Tag: SPRPG Diaries

Warcraft III

Blog 782: The SPRPG Diaries: The Founding of Durotar

Rao Dao Zao

Every time I play “the Rexxar campaign”, or as it’s properly called, “OrcX”– uh, I mean, The Founding of Durotar, I want to write about it. It is the about most exquisite implementation of the Warcraft III RPG format you’ll ever see — perhaps not as inventive or bombastic or narratively compelling as anything the community ever produced, but compensating for any deficiencies with production values that are completely off the charts. This is by far the best thing Blizzard ever made, a sumptuous tour-de-force that exercises the full breadth of the engine in a way the base melee game never dares.

Today: The Founding of Durotar, by Blizzard Entertainment

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Gaming, Warcraft III

Blog 775: The SPRPG Diaries: MountainStruggle AoS

Rao Dao Zao

Okay, now I am taking liberties. NEHZ’s MountainStruggle AoS is, as the name suggests, an “Aeon of Strife” type map, where two teams of up to five heroes assist waves of spawned units as they battle down lanes to destroy the opposing base. Ever since I first played it with NEHZ and the rest of the Clan WCM crowd, this take on the AoS genre captured my heart more than any other with its tight, multi-layered landscape and Soulstone system.

Most importantly, however, it has bots — so while everyone else moved on with their lives, I could keep playing alone. And the AoS genre is about controlling a single hero against the world, as they gain experience and use abilities, so technically it’s still an RPG…

Today: the inimitable MountainStruggle AoS by NEHZ

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Gaming, Warcraft III

Blog 774: The SPRPG Diaries: Warcraft Rogue

Rao Dao Zao

This one is going to be controversial, because this map is not a dedicated singleplayer map: it’s co-op, for up to 7 players (odd number, but who am I to complain?). However, it can be played quite happily alone, and I do, with potentially shocking regularity. Why? Because it’s procedurally generated, that’s why! Every play-through is different!

… Ahem.

So while this does not strictly qualify for the SPRPG Diaries by being a dedicated singleplayer map, it is a map that’s stayed with me and that occupies much more of my brain than it should. I think, therefore, it deserves some attention and discussion.

Today: the endlessly varied Warcraft Rogue by Polaris0082.

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Gaming, Warcraft III

Blog 546: The SPRPG Diaries: Rise of the Lich King

Rao Dao Zao

Right from the beginning, I was all up in Warcraft III‘s singleplayer RPG scene; a combination of a long attention span (which, I have to admit, has since diminished) and limited internet access made it the natural choice. We might have exhausted the supply of maps that defined my own works, but there is still plenty of interesting stuff out there to have a go at…

Today: the indefatigable Rise of the Lich King by Armelior

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Gaming, Warcraft III

Blog 545: The SPRPG Diaries: The Troll War

Rao Dao Zao

Right from the beginning, I was all up in Warcraft III‘s singleplayer RPG scene; a combination of being competitive but terrible and limited internet access made it the natural choice. We might have exhausted the supply of maps that defined my own works, but there is still plenty of interesting stuff out there to have a go at…

Today: the curious The Troll War by Makuza

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Gaming, Warcraft III

Blog 535: The SPRPG Diaries: The Devil Made Me Do It

Rao Dao Zao

Right from the beginning, I was all up in Warcraft III‘s singleplayer RPG scene; a combination of a love for romance sub-plots and limited internet access made it the natural choice. So in this series, I’m finally going to discuss some of those maps that had a big impact on the way I do things…

Today: the venerable The Devil Made Me Do It by nightingale

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Gaming, Warcraft III

Blog 534: The SPRPG Diaries: Quest of Kyneria

Rao Dao Zao

Right from the beginning, I was all up in Warcraft III‘s singleplayer RPG scene; a combination of a love of steamrolling easy AI opponents and limited internet access made it the natural choice. So in this series, I’m finally going to discuss some of those maps that had a big impact on the way I do things…

Today: the ancient monolith Quest of Kyneria, so ancient it isn’t marked with an author and has no known remaining download locations.

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Gaming, Warcraft III

Blog 533: The SPRPG Diaries: Return of the Vampyres

Rao Dao Zao

Right from the beginning, I was all up in Warcraft III‘s singleplayer RPG scene; a combination of a penchant for world-saving power-fantasies and limited internet access made it the natural choice. So in this series, I’m finally going to discuss some of those maps that had a big impact on the way I do things…

Today: the oft-forgotten Legends of Xenthis: Return of the Vampyres by Tim Williams a.k.a. Krythan.

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