Dungeons

The dynamic mission system in Anarchy Online was always one it the game’s primary features, and one that has remained one of the game’s most popular ones. With the coming of Shadowlands, we use the experience from three years of honing this system to implement a greatly expanded dungeon system - with lots of twists and a unique new Shadowlands graphical look.

Changes
First of all, there will not be any mission terminals inside Shadowlands. All dungeons will be static, and placed at interesting places in the terrain to get the best possible gaming experience. To avoid crowding they will be instanced, meaning that if, for example, we set a cap of thirty players inside a dungeon, an identical one will spawn if it gets filled up.

We use our mission system to generate loads of Shadowlands style dungeons, then we pick the most interesting ones and "save" them to certain locations and entrances in the landscape. If you find a Redeemed entrance in, say, Nascence, the first geographical theme, it will look the same every time you enter that dungeon. With this system we have successfully implemented more than 150 unique looking new static dungeons, in addition to 10 "normal" static dungeons, and also five "Maze" dungeons, bringing the total static dungeons in Shadowlands at launch up to a whopping 165+.

All new graphics, bigger rooms, and more polygons There is a brand new graphical look in Shadowlands. The team has created more than 85 different rooms (far more than currently in Anarchy Online), which means that we can create a truly stunning range of variations.

In terms of graphical improvements, we have been able to push the boundaries. The most advanced room in Shadowlands has more than 10 times the polygon count compared to our current system, with far more detailed lighting and textures. With larger and more vertical rooms, and a heightmap system, it gives the dungeons a less "claustrophobic" feel, and opens up interesting gameplay possibilities. It also means even better pathing for monsters and pets. Some rooms even have the sky itself as roof, another new aspect to the system, giving the dungeon a different look depending on the time of day.

The new dungeons even extend over several levels, with pathways, elevators and stairs. Given the theme of Shadowlands, with ancient technology plus the Redeemed and Unredeemed architectures, the possibilities for diversity is enormous.

Loot and monsters
We have not only polished the graphical look of the dungeons; you will also find lots of new monsters to combat. In each dungeon, there will be a boss monster room, in addition to loads of minions and some mini-bosses spread throughout the dungeon. Most dungeons will have specific loot tied to them, but minions with interesting loot get re-spawned at different places to avoid camping. This gives a greater degree of variation and unpredictability, but at the same time encourages the players to traverse the land to find the items and locations that suit them best.

Temples and mazes
All the Redeemed and Unredeemed temple dungeons are 100% side-specific, with their own unique look and specific loot. You will find one temple dungeon in each geographical theme (excluding Nascence, and who knows what to find in Pandemonium. :) Interestingly, skilled players can also find a way to travel between the temples. In these dungeons, you will find libraries and other special spots, enabling you to dig deeper into the lore of Shadowlands. The temple dungeons will be filled with ghosts too, making them nice places for the Shade profession to go hunting. All of these dungeons are hand-built, with even more details than the ones made through the dynamic system.

Additionally, you find maze dungeons hidden even deeper beneath the Shadowlands. They come in five variations, one for each geographical theme, and they too are built by hand. The mazes will provide tough challenges for the players, with ring-spawn events and other nasty encounters.

The future
There are many more aspects to the dungeons in Shadowlands, but we'll leave a few things for the sake of exploration.