Levels are the name given to the maps played in the single-player campaign mode of Dungeon Keeper and Dungeon Keeper 2, in which each map is completed in order to move on to the next.
In both games, the map screen will show the area, starting off looking normal with each area looking much more destroyed and desolate once you have claimed it. In Dungeon Keeper, it shows a region of land in peace, with each area becoming razed and desolate once you have claimed it. In Dungeon Keeper 2, it instead reflects the look of a map, with each new section you are next to conquer raising up when you move the Hand of Evil over it. Similarly, the land takes on a darker and destroyed appearance once you have beaten that level.
Both games have the same structure: 20 main levels culminating in a final showdown against a powerful hero, four bonus levels unlocked via a Locate Hidden WorldDungeon Special and one level which is only available during a full moon (Dungeon Keeper) or new moon (Dungeon Keeper 2).
Once a level is completed it cannot be played again, unless it's a bonus level. In KeeperFX, however, all levels you have beaten and any bonus levels you unlocked during the campaign are available to play in any order after you beat it. The levels usually relate to a region of the overworld, with levels in Dungeon Keeper being named after the region, along with the Mentor giving a brief description of the region's customs (usually about how the tribe are tranquil, gay, and friendly, and/or have never known anything but calmness, cheerfulness, and generosity), often with derision and disgust, and sometimes how the player and he are there to kill them all or make their lives hell. Once the level is beaten, the Mentor will narrate over the Statistics screen, recounting the land's new name and revelling in its fate.
The land gets redder as you progress through the campaign
As you progress through the campaign, the sky, land, and ocean on the world map slowly turn more sanguine, and the ambience gets more sinister: the evil ambience (wind blowing, bell tolls, and wolf howls) gradually becomes more prominent over the good ambience (birds singing); however, it is not until the entire campaign has been beaten that the good ambience can no longer be heard at all.
Cut levels[]
Skybird Trill (Skybird Trill 30FX) - Different version of Skybird Trill
Skybird Trill (Skybird Trill 32FX) - Completely different level
The Japanese, Korean, and Russian names of the twenty levels of the original campaign are actually the English names transliterated into Katakana, Hangul, and Cyrillic script respectively:
Many of the Japanese names for The Deeper Dungeons levels seem to be or contain references to Christianity, though the name for Abbadon is likely a Hinduism and/or Buddhism reference. Some of the original English names, such as Abbadon and Belial, also appear to be references to religion.
Many of the names of the original campaign levels are reflective of the nature of its world; amongst the most notable are Eversmile, Elves' Dance, Mirthshire, Tulipscent, and Skybird Trill.
There is an early land, which bears little resemblance to the one seen in the final game; it features volcanoes and ships, and there is a fortress in the centre. There are also what appears to be woodlands. Both landscapes, however, feature pyramids and mountains.
KeeperFX[]
Dungeon Keeper FX 0.4.9 introduced a Map Packs feature; levels can be sorted into groups in subdirectories in the levels directory, and are no longer all lumped together in the levels directory. There are several default groups, including a The Deeper Dungeons group.
Level data make-up[]
Level file formats
Extension
Purpose
Notes
Required
.anm
Animation (?)
Obsolete. Possibly an earlier version of the .wib format.
There are two common styles of level preview (seen on websites, not in-game) that are generated by various programs, including ADiKtEd, Unearth, and others: "Textures" and "Colours".
This style is popular with users hosting maps on external sites. ADiKteD and Unearth generate maps in this style, with minor differences. It provides a detailed overview of the actual level, but lacks ownership information. ADiKtEd previews feature things, such as creatures and Dungeon Specials, but Unearth previews do not. As Unearth becomes more preëminent, the ADiKtEd style may fall out of use in favour of the Unearth style, though it is still common on older maps.
Colours[]
Morkardar preview (animated)
Morkardar preview (still)
This style is the one used for most map previews on this wiki, and is also occasionally found elsewhere. It aims to portray the level the way the game does on the Dynamic Map and fullscreen map. This wiki's previews for the main levels, featuring room and thing information, are in fact recorded screencasts of the official editor, not generated. Screenshots of the game or editor in the fullscreen map may be seen, but if the map has neutral rooms, it may be misleading, as they will appear to belong to a Keeper.
Previews generated by third-party programs can be either animated or still, with neutral rooms being pure white on still previews. The advantage of this style is the imparting of ownership information, though there's no real detail shown, and rooms are only shown as a brighter shade of the owner's colour.
UnDed also produces coloured previews, but the colour scheme is completely different to the game's.
In Dungeon Keeper 2, the region's name is mentioned in the briefing screen, but the levels are instead named after a brief description of the plan for that level (it is the regions of the world the levels are set in that are named like the levels of Dungeon Keeper. E.g. The first Dungeon Keeper 2 level is located in Smilesville, which is named very similarly to the first level of Dungeon Keeper, Eversmile). Instead of a description of the land and its customs, the Mentor instead usually gives a description of the fight ahead or previous conflicts relating to the land. Unlike the first game, levels can be replayed; however, for the multiple-choice levels, you are limited to the version you originally chose, unless you edit the registry to unlock the others.
Unlike the campaign levels of the first Dungeon Keeper, Dungeon Keeper 2's campaign level names instead more closely reflect their in-game goal or nature of the level itself. It is the names of the regions they're located in rather than those of the levels themselves that reflect the nature of Harmonia.
The hero section of each level in Dungeon Keeper 2 has its own coat of arms (including levels where heroes are not present). In the files there are 20 unique coats of arms, five of which are never used ingame (as some maps use the same coat), and one depicting some sort of winged beast (perhaps a gryphon) is not used in any level, but appears in the briefing screenshots for several levels.
The levels of Dungeon Keeper 2 have different coats of arms depending on the level.
All coats of arms found in the DK2 files. Several of these are unused.
The briefing screenshot for Fear, showing a coat of arms not seen outside these screenshots.
The six unused coats of arms in DK2. The sixth does appear ingame, but only in briefing screenshots. It also appears in the manual. (The wave and crescent blue & gold one was probably meant to be Moonshrine.)
