Hello, thanks for all the positive feedback on my previous two content drops. Here's my latest one, that focuses on a new gameplay area, the trials. Which brings with it, new lore, new rewards, new fun items, new mechanics and new enemies.
This is my largest drop yet, so there's a lot of lore. Feel free to skip.
Lore
Little is known as to what began the “Entertainer’s Exile,” which caused entertainers of all kinds be rounded and imprisoned. Bards, magicians, fools, jugglers, and so on, if your goal was to bring humour and joy you were fit to be locked up. However it was shortly discovered the idea of giving murders and thieves an entertainer as a cell mate wasn’t the best of ideas, so a new prison was built, a hulk ship far out in the ocean. The prison became known as the Jukebox.
Although the ban was lifted and the laws were changed, the Jukebox was long forgotten. The guards abandoned the ship and took all form of transport with them. Left adrift the occupants of the Jukebox minds slowly began to become warped. They had broken from their cells and manage to make new instruments, games and devices from the scraps on board. They even figured a way to lure sharks over and slay them for meat.
Then one night a mighty storm hit the prison, segments of the ship shattered off along with various inmates. The flashes of thunder and thickness of the rain made it near impossible to see what was what. Then a green flash and all went quiet. Then another and the entire ship cracked down the middle as it collided with a small island.
The few survivors that remained made their way onto the land. One of them spotted what appeared to be formation in the waves, and dived in curiosity three others followed. An archway, that led to a tunnel which led to a cavern under the island. In the centre of the cavern a strange structure that had a face on either side. The ground began to shake violently as the mouths of the structure closed and the eyes began to glow various colours. Curiosity got the better of the young entertainers as all four them moved closer to each face. On the surface a pool formed in the center of the island that swirled with the same colours.
Slowly flakes of those in the cave began to sap into the structure, it appeared painless to them, and as they drew close it consumed all four of them. The colours in the pool swirled rapidly forming a single shade of deep purple. And from it emerged a figure that resembled in a way all four of the entertainers. Now all imprisoned in a new way. The creature ordered the remaining castaways to strip the ship and toss its remains into the pool. From there it will begin to build its own form of entertainment.
New NPCs - The Fools
The fools come in varied sizes and outfits. And while be found in multiple places across the seas.
Outpost Fools
A fool can be found at every outpost near a small pop-up tent, that similar to one of the Gold Hoarders. However there’ll be a slight circus theme to these tents. But everything will look not the best quality as if it was made by someone with no carpentry/DIY experience (spoiler because it was). The fools at the outposts will be dressed as if to match the outposts name. For example Ancient Spire, the fool is short but on stilts wearing a fake long white beard and twisted pointy hat.
The outpost Fools will sell various skins for the new trinkets items as well as cosmetics based on the current Fools appearance. These can only purchased with a new currency which is rewarded from completing the trails. They will also sell the player a key to the Master Trials for either a large gold price, which is calculated based on the players current levels and how much gold they have in their purse, or for 90% of the new currency that the player was rewarded in their last trial.
Or they will tell the player the direction and distance of a lost fool. This will change at the start of each in game day.
Lost Fools
They all look similar, dressed in partially decorated prison outfits. When found they will reward the player with a key to a Lesser or Medium Trial.
They can either be found on islands hidden in some predetermined locations or at sea floating on buoy. Once talked to they’ll drop a smoke bomb and vanish. Leaving a purple cloud behind where they were so other players who are looking for them will know they’ve gone.
Random Fools
They will appear before a player on land randomly and will be decorated in tons of colours. They will offer to immediately transport the player to a random trial. If the player refuses they’ll instead be teleported somewhere random nearby.
New Gameplay - The Trials
Players will now have access to The Trials. These are divided into four core types; skill, survival, puzzle and memory. Before entering a trial the player is told what type they are about to enter and its difficulty.
Entering the Trials
The trials are entered by taking a key to either Glowstone Cay, Fools Lagoon, Lagoon of Whispers or Shark Tooth Key. However the Master Trials can only be entered via the unmarked island where the Jukebox crashed.
A key is a physical item similar size to a skull fort key. On each of the stated islands the player will find what looks like a large well in the shallow water. Over the top is a gated like structure with an pole erect in the center. Once the entire crew is stood on the well the key can be placed opening the door and dropping the crew through the portal.
Before the key is placed the player placing the key is warned that doing so will cancel the active voyage and empty their inventory. Also their ship will be unguarded during the trials.
Progressing through the Trials
A lesser key will give you access to four floors of trials.
A medium key will give you access to eight floors of trials.
The Master Key will give you access to endless trials for one hour.
The first floor is always random. The following floors increase in difficulty each time you go down. There are chances of difficulty being increased more than +1. The crew must vote on which portal to enter next between a choice of two. Difficulty is also scaled by the number of crew members.
For example a crew of three can enter a lesser trial. The first floor could be a level 4 puzzle floor. Once completed they can either enter a level 5 skill or level 7 survival.
Or a solo player could enter a medium trial and start at level 1 memory and on the final floor reach a level 8 survival.
Trial Types
Skill
- These types of trials will test the players general game ability. It
can be a target range (cannon/pistol). Navigating a sloop through a narrow passage. Defusing randomly spawning gunpowder barrels before they explode. An obstacle course. Firing themselves out of cannons. Grappling from one place to another. Catching a fast clockwork pig. Anything that is present in the core game is tested. - Difficulty is scaled by time limits, or the volume of the task (more targets, further distance).
- Rewards are also scaled on how well the player performs.
Survival
- These challenges are all relevant to the current ingame threats.
- Waves of clockwork enemies could spawn in the room representing those currently in game. The players will have limited resources to fight back. On harder floors, you’ll fight boss creatures such as a clockwork Kraken, these will conducted on a stationary sloop which can only rotated. Any threats added to the game will have clockwork counterparts.
- Other survival challenges could be find the “x marks the spot” in a room full of snakes. (The trick is only one player has an instrument and snakes sleep for shorter times).
- A crew could be spawned on a ship in a storm with a chest sorrows on board having to stay a float for as long as possible.
Puzzle
- These are completely new having the players solve complex riddles that use existing mechanics in new ways. For example lantern colours, specific instruments playing specific songs. Rope pulleys used to open doors and rotate elements of the room. Item needing to be placed in certain places. (Got any suggestions please let me know!)
Memory
- The earlier versions of these challenges the players are given hints or are playing simple memory games. Like seeing something in one room and then replicating it in the next.
- Harder versions will have the players recalling parts of the lands. Where it’s figuring out what paintings are which islands. Or circling unnamed islands on a ships map.
There can be many more ideas but as this is just a proof of concept I’m not going to go into them all. If you have any suggestions leave them as a reply and state which category/difficulty they should be.
Rewards from Completing
Behind the scenes a score will be tracked for each room, with a maximum and minimum score to make sure players are rewarded fairly. For completing a full trial there’ll be a larger reward and the player will receive some tokens for the new currency.
Death in a trial will end it for that player. Failing 1/2/3 trials (depending on which type you are in) will also end the trials for everyone. Upon completion or failure you’ll return to the well now sealed again. Loot based on your score will spawn in the water around the well. These can be from regular treasure, cursed items, or if you performed really well there’s a new item for each trading company that will around the value of Stronghold Loot.
New Items - Trinkets/Vanity
As previously mentioned there’s now more than vanity items for the players to acquire, and these aren’t just limited to instruments. To manage them you can now find a new box on your ship as well as near the Fool’s shop. You can keep three in your inventory at a time, these will take the slots that were once filled by the hurdygurdy, concertina and the drum. Allowing the player to own multiple but not have their tools wheel be filled to the brim with them. An instrument must always remain in one slot so players don’t get stuck on riddles.
Instruments - Played same way as normal instruments.
Fiddle
Harmonica
Spoons
Tambourine
Lute
Flutes
Fyfes
(and if you want to be annoying) Bagpipes
Tricks - When used kind of look like emotes.
Juggling Balls - More expensive variants can be other items like skulls and bottles.
Diabolo
“Magic Tricks” Smoke Bombs, mini fireworks.
Prop Gun
“Movement” - Don’t affect movement but change how the character looks.
Unicycle
Stilts
Another type of item will be the ship/tavern games/instruments. These will be very expensive to purchase but will be activities the player can use between voyages. Cards, liars dice, target practice, large instruments. etc..
When the player select these they’ll appear on the ship or in the tavern for anyone to use. Although not 100% where they’ll fit on say the sloop.
New Enemies - Corrupted Clockwork
These are exceptionally rare to spawn but are broken versions of the creatures found in the trials that have somehow escaped. This includes sea beasts such as the Mechaladon. No new rewards for defeating them, they just give some variety to the world.
And that is everything, again I know these update ideas are a lot of work and some require whole new game mechanics, but they’re just for fun. Any suggestions for changes or additions please comment. If you liked my post this the third in the series check out my other suggested content drops.
Scholar’s of Curses - New Trading Company / 16 New Loot Types
The Fractured Isles - New Tool / Encounter / World Event
