SC2Mapster

Little art update on Ghar'zeryn.

I wanted to have additive animations on Ghar'zeryn so his blades could be hidden when out of combat, but I had forgotten how to do so. It was frustrating since I had already done them with Collins' gatling cannon, but I eventually figured it out. (It took me long enough...)

In addition, I changed the blades from the default zealot blades to Alarak's blades. He also has Stand Start animation so transitions are smoother, and a Cover End animation (because I think it's so cool when zealots fire up their blades).

Shield wireframes are also included (finally figured out how to do this, will add it to other protoss heroes as well).

I have the lore behind this one thought out already, but his backstory is something you'll have to find out when you play the campaign. ;)

Also, here's the Antares II.

I made this quite a while ago actually... it is probably by far the single most data-heavy unit I've ever created. I thought perhaps some might want to see it.

Weapons: Scorpius Laser Battery, Stinger Turrets, Pincer Cannons

Splintershock Missiles

Impact Deployment Pods

Starstrafe Fighters

The Antares II is more a cool unit than a functional one at the moment. At the time I was just trying to see what I could do with the Data editor. Inspiration was drawn from the beginning of this cinematic from HotS and the Jericho missile from Iron Man.

And no, Dudki, the R.S.S.I. did not bring Malrick back to life and put him inside another "most powerful war machine ever".

"Death is the great equalizer. It is through instigating it that I have ascended."

-Ghar'zeryn

I've changed the model a bit and added animations (Cover Start/Cover End) for it based on the abilities for the PTV in the mission "Shoot, Steal, Sprint" (tbriggs01).

The basic mechanic of tbriggs01 is a pickup/drop-off system, where you will be gathering supply crates and depositing them at designated locations. I just thought it would be a nice touch to add the animations.

Quote from TheUltragon: Go

Is that one backpad clipping through the right shoulder or is that just the perspective?

Yeah, it's clipping. I'm just a kitbasher, and personally I don't think it looks as odd visually from the distance you'll typically be viewing it from.

Quote from TheUltragon: Go

I'm a little confused by one thing: You first stated that the PTV is made as a more peace-fitted version of the SCV, but in the last part you declare it to be more combat suited. Is the PTV now a better option in general combat than the SCV? Or just in specific situations?

Sorry it's a bit confusing; Alevice pretty much summed it up. SCVs are faster due to the need to be quickly dispatched for repairs and rapid resource gathering on the battlefield. SCVs aren't as designed to protect the driver as PTVs. The resulting bulk from additional protective plating on PTVs makes them slower and can carry larger tools such as the Hypersaw, typically used for gathering lumber and mining but is also superior option in combat situations to the Fusion Cutter. The PTV isn't designed for "peace", but rather settlement, which could involve protection from indigenous species or small rival factions/raiders, etc. You definitely wouldn't want to make an army of these, though.

In tbriggs01, you will be using your PTVs in combat instead of keeping them in the back like you might with SCvs, as they are not as fragile nor DPS-deficient as SCVs.

New Unit

Name

PTV

Role

Terran colony utility vehicle

Description

Modified worker unit suited for planetary settlement. Can gather minerals at a greater rate than regular SCVs.

Lore

The use of the SCV in hotly contested battlezones is unparalleled amidst the hardy technologies of the Terrans in its utility and versatility, able to harvest raw tactical resources such as minerals and vespene gas, critical to assembly and maintenance of the Terran army, in addition to its repair and construction capabilities. However, the need to materialize such machines of war is scarce on more peaceful worlds such as Agria whose primary concerns as newly settled worlds are to simply sustain their populations.

Thus, the concept of the PTV (Planetary Terraforming Vehicle) was developed to support the needs of non-militarized fringe world colonies. These hardy vehicles are bulkier and slower than battlefield-deployed SCVs but can sustain greater loads with ease both with a standardized clamp arm and back mounted frame. The PTV servos are interchangeable with any servos compatible with the SCV, though SCVs lack the programming and mounting requirements for the massive variety of harvesting, construction, and farming tools, often times self-made by the colonists themselves, that can be equipped on the PTV.

PTVs are also designed to be more well suited for combat situations than SCVs, as fringe world colonists typically defend for themselves in lieu of expensive military security forces. Based on older SCV models, which had additional reinforced plating, the PTV boasts sustainable protection from direct dynamite blasts from mining and other punishment that would otherwise leave the fragile SCV destroyed or damaged beyond repair. However, weaponry is generally limited to the equipped utility, as colonists typically settle in scarcely hostile environments where indigenous creatures are the only potential threat to security.

@TheUltragon: Go

Yeah, Photobucket is "down for maintenance" at the moment. It's been like that for longer than I'd expected though; they said it would take from around 10 PM to 2 AM MST.

Thankfully for me it's just a minor inconvenience, as opposed to the case for some who run websites and such reliant on Photobucket services.

EDIT: It should be working now.

The issue with login authentication has been resolved. It's about time there's been an update, huh?

I ended up completely scrapping the original version of the mission "Shoot, Steal, Sprint" (tbriggs01) and a new version from scratch is in progress.

I am currently working on remaking some of the data edits I've done in tbriggs01 and implementing them into the dependency mod for potential future use (namely several reworked versions of the Umojan Lab Door units). Unfortunately I have to recreate them from square one since I can't just copy the XML data; I was too lazy to create duplicates of the units in the map and edited the existing ones instead, and I would like to avoid having edited content in the mod.

I wanted a data solution to automate the doors so that I won't have to create a trigger for every single door. In addition, the ones in the vanilla mod have footprints that don't line up with the cliffs in the desired proportions, so these new ones fit a lot more cleanly for the way the map is being designed.

Hello all! I apologize that there haven't been any updates for a long while now. Unfortunately, I have been unable to use the editor or even launch Starcraft II at all due to authentication errors I've been having with the account I'm using.

Hopefully this will be resolved soon. However, this does give an opportunity for more brainstorming.

Small update: I changed the mission select panel. It used to be that the planets were just portrait models and they had buttons under them; I wanted for the player to be able to highlight and click on the planets themselves.

It still looks quite dull in comparison to the workshop panel, so any suggestions to pretty it up would be appreciated!

Thanks to all for the feedback!

Regarding the speed of the text: the reason it's fast is because whenever I encounter transmissions in other campaigns, they've seemed too long for me. Whenever I watch Jayborino's playthroughs, typically he reads them and there is a long pause between sentences, which to me slightly puts off the immersion of it all. That said, I understand there are only so many things you can do when you don't have the luxury of voice acting.

I will try to find places where the transmissions seem short and lengthen them a bit.

I have completed the opening cinematic! :)

Before you watch it, there are a few points I would like to address:

There is no music. I couldn't find any music in the game files that could capture the atmosphere I intended to convey. I realize that as a result the cinematic is a lot less immersive and lacks the life which music would have brought to it. If anyone has any ideas I'm open to suggestions.

It's over 12 minutes long. The script I originally wrote contained dialogue for roughly 5 minutes runtime, but I ended up adding so much to it that it ended up being quite long. I apologize if it's too much of a drag to watch.

Credit to the creators of the Starcraft: Mass Recall mod for the dropship models (I had to modify them a little since some animations were bugged).

A huge shoutout to CybrosX for recording the video for me! :D

Thanks to everyone for all the support! I finally got some work done on the first cinematic. Scene 6 (out of 7) has been completed and I'm currently working on the terraining and triggering for the final scene.

I don't think an update would be complete without a screenshot, even if it's only from Scene 2 (the screenshot from the original post is from Scene 4):

@GalaxyCross: Go

So far I'm planning on just releasing everything at the same time, the assets included as part of the mod.

Did some work on Foxworthy's model (added goggles + backpack and more realistic animations) in addition to working on the creation of another unit for some urban warfare-style TvT missions.

Both of the above models have a TurretZ attachment for smooth aiming.

For anyone that might still lurk here, I have some screenshots for the storymode setting, which changes as you progress through the missions:

This project is not abandoned, only slowed! :D

The original members of the 7th Squad are all in the campaign launcher screenshot, but I'd like to share all of them (names and in-game ranks included) in the form of their resized 300x300 wireframes. The ranks don't directly correspond with actual military ranks; they are more there as honorary titles.

Terrence Collins

Rank: 1st Lieutenant

Walton Spade

Rank: 2nd Lieutenant

Derrick Thorne

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel

Grandy Briggs

Rank: Sergeant Major

Cliff Olsen

Rank: Scout

Asher Harvey

Rank: Pyromaniac

Jens Foxworthy

Rank: Executioner

Ronda Hall

Rank: Medical Practitioner

Thanks DudkiSC2!

I actually find writing out lore to be one of the more leisurely parts of campaign development; cross-referencing the Starcraft Wiki to make sure the stories fall in line with with the events of the canon lore (as this campaign does occur in the same universe) has taught me quite a few things about the official Starcraft universe I would never have known otherwise.