So i cant make anything in the editor so i thought i post my ideas instead. U probably all have 100 of them but having more cant be bad. U can use this ideas as inspiration for your maps if u like.
1. Gladiators
I think co-op is missing huge boss battles and what other better way than to go overboard with it!
Titleset: Primal planet. Story: U have been captures and imprisoned by zurvan and his primal gang. To escape from his clutches u are forced to participate in a arena. Win against the giant creatures u are pitted against to be freed.
Gameplay: U start the mission in a cell with little resources. Once u prove yourself worthy you can expand outside. Every 3-4 minutes there is a big boss waiting for u at the arena. Once u defeat the boss u have time for rest. Until the next boss shows up and the next one....
- The primals will attack your base at times to test your strength.
- Respect bar. If the audience is displeased by your performance the respect bar lowers. Lowered bar means more attack on your base by the primal pack. Or your units will be picked at random and become (neutral unit) slaves to the primals. Rise the bar by having high apm and less unit lost.
- While u are resting the show still goes on. Primals have warriors on their on and are fighting the boss creatures. U can place bets and either win or lose some minerals.
Bonus objective: Fill the respect bar to full to gain extra land property where geysers/mineral lay.
What makes this mission interesting? Boss battles. A lot.
I always liked the WoL mission Gates of Hell. Which was a bit chaotic and unpredictable, so i wanted to come up with something similar. A crazy war like mission.
Story: Your ship has crashed and u are surrounded by 3 factions who are waging war against each other. The mysterious U.E.D, the dominion and the moebius. Choose the alliance of one while the others will battle you.
Gameplay: While the 3 factions fight each other u will have to choose with which one u will side. Attacking one faction rises the % of the other ones. Once u reach 50 %, those faction becomes your permanent ally, while the other 2 your enemy. One faction might be air superior while the other ground.
- In this map there is no mining. Resource are gathered through ships who fly away and drop crates. The packages can only be picked up by your workers and u get minerals/gas instantly. - Nukes are deployed where u stand, they will leave a trail of radiation cloud dmg enemies nearby. What makes this mission interesting? There are no ally base in co-op. Having one makes the game more dynamic. Also a different gather resources mechanic could be fun.
I thought to make something unusual and meta. So i came up with the idea that co-op dosnt exist and the players are nutjobs who need to be treated to get rid of this mental problem. Psychiatrist is played by mengsk and a nurse by kerrigan.
Story: *screen dark and slowly fading in* Psychiatrist: ah they are finally waking up. So these 2 patients suffer from a severe delusions. They believe to be in a game and to be"co-op" commanders that are battling a evil force called "amon". Its extremely rare that they both affected by this charade. Thats not all... They suffer from compulsive disorders and mind case of memory loss. Reliving this "level" over and over again. To combat their illness we will have to use their fears against them.
Gameplay: What ever commander u pick the enemy will replicate your units and use it against u. If u pick nova the enemy becomes nova hero and her unit composition. If stukov is picked enemy gets infested. There wont be any normal a.i or hybrids. The enemy look like from mission Steps of the Rite.
- psychiatrist takes control of one player units and attacks u. - therapy session are randomly scheduled. Both players need to get to the designed are and ehm...talk? /needs work/ - bloodtest. Globally u lose hp each second. Cant be repaired,healed. - prescribed medication. Your units feel dizzy,unresponsive.
Bonus objective: Destroy enemy greed camp: Greed enemy base has most resources but is heavily fortified. Destroy enemy hatered camp: Hate base attacks aggressively. Take it out for less pressure.
What makes this mission interesting? I think its fun instead of having the normal amon,zerg,toss attacks to have the player fight against his own commander. Also the meta theme of the mission can be used to poke fun at starcraft or be self aware.
I was watching 2 science fiction movies the past month namely; Edge of tomorrow and looper. Than i thought why not make a map involving various timey wimey shenanigans.
Story: Amon has obtained immense powers that its causing a rift in time and space. These newly created anomaly's are causing time to behave in chaotic ways.
Gameplay: You are playing simultaneously in 2 timelines. Present and future. Both players can switch between times. The map layout stays the same although the future looks darker and grey.
- Changing or killing units,buildings in the present effects your future timeline. Lets say u switch to the present and kill a starport, that buildings will be erased from existence in the future timeline.
- Perhaps have 3 timelines. Past,present,future. Although this could be to confusing.
- Sometimes your ally will be stuck in one timeline while solving a objective while your other separated ally in the other timeline solving another.
- Amon can summon powers such as: Speeding time up, slowing it down, freezing time, reviving units by going into their past, creating a time loop of your units or his.
What makes this mission interesting? Imagine you being stuck in the future battling numerous hybrids, all of a sudden they all disappear because your ally killed them in the present. Or amon summons a time loop, sending a pack of ultralisk to attack you. Even if u kill them the loop goes on forever. Could be a lot of fun mixing various time ability's.
5. StarCity Titleset: Space installation I was always curious if u could combine RTS with city management simulation games. Where economy,city building,trading resources are required and somehow incorporated into starcraft. The inspiration for this mission i took from the WoL map devils playground. Where u had to be mindful: will i spend resources on units or save the money for the objective.
Story: A important mining operation is being build on a space platform. The infamous mercenary mira han was hired for this job. But she needs help of you, commanders. Pirates are attacking and raiding the platform. You need to build a stable economy, that is also well protected to complete this mission.
Gameplay: There are 3 resources in the game. 1. Minerals, 2. Gas 3.Credits. The player is given starting funds that have a small amount of credits. There is a +, - option on screen. U can transform your mined minerals/gas into credits. Your credits need to be spend in order for the city to be maintained. Will u spend credits for mira han or buy units to withstand the pressure of the A.I? - Mira hans miner,civilians,workers require housing. There is a separate supply on your screen. Mira hans population requires regular supply that even exceeds the 200 cap. Mira will regularly hire more man for the mission so make sure these people have a home. - Happy/sad desirability. The people on the platform have a desirability %. If u make them unhappy civilians will turn into criminal/thieves, who steal your credits, destroy buildings and kill the civilians. Build entertainment facility's. Your workers can build especial "monuments" that please the people. But beware...will u go for resources or pull your workers to get the building done? - Estate. Nothing is cheap here. Even your second expansion is a estate that needs to be bought. U can buy estate areas like.... hospital: where drones will repair,heal your wounded. Health care buildings: Doctors keep people away from depression, and prevents diseases. Military academy: where mercenary units will help u in need. Prisons: To keep the naughty away. - Taxes/wages - Workers require wages as well. The number depends on difficulty. If the wage count is not met they strike. Increase the taxes to much and be ready by the fierce response of the civilians. - Trading plays a big part as well. There are numerous points on the map that represent nearby galaxy systems. The ships which trade are in danger of attack so keep them protected.
What makes this mission interesting? I believe this mission as made could be to arcade-y. But if balanced right it could offer some interesting new take on the Rts genre. Or be just boring.
I might post more ideas if i im in the mood. But one think i observed while coming up with is, the lack of bonus objectives. Blizzard hasnt been creative in these and they only made 2.
1. Kill unit, kill building to complete bonus.
2. Escort something to complete bonus.
Its actually not easy to come up with some objectives that arent these 2. But here are some.
Bonus objectives:
a) Rescue units. There could be some units in game with either race, once u rescue them they become yours. Could even be a brutalisk or a giant robot.
b) Escort a unit to the area. Yes this again, but here the unit could be a officer or hero unit that can attack as well.
c) Kill unit/buildings. Eh this again. Ok i said something different but why not make it so that: Once u complete this u get temporary boost in hp,shields,attack,speed.
d) Kill (number) amount of units. Mhh not the best. Its hard ladies and gentlemen.
e) Secure the neutral bases. There are 3 mini bases that are being attacked and surrounded by the enemy. Once u clear the area the neutral mini base will become your uncontrollable ally who will assist u in the mission.
f) Keep the objective alive.There is a hero or a building inside your base. But this hero/building will remain stationary for the rest of the game. The enemy will send waves that will try to destroy it. Later the enemy will even ignore your attack and go for the objective directly.
g) Collect packages. There will be packages,items in the map. Collect a certain amount and deliver it to the location. will also reward u with some minerals,gas. Has to be picked by a worker.
h) Criminal hideouts. Feral zerg are spawning from a cave and attacking the settlements of civilians, destroying their homes,crops and killing innocent. Instead of killing million of zerg u just have to destroy the rock to block the caves access. Rocks have huge amount of hp. Destroy it before the casualty's are to high.
i) Protect the 3 designated area. Amons forces will try and escape the 3 map entrances. If they reach the bridge they will wreak havoc to the nearby settlements. Dont let ?? amount escape.
j) Spiders have cocooned civilians in their nests. Free the civilians while shooting at the cocoon. Beware of the mini spiders and boss spider protecting their delicious prey. Free ?? amount of civilians.
k) Protect building/unit deep into the enemy territory. Or somewhere far from your base. Enemy will attack it u have to defend it for the rest of the game.
Do you have ideas? But 0 editor knowledge? Why not post your ideas. Maybe something small,good,bad. Someone might be able to use it in one way or another.
Your Gladiators idea sounds like something I'm working on, including the Tileset^^, but it will not be as "crazy". Accessibility is a huge factor here. If you add too many features players might not know what is expected of them. E.g. if you add multiple enemy races people might get confused as to which one they have to fight (as there is also one ally that might be the same race as the enemy).
Generally I'm not sure how crazy a mission should be. I think Blizzard will want something "standard", but polished as much as possible, so it works with many Mutators and all Commanders, and then players will want something more "Arcade", like your ideas.
I'll definitely continue to visit this thread. Can never have enough inspiration.
@OutsiderXE thx for the feedback. I agree making it to crazy or to silly could ruin the mission. Its also nice to hear u taking part in the contest. I cant wait to see the finished product.
If anyone's interested here are a few ideas I've dismissed so far:
Idea: Have a bunch of enemies spawn every X minutes on a random location on the map. Players and the enemy have to rush in to kill them. Whoever kills a certain amount of them first wins.
Dismissed: I couldn't find a logical explanation as to why these enemies would appear there, at least not with the setting I had in mind. I'm also afraid that the battles would have gotten confusing in a 2v1v1 scenario.
Idea: Support a neutral boss unit in defeating an enemy boss unit. As the enemy boss unit loses life, it will draw back into enemy territory. Enemy forces will occasionally attack the neutral boss. Losing him means losing the map.
Dismissed: The neutral boss was a ground unit which led to a lot of pathing issues, especially when bein blocked by player buildings. Also I found that he was quite boring to look at in a duel.
Idea(s): Have enemy bosses duel in a city, kill them to prevent them from destroying too many buildings/Enemy bosses are spread around a city and need to be killed before they destroy too many buildings/Destroy a fixed number of buildings before the enemy does.
Dismissed: More or less because of the setting. Blizzard already has some city-based coop maps. Also I could never really think of a reason why the players would have to destroy the buildings (can be infected.... but Blizzard is already making the Left 2 Die map)...
Idea: Different phases: First, protect a certain unit, then escort it to defeat a boss, then protect it again, and then escort it again to defeat a boss.
Dismissed: Even when removing the second set of protect/escort/defeat the objectives felt too complicated and the map layout required to do this was either too big or didn't quite feel right.
You could say that a lot of these ideas are viable as long as I fix 1 or 2 things, but since it's still early in the competition I want to explore alternatives.
My current idea is a very simplified version of one of the ones I mentioned. While there's still time to explore ideas, I believe , in the end, it doesn't matter much which one I pick, it matters what I make of it.
I am not going to leak any info on my co-op map but... IRONIC on some of the stuff you posted in this thread. hahaha.
Another idea - not working on it just thinking out loud.
Is have the Amon's units target the last unit that died as a form of revenge... O_o... /This could get good and bad at the same time being if you kill something in-your-base then have a crap ton of enemy units target that exact location where you only had 1-2 defenders. eeekkk. however it could be good being you could bait them into a massive trap and crush them all. Ying/Yang. :D
I really like your ideas Outsider. Exceptionally how u evaluate your thought and then discard them. Sounds very professional. I probably use any idea that comes to mind, good or bad. ^^
So your map is going to be involved with boss battles. The only thing what worry's me that there could be a overload of boss themed maps in the contest. Even thought i think the co-op could really use a awesome boss mission.
Perhaps this was blizzards idea all along.
a) Get numerous creative ideas from the community for future map development.
b) If there is a common theme that the community likes it will be used in future map development.
1. Dehaka wants special essence of a quilgor and a primalisk. Each is located at the 2 bonus areas. Unfortunately other primals are spawning from caves and attacking this unit. U will have to defend it for a period of time. Either
a) Defend it for the whole game with moderate small waves. To make this bonus accessible u can quick travel from your base to bonus via a cave.
b) Defend it by a timer without a quick travel options.
Only problem commanders with static defense would shine here. Except if the bonus is wandering a bit around.
c) its the same like b) only u have to destroy the rocks which have a lot of hp. Its the same like your map but nasty primals continuously spawn from cave and attack the bonus. Once they are destroyed the primal unit will be safe from the attacks and dehaka can feast.
The quilgor special unit could be bigger in size and have huge amount of hp. So he can deal with the attack himself early.
2. Amons corruption has changes the environment drastically. Dehakas pack has no food source to survive. Help the primals in slaying critter so they can eat the flesh. Amons primals will do the same. Dont let amons primals kill more than ?? critters. Also feed of other scavenging critters that try to steal the meat. The last remaining critters are at the 2 bonus locations.
That's interesting. I like how you reintroduced the caves in a meaningful way. Even though I'm very far in the gameplay and unlikely to change anythign I'll copy your suggestions and review them in the following days.
The problem I've had with the co-op maps is not creative ideas, but describing them within a short sentence for the objective. For example, defending a specific unit over a period of time would be written something like this:
- Protect the Quillgor Alpha (500 life remaining) (3:00 remaining)
So i cant make anything in the editor so i thought i post my ideas instead. U probably all have 100 of them but having more cant be bad. U can use this ideas as inspiration for your maps if u like.
1. Gladiators
I think co-op is missing huge boss battles and what other better way than to go overboard with it!
Titleset: Primal planet.
Story: U have been captures and imprisoned by zurvan and his primal gang. To escape from his clutches u are forced to participate in a arena. Win against the giant creatures u are pitted against to be freed.
Gameplay: U start the mission in a cell with little resources. Once u prove yourself worthy you can expand outside. Every 3-4 minutes there is a big boss waiting for u at the arena. Once u defeat the boss u have time for rest. Until the next boss shows up and the next one....
- The primals will attack your base at times to test your strength.
- Respect bar. If the audience is displeased by your performance the respect bar lowers. Lowered bar means more attack on your base by the primal pack. Or your units will be picked at random and become (neutral unit) slaves to the primals. Rise the bar by having high apm and less unit lost.
- While u are resting the show still goes on. Primals have warriors on their on and are fighting the boss creatures. U can place bets and either win or lose some minerals.
Bonus objective: Fill the respect bar to full to gain extra land property where geysers/mineral lay.
What makes this mission interesting? Boss battles. A lot.
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2. WAR
I always liked the WoL mission Gates of Hell. Which was a bit chaotic and unpredictable, so i wanted to come up with something similar. A crazy war like mission.
Story: Your ship has crashed and u are surrounded by 3 factions who are waging war against each other. The mysterious U.E.D, the dominion and the moebius. Choose the alliance of one while the others will battle you.
Gameplay: While the 3 factions fight each other u will have to choose with which one u will side. Attacking one faction rises the % of the other ones. Once u reach 50 %, those faction becomes your permanent ally, while the other 2 your enemy. One faction might be air superior while the other ground.
- In this map there is no mining. Resource are gathered through ships who fly away and drop crates. The packages can only be picked up by your workers and u get minerals/gas instantly.
- Nukes are deployed where u stand, they will leave a trail of radiation cloud dmg enemies nearby.
What makes this mission interesting? There are no ally base in co-op. Having one makes the game more dynamic. Also a different gather resources mechanic could be fun.
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3. Mental Asylum
Titleset: Research facility
I thought to make something unusual and meta. So i came up with the idea that co-op dosnt exist and the players are nutjobs who need to be treated to get rid of this mental problem. Psychiatrist is played by mengsk and a nurse by kerrigan.
Story: *screen dark and slowly fading in* Psychiatrist: ah they are finally waking up. So these 2 patients suffer from a severe delusions. They believe to be in a game and to be"co-op" commanders that are battling a evil force called "amon". Its extremely rare that they both affected by this charade. Thats not all... They suffer from compulsive disorders and mind case of memory loss. Reliving this "level" over and over again. To combat their illness we will have to use their fears against them.
Gameplay: What ever commander u pick the enemy will replicate your units and use it against u. If u pick nova the enemy becomes nova hero and her unit composition. If stukov is picked enemy gets infested. There wont be any normal a.i or hybrids. The enemy look like from mission Steps of the Rite.
- psychiatrist takes control of one player units and attacks u.
- therapy session are randomly scheduled. Both players need to get to the designed are and ehm...talk? /needs work/
- bloodtest. Globally u lose hp each second. Cant be repaired,healed.
- prescribed medication. Your units feel dizzy,unresponsive.
Bonus objective:
Destroy enemy greed camp: Greed enemy base has most resources but is heavily fortified.
Destroy enemy hatered camp: Hate base attacks aggressively. Take it out for less pressure.
What makes this mission interesting? I think its fun instead of having the normal amon,zerg,toss attacks to have the player fight against his own commander. Also the meta theme of the mission can be used to poke fun at starcraft or be self aware.
4. Time manipulation.
Titleset: Amon void, last epilogue mission
I was watching 2 science fiction movies the past month namely; Edge of tomorrow and looper. Than i thought why not make a map involving various timey wimey shenanigans.
Story: Amon has obtained immense powers that its causing a rift in time and space. These newly created anomaly's are causing time to behave in chaotic ways.
Gameplay: You are playing simultaneously in 2 timelines. Present and future. Both players can switch between times. The map layout stays the same although the future looks darker and grey.
- Changing or killing units,buildings in the present effects your future timeline. Lets say u switch to the present and kill a starport, that buildings will be erased from existence in the future timeline.
- Perhaps have 3 timelines. Past,present,future. Although this could be to confusing.
- Sometimes your ally will be stuck in one timeline while solving a objective while your other separated ally in the other timeline solving another.
- Amon can summon powers such as: Speeding time up, slowing it down, freezing time, reviving units by going into their past, creating a time loop of your units or his.
What makes this mission interesting? Imagine you being stuck in the future battling numerous hybrids, all of a sudden they all disappear because your ally killed them in the present. Or amon summons a time loop, sending a pack of ultralisk to attack you. Even if u kill them the loop goes on forever. Could be a lot of fun mixing various time ability's.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. StarCity
Titleset: Space installation
I was always curious if u could combine RTS with city management simulation games. Where economy,city building,trading resources are required and somehow incorporated into starcraft. The inspiration for this mission i took from the WoL map devils playground. Where u had to be mindful: will i spend resources on units or save the money for the objective.
Story: A important mining operation is being build on a space platform. The infamous mercenary mira han was hired for this job. But she needs help of you, commanders. Pirates are attacking and raiding the platform. You need to build a stable economy, that is also well protected to complete this mission.
Gameplay: There are 3 resources in the game. 1. Minerals, 2. Gas 3.Credits. The player is given starting funds that have a small amount of credits. There is a +, - option on screen. U can transform your mined minerals/gas into credits. Your credits need to be spend in order for the city to be maintained. Will u spend credits for mira han or buy units to withstand the pressure of the A.I?
- Mira hans miner,civilians,workers require housing. There is a separate supply on your screen. Mira hans population requires regular supply that even exceeds the 200 cap. Mira will regularly hire more man for the mission so make sure these people have a home.
- Happy/sad desirability. The people on the platform have a desirability %. If u make them unhappy civilians will turn into criminal/thieves, who steal your credits, destroy buildings and kill the civilians. Build entertainment facility's. Your workers can build especial "monuments" that please the people. But beware...will u go for resources or pull your workers to get the building done?
- Estate. Nothing is cheap here. Even your second expansion is a estate that needs to be bought. U can buy estate areas like.... hospital: where drones will repair,heal your wounded. Health care buildings: Doctors keep people away from depression, and prevents diseases. Military academy: where mercenary units will help u in need. Prisons: To keep the naughty away.
- Taxes/wages - Workers require wages as well. The number depends on difficulty. If the wage count is not met they strike. Increase the taxes to much and be ready by the fierce response of the civilians.
- Trading plays a big part as well. There are numerous points on the map that represent nearby galaxy systems. The ships which trade are in danger of attack so keep them protected.
What makes this mission interesting? I believe this mission as made could be to arcade-y. But if balanced right it could offer some interesting new take on the Rts genre. Or be just boring.
*bump*
I might post more ideas if i im in the mood. But one think i observed while coming up with is, the lack of bonus objectives. Blizzard hasnt been creative in these and they only made 2.
1. Kill unit, kill building to complete bonus.
2. Escort something to complete bonus.
Its actually not easy to come up with some objectives that arent these 2. But here are some.
Bonus objectives:
a) Rescue units. There could be some units in game with either race, once u rescue them they become yours. Could even be a brutalisk or a giant robot.
b) Escort a unit to the area. Yes this again, but here the unit could be a officer or hero unit that can attack as well.
c) Kill unit/buildings. Eh this again. Ok i said something different but why not make it so that: Once u complete this u get temporary boost in hp,shields,attack,speed.
d) Kill (number) amount of units. Mhh not the best. Its hard ladies and gentlemen.
e) Secure the neutral bases. There are 3 mini bases that are being attacked and surrounded by the enemy. Once u clear the area the neutral mini base will become your uncontrollable ally who will assist u in the mission.
f) Keep the objective alive.There is a hero or a building inside your base. But this hero/building will remain stationary for the rest of the game. The enemy will send waves that will try to destroy it. Later the enemy will even ignore your attack and go for the objective directly.
g) Collect packages. There will be packages,items in the map. Collect a certain amount and deliver it to the location. will also reward u with some minerals,gas. Has to be picked by a worker.
h) Criminal hideouts. Feral zerg are spawning from a cave and attacking the settlements of civilians, destroying their homes,crops and killing innocent. Instead of killing million of zerg u just have to destroy the rock to block the caves access. Rocks have huge amount of hp. Destroy it before the casualty's are to high.
i) Protect the 3 designated area. Amons forces will try and escape the 3 map entrances. If they reach the bridge they will wreak havoc to the nearby settlements. Dont let ?? amount escape.
j) Spiders have cocooned civilians in their nests. Free the civilians while shooting at the cocoon. Beware of the mini spiders and boss spider protecting their delicious prey. Free ?? amount of civilians.
k) Protect building/unit deep into the enemy territory. Or somewhere far from your base. Enemy will attack it u have to defend it for the rest of the game.
Do you have ideas? But 0 editor knowledge? Why not post your ideas. Maybe something small,good,bad. Someone might be able to use it in one way or another.
Your Gladiators idea sounds like something I'm working on, including the Tileset^^, but it will not be as "crazy". Accessibility is a huge factor here. If you add too many features players might not know what is expected of them. E.g. if you add multiple enemy races people might get confused as to which one they have to fight (as there is also one ally that might be the same race as the enemy).
Generally I'm not sure how crazy a mission should be. I think Blizzard will want something "standard", but polished as much as possible, so it works with many Mutators and all Commanders, and then players will want something more "Arcade", like your ideas.
I'll definitely continue to visit this thread. Can never have enough inspiration.
Ok i added a new idea under number 4.
@OutsiderXE thx for the feedback. I agree making it to crazy or to silly could ruin the mission. Its also nice to hear u taking part in the contest. I cant wait to see the finished product.
b) Escort a unit to the area. Yes this again, but here the unit could be a officer or hero unit that can attack as well.
damn .... this is what i am working on :c
GOoosh!
If anyone's interested here are a few ideas I've dismissed so far:
Idea: Have a bunch of enemies spawn every X minutes on a random location on the map. Players and the enemy have to rush in to kill them. Whoever kills a certain amount of them first wins.
Dismissed: I couldn't find a logical explanation as to why these enemies would appear there, at least not with the setting I had in mind. I'm also afraid that the battles would have gotten confusing in a 2v1v1 scenario.
Idea: Support a neutral boss unit in defeating an enemy boss unit. As the enemy boss unit loses life, it will draw back into enemy territory. Enemy forces will occasionally attack the neutral boss. Losing him means losing the map.
Dismissed: The neutral boss was a ground unit which led to a lot of pathing issues, especially when bein blocked by player buildings. Also I found that he was quite boring to look at in a duel.
Idea(s): Have enemy bosses duel in a city, kill them to prevent them from destroying too many buildings/Enemy bosses are spread around a city and need to be killed before they destroy too many buildings/Destroy a fixed number of buildings before the enemy does.
Dismissed: More or less because of the setting. Blizzard already has some city-based coop maps. Also I could never really think of a reason why the players would have to destroy the buildings (can be infected.... but Blizzard is already making the Left 2 Die map)...
Idea: Different phases: First, protect a certain unit, then escort it to defeat a boss, then protect it again, and then escort it again to defeat a boss.
Dismissed: Even when removing the second set of protect/escort/defeat the objectives felt too complicated and the map layout required to do this was either too big or didn't quite feel right.
You could say that a lot of these ideas are viable as long as I fix 1 or 2 things, but since it's still early in the competition I want to explore alternatives.
My current idea is a very simplified version of one of the ones I mentioned. While there's still time to explore ideas, I believe , in the end, it doesn't matter much which one I pick, it matters what I make of it.
I am not going to leak any info on my co-op map but... IRONIC on some of the stuff you posted in this thread. hahaha.
Another idea - not working on it just thinking out loud.
Is have the Amon's units target the last unit that died as a form of revenge... O_o... /This could get good and bad at the same time being if you kill something in-your-base then have a crap ton of enemy units target that exact location where you only had 1-2 defenders. eeekkk. however it could be good being you could bait them into a massive trap and crush them all. Ying/Yang. :D
I really like your ideas Outsider. Exceptionally how u evaluate your thought and then discard them. Sounds very professional. I probably use any idea that comes to mind, good or bad. ^^
So your map is going to be involved with boss battles. The only thing what worry's me that there could be a overload of boss themed maps in the contest. Even thought i think the co-op could really use a awesome boss mission.
Perhaps this was blizzards idea all along.
a) Get numerous creative ideas from the community for future map development.
b) If there is a common theme that the community likes it will be used in future map development.
Well played blizzard, well played indeed.
1. Dehaka wants special essence of a quilgor and a primalisk. Each is located at the 2 bonus areas. Unfortunately other primals are spawning from caves and attacking this unit. U will have to defend it for a period of time. Either
a) Defend it for the whole game with moderate small waves. To make this bonus accessible u can quick travel from your base to bonus via a cave.
b) Defend it by a timer without a quick travel options.
Only problem commanders with static defense would shine here. Except if the bonus is wandering a bit around.
c) its the same like b) only u have to destroy the rocks which have a lot of hp. Its the same like your map but nasty primals continuously spawn from cave and attack the bonus. Once they are destroyed the primal unit will be safe from the attacks and dehaka can feast.
The quilgor special unit could be bigger in size and have huge amount of hp. So he can deal with the attack himself early.
2. Amons corruption has changes the environment drastically. Dehakas pack has no food source to survive. Help the primals in slaying critter so they can eat the flesh. Amons primals will do the same. Dont let amons primals kill more than ?? critters. Also feed of other scavenging critters that try to steal the meat. The last remaining critters are at the 2 bonus locations.
That's interesting. I like how you reintroduced the caves in a meaningful way. Even though I'm very far in the gameplay and unlikely to change anythign I'll copy your suggestions and review them in the following days.
The problem I've had with the co-op maps is not creative ideas, but describing them within a short sentence for the objective. For example, defending a specific unit over a period of time would be written something like this:
- Protect the Quillgor Alpha (500 life remaining) (3:00 remaining)
That's too much in my opinion.
Yeah you right. But u could also just write the time and exclude the hp. The hp bar could be shown on the unit.
Blizzard didnt have these headaches because they always include boring objectives that require one sentence ^^