[Campaign] Defenders of the Light

[ThinhHo]

Hi everyone,

After more than one month of polishing, the campaign is almost ready to be published. A lot of bugs have been fixed. Some new contents have been added and dialogues have been improved. I couldn't have done all of this without the help of @Championfighter25, @DeAtH._.KiTtY, @The_Messenger and @Venkolm.
Thank you greatly for your help.

We are currently running the final test run before the public release. I'll let you know when the campaign is up.

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This is a screenshot of Map 3 - Shimmer Wood which has been reterrained.
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[ThinhHo]

Hi everyone,
For anyone who follows this Development Thread, I just want you to know that

Yes, the first Act of Defenders of the Light has been released after more than one year of constant development. Here is the link to it: Defenders of the Light - Act I. The development of this campaign really took a toll on me. So I'll take a break for a while and focus on other goals in life before starting to work on Act II again. At this point, Act II is about 20% to completion.
Thank you for all of your support from the beginning of this campaign.

 

[Limitteditemeater]

Like the campaign so far quite a lot. One complaint though, I can't kill the little kid and his family at the start Azothan who recently played your campaign made me hate that kid.

 

[Venkolm]

Like the campaign so far quite a lot. One complaint though, I can't kill the little kid and his family at the start Azothan who recently played your campaign made me hate that kid.

Whut...

 

[Cristina]

Hello, the game look awesome but i can not hear the character talking .
How i "whisper" (the pass) ?
In rest is great

 

[ThinhHo]

Hello, the game look awesome but i can not hear the character talking .
How i "whisper" (the pass) ?
In rest is great

Make sure you turn on Subtitles in game options. That is usually why the dialogues don't show up.

 

[ThinhHo]

"- I've been looking..
- .. for 20 years.
- The others leave and return.
- Would I ever come home?
- My parents should have come home by now.
- They are alive.
- I'm sure of it, despite what the others say.
- No matter what happens, I must keep my attitude up.
- People around me needs my positive attitude more than I do.
- I have to keep it up.
- I have to keep looking.
- Father, mother.
- I will not return..
- .. until I've found you."

 

[Priyam Mitra]

The quest which entails finding a fountain of health and then reporting back to vicar(2nd zone) is bugged. Stuck with that, but it's not a big deal since it's just a minor quest and can be overlooked.
Now, coming to the part where I need a dark wood totem to enter an area where the 'far horizons' ost plays, is bugged as well. I bought the item from the travelling merchant but still can't enter that region.
To add to the pain, I can't repurchase that item anymore.
Just wondering if I spent the last 5 hours playing a campaign that will ultimately get me nowhere

 

[Venkolm]

The quest which entails finding a fountain of health and then reporting back to vicar(2nd zone) is bugged. Stuck with that, but it's not a big deal since it's just a minor quest and can be overlooked.
Now, coming to the part where I need a dark wood totem to enter an area where the 'far horizons' ost plays, is bugged as well. I bought the item from the travelling merchant but still can't enter that region.
To add to the pain, I can't repurchase that item anymore.
Just wondering if I spent the last 5 hours playing a campaign that will ultimately get me nowhere

What are you talking about? The quest about the fountain, i just completed it 5 minutes ago.
It's impossible not to be able to enter the Undead zone, with the Darkwood Totem. Also, you don't give any info if it is equipped, is it in stash? Try placing the Totem into different inventory slots.
There is nothing wrong with these particular maps. Besides, the Darkwood Totem can be bought again, in a different map. It's not the campaign that is problematic here. It is your negative approach.

Edited: I have also read your negative comments about The Chosen Ones. So yea, you are the problem. Now when i think about it, you claimed to be a new player, but... Priyam Mitra... where have i seen this name before...

 

[ThinhHo]

The quest which entails finding a fountain of health and then reporting back to vicar(2nd zone) is bugged. Stuck with that, but it's not a big deal since it's just a minor quest and can be overlooked.
Now, coming to the part where I need a dark wood totem to enter an area where the 'far horizons' ost plays, is bugged as well. I bought the item from the travelling merchant but still can't enter that region.
To add to the pain, I can't repurchase that item anymore.

I'm sorry to hear that you countered so many bugs. Blizzard has made a lot of new patches since this campaign was created. I'm pretty sure you're playing this on the new patch which has a lot of bugs with the campaign. The campaign works better with older patches (best with 1.27). Since how it was created and structured, only fixing those bugs was not a viable option. After completing Act II. I'll rebuild Act I so that you can play with the newer patch without bugs like you have now. Sorry again for the inconvenience. By the way, for the Dark Wood Totem to work, you need to equip it on one of your heroes. Try again, that may grant you access to the area.

Just wondering if I spent the last 5 hours playing a campaign that will ultimately get me nowhere

This is not the main story path by the way. Still there were some reports saying that there'd be bugs if you keep going with the main maps as well. Some people also figured out how to get through those bugs but many couldn't. Again, this only applies to the newer patches. If you can, I'd recommend you to wait until the campaign is rebuilt for the new version. I assure you. This campaign will offer you a great experience once you have completed it.

What are you talking about? The quest about the fountain, i just completed it 5 minutes ago.

It really depends on what version of the campaign people play them on Venkolm, the newer versions usually have bugs like this. A couple people have reported bugs with this particular quest already.

 

[Karnaly]

Hey everyone, first of all i wanna say i am enjoying this map !

I wanna ask for help, does anyone know how to get the footman to fountain of health ? Is it maybe a broken trigger because i am using 1.31 patch, nothing happens when i get to fountain.

 

[ThinhHo]

This collection of items is now included in the description of the map. After finishing the campaign, you can take a look at this wall and see what item combinations you can come up with.

Compilation of most items and custom items used in Defenders of the Light

Because of how items are formulated in Defenders of the Light, with both positive and negative stats, it creates a vast possibility of how many custom items can exist in the game. This beautiful visual compilation does not show details of where to obtain the items in the game. It only shows what the item looks like and what stats they have. All items from common, uncommon to legendary are included in here without certain order. Feel free to enjoy yourself with this wall of colorful items. New items after this won't be added consistently into this post nor into the campaign description.

 

[ThinhHo]

8th March 2021

Development News

Storm Bolt is one of Adias' spells. However, it is not used as often as Healing Wave. The more units there are, the more benefits Healing Wave gives you during a fight. I find myself using Healing Wave most of the time, not Storm Bolt.

To change that, I decided to create 2 new items that support that playstyle, the Steel Dust and Steel Crown. Steel Dust restores 35 mana for Adias after using Storm Bolt. Carrying the item also increases Intelligence by 2 and reduces Strength by 3.
Another Item is Steel Crown. This item also supports the use of Adias' Storm Bolt. Adias gains 40 armor for 6 seconds after casting Storm Bolt. Carrying this item increases Intelligence by 2 and reduces Agility by 6.

STEEL DUST and STEEL CROWN

So from now you don't have to play Adias in the same style as before. Storm Bolt Adias is the new Adias you can play with.
Those items are powerful. They are best only aquirable in the late game of Act I (Stormhaul and Longpass Valley) and purchasable in Act II (Alzhardar and Abyssal Swarm). Implementing those items is the tedious part since triggers are required to be implemented in every map of the campaign to make those items usable (About 40 maps).

Now let's get to work!
Best!

 

[ThinhHo]

17th March 2021

Mechanics of the Game

Did you know that the Agility stat in Defenders of the Light is really bad? That’s why our heroes don’t have Agility as their primary stat. Each 3 points of Agility increases armor by 1. However, with the change in armor, 1 point of armor doesn’t mean anything to the hero at all. To reach the maximum damage reduction of 75%, in Defenders of the Light, you will need about 150 armor. With the right combination of item you could barely reach 150 armor but it is how it is.

Another thing that wasn’t discussed during the campaign is the reduce in attack speed bonus per point of Agility. The decision was made for long-term gameplay. Our heroes will level up to level 60 later in the game when they have a lot of attack speed. Having heroes reaching their maximum (and unusual) attack speed while they haven’t reached the end of the campaign yet is not right. Therefore, attack speed per Agility point was reduced to 0.1 (from 0.2) for the entire campaign.

Now you know how ”useless” Agility in Defenders of the Light is. It certainly has its value, but it’s different. Many items and decisions were made around this change as well.

Before we end this post, here is the teaser of what to come. It’s just a little thing, but you will love it.

Best!

 

[ThinhHo]

24th June 2021

Development News

Hello Hivers,

I've been quiet but I'm still alive and kicking! And I've been working on a new side project instead. Progress has been slow but steady, and there is a lot of passion put into this project! I can't wait for you to see what's coming in the future. Here's a little something for now.

Enjoy your summer.
I will see you guys soon.

Best!

 

[ThinhHo]

10th January 2022

Development News

Hello Hivers,

Developing a Reforged campaign is really something else. Due to the amount of detail on the new models, a lot more little changes must be made to make the game consistent. Many units in the classic Warcraft 3 used the same model with different skins back then. For example, all Spider Crabs used the same models but different skins, but Reforged gives Spider Crab Shorecrawler, Limbripper and Behemoth their respective models. When there are more details, changes must be made down to the details. Warcraft 3 Re-reforged and Chronicles of the Second War campaigns do this very well, and they definitely have a lot of expertise behind their projects.

Hopefully I'll have a team like that as well.

Murloc Ritualist was a custom unit used in Defenders of the Light. The model was used from Murloc Huntsman and the color was heavily tinted to green. In Warcraft 3, that was enough to create a new unit or to make something that looks different. I tried the same method on Reforged to recreate the Murloc Ritualist, and the result was very ugly. Therefore, in Reforged, a slight adjustment to the model and a recoloring of the skin were done to recreate the Murloc Ritualist. Here is the result.

Murloc Huntsman

Murloc Ritualist

This wallpaper depicts quite accurately one of the characters in the new campaign, and it is a beautiful wallpaper indeed. I just couldn't find who the artist was. Oh I also started using it as my phone's new wallpaper. Changes were also made to make it consistent with the campaign. Behold, the power of Photoshop and the progress of changes!

Original Image

Step 1 - Removed the ears

Step 2 - Recolored everything else

That's all for now. If you know who the author of the image is, please let me know.
Credits must be given to the right people.

Beside that,
Happy New Year guys!

 

[ThinhHo]

30th January 2022

Custom Scripts for my own Sanity

This post contains all helpful custom scripts I use for my campaign. I don't remember all of them sometimes so the post itself will be a good reference point to come back to, for me. The post will also be updated as frequent as it needs.

• Custom script: call RemoveLocation (udg_Location)

My most used custom script to remove temp points on the map.

• Custom script: call DestroyGroup(udg_Group)

Remove specific unit group using this script.

• Custom script: set bj_wantDestroyGroup = true
• Unit Group - Pick every unit in (Playable Map Area) and do (Unit - Hide (Picked unit))

Automatically destroy the next unit group creation, that is done via GUI.

• Events
  • Unit - A unit owned by Player 1 (Red) Is issued an order targeting an object
  • Unit - A unit owned by Player 1 (Red) Is issued an order targeting a point
  • Unit - A unit owned by Player 1 (Red) Is issued an order with no target
  • Unit - A unit Is issued an order targeting an object
  • Unit - A unit Is issued an order targeting a point
  • Unit - A unit Is issued an order with no target
• Conditions
• Actions
  • Custom script: set udg_Bloop = I2S(GetIssuedOrderId())
  • Game - Display to (All players) the text: Bloop

This custom script is used to obtain the action order ID of a unit. Helpful in obtaining spell ID so that we can use that ID in order triggers, like ordering that unit to cast that specific spell while you can't do it via GUI.

• Custom script: UnitAddAbility(GetLastCreatedUnit(),FourCC("Aloc"))
• Custom script: UnitAddAbility(udg_Unit,FourCC("Aloc"))
• Custom script: call UnitAddAbility (GetTriggerUnit(), 'Aloc')

These custom scripts add Locust ability to units which can't be done via GUI. The first two scripts are for LUA and the last one is for JASS (default WE language).

• Custom script: call SetDayNightModels("","")
• Custom script: call SetDayNightModels("Ambience\\Lights\\Lordaeron\\Lordaeron.mdx"..)

Remove normal lighting in the map, then we can use torches for lighting. If we want to reset to the normal light settings, use the second line with corresponding light settings for each terrain.

• Camera - Set the camera bounds for Player 1 (Red) to (Initial camera bounds)
• Custom script: call BlzChangeMinimapTerrainTex("minimap_default.tga")

Change default minimap to a custom tga file. Before setting camera bounds, game camera must face North or be reset to default game camera for this to work.

• Custom script: call IssueImmediateOrder( udg_TempUnit, "immolation" )
• Custom script: call IssueImmediateOrderById( udg_TempUnit, 852269 )

Order unit to do an action using custom script. This is helpful with Order by ID when an issued ability was converted from an item ability.

• Custom script: call StopSound(bj_nightAmbientSound, true, true)
• Custom script: call StopSound(bj_dayAmbientSound, true, true)

Stop day/night ambient sounds.

 

[ThinhHo]

2nd August 2022

The Use of Colors

If you've noticed, certain colors were used very specifically in the campaign. Colors are used to convey ideas and meaning if they are used correctly. You may find that colors are used very erratically in many custom campaigns. However, campaigns like Rise of the Blood Elves of Tomoraider focuses a lot of the use of its colors not only in the campaign itself but also on the map description thread.

Some maps, enemies and spells in Defenders of the Light focus on purple and yellow not only to build theme of the game but also convey the opposition of Light and Dark in the story. Yes, you can find those two colors that was put in the campaign intentionally a couple times.

Now that I accidentally found out about this video today. I realized how we all used purple instinctively to convey its meaning without even studying the color or doing research.

That's it for now!
I'll see you next time.

 

[Hcay]

Edit: Wait it worked now if I picked up that again, as of now I cant reproduce it sry but let me just put it here in case if I find that issue again.

My wc3 version is v1.29.2

Hi, really like this RPG type bc sometimes it is boring just playing RTS and I dont pay anything to play something of a diable gameplay with novel story. I got into an issue when Adias picked up the steel crown but not getting 40 armor for
6 secs after casting storm bolt to an enemy unit.

Just do a quick move at a ground or right click an enemy when casting Storm bolt such that the bolt is launched and cast animation is not completed. My guess is that I think the trigger condition for the armor buff is "when the cast animation is completed", not "when the cast animation is initiated".

I am quite an experienced player so I do it mostly to shorten cast time. Would be super if trigger condition can be changed.