Dungeon Defenders: The Moonbase Update
In early 2015, Trendy Entertainment decided to drop their support for Dungeon Defenders Eternity. Following which they planned one final update for Dungeon Defenders.
This final update would include my contest winning map Moonbase along with all of the new content that was added into DDE. I worked with Trendy Entertainment to back-port the content, maps and enemies from DDE to DD1, this content was to be in useable pieces so that DD1 could be handed to a community development team who would then have access to this content and allow them to continue updating DD1.
Along with the new content it also included some other changes to existing levels and bug fixes for Moonbase that it hadn't recieved in the existing DD1 downloadable map.
Containing over 300 new assets, Moonbase brings a whole new environment to the world of Etheria and Dungeon Defenders. With over 90% custom content including models, textures and sounds. Plus new rewards, weapons and pets, with some unique secrets and easter eggs there's a lot to see and do, but don't think this is any old Dungeon Defenders level, no, no, no.
Moonbase does one other thing different too, gameplay, instead of the usual one crystal dying results in a loss here. On the moon things work in another way as a result the only way you lose is if every crystal dies. But it's not as straight forward as defending one crystal, losing crystals, creates new spawn points, crystal damage means less DU and a dead crystal means a deadly explosion that might just kill you and everything else in the area.
With the update I made sure that all of the content that I had created for DD1 with Moonbase would also be available to the modders and community development team if they wished to use them. Plus finally, after all this time, the fancy new weapons and pets will be included in the game for everyone to use to defeat mobs across etheria.
The Moonbase update was released as a BETA on the 29th May 2015 and officially released on the 16th September, 2015
Dungeon Defenders: The Tinkerer's Lab
The Tinkerer's Lab is a single level that I was contracted for by Trendy Entertainment to develop for Dungeon Defenders. My visual theme was chosen in-advanced to be Steampunk orientated, similar to that of the official Sky City, but being a much more industrialised take on the theme.
I created the layout in BSP and worked with Trendy to build new assets to flesh it out into the full level, the layout, kismet, lighting and more were all handled by myself, Trendy stepped in to help with any issues I ran into, resolve bugs, do the balancing in-house with their QA and adding the additional features for boss-fights and suvrival gameplay mechanics.
Embedded within the floating islands of Sky City, the Tinkerer's Lab is the birthplace of the Series EV. Her creator, the Tinkerer, has been preparing for a chasis & software upgrade to EV 1.5, but harnessing the Eternia energy has attracted unwanted attention!
+ 6 Player campaign level with 4 crystals
+ 6 Player assault mission
+ 14 waves of minions
+ 145 Defence Units
+ New rewards two weapons and two pets!
+ A brand new environment with some unique gameplay elements
+ Lifts, conveyor belts, crushers and burning furnaces!
+ Plus an awesome costume
The Tinkerer's Lab was designed for Dungeon Defenders to be a level that made use of lifts and conveyor belts, bringing some more vertical design to DD1. Watch out for the dangers though, crushers and burning furnaces that will damage players, towers and enemy minions. The layout is designed so that 6 players need to have their wits about them to defend the 4 crystals, while they get assaulted from multiple directions.
Tinkerer's Lab also features a 6 player assault challenge mode, this was added as an addition by the awesome people at Trendy. Don't think this is any other assault however, things lie in wait in this place.
Almost all of the art assets were created inhouse by Trendy Entertainment's wonderful artists as well as the sound and particle effects throughout.
With a new level comes some new rewards, Tinkerer's Lab is no exception, providing a new Huntress and Squire weapon along with two pets, with new effects and stat changes from their original counterparts, plus a completely new costume if you're capable of beating Nightmare Assault
Tinkerer's Lab was officially released for Dungeon Defenders on 12th June 2013