Introduction:

There was a time when i saw a recipe for SC maps... Everyone loves 3v3, everyone loves the gameplay of RPGs, and everyone likes when there are cool spells in the game to use. I took these elements, brought to a boil and [another cooking reference'd] them to perfection. Now the question is, "How good of a cook am I?"

Story

VS HaXoR picks up right where the story of HaXoR D 1339 Left off. The previous game in the HaXoR series left avid players with a sense of uncertainty. They began to wonder how they stood up to other HaX, and they questioned who was really the best HaXoR.

Imagine this: You have just saved your couch from whatever noobs were threatening it. You and your friends get drunk to celebrate, but this leads to a dispute. Randy shoves Jon, and Jill is yelling some shit. Retelling of the day's earlier events cause everyone to get rowdy. "How can Megan possibly say she pwns more noobs than me?" Unfortunately, there isn't a way to compare HaX while defending a couch from noobs; however, if HaXoRs are put up against each other's couches it could make for quite a good match. Jon was the one who actually came up with the idea, but the others quickly agreed that it was a good one. They began (and by 'they' i mean just Brad - he was the only one strong enough to actually lift a couch.) to bring their couches outside and they set up bases.



At the time, Randy and Megan were dating, so they didn't want to be against each other. Although Randy's non-PW'd friends laughed at him for it, they decided that having teams of HaXoRs would in fact be better. Brad said, "Yeah, teams are strait as long as Jill isn't on my team. She annoys me." It didn't take long for this intense match to start.



Gameplay

VS HaXoR offers SIX - count them - SIX unique characters to choose from. Each character suits a different play style. They have varying Armor, HP, Spells, Damage, and Upgrades to really amplify their differences. Players on a team are responsible for working together with their characters to find effective combinations. The characters are specially designed to be strongest as part of a team. 1v1 and 2v2 are possible on this map, but these may be unbalanced because the map focuses on 3v3 play for the balance.



The first few seconds are crucial as players attempt to compliment their team while trying to get a peek at what the other team selected as well. Each Character has 4 unique spells that are used via Starport. These spells can have anywhere from strictly strategic to strictly offensive properties. Each character has it's own specialties of course.

So everyone has chosen their character and has been moved to the battlefield. Now what? Well, the player should notice right away that their HaX Rating is zero. There are noobs and noob re-spawns located throughout the map, and you are encouraged to kill them to get HaX Rating. Harder noobs give more HaX Rating. It can be anywhere from 5 to 400+. The player begins at lvl0 and gains strength as they gain levels. From higher max HP to stat and skill points, leveling up has it all. The player reaches maximum power at lvl9. As you gain more HaX Rating, you will be able to use more 'Roon' - that is, the game's name for MP/Mana/Energy.

Your team can advance on the enemy's couch at any time, but keep in mind that things usually go smoother at higher levels. Also, don't forget to defend your own couch from enemy attacks. If your team's couch is destroyed, you lose. Obviously, teams with a lot of teamwork will dominate teams that go their separate ways. There are a few areas throughout the map that can serve as choke points. These are areas such as teleporters or the Roon Shrine - a place that can restore Roons for a player who goes there.

Characters

The following is basic information regarding the different characters in VS HaXoR. There is a lot more that would take me days to type out if i included strategies, builds, and upgrades, so I am justing putting the basics here. ...Enjoy!



Skills

Shield - Creates a shield that absorbs damage for a limited time.
Storm Augment - Add damage to attack with lightning.
Gun Aura - Bullets shoot at enemies who try to run away.
Inject - Become bigger, faster, stronger, haxer.



Skills

Cure - Heals HP for self and allies.
Fire - Attack nearby enemies with fire element.
Teleport - Use mind powers to move to selected destination.
Light - Attack enemies with lightning element.



Skills

Spy - Detect movement and gather information.
Invis - Remain motionless, and no one can touch you.
Poof! - Warps self and allies out of heated battle.
Hidden Mine - Kills anyone who steps too close.



Skills

Med Station - A machine that heals allies.
Transport - Machine instantly transports from start to end.
Firewall - Activates Firewall, totally owns noobs.
Assembly HaX - Building that can produce various HaX.







Skills

Heal - Recover from minor wounds.
Distraction - Distracts opponents to avoid damage.
2X Shot - Gun fires two shots instead of one.
Summon Archer - Strategically place an archer to snipe opponents.



Skills

Summon Spirit - Summons a spirit to fight along side of you.
Fire - Attack nearby enemies with fire element.
Summon Mammoth - Summons a mammoth to fight along side of you.
Sky Demon - Calls the Sky Demon.

Noobs

It's a known fact that HaXoRs wouldn't exist if it weren't for noobs, so one could expect that noobs play a big role in VS HaXoR. That is a good expectation because they do. There are many different kinds of noobs present in different locations throughout the map. A rule of thumb is that usually, the further from the base you go, the stronger the noobs will be. Noobs are strongest at the middle of the map. The following are various types of noobs and approximate hax rewards for killing them.

Noob lvl 1 - [Broodling] This is the weakest of noobs. A slight armor upgrade owns it. (5)
Noob lvl 2 - [Zergling] This noob can harm a low-lvl haxor with fast attacks. (12)
Noob lvl 3 - [Hydralisk] This noob will be tough for haxors to kill without an attack upgrade or two. (31)
Robot Noob - [Goliath] It is strong against certain haxors, but at lvl2 or 3 it should be manageable. (70)
Noob w/ a Vengeance - [Ultralisk] This guy is a beast, but the reward for slaying one is worth the fight. (210)
Fat Noob - [Reaver] It's fat layers provide protection against low-lvl haxors. (300)
Smelly Noob - [Hunter Killer] Quite a strong noob, in numbers it can put down even high-lvl hax. (325)
Noob Hound - [Devouring One] The strongest natural noob. It is usually best to avoid this thing unless you are well prepared. (400)
Queen Of Noobs - [Infested Kerrigan] Making a return from HaXoR D 1339, she is scary as ever. She won't bother you in a typical match, but if you step into her lair... (2012)



What is new?

If you're not interested at least a little by now, maybe this next thing will get you. UPGRADABLE SKILLS/SPELLS!!! It's true that each character already has 4 unique spells/skills to use, but to change it up even more, I've developed a system where skills can be improved [such as Increased Duration, Increased Damage, Special Functions and Bonuses.] The game forces players to manage a limited number of skill points earned by leveling up. Because there are not enough skill points available to upgrade all the skills fully, different character builds come into play. Questions such as "Should i upgrade terran weapons to increase the damage of gun aura- which i maxed out? Or is it better to get Protoss weapons for my Tank HaX and Storm Augment?" or "Is the added range for teleport more important than the detection bonus on Fire?" make for a diversity of characters, even if more than one person chooses to play as a certain one.

Also, the order in which skills are upgraded can make a big difference, especially in matches against more experienced players. You may find yourself asking if you should go for the added Shield bonus to survive noobs better, or go for the detection bonus on Storm Augment in case the enemy has a Sneak HaX. The characters that your team choose can also impact which skills/spells u decide to upgrade. For example, you wouldn't want to upgrade Med Station if you had 3 Machine HaX on a team because Machine HaX doesn't heal in the same way that the other units do. It is important to communicate with your team often to plan out later strategies involving skills.

Skills and Spells!

The following is a detailed breakdown of the 24 unique spells and their upgrades available in VS HaXoR.

Shield - When this spell is activated, Tank HaX gets a shield around it. With more skill points invested, Shield can absorb more damage.

Storm Augment - This spell constantly keeps an Archon (cleverly named Storm) On Tank HaX, increasing damage output. Upgrading this Spell increases the duration, and at maximum level, Storm Augment has Detection Properties.

Gun Aura - Gun Aura constantly keeps a marine on Tank HaX. It is Tank HaX's only way to deal ranged damage. With more skill points invested, the duration and damage of Gun Aura increases.

Inject - Tank HaX transforms with more armor, damage, and a valuable-in-itself speed upgrade. The transformation lasts until death, and Inject cannot be upgraded.

Cure - Creates a restoration unit (Medic) that constantly follows Magic Hax. Upgrading this spell causes it to be more potent with a longer duration.

Fire - Creates a Firebat next to Magic HaX that can attack enemies that get too close. Upgrades cause longer duration and eventually a second Firebat and Detection properties.



Teleport - The player is given a Scourge to move to any destination within a range. The player can then select 'yes' to move there at any time. The player is also warned about how to get failed teleports. Upgrading teleport increases the range of the spell and the number of people that can teleport w/ you.

Light - Powerful lightning based attack. Upgrades provide longer duration, detection, and Roon bonuses.

Spy - Creates spies that can move freely throughout the map. They can detect cloaked units, watch choke points, and gather information about which characters your opponents have picked. Upgrades Spy include increased duration, invincibility, and multiple spies.

Invis - Sneak HaX can hide in a tiny area and remains still to avoid enemy attacks.

Poof! - Sneak HaX creates a 'Poof' somewhere and can at any time select 'yes' to move himself and nearby team mates to that location. (usually safety)

Hidden Mine - A hidden mine is places that COMPLETELY OWNS the opponent who steps on it, and injures nearby players. Noobs cannot trigger the mine. Upgrades include a special ability to Jam observers near the mine.

Med Station - Machine HaX creates a Med Station which heals allied (non-mechanical) units who go under it. Longer Duration if upgraded.

Transport - Machine HaX creates a 'Transport Start' where he stands and must travel to where you wish the destination to be. He can then build a 'Transport End' there and any allies who go under 'start' will move to 'end'. If 'Transport Start' is destroyed, 'Transport End' becomes deactivated.

Firewall - The Firewall is another unit that just had to return since HaXoR D 1339. Upgrades will increase the Firewall's damage and Durability.

Assembly HaX - This is a pretty complicated spell... basically, you use it and it makes a Carrier at your location, while you are under the carrier, it is your assembly line. You will be able to manufacture units at a cost. Higher levels of this spell will allow more of different kinds of units to be made, and when you are not under the carrier, you lose possession of it.

Heal - This is like a watered down version of Magic HaX's Cure spell, but it's still pretty useful.

Distraction - This spell is pretty tight. You get hallucinated versions of Sniper HaX to distract enemies with. Upgrading this spell will allow you to create more hallucinations with more life.

2X Shot - This is the spell that makes Sniper HaX worth using. A Clone of yourself is repeatedly centered to you, allowing you to deal damage up to twice as fast.

Summon Archer - You select a place for the archer to be positioned with a similar method to the Teleport spell. The archer is pretty sick.

Summon Spirit - You get a Dragoon, higher levels allow the summon to last longer and have higher HP

Fire - Very similar to Magic HaX's fire spell, except weaker.

Summon Mammoth - Same as Spirit, except this time it's the hero ultralisk.

Sky Demon - This guy is pretty intense. Leveling it up will not only get your longer duration and higher life for it, but also enable its special ability.

Items

It's not an RPG if it doesn't have items... So here are 6 pretty cool items I am implementing into the map. These spawn randomly at 12 different locations throughout the map, and they are pretty useful.

20oz Mountain Dew - Drinking this restores some Roons. (up to 12 Roons)
2L Mountain Dew - Drinking this restores some Roons. (up to 19 Roons)
Warp HaX - Use this to warp back to your base.
Invis Hax - Using this makes you invincible for a few seconds
Cooties HaX - This item damages nearby enemies.
Noob Tamer - This thingy can calm noobs to make them easy targets.

Secrets

In Intense HaX matches that may seem like a stalemate, something is needed to put noobs in their place. Now, I am adding secret 'Stones' That increase the power of the haxors that possess them. This will be useful for adding excitement to late games where the other team is too scared to attack your couch, but you are just not strong enough to own theirs. The secret 'stones' are the ones listed below. They are pretty sweet.

Roon Stone- This stone is located in the queen's lair. The HaXoR who carries this stone will gain Roons at a faster rate than his opponents and his teammates, But slaying Queen of Noobs is a pretty tough thing to do, so don't think it'll be easy to pick this thing up.

Power Stone- This stone can be found in the Noob Slayer's Chamber. Players can only enter the chamber if they've slain a large number of noobs. Whoever is the first to claim this stone will enjoy the benefit of 3 additional stat points (Minerals) which can be used to upgrade Attack Damage, Spell Damage, Or Armor.

Skill Stone- This stone is pretty intense in itself. It is on Skill Seeker's Island, a place where very few haxors are even able to return from. This gives the player an additional skill upgrade, useful for upgrading skills.



Conclusion

Basically, Everyone is pretty excited for this thing. ITS DONE FINALLY I FINISHED IT I DIDNT THINK I WOULD BUT I DID THE FINAL THING IS ATTACHED U CAN ENJOY IT IF U WANT 3V3 PWNS!!!!!!!

Attachments:

Post has been edited 21 time(s), last time on Dec 30 2008, 9:42 pm by Norm.

One thing that's always annoyed me is when people only post the in-game name of units, not what unit they are. Like, Sky Demon = Mutalisk? Or Sky Demon = Guardian? Or is he a Wraith? Maybe he's a Scout? The same is true of the heroes, but you can usually guess. (Like Sniper = Ghost)

Also, can you please explain the following?
He teleports right into the enemy base? Lolwut?
What exactly does it produce? Is it a Terran Factory (or something) and builds factory units normally? Or is it like Temple Siege's buildable spawners?
What information does it gather?

Oh, is this an AoS? You didn't mention any spawns, but otherwise it looks like one...

And btw, I think this could be a great map, even though it might sound like I hate it cause of all the criticism.

1 Question, What does AoS mean?

Also, yes sorry for the vagueness in my post. I do intend to elaborate and add more information as soon as possible.

(Really soon)

There apparently aren't spawns, but there are creeps.

AoS refers to a genre of maps based on the map Aeon of Strife. Temple Siege and Defense of the Ancients are examples. Basically, each team has a base, with each teams base on opposite sides of the map. Computer-controlled units (called "spawns") appear in both bases every couple of minutes and charge the other team's base. Both bases have powerful defensive structures. There are three human players per team. Each player controls a "hero", which is much stronger then the spawns and has several spells (4 is the usual number). Most (if not all) AoSs have three paths connecting the bases, with no other way to get from one base to the other. (Although there might be ways to get from one path to the other in some maps; I haven't played enough AoSs to know if this is common or not.)

Basically, it sounds like your map might be an AoS, except you didn't mention spawns, base defenses, or limited paths.

Ohh, Then VS HaXoR is not one of those. The general idea of this game is that you DO in fact have 3 people usually on a team, with one hero each. The difference is that Noobs can actually pose a threat to your hero early game. You train RPG style with computerized enemies who generally stay in a limited area of the map unless you provoke them. Although there is some defense around your couch, you will generally have to rely on defending it with your hero later in the game.

As for the paths, there isn't a set path for the most part, there is a vast area between the bases filled with enemies that the players can kill to become stronger. It is possible to get to the other player's base fairly early in the game, but it is generally better to wait until you and your team gain a few levels.

http://www.staredit.net/topic/1911/

For new threads in the map production fourm, screenshots are required.

Yes, thank you i have 2 screenshots so far and plan on adding more later. They are from the editor though because i cannot figure out how to take in-game screenshots. (They appear as just 'black with fuzzy lines' when i try to save them to something.)

Also, I have updated the first post with more in-depth information about the map, there is still more to come. Sorry for giving you guys a little at a time instead of having finished it all at once.

Multiple players can have the same unit? WINBOAT. This is a very rare thing to have...

Define "her lair", please?

Oh, btw, StarCraft saves screenshots as .pcx (or something like that) files. You need to convert them to .jpeg or .gif (or maybe .bmp, but that's not recommended) before you can use them in most programs. There is a program called infraview that can do that.

@Your first comment: 'WINBOAT'? lol. I take that as a compliment. Yes, it's a little extra work to trigger, but i thought that this would add a lot of strategies to the mix. Also, I'd feel bad if someone wanted to play as their favorite character but someone beat them to it. In conclusion, Multiple people as one unit is the way to go =)

@Your question: There is a hidden area on the map called 'The Queen's Lair' Where players can go to take on the toughest enemies, including Queen of Noobs. It is tough, but great for when you are at the higher levels and need a lot of HaX Rating to get more stat points and skill points. Queen of Noobs cannot be fought in the normal play area.

Yes, winboat is a compliment.

I understand about the queen's lair thing now. That would be pretty cool, actually: Some guy goes "IM 2 LVLS HIGHER THAN U IM GOING 2 KILL U NOOB" and then get owned when the other player kills the Queen, resulting in epic lolz and win. (Or epic fail, depending on which team you are on.)

You have a lot of good ideas. I wish you luck.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Dec 18 2008, 8:28 pm by TassadarZeratul. Reason: I felt like it.

Are you taking ideas?

Of course i will take ideas; however, the map is nearing completion so I don't know how many ideas i will implement.

Also, updated first post.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Dec 19 2008, 3:58 am by Norm.

Maybe give the spy a spell that allows it to see where enemy heroes are?

They have to move around. I'm proposing share vision for a few seconds or a minimap ping.

The only problem with shared vision and minimap pings is that they require much less strategy for finding the information. The pace of the map is slow enough to allow the Sneak HaX to position their spy at strategic locations.

Another reason I don't want to incorporate that is because knowledge of your opponent's characters can greatly effect how you build your own character and information this valuable should be worked for, not given with a simple cast of a spell. To counter balance a technique that useful would force me to exaggerate the advantages of the other characters more and if i failed to do so, you could expect a sneak HaX each round which would negate the effect of their sneaky advantage because everyone would assume to upgrade spells that give detection instead of more powerful non-detecting spells.

I think you should add colors to texts. Also, instead of making it all 1337 and stuff, make it a little professional like replacing K with Okay and such. I also found a bug playing as Summon hax, the first time I died, I respawned as Machine hax. After I died against, I reverted.

Thanks, I have located the cause of that bug and it will be fixed in my next update. Also, how do i do color in my map's text?

SCMDraft has instructions whenever you change a Display Text trigger's text. Goes something like this. <3>blah blah blah. The numbers determine the color.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Dec 23 2008, 1:34 am by ForTheSwarm. Reason: I haven't used SCMDraft for awhile