- Joined
- Feb 20, 2013
- Messages
- 136
I've been trying to realize this idea since I first joined the Hive. It's made by me.
It is a mix of couple different genres which I cannot exactly name, probably inspired by numerous popular games in existence, while some of the terms are intentionally taken from some cult-level games that are parents to many games including wc3. Please don't chastise me for subconsciously copying a bit of another game.
It is a very small map, team vs team battle that involves using a single hero per player to:
1. Summon units across 5 parallel lanes
2. Use class abilities and unique spells (to support said troops as they battle the enemy troops)
The win condition
...is to defeat all enemy heroes and drain all their health (30 lives each). This can be done in multiple ways, the most straightforward is getting troops across the lanes to the other side. Whenever they reach the enemy side, they disappear, dealing 1 damage to all enemy heroes.
- Some classes have unique way to deal or heal damage directly to heroes.
My main goal in this map
...was to create an elaborate and unique system that will draw interest from individuals. A one that can produce many different play styles/builds and let people discover new styles every day or whatever feels best for them. That is why I am trying to add complexity, though it proved to be either loved or hated (from my experience in testing). Even though I tried to dumb it down as much as I could and trying to explain it in game, it either seems like too much information or just hard to understand. But who knows, maybe I am just incapable of explaining, or it's a bad design in the first place.
Spellcasting system
Every class has a set of their own unique available spells. This can range from 9 (currently 6) all the way to 15. In this map, it is not a simple matter of clicking a hotkey, or even two (in case of spellbooks). These spells hold much value and can turn the battle in single good (or bad) placed cast.
A system called Spellstring is in place, which requires players to build a string of letters in a specific order or combo, to in turn receive a spell. Each of these letters conforms to a specific color, at the moment being 4 (R-red, W-white, B-blue, P-purple). Each player's spellstring is shown in a multiboard.
Building the spellstring can be done in two ways at the moment
1. By collecting colored gem powerups that can spawn within each team's hero area.
2. Each class has at least one letter generating skill, in Q slot. By using this ability, a letter is added
This letter combo can be as simple as "WW", which would, for a Paladin either mean using his Q twice, or collect two white gems, or either of the two in any order. This would give this said Paladin a spell called Rejuvenate, which heals a single unit with least health in target area to full hp.
- Note that every mention of "spells" from here on will mean specifically spells gained through this mechanic.
Spells categorization
Categorizations are only used for game mechanics, and the names are really just a fancy way to portray it. Class spells are split into Circles and schools. While schools types are specific for each class, every class' has a number of Circles which they gain at certain levels. These mean how complex the spell is or how hard it is to cast. This will mean that heroes gain more spells as they level up. At the moment, there are 3 spells of each circle, one of each school.
Schools are some kind of tag that links together a group of spells which share similarities. For example, an Elementalist has schools Fire, Lightning and Frost. He gains a fire spell, a frost spell and a lightning spell with each circle. Paladin's spells are split into heals, buffs and offensive spells.
Classes have ways to increase levels of these spells gained through spellstring, and schools are used for exactly that. A bonus can be "Increases level of Fire spells", which makes all Elementalist's Fire spells stronger. These are mostly passive skills that hero can choose to learn as they level.
- Long story short: Circles unlock more spells and schools determine which spells get boosted.
Classes
The map currently features 4 classes, Warlock and Paladin, High Inquisitor and Elementalist, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Paladin - Class focusing on summoning and rallying and supporting his troops and allies. He has two summon skills; ranged and melee with average stats. His class feature is Preserverance, a skill that heals himself or an allied hero or gives it max hp with a longer cooldown. He has 2 circles of spells that include schools: Restoration (heals), Determination (buffs) and Repentance (offense, mainly vs demons/undead). At level 6 he can choose to specialize in a single school. At lvl 18 he gains Blessing of Fervor, aura that increases all allied units' movement speed by 30% (including heros) and 20% attack speed.
Circle 1 (starting with)
Rejuvenation (fully heals 1/level unit with lowest hp.)
Bless (% damage increase in aoe)
Purge (Area Dispel + damage to demons and undead)
Circle 2 (lvl 7)
Invigorate (Area heal over time buff)
Endure (flat armor bonus)
Justice Hand (single target percent damage scaling off max hp)
Circle 3 (implemented but not in game/balance reasons)
Redemption (all unit in area resurrection + ally % heal, convert non-demon enemies)
Guardian Angel (single time Reincarnation to current alive units + 999 armor aura for 5s+)
Exorcism (channel, instantly kills random x demons/undead per tick, costs y life/tick if kills)
Warlock - Intended a very versatile class that works on risk/reward principle, can and has to make a lot of choices that can either be a right answer for the game or .. well, not. He has one summoning skill which summons demons. His class mechanic is Demonism/Shadowcraft, a toggle ability that improves the function of his summon skill and allows him to switch summoned unit types between Demons and Horrors. He has 2 circles of spells that include schools: Sacrifice (cost life), Summoning (unique summons) and Shadow (sorceries with strong effects). At level 18, each spell cast gives a 14% chance to either conjure a healthstone or manastone. These give effects but can be consumed as well.
Circle 1 (starting with)
Taint (all units in area get damage over time debuff, gain damage bonus on missing life %)
Crazy Imp (summons low hp imp in lane that explodes on death, dealing aoe dmg)
Contagious Insanity (target unit gains big ms/as buff, after 1s spreads to x nearby(any), repeated y times)
Circle 2 (lvl 7)
Collateral Damage (deals x direct damage to caster and target hero)
Call Succubus (a demon that autocasts charm, spell subject to change)
Steal Essence (hero level scaling damage split among target area units (any). Each kill heals the caster)
Circle 3 (lvl 15)
Blood Feast (channel, buffs ally demons and horrors with max hp and damage per tick, costs 1 life/tick)
Dark Portal (summons a ward unit, a Dark Portal in a lane that spawns lower level demons in interval)
Paranoia (aoe, enemies get feared and cannot act for x seconds)
Circle 4 (not implemented)
Hellfire (destroys all troops and deals their count damage split among each team)
World's End demon (very tanky summon with immolate, deals 5 dmg to enemies if reaches other side, costs 5 life)
Soul Drain (steals x hp from target enemy hero, costs more than max mana, requiring shenanigans to pull off, but sacrificing mostly time)
Elementalist - class that focuses on spells more than anything. Has 3 letter generation spells: Q (red), W (blue), E (purple). He has skill Element Mastery which allows him to raise lvl of spells of 2 magic schools on cooldown. His class mechanic is Awaken Essence which sacrifices his Active spell for an effect; if cast on a Magic Crystal (Summon skill lane target), it summons a unique Elemental unit with unique ability (depends on the spell sacrificed). If cast on the ground, it summons an Essence; a unit which has the sacrificed spell stored inside. After cast, the Essence dies. Has Essence count cap that depends on lvl of Awaken Essence. He has 3(5) circles of 3 schools: Fire (damage), Frost (defense, cc) and Lightning (mixed, unique effects)
Fire and Frost spells often conflict, dispelling effects of opposite spells of same or lower circle.
Circle 1 (starting with)
Fireball (collision missile that explodes and deals aoe damage)
Chill Blast (default Frost Nova-like spell that also freezes slowed units for half duration)
Conductivity (electric chain that briefly stuns on hit, limited by jump count, can't jump to last target, later multiple chains)
Circle 2 (lvl 6)
Flame Barrage (flame spheres are thrown each interval at target point. Moving the hero offsets the target point. Can hit enemy heroes for 1 dmg each)
Dry Ice (slows all units on map, duration lowered on higher lvl)
Living Current (attaches on a unit, gains attack speed; zaps nearby enemies in interval)
Circle 3 (lvl 12)
Inferno (long duration flamestrike)
Absolute Null Zone (area/aura slow)
Ionic Channel (channel on a lane; units inside gain movement speed per tick. Enemies take minor damage and heal caster for every x distance passed)
Circle 4 (not implemented/18)
Firestarter (powerful fire spirit randomly casts short duration flamestrikes across battlefield)
Frost Shard (freezes a unit (or magic crystal) for ~30s; it cannot be targeted and it cannot act. Can only have 1 frozen)
Energy Link (links closest x enemy units to a targeted hero; when a unit dies, target loses 1 hp/mp. If a unit is stunned, its link breaks.)
Circle 5 (not implemented/24)
Hell From Above (rains x meteors that fall and stun nearby units and form Flame Giants (infernals with immolation+spell immunity)
Ice Age (blizzard + big shards of ice falling on whole battlefield, creates obstacles that slow all nearby units
Fake Gravity (pulls all enemies into target point/lane or closest possible. Holds them a bit then releases and deals damage)
High Inquisitor - most straightforward support class. Can cycle between 3 different unit types with E and Summon units with her W. Her passive gives and raises level of her summoned troops' abilities (inquisitors - heal, investigators - faerie fire, torturers - critical strike) and her second passive increases stats of all allied human summoned units. She has no schools and her spells do not scale. She has 3 spells times 2 circles. They might be weaker but they have lower spellstring combo so she can spam them more easily and with less resources. She also starts with Ankh of Reincarnation that she can give any ally at any point in time. Her real value is in her passives and contribution of her troops.
Circle 1 (starting with)
Consecrate (ground aoe deals 3% max hp dmg to enemies inside. Double dmg to demons, undead and horrors)
Bless (lvl 1 Paladin Bless)
Purge (lvl 1 Paladin Purge)
Circle 2 (lvl 8)
Magic Barrier (allies in aoe absorb 200 spell/magic damage)
Greater Dispel (removes negative effects from all allied troops and positive from all enemy troops)
Justice Hand (lvl 1 Paladin Justice Hand)
Other planned classes:
Arcanist - class that focuses on battlefield control and troop manipulation. His class feature is Memorize. When used with prepared spell, the spell is used up, but also stored instead of Memorize and it can be cast as normal. This is essentially another slot for a prepared spell, allowing the Arcanist to chain cast spells. Arcanist class mechanic is Metamagic. It is a spellbook that offers various effects on Arcanist's spells. Once a chosen metamagic is used, it adds a buff to the Arcanist. Next eglible spell that Arcanist gains will be modified depending on the metamagic buff. These can include range, manacost, level of the spell, duration, repeated spell, stronger values or something similar. His spells mostly rely on reality manipulation. He has 4 circles of spells. His schools are: Time-space (teleports/area blocks), Aether (spell/life manip) and Alteration (reality warping, polymorph, transforms)
Lich - units with auras, all kind of necromancy and debilitating effects
Friendly Tips
Please read the tooltips and at least a little bit of patience, it's most important thing in this map and reveals much. It's not supposed to be a play once-get bored type of map, but rather getting better with each playthrough.
Screenshots
I will have more gameplay screenshots after I have an actual 2v2 or 3v3 game, since I don't get many people to test, and quite a lot of them dislike it due to camera and gameplay problems which I'd be grateful for suggestions. Some also find it boring. I do have a few ideas in mind though.
Here is an example of a default camera, paladin class casting a Bless spell on his units which he gained by collecting right gems in order. It is shown in his Spellstring on the multiboard upper right corner. After casting the spell, it will disappear and reset his spellstring.
This is an example of his class item which shows what spells he is able to cast. Each spell has a recipe for the spellstring mechanic, and the spell name is also color coded to show the school it belongs to. Other mentions of these schools are mostly color coded to same color.
Edit: Class items are now spellbooks which contain information about spells and which the hero is able to cast. These contain level scaling information as well. They can be clicked to load a recipe to the player's Spellstring display. It's a mechanic to help out people who can't remember string combos and don't want to hover every second. But it's too complicated to explain it right here.
This is a Paladin mechanic, at level 6, he can choose which school of spells he will level up. When he learns "Mastery" skill, lvl of spells gained with chosen school will be increased
There it is. If you're at least a bit interested to play or test, I'd welcome any bit of feedback or advice. But please don't judge the map or idea based on this post only.
- Keep in mind it is still in development since 2-3 weeks ago, and there is a lot of things still not implemented, including interaction between different spells, and
There WILL be bugs and errors.
You can join this development discord server which is basically just my ramblings about things I add or change. I always write there when I host/test: Discord - Free voice and text chat for gamers
Nowadays I host/work on this often. You can try hosting it alone, trying out spells and stuff I guess, but the AI bot is not fully done so I did not include it in this version.
It is a mix of couple different genres which I cannot exactly name, probably inspired by numerous popular games in existence, while some of the terms are intentionally taken from some cult-level games that are parents to many games including wc3. Please don't chastise me for subconsciously copying a bit of another game.
It is a very small map, team vs team battle that involves using a single hero per player to:
1. Summon units across 5 parallel lanes
2. Use class abilities and unique spells (to support said troops as they battle the enemy troops)
The win condition
...is to defeat all enemy heroes and drain all their health (30 lives each). This can be done in multiple ways, the most straightforward is getting troops across the lanes to the other side. Whenever they reach the enemy side, they disappear, dealing 1 damage to all enemy heroes.
- Some classes have unique way to deal or heal damage directly to heroes.
My main goal in this map
...was to create an elaborate and unique system that will draw interest from individuals. A one that can produce many different play styles/builds and let people discover new styles every day or whatever feels best for them. That is why I am trying to add complexity, though it proved to be either loved or hated (from my experience in testing). Even though I tried to dumb it down as much as I could and trying to explain it in game, it either seems like too much information or just hard to understand. But who knows, maybe I am just incapable of explaining, or it's a bad design in the first place.
Spellcasting system
Every class has a set of their own unique available spells. This can range from 9 (currently 6) all the way to 15. In this map, it is not a simple matter of clicking a hotkey, or even two (in case of spellbooks). These spells hold much value and can turn the battle in single good (or bad) placed cast.
A system called Spellstring is in place, which requires players to build a string of letters in a specific order or combo, to in turn receive a spell. Each of these letters conforms to a specific color, at the moment being 4 (R-red, W-white, B-blue, P-purple). Each player's spellstring is shown in a multiboard.
Building the spellstring can be done in two ways at the moment
1. By collecting colored gem powerups that can spawn within each team's hero area.
2. Each class has at least one letter generating skill, in Q slot. By using this ability, a letter is added
This letter combo can be as simple as "WW", which would, for a Paladin either mean using his Q twice, or collect two white gems, or either of the two in any order. This would give this said Paladin a spell called Rejuvenate, which heals a single unit with least health in target area to full hp.
- Note that every mention of "spells" from here on will mean specifically spells gained through this mechanic.
Spells categorization
Categorizations are only used for game mechanics, and the names are really just a fancy way to portray it. Class spells are split into Circles and schools. While schools types are specific for each class, every class' has a number of Circles which they gain at certain levels. These mean how complex the spell is or how hard it is to cast. This will mean that heroes gain more spells as they level up. At the moment, there are 3 spells of each circle, one of each school.
Schools are some kind of tag that links together a group of spells which share similarities. For example, an Elementalist has schools Fire, Lightning and Frost. He gains a fire spell, a frost spell and a lightning spell with each circle. Paladin's spells are split into heals, buffs and offensive spells.
Classes have ways to increase levels of these spells gained through spellstring, and schools are used for exactly that. A bonus can be "Increases level of Fire spells", which makes all Elementalist's Fire spells stronger. These are mostly passive skills that hero can choose to learn as they level.
- Long story short: Circles unlock more spells and schools determine which spells get boosted.
Classes
The map currently features 4 classes, Warlock and Paladin, High Inquisitor and Elementalist, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Paladin - Class focusing on summoning and rallying and supporting his troops and allies. He has two summon skills; ranged and melee with average stats. His class feature is Preserverance, a skill that heals himself or an allied hero or gives it max hp with a longer cooldown. He has 2 circles of spells that include schools: Restoration (heals), Determination (buffs) and Repentance (offense, mainly vs demons/undead). At level 6 he can choose to specialize in a single school. At lvl 18 he gains Blessing of Fervor, aura that increases all allied units' movement speed by 30% (including heros) and 20% attack speed.
Circle 1 (starting with)
Rejuvenation (fully heals 1/level unit with lowest hp.)
Bless (% damage increase in aoe)
Purge (Area Dispel + damage to demons and undead)
Circle 2 (lvl 7)
Invigorate (Area heal over time buff)
Endure (flat armor bonus)
Justice Hand (single target percent damage scaling off max hp)
Circle 3 (implemented but not in game/balance reasons)
Redemption (all unit in area resurrection + ally % heal, convert non-demon enemies)
Guardian Angel (single time Reincarnation to current alive units + 999 armor aura for 5s+)
Exorcism (channel, instantly kills random x demons/undead per tick, costs y life/tick if kills)
Warlock - Intended a very versatile class that works on risk/reward principle, can and has to make a lot of choices that can either be a right answer for the game or .. well, not. He has one summoning skill which summons demons. His class mechanic is Demonism/Shadowcraft, a toggle ability that improves the function of his summon skill and allows him to switch summoned unit types between Demons and Horrors. He has 2 circles of spells that include schools: Sacrifice (cost life), Summoning (unique summons) and Shadow (sorceries with strong effects). At level 18, each spell cast gives a 14% chance to either conjure a healthstone or manastone. These give effects but can be consumed as well.
Circle 1 (starting with)
Taint (all units in area get damage over time debuff, gain damage bonus on missing life %)
Crazy Imp (summons low hp imp in lane that explodes on death, dealing aoe dmg)
Contagious Insanity (target unit gains big ms/as buff, after 1s spreads to x nearby(any), repeated y times)
Circle 2 (lvl 7)
Collateral Damage (deals x direct damage to caster and target hero)
Call Succubus (a demon that autocasts charm, spell subject to change)
Steal Essence (hero level scaling damage split among target area units (any). Each kill heals the caster)
Circle 3 (lvl 15)
Blood Feast (channel, buffs ally demons and horrors with max hp and damage per tick, costs 1 life/tick)
Dark Portal (summons a ward unit, a Dark Portal in a lane that spawns lower level demons in interval)
Paranoia (aoe, enemies get feared and cannot act for x seconds)
Circle 4 (not implemented)
Hellfire (destroys all troops and deals their count damage split among each team)
World's End demon (very tanky summon with immolate, deals 5 dmg to enemies if reaches other side, costs 5 life)
Soul Drain (steals x hp from target enemy hero, costs more than max mana, requiring shenanigans to pull off, but sacrificing mostly time)
Elementalist - class that focuses on spells more than anything. Has 3 letter generation spells: Q (red), W (blue), E (purple). He has skill Element Mastery which allows him to raise lvl of spells of 2 magic schools on cooldown. His class mechanic is Awaken Essence which sacrifices his Active spell for an effect; if cast on a Magic Crystal (Summon skill lane target), it summons a unique Elemental unit with unique ability (depends on the spell sacrificed). If cast on the ground, it summons an Essence; a unit which has the sacrificed spell stored inside. After cast, the Essence dies. Has Essence count cap that depends on lvl of Awaken Essence. He has 3(5) circles of 3 schools: Fire (damage), Frost (defense, cc) and Lightning (mixed, unique effects)
Fire and Frost spells often conflict, dispelling effects of opposite spells of same or lower circle.
Circle 1 (starting with)
Fireball (collision missile that explodes and deals aoe damage)
Chill Blast (default Frost Nova-like spell that also freezes slowed units for half duration)
Conductivity (electric chain that briefly stuns on hit, limited by jump count, can't jump to last target, later multiple chains)
Circle 2 (lvl 6)
Flame Barrage (flame spheres are thrown each interval at target point. Moving the hero offsets the target point. Can hit enemy heroes for 1 dmg each)
Dry Ice (slows all units on map, duration lowered on higher lvl)
Living Current (attaches on a unit, gains attack speed; zaps nearby enemies in interval)
Circle 3 (lvl 12)
Inferno (long duration flamestrike)
Absolute Null Zone (area/aura slow)
Ionic Channel (channel on a lane; units inside gain movement speed per tick. Enemies take minor damage and heal caster for every x distance passed)
Circle 4 (not implemented/18)
Firestarter (powerful fire spirit randomly casts short duration flamestrikes across battlefield)
Frost Shard (freezes a unit (or magic crystal) for ~30s; it cannot be targeted and it cannot act. Can only have 1 frozen)
Energy Link (links closest x enemy units to a targeted hero; when a unit dies, target loses 1 hp/mp. If a unit is stunned, its link breaks.)
Circle 5 (not implemented/24)
Hell From Above (rains x meteors that fall and stun nearby units and form Flame Giants (infernals with immolation+spell immunity)
Ice Age (blizzard + big shards of ice falling on whole battlefield, creates obstacles that slow all nearby units
Fake Gravity (pulls all enemies into target point/lane or closest possible. Holds them a bit then releases and deals damage)
High Inquisitor - most straightforward support class. Can cycle between 3 different unit types with E and Summon units with her W. Her passive gives and raises level of her summoned troops' abilities (inquisitors - heal, investigators - faerie fire, torturers - critical strike) and her second passive increases stats of all allied human summoned units. She has no schools and her spells do not scale. She has 3 spells times 2 circles. They might be weaker but they have lower spellstring combo so she can spam them more easily and with less resources. She also starts with Ankh of Reincarnation that she can give any ally at any point in time. Her real value is in her passives and contribution of her troops.
Circle 1 (starting with)
Consecrate (ground aoe deals 3% max hp dmg to enemies inside. Double dmg to demons, undead and horrors)
Bless (lvl 1 Paladin Bless)
Purge (lvl 1 Paladin Purge)
Circle 2 (lvl 8)
Magic Barrier (allies in aoe absorb 200 spell/magic damage)
Greater Dispel (removes negative effects from all allied troops and positive from all enemy troops)
Justice Hand (lvl 1 Paladin Justice Hand)
Other planned classes:
Arcanist - class that focuses on battlefield control and troop manipulation. His class feature is Memorize. When used with prepared spell, the spell is used up, but also stored instead of Memorize and it can be cast as normal. This is essentially another slot for a prepared spell, allowing the Arcanist to chain cast spells. Arcanist class mechanic is Metamagic. It is a spellbook that offers various effects on Arcanist's spells. Once a chosen metamagic is used, it adds a buff to the Arcanist. Next eglible spell that Arcanist gains will be modified depending on the metamagic buff. These can include range, manacost, level of the spell, duration, repeated spell, stronger values or something similar. His spells mostly rely on reality manipulation. He has 4 circles of spells. His schools are: Time-space (teleports/area blocks), Aether (spell/life manip) and Alteration (reality warping, polymorph, transforms)
Lich - units with auras, all kind of necromancy and debilitating effects
Friendly Tips
Please read the tooltips and at least a little bit of patience, it's most important thing in this map and reveals much. It's not supposed to be a play once-get bored type of map, but rather getting better with each playthrough.
Screenshots
I will have more gameplay screenshots after I have an actual 2v2 or 3v3 game, since I don't get many people to test, and quite a lot of them dislike it due to camera and gameplay problems which I'd be grateful for suggestions. Some also find it boring. I do have a few ideas in mind though.
Here is an example of a default camera, paladin class casting a Bless spell on his units which he gained by collecting right gems in order. It is shown in his Spellstring on the multiboard upper right corner. After casting the spell, it will disappear and reset his spellstring.
This is an example of his class item which shows what spells he is able to cast. Each spell has a recipe for the spellstring mechanic, and the spell name is also color coded to show the school it belongs to. Other mentions of these schools are mostly color coded to same color.
Edit: Class items are now spellbooks which contain information about spells and which the hero is able to cast. These contain level scaling information as well. They can be clicked to load a recipe to the player's Spellstring display. It's a mechanic to help out people who can't remember string combos and don't want to hover every second. But it's too complicated to explain it right here.
This is a Paladin mechanic, at level 6, he can choose which school of spells he will level up. When he learns "Mastery" skill, lvl of spells gained with chosen school will be increased
There it is. If you're at least a bit interested to play or test, I'd welcome any bit of feedback or advice. But please don't judge the map or idea based on this post only.
- Keep in mind it is still in development since 2-3 weeks ago, and there is a lot of things still not implemented, including interaction between different spells, and
There WILL be bugs and errors.
You can join this development discord server which is basically just my ramblings about things I add or change. I always write there when I host/test: Discord - Free voice and text chat for gamers
Nowadays I host/work on this often. You can try hosting it alone, trying out spells and stuff I guess, but the AI bot is not fully done so I did not include it in this version.
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