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Against the Darkness: 3.1.3

This bundle is marked as director's cut. It exceeds all expectations and excels in every regard.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Patch 1.31 has introduced an issue where the game will desync randomly. I am currently researching a fix for this. In the meantime, it appears AtD is not consistently playable.

Against the Darkness 3.0 has been released! This is by far the biggest, baddest, and most exciting version ever released and contains Death Knight AI, multiple new and reworked abilities, and over 30 additional updates. Check out the AtD forums for more information.



Version 3.1.3 (08/28/2016)
1. Fix: "Feast" ability cancellation exploit patched
2. Fix: Item bonuses removed after an Elite item is removed due to item restrictions
3. Fix: Death Knight will show up in all victory cinematics
4. Fix: Orc Death Knight should face correct direction in victory cinematics
5. Balancing: Cost of all Elite items set to 850 gold
6. Balancing: Frost Guard Evasion reduced from 25% to 20%
7. Balancing: Storm Guard Critical Strike bonus reduced from 4x to 3x.
8. General: Elite Items can now be dropped after they are purchased.


Version 3.1.2 (01/09/2016)
1. Fix: Can no longer spam cast Frozen Blast
2. Fix: Village Porter will no longer run through trees, out of bounds, and into water.
3. Fix: Nature's Protection tree orb effect granting true sight has been restored.
4. Fix: Swift Shot will not trigger additional damage when Iced Arrow is cast.
5. Items: Staff of Silence cost increased to 60 gold (from 40)
6. Items: Crumbling Figurine cost reduced to 50 gold (from 85), Agility boost increased by 1, and armor boost increased by 2.

Version 3.1.1 (05/11/2015)
1.Bug fixes for bugs introduced in 3.1.0

Version 3.1.0 (04/27/2015)
1. Code: Replaced all "wait actions" with Vexorians "TimerUtils" handles and structs. This results in exceptionally accurate delays/waits, smoother-looking spells, less lag, and also decreases the chance of desyncs. You will notice the difference.
2. Ability Buff: Warden Sorceress "Incarcerate" duration increased to 10.0 seconds, mana cost reduced to 120, cooldown reduced to 60.0 seconds.
3. Ability Nerf: Nature Mage "Nature's Protection" duration changed to 6.0 seconds at every level, healing percentage now scales to 30/40/50/60% of intelligence every 0.5 seconds.
5. Quests: Lost Beetles Quest: Staff of Location hint changed to be more helpful.
6. Quests: New Quest, Zombie Exorcist. Help the Village Hero save the souls of those who have returned from the dead. Requires 1,000 AtD points.
7. Units: Militiaman lumber cost increased to 25, gold cost to 10
8. Units: Rifleman lumber cost increased to 50, gold cost to 15
9. Units: Catapult Defense lumber cost increased to 10
10. Units: Hover-Gunner Defense lumber cost increased to 25
11. Units: White Magic Defense lumber cost increased to 40
12. Fix: AI Death Knight should no longer randomly attack The Seafarer
13. Fix: AI Death Knight will now seek out Death Hunters when there are no more creeps left on the map
14. Fix: Medicine Doctor: Aura of Regeneration Icon corrected
15. Fix: Medicine Doctor: Lunar Owls tooltip title corrected
16. Fix: AI Death Knight occasionally becoming permanently invisible after casting Ghost Walk has been fixed.
17. Balancing: XP is no longer given for critter kills

Version 3.0.32 (12/30/2014)

1. Removed some AI debug messages that escaped my attention in 3.0.31
2. Fixed bug where a second victory cinematic when the Doom Timer ended and victory had already occurred
3. Minor changes to AI Death Knight flee behavior

Version 3.0.31 (12/21/2014)

-New Ability: Architect's Bravery Aura replaced with Leadership
-Units: Wheat Storage is now Wheat Farm with new model. Hitpoints increased from 100 to 125. Collision and pathing size increased.
-Units: House of Knowledge now requires a Trading Outpost instead of a Recruitment Lodge
-Units: Catapult Defense System now only requires a Harvesting Center
-Units: Hover-Gunner Defense System now requires a Harvesting Center, College of Research, and Trading Outpost.
-Units: White Magic Defense System now requires a House of Knowledge instead of a Recruitment Lodge
-Items: All Gold Coins removed from map
-Item Nerf: Staff of Nature's Might damage bonus decreased from 30 to 25.
-Item Nerf: Sacred Force Blade damage bonus decreased from 45 to 40.
-Items: Tiny White Magic Defense System added to creep drop and now purchasable by the Death Knight
-Gameplay: Normal Mode Hero Respawn extended to cover the duration of game time until Doom initiates.
-Gameplay: Hints have been shortened to be less distracting.
-Fix: Infernal Strike tooltip fixed
-Fix: AI Death Knight will use all healing items more intelligently
-Fix: Fixed/Updated Architect's tooltip when clicked for information during Hero Selection
-Code: Minor improvements to conditional logic for several spells (replaced == false with return not)


Version 3.0.2c (09/25/2014)

1. Bug Fix: AI Death Knight should no longer stall for long periods of time. This bug was due to the Hero attempting to attack invisible units under the shadow meld affect.
2. Bug Fix: Great Cleave will no longer trigger for units out of melee range. This prevents the spell proceeding for units that are spirit-linked or hit by Arcane Thunder Clash
3. Bug Fix: DK should now always be visible in his winning cinematic
4. Bug Fix: AI Doom Reinforcements will no longer stall out
5. Balancing: Fisher's Net ability duration reduced from 4.0 to 3.0 seconds.
6. Balancing: Immolation removed from Fyre-Storm's blade.
7. Balancing: Shared Vision no longer given to Death Knight in Doom
8. Terrain: Modified terrain in Forest of Deception
9. Units: Changed model of Deceiver Shop of Goods

Version 3.0.2b

1. Bug Fix: Remedied massive lag spikes when a Hero with the Sacred Force Blade attacks Necrofiends that are under the effect of Spirit Link.
2. Fix: Updated text that is displayed when the incorrect answer is chosen during the Game Keeper's Challenge.

Version 3.0.2

1. Fix: AI Death Knight will now use healing wards more intelligently
2. Fix: AI Death Knight will no longer travel further than 1500.0 to pick up a dropped item
3. Fix: AI Death Knight will now always attempt to shop when in range of a shop
4. Fix: AI Fenris Killgore will once again utilize Selectable Teleport to escape battle
5. Fix: Blue Albatross will no longer drop key after quest is complete.
6. Balancing: AI Fenris Killgore base armor increased to 4 from 2
7. Balancing: Fenris Killgore base armor increased to 2 from 0


Version 3.0.1d

1. Fixed condition that was preventing the AI Death Knight from fleeing effectively.

Version 3.0.1c

1. Fixed a critical bug that caused Player 11 to desync whenever the Drunken Rocket ability was cast.

Version 3.0.1

1. Updated the Death Knight flee system to take into account multiple nearby Heroes, available resources, flee destinations, and many other conditions. Basically, the Death Knight AI works whole lot better now!


Version 3.0
1. AI: Added Death Knight AI. Now you can play alone offline or with a small group of friends against an
intelligent, CPU controlled Death Knight!
2. Victory conditions changed slightly. If time expires in Doom, the Death Knight now wins the game.
3. Balancing: Nether Spire hit points reduced from 1000 to 650.
4. Balancing: Nether Portal hit points reduced from 5000 to 4500.
5. Balancing: Taunt removed from Frost Wolf and Forest Wolf, replaced with Frost Claws and Envenomed Claws.
6. New Quest: Game Keeper's Challenge
7. Reworked Quest: Ancient Mariner's Stolen Key
8. Reworked Quest: Farseer's Lost Wolf
9. Reworked Quest: Sickly Pig Farmer's Cure
10. New Ability: Incarcerate, Warden Sorceress. Replaces Justice.
11. New Ability: Infernal Strike, Tauren (Ancestral Call). Replaces Pulverize and Bash.
12. New Ability: Wrath of Midas, Architect. Replaces Archichaos.
13. Ability Rebuild: Elune's Pact, Warden Sorceress. Previously 'Betray'.
14. Ability Rebuild: Nether Prison, Death Knight Level 13 Ultimate.
15. Ability Buff: Assassin's Strike minimum range reduced to 50.0 from 200.0
16. Ability Buff: Leech now damages for 2.5/3/3.5/4 times Intelligence. Self heal reduced from 100% to 75% of total damage.
17. Ability Buff: Lunar Owls now has a 5% chance to heal the damage dealt from an owl back to the Nature Mage.
18. Ability Buff: Storm Ward lightning damage increased to 20/30/40/50 per level.
19. Abiliy Buff: Vampire Bat cooldown reduced to 180 seconds from 220.
20. Ability Buff: Echo Location recoded and text warning to Death Hunters removed
21. Ability Nerf: Iced Arrow freeze duration reduced from 1/2/3/4s to 0.5/1.0/1.5/2.0s and removed temporary invulnerability.
22. Ability Nerf: Nature's Protection duration reduced by 5 seconds at all levels to 5/10/15/20 and cooldown decreased from 120s to 70s.
23. Ability Nerf: Ghost Walk level 4 duruation reduced from 60 to 50 seconds.
24. Item Nerf: Sacred Force Blade "Energy Pulse" chance reduced from 20% to 15%.
25. Item Nerf: Glaive Shard hitpoint regeneration reduced from 6 to 4.
26. Item Nerf: Glaive Shard heal reduced from 50% to 33% of damage dealt.
27. Item Nerf: Sacred Force Blade Energy Pulse range reduced from 850 to 650.
28. Icon Change: Swift Shot
29. Icon Change: Vanish
30. Icon Change: Cursed Tonic
31. Unit Change: Nether Walker changed to Nether Demon to save map kb space
32. Alternate entrance created to the Forest of Deception
33. Fix: Elixer of the Mountain Giant tooltip corrected
34. Fix: Swift Shot tooltip corrected
35. Fix: Ghost Tauren hit point regeneration removed and tooltip corrected
36. Fix: Lunar Owls will no longer trigger unit replacement from forbidden areas


Report any bugs to 1)ark_NiTe@USEast or to the Against the Darkness forums at www.hiveworkshop.com.

Check out the Bug Report Thread for found bugs, or if you have one to report yourself.

Contents:

I.About the Game
II. Doom
III. Influences
IV. Game Systems
V. Heroes
VI. Shops
VII. Quests
VIII. Game Modes
IX. Items

Against the Darkness is a Hunter vs. Hunted Survival game. A Player may choose to be part of a team of Death Hunters or play alone as the Death Knight. The primary goal of the hunters is to defeat the Death Knight before he is able to reign Doom upon Azeroth. This can only be achieved by working together to quest, creep, and limit the knight's opportunities until the team is strong enough to destroy him. The Death Knight need only survive until the Nether Portal is secured and Doom is completed to win the game. However, his survival can only be guaranteed with a swift eradication of those who have been sent to stop him.


Doom will initiate at the end of the 23 minutes standard game time if the Death Knight is still alive and has not yet killed all of the Death Hunters. This phase of the game provides the Death Knight several regiments of Necrofiends led by Nether Demons. Each regiment is strategically spread throughout the map, allowing the Death Knight to cordon off specific areas to trap and finally defeat the Hunters once and for all. Although this will give the Death Knight a heavy advantage, it does not guarantee victory.

Doom is a challenge that can be overcome by a strong group of allied Death Hunters. Hunters that have leveled sufficiently and collected powerful items to aid them in battle will find this to be true. If the Death Knight outlasts the additional 7 minutes of Doom or defeats all of the Death Hunters, that Player wins the game. At any time in the game the Death Knight is killed or if the Nether Portal is destroyed, the entire force of Death Hunters wins the game.


The game is influenced by several styles of maps, one being the RPG. There are a few areas of the map where your Hero must be a certain level to enter. These areas have higher level creeps that drop better treasures and give more expensive bounties but in turn are very powerful. One of these areas is the Forest of Deception which requires your hero to be at least level 4 and another is the Sunchief's Camp which includes the heaviest creep camp in the game. You must be level 7 or higher to enter here, but the reward beyond this Razormane creep camp is far beyond worth the risk of getting there. These level-specific areas are intended to serve as bonus area that still present a challenge to experienced players.

AtD also draws influence from the Hunter vs. Hunted genre, including maps like Vampirism and Island Defense. Whereas the 'Vampire' or the 'Titan' are the ultimate evil force in these two types of maps, the Death Knight is the antagonist that players battle in Against the Darkness. He is very powerful and can withstand prolonged attacks from ill-equipped or low-level Death Hunters. The Death Hunters are a team devoted to stopping this ultimate evil Hero from his destiny. The Hunters have been dispatched to a small village to prevent the Death Knight from opening a demonic portal and will do so at any cost, even if it means sacrificing themselves to ensure their victory.


Introduced in Version 2.67 is a Spectator System that allows for players who's Hero has been defeated in Death Match mode to continue to watch the rest of the game. The system does not allow the Observer to type, but does allow them to scroll through living Heroes by pressing the right arrow key. This system was designed to provide a way for defeated Players to be able to view the game without cheating through whispers or chat messages while waiting for a remake.

Respawn System: If you are killed by Neutral Hostile creeps any time before Doom arrives, you will respawn at 3/4 health after a 30 second wait. This applies for both the Death Knight and Death Hunters. If you die to your opposing team, however, you are dead for the entire game.

Creep Respawning: An older system that has been around for a while in Against the Darkness is a creep respawn system, which respawns creeps across the map at pre-determined time intervals. This system is 100% leakless and lagless, efficiently redistributing creeps into the game without causing any disruptions to the gameplay.


At the beginning of the game, the Death Hunters are able to choose from 8 Heroes, while the Death Knight is, by default, given to the Death Knight. The Death Hunter Heroes include an Architect, Nature Mage, Frozen Archer, Scientist, Medicine Doctor, Battle Mage, Hunter, and Warden Sorceress, each having their own set of specific abilities and traits. The maximum level for Heroes in the game is level 13, and only the Death Knight has 2 Ultimate Abilities. Each Player controls one (1) Hero for the entire game, but is also able to buy mercenaries and Architects can even train units to fight for them. If the Player's Hero is killed outside of the 8 minute respawn time window, or by the opposing team, the game is over for them and they are only able to stay and watch the rest of the game. Death Hunter Heroes and Death Knight Heroes


There are various shops for the Death Hunters in different locations around the map, one being the Dragon Merchant in the swamps, and another is the Totem of Riches which also regenerates mana. A Mercenary Chapel can be found in the middle of the town center which can be used by both sides, and also gives off a healing aura. The Death Knight's shop is the Obelisk of the Damned at the top left of the town center, and is invisible to all but the Death Knight. There are also two other shops located in other positions in the map that can be used by both sides as well--the Deceiver Shop of Goods and the Merchant Ship of Treasures (Ultimate and Elite items only.)


There are several quests to be explored in Against the Darkness. Each is unique and challenging in its own way, requiring a different set of skills to complete. Quests can be discovered by walking up to NPC units with exclamation units over their head. Upon completion, each Quest will reward the Player with experience and gold. These rewards may often by very advantageous to the Player, particularly in tightly contested games when little creeps remain available. Go talk to the Elder Farseer or Ancient Mariner to get started!


In Version 2.5, Against the Darkness branched out and implemented two new types of game modes, All Random (AR) and Death Match (DM), on top of the already popular Players Choose Heroes (PCH) mode. In All Random mode, the gameplay is exactly the same as in PCH spare the fact that Death Hunters will not get to choose their Heroes but instead will be randomly assigned them.

In DM mode, the Death Hunters have been lured to the village under false pretenses. Rather than a Death Knight, they soon find that the other Hunters are the true enemy. No one can be trusted. Death Hunters have to fight in a Free For All battle against one another for 27 minutes of game play, being able to choose to have either a Half-Game or Full-Game respawn time for dying to another Death Hunter. At the end of the 27 minutes game time, the Death Hunters are all transported into a Battle Arena where they must fight each other to the death. There can be only one victor.


IX. Items Click the Items link to be redirected to the Complete Against the Darkness Item List.

More video previews:

[This Map is Optimized (Protected)]

Keywords:
Against the Darkness, AtD, Against, Darkness, Hunter vs. Hunted, Evil, Death Match, Death Knight, DM, All Random, Points, Hero Survival
Contents

Against the Darkness: 3.1.3 (Map)

Reviews
21:45, 4th May 2008 Dr Super Good: One of our very good hosted projects. This map is sure to keep you entertained for atleast a few games if not more.
Level 1
Joined
Sep 30, 2008
Messages
1
Dont know if it was just me but when playing the Architect (didnt check up on other characters) i couldnt fit all of the abilities on the action bar/ability box. Might want to check up on that
 
Level 14
Joined
Jun 27, 2009
Messages
1,381
This...*cough*..Is...*cough*..Too much epic.
Although when two died, one remained. 1v1. The guy left... And it didn't say that "Death Knight won".
 
Level 18
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,612
Dont know if it was just me but when playing the Architect (didnt check up on other characters) i couldnt fit all of the abilities on the action bar/ability box. Might want to check up on that

I'll look into it, thanks. I think the problem can occur if you have all 4 of his abilities learned and then pick up a Cloak of Shadows because it adds the Hide ability icon. I'm not sure if it's a huge issue or not b/c I think Hide has the lowest priority and wont show up but I will double check.

Also what program u use to protect your map? It seems to work better than some i've seen, good stuff :)

I use Vexorians Map Optimizer.

This...*cough*..Is...*cough*..Too much epic.
Although when two died, one remained. 1v1. The guy left... And it didn't say that "Death Knight won".

It's like this problem is eternally destined to plague me. Are you talking about DM or Normal mode?
 
Level 14
Joined
Jun 27, 2009
Messages
1,381
Lol nice! XD

Minor bug: I played with my friend. He was DK. He won after Doom.(Because of heavy lag -.-) So I saved. It said I got 20 points from that game.
He then left. But strange thing : It detected him as if he died, and gave me 15 other pôints. Couldn't save though, already had saved once.
 
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Level 2
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
8
Hey, I've been hosting your map on eurobattle.net for a while now (although I've only saved about 450 points) and decided to leave some feedback.

It seems to me that it's quite hard to get people to play this- Actually filling a room up isn't that hard, but getting them to return is really tough. This mostly happens because of one of these two:
1-They die quickly- and being unable to return- swear at your mother and leave.
2-They don't die, but they don't have a clue on what to do. They then compare your map to a vacuum cleaner and leave.

Now I can understand that number 2 happens mostly because people are dumb and simply can't grasp what this game contains- still a lot of people suffering from number 1 really can't be blamed.

Of course there are always those 4 noobs that decide they should try to fight the DK at level 1- despite my attempts to make them run away, giving them haste potions. BUT... there are also those who do understand the basic concepts and attempt to play correctly- And yet they still die. Even I die, often. Why? Nets and slow. A DK can get a set of nets (which work for DK) in under one minute of game and hunt Hunters (ironic, uh?) one by one. This is worse with the undead hero, as he uses his stealthy windwalk to land a destructive hit and then net down a Hunter and beat him to death-Without the player even having a chance to defend. The summon- which adds a frost slowing attack- also takes out the remaining hunters- unable to escape, stuck running, getting hit and running again until death comes.

Of course this can all be countered, but for that you need a good team. And you can't get a good team if people give up after one game- Which brings us to another issue.

There are no medium-level DKs, you either screw everything up and the game ends in 3 minutes or you don't and the game ends in 5. Simple as that, new DKs tend to suicide against mobs-not noticing their reeeallly fast regeneration. And good DKs tend to rush about 3 levels, buy some nets and hunt down all the hunters- Grabbing the bat summon along the way.

And you know what aggravates this? You can't really pool up net money at the start faster than the DK, to net him down in case he does (or wind him up). Other than that, he moves pretty much at the same speed and can always net you down again- Which's even worse with windwalk. And oh, wait- Did I tell you that the only item that gives you true sight is only available in FFA? Well, I just did.

So really, you can't counter windwalk at the start- And most surely you can't avoid being netted. Leaving 85% of the players disappointed.

Other than that, the map's really fun and well done. I'd love to get a bit more out of my points- warden has a skillset that doesn't really synergize that well (the batle mage's much better), although she IS the best to solo the chieftain. And auras don't really look that cool or noticeable, most people don't even see it there. Maybe minor auras?

Great map overall, requires some tweaking to become really awesome but you're almost there ;) I hereby vote 4/5 and conclude my comment.

PS:Alchemist could really use some potion stacking.
 
Level 4
Joined
May 2, 2010
Messages
72
ugh....why can't i view it and save?!?!?! every time i download a map from hive my PC (which is vista :mad: ) says it has encountered a critical error...
 
Level 18
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,612
Hey, I've been hosting your map on eurobattle.net for a while now (although I've only saved about 450 points) and decided to leave some feedback.

Hey sorry for the long delay in my response. For some reason the thread didn't update until Naro posted in it today.

Thanks for actually breaking down the game so that I can actually understand what you think is wrong with it. I notice that you realize there is a way to counter every problem that you bring up which makes it nice that I don't have to explain that to you. You have legitimate problems with the map. There's not much we can do to deal with new people dying early or people that don't know what to do except to try to get them to play a few more times. Normally they'll get it and start to enjoy the game. It's ashame that most leave and never come back but I guess that's just the way it is and perhaps one day they'll return to try the game again.

Your concerns about the Death Knight are also pretty common. New players generally do not understand the power of the Knight or underestimate his power and in both cases end up doing very bad with him. Once again, practice makes perfect. I notice, at least in my games, people that don't do well with him the first time want to join the remake and play him again. After a game or two they "get it" and start to do much better. Again there's really just not much we can do about those who leave and give up after one failed attempt.

Now about the things that can be changed. Nets have a duration of 4 seconds on a Hero and a cooldown of 30 seconds. The duration could be considered long but it has always seemed like the long cd makes up for it. The Death Knight has to be able to keep chasing you for 26 seconds to get the next net on you and if you have a good teammate or two they can easily help you get away through stuns or other distractions. Do you think the duration is too long? Or do you think the DK should not be able to buy nets in the first place?

Ghost Walk has been balanced over and over again. It used to be the most complained about skill in the game but in the last 8 months I haven't heard one complaint about it until your post. It is mostly used as an escape mechanism for the DK but he can also use it to chase down a Hunter. There is intentionally no item that gives truesight in Normal mode because that would completely ruin the ability for the Knight. However, if an Architect builds an Ancient of Healing that will provide the area around it with truesight. This definitely helps you keep the Knight out if you decide to fight as a team in your Architect's base during Doom.

What do you think needs to be done for this ability?

Lastly, the summon he can use from the Dark Dragon's Eye does help him slow down Death Hunters, but the summon can be taken out in only ~5-7 seconds by a ranged Death Hunter or two who have good combo's. Remember, you must always stack armor and attack boosting items. There's no chance to win if you don't.
 
Level 10
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Messages
352
Review


Please Note

This map review set-up is based on that created and used by Tank Commander,

I review maps that look interesting or promising. If you wish for me to review your map, or if notable changes have occured to a map I have already reviewed, then you may message me with a link to your map and I will review it within the next week.


Review Breakdown

(5 marks) - Terraining/Environment
(5 marks) - Triggering
(15 marks) - Gameplay
(10 marks) - Innovation/Originality
(5 marks) - Interface/Object Editor Work

Mark System

1-7 marks = (1) Poor quality map, unfit for the Hive (usually a beginners map)

8-14 marks = (2) The beginnings of a map are there, but it still needs work and is likely unfinished.

15-21 marks = (3) An adequate map, is fun for a game or two and functions.

22-28 marks = (4) Shows promise and has some interesting features; playability is high.

29-35 marks = (5) A fine example of Hive-quality; will keep you entertained for several games at least and updates are looked forward to.

35+ marks = (6) A simply brilliant warcraft map. Features are flawlessly implemented, code is legit, game is fun, and the constraints of
Warcraft 3 are challenged.

Subsection Review

Terraining (3/5) - Terrain is unimaginative and does nothing to break the standards set by blizzard-created WC3 maps. Regardless however, the environment does fit gameplay well and is fun to explore.

Triggering (N/A) - Map is protected thus I will discount this category in my final score.

Gameplay (12/15) - Although I only played two heroes, the general sense I got is that abilities are much too simple and generally boring. Additionally no A.I. is available, even for the Death Knight. Use of custom effects is lacking and items (though I only played 1 multiplayer game) seemed ridiculously powerful (especially items w/ armor). On the pro-side the quest system is well-done with random placements and an array of different quest-types. Many different creeps and creep-bosses are available to farm along with special events that keep the game interesting. Map is fun to explore, offers a great and adaptable pvp-oriented environment, and has high replayability.

Innovation/Originality (10/10) - A very cool idea, comparable in some respects to a hero arena. Item system, quest system, DK vs. Death Hunter idea, and just the general setup of the game are all innovative and fresh concepts.

Interface/Object Editor Work (4/5) - Most icons go well together and all icons include the proper counter-parts. Item tooltips are easy to read and include all the necessary information and more. Hero ability tooltips use the standard Wc3-format but are adequate. Manipulation of interface text has occured and includes detailed information on how to play.

Errors and Suggestions

- Really need to re-work hero spells. Give them more synergy, improve effects, etc.
- A quest reffered to a section of the map but I was unable to know where that was w/o logging into hive workshop. There are many different ways you can accomplish this, but allowing players to know where the different regions are whilst in-game would really help new players.
- Include an A.I. for the DK so people can 1-player the game (even if they have little to no chance for success)
- Some minor additions to the environment would go a long way (custom effects/weather/additional doodad and destructible manipulation)

Final Review

Final Marking - (34/40)
Rating - (5)
Voted for - Approval
Rep Given? - Yes, a fun and addicting pvp map



Highest Rated Maps

N/A
 
Last edited:
Level 18
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,612
Wow, finally someone gets around to doing a detailed review on my map haha. Thanks a lot I'm glad you put some effort into it. The only criticism I have is about items being OP. If you were to play a few more multiplayer games you'd realize that the items are fairly balanced with eachother. +10 armor, +25 attack, etc. is necessary for a Death Hunter to be able to stand up against the Death Knight.

I'm glad you enjoyed the game, though I am a little disappointed that you didn't like any of the custom abilities. Most of the spells in the game were created by me in JASS but I do suppose they're lacking a little bit in the eye candy and synergy departments. Maybe that is something I can work on in the future.

Thanks again!
 
Level 14
Joined
Jun 27, 2009
Messages
1,381
Dark Nite, the spells that I think should be changed are : Warden's Ultimate, Warden's "Betray" spell. They are not useful at all. Warden is useful, but lacks eye candy. Betray helps the Death Knight...Even though just a little bit, it still helps him. And your allies wouldn't like to recieve damage from you.
 
Level 13
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Messages
1,481
What's with the eyecandy nagging? If the game's good, I can play it with no effects at all. Nevertheless, I agree that some spells are rather boring.
 
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Level 17
Joined
Jul 15, 2009
Messages
632
AtD is finally a victim of Hiveworkshop's stupidity?
Sure every map that looks like TKoK is awesome looking and eye candy, but..

Let's do some analyzing:

Who play Warcraft 3?
-Die hard rts gamers.
-People with low-class PCs.

Die hard gamers really care less about the shrub or the glowing rune in the forest, they want to win.

People with low-class PCs only lag in maps like TKoK, and usually have their graphics settings lowered, thus don't even see the additional features.

Why use blizzard cliffs?
Because it's a serious map, not a eye candy map.
A cliff can:
- give units dodge advantage.
- adjust line of sight
- create impassable 'lines'.

Rock doodad-way can do 2 / 3 of those, and line of sight blocking still needs a additional Line of Sight Blockers, causing 3 rock doodads + 1 LoS blocker to be used instead of 1 tile of cliff, increasing map size, causing more lag on lower systems and causing more people to drop while downloading.

Not a eye candy map..
Like stated above, AtD is not a eye candy map, so the big explosion on a flame strike is left out to reduce lag on lower systems and since they are unnecessary (extra file size etc).

A good example of keeping terrain strictly to what it needs to do is, without a doubt, DotA Allstars.

Conclusion: Eventhough skill effects and doodads are simple, they are there.
Dark did a very good job creating a compromise between low filesize/lag and good-looking, stop hating!
 
Level 13
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Messages
1,481
^
I'm not a die hard RTS gamer and my computer has 6 GB RAM and 2.80x2 GHz. Your statement is flawed.

Also, I forgot to report something. Last time I played, some guy got the nether dragon claw (blink item if I got the name wrong) and blinked into the dense forest. He was the druid hero and I was the spell breaker (witch hunter? D:) hero. Therefore, I couldn't attack him with anything but my one damage spell while he could shoot me at a range. Even when I got a claw myself and blinked after him, he got into a 1x1 space and became pretty much invulnerable.

D:
 
Level 14
Joined
Jun 27, 2009
Messages
1,381
Wait wait wait. Something wrong here.
Who plays Warcraft 3?
-RTS fans that didn't get Starcraft II yet
-Die hard RTS gamers
-RTS gamers that can't find great RTSes (which cannot be found actually)
-People that know about World Editor and want to use it

Not only those that have low PC quality play Warcraft 3. Nor Die Hard RTS gamers. Although Starcraft II will probably stomp Warcraft III and reign in the RTS gaming world until Warcraft IV (maybe) comes, Warcraft III is still a very good Real-Time Strategy game. If you don't think so, list RTS games that are not made by Blizzard, and are GREAT. (Like Warcraft III.)
 
Level 17
Joined
Jul 15, 2009
Messages
632
Wait wait wait. Something wrong here.
Who plays Warcraft 3?
-RTS fans that didn't get Starcraft II yet
-Die hard RTS gamers
-RTS gamers that can't find great RTSes (which cannot be found actually)
-People that know about World Editor and want to use it

Not only those that have low PC quality play Warcraft 3. Nor Die Hard RTS gamers. Although Starcraft II will probably stomp Warcraft III and reign in the RTS gaming world until Warcraft IV (maybe) comes, Warcraft III is still a very good Real-Time Strategy game. If you don't think so, list RTS games that are not made by Blizzard, and are GREAT. (Like Warcraft III.)

Personally i doubt SC2's multiplayer is gonna kill WC3's, because it's just less fun in my opininion (I prefer the abilities and items etc, a better engine alone isn't good enough, just think of Command & Conquer, simple ass overrated piece of shit)
 
Level 2
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
8
Hey sorry for the long delay in my response. For some reason the thread didn't update until Naro posted in it today.

Thanks for actually breaking down the game so that I can actually understand what you think is wrong with it. I notice that you realize there is a way to counter every problem that you bring up which makes it nice that I don't have to explain that to you. You have legitimate problems with the map. There's not much we can do to deal with new people dying early or people that don't know what to do except to try to get them to play a few more times. Normally they'll get it and start to enjoy the game. It's ashame that most leave and never come back but I guess that's just the way it is and perhaps one day they'll return to try the game again.

Your concerns about the Death Knight are also pretty common. New players generally do not understand the power of the Knight or underestimate his power and in both cases end up doing very bad with him. Once again, practice makes perfect. I notice, at least in my games, people that don't do well with him the first time want to join the remake and play him again. After a game or two they "get it" and start to do much better. Again there's really just not much we can do about those who leave and give up after one failed attempt.

Now about the things that can be changed. Nets have a duration of 4 seconds on a Hero and a cooldown of 30 seconds. The duration could be considered long but it has always seemed like the long cd makes up for it. The Death Knight has to be able to keep chasing you for 26 seconds to get the next net on you and if you have a good teammate or two they can easily help you get away through stuns or other distractions. Do you think the duration is too long? Or do you think the DK should not be able to buy nets in the first place?

Ghost Walk has been balanced over and over again. It used to be the most complained about skill in the game but in the last 8 months I haven't heard one complaint about it until your post. It is mostly used as an escape mechanism for the DK but he can also use it to chase down a Hunter. There is intentionally no item that gives truesight in Normal mode because that would completely ruin the ability for the Knight. However, if an Architect builds an Ancient of Healing that will provide the area around it with truesight. This definitely helps you keep the Knight out if you decide to fight as a team in your Architect's base during Doom.

What do you think needs to be done for this ability?

Lastly, the summon he can use from the Dark Dragon's Eye does help him slow down Death Hunters, but the summon can be taken out in only ~5-7 seconds by a ranged Death Hunter or two who have good combo's. Remember, you must always stack armor and attack boosting items. There's no chance to win if you don't.

Well, early on an initial hit (even non-windwalked) + 4 seconds + a windwalk follow (which leads to another 1 or two hits) will mostly lead to death. DK's can farm the money needed faster and start killing one hunter every minute or so, this also disrupts the hunter's lvling as groups have to escape. Also I believe the DK has the same move speed as hunters, right? So those who don't pick a stun at the start are often easy prey. Grouping against him at the start might work with a decent team, but it's hard to get one when most attempts of grouping end up with 2 deaths instead of one save. And again, this might mostly be due to faulty teams. Still, reducing the speed % bonus of windwalk on earlier levels might be good (on later levels the speed bonus outweighs the damage bonus imho)- or increasing cooldown or adding some sort of medium-priced way to counter this at the start. Decent DK's often attack hunters when they're already fighting other mobs, which often block the path they have to run away and help damage... Also, at the start there's mostly no cheap way to heal and lots of hunters end up running around with 30~50% hp- Which's a netted insta-kill.

Also- I've never seen one decent architect. I've tried it myself but farming is hard when monsters aggro your buildings before they're done- And you need gold for things. Again, maybe this issue does not happen in larger, better teams.

As for the summon, it works as a mid-game net- a bit more effective. You can't really spend those 5~7 seconds hitting it when the DK's hitting you, and weaker members are usually targeted for farming.
 
Level 18
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,612
The Death Knight has slower movement speed and will not be able to keep up with you without Ghost Walking or slowing you with the Dark Drake's cold breath in early game.

What you can do to escape from the DK early game (first 5 minutes):

  • You can buy a Wand of the Wind (3 charges, 30 gold) after only 2 minutes of game time.
  • You can buy Winter Ale (speed, 30 gold) at the Town Pub after 3 minutes of game time.
  • You can buy a Witch's Hat (slow aura, 50 gold) at the Totem of Riches after 1 minute of game time.
  • You can use stuns/slows that most Death Hunter's have.
  • You can use Taunt from the Hunting Wolf that the Hunter has (he has no slows/stuns).
  • You can use Speed Potions with the Scientist using Alchemy (he also has a stun, Supercharge).
  • You can travel with an Architect who has Bravery Aura which gives a bonus to speed (this really helps early game to outrun the Knight since he's slower to begin with).

With any combination of these from multiple Hero's you will find that it becomes fairly easy to outrun a Death Knight. Yes, a good Death Knight will split up the Death Hunters and then try to take them out one by one early game. That is part of their own strategy. If you get stranded try to make it back to your time or call them over to help you out using their stun/slow abilities.

It is really not as hard as many people think. The more you play, the more you find this out. And again, if you do die to the Knight don't be shocked. If the Hunter's could never die to him and always outrun him this wouldn't be a very fun game (or vice-versa).
 
Level 13
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Messages
1,481
Adding to that, I think you should buff the Death Knight early game. If all the hunters gang up on him with their superiour damage output and total health value plus stuns and slows and superiour movement speed, the Death Knight is likely to lose. Trust me, I've seen it.

I'm not saying buff his movement speed, just his damage and/or health. 'Course, this should be evened out as he levels. In essence, he starts out stronger but gets smaller buffs to raw stats per level, making him about just as strong as in earlier versions in end-game.
 
Level 18
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
1,612
You're used to the amazing content that THW provides. Amazing spells coded by great programmers and beautiful terrain screenshots created by artists. There's nothing wrong with that.

The fact is, when you create a mod like Against the Darkness singlehandedly you aren't going to have the most astounding terrain possible and outrageously cool spells. You're going to have good looking, effective terrain that suits the map's style of gameplay. The spells are going to be unique and effective but may not have the spammy eye-candy you may be used to from other coders on this website.

As a whole, however, aided by the unique gameplay that this map provides as well as different game modes and tons of unique items and spells, you will find a map that is fun and replayable game after game. Thank you for your comment, however I feel if you were to play AtD online a few times and see what is about you may change your mind.
 
Level 22
Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Messages
3,091
You're used to the amazing content that THW provides. Amazing spells coded by great programmers and beautiful terrain screenshots created by artists. There's nothing wrong with that.

The fact is, when you create a mod like Against the Darkness singlehandedly you aren't going to have the most astounding terrain possible and outrageously cool spells. You're going to have good looking, effective terrain that suits the map's style of gameplay. The spells are going to be unique and effective but may not have the spammy eye-candy you may be used to from other coders on this website.

As a whole, however, aided by the unique gameplay that this map provides as well as different game modes and tons of unique items and spells, you will find a map that is fun and replayable game after game. Thank you for your comment, however I feel if you were to play AtD online a few times and see what is about you may change your mind.

I've been doing a project myself with some triggering help from Ap0calypse for the last year or so, soloing is no excuse.

There is nothing wrong with making an average map. I expect all maps to be absolutely perfect in everyway this map has excellent representation which is one thing maps require, but once again average terrain average spells and average gameplay. There is no excuse for this, and no shame in this... But if you feel this map could be further perfected by other people of higher skill level than there should be nothing stopping you from asking the help of an expert terrainer like CloudWolf you are very popular here on THW so finding help shouldn't be hard.

And I do respect you're ability to make maps by yourself. And I do respect that this map is average because through my eyes in terms of mapping average is good, an example of this is Booody's maps (DIII Tristram and DIII Borderlands) I found these maps to be below average almost rejectable in my opinion. So do not mistake my average rating for a poor rating. Good job on the map, and good luck on future versions or projects.

I will play some more and reconsider....


@Herian

Wait wait wait. Something wrong here.
Who plays Warcraft 3?
-RTS fans that didn't get Starcraft II yet
-Die hard RTS gamers
-RTS gamers that can't find great RTSes (which cannot be found actually)
-People that know about World Editor and want to use it

Not only those that have low PC quality play Warcraft 3. Nor Die Hard RTS gamers. Although Starcraft II will probably stomp Warcraft III and reign in the RTS gaming world until Warcraft IV (maybe) comes, Warcraft III is still a very good Real-Time Strategy game. If you don't think so, list RTS games that are not made by Blizzard, and are GREAT. (Like Warcraft III.)

I know a few RTSs that completely embarrass Sc2 and WcIII. Dawn of War being one of them.... It's probably the greatest RTS game ever made.

But I like WcIII because it's like an outlet for creating games essentially....
 
Level 4
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
77
I am stunned

This map is amazing and you did this all by yourself you should be nominated for best map maker in the world!

Even your game trailor inspired me to go back to map making! after I lost my map data for Assault on Quel'Thalas i was devestated but now im not cause like i said you inspired me to continue my work.

Can i get some trigger making pointers from you? some day? I would love to learn from a master map maker.

I AM TOTALLY STUNNED FROM USING THIS MAP

Not only do i give it as many thumbs up as i can but i give many blood elfs to you too

:spell_breaker::spell_breaker::spell_breaker:
:spell_breaker::spell_breaker::spell_breaker:
:spell_breaker::spell_breaker::spell_breaker:
:spell_breaker::spell_breaker::spell_breaker:
:spell_breaker::spell_breaker::spell_breaker:
:spell_breaker::spell_breaker::spell_breaker:
:spell_breaker::spell_breaker::spell_breaker:

an army for you. for your AAAAWWWWWWSOME map
 
Level 7
Joined
Aug 21, 2010
Messages
283
Whoa, this is a seriously amazing map. Is this map still in development, or is it finished, because I would love it if this map is still being updated.
 
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