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PONG v1.05

PONG
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Gameplay footage recorded by Vengeancekael.

(This is from a really old version.)




Key features
  • A 2D map, recreating the arcade game Pong
  • Players use arrow keys to move around
  • Player 1 can select from various modes
  • Thrust - an ability that creates a whole new strategy to the concept of Pong
  • Events and Power-ups that boost up the gameplay, variety and replay value
  • Has a save/load rank system
  • A fun mini-game that's easy to pick up and play for anyone
Feature description

Modes
Player 1 can select between four modes at the beginning of each game.
- Points - Player 1 selects the amount of points to win the game
- Lives - Player 1 selects the amount of lives each player gets, last man standing
- Rounds - Player 1 selects the amount of rounds played
- Time - Player 1 selects the amount of time played

Thrust
The thrust is an ability your paddle is able to use by pressing either the left or right arrow key, depending on what side you're on. Performing thrust will make your paddle strike out of its place and give a powerful thrust to its left/right. If it hits the ball, it will use all its Thrust Power it has stored and give the ball a strong hit, increasing its speed depending on your Thrust Power. Thrust Power replaces gold in Pong, and it will increase by hitting the ball.

Events and Power-ups
Player 1 can choose how much time passes between each event, and how high a frequency there is on Power-up occurrences.
Events occur every x seconds, and will affect the gameplay in some sort of way. Some of them are very hard to master.
Power-ups will appear on the arena. They can buff up your paddle, give you Thrust Power, or give a negative buff on your opponent. In lives mode they can also give you extra lives.

Rank system
The game uses a save/load rank system. At the end of every match you gain Pong Points. You are given a rank depending on your amount of Pong Points. Use "-save" to get your code to load your rank in your next game, and "-load <code>" to load it.

Special modes
There are a few special modes Player 1 can set after setting intermission.
"-nm" Sets mode to Normal (no change)
"-am" Sets mode to Advanced (different mechanics on Thrust, Power-ups depend on rank)
"-cm" Sets mode to Classic (no Thrust)
"-sm" Sets mode to Speedy (paddles move faster)
"-tm" Sets mode to Twin ball (two balls always on arena)
"-gm" Sets mode to Gates (paddles are turned into gates and are opened by a key)



Models:

Paddle and ball models by chilla_killa.
Codegen system by TriggerHappy.
Booster/arrow model by hellblazer-14.
Light Nova/Dark Nova models by jetfanginferno.
Explosion model by WILL THE ALMIGHTY.
Mario cursor skin by XDogg.
Key model by Kitabatake.

Testers/Support (U.S. East):
  • Eggs
  • Hoplite)
  • killya18
  • Whiskey)
  • Tal0n
  • Slayer11111

and another thanks to Tal0n for making the AI!




~ Map uploaded


~ Changed the angles ball takes when starting
~ Improved map description, gave credit where I had forgotten to
~ Changed minor, un-noticable things


~ In one game-end no Pong Points were given - that has been fixed
~ More Pong Points awarded for draws
~ Indicated that Reverse-a-mathon event was on/off


~ Changed ball collision on paddles completely, improving gameplay a lot
~ Updated the Guide log, which had remained untouched for quite a bit
~ Added a lot of small details, fixed minor things as well


~ There was a huge bug that I had to fix
~ Nothing else really, just some minor things


~ Skipped a few betas, released the first non-beta version

~ Reverse-a-mathon event easier to handle
~ When your opposing player leaves, the game ends and gives Pong Points
~ Made ball unselectable again after being hidden by booster
~ Improved the Guide log again
~ A lot of more small details and fixes

~ Added two new unlockable commands!
~ "-tint xx xx xx" Tints your paddle to a customized color - Unlocked at rank 20 (e.g. "-tint 99 10 10" is a red color, with a hint of blue and green)
~ "-bc <unit name>" Changes the model of the ball to the unit you typed in! - Unlocked at rank 80 (e.g. "-bc wisp" changes the ball to a wisp, "-bc reset/-bc ball" to change back)


~ Fixed some bugs
~ Added some details

~ New unlockable command!
~ "-pc" Changes your paddle to a flower-pot. - Unlocked at rank 50
This is sort of an inside joke, since the first variation of my Pong map used flower-pots for the paddles' models


~ A LOT of fixes and adjustments
~ Removed A LOT of leaks, game runs more smoothly now
~ Improved a lot of triggers
~ New (slightly different) Preview image

~ New single player options, Wall and Computer AI (AI made by Tal0n)

~ Wall - Creates a Wall at your opposing side, and removes the enemy paddle. Only mode here is Lives, and it will count the elapsed time when game is over and tell you how long you survived
~ Computer AI - Three difficulties, Beginner, Intermediate and Expert. Still a bit shaky (no pun intended), AI might be updated

~ Advanced mode revealed - If both players are rank 10+ they can choose between two new modes


~ MANY minor adjustments and fixes, including:

~ Time elapsed is shown throughout the game
~ You are now given a special icon, depending on your rank
~ Teamcolor codes are now correct
~ No color icons are shown on the in-game multiboard
~ Overview multiboard now shows playtime and Points/Lives + difference
~ You only need to type -stats/-info <first three letters of player's name> (without <>)
~ Awards are only shown in Rounds/Time if award points are more than 0
~ Awards now go over faster, and look nicer (different colors)
~ Other realm ball event will now only make the ball take a random direction forward, not backward
~ Improved map description here on the Hive - now includes screenshots of gameplay and a new video
~ New loading screen
~ And A LOT more bug fixes/adjustments


~ Three new events!

~ Gate mode - Both paddles are turned into gates, and a key is spawned. The key will bounce if hitten by the ball, and if he goes near a gate, it opens and the player has to tap an arrow key to close it (there is now also a mode based off of this event)
~ Ellipse - A green black-holeish object spawns on the arena, which has a gravitational effect on the ball. It can differ in size and strength, and will either pull or push the ball if close
~ Extra paddle - A third paddle spawns in the middle of the arena, and will move up, down, left or right. If hit by the ball or Thrust, he changes speed and direction


There were so many adjustments and fixes, that you wouldn't believe it! This version is like no other.


~ There was a bug with angles, messing up Thrust, Power hits and some events - everything fixed
~ Fixed Other Realm Ball event bug
~ Fixed when your paddle kept going backwards from Thrust, now you port instantly to your current position
~ Fixed so that when your paddle is going backwards from Thrust, he can't hit the ball
~ Made the Gate Mode event show the number of taps tapped
~ Made Thrusts hit on Portals, booster and key count as a Thrust for the multiboard and awards
~ There were some more minor adjustments as well...


~ Lowered the sensitivity of portals
~ Fixed a bug with Thrust power showing incorrectly on overview multiboard
~ The tint command (-tint xx xx xx) no longer requires a rank
~ Fixed other minor bugs

~ Added titles for the winners of the PONG tournament (see thread here)


Keywords:
Pong, Pong, Atari, Arcade, Ball, Paddle, Tennis, Table-tennis, Table, Pong, Pong, Pong, Pong, Pong, Pong, Pong, Pong, Pong, Pong, Pong, Pong, Pong, Po
Contents

PONG v1.05 (Map)

Reviews
12:33, 7th May 2011 -Kobas-: Status: Approved Awesome idea.

Moderator

M

Moderator

12:33, 7th May 2011
-Kobas-:
Status: Approved
Awesome idea.
 
I'm going to test it.
Just by looking at the description, I can sense that this will be ... promising :)

Good Job :D

... Now I'm going to play it :p


EDIT:

I just played it and this is my review:

Gameplay: 5/5
Interface: 5/5
Misc: 5/5

You're game was amazing.
The gameplay was very unique and unlike anything :D

Good Job (Sorry for the short review, I'm really busy ;p)
 
Level 7
Joined
Apr 11, 2011
Messages
173
Official Basic Review of V3H -


Terrain 5/10 - Not much you can do besides add a option for different environments.
Concept & Idea ?/10 - Will be marked if asked for advanced review...
Triggers 9.5/10 - Triggers are done as best as they could without re-making the map.
Object Data 8/10 - Seems fine to me in a map like this.
Overall Map Data 10/10 - Not enough to say to not make it a 10.
Estimated effort spent into this 9/10 - It could be improved
Playability 10/10 - It is a classic and definitely playable over & over.

Overall Mark - 51.5/60

Any questions about the review, just ask and I will answer.

Suggestions -
Add more events
Add 4 player option
Add terrain option

If you want a better review then request an advanced one.
 
Level 6
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
190
Suggestions -
Add more events
Add 4 player option
Add terrain option

A terrain-changing option will definately be considered. As I said in the description though, the 4 player mode might some day be added, but not this instant.

The amount of Events and Power-ups could indeed be improved. It was rushed, because I was completely out of ideas, and if I got one it sounded over-complicated and I never got around to finish them.
 
Triggers 9.5/10 - Triggers are done as best as they could without re-making the map.
Object Data 8/10 - Seems fine to me in a map like this.
Overall Map Data 10/10 - Not enough to say to not make it a 10

I don't think you can rate triggers :p
... or the object data ... or the map data .. unless you open the map
in the world editor .... which is impossible because he protected it :)

But since the game is pretty smooth and efficient, I'd say your triggers are good ^^
 
Level 6
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
190
Btw if I can recommend next tutorial Dialog Buttons (Advanced Systems)

I looked at your Dialog tutorial. I had never thought of using it that way, it is indeed a much better way. You can both have a clear vision on what modes are in front of you, and you can't accidentally click something, and never take it back.

This could fit very well in Pong, since you can put in a lot of options.
 
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Level 7
Joined
Apr 11, 2011
Messages
173
Here's my advanced review.

Terrain will for now be grouped together as a mark with Triggers until you make some terrain with triggers....

Every mark will be out of 10 to a total of 100 marks.

In this one it will be #/90 instead of 100 for now.

Terrain & Triggers = 7/10
Concept & Originality = 5/10 (9.8/10)
Advanced Concept Points +4.8
Game-Play = 10/10 (9.5/10)
No tutorial on how to play for new people -0.5
Effort & Skill = 8/10
Movement = 8/10
Extra features = 10/10
People's liking = 10/10
Map Data = 8.7/10
Use of objects = 7.9/10

78.9/90 :thumbs_up:

:fp:Do remember that any of my advanced reviews can be changed at any time when your map is updated so no mark is permanent.
 
Level 6
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
190
so for now its a single player map? :(

It's not a single player map, no, but if you meant 4-player map then as I said in the description it might some day be made. For now however, it's a 2-player map.

Here's my advanced review...

Thanks for the review.
The reason there is no tutorial though is that the game is pretty self-explanatory, and it only takes about 1-2 games to know what it's about.
 
Gates and orbs can still be 2D if seen from above. They'd just be better looking.
What annoys me is that people think "different" means better. It doesn't, it's just a waste of file size.
If you were playing 2-D pong, you'd think it would be neat to import war3 gates and orbs. If you were playing 3-D pong, you'd think it would be neat to import 2-D blank bars and a square for a ball...
 
Level 6
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May 26, 2010
Messages
190
Gates and orbs can still be 2D if seen from above. They'd just be better looking.
What annoys me is that people think "different" means better. It doesn't, it's just a waste of file size.
If you were playing 2-D pong, you'd think it would be neat to import war3 gates and orbs. If you were playing 3-D pong, you'd think it would be neat to import 2-D blank bars and a square for a ball...

I fully respect your opinion, but I have to disagree. As I've said before the theme is arcade games/old video games, and because of the models the 2D is really at its finest in Warcraft.

I've also emphasized on that my map is unique, even though Pong has been remade several times. What makes it different from the other maps is partially because of its look. The paddles can also change color, and the ball too, bringing a concept of its own to the game (how power-ups are owned by the one who owns the ball - depends on color).

What also is so good about using the models is that you see so little of Warcraft itself in the game. There are only a few special effects from Warcraft, and the tiles, which look less like tiles in that black backround, and more like dots. Otherwise, it doesn't feel like you're playing Warcraft - it feels like you're playing Pong.

Moving gates around and hitting an orb that we've all seen before wouldn't make that feeling so great. It would reduce it almost completely.

From your point of view, not his.....
Don't force your opinion, it just makes you look bad....
Different does mean better, as well a suggestion for you EroticSideburns would be at a certain rank allow to change the ball to a orb and your bars to gates as TLI said above as his poor example.

Correct. The ball can already be changed into any unit-model in the game, and soon to come you'll be able to change your paddles into flower pots (unlocked at rank X). The flower pots are kind of an inside joke, since the very first "sketch" I did of the map used flower pots instead of the paddle models.
Different is good, even the rules of the Hive claim that your map must have a unique concept, or at least a hint of originality in it.
 
Erotic, creating a copy of an arcade game doesn't do much good; a person can go online to do that. If you want the game to be interesting, it needs to not be an exact copy of something people've played before. That's why I'm saying using gates and orbs would make it better, in my opinion. Having recognizable warcraft models in a map does not make it bad, it gives it a warcraft 3 twist.
What annoys me deeply is that many people import models into their maps that in truth are less functional than the models already existing, and pretend their map is made better simply because it is different.
It's a psychological effect, people unconsciously believe different is better.
For example:
In Halo 3, where you start with a golen visor, everyone thought a blue visor would look cool.
In Halo Reach, where you can buy a blue visor early on, everyone thinks it's lame, and the gold visor, which you get much later in the game, is considered great. You aren't judging the actual quality of it, you're just being fooled into believing the supposed quality of it being different.
If you were playing Pong online, outside of warcraft 3, and you saw paddles as gates from warcraft, and orbs from warcraft as the ball, you would be thinking "that looks so cool!"
 
Level 4
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May 4, 2011
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94
TLI-Inferno I agree with that statement. Though, at first i thought nothing of it then i got thinking after your post and it blew my mind how right you are.
 
Level 6
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190
I never disagreed with your philosophical theory about changes (although I don't fully agree with it either), I'm only saying that in my opinion, the map is better with the models it has. When chilla_killa created them and posted them to my thread, it really inspired me to make the map.
Anyone can remake Pong, here on Warcraft or anywhere else, sure, and that's why my map isn't just:

"Pong in Warcraft with kick-ass never before seen models!"

No, that's not what specifies it at all. It's the other things that make my map unique as well. Events, Power-ups, different modes, and more importantly, the Thrust.
Thrust allows a completely new strategy to Pong, and is in fact the main point and goal of playing my map.

But I do think it would be neat if you made another game mode which would use gates and orbs.
If you would have listened to what me and Vehster were talking about, and maybe taken a look at the Changelog, you would've seen that you can already change your paddle to a flower-pot and the ball to any unit in game, bringing the Warcraft aspect to my map.
 
Level 6
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I'll leave it up to me, thanks.

EDIT:
There are now two single-player options. If playing alone, you can either set a wall on the other side (pretty self-explanatory), and the other being Computer AI! Three difficulties, Beginner, Intermediate and Expert.

The AI was made by Tal0n at U.S. East.
 
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Good that you've added AI and a wall bounce for people to practice with.
But, as I said before, I'd like to have the option of changing my paddle to a gate. I know you have the flower pot option, but what about gates? Some gates even have an animation for being hit, in which they bend inwards and then outwards, which would be perfect for bouncing a PONG ball.
 
Level 6
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But, as I said before, I'd like to have the option of changing my paddle to a gate. I know you have the flower pot option, but what about gates? Some gates even have an animation for being hit, in which they bend inwards and then outwards, which would be perfect for bouncing a PONG ball.

That's not a bad idea, actually (using animations). It could look nice. If anything though, I'd add the gate as an unlockable feature, it's the only way.
 
Level 6
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I had an idea yesterday, which could make a really cool event:

Both paddles turn into gates, and a key spawns on the arena. First one to get the key by hitting it with the ball opens the opposing player's gate, allowing the ball to go through. Once gate closes, both paddles go back to normal.
 
Level 6
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Just a small bug report that the ball/squire whateva' rebounds a tad eary and looks a bit dodgy to me :p any chance on changing the bouncing timing?
If you're talking about how it bounces off walls/paddles then that's not a bug, just your personal issue with the visuals.
It bounces a bit early off walls because if it would be any closer it would touch the white terrain dots.
It bounces a bit early (depends on the situation) off paddles because it detects the ball's within range using a circular radius, not the x,y's of the paddle.
 
Level 6
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I make it detect if the ball's distance from the Position of Paddle is less than a certain number, then it hits.
Right now I see almost no reason to change this, since it works fine and it's not that detectable since every time the ball hits there's a special effect on him.

If you however think there's a better way, feel free to post the trigger yourself.
 
Level 3
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maybe make the paddles more to the front. the ball somehow could bounce back even though its directly behind the paddle. also, during the mode where the ball changes angles whenever it touches the walls, there was this one time where it rebounded to the back of the paddle and made the player scored an own goal. is there anyway to fix this?
 
Level 6
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sengjung123 said:
maybe make the paddles more to the front. the ball somehow could bounce back even though its directly behind the paddle.

That is because of the circular radius used to detect if the ball's within range, and I don't see why this would be a big problem.

sengjung123 said:
also, during the mode where the ball changes angles whenever it touches the walls, there was this one time where it rebounded to the back of the paddle and made the player scored an own goal. is there anyway to fix this?

There are currently some technical issues with the event "Other Realm Ball" and Thrust. In the event, the ball will sometimes go straight through the wall, but is not known to go backwards.

EDIT: There was a bug with Thrust, probably the one you were talking about, that has been fixed.
EDIT2: v1.04 released - all bugs regarding Thrust, Other Realm Ball and Power hits making ball take weird directions fixed.
 
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