I think sometime around or shortly after Christmas would be doable. I am finished with the Terrain with mission 7 and for mission 8, it's about 80% done. Then I'll of course have to work on the triggers, but they usually don't take as long.
I'm also planning to upload Terrain Preview #2 on my YouTube-channel soon. I'll most likely post it here as well.
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StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Terrain looks amazing, great job! I love the installation/tropical jungle combination for the second map and those lava canyons in the first one. Dunno if that's the music you'll be using in the actual maps, but it's very fitting. Now you got me hyped up for the missions. :P
Ohh yes! let me give a like and if i could ill give 50 more for that vid showing lovely terrain i look at it like 5 times already and is AMAZING work!
Hope to play it soon. keep us updated on your progress please.
Alright, I've released Mission 7 and 8. To download, click here.
Very excited to hear people's thoughts on these. Major plot developments coming up in both missions.
As always, previous missions in need of updating have also been released. There weren't that many this time, as I did a major update not so long ago, and most of these changes are purely cosmetic anyway but here they are, listed in order:
The following changes affect every mission
Changed the lighting of Baldwin's portrait slightly, to make him more distinguishable from War Pigs.
Reduced the "Mend" energy cost to 25 down from 50. This should make the ability a more viable option.
Notable differences in A01 include:
A new model has been added to the Terran Monstrosity boss battle. Credit goes to Thrikodias.
Notable differences in A04 include:
Minor grammatical errors have been fixed.
Added a new boss icon for the LMT-1000 boss battle
Notable differences in A05 include:
Instead of Marines and Firebats, the player now trains the mercenary equivalent of these units (War Pigs and Devil Dogs), except that their cost and training time have been changed to the same as regular Firebats and Marines have. This means that the Merc Compound is scrapped, and the player will automatically upgrade certain units as the missions continue forwards.
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Hell yes! Will play this tomorrow after work! I've been replaying the campaign (with great pleasure), trying to pick up clues, and I can't wait to see what happens next!
I did an interview with Jayborino today as well, and Annihilation came up. Expect the video on Monday (or sometime soon).
I'm pleased to know you are still enjoying the previous missions. That's great, an honestly, I thank you for actually telling me about the interview. I've been anticipating its upload for quite some time now :D
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StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Just finished playing the first mission, had lots of fun! :D Can't wait to see how the plot develops over the next mission, that ending was quite something. But I'll leave mission 8 for tomorrow, took me 2-3 hours to finally beat this one. :P
I like the choice between the two strains, would be sweet getting more such choices in later missions. Though, I didn't find all that many cliffs to make use of Raptors with, but the combat leap and bonus damage were good nonetheless.
Generally, I liked this mission, it was a good mix of defense with offense and had me spreading my forces everywhere. Don't think I've spread so much creep before in my life. :P It was nice that you could put a stop to the Terran attacks by destroying their base in the top, I expected them to just rebuild it, giving me a breather and letting me focus on the Emitters before having to re-destroy the base.
At first, I thought it would've been a nightmare to finish the objectives with only 1 base to mine from (could've grabbed that expansion, but that was right next to a hive cluster, defended by Terrans, had only one geyser and was on the opposite side of the map, didn't feel it was worth taking :P) I was relieved to see that I had a lot of minerals and gas in my base, at least. Some more resource pallets around the map would be nice, perhaps when a Command Center/Hatchery is destroyed?
I also liked the rising lava in the background, it was also pretty clever to convert an aesthetic into a gameplay element in the underground part of the level. Speaking of aesthetics, I like how the Psi Emitters' debris is left behind after you destroy them, nice touch! I also like what you did with the reinforcements in the underground section, though I would rather be able to control some of them myself, or at least have the ones that follow you attack what you're attacking, nearly died to lava because of those lazy critters not helping destroy the rocks :P
Difficulty was a little harder than what I expected, was quite challenging even on Normal. Spawn Banelings was awesome though, definitely one of the most useful abilities you could've given Krayen for this mission.
Also, some notes:
Misspelled "process" in the loading screen
In the Spawn Banelings tip, you say "...Krayen calls forth 6 Banelings with timed life that lasts for...", should be "last" instead of "lasts", since you're talking about multiple Banelings
Queens don't seem to auto-heal the Spore Cannons (had Transfuse set to auto-cast), but they auto-heal any other unit or structure I have
If I zoom in the underground section, my camera seems to get stuck/be unable to zoom back to the original height
You can spawn Banelings behind the last gate, not sure how they'd react to the Zealots walking around there in the ending. Maybe block off vision in that area until we open the gate?
The first Zealot in the ending cinematic didn't say anything, but had a speech bubble over its head - dunno if it was a one-time bug or not
You can see the Psi Emitter's control radius in the ending, would be nice if we couldn't since it's a cinematic
I'll talk about the negative stuff first. You should modify the psi destroyer death model, as its too big. Krayen destroys it, and it just becomes so incredibly large.
Secondly, finding the zerg before the second part can be a bit tricky. I spent quite some time locating them the first time. Some of them were hard to find partly because they were obscured by the large psi destroyer model, but also because I think they were burrowed (had to make overseers to learn that). I'm guessing this is the reason we're told to destroy all zerg before we move on? I just took out the hatcheries and stuff like that, thinking the reason the message existed was too remind us that the surviving zerg might build up and attack us.
I'm not sure you need the objective, but if you want it, I suppose you could consider some adjustments (adding a unit counter ala Outbreak might be wise).
Thirdly, loading a map shows the minimap revealed, which is kind of a spoiler I guess. You can change it under Map Info ("Map Preview").
Now, the positives. I'd hate to repeat myself, but you've done it again. The music, the gameplay, the terrain; it's all top-notch as ever. I really liked the structure of the map; how you could move around in different directions and take different paths to reach the same goal. I also liked how you had to be on the move, protecting spore cannons that were away from your base. The corrupted zerg mechanic was awesome as well. I really found a use for the hold position button!
Loved the second part. Lava rising is always cool, and it works as well in a micro setting as it does in a macro map. Loved the gate control puzzle too. Really RPG-like!
The story is great! Shoulda seen the end coming, but I didn't, even though the hints are there! Can't wait too see where this goes. Love that you use 7 missions to build up to it, as it really rewards the player for getting this far.
PS: I played the mission on Hard, and although I had to load a few times due to Krayen dying, I wouldn't say it was superhard. Then again, maybe that's what Brutal is for.
Mission 8:
Wow. This might very well contend with mission 6 as your best. I can't really think of much negative to say about it, except I was a bit confused as to how Reeves could be surprised that the enemy was the RSSI, even though both the loading screen and the player name revealed it. I know he can't read that, but I thought it meant that the characters knew it.
Anyway, everything else was fantastic. The moment where Reeves figured out the identity of the enemy was great (and it was foreshadowed quite well). The small teasers, such as the mysterious "shadow soldier" making his appearance and the ending, were great. I loved how we got a callback to Reeves' background story from mission 1, though I must admit I had to consult the message log after to make sure I got everything (I didn't). Quite a lot of information to consume!
I love how you come up with all these small mission mechanics. How do you do it? Every 5 minutes there is something new, and I had to stop and think about my tactics all the time. Loved the part where I had to follow that guy.
However, I'd recommend using a periodic "Unit in region" condition instead of an "Unit enters region" event when we have to go through the door (the "knock, knock" part). Being a mapmaker, I figured out pretty quickly that I had to leave and then enter the region for the trigger to run, but other players might not get that.
Also, how did the rest of the characters get in the base in the end, just like that? Mighty suspicious... not sure I bought the explanation.
I'm excited to see where this goes next! Seriously, playing this mission has forced me to go back to the drawing board and make my missions more detailed. Luckily, there's room for it!
Oh, and another thing: how did you get Reeves to not auto-attack enemy units in the last part, while still being able to attack them manually?
At first, I thought it would've been a nightmare to finish the objectives with only 1 base to mine from (could've grabbed that expansion, but that was right next to a hive cluster, defended by Terrans, had only one geyser and was on the opposite side of the map, didn't feel it was worth taking :P) I was relieved to see that I had a lot of minerals and gas in my base, at least. Some more resource pallets around the map would be nice, perhaps when a Command Center/Hatchery is destroyed?
To be honest, I barely ever got the expansion myself, as I simply don't find it neccesary. I did of course want to give players that might want that the option too, however it is very hard to take control of, because as you say, there are two Zerg bases that both move past that area, as well as some Terran waves will go through there too. It requires you to have at least taken out one of the two bases and have a good defense. Not really worth the time nor money in the end of the day for my playstyle.
Additional mineral and gas pallets when destroying Hatcheries and such would be a good idea, I agree. Would certainly help people get some more units quickly, and also be more rewarding :)
I also like what you did with the reinforcements in the underground section, though I would rather be able to control some of them myself, or at least have the ones that follow you attack what you're attacking, nearly died to lava because of those lazy critters not helping destroy the rocks
Yeah, I thought about that, but decided in the end to stick with them being allied to you. This does make them lazy, though, as you mention. One of the reasons was that I needed Krayen to be alone for the final cinematic, and it just worked better imo, having to only control Krayen, while the Zerg support you. I don't know, as I mentioned, I did go through a lot of iterations on what to do, and there may be a possibility for changes later.
Difficulty was a little harder than what I expected, was quite challenging even on Normal. Spawn Banelings was awesome though, definitely one of the most useful abilities you could've given Krayen for this mission.
Was there anything in particular that you found difficult? What was your biggest problem while playing? The Zerg attacks, the Terran attacks? Or a combination of different things?
In the Spawn Banelings tip, you say "...Krayen calls forth 6 Banelings with timed life that lasts for...", should be "last" instead of "lasts", since you're talking about multiple Banelings
Queens don't seem to auto-heal the Spore Cannons (had Transfuse set to auto-cast), but they auto-heal any other unit or structure I have
If I zoom in the underground section, my camera seems to get stuck/be unable to zoom back to the original height
You can spawn Banelings behind the last gate, not sure how they'd react to the Zealots walking around there in the ending. Maybe block off vision in that area until we open the gate?
The first Zealot in the ending cinematic didn't say anything, but had a speech bubble over its head - dunno if it was a one-time bug or not
You can see the Psi Emitter's control radius in the ending, would be nice if we couldn't since it's a cinematic
Good eye! All of these are things that definitely could be improved.
For the queens auto-healing: I'm pretty sure that only works for your own units, and since the Spore Cannons are allied to you, they don't auto-heal. I should easily be able to fix that, though.
The Zealot thing happened to me a few times. Not always, though. Not quite sure what the issue there is, but I'll probably figure it out sometime.
I'll talk about the negative stuff first. You should modify the psi destroyer death model, as its too big. Krayen destroys it, and it just becomes so incredibly large.
Trust me, I would have easily noticed something like this, and changed it to fit the size. I actually found that bug quite hilarious. That honestly never happened to me. Normally, the death model changes automatically according to the size of the unit that uses it, but I'll see to that.
I'll look some of the other negatives as well. The objective, I personally feel is pretty important to fit Krayen's goals, which is retaking control of his homeworld, eradicating all corrupted Zerg or Terran invaders. I've also thought about the fact that Overseers is basically a neccessity to beat the mission. Lower skill players might not think to make those this early in the campaign, although maybe I could edit the objective based on the difficulty.
Wow. This might very well contend with mission 6 as your best. I can't really think of much negative to say about it, except I was a bit confused as to how Reeves could be surprised that the enemy was the RSSI, even though both the loading screen and the player name revealed it. I know he can't read that, but I thought it meant that the characters knew it.
Glad you enjoyed it, and what is important to know is that the player already knew who the R.S.S.I was by mission 3. So, by mission 8, the colors and the insignias are all familiar to the player. What the mission description does, is it recaps the story out of the information that the player has, not neccesarily the characters of the story. I guess it was a bit of a mistake I made during the development of mission 3, actually already revealing their names instead of simply tagging them as "Terran Invaders" or something like that.
However, I'd recommend using a periodic "Unit in region" condition instead of an "Unit enters region" event when we have to go through the door (the "knock, knock" part). Being a mapmaker, I figured out pretty quickly that I had to leave and then enter the region for the trigger to run, but other players might not get that.
Honestly, I don't know why I didn't do that. I even made the mistake several times, where I would run in a little too early, and actually have to run back out again to activate the trigger. Would definitely work much better.
Also, how did the rest of the characters get in the base in the end, just like that? Mighty suspicious... not sure I bought the explanation.
Heh, that was purely bad writing on my part. Basically, I knew I would have Reeves infiltrate the compound alone, but didn't take into consideration the fact that I needed the entire team for the ending reveal and the entrance into the laboratories. It was right before I was actually making the final cinematic that I finally noticed this mistake. As a result, I made a quick decision and just made them fly to your location when you located the base, (which is not that believable I know.) :P
Oh, and another thing: how did you get Reeves to not auto-attack enemy units in the last part, while still being able to attack them manually?
That's pretty simple. Basically, under Weapons at the very bottom, there is something called "Target: Scan Filters" that checks which units are automatically attacked by your weapon. What I did was uncheck "Enemy" and that's it! :)
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StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Was there anything in particular that you found difficult? What was your biggest problem while playing? The Zerg attacks, the Terran attacks? Or a combination of different things?
Hmm...I probably had most trouble moving out to destroy Psi Emitters, there was always the chance that any of the other zerg would attack me and/or the R.S.S.I. would go after a Spore Cannon while I was out attacking. Don't get me wrong though, didn't find it too difficult, I feel it's fine as it is.
Hmm...I probably had most trouble moving out to destroy Psi Emitters, there was always the chance that any of the other zerg would attack me and/or the R.S.S.I. would go after a Spore Cannon while I was out attacking. Don't get me wrong though, didn't find it too difficult, I feel it's fine as it is.
Oh, alright. That's good to hear. I just sounded like it was a bit too much to handle since you said it was harder than expected :)
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StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Btw, I remembered something: in the 7th mission, there is a marine talking to a Goliath who was turning at random. Should probably turn that off. I checked it and saw that you had Delay Fidget Max set to 999, but had Delay Min set at 10. The best way to do it would simply be to set Turn to 0 instead of 33.
Just completed mission 8, and I have to agree with EivindL, it is definitely one of your best ones (if not the best so far). I also liked how it was a “take your time and think” mission, it’s a nice change of pace from the previous “think fast on the go” mission.
As I said before on the video, terrain was amazing, so many details here and there. You sure had a lot of mechanics going on in the mission, like the interactive environment and the follow-that-person section, kept me interested and had me switch up my strategy every now and again. Gotta say it was one of the most interesting missions I’ve played so far, not just out of SC2 custom campaigns, but RTS in general.
Though I found it kind of weird that the 3 other guys managed to catch up to Reeves and get to his location so fast in the end, considering how heavily guarded the place was. Was a little suspicious they were R.S.S.I. spies for a second :P
Sorry that I don't have much else to say, I liked it all the way, can't really think of anything negative or positive that hasn't been said before.
Also, noticed some (very minor) typos:
In the loading screen, it says “As our heroes appear to getting close to uncovering the truth…”, should be “appear to be getting”
There is an extra space between “the” and “range” in the yellow text of Reeves’ cloaking device
When you get the enviromental distraction help tip, it says “by shifting it’s (the security guard’s) attention to something else”, should be “its” since it’s possessive
Also, in the cinematic where Reeves hacks the first computer, the camera seemed to be jiggly/shaking rapidly before going back to normal – dunno if it was a one-time bug or not
Just a question: why is there a big gap between “Choose Difficulty” and the actual difficulty buttons in the beginning? I’ve noticed it in the previous missions, but just a bit curious.
Also, gates seem to have (tiny) HP bars floating above them, perhaps turn off their actors’ status bar?
Have you considered adding alerts? Like, if Reeves is attacked, a dropship flies in with one of those detector guards and start looking for him? Might be a bit too cramped to work, but it could be cool.
In the loading screen, it says “As our heroes appear to getting close to uncovering the truth…”, should be “appear to be getting”
There is an extra space between “the” and “range” in the yellow text of Reeves’ cloaking device
When you get the enviromental distraction help tip, it says “by shifting it’s (the security guard’s) attention to something else”, should be “its” since it’s possessive
Also, in the cinematic where Reeves hacks the first computer, the camera seemed to be jiggly/shaking rapidly before going back to normal – dunno if it was a one-time bug or not
Just a question: why is there a big gap between “Choose Difficulty” and the actual difficulty buttons in the beginning? I’ve noticed it in the previous missions, but just a bit curious.
Also, gates seem to have (tiny) HP bars floating above them, perhaps turn off their actors’ status bar?
Good you noticed these. Pretty surprised at the amount of grammatical errors I left unnoticed myself, but that's why it's great you guys are there!
About the Difficulty Selection: I know it's pretty far, and I tried to make a smaller gap back during mission 1, but dialogs are incredibly difficult to get at the exact right area, and everytime I went for a smaller gap, the four difficulty buttons would like either not fit in the dialog entirely, or they would overlap and irritating issues like that. What I ended up with was basically the best I could do, as after a while I simply couldn't be bothered.
Have you considered adding alerts? Like, if Reeves is attacked, a dropship flies in with one of those detector guards and start looking for him? Might be a bit too cramped to work, but it could be cool.
You know, in early testing of the map I had a mechanic similar to this, as I felt it was natural that a base would react more aggresively when someone was sneaking into their base.
Basically, the main reason there are so many different garage doodads all over the area is because originally, if you got caught, 1-3 guards (Depending on the area you were discovered it. Generally, one security guard and a couple marines) would spawn out of the them and chase you around for some time. When I began working on the main compound with the very cramped spaces (After the second cinematic) I decided to scrap this feature, as it made it very hard for me to survive even on Casual because there just weren't enough open spaces where you could hide, which I suppose is my own fault for designing the map that way.
I might find a workaround. Maybe do what you said and create a dropship specifically with 1 Security Guard, and maybe give you shared vision and possibly reduce its movement speed by a bit? I'll have to test it out, but I definitely would like to implement that into the mission. It certainly feels way more realistic!
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
I think a dropship would give the player some time to react. Obviously, once the guard lands, the player would have to move, but many of the sections are very circle-formed, it could be possible to avoid it. And if not: well, it's supposed to be difficult!
But yeah, it's annoying when you get an idea so late in the creation of a mission!
Okay, I'm starting to work on some of the changes you guys suggested. One thing I'm particularly focusing on at the moment is the dialogue at the final mission where the CPG guys arrive by dropship. I've attempted to change it a bit to make it more belieavable and this is what I've thought about:
The dialogue below is from right after the CPG forces arrive to Reeves' location by dropship. Arrow's dialogue is what I've added, while the rest remains the same.
Reeves: You sure got here fast.
Ferring: As you got closer to the base, we did our best to reach your location as fast as possible. We didn’t want to leave you alone for this.
Arrow: Thanks to you, we’ve got a good indication of the layout of this area, and we were, as result, able to calculate the easiest possible way to reach you.
Ferring: Now, let's move!
This indicates that the CPG guys have gotten a good idea of how the region is set-up, because of the fact that Arrow's been tracking Reeves' position down. I know it isn't perfect, but I think it will help make it just a bit more believable. What do you guys think?
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StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
@EivindL: Go
I think sometime around or shortly after Christmas would be doable. I am finished with the Terrain with mission 7 and for mission 8, it's about 80% done. Then I'll of course have to work on the triggers, but they usually don't take as long.
I'm also planning to upload Terrain Preview #2 on my YouTube-channel soon. I'll most likely post it here as well.
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Starcraft II: A War Story Campaign - A multi-act campaign with custom factions. Follow my discord for updates: https://discord.gg/Ztu44gZ
If you want to see a list of other awesome campaigns, go to: Custom Campaign Initiative
The next missions are coming soon. Have a little taste of the maps in their fully terrained version in my second Terrain Preview.
Also, prepare for a big plot development in A08. Even a minor one in A07 too! Stay tuned!
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Starcraft II: A War Story Campaign - A multi-act campaign with custom factions. Follow my discord for updates: https://discord.gg/Ztu44gZ
If you want to see a list of other awesome campaigns, go to: Custom Campaign Initiative
Terrain looks amazing, great job! I love the installation/tropical jungle combination for the second map and those lava canyons in the first one. Dunno if that's the music you'll be using in the actual maps, but it's very fitting. Now you got me hyped up for the missions. :P
Wow.
Ohh yes! let me give a like and if i could ill give 50 more for that vid showing lovely terrain i look at it like 5 times already and is AMAZING work! Hope to play it soon. keep us updated on your progress please.
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Sick!!! Can't wait to start playing your campaign again!!
Alright, I've released Mission 7 and 8. To download, click here. Very excited to hear people's thoughts on these. Major plot developments coming up in both missions.
As always, previous missions in need of updating have also been released. There weren't that many this time, as I did a major update not so long ago, and most of these changes are purely cosmetic anyway but here they are, listed in order:
The following changes affect every mission
Notable differences in A01 include:
Notable differences in A04 include:
Notable differences in A05 include:
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Starcraft II: A War Story Campaign - A multi-act campaign with custom factions. Follow my discord for updates: https://discord.gg/Ztu44gZ
If you want to see a list of other awesome campaigns, go to: Custom Campaign Initiative
Hell yes! Will play this tomorrow after work! I've been replaying the campaign (with great pleasure), trying to pick up clues, and I can't wait to see what happens next!
I did an interview with Jayborino today as well, and Annihilation came up. Expect the video on Monday (or sometime soon).
@EivindL: Go
I'm pleased to know you are still enjoying the previous missions. That's great, an honestly, I thank you for actually telling me about the interview. I've been anticipating its upload for quite some time now :D
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Starcraft II: A War Story Campaign - A multi-act campaign with custom factions. Follow my discord for updates: https://discord.gg/Ztu44gZ
If you want to see a list of other awesome campaigns, go to: Custom Campaign Initiative
Just finished playing the first mission, had lots of fun! :D Can't wait to see how the plot develops over the next mission, that ending was quite something. But I'll leave mission 8 for tomorrow, took me 2-3 hours to finally beat this one. :P
I like the choice between the two strains, would be sweet getting more such choices in later missions. Though, I didn't find all that many cliffs to make use of Raptors with, but the combat leap and bonus damage were good nonetheless.
Generally, I liked this mission, it was a good mix of defense with offense and had me spreading my forces everywhere. Don't think I've spread so much creep before in my life. :P It was nice that you could put a stop to the Terran attacks by destroying their base in the top, I expected them to just rebuild it, giving me a breather and letting me focus on the Emitters before having to re-destroy the base.
At first, I thought it would've been a nightmare to finish the objectives with only 1 base to mine from (could've grabbed that expansion, but that was right next to a hive cluster, defended by Terrans, had only one geyser and was on the opposite side of the map, didn't feel it was worth taking :P) I was relieved to see that I had a lot of minerals and gas in my base, at least. Some more resource pallets around the map would be nice, perhaps when a Command Center/Hatchery is destroyed?
I also liked the rising lava in the background, it was also pretty clever to convert an aesthetic into a gameplay element in the underground part of the level. Speaking of aesthetics, I like how the Psi Emitters' debris is left behind after you destroy them, nice touch! I also like what you did with the reinforcements in the underground section, though I would rather be able to control some of them myself, or at least have the ones that follow you attack what you're attacking, nearly died to lava because of those lazy critters not helping destroy the rocks :P
Difficulty was a little harder than what I expected, was quite challenging even on Normal. Spawn Banelings was awesome though, definitely one of the most useful abilities you could've given Krayen for this mission.
Also, some notes:
Mission 7:
Another great mission!
I'll talk about the negative stuff first. You should modify the psi destroyer death model, as its too big. Krayen destroys it, and it just becomes so incredibly large.
Secondly, finding the zerg before the second part can be a bit tricky. I spent quite some time locating them the first time. Some of them were hard to find partly because they were obscured by the large psi destroyer model, but also because I think they were burrowed (had to make overseers to learn that). I'm guessing this is the reason we're told to destroy all zerg before we move on? I just took out the hatcheries and stuff like that, thinking the reason the message existed was too remind us that the surviving zerg might build up and attack us.
I'm not sure you need the objective, but if you want it, I suppose you could consider some adjustments (adding a unit counter ala Outbreak might be wise).
Thirdly, loading a map shows the minimap revealed, which is kind of a spoiler I guess. You can change it under Map Info ("Map Preview").
Now, the positives. I'd hate to repeat myself, but you've done it again. The music, the gameplay, the terrain; it's all top-notch as ever. I really liked the structure of the map; how you could move around in different directions and take different paths to reach the same goal. I also liked how you had to be on the move, protecting spore cannons that were away from your base. The corrupted zerg mechanic was awesome as well. I really found a use for the hold position button!
Loved the second part. Lava rising is always cool, and it works as well in a micro setting as it does in a macro map. Loved the gate control puzzle too. Really RPG-like!
The story is great! Shoulda seen the end coming, but I didn't, even though the hints are there! Can't wait too see where this goes. Love that you use 7 missions to build up to it, as it really rewards the player for getting this far.
PS: I played the mission on Hard, and although I had to load a few times due to Krayen dying, I wouldn't say it was superhard. Then again, maybe that's what Brutal is for.
Mission 8:
Wow. This might very well contend with mission 6 as your best. I can't really think of much negative to say about it, except I was a bit confused as to how Reeves could be surprised that the enemy was the RSSI, even though both the loading screen and the player name revealed it. I know he can't read that, but I thought it meant that the characters knew it.
Anyway, everything else was fantastic. The moment where Reeves figured out the identity of the enemy was great (and it was foreshadowed quite well). The small teasers, such as the mysterious "shadow soldier" making his appearance and the ending, were great. I loved how we got a callback to Reeves' background story from mission 1, though I must admit I had to consult the message log after to make sure I got everything (I didn't). Quite a lot of information to consume!
I love how you come up with all these small mission mechanics. How do you do it? Every 5 minutes there is something new, and I had to stop and think about my tactics all the time. Loved the part where I had to follow that guy.
However, I'd recommend using a periodic "Unit in region" condition instead of an "Unit enters region" event when we have to go through the door (the "knock, knock" part). Being a mapmaker, I figured out pretty quickly that I had to leave and then enter the region for the trigger to run, but other players might not get that.
Also, how did the rest of the characters get in the base in the end, just like that? Mighty suspicious... not sure I bought the explanation.
I'm excited to see where this goes next! Seriously, playing this mission has forced me to go back to the drawing board and make my missions more detailed. Luckily, there's room for it!
Oh, and another thing: how did you get Reeves to not auto-attack enemy units in the last part, while still being able to attack them manually?
@StealthToast: Go
To be honest, I barely ever got the expansion myself, as I simply don't find it neccesary. I did of course want to give players that might want that the option too, however it is very hard to take control of, because as you say, there are two Zerg bases that both move past that area, as well as some Terran waves will go through there too. It requires you to have at least taken out one of the two bases and have a good defense. Not really worth the time nor money in the end of the day for my playstyle.
Additional mineral and gas pallets when destroying Hatcheries and such would be a good idea, I agree. Would certainly help people get some more units quickly, and also be more rewarding :)
Yeah, I thought about that, but decided in the end to stick with them being allied to you. This does make them lazy, though, as you mention. One of the reasons was that I needed Krayen to be alone for the final cinematic, and it just worked better imo, having to only control Krayen, while the Zerg support you. I don't know, as I mentioned, I did go through a lot of iterations on what to do, and there may be a possibility for changes later.
Was there anything in particular that you found difficult? What was your biggest problem while playing? The Zerg attacks, the Terran attacks? Or a combination of different things?
Good eye! All of these are things that definitely could be improved.
@EivindL: Go
Trust me, I would have easily noticed something like this, and changed it to fit the size. I actually found that bug quite hilarious. That honestly never happened to me. Normally, the death model changes automatically according to the size of the unit that uses it, but I'll see to that.
I'll look some of the other negatives as well. The objective, I personally feel is pretty important to fit Krayen's goals, which is retaking control of his homeworld, eradicating all corrupted Zerg or Terran invaders. I've also thought about the fact that Overseers is basically a neccessity to beat the mission. Lower skill players might not think to make those this early in the campaign, although maybe I could edit the objective based on the difficulty.
Glad you enjoyed it, and what is important to know is that the player already knew who the R.S.S.I was by mission 3. So, by mission 8, the colors and the insignias are all familiar to the player. What the mission description does, is it recaps the story out of the information that the player has, not neccesarily the characters of the story. I guess it was a bit of a mistake I made during the development of mission 3, actually already revealing their names instead of simply tagging them as "Terran Invaders" or something like that.
Honestly, I don't know why I didn't do that. I even made the mistake several times, where I would run in a little too early, and actually have to run back out again to activate the trigger. Would definitely work much better.
Heh, that was purely bad writing on my part. Basically, I knew I would have Reeves infiltrate the compound alone, but didn't take into consideration the fact that I needed the entire team for the ending reveal and the entrance into the laboratories. It was right before I was actually making the final cinematic that I finally noticed this mistake. As a result, I made a quick decision and just made them fly to your location when you located the base, (which is not that believable I know.) :P
That's pretty simple. Basically, under Weapons at the very bottom, there is something called "Target: Scan Filters" that checks which units are automatically attacked by your weapon. What I did was uncheck "Enemy" and that's it! :)
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Starcraft II: A War Story Campaign - A multi-act campaign with custom factions. Follow my discord for updates: https://discord.gg/Ztu44gZ
If you want to see a list of other awesome campaigns, go to: Custom Campaign Initiative
Hmm...I probably had most trouble moving out to destroy Psi Emitters, there was always the chance that any of the other zerg would attack me and/or the R.S.S.I. would go after a Spore Cannon while I was out attacking. Don't get me wrong though, didn't find it too difficult, I feel it's fine as it is.
Oh, alright. That's good to hear. I just sounded like it was a bit too much to handle since you said it was harder than expected :)
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Starcraft II: A War Story Campaign - A multi-act campaign with custom factions. Follow my discord for updates: https://discord.gg/Ztu44gZ
If you want to see a list of other awesome campaigns, go to: Custom Campaign Initiative
Btw, I remembered something: in the 7th mission, there is a marine talking to a Goliath who was turning at random. Should probably turn that off. I checked it and saw that you had Delay Fidget Max set to 999, but had Delay Min set at 10. The best way to do it would simply be to set Turn to 0 instead of 33.
Just completed mission 8, and I have to agree with EivindL, it is definitely one of your best ones (if not the best so far). I also liked how it was a “take your time and think” mission, it’s a nice change of pace from the previous “think fast on the go” mission.
As I said before on the video, terrain was amazing, so many details here and there. You sure had a lot of mechanics going on in the mission, like the interactive environment and the follow-that-person section, kept me interested and had me switch up my strategy every now and again. Gotta say it was one of the most interesting missions I’ve played so far, not just out of SC2 custom campaigns, but RTS in general.
Though I found it kind of weird that the 3 other guys managed to catch up to Reeves and get to his location so fast in the end, considering how heavily guarded the place was. Was a little suspicious they were R.S.S.I. spies for a second :P
Sorry that I don't have much else to say, I liked it all the way, can't really think of anything negative or positive that hasn't been said before.
Also, noticed some (very minor) typos:
Have you considered adding alerts? Like, if Reeves is attacked, a dropship flies in with one of those detector guards and start looking for him? Might be a bit too cramped to work, but it could be cool.
@StealthToast: Go
Good you noticed these. Pretty surprised at the amount of grammatical errors I left unnoticed myself, but that's why it's great you guys are there!
About the Difficulty Selection: I know it's pretty far, and I tried to make a smaller gap back during mission 1, but dialogs are incredibly difficult to get at the exact right area, and everytime I went for a smaller gap, the four difficulty buttons would like either not fit in the dialog entirely, or they would overlap and irritating issues like that. What I ended up with was basically the best I could do, as after a while I simply couldn't be bothered.
@EivindL: Go
You know, in early testing of the map I had a mechanic similar to this, as I felt it was natural that a base would react more aggresively when someone was sneaking into their base. Basically, the main reason there are so many different garage doodads all over the area is because originally, if you got caught, 1-3 guards (Depending on the area you were discovered it. Generally, one security guard and a couple marines) would spawn out of the them and chase you around for some time. When I began working on the main compound with the very cramped spaces (After the second cinematic) I decided to scrap this feature, as it made it very hard for me to survive even on Casual because there just weren't enough open spaces where you could hide, which I suppose is my own fault for designing the map that way.
I might find a workaround. Maybe do what you said and create a dropship specifically with 1 Security Guard, and maybe give you shared vision and possibly reduce its movement speed by a bit? I'll have to test it out, but I definitely would like to implement that into the mission. It certainly feels way more realistic!
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Starcraft II: A War Story Campaign - A multi-act campaign with custom factions. Follow my discord for updates: https://discord.gg/Ztu44gZ
If you want to see a list of other awesome campaigns, go to: Custom Campaign Initiative
I think a dropship would give the player some time to react. Obviously, once the guard lands, the player would have to move, but many of the sections are very circle-formed, it could be possible to avoid it. And if not: well, it's supposed to be difficult!
But yeah, it's annoying when you get an idea so late in the creation of a mission!
Okay, I'm starting to work on some of the changes you guys suggested. One thing I'm particularly focusing on at the moment is the dialogue at the final mission where the CPG guys arrive by dropship. I've attempted to change it a bit to make it more belieavable and this is what I've thought about:
The dialogue below is from right after the CPG forces arrive to Reeves' location by dropship. Arrow's dialogue is what I've added, while the rest remains the same.
This indicates that the CPG guys have gotten a good idea of how the region is set-up, because of the fact that Arrow's been tracking Reeves' position down. I know it isn't perfect, but I think it will help make it just a bit more believable. What do you guys think?
StarCraft II: Annihilation Campaign - A 24 mission single-player campaign featuring unique heroes, custom tracks, boss battles, a varied set of mission scenarios and three intersecting storylines.
Starcraft II: A War Story Campaign - A multi-act campaign with custom factions. Follow my discord for updates: https://discord.gg/Ztu44gZ
If you want to see a list of other awesome campaigns, go to: Custom Campaign Initiative