Greetings, I have worked on my map for like 5 months, and decided to make it public. I hope you find it interesting.
Why am I posting it?
I am posting it because the mod is pretty much playable already, and I am looking for feedback and just to see the general reaction to it. I am aware that 1v1 mods aren´t popular, but that just means I have less competition hahaha. No, seriously, I hope 2v2 and 3v3 will be playable one day.
Game Mechanics
Introduction
Hero Dynamics –HD from now on- is supposed to be a fast-paced, small 1v1 map/mod that focuses on small scale battles and strategic decisions. Games in HD are pretty dynamic: your units´ stats change constantly, and the player that is down can always turn the game around. There are virtually endless ways to approach the game, and it requires that you make one decision after another. The main goal: to reach your victory condition.
Individually, you won´t find a single feature that´s innovative here. Taken as a whole, it is probably unlike anything you´ve played before.
Link to download mod: http://www.sendspace.com/file/zljb4c
Heroes and other Units
There are 3 types of units in HD: heroes, creatures, and summons.
->Heroes: your main units. In plural. You control up to 3 heroes in the same game. You start with 2 and train the 3rd one a bit later on. They level up and learn abilities, getting quite powerful as the game progresses. If they die, they revive automatically, for free, though they do take time to revive. When a hero reaches level 5, you can choose an speciality for it. There´s more depth to the heroes that you must know about when playing –more on this under “Hero System” below. Heroes can be upgraded in groups –you upgrade all 3 heroes- or you can purchase individual items for one of them.
->Creatures: creatures are trained at a building, and are supposed to support you heroes. You can win without using creatures. Creature go up in rank as they stay alive for more time and kill heroes and other creatures, but they do not revive. Creatures have their own abilities, and can also carry 2 items, which are lost when the creature dies. Many items have a greater effect on creatures than they do on heroes. A highly ranked creature can be very powerful.
->Summons: summons are basically the rest of the units you´ll find in the game; they aren´t heroes and they aren´t trained at a building. Some summons disappear after a time, but others stay until they are killed. They normally have 1-3 abilities, and can carry 1 item, which disappears if the summon dies or its timer expires.
NOTE: there are no “creeps”.
Types of Damage
The damage system is pretty simple:
->Magic type of damage: 125% damage to heroes, 75% to creatures, 100% to summons.
->Piercing type of damage: 75% damage to heroes, 125% to creatures, 100% to summons.
->Normal type of damage: 100% to all unit types.
GXP and IXP
->GXP stands for “group experience”. It is the only “classic” resource in the game -you might call it “gold” if you like. GXP is produced periodically by one type of building –more on that later-, by heroes just for being on the map, and also by killing other creatures and heroes –this is only true for one type of heroes, more on that later.
->IXP stands for “individual experience”. Heroes level up as they obtain more IXP. IXP can be obtained by killing units, using abilities, converting buildings –more on this below- and exchanging GXP for IXP –with a penalty. On few occasions, heroes can also obtain IXP just by attacking or staying alive.
*Exchanging GXP for IXP: every 5 seconds, you can decide to exchange some GXP among all allied heroes that are alive at that moment. For instance, you can exchange 100 GXP so 3 heroes obtain 16 IXP each, 2 heroes obtain 25 IXP each, or 1 hero obtains 50 IXP.
Buildings
To use most buildings in HD, you must have them converted to your side –heroes have a channelling Convert Building ability. This is, if a building is neutral, neither you nor the opponent can make use of it. If you control a building, only you can use it. A few are owned by players from the start, and cannot be converted. Some buildings can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to give a greater benefit, but upgrades stay for the whole game, even if the opponent converts it. You must make a decision with respect to these buildings: pay for the upgrade and risk the enemy converting it, wait for the opponent to upgrade it himself so you can convert it later, or just use the building “as is”, at level 1.
Here´s a list of the buildings that can be found on the map:
-Sanctuary: one per player, cannot be converted. Here you can trade GXP for IXP to level up heroes, reveal a small portion of the map periodically, and speed up hero revivals. Heroes revive at this building by default. There also several upgrades available here. It´s on one corner of the map, and the 2 starting heroes start close to it. The one who destroys the opponent´s sanctuary wins.
-Neutral Sanctuary: has to be converted, and there is only one. You can make your heroes revive at this building instead of at your sanctuary. The point being that it is located on the center of the map.
-GXP Fountain: 5 of them spread around the map, have to be converted. These produce GXP automatically. Can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to produce GXP faster. Each player starts with one of them converted (lvl 1) to speed up the early game.
-Tavern: one per player, cannot be converted. Here you can hide a hero for 30 seconds every 80 seconds, so the hero is safe. You can unhide the hero at any time in between the 30 seconds. Also at the tavern you get to choose the 3th hero. Some advanced upgrades for heroes can be found here.
-Creature Pit: located nearby the neutral sanctuary, it has to be converted. It is supposed to be a building that players will fight over -you can convert both the neutral sanctuary and creature pit at the same time with a single hero. Here you can train creatures in exchange for some GXP. Can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to have access to better creatures.
-Arcane Vault: 2 on the map, 1 for each player close to their sanctuary, cannot be converted. Here you can buy the basic items such as potions. Can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to have access to better items.
-Goblin Merchants: only 1 available, has to be converted. Here you can buy advanced items such as shields, etc. Can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to have access to better items.
-Dragon Roost: only 1 available, has to be converted. Here you can buy ancient items, more powerful and expensive. Can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to have access to better items.
-Old Man: only 1 available, has to be converted. Here you can level up a hero automatically for free, but just once per hero. There´s a cooldown for this. There also several upgrades available here.
-Book of Knowledge: only 1 available, has to be converted. The hero who converts this building is given a bonus to be chosen by the player.
-Way Gate: 2 of them on the map, have to be converted. You can use them to teleport your units from one side of the map to the other, gaining mobility.
Hero System
Heroes are a bit more complex than those in WC3, but it´s still manageable. The max level is 12, and each hero has:
-Innate/Bonus abilities
-Individual bonus
-Type-of-hero bonus
-Up to 5 learnable abilities.
They have 4 characteristics that determine the value of a bunch of attributes:
Physical (per point)
+55 max HPs per point
+1´5 attack damage
+0´13 HPs/second regeneration
Dexterity
+4 movement speed
-0´04 attack speed cooldown
+0´5 armor
+2 IXP per unit killed
Mental
+15 max mana.
+0´04 mana points/second regeneration.
+1 IXP per spell cast or ability used (per 2 points)
Charisma
+1 damage, +3 speed, +15 max HPs to each allied creature
+1 GXP/every 2 seconds that the hero is alive
-2 seconds to revival time
+2 IXP per building converted
*These are the 4 types of heroes and their bonuses:
-Combat heroes: produce some GXP after killing an enemy creature or hero.
-Leaders: 50% bigger command radius –which affects the AoE of some spells/auras-, and 1 bonus Charisma point at lvls 4 and 8.
-Mages: 25% spell resistance, and an ability that gives some Physical points temporarily.
-Support heroes: can drop, sell, and give items to other units –rest of the heroes/units cannot do that.
NOTE1: Charisma points are a bit harder to come by than the others.
NOTE2: Heroes can be revived instantly by paying some GXP.
NOTE3: Heroes also have an initial Convert Building ability to speed up the early game.
-To see some examples of heroes in detail, check out some of these links:
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Clan_AWCS/index.php?showtopic=592
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Clan_AWCS/index.php?showtopic=590
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Clan_AWCS/index.php?showtopic=591
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Clan_AWCS/index.php?showtopic=589
Specialities
Once a hero reaches level 5 –maybe 4 in the future- it can choose an speciality. Specialities are supposed to add depth, fun, and make the heroes more unique. Suppose you have a combat hero: you might decide to turn it into a defensive powerhouse, or an attacking machine -make it a 10/0 hero, or morelike a 5/5 hero, if you know what I mean. Combined with the 5 learnable abilities for heroes, there are endless combinations!
This is one feature I really tried to get right and so I put lots of time into it. Here they are in detail:
And the table for download: http://www.wikiupload.com/download_page.php?id=68668
More on Creatures
Creatures are trained at the Creature Pit. They go up in rank every time they kill a hero or 2 creatures, or once they stay alive for some time –whichever of these 3 conditions happens first, then they are reset.
Each creature has one ability at first. Once it goes up to rank 2, it has acess to a second ability. And at rank 3, it has acess to a third ability, the last one, a powerful one. If it goes up more ranks, the stats are improved considerably. The rank limit is 6. Creatures are able to carry 2 items. Some items are specific to creatures. Some give a greater benefit to summons and creatures than to heroes –this is because once a creature dies the item is lost, while an item carried by a hero stays when the hero revives. A creature of high rank can be as effective as a high level hero, watch out!
The idea is that it should be possible to base an strat/playstyle around creatures, using one or more heroes as support. It should not be more or less effective than going just with the heroes and try to make them all powerful: it should be an alternative way of playing the game. Creatures are probably my favourite part of the game.
There´s 3 tiers of creatures:
-Tier 1- level 1 Creature Pit: Wisp, Skeleton Warrior, Marksman. Only 3 of each type can be on the map at the same type. In the case of wisps, a max of 2 per player. 1 food per creature. They take 7 seconds to train.
-Tier 2- level 2 Creature Pit: Holy Soldier, Druid of the Claw, Insane Troll, Tuskarr Healer. Only 2 of each type can be on the map at the same type. 2 food per creature. They take 12 seconds to train.
-Tier 3- level 3 Creature Pit: Tauren, Eredar Sorcerer, Ursa Furlborg. Only 1 of each type can be on the map at the same type. 3 food per creature. They take 17 seconds to train.
Players start with a 7 food limit, which can be improved.
Here´s the different ranks creatures can obtain:
-Rank 1: Trainee (starting one)
-Rank 2: Competent
-Rank 3: Veteran
-Rank 4: Elite
-Rank 5: Champion
-Rank 6: Master
Check the following table for info on each type of creature:
http://www.wikiupload.com/download_page.php?id=68662
Summons
Check the following table for info on each type of summon:
http://www.wikiupload.com/download_page.php?id=68671
Upgrades
There are basically 2 types of upgrades in HD. Those that give the player a permanent benefit, and those that give a temporary benefit.
All upgrades can be “used”/purchased only once in the same game.
This is the chart for the upgrades available and a description of them:
http://www.wikiupload.com/download_page.php?id=68674
Closing
I have high hopes for this mod. If we could manage to fix all bugs and make the early game really fast paced, as well as balance it all, I can´t see where the limit is with this game! This is all wishful thinking though, we haven´t even tested the gameplay. The mod isn´t finished.
Looking further down the road, I hope some game similar to this could be made from scratch. Maybe a new type of RTS. One can only dream!
Some comments for those testing it:
-Use heroes to convert buildings.
-Each hero has a 2-letter-code that has to be typed before the first timer wears off in order to choose said hero. If not, the system will choose 2 randomly for you.
-Check out the "Info" button on the top left corner for some help and shortcuts to see some info on the map.
-Type "lvl" to level up a hero automatically and check out specialities and abilities. This is obviously for testing purposes only.
Link to download the mod: http://www.sendspace.com/file/zljb4c
Why am I posting it?
I am posting it because the mod is pretty much playable already, and I am looking for feedback and just to see the general reaction to it. I am aware that 1v1 mods aren´t popular, but that just means I have less competition hahaha. No, seriously, I hope 2v2 and 3v3 will be playable one day.
Game Mechanics
Introduction
Hero Dynamics –HD from now on- is supposed to be a fast-paced, small 1v1 map/mod that focuses on small scale battles and strategic decisions. Games in HD are pretty dynamic: your units´ stats change constantly, and the player that is down can always turn the game around. There are virtually endless ways to approach the game, and it requires that you make one decision after another. The main goal: to reach your victory condition.
Individually, you won´t find a single feature that´s innovative here. Taken as a whole, it is probably unlike anything you´ve played before.
Link to download mod: http://www.sendspace.com/file/zljb4c
Heroes and other Units
There are 3 types of units in HD: heroes, creatures, and summons.
->Heroes: your main units. In plural. You control up to 3 heroes in the same game. You start with 2 and train the 3rd one a bit later on. They level up and learn abilities, getting quite powerful as the game progresses. If they die, they revive automatically, for free, though they do take time to revive. When a hero reaches level 5, you can choose an speciality for it. There´s more depth to the heroes that you must know about when playing –more on this under “Hero System” below. Heroes can be upgraded in groups –you upgrade all 3 heroes- or you can purchase individual items for one of them.
->Creatures: creatures are trained at a building, and are supposed to support you heroes. You can win without using creatures. Creature go up in rank as they stay alive for more time and kill heroes and other creatures, but they do not revive. Creatures have their own abilities, and can also carry 2 items, which are lost when the creature dies. Many items have a greater effect on creatures than they do on heroes. A highly ranked creature can be very powerful.
->Summons: summons are basically the rest of the units you´ll find in the game; they aren´t heroes and they aren´t trained at a building. Some summons disappear after a time, but others stay until they are killed. They normally have 1-3 abilities, and can carry 1 item, which disappears if the summon dies or its timer expires.
NOTE: there are no “creeps”.
Types of Damage
The damage system is pretty simple:
->Magic type of damage: 125% damage to heroes, 75% to creatures, 100% to summons.
->Piercing type of damage: 75% damage to heroes, 125% to creatures, 100% to summons.
->Normal type of damage: 100% to all unit types.
GXP and IXP
->GXP stands for “group experience”. It is the only “classic” resource in the game -you might call it “gold” if you like. GXP is produced periodically by one type of building –more on that later-, by heroes just for being on the map, and also by killing other creatures and heroes –this is only true for one type of heroes, more on that later.
->IXP stands for “individual experience”. Heroes level up as they obtain more IXP. IXP can be obtained by killing units, using abilities, converting buildings –more on this below- and exchanging GXP for IXP –with a penalty. On few occasions, heroes can also obtain IXP just by attacking or staying alive.
*Exchanging GXP for IXP: every 5 seconds, you can decide to exchange some GXP among all allied heroes that are alive at that moment. For instance, you can exchange 100 GXP so 3 heroes obtain 16 IXP each, 2 heroes obtain 25 IXP each, or 1 hero obtains 50 IXP.
Buildings
To use most buildings in HD, you must have them converted to your side –heroes have a channelling Convert Building ability. This is, if a building is neutral, neither you nor the opponent can make use of it. If you control a building, only you can use it. A few are owned by players from the start, and cannot be converted. Some buildings can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to give a greater benefit, but upgrades stay for the whole game, even if the opponent converts it. You must make a decision with respect to these buildings: pay for the upgrade and risk the enemy converting it, wait for the opponent to upgrade it himself so you can convert it later, or just use the building “as is”, at level 1.
Here´s a list of the buildings that can be found on the map:
-Sanctuary: one per player, cannot be converted. Here you can trade GXP for IXP to level up heroes, reveal a small portion of the map periodically, and speed up hero revivals. Heroes revive at this building by default. There also several upgrades available here. It´s on one corner of the map, and the 2 starting heroes start close to it. The one who destroys the opponent´s sanctuary wins.
-Neutral Sanctuary: has to be converted, and there is only one. You can make your heroes revive at this building instead of at your sanctuary. The point being that it is located on the center of the map.
-GXP Fountain: 5 of them spread around the map, have to be converted. These produce GXP automatically. Can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to produce GXP faster. Each player starts with one of them converted (lvl 1) to speed up the early game.
-Tavern: one per player, cannot be converted. Here you can hide a hero for 30 seconds every 80 seconds, so the hero is safe. You can unhide the hero at any time in between the 30 seconds. Also at the tavern you get to choose the 3th hero. Some advanced upgrades for heroes can be found here.
-Creature Pit: located nearby the neutral sanctuary, it has to be converted. It is supposed to be a building that players will fight over -you can convert both the neutral sanctuary and creature pit at the same time with a single hero. Here you can train creatures in exchange for some GXP. Can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to have access to better creatures.
-Arcane Vault: 2 on the map, 1 for each player close to their sanctuary, cannot be converted. Here you can buy the basic items such as potions. Can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to have access to better items.
-Goblin Merchants: only 1 available, has to be converted. Here you can buy advanced items such as shields, etc. Can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to have access to better items.
-Dragon Roost: only 1 available, has to be converted. Here you can buy ancient items, more powerful and expensive. Can be upgraded to levels 2 and 3 to have access to better items.
-Old Man: only 1 available, has to be converted. Here you can level up a hero automatically for free, but just once per hero. There´s a cooldown for this. There also several upgrades available here.
-Book of Knowledge: only 1 available, has to be converted. The hero who converts this building is given a bonus to be chosen by the player.
-Way Gate: 2 of them on the map, have to be converted. You can use them to teleport your units from one side of the map to the other, gaining mobility.
Hero System
Heroes are a bit more complex than those in WC3, but it´s still manageable. The max level is 12, and each hero has:
-Innate/Bonus abilities
-Individual bonus
-Type-of-hero bonus
-Up to 5 learnable abilities.
They have 4 characteristics that determine the value of a bunch of attributes:
Physical (per point)
+55 max HPs per point
+1´5 attack damage
+0´13 HPs/second regeneration
Dexterity
+4 movement speed
-0´04 attack speed cooldown
+0´5 armor
+2 IXP per unit killed
Mental
+15 max mana.
+0´04 mana points/second regeneration.
+1 IXP per spell cast or ability used (per 2 points)
Charisma
+1 damage, +3 speed, +15 max HPs to each allied creature
+1 GXP/every 2 seconds that the hero is alive
-2 seconds to revival time
+2 IXP per building converted
*These are the 4 types of heroes and their bonuses:
-Combat heroes: produce some GXP after killing an enemy creature or hero.
-Leaders: 50% bigger command radius –which affects the AoE of some spells/auras-, and 1 bonus Charisma point at lvls 4 and 8.
-Mages: 25% spell resistance, and an ability that gives some Physical points temporarily.
-Support heroes: can drop, sell, and give items to other units –rest of the heroes/units cannot do that.
NOTE1: Charisma points are a bit harder to come by than the others.
NOTE2: Heroes can be revived instantly by paying some GXP.
NOTE3: Heroes also have an initial Convert Building ability to speed up the early game.
-To see some examples of heroes in detail, check out some of these links:
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Clan_AWCS/index.php?showtopic=592
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Clan_AWCS/index.php?showtopic=590
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Clan_AWCS/index.php?showtopic=591
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Clan_AWCS/index.php?showtopic=589
Specialities
Once a hero reaches level 5 –maybe 4 in the future- it can choose an speciality. Specialities are supposed to add depth, fun, and make the heroes more unique. Suppose you have a combat hero: you might decide to turn it into a defensive powerhouse, or an attacking machine -make it a 10/0 hero, or morelike a 5/5 hero, if you know what I mean. Combined with the 5 learnable abilities for heroes, there are endless combinations!
This is one feature I really tried to get right and so I put lots of time into it. Here they are in detail:
And the table for download: http://www.wikiupload.com/download_page.php?id=68668
More on Creatures
Creatures are trained at the Creature Pit. They go up in rank every time they kill a hero or 2 creatures, or once they stay alive for some time –whichever of these 3 conditions happens first, then they are reset.
Each creature has one ability at first. Once it goes up to rank 2, it has acess to a second ability. And at rank 3, it has acess to a third ability, the last one, a powerful one. If it goes up more ranks, the stats are improved considerably. The rank limit is 6. Creatures are able to carry 2 items. Some items are specific to creatures. Some give a greater benefit to summons and creatures than to heroes –this is because once a creature dies the item is lost, while an item carried by a hero stays when the hero revives. A creature of high rank can be as effective as a high level hero, watch out!
The idea is that it should be possible to base an strat/playstyle around creatures, using one or more heroes as support. It should not be more or less effective than going just with the heroes and try to make them all powerful: it should be an alternative way of playing the game. Creatures are probably my favourite part of the game.
There´s 3 tiers of creatures:
-Tier 1- level 1 Creature Pit: Wisp, Skeleton Warrior, Marksman. Only 3 of each type can be on the map at the same type. In the case of wisps, a max of 2 per player. 1 food per creature. They take 7 seconds to train.
-Tier 2- level 2 Creature Pit: Holy Soldier, Druid of the Claw, Insane Troll, Tuskarr Healer. Only 2 of each type can be on the map at the same type. 2 food per creature. They take 12 seconds to train.
-Tier 3- level 3 Creature Pit: Tauren, Eredar Sorcerer, Ursa Furlborg. Only 1 of each type can be on the map at the same type. 3 food per creature. They take 17 seconds to train.
Players start with a 7 food limit, which can be improved.
Here´s the different ranks creatures can obtain:
-Rank 1: Trainee (starting one)
-Rank 2: Competent
-Rank 3: Veteran
-Rank 4: Elite
-Rank 5: Champion
-Rank 6: Master
Check the following table for info on each type of creature:
http://www.wikiupload.com/download_page.php?id=68662
Summons
Check the following table for info on each type of summon:
http://www.wikiupload.com/download_page.php?id=68671
Upgrades
There are basically 2 types of upgrades in HD. Those that give the player a permanent benefit, and those that give a temporary benefit.
All upgrades can be “used”/purchased only once in the same game.
This is the chart for the upgrades available and a description of them:
http://www.wikiupload.com/download_page.php?id=68674
Closing
I have high hopes for this mod. If we could manage to fix all bugs and make the early game really fast paced, as well as balance it all, I can´t see where the limit is with this game! This is all wishful thinking though, we haven´t even tested the gameplay. The mod isn´t finished.
Looking further down the road, I hope some game similar to this could be made from scratch. Maybe a new type of RTS. One can only dream!
Some comments for those testing it:
-Use heroes to convert buildings.
-Each hero has a 2-letter-code that has to be typed before the first timer wears off in order to choose said hero. If not, the system will choose 2 randomly for you.
-Check out the "Info" button on the top left corner for some help and shortcuts to see some info on the map.
-Type "lvl" to level up a hero automatically and check out specialities and abilities. This is obviously for testing purposes only.
Link to download the mod: http://www.sendspace.com/file/zljb4c
). I just want to know one thing - How did you make 4 attributes? Did you use an item that can stack or something like that..?
