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The Darkening Wars v1.42

The Darkening Wars - v1.42 Optimized
by AngryBovine

Patch notes can be found towards the bottom of this post! Look forward to a lot of new additions in the future.

The highly anticipated patch: 1.30, Risen from the Ashes! The Darkening Wars returns with a brand new squad system to ease controlling large numbers of units, with various bugs fixed and ideas revamped. Play the map to find out all the latest changes or read the change log below!

[[Warning! Please delete any old copies of this map you have! Older versions may carry critical errors and bugs that may cause them to be unplayable! Download the newest to keep up-to-date and have the newest bug fixes.]]

The Darkening Wars is an altered melee map in which your objective is to destroy your opponent through any means possible. You have three factions to choose from: Humans, who use superior technology, ranged weaponry, and vehicles; Mutants, who have genetic alterations that make them incredibly powerful and devastating melee power; and Machines, who are highly resilient and have unstoppable mechanized titans.

As you will see when you play, all three factions are vastly different and use different resource systems. You may need to play around with the game a little to adjust to the differences from common RTS games you have played before.


-Races - 3 working races, not mirrors
-Weather - 6 different kinds that affect combat
-Vast tech trees allowing for freedom within each race
-Important tactical (terrain) positioning
-Custom armor and weapon system, providing counters
-Realistic range: Guns fire from far away!
-Realistic accuracy system! Bullets miss, tank rounds can miss but still cause AOE
-Units can be injured by critical hits
-Squad System
-Balanced combat and gameplay
-Artillery and Explosions!
-All units have abilities that keep them useful throughout the game
-Human units level up independently in the form of Veterancy
-Mutant units help tech up their whole side
-Machine units can be equipped with upgrades
-Extensively informative and useful tooltips!
-New units available in patches as the game is updated

NYI (Not Yet Implemented):
-Air Strikes
-Tactical Aid abilities
-AI (the second coming)

Credits to all the model makers who provided a lot of the models for this map. This map is not protected, though it is optimized, so map content may not be available for viewing. If you wish to see the triggering, you can PM me and I can send you a copy of the un-optimized map.

Please post bugs you find here! This will help improve the quality of this game. If I don't know what's wrong, I can't make the game better or more enjoyable! After all, I can't read your mind.

More information can be found in The Map Development forums at http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/f202/darkening-war-beta-96860/.

Complete Patch Notes:

((General))
<<Gameplay>>
-Game Loss triggers now include incomplete structures to account for some weird interactions

((Humans))
<<Infantry>>
-Molotov Cocktails do 50% more damage
<<Research>>
-Fortifications grant half their previous effect

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-Blizzard no longer damages organic aerial units
-The Mutation Pool's units should properly be un-buyable by non-mutant players, and if bought should only be under the control of the owner of the Mutation Pool
<<Tier 1>>
-Hellfire Imp fire now lasts a tiny bit longer

((General))
<<Gameplay>>
-Food cap reduced to 200 to alleviate lag issues
-Income levels readjusted
-Weather should correctly affect players now (and not just the squad allies)

((Humans))
<<Infantry>>
-Infantry accuracy decreased at max range
<<Vehicles>>
-Tanks granted greater immunity toward crits and crit debuffs
<<Structures>>
-Oil Derrick degeneration amount decreased

((Mutants))
<<Tier 1>>
-Units "bought" at the mutation pool can no longer be stolen by other players; if they spend money buying these units, they will spawn for the owner of the mutation pool instead.
<<Structures>>
-Spawning Pool costs 50 more iron
-Creating a new spawning pool takes 5 more seconds

((Machines))
<<Tier 2>>
-Mach Commandos fly again! Woot.
<<Structures>>
-Nanite bases no longer incorrectly display two (dummy display) versions of the Machine Shop at the same time. Now you only get one!

((General))
<<Gameplay>>
-Squads ordered to attack destructables will follow those instructions
-Squad leaders ordered to use abilities will instruct squad buddies to follow suit
-Typing in -unally no longer causes you to massacre your squadmate

((Humans))
<<Vehicles>>
-Field Repair Vehicle has traded hit points for movement speed and reduced build cost
<<Structures>>
-Iron Mine cost rebalanced to be slightly cheaper early on
-Oil Derrick cost rebalanced
-Iron Mine produces more resources at early ranks, though the same amount at Rank 5
-Oil Derrick produces more resources at all ranks
<<Research>>
-Research times and research costs greatly reduced

((Mutants))
<<Structures>>
-The Overbeing can be gestated into a Mutation Pool for the low, low fee of 270 iron
-Adrenalus grants 20% attack per rank instead of 15% and double the dodge
-Berserken grants 15% movement speed per rank instead of 13% and 10% improved attack speed instead of 8%
-Chitinour grants additional damage reduction (up to 50% instead of 25%)

((Machines))
<<General>>
-Machine "Repair" ability can now be used the unit that's casting it
<<Structures>>
-Turrets properly shutoff when their node is unpowered
-Advanced Foundry must be powered to operate

[NOTE: A LOT MORE CHANGES HAPPENED IN THIS PATCH; PLAY IT TO FIND OUT]

((General))
<<Gameplay>>
-Allying fixed
<<Environment>>
-Radiation spikes removed, they were being annoying

((Humans))
<<Infantry>>
-Damage on some infantry reduced
-Many build times further reduced

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-EXP drip caused by the Evolution Chamber (1 per building) halved (to 1 per 2 buildings)
-Most mutant units have additional armor
<<Tier 1>>
-Hellfire Imps now spawn from their own unique Hellfire Egg
<<Structures>>
-Fungal Colonies no longer use sporebats to harvest, they just have a drip for each iron mine in proximity

((Machines))
<<General>>
-New Energy transfer system: Cooler effects, smoother transfer (more complicated than this, but this is the basic stuff)
-Most machine units cost at least some food now for balancing reasons
<<Structures>>
-Sentry Node's addons become vulnerable once they start to upgrade
-Once a sentry node's addon is destroyed, it reverts back to its previous form
-Sentry Nodes must be powered to keep its turrets active
-Machine Turret costs power to keep up

((General))
<<Gameplay>>
-The player with neutral hostile as his squadmate should no longer award bounty
-Iron Deposits should no longer mysteriously become unveiled

((Humans))
<<Infantry>>
-Damage output and burst damage reduced
-Damage Variation reduced (higher low range but lower high range)

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-Mutant starting resources have been increased
-Pillage improved to 4% of a structure's cost over 100% hitpoints
-Mutant EXP drip restored to a per-second basis rather than per-two-seconds
-Iron Gain income intervals at 6 seconds instead of 60, income amount remains the same
-When a new squad is being formed, Carrion Crawlers and Dread Crawlers will not be picked by accident
-Mutants start the game with an additional Overbeing
<<Tier 1>>
-New Unit: Overbeing - The overbeing is a flying unit that provides supply and detects invisible unit. You start out with one and eggs for additional ones can be bought at the Mutation Pool.
<<Structures>>
-Overall construction times decreased
-Mutants can now correctly build at the distances between 1200-1600
-Costs of some mutant structures reduced
<<Research>>
-Instead of being +50%/+100% for the Improved/Advanced Mutations upgrade, it is now +25%/+100% for structure hit points
-Most weak mutant structures (looking at you, Fungal Colony) have improved hit points and armor

((Machines))
<<Tier 1>>
-AK-OE Scout damage decreased and cooldown decreased for lower burst potential
<<Tier 2>>
-Blink refixed

((General))
<<Commands>>
-Allying will correctly align the squad allies
-Allied victory can be assigned by using "av" in addition to "aa"
-New command: "-lt" can be used by Player 1 (host) to lock teams once they're set. If used while teams are locked, teams are unlocked
-Turning off weather effects works as intended now

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-Mutants have in general better hit poitns and better armor damage reduction
-Mutant eggs have their hit points doubled and armor doubled
<<Structures>>
-When selecting where to build your structures, a brief flash of red indicates the area where you can select
-Construction radius increased from 1200 to 1600

((Machines))
<<Tier 2>>
-Mach Commandos cost a little more and have a higher flying height
-IDG Titan's armor has been increased from 4 to 7
-When the Dreadstalker blinks, his friends also blink with him
<<Structures>>
-When selecting where to build your structures, a brief flash of blue indicates the area where you can select
-Sight range of many structures reduced to increase incentive for building listening posts
-Nodes should be correctly disposed of when their main structure is destroyed
-The Metal Mine and Hydraulic Extractor both have nodes which increase their output
-Nuclear Reactor hit points reduced to 1800 and degenerates 1 hit point per second
-New addon for the Nexus: Nanofield Focuser, increasing the distance it can transfer energy and increasing its construction radius

((Humans))
<<Infantry>>
-Shadowtroopers take double the time to fade back into shadows now
-When the Pathfinder stealths, his fellow Scout Infantry should also stealth
<<Structures>>
-Armageddon Fortress's Autocannons have been weakened

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-Mutators have appropriate tooltips to reflect their effects
-The Chitinour mutator should no longer slow down mutants - FAST MUTANTS ARE FAST
-Pillage slightly increased in power, internal costs (no actual increase) of mutant structures increased so pillage grants resources against other mutants
-Scent of Fear (truesight) range increased to 550
<<Tier 2>>
-Acid Spitters's Melt Armor duration reduced to 5.0 but damage per second increased to 8, stacking slowing effect added
<<Structures>>
-Needle Cluster can now detect invisible units in a large radius
-Fungal Colony model size slightly increased

((Machines))
<<General>>
-Units and structures which previously required Anomaly Detector have it by default now; instead, Anomaly Detector doubles the detection radius
<<Tier 2>>
-New Unit: Mach Commando, a swift raider that is a ground unit which can move like an air unit. Also detects invisible units

((General))
<<Squads>>
-When a squad leader dies, if you were selecting him, you automatically select the next leader that is promoted.

((Humans))
<<Infantry>>
-Infantry squad leaders who are ordered out to use a defensive position relay it to their team now

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-Iron Harvesting reduced to 20% of original output
-Fungal Colony costs only 20 instead of 40 iron
-Mutant Squads are always led by the mutant with the highest HP (actually works this time)

((Machines))
<<Structures>>
-Machine Turret costs 25 more iron and has reduced attack damage and increased cooldown
<<Tier 2>>
-Dreadstalker tooltip and hotkey fixed, also properly given AoE damage
-IDG titan hotkey fixed, now can attack buildings as intended

((General))
<<Squad System>>
-Squads are being given additional commands in the form of a spellbook to allow easier control of the squad
-Squads have a subtle graphical effect on their Squad Leader
<<Weather>>
-Weather no longer causes annoying messages of "Your forces are under attack!"

((Humans))
<<Infantry>>
-Infantry now throw bottles of gasoline filled with rags in them at structures, setting them on fire and causing additional damage over time! More effective than shooting bullets into buildings with a tradeoff of lesser range.
<<Vehicles>>
-Mobile Howitzer splash radius increased, damage decreased slightly, and cooldown decreased
-Tanks have dynamic hit boxes affecting crit zones; shots from the front will never crit while those from the back have a doubled crit chance

((Machines))
<<Tier 2>>
-New unit: Dreadstalker - Advanced hunter-killer crawler. Moves very quickly and fires shrapnel.
-New unit: IDG Titan Warmech - Advanced heavy anti-armor destroyer. This walker packs a punch and also has a decent-strength anti-personnel explosive shot.

((General))
<<Resources>>
-Iron Deposits now have starting iron amounts that are depletable (although the amount is very great).
<<Squads>>
-Squads are more responsive and no longer stupidly auto-attack when commanded not to

((Humans))
<<Aircraft>>
-The Sky Serpent can now pick up mechanical units (which take up multiple slots)
-Sky Serpents must be landed in order to drop off units
-Darkslayer Missile Pods weakened and medium and full AoE radii reduced

((Mutants))
<<Structures>>
-Fungal Colonies are now pre-grades to the Spore Cluster; they increase iron gain.
-Fungal Colonies and its upgrades now provide a small amount of food

((Humans))
<<General>>
-Units can no longer gain more than the killed human or machine unit's level plus veterancy level as EXP per kill and no more than the killed mutant unit's level plus a fraction of the mutation menu's level as EXP
-Units will gain at least 1 EXP per kill
-Unit EXP gain is scaled down as a unit gains level
-Units will not accidently gain EXP off killing dummy units
-When you load squad units onto a vehicle, all units of the squad load in (and only take up one slot)

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-Mutant Crashing Fixed

((Machines))
<<General>>
-Bugs fixed

((General))
<<GUI>>
-Under "Optional Quests," complete information about commands can be found in game
<<Alliances>>
-The "-unally" command should work properly now
<<Combat>>
-When a unit misses an air unit, it now properly hits an aerial dummy unit instead of a ground one
<<Squad System>>
-Food usage should work out properly now with the amount of food both you and your squadmates are using (key)
<<Weather>>
-Reduced the chances of bad weather to speed up game play

((Humans))
<<General>>
<<Infantry>>
-When a squad leader is ordered to sprint, his whole squad does it (and actually does it)
-Infantry can no longer raid and the research has been removed in favor of more useful abilities
<<Aircraft>>
-Darkslayer tooltip corrected; the helicopter can indeed attack buildings as intended
-H5-Crow no longer has frag grenades. What?
-H5-Crow should finally land properly
-H5-Crow and Sky Serpent, when landed, should be targetted as ground units
-Sky Serpent and H5-Crow tech requirements reduced
<<Structures>>
-Missile Bases [Rank 1-3] now have a homing anti-air missile attack as intended

((Mutants))
<<General>>
<<Tier 1>>
-Many tier 1 units are now weaker for appropriate balance
-Infectious claws duration increased by 50%, but damage reduced to 25%
-Ravenous Bite unlocked from the start
-Dust and water appears around newly created structures
<<Structures>>
-New Structure: Cryobile Cluster - Upgraded from the Spore Cluster, the Cryobile Cluster fires armor-piercing rounds that freezes its targets

((General))
<<GUI>>
-Loading Screen has new text
-Two additional "quests" for both credits and game commands for both the host and players
<<Weather>>
-Foggy Debuff now has a different visual effect
<<Coding>>
-In-game starting lag reduced at the cost of very little increased loading time
-Additional leaking has been cleaned up to smooth out the game
-Much buggy code was removed in favor of cleaner execution though some game concepts were simplified in the process

((Humans))
<<General>>
-Veterancy bonuses no longer stack from the 5th level to the 6th level
-Decimators and Vulcans no longer need to spin up to attack
<<Infantry>>
<<Aircraft>>
-The H5 Crow Helicopter should no longer change into a Darkslayer by accident while landing.
-The Sky Serpent should now properly land when ordered to.
<<Structures>>
-Barracks [Rank 2-5] all cost 50 less oil each and upgrade slightly faster
-Supply Stash [Ranks 1-5] overall costs 50 more iron and 50 less oil
-Mana on Iron Mines and Oil Derricks now represents the percent efficiency of the structures
-Iron Mine [Ranks 1-5] unit model size scaled down so that the placement coloration is visible
-Vulcan Tower and Missile Turrets now build significantly faster and have equalized build times at all ranks
-Tank Factory [Ranks 1-5] have a new model; the old tank model will be refitted for the machines race
<<Research>>
-Fortifications upgrade significantly cheaper
-Military Discipline [Ranks 1-5] costs 50 fewer iron and 50 more oil

((Mutants))
<<Tier 1>>
-Corpse Feeders are now weakened to roughly 50% of previous strength, but spawn in groups of 4 at your Spawning Pool and groups of 3 at your Mutation Pool
-Corpse Feeders and Plague Carriers are no longer on a timed life
-Tier 1 mutations are now guaranteed to replace Corpse Feeder units in the squad
-Plague Carriers can now combine to form the mighty Plague Abomination!
<<Tier 2>>
-Larval Brood (Tier 2 Eggs) have a spiffy new model!
-Ravenous Creeps can now be upgraded again to increase their quantity and strength!
-Ravenous Creeps now spawn with an Acid Spitter (or w/e unit comes from the Larval Brood), and work as its minions.
<<Structures>>
-Additional Tier structure added: Gestation Cloister; other tier structures renamed
-Tier upgrade now available at the Mutant Town-Hall structure instead of the evolution chamber, though the previous research is still a prerequisite to the higher tiers and increases structure vitality
-Tier 1 mutant town-hall no longer spawns units
-The new tier structures have an awesome new building model!
-Tier upgrade times are 10/20/30 and each unlock additional technology
-Tier structures have new unit sounds
-Several mutant structures are not unlocked until tier 2
-Mutation Pool now only requires Level 1 and its build time has been decreased by half
-Hive now only requires Level 6 but needs a Tier 3 hall
-Reaper's Rise still requires Level 16 and also needs a Tier 4 hall and its build time has been decreased to 2/3
-Mutation Pool spawn rate increased to one egg per 26 seconds instead of 32 and its build time has been decreased to 3/4
-New structure: Fungal Colony - Must be built on an iron deposit, and generates slight iron income. Also increases your food capacity. Unlike other mutant structures, the Fungal Cluster is constructed by sacrificing a Carrion/Dread Crawler unit.
<<Research>>
-Many research items are now earlier on the tech tree, too many to list

((Machines))
<<General>>
-When power displays over units, it only displays at most 1 decimal place to ease visuals
-Unpowered structures are now visually dark in color
<<Structures>>
-Nodes should only be created when a structure is completed
-Structures linked to the power grid that are destroyed should be removed from the powergrid
-Power Generator provides more power (+50%) and costs a bit more
-New model for Hydraulic Extractor
-Producing/Cancelling units now properly adjusts the power consumption of the Drone Factory
-Metal Mines produce 20 more iron per minute and Hydraulic Extractors produce 10 more oil per minute and both these structures are mildly more expensive to build
-Drone Factory costs a bit less to build

((Known Bugs))
-MLRS will continue to be buggy till I can devote more time to fixing it, so it is disabled for now.
-AI will continue to be buggy as well. Disabled.

((NYI FEATURES))
<<These features and units are soon-to-be implemented>>
-New Unit [Human]: Stealth Bomber - Slower than the Thunderbolt, the Stealth Bomber offers the ability to be undetectable.
-New Unit [Mutant]: Dominater - Adept "spellcaster." Able to cast various crippling and support abilities.
-Anybody call for an airstrike? Aircraft will soon become cold resistant, ready to bomb the unready foe.
-AI Improvement: AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...


((Humans))
<<Infantry>>
-Attack point and cast points have been fixed on Artillerymen to coordinate
<<Aircraft>>
-Helicopters have had their tooltips corrected for "Change Altitude"

((Machines))
<<General>>
-The "lol" debug message has been removed
-No more annoying dwarf voices
<<Structures>>
-Drone Factory's node spacing has been slightly corrected
-Sentry Node now appropriately spawns 3 nodes
-The Machine Shop should now spawn 3 nodes, which have 3 upgrades each
-You can now only build 1 machine shop
<<Research>>
-11 upgrades have been added in

((Known Bugs))
-MLRS will continue to be buggy till I can devote more time to fixing it, so it is disabled for now.
-AI will continue to be buggy as well. Disabled.

((NYI FEATURES))
<<These features and units are soon-to-be implemented>>
-New Unit [Human]: Stealth Bomber - Slower than the Thunderbolt, the Stealth Bomber offers the ability to be undetectable.
-New Unit [Mutant]: Dominater - Adept "spellcaster." Able to cast various crippling and support abilities.
-Anybody call for an airstrike? Aircraft will soon become cold resistant, ready to bomb the unready foe.
-AI Improvement: AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...

((Gameplay))
<<Gameplay>>
-Critical strikes caused by infantry will only apply mechanical debuffs on vehicles now
-Mutants now have lesser dodge rating versus vehicles and turrets, turrets should no longer have 100% miss
-Organic units in general have much less dodge versus turrets
-Explosive damage now deals more damage against Carapace armor (approximately 10%)
-Rending attacks rebalanced to cause less damage to heavy armor and infantry armor and increased damage to flesh
<<Resources>>
-Iron income tax rate decreased marginally to alleviate late-game resource issues

((Humans))
<<Aircraft>>
-Darkslayer Missile Discharge now has a portion of its damage splashing in a larger radius
-Darkslayer Missile Discharge now causes a higher amount of AOE damage
-Darkslayers cause 5 more min-max damage per shot (11.9 damage per second increase)
-Darkslayers now recieve 3 damage contribution per point of Steeltip Bullets (7.14 damage per second increased per upgrade)
<<Structures>>
-Vulcan Tower [All Ranks] damage reduced
-With any luck, Autocannons (produced by Armageddon Fortress upgrade) should be fully removed when the associated Command Base is destroyed

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-Rally pointing now causes all units to go to the target point (except for Carrion/Dread Crawlers), instead of just 1 per spawn
-Passive EXP gain reduced by 33%, and reduced scaling with higher levels
-Mutant unit spawn rates decreased slightly (around 10%)
<<T1 Units>>
-Corpse Feeder now has a timed life, between 3.75 minutes and 4.25 minutes
-Plague Carrier now has a timed life, between 4.5 minutes and 5.5 minutes
<<Structures>>
-Most mutant structures now have less mana
-For Genesis Obelisk:
-Mana cost of Greater Good removed
-Minimum casting cost for Energy Web is now 20 mana (though only uses 10), and now restores 0.16 mana instead of 0.12
-Mana regeneration of the Genesis Obelisk increased slightly

((Machines))
<<General>>
-Machines start with 25 additional oil
-Oil patches that spawn in with machines increased to alleviate oil defficiency issues
<<Drone Factory Units>>
-All units increased in hit points, damage, and accuracy
-All units temporarily made available for usage
<<Structures>>
-Upgrading power cores for the Nexus should always increase power
-2 new structures (addons) for the Sentry Node: Machine Cannon and Radar Tower

((Known Bugs))
-MLRS will continue to be buggy till I can devote more time to fixing it, so it is disabled for now

((NYI FEATURES))
<<These features and units are soon-to-be implemented>>
-New Unit [Human]: Stealth Bomber - Slower than the Thunderbolt, the Stealth Bomber offers the ability to be undetectable.
-New Unit [Mutant]: Dominater - Adept "spellcaster." Able to cast various crippling and support abilities.
-Anybody call for an airstrike? Aircraft will soon become cold resistant, ready to bomb the unready foe.
-AI Improvement: AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...

((Gameplay))
<<General>>
-Allying feature has been implemented! The host (Player 1, Red) need only type in "-aa" to allow allying!
-Typing in "-ally playercolor" (where playercolor is the color of the player you are trying to ally) will ally that player.
-Typing in "-unally playercolor" will do exactly the opposite
-The host can also type in "ca" (Computer Allies) after "-aa" to allow players to ally computer players. However, once allied, a computer player cannot be unallied.
-The host can also type in "ft" (Fair Teams) after "-aa" to force fair teams. Players cannot join alliances which are already the largest.
-The host can also type in "dm" (Deathmatch) after "-aa" to make alliances on a player to player basis.
-Under normal circumstances, an allied team will achieve team victory. This is not the case in Deathmatch mode, where it is the last player standing, regardless of alliances.
<<Other>>
-Hotfixed to remove debug messages.

((Human))
<<Infantry>>
-Grenades now cause Rending splash damage instead of Explosive; however, the target point still experiences Explosive damage
-Grenades now cause a range of damage rather than an exact damage value, though the damage average remains unchanged
-Grenades now cause damage even at maximum range
<<Vehicles>>
-MLRS disabled until the vehicle is fixed
<<Aircraft>>
-Darkslayer missiles now cause a range of damage rather than an exact damage value, though the damage average remains unchanged
<<Structures>>
-When Armageddon Fortress is researched at any one Command Base, a new autocannon is spawned at each Command Base controlled by that player
-Spawned Autocannons now face outwards, instead of always the default 270 degrees downwards

((Machines))
<<General>>
-The Machines have finally arrived, marking the return of Lead Scientist Haevar; what insidious plans could he have for entering this ever Darkening War?
-Machines are now a playable race.
<<Units>>
-Machine units are fierce combatants and entirely mechanical; they are impervious to natural injuries
-Machine units have deadly variations that specialize in the destruction of certain foes
<<Structures>>
-Machines create additional structures from their main structure, the Central Nexus, in the form of Nanite structures
-Nanite Structures create the foundation to the structural tech tree of Machines
-Machine structures require power to sustain themselves; power is created from the Central Nexus as well as auxilary power structures
-Unpowered machine structures cannot function

((Known Bugs))
-MLRS will continue to be buggy till I can devote more time to fixing it

((NYI FEATURES))
<<These features and units are soon-to-be implemented>>
-New Unit [Human]: Stealth Bomber - Slower than the Thunderbolt, the Stealth Bomber offers the ability to be undetectable.
-New Unit [Mutant]: Dominater - Adept "spellcaster." Able to cast various crippling and support abilities.
-Anybody call for an airstrike? Aircraft will soon become cold resistant, ready to bomb the unready foe.
-AI Improvement: AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...

((Gameplay))
<<Race Selection>>
-"Random" race selection unlocked and is default choice
<<Debris and Cover>>
-Various new neutral debris (units) now offer cover to infantry and mutant units
-"Take Cover" buff also decreases the chance the unit is hit as long as the obstacle is in between the attacker and attacked
-Different types of Debris obstruct different sizes of areas and provide different levels of protection
<<Constants>>
-Small-arms coefficient versus Infantry armor is now 1.30 instead of 1.40

((Human))
<<Infantry>>
-Infantry now have weapon animations correct, changing the attachment point from "Hand,Right" to "Weapon"
-Basic Infantry Squad now creates 2 riflemen and 2 support infantry instead of 3 riflemen and 1 support infantry
-Support Infantry average damage reduced, damage range reduced, but attack cooldown decreased
-Support Infantry now create Barricade units instead of Barricade destructables, which offer defensive cover
-The Barricade unit made by Support Infantry are neutral and not player owned
-Create Barricade now has cast time of 1 second but cooldown reduced from 180 seconds to 90 seconds
-Grenadier HEAT rounds damage bonus increased from 90 to 160
-Infantry that are prone (in defensive formation) now have a lesser chance to be hit by other infantry
<<Vehicles>>
-Vehicles have a 15% lower chance to hit non-mechanical targets
-Tanks have a much lower chance to deflect bullets back at their shooters (down to 1% from 10%)
-Light Assault Tank armor contribution from research reduced to 3 from 4

((Mutants))
<<Tier 2 Units>>
-Acid Spitters now have a chance to miss while spitting, and is blocked by Debris
<<Structures>>
-When selecting the Build-Location unit, the point target selector automatically comes up. You no longer have to click on "Choose Build Location"
-New Structure: Genesis Obelisk: Increases the mana production of other structures around it by using its own; the Genesis Obelisk allows you to sacrifice your own units to add to its energy pool
-Mutant Structures that spawn units now use mana; without mana, they cannot produce units. They have a low constant generation of mana

((Known Bugs))
-Grenades do not cause damage at max range
-MLRS will continue to be buggy till I can devote more time to fixing it

((NYI FEATURES))
<<These features and units are soon-to-be implemented>>
-The grinding and churning of the machines is now more than an illusion. It grows steadily louder every day...
-New Unit [Human]: Stealth Bomber - Slower than the Thunderbolt, the Stealth Bomber offers the ability to be undetectable.
-New Unit [Mutant]: Dominater - Adept "spellcaster." Able to cast various crippling and support abilities.
-Anybody call for an airstrike? Aircraft will soon become cold resistant, ready to bomb the unready foe.
-AI Improvement: AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...

((Gameplay))
<<Bots/AI>>
-AI Difficulty looked at and increased at each difficulty
-AI refusing to build problem being looked at
<<Constants>>
-Small-arms fire damage reduced against infantry, now 1.40 was previously 1.50
-Explosive damage is being reduced against infantry
-As a result of reducing explosive damage, some sources of explosive damage do more damage

((Humans))
<<Overview>>
-Many Human units with previously "Artillery" type attacks are now "Missile (Splash)" type attacks
<<Aircraft>>
-Selection height for landed helicopters has been fixed
-Darkslayer attack type changed to Small-arms, as intended
-Darkslayer Rocket Pod Discharge ability being rebalanced, damage being increased per missile but splash radius changed
-Darkslayer Rocket Pod Discharge now fires 8 distinct missiles that have a smaller AoE
-H5-Crow explosive missiles no longer able to target self
-H5-Crow explosive missiles damage bonus increased by 50% (Up from 60, now 90)
<<Infantry>>
-Infantry attack sounds are being looked at
-Infantry projectile location launches are being looked at
-Infantry weapon holding is being looked at
-New Ability [Rifleman]: Frag Grenades - Throws a grenade somewhere in the AoE, exploding and causing damage.
-Medic mana cut in half, Heal Light Wounds now uses half as much mana
-Medics recieve 1 XP for every time they cast heal, but cannot level up due to healing
<<Structures>>
-Restock Ammunition renamed Resupply Vehicle
-Resupply on Supply Stashes is no longer able to restore infantry
-Supply Stashes have Resupply on autocast by default
<<Upgrades/Research>>
-Personal Stealth Generator now only requires Frostcore Reactor [Rank 1], down from [Rank 2]
<<Vehicles>>
-Field Repair Vehicle can no longer repair flying helicopters; you must land to repair them
-MLRS hit points reduced by 100
-MLRS should now try to fire correctly
-MLRS size reduced slightly from 1.00 to 0.90
-MLRS minimum range reduced from 1000 to 800
-MLRS now are half price, 2/3 construction time, and build one at a time
-Armored Repair Tank has corrected tooltip for construction

((Known Bugs))
-Grenades do not cause damage at max range
-MLRS will continue to be buggy till I can devote more time to fixing it

((NYI FEATURES))
<<These features and units are soon-to-be implemented>>
-Random Race choice when selecting race
-New Unit [Human]: Stealth Bomber - Slower than the Thunderbolt, the Stealth Bomber offers the ability to be undetectable.
-New Unit [Mutant]: Dominater - Adept "spellcaster." Able to cast various crippling and support abilities.
-Rumors of mechanical drones and machinery, continuously grinding, creating ominous echoes...
-Anybody call for an airstrike? Aircraft will soon become cold resistant, ready to bomb the unready foe.
-AI Improvement: AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...

((Gameplay))
<<General>>
-Players will now be properly booted after 1 minute of not choosing a race

((Humans))
<<Vehicles>>
-Armored Repair Vehicle name changed to Armored Repair Tank
-Armored Repair Vehicle model changed
<<Structure>>
-Structure repair costs have been rebalanced to match appropriate numbers
-Building Iron Mines away from Iron Deposits will no longer prompt a text for all players
-Iron Mine [Rank 5] cost reduced
-Airfield [Ranks 1-4] build time reduced slightly
-Academy [Ranks 2-5] build cost increased slightly
-Tank Trap cost and hit points increased proportionately to 20 iron and 400, respectively

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-"Aberation" spelling changed to "Aberration"
<<Tier 1>>
-Gene Stealer "Infest Command Base" ability fixed and now works
<<Structures>>
-Needle Cluster "upgrade" tooltip added so it's no longer empty
-Needle Cluster attack type changed from Small-arms to Rending, as intended
-Needle Cluster upgrade time increased from 1 second to 30 seconds

((NYI FEATURES))
<<These features and units are soon-to-be implemented>>
-Random Race choice when selecting race
-New Unit [Human]: Stealth Bomber - Slower than the Thunderbolt, the Stealth Bomber offers the ability to be undetectable.
-New Unit [Mutant]: Dominater - Adept "spellcaster." Able to cast various crippling and support abilities.
-Rumors of mechanical drones and machinery, continuously grinding, creating ominous echoes...
-Anybody call for an airstrike? Aircraft will soon become cold resistant, ready to bomb the unready foe.
-AI Improvement: AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...

((UI))
<<General>>
-New Minimap Preview! A new one will appear every 0.10 update (i.e. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc)

((Gameplay))
<<General>>
-Iron Deficit and Gain: As the darkness claims the shadows of the land, iron is no longer an abundant resource. Iron mines built close to other mines reduces production rates, while iron mines built close to iron deposits gain extra resources
<<Attack and Armor Types>>
-Most Attack and Armor Type tooltips have been revised to be uniform in style and content
-Light Vehicle Armor has been renamed Light Plate Armor
-Heavy Vehicle Armor has been renamed Heavy Plate Armor

((Human))
<<Structures>>
-Iron Mine and Oil Derrick tooltips have been changed to reflect changes
-Iron Mine model changed

((Mutant))
<<Structures>>
-Scroll speed increased when panning back to base for choosing build location

((NYI FEATURES))
-These features and units are soon-to-be implemented
-Rumors of mechanical drones and machinery, continuously grinding, creating ominous echoes...
-Anybody call for an airstrike? Aircraft will soon become cold resistant, ready to bomb the unready foe.
-AI Improvement: AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...

((Gameplay))
<<General>>
-Units no longer miss against dummy units (it would show 2 misses in a row)
-Random Oil Placement reshifted for balance

((Human))
<<Infantry>>
-Energy usage and capacity of Shadowtroopers halved
<<Vehicles>>
-Howitzer splash damage and radius increased
<<Air Units>>
-H5-Crow should now be able to cause splash damage with its special
-H5-Crow energy pool increased to 60
-H5-Crow should now properly stay as a Crow instead of converting into a Darkslayer and back when landing/taking off
<<Structures>>
-Tank Traps now recieve hit point contributions from Fortifications
-Tank Traps return an additional 10% of melee damage dealt to them
-Autocannons should be removed when Command Base is destroyed
-Missile Towers can now hit air units (helicopters and flying mutants) as intended

((Mutants))
<<Tier 2>>
-Bile Launcher splash damage and radius increased

((NYI FEATURES))
-These features and units are soon-to-be implemented
-Iron Deficit: As the darkness claims the shadows of the land, iron is no longer an abundant resource. Iron will soon be only able to be harvest from veins...
-AI Improvement: AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...

((Gameplay))
<<Initialization>>
-Additional oil patches spawn around players at further distances, guaranteed, to reduce the risk of oil-starving a human player just by random chance

((Human))
<<General>>
-Human Iron Production reduced back to original value, pre-1.10
<<Worker>>
-Field Repair Vehicle now has 5 oil upkeep instead of 1
<<Vehicles>>
-The Howitzer now has a chance to miss while attacking, even against structures
<<Structures>>
-Oil Derricks, when destroyed, now reduce your production
-Oil Derricks now play explode on death correctly
-Oil Derricks exploding now causes damage to nearby friendly units

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-Units previously without damage gains from the Berserken Mutators have now been fixed and recieve damage boost
<<Tier 2>>
-Acid Spitter armor increased by 1
-Acid Spitters have new ability: "Melt Armor" - A stacking damage over time component to its attacks that work against structures and vehicles
-Bile Launchers now have a chance to miss while attacking, even against structures
-Bile Launchers damage coefficient gain from Beserken Mutator now increased
<<Structures>>
-Mutants creating new structures no longer causes EVERY player to deselect, and only the player who built it
-Needle Clusters now spawn tentacles as intended
-Evolution Chamber hit points increased by 100
-Mutators now cost 3/5/7/9/11 instead of 3/4/5/6/7 (10 iron increase per 5 structures)
-Mutation Pool now costs 9 iron
-Hive now costs 16 iron
-Reaper's Rise now costs 25 iron
<<Research>>
-Adrenalus Mutator restored from 0.08 hit point bonus to 0.10 hit point bonus per structure
-Berserken Mutator restored from 0.06 speed bonus to 0.08 speed bonus per structure
-Chitinour Mutator buffed from 0.08 hp regen to 0.10 hp regen per structure

((NYI FEATURES))
-These features and units are soon-to-be implemented
-AI Improvement; AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...

((Gameplay))
<<User Interface>>
-Multiboard fixed and now shows for each player
-Multiboard now displays weather even if you are slow to choose race
-New command: "-zoomout" zooms out your camera
-New command: "-zoomin" zooms in your camera
-New command: "-zoomreset" resets your camera
-New command: "-reshow multiboard" displays the multiboard again for all players (Host only)
<<Initialization>>
-Oil Patch (Blight) placement now less random in player's starting area; will be more consistantly usable instead of being stuck under the Command Base
-Game now kicks players who haven't picked a race after one minute
<<Gameplay Constants>>
-Effectiveness of corrosive attacks increased against light armor vehicles (including helicopters), while decreased for others
-Most offensive units now have greater line of sight to make attacking easier
-Structures now take additional damage from all attacks (of both factions/races)
<<Terrain, Doodads and Destructables>>
-Bases have been made easier to assault to speed up gameplay
-Broken down back roads have been spotted in each base
-New environmental hazard: Radioactive Spines are pinnacles of decaying energy which irradiate and destroy nearby life forms, creating new choke points. What new things may lay under these spines?

((Human))
<<Tactical Aid>>
-Abilities will be (and have been) removed until all abilities for both sides' tactical aids have been finished
<<Infantry>>
-Scout Infantry cooldown reduced from 0.8 to 0.7
-Scout Infantry damage contribution from research increased from 2 to 4 per rank
-Scout Infantry range increased from 800 to 900
-Scout Infantry sight range increased further
-Grenadier "HEAT Rounds" damage bonus increased from 40 to 90
-Assault Sniper maximum damage reduced by 10
<<Vehicles>>
-Howitzer damage contribution from research reduced from 75 to 60 per rank
<<Air Units>>
-New unit: Crow Gunship - Heavy-duty assault helicopter, can also carry troops
<<Structures>>
-Command Base's Autocannons are now removed as intended when Command Base is destroyed
-Oil Derricks now cause an area of effect explosion upon death

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-Mutants have received structural overhaul: Structures now cost Iron to balance the game in terms of speed
-Mutants start out with 10 iron and gain an additional 10 iron with each levelup of their Mutation Menu
-Mutants can salvage 1 iron from all enemy buildings and 3 from enemy townhall-type structures
-Mutants also gain additional iron every minute equal to the square root of the level of their Mutation Menu
-Mutant buildings now have appropriate costs for their capabilities; spawning structures are particularly expensive
-Mutant now uses oil to research new strands. Leveling provides 5 oil a level to spend on research
<<Tier 1>>
-Corpse Feeder armor reduced from 3 to 2
-Gene Stealer granted new ability: "Infest Command Base" - Allows Gene Stealers to take over Command Bases once the Command Base has under 25% hit points and convert it into a Spawning Pool; Requires advanced gene stealer strand
-Slaughterer hit poitns reduced from 500 to 450
<<Tier 2>>
-Acid Spitter hit points reduced from 400 to 300
-Acid Spitter effectiveness against flying units increased
-Acridion hit points reduced from 500 to 450
-Acridion spawn chance reduced
-Acridion model size and collision size reduced
-Bile Launcher spawn chance reduced
-Bile Launcher hit points reduced from 650 to 450
<<Tier 3>>
-New unit: Ravager - Anti-air aerial assault beast, evolved from the Spire Hatchling
-Energumen hit points reduced from 1600 to 1200
-Energumen now requires Titan Demon Strand to evolve from Spire Hatchlings
-Death Scourge hit points reduced from 1000 to 800
-Death Scourge hit point degeneration reduced to make it viable
-Death Scourge now requires Titan Dragon Strand to evolve from Spire Hatchlings
<<Structures>>
-Structure placement now works; you are allowed to pick where you place your structures
-Almost all structures now gain hit points with the "Improved Mutations" research (100% bonus with full research)
-Spore Cluster line of sight reduced
-Spore Cluster now recieves benefits from all 3 upgrade structures
-Spore Cluster's tentacle hit points increased but damage reduced
-New Building: Needle Cluster - Advanced defensive structural improvement from Spore Cluster which fires at enemy air units
<<Research>>
-Adrenalus Mutator hit point bonus reduced from 12% to 6%
-Adrenalus Mutator attack speed bonus reduced from 8% to 5%
-Beserken Mutator movement speed bonus reduced from 8% to 6%

((NYI FEATURES))
-These features and units are soon-to-be implemented
-AI Improvement; AI will be improved even more and will be competitive
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...

((UI)
<<General>>
-Map revealed to defeated players
<<Quests/Info>>
-Human Information finished: Now with brief introduction to how to play as Humans
<<Bot/AI>>
-Difficulty increased on all difficulties
-Bots display difficulty after name

((Human))
<<General>>
-Human starting resources slightly increased from 250/100 to 300/125
-Iron Upkeep costs for Humans significantly changed
-Iron Upkeeps were: 0-30, 31-60, 61-90, 91-120, 121-180, 181-240, 241-300
-Iron Upkeeps now: 0-30, 31-60, 61-95, 96-130, 131-170, 171-210, 211-255, 256-300
-Income percentages were: 100%, 90%, 78%, 64%, 50%, 30%, 10%
-Income percentages are: 100%, 90%, 79%, 67%, 54%, 40%, 25%, 9%
-Many redundant units and buildings requiring the Command Base removed
<<Vehicles>>
-Field Repair Vehicle cost increased from 70 iron and 10 oil to 120 iron and 30 oil
-Field Repair Vehicle construction time reduced from 40 seconds to 20 seconds
<<Structures>>
-Vulcan Towers [All Ranks] accuracy improved again to be on-par with what it needs to be to be base defense
-Vulcan Tower spinup rate has been slightly sped up to from 7.5 sec to 5 sec again but reducing duration from 22.5 sec to 20 sec
-Vulcan Tower [Rank 1] and [Rank 2] weapon types have been converted into small-arms to be anti-infantry
-Vulcan Tower [Rank 1] now requires Laboratory
-Vulcan Tower [Rank 2] tech requirement reduced from Bullets 3 to Bullets 2
-Vulcan Tower [Rank 3] tech requirement reduced from Bullets 5 to Bullets 4
<<Research>>
-Demolitions Armament cost reduced for all ranks
-Demolitions Armament [Rank 1] now requires only an Academy [Rank 2]
-Endurance Training cost greatly reduced for all ranks

((NYI FEATURES))
-These features and units are soon-to-be implemented
-New AI feature: Plays a mutants! Now, you can test against a whole new foe...
-New unit: Crow Gunship - Heavy-duty assault helicopter, can also carry troops
-New unit: Ravager - Anti-air aerial assault beast, evolved from the Spire Hatchling

((UI))
<<General>>
-Desync error fixed; will no longer disconnect players other than host

((Human))
<<Vehicles>>
-MLRS only creates 2 units per squad instead of 3, as intended (reflected previously by tooltip but not function)
<<Aircraft>>
-Darkslayer Helicopter damage output reduced by ~30%
-Darkslayer Helicopter is now able to attack structures
-Darkslayer Helicopter health reduced from 800 to 650
-Darkslayer Helicopter armor reduced from 3 to 1
-Darkslayer Helicopter experience given when killed reduced from Level 4 (80) to Level 3 (60)
-Darkslayer Helicopter now only require Improved Small Arms [Rank 1] instead of [Rank 2]
<<Building>>
-Vulcan Towers (all ranks) attack speed reduced again
-Vulcan Towers (all ranks) spinup time increased to 7.5 seconds from 5 and duration from 30 seconds to 22.5
-Vulcan Towers (all ranks) now miss, as intended
-Vulcan Towers (all ranks) minimum range increased from 100 to 150
-Vulcan Towers [Rank 2] and [Rank 3] now only get 1 armor point per Fortifications upgrade (instead of 2 and 3, respectively)


((NYI FEATURES))
-These features and units are soon-to-be implemented
-New unit: Crow Gunship - Heavy-duty assault helicopter, can also carry troops
-New unit: Ravager - Anti-air aerial assault beast, evolved from the Spire Hatchling

((UI))
<<Gameplay Constants>>
-Flesh and Bone dissipation sped up to reduce lag
<<Gameplay Mechanics>>
-Weather works again
-Weather conditions now displayed on multiboard
-Weather conditions now announced as message to each player
-Weather conditions now appear less often

((Humans))
<<Structures>>
-Oil Derrick tooltip changed to reflect diminishing returns
-Oil Derrick diminishing returns reduced by ~25%
-Destroyed Oil Derricks now have chance to destroy oil patch under the derrick; the older the derrick, the higher the chance of losing the oil
-Oil Derrick diminishing returns reduced when upgrading
-Barracks build time reduced by 5 seconds per rank
-Factory built time reduced to 40/20/30/40/50
-Academy no longer requires Barracks for any rank; now depends on a one rank lower Fortifications research and a two rank lower Laboratory
<<Research>>
-Detector Radar ranks reduced to 3 from 5
-Enviro-suit Upgrade base cost reduced from 375/350 to 275/150

((Mutants))
<<General>>
-Exp per minute has been fixed on the multiboard to reflect the correct number
-Exp per minute (passive) has been reduced for mutants slightly
<<T1 Units>>
-Carrion Crawler food consumption removed, produces 9 food instead of 11 now
-Corpse Feeder damage reduced but attacks sped up; damage upgrade similarly changed. Lesser initial dps but higher contribution from upgrades
-Gene Stealers now have Devour Corpse, which allows them to rapidly regenerate hit points and harvest additional experience
<<T2 Units>>
-Dread Crawler food consumption removed, produces 13 food instead of 17 now
-Acridion "Burrow" ability now changed to reflect its stationary nature while burrowed

UI Changes
-Fog effect lessened
-Radar ping frequency reduced
-Command "-towe" disables weather completely (Host Only)
-Command "-towg" disables weather graphics (Host Only)
-Command "-rotm" allies all computers against human players (Host Only)
-Command "-toggle radar" disables radar ping

Human Changes
<<Vehicles>>
-Light Assault tank splash reduced by ~50%
-Main Battle Tank Splash reduced by ~50%
-Light Assault Tank build time reduced by ~10%
-Main Battle Tank build time reduced ~20%
-Tank Destroyers tech requirement reduced from Armor 2 to Armor 1, and Driver 4 to Driver 3
-Main Battle Tank tech requirement reduced from Weapon 4 to Weapon 2
-MLRS tech requirement for Armor removed
-Howtizer tech requirement reduced from Armor 3 to Armor 2
-Air Devastator tech requirement reduced from Bullets 4 to Bullets 3
<<Structures>>
-Vulcan Tower damage reduced by ~25%
-Vulcan Tower Rank 2 and 3 costs rebalanced (more expensive)
-Tank Trap now requires tech fortification rank 1

Mutant Changes
<<T3 Units>>
-Energumen Speed slightly increased
-Death Scourge degeneration increased and has 15 sec CD on Devour
<<Structures>>
-Spore Cluster move enabled
-Spore Cluster armor reduced, hit points increased

General
-Map has been optimized to reduce download size
-Name has been changed to reflect public beta nature
-Features to be implemented soon


Keywords:
RTS, Alternate Melee, Mutant, Zombies, Infantry, Tank, Vehicle, Total Conversion, Modern Warfare, Weather, Apocalyptic, Explosion, Strategy, Ladder
Contents

The Darkening Wars v1.42 (Map)

Reviews
04:17, 21st Sep 2008 Gilles: A well made map. The two (more would be nice) races are well thought out and very different. I liked many of the small unique ideas in the map, like the fact that buildings place themselves for zombies, although the...

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04:17, 21st Sep 2008
Gilles: A well made map. The two (more would be nice) races are well thought out and very different. I liked many of the small unique ideas in the map, like the fact that buildings place themselves for zombies, although the placement could use work. I'd also suggest making it so that upgrades to buildings are just upgrades, not whole new ones. Also the amount of units are staggering, and you really have to choose which ones to go with. I thought the pace of the game was a bit too slow until the end though, and that the computers were far too weak to make single player fun.

All in all a good 4.5/5 I'd say.
 
Level 4
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
93
I haven't played the game in multiplayer yet, but first impressions from playing it alone was high. The effort in this map was really evident this is probably one of the best modified (alternative) melee maps i've seen yet. And i was really impressed with the working AI, didn't seem like a map that would have it.

Suggestion wise i can't offer much since i haven't played it greatly yet but i'll add on when i do. I do have 2 right now though, make the graphics on weather optional because it adds a choppy game play (In the top right multiboard why not add "weather is:XXXX)

Also instead of just building an oil rig and an iron mine wherever they please make it so they have to track down the resources. Oil prospectors that can locate where decomposition has happened, and items like that. Iron mines an idea would be from all the destroyed structures (such as the middle) have it so you mine off the remains and refine it for your use. It doesn't have to be that, but it's an idea an oil rig in the middle of the land and a iron mine randomly placed is sort of cheesy.

Also, just one question what is it when your base is bombarded by electric rocks? (something along those lines) It doesn't do anything, but i'm just curious...

And, i think the map is protected (Or uses WEU if so disregard the first part of this message) But i would recommend using a map optimizer such as widgitizer to reduce the map size and the screen load time (It really cuts down the size of custom models)
 
Level 9
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
599
Thanks for playing and responding!

In terms of weather: Yes, I was considering changing the weather system somehow so it does not lag the gameplay. Everytime the game changes weather, it lags the game. I really need to fix that.

And yes, this map has working bots! They're not too intelligent, but they serve their purpose. When your base is hit by electric rocks, it's because the AI is using artillery commanded from the Tactical Aid; this feature is not supposed to be working. I'll be disabling it so the bots no longer use this ability.

The reason it's so convenient to build iron mines and oil derricks is because I wanted this map to have smooth gameplay matching that of other RTS games; making a player have to prospect for iron and searching for oil would make it tedious, or at least in my opinion. I may make the resources more limited by location, but for now, it will stand this way. Plus, oil derricks can only be constructed on oil patches (better known to most as blight).

This map was made in WEU, so sorry you couldn't open it. There's a function or two I use from there. I'll be sure to optimize it, and I'll be updating soon when I get a little more feedback so check back soon.
 
Level 4
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
93
Alrighty, played it online some and it went along very well, people liked the map, and i have a couple suggestions.

Have people of the same race be able to ally, such as the humans banding together to destroy the mutant threat.

Second, zombies develop quite faster then the humans, don't you think? Mutants would easily overrun them in the start.

Next, you should make a trigger that acts as a rally point for the zombies if you think it's possible.

I was human in the game, but one of the mutants were saying that the final tier of it was really overpowered compared to the lower two tiers. Such as flying units can devvour ANYTHING which really should be limited to the smaller units.

Mutants need more siege type units/more end tier units that take up less food, because end-game they completely suck against Vulcan turrets and they're pretty much useless.

Please put some tutorials on using humans, i have no clue how aircraft work....all i got was an item?

Radars cause a mass amount of lag later on in the game, can it be manuel detection rather then automatic? or an option to turn it off?
 
Last edited:
Level 9
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
599
I'm glad the test went well! I'll be bringing the map online to host myself sometimes soon, then. Did you test with a full house?

Onto responses...

Have people of the same race be able to ally, such as the humans banding together to destroy the mutant threat.

I may make a game type where you are allowed to do this. The issue is, there may be problems with unfair teams and whatnot. If I do this, I will make the loading screen split the forces evenly, so one side will be mutants and the other humans.

Second, zombies develop quite faster then the humans, don't you think? Mutants would easily overrun them in the start.

I geared the mutant race towards an aggressive human player who played with my play style, which I think was incorrect in retrospect. With a bit more testing, I will see if I have to even this out. This game was balanced with a X player v X player setup in mind.

Next, you should make a trigger that acts as a rally point for the zombies if you think it's possible.

The mutants/zombies do have a rally point! When you rally point with the main building, all the mutants rally to that location. I may change it so each building has their own individual rally point.

I was human in the game, but one of the mutants were saying that the final tier of it was really overpowered compared to the lower two tiers. Such as flying units can devvour ANYTHING which really should be limited to the smaller units.

Yes, the last tier is technically NYI and anything there is... unbalanced? >.<
I will fix that as soon as possible. The flying dragon thing isn't supposed to work yet.

Mutants need more siege type units/more end tier units that take up less food, because end-game they completely suck against Vulcan turrets and they're pretty much useless.

I will take this into consideration as well. Vulcan turrets are a bitch for any race when they're sufficiently upgraded.

Please put some tutorials on using humans, i have no clue how aircraft work....all i got was an item?

Ahh... yes, I was wondering if you'd ask that. Aircrafts are NYI at the moment! They do not work! Sorry about that one. I will write the tutorial when I update everything else as well.

Radars cause a mass amount of lag later on in the game, can it be manuel detection rather then automatic? or an option to turn it off?

I will find a solution for this. Either I will do as you have suggested, making it into a scanner sweep (though I really didn't want to) instead of a ping, or I'm going to make it toggle-able.

Thanks for testing, again!
 
Level 4
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
93
Yeah, it was near full house (one computer), it ended with everyone leaving though the Vulcan Towers just really stalled the game.

Also, when upgrading a factory can it produce units faster? Because the time it takes to produce units for humans is really gruesome.
 
Level 9
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
599
Yeah, it was near full house (one computer), it ended with everyone leaving though the Vulcan Towers just really stalled the game.

Also, when upgrading a factory can it produce units faster? Because the time it takes to produce units for humans is really gruesome.

Yeah, upgrading barracks/factory/airfield decrease the training time. Could it be that it's not reducing it enough? I just don't want to see a tank rush in <5 minutes, I believe the quickest I've clocked one in at is at 7 minutes.

I've never played this game with full house of human players yet, so I have yet to see the balancing with that situation. I will note down what's really bogging down mass-multiplayer games. I should have a few more tests done tomorrow and will probably have an update by tomorrow night or the following night.
 
Level 5
Joined
Aug 24, 2008
Messages
199
This map is fun to play and once the balancing is finished it will be a great map. However i thing tanks deal way to much Area damage.
Fighting human against human most of the infantry becomes useless because they die in 2 shots even when the shell did not hit them directly.
 
Level 8
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
308
Thanks to try my advice to upload this in map section.

This map is great!!!
I rate it 5/5
 
Level 6
Joined
Jun 14, 2008
Messages
176
Can you make it so teams can be assigned just like regular warcraft 3?

For example, if I wanted 4v4 games or 2v2v2v2 games, etc just like regular WC3.

Also, why do some units not have an attacking sound?

Also there is a bug with spore clusters, they can't teleport as intended.

Another is Acridion units do not move while burrowed unlike what the tooltip says.

Otherwise, really good map.
 
Last edited:
Level 9
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
599
Thanks for the 5 Byaku! I'm glad I took your advise. Now let me try to address some problems...

This map is fun to play and once the balancing is finished it will be a great map. However i thing tanks deal way to much Area damage.
Fighting human against human most of the infantry becomes useless because they die in 2 shots even when the shell did not hit them directly.

This is definitely being looked into and balanced. While I wanted a sense of realism, it seems that infantry do indeed die too quickly to tank AOE. I will balance this as appropriate in the next patch.

Can you make it so teams can be assigned just like regular warcraft 3?

For example, if I wanted 4v4 games or 2v2v2v2 games, etc just like regular WC3.

Also, why do some units not have an attacking sound?

Also there is a bug with spore clusters, they can't teleport as intended.

Another is Acridion units do not move while burrowed unlike what the tooltip says.

Otherwise, really good map.

I'll see what I can do about making custom teams other than just FFA.

Some units do not have attack sounds because the projectile fired did not have a sound tied to it; I will see if I can fix this. It's been bugging my friends and I on why it doesn't make sounds; it feels incomplete.

The teleport on Spore Clusters is NYI, I will fix that ASAP! I had intended to fix it for this patch, but the blink didn't work so I'm replacing it with a dummy ability and triggering the entire thing.

The reason Acridions cannot move while burrowed is because the model I am using does not have an alternate underground moving animation; if anyone has a solution for this, I will make them able to move underground. For now, they are not able to move while burrowed and I will reflect this in the tooltip.

Thanks for the comments guys, fixes should be coming out soon.
 
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Mutants seem much stronger than human at early game , get the speed building (upgrade) and those corspe feeder move fast enough to get up close for a hit , after a hit those human will say some stuff and move slower , attack slower or do less dammage, making it hard for them to move out of range to avoid getting kill in a few hits (zombine hit hard)
Edit: AI seem to sucks when I test it with 2 human AI, don't know how well would human players do.
 
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Mutants seem much stronger than human at early game , get the speed building (upgrade) and those corspe feeder move fast enough to get up close for a hit , after a hit those human will say some stuff and move slower , attack slower or do less dammage, making it hard for them to move out of range to avoid getting kill in a few hits (zombine hit hard)
Edit: AI seem to sucks when I test it with 2 human AI, don't know how well would human players do.

Yes, the AI is notoriously bad at playing when facing mutants because they always turn around and try to run; thing is, they usually can't outrun the mutants (because when mutants have speed upgrade, they move 1/220th faster than humans). The reason mutants hit hard is to offset the difficulty at which it is to even get in range of humans. A good human player (using myself as an example) can easily make sure my units are spread out enough (with scout being fodder on the frontlines) to ensure I always have enough room to fire so I never get overrun easily.

If mutants overpowering humans early game keeps happening, I'll do something about it. Otherwise, it's working as intended, because mutants NEED that early power in order to tech faster or else the human player will outrace them with technology via vehicles.

If you want to fight against harder bots, set them on Insane. Insane difficulty computers are harder than normal difficulty ones.

EDIT --- Essential new patch out, 1.04! Gets rid of the silly desync error I had which caused players other than the host to d/c, making it unplayable on b-net! Please download it again, so you get the version without desyncs!
 
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Level 6
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I think you could do AI with Mutants with just the "AI Editor", have you tried or have any difficulties with trying it out?

Since most of the units in the mutants are built just like regular ladders unit, it could be made possible with AI Editor right?

Anyway, good job on the map.
 
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I think you could do AI with Mutants with just the "AI Editor", have you tried or have any difficulties with trying it out?

Since most of the units in the mutants are built just like regular ladders unit, it could be made possible with AI Editor right?

Anyway, good job on the map.

I haven't tried making the AI for Mutants before because I was limited by the map size, however, now I can optimize it, and I will try to implement a Mutant AI.

The reason I figure it wouldn't work so well is because of how the training system and building system work, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
 
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Ya, neither of the human aircraft work ATM. The way I am going to implement it is have the airfield's inventory as a "hangar," letting you store your aircraft there while they repair (represented by their charges). This way, you can launch aircraft from your airfield realistically, without actually controlling aircraft and having them pause midair when they are inactive.

Thanks for commenting!
 
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Alrighty, awsome updates, i only got to play the game for 5 minutes this time though because there isn't much help for humans in the start...corpse feeder rushed and dead basically...if you could make the main building have turrets or something it'd be nice..

Also, have you added allying yet? like humans being able to ally humans (not humans vs. mutants) and mutants being able to ally mutants at will.

And what's up with Vulcan turrets? it seems like they aren't even firing anymore...i did say Nerf them, but against 6 corpse feeders it got one down to 3/4th of it's HP?
 
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Alrighty, awsome updates, i only got to play the game for 5 minutes this time though because there isn't much help for humans in the start...corpse feeder rushed and dead basically...if you could make the main building have turrets or something it'd be nice..

Also, have you added allying yet? like humans being able to ally humans (not humans vs. mutants) and mutants being able to ally mutants at will.

And what's up with Vulcan turrets? it seems like they aren't even firing anymore...i did say Nerf them, but against 6 corpse feeders it got one down to 3/4th of it's HP?

The ally thing... I'm so conflicted on it is the reason I'm taking so long to make a decision of what to implement for it. I'll be sure to update you on what it comes down to.

I've been slowly fixing the speed at which mutants can rush. What is your early build rotation? I have an anti-rush one (Iron Mine, Oil Derrick, Barracks, Scout Squad, Iron Mine, etc). This way, you get your first 3 infantry by the time they send their first pair of scouting zombies. I will continue giving humans the option to speed up their rush more and more until it feels a bit more on par with mutants. I've recently modified the iron income detriment to be reduced early game and mid game but minimally worse late game. Expect many new changes to come to the Darkening War's early and mid games.

As for the vulcan, it has always been notoriously bad at killing mutants, especially early on and now with the increased spinup time. I will be considering changing its attack type to make it more effective against mutants (which it was too ineffective against) and less effective against vehicles (which is was too good against).

The last few versions were a bit rushed, but now I've managed to hit a weekend and I'll have good time to test quite a few games. Thanks for keeping your eye on my map. It's appreciated!
 
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Ah, i played abit blind eye'd that game and didn't do much in terms of defense...because it was about 5 minutes in. But, uhm what you really need is to offer some help to the humans information-wise i think about all of the humans were dead in the first 10 minutes because of not knowing what to do.

Also, could you give defeated players vision of the entire map or something?
 
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Ah, i played abit blind eye'd that game and didn't do much in terms of defense...because it was about 5 minutes in. But, uhm what you really need is to offer some help to the humans information-wise i think about all of the humans were dead in the first 10 minutes because of not knowing what to do.

Also, could you give defeated players vision of the entire map or something?

Yup, no problem, you've brought up a great suggestion. I'll get to writing the human guide (though if you're busy reading it you're likely to lose that game, however, there's always next game). And you'll be able to see the whole field when you die.

I'm looking into the weapons/armor system currently to balance it a little better.

The main issue I've had with adding an alliance system is two-fold: In terms of the story line (scrambling for the scraps of humanity will probably create an unwillingness to cooperate, especially when the land is so scarce, while mutants have no real way of "allying;" they are ravenous beings that seek only to assimilate others into their fold) and in terms of balancing. I will not be adding in-game alliances; if indeed I do add allying, it will be done pre-game so you can determine fair teams. This will be in line with most strategy games.

The setting of the storyline, if I never said, was post-2nd Cold War, where nature intervened with its bitter flashfreezing.
 
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Not that far into my first game of this version but i have two suggestions if you could kinda deduct food off mines/oil derricks that would really help, because by the time i'm fully upgraded 200-250 of my food is owned by my resource producers. And it's somewhat realistic usually you don't expand mines or oil derricks you upgrade the technology on them, and i don't see why that requires more food.

Second, if you could add a "retire" or a "disassemble" function to a unit (possibly a junk heap or a retirement home?) that recycles a unit gives back...50% (or anything else) of the unit's cost?

Oh, and i had someone ask if you could allow placement of mutant structures, it gets extremely crowded and disorganized in their bases.
 
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Not that far into my first game of this version but i have two suggestions if you could kinda deduct food off mines/oil derricks that would really help, because by the time i'm fully upgraded 200-250 of my food is owned by my resource producers. And it's somewhat realistic usually you don't expand mines or oil derricks you upgrade the technology on them, and i don't see why that requires more food.

Second, if you could add a "retire" or a "disassemble" function to a unit (possibly a junk heap or a retirement home?) that recycles a unit gives back...50% (or anything else) of the unit's cost?

Oh, and i had someone ask if you could allow placement of mutant structures, it gets extremely crowded and disorganized in their bases.

The main reason Iron Mines and Oil Derricks have a supply cost is because they require additional staffing as you upgrade them. The technology doesn't necessarily improve when you upgrade their rank; their facilities are just expanded. To improve the technology without increasing your supply usage, just upgrade it at the laboratory. I've made the iron mines and oil derricks slightly more efficient on the higher ranks for my version 1.06 map. They will remain to help balance out the speed at which you can produce up. If there were no limitations, you could just mass the resource structures. When I last played with my friend a few minutes ago, around 50% of my food (or around 100) was used up in resource structures. That's not terrible, especially with a food limit of 300.

The retirement/disbandment idea: I don't know about that one. Were some of your units becoming inadequate/inefficient/useless/obsolete after a while? I try to make the units upgradable so that even into late-game almost all units still serve their purpose, one way or another. The easiest way to "retire" units is to, well, suicide them. Either you shoot them or you send 'em into the enemy's base.

And perfectly for the last idea, I was looking in to make a way for Mutants to place their structures. I believe I have a solution, and it will be out soon.

The next map patch will be big; I believe it will be version 1.10. It will contain several huge changes, including a massive rebalance for mutant units.
 
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Ah, okay on the retirement part i just thought it would be a cool idea for humans, but mutants have an extremely hard time on disposing of units through that method since alot of them are obsolete and you still have to produce them.

Also, could you balance the bile launcher? It's an extremely good siege unit that just comes way too early way before i can even get tanks/aircraft out. (about 20 minutes)
 
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Ah, okay on the retirement part i just thought it would be a cool idea for humans, but mutants have an extremely hard time on disposing of units through that method since alot of them are obsolete and you still have to produce them.

Also, could you balance the bile launcher? It's an extremely good siege unit that just comes way too early way before i can even get tanks/aircraft out. (about 20 minutes)

Yup. The Bile Launcher is being balanced in the next version. It is significantly weaker hit-point-wise (33% less) and does not spawn nearly as often as before (I'd say it went from ~25% spawn rate to ~18% spawn rate). However, it is not intentional that mutant units become completely obsolete later on. The main reason they do currently is because not all of the mutant abilities are done yet. When they are, early mutant units are much more efficient (for at least something) later on.

However, 20 minutes is more than enough time to get tanks. Basic tanks require an investment of about 700/450 for the tank factory, 900/500 for the research, and 400/300 for the lab and academy. That's a total of ~2000/1250 for the prerequisite for a tank. Over 10 minutes, that's 200/125 RPM. A tip to help get tanks better/quicker is to not concentrate too much on massing resource structures; massing resource structures just drives your upkeep rate up.
 
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Ah, okay, and also could you add camera zooming commands? when you lower the camera view the higher it, it changes zoom on the camera.

uhm, also maybe mass control commands for mutants? it's abit hard to control so many units and could you balance the pit lord mutant (forget it's name) if you haven't already noticed...it spawns frequently and has i think 2.5k hp.

For the barricades and tank walls could you make the upgrade fortification effect them?

And try something more extreme for mutant rush control, i mean honestly i don't have my iron mines/oil derricks up yet and i'm being hit by 10 corpse feeders is abit unfair, and then i get noobs telling me "it's how the games played" and "if you can't take it don't play human" make it so units aren't produced until you get an upgrade that takes about 5 minutes. 10 corpse feeders 2 minutes in is total BS.

And, why does a higher income take a bigger toll on your iron supplies? i don't really get it...wouldn't it effect your oil? (I've got bunches of oil...iron not so much)
 
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Level 9
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Ah, okay, and also could you add camera zooming commands? when you lower the camera view the higher it, it changes zoom on the camera.

uhm, also maybe mass control commands for mutants? it's abit hard to control so many units and could you balance the pit lord mutant (forget it's name) if you haven't already noticed...it spawns frequently and has i think 2.5k hp.

For the barricades and tank walls could you make the upgrade fortification effect them?

And try something more extreme for mutant rush control, i mean honestly i don't have my iron mines/oil derricks up yet and i'm being hit by 10 corpse feeders is abit unfair, and then i get noobs telling me "it's how the games played" and "if you can't take it don't play human" make it so units aren't produced until you get an upgrade that takes about 5 minutes. 10 corpse feeders 2 minutes in is total BS.

And, why does a higher income take a bigger toll on your iron supplies? i don't really get it...wouldn't it effect your oil? (I've got bunches of oil...iron not so much)

[Warning: Large amount of text]

Another great suggestion. I'm adding in camera as we say to let you zoom out, zoom in, and reset the camera to default.

The pit lord mutant spawns every 51 seconds and then takes another 40 seconds in an egg. By the time that fat bugger comes out, you should be getting heli's to hunter down their eggs. But if you didn't, I did indeed nerf it already in the version I have and they have ~25% fewer hit points.

Mutants will not be getting a mass move command unless I add it onto a unit as an ability. They have it easy as is; giving them a mass move command is a potential problem. If they can't even manage grouping squads, then they're having it too easy. Mutants is already too automatic, but I'll get more to that later on.

There is a reason barricades and tank traps don't get bonuses from fortifications is because when I was using those two things, it was already way to easy to make my base an impenetrable fortress. It should not be so easy to turtle. In fact, I'm having trouble giving humans and mutants a incentive/increased-capability for assaulting bases (later on) when turtles are finished constructing a massive defense net. I sat on top of my hill blasting down with vulcan towers lined behind my structures and I never gave an inch. I believe I will increase the innate hit points for barricades and tank traps. Barricades is a destructible, however, which is why it gets no contribution, and tank traps are really just meant to slow down tanks.

Currently, it may the way I play, but, I never get zerged down by mutants. I've almost been once, but never lost within the first 10 minutes. (Needless to say, one game, I lost shortly after that.) But if I test a little more, and the average player (I'll get more friends to test with) seem to get zerg rushed like hell, I will slow down the mutant rush rate. I appreciate your concern, but I'll need more testing before I can really nerf something like that. Most likely, mutant hit points will just be reduced a little.

I mean, I'll say another few suggestions here to stop getting killed by rushes: You must have troops early on. Make sure that barracks is within the 1st three buildings you build. And then, just get 2 scout squads. Equal number of human infantry kill equal number of mutant units, at least early on. Make sure you take positioning into account too. Firing down on top of a hill to mutants at the bottom of the hill is most efficient. Next is making sure your units are behind a wall of buildings if they're not at the top of a hill.

However, this is not to say I don't agree with you. Mutant rushes are a little powerful and a little early, as well as the fact that it takes almost 0 skill. I'm changing this. If you make a rush, it will impact you more now as mutants. In fact, you'll have to specialize in rushing. This is one of the many changes coming about to this game.

The only thing that keeps mutants winning is the fact that they can hold you up in your base. If you ever enter their base, their buildings are a joke to destroy compared to human ones. That's the advantage us humans have other their mutants. They have high offensive streaming capability because they must, in a sense. Give a human a few artillery pieces and we blow their base to smithereens in about a minute.

A higher income takes a toll on your iron supplies... now that I think about it, it doesn't really make any logical sense. However, just like how upkeep affects you in standard Warcraft, I do need it to keep a balance on iron. For that same reason, your oil production goes down over time. If you have an abundance of oil and a deficit of iron, purchase the iron smelting upgrade at your laboratory. 15% bonus to iron is a huge boost, and it only costs 200 iron and 900 oil. Don't worry, when the next patch comes out, your iron mines are much more (around... 70 more production on the last rank) efficient. This is to reduce the concentration a human player has to worry about the economy.
 
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Patch 1.10 is out! With it, comes many changes and fixes to the mutant race to balance out the game further! Also, a few more utility changes and UI patch-ups.

how are you supposed to fuse the plague carriers to get those plague abominations?

At the moment, that feature is still unusable. It will be implemented soon in the future in a patch when I find the time, along with other changes.
 
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Awesome map! Really fun gameplay, and if you do ever find the time, a third race would be pretty nice. Machines get my vote. =D

It would be cool having the machines buildings have to expand off each other... hmm I guess sorta like Sprout TD. Their resources could be Power and some type of metal. I guess that's actually pretty much identical to Human's resources, heh.

Anyway, awesome map. Really enjoy playing it.

A small bug
When Mutants (didn't get this high with Humans) pass 300 supply, it displays "79% Income 7" and also sets the income to 79%.

One question. I never got the weather, blizzard, when playing as Humans. How does it affect the helicopter? One of the helicopters abilities, the landing I think, mentioned that you would need to land it during a blizzard.
 
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Awesome map! Really fun gameplay, and if you do ever find the time, a third race would be pretty nice. Machines get my vote. =D

It would be cool having the machines buildings have to expand off each other... hmm I guess sorta like Sprout TD. Their resources could be Power and some type of metal. I guess that's actually pretty much identical to Human's resources, heh.

Anyway, awesome map. Really enjoy playing it.

A small bug
When Mutants (didn't get this high with Humans) pass 300 supply, it displays "79% Income 7" and also sets the income to 79%.

One question. I never got the weather, blizzard, when playing as Humans. How does it affect the helicopter? One of the helicopters abilities, the landing I think, mentioned that you would need to land it during a blizzard.

Ah, thanks for the great review! You'll see the third race soon enough... if you want to help post more ideas for the 3rd race, go to this link on the Hive forums; it's a thread I created for exactly the purpose of making ideas for the third race!

For the bug: I never knew that! I never got that much supply, so thanks for finding that one.

Blizzard happens to be the most infrequent weather! It is extremely rare, however, it is the most disastrous (which is why it's so rare). When it does happen, however, it quickly kills all air units that aren't landed, doing a high amount of damage every second they remain in the air. That's about it.
 
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That's pretty cool. Love that some weather actually affects the player in more than just slowing them done or lowering accuracy.

Few issues with the game that by no means would make me not want to play but here they are. With humans it's hard to tell what unit type is what, without selecting them. Yes, they have different weapons but they are pretty small units. Also, can't see what military rank a unit is without having to click through all of them.

The not knowing what unit type a unit is I can't think of any easy way to change. But maybe for rank... like command and conquer generals, when a units veteran status increases it gains the military rank icon above their head. Acathla Starcraft Rpg does something like this if you need any ideas.

But hey, even if you can't change something like that, I can live with it. =P
 
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The veterancy thing is something I've always sorta wanted to do, I've just never really spent the time to make a graphical display above veteran units. If I find a way to do it, I'll likely add it. I think it will make it much easier to identify which units are the most important of your cluster.

The unit type issue being hard to decipher is really difficult to fix. But then again, in normal armies, I don't think it's very easy to identify an engineer from a soldier other than his equipment and maybe his armor decoration. Perhaps I'll make the floating thing above soldiers also have a symbol to represent type of soldier?

Well, thanks in any case, all suggestions help in eventually perfecting this game. And, I'll have to go through this whole cycle again when I add in the 3rd race. At least you guys all help out with the thinking!
 
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True about not easily being able to distinguish a soldiers role in real life. But yeah, if you do veteran status above a soldier's head, including an icon for soldier type would be perfect.
 
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True about not easily being able to distinguish a soldiers role in real life. But yeah, if you do veteran status above a soldier's head, including an icon for soldier type would be perfect.

Version 1.13 should be coming out soon. I believe I will be testing out a way to allow veterancy to show overhead.

There's also some other features I think I'll list here:
-Iron mines reduce production of other iron mines too close to them
-Iron mines get increased production by being built close to iron deposits
-Iron mines now create a graphical terrain change when built

So, in short, iron mines are getting an overhaul from being able to be built anywhere to slightly more limited (but not by much). This should make it simulate iron mining more realistically.

Look forward to a new custom minimap preview image, as well as airstrikes and a 3rd race! (All in good time, of course.)
 
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if u put machines as a race, how would they be different than humans, would they need some kind of power source or something, like with the Protoss buildings in StarCraft? Also, would they be advantaged or disadvanyegd for being entirely mechanical, mutants would have to have some kind of extreme difference, considering they're entirely organic.
 
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How will they be different? There will be plenty of differences. I have a few things listed on this link. You're free to think of more ideas to make them "unique." Yes, machines use power. No, it's not the same as StarCraft's "power" system for Protoss. Their unit production is different from Humans, and so is their upgrade system. You can be sure I won't just make a copy/mirror of an existing race. This is one of the important things I strive for in this map.

Being entirely mechanical is both an advantage and disadvantage just like mutants for being entirely organic. What it means is that you're susceptible to things all things that are specifically designed against mechanical things. Corrosive attacks which cause damage over time on mechanical units and structures are one example, and Disable Vehicle is another (which will be retemplated to work name-wise with machines). At the same time, you are now immune to things that hit only organic units.
 
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Nice Map!


Note: MLRS attack is bugged

Thanks! I'm working on the MLRS problem right now. It never seemed to fire quite correctly. The short term solution for this, before I release the next version, is to just use "attack ground." While this isn't working as intended, it should suffice to a degree.

My next version with a bunch of fixes in terms of AoE things and some animation things should be out soon.
 
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You could check the MLRS of my WW3 map. My system works fine.



EDIT:
- I also noticed that Tanks and Howitzers will not miss their attacks if you order them to Attack-Ground.
You should make them have a dummy missile attack instead artillery, and to make the attack, create a dummy unit at the position of the tank, and order it to attack. I think you got what I mean here.

- Only 1 computer player is a real match. All others are very weak.
Tip: To make computer attacks more efficient, on the AI, remove the "allow to retreat" thing, or computer forces will retreat right after they lose an infantry unit.

- When I can build tanks, Infantry gets USELESS. Make tanks deal very low damage to infantry (like having to take 3 tank shoots to kill 1 marine)

- You could add an ammo system for all units. Check my Gulf War map.
 
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I'll probably do that if I can't figure out a way to code it myself. I know it was working at some point. Generally, right clicking on the target you want to hit with the MLRS repeatedly makes it work, but I'll see what you have.

I take it you won't mind if I use your system (and give you credits if I decide to use it)?

Edit - In response to your edit:

Tank and Howitzers: Correct. I will definitely fix this as soon as possible. Not having miss correctly is a big issue.

Computer Issue: I don't know why, when you set more than one comp, the other ones bug out and decide to fail. I'll see if I can get this fixed up. The infantry thing, I'll see about that one too. I might turn it off. Currently, difficulty setting increases the resources comps produce. So, don't forget to make insane bots. They do actually play a little better. However, this is also from the perspective of my most current version, where I already revised bots slightly.

Tank thing: It's always been a problem. But then you think about it: Would you really throw riflemen at a tank? I will probably nerf tank damage versus infantry, and increase it against vehicles to make the game go to proper speed. Grenadiers are the only real infantry that are effective against tanks, and only after researching Explosive Armaments. I'm going to make that research earlier in the tree to be more accessible. Infantry are definitely going to gain solutions against tanks.

Ammo system: If it's simple and lag free, I'd be happy to add it. If I do implement it, it will be "infinite but with reloading," as in, infantry must reload after X shots, but never have to go back to base to get more bullets.
 
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Go ahead. All systems in WW3 Nuclear Sunrise are free to be used by anyone. Just give me credit.


You have only to worry about one thing:
on WW3, MLRS must be fired manualy. After you implement to your map the attack ability, the AOE region (A region called MLRS attack, or something like it) and the dummy units, and the trigger, you have to make the following trigger:

A unit is attacked

Unit type of attacking unit equal to MLRS

Set TempPoint at position of attacked unit.
Order attacking unit to Fire Missile Barrage at TempPoint
 
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Yes, it is protected.

The ammo system is simple, just add mana to all units, and make the following trigger:

Events
A unit is attacked

Conditions
none

Actions
If attacking unit mana is equal to 0 then do actions
- Set TempPoint Position of attacking - 1000 towards facing angle of attacking unit degress
- Order attacking unit to move to TempPoint
- Skip Remaining Actions

If attacking unit mana is greater than 0 then do actions
- Set mana of attacking unit to mana of attacking unit - 1
 
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Well, that's simple. There's just one reason it doesn't work on this map: Medics, Shadowtroopers, and Psionic Elites all use mana. (Yes, these are all infantry units. This was the reason I didn't implement ammo earlier. The other reason is because I feel it may slow down the game in a bad way.)
 
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