Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

The gameplay of the game Warcraft III takes place on maps of various sizes, with such terrain details as rivers, mountains, seas or rocks ^[10] . The fog of war is present in the game, when initially the whole map is covered with “black” fog, and after reconnaissance of the territory, if it disappears from the field of view of friendly units, it is covered with “gray” - the player sees only the last state of the terrain or buildings of the enemy ^[10] . In Warcraft III, players are required to collect resources, build buildings, and produce units for reconnaissance maps and defeating the enemy in battle ^[11] . In the economy of the game, three main resources are used - gold, wood and food ^[12] . The first two are necessary for creating units and buildings, while subsistence limits the maximum number of units that can be possessed at a particular point in time ^[11] . In addition, an “upkeep” system was introduced, which means that production of units over a certain amount reduces the amount of gold mined, which forces players to fight with a limited number of units ^{[11] [13] [14] [15]} .

The game displays the environment in a classic perspective from top to bottom with a small angle that can be scaled and slightly rotated ^{[11] [12] [14]} . The game interface is rigidly fixed at the bottom of the screen, and displays a mini-map, information about the currently selected unit or unit. In addition, the panel also displays special commands available for the selected unit or building ^[13] . If several units are selected, the game automatically groups them by type, allowing all units of the same type to receive special commands ^[13] . The small upper panel displays the current time of the day, as well as current resources and the current level of "maintenance". In the upper left corner portraits of the player’s heroes are displayed, when clicked , a quick transition to them is performed ^[13] .

Warcraft III uses four playable sides to the conflict: Alliance, Horde, Undead, and Night Elves. Two have returned from previous games in the series - the Human Alliance, a coalition of humans, dwarves and high elves, as well as the Orc Horde, composed of orcs, trolls, and tauren-inspired minotaurs . Two new sides were introduced - the Undead, called the Scourge, and the Night Elves ^[13] . As in StarCraft , each side differs not only in appearance, but also in the characteristics of its representatives, as well as the overall battle strategy and methodology for building the base ^[13] .

Appearance of Heroes

Players now have the opportunity to order a new class of units - heroes . The heroes of each race are unique and, in addition to the ability to fight, are endowed with additional abilities that increase as the heroes gain experience and put the hero above any other unit. The hero can pump skills, carry items . The maximum level of the hero is 10, at level 6 he gets the opportunity to pump ultimate - usually the strongest ability of the hero. In total, the hero has four skills (in the editor this number can be increased), each of which, with the exception of ultimate , can be pumped 3 times. In fact, the hero is an analogue of the main character from the RPG . He has different types of magical skills - attacking, defensive, auxiliary, as well as auras.

• Experience ( English experience ) - points awarded to the hero after each kill of a hostile unit. The accumulation of experience leads to an increase in the level of the hero. Each level increase strengthens the hero and makes it possible to increase the level of one of his skills.
• Aura - the ability of a hero to expose himself and his surrounding allied units to constant magical effects. Auras can increase Defense, Attack, Movement Speed, Mana or Health regeneration, etc.
• Items - items bought for a hero in a store or selected from creeps. They enhance the characteristics of the hero, give an aura, allow you to use the spell. Items can be selected, as a rule, the main characters of the game. Also, in the hero’s inventory there is a limit of 6 items.

Heroes dramatically changed the gameplay and balance - the game has become more dynamic and diverse. Hero leveling was carried out according to the principle of classic RPG and became one of the most important factors of the game. In general, each faction has three types of heroes: the commander (leader), melee (melee fighter) and the caster (caster).

• The commander is a servant and guide of supernatural forces, giving him, in addition to spells, an aura: within a certain radius from the hero, friendly troops receive a permanent advantage that does not require mana.
• Melee (melee master) uses his abilities to strengthen himself and against enemies.
• The caster attacks the enemy with remote attacks and casts various spells.

Pumping is carried out by killing enemy troops or creeps (creep) - units controlled by a computer and protecting significant objects and neutral buildings on the map. In addition to experience for killing a creep, they give gold, and items fall from the "key" creeps. This is done to force the player to play aggressively, and not build up on the base. In The Frozen Throne expansion, heroes for killing creeps gain experience only up to level 5.

The scene of the game is the fictional world of Azeroth. A few years before the events of the game, the demonic army, called the Burning Legion, subjugated the Orc race, and sent it through the portal to conquer the world of Azeroth ^[16] . These events were shown and described in the games Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. ^[16] After many years of bloody battles, the Orc army was defeated by the Alliance - a coalition of people, dwarves and elves. The surviving orcs were driven into camps, where they seemed to have lost their thirst for blood ^[16] . The absence of enemies was followed by a period of peace, but the Alliance began to disintegrate ^[16] .

Horde Exodus

The training campaign, consisting of two chapters, in the first player is taught how to manage the army and the interface of the game, in the second - how to manage the base. The player acts as Thrall, the young leader of the orcs and the shaman. In the opening video, Thrall sees a dream in which a prophet says that he must lead the Horde to the lands of Kalimdor. Thrall obeys and begins to prepare the troops for sailing. Later in the story, he reappears with his father’s friend, Grommash Hellscream, the leader of the War Song clan when the orcs arrive on the shores of Kalimdor.

In the demo of the game and The Frozen Throne expansion, there are three additional missions that continue this campaign.

The Fall of Lordaeron

The first full-fledged campaign in the game. It is conducted on behalf of the Alliance.

The young prince of Lordaeron Arthas Menethil, together with the paladin Uther the Lightbringer, fights with the orcs from the Black Mountain clan, who refused to sail over the Sea with Thrall and is still worshiping demons. Arthas later meets with the magician Jaina, a longtime acquaintance. Together they save the villages of Lordaeron from the suddenly undead, and look for the cause of their appearance. A little later, in the city of Andorhal, Arthas and Jaina meet the necromancer Kel'Thuzad, who spreads a magic plague through Lordaeron, turning people into zombies. Arthas kills the necromancer. After the death of Kel'Thuzad, Arthas travels to the city of Stratholme and, driven by hatred of the undead, massacres the entire population, poisoned by the magic plague and irreversibly turning into the servant of the undead troop commander Natrezim Malganis. Unsupported by the paladin Uther and Jaina, Arthas withdraws the fleet and goes to Northrend, where he hopes to destroy the demon. At the same time, a prophet visits Jaina, advising her to gather people and set sail for Kalimdor.

Faced with the brother of the dwarf king Muradin Bronzebeard, Arthas destroys the Scourge camp, but Malganis was not there. Meanwhile, an ambassador from Lordaeron arrives at Arthas's camp, who transmits the king’s order to return home. Arthas’s troops cut down the forest beyond which the ships are located, but Arthas himself destroys the ships and blames his mercenaries for this. After a while, Arthas and Muradin find the cursed rune blade Frostmourne. Contrary to Muradin’s persuasion, the prince splits a block of ice in which the sword was frozen. Muradina is hit by a shard, but Arthas does not pay attention to it. He takes the sword and returns to the camp. Then he alone finds the Dark Citadel and kills Malganis.

While Arthas walks alone through the icy wastelands back to his people, the Lich King Ner'zhul drives him crazy through Frostmourne and enslaves his soul. The prince joins the Scourge and, returning to Lordaeron as a death knight, kills his father, King Terenas Menethil II.

Path of the Damned

Undead Campaign

Arthas, becoming the death knight, receives a task from the lord of horror Tikhondria to revive the Cult of the Damned and to resurrect Kel'Thuzad. To do this, he goes to the city of Silvermoon, located in Quel'Thalas, since only the power of the Sunwell located there can revive the necromancer. During an offensive on Quel'Thalas, Arthas encounters an army of high elves led by Sylvanas Windrunner. During the battles, Arthas destroys the elves, and turns Sylvanas into a banshee - the slave of the Lich King.

After the resurrection, Kel'Thuzad tells Arthas about the Burning Legion and the plan to take over this world. The Death Knight learns that he was chosen by the Lich King long before the creation of the cult and that lords of horror like Malganis and Tikhondri are called to control the offensive. The next part of the plan is the call of Archimonde. For this, Arthas and Kel'Thuzad are sent to Dalaran for the book of Medivh. The campaign ends with the call of Archimonde and the destruction of Dalaran.

The invasion of Kalimdor

Horde campaign, continuing the plot of the training campaign.

Horde troops arrive on the shores of Kalimdor, but scattered by the storm, they land in different places, and Thrall begins to collect them along the coast. Here he meets the leader of the tauren, Cairne the Bloodhoof. Thrall helps him protect his village from the centaurs and escort the kodo caravan to Mulgore. Cairne tells Thrall about an oracle who is able to recognize the future. The shaman goes in search of this oracle, hoping to find out the fate of the Horde. Along the way, he meets the Hellscream Thunder battling humans. Scouts report that people took all the way, and Thrall hires goblin airships to get to the oracle.

After Thrall leaves, Thunder sets off for the forest to build a new camp for the return of the leader. However, during the construction by the orcs, much of the forest is destroyed, which awakens the ancient night elf demigod - Cenarius - which in response destroys most of the camp. Then the demon Mannoroth appears in the forest and desecrates a well with water with his blood. The orcs, sensing the power emanating from this well, try its waters and become much stronger and more bloodthirsty. Thanks to the received power, they kill Cenarius, but fall into dependence on Mannoroth.

Thrall and Cairne, meanwhile, make their way through the camps of people who have closed a cave with an oracle. Passing through caves at Stoneclaw Peak, they meet the oracle, which is Medivh, the last Guardian. He was the prophet in the dream of Thrall, and he persuaded Jaina to take some of the people to Kalimdor. Medivh reports that the Burning Legion has already captured the lands of Lordaeron, subjugated Thunder and his entire clan, and the only way to defeat is to unite all the races of Azeroth against the demons. Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore, who also came to meet the oracle, agree and form an alliance. Subsequently, they work together, freeing from the demonic subjugation of Thunder, which kills Mannoroth, but soon dies from exposure to energy caused by the explosion of the demon.

End of Eternity

The last campaign of the game is on behalf of the night elves.

The forces of the Burning Legion invade the lands of the night elves. The High Priestess of Elune - Tyrande The Rustle of the Wind awakens the High Druid Malfurion, and later frees his brother Illidan from the underground dungeon. In the Felwood Forest, Illidan meets Arthas, who tells him that the demons own a powerful artifact - the skull of Gul'dan - which spreads damage to the lands of night elves. Illidan manages to get to this artifact, but, instead of destroying it, he absorbs the demonic power of the artifact into himself. With acquired power, Illidan kills Tikhondria, but the night elves condemn him and expel him from their lands. Meanwhile, the last battle begins near the world tree of Nordrassil. While Alliance and Horde forces are holding back demon attacks, the night elves trap the demons. Having defeated the troops of people, orcs and elves, the commander of the demonic invasion Archimonde makes his way to Nordrassil in order to absorb his strength. Suddenly, he is attacked by the night elf spirits that destroy the supreme demon. The troops of the Burning Legion are defeated. People, orcs and night elves, having entered into an alliance, begin a new life in Kalimdor.

Warcraft III is the second game in the Warcraft series that supports online multiplayer on the Battle.net server. The game has four servers, conditionally divided into North and South America, Asia and Europe, whose players can play among themselves, but can not interact with players from another server. On Battle.net you can only play with a licensed copy of the game.

To enter the system, the player needs to click the "Battle.net" button in the main menu of the game. The game itself selects the server, however, if desired, you can select any of the four servers by clicking the button with the image of the magnifying glass . After a successful connection, the player is shown the welcome screen in the form of a stylized gate with a lock in the form of a lion’s head, and it becomes possible to log in or register. After authorization, the player gets to the main page from which he can start playing. At the top there is a panel with buttons with which the player can start playing or see his profile, go to the built-in chat or to the web pages of tournaments and ratings. Also on the main page there are news and statistics on the current number of players and games in the system.

All games in the system are divided into rating and user. A system of automatic search for opponents is intended for conducting ranked games: a player or group of players needs to choose a game option (1x1-4x4 or FFA), their races and, if desired, exclude several available cards. After that, you must click the "Start Game" button, and the system will begin to search for opponents that match the current level of the player or team, which is displayed as a number. A rating game can be played by one person or an allied team from two to four people. According to the results of rating games, points are awarded and removed, and, having received a certain number of points, the player or team gains or loses the level.

All other games are user-defined, do not affect the rating and statistics are not kept on them. To start such a game, you need to click the "Custom Game" button, after which the player will have access to an interface similar to the game’s interface on a local network.

Blizzard announced Warcraft III , then still without the Reign of Chaos prefix, on September 2, 1999 at the European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) ^[17] . Then it was announced that, unlike Warcraft II, the new game will be completely three-dimensional, it will have six game races (Orcs, People, Demons and three more unknowns), and it will be performed in the new genre Role Playing Strategy ^{[18] [19 ] ] [20]} . The latter meant that the player would focus less on assembling resources and managing the base, and more on developing squads controlled by him and completing quests. Screenshots of the game and videos showing the gameplay were shown. It can be noted that at that time graphically the game looked very good for that time. It was reported that the game will be released in 2000 ^[21] .

By 2000, it became known that the fourth game race would be the Undead ^[22] . In June of the same year, GameSpot magazine conducted an interview with Rob Pardo, who said that the game was 30% complete and that one of the six races was removed from the game, which remained unnamed ^{[23] [24]} . In December, the fifth playable race became known; it became the Night Elf race ^[25] .

At the MacWorld Expo in July 2000, Blizzard announced that the game would also be released for Macintosh computers ^[26] .

At the end of 2000, the game was moved to the beginning of 2001. Then Blizzard abandoned the RPS genre, and it was decided to leave the game in the style of Real Time Strategy with the presence of heroes. Later, the release dates were postponed two more times: first, the game was moved to the second half of 2001 ^[27] , and then finally to 2002 ^[28] .

On February 1, 2001, the full name of the game became known - Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos . Then it became known that the number of playable races will be reduced to four. They became the Alliance, Horde, Night Elves, and Undead. From the Burning Legion, it was decided to leave only units and buildings ^[29] .

In November 2001, Blizzard released update 1.09c for Diablo II , which was used to anonymously collect computer configuration information for future Warcraft III optimization. However, when installing the update, it was possible to cancel the data collection ^[30] .

From January 7 to February 8, 2002, beta testers were recruited. About 5,000 people were selected ^{[31] [32]} . In the beta version, it was possible to play only through Battle.net, and there was no single game and the ability to play on the local network. For those who did not participate in the beta test, Blizzard approximately once every 1-4 days represented one unit or hero from the game.

There is an English demo of the game, which was released on December 2, 2002, six months after the release of the game ^[33] . It contains 5 missions per horde, two of which are taken from the prologue Reign of Chaos , and three new ones later came as a separate mini-campaign in addition to The Frozen Throne . In the demo version, there is no way to play on the network and on user maps, and there is no World Editor . It can also be played through Battle.net , but only a one-on-one match for the horde and only between players in the demo version. It takes about 100 MB, and its PC and Mac versions can be downloaded from ftp Blizzard. Of the interesting facts, it can be noted that of all units, only Thrall speaks funny phrases if you click on him several times. The remaining units do not speak funny phrases.

World Editor

Warcraft III includes a script editor that uses a scripting language, similar to what was in StarCraft . With the help of the editor it is possible to change the characteristics of any unit, building and spells. This has led players to create their own (custom) movie scenes, dialog boxes, and weather effects. There are even amateur films created using the World Editor . Many custom-cards had a kind of gameplay unlike the original. The script editor has made a huge contribution to the longevity of the game.

Warcraft 3: Reforged

At BlizzCon 2018 on November 2, 2018, Blizzard announced a remaster of Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne called Warcraft III: Reforged featuring remodeled characters and graphics with a promising release in 2019 ^[34]

Most critics praised the game's graphics, including unit design and the world itself, concluding that Blizzard had successfully entered the 3D world ^{[40] [47] [38] [12]} . The German magazine PC Games compared the appearance of units in with participants in beauty contests and noted many details: such as fluttering capes, knights that shift from one foot to another, and water that turns red when the units die in it ^[12] . Campaign videos were especially noted, and many critics called them impressive ^{[11] [48] [40] [38]} . However, GameSpot noted that character models are of mediocre quality, especially when they are closely visible when viewing in-game screensavers ^[13] . Critics also praised the simple interface and that it is very easy for players to control their units ^{[13] [40]} .

Igromania magazine gave the game 9 points out of 10 possible ^[49] and awarded the 2002 Best Strategy Award. She was also nominated for the “Best Story” award, but did not receive it, as, according to critics, “the turns of the history of Warcraft are too unexpected” ^[50] .

• Warcraft III на сайте компании Blizzard
• Warcraft III на сайте Battle.net
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