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Ancient Protector 0.36b

ANCIENT PROTECTOR
Created by rulerofiron99

Originally made for the Mini Mapping Contest 9: Map Size Limited

Map Info:
Orcs and goblins are invading the forest in search of lumber and riches. You are an ancient protector: the first and last line of defense for this grove. Enemies will attack in waves, attempting to both harvest lumber and kill the protectors.

Victory is achieved by surviving all 20 waves. You lose when all the trees in the forest have been felled, or in Normal/Hard mode if all players are dead.

Suggested players: 1-5.

Screenshots:

ancient1.jpg

ancient2.jpg

ancient3.jpg

ancient4.jpg


ancient5.jpg



Features:
  • Custom projectile system. Boulders fly in arcs as they would under gravity, bounce off the ground with reduced momentum, and collide with trees and units.
  • Custom hero skill upgrade system. When you level up, you are presented with a randomised choice of 6 (can be increased) skills, ranging from actives to passive to modifiers for other abilities. This allows the one hero type to grow into many different roles, classes and playstyles.
  • 20 waves spread across 30-45 minutes. Different enemies have different behaviours and objectives. Peons will attempt to directly attack and harvest the trees, while Grunts will seek out and destroy you. Many enemies have unique abilities.

Credits:

-Berz-, The_Silent, L_Lawliet, Sansui, Praytic, Marcos DAB, viiva, -BerZeker-, Callahan, donut3.5, MrHoon, Vermillion Edict, Ergius, Norinrad, kellym0, Vortigon, Lord_T, Sunchips, Elrath, JetFangInferno, JesusHipster, UgoUgo, Champara Bros, DCrimson, Pyritie, WILL THE ALMIGHTY, Ez_Mystery, Situ, Nightcrime, Bribe, Sigelang
(Detailed credits in-game)


Changelog:

0.36
  • Replaced several icons.
  • Nerfed blademaster.
  • Removed some debug commands.
  • Attempted a fix for a rare bug where you would not be defeated even when all trees have been destroyed.
  • Failed tree planting now drops a seed.
  • Fixed players being pushed across the map.
0.35c and 0.35d
  • Fixed the difficulty selection showing a second time if Esc is pressed after watching the cinematic.
  • (d) Fixed this bug persisting in multiplayer


Any and all feedback is appreciated!

Keywords:
ancient protector, ancient, tree protector, tree defense, forest, forest defense, treant protector, defense, hero defense
Contents

Ancient Protector 0.36b (Map)

Reviews
17:44, 13th Sep 2014 Orcnet: This mini-game or a defense as a better category type of map is amazing, the idea of using trees, rocks and other targeted objects as valid use for the game is unique and a booster to play along with a team. The...

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17:44, 13th Sep 2014
Orcnet:

[img]http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/members/194715-albums6441-picture75028.png[/img]


This mini-game or a defense as a better category type of map is amazing, the idea of using trees, rocks and other targeted objects as valid use for the game is unique and a booster to play along with a team.

The idea of additional spells after a wave gives the Treant more advantage along the next waves pass, it would be nice though if you can give a counter for the rocks I keep using to attack my enemies, probably an item with number count to show how many rocks is already stored in my hero would be nice.

Terrain is bloomed with much vegetation background used for the map, it very much gives in a forest look and a total eye candy for players of the game. Overall this map is a must play for defense game.
 
Level 25
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Messages
3,315
I tried easy single player, and it glitched after wave 5 and gave me the difficulty selection again, with dupped buttons(2 pairs of easy, medium and hard) and it restarted the map but I had 2 protectors. Or is it meant to be this way? Also after that point, I could throw boulders even if I had none

Nope, that's a bug.

Can you think of anything out of the ordinary that you might have done?

Did you add bots?
How long did you take on the rounds?
Which spells did you learn?
Did you watch/skip the cinematic? If skipped, at what point did you skip it?
When you say restart, do you mean you clicked the Restart button on the defeat screen?

EDIT: I think I know what the issue is. The trigger that skips the cinematic is only turned off if the cinematic is skipped, so pressing Esc at any point will trigger it. Thanks for finding that bug; no way I would have detected it.

EDIT 2: And fixed.
 
Level 23
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
4,041
I dont know if I pressed ESC, but most likely yes :D Maybe just so happened that it was at the end of round.
You found the issue, but still I will write what I did:

I didnt skip the cinematic
It took a fair bit, I should've saved the replay
Restart I mean it said wave 1 again and I gained new protector(as if I was another player), not like I restarted the map physically
I didnt even know it is possible to add bots :D
I had the earth shield, increased hp, increased boulder size and slam
 
Level 25
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Messages
3,315
I didnt even know it is possible to add bots :D

There aren't any bots - I was asking because some players might attempt to add bots, which could cause trigger problems.

I would like to add bots at some point. It will be quite challenging to make a bot that can throw accurately while not destroying the forest, and also make good strategic decisions and learn spells.

Anyway, I'm eagerly awaiting your thoughts on the map.
 
Level 4
Joined
Feb 11, 2014
Messages
21
I found a bug: when all my trees where dead, the game continue, i had no lose messages so i finished the 20 waves without any tree. ( + when i had 3 trees left, a message said i had 10 left :grin:

I played on easy and is was ok but when there is the wave whith the blademaster its not fair, the BM killed me like 5 times, i wanted to leave at that point, he is way to strong :thumbs_down:

Otherwise it's a fun map, i liked the concept. :thumbs_up:
 
Level 7
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
322
I liked your map and it so much reminded me of the time i played the orc campaign and i had to collect massive wood and that cenarius magically brought the forest back.
I liked the seed concept very much and that they could be damaged during their growth and i had to act like a protector. However i have not made it far.
 
Level 25
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Messages
3,315
Amazing map.

nice, rulerofiron :D

Thanks!

I found a bug: when all my trees where dead, the game continue, i had no lose messages so i finished the 20 waves without any tree. ( + when i had 3 trees left, a message said i had 10 left :grin:

I played on easy and is was ok but when there is the wave whith the blademaster its not fair, the BM killed me like 5 times, i wanted to leave at that point, he is way to strong :thumbs_down:

Otherwise it's a fun map, i liked the concept. :thumbs_up:

I've reworked the tree counter and will update it soon. BM is easier on easy now.

I liked your map and it so much reminded me of the time i played the orc campaign and i had to collect massive wood and that cenarius magically brought the forest back.
I liked the seed concept very much and that they could be damaged during their growth and i had to act like a protector. However i have not made it far.

That's what I was aiming for :)

Could you describe your thoughts on the balance?
- Which difficulty did you play
- How far did you get
- Which waves did you struggle with
- Which abilities did you pick and what was your playstyle
 
Level 7
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
322
That's what I was aiming for :)

Could you describe your thoughts on the balance?
- Which difficulty did you play
- How far did you get
- Which waves did you struggle with
- Which abilities did you pick and what was your playstyle

I played on easy. :) I dont rem much bec i was in a hurry to try all the competition's maps. I will play your map once again today with no disturbance, 100% gaming mode and post results later.
 
Level 32
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Messages
3,953
Okay, I was going to review the map. But this bug below is a killer! I couldn't vote for approval with it around :/
It's horrid.

Here's a replay on easy mode, me and teal get dragged and die across the map a couple of times, especially late game.
 

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Last edited:
Level 25
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Messages
3,315
Okay, I was going to review the map. But this bug below is a killer! I couldn't vote for approval with it around :/
It's horrid.

Here's a replay on easy mode, me and teal get dragged and die across the map a couple of times, especially late game.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I've attempted a fix, and according to my test it should be fine now. Let me know if it happens again.
 
Review

The post will be updated as I progress with the map.

Points/Suggestions

- Why is the Slam ability targeted? It seems melee range to me, and could be instant/no target.

- I love the cinematic! Although I believe the movements of the camera could've been more fluid.
- The boulder throw knockback could have less duration, but the range could be kept. It would probably get more realistic.


- The terrain is overall cool, nothing much to say.

I encountered some seemingly debug messages stating "go".

Though it lacks some kind of motivation to continue in single player, I think it is an awesome map that excited me a lot, with much effort poured into it.
 
Level 4
Joined
Sep 13, 2011
Messages
43
Ancient Protector review


Ancient Protector 0.36b review
"Be green!"

________________________
A very nice and original minimap with some very cool features. It can be played as a single player map or with other players, both is possible - that's good.
Simply a juicy game.



________________________
Art

The terrain is quite nice, details like roots or the golden stuff (that buff effect) are pleasing, not über-high-quality but it's ideal for the gameplay. It's not disturbing yet very nice to watch.

The rain is very cool (the "drops" of water that turn into the item when it lands), effects of the trees growing, basically everything is the way it's supposed to be and the player knows it's done by a advanced mapmaker.

+
Nice, flawless, adapted to the gameplay

-
No custom music, not necessary though



________________________
Game

It's basically a something-defense game, just there's not the castle or something but trees. Nice idea. The fight itself is a bit slow in some way. You know, you control an ancient.

However, it's the task of the player to use his advantages and abilities to deal with the fast and numerous enemies. The boulder - awesome work with the projectil system, that's possibly the best thing about the game (for me), to be honest.

The custom skill upgrade works well, there were many nice abilities and bonuses. The items - water, dynamite, axe or the tree - everything works very well (especially when I can throw it and smash some filthy green faces).

+
Single/multi-player, original idea, various abilities/enemies/bonuses

-
Nothing to say




________________________
Rating

5/5

The rating is surely 5/5, 10/10, probably something about 97%. :)
Good job.

 
Level 13
Joined
Aug 19, 2014
Messages
1,111
Wow nice map here dude I loved the forest and the way you need to protect it by throwing things at the enemy. Maybe you could add some backup forces that will come and aid you to defend the forest or some global spells like entangling roots. Anyways 5/5 I had lots of fun playing this.
 
Level 4
Joined
Sep 13, 2014
Messages
106
Glitch

I somehow managed to throw myself off the edge of the map and kill myself. It was on the round after the farseer, and there were a couple of raiders after me, and I threw a log at them, and I went flying out in the direction I threw the log and killed myself. ?!?!?!??!
 
Level 25
Joined
Jul 10, 2006
Messages
3,315
Oh dear, that bug still :(

It's a problem with the projectile and player knockback interaction. When a unit is being moved by knockback, it will apply knockback to any nearby unit. In this case, the player unit itself is both the being-knocked-back unit as well as a unit erroneously being applies more knockback to, leading to an infinite party hard.

PS: Thanks for the review!
 

deepstrasz

Map Reviewer
Level 68
Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
18,706
Intense! The Pocket Factories ruined the game. If the players die there's a high chance they will revive in the middle of a horde of Clockwork Goblins. The problem is that many of the factories are placed in the black area/unplayable map area and players cannot destroy them even though they still create goblins that come in the playable area.
 
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