What’s Coming for Caverns and Dryads! Lots of features.
This is a post about what I will soon add to my dark fantasy game Caverns and Dryads on Steam. Without further ado, here are the features I will most likely add:
THE QUESTS OF THE KINGS OF THE CHASM
The Chasm is part of the realm of the Purple King. The Purple King is the Great King, who rules over these kings of the Rift cities and others on the surface. Although we use the word “kings” for these lesser rulers, they are more like local monarchs.
These kings (and some counts) will be able to assign missions to heroes. The first type of quest will be to eliminate dangerous monsters.
To do this I must finish implementing the features (I already did some parts):
- Palaces of the city rulers, that you will be able to visit.
- Procedural missions in which you fight monsters of various types and difficulty scaled to yours. When I say scaled, I mean equal to or higher than yours. They will NOT be easy quests!
WHAT DO WE DO WITH GOLD?
In your adventures you may have obtained a lot of gold. I have these ideas for spending it:
- Buying a house: houses aim to be modular. The basic one will include a kitchen, bedroom, and some other things. The idea for the future is to expand them with a laboratory for making potions and maybe custom spells. Or a forge to repair your weapons. Or extra storage.
- Investing in the reconstruction of the Palace of the Scale. This cannot be explained further because it would be a spoiler.
There is an underlying problem. What do you do when you have too much gold to spend? As in real life, you can do good and bad things with it. I have to think of ways to handle this that aren’t the typical “make everything more expensive.”
A reputation system could matter. I might actually need it for the fines soldiers sometimes impose on you.
But does reputation matter to Sioul or Tamzyn? I think not. Perhaps they do care about doing something philanthropic with that money.
FAST TRAVEL
Fast travel could be added through sacrificial spells, passages in certain places, or connections between liminal locations (like Aubeline travels). But it will never be easy or free.
It could also use gold (melted) as raw material for the spell or portal. That would solve gold inflation.
The danger could also materialize as combat against guardians of such passages. What do you think, adventurer?
GRAPHICAL IMPROVEMENTS
The graphics of Tamzyn and Sioul in combat can be improved.
Also the berserker effect of monsters… I think it’s not understood. They are red lines that look like a spiky snowflake. I think nobody knows what it means.
QUICK ACTIONS
I’m not sure about this. I’m considering including:
- Collect all loot, if it fits in the inventory, with one click. So you wouldn’t have to click each object and take it.
- Quick spell: repeat the last spell cast, without needing to select it again, as long as you meet the requirements. It would make that part of combat faster.
THE SHOPS
They need to be differentiated. I’m thinking about:
- Adding more items unique to each shop.
- Higher prices if you’re in the right shop, lower if not. This justifies visiting several shops instead of only one.
WANDERING MONSTERS AND MAP SUBJECTS
I like the game “Pirates!” by Sid Meier. In it, there was always the Silver Train, which passed through different cities.
I’d like to do something similar for Caverns and Dryads.
There would be subjects who move around the map. You would see them on it if you ask in taverns.
Then you could go meet them. You would obtain knowledge, special items, unique treasures, or rare raw materials for spells.
Such subjects could be: wandering monster, walking treasure, evanescent place, etc.
IN THE TAVERN
Taverns don’t serve much purpose right now. I want to add:
- Different options for food and drink.
- Possibility of locating narrative chapters there.
- Possibility of finding new types of quests.
- Rumors about the world.
Those rumors… I must think whether they serve more than background. I’m thinking of Nexus, the C64 game. In it you collected rumors and confirmed them.
The idea hasn’t fully come to me… ¡I am listening, Tamzyn! I need to pay more attention, but something tells me there is something important here.
CREATING SPELLS, POTIONS, AND WEAPONS
This is ambitious and requires a lot of development. But it would include ways to create your own spells and weapons, magical or not.
The problem is not programming it, but making sure the system is balanced, and you cannot create things that make the game too easy.
You would buy extensions for your house: laboratory for creating spells and potions. Forge for creating weapons. Forge + laboratory would allow you to make custom magical weapons.
For potions it’s easier. Many currently useless items could be used for this. Since they are rare and potions are consumed, it’s simpler. I may add this first.
SUBBOSSES
I think that when a player reaches a certain level of development, it could be good for an especially dangerous monster to guard the exit of each place.
That would make it even more challenging for advanced players.
WEAPON AND ARMOR FEATURES
Weapons have unimplemented features related to things like encumbrance or handling difficulty.
KIDNAPPING, SINGLE COMBAT, AND MULTIPLE COMBAT
At certain moments in the story, situations will occur: one of the two heroes is kidnapped and the other must rescue them; or must fight alone; or they must fight, alone or together, against several enemies in succession or at once.
MINIGAMES
Aside from the door, I need to add other minigames and obstacles. They are entertaining.
I like the idea that each new type of obstacle involves a special minigame screen.
THE REWARD OF LOVE
The evolution of Tamzyn and Sioul’s relationship grants Sioul a greater power of magical recovery. He will gain more mana when resting.
This is already implemented. I’m thinking about whether there should be other advantages.
GOOD AND BAD EVENTS, AND NEW PROCEDURAL QUESTS
There are types of procedural quests and random events that are not yet added. I want to add them all, one by one. I don’t want to reveal what they are yet!
THIEVING AND FLEEING MONSTERS… AND CHASES
Monsters that, if you don’t kill them quickly, steal from you and escape.
There is also a half‑implemented morale system. I don’t know if I’ll do it. The idea is that some monsters flee, or not.
It could also happen that a monster you fled from chases you.
NARRATIVE AND GAME
For the new part of the story I must necessarily add several things:
- Choosing an object among several in the middle of a chapter.
- Houses (the basics).
- Fighting several monsters.
- Combat with one character instead of two.
For the following books, I will need to introduce even more, including support for epic events on a general scale.
THE PROBLEM
There is an underlying issue. It happens in all games. As I add new features, I must always think about keeping the game balanced and still challenging.
The biggest problem I have is with gold.
That’s why I’m considering whether this metal should serve other purposes, not simply as money. For example, the things I mentioned: the cost of traveling through shortcuts, or crafting certain potions, spells, or armors.
TRAVELING FAIRS AND MINIGAMES
One of the things that happens in Book 1 (in its book version, not in the game) are the traveling markets, the fairs.
Tamzyn and Sioul go to them, enjoy the special things sold there, and watch shows that could become minigames, and things like that. I want to bring that experience into the game.
SECRET OR TEMPORARY LOCATIONS
These would all be procedural, unexpected, and unique.
Perhaps evanescent, like in Moorcock’s “The Evanescent Tower.” They would appear on the map as I mentioned earlier, and you would have to reach them before they disappear.
That way, expert players would have constant challenges.
I want my game to always have something alive for you to do, even while I’m busy creating more story for it.
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