Dark Times

[Moderator]

19:20, 15th Mar 2014
Orcnet: Map approved.

 

[Wazzz]

map is very well done for a beta, although i have run across an issue where dying appears to be permanent
this was in survival mode and the hints kept on elaborating that death will cause a penalty to gold and experience as well as harassing me into playing the game further, but when i did die due to a level trap sadistically placed by cultists and a dark inquisitor, i found that all i had left now was a locked camera over my dead body T.T

backpack system is a little clumsy, too, not sure i can even call it a system
the game itself is VERY enjoyable, there's a few typos here and there but i don't mind too much

 

[HappyCockroach]

map is very well done for a beta, although i have run across an issue where dying appears to be permanent
this was in survival mode and the hints kept on elaborating that death will cause a penalty to gold and experience as well as harassing me into playing the game further, but when i did die due to a level trap sadistically placed by cultists and a dark inquisitor, i found that all i had left now was a locked camera over my dead body T.T

backpack system is a little clumsy, too, not sure i can even call it a system
the game itself is VERY enjoyable, there's a few typos here and there but i don't mind too much

what he said. :v

an enjoyable and inspiring game for its deep atmosphere and state-of-art. but skills and inventory etc might need some re-inventing.
(didnt go to far too, cos died and had a still camera at my dead body)

EDIT: played it again and got to like it even more! :3
i salute you, sir, your map is the most enjoyable map i've played in a while. :>

 

[IamFootman061]

Reserved for my review

Edit:
Here is my review now

IamFootman061 Review

Dark Times Good Points Bad Points Gameplay. The gameplay is really cool. Good skills,nice talent trees,cool spells and many others. I like the way that the enemy use spells too. And the picking phase, the way you will pick a race, difficulty and left and right arrow to pick your hero. Nice item and inventory system. And your planned will be cool and good. This rpg is really good. And I highly recommend everyone to play this really cool RPG. Terrain. The terrain is good enough though some of it is quite flat and quite empty but still nice landscapes. Some of the models too is overscaled so it doesn't fit like the carpet but still, I considered the terrain as a good one. I like the way you use some HQ models too although some of it doesn't fit too with the other low quality models. Tips. I know there is hint system but I thinks it's not that good because when you pick your hero, you don't know what will you do. I will suggest/recommend that you put some tips in the quest log. Try to put all the quest in the main quest and in the optional quest is the tips. Design. I know that there is a custom preview image but put a loading screen too. I don't really like the loading screen and I suggest you put some because this is a nice RPG. The minimap image too, it's all black and it doesn't look good. The minimap image has some similarities on the preview because they can have a same image but not the same path. for the preview is war3mapPreview.tga and for the minimap is war3mapMap.tga. Suggestions Put some nice and fitting loading screen for your map. Improve your terrain a little as I mention above. Put some tips in the quest log as I mention above too. Rating 4/5 and Vote for Approval [tr]

[td]

Contact

Feel Free to contact me if you have a complain or anything.

[tr][td][/tr]

 

[Lockheart]

map is very well done for a beta, although i have run across an issue where dying appears to be permanent
this was in survival mode and the hints kept on elaborating that death will cause a penalty to gold and experience as well as harassing me into playing the game further, but when i did die due to a level trap sadistically placed by cultists and a dark inquisitor, i found that all i had left now was a locked camera over my dead body T.T

backpack system is a little clumsy, too, not sure i can even call it a system
the game itself is VERY enjoyable, there's a few typos here and there but i don't mind too much

@Wazzz: Thanks for your feedback! So if I understand this correct you say that you kept beeing dead in survival mode? Well, that's correct then. Only 1 Life there. But maybe the message "You lose .... when you die." indeed shouldnt show up then... May be irritating. Well I'm sorry for the typos but we give our best to keep it as correct as possible! Sometimes it's a little hard.

what he said. :v

an enjoyable and inspiring game for its deep atmosphere and state-of-art. but skills and inventory etc might need some re-inventing.
(didnt go to far too, cos died and had a still camera at my dead body)

EDIT: played it again and got to like it even more! :3
i salute you, sir, your map is the most enjoyable map i've played in a while. :>

@HappyCockroach: Imago_ and I are really glad the both of you liked it! If you want to I'ld highly appreciate a rated map! Hope you had your fun and that you will enjoy the comming updates! Thanks again for those motivating comments!
*Salutes back*

@IamFootman061: Thanks mate, I appreciate it! I can assure you that the few (compared to the rest of the area) more or less empty places are going to be filled in the comming updates; further and further. The hint system is kinda 'beta' by now and of course will be changed. The actually shown hints were the first that came in our minds, we will add some more useful so that the players will have a helping hand and that they wont miss one of the features.

As for the eyecandy-graphics that you stated like loading screen, minimap image and preview image: Since the map size obviously became bigger and bigger we have to keep an open eye on files and their size. There was a loading screen image but we removed it because of this matter; right before we released the map. I'll try to find a way to solve this but we need some filespace left because we may need a few more models (like for the endboss). While I am at this I may recreate the preview image 'cause of your statement, that I can understand. I am not so happy with it myself.

 

[Shadow Fury]

Really impressive RPG. So bad it has some bad points. Anyway, here is my review:-

GOOD POINTS:-
- Impeccable terrain! Couldn't find any part in your map which wasn't done perfectly. Well done!
- Bloody effects when I kill enemy units
- Custom music and great sounds used
- A lot of floating texts which I really appreciated
- Enterable buildings
- 5 levels of difficulty
- Well done abilities, not really perfect but I liked them
- Convenient filesize for such an awesome map!

It pains my heart but I'll have to list some bad points

BAD POINTS:-
- You didn't use well pathing blockes because there are some doodads which I can pass through so this leads me outside the playable area (crucial issue)
- Spelling mistakes
- Some units have an exclamation mark on them but they do not give me any quest e.g Bad Jack and the Village Elder when I finish his 2 quests
- All quests have a unique icon (small issue but still annoys me)

SUGGESTIONS:-
- Use pathing blockers to avoid players from going outside the playable borders
- Remove the exclamation mark from the units that don't give any quest
- Correct the spelling mistakes
- Put a credits list in the game
- Each quest should have an icon

OVERALL RESULT:-
To conclude, this is the best RPG I played so far. However, for the problem of the pathing blockers, I'll have to give this 4/5. Vote for APPROVAL certainly!

 

[Imago_]

@Shadow Fury: Thank you for the feedback! Hope you will follow the progress of my map

1. I also noticed the problem with the borders. Gonna put some more pathing blockers to make sure the players stay in the playable map area.

2. 'Bad Jack' and the 'Village Elder' will have a quest in further updates. I will also think about your idea of giving an unique icon for each quest!

3. I will fix the typos step by step

Updates coming soon!

 

[Shadow Fury]

Good luck then!

 

[Wazzz]

i've had a quest from village elder...

unless he's supposed to have another one

but yeah, bad jack didn't even want to talk to me, he's kind of a jerk like that

 

[Imago_]

@Wazz: At the moment village elder gives you 2 quests, 3th will come soon

 

[Lockheart]

I added a Quest Log to the description,
however there are a lot of quests that will have to follow.

 

[nhs325]

You might want to fix the backpack problem. Also, it is kind of laggy, remove some useless doodle might just fine.

 

[Imago_]

@nhs325:What exactly was your problem with the backpack?

On my pc the map performs totally lag-free, perhaps it's an issue with your pc?
I know there are some lags when you use a spell the first time, cause I didn't preload them.
Sorry, but I can't delete any doodads, else my map would lose a lot of atmosphere

 

[nhs325]

Ok. I cannot put my items straight to my backpack, so I have to put it down to the ground then the backpack could take it.

 

[nhs325]

Ohh, you might want to look at your 'Toxic Ring' and the 'Searing Ring'. They don't have any effects, the shape of those items when i put it on the ground is not right, and the description is weird (Skull of Gul'dan and the other stuff definately not right).
The guy in the mine sell items when I go to the other side. I remember he only turn into a merchant when you finish the quest, but when I go in, he sell them, when I go out, he turns to normal.
The Valkerie has the '!' On her.

 

[Wazzz]

there's a Valkyrie? o:

HappyCockroach and myself have managed to complete what we believe is everything presently available (we beat the Gravekeeper AND found all the butterflies), and we are looking forward to more :3

 

[Lockheart]

@nsh325: You seem to forget that this game is a beta right now. The items you stated have no effect by now simply because they aren't done yet. This should also explain their tooltips to you. The Valkyrie has an exclamation mark over her head when she is taunting the creeps. So this is correct. As for the miner - we will check this! Thanks for letting us know.

@Wazzz: Look at Naishas spells, she can summon a guarding valkyrie. It's her Q-Spell. The next update is going to be released soon. We will keep you up to date but there are some more or less big changes already!

 

[Sellenisko]

I dont have much time to read all what people wrote here down. But. Its awesome project. I played for several heroes in single mode. I definitely want to play it in multiplayer. Breth taking terrain, brilliant ideas for heroes and skills and that changing direction of camera was sometimes confusing, but I got used to it and it was interesting aswell. Nicely done quests by the way. I am not that good in rating maps and projects, but this is one of my favourites. And thank you very much for using some of my resources, I really enjoyed plaing for them ! LEts hope someone will make icons for these heroes, maybe Sindorei300, he is one of the best in icon making.

Thank you for such a good project, even if its still beta. There are some small problems that needs to be fixed, but I think its only cosmetic, nothing minor. From me? definitely 5/5.

 

[Lockheart]

@Sellenisko: hurrdurr, you should have seen Imago_ when he told me about your comment, his chest filled with proudness. Made my day.
I, too, feel honored for your support.

However, I want to use the opportunity to announce something!

First thing: As the map size keeps increasing we decided for now to not includ a custom map preview image and neither a loading screen. We are sorry if this is a dissapointment, but I attached the images that were supposed to be those custom ones since I created them already. (If their will be some space left we may add them!) Instead we want to add more events, quest and maybe even increase the area size. We thought more than once about it and we think this is a better decission.

I would like to know if you agree, please tell me your opinion.
(You can watch the map description to see the technically seen map preview and loading screen image if you want to)

Second thing: I'm happy to tell you that there will be an update tomorrow if things goes well ! *caugh* It will include the following stuff:

Tomorrows changes

- Changed: New Starting Area
- Changed: Stonehelm Terrain became a rather big style-push!
- Changed: Elven Camp Terrain became a big style-push!
- Changed: Teleporter around the map are now better visible!
- Changed: Dark Essence (Quest) - A new model for the Quest Giver "Ghosthunter"

- Added: A new quest: "Sweet home" (Stonehelm, req. lvl 1)
- Added: A new quest: "Brutal murder" (Stonehelm, req. lvl 10)
- Added: The left wing of the church now is accessable. Don't let it out!
- Added: Vendors now have a custom shop icon about their entrance.
- Added: Unaccepted quests will now show a question mark above the head of their quest giver.
- Added: NPC names now display in a tooltip above their head (like "Quest Giver", "Merchant", and further).
- Added: Two new buildings
+ The Tavern of Stonehelm, a warm home for stranded citiziens.
+ An interesting looking building. You should visit it. Spoiler:

Spoiler

Congratulations, you ain't a shelterless anymore! If you work for it.

- Fixed: The Miner merchant won't sell items anymore before the appropriate quest is done.

These notes will be included to the patch notes after the update is uploaded.
We hope for further input then! So far.

derp

And don't forget to check out the mentioned media files.

 

[Lockheart]

I added a new splashscreen to the description on page 1.
Furthermore there will be one more big update this friday.

 

[HappyCockroach]

I added a new splashscreen to the description on page 1.
Furthermore there will be one more big update this friday.

played it today solo, and those were nice updates! what i have to say is the following:

- although im sure its a nice addition, i dont see much use for the stash for now, since we're too short at money until the point the game goes, and selling items is better than keeping them for alternative roles. that can change though, if the items that are to come get more tricky. (items with tricky abilities and whatnot). btw, the searing ring seems a tad bit OP compared to the others, but it is nice and already goes in that tricky-ness direction
- the kobold quest man that was at the cave entrance talks now as if it was at the cave entrace still
- since the first time i played the map there's an important issue: it is too unstable. it gives fatal errors very often. dunno if it happens to you guys as well. (happens more upon ctrl+esc and saving game, but out of nothing too) dunno if that's purely wc3-engine-related though.

overall, keep up good work! ill be waiting for the next update

 

[Lockheart]

played it today solo, and those were nice updates! what i have to say is the following:

- although im sure its a nice addition, i dont see much use for the stash for now, since we're too short at money until the point the game goes, and selling items is better than keeping them for alternative roles. that can change though, if the items that are to come get more tricky. (items with tricky abilities and whatnot). btw, the searing ring seems a tad bit OP compared to the others, but it is nice and already goes in that tricky-ness direction
- the kobold quest man that was at the cave entrance talks now as if it was at the cave entrace still
- since the first time i played the map there's an important issue: it is too unstable. it gives fatal errors very often. dunno if it happens to you guys as well. (happens more upon ctrl+esc and saving game, but out of nothing too) dunno if that's purely wc3-engine-related though.

overall, keep up good work! ill be waiting for the next update

Thanks for your input! Most of the problems are already fixed and included in the next patch. We recognized that the current version isn't perfect as due to the last patch some minor things are a little glitched. (For example the new rings and the dialog)

The only thing at least I am not aware of are the game crashes you mentioned since I never experienced one myself.
Guess Imago_ will check this.

 

[Wazzz]

i am definitely going to have to check this map out again

 

[HappyCockroach]

Thanks for your input! Most of the problems are already fixed and included in the next patch. We recognized that the current version isn't perfect as due to the last patch some minor things are a little glitched. (For example the new rings and the dialog)

The only thing at least I am not aware of are the game crashes you mentioned since I never experienced one myself.
Guess Imago_ will check this.

i think it's important to point out for that crash issue that we're running 1.26 version...

until now, i haven't been able to 'end' the game because i want it (we killed the gravedigger boss and all once, then it crashed a while later) - all of the times i've just left the game because it crashed. :/

 

[Lockheart]

i am definitely going to have to check this map out again

I command you to! Hope you'll enjoy the new stuff.

i think it's important to point out for that crash issue that we're running 1.26 version...

until now, i haven't been able to 'end' the game because i want it (we killed the gravedigger boss and all once, then it crashed a while later) - all of the times i've just left the game because it crashed. :/

Well this is something that never happened to me to be honest. You should try to avoid saving since this game is ment to be played in one session.
Game time isn't to high to do so in my opinion. Also your computer shouldn't be totally outdated, too. (Since there's a huge amount of decoration and doodas.)
Lastly you could try to set your details a little bit lower if it's to much. (Usually this really shouldn't be the case.)

However, I take this quite serious so would you tell me which hero you picked? I'll try to finde a solution for your problem if the usual things above won't help out.

 

[Imago_]

@HappyCockroach:
1. In further patches I will make some "trading-skills" for the Treasur Chest. For example: Trade 500 gold for 1 Talentpoint. I am also thinking about using 'wood' as 'Corrupted Soul', so you got a second currency. Hope this will make the chest more attractive.
2. Thanks for the tip with the ring, it's hard to find the right balancing..gonna fix it for friday!
3. What a pity to hear about the crashes! I also played the map solo serveral times, but I never saved the game and usually this map is ment to play it in one sitting, but nevertheless I will check my locs and so on, maybe I overlook some leaks there.

 

[HappyCockroach]

Also your computer shouldn't be totally outdated, too. (Since there's a huge amount of decoration and doodas.)
Lastly you could try to set your details a little bit lower if it's to much. (Usually this really shouldn't be the case.)

However, I take this quite serious so would you tell me which hero you picked? I'll try to finde a solution for your problem if the usual things above won't help out.

my computer's a good one, the game runs just perfectly fine and smooth (and pretty heavy games do as well), dont think it has to do with that...
i picked the archmage like three times, and then the ranger. both ended the game with fatal errors

3. What a pity to hear about the crashes! I also played the map solo serveral times, but I never saved the game and usually this map is ment to play it in one sitting, but nevertheless I will check my locs and so on, maybe I overlook some leaks there.

the map isn't too long, but when it's the first time you play it is possible that you won't be able to do it in one sitting, cos you have to discover stuff (and that's nice too). well, anyhow, when we have to leave or something it's nice to be able to save/load. consider that.

and to be honest, we began saving and loading because of the crashes. cos we didnt want to start over at the next fatal error.

feels a bit awkward to complain about this to you guys, cos your map damn nicely made, and seems to me that this issue is out of your control. maybe it has to do with my wc3 here. the sad thing is that it haven't been happening with other maps. i don't want this issue to cause you guys to lose any motivation, though. if it's working good for you, probably stuff here is kinda messed up. maybe game ranger, or who knows...

 

[Shadow Fury]

Sincerely, I experienced NO problems while playing. No lag and no crashes. Perhaps because I have a fast PC.

 

[Lockheart]

@HappyCockroach: I tried solo player, saved/loaded several times, used the menu and even played some hd youtube videos in the background while playing the map and no crash occured. I'm sorry but I can't tell you why this happens to you by now. Edit: Imago told me that there might be a reason for your problem. It may take some time fix this but hopefully it will help!

@Shadow Fury: I am glad to read this and happily the same goes for me! It may be be a problem of performence.

Todays changes

- Added: A new Dungeon: "Old Mausoleum"
- Added: A new Quest: "The Ambrosia" (Stonehelm, req. lvl 15)

- Fixed: Quest dialog of "Haunted Mine".
- Fixed: Major bug that only happend to the 2nd player making him unable to leave the "Elvencamp Tavern".

- Changed: Stonehelm Tavern is your new starting area now.
- Changed: Stonehelm Tavern looks different inside now.
- Changed: Heroes of Stonehelm will now display above the head of the heroes at character selection.
- Changed: Trading gold beneath heroes is no more possible now.
- Changed: New special effect displays when pickig up gold now.
- Changed: Appearence of the indoor-teleporters inside of the Sunken Ruin.
- Changed: Sweet Home (Quest) - Reduced the amount of enemies from 8 to 4.

- Changed: Optimized New Rings
+ Sparkling Orb: Shock cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds.
+ Electric Ring: Shock cooldown increased from 5 to 13 seconds.

- Changed: Optimized some Spells
+ Sylvie: [Q] has a new chain model now.
+ Sylvie: [E] has a new chain model now.
+ Sylvie: [R] the trap pulls enemies now. Has a new chain model now.
+ Varan: [Q] has a new poison arrow model now.
+ Larra: [E] damage reduced from 2.25 x strength to 1.5 x strength. Numbers of explosions increased from 2 to 3.

Furthermore I added 31 new screenshots!

Important Edit: We think that Imago found the reason for the problem. Due to incorrect handling of some triggers we assume some leaks.
This is a unfortunate surprise to us since we tried to keep the map clean of them from the beginning on.
Imago now started his own personal crusade against those leaks so they'll be eradicated and everything will be fine in the end... hopefully.

At least it's a good thing we are aware of them now so we can fix it! Till then friends!

 

[Imago_]

Good evening everyone!
I got some good and some bad news for you. I will start with the bad one:
- The goldpiles have to be picked up piece by piece now again...My goldpickup-system turned out to cause the game crashes and lags. Somehow these triggers seemed to leak, but I can't figure it out where it exactly leaks, so I decided to deactivate it! I hope you understand this.

Now the good news:
- Due to the deactivation of the goldpickup-system you are able to play without crashes.
- I checked most of my triggers and removed a huge numer of leaks. There were about 300 point leaks that I removed^^
- I also destroyed trigges that only run one time with call DestroyTrigger(GetTriggeringTrigger()) to save more memory

All in all I spent the last two days seeking these leaks and so on to save memory for the gameplay! Hope the game performs better now and I really hope that it is stable now!

Have fun
Imago_

Edit: Uploaded the new version!

 

[Lockheart]

The automatic gold pickup system is deactivated temporary since it created a huge amount of leaks. We wouldn't easily let it down so we try to fix it or rather improve it.
It will get back into the game once it's usable without creating perfomance problems.

 

[Veritas 117]

I've just played through as far as I could and it didn't crash this time! Nice job on cleaning up leaks. Having to manually pick up gold is a little tedious since they are difficult to select, but it's a small price to pay to avoid crashes.

I did run into a couple issues, but nothing too critical.
-In the mausoleum (I think) there is a section that is missing pathing blockers so you can walk around the outside of the secret area.
-The Tomes of Knowledge didn't seem to do anything
-I accepted Bad Jack's quest and bought what I needed, but I couldn't give it to him or do anything to finish the quest.
-The Electric Ring will damage zombies while they are laying on the ground (Even if they are not attacking you yet)
-The teleporter in Stonehelm would not allow me to fast travel to the Sunken Ruins. I hit the button and nothing happened.
-Also the tooltip for your heroes attributes is confusing (mostly Agility).

I think this is it for now. Anyways, great great game. I really enjoy playing it. The attention to detail is wonderful, the quests are fun and interesting, the bosses are challenging but not impossible, the terrain is great. Overall I rate this 4.9/5. Nearly flawless, except for a few flaws haha.

 

[Lockheart]

Good that things seem to work now. We're still trying to get the pick up system back to work.
Once it's working without causing trouble we'll activate it again.

Ahh, those pathing blockers...
I told Imago myself now several times, but placing all missing pathing blockers seems not to become the #1 on his todo list for the next few days
as there are several things already planned but not done yet. But I'll make sure that those too will be fixed sooner or later.
My opinion is as yours - this is something not too critical.

The Tomes of Knowledge increase all stats for 1 point instead of granting a lvl up.
Maybe you didn't notice but I'm quite sure that it works.

Bad Jack's quest may be changed 'cause it's a little troublesome.
You would have to place the potion and pick it up with Bad Jacks inventory to get the quest marked as done.
We are aware that this way is a little bit confusing and thus we will change the quest task a little.

Haha, yes I love this Electric Ring bug to be honest but Imago doesn't of course.
This, too, is on our todo list. (He also hates it that I love such bugs.)

Teleporter are fixed already but the update has not been uploaded yet.
I guess this bug happened while Imago tried to fix leaks. Thanks for telling us!

The advice with the tooltips was taken serious and so all hero depending tooltips (as damage, armor, stats, name and further) became a makeover.

Right now there are still more than a few things that will follow.
We are working regularly to increase with the progress.

A big thanks for your suggestions and I'm happy that you're happy. I'ld appreciate your map user rating.

 

[Shadow Fury]

There is also another problem I found.
I chose Darius. When I came at the end of the graveyard where there is the broken bridge, I found a door blocked with a force wall. I, with a cunning trick, used Bladestorm to pass the force wall and I actually passed it hahaha! So I visited a new place which should still be locked. The one with Swollen Zombies, Liches...
You should try to stop me from doing this. Maybe by moving me back when I get past the force wall.
Oh, and when I got in that structure, my camera was continuously blocked by the walls when going too much to the left side. Better to find a solution for that!

 

[Lockheart]

Haha you got us. So now I wonder what you thought of this yet undone place you found there...

Yeah it's true you can get to this area if you use this trick. But you've got to keep in mind that this area is not ment to be reached yet and thus the camera was not set properly there. It was planned to set enough blocker later once the area was done and accessable and also that something like that what you mentioned would follow; moving the hero back when he gets past the walls.

For now please just don't glitch the game with such moves but you are of course right that there has to follow another solution sooner or later.
(I notice that I said this phrase quite often today. ^^)

 

[Veritas 117]

Good that things seem to work now. We're still trying to get the pick up system back to work.
Once it's working without causing trouble we'll activate it again.

Ahh, those pathing blockers...
I told Imago myself now several times, but placing all missing pathing blockers seems not to become the #1 on his todo list for the next few days
as there are several things already planned but not done yet. But I'll make sure that those too will be fixed sooner or later.
My opinion is as yours - this is something not too critical.

The Tomes of Knowledge increase all stats for 1 point instead of granting a lvl up.
Maybe you didn't notice but I'm quite sure that it works.

Bad Jack's quest may be changed 'cause it's a little troublesome.
You would have to place the potion and pick it up with Bad Jacks inventory to get the quest marked as done.
We are aware that this way is a little bit confusing and thus we will change the quest task a little.

Haha, yes I love this Electric Ring bug to be honest but Imago doesn't of course.
This, too, is on our todo list. (He also hates it that I love such bugs.)

Teleporter are fixed already but the update has not been uploaded yet.
I guess this bug happened while Imago tried to fix leaks. Thanks for telling us!

The advice with the tooltips was taken serious and so all hero depending tooltips (as damage, armor, stats, name and further) became a makeover.

Right now there are still more than a few things that will follow.
We are working regularly to increase with the progress.

A big thanks for your suggestions and I'm happy that you're happy. I'ld appreciate your map user rating.

Good to see that you are still trying to implement the gold pick up system.

I'm sure you are right about the Tomes of Knowledge, I must not have noticed.

The Bad Jack quest is definitely confusing, but I suppose if you told the player how to do it it could work.

P.S. I kind of liked the bug with the electric ring too haha.

 

[Doomguy80]

Lockheart wanted me to move my rating over to here so here it is:

Map Rating:

[/TD]

Presentation

Aesthetics

Gameplay

Presentation 13/15

4/5 for Description

5/5 for Information

4/5 for Appeal

Aesthetics 11/15

3/5 for Originality

4/5 for Creativity

4/5 for Appeal

Gameplay 14/15

5/5 for Interest

4/5 for Replayability

5/5 for Overall Enjoyment

(Rating is equal to Gameplay + Aesthetics + Presentation out of 45)
Final Rating is:

Open Up!

38/45!!

 

[syphie]

Hi, just played this map with a friend.
The terrain is amazing. Every part is pleasing to the eye. The style reminds me a lot of Torchlight and maybe Path of Exile - both games are way newer than WC3. Great job!

After glitching through the walls we can see how the "rooms" have been laid out so that walls don't block vision when the camera is locked. Great idea.

We beat the Warden by walking "out" of "my house". We reached a chest by walking close to it and it spawned items behind the "house" fireplace.
Can't figure how to get to Warden legitimately.
The bloodstained note says moenia redicere - "cut off the wall" ?

Cool hidden kobold boss btw

The quests and text are laid out nicely, we got to 16/15 quests. I would prefer the cinematic to finish faster, though. I always skip the dialogue now.

This was incredibly polished for a beta version. Looking forward to the finished version!

 

[Kazeon]

high-quality RPG game, I haven't see any RPG at this level these days..
simply diserves 5/5 from me.. I will review it later..

+'s:
+ Environment is super cool and sweet, I love it so much..
+ Gameplay is fun, it's better than TKOK! imo
+ bgm is corresponding with the environment and improves the feeling of the gameplay so much
+ camera shake, item drops are also cool

-'s:
- Potions are too expensive at beginning (maybe you can give several initial bonus items like potion and worst weapon in the game, just like another RPG)

Suggestions:
- Give description about level. ex: Hard (50%hp, 50% exp rate) or something like that
- I suggest you to use a dummy unit to lock the camera, don't pan it

Comment:
Damn, I love this game. I'm sorry I'm not a good reviewer.. I will just report any bug I find later... keep up the great job.. 5/5

 

[knight26]

From the screenshots.. I'm going to play the hell out of this game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just need a bit of free time, and I'm sure I'll review it later.
I already love this. Thanks for the contribution you're awesome

 

[Heinvers]

From the screenshots.. I'm going to play the hell out of this game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just need a bit of free time, and I'm sure I'll review it later.
I already love this. Thanks for the contribution you're awesome

I would have said the same thing
Anyway it's released and approved Yay.

 

[EternaLife]

can you PLEASE take off the cam lock. A free cam is how warcraft 3 maps are supposed to be played.
At least give us the option to take away cam lock for those who don't like it...
otherwise its a no play at all for me.

 

[Lockheart]

Salute my friends! Some days have passed and I feel it's time for some news again.
First of all we want you to know that the map keeps progressing.
Several things have been changed, a lot has been added, some have to be finished and the most important thing: everything works!~

We take your opinions serious and it's always fun to read them so let me reply.
And stay on the longed for full version release of Dark Times.

@Syphie: Oh, you. How flattery. I played the games you stated and it feels awesome to know that the map reminds you of them.
We're eager to give our best for the version 1.0. This may help you with your problem:

Spoiler alert

Spoiler

Maybe "speaking out" the spell may break the magic seal inside of the house

@Dalvengyr: Holy sh*t, thanks mate. Reading the words that you love the game feels like rainbow.
The things you stated appear useful to me. It's a good idea to put some more descriptions into the quest log. Maybe some kind of Bestiary, too.

@Knight26: We're both looking forward to your opinion.
Just take all the time you need, no need to rush my friend.

@Heinvers: Hey! Long time no see. Hope you've been fine! \o/
We've gotta party hardy - yes, the map is approved. The final approval including a full review shall follow once the map is at least version 1.0, however.

@EternaLife:

can you PLEASE take off the cam lock. A free cam is how warcraft 3 maps are supposed to be played.
At least give us the option to take away cam lock for those who don't like it...
otherwise its a no play at all for me.

No. It's Dark Times and that's how its supposed to be played. Sorry pal, I don't want to be rude but did you try to think of why the cam is fixed? Imagine how the map would look like if it wasn't. Terrain would suffer all of it's beautiness. Seriously. You'ld see secret areas and things you're just not allowed to see just through moving the cursor all over the map.

Love it or leave it.

 

[Doomguy80]

Great it is approved! I am glad to see that you are keeping good work on this map. Great job and best of luck for the upcoming releases (hint, hint)!

 

[Strider121]

Review

The map is very good, one of few RPG maps that has good solo and team gameplay, also the terrain is beautiful. I really like the dark athmosphere that reminds me on diablo series, keep working on that map and finish it please. I would be glad if you release a full version. My rating 5/5.

 

[kael]

I wish it‘s a orpg,

 

[MrTwD]

Hey there, first off I'd like to say, really nice map. Me and a friend played it 2-3 times, then we decided to try out some things. And it seems that Bladestorm on "Darius" is quite broken, and can slice through terrain and jump to un-accessable places. Here's a replay to show you what I'm talking about;

 

[Lockheart]

I wish it‘s a orpg,

Who knows, maybe someday?

Hey there, first off I'd like to say, really nice map. Me and a friend played it 2-3 times, then we decided to try out some things. And it seems that Bladestorm on "Darius" is quite broken, and can slice through terrain and jump to un-accessable places. Here's a replay to show you what I'm talking about;

Yo, maties! Seems to me like you enjoyed the map then? Excellent, harrr harrr.

Thank you for telling us, however it's already known and it's not planned to change it. Well if you wonder why, this is the reason:
If you want to start a derp journey of randomness through the map with glorious adventure-darius it's fine by me - The both of us won't stop you.
But, please keep in mind that the progress may glitch or darius gets stuck if you choose to explore the map this unregular way.

After all it's simply not made to use and glitch it (leaving terrain for example) this way.
You may call it authorized bug using under this circumstances if you want to.

However, I'll make sure to check you're replay. Just for fun.


Edit: Are you sure you uploaded the right replay? 'Cause this shows no Darius spinning out of the area.

 

[fr0ggE]

Fantastic map. Played through everything, and found at least one secret.

A few things to fix for future versions:

1. You should remove the butterfly models from the map when they are "found". It's a little confusing to have butterflies still floating around (but not be clickable anymore). I'm guessing the butterfly model doesn't have a death animation and that's why it doesn't disappear?

2. It would be better user experience if you can hit escape during a "cinematic", ie when you are getting a quest. Many people read fast, and then have to wait around for the timer to end.

3. If you accept a quest without first talking to the person, by mistake, there is no good way to get the quest description. Perhaps the Quest Log should contain a little more information?

4. A few boss fight seemed completely imbalanced, but then again I was playing single player (easy mode), and it's possible that you're just always going to die without a second player. Mostly I just died over and over again until finally wearing the boss down.

5. I played the Elf Wizard with "Light Grapple"...that is a very cool skill, but I think it could be improved, because it tends to miss a lot. For example, if you cast it on a unit from out of range, your hero walks up and casts the spell. You are expecting that you will cast from the edge of where it will hit, but the spell goes all the way up to the monster and doesn't grab him. I would suggest slightly decreasing the range. on the dummy spell, or slightly increasing the range on the trigger version, so that you are hitting monsters at the edge of your range. Also, many times I cast the spell point-blank on a monster next to me and it missed. I think maybe it should hit things in a "wider" area, just by a little.

6. This is the biggest "bug": "Saving" doesn't seem to work very well. I have this same problem in my map, actually. When you load a saved game, lots of things break. My hotkeys no longer work correctly, it makes a "map pinged" noise every time I select a unit, etc etc. I'm not sure what the best way to do this is...maybe a "load code", so that people are always starting the map from scratch and it's getting initialized correctly? Don't know.
7. I'm sure many people have already told you this, but you need someone with better English grammar / writing to go through your toolips and quests, etc, and fix a lot of misspellings and grammatical errors. You map is very good, so I'm sure lots of people would be happy to help in this way (for example, I would).

8. Inside the Kobold Tunnels, in the area behind the forcewall (with the ghosts and skeletons), there is a place where you can walk through the pathing blockers. It is near the far right wall (past the path that goes down to the boss fight), slightly above where the train tracks disappear into the rubble.