SC2 AoS Brainstorming

04-13-2009, 11:43 PM

Alright guys, so I've pretty much retired from wc3 modding and I'm already looking toward starcraft 2 modding. I'm going to make a solid map for sc2 which is the culmination of everything I have learned about map design and hero dynamics. I'm making a few assumptions about what I'll be able to do in sc2, such as being able to trigger cooldowns, and being able to make custom models to fit my vision.

What I'm looking for in this topic is genuine feedback about any flaws in my design, or any suggestions about my currently planned heroes. If you want to come up with suggestions for more heroes you can, but try to keep these mostly to themes and loose strategies, not detailed skills.

Note: Many skill and hero names are temporary and will be changed. You are welcome to suggest substitute names.

Map Overview

04-13-2009, 11:44 PM

Szythe

Heroes

Terran Heroes:

Name	Ability 1	Ability 2	Ability 3	Passive	Ultimate
DEMOLITION EXPERT	Repeater Self-Buff. Greatly increases attack speed. Every time you attack, there is a % chance that the buff will end and the cooldown will begin.	Rocket Turret Places a turret in front of the hero, aiming at target point. Lasts forever until killed. When killed, fires a rocket toward the predetermined point.	Echo Grenade Throws a grenade which bounces/rolls/stops at target point. Whenever the grenade is damaged, it releases shrapnel, damages all nearby enemies, and rolls a bit.	Sabotage Whenever the hero damages an enemy, they lose X mana and all abilities currently on cooldown gain Y seconds of cooldown.	Barrage Channeling, targeting an area. As you channel, the area shrinks from 600 to 300. When you stop channeling or when it hits 300 area, you fire X rockets which land randomly within the area.
ICE SNIPER	Aim Cast for 2 seconds targetting a point. You armor is decreased while casting. Fires a high-damage bullet towards the point when you finish casting.	Deep Freeze Fires an ice bullet toward target point. Units hit will be slowed and have a % chance to "shatter" when they take damage, causing the damage to double. There is a greater chance of shattering the higher the damage dealt.	Trap Places a trap at target point. Lasts forever until killed, and does not detonate unless killed. When detonated, damages nearby enemies and knocks them back.	Ice Veins While stationary, the hero's cooldowns refresh X% faster.	Cold Blooded Self-Buff. You gain X% bonus damage, plus Y% bonus damage for each enemy hero you've killed. If you die, this number is reset.
JUGGERNAUGHT	Devastate Fires 2 rockets per second toward target area. Lasts X seconds. Not channeling: can be used while moving.	Spider Mines X Spider Mines fly out of the hero. Spider Mines roam around like wc3 critters, and detonate on nearby enemies.	Reinforce Hero is healed for the total damage it has taken in the past X seconds. Grants bonus armor for several seconds.	Momentum For every X distance traveled by this hero, it gains 5% damage. Lasts until you die.	Demolish Metamorphasis. Lasts X seconds. Hero becomes immobile, and his ability cooldowns are greatly reduced.
MEDIC (Standard Starcraft Medic)	Contagion Target unit loses all debuffs, and enemy units near the primary target gain those debuffs.	Blind Launches a cannister at a point. Causes the first unit hit to miss on 100% of his attacks for several seconds.	Transfusion Debuff. Heals target over time, but causes them to take X% more damage from all sources.	Mutation Whenever a nearby ally loses a buff, it is healed for X. Whenever a nearby enemy loses a buff, it is damaged for X.	Shield Channeling. Target unit can't take damage while it has at least one buff/debuff on it.
REAPER	Proximity Mine Target unit (Enemy, Self), Debuff. If two units with the Proximity Mine debuff come too close to each other, both detonate and deal X AoE damage.	Jump The hero quickly flies to target point. Medium range.	Incinerate Shoots a cone of flame toward target point. Deals X damage/sec to enemies hit. Lasts Y seconds.	Sadism For every X damage dealt by the hero, his cooldowns are decreased by 1 second.	Detonate Deals X damage to self and all nearby units (Ally and Enemy). Medium-short cooldown.
COMMANDER (Marine wielding a chain and wearing a beret. Battlescars and medals of valor across armor.)	Pull Lashes the chain toward target point X distance away and pulls the first unit (Ally or Enemy) hit 400 range toward hero.	Blade Shield Target unit (Ally, Enemy, Self) deals X damage/sec to enemies within 300 range of it.	Focus Fire Target enemy. Debuff. For each hero attacking target unit, it loses X armor.	Rampage All nearby units (Ally and Enemy) gain X% damage. 500-ish radius.	Hold Channeling. Hero continuously throws chains at target unit, making it immobile. Ends a second after the hero stops channeling, or after X seconds.

Protoss Heroes:

Name	Ability 1	Ability 2	Ability 3	Passive	Ultimate
TIME KEEPER (Modified Zealot. Fragile armor with blue crystals everywhere, and a blue glow.)	Ebb and Flow Buff. Target unit will lose X hp/sec for 2 seconds, then gain X hp/sec for 3 seconds.	Time Shift Blink to target point up to 2 seconds away (2 * your movespeed). Buffs, regeneration, etc on the hero all progress 2 seconds instantly. If ultimate was active, it deals 2 seconds worth of damage distributed over the distance traveled.	Recall Channeling. Summons an untargetable version of yourself from your position 2 seconds ago. The summon repeats every action you did during those 2 seconds.	Prophecy Whenever you cast a spell, you regain X mana 4 seconds later.	Shatter Self-Buff. Deals X damage/sec to nearby (200 range) enemies. Whenever an enemy enters this area, it is immobilized for 2 seconds.
ZEALOT	Counterattack Hero charges at the source of the most recent damage hero has taken. Attacks the unit and deals X bonus damage. Short cooldown.	Psi Blade Throws a psi blade which arcs toward target point and returns to the hero. Deals X damage to enemies hit, and deals double damage if the unit is moving.	Feedback Self-Buff. Attacks drain mana and deal X damage for each mana drained. Decreases attack speed by 50%.	Alacrity For every X distance traveled, hero's cooldowns will be shortened by 1 second.	Intensity Self-Buff. Hero deals bonus damage on attacks depending on the distance traveled since the last attack.
MIND BENDER	Soul Betrayal Puts target enemy to sleep for X seconds. Damage wakes the target up. While the enemy is asleep, an illusion of the target appears under hero's control. The illusion can only attack.	Psychic Barrier Buff (Ally or Enemy). All damage target takes is redirected to its mana pool. Consumes X mana per damage. Buff expires when mana reaches 0 or after Y seconds.	Pandora's Gift Target unit (Ally or Enemy). Transfers X mana from the hero to the target, and stuns the target for Y seconds.	Mind Ravel Drains X mana per second from nearby enemies which are not moving.	Psi Field Summons a storm on target area. Deals X damage/sec to enemies inside. Every time an enemy casts a spell within the field, its area will be increased.
ZER'ATAI SERVANT	Dark Pylon Summons a Dark Pylon at target point. While the hero is within X range of a Dark Pylon, it is invisible. Medium-Low hp, short cooldown.	Warp Teleports near target allied unit and deals X AoE damage upon landing. Can target Dark Pylons.	Sacrifice Hero loses X hit points, gains Y mana, and his cooldowns are refreshed by Z seconds.	Obscurity Allied units within 400 range gain X% evasion. Does not affect the Zer'atai Servant.	Stasis Blade Self-Buff. Whenever the hero attacks an enemy, it will be slowed by X% (large) for 3 seconds.
SERAPH	Divinity Debuff. Target unit gains greatly increased mana regeneration, but has its armor lowered by X. Lasts Y seconds.	Voidwalk Moves at an insane speed toward target point. Unlimited range. Costs X mana per Y distance traveled. Ends if your mana is depleted.	Vow of Silence All nearby enemies gain X second cooldown on every one of their abilities.	Redemption Hero drains X mana from nearby enemies if they have not cast a spell within the last 3 seconds. This value increases by Y every second that they do not cast a spell.	Penitance Self-Buff: Attacks do X additional damage for for each mana point you currently have greater than the target.

04-13-2009, 11:44 PM

Szythe

Heroes Continued

Zerg Heroes:

Name	Ability 1	Ability 2	Ability 3	Passive	Ultimate
BANELING	Chitnous Carapace Self-Buff. X% of all damage taken will be redirected to its source. Lasts Y seconds.	Charge Hero curls into a ball and rolls to target point. Steals X life from each enemy hit along the way.	Cripple Target Enemy. Melee Range. Deals X (minor) damage and causes every one of the target's abilities currently cooling down to have cooldown extended by Y seconds.	Regeneration Whenever you take damage, you will completely regenerate the damage taken over X (10-20ish) seconds.	Scourge Metamorphosis. Hero starts glowing green. For every X life healed by the hero, he deals Y AoE damage to nearby enemies.
TOXIC HUNTER	Venom Sacks Deals X damage to target unit and lowers its armor by Y for a few seconds. 20 sec cooldown. When it is cast, its cooldown will be decreased by the time since the last cast.	Spores Shoots X spores in target direction. Afflicted units will gain the Spore debuff, which lasts Y seconds. When the Spore debuff expires, the unit will take Z damage for each second the buff was on them.	Snare Self-Buff. Lasts a couple seconds. For every X damage targets receive from the hero while this buff is on, they will be slowed by 5% (stacks) for a long duration.	Prolong Debuffs on enemies that have been attacked by the hero within the past 3 seconds cannot expire. (they will remain at 0.1 sec until the unit has not been attacked for 3 sec)	Reckless Abandon Instantly resets all of the hero's cooldowns to 0 (except this ability). Adds the cooldown removed from each ability to the next use of that ability.
MUTATOR (Gelatinous alien with many legs. Looks like a shortened centipede that jiggles as it moves.)	Evolve Buff (Ally, Enemy, Self). Target unit gains a splash attack. (Visuals: Grow tentacles on its back which hit nearby targets upon attacks.)	Burrow Hero goes underground for X (short) seconds, making him invisible. Hero can move normally while underground.	Feast Sends out X small creatures to attack closest enemy. When killed, they deal AoE damage. Lasts Y seconds.	Adaptation Passively adds X hp/sec regeneration. For every Y hp regenerated by this skill, hero gains 1 armor. This armor lasts until the hero dies.	Diverge Splits the hero into 2 of itself. Both heroes have the same mana/cooldowns/buffs/armor that the hero originally had, and 50% of the original hit points. Cooldowns between the 2 units are shared. Damage dealt to one of the heroes heals the other for an equal amount.
MATRIARCH	Life Sac Target Area. Takes X life from every unit (Ally and Enemy) in the area and places a summon at the center with life equal to the total stolen. When an ally touches the sac it will be healed by the remaining life of it.	Brain Worms Summons a swarm of insects in target AoE. Every time a unit (Ally or Enemy) enters the area an insect will dissapear, and X mana will be drained from the unit and given to the Matriarch.	Erupt Buff. If target unit (Ally or Enemy) dies, it deals X% of its max hit points as damage to nearby enemies. If a unit is killed by this eruption, it will in turn erupt.	Hive Mind Every time a nearby ally is targeted by a spell, the Matriarch's cooldowns will be decreased by X sec. Can only trigger once per spell.	Manipulation Metamorphosis. While active, the hero is immobilized. Right-Clicking on an allied unit instantly swaps positions with it. Swapping has no cooldown.

04-14-2009, 12:31 AM

penguinJAM

When you say the builders will spawn every few seconds and build a defensive structure.. I do believe that that would create A LOT of structures. It could work if the time was changed to maybe, 5 minutes? Think about how fast time flies in an aos. And in all honesty, in the first 10 minutes where no real pushing occurs, there could be 100 towers in the middle of each lane for each team.

The whole voting process can piss people off when they dont get the team they want... people are babies and leave. I have seen people leave in dota when they got a hero they didn't want. There should be an "all pick" or "all random" mode, just for the heroes.

As for not rewarding people for killing heroes, that sort of destroys the main sport of an aos. If you ask people that play dota, most of them would agree that kills are more fun that actually pushing to the enemies base.

"Brain Bug" is an *ugh* name.

I wish you luck with your endeavor.

I can imagine it will be amazing if you can pull it off. First of its kind, and I have to say your ideas do sound like a nice twist to the cookie cutter aos (Dota has gotten so boring

04-14-2009, 01:19 AM

Szythe

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguinJAM

Buildings are weak and are meant to support the heroes. They will fall pretty easily with no team supporting them. No pushing in the first 10 minutes? why is this? There is fighting and pushing from the moment the game starts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguinJAM

The whole voting process can piss people off when they dont get the team they want... people are babies and leave. I have seen people leave in dota when they got a hero they didn't want. There should be an "all pick" or "all random" mode, just for the heroes.

Maybe I'll come up with some other way to pick. But keep in mind I'm not making this map for the masses of idiots. I'm making it for those who enjoy playing it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguinJAM

As for not rewarding people for killing heroes, that sort of destroys the main sport of an aos. If you ask people that play dota, most of them would agree that kills are more fun that actually pushing to the enemies base.

It would be impossible to play this map and not kill an enemy hero every few seconds. This map is a bloodbath of adrenaline with constant fighting. Kills are rewarded with pushing the enemy back, gaining position, and eventually getting to their main base. Giving additional motivation also lends to snowballing, which I'm trying to avoid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguinJAM

"Brain Bug" is an *ugh* name.

I mentioned these were mostly temporary names. Any alternates come to mind? My brain is dead at the moment.

04-14-2009, 01:39 AM

penguinJAM

Quote:

No pushing in the first 10 minutes? why is this? There is fighting and pushing from the moment the game starts.

By this I mean, not much pushing is done. Mostly, heroes are concentrating on leveling and staying alive. At least, I am.

Quote:

Giving additional motivation also lends to snowballing, which I'm trying to avoid.

Very true. Thats something I had not considered. Too much snowballing = bad, cause then a comeback will be rather difficult.

Quote:

Any alternates come to mind?

Perhaps..
"Hive Overseer", "Broodmother", or even the generic name "Queen"
(which comes to mind every time I look at the pic. Makes it hard to think of something else

)
I know, not that creative. I'm sorry I can't offer anything else, but I'm sure you will think of an enticing name in time.

04-14-2009, 01:52 AM	#7
penguinJAM	Some replacement names I have been thinking of.. Demolition Expert --> Grenadier (Not much of an upgrade at all, but w/e) Zealot --> Myrmidon Mind Bender --> Seraph Juggernaught --> Atlas My brain is dead at the moment as well

04-14-2009, 03:23 AM	#8
RenegadeMushroom	Dark Templar -> Servant of the Khala/Elite Khalite (Kahh-lie-t) Zealot -> Psionic Shocker (Shocker as in Shock Trooper) Brain Bug -> Matriarch Queen/ Matriarch

04-14-2009, 04:27 AM	#9
Szythe	Updated Zer'atai Servant (looked up name from blizzard lore) and Matriarch. Keep em coming, feel free to help with ability names too.

04-14-2009, 04:35 AM	#10
RenegadeMushroom	Are you going to accept Hero suggestions?

04-14-2009, 04:44 AM

#11

penguinJAM

The Matriarch's "Brain Worms" --> "Carnivorous Spawns/Broodlings/Worms"

Toxic Hunter --> Marsh Stalker

Time Keeper --> Chrono Seer/Watcher

Edit- If you are accepting hero suggestions, the "Seraph" title would definitely go better with an archon hero. Perhaps one who is very similar to the archon in game. All his abilities will revolve around his mana, not only to protect the miniscule health he has, but also to dish out pain.

04-14-2009, 04:49 AM

#12

Szythe

Quote:

Originally Posted by RenegadeMushroom

Are you going to accept Hero suggestions?

I probably won't accept them 100% as suggested, but I am looking for creative themes and skill interctions. By all means go ahead if you have an idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguinJAM

Edit- If you are accepting hero suggestions, the "Seraph" title would definitely go better with an archon hero. Perhaps one who is very similar to the archon in game. All his abilities will revolve around his mana, not only to protect the miniscule health he has, but also to dish out pain.

I was thinking about a mana-based Archon too. Alright I'll name him Seraph and give his skillnames an angelic theme. Expect to see him tomorrow

04-14-2009, 05:27 AM

#13

RenegadeMushroom

Kewl :)

Protoss:

Hero	Description	Ability	Ability	Ability	Ability	Ability
Ancient Devastator	A small, ancient Protoss psionic warrior, capable of wiping out armies in seconds, however, they are vulnerable and slow. They also have a huge amount of mana.	Secondary Shields: the Devastator diverts X% of his mana to a secondary shield when the primary one runs out. The secondary shield acts exactly like a normal shield.	Psionic Fury: The Devastator launches a powerful AoE barrage, dealing X amount of damage to all units in the area. It has a 5% chance of immobolizing them for Y seconds.	Cloak of Olde: The Devastator sets up a cloaking field around himself that kills all units inside (not including himself) instantly). The radius of the cloak is X range.	Mind Fusion: The Devastator fuses his mind with an allied hero's mind, granting him a skill depending on the Hero: Time Keeper: Temporal Displacement: Displaces a huge amount of enemy units in time for X seconds. They are invulnerable during this time, however, while displaced, they lose Y amount of health per second. Zealot: Psionic Storm: Giant Psionic Blades fall through the sky, over an area, dealing damage to every unit it hits. Mind Bender: Beserk: The combined might of the two minds force three enemy units to go insane, gaining X% more attack speed and movespeed and Y% more attack damage. The beserk units will attack any unit within range, and will wander around aimlessly untill killed. (Unit Target, not Point Target) Zer'atai Servant: Invisible Blade: The Zer'atai Servant gains a large attack power boost, and is teleported to a target location. There it becomes undetectable (completely) for X seconds and is teleported back when it becomes detectable again.	Tempest Fleet: The Devastator brings a fleet of Tempest's crashing down onto the planet. They can hit any unit anywhere. When a unit is directly hit, it will die, but if it is hit by the AoE it will lose X% (Over 70%) of it's maximum health. The Devastator however, will only take Y% (Below 30%) damage, but it can still be killed by a direct hit. It hits all units. If a flying unit gets hit there is no AoE.

Sorry about the messiness :Þ

04-14-2009, 11:37 AM	#14
Pyrogasm	I like "Brain Bug" much better than "Matriarch", for what it's worth. Either way, it's referred to as both in your table, so you might want to fix that.

04-14-2009, 03:48 PM

#15

penguinJAM

Reborn
The Immortal (Dragoon) skin would be this character.

Last Stand- Once reaching X% health (low number, perhaps 20) the Reborn enters a stationary phase, taking 50% damage and dealing less damage (75% maybe?) Lasts until all enemies in an aoe are dead or until the Reborn dies.

Phase Disruptor- Blasts an enemy with a powerful cannon, dealing X damage and throwing them into a confused state, reducing their chance to hit by Y%.

Zealous Charge- The Reborn targets his cannons backwards, allowing him to surge forward with great speed. Deals X damage, knocks back and stuns enemies caught in the chargefor Y seconds. Leaves a large crevice (I spelled that wrong, no?) where the charge took place.

Adamant Will(passive)- Gives a +armor bonus, as well as giving a small percentage chance to negate a direct target spell.

Ultimatum (Ultimate)- The Reborn begins uses up all of the energy used to maintain his life to fire a massive energy beam (Channeling) in a straight line. Every second, X mana and Y life is drained. The Beam deals X+Y damage every second, as well as slowing movement and attack speed by a large percentage. Last Stand cannot be activated while channeling this spell. The Reborn can die from this spell.

All of that is subject to change at your will