Memnon: Invoking the old god. (Trade me!)

notaurious · May 2013

Back up, new maze with triggers this time... new boss chamber with interesting decor (I think). Give it a go, I will trade reviews!!!!!!! So far, a 4 star+ dungeon.

Time: Approx 35 minutes
Type: High fighting (well spaced, I think), High story (most can be skipped through), Modest Maze, Several reskinned mobs... several "boss" fights... and a story line that takes time to pick up, but should have you wanting more.

You've heard of a fantastic treasure at some place known as the Sacred Ground. While inspecting, you happen across a portal that appears to be your only way in. What should have been a simple loot and scoot operation turns into a fiendish nightmare about cultists trying to awaken one of the old gods of chaos: Memnon. You might just be the hero Neverwinter doesn't even know it needs!

If you like detailed story elements (many are optional, some are required to navigate the maps), mazes, increasingly difficult challenges, and a map you're sure to have not yet explored, then this quest is for you! ** Maze might be glitchy, may need to clear room.

Length: ~30-40 minutes

Components: Dungeon, Maze, several elite encounters, several other encounters for your killing pleasure, several "boss" encounters, and a story that is sure to have you wanting to find out about the next installment!

Difficulty: Med-Challenging. Be prepared with a companion and/or potions. It can get tight here.

ranncore · May 2013

This sounds right up my alley. Unfortunately, I'm right about to go to bed for the night, but this will be the first thing I do when I log on tomorrow.
After you've seen me post a review on it, which I fully intend to do as quickly as possible, I'd appreciate it if you checked out my quest (which coincidentally also has a maze, which I am eager to compare to yours). NWS-DNSXY8Z2F

notaurious · May 2013

ranncore wrote: »

This sounds right up my alley. Unfortunately, I'm right about to go to bed for the night, but this will be the first thing I do when I log on tomorrow.
After you've seen me post a review on it, which I fully intend to do as quickly as possible, I'd appreciate it if you checked out my quest (which coincidentally also has a maze, which I am eager to compare to yours). NWS-DNSXY8Z2F

Will do, maybe even tonight if I can gather the strength to stay up. I am sure my maze won't compare. Mine is not huge, just busy. Thanks!

zogvarnoka · May 2013

I'll get to this a bit later today man. Looking forward to it

notaurious · May 2013

cha cha real smooth

notaurious · May 2013

ranncore wrote: »

This sounds right up my alley. Unfortunately, I'm right about to go to bed for the night, but this will be the first thing I do when I log on tomorrow.
After you've seen me post a review on it, which I fully intend to do as quickly as possible, I'd appreciate it if you checked out my quest (which coincidentally also has a maze, which I am eager to compare to yours). NWS-DNSXY8Z2F

1) Several small grammar/spelling issues
1a) Love the detail you put into your city map.
2) Lab triggers as "go to next map"
3) Enjoyed the use of the city as the hub from which you pulled us into building-specific maps.
4) Main door in Lab triggers as "go to next map"

5) First "boss" encounter is, I really hate to say this, way too intense. I was always being pulled to or by something and could never get out of the danger effectively. It took me 15 minutes to navigate this fight, and 20 potions. Need to slack up on this one, I think.
****** NM on #5, I saw the warning sigh AFTER I did the encounter. I would put an invisible sticky up for that fight, or put it in the dialogue with the prisoners. I would have avoided that one, not b/c it was hard, but because that setup was kind of poor imo (due to the constant state of being pulled from one mob to the next). It felt like a fight against 10 DKs in WOW.

6) Quest items take up a ton of bag space.
7) Music transitions are nice.
8) Could not see ladder in Shadofell, at all... lol, had to jump down. May be my computer.
9) Loved the map, though. Very nice concept with the clasped claws, or whatever they were.
10) Darkness of the map for Rrahn was toooooo much. I could not see <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>. Also, those encounters pulled right into the next one. You had so many mobs at once it was too much, I think.

11) Ice form- pairing pulling mobs, dazing mobs, slowing mobs, and generally that many mobs doing AOE and LOS tactics every second made that another 10 potion encounter. I am all for challenging, but these encounters are borderline group quests. I pulled the mobs back by the start of the instance and ended up getting stuck in a tree... that I could not see.

12) 2 witches is bad enough, + a bunch of trash, + the boss.... I am glad they despawned when I killed him.

13) I went through 30 potions just up to that point. You should give us a break to get more supplies somewhere around here. I am better than your average player, so I am not sure how much blame I take on me as a player, my class, or my level. I am terrified to try this at level 60.

14) Bar fight was rough, not horrible. But rough.

15) I had to abandon your quest at the basement scene. I was out of potions. I will have to try this again sometime, but not right away if I have to go through all of that again. I am sorry.

I really like the premise and story behind your quest. I like that you are trying to make a challenging quest, but this is really getting to be more on a group quest mode. I would encourage you to break it up a little just to give people a chance to breathe/restock. I will revisit this again when I have better gear and more abilities as that might help me get past some of the skull bashing your quest did to me.

Favorite part (albeit it needs a little more lighting) is the wizard boss area.

4 stars up to what I have done. Only docking review because I am not so content with your fight design.

zogvarnoka · May 2013

Tried to do this earlier but guess it was still down. Do you have an eta on when it is going to be back up?

ranncore · May 2013

notaurious wrote: »

Reserved for review.

Let me know when this comes back up, I'd like to play it.

notaurious · May 2013

Back up. Ready to rock. ONE NOTE: The first room in the second map... you must walk up to each enemy group to trigger the next event within that room. I have yet to find a work around for this, so if you have an idea, let me know.

ranncore · May 2013

Of note:

The encounters are very well placed! This is always nice to see in a quest.
The maze is nice! However some of the enemies are packed VERY tight in there. I'd recommend not placing more than 3 in any 1 encounter.
The floating runes - please tell me what effect this is.
The teleporter after Arias is a little high - hard to target.
The part where you fight alongside Arias is great. Blurring the line between friend and foe (even temporarily) is just plain good writing.
The dialogue with the rift warden is long. If you want to keep players engaged through the whole thing, separate it into choices - even if they are only illusory, and loop to completion.
You may want to disable the glowwy path during the first part of the "destroy aspects" as it leads to a locked door.
The boy follows you to the wolf, where the boy is already there (2 of them). Very odd. Also, the boy continues to follow after the dialogue.
Some of the hallways could use some added trinkets/decorations.

All in all I was extremely impressed with the quest. The mechanics, the layout, progressively challenging encounters, good story. Wish there were more like it.

notaurious · May 2013

ranncore wrote: »

Of note:

The encounters are very well placed! This is always nice to see in a quest.
The maze is nice! However some of the enemies are packed VERY tight in there. I'd recommend not placing more than 3 in any 1 encounter.
The floating runes - please tell me what effect this is.
The teleporter after Arias is a little high - hard to target.
The part where you fight alongside Arias is great. Blurring the line between friend and foe (even temporarily) is just plain good writing.
The dialogue with the rift warden is long. If you want to keep players engaged through the whole thing, separate it into choices - even if they are only illusory, and loop to completion.
You may want to disable the glowwy path during the first part of the "destroy aspects" as it leads to a locked door.
The boy follows you to the wolf, where the boy is already there (2 of them). Very odd. Also, the boy continues to follow after the dialogue.
Some of the hallways could use some added trinkets/decorations.

All in all I was extremely impressed with the quest. The mechanics, the layout, progressively challenging encounters, good story. Wish there were more like it.

Thank you, very much. Not perfect, I know, but off to a decent start. I thought you'd ask of the floating encounters before the runes, lol... the runes are chalk runes that I modified via Y axis and R axis.

I will add an option to the warden to skip some of the convo. I will drop the waypoints for the objective regarding the locked doors. I had a struggle to put that part together due to my choice of open-ended quest mechanics in the 2nd map.

Not sure about the boy/boy issue. When I test it, he doesn't appear until you kill the ice trolls.

I will work on adding some decor. Tell me, what did you think about the final boss room on the first map and the part of the 2nd map where you had to slay the family?

I owe you a review and it is reserved above. Will do tonight

EDIT: Odd, did you post a review in-game, too? I didn't see one

Not sure what the star count was.

ranncore · May 2013

notaurious wrote: »

Not perfect, I know, but off to a decent start. Tell me, what did you think about the final boss room on the first map and the part of the 2nd map where you had to slay the family?

It's off to a really, really good start.
Do you mean the room with the floating runes and guys fighting each other? It was great. Those chalk outlines were a good idea. I might steal it

Oh, but the constantly respawning rift warden was slightly annoying.
And the part with slaying the family was really well done as well. Did you pull some of the story from actual memnon mythology? It was a really well written quest. I like any quest that blurrs the lines between bad guys and good guys, especially when it's the player.

notaurious · May 2013

ranncore wrote: »

It's off to a really, really good start.
Do you mean the room with the floating runes and guys fighting each other? It was great. Those chalk outlines were a good idea. I might steal it Oh, but the constantly respawning rift warden was slightly annoying.
And the part with slaying the family was really well done as well. Did you pull some of the story from actual memnon mythology? It was a really well written quest. I like any quest that blurrs the lines between bad guys and good guys, especially when it's the player.

Not sure about the constantly respawning rift warden. Will have to investigate... one in that boss room?

I actually did not know there was a Memnon... I heard of an Agamemnon or something... I just liked the way it sounded and looked when I said it. I thought I might be stealing someone's god. So, to answer your question, I am pretty sure my concept has nothing to do with the mythology.

I felt bad about the slaying part. Like as a story, okay, but to make the player take part, I felt bad. But, I felt it was essential to my theme and my style... so I did it, and was hoping it'd work.

To better answer your earlier rune question: look up runes in details. You should see about 10 of the chalk runes. They don't require a background, ergo, why I manipulated them as such.

ranncore · May 2013

I'm not a mythology buff or anything but some of the quest was well done enough that it made me wonder, particularly that part where you go into Memnon's past. Mad props.
No reason to feel bad, like I said, anything that makes the player "feel" about their actions, whether it's feel good or bad, makes them remember it. It's good.

notaurious · May 2013

ranncore wrote: »

I'm not a mythology buff or anything but some of the quest was well done enough that it made me wonder, particularly that part where you go into Memnon's past. Mad props.
No reason to feel bad, like I said, anything that makes the player "feel" about their actions, whether it's feel good or bad, makes them remember it. It's good.

Creative Writing/English major. Nerd. I have literally nothing better to do than to think of stuff like this. LOL :P

notaurious · May 2013

If I was inspired at all for that story line, it would have been from Arthas/Lich King WOW. I didn't think about it till it was done, but I can see that now.

notaurious · May 2013

Review trades are up to date. NEXT???!!!

slaidz · May 2013

Well, I played through this and perhaps I made a mistake of playing a time of day when I become increasingly tired. It took me an hour to play through this and it was definitely way too long for me. The mission started off wonderfully and it was loads of fun until the point that I touched the orb. That was the beginning of the end. After battle with Adris is really when things fell apart. It took me forever to figure out where to go as I went to the room with the portals and then left. It was here where the quest really started to become tedious. The dialogue and the storyline simply wasn't enough at this point.

The difficulty was almost too much for a solo player. I was playing with a 39 TR and it was very difficult, probably the hardest combat that I've experienced so far. I burned through dozens of potions. While the enemies were laid out well and weren't stacked, it almost started to feel like you threw encounters in there just for the sake of increasing the difficulty rather than having a balanced number of encounters. Also, the fact that the campfire was only accessible close to the end was not fun and you should put in some more portals or tell the player somehow that choosing one portal over another could be more beneficial to them.

There were also clipping mistakes, walls were exposed, empty area was exposed, I could open doors beyond invisible walls, and there were a few typos. You need at least two more layers of polish, which means go through the quest, write down notes, fix them, and republish seeking feedback. Once you get it, go back through your map again. You've done a good job with the map design as well as the detail. It was just too long for me, but the exploratory nature of the quest as well as the combat may be appealing to some segments of the audience. The maze was extremely well done and I would personally suggest you rework the next area.

Overall 3/5.

notaurious · May 2013

slaidz wrote: »

Well, I played through this and perhaps I made a mistake of playing a time of day when I become increasingly tired. It took me an hour to play through this and it was definitely way too long for me. The mission started off wonderfully and it was loads of fun until the point that I touched the orb. That was the beginning of the end. After battle with Adris is really when things fell apart. It took me forever to figure out where to go as I went to the room with the portals and then left. It was here where the quest really started to become tedious. The dialogue and the storyline simply wasn't enough at this point.

The difficulty was almost too much for a solo player. I was playing with a 39 TR and it was very difficult, probably the hardest combat that I've experienced so far. I burned through dozens of potions. While the enemies were laid out well and weren't stacked, it almost started to feel like you threw encounters in there just for the sake of increasing the difficulty rather than having a balanced number of encounters. Also, the fact that the campfire was only accessible close to the end was not fun and you should put in some more portals or tell the player somehow that choosing one portal over another could be more beneficial to them.

There were also clipping mistakes, walls were exposed, empty area was exposed, I could open doors beyond invisible walls, and there were a few typos. You need at least two more layers of polish, which means go through the quest, write down notes, fix them, and republish seeking feedback. Once you get it, go back through your map again. You've done a good job with the map design as well as the detail. It was just too long for me, but the exploratory nature of the quest as well as the combat may be appealing to some segments of the audience. The maze was extremely well done and I would personally suggest you rework the next area.

Overall 3/5.

I am not sure I understand why you went to the room with the portals and left. Is that a design flaw? I realize the portals don't even show up until you are on them, but that is not my fault.

Difficulty is in-works to being addressed. Looks like I will be converting this to a hack/slash with mostly easy encounters to avoid difficulty issues. I will delete about 60% of the encounters to address the "excessive encounters" problem.

I put the campfire there thinking that fight might be the hardest one and the best place for people to respawn. Could be a bad idea.

I am unsure about the clipping mistakes. Every time I tested it, I could not access anything that I was not given access to. I did not go along all angles of an area, so I could have missed something... but if that's the case, then it's something Cryptic needs to address. I am using their tools the best way I can to accommodate the setup of my dungeon.

There was no better portal to take, the event was the same either way. Just one had encounters and a "boss" and the other was a story room.

Better yet, I am just going to add a bypass portal and change the objectives. You will have the option to (after fighting Memnon) simply bypass the rest of the dungeon, all of the Arias fights, and end the quest. That should allow people to complete the dungeon in less then 15 minutes if they want, skip most of the story, most of the fights, and not get burnt out.

I will check yours out tomorrow.

notaurious · May 2013

You may now skip ALL story based dialogue. That should cut 5+ minutes from quest.

Next edits will be portals to skip significant chunks of the dungeon at will. To be included: Getting to Arias #1, Maze, All of the 2nd map extra story components (i.e. you will just be teleported to the triggers for the final event.

That should cut another 15 minutes off quest and take 1/2 of the encounters away.

slaidz · May 2013

I am not sure I understand why you went to the room with the portals and left. Is that a design flaw? I realize the portals don't even show up until you are on them, but that is not my fault.

The doors were locked so I went the other way, but I walked past the portals and as no prompt or anything came up, I left. Then I looked around everywhere again and finally went back to the portal room. This may have had more to do with me being tired though.

Difficulty is in-works to being addressed. Looks like I will be converting this to a hack/slash with mostly easy encounters to avoid difficulty issues. I will delete about 60% of the encounters to address the "excessive encounters" problem.

You need to find the right balance of enemies. If that means cutting out sixty percent, then cut out sixty. If it means cutting out ten percent, do that. Maybe have a combat slider? Or give us a few more allies? Though that might not meld with the story.

I put the campfire there thinking that fight might be the hardest one and the best place for people to respawn. Could be a bad idea.

I understand why you put it there. The player goes through the other two places and is probably tired after and right before they get to that boss they can heal up. However, the entire map requires constant healing. Maybe Arias can spawn a portal there or something in the beginning. You can have everything spawn afterwards.

I am unsure about the clipping mistakes. Every time I tested it, I could not access anything that I was not given access to. I did not go along all angles of an area, so I could have missed something... but if that's the case, then it's something Cryptic needs to address. I am using their tools the best way I can to accommodate the setup of my dungeon.

I wish I wrote down any mistakes I saw so I could help you better. Sorry.

There was no better portal to take, the event was the same either way. Just one had encounters and a "boss" and the other was a story room.

Yeah, I understand that and I realize both portals were "equal", however if I had known that one portal contained a campfire I'd have gone there first.

Better yet, I am just going to add a bypass portal and change the objectives. You will have the option to (after fighting Memnon) simply bypass the rest of the dungeon, all of the Arias fights, and end the quest. That should allow people to complete the dungeon in less then 15 minutes if they want, skip most of the story, most of the fights, and not get burnt out.

I totally disagree with doing this. You could solve this problem by tweaking the difficulty. The map was well done and the majority of my chagrin was the combat. Players shouldn't be able to skip anything.

notaurious · May 2013

Review complete, Slaidz. Posted to your quest's thread.

Memnon: Invoking the old god. (Trade me!)

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