VentureWoW
Maximum Ham Edition
Maximum Ham Edition
Description
VentureWoW is an ambitious project aimed at designing a unique and exciting world while using the already vast base of lore Blizzard has affectionately defined since the birth of the Warcraft franchise. Set in a time before the events of Cataclysm but after the "death" of the Lich King, new stories unfold telling dynamic tales of happiness, sorrow, malice and more.
Beware, this thread contains reading and dragons.
What I bring to the table
- Server administration
- Website development
- Database development
- Core programming and Lua scripting
- Creative writing and editing
Core: TrinityCore
Type: Custom; combat, spells, quests, mobs, NPCs
Version: 3.3.5a
Specifications: 3.4GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, 100GB HDD - EpicHosts Exlcusive VPS package (with added bonuses, 4 cores out of a 3 CPU Xenon E3-1245 V2 system)
Type: Custom; combat, spells, quests, mobs, NPCs
Version: 3.3.5a
Specifications: 3.4GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, 100GB HDD - EpicHosts Exlcusive VPS package (with added bonuses, 4 cores out of a 3 CPU Xenon E3-1245 V2 system)
Goals & Features
Read the entire feature list to get an idea of how various ideas works in unison. As features are completed, they will be highlighted in green.
There is a feasibility conclusion at the end of every section, as I know a lot of people are going to look at this feature set and go "yeah right" or "that's not possible".
1. Progression Basics & Combat
A. Combat system reworked to be more dynamic and give off a hack n' slash feel. Much higher skill ceiling and lower skill-floor over vanilla WoW where you can dodge, deflect, parry, dash and charge your way to victory. Choose your combat style but choose it wisely.
B. Players have a base health of 100 and most creatures have health within the same range, a boss for instance might only have 500 health but with lots of damage reduction and, due to the low base health of players, deadly abilities. Combat will be deadlier and harder, turning your attention away from the fight could result in a swift death. Related - 2. A.
C. Swing timers removed (actually just lengthened to insane amounts), attacks are based on ability usage. Related - 2. B.
D. Mana users have a base mana pool of 100, it recharges at higher rate and the majority of their spells are instant cast allowing greater mobility. Powerful spells will drain the majority of their mana, so they will have to think twice about throwing out a giant fireball which could potentially deplete most of their pool and leave them defenseless from attacks.
E. Battle mages and many other styles of play will be possible thanks to the gear and combat system. But while there will be great benefit for a mage wearing plate armor, there will also be negative consequences. Related - 2. D.
C. Classes start with a good portion of their skills learned, the rest will be obtained through questing. Damage dealing combat abilities and spells are not innately known. Related - 2. B.
D. Removal of leveling system, character progression is done through obtaining loot, questing, increased personal skill and refining their play style.
E. Much higher base movement speed. Related - 2. D.
F. Well-scripted raids and instances (duh)
B. Players have a base health of 100 and most creatures have health within the same range, a boss for instance might only have 500 health but with lots of damage reduction and, due to the low base health of players, deadly abilities. Combat will be deadlier and harder, turning your attention away from the fight could result in a swift death. Related - 2. A.
C. Swing timers removed (actually just lengthened to insane amounts), attacks are based on ability usage. Related - 2. B.
D. Mana users have a base mana pool of 100, it recharges at higher rate and the majority of their spells are instant cast allowing greater mobility. Powerful spells will drain the majority of their mana, so they will have to think twice about throwing out a giant fireball which could potentially deplete most of their pool and leave them defenseless from attacks.
E. Battle mages and many other styles of play will be possible thanks to the gear and combat system. But while there will be great benefit for a mage wearing plate armor, there will also be negative consequences. Related - 2. D.
C. Classes start with a good portion of their skills learned, the rest will be obtained through questing. Damage dealing combat abilities and spells are not innately known. Related - 2. B.
D. Removal of leveling system, character progression is done through obtaining loot, questing, increased personal skill and refining their play style.
E. Much higher base movement speed. Related - 2. D.
F. Well-scripted raids and instances (duh)
Feasibility: All of this is pretty simple to implement, mainly requiring database changes and DBC editing with some minor core modification. Unfortunately, it also means that a custom patch will be necessary (if we decide we want correct tooltips, custom icons and proper skill names) for players to enjoy it fully.
One can even argue that, because of the simplified health, mana and removal of the leveling system (thus skill ranks) it is much easier to balance, which would actually reduce the overall time spent developing the system in comparison to designing a custom spell and skill set in vanilla style. Rather than despawn the whole world and start from scratch, we'll go the route of setting the values of every creature template to a base and then tweak from there.
2. Items & Gear
A. Gear provides base armor benefits depending on type and is not limited by type to any specific class.
B. Different weapons provide different abilities for your character and change your play style, for instance, using a dagger will give you the ability to slice and pierce, both having lower cooldowns compared to larger, heavier weapons like a sword or axe (which can only chop and bash).
C. Magical items mostly provide benefits that allow different styles of play or provide unique enhancements and cool effects rather than a large stat increases. They still provide minor stat increases which, based on how the combat system is flushed out, actually provide a lot of survivability.
D. Each piece of gear impacts movement speed depending on type. Warriors, death knights and paladins will now feel the weight of their gear. Warlocks, mages and priests will find their roots, stuns and fears much less useful if they decide to go out into the world decked in plate.
E. Very specific items are soulbound, everything else is fair game.
B. Different weapons provide different abilities for your character and change your play style, for instance, using a dagger will give you the ability to slice and pierce, both having lower cooldowns compared to larger, heavier weapons like a sword or axe (which can only chop and bash).
C. Magical items mostly provide benefits that allow different styles of play or provide unique enhancements and cool effects rather than a large stat increases. They still provide minor stat increases which, based on how the combat system is flushed out, actually provide a lot of survivability.
D. Each piece of gear impacts movement speed depending on type. Warriors, death knights and paladins will now feel the weight of their gear. Warlocks, mages and priests will find their roots, stuns and fears much less useful if they decide to go out into the world decked in plate.
E. Very specific items are soulbound, everything else is fair game.
Feasibility: The most advanced part of this is adding and removing abilities from items which can be done using Eluna. A functional algorithm using a dynamic array and the OnEquip, OnRemove methods would handle this elegantly and allow easy modification when new items are added to the database. One could even go a bit further and create a new column in the items table specifically for this task that can be enumerated so everything could be done programmatically, all you'd need to do is add an item to the DB and you'd be set.
3. Crafting
A. All professions are enabled for all players, trainers provide basic recipes and thereafter players will need to obtain them through questing and combining inventory items.
B. Crafting and collecting are instant but resources are worth little.
C. You will be able to add semi-permanent, non-stackable bonuses to your items.
B. Crafting and collecting are instant but resources are worth little.
C. You will be able to add semi-permanent, non-stackable bonuses to your items.
Feasibility: Yeah, also pretty simple. Might even get rid of the crafting window usage altogether to reduce complexity (DBC editing, patching) and simply place a dialog item in the users inventory with learned combinations for each profession and a menu to automate crafting.
4. Survival Mechanics
Maybe, a lot of people out there might feel that this detracts from the experience and simply becomes a nuisance. I can only imagine this very idea was thrown at the design team for World of Warcraft and rejected for that very reason. Tell us your thoughts in the thread.
A. Players will need to ensure they carry a supply of food and water as they will have slowly decreasing hunger and thirst levels.
B. Each zone will have varying effects on the Player, they will need to ensure they're wearing appropriate gear to help negate the effects of extreme environments. As an example, one will need to wear warm clothing in Northrend or they will freeze death. Being near a campfire will increase warmth levels. Eating warm food will also increase warmth temporarily.
C. Food spoils after a certain period of time, meaning you will have to rely on your ability to hunt game to survive when trekking out of a town, village or city for lengthy periods of time.
B. Each zone will have varying effects on the Player, they will need to ensure they're wearing appropriate gear to help negate the effects of extreme environments. As an example, one will need to wear warm clothing in Northrend or they will freeze death. Being near a campfire will increase warmth levels. Eating warm food will also increase warmth temporarily.
C. Food spoils after a certain period of time, meaning you will have to rely on your ability to hunt game to survive when trekking out of a town, village or city for lengthy periods of time.
Feasibility: Eluna has hooks for everything we're looking to do here. Simply add a few "spoiled x" items to the database and you're set for food with a simple script, it will involve a similar process to items adding abilities if we want to make it easy to maintain. Hunger, thirst and warmth levels will either have to be viewed using an item with a dialog menu to view the current stats or exposed somehow to an addon that adds them to the interface.
5. Questing & Storyline
A. Choose your own adventure style quests with multiple endings and rewards based on your choices.
B. Unique time-frame which allows for a lot of creative possibility.
C. Less mundane quest objectives.
D. Semi-random, cool rewards instead of lame, common items.
B. Unique time-frame which allows for a lot of creative possibility.
C. Less mundane quest objectives.
D. Semi-random, cool rewards instead of lame, common items.
Feasibility: This is actually the hardest part of the development process. Hooking a player into a story that has depth and emotion is very difficult, in fact it's the most time-consuming and difficult task to accomplish out of all the features here and has to be done again and again in order to provide a good experience. It's the reason our design and writing team positions consist of more than half the core team.
Positions
You may apply for multiple positions in the application form.
Legend
Green = Available
Cyan = Potentially Available
Red = Unavailable
Green = Available
Cyan = Potentially Available
Red = Unavailable
Scribe (0/2)
Bring the ideas of the team to life in writing while ensuring events and ideas fit into the overall design of the project and Warcraft lore.
Designer (0/4)
No experience required.
Design content, intricately weaving thoughts and ideas into a grand and creative story. No applied skills are necessary, only a creative imagination and willingness to put forth ideas for the world you think would be interesting.
Developer (1/3)
No experience required.
Modify and augment the database, write scripts using Lua, organize code and projects using Git. Work closely with the designers and writers to ensure that their ideas are properly constructed.
Core Developer (0/1)
No experience required.
Modify the core and work closely with the rest of the team to ensure that concepts are brought into production. Organize personal projects and help manage the code base using Git. While I do not mind teaching someone about core development, you are expected to have at least some programming background. Be it as a Lua scripter, web developer, python developer... you get the point.
Closed Alpha Tester (1/5)
No experience required.
Provide critical analysis and feedback on in-game content. You'll get some nifty vanity items and effects come release for helping out.
Game Master (0/?)
While we are not currently recruiting Game Masters, we are accepting applications for them. We will put some amount of priority on Game Masters who get their applications in early. Depending on your qualifications, you may be contacted and placed in the development conversation to provide feedback and get an idea of what kind of team you'll be dealing with and how the world will be structured.
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