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Mini-Mapping Contest #18 - Dungeon

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Art: Thomas Ripoll Kobayashi
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Contestants must create a single-player dungeon and one hero to traverse it. The dungeon must have 3 rooms, each featuring distinct gameplay from the last; and one boss at the end, after the rooms are cleared.

Creeps in between rooms are not prohibited, given that they're not significant enough to feel part of a room.



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  • All submissions and all resources contained within the map must adhere to all of the Hiveworkshop's rules.
  • You may not start working on your submission before the contest has officially started.
  • You must post at least 3 Work-in-Progress (WIP) media (images/videos) that clearly show your progress.
  • Upload your final entry to the Map Resource Section, and indicate that it's an Entry for the 18th Mini Mapping Contest. Link to your bundle in the contest thread.
  • There must be a respawn system in place so you don't have to restart the map if you die.
  • You may not use a map template from the map templates section.
  • Judges may not participate.
  • The submission must be unprotected so that it's openable via the normal WorldEditor.
  • Teamwork - physically working on someone else's entry - is not allowed.
    • Feedback and testing aren't considered teamwork and are welcome.
Breaking any of these rules may lead to punishment in the judgement score, up to disqualification from the contest, depending on the weight of the issue. In case of doubts towards a certain rule, you are very encouraged to discuss it in the contest thread so others and judges may help with sorting it out.




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  • 1st place: 55 reputation points
  • 2nd place: 40 reputation points
  • 3rd place: 25 reputation points
  • Entry: 15 reputation points
  • Judge: 15 reputation points per entry
The three winners will receive an award icon, representing the winning entry.




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Gameplay
Is the map an enjoyable experience? Are the spells creative and satisfying? Is there replayability? Does the map have unique and original ideas? Does the dungeon meet the contest requirements? /50
ImmersionDo the terrain and music create a desirable atmosphere? Are the sound and art assets used well? How is the general execution?/40
TechnicalDoes the map run well performance-wise? Are there lots of bugs?/10
/100


  • Judgement: 80%
  • Poll: 20%
FinalScore = (20*Reached_Votes/POSSIBLE_VOTES) + (80*Average_Judge_Score/POSSIBLE_SCORE)





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The contest shall begin on 13th November 2020 and conclude on 10th January 2021 (day is included).


Assigned Staff: @Mythic

Previous Contest | Poll | Results
 
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Level 11
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I'm thinking on join this too (of course trying to do a less chaotic map), if I manage to solve some stuff about my wc3. Also, i have a few questions.
1) It's allowed to create corridors with adds (not a big deal btw, just to make it more realistic) between rooms, or it would count as a new room?
2) And what about adding a "tutorial zone" or something like that (maybe with stores), so you can try your spells?
3) Is there a limit to the boss phases? I personally prefer bosses with around 4 easy and short phases, it kinda reduces the stress of making each phase extremely complex or hard. I am thinking on a boss with a total of 3 or 4 simultaneally playable phases. I mean, there would be random options of wich phase you should play, so there is some extra replayability.
 
1) It's allowed to create corridors with adds (not a big deal btw, just to make it more realistic) between rooms, or it would count as a new room?
I'd say go for it but let's wait for Mythic's reply on this one.
2) And what about adding a "tutorial zone" or something like that (maybe with stores), so you can try your spells?
Yes, tutorial zones aren't part of the actual game play, and I plan on making a tutorial zone in my map as well.
3) Is there a limit to the boss phases? I personally prefer bosses with around 4 easy and short phases, it kinda reduces the stress of making each phase extremely complex or hard. I am thinking on a boss with a total of 3 or 4 simultaneally playable phases. I mean, there would be random options of wich phase you should play, so there is some extra replayability.
There's nothing in the rules that dictates how you have to make your boss fight.
This is a pretty cool theme. Consider me in.

Is 3 a hard limit on rooms? There's no player requirement in the description; can we pick the players required?
3 is the hard limit on rooms, and it is intended for single player.
 
I'd really like to make the dungeon map for the classic Fighter, Rogue, & Cleric party. Love me some classic party dungeon adventures.
Remember, only one hero shall be made. At least that was in the original rules I outlined, I'm not sure if @Mythic deliberately omitted my emphasis on one hero. "a" hero can still be interpreted as one hero, but without any specific mentions of quantity it could also mean more I guess?
Another clarifying question: What does "rooms" mean? I think of dungeons as being a series of "floors" that you need to find the exit or kill everything to get to the next floor.
This is really up for interpretation. One area/zone/room that you need to complete before progressing to the next area/zone/room. The important factor is that every area/zone/room has, as mentioned, distinctive gameplay and differs from preceding rooms.
 
Level 11
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This is really up for interpretation. One area/zone/room that you need to complete before progressing to the next area/zone/room. The important factor is that every area/zone/room has, as mentioned, distinctive gameplay and differs from preceding rooms.

Keeping it vague is good. Gives people creative liberty to play with rooms or whatever they need for their dungeon.

Unless @Mythic updates the description to exclude multiplayer entries, I'll be designing for a party of three because teamwork is always a fun challenge :thumbs_up:.
 
Unless @Mythic updates the description to exclude multiplayer entries, I'll be designing for a party of three because teamwork is always a fun challenge :thumbs_up:.
Well, worst case scenario will be that you have to delete/rework parts of your map.


Let me kick the contest off with a first WIP:
 
Level 27
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very attractive theme for mapping.
(not joining, tech-tree contest)

good luck to everybody,

I want to public encourage @Riki for having the great effort of participating in the tech-tree contest and in this one as well.

@FeelsGoodMan you have put the quality stick really high in the sky,
Thanks for the encouragement :)

It will be a bit hard to participate in both contest but I will do my best.

Also, I have a question. Are mini-bosses allowed before the final battle?
 
Another WIP incoming;


The tutorial zone and waiting zone is finished, and I have started on some light terraining of the first Mustafar zone/room. One ability is finished, while another one is a work in progress (I have yet to start on the remaining 3). No actual game play or AI has been implemented yet.

I am experiencing random crashes that I haven't been able to identify the source of, so in the case I'm unable to fix it I may have to forfeit the contest, or release a broken map and hope for the best.
 
Level 29
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Another WIP incoming;


The tutorial zone and waiting zone is finished, and I have started on some light terraining of the first Mustafar zone/room. One ability is finished, while another one is a work in progress (I have yet to start on the remaining 3). No actual game play or AI has been implemented yet.

I am experiencing random crashes that I haven't been able to identify the source of, so in the case I'm unable to fix it I may have to forfeit the contest, or release a broken map and hope for the best.

looks awsome.! it looks like a totally new game not wc3.

dont forfeit!!!
 
have a plan B, a less quality entry, with cheap GUI triggers that they wont fail.
in cooking , is very common to start over when some mistakes are done during the proccess.
Well if you were in a master chef competition then I'd guess Gordon Ramsay would be screaming at you due to your first failed attempt.

I don't have any plan B and probably won't make any. If my map fails it fails, then I have more time for other things. Quality is uncompromisable.
 
Level 29
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Well if you were in a master chef competition then I'd guess Gordon Ramsay would be screaming at you due to your first failed attempt.

I don't have any plan B and probably won't make any. If my map fails it fails, then I have more time for other things. Quality is uncompromisable.

in masterchef, a rule is never give up till time is up, anybody can have a bad luck day, but you cant quit and leave your customers without food.

if you have time, a safe plan B is what I would do but changing topic

btw, what is the chance of crash?, is 100% or probabilistic like 50%-50%?
 
Level 21
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Both of your entries look fantastic, @Riki and @FeelsGoodMan! I hope that the crash issue gets resolved.

I've been experimenting with different spell combinations, and I think that I've finally found something fun and interesting! I've also been experimenting with a new visual style that I'm pretty excited for, although I feel that you will either love it or hate it :D
 
btw, what is the chance of crash?, is 100% or probabilistic like 50%-50%?
That's the thing, it's impossible to say... Sometimes I can play for 10 minutes without crashes then other times I can play 30 seconds.
As usual, the grading rubric is retarded and 40% of points are rewarded for people without any map development skills
There are many aspects to map development.
I was working in the starting area and decided to show a WIP. I'm wondering whether to continue with the terrain or start working on the Hero's abilities.
Looks promising, try to get some clouds and fog etc below the stairs and general terrain this time. Alpha tile can look great if used right.
I hope that the crash issue gets resolved.
Yeah me too. I'll try to complete the terrain ASAP, and then troubleshoot the bugs. If I can't find it I will have to remake my systems from scratch.
I've been experimenting with different spell combinations, and I think that I've finally found something fun and interesting! I've also been experimenting with a new visual style that I'm pretty excited for, although I feel that you will either love it or hate it :D
Cool, it will be interesting to see!

WIP stuff;
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Level 10
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As usual, the grading rubric is retarded and 40% of points are rewarded for people without any map development skills

Walking Simulator games should have thaught us already that immersion is for some playergroups all they need. You could even argue that these 40% is somewhat on the low side.

On-Topic: If i get a good idea i will probably join in. Although since my current project is a dungeon crawler, i am kinda burned out on the classic ones.
 
Walking Simulator games should have thaught us already that immersion is for some playergroups all they need. You could even argue that these 40% is somewhat on the low side.
You have to find the balance. Some people are happy with, as you called it, walking simulator games. They offer great immersion, graphics and atmosphere. Some people are happy with simply the game play and don't care much about the graphics.

Some niche games don't need good graphics like Among us, Tetris, and many others, but the point of this is not to make a niche game with an innovative concept (the niche games usually have their own visual style as well although the graphics are bad, which is very important). The point is to utilize everything you have learned about map making to create one tiny map that holds the best possible quality you can produce, both in visual and technical terms (and of course make it entertaining as well).

Neglecting any of the aspects of map making is laziness (or lack of knowledge), and should not be rewarded, be it visual, audial or technical. People who only know how to do triggers/code are crying about the 'focus' on immersion when in fact the scoring percentage favors gameplay over immersion. In my opinion those people should stop being lazy and actually make an effort to create their own visual style instead of just falling back on Warcraft III's already well-established visual style and call it a day :p

On-Topic: If i get a good idea i will probably join in. Although since my current project is a dungeon crawler, i am kinda burned out on the classic ones.
Cool!
 
Level 4
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You have to find the balance. Some people are happy with, as you called it, walking simulator games. They offer great immersion, graphics and atmosphere. Some people are happy with simply the game play and don't care much about the graphics.

Some niche games don't need good graphics like Among us, Tetris, and many others, but the point of this is not to make a niche game with an innovative concept (the niche games usually have their own visual style as well although the graphics are bad, which is very important). The point is to utilize everything you have learned about map making to create one tiny map that holds the best possible quality you can produce, both in visual and technical terms (and of course make it entertaining as well).

Neglecting any of the aspects of map making is laziness (or lack of knowledge), and should not be rewarded, be it visual, audial or technical. People who only know how to do triggers/code are crying about the 'focus' on immersion when in fact the scoring percentage favors gameplay over immersion. In my opinion those people should stop being lazy and actually make an effort to create their own visual style instead of just falling back on Warcraft III's already well-established visual style and call it a day :p


Cool!

If I like the eggs, I eat the eggs. I do not see the eggs. Would you not?
 
If I like the eggs, I eat the eggs. I do not see the eggs. Would you not?
Then you're a consumer, not a developer.

And besides, this is a contest. If you only like the eggs you don't enter an eating contest with other foods and then complain that the contest also had other kinds of food :p
 
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Level 25
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I've been out of the loop for a while now. Is it fine to use any Warcraft III patch for these contests? Were any patches too buggy or unplayed and shouldn't be used? The last one I updated to was 1.30, and I never got Reforged.
 
I've been out of the loop for a while now. Is it fine to use any Warcraft III patch for these contests? Were any patches too buggy or unplayed and shouldn't be used? The last one I updated to was 1.30, and I never got Reforged.
You can use any patch, but 1.31 is generally a safe bet.
 
Level 25
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You can use any patch, but 1.31 is generally a safe bet.
Yeah, 1.31 seems like the best choice if I can get it working properly. Thanks.

Great to see you back! :)
Thank you! It feels good being back and seeing the great ideas that come out of these contests.


I think I'll be sticking to a simple and more traditional gameplay map this time around. I have my training wheels back on when it comes to the editor.
 
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Skillset and gameplay mechanics surrounding it are finished. Now to actually creating the dungeon :)

The hero has 3 ressources: Health, Action Points and Storm. Action Points are created or spent by certain spells. Storm is generated when an enemy unit is killed. Generated storm depends on strength of enemy unit.

Abilities:

Q - Stormstrike: Hits targets in front of the hero with her charged axe, dealing damage and generating 1 Action Point.
W - Lightning Drain:
Drains the enemy unit of its life, transfering it to the hero. Costs 1 Action Point.
E - Thundercrash:
The hero jumps into the air and leaps down, crashing upon the earth with her axe. Deals massive damage to enemy units and stuns them. Costs 3 Action Points.
R - Dagger of Az'ael:
Throws the dagger of the God of Thunder at the target location, dealing damage in its wake. Casting the ability again calls the dagger back to your location, dealing damage in its wake once again. Costs no Action Points.
F - Lightning Rush:
Teleport to the target location and deal a small amount of damage upon arrival. Costs no Action Points.
G - Unleash:
Unleash the lightning within. Turns yourself into a whirlwind of thunder, storm and power. Enemies near you constantly takes massive amounts of damage. Additionally, lightning bolts are randomly shooting at enemies nearby and jumping further. Requires a full Storm bar and deplets it fully.
 
Level 21
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@PROXY That looks really good! I love that UI. There are some fun similarities between your close combat system and mine (mainly your Q, F and how your bar generates with attacks), it will be fun to see them side by side :)

I'll post my first WIP tomorrow (I've been neck deep in spell triggers)
 
Level 21
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Here's my first WIP:

This is mainly to show the kind of artstyle and feel I'm going for, very inspired by old cartoons (like Ralph Bakshi). Note that I haven't played around with doodads just yet. I may or may not keep the shot shown in the video.

Here are a couple of more examples:

ASHEN CROW
ASHEN CROW.png

ATTENDANT
ATTENDANT.png

I'll show off the combat system in a few days. :)
 
Level 29
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Those entries look absolutely great! Good luck to all of you.

Meanwhile, I'm not sure if I can continue with my entry. I'm also competing in the Techtree Contest and feel very tired, maybe a little break can serves me to relax and prepare better for the next Contest. Anyway, I'll see how far I can go in the next few weeks.

-dont give up yet, try to finish the tech-tree first so you can focus on the minimapping later (rule of dont split your mind, Fordism method)
- dont aim to win any of the 2 contest, just be a participant and have fun participating with minimal entries. (who knows you may end winning, but dont aim to it to feel more relaxed).
 
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Here's my first WIP:

This is mainly to show the kind of artstyle and feel I'm going for, very inspired by old cartoons (like Ralph Bakshi). Note that I haven't played around with doodads just yet. I may or may not keep the shot shown in the video.

Here are a couple of more examples:

ASHEN CROW
View attachment 368593

ATTENDANT
View attachment 368594

I'll show off the combat system in a few days. :)
That is indeed interesting. It's too early to say if I like it or not, but kudos to you for trying something new. Did you make those models and textures yourself?
 
@FeelsGoodMan The custom textures were made by me, yes. :) These models were made by Freddyk, Dionesiist and SuPa-. The cape is a flag model that I edited.

Texturing the characters with this artstyle is actually quite simple and really fun, the true horror is the terrainart textures...
Cool! I'm excited to see more.
 
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@PROXY Unleash looks like it'll be a ton of fun to use in a swarm of enemies. Your hero really embodies the name and theme of your Stormheart model.

@Ungoliath Nice cartoony aesthetic. That shot kind of reminds me of cel shaded action games/cartoons. Good luck converting the environment!
 
The crashes I have been experiencing have now most probably been fixed. This means I can spend less time bug fixing, and more time to work on abilities and enemy AI. I will be posting a WIP video a bit later.

EDIT: So the crashes may not be fixed after all....

Anyway, here's another WIP;

I have been working on:
  • Projectile impacts (projectiles hits each other making it possible to defend yourself against incoming fire).
  • Enemy missile aim (The enemy predicts your trajectory based on movement speed and distance to the enemy, and fires missiles accordingly).
  • Some terrain (the base terrain is done, now it needs polish and more clutter/filler doodads).
  • Pathing and wall/enemy collision.



(Will troubleshoot more tomorrow to find the source of the crashes...)
 
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EDIT: So the crashes may not be fixed after all....
I feel like it's likely your movement system. I got crashes from one with its pathing, possibly multiple objects being in the exact same spot at the exact same time (without locust) and not having enough space or time to displace each other. Maybe turn ship impacts/pathing checks off and see if it runs without issues? But it does look like you have a lot going on making it hard to pinpoint.

Great terrain and ambience, though. Those tactical shields are a nice touch.
 
I feel like it's likely your movement system. I got crashes from one with its pathing, possibly multiple objects being in the exact same spot at the exact same time (without locust) and not having enough space or time to displace each other. Maybe turn ship impacts/pathing checks off and see if it runs without issues? But it does look like you have a lot going on making it hard to pinpoint.
I think it's a faulty model somewhere, since I have tried disabling every single trigger/line of code, removing all doodads, removing all units and it still crashes when it's a completely bare map with nothing in it. I'm gonna start deleting models one by one and see if that helps.

Great terrain and ambience, though. Those tactical shields are a nice touch.
Thanks!
 
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@Halithor That looks great! :D

Here's another WIP from me, a small small preview of the combat system:


When I finish the tutorial I'll be able to describe it more clearly step by step in-game, but here's an attempt at describing the system:

Defence types and weaknesses
It's all based around meaningful duels where you have to know your opponents defence type in order to deal damage (blunt, strike, or thrust attack). Each attack also adds one particular stack (up to 5), and as your mana reaches 100 (through your attacks) - depending on your current stacks - you will deal additional blunt, strike or thrust damage. Shielded units have no weakness aside from finishers with blunt damage, so here you'll have to look at their amount of defence (1-5), which tell you the required number of stacks needed in a blunt finisher. In the video you see one red soldier (weak to thrust) who protects himself with a shield (weak to blunt finisher) and a defence of 2 (requires 2 stacks). As you perform the required finisher, his guard is broken, and he is returned to his original defence type, which is weak to thrust damage. There'll also be units that require finishers with thrust damage and strike damage in order to break their guards.

Parry to stay alive
Another thing to keep the combat engaging is the parry system, which at the moment works against all attack types, but there will of course be attacks that cannot be parried. There will also be opponents that can parry your attacks. Entering this parry stance will either drain their mana, only work against certain attack types, or be susceptible to a strong finisher.

Make use of additional tools
In order to build up strong finishers you want to avoid hitting 100 mana, as that resets the stack count. This is where the "Focus" ability comes in. This ability removes 50% of your mana at the cost of health.

Yet another useful tool is the "Quick Recover" ability, that removes the recovery time after each attack at the cost of a small portion of health. If you want to spam a certain attack type in quick succession, Quick Recover is really useful.

Lastly, which was hinted at in the video, if you select a unit when it's relatively close to you, your character will be selected instead as he turns towards his target. This allows you to quickly respond to approaching enemies with a parry or an attack of your own.

Future system (last one I promise)
There'll be yet another system on top of all this, which has to do with the color changes seen in the cloak. This is a system that will be unlocked as you progress through the map, so I'll leave it at that for now. Your cloak will not be as flashy in the beginning as it was in the video.

Sorry for the long post, I hope it made some sense at least. :D Just know that it feels reaaaally good to play

EDIT:
I noticed that I forgot to change the enemies' attack range. There is usually some distance between the enemy and the player, so that the spark upon a successful parry is created between the player character and the enemy
 
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