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Life of a Dinosaur

Map Name: Life of a Dinosaur
Author: Riptokus
Current Version: 1.4 L (official) C (Alternate Terrain)
Map Genre: RPG / Survival


- Lineage tracking and takeover system, allowing a player to play as their offspring when they die
- Complex merge system, allowing players sharing lineage on controlled dinosaurs to share victory conditions
- 18 species of dinosaur to play
- Setable victory score and population caps, allowing different length games and difficulties.
- Dinosaur group controls, allowing you to control your pack or a herd.
- Hidden game mode which may be played while others play the standard mode.



To begin, you use a "chooser" unit to possess a dinosaur on the map. You then attempt to gain survival points by staying alive for 24 game hours (15 minutes), or creating offspring. If you die, you are able to become one of your offspring by selecting it. You lose when someone else reaches the victory score as set by red, or if you have died and have no dinosaurs of your genetic lineage (your offspring.)
Carnivores gain food by killing other dinosaurs and eating the corpses that drop. Herbivores gain food by stopping (hotkey s) and grazing (not giving any additional orders.)
During the first five minutes, defeat is not possible. If you die or do not pick a dinosaur during this time, you will become a Protoceratops. It is also possible to type -repick during this time and choose a different dinosaur, but not if you have already chosen a dinosaur and lost it.
You get 1 victory point for every offspring you have. Males get 1 victory point every time they breed. Females get 5 victory points every time they breed. You get 10 times the number of days you have survived in victory points every day you survive. This means the first day you get 10 points, the second day you get 20 points for a total of thirty (exc.)



This map was made entirely in GUI, as such there is no custom script in it. I have done my best keeping it leak free as GUI, but GUI isn't perfect. The goal is to show that a decent map can be done without JASS. It is kept this way mostly as a learning tool for people new to map creation. It is within the spirit of the original inspiration, the original Jurassic Park survival maps. The first of those were not protected either.
The Cliff terrain can be provided at individual request, or in the Map Development topic Here.



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Version 1.0: The Official Release
Version 1.1: Fixed a problem in breeding that resulted in it being stuck in a loop. Also added a few extra plants.
Version 1.2: Fixed a problem with abilities that prevented any damage being delt by them. Fixed a possible situation where all the starting dinosaurs of a species might be male or female. Fixed a problem that made it difficult to see when a female dinosaur was in heat. Made female dinosaurs lose 20% green, giving them a very small color difference.
1.3: Eliminated a situation that caused dinosaurs ordered to hunt or calm down would attack the player. Fixed the multi-board so it only shows active players. Split the terrain into two map variants, C(cliff) and L(lake). Cliff Terrain was terrained by -Kobas-. Lake terrain gained more plants and general terrain improvements. C version was given the official 1.3 title, but had a critical bug and was pulled within minutes of uploading.
1.3 C/L: Made L version official after the C variant had a critical flaw in it that caused it to crash after a minute had passed. Fixed the flaw that caused the C variant to crash within the first minute of playtime.
1.4 C/L: Adjusted the multiboard to eliminate a situation where it reported an active player as gone. Removed the ability for NPC dinosaurs to use the movement commands. Fixed a problem with the Launch option in the Hidden Game Mode. Fixed a crash associated with attacking nests.





* -Kobas-
Terrain

* takakenji
ArathiRock

* iNfraNe
Waterplane

* xXm0rpH3usXx
plant17, plant21


* The folks at the Hive community
general help, betatesting, entertainment

* Olof Moleman
Allosaurus, Dimetrodon, Dragon Fly, Dryosaurus, Eryops, Lycaenops, Protoceratops, Pteranodon, Pterodaustro, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Edaphosaurus, Rhamphorhynchus, Velociraptor(Troodon), RepublicAssaultShip(Human Shps)

* Olof Moleman, Animated by Heroic Milkman
Ceratosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Iguanodon, Parasaurolphus, Suchomimus, Theirzinosaurus

* Olof Moleman, Animated by Chriz
Diplodocus

* Olof Moleman, Animated by Rao Dao Zao
Tyrannosaurus Rex

* Elunes-Guardian
Warbird(Troodon Shps)

* Mc !
SpaceShip(Early Troodon Ships)

* Lord-T-Rex
Turret(Robotic Gun), Cloak(1700s Troodon)

* Illidan(Evil)X
Upgradeable Missile Launcher(Missile Battery), Laser Missiles -RED-

* ThatGuy43
Torch Attachment (Early Troodon)

* MeteORA
fishing hat (Mideval Troodon)

* Fingolfin
military hat(1700s Troodon)

* HappyTauren
Nightvision Attachment(Modern Troodon)

* -SkatinG_CoW-
Wizard's Hat(Futuristic Troodon Citizen)

* ike_ike
spanner/wrench(Troodon Defensive Builders)

* Kitabatake
Spear(Troodon Warrior), Wood Bow(Troodon Archer)

* Hamsta
Spiders Fang(Troodon Knight)

* Herio-san
Flintlock Rifle(Troodon Rifleman)

* Darkwind
Golden Claw(Troodon Skirmisher)

* kieran12383
Weapon1(Troodon Ripper)

* Tomura & General Frank
Machine Gun Attachment(Troodon Soldier), Assault Rifle Attachment(Troodon Marine, Troodon Space Marine)

* Talon the Mage
Konstrukt_MinigunAttachment(Troodon Space Soldier)

* Pyramidhe@d
Jinroh Helmet(Troodon Space Soldiers)

* shamanyouranus
Ancestrial Claws(Troodon Reaver)

* anarchianbedlam
SHIVA Nuclear Warhead v6

* Kofi_Banan
RocketMissile-2-

* Ergius
LaserRay

* th15
Earth

Testers
* leet.firefox
* mare
* Ghost765
* eesti17
* Cyuss
* many others, some who directly assisted and whose names were lost in the shuffle. To those I am sorry and greatly apologize.



-herbstats
Displays the count of Herbivores in the world
-carnstats
Displays the count of Carnivores in the world
-foodstats
Lists the current food that the Carnivores and Herbivores have.
-merge (red, blue, teal, purple, yellow, orange, green, pink)
If you have a lineage of the color of the merge player, and use this command, and they use it back on you, you become absorbed in the lineage of the first merging player. All units that don't have both types of lineage are removed of their lineage, and the first offering player has his color changed and lineages removed. That player then counts as part of the lineage of the second player. So if red types -merge blue, and then blue types -merge red, both players would be considered "blue lineage"
-disolve
Disolves a merger. The lead player is the only one allowed to use this. It eliminates all non-controlled lineage and makes all other units have all the lineages of the formerly merged players.
-eat (red, blue, teal, purple, yellow, orange, green, pink, gray, light blue, dark green, brown, all, players)
Unallies the entered group. (Turned on 5 minutes into the game)
-donteat (red, blue, teal, purple, yellow, orange, green, pink, gray, light blue, dark green, brown, all, players)
Allies the entered group. (Turned on 5 minutes into the game)
-name (Name)
Changes your name into (Name).
-repick
(First 5 minutes only) Allows you to release the dinosaur you currently have and choose a different dinosaur.
*** Special Red Player Commands ***{Player 1 Only, in first 5 minutes of the game
-victory (######)
sets the victory points required to win the game.
-cap (herb/carn) (##)
Sets the population cap for the Herbivores/Carnivores to ##. !!!WARNING!!! CAPS OVER A 60 COMBINED (30/30, 60/0, or 50/10) CAN RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT LAG AND GAME INSTABILITY!


Keywords:
Dinosaur, survival, RPG
Contents

Life of a Dinosaur (Map)

Reviews
15:15, 13th Aug 2010 ap0calypse: Approved
Level 12
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
1,073
Great, its finally uploaded!

The new terrain looks pretty neat (atleast compared to the previous one <.<'')
Gonna try when i get my comp back.
 
Level 3
Joined
Jun 18, 2006
Messages
40
It could be me doing some sort of mistake, but after the first time breeding no female of my herd will ever get ready anymore. Otherwise this is pretty unique and fun.
 
Level 3
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Messages
15
Great concept, but lacking in anything else the game is just so boring you just walk around eating things rather slowly and getting more dinosaurs in your pack. the game doesn't really seem to go anywhere, nothing unexpected happens. You need to add something more to the game cause at the moment you play for 15 minutes and you are bored. Maybe throw in a random objective (Humans land on the coast) So you go and eat them and gain something. Just anything to make the game more interesting and keep your attention.

Vote 1/5 Good idea but boring gameplay Just a few objectives would do wonders for this game.
 
Level 5
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
117
As of Friday, March 5th, 2010, -Kobas- has agreed to do new terrain for this map.
Therefore 1.3 will have improved terrain. I will also be using a new terrain excuse as reason to update the multi-board so it only shows players who are playing. I will also be examining my AI and seeing what kind of improvements can be made there. New screenshots will be posted when there is new terrain to make screenshots of. Any other suggestions are encouraged to reach me before his terrain is done, and I will consider adding them to the map.

As always, game-breaking bugs that are brought to my attention will be fixed as quickly as possible, waiting on terrain or not. Suggestions and very minor bugs will be addressed only when enough of them have built up to, in my view, represent a significant adjustment in the overall quality of the map (such as the upcoming re-terrain).

Gameplay will never be changed in any significant way. Anyone who feels that the gameplay is too slow-paced or doesn't like the fact there is nothing to do but breed and survive is encouraged to play the hidden game mode. I will not be changing the core of the game, as I feel it plays as it should. The point of this game is Breeding and Surviving, and will remain that way.

This map is OPEN SOURCE, please people stop requesting to send you an unprotected copy, as there is no protection in this map at all. A standard, patched version of Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne is all that is needed to open this map.
 
Level 3
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Messages
33
i got a problem with this map when im a carnivor i press the calm button too much the other carnivour all become my enemy for some reason can you fix that?
 
Level 3
Joined
Jun 22, 2009
Messages
37
terrain could really be improved, with more plants and variating tiles, and heights.
you should change the follow command, now even the neutral dino's will follow you.
my followers dont attack anything, even on hunt mode.
 
Level 5
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
117
you should change the follow command, now even the neutral dino's will follow you.
my followers dont attack anything, even on hunt mode.
I will adjust follow to work better in the next version (1.4). I am curious about the statement "now even the neutral dino's will follow you."
Dinosaurs of the same species should follow you. If more than that is doing it, follow shouldn't run at all. Can you provide me a replay of the behavior you are talking about?

Thanks!

Also, be sure to give the cliff variant a try. it has different terrain.

Cliff Variant

(Edit: I know I promised the improved AI in 1.4, however, as I develop my plan for my new AI, it becomes apparent that the food system should be overhauled in this system as well. As such, I am releasing the basic Bugfix that 1.4 represents, and reserving the new AI into a beta version that needs to be developed. Watch the Map Development thread for the beta release with the new AI.)
 
Last edited:
Level 5
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
117
heres the replay, where you can see that even units not of my lineage will follow me

Thank you for your efforts to bring to my attention bugs in my map, I greatly appreciate it.

Controlling dinosaurs that are not your lineage but are your species is not a bug.

Your pack commands control any dinosaur that could conceivably be part of your pack/herd, not just the offspring of the first dinosaur you reproduced with.
This means you are supposed to command any NPC dinosaur of your species.
Controlling your species and ensuring they don't become extinct is a fairly critical part of this game, although it is something you could feasibly completely ignore. It is right up there in priority with the ability to make another species extinct (which was the purpose of -carnstats and -herbstats. Tracking and preventing that.)

If you are seeing a different bug than commanding dinosaurs of your species that are not your lineage (which I did not see in your replays) please point them out to me, since I don't see any behaviors from the AI that are bugs. Thanks!

(Edit: I think this deserves a special mention. My old AI really is terribly stupid. Only aggressive carnivores are assured movement. Hungry ones are not. They also have some interesting retreat behaviors in them, which result in loner dinosaurs running away. Herbivores generally run when attacked, unless the attacker is weaker than it in it's crude processing, which can have it standing and fighting when it is obvious it should run. As sad as it is, even the worst behaviors you described ran exactly as it was supposed to. I am in the process of attempting to develop a new AI. It is my intention to make it feel significantly less stupid. Watch the map development post of this map for the beta development. When that has no bugs that I can find, or my testers can find, it will become the official version and be uploaded into finished resources. Until then, enjoy version 1.4, as it is stable and playable, and relatively bug free.)
 
Last edited:
Level 1
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Messages
2
Hey, remember me? Probably not, but I always took interest in your map ever since you told me about it. Glad I can try it now.
 
Level 5
Joined
Jan 26, 2011
Messages
193
I Played a Thousend of Times already... and this can be add and/or improved:

- Size of Map is Low
- More Dinosaur Species
- Add an Atack for herbivore dinosaur too, otherwise is too easy defeat them

I was wondering, you could make a map just like this one but with modern animals...
What do you think??
 
Level 3
Joined
Apr 7, 2012
Messages
51
Okay, I know this is a ridiculous necrobump, but for the life of me I cannot figure this out:

How do you send spaceships into orbit in the special game mode? They just sit there when I try the power. Also, they don't move at all.
 
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