We're going to do a series of articles focusing on specific parts of the game's development, explaining a bit how they work and their changes compared to the previous game.
Today we'll be talking about dungeons, their structure and room types, and the improvements we've made to the game.
Dungeons
In Ziggurat 2, your main task will be to clear Dungeons, by reaching the final floor and defeating the Guardian there.
Every Dungeon has different lengths and difficulties (you get to choose which one you want to take before starting).
On every floor in the Dungeon, you'll need to find the key and defeat that floor's guardian in order to advance. In order to find it, you'll need to explore the dungeon and clear rooms packed with enemies, but you will also find useful equipment and treasure in your way. Here are some of the room types you may find:
Shrines
Shrines allow you to make an offer to the Elder Gods in exchange for their help. These gifts range from enhanced stats to earning a new weapon, etc.
However, the Elder gods can be easily angered, and if they're not pleased by your sacrifice, you'll receive a punishment instead.
In Ziggurat 2, there's only one Shrine in these rooms (compared to the 3 there were before), and chances of good/neutral/bad results don't depend on what's being sacrificed. Usually you'll be getting a nice reward, but it's definitely not guaranteed...
Hazards and Challenges
Some of the rooms and corridors of the dungeon will have traps that may harm unaware wizards! Watch out for spikes and lava pits in your way, and always stay on your toes to prevent damage.
In Ziggurat 2, trap rooms are smaller and usually quick to traverse, but you still need to watch out, as traps are now better hidden than before.
There's also optional rooms offering a tougher challenge in exchange for a nice reward at the end.
Shops
In Ziggurat 2, you'll earn coins that allow you to upgrade your equipment and skills once a mission is over. However, the further you progress into a dungeon, the more money you'll make, so it may be useful to spend your money in the Shop in exchange for new weapons and perks, or just a health refill!
Room size
In Ziggurat 1, small rooms felt a bit cramped and were usually a death trap if enemies with area attacks were spawned, while bigger rooms felt way too open and big, with wasted space and slower pace.
We've fixed that by increasing available space for smaller rooms, and reducing size of the bigger rooms, as well as adding interesting layouts so they don't feel as empty.
Jump pads!
One of the common complaints on Ziggurat 1 was the lack of verticality in room designs, and something we've focused on fixing for Ziggurat 2. You can now grab to ledges to reach higher heights, and the dungeon generation algorithm was redesigned to allow placing doors at different height levels.
On top of that, we've added Jump pads to some rooms to quickly reach higher places, but watch out, as enemies can use them as well!