Sagas - An RPG, again

[Steel]

Sagas - Offical Beta v1.5 released

The Beta Version 1.5 is here. Visit the forums to find a download of the map or click Public Beta Version 1.5. Report any bugs you find to the forums please or by email found under contact please. I know there are a ton of them, I'm working fixing tons of things as I find them.

Progress
Completion - 99%

Items 100% (Progressively Updated)
Creeps 100% (Progressively Updated)
Quests 100% (Progressively Updated)

Those with Progressively Updated mean that they are at 100% but are constantly updated with the progression of the game. When more is added it just adds to the existing completion.





Game Features

Concept: The game is based around the concept from many popular MMORPGS. There are many ideas from that game that have been WarCraft III'ed into this map. You will notice ideas and images from EverQuest all the way to World of Warcraft.

Zoning System: Areas of the map are broken into "zones". Each zone has a different difficulty, some zones have requirements for entering them let it be a key, a quest, or a minimum level. This system is rarely seen in many maps, it restricts the field of vision for a player to a given area. This is a feature that allows players to have sectioned off areas much like other RPGS. It is great for dividing up difficult areas of the game with easier ones. It is also very nice to if you need to hide during those PvP times!

Hero Selection: The map features a very unique hero selection system, the template designed by Magos, with alterations made by me. The hero selection method allows a user to view detailed information about the hero they are debating to choose before they make their decision. When a hero is selected, the unit grows in size and rotates slowly, it is visually stimulating!

Combat System: The map uses a unique system for combat. Damage values follow appropriately with any unit, but the armor values are all at the 0%, the standard Warcraft III armor values are percentage based, in this map though the armor values are a straight value. If you get hit for 10 damage and have 5 armor, you take only 5 damage. The armor value is not shown on the unit itself, but rather in the Multiboard.

Character Classes: The classes in this map closely resemble many RPGs, but it is difficult to deviate from what is tradition, so the map hasn't. The map has 14 functioning classes, but may so more as time progresses.. After the base are completeled and balance is relatively even, I will create additional classes that break out from the standard feel. The spells are done entirely in JASS allowing for multi-instances of spells and a great deal of efficency with no memory leaks. Although the spells and such are designed to make for the feel of most RPGs, the spells are designed around the basics of ideas, although some are very unique.

Terrain: The Terrain has been a constant struggle in this map. I am a perfectionist and the map has seen 3 Terrain artists and 4 overhauls. The current, and final version of the terrain yields credit to Krewl Rain of Clan TDG. The terrain previous to her work was very fitting for the map, but the size just resulted in too many problems. I would like to extend a very warm thank you to Millie and Lewt.

Summoned Pets: The summoned pets will automatically follow the hero. The unit will follow closely and automatically attack units which attack the hero. The pets follow a generic AI coded into the game. Unit's with abilities will automatically use them accordingly. This allows the Player to focus on their Hero primarly, instead of dealing with 2 units at the same time. Beware players...the pets can get you into troule!

Creep Respawn System: Forgot to put in one of the best features about this map, the creep respawn system allows for units to respawn in their original position. The JASS trigger is only about 150 characters long and it takes care of every unit. I've also encoded different respawn times for each area so units from different areas will take longer to respawn than other. Boss mobs will behave on their own system [re]spawn trigger.

Multiboard System: Much like a traditional Multiboard, the one in this map houses player data for the user to see. The armor of a unit is not displayed on the unit itself, so for a player to see this information it has been placed on the Multiboard. This is standard for most Multiboards in maps, but the unique feature in EQSagas is that the buffs are listed and recorded onto the Multiboard itself. This allows eliminates limitations given from the World Editor, and also gives a very nice twist to PvP combat. Enemy players can no longer see what buffs you have!

Save / Load Feature System: The system allows a user to save every aspect of their game experience with a code. The save / load features have been completely reworked. A simple -save will take all of your character's data and generate a code for you. The code saves quite a bit of data so please understand it may be lengthy. It saves your Hero, Hero's Level, Hero's Experience, Hero's Stats, Your resources, Your items, Your Backpack's items (Yes, all 18!), and it personalizes your code to your name for security. The length of the code is roughly 35-40 characters long.

Attribute System: Thanks to weaaddar's system players can customize their unit's stats. The stats are saved and loaded, this means no two heros will be alike. Each player will carry further uniqueness with their playing.

Backpack System: This system has been designed to allow users to carry 18 items in a backpack that are saved with their hero. The backpack can be recalled at any time to take out items at will. If the hero's inventory is full and they go to pick up an item, it will be automatically moved to their backpack. When saving all 18 items inside the backpack will be saved, including the 6 on the hero itself.

Equipment System: This is relatively simple, it allows for a user, depending on their class to only weild one weapon, one shield, one piece of armor, etc...

Experience System: The system allows for experience only in certain situations. Quests can yield experience, killing standard units can yield experience, but killing Boss units or unique spawns rewards players with the most experience. The system scales experience per level, more experience required for higher levels. Experience has a level range limit too, you can only be within certain levels of an enemy to receive experience. Ontop of that limit, there is an actual range (distance) measurement that also exists. You must be within a certain distance to gain experience.

Item Drop System: Coupled with the Experience system comes the Item Drop System. The two systems function together to give proper Experience and Items based on your hero's level and the enemy's level. Each unit can hold 10 (Subject to change for bosses) different items to drop and drop on a percentage based scale (1-100%). The system is written entirely in JASS and has a built in error system if anything should go wrong with it. The system is also completely leak free.

Buff System: This system allows for multiple buffs of the same type to stack. Now this does not mean that Flowing Thought I will stack with Flowing Thought II, but rather 3 types of Hitpoint regeneration spells can stack. The system is completely leak free, it handles every unit at the same time. The system has been redesigned from scratch 3 times now, and should finally function without error

Player vs Player (Coming Soon): Always a favorite subject, PvP combat. The game is setup to handle player versus player combat. The triggers all can allocate damage properly, to trigger the system you must unally via commands with other players. But beware, you won't be friendly to townsfolk. You also cannot go hostile with anyone at anytime, this would result in rampant killing when an ally gets low. You must be in town to go hostile with others. This will not initially provoke the guards, but after you attack another player, you will be seen as an enemy to the townsfolk. Hostility to townsfokl reset upon death.

And much much more...

Gallery


The layout of the following pictures has since been changed. But they are still nice to look at. The new terrain is just as beautiful but I have yet to capture any pictures. Click Here to view all of the older screenshots.

For more images click the Gallery link above


Contact Info
Contact Info:
Email: [email protected]
Msn [email protected] MSN is buggy for me (Not best option)
Yahoo: pjb0404
AIM: HSDAP
ICQ: I hate icq
Forums: Just leave a post, or a private message

"Jobs"
Game Tester [Status: Open] - Obviously the most sought after position, everyone can do this! I am a member of Clan TDG, we have testing nights quite often and we test a variety of maps, this one included. If you are interested stop by the channel (Clan TDG @ USEast) and as about testing. If anyone asks, tell them you read this post. When testing the only thing you need to do is try and have fun, I know there are a lot of bugs, I'm working as hard as I can to fix them and it will only be faster if you help report them to me.
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Link to website: http://steel.nrgservers.net/
Link to forums: http://steel.nrgservers.net/forums
Public Beta Version 1.5:
Direct Download

 

[Vulcansurge]

This... Looks... AMAZING! I will test if you want.

Heres what i thought as i was playing; the terrain is awesome, the backpack is awesome, you need to take more care with pathing blockers, why is the map so small?, i love the attention to detail!, im guessing im only in one section of the map and you've locked the camera bounds until i leave to another section..., cant wait till i get to that big city with the sunken ruins walls!, the save code looks allright, i love the hero selection system!!, i love how you can walk though trees as though they were a tree wall, BUG: My spells are gone! AHH, BUG: My backpack doesnt seem to be working. hrm..., cant get out of this region!, give more guidance pls!, where are all the other quests?, dammit i have to stop playing.

That was just a rough list a had as i was playing, hope it helps.

I also suggest you scale down your pictures a little and make sure you fix the links to the fist few which dont work.

 

[Badozz]

terraining is amazing i should really try it
good job !

 

[Steel]

This... Looks... AMAZING! I will test if you want.

Heres what i thought as i was playing; the terrain is awesome, the backpack is awesome, you need to take more care with pathing blockers, why is the map so small?, i love the attention to detail!, im guessing im only in one section of the map and you've locked the camera bounds until i leave to another section..., cant wait till i get to that big city with the sunken ruins walls!, the save code looks allright, i love the hero selection system!!, i love how you can walk though trees as though they were a tree wall, BUG: My spells are gone! AHH, BUG: My backpack doesnt seem to be working. hrm..., cant get out of this region!, give more guidance pls!, where are all the other quests?, dammit i have to stop playing.

That was just a rough list a had as i was playing, hope it helps.

I also suggest you scale down your pictures a little and make sure you fix the links to the fist few which dont work.

I hope you enjoyed it. Now...Yes, the map is small because the region is fixed to the one you are in, hehe Ill open the other areas up after I scale the enemy units properly. Sorry for the save code, its extremely detailed, houses a lot of data, and is 100% secure.

The spells are only completely enabled for this version, I wanted people to check out how they function. But, when you repick, all of the abilities become how they should, disabled. The only one that is semi-funcitonal for play after being disabled is the Cleric. I'll be going down alphabetically, after I go back up to the Bard.

If you could give me some more detail about the backpack problem that would be great. I'm assuming it was maybe after a repick and it wasn't storing items properly?

Also about the terrain and everything, the pictures there are from the older terrain, the terrain in the map is much more detailed and looks just as good or even better.

Again, thanks for trying the map out. I appreciate it.

 

[Vulcansurge]

THe backback stopped after i died.

I recommend getting all new screenshots before you make a new version because they're really out of date.

I like the idea of regions, dont kill that please. It helped me focus on the terrain more. If you keep the terrian in regions, please take that picture off you minimap so we can actually use it (it wont matter if you use the whole map instead of regions, it will be too massive to see anything)

Great work! What about my Beta Tester job?

 

[pheonixashes]

This sounds interesting. I'll be a tester.

 

[Steel]

Updated the screenshots, there are only a very few but they show the new terrain. You can still view the older ones by clicking the gallery button on my website. If you're interested in testing, you can just continue watching here or my forums.

I've also fixed that backpack bug

 

[Vulcansurge]

any way you can make the screenshots smaller? You could try imageshack, and use thumbnails... Im having problems viewing them like this (its only the few at the bottom which are too large)...

 

[Steel]

Ill resize them later, it doesn't bother me as much because I run a huge resolution so I guess I just don't notice it.

Update to the game: I've been working diligently on updating all of the spells.

 

[Steel]

Newer version of the map is up. Bard, Cleric and Druid are done (save 1 skill). Again, please note this is still very much in testing.

 

[Cookie]

Wow... lol.... this is... amazing? lol very detailed, and I love... well everything! ... This is a great achievement... you should be extremely happy with your self

 

[IKilledKEnny]

This looks great, I could help, but I have my 2 projects and other few others ones that I promised I would help a little here and there so please do note that if you will accept me for helping, I'll have limited time.

> What I am not looking for:
Someone to make suggestions about new heros, or new spells, or new items, or new units. I don't need this. This is the easy stuff.

Good, I suck at those things anyway.

> What I am looking for / Requirements: Firstly, I will never give out an unprotected copy of the map.

Too bad I usually don't support unprotected maps, but with the huge work you have done here, I completely understand why you want to protect this.

> If you are designing things for my map, you will make a template system that is either designed for my map, or I can adapt to my map. I can make a system for any map from scratch without knowing anything about it, this is not hard to accomplish.

This will slow dramitaclly my work but if you insist...

> Secondly, I do use a spell template, and I use handle vars. If you know what handles are and you plan to use them I'll send you a copy of the functions so you can understand them and use them without overlapping compile errors.

If you mean KaTTaNa's handle var I got explanation from Tom Jones and read Daelin's tutorial about it, but I didn't got a chance to do a trigger that involves this system.

> Third, if you cannot communicate using proper english, then please do not waste my time. I can't stand people that talk in leet speak when talking about a something serious. In joking context or around friends I do not mind it but when you hear "yo man dat spell it brok y u gotta fix dat" I just want to strangle someone.

English is second language to me, however I usually try to speak with completed words ('you' and not 'u') and I try to watch my grammar, but still I make spelling mistakes and such. If it really bothers you there is a great web dictionary I could use.

> Unit Designer [Status: Open] - Creating units is a huge part of the map, probably the biggest thing there is to do. It takes a GREAT deal of time to balance out units hit points, attack speed, armor, damage and level to the hero's stats. I would require you to use some sort of system to note everything down. I use Excel myself so I can gauge how things will stack up. Its a wonderful tool for balancing, but I don't require it. This is by far the most complex, time consuming and difficult job.

We get to trigger spells for units? If not I'm out unfortunetly.

Systems Designer [Status: Closed] - This is basically the most extensive and demanding job next to unit balancing. This is designing a system that can be used in the map an example would be a Save / Load System or a Backpack system, or an Equipment system or a "Set Item" system. There are numerous projects in which I need done, each one takes me quite a bit of time to refine and tune, help would speed things up greatly.

That what I wanted to do, oh well.

> Game Tester [Status: Open] - Obviously the most sought after position, almost everyone wants to do this. I do make releases publically, but this is after the the testers get a hold of things. I have several releases between game version to make sure everything in the changelog actually happened. The job of testers right now is very extensive, especially since the map is moving into Beta Stages.

I'll be glad to test, just know that I notice little parts ("rabbits in a desert?!") so I might get a little annoying if I see few things that could be worked on. I play on Europian server but it's not problem to create a new user. My WC3 name is suprisingly IKilledKenny or NiceMurderer.

 

[Steel]

This looks great, I could help, but I have my 2 projects and other few others ones that I promised I would help a little here and there so please do note that if you will accept me for helping, I'll have limited time.

> What I am not looking for:
Someone to make suggestions about new heros, or new spells, or new items, or new units. I don't need this. This is the easy stuff.

Good, I suck at those things anyway.

> What I am looking for / Requirements: Firstly, I will never give out an unprotected copy of the map.

Too bad I usually don't support unprotected maps, but with the huge work you have done here, I completely understand why you want to protect this.

> If you are designing things for my map, you will make a template system that is either designed for my map, or I can adapt to my map. I can make a system for any map from scratch without knowing anything about it, this is not hard to accomplish.

This will slow dramitaclly my work but if you insist...

> Secondly, I do use a spell template, and I use handle vars. If you know what handles are and you plan to use them I'll send you a copy of the functions so you can understand them and use them without overlapping compile errors.

If you mean KaTTaNa's handle var I got explanation from Tom Jones and read Daelin's tutorial about it, but I didn't got a chance to do a trigger that involves this system.

> Third, if you cannot communicate using proper english, then please do not waste my time. I can't stand people that talk in leet speak when talking about a something serious. In joking context or around friends I do not mind it but when you hear "yo man dat spell it brok y u gotta fix dat" I just want to strangle someone.

English is second language to me, however I usually try to speak with completed words ('you' and not 'u') and I try to watch my grammar, but still I make spelling mistakes and such. If it really bothers you there is a great web dictionary I could use.

> Unit Designer [Status: Open] - Creating units is a huge part of the map, probably the biggest thing there is to do. It takes a GREAT deal of time to balance out units hit points, attack speed, armor, damage and level to the hero's stats. I would require you to use some sort of system to note everything down. I use Excel myself so I can gauge how things will stack up. Its a wonderful tool for balancing, but I don't require it. This is by far the most complex, time consuming and difficult job.

We get to trigger spells for units? If not I'm out unfortunetly.

Systems Designer [Status: Closed] - This is basically the most extensive and demanding job next to unit balancing. This is designing a system that can be used in the map an example would be a Save / Load System or a Backpack system, or an Equipment system or a "Set Item" system. There are numerous projects in which I need done, each one takes me quite a bit of time to refine and tune, help would speed things up greatly.

That what I wanted to do, oh well.

> Game Tester [Status: Open] - Obviously the most sought after position, almost everyone wants to do this. I do make releases publically, but this is after the the testers get a hold of things. I have several releases between game version to make sure everything in the changelog actually happened. The job of testers right now is very extensive, especially since the map is moving into Beta Stages.

I'll be glad to test, just know that I notice little parts ("rabbits in a desert?!") so I might get a little annoying if I see few things that could be worked on. I play on Europian server but it's not problem to create a new user. My WC3 name is suprisingly IKilledKenny or NiceMurderer.

I appreciate your interest, the "Job" of systems design you wanted is closed yes, I only have 1 system currently to design and even most of the advanced JASSers here cannot aid me, so I'm attempting many procedures myself. Although, there will be more systems to come later, I have everything I need done now. My systems are very user friendly and easy to follow. I kept them fairly simple. If you want I can give you some of my older systems and you can attempt to optimize them. An example would be the item drop system I have made, I don't like how messy the code I have is and I'd need to revamp it.

For Unit Design, yes, you would design the units (IE: A spell caster), then make the spells for that unit (Abilities and triggers for them if necessary). Making a template spell would be best then you can increment things from there.

Testing is harder to do at this point since there aren't enough people interested to try it out yet, but if you are still interested, PM me.

 

[Lord]

Awesome terrain dude!
Kepp it up! xD

 

[IKilledKEnny]

Yes then steel, I would love to help! Do you have MSN?

My E-mail and MSN address are:

[email protected]

Feel free to contact me if you want me to help you, it seems like it would be a great fun!

 

[trees123]

Hey this game looks fun I can be a game tester if you need anymore

 

[Steel]

Updates on the game, I've been working on things here and there to improve the game, mostly working on spells for the heros now.

 

[Steel]

Another update to my map! I have revamped the section about jobs, if you are interested in working for this project, please read the first post or just email me at [email protected]. I could use a lot of help from anyone who is willing to give it.

Any bugs about the game feel free to post here. I've taken care of a few mentioned to me already, thank you to those that reported them!

I would like to have everything finished by June 10th, but things in life can come up at any time so hopefully my time management will allow this to work out.

 

[Steel]

A few days late of my planned release date, but the official v1.0 release is here! Its got some bugs to work out...but it is functional and hopefully to you players very enjoyable.

 

[Steel]

I've fixed a very large amount of bugs, v1.1 will be out sometime later today.

List of changes can be seen here: http://steel.nrgservers.net/changelog.html