I vaguely considered posting another mechanics improvement thread, but then I thought we already had enough people doing those on the front page and one more wouldn't make anything more likely to happen so yeah.
Okay, seriously, stop rambling. What is this thread about?
Achievements. Sort of. And encouraging people to use the Arcade a bit more.
Sounds nice. What's involved?
The basic idea is a passport of sorts - the Knight Pass, available next to the Acheivements tab. It's a grid covered with small square icons, one for every level group type (Clockwork Tunnels, Deconstruction Zone, Arena, Scarlet Fortress, Gloaming Wildwoods, Treasure Vault and so forth). Each level group type is further grouped into four categories: Standard Levels, Danger Mission Levels, Boss Lair Levels, and Shadow Lair Levels.
Mousing over each icon will reveal the names of the different level types in each group - so, for example, the Clockwork Tunnels would have the names of each family type version and status type version, boss levels would simply have the name of each level, and so on.
What do they do, then?
Initially, all the icons and names will be greyed out. However, if you complete a level type - say, Aurora Isles: Stone Grove - then its name will show up in white instead of grey text. Visiting all level types in a group - all of the levels in the 'Aurora Isles' set, for example - will cause that icon to show up in colour, and that level group to count as 'explored', giving you access to certain goodies.
Please note you must go from elevator to elevator for a level to count as completed, so you can't just tag onto a party mid-level and get your passport complete that way.
Hey, you mean I need to explore 'Clockwork Tunnels' and 'Arenas' 30 times?!! RAAAAGE -
Actually... Nope. In order to reduce frustration, the Clockworks Tunnel and Arena groups don't require you to do every monster type in every status. So you could go through Cooling Chamber: Slimeway, and that would count for both the 'Cooling Chamber' and 'Slimeway' level types. As a result, it's possible to complete 'Clockwork Tunnels' and 'Arenas' in just 6 levels, if you're careful or lucky with your gate maps.
(It was tempting to force you guys to hunt down each level type 30 times, but that many level names wouldn't fit on the tooltips. I'm not quite that evil.)
That doesn't sound so bad, but what does this have to do with the Arcade?
Your passport can only be filled in when you visit Arcade levels. No short cuts by going through missions! Also, some levels can only show up at certain depths of the Clockworks - the last levels of the Concrete Jungle and Dark City groups, Bone Briar Barrage and Stygian Steeds, will only show up in tier 3. You're going to need to put your minerals in the gates in order to get them to turn up.
What're minerals?
Those colourful crystals people used to have to use to create gates with more than one tier. Or to change the stratum type.
Yeah. They just got (slightly more) useful again.
How many groups and level types are there in total?
Please read post below. Or this post will get reedonkulously long.
That sucks. Why would I want to go to all this effort?
Several reasons. Recent surveys show that 100% of players like some combination of epeen and cool stuff. As a result, we have carefully analysed your desires to give you the following incentives:
- New achievements. Filling up your passport to certain numbers (15 level types, 40 level types, 70 level types and all level types) will net you the following compass-logo achievements - Beginning Explorer (blue), Intrepid Explorer (bronze), Experienced Explorer (silver), and Phileas Fogg (gold).
EDIT: In addition, there are also four more achievements for completing each set of level groups (names undecided yet). - Letters of Commendation. A well-travelled knight, upon reaching the first four of these achievements, will receive a Letter of Commendation from Spiral Knights HQ congratulating them on their work towards researching the variety of the Clockworks!
EDIT: Not to be confused with Letters of Condemnation, which are given out by Pit Bosses to hard-working Devilites to turn them into Overtimers. - Mist Tanks. Each Letter of Commendation contains a mist tank of some variety (15-mist Mini for Beginning, the new 40-mist Medium for Intrepid, and a 100-mist tank for Experienced and Phileas) to help you along in your exploration. Each tank is non-tradable.
- EDIT EDIT: Explorer Tokens. Explorer Tokens can be taken to a new vendor knight, Marco, who is responsible for selling a bunch of explorer stuff. They can be gained by exploring a number of Clockworks levels (5?).
Explorer Tokens can be traded for Guild Hall crafting materials, and accessories - a Compass (armour front accessory), Pick (armour back accessory), or Search Lamp (helm top accessory) in the 'standard' styles. The 'premium' styles take more tokens to purchase, and require you to unlock them first - finish all standard levels for Prismatic, all danger and boss levels for Divine and Volcanic, and all Shadow Lair levels for Shadow. (There may be more stuff. I'd put something about Battle Sprites here, but I have no idea how they're going to work.) - EDIT: Explorer Recipes. Each level group, when fully explored, allows you to purchase recipe(s) from Marco. The recipe(s) corresponding to each level type will be roughly appropriate; for example, a Demo Shield from the Gremlin Decon Zones, or a Champion's Bulwark from Arenas, or the legendary 5* Winfinity from Clockwork Tunnels. Completing every level group will probably have something like Scout Armour, with a MSI Med per piece. (Still short of some area recipe ideas.)
- EDIT: Explorer Guild Items. Certain level groups, when fully explored, will enable you to craft decorative items for your Guild Hall. (Not sure if recipes desirable to be placed in Guild Alchemy Machine for use of all, or recipes automatically available in machine as soon as you have appropriate explorations.) Stuff like maps, wandering 'basic' monsters (Zombies, Wolvers, Scuttlebots and stuff like that), and shiny scale models of Cradle.
- EDIT: Reduced/Removed Joining Fees. Upon gaining your 'Intrepid Explorer' achievement, the crown cost of joining a party at a gate you haven't cleared is reduced by 200 cr. Upon gaining your 'Experienced Explorer' achievement, the crown cost of joining a party at a gate you haven't cleared is removed entirely.
A few things I'm not entirely sure about -
- Are the mist tanks okay, or are they too much/too little mist? Should they be at different achievement levels?
- Should I include Shadow Lairs and Operation: Crimson Hammer as their own level groups? I wasn't sure whether or not I should put the 'premium' content under this list, since that would make it impossible for some players to get a complete passport.
- Are there too many distinct level types? I didn't want it to be the sort of thing that could be completed easily, but I'm also worried about making it too daunting for most players.
- EDIT: Any weapon/armour ideas for Aurora Isles? I have some vague concepts for most other levels, it's just I want them to be roughly appropriate to the group types and don't want them to be a) useless b) overpowered or c) recipes currently available, because that would make people annoyed.
- EDIT: Any Guild Hall decoration ideas? Other than obvious explorer-y stuff like maps.
- EDIT: How many levels should be completed per Explorer token? I thought that 5 would be a good starting point, but if you think otherwise, let me know please o 3o
- And, most importantly, do you like it?
Come at me Luguiru bro :U
Standard Level Groups: 14 groups, 80 level types (67 plays minimum)
Aurora Isles - 4
Battle Arenas - 11 (6 plays minimum)
Candlestick Keep - 5
Clockwork Tunnels - 11 (6 plays minimum)
Compounds - 8 (5 plays minimum)
Concrete Jungle - 5
Dark City - 7
Devilish Drudgery - 5
Graveyard - 1
Jigsaw Valley - 6
Lichenous Lair - 5
Scarlet Fortress - 6
Treasure Vault - 1
Wolver Den - 5
Danger Mission Level Groups: 4 groups, 8 level types
Compound 42 - 2
Ghost in the Machine - 2
Heart of Ice - 2
Legion of Almire - 2
Boss Lair Level Groups: 4 groups, 14 level types
Firestorm Citadel - 5
Gloaming Wildwoods - 3
Ironclaw Munitions Factory - 3
Royal Jelly Palace - 3
Shadow Lair Level Groups: 5 groups, 15 level types
Ultimate Firestorm Citadel - 5
Ultimate Gloaming Wildwoods - 3
Ultimate Ironclaw Munitions Factory - 3
Ultimate Royal Jelly Palace - 3
Unknown Passage - 1