From afcac35872165311405cda9d0983696ab21785a9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Richard Zink Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2026 20:47:08 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Add roadmap of agreed next features Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 --- docs/ROADMAP.md | 72 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 72 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/ROADMAP.md diff --git a/docs/ROADMAP.md b/docs/ROADMAP.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..711d460 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/ROADMAP.md @@ -0,0 +1,72 @@ +# Roadmap + +Agreed on 2026-11-05. Worked through in this order; every block is committed, pushed and deployed +on its own. Details not listed here are decided along the way. + +## 1. Open items + +1. **Heroes attack every master** – with rival masters or several players, each hero wave marches + to the heart of the *strongest* living master (most creatures and gold), not only the player's. +2. **Co-op campaign offline with an AI partner** – "League against the Lightwatch" playable + without the server: the partner is an allied AI master with its own dungeon (built like a + rival); its creatures join attacks and it sends gold when the player runs short. +3. **Resume editor co-op runs** – an interrupted multiplayer run of an editor campaign goes on at + the reached mission; the host keeps the progress. +4. **New screenshots** – title demo, language dropdown, co-op campaign. + +## 2. Bridges + +Stone bridges over lava exist already (75 gold per tile). + +1. **Wooden bridges burn** – fire spells, fire traps and dragon fire set them alight; after a few + seconds they collapse and units on them fall into the water. Stone bridges are fireproof. +2. **Drawbridge** – an expensive bridge (about 150 gold per tile) with a per-bridge switch: + *manual* (a click raises or lowers the whole bridge) or *automatic* (rises when heroes come + near, lowers afterwards). Knights can only tear it down while it is lowered. +3. **Cooling lava** – frost spells and frost traps turn lava into walkable obsidian for a while. +4. **Repairing bridges** – imps repair damaged bridges; knights wear bridges down step by step + instead of in one blow. + +## 3. The surface world + +1. **Surface terrain** – grass, trees, paths, daylight and sky. Trees act like earth: imps fell + them. +2. **Wood** – a second resource from felled trees. Wooden bridges, doors, siege engines and room + upgrades cost wood. +3. **Fortresses above ground** – walls, towers, a gate, a clearing with torches. +4. **Siege weapons** – heroes bring battering rams (against doors) and catapults (against towers); + the player builds his own siege engines in a workshop. +5. **Missions** – the last mission of the main campaign (M30) and of the co-op campaign (M20) lead + to the surface: the dungeon half lies in the rock (gold and more), the other half is a forest + with the High Marshal's fortress to destroy. Free play and multiplayer get a map option + "Surface". The map editor gets the new terrain. + +## 4. Additions + +1. **Random events** – earthquake (tunnels cave in), lava eruption, flood, gold vein found. Rare + (every 8–12 minutes), free play and multiplayer only, can be switched off in the menu; in + campaigns only through new script blocks. +2. **Creature abilities** – from level 5 every creature has an active ability (ogre stomp, spider + web, mage chain lightning, ...), used automatically and wisely, with a cooldown. +3. **Bosses and elite heroes** – every 5th wave brings a boss hero with a health bar at the top, + an ability of its own and loot (gold, runes). +4. **Wild beasts** – beasts in caves (cave bears, giant beetles, ...) that can be tamed in the + prison and become creatures. +5. **Room upgrades** – rooms can be upgraded to level 2 and 3 for gold and wood (a library that + researches faster, ...), shown by ornaments and brighter light. +6. **Creature equipment** – the forge makes weapons and armour in tiers (iron, steel, rune); + creatures fetch the best fitting piece themselves, the strongest first; equipment is visible. +7. **Creature relationships** – creatures like or hate each other, quarrel, and work better with + friends; the lair shows who likes whom. +8. **Dungeon visitors** – neutral traders and smugglers come through the portal and sell rare + traps, runes or creatures for gold. +9. **Dynamic music** – procedural music that changes between calm and battle and swells when + heroes come. +10. **Tutorial mission** – an interactive introduction with Crookfinger (digging, rooms, + creatures, traps), built with the editor and script blocks. +11. **Statistics** – charts at the end of a game (gold over time, creatures, kills, buildings; for + every player in multiplayer) and lifetime totals in the profile. +12. **Achievements** – 50+ achievements with pixel badges, including hidden and humorous ones in + Crookfinger's style and progress bars, stored per user on the server. +13. **Seasonal events** – cosmetic touches by date (pumpkins at Halloween, snow on the surface in + winter, ...).