Magi Maul v4.7

[Moderator]

[TD]

Moderator: StoPCampinGn00b version 3.3 Magi Maul by watterly REVIEW Magi Maul is a team or solo played maul map which gathers special features from other maul/td maps and executes them well. It's not just another basic maul map, but it isn't extremely innovative at the same time. See below for a deeper explanation regarding the map's quality. ​ FEEDBACK Gameplay: What's great about the gameplay is the flexibility it has with a flux of options when starting the map. Perhaps it's hard to estimate the difficulties and styles you want if you're new, but it's better than no options for this type of map. Most of the newer TD/Maul maps have this, but you've made a great choice for this map to compensate with different amount of players so more can play with a more enjoyable time due to it not being unfair. Single player even has a special commands list! The map also manages to put together highly informative descriptions, quests, and tips useful for first timers. Some useful tips sadly come far later when I've already made a mistake, perhaps posting the list in the description would be even more helpful. It may be the some descriptions are too lengthy, but it's not to the point where the information gets overshadowed by unnecessary words. The quests show off some features usually other map types have have, but they fit well in this map. Other things such as the creeps and towers having special abilities as well as mastery upgrades add more of an identity to your map to distinguish it from all other generic mauls. This map also includes heroes, and there is a delighted sight of item shops to purchase from. I don't think tomes and just stat boost items are the right way to go. Having them defeats the purpose of a tower strategy by just making the hero handle as much as it can. Instead, you could create useful spells to aid towers such as push creeps back, create a limited line of blocking, and other things that aren't just generic stat boosters. ​ Visuals: Since the map is a maul, electrifying terrain might affect gameplay more in departments such as pathing and sight. There isn't anything wrong with the terrain, though you've chosen some weird unmatching tile colors. There aren't any other special visuals to look at, besides a few custom icons which seem to be working just fine. ​ Miscellaneous: XXXXX​ VERDICT Map approved with a 4/5 rating. You've put together a thoroughly polished map. ​ FAQ [COLOR=white Map Making Related [COLOR=white [COLOR=white ] How can I get my map approved? Learn here. Where can I get world editor assistance and find tutorials? Here. Forum Related[/COLOR]]How do I navigate the Hive Workshop? Learn here. What does reputation mean at the bottom of my profile? Learn here. Where can I discuss a problem only with the staff and/or higher administrators? Here. [/COLOR]

[/TD] [/TD][/tr]

 

[WhiteFang]

This is a very good map:

Good points
- the options that can be chosen at the start is good
- The custom icons are used correctly
- there are many races and towers
- the terain looks good
- there are good upgrades

Bad points
- towers are a bit too cheap
- wave 6 and 7 should be nerfed a bit
- wall of magi is a bit too strong
- the cooldown of some abilities are too quick
- upgrades should take a bit longer to complete

Overall this is a good map. 3/5

 

[watterly]

Hello Mr. Archimonde supreme,

Thank you for the time you spent in trying the map. I appreciate the comments you wrote too. First of all, what race were you using when you tested the map?

As I am open to improve the map, I would like to understand more your perspective on the bad points.

When you say towers are a bit too cheap, do you have any specific tower in mind? If so, what are your arguments to increase the cost of this tower?

What did you find hard in waves 6 and 7?

Wall of the Magi might be strong for the first waves... The increased damage is +/- low for the difficulty associated for the latest waves. What do you think would be better, decrease initial damage?

Which abilities are you talking about? Is it with or without applying researches?

Ah, upgrades' time. I volontarily made upgrades/researches' time very low as I never found it made the gameplay funnier/easier for tower defense.

Thanks again.

Sincerely yours,

 

[WhiteFang]

Mr?I'm only 13

I played as the pandemonium race and I found the raider tower too cheap because it deals a lot of damage and has many strong abilities. I think the price should be made 130 gold instead of 110.

Sorry if I used the wrong word. What I meant was wave 6 and 7 were too easy. I found wave 5 harder then 6. Maybe make their health more?

Yes it would be best to decrease initial damage but not too much

The ability that I found too strong was the raider's permanent invisability. The cooldown is too low. By the time I upgraded it 3 times it's area of effect was 1100 - 1500 and it lasted 6 - 10 seconds but only had a 2 second cooldown!

The pandemonium's chaos mastery gives a lot of bonuses but has very small cooldown. I can increase the unstable tower's damage to 16 - 42 in 10 seconds. And because their cheap(don't change the price,there is nothing wrong with it)I can build lots of them.

But like I said this is a good map,one of the best maul's I've played

 

[watterly]

Hello Archimonde supreme (without Mr.),

Ah, Chaos race. They have the advantage of having very high damage, compared to the same price for other races. And to anwser specifically for the Raider, the reason why his damage are higher is that he 1) is Melee (melee units have generally higher damage compared to ranged units, for the same price) and 2) he only attacks land units (as compared to units attacking both land and air units, for the same price). That explains why you think his price is low for his damage, but in fact, he is not that good.

Level 5 is just a regular wave (Arachnatid) : when compared to level 7 (Horse), they have same armor and less health points (150 vs. 245), same movement speed, and the number of spawned creeps (20) is the same for both. You "should" feel they are easier than Level 7.
Level 6 is the first air wave (Vulture), they are intentionally "easy" because they are the first air wave : players were getting surprised, even though everything is announced. That is probably why you find Level 5 harder than Level 6, it is intentional.

As for the Wall of the Magi : its initial damage, at Level 1, is 40-40 (Chaos) and 20-20 (Magic). We could reduce the initial damage to 35-35 instead. I will implement that, thanks.

The Raider's ability to reveal invisible units is "not that good". First of all, you need to cast it constantly to reveal new units (creeps are now spawned in "one shot", they are spawned periodically, "one by one"). Second, it is mana-consuming : the Raider's mana regeneration is not that high, and casting constantly the spell will lead you to be out of mana, and you won't be able to reveal any new spawned units. To be pretty honest with you, it is the worst "revealing invisible units ability" when compared to other races. The other abilities are far more convivial. This is also why the cooldown is very low : you need to cast it every 2 seconds to reveal new spawned units, since they are not all spawned at once. And, 6 seconds is not that high if you have a big maze .

Yes, as I explained earlier, Chaos race has highest damage, but it lacks in other stuff. Yes of course your Unstable Tower might "be strong" in your perspective, but they are also very weak (against "agressive" wave), they get destroyed pretty fast. And chaos race do not have a lot of protecting/healing abilities... They are, at a certain point of the game, only good for mazing, not for killing, even if you max Chaos Mastery (10 levels).

You should try another race to compare with your experience with Chaos. They really do have differences/pros/cons.

Again, I thank you for your great words and for the time you took for giving me inputs.

Sincerely yours,

 

[WhiteFang]

Hi I tried fire race this time.

I found it more fun than chaos. I have only 1 problem,but a few suggestions

-the lamp walker and batrider doesn't really fit the fire theme,I suggest replacing the Lamp Walker's model with this http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...e-109531/?prev=search=fire&r=20&d=list&page=2 and his icon with http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...eblade-109532/?prev=search=dragon&d=list&r=20 and replacing the batrider's model and icon with that of the firelord.
- the furnace doesn't look firey either. I suggest replacing him with fire grate model
- the demolisher also doesn't look firey but he's okay since he has fire abilities but I suggest replacing his model with this http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...mc-49350/?prev=search=fire&r=20&d=list&page=2 and his icon with this http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/...-130657/?prev=search=fire&r=20&d=list&page=10

I know all these towers have fire attack but this will make them look more like fire
-maybe give a upgrade that improves the Batrider's liquid fire?

Now about the game itself
-be you could add the tomes of knowledge to the tomes shop?
-add a wave at the end where all the bosses comes but they are more powerfull and then when their dead the ultimate boss spawns?
-add those comming soon heroes

Okay my one problem,don't worry its very small

The lamp walker's one ability is called mana drain but it doesn't do anything to mana
You should change the name

My rating is increased to 4/5

 

[watterly]

Hello again,

Thanks for your time trying the map!

As for the cosmetic suggestions, I would like to implement them, but the map's size is already high and I can't use imported models except for some missiles and these things.

Fire Lord is a model I want to use for an upcoming hero.

For the Fire Grate model, I have to say I prefer the one right now, even though it doesn't look "the most firey". This specific model has been used traditionally in other maul for Fire Race.

There is an "one time/unlocking" upgrade for Liquid Fire: it is different than "five time/upgrading" upgrade, meaning that this spell has only 1 level. There are many abilities like that in the game, and Fire race has a lot of "five time/upgrade" upgrades already.

Tome of Knowledge (increasing level) is something I can think of.

Since there are only 3 enemy heroes for now, the wave would be kinda small.

Yes, I will implement these heroes ASAP, but it takes a while to code everything.

I don't get it : none of its abilities are called "Mana Drain": I see "Soul Burn" and "Magic Lamp"?

Sincerely yours,

 

[StoPCampinGn00b]

Review finished

[TD]

Moderator: StoPCampinGn00b version 3.3 Magi Maul by watterly REVIEW Magi Maul is a team or solo played maul map which gathers special features from other maul/td maps and executes them well. It's not just another basic maul map, but it isn't extremely innovative at the same time. See below for a deeper explanation regarding the map's quality. ​ FEEDBACK Gameplay: What's great about the gameplay is the flexibility it has with a flux of options when starting the map. Perhaps it's hard to estimate the difficulties and styles you want if you're new, but it's better than no options for this type of map. Most of the newer TD/Maul maps have this, but you've made a great choice for this map to compensate with different amount of players so more can play with a more enjoyable time due to it not being unfair. Single player even has a special commands list! The map also manages to put together highly informative descriptions, quests, and tips useful for first timers. Some useful tips sadly come far later when I've already made a mistake, perhaps posting the list in the description would be even more helpful. It may be the some descriptions are too lengthy, but it's not to the point where the information gets overshadowed by unnecessary words. The quests show off some features usually other map types have have, but they fit well in this map. Other things such as the creeps and towers having special abilities as well as mastery upgrades add more of an identity to your map to distinguish it from all other generic mauls. This map also includes heroes, and there is a delighted sight of item shops to purchase from. I don't think tomes and just stat boost items are the right way to go. Having them defeats the purpose of a tower strategy by just making the hero handle as much as it can. Instead, you could create useful spells to aid towers such as push creeps back, create a limited line of blocking, and other things that aren't just generic stat boosters. ​ Visuals: Since the map is a maul, electrifying terrain might affect gameplay more in departments such as pathing and sight. There isn't anything wrong with the terrain, though you've chosen some weird unmatching tile colors. There aren't any other special visuals to look at, besides a few custom icons which seem to be working just fine. ​ Miscellaneous: XXXXX​ VERDICT Map approved with a 4/5 rating. You've put together a thoroughly polished map. ​ FAQ Map Making Related Forum Related How can I get my map approved? Learn here. Where can I get world editor assistance and find tutorials? Here. How do I navigate the Hive Workshop? Learn here. What does reputation mean at the bottom of my profile? Learn here. Where can I discuss a problem only with the staff and/or higher administrators? Here.

[/TD] [/TD][/tr]

 

[watterly]

Hello Mr. StoPCampinGn00b,

Thanks for your review.

I think your idea of tips in the map info (F9) is a great idea: I will implement that.

As for heroes, I do not focus on making heroes "the solution" to win the game, but at higher difficulty, heroes are useful, and fun to play too . Tomes are kinda expensive, I made them only for late game, where there is no more space for items in the inventory. For now, there are not a very good amount of items, still working to add more.

I think one of your two ideas ("pushing back creeps") is a very good one for an item, I really like it. As for the "blocking", I implemented an anti-blocking system (creeps will get pure damage and one-shot kill)... Perhaps it would be more of a "stun" items instead of a blocking one, or slowing enemy units. Something like that.

As for the colors (lol!), I guess it is a very personal choice, and it can't be liked by everybody , which is okay. The main color of the map is "purple" (Dalaran theme), and in the same "color section", there is a pink, and an opposite color of this one is "blue-green": that is how I chose colors (tetrad or triad colors, http://paletton.com/#uid=3370u0kllllaFw0g0qFqFg0w0aF).

Thanks again for the time you put in testing the map, I do appreciate, and thanks for your ideas, they are helpful.

Best regards,

 

[Tumlock]

I want to translate this map on other language. How can I do this? I can't find any towers and also their descriptions in worldedit (yes, i broke the protection). Can you help me?

 

[watterly]

Hi Tumlock,

I can't help you unfortunately.

Warm regards,