This just in: SoC is back!

[Linaze]

---

After many months without as much as a minor update to show, SoC now makes an official comeback into development.

So what've we been up to the last few months?
The answer is (sadly) quite standard by now; a combination of procrastination, a busy schedule, lazyness and a general lack of motivation, I guess.

Us developers aside, what does this comeback exactly mean to our fans and followers around the world?
I won't make any unrealistic promises that I can't keep with all certainty. However, there is a freshly baked version of SoC just about ready to be taken out of the oven for your amusement. This will be version 0.40 and to those of you who played previous versions of SoC, this will hopefully be a huge improvement over your previous experience. Behold:

Version 0.40 Changelog

Grunt's armor per upgrade decreased to 1.
Grunt's health reduced to 400.
Ogre's health increased to 1200.
Ogre's base damage reduced to 22.
Ogre's gold cost increased to 375.
Ogre's build time increasd to 50 seconds.
Ogres now have the Demoralizing Roar ability.
Ogres no longer have the Smash ability.
Felfire Rain's mana cost has been increased to 150.
Warlocks now have the Demonic Flames ability.
Warlocks no longer have the Weaken ability.
Abate Mana's cast range has been increased to 800.
Abate Mana now drains 50% of the target's mana but gives 25% to the caster.
Abata Mana's mana cost has been reduced to 25.
Dark Ritual's AoE has been increased to 450.
Skeleton Warrior's health reduced to 200.
Skeleton Archer's health reduced to 175.
The Tinkering upgrade now gives Aces the ability to transport units.
Increased the resource cost of Tinkering to 150 gold and 150 lumber.
Added more creeps guarding the center 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock islands.
Added Changelog, Introduction, Basic Strategy and Advanced Strategy to the Map Information.
Great Hall resource cost has been increased to 400 gold and 200 lumber.
Stronghold resource cost has been increased to 350 gold and 200 lumber.
Fortress resource cost has been increased to 450 gold and 250 lumber.
Great Halls (and upgraded versions) now have the Telescope Scan ability that requires the Goblin Telescope upgrade.
Increased the health of trees by 50%.
Corrected a few typos in various tooltips.

This version should be out within the near future and my hope is that it will give SoC the justice I believe it deserves. If you wish to help out with testing or anything, don't hestitate to let us know either here, through PM or whatever.

And also please, share with me your thoughts, ideas, hopes and anything else you can think of.

 

[TaShadan]

thx! Looking forward to it

 

[Deolrin]

Awesome stuff.
In other news, NFWar is working on some icons for us, in the absence of Mr.Goblin. So far, he has made icons for the new Warlock ability, Demonic Flames, and the Goblin Telescope research upgrade. He is currently working on "Demoralizing Roar", the Ogre Mauler's new ability.

 

[TaShadan]

NFwar is awesome

 

[istvan921]

Great news to hear

 

[Arcisal]

I hadn't even known SoC wasn't around.

But awesome!

 

[moyackx]

Nice to hear that

 

[TaShadan]

btw iam up for testing any day.

 

[Linaze]

Short announcement.

We're working on something relatively big, and there's also a new map underway that's being terrained by a well-known member of this community.

When I have something to show I will, stay tuned.

 

[_lycan]

Short announcement.

We're working on something relatively big, and there's also a new map underway that's being terrained by a well-known member of this community.

When I have something to show I will, stay tuned.

I...I..I bet it's sonofjay.

 

[sonofjay]

I...I..I bet it's sonofjay.

Nope.

 

[TaShadan]

looking forward to it!

 

[Archian]

Good news guys!

Also, where can I download an earlier version of Scars of Conflict? I wanna try it out!

 

[TaShadan]

I do have the new version, but i hope Linaze is releasing it official on the hive.

 

[Deolrin]

Not before the art's done. And, wouldn't you know, NFWar has been missing for almost a week. I'm really worried for him, to be honest.

 

[TaShadan]

Maybe he is on a holiday trip?

 

[Archian]

Not before the art's done.

Hehe, I know what you mean

Hope you get in touch with NFWar!

 

[Kyrbi0]

A little necro-posty, but exciting!

 

[knight26]

We're working on something relatively big, and there's also a new map underway that's being terrained by a well-known member of this community.

it's Rui, isn't it.

edit;
if this is necro-posting, sorry
also, have you guys dropped the campaign ideas entirely?.. That was something very exciting to look forward to

 

[Deolrin]

Rui does terrain? Since when? .__.
And yes, sadly we ditched the campaign back in 2009 or so.

 

[knight26]

Rui does terrain? Since when? .__.
And yes, sadly we ditched the campaign back in 2009 or so.

Ow yes he does, melee terraining.. that OR I've been having hallucinations. medication side effects -_-.

Well I haven't been around past two years that much, but I have seen the beginning of this project and i just noticed the comeback and went super excited.. well something is better than nothing I suppose , best of luck to you guys, barely anticipating the beta release.

 

[DESTROYER123]

Glad SoC is back.
I never played any before versions but I'm waiting for this.

 

[Silverfox]

So, I hear you are planning on releasing the BETA version, huh? Any release dates in mind?

 

[Goblintrain]

Looks like a great project. Only been waiting ten years to see something like this ;P

 

[TaShadan]

Any news?

 

[DrarenThiralas]

is it dead again?

 

[TaShadan]

I hope its not dead again.
But i can understand if they are frustrated. This community doesnt give a shit about this mod. Noone plays... noone cares.

 

[Deolrin]

Has nothing to do with that. We're just not motivated to work on it; We are waiting for terrain from Keiji(personally, I never saw any WIPs), icons from NFWar(he's currently having a rather busy life, and SoC is the least of his problems), and models from myself(I'm kind of just demotivated because no one else is working on SoC).

 

[TaShadan]

I can understand iam not too motivated right now too. But i want to finish atleast the undead race and fix some minor stuff.

 

[Silverfox]

I have a question. Do the icons necessary need to be from NFWar, or the models from you Deolrin? Can't you find any appropriate models for your units from the "Models" section? Same with icons. I personally love this mod. Play it non-stop with my brother, waiting to be released. I understand that you don't have any motivation, but can't you wrap it up with icons and models from other users? As for the terrain, find another User that is willing to help you. If there is none, use Frozen Islands for now. If this project is truly dead, I just want to say that you all did a great job. With icons and the models, the whole Orc techtree, the implementation of the naval warfare and with the interesting capture point twist.

 

[Deolrin]

I don't think it's quite dead yet.
The quality of the mod comes from its custom resources. Using any random ol' resource will bring that bar down.

 

[Silverfox]

Yes, I understand that. But like you said, you don't have any motivation to create the custom resources. Besides, the resource you use from Users other than the team don't have to be permanent.
By the way, regarding the Human race. What exactly are you missing, resources or the actual unit plan?

I do hope it's not dead yet, but seems like it. It would be nice to hear progress you're having once in a while

 

[Deolrin]

We haven't started working on the human race yet. We have a bunch of old models that we can use, but currently the plan is to finish and balance out the Horde, then release a 1v1 map. We're also planning on a surprise feature which should go along with the new map.

 

[Silverfox]

A 1v1 map, huh? With a surprise feature. Can't wait Do you have a release date in mind?

By the way, good luck and keep this alive!

 

[Deolrin]

Eh, I dunno.
As I said, no one's really working on SoC right now. This happened many times before, but this time it's a complete lack of inspiration and motivation.

 

[Silverfox]

I don't see a reason why people shouldn't support this project! It has 2 completely new tecthrees (1 for now ), naval warfare and much more. I am just saying it's a shame that this epic project is dying.

"By the way, I downloaded the replay TaShadan posted on the -Replay- section of this forum, and I noticed you played version 0.34, while I have version 0.33. What are the changes made in 0.34 and can I have it "

 

[TaShadan]

I thought we played V0.33 but i added some V0.34 on the other forum thread.

 

[Kyrbi0]

I can understand iam not too motivated right now too. But i want to finish atleast the undead race and fix some minor stuff.

Oh? What're you working on for SoC?

I don't think it's quite dead yet.
The quality of the mod comes from its custom resources. Using any random ol' resource will bring that bar down.

(disclaimer: I have long been friends with Deolrin, and was always quite impressed not only with any successful mod in general, but Scars of Conflict in particular.
Now that's outta the way...)
I'm glad it's not dead (long live modding!), but as the artisically-handicapped, I have to disagree with the latter statement. : )

Custom resources are amazing! They are awexome. They are the face of a mod, the most visual & most manifestly appealing aspect of nearly any mod. They (screenshots of them, that is; showcases, etc) are the first thing that people see, and are responsible primarily for a good "First Impression". And since for some (unfortunately myopic) people, the "first impression" is the only impression, a good mod is sometimes seen as only as good as it's custom resources.

However, if that is all you have, then you have an empty shell, a gilded but hollow box.

After people are drawn in by the awexome models, stellar icons, beautiful terrain & textures, and all that... You have to have solid gameplay. You should have creative & interesting ideas. You have to have writing that is clear & concise, story-telling that makes sense, characters that are believable, and a world that is unique & believable.

SoC has great artwork (models, icons, etc). However, it is great not because of those things; those contribute to it's greatness. No, it is great due as well to it's excellent ideas & craftmanship, the care & attention to detail put into the various aspects. That is why SoC is good. Why OH and HoS before it were good (before they passed on). And why everything I touch turns to gold!!

~

For my works, I was always working under the assumption I would have no[i/] custom resources (because in the beginning, I couldn't). I've slowly morphed to a point where I not only can, but find myself "needing" them. That's not necessarily a good situation to be in, because, as the lesson of time has taught us: people can be difficult to motivate & keep motivated (artists, designers, coders, terrainers, everyone). The greats, like Ominous Horizons and Heart of Storms, all fell due to those primary reasons. When you "need" something that you personally can't provide, you open yourself up to a slow heat death.

So I do what I can. Personally, since I'm working within an existing framework (creating a "5th-race addition"-type mod(s)), I have it a bit easier; as long as it fits in Warcraft, it fits for me. But finding things that match my ideas, & Warcraft, & everything else... Yes, using "various random resources" does have it's foibles. Some of my work is a bit more hodge-podge than SoC's is, unfortunately. :< However, the trade-off is, I am not waiting for any one particular artist or coder or terrainer to do something.

(Instead I'm waiting for 3 or more xD...)

Yes, I understand that. But like you said, you don't have any motivation to create the custom resources. Besides, the resource you use from Users other than the team don't have to be permanent.

"Placeholder" models & such is actually a really decent idea. It may rub some purists the wrong way, but it can really ease production woes. A few good mods have utilized that quite well.

We haven't started working on the human race yet.

Well let us/me know when you do. I'd love to throw some ideas around.

 

[Deolrin]

Thing is, we don't really need all that many custom resources.
We need a model and a half that I have to make(and is actually rather difficult to find a placeholder for, except for really unfitting ones), and a couple of icons from NFWar.
The main problem is general lack of motivation from myself and Linaze and such.

 

[Kyrbi0]

Thing is, we don't really need all that many custom resources.
We need a model and a half that I have to make(and is actually rather difficult to find a placeholder for, except for really unfitting ones), and a couple of icons from NFWar.
The main problem is general lack of motivation from myself and Linaze and such.

Oh, really? :< That's not all that many. I guess I thought you had most of the Alliance left to do.

If I had done some more work on my stuff, I'd offer to help you guys out. As it stands, however, I'm afraid I could only slow you down.

Yes. Slow you down from a standstill. xD

 

[Deolrin]

Well, the alliance isn't even in the works yet. The current estimate is that we'll never even make the alliance. I have plenty of good ideas, but I doubt we'll ever implement them.
For now, the focus is releasing more maps, and finishing and finalizing the horde.

 

[TaShadan]

Oh? What're you working on for SoC?

Sorry this might have been misleading. Iam not working on SoC content, i meant my own project Warcraft 2.5 which is an altered melee too, but with a more wc2ish fast paced aproach.

 

[Kyrbi0]

well, the alliance isn't even in the works yet. The current estimate is that we'll never even make the alliance. ... But i doubt we'll ever implement them.

:'[

.

 

[Linaze]

:'[

.

If only I knew the cause of the standstill I'd try to get things started once more. But for once I can't point at a direct reason, I'm simply not working.

 

[Kyrbi0]

If only I knew the cause of the standstill I'd try to get things started once more. But for once I can't point at a direct reason, I'm simply not working.

Hmm. Well, first off I'd say "don't force it". Trying too hard to make oneself do it, or to analyze why one is not, can really turn oneself off.

However, another aspect is that sometimes one can get 'burned out' on particular parts of projects (or projects entirely). Have you considered writing? Drawing? Cooking? Lots of interesting pursuits to endeavor to pursue... endeavor-ly.

 

[MushiKeewi]

Really looking forward to SoC!

 

[istvan921]

Really looking forward too the next release

 

[Linaze]

I keep asking myself why we don't just wrap this up and release it to the public. It's not like a lot of work actually remains to be done.

Silly us.

 

[Kyrbi0]

i keep asking myself why we don't just wrap this up and release it to the public. It's not like a lot of work actually remains to be done.

Silly us.

DO EET.

//EDIT// Why won't it allow me type in full caps...

 

[TaShadan]

GO! Please!