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IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0006430Valley 1Suggestion - Balancing IssuesMar 5, 2012 12:51 pm
ReporterBluddy Assigned ToChris_McElligottPark  
Status resolvedResolutionfixed 
Product Version0.902 
Fixed in Version0.903 
Summary0006430: Lots of double jumping -> reduced ladders
DescriptionI'm not that happy about how easy double (or even triple) jumping is to get again now that the enchants are available. But if double jumping is here to stay, caves should be stripped of most of their ladders. The most enjoyable caves are the ones that have almost no ladders. In those caves, I'm the one who has to place the platforms and crates to figure out how to get from place to place. Fights in those caverns are extra cool, because I have to think where I want to go during the action and place a platform there. It also gives the game some of the feeling of customization that Terraria has -- the cave may be set in stone, but how I discover it (where I put the platforms) is up to me, so I leave my mark on it. It gives it a spelunking feel and... is generally awesome. Ladders take that away. One ladder per cave is a good maximum, but I think any more and you lose that spelunking feel. And this is the only way to make caves still be challenging to traverse after double jumps are obtained.
TagsNo tags attached.
Internal WeightFeature Suggestion

Activities

Terraziel

Mar 5, 2012 6:48 am

reporter   ~0020333

One of the discussions that occurred on the forums was removing ladders from caves on higher platforming difficulties.

Obviously the concern with just removing them completely is that it slants the game against people who don't like or aren't very good at platforming.

Chris_McElligottPark

Mar 5, 2012 12:49 pm

administrator   ~0020383

I think you'll be happy with this -- several others of us were also thinking along the same lines (depending on platforming difficulty setting, of course):

* The platforming difficulty now causes the background ladders (the ones that are pre-placed in levels) to get a lot less frequent on higher platforming difficulties.
** This is something that is done when the chunk is loaded, and it simply hides the ones that aren't appropriate for your specific difficulty level, so this _will_ affect existing worlds and it also is something that you can tweak as you play and the platforms will appear or disappear as you change the difficulty (you have to leave the chunk, let it drop to disk, and then have it reload, for that to happen, though).
** The chances of a given piece of ladder getting removed are as follows, by difficulty level:
*** 1: 5%
*** 2: 10%
*** 3: 20% (default)
*** 4: 60%
*** 5: 80%
*** 6: 95%
** Note that this is on top of whatever the seeding already was -- so on any difficulty, of course, you're getting fewer ladders as you go down further into caverns. That doesn't get affected by this difficulty-based change either way.

* Extra jump enchants now are gated:
** The "Kill 500 Espers" unlockable has been replaced by a "Kill 40 Espers" unlockable, and this is now a prerequisite to unlock before double-jump will start appearing.
** There is a new "Kill 5 Utahraptors" unlockable that is now required in order to get any triple-jump enchants. This means that triple jump is now not accessible until continent 2... and if you've not faced any utahraptors lately, they are incredibly terrifying nowadays.

Chris_McElligottPark

Mar 5, 2012 12:51 pm

administrator   ~0020384

Also, for lower platforming difficulties, some players have described jumping around in caves as "it feels like flying," and really enjoyed that. I think Keith's wife actually made that remark, come to think of it. I would absolutely hate to take that away from folks of that sort, because it is really cool and feels really different.

But for those who are good at platformers, it's obviously not very challenging. So hence the above changes. FYI, double and triple jump -- sans ladders -- are a double-edged sword on higher platforming difficulties. Sure, you can jump really high with them... but if you miss your jump, you're in for some serious falling damage.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Mar 5, 2012 6:43 am Bluddy New Issue
Mar 5, 2012 6:48 am Terraziel Note Added: 0020333
Mar 5, 2012 7:20 am tigersfan Internal Weight => Feature Suggestion
Mar 5, 2012 7:20 am tigersfan Status new => considering
Mar 5, 2012 12:49 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0020383
Mar 5, 2012 12:49 pm Chris_McElligottPark Status considering => resolved
Mar 5, 2012 12:49 pm Chris_McElligottPark Fixed in Version => 0.903
Mar 5, 2012 12:49 pm Chris_McElligottPark Resolution open => fixed
Mar 5, 2012 12:49 pm Chris_McElligottPark Assigned To => Chris_McElligottPark
Mar 5, 2012 12:51 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0020384