Call for ideas to make the caves more fun to explore.

I am calling for ideas to make exploring the caves more fun.

The caves are a great idea, but they do need a few more tweaks to help players enjoy exploring them.

Some of the players are older then the devs realise and the dark caves are not good for their eyes.  At the moment they are so dark it makes finding hidden objects very hard to find.

Here are some of the ideas already suggested to increase the fun in these caves.

1. What about a LAMP or LANTERN to light the way through the caves? It could light up the area better as the fog is cleared.

2. Some CLUES to find hidden items instead of clicking everywhere.

3. BRAIN TEASER PUZZLES to unlock more areas deeper in the caves.

4. Or making the colours of the rocks and walls much LIGHTER to see the way through the caves more easily and to find more of the hidden items.

Let the devs know what other ideas you may have about improving the fun of exploring these caves.Or if you like any of the ideas mentioned above, please add your comments to this thread.

If enough of us support this suggestion then the devs will take us seroiusly and put our ideas into this game.

It would help more players to complete the cave quest and have more fun in the caves.

I really think that for the caves we should have some special explorer like in old totem tribe. It seems like to send hero to cave just to search it is a bummer. Ties hero up from other important work. Maybe this special explorer could be a unit at the chief hut level 10 or residence or town hall? Or maybe that building at level 10 could unlock special explorer building. Just a thought.

I'd like to see some sort of visual confirmation that you have completed all that you can in a cave.  Something similar to the orignal TT, where even if you still have gems to be found, a pop up of some kind says, 'Congratulations, you've completed all of the tasks in this cave'.  In addition, it might be helpful if for those caves, they show up on your map in a different colour, so that you know it's done.  I find it difficult to keep track of what still needs to be done in a cave, so i've resorted to listing it in a spreadsheet, so i don't have to keep going back to it (travel times are a bummer).  But a visual indication on the map showing that you are finished would be very helpful. 

P.S.  I think i heard bers mention that there were some super secrets in some caves that were difficult to figure out or find, but when and if you did, you would find something special.  It would be nice if this this suggested completion alert would come AFTER the super secret was found, so we know that we should keep looking.   

I think that it would be a good idea, for those of us with eyesight problems, for the last remaining item to be found would "pulse", thus making it easier to locate. Like with the horseshoes, I have been searching for a few days now just to find the last one, and have been unsucessful in locating it because it blends extremely well with the rocks and walls in the cave. I basically have given up trying to find it.

I like the idea of a special explorer to do the caves and I like the idea of something that tells you the cave is finished. I would also like to see maybe a totem when you re-enter a cave that states the amount of tasks you have left to complete this cave. Although this may defeat the purpose of driving us crazy looking for stalagmite tops or horseshoes, I think it will make it easier knowing we have gained some ground in completing it. I have 3 caves that have lit up the "quest" key, but have no clue why or what that means...am I finished with that cave? Bers said there was an alert, a pop-up box or what?

Everything else is available for sale... how about 'buying a clue'? or make it possible to 'earn' a clue with successful gem searching or something. When you play the 'hidden object' type games at gamehouse, they always have an option to get a clue. The clue can 'highlight' a small search area, or make the object pulse or something to help. The system now is a 'game ender' for me. 

Yes I like all of these ideas, for the horseshoes and rock a holes and such I just take my time and move the screen a little at a time and concentrate on each area I have found what I was looking for that way. But I can't for the life of my Hero find the 2nd key for the black door.  

I happen to really like the caves as they are. I am a firm believer in not giving away every clue.. it takes all the challenge away .. and then also the reward of finding the secret or solution.

As far as difficulties with sight and darkness ... may I suggest a magnifying glass similar to the original TT? It could be used or left alone .. and the game will not change for everybody based on a certain and specific demographic.

Three of my heroes visited caves .. one visited seven. In one cave I found bears, in another skeletons, in another I found flying coffins and beat the boss. Which ones had which? Which hero found what? I am at a loss. I admire Tuey for keeping notes... but I mess up and forget to do that. :) I agree that it would be nice to have a way to know which I have visited and which I have beat. Color coding? Is a cave adventure tab out of the question? Or maybe the quest tab should be more detailed.

I love these ideas, especially the notion of providing some way to measure how much of a cave you have completed as far as finding objects etc goes.  You can always hit f3 to see the areas you can't get to, lol and so far I have not been able to get to those areas.

I also like the idea of having the hidden objects pulse or something. maybe more contrast between their coloring and that of the surroundings.  Traveling through the caves for too long is giving me eye strain, lol.

More thoughts later.

All in all I think they are brilliant.  Thanks, again,team!

Well, now that it has happened to me twice, I think maybe it would be nice if there were alternate ways to reach areas of the caves  that do not require placing stalagmites in the correct order.  I found a number of stalagmites and thought I was on the right path but it appears that I should have traveled right instead of left and now virtually the entire cave is blocked from access.

The particular scenario in my case involves placing 6 or 7 stalagmites or more.  if not done in precisely the right order the whole cave becomes inaccessible.  That is rather irksome as it is one cave I actually thought I had a chance to explore, lol.

If there were hidden passages that worked to get one to the other areas like the stalagmites (maybe some chests would be permanently blocked off, but no big deal there) allowing you to explore the whole cave, it would be great fun.  So, more than one way to access the other areas of the caves would be great, I think.

I'm not suggesting the alternate route be easy to find, lol. but if there is one it would increase the challenge of having to find it if you make the wrong stalagmite choice.

Well, now that it has happened to me twice, I think maybe it would be nice if there were alternate ways to reach areas of the caves  that do not require placing stalagmites in the correct order.  I found a number of stalagmites and thought I was on the right path but it appears that I should have traveled right instead of left and now virtually the entire cave is blocked from access.

The particular scenario in my case involves placing 6 or 7 stalagmites or more.  if not done in precisely the right order the whole cave becomes inaccessible.  That is rather irksome as it is one cave I actually thought I had a chance to explore, lol.

If there were hidden passages that worked to get one to the other areas like the stalagmites (maybe some chests would be permanently blocked off, but no big deal there) allowing you to explore the whole cave, it would be great fun.  So, more than one way to access the other areas of the caves would be great, I think.

Maybe after you have searched all 9 (I am assuming that's the total amount of available caves), then you can be given a choice to return to unfinished ones and change strategy? You realize alot of the players are OCD and have to finish to stave off total frustration! hahaha

Well, now that it has happened to me twice, I think maybe it would be nice if there were alternate ways to reach areas of the caves  that do not require placing stalagmites in the correct order.  I found a number of stalagmites and thought I was on the right path but it appears that I should have traveled right instead of left and now virtually the entire cave is blocked from access.

The particular scenario in my case involves placing 6 or 7 stalagmites or more.  if not done in precisely the right order the whole cave becomes inaccessible.  That is rather irksome as it is one cave I actually thought I had a chance to explore, lol.

If there were hidden passages that worked to get one to the other areas like the stalagmites (maybe some chests would be permanently blocked off, but no big deal there) allowing you to explore the whole cave, it would be great fun.  So, more than one way to access the other areas of the caves would be great, I think.

Maybe after you have searched all 9 (I am assuming that's the total amount of available caves), then you can be given a choice to return to unfinished ones and change strategy? You realize alot of the players are OCD and have to finish to stave off total frustration! hahaha

I'm one of them, lol

Another idea would be to make you re-start the cave if you made the wrong choice instead of not being able to complete it. Just like if your hero died and you have to resurrect.

Another idea would be to make you re-start the cave if you made the wrong choice instead of not being able to complete it. Just like if your hero died and you have to resurrect.

This is an excellent idea! :-))

I love these ideas, especially the notion of providing some way to measure how much of a cave you have completed as far as finding objects etc goes.  You can always hit f3 to see the areas you can't get to, lol and so far I have not been able to get to those areas.

I think if you press F3 you see a lot of areas that you don't have access to (for good) in that particular cave. As far as I can see, all the caves have the same map (or there are a few versions only) and only the GATES/PASSAGES are randomly chosen for each instantiation (and their number depends on the cave size which of there are 3 I think). It's far simpler to implement I guess and if you don't have the availability of F3 you wouldn't even see there's anything else.

So you might finish/find everything possible in a cave and still see a lot of unexplored areas with F3 - especially in the bigger caves, where your map gets "zoomed out" as you uncover further nooks.

Well, now that it has happened to me twice, I think maybe it would be nice if there were alternate ways to reach areas of the caves  that do not require placing stalagmites in the correct order.  I found a number of stalagmites and thought I was on the right path but it appears that I should have traveled right instead of left and now virtually the entire cave is blocked from access.

This is not true. Chosing wrong stalagmite block will not block the rest of the cave, only optional nooks at most. If you think the further progress is blocked, then you are missing the stalagmite piece.

But in some cases, can't you be locked out of a chest containing a vital key?  Asking, since I am not sure.

Okay.  I'll look again.  I used four out of the 7 or so and when I could not find the rest I did use F3 to see what I was locked out of.  It showed additional pieces behind a bank of broken stalagmites, naturally. 

To be clear, I do not use F3 to play the game.  Only once I am blocked do I check to see if I am missing something.  Like with my unobtainable turtle shell at Lilah. 

Without F3 I could not post a screen shot showing you that the turtle shell is permanently hidden under fog.  So I think F3 is useful, but only when you need to use it to find out why you are blocked.  In some cases, I agree F3 may be revealing too much.  I had not considered that because I knew I had other areas to access so I wanted to see if I missed something by choosing the wrong stalagmite to complete.

I have nothing to add only that I like the idea's that are presented. Special help with magnification, pulsing objects and a special person designated to search the caves are really excellent ideas.  I hope you will take them under consideration.