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[Strategy / Risk] Northrend Gambit

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Northrend Gambit

Welcome to Northrend Gambit! This map is something I have been working on for a while now, inspired by maps like Lordaeron Tactics, War in the Plaguelands, and Glory of the Horde. It is a spawn-based strategy game set in the frozen wastes of Northrend. The time in which the game takes place is ambiguous as to allow for further diversity for paths and events but is best understood as reimagining the moment that Arthas landed upon the icy shores of Dragonblight to take down Mal'Ganis as being simultaneous with the on-going War of the Spider. The plan is for the events of the game to extend all the way towards the Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm.

Northrend Gambit is a 16-player game, and as such features 16 unique factions which are embroiled in deep conflict in Northrend. Yet this map features a unique Path feature which allows players to choose a direction for their respective faction. The events available to each faction is limited by the path selected, allowing for greater flexibility and unpredictability for the game's trajectory. Each faction has two paths available to them which are to be selected at the beginning of the game, these paths may grant an initial additional Hero or upgrade through unique events that are path specific. This can change the way the faction is played from the onset and create replayability for each faction from game to game.




LordaeronFeaturing the primary forces brought with the prince of Lordaeron for the pursuit of Mal'Ganis. The two paths available to Lordaeron are Vengeance and Duty.

The Vengeance path requires that Mal'Ganis is killed within the first ten minutes of the game, failure results in the banishment of Lordaeron forces from the Alliance. Taking this path allows the faction to join the scourge should Arthas die with Frostmourne.

The Duty path sends Arthas back to Lordaeron to face his father, and the Lordaeron expedition is then taken over by Uther, who replaces Arthas as the primary Hero of the faction. This is a safer path that affords greater security amongst the Alliance.
High ElvesFeaturing the mages and elves brought with Arthas to Northrend, these are the forces that established Wintergarde keep. The two paths available to Lordaeron are Empathy and Apathy.

The Empathy path allows the pursuit of teleporting Dalaran to Northrend and control over the Kirin Tor. This path allows the High Elves to retain their place in the Alliance.

The Apathy path allows the pursuit of the Sin'dorei, granting control over the Blood Elves that seek vengeance for Silvermoon. Triggering the Sin'dorei event will unally this faction from the Alliance but allows for a separate event to enter an alliance with the Illidari.
Burning LegionFeaturing the demonic forces that seek to invade Azeroth, the Burning Legion is initially present with the forces of Mal'Ganis from his conquered stronghold of Drak'Tharon keep. When the civil war event is triggered, the Burning Legion is unallied from the Scourge and gains control over Antorus. The two paths available to the Burning Legion are Annihilation and Corruption.

The Annihilation path assigns Archimonde as the primary commander of their forces and grants the Burning Legion the powerful Hero Mannoroth once Antorus is gained.

The Corruption path assigns Kil'jaeden as the primary commander of their forces and grants the Burning Legion the powerful Hero Tichondrius once Antorus is gained.
ScourgeFeaturing the undead forces led by the Lich King, the Scourge seeks to dominate Northrend from Icecrown. The two paths available to the Scourge are Domination and Horror.

The Domination path grants the Scourge the hero Baron Rivindare and features many events that allows for the raising of undead champions.

The Horror path grants the Scourge the hero Lord Marrowgar and allows the Scourge to stay in the game should the Lich King be destroyed, which would otherwise result in an instant loss.
Dwarven ExpeditionFeaturing the dwarven expeditionary forces led to Northrend by Muradin Bronzebeard, the Dwarven Expedition boasts strong defensive capabilities. The two paths available to the Dwarven Expedition are Exploration and Supremacy.

The Exploration path focuses on discovering ancient dwarven secrets, which are present across the map as Ancient Ruins. A hero owned by the Dwarven Expedition that approaches such a ruin will yield a benefit to the faction, whether it is an upgrade, item, or unique unit.

The Supremacy path focuses on conquest of foreign land and allows the faction to send Magni himself to the frozen wastes. When the Dwarven Expedition destroys a faction’s main base under this path they will gain a massive benefit in the form of a powerful artifact or upgrade.
TaunkaFeaturing the tribe of Taunka native to Northrend, the Taunka are deeply entrenched into the landscape and history of Northrend. The two paths available to the Taunka are Protectorate and Tribalism.

The Protectorate path allows contact with the Horde, which will allow the Taunka to gain Horde bases and Heroes later into the game in addition to immediately allying them to their neighbor, The Goblins.

The Tribalism path focuses more on independence and tradition and allows the Taunka to rally the different native tribes of Northrend under their banner. This path grants the Taunka the powerful Death Knight Hero Trag Highmountain.
Wyrmrest AccordFeaturing the Dragon Aspects and their forces, Wyrmrest Accord seeks to defend its ancient burial grounds from pillaging by new invaders and the Lich King. The three paths available to the Wyrmrest Accord are the Red, Green and Bronze paths.

The path selected empowers the corresponding Dragon Aspect and spawns additional units of that type from Wyrmrest's bases.
NagaFeaturing the Riplash Naga, these forces led by Raj Naz'jan seek to claim Northrend for nefarious deeds. The two paths available to the Naga are Azshara's Vanguard and Nzoth's Chosen.

The Azshara's Vanguard path involves the plan to melt the icecaps of Icecrown to flood the world for Azshara. Taking key points around the map will empower the faction and they can also rebuild old elven ruins by bringing a hero to them. This grants them the base and sometimes a unique hero or unit.

The Nzoth's Chosen path aligns the faction with the will of the Old Gods, and as such will ally the Naga to the Old Gods at the beginning of the game. The path empowers the faction's casters.
VrykulThe vampiric and savage race afflicted by the curse of flesh, the Vrykul are led by King Ymiron from Utgarde keep and seek to take back their homeland from the Alliance and Dwarven Expedition. The two paths available to the Vrykul are God King and Winds of Change.

The God King path focuses heavily on King Ymiron and the connection the Vrykul have to their supposed deities. The path allows events that empowers the Vrykul with the powers of Odyn and Helya.

The Winds of Change path instead focuses on the Vrykul's flexibility for seeking victory. The path grants them the backup event of joining the Scourge and also a way for Oktel Dragonblood to take control from King Ymiron.
Ice TrollsThe Ice Trolls of Gundrak have long resided in Northrend, and the loss of Drak'Tharon keep by Mal'Ganis was a terrifying blow to them. The two paths available to the Ice Trolls are Worship and Dominion.

The Worship path allows the Trolls to favor shrines in order to gain powerful units and a Hero corresponding to the shrine. The path will allow the Ice Trolls to acquire a number of different Heroes and may even eventually devour their Loa gods for power.

The Dominion path focuses more on Ice King Malak and the sovereignty of the Ice Trolls rather than their gods. This path will eventually allow the Ice Trolls to call emissaries from overseas, gaining unique heroes and units.
NerubiansThe Nerubians have been on the defensive from the undead forces above for some time, as they tunneled to retreat, they had accidently uncovered the Old Gods. Now, stuck between two enemies, they must prevail or submit to one master. The two paths available to the Nerubians are Atheism and Xenophobia.

The Atheism path empowers the faction with Anub'rekhan. This path strengthens the faction but makes them vulnerable, the destruction of Azjol Nerub can spell demise for the unwary Nerubian player. In such a circumstance the faction will be allied to either the Scourge or the Old Gods, depending on which faction destroys the spawn.

The Xenophobia path empowers the faction with a powerful spider Hero, Hadronox. This path grants the Nerubians some powerful backup options, with additional events that may allow them to ally the Taunka or the Alliance.

Old Gods
Recently awakened and hungry to rebuild, the Old Gods led by Yogg Saron seek to wrest control of Northrend from their former prison of Ulduar. The two paths available to the Old Gods are Corruptor and Manipulator.

The Corruptor path allows for control over Heroes and grants Yogg Saron abilities to debilitate and eventually convert Heroes, as well as empowering allied ones.

The Manipulator path allows Yogg Saron to intervene in the events of others, granting events that can break apart alliances and in certain scenarios even force another player to ally them.
HyldnirNorthern Vrykul who fight for the glory of Thorim, the Hyldnir are chiefly concerned with taking down the Storm Giants who have been offered shelter by their former allies, The Frost Dwarves. The two paths available to the Hyldnir are Thorim's Chosen and Heritage.



The Thorim's Chosen path grants the Hyldnir massive benefits for taking Frost Dwarf bases and will grant them the powerful keeper Thorim should one of their heroes become a strong enough replacement for Sif.



The Heritage path grants the Hyldnir benefits for taking the fight to Ulduar, granting them unique units apt for fighting the Old Gods. This path allows the Hyldnir to join the scourge.
AllianceAuxiliary forces brought by Arthas led by Captain Luc Valenforth, the Alliance has established several footholds upon the frozen wastes. The two paths available to the Alliance are The Council and High King.

The Council path sees the eventual ransom of King Varian back to the recently rebuilt Stormwind. Once forces are sent to combat the Lich King, Varian will be depowered but joined by his council members. This allows the Alliance to eventually be subsumed by the Black Dragonflight which betrays the Alliance and allies the faction to the Old Gods.

The High King path sees the Symbiogenesis of the true Varian Wrynn. This path empowers Varian once he arrives and grants him the powerful artifact Shalamayne, as well as allowing the establishment of the Argent Dawn.
Blue DragonflightSlowly recovering from the loss dealt to his flight, Malygos leads the Azure Dragonflight from the Nexus. The two paths available to the Blue Dragonflight are Stewardship and Patriarch.

The Stewardship path sees the policing of magic in the world, the faction gains the ability to re-align ley lines to empower their units and gain map wide abilities at the Nexus. Most events in this path will result in the Blue Dragonflight unallying the Wyrmrest Accord.

The Patriarch path sees the preservation of what is left of the Azure Dragonflight. The faction gains the unique hero Saragosa and the faction gains unique buffs for simply controlling the ley lines. Yet destruction or capture of these ley lines will result in a drastically weakened faction.
Frost DwarvesHolding strong in Frosthold, the Frost Dwarves seek to protect King Jokkum from the vengeance of the Hyldnir. Aware of Loken's trickery, they fight the Hyldnir whilst mourning in the loss of Sif. The two paths available to the Frost Dwarves are Servants of Thorim and Primordial Precursors.

The Servants of Thorim path allows them to ally with the Hyldnir should they kill Yulda and destroy Valkyrion. This will eventually allow them to summon Thorim, provided he has not been summoned by the Hyldnir already.

The Primordial Precursors path allows the faction to ally the alliance provided Muradin dies. It also enables the faction to gain unique benefits should they take Ulduar.
Cult of the DamnedLed by the ghost of Kel'thuzad in the fortress of Naxxramas, the Cult seeks to destroy the Nerubians below and assist the Scourge in defeating their enemies. The two paths available to the Cult of the Damned are Death Cult and Apocalypse.

The Death Cult path grants the Hero Lady Deathwhisper and allows the Cult of the Damned to create massive monstrosities such as Patchwerk. Unique plagues also become available which are upgradeable and customizable from the Plague Quarter.

The Apocalypse allows Kel'thuzad to raise horsemen, powerful Death Knight heroes with their own accompanying artifacts. Each horseman requires an objective be completed before they are raised, and in certain scenarios may be empowered or depowered depending on the state of the game's events.
GoblinsSituated in the Geyser Fields in Borean Tundra, the Goblins seek to practice free enterprise and wish to drain Northrend of its natural resources. The two paths available to the Goblins are Bilgewater Cartel and Steamwheedle Cartel.

The Bilgewater Cartel path grants the hero Jastor Gallywix and allows the Goblins to further ingraine themselves in the Horde. This path will allow them to eventually gain Garrosh.

The Steamwheedle Cartel path grants the faction unique capabilities to trade with other factions. The Goblins' main base will gain abilities that can affect the economies of other players by reducing their resources or increasing them.




Bounties:

Heroes are vulnerable, and once lost are often lost forever! Players will receive a bounty for heroes which may be redeemed for a generic hero, or an item.

Yet killing heroes is not the only priority in Northrend Gambit, as only by killing units will a player be able to generate lumber. Lumber is used for unit upgrades and for triggering key events. Keep in mind that certain events are limited to the path selected at the beginning of the game.

Spawns:

For those with previous experience with spawn based strategy games, this terminology will be recognizable. Every minute and a half units are spawned for all factions at their bases. The units spawned are divided into two categories for Northrend Gambit, the first being Basic Units and the second being Advanced Units. There are four types of Basic Units universal to all factions:

Melee Units: Your venerable 'redshirt', your grunts and footmen.
Ranged Units: Your harpooners and archers.
Shock Units: Your heavy hitters, or tankers, such as knights.
Caster Units: Your priests or mages, magic wielding spellcasters.

In addition, there are two types of Advanced Units universal to all factions:

Heroic Units: A powerful and often Path-specific unit, you may purchase a maximum of five of these.
Special Units: Any Event added unit, or unit specific to a spawn building, you may have a maximum of 20 each.

Spawn Buildings can create Quarters, which will increase the amount of units spawned at the Spawn Building. There is no maximum on Quarters, though only original Spawn Buildings may build Quarters, which unlocks the spawning of Special Units and the purchase of Heroic Units.

Should a Spawn Building be destroyed, it will leave behind a Building Point. Forts may be constructed through a Building Point, offering another spawn point for units, but they are not able to build Quarters.

Heroes:

Heroes are also a major component of Northrend Gambit. Heroes are the bread and butter of this game, they act as rewards, objectives, and even as efficient tools for victory in a battle. Heroes are valuable and must be protected, and enemy Heroes must be destroyed. Heroes are split into three categories:

Full Heroes: Powerful 'levelable' units that function much like their vanilla counterparts.
Demi-Heroes: Units that start with normal versions of their hero abilities that may be turned into a Full Hero upon reaching level 4.
Mini-Heroes: A non-levelable hero with inventory that is revivable from specific bases.




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New update every Sunday at 10 PM EST!

System:
-Upgrading a control point to a tower, a spirit tower, or a fort now fully heals the building to 100%.
-Removed Red's test unit and put the enabling of commands under a temporary debug trigger.
-Changed faction names to correspond more accurately to their units and bases.
-Adjusted fog to be lighter.

Burning Legion:
-Detheroc now scales to the level of Mal'ganis.
-Hakkar now scales to the level of Mannoroth.

Vrykul:
-Added Bjorn Halgurdsson as the hero associated with the Winds of Change path.
-Vrykul Axe Thrower (Ranged) now benefits from upgrades.
-Increased Vrykul Aspirant hit point maximum by 5.
-Increased Vrykul Aspirant base damage by 1.
-Increased Vrykul Aspirant base damage by 1.
-Increased Vrykul Runecarver's mana by 50, starting mana by 50, and hit point maximum by 15.
-Increased Vrykul Warrior Spirit (Summon) hit point maximum to 400 and decreased attack speed slightly.
-Slightly increased attack speed and damage of the Vrykul Shield Splitter.
-Vrykul Bloodlust now must be researched.
-Gjalebron trigger is now properly tied to the research available in the Vrykul upgrade building.
-Added an Icon for learning Dreadful Roar on Ingvar.
-Added missile art to flying Drake Riders.


Naga:
-Naga that take the path of Azhara's Vanguard may now rebuild Eldra'nath by bringing a hero to it.
-Decreased splash radius of War Turtle's attack.
-Decreased War Turtle's base attack damage and sides per die by 2.
-Increased War Turtle's attack speed slightly.
-War Turtles now benefit from upgrades.
-Decreased Riplash Priestess' base attack damage by 1.
-Slightly decreased attack speed of Riplash Warriors.
-Decreased Riplash Guardian's movement speed by 10.
-Decreased Veehja's Int per level to 3 and increased her Agi per level to 1.5.
-Changed Veehja's missile art.

Taunka:
-The Frenzyheart hero now scales to the level of Roanauk Icemist.
-Establishing Warsong Hold no longer creates two notifications.
Wyrmrest:
-Removed the initial stockability of heroic units from their respective shrines.
-Gave Amber Ledge a facelift.

CotD:
-Fixed Naxxramas* typo.

Dwarves:
-Added an ultimate to Gelbin Mekkatorque.
-Added a healing potion to Gelbin Mekkatorque.
-The Skyfire research now has Gnomish Assistance as a prerequisite.
-Gnomish Engineers now have a splash attack.


Creeps:
-Added a dragon turtle west of Riplash Ruins that drops a tome of power and another random level 2 tome.
-Changed all non-heroic creeps to have Camp acquisition.
-Placed a Sea Giant in western Borean Tundra that drops a healing potion and a tome of strength.

Ice Trolls:
-Favored shrine heroes are no longer invulnerable.
-Drakkaru no longer spawns invulnerable.


System:
-Removed some more 'too-bright' fog effects.
-The hiring of Heroic Units is now synced to every iteration of the spawn timer.
-Creating a quarter or upgrading a fort to a fortress will no longer immediately stock the faction's Heroic Unit.
-Removed food cost of Mini-Heroes, allowing them to be revived with more ease.
-Increased
-Updated map loading screen to reflect development state.

Lordaeron:
-Changed name of Red to 'Lordaeron' from Arthas.
-Removed the 'Ancient' designation from Silverhand Paladins.

Legion:
-Changed Legion Voidwalker armor type to Unarmored and increased hit point maximum by 15.
-Changed Legion Tormentor armor type to Medium and increased hit point maximum by 10.
-Removed mana from Legion Voidwalker (it does not have any abilities).
-Increased base damage of Fel Fiend by 8, sides per damage die by 1, and decreased attack speed significantly.
-Added a potion of healing to Sironas.

Scourge:
-Recreated the destination of the Death Gate in Icecrown that leads to Death’s Front, it should allow CotD and Scourge to better coordinate.
-Decreased maximum mana of Baron Rivindare by 40.
-Changed stat scaling of Baron Rivindare (Strength => Agility => Intelligence).
-The Dark Temptation event now additionally grants you Malykriss as a spawn.

Dwarven Expedition:
-Added potion of healing to Baelgun.

Taunka:
-Increased duration of Roanauk Icemist's Warstomp stun by 1 second for each level (2/3/4).
-Reduced War Stomp's range gain for Roanauk slightly.
-Changed tower placement slightly.

Wyrmrest:
-Updated the model of each Dragon Aspect’s dragon form.

Naga:
-Added capability to use a Ley-Line to melt the icecaps for Azhara's Vanguard path.
-Created Vashj'ir, a portal base that is granted to the Naga after they consume a Ley-Line to melt the icecaps.
-Added path-neutral upgrade for obtaining Coutl as a spawned unit.

Vrykyl:
-Increased Kvaldir's Rage healing from 100/200/300 to 150/300/400 and increased attack speed bonus for each level by 10%.
-Changed the tooltip on Hrothgar's horn to reflect the bonuses gained for succesfuly reaching level 3.
-Added 2 Vrykul Aspirants, 2 Vrykul Axethrowers, and 1 Runecarver to Echo Cove starting units.
-Added Plunderer Aura (command aura) to Echo Cove while Vrykul control it to facilitate a competant defense.
-Added a maximum hit point bonus for the learning hero of Kvaldir Bulwark (50 per level in ability).


Ice Trolls:
-Made Drakkari Bloodlicker the faction's heroic unit.
-Changed unit icons to allow greater distinction.
-Resized units and unit selection circles.
-Increased range of Drakkari Impaler to 450 and increased base damage to 18.
-Decreased range of Drakkari Warsinger and increased base damage to 18.
-All troll units now have a hp regen of 1.2 to simulate their strong racial talents.
-Changed Frost King Malakk's E ability and added a small damage effect to his W.
-Added an ability to Drakkari Raptor Riders, they now deal 100% bonus damage to shock armor.
-Changed the Axe of the Frost King, it provides 4 agility and 10 bonus damage and now may be activated to cause the Hero to go berserk.
-Added King Dred as a demi-hero and his full-hero counterpart, he may now be acquired through the upgrade building once Drak'Tharon Keep is taken.
-Warlord Zol'Maz is now a mini hero that may be revived at Zol'Maz stronghold.
-Zol'Maz stronghold is now bound to the Dominion path, it and Warlord Zol'Maz will be gained upon selection of the path.
-Gaining King Dred now transforms Drakkari Warsingers (Shock Unit) into Drakkari Raptor Riders.
-Ice Trolls who take the worship faction path can now favor up to three shrines.
-Ice Trolls who take the dominion faction path can now only favor one shrine.
-Changed an error in the description of the dominion path, which had previously stated that it would spawn priests at temples (a benefit of the worship path).
-Removed 'Pulverize' research requirement for Child of Mamtoth's Pulverize ability.
-Minor visual changes to Zul'Drak.
-Changed tower placement around the temples so that there is less 'shooting over walls'.
-Removed undead classification from Prophet Heroes.
-Increased hitpoints of all non-strength-based prophet heroes.
-Gave Loa Temples the ability to set a rally flag.
-Replaced Ice Troll Conjurer's Q with a Faerie Fire equivalent.
-Fixed the tooltip on Spirit Healing, increased its mana cost by 10 and made it an E ability (requires 2 caster upgrades).
-Changed Ice Troll Conjurer's W to be a summon, which creates two spiderlings with a depowered slow poison (Requires 1 caster upgrade).
-Added functionality for the Temples to be captured by attacking forces.
-Increased hitpoint maximum of Child of Mam'Toth by ~300 and changed armor type to unarmored.
-Increased base attack damage of Child of Rhunok by 5 and slightly increased attack speed.
-Increased hitpoint maximum of both The Child of Quetz'lun and the Child of Harkoa.
-Decreased hitpoint regeneration of Child of Harkoa.
-Changed armor type of Child of Harkoa to Medium.

Nerubians:
-Added a potion of healing to Heroes.

Hyldir:
-Gave Yulda a whole array of placeholder abilities.

Alliance:
-Changed name to Alliance from Valliance Expedition.

Goblins:
-Steamwheedle path now grants the player the Hero Steamwheedle.



System:
-Added floating text by portals to indicate their destination.

Scourge:
-Scourge now acquire an undead version of Anub'arak upon his death if the Nerubians have chosen the Atheism path.

Ice Trolls:
-Heroic unit should now be properly set upon path selection.

Nerubians:
-Changed the setup of the spawn buildings in Azjol Nerub, they should now be more easily visable.
-Added several ramps to Azjol Nerub to allow greater flexibility of army movement.
-Added Hadronox as a hero.
-Changed Nerubian Drone attack type to normal and changed base attack damage to 14.
-Increased Nerubian Drone hit point maximum to 420.
-Slightly increased Nerubian Drone collision size.
-Increased Nerubian Archer hit point maximum to 375 and decreased base armor by 1.
-Changed Nerubian Mother hit point maximum to 375 and changed armor type to light.
-Increased Nerubian Archer attack speed.
-Added Diadem of Nerub to Nezar'Azret, this item can be upgraded through finding the two gems underground.
-Added an ultimate to Nezar'Azret.
-Fixed movement speed bonus of web aura on Nerubian Web Bearers, should now properly add the right % of movement speed.
-Changed name of Isolationism path to Xenophobia.
-Anub'Rekhan is now a hero tied to the Xenophobia path, he will be recieved upon the path being chosen.
-Anub'Rekhan's Summon Nerubian Guard ability now summons nerubian guards with base hitpoints: 400/450/500, and the summoned units benefit from upgrades.
-Fixed Anub'Rekhan's ultimate level requirement, it should now require level 8.
-Add Gem of Nerubis as Anub'Rekhan's starting item.
-The Gilded Gate spawn is now tied behind an event research for the Xenophobia path.
-Added Lord Kryxix as a revivable mini-hero, he will be recieved upon researching the Gilded Gate event and may be revived at the Gilded Gate.
-Hadronox is now properly granted to the Nerubians upon choosing the Atheism path.
-Triggers tied to the Xenophobia path now fire, losing Azjol Nerub will result in subsumption by the Old Gods while losing Anub'arak will result in subsumption by the Scourge.
-Added undead variations of the Nerubian units for their Scourge event.
-Added the Sundered Monolith event to the Atheism path, which functions as a backup and allows the Nerubians to ally either the Alliance or the Taunka.
-Added Seer Ixit, a powerful caster hero that is granted to the Nerubians once the Sundered Monolith event is triggered.

Goblins:
-Researching the Bilgewater path now grants Jastor Gallywix as a starting Hero.


System/Global:
-Fixed the restocking of the wrong Heroic Unit to main and quartered spawns.
-Increased the number of Constructed Guardians around Storm Peaks to facilitate a longer buffer before the first battle with the Old Gods on the surface.
-Store bought items should now drop on death.
-Added various drops to the existing creeps in the map.
-Added auto-path selection to the Ice Trolls, Nerubians, and Old Gods.
-Referenced the development thread in the loading screen for posting suggestions/feedback.
-Fixed some minor typos in ability descriptions and the loading screen.

Burning Legion:
-Fixed Fel Aura not working on the caster, Tichondrious should now heal alongside nearby friendly units while the ability is active.

Scourge:
-Fixed an error in which heroic units killed after researching Dark Temptation would not be reanimated as Death Knights.

Ice Trolls:
-Changed Traitor From the Pit Icon.
-Traitor from the pit now conveys the reincarnation benefit stated in its description.
-Traitor from the pit is now properly locked behind the Worship path.

Nerubians:
-Added a gold and lumber cost to the Gilded Gate event.
-Xenophobia's Scourge and Old God events now have buttons in the event building, they may be researched before they are triggered to grant Anub'arak a bonus.
-Xenophobia's Scourge and Old God events are now automatically triggered by destruction of Azjol Nerub at the hands of either party.
-Anub'arak's Silithid and Undead forms now scale to his previous level.
-Seer Ixit now scales to the level of Anub'arak when acquired.
-The third level of the Diadem item is now properly created for the creating hero.
-Queen's Embrace now only heals friendly units and has a non-scaling mana cost of 75.
-Fixed an error in which Anub'arak would only be given to the Scourge once killed under the Atheism path.

Old Gods:
-Reconfigured the setup of both starting paths.
-Added General Vezax as a hero for the Corruptor path.
-Added Herald Volazj as a hero for the Manipulator path.
-Added Deathbringers as the Heroic Unit for the Old God faction.
-Added a multiattack to Yogg-Saron
-Rebalanced the values for all Old Gods' units, they are configured to be high-scaling, so they benefit the most from upgrades and are to be considered 'late game'.
-Added the capability to acquire Grizzlemaw should the Old Gods bring a hero within the vicinity of it, granting them a mini-hero and a unique spawn.
-Changed the name of Grizzlemaw to 'Grizzlemaw' as opposed to 'Timbermaw'.
-Revamped the underground portion of Ulduar.
-Added the Twilight Hammer event to the Corruptor path, it will grant the Hero Cho'gall.
-Greatly reduced the cooldown on Sara's Charm ability (E) and reduced its mana cost with each level.
-Reduced the mana cost of Sara's (Q) to a flat amount, allowing it to be used more frequently.
-Added three map-wide abilities to Yogg Saron for his Manipulator path based upon Farsight, Reverse-Vampiric Aura, and Banishment.
-Add a few more hostile camps underground to facalitate an early creep with the abundance of starting units.
-Created a wall next to the Forgotten One in the western half of the underground, granting a defendable choke against an assault.
-Reoriented the ramp to the Forgotten Altar to face the Forgotten One, allowing the spawns to work in tandem and making a stronger defensible position.

Hyldnir:
-Properly configured the Hyldnir Proven to act as a Heroic Unit, adding 3 new abilities to the unit.
-Added Hyldnir Witch and Hyldnir Cavalry to make the unit spawns more unique from the Southern Vrykul.
-Changed the bonuses conveyed by Yulda's Sword, it now grants +1 to all stats and bonus hp regeneration and maximum mana.

Alliance:
-Westguard keep now starts as neutral, in preperation for kitting the Alliance for a westward fight with the Naga in the early game.

Blue Dragonflight:
-Added a fountain of mana in the Blue Dragonshrine area (Beside Sapphiron).
-Updated Kalecgos model.


After a long hiatus I've come back to developing this map. I am not entirely certain what changes I have made in this version but it was the latest on my computer. In light of this I have gone to the liberty of cleaning up files, removing uneeded and unwanted assets. In light of this the map can now be downloaded from the attachments on this post as I have managed to substantially decrease the map's size.


The opportunity to share this is awesome, I have been working on it for some time now and I am looking forward to hearing what you all think! This map is still a far away from being finished, featuring some bugs and an absence of implementation for certain faction paths. The attached map should primarily be used for showcasing the map, as play is guaranteed to not be balanced nor fully developed at this point.
 

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This looks cool, I am slightly concerned about the naming of each of the paths as it may be confusing to some people if they were named rather than vengeance and duty to (Scourge or Alliance Path) especially for first time players.

The terrain is beautiful tho, keep up the good work!
 
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This looks cool, I am slightly concerned about the naming of each of the paths as it may be confusing to some people if they were named rather than vengeance and duty to (Scourge or Alliance Path) especially for first time players.

The terrain is beautiful tho, keep up the good work!
Thanks! I feel like I have been focusing on terrain a little too much ha ha. I like the suggestion for the path names, the issue is that events like (join scourge) or (join alliance) are available to certain paths. The paths are separate than the events such as changing forces themselves and may include diverging options for potential alliances.

I think proper documentation for the paths and events is going to be a major focus for my next update because I share the concern, as well as continuing down the line of factions (about to give ice trolls a lil more love).

Suggestions for things like names for faction paths/events will be welcome too and if enough people get interested in the progress maybe I can start making polls in this post, otherwise its off to the Idea Factory for me!
 
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The updated map has been uploaded, featuring a rather large overhaul of the Ice Trolls! I am going to continue going down the list of factions each weekly update to ensure that there is a 'higher' baseline level of playability. Speaking of, this coming week's update will focus on fixing up the Nerubians, and then following week will be focused on the Old Gods.

Given that I am going to be working a lot on the Old Gods next week, I created this thread's first poll in order to help me reach a decision on what hero to give the Old Gods if they choose to go the 'Corruptor' path. General Vezax has already been picked for the 'Manipulator' path which is why he is not included as a choice. So please drop a vote, it will really help!
 
Despite not being a fan of the game genre, the map concept sounds pretty interesting. I like the player choices for each faction, really shows the time and effort put into each one. Terrain was also much better than expected, every new tab I opened continually impressed me. Great work!
 
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Hello everyone! It's been awhile since I have posted an update, the past month has been busy with the TBC Classic launch and my participation in the arena contest. In addition to this, a rather significant hurdle appeared two weeks ago in the form of a corrupted map file:

Broken.PNG


Due to this I had given up for a short while after a bit of an existentialist breakdown, 'Why am I spending my time on something that will just break?' But then I realized that the answer to this question is simple: 'Because its Fun'.

So I hunkered down and after a couple hours on a hot date with an mpq editor I was able to reconstruct the latest version of the map with few issues:

Fixed!.PNG


So development is back on track! The only casualty from the corrupted file is my frankly "expert" purple recolor of the wc3 grass:

Porple.PNG


Unfortunately Crystal Song now looks like this:

TheOnlyCasualty.PNG


I still do not know how the purple recolor of the grass seems to break anytime something goes wrong but I'm guessing its because I did just such a good job recoloring it in photoshop... or something.

Regardless I have been continuing work, one faction at a time. The Old Gods faction has been fleshed out with their own Heroic Unit and path-specific Heroes.

In addition to this I have reconstructed the underground portion of Ulduar:

Before.PNG


Ulduar depths now looks more like the layout of the dungeon from WoW:

After.PNG


As always this is a work in progress and does not represent the final layout. I'm sure I will make further changes to the Underground portion of the map, especially in light of how poor the pathing feels when attempting to send armies to Azjol Nerub from the surface. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

I will be posting the updated map, version .01s, this Sunday at 10 PM EST. The update will include the revamp to Ulduar and the fleshing out of the Old Gods faction, in addition to some optimizations to the Nerubian faction. The update will also include my foray into the Frost Dwarves and Hyldir, both of which I am super excited to work on.

I suspect that when uploading the updated version I will have to make an external link, perhaps to a google drive, due to issues with uploading a map file with a size greater than 100mb in a forum thread.

Thank you all for the interest and I would love to continue hearing folks' thoughts as my development of this map continues!
 
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deepstrasz

Map Reviewer
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Messages
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In addition to this, a rather significant hurdle appeared two weeks ago in the form of a corrupted map file:
There are threads about this in WEHZ. You should make various file saves and when that happens load the previous version or save the map as a folder and reimport all assets into the folder and then load the map folder in the editor.
 
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Version .01s is finally available:

So in updating this map I have brought it well over 100mb, crossing this threshold has yielded some issues uploading the map file as an attachment to any thread/forum posts. So from now on new versions will be uploaded to this Google Drive. This link will of course be added to the top of the thread as well, but I am hoping for a bit more elegant solution if anyone has any suggestions. After all, there was something convenient and simple about being able to just click the attached file at the bottom of the thread, instantly downloading the map.

Regardless here is the changelog for .01s:


System/Global:

-Fixed the restocking of the wrong Heroic Unit to main and quartered spawns.
-Increased the number of Constructed Guardians around Storm Peaks to facilitate a longer buffer before the first battle with the Old Gods on the surface.
-Store bought items should now drop on death.
-Added various drops to the existing creeps in the map.
-Added auto-path selection to the Ice Trolls, Nerubians, and Old Gods.
-Referenced the development thread in the loading screen for posting suggestions/feedback.
-Fixed some minor typos in ability descriptions and the loading screen.

Burning Legion:

-Fixed Fel Aura not working on the caster, Tichondrious should now heal alongside nearby friendly units while the ability is active.

Scourge:

-Fixed an error in which heroic units killed after researching Dark Temptation would not be reanimated as Death Knights.

Ice Trolls:

-Changed Traitor From the Pit Icon.
-Traitor from the pit now conveys the reincarnation benefit stated in its description.
-Traitor from the pit is now properly locked behind the Worship path.

Nerubians:

-Added a gold and lumber cost to the Gilded Gate event.
-Xenophobia's Scourge and Old God events now have buttons in the event building, they may be researched before they are triggered to grant Anub'arak a bonus.
-Xenophobia's Scourge and Old God events are now automatically triggered by destruction of Azjol Nerub at the hands of either party.
-Anub'arak's Silithid and Undead forms now scale to his previous level.
-Seer Ixit now scales to the level of Anub'arak when acquired.
-The third level of the Diadem item is now properly created for the creating hero.
-Queen's Embrace now only heals friendly units and has a non-scaling mana cost of 75.
-Fixed an error in which Anub'arak would only be given to the Scourge once killed under the Atheism path.

Old Gods:

-Reconfigured the setup of both starting paths.
-Added General Vezax as a hero for the Corruptor path.
-Added Herald Volazj as a hero for the Manipulator path.
-Added Deathbringers as the Heroic Unit for the Old God faction.
-Added a multiattack to Yogg-Saron
-Rebalanced the values for all Old Gods' units, they are configured to be high-scaling, so they benefit the most from upgrades and are to be considered 'late game'.
-Added the capability to acquire Grizzlemaw should the Old Gods bring a hero within the vicinity of it, granting them a mini-hero and a unique spawn.
-Changed the name of Grizzlemaw to 'Grizzlemaw' as opposed to 'Timbermaw'.
-Revamped the underground portion of Ulduar.
-Added the Twilight Hammer event to the Corruptor path, it will grant the Hero Cho'gall.
-Greatly reduced the cooldown on Sara's Charm ability (E) and reduced its mana cost with each level.
-Reduced the mana cost of Sara's (Q) to a flat amount, allowing it to be used more frequently.
-Added three map-wide abilities to Yogg Saron for his Manipulator path based upon Farsight, Reverse-Vampiric Aura, and Banishment.
-Add a few more hostile camps underground to facalitate an early creep with the abundance of starting units.
-Created a wall next to the Forgotten One in the western half of the underground, granting a defendable choke against an assault.
-Reoriented the ramp to the Forgotten Altar to face the Forgotten One, allowing the spawns to work in tandem and making a stronger defensible position.

Hyldnir:

-Properly configured the Hyldnir Proven to act as a Heroic Unit, adding 3 new abilities to the unit.
-Added Hyldnir Witch and Hyldnir Cavalry to make the unit spawns more unique from the Southern Vrykul.
-Changed the bonuses conveyed by Yulda's Sword, it now grants +1 to all stats and bonus hp regeneration and maximum mana.

Alliance:

-Westguard keep now starts as neutral, in preperation for kitting the Alliance for a westward fight with the Naga in the early game.

Blue Dragonflight:

-Added a fountain of mana in the Blue Dragonshrine area (Beside Saphirron).
-Updated Kalecgos model.

I realize that the changes are not quite as extensive as previous version's changelogs but I suppose that is a good thing. I have been able to focus alot on developing and polishing off the rough edges of each faction in an effort to make each one fun in addition to being playable. The Old Gods were in particular very engaging to work on, as I had just recently finished fleshing out the faction that they fight first, the Nerubians. By working on each of these factions subsequently, I was able to really think about the kind of conflicts that would be occurring underground and shape these factions to their strengths. My hope is that I will be able to ultimately mimic this same kind of commitment in development of the Hyldir and Frost Dwarves, though it means shelving the Alliance slightly longer than I would like.

Of the factions left to flesh out for real playability, only the Frost Dwarves, Alliance, Blue Dragonflight, Cult of the Damned and Goblins remain. What I define by playability is simply having at least one path specific dynamic, a heroic unit, and several bases. By this sense it should be easy to create playability in the map by simply ticking off these three requirements for the remaining factions, but I suppose my approach keeps getting sidelined as I get involved with a faction and wish to develop it further. In order to navigate this I will be adhering to my own artificial constraint of: 'A faction every week'. If I manage to adhere to this for at least 5 weeks then the map can be playable enough to playtest.

I will also be ensuring to adhere to better editor practices,

There are threads about this in WEHZ. You should make various file saves and when that happens load the previous version or save the map as a folder and reimport all assets into the folder and then load the map folder in the editor.

This is something I would have loved to know of before using an mpq editor to recreate the corrupted map. I actually didn't even realize that you can save/load maps as folders until you brought it up and this would have been much easier than what I ended up doing. Hindsight 20/20 but I know for the future that I will be making many more backups. Though I'm not a huge fan of google drive, it will be very nice having a digital repository for my previous map versions in case anything were to happen to my computer. Regardless thank you for bringing this to my attention, should this occur in the future I will know what to do thanks to you!



Thank you all for the continued interest and I would love to hear about alternatives to Google Drive if you have any suggestions!
 
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Level 4
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Jun 22, 2021
Messages
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:0 Where can I download the beta? Would love to test this, I'm a big fan of these types of maps :grin: :grin:
I'd like to know the version of wc3 that is needed for this too, I hope it's playable in 1.29 or older versions, sadly don't have reforged yet.. :sad:
 
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