SC2Mapster

Blizzard has just recently added some new spotlighted community maps. This time around, we have Battle for Sky Fortress, which we actually featured on Mapster not too long ago. We also have Uberena, which I haven't had the chance to play, but I remember from the old SC1 days, and it was definitely a fun map. Feel free to review either of these maps and leave it in our Map Review Forum!

Battle for Sky Fortress by Stark (KratsAU)

Name: Battle For Sky Fortress Co v1.24
Category: Co-op VS AI
Mode: Up to 6 players (Faster)
Author: Stark
Description: Choose your weapon and battle for Sky Fortress! Call down mighty Titans, upgrade your weapons, and learn new abilities!

Uberena by Kenoli

Name: Uberena v0.52
Category: Micro Arena
Mode: Default
Author: Kenoli
Description: Use teamwork and micro control to overcome your opponent and destroy their base!

Just a reminder to everyone who wants to go to BlizzCon this year, the first batch of tickets go on sale on Saturday! It has also come to my attention that Blizzard's original RTS CM, Karune, has resigned. Farewell, Karune!

Also worth mentioning, State of the Game, the uber popular SC2 Podcast included some talk about DarkRevanent's Mafia map (at 1:36:00)! Sure they could have potentially meant the actual game, but hey, it's an SC2 Podcast, no? Aside from Husky commentating his custom map experiences, this is huge for the custom mapping community, by introducing the general SC2 public to the custom mapping scene.

SmashCraft 2.0 by Mephs

As we all know, SmashCraft has been a rather popular SC2 Custom Map since the beginning. This PvP giant of a map, that plays out very much like Bloodline Champions (from what i'm told) has gotten a major overhaul. Mephs has just recently released version 2.0 of his map, adding a whole slew of changes to the: UI, stats/balance, heroes, a bunch of bug fixes, and so much more! If you have yet to play this map, you can see what you're missing below.

Scene Recreation Contest

Well folks, it's been an awful long time since we've had a contest around here... So to pick things back up, we're holding contest to recreate your favorite scene from any movie, video game, book, etc!

Quote:

What you have to do

• Re-create a scene from your favorite movie or video game (other than StarCraft) in the GalaxyEditor.
• NO editing your screenshot with external utilities. It must be provided as-is with no modifications, simply through the Editor.

What you have to submit

• One screenshot of your scene
• One picture of the scene your trying to recreate
• The map file you took the screenshot from
• A brief explanation about which game/movie you chose and what scene it was

Deadlines

• You have 2 weeks to submit your entry
• End of the submissions: Sunday, May 29th - Midnight PDT (Los Angeles) [Monday, May 30th - 9 AM GMT (Paris)]
• A public vote will be held after the end of the submissions to decide who wins.

Rewards for the winners

• First: 6-month Curse Premium
• Second: 3-month Curse Premium
• Third: 1-month Curse Premium

Please keep all discussion and entries in the contest thread.

Blizzard has released another Tutorial, this time it is all about the Triggers Module. For those of you interested, go check it out! And don't forget to vote in our Poll, we want to know what your favorite Blizzard Mod is.

SC2Streamster by SC2Mapster

SC2Streamster is going to be SC2Mapster's streaming channel, where we plan on holding shows (similar to Day9's) focused around mapping. We plan to bring mappers (that's you!) or even just people with a mild interest in mapping (that's you, if it wasn't earlier!) a mostly daily show that revolves around all aspects of the Galaxy Editor. Currently, the show will be hosted by Mephs (for most days) and Mozared for the Terraining themed day, and I will pop in here and there for some fun stuff. The goal is to make this very community driven, much like Day9's Dailies. Check out the thread for more information and current plans with the show.

Project Avatars by Bounty

Project Avatars is a PvP based game with some PvE elements. Each player will choose who to represent at the start of the game, the player will then be granted the an "Avatar" form of that God. The goal is simple, conquer the planes of the Gods and destroy anyone who gets you're way.

We recently just opened a UI Development Forum, so those of you who have questions (or answers!) in SC2Layout development, feel free to drop by! Also, if there are any Diablo Fans out there, you should know that the Diablo 3 Beta is coming soon.

Patch 1.3.3

Patch 1.3.3 went up on the PTR not too long ago and was released on the live servers earlier today. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any cool done in regards to the GalaxyEditor, according to the patch notes. However, as Renee spotted during the PTR, the CValidatorLocationCrossCliff bug was resolved and undocumented. If you find any other undocumented editor changes, please share them!

Quote:

General

• The default hotkey to toggle in-game music on/off has been reverted to its hotkey prior to Patch 1.3.0. The hotkey to display APM in the observer stat panel has been changed as a result.

Balance

• PROTOSS
  • Archon
    • Now a massive unit.
    • Range increased from 2 to 3.
  • Cybernetics Core
    • Research Warp Gate time increased from 140 to 160.
  • Gateway
    • Sentry train time decreased from 42 to 37.
    • Warp Gate unit train times remain unchanged.
  • Pylon power radius has been decreased from 7.5 to 6.5.
• TERRAN
  • Bunker
    • Salvage resource return reduced from 100% to 75%.
  • Ghost
    • Cost changed from 150/150 to 200/100.
  • Thor
    • Thor now has 200 max energy, and starts with 50 energy.
    • 250mm Strike Cannons now cost 150 energy to use (cooldown removed).
• ZERG
  • Infestor
    • Speed decreased from 2.5 to 2.25.
  • Spore Crawler
    • Root time decreased from 12 to 6.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where Ghosts could not quickly EMP the same location.
• Fixed an issue that allowed players to stack air units when issuing a queued stop command before the units reached the end of their patrol point.
• Fixed an issue where unplugging your USB headset while another player was talking to you could cause a crash.
• Fixed an issue where the APM statistic could be artificially increased.
• Fixed an issue where 3D unit portraits were not animating smoothly at slow game speeds.
• Fixed an issue where, when viewing a replay, no text message was displayed when a player left a game.
• The Taiwanese hotkey to display/hide the game UI while in Observer mode now works correctly.

A new poll here on Mapster has been long overdue... This time around, we want to know what your favorite Blizzard Mod is, so go vote! Also worth mentioning is two new fan fiction piece that Blizzard added to their gallery.

Star Drivers by zenx1

Star Drivers is a very simple racing game, that plays out pretty well. The game has quite a few unique tracks, a pretty cool (and logical) UI, and is super easy to understand. IMO, the game closely resembles Blizzard's own Rock 'n Roll Racing, if any of you have played that...

Blizzard recently interviewed the very popular shoutcaster, Day9. They also reached 1 million 'Likes' on their Facebook page, and released a cool piece of artwork to commemorate it.

Moving the Command Panel by Helral

Helral, who has been one of the very few who has done any extensive work of SC2Layout files, has released another UI tutorial. This one, in video format, goes into very great detail on how to go about resizing and moving around the Command Panel. However, after you understand and can replicate this tutorial, you should be able to edit any current panel there is with ease.

Some more SC Comics have been released, go check 'em out.

Maps 'n Mods Tutorial: Missile Movers by Blizzard

Earlier today, Blizzard released their third Mapping tutorial, which was surprisingly a lot more complicated compared to their last two, which were on Terraining and Publishing. This time around, the tutorial was on Missile Movers:

Quote:

We’ve just expanded the StarCraft II Maps and Mods page with the Missile Movers tutorial, located here. The missile mover system allows the map maker to control motion in dramatic and entertaining ways. While typically used to configure missile-based attacks, the underlying motion defined by the missile mover system can be used to drive a reaper’s body when it jumps or a spine crawler’s tentacle when it attacks. Add this tutorial to your toolbox and get more out of your custom map creations.

Head over here to discuss it.

Mapster Mentor Program by wOlfLisK

For a while now, we've been talking about making some kind of mentoring/training/teaching program here on Mapster. wOlfLisK has decided to take it upon himself and get things started with it, essentially it is a way to let older and experienced Editors take on an "apprentice," and help them learn the ways of the Editor. You can of course, still ask questions on the Forums and IRC, but this Mentoring program makes things a little bit more personal.

Quote:

What is Mapster Mentoring?
Mapster Mentoring is a scheme to help newbies get better at map making. There will be a list of mentors that newbies can contact to ask about questions, get tips and generally get help from.

Normally I don't do this, in fact I don't think I've ever done it, but I'm sure you'll all be talking about it anyway, US President Obama has announced that Osama Bin Laden was found and killed. I suppose it's only a matter of time before someone turns this into a Custom Map...

Battle Planets by lotsofcolors

BattlePlanets is a very unique map, as I have yet to see anything like it on all of Battle.net. Essentially, this map is a spruced up version of the ol' Mario Party Bumper Balls mini-game. It takes place in Space, and you're a tiny little planet that is trying to bump the other planets out of the Solar System. There is some pretty cool functionality, like the teleporting Black Hole thingy, and the ability to unlock different star systems to play on. Anyone interested in these unusually fun little mini-games should check this map out for sure.

Blizzard added some brand new Jim Raynor Fan Art to their website earlier today, go check it out!

The Hungry Baneling by johnfloyd

On the fringe of space, the rogue cerebrate Glummoth battles against a joint Terran and Protoss military alliance. Unlike other cerebrates who are content to use what the Overmind has left them, Glummoth has continued the Overmind's evolutionary experiments to bolster his forces. Just as the Overmind's experiments succeeded in creating the mighty Queen of Blades, Glummoth's years of experiments have finally yielded his own mighty warrior; The Hungry Baneling! Created with one purpose in mind, The Hungry Baneling consumes all in its path, friend and foe alike. The more you eat, the more you grow. The more you grow, the more you can eat!

The Hungry Baneling is of a similar nature to the game Spore, in which you control a primary unit, and must "consume" smaller units, with the aim of increasing your "size", in order to consume even larger units, later on in the game. Your mission to defeat the combined Terran and Protoss army is aided by the rest of your Swarm, which is automatically rallied into combat, to fight along side you, or to become your "food". You must consume units on the field, in order to "grow". These units can be either from the Terran/Protoss army, or the Zerg units fighting along side you. You are restricted to consuming units "smaller" than you, and are notified when you are able to consume new units.

Those of you who want to check the map out, may do so at the project page. In addition, just recently, Crucius did a lengthy writeup and decent review of the map, including the video seen below.

I realize i'm a few days late, but I wanted to wish the GalaxyEditor a happy birthday. I don't know if you all remember, but Maged and I actually got our hands on the Editor a day early, on April 21st, making us the first two users to ever use the GalaxyEditor. Patch 9, which released the Editor publicly, was released the next day, on April 22nd.

Also worth noting, from Renee, in the 1.3.3 PTR patch, the bug with "CValidatorLocationCrossCliff" was fixed and is undocumented in the official patchnotes.

Project TMA aka Tofu by Dogmai and Dryeyece

Yes, this is the long awaited project that I have been posting those mysterious images about for the last two or so months. Now, Tofu is not one single map or arena, it is the name of the entire project itself. Currently, to my knowledge, it will consist of two different maps (though i'm sure will expand over time), the first being Project TMA, Tofu Mini Arenas, which can be seen in the video below. TMA is a dynamic Team Deathmatch Map, with tons of different arenas all built into one map. Tofu Arena on the other hand, will be an AoS-style map, where you get to use the same TMA heroes, items, etc. This is pretty awesome, because you get to learn how the heroes work, who counters who, and what items work well with your character, all in a PvP environment. When Tofu Arena comes out, you'll already be familiar with all of the heroes and can jump right into the action.

Below in the video, you can see one of the many TMA arenas, Waterforts Arena. Aside from a robustly dynamic TDM styled map here, they also have a pretty badass custom UI, 18 unique heroes, portability into their other Tofu maps, and a dozen different game modes.

Don't hack! Blizzard is cracking down.

Patch 1.3.3 PTR

Blizzard has updated the PTR patch notes for 1.3.3 this afternoon. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there are any changes for the Editor whatsoever, though this isn't a huge patch, so... Do not fret!

Quote:

Balance

PROTOSS

• Archons are now a massive unit.
  
• Pylon power radius has been decreased from 7.5 to 6.5.
  
• Cybernetics Core
  
  • Research Warp Gate time increased from 140 to 180.
    
• Gateway
  
  • Sentry train time decreased from 42 to 37.
    
  • Stalker train time decreased from 42 to 37.
    
  • Zealot train time decreased from 38 to 33.
    
  • Warp Gate unit train times remain unchanged.
    

TERRAN

• Ghost
  
  • Cost changed from 150/150 to 200/100.
    
  • Salvage resource return reduced from 100% to 75%.
    

ZERG

• Spore Crawler
  
  • Root time decreased from 12 to 6.
    
    

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where Ghosts could not quickly EMP the same location.
  
• Fixed a bug where players were still able to stack flying units on top of each other.
  

Starcraft: Tarsonis

This is something that should be new for all of us, as it is not a project being made in the GalaxyEditor, but is a fan-made film being created externally. The film is based around a formally neurally re-socialized marine finds himself in the middle of an evacuation from the home of his youth, Tarsonis City. Seems like a really interesting plot to me and I feel like the people behind this production have enough passion to really do a good job with this. They're keeping developer diaries in the form of videos, check 'em out below to see what the project is all about.

HotS Preview

That's right fellas! Today I received an invitation to go to Blizzard HQ, at the end of May, to test some single player content from Heart of the Swarm. Now there will be no multiplayer content, that will be disclosed at a future date, only SP content will be playable at this tour. Though keep in mind, there is still no release date, this could potentially be pretty big. The Wings of Liberty preview was in April of 2010 and the game was released in July of that year. Perhaps HotS is coming sooner than we think? However, the February ActiBlizz Conference Call made it clear that there were currently no plans to release any games in 2011. Confusion!

Kotaku did a nice little write-up about their thoughts on what this means, feel free to take a look.

Something to also think about for us Mappers is that the War3: RoC Editor got some pretty big updates after TFT was released. I'm expecting major updates to the GalaxyEditor with HotS, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'll fill you all in after all of this goes down, but it's still a bit more than a month away.

For discussion, use this thread. That way we can actively chat about this stuff after this post gets bumped down.

For those interested, the brand new Christie Golden novel, Devil's Due, was just released, go pick up your copy today!

Weekly Terrain Exercise 29: Military Space Compound by Mozared

For quite some time, our Terrain Moderator, Mozared, has been running Weekly Terraining Exercises, that have allowed the community to partake in some fun, yet challenging terrain creation. We always get some pretty great submissions and i'd like to take the time to point a few out from this most recent one. Keep in mind, it just started, so feel free to submit your own entries as well!

Quote:

Did you guys know 29 is the number of atoms in copper? Because of this, I intended to make WTE #29 be about 'creating a coppermine', but I realized this would yet again force people into the Mar Sara tileset. While it's awesome, we've done so much stuff with it lately that I'd like an opening for a different idea. Thus I came to something we haven't at all done before or even came close to: a Military Space Compound.

I want to see a military compound on the Avernus, Braxis Alpha or possibly Castanar tilesets, located on a platform in outer space. This will give people a chance to show what they can do with a great number of doodads and textures we've never really used before. You can make the project as large or small as you want - it can be a small landing point for spacecraft or a whole scientific research facility. Do with it what you will!

Good luck, hope for some more submissions this week!

The Global Information/Idea thread for Terraining Exercises can be found here.

Feel free to check out our other exercises...

• Weekly Data Exercise
• Weekly Trigger Exercise
• Weekly Art Exercise

And just in case anyone missed it, check out yesterday's featured map, Photon Cycles by JademusSreg!