Character Related Items:
{Names listed are WIP}
A. "Resident" (POV character)
i. Attributes: -("Jason Bourne meets Medium"), Partial Amnesiac
ii. Skills - Paranormal Psychic [See Storytelling Related]
iii. Job/faction - UED (ghost?)
iv. Plot Related - One of two last remaining survivors of the UED ship "[name here]"
v. Storytelling Related - Paranormal Psychic: When in-proximity to a carcass, sees the past.
vi. Miscellaneous:
B. "George Foreman"
i. Attributes: -("I Am Legend meets Castaway"), Gruff, Rough-and-Ready, comes off as somewhat stupid, a bit of a reject
ii. Skills: -Firebat-sort
iii. Job/Faction: UED (firebat?)
iv. Plot Related: - One of two last remaining survivors of the UED ship "[name here]"
v. Storytelling Related: - Early dialogue is designed to introduce the player to the setting
vi. Miscellaneous:
C. Name
i. Attributes:
ii. Skills:
iii. Job/Faction:
iv. Plot Related:
v. Storytelling Related:
vi. Miscellaneous:
Plot Related Items:
Map 1 -
- The plot begins [give timeline notes here], when "Resident" awakens from stasis.
- After (perhaps discovering a few bodies and seeing fragments of what has happened), he meets "George Foreman"
- Dialogue; Sub-mission 1 Mission Objectives Update (A source of O2 must be acquired)
First sub-mission:
- The ship is crashed on a planet (Possibly Abaddon) without breathable O2. The breathing tanks are in the armory, however, the armory is currently sealed. Alternatively, if they were more ambitious, they could restore the life support systems on the ship.
- "George Foreman" has a working tank, but now that Amnesiac is out of stasis, he is going to need one too.
- The Armory is blocked. To get to it, they need to get Tool X.
- Alternatively, the Life Support System is damaged. To fix it, they need Part Y.
- Unfortunately, there are Kimeran Pirates in the way, blocking their objectives.
- Lots of opportunities for corpse-flashbacks as they explore the ship.
Map Design Notes:
- The first mission is installation terrain
General Notes:
- Try to avoid having voiced canon characters appear, so that if the campaign is fully voiced we don't run into roadblocks.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Thoughts on Map Design (pt. 2)
This is in response to "Starcraft: Survivors - a Single Player Campaign": by GnaReffotsirk
From this thread: http://www.campaigncreations.org/forum/index.php?topic=1207
The campaign itself is mirrored here: http://www.samods.org/staff/magic/Survivors1-4_(112308upd).zip
----
When I first opened up this campaign, I had a bad feeling. I thought it was going to be a simple "build base and kill stuff"... but when I actually played it I found it much much more, and much more enjoyable.
Part of what appeals to me in GnaR's campaign is his interest in using triggers instead of a full custom mod. Trying to achieve spectacular effects and new gameplay with triggers alone is a challenge that nevertheless retains maximum accessibility.
This is the type of experimental triggering that reminds me of my favorite campaigns: "Doodan Episode 4" - 20 missions you could get (if you could access SEN) here: http://www.staredit.net/topic/717/
On the other hand, Starcraft Survivors suggested it might try to accomplish something very different from Doodan. In Doodan, I was a little annoyed by how simplistic Buddy Knee and Doodan were as characters, but on the other hand I can still remember both of these characters by name years after playing the maps, so obviously something was effective. In Doodan, there was minimal real 'plot' and minimal character development.
In Starcraft Survivors, there still isn't really a lot of character development (it's 4 missions, come on)--but the plot is very interesting, and *suggests* more than shows. This allows for a rich, imaginative experience.
In this way, it is actually closer to another of my favorites, Space Madness, which I got from here: http://www.rakrent.com/rtsc/html/scbw1.htm
Experimental mapping style and somewhat surreal plot elements--actually means a fun time.
That being said, there is still a lot to learn from some challenges in this campaign.
First, updating Mission Objectives is good--but it shouldn't be at the expense of explaining what to do.
Many campaign editors won't frequently update the "mission objectives." So, a lot of people I think just won't check it, or if they do, it will be only be as a last resort. I would definitely put any information that you only have available there in either the Mission Briefing: Objectives section, or as a Tip right at the start of the map.
Despite this minor problem, I liked how it had an upbeat feeling, where more and more groups of zealots were joining your cause in a well dramatized fashion.
Mission 2
This mission is where your imagination is most challenged, since you enter the mission with little context or explanation. Mystery is good, but there needs to be a little bit more transition here in the mission briefing.
However, the experimental gameplay control was fantastic. In this mission, the overlord gains controls of bases by flying over them. This feature is fantastic. The only problem is that if you lose one base, such as the only base with a hydralisk den, and you're kinda f'd.
Overall, a very cool map with some great triggers.
Although this mission also brings up a minor tick I have:
-Why so many static units around the bases? It draws out the map a fair amount when I'm raiding one base and I lose a pack of hydras to 12 scouts that are just chilling. Static placed units in a big map often make for a more dull experience.
Mission 4
Once I actually started hitting the beacons, this map seriously kicked ass. It was very amusing seeing the trigger effects go off.
But again little things:
-The Carrier should definitely be a carrier hero. I think that if it's going to be plot-significant and act as a hero, it should be a hero.
-I would go ahead and boost the health of it too... When I played, the zerg started massing scourges for it. Seriously, there were like 24 coming a minute + queen's ensnare on the carrier.
From this thread: http://www.campaigncreations.org/forum/index.php?topic=1207
The campaign itself is mirrored here: http://www.samods.org/staff/magic/Survivors1-4_(112308upd).zip
----
When I first opened up this campaign, I had a bad feeling. I thought it was going to be a simple "build base and kill stuff"... but when I actually played it I found it much much more, and much more enjoyable.
Part of what appeals to me in GnaR's campaign is his interest in using triggers instead of a full custom mod. Trying to achieve spectacular effects and new gameplay with triggers alone is a challenge that nevertheless retains maximum accessibility.
This is the type of experimental triggering that reminds me of my favorite campaigns: "Doodan Episode 4" - 20 missions you could get (if you could access SEN) here: http://www.staredit.net/topic/717/
On the other hand, Starcraft Survivors suggested it might try to accomplish something very different from Doodan. In Doodan, I was a little annoyed by how simplistic Buddy Knee and Doodan were as characters, but on the other hand I can still remember both of these characters by name years after playing the maps, so obviously something was effective. In Doodan, there was minimal real 'plot' and minimal character development.
In Starcraft Survivors, there still isn't really a lot of character development (it's 4 missions, come on)--but the plot is very interesting, and *suggests* more than shows. This allows for a rich, imaginative experience.
In this way, it is actually closer to another of my favorites, Space Madness, which I got from here: http://www.rakrent.com/rtsc/html/scbw1.htm
Experimental mapping style and somewhat surreal plot elements--actually means a fun time.
That being said, there is still a lot to learn from some challenges in this campaign.
First, updating Mission Objectives is good--but it shouldn't be at the expense of explaining what to do.
Many campaign editors won't frequently update the "mission objectives." So, a lot of people I think just won't check it, or if they do, it will be only be as a last resort. I would definitely put any information that you only have available there in either the Mission Briefing: Objectives section, or as a Tip right at the start of the map.
Despite this minor problem, I liked how it had an upbeat feeling, where more and more groups of zealots were joining your cause in a well dramatized fashion.
Mission 2
This mission is where your imagination is most challenged, since you enter the mission with little context or explanation. Mystery is good, but there needs to be a little bit more transition here in the mission briefing.
However, the experimental gameplay control was fantastic. In this mission, the overlord gains controls of bases by flying over them. This feature is fantastic. The only problem is that if you lose one base, such as the only base with a hydralisk den, and you're kinda f'd.
Overall, a very cool map with some great triggers.
Although this mission also brings up a minor tick I have:
-Why so many static units around the bases? It draws out the map a fair amount when I'm raiding one base and I lose a pack of hydras to 12 scouts that are just chilling. Static placed units in a big map often make for a more dull experience.
Mission 4
Once I actually started hitting the beacons, this map seriously kicked ass. It was very amusing seeing the trigger effects go off.
But again little things:
-The Carrier should definitely be a carrier hero. I think that if it's going to be plot-significant and act as a hero, it should be a hero.
-I would go ahead and boost the health of it too... When I played, the zerg started massing scourges for it. Seriously, there were like 24 coming a minute + queen's ensnare on the carrier.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Thoughts on Map Design
Starcraft campaign makers often model their maps off classic missions from Starcraft and Starcraft: Brood War. However, sometimes, they can take a little too much for granted.
Some things are just basic organization: if you're unpacking a multiple-part campaign from a .zip file, you might want some indication of which part you're supposed to play first.
Other times, there are things arbitrarily missing that are there, presumably, to make the game more difficult. But, suppose you start a mission, and there's no comsat available for terran? A comsat isn't just a way of scanning for invisible units--it is, far more importantly, a way to get a sense of where everything is that you need to do. Lacking a comsat in a UMS map can be like playing in the dark. If there isn't a really good reason for it to be missing, it shouldn't be.
Another thing makers might do to make maps more "difficult" or "veteran" is to have enemy bases basically right on top of the player's natural starting base. Maybe this does make it harder, but it usually also makes no sense whatsoever, and really can take you right out of immersion.
But the worst by far is the simple lack of expansions, particularly undefended expansions. Computers steal resources like crazy, even if they have infinite. But more importantly, the option to early expand vs. the computer can be one of the most interesting parts of any mission. So without expansions, the map is "harder" in some ways, yes--but it's also more boring, and since you'll probably end up just having to camp, it forces you to actually play in a more conservative, less aggressive manner. Which, in turn, can actually make the map easier.
Then there's maps where you're supposed to "discover" supporting bases. This is fine--but if the map doesn't really "start" until you discover one of these bases, it can often seem like a waste of time.
Or consider this minor point:
Seems intuitive enough, but then you get there and what happens? Maxwell and 3 ghosts are standing next to the Ion Cannon, but victory isn't triggered. If you're patient (which if you've beaten this mission you must have been), then it's no difficult to figure out what you must do: you must bring Maxwell and each ghost to one beacon each surrounding the Ion Cannon. It's not a "big deal" but compare to this:
This, from Starcraft: Brood War, can't really be misinterpreted. It indicates where the units must go. Further, there's something just fundamentally more comprehensible about surrounding an Overmind to tranquilize it, than surrounding an Ion Cannon that presumably has one door.
Further, this sort of little thing actually requires a fair amount of work on the author's part: he has to trigger it so that no matter which beacon Maxwell goes to, the trigger still fires. That means he needed to write 4x as many triggers to achieve a counter-intuitive game design element.
Some things are just basic organization: if you're unpacking a multiple-part campaign from a .zip file, you might want some indication of which part you're supposed to play first.
Other times, there are things arbitrarily missing that are there, presumably, to make the game more difficult. But, suppose you start a mission, and there's no comsat available for terran? A comsat isn't just a way of scanning for invisible units--it is, far more importantly, a way to get a sense of where everything is that you need to do. Lacking a comsat in a UMS map can be like playing in the dark. If there isn't a really good reason for it to be missing, it shouldn't be.
Another thing makers might do to make maps more "difficult" or "veteran" is to have enemy bases basically right on top of the player's natural starting base. Maybe this does make it harder, but it usually also makes no sense whatsoever, and really can take you right out of immersion.
But the worst by far is the simple lack of expansions, particularly undefended expansions. Computers steal resources like crazy, even if they have infinite. But more importantly, the option to early expand vs. the computer can be one of the most interesting parts of any mission. So without expansions, the map is "harder" in some ways, yes--but it's also more boring, and since you'll probably end up just having to camp, it forces you to actually play in a more conservative, less aggressive manner. Which, in turn, can actually make the map easier.
Then there's maps where you're supposed to "discover" supporting bases. This is fine--but if the map doesn't really "start" until you discover one of these bases, it can often seem like a waste of time.
Or consider this minor point:
- Bring Maxwell and 3 Ghosts to the Ion Cannon.
Seems intuitive enough, but then you get there and what happens? Maxwell and 3 ghosts are standing next to the Ion Cannon, but victory isn't triggered. If you're patient (which if you've beaten this mission you must have been), then it's no difficult to figure out what you must do: you must bring Maxwell and each ghost to one beacon each surrounding the Ion Cannon. It's not a "big deal" but compare to this:
- Bring a medic to each of the
beacons surrounding the Overmind.
This, from Starcraft: Brood War, can't really be misinterpreted. It indicates where the units must go. Further, there's something just fundamentally more comprehensible about surrounding an Overmind to tranquilize it, than surrounding an Ion Cannon that presumably has one door.
Further, this sort of little thing actually requires a fair amount of work on the author's part: he has to trigger it so that no matter which beacon Maxwell goes to, the trigger still fires. That means he needed to write 4x as many triggers to achieve a counter-intuitive game design element.
Suggestions for Running SCMDraft
After much experimentation, I have reached many conclusions about using SCMDraft, some based on suggestions by others, others based on just what I've noticed. After you read the first few of these, you might want to just use X-tra or something. But if you do need to use scmdraft, these I think are some good tips:
-Always use "Save As". Yes, if you're a save-hog, this is a pain in the ass, but honestly, the "quicksave" feature basically doesn't work, and will in all likelihood, even if it doesn't crash the program, partially corrupt the map file.
-Disable sound. Do this by going to "Options" and then the second to last item. Yes, hearing things explode as you delete them is cool. However, I have not had scmdraft give me a "something bad happened" upon opening a map since disabling this feature.
-Turn off auto-save. Go to "Options" then "Profile Settings..." then under "Global Settings" uncheck the box next to "Enable Autosave". Maybe you use this feature, if so, don't. But, if you have any sound files embedded in the map itself, every time it autosaves you're looking at a multiple megabyte file that you'll probably never have to use (especially if you follow the other tips here). Also, it's really annoying when it happens while you're busy in the middle of triggering.
-If you have been using autosave, then make sure you go to your program files, check SCMDraft, and look at the backup file. There's a chance it might be VERY big. If it's over a hundred mbs., delete it.
I originally thought that the problems I was having were related to the size of the file or using unusual units like disruptor webs, but after doing the above three things, I have had almost no problems with staredit crashing regardless of filesize.
-If you DO get a partially corrupted file, open the map in staredit and then save as. Because of this, you'll probably want to disable the "place buildings/units/doodads anywhere" features in the options menu toward the beginning of your map so that you don't get hundreds of "could not put unit there" errors in staredit. It's always a good practice to keep things as close to staredit's style toward the beginning of your map in case you need to open it in a different editor, in my opinion.
Hope this post helps!
-Always use "Save As". Yes, if you're a save-hog, this is a pain in the ass, but honestly, the "quicksave" feature basically doesn't work, and will in all likelihood, even if it doesn't crash the program, partially corrupt the map file.
-Disable sound. Do this by going to "Options" and then the second to last item. Yes, hearing things explode as you delete them is cool. However, I have not had scmdraft give me a "something bad happened" upon opening a map since disabling this feature.
-Turn off auto-save. Go to "Options" then "Profile Settings..." then under "Global Settings" uncheck the box next to "Enable Autosave". Maybe you use this feature, if so, don't. But, if you have any sound files embedded in the map itself, every time it autosaves you're looking at a multiple megabyte file that you'll probably never have to use (especially if you follow the other tips here). Also, it's really annoying when it happens while you're busy in the middle of triggering.
-If you have been using autosave, then make sure you go to your program files, check SCMDraft, and look at the backup file. There's a chance it might be VERY big. If it's over a hundred mbs., delete it.
I originally thought that the problems I was having were related to the size of the file or using unusual units like disruptor webs, but after doing the above three things, I have had almost no problems with staredit crashing regardless of filesize.
-If you DO get a partially corrupted file, open the map in staredit and then save as. Because of this, you'll probably want to disable the "place buildings/units/doodads anywhere" features in the options menu toward the beginning of your map so that you don't get hundreds of "could not put unit there" errors in staredit. It's always a good practice to keep things as close to staredit's style toward the beginning of your map in case you need to open it in a different editor, in my opinion.
Hope this post helps!
Demos: Guncam, WeGame, and Fraps
First, guncam:
Pros:
-.built-in clipping editor
-Works on battle.net
-Intuitive sound effects
Cons:
-Short demo window
-Minimal online support
I think that in terms of functionality, if the full version of guncam was free I might put it over fraps. But since guncam has a narrow demo window, if you're looking to stay legal and free, fraps has the superior demo since it does not expire--despite the cap it puts on the length of clips. I also like the sound effect it makes when you start/stop recording in guncam, even if it means you have to edit some clips a little more to remove the sound. And it's the only one I know of with a built in .gif maker, even if I never used that feature.
Wegame:
Pros
-Automatic upload of screenshots (for screenshots, Wegame wins because of this. This is just really great)
-'theoretically' easy upload of videos to their server without having to muck with youtube
Cons
-Uploading videos screws up... A LOT
-To join WeGame, you have to sacrifice an e-mail account, because they REQUIRE, as far as I can tell, your e-mail password too. So if you don't have a half dozen empty hotmail accounts sitting around like I do, be prepared to make one.
-WeGame crashes on battle.net
-Video capture with WeGame will often not work with Windows Movie Maker
Ultimately, I decided WeGame was more of a pain than it was really worth. However, the ease of uploading screenshots really is a saving grace that I can honestly say might make it worth it if you find using photobucket or the equivalent as much of a pain as I do.
Fraps:
Pros:
-Works pretty much everywhere always
-Does not expire as far as I know
-Records directly to .avi in the demo
Cons:
-Records only to .avi in the demo
-No online support for video/screenshots
-Cap on length of clip
Since .avi is really the one format that works with everything (windows movie maker/youtube) this generally makes a lot of sense to record to it directly. The only problem is that .avi is BIG, so you need to have a fair amount of space available and be ready to do some cleanup after a run of doing video with it. Also, it was really hard to be bothered to upload screenshots again after using WeGame.
BUT there appears to be a cap for the demo on the length of clips you can record, something like about 30 seconds. It makes it a little jarring, and I suppose that actually is a rather significant handicap. Still better than a "DEMO" tag on clips if you're past your Guncam allotment.
Pros:
-.built-in clipping editor
-Works on battle.net
-Intuitive sound effects
Cons:
-Short demo window
-Minimal online support
I think that in terms of functionality, if the full version of guncam was free I might put it over fraps. But since guncam has a narrow demo window, if you're looking to stay legal and free, fraps has the superior demo since it does not expire--despite the cap it puts on the length of clips. I also like the sound effect it makes when you start/stop recording in guncam, even if it means you have to edit some clips a little more to remove the sound. And it's the only one I know of with a built in .gif maker, even if I never used that feature.
Wegame:
Pros
-Automatic upload of screenshots (for screenshots, Wegame wins because of this. This is just really great)
-'theoretically' easy upload of videos to their server without having to muck with youtube
Cons
-Uploading videos screws up... A LOT
-To join WeGame, you have to sacrifice an e-mail account, because they REQUIRE, as far as I can tell, your e-mail password too. So if you don't have a half dozen empty hotmail accounts sitting around like I do, be prepared to make one.
-WeGame crashes on battle.net
-Video capture with WeGame will often not work with Windows Movie Maker
Ultimately, I decided WeGame was more of a pain than it was really worth. However, the ease of uploading screenshots really is a saving grace that I can honestly say might make it worth it if you find using photobucket or the equivalent as much of a pain as I do.
Fraps:
Pros:
-Works pretty much everywhere always
-Does not expire as far as I know
-Records directly to .avi in the demo
Cons:
-Records only to .avi in the demo
-No online support for video/screenshots
-Cap on length of clip
Since .avi is really the one format that works with everything (windows movie maker/youtube) this generally makes a lot of sense to record to it directly. The only problem is that .avi is BIG, so you need to have a fair amount of space available and be ready to do some cleanup after a run of doing video with it. Also, it was really hard to be bothered to upload screenshots again after using WeGame.
BUT there appears to be a cap for the demo on the length of clips you can record, something like about 30 seconds. It makes it a little jarring, and I suppose that actually is a rather significant handicap. Still better than a "DEMO" tag on clips if you're past your Guncam allotment.
Guide to Beat "Adun" Final Mission
First let me say that the "Adun" campaign had some annoyances--like reusing melee terrain. For instance, the final mission is actually Crystal Castles for the final map http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Crystal_Castles ; "The Battle of Rosewood" is Rosewood, http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Rosewood ; etc.
But whatever, it's there to be beaten so here's how to beat it:
Third way to beat final map without cheats (not the same run as the one in the above video):
1 - Secure the center
2 - Golis, tanks, goons. Get them. Lots of them.
3 - Don't lose stuff.
4 - Observers (for detection, durr)
5 - Reavers, valkyries, wraiths, scouts. Don't build them. They suck.
6 - Take the upper left, preferably before Mr. Plum completely mines it out like a noob tool. Expo.
7 - Arbs + recall
8 - Take the air-only to the top mid-right. Expo.
9 - Take the upper right corner where the expo is of the endless ridge at the mid-right top. Expo.
10 - Push down where the computer hopefully isn't mining. Take the top toss; expo. Take the brown terran right; expo. Push down to the other terran. Expo.
11 - Clear through the probably mined out and useless cannons along the right.
12 - Push down into white's main. Take white's main minerals which he seems to not mine. Expo.
13 - Clear white, take white's other minerals, exp.
14 - In my case, poop and pee broke and decided to stop attacking me at this point.
15 - Mass cars/BCs
16 - Kill everything left
17 - Profit.
Basically, control the center until it's almost mined out, then push to the 9 o'clock position and clear everything clockwise, avoiding the center to give the comp a fighting chance.
2:33:33 run time.
About 2k kills.
Rep unavailable because I had to load every time brown nuked my army lawl.
It got a little dicey right before I finished clearing out white when they finally took the center. You really can't lose it until you're at least half way down the right and the entire top is cleared.
I'm still left with an inexplicable desire to try this "sundrop" stuff. It seems pretty sweet.
Edit: since it wouldn't let me save a rep, here's the furthest-back save I kept: http://www.4shared.com/file/124526894/a22e24da/mission7.html No idea if save games work when downloaded, but w/e.
-Lost main, but have white's minerals
-Almost full ups
-poop and pee broken
-Look for the untouched tank with 50 kills ;)
Strategy Guide for 'Hell'
So, the last mission of WoA has gotten a few comments about the difficulty, notably a friend on b.net calling it "Insane." Well, the mission is titled "Hell" so difficulty was part of what I was looking for in it. ;)
But here's a large part of my strategy build for "Hell":
IF YOU DONT WANT SPOILERS, STOP READING NOW
First, you should by now be well familiar with the scout/arbiter attack spells, and the carrier shield recharge. You will still be using these spells frequently, probably the carrier spell more (I'll get to that in a second). But first, let's refresh what the spells do:
-The Arbiter/Carrier spell kills BROWN units
-The Hero Hunter (Shuttle) kills WHITE units
In this section of the map, you have to be careful to pace yourself, because you will often need to use the Sword of Adun (Corsair) when battlecruisers start attack you. If your apm/micro is good, the Sword of Adun can actually be more consistently helpful than the Hero Hunter, because the Sword of Adun can cast disruptor web more than once and still have time to kill battlecruisers.
All that being said, there's so much that goes on toward the beginning I usually hope the player will experiment and siege their way in to kill the Barracks, Factory, and Starport where enemy units spawn from--basically kill the entire first row, defending as necessary.
It's really the second row that you have to get more creative. Basically, you might want to pace yourself, keep killing rines and let Thulera kill units up top so that you can slowly but surely increase your amounts of upgrades. I wouldn't even suggest going near the Crucio-Alpha siege tanks until you're at least 5/5/5. Let them come to you until you're good and ready.
At this point, the most reliable strategy I've found is to then save up and research Hallucination. Then, build 4-6 templar, and bring them to the near entrance to where the Crucio-Alphas are.
Here's where one of the sneaky parts really starts. If you hallucinate Kane, and run the Hallus in without Kane, you take 0 risk of Kane dying, and the splash damage from the siege tanks will kill enemy bunkers and sometimes even ghosts. Remember to buy observers when the ghosts start ganging up on you with invisibility.
This might seem like a slow method, but there's a trick that makes it go a lot faster. When your *hallucinations* take damage, use the carrier spell. The carrier spell heals the shields for *all* your Kanes, including your hallucinations. This way, your hallucinations will usually stay alive through the entire hallucination period and you should be able to get the most damage in. Once there's only a few ghosts/tanks in a section left, Kane can usually run in and with your carrier spell clean up, so that you can then move your templar up and start the next section.
This is a strategy I only really discovered until later on. The difficulty of the level is really there to encourage experimenting with spell effects. Maybe you want to run Kane in, throw out a reaver grenade, and run back and heal. Maybe what will work for you is using the Sword of Adun and using disruptor web on enemy tanks/bunkers.
The reason I really like the hallucinated Kanes, is that the Arbiter/Scout spells effect those as well--as does the Hero Hunter, thus dramatically expanding the range of the Hero Hunter, and allowing you to group your units together with the arb/scout spell. As I said a few pages back, hallucinations + spells do krazy things! ;)
Even if you do get bored with the second row in "Hell" I still encourage you to turn off any cheats you might have turned on when confronting the first boss fight, because it's one of my favorite parts of the whole campaign.
Good luck and have fun!
Strategy Guide for 'Brothers'
This is a strategy guide for the Penultimate mission of "The Will of Atai": "Brothers."
If you do not want spoilers, STOP READING NOW
This is the primary melee-style map in the campaign (the other being the first half of "Kirin"). Since it is far more dependent on your melee skills than anything else, the stronger your melee is coming in to the mission, the more likely you are to survive.
This post will be a discussion of how to do well in this mission, even if your melee is closer to a C- than an A+.
That being said, everything that follows is MY strategy... I think that there are a myriad of strong options for what you can do in this map and how you go about winning.
First, let's talk about losing. There are three ways to lose:
1 - Thulera (in either form) dies. On your first playthrough, it might be wise to keep a shuttle relatively near him in case he ends up getting stuck somewhere. As my videos will show, I use him throughout the mission, but more at the very beginning and at the very end. I don't usually use him to fight the mutas because the risk of him dying is just too high.
2 - Your base gets completely destroyed. This has never happened to me, and probably won't happen to you.
3 - One of your allied heroes die. If you hide Thulera somewhere, and then afk and do nothing, this is how the game will end. (It will usually be Jack that dies first if you literally do nothing but instantly afk.) However, if you really do absolutely NOTHING to defend your allies and let the terran base get hit by the full brunt of the Mutalisks at the countdown, Hyperion will almost always die. I find that keeping a little as one Dark Archon with Maelstorm will often be enough to keep Hyperion alive and well.
Now length:
In my average run, there are something like four "quarters" of uneven length (the last quarter the longest, varying depending on how you do on the preceding three fourths). My slow runs tend to be about an hour and a half. My fast runs can get close to an hour. I would really love to hear anyone's strategy that manages to beat it in under an hour.
Now units I don't build:
-Carriers. A little known fact is that Cerebrate Kull hates carriers.
-Scouts. That can't kill enemy heroes, so screw em.
Early game:
-My first objective is to take the center. The southern ramp from the ice to the snow is what I currently feel is the best choke, but I only came to this conclusion after playing 2-3 times. I've tried a few different chokes (including not even taking the center at all), and I find that although I have to build less and take fewer casualties, ultimately my allies suffer much more. If you take the center, your terran ally is more likely to actually do some damage with its tank pushes.
-It's important to not just expand and build cannons. It *really* helps to start researching things like maelstorm and to get your templar archives up. Dark archons make or break your defense through the entire first half hour of the game, and continue to be useful later on. (No, you cannot get MC)
-When Cerebrate Kull taunts you or informs you you're about to die, that means he's going to send an attack aimed at yours *AND* your ally's bases. Prepare for this; always keep a dark archon by your allied heroes/main command posts. The first event is a hero drop that occurs about ten minutes into the game.
Early mid-game:
-This section of the game is after the hero drop and before the muta attack at the end of the countdown. During this time, I find it really helps to accomplish the following:
a) taking at least one air-only expansion (it's not unusual that both starting bases, both my early expansions, and the center will all wipe in late game)
b) getting and energy for dark archons and templar
c) researching recall and getting arbiters and reavers for the transition into late game
-If you do nothing else other than prepare to survive the mutalisk attack at the end of the countdown, you're probably doing fine. If you can come out of it with a strong recovery and minimal losses for you and your allies, you are doing good. However, it gets progressively more difficult to kill Benedict after this point. A lot of cloaked wraiths and scourges start flying around.
Late mid-game:
-This section is what you do after the mutalisk attack at the end of the countdown and *presumably* before you kill Infested Benedict. You don't *have* to kill Benedict, it is entirely optional. However, if you don't, I find it very hard to maintain an economy that can hold out long enough for me to take out Kull.
-This actually can be the shortest section in the game, if you prepared for it. My method is to hallucinate arbiters, and drop reavers pretty much top of him, with an observer so he can't cloak.
Late game:
-At this point, all you need to do is kill Kull. I have been experimenting lately and actually started to incorporate doing hallucinated arbiter drops to do this one too. Corsairs are very useful during this part, for webbing the ridiculous number of invincible sunkens. You will likely need to do some scourge control (goons and templar should be able to keep them in check). I also am usually mined out of the two starting bases (if they're still alive), the natural to the right of your main, and the center is taking such heavy assault from OJ that it's worth it to fly to the air-only expo in the bottom right and take it in case I run out of money first. However, what you have left and what you need to do at this point will greatly vary. It might be that you need to kill OJ and take the mid-right expansion as well (which pretty much never gets touched but is hard to defend).
There's some other stuff that happens after Kull dies but I'll leave it to you to see that... I've never had serious trouble dealing with it.
Good luck, have fun!
The Will of ATAI FAQ
Does Kane have to get 500 kills personally in 'Kirin'?
Kane himself does not have to have 500 kills; your total faction kills do. Your faction kills are represented by the white player in the leaderboard. When the white player has a score of 2000, you have made 500 kills and can confront Kirin.
Why do I have to download all the maps individually?
The maps include custom voices and music. I am keeping all parts of the campaign within the maps themselves, which means each map runs between 10-60 megabytes. Although I have uploaded some "complete versions" in huge .zip files, since I continue to edit each individual map, it becomes unwieldy to upload the whole thing over again. So, I upload each individual map to 4shared as a single zip file.
"In 'The Cave of Crystals' it seems like choosing the goon sucks compared to the reaver."
For many people, the dragoon strictly speaking is the "worse" (harder) choice. However, each choice comes with pros and cons. Poor micro of the reaver can result in not having enough scarabs to beat the mission. What is nice about the dragoon is that if you keep it alive, you can use it to kill the spore colony without taking sunken hits, and then use Jiinsh to kill the sunken without getting hit. Since I have beaten the map under the time limit for "Speed Demon" with both units, both can be used to not only beat that part of the level, but beat the level without pausing. However, since the dragoon requires better micro, I added a special achievement for people who beat the mission using it.
'Kirin' seems harder than 'Zakat'
It could be for you. It depends on how you fight Kirin, and how quickly you pick up the spell system for Zakat. I will say that I personally find it harder to get the "Duke Omnivus" statuette than to get the max gamerscore for Kirin. But your mileage may vary. If Kirin seems really hard, try a) spending more time upgrading before you go to her b) choosing the archon hero (it one-shots zergling spawns) and c) keeping Kane at full life before you confront her.
For the last mission ("Hell") how do you beat that zealot guy?
Make sure power overwhelming is not on, and then lure him over the lurker spikes. He needs to get hit by them at least three times. Make sure you are not hit by them, because they will probably kill you.
Why are some sections not voiced?
If you're talking about the end of Hell's Mission Briefing...
I really wanted to emphasize how communication with the Khala operated on a different plane of reality. As such, giving it voice at this point seemed really inappropriate. Maybe I'll change this at some point, but for now I think the lack of voice at the very end really adds to the surreal nature of the scene.
Kane himself does not have to have 500 kills; your total faction kills do. Your faction kills are represented by the white player in the leaderboard. When the white player has a score of 2000, you have made 500 kills and can confront Kirin.
Why do I have to download all the maps individually?
The maps include custom voices and music. I am keeping all parts of the campaign within the maps themselves, which means each map runs between 10-60 megabytes. Although I have uploaded some "complete versions" in huge .zip files, since I continue to edit each individual map, it becomes unwieldy to upload the whole thing over again. So, I upload each individual map to 4shared as a single zip file.
"In 'The Cave of Crystals' it seems like choosing the goon sucks compared to the reaver."
For many people, the dragoon strictly speaking is the "worse" (harder) choice. However, each choice comes with pros and cons. Poor micro of the reaver can result in not having enough scarabs to beat the mission. What is nice about the dragoon is that if you keep it alive, you can use it to kill the spore colony without taking sunken hits, and then use Jiinsh to kill the sunken without getting hit. Since I have beaten the map under the time limit for "Speed Demon" with both units, both can be used to not only beat that part of the level, but beat the level without pausing. However, since the dragoon requires better micro, I added a special achievement for people who beat the mission using it.
'Kirin' seems harder than 'Zakat'
It could be for you. It depends on how you fight Kirin, and how quickly you pick up the spell system for Zakat. I will say that I personally find it harder to get the "Duke Omnivus" statuette than to get the max gamerscore for Kirin. But your mileage may vary. If Kirin seems really hard, try a) spending more time upgrading before you go to her b) choosing the archon hero (it one-shots zergling spawns) and c) keeping Kane at full life before you confront her.
For the last mission ("Hell") how do you beat that zealot guy?
Make sure power overwhelming is not on, and then lure him over the lurker spikes. He needs to get hit by them at least three times. Make sure you are not hit by them, because they will probably kill you.
Why are some sections not voiced?
If you're talking about the end of Hell's Mission Briefing...
I really wanted to emphasize how communication with the Khala operated on a different plane of reality. As such, giving it voice at this point seemed really inappropriate. Maybe I'll change this at some point, but for now I think the lack of voice at the very end really adds to the surreal nature of the scene.
The Will of Atai Plot Discussion
"What Kerrigan Did Between BW and 2"
I was never satisfied with the "Kerrigan did jack diddly squat during the interregnum". However, I do recognize that for SC2 to make sense, evolution has to occur.
As I understood it, the Zerg, although their build structures are based on "evolutions," in the original lore they were parasites. They did not create "hydralisks" from scratch but instead harvested the dna from a pre-existing creature. So, for new evolutions to occur, I saw that there had to be some new impetus for the evolutions.
In many ways, the same can be said for Protoss and Terran advancements: these are technologies that would take decades to research in most conventional narratives. For them to occur and become implemented in 4 years is both impressive and a bit jarring, at least in my mind.
That leads to the essential conceit of the game.
"What is 'The Will of Atai'?"
As the last mission reveals, the objective of Atai--prisoner of the Xel'naga--is the annihilation of all three races of the Xel'naga creations. As such, it is his intervention as much as it is the crystals of Boccob-II, that leads to the dramatic evolutions in combat technology for the three races during the 4-year period.
He has the technology (being on an equivalent technological and intelligence level as the original Xel'naga), and the desire. As such, he grants Kane (through the reformed body of Jiinsh) the Immortal technology. He grants Kerrigan the "Queen" replacement for Cerebrates with the eggs of Zakat. And he grants the Terrans the technology of the Crucio tanks etc. with his creations on Boccob-II.
And, what I really loved about the concept of this villain, is that in its context, the events of Starcraft 2 very likely will be following "The Will of Atai" -- both literally and metaphorically, since the three races will once again in all likelihood be destroying themselves, and thus achieving his objectives.
Thus, 'The Will of Atai' hoped to answer the following major questions:
1) Where did the new technology for all three races come from?
2) What did the Zerg do during the intervening years [Once Kerrigan decimates Argeth, it provides ample grounds to test and evolve her new forces]
And as a bonus it also helped to reinforce Raynor's decent into alcoholism and failure (being once again 'defeated' by Kerrigan, in that she cuts off his source of income after he expands significant forces to gain payment).
I hope you all enjoy the campaign!
I was never satisfied with the "Kerrigan did jack diddly squat during the interregnum". However, I do recognize that for SC2 to make sense, evolution has to occur.
As I understood it, the Zerg, although their build structures are based on "evolutions," in the original lore they were parasites. They did not create "hydralisks" from scratch but instead harvested the dna from a pre-existing creature. So, for new evolutions to occur, I saw that there had to be some new impetus for the evolutions.
In many ways, the same can be said for Protoss and Terran advancements: these are technologies that would take decades to research in most conventional narratives. For them to occur and become implemented in 4 years is both impressive and a bit jarring, at least in my mind.
That leads to the essential conceit of the game.
"What is 'The Will of Atai'?"
As the last mission reveals, the objective of Atai--prisoner of the Xel'naga--is the annihilation of all three races of the Xel'naga creations. As such, it is his intervention as much as it is the crystals of Boccob-II, that leads to the dramatic evolutions in combat technology for the three races during the 4-year period.
He has the technology (being on an equivalent technological and intelligence level as the original Xel'naga), and the desire. As such, he grants Kane (through the reformed body of Jiinsh) the Immortal technology. He grants Kerrigan the "Queen" replacement for Cerebrates with the eggs of Zakat. And he grants the Terrans the technology of the Crucio tanks etc. with his creations on Boccob-II.
And, what I really loved about the concept of this villain, is that in its context, the events of Starcraft 2 very likely will be following "The Will of Atai" -- both literally and metaphorically, since the three races will once again in all likelihood be destroying themselves, and thus achieving his objectives.
Thus, 'The Will of Atai' hoped to answer the following major questions:
1) Where did the new technology for all three races come from?
2) What did the Zerg do during the intervening years [Once Kerrigan decimates Argeth, it provides ample grounds to test and evolve her new forces]
And as a bonus it also helped to reinforce Raynor's decent into alcoholism and failure (being once again 'defeated' by Kerrigan, in that she cuts off his source of income after he expands significant forces to gain payment).
I hope you all enjoy the campaign!
The Will of Atai Achievements
"The Will of ATAI" Achievements. These are additional challenges.
Note that times listed are if you are playing at fastest speed. You will have more time if you play at slower speeds (trigger is based off game seconds).
The text for each achievement is blacked out to help prevent spoilers.
Prologue:
Victory - Bronze (10 points): Watch the prologue.
Achievements change from level to level. They were posted some pages back but here they are again:
Mission 1:
Victory - Bronze (10 Points): Completed the mission
Ranged Warrior - Silver (20 Points): You completed the mission after choosing the dragoon hero
Speed master - Gold (30 Points): Completed the mission in under 10 minutes (900 game seconds)
The Running Man - Platinum (40 Points): You did not rescue Warbringer during the boss fight.
Mission 2:
Victory - Bronze (10 Points): Completed the mission
Warbringer - Silver (20 Points): Killed over 2000 enemy units (white's score = 8000) (Exclusive with Speed Master)
Speed master - Gold (30 Points): Completed the mission under 19 minutes (1700 game seconds) (Exclusive with Warbringer)
Textless - Platinum (40 Points): Completed the mission without choosing any random heroes
Mission 3:
Victory - Bronze (10 Points): Completed the mission
The Human Equation - Bronze (10 Points): Shed a nostalgic tear over the story.
Speed master - Silver (20 Points): Completed the mission before the song ended (720 game seconds).
Mission 4:
Victory - Bronze (10 Points): Completed the mission
Speed master - Silver (20 Points): Completed the mission under 14 minutes (1260 game seconds)
Special "Duke Omnivus" Statuette (50 Points): Beat the mission with all kakaru alive
Mission 5:
Special "Thulera" Statuette (50 Points): Beat the mission
Note that times listed are if you are playing at fastest speed. You will have more time if you play at slower speeds (trigger is based off game seconds).
The text for each achievement is blacked out to help prevent spoilers.
Prologue:
Victory - Bronze (10 points): Watch the prologue.
Achievements change from level to level. They were posted some pages back but here they are again:
Mission 1:
Victory - Bronze (10 Points): Completed the mission
Ranged Warrior - Silver (20 Points): You completed the mission after choosing the dragoon hero
Speed master - Gold (30 Points): Completed the mission in under 10 minutes (900 game seconds)
The Running Man - Platinum (40 Points): You did not rescue Warbringer during the boss fight.
Mission 2:
Victory - Bronze (10 Points): Completed the mission
Warbringer - Silver (20 Points): Killed over 2000 enemy units (white's score = 8000) (Exclusive with Speed Master)
Speed master - Gold (30 Points): Completed the mission under 19 minutes (1700 game seconds) (Exclusive with Warbringer)
Textless - Platinum (40 Points): Completed the mission without choosing any random heroes
Mission 3:
Victory - Bronze (10 Points): Completed the mission
The Human Equation - Bronze (10 Points): Shed a nostalgic tear over the story.
Speed master - Silver (20 Points): Completed the mission before the song ended (720 game seconds).
Mission 4:
Victory - Bronze (10 Points): Completed the mission
Speed master - Silver (20 Points): Completed the mission under 14 minutes (1260 game seconds)
Special "Duke Omnivus" Statuette (50 Points): Beat the mission with all kakaru alive
Mission 5:
Special "Thulera" Statuette (50 Points): Beat the mission
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The Will of Atai
Name: LokiArexon (USWest/USEast) / Krazy (Campaigncreations)
Suggested Download:
Individual maps:
Warmup
The Cave of Crystals
Kirin
Flashback
Zakat
Brothers
Hell
Epilogue
Trailer:
Story
The Brood War has ended, but Kerrigan does not rest easy. She recognizes that her enemies will rise again, and will have learned from their previous encounters. The time has come to evolve.
For the next evolution of the Zerg, Kerrigan chooses a star system previously untouched by the war--the twin stars of Nova and Boccob.
Part of what attracts her to the star is a new, strange wave of psionic emanations radiating from the planet of Boccob-II. What she doesn't know is that a vagabond Protoss have been stalking her movements... and are about to discover the source of those emanations before her.
Screenshot
Older Version Downloads [missions 2, 5, and 6 have been updated in the links above this section]:
Full (Special Edition) : http://www.filefront.com/14181179/ATAI_SpecialEdition.zip (337 megs)
CC Campaign Backup (all maps), 354 megs :
http://sc.campaigncreations.org/contest2-campaigns/ATAI_SpecialEdition.zip
Samods backup (all maps): http://samods.org/staff/magic/krazy/ATAI/ATAI_SpecialEdition.zip
The Light version (under 20 mbs) [based on contest submission, not revisions]: url=http://www.4shared.com/file/121094080/6d67c7b4/ATAI_Light.html
Alternate link to the "Light" version thanks to Magic and Samods!:
http://samods.org/staff/magic/krazy/ATAI/ATAI_Light.zip
Suggested Download:
Individual maps:
Warmup
The Cave of Crystals
Kirin
Flashback
Zakat
Brothers
Hell
Epilogue
Trailer:
Story
The Brood War has ended, but Kerrigan does not rest easy. She recognizes that her enemies will rise again, and will have learned from their previous encounters. The time has come to evolve.
For the next evolution of the Zerg, Kerrigan chooses a star system previously untouched by the war--the twin stars of Nova and Boccob.
Part of what attracts her to the star is a new, strange wave of psionic emanations radiating from the planet of Boccob-II. What she doesn't know is that a vagabond Protoss have been stalking her movements... and are about to discover the source of those emanations before her.
Screenshot
I'm not an expert Starcraft player. What I look for in campaigns is a solid story and professionality, both of which featured in this work.
--BadManners!
Older Version Downloads [missions 2, 5, and 6 have been updated in the links above this section]:
Full (Special Edition) : http://www.filefront.com/14181179/ATAI_SpecialEdition.zip (337 megs)
CC Campaign Backup (all maps), 354 megs :
http://sc.campaigncreations.org/contest2-campaigns/ATAI_SpecialEdition.zip
Samods backup (all maps): http://samods.org/staff/magic/krazy/ATAI/ATAI_SpecialEdition.zip
The Light version (under 20 mbs) [based on contest submission, not revisions]: url=http://www.4shared.com/file/121094080/6d67c7b4/ATAI_Light.html
Alternate link to the "Light" version thanks to Magic and Samods!:
http://samods.org/staff/magic/krazy/ATAI/ATAI_Light.zip
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