Mhh, im not too sure if looking into other maps will lead to innovative new ideas.. rather think about new stuff.. most often the best ideas are those you have when doing something pretty different, like cooking, and then you come up with the idea:
Why not have my heroes use an aggro meter "heat", which fills up in battle with other heroes and every hero has his own unique aggro ability.. okay thats not very innovative at all, but would be rather new for a dota clone, maybe be better than in most other games an aggro meter is used.. (btw: i dont think you can come up with this particular idea when cooking, i was just short of any other ways to describe it :3)
Or maybe while doing some history research for university:
Why not add banners as a gameplay element.. in medieval times, banners and drums were essential to the moral of an army so why not add it as a gameplay element.. being able to set up a banner for buffs and being able to steal the enemies banner to weaken them..
2 ideas which just might come to your mind when not forcing to think about your map, doing your everyday casual stuff..
I agree.. picking up a map idea that has already been redone about 30 times, you should really take the times to recap what was bad in the first versions of the map and then add something that eliminates these downsides.
Using the rising lava theme, you could make the builders at least watch out for their workers while they build.. or you could make the builders have to deal with minor harassment waves controlled by the AI.. or you could add a system in which they have to leave their original resources because an uninterruptable, 60 second delay nuke is thrown at them.. at least something that spices things up for them.
Other than that, the map looks very sterile, maybe add some doodads, some terrain or some sound emitters to make the map more fun to play.
These are just some ideas to help you make a great map, no intention of discouraging you, rather keep up with your work and the result will be better than you might imagine.
I dont think it is needed, you most probably know when looking at what you do, but: the terrain looks great, very inviting indeed (the aiur themed ones seem to have a better connection to the whole high templar theme though)..
But, as I want everyone here to be as succesful and have as much fun as possible, I must say:
The thing most important after making a great terrain is looking into the playability of said terrain. It may look great, but when every player starts shooting randomly in every direction because the trees or smoking vents obscure sight too much, then the terrain is a failure..
Of all things a mapmaker should look into, the most important thing is fun.. if you make a great looking map with thousands of doodads but the gameplay is bad, you wont have much of a fanbase :)
Even though i must say, it would be hard to muss up hex´d that much because it really is a great map, now even getting some new terrain, good work indeed..
Please note that in a competetive and fast played game like DotA, all storyline and hero background references should be cut to minimum in order to actually make the players read it. Because hero picking and inventory setup instantly starts after the map is loaded, hero descriptions are most probably never read, even if they are short. This means that a basic background description on the loading screen and changing loadscreen tips which describe the background of every hero will most probably reach more players than ingame descriptions.
Please also note that this is not to discourage good storywriting at all, but to increase the number of players you reach with the story.
A minigame can be done in an evening, it does not have to be big to be fun :)
Do i have to use this as my new signature? i mean.. its just too.. great.. and that smiley.. hilarious
BTT.:
But still id love to see the contest extended for maybe 3 days so the maps that are generated now may be unbugged/re-released as soon as the game launches (im sure blizz will add stuff to the editor/the game that breaks these minigame maps and then noone can learn because the maps are no longer open-able with version 1.0)
i must admit i deleted all the beta content already because the editor just hates me and most probably will break all my maps on release.. thus my only chance is to make a map in like 24 hours after release.. on top of that, i might want to play campaign so.. argh!! bad timing vjeux!! :P
on another note, im happy we get our minigame contest because its really really more easily approachable than doing custom units with attachment points and generated wapons..
hope to see some great and innovative ideas here!!!!
sadly, i also kind of missed this post (atm my RL work is killing me.. seriously, no time for anything), but maybe a little advice if its still needed:
If you find yourself completely unmotivated, you most probably have manuevered to a point of no return.. this happened to me many many times in my warcraft 3 map projects (i had like 12 projects and only ended 3).. the most important thing for me (personally) is that you motivate yourself in 2 stages:
Stage 1: you start a project, size doesnt matter. now you start with what you think is the most basic point of your map, the thing that all other stuff will be dependant on.. for an RPG it might be a hero and item system as well as the special bit that will make the map unique.. and now, as soon as you see the system works great, you get a huge push in motivation.. you see that the most evil part, the part the whole project relied on, is done.. GREAT!!! but now, where to get motivation for the rest? time for stage 2
Stage 2: You have your core map with the basic features, now you need some gaming friends, some classmates, some guys from work, simply someone you trust and you know that they enjoy starcraft 2. Let them test the core funcionality.. for me, it nearly always ended with a "wow" or "awesome work".. and even though you might be a great mapmaker and you know the result of your project would be nice, hearing it from someone else is just so great, it ALWAYS carries me to the end of the project, no matter how much work is to be done..
Btw.:
i broke my own 2 stage rule and ended up doing a secret project noone on this forums and none of my friends knows about because the main idea might sound a bit odd.. buw i KNOW it works.. and even though i KNOW the map can be great.. i am in need of motivation.. which wouldnt be the case if i had some backup, someone telling me "wow.. great idea man, keep it up"..
I really hope my 1 month vacation in august will solve the problem :3
So it needs to be fun, it needs to be done quickly and people need to learn from it.. for me, theres one thing this works with, most ppl. would learn from it and its done really quickly:
Sound recreation
Easy as that. Galaxy edit comes with its own sound recreation tool, allowing pitching, fading, stereo resetting and all things needed to make great ingame sound remixes or funny quotes.. I did use the sound recreation tool in my reaperXzergling map and the result was pretty amazing.. its obviously not "video vegas 9" (or whatever the new tools are called) but it gets the job done, is fast and easy to use..
The contest could be about "funniest single remix of an ingame sound" or "best remixed soundset of a single unit"
Well, maybe you mean the same thing, but I'm not using "unit count"; I'm using "unit from unit group", which specifically refers to the one and only unit in the group through "index 1". It should be so simple, but it just doesn't work.
I have tried using an array, and it also has failed to work. An array of units doesn't seem to be much different from a group of units, and neither of them are working...
You are right, the event really needs a specific, predefined unit (you could use a constant.. but that doesnt make much of a sense). on top of that, in the current version of the editor, we cant change trigger events on the fly, like in the wc 3 editor (eg. trigger - add event "last created unit enters range 5.0 of unit). this ultimately leads to you not being able to use this workaround.. which is what i tried to do..
if i were you, id rather give the unit in question a permanent search area ability (range 5.0) which searches for a specific unit type.. then make the effect a dummy which causes nothing.. and then, in trigger editor, just make an event trigger "dummy_1 effect is caused by any unit" -> "kill triggering unit" or if you want it the other way around "kill caster of ability being cast".. or smth. like that.. that should work in any case :P
The goal of this forum is to help each other mastering the galaxy editor, not doing voodoo to trick people :)
Id rather showcase innovative spells that lead other people to think about how the spell is made.. I personally think the learning process is by far faster if you think yourself instead of just reading how its done.. the community should help each other, thats obvious.. and if there is a specific problem, i really like to help, but if every problem a new mapper has is solved by some senior mapper, the community wont evolve as the new mappers will all be dependant on the ideas of the senior mappers instead of them having their own great ideas..
and yes, i am the type who thinks:
"give someone a fish and he has food for a day, teach someone how to fish and he has food for the rest of his life"
gh0st00, I like your effect, but I'm curious - the marauder's attack normally doesn't splash but in that video the reflected projectiles are doing splash damage. Does your shield spell reflect ALL projectiles and you just modified the marauders attack, or does it only reflect that one particular projectile?
Like i said, if your really curious, just open the map with galaxy edit.. i just wanted to keep the magic alive for all the regular users out there.. i mean, a magician doesnt reveal his tricks to the audience, does he? :3
The reflective shield reflects all incoming enemy projectiles, mirroring the relative angle (plus minus a little randomness). The distance travelled after reflection is part of a random command.
This is my final submission to the contest but i will most probably make a new map utilizing this ability.. removing all random angle commands and adding the ability to reflect your own shots.. i tested this and its great :P
You should remove the facing for the rock..thingy.. that way it looks just a bit better.. other than that, the ability looks good :P
PS:
IF you are not TOO curious, i would like to ask not to browse the map in the map editor, especially non-mapmakers will be astounded how workaroundish this works :P
PS2:
This ability is not "ability editor only" but makes use of other things that might be interesting for map makers, things like flipping actors, "clever" use of scaling or relative angles.
awww, your telling me you try to come up with original ideas? cmon.. i mean.. from the looks of your hellzone grenade, you can do like.. everything.. but instead you again port another idea..
still, good concept.. even though the only thing i wouldnt know how to make would be the frozen animation, the whirling and damage are relatively unspectecular.. i mean editor wise
my reflective shield most probably will get posted tomorrow.. its kind of working.. the only thing is that the projectiles are reflected in an arc rather then directly without any "movement" to be seen.. that looks weird :)
0
Mhh, im not too sure if looking into other maps will lead to innovative new ideas.. rather think about new stuff.. most often the best ideas are those you have when doing something pretty different, like cooking, and then you come up with the idea:
Why not have my heroes use an aggro meter "heat", which fills up in battle with other heroes and every hero has his own unique aggro ability.. okay thats not very innovative at all, but would be rather new for a dota clone, maybe be better than in most other games an aggro meter is used.. (btw: i dont think you can come up with this particular idea when cooking, i was just short of any other ways to describe it :3)
Or maybe while doing some history research for university:
Why not add banners as a gameplay element.. in medieval times, banners and drums were essential to the moral of an army so why not add it as a gameplay element.. being able to set up a banner for buffs and being able to steal the enemies banner to weaken them..
2 ideas which just might come to your mind when not forcing to think about your map, doing your everyday casual stuff..
0
@GKCanman: Go
I agree.. picking up a map idea that has already been redone about 30 times, you should really take the times to recap what was bad in the first versions of the map and then add something that eliminates these downsides.
Using the rising lava theme, you could make the builders at least watch out for their workers while they build.. or you could make the builders have to deal with minor harassment waves controlled by the AI.. or you could add a system in which they have to leave their original resources because an uninterruptable, 60 second delay nuke is thrown at them.. at least something that spices things up for them.
Other than that, the map looks very sterile, maybe add some doodads, some terrain or some sound emitters to make the map more fun to play.
These are just some ideas to help you make a great map, no intention of discouraging you, rather keep up with your work and the result will be better than you might imagine.
0
@Qancakes: Go
I dont think it is needed, you most probably know when looking at what you do, but: the terrain looks great, very inviting indeed (the aiur themed ones seem to have a better connection to the whole high templar theme though)..
But, as I want everyone here to be as succesful and have as much fun as possible, I must say: The thing most important after making a great terrain is looking into the playability of said terrain. It may look great, but when every player starts shooting randomly in every direction because the trees or smoking vents obscure sight too much, then the terrain is a failure..
Of all things a mapmaker should look into, the most important thing is fun.. if you make a great looking map with thousands of doodads but the gameplay is bad, you wont have much of a fanbase :)
Even though i must say, it would be hard to muss up hex´d that much because it really is a great map, now even getting some new terrain, good work indeed..
0
Please note that in a competetive and fast played game like DotA, all storyline and hero background references should be cut to minimum in order to actually make the players read it. Because hero picking and inventory setup instantly starts after the map is loaded, hero descriptions are most probably never read, even if they are short. This means that a basic background description on the loading screen and changing loadscreen tips which describe the background of every hero will most probably reach more players than ingame descriptions.
Please also note that this is not to discourage good storywriting at all, but to increase the number of players you reach with the story.
0
0
i think there would me many many many more people buying a "warcraft 4" only for the funmaps :P
i personally bought starcraft 2 for the game itself und making maps myself, not for playing funmaps
0
Do i have to use this as my new signature? i mean.. its just too.. great.. and that smiley.. hilarious
BTT.: But still id love to see the contest extended for maybe 3 days so the maps that are generated now may be unbugged/re-released as soon as the game launches (im sure blizz will add stuff to the editor/the game that breaks these minigame maps and then noone can learn because the maps are no longer open-able with version 1.0)
0
i must admit i deleted all the beta content already because the editor just hates me and most probably will break all my maps on release.. thus my only chance is to make a map in like 24 hours after release.. on top of that, i might want to play campaign so.. argh!! bad timing vjeux!! :P
on another note, im happy we get our minigame contest because its really really more easily approachable than doing custom units with attachment points and generated wapons..
hope to see some great and innovative ideas here!!!!
0
sadly, i also kind of missed this post (atm my RL work is killing me.. seriously, no time for anything), but maybe a little advice if its still needed:
If you find yourself completely unmotivated, you most probably have manuevered to a point of no return.. this happened to me many many times in my warcraft 3 map projects (i had like 12 projects and only ended 3).. the most important thing for me (personally) is that you motivate yourself in 2 stages:
Stage 1: you start a project, size doesnt matter. now you start with what you think is the most basic point of your map, the thing that all other stuff will be dependant on.. for an RPG it might be a hero and item system as well as the special bit that will make the map unique.. and now, as soon as you see the system works great, you get a huge push in motivation.. you see that the most evil part, the part the whole project relied on, is done.. GREAT!!! but now, where to get motivation for the rest? time for stage 2
Stage 2: You have your core map with the basic features, now you need some gaming friends, some classmates, some guys from work, simply someone you trust and you know that they enjoy starcraft 2. Let them test the core funcionality.. for me, it nearly always ended with a "wow" or "awesome work".. and even though you might be a great mapmaker and you know the result of your project would be nice, hearing it from someone else is just so great, it ALWAYS carries me to the end of the project, no matter how much work is to be done..
Btw.: i broke my own 2 stage rule and ended up doing a secret project noone on this forums and none of my friends knows about because the main idea might sound a bit odd.. buw i KNOW it works.. and even though i KNOW the map can be great.. i am in need of motivation.. which wouldnt be the case if i had some backup, someone telling me "wow.. great idea man, keep it up"..
I really hope my 1 month vacation in august will solve the problem :3
0
So it needs to be fun, it needs to be done quickly and people need to learn from it.. for me, theres one thing this works with, most ppl. would learn from it and its done really quickly:
Sound recreation
Easy as that. Galaxy edit comes with its own sound recreation tool, allowing pitching, fading, stereo resetting and all things needed to make great ingame sound remixes or funny quotes.. I did use the sound recreation tool in my reaperXzergling map and the result was pretty amazing.. its obviously not "video vegas 9" (or whatever the new tools are called) but it gets the job done, is fast and easy to use..
The contest could be about "funniest single remix of an ingame sound" or "best remixed soundset of a single unit"
0
You are right, the event really needs a specific, predefined unit (you could use a constant.. but that doesnt make much of a sense). on top of that, in the current version of the editor, we cant change trigger events on the fly, like in the wc 3 editor (eg. trigger - add event "last created unit enters range 5.0 of unit). this ultimately leads to you not being able to use this workaround.. which is what i tried to do..
if i were you, id rather give the unit in question a permanent search area ability (range 5.0) which searches for a specific unit type.. then make the effect a dummy which causes nothing.. and then, in trigger editor, just make an event trigger "dummy_1 effect is caused by any unit" -> "kill triggering unit" or if you want it the other way around "kill caster of ability being cast".. or smth. like that.. that should work in any case :P
0
Id rather showcase innovative spells that lead other people to think about how the spell is made.. I personally think the learning process is by far faster if you think yourself instead of just reading how its done.. the community should help each other, thats obvious.. and if there is a specific problem, i really like to help, but if every problem a new mapper has is solved by some senior mapper, the community wont evolve as the new mappers will all be dependant on the ideas of the senior mappers instead of them having their own great ideas..
and yes, i am the type who thinks: "give someone a fish and he has food for a day, teach someone how to fish and he has food for the rest of his life"
0
Then again, it might not be an ability-editor only spell, but it can help with other stuff :3
Like i said, if your really curious, just open the map with galaxy edit.. i just wanted to keep the magic alive for all the regular users out there.. i mean, a magician doesnt reveal his tricks to the audience, does he? :3
0
Spell contest entry: Reflective Shield
The reflective shield reflects all incoming enemy projectiles, mirroring the relative angle (plus minus a little randomness). The distance travelled after reflection is part of a random command.
This is my final submission to the contest but i will most probably make a new map utilizing this ability.. removing all random angle commands and adding the ability to reflect your own shots.. i tested this and its great :P
http://www.sc2mapster.com/maps/spell-contest-reflective-shield/
@Unabsurdity: Go
The mass discharge sounds interesting but the movie provided doesnt show the capabilities of the ability :(
@kii064: Go
You should remove the facing for the rock..thingy.. that way it looks just a bit better.. other than that, the ability looks good :P
PS: IF you are not TOO curious, i would like to ask not to browse the map in the map editor, especially non-mapmakers will be astounded how workaroundish this works :P
PS2: This ability is not "ability editor only" but makes use of other things that might be interesting for map makers, things like flipping actors, "clever" use of scaling or relative angles.
0
@Slypoos: Go
awww, your telling me you try to come up with original ideas? cmon.. i mean.. from the looks of your hellzone grenade, you can do like.. everything.. but instead you again port another idea..
still, good concept.. even though the only thing i wouldnt know how to make would be the frozen animation, the whirling and damage are relatively unspectecular.. i mean editor wise
my reflective shield most probably will get posted tomorrow.. its kind of working.. the only thing is that the projectiles are reflected in an arc rather then directly without any "movement" to be seen.. that looks weird :)