The Administorum
Off Topic => General Discussion => Games => Topic started by: Soul Reaver on May 25, 2010, 06:07:39 PM
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As the majority of you probably know(?), I've spent the past few years working on 'To the Bitter End', a single-player action/RPG mod for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. It's set in the Multiverse, and features Soul Reaver, Fei Serumen, Clutchfiend, Kitharsis, and Sera Poi (plus a cameo by Slayer) on an original quest/adventure. Personally I'm very proud of it and how it's been shaping up.
There's an official website (at http://www.familykrieg.com/tothebitterend/) that includes some fanart, and lots of background info in a manual. It also has Chapters I-VII available for download and play (I'm still working on Chapter VIII, the last playable Chapter). It's actually become quite popular (as far as single-player mods for an old game go) - I even ran into a Chinese translation of some of the early chapters with some 30000 downloads each (these were made without consulting me, but I feel flattered nonetheless)!
However, despite this originally having been intended mostly for us Administorum folk, I'm not sure how many people here have actually know about it/have played it (or what you guys think of it)!
I'd really like to know what you guys think, so please vote in the poll and post your thoughts here.
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Sorry Soul but I just installed the maps and tried to play it and it doesnt work. I created the folder just like the manual on the site says, unzipped all the maps into it, go into WC3: FT and Custom Game, select the first one and hit play, the menu rolls up and then rolls right back down, also seems like if I click like the 3rd map the entire game crashes....
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Are you sure you're using the most recent patch, Jharm? That issue usually occurs when you're using an older version of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
Also, make sure you select Single Player, then Custom Game (it won't work in Multiplayer).
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Im familiar with your campaign but do not have WC3. I have been to your site and read a lot of the multiverse background stuff though, pretty cool.
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I've actually played all the way up to the second to last map. However, I've switched computers since then, and my WC3 install dsc is missing. So I need to get around to re-buying WC3 at some point so I can finish it.
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actually I think if you can find the CD key and put it on your battle.net account you can get it for digital download (I had to do that for Diablo 2, couldnt find one of the disks)
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I've actually played all the way up to the second to last map. However, I've switched computers since then, and my WC3 install dsc is missing. So I need to get around to re-buying WC3 at some point so I can finish it.
Aw man, so you didn't get to the part in Chapter VII where Clutch has that hot sex scene with the elven harem? Quite graphic, and it was pretty hard making all those custom animations for it, but I left it the way it was so as not to compromise my artistic vision for your character.*
And Jharm, did you try my solutions? Did they help at all?
*The above description may or may not reflect the actual events of Chapter VII
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Aw man, so you didn't get to the part in Chapter VII where Clutch has that hot sex scene with the elven harem? Quite graphic, and it was pretty hard making all those custom animations for it, but I left it the way it was so as not to compromise my artistic vision for your character.*
Ok, so I haven't gotten very far in these maps (at all), but this makes me want to.
Installin dis.
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Haha, hope you read the disclaimer. ;D
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yeah. updated warcraft and it works fine now
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yeah. updated warcraft and it works fine now
Aaah, awesome!
Let me know what you think... and keep in mind it takes a Chapter or two to really get going.
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Holy Hell, that's the reason why I'm here in the first place!!!! Still waiting for the latest and last map!!!!!!!!!
Actually, haven't seen you online in months. Hope to see you on soon!
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Holy Hell, that's the reason why I'm here in the first place!!!! Still waiting for the latest and last map!!!!!!!!!
Actually, haven't seen you online in months. Hope to see you on soon!
Yeah, I'm very rarely on IM programs anymore - the work on Chapter VIII being one of the primary reasons. IM programs are so time-consuming that I mostly avoid using them unless I've really got nothing better to do. But I'm always up for an e-mail!
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Alright, doing so!
Just glad the map's coming out in the near future. Are there people still expecting it or has the fire for it died out?
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No idea. Interest usually gets rekindled whenever a new Chapter comes out.
I am faced with a somewhat painful decision though...
The original plan was not to release Chapter VIII when it was done - rather, when it's finished, I would also make the Prologue and Epilogue cinematics, then bundle it all together into a campaign file and release that. Doing this will take some extra time (though not as long as making a whole Chapter, since I won't have to do much complex triggering or learn much 'new' stuff) but means that it's released in its final form. I'm worried that if I release Chapter VIII withough doing the Prologue and Epilogue first, then once people have played Chapter VIII they'll lose interest and won't bother waiting for the (cinematic only) Prologue and Epilogue anymore (and/or won't feel like downloading the campaign file just to get them), and thus won't ever get to see the real finished product.
Considering how long it's been taking though, it's getting quite tempting to release Chapter VIII as soon as it's done anyway, to reward peoples' patience.
Which do you think would be the wiser course of action?
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I'd say wait. You're definitely right about people not wanting to download just a movie. Though I guess it really depends on how dedicated your fans are.
Personally, I'm probably going to wait to re-purchase WC3 till you have the campaign file done. That way I can play through the whole thing in one fell swoop with the prolouge and epilogue as well.
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wait, whats TTBE about? =P
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wait, whats TTBE about? =P
Har har. :P
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Maybe have an un-official release of chapter VIII for dedicated fans, then later publish the finished product for consumption by the unwashed masses. If that is feasible.
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Maybe have an un-official release of chapter VIII for dedicated fans, then later publish the finished product for consumption by the unwashed masses. If that is feasible.
This.
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Except that unofficial releases become something like beta tests, which Soul doesn't really like... if I remember correctly.
Otherwise I'm all for it! It's one of the reasons why I haven't uninstalled my Warcraft 3.
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Still waiting for Multiplayer Campaigns =P. The people have spoken! /holds up noose.
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Except that unofficial releases become something like beta tests, which Soul doesn't really like... if I remember correctly.
Otherwise I'm all for it! It's one of the reasons why I haven't uninstalled my Warcraft 3.
Nah, I'm not opposed to Beta maps - in fact, all the current releases are beta maps, and I've learned about and fixed quite a few bugs thanks to that. I'm mostly opposed to releasing a half-assed map - I do a lot of playtesting first to make sure there are no game breaking-bugs or that the difficulty is impossibly high etc. By the time I finish Chapter VIII, that'll all have been taken care of for that Chapter.
Still waiting for Multiplayer Campaigns =P. The people have spoken! /holds up noose.
I don't see myself making multiplayer versions anytime in the near future. Far too much hassle....
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well just finished the final chapter (well thats been released so far that is) and gotta say its pretty good Soul :)
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well just finished the final chapter (well thats been released so far that is) and gotta say its pretty good Soul :)
Thanks Jharm, I appreciate it! Does it seem like a board-battleish adventure?
And did you succeed without having to resort to cheats? ;)
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yes it does seem very board-battleish....especially a lot of the big waves of fights which leads me to the next part....
sadly no I did not mange to beat all of it w/o cheats. Completed like the first 2 chapters but after that I pretty much had the god-mode cheat on clipboard and pasted it in if someone in the group was about to die...course I won't lie...made it feel almost even more board-battleish with the whole "super beings pwning the shit out of everything" lol. Overall it was a pretty awesome campaign...just felt kind of weird watching all the cut-scenes without any sound like there is for the actual WC3 (I know this is not something that is really able to be done...just commenting)
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yes it does seem very board-battleish....especially a lot of the big waves of fights which leads me to the next part....
sadly no I did not mange to beat all of it w/o cheats. Completed like the first 2 chapters but after that I pretty much had the god-mode cheat on clipboard and pasted it in if someone in the group was about to die...course I won't lie...made it feel almost even more board-battleish with the whole "super beings pwning the shit out of everything" lol. Overall it was a pretty awesome campaign...just felt kind of weird watching all the cut-scenes without any sound like there is for the actual WC3 (I know this is not something that is really able to be done...just commenting)
Hehe, didn't think you'd finish it that quickly unless you did use cheats. But honestly, it IS possible to finish without cheats (one guy actually managed to finish it without saving, which is quite insane). I think it's a lot more satisfying to win through by sweating blood than by cheating. :P
I do kind of wish I could have some awesome voice acting for the cutscenes, but the problem is that it's either awesome voice work or none - half-assed voice acting is far, far worse than just having text.
Chapter VII is only really fun without cheats though. Have you given that a try without cheating?
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sadly no I did not mange to beat all of it w/o cheats.
Ah, I know how you feel. Had to cheat through the entire game my first time round. But I went through them all again without cheating. Feels really really good after that!
(one guy actually managed to finish it without saving, which is quite insane).
Damn, the whole campaign or just one map? I gotta try it out sometime.
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Damn, the whole campaign or just one map? I gotta try it out sometime.
He did it one map at a time - so if he died, he'd restart that map. Still horrendously difficult, and I wouldn't recommend it.
Ah, I know how you feel. Had to cheat through the entire game my first time round. But I went through them all again without cheating. Feels really really good after that!
(http://captionsearch.com/pix/urvzh7oyn.png)
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I just found my Copy of Warcraft 3, so i beleive I may be giving this a try soon.
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I just found my Copy of Warcraft 3, so i beleive I may be giving this a try soon.
Awesome. Keep me posted - I'd like to hear what you think once you've given it a go.
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I remember you noting at some point in the FAQs section that you were once interested in voice samples. Is that still in effect or a moot point?
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I remember you noting at some point in the FAQs section that you were once interested in voice samples. Is that still in effect or a moot point?
Well, actually the FAQ says:
Q: You should do voice acting for the map!
A: While I do partially agree, there are two problems with this. Firstly, unprofessional voice acting is liable to sound a lot worse than the voices you give to the characters in your imagination, and could thus seriously detract from the game’s atmosphere. Secondly, the sheer amount of dialogue in some of the maps would cause them to balloon to insane sizes. I’m not ruling out the possibility of doing that in the future, but it would only happen if I get a better place to host the maps on and some really dedicated and skilled voice actors to help me out.
So basically, although voice acting COULD be cool, it would most likely be downright awful unless it's done to a professional standard... which means I'd rather leave it as text rather than half-ass it. Also, not everyone will be interested in downloading a massive (hundreds of MB, I'm sure) version of TTBE just for the voice acting.
Plus it would take a long time to implement and re-time the cinematics to match the voice acting (which would then eat away time from my work on Chapter VIII), so it's fairly low on the priority list.
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Plus it would take a long time to implement and re-time the cinematics to match the voice acting (which would then eat away time from my work on Chapter VIII), so it's fairly low on the priority list.
You're not done developing the game?
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You're not done developing the game?
I wish!
To the Bitter End, in it's entirety, is supposed to consist of a Prologue cinematic, then Chapters I - VIII, then an Epilogue cinematic.
I've finished Chapters I-VII (which are downloadable and fully playable. They're essentially done save for minor balance changes or bugfixes I might try to implement), but I'm still working on Chapter VIII. The Prologue and Epilogue also still need to be done, though luckily they're both 'just' cinematics so the work required is less than for a full, playable map.
Chapter VIII is coming along slowly but steadily. I try to work on it every day for about an hour (assuming no vital things get in the way), and I've been making noticable progress, but it's not done yet.
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Sounds like more's involved than I'd assumed. Sort of puts things into perspective.
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Yeah. Seems like You would release To The Bitter End VIII to the people who actually show the most interest in the story, I.E., the ones who joined the forum because of it (Such as me), or other such things, and then wait until you've finished the cinematics and release the official chapter with them to the masses. Win Win situation.
Also:
I do kind of wish I could have some awesome voice acting for the cutscenes, but the problem is that it's either awesome voice work or none - half-assed voice acting is far, far worse than just having text.
I'm always open. Theater is a wonderful wonderful thing.