Just wanted you guys to know I'm working on a trailer for this thing. Because recording software for Mac is pretty bad, I'm using Jayborino's clips. Also: since AE isn't anywhere near being finished, this will take a while, but it's looking really cool so far (then again, I only have 30 seconds :P).
Nice. An "all cut-scenes/story" version would also be nice. I think Jayborinoplay's videos can be edited and cut for this purpose. too much work, I know. But, hey, it's always done for games.
Just a thought.
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Whatever you do, wholeheartedly, moment by heartfelt moment, becomes a tool for the expression of your very soul.
I think that would be a bit difficult, and would take too long to be a priority. It's a good suggestion, but other stuff takes precedence. :)
Anyway, I worked up a cut of the trailer. Obviously there are no clips from AE, but I'll add those in when that time comes. I'll also be creating another trailer sometime in the future (it was so much fun creating this one!).
Previously, I had planned for Perfect Soldiers to be just the three campaigns combined (with a few changes here and there), but now I've decided to add new missions as well! And if that wasn't enough, I can confirm that many of them will be both zerg and protoss missions!
These missions will come in-between the old ones (as opposed to before or after), showing the story from different angles. I'm partly inspired by DudkiSC2 here, who showed that multi-perspective stories can work greatly in SC2 custom campaigns.
Now, I haven't worked out all the details yet, and these missions won't see the light of day until Aureolin Eclipse is finished, but I can share a few details:
The story will have a more extensive background story. In the beginning, we'll learn that the setting is essentially a lawless sector. Literally. 10 years before Henderson goes missing, all laws were abolished by a young idealistic president named Fitzpatrick Felderman. This helps explain the rise of Geraldus (essentially a military outfit/corporation), but it will also provide some political philosophy, and eventually serve as build-up to a new, big story moment!
You'll see more of the Khaal-Ro earlier (before they face off against Bayo the first time) as they make their way to Amina.
A new character named Elena Raine will appear. She starts off on Roverville, but is separated from the miners after the Black Khan. She'll get her own little storyline. Wait... did I say "little"? Might not have meant that.
Yojimbo will appear earlier! They were previously mentioned in AS08, but they'll make an actual appearance now, before the Aureolin Eclipse missions.
A new faction, more specifically a mysterious organization named the Sleeper's Awakening.
Holy crap dude, what's going on? Suddenly you just explode with new ideas! :D
Honestly, this sounds really exciting. I like the idea of giving us much more backstory about Geraldus, the characters and whatever else you have in mind. Makes the world you have built seem much more alive and well-thought out.
Now there's something that confuses me and I'm not sure I understand this right:
Will these extra missions be made as part of your CM, AS and AE campaigns, meaning that instead of 10 missions, we will get more? Or will you make a seperate campaign for all of these additional backstory missions?
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.
CM and AS and AE won't exist anymore, at least not in name. In the end, there will only be Perfect Soldiers, so you'll have PS mission 01 to 40 (if the number of extra missions is 10).
This means the new structure might be something like this:
PS01: CM mission 01
PS02: CM mission 02
PS03: New mission
PS04: CM mission 03
So the new missions won't come before or after the old ones, but rather in-between.
Yeah, a 40 mission zip file might be a bit intimidating. Perhaps you could make some arbitrary chapters just for the sake of making it more digestible. It doesnt really need to be even numbers or relying on the setup of the previous campaigns. You could just as well end an act at a cliffhanger or a major plot development mission, and then begin a new act. Like this:
Act 1- Mission 1-5
Act 2- Mission 6-13
Act 3- Mission 13-20
Basicly, writing the Acts around the story, not around even numbers.
I think you guys are right. I'm going back to the drawing board a bit, and I might be keeping the three-part structure.
Would it be wrong to add Geraldus missions too, showing things from their side a bit? Could it work?
I think I might remove the mission Under a Crimson Moon. I like the mission, but it doesn't fit in the context (ending a campaign). The final cinematic will be moved to the mission before it instead.
I think the final structure will be very Game of Thrones like. I'm considering adding prologue and epilogue cinematic for each part, which is very much like the books. I also want different viewpoints, essentially making it feel like a bigger world. However, while the protoss missions in part 1 might focus on Cenereal, the protoss missions in part 2 might focus on someone else.
Showing the Antagonist isn't a bad thing. It shows how menacing the Antagonist really is, a power to be reckoned with.
It also shows some of the stakes, the motivations, what would happen if he wins.
If you watched the Walking Dead, they developed the story's tension by exploring the Governor and his city. His world, his motivation, his minion's deeds, his disgusting and sad affair with a daughter turned zombie, etc.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Whatever you do, wholeheartedly, moment by heartfelt moment, becomes a tool for the expression of your very soul.
Would it be wrong to add Geraldus missions too, showing things from their side a bit? Could it work?
I think I might remove the mission Under a Crimson Moon. I like the mission, but it doesn't fit in the context (ending a campaign). The final cinematic will be moved to the mission before it instead.
Having a different perspective in the campaign sounds like a good idea to me, could shed some light on what Geraldus is like from the inside. Just make sure there aren't all too many Geraldus missions, so that the ones that come in-between normal missions feel more special.
As for Under a Crimson Moon, why not make it a secret level instead of removing it? Similarly to Media Blitz from WoL, by finding a secret "item" or doing something that you normally wouldn't do.
Wow, this is very ambitious, but also awesome! You are a very motivated individual.
I have to say, I personally enjoyed Under a Crimson Moon quite a bit. You're right, the gameplay lacks that finale feel, but maybe it could be included as some sort of sequence between the current CM07 and CM09? It was sort of ambiguous what happens to Janus in that time before magically showing up at the northern base after meeting Quarinius in the abandoned base and this could serve that purpose.
Maybe Janus goes through the mission as a dream sequence (sort of like CM's trippy counterpart to Alzadhar), but it ends before the big reveal. Under a Crimson Moon definitely has that dream-like feel to it. Then he goes on to CM09 followed by the big reveal cinematic. You had talked about including more hints throughout the campaign, maybe the current CM10 could be tweaked for that?
EDIT: Also, the differing viewpoints is a great idea and also a callback to the Brood War days where you didn't want to kill Fenix, but that was the mission objective! You didn't want to kill Khalai survivors as the UED in order to get Mensk and Raynor, but that was the mission objective! This also serves to humanize the other factions and expand the plot overall with more cool tidbits.
Visit my channel where I showcase custom content! Send me a PM or respond to my YouTube thread if you'd like to see your map/s on my channel (eventually!)
So, I tried writing down some of the story in book form. I haven't gotten very far, and I'm not a very good writer, but if anyone wants to read the first chapter, I've attached it in this post. Note that there will be some differences. In addition, the story is much larger now (more akin to how I expect the final PS campaign to be). Knowing where the story goes might make it less exciting, but there's more detail to make up for it, particularly on how life on Roverville is. I also introduce characters like Fitzpatrick Felderman and Elena Raine, both of whom will play important roles in the campaign.
Nice.
Whatever you do, wholeheartedly, moment by heartfelt moment, becomes a tool for the expression of your very soul.
When do you think we'll be able to try all the changes of Crimson Moon and Amber Sun? ( and the next missions of Aureolin Eclipse?)
If I know EivindL, he'll most likely release it all when the campaign's complete. Somewhat the same system I'm employing concerning my campaigns.
Your campaigns?
Lerida, since you asked so nice, how about now? Check the AE thread.
I think the new CM and AS will come later, don't know when.
@EivindL: Go
Thank you very much EivindL, I'll try right away !
Just wanted you guys to know I'm working on a trailer for this thing. Because recording software for Mac is pretty bad, I'm using Jayborino's clips. Also: since AE isn't anywhere near being finished, this will take a while, but it's looking really cool so far (then again, I only have 30 seconds :P).
Nice. An "all cut-scenes/story" version would also be nice. I think Jayborinoplay's videos can be edited and cut for this purpose. too much work, I know. But, hey, it's always done for games.
Just a thought.
Whatever you do, wholeheartedly, moment by heartfelt moment, becomes a tool for the expression of your very soul.
I think that would be a bit difficult, and would take too long to be a priority. It's a good suggestion, but other stuff takes precedence. :)
Anyway, I worked up a cut of the trailer. Obviously there are no clips from AE, but I'll add those in when that time comes. I'll also be creating another trailer sometime in the future (it was so much fun creating this one!).
It's a bit grainy, unfortunately.
Major announcement!
Previously, I had planned for Perfect Soldiers to be just the three campaigns combined (with a few changes here and there), but now I've decided to add new missions as well! And if that wasn't enough, I can confirm that many of them will be both zerg and protoss missions!
These missions will come in-between the old ones (as opposed to before or after), showing the story from different angles. I'm partly inspired by DudkiSC2 here, who showed that multi-perspective stories can work greatly in SC2 custom campaigns.
Now, I haven't worked out all the details yet, and these missions won't see the light of day until Aureolin Eclipse is finished, but I can share a few details:
@EivindL: Go
Holy crap dude, what's going on? Suddenly you just explode with new ideas! :D
Honestly, this sounds really exciting. I like the idea of giving us much more backstory about Geraldus, the characters and whatever else you have in mind. Makes the world you have built seem much more alive and well-thought out.
Now there's something that confuses me and I'm not sure I understand this right:
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
CM and AS and AE won't exist anymore, at least not in name. In the end, there will only be Perfect Soldiers, so you'll have PS mission 01 to 40 (if the number of extra missions is 10).
This means the new structure might be something like this:
So the new missions won't come before or after the old ones, but rather in-between.
Zerg missions, my prayers was usefull :)
40 missions seems intimidating.
Maybe?
Title: Perfect Soldiers
Act 1 - Crimson Moon
Mission 1: .... Mission 2: ...
Act 2 - Amber Sun
Mission 1:...
Act 3 - Aurelian Eclipse
...
Numbers greater than 10 just seem too much!! I can't handle it!! :) Anyways, just a thought.
This will be great! :D
Yeah, a 40 mission zip file might be a bit intimidating. Perhaps you could make some arbitrary chapters just for the sake of making it more digestible. It doesnt really need to be even numbers or relying on the setup of the previous campaigns. You could just as well end an act at a cliffhanger or a major plot development mission, and then begin a new act. Like this:
Act 1- Mission 1-5
Act 2- Mission 6-13
Act 3- Mission 13-20
Basicly, writing the Acts around the story, not around even numbers.
I think you guys are right. I'm going back to the drawing board a bit, and I might be keeping the three-part structure.
Would it be wrong to add Geraldus missions too, showing things from their side a bit? Could it work?
I think I might remove the mission Under a Crimson Moon. I like the mission, but it doesn't fit in the context (ending a campaign). The final cinematic will be moved to the mission before it instead.
I think the final structure will be very Game of Thrones like. I'm considering adding prologue and epilogue cinematic for each part, which is very much like the books. I also want different viewpoints, essentially making it feel like a bigger world. However, while the protoss missions in part 1 might focus on Cenereal, the protoss missions in part 2 might focus on someone else.
Showing the Antagonist isn't a bad thing. It shows how menacing the Antagonist really is, a power to be reckoned with.
It also shows some of the stakes, the motivations, what would happen if he wins.
If you watched the Walking Dead, they developed the story's tension by exploring the Governor and his city. His world, his motivation, his minion's deeds, his disgusting and sad affair with a daughter turned zombie, etc.
Whatever you do, wholeheartedly, moment by heartfelt moment, becomes a tool for the expression of your very soul.
Having a different perspective in the campaign sounds like a good idea to me, could shed some light on what Geraldus is like from the inside. Just make sure there aren't all too many Geraldus missions, so that the ones that come in-between normal missions feel more special.
As for Under a Crimson Moon, why not make it a secret level instead of removing it? Similarly to Media Blitz from WoL, by finding a secret "item" or doing something that you normally wouldn't do.
A secret mission might work.
I don't even think I have that much room for Geraldus missions, so I'm glad you say that. Perhaps 1 for Crimson Moon, and 2 for Amber Sun.
At this moment, I'm thinking 5 extra missions for each campaign. The structure for CM looks something like this now (new missions in italics):
Prologue: The Great Liberation
Epilogue: The Sleeper
Wow, this is very ambitious, but also awesome! You are a very motivated individual.
I have to say, I personally enjoyed Under a Crimson Moon quite a bit. You're right, the gameplay lacks that finale feel, but maybe it could be included as some sort of sequence between the current CM07 and CM09? It was sort of ambiguous what happens to Janus in that time before magically showing up at the northern base after meeting Quarinius in the abandoned base and this could serve that purpose.
Maybe Janus goes through the mission as a dream sequence (sort of like CM's trippy counterpart to Alzadhar), but it ends before the big reveal. Under a Crimson Moon definitely has that dream-like feel to it. Then he goes on to CM09 followed by the big reveal cinematic. You had talked about including more hints throughout the campaign, maybe the current CM10 could be tweaked for that?
EDIT: Also, the differing viewpoints is a great idea and also a callback to the Brood War days where you didn't want to kill Fenix, but that was the mission objective! You didn't want to kill Khalai survivors as the UED in order to get Mensk and Raynor, but that was the mission objective! This also serves to humanize the other factions and expand the plot overall with more cool tidbits.
Visit my channel where I showcase custom content! Send me a PM or respond to my YouTube thread if you'd like to see your map/s on my channel (eventually!)
So, I tried writing down some of the story in book form. I haven't gotten very far, and I'm not a very good writer, but if anyone wants to read the first chapter, I've attached it in this post. Note that there will be some differences. In addition, the story is much larger now (more akin to how I expect the final PS campaign to be). Knowing where the story goes might make it less exciting, but there's more detail to make up for it, particularly on how life on Roverville is. I also introduce characters like Fitzpatrick Felderman and Elena Raine, both of whom will play important roles in the campaign.