Orcs in Space (OiS)

Nichita_00 · Feb 24, 2009

Hello, I am opening subject about my map, Orcs in space. It is inspired by Solar Conquest (gameplay) and idea is from Oxhorn's Orcs in Space (I liked 2 ^^)
I am advertising it so soon because of more reasons:
1. SC2 is appearing, and I didn't contribute with anything to wc3
and
2. I've got many author rights stealing attempts recently and I try to make it clear who's the author.

It started somewhere in summer, when I wanted to make a map and finish it.
I will post screenshots/features soon, now I'm just setting the thread up.

FEATURES: This is a summary of existent and current features. Legend: Green (Working) Orange (Working, but not perfectly) Red (Doesn't work mostly/partly) Cyan (Planned)

-12 Players: 12 players are supported.
-Space Travel: You can travel between planets and on planets; You can carry units around space.
-Income System: You get income based on buildings, and units. (Thanks, someone made it for me)
-Alliance System: Thanks to Cherol for his system. (Too lazy to learn how to do one, so I just took this one)
-Naming System: A naming system! Made by me

-The Nichat: A chat, useless but fun. Good for RPing (Works with names, thanks for suggestions). I was in spired by SotDRP in doing this chat, so it's basically the same using. (Has an ally-version)
-Neutrality System: Based on Cherol's alliance system, I tinkered with it, and my plan worked. Basically visionless alliance.
-Orbitting System: Thanks to Redmarine. Nice eye candy

-Nice, coloured tooltips: I'm working on them, but some are left from the early stages.
-Space Combat: It's still primitive and doesn't work as planned.
-Techtree: NEW TECHTREE

!
-Balance: Unbalanced, I'm too lazy to balance it. Will do in close future versions.
-Story: I'm planning an epic story, I'm trying to make it as interesting as possible without using cliches.
-Planets: 7 planets and 2 moons. Enough for you?
-Terrain: Some of them are pretty good, some are too simple; some are still in re-terraining.
-Tactics/Strategies: Because of imbalance, they are not too varied.
-Galaxies: Yay, done. It works and looks awesome.
-Leaks: This map has some strong weak points in the triggering; Most people don't lagg tho'.
-Lame Tooltips: Left from the first stages, when I was a lame guy.
-Resemblance: Resembles another map, but it's not better than it. (The techtree is far behind)
-Upkeep System: I want units to have an upkeep, so you don't mass them.
-Stuffy Techtree: A very big techtree, with many possible branches. (Will explain further down)
-Heroes: Comics, anyone?
-Trading System: You will be able to trade with foreign empires.
-2 Races (maybe 3): Orcs, Parasites (I'm still deciding if you can start out with them or obtain them in game) and maybe an ancient race of sorts. There are also 'malefic beings' who want to wipe out the world, you'll be seeing them.
-Quests: Quests are fun, and they're planned to introduce you to the history and events ingame (not to mention the rewards your nation gets)
-A working AI: A nice AI for every race, maybe with different difficulties and tactics. And maybe taunts.
-Game Modes: Sometimes we're not in the mood for a long game or we just don't have time. Or we're good at it but never saw all the techtree. Well, modes can offer you some of these possibilities. Possible modes:
1.Race to Space: First player to get in space is pitted against all nations who don't reach space in 2 minutes (or something like that). The others are set to neutral.
2.Deathmatch: Free-for-all with plenty of resources.
3.Team Deathmatch: Plenty resources, free alliances.
4. Planetary War: Each planet's nations are allied, and it's planet vs planet. In this mode there are limited planet numbers.
5. Global warfare: All players are put on one planet, and space tech requires no enemies alive. When you reach space, the game ends.
6. Economic Crysis: You start with a medium amount of money, but you're struck by devastating economic punches. If you drop under an x value of money, you lose. If you go above z amount of money, and you have over that amount for some time, you win. Alliances are not possible, meaning you must fight, meaning you have armies, resulting in upkeep. You have a timer, and when it ends, the game ends.
7. Orc vs Machine: You need AIs for this mode. It will pit all the human players against AIs. If player count is bigger than AI count, then difficulty is set to 'high' and vice-versa.
-Custom Interface: A poor quality custom made interface!

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Ok, so here are my planned features.

3 Paths:
Economic;Military;Religious;

Economic:
It will rely on defense and economy. It will have a classic empire building style (Maybe GoE, so it turns into a city-builder

)
and it's military will be about peacekeeping and guarding territories. Trade is a strong point in the game, (not implemented).
It will also have harder regeneration (Longer structure building), but stronger buildings/units (stronger units meaning higher defense), so it will likely be a longevive empire (Meaning you won't have to change your main or migrate in a quite long period). Those are my ideas for the Economic Path (for now). Suggestions are welcome.

Military:
Military is the most varied path of them all (I didn't structure the religious path, so that one may be the most varied in the future). It's tactics diverge, depending on your further subbranching (I don't have time to explain it all, at the moment).
For example, you can live on your kills: Your income buildings are gone and killing gives you bounty, practically you live on blood. The other method is turning nomadic and being constantly on the move (you get income by killing).
You can also stick to the normal playing style, having a base and rushing for other people.

Religious:
NOTE: Religious path doesn't have any existing religions, and some who resemble real world religions are by no means ment to mock that certain religion. The religious path throws you in immediatly choosing a religion. Some may be closer to magic, some to science, and some are purely barbaric or chaotic. They have various means to travel in space (Religious path is full of magic and stuff, and they are not having a 'modern' look) like teleporting, space creatures and energetic forms to travel between. It's also one of the most lorewise paths, because every religion has a history and a form of a 'doctrine'.

Path Combining:
A feature in Orcs in Space is path combining. It's part of subbranching. It results in mixed tactics and new units; every combined path is unique: A Military-Economic combination is NOT equal to an Economic-Military combination.

Well I think this is all. For now. Updating screenshots soon!
Subscribe for the daily peon, an OiS newspaper! We'll 'newspape' right there! By the way, ideas are always welcome.
This map is better played on BNet, because I can't do a working AI now.
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I'm updating the map file today. It is protected.
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SCREENIES!
You can see the starting city; a nicely grown city and an action screenie, those are laz0r tanks. Look, a space screenie! Some different planets... We only need more variation. I'm planning nice asteroid belts

[K40$]-Spectre · Feb 25, 2009

1. SC2 is appearing, and I didn't contribute with anything to wc3
and

, Starcraft 2 will appear in 2010, so you have plenty of time to work on it if you want.

I will post screenshots/features soon, now I'm just setting the thread up.

, that usually takes just a minute or two ;0. I'll give you feedback as soon you've posted some screenshots and features.

Nichita_00 · Feb 25, 2009

Thanks. Sorry for that 'BYE SCHOOL' but I had to go asap.

TheDivineBoss · Feb 25, 2009

I hope you changed the damn escape button, it's damn annoying to suddenly shift to the universe screen.

Nichita_00 · Feb 25, 2009

That's the way you get to the universe. But I could change it

Falconeye · Feb 25, 2009

Well solar conquest being one of my favorite maps, is the reason that I give you a thumbs up and hope you are able to finish it. Can't wait IF you finish it.

Nichita_00 · Feb 25, 2009

Will do. It's a project that I want to lead to an end. A happy one

[K40$]-Spectre · Feb 25, 2009

The new grass tile looks nice, imported materieel is also a +, try to make the structures fit each other more (buildings that all have the same theme). And as you probably already have done or planning to do, get rid of the green icon error.

EDIT

If you want, I can look for some models for you.

Nichita_00 · Feb 25, 2009

1. The icon error isn't an error, it's just an ability which just marks income (planning to remove) and
2. If you can do nice buildings that fit with my map, then I'm accepting ^^. Try to make them small sized tho'.
3. You can see the real suckage by coming on bnet (northrend) and giving Nichita a /w.

Nichita_00 · Feb 25, 2009

By the way, do you want an attachment of the map so you can download it and play it?

[K40$]-Spectre · Feb 26, 2009

By the way, do you want an attachment of the map so you can download it and play it?

Gyrosphinx · Feb 26, 2009

sounds interesting...
- i like the idea about the orbiting system, and i hope that the planets would be completely well executed

Nichita_00 · Feb 26, 2009

Spectre I already use most of those resources

[K40$]-Spectre · Feb 26, 2009

Spectre I already use most of those resources

, ah crap. Well at least you got some cool models than

BlinkforFear · Feb 26, 2009

looks nice....

for your first terrain pic a tree or two would be nice... or something to fill up some of the space

Argus · Feb 27, 2009

Nichita_00 said:
Spectre I already use most of those resources

I hope you're using these orcs?

CaptainTesticles · Feb 27, 2009

Looks sweet.

Wazzz · Feb 27, 2009

Sounds sexy. I played Solar Conquest for a bit, and found it's feature to be somewhat contraversial. While it was cool being able to home in on planets, view space from the outside and ultimately get a feel of conquering planets, it was somewhat difficult to get back to the planet I wanted, making the whole 'fluent fun' ideal somewhat non-existent. It forced the map into a sort of Total War-esque style of gameplay, which is fine except that the Total War series is somewhat easier to get the hang of.

Also, it seems to me that it's somewhat awkward having just one race. The Solar Conquest map only had the humans which is fine in some cases, but creates a very limited gameplay time (afterall, most players like to choose a favourite race of theirs to play with. Why would you play a game with one race that you don't even like?). Perhaps you could implement a Humans vs Orcs feel to it while adding different religions for both races to choose from?

As for the religion idea, that would create a whole different feel for both races (yes, I'm talking about using 2 races instead of 1 now

). Although I think the whole magic mixed with science is a little bit awkward (it could be done, but the question is how well), it would be awesome to be able to have 2 players go the same race yet have different tech-trees to one another.

Well, good luck with the project, and I hope you use some of my ideas in it

. I'll most likely swing by on the odd ocassion to see how you're going with it

.

Nichita_00 · Feb 27, 2009

Oh, wazz, I forgot to say that THERE ARE 2 races planned (Even 3). I'm gonna add them to the features

Argus, I use the 3rd, the 5th and the 2nd (Dunnoes) for more models, maybe variations of the same unit.

Oh and please read the main post every time. I have updates and stuff.

[K40$]-Spectre · Feb 27, 2009

Oh, wazz, I forgot to say that THERE ARE 2 races planned (Even 3). I'm gonna add them to the features
Argus, I use the 3rd, the 5th and the 2nd (Dunnoes) for more models, maybe variations of the same unit.

, I prefer that you'll do 2 races so you can focus on the differences between the races while still keep it balanced.

Wazzz · Feb 27, 2009

Really? That's awesome! Also, if you are planning to use the feature that Solar Conquest had, perhaps you might be able to make it easier to find the planet you want? Might just be me not playing the map for long (I get pretty impatient nowadays...), but it did sort of cause a bit of head trauma finding where I started all over again.

As for the models, you won't want to use too many (for fear of the editor's bane: The legendary filesize limit :O). If you're planning 2 (or maybe 3, as you say) races, be careful where you tread. For the third race, a customized evolution race would be cool, but if that were to be done, you would need to be careful not to rip off the Zerg. Otherwise, all you get is a Starcraft mod where the Protoss are greener 'n' meaner.

The more I hear of this idea, the sexier it gets. The Parasites... name needs work, but at the moment it's just an idea, isn't it

? Perhaps (and this is just a suggestion) they get their technologies by devouring particular races? For example, they have their own evolution tech-tree, but it is somewhat limited unless they can infest the other 2 races. The only problem is if you have a match where every player is the Parasite race... in which case it might be wise to have some sort of Bio Den (Like a graveyard, only crunchy) where it preserves the corpses of dead Orcs/Mystic Thingy Dudes (I think Humans would be simpler, but a little bit cliche of Starcraft. Again, tread carefully! Thin ice is a dangerous place to be!), which allows the basic parasitic aliens to infest them and grant a better tech-tree. Also, through doing this, it would be possible to have (once again, just ideas being thrown around) some sort of Harvester unit which collects the corpses of fallen enemies. I know this might be seen as cliche of the Undead of Warcraft, but it would be presented and even used entirely differently. Something to think about, anyway.

Well, good luck, and I look forward to your next update ;D.

P.S. When will a Beta be released? I would love to thoroughly test the map and tell you my thoughts of how it's going so far

. Good luck!

Nichita_00 · Feb 27, 2009

Well, the parasites is the name I thought of

(Parasite 2 is the gameplay I want to follow with this race).
I like how your corpse scavenging and tech acquiring sounds like. Ub0r.
And about filesize, it's about 6 MB now. I got it to 8,000 mb but it was too much. So around 7 MB is max

[K40$]-Spectre · Feb 27, 2009

And about filesize, it's about 6 MB now. I got it to 8,000 mb but it was too much. So around 7 MB is max

, well you got AI, so it isn't really a problem (you can play maps higher than 4,5 mb through LAN right?).

Wazzz · Feb 28, 2009

Glad you like the ideas for the Parasites XD! I think 3 races would be great to have so long as they had a great level of detail each. I also think that the Parasites should have strong, fast melee units with low health so they're easy to shoot down (I think I may be taking a leaf out of Halo's book here

), and then you could have less offensive, more defensive units that attack from a distance or even at melee (perhaps there could be a highly defensive melee unit that doesn't do much damage but can be used to draw fire: It would require a useful ability to make enemies want it dead, too, like an aura or something).

7 MB?!? Well, it's a good thing you have AI. REALLY good. Cause I don't think you'd be able to play it over LAN (Shame, really, but still would be cool to play

). I don't know how you managed to get it that large already, to be honest. Do you already have models imported for the other races, or did you import custom music or something? Custom music (if you have it) is not required and often ends up being a waste of space

. However, I get the feeling that this is the sort of map that would take a good deal of time to beat from a gamer's perspective, making any online aspect somewhat.... useless. Who would stay for hour after hour on the net trying to finish a game that would be much better to defeat at your own pace? Somehow, I think people have lost perspective of what online gaming's all about (For me, it's fast-paced action. Some maps online, however, tend to drag it out, making it feel awkward to try and complete it [I speak of maps such as Dark Ages of Warcraft and the like where you start off with a whole lot of bases and are thrown in the deep end pretty much right away]). With that said, I don't think an online aspect would be good and that you are quite right to go all out with the filesize XD. Good luck!

Nichita_00 · Feb 28, 2009

I don't have AI... and it's playable on Bnet

(Vex's optimizer, forgot

?) Well, technically, Ai exists, but it sucks ass. Just gathers oil. Oh and I reformatted, I couldn't upload anything.

Nichita_00 · Mar 8, 2009

I had computer problems, I couldn't do anything. Check the main post

Wazzz · Mar 9, 2009

Sorry for the late relpy

. Here is my verdict:

It is an interesting map with a lot of triggers, fantastic terrain and a great idea to boot. At the moment, I can tell the map is obviously unfinished (The tooltips are a dead giveaway

), so it is hard to comment on the variety of the Orcs so far. However, here is what I can gather from what you have so far:

1) The Orc researches could probably be relieved of the Z's replacing the S's and such unless it's the name of something the Orcs use. With the current tooltips, too, it's hard to look at it and take it seriously (although the tooltips are going to be changed *phew*).

2) The names LMAOPlane and ROFLCopter are very... awkward lol. I hope these names are going to be changed?

3) I absolutely LOVE how you applied a different texture to General Frank's Orc models! Although they don't necessarily need them (depending on what you want them for), I like the overall look of it in your map! Nice job!

4) The income system, the pace of the game and such is very fast ATM (partly to do with the unfinished factor

), but that's only for teching. When it comes to actually fighting and controlling different planets and such, I can tell it would take a very long time indeed (especially with a full-house). This combination of fast teching and long gameplay could be quite bad for your project, as players would get their best units very fast but still have a lot of fighting to do. A wider variety of units (keeping in mind that the map is still unfinished) along with a good length on the build/research times could increase the length of teching, which would be worth it.

5) The space view is breath-taking, but hard to navigate through. When it comes to the planets, perhaps you could make them like the Waygate where it shows you the name of the planet you hover your mouse over. That way, it would be easier for players as they could learn the names of the planets and such.

Overall: Great so far, but you still have a long way to go, my friend. Still, keeping in mind that this is even less than a Beta in terms of completion, it is a fantastic production and I encourage you every step of the way. Keep up the good work!

Also, I have started my own Sci Fi which was partly inspired by this map idea, partly inspired by it being an old idea that wasn't done correctly at the time and mainly because I have fallen in love with the idea I posted about how the Parasite race could work. Check out the thread I started here: Galactic Conflict - The Hive Workshop - A Warcraft III Modding Site It is a completely different gameplay style to this map, so there's no need to worry about competition from me

.

Nichita_00 · Mar 9, 2009

@ Wazzz:
1) I don't really understand what you mean. And the current tooltips aren't done. I'm updating this soon.
2) Don't know. Maybe, maybe not.
3) Thanks!

4) I know, but I tried to slow teching down.. and it sucked. I don't think it's so fast. Depends on how you play.
5) A bit hard for newbies, but it's very fast when you get used to it. I merged the galaxies for that reason.

Oh and nice map of yours, commented

. Put a beta soon. (Mine isn't beta but since people call it that way..

)

Wazzz · Mar 9, 2009

To do with the planet names, I still insist the best shot is to have them like the Waygate in that their name appears above them so you don't have to click on them to find you're in the planet you didn't want

.

Glad you like my map

. A beta won't be too soon, though (sorry!), as I want to have all races completed so people can criticise openly how it is. With that said, I will post information on the races and their units and such, allowing viewers to get a better idea of the map or say (if they want) ideas that are better alternatives to what I am doing ATM. Basically, my Beta will most likely be a finished product and the actual release will be a patch

.

Well, the good thing about releasing a Beta so late is that the criticism will come about the game as a finished product. Also, it would allow people interested in the map to come up with their own maps and submit them (NOTE: This is if they want to, not because I don't want to terrain myself lol). I hope you don't mind the wait (sorry again!). On the plus side, my map doesn't have as much in terms of content as yours as it's more based on quick games rather than a nice, relaxing evolution through time.

FINAL NOTE: I have looked at the maps submitted over the past few days and am dissapointed in the types that are being submitted. For one, it seems every man and his dog nowadays wants to create their own AoS. From what I hear (I hate AoSes personally, so I don't bother with this), DoTA is the best AoS around. Then there's other types of maps, which is fine, but where did all the RTSes go? It seems as though they are a thing of the past, something which people don't wish to expand on any more. Fortunately, there's us. 2 different futuristic RTS games, one fast-paced the other more lengthy and durable. The end result of having these 2 extra RTS games: Futuristic RTS gets another chance at being successful in Warcraft 3. Go us!

[K40$]-Spectre · Mar 11, 2009

1) I don't really understand what you mean. And the current tooltips aren't done. I'm updating this soon.
2) Don't know. Maybe, maybe not.

, I agree with Wazzz with this. The colored tooltips look good, the others are most times bullshit.

The terrain looks nice. And I have hosting problems with Battlenet so I can't host a map or something like that, so if you include an AI I'll give you a review.

Nichita_00 · Mar 12, 2009

Well, sad news for you guys... I'm ahead with around 2 versions of this one

Well, I'm re-shaping the techtree.. I'll update it after it works..!

{EDIT}
QUESTION TO THE COMMUNITY: I've got a new techtree idea. It's simple, but it could be simpler.

It's like this: (G = Ground Units, A = Air Units, S = Space Units)

Research Centre
/ | \
Military Economic Religious <<<-- Note: Same for all paths.
/ / | | | | | \ \
G A S G A S G A S

Now, is the G A S thing good? Or it's too complicated. I say if it's ok, it should be like this: You upgrade to military/economic/religious (but you can't go back and switch) and you can then go to Ground, let's say, but you can downgrade back to Military/Economic/Religious, so you basically need 3 Research Centres for all the current upgrades in all the G/A/S sections.

EDIT: It's annoying... I can't do represent it.. it's like this
Research Centre >>> Military/Economic/Religious >>> Ground/Air/Space

Linaze · Mar 13, 2009

Looks good, the new techtree idea sounds good.
This could turn out well.

Nichita_00 · Mar 26, 2009

NEW TECHTREE! Looks nice. And it's a new ver!

Orcs in Space (OiS)

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