• 🏆 Texturing Contest #33 is OPEN! Contestants must re-texture a SD unit model found in-game (Warcraft 3 Classic), recreating the unit into a peaceful NPC version. 🔗Click here to enter!
  • It's time for the first HD Modeling Contest of 2024. Join the theme discussion for Hive's HD Modeling Contest #6! Click here to post your idea!

The Black Road v1.39b8

The Battle for Athens
The Black Road

Terror reigns in ancient Greece.
Hades has led a rebellion against the other gods and created what is known as The Black Road,
a lifeless scar upon the earth where demonic horrors roam, that reaches from the mouth of hell to the gates of Athens.

In an effort to retake the world of mortals from the Olympians, the ancient Titans have sent their avatars to stake their own claim in the conflict.
The warriors of Athens grimly dig in to await the coming of the dark tides of war, but turmoil is brewing on all sides.
Beneath the shadow of this darkest evil, twilight seems to have fallen upon the fathers of the West.

Yet hope remains.
A dawn of war also heralds a dawn of Heroes as mighty champions have arisen in Greece to stand against the seas of evil that flow from the mouth of Hell along the Black Road.
As a player in The Black Road, you assume the role of one of these heroes to bring salvation to ancient Greece, and ultimately to all of the West.

Visit the Changelog

Features

Authors & Credits

Handover from FatherTime

v1.39a2 for legacy code conversion


Features

  • Heroes: Select one of twelve heroes and begin your journey to Level 200!
  • Dungeons: Explore Dungeons featuring Bosses and "Trashmobs" each equipped with proper mechanics.
  • Bosses: Fight against a variety of Minibosses or face off against the mighty Titan Avatars on your journey to defeat Hades.
  • Quests: Complete a variety of different quests all over the realm of humans.
  • Itemization: Collect Crafting Materials, Components and Items to craft and combine them into even more powerful weapons, armor and relics.
  • Crafting Professions: Choose between Weaponsmithing, Armorsmithing, Goldsmithing and Alchemy.
  • Endgame Challenges: Defeat Hyperion to craft the most powerful olympian relics.
  • Achievements: Tackle the game in different ways and earn yourself Backpack and Boat skins to show off your accomplishments.
  • Familiars: Choose from a variety of skins and talents to further empower and customize your hero.
  • Sophisticated DPS Feedback Dummy: DPS UI which features customizable durability and fight length settings and tracks a multitude of things for optimal build comparison.
  • Codeless Save/Load System: Load via filename or without to load your last played hero. You're still free to use codes, but you don't need to!
  • Online Single Player: You can now enjoy TBR alone in an online or LAN setting.

Authors

Version 1.39a - 1.39b7Unholy0ne and Alteisen (Av3n)
Version 1.39Unholy0ne, Alteisen (Av3n) and Dragonbane (ArthasFirestorm)
Version 1.38 - 1.38dMind_Gazer, Unholy0ne and TheGreatGospel (Av3n)
Version 1.37 - 1.37dMind_Gazer, Unholy0ne and TheGreatGospel (Av3n) with Aunvre, afis, Brutusjk, GurkenKinG and SexYPopCorN
Versions 1.35 - 1.36Mind_Gazer, Amok.ak47.5, KySoto, Idontneedaname and Exodium with Aunvre and muzzel
Versions 1.30 - 1.34WaterMolecule and FatherTime
Versions 1.00 - 1.23WaterMolecule (aka PwncakesnRofles)

Testers

Dooms-Touch, supercoolguyo.o, drewdude, Clan TBRE on U.S. East, a[B, Weapon_Strife, cheftain, Play_Doh, jewpwnu)pl(, EyeOfTruth, Computer(EviL), Lorceru, Beregond27, Blasterixx, Brownie, CB2, dbK, Zorl, Sheepsaurus, Obscure, elumatec, GiveMeAName (Styxhue), h00bs, Hoser, imasecret, Immortalhope, Jesse Owen, Jubei, Kenny, menglongzzz, monstr1, mr.terrance, Rakou, Strahotski, woin, Vingkill, Lilac, Spiffinator, Ghost, RZ99, lokharke, Aeonleaf, Mxngsxxn, CreatedByGod, cvbvc, Stygianz, Khonsu, kaji

Credits


proof-png.372174

annotation-png.354679
NB: This is the most robust proof Av3n has where he inherited both the 1.X and 2.X maps for development.


Previews
Contents

The Black Road v1.39b8 (Map)

Level 2
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Messages
8
Alright, so this is the first draft of my upload of our project TBR RPG 1.38d2

I will keep working on improving the looks and description and give some SS and maybe even a video later on!

Thank you for your time as you review this upload for approval..

/Mind_Gazer
 
Level 2
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Messages
8
Alright, I've added all the essential credits of the involved..
I'll keep updating and improving the bundle as time goes by - Thank you!
 
Level 6
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
30
Yes, we've credited every asset creator, former contributor and the original author in the F9 information, as well as mentioning the original author in the maps loading screen text.

Edit: @MindGazer is adding the requested credits to the map thread.
 
Last edited:

deepstrasz

Map Reviewer
Level 68
Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
18,706
I can't seem to get the BB-Codes of the "Hidden" function to work properly - It seems to create its own codes whenever I update the edit (I've already tried to remove those auto-created codes several times in different ways, but can't seem to fix the issue there).. Help?!
I think you might be doing something wrong or have some [/hidden] or [hidden] leftovers. Check your BB code top to bottom carefully.
 
Level 9
Joined
Jul 18, 2005
Messages
319
Level 2
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Messages
8
On a side-note, there's a couple of unofficial versions of TBR on your site already, are they approved and accepted by the Hive?
One of them is even an unauthorized hacked version of our map that we've worked super-hard to improve and update - We're curious about your stand-point on the matter!

I would like to ask you to take that down if you wouldn't mind, thank you in advance!
 

deepstrasz

Map Reviewer
Level 68
Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
18,706
On a side-note, there's a couple of unofficial versions of TBR on your site already, are they approved and accepted by the Hive?
One of them is even an unauthorized hacked version of our map that we've worked super-hard to improve and update - We're curious about your stand-point on the matter!

I would like to ask you to take that down if you wouldn't mind, thank you in advance!
Links please.
Also, use https://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/staff-contact.692/ or the Report button for such matters.
 
Level 2
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Messages
8
The situation has been resolved - Our version is the only version available on Hive Workshop now!
Have you guys test-played the map properly yet? I know it's a big map and a lot of content to get through but would still like to hear an update about your process with the approval of our map, thank you!
 
Level 2
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Messages
8
There are several ways we can resolve the matter:

1. There are TBR games being hosted at more or less 24/7 on at least one of the regions, search for them and join one of them.
2. Host one yourself and wait a little for others to join, then start playing (even better if you post your hosted TBR game on our TBR discord hosting channel so others in the community can see the game and join you).
3. PM me personally and we'll sync up and I can host and play with you (you can then get the opportunity to get a full-on dev-walkthrough of the game )
 
Level 2
Joined
Mar 22, 2020
Messages
5
Thanks but which W3 version need to play? I have 1.26 and could not see map when i tried to create new LAN game...
 
Level 2
Joined
Mar 22, 2020
Messages
5
I found some bug s.

1-When i sell stone of heaven "vendors shows 2500 gold when sold" but i get 25000 gold as normal

2-Spartan Warrior skill Dispatch right click(auto cast) doest not work.

3- Uranus titan fly form sometimes lands on land so noone can hit the boss stucks.

4- Rhea titan sometimes starts sacrifice when entering her zone (that makes her impossible to kill)

5- Ranger hero new set bonus makes tooooo much arrow sound, please give back mana burn to ranger. Only druid mana burns now.

6- After killing hades we killed Sphynx but it did not dropped level 7 tome or item "we were 2 level 200 and some below 100 level characters"

7- Towering Shield of Athena is very weak compared to other olympian relics. 30% chance block 200k damage ----> 75% change to block 50k Damage is better... Now it is useless now.

i am playing and i m gonna write when i find bugs.

Thanks for your efforts guys.
 
Level 9
Joined
Jul 18, 2005
Messages
319
1-When i sell stone of heaven "vendors shows 2500 gold when sold" but i get 25000 gold as normal
I'm afraid that's a Wc3 tooltip bug we have no control over.

2-Spartan Warrior skill Dispatch right click(auto cast) doest not work.
If a spell doesn't have an auto-cast border, do not expect the auto-cast to work. The reason why it is like this is due to my predecessor utilising the base ability to do an enhanced auto-attack skill.

3- Uranus titan fly form sometimes lands on land so noone can hit the boss stucks.
Noted.

4- Rhea titan sometimes starts sacrifice when entering her zone (that makes her impossible to kill)
I suspect that this won't be addressed until we refactor some of the old code.

5- Ranger hero new set bonus makes tooooo much arrow sound, please give back mana burn to ranger. Only druid mana burns now.
@Point 1: Is this on Reforged graphics or SD graphics? I've don't notice it in SD graphics, but that might be due to my sound settings.
@Point 2: Mana-burn hasn't really functioned as intended as a player mechanic... So, I doubt that we will consider giving Ranger back it's mana burn, when it's replacement addressed the disparity between AGI and INT Ranger.

6- After killing hades we killed Sphynx but it did not dropped level 7 tome or item "we were 2 level 200 and some below 100 level characters"
Sphinx only drops Book of Skill Increase, Level 7 for characters who are at least level 135, and require a Book of Skill Increase, Level 7. I do recall that it is bounded automatically as well.

7- Towering Shield of Athena is very weak compared to other olympian relics. 30% chance block 200k damage ----> 75% change to block 50k Damage is better... Now it is useless now.
I don't think this is a bug, but, rather a suggestion? Some of the folks I know who grinded out TBR would beg to differ that TSoA is useless...
 
Level 2
Joined
Mar 22, 2020
Messages
5
Found another great bug

At hero selection every hero has his/her own regalia and Olympian regalia.

When you reach 180 go to heroe selection room and choose a hero and right click regalia to drop.

Drop regalia left to screen then go to near of Water titan map get off ship use scroll of speed. Send your backpack to get dropped regalia. Bingo!!! U got regalia :))) Work every character.

C'ya
 
Level 2
Joined
Dec 25, 2019
Messages
8
Thank you safakhan for your interest in playing our map, and you've done it a lot it seems - Glad to see it!

The map was originally created a very long time ago and we've done so much to fix and improve it over the years, I hope you can see that.

Overall, although you can find some bugs here and there, the map is very playable and enjoyable as you now have learned.

I'd like to ask you and anyone else that might find sensitive and abusable bugs to send any of us a personal message about them instead of revealing those to the public, thanks for your time and co-operation.

Have fun in your TBR games!
 
Last edited:

Deleted member 247165

D

Deleted member 247165

Reserved! Will post review soon!
 

Deleted member 247165

D

Deleted member 247165

Implement the possibility to be played in singleplayer as well. I am unable right now to test it in multiplayer.
 

Deleted member 247165

D

Deleted member 247165

That would be harder than if they'd just enable unit sharing for LAN.
I tried with Local Area Network as well and got the same result. I think that is too much to force someone play a custom game in multiplayer. Any custom game should have the possibility of being played in singleplayer.
 

Deleted member 247165

D

Deleted member 247165

Hilarious. Am I forced now to do that because the author can't spare 2 of his life's minutes to implement a simple singleplayer mode? It is required, or else I will neither review nor approve this anymore. Considering that he isn't even the original author, at least this he could've done. A singleplayer mode. Now enough with this because it goes offtopic.
 
Level 9
Joined
Jul 18, 2005
Messages
319
Hilarious. Am I forced now to do that because the author can't spare 2 of his life's minutes to implement a simple singleplayer mode? It is required, or else I will neither review nor approve this anymore. Considering that he isn't even the original author, at least this he could've done. A singleplayer mode. Now enough with this because it goes offtopic.
Single-player is not a requirement according to your map submission rules. See Map Submission Rules 21 June revision. So it kind of looks bad when a staff member doesn't truthfully state their own rules... Unless it is some sort of hidden sub-rule that I can't make out. This is unfair for any author to not know all rules in any scenario.

What @tulee has said is correct. In addition, the content is not even balanced around single-player anyways.
 

Deleted member 247165

D

Deleted member 247165

I did not say there is any hidden rule or anything related to that. I'm quite aware of each rule regarding the map submission. But a singleplayer mode wouldn't hurt anyone. I'll test it out with people from my discord server in this case.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Level 9
Joined
Jul 18, 2005
Messages
319
I did not say there is any hidden rule or anything related to that. I'm quite aware of each rule regarding the map submission. But a singleplayer mode wouldn't hurt anyone. I'll test it out with people from my discord server in this case.

One last clarification then...

Hilarious. Am I forced now to do that because the author can't spare 2 of his life's minutes to implement a simple singleplayer mode? It is required, or else I will neither review nor approve this anymore. Considering that he isn't even the original author, at least this he could've done. A singleplayer mode. Now enough with this because it goes offtopic.

Then, is this your own personal stance? Just doing a sanity check here :)
 

Deleted member 247165

D

Deleted member 247165

You should watch your tongue. You really have guts to talk like this, considering the fact that this isn't even your map.

Aside from this, it was tested I will approve it and congratulate the original author (not you for uploading it). I won't rate it either.
 

Shar Dundred

Community Moderator
Level 72
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
5,862
Alright, time to deescalate a bit. There is no need for hostilities.

@Av3n: According to @deepstrasz, you (or one of the other authors) have talked with @Ralle
about releasing this map despite not being the original author/s. While Ralle remembers such a
talk, he sadly was unable to find it when asked about it.
Can you please show a screenshot of this talk or even add it to the description, so that it can
be tracked?
Your cooperation would be highly appreciated.
 
Level 9
Joined
Jul 18, 2005
Messages
319
@Av3n: According to @deepstrasz, you (or one of the other authors) have talked with @Ralle
about releasing this map despite not being the original author/s. While Ralle remembers such a
talk, he sadly was unable to find it when asked about it.
Can you please show a screenshot of this talk or even add it to the description, so that it can
be tracked?
Your cooperation would be highly appreciated.

I'm going to assume this would have been @MindGazer?

Regardless, I'm currently in communication with Ralle about whether the proof of the handover of TBR development from FatherTime to myself would be sufficient.
 
Level 9
Joined
Jul 18, 2005
Messages
319
Updated to include a tab about the handover of TBR development from FatherTime, with scribbles over the emails and IRL names. I sadly don't have the specific chat log from the 2000s which verifies the specific handover of the unprotected 1.X map (RIP MSN Messenger).

NB: TBR 2.X is now handled by another person who has my approval to do so.
 
Level 12
Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Messages
204
Just wanted to say that this is one of my favorite War3 RPG maps of all time, i played it for over a decade by now and i keep playing it to this day! Is a gem!
This map has it all!

- [Great Classes]

Classes in this map are just beautiful, they got unique and amazing spells and combo skills that almost never get old and have great replay-ability, those are not just casual random old spells re-branded as new but each and every spell is fresh and is thematic based on the class itself, creating in the process timeless and classic Characters that almost feel alive!
One other great aspect of this map and its heroes are the fact that every class can go different builds as well (by that i mean for example an agility class like Ranger can go an intelligence/spell power build (using int items) beside the classic agility/physical dmg build or even a hybrid build agi/int, the sky is the limit basically).

- [Marvelous Quests]

The quest system in this map is by far the best of all rpg maps i've played (and trust me i played a lot), the quests are very smooth, easy to understand and are actually important to the gameplay, a rpg map without a good quest system will fail miserably!

- [Beautiful map layout]

Once again is top quality, this is one of the only rpg maps that again feel real! you can actually feel like you entered a new and real world while playing this map, and not just casual boring square zones like other rpg maps (i'm looking at you Korean maps :xxd:)
Every Zone is unique with different terrain, quests, mini bosses, titans, etc.

- [Tons of cool and unique items]

The items are one of the most important things in any rpg map, and TBR yet again shines at this point by having one of the best set of items in the whole war3 custom maps community by far, The list of items is huge! giving the player the opportunity to search, explore and craft to create their own unique arsenal of items specific for their class and gameplay.
Not even one item is considered useless in this map and with lots of Cool Recipes and other unique items to be crafted or to be found, TBR takes good care of its items and puts them at the top priority!

- [Epic End-Game Bosses]

Now what would be a rpg map without having some big and epic bosses at the end of their journey, they would fill shallow without it!

TBR has without a doubt the coolest boss fights! Every Boss fight is unique and very engaging! Forcing the players to pay attention and focus or dodge when its necessary and to come up with strategies and different party builds to fight the bosses!

And of course the rewards are valuable as well, its not just kill the boss once and that's it, TBR makes fighting bosses a necessity for getting the highest gear available in the map and maxing out your character with some epic items, in this case those items being the Legendary Relics that would make your character feel like a demi-god! (You can have only one relic tho so once again the game forces the player to think and come up with the best build that fits his class and his play-style!)

- Other futures of the map:

- [PVP] Every rpg map needs a pvp system, now the pvp in TBR is still classic as in you don't actually get any reward for fighting other players, is just for fun, but it's still a great aspect nonetheless.

- [Proffesions] TBR is unique in the sense that it takes its professions very seriously, being a core system in the map that influences the game-play a lot by helping the player create various types of powerful items, potions and elixirs which are a must have, especially for the late game.

- [The save/load system] is one of the best, is very well done!

- [Soloing] The map can actually be played solo, as in starting the game alone and playing alone hosting the map in battlenet or in LocalAreaNetwork, The map can be played alone very well, doing the quests and killing alone any mini-boss, titan or end-game boss (except the last one, which cannot be soloed).

- [The community] TBR has a big and wonderful community of players from all over the world, so join the discord group to chat and just have fun if you enjoy the map!
Discord invite link = Join the The Black Road RPG Discord Server!

- [New updates] TBR is still being worked on and gets new updates, so don't think you are playing an old map with no new updates here, TBR is always fresh thanks to the community and the devs that keep working on new updates! They are cool and very understanding people that love the map a lot so join the discord group to check for new updates or even give some new ideas yourself!


Overall my rating of this map is a 10 out of 10! :infl_thumbs_up:

So what are you waiting for! Go and give the map a shot! you won't be disappointed!
 
Last edited:
Level 2
Joined
Mar 5, 2010
Messages
7
Fantastic game with a great community and constant upkeep from developers whom are very helpful and responsive on discord. This game has had me coming back to WC3 for the last ~15 years.
 
Level 1
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Messages
1
Just got back to playing TBR again after being away from it for 18 years or so (with a small comeback about 10 years ago). Still the same great game with great replay value. It's my goto map for WC3!
 
Level 1
Joined
Dec 19, 2021
Messages
1
Avid rpg player on warcraft 3 battlenet, the one rpg that never gets old and which I always find myself returning to is the black road rpg.
10/10 map with an awesome community and down to earth devs.
 
Top