I would like to introduce my current project, Planet Kansas, by sharing a quick little gameplay video in order to gain some valuable feedback on how I should progress in its development. It's not yet published.
Description
Planet Kansas is a mod (designed to be played on different maps similar to the base game) in which you only directly control one unit but still raise and command a swarm through your abilities, like a herder commanding a flock a sheep. I'll go through the basics and a few abilities.
You gather the sole resource, mana, by simply right-clicking a node to summon a worker, who will then proceed to mine that same node until he dies. Summon enough workers, and you can eventually maintain a steady flow of energy as your workers, like ants in a row, run back and forth between you and the node. This presents a number of strategic options. You may stay close to your nodes, requiring fewer workers to "saturate" or use more workers, allowing you to venture farther without sacrificing energy flow. A mana well can also be summoned that acts as a temporary supply depot, allowing you to keep just a few workers while you move away for a little bit.
Staying close has its dangers, though. For one, each player is equipped with a fireball that can kill up to five units in close proximity. If your workers are all bunched up, they will be easy pickings for an opponent. Secondly, the objective requires you to leave your base. Each player must breed enough mana "nymphs", little guys that closely follow the herder that can be tossed (think Nintendo's Pikmin), to push the enemy's cart back to your base. Mana nymphs can be obtained by sacrificing other units through the "Violent Devolution" ability (instant but not efficient) or by summoning a drone to mate with a nearby queen.
Speaking of which, Mana Queens may be summoned to corrupt a single mana node. This node is then unharvestable by workers (and slowly kills any who remain there after corruption) and provides energy solely to the queen. She has two modes that can be altered by clicking on her. Offensive mode has her lay soldier eggs, while defensive mode has her lay royal guard eggs.
Soldiers may be commanded by placing a pheromone beacon on the ground that attracts them to attack-move to its location. Royal guards will remain near the queen, protecting their immediate area with ranged attacks.
I think that's enough to give you a general idea of what's going on in the video. It's nothing flashy, just a straight-up match against an AI opponent on a duel-sized map. The AI is still a work-in-progress of course, so forgive him for his slight, er, idiocy, at points.
The Movie
Please bring on the criticism! Is this something you would play? Too simple? Too Complex? Is the map design retarded?
I have plans to create a 1v1v1 and a 2v2 map as well. A smaller size is just more conducive to working out the basic mechanics and AI, which are still being developed. The pace of the game can change dramatically just by altering the resource gathering rate or worker run speed; it's a bit overwhelming. So, should I get the point where I feel good about publishing it, I would still have a good deal of balancing to do as playing against my own AI is only so good.
In the maps I've worked on, I've started with just a blank terrain and stuck with that for a long time as I worked out the core mechanics, mainly data objects but adding triggers as needed (just plopping down any units you need for testing). I've been using terrain in my current project as a break from everything else. It's nice to just sit back and paint some textures instead of going into rage as your new abilities and mechanics continue to present new and exciting problems.
As for planning, I had a notepad document where I put all my ideas right at the start. Most of it actually ended up in the game, which is pretty cool, along with some extras that I came up with along the way.
You can use these validators to make sure an effect only happens when there is a specified number of a specified unit in the area.
Count - The number off of which to base the search
Compare - The circumstance in which the validator should pass
You can also add another validator into the search itself, a "unit type" validator usually being particularly useful.
Example -
I only want my guy to fire a fireball if there are 3 or more enemy penguins within the impact radius. This requires an enumerate area validator.
1) Input radius of 1.5 (the impact radius of the fireball)
2) Areas - Validator - Is Penguin (unit type validator)
2) Set count - 3
3) Search filters - exclude player, neutral, ally
4) Compare - Greater Than Or Equal To
Attach it to my guy's fireball search effect in which he searches for a target, and he will only fire if there are 3 or more enemy penguins at the target location.
Launch Missile Effect - Under "ammo unit", choose what you want your guy to look like while in the air (make a projectile unit, give him a missile actor, choose his model, and make sure you have a "unitbirth" -> "create" event set up properly), just like any other missile.
Create Unit Effect - This goes under the "impact effect" of your missile launch, and will create your unit at the impact point. Put your actual unit in this unit field, not the projectile.
That's the bare-bones version anyway. You'll probably want to adjust the animation of your flying guy, which is set in the missile actor (created for your missile unit) as a "unit birth" -> "animplay" event. Go to the model previewer and right-click in the bottom right area to see all the available animations if you don't know them. Don't forget the basic attack actor as well, with your launch missile effect as the launch effect and the create unit effect as the impact and the corresponding events.
Ed. Forgot to mention the mover... set that in your unit properties.
Seems awfully complicated for a game of capture the squares.
A simple rock-paper-scissors set-up of units would work just as well and keep the focus on your square-capturing strategy rather than screwing around with all those upgrades.
This is one of the most annoying limitations of the data editor. There is no way to tell one unit to attack another unit's target outside of a launch missile effect (which I assume won't work in this case for whatever reason).
Trigger solution: dummy damage effects
Event:
Unit takes damage from (insert spawn unit effect)
Actions:
Create unit at (insert point) you can get creative with this, such as location of (damaging unit) with an offset
Order (last created unit) to (attack) targeting (triggering unit)
I have one particular ability in my current project that has THREE different damage effects for triggers at different stages of the ability... it's ridiculous and wouldn't be necessary if this sort of thing existed in the data editor.
You'd probably get more feedback if you just uploaded your map for people to look over at their leisure. I assume most everyone here has projects of their own, and you're asking for quite a bit of time. I'd at least take a quick peek if it was uploaded, though.
I really thought this was a cool idea... with the lack of any sort of feedback, though, I doubt I'll be moving forward with any more work on this project.
I'm excited to finally have something to share with everyone here!
My project, Planeswars, is a kind of fusion of my favorite elements from RPG's like Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale, World of Warcraft, and Guild Wars. The basic premise is this: you control a group of 3-4 characters, set up a skill bar, and try to survive a bunch of crazy scenarios and bosses. There are a couple things that are still up in the air, as I've really only laid a basic framework. The big ones are whether to make it a multiplayer focus (and, if so, PvP or Coop?) or a singleplayer game with a lot of scripted sequences and actual characters with personalities, etc.
I've only just today experienced just how laggy keypress and button click events are on Battle.net, and it really didn't help me decide. The lag is certainly noticable, but it's by no means unplayable. I was still able to defeat the boss and everything. Still, it's enough to bother me. I'm going to count on your guys' feedback as to what direction I could and should take this sort of thing. Hell, I'm not even sure anyone else is going to think controlling an entire party once is even very cool as the control definitely takes some getting used to.
Here's a short description of all the stuff I have so far, so you know what you're looking at in the movie:
WASD control of any of your units you have selected.
"!" icon appears above characters you have WASD control of when you have an enemy selected.
UI has adjustable width and height for each element to suit different resolutions
Z - Gather Party
X - Spread Party
Spacebar - Attack
1 - Eviscerate - Damage and Deep Wound (halves healing effects received and -20% HP) (Warrior)
2 - Taunt - Orders targets within range to attack the warrior and -20% damage (Warrior)
3 - Heal - Heal and energy refund if target <50% HP (Mage)
4 - Magic Missile - Single target damage (Mage)
5 - Group Heal - AOE heal (Mage)
Q - Kidney Shot - 5 second stun (Rogue)
E - Drain - Channeled damage and small AOE heal (Mage)
T - Chain Lightning - Hits up to 5 targets (Mage)
0 - Shadowstep - teleport to target (Rogue)
F - Summon Familiar - Hydralisk/Zergling/Roach - Hydralisk has a multishot, Zergling has a bite, Roach has a taunt - can't leave range 10 of Mage
Rogues get an extra attack when behind their target
Warriors have a protection aura that grants 5 damage reduction within range 10
Death - You are given control of a ghost unit when a unit dies. After the resurrection timer expires you can resurrect your guy at the position of the ghost.
So far, I've limited the party to a balanced type of one mage, one warrior, and one rogue, and there's just the one skill bar.
So here's the movie, featuring an Uberlisk boss. :) Special thanks of course to ProzaicMuse for the attachment tutorial!
He does a couple things... summons roachlings every 30 seconds, regens periodically when he gets below half HP, tentacles of course attack, and a nasty cleave. Should you fall to his power, he will even reset for you to try again! This video is actually one of my best runs against him as I keep him relatively stationary and only facing the warrior most of the time with taunt.
Please comment! What direction should I take this? A TF2 cart-push-like map with an Ultralisk instead of a cart? Singleplayer with lots of cutscenes and scripted dialogue? Coop scenarios like this one? The map does indeed work for multiplayer already (each player has their own party)... tested it today... though the Uberlisk is rather easy for more than one person with only scaled HP and the same damage as singleplayer. =P
I'll upload the map if anyone really wants to try it out.
I didn't get past the conditions before noticing something funky.
You've got:
((Triggering unit) is in Team Hot B2B) == true
((Triggering unit) is in Team Hot B2B) == ((Triggering unit) has MassTrigger)
The first part is the same on both so which one do you want? =P The second seems like it'd be wrong to me, but I don't know what MassTrigger is, so I can't say for sure.
Also don't forget to specify "and" or "or" for multiple conditions.
This is an absolute nightmare. Default dialog background images seem to change based on race (rendering my custom protoss ones obsolete and forcing me to redo placement of all my buttons), one of my movers had to be redone, my Uberlisk model is completely ruined, multiple images no longer work, multiple attacks no longer work (mostly where I was lazy and just used the default Blizzard stuff as placeholders, but still), setting a background dialog image is giving me trouble, and... god, I hope that's it.
0
Thanks! Technically, it is already multiplayer-capable (AI joins if there's no player 2)... it's just a small 1v1 map.
0
Hello all,
I would like to introduce my current project, Planet Kansas, by sharing a quick little gameplay video in order to gain some valuable feedback on how I should progress in its development. It's not yet published.
Description
Planet Kansas is a mod (designed to be played on different maps similar to the base game) in which you only directly control one unit but still raise and command a swarm through your abilities, like a herder commanding a flock a sheep. I'll go through the basics and a few abilities.
You gather the sole resource, mana, by simply right-clicking a node to summon a worker, who will then proceed to mine that same node until he dies. Summon enough workers, and you can eventually maintain a steady flow of energy as your workers, like ants in a row, run back and forth between you and the node. This presents a number of strategic options. You may stay close to your nodes, requiring fewer workers to "saturate" or use more workers, allowing you to venture farther without sacrificing energy flow. A mana well can also be summoned that acts as a temporary supply depot, allowing you to keep just a few workers while you move away for a little bit.
Staying close has its dangers, though. For one, each player is equipped with a fireball that can kill up to five units in close proximity. If your workers are all bunched up, they will be easy pickings for an opponent. Secondly, the objective requires you to leave your base. Each player must breed enough mana "nymphs", little guys that closely follow the herder that can be tossed (think Nintendo's Pikmin), to push the enemy's cart back to your base. Mana nymphs can be obtained by sacrificing other units through the "Violent Devolution" ability (instant but not efficient) or by summoning a drone to mate with a nearby queen.
Speaking of which, Mana Queens may be summoned to corrupt a single mana node. This node is then unharvestable by workers (and slowly kills any who remain there after corruption) and provides energy solely to the queen. She has two modes that can be altered by clicking on her. Offensive mode has her lay soldier eggs, while defensive mode has her lay royal guard eggs.
Soldiers may be commanded by placing a pheromone beacon on the ground that attracts them to attack-move to its location. Royal guards will remain near the queen, protecting their immediate area with ranged attacks.
I think that's enough to give you a general idea of what's going on in the video. It's nothing flashy, just a straight-up match against an AI opponent on a duel-sized map. The AI is still a work-in-progress of course, so forgive him for his slight, er, idiocy, at points.
The Movie
Please bring on the criticism! Is this something you would play? Too simple? Too Complex? Is the map design retarded?
I have plans to create a 1v1v1 and a 2v2 map as well. A smaller size is just more conducive to working out the basic mechanics and AI, which are still being developed. The pace of the game can change dramatically just by altering the resource gathering rate or worker run speed; it's a bit overwhelming. So, should I get the point where I feel good about publishing it, I would still have a good deal of balancing to do as playing against my own AI is only so good.
0
In the maps I've worked on, I've started with just a blank terrain and stuck with that for a long time as I worked out the core mechanics, mainly data objects but adding triggers as needed (just plopping down any units you need for testing). I've been using terrain in my current project as a break from everything else. It's nice to just sit back and paint some textures instead of going into rage as your new abilities and mechanics continue to present new and exciting problems.
As for planning, I had a notepad document where I put all my ideas right at the start. Most of it actually ended up in the game, which is pretty cool, along with some extras that I came up with along the way.
0
Crack-addicted marine busting zerg importing operations?
He gets mad skills as he confiscates and consumes more and more crack during his takedown of an entire organization.
0
You can use these validators to make sure an effect only happens when there is a specified number of a specified unit in the area.
Count - The number off of which to base the search
Compare - The circumstance in which the validator should pass
You can also add another validator into the search itself, a "unit type" validator usually being particularly useful.
Example -
I only want my guy to fire a fireball if there are 3 or more enemy penguins within the impact radius. This requires an enumerate area validator.
1) Input radius of 1.5 (the impact radius of the fireball)
2) Areas - Validator - Is Penguin (unit type validator)
2) Set count - 3
3) Search filters - exclude player, neutral, ally
4) Compare - Greater Than Or Equal To
Attach it to my guy's fireball search effect in which he searches for a target, and he will only fire if there are 3 or more enemy penguins at the target location.
0
Seems like a nice little cool-off map for those taking a break from ladder games. Nice job.
However, that singing crap made me want to shoot myself before I even got to the end of the video.
0
No, that's explaining it.
0
It's relatively simple. You'll need:
Launch Missile Effect - Under "ammo unit", choose what you want your guy to look like while in the air (make a projectile unit, give him a missile actor, choose his model, and make sure you have a "unitbirth" -> "create" event set up properly), just like any other missile.
Create Unit Effect - This goes under the "impact effect" of your missile launch, and will create your unit at the impact point. Put your actual unit in this unit field, not the projectile.
That's the bare-bones version anyway. You'll probably want to adjust the animation of your flying guy, which is set in the missile actor (created for your missile unit) as a "unit birth" -> "animplay" event. Go to the model previewer and right-click in the bottom right area to see all the available animations if you don't know them. Don't forget the basic attack actor as well, with your launch missile effect as the launch effect and the create unit effect as the impact and the corresponding events.
Ed. Forgot to mention the mover... set that in your unit properties.
0
Seems awfully complicated for a game of capture the squares.
A simple rock-paper-scissors set-up of units would work just as well and keep the focus on your square-capturing strategy rather than screwing around with all those upgrades.
0
This is one of the most annoying limitations of the data editor. There is no way to tell one unit to attack another unit's target outside of a launch missile effect (which I assume won't work in this case for whatever reason).
Trigger solution: dummy damage effects
Event:
Unit takes damage from (insert spawn unit effect)
Actions:
Create unit at (insert point) you can get creative with this, such as location of (damaging unit) with an offset Order (last created unit) to (attack) targeting (triggering unit)
I have one particular ability in my current project that has THREE different damage effects for triggers at different stages of the ability... it's ridiculous and wouldn't be necessary if this sort of thing existed in the data editor.
0
You'd probably get more feedback if you just uploaded your map for people to look over at their leisure. I assume most everyone here has projects of their own, and you're asking for quite a bit of time. I'd at least take a quick peek if it was uploaded, though.
0
I just uploaded the map to see if that will get some comments going:
http://www.sc2mapster.com/maps/planeswars-alpha-boss-demo/files/
I really thought this was a cool idea... with the lack of any sort of feedback, though, I doubt I'll be moving forward with any more work on this project.
0
I'm excited to finally have something to share with everyone here!
My project, Planeswars, is a kind of fusion of my favorite elements from RPG's like Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale, World of Warcraft, and Guild Wars. The basic premise is this: you control a group of 3-4 characters, set up a skill bar, and try to survive a bunch of crazy scenarios and bosses. There are a couple things that are still up in the air, as I've really only laid a basic framework. The big ones are whether to make it a multiplayer focus (and, if so, PvP or Coop?) or a singleplayer game with a lot of scripted sequences and actual characters with personalities, etc.
I've only just today experienced just how laggy keypress and button click events are on Battle.net, and it really didn't help me decide. The lag is certainly noticable, but it's by no means unplayable. I was still able to defeat the boss and everything. Still, it's enough to bother me. I'm going to count on your guys' feedback as to what direction I could and should take this sort of thing. Hell, I'm not even sure anyone else is going to think controlling an entire party once is even very cool as the control definitely takes some getting used to.
Here's a short description of all the stuff I have so far, so you know what you're looking at in the movie:
WASD control of any of your units you have selected.
"!" icon appears above characters you have WASD control of when you have an enemy selected.
UI has adjustable width and height for each element to suit different resolutions
Z - Gather Party
X - Spread Party
Spacebar - Attack
1 - Eviscerate - Damage and Deep Wound (halves healing effects received and -20% HP) (Warrior)
2 - Taunt - Orders targets within range to attack the warrior and -20% damage (Warrior)
3 - Heal - Heal and energy refund if target <50% HP (Mage)
4 - Magic Missile - Single target damage (Mage)
5 - Group Heal - AOE heal (Mage)
Q - Kidney Shot - 5 second stun (Rogue)
E - Drain - Channeled damage and small AOE heal (Mage)
T - Chain Lightning - Hits up to 5 targets (Mage)
0 - Shadowstep - teleport to target (Rogue)
F - Summon Familiar - Hydralisk/Zergling/Roach - Hydralisk has a multishot, Zergling has a bite, Roach has a taunt - can't leave range 10 of Mage
Rogues get an extra attack when behind their target
Warriors have a protection aura that grants 5 damage reduction within range 10
Death - You are given control of a ghost unit when a unit dies. After the resurrection timer expires you can resurrect your guy at the position of the ghost.
So far, I've limited the party to a balanced type of one mage, one warrior, and one rogue, and there's just the one skill bar.
So here's the movie, featuring an Uberlisk boss. :) Special thanks of course to ProzaicMuse for the attachment tutorial!
He does a couple things... summons roachlings every 30 seconds, regens periodically when he gets below half HP, tentacles of course attack, and a nasty cleave. Should you fall to his power, he will even reset for you to try again! This video is actually one of my best runs against him as I keep him relatively stationary and only facing the warrior most of the time with taunt.
Please comment! What direction should I take this? A TF2 cart-push-like map with an Ultralisk instead of a cart? Singleplayer with lots of cutscenes and scripted dialogue? Coop scenarios like this one? The map does indeed work for multiplayer already (each player has their own party)... tested it today... though the Uberlisk is rather easy for more than one person with only scaled HP and the same damage as singleplayer. =P
I'll upload the map if anyone really wants to try it out.
0
I didn't get past the conditions before noticing something funky.
You've got:
((Triggering unit) is in Team Hot B2B) == true
((Triggering unit) is in Team Hot B2B) == ((Triggering unit) has MassTrigger)
The first part is the same on both so which one do you want? =P The second seems like it'd be wrong to me, but I don't know what MassTrigger is, so I can't say for sure.
Also don't forget to specify "and" or "or" for multiple conditions.
0
This is an absolute nightmare. Default dialog background images seem to change based on race (rendering my custom protoss ones obsolete and forcing me to redo placement of all my buttons), one of my movers had to be redone, my Uberlisk model is completely ruined, multiple images no longer work, multiple attacks no longer work (mostly where I was lazy and just used the default Blizzard stuff as placeholders, but still), setting a background dialog image is giving me trouble, and... god, I hope that's it.