Difference between revisions of "Gate construction"

Revision as of 15:31, 8 November 2010

Gates are constructed by putting Minerals into them before they open.

A gate first appears in The Arcade with a countdown timer; typically this has a value from 3 to 5. Every two days, all gates count down by one; if a gate reaches zero, it usually builds a Dungeon. The leftmost gate is removed, and a new, empty gate is cycled in on the right.

This behavior is controlled by The Clockworks, and is outside the influence of the knights.

The knights do have the ability to control the Dungeons that are built; different minerals will generate different types of levels. The minerals that are added, and the way that they are added will affect both the number of levels at each floor, the type of floor, and the depth of the dungeon.

Every 15 minutes, all the minerals deposited in that 15 minute period are collected in a group, and form a tray. If enough minerals are in a tray (starts at 100, and believed to go up as the dungeon goes deeper), then a block is added to the Totem Pole associated with the gate.

Every 20 blocks will complete a ring. Each completed ring corresponds to a series of floors, ending with a floor where Knights can decide to return to town or continue on deeper. Completing two rings will take the dungeon down to the next town

Gates that do not complete at least one full ring will not generate a dungeon.

For more information on how trays become levels, how floor types are determined, etc, check the discussion page or the forums.

Overview

Trays

Dusk drops

How minerals affect level generation

Mineral types

Amount of minerals required for gate creation

A developer has confirmed that the number of minerals required to complete each block varies dynamically, based on the number of minerals spawned in dungeons during the previous week.

Reading the "totem" diagram

Behind each gate is a large, colorful diagram that conveys information about what gate progress and what levels will be formed. Although this diagram is not yet completely understood, current working theories are given below.

Gates under construction

While minerals are being added to a gate, the totem diagram consists of a set of 1-6 rings, broken into 20 blocks each. When 6 full rings are present, the bottom of the diagram will show a white glow, indicating that the gate in question will reach the core.

The number and type of minerals that has been added to a gate is conveyed in two distinct ways. First, each ring of 20 blocks is broken into colors that relate to the types of minerals deposited (though this relationship is as yet unclear). Second, rising from the center of the gate is a set of bars whose relative heights depend on the relative amounts of minerals that have been added. If three bars are present (red and yellow at equal heights; green half the height of red), then the overall mineral composition of the gate would be 40% red, 40% yellow, and 20% green.

Completed Gates