Specifications
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-Players
•2 to 8, in two teams. 3v3 and 4v4 is preferred. 1v1 prone to imbalance due to unit differences/weaknesses.
-Map tileset
•Space Platform (Facility), Lava (Volcano), and Badlands (Highway), so far.
-Map size
•128w x 64h for each, though actual usable area differs, basically Large > Small listed above.
Storyline / Introduction
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There is no major storyline. The premise is simply that of 2 opposing teams infiltrating some neutral facility, and hacking into terminals to gain control of the facility. This map is solely for strategic cooperative combat and fun.
Features
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-Player Interface
•Use Dropship to select your single character.
•Game has already started, so hurry and make a strategy.
•Use Shuttle in corner to cast a spell.
-Ban system
•Player 1 may take the broodling in the high center of map to the neutral photon cannon colored the player you want to ban. Stay there for a few seconds, and it will acknowledge the ban. Banning yourself will ban everyone: useful for rm'ing.
-Spell system
•Shuttle Drop select system (and Dropship select for initial unit choice). Units inside say name and cost. (very rare glitch: won't drop. try moving the shuttle some and then drop to fix.)
•Consumes gas, as do upgrades nearby. You may lean toward more spells than upgrades, in hopes of dominating or winning early.
-Spawning
•Respawn time takes longer with every few deaths, and dying costs your team points (you 41, them 40 each). You gain 25 gas to help you get back on your feet (not much).
•Utilizes an instant kill from an immobile guardian in the corner, behind where you spawn.
-Music
•Facility: Orbital - Know Where To Run (epic Techno)
•Volcano: Kagrra, - Amafurase Tanmaina (JRock) ["If But Rain Were Sent!" approx translation. classical japanese is scary, and this didn't match exactly = =; ]
•Highway: Game Over - Cataclysmic Crash (Megaman 3 OCRemix - Top Man). Btw, really corny lyrics, so you'd be a happier person not trying to figure them out =P.
•Plans for music for new terrains already... just gotta make ones that fit.
-SFX
•Custom SFX, but from SC itself to cut down on map size. Usually they're less-used effects or combinations to create a "new" sound.
-What's new in your map that others have not done before? (to the best of my knowledge:)
•I've incorporated a Did You Know (DYK) system. It selects a random message from 29 currently, and will display one once in a while (and once early on). I tried to keep it succinct (thanks to aphtershox). This will help avoid early player extinction from lack of information, hopefully, by giving strategies and how-to's for each unit and the game in general.
•There are currently 3 widely different terrains to battle on, with the same rules. They each have their own music, if a music version (denoted by an 'm' at end of file).
•I enjoy uniqueness, but I'm more concerned with making things as best as possible. In general I don't use outside sources as inspiration, so I'm sure you'll see a little uniqueness in the spells now and then, and the territory control system.
•Another thing a bit unique is that I ENCOURAGE people to take this map, and change the terrain and number of territories, and even add things if they wish. I want to provide the game, but I want to see many maps of this game, if it proves any bit successful. I expect a smaller map with maybe 5 territories would be more suited to a 2v2 match, for instance. I do not expect 1v1's to ever be interesting.
•When a player dies, the map identifies them by color, and taunts them. Each player gets his own set of 4 taunts, each of which he shares with one other player. This is a simplified version of what Unreal Tournament does, saying things like "so-and-so fragged what's-his-name" but without the killer's identity confirmed. I think it just makes things more fun. It also attempts to identify the killer and plays a talk sfx from that character randomly if successful, which is usually. This method cuts down on strings and is more interesting IMO.
•Keeps track of who has died most on one team by making their score 1 less than the other teammates (it actually subtracts 40 minerals from each, 41 from him, currently).
•One-time forgiving of lifting crowded upgrade buildings by having a duplicate of the lift-able ones. This is more for those that accidentally hit 'L', not those stupid enough to try lifting after being told not to.
•Fog of War art. Not much, but a little for each terrain and a gl + hf drawn in =P. whee. Also taken fog off of areas that are not specifically passable terrain, aka water outside main arena, hugging it tightly.
•High emphasis on strategies involving team choice. This will evolve as players gain experience, yet encourages creativity and "cheese" quick assault strats (like going all scv =P). This could become something big for tournaments.
Details
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-Characters
You must have the ability to detect on your team, and each unit detects differently. Some are good at it, while others are not:
•Ghost )( Specialist - Good range, fair against infantry. Low offense, but can summon guard dogs (2 random kinds), spider mines, and has a ComSat. No ghost upgrades, so no cloak or high-distance vision. Remember, non-infantry cannot hack (with the exception of SCV's android and battle mech).
•SCV )( Technician - Hacks into territory nodes about 2x as fast as normal infantry (5 seconds instead of 12). Ability to create defensive/hacking(normal speed) robots, and a tank to get in and out of (neutral when out, and cannot hack). Can build turrets and team bunkers as well. The bunkers require that only one person from the team is near them, and then it will be given to that person. They act as good doors, if used properly. Use Building Instructions (free) for more info.
•Dark Templar )( Assassin - Always cloaked and with observer. Comes with the ability to teleport home and to use a 1-time-only Vitality Pill, which enhances his HP/shield and movement speed.
•Kerrigan Ghost )( Sniper - Very strong against infantry. upgrades make a big difference. You have the ability to "Snipe," which involves staying in place and being given infinite energy to cloak (cannot otherwise). It will, however, drain gas, and you must press 'h' for Hold or aim manually, as ghosts don't fire while cloaked unless they're holding or you give them a specific target. You'll get the hang of this as you use it more. Focus Sight can be used once Hide is activated, and you gain an invincible observer for until you unHide. It can wander fairly far, but no upgrades.
•Marine )( Shock Trooper - Like it sounds, this guy's strong against infantry. He has the ability to Stim and to cast "Grenade," a single siege tank. He also Endure (invincibility), which drains gas like mad. Weapon upgrades are a must. Counter Melee surrounds you with low-HP mines for a moment, to deal with cloaked enemies. You are invincible while they explode.
•Medic )( Medic - Comes with a short-ranged attack (chooses closest first, summons a firebat attacking a P11 Lurker, can be upgraded, essentially detects). You may use heal, and research optic flare and restore. You also have Emergency Energy, Refill Energy, and Self-Heal. Use Emergency Energy when out and it's necessary, but only use Refill energy (100%) when necessary and you don't plan on dying until using it, as it's expensive.
Screenshots
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Intro with sfx. I actually just noticed I created a stupid bug from v1.1 to v1.2 that centers the screen on the middle of the map after a second or so. I'm looking into it.A Specialist has successfully hacked a Control Node, shown by the light blue crystal Light Team Marker close by. He is accompanied by his faithful dog, who unfortunately cannot hack.Procedure for creating and entering a Light Tank. It appears purple, but it's actually neutral, for any scv to enter, friend or foe.Facility: A somewhat asymmetrical layout... my original terrain updated. Not so good for small teams. Scx2jpg doesn't like doodads...Volcano: War centered in the middle, but there's still ample room.Highway: A lot of confrontation on thin paths, but it's spread out.
History and Background
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"Domination" is a mode in Unreal Tournament. As such, this map is based off its concept, and is also based off of the game itself a bit as well. This map was started out 4 years ago, but faced inefficient trigger architecture (better now) and later string overusage (needed to recycle but didn't understand scmdraft's spiffy weird method). Since finishing mostly, I faced the problem of not getting any joiners for a game that is at its best with 3v3 or 4v4. I've had luck a few times and that lead me to discover bugs and imbalances and look at it more from a player's perspective for improvements, so I've had to do some big changes 2 more times. I've received good reviews from most players that actually play it, so that's encouraged me to work on this map over others lately.
Future
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I hope to see more terrain maps set to these triggers, and perhaps variations on the units and gameplay style, by making this open source. I also hope to make more terrains of my own for this, if I have the time.
I do figure I'll make another version in some time, after I get more feedback and find more things to tweak at once. Right now I'm simply concentrating on getting the map out, as it works well and is a good product. Some things I'm considering changing for v1.21 or 1.3:
•Attempt to make Shock Trooper's Counter Melee work faster by keeping the mines somewhere else and then moving them... Would make it a pretty sure kill though. If not that, then a lower cost.
•Add a Snipe attack utilizing a cloaked Wraith for high normal damage while in Hide mode.
•Add some form of Assassin special attack, as there is none. Perhaps at the same time, lower his attack a bit. My ideas on this are a bit limited (a trap? a one-hit tele+kill low range?), so help would be appreciated.
•Victory triggers are not acting as they should (only works for one member of team despite allied vict and all getting vict in same trig cycle). I fact, I'm quite confused now because I set them all to Draw (thought that'd at least be more consistent)... I wonder if I have an old defeat trigger floating around... I'll have to do a search on that.
•Perhaps look into TinyMap or whatnot for a compressed version... though I'd rather keep it unprotected and there's a lot of versions already... a lot to juggle.
Download:
Have fun and spread it around! Full house is quite good.
Dominance: Facility w/ music (large map)
Dominance: Facility -no music (large map)
Dominance: Volcano w/ music (medium map)
Dominance: Volcano -no music (medium map)
Dominance: Highway w/ music (medium but tight map)
Dominance: Highway -no music (medium but tight map)
Made with Showcase Template[/quote]
[12-9-08 Edit: typos]
[12-12-08
Edit1: some new info on next version, uniqueness, and screenshots.
Edit2: Added list of DYK's (Did You Know's) for your instructional use. Also added revision/thoughts list (Dom fixes.txt), somewhat messy.]
[1-09-09 Edit: revamped post, fixing errors. Took 2 edits cuz re-uploading an attachment erased my work, but luckily I ctrl+c'd.]