Focused Feedback: Architect Entertainment Additions & Tweaks

[The Curator]

---

Architect Entertainment

Blackwing Industries

• This group is now available to be used in Architect Entertainment content.

 

Freaklok

• This group is now available to be used in Architect Entertainment content.

 

Skulls

• The new high level versions found in Kallisti Wharf are now available to be used in Architect Entertainment content.

 

Wyvern

• The new high level versions found in Kallisti Wharf are now available to be used in Architect Entertainment content.

 

Kallisti Wharf Office Maps

• These mission map tileset pieces have had an extensive decoration pass on all rooms which will automatically apply to existing AE arcs using these maps.
  • Spawn density and all other map specifics are unchanged for the AE versions of these maps.

 

---

 

[Clave Dark 5]

Woo, all of my AE dreams have been granted...

[PBiz]

Have the level 50 versions of all of the existing groups been added to this as well? I know Skulls, Warriors, and Wyvern (may be missing one or two) are getting an upgrade in this patch. I feel as though there's a couple other existing groups with level 50 mobs that haven't gotten their level 50 versions too such as Sky Raiders off the top of my head.

[Cobalt Arachne]

10 hours ago, PBiz said:

Have the level 50 versions of all of the existing groups been added to this as well?

Yes they were added, just missed on the notes; I've added a line about them in Build 2.

[PBiz]

So I was able to do a little testing.

 

I noticed the Level 50 Sky Raiders weren't included. Any reason why? Are there plans to include them later?

 

The inclusion of the Skulls and Wyvern enemies seemed like they came out just fine. Didn't see any issues or anything missing from them! I plan to test the Freaklok and Blackwing later.

 

I didn't run into any issues with the Kallisti Wharf Office Maps visually. I think they look gorgeous. I actually love them.

 

However, upon testing them, I'm just reminded of why I never run these maps. I use the AE pretty frequently and these maps are always on my avoid list, and it's entirely because the spawn density is frankly absurd. They're all packed so close together you don't know where one group ends and another begins, you can aggro an entire room with a team even while being careful. And the enemies on the second floors can also come at you. It's real bad. I know you said the density is unchanged, but they need changed. I have no interest in using this map until something is done about that. It just causes too many issues.

[Cobalt Arachne]

6 hours ago, PBiz said:

and it's entirely because the spawn density is frankly absurd.

This specific reason caused us to have to make an ENTIRELY new category of KW offices specific to the actual zone content.
Because, yes, those AE maps are designed incorrectly, where every single room tray included spawns, when a proper map usually goes 'spawns -> no spawns -> spawns, etc'

The issue here becomes the fact that people have existing arcs built using those 'too-dense Kallisti Wharf office maps', and if we reduced the spawn density it would change everyone's existing arcs, which is not something we want to do. Changing existing AE arcs without the writer's intent would be a bad move.

As a result, the AE versions of the KW maps are intensely populated but we can't change it without changing every existing AE arc using them without consent, so we simply didn't.
The versions of the maps found in the actual Kallisti Wharf zone have properly balanced spawn density, but the maps in AE don't currently.

There is always the option that we add these newer, less-dense office maps to AE later, we'll see, would have to decide how to label them.
Internally, AE uses M_Office and Kallisti Wharf uses KW_Office.

[PBiz]

Thank you for the clarity. It makes more sense to me now.

 

Is the implication here that people purposefully used the map with increased spawn density in mind then? Perhaps for a challenge or anything else? Because I feel like lowering the spawn density would otherwise not change the arcs so drastically to worry about the writer's intent.

 

I just know that when I make an AE arc, I avoid this map entirely, despite how great it looks, as a result. If there was a less dense version, I'd definitely use it for sure though.

[Cobalt Arachne]

3 hours ago, PBiz said:

people purposefully used the map with increased spawn density in mind then?

Correct.

 

For example, I know Linea's difficulty benchmarking AE arc series use those maps extensively for the high density.

 

I'll look into it, have to decide how to label the new map versions, maybe the older ones become Kallisti Wharf Office (Legacy).