[Read This!] Suggestion Guidelines, Templates & Guide

Thread Contents
Post 1: Contents, Important Threads, Guidelines, Quick Summary
Post 2: Guide: Steps to making a great suggestion
Post 3: Tags & Templates
Post 4: Blank Templates
​

Important Threads
Suggestion Forum & Ressurection of Threads
Suggested things so far

Suggestion Forum Guidelines
These guidelines are here to help ensure that your suggestion is something the community would like to see on this forum, they in themselves are not forum rules. However, in some cases the guidelines will refer to forum rules and these must be followed.

1. Follow the forum rules at all times.
2. Do not post a suggestion regarding copyrighted material or intellectual property.
3. Be sure to tag your post for easy referencing you'll find relevant tags in the third post.
4. Be respectful of any suggestions you read even if you don't like them. Give reasons why.
5. Listen to the input of your peers and handle it respectfully.
6. Only post serious suggestions.
7. Do not double post

Quick Guide Summary

1. Idea

• Take some time to think of an idea, don't just go with the first thing that jumps into your head, develop it!
• Always bring something to the table, avoid simply bringing a question without an answer!
• Make sure your idea is within the limitations of the game, be aware that your favourite creatures from Dungeon Keeper or other games are part of another companies property and CANNOT be used!
• What kind of idea do you have? Where does it fit in the game? Time to do some research!
• Remember you're making a suggestion for the current development of the game, your idea might be better as a mod as the community gets it's hands on Dungeoneer!

2. Research

• Visit the Archive, the central repository for all information on War for the Overworld, it contains such a vast wealth of knowledge even the mentor would be gobsmacked.
• Spare a thought for all of your fellow members who have great ideas, check to see if anyone has the same idea as you in Lordofriva's thread, great minds think alike. Also use the search function.
• Some basic Gameplay information can be found in the Community FAQ, be sure to check here.
• Check out the News forum as well as Kickstarter's video, updates and both the Reddit AMAs (1, 2) for more information about the world you're making a suggestion for as well as the mechanics relevant to the game.
• Think about how you plan to use all the information you've just gained to improve your suggestion and how it fits into WFTO, if it doesn't fit don't try to force it.

3. Present

• Take your time on this step, it's the most important step, a good idea presented poorly could well end up being ignored or misunderstood. Use the opportunity to reflect and improve upon your idea.
• Give context and structure to your idea, describe how it contributes to the game especially if your idea is a mechanic.
• Consider using diagrams if you need to put across a difficult and complex subject in a simple manner.
• Keep it short and simple for the most part but make sure you get the depth in!
• Adopt a format or template, love it and stroke it, it's your new best friend. It'll make things easy for you to plan and easy for your potential mindslave to read!
• Use relative terms when describing something e.g. Low strength High armour, balance isn't something you can plan for.
• Use examples to help get your point across.
• Listen to feedback and use it to improve your idea or discuss the implications further with the community.
• Before posting make sure to add relevant tags to your title. Check the forum for some ideas here!
• Look at this suggestion.

 

So here you are in the suggestions forum, no doubt you're here to view the great suggestions our community has come up with or indeed you may be sitting upon the burning ache cushion of your own great idea, but how to bring it up? How do you make that suggestion of yours into something that truly stands out from the crowd and grabs attention? Well no doubt that all comes down to the idea you have but it can help if you present it in a manner that helps the readers of your idea.


So the purpose of this thread is to hopefully provide you with some advise on how to make sure your idea is unique, fits into the game and with some luck gets noticed by the Devs as a great idea! Let me tell you there are no magical solutions and the community will always give you feedback on your ideas, all ideas catch attention but only the best will go on to be something more.

Now here's a caveat if you're looking for a quick fix I'd suggest you read only to Step 1 to avoid making some basic mistakes. Other than that I'm a long winded talker I love, just love to rattle on. But most importantly you have to be willing to spend time to give love to your creation, the best ideas always have time and research behind them and this is something I'm going to ask you to do, I'll be adding a quick summary at the end of each step but trust me when I say time and dedication are the two most important components to any idea.

Let's get a start then shall we?

Step 1: Have an Idea
Certainly the most obvious step to making your suggestion you actually have to have an idea, let's be clear now this forum isn't really the place to be asking questions or saying "We should have an idea to fill the gap here" you come here to make a suggestion, no one's going to stop you if you do but I think if you bring something to the table you're going to get a much more positive response.

However there are a few guidelines that you have to think about when you're giving thought to your idea, now stick with me there is no such thing as a bad idea, but there are ideas that don't fit or cannot be done for whatever reason let me expand:

Picture your idea; good that's lovely now hold that thought. Does your idea look like a woman in a dominatrix outfit with claws, perhaps a large demon like entity with horns and a scythe who has a poor disposition towards everything? Maybe you're thinking of a large fat demon that must move itself by using it's arms and attacks with a pair of flails attached to it's horns and also with it's terrible flatulence?

I'll have to stop you there friend these ideas aren't going to work, why? Simply because they're owned by someone else, there is no way for the Devs to implement something so similar from Dungeon Keeper or indeed any other intellectual property without risking the terrible assault of level 10 Dungeon Lawyers (Not even Horny can stop them!). So if your idea is bringing back your favorite creature/room/spell from Dungeon Keeper or from any other game then hold onto it until modding is a regular part of the community. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad idea just there's no way for it to be done! The only exception is generic stuff but you don't want to be the man/woman/demonspawn of generic ideas do you? Thought not!

Now that we've got the legal rubbish out of the way take another moment to picture your idea, where do you think it'll fit into the game? Is it a Creature? A Spell? Empire Unit? Is it a Mechanic (No not a bloke)? Does it fit with the overall feel of the game that the Devs have laid out in front of us so far this is where the next step comes in but first! Summary!

Step 1 Summary!

• Take some time to think of an idea, don't just go with the first thing that jumps into your head, develop it!
• Always bring something to the table, avoid simply bringing a question without an answer!
• Make sure your idea is within the limitations of the game, be aware that your favourite creatures from Dungeon Keeper or other games are part of another companies property and CANNOT be used!
• What kind of idea do you have? Where does it fit in the game? Time to do some research!
• Remember you're making a suggestion for the current development of the game, your idea might be better as a mod as the community gets it's hands on Dungeoneer!

Step 2: Do some research!

So here's the thing you've got this great idea in your head but you have no idea whether it'll really fit into the game, how it'll interact with the mechanics or whether someone else has had the idea already, oh god what if it's on this very forum?! Wouldn't that just be embarrassing? Fortunately for you help is at hand! Research can save you from all the terrible societal embarrassment!

Firstly stop for a moment and think if the Dev's have already beaten you to this grand scheme of yours if your idea is a creature, room, spell or trap be sure to check out the archive.

The second step on your path to forum fame is to check whether someone else has had the same idea, fortunately Lordofriva has already come to your aid and made this research easy! Just click THIS LINK and be taken to a positively insane archive of nearly all the great ideas on this board! Be sure to like him for his effort, we had him chained to his computer desk scrolling through these pages all to make your life easier!

Excellent so we now know that NO ONE IN THE WHOLE WORLD has the same idea as you, truly bards will sing of your great innovation for generations to come! But wait we're forgetting that this is a whole world we're dealing with how can we be sure that our ideas fit in with the game the Dev's have in mind, this is where it gets a little tougher! Information is strewn all over the place about the world and creatures in it, once again check out the Archive get a feel for what we know about the creatures and empire that inhabit the world, then take a gander at my terrible self plug and see the Community FAQ! But even that is not enough! You must journey across the seven seas of the internet, through the great tunnels of optical cables and happen upon these places:

• The Archive, everything you need to know all in one place, how convenient. Best give the author likes
• The News and Announcements forum, for it is they who teach us what we truly need to know... every wednesday. (Lots of news ends up here, check out the old Dev diaries too!)
• The Kickstarter page, Where great merchants set sail with arcane knowledge meant only for potential buyers (There are some things here not in the News forum in the video and updates)
• AMA 1 and AMA 2, Where knowledge not yet known is shared among the ignorant masses. (Loads of great questions and answers here)

And of course there is plenty more information strewn across these forums for you to use! In the future you may find details of the mechanics and how creatures work on these very pages! If I choose to be so kind!

Now you are armed with the Knowledge of the gods you can think about how your idea really fits in, with this knowledge you can relate your great idea to the world and capture the imaginations of your hapless readers! Next we'll look at how to scribe your ideas down on these pages! But first we will summarise!

Step 2 Summary!

• Visit the Archive, the central repository for all information on War for the Overworld, it contains such a vast wealth of knowledge even the mentor would be gobsmacked.
• Spare a thought for all of your fellow members who have great ideas, check to see if anyone has the same idea as you in Lordofriva's thread, great minds think alike. Also use the search function.
• Some basic Gameplay information can be found in the Community FAQ, be sure to check here.
• Check out the News forum as well as Kickstarter's video, updates and both the Reddit AMAs (1, 2) for more information about the world you're making a suggestion for as well as the mechanics relevant to the game.
• Think about how you plan to use all the information you've just gained to improve your suggestion and how it fits into WFTO, if it doesn't fit don't try to force it.

Step 3: Presenting your Idea
No doubt by now your mind is full to bursting with information and inspiration, well if you do plan on doing any bursting today I would ask kindly you wait until you're outside, after all I just had this carpet cleaned from the last person to come this way and I assure you cleaning in the underworld isn't cheap! You're alright and ready to continue? Excellent there is promise in you yet!

So now that we've had our idea, researched all the information relevant to the game that we didn't already know and had a bloody great listening to a guy ramble at us in a thread we're finally ready to present our idea, sounds easy right? Just put some words down on a page in any order you feel like and it's done! Ah if only the human race was omniscient beings who already knew what it was you are suggesting before your incoherent babble confused the living daylights out of them!

Simply put you can't just randomly write down words, I'm sure no one even thought this was a good idea but I am nothing if not thorough. Give some context to your idea, some structure, relate it to the information you gathered in step two and explain just what exactly your idea will contribute to the game. This is especially relevant if you're suggesting a new or improved mechanic, which really doesn't have any guidelines to follow just try to make it as clear and simple as possible while detailing the true depths of your new mechanic.
Diagrams work wonders, even if it's just a few scribbles diagrams are great for showing off how a mechanic might work.

Of course if your idea is something more contemporary such as a creature, room or trap you can find several examples out there of how to do a suggestion such as this, the best thing to do is adopt a format and fill in the blanks, there are a number of templates around on this forum for such things. Adopting a format or a template will help the reader to firstly read your idea and secondly to discuss specific points in it, it'll allow you to direct your creative juices into compressed understandable forms. I'll attach a few templates below in the near future that you might like to try. Remember to use relative language such as strength high or armour low, balance is the field of the developers you can merely suggest how the creature might take shape.

Art isn't mandatory but can help show off how you might like the creature to look, it's especially great for individuals who are not of english-birth and have not had the opportunity to taste our terribly bland foods that make us so famous across the world! Count yourself lucky! If you can draw then spending some more time on a little concept art will never hurt. Speaking about language try your with punctuation and grammar, but don't worry too much you can explain any confusion later no marks off aslongasyoudonttrytowritesomethinglikethisthatcannotbereadbyanyonewhowantstotryandtakeyoursuggestionseriouslybecausepeoplecantreadsomethinglikethisandwilllikelyfearforyoursanity. Hey look a huge spellcheck line, guess that's not a word.

But most importantly of all, spend time at this stage taking your time will give you chance to reflect as you write and more topically relate your idea to the game. If you're touting a new mechanic think of some examples if I was suggesting the concept that there were multiple gods in the game that you could worship, then I might suggest that there should be a grand chicken god his only wish is for you to care for his children and not allow your creatures to devour such wonderfully chickeny goodness. Naturally this has two knock on effects, everyone starves and DFC goes out of business. But hey not all examples have to be particularly good! As long as they get the point across... also some good ones probably wouldn't hurt!

Finally once your idea is out in the forums take on board any feedback you receive, try to improve your idea and bear in mind that if your idea is accepted it may well turn out completely different in the game, perhaps your creature could perform completely differently but look somewhat similar or some of your creature spell ideas were great but ended up on another creature, in the end it's the interesting stuff that will make it in and the stuff that doesn't fit will likely end up discarded!

So here we are at the end of our long trek, if you've somehow managed to withstand my inane babble about something or another and are looking for your reward, well of course you are, so I award you with the knowledge that you are no doubt going to go on to make a great suggestion that everyone loves and the developers praise and make you an honourary dev just for suggesting! (Disclaimer: Noontide accepts no responsibility for loss of social status, terrible mocking of yourself and your suggestion or hair loss relating to making a bad suggestion while following these guidelines)

So yeah this is really the end, best of luck to you and may the odds be forever in your favour before I go be sure to check out THIS suggestion, this suggestion would eventually grow to become the shrines we have heard so much about, it's an example of a great idea presented well. SUMMARY TIME!

Step 3 Summary!

• Take your time on this step, it's the most important step, a good idea presented poorly could well end up being ignored or misunderstood. Use the opportunity to reflect and improve upon your idea.
• Give context and structure to your idea, describe how it contributes to the game especially if your idea is a mechanic.
• Consider using diagrams if you need to put across a difficult and complex subject in a simple manner.
• Keep it short and simple for the most part but make sure you get the depth in!
• Adopt a format or template, love it and stroke it, it's your new best friend. It'll make things easy for you to plan and easy for your potential mindslave to read!
• Use relative terms when describing something e.g. Low strength High armour, balance isn't something you can plan for.
• Use examples to help get your point across.
• Listen to feedback and use it to improve your idea or discuss the implications further with the community.
• Before posting make sure to add relevant tags to your title. Check the forum for some ideas here!
• Look at this suggestion.

Best of luck I look forward to seeing your suggestions out in the forum!

Step 4 ?????

Step 5 Profit!

 

Tags
Tagging your post is an important part of making a suggestion, it allows people browsing the forum to quickly identify the key elements of your suggestion. It's highly recommended that you tag your post identifying what game element it belongs to which will make it easy to both find and sort specific suggestions on this forum.

Below are a number of suggested tags that you should be using.

[Underlord Creature] [Empire Creature] [Neutral Creature] [Room] [Defense] [Spell] [Physical Spell] [Incorporeal Spell] [Shrine] [Game Mechanic] [Theme] [Other] [Misc]

Feel free to suggest tags for use in this thread if you feel that any are missing from this list.

Templates
The section below includes a selection of templates for use in your suggestion. Templates are a great way of summarizing the details of your Creature, Room or anything, they give your read the opportunity to quickly digest the most important data about your suggestion in bite size chunks.

Templates are not meant to replace the full suggestion only be a quick window into it and something for you to build upon. So you can leave your suggestion as just the template, but feel free to add extra flavor to your suggestion as required, sometimes a few extra paragraphs go a long way to describing and building something special.

You'll see that each template has a highlight, this gives you the opportunity to quickly summarise the thing that makes your suggestion special.

Creatures
Creatures are the bread and butter of every Underlord's fighting and working force. Designing a great creature requires several steps, you can find a lot of this in the guide. We've also had a fantastic WFTO Wednesday release recently which contained the important guidelines to creating a great creature and the steps the team undertake to make sure each creature is suitable!

All creatures in WFTO have a couple of natural traits, these are passive abilities that have a special impact on what the creature can do naturally. You may have as many traits as you see fit, though keep it reasonable. Most denizens of the underworld have an average of 2 traits.

Each Creature has several active abilities that it can make use of, these are part of the meat of the unit and the abilities that it will most often use in combat. All creatures in the Underworld have 3 Active abilities unless there is a very specific reason to have different.

Flavour is an optional part of the template, this section includes a few suggestions for adding flavour to your creature, you should feel free though to details any of this elsewhere in your suggestion, perhaps outside of the template.

View some of the official creatures using this template in the WFTO Wednesday Unit Preview!

Key Stats​

Highlight: What makes your creature unique? What's it's purpose?​

Faction: Underlord / Empire / Neutral​

Type: Intelligent / Beast / Other (Details Here)​

Role: Role of the creature in combat E.G. Melee Fighter, Support Caster, "Go-away" Tank.​

Acquired By: Many creatures are attracted via portals by owning specific rooms, however there are some that are acquired by other methods.​

Basic Attack: [Melee/Ranged] [Damage Type] [Power - Relative]​

Offensive Power: Relative term for how good the unit is at attacking - E.G. Weak, Moderate, Strong​

Defensive Power: Relative term for how durable a unit is.​

Resistances: Relative term for each type of damage. E.G. Average vs All, Weak vs Poison.​

Movement: Relative term for Movement speed. Slow, Moderate, Fast​

Work: Where does the creature work if at all.​

Entertainment: What does the creature do for entertainment?​

Special Needs: Does the creature have any extra needs other than: Sleep, food and entertainment?​

Upgrades: Does the creature have alternative progression, if so briefly summarise it. E.G. Scavenges Gear​

Traits​

You may have as many Traits as you like for each trait copy the entry below, give each trait a name and detail it's effects. Bear in mind that more traits make a more difficult and convoluted unit. The average number of traits in WFTO is 2.​

​

Trait Name: Details (You can have multiple Traits)​

Abilities​

You may have up to 3 abilities unless there is specific reason for more or less. For each ability copy the entry below give each ability a name and detail it's effects.​

​

Ability Name: Details (You can have upto 3 Abilities)​

Flavour​

Appearance: What does your creature look like?​

Likes: What does your creature like?​

Dislikes: What does your creature dislike?​

Behaviour: How does your creature behave in dungeon, does it have any specific interactions with other elements of the dungeon?​

Spells
Spells are special abilities that are at the disposal of the Underlord while he is in RTS view, they can be cast into the level and have various effects, for example the create imp spell creates and imp worker within your area of influence, the prophecy spell allows the Underlord to divine the situation where he casts the spell even through fog of war.

Spells are divided into two types physical and incorporeal. Physical spells can only be cast within the Underlord's area of influence. Incorporeal spells on the other hand may be cast anywhere that the Underlord has vision, the exception to this rule is Prophecy which can be cast through fog of war.

Highlight: Summary of Spell purpose and effect.​

Vein: Which vein of evil is this spell associated with.​

Type: Physical or Incorporeal​

Effect: What the spell does.​

Cost: A relative cost in blood to cast the spell, e.g. Low, Moderate, High.​

Appearance: What's the spell look like? How does it interact with things?​

Rooms
Rooms are one of the key building blocks of and Underlord's dungeon, they provide the facilities which attract and provide work/entertainment for creatures. Rooms in WFTO have a variety of functions some may simply fulfill needs while others may serve to be centers of industry or yet undiscovered arcane knowledge.

The functions of a room define how a creature or player interacts with it, what they are able to do there and how it is done. E.G. Intelligent Creatures place their Lairs in a Lair by moving to an unoccupied tile and claiming it by creating their own lair prop. Creatures can also sleep in the lair by interacting with their Lair prop. A Room may have as many functions as you think are necessary but try to keep them simple and explain your reasoning.

Props are essentially objects in a room that creatures or the player can interact with. Once you've defined a prop and it's appearance, define how and why stuff will interact with it. Props are often tied to Functions for the room. E.g. A creature's lair is a prop that the creature can interact with to sleep. You can have as many props as you like, though of course a room that is too busy will be difficult to interract with for users so try to keep it as simple and intuitive as possible.

Highlight: Each room in WFTO has a purpose, some form of function that it fulfills. E.g. The lair fulfills specific needs for specific creatures, the foundry crafts defenses and other things. What's the unique purpose of your room?​

Vein: Some rooms are closely related to the three veins of evil, is yours?​

Associated Units: What creatures are associated with the operation of the room. E.g. Intelligent creatures use the lair. Augres work in the foundry.​

Appearance: Define the appearance of your room, what do the walls and floors look like, are there any props, what do they look like? How do Creatures interact with the room if at all.​

Functions​

For each function in your room copy the below entry detail and give each function a name.​

Function Name: Details​

Props​

You may have up to 3 abilities unless there is specific reason for more or less. For each ability copy the entry below give each ability a name and detail it's effects.​

Prop Name: Details​

Shrines
Shrines are neutral structures that can be found within the levels, capturing them has various effects on the game at hand, usually this will translate to a benefit to the owning player or a curse upon his opponents, though other effects are known to exist. For example the Primordial Tome will significantly increase the research rate of a researcher that is manning it, while the Stairs of Nephren-Ka will summon a powerful creature devoted to the protection of the shrine and the area around it.

Shrines are essentially a mapmaker's tool to encourage players to take actions they want them to, thus a shrine can have a whole boatload of different effects provided you make it clear what the use of the shrine might be, bear in mind an I win button shrine won't be good for multiplayer, unless that's what the level designer is aiming for.

Highlight: Summarise the purpose of the Shrine, its effects.​

Purpose: How do you see the Shrine being used by the mapmaker?​

Associated Units: Sometimes Shrines require creatures to reach their full effectiveness.​

How does it Work: Summarise how it works.​

Appearance: Define the appearance of the shrine, concept art is welcome.​

​

Defenses
Defenses is the catch-all name for devices that are place-able by the player that carry various effects. Each defense has a different purpose and function for example a wooden door simply serves to control the flow of units, both friendly and unfriendly through your Dungeon while it may be weak to assault it can slow attacks down and give you time to prepare.

Other defenses perform other functions some may deal damage to creatures in specific manners, while others may simply summon additional units onto the battlefield for a constant mana tithe. The term defense doesn't necessarily mean it's a tool used only for defense, certain defenses such as the Underminer which destroys enemy walls and the Ember Rift which summons an aggressive fire elemental to fight for you are offensive devices.

Either way a defense is an important aspect of an Underlord's Dungeon and each must remain clear in it's purpose and implementation.

Highlight: Summarise the purpose of the Trap, its effects.​

Vein: Which vein is this defense associated with?​

How does it Work: Summarise how the defense works and any connected mechanics to the defense.​

Appearance: Define the appearance of the defense, concept art is welcome.​

​

Themes
A Theme is a cosmetic change for various elements of an Underlord's dungeon, it allows an Underlord to bring a personal touch, something that represents his own devilish personality into the game. The primary elements in a theme are the Emblem, Dungeon Heart, Worker, Floor tiles and Wall tiles and as themes have been demonstrated each of these may look slightly or significantly different in different themes.

Highlight: What makes this theme unique? What's it about?​

Emblem: Each theme has an emblem associated with it, describe the appearance of the emblem.​

Nexus Appearance: The Dungeon Nexus is the center of an Underlord's domain, the most recognisable and important object in it. Describe it's appearance in your theme.​

Worker Appearance: Workers are a key part of any Dungeon, they carry out the menial tasks such as digging and claiming tiles. This is your equivalent of the Blood Imp, doesn't have to be an imp.​

Wall Appearance: What do the reinforced walls of your Dungeon look like?​

Tile Appearance: What do claimed tiles of your Dungeon look like?​

 

Blank Templates
Creature Template

Name:​

Description/Preface:​

Image:​

​

Key Stats​

Highlight:​

Faction:​

Type:​

Role:​

Acquired By:​

Basic Attack:​

Offensive Power:​

Defensive Power:​

Resistances:​

Movement:​

Work:​

Entertainment:​

Special Needs:​

Upgrades:​

​

Traits​

Trait Name: (Copy this entry for each trait, give each a unique name and details, you may have as many traits as you like but the average is 2.)​

​

Abilities​

Ability Name: (Copy this entry for each ability, give each a unique name and details, you may have up to 3 abilities unless there is a specific reason to have more.)​

​

Flavour​

Appearance:​

Likes:​

Dislikes:​

Behaviour:​

Spell Template

Highlight:​

​

Vein:​

Type:​

Effect:​

Cost:​

Appearance:​

Room Template

Highlight:​

Vein:​

Associated Units:​

Appearance:​

​

Functions​

Function Name: (Copy this entry for each function, give each a unique name and details)​

​

Props​

Prop Name: (Copy this entry for each prop, give each a unique name and details)​

Shrine Template

Highlight:​

Purpose:​

Associated Units:​

How does it Work:​

Appearance:​

​

Defense Template

Highlight:​

Vein:​

How does it work:​

Appearance:​

​

Theme Template

Highlight:​

Emblem:​

Nexus Appearance:​

Worker Appearance:​

Wall Appearance:​

Tile Appearance:​

 

This thread had vanished from the forum for some reason, so it's been restored from a backup. If anyone sees any inconsistencies or problems feel free to let me know.

 

Just this one it seems It was probably Sammy