- Joined
- Mar 13, 2012
- Messages
- 3
We have decided to create a new version/variation of DS that people will hopefully enjoy. As hard core DS fans, Fuzzyworms, erikthered, and I would like to present Desert Strike 2: Frozen Wasteland, currently available to play on the North American server. This map is designed to be quite similar to the original DS. Those who play the original DS will already be good at DS2. Our map also contains a couple of new features, which are meant to enhance gameplay. However, they were designed such that they do would not spoil the game for those who prefer the classic DS look and feel.
So what now? While we were able to lean heavily on the balancing from the original DS, the balance in our game is not yet perfect. In addition, there are bound to be bugs and glitches. Please help us by posting any glitches that you find, preferably with some information about the events leading to the glitch. Also, please let us know your suggestions for balance, especially for the new units. No trolling
As you may have realized, it's very difficult to promote a map. People don't want to play maps with low popularity since it's hard to get a game started. For this reason, we have temporarily limited the map to 4 players. In addition, we will be giving double experience to people who play this map during the next month or two. And yes, we are currently in the process of completing the experience rewards. Please help us out! If you can't get a game started, feel free run some simulations in single player mode. If you like what you see, feel free to spread the word
New Features:
- Graphics Optimizer: Measured to increase framerate by about 50% during epic battles. Voting menu for optimization level.
- Worker Abilities: (Not completed yet) Your workers can chose several abilities from a list of 12. These abilities can be categorized into (1) hindering enemy waves, (2) buffing allied waves, (3) killing enemy workers, (4) defending your own worker. The abilities have long cooldowns, and are meant to marginally influence the game. This not an attempt to implement DOTA. You will never at any point in the game be able to take on a wave with your worker.
- Experience Rewards: Experience you gain can be used to upgrade your worker abilities. However, each upgrade will be normalized to 1% of the ability's power. Since the upgrade barely improves the ability, newer players won't be screwed.
- Single player mode: In SP mode, you can use console commands to test various strategies or builds. In type "@help" to view a list of SP mode commands
Major Changes:
- Specials are now targetable, but not as powerful. however, you don't have to pay 3500
- Silo Monster evolves depending on how long you can defend your silo
- Movement speed has been reworked. The movement speeds have been normalized to categories of slow, normal, and fast. Fast units all have the ability to be switched to normal speed.
- Zerg slugalisk has been reworked, since zerg behind protoss would usually guarantee a victory to competent players. Zerg still has the best fast units, and fast-unit strategies are viable, but balanced.
- Air battles and collisions have been rebalanced. I have edited several features of the crappy air units to make them more viable. (1) crappy air units will attack from their maximum range. No longer will your void ray decelerate and come to a stop at range 3 from its target. (2) crappy air units can fly in formation and reduce the effect of AA splash damage.
- Building morph upgrades are reorganized and color coded. (1) green = health upgrade, (2) red = damage upgrade, (3) blue = speed upgrade, (4) yellow = special upgrade. Some units are not where they used to be, but check all the buildings and tooltips. These units can be found somewhere.
- Rock/paper/scissors style first round. Each race has two viable options of units to get. For example, Terran has firebats and predator, while zerg has lings and roaches. Firebats beat lings but lose to roach. Pred beats roach but lose to ling, etc.
- Buildable defenses now have a set of new and unique abilities
New Units:
- Dark Samurai: upgrade to dark templar that has a lot of health and bonus damage to light. Strikes with a leap attack when engaging the enemy. Can be built from a dark shrine building morph
- Dark Ninja: upgrade to dark templar that is a speed unit. can be switched to and from samurai from different dark shrine building morphs. Can throw a shrunken that does 60 damage
- Undying: basic tier protoss unit that has range 4 and does fast low damage attacks. chaos damage. High armor. built from building morph of cybernetics core
- Stone Zealot: replaces fade initiate, but same function. built from obelisk
- Void Seeker: replaces void prism, but same function. built from monolith (green pylon)
- Dragon: a slow phoenix that is a bit tanker but lacks the gravity field ability. built from building morph of pylon
- Sniper: I have separated the ghost into EMP ghost and sniper. built from building morph of ghost academy
Reworked units (These units were reworked either because their original role did not fit well with this game or because they were knock-offs of other units):
- Medic: Now can distribute combat boosts that will increase evasion and attack speed by 25% for 30 seconds. built from hospital (sci facility)
- Spartan: Is now a tank with 200 health 200 shields. Range 4 ground attack, strong vs armor. Range 4 air attack that applies a smoke debuff to enemies, reducing their attack damage by 1 per stack up to a max of 10. Its new role is to protect the marines from swarm guardian and colossus. built from merc compound (vultures still available by morphing the merc compound)
- Slugalisk: Is now a buffing unit. Applies frenzy to a small group of units increasing their damage by 25% for 30 seconds and permanently making them immune to stun and slow. Applies swarm shield to single units. Swarm shield gives the unit 50 bonus armor, but this armor decreases by 10 each time the unit takes any amount of damage. built from nydus network
- Taint: range 10 anti air bomber. Fires a time bomb every 10 seconds that latches onto an enemy. It will then explode doing heavy damage to the latched enemy, light damage to surrounding enemies, and applying the corruption debuff to surrounding enemies. Corruption increases damage to the corrupted unit by 20% for 10 seconds.
Planned units:
- All HotS melee units for each race (when HotS comes out)
- a ton of other cool zerg units that will use HotS zerg models
- a few more units for each race that we won't say right now so as to not ruin the surprise
The prices of new and reworked units will have to be rebalanced. I assigned an arbitrary price, but please give any suggestions for how much they should cost.
Thanks! Enjoy!
So what now? While we were able to lean heavily on the balancing from the original DS, the balance in our game is not yet perfect. In addition, there are bound to be bugs and glitches. Please help us by posting any glitches that you find, preferably with some information about the events leading to the glitch. Also, please let us know your suggestions for balance, especially for the new units. No trolling
As you may have realized, it's very difficult to promote a map. People don't want to play maps with low popularity since it's hard to get a game started. For this reason, we have temporarily limited the map to 4 players. In addition, we will be giving double experience to people who play this map during the next month or two. And yes, we are currently in the process of completing the experience rewards. Please help us out! If you can't get a game started, feel free run some simulations in single player mode. If you like what you see, feel free to spread the word
New Features:
- Graphics Optimizer: Measured to increase framerate by about 50% during epic battles. Voting menu for optimization level.
- Worker Abilities: (Not completed yet) Your workers can chose several abilities from a list of 12. These abilities can be categorized into (1) hindering enemy waves, (2) buffing allied waves, (3) killing enemy workers, (4) defending your own worker. The abilities have long cooldowns, and are meant to marginally influence the game. This not an attempt to implement DOTA. You will never at any point in the game be able to take on a wave with your worker.
- Experience Rewards: Experience you gain can be used to upgrade your worker abilities. However, each upgrade will be normalized to 1% of the ability's power. Since the upgrade barely improves the ability, newer players won't be screwed.
- Single player mode: In SP mode, you can use console commands to test various strategies or builds. In type "@help" to view a list of SP mode commands
Major Changes:
- Specials are now targetable, but not as powerful. however, you don't have to pay 3500
- Silo Monster evolves depending on how long you can defend your silo
- Movement speed has been reworked. The movement speeds have been normalized to categories of slow, normal, and fast. Fast units all have the ability to be switched to normal speed.
- Zerg slugalisk has been reworked, since zerg behind protoss would usually guarantee a victory to competent players. Zerg still has the best fast units, and fast-unit strategies are viable, but balanced.
- Air battles and collisions have been rebalanced. I have edited several features of the crappy air units to make them more viable. (1) crappy air units will attack from their maximum range. No longer will your void ray decelerate and come to a stop at range 3 from its target. (2) crappy air units can fly in formation and reduce the effect of AA splash damage.
- Building morph upgrades are reorganized and color coded. (1) green = health upgrade, (2) red = damage upgrade, (3) blue = speed upgrade, (4) yellow = special upgrade. Some units are not where they used to be, but check all the buildings and tooltips. These units can be found somewhere.
- Rock/paper/scissors style first round. Each race has two viable options of units to get. For example, Terran has firebats and predator, while zerg has lings and roaches. Firebats beat lings but lose to roach. Pred beats roach but lose to ling, etc.
- Buildable defenses now have a set of new and unique abilities
New Units:
- Dark Samurai: upgrade to dark templar that has a lot of health and bonus damage to light. Strikes with a leap attack when engaging the enemy. Can be built from a dark shrine building morph
- Dark Ninja: upgrade to dark templar that is a speed unit. can be switched to and from samurai from different dark shrine building morphs. Can throw a shrunken that does 60 damage
- Undying: basic tier protoss unit that has range 4 and does fast low damage attacks. chaos damage. High armor. built from building morph of cybernetics core
- Stone Zealot: replaces fade initiate, but same function. built from obelisk
- Void Seeker: replaces void prism, but same function. built from monolith (green pylon)
- Dragon: a slow phoenix that is a bit tanker but lacks the gravity field ability. built from building morph of pylon
- Sniper: I have separated the ghost into EMP ghost and sniper. built from building morph of ghost academy
Reworked units (These units were reworked either because their original role did not fit well with this game or because they were knock-offs of other units):
- Medic: Now can distribute combat boosts that will increase evasion and attack speed by 25% for 30 seconds. built from hospital (sci facility)
- Spartan: Is now a tank with 200 health 200 shields. Range 4 ground attack, strong vs armor. Range 4 air attack that applies a smoke debuff to enemies, reducing their attack damage by 1 per stack up to a max of 10. Its new role is to protect the marines from swarm guardian and colossus. built from merc compound (vultures still available by morphing the merc compound)
- Slugalisk: Is now a buffing unit. Applies frenzy to a small group of units increasing their damage by 25% for 30 seconds and permanently making them immune to stun and slow. Applies swarm shield to single units. Swarm shield gives the unit 50 bonus armor, but this armor decreases by 10 each time the unit takes any amount of damage. built from nydus network
- Taint: range 10 anti air bomber. Fires a time bomb every 10 seconds that latches onto an enemy. It will then explode doing heavy damage to the latched enemy, light damage to surrounding enemies, and applying the corruption debuff to surrounding enemies. Corruption increases damage to the corrupted unit by 20% for 10 seconds.
Planned units:
- All HotS melee units for each race (when HotS comes out)
- a ton of other cool zerg units that will use HotS zerg models
- a few more units for each race that we won't say right now so as to not ruin the surprise
The prices of new and reworked units will have to be rebalanced. I assigned an arbitrary price, but please give any suggestions for how much they should cost.
Thanks! Enjoy!
