CTF Forest CTF

[Darthfett]

Update!

I've been in the mapping mood lately.

---New Camera Commands---
-lock : Locks the camera's target to the player's hero.
-unlock : Frees the camera, allowing the player to move it around as he/she wishes.
-reset : Resets the camera back to the default.
-follow : Makes the camera lock on to the player's hero, and it will rotate to the hero's facing.
-angle# : Sets the angle of attack for the player's camera to #. Limited between 270 and 350, so players won't get strange views.
-zoom# : Zooms the camera to #, allowing the player to zoom in or out at will. Limited to 600 to 3000, so players won't get strange views.

---New Game Modes---
-Power : Players will start out at level 5, with 50 gold.
-Fragile : Flag Carriers have a 70% handicap.

On a side note, all unit speeds have been reduced, so players will be able to get more of a bonus from abilities and items. Flag carriers have also been reduced, so that players will be able to catch up to them, and to make rounds more fun.

After reviewing, testing, and getting opinions, I've decided on removing a lot of the previous game mode ideas. Here are the game modes I'm going to keep:

-power : All units start out at level 5, with 50 gold.
-fragile : Flag carriers have handicaps.
-speed : All units have 522 movement speed (maximum).
-nopower : No powerups
-superpower : Enables Super Powerups

Any others I have not listed, are being thrown out.
Also, the thread is always open for ideas.

 

[thewrongvine]

Ok, I tried out your map. Unfortunately, I can't host so I only got to do it in single player. It was pretty cool anyway, but imo, the camera view doesn't fit the starting hero-selection area. But doesn't really matter, I was just saying, lol.

I like the "Chump Boost" thing that you have where it rewards the least experienced person but it's not too much as to you catching up to enemies just by not doing anything.

Suggestions/Bugs:
-the Shadow Wolf that you can summon through the trinket, it's Sprint tooltip has a bug, it says 0 seconds. Fix teh code.
-Sprint for normal heroes is too rigged imo. I would make it more of a +25-50% for 4-8 seconds.

Well, that's all I have since I didn't get to try it with other players. Good luck! :thup:

 

[Darthfett]

It was pretty cool anyway, but imo, the camera view doesn't fit the starting hero-selection area.

That's because one of the heroes is not available. The camera is set to accomodate all the units, but since you can't see him, it looks a little unbalanced, with the space on the left.

Suggestions/Bugs:
-the Shadow Wolf that you can summon through the trinket, it's Sprint tooltip has a bug, it says 0 seconds. Fix teh code.
-Sprint for normal heroes is too rigged imo. I would make it more of a +25-50% for 4-8 seconds.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Sprint on the Gnoll Rogue is because he has quite low hp, and only medium damage. Besides snare, it's his only way to keep away from an enemy, and he can't really attack while sprinting.

Yes it is rigged for when the hero has the flag, but in the update that's coming soon, players will still be able to catch the player with the flag, sprinting or not.

There are also speed potions, if a player is faced against a gnoll with lots of speed boosts.

+rep for testing, thanks again!

 

[Darthfett]

Just posting an update on what is being worked on for the map.

-balance command has been added. It balances the amount of heroes on both players' teams at startup, and replaces leaving/kicked players with a bot.

I'm currently working on the bot, trying to make it somewhat intelligent. The surprising thing is that the heroes are actually using a lot of their abilities in intelligent ways. (Today when I was testing, a warrior used charge on me, when I was on the other side of the trees!)

Currently working:
-Units when spawned will either choose to camp or go after enemy flag.
-Units when revived will go after flag (protect its carrier, if it's already being carried), or camp (go after enemy flag carrier if it is missing).
-Units will pick up the flag if it drops (both allies and enemies will try to get it)

Not working/not finished:
-Units who grab the flag will not currently try to go to their base to capture it
-Units who camp will currently stay camping until they die, or until the flag is picked up. (Units should spontaneously get bored of camping and go after the enemy flag. )

 

[thewrongvine]

So... there is a new version?

 

[Darthfett]

So... there is a new version?

No. Sorry if it is confusing. I'm simply posting what I've done for the map, since many parts of the map are awaiting others to be finished. Once I have each piece completed, it can be released. If I released a version of the map that I have now, it would be buggy, and missing lots of things that you would expect in a map.

I'm currently awaiting the terrain from Smith (which is about 95% completed), so in my version with older terrain, I've been doing heaps of work, which I am going to import into the terrained map once Smith sends it to me.

 

[thewrongvine]

Okee. In that case, I'll just wait for the next version.

 

[Darthfett]

Another big update, related to the AI:

AI is nearing completion, as far as movement around the map goes. I created a gigantic system involving lots of rects, structs, and triggers at literally every intersection of paths in the map. Basically, if the hero is not trying to get to the flag as fast as possible, he will go to the closest intersection of paths, where there is another rect. Each rect contains two arrays of possible paths, one for going to the NW flag, and one for going to the SE flag.

I also created a few functions that basically evaluate the position of the flags, and take the best course of action.

It seems that the AI's are actually using all of their abilities (even the custom triggered ones, strangely), so for now I'm going to hold off on a huge combat system I was planning on.

AI's will also get bored after so long of camping the flag, and decide to take a new course of action (sometimes they will decide to continue to camp, this is on purpose).

The major things I've noticed so far that I need to fix:
[FEATURE-Add] AI's that take the flag will always take the fastest route (straight through the spawn). I'm going to try to change this so that they will also randomly take the back route, so that it's never predictable and easy to retrieve the flag.
[BUG] When you capture an AI's team flag, he still follows the slower rect movement, rather than trying to take the fastest path to beat you to the flag area.

There are lots of other things that I will change when I start polishing up the map, but for now, those are the major issues. I spent about 5 hours today just debugging this stupid system, so this is a lot of work. (500+ lines of code with 48 regions FTL. )

In case you're not interested in anything besides the fact that the map will have an AI now, here's a few cool changes to the game:

Unordered list of changes that I can remember:

New Item:
Arcane Talisman
ARTIFACT
---Cost: 75 Gold
---Description---
Causes attacks against the wearer to miss 8% of the time, and gives the bearer 100 bonus mana. It can also be used to restore mana over time.

It is an item made for the caster type hero. I found that many melee hero players were completely owning ranged ones, so I decided to give something to the ranged classes as well.

The Firebolt/Blink hotkey confliction has been fixed. (Finally! )

Shadow Strike has had its damage upgraded, to make up for the short range, and to compete with spells like Storm Bolt (which stun).

Mirror Image has had an upgrade, to make it worthy of its 2-point ultimateness. The Illusion now takes 160%/130% damage, and deals 25%/40% damage.

Pets have had major increases in damage, to make up for the large difference between a level 8 hero and a level 15. I will consider scaling pets if this makes them too imba.

Mana Shield has had a huge buff as well, which will make it a great combination with the new item. reduces 60/75/90/100% of damage in exchange for 2/3/1/1 mana for every 1/2/1/2 damage. ( 2 mana per damage, 3 mana per 2 damage, 1 mana per damage, 1 mana per 2 damage). This is still under testing however, it is quite likely to change.

Ensnare will last longer, to make up for the fact that it does no damage, and ensnared opponents can still attack.

Holy Light has undergone a slight buff, in an attempt to make up for the cast time, and make it semi-useful while being attacked. (Previously, units could deal more damage than the Holy Light would heal during the time it took to cast it).

Runes of Healing and Mana have been added, as well as another power up spawn location.

New Ability for Warrior
Rampage
--The Warrior goes on a rampage, decreasing his movement speed by 35% in exchange for extra damage.
--40/60/80/100% bonus damage

In case I haven't already said this, the warrior is going to be the new anti-melee class (anti Paladin and Assassin). That means that the Assassin is going to be the anti-ranged class, making the Paladin a medium of the two. The Rogue is going to be the anti-melee class, as he has many useful tools for fast getaway, while the hunter will be the anti-ranged class, because of her ranged stun capabilities.

Sprint is scheduled for a nerf, since I recently fixed a few bugs with movement speed limits, and the speed rune. I found the bug while using my least favorite hero (the gnoll rogue), and ended up beating 3 other players all against me.

You see what happens when you procrastinate a project?

 

[Darthfett]

I'm still debugging things for the AI movement system. I'm currently trying to get rid of looping, so that AI's are moving back and forth until the random number changes. For some reason, the triggers are not working as I envisioned, so I'm doing debugging.

I've also created the ultimate ability for the warrior:

Blood Rage - The Warrior begins/stops channeling rage into health, converting 4 rage into 4 health every second. In addition, the Warrior gains 4 rage each time he attacks an enemy.

Rage = Mana.

Basically, the ability is useful for getting back in combat quickly, since the Warrior is primarily a fighting unit. However, it comes at the cost of being able to use his abilities (depletes mana), unless he is in melee range of an enemy. If he is attacking the enemy, he is able to sustain much of the rage lost, while staying alive for quite a while. This is near useless against ranged units, as he will deplete his mana trying to stay alive, which he will need to kill the enemy.

EDIT: I would also like to add that I updated the first post, to make it more friendly.

 

[monoVertex]

Screenshots update.

Spoiler

 

[UndeadDragon]

Nice new screenshots :thup:

#3 looks great.

 

[Viikuna]

That forest looks really cool.

 

[Darthfett]

Wow!! Screenshots are looking great!

Can't wait to put one of them in as a loading screen.

4 looks a bit awkward, though. The gnoll rogue seems to have part of his body cut off.

By the way, as far as the map goes -- Still testing the AI extensively (I got a crash once :S), and trying to put in a few more features so that chosen paths will be smart, but still somewhat random.

Will keep it updated, but I have to go to class right now.

 

[Darthfett]

Posting in the thread to let you know it isn't dead. I've just been really busy with college (20+ hour projects every 2 weeks )

However, now that I have a short break, and my huge project class is over, I will be able to do more work on the CTF.

In fact, I've just fixed a bug in the AI routing system, which was causing a loop, and I've also changed it so that when AI's get the flag, they don't take the shortest route. They one of many 'fast-paths,' so that multiple AI's won't cause never-ending games (I was experiencing a lot of this on single-player testing). These fast paths are basically the same as a regular path, but with one major exception: Paths that don't take the AI closer to the flag will not be taken.

After a few more tests to make sure everything is in working order, I will be creating the warrior's next ability.

 

[thewrongvine]

That's good to hear. Good luck! Me be waiting.

~Hai-Bye-Vine!

 

[Darthfett]

Forest CTF 2.00 Alpha has been released for testing!

If you're interested in helping me, all you have to do is play the version on the first page, and post feedback, a bug report, or a replay.

I will +rep most ideas, all feedback, bug reports, and +rep twice for any replays.

Also, for those who cannot host, you can now play it offline, with computers, as the game now has AI's. Or, you can send me a PM/IM, and ask me to host.

 

[CaptDeath]

looks good ill get to it asap

 

[thewrongvine]

Grr... my WCIII doesn't work right now so I can't test it yet. But I will when I can.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

~Hai-Bye-Vine~

 

[CaptDeath]

i loved it the draw back though i have like 10 seconds to read understand and pick what i want for the game WTF that POED me besides that it was great
mind telling me how you did that table thing?
you know by the big tree cause i liked that

 

[Frozenhelfir]

Found a few bugs, and a fatal. I've only played it once before making this post.
Bugs
- Flag takes an inventory slot, so the shop items cant be used to full extent. Intended?
- Returning flag takes an inventory slot, so a flag runner can really only have 4 items to be fully prepared
- AI wont go after the enemy flag if they are killed and it isn't returned (which normally should happen)
- AI sometimes wont go for a flag that is dropped before death
- Gnoll: Blade turning hotkey doesn't work
- The human hunter (summons bear) has a hotkey confliction with Lay Trap and Flurry
- Flurry appears to happen much more than indicated chance
- If someone is standing on the circle of power with the enemy flag, and the friendly flag is returned, it wont capture.
- Summons aren't selected when summoned. OK I know this is more of a suggestion, but for all of us that only have the dot in the middle of the keyboard it would be nice to have it get selected when summoned. Even with a mouse it is detrimental to have to select the wolf in a game that is fast paced like this one.
- Hero isn't selected on respawn, follows same lines as the summons.

Fatal (no +2 replay rep for me )
I'll try to describe this best I can. Team matchup: 3v3
Me: hunter
Team 1 AI's: gnoll and hunter
Team 2 AI's: hunter, troll, (gnoll?? cant remember)

Anyway, I was trying to attack my ai because the flag wouldn't cap, and the whole other team happened upon us. When the fatal happened I had just flurried, and I heard the sound of the troll using his mirror image. I think the gnoll was using some skill (i dont know which one since I haven't used it yet) and the game crashed. I may not have captured the entire situation as I don't know much about the other heroes yet, but good luck figuring it out.

Balance
- Flurry seems to be a bit powerful. I can go for the AOE damage, but not the stun. I could keep the other team stunned about 1/3 to 1/2 of the time with just level 2 of it (hence why I think it was going off more than intended), so expand that to getting a whole team of rangers and them all traveling together... unstoppable mega-bulldozer of perma stunnage anyone?

My idea is make it an active ability that does 30 aoe damage and stuns .5 seconds with a 15 second cooldown. Each level (if max is 3, didn't get that far) gives 15 damage and an additional .5 second stun

- Gnoll: Ensnare cooldown is as long as its duration, No difference between level 2 and 3

I would suggest it as such: 1 second ensnare with each level adding 1 second. This should end up with a 5 second end ensnare. Changing the cooldown to 20 or 25 seconds would balance this out. Right now any unfortunate melee hero is useless against the rogue. I also think that any kind of disable with a shorter/same cooldown as its duration is bad design. Why the long cooldown? Well the rest of your team has disables too!

- Gnoll: Can hide with flag, and hide is basically invulnerability

Don't allow hiding with flag. Also, the second level should have at least a .5 second delay. Currently I can order an attack and immediately hide. Even with an AI melee hero next to me trying to get the flag, I could still attack and hide to dodge his swing. Rapid succession of this is the best possible defense in the game. Spells can't hit you either when doing this properly

- Gold: Nothing to spend it on. I'm not saying to add tomes, but maybe put in some high end items to help end the game
- Heroes spawn too fast.

Right now, if I kill someone defending the flag with a ranged hero, they respawn by the time I grab the flag and make a break for it. It'd be nice to not have to fight someone twice just to exit the base. Of course this implies I'm going in alone, but there are possible holes with this even in 6v6. With 3 defenders or even a turtle, it'll be very hard for any offense to break through and actually get the flag out of the base. Consider upping the respawn timers or add 10 seconds to timers when the enemy grabs the flag.

All in all, high quality map. It is a good size (maybe just a tid bit bigger than what I'd consider ideal), and I will play it a lot on B.net once the bugs are worked out. This has a lot of teamwork potential. Happy New Year and sorry for all the possible work I've given you .