Modded challenge map: The Ender Wars

[mathwiz617]

So, with new ideas almost constantly spilling from my mind, it's no surprise that I'd eventually get around to something like this. I'm a huge fan of mods, and a huge fan of challenge maps, vanilla or modded. Screw Skyblocks though, I'm tired of that. I'm thinking something like the old Super Hostile maps, just with 1.12.2 mods.

Should this ever come to fruition, there are certain things I'd like to see done:
1. A custom map, built entirely from scratch. Either carved-out caverns or filled-in empty space, it doesn't matter. Maybe 1k by 1k. EDIT: It's going to be much, much bigger.
2. Custom recipes and loot tables. Whether it's something like distilling Blood Magic's life essence into regen potions, or looting partially filled mana tablets from witches (note to self - make sure that can be done), I'd like to see things done differently in this pack.
3. Scarce resources. Anyone can do just about anything with Avaritia-level hoards of resources, but not everyone can pull themselves out of a dark, zombie-infested hole using nothing but what they find in random chests and scattered about the world.
4. Bonus objectives! Yes, you filled in the 16 colored wool blocks. But did you also fill the city's power reserves? Did you send the elves some blood samples? What about providing the miners a powerful new terra shatterer (SS rank, of course)?

I'm thinking of all this, and more. I just want to know, what do you all think?

 

[mathwiz617]

One thing I've been thinking of doing is using Integrated Dynamics/Tunnels to check NBT data to determine whether the wool you place in a box next to the Victory Monument is crafted or found in a reward box, then place that on the monument for you. That could then trigger events throughout the map, such as turning on lights or opening the next area.

EDIT: Another thing that could be interesting is a difficulty selector. Set an arrow in an item frame on top of an entity writer, and have it point to signs with "Easy", "Normal", or "Hard". Based on which sign it's pointing to (defaults to normal), you could open up different routes, turn on lights in sealed areas to prevent mobs spawning there and taking up spawn cap room, or even give different items with different enchants.

 

[LordPINE]

If you need some help with some of these features, feel free to ask. I know a reasonable amount about command blocks and vanilla mechanics, as well as quite a bit about crafttweaker and such. Also, this sounds pretty cool, and I hope it'll result in a great map/pack combo.

 

[mathwiz617]

If you need some help with some of these features, feel free to ask. I know a reasonable amount about command blocks and vanilla mechanics, as well as quite a bit about crafttweaker and such. Also, this sounds pretty cool, and I hope it'll result in a great map/pack combo.

I appreciate the offer. Right now, I'm still designing the concept, thinking of areas/challenges, finalizing the mod list... I've got a lot to do.

 

[mathwiz617]

Well, I had a hard time coming up with ideas for the map layout, so off to Google for a procedurally generated landmass map:

Spoiler

That got the creative juices flowing.

The continent on the left, I'm going to call New Craft City. It'll be one huge city, with towering high-rises and loads of dark alleyways. Like NYC, basically.

The one on the right will be Young Minecraftia. This continent will be mostly wild, dotted with small farming towns. There'll be a desert on that SE island, a forest on the north side, and the west will be a prairie, with a port (Prismarine Port) stationed near the inlet to the huge lake. The starting village (Keeper Village) will be located on the island in the middle of this continent, and will hold the entrance to the first dungeon.

I've even started on the lore for the map! The Ender War has spread over both continents. Mobs, searching for the legendary, life-giving World Battery, took over New Craft City and are laying siege to Prismarine Port. Meanwhile, the rest of their army spread over Young Minecraftia, eventually finding Keeper Village and its secret entrance to the Battery Pack Shrine. The mobs took all sixteen holy relics from the Battery, turned it off, and sunk the Shrine. As Champion of Keeper Village (and the only Crafter around), it's up to you to set things right. You must start by turning the Battery back on, but be warned: the switch is guarded by a small detachment from the Blaze Battalion!

 

[mathwiz617]

https://imgur.com/a/EhhcmCV

Here's an album I've started of my technical builds for this map. I will try to explain the builds in the picture captions, but feel free to ask me for more details.

EDIT: I added Astral Sorcery and NuclearCraft today. Going to work them into the story.

Also, more lore and mechanics, combined in one idea: the Starlight Citadel! Formerly home to the Astral Masters, this floating fortress hovers high above the ocean, way far away from Young Minecraftia. The only access is through teleporters, which will be powered up by the orange wool. Mobs have taken hold of this place, though only just... at first. Players will find that they can unlock great power here, along with the magenta wool.

Once you claim the wool, you will be able to attune yourself to your choice of constellation (using command blocks).

You can return to reset your attunement at any time, up until the moment you claim the purple wool. Once you do, the old teleporters will go offline, and a new teleporter will open up. It turns out the mobs weren't too happy about the player just strolling into their newfound bastion. They broke off the teleporter terrace and reinforced their defenses. Unfortunately, it turns out that the blue wool has been moved here, too.

The new teleporter leads to a fleet of NCC airships that you would have recently liberated. The Admiral will sell elytra wings and grappling hooks for those that don't already have some. That's your way in. Fly and grapple your way over the walls, through the fire and arrows, and go liberate the Moonlit Rotunda at the center of the Citadel. Here, you'll also find the wool.

Bonus challenge: rescue the captive Masters. They will gladly trade you their Mantles for saving their lives.

EDIT #2: Here's a little sneak peek of the red and black wool challenges. I've also added Open Modular Turrets, which will play a role in the challenge of the map's second half.

Bonus objective: there will be six optional bosses in the Overworld. You can only kill them once, but they drop powerful, unbreakable weapons. You must issue a challenge if you want to face them in combat.

You've gotten down to the last two wools. You've scoured the Overworld, going from sky to bedrock and back again. There's one place left for you to go: the Nether. Thankfully, the green wool opened a portal that you can traverse.

The portal on the other side is massive. As your vision returns, you realize why: the Underworld Flotilla is just in front of you. These gargantuan lava-ships, led by Admiral Rottenbones, would completely overwhelm the Overworld if they got through.

Bonus challenge: find and detonate all weapons stores, dooming the ships to immolation. You may find an incredible source of power for any and all powered armor while doing so.

Once you claim the red wool, the End portal will be revealed. Traveling through this, you will end up on a small island outside of the Ender Empire, where the NCC Admiral is waiting for you. You'll be told that the Empire is protected by a powerful forcefield above, the void below, and the only gate is heavily guarded (custom mobs and powerful turrets). However, there seems to be a soft spot in the walls, worn down by the Ender Dragon's breath over the years.

The dragon has already been defeated, but the NCC fleet took heavy losses in the process. One ship in particular crashed into the weak point, part of its hull torn away. It's stuck there now, the fuel removed from the reactor in a hurry as the crew escaped. It wouldn't be very hard to obtain some hotter fuel than standard protocol demands, and that ship was carrying a bunch of explosives...

Of course, once you’re through the walls, there’s still the Imperial Tower to climb. You could try to fly to the top, but you’ll quickly realize that that won’t work; it must be climbed from the inside.

Bonus objective: remember those optional Overworld bosses? If you fought all six, win or lose, the Empire’s vaults will be open in the Tower’s basement. There will be six chests here. For each boss’ weapon you relinquish, you’ll receive that boss’ soul. Get all six, and you’ll get an even more powerful weapon, too.

 

[mathwiz617]

Hey, all. I've created a discord server currently dedicated to the development of this pack. Here's the permanent invite link: https://discord.gg/deSQ7Qv

I'm currently looking for help building the world and finalizing the modlist. After that will be incorporating the challenges, writing scripts for recipe and loot table changes, choosing music, and building up the lore. Phase three will be beta testing.

Anyone who helps during any of these processes will be credited as a contributor in the release.

 

[mathwiz617]

More areas!

The Den of Derps - home to a large pack of powerful wolves, the Den is worryingly close to a nearby farm. Worse yet, the destabilization from the mobs removing the wool has strengthened these wolves even more. They resemble the direwolves of old! The farmers will gladly trade you weapons and armor if you need them. You'll find the white wool deep inside.

Nice Doggy - one wolf pup seems to not be doing well. Take him to the Beastmaster at Keeper Village. It won't ever be able to follow you into battle, but it'll serve as a good guardian in your absence. The Beastmaster will even teach you how to make a bow in return.

The Sanguine Sanctorium - The Claret Coven has made high-quality healing potions for generations, but the invasion has dried up the supply. Go check up on them, and make sure the Coven is alright.
Turns out, they aren't. The mobs have all but destroyed their altars, tore their recipe books to pieces, and drove the majority of the Coven away. The elders managed to steal the orange wool from the mobs and barricade themselves in, but need rescue.

Restore the Sanctorium - The Coven elders have been freed, but they are incapable of making more advanced potions by themselves. Find the scattered members, who will give you various items. Place these items in the Sanctorium's scanner, and you'll receive a scroll. These scrolls will restore the altars and unlock the recipes for better potions. Once unlocked, you can either brew these potions yourself or use the Sanctuorium's brewing system.

EDIT: Even more areas!

The Enchanter's Mansion - an extravagant woodland mansion built for an eccentric mage, this holds the first enchantment table in the map.

The Living Cave - Filled with basic Botania items, this cave is rather strange, seeming to shift as you explore it. The lime wool lies in wait here, but this is only scratching the surface.

The Botanical Bedrock Gardens - the coast of NCC is very heavily guarded and fortified. Storming these beaches will just get you killed. A better option would be traveling under the ocean through this natural, bedrock-level tunnel. Luminizers will carry you across hazardous terrain, but mobs can still spawn down there. Ready your bow, and stay on the lookout for any advantageous Botania materials.

NCC Survivor's Refuge - the city was overrun, but the population was not routed. Those that are left found their way here. Unfortunately, they are low on food, out of power, and completely surrounded. Fill item requests, charge the power banks, and blow up the explosive caches the mobs have set. You'll earn a new grappling hook for each objective completed, and finishing them all will get you a special weapon.

NCC Power Plant - the mobs set turrets around the coast and on the sides of buildings, and have regular foot soldiers on the ground. You can take out the grunts, but they'll just keep coming. A better idea would be to cut the power to the turrets. Lo and behold, the power plant has been re-tooled to run off of the pink wool. Time to kill two birds with one stone.

Blaze Barracks - The Blaze Brigade has taken over the NCC Barracks, made the grey wool their battle standard, and have generally been causing a mess for those who travel above the ground in NCC. Fight your way through the Underworld's second-best to Colonel Crackle and his lieutenants, Atrophy and Decay, to reclaim the wool.

NCC Hangar - Most of the trade in NCC happened in the air, but all the airships have been grounded. Now that the mobs have lost their air support, it's time to reclaim the fleet from Lieutenant Z and the Pork Platoon.

 

[mathwiz617]

Amendment to prior area: the Power Plant’s reactors will destabilize after the pink wool has been claimed. Now it’s a time bomb, and you are inside! Get out while you still can!

New area: the Geiger Rig. This decommissioned ocean drilling platform was once the source of all the nuclear fuel for NCC. The main containment chamber was busted, and the majority of the mobs left. Those that remain are rather weak, but the radioactivity will start to eat away at you the moment you step aboard. Resist the wither effect by running from potion station to potion station, and claim the purple wool to refuel the airships.

The Coven will support you directly here. The top-tier potions you have unlocked, toggleable between instant health and regen, will slowly restock the stations.

There’s an emergency shielding shutter that got stuck outside the main containment unit. The wither effect is stronger here, but if you close the shutter manually, it’ll stop the withering entirely.

 

[mathwiz617]

New area: Inferno Mountain. A volcano, this is the only spot in the world where ember energy can be found above bedrock. There is a legend about powerful weapons that can harness this energy, and a blacksmith that set up shop inside the volcano. That may or may not be true, but you do know one thing - the yellow wool is here.

New area: The Bridge Of Minor Inconvenience. Claiming the blue wool and liberating the Starlight Citadel seems to have caused an earthquake. This drained some of the magma from Inferno Mountain’s interior, and a new passage opened. Venture through to find the way blocked; a large chasm lies between you and your goal. As you approach, you hear a disembodied voice echo off the walls: “STOP! Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.” Obviously, the bridgekeeper didn’t read the title card. The nearby caves hold the answers to the three questions. Repeat them correctly in chat, and the bridge will be restored. Answer incorrectly, and you’ll find the reason for the Bridge’s name change. As you cross the restored Bridge, the Bridgekeeper will restore the brown wool for you.

New area: The Aetherium Forge. Well, the legends about the volcano’s blacksmith were true. This forge may be home to an assortment of deadly mobs, but it also houses ancient wonders the likes of which you’ve never seen. You can find the green wool here, but that’s not the only prize. The blacksmith left behind his last, partially finished project: a crown. Finish it, and it’s yours to keep. There’s a hole in the crown, perfect for setting a gem, held by a mini-boss. That gem is hollow, it could easily hold a potion of some sort.