[Melee] Battle of Asgard WIP Help Needed

[hotpotsoup]

Battle of Asgard

Battle of Asgard

A Work-In-Progress altered melee map with story and NPC elements that I will continue to develop and improve over time. This is my first full-scale map ever made, so please be considerate when reviewing.

Screens:

Whole Map

Middle Passage

Small Creeps

North Boss

Lord of Death

Currently, it is around 50-60% finished overall, very playable with up to 3 other AI or with friends. Everyone are welcome to download and playtest alone or with friends.

Map Progress

- Terrain - 30% finished, possible improvements in the future. A lot of blank space on the sides of the map. Moderate priority.
- Units - 60% finished, balance issues remain. Moderate priority.
- Triggers - 50% finished, lacking most cinematics and a few important map features. Some features are not currently working as desired. Very High priority.
- Items/Abilities/Buffs - 70% finished, some abilities/buffs are not working correctly, balance issues, and custom shop items are yet to be done. High priority.
- Upgrades - 60% finished, decided to stick to default racial tech with few custom researches that unlocks custom end tier units. Low priority.

Currently Working On

- A contestable resource point in the middle of the map, beside the passage that will passively grant gold and lumber periodically to whoever captured it last to award players who clear the passage and encourage map control. 0% Pending - More knowledge required

- The spawning of the Lord of Death hidden boss complete with moving camera cinematic and special effects, as well as a quest to kill it and win the game for whoever succeeds in doing so. 80% In-Progress

- Second terraining pass that will make the map much more appealing and less "empty" 1% In-Progress

- A custom research for every race that will enable custom end tier units to be built. Custom unit icons in the right places. 1% In-Progress

- Balance pass on all creep units20% In-Progress

- Custom unit models with Asgardian theme0% Pending

You are also welcome to open my map in the editor and help me fix any issues or help me out with feature additions as the map is not protected yet. If you do find a solution to a problem I'm working on, please use screenshots and post in the comments so it can be added to the map next patch.

The map is in playable condition with AI, and currently supports:
1v1
1v2
2v2
1v1 w/ AI
1v2 w/ AI
2v2 w/ AI

Enjoy!

Patch Notes

V1.0 - Basic Terrain created. Map name established.

V1.1 - Doodads, Creeps, and "The Passage" are created, added the "Warmonger" boss in the North and South side of the map, along with additional creeps.

V1.2 - Start Location, Gold Mines, Trees location updated, added "Roar of the Warmonger" drop item, added Fountain of Health and Fountain of Mana on both sides of the mountain.

V1.3 - Map Triggers first pass(25%). Creep formation updated. Fixed a bug with unit collision in "The Passage". Fixed a bug with "Roar of the Warmonger" not working as intended. Added "Lord of Death" hidden boss along with first basic cinematic with his spawn.

V1.4 - Map Triggers second pass(45%). Creep respawn fixed. Buffed "Lord of Death" damage and health regeneration. Fixed a bug with the "Lord of Death" spawn cinematic. Added special camera and lighting effects to the "Lord of Death" cinematic.

V1.4a - Minor bugfixes with gold mine regen and trees that were being cut down too fast. Removed some excessive doodads and some trees outside of the map to optimize file size and increase clarity.

V1.4b - Nerfed the creeps guarding "The Passage" to allow for more fluid gameplay and access to the other halve of the map sooner.

V1.4c - Revamped creep respawn mechanic, will now respawn after a 90 second timer. This could be problematic with creeps guarding "The Passage", will see if additional tweaking needed.

V1.4d - Added "Deathwave" ability to "Lord of Death". It is a shockwave that deals massive damage in an AOE line and has a 8 second cooldown. The mana cost is very high to balance it. Added custom end tier units to all races. Currently they are the easter egg Starcraft units, may revamp at a later time.

V1.5 - Massive balance pass for all custom units and abilities on the map, should now allow for more fluid transition from default units to the custom end tier units. Buffed default damage and armor upgrades to bring non-custom units up to bar. "Warmonger Spawn", a lesser version of the North and South boss can now be purchased at the dragon roost below the actual "Warmonger" boss at a high price to help bring down "Lord of Death". Fixed a ton of triggers that makes the game much more playable. Added some dev cheats to help with play-testing. Increased the surface area of the ramps on both sides of "The Passage" to allow huge armies to traverse on them and make it easier for players to attack the "Warmonger" with all their forces.

V1.5a - Second pass on new Creep Respawn mechanic, now respawns creeps at their camp instead of place of death. "Lord of Death" cinematic updated for clarity and fluidity. "Lord of Death" now triggers a quest upon spawn to kill him, and grant victory to whoever succeeds in doing so. Cheats commands have been updated for public use and reflect the map thematically. Creeps guarding "The Passage" will no longer respawn, opening the map permanently once they are killed.

V1.5b - Balance pass on end tier units and "Lord of Death". Space Orcs were too strong and have their health, attack range, and movement speed nerfed. All custom units are now 20% more expensive(gold-wise) to make. "Lord of Death" has his health and defense massively nerfed, but damage output massively buffed. His "Deathwave" now has wider range on missile and does more damage with a lower mana cost, but have longer cooldown. Racial upgrades required to unlock end tier units have been balanced a bit and made to make sense. For example, to unlock Space Orc, you need to research Liquid Fire and Burning Oil. "Lord of Death" cinematic has been updated to be shorter and more fluid, as well as granting vision of the part of the map that he spawns in.

V1.5c - Terrain pass for the whole map. Creep camp locations updated. Territorial Terrain added for each player. Removed excess creeps from the path to Northern Warmonger. Added player number on Territorial Terrain. Goldmine placement updated to hopefully fix Undead and Night Elf AI (Have not playtested yet.)

V1.5d V1.5d Patch Notes

 

[hotpotsoup]

V1.5 has been released. Check patch notes for details.

Known bugs:
- Creeps spawn at place of death instead of at their camp. This will require a ton of work with regions and triggers.
- Creeps guarding "The Passage" respawn at the same rate as minor creeps. I may disable respawning for them to permanently open up the map after they die.
- Upgrades required for unlocking the end tier units are currently not balanced and are placeholders for the custom upgrades that will be implemented later.
- Certain non-ancient creeps are not respawning.
- Resource collecting rates unbalanced.

 

[Ardenian]

Vote: 'I don't know, it's hard to tell at this moment.'

I didn't play it as I cannot at the moment, but one thing for sure:
You already spend a lot of time and if you have fun making it, keep going!

It sounds promising if you add more and more features, develop gameplay and so on.

 

[WhiteFang]

I wish i could help but i've been busy the last few eeks and i still need to find out who i promised to help.I will take a look at this later

 

[hotpotsoup]

I wish i could help but i've been busy the last few eeks and i still need to find out who i promised to help.I will take a look at this later

I think you talked about joining a map team over at the Recruiting section. Thanks for your interest! Feel free to message me when you're available.

 

[hotpotsoup]

Vote: 'I don't know, it's hard to tell at this moment.'

I didn't play it as I cannot at the moment, but one thing for sure:
You already spend a lot of time and if you have fun making it, keep going!

It sounds promising if you add more and more features, develop gameplay and so on.

I'll keep that in mind!

 

[hotpotsoup]

V1.5a has been released. Check patch notes for details.

Known bugs/issues:
- Gold collecting rate is much higher than lumber due to two gold mines available to every player, creating a situation where a player might have extremely excessive amounts of gold, but no lumber and therefore cannot purchase most units/buildings/upgrades. This will require a balance pass on resource collection.
- Night Elf and Undead AI are still not working.
- Creep camps are using default game units and stats which is unbalanced for this map.

 

[hotpotsoup]

V1.5b has been released. Check patch notes for details.

Known bugs/issues:
- Night Elf race at a disadvantage, not being able to entangle two goldmines with a single Tree of Life.
- Night Elf and Undead AI are still not working.
- Creep camps are using default game units and stats which is unbalanced for this map.

 

[Chaosy]

The project fails to amaze me. Not because of the idea, but because it's executed poorly.

The terrain is pretty much non-existant. There is no sign of unique/interesting system to enchant the gameplay either.

Unless you step your game up I doubt it will be approved once finished. Sorry to be rude, but that's my opinion. Don't be discouraged though, I think you're doing a better job than me when I was as new as you are.

 

[hotpotsoup]

The project fails to amaze me. Not because of the idea, but because it's executed poorly.

The terrain is pretty much non-existant. There is no sign of unique/interesting system to enchant the gameplay either.

Unless you step your game up I doubt it will be approved once finished. Sorry to be rude, but that's my opinion. Don't be discouraged though, I think you're doing a better job than me when I was as new as you are.

Thank you for your feedback! I am learning multiple things everyday while working on this map, and I don't regret it. Any and all advice are welcome regarding this map, I take them very seriously. Criticism are also welcome, as long as there are explanations on how I can do better. Again, thank you very much for your feedback!

 

[hotpotsoup]

V1.5c has been released. Check patch notes for details.

Known bugs/issues:
- Night Elf and Undead AI are still not working.
- Creep camps are using default game units and stats which is unbalanced for this map.
- Gold collection/spending rate is once again unbalanced because of new goldmine placement.

Author's Note:
Hello hivers, life has been busy these days and I am getting less time to work on the map. However, I will keep developing the map, albeit at a slower pace than before. The map has come a long way and is very playable at its current state. Thank you for your support and criticism so far, and see you next patch!

 

[hotpotsoup]

V1.5d has been released! Check Patch Notes for details.

Patch at a Glance:
- Undead and Night Elf AI are now working! (Still experimental)
- Added the mountain ranges to the map, first step on Terraining.
- Wood collection rate increased for all races.
- Balance pass on The Passage creeps, bosses and Roar of the Warmonger.

Known bugs/issues:
- Creep camps are using default game units. (WIP)
- New wood collection rate may be unbalanced. (WIP)
- Space Orcs are overpowered with new resource collection rates. (WIP)

Author's Note:
Hello everyone, I found some time this week to release V1.5d. I've received feedback about the non-existant terraining so I've started work on some terraining on the map. Currently, the only thing added are the mountain ranges on the side of the forests on both sides. There will be more work done on the terrain, don't worry. As for AI, I think I've finally got it figured out! Undead and Night Elf are working well from the few playtests I've had with V1.5d. If there are any lingering issues be sure to comment or pm me. See you all until next patch!

 

[hotpotsoup]

Looking for more testers.

 

[Ardenian]

Looking for more testers.

If I have some time, I will go for a round and give some feedback.

 

[hotpotsoup]

If I have some time, I will go for a round and give some feedback.

That'd be greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

[Ardenian]

Feedback

• you made your own food upkeep, would be strange if increased food limit without new upkeep
• unit groups respawn, nice experience bonus
• human have custom unit marine

Similar to your poll, it is hard to tell much at the moment, as it is rather unfinished.

• Terrain, I don't have much to say, have I ? The newest version has a terrain rating of 1/10, more than lacking and unacceptable. There is a reason why many creator first focus on terrain. There is hardly anyone who will play this map while it lacks so heavily terrain.
• Missing creep group at second gold mine
• base is too open, none would build a base in the open lands ( this also come along with terrain)
• starting food limit is 200 and gold mine is unlimited ( I guess it is for testing intended)
• marine has a bad icon train position, it requires more tech than the sniper and should therefore be at another position, 'behind' the sniper and the footman, like the knight
• no creep drops, as far as I noticed
• too long ways
• ally attacks no sleeping unit groups, maybe waiting for a unit or something, but does not attack
• unit group at mountain (?) is far too strong, even with ally they easily wipe out your whole armies

Result: In its current state, there is a lot more to do for you. This map is far away from being playable and satisfying.
Nonetheless, I am really excited for new versions, although I would say you published it way too early.
First of all, you should create the terrain, so it looks decent and makes me want to play more

 

[hotpotsoup]

Feedback

• you made your own food upkeep, would be strange if increased food limit without new upkeep
• unit groups respawn, nice experience bonus
• human have custom unit marine

Similar to your poll, it is hard to tell much at the moment, as it is rather unfinished.

• Terrain, I don't have much to say, have I ? The newest version has a terrain rating of 1/10, more than lacking and unacceptable. There is a reason why many creator first focus on terrain. There is hardly anyone who will play this map while it lacks so heavily terrain.
• Missing creep group at second gold mine
• base is too open, none would build a base in the open lands ( this also come along with terrain)
• starting food limit is 200 and gold mine is unlimited ( I guess it is for testing intended)
• marine has a bad icon train position, it requires more tech than the sniper and should therefore be at another position, 'behind' the sniper and the footman, like the knight
• no creep drops, as far as I noticed
• too long ways
• ally attacks no sleeping unit groups, maybe waiting for a unit or something, but does not attack
• unit group at mountain (?) is far too strong, even with ally they easily wipe out your whole armies

Result: In its current state, there is a lot more to do for you. This map is far away from being playable and satisfying.
Nonetheless, I am really excited for new versions, although I would say you published it way too early.
First of all, you should create the terrain, so it looks decent and makes me want to play more

First of all, I am speechless at the amount of effort you've put into the feedback. Thank you so much!

I'll address some things. When you noted the custom units, it seems like you've mainly played the human faction. All factions have their own custom units (which is not perfectly balanced atm but are playable). As for terrain, I am thankful that you've pointed it out. If you have anything particular in mind please message me. Patch 1.5d is my first step towards the map terraining and I knew there's somethings missing but couldn't quite tell what. With the recent terrain changes on Patch 1.5d, I've relocated the gold mines to fix the AI and add strategic diversity. However I've forgotten to put one time creeps guarding the gold mines as I should have. Thanks for reminding me. As for the player base terrain, it is still much in progress and I would very much appreciate it if you could give me some ideas on how I can make it less "open" and more appealing while keeping the building area intact. The food limit and gold are as you said, intended for testing purposes. I've yet to find a balance for those and they are quite low on the priority list as I'm focusing on the terraining and playability. As for AI attacking the creep groups, they should do so after acquiring a few custom units. If they do not then it is very likely a bug that I need to fix. I'll do some more playtesting to make sure. For the "mountain" unit groups, If you're referring to the Warmonger Dragon boss and its underlings, they are supposed to require almost full custom unit armies to take out, but the balance is still in progress. I think I've addressed most of your feedback.

Thank you again for this very informative and thorough feedback. The project is still in progress and I'm aiming to release new versions less often but with more content. Your feedback and concerns are noted and you can expect changes related to them in the next patch.

 

[Ardenian]

Quote answer

First of all, I am speechless at the amount of effort you've put into the feedback. Thank you so much!

Actually it is a very short feedback, but I am glad it helps you.

As for terrain, I am thankful that you've pointed it out. If you have anything particular in mind please message me. Patch 1.5d is my first step towards the map terraining and I knew there's somethings missing but couldn't quite tell what.

If you do not know anything about terraining you could try to hire a map terrainer. If you want to do it yourself, you could also take a look on default Blizzard maps and Hive's melee maps to get some inspiration and ideas. Also, there are some nice tutorials on Hive, may check them out as well.

As for the player base terrain, it is still much in progress and I would very much appreciate it if you could give me some ideas on how I can make it less "open" and more appealing while keeping the building area intact.

Basically, there should be some kind of borders that limit the opportunity to enter the base, like a natural gate. Often, like in Blizzard maps, it is only slightly indicated. You should think about the space a race basically need for itself, considering all tiers of buildings and give a bit more space than they need ( that is my opinion). To indicate them, you could use cliffs or doodads, I recommend you to look on Blizzard maps, they usually did quite okay.

I'll do some more playtesting to make sure. For the "mountain" unit groups, If you're referring to the Warmonger Dragon boss and its underlings, they are supposed to require almost full custom unit armies to take out, but the balance is still in progress.

No, I was referring to the very first mountain creep group, at the entrance to the higher area. I think they could be beaten if both players are controlled by users. Nonetheless they will lose a big amount of their army ( not considering hero spells for assistance like Banish and such).

Thank you again for this very informative and thorough feedback. The project is still in progress and I'm aiming to release new versions less often but with more content. Your feedback and concerns are noted and you can expect changes related to them in the next patch.

I am glad that I can help you. I look forward to see a new version and I am sure that I will test it, too.

 

[king arthas123]

Hey I'm available, I can help you in terrains or beta test

 

[hotpotsoup]

Hey I'm available, I can help you in terrains or beta test

You're definitely welcome to do so! Please playtest my map and post any feedback along with screenshots here. If you wish to be part of the developing team, please pm me and we'll work it out.

Currently, the map is on hold as I try to learn more anout the map editor and terraining.