I am new to the SC2Mapster community, but I have been visiting the site all summer. My job these past 10 weeks was to build NASA-inspired Starcraft 2 maps at NASA's Langley Research Center, and it was a blast. Two of the four maps are classic melee maps, but I've tweaked the normal starting conditions to reflect the demands of a realistic mission to Shackleton Crater on the moon...basically, you start with limited resources, forcing you inside the crater to find the better deposits.
Search "LunarHarvest" to find and play my maps. Thanks in advance for checking it out. I'll be updating, so any feedback is much appreciated. I hope you enjoy!
Also, if you want to check out the trailer for the map series that these maps are part of, check out the Lunar Harvest !
Seriously? Langley had you designing SC2 maps? Wow. That's awesome. You should write your story up and throw it onto TeamLiquid, they'd love to hear it I'm sure.
I have no idea what this is, but it looks pretty awesome.
Do explain further - are you a NASA employee that was tasked with the creation of a SC2 map for... some reason? What exactly does this map have to do with NASA?
Thanks for the responses. And thanks, Eiviyn, I've definitely been visiting TeamLiquid and plan on posting soon. Also, b0ne123, I don't know how to upload to EU servers...do you have some advice as to how I can do that? I'd appreciate that.
Alright, so here's the story. This summer I worked as a student intern in a NASA program called LARSS (Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars). My job was to make NASA-inspired maps that could include cutting-edge information about NASA concepts and technology and still keep the Starcraft 2 feel. I was not technically a NASA-employee since I was funded with a Virginia Space Grant, so I was just an intern for NASA. Also, the maps aren't officially associated with NASA because they employ only publicly-available information. The series is definitely still a work-in-progress, though I think it could be fun to play for anyone interested in manned space exploration or Starcraft 2.
I have no idea what this is, but it looks pretty awesome.
Do explain further - are you a NASA employee that was tasked with the creation of a SC2 map for... some reason? What exactly does this map have to do with NASA?
As far as my information goes:
The NASA is planing to build a permanent moon station starting in 2018 (I think) at the southern pole of the moon at the Shackleton Crater. The Shackleton Crater is quite deep and has areas that are never reached by sunlight and therefore contain frozen water, which is ofcourse a very (if not the most) important ressource for everyone who wants to do anything on the moon. Since it can be used not only to drink but also to make fuel and breathable air (hydrogen for the fuel and oxigen for the air).
Thanks, DrSuperEvil, I think it was a good use of tax dollars too :-P
Also, since I was just working at a NASA center, I can best respond to your comment, Hobrow. The plan that you're referring to, that was to build a permanent lunar base on the Moon, was officially part of the Constellation Program of Pres. Bush's administration. Recently, though, under Obama, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden scrapped the Constellation Program because of a lack of funding and instead we are now following what is called the "Flexible Path" as recommended by the Augustine Committee. This new program is much less well defined (there's no specified schedule as of yet) but it has the ultimate goal of settling the moon, Mars, and other planetary destinations in the solar system.
Regardless of what the plan for NASA is right now, human beings will soon reach the moon with either international or private space ventures and we will soon set out to establish permanent bases there. In order to be successful, any venture will need to understand the lunar environment and be able to utilize the resources there, but the venture must also have the ability to reuse old infrastructure and build upon previous missions...these are two key concepts that I hoped to convey with my map collection.
Also, Hobrow was completely right by saying that Shackleton Crater is a primary destination and that there are permanently dark regions in the crater that very likely hold vast amounts of frozen water and perhaps even other resources like the isotope Helium-3. Thanks, Hobrow, for also mentioning that water can be used for everything from drinking water to breathing air to rocket fuel. Actually, most of the necessary technology to do this has already been developed...at NASA's Desert RATS, they have an ISRU device that transforms water ice into usable breathing air, among other things.
Getting to the moon and sustaining a base there is relatively easy...convincing Congress that they should put up the money to do it is the hard part.
I guess that's a really cool way to spice things up :) I'm glad that SC is being used for something other than entertainment :D. GJ, good luck, and keep asking questions. We would all love to help
I appreciate all the support. I see my maps as prototypes for future NASA-inspired maps to be made by myself or other map-makers out there. I used only publicly-available information like anyone else could, and I aimed to make custom maps that feature several of the overwhelming number of parallels between space exploration science and Starcraft 2. I am only an amateur map-maker. Hopefully in time there will be great space-science related custom maps to play. For now I'll keep updating my maps according to feedback, waiting to upload to Blizzard's server.
If NASA was actually having an intern work on sc2 maps wouldn't there be an article somewhere, more official like besides here? Sorry but the internet is a place of "proof or it didn't happen."
Also the map looks like it's only terrain made, nothing else really changed.
Getting to the moon and sustaining a base there is relatively easy...convincing Congress that they should put up the money to do it is the hard part.
Getting to the moon and sustaining a base is Easier said than done. Its not convincing congress that is the hard part it is getting the lobbyist to give their congressman the money to support the ideas that NASA has. Bottom line the Money input should be lower then the money gained from the operation. If their is no money coming back to the lobbyist then its not going to happen. Why do you think the commercialization of space is so important now. but this is not why I am here.
I just wanted to say that I like the concepts of NASA inspired maps and it is a great medium for exploring new ideas and map making concepts. I think you have open a new door of RTS gaming. Good job and keep up the good work. :)
Thanks for your nice (and insightful) response, SolidSC. I appreciate what you said about exploring new ideas and map-making concepts, but you give me too much credit. I think that we should be pushing to redefine what the role a custom map can play. So yes, I will continue to work on this, though I just moved back to school so I'll be a little slow to update or post in the coming weeks.
I also liked what you said about the financial troubles for NASA. You're absolutely right that there should be something gained from the operation. Whether that "something gained" is scientific knowledge or a products mined on the planetary surface, it better be something worth the billions of dollars that are spent for their acquisition. Perhaps the most valuable thing to try to gain from the operation is a sustainable, reusable base that can be expanded upon (sound like base-building/expanding in sc2?)
The most valuable thing you can gain from NASA is knowledge and it will be probably unlicensed, so the government wont gain money on it. but the society will benefit and thats the way it should be. If there is a way to make profit on it, than it should be done by the public sector (at least under capitalist conception). Thats why I think NASA shouldnt have manned projects (except ISS where they can gain experience about the effects of space on human body).
Anyway NASA is dead, this map is showing that too (spending on PR as a last cry). I can imagine that USA will completely close NASA under the recession, but manned base on moon is a joke. They cant even put man into the ISS and they even scraped Ares. The next time man will visit moon, I bet it wont be an American man.
If you want I can upload your maps on EU. (btw it would be cool if you could get some NASA models into your games, for example the models from the Moonbase game.))
Btw my map () has star generator which is very accurately spawn stars according the H-R diagram including spectrum, luminosity, age and temperature :D. (it took me almost a day to make that every possible type of stars can spawn)
Hi All,
I am new to the SC2Mapster community, but I have been visiting the site all summer. My job these past 10 weeks was to build NASA-inspired Starcraft 2 maps at NASA's Langley Research Center, and it was a blast. Two of the four maps are classic melee maps, but I've tweaked the normal starting conditions to reflect the demands of a realistic mission to Shackleton Crater on the moon...basically, you start with limited resources, forcing you inside the crater to find the better deposits.
Search "LunarHarvest" to find and play my maps. Thanks in advance for checking it out. I'll be updating, so any feedback is much appreciated. I hope you enjoy!
Also, if you want to check out the trailer for the map series that these maps are part of, check out the Lunar Harvest !
Seriously? Langley had you designing SC2 maps? Wow. That's awesome. You should write your story up and throw it onto TeamLiquid, they'd love to hear it I'm sure.
no EU upload yet?
You just used the moon as an excuse to save on doodads.
Contribute to the wiki (Wiki button at top of page) Considered easy altering of the unit textures?
https://www.sc2mapster.com/forums/resources/tutorials/179654-data-actor-events-message-texture-select-by-id
https://media.forgecdn.net/attachments/187/40/Screenshot2011-04-17_09_16_21.jpg
I have no idea what this is, but it looks pretty awesome.
Do explain further - are you a NASA employee that was tasked with the creation of a SC2 map for... some reason? What exactly does this map have to do with NASA?
Thanks for the responses. And thanks, Eiviyn, I've definitely been visiting TeamLiquid and plan on posting soon. Also, b0ne123, I don't know how to upload to EU servers...do you have some advice as to how I can do that? I'd appreciate that.
Alright, so here's the story. This summer I worked as a student intern in a NASA program called LARSS (Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars). My job was to make NASA-inspired maps that could include cutting-edge information about NASA concepts and technology and still keep the Starcraft 2 feel. I was not technically a NASA-employee since I was funded with a Virginia Space Grant, so I was just an intern for NASA. Also, the maps aren't officially associated with NASA because they employ only publicly-available information. The series is definitely still a work-in-progress, though I think it could be fun to play for anyone interested in manned space exploration or Starcraft 2.
Does this make things clearer?
What an interesting and beneficial use of the USA tax payer's money (for once).
Contribute to the wiki (Wiki button at top of page) Considered easy altering of the unit textures?
https://www.sc2mapster.com/forums/resources/tutorials/179654-data-actor-events-message-texture-select-by-id
https://media.forgecdn.net/attachments/187/40/Screenshot2011-04-17_09_16_21.jpg
As far as my information goes:
The NASA is planing to build a permanent moon station starting in 2018 (I think) at the southern pole of the moon at the Shackleton Crater. The Shackleton Crater is quite deep and has areas that are never reached by sunlight and therefore contain frozen water, which is ofcourse a very (if not the most) important ressource for everyone who wants to do anything on the moon. Since it can be used not only to drink but also to make fuel and breathable air (hydrogen for the fuel and oxigen for the air).
Thats what the map has to do with the NASA.
Thanks, DrSuperEvil, I think it was a good use of tax dollars too :-P
Also, since I was just working at a NASA center, I can best respond to your comment, Hobrow. The plan that you're referring to, that was to build a permanent lunar base on the Moon, was officially part of the Constellation Program of Pres. Bush's administration. Recently, though, under Obama, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden scrapped the Constellation Program because of a lack of funding and instead we are now following what is called the "Flexible Path" as recommended by the Augustine Committee. This new program is much less well defined (there's no specified schedule as of yet) but it has the ultimate goal of settling the moon, Mars, and other planetary destinations in the solar system.
Regardless of what the plan for NASA is right now, human beings will soon reach the moon with either international or private space ventures and we will soon set out to establish permanent bases there. In order to be successful, any venture will need to understand the lunar environment and be able to utilize the resources there, but the venture must also have the ability to reuse old infrastructure and build upon previous missions...these are two key concepts that I hoped to convey with my map collection.
Also, Hobrow was completely right by saying that Shackleton Crater is a primary destination and that there are permanently dark regions in the crater that very likely hold vast amounts of frozen water and perhaps even other resources like the isotope Helium-3. Thanks, Hobrow, for also mentioning that water can be used for everything from drinking water to breathing air to rocket fuel. Actually, most of the necessary technology to do this has already been developed...at NASA's Desert RATS, they have an ISRU device that transforms water ice into usable breathing air, among other things.
Getting to the moon and sustaining a base there is relatively easy...convincing Congress that they should put up the money to do it is the hard part.
Well yes, but... that's incredibly awesome? How can that be real? I knew NASA was awesome, but... that awesome?
Anyway, awesome! I will definitely check this out and forward it to palls! :)
:-) Thanks dude
Good luck with making your maps BoldlyGo :)
Ok now that's a new level for starcraft to reach. Anyway, tax money well spent. Good luck
I guess that's a really cool way to spice things up :) I'm glad that SC is being used for something other than entertainment :D. GJ, good luck, and keep asking questions. We would all love to help
I appreciate all the support. I see my maps as prototypes for future NASA-inspired maps to be made by myself or other map-makers out there. I used only publicly-available information like anyone else could, and I aimed to make custom maps that feature several of the overwhelming number of parallels between space exploration science and Starcraft 2. I am only an amateur map-maker. Hopefully in time there will be great space-science related custom maps to play. For now I'll keep updating my maps according to feedback, waiting to upload to Blizzard's server.
If NASA was actually having an intern work on sc2 maps wouldn't there be an article somewhere, more official like besides here? Sorry but the internet is a place of "proof or it didn't happen."
Also the map looks like it's only terrain made, nothing else really changed.
Getting to the moon and sustaining a base is Easier said than done. Its not convincing congress that is the hard part it is getting the lobbyist to give their congressman the money to support the ideas that NASA has. Bottom line the Money input should be lower then the money gained from the operation. If their is no money coming back to the lobbyist then its not going to happen. Why do you think the commercialization of space is so important now. but this is not why I am here.
I just wanted to say that I like the concepts of NASA inspired maps and it is a great medium for exploring new ideas and map making concepts. I think you have open a new door of RTS gaming. Good job and keep up the good work. :)
Thanks for your nice (and insightful) response, SolidSC. I appreciate what you said about exploring new ideas and map-making concepts, but you give me too much credit. I think that we should be pushing to redefine what the role a custom map can play. So yes, I will continue to work on this, though I just moved back to school so I'll be a little slow to update or post in the coming weeks.
I also liked what you said about the financial troubles for NASA. You're absolutely right that there should be something gained from the operation. Whether that "something gained" is scientific knowledge or a products mined on the planetary surface, it better be something worth the billions of dollars that are spent for their acquisition. Perhaps the most valuable thing to try to gain from the operation is a sustainable, reusable base that can be expanded upon (sound like base-building/expanding in sc2?)
The most valuable thing you can gain from NASA is knowledge and it will be probably unlicensed, so the government wont gain money on it. but the society will benefit and thats the way it should be. If there is a way to make profit on it, than it should be done by the public sector (at least under capitalist conception). Thats why I think NASA shouldnt have manned projects (except ISS where they can gain experience about the effects of space on human body).
Anyway NASA is dead, this map is showing that too (spending on PR as a last cry). I can imagine that USA will completely close NASA under the recession, but manned base on moon is a joke. They cant even put man into the ISS and they even scraped Ares. The next time man will visit moon, I bet it wont be an American man.
If you want I can upload your maps on EU. (btw it would be cool if you could get some NASA models into your games, for example the models from the Moonbase game.))
Btw my map () has star generator which is very accurately spawn stars according the H-R diagram including spectrum, luminosity, age and temperature :D. (it took me almost a day to make that every possible type of stars can spawn)
When we get fusion working the moon and all of its hellium 3 will suddenly not be such a bad idea to start colonizing.
I'm rooting for polywell.