WIP Evolution RPG

[Chao]

Photos (by request, in the first post)

Spoiler

Hello, all,

I've been a member for a long time but usually I'm really low-brow... being as it were that I'm sick of leeching, here we are!

The following is a quick rundown of the game that's been occupying most of my map editing time in a day. Hope you like it!

Every game needs an objective. Unless that game is World of Warcraft... but anyways, my game's objectives are numerous, as there are several modes. I'll attempt to delve into the first of the modes, and that is RPG Mode.

In RPG Mode, the objective is to level, complete quests and become the dominant player (or playerS). There are numerous races, each of which has their own group of other players with whom they are allied, neutral or enemies. Races are determined by evolutionary choices, which I will now explain:

The game features more races than I've come about creating yet, but you start as one of four:
Human
Beast
Amphibian
Demon

Each starts in their own land, and each is the other's enemy! (with the minor exception of beasts and amphibians, who start neutral).
Upon hitting level ten, the Child, Raccoon, Frog and Young Demon (as the basest creatures are so named) will have completed quests - based upon which quests were completed and objectives achieved, they will choose their Tier 2 hero, replacing their infancy.

Here's the list:

Human - Fighter, Archer, Magician
Beast - Bear, Wolf, Eagle
Amphibian - Hydra, Depth Hound, Merwol
Demon - Guardian, Feldemon, Demon Mage

in addition to the basic races, there is a race of insects that can be acquired from the Beast chain, and, of course, the Undead make an appearance with a number of the Human chains.

From the tier two heroes sprout another series of heroes! This is not to say that it has this linear growth cycle, as I've already taken the liberty of including heroes that only grow off of certain events, the possession of certain items, and other little diddies I won't include here ;-)

Tier 3 (which is fully completed with just under 40 heroes) sprouts to Tier 4, which leads Tier 5, the tier is under most circumstances, the "legendary tier".

The game uses no outside resources, and is completely custom as far as hero abilities goes. Very few heroes use shared abilities, and the farther in depth I go, the more advanced the events get with triggers.

Example Tier 3 breakoffs:
Wolf:
Nordic Wolf - utilizes ice abilities
Nighthunter - utilizes stealth and criticals
Alpha Male - the "Mario" of wolves, can summon younger generations to aid it

Archer:
Spellbow - the mage-archer
Predator - the assassin-archer
Spearthrower - a hybrid of the other two, featuring tremendous range and damage with a slower attack speed.

I very recently configured a Tier 3 battle area where the Tier 3 heroes can be randomly and not-so-randomly selected that I would be a little bit interested in throwing out there for the public - it's single-player, for people to test and judge (and for me to assist in balancing) the heroes.

If people show interest in this, I'd be happy to give progress reports. I've recently started the creation of the Tier 4 heroes, but am second-guessing myself and might turn around and begin the quest lines. Only the Beast line has been examined.

Cheers!
Chao

 

[Sirroelivan]

Sounds very interesting. Some screenshots would be interesting though.

 

[Chao]

I can do that when I get off work tonight!

 

[Rhymer]

Sounds awesome, can't wait to try it out :thup:

 

[Chao]

Alright, screenshots tonight!
A couple of terrain shots, and I'll show off one of the evolutionary chains up to Tier Three..
Maybe a spell or two as well, I have some pride in a couple of them, after all.

 

[Chao]

Hey, still learning, and stealing this pattern!

Progress:
Terrain: 20%
Units: 40%
Items: 5%
Abilities: 40%
Upgrades: 20%
Systems: 50%
Content: 5%

General info:
Players: 10

Updates:
- Multiple attempts to grab screenshots have failed due to a technical error that always has the screenshots coming out jet black. Will attempt further tonight.
- Will, if time prevails, post the Tier 3 hero testing system (need to learn to use Vexorian's optimizer first!)
- Have begun work on the Tier 4 heroes - Plague Bear, Ursa Major and Merwol Wych are complete (3 of 48+ down!), currently working on Nordic Wolf

Fun Stuff:
Neat Abilities of note:
Plague Bear:
Rage of Disease: The Plague Bear's animal side enrages at the hand of its undead side, unleashing previously decayed strength.
Upon activation, this ability will give the bear a temporary bash and cleave ability. Additional levels will increase the chance to bash, damage done by bash and cleave splash.

Merwol Wych
Plume: Combining two of her strengths as a novice, the Wych creates a large burst of water from mid-air, stunning and damaging units caught within. Some of the water remains as the rest disappears, materializing into elementals sworn to the Wych's bidding.
AOE Damage Stun, generates (1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 3-5) elementals.

 

[Chao]

SCREENSHOTS!!!


Some heroes, like the Warder, have other tactics to apply in order to damage their opponents...

"Flash Nova" - Courtesy of the Thunderpriest.

The Merwol Glaiver Versus the Merwol Sorceress, who splits herself into six water elementals as an ultimate.

Coined "The Brute", Gurdyn's Ultimate, Reverberating Chaos, has the following for Flavour Text:
"The Brute summons the very force of the earth to do his bidding, releasing 15 waves of force that deal 25 damage each, spread out between however many targets are in range."

 

[MakazeHikari]

.

 

[TriggerHappy]

Made Spells with triggers...............what else?


Flash nova or w/e looks cool but laggy.

 

[esb]

Looks pretty cool!

 

[Chao]

Hey, thanks for the feedback guys.
Triggs - Flash Nova does occasionally cause a mini-spike the first time but after that, not at all!
And Makaze, which would you like to see? I suppose only T-Priest and the Brute are the triggered ones...

Updates:
- Did a SLIGHTLY early Vexorian on the Map. Going to polish the tester so I can allow the public access to the Tier 3's.

 

[Jedimindtrixxx]

wow that looks amazing cant wait for the release! would love to know how you did the flash nova

 

[PureOwnage]

Looks really good!
Just fix the "start" circle of power unit. It goes into the hill.

 

[Chao]

TeeAichSee > Flash nova was done with a "for each integer X from 1 to 18" (I think) and then "create lightning effect at (Integer X * 20)" to make it a pattern (this was done several different times so the whole thing would link, I'll post it when I get the chance)
PureOwnage> Thanks, dude! And yes, the roughed Terrain needs a bit of work.

Update:
Will post the rudimentary version tonight, time prevailing, so people can have an idea of what I'm working with!

 

[Chao]

The Beta has arrived!
I Vex'd it, so it should be pretty fast.
PLEASE upload comments, suggestions, bugs, things you liked :thup: ALL of that (and mind, there willlllll be leaks. That's not something that's been solved on my end yet.)
As for little things like text issues, I'll be re-sweeping the heroes to solve that myself.
And as for balance, I wouldn't get too hung up about it - the AI doesn't exactly 'fight back' too hard >;-)

Enjoy!

 

[Jedimindtrixxx]

srsly? srsly? srsly? wow this is something. man that is truly amazing
the whole expanded terrain is very, very nice. and flash nova doesnt lag one bit! i thought it would with all those effects. cant wait for it to open up some more! oh btw id make the warder a bit stronger, cuz if it wasnt an ai, the guy would fully go straight for the warder and not the wards. the stun and invul helps out but make his hp a bit higher.
im still having an orgasm from that. the terrain is rly rly nice. my guess is only amphibians can go on water? anything only beasts or humans can do?

EDIT: oh btw i couldnt find gurdin anywhere, where is he?

 

[MakazeHikari]

.

 

[Chao]

Thanks for the positive feedback, guys!
Tee, The Brute is a Demon-type.
As for special things the Beasts and Humans can do... well, Humans have the most expansive tech-tree (the magician will have 6 different evolutions, only 5 of which are in the demo ) and the Beasts are fortunate for their alliances.... that's a factor I haven't talked much about, but trust me, it's handy not having a multitude of enemies (something Humans and Demons are thrust into immediately!)

The Warder IS a little fragile, but proper use of the low-cooldown stun wards can definitely make him a tough target, especially since I've minimized available ranged stun techniques and made holding techniques almost exclusively ultimates at Tier 3 (Net is seen on 2 heroes, to my recollection).

As for Flash Nova...

Spoiler

Actions
    For each (Integer A) from 1 to 18, do (Actions)
        Loop - Actions
            Special Effect - Create a special effect at ((Position of ZAB_FlashNovaCaster) offset by 500.00 towards (20.00 x (Real((Integer A)))) degrees) using Abilities\Weapons\FarseerMissile\FarseerMissile.mdl
            Lightning - Create a Chain Lightning - Primary lightning effect from source ((Position of ZAB_FlashNovaCaster) offset by 500.00 towards ((Real((Integer A))) x 20.00) degrees) to target (Position of ZAB_FlashNovaCaster)
            Set ZAB_FlashNovaSFX[(Integer A)] = (Last created special effect)
            Set ZAB_FlashNovaLFX1[(Integer A)] = (Last created lightning effect)
            Lightning - Create a Chain Lightning - Primary lightning effect from source ((Position of ZAB_FlashNovaCaster) offset by 500.00 towards (((Real((Integer A))) x 20.00) + 20.00) degrees) to target ((Position of ZAB_FlashNovaCaster) offset by 500.00 towards (200.00 x (Real((Integer A)))) degrees)
            Set ZAB_FlashNovaLFX2[(Integer A)] = (Last created lightning effect)
    Unit Group - Pick every unit in (Units within 500.00 of (Position of ZAB_FlashNovaCaster) matching (((Matching unit) belongs to an enemy of (Owner of (Casting unit))) Equal to True)) and do (Actions)
        Loop - Actions
            Unit - Cause ZAB_FlashNovaCaster to damage (Picked unit), dealing (10.00 + (20.00 x (Real((Level of Flash Nova 3 for ZAB_FlashNovaCaster))))) damage of attack type Spells and damage type Lightning
    Wait 0.35 game-time seconds
    For each (Integer A) from 1 to 18, do (Actions)
        Loop - Actions
            Special Effect - Destroy ZAB_FlashNovaSFX[(Integer A)]
            Lightning - Destroy ZAB_FlashNovaLFX1[(Integer A)]
            Lightning - Destroy ZAB_FlashNovaLFX2[(Integer A)]

Of course, it's a considerably massive leaker, but So is everything else I do. Work in progress!

UPDATE:
The next phase:
- Learning to control leaks (something I've never really done, because I honestly just never controlled that side of things) and then plugging the entire map thusfar
- Balancing heroes based on suggestions, and taking suggestions based on what feedback I get (more the merrier!!)
- Holding a poll to determine what comes next for the game... What will I be polling? Stay tuned!

 

[Jedimindtrixxx]

oh i found the ogre-lord, and i think you might want to nerf him i used his ulti and man, i only used his ulti and got no other spells, cast it from beggining, and the units died before it even finished. another thing, wow every single unit is imba, like wow im like man this guy is so cheap. try another guy. damn hes cheap too. i played every unit and they are all cheap. guess that helps balance it out? also a little bug i found. im not sure if ur keeping the clear circle for the full game but if you are, if u press clear when your naga is in split form, then it causes that little hero icon on the top left to go to hero - dead and stays that wai.

how about openning the terrain up so we can roam around and see it? ^^

also i realised the warder stun is shorter cooldown then the stun itself, so i think you should make the cooldown a bit longer, cuz you can have the guy in perma stun

also make ai be able to use spells its rly easy with them only attack.

another thing, the thunderpriest's raising ability, cant test it out cuz there are no raisable corpses. can you make the heros death "can raise" ? cuz that wai we can spawn healers to see what they r like

rly rly nice game uve got going, and the terrain is rly good. the towns and the outland area look incredible.

the thing is, make the units have more hp, because they each do around 50 dmg per hit, and with them having an average of 500 hp they die in like 10 hits, with crits and summons and spells its even faster

 

[Chao]

The terrain DOES open up. You just have to be patient with it and you'll understand what I mean hahaaa!

As for the imba heroes, well, against AI, yes, they all seem VERY, VERY cheap - the Brute's ultimate doesn't single-target; it is randomly dispersed from the point of its casting to however many targets are within range. It seems very, very unfair in its circumstance (being that you're always going against a single target)

The Naga Caster: If you press it while she's split, she dies. If you press it again, she vanishes. Pretttty sure I actually had the same thing happen.

AI Spells: I'd have to trigger every single one of those! My next project will be for two friends of mine to test heroes against one another to help determine imbalances; there are several heroes in need of some work (the Demon Assassin has vastly under and overpowered skills, for instance, and yes, the stun ward needs a seeeerious nerf!).

Universal Cheapness: Every hero has a strength; every hero has a weakness. Exploitation of both on both ends is what makes the game fun ....

Thunderpriest's Raise: Combining the raise with the ult is TREMENDOUS AWESOME. Unfortunately, I haven't set it up so you can use both... I will consider adding a creep-spawn so you can kill something off and actually -play- the hero.

The "Low-Health High-Damage" Theory: To make the fights between different heroes more interesting, yes, the casters nuke for a LOT, and yes, the ranged units are an utter pain in the ass to fight, and yes, some melee units have less health than the caster's they're attempting to fight - that's what I'm trying to make interesting. I don't want lengthy hack-and-slash fights with casters depleting their mana and not knocking down the high-health heroes.. some heroes are going to be the absolute achilles' heel of one another. I know this is going to be the pain of PAINS to test and balance, and I really appreciate your help and dedication to my little project. I really hope I don't seem like I'm shooting your suggestions down, because that's not my point!

+rep, dude. I can't thank you enough for your help.