Cave of Wonders (Luck-based Dwelling)

[Mr-Magonus]

Preliminary checks

• I've checked that there aren't other open issues on the same topic.

Describe the problem requiring a solution

There is some excitement on this idea about turning a Unicorn dwelling into a Luck-based interaction, to piggyback of expanded Luck interactions from the Black Cat. Luck dependency was not the intention of that dwelling (rather, it was intended as a very simple Unicorn pickup or dwelling with few-to-no complications). However, if a Luck-based dwelling is highly desired, I would propose the following.

Describe the possible solution

Because Heroes of Might & Magic drew inspiration from children's art, in Aladdin adaptations—both in Disney as well as art from as far back as 1898 artwork, from what I can see—a "Cave of Wonders" was where the Genie could be found. Since the "Cave of Wonders" is already established in popular public conscious as a place where entry is only permitted to someone who is particularly lucky/worthy, I think this could be a thematic place for a unique Luck interaction.
This object would allow (should a mapmaker desire) a weekly growth of Genies. The mechanics would be something like the following as originally proposed by PusshPop, with 2-4 initial Genies and 1-2 weekly growth:

• ≤0 Luck: No interaction beyond a text alluding to insufficient luck
• 1 luck: You can buy Genies at the standard price.
• 2 luck: You can buy Genies at a -50 gold discount.
• 3 luck: You can buy Genies at a -150 gold discount.

Since the Black Cat has been added, perhaps ≤0 Luck might prompt a fight with Fire Elementals may be thematic, as the Cave of Wonders in the Disney adaptation struck the hero with a torrent of lava, upon insufficient Luck.

Additional info

Here are mockups today of possible caves, ranging from quite Disney-like, to more generic faces/skulls, with varying levels of glow & sparkliness.

The head is deliberately facing westward to disambiguate from the Daemon Cave. Please note again that these are mockups—I am aware they look unfinished. Let me know if any of you like this, and if so, which style you prefer.

[Alucard648]

I think, lava torrent should cut in half every stack in heros army before fire elemental fight. As if Genies halving ability triggered en masse.

[PusshPop]

I know this is a mockup but I thought I give you a heads up just in case:
All the desert mountains have their edges smoothed out a bit because they are buried in sand, so any sharp edges with the yellow color will stand out.
For any hard/rigid structures the orange palette is used:

As for preference, I would go for B. Most lore accurate (as far as I googled) and it looks cool & unique.
C & D have their flames visible in the cave, which seems less ominous than some light bouncing off the sides of the wall. Im not a fan of the bright glowing eyes from the cycling colors though, but that is just my opinion.

[Mr-Magonus]

I know this is a mockup but I thought I give you a heads up just in case: All the desert mountains have their edges smoothed out a bit because they are buried in sand, so any sharp edges with the yellow color will stand out. For any hard/rigid structures the orange palette is used:

Yep, thank you, I am aware. The "Cave of Wonders" in the films is made of sand, which is why I would do yellow rather than the rigid orange.

[Branikolog]

Hi, @Mr-Magonus !

I really like the visual concept of this object. Especially variation D — I feel that it fits the game atmosphere extremely well. It still needs a bit more readability, of course, but I think the overall direction is absolutely right. It looks mysterious and intimidating, fits the desert terrain perfectly, and I especially like the small lights glowing inside, which create a feeling that something dangerous or valuable is hidden there.

Regarding the possible interaction with this object, I personally feel that the game could use more treasure-like locations. This object reminds me of a hidden treasure cave (perhaps partly because of its resemblance to the Cave of Wonders from Aladdin). Because of that, I think it could fit better as a place where the hero receives a reward rather than as another source of creature recruitment, since we already have the Genie Lamp for obtaining Genies.

For example, after completing a difficult challenge (perhaps even a battle against Genies), the hero could receive gold, valuable resources, or powerful artifacts. As I mentioned in the discussion about the maiden object, I would personally prefer not to make such an object available only to heroes with a specific skill like Luck. It would be nice if every hero could interact with it.

One possible idea would be to make the reward depend on Luck. For example, the hero could always receive a reward, but higher Luck could lead to a more valuable outcome.
Another possible approach would be to let Luck affect the number of available reward options. A hero with higher Luck could choose from a wider selection of possible rewards, while a hero with lower Luck would have fewer options.

The interaction could also somewhat resemble the experience of visiting the Demon Cave: the hero approaches an unknown place and may receive a valuable reward depending on his luck.
Of course, directly losing a hero would probably not fit well here, as it can easily force players to reload after losing a valuable hero. Personally, I always found this penalty from the original game a bit too severe. Losing a hero is a very significant event in Heroes II, and players usually expect such a loss to be the result of an important strategic mistake or a difficult battle, rather than a random outcome from interacting with an object.
Because of that, I would prefer to avoid such a severe penalty and keep the focus on the feeling of discovery, risk, and reward rather than on a potentially frustrating punishment.

However, the general idea of visiting an object and receiving an uncertain yet potentially valuable reward could work nicely.

I want to emphasize that I am sharing these thoughts not to reject your proposed interaction, but simply to discuss possible directions with everyone involved. The main goal is to find an interaction that preserves the feeling of the original game. Perhaps this idea will inspire another variation, or someone may suggest an even better approach that fits the object or proposes another object..

[Mr-Magonus]

@Branikolog yes, it was explicitly inspired by the Cave of Wonders from Aladdin. A couple questions before I would proceed with any art assets:

1. Do you think that a recurring Genie dwelling has no place in the game? As I acknowledge in the originated post, Genie lamps do not provide weekly growth, and short of gating the players in puzzle maps, there is no way to build Genies into a regular army asset in the vanilla game.

2. Do like the idea enough of a luck-themed creature bank? As PusshPop, I am partial to the 2nd design with a lion entry. If you would like a second, separate mystical cave, I can do that too.

One possible idea would be to make the reward depend on Luck. For example, the hero could always receive a reward, but higher Luck could lead to a more valuable outcome.
Another possible approach would be to let Luck affect the number of available reward options.

Those could work. An alternative might be that a base 25% chance elicits the positive result (hiring genies, receiving gold/artifacts, etc). A 75% chance otherwise prompts a fight against elementals/genies/magi. But each point of luck increases the odds by 25%, so maxed luck guarantees bypassing the fight to get the reward.
If you want a sand-cave creature bank, I will make an animation so that upon victory, it collapses into a vanilla 2x1 or 3x1 sand dune.