- Joined
- May 17, 2020
- Messages
- 1
I just signed up to this place so I thought I'd write a (admittedly lengthy) post to let you know a bit about me, my history with this kind of stuff, my goals for the future, and what I'm currently working on.
I first got into StarCraft during pre-adolescence. Played the PC version and the N64 version, but I soon became attached to the PC for obvious reasons, the most obvious one being the custom maps. Never would I have believed Aeon of Strife would have evolved into one of the most popular online standalone titles, but here we are.
I used to make maps all the time, few of them worked. I think I only ever had one completed to a satisfactory standard, a couple that actually worked, just not particularly well, but mostly I just had project after project where I quit after getting stuck with using switches or some other trigger bullshit. Keep in mind I was 12, and probably autistic.
At the age of eighteen I was given a choice: Journalism at Monash University, or Game Design at Deakin University. Journalism seemed like the path of least resistance, especially since that campus was half an hour away rather than three hours away. Choosing Journalism over Game Design is probably the most regrettable decision of my life.
As an adult I've purchased a Unity course (which ended up being a waste after I realised Godot was basically as good, and open source) as well as a programming bundle, my understanding is designers don't do a whole lot of actual coding, but need to know about coding to be good at their job.
I wasn't going to buy Reforged, in fact I figured I was pretty much done with gaming entirely while I work on developing skills relevant to game design, but the learning curve is steep, so I decided, since I already understand one Blizzard Custom Map editor fairly intimately, it would be good to get Reforged just for the map editor alone.
And let me tell you, I've been having a blast. I made a dozen maps or so keeping one idea in mind: A stripped down, simplified, MMORPG (I guess with a max of 24 players it's more like a SMORPG: A sorta-largeish multiplayer online RPG). The first map I created was an attempt to fit all the ideas I've ever had for an MMO into a WC3 map. It soon dawned on me that it was more like a largeish zone than an MMO gameworld, and thus my ideas didn't seem feasible. Another map I created I was totally honed in on balance, so I started creating this perfectly symmetrical Roguelike map with roughly 1000 rooms. I abandoned that because I had this gut intuition that if I was going to have that much space in my map it would need to be more diverse to keep things interesting. I'll probably come back to 1000 rooms eventually, maybe make it into something with the same premise as that film Cube.
In the end the dozen or so projects I started helped inform my main project which came to me this week, the fact I've been working on it all week is a good sign. I got the idea when I was foraging for mushrooms. I live in rural Australia, Victoria to be specific, near a town called Churchill. In the center of Churchill is a parking lot and basically all the shops you'll find in Churchill surrounding it, it's called 'Hazelwood Village' (Hazelwood was the name of the area before Winston Churchill inspired us with his bad-assery, there's even a monument in the center of town called 'The Big Cigar')
So, once I got home I took a screenshot of Churchill from Google maps, flipped it around so it would fit the dimensions of a minimap, and then basically stopped using it as a reference after an hour or so of editing terrain. Perfectionism is a flaw I have and it means I waste a lot of time doing unimportant things like using Google maps as a reference for a custom map. Thankfully, I'm self-aware enough to eventually have the clarity to be like 'no, dickhead, it's loosely based on Churchill, an area you already know like the back of your hand'.
This is getting needlessly long. I want to make an impression because I imagine I'll be utilising this place as a resource a lot. I'm also certain once I get back into the swing of the editor I'll be able to help a few people too. In any case, expect to see me around these boards in ever increasing amounts.
I'll make a second post to quickly outline the general idea behind the map, and directions I'm thinking of going (whether to make it a custom map or a TC, for example. TC appeals to me because ultimately I want to learn, and modding seems like a good way to start simple and expand). For now, though, a few questions.
---- TL;DR QUESTIONS ----
1. How versatile is the custom map editor exactly? I've seen Tetris made in StarCraft, so I imagine it's at least that versatile, but if you wanted to include your own models in StarCraft you'd have to crack open StarDraft, a modding tool.
2. Is it possible to create what would essentially be a TC while still having it downloadable through Battle.net? I do use AWS, I'm just too cheap to use it for something like this.
3. Is it possible to have multiple maps per game? The loading screens would get annoying, sure, but I'm wondering would it actually be possible to create a massive world through some kind of multiplayer campaign that works through battle.net?
4. What's one thing you'd personally like to see in Hazelwood Village?
Maybe these are basic questions? Keep in mind the bulk of my experience comes from StarCraft: Brood War's map editor. So far I've been able to pick up the WC3 very easily, it's more intuitive than similar tools.
I first got into StarCraft during pre-adolescence. Played the PC version and the N64 version, but I soon became attached to the PC for obvious reasons, the most obvious one being the custom maps. Never would I have believed Aeon of Strife would have evolved into one of the most popular online standalone titles, but here we are.
I used to make maps all the time, few of them worked. I think I only ever had one completed to a satisfactory standard, a couple that actually worked, just not particularly well, but mostly I just had project after project where I quit after getting stuck with using switches or some other trigger bullshit. Keep in mind I was 12, and probably autistic.
At the age of eighteen I was given a choice: Journalism at Monash University, or Game Design at Deakin University. Journalism seemed like the path of least resistance, especially since that campus was half an hour away rather than three hours away. Choosing Journalism over Game Design is probably the most regrettable decision of my life.
As an adult I've purchased a Unity course (which ended up being a waste after I realised Godot was basically as good, and open source) as well as a programming bundle, my understanding is designers don't do a whole lot of actual coding, but need to know about coding to be good at their job.
I wasn't going to buy Reforged, in fact I figured I was pretty much done with gaming entirely while I work on developing skills relevant to game design, but the learning curve is steep, so I decided, since I already understand one Blizzard Custom Map editor fairly intimately, it would be good to get Reforged just for the map editor alone.
And let me tell you, I've been having a blast. I made a dozen maps or so keeping one idea in mind: A stripped down, simplified, MMORPG (I guess with a max of 24 players it's more like a SMORPG: A sorta-largeish multiplayer online RPG). The first map I created was an attempt to fit all the ideas I've ever had for an MMO into a WC3 map. It soon dawned on me that it was more like a largeish zone than an MMO gameworld, and thus my ideas didn't seem feasible. Another map I created I was totally honed in on balance, so I started creating this perfectly symmetrical Roguelike map with roughly 1000 rooms. I abandoned that because I had this gut intuition that if I was going to have that much space in my map it would need to be more diverse to keep things interesting. I'll probably come back to 1000 rooms eventually, maybe make it into something with the same premise as that film Cube.
In the end the dozen or so projects I started helped inform my main project which came to me this week, the fact I've been working on it all week is a good sign. I got the idea when I was foraging for mushrooms. I live in rural Australia, Victoria to be specific, near a town called Churchill. In the center of Churchill is a parking lot and basically all the shops you'll find in Churchill surrounding it, it's called 'Hazelwood Village' (Hazelwood was the name of the area before Winston Churchill inspired us with his bad-assery, there's even a monument in the center of town called 'The Big Cigar')
So, once I got home I took a screenshot of Churchill from Google maps, flipped it around so it would fit the dimensions of a minimap, and then basically stopped using it as a reference after an hour or so of editing terrain. Perfectionism is a flaw I have and it means I waste a lot of time doing unimportant things like using Google maps as a reference for a custom map. Thankfully, I'm self-aware enough to eventually have the clarity to be like 'no, dickhead, it's loosely based on Churchill, an area you already know like the back of your hand'.
This is getting needlessly long. I want to make an impression because I imagine I'll be utilising this place as a resource a lot. I'm also certain once I get back into the swing of the editor I'll be able to help a few people too. In any case, expect to see me around these boards in ever increasing amounts.
I'll make a second post to quickly outline the general idea behind the map, and directions I'm thinking of going (whether to make it a custom map or a TC, for example. TC appeals to me because ultimately I want to learn, and modding seems like a good way to start simple and expand). For now, though, a few questions.
---- TL;DR QUESTIONS ----
1. How versatile is the custom map editor exactly? I've seen Tetris made in StarCraft, so I imagine it's at least that versatile, but if you wanted to include your own models in StarCraft you'd have to crack open StarDraft, a modding tool.
2. Is it possible to create what would essentially be a TC while still having it downloadable through Battle.net? I do use AWS, I'm just too cheap to use it for something like this.
3. Is it possible to have multiple maps per game? The loading screens would get annoying, sure, but I'm wondering would it actually be possible to create a massive world through some kind of multiplayer campaign that works through battle.net?
4. What's one thing you'd personally like to see in Hazelwood Village?
Maybe these are basic questions? Keep in mind the bulk of my experience comes from StarCraft: Brood War's map editor. So far I've been able to pick up the WC3 very easily, it's more intuitive than similar tools.
