Skeletal Rage 2 (standalone game) & Underworld: TLON..

I haven't worked on my mods for Wc3 for sometime now. So before I pack-up my modding tools and thow away the key, I have decided to finish some of the mods that I really enjoyed working on all this time..

Skeletal Rage 2 : Sequel to SR: Extremities, SR2 pretty much achieves what I wanted to achieve with SR in the first place. A dark gory battlefield with skeletons and their captured slaves duking it out mindlessly. Win by numbers, through speed, using epic heroes and vehicles, or good old strategy.

Gameplay Video from SR2 + Screenshots.

I know, it's not the best demonstration considering that most Wc3 players are used to the massively detailed maps like Dota and AOS, but still, I hope it's more than enough for some people to give this map a try and then give some feedback. I have already started work on the standalone version of this game based on another project I have been busy with sometime now (which will be posted here as well, Indie category). So feedback will help a lot with the standalone version as well as the mod.

UNDERWORLD: The Legend of Nephthys : "HDD crash.", "Recovery.", "Not quite dead.", that's basically the story of this project and the reason behind any activity AT ALL for a long time. I ended up chucking a big part of the project (mostly, pre-rendered cinematics) out of the window because of the loss of work that included the story and elements supporting the cinematics in the first place. What I will now do is to release what I have recovered as an unifinished campaign and a gameplay video (coming soon). Here's the last shot from the cinematic :(

Here...

So now that I am back (I was away, you probably didn’t notice), I am on an updating spree.. in my usual slow-as-an-ass manner. For starters, you should visit the spanking new homepage I spent a day working on over here. Next update includes the final release of Skeletal Rage 2 which will allow all of you fine folks out there to play the game against the computer (AI) similar to the previous versions. I was checking the downloads page and was shocked to find that the current version uploaded for SR2 is actually 6 versions old. So yeah, everything needs updating.

Skeletal Rage 2 & the AI
Even though Skeletal Rage made it to the pages and disc of PC Gamer and Future Gamer, I have always struggled to find it hard to convince people to actually play this (or anything else) map on B.Net because:
a) They are playing Dota/AOS, and..
b) They can’t actually wait to download and play and ask a range of retarded questions such as, " Is this map any good? ".

So I have concluded that the average Warcraft player is a complete retard. The others, like you and me, who struggle to find anything ’fun’ and new to play on B.Net or offline are stuck with this Dota and AOS crap.

Long story short, the new SR2 will be playable both online AND offline. I am tweaking the AI to make sure it stays challenging and hopefully stop you from migrating to SC2.. which is basically Warcraft set in the future, but I don’t really care if you move on.. :)

Wait for it. It will come. Don’t like it? Move along.

Also, future updates will include the release of NOTD map as an open-source (that means you can download it and use it in your own mod) and the much needed Random Reasons demo map update. If any of you are wondering about the Games category on the homepage then yes, standalone game will come (freeware or not? depends) because I sure as hell am not wasting time on mods after I am done updating these maps & mods for Wc3. So enjoy the upcoming updates for Wc3 from me because they will be last.

So Slow..

I just realized that I have a site that needs updating. It's your typical - D'oh! - moment ;)

Excuses aside, I haven't been online a lot for sometime now. Well, I am back and I will be updating some stuff, starting with new Random Reasons update in a few days (probably Monday). Also, those who have e-mailed me about problems with RR demo, I will reply to them and address the issues. For the time being, I recommend that you avoid downloading the Random Reasons demo until I update it in a few days.

Random Reasons..

Today I will be updating the Random Reasons 'demo' which has been available on this site for some time now. I am surprised that the demo is actually getting about 170 downloads every day compared to Skeletal Rage 2 (145 approx).

What is Random Reasons?
Random Reasons was originally created as a demo for an RPG system in Wc3. This system isn't anything complicated to create but you won't find mods or even commercial games with simple RPG features like these. Most of the stuff I have added comes under my 'Fictional Realism' theory for RPG's. For example, your character out in cold wearing simple clothes WILL freeze to death slowly, doesn't matter if you are a 3 lvl or 20 lvl hero. Similarly, the only way to heal your character is to find more 'logical' source of healing instead of a giant Med pack or healing potion. If your character is freezing to death you will have to find a source of heat to slowly heal yourself, if you are starving to death you will have to find something to eat, if you are bleeding to death you will have to find a doctor/shaman else suffer final death and the game is over for you.

Random Reasons also make you play your actual role. If you are a Warrior then don't expect to find any rewards or use any items which can only be used by a Druid or a Wizard. As a warrior you can't just go around sneaking or talking smart to every enemy to get out of trouble. You will have to fight most of those you encounter especially since you can't talk 'smart' or sneak like a Rogue to get out of trouble.

Is everything above in Random Reasons?
Most of what I mentioned above is available at the moment. I will continue updating the map adding more to the gameplay and features.


What's new in the upcoming update?
I have decided to update Random Reasons as an MMORPG. Basically every few updates will add new features, quests, characters, etc. I am thinking off implementing a 'save hero system' which will let players continue playing with their last saved characters. Any ideas on improving this RPM (role playing mod/map) are more than welcome.

Some info on the upcoming update:
- You will be able to explore more 'freely' than before thanks to a lot of random crap I removed blocking the movement
- 2 quests are now available though they still need some polishing
- Added some hidden weapons and quest item awards
- Added new items and characters 'controlling' the items
- Improved cinematics, added 'skip' option for some cinematics
- Made the game more 'random' (random dialogues, enemies and even quests every time you reload the game)
- You can leave useless characters behind but make sure you don't leave them in some hostile zone
- Added custom music from UNDERWORLD: TLON

Random Reasons, NOTD 3 & Skeletal Rage 2

First of all, it has recently come to my attention that the archive for 'Random Reasons' (the Wc3 RPG) uploaded on the site is that of the old beta version which was released for the testers. This archive is password protected. So, I will be uploading the last updated demo version to the site and removing that archive in a few hours. Stay tuned for that.

Second, if you don't already know then it is now official that the NOTD3 map for Wc3 is dead. The Apocalypse team, which is basically an advanced version of NOTD (with great physics system for a Wc3 map) has asked my permission to use the NOTD3 map I created for Apocalypse. After playing their demo I was impressed enough to offer my help in completing the map itself. So the NOTD3 map will be now playable as the Apocalypse mod very soon. I will post again with new screenshots from the map (almost completed).

Third, I have been working on some gameplay videos, sort of like trailers, for Skeletal Rage 2 with the upcoming release.

On the side note I have also been working a lot behind the 'scenes' on my game as well. Learning process involves daily dose of programming (which I am a total noob to), learning about storyline/gameplay development for ANY kind of RPG (basically by releasing my Wc3 mods) and doing lots and lots of doodads (not Wc3) creation for the game. It's fun, but being a one man project you can tell that I don't intend to show it to public until I think it will be worth showing, which means it should exceed standards set by me on Skeletal Rage, Underworld & even Random Reasons. I go witht he player reviews on the demos. They like it, I work on it, they hate it, I quit working on it. It's that simple.