[MOD] The CHAOS Key

Talk about creating Grimrock 1 levels and mods here. Warning: forum contains spoilers!
Grimfan
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Re: [MOD] The CHAOS Key

Post by Grimfan »

Unfortunately, I had to give up on this mod. My starting party (around lvl 5 each) just couldn't get past level 5 or 6 because of the intense difficulty level and I didn't feel like restarting from scratch after sinking 5 hours into the game. After playing through this I'm definitely going to warn people to play a high-level imported party in my dungeon. It will be even more difficult than this in parts.

Saying that some of your puzzles are fantastic. The building up area was great even if it was the part that eventually overwhelmed my players (not being able to go back to the healing crystal was the real killer). :(
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Pandafox
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Re: [MOD] The CHAOS Key

Post by Pandafox »

oh...
I don't think this is really too much difficult... It is less difficult than Chaos Strikes Back for sure :mrgreen:
I played it several times before release and I always started with new party. Yes, it is my dungeon then I know well, but I am not a God ...

Maybe my advantage was to know a Rogue player with the Thunder bow is very good ;)
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leewroy
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Re: [MOD] The CHAOS Key

Post by leewroy »

SpoilerShow
Got into a room where you should put stuff in the alcoves...it's called offering room or something like that. One of them was the power gem, other is 4 kg...the other is the dead devil, but my problem is "I want to see your destiny" tried some stuff, but no luck. I can't imagine what item couls represent the destiny :(
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maz0ut
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Re: [MOD] The CHAOS Key

Post by maz0ut »

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You need the destiny key for this alcove. But I don't remember where the key is.
epeli
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Re: [MOD] The CHAOS Key feedback

Post by epeli »

Attempting to use the Chaos staff crashes the game (v.1.3.1) with the following error message:
SpoilerShow

Code: Select all

#chaos_wall_script:20: attempt to call global 'isWall' (a nil value)
stack traceback:
	#chaos_wall_script:20: in function <#chaos_wall_script:2>
	[string "ScriptEntity.lua"]: in function 'onMessageReceived'
	[string "MessageSystem.lua"]: in function 'sendMessageToEntity'
	[string "MessageSystem.lua"]: in function 'broadcastMessage'
	[string "TriggerEvents.lua"]: in function 'fire'
	[string "Timer.lua"]: in function 'update'
	[string "Map.lua"]: in function 'updateEntities'
	[string "Dungeon.lua"]: in function 'updateLevels'
	[string "GameMode.lua"]: in function 'update'
	[string "Grimrock.lua"]: in function 'display'
	[string "Grimrock.lua"]: in main chunk
isWall() was introduced in version 1.3.6, so older versions won't work. Might be worth mentioning that your mod requires version 1.3.6. However, I don't understand why isWall() is used at all - would something break if you let the staff cast Chaos walls inside walls? They're just temporary blockers with teleporter particle/sound effects, right?


Anyways, some feedback: After 20 hours and 47k tiles moved (including lots of window shopping and wall hugging), I must say that the sheer amount of content is very impressive! On the other hand, the lack of story / any meaning to the areas/puzzles makes whole the dungeon a lot less memorable. The puzzles were good, much variation and enough clarity/hints to make sure the player won't get stuck because he can't figure out what the mapmaker intended. Never got stuck, often got lost - just like you said! Should've made more map markings in such a huge dungeon rather than relying on memory alone...

On balance - I played on normal, started with a new party and ended up with a ridiculously powerful lvl17 party, thanks to the massive amount of tomes I found. Overall, the dungeon felt easy, probably because all the food you get really lets you comb every corner of the dungeon in search of secrets. Indeed I did find many secret areas with tomes, great gear and of course coins to buy even more gear! I must say I liked this aspect, it rewards effort put into exploration and I don't like being restricted by a tightly limited food budget. ;)
I don't see why you didn't list the secret areas as secrets, though.

Back in one of the lower levels, I thought you went crazy with the potion reagent drops, but turns out they were indeed useful in the huge level 1 battle. That was mostly a fun fight! Dancing around all those different mobs while mixing more potions, trying to get your arrows back, juggling the Weapon of Power back and forth while ranged characters are out of arrows/mana... but the lone Wardens were just tedious grinding.

I really liked the idea of refillable waterskins, but I ended up never having to use them due to food being overabundant! I had a sack full of copper coins I could've used to buy more food and 4-5 sacks worth of Ice Lizard Steaks. (Yes, I did kill everything on level 9, it was fun! :twisted: Had to lure other lizards to shoot at the lightning lizards and then proceed to kill the rest by juggling Weapon of Power within the party after running out of arrows & mana.)

I don't know if this was intended, but Thunder Bow + Bracelet of Tirin + Missile Weapons >= 32 gives you an attack speed so high you can keep most mobs stunlocked with only one character! Who needs Frost Bombs when you have an archer with a gatling gun? :D

This is more related to the engine than your work, but there were some FPS issues that could be fixed - so many light sources you can't turn off! I had to lower shadow quality at some points to maintain 30 FPS - normally I can play with everything maxed @ vsync FPS. The fireball room in NE level 4 was particularly nasty, I couldn't find a way to turn it off. Shadow quality doesn't affect lights cast by projectiles and apparently Grimrock's occlusion culling doesn't work on those, either - meaning they will cause undue lag even in nearby corridors. Level 11 maze was another problem for occlusion culling due to the trick you used to allow ghosts pass through the "walls". Rendering all those high detail skull walls is bit of a burden on old hardware.


And some minor bugs I encountered: Emitters with wrong facing: level 6 water fountain, level 7 mine smoker/volcano, another water fountain somewhere (sorry, forgot where!) Level 3 & 11 mazes have no walls on map and secret passages behind "illusionary walls" are revealed on your map (probably impossible to fix.) Boss fight music continues to play during credits. Chaos staff room's "walls" are map-visible doors.
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kumata
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Re: [MOD] The CHAOS Key

Post by kumata »

SpoilerShow
Hello, I'm Japanese.
Thank you for the good MOD.
Since I do not speak English, I'm using the translation Goggle.I think hard to read, I'm sorry.

Looking for a third skull key, too.I have been watching this forum many times, in the chest and that there level7? I do not know that there are only about.
I think what you are falls in dungeon level7 and obtained all, I will not be found.

Door is not open yet I have two. These tricks can not find the keyhole, the chain, and switch. I do not break even make an attack.
It is in this, Will you be able to open, what should I do? :(
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Pandafox
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Re: [MOD] The CHAOS Key

Post by Pandafox »

Hi Epeli,

I don't know if you want an answer to all what you wrote :D but thank you a lot for this precise report !

I did not know that "isWall" need a special version... Why did I use it ? I want to check the player don't create a "magic wall" if there is a real wall. Nothing else.
The food problem is not easy to balance well... My beta testers always ask to me more food. In the very first version, there was no fountain and really not enough food. My testers were dead because of food lack...
Than I added a little more and create some new "food shops"
And for the last version of the game (the final version) I added the fountains.
Maybe now there is too much food. But it is better than not enough :roll:

Thanks for playing ;)
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Pandafox
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Re: [MOD] The CHAOS Key

Post by Pandafox »

kumata wrote:
SpoilerShow
Hello, I'm Japanese.
Thank you for the good MOD.
Since I do not speak English, I'm using the translation Goggle.I think hard to read, I'm sorry.

Looking for a third skull key, too.I have been watching this forum many times, in the chest and that there level7? I do not know that there are only about.
I think what you are falls in dungeon level7 and obtained all, I will not be found.

Door is not open yet I have two. These tricks can not find the keyhole, the chain, and switch. I do not break even make an attack.
It is in this, Will you be able to open, what should I do? :(
Hi Kumata,

Not very easy to understand all what you wrote because of the google translation and also because I am french and my english is not perfect :mrgreen:
Well... I understood you need the last of the 3 skull keys
SpoilerShow
There is a skull key in the chest in the level 3
There is another one in the level 5 after the big room with the fire monsters
The last skull key is in the level 7

I think, maybe you did not open the walls with the green windows ?
To open it you must put an object on the 2 plates on the 2 sides of the green windows.
astolf
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Re: [MOD] The CHAOS Key

Post by astolf »

I was stuck at lev 8.
how to open the grate?
http://grimrock.nexusmods.com/Images/74
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Pandafox
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Re: [MOD] The CHAOS Key

Post by Pandafox »

astolf wrote:I was stuck at lev 8.
how to open the grate?
http://grimrock.nexusmods.com/Images/74
you can't open this one.
The good way is a secret door which opens
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