- Joined
- Sep 30, 2008
- Messages
- 1,460
This thread is just me thinking out loud, and I dont currently plan to make anything I've discussed. But I thought i was a nice idea, and thought ide share it with you 
Im sure that time and time again people have tried to make an multiplayer ORPG, and find themselves having to decrease the quality of their maps considerably due to the bnet 4mb limit.
Well! I've been thinking of a way to bypass this, and the solution? Using several different maps to essetially make one game
Hang on, im sure your thinking this sounds like the same thing blizzard did with their Rexxar map? and to be fair, yes, it is quite similar. The only difference being that each map will be completely independant from the others.
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The Concept:
Each map will be a completely different area of the game, and will focus on a unique theme, such as a forest or a cave etc. Think of each map as being a level.
Each level will contain a "Town Area" for quests, items, healing etc. It will also have the "Questing Area" which is pretty much the area outside the town, which will be full of creeps, and the neccesary content to complete quests from the town. Each level will also feature a boss, which upon death, will drop some sort of special item.
Each map/area will be designed for a specific character level group, which will be displayed in the maps name. For example, the starting map could be named "Forest Levels 1 - 15"
Essentially, every level could be similar to an instance in WoW
_____________________________________________________
Production:
Initially, a template map would need to be created, which would literally be a blank terrain canvas with all the hero classes, items and triggers that will be consistant throughout the various levels. This will ensure that one save/load code will work for every map, allowing players to load their characters in any level they find hosted on bnet.
Once the template is completed, it can be handed out to several developers, who will create the terrain, create creeps, quests, bosses, and use items from the template as rewards.
_____________________________________________________
The Advantages:
- The major advantage is file size. If each map only needs to contain an hours worth of play, then the quality of the map is potentially limitless. For example, the quality of terrain could be spectacular as the terrainer will not have to worry about running out of doodads etc.
- Each map would only need to contain enough content for the player to progress to a certain stage, e.g. 10 levels. Once the player has finished a level, he/she can move onto the next map. Each level can be revisited if theres something a player forgot to do
- A players hero can be loaded on any map he/she wants to play.
Its only a rough concept, and may never be created, but any comments / criticism you have is most welcome
Im sure that time and time again people have tried to make an multiplayer ORPG, and find themselves having to decrease the quality of their maps considerably due to the bnet 4mb limit.
Well! I've been thinking of a way to bypass this, and the solution? Using several different maps to essetially make one game
Hang on, im sure your thinking this sounds like the same thing blizzard did with their Rexxar map? and to be fair, yes, it is quite similar. The only difference being that each map will be completely independant from the others.
_____________________________________________________
The Concept:
Each map will be a completely different area of the game, and will focus on a unique theme, such as a forest or a cave etc. Think of each map as being a level.
Each level will contain a "Town Area" for quests, items, healing etc. It will also have the "Questing Area" which is pretty much the area outside the town, which will be full of creeps, and the neccesary content to complete quests from the town. Each level will also feature a boss, which upon death, will drop some sort of special item.
Each map/area will be designed for a specific character level group, which will be displayed in the maps name. For example, the starting map could be named "Forest Levels 1 - 15"
Essentially, every level could be similar to an instance in WoW
_____________________________________________________
Production:
Initially, a template map would need to be created, which would literally be a blank terrain canvas with all the hero classes, items and triggers that will be consistant throughout the various levels. This will ensure that one save/load code will work for every map, allowing players to load their characters in any level they find hosted on bnet.
Once the template is completed, it can be handed out to several developers, who will create the terrain, create creeps, quests, bosses, and use items from the template as rewards.
_____________________________________________________
The Advantages:
- The major advantage is file size. If each map only needs to contain an hours worth of play, then the quality of the map is potentially limitless. For example, the quality of terrain could be spectacular as the terrainer will not have to worry about running out of doodads etc.
- Each map would only need to contain enough content for the player to progress to a certain stage, e.g. 10 levels. Once the player has finished a level, he/she can move onto the next map. Each level can be revisited if theres something a player forgot to do
- A players hero can be loaded on any map he/she wants to play.
Its only a rough concept, and may never be created, but any comments / criticism you have is most welcome
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