I enjoyed it. It offers a good assortment of modified spells and a nice number of custom models. I like the redone barrow. (I adore garrisonable buildings.)
A few "bugs and balance" observations I made
- Instead of the 2,1 slot, the tracker upgrade is in the 1,1 slot.
- Tier 1 has the machinery building available. (Suggested: Upgrade to Tier 2 to avoid early siege damage.)
- The more powerful dragon unit is available before the other. (Suggested: replace the unit in need of the training update.)
Here are some alternative ideas off the top my head to further the faction from the base orc faction.
- It appears to me that you are concentrating on the Block Rock clan from the WC1 and WC2 (Old Horde). If so, I suggest utilizing a few different models from
loktar and
Red XIII.
- According to the lore blackrock were gray skinned though it is contradictory on whether they were before or after the second war. I recommend using the Gray Skinned Orc textures by
Footman16. They should be somewhere on this page
Hive's Simple Edit Resources Thread. To keep the skins from affecting the base game models you would have to edit skin paths in the models you use. This tool can help
MDLX Converter.
- I propose that you swap out the lumber improvements for an aura that either increases carry capacity or harvest rate at certain distances in order to further set themselves apart from the base races.
- Rename the Machinery to the Machinery Shop and the Lumber Mill to the Troll Sawmill.
- Use colored text to draw attention to important information such as Damage and AoE values.
- Due to their long history of living in the mountains, I suggest to slightly extend the night vision range of the Orc units, but not to the point of Ultravision.
It's a nice custom race all around, although a touch simplistic. More unique custom models and icons would have been nice, as well as more faction mechanics and triggered abilities.
I recommend reading or rereading the
Blackrock clan. I read the wikis often when making lore based factions to help come up with faction mechanics, abilities sets and what units/races to use.
I believe a good review should contain 4 things.
1. Praise for the work done and their innovations.
2. Drawing attention to things that need fixing or could be improved.
3. Offering ideas to help the creator with said improvements.
4. Giving a proper send off.