I posted a while ago on SC2Mapster about this project when it was in it's very early stages. At this time, I'm pleased to announce that Cortex Map is already out on Battle.net (NA and EU), and I am reposting a more detailed overview.
Cortex is a roleplaying map like DoBRP, CotMRP, or SotDRP on Warcraft 3. For those not familiar with the genre, roleplaying maps are essentially giant sandboxes where the players can create whatever they desire, and create stories with them and the other players.
To create what they want, players must use specialized chat commands. Cortex currently specializes in this, with the most advanced chat interpreter for Blizzard games ever written to my knowledge. The Cortex interpreter is capable of handling all kinds of commands, like "@life 45" to set life to 45, or "@life 100%" to heal your unit fully., or even your own commands that you can create. The goal with Cortex is to create flexibility in the way you roleplay, so that you can do things the way you want to. If you don't like the way we've written the commands, you can re-name them! If you don't like for example, typing "@spawn", you can create an alias so that "sp" does the same thing. In addition, your aliases are saved between maps so that you don't have to set them up every time.
These benefits are not just for the Cortex roleplay, however. Cortex's extensive roleplaying library is completely open-source and free for anyone to use in their maps. The library was written from the ground up with modularity as one of our primary concerns. The Cortex library can just about be dragged and dropped into your map without much effort at all.
Cortex was also written for speed. All of the chat system is run through one chat event, and has a runtime of O(1), using no loops or chained if statements whatsoever. In other words, Cortex takes advantage of everything new Starcraft 2 has to offer over Warcraft 3.
Here are some screenshots of what we've already accomplished. Anything non-standard appearing in these screenshots was changed using the chat system.
Screenshots Moved to bottom of page!
The screenshots only represent a fairly small portion of what exactly is possible as of yet.
In addition to all of the abundant features in the map itself, we also have a listing of commands (incomplete as of yet, but the site itself is new) on our website.
Right now, what would help most with this project's development is more ideas for new and exciting commands, anyone who is willing to submit terrains, or anyone who would be interested in working on custom unit development.
There's no download link anywhere because a beta's been published on Battle.net 2.0 already. I may upload one of our beta terrains in the future though. I've been overwhelmed writing the documentation for all the commands on the website. xD
wow.. this is awesome... i mostly played rp maps on SC1, and not so much on sc2(didnt really enjoy much more than the editor in wc3 actually) and i will surely enjoy playing this!
Like what the point of these are (not to sound harsh since people obviously enjoy it). Wouldn't it be quicker to just do it in the editor and host a custom game with your friends? I joined a few in SC1 and it was just people screwing around so idk how these are supposed to be properly played. I guess I don't understand the semantics and act of role playing.
Like what the point of these are (not to sound harsh since people obviously enjoy it). Wouldn't it be quicker to just do it in the editor and host a custom game with your friends? I joined a few in SC1 and it was just people screwing around so idk how these are supposed to be properly played. I guess I don't understand the semantics and act of role playing.
While you could certainly open up the editor, build to your heart's content, and then host a game with your friends, this still wouldn't accomplish what Cortex can do: which is let everyone build on one map (and adjust/change things accordingly while the map is played). If you've ever seen roleplaying in WoW, it occurred on the character level and there wasn't anything you could do aside from what you could do on a regular server. The idea of RTS roleplaying is that you control every aspect of the world you build. And you can tell a story, instead of with a character, with the entire world. While character-level roleplays still do occur in Cortex, you'll find that most roleplays have a more macroscopic approach, utilizing multiple units, and even towns.
I suppose an easier way to think of it might be: roleplaying on WoW with GM commands.
Make sure to dress up when you play this for ROLEPLAY OVERDRIVE.
Really crazy idea though. I could see it turning into.. i don't even know. I guess that's the point! Unlimited possibilities. Are you going to make it have future support for custom modules. For example, have it so that players can set up a dungeon-esque environment and create their own characters to go through it?
I'm not sure what all ideas you have planned, but I remember a great idea from a SC:BW RP. I haven't seen it replicated since and it was one of my favorite maps, however I can't recall the name of it now. Basically, you had your own hull for your ship, which a part of the map was "cut out" and had various outlines, i.e. battlecruiser, wraith, scout, and even zerg air units like the guardian, you could then make your own interior for your ship. You'd have your captain and the bridge and guards and whew.. It was awesome, of course back then we used arbiters for boarding parties and raids.
I know this feedback might not be what you wanted, but I'd love to see it implemented.
What about making GUI for popular commands? Imagine that you select unit and a window materializes what shows you unit stats and there are a lots of buttons to use.
We'll have "interior" areas similar to those in Warcraft 3 roleplays, and there's no reason a terrainer can't shape them like the hull of a Starcraft-style ship. :) I agree though, that would be incredibly fun. I just don't have direct control over what the terrainers do, they basically have complete freedom since they're freelancers.
It's another great idea, but unfortunately I have no plans for a GUI at the moment. The Cortex Engine is very extendable though, so there's no reason one couldn't eventually be done. I'm focusing on stuff that was already done in WC3 though, before adding stuff that's new in SC2.
We'll have "interior" areas similar to those in Warcraft 3 roleplays, and there's no reason a terrainer can't shape them like the hull of a Starcraft-style ship. :) I agree though, that would be incredibly fun. I just don't have direct control over what the terrainers do, they basically have complete freedom since they're freelancers.
It's another great idea, but unfortunately I have no plans for a GUI at the moment. The Cortex Engine is very extendable though, so there's no reason one couldn't eventually be done. I'm focusing on stuff that was already done in WC3 though, before adding stuff that's new in SC2.
For the love of plx, get those interior hulls in there!
I'm unaware of the WC3 stuff, sadly. I didn't play it online quite as much. Throw in a good word for the hull interior terrain ;].
I've updated screenshots with stuff that is now possible in 1.1 Beta. The newer screenshots also include real Battle.net roleplaying in action.
Everything you see in these maps are player-created, even the majority of doodads, giant leviathan-overmind-thing, and Enter buttons.
Cortex RP is without a doubt the single best innovation in humanity. For reference, I've compiled a table of achievements of mankind:
1. Cortex RP - Zenith of human creation. It's all down hill from here.
2. Fire - Allowed humankind to spread to the harsh Northlands and survive the winters of Europe.
3. Rocketry - Allowed for space travel, as well as intercontinental artillery.
4. Wheel - Allowed for urban sprawl, industrialism, and expansionism.
5. Code of Ethics - Allows for peace and order.
I'd like to note that cortex already has 5-6 Terrains available,from the beautiful Xil,Zhakul'das,and Swamp,to the free,open, and still good lookin Pridewater ;).To boot even more Terrains will be released with the Stable 1.1 Release.
If you want to see what we got so far,it's easy to do,just go to create game and type cortex in the search filter,or if you go down a few pages you'll find Cortex - Swamp,which is the current beta version.
And yeah,as Motive said,very little mod work atm (mostly bug fixes related to how campaign units work,and enabling future abilities on some units),so whatever you see there is some players genius :)
Im a Great map maker i have a map about to be posted Its a wow game i used a model pack i got offline and got to builing.but the sad thing is i have hughes net which means i have a limited amount of stuff i can download.300 mb is all SO i need to be able to play Cortex roleplay single player and I DONT KNOW HOW TO DO THAT!!....
um, can you make a standard map that has the cortex engine already scripted in it, it would make creating cortex maps much easier. Although you do not like with such an idea, (as with your comments on this idea on the cortex website) your policies clearly state that one must give credit to you when making a map, and must comply with your standards. Thus, it is pretty much logical to set up a pre-made map to help map makers create cortex maps without, in words, wasting hours of time. Thank you...
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I posted a while ago on SC2Mapster about this project when it was in it's very early stages. At this time, I'm pleased to announce that Cortex Map is already out on Battle.net (NA and EU), and I am reposting a more detailed overview.
Cortex is a roleplaying map like DoBRP, CotMRP, or SotDRP on Warcraft 3. For those not familiar with the genre, roleplaying maps are essentially giant sandboxes where the players can create whatever they desire, and create stories with them and the other players.
To create what they want, players must use specialized chat commands. Cortex currently specializes in this, with the most advanced chat interpreter for Blizzard games ever written to my knowledge. The Cortex interpreter is capable of handling all kinds of commands, like "@life 45" to set life to 45, or "@life 100%" to heal your unit fully., or even your own commands that you can create. The goal with Cortex is to create flexibility in the way you roleplay, so that you can do things the way you want to. If you don't like the way we've written the commands, you can re-name them! If you don't like for example, typing "@spawn", you can create an alias so that "sp" does the same thing. In addition, your aliases are saved between maps so that you don't have to set them up every time.
These benefits are not just for the Cortex roleplay, however. Cortex's extensive roleplaying library is completely open-source and free for anyone to use in their maps. The library was written from the ground up with modularity as one of our primary concerns. The Cortex library can just about be dragged and dropped into your map without much effort at all.
Cortex was also written for speed. All of the chat system is run through one chat event, and has a runtime of O(1), using no loops or chained if statements whatsoever. In other words, Cortex takes advantage of everything new Starcraft 2 has to offer over Warcraft 3.
Here are some screenshots of what we've already accomplished. Anything non-standard appearing in these screenshots was changed using the chat system.
Screenshots
Moved to bottom of page!
The screenshots only represent a fairly small portion of what exactly is possible as of yet.
In addition to all of the abundant features in the map itself, we also have a listing of commands (incomplete as of yet, but the site itself is new) on our website.
Right now, what would help most with this project's development is more ideas for new and exciting commands, anyone who is willing to submit terrains, or anyone who would be interested in working on custom unit development.
I look forward to working with you. :)
Helpful Links
Website: CortexRP.com
Forum: CortexRP.com/forums/
Changelog: GitHub.com
Great project!
I can't find any download link ... :(
@vjeux: Go
There's no download link anywhere because a beta's been published on Battle.net 2.0 already. I may upload one of our beta terrains in the future though. I've been overwhelmed writing the documentation for all the commands on the website. xD
I still don't really get how these roleplaying games work...
@Atl0s: Go
What don't you get exactly? The semantics of how to roleplay, or just the act of roleplaying in itself?
wow.. this is awesome... i mostly played rp maps on SC1, and not so much on sc2(didnt really enjoy much more than the editor in wc3 actually) and i will surely enjoy playing this!
o.o
MotiveMe...
I love you...
In the most heterosexual manner...
ROLEPLAYING ON SC2 BABEH!!!
@MotiveMe: Go
Like what the point of these are (not to sound harsh since people obviously enjoy it). Wouldn't it be quicker to just do it in the editor and host a custom game with your friends? I joined a few in SC1 and it was just people screwing around so idk how these are supposed to be properly played. I guess I don't understand the semantics and act of role playing.
While you could certainly open up the editor, build to your heart's content, and then host a game with your friends, this still wouldn't accomplish what Cortex can do: which is let everyone build on one map (and adjust/change things accordingly while the map is played). If you've ever seen roleplaying in WoW, it occurred on the character level and there wasn't anything you could do aside from what you could do on a regular server. The idea of RTS roleplaying is that you control every aspect of the world you build. And you can tell a story, instead of with a character, with the entire world. While character-level roleplays still do occur in Cortex, you'll find that most roleplays have a more macroscopic approach, utilizing multiple units, and even towns.
I suppose an easier way to think of it might be: roleplaying on WoW with GM commands.
Make sure to dress up when you play this for ROLEPLAY OVERDRIVE.
Really crazy idea though. I could see it turning into.. i don't even know. I guess that's the point! Unlimited possibilities. Are you going to make it have future support for custom modules. For example, have it so that players can set up a dungeon-esque environment and create their own characters to go through it?
@MotiveMe
I'm not sure what all ideas you have planned, but I remember a great idea from a SC:BW RP. I haven't seen it replicated since and it was one of my favorite maps, however I can't recall the name of it now. Basically, you had your own hull for your ship, which a part of the map was "cut out" and had various outlines, i.e. battlecruiser, wraith, scout, and even zerg air units like the guardian, you could then make your own interior for your ship. You'd have your captain and the bridge and guards and whew.. It was awesome, of course back then we used arbiters for boarding parties and raids.
I know this feedback might not be what you wanted, but I'd love to see it implemented.
A tractor-beam command would be nice, too.
What about making GUI for popular commands? Imagine that you select unit and a window materializes what shows you unit stats and there are a lots of buttons to use.
@Hartgarde: Go
We'll have "interior" areas similar to those in Warcraft 3 roleplays, and there's no reason a terrainer can't shape them like the hull of a Starcraft-style ship. :) I agree though, that would be incredibly fun. I just don't have direct control over what the terrainers do, they basically have complete freedom since they're freelancers.
@PvtChevron: Go
It's another great idea, but unfortunately I have no plans for a GUI at the moment. The Cortex Engine is very extendable though, so there's no reason one couldn't eventually be done. I'm focusing on stuff that was already done in WC3 though, before adding stuff that's new in SC2.
For the love of plx, get those interior hulls in there!
I'm unaware of the WC3 stuff, sadly. I didn't play it online quite as much. Throw in a good word for the hull interior terrain ;].
I've updated screenshots with stuff that is now possible in 1.1 Beta. The newer screenshots also include real Battle.net roleplaying in action.
Everything you see in these maps are player-created, even the majority of doodads, giant leviathan-overmind-thing, and Enter buttons.
Cortex RP is without a doubt the single best innovation in humanity. For reference, I've compiled a table of achievements of mankind:
1. Cortex RP - Zenith of human creation. It's all down hill from here. 2. Fire - Allowed humankind to spread to the harsh Northlands and survive the winters of Europe. 3. Rocketry - Allowed for space travel, as well as intercontinental artillery. 4. Wheel - Allowed for urban sprawl, industrialism, and expansionism. 5. Code of Ethics - Allows for peace and order.
I'd like to note that cortex already has 5-6 Terrains available,from the beautiful Xil,Zhakul'das,and Swamp,to the free,open, and still good lookin Pridewater ;).To boot even more Terrains will be released with the Stable 1.1 Release.
If you want to see what we got so far,it's easy to do,just go to create game and type cortex in the search filter,or if you go down a few pages you'll find Cortex - Swamp,which is the current beta version.
And yeah,as Motive said,very little mod work atm (mostly bug fixes related to how campaign units work,and enabling future abilities on some units),so whatever you see there is some players genius :)
Im a Great map maker i have a map about to be posted Its a wow game i used a model pack i got offline and got to builing.but the sad thing is i have hughes net which means i have a limited amount of stuff i can download.300 mb is all SO i need to be able to play Cortex roleplay single player and I DONT KNOW HOW TO DO THAT!!....
....HELP ME....
....Enlighten me....
...Teach me....
....Give me guidance....
...Please...
@MotiveMe: Go
um, can you make a standard map that has the cortex engine already scripted in it, it would make creating cortex maps much easier. Although you do not like with such an idea, (as with your comments on this idea on the cortex website) your policies clearly state that one must give credit to you when making a map, and must comply with your standards. Thus, it is pretty much logical to set up a pre-made map to help map makers create cortex maps without, in words, wasting hours of time. Thank you...