Dungeon Survey

[PaulH]

A survey on what sort of new dungeon you like playing. There seems to be certain styles:

-CSB: Dropped right in the middle of the action, non stop, multiple path lots of fighting

-DM: Start slowly and build characters up with balance between fights and puzzles

-CONFLUX: Intricate complex design which takes a lot of time and thought

-IMPRISONED: Easy to get into, more fighting than puzzles but very entertaining

-PRISONER: Hard puzzles and traps

-REACTOR: Large, sprawling with atmospheric parts

To name a few.

I like the IMPRSISONED style, something you can get your teeth into and keep playing, with a fast pace

[Wil]

I think we already have CSB likes, and much more fighting than puzzles.
So the way to go would be more puzzles, more DM likes.

[Zyx]

Good idea!

I vote DM as the major, CONFLUX as the minor.

I like the progression, with a general linearity. But I like also to have some replayability discovering there are some other ways to best the dungeon, leading to hidden places with difficult riddles.

[beowuuf]

I wouldn't say I have a preference. I like any dungeon that There seems to be certain turn-offs that crop up in dungeons:

Punishment: If you miss a trick or riddle, then you have no way to complete the dungeon, or you've made it very hard for yourself. Not always obvious

Training: A dungeon that you have to train for before you can fight anything. Amber's dungeon's don't have this problem, as although that is his playing style the fights tend to be such that you can get your training in the thick of things instead

Swamping: Unrestrained triggers that can flood you if you aren't careful

One way systems: You HAVE to solve a certain part to progress. It's nice when you are stumped to have soemthingg else to distract you.


I liked conflux's style, with alot of replayability and puzzles/atmosphere. I started to get into Imprisoned style slightly too, but only when done well like imprisined. Clever fights are better than hack and slash.
I of course have a fondness for my own, hopefully it has progression, and was different on each area so didn't bias towards one style of play.

[Sphenx]

I claim the Swamping style.

[PicturesInTheDark]

"Reactor" and the "classical" CSB - and without puzzles I normally feel something is missing.

Regards, PitD

[sucinum]

i personally prefer my own dungeons (guess, why i built them ). i like it to chose from different ways, but i need good junctions for orientation. the 4 ways of csb are a good example for that, but i didnt like cross-linking.
riddles are very important to keep interested, but i think, easy ones are okay for that because you only have to solve them once, but the monsters are a challenge each game. i also like short ways and not having to walk long ways (like the level below the firestaff in DM - awful!).
when looking at cmments about imprisoned, i saw noone become desperate at the riddles, but mainly at the monsters. but to be honest: i cant make better riddles :/
swamping is included, yes, but mainly to force an offense playing style and to reward it instead of a slow, defense style (which is of course somehow natural when playing a new dungeon). i think, next to the matrix, i didnt overdo this (and the matrix is fixed now). maybe its not the best choice to force something from the player, but i chose this way
i also like the teamdungeon very much, because it surprises very often and the different styles of the levels have an unique atmosphere. i think, any of the participating designers tried to do his masterpiece in dmute which is the reason why it takes so long to be completed
btw: hard riddles in the prisoner-dungeon? you speak of hard fireballs?
but when speaking of masterful design, one MUST name DM and CSB, which are both unequaled by far by any dungeon. when you count the riddles in DM neutrally and add the time you took to solve each of them the first time you will see, that this is impossible to beat. of course, as experienced player you might overlook them, but give it a try. to be honest, more than 90% of my riddles are variations of some you can find in DM or CSB. and theres nothing wrong with that, because they are GOOD and most of them are entertaining, even if you do them for the 50th time.

[sucinum]

where belong the 10s?
when rating the dungeons, there should be a measure for the 10. if not, we maybe have to jump to 11 or 12 some day
i tried to distribute the 10s mainly between dm and csb, because i didn't play too much edited dungeons and i don't want to vote my own ones too much
so here are my 10s:
Gameplay - Imprisoned Again. sorry for the self-vote, but if it would not match my style of playing perfectly, i would not have built it this way.
Originality - pass. can't decide
Difficulty - DM. the difficulty raises slow but steady. i think it has the best balancing of all dungeons (ok, maybe a _bit_ more monsters and less dedicaded training rooms would have been better - but thats my non-neutral opinion, because i don't like training too much).
Puzzles - DM. count them and you'll know. an it's not only the number, there are also some hard nuts in between.
Size - pass.
Replayability - CSB. many ways to choose, many tactics to try.
Craft - CSB. i don't understand most of the puzzles even with dmute.
Game Ending - Conflux. many of them and very different
Atmosphere - DM. but i was close to a second selfvote
Overall - DM. i think it's not beatable. noone did mind playing it for 8 years until csb arrived.