Foundry

My first foundry quest, Crypt of Befallen, was confused, poorly plotted, etc – all the same mistakes I see made by every first time author. It’s embarrassing to have that quest be the entry point to my Adventures in Norrath campaign. I’m sketching ideas for a remake with an entirely custom map, no pre-built rooms. I’m building this version in mid-air so I can have actual drops to the second and third floors. The old story, such as it was, will be discarded. I’ll still keep the concepts of other adventurers camping bits of the dungeon in. The current villain, Mezzinia, will be tossed out and replaced with a dark elf villain to connect with the plot running through the next three adventures and finally culminating in my next new quest, Bloody Kithicor. ...

It was suggested that, these days, it might not be a bad idea to make a little video about your new Foundry quests. I thought this was an incredible idea. So I made one for Crushbone’s Revenge…. [embed]

This is not a screenshot from the Neverwinter quest. This is from one of my EQ2 quests. Lanys hard adds actually made hard Extended the Janitor a little. By request, flirt option for Pham first meeting. Changed Josylyn fight to be a little harder Don’t require the player to accept Bealu to make use of the Priest of Discord’s power. Clerics apparently have a problem with this :) Change out the volume gate in the corrupted bear pen to one that actually works and fits in better with the fence. ...

[gallery ids=“11279,11280,11281,11282”] In retrospect, we should have chosen this week to review Christmas-themed foundries, of which there are a few. Opportunity lost. Maybe next week?** Temple of the Elements** by @marrowyn** The Cult of the Dragon is up to their new tricks again. Tiamat has risen, and her minions are fanning out through Faerûn, looking for sources of new power for the Scaléd Queen, coming at last to the ancient Temple of the Elements. Tiamat will surely appreciate the additional elemental powers the temple can grant. ...

Hey, hey, magical sleigh. I didn’t get this last year because I was saving up for the Frost Mimic. It’s been a full day since I released Crushbone’s Revenge into the world. I’ve gotten a little feedback, most of it good, some with stuff I need to address. I was kinda hoping, of course, that it would catch on fire, but it didn’t. Probably because the average playtime is creeping up toward AN HOUR. It was supposed to be a HALF HOUR QUEST. Holy crap. I am UNABLE to make a quick foundry with story and action good for the daily foundry quest. ...

Now, this IS relevant to EverQuest. I think I’m just about finished with Crushbone’s Revenge, the sort of sequel to Tempest in a Freepot. You’re on a mission to save Retlon Brenclog, a gnome who was last seen in Crushbone. But you uncover something much darker on your quest, and a gnome isn’t all you save. [gallery ids=“11217,11219,11222,11220,11221,11218”] The next step is optional, but it’s usually a good idea to get other foundry authors to weigh in on your quest before you make it widely available. This is semi-baked in, because you have to get five reviews before it goes live to everyone. Lucky me, I have four already, and need just one more. The unlucky bit is that I’ve been honestly reviewing people’s foundries for a few months now, and… some authors might want to be a little brutally honest with me. ...

Lanys T'Vyl and friend plot against the player Still figuring out what Ello is for… slow at work today, new projects are being specced but this close to the end of the year and a department-wide vacation, not much is getting done. We had a release early this morning which went fairly well. I was barely conscious. But since I was up so early, I decided to work a little more on Crushbone’s Revenge. I’ve spent so long on this now that it seems like there was never a time when I wasn’t working on it this year. In reality, I started development on it in October, I think, or early November, so it really hasn’t been that long. ...

By my estimates, we’re about halfway through the foundry contest. So far, interest seems to have been generally falling week to week. Three Week 1 entries hold their grip on the prize spots. Since I changed my scoring method to the one (I hope) the devs will use to judge the contest midway through Week 2, the Week 1 entries might have an unfair advantage in my charts… but, we’ll see. Were the best three quests all just randomly in Week 1? ...

Wow, week 3 already. It’s been a rollercoaster so far, but this week is special. We have missions by two of the foundry’s pro builders – and the unluckiest contest entry of them all. But we’ll get to that one later. First, one of the three quests the overworked cleric who stands near Sergeant Knox gives out this week. The Dragon’s Prize by sc00teR This is the only foundry this week where the quest page is entirely taken up by a disclaimer. I think I was supposed to sign and date it somewhere. Yes, I indemnify the author against any blame for an end reward that I can’t or won’t use. Yes, I will control the mobs I pull and not blame you if I pull too many. Yes, if the sparkly trail leads me over a cliff, I won’t haul you in front of Lord Neverember. ...

It’s hard to figure out just what people are looking for when they choose a foundry. Daily quest completion? Experience? Treasure? And don’t laugh at that, because the latest expansion lets you power up your weapons and certain armor by sacrificing treasure to it. Story? Puzzles? Jumping? Last week, we saw a standard adventure-type foundry come in third place… while the top two spots were held by an adventure/combat hybrid, and a straight-up combat quest. ...