Staredit Network

I'm assuming you know how to use the tile window in either StarForge or SCM Draft

If you want to use the black tiles in your map try to avoid using the default one (0-0) (it's the one you can choose in StarForge from the terrain box). When viewing those black areas of the map with Xtra or SCE they will not be drawn properly and it can be confusing (I'm sure some of you hate that). Other black tiles will not do that (I'm not sure about all of them, but every other one I tried doesn't).

Other Features:
If you want your black tiles to not have any creep from Zerg Buildings then pick black tiles from the same row as terrain which normally doesn't allow creep (like the rock ground in the bad lands, or water).

Other black tiles which allow creep/buildings will also allow you to build over top of them as long as the unit can reach the point where it starts to build. Triggers can also create buildings on some black tiles but won't make men, strange huh.

The black tiles from the creep row will allow units to unload on it, be created by triggers, hover to it (like scv when done building) but does not allow buildings (other than Hatchery). Those tiles are also one way for ground units, what I mean is once you get a unit on real terrain it doesn't want to go back.
(Could be a nice thing for an RPG, it would require no triggers).

Black tiles do inherit many of the characteristics from the terrain they are on the same row in like is creep allowed, terrain height (affects vision), but there can be odd differences and I can't guarantee they will always relate like that.

If you need a black tile to do something specific start by looking at a terrain type you know will have similar properties and test a black tile from that row. As far as I know all the black tiles in a row are the same kind.


I started messing around because I didn't want creep under the terrainless Zerg buildings for my map but I hope this info helps someone else too .

If this is a rewrite and the findings are already documented... doh, I'm sorry.


Edit:
If you want to test these out the best way would probably be to create a 4x3 spot using the black tile you are testing, make one square bellow that blotch with the type of terrain whos row the black tile is on (so you don't forget which one you used) and then try unloading units, building, and creating units or buildings with triggers on that spot.

If enough are interested I'll make a list of the most useful black tiles in each terrain setting.

I wish StarForge would reveal this type of information on the selected tiles.

Starforge doesn't reveal it because im sure Heimdal doesn't know it. The is the first time i have seen this info written out so clear. I'll test it later.

Also the way i understand it the null tiles (ones that mess up staredit) are all the ones in the first row. although i havnt' tested it.

Hopefully your right about the creep thing cause i could really use that. Good Job

Thanks, I'm glad you find this useful.
I hope I can get it in the Tutorials section eventually.

There is so many different things I know that I want to write about and submit as Tutorials, but the whole process takes so long. Here is what I want to write about at the moment and where I would put it

Average
- Burrowing Recognition (Short)
- Create MUCH Better In Game Menus (Short)
- Create The "Instalation" Look In Other Terrain Types (Short)

Advanced
- Create Rock Sprite Later In Game
- Music, Get More Control (Xtra Long)
- Create MUCH Better Banning System (Long)

Tips
- General Trigger Info (Long)

Information
- Hyper Triggers Explained (Long)
- Glowing Health Explained (short)
- The Black Tiles, There IS Variety


Most things cover stuff I just know other mappers are itching about and would find very useful.

If I just wrote them in this forum do you think it would be inappropriate?

Maybe using Tiledit?

Meh...tile edit Crashes for me..I just leave it alone

Have you seen the Mapmaking Tricks and Help Archive yet? I would most likely gladdly accept most of what you write to include. [/advertise]

Yea I've seen that part of the site, a lot of the stuff I knew.

A lot of it seems to be just relisted from the tutorials page though, and that's where you can submit new stuff. It just seems to take forever though.

Yeah thats cause yoshi took it from the thread. GO AHEAD YOSHI ADMIT IT. lol

Actually I don't care cause I wrote very few of them. Hopefully most of the people who wrote the tutorials for that thread care more about helping everyone or getting the message across, than attaching there name to there text. I do however try my best to credit everyone where due.

It's fun yelling yout yoshi's name every once in a while cause he always sees it even at other forums.

Sorry for double post (next day)

OMG man Dabbu your like my null terrain god. Now I don't have to put ugly ass terrain that blocks out my pretty shiny stars to have my units run around. (see attached)

And lucky for me black tiles are not actually black (there the absence of tiles) So what you see is actually the background behind the terrain. (or that is at least the way i interpreted it)

You will get a nice spot for your name on my map.
(in the scenario properties where no one sees it lol)

Edit: While screaming my head off about how i can continue my map and not be dispointed in it i made up this poem (and i'm not a poet)



Yeah i know its lame but i don't care. No one is in my channel now so i was talking to myself. I feel like making maps now (havn't felt that way for a while)

So you set it up using Space Terrain and replaced with space terrain "to the left" black tiles?

Time ago I discovered that SC uses a colorkey. Color black{R=0;G=0;B=0} is transparent. So you can see the stars on the units if the player color is black!

Sorry, how does that work out? I thought that was what white was coloured as?

(U)Bolt I'm glad I can help and it got you so happy about making your map !!

Yeah, i did like the Zergling, poor guy, those Wraiths are going to get him bad!