Maps That Need Help

[Ahura Pandaz]

I'm not sure if this is in the menu of things to work on, but just in case I thought I would bring it up. We have some really good content in maps that seem to be going to waste, all they need is a little buff.

Shad Palace-
Probably the best looking map in the MSC pack, but lets face it, this map could simply be removed and no one would notice or seem to care, which is a real shame because it is a great map. Sure the teleporting and lighting can be tiresome, its longer then the Wall, and in many aspects harder. I've also had the map crash on me once, so I'm not sure if its prone to crashes?

I've played this map 2 times, from what I know the only reward is a frostbow if it spawns and the Orc Chieftain drops a Thunder Axe (no not a Greater) this is the type of map that needs a greater return to get people to play, the frostbow and axe just don't cut it, this is a high level map and it should offer much more return.

IsleOfdread2-
It can be tough and annoying to play, its kinda dark and people are prone to get lost allot, the wolf charm is no longer a viable reason to play this map.

Lastly, I was wondering how hard would it be to make a "nightmare" version like Thornlands of the current maps we have. Would it be as easy as just Ripent the maps and change the damage factors, I think the playtime for higher level players would be greatly increased, you don't have to drop much, just maybe a good potion once in awhile and some better XP.

Thanks for reading,

 

[J-M v2.5.5]

Shad Palace-
Probably the best looking map in the MSC pack, but lets face it, this map could simply be removed and no one would notice or seem to care, which is a real shame because it is a great map. Sure the teleporting and lighting can be tiresome, its longer then the Wall, and in many aspects harder. I've also had the map crash on me once, so I'm not sure if its prone to crashes?

I've played this map 2 times, from what I know the only reward is a frostbow if it spawns and the Orc Chieftain drops a Thunder Axe (no not a Greater) this is the type of map that needs a greater return to get people to play, the frostbow and axe just don't cut it, this is a high level map and it should offer much more return.

In the next patch, the Shahaddar Palace will have a transition at the end to the Shahaddar village. In there you will be able to do all sorts of fancy stuff - rumor has it there will be Orc merchants selling and perhaps even buying high-level gear.
I've complained about the Lodagond-1 final reward being garbage, but Thothie does actually have a point: Lodagond-1 is the gateway to Lodagond-4, which has some of the best items in the game.
Similarly, the Shahaddar Palace will be a gateway to the Shahaddar village, in which new items are most likely to be found. You won't be able to warp to the village; you have to get through the palace first. Which is great, because shad_palace is, hands down, the prettiest MS:C map ever created.

IsleOfdread2-
It can be tough and annoying to play, its kinda dark and people are prone to get lost allot, the wolf charm is no longer a viable reason to play this map.

This map really isn't so hard at all. If you have two or three players with suitable level and gear, you can probably beat it in less than twenty minutes. The only annoying things, if you ask me, are the high regeneration rates on the ether gloams and the map unstability when there are a lot of players in-game and/or when you're playing it on a server that's not very stable. For the latter, I must apologize (being the author of said map). Islesofdread2 really was more stable when I playtested it before JAN2010a.
Also: The original Islesofdread2 was literally pitch black. It's still included with the mod. Play islesofdread2_old and see for yourself. It's much, much, much easier to see things in my remake.
I've also added waypoints. The original map looked identical pretty much everywhere. In my remake you can find, amongst other things, a ruined house, a well, a huge crater, and so on. I think it's safe to say the map isn't all that hard to navigate, even though this statement is coming from someone who knows the map layout like the back of his hand.
As for the shadow wolf charm: It's exclusive to islesofdread2. I remade the map because I wanted to see better rewards (I didn't ask for new items though) and because I thought the original map didn't look very good, was way too dark and was way too difficult to navigate (because everything looked alike). I never asked for any new, unique items. So obviously I'm very glad Thothie put the shadow wolf charm in. Some people prefer shadow wolves over winter wolves (I don't) so they have reason to play my map, at least once.

Lastly, I was wondering how hard would it be to make a "nightmare" version like Thornlands of the current maps we have. Would it be as easy as just Ripent the maps and change the damage factors, I think the playtime for higher level players would be greatly increased, you don't have to drop much, just maybe a good potion once in awhile and some better XP.

This'd require at the very least some custom textures, maybe even some custom models, maybe even custom monsters and maybe even custom items. So it's not all that easy.

 

[zeus9860]

All im going to point out:

-Shad Palace leads to sorc_village via transition (map that will likely get released next patch). Since its meant to be a village, i am 100% sure the things we will see there will be more than worth the time we spend doing shad_palace. Map isn't that hard either, just annoying that u get manipulated too much by lightning or thrown away by juggernauts.
The rewards in the end suck balls in a way, because when this map got out i managed to get the phoenixbow 1st after spending 3-4 hours beating the map with 2 more players, 1 hour later after obtaining it the hard way i found out about this secret transition thingy that ruined my moment and dropped both bows like every run people did... :|

-Islesofdread2, easy map when u got 2 experienced players playing it. 1 goes hunting and 1 defends the npc, simple has that. JM's remake of islesofdread2 makes things easier and look better but it still isnt worth getting more loot, i checked the loot from that map a few days ago and it isn't bad at all. Took me + 5 players like 5-10 minutes to beat the map and get the rewards, and only 3 of us were killing the elders.

-Nightmare maps seem to be *easier* projects than making new maps from what i heard lately, doesnt require that much effort either to make one and if im not mistaking they have been working on some nightmare map(s) already. Though i can't be so sure about this one, guess it's up for other people to explain this other than me.

 

[Srgnt Rehab]

Shad village..... /drool

 

[Srgnt Rehab]

Ugh, I love the map "the_wall", but every time I get to the elevator with my friends, the server crashes... I sure hope the new dungeons don't crash every 15minutes.....

 

[TheOysterHippopotami]

You know what map needs some fucking work? Edana.

Seriously. That map probably drives away more new players than any other factor.

 

[Srgnt Rehab]

You know what map needs some **** work? Edana.

Seriously. That map probably drives away more new players than any other factor.

Yeah... but thats where I got all my equipment! Maybe if they nurffed the mobs and made it for low levels...

 

[zeus9860]

Why would edana need some work on? Thats like saying char_recover needs to be spiced up... Seriously, only thing i can think of that it might lack is the quests for newbies with decent rewards to make the quests worth the time you spend.

It doesnt need any work, maybe a few more boars/rats might help, but its a town and its meant to be someplace where you sit down and enjoy the moments or trade stuff rather than kill stuff. Other than that Edana is pretty much fine right now. If you want a town with unfriendly npc's go to helena.

Also, if Edana needed to be changed in anyway, i think deralia would need it more. It doesnt have anything to kill at all except guards/friendly npcs. And there's only 2 or 3 things worth to go there (quest related things).

 

[TheOysterHippopotami]

Why would edana need some work on?

It's one of the ugliest maps in the game. That factor alone drives away players.

Also, if Edana needed to be changed in anyway, i think deralia would need it more. It doesnt have anything to kill at all except guards/friendly npcs. And there's only 2 or 3 things worth to go there (quest related things).

I definetly agree that Deralia needs fixing.

 

[J-M v2.5.5]

Why would edana need some work on?

It's one of the ugliest maps in the game. That factor alone drives away players.

I can give you a whole list of maps that are way uglier, but I don't want to insult people.
The Temple of Urdual for example is very detailed when you take into account how old it is.

 

[TheOysterHippopotami]

I can give you a whole list of maps that are way uglier, but I don't want to insult people.
The Temple of Urdual for example is very detailed when you take into account how old it is.

I agree it isn't the ugliest by a long shot. But it is ugly and it's the first map most players see. I think it has the same effect as our hands have on people.

Also, I should have mentioned that the Temple of Urdual is one of the most awesome things in the whole game. It's everything outside that needs work, imo.

 

[zeus9860]

I can give you a whole list of maps that are way uglier, but I don't want to insult people.
The Temple of Urdual for example is very detailed when you take into account how old it is.

Yeah... though the priests inside it are fugly has hell which degrades its beauty by alot.

[Suggestion]Now that i think of it, someone could always change that underground area into something more @ Edana. Seems to be a good place for another "newbie quest" that can be related to some undead person... something like an undead Hero summoned back to serve x necromancer, or someone who needs to be purified after being cursed by x enemy in order to be free, etc etc... This could also be a connection to a nightmare version of edana connected to that same spot with a transition showing a "what if" edana town in chaos ruled by undeads and their lord itself [/Suggestion]
There's plenty of stuff to add or change to make this suggestion suitable to most players, personally i like it even though its meant for lower levels than me.


Derailed the thread more, but i thought this suggestion *might* be interisting for future quests for them starters/newbies/medium lvl players. I also didn't feel like making a thread either. So i hijacked yours

 

[Thothie]

Dissing Edana? Jeeze... Only thing that's bothered me about Edana, aesthetically, is those darn crystals in the uppper Urdualian temple walkways... Where the map author rotated them 45 degrees, creating invalid shapes, and when Hammer (or more likely, Worldcraft) said, "Oh no you dinnt!" - the mapper said, "Fix it, biatch.", and it did, and as usual, did a bang up job of it.

That whole four horsemen of the apocalypse thing down in the caves has always been very out of place, but it's been there since the beginning of time. Been considering setting up two temples for Felewyn and Torkalath down there instead, as well as a place for beginner Titles.

The only functional thing I can think of is that darn Boar sequence constantly breaking. It suffers from the old monster-chain bug. And yeah, could use some more NPCs... Just don't want so many the map gets unstable.

 

[Ahura Pandaz]

In the next patch, the Shahaddar Palace will have a transition at the end to the Shahaddar village. In there you will be able to do all sorts of fancy stuff - rumor has it there will be Orc merchants selling and perhaps even buying high-level gear.
I've complained about the Lodagond-1 final reward being garbage, but Thothie does actually have a point: Lodagond-1 is the gateway to Lodagond-4, which has some of the best items in the game.
Similarly, the Shahaddar Palace will be a gateway to the Shahaddar village, in which new items are most likely to be found. You won't be able to warp to the village; you have to get through the palace first. Which is great, because shad_palace is, hands down, the prettiest MS:C map ever created.

Good news, thanks, that will be one long fight to get to the village, maybe have some loadstone for sale so next time you run it, it's allot less of a pain . I do also agree about lodagond being a gateway, it's worth the trip.

 

[Srgnt Rehab]

Also, while talking about shad_palace and its loot (might be a little off topic) but the Pheonix Bow that drops either isn't working as intended, I'm using it wrong, or us underpowered *Not complaining, just observing* because it req lvl 30 but is less useful then the Frost Bow that only req lvl 25. After several hours of testing the Pheonix Bow I came to the conclusion that it is a GREAT idea, but doesn't do the job like the Frost Bow or Orian's Bow....

 

[zeus9860]

Phoenix bow is much likely the samething has a torkbow right now, it's only worth using at some places like [insert map here where you travel into the past]. It can really get effective at times when 3 or 4 players use any of these bows at the same time. Phoenix bow is also meant for long distance kills and not close range kills, frostbow beats phoenix bow in close range, but phoenix bow holds the title for long range kills.

 

[CrazyMonkeyDude]

Phoenix Bow has a shorter range than Orion or Frost, yet does more damage the further away it hits the ground from you. It also has a larger radius at full range, costs NO mana, and does a DoT that trains fire.

It also has a minimum range where it won't do any damage at all. So try to use it when you're able to shoot far enough away to make it useful.