Each team takes on the role of a genetic research lab that has just begun to clone Zerglings. In order to secure all the research funding they both set their Zerglings on each other!
Map
A 3v3 tug style map with 3 lanes; top, middle and bottom. Two bases are on either end and units are sent along each lane. You choose which lane to attack in co-ordination with your team. Combines the macro of a tug map with a small amount of micro from the defensive units.
The game features 22 Zerg "tug" units and 10 Terran units.
The top lane features a large extension bridge, the middle lane contains a Vespine Gas Refinary and the bottom lane sports a hydro-electric power plant.
Gameplay
The Zerg attacking army is spawned from a Breeding Lab building. This building contains what are effectively research items that increase the number of Zerg you spawn each round. To train a more powerful Zerg creature you have to follow the evolution line which requires 2 Zerg from the previous tier. e.g. A Swarmling (tier2) requires 2 Zerglings (tier1). Once researched the 2 Zergling are removed and the player receives a Swarmling each round instead.
This means a player can either mass a large army of weak units or breed a small army of strong creatures or some sort of balance.
There are a total of 22 Zerg units spread over 5 tiers. They are split into Ground, flying and infested units.
You have the ability to switch which lane your forces attack instantly (starting with the next wave). Additionally as well as the macro of a tug map, your defenses are managed by Terran mercenaries. These units cannot be associated with the attack so are not allowed to attack buildings. Their low health also makes them vulnerable. By hiding in bunkers and running to a lane in danger on the defensive, and microing them on the attack to avoid enemy bunkers and Zerg I believe this adds an extra dimension and a small amount of micro to the standard Tug genre.
There are a number of upgrades available to boost your Zerg, Mercenaries and Bunkers.
A rush ability is available from the breeding lab, allowing an extra wave to be sent at once for a mineral cost. As a counter to massing Banelings may be spawned using vespine gas collected from the middle lane. Banelings deal large splash damage but are only sent once. Both abilities cost increases with use so do not waste them.
Features:
Zerglings spawn from your lab to attack the enemy every 30 seconds.
The army that spawns can be upgraded from the lab with techs, more zerglings and more powerful Zerg.
The player can choose which lane to attack via a dialogue box.
Each lane is fortified with bunkers. These can be upgraded with improved shielding, armour and turrets.
A number of expensive Terran units can be hired to improve your defence.
These Terran units are upgraded to Mercenary units depending on your number of games played and games won.
Income is gained by investing in research at the lab and by capturing and holding beacons on the lanes.
From the Breeding Lab you may also "rush" allowing an extra wave to be sent at once for a mineral cost. As a counter to massing Banelings may be spawned using vespine gas collected from the middle lane. Banelings deal large splash damage but are only sent once.
Each lane provides a unique bonus when the middle point is held:
The top lane allows a single Viking to be hired and grants a higher bonus income that the other two.
The middle lane gives the team a refinery providing vespine gas every turn.
The bottom lane allows a single Siege Tank to be hired and provides the team with a Hydro-Electric Power Plant giving their Bunkers increased shield regeneration.
Video
Plans & Updates
The latest update was to the UI and I am now working on providing rewards for playing and winning games in the form of slightly more powerful Terran Mercenary units.
Updated
The map is currently hosted on EU and NA under Tug of War. I am looking for people to host on other servers!
I have just released a large update to this introducing new features and better terrain and different building models. Please play and let me know what you think.
For the bridge- maybe you could make it so there is a small pathway just a few inches underwater. That way you wouldn't have to worry about the bridge glitching up and it would still look nice.
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Feel free to Send me a PM if you have any questions/concerns!
Well this received a few final updates about a month ago fixing bugs and graphical glitches. There was also a few game play improvements, unit balancing and slight changes to the way some technologies were researched. The Engineering bay was merged with the Breeding Lab to reduce the number of buildings and the SCV complete with hardened shields was introduced.
Short of something game breaking happening this is a closed project as I am now working on Genetic Lab Wars 2.
Genetic Lab Wars 2 will be similar in principle, upgrade a periodically spawning army of Zerg through research and being able to change which lane they attack. However there will be three teams of two players forming a triangle.
The code has been completely rewritten reducing the number of triggers and variables by about 70% and massively improving loading times. There are a number of other improvements:
Income
-A center zone gives each player 3 lanes to choose to attack meaning at least one lane will be undefended at any time. Holding the center zone will grant additional income that increases the longer the zones held.
-Holding one of the outside lanes gives periodic income similar to how it currently works.
UI
The interface part that shows what units you have sleeted has been hidden and replaced with a dedicated dialog showing your Breeding Pods, as in what Zerg will spawn and allowing you to train more. The minimap and command card are still visible.
This should allow for far more screen space (the current Genetic Lab Wars suffers from overcrowding)
Units
-The first release will contain the same units as version 1: Zergling -> Swarmling -> Drone -> Pygalisk/Hydralisk/Roach.
-I aim to create four linear evolutionary trees once the game mechanics are sorted: Melee, Ranged, Flying and infested Terran.
-Different combinations of the final unit from each tree will allow you to create powerful final tier units.
I will be looking for beta testers either Thursday, Sunday or Monday evening!
I will be looking for beta testers either Thursday, Sunday or Monday evening!
If you can join us for the EU Map Night (it's on Friday), I'd suggest you show us your map. It will give you enough feedback from us all, and probably advertise your map a bit too... Genetic Lab Wars is the only tug of war map I love to play, along with Core Fight. I'll probably forget to join your beta test anyway (I'm quite busy these days), but if you play with us during the map night, you'll be sure to have enough players and get some feedback afterwards.
Im actually away friday night, if I feel its in a good enough state I may release it to public so maybe you guys could test it but it would probably be better to wait until im around so I can make changes on the go. I need to sort the terrain out before a public release though which I such at.
Thanks for the interest though. Feel free to play the first one on map night, its died off a bit recently :)
If im ready to beta test on thursday, sunday or monday I'll have a look in sc2mapster channel.
Hi, I'm not getting many (or any) replies in the map feedback thread so I've dug this one out and updated the first post to reflect the current state of the map.
Genetic Lab Wars 2 is still being worked on but I ended up making a lot of updates to GLW1. As any updates to GLW1 translate to the new map quite easily I'm putting lots of updates into the original for testing. I'm still looking for feedback so if anyone has the chance to play I would be grateful for opinions.
Latest updates include:
Complete reworking of the rewards system. You now start with the ability to train standard terran units (marine, firebat, viking & siege tank).
With so many games played and so many won you unlock the mercenary equivalent who is slightly stronger but also costs a little more. This unit replaces the original Terran unit. I felt this was fairer than just awarding an extra starting unit.
Metabolic Boost research increases the speed of Zerg units.
Ghost nerfed so they fire half as often while cloaked to prevent 1 ghost decimating the other teams defense units.
A few small bug and exploit fixes.
I'd also like to get some ideas for some Zerg abilities. I want each of the final 3 units (Hydralisk, Pygalisk and Roach) to each have an expensive ability that can be unlocked. Currently my only idea is for the Roach to have a one shot acid splash attack that it uses just before going into melee.
Any suggestions would be very welcome. It needs to be an ability the unit can use itself rather than the player. It would also need to be visual so other players can see it.
The map is hosted on EU and US under the Tug of War category. If anyone from another region wishes to host please contact me.
I use to play this map when it comes out in the fun or not tab. Its a nice map. I would love to see much more zerg units you can combine and evolve.
Right now you can only combine units from zerlings, so zergling is the only base unit for your creations. You could add more base units like broodling, scourge(for air units) ... This way you would be able to add a lot of new possible units by mutating them together, in a similar way to element td (wc3).
Thanks for the feedback, I completely agree. Currently I am working on changing the unit tree completely. I'm a bit concerned about the interface though and dealing with larger more complicated trees but I'm sure something will get worked out.
The idea at the moment is to have 3 separate strains of Zerg, ground, air and infested, each with branches in, then have the final tier consisting of combinations of the units from each strain.
My skill with units in the data editor is pretty limited at the moment so things like jumping Zerglings are a bit out of my reach at the moment unfortunately.
Well its been a while since I last played SC2 but I finally got HOTS and have just started playing through the campaign. I am already very excited about all the new zerg units and the possibilities they might create with Genetic Lab Wars!
Still not sure how I want to introduce them all, either fixed paths but you can choose a strain like in the story or able to train all through different trees etc.
I have several ideas that will hopefully improve gameplay too. As always will welcome any feedback people have.
EDIT: Oh and looks like Blizzard made the jumping Zergling for me :D
EDIT: Oh and looks like Blizzard made the jumping Zergling for me :D
Yup! Although it wasn't that hard to implement, I did it on The Last Hour, not as perfectly of course (no custom models or animations) but it's pretty much a reaper jump and you have to launch some actor events to make it look nicer. As for Genetic Lab Wars, I've always loved this map, not like any other Tug-of-war map I've seen, very fun to play and quite addictive... I agree, the new units in HotS can significantly change pretty much everything on your map, not only with strains but also the larger variety of units (especially air). You can probably adapt the terrain to make the best out of each new unit (cliffs for the jumping zerglings, safe spots for vipers or other air units in the middle of a battle,...).
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Genetic Lab Wars
Story
Each team takes on the role of a genetic research lab that has just begun to clone Zerglings. In order to secure all the research funding they both set their Zerglings on each other!
Map
A 3v3 tug style map with 3 lanes; top, middle and bottom. Two bases are on either end and units are sent along each lane. You choose which lane to attack in co-ordination with your team. Combines the macro of a tug map with a small amount of micro from the defensive units.
The game features 22 Zerg "tug" units and 10 Terran units.
The top lane features a large extension bridge, the middle lane contains a Vespine Gas Refinary and the bottom lane sports a hydro-electric power plant.
Gameplay
The Zerg attacking army is spawned from a Breeding Lab building. This building contains what are effectively research items that increase the number of Zerg you spawn each round. To train a more powerful Zerg creature you have to follow the evolution line which requires 2 Zerg from the previous tier. e.g. A Swarmling (tier2) requires 2 Zerglings (tier1). Once researched the 2 Zergling are removed and the player receives a Swarmling each round instead.
This means a player can either mass a large army of weak units or breed a small army of strong creatures or some sort of balance.
There are a total of 22 Zerg units spread over 5 tiers. They are split into Ground, flying and infested units.
You have the ability to switch which lane your forces attack instantly (starting with the next wave). Additionally as well as the macro of a tug map, your defenses are managed by Terran mercenaries. These units cannot be associated with the attack so are not allowed to attack buildings. Their low health also makes them vulnerable. By hiding in bunkers and running to a lane in danger on the defensive, and microing them on the attack to avoid enemy bunkers and Zerg I believe this adds an extra dimension and a small amount of micro to the standard Tug genre.
There are a number of upgrades available to boost your Zerg, Mercenaries and Bunkers.
A rush ability is available from the breeding lab, allowing an extra wave to be sent at once for a mineral cost. As a counter to massing Banelings may be spawned using vespine gas collected from the middle lane. Banelings deal large splash damage but are only sent once. Both abilities cost increases with use so do not waste them.
Features:
Video
Plans & Updates
Thanks for looking.
I have just released a large update to this introducing new features and better terrain and different building models. Please play and let me know what you think.
Thanks
The map has been updated:
-Includes a cleaner UI merging the attack dialog, timer and now also displays your current Zerg "Breeding Pods", as in what Zerg spawn each round.
-There is also a leaderboard displaying how many games you have played and how many have been won. A rankings system is to follow.
-In game tutorial added.
-Cleaned up command cards and tool tips to make it more intuitive.
For the bridge- maybe you could make it so there is a small pathway just a few inches underwater. That way you wouldn't have to worry about the bridge glitching up and it would still look nice.
Well this received a few final updates about a month ago fixing bugs and graphical glitches. There was also a few game play improvements, unit balancing and slight changes to the way some technologies were researched. The Engineering bay was merged with the Breeding Lab to reduce the number of buildings and the SCV complete with hardened shields was introduced.
Short of something game breaking happening this is a closed project as I am now working on Genetic Lab Wars 2.
Genetic Lab Wars 2 will be similar in principle, upgrade a periodically spawning army of Zerg through research and being able to change which lane they attack. However there will be three teams of two players forming a triangle.
The code has been completely rewritten reducing the number of triggers and variables by about 70% and massively improving loading times. There are a number of other improvements:
Income
-A center zone gives each player 3 lanes to choose to attack meaning at least one lane will be undefended at any time. Holding the center zone will grant additional income that increases the longer the zones held.
-Holding one of the outside lanes gives periodic income similar to how it currently works.
UI
The interface part that shows what units you have sleeted has been hidden and replaced with a dedicated dialog showing your Breeding Pods, as in what Zerg will spawn and allowing you to train more. The minimap and command card are still visible.
This should allow for far more screen space (the current Genetic Lab Wars suffers from overcrowding)
Units
-The first release will contain the same units as version 1: Zergling -> Swarmling -> Drone -> Pygalisk/Hydralisk/Roach.
-I aim to create four linear evolutionary trees once the game mechanics are sorted: Melee, Ranged, Flying and infested Terran.
-Different combinations of the final unit from each tree will allow you to create powerful final tier units.
I will be looking for beta testers either Thursday, Sunday or Monday evening!
If you can join us for the EU Map Night (it's on Friday), I'd suggest you show us your map. It will give you enough feedback from us all, and probably advertise your map a bit too... Genetic Lab Wars is the only tug of war map I love to play, along with Core Fight. I'll probably forget to join your beta test anyway (I'm quite busy these days), but if you play with us during the map night, you'll be sure to have enough players and get some feedback afterwards.
http://forums.sc2mapster.com/general/general-chat/18556-eu-map-night/
Here's the thread for Map Night ;)
I played the old version of this map ages ago... And even back then it wasnt bad. Definitely better than stuff like Nexus Wars. Look forward to trying this.
Thanks for the replies!
Im actually away friday night, if I feel its in a good enough state I may release it to public so maybe you guys could test it but it would probably be better to wait until im around so I can make changes on the go. I need to sort the terrain out before a public release though which I such at.
Thanks for the interest though. Feel free to play the first one on map night, its died off a bit recently :)
If im ready to beta test on thursday, sunday or monday I'll have a look in sc2mapster channel.
Hi, I'm not getting many (or any) replies in the map feedback thread so I've dug this one out and updated the first post to reflect the current state of the map.
Genetic Lab Wars 2 is still being worked on but I ended up making a lot of updates to GLW1. As any updates to GLW1 translate to the new map quite easily I'm putting lots of updates into the original for testing. I'm still looking for feedback so if anyone has the chance to play I would be grateful for opinions.
Latest updates include:
I'd also like to get some ideas for some Zerg abilities. I want each of the final 3 units (Hydralisk, Pygalisk and Roach) to each have an expensive ability that can be unlocked. Currently my only idea is for the Roach to have a one shot acid splash attack that it uses just before going into melee. Any suggestions would be very welcome. It needs to be an ability the unit can use itself rather than the player. It would also need to be visual so other players can see it.
The map is hosted on EU and US under the Tug of War category. If anyone from another region wishes to host please contact me.
I use to play this map when it comes out in the fun or not tab. Its a nice map. I would love to see much more zerg units you can combine and evolve.
Right now you can only combine units from zerlings, so zergling is the only base unit for your creations. You could add more base units like broodling, scourge(for air units) ... This way you would be able to add a lot of new possible units by mutating them together, in a similar way to element td (wc3).
For example:
1 zergling + 1 zergling = 1 pigalisk
1 scourge + 1 scourge = 1 mutalisk
1 scourge + 1 zergling = 1 jumping zergling
...
Thanks for the feedback, I completely agree. Currently I am working on changing the unit tree completely. I'm a bit concerned about the interface though and dealing with larger more complicated trees but I'm sure something will get worked out.
The idea at the moment is to have 3 separate strains of Zerg, ground, air and infested, each with branches in, then have the final tier consisting of combinations of the units from each strain.
My skill with units in the data editor is pretty limited at the moment so things like jumping Zerglings are a bit out of my reach at the moment unfortunately.
I also want to change the way income is awarded.
Well its been a while since I last played SC2 but I finally got HOTS and have just started playing through the campaign. I am already very excited about all the new zerg units and the possibilities they might create with Genetic Lab Wars!
Still not sure how I want to introduce them all, either fixed paths but you can choose a strain like in the story or able to train all through different trees etc.
I have several ideas that will hopefully improve gameplay too. As always will welcome any feedback people have.
EDIT: Oh and looks like Blizzard made the jumping Zergling for me :D
Yup! Although it wasn't that hard to implement, I did it on The Last Hour, not as perfectly of course (no custom models or animations) but it's pretty much a reaper jump and you have to launch some actor events to make it look nicer. As for Genetic Lab Wars, I've always loved this map, not like any other Tug-of-war map I've seen, very fun to play and quite addictive... I agree, the new units in HotS can significantly change pretty much everything on your map, not only with strains but also the larger variety of units (especially air). You can probably adapt the terrain to make the best out of each new unit (cliffs for the jumping zerglings, safe spots for vipers or other air units in the middle of a battle,...).