Dungeon Delving with Bill Fisher

Interview by Zinn

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Vanguard Ten Ton Hammer is excited about Vanguard Saga of Heroes’ dungeons.  Many of us here miss the atmosphere, challenge, and just plain scariness of EverQuest’s dungeons.  We are quite excited to talk with Bill Fisher, Senior Game Designer for Sigil Games Online, to find out even more about Vanguard’s dungeon design.


[Vanguard TenTonHammer]: Many people hope that Vanguard Saga of Heroes can bring back the magic and sheer excitement of EverQuest’s dungeons. People’s expectations are quite high. What is Sigil doing to put the fun, challenge, and scare-factor back into dungeon design?

[Bill Fisher]: To put the fun, challenge, and scare-factor back in, we are making our NPCs a bit harder than some people today may be used to.  Areas that cause you to bite it if you do not control your situation will be more common in Vanguard.

We will continue to tweak the power of certain types of epic NPC spells that require you to counter or suffer horribly, melee stances that maim and debilitate the players that must be reacted to, the frequency of runners, early runners, and other situations that the players will actually need to pay attention to in the group settings.  It is not where we want it yet, but as we continue to dial this in, I’m confident it will reach our intended goal.

We feel that a level of challenge is required for an area to actually be fun long term – both from an actual combat standpoint and from an overall achievement standpoint.


[VTTH]: Do you have plans for traps and ambushes in dungeons?  Will they be random or static traps? How will players be able to detect these traps?  Will there be hidden areas, secret passageways, cave-ins or locked doors that need lock picking or keys? Could you please give us an example of how a particular trap, ambush, or encounter might play out?  

[BF]: We do not have extensive plans for traps prior to release but there are several areas that do have ambushes, and other trap like features.  There is currently no “trap” system implemented.

There are locked doors, though they are not extremely common.  These do require keys at the moment, and likely will until after release.


[VTTH]: In many of the newer games the margin of error is often so large that groups can make all sorts of mistakes in dungeons and still survive with little effort. In a game that promises to bring back the challenge how does Sigil plan, in the context of dungeon combat, to reduce this margin of error and encourage synergistic group play?

[BF]: I included the answer to this question in the next one, since they are kind of linked.


[VTTH]: Sigil has spoken a great deal about the importance of player and sphere interdependence. What is the role of crafters, diplomats and harvesters in dungeons?

[BF]: In general, the other spheres fill in specialized roles in very specific dungeons.  Don’t expect to need to bring a diplomat to every dungeon – their game play is primarily in the cities.  That said, there will be those special areas where having a diplomat might allow you to achieve an objective or unlock additional content.

The harvesters of course will be on the lookout for various rare resources that the crafters will desire.

A number of crafting stations are rumored to exist in the depths of some of Telon’s far off dungeons…  Who knows what you might make at those…


[VTTH]: Sigil has said that the premier dungeons in Vanguard will be huge, and that it may take a group weeks to fully explore one. Brad McQuaid stated that there will be transportation systems, possibly teleporters, set up throughout dungeons to move people around. How many premier dungeons are planned for release?  How will the teleportation system work?  Will dungeons have multiple exits and entrances?  

Our premier dungeons do vary in size, based on level range and the intent for the area.  Some places are utterly massive at the moment, like Stiirhad and Vol Tuniel; others are smaller.

There will not be a “standard” dungeon teleportation system.  Specific areas may have a teleport gimmick set up. Vol Tuniel, for example has a large section beneath the main ruined Elven temple.  If you have visited the bottom area and completed a quest, you will be granted an item that may be used at an altar in the swamp to teleport directly to the entrance of this area.

Some dungeons do have multiple entrances, it really depends on the area.

As for the number of premiers planned for release, I’m going to hold that one close to my chest.  I’d rather not promise anything and have people be pleasantly surprised.


[VTTH]: Sigil has mentioned plans for solo/casual mini dungeons. Are there plans for any special or premier solo/casual dungeons?   How do you plan on limiting access to these dungeons for only solo/casual players?  

The first dungeons you encounter in Vanguard are typically casual dungeons.  You can solo a vast majority of the content found within, though you would still be well served to add a friend.

We currently do not keep people out of these casual areas – however if your group trivializes the area by being to large, your experience rewards are greatly diminished.

Soloable Overland adventure areas are much more common than casual dungeons.

    
[VTTH]: Many of us who have been patiently waiting for our beta invitations (excuse me, I need to check my email!) live our Vanguard dream vicariously through every word and story you developers tell us.  I know they say one should not feed the animals at the zoo, especially the ones who are foaming at the mouth, but this one time could you give us a treat by walking us through a segment of one of your favorite dungeons or dungeon encounters?

Its hard to pick a favorite area in the game right now for me – there are so many different areas.  Some I like from a purely “that’s cool” design perspective, others I like from a player perspective.

I’m intrigued by the mysterious Kronus Infinium Cult found in Qalia and can’t wait to explore its compound.  The Gnomish Accelerator tunnels found throughout Qalia that increase your movement speed dramatically still make me chuckle.  The Ulabenian Deadeye – that snipes players that dare walk brazenly through the lair of General Irinas Ulaben is also nifty.

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