New to map-making and needing some help

well, ty for the info. im sure this will have a nice and a bit scary effect to my loadscreen .

no problem. the only thing i'm regreting is that i had to use a photo for the background, since i'm really bad at drawing. i had several ideas for it, but only this one was possible.

hmmm....the triggers for the earning gold/wood are working fine...all that's left are spawning triggers, hero triggers and features triggers
after that remodeling the terrain and adding heroes

btw, the new earning gold/wood system is made so it will test the teamplay between players . if the players have good teamplay the game will be easier, but if the players are arguing all the time they'll increase the chances of losing . well, nothing says the players will chose team earning mode but if they like it when it's harder then they will chose it

i like teamplay maps - mine is one too. You will have almost no chance to win without mayor teamwork.

Now im almost done with my map. If save-load system is ready i just need to do the final outro-cinematic and some balancing. Im in test phase now.

been awhile

actually, i'm quite busy with my real life problems so the map making won't advance for some time...

i've been thinking....should i put a protection on the map or not when finished? because, sure i don't mind sharing the triggers and ideas of the map with others, but i hate when a stupid guy, not knowing what to do, takes the map, edit it a bit and claims he made it ....but then, as long as the map keeps the bg and minimap images no one can claim he's the maker because i'm the only one who knows what the signs on the images mean . this may be a new way of keeping ownership of maps

okay....up till today, i only had a general idea about the storyline...but today i thought a bit about it and came with a more precise idea, so i'll write it here because i want to know what you think about it.

the campaign name is "Eternal Heroes" (it may be changed later to adapt to the campaign plot) and it will talk about the eternal heroes ( duh u__u; ).

more seriously, the story begins with a spirit, the lowest life form in the campaign (in the game too as i recall O_o?? ). the spirit can't do much : it can walk around and see invisible beings, it also can take damage by magic beings (since it's a spirit, material things pass trough it). but, it has a special power : to capture the souls of the fallen warriors to add the energy of the soul to its. by storing energy they gain power, but they still can't use it to atack or do anything else but capture more souls. once they have stored enough energy they can gain flesh and powers, in other words they become a living being, in this case, a hero. but, since it's a spirit gaining a flesh body, it has to choose what it will become. it will have to choose from 5 races on each side (5 races for good side and 5 races from bad side). after that, the hero will have to gain experience to gain ranks. each rank will bring new powers and new strenght (yea, this part is the same as what you usually do). after a number of ranks, the new hero will have a possibility to evolve into a higher being and, this time he will also have to choose from a number of different evolved forms (at the moment i think 3 evolutions will be enough, and yes, that means there is one more evolution).

now for the story : the spirit is a spirit of a fallen hero from ancient times. it couldn't attain peace and go to heaven because the hero had too many regrets at the moment he died. it was wandering around because there was peace in the world so the world didn't have a need for a hero. but soon, a new war will begin. a war far greater than any before. that is why the spirit decides to revive itself and help those in need. through 5-10 maps (i don't know exactly how many maps i'll make but it should be around this many) the spirit will gain energy, strength and power to try and stop the war, becoming an eternal hero in the eyes of the world (yea, like i'd spoil the game by talking about what will happen in the campaign). of course, one hero isn't enough for a campaign, so while searching for power, the spirit will gain some "brothers-in-arms" to help it with its quest.

whew...that was long. anyway, with only this, you may think it's a normal campaign, nothing new.....well, you may be right, but you also may be wrong, it all depends of what experience you have with games (i'm talking here about all games, not only W3). also, in the campaign, there will be a regular evolution of the hero, and the evolution will be limited per map, but in the multiplayer version all the evolutions will be enabled....hummmmm.....maybe i should limit it too, may be funnier that way

so, let's see, 2 sides (bad & good) each has 5 evolutions and each of these will have around the same amount of evolutions, which makes 2+(2*5)+(2*5*5) = 62 heroes.....gotta make work hard my imagination for the spells...if possible, i'll add more evolutions after, when the final versions of the maps were released.

edit : just saw the desription is a real mess, so please don't mind it. also, since it's only a begining idea it may be altered to fit the gameplay.

first: nice to hear from you again . well... i was absent this week too cause i just begun studying this week. very busy this times ^^ .

well the idea with a 'code' in your minimap is really good as far as he doesnt change it .

Anyway.. i read your description and im now really interested in your maps - sounds very exciting. im really looking forward to the day when you post them...
Especially that the soul evolves by 'eating' other souls ... great.

btw... in what time your story plays? in past (would fit better to the story) or in present?
well or in both so the sould maybe is prisoned at any reason and is freed in present again....

and did i understand you right that you can load the char of the campaign in your multiplayer version? huh... fantastic. Sounds like much much MUCH MUCH M U C H work.

well if you need feedback, help or testers lets say that i will help where i can....

hm... little problem that i havent yet a internet connection. im talking to you from an other pc than mine.

if i can find next month or so a new flat i will be able to help ya better cz then i have WE and broadband again.

Im going to see from time to time what is posted here but as i said im very busy for a while, so dont worry if you have to wait a bit for further answers...

Anyway, good luch with your map and PM me if its ready !!

okay....i think i'll need to explain a bit more about this campaign :

1. the "eating souls" ability isn't that hard, but it still needs JASS knowledge... since there isn't a spell model i could use for it.

2. about the "loading characters" thing (sorry but i'll answer this one first), i won't make it possible to load a character from the campaign into multiplayer or multiplayer into campaign. i'll leave normal save/load system in the campaign. but, i'll make it so a save-code from a multiplayer map could be used on any of the multiplayer version maps of the campaign. i.e. : you play the map "the birth of the eternals" and save the hero getting a code. you play another map from the campaign, errr let's say the name is "evolving". now, instead of having to begin anew building another/same hero all over, you'll only have to use the code you got from the other map. of course, each map will have peculiar heroes so it doesn't get boring having the same heroes in every map, but those maps will have common heroes and i'll list them in quests window so you won't have to check every hero in each map.

3. the happening of the story.....err....as i said i still only have the general idea, i'll develop the story later and add details to it. the first map of the campaign is the multiplayer version (it's because the multiplayer version is more dynamic than single player ones so i began with this version) so i won't have to worry about the story line till i begin the campaign version of the maps. by the way, the first map is also a huge one, actually it's the maximum size allowed by the WE 256x256 with removed camera limits. i choose this size because i needed space to add some strategy need. in this one rushing won't help as will not boosting hero.

the alpha version of the map is 90% done what will not be done in the alpha is bug corrections (well duh, it's not called alpha for naught) balancing (i don't have a sense for it since it's only my second map so i'll leave it alone till the testings) heroes (well, it sure will have some, but not all will be there) and advanced features (i have many ideas but i'll leave most of them for the beta version).

what needs to be done are triggers, towers and shops (all other buildings are done) and advanced terraining. after that's done i'll post the alpha version. actually, i occured some problems when testing a trigger : the trigger worked fine when i tried the map alone, but when i tried it with my little brother (lan game) it wasn't working; that's why i'll leave some advanced features for the beta and post for testing the alpha.

O_O i wrote so much....and i could go on...but instead i should be finishing the map..but right now i'm too exhausted to do anything else beside replying u_u . but what worries me is that tomorrow is my birthday....and i'm not even at least excited or happy...."just a normal day....as usual" is what i'm feeling....am i not normal? o_O

edit : forgot to say but...the reason why i'll not allow the campaign/multiplayer hero mix is because even if both multiplayer and single player maps will contain the same heroes, there will be some difference : campaign will contain some campaign only objects, units, maybe even spells (will have to think about that one). on the other hand, the multiplayer map will have some unique heroes/races (call it whatever you want for now), objects spells (it's sure for this one). also, when playing in multiplayer, you may advance faster in avolving making the campaign easier if the same hero from multiplayer map is loaded. which i call "cheating". hope i didn't forget anything.

omg, you should become a journalist or something where u can write as MUCH as you want .

anyway ty for the detailed description, as i said im very interested when your maps are rdy...

uhm... well... as it is almost tomorrow i may congratulate you to your birthday then. hehe and if you are 'normally' it depends a bit on how old you become... if you become 18 or somethin important age... i think THEN u worked too long on your map .

lolz, thank you, and i'm 22 tomorrow

also....usually i'm the quiet, shy(?) kind of guy (yea right u_u).....at least at first i was like that with everybody, now only those that aren't in my circle of friends or higher (best friend, family...) that see me like that (there is a reason for that). anyway, the thing is that it must be from that and also the fact that my imagination is overactive that i can write or talk almost non-stop wherever, whenever....lol, whhenever i was doing the written expression part in english tests (remember i said i'm living in france), i always went over the word-limit given to us....in french tets as well...but it was only in the beggining, till i learned french . anyway, i'm telling you about my life here and that has nothing to do with maps.

but, i'd like to straighten out one thing, you always tell "you maps", but please keep in mind it'll be slow and i'll be releasing the multiplayer versions first, one by one, then the whole campaign, when it's ready. i know that you surely meant that when you wrote "your maps" but just in case....dunno why i'm concerned about this...sorry for my all my babbling...

edit : oh, if you like te idea of this map then you should've seen the first i made...it wa s a mix of hero defense, tower wars and aeon...really good one....the only problem at the testing was...it has 3 modes in it and the unit count was overloaded, when i first tried the map it was like 1 image per 30 seconds....then i modified it a bit, and it worked fine, but then, there wasn't enough units to be fun....it needed more, but more meant lag...that's why i abbandoned the map for some time...then i got a hard disk bug, formating disks, reinstalling windows, so and so...after all that, when i wanted to try and finish the map i realised i lost the unprotected version...so now i can't edit it even if a wanted to...and the version that's left is the oldest one...without the corrections and some balancing...so even if i got the unprotecting program it'll need a complete remaking...that's why i started this new campaign

edit 2 : which reminded me, i made a gold/wood earning system for that map.....which i haven't seen in regular aeon maps....maybe i'll also add it in this map ....which will make it 3 gold/wood earning systems to choose from....it may prove to be interesting

i'm back

i've been lazy these days so the project didn't advance even a bit. anyway, now it will. i was thinking about the soul-eating spell and thought that a spell targeting a dead body was simply plain....so i decided to make it another way : the spell will be a unit-eating spell taken from dragons, and edited a bit, on the other hand, there will be a trigger that, each time a unit dies rondomises the appearance of a ghost (i thought that making a ghost for each dead unit will shorten the soul collecting part of the game), i think i'll make it like 1 chance out of 5 or 3 (wouldn't want to make it last too long either). I'd like to say that i have an icon set for the spell, but i'n not good at graphic things so i'll check in icon section if someone can help me out with this.

After that, i'll have to begin hero making and trying to imagine the spells they'd have.

I'm sure i'm forgetting things but i'll report them when on it.

hey there,
nice to hear from you again. i was a bit lazy last times too, cause i still started studying and its all a bit hectic these times....
anyway, i worked on my first map a bit, and im now proud to say it is almost ready at all and will soon appear (hopefully ) on b.net.

i browsed a bit the icon-section and i think its better to make an own icon for reasons of "uniqueness" (spelling? omg ). if i can help, post here. for example this icon - if you want me to give it a try - tell me what should be seen on the icon ...

till then... cu

------Sunny_D------

oh, i'd be glad if you could try to make it

as for what i'd like ti to be....err....i don't mind anything as long as it shows it's a soul-eating.

today i'm tired cuz i stayed late and had to get up early (my dad needed me to do some desktop works u_u) so i think today i'll be resting a bit and maybe thinking about heroes to make for the map.

also, i still need to think about the save system....i never had to do one before and still have no idea how to even begin....can anyone help me even a little with this?

ok, i will give it a try

and with

ks13also, i still need to think about the save system....i never had to do one before and still have no idea how to even begin....can anyone help me even a little with this?

hm... first step is to think about, what should be saved. then i may help you with that.

Question: do you use normal WE or World Editor Unlimited WEU ? that would be important for my further advises and helps...

first : i like your avatars (might put on mine, haven't thought about it till now)

i personnaly was, and am still but less now than then, in images and photos. i got myself something like 10k+ images on a cd and got 6gb+ on my hd but lost most of those when my hd crashed so now i got to redownload them all again. fortunaltely all personnal images and pics were saved because they were in a differenct place XD.

anyway (still ranting on and on off topic u_u), i'm using WE for now, but i downloaded WEU and it's ready to install, i'm not using it only because till now i haven't seen a need to.

also, what i need to save is the hero, the money/wood, objects the hero is carrying and hero's stats (because i might add some upgrading tomes so i think no player would like to see his efforts on upgrading his hero wasted). i don't think i'll put the advanced bag feature (the bag with a menu called by "esc" button or some ability button) because then i'd make a RPG and not an aos/aeon/whatever like map.

there is one thing though : i've seen some abilities that, when you click on them give you a new set of abilities/upgrades/options to chose from and i'd like to know how to do that. i suppose it's JASS based and can be found on the forum so i'll try to look it up.

edit : forgot the important thing : since i was resting (which, for some reason, is the time when my brain uses full power on thoughts processing) i thought about some interessting features to add in the game. unfortunately, i can't add them with the map being as it is, so i'll do some minor changes on the terrain so i can add those features. with those added the game should become VERY interesting