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Please Consider Increasing the Size/Complexity of Dried Lake

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by Biomatter, Jun 12, 2013.

  1. Biomatter

    Biomatter Subatomic Cosmonaut

    After successfully attaining godhood in Normal for the 3rd or 4th time, I decided it was time to start playing on Hardcore. It's fun! And hard :p But one thing I've noticed is that the variable with the greatest effect on my chance to succeed/fail is the opening level: Dried Lake or Desolate Forest.

    Dried Lake is a small level with no branches - you can 'reduce' it in complexity to exploring a single horizontal line, because you never have to make a decision on 'which way should I explore first'. Desolate Forest is quite the opposite - there 3~4-ish major regions where the Teleporter could possible be: Top-Left, Caves, Upper-Center, and the long Right side. This level has significantly more ground area to cover than Dried Lake!

    This is only really an issue in Hardcore where time is of the absolute essence. If you start in the center and make an unlucky guess as to which area to head to first, you are being penalized through no real fault of your own. You probably aren't going to get many items searching for the Teleporter because if you are being a good little Hero you aren't wasting time fighting the nigh-endless waves for chump change. Save that for the Teleporter event, when you are forced to 'collect' more than enough gold :p

    It is my opinion, therefore, that rather than make Desolate Forest smaller/easier to survive on, that instead Dried Lake should be increased in size and/or complexity and brought up to par with the other levels. Magma Lake is a great level with a few different choices, and what Arctic Tundra lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in size. I would suggest, although I know it really isn't my place, that Dried Lake either get one of two additions - a significantly expanded upper area of floating platforms, or perhaps instead a subterranean area beneath it.

    Finally, I know some people like to tout the 'take the cards you're dealt' stance when it comes to roguelikes, but I feel this issue is strong enough to take a closer look at. This is the way I look at it: If you could significantly increase your chances of making it to the 5th stage, all by taking a few seconds to decide the first level... Wouldn't you? At the heart of it all and the heart of all roguelike-players is the spirit of optimization, the ideal of finding the best way to use what you've got (and in this game the resource is usually 'time'), and I find the best way to optimize my time spent playing this game by rolling the starting level until I get Dried Lake. That's just my opinion, so please don't decry me for my views :)

    My thoughts are starting to run together. I spend too much time thinking about what I'm going to write and not enough time actually putting it down, and alas have forgotten a few pieces of the puzzle. Oh well. Anyways, I would really like to know how everyone feels about level balance as a whole! As a slightly-unrelated note, how does everyone feel about Damp Caves? That level is huge!, and kind of lacks the strong variations that some of the other levels have.
     
    • Vahnkiljoy

      Vahnkiljoy Ketchup Robot

      I think all the levels need to be made around the same general size with just varying mechanics enhancing their size, a few small maps are fine but I dunno, the magma cave doens't really have ANY variation to it, it could stand to bit bigger, its the exact same layout, it's either there is no lava in one area or there is a connected bridge in another.
       
      • Shrooblord

        Shrooblord Void-Bound Voyager

        I think your solution with the underground caves could be both most fun and the nicest solution. The caves could be hidden from the player until they enter them, revealing that there was foreground-foliage (or something alike it) that fades away when you're in the caves. It'd look nice and play in an interesting way.

        I like the level itself a lot, but I absolutely despise the monster set in it. Imps + Poison Shrooms + Greater Wisps = no
         
        • Treadlight

          Treadlight Existential Complex

          It's irking me that you keep calling the Desolate Forest, the "Deserted Forest".
           
          • Biomatter

            Biomatter Subatomic Cosmonaut

            Yeah, that didn't sound right... It's funny, as many times as I've played this game I don't think I know any of the level names off the top of my head :p
             
            • Shrooblord

              Shrooblord Void-Bound Voyager

              I completely mess up the names and descriptions of levels and Items, often calling the second stage the Damp Haven or Fungal Caverns or whatever it is it's supposed to be... xP
              (but ex, did you really need to quote that entire post to say that? ;) )
               
              • Treadlight

                Treadlight Existential Complex

                No, not really. I might edit it so that the instances of 'Deserted Forest' are bold.
                 

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