Enemy Levels and Progression

Instead of defining individual enemy stats for each stage, enemies now have a level that determines their attack and HP based on their base race values. Each stage definition specifies a range of enemy levels, providing a much cleaner way to control difficulty progression.

Simulating the Balance

I improved the test harness so we can simulate hundreds of runs and get a better picture of how the game’s difficulty is shaping up. The simulation generates levels and sends a player through them, attempting to discover and kill enemies while generally moving rightward and leaving each stage as soon as possible.

To focus on combat and progression rather than puzzle-solving, the simulated player cheats through puzzles, doors, gates, and keys. Boss fights should still be included. The target is a 70% success rate, giving us a measurable goal for balancing the overall experience.

One exception to the simulation rules is drowning. Water is deadly during normal gameplay, but the balance simulator will cheat around it. After all, a roguelike needs its fair share of YASD moments, and players should be able to meet their fate through their own mistakes.

Rethinking Boss Encounters

I’m also moving away from the idea that a boss’s weakness is simply a particular weapon you need to use against it. Instead, bosses will have distinct mechanics that require players to understand their behavior and interact with the environment.

The current bosses need a review, and I’m coming up with ways to make each one more interesting and challenging without relying on inflated stats. These new mechanics probably won’t have much impact on the automated balance simulation, but they’re important to making the castle memorable.

Nightwing is the first boss getting this treatment. He has two attacks: a regular ranged Fireball, and a much more dangerous Dive; players will need to keep moving and anticipate where he’ll strike.

There’s a catch: Nightwing is invulnerable by default, players will have to find a way to damage him, taking advantage of the things around. No spoilers here.