I'm imagining a Free For All game. Players are thrown on an island. This island offers them special powers that they must use against the other occupants of the island to survive. People will choose from Different spell sets. I want to put the main focus on these special abilities. And i want to have it so that the player has 4 active abilities (like spells) and a passive one. Also, When they use spells, i(Edited out) I am going to have it so that the players will all have the same unit (for example, hydralisk) and the difference is all in how u use your spells or even maybe how you use the other players as allies, enemies, ect.

I have an island terrained out already. I'm thinking of how to make the heroes obtain EXP. So (Discuss this) AoS style creeps would be out of the question since it's not team? There could be an element of territory control, or i could put computer enemy spawn in certain areas of map for an RPGish feel? Player killing will obviously give XP as well. As far as what players can upgrade, I'm thinking of having it split up into things such as Physical and Magical upgrades. This may allow for more custom builds. For example, a player may want to upgrade their hydralisk/things associated with hydralisk or instead upgrade their magic/abilities.

The game of course would end when one player is left standing. Objective is open to change. Can anyone shout out some ideas?


Edit: Please view post below for more detailed and accurate information about my ideas.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Feb 28 2009, 10:16 pm by Norm.

----Keep in mind that I get the certain mentality that these players are sort of "Stranded" on this, and are trying to compete to survive.----

With this scenario, you can have all sorts of fun stuff, like Have the players work with or against eachother, because they realize that the resources are limited. (If they are?)
Hahahaha, you can play all sorts of mind games with these guys! And it would be fun even to WATCH them play with eachother, seeing who allies, or teams, with who, and who fights who, and who betrays who in what way, who kills who....
And if they make teams, what kind of team do they make? One, where theres a leader, and who is top dog? Do they base it on strength? does one kill another? Oh..... how exciting! I mean, rarely does a map maker ever get to play mind games with his gamers!

So let me get this straight:


On an island there are -------
A series of people, all having different skill sets (Will these be pertaining to the island? Like, a player being very skilled with water, gets stronger near the edges of the island and strong near any sort of water, or are these spells that are just plain abilities, like attributes, like a hunter can sense when others are coming by, and can create traps and things?) [I can come up with more skill sets like this, if you need)

And these people are battling to the death: (is this on time, or do they have X amount of lives?

These people are Getting stronger: (Your question is how: Well, you could also have them all be stranded on this island, and have 2 types of Power definement : Strength and Exp. Strength will always be going down, due to constant growing of tiredness/fatigue, hunger, thirst... etc. Hunger can be satisfied through hunting the wildlife [Doesn't necessarily have to be SC critters running around.] or can be satisfied through Vegetable gathering. Now comes the challenge of EXP. This can be gained through several ways. You can select 1, or use any combo and have them all be opportunities for the players to get stronger, better, faster, harder, and all that fun stuff. In my mind, these are the possible ways.
1) Killing (A Classic. Maybe along with weak animals that you can eat from, you can have things like bears and shit running around, and if you kill it, you get some spoils, like its fur or something.)
2) Being alive (Staying alive, have a constant EXP growth from you "Learning from the island")
3) Plain old Activity in certain areas. (Basically, if you cast a spell, your mana goes down, but your EXP goes up a bit because you gain experience with casting that spell.)
4) Selective Activity (Like #3, but instead, you have like 10 different EXP types, like 1 being for Spell casting, one being for hunting/gathering, one being plain fighting with another player... etc.)
5) Difficult Acheivments (Things like Killing a strong creature gives you EXP, though you may come into trouble finding alot of these acheivements.)




Btw, I see tons of possibilities with this map, and If you need a partner, i would love to be on-board. You can have so many things in this, its insane.

For XP: You could put capturable spawners, kind of like Temple Siege's Warp Gates, that spawn fairly dangerous units that can be controlled by the player who owns the spawner. If not given any orders, they run around randomly. Then, the spawned units can be fought to gain XP. (Make them owned by a computer by default.)

Also, if you wanted to, you could add an extra spell to each set by using a Starport instead of a Gateway.

Also, will you take ideas for spells?

Do it like an RPG like spawn, but instead of a certain area, put it like random (I.E Zealot spawns at "loc1" next spawn "loc72" etc).
You should add native tribe islanders. Like Broodlings or something.

itd be more random to just to use randomization of switches to add and remove to a deathcount to pick which spawn it uses wouldnt it?

I have an idea for a map name - Temple Seize.

"Make spawns for two teams"
"Temple Seize"

I think you probably should ask UnholyUrine on how to make a Mech hero.

Seriously guys, keep it to norm's idea. You're getting into temple siege too much.

I'm not saying it should be anything at all like Temple Siege. I just like the name Temple Seize.

You could have a central area that would give you extra EXP for being the only one there (like a King-of-the-Hill).

I second that. Although maybe having a few would be better. (Say, three.)

Also, maybe you could make it so you can get allies somehow. Eg. mercenaries, bodygaurds, familiars, pets, etc.

First note: i WILL be looking for spell ideas. I plan on having a total of 46 or 48 Spells, all of which will be able to upgrade by three levels. Example: Little Flame, Fireball, BIG Fireball, HUGE ASS FUCKING FIREBALL. I plan to have these spells allocated between 15 Different groups which are along the lines of elements. In addition, I plan on having a non-magical spell that is shared between players no matter what skill set they pick. The players will all be given a Hydralisk. This will be their hunter, or their prey- depending on how you look at it. Basically, It will have, one spell slot which is basic skills relating to hunting/combat. Then 3 spell slots which will change depending on which power they inherit. Fire-based spells ect.

Yes, the players will be stranded on an island. They are told to survive, and their incentive is that the only way they can gain their freedom from this island is to be the last one standing. Of course, it'll be fun to have diplomacy totally open so that players can make teams, pairs, or fight on their own. Mind games will be very common because it may be wise to become part of a team, but players must ultimately be the LAST ONE ALIVE. No Team Victories. Solo.

One system I plan to incorporate is that there will be Territories on this island. The number of territories has not yet been decided. One way that players can gain experience is to hold numerous territories. I will probably end up throwing some creeps in the mix as well to add excitement and allow for faster leveling up. (Pending: I plan on having the game strictly PvP based, as in, territories that you claim will only aid you. Even obtaining all of them will not give a victory because the only way to win is to Kill ALL of your enemies.

Another highlighted idea of this map is my hero customization and level up system that i plan on using. I want the players to really be able to diversify their builds. Unlike some games, Multiple players WILL be able to use the same skill set, but i want to maximize the possibilities for character builds to ensure that even two people who pick the same power can be totally different characters. One way I will achieve this is by breaking up level up bonuses into 5 categories. Players will receive a Civ or w/e for their level up. This civ can be invested into one of the following areas:

Vitality- Investing in this area will increase the maximum Life of your Hunter. This is important because once people start breaking out their final spells it won't take much to kill you at low HP.

Strength- Investing in this area will give your minerals. Yours minerals are used to upgrade. You can upgrade the hydra range and speed if you wish, or you can put the minerals into attack and defense upgrades. Attack upgrades will carry over into your basic skills.

Skill- Skill points. Think Diablo2. Basically, you are allowed to put up to 3 skill points into each of yours spells. This enables you to have 4 levels total of each spell. Each level will increase the usefulness of effectiveness of the spell, but it will still be the same spell.

Intelligence- Investment in this area will increase the rate that you regain your Magic energy. This may be important for builds that focus highly on magic use to damage enemies or any other effects they spells may do.

Power- Your magical capability. Investment into this will increase the maximum amount of Magic energy your body can hold. Some builds may not invest much into this area because they could revolve around use of their first or second spell.

BUT WAIT! MY IDEAS AREN'T OVER YET =)

To allow for even more customization, I am going to allow players to pick not only their skill set, but also a passive ability to go with it. I have not yet decided how many passive abilities there will be to choose from, but I'm aiming for 5 or 6. I may need ideas for useful, but not overly powerful passive abilities for the Hunters to choose from.

SPELL SETS:

There are 15 different spell sets to choose from. In addition to these, there is one default skill set that coexists with the one you choose. The following is what I have so far. Use these guidelines if you wish to give any suggestions or ideas for spells, possible builds, or strategies you would like to be offered in this map.

Spell Set(1): The Hunt. You always have this. The spell from this skill set will always be the hotkey 'k' on your gateway. This revolves around the idea that you are a hunter. These spells CAN be improved because they are effected by upgrades, unlike the other 15 spell sets which are independent.

Spell Set(2): Fire
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(3):Lightning
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(4):Time
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(5):Energy
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(6):Earth
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(7):Death
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(8):Wind
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(9):Water
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(10):Light
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(11):Life
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(12):Spirit
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(13):Machinery
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(14):Dark
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(15):Arcane
1.
2.
3.

Spell Set(16):Gravity
1.
2.
3.


-More to come.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Feb 28 2009, 10:24 pm by Norm.

Spell set: AIR
Tornado: Created a Queen. Any enemy that gets to close to it is Moved to a location under it. The spell lasts about 15 seconds. When the spell ends, an Infested Terran is created under the Queen. (It only lasts for one or two seconds.)
Airbolt: Turns you into a Mutalisk for about one second.
Flight: Summons a Shuttle.

And a passive:
Pet Monkey: You start the game with a Zergling under your control.

EDIT: Your description of "THE HUNT" confused me... Is it one spell, or three spells?

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Feb 28 2009, 10:54 pm by James Buchanan.

You should have an option to be able to either pick or make all people have random sets.
Make it sure that they dont know what their opponents pick so that the other players dont know what their up against
They'll be like "OMG lightning!"

Spell Set(4):Time
1. Slow Down- slows down enemies (move burrowed units). More skill points->they go slower
2. Pause- stops time for 5 seconds but you can still move. More skill points->longer duration
3. Backtrack- moves all units to where they were 10 seconds ago. More skill points->less mana+cooldown

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Mar 2 2009, 12:15 am by ForTheSwarm.

Spell set: Machinery
1: Robotic Shift: Turns you into a Dragoon. Upgrades increase the Dragoon's HP.
2: Warp Drone: Creates a Probe that can build Pylons, Photon Cannons, and Shield Batteries. Upgrades to the spell increase the buildings' shields.
3: Mecha Factory: Creates a Factory which can build units. Upgrades allow you to create stronger units. (eg. At level 1, you can only build Vultures, at level 2, you can build Siege Tanks, and at level 3, you can build Goliaths.)

And another passive:
Cybernetics: Your unit is a Goliath instead of a Hydralisk. (You have an Armory and a Machine Shop instead of an Evolution Chamber and a Hydralisk Den.)

How would he reverse time????

You monitor each hydra every second using 1 of 10 locations. The hydras are moved to the "10 seconds ago" location, and hydras that died in the last 10 seconds are revived at 10% HP (or something like that).

Well, Norm's decided he doesn't like my Machine set, so here's another idea:

Spell set: Machine
Assault Train: Turns you into a Vulture. You can only move on Track (see below). Plant Spider Mine to end the spell.
Construct Track: Creates Assault Train Track (Beacon) at your position.
Construct Turret: Creates a Bunker with one Marine in it. Leveling adds more units (maybe Ghosts instead of Marines?) The units can't leave the Bunker and you lose control of the Bunker if you're not standing next to it.

Earth Power, Probably Second. Call it what you want?
It can be balanced, and It hits (Depending on where the unit is in the radius of the spell) 16-49 times.

Higher levels can include More lurks, or More rotations of this.. Ground Fissure or something... Idk?
There are remnants of Certain things in that map from a series of test maps I have made for other concepts. Don't mind those.

I think it looks pretty, Use it or don't, I don't really much care.



---------Edit----------------
I can make more powers for any area (including more earth ones) if you like what you see.

Attachments:

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Mar 1 2009, 3:57 am by Pyro682.

That spell is really fucking sexy........