Arena Assassins

[Baintastic]

What makes a good custom map?
+ the main reason that DotA is fun: Hero Kills
+ the problem with DotA is that it can take as long as 15 minutes for first blood and an average game of DotA takes about 45 minutes on easy mode
+ Assassins is fun for the same reason, but the reason is also the purpose of the game and the length of the game can be adjusted by the host

Introducing Assassins:
+ each player controls 1 of 8 assassins, each has a unique ult
+ 3rd person camera similar to WoW
+ number of kills can be adjusted by typing "-kills XX"
+ double damage buff given to losing players to keep the game even
+ each player can choose 6 of 30 different spells with detailed tooltips
+ unique spell learning system where better abilities cost more
+ all keyboard hotkeys correspond with their position on the screen
+ basic AI allows for offline play
+ website (GetAssassins.com) contains latest game version, gameplay, forum tabs, etc.


Changelogs
- version 1.0a
+ camera angle and distance changed to alleviate nausea
+ command -zoom 1/2/3 added to allow users to choose their camera settings
+ command -zoomall 1/2/3 added for the host to set and lock the camera settings for all players
+ acquisition range of non-AI assassins changed to 100 (same as attack range) to prevent auto-attacking
+ limited the -kills range to 10-40

- version 1.1
+ added a hero tavern so there are 4 heroes to choose from
+ leaving players' heroes are now removed from the game and their multi-board row is grayed out

- version 1.2
+ moved the spells from the third spell book to the second spell book
+ added 9 passive abilities to the third spell book

- version 1.3
+ added a unique ability (ultimate) for each hero
+ added a -ms command to prompt your hero's movement speed
+ spell books no longer disappear when all of the spells are researched (the unused research icons go away instead)
+ improved the AI (now they can use all the spells they research)
+ general balancing of items and spells
+ changed the respawn duration from (2 x lvl) to (5 + lvl)


Download Assassins at GetAssassins.com
Please email any suggestions or bugs to [email protected]

 

[carbonduck]

I downloaded the map and tried it out. I got sick of the camera system in about 3 minutes, literally. It made me dizzy and a little nauseous. Not only that but there's a distinct lack of precision and control with that kind of camera system.

 

[Baintastic]

Camera Fix

Thanks for the input carbonduck.

Do you think it would help if...
- I smoothed the camera more?
- Zoom out more?
- Brought the camera up more?

 

[carbonduck]

Well, when I was moving around, I was using mouse click movement. I'm not sure if that's what you were intending? But either way, that's what I was using.

I think the greatest problems with the current camera system are:
- There's no quick way to turn with precision. Having to reach over to the arrow keys to turn left or right is a big nuisance. The only other alternative (that I know of) is to right click directly next to your hero so that he turns but that results in huge turns. And what if I want to turn quickly and precisely without moving?
- Turning is smooth but erratic. If I'm running straight and I want to turn around, I have to click behind my hero and that causes the camera to suddenly shift 180 degrees. Once may be alright but on a map like this, you have to constantly be moving around and constantly surveying your surroundings. When the camera swings back and forth like that, it gets nauseating.

In response to your questions:
- I think the camera's smoothness is fine.
- I don't think zooming out would fix the problem. It would lessen the nauseating factor slightly but wouldn't remove it.
- I'm not sure if raising the camera angle would help. It might and it might not. It would definitely lower the view distance but that's already limited by fog so it doesn't matter much.

 

[Baintastic]

Yeah, the right-click was intended for movement. The arrow-keys are just a backup in case you find yourself with a really crazy camera angle and can't click behind you.

Potential Fixes:
+ set acquisition range of assassins to 0 (so that they don't turn unless you tell them to)
+ make the arrow-keys instantly offset the camera angle (and possible the angle of the assassin) once until released or up-arrow would reset it
--+ right-arrow would add 90
--+ down-arrow would add 180
--+ left-arrow would add 270
+ make the assassins show up on the minimap so that there wouldn't be a need to look behind you
+ cause the camera to turn instantly (or just faster) for angles >135
+ zoom out a little to allow more space to click behind you

Which of these do you think would help?

 

[carbonduck]

Actually, now that I think about it, having the camera a little higher so that it's pointing down more might be better. I remember running away from Pooky one time and his model was so big that I couldn't click anywhere. It always ended up clicking his body.

Out of curiosity, is there a specific reason why you want the camera to be 3rd-person behind-the-character? How come a normal birds-eye top-down view wouldn't work?

As for your potential fixes:
- Acquisition range to 0 is a must-have for different reasons. I'll elaborate later in the post.
- I don't think the arrow key solution would do anything. As of now, the arrow keys are only used when you're in a really cramped or strange spot (messed up camera angles), so the current arrow system is fine for that. I don't think anyone would use the keys during normal play.
- Making the assassins show up on the minimap would be nice. It would introduce an element of overall map awareness for survival. But you'd still need to turn around if you were going to fight them.
- Instantly turning the camera for >135 angles may work, though I can't really imagine what it would be like without actually playing a map with that implemented.
- Zooming the camera out would be a good idea in general. It's too close to the hero and he takes up a lot of room.

A bug I found:
- I noticed that when you summon your spellbooks, you disabled movement. That's fine. However, you must set acquisition range to 0 because I was looking through my spells and Pooky came along and my guy started chasing after him with the books still there.

 

[Baintastic]

I have the camera the way it is so that it has the feel of a first person shooter and gives you the ability to sneak up on other players.

Fixes:
I will change the acquisition range to 0.
I think I leave out showing the heroes on the minimap for now for the sake of stealth.
I will try the instantly turning the camera for >135 angles and see what it looks like.
I will make the camera angle higher and zoom out

Regarding the bug:
The spell books shouldn't stop you from moving, that's not what it's set up to do. However, I since I am changing the acquisition range to 0, this bug should be taken care of.

Thanks again Carbonduck.

 

[carbonduck]

I just played the new version of the map and the camera control is much much much better! It actually feels playable now. Good work on the changes. If you plan on hosting a game, let me know and I'll be glad to try it out if I have time.

 

[Baintastic]

Yeah, I'll definitely let you know when I host a game. (my battlenet username is Baintastic, is yours carbonduck?) I'm going to make some more adjustments to the camera system before I release the next version though. After I emailed you the last revision, I added a -zoom 1/2/3 option that allows the players to select their camera setting (1 is the original setting, 3 is the new (and default) setting, and 2 is in between). I'm also going to add -zoomall 1/2/3 as a host option so he can set and lock everyone's camera settings to make it more fair.

Thanks for your advice and I'm glad you like it.

ps. have you tried playing it against computers already or just by yourself? (the AI is not amazing, but it is still fun)