[Role Playing Game] Darkness Call ORPG

[sonofjay]

Hey guys. I just want some opinion about the terrain enhancement I'm doing. I'm adding many areas their own custom fog using "glow" since what I'm aiming for Darkness Call is to give it a unique touch. I'm quite confident about it and is actually not planning to show a sneak peak of it until the release of 0.3.0 but it just kinda hit me that there might be people who may not like it and prefer the completely utterly dark environment of Darkness Call or that they might not prefer the color I decided which are:

White: Areas where there are Undead
Red: Boss Areas for Main Storyline
Blue: Boss Areas for Side Quest

other than those three colors are many colors that will be used to fit on the environment like green for swamp light grey for city etc etc. There will still be dark areas and the fogged areas are still obviously dark. The fog is just there to give important areas a unique feel.

Some examples of fogged areas:

Editor Shot	In-game Shot	In-game Shot

Feel free to tell me if there is something you didn't like there or have other suggestions to improve it. I want to make everything final before I do this to all areas. Also you don't need to worry about fps drop since I tried it and there is no such drop.

 

[kakuzu]

This look prety cool , keep it work !

 

[Heinvers]

Sexy terrains jayjay

 

[Vinz]

They look awesome. I didn't know the editor was that messy. xD

 

[sonofjay]

Thanks guys. Although I was actually hoping for feedback about the fogs density(is it too dense or too strong?) and if the color is nice on your eyes.

I didn't know the editor was that messy.

Welp, can't really help it. Its the only way I know on how to add custom fogs. I love looking on my terrain in the editor but for Darkness Call I have to prioritize how it looks like in-game.

 

[Heinvers]

Regarding the fog, you might lessen it up a bit (especially the green one) and lay off the glow model a bit ;P

 

[sonofjay]

Regarding the fog, you might lessen it up a bit and lay off the glow model a bit

I didn't spam the fog, there is only at least 15-20 fog models per area. Although I'll probably gonna rework the fog on the first area where you have to fight the ghouls and gnolls since it looks the messiest in the editor.

 

[PKCrafty]

I think its been close to a year since I was actively on this site; and I still see one of my very first friends making incredible unique maps still to this day. I can tell just by looking at the screenshots the atmosphere of this map is amazing, wouldn't expect anything less! Such a dark and gloomy atmosphere with a hint of evil lurking in its presence. (As I suspect you were going for, with a name such as 'Darkness Calls' ) One of my favorite type of scenarios.

But the most thing I enjoy out of any game, is a challenge - which I see you have done, as you described, "unpredictable" and "creeps with abilities" now that sounds like a challenge to me. And it seems their abilities do not have cooldowns as us the heroes do, now that's interesting.


I see that is it meant for 3 players. Maybe later today or even this weekend if I get the chance we could play if you want, old friend. (Hopefully you haven't forgot about me)

 

[Veritas 117]

I really like your terrain style. The fog gives a good atmosphere and I'm guessing it looks better ingame than in the editor from so far away

 

[sonofjay]

@PK

And here I thought that you're long gone my friend. We miss your informative insights on the melee mapping scene. Although I'm not really one to talk since I also tend to become inactive this days.

I'm glad to hear that my little project over here is good enough for your interest I'll try my best to keep it that way.

To be honest I'm actually done on playing War3 maps. My maps and terrains are just to pass by some free time if I'm not out. Try asking Heinvers he seems to be the most active guy around this forum.

Anyway, nice to see you around again. Are you planning to stick for a while?

@Veritas

Yeah, the fog when viewing from the editor really sucks but it looks nice in-game(I posted some in-game screenshots with the fog on my last update post if you didn't notice).


EDIT:

Just some news guys. I'm not gonna work on the project for a while to give way for my entry on Hive's Terraining Contest # 16. I can't work on both cuz I don't have that much free time.

 

[bethmachine]

Hey son I would like to ask if u could give me a link to where I can get the model you used for the cliffs. (the gray one)

 

[sonofjay]

Ah crap. Its inside one of the map on xgm. I had it for a very long time now and I don't think I can find the link but I can just upload it on the pastebin then give it to you(but only the cliff though, the map is very big). I'll do it later.

 

[bethmachine]

Just reminding u about the cliffs son.

 

[sonofjay]

Just another random bump.

I add some new stuffs on the game and what I'm gonna show you on this post are two new shops that sells some necessary items.


-Scroll Collector - Sells scrolls that can help a single player or the entire party on their journeys.


-Collector(Placeholder name) - Posses items that you cannot get hold anywhere than him. Instead of money this guy only trades with gems that you can get from bosses, secret/side quests.

Also I finally decided what to change on the Pyromancer's skillset.

I removed the Fireward in exchange of "Taste for Magic". A passive ability that gives Pyromancer a bonus on her intelligence everytime she cast a spell. The bonus runs out after 10 seconds of no casting. Timer reset per cast.

 

[Heinvers]

Scroll items, hmm I like that. Keep it up jayjay.

 

[sonofjay]

I think this scrolls will be very important since this will be the party's utility item. You may not rely on it on lower difficulties since the price might be too high but I believe you'll need a lot of it on higher difficulty since there will be scrolls that can boost your as, ms, armor, heal hp replenish mp and remove stun to make you par on stronger, faster and more dangerous creeps on higher difficulty.

Also what do you think of the new tooltip style?

 

[Veritas 117]

I always like different ways of getting loot, besides drops and vendors. So this is nice, because you get your reward for killing a boss, but get to choose what you spend it on. It isn't just gold that you can get from killing creeps either. Nice idea.

 

[Heinvers]

Also what do you think of the new tooltip style?

It's definitely good looking and better tbh.

I believe you'll need a lot of it on higher difficulty since there will be scrolls that can boost your as, ms, armor, heal hp replenish mp and remove stun to make you par on stronger, faster and more dangerous creeps on higher difficulty.

That's my boy
It's a good call. That way you won't get OP too soon.

I always like different ways of getting loot, besides drops and vendors.

Agreed.

 

[Vinz]

I love this. Perhaps, though, the scroll of healing could heal not flat, but percentage of max health? Or Flat Base + %?

 

[sonofjay]

I love this. Perhaps, though, the scroll of healing could heal not flat, but percentage of max health? Or Flat Base + %?

I already changed the formula of the normal potions to Current HP * Value so I left the scroll of healing to a fix number because turning it to percentage will only make the timing harder since its a team heal.

 

[kakuzu]

So how is it going ?

 

[sonofjay]

So how is it going ?

I just posted something about the project a few days ago.

This project isn't like the others where they post almost all the small things they do on their project everyday. This is a chill project that move on my own pace.

 

[kakuzu]

Alright good luck with it !

 

[bhusta]

I like the idea of shops which need a different kind of resource.
But at the current state, what differs the collector from simple quest rewards?
Will it be the greater range of items to pick from?

 

[sonofjay]

But at the current state, what differs the collector from simple quest rewards?

I haven't really given that much of a thought. But being able to choose from different items should be more than enough. Maybe the screenshot only having 3 items to choose from didn't convince you but there should be 12 per collector when I release the new version.

Will it be the greater range of items to pick from?

Yup. It is just a fancier way of giving players more options on their gear. They're not necessary but the active abilities might entice you.

 

[robizeratul]

very nice! can't wait for the finished map.!

 

[sonofjay]

very nice! can't wait for the finished map.!

So am I! The author should seriously work harder on this project!

I can't show any screenshot since I didn't made any big progress that can be shown in screenshots but I can give you the list that I've done recently and the only things that needed to be done.

Recent progress:
-Finished two scripted boss fights. Its on a separate map but transferring them should be easy.
-Finished the quest tree till the end of chapter 3. Note: Its very psychological, bloody and plays heavy twisted humor on human behavior. So if you don't like that you can leave this thread.
-Grind Dungeon is done.
-The Branching Side quest on the "Mine" is done.

Things to do:
-MAKE ITEMS FOR HEIVER'S SAKE! I can't get myself work on items. Lazy syndrome. I find it boring at times.
-I've already written the side quests but I haven't able to make them yet, I might also rework them to make them blend with the story but that is not really a priority.


Also, I asked DIMF to make the level cap thingy that bhusta suggested since I tried to do it myself but can't get it to work properly and he said he will help, I didn't give him any deadline since I don't want to pressure him.

 

[MoCo]

I'm still waiting for this..

And I agree that creating items can be a very boring and cumbersome process; too bad, WC3 jass doesn't allow for dynamic creation of items and their stats.

 

[sonofjay]

That will be awesome if Jass can do that and maybe we can even make random stats for items if only they make tooltip changeable.

Anyway, this is on-hold for now since I'm helping one of the most popular orpg map in the hive's map section atm.

 

[Vinz]

Which ORPG?

Also if inventories are fullscreen randomized stats can be achieved. It's cumbersome though...

 

[sonofjay]

Also if inventories are fullscreen randomized stats can be achieved. It's cumbersome though...

I know but I want to retain the newb friendliness of the map. I rather polish what I have done so far than just complicate things.

Which ORPG?

Its a DC map that is all I'm telling.

 

[Heinvers]

Damn wretch

I know but I want to retain the newb friendliness of the map

All rights reserved for newbs like Heinvers.

 

[Veritas 117]

I know but I want to retain the newb friendliness of the map. I rather polish what I have done so far than just complicate things.

I'm a firm believer in this idea. Things can get way too overcomplicated very fast. All it does is take away from the gameplay.

 

[GIMLI_2]

Which ORPG?

gaias retaliation

 

[bhusta]

...

He did not want to tell it yet

 

[sonofjay]

...

Damn it.

EDIT:

Oh wait, Zwie said it on the forum already.

Anyway, no need to keep bumping the thread since we're not talking about the project.

 

[sonofjay]

Welp, been really a while since I posted something about the map.

Here are some screenshot from me playing the new branching quest in the mine. I plan to put up a video from the start of the quest till the boss fight.

Q: You'd talked about this branching quest for a while now but what the hell is it?

A:The branching quest is just a side quest because you don't really have to take it. The twist is that the fragments of story that will be thrown here have something to do with the main story. You're not required to take it to understand the story but taking it will give you a better grasp of what is going on in the world and explaining why this and that happen.

NOTE:

*Branching Quests will be unlock if you finish a specific quest from the main story.
**Even though you have progress far enough in the main story to suppose to unlock the next branching quest it will not be unlock if you didn't finish the earlier branching quest.

And.......

I also found some bugs

-The new way I handle the class equipments ruined other systems concerning items. This is very major since the other two class can't equip items and the pyromancer can't equip accessory equips.
-Pyromancer's passive needs some reworking (see her Int in the first pic).
-There some more but I'm on phone right now and too lazy yo put them all.

 

[Heinvers]

Wait, wut :O

You posted? ;O

AWESOME!

 

[Vinz]

Ooh, it looks good. I hope the spells are more on OP ground targets, though.

 

[sluk]

wow nice looks cool!