A Farmer's Life v1.22

[Moderator]

09:36, 7th Aug 2010
ap0calypse: Rejected

 

[TwentyThree]

So heres my map.. have fun and everything

 

[Gantoris]

Screw the stupid camera!!! XDDD can u make the camera go to your peasant each time u go thru a door (the circle thingy on the floor), its kinda irritating since i must keep click the hero icon so that i would knwo where my peasant "teleported" to. It would be nice if you had some guidelines on how the game is supposed to play, or just maybe a intro. I went into the game with a blank mind of "WHAT AM I SUPPOSE TO DO?"

The game is not bad, having lots of cool details and a nice 2 storey house, barn, farm, just cool. But plz fix the cam when you go upstairs your house or reach into any house. It really spoils the fun.
The guide (f9) is abittttt crappy. Half the time your sorta maybe kidding. The other half i can't really understand what you really saying. Took me 10mins to have the idea on hwo to grow potatos. 20mins later then knew how to cook soup....until when i placed the fire on the fireplace, the fire bugged and went to the barnyard...above.

PS: When i go to the bottom left corner of my house i thought i DIED. Plz put a set of words hanging above it saying "Bed" or "Sleeping Area" i was shocked when i 'died' XD

 

[MultiGod]

Gonna dl this ASAP

EDIT : Terrain is wonderful but the indoor is...terrible. Where'd i get potato seeds? Quests should contain more detailed information. needs more types of crops and animals, also need an easier way to take care of them.

 

[TwentyThree]

yeah sure, i'll work on the camera asap. I guess i'll do a cinematic for the tutorial to help out people i guess. I'll put a little thing that says "Bed" on top of the bed. And i'm not sure how to simplify the quests any more, i thought about them for awhile to simplify them but thats the closest i got

 

[CowKing]

This is quite the failure map.
/sarcasm

 

[Gantoris]

To be frank, after really spending about 1-2hrs playing it, its fun. But later gets boring. I didnt even got to make much coz its too fussy...... ending up eating potato soup the whole time. The game is tooooooo difficult to be handled by 1 person (meaning 2-3 people is needed to maintain a house+farm+barn+crops+food+shopping) Ima explain my farmer story, just to show why.
Everything is going at the pace it's suppose to be, so its ok.
During the start i had to settle the crops problem (ensuring i had enough potatoes to feed myself) since not all the time will 100% grow potato plant, which you didn't mention in the guide. Either that or i put the plants too close.
Then i had to gather potatoes to sell them, got my sheep couple and hay. During the selling part, starting i didnt knew that by selling the potato bag, makes the bag dissapear XD which i sold for 14g and bought it back for 5g. so wasted.
(btw i love the sheep skill icon XD). Then.... it freaking had to snow when i just bought my sheep. Anyway, they died and i got a new pair. Prob is, there seems to be an error about the sheeps having ***. Once u have a few sheeps and click auto cast, the males tend to do *** towards each other then the females. WEIRD.
I can't seem to handle the sheeps, where you have to keep feeding (most of them died as the sheeps keep having ***), and my other duties at the same time (planting,food,and the remain things i haven't done). Game is kinda difficult to handle as not only you got to earn money and feed yourself, animals needs to be fed too. So i suggest that you mention in the F9(Quests) about probably teaming up in 1 house.

To be frank this game is quite fun, but also quite challenging.
Things to note from the Story above (they aren't bugs btw)
1)Plants dont 100% planted in the crop area (even though u plowed it). Either that or i planted them too close.(which u still need to mention)
2)Sheeps loves to have *** with the same gender when spell is left on auto-cast.
3)Team up together with your other farmer mates for easier gameplay.
4)There was no mention that when you sell the potatoes in the potato bag, the bag dissapears.Maybe im dumb and do not have that common sense, since i thought all they wanted was the potato which made up the price of the bag.
5)The backpack dissapears abit too fast, fasted i could put was 4 stuff from my farmer to the backpack, suggest make it longer duration.
Still good work making a game to burn off some extra time.

 

[Warhunter]

Just Another Idea For Your Map:
You could do like pirates/robbers that's hiding in woods, and sometimes, they go out and raid an nearby farm. And the Farmer can hire mercanaries. Could that be something for your map?

 

[TwentyThree]

All good ideas, i'll start working on them all from top to bottom to help out the game, see if it runs more smoothly. And yeah you did not have that common sense *whistles harmlessly* And i had tried to make it harder and more challenging, living out on a farm isn't the easiest thing to do, trust me i live on one. I guess i'll work on that gay sheep sex thing even though its hilarious to see male sheeps banging each other
DAMN YOU JUUDAI PANDA! your my friend but your not suposed to be mean, even if it is sarcasm...

 

[TomiTomo]

very real game, but can you put more information in F9 ? like... "if you want to cook potato, use the starter kit first then put it into the well in front of your house, it will make a cold potato soup. if you want to cook it, buy fire from the market(in the city) and put it inside the fire to make warm potato soup" well... also mention more things, like how to get wood, iron, and all stuff like that, i still figuring out how to find them.

and also, the description said a bass can be sold for a(1) gold. it is actually worth 0 gold because the value of the price u set is the original value. the selling value is half of original, maybe you should double the price of the bass. since you cant buy it. also why cant i buy bass brass in the market (the 2 gold thing).

some suggestion, maybe you should put a guard dog for every player. wolf always chase me in the morning when i want to go to the market. Can make more feature like having a wife? or child to help hoe and plow the field?

and again, thanks for entertaining me with this map. quite fun ^^ keep improve this map pls =) sorry for my grammars or spelling error...

 

[Gantoris]

Aeh? Wife? Why would someone want that feature for >>>>>> your peasant control not enugh ar? At most i play the game just to keep banging my wife, make lots lots of kids. Btw of you say the wolf chase you every morning, plz walk on the right path where there is pavement, don't just click to shop >.>
What is that blacksmith building at town? Really have no idea what it does.

 

[TwentyThree]

What is that blacksmith building at town? Really have no idea what it does.

Blacksmith building is for blacksmithing and creating items, if you read the quests it should show how.
And yes, you follow the road you wont be hassled by the wolves, it was why i placed it there

 

[TwentyThree]

Ok, i wanted to know if implimenting an ally/unally trigger would be a smart idea in the game? And if a respawn trigger would work too in any way?

 

[Gantoris]

Hm....... the respawn trigger would help out hell lots of beginners having problems to make potato soup. (count me in for my very first game coz i spent most of my time reading F9). The unally and ally trigger i would suggest not..... coz.... u know there are idiots out there who may not like the game and thinks of rage quit, so they just run up to an ally and start wacking like mad....
Anyway, i think this game is already completed in the "having fun" part, so i wish you could go in the extrasssss like maybe some imba creeps, storylines, quests.......no idea what you want but, you can stop here if you like.

 

[TomiTomo]

oooh, i didnt realise there is a path !!! the blacksmith in town is for making hoe, shear, sword and things like that. u walk near the big big rock that act as an anvil and press your blacksmithing tool. a menu will appear and you just press the thing you want to make, of course u need the thing needed.

i also don't agree with the allying system if there is no creeps for players to send to the enemy.

the pigs, have the sheep *** ability, maybe change the name ? my baby pig also cant grow

and..... if i put salmon inside fire, sometimes nothing happened. is the salmon "burnt" ?

i want quests !!! this game is fun =D if you want to protect it, download map optimizer. oh ya.... blue is a bit too too too far from town... when teal and red just need to walk a few steps to get in the town

 

[TwentyThree]

Yeah, almost everything has a percentage chance of success or failure, so dont worry about that. I'll move blue a little closer too. And remove the ally-unally trigger then. I'll check out the pig trigger, see if its working. And I'll try and add a few quests, like, if you give a guy in town like 3 items of some sort, he gives you a fire kit or carving or gold, somthing like that. I think i'll add a revive trigger too, like island troll tribes with a timer. AND maybe add an instance or two.. gime a review on those ideas

 

[wereguy2]

Sounds alright. I will probably review this tomorrow.

 

[VampireofBlood]

i really enjoyed your map.
+REP and pls keep on updating and adding new stuff

 

[TomiTomo]

hmm... maybe put 1 child outside the town as questgiver. say that his mom asked him to buy eggs from market but he broke it. so he ask the farmers to replace his egg. the reward is... hmm, cant think about a reward.

you need to put how to get oat in F9, because my friend just bought 2 chicken then it died because he dont know how to find oat, i also dont know.

and... some suggestions... maybe you can add tribal village where you can buy medicines...? or extra worker for a cost ? (slave/helper must be fed, have 3 inventory slot)

and... thanks for the blue distance problem ^^ keep up the good work man

 

[Thick_Armor]

I really don't have much to say right now (because I'm knackered) other than this is one of the best maps of it's genre. I like to play these more relaxed types of maps every now and then and this one looks to have a good chance of becoming a regular.
I'll edit/post another once I have some ideas as what to I'd like changed or added as I have not had a chance to play the newest version yet.

EDIT: Please, please, PLEASE make it so that you can't die! I was on the way to toen to sell some potatoes and BANG I get ganked by bandits. Game over. Even after all that hard work, it seriously sucked. Don't bother putting in any kind of lives system either, it has no place in this map. There is NO disadvantage to anyone except you being out of the entire game if you die for some measly mistake. Obviously you shouldn't have no penalty, otherwise dieng wouldn't be that much of a bother.
My idea is to make it so that when you die all of your belongings stay where you died. But bring out this next update soon!

Here's a list of things which I'm adding as I play the game:
-Hoe needs to say that it harvests finishes crops AND kills weeds.
-Dog should have a dog voice, not bandit.
-Crops should be passable
-Crops should be bound to the center of a tile
-Ploughed tiles should disappear once a crop has been harvested

All I have time for.

 

[TwentyThree]

I wont implement the crops in the center of a tile. I wont because it would take up too much room in the field, but i will take your ploughed tiles idea, see if it works out, if it does then its going in.

 

[Lothar]

Brilliant map, i love how this works as a farming map!

 

[Gantoris]

I wonder did anyone finished the game? Meaning getting into finish all the parts of it, smithing, rearing sheep, sewing, killing wolves and stuff, until there is nothing left to do. How long does it acutally take to finish it, and is it possible to multi task that much?

 

[wereguy2]

I cant be bothered writing a full review, so here is some advice.

When opening the gate, you should use its death alternate animation (well, i think that's it, the one where it is open) as simply turning it into a wisp looks strange.
The health loss if abrupt, cant you just give the Peasants negative regeneration?
The Quest Log is good, but it does not have some information, such as where to properly sleep, and how to get seeds etc.
The death triggers are flawed. The floating text only appears when my Peasant revived.
You should make this text disappear after a short while, as it interferes with the function of other players.
What was the point of the blacksmith; it is empty.
The terrain could use some work, as it is pretty much just randomly placed mushrooms and trees.
You should implement more features, as the current amount seems rather drab.
Put Pathing Blockers around the rocks in the wolf cave; units can walk through them.
My farmer respawned after starving to death. Maybe you should remove respawning altogether?

This is a pretty good map, from what I saw. It reminds me of Harvest Moon. It does, however, need some sort of competitivety, otherwise, what is the point of it being multiplayer?

This seems alright to approve.

 

[Thick_Armor]

Hey, I will download and play the next version ASAP. Just so you know, by 'should' i meant I would like. I was also going to suggest that it be possible to buy more land, to make up for crops taking up more room when placed in the center of a tile. If not, just make it so that crops place themselves in tiles more proffesionally, so it isn't so messy.
Multiplayer features and competitivity... Perhaps competitions...?

Actually, that opens up a whole new bunch of ideas in my mind! How about once a crop/vegetable/fruit has grown, when you use the hoe on it it has a certain percent chance of being a 'large' or 'gigantic' or even 'prize' crop? You could also give it a chance to be a 'small' crop. Perhaps use this idea on animals aswell? The advantage of this could be either it being able to create two or three soup starters or sell it for up to double, or even triple the original selling price, for small you would get say half the original selling price and wouldn't be able to use it in soups.

As for competition my idea was to have some kind of growing or breeding style competitions. Every crop you bring in, up to a maximum of 5 crops is worth a number of points. Here's a quick chart:
Small crop: 0 points (Don't bother)
Normal Crop: 1 point
Large Crop: 2 points
Gigantic/Prize Crop: 4 points.

It's a fairly small amount of information, and obviously a bit more thought and skill would have to go into it, but tell me if you find it interesting and we could talk some more about it. Or you could just take it away from there yourself.
I will edit/post another comment when I've played the newest version.

 

[TwentyThree]

I would of done that crop thing, but i cant because of my shitty triggering abilities. If you could maybe make a competition trigger for crops, since i added prize crops and everything. If your up for it make a trigger for it. I would be glad for the help

 

[CowKing]

I could provide the trigger, but as you may know, I'm pretty lazy. Also about the 1.2 changelog, it says maybe give 2 items for a prize crop, but I got 4-5.

 

[Tleno]

You forgot to change name to 1.20. Its still 1.19...

... fellow peasant!

 

[wereguy2]

AAAAAARGHHH!!!
Too many!!!

 

[TwentyThree]

omg another peasant!! and panda it said "Lucky Generosity" when you got the wool shit, not my fault i stole them.. or maybe it is i'm fixing shitloads of bugs right now in the game and im also balancing shit, so i might not add another version for a day or so

 

[Thick_Armor]

Here's another on-the-go list of concerns and ideas by me and Moosey_goodness:

THESE AREN'T VERSION CHANGES, JUST IDEAS!

Additions-
-There should be a way to earn money that does not include tools or crops, just in case you get broke.
-Crows! Evil birds that eat your crops, slowly decreasing their health over time
-Scarecrow! Counter the crows with a mighty scarecrow!
-Fertilizer. Makes it so plants have an 80-100/80-90% chance of planting and makes them grow faster
-Perhaps make it so you are able to level your farming skills? Higher mana to work for longer? More hoe coverage?
-Following from the previous, perhaps add more levels of tools, like an upgraded hoe that does two squares at once.
-Pack horse and cart? Or something along those lines. Lets you carry a large amount of items at once, would be useful for selling crops. Of course you would have to buy it.
-Could you possibly add something that notifies you when your crops have finished growing? Perhaps a command that turns the feature on or off, or even an item that you place.
-Spade? An item you can dig things up with. Every time you dig in certain types of terrain it has say a 10% overall chance of giving you something, then 5% for cash, 2% an artefact, 3% for seeds. Just an example, I wouldn't recommend using those actual numbers.
-Bushes/Bushels? Either bushes you could find in the woods or even plant yourself. These wouldn't disappear after foraging but take time to regenerate.
-Trees, similar to bushes, again they don't disappear and can be checked for food.

Bugs-
-In some of the buying menus there is no close/never mind button, you have to buy something to leave
-While the tutorial is running your mana and HP still drains, same for when you sleep.
-When I tried to buy something from the market it didn't appear and no money was taken away, perhaps related to food.
-My fire-kit didn't place a fire...? I cast it on the fireplace and nothing happened
-Prize lettuces have a number in the corner, as if it's stackable. Although it isn't.
-The lettuce sack says it’s for hay.
-WELLS NO LONGER BELONG TO US. We can't make cold soup.


Changes-
-1 Minute isn't that long to get your crops. Besides, what kind of plant dies after only a minute of being fully flourished?
-Make it so things like crops and fire-kits are BUILT, like properly, not just cast
-Decrease the rate at which HP is lost over time
-We don't like that a ploughed tile disappears every 40 seconds, not so much the idea but the time
-Fires disapear after a really short time, perhaps increase this time or allow us to make our own fire kits?



All for now, will post another or edit as usual for more

PS: Sorry for the massive amount of addition ideas, moosey and I had a bit of a brainwave. Mainly moosey.

 

[jwilcox25]

Great map keep up the great work

 

[Yabooer]

I started everything really harvesting/animals etc but I felt that it lacked something... I don't know what it was but I felt "Why am I playing this game?" "What is the end game result?" "What is the goal and purpose?"

A couple of things that DID bug me was the fact that other players would come on my farm take food I have stashed they would harvest some of my crops, and some of my animals were killed.

I'd like an ally/unally system if possible?

 

[jwilcox25]

bugs:
players are created even when slots aren't filled, they just stand around and die of hunger after a while
the sleep spell should just be a click-to-trigger, not click-and-point

+1 for ally system and shared view option

 

[Moosey_goodness]

can any1 read this because when i look at this forum when i'm not logged on i cant see my comments and i was wondering if other people can see them

 

[Thick_Armor]

You really shouldn't play with people like that then

 

[Moosey_goodness]

Hi, i'd just like to say i realy enjoyed the map . Also I let Thick_armor post my ideas and opinions for me because i'm lazy and and the main reason is i'm a sloppy typer so I just flood him with mass amounts of text and let him do what he wants with it. Anyway i look forward to any more updates and maps that you make and keep up the good work.

^^ my first post!
I'm gonna add an idea or two actually .

-As well as foreging bushes and trees for plants, food and seeds etc. I was thinking there could be a small chance to discover a baby animal or an egg which you can raise and feed. Then when it has grown certain some of them can just be killed for food and pelts while others can be compainions like your dog but maybe have certain abilities or just a stat boosting effect/ buff Eg. your stamina decreases at half the speed or gain an extra crop per seed.

-Also while foreging and searching a swarm of insects could attack or posion you with a small amount of damage or give you a temporary debuff Eg movement speed reduction.

-Maybe have an item like insect repelant or fly spray to keep them at bay.

-The market entrace is quite hard to see because it is behind the town hall. It would be helpful if it was moved slightly.

-Household objects and orniments: some for just decoration, maybe an item that can be placed in your home which relaxes you and decreases stamina loss or HP loss (just an example of something that could be done). maybe plant pots where you put in plants which are decorative which make your home look nicer and after a certain amount of time keeping them growing they just stay how they are (or maybe not).

-Maybe you could gain exp for farming your crops and be able to level up, but not gain any extra combat atributes like strength or intelect but just spend points on special abilities, buffs and stat increases like: larger plough radius, higher planting success rate, stamina increase, chance of getting prize crops etc etc.

-Bug: the fire kit didnt seem to place in the fireplace in my home i was blue, but i guess if you made it so items were built and not cast it would remove the issue (preivously brought up by thick)

-something very minor you have spelt axe as ax. I think you can spell it as ax but not sure what context. (this isnt realy a problem i'd just thought i'd point it out)

hope you dont mind the large amounts of suggestions and bugs me and thick_armor has posted.

 

[TwentyThree]

If there was an ally/unally, would you prefer they killed you instead of taking your stuff? If they steal, just steal back, and have mercenaries guard your stuff. Simple! There is no point other then have fun, but I have the end set up the way it is so I can have the second map I make work out. I'm not giving any hints yet since I have not started anything

 

[TwentyThree]

im really sorry guys, but im sick, and cant go on computer very often, i'm working on the map as much as i can, so im sorry if its late, i'll put another version once im done working on thick's suggestion/bugs/must have list.
again sorry, im vomiting so.. oh, and you can make your own firekits, it says IN THE QUESTLOG (carpentry) you can make a firekit, i'll make it so its a ability on your guy, make it simpler

 

[MultiGod]

God bless you. best map evah. +Rep.

 

[Thick_Armor]

Ok, good luck through your troubled times ^^. In the mean time I'll try and find some more bugs/think up more ideas for you . Remember though it's not just me coming up with and finding this stuff, it's also my friend moosey_goodness.

PS: Why make a second farmer life? Why not just keep updating the original? Or will it be focusing on different aspects of rural life?

 

[TomiTomo]

i realised there is no need of water in this game except for soup.
we don't even need to spit on our plants to water it.
only depending on rain is not real enough !
maybe a watering skill ?

 

[Moosey_goodness]

Yay other people can now view my posts. i've made a big post about this game previously but it wasnt showing up but its all done and dusted now. ^^ also get well soon twentythree

 

[Thick_Armor]

On the go list:

Suggestions-
-More items to make from carving wood and carpentry
-A sack for raw cod, not just cooked.


Bugs-
-Ploughed ground with plants already on can lose their tile.
-Sometimes not all the recipes will appear in the cooking set.
-The timed life timer didn't appear on a load of potatoes I planted, so they wouldnt grow...
-Can't buy various items from the vendor, including fishing sacks.
-'Burnt the corn' message doesn't disappear. And I just get the cooking set up back.
-Cooked cod sacks wont actually purchase
-Attacking crops makes them go up a stage!


Changes-
-I was killed by a looney. Make it so you can't attack each other.
-Make wood stackable, or perhaps just another sack for them
-Tooltip on 'Sheep Sex!' needs changing


Can I suggest that you fix the numerous and annoying bugs before taking any of our other suggestions please?

 

[White Flare]

I found some pretty major glitching that made the map easy lol. The key is the dog. You didn't set it so the dog couldn't attack debris or buildings so guess what. You plant a crop, have the dog attack it and whala, the plat grows 1 rotation. Just attack it tell its harvest-able and harvest for easy money.

Also I made a sword in the blacksmiths. Items disappeared and never got the sword.

At game start the cooking set only showed 2 recipes and later added 2 more for no apparent reason.

Fix these things and the game should be a bit better.

 

[Yabooer]

If there was an ally/unally, would you prefer they killed you instead of taking your stuff? If they steal, just steal back, and have mercenaries guard your stuff. Simple! There is no point other then have fun, but I have the end set up the way it is so I can have the second map I make work out. I'm not giving any hints yet since I have not started anything

Hire merc's to watch them steal my stuff? BTW I would like them to attack me because I would just get the stuff they leave behind.

 

[ScH]

Hi!

Ur map is great but i have found a few bugs

1. at the market guy's window: When u try to buy a tomato sack i wont allow u to click it, and also the nevermind button or page2 won't work (so the last 3 r doing norhing there)

2. found out that the wolf pelt quest now need only 3 pelts for the reward (note that the Quest log still sais 4)

3. Watering Cans can be sold for 50gold if filled (to 10)

4. Sewing doens't work? when i try to click the kit it sais, Select target, well ok i click myself and it sais, cannot target urself, well alright who do i target then?
(have tried everything. it works on the animals, guards and the other players, but the items i try to make disappear)

5. Bass, Cooked sais "Can be sold for 2 gold" but it really sells for 4

6. Where can i smelt my iron? and can stones be of any use or r they just for selling?

7. U can get easy lvls with using a sack filled with seeds at the ground where they cannot grow, tried hay seeds inside market, it just drops the seeds and i get exp after that i can just pick it up and replant

8. Cooked Bass Sack: i had 24 cooked bass in my sack and when i tried to eat them, nothing happened!. I didn't get any health and the sack's selling price was 1 thou there were alot fish in it!

the watering can is a nice idea (if fixed selling price) and i like to plow my field once in a while it gives the idea of hard work for ur bread so i prefer keep the old settings (sorry Thick_Armor).
I would also want to see Ally/Unally system for the fun of it. ^^
Haven't tried all the things yet but ill edit if i find more bugs. Keep up the good work!

 

[ap0calypse]

Hey, after this many posts, I just had to review this... you deserve it

It is very good that you did not protect the map, it will let people learn and it will make my job a lot easier.
The first thing that catches my eye are the leaks, you did not remove them... if you have ever player Wintermaul Wars, you would know that the game starts lagging really hard after a while, this is because of the leaks... when you fix the leaks, there won't be any lag.
There is also a problem with efficiency - your triggers are anything but efficient.

The forest seems copy/pasted to me (you've played a few trees and a few rocks and copy/pasted those), but that may just be an illusion - in any case, you will need to use the height-tool more and add more variation in the terrain.
The river, on the other hand, seems quite nice (though the shore doesn't), I would've chosen other rocks for the waterfall, but all right...

I don't like it that the peasant has 6-7 damage, 6-6 would look better in my opinion ^^
Also, instead od triggering it, you could've used a -0.20 regeneration (which will also be -1HP/5 seconds).
I didn't get the Pick-axe quest, since I couldn't get past the rocks :/

The gameplay itself seems fairly well done, it's just what it's supposed to be... a farmer's life, though with some twists (you can become a blacksmith, hunter, ... as well and there are quests).
You need to work on your general mapping skils, then this can become quite good - for a first map it certainly isn't bad...

I shall be honest: I do not think this map deserves a 4.5/5, a 3/5 would bea better rating, but only if you fix the leaks... otherwise it's a 2/5
Well, you can fix the leaks, I'm sure of that - and when it's done, just leave me a message and I'll approve the map.

And because I've showed this to a lot of other people as well, I think it might be useful to you as well:

Newb Guide Template

---

Triggering (GUI)

​

Basics

One of the first things you need to know is how to fix leaks, though I will go over something else first.
Variables.

You will need variables in every map you make, the only exceptions are melee-maps.
Variables are needed to count kills, remember heroes, fix leaks, basically everything that you need to recall.

The variable editor can be opened by pressing CTRL + B inside the trigger editor (or by pressing the yellow 'X' on top of the screen).
Now you can create variables by pressing the green 'X'-button, after that you can create any variable you wish.
Variables you will need in every map are:
Point variable (name doesn't matter) with an array
Group variable without array
Player Group variable without array
(these are to fix leaks)


Leaks cause lag and can crash your maps, so it's important to fix them.

For information on what leaks, check This tutorial
I would suggest reading this tutorial completely, you will get used to fixing them after a while.

Efficient Triggering

If you have triggers like:

trigger

• Melee Initialization
  • Events
    • Map initialization
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Unit - Create 1 Footman for Player 1 (Red) at (Player 1 (Red) start location) facing Default building facing degrees
    • Unit - Create 1 Footman for Player 2 (Blue) at (Player 2 (Blue) start location) facing Default building facing degrees
    • Unit - Create 1 Footman for Player 3 (Teal) at (Player 3 (Teal) start location) facing Default building facing degrees
    • Unit - Create 1 Footman for Player 4 (Purple) at (Player 4 (Purple) start location) facing Default building facing degrees
    • Unit - Create 1 Footman for Player 5 (Yellow) at (Player 5 (Yellow) start location) facing Default building facing degrees

Then you are doing something terribly wrong...
The better option would be:

trigger

• Melee Initialization
  • Events
    • Map initialization
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • For each (Integer A) from 1 to 5, do (Actions)
      • Loop - Actions
        • Set loc[1] = ((Player((Integer A))) start location)
        • Unit - Create 1 Footman for (Player((Integer A))) at loc[1] facing Default building facing degrees
        • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_loc[1])

Where "loc" is a point variable with array.
This does exactly the same, but the difference is that this is easier and it does not create lag (the other trigger does).

For Each Integer X info: this action will set integer X (can be any integer) from the starting value (in this case 1) to the end value (5).
Every time the integer increases, it will trigger the actions in it, so this trigger will activate 5 times, but every time it does something slightly different.
In more general terms, they're called "loops".

As you can see, loops are very useful for efficiency, but there is more...
The If/Then/Else-function is also very useful when talking about efficiency.

I will explain this with dialogs (if you do not know what dialogs are, or how to form them, Check this tutorial.
Note: the tutorial given above is not efficient, I will do it otherwise - the tutorial is just to show what it is and how it's formed!

Dialog-button trigger

I will skip the dialog init trigger and just go straight to the dialog buttons trigger.
Let's just say the dialog is a hero-choose dialog with 3 buttons (Ranger, Warrior, Mage).

• Dialog Buttons
  • Events
    • Dialog - A dialog button is clicked for Dialog
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • If (All Conditions are True) then do (Then Actions) else do (Else Actions)
      • If - Conditions
        • (Clicked dialog button) Equal to DialogButton[1]
      • Then - Actions
        • Set loc[1] = (Center of (Playable map area))
        • Unit - Create 1 Ranger for (Triggering player) at loc[1] facing Default building facing degrees
        • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_loc[1])
        • Game - Display to (All players) for 8.00 seconds the text: (|c00444488 + ((Name of (Triggering player)) + '|r has chosen the Ranger))
      • Else - Actions
    • If (All Conditions are True) then do (Then Actions) else do (Else Actions)
      • If - Conditions
        • (Clicked dialog button) Equal to DialogButton[2]
      • Then - Actions
        • Set loc[1] = (Center of (Playable map area))
        • Unit - Create 1 Warrior for (Triggering player) at loc[1] facing Default building facing degrees
        • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_loc[1])
        • Game - Display to (All players) for 8.00 seconds the text: (|c00444488 + ((Name of (Triggering player)) + '|r has chosen the Warrior))
      • Else - Actions
    • If (All Conditions are True) then do (Then Actions) else do (Else Actions)
      • If - Conditions
        • (Clicked dialog button) Equal to DialogButton[3]
      • Then - Actions
        • Set loc[1] = (Center of (Playable map area))
        • Unit - Create 1 Mage for (Triggering player) at loc[1] facing Default building facing degrees
        • Custom script: call RemoveLocation(udg_loc[1])
        • Game - Display to (All players) for 8.00 seconds the text: (|c00444488 + ((Name of (Triggering player)) + '|r has chosen the Mage))
      • Else - Actions

As you can see, I can combine all dialog buttons for all dialogs into 1 trigger, making it a lot easier to scroll through the triggers...
(Triggering Player is the player clicking the dialog).



Kick-triggers are often done like this by newbs:

Kick-triggers

• Kick
  • Events
    • Player - Player 1 (Red) types a chat message containing -kick blue as An exact match
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Game - Defeat Player 2 (Blue) with the message: LOLOL NOOB!!!!

• Kick
  • Events
    • Player - Player 1 (Red) types a chat message containing -kick teal as An exact match
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Game - Defeat Player 3 (Teal) with the message: LOLOL NOOB!!!!

• Kick
  • Events
    • Player - Player 1 (Red) types a chat message containing -kick purple as An exact match
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Game - Defeat Player 4 (Purple) with the message: LOLOL NOOB!!!!

And this for every player...

As you can see, there are 2 mistakes:

1. You will need a lot of stupid triggers for this
2. "LOLOL NOOB!!!!" makes the map look like crap

I prefer one of these methods:

Method 1

• Init
  • Events
    • Map initialization
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • Set Color[1] = blue
    • Set Color[2] = teal
    • Set Color[3] = purple
    • Set Color[4] = yellow
    • Set Color[5] = orange
    • Set Color[6] = green

This sets up the colors... obviously (it's best to merge this with an already existing map init trigger)

• Kick
  • Events
    • Player - Player 1 (Red) types a chat message containing -kick as A substring
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • For each (Integer i) from 1 to 6, do (Actions)
      • Loop - Actions
        • If (All Conditions are True) then do (Then Actions) else do (Else Actions)
          • If - Conditions
            • (Entered chat string) Equal to (-kick + Color[i])
          • Then - Actions
            • Game - Defeat (Player((i + 1))) with the message: You have been kicked
            • Game - Display to (All players) for 7.00 seconds the text: (|c00444488 + ((Name of (Player((i + 1)))) + |r has been kicked))
          • Else - Actions

And this is the kick-trigger, if the message is -kick + (color defined in map init), then the player matching that color will be kicked.
Easy and efficient...

Method 2

This method is even easier, but a bit different: red will have to say -kick X (where X is a number)

• Kick
  • Events
    • Player - Player 1 (Red) types a chat message containing -kick as A substring
  • Conditions
  • Actions
    • For each (Integer i) from 1 to 6, do (Actions)
      • Loop - Actions
        • If (All Conditions are True) then do (Then Actions) else do (Else Actions)
          • If - Conditions
            • (Entered chat string) Equal to (-kick + (String((i + 1))))
          • Then - Actions
            • Game - Defeat (Player((i + 1))) with the message: You have been kicked
            • Game - Display to (All players) for 7.00 seconds the text: (|c00444488 + ((Name of (Player((i + 1)))) + |r has been kicked))
          • Else - Actions

That's it... the entire kick-trigger, that's easy, right?

Objects

​

Units

I shall start with perhaps the most annoying thing: tooltips and hotkeys.
If your tooltips/hotkeys are insufficient or wrong, the game won't progress smooth.
A good tooltips contains all necessary information without it being too long, TD's are the best example: those hotkeys really need Damage, Attack Speed, Range, Abilties (and additionally DPS, Ground/Air).
Tooltips are meant to provide information, not te be a part of the story/lore!.

Hotkeys should be easy to use and to remember.
In my TD, I have used:
E - R - T - Y - U - - - P
D - F - G
C - V - B

This is the same on both QWERTY and AZERTY!
The main block (left) is used to build towers, Y is for spells, U is for upgrades and P is to Sell towers (the other side of the keyboard).
Randomly using hotkeys is better than nothing at all, as long as they do not override eachother and they must be correct.

Important: use structure!
Put all units that belong together in the same race (e.g.: all heroes in human, all creeps in orc, all neutrals in Night Elf, ...).
If you ever need to change an object, you'll know exactly where to find it, this will save a lot of time (believe me... it will).

Spells/Buffs

About the same as units: the tooltip and hotkeys are important for the spells.

Do not use standard spells in a custom map! Change them as much as possible - or just so it fits in the map!

When you change the name of a spell, change the name of the buff as well!
e.g.: If you cast 'Ghost Form' (based of Wind Walk) and the buff says "Wind Walk: This unit is..." - that's just painful.

Terrain

​

Basic Info

Do not abuse the cliffs, WEU and JNGP have a better terrain-tool so you can use the terrain height-tool to make cliffs.
(Note: only use WEU for terraining purposes)
Use the terrain height tool a lot... a flat terrain sucks (don't overdo it, when you notice you're overdoing it, use the smooth tool).

When creating cities, make it look like a city...
A city is not a place where houses have been randomly placed, nor does it contain any other random props... a city is structured, thus you must also do so.

Doodads

Spammed cinematic doodads do not look good, avoid using them.

Use environmental doodads and don't be afraid to use too many of them... they're meant to be used more than other doodads.
When creating a forest, you will really need to use a lot of them: shrubs, rocks, fallen trees. hollow tree trunks, flowers, ... all of these are very common in forests, then why not use them in a forest in warcraft?

Description

​

A description is highly important, it will attract people to play your map and bad descriptions make the creator of the map look like a beginner.
To learn more about this, read my tutorial about it.

 

[TwentyThree]

Alright, I decided to actually stop the production of the map, though not because of another map, I just had this three week long burst of knowledge for map-making. But I do want the map to keep going, I wanted someone to continue updating and editing this map. But not anybody, from Wednesday the 16th, the day I write this, to Saturday the 26th, I will be holding a contest. Whoever wants to edit the map, I want you to think of the best idea you can, the BEST idea you can, then make the trigger for it. After you make it I want you to copy as text in here for everyone to see. I will judge it on a few things:
-Size (Longer is usually more confusing, so as short as you can)
-Idea (The idea of it, concerning its place in my map)
Anything else that is relevant to a good trigger. Add any information thats needed.
I will collect all the triggers on Saturday, anything after that I won't accept. I'll take the time needed for judging, the best one I find, might get the "rights" to the map.
I'm just more interested in playing the games now, not just making them