The idea behind this map is a fairly simple 1v1 player versus player cross between a MOBA game and a traditional RTS. Like most "tug of war" style games, waves of units would periodically spawn and push towards a base at the opposite end of the map, with the ultimate objective being to destroy the enemy base. Unlike most MOBA games, however, hero units would not be the focus of the player-controlled elements. Instead, players would utilize a fixed income to create traditional RTS style units directly under their control to help push down the lanes or defend, and invest in upgrades for their base and units. The focus of the gameplay would be the use and control of multiple impactful units with interesting abilities, and high replay value through player controlled strategies and choices with a relatively simple and linear objective.
Map Design
The map design would look a lot like most MOBA style games, a long horizontal map with a base at either end and 1-3 lanes connecting the two. Artisitically, the map would appear as a human city that is still standing on one end, and progresses gradually from still-standing, to war-torn in the center, and then to zerg-infested on the other end. The general feel of the map should be that of a human military base in the heart of a city that is repelling an invasion of insectoid aliens that are infesting the city.
Gameplay Specifics
Minerals-"Minerals" would be generated at a fixed rate for both players, and simply serve as a limit to the speed at which additional units under the players control could be created. To prevent pooling a huge amount of minerals and simply countering whatever units the enemy has created, a maximum amount of minerals could be collected before income would stop, until some minerals have been used.
Energy-The player's main base would have several abilities that the player could cast, expending energy. The abilities would help turn the tide of battle when you are on the defensive or give an extra bit of a push when making an assault.
Gas-Each player would have access to several (possibly 3) "specializations." By killing enemy units using your player controlled units, gas (lets call it XP) would be generated that could be invested into these specializations to upgrade the waves of units, gain access to more powerful player-controlled units or upgrade existing ones, or gain access to powerful base abilities. The upgrades chosen would be integral to the strategies used by the players to counter the enemy's unit type or playstyle, so a player's specialization could be reset during the game to prevent hard-counters, but of course not all of the XP would be refunded and this process would take some time. The humans would have access to specializations such as robotics (granting access to drone-like units such as ravens and widow mines and smart-weapon abilities), aircraft (gaining access to aircraft-dropped infantry or attack based air units and airstrike abilities), or mechanized ground forces (gaining access to ground-based vehicles and mechs with powerful upgrades). The aliens would have access to specializations such as flying strains (adding wings to waves of zerglings and granting access to other player controlled air units and powerful abilities to swarm the enemy with flying creatures), parasitic strains (focusing on dealing damage over time and infecting enemy units to spawn smaller units to overwhelm the enemy), or caustic strains (focusing on creating powerful mostly-ground units that use ranged acid attacks).
Balance-Because the two races pitted against each other are not balanced equally and play differently, unlike most MOBA style games, balance would be a concern. The aliens would spawn more NPC units with each wave, but they would be weaker than the human's. Creep would automatically spread slowly down each lane, but tumors would be visible at all times and could be attacked by NPCs. Creep would weaken enemy units standing on it, so alien NPCs would generally lose fights off of creep and win fights on creep. This would be tuned such that the two sides would generally reach a stalemate in the center of the map without player intervention. Additionally, the humans would have more NPC controlled static defenses and be able to erect more defenses to hold ground that has been taken, while the aliens would get slightly more offensive upgrades that would help them push past these defenses if the right tactics and upgrades are chosen.
Units-The player controlled units spawned by each side would be much more impactful and powerful than in traditional Starcraft melee games, but would not be as powerful as hero units. For example, a late game unit based off of the swarm host (caustic strain unit idea?) might function more like a siege tank, able to fire off ranged attacks while unrooted, but also might be able to root in place to spawn waves of 3 banelings every few seconds. A viking-based unit (aircraft specialization?) might deal more damage in assault mode than in the base game and have no air-to air attack, but move much quicker to allow a couple of these units to rapidly move from one location to another when defending or pushing a lane. A human ground unit based off of the upcoming cyclone might additionally have an ability that unleashes a rain of missiles to saturate and area dealing damage over a couple of seconds. Units would not be created in as great of numbers as in melee games, and as such micro would be important. Though multiple units would be commanded by the player, each unit would usually have an active ability that would need to be used to get the most out of the unit, and to keep the game action packed and fast packed. The humans might command at most 15 units at a time, while the aliens would control anywhere from 10-30 depending on whether they specialize in many weaker units or larger stronger units.
Buildings-Some buildings would be able to be created by both sides, but most of these buildings would have some sort of attack or serve some purpose. For example, the humans may be able to create turrets or bunkers to help hold ground that has been taken, while the aliens might be able to create nests to help spread creep more rapidly or spawn a couple more zerglings to attack down a lane. Most larger buildings would be fixed in place and while they would serve some purpose, such as walls or turrets providing static base defense, or providing a place to invest in upgrades or activate certain abilities or train player controlled units, these types of buildings could not be rebuilt and would be pre-built at the beginning of each game.
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I am trying my best to get started on this, but I am very new to the editor so it is slow going. I would love to work with someone else if anyone is interested. Any input is appreciated, including on pointers to resources that may be helpful, gameplay ideas, or suggestions.
1v1 is a dead end imo, make it an available mode (1v1 which u can choose) and u need 3v3 at least to be intresting for a moba game. So far doen't seem anything exceptional from your summary but id have to see it ingame to have a proper opinion + there will be a ton more details about it when the game will be finnished most probably. This hybrid type with rts can have alot of potential but so far i havent seen any good game in sc2 of this type. Hero attack 3X in na is a little similar (in hybrid rts and moba) but its complete crap.
Also id say make it equal on rts and moba game + adding some hardcore mechanics + being very fast paced could make it very awesome.
General Gameplay Principles
The idea behind this map is a fairly simple 1v1 player versus player cross between a MOBA game and a traditional RTS. Like most "tug of war" style games, waves of units would periodically spawn and push towards a base at the opposite end of the map, with the ultimate objective being to destroy the enemy base. Unlike most MOBA games, however, hero units would not be the focus of the player-controlled elements. Instead, players would utilize a fixed income to create traditional RTS style units directly under their control to help push down the lanes or defend, and invest in upgrades for their base and units. The focus of the gameplay would be the use and control of multiple impactful units with interesting abilities, and high replay value through player controlled strategies and choices with a relatively simple and linear objective.
Map Design
The map design would look a lot like most MOBA style games, a long horizontal map with a base at either end and 1-3 lanes connecting the two. Artisitically, the map would appear as a human city that is still standing on one end, and progresses gradually from still-standing, to war-torn in the center, and then to zerg-infested on the other end. The general feel of the map should be that of a human military base in the heart of a city that is repelling an invasion of insectoid aliens that are infesting the city.
Gameplay Specifics
Minerals-"Minerals" would be generated at a fixed rate for both players, and simply serve as a limit to the speed at which additional units under the players control could be created. To prevent pooling a huge amount of minerals and simply countering whatever units the enemy has created, a maximum amount of minerals could be collected before income would stop, until some minerals have been used.
Energy-The player's main base would have several abilities that the player could cast, expending energy. The abilities would help turn the tide of battle when you are on the defensive or give an extra bit of a push when making an assault.
Gas-Each player would have access to several (possibly 3) "specializations." By killing enemy units using your player controlled units, gas (lets call it XP) would be generated that could be invested into these specializations to upgrade the waves of units, gain access to more powerful player-controlled units or upgrade existing ones, or gain access to powerful base abilities. The upgrades chosen would be integral to the strategies used by the players to counter the enemy's unit type or playstyle, so a player's specialization could be reset during the game to prevent hard-counters, but of course not all of the XP would be refunded and this process would take some time. The humans would have access to specializations such as robotics (granting access to drone-like units such as ravens and widow mines and smart-weapon abilities), aircraft (gaining access to aircraft-dropped infantry or attack based air units and airstrike abilities), or mechanized ground forces (gaining access to ground-based vehicles and mechs with powerful upgrades). The aliens would have access to specializations such as flying strains (adding wings to waves of zerglings and granting access to other player controlled air units and powerful abilities to swarm the enemy with flying creatures), parasitic strains (focusing on dealing damage over time and infecting enemy units to spawn smaller units to overwhelm the enemy), or caustic strains (focusing on creating powerful mostly-ground units that use ranged acid attacks).
Balance-Because the two races pitted against each other are not balanced equally and play differently, unlike most MOBA style games, balance would be a concern. The aliens would spawn more NPC units with each wave, but they would be weaker than the human's. Creep would automatically spread slowly down each lane, but tumors would be visible at all times and could be attacked by NPCs. Creep would weaken enemy units standing on it, so alien NPCs would generally lose fights off of creep and win fights on creep. This would be tuned such that the two sides would generally reach a stalemate in the center of the map without player intervention. Additionally, the humans would have more NPC controlled static defenses and be able to erect more defenses to hold ground that has been taken, while the aliens would get slightly more offensive upgrades that would help them push past these defenses if the right tactics and upgrades are chosen.
Units-The player controlled units spawned by each side would be much more impactful and powerful than in traditional Starcraft melee games, but would not be as powerful as hero units. For example, a late game unit based off of the swarm host (caustic strain unit idea?) might function more like a siege tank, able to fire off ranged attacks while unrooted, but also might be able to root in place to spawn waves of 3 banelings every few seconds. A viking-based unit (aircraft specialization?) might deal more damage in assault mode than in the base game and have no air-to air attack, but move much quicker to allow a couple of these units to rapidly move from one location to another when defending or pushing a lane. A human ground unit based off of the upcoming cyclone might additionally have an ability that unleashes a rain of missiles to saturate and area dealing damage over a couple of seconds. Units would not be created in as great of numbers as in melee games, and as such micro would be important. Though multiple units would be commanded by the player, each unit would usually have an active ability that would need to be used to get the most out of the unit, and to keep the game action packed and fast packed. The humans might command at most 15 units at a time, while the aliens would control anywhere from 10-30 depending on whether they specialize in many weaker units or larger stronger units.
Buildings-Some buildings would be able to be created by both sides, but most of these buildings would have some sort of attack or serve some purpose. For example, the humans may be able to create turrets or bunkers to help hold ground that has been taken, while the aliens might be able to create nests to help spread creep more rapidly or spawn a couple more zerglings to attack down a lane. Most larger buildings would be fixed in place and while they would serve some purpose, such as walls or turrets providing static base defense, or providing a place to invest in upgrades or activate certain abilities or train player controlled units, these types of buildings could not be rebuilt and would be pre-built at the beginning of each game.
------------------------------I am trying my best to get started on this, but I am very new to the editor so it is slow going. I would love to work with someone else if anyone is interested. Any input is appreciated, including on pointers to resources that may be helpful, gameplay ideas, or suggestions.
1v1 is a dead end imo, make it an available mode (1v1 which u can choose) and u need 3v3 at least to be intresting for a moba game. So far doen't seem anything exceptional from your summary but id have to see it ingame to have a proper opinion + there will be a ton more details about it when the game will be finnished most probably. This hybrid type with rts can have alot of potential but so far i havent seen any good game in sc2 of this type. Hero attack 3X in na is a little similar (in hybrid rts and moba) but its complete crap.
Also id say make it equal on rts and moba game + adding some hardcore mechanics + being very fast paced could make it very awesome.