Best way to make a campaign

[gamerandyeah]

Is it a good way to when creating a campaign to first create all the levels and after they're all done with their scripts terrains units etc. stitching them together? I find it kinda shitty trying to test the maps out after adding them to campaign editor.

 

[Wrda]

In my opinion, when you create maps and they are for the campaign, you should work like this: create a map -> finish it -> test it -> add campaign -> create new map -> finish it -> etc... always this sequence. I think this is the best way to make your campaign with consistence, logic, and coherence.

 

[gamerandyeah]

How about custom units, namely heroes. How would their game caches work with custom spells, with the hero being a custom one too? Do I need to add them to the buggy custom data thingy in the campaign editor?

 

[Jampion]

There are three things you have to keep in mind when doing campaigns:
1.imports
If you want to test your maps outside of the campaign, you would need to import the resources in the map. Otherwise the models will just be invisible.
In the end you want to have these imports inside the campaign archive only, so every resource is only imported once.

The best way is probably to import all resources into every map, so you can test the maps outside of the campaign. Then when you are finished with all maps and you remove the imports from the maps. The vanilla import manager is really slow, but I hope by using MPQ editor or mabye even Hive WE you could remove the imported files in a few clicks.

Being able to test the map from the editor is very important in my opinion. Having to start it from the campaign is tedious and makes testing really hard.

2.object data
object data can be inside the campaign archive or inside every map.
does not really matter, as the file size is small

3.transitions(game cache)
when you use game cache to store heroes, you have to make sure all associated object data is the same for both levels:
hero, abilities, items
it's best to have the same object data in every level anyway, so you don't have to worry about it

 

[Fruit Forest]

Is it a good way to when creating a campaign to first create all the levels and after they're all done with their scripts terrains units etc. stitching them together? I find it kinda shitty trying to test the maps out after adding them to campaign editor.

1. Create a test map zone where you will test all main function of the gameplay like trigger abilities, balancing other systems (if you have it). This is your polygon where the "skeleton" of the system taken place. It also contains all creatures and other stuff that a player met in your project.
2. Once you done with it you can transfer all triggers into the next map (chapter) and create additional triggers connected with only this chapter (like cinematics).
2a. Create these special triggers and test them on the bare map (without doodads and visual stuff). You can keep only doodads that actually play role in the cinematics like bridge or any other platform. But no more. Because you will tired of "Saving File"
2b. If it is done you can start paint map and then test all over again with doodads.
2c. Corrections.
3. Repeat "2" with the next chapter.

The first step with the polygon is the most annoying.