When Warcraft 3 debuted in 2002, gamers were delighted to experience a game that offered real-time economic strategy, with the ability to train heroes that would engage in ongoing battles. This paved the way for the critically acclaimed Defense of the Ancients (DotA) custom map, in which modders saw the opportunity to take the hero-centric aspects of the game and turn them into an online battle arena. This would spin off into an entirely unique genre of real-time strategy games that stretched the functionality of hero-on-hero combat.

But what about the economic aspect? Gather resources; build defenses; pillage enemy kingdoms - these common tropes of gameplay were uniquely clarified and balanced in the Warcraft 3 environment. The opportunity to focus on this aspect (in the way that had been done with online battle arenas) became apparent. Yet no team of developers ever went down this route.

Throughout the years, there have been countless modifications of the game - yet very few tease the possibility of expanding outside of the already existing controls. There have been spin-offs that simply repaint existing elements, claiming false novelty. There's also been the more recent 'Warcraft 3: Reforged' distribution - a great option for anyone interested in high-quality graphics (and not much else).

What we are proposing goes further beyond any of the existing alternatives. We intend on (finally) pursuing the opportunity to expand the economic strategy aspects of Warcraft 3. Our project reimagines numerous functions of gameplay in the hopes of pushing players to explore entirely new dimensions of economic strategy.

The Warcraft 3 TFT expansion introduced the ability for non-hero units to carry items. We take this a step further, by allowing units to now reap the benefits of said items. Equip units with head gears, hand weapons, relics, and more, in a new sophisticated format of item management.

In traditional multiplayer settings, resources are traded by accessing controls that sit within a modal outside of the physical game.

To make things more interesting, we intend to materialize this functionality within the physical game, by introducing cartels. Purchase a cartel, and load it up with the resources, then send it off into the wilderness, but be careful that enemy players don't intercept it before it reaches your desperate ally.

What if units could level up the way heroes do? We introduce the biding unit, the centrepiece of any strategic player's army. Be encouraged to keep war units alive, instead of lazily sending them off as war-fodder - develop strategies to unlock their higher levels, and show off the prowess of your hard-earned army.

It's a common case that lower level units are abandoned as games intensify. We counter this by introducing the 'population' function, a dual feature that transforms a lower level unit into an entirely autonomous member of a player's wider community. By activating the population 'function', your higher level units are stack-boosted - but beware, population units don't take orders, and should be safely contained away from enemies.

In the real world, you don't just 'tick' players on as your allies. We're making it a rule that alliances are formed with the construction of embassies. Build an embassy in the base of a prospective ally, or destroy one belonging to an enemy if you want to meddle in their own alliances. You can also use your embassy to harbor units belonging to players that aren't part of your own alliances.

Consider the following fun example: Player B launches an attack on Player C - their army is felled, save their hero. Player B then rushes their hero to the embassy of their ally, Player A, which is conveniently located in Player C's base. Player B's hero stays there, regaining health while they regenerate their army.

We introduce the concept of the gem mine. Like other resources, players have to go out and seek gems, but there are only a handful of randomly positioned gem mines on the map at the start of any game. Every so often, a gem mine will spit out a selection of a few gems - some rarer than others - some more often than not. Gems can be used for buildings, unlocking special abilities, conducting research, and most importantly, for forgeries (see further down).

With the introduction of gem mines, players can now become creative in how they use their resources. And what better way than to craft items in a forgery. Don't just buy items - build them from recipes of resources that you provide. Or break down items into compositions of gems and their constituent resources.

Traditionally, research takes the backseat of Warcraft 3 - smaller games impose limitations on resource acquisition, so only certain upgrades can be activated. On the other hand, larger games offer such wealth that the process of researching becomes linear and entirely complete within the first few hours of gameplay.

We go against the grain on both of these alternatives, by modelling research into a modular and undoable tree-based process. Just like abilities, keep up with upgrades that deactivate over time. Pick wisely the units that reap your upgrades, as you make your passage through mutually exclusive alternatives and arrangements. Formulate strategies to match your circumstances - then undo your selections when you need different abilities.

War brings booty - and what better booty than a bank full of gold! We impose limits on the amount of liquidity that anyone can have - instead, players will be required to build banks, and withdraw resources as needed. Just like in the real world, these banks can be robbed, incentivizing you (and your enemies) to go to war.