Fields of Glory [Medieval Conversion]

[CloudWolf]

Introduction
I present to you the latest project being developed by the UDMod Community Fields of Glory [FoG] aims to be the first real medieval-style AoS map available on battle.net.

Production on this project started a few weeks ago, and I'm proud to announce the first sneak-preview to everyone here at THW


Gameplay
The map is a two-teamed AoS map set in a fully medieval environment. Each team will periodically spawn units that race towards the enemies base via two main combat lanes.

5 Players on each team will control one of several heroes in an epic struggle to capture key positions, and ultimately crush the opposing forces. At present there are no confirmed heroes, however, we are currently designing concepts, and are well underway creating custom unit models for the map.


Assets
FoG aims to contain a variety of unique assets including models, textures, UI and artwork throughout the gaming experience to ensure the player feels fully immersed within our medieval environment.

Here are a few previews of artwork you can expect to see from FoG:

We have also received permission from the legendary icon maker NFWar to use many of his icons within our project.

See below for a preview of these icons in action on our in-build UI:

UI WIP

Other forms of artwork are also being developed by our community including Music being created by Olyvian. Please find below a possible concept for the FoG Theme:

Screenshots

Alpha Screenshots

Recruitment
We're always on the lookout for talented individuals with a keen eye for artwork. We're looking for everyone and anyone who would be interested in creating a custom model or two for the project. Want to join in the development and help shape FoG? Be sure to post in our development forums.


Notes
Please note, this is a development thread. Any game-content posted here are previews that may or may not be included in the final product. FoG is also very much "in-development" and many key features are yet to be decided. Detailed information on the game and its mechanics will follow in the coming months.

Also note, I am not the sole creator of this map. It is a team effort by the development team at UDMod. Please see the list below of current contributers:

Credits

Programming: RedMarine, HELL_YA, CloudMax
3D Artwork: Sourc[e]x
Texturing and Icons: CloudWolf, NFWar, Whisper
Promotion and Music: Olyvian
Brainstorming and Ideas: The UDMod Community

Anyone is welcome to join in the discussion surrounding FoG and its "open plan" development. Simply head over to http://fog.udmod.com and join in the discussion. Alternatively, post your queries and suggestions here and we will endeavor to reply to them as soon as we can.

 

[GhostThruster]

Oh cool, I've seen this in UD Mod. If you have a specific layout of what you want for heroes, I can make you one.
Be trackin' this.

 

[CloudMax]

Here is the latest version of the UI:

Image

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6440063/Interface 3.2.png
The UI is designed and created by me. (I am cloudmax incase you didn't know) The textures is created by cloudwolf. =)

The panel to the right is the vendor, you make it scroll in or out of the screen by clicking on the button attached to it.
It is the same for the leaderboard.

It is still just a WIP though.

 

[Adiktuz]

Wow, nice screenies... it looks like a very beefed-up warcraft III, far from SC2!!!

seeing these things somehow makes me wanna go get a copy of SC2... haha...

 

[Dr Super Good]

Looking good.
Few things I noticed.

1. The portrait needs a matching skin as well.
2. Some of the icons are still futuristic.
3. Some of the custom models seem to be lacking proper material use. Compared to the terrain the models look flat (lacks the feeling of depths).

Next to that, it seems prety well done. Remember you do not need to mimic WC3 mechanics exactly (you could have 4 or more attributes).

 

[GhostThruster]

Wouldn't it be better if you used the hotkeys QWER?

 

[CloudMax]

Looking good.
Few things I noticed.

1. The portrait needs a matching skin as well.
2. Some of the icons are still futuristic.
3. Some of the custom models seem to be lacking proper material use. Compared to the terrain the models look flat (lacks the feeling of depths).

Next to that, it seems prety well done. Remember you do not need to mimic WC3 mechanics exactly (you could have 4 or more attributes).

The portrait is just a placeholder. All units will have their own piece of art that represent their hero. Atleast that is our current idea.. We have not decided yet.

Some icons are stiff futuristic becouse we're not done yet

Also, we do not really mimic the Wc3 Mechanics.
We will create our own attributes in the game actually. We just feel that more than 3 stats shouldn'r be neccessary.

Also, another thing that you can't really see.
We once had a concept where each hero had 6 abilities, but when you pick your hero at the beggining, you have to choose which of those 4 you want to have.

Spells also scale with your level, insted of you upgrading them manually.

And some other stuff..

Wouldn't it be better if you used the hotkeys QWER?

Heh. You know, you can actually setup your own hotkeys
I personally use 1234 for spells at the moment.
Then I use WASD for camera movement.
And as A and S cant be used for attack and stop anymore, I have Attack on Q and stop on E.

This feels ALOT better to play with, as you can easily move the camera around without moving your mouse to the adge, or move your entire hand to the arrow keys.

But that is just how I want it

 

[Orcnet]

The Game just made me smile so much I can't to play it! good job UD team, I'm looking forward for the game's process (

 

[syltman]

Awesome project. I truely love the doodad and texture work! Oh and the superb terrain work!

 

[CloudMax]

Awesome project. I truely love the doodad and texture work! Oh and the superb terrain work!

Eyy, I recognize you. You were quite active on our diablo 3 warcraft subforum here on the site, am I right?

Just to let you know, this project is mainly developed by Me (LTGH), CloudWolf & Redmarine, (the very same guys that developed diablo 3 warcraft) with the rest of the UDMod community supporting and helping us.

We hope and believe that FoG will be even more popular than Diablo 3 WarCraft ever was.

 

[GhostThruster]

And it probably will be.

 

[Adiktuz]

If I'll ever buy SC2, this will be the first map that I would play. ^_^

 

[Asomath]

Haha, this is awesome. I have a feeling that alot of people will be supporting this project... both for its design concept and resources. The modding community will likely be supporting you every step of the way, as this will likely be part of the establishment of Medieval SCII modifications (I want your doodads XD omnomnom).

As typical of a project of this calibur, I will offer up my production talents to those who need it, such as my large virtual instrument library to your composers.

~Asomath

 

[syltman]

Eyy, I recognize you. You were quite active on our diablo 3 warcraft subforum here on the site, am I right?

Just to let you know, this project is mainly developed by Me (LTGH), CloudWolf & Redmarine, (the very same guys that developed diablo 3 warcraft) with the rest of the UDMod community supporting and helping us.

We hope and believe that FoG will be even more popular than Diablo 3 WarCraft ever was.

even more popular then D3W? That's quite a high goal but I'm sure you guys can and will achieve it.

 

[Adiktuz]

they made D3W and now they're making a totaly awesome project on SC2 that could start the outbreak of medieval maps on SC2, so its totaly possible that this would be more popular than D3W (provided that there would be more people who have SC2)...

waiting for new pics...

 

[CloudMax]

We do not have much more visual stuff to provide at the moment as cloudwolf is currently busy with RL stuff.
And he is the one that make the textures & terrain.

I think redmarine is working on some brand new features that invole the lanes but that is about it for the time being.

I took the opportunity to take a pause from the modding scene while cloudwolf is gone aswell.

3DS is the shit (and so is super monkey ball.. Even though the 3DS version probably is one of the worst in the series)
http://www.youtube.com/user/CloudMNintendo

 

[Tleno]

This actually looks like a very ambitious and epic project... and cool, it even has loads of custom resources that make it look even better!

 

[peterpants]

This map looks like it's going to be awesome. I remembered your name from D3WC3 and knew this was going to be quality. I look forward to playing it.

 

[peterpants]

Where did you get the terrain for your map? Are those wow exports? I've been trying to find a house model like the ones you have.

 

[Tleno]

Please don't double-post.

Well as I recall the warriors or whatever those are are definetly reskined zealots... houses? Dunno...

 

[CloudMax]

The custom model/skins are created for FoG.

All the custom models are created by Sourc[e]x, and the textures by cloudwolf.
The only open source resource we use are the Zealot Skin, which is also created by CloudWolf.

Terrain and models are very different things by the way.

 

[Adiktuz]

I think they made the houses...

 

[Ribenamania]

Looked superb cool, do tell me if there's anything you need help.

 

[CloudMax]

If you want help, just go for it.
This is a community project (well, it isn't really a hive project, but I guess you can help us anyways )
If you have a hero concept, just send us one over at UDMod. You can compare with other concepts to see what kind of heroes we want.
If you are good at making resources such as models or textures, you can ask what we need over at the site.
And all kinds of other things.

We do not really have a set team with specific things that everyone does. We do want we feel like, and if the main developers of the map agrees that it would work with the map we add it.

 

[Ribenamania]

Yeah, okie cool

 

[CloudWolf]

Hey guys!

We're on the lookout for a talented modeler to help create a few unit models. Think your up to the task? More info at:

http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...edieval-sc2-project-looking-modeler-s-198210/

 

[Skycraft]

This does look quite nice.
I'll be subbin' to this thread.

 

[Turminator8]

I don't understand... so you want people to donate models to your project, but you refuse to make your models open source? That's extremely hypocritical....

 

[Dr Super Good]

I think his resources are open source, but the models made by the other guy are not.

You can wait till he publishes publically and then download it. You can then access the mod and map data (locked or not makes little difference) to get hold of the model. The ethicality of this is questionable though and in anycase you should definatly credit the source.

 

[Turminator8]

I think his resources are open source, but the models made by the other guy are not.

You can wait till he publishes publically and then download it. You can then access the mod and map data (locked or not makes little difference) to get hold of the model. The ethicality of this is questionable though and in anycase you should definatly credit the source.

I really hope they're open source... modders need to HELP each other, not go "ITS MINE NO ONE ELSE CAN USE IT"....

and I would never steal CloudMax's or anyone's' work. I usually like to ask first and respect when they say no for a good reason..

I still hope this mod succeeds.

 

[CloudWolf]

I don't understand... so you want people to donate models to your project, but you refuse to make your models open source? That's extremely hypocritical....

As you quite rightly said, unlike my previous projects FoG will not be open-source. There are legitimate reasons for this and not just because we want to keep them to ourselves

SC2 is a much more competitive environment, and as such, any map needs to have an edge over its competitors. FoG's "edge" will be is array of custom models and textures that will make it different from the rest of sc2. By distributing the models, we essentially lose this edge and FoG loses the one key feature that makes it stand out from the rest.

However, that said, from time to time I'm sure we'll release content to the public. E.g. if a model is no longer used in the map, or if production on FoG officially ends.

Personally, I do not feel we are being hypocritical at all by recruiting a modeler to join the production team. As a member of the team, they would be given full credit for anything they create. Resources that are made would be private to the project, however, that is no different from anyone else on the production team Members of the team will also be able to show off the project to future employers as examples of past work.

In a nut shell, we're just aiming for a much more professional and polished result in SC2

Hope this answers a few questions! Just let me know if you have any more

 

[Dr Super Good]

Still does not stop the fact that inorder for anyone to play any map in SC2, they have to download the map and all accompanying mods that he does not already have. From there it is a mater of searching your cache for those files and using a simple MPQ editor to extract the required data.

Although keeping the models private until release will give you an edge, be aware that immediatly after public release you will lose that edge as everone can then use your resources with enough effort. That is unless you somehow get blizzard to remove resources which use them without your permission which might be difficult.

 

[Rui]

I'm not defending just the need of medieval stuff for SC2 here. Aesthetics will not be predominant in deciding whether or not people will play your map, at least not in the long run.
Games and maps are successful because of their gameplay. See DotA, or, to mention less "powerful" examples, "Battle for Middle Earth", or even RP maps. Or even WarCraft and StarCraft themselves, we know that the aesthetics of Blizzard's games are always outdated when compared to those of other games, would so many people still be playing these games if it wasn't for their gameplay?
On the other hand, you do have an undiscovered editor with potentials yet to be revealed.

 

[Turminator8]

As you quite rightly said, unlike my previous projects FoG will not be open-source. There are legitimate reasons for this and not just because we want to keep them to ourselves

SC2 is a much more competitive environment, and as such, any map needs to have an edge over its competitors. FoG's "edge" will be is array of custom models and textures that will make it different from the rest of sc2. By distributing the models, we essentially lose this edge and FoG loses the one key feature that makes it stand out from the rest.

However, that said, from time to time I'm sure we'll release content to the public. E.g. if a model is no longer used in the map, or if production on FoG officially ends.

Personally, I do not feel we are being hypocritical at all by recruiting a modeler to join the production team. As a member of the team, they would be given full credit for anything they create. Resources that are made would be private to the project, however, that is no different from anyone else on the production team Members of the team will also be able to show off the project to future employers as examples of past work.

In a nut shell, we're just aiming for a much more professional and polished result in SC2

Hope this answers a few questions! Just let me know if you have any more

Although I don't 100% agree with your reason, I understand and respect why you're doing what you're doing, still I have to agree with others that it might increase popularity to just make it all open source once you release the real thing. There will be medieval style models (warcraft conversion mod for example), but all you need is a head start on the other mods which you have. Your project will not be the only mod with medieval models in it.

 

[Triceron]

I don't really see a point to it being open source. It won't make the map itself any more popular by doing so, because obviously the goal of those who want the assets is not playing the game, but making their own maps. There's no real benefit to handing out resources like that just for the sake of it when they're working perfectly in the map they're intended to be used for.

I mean honestly, why would someone who enjoys and plays Fields of Glory because they like the game and they enjoy the environment benefit from having access to models that have nothing to do with playing? This only benefits map makers who wish to use the models for their own purposes, which is a completely separate subject from the project itself. TBH I don't think it should be a concern to anyone other than the ones who are making and using them.

Also, clarifying what Dr.Supergood has said, mods aren't accessible through local data. They're stored temporarily and downloaded through bnet when you are playing that map. You can't access a mod and its contents externally. The only mods you can access are those you have locally (that you made or got from someone directly) or those that Blizzard has provided.

 

[Turminator8]

I don't really see a point to it being open source. It won't make the map itself any more popular by doing so, because obviously the goal of those who want the assets is not playing the game, but making their own maps. There's no real benefit to handing out resources like that just for the sake of it when they're working perfectly in the map they're intended to be used for.

I mean honestly, why would someone who enjoys and plays Fields of Glory because they like the game and they enjoy the environment benefit from having access to models that have nothing to do with playing? This only benefits map makers who wish to use the models for their own purposes, which is a completely separate subject from the project itself. TBH I don't think it should be a concern to anyone other than the ones who are making and using them.

What I'm saying is that it would give the project a better rep if it were open source. I'm not saying that having it open source will increase it's players by any great number. However, if the project was promised to be open source once the final version is out, you will find people to be more willing to help contribute, which he wants.

There's no real benefit to handing out resources like that just for the sake of it when they're working perfectly in the map they're intended to be used for.

The benefit is that you don't become an elitest, self-absorbed pompous ass. People need to stop looking at only benefiting themselves, and try and foster a better Sc2 modding community. I'm sorry but I'm a big believer in sharing everything and having it all available to the public (why I love Google so much).

 

[Rui]

What Turminator said in the last paragraph. It's a matter of altruism over ego-centralism. Also, I will write it one more time: aesthetics will NOT play a determinant role in deciding how many will be playing your map.

 

[Grey Nightmare]

I think it's just the fact that your stuff has always been open source - people have always held a huge admiration to you and your team/s due to that, I mean take a look at this:

http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...19b-112705/?prev=of=downloads&order=DESC&r=20 - Half a million, that's absolutely astounding (and it's opensource and made by you (not half stating the obvious I know ...)).

Like Rui said, resource exclusivity doesn't make a map popular, design and implementation do

It looks great either way, the above is merely food for thought.

 

[Triceron]

This sort of mentality makes the community itself looks bad. Having access to models at the behest of mod makers is a gift. To say making a mod open source would be an altruistic and respectable thing to do is a very backhanded comment. If the mod maker didn't want to make it open source, then they are being elitist and egocentric? That is a ridiculous notion. Respect should not be based on whether or not everyone has open access to the models.

I'm all for sharing to the community, but there's a line to draw when someone wishes to keep something private. A mapmaker can create a fun map that is locked to the public and still be credible and respectable, why must custom content be any different? If you want to use the models, you can ask for permission. Beyond that, no one should be expecting them to be free to use. If this is the way you describe community reaction, then it's one of greed and undeserved attention.

 

[Turminator8]

This sort of mentality makes the community itself looks bad. Having access to models at the behest of mod makers is a gift. To say making a mod open source would be an altruistic and respectable thing to do is a very backhanded comment. If the mod maker didn't want to make it open source, then they are being elitist and egocentric? That is a ridiculous notion. Respect should not be based on whether or not everyone has open access to the models.

What you just said is a backhanded comment. I did not say that keeping resources exclusive makes the mod maker elitist. I said that basing your reason as to WHY you keep the resources exclusive because "it might not benefit you in anyway" is the talk of an elitist, pompous ass. I am not calling him this in any way, I'm calling you reasoning elitist.

You seem to like to twist my words and talk in absolutes. For example, I never said respect was or should be based on whether or not everyone has open access to the resources. I did say, and believe, that making your mod open source will give you more respect from people, and give your image, as a whole, a better outlook. Also you say that "This sort of mentality makes the community itself looks bad." Well, frankly, that mentality is what makes the community look bad and suffer. I've never heard of a community that suffered because it shared resources to create more diverse products.

I'm all for sharing to the community, but there's a line to draw when someone wishes to keep something private. A mapmaker can create a fun map that is locked to the public and still be credible and respectable, why must custom content be any different? If you want to use the models, you can ask for permission. Beyond that, no one should be expecting them to be free to use. If this is the way you describe community reaction, then it's one of greed and undeserved attention.

I never said that you MUST make your project open source to be credible and respectable. I've never said anything is a must, but it helps.. Why do you think warcraft III lasted so long? It wasn't it's campaign or its melee online play. It was the fact that Blizzard made their entire game pretty much open source and mod-able.

I do not "expect" them to be free to use and it is by no way a community of greed. It is one where people can look past their own greedy intentions and maybe benefit others. But I guess some people can't do that.

 

[Triceron]

I apologize for derailing the topic, but privacy is a subject that I find close to heart. I am in full support of fostering a strong modding community. I am in support of open-source material for its educational and practical benefits. I also value privacy and exclusivity, because these can help foster competition and inspire others to grow. I don't see it necessarily as a negative aspect, which is the impression I got from some of the responses.

I must admit I find in the idea of suggesting someone's map/mod be open source is somewhat rude. While I understand the intentions to be for the good of the community and to that of the creator, this is something that wouldn't be brought up in other aspects of map creation. Why is it acceptable to suggest custom assets be available for all to use when it's completely acceptable for people who make custom triggers or spells to maintain exclusivity. When recruiting for a terrainer, or a triggerer, or a data editor, no one suggests for the project to be open source. Or perhaps I'm wrong and they would. I simply find that sort of thing to be a personal choice of the creator, and none of my business.

I've already derailed this thread, but I just wanted to clarify my stance. My apologies once again.

 

[Turminator8]

I too, will stop arguing about this topic as we really have "derailed" this post. We obviously have two different views and opinions.

--- back on topic now ---

 

[CloudWolf]

Heres a quick WIP of one of our in-production models

Show Image

 

[Skycraft]

Looks cool.
Do you plan on making that the basic melee unit or a hero or a creep or whatnot?
:3

 

[CloudWolf]

A slightly more updated WIP

Show Image

 

[Turminator8]

I think the helm is too square, but other than that it's very impressive.

 

[CloudMax]

Looks cool.
Do you plan on making that the basic melee unit or a hero or a creep or whatnot?
:3

It is a melee creep that spawns with your waves.

 

[Foronisus]

any progress here??

 

[Whisper]

any progress here??

That's a good question.

 

[Chucky]

I have a barracks model you could use if you like once it's finished. The modelling is done, I only need textures and animations