• Sc2 has been split into "melee" and "arcade", and maps must be in either the melee maps or custom maps list, NOT both
• Major improvements made to custom games system- games now have reviews, patch logs, tutorial support, ratings, and much more (read the full list below for details)
• Major improvements made to the editor, including a re-worked UI for the data editor, a cinematic editor, an AI editor, a 3DS max plugin, a far improved trigger debugger, a new physics engine, and more.

• Sc2 Battlenet menus improved
• Instead of "single player and multiplayer" we have "starcraft 2 and arcade"
• Custom maps must be either "starcraft" or "arcade". They cannot be both. This means that melee-oriented games (like 1v1 Obs, or straight-up melee maps) will be separate from non-melee custom games

• Players can search for games based on genre, overall popularity, star rating, newness, and recent spikes in popularity.
• Players create an icon for their games, which will be what players see in the arcade list (sort of like the apple app store)
• Clicking on a game icon brings players into the Game Info page, a section devoted entirely to showing off what a game is all about, providing play instructions, and revealing other important information about the game.
• All the content in Game Info is under control of the game creator, except for reviews of course.
• Joining public matches and creating private games is done from the Game Info page. This will be the portal players return to again and again to play the game.
• The game info page will contain the following sections, all of which you will set up
  • Overview: This will contain the game description, as well as screenshots that show off the action.
  • How to Play: This is where players will find the Basic Instructions, How to Win, and Advanced Instructions sections. You can also include images.
  • Patch Notes: You’re able to update patch notes as often as you like, so players can see how the game is growing and improving.
  • Reviews: After playing, players can give your game a star rating and enter a text review. Once enough ratings are provided, your game gets an average score to let players get a general idea of quality.
  • Star Rating. Players can also mark each other’s reviews as “Helpful” which will ensure that the best reviews rise to the top.
• Tutorials are supported! Players can attach a separate map file that will be a tutorial for players. This will allow you to set up a tutorial mission specifically for new players.
• Games have their own chat-channels automatically, allowing your players to jump into a chat easily

• Sc2 is now a streaming game
• This means it will only be necessary to download a fraction of game data to get into the action

• Added UI XML Editor for adding and modifying SC2Layout files
• Editor updated to use Visual Styles in Editor
• Added high resolution minimap support
• Font Style editing added to Text Editor
• Added Data Editor horizontal auto-layout to better utilize available screen space
• User-defined data system, accessed through the new User type in the Data module as well as the corresponding functions in the trigger library.
• Cinematic Editor
  • New editor module with powerful tools for creating in-game cinematic sequences (not many changes from what we saw of it during blizzcon)
• AI Editor
  • New editor module for user friendly management of AI wave timing and composition
  • Much easier to set up AI, instead of just using clunky trigger commands
  • Error Debugger
  • Trigger Debug Window support for breakpoints, stepping through functions, and variable inspection
  • Galaxy script code memory limit increased; 4x -10x more memory can be utilized depending on how scripts are being used
  • Added support for passing structure, array, and function references as function parameters
  • Improved Galaxy error message output
• Actors
  • Camera Actor added for controlling camera through actor events
  • Scene Actor added for controlling global actor settings (Halo settings, Power visual hiding)
  • Light Actor added for creating lights in the world
  • Terrain Actor added for physics impact FX support
  • Creep Actor added for higher performance creep effects including creep engulfment
  • Ragdoll deaths and support for combat driven physics impulses
  • Added support for water ripples and physics collision based water splashes
  • Terrain squib support for tileset specific dust or snow clouds FX
  • Line and Arc targeting cursor support
  • Added ActorInfoDisplay cheat for live actor debugging

• Game Engine
  • Max unit selection size increased from 255 to 500
  • New trigger event for Behavior apply/remove
  • New Stunned flag for Behaviors that allows queuing commands
• Graphics Engine
  • Added support to define lighting regions in the game world
  • Lighting can now be set per player
  • Added unit specific Halo support for pre-targeting
  • Anti-aliasing support
• UI Improvements
  • Custom unit status bar support added
  • Added new in-game pathing display that shows the path a unit will take on the minimap
  • Added self-cast hotkey support
  • Added Font Glow support
  • Added powerful control over frames, portraits, status bars, text, trigger dialogs and more. Full details, tips, and tutorials are being created to help creators take full advantage of these tools.
• StarTools
  • Blizzard is releasing their company art tools to the community
  • StarTools is a set of plugins for Discreet®'s 3ds max®, these tools allow advanced users to create, modify, and quickly preview models and animations, including particle and ribbon effects, that can be used in StarCraft II custom maps.
  • This means you can quickly and easily get models created and added to sc2

• You do not need to do this for your maps yet, since this is only a closed beta
• All game types

• Set up your Type and Genre
  • Games published prior to Patch 1.5 will still be available on the service when the patch goes live. All user created games will default to appearing in Arcade, under the “Other” genre.
  • Creators will need to re-save their game in the 1.5.0 client version and select the Type and Genre where they want to their game to appear.
• Arcade game types
  • Add a Game Icon Image
  • The icon image is the first thing players see. It’s a great opportunity to make a first impression on potential players - check out existing app-stores for inspiration.
  • Game Icon Images are added through the StarCraft II Editor.
• Add Game Info
  • Game Info is where players learn about your game and see what cool experiences it has to offer. At a minimum, you’ll want to provide a complete Description, easy to understand How to Play Instructions, and some screenshots that make your game look awesome.
  • Going a step further and creating customized images (e.g. a diagram of game controls, or a simple guide map of the play area) for Game Info will really help you stand out. The old saying about “show not tell” should be your motto here!
  • Game Info is added through the StarCraft II Editor
• Set up a default mode
  • From the Game Info page, there’s a big “PLAY” button that most players will use to get into your game. This creates or joins a public lobby, of the default mode you define for your game.
  • Alternatively, some games have players set up gameplay parameters after they load into the match. This is fine, but it’s recommended to make the setup process as streamlined and user friendly as possible so new players aren’t scared off right when they start the game.
  • This means you likely want to set the default to what you consider your “core” game experience.
  • Build a Tutorial
    • Tutorials can also be built and used as a practice mode for players to experiment in a sandbox type environment.
    • To use the Tutorial feature, first publish the tutorial map to Battle.net. Then you can configure your main game to point to the tutorial.

Opening...
^{by Vengeancekael (Map Moderator)}

Greetings, people!

In this April News Batch, we bring the latest news of our hosted projects, the top maps to check out and updates on the contests!

A new segment has also been introduced, Starcraft News, including Hypertexts and SCII Global News.

That's not everything, we've also introduced a new segment, Diablo III News, bringing you the latest news related to Diablo III and its launch.

Also as a reminder:

Contact Us

Quote:

Originally Posted By Ralle Hello guys I just wanted to let you know that I just found out that the "Contact Us" form has been down from April 16 to April 30, so if you are waiting for a response on something, please try sending again. Thanks

Top+

	Rocky Land Type: Melee Category: Medieval / Warcraft User Rating: 4.60 (5 Votes) (Highly Recommended)
	Deathroad Type: Melee Category: Medieval / Warcraft User Rating: 5.00 (3 Votes) (Highly Recommended)
	Small Village Type: Melee Category: Medieval / Warcraft User Rating: 5.00 (1 Vote) (Recommended)
	Battle For Magic Type: Altered Melee Category: Medieval / Warcraft User Rating: 0.00 (0 Votes) (Useful)
	Battle of Apokua Type: Arena Category: Medieval / Warcraft User Rating: 3.60 (5 Votes) (Recommended - Updated [10/05/2012])

Modeling Spotlight

	Dune Scorpion Type: Unit Category: Creep User Rating: 4.86 (7 Votes) (Highly Recommended)
	Man-o-War Type: Hero Category: Demon User Rating: 5.00 (4 Votes) (Highly Recommended)
	Soul Devourer Type: Hero Category: Undead, Demon User Rating: 4.70 (10 Votes) (Recommended)
	Well Type: Doodad Category: Human / Dwarf User Rating: 3.67 (3 Votes) (Recommended)
	High Elf Kid Type: Unit Category: High Elf User Rating: 4.33 (3 Votes) (Recommended)

Skin Spotlight

Highborne Priestess Made For: NE Priestess Type: Unit / Hero User Rating: 4.63 (8 Votes) (Recommended)

Spells Spotlight

	Advanced Switch System Category: vJass Type: System User Rating: 0.00 (0 Votes) <<Description>> (Recommended)
	Faerie Dragon Spellpack Category: vJass Type: Pack User Rating: 0.00 (0 Votes) <<Description>> (Recommended)
	Binding Poison Category: GUI Type: Target Object User Rating: 4.00 (1 Vote) <<Description>> (Useful)
	Arrow System Category: vJass Type: System User Rating: 0.00 (0 Votes) <<Description>> (Useful)
	Fire Spread Category: GUI Type: Target Object / System User Rating: 0.00 (0 Votes) <<Description>> (Useful)

Icons Spotlight

	Deathwing [?] I3lackDeath			Runed Axe [?] Fjury
	Meteor Cloud [?] M0rbid			Hammer [?] ike_ike
	Plate Armor [?] NFWar			Leather Hood [?] NFWar
	Horned Skull [?] I3lackDeath			Weaver [?] PeeKay

Projects Spotlight

	The Kingdom of Kaliron (by Crimson Creation Team) <<The Crimson Creation team is working hard on the new content for the 3.2.0 patch and things are well under way! Testing of the entire zone has already begun and all the new content so far is looking pretty solid! We still have a bunch of new quests to finish developing and some testing of the new raid bosses, but 3.2.0 is not far away!>> Type: Online RPG [?]
	Scars of Conflict (by Bloodlust Studios) Scars of Conflict is an altered melee project that is being developed by Bloodlust Studios, a modding team comprised of Linaze, Deolrin and Mr.Goblin, and with contributions from several other people. Scars of Conflict features 2 classic races, Orcs and Humans, fighting in an endless struggle for victory. A BETA version is to be released soon, stay tuned! Type: Altered Melee
	Oasis and Desert 2 (by bowser499) Massive credit for the new OaD 2 update goes to KO3bMA for the help with fixing and optimizing Oasis and Desert 2 models for the new heroes and made possible the importing of more models. TGM Team asks Oasis and Desert 2 followers to be active in hosted project's forum. Ask the team about anything you want to see in the upcoming version. <<Read More>> Type: AoS
	The 2 Player Campaign (by TheSpoon) The 2 Player Campaign is a series of map edited by The-Spoon. They allow you to replay the original Wc3 campaign with a friend, using -save/-load triggers to carry data across levels. The final RoC campaign, Night Elves, is being planned for production this summer! Find out more in this thread. Type: Co-op Campaign (Strategy)
	Warcraft 3 - Paranoia (by Grievous1) Tactical horror shooter, playable on both Single Player and Multiplayer. You are a Russian officer of a secret service... each mission that you are assigned has different objectives, but future events have something more in store for you... Stay tuned, the open beta phase will be starting soon! Type: Multiplayer Survival

The Hive's Arena

	Techtree Contest #6 ~ The Poll Contestant's aim was to create a unique race, without importing anything. The only imports allowed were dummy.mdx and a hero glow (can be found at our Models section). Poll Closure: 9th of May 2012 Entries: GhostThruster / Wazzz / Ender / overlord_ice / WerePhoenix / Kingz / kari0003 / part207 / Astaroth_Zion / Xiliger	Host: Pharaoh_
	Texturing Contest #21 - Creep Warlord - Results Upgrade a creep unit to a top tier instance of itself. <<Winners>> Entries: Mr.Goblin / shiiK / Just_Spectating / Dionesiist / Red Shift / 67chrome / M0rbid /	Host: shiiK
	Terraining Contest #14: Racial Settlements - Results Participants are to capture a race from the Warcraft lore's special style of construction and portray how it interacts with their habitat/natural enviroment. <<Winners>> Entries: xorkatoss / alexandero6 / ExMortis / BeTaGod- / MaTiJa97 / Windu / kari0003 / Oziris / Azurot	Host: fladdermasken
	Concept Art Contest #6 - Tribal Princess - Results Design a princess of a tribal society. Be creative. <<Winners>> Entries: dizzt / Mr.Goblin / 67chrome / Dionesiist / moyackx / ike_ike / PeeKay	Host: shiiK
	[Event] 2012: - Legendary Fight People who are interested in participating will pick another Hiveworkshop member with whom they want to fight. The provoked member must confirm that they wish to challenge. After the deadline given, the two competitors will be judged and a winner shall be declared. After waiting for other competitors to finish their submissions as well, there comes the next phase, which contains the winners of the previous challenges. New winners will be declared and so on, until there's one left, who will be granted a spot at the Challenge Section Hall of Fame.	Host: Pharaoh_

Starcraft News

Upcoming Features! Global Play Multilanguage support Clan/Group System Unranked Matchmaking Multiplayer Replay Viewing Multiplayer Resume From Replay Arcade

Diablo III News

New TV Spots/Behind The Scenes/Wrath! Evil Is Back End Of Days It's Not Safe Diablo III Wrath: Behind The Scenes Diablo III Wrath

The only map left whose development I'm keeping up to date with is "The Kingdom of Kaliron" (TKoK), by the Crimson Creations Team, being that I'm inclusively involved in the Garena group and the development forums. As such, it is by playing this map that I undergo experiences with a part of the community that's left in Warcraft III. My vision is therefore limited, but amidst these experiences there are a few lessons to be learned and generalized.

There has always been fanaticism here or there when it comes to playing games on a computer and video game addiction is a known phenomenon, but is usually accompanied by an urge to play the newest games (?). Perhaps the financial and economical crisis puts on hold the fulfillment of such paradigms?

Playing an Open Role-playing Game (RPG) can be fun, depending on tastes: to each his own, of course. More impressive is that the Crimson Creations team was able to put together a map of the type, with several classes, rare and epic items, three modes which change how strong enemies are and how much reward you get from them, a full and nice threat system, talent trees... With the exception that the storyline goes by unnoticed, if there is even one in those poor excuses for quests, "The Kingdom of Kaliron" is nearly a game in itself. Is there anything to hate about it besides the (nonexistence of) lore? Yes, there is: the fanaticism of a few of the members of that community.

That games such as StarCraft II, for whose e-sports players get paid in real currency, attract the “pros”, that we sometimes advertise at our website, comes as no surprise. That a custom map of a game that is, by large consensus, «dying», harbors a community of which a few are such individuals is a mystery. Nevertheless, and most surprisingly, it is a fact.

This reflection is justified by another bad experience: in resume, two players conspiring to kick out two others in a public hosting bot with an agenda composed of the objective of exploiting TKoK relying on a bug, meanwhile disrespecting the public service provided by the bot, as well as the hard work of the creators. A delicious and degrading philosophy whose critiques, when brought to the forum, were, at least I'd like to believe so, miscomprehended by the remaining community. Consequences? None.

Personally, this sort of situations make me wonder if there's any reason left to play the game anymore: the situation of the consuming society is that of the previous edition of these Hypertexts, while the actually good maps attract the most egoistical and egocentric sort of individuals. It is important that we, moreover the protagonists of such actions, introspectively ponder on what impact such actions have on the remnants of WarCraft. If there's any good sense yet left, that is.

This month's Liked To those that have not been paying attention, it seems that Blizzard is planning, at the Anaheim Major League Gaming (MLG) Pro Circuit Spring Championship event, scheduled for the 8th, 9th and 10th of June of this year, set up a number of "demo stations" with StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm in order to «show off the latest multiplayer build of Heart of the Swarm, in advance of the upcoming beta test»source. Meanwhile, Blizzard has released an "Antiga Shipyard" map with balance changes that should be part of an upcoming patch.source Thumbed down this month The initiative to hold live broadcasts on the modifying of StarCraft II is, by SC2Mapster (or its modders, in case it's individual initiative), very original. I tried watching an edition of the Terraining Thursday, but does anyone feel like these live broadcasts are extremely time-consuming (and boring at times)? No offense meant, of course, but there are several ways in which the videos could be more time-economical.

Hive Quiz

• Who is the user with the most rep/posts count?
• Name the current model moderators. (Bonus: The previous model moderators, who have now resigned)
• What was Hakeem's first Staff position?
• In what year did the Hive have 800 users? (Bonus: Specify the month)
• What was the Hive's first URL?
• When exactly was The Arena created? (Year+Month)
• Name 2007's Hosted Project of the Year!
• Name 5 Super Donors. (Bonus: More than 5)

Last Page

Staff:

• Be sure to read through the updated rules!

Community:

Opening...
by Vengeancekael (Map Moderator)

Greetings, people!

In this March News Batch, we bring the latest news of our hosted projects, the top maps to check out and updates on the contests!

Sadly we couldn't do anything official for April Fools' day, because we weren't creative enough.

Oh well forget it, here you go:

Ralle is happy to announce the arrival of Hive v2 next week! Hive v2 will feature an improved user interface, a better Starcraft II section and less vBulletin restrictions! However, Pyritie has also worked on the new version, adding a Ponyville section, with its own forums and resource section! Be advised that the hive will be going down for about a week.

Also, a new part has been added to the news batch, the Hive Quiz! Answer as many hive-related questions as you can to earn rep.

Top+

Each batch will feature the highest rated and most popular maps published in the Maps Section!

The data was gathered on the 2nd of April.

	(1.03) Diablo III PvP Arena - Booody Booody has once again recreated a part of Diablo III, this time the Arena, featuring all the classes with multiple spells! It was recently updated, bringing us new music and improved gameplay.
	(1.31) Defense of Uthragon - Tranquil One of the best castle defense maps out there, this sequel (to Fortress Siege) features a whole new castle and more fast paced action, with hundreds of attackers climbing over the walls! Even though the spells seem simple, they're actually very fun to use. The new version features a new hero and a new event!
	(1.9) Edge of Extinction - johannesr EoE is a rather average single player RPG, with not a lot of advanced systems, but it still features a long storyline and a hero with some neat spells. It may be fun for some people. The newest version has fixed a lot of bugs.
	(1.0) Most Wanted - meatfactory The map actually is kind of original, where your role is to harm the population of a village and defeat the other players while doing so. Most Wanted has a class with a lot useful skills, no random flashy ones!
	(Public Beta 4) Oasis and Desert 2 - bowser499 An AoS that's not like the other ones you've seen so far, which features advanced spell crafting, a beautiful terrain and mini-bosses all over the map! The hosted project is currently in Beta and is being updated every week.

Skin Spotlight

Undead UI - Kwaliti A UI made for the texturing contest #18, which Kwaliti has actually won with his entry. Very useful for snow-themed maps! It has not only received a lot of praise from the moderator, but also from the community.

Spells Spotlight

	(2.1.0.0) GUI SpellEvent - Magtheridon96 � "This resource provides GUIers with the ability to benefit from something like SpellEffectEvent by Bribe. What it does is use only one trigger to evaluate one spell trigger rather than a thousand. I coded it in GUI-Jass, so it doesn't require JNGP."
	(1.01) Explosive Toxic Gas - Tit-Cmdr � "Toxic Gas: Spews Gas onto the target area and spreads out randomly from the target point which poisons Organic units and rusts Mechanicals, dealing damage every second, if the gas is ignited it will explode dealing extra damage and setting nearby units on fire. Volanic Rock: Throws a volcanic rock at the target area dealing damage and setting nearby units on fire dealing damage over a short time also ignites toxic gas."
	(1.02) Chaos Portal - Tit-Cmdr � "Creates a portal at the target point which will trap nearby units within it's effect radius and push and pull them around the cage tearing them apart dealing damage and repelling units trying to enter the cage away from it."
	(1.2c) Kinetic Orb - Jay The Editor � "Storm sends an orb filled with high magnetic energy towards the target point. When the orb lands at the target point, all nearby enemies around the orb will receive damage. The orb will then seek for the nearest hero within a certain limit of range of radius and pull the hero to the position of the orb over time, burning away the mana of the target over time."
	(1.2b) Lightning Grappler - Jay The Editor � "Storm releases a highly charged energy orb to a target point, dealing 50/100/150 damage to all enemy that the orb comes across. Upon impact, all enemies around the orb will receive 120/240/360 damage and slow by 50% for 3 seconds. The electromotive energy in the orb continues to increase after impact as time passes. After a short duration, due to the potential difference between Storm and the orb, Storm himself will be pulled in acceleration towards the position of the orb, pulling up to 2/3/4 enemies along."

Icons Spotlight

	Bloody Bite Marcos DAB			Moon Chant Souldguard Apheraz Lucent
	Moon Chant Wisdom Apheraz Lucent			Fire Armor I3lackDeath
	Acid Rain I3lackDeath			Lick Posion I3lackDeath
	Bracer of Abjuration Apheraz Lucent			Calyx of Death Marcos DAB

Projects Spotlight

	Shadows of Everwood (by Wolfe) Shadows of Everwood is an open roleplaying game raised from the ashes of Everwood ORPG currently in development by Everwood Entertainment. A very ambitious project that seeks to constantly press the boundaries of the World Editor and, in the process, offer players a unique gaming experience compared to that of normal WarCraft III RPGs. Type: Online RPG
	Requiem (by Goris) A map, which is derived by the graphics engine as possible, containing beautiful landscapes, a magical world, rich storylines and lots of NPCs. It is a remake of Goris' map from 2006, hosted on one of the Polish portals long time ago. It tells the story of a distant, newly discovered island, Seteran, which is full of old magic and mystery. Type: Adventure/RPG
	Warcraft III: Paranoia (by Grievous1 - Hosted Project) <<"WarCraft III Paranoia" - is my singleplayer & multiplayer modification for Warcraft 3 The Frozen Throne. You will play the role of a russian officer of the secret service. There will be many missions, each with specific objectives for the players to accomplish, such as defending a restricted military area, eliminating a terrorist threat and protecting innocent scientists. Your first impressions are that this mission will be just like any other, but you really have no idea what nightmares future events have in store for you...>> Type: Multiplayer Campaign

The Hive's Arena

	Cinematic Contest #5: Mystery & Adventure (!) Create a Cinematic that captivates the notion of a secret and is simultaneously shrouded within a mysterious atmosphere. The cinematic should also include adventurous moments. Deadline: 30th of April 2012
	Modeling Contest #23: 3-Tier Building Contestants are asked to model a 3-tier building. A structure that can be 'upgraded' a minimum of 2 times. This does not mean that it has 2 alternate upgrades, the upgrades must be "tiered". Awarded: Most Fabulous Contest Thread Deadline: April 21st
	Terraining Contest #14: Racial Settlements - Poll Participants are to capture a race from the Warcraft lore's special style of construction and portray how it interacts with their habitat/natural enviroment. Entries: xorkatoss / alexandero6 / ExMortis / BeTaGod- / MaTiJa97 / Windu / kari0003 / Oziris / Azurot Poll Closure: 14th of April
	[Event] 2012: - Legendary Fight People who are interested in participating will pick another Hiveworkshop member with whom they want to fight. The provoked member must confirm that they wish to challenge. After the deadline given, the two competitors will be judged and a winner shall be declared. After waiting for other competitors to finish their submissions as well, there comes the next phase, which contains the winners of the previous challenges. New winners will be declared and so on, until there's one left, who will be granted a spot at the Challenge Section Hall of Fame.

Hive Quiz

• When was the first news batch published and by who? (=Answered)
• Name the current map moderators. (=Answered) (Bonus: The previous map moderators, who have now resigned)
• What user thinks all of his projects are DC worthy? (! - Projects=Maps) (=Answered)
• What was Shados' first Staff position? (=Answered)
• When was the Hive created? (=Answered)
• What is the latest map to become a hosted project? Describe it as well. (=Answered)
• What moderator recently left the hive? (=Answered)
• How many models have received a Director's Cut rating? Link the missing ones. (=Answered)

Last Page

Staff:

For those of you who enjoy watching e-sports occasionally but have not kept updated, the MLG Winter Championship is here. Without further detours, here is the MLG live page, from which you can watch great StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty action given to you by many of the best players on the world!

Patch 1.5 is being prepared for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.

Quote:

Blizzard Quote This patch represents the first steps towards the release of our first expansion for StarCraft II, Heart of the Swarm, and will include numerous upgrades and fixes throughout the game. One of the most significant additions will be the all new Arcade feature which includes improved custom game visibility, ratings, reviews, game instructions, screenshot support, and more. Patch 1.5 will also include significant improvements throughout the overall user interface, streaming support, antialiasing, editor and modding upgrades, new art tools, and more. Well go into further details about these features in future developer updates. In this update, I would like to provide some insight into the thinking and motivation behind a few of the upcoming changes.

Read everything here.