Map Design: Cambio Nature Trail

It's been a while since I put out a blog post, so today I'll make it about the current 'dungeon' I'm working on.

History

The general area used to be one big mining field in The Old World, but during the Age of Pluto the land changed so much that most of the mine had been buried within the earth. What's left can be found in the few accessible caves or (in rare cases) in open areas, especially beyond where the public has access. It's become a sort of historical site because of the remnants of history present, yet people gather to see the sites and sounds of the forest around them as well. Some spots include an old treehouse thought to have been made after the Age of Pluto and before the trail came to be, a bunch of trees that appear to form an ominous shape that can be best seen from the summit, or even the assortment of flowerbeds that are found throughout the trail. The preservation committee does everything they can to ensure the trail is kept tidy, and the wildlife undisturbed as they dwell in the deeper parts of the forest.

Gameplay

While this would seem a bit like the Dalry Forest, this one does feature a little more to do. There are of course paths that lead to treasure, and at least one that requires stepping off the trail to advance, by entering one of the caves leading into the lost mines. Because many of these caves aren't meant to be accessible to the public, they will have something covering them that will require the Sorcerer's Ring.  In addition, because of what is going on at the time, many monsters that would have kept to themselves in the deep wood are now populating the trail itself. There are even those within the caves that weren't meant to be gone into anyway, so in that case it would come as disturbing them there.

This cave is one of two publicly open cave that travelers can visit, just down the slope in the northern part, and by a large hole that's blocked off for safety. I may add a side event for that and add another map regarding the hole, but otherwise I want to focus on adding the ones that are necessary. There's one cave that you go through to get back onto the trail, which will likely make use of the darkness that will need illuminating. There's also another that leads you to the summit, and I'd like to have it where part of the wall is opened up to reveal the land below. Finally, there's two optional caves; one that is simple and has easily obtainable treasure, the other I'm planning to have a puzzle relating to the three holes near it.

Once the maps are at least set up, I do need to make one more that is meant to serve as an in-between for when you leave the big map, and when you're heading towards your true destination. The latter already has a map made, but this one is where you'll face a story boss. Otherwise, the only events I have set up include the first story event for when you arrive, the obligatory ones for various functions, and 'one' enemy event that I need to modify for not just whatever enemies appear here, but I also want to see if I can simplify it so I can prevent it from looking in certain directions when using the ring.

Wrap-Up

There's still plenty to do, and I'm of course making use of placeholders wherever possible. I can always go back and fix up on NPCs or events, but the main story I want to get more done. But once I get more art assets, I'll make time to include them so that I can update the demos with new stuff. Ideally, I would like to have at least one update to both before the year is done and also making the train sequence part of the prologue, but that will require ensuring that everything for it is 'complete' in the sense that it isn't a total WIP. Of course, everything will still be considered as such until the day I can actually comb through and finalize everything. I hope you look forward to seeing what I try to do next.