Field of Valour

[Linaze]

Only found 9/10 orbs so this map gets 9/10 points.

Jokes aside - I had the privilege of testing this prior to release and can strongly recommend it to any fans of RDZ singleplayer maps (so all of his maps). The mix of AoS and singleplayer is both fun and offers quite a relaxed gameplay for people who are not fans of macro or microing a dozen units at once.

It would be cool if we could select to play as one of the other hereos (maybe even as an unlock after beating it once), but it's already great as it is.

 

[Master Zul'khan]

Hey Rao your maps always impress the fans! What chu think makes dem this way?

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Hey Rao your maps always impress the fans! What chu think makes dem this way?

If I knew the answer to that I'd be a very rich man.

 

[Kino]

When you first mentioned making a; 'Singleplayer-AOS' - I thought it was going to some sort joke map.
I just love how playable and flavourful your maps are while also being very simple.

Only 2 real complaints
1. Auto attack is quite weak; getting last-hits for early income is very spell based.
2. Related to above, combat doesn't 'feel smooth' until you have 1-2 upgrades into mana.

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

When you first mentioned making a; 'Singleplayer-AOS' - I thought it was going to some sort joke map.
I just love how playable and flavourful your maps are while also being very simple.

Only 2 real complaints
1. Auto attack is quite weak; getting last-hits for early income is very spell based.
2. Related to above, combat doesn't 'feel smooth' until you have 1-2 upgrades into mana.

Wouldn't be an AoS without a horrendous snowball effect, am I right?

 

[McQvaBlood]

I really liked this map!

A fun concept and it's well executed.
It's distilled and compact.

It took me quite a while to find the last piece for the Shadow Orb mission.

 

[Scrungus]

Really liked it, reminded me of the old maps from the ROC times.

 

[Remixer]

Review - Field of Valour
(Version June 16th 2023)
Description: Field of Valour a semi-short single-player Aeon of Strife map where you play a Paladin named Luther to fight waves of enemies, the Scourge, while simultaneously unlocking the map part by part by completing quests and reaching milestones. The gameplay, whilst simple, is very entertaining - the essence of Warcraft in a nutshell. This map should be recommended to anyone who does not want to invest hours of their time into one map but wants to have a quick blast in a style that resembles the original Warcraft III style very closely.
Gameplay: The gameplay is simple yet effective. The player hero has a simple set of abilities that are not hard to understand and they fit the thematics of the map and characters. The gameplay flows smoothly, as the player can see and feel the progression bit by bit throughout the playthrough, instead of grinding for a long time without feeling the sense of progression. Very well done. The playing takes place in the Dalaran Ruins tileset where the battle arena (or lane) is not ordinarily shaped. This gives feel of freshness and gives the opportunity to utilize the shape to incorporate new elements, such as creeps between the gaps of the lane into the gameplay. Visually the terrain and aesthetics are pleasing, very close to the original Blizzard style in resemblance. The only minus that I would point at it, is the lack of the Raise/Lower Tool, which has not been used, giving the terrain a little synthetic feel. The gameplay progresses by introducing tougher and tougher enemies as the hero's power level increases, keeping the gameplay fresh. Every custom unit seems to fit the theme very well, all the way from giving unique, fitting names as well as placing them in surroundings that further deepen their presence (such as the dangerous Lizard placed in the middle of whopping piles of corpses). While the gameplay progresses, at times it can overpower the player slightly, feeling very overwhelming to kill the forthcoming waves of enemies - it feels like just as you have managed to finish the previous wave, the exact same wave arrives again and the loop starts over, but this is often (always) caused by the player doing something else on the map, which reminds the player of their importance in the fight against the Scourge. The custom-made voice lines can sound a little clunky, but not majorly and I think they do justice to the immersivity of the map.
Recommendations:
Overall the map is very well made and feels polished. Great job. Brilliant usage of small-scale map and coherent thematics.

Edit: Necessary changes made, map approved.

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Recommendations:
Overall the map is very well made and feels polished. Great job. I do have some points I wish you to take a look at. Firstly, you need to give credit to the music on the Hive map page, not only inside the map. Please, also make sure that you have permission to use said music. Other than that my points are minor polishing issues: Luther dies in the explosion of the Scourge main building despite his location (I was not even fighting the building when my allies destroyed it, and I was instantly killed at the healing fountain) this feels a little... weird. When using the teleportation ability (especially long distances), it would be nice if the camera moved automatically, as you are only controlling that unit either way. When the Dread Artillery respawns, it also spawns some Fiends. These fiends are named "Fiend (Type 1)", "Fiend (Type 2)" and so forth. Is it intended that the "Type" is also written in the name - it is not good for the immersion of the gameplay. The AI of the enemies and allies works most time, but sometimes they start to idle for a prolonged period of time, especially if they are left "behind" the wave to finish some action. It would be great if you could take a look at this and see if it can be improved - perhaps a Timer to check if the command and location are the same for too long? When I finished the map the screen faded to black and got stuck there - can you double-check if there is actually a code called for a dialog button or for the mission to end, as I had to abort Warcraft III entirely to exit that screen? Overall a very good job done. Brilliant usage of small-scale map and coherent thematics.

1) Luther dying in the explosion regardless of his location is intentional: every unit is cleared off the field so that each tier has a fresh start.
2) It's not a cam-lock game so meh.
3) The field names are an intentional reference to 1st Edition D&D.
4) Extra skeletons can be raised by Necromancers, I assume it is these you're talking about. I let them linger wherever they arise rather than ordering them to move because it makes the texture of the lane more varied.
5) I definitely do cause the mission to end, so if it doesn't work that's a Reforged problem that is out of my hands. (Map is designed for 1.26.)

So yeah, I don't see a need for me to make any futher updates to the map. Everything is as intended.

 

[Remixer]

4) Extra skeletons can be raised by Necromancers, I assume it is these you're talking about. I let them linger wherever they arise rather than ordering them to move because it makes the texture of the lane more varied.

The allied Blood Mage also goes into idle every now and then. It seems like he 'returns' to previous waypoint of some sort but instead of heading forward again he gets sort of stuck for quite some time.

1) Luther dying in the explosion regardless of his location is intentional: every unit is cleared off the field so that each tier has a fresh start.
2) It's not a cam-lock game so meh.
3) The field names are an intentional reference to 1st Edition D&D.

Fair enough on 1 and 2. It's up to you. On number 3 - the more you (here it's me) learn.

5) I definitely do cause the mission to end, so if it doesn't work that's a Reforged problem that is out of my hands. (Map is designed for 1.26.)

I suspected this as well, just thought to check from you.

Please do credit the music used in the description on Hive and I see no reason not approving this. Once again, good work.

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

The allied Blood Mage also goes into idle every now and then. It seems like he 'returns' to previous waypoint of some sort but instead of heading forward again he gets sort of stuck for quite some time.

Ah, yes, Kaellidan and Kel'Thuzarak are only refreshed every time a wave starts. The waypoint system is quite manual so I wasn't inclined to make them any more comprehensive. This was only a small side project and I think they're 'good enough'.

Please do credit the music used in the description on Hive and I see no reason not approving this. Once again, good work.

It is done.

 

[cswking13yt]

so i played the map and found a problems
1.you cant really pass the game if go and creep straight away if you do you will be weaker the the enemy unit so then you cant get gold to upgrade your hero and then you will keep on dying and when i payed if i died gold would be taken away form me so i cant up my hero and finish the game maybe nerf the enemy units or make things more cheap

other than that is was a solid map i will give it a 3.4/5

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

so i played the map and found a problems
1.you cant really pass the game if go and creep straight away if you do you will be weaker the the enemy unit so then you cant get gold to upgrade your hero and then you will keep on dying and when i payed if i died gold would be taken away form me so i cant up my hero and finish the game maybe nerf the enemy units or make things more cheap

Gold is not deducted when Luther dies, the only punishment is that some enemies have their health reset. You can surf the waves as long as you like to build up your money and upgrades.

Considering I always get accused of my maps being too easy, I'm going to take this as a positive.

 

[cswking13yt]

Gold is not deducted when Luther dies, the only punishment is that some enemies have their health reset. You can surf the waves as long as you like to build up your money and upgrades.

Considering I always get accused of my maps being too easy, I'm going to take this as a positive.

oh ok @Rao Dao Zao, yea i tried it again and it went way more smoother i guess it was just me XD, anyway it is a good good map keep up the good work

 

[Armelior_is_back]

-Played on 1.27 game version-

A nice short and sweet map : great level design with zero fat, enough side quests for the basic AoS design to not become stale after a while.
The zombies are brutal, the 1st time I didn't attack the boss by using the shortcuts and it was super grindy, the boss arrived in the allied base at full health but took his sweet, sweet time so much he finally died after all our heroes resurrected like a dozen time. The 2nd time I played went much better.

a couple of points :

-I played the shipwreck map way back, and this map is another edition of "you're gonna hear this song over and over and over and over and over and over and over... until you either start to like it begrudgingly or become so tired of it you cut music entirely"
At least the map is shorter and the song is easily "ignorable"
If it's to make more people like your favorite songs it seems a double edge sword

-I'm not 100% sure but I think you can lose a ioun stone if you try to buy it without enough cash (shop to the north of the base) since I only got 9 the 1st time when it happened.

-buying an item doesn't make it appear in your inventory but drop on the floor where it's not very visible, at first I thought it was just a bug and I had paid for nothing

-it's weird to have a usable/stat bonus item be called a "blood key" I tried desperately to find the last ioun stone behind a locked door somewhere... my fault for not reading the item description I know

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

-I played the shipwreck map way back, and this map is another edition of "you're gonna hear this song over and over and over and over and over and over and over... until you either start to like it begrudgingly or become so tired of it you cut music entirely"

I mean, I think the original WC3 soundtrack is absolute rubbish, so who's the real winner here? Consider it an artistic choice and let's leave it at that.

-I'm not 100% sure but I think you can lose a ioun stone if you try to buy it without enough cash (shop to the north of the base) since I only got 9 the 1st time when it happened.
-buying an item doesn't make it appear in your inventory but drop on the floor where it's not very visible, at first I thought it was just a bug and I had paid for nothing

Strange. I did not have any of these problems during testing, they're just normal shops with Select Unit and whatnot, no funny business. (Intentionally no funny business specifically to avoid any weird bugs that might have been introduced post-1.26... Sigh.)

-it's weird to have a usable/stat bonus item be called a "blood key" I tried desperately to find the last ioun stone behind a locked door somewhere... my fault for not reading the item description I know

I have at least three dead-end maps with various spins on using the campaign "key" items as things that actually have functions other than just being inert quest items. Be glad this is the only one you've actually had to face! (A particular favourite I've never managed to deploy for real is a Shadow Key that gives you "Shadowmeld"/Permanent Invisibility... But there's still time.)