A big part of Grimrock is, of course, the brain-teasing puzzles and for Grimrock 2 we have been busy developing new types of puzzle mechanics. Talking about puzzles is a tricky subject to discuss. We believe that the less you know about them in advance the better. So without ruining the surprises ahead, let’s just say that you’re not the only one stuck in the puzzles…
One of the few things some reviewers criticized about Grimrock 1 was monster behavior in combat. We have attacked this problem directly and rewritten the monster AI entirely. As a result monsters are now smarter and they know how to use their larger numbers to their advantage. The repertoire of tricks they know has been expanded greatly. For example, some monsters can call other monsters for help and can use group tactics against you. Of course the behavior of monsters depends on their intelligence so the most stupid and most fierce monsters are still, well, fierce and stupid as they should be. And talking of monsters, there will be lots of new monsters with some of the old, familiar faces making an occasional appearance for old times sake.
As explained in an
earlier blog post, the character skill system has been completely redesigned and replaced with a perk-buy system that allows for more flexible character skill development. The design goal is make each level up meaningful and at the same time contain a tough choice. At level up, each character gains only one perk that changes the character in some way. Every perk gained is important. There are no in-between levels.
Tied to the skill system is the item system, which has also been expanded. Many items now have secondary powers that can be triggered by holding down the right mouse button on the action icon. The powers consume energy and range from special attacks to non-combat actions. In contrast to Grimrock 1, primary actions of items can be most often used by any character but the true powers can be used by a character with the right skills.
We have also improved the spellcasting and potion crafting systems to reduce the required number of mouse clicks. Potions can now be mixed without going to the inventory. Using an empty flask in hand will open up a miniature potion crafting panel (see
screenshot) which you can even use in the middle of combat much like the spellcasting interface.
The new spellcasting panel allows mouse gestures to be used to cast spells. Spells are cast by holding the mouse button down while doing a swipe with the mouse on the correct sequence of runes. Talking of magic, the Mage character class has also been redesigned. The requirements to cast spells of different schools have been relaxed so that mages can cast larger variety of spells. In Grimrock 2, mages need not be one trick ponies.
Of course, Grimrock 2 also has new spells, a new playable race (with portraits to go) and a new character class. These combined with over a hundred new items, 22 new monsters, new environments, day to night cycle, plus as much more as we have time to crank in, means a lot of new stuff to have fun with!
