It is, isn't it? :D That being said, I am kind of perfectionist. So I might scribble down "change range from 9 to 8". I suppose that technically isn't a bug. Sometimes it's just a camera that is too low. Other times, however, it might be a unit that has disappeared completely from a cinematic.
I'd say I'm the same way with my lists. I've had plenty of similar ones, otherwise I could leave the room for a drink and comeback and not remember a thing.
I meant it'd be a good time to give tips on story telling, cutscenes (Wouldn't technically need the editor), etc. Just throwing stuff out there
Your post inspired me to write another entry, specifically about plot twists (link in my signature). I was struggling with it for a while, but I finally found a way to do it right.
Feedback from the testers has come in. I don't think I need to change much, so hopefully, I can release the first mission within the next 24 hours.
The campaigns are dependent on each other. I don't think the third campaign would make much sense without playing the first two. Certainly, a lot of moments would lose their impact. There are a lot of callbacks.
Expect my impressions and review of the mission tomorrow. I was planning for today, but I gotta head to the capital to pick up a parent of mine in the airport.
By the time I came to know of Game of Thrones, on HBO, I expected it to be a dragging television show, one of all those other medieval/fantasy flicks, with good and bad knights, duels, battles, all hidden under a cloak of politics and Nolan-esque realism. Like many, I expected HBO would find a way to retcon their way out of GRRM's literature and keep the main star, Sean Bean, alive and well, breaking the taboo that he tends to die or something bad happens to him every movie he acts as primary or major secondary (He got arrested in National Treasure and Mirror, Mirror doesn't count, as he was a cameo, there, irrelevant). Then, they cut his head off at the ninth episode, and the rest is history, and the show gained the fame for everything happen unexpectedly and things only turn to the worst for the heroes you root for, the greatest push being the Red Wedding.
Talking at first about Game of Thrones seems like something strange, as we're dealing with reviewing the campaign, but it's exactly about the same as what's happened on both EivindL campaigns, Crimson Moon and Amber Sun. Here, on these campaigns, there is an invisible, but cardinal and unforgiving rule. Don't root for the people you like and expect them to survive all the course. You get to root that all the evil done will be accounted for, but it's the story whom chooses to decide when, how and why (Joffrey, anyone?). Okay, mayhaps EivindL himself, but you get the idea.
Crimson Moon was first introduced to me in curiosity, in an effort to find a campaign that was worth the effort put in the StarCraft II Editor much before Heart of the Swarm and it's awful Metzen campaign damage whatever hope of an increase in the campaign community forever. In the glory days of Brood War great hits were unleashed with the finest content, being Legacy of the Confederation (Whose ending we'll never get to know), Flame Knives (Masochistically difficult), Aeon of the Hawk (An improvement over FK, but about the same as things go on), Life of a Marine (Which sadly would never get voiced) and the EDAST saga (Majorly incomplete, but you get to read the spoilers for what would happen and why). Starcraft II was at the very beginning, a land still to be explored by many like myself, it had virtually nothing to show and introduce. Then, I stumble upon the name 'Crimson Moon', and I thought "Meh, another campaign of an unknown faction, they get to fight evil, galaxy is safe, all Power Rangers style, yadda, yadda...".
Today, I take the commentary back. Pretty much like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., CM had the slowest of all developments for a story, but it had some keeping gameplay value, particularly the third mission, but the persistence got to reward and root for this series. You got to like the characters themselves, they were simple yet likeable, at the beginning. Then things turn for the worst on the fifth mission, with Ryan and Tyrone dead and it's when you know shit would get real and you'd get to dive deep, like the nervous child whom gets ready to jump to the pool and he's pushed. You get to know more about the character of Janus Ora and the down-to-earth beliefs of Henderson, getting to accompany both sides in their fight for a specific aim, the end of their foes. I pretty much liked this development and the gameplay whom accompanied it (It was simple, but then all things start small, true), though I found the ending confusing and head-messing. Following it, came, many months later and following the release of HotS, the sequel, Amber Sun, where you'd know things were fine and the reprieve was deserved, but the return of the enemy naturally calls a return to the fight, right on the first mission, remembered for it's Overlord Hunt. Having managed to find bugs, I became one of the testing members, whom taught and learned, with EivindL, most aspects of the Editor: I got to learn critical things like the Random Integer and developing creative missions, while my friend learned about Bullies and the learning ethics of developing gameplay to a more captivating, active level. It was, I admit, a good journey to follow on, things were learned, missions were debated and gameplay discussed, both sides had their parts fulfilled, and the story went through to it's satisfactory outcome, but also it's bitter 'Red Wedding' ending, where you know you just felt your whole world crumble. And here Amber Sun has us learn, again, to never root for your heroes, like Terry Gilliam showed in his movies as well (Brazil could be a good example, but so is Life of Brian), and always expect the worst and that, in reality, evil almost always wins.
Now, we get to the thick of it, months after the Amber Sun has set, months before Blizzcon and it's highly likely probability of Legacy of the Void being disclosed, with Aureolin Eclipse, to no doubt shut the book on it, with the greatest challenge, in my opinion, to deliver a satisfactory conclusion as to how will Geraldus finally pay the consequences for all they did, and how will this be done. Because, undoubtedly and pretty much Amber Sun assured in that way, the bad guys won epically. The Amina rebellion was crushed, Henderson killed by the turncoat Ryan, the least you'd expect, given Geraldus killed his brother. Bayo, whom could be the alternative hope for Amina, was killed by Janus and the Khaal'Ro Protoss. And Ora is now nothing more than a puppet to the new person behind Geraldus, with Ghost Caine dead, Janus now having no memory or identity. With all heroes crushed, whom could possibly stand against Geraldus and it's abuses? Corellia, even if she wanted, which she doesn't, couldn't face Geraldus alone and she couldn't become a leader to the Amina people, whom were gripped by defeatism after Henderson died. The Yojimbo, clearly stated by their motto, are nothing more than mercs, and not even all the wealth Amina could muster could ever stand toe-to-toe against Geraldus' power. And the Khaal'Ro won't give a damn, as long as Terrans are killing each other and not facing Protoss and whatever is the reason they're there, they're good. So it begs the question, how would Geraldus ever be stopped, now that it practically won, just like the Lannisters in the beginning of this fourth season? How, indeed?
But, as what happened to Crimson Moon, Aureolin Eclipse had to start small and simple. Just as with this first mission, which returns you to the front, now you being introduced to the Yojimbo, which clearly proves it's mercenary tendencies by it's motto alone, and Corellia is in the middle of it, somewhat a newcomer. And that's all you'll ever hear of this mission, and I'll say no more, you'll have to play it to see it through. The ending was a cliffhanger on it's own and satisfactory, the cutscenes were atmospheric themselves. But the terrain, I believe, was the main star here, for it's metaphoric references to what you did and how all your efforts came to nothing. Yes, call me fancy on it, but it's somehow akin, AGAIN, to Game of Thrones, with the Stark sword Ice being broken and the wolf pelt sheat being tossed to the fire. The terrain, if you look closely, somehow makes this metaphorical reference. In this, I think the terrain did a very good job beyond it's original role.
Now we get to gameplay, which is simple, true, but you also get to have a challenge with two boss fights whom were demanding, worthy of the EivindL stamp. I only wished to see, honestly, the 'terrorist' camp reacting to the attack, making soldiers and vehicles and stuff, all to deal with the meager, mighty bitch and it's ragtag group attacking it. Other than that, it was nothing special, but I was aware this is just the *first* mission, and that I can expect more in the coming missions. In this, the mission was fine, and it introduced the player safely to what was going on.
However, there's this one bug I faced with Corellia, during the Warboss fight, that she kept still with her rifle up when she was moving, with the clickfest Korean APM microing I was doing. EivindL should take a bit of a look on that. Other than this, things were fine.
Well, there's really not much to say, but I'll keep posted, despite the fact I'm not a tester this time and I'll have to wait like everyone else. But I'm patient, so long as I get to see the conclusion and how it'll end, and I can get to judge it and criticize myself. The storm begins, and Winter is coming, folks...
Well, that was amazing. :D I love you! Reading that makes me want to take my computer home for summer. It would certainly be optimal, considering I don't work as much this year and therefore have more spare-time, but also because there is a lot of school work in the coming fall semester that is going to make mapping hard.
You make a lot of parallells to Game of Thrones, and they are of course spot-on. I won't deny the inspiration there (I suppose I mentioned it directly in the plot twist tutorial). Even Geraldus has Lannister red as their color, which is actually conincidential. By the way, I haven't read the books, so let's stop talking about it before the coming season finale.
I am aware of that Corelia bug, but I don't know how to fix it.
(I suppose you should probably mention that there are Game of Thrones spoilers as well.)
So, I have exams tomorrow for introductory microeconomics, and I was bored, so I thought I might share how the mechanics behind Meridian's plan work from a theoritical perspective, using a simple supply and demand graph.
To recap: Meridian, who is the leader of the Yojimbo Mercenary Group, uses Corelia and her group to attack certain groups (in this instance, the Hand of Volos, a militia on the planet Centuria) and have them pose as terrorists. His intention is to create the feeling that the sector is more dangerous than it is, and hopefully increase demand for services such as the kind his company provides.
Free market
Below we can see the graph illustrated, showing the correlation between the price P on the y-axis, and the quantity Q on the x-axis. We also have a falling demand line Qd(P)1, showing how demand for mercenary services vary for different prices, and a supply line Qs(P), showing how supply of these services vary for different prices. The optimal quantity Q* and price P* is found in the intersection between these two lines. Producer surplus is the green triangle.
Producer surplus is the difference between the amount that a producer of a good receives and the minimum amount that he or she would be willing to accept for the good.
As a consequence of Meridian's actions, more buyers should potentially enter the market, and the demand line shifts to the new Qd(P)2. The supply line remains unchanged (although it could be argued that more sellers could enter the markets as a result of more demand, we are going to assume that in the short run, they won't, as there most likely is high barriers of entry in the mercenary market). We get a new quantity Q1 and new price P1, and consumer surplus increase in the short run as the suppliers get to enjoy a raised price without the disadvantage of higher costs. The new producer surplus is the green triangle plus the new yellow area.
Monopoly
We could also assume that Yojimbo is a monopoly. This is highly unlikely, considering the state of dissaray the sector is in, but it certainly wouldn't be beneath Meridian to use dirty tricks to achieve this. Unlike the free market solution, a market with a monopoly is not Pareto-efficient, because it creates deadweight loss (interesting from a theoretical perspective, but I won't dive into that here).
Pareto-efficiency is a state of allocation of resources in which it is impossible to make any one individual better off without making at least one individual worse off.
Deadweight loss is a loss of economic efficiency that can occur when equilibrium for a good or service is not Pareto optimal.
Above, we can see the graph for a monopoly situation illustrated. A monopoly's optimal production is found where marginal cost MC intersects with marginal revenue MR. At first, with marginal revenue MR1 being derived from supply line Qd(P)1, the production is found at quantity Q1 and price P1. Consumer surplus is the green area.
Then, demand increases, just as in the free market solution, and we get a new marginal revenue line MR2 (MC remains unchanged). The new production quantity is now Q2, and price is P2. Producer surplus is now the green area plus the yellow area.
I think it's fun to use theory in this way, inserting it into a campaign story. I tried my hand at nature versus nurture at the end of Crimson Moon, but it's not an area I have been schooled in. I find economics to be immensely interesting (which is why I study it, I suppose), though I wouldn't be surprised if you found this incredibly dull. :D
I think it might be beneficial. So often custom campaigns tend to be inspired simply by SC2. Why not look elsewhere? DeltaCadimus talked a great deal about Game of Thrones, which recently showed Stannis Baratheon going to a bank!
Putting the finishing touches on it now. Expect a PM soon.
EDIT: Test map sent to testers. Spent several hours squashing bugs, as can be seen in the picture.
@EivindL: Go
Perhaps all the time off of sc2 will let you explain story stuff in your campaign stuff. Really anything that doesn't require the editor I guess.
That is quite the list.
It is, isn't it? :D That being said, I am kind of perfectionist. So I might scribble down "change range from 9 to 8". I suppose that technically isn't a bug. Sometimes it's just a camera that is too low. Other times, however, it might be a unit that has disappeared completely from a cinematic.
What do you mean, "explain story stuff"?
@EivindL: Go
I'd say I'm the same way with my lists. I've had plenty of similar ones, otherwise I could leave the room for a drink and comeback and not remember a thing.
I meant it'd be a good time to give tips on story telling, cutscenes (Wouldn't technically need the editor), etc. Just throwing stuff out there
Oh, you mean the campaign tutorial?
@EivindL: Go
Yes, I guess "campaign stuff" wasn't very specific.
Your post inspired me to write another entry, specifically about plot twists (link in my signature). I was struggling with it for a while, but I finally found a way to do it right.
Feedback from the testers has come in. I don't think I need to change much, so hopefully, I can release the first mission within the next 24 hours.
Are your campaigns mutually independent? Or would I have to play the previous two campaigns for the third to make sense?
The campaigns are dependent on each other. I don't think the third campaign would make much sense without playing the first two. Certainly, a lot of moments would lose their impact. There are a lot of callbacks.
@EivindL: Go
Makes sense. Thanks for clarifying - perhaps I'll find time to play through it all :)
The first mission and mod is up. Download here: http://www.sc2mapster.com/media/files/795/234/Aureolin_Eclipse__01___mod_.zip
Tell me what you think of it! Also, remember to put the mod file in the "Mods" folder.
Expect my impressions and review of the mission tomorrow. I was planning for today, but I gotta head to the capital to pick up a parent of mine in the airport.
And so, it begins the final journey... YOJIMBO!!!
First Impressions [HEAVY SPOILERS]
By the time I came to know of Game of Thrones, on HBO, I expected it to be a dragging television show, one of all those other medieval/fantasy flicks, with good and bad knights, duels, battles, all hidden under a cloak of politics and Nolan-esque realism. Like many, I expected HBO would find a way to retcon their way out of GRRM's literature and keep the main star, Sean Bean, alive and well, breaking the taboo that he tends to die or something bad happens to him every movie he acts as primary or major secondary (He got arrested in National Treasure and Mirror, Mirror doesn't count, as he was a cameo, there, irrelevant). Then, they cut his head off at the ninth episode, and the rest is history, and the show gained the fame for everything happen unexpectedly and things only turn to the worst for the heroes you root for, the greatest push being the Red Wedding.
Talking at first about Game of Thrones seems like something strange, as we're dealing with reviewing the campaign, but it's exactly about the same as what's happened on both EivindL campaigns, Crimson Moon and Amber Sun. Here, on these campaigns, there is an invisible, but cardinal and unforgiving rule. Don't root for the people you like and expect them to survive all the course. You get to root that all the evil done will be accounted for, but it's the story whom chooses to decide when, how and why (Joffrey, anyone?). Okay, mayhaps EivindL himself, but you get the idea.
Crimson Moon was first introduced to me in curiosity, in an effort to find a campaign that was worth the effort put in the StarCraft II Editor much before Heart of the Swarm and it's awful Metzen campaign damage whatever hope of an increase in the campaign community forever. In the glory days of Brood War great hits were unleashed with the finest content, being Legacy of the Confederation (Whose ending we'll never get to know), Flame Knives (Masochistically difficult), Aeon of the Hawk (An improvement over FK, but about the same as things go on), Life of a Marine (Which sadly would never get voiced) and the EDAST saga (Majorly incomplete, but you get to read the spoilers for what would happen and why). Starcraft II was at the very beginning, a land still to be explored by many like myself, it had virtually nothing to show and introduce. Then, I stumble upon the name 'Crimson Moon', and I thought "Meh, another campaign of an unknown faction, they get to fight evil, galaxy is safe, all Power Rangers style, yadda, yadda...".
Today, I take the commentary back. Pretty much like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., CM had the slowest of all developments for a story, but it had some keeping gameplay value, particularly the third mission, but the persistence got to reward and root for this series. You got to like the characters themselves, they were simple yet likeable, at the beginning. Then things turn for the worst on the fifth mission, with Ryan and Tyrone dead and it's when you know shit would get real and you'd get to dive deep, like the nervous child whom gets ready to jump to the pool and he's pushed. You get to know more about the character of Janus Ora and the down-to-earth beliefs of Henderson, getting to accompany both sides in their fight for a specific aim, the end of their foes. I pretty much liked this development and the gameplay whom accompanied it (It was simple, but then all things start small, true), though I found the ending confusing and head-messing. Following it, came, many months later and following the release of HotS, the sequel, Amber Sun, where you'd know things were fine and the reprieve was deserved, but the return of the enemy naturally calls a return to the fight, right on the first mission, remembered for it's Overlord Hunt. Having managed to find bugs, I became one of the testing members, whom taught and learned, with EivindL, most aspects of the Editor: I got to learn critical things like the Random Integer and developing creative missions, while my friend learned about Bullies and the learning ethics of developing gameplay to a more captivating, active level. It was, I admit, a good journey to follow on, things were learned, missions were debated and gameplay discussed, both sides had their parts fulfilled, and the story went through to it's satisfactory outcome, but also it's bitter 'Red Wedding' ending, where you know you just felt your whole world crumble. And here Amber Sun has us learn, again, to never root for your heroes, like Terry Gilliam showed in his movies as well (Brazil could be a good example, but so is Life of Brian), and always expect the worst and that, in reality, evil almost always wins.
Now, we get to the thick of it, months after the Amber Sun has set, months before Blizzcon and it's highly likely probability of Legacy of the Void being disclosed, with Aureolin Eclipse, to no doubt shut the book on it, with the greatest challenge, in my opinion, to deliver a satisfactory conclusion as to how will Geraldus finally pay the consequences for all they did, and how will this be done. Because, undoubtedly and pretty much Amber Sun assured in that way, the bad guys won epically. The Amina rebellion was crushed, Henderson killed by the turncoat Ryan, the least you'd expect, given Geraldus killed his brother. Bayo, whom could be the alternative hope for Amina, was killed by Janus and the Khaal'Ro Protoss. And Ora is now nothing more than a puppet to the new person behind Geraldus, with Ghost Caine dead, Janus now having no memory or identity. With all heroes crushed, whom could possibly stand against Geraldus and it's abuses? Corellia, even if she wanted, which she doesn't, couldn't face Geraldus alone and she couldn't become a leader to the Amina people, whom were gripped by defeatism after Henderson died. The Yojimbo, clearly stated by their motto, are nothing more than mercs, and not even all the wealth Amina could muster could ever stand toe-to-toe against Geraldus' power. And the Khaal'Ro won't give a damn, as long as Terrans are killing each other and not facing Protoss and whatever is the reason they're there, they're good. So it begs the question, how would Geraldus ever be stopped, now that it practically won, just like the Lannisters in the beginning of this fourth season? How, indeed?
But, as what happened to Crimson Moon, Aureolin Eclipse had to start small and simple. Just as with this first mission, which returns you to the front, now you being introduced to the Yojimbo, which clearly proves it's mercenary tendencies by it's motto alone, and Corellia is in the middle of it, somewhat a newcomer. And that's all you'll ever hear of this mission, and I'll say no more, you'll have to play it to see it through. The ending was a cliffhanger on it's own and satisfactory, the cutscenes were atmospheric themselves. But the terrain, I believe, was the main star here, for it's metaphoric references to what you did and how all your efforts came to nothing. Yes, call me fancy on it, but it's somehow akin, AGAIN, to Game of Thrones, with the Stark sword Ice being broken and the wolf pelt sheat being tossed to the fire. The terrain, if you look closely, somehow makes this metaphorical reference. In this, I think the terrain did a very good job beyond it's original role.
Now we get to gameplay, which is simple, true, but you also get to have a challenge with two boss fights whom were demanding, worthy of the EivindL stamp. I only wished to see, honestly, the 'terrorist' camp reacting to the attack, making soldiers and vehicles and stuff, all to deal with the meager, mighty bitch and it's ragtag group attacking it. Other than that, it was nothing special, but I was aware this is just the *first* mission, and that I can expect more in the coming missions. In this, the mission was fine, and it introduced the player safely to what was going on.
However, there's this one bug I faced with Corellia, during the Warboss fight, that she kept still with her rifle up when she was moving, with the clickfest Korean APM microing I was doing. EivindL should take a bit of a look on that. Other than this, things were fine.
Well, there's really not much to say, but I'll keep posted, despite the fact I'm not a tester this time and I'll have to wait like everyone else. But I'm patient, so long as I get to see the conclusion and how it'll end, and I can get to judge it and criticize myself. The storm begins, and Winter is coming, folks...
Well, that was amazing. :D I love you! Reading that makes me want to take my computer home for summer. It would certainly be optimal, considering I don't work as much this year and therefore have more spare-time, but also because there is a lot of school work in the coming fall semester that is going to make mapping hard.
You make a lot of parallells to Game of Thrones, and they are of course spot-on. I won't deny the inspiration there (I suppose I mentioned it directly in the plot twist tutorial). Even Geraldus has Lannister red as their color, which is actually conincidential. By the way, I haven't read the books, so let's stop talking about it before the coming season finale.
I am aware of that Corelia bug, but I don't know how to fix it.
(I suppose you should probably mention that there are Game of Thrones spoilers as well.)
Introducing: Economics of Aureolin Eclipse
Contains spoilers for the first mission
So, I have exams tomorrow for introductory microeconomics, and I was bored, so I thought I might share how the mechanics behind Meridian's plan work from a theoritical perspective, using a simple supply and demand graph.
To recap: Meridian, who is the leader of the Yojimbo Mercenary Group, uses Corelia and her group to attack certain groups (in this instance, the Hand of Volos, a militia on the planet Centuria) and have them pose as terrorists. His intention is to create the feeling that the sector is more dangerous than it is, and hopefully increase demand for services such as the kind his company provides.
Free market
Below we can see the graph illustrated, showing the correlation between the price P on the y-axis, and the quantity Q on the x-axis. We also have a falling demand line Qd(P)1, showing how demand for mercenary services vary for different prices, and a supply line Qs(P), showing how supply of these services vary for different prices. The optimal quantity Q* and price P* is found in the intersection between these two lines. Producer surplus is the green triangle.
Producer surplus is the difference between the amount that a producer of a good receives and the minimum amount that he or she would be willing to accept for the good.
As a consequence of Meridian's actions, more buyers should potentially enter the market, and the demand line shifts to the new Qd(P)2. The supply line remains unchanged (although it could be argued that more sellers could enter the markets as a result of more demand, we are going to assume that in the short run, they won't, as there most likely is high barriers of entry in the mercenary market). We get a new quantity Q1 and new price P1, and consumer surplus increase in the short run as the suppliers get to enjoy a raised price without the disadvantage of higher costs. The new producer surplus is the green triangle plus the new yellow area.
Monopoly
We could also assume that Yojimbo is a monopoly. This is highly unlikely, considering the state of dissaray the sector is in, but it certainly wouldn't be beneath Meridian to use dirty tricks to achieve this. Unlike the free market solution, a market with a monopoly is not Pareto-efficient, because it creates deadweight loss (interesting from a theoretical perspective, but I won't dive into that here).
Pareto-efficiency is a state of allocation of resources in which it is impossible to make any one individual better off without making at least one individual worse off.
Deadweight loss is a loss of economic efficiency that can occur when equilibrium for a good or service is not Pareto optimal.
Above, we can see the graph for a monopoly situation illustrated. A monopoly's optimal production is found where marginal cost MC intersects with marginal revenue MR. At first, with marginal revenue MR1 being derived from supply line Qd(P)1, the production is found at quantity Q1 and price P1. Consumer surplus is the green area.
Then, demand increases, just as in the free market solution, and we get a new marginal revenue line MR2 (MC remains unchanged). The new production quantity is now Q2, and price is P2. Producer surplus is now the green area plus the yellow area.
I think it's fun to use theory in this way, inserting it into a campaign story. I tried my hand at nature versus nurture at the end of Crimson Moon, but it's not an area I have been schooled in. I find economics to be immensely interesting (which is why I study it, I suppose), though I wouldn't be surprised if you found this incredibly dull. :D
Read more about artificial demand here.
I thought only i am so crazy to spent so much time in sc2 editor while having grade in finance and law XD
I think it might be beneficial. So often custom campaigns tend to be inspired simply by SC2. Why not look elsewhere? DeltaCadimus talked a great deal about Game of Thrones, which recently showed Stannis Baratheon going to a bank!
Rly hate banks. They are literaly dens of evil and causers of iflation. Prefer working on manufacturer company.
I assume you're not joining the Meridian fan club then? :D
i prefer stay clean and shiny D: