge. all of your efforts are in vain, and here you thought you had found the lost origins of your deepest inquiries. moving around the seed, you study the ground and the air and your surroundings. you try contacting SAIL but there's some sort of interference, though you're sure the dice were rolled in your favor. slightly west of the Swordstone Seed you plant yourself and then you feel the dirt buckle beneath you; you look down, up, around you, and fall. you look down, up, around you, and for one second realize you hit the ground before blacking out spectacularly. you wake up and again, notice a sort of eerie calmness that both puts you off and helps you relax. noting the darkness, you look up to see... nothing. no hole you fell through, no light peeking through said hole, nothing. still there's some sort of light permeating the rather large room your in. you find a small console and press the larger of the three buttons and a large, holographic SAIL projection appears. you can't tell what model this SAIL is, though you're certain it's eons old. this SAIL was lifelike, as if it was an actual person, but explained that it's name is COP-WIT (Caretaker of Prison Wardens in Tandem; get it? more references!) and that this facility was sort of a prison, not with "prisoners" (i.e. USCM) but with massively destructive beings. millennia ago a long-lost/dead race captured and gathered these world-ending organisms in this one place, built to dilute their powers through SPEHSS MAGIKZ. being that they're not friends with each other, these beings keep each other in check (hence, Prison Wardens in Tandem) and thus, dilution (pst SPEHSS MAGIKZ). however, a problem has occurred. the end-story boss you've already defeated (let's assume it's that Tentacomet one) was meant to take the last cell before it went crazy and destroyed Earth. and then you killed it. as you apologize, COP-WIT says that it may work out. you see, the facility (you've actually named it the Last and First Planet by this point) needs remodeling, and those massively destructive beings have to go. you suggest a vacation, and COP-WIT says not to worry because you'll be paid very well; the long lost-dead race left behind many of a wonder (unique shiny gold end-game weapons anyone?), and if you can defeat these monstrosities you'll be given a choice of select goods. don't worry! you'll be paid very well... basically it'd be a boss gauntlet. I remember reading that they want the bosses to be similar to Megaman bosses, with arenas and such. and I figured that it'd fit if there was a post-1.0 boss gauntlet comprising of both upgraded story bosses (fit for end-game, minus the final boss perhaps) and future bosses that don't necessarily have a story tied to them, with upgraded versions of post-1.0 story bosses coming a tier after they're released. the planet is always a static planet specifically made for this, with the fights taking place underground. the rewards could be the aforementioned gold weapons made for end-game. ship directions/trophies, cool ship upgrades (re-skins), miniature bosses that operate as pets, unique crew members that you save during the fight. the list can go on. there could be allies or items that could help you in your fights, with the tutorial explaining the finer details. of course, the bosses would have more diverse mechanics, larger health pools, stronger attacks, you name it. it'd be fun to have multiplayer tie into this, but I don't know how they'd work in the reward/replay value, which I will discuss after the tier system. while we're here, each boss would have its very own codex. Foulbeak could be a pirate seeking to oust Dreadwing's reputation, a pirate who has thus far taken over some of Dreadwing's memory since his defeat, but was somehow captured by COP-WIT or its unforeseen forces. this could open up some post-1.0 story involving COP-WIT. maybe it's not such a benevolent entity after all? for example: T0 acts as an introduction to the idea of a boss gauntlet, to test out all the kinks. the world, rewards, fights, etc. Tier 0.5, patch 1.1 (or something) COP-WIT (a full-body hologram roughly the player's size, acts as a tutorial) Orange Erchius Horror (self explanatory, it's a stronger orange Erchius Horror) Foulbeak the Usurper (red ship, spawns unique "usurpers"-versions of Dreadwing's minions) rewards could include a broken golden weapon of your choice, which you'll then have to fix using parts found navigating the challenge-filled tunnels surrounding the arenas. you could also bring back older bosses that have since been removed and update their mechanics (see Tier 1, boss 2). Tier I, patch 1.5 (...or something?) Alpha Ixodoom (a slightly larger Ixodoom, with red muscles and black carapaces) Fatal Circuit & Shockhopper MK. II (MK. II has sleeker design, bigger cannon, and appears at FC's 25% health mark) some new post-1.0 boss (a taste of what's to come in Tier 2) The Bone Dragon (a removed tier 3 boss, similar to Fatal Circuit. updated from it's previous incarnation) rewards could include a choice of a fully-repaired golden weapon, or a new ship compartment, or something like that. at this point there would only be new bosses not tied to the story/specifically made for the gauntlet, or post-1.0 story bosses that, like the rest, have been updated with new mechanics to warrant a challenge. Tier 2 would begin with all new bosses, never before seen, with mechanics never heard of. the challenges keep mounting, but so do the rewards. edit: I forgot a crucial part. every tier after Tier 2, the planet would change. it'd still be uncatalogued, but the physical location would change. the planet would not be far from the last, maybe a system or two away. every final boss would drop new coordinates, more complete than the first, but still incomplete. mini-quest, find new planet, profit. each new tier, the planet would become more dangerous (think Garden to Volcanic) but the location of the arenas could still be found by a single Swordstone Seed, one that could not be harvested. the last topic we'll discuss is replay value. let's assume the story above is used. the idea is that once the bosses are dead, they're dead. once you beat a tier, that's it. next tier, no going back. I feel like that's a bit harsh, so in the interest of replay value I suppose COP-WIT could open up temporary or timed parallel/pocket dimensions to replay a tier or the tutorial by itself, that way you and your friends could absolutely wreck Foulbeak once you beat Tier 1. or something. I'm not sure if CF already has a boss gauntlet being developed or, if they don't, will use this idea but I thought it'd be super fun to write this all out and maybe help them (or someone else) on their way. who knows? it never hurts to try, huh? picture it! it'd be awesome! and you'd be paid very well. very well indeed.
I like the fact that most of the removed boss from penguin still have it's lore and reference scattered around the giraffe universe. But in short, your idea is a total YESsss
Spoilers but you should know, the Bone Dragon exist as a normal boss on 1.0, part of the Glitch mission. I have a feeling it was meant to be a sweet surprise for anyone who play pre-1.0. Edit: Wasn't aware of how old this thread was until after I post but the OP posted the link elsewhere so I assume it isn't nerco posting as the OP still care about this idea.
I wasn't aware the Bone Dragon still existed in any form but nonetheless, the base idea still stands: a boss gauntlet with super end-game rewards.
You have all of my yes,absolutely all of it.But people will want to get every single reward so we should be able to replay missions and get the rewards.
I think an interesting way to do kind of "EX" bosses would be something similar to what Spiral Knights does; give each upgraded boss a sort of elemental motif. For example: Vile Erchius - A green version of the Erchius Horror, who attacks with green lasers that do poison damage and inflict the poison status. Instead of a solid platform at the bottom, you get a sort of "ridges and valleys" platform; every time you hit the Vile Erchius, some poison spills out, flooding the bottom of the room and submerging more and more of the platform. Infernal Ixodoom - An Ixodoom with a black carapace and glowing, orange flesh. All of its attacks inflict burning instead of poison, and its Poison Shot and Poison Blast attacks leave lingering bits of fire on the ground. Spawns Infernal Ixolings, which share the II's color scheme and explode into fiery mist on death. Coldhearted Nox - Looks like Asra Nox, but has extremely pale, almost literal-white skin, a cyan katana and a dark blue outfit. All of her attacks do ice damage and inflict slowness and impaired healing, and the energy kunai leave a bit of lingering icy mist for a few seconds after they explode. Antikluex Idol - Similar to the Kluex Avatar, but with a pitch-black body, a bright blue flaming crystal, and horns on its head. All of its attacks are made of blue fire and inflict burning. It also has an additional attack where it can summon portals that spawn aggressive skeletal Avian guards and blue fire-elemental bat monsters. Corroded Apex Turrets - Instead of displaying a normal Big Ape picture, these bugged-out turrets show a Big Ape face with a top hat and a moustache, similar to the art on the vandalized "Disobey" posters found in Apex rebel bases. The roar sound is replaced with a loud burping sound effect. Although this is technically a poison-element Big Ape clone, it's...also a lot different. The holographic fist projectiles are replaced with flailing hands that bounce around instead of flying in a straight path. Instead of homing in on the player, rockets are shot out three at a time, spin in the air before engaging, then fly around erratically for about five seconds, and then puff out and fall to the ground before exploding. Laser swords are replaced with laser banana peels that slide into the walls after hitting the ground instead of disappearing instantly, and during the ram attack the turrets spin too rapidly to dodge, forcing the player to duck in the corner of the room. The upside is that after hitting the wall, Big Ape will get a "booboo" on the side of his head and cry for a few seconds, causing the turrets to stop moving and making it easy to hit them for a lot of damage. Bone Thunderbird - A bit more back to basics. Basically just the Bone Dragon, but with feathery wings and electric projectiles that electrocute and slow the player instead of inflicting burning. Said projectiles home in slightly, though, making them a bit harder to dodge. Instead of Occasus members, random robot monsters spawn in to aid the boss. Soul of Ruin - Looks just like the Heart of Ruin, except that everything, including the arena, décor and background, is black. Rather than having one element, this boss has ALL of the elements. For every fourth of its health depleted, its eye closes and opens again a different color, indicating its element. Ice mode: Frigid Eruption - leaves an icy mist that lingers over its whole area of effect for 10 seconds after the attack ends. Icy Tentacle Drill - Shoots ice boulders as the tentacle emerges. Poison mode: Noxious Eruption - Fills most of the room with poison gas from the top down, limiting how high the player may jump for the next 30 seconds. Acidic Tentacle Drill - Shoots out a wave of poison. Can be dodged by either jumping or running to the very opposite side of the room. Electric mode: Supercell Eruption - Fires electric shockwaves in both directions every 2 seconds for the duration of the attack. Power Tentacle - The tentacle electrifies itself right after emerging, and momentarily electrifies the floor after reaching its full extent and hooking into the ground. If you happen to be standing on the floor when it happens, you will take DEVASTATING damage. Fire mode (No monsters spawn during this mode. It's just pure skill, concentration and intensity.): Incinerating Eruption - Has a much larger AoE and a slightly longer charge time. Basically, the very corners of the room are the only safe spots. If it hits you, YOU WILL DIE. Instantly. Completely ignores vehicles, shields, invincibility frames, and anything that would otherwise protect you from damage or death. Core Drill - As the tentacle comes out of the ground, glowing orange cracks appear in the floor in one of ten randomly-selected patterns, and after three seconds release blinding orange beams of light. Once again, touching these beams is instant death, no ifs, ands, or buts. Fireballs - The SoR's eye opens with the image of a burning fire; it then begins shooting fireballs rapidly, in a pattern of: homing, homing, homing, random direction, homing homing homing, random direction, random direction x6, random direction x 12, homing+random direction, homing+random direction, homing+random direction x 6, random direction x12.
