Throne of Azora 1.10

[tyci]

I played the map twice while making different decisions in both playthroughs.

I have to say that unfortunately, I found the whole "different decisions" aspect of the game to be rather underwhelming. The decisions don't change the game all that much.

Spoiler

Even the main story decisions. I would have thought that siding with a different prince would make the story take a different turn, or at least make Ethan and Sammy go to different areas. I was very disappointed.

I think part of the reason for that would be the fact that the game is rather easy. I had no difficulties with any section of the game regardless of my decisions. In relation to that, I never needed potions, which rendered the shops in the game completely useless.

On that note, gold was also completely useless in the game, since there was no point where you could buy something more useful than anything you could find from quests and drops. The most pointless item would be the teleport scrolls, since there's no reason to go back to areas. Although, even if they WERE helpful, the fact that only Ethan can carry any items at all meant that anything not helpful to combat was just a waste of an item slot.

Spoiler: Story related comment

The siege near the end of the game seems poorly designed. I don't know what the lose condition is, but I lost all my men aside from the archers as well as all the citizens but still didn't fail. The archers, Ethan, and Sammy did most of the work. The invulnerable towers seem very overpowered.

I'd also like to note some bugs:

• In the barracks late in the game, there are some barrels behind the bed. Making Sammy use his pouncing move on one of the barrels caused him to somehow end up in the palace.
• My companion kept punching the scout during the cutscene and killed him.
• One of the siege towers at the south wall got stuck and never released the units it was carrying.
• Ethan and Sammy will stop gaining exp from enemies with levels (like bandits) at level 5. They start getting exp from these enemies again after they receive exp from an enemy with no level (like werewolves).

Overall, I guess I might have gone into this RPG with too high expectations for the decisions mechanic. Aside from that though, other gameplay aspects of the map also detracted from my experience. 3/5 from me.

Side note, I don't think this map should be tagged as a Campaign. I was under the impression that campaigns had to be a different file type, and needed to consist of multiple maps in one.

Thanks for such a thorough comment Vindeus. The game is easy because i wanted to make sure it was completable without doing any side quests, so that everyone plays through the story, which is the main aspect of the game. The decisions however make it more personal, but the overall plot stays the same. And of course I will fix the bugs in the next versions.

That is one the best map in the HIV
I give it rate 5/5
And please make another map like this
Really thanks

Cheers man

 

[tulee]

Hi TyCi,

I am surprised this map has not gotten more attention. This was extremely well made, with an excellent plot.

The total number of enemy creatures ( excluding final wave of enemies ) was probably under 70, and this was such a good idea. So many Rpgs these days are just filled with enemy units that it is easy to lose interest. You had a wide landscape with few enemies, and i salute you for doing this, for it made the campaign amazing.

I don't know what else to say, this was really worth my time, and after seeing you adding that scene at the end where Ethan ( i think thats the main character's name ) first met Sammy, i really felt that you have a talent for telling a story.

Thank you so much for making this!

 

[tyci]

Hi TyCi,

I am surprised this map has not gotten more attention. This was extremely well made, with an excellent plot.

The total number of enemy creatures ( excluding final wave of enemies ) was probably under 70, and this was such a good idea. So many Rpgs these days are just filled with enemy units that it is easy to lose interest. You had a wide landscape with few enemies, and i salute you for doing this, for it made the campaign amazing.

I don't know what else to say, this was really worth my time, and after seeing you adding that scene at the end where Ethan ( i think thats the main character's name ) first met Sammy, i really felt that you have a talent for telling a story.

Thank you so much for making this!

Thank you Tulee, the scene at the end was in fact the first scene I came up with, as I was making this map

 

[deepstrasz]

Some of my thoughts about this...

General

-units selected during cinematic mode; happened with the Fisherman's wife and with her husband; guess it might happen with other units as well
-spells are pretty much Warcraft III-ish and so is the gameplay
-in terms of story, there are many quests that are there to be there; I mean who would ask a total stranger to fetch her husband? And of course to be further sarcastic, the distance between the home and the boat
-the camera in the mine can be reset to normal but not unlocked pressing DELETE; same for the double bridge to the east of the mayor's village
-many items have icons changed but they are actually basic Warcraft III items
-the terrain is quite flat in the mine; wonder how they leveled it so finely
-funny thing is that you fail the quest if Greg dies before getting the mine quest
-Greg wasn't really hidden like that other miner from those lunatics
-getting out of the mine is easy because there's no real danger than the timer that only forces you to move
-after finishing the quest A Murder Weapon I've got three messages one telling 1/3 quests completed, another 2/3 and the last 3/3; after actually finishing all three, no message was given; it might be because I've saved the guy in the mine before getting the mine/main quest with 3 villagers?
-Lopez has heavy armour while he has no visible armour on him but Bert has and his armour is Medium
-during cinematic mode and not only the outer parts of the mayor's office can be seen and they don't look too nice; same with the Winter's Rise feast room and palace hall
-secret places are not really concealed
-it's a bit annoying that walking on the two bridges east of the mayor's village changes the camera and plays some music
-so much for friendship; I guess Lopez is more useful, at least while Bert remains in the village (maybe to ensure order?)
-choice results can be seen using save-load; I'm not entirely sure how much they actually affect the course of evenets
-asking about dinner and getting him to whistleblow ; then the soldiers already discovered and confirmed the camp's location
-the scene with the criminal and the Footmen in the eastern fortress needs rework; choosing no will just make the criminal run while one of the Footmen attacks him once and then returns to speak to the hero while the others don't move an inch
-going to the revolt makes the hero and his friends try to attack the rebels because they're enemy units while the guard speaks to the hero facing nobody
-green undead buildings appear in the cult's camp after taking the quest
-how do you kill the herald from the shadows? Is there an invisibility potion/spell for it?
-after the herald dies, the people still remain assembled there
-Critical Strike deals quite a big damage to buildings; intended?
-returning to the revolt leader after speaking to the steward ended up with destroying the barricade but one villager attacked and was killed; then fun fact: the soldier said it was all without violence
-one lady at the feast came in underwear
-a nice plot twist would have been for Agamand to actually have sent the assassin; yeah, exactly what I was thinking
-why would the Swits reveal their plans!?
-I really thought he'd die.. besides why didn't the Swits make sure to kill them all especially after revealing their plans?
-well archers shooting the mobile towers isn't quite realistic but makes nice gameplay
-the bomber can be killed with the hero's first spell from inside the walls, intended or not
-so why didn't the archer towers shoot the traitor before he got through the main gate ?
-why didn't he have any love interest or kids or something?

-Milroth Ironsiege went to attack a footman that was Defending instead of the player's units

Suggestions

-hints would be nice to be placed in the quest log in case you forget or miss them; especially the important ones like -stuck
-stop the wolf and other units from moving during cinematic mode as they might get in the way of the camera
-maybe make the important people/quest givers invulnerable just in case?
-music should be played through it's proper channel using the trigger Play Music not Play Sound
-for items that should not be used during combat you could leave the light blue Non-Combat Consumable text that, for example, the Healing Salve has in its description
-I suggest faster regeneration rate for items which aren't meant to be used during battles
-abilities could be more diverse either let the player choose from a couple of many more and/or create some combos between them (more replay value); that or more heroes?
-some flashbacks or something to get more info about what happened during those 40 years to know the characters (OK, at the end we find something about Ethan, that he can talk to animals)
-try removing the mass teleport effect when entering/exiting places
-inventory for the wolf or something; many items are left behind
-not having three copies of merchants in the same town and very near each other (Winter's Rise)
-skip cinematic scenes directly to the choices box
-rewards should be balanced since the player might just choose the one that offers the best deal
-gold isn't really useful
-leave the score out at the end to see how much time was spent playing
-you could make a score at the end with how many quests were completed/unfinished and how good/bad/guillable the character was

It's a choice based (which spices up the game) grim themed classic Warcraft III RPG (vintage, also, because of the linear fashion the progress is made).
I'll give it a 3.5/5. I think it's not only a story that should make the game but more the gameplay.

EDIT: please remove the campaign tag from this map as it's not a campaign file (not even a map related to one of WcIII's campaign maps).

 

[tyci]

Thank you for such a detailed review. Very precise bugs, easier for me to find and fix Of course will try to fix them as soon as possible, the suggestions are very nice as well. Removed Campaign tag. Here are some answers to your points. (Spoilers!)

Some answers

-secret places are not really concealed

Well as far as I remember only one isn't concealed, but you just have to explore deeper to find it.

-green undead buildings appear in the cult's camp after taking the quest

This was intentional

-I really thought he'd die.. besides why didn't the Swits make sure to kill them all especially after revealing their plans?

Well because the Captain with his patrol came in time to save him

-so why didn't the archer towers shoot the traitor before he got through the main gate ?

Because in the cinematic of their final duel you can see that the Swit soldiers have entered through the main gate so clearly they took over that part of the castle including the towers. Ha! XD

-why didn't he have any love interest or kids or something?

I thought about that but I wanted to focus on the relationship with Sammy. Maybe in the sequel

-maybe make the important people/quest givers invulnerable just in case?

They already are exactly for that reason hahaha

-abilities could be more diverse either let the player choose from a couple of many more and/or create some combos between them (more replay value); that or more heroes?

Yes I completely agree, but making unfortunately making custom abilities is my weakness in WorldEdit

-some flashbacks or something to get more info about what happened during those 40 years to know the characters (OK, at the end we find something about Ethan, that he can talk to animals)

Just to clarify Ethan cant talk to animals, this was just a bonding moment. (I meant it in a way like everybody talks to their pets)

-gold isn't really useful

I have yet to find a good use for spending gold in this map

-leave the score out at the end to see how much time was spent playing
-you could make a score at the end with how many quests were completed/unfinished and how good/bad/guillable the character was

These are really fun ideas actually, I will definitely implement them next version

 

[deepstrasz]

Well as far as I remember only one isn't concealed, but you just have to explore deeper to find it.

Spoiler

Yeah, the one with the Sasquatch boss. So far, I think I've only found three: the one with the Golem/Mountain Giant, the one with the Sasquatch and the one with the treasure. Any others?

This was intentional

I know but try not to make things like that in the future if you can/want. It looks weird. Actually, an idea would be for the camp to be invisible and a something would be able to compromise their invisibility (a Gem of True Seeing?) You can make the buildings invisible too and set that player to treat the player as neutral until the quest is given/the player comes with the Gem of True seeing in their camp.

Well because the Captain with his patrol came in time to save him

Wasn't in the cinematic I guess I didn't correctly understand from their conversation afterwards.

They already are exactly for that reason hahaha

Oh? I thought secondary quest givers are also important people By the way, you could make a player treat you as enemy for killing some of their people or make you lose gold or something

I have yet to find a good use for spending gold in this map

A horsepack that can carry items ?

 

[tyci]

Spoiler

Yeah, the one with the Sasquatch boss. So far, I think I've only found three: the one with the Golem/Mountain Giant, the one with the Sasquatch and the one with the treasure. Any others?

Now that I think about it that's all of them. Wow, that's way too little. I have to add more of them!

I know but try not to make things like that in the future if you can/want. It looks weird. Actually, an idea would be for the camp to be invisible and a something would be able to compromise their invisibility (a Gem of True Seeing?) You can make the buildings invisible too and set that player to treat the player as neutral until the quest is given/the player comes with the Gem of True seeing in their camp.

Man, you have such good ideas. I wish you would have tested my map before release <3

 

[deepstrasz]

Man, you have such good ideas. I wish you would have tested my map before release <3

It can still be done! Just make a backup of your map just in case you won't like the outcome.

EDIT: about the gold; what about items to enhance the wolf somehow? Specific items only for the wolf.

 

[Rufus]

here are my notes I wrote down while playing:

• The rock tile for the road is really ugly. There are better tiles in the village tileset!
• They say the bridge is being fixed, but it is not broken or has anyone working on it.
• The heroes have rather simple skills, but they are fun to use together, especially when you get 100% evasion on Sammy.
• Tips are showing during cinematics.
• Really good-looking skin on the main hero.
• They wouldn't let farmers in, but a stranger with a huge sword? Step right in.
• I disliked the sudden top view and locked camera in the mine.
• I liked the explosives, so that you'll tread carefully.
• The miners are just chiling in town rather than being paniced outside or searching for someone to help out. It may have been better if they found you, instead of you them.
• The fading out after a cinematic is frustrating. It takes long before you can select your character.
• Why isn't the horse pen fenced? It is like every other piece is missing?
• I liked the woman who wanted to kill her husband. She was fun, and delivered a cool feeling of that.
• After I killed the golem, Sammy had a permanent fire noise attached to him. It might have been attached earlier.
• The bandit leader was not at a very relevant location. I was about to give up, but used "iseedeadpeople" instead, and then found him by the shore, not at all close to any other bandits or any encampment.
• You didn't get any experience from killing the bandit lord, but if you let him live, you get an item. Shouldn't you get the item anyway, since he dies?
• I like that you recieved control of the army, to prevent the uprising.
• The peasants run away after a little while of combat. Then coming back again. It looks like they are patrolling, but without attacking.
• The peasant gets stuck after each in the gates, making them easy targets.
• I never saw Lopez in the uprising, and a guard said "it was the last of them" when I was still fighting a few of them.
• The ring has a really fun tooltip, but it is really nasty not being able to drop it. I knew I should have killed her...
• Her attack range is almost double as long as the whip itslef, and she sounds like a dragon with each whip.
• Walking over the bridge was a kind of weird cutscene all of a sudden.
• There is a burning throne, two spiders and a broken cage in the middle of nowhere. An obelisk at another location.
• There is a griup of friendly bandits in the north. Perhaps that is for a later quest though.
• I don't know when it happened, but suddenly there were two bards in the first village.
• So you get nothing for discovering the horse is dead? Makes sense, but why then a quest?
• Walking over the bridge again, causes the same "cinematic" again, even if it has been played already.
• Why are there glowing, demonic steps leading to a sasquatch?
• There is a jungle stalker in a snowy forest. Multiple, I found out now.
• There is water coming out of the dolphin statue, but it just spills on the bricks, going nowhere. Sorry, that just bathered me.
• You can walk through the table in the kings dining room.
• There can be fog of war in the castle, but not in the city?
• The note to your character was not very nice. Why leave an important message like that in the castle main door?
• I really liked that you can support the mad and murderous king.
• It was really ugly that the dirt tile is on top of the snow tile.

I spent played it for a little more than 90 minutes before I got too tired to continue.
It has a good base concept, but I'd like to see more character development, like adding more items and powerups, and improvements to the terrain would be very welcome. Especially to the tileset.
It is absolutely playable, and I din't find any really gamebreaking bugs. The story is there, but it not super-engaging or creative, but it works well.

 

[tyci]

Thank you for taking the time to play my map! All of your reported bugs will be looked into of course. The story is pretty basic in the beginning but it gets more complex later on, so I'm sorry to hear you couldn't finish it. But thank you anyway

Spoiler: Some Answers

• I disliked the sudden top view and locked camera in the mine.

Well i added it so you couldn't see the explosives ahead of you.

• You didn't get any experience from killing the bandit lord, but if you let him live, you get an item. Shouldn't you get the item anyway, since he dies?

Many people told that this logic is flawed, so looks like I have to change it, hahaha.

• I never saw Lopez in the uprising, and a guard said "it was the last of them" when I was still fighting a few of them.

He was there, you must have been looking at the eastern gate as he was attacking from the north.

• There is a burning throne, two spiders and a broken cage in the middle of nowhere. An obelisk at another location.

This was intentional to make the world feel more alive and maybe more immersive?

• So you get nothing for discovering the horse is dead? Makes sense, but why then a quest?

Yes, I am planning to change that in the next patch.

 

[Fruit Forest]

Many people told that this logic is flawed, so looks like I have to change it, hahaha.

The sword is light one. You may add a description while the main hero gives final blow, the bandit uses sword to parry damage, but the main hero brokes the sword and finish the bandit.

 

[Rufus]

Oh, I did find Lopez later. He stood on the northern side of the bridge.

 

[Soul Reaver]

Well, played the entire map to completion. Also reloaded an early save to see how the story changes if I make some different choices. The map isn't perfect, but overall I enjoyed it.

Pros:

Storyline and Characters
While neither overly complex or long, I enjoyed the storyline, characters and setting. It's very much set in a world of 'grey' morality, where it's not always obvious what the 'right' or 'good' thing is for you to do. Ethan is an interesting enough main character - not a bright-eyed youth but more of a world-wary soldier - and that character fits the setting very well. His relationship with Sammy feels genuine. The other characters tend to be consistent in their characterization as well, if not overly complex for the most part. There are some plot twists too, which keep the story interesting. Lastly, it actually manages to have some emotional moments, which is not easy to pull off. Well done!

Choice
Offering the freedom to make various choices in the story - who to support, who to kill etc - is great, and I like the fact that it does have some impact on the game and the story (but see below).

Use of Space
The map is actually quite packed with stuff to do. There are a lot of sidequests and places to explore.

Gameplay
Although the gameplay is pretty straightforward Warcraft III-type stuff, I enjoyed it. I like the fact that Ethan and Sammy's abilities are quite 'mundane' - it suits their characters and the scale of the story well, and the abilities are still fun to use.

Cons:

Spelling and Grammar
There are a number of spelling and grammar mistakes in the map. They are mostly small but there are enough of them that it's a bit distracting and makes the story seem less professional than it should. I would recommend going through all the dialogue with a spellchecker, and preferably have it proofread by one or even two different people. As a matter of personal taste, I find the dialogue a bit too 'modern' and simple, but obviously it's subjective if that bothers someone or not.

Limited Inventory Space
It annoyed me how often I had to leave items behind. If there was a way to store them - perhaps a pack horse or a 'stash' - it would be less annoying.

Fixed Camera
During the mine sequence, the fixed camera feels quite restrictive. Zoom it out a bit or let us at least move it around.

Bugs
Mostly minor, but I did run into the occasional bug during cinematics or gameplay - fixed cameras becoming unstuck, a character running to pick up armour but colliding with another one and turning back, my characters running past in front of other characters during cinematics, an additional bard appearing in a village, that sort of thing. Note also that during the final sequence, whenever Ethan calls out where an attack is coming from, it uses a footman portrait - I think you've got it set to have the 'cinematic' Ethan talk, rather than the 'real' one at the keep.

Unskippable Cinematics
I know it's a lot of work, but the fact that most cinematics can't be skipped makes multiple playthroughs quite tedious. I'd recommend making them all skippable. The ones that present you with a choice, it should skip right to the choice window - the ones that don't present a choice should skip to the end. Incidentally, I recommend removing selection circles during cinematics: they look ugly.

Gold is Useless
It's been mentioned before, but if you take into account the limited inventory space, gold becomes EXTRA useless. Recommend making the merchants sell more useful things - perhaps permanent stat upgrades for Ethan and/or Sammy, or items that give special abilities. Also, try to give the three merchants in Azora different things to sell.

Terrain
The terrain is a bit on the boring side.

Illusion of Choice
While your choices do slightly alter some things, they don't really affect the overall plot arc, which felt like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Spoiler

For example, I was disappointed that supporting Goren doesn't change things more than it did. He still ends up attacking you in the final battle, despite the fact that you supported him. You'd think he'd back off once he realizes it's you leading the defense.

Other choices could also have had more impact than merely giving different rewards.

Spoiler

Kill the bandit leader: get sword and experience. Spare the bandit leader: get sword and he reappears later in the plot to help you out - maybe lends a couple of men during the final battle or something? Ally with Sarah: you fight off an assassination attempt by some villagers later. Etc etc

Overall, I enjoyed this map, and would recommend it to others looking for a story-driven experience. Some more polish in some areas would improve the quality further, but as a whole, this is a good original work and enjoyable piece of fiction. Well done!

EDIT: A couple of additional thoughts:
- Why does Sarah's model make her look so... non-human? The nobody else in the entire population looks like her, which makes her bit of an odd one out
- I'm not sure "Mayor" is the right title for Sarah/Ethan. Mayors tend to look after a town, hire people and have some legislative clout, but aren't really high up the food chain in terms of nobility - it's unlikely a king would call for a mayor, nor that they would be put in charge of any military matters. Perhaps what you're looking for is "Baron/Baroness"?
- I don't know if I missed it or something, but was there any tutorial or tooltip that reveals that the bards heal HP and MP? Because I only figured it out near the end of the game...

 

[izaiphovias]

Hey tyci,

I've played through all of it... And man... That ending... It hurts... (in a good way)

But anyway, here are my thoughts about the map and some bugs I've found:

Spoiler: Review

Critical Strike Animation - you could use Attack instead of Spell for the animation, it is kind of weird that he launches the wind effect by raising his sword instead of swinging it
Early game mana - it is really annoying in early game, as Ethan doesn't have nearly enough mana to cast some Kick / Critical Strike combos, try to add some cheap mana items to help and give gold some better use
Clear selections before cinematics - it's simply ugly to see the selection circles below units during a cinematic
Hide or position units during cinematics - make sure to order Ethan to hold, every time you start a cinematicm otherwise he may run away from the camera, also, position Sammy and Lopez away or even hide them during cinematics, so they won't stand in front of things
Hero Lopez - you could make Lopez a hero unit, give him some basic abilities just for fun, it doesn't need to be anything complex for him
Give Sammy unit inventory - it would be weird to have your dog use items, bu Sammy could at least have unit inventory so he could carry items for Ethan, that would make consumables worthwhile
Raise Bridges - some bridges, if not all of them, are lower than the roads, try to raise them a little bit
Change teleport effect - Remove the Mass Teleport effect from the Circle of Powers Waygate ability, or at least replace it with some dust effect, World Editor already have some nice dust effects that could be used (like the Mirror Image death effect, or Storm, Earth, Fire cast effect)
Winter's Rise terrain - you could put some more work on the city's tiles, Winter's Rise is almost flat and blank, add some more dark grass and different bricks here and there
Korious death animation bug - don't know what happened exactly, but when I've killed Korious, his model just stood there, immobile, I think the bug was caused because he died while casting a triggered ability, this may end up happening with other bosses as well
Sammy exploded the Commander! With Charge - when I decided to fight the Commander, I simply used Sammy's Charge ability to finish him off and he exploded, it was kind of weird to see his pool of blood talking to Ethan lol, you could add a trigger that does not allow Charge to explode units that are not supposed to die
Bard selection circle - increase the circle size, plz
Swit army retreating - during the last battle, right after the Swit solders got passed the main gate they retreated back to their spawning point, this is an annoying behavior default to WC3 AI, you can make a trigger to order them back to the keep whenever they reach their spawning point, or even simply constantly order them to attack-move
Nice bridge camera and music - I've seen some people complaining about the Winter's Rise bridge camera, but I kinda liked it
Nice winter environment - I've liked the cold atmosphere of this map, well done indeed
Barracks layout - Your attention to details when making Winter's Rise barracks interior layout match exactly the model's is commendable
Abilities - I must agree with the other reviewers about the abilities being way too simple, but I kinda get your point that Ethan is a simple human and Sammy a simple dog, so they would not have any fancy spells. However, you could add additional abilities that would still seem realistic enough, if you need any help with that I would be glad to assist
Side Quests - Some quests just felt unnecessary, gameplay and story wise, like calling a stranger woman's husband for dinner... But I really did like the werewolf quest, the twist in it regaridng why the werewolves are there gives it the charm
Models and skins - I really liked your choice for most of the models and skins used here, however some other ones are really just out of place, like Agamand's and Korious', they are just weird

Overall, this is a great map! Even though the decision making doesn't affect the story as much, it still has a well thought story arch, I just found it weird how easily Ethan was accepted as the Lord of Golornia by the King, without even being questioned.

4/5 from me

@Rufus - The Great Review Exchange

 

[tyci]

Thank you both for your reviews and playing until the end! These detailed reviews really help me out as I try to make my map better. I addressed some of your points :

Spoiler: Soul Reaver

Limited Inventory Space
It annoyed me how often I had to leave items behind. If there was a way to store them - perhaps a pack horse or a 'stash' - it would be less annoying.

I am in the process of adding some more space to carry items, because it looks like it's a issue for a lot of people.

Unskippable Cinematics

I know it's a lot of work, but the fact that most cinematics can't be skipped makes multiple playthroughs quite tedious. I'd recommend making them all skippable. The ones that present you with a choice, it should skip right to the choice window - the ones that don't present a choice should skip to the end. Incidentally, I recommend removing selection circles during cinematics: they look ugly.

Oh this is indeed a lot of work. Most of the cinematics without choice are skippable and I am not sure if making them all skippable is worth the effort.

Gold is Useless
It's been mentioned before, but if you take into account the limited inventory space, gold becomes EXTRA useless. Recommend making the merchants sell more useful things - perhaps permanent stat upgrades for Ethan and/or Sammy, or items that give special abilities. Also, try to give the three merchants in Azora different things to sell.

Yes this is an issue that Im doing my best to address right now.

Illusion of Choice
While your choices do slightly alter some things, they don't really affect the overall plot arc, which felt like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Spoiler

For example, I was disappointed that supporting Goren doesn't change things more than it did. He still ends up attacking you in the final battle, despite the fact that you supported him. You'd think he'd back off once he realizes it's you leading the defense.

Other choices could also have had more impact than merely giving different rewards.

Spoiler

Kill the bandit leader: get sword and experience. Spare the bandit leader: get sword and he reappears later in the plot to help you out - maybe lends a couple of men during the final battle or something? Ally with Sarah: you fight off an assassination attempt by some villagers later. Etc etc

The reason for that is that I changed my mind on how the game should look during making it. While making the first area (Golornia) I was planning to make similar to the Dragon Age series, that's why in that part the choices are the most impactful and they even change which companion you get. At first I wanted the player to get more companions depending on his choices ver much like in Dragon Age or Mass Effect. But I changed the concept to make the map more of a story-driven game about Ethan and Sammy, the gameplay being on the side. Something more like Last of Us or Uncharted.

EDIT: A couple of additional thoughts:
- Why does Sarah's model make her look so... non-human? The nobody else in the entire population looks like her, which makes her bit of an odd one out

It's simple, I wanted her to be hot, so the player would sympathize with her more and even want to marry her

- I'm not sure "Mayor" is the right title for Sarah/Ethan. Mayors tend to look after a town, hire people and have some legislative clout, but aren't really high up the food chain in terms of nobility - it's unlikely a king would call for a mayor, nor that they would be put in charge of any military matters. Perhaps what you're looking for is "Baron/Baroness"?

Yes I know, but I wanted to make Azora a bit different from the real world by including different titles. Very much like in Game of Thrones the main assistant to the king should be called the steward but his title is the Hand of the King. Just a little change to make your world special.

Spoiler: izaiphovias

Critical Strike Animation - you could use Attack instead of Spell for the animation, it is kind of weird that he launches the wind effect by raising his sword instead of swinging it

I didn't even think of that, haha. Yes I will definetely change that.

Hero Lopez - you could make Lopez a hero unit, give him some basic abilities just for fun, it doesn't need to be anything complex for him

I don't want him as a hero because I want to focus the story on Sammy and Ethan. But maybe I could a basic abillity for them to use.

Change teleport effect - Remove the Mass Teleport effect from the Circle of Powers Waygate ability, or at least replace it with some dust effect, World Editor already have some nice dust effects that could be used (like the Mirror Image death effect, or Storm, Earth, Fire cast effect)

It is there because without any effect it looks kind of weird, but maybe it breaks the immersion a bit, so I will probably change it.

Sammy exploded the Commander! With Charge - when I decided to fight the Commander, I simply used Sammy's Charge ability to finish him off and he exploded, it was kind of weird to see his pool of blood talking to Ethan lol, you could add a trigger that does not allow Charge to explode units that are not supposed to die

Haha Sammy pls I will make him invulnerable in the last second.

Nice bridge camera and music - I've seen some people complaining about the Winter's Rise bridge camera, but I kinda liked it

I know right? I like it very much as well! Hahaha

Overall, this is a great map! Even though the decision making doesn't affect the story as much, it still has a well thought story arch, I just found it weird how easily Ethan was accepted as the Lord of Golornia by the King, without even being questioned.

I know this is a bit weird , but maybe he was visited by someone during the few weeks between the feast and the uprising?

 

[Fruit Forest]

[Review Exchange Event][2.01.2017] version 1.07a

Spoiler: Review

Introduction

Gameplay

Aesthetic

The Story/Plot

Spelling / Grammar

Bugs

Conclusion

Introduction

When I downloaded this project I expected it has some problems with realization, because it's the only 1.07a version, that means the author made a good basis of the game, but it still requires more work to do. Before I starts to review the main parts of the project I should say that it's the Warcraft 3 free project. It probably has a budget equaled to a sandwich with tea (or what the author ate while creating the project), it's not a high-financed game of a famous game company or something.

I like projects which actually have a plot. I really appreciated the author put me in good game atmosphere, but let's start. But I also like projects with the challenge. The project has a dual impression, I really didn't know what is a rate I must give.

Gameplay

The project set the tone in the beginning: you will play two heroes, I was hoping every hero will have own role like a support unit and the hero, whom the player gives the best loot. In fact we have two heroes which can be dangerous even alone, there is no role dividing here. It doesn't boring, it just was my subjective hope.

Each hero has 4 abilities, but only a few of them is really useful in the beginning and in the middle. In the story epilogue (this is the most emotional part) you will spam all abilities. Also when I started to view abilities I got a thought these abilities can make a combination (Critical Strike + Dirty Kick), but then I realized - the abilities are replaced variants of standard ones, the author replace the icons, the description and some variable. CS + DK combo was the replaced Brewmaster's abilities. The only triggered spell was the Sammy's Charge allowing to teleport to the chosen enemy position (it was useless till the fortress siege, where you need to kill Monks-Healers (Maybe rename them as Chaplain like in the catholic religion?) which are hiding behind the main melee troopers. I think in the nearest future the author gives more ways to do combos that leads us to more triggered abilities.

When I pick consumable items I found one thing. Today 2017 and I still play the WC3 project without system of stacking items. It must be one of the first things what the author must worry about before creating a terrain and building the plot. But the problem is there is no very dangerous challenges where you really need to drink - you have the bards (the realistic interpretation of the Fountain of Life).

The second hero doesn't have an inventory. I think it's because the passive attacking ability is too dangerous.

The gold doesn't really needed. The merchants trade you only potions and scrolls. I thought there must be recipes which are combine items you found in the more powerful ones giving the hero free inventory slots. The only moment where I used the gold is the fortress siege: I bought potions and drop them in the middle to drink during the assault. Also Minor "Purple potions" doesn't worth to spend even a coin ("250 goldz, cmon!" was my reaction).

The most of enemies (about 95%) are auto attacking units, they didn't use abilities what deals spell damage, that means the golem's shard item is almost useless.

Aesthetic

I see the author spent a time to create a terrain without using too many cliffs, it's good. But there are some odd things like stones on mountains (they are almost levitating), trees are growing on the stone surfaces. Don't be afraid to add more doodads and decorations. Also after the terrain finishing use the shadow calculation, it makes the terrain more natural.

The story/Plot

Secondary quests: Some of them are odd: I don't believe the peasant doesn't want to make a dinner just because it tries to fix the boat. He doesn't play computer games to ask her wife to wait longer for a dinner. Some of them are useless: You doesn't get anything as a reward (Bill the Horse). It's not a real life, man. It's a computer game I must gain a reward while completing a quest without any additional conditions (like while the interrogation quest where you need to keep the cult member alive or else you wouldn't get any reward). Also I wanted to see the consequences of my decisions, which leads me to more quests, there are so many foreshadows for that like the NPC told the hero what he seen him soon etc. Anyway I like the decision system, but I expected it will like the "Illusion of decision", but I closed my eyes on it because see my replica about the project budget above.

Primary quests are quite good. We playing non-boring role in the political spheres, taking participation in the royal conspiracy. I really enjoyed to watch this. The most emotional part for me was the fortress siege, I felt a real challenge there. Also the cinematics where Sammy and Ethan contact each other are very touching, but it's sad the dog doesn't play any weighty role. Maybe it's because it just a friendly animal, but I wanted to see how Sammy for example doesn't let the main hero fight one by one or save the hero's ass in the dangerous moments (the ambush event doesn't count). Anyway this project has a good replayability.

Spelling / Grammar

No issues here.

Bugs

When Ethan was called for war I went to the south lumber camp and somehow passed thought the trees. Please, check the pathing.

Some mountains has a low angle, but the hero still can't pass there. I know it's a border, but it looks unnatural.

I give 4/5 to this project. I like its potential, the plot system, but it has a lot things to fix.

 

[tyci]

Thank you very much Fruit Forest! Glad you enjoyed the story! Looks like I really have to work on these spells for Ethan and Sammy to make things more interesting.

Also after the terrain finishing use the shadow calculation, it makes the terrain more natural.

Thanks for the tip! Forgot it exists.

Some of them are useless: You doesn't get anything as a reward (Bill the Horse). It's not a real life, man.

Yeah, I know. Added a reward in the new patch.

 

[tabanjian]

how do i return to the game after ethan is killed from the mission of swit spy's?

 

[tyci]

@tabanjian After Ethan almost dies on that mission, a cinematic should play after which you can keep playing.

 

[tabanjian]

but there is no cinematic

 

[Mernin]

Hey man,just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your map.I am eally looking forward for the next one,and I really wonder what the heroes will be.Will we still have Ethan or will a new hero(es) come?

 

[tyci]

@tabanjian
Could you post a screenshot of your situation?

@Mernin
Yes, It will still be about Ethan, but it will also follow a story of someone new

 

[Mernin]

Well then,that sounds good!I really like Ethan,and his childhood friend,so I hope that he might be the new hero... .But a new character sounds interesting as well...

 

[Perkyguy]

The dog permanently loses its inventory slots (if you've bought any) after using his ultimate.

 

[tyci]

@Perkyguy Thanks for noticing that bug! Will fix it in the next version.

 

[lesnarpower12]

I never expected the events to turn like this.The end is very sadly but i hope you will continue the story and have ethan take revenge.I noticed that in the final siege the enemy is not as powerful as he was in the forest.Why ?????

 

[tyci]

I never expected the events to turn like this.The end is very sadly but i hope you will continue the story and have ethan take revenge.I noticed that in the final siege the enemy is not as powerful as he was in the forest.Why ?????

Well simply to make you lose in the forest haha ;D

 

[Biskmatar]

Congratulations for the map,it's simply incredible,some details and the characters are awesome.I would correct smalls issues for example the terrain-pollish and refill,it would good I think;I cite the user's point Soul Reaver("Illusion of Choice"),nevermind these've good roll and play mechanics;and Bert never forged an Excalibur for him u.u
However,the nasty ending man,poor Sammy.It's funny stress others but it's enough,very wrong(I not say what was bad,it's just too much suffer).
Otherwise,an excellent map very nice planned.Of course us the players inspire you and your team to make a revenge against Agamand and I dare say this map has a lot potential to be a campaing easily.Greetings from Argentina
I'll leave some suggestions below
-Of course make this map into a campaing one-hundred percent.
-Do a 2nd hero as paladin,or custom hero to fight for Ethan.
-Promote the current allies as Lopez(Monk),Sarah(Ranger),Bert(Forgemaster(?).This're just examples.
-Put mercenary camps and shops around the map.
-More ways to do gold and lumber,with this update and improve the basement placing structures,plots and come more villagers.
-Some custom/legendary items

 

[tyci]

Hey guys, finally some progress on the next chapter of Throne of Azora. Click here for the thread :
[Cinematic] - Throne of Azora: The Beginning

 

[MnjauTheCat]

So far, everything in this map seems fine :3 the only problem in it was '' its too short '' xD

 

[tyci]

@MnjauTheCat I recommend doing all the sidequests then D Or maybe try to find all the Secret Bosses

 

[MnjauTheCat]

@MnjauTheCat I recommend doing all the sidequests then D Or maybe try to find all the Secret Bosses

did :''D

 

[Svetli]

I've missed to rate the map, sorry.

 

[Jayborino]

Great RPG map! Emotional cheap shot at the end. I felt the player choice could have been more impactful as the Prince choice resulted in the same ending a bit too obviously (I chose Goren).

There are a few places in the psychedelic trip section (hilarious, btw) where the player can get through the mushrooms and roam out of bounds.

When Korious spawns after choosing not to let the prisoners die, Sammy instantly was killed in the cinematic.

The third secret boss (tree) did not drop a crystal so I could never complete the Philosopher's Stone.

On that note, I had 2 crystal pieces on my companion (Lopez), who just disappeared before the end section - though he definitely was not killed. I figured even if I killed the dragon, I wouldn't be able to combine that last piece with the others so didn't bother.

Speaking of your companion, Lopez attacked and eventually killed the Swit scout during the ambush cinematic.

Sammy loses his inventory slots after his ultimate is cast.

The quest system is very well done, though most of the side quests felt bittersweet/melancholy as most involve someone dying regardless of the players efforts. I found it strange how angry Ethan gets at the villagers when they don't give him anything for removing the Werewolves, he didn't seem characterized to be that angry over something like that considering our first quest was agreeing to get a man back home for dinner.

The boar tusk quest seemed odd in general as I figured maybe we'd get just a tiny bit more explanation there, but instead we just help a woman murder someone without contextualizing anything about the situation.

Overall fantastic experience that I feel could be built upon more to be even better!

 

[tyci]

@Jayborino Wow, thanks for such a detailed review! Always appreciate it I know the that the choices have really short-term effects, but I focused on the story itself. Thanks for the bug notices, will trry to fix them of course. And concerning the werewovles quest, you're right, Ethan kind raged rather suddenly. But I just wanted to emphasize how both sides were just awful beings to each other.

 

[Ezaray]

after i finished the quest where you help the priest to kill herald i cant select ethan and it always select as ethan when he blend with the pries

 

[tyci]

I'm afraid there is nothing I can do about that now. I recommend loading an earlier save file.

 

[PartumCreed]

I'm certainly keeping this map in my collection.
My compliments for this map, it's really well made.

• There's no voice acting in the scenarios.
• Custom heroes with custom spells
• Professional terraining.
• Tons of quests & gameplay hours.
• Default warcraft music.
• F9 information section is called "Optional Quests".
• Side quests fit in the same section as information.
• Very immersive story & gameplay
• Great use of custom models.

 

[tyci]

@PartumCreed Glad you liked it. You can also play the prequel here: Throne of Azora: Revelation

 

[Jayborino]

Nice looking update!

 

[Svetli]

Too bad that my improvements are not here.

 

[Jayborino]

Too bad that my improvements are not here.

From the author in his sequel map description:

"Unfortunately my PC has completely broken down recently, losing all my work on The Beginning series (as well as on Throne of Azora 1.10)." Emphasis mine.

 

[Svetli]

From the author in his sequel map description:

"Unfortunately my PC has completely broken down recently, losing all my work on The Beginning series (as well as on Throne of Azora 1.10)." Emphasis mine.

Ok. Also I started the update of version 1.10, but sadly he couldn't finish it.

 

[tyci]

Sorry @Svetli that I didn't implement your changes. Maybe I will give it one more try sometime, but I think a new patch for ToA: Revelation has to come first. I hope you liked that map as well though haha

 

[Hazop]

how did you color the Castle Wall doodads in the Azora City?

 

[Svetli]

how did you color the Castle Wall doodads in the Azora City?

They are not colored. It's a specific model.

 

[Hazop]

They are not colored. It's a specific model.

How did you get the specific model? Arnt the Fortification models player colored?

 

[Svetli]

How did you get the specific model? Arnt the Fortification models player colored?

Fortification wall outer edge

 

[Hazop]

Fortification wall outer edge

??? What do you mean by that? So you modified it?

 

[tyci]

They are team-colored, no modification required