Players: 3v3
Tileset: Jungle
Map size: 256x256
Gameplay time: 30-60 minutes
Estimated file size: 350kb


Early to mid December (this year)


Hero design
» 11 unique heroes each with 6-9 spells (+unit abilities)
» Spells are collaborative (they combine and affect other heroes)
» Spells use DDS and mobile grid system
» Decent visual & sound FX for each hero

Game-play
» Extensive in-game information available about heroes
» Hero salary (based on level)
» Hero attributes system with binary code (infinite virtual upgrades)
» Warp Gate system
» Free portal points located around outskirts of map
» Purchasable Probe (for rebuilding defenses)

Other features
» Option to add units to enemy spawn (level faster)
» Help tips (choose to switch on/off)
» Option that allows you to choose a hero you want to focus your spells on


I've decided to add the infinite hero attributes system. Here's the new hero stats:

Spirit: Increases total mana pool by +50 and regeneration rate by +20%.
Wisdom: Increases earnings by +2 gold (default: 20 gold) and XP rate by +10%.
Knowledge: Enhances spell timers by +8%.
Strength: Fortifies magical defenses by +13%.

As you can see, there's a variety of ways to upgrade your hero. Spirit is good for heroes that rely on heavy spell usage. With enough Spirit points, you can spam your spells, especially if you have a hero with a mana regeneration ability. Wisdom is great for almost any hero, because with enough points on this attribute you can easily out-level your opponents and also out-damage them, since you will earn more cash. Knowledge is really good for any hero that has 2 or more spells that endure over a length of time, especially if you have effective spells like the invincibility move. Strength can really boost your survivability. Depending on your enemies, it may be a wise move to stock up on a few Strength bonuses. If you're versing heroes who can stun, slow, or directly impact your hero in any way, get some Strength points.


[collapse Admiral]


Active spells:
(1) Iron Core: Attracts all nearby units towards you.
(2) Trample: Overrides and slaughters weak units. (each unit costs you 40 mana to kill.)
(3) Fuel Reserve Tank: Instantly replenishes 100 mana.
(4) Air Strike: Coordinates an airship to deliver a series of devasting bombs around enemy heroes anywhere on the map.

Passive spells:
(1) Admiral's Eighth: Boosts earned gold for each kill.
(2) Shock Absorbers: Allows the Admiral to trample over units at reduced mana cost.[/collapse]
[collapse Engineer]


Active spells:
(1) Engineer's Worker: Builds an SCV.
» SCV can repair buildings and mechanical units.
» Supply Depot gathers gold over time. (Best to build away from battle.)
» Missile Turret detects hidden units & increases mana regeneration for nearby allies.
» Academy spawns Marines every 60 seconds and orders them over to the battlefield.
» Bunker protects your units and has good amount of HP. It is costly to build.
(2) Barrage: Creates 3 Goliaths.
(3) Radial Battery: Sustains duration of summoned units and makes nearby structures invincible for 7 seconds.
(4) Demolition Gun: Creates a Siege Tank at each nearby allied hero.

Passive spells:
(1) Engineer's Journal: Reduces each spell cooldown by 5 seconds.
(2) ?:[/collapse]
[collapse Medic]


Active spells:
(1) Healing Spirit: Creates a Medic for each allied hero. Lasts 12 seconds. (Thanks TS!)
» Medic can cure Plague & Maelstrom
(2) Doctor: Creates a Ghost that deals good damage, and also passively reduces allied cooldowns.
(3) Beam of Light: Stun & silence nearby enemy hero.
(4) Restoration: Heals all nearby party members to full HP.

Passive spells:
(1) Calming Presence: Provides fast mana regeneration (global effect).
(2) Guardian Angel: Gives the Medic a 25% chance to revive herself if she dies. (Cooldown: 120 seconds.)

» Can cast Cloak ability at 240 energy.[/collapse]
[collapse Bombardier]


Active spells:
(1) Bombardment: Generates a series of bombs to explode around Bombardier's vehicle.
(2) Exothermic Blast: Releases a radial shock wave, stunning enemies from 2.5 seconds.
(3) Railgun: Creates a series of Vultures that attack as Bombardier moves. (Taken from TS.)
(4) Mine Field: Creates a massive mine field, spawning up to 48 mines over a 11x11 tile area (121 tiles).

Passive spells:
(1) Turbine Engine: Adds an upgrade to Fuse's engine, greatly increasing his movement speed.
(2) ?:[/collapse]
[collapse Iron Man]


Active spells:
(1) Promethium Armor: Physical invincibility for a short duration.
(2) Disruption: Discharges an explosion that silences enemy units and disables base cannons.
(3) Uni-Beam: Blasts out 6 explosions that quickly move in a line towards enemy units.
(4) Gateway: Switches position with the position of an enemy hero.

Passive spells:
(1) Electromagnetic Link: Hastily regenerates mana near buildings.
(2) Jarring Siren: Disables enemy passive abilities.[/collapse]

[collapse Soul Slayer]


Active spells:
(1) Soul Rip: Blasts your unit out of exist whilst embodying a strong Ultralisk spawn unit. Lasts 60 seconds. (Ultralisks have a 5% chance to spawn for each team.)
(2) Enemy Imitation: Each time you kill an enemy, you automatically learn its level 2 spell. Makes this hero very diverse.
(3) Astral Banishment: Banishes an enemy hero out of existence for 5 seconds. Spell effects and cooldowns are frozen during this state.
(4) Enslavement: Gives you control over all allied/enemy spawn units for a limited time. Great for killing cannons and slaying heroes.

Passive spells:
(1) ?: Increases Ultralisk spawn rate by +10% for allied team.
(2) ?: .

» Maelstorm costs 150 energy.
» Feedback costs 75 energy.[/collapse]
[collapse Storm]


Active spells:
(1) Impellent Burst: Propels you forward at great speed, stunning all enemies who you collide with for 3 seconds.
(2) Disperse: Assaults surrounding enemy units with an explosion. Also disables defensive structures for 5 seconds.
(3) Lively Field: Slows enemy units and rapidly drains their mana.
(4) Voltaic Warp: Teleports surrounding enemy heroes to your location and prevents rival spell-casting abilities for 2 seconds. Has huge range.

Passive spells:
(1) Galvanic Fusion: Gains mana each time you slay an enemy.
(2) : .[/collapse]
[collapse Phantom Warrior]


Active spells:
(1) Mirror Images: Creates 2 images and temporarily boosts passive abilities.
(2) Reform: Swaps position with the position of an image.
(3) Mirage: Secretly replaces the hero's unit with a hallucinated Dragoon. Once it dies, it silences nearby enemy heroes for 4 seconds.
(4) Phantasm: Generates realistic images of allied & enemy heroes. (Images deal 100% damage.)

Passive spells:
(1) Image Mastery: Gives a 5% chance every 0.5 seconds to generate an image for free.
(2) : .[/collapse]
[collapse Shadowsword]


Active spells:
(1) Heroic Strike: Teleports to nearby enemy hero and stuns for 1 second.
(2) Haunt: Invisibility for 6 seconds.
(3) Dark Portal: Teleports nearby allies back to allied Temple. Has a 3-second cast time.
(4) Metamorphosis: Transforms into a more powerful and faster unit, dealing x3 damage.

Passive spells:
(1) Shadow Walk: Makes you undetectable on minimap.
(2) Enchanted Blade: Automatically kills multiple units each time you kill.[/collapse]
[collapse Alchemist]


Active spells:
(1) Remedy: Fully recovers shield points.
(2) Blade Fury: Creates 24 Zealots for 3 seconds. Good for trapping.
(3) Philosopher's Jewel: .
» $50-100 gives +$50
» $100-150 gives +$75 to allies
» $150-200 depletes enemy mana by 50%
» $200-300 heals nearby allied cannons
» $300-400 levels up
» $400-500 increases team XP rate by +10%
(Wanting other ideas for this spell.)
(4) Elixir of Youth: Generates an extremely resistant shield that blocks most incoming damage.

Passive spells:
(1) Gold Transmutation: increases salary and earned gold by +50%.
(2) Auto-Remedy: Automatically casts Remedy each time the Alchemist slays an enemy.[/collapse]

[collapse Voodoo Demon]


Active spells:
(1) Dark Ritual: Sets energy for allied party to full and increases mana regeneration.
» Dark Swarm costs 125 energy and teleports you to cast location. Lasts 8 seconds.
» Plague costs 100 energy.
(2) Enchant: Takes control over allied spawn units. (Limit of 11.)
(3) Imprisonment: Creates a barrier around the perimeters of your hero, blocking in all units and restricting escape routes.
(4) Soul Rip: Gives an enemy control of your hero, whilst giving you control of their hero. If you kill your own hero (the Defiler), the rival will die and you will respawn a new Defiler with full HP. Cheap? Lol.

Passive spells:
(1) Witchcraft: Increases spell timers for all nearby allied heroes.
(2) Obsidian Magic: Increases salary and converts spent mana into gold.[/collapse]


Post has been edited 18 time(s), last time on Nov 20 2011, 2:57 pm by MetalGear.

Looks great, would like to see a estimated due date though!

Thanks. I'm hoping to get it built real soon!! I'm going to have to borrow some TS fans to help me with BETA testing in a few weeks, so anyone interested, feel free to post/pm.
P.S. I edited the post so you can see the due date

Another one? What happened to your other AoS?

My last AoS was very almost successful; the game-play was fun, the triggers ran well, and it had some great feedback, but it had severe lag issues that basically makes it unplayable. Recently I discovered how to fix the lag issues, but I've been working on some really good ideas over the last few weeks, and I figured I may as well create a new AoS that has room for more players, more heroes, more diversity, and is more fun overall. Also, this map will be a much faster download, so I have more hope for this map getting kicked off.

I'm glad to see that you're going back to 3v3; even if it's difficult to get 6 players for a relatively unknown map, it still feels more "right" than just 2v2. Are you also going to go back to a 3 lane setup?

What will this one have in terms of hero stats/upgrades?

Yep 3v3 is definitely more exciting and I suppose invokes more of a team-play element. It's going to be a 3-lane setup and a slightly bigger battlefield, but less spacious than my other maps. There will be more cliffs and blockages etc, so players will have to be careful to avoid getting blocked.

As for stat upgrades, I haven't actually thought much about that yet. All I have in mind so far is 1. spawn upgades, 2. mana upgrades, 3. money bonus, and 4. learn new spells. I have a feeling that's not enough now that I think about it. I guess it may be worth my time implementing the old stat systems where players can upgrade spells/defenses/XP rate etc. I can easily do that, it just makes my triggering job more heavy lol.

And also, I found that in my last maps where I used the stat system, players seemed to find the upgrades confusing, not knowing what to upgrade (8 different upgrade types), and every time I had to say "CHECK THE MISSION OBJECTIVES!!" I had an alternative thought that involved some kind of item system as opposed to stats. Item systems can get a bit messy though...

I'm confused as to how 3 lanes with 3 players invokes a team-play element? Wouldn't people just take a lane each? 2 lanes would force them to pair up. Meh, I know nothing of DOTA though.

Well, it's a good question, but the idea is that players lane solo early game to gain levels, and work together as a team later on in the game once they're strong enough to get past enemy defenses. Also, I'm using the Warp Gate system from TS, so players may have to team up even during the early game stages to gain Warp Gate control.

Hmm kk well good luck. What is your progress on the map btw?

Haha depends how you define progress. I haven't actually started production yet other than descriptive plans, but if you ask me, planning and having clear vision of all the required systems is the biggest part. I'm 95% done with the plans, and once I'm finished that, I can build the map really quickly (about 2-3 weeks).

This is what the game looks like so far. As you can see, the game mode system is a replica of the one in TS. I also decided to add a Shuttle that allows you to do 2 things: (1) Turn help text on/off (help text gives you hints such as how a spell works when it is cast). (2) Allows you to choose a specific enemy hero to cast spells onto. If you choose not to do this, the game will automatically choose for you.