SC2Mapster

For those of you interested, Blizzard release some new Starcraft Ghost fanart that looks amazing, as well as a bonus comic contest entry.

One Button Mayhem by boomcallister

One Button Mayhem... Doesn't sound that fun in theory... But then again, neither does Nexus Wars. I have to admit though, after reading a bit about the map, it got me a little curious. Man was I surprised! This is the kind of game that will get people addicted. It's simple and easy, but requires some strategy and skill to win. This map is Starcraft Melee as a one-button game, which offers a completely unique gameplay style. You tap "z" to spawn a Zergling, and hold it down longer to create bigger units. Version 2.0 Beta is now released on the NA realm and it includes all 3 races.

Data Assets by azchef

azchef has been hard at work on some pretty cool Data Assets for those in need. Below is one of his recent works, a unit called the Desalisk, that has some pretty cool mutations. If you want to check out some of his other stuff, like the pretty sweet Stamina Aura, or the Dark Probe, or even want to make a request, check out the thread!

We also just reopened our Twitter account, so follow SC2Mapster on Twitter!

UPDATE: Season 1 has come to an end and Season 2 has officially began!

Don't forget to cast your vote in our poll!

SC2Mapster Community Project by YOU!

nevjmac has come up with a project idea that will require the entire community. This may be a trial as a start of something that might happen a bit more often, so depending on how this turns out, you may see more of this happening. Our first one is going to be a TD (the td's out currently are something to cry about), I have all ready planned out the majority of the fundamentals which you will see be put together in the three areas, Terrain, Data and Triggers. Every aspect of the game is going to be worked on by the community and then pieced together to make one polished map. If you're interested, please visit his thread!

Random Actor Effect by Ultimaswc3

This tutorial explains how to create randomized actor effects. These actor techniques reduce the need to carefully create 'random offsets' in persistent effects or tons of sites and site operations. In this tutorial, basic data editing knowledge is assumed (intermediate level or advanced). He discusses several examples of how to randomize actors:

• Randomized offsets
• Matching actor offsets to effects
• Randomizing actor event chance
• Randomizing offsets in addition to site movers

Simple AI Behaviors by Ultimaswc3

This tutorial explains how to apply data behaviors to units that provide simple but useful AI. In this tutorial, basic data editing knowledge is assumed (intermediate level or advanced). We will re-create two example behaviors from my custom map:

• Suicide Fire Elemental - Attack outward from the ability caster's facing.
• Bovine Warp Trooper - Provides merc. support by following the caster around and attacking things.

We also just reopened our Twitter account, so follow SC2Mapster on Twitter!

As we all know, the GalaxyEditor is pretty damn powerful. With that great power, comes great responsibility... Just kidding, but the power of the Editor makes it pretty complex. That means there are eventually, tools will come out that simplify things, or even allow us to do things not possible in the Editor.

Map Obfuscator by StragusMapster

By far, one of the most sought out programs, because this will help people with protecting their maps. Currently, it only works for obfuscating Galaxy scripts as the obfuscation of Data is much more complex to do. However, those of us that want to protect triggers or scripts, can now do so...

Galaxy Script Editor by SBeier

This is an editor to write galaxy code in. It features syntax highlighting, autocompletion (including definitions made by the user) and error reporting. If you want to use it with some GUI functions you have made, you can copy the script from your map (Data->View script), then write on the function you want to implement, and copy that portion back into the map as a custom script. Beier is also working on a Galaxy++ Language/Editor that will extend the language.

Galaxy Parser by xDSchurke

This is currently just a simple Galaxy Parser, that will validate your syntax. However, this is just a precursor to what Schurke has planned in the future: his own language extender called GalaxyX, as well as a full blown Galaxy Scripting IDE.

Notepad++ Galaxy Package by grim001

Those of you who primarily use NPP, I recommend using grim's package to do so. It includes syntax highlighting and autocomplete on Galaxy and is up to with brand new patch 1.3. He has also included a pretty spiffy dark-looking theme for NPP if you prefer that!

We also just reopened our Twitter account, so follow SC2Mapster on Twitter!

I kinda slipped this in the last post a little late, so going to stick it here as well. Go vote on the new poll question: "What do you think of the new Custom Games System?"

Diablo: The Curse of Tristram by egodbout

I try not to post updates about the same map too close together to keep things fair for everyone, but I think egod's update deserves a little attention. He took advantage of progammer's StarMovie and implemented the original D1 cutscene as the intro to the map, which I think is awesome. Check it out below.

We also just reopened our Twitter account, so follow SC2Mapster on Twitter!

EDIT: Also, go vote on the new poll question: "What do you think of the new Custom Games System?"

Just wanted to mention, anyone interested can go check out LordAbyss's Unit Comparison spreadsheet. It's used to obviously, compare various data between two units.

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Zarakk

This is exactly what it sounds like: Rock, Paper, Scissors! Zarakk's version of the map will have three game modes: Tournament, Free Roam, and Tug-o-War. Each Mode has a different playstyle, and the map also sports various arenas you can play in. It's pretty simple in concept, but the thread has much more information, so go check it out!

EagleAI by MTops

MTops has been hard at work on this AI for months. In fact, I remember him referring to it back during our Melee AI Contest. Some notable features of his AI are:

• Unit micro (focus fire on weakest unit, use weapon bonuses, retreat wounded units)
• Tactical ability usage (blink, force fields, emp's and fungal growth are all used)
• Excessive creep spread (zerg AI uses tons of creep tumors to make a creep highway)
• Harassment strategies (medivac drops, mutalisk harassment and nydus worms)
• Human-like errors on lower difficulty settings (limited multi-tasking, slipping macro, getting supply blocked, etc)
• Large amounts of strategies available, so every game is different
• Priority based production system (instead of food based)

If you want to play EagleAI, just search for it on Battle.net! Any feedback you have would be appreciated, he's currently looking for some information, so leave it in his thread!

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We also just reopened our Twitter account, so follow SC2Mapster on Twitter!

Official Maps and Mods Pages by Blizzard

Blizzard has just released their Map and Mods section on the official site. Currently there are 2 tutorials they have to show for: one about Terraining and the other on Publishing. Pretty basic stuff, but feel free to check them out, though lots of you will already know this stuff if you're comin' around here! I also went ahead and added it to our Tutorial page in the wiki.

In addition to these tutorials, (and future tutorials Blizzard will put up) they are planning on putting up informative pages about their three custom mods: StarJeweled, Aiur Chef, and Left 2 Die.

Night of the Dead by Ability1

I recently newsed the newly popular Night of the Dead map by Ability1 as most of you may remember. He's updated the map with a new class (the Marksmap) and is showing it off in the video below. Anyone interested, check it out!

We also just reopened our Twitter account, so follow SC2Mapster on Twitter!

We also just reopened our Twitter account, so follow SC2Mapster on Twitter!

Patch 1.3 Goes Live

Patch 1.3 has gone live this morning, and with it, the new Custom Games system and Editor fixes. To refresh your memory on the patch notes, check out the Blizzard blog.

Customizing UI Changes by Blizzard

Blizzard also released this announcement about Custom Layouts... Keep in mind, we will still be able to override and access after this is implemented.

Quote:

We wanted to clarify a feature of the UI system that might not be initially apparent to custom map makers.

The user interface in StarCraft II does not officially support the file replacement system where an SC2Layout file in a custom map replaces an existing SC2Layout file found in the Core mod. Replacing built-in UI layout files in this manner can cause many problems. In a future patch we will be disabling the ability to replace UI layout files in this manner completely as it results in undesirable behavior.

However, we understand that a custom map may want to change values in the default UI in order to customize the UI for their particular map. To address these needs we have created the Custom Layout File system. Within Game UI Data there exists an array of Asset Paths that can be used to load .SC2Layout files that override and extend the default UI layout files. This list of custom layout files can be modified in the Data Editor under the field name of “Custom Layout Files”. The custom layout files themselves can be added using the Import Editor.

One of our own custom maps, StarJeweled, takes advantage of this particular system. It uses the CustomLayoutFileArray field to load a file called GameUIOverride.SC2Layout. Frames within this file will override the existing frames and their fields can be changed, or new fields can be added. New frames can even be added within already existing frames.

For example, the CommandPanel within the default UI is overridden in the example below. Its anchoring and height are changed, as well as the anchoring of both the CommandTooltip and CommandButton10. The important part here is the file=”GameUI” attribute which specifies the existing .SC2Layout file that is being overridden, and the name attribute which specifies the hierarchy within that file of the exact frame being overridden.

    <Frame type="CommandPanel" name="GameUI/UIContainer/ConsoleUIContainer/CommandPanel" file="GameUI">
        <Anchor side="Top" relative="$parent" pos="Min" offset="871"/>
        <Anchor side="Bottom" relative="$this" pos="Min" offset="0"/>
        <Anchor side="Right" relative="$parent" pos="Max" offset="-160"/>
        <Height val="281"/>
        
        <Frame type="CommandTooltip" name="CommandTooltip">
            <Anchor side="Bottom" relative="$parent" pos="Max" offset="-85"/>
            <Anchor side="Right" relative="$parent" pos="Max" offset="-580"/>
        </Frame>
        
        <Frame type="CommandButton" name="CommandButton10">
            <Anchor side="Top" relative="$parent/CommandButton05" pos="Max" offset="48"/>
            <Anchor side="Left" relative="$parent/CommandButton05" pos="Min" offset="0"/>
        </Frame>
    </Frame>

Patch 1.3 Live is on the horizon, stay tuned for updates. Patch 1.3 will marks the end of season 1. In addition, Blizzard has released an FAQ-type thing on the new 1.3 Custom Game system.

Screenshot Comics - Results

The vote is over and here are the 4 best submissions, chosen from 2 votes. Congratulation and good luck in the next contest :)

Hive Keeper by Bibendus

Bibendus has been hard at work on his Hive Keeper (similar to Dungeon Keeper) map since the Beta. Something I thought was very cool is that he posts "Developer Diaries" on occasion, something that everyone can learn from and see how he is progressing with his project. If there were an easier way to do this, I would recommend everyone keep some kind of log on their maps for the public to see...

SpeedCraft by Bounty

SpeedCraft is an 8 player racing map that plays/looks/feels very similar to that of the F-Zero games. Players race around the track while avoiding its borders and other players. The map is set to 10 laps for launch and includes graphical options to make it more accessible to various PC's. Below is a video of the gameplay 7 players.

Doodad Hunt 2 by Bounty

This is the second version of an old map of his that he never released due to some issues. For those of you not familiar, Doodad Hunt was/is a hide and seek type map where one team plays as the seekers and the other plays as the doodads. The doodads must hide as a random object and try to blend in while avoiding the seekers.

Storm of the Imperial Sanctum v4 by ekcolnovkol

I'm sure most of you have played SotIS at one point in time... Many of you debate how epic the game is, but that is besides the point. The fact of the matter here is that SotIS is the best in it's genre, no other current AoS-styled maps really measure up to it. Version 4.0 was released earlier today adding a slew of new things. Below we have two new screenshots for 4.0 as well as a video taking a look at the 3.X series of the game...

WoW Warlock by BorgDragon

This past weeks Weekly Data Exercise has had some pretty awesome submissions thus far. One of these submissions was a nicely done WoW Warlock, with a bunch of familiar spells at his disposal. The video speaks for itself for the most part, just a tech demo of the Data work. Now that said, yes, everything was done in just the Data Editor, absolutely no Triggers! Go ahead and participate in the weekly WDE's or check out the other submissions, :).

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Rooftop Snipers by Khalanil

I'm sure we all remember the old school snipers maps from SC1. I have to say, aside from Bounds, this was my second favorite map type. However, this is not a direct port, Khalanil's map offers up some interesting new functionality, like different types of Snipers with varying abilities. In addition, there are also a few different game modes, including the original Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch style.

Galaxy Stack Space by Jademus, Motive, and Deaod

Basically they were playing around with scripting a little bit and were able to unveil some code that showed the author the stack space left in the map, in bytes. For further information and discussion on what this means for us, head over to the thread.

Quote:

int libStack_SpaceRemaining = 0;
bool libStack_Helper(int i)
{
	libStack_SpaceRemaining = i;
	return true;
}

// Returns in bytes the free stack space remaining.
int libStack_GetFreeStackSpace()
{
	if( libStack_Helper ) {
	}
	
	return libStack_SpaceRemaining;
}

Any modelers out there, i'd really like to see some models for the Diablo (1, 2, and 3!) classes. I know Skittles is looking for some modelers on his Diablo 3 project, but being the Diablo Fan that I am, I would really like to do something with the Diablo series as a whole in the GalaxyEditor... So if any good modelers find themselves bored, i'd really love to get a hold of the class models from each game. At the very least, you'll get your stuff shown off the front-page here and on DiabloFans.

EDIT: Here are links for their models:

• D3 Classes
• D2 Classes
• D1 classes (and the Monk)

Starcraft Universe by RyanWin, DarkRevenant, Mille25, and Shawn|Rawr

I'm sure you all remember the rather popular C&D Blizzard sent to Ryan about his project at the time. Originally, the game only featured Terran heroes with Protoss heroes coming Soon(TM). Ryan and the rest of his team are showing off the first Protoss hero in the video below, which is currently nameless... If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments below!