Staredit Network

First of all, a few beforehand statements.

In terms of Staredit.net, I am a noob. In terms of map making, I am also a noob. And in terms of overall chance to succeed at what I am attempting, I have none.

Like I care.

Im here to because I thought of an idea I think is great, be it thought before or never at all, not my problem. I will post my ideas, my progress of the map, and all other information concerning it here. All I ask in return are decent replies, with some info that will actually help in my maps development, rather then just take up forum space. Once again, I state that I am a noob, but with all due respect to all those more experienced then I, I expect the respect, attention, and treatment all the other "pros" recieve. Nothing more, and nothing less. Why? I want to be one. This map is my first step. And should you even go so far as belittling it in the least way, I will completely disclude you from this thread in any single way I find possible.


Now then, with the big bad policy out of the way, lets get to business


My map is called New Pompeii, and it is named so for a good reason. The plot is centered on that thought, the entire setting is centered on it, acutally. The map itself is an odd mix of map types. It will be a defense map, it will be an RPG, a "Total Freedom" RPG (concept inspired by the Elder Scrolls 3), It will be a city management map, a colonization map, perhaps even an army raising map. The purpose of this map is to have endless possibilities and total replay value. Thats what I believe a Starcraft UMS map should be all about. All of those who are interested, go right on ahead and post.


Features:
-Leader Abilites (Your main unit, basically "you," can gain abilites depending, once again, on their actions on the Colony)
-Evolvable Characters (They develope as you go, depending on your actions)
-Storyline that depends entirely on the actions of the player (think Chrono Trigger)
-Fully Colonizable Environment
-Arrival System (New Colonists Arrive when theres enough living space for em)
-"Suits" (Colonizing the planet will require colonists to wear specialized environmental suits, which can be bought, and removed with all your money back)
-Hero Suits, Specialized Suits for the leader of a colony to use, hidden throughout the map, each with their own special abilites, they're extras basically.
-Colony A.I.(The Computer will defend its own town, produce its own units on its own salary, with its own limits, and Im hoping to add some limited "town building" A.I., something I may need help with)
-Enemy A.I.(The Planet will be infested with Zerg, as all others, and I will need to give the zerg an advanced A.I., or just a really awesome set of triggers, of which, I have in mind, but shall explain later)
-Infinite Possibilites (My final and true goal, to make a map everyone, or alteast 95%, will love and find playable over and over again.)

Like I said, this is my only map, my first step into the world of map-making, it is a work that should be done by gods, not me. But to hell with that, everyone else is bascially too lazy to do it, so i got stuck with it.

More posts will be added detailing on allot of these concepts, ideas, and features that im trying to get down. Help is always accepted, comments aswell, but only under the condition that they arent disencouraging. This is a very ambitios project, I aint quiting anytime soon.

P.S.: The policy is in no way hostile towards others. Thats just how business works.

I think it's a little bit over your head, based on the info you gave. You should try learning basic triggering and knowledge of the system before you try tackling something so epic and big. As you said, you are a noob to staredit, so I'd recommend you start with something small. However, if you think you can do this, kudos to you and I hope you complete it.

Actually... yeah... you should probaly make a few small maps to get more... familiar with triggering. Then, you can start on a big, epic map. By then, you would be probaly more experienced and the map would turn out better. But well... It's your choice.

Either way, good luck on your map.

Gentlemen, please! Don't you think I would have expected this? I use the term noob referring to the fact that this is my first time here. In no case am I saying that I am not skilled or experienced in such arts. I have already taken care of a few of the systems in my previous message. The suit system has already been taken care of, and I've developed a few ideas for the Arrivals System. Reaching a "Total Freedom" RPG level only requires time and effort, the system itself isn't all that difficult to understand. And since most of you expect some proof, or at least what I plan to do to make this all possible, ill spill a few of the beans for your viewing pleasure.

--=Arrivals System=--
Previously, I used a simple 1 colonist per minute for a substitute, but now I've developed an idea to actually take its place.

First, I'd like to acknowledge kill scores. Each unit kill has its own score, right? Well how about build scores? There is also a separate set of scores for buildings, isn't there? By utilizing this, It'll be just like getting minerals for kills, except you simply replace kills with buildings, and minerals with colonists.

--=Suit System=--
This is probably the simplest concept in the game.

"If So-and-So has at least x minerals,
If So-and-So has at least y vespene,
If So-and-So brings atleast 1 Colonist to 'suit-up',
Then...
Remove 1 colonist at 'suit-up',
Remove x minerals,
Remove y vespene,
Create 1 Suited Unit at 'suit-up,'
Preserve trigger"

Theres not much too it really. Vehicles will work the same way, except with the requirement of more then one colonist for the larger ones, like Siege Tanks.

--=Leader Abilities=--
Another name for Spells. Nuff said.

--=Enemy A.I.=--
This is one of my more creative thoughts... See, Zerg units will spawn in certain areas, but will not spawn past their max limit, to lower the chance of an extremely overpowering and unbalance enemy. Their A.I. will be based on a territory system and a switch for each area.

"If area one is clear,
If Computer Colony brings 1 'any unit' to Area one,
Then...
Set area one to set,
Move location 'attack area one' to 'any unit' owned by 'Computer Colony,'
Order all 'units' owned by 'Zerg' at 'Area one' to attack 'attack area one,'
Preserve trigger"

The counter-trigger to settle the Zerg down when no enemies are in the area is simply the contrapositive on this trigger, with a few modifications. A similar system will be made for the Colony A.I., but that will only be for the attack system, the town management may be a bit more complex, and I still have yet to figure it out completely. But fear not, it will all be done in due time.

A few more systems to add to the mix, because like I said, theres still allot of unmentioned stuff in this. And yes, this one has already been developed, so no worries. It will be a simple "Work" system, in which you can use spare Colonists to work colonial jobs and make money in the settlement, rather then on the field. Unfortunately, I won't be telling you about it in this reply. Maybe in a little later, when I can finish terraforming my new map, the old one i started this on was a 96 by 96, and when my hopes grew greater, I realized the map was too small. So you get the idea. Anyway, one last thing to mention before I go, there will also be a "Missions System," a.k.a., quests and side quests. And one last note, I will try and use custom music as well, as soon as i figure that out, because i haven't experimented too much with wavs and sound files and such.

Thats all for now, folks. Hoping for some good comments and replies. Cya.

ADDITION:


Noob to staredit? Hardly. I said Staredit.net And as for a noob to map-making, thats only because I havent been doing this for very long if you consider how long everyone else has been doing it. But no worries, its all good.

One way I use to tell someone if they are a true newbie or not.
Do you use death counts?

Good luck with this. Even the best rpg's don't do this, not from what I've seen anyway.

Over all it seems like a good map, but it will take forever. I would play it when it's finished though.

Don't worry about it, I have until college to finish this, thank god im 14

I think multiplying my death counters is harder, since I still can't do that lol.

er....its not quite a death counter....its a 'build' counter lol. Don't worry, you'll see what i mean. Ill make an Experinental map in the next 10 or so minutes to show you.

Rantent asked if you know what death counters are. I was replying to him, I'm clear on your map. We'd just like to know if you know what they are and how to use them.

hehe, o. Dont worry, I know about em. I also know about the other counters aswell. And in all the maps I've seen so far, they are untapped. We should use them. Heres a map that shows you how the build score thing works. Its seperate from deaths because its on the build score, not the kill score.

That's really interesting, I've never seen it done before. Maybe I could use it in a map. o.O

Which is why we need more newbies. The newer, fresh breed of map maker always adds more to the spin

Unless they don't.

Which is beside the point!

But anyway, onto some more news.

--=Plot=--
Those who've seen this thread have already seen the map name, New Pompeii.
Well heres some in dept info. New Pompeii is an Ashworld just slowly calming its flames, an early version of earth if you will. The surviving Terran have most of their current homes to the Zerg and Kerrigans Brood. They need to find less dangerous areas to settle and regain their strength. A ruined conferacy teamed up with the remaining forces of Commander Raynor have sent a colonization team to clear and settle the planet. Reports of Cerebrateless Zerg Broods(Renegade Zerg) have most of the men concerned about their venture into the unknown lands and mysterious flames of New Pompeii. General Raynor, however, is not in the least bit concerned. With a few of his best men sent to lead the operations, he relaxes in his cozy seat on the Hyperion, while a fleet of Dropships sails into the unknown...

-Players will all be colony leaders
-One main starting colony controled by a computer
-For little hints at what the main storyline will focus on, do a little research on Pompeii, and find out what happend to it, you'll get an idea of what i'm planning

--=Map Statistics=--
-4 players max(so far)
-256x256 Ashland tileset
-Multiplayer Capabilities(No duh, it wouldnt be as much fun without it =P)
-Custom Music (When I figure out how, gonna see how the creator of "Life of a Marine" did it)

--=Help With...=--
-Side Quests, Ideas wanted.
-Music suggestions
-Any other help you can offer
-Money, no one ever has enough lol

ADDITION:
Incase any of you are interested, this is what the original New Pompeii first looked like before i decided to go for something even bigger and better. This was after about 4 days or so into developement, my very first map. I learned all the triggers and stuff in this lil thing. Try it out if you want, i dont really need it anymore.

It sounds like the terrain for this map will be hard considering it is ashworld. But nonetheless good job i like the concept for the map so far it sounds like it will be good.

Thanks, I know, its gonna be a little hard. The only real problem is that I cant get started on the map until all the land formations have been made, and I can't do that without figuring out what I need to make the special terrain that takes bits and pieces of other terrain and places it where it wouldn't normally go. If someone could please refer me to where I can find something to get this done, I will be extremely grateful.

And now for an update!

Custom Music has been decided! The song we will be using will be an edited version of Half-life 2's song, Half-Life17. I'll post it up here for all of you to listen to. Trust me, your ears are about to fall in love =P.

The file i've attacjed is the unedited version of the song, the edited one will loop with a smooth flow of the song, so it'll seem like it never ends. Don't worry ladies n gents, this is just the easy half =P.

Possibly more updates to come after I have a little grub

See ya later folks!.

ADDITION:
Further updates:

Iv'e decided on creating characters with...

DUN DUN DUN!

VOICES!!!!

--=Voice Acting=--
Yes, thats right, we will be doing voice acting for the more important characters and possibly even lesser civies that you may walk by. Subtitles will also be present, for those who wish to see them.

I am going to have a friend of mine help manage this, we will be having auditions for all the people on Staredit.net to those in my local area. We will also be looking for people that are skilled in sound editing. Voice acting will be needed for:

-Rigel Williams, Leader of the New Pompeii.
-Colonists, the people you'll run into
-Rea Whitewind, an ex-Ghost and female bounty hunter out to make a living in the colony.
-Ethan Hunter, A Zerg Poacher out to make some money.
-More to be added soon.

I know this feature will add a bit of space to the map, but dont worry folks, we'll find a way around it.

Thats all for now again, Dreamer Out.

ADDITION:
Another thread has been made specifically for the vocie acting and auditions. A friend of mine will manage it as soon as I get him an SEN account. Check it out if your interested: http://www.staredit.net/index.php?showtopic=15287

That music is awesome, great atomosphere, but the issue of quailty comes into play when converting it into a .wav file.
(By the way, this map is going to be amazing when you finish it!)

Great idea, but if your "policy thing" is accurate it is a bit too much for you.

Nonsense, its never too much for me. I'm the type that simply exceeds at his interests, and this is one of them. Now if only more people knew me around here, then a hell lot more stuff would be getting done.

Anyway, thanks for all the compliments guys, I'll try my best to make sure this map is all it can be.

ADDITION:


Thank you, It was actually a miracle I found it when I decided to play counter-strike one day...I was waiting for a map to download, it just popped up as "wait music," and I fell in love with it =P. Anyway, don't worry bout the converting thing, got a buddy that has a dad that works with sound. I'll have him look it over if need be.

To evoke the name of Chrono Trigger is to place in infinte burden upon your hands. It's impossible, although the string limit will be finally shattered as SF and SCM draft devolp over the next few years. There are other limits to what starcraft can do.

BTW, you can't make custom AI scripts unless it's a mod. If the automodder comes out, then you might be able to make a mod with multiplayer capabilites, but otherwise forget it.

Infinite possibilties eh... If you don't know how to use death counters, and if your still using staredit instead of SCM draft, then your

Before you start, just read tutorials and such so you can fingure out how everything works.

ADDITION:
Not only have I figured out how to multiply. I think I might be able to (gasp) divide.
If you want a tutorial on mutliplication and division. Just say the word, and I'll try to draw one up for you. It might take some time, becuase I have a really good idea of how it's done, but it's not quite on paper yet.

Once again, you underestimate me. The custom A.I. will be a complex set of triggers all linked together. Im using more then one map making program obviously, or else I would have quit days ago. I know about death counters(I didn't 2 days ago), and many of the other stuff required to make this map possible. Honestly, have you no confidence in the hopeful? Anyway, I finally got SCMdraft, so I can start working on the terrain now, wich will lead to working on the actual map later. Other stuff will be done aswell, and brain storming for sidequests and outlines for the triggers has already been started. Im gonna look for other mappers around my area to test out the triggers and such and have them ready for when the terrain is complete.

As for that tutorial, any help offered is always taken for projects like this.
So yes please, ill take anythin you give me. I can try and figure it out on my own, but that would slow the process of map-making, so a tutorial is for the best.

When I said Chrono Trigger, I meant thatyour actions will effect the path you take and the final outcome of the map. Plus, you have the freedom of choice.
And on a last note, if there's anyone interested in joining this project, feel free to contact me.



ADDITION:


Already have. Did so many days ago. Guess youre a little late with that =P.

Sounds good so far, the music is awesome!

Thanks, told'ja all you'd fall in love with it =P

ADDITION:
Well, since the actual map work is getting done now, I'll provide you all with a few more updates before I can even show you some screens of the map.

--=Side Quests=--
You will recieve side quests from a number of people, but here are the main ones:

Rigel Williams: Hunt outlaws for bounties (unlimited sidequests, and yes, thats possible)

Ethan Hunter: Kill Certain types of Zerg and bring back their skins as payment. (unlimited side-quests)

Rea Whitewind: Help her out with those few little things she can't get done on her own (limited side-quests)

Here are the systems for each. Side-quest characters that needto be hunted down will be given to player 8, who will be a specific color (I havent chosen a specific one yet) so that the player will know what to look for. Non-Hostile characters will be given to Player 6, a neutral player. Note that player 6 is not the colony. Anyway, heres how the system will work for each person:

--=Rigel Williams=--
Check with him to hear about the latest bounties. When you ask for bounties, a unit, or group of units will be created as "outlaws" they might be running around in the colony, they might be hiding out in the wild. In the end, you have to hunt them down.

--=Ethan Hunter=--
This man will hire you to go and get Zerg Skins for him. So its kinda like the bounty method, except with Zerg. There will also be a feature for you to sell additional Zerg Skins you find in the wild when fighting regular Zerg. A nifty feature for those who would like that extra little bit of cash...

--=Rea Whitewind=--
This girl will ask your for side quests ranging from distracting enemies to gathering intel, to exploring places for her, to going undercover. Quests given by her are for people who like to do stuff a little differently.

Anyway, Side quests are mainly just there to help you out in the beginning. The unlimited ones only get you cash and/or building materials. Special ones may get you new abilities. I'm also thinking of making it possible to have more then one Leader Suit, and being able to switch between them, but if that doesnt happen, I'll just make the special Leader Suits discardable, so you can get in/get out whenever you want, and others will also be able to use the suit.

Anyway, thats all for now. Hope more people visit this thread, I', hoping for a bigger audience and more people that are willing to help.

Thats all for now, Dreamer Out.

This map sounds very interesting. I like the idea of having side-quests (I don't think I've seen them in any other RPG on Battle.net).

I wish you luck with your map, and hope you don't run into the dreaded string limit.

Running into the string limit just forces you to convert the project onto StarForge. Although I still prefer X-tra over SF. That's what I'm doing anyways...

Xtra cant do anything... except terrain and being more organized. It's slow and hard to use. SF is very eficient.

You'll need a lot of knowledge in death counters to make a good map... trust me. I used aroudn 50 deaths counters in my Civilization game. (Yes, that many!)But I'll bet other people used more than I have.



Your map seems great so far and I admire your preserverence! I couldnt last that long. But there is no such thing as "infinite" possibilites, I'm sorry to say, the game can only do what you ask it to. But you can make a lot of possibilites so it seems that there are in fact infinite


By the way, what kind of system do you use for spells?
And correct me if im wrong, but all of these concepts have been used?
Why not make the conlonists auto equip? Like say you deposite 100 minerals in the "Depot" And it buys the suits, then when new conlonists arrive they equip if you have any. But you can always witydraw the money from the depot, dont want any newbs complaining they didnt know that it did

LOL, X-tra is hard and slow to use? That's the funniest thing I've heard all day. X-tra is common logic, click the actions and conditions you want, it's common sense for a map maker once you understand what everything does. I literally almost lag out when using Starforge. You use Starforge for extended and square terrain. If you can't use X-tra, but able to use Starfoge, there's something wrong with you.

I'd like to see some great terrain on ashworld in this map. What's the approximate time you think this will be done?