Do you want a Warlock standalone game?

Adynathos

Would you be interested in a Warlock standalone game?

Warlock has existed for a long time and we have been working on a standalone in the previous year. However when Dota2 modding was announced, we have switched to produce the Dota2 version of WL. Also, a completely new version of Unreal Engine has been released and I have been learning the new technology.

Now I think I have the technology and knowledge to create the standalone Warlock game. However, a multiplayer game is useless if there is no community and no matches are hosted. Therefore I would like to see who would be interested in such a game.

Lets review what that standalone WL would mean:

Positive: new features

- controls: key rebinding, new controls like holding the mouse for constant effect

- stats (persistent ranking, spell accuracy stats etc)

- new mechanics: there are many ideas what new concepts could be introduced into WL, we considered custom spells for example

anyway, development of the standalone would mean that those concepts could be tested (and maybe some of them will be good)

Negative:

- infrastructure: we cannot compete with Dota's huge infrastructure (dedicated servers, steam integration)

- players/community: if there are not enough active players, no matches will be hosted. Dota has a huge amount of players.

(this is why i am asking if you would be interested)

- separate installation: you will need to download a few hunderd MB game and install it

- it will take time to make

A multiplayer game can only exist if it has an active community...

If you like Warlock and would be interested in playing the standalone Warlock game, please reply here.

brainInside

The game is nice, i would play it even more if there will be the Standalone Project.

brainInside

If the art will be nice i might throw doto.)))

GermanViet

I would say stick to Dota 2. The infrastructure exists and a lot of players and potential players are over there.

Making a standalone has too much of a risk and requires a lot of effort. If it flops it will die because of lack of players. BLC was really nice but sadly it didn't get the playerbase it deserved.

The queue time would be quite long even with ~100 daily players.

Also a lot of players would have to deal with high ping in a game where reaction is key to victory.

Custom games is supposedly being released "soon" and this is where Warlock can gain a lot of fans. Dota 2 might turn into WC3 and Dota2-Warlock may turn into WC3-Dota.

Your listed positives seem weak. I thought the possibility of custom spells in Dota 2 engine are "endless". What are the current limitation? What custom spell can you not make?

I think stats page is possible in Dota 2 though I'm not too sure. You can write a custom spell which modifies 2 variables. One variable increases each time you cast the spell the other variable increases when the spell was a successful hit. Displaying it in a custom made UI is also possible.

There seems to be some effort to support WASD movement etc. It's still not fully functional but I believe Valve will give custom game makers more freedom.

The only real advantage of a standalone over a custom game that I can think of is monetization. Your time is valueable and you should be rightfully rewarded. I'm still wondering if there will be an option of monetization and what it would look like in Dota 2.

If you are going to make a standalone please keep your custom game on Dota 2 updated.

Smed

I have always wanted a standalone Warlock game. It has been talked about since I joined the Warlock community in 2009/2010 and probably before that as well. There's something special about having a dedicated game that is just alluring. It would also allow the game to do stuff that is not possible as long as it is a mod. Wc3, Sc2 or Dota 2, it doesn't matter, it being a mod will always be a limitation. Add to that the fact that, I presume, it would be impossible to do match making in any mod. Which is something Warlock could really need. I have always been a supporter of a proper Warlock Standalone Game and I would play the hell out of it if/when it is ever made.

However, creating a standalone game is a big undertaking. While hard to admit, the best solution would probably be to focus on the D2 mod -it still needs some work - for the time being, trying to expand the community. Then the standalone could come down the line.

Short answer: Yes, I would be interested.

Miike

I don't think asking us on this small dedicated community site is a good basis for gauging potential interest in a standalone warlock game. Of course most people on this website would be interested in playing a standalone version if it was made, as everyone on here is a fan of the warlock game. But this site has 400 members, and of those only 20 or so posting actively, and likely less than 100 posting at all. If your only counting on us for the playerbase, then nothing will change, and the playerbase will remain small (under 20 players on at a time most likely)

What I want to know about the proposed standalone is, how do you intend to advertise it? New potential players need some way to find out about the game, and word of mouth is not enough. This is the main concern for me. Not that the standalone would not be good enough to encompass what warlock should be, but how you would go about finding new players. If there are no plans for advertisement, then this project is pointless, and you would be better off developing the Dota 2 mod. Warlocks attachment to Warcraft 3 is its greatest strength as well as its weakness; its free advertising, and Dota 2 has even more potential for this, being newer and with a larger playerbase.

So I think the question you need to ask yourself is, are you serious enough about this project to fully support it with advertising, etc? Because if not, you're better off making a Dota 2 mod. If it ends up taking off in popularity, then we can see about the standalone. But I don't need to see the answers to your question on this forum to know that the warcraft 3 warlock playerbase is too small to support a standalone.

sides

I don't think asking us on this small dedicated community site is a good basis for gauging potential interest in a standalone warlock game. Of course most people on this website would be interested in playing a standalone version if it was made, as everyone on here is a fan of the warlock game. But this site has 400 members, and of those only 20 or so posting actively, and likely less than 100 posting at all. If your only counting on us for the playerbase, then nothing will change, and the playerbase will remain small (under 20 players on at a time most likely)

Is a steam group announcement

Miike

Is a steam group announcement

Still aimed at a small community of people that already know about the game. I want to know what plans there are for advertising the game to NEW players.

Hakka

Yes!! ANything up for Warlock and warlock community. Hope we will soon be able to play standalone version :)

sides

...match making. Which is something Warlock could really need.

Yes

However, creating a standalone game is a big undertaking. While hard to admit, the best solution would probably be to focus on the D2 mod -it still needs some work - for the time being, trying to expand the community. Then the standalone could come down the line.

Yes

Insanity

I agree with what smed said, i think we should wait for the community to expand by fcocusing on d2 mod for now, anthen worrying about the standalone.

But of course I would be very interested

Armordine

Warlock is great and I want a Warlock standalone.

I ask my friends if they wana download and play a game, they'll consider it.

I ask my friends if they wana play a mod on dota2, they'll ask me if I'm currently on shrooms.

Even tho its kinda the same thing, a 'Game' is more attractive.

I do however think the d2-mod should keep on climbing for a while, make it 'solid' first.

Oh and even when being realistic and critical, Warlock is a VERY good, unique, competitive and addictive game

Just because other games like BLC n stuff lost its popularity/didn't get through doesn't necessarily mean Warlock will aswell.

But yeah, keep working on the D2-mod, when/if you feel the time is right, go for the standalone!

Myll

A lot of people are saying to concentrate on the Dota 2 version and to continue to make it better, but the issue is there isn't much to make better at the moment (and since the past few months). A lot of what's required to make it better and more popular is in Valve's hands. We need a game list system like in Bnet, and we need proper custom game integration in the main Dota 2 client.

In my opinion, had the alpha tools not been released yet, Dota 2 custom games would have already been like 10x more popular than they are now.

That being said, I certainly think Valve will follow through with these features, it's just a matter of time. Will it be during the holidays, or next summer? In any case I think it's better to focus your mind on something other than gamedev, and come back to Dota 2 modding once Valve introduces these features. You don't want to be caught stuck developing the standalone midway while Dota 2 custom games REALLY get popular.

sides

A lot of people are saying to concentrate on the Dota 2 version and to continue to make it better, but the issue is there isn't much to make better at the moment (and since the past few months). A lot of what's required to make it better and more popular is in Valve's hands. We need a game list system like in Bnet, and we need proper custom game integration in the main Dota 2 client.

In my opinion, had the alpha tools not been released yet, Dota 2 custom games would have already been like 10x more popular than they are now.

That being said, I certainly think Valve will follow through with these features, it's just a matter of time. Will it be during the holidays, or next summer? In any case I think it's better to focus your mind on something other than gamedev, and come back to Dota 2 modding once Valve introduces these features. You don't want to be caught stuck developing the standalone midway while Dota 2 custom games REALLY get popular.

The mod is still lacking a lot of things from the wc3 version. It is best to have it fully prepared before valve releases better custom game support, like game lists or matchmaking.

Zybaster

I want! <3

The Kokon

I agree with pretty much everything that is being said here. For the time being focus on polishing up (as best as you can with the current tools you have) the Dota 2 custom map and wait until Valve releases full support for custom game modes. When that is released that should give you a pretty good idea of how much potential the game mode has and if it is worthwhile to make a standalone version.

I would really like to see a standalone game in the future, but right now I think its best to focus on the Dota 2 custom game mode.

Yepaaa

Happy new year guys!

STANDALONE WARLOCK

Skagvard

Hello!

I know quite a bit of people that are intrested in a Warlock standalone.

May I suggest making a Kickstarter out of it?

Adynathos

May I suggest making a Kickstarter out of it?

Better not :)

Somehow I automatically associate kickstarter projects with certain failure

sides

Better not :)

Somehow I automatically associate kickstarter projects with certain failure

no one is quitting their day jobs for this either as that would be stupid and the only reason why funding would be needed