New Map Statistics Gatherings

Game Name: The Original Allegory

Game Type: Mixed (AoS + RPG + Boss + TD + Adaptive Action)

Game Play Time: Estimated to be 30 mins - 1 hr.

Game Play Description: (Updated)

• Two teams of five players.
  
• Heroes are divided into Ying (team 1) and Yang (team 2) side each with five distinct element: Wood - Fire - Earth - Metal - Water
• There are four bases at the map.
  • Top Left: Yang's base (Computer)
  • Top Right: Ying's base (Computer)
  • Bottom Left: Team 1 (Ying Players) base
  • Bottom Right: Team 2 (Yang Players) base
• Each team has three 3 lanes:
  • Bottom: Connects Ying Player's base with Yang Player's base at bottom from left to right.
  • Middle: Extends out diagonally from each players' base and goes through special grounds (5 elemental grounds) in between and meets at center.
  • Top: Ying players' top lane goes to Yang Base (Computer) while Yang players' top lane goes to Ying base (Computer).
• At the center there is the 5 elemental grounds each with themed objects and layouts.
  
• All elemental grounds give heroes bonus to their spell depends what element the ground is and what element the heroes are
  
• Some of heroes spell may also act as "carrier" to another heroes combo like Wood maybe enhanced into fire while water absorbs wood.
  
• There are several winning conditions:
  • Destroy a building inside the other team's base.
  • Buy a Wagon and go to the base that is diagonal across (Computer's base) and retrieve your artifact and transport it back to your base safely. (Your wagon moves slower when artifact is inside and once wagon is dead, artifact is gone and will not spawn till 5 mins, 6 mins, 7 mins all the way up to 10 mins after death for each time it dies)
  • Capture all the elemental grounds (5) and keep it for 5 mins. (Capture = destroy a controller building owned by the team who captured the ground. The building is controlled by computer if no one captured it before. The building heals and can be teleported to)
  
  Additional Features:
  • Each elemental ground has a unique boss that drops a unique item. The item, however, will not give stats bonus to a hero, but instead will be a spell with three charges that helps the owning team:
    • Wood Boss Item (3 Charges): Each charge enhances 1 complete wave (all three lanes) of future spawned creeps. It helps defending by adding extra armor to all creeps for your side.
    • Fire Boss Item (2 Charges): Each charge enhances 1 complete wave (all three lanes) of future spawned creeps. It helps pushing by adding AoE burning effect to all your melee creeps.
    • Earth Boss Item (1 Charge): Each charge allows the entire team to have extra gold for creep kills for 1 min. Specifically, each creep adds extra 10 gold, each hero adds extra 50 gold and each boss adds extra 100 gold.
    • Metal Boss Item (2 Charges): Each charge enhances the artifact transport wagon to have extra life and armor with a minor movement speed bonus.
    • Water Boss Item (3 Charges): Each charge heals 300, 200, and 100 hp for each decreasing charge all with 500 AoE.
    • All boss items do not disappear after charges are gone. Instead, they can be used. (Read Below)
    • Bosses are found by traveling into the elemental grounds and enters a portal. Each boss spawns only 1 item and will be brought back to life and reclaiming the item if not used every 4 mins.
  • Towers can be amplified with one element by giving the tower a charged or non-charged boss elemental item.
    • Wood: Adds 5, 15, 25, or 35 armor for 0, 1, 2, or 3 charges. This expires in 30 seconds.
    • Fire: Adds burning effect to specific tower for 20, 30, or 40 seconds for 0, 1, or 2 charges. Burning Effect is an AoE damage that damages enemies 10hp/s for 10 seconds (non-stack-able)
    • Earth: Adds 25% chance that the tower will cast "Entangle" on enemy units and heroes. This lasts 30 seconds. Each Entangle holds hero in place (but still can attack and cast spell) while damaging them 25 hp/s for 5 seconds. Cannot be stacked.
    • Metal: Adds 10% chance that the tower will stun an enemy creep or hero. This lasts 20, 30, or 40 seconds for 0, 1, or 2 charges. Each stun deals extra 25 damage and stuns for 0.5 seconds.
    • Water: Give the specific tower 10 hp/s regeneration for 30, 40, 50, or 60 seconds for 0, 1, 2, or 3 charges.
• Item System:
  • Other than normal consumables, ToA will offer Dynamic Weapon System (DWS)
  • Dynamic is given to the player in the sense that the weapon(s) will be draining the hero's stats dynamically based on a command that the player can type, and the weapon becomes strong as it drains more stats.
  • All Weapons (not armors, boots, helms, gloves, rings, or amulets) are either Strength based, Agility based, or Intelligence based. Of course, given those three main bases, it is then divided into the five elemental properties.
  • Strength based weapons will drain hp/s. The player can type "-dws [integer]" while w/e inside [ ] indicates the intensity.
  • Agility based weapons will drain IAS.
  • Intelligence based weapons will drain mana/s.
  • All weapons will have some minor bonus, with one main bonus. Each increasing drain level will buff up the minor bonus, but only certain amount of drain level will buff the main bonus. Example: if user type "dws 2", it will set the minor bonus to level 2 while leaving the main bonus to level 1 (starting level). Later on the user decide to type "dws 5", it will then set the minor bonus to level 5, but main bonus to level 2.
  • This is only a beta thought, but I personally really like this idea. Hopefully, more detailed descriptions will come out.

Here's couple of pictures:

Yang's base's waterfall:


The five elemental grounds at the center in mini map:


Please voice your opinion as you wish.

Thanks

Well, the concept sounds nice...
Manipulating elements and interhero synergy is good (extremely hard to balance, but good), seems like the towers would never be used (too complex and inefficient compared to heroes), boss hunting is also nice, but i think you will find that its a less of a 'lets gang up and kill this insanely hard boss' and more of a 'well im 30 levels higher than the boss and i can easily solo, ill just go grab some quick items' . As for the get item, activate item, get gaurdian, destroy world, Its a bit complex and annoying. What will the gaurdian achieve? It will just destroy them, is there any way for them to fight back?
You have created effectivley an ultimate snowballing scenario: team is winning, team gets item, team gets uber boss. If you want the boss to be killable then the weaker team needs to get it, if the boss is going to be uber dominant then its just the same as killing their base outright.

I say, knock it back to capturing the center for X duration to free your gaurdian. Gaurdian has a cooldown and can be summoned unlimited times, but only once he dies. If killed he gives massive XP and gold to the other team. Then you have the sort of scenario where you are trying to keep and hold the center, while summoning at the right time to help you push but hopefully deny enemies XP and gold that could put them ahead.

The elemental stuff is great, definatley keep that. Maybe even depending on which other elemntal 'zones' you can summon different gaurdians. Eg if you hold water you will summon a water gaurdian, if you hold fire and nature you summon a random fire or nature gaurdain. That adds another layer of stratergy without unwanted complexity.

Hope you take that into consideration. ^_^

Thank you for your feed back, I'd take that into consideration.

In what sense would this map be an allegory (as your title suggests)?

How much of the map has been created?

How many people are working on this project?

What is the setting?
Why are the two teams fighting?
What are the guardians, why do they exist, and why are they summoned?
Why would the terrain be partitioned into elemental zones?

I ask about the setting because it's integral to a coherent theme, and is a strong influence of development decisions. Tower Defense games typically don't require much in the way of a setting, but this isn't a tower defense game; it's an AoS with features from other genres. Even Defense of the Ancients has backstory that establishes the context for the conflict.

EDIT: The classical elements afflict me with terminal boredom.

AO pointed out a very important aspect of any map.. interesting setting/story

Without a great story/setting, a map will not be fun to play, technically brilliant or not

Storywise brilliant maps with technical failings will also be more interesting than the latter

A map idea is NEVER complete without a setting or story...

Maps which cross with but do not focus on RPG are fail... RPG doesnt really work in multiplayer anyway...

Thanks for the pointers. Here are some answer to your questions:


Just me


Currently it is still at terrain stage, as the terrains have themes. Not all grounds are divided into elemental bonus environments, but instead only 25% are. (I might add it to 50%)


The teams are divided among Demons and Humans. Not a very original name, but they are just currently called so and as it is easy to convey the idea. The reason the humans have elemental division is because I want it to be symmetric compared to the demons, as they are divided into 5 reason people die. Maybe dividing people into 5 reason they live would be more symmetric, but it is hard to impose any magical property if you know what I mean. For example, one of the reason people live is because they value life. How can I put that into the game play? Adding extra life regeneration? Therefore, instead, I set the time to the past where humans had magics and swords and shields as like a Western Fantasy (So keep in mind that "humans" here have magical powers like Gods, but they are not Gods because they can die and have limits). This also is more appropriate as "demons" are more ancient. So given that, the story is more like the "original" struggle between life and death battling their "powers" over Earth. That's the allegory part since we humans now life and somehow lost our magical power.

Does that explain more? As for story line, I still haven't come up with one yet. If any of you, given the above more detailed description, want to contribute a story, by all means, please go ahead.

PS: You shouldn't vote too fast based on your assumptions.

You intend for it to be an allegorical game about life and death? Elements hardly are appropriate to convey this, but themed magic could emphasize the relationship between the two phenomenon and it has the potential to be far more interesting.

How do demons fit into this allegory? Does it assume a spiritual perspective or do they represent something else?

Are both the humans and the demons playable?

What about the guardians?

PS. It's a poll. Expect people to vote on the basis of the first impression.

Since you are a philosopher, I'd think that you would not assume as much as others.

Anyways, the Demons are a playable team. As I said, the team are divided between the Demon and the Human which are both playable. Both team would have 5 players and they go head on against each other. The guardian would only be controlled by the computer.

If you have some great ideas, please share it.

If you're going to use elements, do something original with them. For example, blend them in interesting ways. I don't mean "Fire + Water == Steam hero!!1!". For example, in my map, a Night + Death combo gives a Void element hero. That kind of uniqueness will help take the dulling edge off of your everyday elements.

Also, consider how the elements will factor into game play. Since you're only using 5 elements, you could very well modify the given Blizzard attack/armor constants and make attack type a factor as well. (Unfortunately for my map, I use more elements than there are constants, so I have to use a workaround).

Oh, and just a head's up: "Exciting legendary items" had better not mean an item that grants insane uber stat/attack/armor bonuses. Those are stupid items that only work for... well, stupid maps. Make the items truly legendary. For example, the item could be a whole new powerful spell, but not grant any stat bonuses. I'd personally find that to be a better "legendary" item than an orb that grants 50 to all stats *cough Dota cough*.

Thank you for your feed back darkwulfv, I find them to be useful. The elements that I am going to use, after many thought, is going to be Wu Xing from the chinese culture. Why? It's my culture and it is my home land. It is the only civilization that withstood the test of time compared to other four Great Civilizations since the ancient times. Your legendary item suggestion is definitely what I am going after. Also your I might adapt your armor/attack bonus system but it may also introduce abuses in the game: Player would simply always pick counters. Although I could just say after 60s or 1min, assign all random hero to the ones who didn't pick! XD

The philosophic traditions of China are fascinating. If you'll be utilizing the elements of Wu Xing, perhaps you can borrow from your culture to further develop the setting and the factions' motives behind the conflict.

Yes I definitely will do that. Thanks to your enlightenment that motivated me to find a more original and special theme. The conflict will between Ying and Yang. Generally Ying represents the dead/damned or hunted; but sometimes it's a Chinese representation of the Hell but without the evilness. On the other hand, Yang means life/spirit light.

That's more like it. Way to go using your own unique culture to inspire your map. THAT is unique. (Wish I could say the same, I just use some more "obscure" elements =P)

Good luck with this.

And BTW, what I was going for with the attack/armor elemental bonus stuff is more centered around spawns than heroes, to add a slightly more dynamic gameplay and give more room for unit modification than Blizzard attack types allow (the only ones you can really use and still have balance are Normal/Pierce/Siege/Magic. Hero and Chaos are both overpowered for general unit use).

creating map based on existing gameplays is not good

MaD[Lion], there are alot of games created based on existing genre and some are highly successful. Your opinion have no reason to back up and therefore will not be considered.

Tactical Shoot = Shooter + Real Time Strategy
Example Game:

Brothers In Arm Series + Expansions
Gears of War 1
Gears of War 2
Rainbow Six Vegas 1
Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Swat 3
Swat 4 + Expansion

All of those are great great games.