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Developer's Blog #3 - Frozen Islands and More

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Greetings to all of our fans and followers!
Welcome to the third installment of our Developer's Blog series!

Today, I present to you our new melee map - Frozen Islands. Asides from the map itself, we will also be discussing the new control point - the Forest Sentinel, as well as some new units such as the Goblin Sappers and goblin War Turtle. Also in store are some screenshots of new artwork.

ScreenshotNew01.pngScreenshotNew02.pngScreenshotNew03.pngScreenshotNew04.pngScreenshotNew05.pngScreenshotNew06.png

Frozen Islands is a 2v2 map, focusing heavily on naval combat - the map is separated into several islands, each holding a player, a gold mine(or two) or a control point. In the very middle of the map, our new control point, the Forest Sentinel, stands guard. He is a powerful opponent, with a big amount of health and damage. Attempting to attack him with a small army will likely result in severe loses, but very good protection against enemy raids, assuming you keep at least some troops or towers near him. The Sentinel guards the middle island, which contains two gold mines and several trees - Control of this area will easily give you the economical advantage.

FrozenIslandsMinimap.png

The Forest Sentinel is a powerful building, able to launch powerful projectiles to a long range(able to reach even up to the gold mines surrounding him!) and withstand a lot of damage. Once destroyed, however, he will regrow over the course of short amount of time and join your cause, acting as a mighty protector for your expansions. In combination with guard towers surrounding him and the player's forces near him, he can prove to be considerably problematic for your enemies. He also doubles as a 'tank' - Taking up a lot of damage from the enemy while you load up your army in the transports and send it to help the sentinel defeat the invading enemy.

ForestSentinel1.pngForestSentinel2.pngForestSentinel4.pngForestSentinel3.pngForestSentinel5.png

And as if that weren't enough, the Forest Sentinel may also be upgraded with 'Strong Bark', 'Enchanted Bark' and 'Blessed Bark' - A 3-tier upgrade that becomes available as you upgrade your Great Hall. It improves the Sentinel's health, armor and damage. Be warned, however; Should the enemy manage to capture your Sentinel after you have upgraded it, the upgrades will remain and your own resources might very well be used against you!

Also included in our new map are Creeps. Since in Scars of Conflict you can't summon heroes, creeps don't give experience, or items. In Scars of Conflict, creeps have only one purpose - and that is to protect key locations, such as control points, landing shores and gold mines. They also provide a minor gold bounty when defeated, but the amount is small enough to be barely noticeable.

Creeps1.pngCreeps2.pngCreeps3.pngCreeps4.png

Our first creeps are the Bandits. They are composed of 3 units(and a 4th one, the Bandit Mage, is possibly coming soon) - The Bandit Captains, who are moderately powerful melee units with Leadership Aura(which boosts nearby creeps' damage) and Defend(which protects them from damage), the Bandits, who are weak melee units with no abilities and the Bandit Spearthrowers, who are weak ranged units with no abilities.

And now is the time to take a look at some of our new units. First in line come the Goblin Sappers, the always-classic team of suicidal goblin engineers, handling much more explosives than their short, fragile bodies can handle. In Scars of Conflict, the Goblin Sappers have two roles: First of all, they retain their traditional role of harassing hit-and-run units especially useful at destroying buildings and clutters of weaker units(such as peons). For that, they use their Detonate ability, which does just what it says; Detonates the dangerous explosives on the Sapper trio, killing them in the process(and hopefully some enemies as well!).

GoblinSappers1.pngGoblinSappers2.pngGoblinSappers3.pngGoblinSappers4.pngGoblinSappers5.pngGoblinSappers6.png

Their second role, however, is unique to Scars of Conflict. The Sappers can be upgraded with Concussive Mines - An ability which enables them to plant invisible mines on the battlefield, which will explode when an enemy unit approaches them, dealing instant damage and slowing the enemy down, allowing your ranged units and towers to take care of the assaulting force. Thanks to this ability, the Sappers are also a powerful defensive unit.

Another new unit that we have is the goblin War Turtle. The War Turtle is an amphibious unit, with the main purpose of destroying heavy enemy ships such as Juggernaughts. It is rather slow, but not slower than a Juggernaught. The War Turtle also has an ability called "Disabling Shot", which reduces the armor and damage of a target mechanical unit, which further increases the turtle's potential against juggernaughts, especially in large groups.

WarTurtle1.pngWarTurtle2.pngWarTurtle3.pngWarTurtle4.pngWarTurtle5.png

Finally, we have the Ogre Mauler. Replacing the Ogre and Ogre Magi units, the Ogre Mauler is a heavy, tier 3 melee unit, specialized at destroying buildings thanks to his 'Demolish' ability, which causes him to deal 1.5 times his normal damage to buildings. However, the Ogre Mauler isn't good only for that. Being a powerful melee unit, the Ogre Mauler is also rather effective against ground units overall, but is easily countered by flying units and faster ranged units.

OgreMauler1.pngOgreMauler2.pngOgreMauler3.pngOgreMauler4.pngOgreMauler5.pngOgreMauler6.png

Asides from new units and a new map, we have also been working on a bunch of new art(As you might have noticed from the screenshots :p). Some examples of that are the War Turtle, the new Orc Transport texture, the Juggernaught texture, a lot of new icons, etc. Here are a few screenshots of some of them:

Juggernaught.pngOgre Mauler.pngIcons.pngOrc Transport.pngWar Turtle.png

We are currently working on the last remaining units for the Horde, which are the Warlock and the Goblin Ace. We're also working on the new Troll Destroyer model as well as several new icons.
And finally, to conclude this gigantic Developer's Blog, here is a video of Player Red's forces invading Player Blue's expansions(protected by the Forest Sentinel), utilizing Goblin Sappers(Player Blue even cleverly laid down a few Concussive Mines near his shipyard), Ogre Maulers and War Turtles.


And... That's it! I hope you enjoy this development diary as much as I enjoyed writing it(for about 13 hours in total, losing the whole thing once and having to rewrite it from scratch... D:). Keep in mind that much of the content you see in the screenshots and in the video is placeholder(for example: Death Knight's soundset, Shrine of Sargeras model\texture, naval upgrade icons, etc) and will probably be changed before the BETA release.
See you guys next time!
 
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Well i expected better terrain :p
-some trees are placed horribly (http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...log-3-frozen-islands-more-screenshotnew01.png)
- some cliif/ramp bugs (http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...rs-blog-3-frozen-islands-more-ogremauler3.png) (the left one)
- those shrubs looks baaad http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...rs-blog-3-frozen-islands-more-ogremauler6.png
- trees could have some model variations because now they all looks same :p(except the size)
- terrain is pretty boring and lacks something what would catch your attention (some ruins, ice spikes etc.)

About the vid.
Ogre mauler with attack slam animation after researching demolish upgrade doesn't look good.
Model skins could be more sharpen
The skills are pretty boring (i have seen them all already in normal warcraft 3)
It would be nice to see some triggered ones :)
 
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Well i expected better terrain :p
It's a melee map. Linaze pretty much thought that this terrain is way too complex, and had Mr.Goblin remove several things that were featured before.
Honestly, in my humble opinion, it looks FAR better than any of Blizzard's melee map. That's all that is needed, in my eyes. As for something to catch your attention, isn't that hugeass, snowy Ancient Protector in the middle of the map enough? -.-
Asides from that, current tests show that there is barely enough room for units to walk around. Since we'll be increasing the supply cap, even more units will be walking around, and as such there will be even less space to walk around, much less build structures. Besides... It's a snowy tileset, there's not much decoration in a snowy wasteland, now is there? The few shrubs and rocks there are on the map(plus all of the flowers, mushrooms, roots etc on the Forest Sentinel) seem more than enough to me.

Ogre mauler with attack slam animation after researching demolish upgrade doesn't look good.
Placeholder. Will be changed.

Model skins could be more sharpen
What do you mean by that? They look fine to me. Are you saying we need to go over every single texture and sharpen it?

The skills are pretty boring (i have seen them all already in normal warcraft 3)
It would be nice to see some triggered ones :)
You mean you saw the Turtle's Disabling Shot in WC3, which reduces the armor and damage of a target mechanical unit? You mean you saw the Axethrower's Prowl, which turns him into an invisible spy, unable to attack, but able to move, and moving slower? You mean you saw the Death Knight's Dark Ritual and Tornado abilities? You mean you saw the Goblin Sappers' Lay Concussive Mine ability, which places a land mine(with a cooldown) in a target location, which slows down enemy units when it explodes?
If so, where? I'd love to see them for myself in the original Warcraft III melee. Are they hidden or something? I can't seem to find them.
 
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I think what whisper ment is that they are bassed on normal abbilities for example the mine looks preety like the witch doctors static trap etc.
 
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It's a melee map. Linaze pretty much thought that this terrain is way too complex, and had Mr.Goblin remove several things that were featured before.
Complex map is better map IMO :)
That's all that is needed, in my eyes. As for something to catch your attention, isn't that hugeass, snowy Ancient Protector in the middle of the map enough? -.-
It's unit, not part of terrain ;p
Besides... It's a snowy tileset, there's not much decoration in a snowy wasteland, now is there? The few shrubs and rocks there are on the map(plus all of the flowers, mushrooms, roots etc on the Forest Sentinel) seem more than enough to me.
Ruins, northrend fences, tombstones, other spiked rocks.

You mean you saw the Turtle's Disabling Shot in WC3
reminds me of edited Alchemist's bomb
You mean you saw the Axethrower's Prowl, which turns him into an invisible spy, unable to attack, but able to move, and moving slower?
Edited Windwalk
You mean you saw the Death Knight's Dark Ritual and Tornado abilities?
My bad, soryy :)
Dark ritual is good idea and tornado isn't bad too
You mean you saw the Goblin Sappers' Lay Concussive Mine ability, which places a land mine(with a cooldown) in a target location, which slows down enemy units when it explodes?
Similiar to statis trap
 
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Whisper said:
Complex map is better map IMO :)
Like DotA or Element TD? Or perhaps like Blizzard's own melee maps?
Whisper said:
It's unit, not part of terrain ;p
It's a unit, yes. So? It's still a "landmark" with an attractive appearance.
Whisper said:
Ruins, northrend fences, tombstones, other spiked rocks.
Northrend fences and tombstones on a small island chain outside the coast of Lordaeron? I think not. Besides, we can't have too much shit blocking units.

Whisper said:
reminds me of edited Alchemist's bomb
It is quite similar. Except, of course, that our spell isn't AoE, deals no damage over time, only targets mechanical units and reduces damage done.
Whisper said:
Edited Windwalk
No. Wind walk is not active until cancelled, costs mana, and gives extra damage to one of your attacks (that our spell does not)
Whisper said:
My bad, soryy :)
Dark ritual is good idea and tornado isn't bad too
Thanks.
Whisper said:
Similiar to statis trap
Statis Traps stuns and our mines slow, I agree the similarity is there. So what? The two abilities are still different, and we don't make abilities as dissimilar to blizzard ones as possible, we make ones that fit the game.
 
aaaaaaaaand haters started to hate even before the beta was out! Awesome stuff, really gives us some valid and strong critiques and comments about the content of the map itself...

Gentlemen, are you kidding me? Beside the terrain, I don't really see why any of your comments are justified.. and about the different spells, etc. I would like to see ANYONE enjoy playing a game that is complicated at the point that it takes them month before even getting good at that game. This is a RTS, soo... if all the spells were complicated, you wouldn't be able to control every single unit types properly at the same time..

anyway, let's just all see and wait the beta before complaining.. Deal? :D
 
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Honestly, Whisper. If you were testing the map when I was taking that video, you'd see that the map is so cluttered, and there's so little space for units to walk, that it becomes almost annoying. There's simply no space for other decorations that block unit collision. And you didn't guess a single one of those, regarding the spells. Disabling Shot was based on Inner Fire(but that will be changed by Linaze soon), Prowl is based on Destroyer Form and Concussive Mine is based on channel, so please screw off with your "they're not triggered" bullshit.
Do you seriously want spells like "Deals 5.4x times the enemy's half amount of lost mana over the course of 5 seconds multiplied by the caster's kill count, slowing down the enemy but only if there are exactly 5 grunts near him and if the enemy is a Dragon, instantly killing him"? The spells in SoC are meant to be useful and fitting for the gameplay and strategy, not extremely complicated and AoS-like.
Floating trees are seen ALL OVER Blizzard's terrain. That is absolutely no problem in a melee map, where you're almost always using exclusively the top-down camera.
 

Gwy

Gwy

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ty for update. Looks all very impressive. Nice video

only suggestion: Maybe thinK in the long run abaout AI?
(on wc3c there are some melee AI experts imo)
 
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Looks to be shaping up very nicely. Among custom maps, I find custom melees to be the most replayable map type, but at the cost of story depth.
 
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Looks awesome! I really like the concept of the Forest Sentinel.

However, allowing the turtle to move on land seems strange me. I don't think a giant turtle has the requisite brutishness to stand next to ogres and grunts. This, of course, is just a stylistic worry, and if an amphibious unit adds to the gameplay, I think it should be kept.
 
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@Gespenst, thank you.

@radeonmaster, thank you for your compliment. As for the War Turtle, you have a point. But I do think an amphibious it adds to the gameplay, partially to add some variation to the naval units (merely ships with different appearances gets a bit dull), but also for the gameplay doors the amphibious-ness opens (such as harassing enemy players).
 
This is looking as awesome as ever. I love the Forest Sentinel. One of my favourite things about this project is that it doesn't look like you crammed a bunch of poor quality resources into your map for the sake of making it look different. Although I haven't played the mod myself, it looks very refined and professionally done.

Looking forward to the release. Keep up the good work.
 
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Indeed; We were just alpha-testing today, earlier. Most of the stuff seems to be pretty nice and the game is really varied and fun(at least in my eyes :p). Of course, there's plenty of things that weren't working quite as expected and have to be fixed(even if it's just minor stuff like tooltip errors) and some of the art isn't done yet, but the majority is stable. We just need to balance it now. :)
 
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Very interesting video, probably because of the lot of work which has been done. This is quite the only project from Hive Workshop that I'm looking forward to play. Good luck and I hope to see a public testing version as soon as possible.

Best Regards.
 
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