Of Dusk and Dawn - The Test Run

Well, I've finished my dungeon! Now to take it on a test run. I roped in my assistant and best friend, Layla to help me test run this dungeon. She's put in a lot of work herself helping place things and playing with the mobs. At one point I think I was covering in wolf mobs while she was playing with them and I was playing with the walls. Yes, this has been a fun experience and even more fun to do as a pair!

Before I post up pics of the final, I decided to take a few screenies throughout our test run! I choose the Construct because I just like that one and Layla looooves being a shrooom, so she's my shroom girl!



Dead things! So far so good. I ended up pulling the whole room or so because I'm a dork and well playing as a swashbuckler for the past 6 years make you always pull mobs in groups to AoE them. the only problem is... only 1 AoE on most of the avatars.





One problem we ran into with my design, is mobs can tend to hide in the walls. Luckily, you can still smash them!



Woot! I got a heal!



I like pulling groups, so I agroed the entire garden pretty much. Can you hear Layla shroom screaming, "Omg omg we're gonna die!"



Upstairs I actually tried to pull more than one, but again I was a complete dork and well I pulled everything! Except one guy...



I missed one! That bastard! Let's kill it.



Two more rooms then we'll be on our way to the final room!





So far I haven't killed anyone! Except the mobs.



And now the final... hey there's the exit!



And there you have it folks, a successful test run! We didn't die, but I did check my revive spot and you should be fine when you revive. If house items end up on top of you... I'm sorry.

This dungeon is now on the leaderboards under the Poet's Palace section. It is called: Of Dusk and Dawn. Duh!

Of Dusk and Dawn - The Story

I've been working on the story for my dungeon for the contest today and I thought I would go ahead and post it up! It's not my best writing and I'm certainly not top of my game right now, but I think it'll due. I've laid it out here how I am presenting it in the dungeon. It's made so that those who don't want to read too much have a short summary of the purpose behind the dungeon. Those who want to read more can read through the backstory! More to come perhaps, we shall see!

DECORATED BY:
Neversea and Layla Crimsonblade

NOTE:

Please allow each of room of the dungeon to load in before racing through! To hear the story behind this dungeon, please take a moment to read through this book for a backstory. This dungeon is the first of a series of dungeons!

Be on the lookout for the continuation dungeons: Of Fire and ice, Of Earth and Air and Of Life and Death.

QUEST:

Hidden deep underneath the palace of the Royal House Swiftblade, there are dungeons of a frightening nature. Each dungeon was crafted to protect something of a powerful nature. Not even those of the royal house can call off the guards and enchantments placed within these dungeons.

You must take the form of a creature fierce enough to battle the enchantments, spells and monsters. Defeat the obstacles and obtain each set of keys to unlock the ancient towers.

Your first task is to retrieve the Shard of Dusk and the Shard of Dawn. Go forth now and complete your task!

BACKSTORY:
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Once upon a time there was a young girl with long golden hair that cascaded down her slender back. Her skin was as white as snow and her eyes were like two deep blue sapphires. Some had called her beautiful; others say that she was an angel sent from the heavens. Her name was Synnove and she was an elven princess of a royal house.

One day, Synnove s father gave her away in marriage to a young man. This young man was a prince to another, much larger royal house. He had deep, dark tanned skin and his hair was as black as the midnight sky. His eyes burned like twin lavender fires. His name was Prince Dusan.

In the beginning neither Synnove nor Dusan were too keen on the idea of marriage. They both believed deeply in marrying for love and not for estates. But as time passed, the two fell deeply in love with one another. It is said that their love was so great that it caused the very world to still for moments in time. Some say that the dawn would not rise until the couple had expressed their love for one another. Others say that the dusk would never come if the two were ever parted. For many years they lived together in love.

But then one day along came an old, wicked witch. The witch had been seeking for years to obtain a way to keep her youth and beauty, to become immortal. Her search brought her to the white marble steps of Dusan and Synnove s humble palace. Jealous of Synnove s beauty, the witch disguised herself as a humble servant. While Synnove slept one afternoon, the witch butchered the maiden s golden hair, stealing it away for herself.

Horrified to find her beautiful hair gone, Synnove locked herself in her room and allowed no one, not even her beloved husband, to see her. Distraught, Dusan fell asleep next to Synnove s bedroom door and while he slept, the witch plucked out his lavender eyes. Synnove heard her lover s screams of pain too late to help.

Cackling, the witch took off with her prizes and brewed up a vicious spell deep in the forest near the palace. She placed the golden hair and the lavender eyes inside the potion. Back at the palace, Dusan and Synnove found comfort in one another. Synnove wished to avenge her love, so she took up his sword, but he would not allow her to leave without him, so he took up his bow and the couple set off to find the witch who had ruined their lives.

As the sun rose and the moon began to sink below the horizon, the witch completed her spell. It changed her into a beautiful woman with golden hair; pale skin covered in deep blackened runes and eyes the color of twin lavender fires. Her magic had grown stronger with the completion of the spell and she reached out and plucked the very sun and moon from the sky.

Just then, Dusan and Synnove climbed over the top of the hill. Synnove lifted her husband s sword and ran to the witch. Dusan lifted his arrows and asked for guidance and truth to speed his arrow home. The witch, reveling in her glory, did not notice sword or arrow until both had pierced her body. She screamed in pain and agony, but it was too late. Synnove and Dusan had killed the witch. But the witch cast a deadly curse on the pair with her last dying breaths. She cursed Synnove to take the form of a wolf during the day. She cursed Dusan to take the form of a phoenix, but only during the night. The lovers would never be together in the same form again.

As Synnove s body transformed, Dusan took the sun and the moon from the dead body of the witch. As he held the orbs in his hands, he turned his sightless gaze to his lover and her new body. Though he could not see her, he knew that she was not the same. He knew that he could use the power of the dawn and the dusk to cure the curse, but that would leave the world with no sun and no moon, so Dusan returned the sun and the moon back to their rightful places in the sky.

Pleased with their return, both the sun and the moon each gave a fragment to Dusan. The fragments would allow Dusan and Synnove to take the same form for a limited time twice a day midnight and just before dawn. Dusan took the fragments offering the sun and moon thanks for their generosity.

That night as Dusan took the form of a phoenix, Synnove took the shards of the sun and moon. She had each crafted into a necklace. Synnove took the necklace of the sun and gave to Dusan the one of the moon.

It is said that the couple lived in peace for some time. Synnove s hair grew back, though much shorter than before. Dusan never saw anything again, but he became used to living without the use of his eyes. The pair bore one single child, a boy with dark red hair and his mother s deep sapphire eyes. After Synnove bore the child, she lay dying and asked Dusan to care for the child. Dusan promised he would and as he held his dying wife and his newborn son, he gave the necklaces of the sun and moon to his brothers, asking them to place them in a protected tower he had built years before. He feared someone would use them for evil.

The brothers took the necklaces from Dusan and placed them inside the tower. They took small fragments of each necklace and crafted these into keys. Then they placed enchantments upon the tower, binding it so that no one could ever open it easily. The tower possessed other treasure and powerful items that helped to keep it protected.

The brothers then took the keys forged from shards of the sun and moon and placed them inside the dungeons below the palace. They placed enchantments and spells of protections upon them. It would not be easy to remove these keys.

Dusan, being a powerful mage, drew out the spirit of the witch who had taken his eyes and now his wife from him. He took her spirit and split it into two forms, ripping her soul apart and binding both pieces to the dungeons, forcing her to protect that which she had once stolen. Any who venture into the dungeons will face the witch in her split soul form, the form of the dawn and the form of the dusk. To obtain the keys will not be an easy feet, but one day it will need to be done. The tower will need to be opened, one day.

Of Dusk and Dawn - Day 4, 5, and 6?

Day 4, 5 and maybe 6? I've lost track of how long I've been working on this place. I've finally got all except one room settled and built. Today was spent covering the two hallways and fixing some things to use less items and less of my dividers that I am starting to run low on!





Layla has started helping me get some filler items in and start dropping in mobs and placing them. She's been having a ton of fun working with the mobs! There's a lot you can do with mobs. You can adjust their level, their wander or static patrols and even renamed them or make them say funny things. It can get rather addicting to just start dropping mobs all over the place, so we'll have to make sure we don't pile them up too badly!





I debated on covering the hallways and stared at them for a very long time before finally deciding that to better fit with the rest of the design, they will have to be covered. I realize that I do a ton of wall covering in my decorating... Sorry SoE team I just don't like your walls! Plus it can be rather fun to make a place look like something else or build your own rooms. I'm a big fan of using the circle tool to make circle rooms and dome ceilings!





I may add some wall details here and there, not sure yet, but that'll be my next step tomorrow or so!








It's really starting to shape up nicely!









I was afraid I might not finish in time for the contest, but with how things went these last few days, we might just make it in time! I still have to write up the quest for the zone, but I have a pretty good idea of what I will write, so it should fall together pretty good on Monday!













I'll have to add some lighting here and there. The black marble is awesome, but too much of it and things just get too dark. Adding some eerie lighting will perk it right up!









I wanted this hallway and the other to be fairly the same with only some minor details different due to the theme and story for the dungeon. I think it's shaping up rather nicely!













Well, a few more days and our dungeon will be complete! Enjoy!

Of Dusk and Dawn - Day 3!

Day 3! I've put in about 5 hours of work on the dungeon fixing a couple of things and working on the gardeny rooms. I've got this area to finish up with walls, one more and then to decide on whether or not I want to cover the hallways! Then all the walls will be finished and I can do the actual decorating and then spread mobs... everywhere!

So today, I spent most of the time working on creating a roundish room to make into a dual garden. I know the palace HAS a garden, I should use that right? not this time! The garden provided is just not what I want for this particular dungeon, so I'm building my own room!

First I want to show off this:



Ceiling in my garden room. When you stare at it,t he clouds move and create some pretty damn cool images!

For my project though, I'm going for a duel theme, so a cloudy sky just won't do. That's why I went with this:



Here's the rest of the room so far.









I'll have to do some funny things soon to create small hallways from the hallway to the garden room. Right now I have a giant pole where my doorway needs to go and I can't really move the structure due to some other issues. I haven't fully decided, but I might put a small square room just off the garden.

Of Dusk and Dawn - Day 2!

Day Two into Dungeon Making! I didn't take as many screenshots along the way due to being buried in math and calculations for circles! But I think I am onto a very good start. Have a look at my second room!

First thing I did was take my blue ceiling in the front room and...changed it! I played with a couple of colors and finally ended up deciding on this:



I played around with the middle floor, but I ended up in the top room with the two smaller rooms. I couldn't decide where a chessboard would fit in here, but I decided it was best up in this area as this area was not big enough for the other two rooms I have decided to create.



I did all the walls up in white first and then swapped out one side for black.



After getting those in place I got the floors and ceilings up!





The chessboard where was a lot of the math came into play. If you do it right, it's rather easy to duplicate and replace items to make the chessboard. I started with setting 4 blue azure tiles at size 5 in the area I wanted the chessboard to be in.



After that it was a matter of laying out the smaller tiles to get the right spacing between them. After some long calculations and a headache, I settled on keeping the chessboard tiles at size 1. I removed the azure tiles once I was done, because I felt it just through things off too much.



Here's the room mostly finished now! I did up the doorways, but probably going to add and fix a couple of issues with them, so far they are big and easy to move around.







The two side rooms are going to play a heavy role in the "quest" for this dungeon! Both have domed ceilings!





I just love making domed ceilings out of stained glass tiles!



So that's today's work. Today took me around...10-12 hours worth of work with breaks and naps of course, but it still took a very long time. Tomorrow I will tackle the middle floor and then I just have the garden floor for wall coverings! Enjoy!

Of Dusk and Dawn - Adventure Into Dungeon-Making!

So with SoE starting up a dungeon maker challenege, I decided that it would be a good excuse to do some experimenting. Fore details on the contest check out here: Poet’s Palace Dungeon Maker Forum ChallengeContest ends June 10th. Not a lot of time, but enough to get something going! Let's see how I do!

I spent the weekend gathering dungeon maker tokens and having a peak at dungeons to get a basic idea of how mobs will work. I've learned a lot of What Not To Do with mobs and decorating through this little adventure. I got a ton of tokens and used those to buy up the Poet's Palace layout along with the other layouts I didn't have and a bunch of mob spawners! I won't be using a lot of the items that come as part of kits, I will be using house items, because I like house items and well let's face it, I have a ton laying around atm!

But this contest is not entirely just about decorating. It's about creating an adventure, a dungeon that's not just pretty and cool to look at, but makes you want to come back and see more and more. So I will be adding a little bit of flare and flavor text and I promise you it'll be an adventure. I'll get more into the story behind the dungeon later, but first, let's take a look at what we have to work with.

Poet's Palace 1 - Dungeon Maker Dungeon Layout



Hallway!


Biiiig Rooms for placing mobs all over the place.






Top Room with two small side rooms






A nice little gardeny area!


So that's what I've got to work with, but for this project, I'm gonna be covering the walls and floors so that you cannot tell it is in the poet's palace dungeon. You might be asking why, but...well there's a lot of space and I honestly don't want to use the layout given to me for this project. Since there's no blank island, I settle for doing my own thing this way!

Working with the dungeon maker is a bit of a pain, but once you get used to doing certain things it won't be so bad. You can use the layout editor to move things around, but there can be a couple of problems with that. note that I am working off an older version of the layout editor and this may have been fixed recently. be sure to check for an updated layout editor if you plan to use it!

For this project, my theme is Night and Day/Light and Darkness/Sun and Moon, which is why I have named it Of Dusk and Dawn. I am going to blend a lot of colors and ideas to create the vision I want to do this theme. I've already got the story/quest in mind for this place, but I'll reveal that later!

So when you go into the dungeon there will be some items already placed. You can leave these there, move them or even pack them away. They do count against your items count, but they do not appear in your inventory when picked up.

Let's go over a couple of things first.

How To Access/Create a Dungeon of your own:
Go into your character window. There is a Dungeons tab. Click it. There is a Create Dungeon button. Click that! It will pop up with a window where you can select your layout. You get a preview of the layout first. You have to name it before creating it, so get a good one!

Once you've selected your layout design and typed in the dungeon name, simply hit Create! And viola under your dungeon tab you will now see a dungeon listed! It is not published yet, you will have to enter it and then you can publish it.



To enter your dungeon just select it from the dungeon tab and hit Edit. This will zone you into the dungeon!

When you enter you can use /house and hit the pack all button. This will remove all objects currently in the dungeon into your dungeon toolbox. You'll still be able to access them, just they are put away!

Your toolbox will have all your mobs, bosses and dungeon furniture including house items that may be in your inventory as well. You can sort them, search for things, place things and pretty much do whatever you want with it! You can save layouts, load layout and edit them with the layout editor.



Note that you cannot enter a dungeon from inside a house. You cannot zone into a guild hall from your dungeon. You cannot use marketboards or your house vault while inside a dungeon. You will have to exit/leave the dungeon before you can do any of that! I have not tried it, but am pretty sure guild hall doors will not work inside a dungeon.

There are two objects, one of which you may wish to place before you start. In your toolbox there is a dungeon entrance and exit. I like to place my Dungeon entrance after I get a few things up and going. It works like a house entrance but you will have to right click to leave the dungeon. /house will bring up this window as well.

So for my own project I started with getting some walls and floors going in the first room, to play with, experiment and get my dungeon going.





The floors were a bit tricky. The layout editor doesn't like dungeons completely, so sometimes it takes a few tries to get things how you want them. note that there is and is not a moving box. You can pack things int he moving box with the editor, but there is no physical box to get them from. To get lost items back, you'll have to find them in your toolbox and hopefully select the right one. I recommend working with a small amount of items to start and watching your /loc to get an idea of where your items are located.





For my dungeon, I decided to add in a front room that won't have any mobs so that players can get oriented before diving right in. One of my main complaints is that people seem to pile mobs right at the beginning, giving players no room to get settled and have a "safe spot". I put this spot in an area where the floor is actually above a circular space, so when you first zone in you end up under my floor. Ooops!



I fixed that by placing my dungeon entrance on a place where my floor and the actual dungeon floor meet, which allows people to zone in without being under my floor, so if you do floor coverings, just be sure the entrance of your dungeon is on solid ground.





The room after this I did up in half black, half white and currently with a dome ceiling in blue.





I'm not sure what I am going to do with the hallways yet, but I left them mostly open for the time being, creating a doorway that hides most of the original decor, but meshes well with my decor.



Those two rooms took me about 4 hours to do up with a couple of mishaps. I found out you cannot craft inside a dungeon, so you'll have to zone in and out unfortunately. Park yourself outside a storage home or guild hall you usually craft inside and it won't be much of a problem!

Well, that's one room covered, I'll post more as I go along. Enjoy!