Warden #42

[Rufus]

That is surprising me is moving on diagonal direction, but it seems the hero moves faster while moving that way.

Yeah, actually the diagonal bug is actually left there intentionally, because if I removed it, it felt supersloppy and irritating. So yeah, if you discover that, you have a small advantage.

I always is looking for power bonuses during proceeding any campaign to challenge the boss of the campaign to show it the true power. Also I'd like to see more bonuses like Stun duration increasing or movement speed boost, or The Dash cooldown decreasing.

All powerups will be permanent once the actual storyline comes out. Then you will keep the bonuses from one map to antoher, like in the Rexxar campaign. Bonus to abilities has already been created, and will be implemented in future version.

- Hit box of certain enemies are quite small. Even hero's animation shows that you blade touched the enemy body, but you doesn't deal any damage.

Good that you reminded me! I think I will try to increase the hit box of most enemies soon.

Hit detect. Auto attack here is spamming [Q]. You tried to attack enemy thinking you are dealing damage, but it's not. I prefer there must be a sign to show me that my attacks are hit the target.

A floating text has been created for the latest version. This will be implemented in all maps soon.

-The loading screen is intended to be like it is.
-I will see what calculate shadows do. I tried it once before and it became quite ugly, so I haven't tried it since.
-The story is not quite finished, but it will play out before Maiev was the Warden of the prison. This story is about her former leader. Maiev might make a special appearance in this story.

All your suggestions are good, and will probably be added. I just didn't understand this one: "Marking boss abilities to show player what to do."
Like a floating text from the boss when an ability is coming up?


Thanks a lot for your time and the rating!

 

[Fruit Forest]

Like a floating text from the boss when an ability is coming up?

No. For example in my project you see hit zone of ability so you can react on it. (you can add it as ability and call it for example Warden's Foresight that allows you to see hit zone of ability withint a short time). Like I said it's not compulsory.

 

[Rufus]

Ah, I see!
That seems tricky to do, but I sure will if I find the time, and if it can be made in a good way.

 

[bear_369]

@Rufus
I've played some of your maps in your campaign. (I've only finished 1 map, couldn't able to finish Bonechiller Burrow because of text puzzle, and couldn't finish Forest Temple because of the bug). Here's my thought about the game.

• I like how most of the characters in the backstory were perfectly named except for Illidan sinces he named 'Illadan' But that doesnt matter.
  
• The gameplay is great. Focusing only on the warden as trying to solve the dungeon's puzzles to win the game.
  
• Some people, including me, may be confused by the healing item's gametext as they said that it will heal 50% of the maximum health but actually heals 50% of the current health. Maybe suggesting to change the gametext?
  
• Some enemy units(and the bosses) have a different type of attack pattern. Which is I actually liked.
  
• The terrain looks great and the enviroments are well-placed for dungeon-like area.
  
• Forest Temple has a bug where you couldn't able to see your warden after entering the stump's hole.
  
• In Bonechiller Burrow, you can attack the enemies through the gate. Which I assume it's a bug.

Overall, this game is fun to play and really original and unique from the rest of the puzzle-type games. Rating this to 5/5!

 

[Rufus]

Some people, including me, may be confused by the healing item's gametext as they said that it will heal 50% of the maximum health but actually heals 50% of the current health. Maybe suggesting to change the gametext?

This will be fixed.

Forest Temple has a bug where you couldn't able to see your warden after entering the stump's hole.

Oh! I will look into this!

In Bonechiller Burrow, you can attack the enemies through the gate. Which I assume it's a bug.

Sure soundsl ike it. I'll check it out.

Really glad you liked it!
Thanks for the review and the rating.

 

[izaiphovias]

The idea is great and implementation flawless! But it can be improved as there is almost no sense of progression, maybe add a customizable talent tree, nothing too out of the way, as I see how the Warden's abilities directly affect how the map works, but you could perhaps add some small modifications to her base kit, here are some ideas:

For Q
Talent 1 - Launches a projectile that travels a short range and deals less damage than the normal attack
Talent 2 - Gives a chance that the attack will heal the Warden, according to the amount of enemies hit. The number of targets hit may increase the heal itself or the proc chance
Talent 3 - If more than 1 enemy is hit, there is a small chance that some of them will get stunned, this may even decrease her energy a little bit every time it procs, so it wouldn't be too overpowered when used with the E ability

For W
Talent 1 - Increases movement speed for a short duration after been used
Talent 2 - Remove slows or roots, but consumes energy
Talent 3 - Decrease enemy attack speed if used to dodge a melee attack

For E
Talent 1 - Decreases stun duration, but increases damage
Talent 2 - Knockback enemies
Talent 3 - Pull enemies
Talent 4 - Triggers a 2nd time after a short period, this deals way less damage, stuns for way less time and costs no energy

For R
Talent 1 - Increases timeout
Talent 2 - Ghost orb increases energy regen if the Warden is close to it, this would add a feasible combat usage for the Recall
Talent 3 - The Warden's health is saved when she summons the Ghost, upon recalling her health is returned to the saved value

These are only some quick thought ideas that might add to the progression feeling, if you take your time you may come with some better ones I'm sure.

I have nothing to say about the terraining, sometimes it may look weird, but I see how it is required for the puzzle aspect of the maps

Something that you might have to consider is adding a timer, or special effect, or even a sound clue, that indicates the Recall ability expiration, it is quite frustrating to press R and end up summoning another orb instead of teleporting ^^'

 

[tyci]

Okay so I played 5 missions, didn't start the 6th one as its WIP. Overrall I am really impressed by how much work you put into this. All of these maps have really creative puzzles and sometimes even irritably so It's nice that you walk around using the movement keys instead of the mouse, makes the game feel more like Zelda than Warcraft So here are a few of my thoughts and bugs:

Spoiler: Bugs & Thoughts

• General:
  -When you are walking and press Z or X to enter your stats and then leave (the stats menu) the Warden continues on walking afterwards without an animation and without end.
  -Sometimes the NPCs dont react and let you just kill them.
  -The hitbox of the Warden could be a bit bigger.
  -Very nice terraining
  -And fix the Rune of Health textbox (50% of current not maximum)
  -The combat gets a bit repetetive after some time (I think one more combat skill would be nice)
• First Mission:
  -Loved the desert area outside the temple
  -When you turn on mana to be visible it crashes the map (its either black screen or theres no ui and you cant use any abilities)
  
• Second Mission:
  -When you have to activate those Obelisks to fight the Lich I think they shouldnt be timed because it just makes you go back to where you've been already and nobody likes that xd
  -I really hated the walking over spikes with the wind blowing against you
  -During the Lich battle you can't really see his abilities and dodge them as they are blue/white and the terrain is blue/white so they meld together, unless that was intentional to stimulate a snowstorm maybe?
  -Nice of you to make a Necromancer in case you cant solve a puzzle ;D
• Third Mission:
  -All nice especially the flute part ( Zelda music <3 )
• Fourth Missions:
  -The recall ability is just such a nice idea. It's easy to make in World Edit and you can make very fun puzzles with it in the future!
  -Too many enemies here in my opinion
  -Really liked the Endless Vaults here, both the aesthetics and the puzzle, nice work
  -The timer after detonating the bomb there should stop after leaving that area, because I was walking around the Vaults thinking I have to leave them somehow, having no idea how to do it (thought that going to X 0 and Y 0 would do it XD) until the timer reached 0.
  -The intro to the last boss, the fog, it was all dark looked extremely climactic. Great work here as well, he was a bit tough to beat though.
• Fifth Mission:
  -Okay PLEASE make the artifact fragments needed to be 6 instead of 8. I have wasted so much time looking for just 2 more of them. Leave the 8 fragments on the map, but make the player to need only 6 of them, then remove the other 2.
  -So after I gathered the artefact I went up to the obelisks activated the first one and I have no idea what to do next hahaha

 

[Rufus]

Answer to izaiphovias review.

Hidden

I have had those ideas mself actually, on ways to improve skills she already recieved. Later in the game, she will recieve three (maybe 4) special skills that will be used for nw puzzles and combat. She will be able to switch the R hotkey between those abilities. However, Right now I think I will be focusing on trying to add some kind of combat skill, to make encounters more interesting. I'm not sure I'm going to do this yet, but I have a few ideas.
All your suggestions for new skill perks have been noted, andm ight be used in the future.

What weird terrainings were you thinking of?

Something that you might have to consider is adding a timer, or special effect, or even a sound clue, that indicates the Recall ability expiration, it is quite frustrating to press R and end up summoning another orb instead of teleporting ^^'

i'll have it in mind.

Thanks for your thoughts!
This is useful for sure.

Answer to Tyci's Review.

Hidden

-When you are walking and press Z or X to enter your stats and then leave (the stats menu) the Warden continues on walking afterwards without an animation and without end.
-Sometimes the NPCs dont react and let you just kill them.
-The hitbox of the Warden could be a bit bigger.
-And fix the Rune of Health textbox (50% of current not maximum)
-When you turn on mana to be visible it crashes the map (its either black screen or theres no ui and you cant use any abilities)

This shall be fixed!

-The combat gets a bit repetetive after some time (I think one more combat skill would be nice)
-During the Lich battle you can't really see his abilities and dodge them as they are blue/white and the terrain is blue/white so they meld together, unless that was intentional to stimulate a snowstorm maybe?

I'll tinker around with those.

-When you have to activate those Obelisks to fight the Lich I think they shouldnt be timed because it just makes you go back to where you've been already and nobody likes that

I'll consider it.

-I really hated the walking over spikes with the wind blowing against you

MUAHAHAHA! This will probably stay as it is...

-The timer after detonating the bomb there should stop after leaving that area, because I was walking around the Vaults thinking I have to leave them somehow, having no idea how to do it (thought that going to X 0 and Y 0 would do it XD) until the timer reached 0.

There is actually no way to outrun the timer. You can actually just stay in the same place until it reaches 0. Perhaps I should fix something here.

-Too many enemies here in my opinion

Good opinion! I will reduce number of enemies, and also try to make them more interesting.

-Okay PLEASE make the artifact fragments needed to be 6 instead of 8. I have wasted so much time looking for just 2 more of them. Leave the 8 fragments on the map, but make the player to need only 6 of them, then remove the other 2.

Maybe.

-So after I gathered the artefact I went up to the obelisks activated the first one and I have no idea what to do next hahaha

There is a walkthrough, but I have to make this more clear, as a lot of people have gotten stuck here already.

Thanks a lot!
Playing all the missions is more than I could ask for! It seems you enjoyed them mostly, so that's a good sign.
This is also the first review in a long time I've recieved about the forest temple not having any bugs...

 

[Zwiebelchen]

@Rufus
Here is my review of Warden.

Please note that I have only played it for ~30 minutes before a gamebreaking bug stopped my progress and I didn't feel like starting again, simply because this type of gameplay is not my cup of tea.

So, yeah, here are my first Impressions:


Story/Plot: so far, the premise seems interesting to me, although I could imagine the story to be secondary in a game about puzzles and action combat. It's basicly the Illidan/Maiev storyline, so credits to doing the required research and stuff. I like how the sidequest areas are introduced, for example the scene in which the Warden crashes through the sand into the sand temple.
However, I can't give you a detailed review on the story without finishing the game, so, yeah, no rating here.

Visual Presentation: The artstyle is very warcrafty, with mostly default models and visually open and clean terrain design. This looks pretty much as well as a campaign with mostly default resources can look. I wished there were more custom resources in this campaign, simply because its kind of a missed opportunity for an action game, but that's just me. A thing that annoyed me though was the overuse of fog and weather effects. This not only destroys all color fidelity but also made it a exhausting on the eyes to play, especially on the sand temple map. Also, I think that the camera movement and the movement of the floating text HP number could be smoother. It felt a bit juddery at times.
Overall solid 7.5/10

Gameplay: The map is based entirely around action movement with arrow key controls. And it does it pretty much as well as WC3 allows it to. The controls feel unresponsive and sluggish, with a noticable delay on every keypress event (no blame on the mapmaker here; this is how Blizzard designed these events). For someone who is used to fast-paced action games, this might be off-putting, but after over 10 years of Warcraft, I have pretty much gotten used to it. Rufus did his best to work around the issue with the unresponsive button events by reducing the walking speed of the Warden whilst increasing the time enemies will telegraph their attacks. And this approach kind of alleviates the issue, but it also creates a little bit of frustration in that it makes the overall pacing of the game slower than it could be.
And as much as I appreciate Warden for trying something different in its control scheme: The game would probably work better with regular mouse controls. After playing it for 30 minutes, I saw absolutely no reason why the gameplay of this campaign needs arrow controls in the first place as you got to play in birdseye perspective anyway. Other than that, I had no objections against the gameplay. Trap mechanics seemed fine, although I could sometimes avoid taking damage even if I should have been hit. The battle mechanics were solid (despite the unresponsive button-events) and I liked that the Warden would still move slowly forward even when spamming attacks. The blink mechanic was a bit unreliable though, as even the smallest enemies would block your blinking path if they got in the way. Also, there was a small design flaw in the Blink mechanic: I feel that Blink should take priority over any other action. Currently, you can not blink while you are spamming attacks or the warden is still hitting on something. As Blink is a defensive maneuver, it should take priority over attacking, instantly cancelling the animation and blinking immediately regardless of what you were doing. This is action-controls 101 and would add a lot to the responsiveness of gameplay. In my 30 minutes of playing, I couldn't find many puzzles, so I can not give you any reviews on that.
Despite my hatred for arrow-key controls, I think I can give this a score of 6/10.

Overall execution/closing words: It's definitely one of the "check it out!" projects on Hive and is executed with a level of quality that you rarely see in WC3 these days. Very tight and consistent design. The interactive tutorial is amazing and makes this map as newbie friendly as it gets!
However, there were several bugs in the current version that outright broke the game for me. For example, when I wanted to enable the energy bar the game never resetted the cinematic filter again and I could not keep on playing, as the screen was entirely black, forcing me to restart the map. Healing runes were also not working properly.
Also, I feel that there could be a bit more polish in the visual presentation of the map, especially in terms of animations on the warden. I don't get what blizzard was thinking when they made these. Especially the walk animation is a desaster. A ribbon emitter on the weapon when the attack animation plays would also do wonders for visibility, imho.
I also hated the health regen mechanic. In action games, you want tight, fast-paced action and having to wait hours to fully recover your health is super contra-productive here. Either remove the health regeneration entirely and make health only regenerate through runes or have the health regeneration kick in x seconds after taking damage at a much higher speed. Being forced to sit and wait for health to recover slowly is a pain in the ass and absolutely doesn't fit into the genre as it pointlessly drags the game out.

Final Score: 7/10

 

[Rufus]

The stry taht is currently displayed in the proejct is completely outdated. I just don't have a finished-up enough concept to replace it with yet.

From the beginning, I never wanted to import any custom material. I always liked the warcrafty look on maps, and it also keeps filesize and loading times down.

As Blink is a defensive maneuver, it should take priority over attacking, instantly cancelling the animation and blinking immediately regardless of what you were doing.

Yes. This is a very good suggestion. I will try to do this.

I'm considering to have an alternative to the campaign, where you can control the character with the mouse instead. That could be implemented as an option in the beginning of the map.
However, a lot of puzzles revolves around the use of arrowkeys, so implementing normal click-to move control will mess up at least a few puzzles and fights.

or have the health regeneration kick in x seconds after taking damage at a much higher speed

I actually just created a function exactly like this. After 10 seconds of no combat, you'll start regaining health rapidly. I just wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

Ribbon effect on the swing is not a bad idea.
I will see if perhaps the warden animations could be made better.

Also, I will look into those bugs and fix them.

Thanks for the super-useful review!

 

[Heaven Editor]

This is the Grand Review Exchange.
Currently at Solen's Sanctuary.

Gameplay
New gameplay. Awesome! I love this warden game from the beginning. Smooth control. Smooth game. This is a great puzzle adventure map. Starting to play at the desert makes me wonder about the story. It is a good start. But, I wonder why there are bugs in the desert, with eggs (no mother?), allied with fire that kills forest. Eh? Maybe there is a story there. I will continue playing it. I wish I could get my warden to upgrade over the journey. I cannot see anything that would make my character becoming badass. I hope I can perform new skill after killing the boss or found secret. Anything that makes me explore the area. Yes, I am hoping the game would be longer for a single area (chapter).

In summary, please expand the character and size of a chapter. <3 5/5

Aesthatic
Weird combination of enemy being ally. Maybe desert should fill with scorpion rather than bug? Burning skeleton mage would be good in flaming red. Necromancer replace with mummy. But, I don't know. Environment looks nice with the proper enemy. I cannot see boss Solen life. Is it because of my setting? Everything else are beautiful and well organized for me.

In summary, looking good. 4/5

Bugs
Weird. I got fatal error when traversing to the next chapter.

In summary, not very critical as I can restart wc3 and play another 1. But my character progression and achievement are gone... 4/5

In conclusion, awesome map makes me want to continue my journey and adding more review! Total of 13/15.

 

[Rufus]

Glad you enjoyed it!

It is Scarabs, I thought they would fit the desert theme. A mother might be an idea for another mini-boss or something. Maybe. I might replace them with scorpions. Maybe.
I think I will add more powerups to all levels, to make the character power grow faster. I will also add new ocmbat skills somehow.
What do you mean by "enemy being ally"?
Solen's Life is disabled becuase it is visible in the top-riht cornor. Perhaps both should be enabled?
Character Progression doesn't exist yet. It will soon though, as the first mission is in making, which will tie together Solen's Sanctuary, Bonechiller Burrow and Forest Temple, like in a Rexxar map.


Thanks a lot for the review and rating!

 

[SNIper of DARKness]

"Warden" is a peculiar puzzle focused Warcraft 3 campaign composed of 5 individual missions.

I must say that when I first played this I didn't know anything about the map, so I found the Tutorial quite informative in telling me the basics and filling me up on the general purpose of the map, in other words the Tutorial was executed quite nicely and filled it's basic purpose.
I also noticed that the missions are not linked with one another but separate and don't support each other in terms of gameplay, you could argue if that actually makes a difference or not:

In my opinion "Warden" could actually benefit more from not having all the levels available to you but much like a campaign unlock as you finish the other ones, this would actually fit your style of puzzles being more of a focus on the combat and platform style than pure puzzles.

As I start the first level and fall down I get a sudden Tomb Raider feeling of discovery and exploration, the music fits in quite perfectly to the environment and proved to be perfect for the slow paced puzzle solving aim. I encounter a bug while trying to activate visible mana in the X menu, if I press Q or any other key the screen goes black and the only way to fix it is to restart the level.
I see a missed opportunity by making the player go fight a tougher enemy ghoul instead of making him think there are other options to consider, by having the catapult instructions behind the ghoul you remove this option. This could be a nice subtle touch, further implying that this isn't a hack & slash dungeon crawler and there is always another option.
I reach the Owl areas and start realising the downside of having keyboard control, in those areas especially it is evident that the controls are sluggish, unresponsive and delayed at times, making the Owl areas an absolute nuisance and simply an unpleasant experience. The Owls aura is quite small for sluggish controls and don't even appear to be properly synchronised that coupled with delays it is inevitable to get hit, the owls are also a bit faster than you which adds up.I also realise that the game has more of a action/platformer style of puzzles instead of a more thinking style puzzling.
Reaching the final area I am welcomed by two Obsidian Statues that despite being stunned they can still perform their stomp attack and damage me.
I must say during my first experience I enjoyed it all very much and found the puzzle to be quite fitting and pleasant, I especially enjoyed the harder one though it certainly wasn't that hard and found the bonus a bit too much.
The boss fight was cut short as you seem to have taken what I said earlier about avoiding hard fights too literally, I've one hit killed him and his minions afterwards the mission ended and I was left feeling empty.

In conclusion, I enjoyed the first level quite a lot the music fit in very nicely and the idea was there and executed nicely, in shorter words the first level was well made and I enjoyed it.​

Starting the second level I found the atmosphere actually quite lacking compared to the first one, there isn't much to add about the first part.
Upon entering the burrow I get a much better and fitting atmosphere, though there is to note that if you reenter the temple the music resets to the default outside music same if you save and load.
I'm greeted by more parkour minigames and a nice puzzle which is simple and effective, the ghost do tend to get a bit lost and often offer large gaps due to them getting closer to eachother if you let them run long enough. The maze was more of a labyrinth actually, it really felt like I was walking from A to B and then to C, perhaps adding a few more dead ends or perhaps tempting the player with an open path then blocking it.
The Boss fight, I don't know if I missed a puzzle granting me invulnerability but I get there and fight the Lich, as I reach the top the atmosphere starts feeling bland much like the first part. I approach and start battling the Lich which keeps bombarding me with the same lines that make no relevance to the fight or atmosphere, the battle was quite generic where you hit and run the enemy which isn't really your fault they are practically the same in WoW. What hurts the overall battle is the bland atmosphere, all you hear is your chakram being swung and the ocasional line and ice hitting the ground, perhaps adding additional sounds and music to the boss fight would improve the atmosphere.

The second level was a completely different experience compared to the first one, it always seemed something was missing.

Getting in to the third mission I start hearing a happy carnival tune which in my opinion doesn't really fit in with the abandoned night elf temple, it wouldn't actually be so bad if it were not for the game acknowledging it and using it for the next puzzle. The terrain is of the same quality as in your previous missions though the green tile set makes it much more likeable.
The "may the music guide your path" puzzle was interesting, you could have however used a more appropriate music.
Exiting the sound maze I get an instant message about how I could move the Statue without even realising what the room was about, I got a similar feeling in the first level with the undead mages and the obelisk. I think hints should come a bit later or make it so you will only get the protagonist opinion if you type a command and ask for it.
I did promise I would finish all the level but that quickly changed when I saw more owls.

Overall I believe you can actually fix the sluggish controls by making them less obvious to the player, you can achieve that by adjusting the parkour areas to not show as much quick reactions that the controls are clearly not suitable for.
I must also admit that at first I thought this game was gonna be more puzzle oriented and the hack & slash being a secondary bonus, where the controls would actually not become so apparent and would have worked in sync with the gameplay. I would also like to note that the first level was perhaps too good and gave a high expectations for the next levels, thus why the other levels seem so full of discrepancies.
I think a more quirky approach with a more intensive puzzle focus with humorous dialogue would be very interesting to see.

The map is nonetheless playable and could be great fun for those interested in the genre.​

​

 

[Rufus]

Thanks for the very thourough review!
A lot of useful stuff in here. I surely will use some of those.

I must ask you, when did you download it?
The bugs you mentioned should have been fixed in the latest version uploaded this tuesday.

 

[Soul Reaver]

Have played the map on hard, and overall I'm very impressed with it. It's very polished, especially considering the unusual control scheme.

Pros:

Movement Control Scheme
The fact that you managed to create a cursor control scheme is extremely impressive. I expected movement to feel clunky but it's pretty responsive, smooth, and surprisingly bug and annoyance free. I played another movement/puzzle based map not long ago where it wasn't implemented as well as this one so I know it isn't necessarily easy.

Custom UI
The fully customized UI to fit the control scheme is excellent and helps the immersion greatly. You've obviously paid close attention to detail to eliminate elements unnecessary to the game you're trying to make.

Original Gameplay
The gameplay is radically different from standard Warcraft III, requiring timing and more action-based reactions as well as a puzzle-based approach.

Good In-Game Feedback
The game has good feedback (visual, audio or both) to indicate important events such as being hit, hitting an enemy etc, which is crucial for a game like this. The hitboxes also seem to be just the right size.

Polish
The map is very polished and detailed. Spelling and grammar are good, hints appear in the right places, and (with one exception, see below) I didn't really run into any bugs. A lot of care has been taken in crafting this and it is evident throughout the map.

Cons/Recommendations:

Lackluster Combat
Although implemented well, the combat is ultimately not all the exciting or satisfying. Smaller minions can simply be dispatched by standing there and hitting them, while tougher enemies require a stun and/or a dash. There isn't much variety there. I'd also recommend perhaps changing at least the audio and maybe also the visual effects when successfully hitting an enemy - it sounds rather underwhelming at present.

Responsiveness
While overall the control scheme was great, I did on occasion feel like it wasn't QUITE as responsive as I would have liked. This is, I suspect, just a limitation of the Warcraft III engine - it's not really designed for action games like this one.

Dash Energy Indicator?
Maybe I missed it, but I couldn't see an indicator that shows the state of the Warden's available 'Dash' moves. It feels like an odd omission, since the less-commonly used Stun move IS displayed.

Bug With the Tile Puzzle
After I completed the tile puzzle the first time, I wanted to try the second, harder one. But some sort of graphical glitch caused most of the tiles to disappear and/or overlap so they would change colour/flicker as I moved around. I'm pretty sure this wasn't intentional, and it made the second stage of the puzzle impossible to solve. I lost patience and continued, but it bothers me since I didn't get to find out what the 'generous reward' was.

Dashing Breaks Invisibility
While you say this is intentional, not mentioning it means I died without warning. This seemed out of place in this game, since otherwise it does a good job of pre-warning you of dangers and/or giving you a chance to escape.

Regeneration Can Allow for Cheap Tactics
The Warden's auto-regen allows you to just brute force some areas, taking a hit and then spending a (boring) period waiting for the HP to recover. While it helps keeps the game moving and prevents it from ever feeling like it becomes unwinnable, it did feel like anything that didn't kill you extremely quickly could be overcome if you just had enough patience.

Lack of Story
This is just my own preference, but I tend to like a story in my fantasy games, but there's a lack of narrative in this one. The main character is rather bland in-game, even more so the villain, and there's no sense of urgency or anything being at stake. There's not really any logical or narrative reason for the evil boss' lair to be filled with bugs, catapults, tile puzzles etc. The fact that the other maps in the series are each lone-standing only adds a further feeling of fragmentation to the story.

Final Words
I know I've listed quite a few Cons but don't get me wrong, I was highly impressed with this. While the style of combat and puzzles are perhaps not entirely my cup of tea, I can tell that great care has been taken with this map. The originality and technical skill evident in the entirely original control scheme and gameplay elevate it to something special, and so I rate it accordingly.

 

[Rufus]

The fact that you managed to create a cursor control scheme is extremely impressive. I expected movement to feel clunky but it's pretty responsive, smooth, and surprisingly bug and annoyance free. I played another movement/puzzle based map not long ago where it wasn't implemented as well as this one so I know it isn't necessarily easy.

Thanks!
Yup, I spent quite a lot of time tinkering with this system.

The game has good feedback (visual, audio or both) to indicate important events such as being hit, hitting an enemy etc, which is crucial for a game like this. The hitboxes also seem to be just the right size.

I think the feedback can be a little bit better, but, you played Solen's sanctuary which is the most polished of the maps so far, so I guess this one might have pretty good feedback already.

Although implemented well, the combat is ultimately not all the exciting or satisfying. Smaller minions can simply be dispatched by standing there and hitting them, while tougher enemies require a stun and/or a dash. There isn't much variety there. I'd also recommend perhaps changing at least the audio and maybe also the visual effects when successfully hitting an enemy - it sounds rather underwhelming at present.

This is something I have struggled with a lot. I think I have managed to create nice bosses and mini-bosses, but that is thanks to their skills that you have to dodge in different ways, not the Wardens abilities.
I have tried to come up something fun to use when killing minions, but I haven't tried them out all that much yet. I would be very thankful for suggestions!
The audio for the swing animation is gonna change to be played more accurately after an attack. Other than that, I hadn't planned more updates, but I will certainly try to experiment with it a little now when you brought it to my attention. I used to have the stampede blood explosion before I had the small blue burst effect that is there now, but it didn't make sense hitting a fire elemental or a ghost, and have blood burst out of them.

I have an idea for adding more combat spells to the game, that could be quite fun to use. You can check it out here if you wish: http://www.hiveworkshop.com/pastebin/876d496527e605e19851ca993da53e279277/
It is however a problem bringing in new skills into the game, because the effects may be too powerful on some creeps, and not on others. I will think about it though.

While overall the control scheme was great, I did on occasion feel like it wasn't QUITE as responsive as I would have liked. This is, I suspect, just a limitation of the Warcraft III engine - it's not really designed for action games like this one.

Yup. Arrow controls will always have a .2 second delay or something like that, and that just sucks. However, I have been thinking of implementing a cursor system for this reason, as it has no delay at all. It will not be exactly as a normal cursor system, as that would kinda take the spirit out of the game. When you click a location, your character will move towards the closest angle that is can be divided by 45. This means you will just be able to move in 8 directions (like with the arrowkeys) instead of the many angles provided by the normal point and click movement system. This cursor sytem will not allow for smart-movement either, so if there is an obstacle between your character and your desired location, the character will not go around, but rather straight for the obstacle.
Implementing this will allow more players to enjoy the game I think. Personally, I won't use it, because I like the arrow keys even though they are slow at times, but I wanted to make it available for people anyway.

Maybe I missed it, but I couldn't see an indicator that shows the state of the Warden's available 'Dash' moves. It feels like an odd omission, since the less-commonly used Stun move IS displayed.

I simply doesn't know where to display it yet. I will have to come up witha way if I implement the new spells though.

After I completed the tile puzzle the first time, I wanted to try the second, harder one. But some sort of graphical glitch caused most of the tiles to disappear and/or overlap so they would change colour/flicker as I moved around. I'm pretty sure this wasn't intentional, and it made the second stage of the puzzle impossible to solve. I lost patience and continued, but it bothers me since I didn't get to find out what the 'generous reward' was.

Damnit. I have tried and tried again and ripped my hair over this bug. I have no idea how to fix it. :/
It doesn't always occur, just randomly, it seems like, but I will give it another look.

While you say this is intentional, not mentioning it means I died without warning. This seemed out of place in this game, since otherwise it does a good job of pre-warning you of dangers and/or giving you a chance to escape.

I'll see if I can improve clarity here.

The Warden's auto-regen allows you to just brute force some areas, taking a hit and then spending a (boring) period waiting for the HP to recover. While it helps keeps the game moving and prevents it from ever feeling like it becomes unwinnable, it did feel like anything that didn't kill you extremely quickly could be overcome if you just had enough patience.

This is not perfect yet. It is better than the slow generation that had its place before though. I'm not sure how to solve this yet, but I'll try to find a way.
Perhaps enemies will drop life essence that you can pick up to heal yourself? Perhaps mroe respawning health runes? I'd love suggestion here too!

This is just my own preference, but I tend to like a story in my fantasy games, but there's a lack of narrative in this one. The main character is rather bland in-game, even more so the villain, and there's no sense of urgency or anything being at stake. There's not really any logical or narrative reason for the evil boss' lair to be filled with bugs, catapults, tile puzzles etc. The fact that the other maps in the series are each lone-standing only adds a further feeling of fragmentation to the story.

A story is coming up! When I have finished the first chapter of the campaign (which will work like an overmap as in the Rexxar campaign), a story will tie all thopse maps together. The story in itself is pretty weak in my opinion, but the telling of it is quite good so far.

Thanks a lot for your thoughts, and for all the praising! You're making me blush over her...
I hope I can improve on the issues you told me about.

Btw:

...and so I rate it accordingly.

The suspense! It's killing me!

 

[Soul Reaver]

This is something I have struggled with a lot. I think I have managed to create nice bosses and mini-bosses, but that is thanks to their skills that you have to dodge in different ways, not the Wardens abilities.
I have tried to come up something fun to use when killing minions, but I haven't tried them out all that much yet. I would be very thankful for suggestions!

I'm no expert when it comes to designing these sort of games, but perhaps a form of attack that lets you move at the same time (like a dash attack) that can be used when facing multiple enemies (ie, hit one enemy, dash to the next, lose 10 energy each time)? It wouldn't make it more strategic really but would be fun to watch and gives an alternative use for energy. It also wouldn't affect boss battle mechanics if there is only one boss around.

The audio for the swing animation is gonna change to be played more accurately after an attack. Other than that, I hadn't planned more updates, but I will certainly try to experiment with it a little now when you brought it to my attention. I used to have the stampede blood explosion before I had the small blue burst effect that is there now, but it didn't make sense hitting a fire elemental or a ghost, and have blood burst out of them.

I don't know how you've got hit detection to work in your game, but a good if very time-consuming alternative would be to do what Warcraft III does: apply different 'armor types' to the different enemies and play a different sound depending on what enemy you hit. You can expand that to including a different visual effect as well (ie, rock, wood, bone enemies throw up a cloud of dust. Fleshy enemies cause a splash of blood. Metal throws sparks. Ghosts cause a magical puff etc).

But I realize it would be a huge amount of work, and that's even assuming it's possible.

Yup. Arrow controls will always have a .2 second delay or something like that, and that just sucks. However, I have been thinking of implementing a cursor system for this reason, as it has no delay at all. It will not be exactly as a normal cursor system, as that would kinda take the spirit out of the game. When you click a location, your character will move towards the closest angle that is can be divided by 45. This means you will just be able to move in 8 directions (like with the arrowkeys) instead of the many angles provided by the normal point and click movement system. This cursor sytem will not allow for smart-movement either, so if there is an obstacle between your character and your desired location, the character will not go around, but rather straight for the obstacle.

Implementing this will allow more players to enjoy the game I think. Personally, I won't use it, because I like the arrow keys even though they are slow at times, but I wanted to make it available for people anyway.

Personally I think I'd still be using the arrow keys too, but it's good to offer an alternative too I guess!

I simply doesn't know where to display it yet. I will have to come up witha way if I implement the new spells though.

You could add an optional numerical indicator, just like the optional 'Energy' bar display. Or a bar that changes color.

This is not perfect yet. It is better than the slow generation that had its place before though. I'm not sure how to solve this yet, but I'll try to find a way.
Perhaps enemies will drop life essence that you can pick up to heal yourself? Perhaps mroe respawning health runes? I'd love suggestion here too!

I don't really have any genius suggestions, as every health system in every game since the dawn of time seems to have one problem or another. From Doom's health packs to Halos auto regen, both have pros and cons.

In To the Bitter End I gave all heroes natural regeneration, but also gave them a reusable, cooldown-limited item that let them regen HP and MP rapidly by 'sleeping', but this can be interrupted by being injured AND attracts nearby enemies (the item is designed to become less useful later in the game and force you to reply more on the heroes' natural regen and heal spells). But its not a perfect solution either.

A story is coming up! When I have finished the first chapter of the campaign (which will work like an overmap as in the Rexxar campaign), a story will tie all thopse maps together. The story in itself is pretty weak in my opinion, but the telling of it is quite good so far.

Cool, looking forward to it. Note there's nothing wrong with not having a story in a game, it's just a personal preference.

The suspense! It's killing me!

You can see my rating at the top of my posts, I gave it a 5/5.

EDIT: One more thing: at the puzzle with the numerous spectral owls/towers, the first time I got there, I think the owls were flying out of sync with each other, making the puzzle pretty much impossible. I'm not sure why it happened, but maybe add a switch or something that will reset all the owl positions?

 

[Soul Reaver]

Ok, I've played through this one as well. Most of the comments for my review of Solen's Sanctuary still apply to this one, but I did find this one a bit less polished. I ran into a few bugs and annoyances that I'll add here:

Stun Ability Stops Working (major bug)
Something prevents the stun ability from working after it has been used once, which is very annoying when fighting hordes of minor minions.

Selection Circle Visible Intermittently
The Warden's selection circle was constantly turning on and off. In Solen's Sanctuary it was invisible the whole game, but that wasn't the case here.

Giant Banshee Hitbox
Their hitbox seems to be a bit bigger than they are, which is all the worse because they inflict insta-death. Suggest either making their models bigger or their hitboxes smaller. This was one of the few areas I found annoying, because you have to pass through it more than once and I couldn't find any way to 'clear' it to make bypassing it easier.

Boss HP Indicator Lists Wrong Name
During the boss fight, the Boss' name is given as Solen in the HP box, which I'm pretty sure is a mistake.

Boss Attacks Hard to See
In the fight against the final boss, 'wall' of icy blasts are hard to avoid because the white fog makes them quite hard to see.

Rune Placement
This is in relation to the runes that tell you the 'words of power' to speak to open doors. I think where there are runes in front of doors, they should be deciphered 'left to right' when the Warden is facing he door, but that's not how it works. It's left-to-right, regardless which way the warden is facing. Yet the doors in the side wall have their runes arranges top-to-bottom rather than left-to-right, giving the impression they should be read in the order the Warden would see them when facing the door. It's a small niggle but still...

I did like the terrain in this one more than Solen's Sanctuary though, and in general found it more atmospheric and thematic.

Again, extremely well done, but until some of the bugs are fixed I'll need to rate it slightly lower (4/5).

 

[Sayonara]

Hello!

Do you know about bug with a puzzle in the first mission Solen's Sanctuary? Just before the Fire lord. When you solved it all cells mixed and you can solved it again to get a good reward. But when I tried to solve it all cells one by one mixed with themself and in the end I have only 1! cell but with all colors in it. All others cells were empty. I don`t understand how I did it, but because of this bug it is impossible to solve it.
Sorry! I should make a screenshot but I closed my game already...

 

[Rufus]

No worries about the screenshot, I know the issue already.

Antoher one has this problem, eh?
That is so nasty. It doesn't appear every time someone is trying it, only occasionally, which makes the bug really hard to hunt down.
I think I'll have to ask for help in the forums here.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
Did you enjoy the game otherwise?

 

[Sayonara]

I tried the first mission only but the game looks really awesome. Really unique gameplay. Playing WC3 from 2003 and every year proved me that always be people who can made amazing things in this old but amazing game.

 

[Rufus]

Good to hear it.
Tell me if you play more!

 

[Rufus]

Fixed all the things you pointed out, but the rune placement.
I couldn't reproduce the selection circle bug, unfortunately, so I'm not sure I fixed that either, but I made a small tweak that may be able to fix it.
The fog on top of the hill in the lich fight have been pointed out by many people now, so that is finally solved now.

Thanks!

 

[Sayonara]

The Lich was really hard! And... yes, I can`t solve the Labyrinth puzzle (and the same puzzle to get soulstone) without your walkthrough. Bonechiller Burow is really interesting mission!
Hard mode is really hard and much interesting than Normal one.

P.S.: Don`t know why but I can`t use "E" stun skill in the Bonechiller Burow mission. Nothing happened when I press "E"

 

[Rufus]

Yup.
The E bug was fixed earlier today. Thanks for telling me though!

I can imagine the lich was tricky when you had no stun ability!
Also, thanks for the awesome rating!

 

[Sayonara]

Forest Temple - Z and X are mixed up with each other. When I press Z - X menu opened. The same with X - Z menu opened.

 

[Rufus]

Thanks!
As this is not a gamebreaking bug, I will add to my list to fix next time I need to update the map.

Keep the bugs coming!

 

[Sayonara]

It is very strange bug because I can`t enable energy Bar or change R skill. Nothing happened when I try it.
Hm... I can`t move statue. Attacking statue but only "Invulnerable" appeared.

 

[Rufus]

Hm... I can`t move statue. Attacking statue but only "Invulnerable" appeared.

Also fixed in latest version. Sorry you had to experience that. :/

The R skills are not available in forest temple yet, and in the other maps, only one ability is available.

I will see if I can solve the energy bar bug!

 

[Sayonara]

Thanks! Downloaded v31, will try it tomorrow.

 

[BloodSoul]

I've played this map twice today, but now I noticed that there are more maps available, which is awesome, because I want to play more.

All right, for this map only, this is my feedback so far:

PROS:
+ Even though I haven't played many maps with keyboard controlling scheme, your map has it very well implemented; It looks smooth and easy to control the hero.
+ The Terrain is well made; it has the atmosphere where I feel that my hero is underground.
+ The abilities are quite useful and fit really well with every part of the map.
+ I enjoy the usage of floating texts and special effects either to warn a player about an imminent attack or when I interact with invulnerable things.
+ The boss is challenging.
+ I like the extra regeneration when the player is not taking any damage.
+ I loved seeing a Ripper getting destroyed by a Wraith. Somehow, I've made both fight each other.

CONS:
- I was a little bit confused on how to control the catapult. As soon as I read that manual (for dummies - haha), I tried to enter the commands like this format: 70 100 (angle and distance, respectively). However, I just needed to type one by one.
- The rune of restoration respawns a little bit quick, considering the extra regeneration that the player owns already.

SUGGESTIONS:
- There could be a hint in the beginning of the game where it tells the players the hotkey to read the controls. (Yes, I suck at realizing the existence of F9 hehe)
- You could increase the amount of time needed to respawn a rune of restoration. For the hard difficulty only, of course.
- Although I enjoy the existence of extra regeneration, I think the amount of regen per instance (+5) is a bit too much for the hard difficulty. Maybe reduce it to 2.5 when there are enemy units within 1000 range?
- As for the boss on hard difficulty, it could have a Return Damage ability while it recharges its mana (returns 4 damage per attack, for example).

BUGS:
- As soon as I attack and dash, my hero has her animation speed changed to a higher value. However, if I attack again, the animation speed resets back to normal.
- If a Drainer tries to cast a spell on you, and if the unit doesn't succeed at it (run away before drainer starts the effect of the spell), it won't do anything from that point on.
- I noticed that Solen casts spells even when its mana is low. I've seen it cast a spell while having 5 MP. I don't know if that's intended.


You are a very creative person and have done an excellent job in making this map. I will play the other maps now.

Take care!

 

[Rufus]

+ I loved seeing a Ripper getting destroyed by a Wraith. Somehow, I've made both fight each other.

What!?
Haha, I won't change that, that is awesome.

I can revisit the catapult instructions, so that it is more clear ho to use them, perhaps.

- The rune of restoration respawns a little bit quick, considering the extra regeneration that the player owns already.

The regeneration problem is a tricky one.
I just implemented the one where you regenerate health quickly after 10 seconds, trying it out. Before that I had natural regeneration active at all times (0.5 per second, which could be upgraded), but that felt too slow. I'm considering having enemies drop life essence, so that you can regenerate health that way instead.
Opinions are very welcome!

- You could increase the amount of time needed to respawn a rune of restoration. For the hard difficulty only, of course.
- Although I enjoy the existence of extra regeneration, I think the amount of regen per instance (+5) is a bit too much for the hard difficulty. Maybe reduce it to 2.5 when there are enemy units within 1000 range?

Maybe good ideas for the new ways of generation as discussed above.

- There could be a hint in the beginning of the game where it tells the players the hotkey to read the controls. (Yes, I suck at realizing the existence of F9 hehe)

There is a tutorial available in the campaign that covers things like this.
However, since it is not included in a single map download, perhaps I should display that to the new player.
I will soon implement two separate modes in the maps, Campaign Mode and Quickplay Mode.
Quickplay mode will be as it is now, except maybe some extra instructions in the beginning.
Campaign mode will remove the option to select difficulty, since you will already have a set health when entering the map. It will also contain more story elements.

As for the boss on hard difficulty, it could have a Return Damage ability while it recharges its mana (returns 4 damage per attack, for example).

I think that pwople would just be irritated by this, as there would be no way around taking that damage.

As soon as I attack and dash, my hero has her animation speed changed to a higher value. However, if I attack again, the animation speed resets back to normal.

This is an irritating one.
I have a good solution for this, but I need a modeler first.

I noticed that Solen casts spells even when its mana is low. I've seen it cast a spell while having 5 MP. I don't know if that's intended.

That was my idea. However, this could easily be fixed to him restoring mana when he doesn't have enough for a spell.
Not sure if I will change this.

If a Drainer tries to cast a spell on you, and if the unit doesn't succeed at it (run away before drainer starts the effect of the spell), it won't do anything from that point on.

Hmm, I don't know why that is so.
I will look into it.


Thanks a lot for all your feedback!
It is very valuable to me.

 

[Rufus]

Some story for the campaign: Story Discussion
Tell me what you think!

 

[Furry Nova]

I don't know were to begin but I try list it in points. Been a while since I've wrote a review.

• Game Play - The overall modification of this game is quite brilliant and unique. Arrows for movement, keys for command inputs. Only downsides to this I thought were entering the numbers to control the catapult was a bit difficult if the player isn't used to it. But I think it was intended so the players aren't allowed to use the mouse or buttons. Just an idea, maybe you could register 4 keys to control it. One to turn left or right and the other 2 to control the range.
• Graphics/Terrain - All I can say it's brilliant work. I actually really enjoyed exploring it.
• Bosses - I've only done Tutorial, Solen's Sanctuary and Bonechiller Burow. I played it on hard and thought they were quite balanced for that difficulty. Not too hard but fairly hard.
• Possible Memory Leak - There was quite a lot of hang on Solen's Sanctuary I don't know if it was due to the second version of the colour puzzle. I couldn't figure out the logic so I kept hitting the levers randomly many times, sometimes they get stuck. At the end there was just 1 changing colour tile left. But when I save and load it takes quite a bit of time to function.
• Puzzles - Quite unique. Although I couldn't complete the second version of colour puzzle and I had to use a walk through to understand the power words in the second map. Maybe I'm not a fan of scrambled-words-and-memorise puzzles but after a while I just copied and pasted the words from the walk through page to avoid the struggle. I think my favourite puzzle would had to been the changing labyrinth and the flute maze.
• Traps - Flying blades, death banshees, flame bursts and I liked the protective owls best. At first attempt I died to some but they fine once I got the hang of it.

After exploring a few rooms in the Forest Temple and getting stuck with blocked doors. I just got bored and stopped playing. I only played to see what this project map was like. I just don't think I was carried away with many type of puzzles holding me back overall.

 

[Rufus]

Just an idea, maybe you could register 4 keys to control it. One to turn left or right and the other 2 to control the range.

Oooh, I like!
I might just do that.

Graphics/Terrain - All I can say it's brilliant work. I actually really enjoyed exploring it.

Sweet! I hope you'll like my upcoming overmap then.

...sometimes they get stuck. At the end there was just 1 changing colour tile left. But when I save and load it takes quite a bit of time to function.

I see! You must have downloaded this like a week ago or so? In my last update I fixed the tiles so that they didn't get stuck as you descibed.
I can't say anything about the lag though, as I (or the tester I had) experienced any. Not in this version or before that.

Puzzles are not always for everyone. I'm glad you enyoed a few at least.

After exploring a few rooms in the Forest Temple and getting stuck with blocked doors.

Can you elaborate please? Perhaps that is a bug I can fix, or perhaps it is just really unclear, so that I can make it easier to understand.

I just don't think I was carried away with many type of puzzles holding me back overall.

The upcoming updates will hold at least a little more combat oriented gameplay. More spells mainly, and, also, I have a cursor system coming up, so that the player can move the Warden with the cursor. It doesn't work as usual though, as the Warden won't go around obstacles and such, and she can only move in the eight directions available through key control.

Thanks for the review!
Is there anything specific you would like to see coming up in the campaign to enjoy it more?

 

[Furry Nova]

I see! You must have downloaded this like a week ago or so? In my last update I fixed the tiles so that they didn't get stuck as you descibed.
I can't say anything about the lag though, as I (or the tester I had) experienced any. Not in this version or before that.

I actually downloaded it today, this morning from Hive. It's possible the bug maybe due to hitting 2 levers at the same time rapidly.

Can you elaborate please? Perhaps that is a bug I can fix, or perhaps it is just really unclear, so that I can make it easier to understand.

I remember going to the west room and activating a lever. Warden then says it sounded it triggered elsewhere so I went back to the main room. I tried getting statue on 1 switch, stunned the un-killable enemy on the second and I stood on the third. Then I quickly tried rushing to the door. But I don't think I was doing the puzzle correctly.

Is there anything specific you would like to see coming up in the campaign to enjoy it more?

Well, one thought came to me about passing rewards per map but in a non-stockpile way. Example get 20+ health in one puzzle it shares it between the maps but completing the puzzle again doesn't grant more boost unless it another uncompleted one. But it may cut the difficulty down at the start per map. Just a thought though.

Maybe you could add a small charge gauge above Warden's head to show the dash charge.

I forgot to mention this in the review. I really like the loading screen background.

I'm just having another try at Forest Temple. I've opened the Z menu and tried pressing Q to toggle the Energy Bar Display and doesn't seem to work.

Edit: Sorry that un-killable enemy was killable. Sorry about that.

 

[Rufus]

I actually downloaded it today, this morning from Hive. It's possible the bug maybe due to hitting 2 levers at the same time rapidly.

Damn. That means the bug is still in there somewhere. I'll find it!

I remember going to the west room and activating a lever. Warden then says it sounded it triggered elsewhere so I went back to the main room. I tried getting statue on 1 switch, stunned the un-killable enemy on the
second and I stood on the third. Then I quickly tried rushing to the door. But I don't think I was doing the puzzle correctly.

I don't think you were. You can check the walkthrough, and see if that answers any questions. What you needed to do here is to continue all the way to the opposite room of the big room, a room that is similiar to the one you just were in. Here, there are two switches you need to activate at the same time, in order for a door to open.

Well, one thought came to me about passing rewards per map but in a non-stockpile way.

Yup. I don't like this either, but there was no balanced way to fix this. However, when the next map is finished, you will be able to travel to other maps via it (like in the Rexxar campaign), and keep your rewards to the next level.

Maybe you could add a small charge gauge above Warden's head to show the dash charge.

I will try to come up with something here. I will have to do a few reworks when I implement new spells.

I'm just having another try at Forest Temple. I've opened the Z menu and tried pressing Q to toggle the Energy Bar Display and doesn't seem to work.

Thanks for reminding me! This is on my list of fixes. The bar disappears when you attack an enemy the first time. If you haven't enabled it before that, it will never show.

@Furry Nova, ah I see what had happened now.
The bug with the tile puzzle stacking on top of each other was fixed in 1.38. The campaign had version 1.37 in it, so the bug was still in the campaign.
It's fixed now though.

 

[Furry Nova]

Has there been any known bugs with the gold in Dark Depths? I counted 1 damage +2, 6 gold and 1 soul stone outside. 1 health +20 and 3 gold inside. First play I had 48 gold, second play 50. I thought I messed up the first time by destroying the code vault out of curiosity.

I've found a typo on your guide:
"10. Go through the narrow passage that was blocked before, and continue nder the stone bridge you crossed earlier." "under"

Glad I could help.

 

[Rufus]

There was something wrong with the Dark Depths. I fixed it now though. The gold didn't count properly, but now when it does, it should work as intended.

Ah, thanks for the typo!

Can I contact you again when I roll out my big update with a new main map? I want to earn your 5 star.

 

[Furry Nova]

Can I contact you again when I roll out my big update with a new main map? I want to earn your 5 star.

Of course. I'm starting to get more into it now. I brought a TNT to the breakable rock to skip the gold quest. The endless tunnel was a cool idea.

Edit: The longer I played Tropic Tomb level. The map increasingly starts lagging. After 50 minutes it wasn't playable. That secret island was a cool Easter Egg. Although I wasn't able to complete the map.

 

[Rufus]

The endless tunnels is actually the ouzzle I was most unsure about, but you are the third person to say that they liked it.

Oh, so there is a memory leak on Tropic Tomb. I must find it!
How did you find the island?

 

[Furry Nova]

How did you find the island?

I kept wondering how the Warden was able to walk in places that shouldn't be possible. Then I realised it's using fly movement type with flying path blocks. Actually a pretty smart technique, I totally forgot about that. I found the island by accident while searching around the borders of the map for the artefact pieces. I was trying to avoid missing anything by accident, kinda a habit I have when exploring games fully that have missables.

 

[Rufus]

I see!
Then you are going to like a quest in my new map, that relys on a keen eye.
The player must find 9 different objects or areas, and do something special on the spot so that they can't be found by accident.

 

[Sayonara]

So, Forest temple. The Malfurion boss is very hard, especially on hard mode. But the last boss... I killed the wisp before it became something bigger. It was really strange.

 

[Rufus]

Huh!
Thanks for reporting this. I will see what I can do.

I might add a shield to most bosees, so taht if it takes damage more than three seconds in a row, it gains an invulnerable shield for a few seconds, so that the palyer can't just slash and die until the soul stones runs out.

 

[Sayonara]

Just remove all soulstones from the map. It is really easy to play with so much lifes even on hard mode.
Or make "very hard" mode with 1 life =)

 

[Furry Nova]

Dark Depths is pretty insane to beat without soul gems on my hard play through. Specially after getting past the endless tunnels. Before I forget, speaking of that endless tunnel, there's a slight hole in the wall were the player can enter the void. Outside the entire area surrounded with path block so I couldn't go far.

 

[Rufus]

Or... you are just too good?
I have had some thoughts for a "Master Mode" which will feature a much harder version of the bosses and the puzzles for people taht want a real challenge, after they finished the game.

The souls stonesmight be replaced with "Sprites" once the overmap version comes out. When you collect a set number of those, you unlock rewards. You may or may not still get a revive though.
Perhaps I should add some extra small reward for player who clear a map with more soulstones? Perhaps they will be converted into gold?

Dark Depths is pretty insane to beat without soul gems on my hard play through. Specially after getting past the endless tunnels. Before I forget, speaking of that endless tunnel, there's a slight hole in the wall were the player can enter the void. Outside the entire area surrounded with path block so I couldn't go far.

Ah thanks!
I will add this to my list of fixes.

 

[Sayonara]

Or... you are just too good?
I have had some thoughts for a "Master Mode" which will feature a much harder version of the bosses and the puzzles for people taht want a real challenge, after they finished the game.

The souls stonesmight be replaced with "Sprites" once the overmap version comes out. When you collect a set number of those, you unlock rewards. You may or may not still get a revive though.
Perhaps I should add some extra small reward for player who clear a map with more soulstones?

Yeah, it would be a good challenge.

Hm... Hown much gold do I need to talk with kobold leader?

 

[Rufus]

500.
Or, you could blow up the rocks east of him (an exploit).