Good idea. Didn't think of it before, but a three-way conflict should be a given in this campaign. I'll see if I can squeeze it in somewhere.
I've tried my hand at it before, and made it work (though I understand your complaints). I did it in CM09, which has a MOBA scenario where the troops that invade are not your allies. I also did it in AM03, where you block off the zerg to re-route them towards the protoss. I used shared vision with the protoss to see the progress of the zerg.
Some thirty years ago, financial markets in the second sector of the Euler Quadrant began experiencing a massive meltdown, culminating in a widespread depression that cost millions of people their jobs. What followed was half a decade of low economic growth, substantial monetary deflation and a growing resentment not only of the ruling government, but also the entire democratic system.
Out of this chaos emerged a substantial number of populist politicians, none more charismatic than the young Fitzpatrick Felderman, an associate professor in xenomorphology at the University of Calimo. A passionate and well-spoken anarchist, Felderman blamed the crisis primarily on the sector’s legislative system, promising to repeal virtually law in existence if only he was given the power to do so. Mesmerized by his promise of a new beginning, the people lined up behind him, and only a few years after his arrival on the political scene, Fitzpatrick Felderman was elected sector president.
The Great Liberation
Shortly after assuming office, Felderman and his cohorts began deconstructing the state in what would later be known as “The Great Liberation.” Military units were disbanded, prisons were opened, and millions of public-sector jobs were lost.
To this date, historians argue about the success of the program. Many prominent figures criticized Felderman for enacting his agenda too rapidly, arguing that the economy was not given time to adjust to its new structure. Much controversy was made about the numerous corporations who began arming themselves in the wake of the program. Many of them became large, military entities that either killed their competition or forced it to submit to their rule.
Others pointed out how the non-existence of regulations led to an unprecedented level of technological process. Felderman, himself a prominent academic, often spoke favorably in the media about the discoveries he made. Many, particularly those in the trading sector, claimed the program’s success was unparallelled.
Some people learned to adjust to this new reality. The rest were forced to complain in silence. Meanwhile, a new generation was born; one whose members would know a world of laws as only a relic of the past.
The Wolf, the Locust and the Serpentine
Following the ruling government’s end, numerous mercenary companies, ex-military units, and various other special interest groups came together under the leadership of Melio Vhalar to form the Coalition of the Wolf. Only two years after The Great Liberation, Vhalar crowned himself emperor, and although his title gave him no official ruling powers, it still solidified his role as the de facto leader of the sector.
Eventually, the Coalition grew so powerful that it began to draw substantial criticism. Vhalar was accused of desiring a return to a pre-Liberation society, and although he denied this assertion himself, it was not enough to quench his opponents. Many claimed the Coalition’s rule was practically dictatorial in nature, accusing it of exploiting its near-monopoly in military power to silence its enemies and evolve its own rule.
A group of former traders, led by the successful merchant Jason Bell, began rallying support for a new Coalition. In what was originally just meant to be a simple mockery, Vhalar gave an off-hand remark on interplanetary television where he referred to Bell as a “locust”. Instead of dismissing this insult, Bell began to refer to his group as the Locust Union, wearing the nickname in pride instead of shame.
Throughout the two following decades, the Union repeatedly dealt a multitude of vicious blows to the Coalition, and although they never grew large enough to match their enemy in size, their efforts were significant enough for the Coalition to eventually begin regarding them as a serious opponent.
Amidst this grand conflict rose a third military faction, one later dubbed the Serpentine Alliance by outsiders. The animal monicker had no connotation to the group itself, who was primarily a scientifically-minded collection of individuals less interested in warfare than its counterparts, but it nonetheless stuck. To this date, the Alliance has not participated in any major conflicts, preferring instead to remain neutral. According to some reports, they have developed military weapons for both sides. Publicly, they have never expressed any desire to utilize these weapons themselves, adding to their myth as the most enigmatic of the three groups.
At the current moment, it has been only a few days since the Locust Union landed on the remote planet Taurus, which is populated by colonists officially sympathetic to the Coalition. Recognizing this as a power ploy, the Emperor sends his greatest soldier, major Reynia "The Blood Bride" Mallevion, to investigate.
Interesting backstory, brings alot of the Dune mythos into StarCraft, particularly the 'animal' symbolism, given the insidious always uses a snake or scorpion, while evil prefers wolves or rams.
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!)
Some of the things you can expect in this campaign:
A Fallout-style Vault mission not too dissimilar from Annihilation 11, where you control a main hero that has to leave the safe confines of the vault to explore the dangerous exterior.
A zerg stealth mission where you infiltrate a Terran base while they are busy engaging your Hive Cluster.
A dangerous, Hannibal Lecter-esque character confined in the deepest recesses of a laboratory.
A dark moment that is highly unlikely to make you feel well.
Multi-race alliances!
Cinematic interludes!
Plot twists galore!
I'm also trying to think of cool new ideas for the mission launcher, such as doing it HOTS-style, with the main character of each race standing in front of a changing location, depending on your progress. I also thinkered a bit with doing an interactive, Hyperion-style launcher, where you can walk and talk to people and gather lore, with the environment changing as you complete more maps.
I hope it involves changelings. Changelings are cool.
Shit, that's a great idea.
I opened up my "Ideas" document and noticed I have a lot of other cool stuff planned, the only difference being that these ideas aren't "confirmed" yet. Anyway, here they are:
A zerg base powered entirely by overlords instead of creep. Naturally, the enemy has a lot of anti-air.
A boss fight like The End from MGS3. He has an extremely long range, but needs spotters to see you (like Phantom Locust). Naturally, you'll have to avoid the spotters while trying to find him. Expect lots of tall grass.
A playable Protoss faction where the units are twice as costly, but also twice as strong.
A unit that that can be used to guide enemy attack waves to its location (not unlike a psi emitter, I suppose). Can be used to turn one enemy against another.
A favor system where helping one side will anger another.
Specific musical themes for each of the main characters.
A fight where you trap invading units in gas rooms. Kinda like Ossos, except closing the doors automatically kills everyone inside, meaning you don't have to do that yourself. This one is actually technically confirmed.
I don't know why, but i alwais have this obsession that EvindL - Ghostnova and Robear from SCLegacy are the same person... Weird... Maybe because I associate top storywriter - top modeler and top scales accuracy...
Some of the things you can expect in this campaign:
A Fallout-style Vault mission not too dissimilar from Annihilation 11, where you control a main hero that has to leave the safe confines of the vault to explore the dangerous exterior.
A zerg stealth mission where you infiltrate a Terran base while they are busy engaging your Hive Cluster.
A dangerous, Hannibal Lecter-esque character confined in the deepest recesses of a laboratory.
A dark moment that is highly unlikely to make you feel well.
Multi-race alliances!
Cinematic interludes!
Plot twists galore!
I'm also trying to think of cool new ideas for the mission launcher, such as doing it HOTS-style, with the main character of each race standing in front of a changing location, depending on your progress. I also thinkered a bit with doing an interactive, Hyperion-style launcher, where you can walk and talk to people and gather lore, with the environment changing as you complete more maps.
- A RPG mission then? Okay...
- The idea of handling stealth and defense should be interesting.
- Creepy guys tend to usually work well, if you know what you're doing...
- On this dark moment, and also the lab thing, I'm not gonna get a jumpscare outta nowhere, am I?
- Alliances are complicated, mostly because the situation must make sense. Kinda like AE07/08, with the 'hold the Zerg' thing.
- Cinematics are virtually obligatory, nowadays, and the amount of tools available but custom animation allows for a variety of, thus mattering how's it used and how it fits in, particularly the camera. Think the office travelling scene in 'Brazil', for an example...
- Please, in all honesty, do make the plot twists make sense and not use tropes like characters coming back from the dead... Really, at least for me, that one was pretty weak...
I planned alot on how to make up an exclusive 'Hyperion-ish' map, but then when I had to account on how I'd carry for XP, gained tech and credits across, I was forced to give up. I mean, if we could carry at least hero and player XP like WC3 does, then we'd have progress.
I opened up my "Ideas" document and noticed I have a lot of other cool stuff planned, the only difference being that these ideas aren't "confirmed" yet. Anyway, here they are:
A zerg base powered entirely by overlords instead of creep. Naturally, the enemy has a lot of anti-air.
A boss fight like The End from MGS3. He has an extremely long range, but needs spotters to see you (like Phantom Locust). Naturally, you'll have to avoid the spotters while trying to find him. Expect lots of tall grass.
A playable Protoss faction where the units are twice as costly, but also twice as strong.
A unit that that can be used to guide enemy attack waves to its location (not unlike a psi emitter, I suppose). Can be used to turn one enemy against another.
A favor system where helping one side will anger another.
Specific musical themes for each of the main characters.
A fight where you trap invading units in gas rooms. Kinda like Ossos, except closing the doors automatically kills everyone inside, meaning you don't have to do that yourself. This one is actually technically confirmed.
- That'd mostly be trigger-dependant, as there's not much 'splat' power circles like the Protoss Pylons and something. Plus, it'd need to be custom made, what with either orange-glowing Psi-emanation mist coming out of it. Perhaps a good trigger idea is to have the structure actors, when unpowered, tint darker a bit and slow considerably their animations...
- That was virtually the highlight of that game, according to what I read. Should I expect a calmer music to accompany it, or full silence, but the ambience?
- Twice the strength alone wouldn't cut it, you'd want to add some uniqueness to them in abilities and stuff. Think like of Narudek's units from his Vortex of the Void campaign, particularly the Protoss Marauder with bouncing projectiles. Yeah, that one was me.
- That's a bit difficult for me to understand, especially in how you'll pull it off. I guess I'll have to wait a bit, or when it comes out to make an idea of it...
- You could make it a puzzle of trial-and-error. Except, of course, the player has to load it up all over again.
"A favor system where helping one side will anger another."
Once I thought about having mercenaries on a map that you could pay to either protect certain areas (such as civilians) or to send an attack wave at the enemy. Never ended up doing anything with it though. Probably would have been apart of a map where you controlled a hero or small force of units and had no base of your own.
That'd mostly depend on people's strongest race. Mine, for an instance, is Protoss, but other people's strongest races are either Terran or Zerg. Either way, it's better to keep this as unfocused as possible, so there's no favoritism amongst either three races.
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!)
Yes, they do, and the point is that any order has to work. The campaign will likely begin with a disclaimer explaining this shortly. I'll write how for each campaign you play, the more of the big picture you'll see. So in the first campaign you know as much as the characters. In the second and third, you know more than they do.
A made-up example: Say there's a Protoss spy amongst the Terrans. If you play Protoss first, you'll later play the Terran and know there's a spy. Play Terran first, and this'll be a surprise twist.
I have naming some of the missions, as can be seen in the opening post. This should be read as a sign that the story work is progressing. Also: as even the unobservant can see, the writing is not entirely linear.
Good idea. Didn't think of it before, but a three-way conflict should be a given in this campaign. I'll see if I can squeeze it in somewhere.
I've tried my hand at it before, and made it work (though I understand your complaints). I did it in CM09, which has a MOBA scenario where the troops that invade are not your allies. I also did it in AM03, where you block off the zerg to re-route them towards the protoss. I used shared vision with the protoss to see the progress of the zerg.
TERRAN BACKSTORY
Fitzpatrick Felderman
Some thirty years ago, financial markets in the second sector of the Euler Quadrant began experiencing a massive meltdown, culminating in a widespread depression that cost millions of people their jobs. What followed was half a decade of low economic growth, substantial monetary deflation and a growing resentment not only of the ruling government, but also the entire democratic system.
Out of this chaos emerged a substantial number of populist politicians, none more charismatic than the young Fitzpatrick Felderman, an associate professor in xenomorphology at the University of Calimo. A passionate and well-spoken anarchist, Felderman blamed the crisis primarily on the sector’s legislative system, promising to repeal virtually law in existence if only he was given the power to do so. Mesmerized by his promise of a new beginning, the people lined up behind him, and only a few years after his arrival on the political scene, Fitzpatrick Felderman was elected sector president.
The Great Liberation
Shortly after assuming office, Felderman and his cohorts began deconstructing the state in what would later be known as “The Great Liberation.” Military units were disbanded, prisons were opened, and millions of public-sector jobs were lost.
To this date, historians argue about the success of the program. Many prominent figures criticized Felderman for enacting his agenda too rapidly, arguing that the economy was not given time to adjust to its new structure. Much controversy was made about the numerous corporations who began arming themselves in the wake of the program. Many of them became large, military entities that either killed their competition or forced it to submit to their rule.
Others pointed out how the non-existence of regulations led to an unprecedented level of technological process. Felderman, himself a prominent academic, often spoke favorably in the media about the discoveries he made. Many, particularly those in the trading sector, claimed the program’s success was unparallelled.
Some people learned to adjust to this new reality. The rest were forced to complain in silence. Meanwhile, a new generation was born; one whose members would know a world of laws as only a relic of the past.
The Wolf, the Locust and the Serpentine
Following the ruling government’s end, numerous mercenary companies, ex-military units, and various other special interest groups came together under the leadership of Melio Vhalar to form the Coalition of the Wolf. Only two years after The Great Liberation, Vhalar crowned himself emperor, and although his title gave him no official ruling powers, it still solidified his role as the de facto leader of the sector.
Eventually, the Coalition grew so powerful that it began to draw substantial criticism. Vhalar was accused of desiring a return to a pre-Liberation society, and although he denied this assertion himself, it was not enough to quench his opponents. Many claimed the Coalition’s rule was practically dictatorial in nature, accusing it of exploiting its near-monopoly in military power to silence its enemies and evolve its own rule.
A group of former traders, led by the successful merchant Jason Bell, began rallying support for a new Coalition. In what was originally just meant to be a simple mockery, Vhalar gave an off-hand remark on interplanetary television where he referred to Bell as a “locust”. Instead of dismissing this insult, Bell began to refer to his group as the Locust Union, wearing the nickname in pride instead of shame. Throughout the two following decades, the Union repeatedly dealt a multitude of vicious blows to the Coalition, and although they never grew large enough to match their enemy in size, their efforts were significant enough for the Coalition to eventually begin regarding them as a serious opponent.
Amidst this grand conflict rose a third military faction, one later dubbed the Serpentine Alliance by outsiders. The animal monicker had no connotation to the group itself, who was primarily a scientifically-minded collection of individuals less interested in warfare than its counterparts, but it nonetheless stuck. To this date, the Alliance has not participated in any major conflicts, preferring instead to remain neutral. According to some reports, they have developed military weapons for both sides. Publicly, they have never expressed any desire to utilize these weapons themselves, adding to their myth as the most enigmatic of the three groups.
At the current moment, it has been only a few days since the Locust Union landed on the remote planet Taurus, which is populated by colonists officially sympathetic to the Coalition. Recognizing this as a power ploy, the Emperor sends his greatest soldier, major Reynia "The Blood Bride" Mallevion, to investigate.
Interesting backstory, brings alot of the Dune mythos into StarCraft, particularly the 'animal' symbolism, given the insidious always uses a snake or scorpion, while evil prefers wolves or rams.
I haven't read Dune, though I saw the movie. I prefer David Lynch's other work.
Note that each of the factions is in the process of being given detailed custom tech trees by StealthToast. He's truly doing an amazing job.
@EivindL: Go
<3 StealthToast
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!)
Some of the things you can expect in this campaign:
I'm also trying to think of cool new ideas for the mission launcher, such as doing it HOTS-style, with the main character of each race standing in front of a changing location, depending on your progress. I also thinkered a bit with doing an interactive, Hyperion-style launcher, where you can walk and talk to people and gather lore, with the environment changing as you complete more maps.
I hope it involves changelings. Changelings are cool.
Blixor's upcoming campaign has that, it's pretty cool.
Shit, that's a great idea.
I opened up my "Ideas" document and noticed I have a lot of other cool stuff planned, the only difference being that these ideas aren't "confirmed" yet. Anyway, here they are:
I don't know why, but i alwais have this obsession that EvindL - Ghostnova and Robear from SCLegacy are the same person... Weird... Maybe because I associate top storywriter - top modeler and top scales accuracy...
I don't know Robear, even tho I post on SCLegacy occasionally. Ghostnova did the white Janus model, though.
Is the guy of Field Manual scales http://xiaorobear.deviantart.com/
- A RPG mission then? Okay...
- The idea of handling stealth and defense should be interesting.
- Creepy guys tend to usually work well, if you know what you're doing...
- On this dark moment, and also the lab thing, I'm not gonna get a jumpscare outta nowhere, am I?
- Alliances are complicated, mostly because the situation must make sense. Kinda like AE07/08, with the 'hold the Zerg' thing.
- Cinematics are virtually obligatory, nowadays, and the amount of tools available but custom animation allows for a variety of, thus mattering how's it used and how it fits in, particularly the camera. Think the office travelling scene in 'Brazil', for an example...
- Please, in all honesty, do make the plot twists make sense and not use tropes like characters coming back from the dead... Really, at least for me, that one was pretty weak...
I planned alot on how to make up an exclusive 'Hyperion-ish' map, but then when I had to account on how I'd carry for XP, gained tech and credits across, I was forced to give up. I mean, if we could carry at least hero and player XP like WC3 does, then we'd have progress.
- That'd mostly be trigger-dependant, as there's not much 'splat' power circles like the Protoss Pylons and something. Plus, it'd need to be custom made, what with either orange-glowing Psi-emanation mist coming out of it. Perhaps a good trigger idea is to have the structure actors, when unpowered, tint darker a bit and slow considerably their animations...
- That was virtually the highlight of that game, according to what I read. Should I expect a calmer music to accompany it, or full silence, but the ambience?
- Twice the strength alone wouldn't cut it, you'd want to add some uniqueness to them in abilities and stuff. Think like of Narudek's units from his Vortex of the Void campaign, particularly the Protoss Marauder with bouncing projectiles. Yeah, that one was me.
- That's a bit difficult for me to understand, especially in how you'll pull it off. I guess I'll have to wait a bit, or when it comes out to make an idea of it...
- You could make it a puzzle of trial-and-error. Except, of course, the player has to load it up all over again.
@EivindL: Go
"A favor system where helping one side will anger another."
Once I thought about having mercenaries on a map that you could pay to either protect certain areas (such as civilians) or to send an attack wave at the enemy. Never ended up doing anything with it though. Probably would have been apart of a map where you controlled a hero or small force of units and had no base of your own.
Just for curiosity's sake, in what race order would people play the three sub-campaigns?
@EivindL: Go
That'd mostly depend on people's strongest race. Mine, for an instance, is Protoss, but other people's strongest races are either Terran or Zerg. Either way, it's better to keep this as unfocused as possible, so there's no favoritism amongst either three races.
I agree with Delta. I like zerg so I'd play them first.
Come to think of it, if you're not releasing these all at once, then people will just play whatever is released the soonest :P
They all take place in parallel right?
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!)
Yes, they do, and the point is that any order has to work. The campaign will likely begin with a disclaimer explaining this shortly. I'll write how for each campaign you play, the more of the big picture you'll see. So in the first campaign you know as much as the characters. In the second and third, you know more than they do.
A made-up example: Say there's a Protoss spy amongst the Terrans. If you play Protoss first, you'll later play the Terran and know there's a spy. Play Terran first, and this'll be a surprise twist.
Indeed. That's why nothing goes public until everything's done. This means being a tester is an extra privilege this time.
I have naming some of the missions, as can be seen in the opening post. This should be read as a sign that the story work is progressing. Also: as even the unobservant can see, the writing is not entirely linear.