Hey Guys, The other day it occurred to me that because of some of the mechanics in the game mining is probably the safest activity in the game which is good in a way but I feel a few new enemy types could make it a bit more exciting. Mole-Type Enemy - Concept: Pretty self explanatory, this enemy has the base ability to dig through soft materials like dirt, sand, gravel, etc. This would make it a bit harder to cheese as if you are using the wrong materials it would dig through. On top of this base ability it could have a secondary ability like what other random monsters spawn with. Drops/Loot: Claws These can be used to craft either a claw type melee weapon or a digging utility that is able to dig through soft material quickly. Environment/Habitat: Only spawns below ground but above the lower portions of the planet. The lower the player goes the stronger they are and perhaps they gain the ability to dig through cobblestone and other hard materials. Spawn Rate: Medium spawn rate. If it's too high it would become annoying to players that just want to mine but they shouldn't be rare encounters. Movement: Slow movement in the open but while digging they gain a bit of speed. Attack/Damage: Medium to high damage depending on how far down the player is. Main attack is a claw swipe but can spawn with a random ability like other monsters (for instance flame breath).Worm-Type Enemy- Concept: This one acts kind of like the mole type enemy however instead of digging holes it would leave the blocks in place and just be able to pass through them. They could be deep dwellers or land dwellers like a giant dune type worm for sand planets. For the smaller variety of these guys I imagine them being fairly easy to kill (one or two hits) but the larger ones that appear on land could easily be made into a semi boss experience. Drops/Loot: Smaller varieties drop worm meat which can be used in recipes for food. Larger varieties could drop worm scale that could be used to craft medium to high armour. Environment/Habitat: Any planet should be able to host these guys, maybe have a variety of skins depending on which planet they spawn on. Example. Worm made out of ice on a snow planet. Spawn Rate: Small variety: Normal, these guys are easy to kill so they should only be a minor annoyance. Large variety: Medium to rare Movement: Small Variety: Fast movement and ability to move through blocks like water. Their bodies are fairly long giving ample opportunity to attack. Large Variety: Medium to fast movement with ability to move through blocks like water. They tend to stick near the surface/large open areas (these guys would be imposible to kill in the confines of a small mine tunnel) Attack/Damage: Small Variety: Fairly low damage, their basic attack would be just piercing the player as it travels through the ground. Large Variety: High damage with the same attack as the smaller variety but with the ability to spawn smaller worms by spitting them out)Ghost-Type Enemy- Concept: This enemy will be able to pass through blocks like the worm but player characters will not be able to harm them. In order to avoid these creatures they will have to place spiritual wards (perhaps have a recipe for a spiritual torch ward?). The ghosts will then vacate the small area of influence of these wards. Edit: Since this is by far the least popular inclusion thus far it may be appropriate to have some unique items only available on these ghost/undead type planets such as items that can craft a hell gate allowing you to travel to a Hell Universe. (Or something similarly as cool that only exists on this type of planet.) Drops/Loot: None, enemy is unable to be killed so thus no drops Environment/Habitat: Undead type planets Spawn Rate: Medium to High. This should be high enough to warant a player to carry more than a few spiritual wards Movement: A slow glide that follows the player. Attack/Damage: The damage should be like a debuff where the player slowly loses health until they can escape the clutches of the ghost. I imagine it looking like the ghost is sucking out the players life force in a stream. Image: Deep (AngleFish) Water-Type Enemies- Concept: I know this may be nearing a topic that belongs in the Planets and Environments suggestion thread but have a Water-Planet environment that instead of a solid bit of ground to dig around in you dive deep to find clusters of reef type mineral clusters which are protected by large deep see creatures (Anglerfish anyone?... that's the creepy looking one with the lantern on its head). This implementation would require a deep see diving suit of course but would lead to a entirely different mining style and some interesting new mechanics the players would have to workaround. Drops/Loot: AngleFish Lantern. These could be a cool item that has the ability to be placed underwater. Environment/Habitat: Spawns in deep water on water planets. Spawn Rate: Medium to Rare Movement: Slow movement Attack/Damage: High attack damage, Golem-Type Enemies - Concept: These ones may be a little too cheap to include but a creature that pretends to be a block until a player tries to mine it. I imagine them being like clusters of diamonds or high value ore inciting the player to mine it It would then activate and form a humanoid form before it begins attacking. This initial transformation timing would give the player the ability to react so that they are not just killed by surprise. Drops/Loot: Drops a random amount of the material it is made out of. Environment/Habitat: Non planet specific but depending on the material they are made of the more difficult they are (Rarer material = deadlier) Spawn Rate: Rare Movement: Slow movement with heavily projected attacks Attack/Damage: Massive damage, with large attack range so that players are not able to cheese it as easily. These are just some ideas to make mining a more interesting prospect (especially on more difficult planets) so let me know what you guys think. Also I'm in the middle of "studying" for Finals right now so don't have time to do any mock pictures for how they should look. I'll try to get around to in a bit when I'm done though! -RotFox Edit: Cleaned up a bit. Also apparently studying isn't happening. My concept of what a ghost enemy could look like.
I love the idea of the golem, I think it would be neat to give them a "tell" so if you look hard enough you can spot that they are an enemy, but have them appear as rock or dirt with valuable resources. Reminds me of the mimics that act like chests in other games. I agree that mining is a little safe, but adding enemies that can pass through the dirt like worms and ghosts is annoying. You can't chase after them or shoot them unless your in a room, and when tunneling you simple hear a noise and know "oh crap, I'm going to get killed by an OP mob from out of no-where. Great I get to descend all...over...again......"
Yea I agree that they may be a little OP but that's why I had the thought that the ones like worms would do little damage so that they wouldn't be an insta-kill. Maybe having a tell for when they appear like the rocks where they are digging through shaking and giving off dust particles. I feel like ghosts would make for a fair mechanic though as you're on a ghost type planet and thus need to be prepared. Like how when you first go to a snow type planet it pretty much will kill you if you don't have the proper protective clothing. But instead of clothing you lay down wards (which for sake of efficiency could in this case double as torches which you would normally place anyways. Golems are definitely my favorite of the ideas I've had though and I like the idea of them having a tell.
You know, that's the first thing I was looking for when I reached a desert world. DEVS! Get to work! jk love you guys.
All of your monster ideas sound awesome OP ! Add some of the procedural generation to them and it sounds golden. Only one I don't like is the ghost enemy, as it is unkillable it sounds like a pain in the ass to deal with and frankly I would rather just run away from them then try to deal with it.
Hehe, if you would want to run away from the ghosts then they are doing their job well Edit. Maybe having it where instead of a ward it's just you're flashlight or normal torch and they get scared away from the light. Also what if I told you that ghosts worlds would have some unique items only available to them. Maybe the materials to produce a hell gate to go to a hell universe
