Beyond the Throne

This is a custom map project I began shortly after Warcraft III was released in 2002. Over the years it has been built into an extensive mod replacing two races, integrating sea units, and introducing new lore to the universe. More recently a survival style variant has become the focus.

Abridged History

2022

An expansive PvE/PvP survival map has taken focus, providing emphasis on replay value, but retaining the long developed design narrative.

2019

Work continued under the hood to improve performance and react to changes in W3R. HD models were in the planning stages.

2017

At this point the four races were in substantially complete states (Orc, Human, Lost, Naga). The focus had become game balance. As RTS development goes those adjustments are never truly done. There were now five heavily designed maps that provided unique areas for land and sea units to interact. Several users also made me aware that a small group was playing my maps regulalry, both in the west and in China where the Warcraft III community was much larger.

2015

With the Lost in a good state I began work on a Naga race. There were dozens of variations on them in the custom scene, but none existed at the time that I felt were complete. Additionally I had been working with artists for some time on various custom models. Some of these had started as sketches.

2012

This was the beginning of a race that would take until 2015 to feel satisfied with.The Lost were a result of the Legion's invasion and ultimate defeat:

"As the Undead Scourge was cleansed and the lands of Azeroth recovered from the devastation lain upon them, cooperation began to waiver among the two dominant races. In the outlying territories where resources were thin, and the peace was not so easily enforced, conflict soon broke out. As the fighting escalated, a new and frightening enemy crawled from the ruins of the past to settle the future."

Lore was expanded upon for the Lost. I developed ties with numerous content creators to aid in developing more advanced spells, and creating models. Game balance was an ongoing effort given the new complexity of sea units, and the rapid design iteration for each race.

2011

Despite having several projects I always came back to this map, which was renamed to Beyond the Throne. In the interim I learned much about triggers and developed numerous custom spells and units. The wealth of resources developed by the community afforded me greater opportunities to experiment with unit creation. I designed a race which ultimately was not implemented, but it provided a substantial learning opportunity.

2004

Complexity grew as sea units were added. Terrain started to be adjusted to accommodate the new unit type. I started working more with custom heroes as well.

2002

I began a small project with the intent to add in elements from Warcraft II. Map editing was not a new concept to me as I had created many scenarios in WcII and multiplayer maps in Marathon. For some time I focused on mirroring units from WcII with limited innovation. This project was called Orcs and Humans.

Reviews

Possibly the best Altered Melee map Ive ever played. Great gameplay with new and unique units, while still having that same Warcraft feel.
- Trilby

As time goes, so does @Kam's innovative Beyond the Throne project continue with it. One of the most meticulously conceived altered melee maps who's span came into being long ago only to further through even today.
- deepstrasz

This is pure, unadulterated insanity of a mod. Literally Warcraft IV. What I would like to emphasize is the visual design and clarity - it feels like an extension of WC3, most units and buildings do not strike me as from some other game, they do look at home when compared alongside the original roster. At the same time, they are not simple recolours, with so many new styles and mechanics they do pretend to be something more, something that needs a good story to correspond with it and to explain it, to draw the player into it.
- Adunai

Overall, this is a must altered melee to play.
- Orcnet

As far as custom factions go, Beyond the Throne is pretty much one of the very best out there. Gameplay is expanded to include new mechanics like naval combat, which is done the traditional way with the Alliance and Horde but integrated seamlessly into the Naga and the Lost, the two factions replacing the Night Elves Sentinels and the Scourge. The design asymmetry that OG Blizzard is known for is nicely cultivated to give each faction its own identity.
- Spellbound

 

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