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SoRM <v.1.0>

sorm.jpg

Far back... on the lands of a great kingdom... two royal families were fighting for domination. Both of them believed they have the true right to rule over the lands and none of them would back up.

One day... they decided to make a final and totally different battle. They had chosen their fifth most powerful members of the family and sent them to the forests around Ravenlake Manor. Here... the two groups would have to survive on their own... and after that kill each other. When one would succeed their family would be the winner.
Still... the Ravenlake Manor was a place of damnation... many tales of horror spoken of the place to be haunted by a being... a fiend of darkness that would hunt and kill anyone who gets near... but also there were tales of great powers... magical items which lie around in the manor... Also the heroes acknowledge that around the manor... lie magical portals which lead to another dimension.

As the two teams, from the House of Aetrys and the House of Hyveras come in the woods... the battle begins... shrouded in shadows...


Gameplay and Basics
The primary idea of this map is quite simple. There are 3 teams: 2 of them are human teams and the third team is only a single player, a shadow. The last team that remains alive will win the game, but of course... the map itself isn't that simple.

Humans
  • Stats
    The humans have 3 primary stats: Health, Energy(mana) and Heat(appears instead of gold). The heat fades away from a maximum of 37 to 0. If it reaches 0, the health of the hero will begin to decrease.In order to preserve heat, the humans need to make a fire. Also mana will decrease each time the hero attacks or casts a spell and it can be recharged by standing near a tent or by other ways.
  • Items
    Each human hero will begin with 2 starting items, depending on the chosen class. Also each team will be given at start, a torch and a little book with recipes for starters. The items here can be worn... if they are weapons or armors they appear attached on the hero but you can only have on of a type. Other items are found on the ground around the map and are simply ingredients or materials which can be used to create more items, buildings, etc.
    In order to combine 2 or more items the player needs to put them in a certain order. The items must be necessarily be put from slot 1 to slot 6 in the specified order, in a the inventory of the hero or of an certain building, so that the combination will succeed.
    Also some items are restricted to certain attribute heroes, mostly armors, therefore some hero classes cannot hold some special items.
  • Attribute-abilities
    The humans can choose from 6 different classes, each with a different set of skills and advantages/disadvantages, but all of them have something in common. Every hero can gain points by leveling up and those points can be spent on one or more of the attribute-abilities which are Agility, Endurance, Health and Spirit.
    These abilities do not appear as icons but they passively increase the hero's power. Still each of these abilities can be leveled up to rank 4 and the maximum hero level is 6, so choosing carefully between them is a major asset to personalize and make your hero better.
  • Spells
    The heroes start at first with one spell, depending on the chosen class and they will be given another spell at each level up until level 6 when they are given an ultimate. Even though the spells can't be upgraded, they are mostly useful.
  • Classes
    The classes for the humans are:
    >Knight - Basic warrior, based on resistance and team leading.
    >Scout - A versatile fighter, usually based on scouting or ranged combat.
    >Mage - The arcane spellcaster, usually using offensive elemental spells.
    >Priest - The mystic support hero, adept in using supportive and healing spells.
    >Rogue - A cunning hero, adept in high damage blows and sneaking.
    >Hunter - Versatile warrior, adept in fast fighting or taming animals.

Shadow
  • Stats
    First of all, the shadow is not so dependent on certain stats like the humans. It doesn't use heat... and mana will not decrease with each attack, making attacking impossible if mana reaches 0. Still the shadow has an interesting resource. It can use Blood(displayed instead of lumber). This resource is "harvested" by the shadow hero from any enemy. Each kill grants blood depending on the power of the killed unit or hero. With blood, the shadow can always go back to the starting zone and buy items.
  • Items
    The shadow doesn't use items in the same way like humans. They don't appear on it... they are only talismans which give the hero some benefits. Still, each item has it's use... they are mainly for making the shadow better so it can kill the humans. In the same time... like the humans, the shadow can put some items in certain orders to combine them.
  • Spells
    The shadow uses the same way of getting new spells, begins with a starting one depending on the chosen class and gets a new one each level. Also the shadow can gain points and upgrade it's attribute-abilities.
  • Classes
    The shadow can pick from 4 different classes:
    >Stalker - The basic hunter, master of pursuit and assassination.
    >Shadowmancer - A necromancer with dark powers, uses offensive spells and summonings.
    >Sentinel - A valiant yet unholy knight, adept in resistance and brutal force.
    >Shapeshifter - The sorcerer of shapes, can morph it's form or the form of others.

Books
I can say that in here... the items are a big part of the game... so to make it more interesting, the combinations in the game can't be found out by pushing F9 or by looking around some plain text. The way to find out item combinations (at least the powerful ones) is to read the books spread around the map, more precisely in the manor. These books are filled with interesting facts that describe the history of the manor but also give clues and riddles about item recipes. They aren't that hard... so don't worry, but you still need to be a bit smart so you can understand them.

The Camera
The camera in this map is quite different. Although this type has been used in most newer RPG maps or in different RPG games... i chose to give the map a Third Person Camera from 2 reasons. First, it gives the map a better look, making it harder for the player to go around place to place... making some orientation skills required. Second, it nullifies the advantage of some MapHack users (i had bad experiences with such players so i tried to make the map so that they're hacks wont' do much thing in it).


I, w3.player, am the author of the map but I must give first of all special credits to the ÆSO Team for their devotement along the making of this map. Therefore i thank:
Dynamiczx - map help. testing and ideas
neutrinus (lozici) - map help, testing and ideas
alpha11111 - map testing and ideas
(some of them may not have an account here on the Hive)

Second i must give credits to all which have made the resources i use in the map:
Kitabatake, Happy Tauren, KelThuzad, Big Dub, Revilo, Tranquil, assasin_lord, Primadhe@d, Nightmare_X, Darkwind, D.O.G, Dr. Super Good, Darkfang, Frankster


For now there are only a few screenshots made by a team member while playing with the shadow, against me and some other players.
206643-albums5239-picture53503.jpg

206643-albums5239-picture53504.jpg


From 0.4a to 0.5:
-minor bug fixes
-new items
-a few unit changes

From 0.5 to 0.8
-many bugs fixed
-stat changes
-many new items
-added grace period
-alchemy desk is now workdesk

From 0.8 to 0.8b
-win/lose bug fixed
-added command -cam for switching between camera modes

From 0.8b to 1.0
-grace period bug fixed
-buildings 'pack up' bug fixed
-other bugs fixed
-many new items (this time there are really a lot more)
-some stat changes
-balance changes



Please understand this is my first public map, therefore i don't expect it to be anywhere near perfect. Although constructive criticism is highly welcome. I hope you will all enjoy it.
Sincerely... the idea for it came to me when i thought of combining 2 of my favorite maps... I came up with the idea of combining Island Troll tribes and Phase Killer, but of course i added some thoughts of my own into it.
I know the map might seem a bit hard to play at first, because it has a tense moment at start when you need to make a fire... but if you're into this kind of maps it will be peace of cake.

NOTE: The map is protected.


If you wish, you can visit our just created new forum of the ÆSO Team: http://aetherealsoulsorder.forumotion.net/

Keywords:
Shadows of Ravenlake Manor, Shadow, Shadows, Raven, Lake, Ravenlake, Manor, RPG, Survival, Teamwork, Heroes, Wilderness.
Contents

SoRM <v.1.0> (Map)

Reviews
Vengeancekael: Private Message Date: 2011/Nov/27 14:15:16 Reasons: Other: Check out the tutorials section: Tutorials Check out the Map Development Section: Map Development Section Check out the World Editor Help Zone (Trigger issues, object...
Features are really awesome.
I'm impressed, unfortunately I can't test map right now, but I will as soon as I get my PC.
I will check code, terrain, object editor data, imported resources and many more things, I'm really interested in this, so any optimization can be useful.
Expect nice review soon.
 
Level 11
Joined
Jul 20, 2010
Messages
869
First of all, i want to say, that i am really proud, being part of the development team of this map.
I can say, that even as a beta, the map itself is very awesome, combining different concepts and ideas into making a new one
I would suggest this map for any player in search of quality RPG maps, and my regards for w3.player for making it in such a short time and so outstanding
 
Level 9
Joined
May 14, 2008
Messages
576
hmmm the idea is cool but i found the map not fun to play, i found annoying to search for items then craft in the right order etc... omg i'm not a chinese farmer from mmorpg

i know writing this is totally useless but eh i cant control myself
 
Level 9
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
788
Depends on each player's "tastes in maps". For me... a map that needs first a preparation for battle, then a battle is more fun than one in which the battle starts immediately... but each one likes what he wants.
Take Island troll tribes for example. That map has the same starting point like this one... but mine is more RPG because i introduced the "Shadow" player and also it's more complex when comes to item combinations.
 
Level 9
Joined
May 14, 2008
Messages
576
hmmm yes i agree and i also dislike island troll tribes lol

but from what i tried it looked like it would take like 1h to prepare and then play the game... i tried in solo :p (I mean YOUR map)
 
Last edited:
Level 9
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
788
Thanks.

Hey, if any of you have played it... could you please tell me if the costs for the shadow items are too high/low? I need to know because i've only played once as shadow so i can't be sure... but some of the prices seem too high.
 
Level 9
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
788
Thank you for the supportive comment.

Although i will have to apologize, as i have been unable to update it (due to... many reasons), the version is mainly stable.

ALSO, as a future reference, if anyone wants the de-protected version in order to continue updating the map themselves or create a personal version, please contact me via PM.
 

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