At the beginning of 2023, I started having frequent thoughts of improving Endless RPG. While I believe it is a great random dungeon creator and one of the few that has the focus on players without a Dungeon Master, I also think it can do so much MORE.
One neat thing I included with the original Endless RPG was a custom adventure called The Crypts of Ro. It was really just a small dungeon crawl designed for beginning players, but instead of being completely random, almost everything was custom. This allowed a bit more of the cool stuff we like from TTRPGs such as defeating a minor creature leading to a door previously unopenable suddenly opening, allowing us to continue our journey, or a tomb where you need to decide whether to open it, leaving it or stick your sword in it.
This is the type of content I would like to add to Endless RPG. There’s only one small problem: Money.
The pay-for-app scheme for an app that is rather niche just doesn’t work, unfortunately. Also, it is difficult to do a full-time programming job and still do programming in my spare time. Endless RPG was initially created when I was taking short contracts or part-time contracts, which gave me time to pursue projects like Endless RPG and my roguelike games. (If you haven’t tried Rogue Party, you should give it a go — it’s free!)
After much thought, my leaning is to move towards a subscription model. It seems to be the only way to build a reliable income stream that could pay for content.
But that’s for the Future! The base app would still have almost all of the same features with any additional subscription simply opening up more specialized content.
New Development
My first goal is to give the app a series of updates to bring it closer in line with what I want to accomplish later down the line. This starts with redoing how I put together some of the dungeon levels.
I’ve been developing roguelike games for years and have used various methods to create random dungeons. For Endless RPG, I used a method of templating where I put together small parts of the dungeon to create the whole. This allows me to do cool stuff like put barracks next to a training room or a library next to a room dedicated for rituals, but unfortunately, it doesn’t turn out looking quite the same as the normal dungeons you would see from a human drawing the map. It also doesn’t capture some of that interlocking where you find yourself back at a previously explored area quite as well.
So for now, I am building out a different way to tackle the problem that will also give me more information about the amp so I can put in some cool new stuff in the future as well.
Doors 2.0
I’m also overhauling some of the systems. Right now, I’m working on doors. Instead of a door automatically opening when you tap it, you will be presented with a screen containing various actions. The first time you tap a door, you will be given the choice to open the door, use magic or exit the door screen.
If you choose to open the door, an awareness check is rolled to detect any traps. If there is a trap, you will either (1) have triggered it if you didn’t detect it or (2) be given an opportunity to disarm or manually trigger it. If there is no trap but the door is locked or sealed in some other way (enchantment, etc.), you will have several choices. For example, you can pick a lock, attempt to break *some* locks, force the door open or destroy the door completely.
You can also use magic on the door. You can cast a Knock spell, you can attempt to blast the door open with a destructive spell, you can cast a disintegrate spell, or you can teleport through the door. But is any of that worth it? Maybe… why not cast Clairvoyance on it to see what’s behind the door?
In the future…
My goal is to go through some of the other mechanics in greater detail to help automate some of the actions you may want to take in the dungeons. This also allows me to beef up some of the content and introduce some new elements of game play.
I will also be looking at some of the source books that have come out in the last few years and making decisions on what might be added in terms of creatures and other content.
I also want to add enough tracking into the apps so I that I at least have an idea of how the app is being used. How many people are using Pathfinder in it? (The PC version doesn’t support Pathfinder, but the mobile apps do!) How many people use it as a DM tool? My focus is for those players who are using it without a DM (either solo or in groups), and if very few DMs use it, that’s more time I can spend on content for solo play or DMless players.
Premium Content
Again, the eventual goal is to get to premium content. First, I want to raise the level of the current content, but eventually I want to build in some really cool advanced features.
What exactly that will be will probably depend as much on what users want as much as anything. I have a number of different ideas myself. In fact, probably too many.
The biggest idea is the most simple one: Add more story. Having a story or campaign mode opens up a lot of cool stuff. It also comes with its own headaches. For example: Graphics. If I am going to have towns and forests and deserts, I may need graphics, which tend to cost $$$ because I am not an artist.
But I’m also intrigued by the idea of using simple text to handle some of this. Back when I first started playing “Advanced” Dungeons and Dragons (1e), a lot of adventure outside of the dungeon itself was just the DM describing things and asking what we wanted to do, so this text-based approach has some appeal. However, many (most?) players may prefer actual maps where you can tap that forest or mountain range or city to explore.
Any premium content will likely hit well into 2024. First, I envision some big changes to the base game.
Patreon?
One thing I have been mulling is Patreon. For those not familiar with the website, it basically allows for people to pay creators for content. It’s used for all sorts of things, but I’ve never really looked into it or participated in it. However, it may be a good route to do down as an alternative to or in addition to having a subscription model.
Feel free to give me your suggestions!
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