Again, destiny hit me hard.

My USB memory stick broke suddenly. This was where all my maps and their development stuff was saved (since I develop on different PCs so I always have them with me). Of course, I had a safe copy... on my harddisk. Exactly! This harddisk that broke a few months ago. You know, safe copies are useless if ALL your hardware is breaking, including the safe copy device...
I admit that I should have made a new one since then, but I am a lazy guy. But I definitly learned form it and it won't happen again...

So what does this mean:
Almost all my development data vanished .

What I could save:

CF:
A parsed "GMSI run over" version of CF 1.14b (or at least it says 1.14b, I hope it really is it, I found it on my new harddisk). However, all the new stuff I did (rewriting the core engine) is lost . In addition, I used GMSI scripts to build things fast (assign wood gain to buildings and write an init trigger from all objects). Those build scripts have also vanished.

YouTD:
The latest version (unparsed with GMSI) was still in my JNGP last saved maps log, so it is still there. However, again, the GSL build scripts that added all the creeps and towers into the map have vanished.

Since I really don't have the time (and the verve) to rewrite all the lost stuff, I will try to find someone (or a team) to continue the projects. If you like to continue one of them go ahead and sign up here. However, I need some kind of trust in you that you do not waste the projects and I have to know you got the knowledge to continue them in my quality level. Therefore I require you to show me stuff that you have already done. You should be fluent in vJASS (since they are written in it). Apply in this thread or write me a PM. Show me what you have already done. I will chat with those people where I think they have the knowledge to continue and try to choose one (or more) of them to continue the projects. You must agree that the projects stay on this website since I like it to stay the hub for them. Of course you will be granted all permissions you need here.

What is to be done:
CF:
All my new core engine in clean vjass is gone. So you will have to work with the old code that is sometimes pain in the ass. In addition the GMSI build scripts are gone, so you either write new ones or do everything by hand which is super pain in the ass (creating the init trigger with all buildings, setting lumber cost, training time, lumber gain, bounty gain,.... for all new units).

YouTD:
YouTD relies on the build scripts to inject all towers and creeps into it. Since these scripts are gone, you have to write new ones. So you need GSL knowledge to continue here. However, the inject mechanism uses the one that also injects the tower into the test map, so the main work is already done. All you have to do is some misc stuff (like creating the base towers and adding the correct tower to the correct base tower, assigning the correct level to towers and items). Once these scripts are restored a new release is very easy. Just push a button here on the website and you will deliviered all towers that are accepted. These can then with one script execution be inserted into the map.

I really hope we find someone to continue my projects. Of course, you will receive help from me, but since I am very busy, I cannot spent very much time on it. So go ahead an sign up!

After a long time of testing, we have finally released YouTD RC1 which should hopefully fix most severe bugs and introduce much new content.

The changelog was destroyed when again some of my hardware broke . To cut things short, here are the most important things (those I remember)...:

• Many new towers and items
• Most severe bugs fixed (long loading time, game hanging when clicking on quests, desyncs)
• Map should also work on Macs now
• Fixed many exploits concerning XP code.
• XP Code got resettet, so your old codes are useless. I am sorry for all honest players to lose their points but there were so many abuses and easy cheats so that this was the only solution. However, you gain more points now, so you should be able to regain your old score faster
• Levels got a bit tougher, especially medium and hard.
• Many small feature additions I don't remember anymore
• Speed button! (My favorite new feature) Just like in eeve!TD you can start new levels whenever you want now (but only after the current level has spawned thoroughly)
• Horadric cube works
• Added 3 unique oils

I have decided to port Castle Fight to Starcraft. I really love the new editor and the stuff it offers. I miss the variety of models of WC3 right now (10 races will be hard with SC2's models), but since SC2 maps support imports much better than WC3 I think I will find a way to add enough cool models to it.

I will port the core code which I was rewriting to starcraft code (Andromeda), so the new engine will hopefully be much better than the old one.

I will also support different map designs which will offer new tactics. Here are some early screenshots:

The old basic layout:


New experimental triple-lane layout:

The screenshot shows only one base. In this layout, bases are linked by three lanes. You can build in the green regions and the castle is standing in the middle. In this layout, you have to protect all lanes (no single lane play possible anymore) since the lanes are so far away that you cannot defend two lanes from one lane. In addition, you cannot use the castle as a shield here.

More layouts are to come, look forward

Even since the page is on for some weeks, I want to announce it officially here today.

sc2mod.com is my latest project concerning Starcraft 2. In contrast to eeve, I do not only want to host my own projects there but make it a community platform for all people interested in Starcraft 2 mapmaking. Of course, my Maps (especially Castle Fight) will be continued in Starcraft 2 (The engine feels great and I think I can do A LOT of stuff with it which was impossible with Warcraft 3). My Starcraft 2 projects will still be hosted at eeve.org

So if you are interested in modding Starcraft 2 (this is even a good point for starting your mapmaking career ), join our community there. We will help you with all of your questions and if you are / become a more advanced mapmaker, you can also contribute content like tutorials to our knowledge base and help other people.

To spice things up, we are giving away Starcraft 2 beta keys at sc2mod. There will be numerous contests and other special events where you can win beta keys. Right now, there is a custom map idea contest. Check it out. The next contest will also start these days, so check out the news there.

MasterCassim has created an ItemStats page similiar to the tower stats page. He also made some other improvements to the web script like the duplicate icon detection.

Kudos++ for him and the other admins (who also help me and thus the community more than you might think!), everyone!

Let me use this post to call for some more simple common and uncommon items, to fill up the price gaps we currently have. V0.6 will be released soon, then I will have some time for other projects (CF, sc2mod.com,...) hopefully (unless 0.6 is again unplayable buggy ).

1.17b is a quick fix that brings back the tower info button and changes the "default string" text to "item drop" to make more clear that an item would have been dropped at the moment, if this was the real game.

In addition, we (the admins) want to announce some restrictions we lately discussed:


1.)
We will not approve any towers that gain something due to another particular tower (elune stuff for example), because due to the random nature of YouTD's tower distribution, it is just luck if you get such a combo. Many people already complain about too much randomness. Making combo towers that rely on getting another will make luck even more important. In addition, the build mode will have an advantage over the random modes. We are really sorry for people that have already designed such towers but we had to. Please redesign those towers if you want them approved.

2.)
Please ensure that your towers have at least 1000 projectile speed. Towers with very slow projectiles tend to waste many projectiles on already dead enemies. This cannot be calculated by the balance formula, so it should not happen. So unless you really want a slow attack as "special" feature of your tower (maybe it fits to its theme), make your projectiles fast enough.

3.)
Be really careful with "growing" towers/items, i.e. towers/items that gain permanent unlimited bonuses over time. Those towers lead to many imbalances in the current beta. Make sure that such a tower cannot get imba, even if the bonus level lasts 15+ minutes. Always calculate how strong your tower will get! Of course, such a growing tower may be better than a normal one, if it has grown long enough (especially if it starts very weak), but this must stay in a normal range (let's say not getting a few times better than a non-growing tower, even if it has grown as much as possible). If you feel unable to calculate how strong your tower will get, ask somebody else or make normal non growing tower.

1.17 fixes bugs and adds some API functions.

Especially the smallFloatingText function should be used in most cases instead of the old floating text function. It creates faster smaller floating text with random offset. This way, the text is less disturbing and many texts can be displayed on one unit without overlapping (for example for storm battery). Please also update your old towers and use the smallFloatingText function where possible.

Changelog 1.17

DevKit v1.17 -the ForceMethodEvaluate bug should be fixed -Fixed some errors in the gsl build script -Debuff Duration for items no longer changes the goldcost in the wrong way -Added the Event.isLevelUp() function that can be used in an onLevelUp event to check if this was really a level up or a level down -An ability added using an EventPlacer will no vanish correctly when the eventPlacer is removed -Added an calcAttackCritNoBonus into struct Unit which can be used for doAttackDamage calls (does not use multicritting which is not possible for such function calls at the moment!) -Destroying a projectile manually will no longer yield a warning -When using the applyCustomPower method, the buff's time now correctly depends on the POWER level of the buff (as stated in the documentation) instead of the normal level -Added a new api method for struct Playor: displaySmallFloatingText. It displays a small and fast floating text comparable to the +x.xXP messages. Use these texts for often appearing text, they are less disturbing as the big floating text -Added the Item.getLevel method to get an items level (the level in which it begins dropping)

Since I had some spare time at University these days, but have no laptop that is able to run Warcraft or the Editor, I used that time to finish an old PHP script I had written years ago. It allows everybody to upload his favorite flash games to the page, which then can be browsed, rated, discussed and played by everybody. (So it's basically a simple open flash game site script)

Maybe it will attract some more visitors to eeve.org and the advertising might help me to get a development laptop...

Have fun playing my favorite flash games and feel free to upload yours. The upload page should be pretty self explaining. You can reach the flash game script at the "Flash Games" menu entry at the top of the page.

Finally, it's done! YouTD v0.5 is released!

It took a very long time and I could only review a small part of all towers. I apologize to everybody whose tower wasn't reviewed yet. I worked all day on reviewing from December 26th until January 5th. Now university is starting again and I have exams in february, so if I would have waited until all towers are reviewed properly, the release would have been not before march or april!

Back to topic:
Besides new towers (over 120 new towers!), this version introduces user-created items (46 atm), and a lot of other changes and new additions:

I decided to end the map at level 120 (there is also a trial mode up to level 80). Since 120 was only reached by really sick people and mostly with Icy Spires (which are patched now!), capping the game at 120 seemed okay to me (and the poll agreed). After 120 or 80, respectively, there is a "survive-as-long-as-possible" bonus level where different creeps spawn. Their spawn rate increases over time so the player will lose at some point. After the bonus level, there is a small end sequence where all contributors are mentioned, have fun with it .

The next big change are save codes. You will receive a save code (only in multiplayer!) after a game or when you type save. When you type -load in the next game followed by the code, you will receive your XP back and gain "player levels" with it. With those levels, you can buy advanced and specialist builders and invest them in an XP shop near your stashes. There you can buy various smal bonuses with your levels.

Also build mode is working now (even if its lame and even often a disadvantage since you cannot replace one tower with another one, so famous astral towers that level up and then get replaced by Furby are not possible in build mode!).

Here is the complete changelog:

YouTD v0.5 changelog

beta v0.05 -Added XP codes. After a game or when you type -save, you will get a code that you can type in later games to get back your XP. XP will enable advanced builders and will be displayed to other players. In addition, a shop pops up near your Force Destillator, where you can buy small global bonuses for your XP. -You will no longer be asked for bounty distribution, when playing single player teams -Build mode is now available -The map now supports HCL codes. If you are running a host bot for YouTD and want to choose game modes with HCL, check out www.eeve.org/YouTD/hcl.php which contains a code generator for your game modes -You will no longer get towers of element that you haven't skilled (very simple formula now: 10% tower chance (7.5% in Upgrade mode) for each skill point in an element, if chances go over 100% you get a tower for sure and a second chance. You always get at least one tower per round) -You now have to skill at least one element before you can roll starting towers -The roll button is no longer green when disabled -Changed some details in the tower random system that previously made very cheap towers beeing chosen only very rarely -Added Range checkers. These are free towers that can be used to check different tower ranges and then be upgraded to a desired tower (they have an item slot for tower items) -Added the "Order Attack" button to the builder: It makes all towers attack the chosen creep, if it is in their range -Added the "Show Tower Stats" button to the builder: It shows a towers stats just like the Tower Info button but can also be used on other player's towers -Creeps cannot have armor and spell resistance together anymore -The bug where two towers are built after each other and both morph to the same tower should be fixed -The levels-not-spawning-anymore bug (especially with an Ancient Energy Converter) should be fixed, hopefully -Added 8 new creep special abilities -Added 6 new builders -You now see a floating text when a tower gains exp or when an item drops -Removed countless bugs in the engine. I wonder why v0.4 worked at all... -The map now ends after 120 or 80 levels. After the last level a "surive-as-long-as-you-can" bonus-level starts where random creeps spawn faster and faster -Added an ending sequence after the bonus level where all contributors are mentioned (so try to beat the TD if you want to see it ) -Adjusted item drop base ratio sligthly up to 4.75% (since there are items and oils to drop now) -Adjusted creep hitpoints slightly up, because with the new items and tower, the game should get easier -Slightly reduced the movement speed of later levels (+1.5 ms per level instead of +2.0 ms) -Items you drop somewhere fly back to your stash automatically (so you won't lose any items and no item will mess up the update of a tower) -The items in a tower no longer vanish when selling or upgrading it

About HCL: Note that the page www.eeve.org/YouTD/hcl.php is not set up yet...

New YouTD Admin

Let me welcome boekie as a new member of the YouTD admin team. Since he has currently the highest contribution score, produced good towers and is able to write clean tooltips (very important for reviewing ), it was obvious that he should become an admin. Luckily, he agreed .
You might have already noticed this since he has admin status for a few days now, but I had no time to welcome him officially earlier.

So, thank you for your contribution, boekie!

Call for Items

The last point I want to mention are items. When playing the new version, you will notice that there is a real short on items. So please wait with your tower ideas and produce some ordinary items.
I talk about normal items without special abilities, just balance table changes. For example, there are only common items up to level 8! So even at level 80, you will receive a level 0-8 item when getting a common one.
Majildian did a great job designing a set of standard common items! Without these, the release would not have been possible. We need items like these for higher levels, common and uncommon. Follow his example and design common and uncommon items that contain just ordinary balance table changes or small abilities. Do not make ultra special items that take you much time. Rather produce more items.
In addition, also some early game rares and uniques are missing (i.e. level 0-15). Note that for items, rares and uniques must not have ultra unique abilities, that is only for towers. Giving them small, cool abilities, is enough.

This message is somehow superfluous... after playing v0.5 a few times you will see what I want to express here anyway .

I have released a new version of the devkit fixing all known bug.

Changelog DevKit v1.16

-Uses the latest YouTD engine with all known engine bugs (double free PeriodicEvent and others) fixed. -Add only modification table entries of towers should work now -The onDestruct event of towers should be fired when they're sold or upgraded+ -The dummy AoESpelldamageWithDropoff function should work now -Auras should now correctly update the power and level of all affected units when the aura granting unit gains a level -Spell crit text should now be visible to the correct player -The struct ProjectileType was sourced out into an own library (because the Projectile library was very big) -Added a new struct "AttackType" to trigger "Constants". This attack type has a getDamageAgainst method which retrieves the damage dealt against a specific armor type -Added a "getAttackType" method to struct Tower which retrieves the attack type of the tower.

In addition, please give your oppinion about YouTD's length at this poll:
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=3744

Last but not least, I want to thank all donators here. Around 60€ have gathered until now. That this is no laptop yet, but it helps, thank you!

The latest version adds the new extended foreach syntax, fixes some bugs and now runs on 64 bit OSes. Have fun with it .

Because of my really bad hardware luck, I have started the "Laptop for poor Developer" campaign.

Support the development of my maps with a small donation.

Read more about it here...

Hi,

all features are (more or less) tested now, so the last step is to check all pending towers and item, that no submission is lost.
I have already started testing, but my PC broke yesterday... Since my laptop already broke two months ago, all I have at the moment is the laptop of a friend, which is very old and cannot even start the World Editor or Warcraft 3, so I cannot test any towers at the moment. However, I have already ordered a new PC (or lets say parts, I always assemble my PCs). I hope I will receive them on wednesday, so, with setting up OSes and installing stuff, I think I can go on reviewing and testing towers next weekend.

I cannot ensure, that the next version will be out on christmas. But since (even) I have holidays then, I will have enough time to finish testing then, so I can at least ensure it will be released at some point in the christmas holidays. Maybe on 31st, that would be exactly 3 years since the first version of CF came out .

The next release of YouTD is moving closer and closer, but we still lack items, especially rares and uniques. If you have a cool idea for unique items, hurry up and upload it!

We also need some low level items (i.e. 0-150 gold), especially for uncommon, rare and very especially for unique. Otherwise, there won't be any items of that rarity in early levels. So please think of cool but weak effects for the earlygame rares and uniques.

Concerning creators of items that have not been approved yet:

If your item is missing its ability description in the web interface, please reparse it with the latest devKit and reupload it to the website.

Thanks and look forward to the next version of YouTD with new features like the save codes and items .

My Bachelor's Thesis about YouTD is finally finished! I will print and submit it on monday.
If you are interested, you can already read it.
I hope I will have more time for my projects now, the next release of YouTD comes closer and closer...

Links:
Bachelor's Thesis about YouTD ("Open Innovation in Game Design Using the Example of a Warcraft 3 Tower Defense")