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Thread: Veteran Version of Official Campaign

  
  1. #1

    Default Veteran Version of Official Campaign

    I decided to make my own version of the official Dungeon Keeper 2 campaign that is much, much harder than the original, and also quite different in terms of level design. I know drubjak has already done this, but for me personally, even his changes still feel 'too' easy for highly skilled keepers and overall didn't actually change that much from the original.


    So far I've only done the first level, but I literally began this project today (10/26/19). I plan to do every level the game has to offer.
    I will warn you, the difficulty increase is VERY significant, this campaign is not meant for casual players. Even veteran players will more than likely have to
    restart the first level a few times in order to get a feel for the map.

    Unlike the original campaign, whenever you make an impactful kill, take out patrols, break into garrisons, claim outposts, or kill important heroes/creatures there will be new serious repercussions.
    You didn't simply think you could wipe out an entire garrison and have zero retaliation, did you? Be cautious when attacking any garrisons or claiming outposts, and especially Treasurys. 'Cus you will be punished.
    My version of the campaign also heavily rewards exploration and killing hero garrisons/rival keepers. Every nook and cranny are there for a specific reason.
    The overall changes to each level make for a new playthrough of the original campaign in terms of level design and new game objectives completely different and refreshing. This campaign is more of my own work than the originals.

    I've also removed possession from every level, and the ability to convert goodly heroes. Both are too easily abusable and ruins the entire campaign in terms of balance.
    Hard limited the number of black knights you can attract on specific levels as well, as once again, another broken subject in DK2.
    P.S. Doing Balance Changes as well, similar to TFO, along with new cinematics for each level and adding hero captains and more!


    Doing a MASSIVE overhaul of the current levels released, and currently planned to finish the rest!




    Level 1



    (Old/Outdated) Changes to Level "1"
    I added a new kill objective that must be completed in order to access the Lord of the Land.
    Added a hero garrison to accompany the new objective that stretches over a good portion of the map.
    Added many strong units throughout the entire level, and in hero parties!
    Added a gem; a well-defended gem.

    (Old/Outdated) Updates:
    Changed the monk to a knight.
    Removed a trap from the gem room.
    Removed added training room - made the level easier than intended.
    Significant Changes! The level has been revamped!
    New patrols introduced that you must dwindle down; it will be a blood bath, expect to lose a lot of goblins!
    The level has turned into non-stop action and combat!

    Massive Overhaul For This is Complete! Too many changes too list!

    *New* 2.1 Updates:
    Added new party that continuously attacks after the knight captain is killed. Can only be stopped when a specific portal is destroyed.
    Minor terrain changes made for accessing the lord of the land.
    Lord of the Land's party has been made stronger.
    Fixed some triggers and other bugs, such as hero lair not being attackable.




    Level 2



    (Old/Outdated) Changes to Level "2"
    Added two new garrisons, each which house a very strong knight that is well guarded.
    I encourage you to kill each of these knights that are well protected, as killing them gives you a much-needed gift for beating Lord Darius.
    Like the previous level, I added a lot of strong units and several new hero parties.
    This level should be easier for starting out but is much harder later than the first level.

    (Old/Outdated) Updates:

    Significant Changes! The level has been revamped!
    New patrols introduced that you must dwindle down; it will be a blood bath, expect to lose a lot of creatures!
    The level has turned into non-stop action and combat!
    New garrisons and outposts!

    Massive Overhaul For This is Complete! Too many changes too list!

    *New* 2.1 Updates:
    Minor changes to spawn timer on hero parties. Change made due to being too difficult late game, this should help with the scaling.





    Level 3



    Changes to Level "3"
    Map is significantly different from the original.
    Many new stronger units and parties; the Lord of the Land's strongly defended fortress has been expanded and buffed.
    This shouldn't be a surprise, but this level is twice as hard as the previous one.
    I strongly encourage exploration of this map, you'll find goodies you need to win!

    Updates:
    Added a Mana Vault
    Increased hero levels.
    Nerfed how many hero parties attack at once
    The map is now beatable!

    Massive Overhaul For This is Complete! Too many changes too list!




    Level 4



    Changes to Level "4"
    Unlike the original campaign, this will be the first level where you will have to deal with another keeper!
    This keeper, however, has allied with the Lord of Land to eliminate you so that he may be spared for
    when the goodly heroes successfully win. (so he thinks..)
    You can choose to ignore the keeper, but I'd advise you to kill him - for you will need his portals to truly beat this level.
    Like the previous level, I highly recommend exploring to help you breach and kill the goodly lord hiding in his updated, bigger, beefy fortress.
    Removed possession.
    Expanded the map.

    Updates:
    Added a strong party that spawns after killing Keeper Darius.

    Massive Overhaul For This is Complete! Too many changes too list!

    *New* 2.1 Updates:
    Big changes to early game party spawns, no longer become overwhelmed with goodly heroes.
    Added two late-game parties that spawn after slaying the knight captain . This doesn't mean you shouldn't slay him... you'll regret not doing so later. (Yes, this means the entire early game party system revamped.)
    Updated 80% of overall parties making them stronger.

    *New* 2.2 Updates:
    Blue Keeper will now attack the player if breaches Lord Ludwig's castle.

    *New* 3.0 Updates:
    Blue Keeper has a sophisticated and reactive AI now thanks to fellow map maker Quuz!





    Level 5



    Changes to Level "5"
    Significant changes to this lords hideout.
    New portal to claim. (Highly suggest you find it and claim it, for you'll need it to surely beat this level)
    Added a gem; a well-defended gem.
    Of course the usual, much stronger heroes and new hero parties, garrisons, outposts, and more!
    Removed possession.

    Massive Overhaul For This is Complete! Too many changes too list!

    *New* 2.1 Updates:
    Early game is more manageable, but in turn, made capturing the prison a lot harder. The pesky heroes put up comeback measures to make it no so easy to take their prison from them.
    Made the elite goblin and warlock in the hero prison neutral so the player isn't rushed into saving his elite creatures.
    Added new late-game hero parties, and buffed weaker ones.
    Added several new secrets.
    Buffed some hero defenses in specific areas.

    *New* 2.2 Updates:
    Added a new interaction when you attack the Lord of the Land.
    Modify several hero party spawner requirements.
    Increased difficulty of fighting the Lord of the Land.
    Made early mid-game a little easier due to high hero-level attacks that were brutal to defend.
    Many other minor changes, such as terrain modifications, tweak hero levels, and more.





    Level 6a



    Changes to Level "6a"
    Several new outposts surrounding your dungeon.
    Significantly increased the fortress with patrols, traps, outposts, and a shit load of strong units. (As this map should've originally been since in the story you're attacking head on to the lord's castle!)
    You can no longer convert goodly heroes, only evil creatures that turned goodly. (This way the player can't overly abuse the torture chamber)
    I will note that this is a big step up from the difficulty of the previous levels. Beware! Expect to die a lot over the tiniest of mistakes.
    In general, overhauled the level design. (Like every previous level.)
    Removed possession.

    Massive Overhaul For This is Complete! Too many changes too list!

    *New* 2.1 Updates:
    Added late-game hero party.
    Added many new objects to make the immersion experience better.
    Tweaked some hero parties.
    Added more secrets!
    Tweaked the Lord's Castle layout.
    Increased the timer in which the Lord Attacks with all his forces.
    And many more changes!





    Level 6b



    Changes to Level "6b"
    This level is completely different. There now are two keepers you must slay in order to win this level, along with the goodly lord of this land!
    The two keepers have allied with the heroes. I recommend killing Lilly before making an attempt to take out the good lord or the other keeper, Diana.
    Per usual, lots of patrols, hero parties, new garrisons, outposts, etc.
    Significant map changes and objective changes. Added several new lieutenants that must be eliminated. I recommend having good defenses, for when you kill a lieutenant, you may be smitten.
    Added a hidden gem.
    Removed possession, and the ability to convert goodly heroes.
    P.S. This level is ****ing hard!!

    Massive Overhaul For This is Complete! Too many changes too list!

    *New* 3.0 Updates:
    Both Keepers now have functioning AI and will protect their new masters, the goodly heroes of the land. Special thanks to Quuz for this addition!





    Level 7



    Changes to Level "7"
    Drastic changes to the level per usual, such as new outposts, garrisons, patrols, parties, etc.
    Hidden Gem added.
    Added 3 lieutenants required to kill in order to gain access to the lord's secluded hideout. Be warn, killing a lieutenant does not go unnoticed.
    This level is ridiculously hard, so hard, in fact, I'm not sure if it's beatable, yet. Good luck!
    And of course, removed possession and the ability to convert goodly heroes.

    Massive Overhaul For This is Complete! Too many changes too list!

    *New* 2.1 Updates:
    Tweaked early hero party spawn timers.
    Minor terrain changes across the map.
    Difficulty scaling adjusted to be more difficult.
    Changed continuous hero party attack to be stronger and spawn later in the game.
    Added a new hero portal that must be destroyed to prevent updated parties from attacking.
    Gave Lord of the Land personal bodyguards that follow him where ever he goes.
    Updated roughly 70% of hero AI to react in a smarter manner to player choices.
    Fixed Stone Knights where they are now targetable! (The way I originally intended them to be.)
    Stone Knights now have their own spells they cast at levels 4 and 8.
    Tweaked roughly 75% of all hero parties, making them stronger.




    Level 8



    Changes to Level "8"
    This map has been completely redone.
    This is a brand new level 8 inspired by the original.
    This is 100% new, with of course the original speech and cinematic included in it.
    You now have to kill all five of the goodly wizards that helped take down the previous keeper in this realm.
    I won't go into the 100s of additions/changes from the original level, play to discover them!

    Massive Overhaul For This is Complete!





    Level 9



    Changes to Level "9"
    There are now four goodly hero captains that I'd advise you to kill before the timer runs out! Beware, for it will not be a simple task. You must be swift.
    Massive overall to the level design, including updated original outposts, two new massive connected fortresses, and serious defenses to go along with them.
    Newly added secrets are scattered throughout the map, make sure to explore to find them!
    Increased the allotted time to 3 hours before Lord of the Land spawns. (Seems like a lot, but once you play the map, you'll wish you had more )
    Insane amount of newly added content, which this map originally was severely lacking. (Spent roughly 10-15 hours just on content and smarter AI)
    And of course, significantly increased the difficulty!
    Enjoy!





    Level 10



    Changes to Level "10"
    Exactly like Level 8, the entire level has been built from a new map!
    The map is heavily inspired by the original level 10. Instead of the player and Asmodeus being south and north, changed to east and west. (This was made specifically to fix north/south bug.)
    The Player now has 2 hours before the heroes kill Asmodeus for the portal gem. You'll wish you had more time.
    Asmodeus has a completely revamped dungeon and buffed up forces & defenses. (of course)
    100% new level designs and originality, which also pays respects to the original level 10 design. (I do this with all the VC maps )
    The Heroes now have a Lord of the Land to lead the charge, accompanied by protection.
    Lots of new secrets to discover!
    And my signature style - severely increased difficulty. Enjoy!





    Level 11A



    Changes to Level "11A"
    All rival Keepers dungeons have been completely revamped and severely changed.
    Each rival keeper now has its own unique theme instead of being the same.
    Added heroes to the level.
    Added more secrets.
    Expanded the map.
    Overall difficulty increased by tenfold.

    *New* 2.1 Updates:
    Fixed two hero party spawners that were not correctly spawning from the portal.
    Removed possession.
    Buffed the blue keeper with higher-level creatures.
    Other minor changes.

    *New* 3.0 Updates:
    All keepers have their own unique personalities and the level can be played multiple ways now with different results based on who the player kills or interacts with All thanks to Quuz!





    Level 12



    Changes to Level "12"
    This level has been remade from the ground up. (Brand new level)
    Added a new Keeper, Damachi (Green) that is allied to Malachai. (Blue)
    Now there is a Lord of the Land that must be killed.
    A new very strong hero castle that you will have to breach and kill the Lord that resides in it.
    Acquiring the graveyard will be much harder now, you can not simply just dig to it without any resistance. (It's protected inside a hero garrison. )
    Malachai is way stronger than in the original campaign and is supported by a new strong brother as well.
    A new hero fort that holds something very useful and unexpected.
    Must now claim the graveyard from the heroes in order to build it.
    And yes, the biggest change of all is the difficulty of this level compared to the original, much much harder.

    *New* 1.0 Updates:
    Special thanks to Quuz once again for adding reactive AI with a unique set of rules applied!




    Secret Levels Below

    I decided to completely redo all secret levels since they're very boring and uninspiring; it'd be hard to improve upon them with what given. Now the Secret levels will be a 5 campaign mini-series of keeper rivalries with heroes throw-in. Lead your Faction of Keepers
    to victory against enemy factions! There will be 5 Keepers on every level! Will be adding a story to each level too that can be read here, enjoy the bloodfest, and lead your faction to victory!








    Changes to Secret Level "1"
    Completely new map! Play as Keeper leading two of his allied Keepers to Kill the Lord of this Land and Kill two rival Keepers!
    This map will take a long time to beat, and it will not be easy!
    Thumbnail of the level below if you'd like to see the pretty layout!

    Spoiler


    *New* 2.0 Update:
    Tweaked some hero parties.
    Fixed some hero parties that were double attacking Keeper Dominique(Pink Keeper).
    Added a hero party to defend the Lord of the Land.
    Yellow now has vampires instead of skeletons(Keeper Zachariah). The dungeon layout modified to accompany this change.
    Keeper Dominique now has mistresses. The dungeon layout modified to accompany this change.
    Made several heroes AI smarter.
    Fixed early aggression by pink towards the hero castle.
    Added new secrets.





    Here is the link for the finished levels, just simply extract it and copy it into your dk2 map folder
    I recommend using version 1.7, for the AI works thanks to Quuz, and version 1.3 has not been updated since the initial release of the campaign.


    Version 1.3:
    Download Veteran Campaign

    Version 1.7:
    Download Veteran Campaign


    A complete overhaul of the levels is in the works! Download them and try out the finished ones using the same link above! Most levels will be completely different, or have newly added areas/expanded maps, difficulty increased, new patrols, garrisons, and elite creatures on every map for you to liberate or discover, new cinematics, and much more!



    Please provide feedback with any problems encountered, or if a specific level is simply unbeatable.
    If players are struggling to beat a specific map, I will add hints on this post to the respective level.
    Thanks in advance!
    Last edited by Crafty; October 20th, 2023 at 02:14.

  2. #2

    Thumbs up Re: Veteran Version of Official Campaign

    I played the first two so far. You've really made them difficult and it took me an hour of juggling creatures to beat each of the levels. Though I'd rather have the Goodly heroes being stronger rather than having them in overwhelming numbers.

    For 1.7 version, would it be possible to enable the Elite Creatures for these maps?

    Also, for fun, as you can only have goblins in the first level. Could you add a Goodly Hero named "Goblin Slayer" as a nod to the manga/anime maybe with a Black Knight/Elite BK skin?

  3. #3

    Default Re: Veteran Version of Official Campaign

    Quote Originally Posted by Pendrokar View Post
    I played the first two so far. You've really made them difficult and it took me an hour of juggling creatures to beat each of the levels. Though I'd rather have the Goodly heroes being stronger rather than having them in overwhelming numbers.

    For 1.7 version, would it be possible to enable the Elite Creatures for these maps?

    Also, for fun, as you can only have goblins in the first level. Could you add a Goodly Hero named "Goblin Slayer" as a nod to the manga/anime maybe with a Black Knight/Elite BK skin?
    Yeah, I got carried away with the hero portal numbers with the first couple of levels.. not like that for the rest.

    Yes I can enable the support for elite creatures for 1.7 (Although should be enabled by default, but I'll check to be sure.)

    Sure! I can name the level 5 Knight Captain to "Goblin Slayer" and make him an elite goodly knight

  4. #4

    Default Re: Veteran Version of Official Campaign

    Quote Originally Posted by Crafty View Post
    Yes I can enable the support for elite creatures for 1.7 (Although should be enabled by default, but I'll check to be sure.)
    Well I tried manually launching the game on Level20 and with the goblin and warlock room setups. The elites still did not arrive. I didn't know about Elite creatures when I played DK2 decades ago and couldn't find information if they were only supposed to work only in skirmishes.

    Gameplay hints for other players
    Level 1&2&3:
    • As you cannot build bridges. Avoid fighting on water as Imps won't bring back KOed creatures to their lairs.


    Level 1:
    • At some point a dwarf will breach your dungeon and Goodly Heroes parties will use that as an invasion path. Better to make an opening yourself.
    • As there is no Imp spawning spell. To level them up, have the Imps damage your reinforced wall by temporarily telling them to break it. Afterwards they will slowly try to repair it.


    In Level 1&2 all my creatures including imps had a tendency to suddenly take a "Report danger" job. That frustrated me to hell as they would venture beyond the dungeon and have to pick them all up to avoid getting them killed. I think this was also a reason for my imps to stop repairing walls as they would turn 90 degrees back and forth.

    Haven't beaten Level 3 yet. As suddenly 3 LVL 7 hero parties decided to attack me at once and even having 5 LVL 8 Warlocks with 10 sentries wasn't enough to hold them off. Couldn't get to +500 mana regeneration for sentry ammo as I don't want make too many openings for Hero invasions. Wish there was at least one mana Vault nearby.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Veteran Version of Official Campaign

    I learned that the player can not obtain elite creatures in campaigns, so that is unfortunate. I've also been unsuccessful in changing creature names. The suggestions you've given related to level one I can sadly not add.

    Also, I've received feedback from others as well that level 3 appears to be unbeatable, due to the same reasons as you mentioned. I will tinker around with that level some more and find a solution to solve it, without taking away from the difficulty.
    However, do you think you could beat it with a mana vault? If so, I will add one which you can claim.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Veteran Version of Official Campaign

    Yeah my tinkering with DKII level editor led me to the same conclusion about the elite creatures. Individual creatures can be made elite though.

    So I made the one goblin an LVL 2 elite and replaced the other with a LVL 2 elite warlock. They don't matter much but are a bit tougher. I also added a mana vault near a hidden thief. Once it is obtained, it becomes much more feasable to win as mana would hover around 100k. Normally one battle would consume like 40k from sentry shots.

    Modified Level 3 for v1.7 (use command line argument -level level3_vet)
    Last edited by Pendrokar; January 15th, 2020 at 16:46.

  7. #7
    Fly Quuz's Avatar
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    Default Re: Veteran Version of Official Campaign

    Amazing Campaign. Incredibly difficult, but the thrill of victory deserves it. Thank you for your work!

  8. #8

    Default Re: Veteran Version of Official Campaign

    Quote Originally Posted by Pendrokar View Post
    Yeah my tinkering with DKII level editor led me to the same conclusion about the elite creatures. Individual creatures can be made elite though.

    So I made the one goblin an LVL 2 elite and replaced the other with a LVL 2 elite warlock. They don't matter much but are a bit tougher. I also added a mana vault near a hidden thief. Once it is obtained it, becomes much more feasable to win as mana would hover around 100k. Normally one battle would consume like 40k from sentry shots.

    Modified Level 3 for v1.7 (use command line argument -level level3_vet)
    Nice way to add elite creatures for level 2.
    Yeah, the level becomes much more beable with the mana vault! I will be adding that suggestion to the level.

    Quote Originally Posted by Quuz View Post
    Amazing Campaign. Incredibly difficult, but the thrill of victory deserves it. Thank you for your work!
    Thanks! I haven't worked on the campaign in months, due to holidays/level 9 odd bug pissing me off, discouraging me from further working on this project. But don't worry, I've been working on a new, fresh, 100% original campaign in design and ideas!

  9. #9
    Awakening Game Master Metal Gear Rex's Avatar
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    Default Re: Veteran Version of Official Campaign

    Quote Originally Posted by Crafty View Post
    I've also been unsuccessful in changing creature names. The suggestions you've given related to level one I can sadly not add.
    Changing the name is possible but it will change the name of all creatures of that species. It requires tinkering with the text file as well so that means needing to overwrite people's text files and it gets kind of messy but then again, you're already overwriting the original campaign.

    If you have editor pro, which you can easily get here, there's "Unique Name Text ID" to the lower left of the Creature Configuration window, so you just need to edit a line in the text.str file. There's some placeholder lines you can edit no problem, and while you can technically add new lines, I don't recommend it as anyone who doesn't overwrite their text file will experience a crash, whereas otherwise they would merely get the placeholder line (although that looks silly too but it's not as bad as getting a crash of course).

    Keep in mind that the unique text id gets saved as apart of global data, so you can overwrite it or have it pass onto other levels. Fixing it isn't a big deal though as it's just one value.
    Dungeon Keeper 2 Patch: With More Balance and Pie [Hiatus]
    Forever Hiatus. Probably. Latest Version: 3.5 w/Levels 1-11 Revised.

    The Awakening: GM Powers Activate!
    Tesonu is napping!

  10. #10

    Default Re: Veteran Version of Official Campaign

    Quote Originally Posted by Metal Gear Rex View Post
    Changing the name is possible but it will change the name of all creatures of that species. It requires tinkering with the text file as well so that means needing to overwrite people's text files and it gets kind of messy but then again, you're already overwriting the original campaign.

    If you have editor pro, which you can easily get here, there's "Unique Name Text ID" to the lower left of the Creature Configuration window, so you just need to edit a line in the text.str file. There's some placeholder lines you can edit no problem, and while you can technically add new lines, I don't recommend it as anyone who doesn't overwrite their text file will experience a crash, whereas otherwise they would merely get the placeholder line (although that looks silly too but it's not as bad as getting a crash of course).

    Keep in mind that the unique text id gets saved as apart of global data, so you can overwrite it or have it pass onto other levels. Fixing it isn't a big deal though as it's just one value.
    Good to know, albeit a lot of work for something so minor. Perhaps when I come back to this campaign I'll consider the effort to do make such changes.
    My Dungeon Keeper 2 Campaigns

    Veteran Campaign
    A New League - Coop Campaign
    The Forgotten One - An Elite Campaign

    My Twitch Where I Stream DK2 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

    https://www.twitch.tv/justcrafty

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