(5v5) TaxSeason, "tag" type map. SCREENS / BETA inside!

(5v5) TaxSeason, "tag" type map. SCREENS / BETA inside!
Tax Season: The Hunt Begins
Current Version: v.27 Beta
5v5, "tag" type map

taxseason_v.27_beta_locked.w3x

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A complete list of changes from v26 BETA to v27 BETA can be found further down in this thread.
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OK I made this a new thread, not getting many hits to the other one and i figured its prob. because no one wants to try to help fix another buggy *** map. Well its not that buggy now, most have been fixed, just needs some balancing now (beta 'duh). Here's another link to the DL of the map for anyone who wants to play it. The rest of this post is a rundown of the features. I had a screenshot post attached to my other thread but the links went bad (using a friends apache box). Going to fix them tonight. Thanks guys, enjoy the map!
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FEATURES::

This is a tag type map but its not another lame tree tag, sheep tag, kodo tag, virgin tag, tag your momma type map (i'm not saying all those maps are dumb, the kodo one was pretty cool, but im just saying its not another tag clone). The basic story for the map goes like this.

"A small farm has been neglecting their tax duties and now the Internal Revenue Service has come to collect. Of course all farmers are dirt poor so they cant collect the money. However, the collections agent sent to collect is a diabolical maniac who orders the extermination of every farmer who works the farm. A renegade military unit controlled by himself is sent in to exterminate them all (dont ask why, like i said hes a maniac). A small group of the farmers manages to escape by fleeing to the outlying forests. There they must survive a set amount of time by outlasting elite agents who have been called upon to find and destroy them".

I know, it sounds a bit corny, but all in all its pretty damn funny. I did the cinema in a very simple (yet entertaining fashion) using very few cameras, but lots of panning, and lots of action to keep things moving. This intro "may" be removed in the future if it proves to be more a hinderance to gameplay than an asset. The intro features a skip feature at the map init. It's all user friendly.

If you've seen or played BioShadows Hunters vs Farmers than you have a general idea of how my map is played. This map is designed to be played with 10 players, 5 to each team.
Think of "Farmers vs Hunters", but instead of a rip off, a totally new project. Picture all new terrain featuring rivers, more forests with better pathing, a mazed mountain, etc. Instead of having a "base" unit for the "hunter", I use actual heroes that will gain exp and level up, gaining access to skills like a normal hero. The skills are all normal skills that I've changed animations, added trigger effects, renamed, re-calculated values, .. basically overhauled.

The "farmer" team is no longer limited to just a few buildings, and 3 mercs. I have a whole range of towers that can be upgraded, "farms" that don't pump out tons of laggy sheep and pigs: they just generate a base amount of gold over time that adds up as you build more "farms".
Instead of having 3 bland mercs, there are a full range of units, some normal abilities that have been changed a little bit, and some that have been redone using either triggers, or sfx changes etc. These include light/medium/heavy melees, 2 types of spellcaster, 2 types of ranged, a spy unit, etc.

Team 2 isnt just limited to a couple simple items, and a few bland mercs. They have access to three different "shops". One for consumable items, one for "permanent" items, and last but not least, a mercenary "shop" where can hire a small but very useful amount of mercenaries. One of the big faults I saw in Farmers vs Hunters was that once a Hunter took a significant amount of damage he was pretty much guaranteed dead. There was no real way to heal the damage. In my map the "hunter" type units have access to a "renewal well" that will heal their mana and hp, as well as potions that arent ungodly expensive, and a "regen ring" type item that can be bought.

Some other features include a votekick system, selectable camera zoom, an introductory cinematic that "can" be skipped, a unique and easy to use "tutorial" system for team 1 (because team 1 is definately THE hardest for a noob, team 2 simply has to find and kill team 1).
This map also has a fully functioning dynamic leaderboard that lists player numbers ( for votekicking ), their names, and for team 1 the amount of "lives" they have left. Same for team 2 but lives is replaced with a kill counter. There is a 60 minute (might be changed after more testing) countdown timer that gives the Team 2 units a deadline. In "Farmers vs Hunters" , if the timer ran out the Hunter class units would win. I reversed this concept and if you wonder why, the "story" behind the map which is played in the starting cinema will explain it for you.

There are a few more "unique" features that have been added, largely due to suggestions from a few close friends who have until now acted as my alpha testing team.

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This is indeed my first map, so its not perfect. I started out using this as a learning tool, but with an idea for what I ultimately wanted to achieve. At one point I scrapped 100% of what I had, and rebuild the whole map from the ground up using new and better ideas. I think MOST players will enjoy this map. It's simple, yet not dull. Its easy to learn, yet still challenging. It can be very intense at times as well. It still needs much tweaking and balancing but that will come with beta.

OK well thats enough for now, sorry for making this post so long. I kinda get excited when describing all the features (its taken a good bit of work and alot of creative brainstorming on the part of myself and some friends). There are a few "special" features not listed that you can see for yourself if you'd like to help me out. OK well make 'dem replys

Expect updated versions no less than once a week as long as 1) the project is active and 2) It still needs tweaking. That should be a while ^_^

-Huh

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taxseason_v.27_beta_locked.w3x

INFO: SCREENSHOTS will be available by tonight hopefully. I HAD some up, but the person hosting them for me .. his apache went kaput i believe. Im working on fixing it. They're pretty good screens.

can u pay your tax... if u get enought money.. :D

lol that's funny ... and maybe not a bad idea



I helped Huh test this the other day and it's pretty darn fun -- counting out an area of trees to build up your fort and keep hidden from the agents. It shows a lot of promise.

Also, he has a good humorous feeling to the map -- the intro is certainly entertaining to watch, at least once.

The IRS agents are some tough SoBs, but they only get one life. Teamwork can be really key in this game, but hiding solo is an option too.

I'm not a big fan of Tag maps, but I probably will be playing this from time to time once it's finished. :D

I'd like to write a more in-depth review, but I haven't much time. So ciao,babe.

Hah I totally thought about adding something like that in. Just havnt thought of the best way to impliment it yet. Thats a good question though. ATM , NO you cant. You hafta either outlast the IRS for 1 hour.. or kill them :P

Perhaps ill make it so if the players pool their gold, and if they get a VERY large sum together, they can turn it into an item of sorts, and turn it in to the tax collector in order to win. BUT it would hafta be an insanely high amount because that would cause team 2 to automatically lose. Anyhow, it goes on my list of things to play around with :)

Thanks for posting, DL the map and tell me what ya think.

-Huh

it could be fun thought... then if u paid u got allied whit agents.. and began to fight the farmers, to get the revard the agents have set... :D btw cool idee.. :D :D but there is allready a lot of TAG games.. :nono: :(

Make team 2 AI... for more fun..

U could also make so u needed to get enought money so u could pay it, and the agents needed to kill u before u did..

We need new idees to the TAG games..!emote_sweat

i would gladly help if u need it.. just send me a mail..

I gotta agree with that idea -- it fits the storyline better.

Or have the some uber boss that orders the agents around and gave them a deadline on collecting the taxes -- so then the farmers just gotta last til the deadline so that the agents' boss can destroy them.

then it could be a free for all map were the farmes were induvidual, then the last farmer standing won.. and if u freed somone u got all thir gold, so it could be smart to help each other.. then it was a new type of map.. :D :D maby u ccould also make so u could kill each other..

U could ither run and hide, or stay and pay..

If you watch the intro you will see the "uber boss" . im thinking of making it so at the end when timer runs out, he reappears, in a SHORT cinema, and kills off all the collectors (hunters) who failed to collect the money hehehe.

Alowan- that WOULD turn this into a whole new kind of map hehe. To impliment those ideas, I might as well just make a whole new map. Oh well, its never to late for changes right ^_^. I'll think about maybe making something like that in the near future.

-Huh

i still think u should make it diffrent.. emote_sweat

I still haven't gotten a chance to play it... hopefully I will soon.

I should prob. go ahead and let people know.. if you're expecting a farmer vs hunter clone yer wrong. Farmer vs Hunter is very different in several ways. For instance.. farmer vs hunter is on like its 5th version or so ( i think) and the terrain has been tweaked alot, mine still needs doing. I plan to add alot more open areas.. wider pathing, etc. BUT, farmer vs hunter is almost too simple, and it gets rather boring after a while because its impossible to formulate new strategies. In my map there are already several ways to play, and win or lose. I plan on changing LOTS of features soon, mainly balancing, terrain, etc, so if you dont like it now, just say why and what youd like to be fixed (that wouldnt require rewriting the entire concept of the game).

I just finished playing a HvF on b.net and well, its pretty boring compared to mine. Only thing farmer vs hunters has that i dont is balancing because its no longer beta. Mines still beta, (BRAND NEW beta at that) and needs alot of work. BUt its still fun to play, and like RaeVan Morlock mentioned, theres a good bit of humor involved.

THIS WILL get better over time, plz dont give up on me yet hehe.

-Huh

I have... no not.. but i aint to TAG maps etc.. but maby i will give it a try and dl it..:D

I created a DL Only game in bnet and there was alot of Downloads including a few that said they were going to host it.

Blah I was typing a long post and it got deleted. Ok well basically thanks for hosting. Hopefully tonight I'll get an update posted with alot more changes. If any bugs popup ill get them fixed and add them in to, but mostly its just unit tweaks, couple new / adjusted abilities, and if i have time I'm going to rework some more of the terrain ( i admit its kind of bland in some parts atm). I might also totally redraw the rivers based on a tip i read to make them more realistic but that may not happen until i have more free time.

-Huh

edit - im seriously considering renaming this map to something MUCH more simple... like maybe, "Tax Tag" lol. Just something that will be a little more descriptive for people who wont play something unless they go on knowing exactly what theyre about to play.

Donn't rename the map, it has a good name as it is.