XxX_MLG Noob_XxX
Boar
In arcade mode, there's a major problem with Temple of Seasons rooms. Some rooms don't have any season orbs. Since Season Temple enemies are fairly straightforward, one would think that this wouldn't be a problem. But major issues can result from this that bring catastrophic planetary devastation to any player's runs -- especially in multiplayer. Here are a few examples.
1) Summer Mages and a Summer Hydra appear in a Summer Room without Orbs. The main reason this is a problem is that fire from the Summer Hydra effectively never goes away. If you run around long enough, eventually the whole room will be filled with fire, but other enemies (or Hydras in the boss fight) will still be able to attack you. This ensures that you're set up for mega loads of damage. It's not fair to the player at all, especially when Summer Mages are blocking your path. If you're playing Big Brothers, this gets even worse when Larva's are present.
2) Multiple Autumn Mages and Autumn Knights Appear in an Autumn Room without Orbs (an Autumn Hydra may or may not be present). The problem with these kinds of rooms is fairly straightforward. You inevitably get trapped in a tornado (because the room is small and so many empowered mages are present), which throws you into another tornado, which throws you into another tornado... And all this occurs while autumn knights with their powerful, hard-to-interrupt spins (which are hastened by tornadoes) attack you over and over again. This, again, gets even worse with Big Brothers if Larva's are present. This is another easy way to end a run or significantly harm it. When an Autumn Hydra is present, this gets even worse.
3) Situations similar to the above happen in a Mixed-Season Room. This explanation is pretty straightforward. In a mixed season room, all enemies -- including hydras -- are empowered. (Yes, I encountered a run where a hydra appeared in a mixed season room.) This basically takes the above scenarios (and the other possible scenarios that could exist) and makes them worse.
I think the simple solution to this is to force all regular rooms to have Season Orbs. This way, the season can be changed to prevent unfair run-killing situations from existing. This isn't a viable solution for mixed-season rooms since the gimmick of these rooms is that all enemies are empowered. However, something has to be done to prevent the unfair situations described earlier.
For mixed-season rooms, G's idea was to implement a "Season-Reset" Orb in a room. This basically means that upon hitting an orb, all season effects are nullified for an instant. I like this idea and think it's creative, but there are a few setbacks: First of all, Knights are not affected by season changes mid attack. Autumn Knights will keep spinning, Winter Knights will keep dashing, and Summer Knights will keep slamming. It does still affect hydras and mages. Any mage's effects will disappear (assuming you hit the orb late enough), and the hydra's empowered attack will be interrupted. However, overall, requiring the player to hit a season-reset orb affords a lot of risk to the player for only temporary relief from an unfair circumstance. So as an add-on to the idea, some conditions: Season-Reset Orbs should be placed at all edges of the room (or at least be provided enough accessibility). It's risky to run to hit an orb in a mega-empowered environment...and you only reset the season for a second. With this, the player can reset from anywhere...so it somewhat balances the risk factor. Also, a Season Hydra should be required to headbutt at least 1-3 times before starting their empowered attack again after a Season-Reset. Employing only a season reset would effectively be the same as changing from a hydra's season and then back to it again. This means they'd go right back into spamming their empowered attacks immediately. By forcing some headbutting in there, it makes the season reset actually meaningful. @The G-Meister I'm interested in your thoughts on this.
P.S. Someone will probably mention that issues with tornadoes and autumn knights can be resolved by simply reworking the enemies. That's partially valid, but I think it still leaves significant problems. Actually, I think that's its own problem worth of its own separate post.
1) Summer Mages and a Summer Hydra appear in a Summer Room without Orbs. The main reason this is a problem is that fire from the Summer Hydra effectively never goes away. If you run around long enough, eventually the whole room will be filled with fire, but other enemies (or Hydras in the boss fight) will still be able to attack you. This ensures that you're set up for mega loads of damage. It's not fair to the player at all, especially when Summer Mages are blocking your path. If you're playing Big Brothers, this gets even worse when Larva's are present.
2) Multiple Autumn Mages and Autumn Knights Appear in an Autumn Room without Orbs (an Autumn Hydra may or may not be present). The problem with these kinds of rooms is fairly straightforward. You inevitably get trapped in a tornado (because the room is small and so many empowered mages are present), which throws you into another tornado, which throws you into another tornado... And all this occurs while autumn knights with their powerful, hard-to-interrupt spins (which are hastened by tornadoes) attack you over and over again. This, again, gets even worse with Big Brothers if Larva's are present. This is another easy way to end a run or significantly harm it. When an Autumn Hydra is present, this gets even worse.
3) Situations similar to the above happen in a Mixed-Season Room. This explanation is pretty straightforward. In a mixed season room, all enemies -- including hydras -- are empowered. (Yes, I encountered a run where a hydra appeared in a mixed season room.) This basically takes the above scenarios (and the other possible scenarios that could exist) and makes them worse.
I think the simple solution to this is to force all regular rooms to have Season Orbs. This way, the season can be changed to prevent unfair run-killing situations from existing. This isn't a viable solution for mixed-season rooms since the gimmick of these rooms is that all enemies are empowered. However, something has to be done to prevent the unfair situations described earlier.
For mixed-season rooms, G's idea was to implement a "Season-Reset" Orb in a room. This basically means that upon hitting an orb, all season effects are nullified for an instant. I like this idea and think it's creative, but there are a few setbacks: First of all, Knights are not affected by season changes mid attack. Autumn Knights will keep spinning, Winter Knights will keep dashing, and Summer Knights will keep slamming. It does still affect hydras and mages. Any mage's effects will disappear (assuming you hit the orb late enough), and the hydra's empowered attack will be interrupted. However, overall, requiring the player to hit a season-reset orb affords a lot of risk to the player for only temporary relief from an unfair circumstance. So as an add-on to the idea, some conditions: Season-Reset Orbs should be placed at all edges of the room (or at least be provided enough accessibility). It's risky to run to hit an orb in a mega-empowered environment...and you only reset the season for a second. With this, the player can reset from anywhere...so it somewhat balances the risk factor. Also, a Season Hydra should be required to headbutt at least 1-3 times before starting their empowered attack again after a Season-Reset. Employing only a season reset would effectively be the same as changing from a hydra's season and then back to it again. This means they'd go right back into spamming their empowered attacks immediately. By forcing some headbutting in there, it makes the season reset actually meaningful. @The G-Meister I'm interested in your thoughts on this.
P.S. Someone will probably mention that issues with tornadoes and autumn knights can be resolved by simply reworking the enemies. That's partially valid, but I think it still leaves significant problems. Actually, I think that's its own problem worth of its own separate post.