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I've let modding go for a couple of days, only working a couple hours at a time on a map in Siege Editor. My mods to Farmland Mobs are all running smoothly now, and the next step will take me through The Crypt of the Sacred Blood a few dozen times to note, edit, and bugfix changes to the mobs there. I already have working versions of skeleton.gas and gargoyle.gas, but the changes I want to make in The Crypt are turning out to be more subtle than in The Farmlands.

Combat through the crypts is a series of ambushes, and I want to make walking into them unprepared a lethal mistake. I feel that an ambush has no gameplay value if all the enemies who surprise you can be defeated without any trouble. Standing in one spot while Melee Gargoyles suicide into my Hero is underwhelming, so I want to make the kind of changes that will make every ambush a challenge, and every room cleared an accomplishment. I haven't decided how to do this exactly, but my notes indicate that Skeletons are what makes The Crypt so easy currently. Some of them just stand there while you clear the rest of the room, and when they do spot you, they're slow enough to kill before they reach you. I found that some of this is due to Line Of Sight, where Skellies are behind pillars or in awkward corners. Most was a result of their Engage Ranges and of course, Movement Speed. Faster, more alert Skeletons are still fairly easy to beat, and some still don't engage you until you're shooting them in the face.

It's intriguing to note the exact elements of a Mob's Template that can be changed to increase the challenge they present. Some unique and effective behaviors arise from very small changes. I want to capitalize on the potential in each Mob, while avoiding redundant patterns. What I mean is, I'm developing a list of change types that have worked, and I'm tailoring Templates individually for greater variety.

Facing it honestly, Dungeon Siege 1 generalized most Mobs, which results in a predictable play style and auto-pilot combat. The challenge presented in most balancing mods is based on higher health and damage, which is tougher in some ways, but isn't any more challenging once you learn how to run and shoot. Enemies that don't fit the average mold, tend to offer the most memorable challenges, so I'm working to break the mold entirely. It can be done, and the work going into this project will inform my infant siegelet when it's finally time to populate the map.

For now, I'm crunching time to prep for winter, and a trip to Alaska. Modding is plainly my hobby of choice, so I'll let the pace of progress in every area of my life, prioritize itself. It's a lot more fun that way.
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