My old map "Sanctuary Guardians" could be considered hardcore. Lots of teamwork required, even easy mode isn't a guaranteed win unless you know what you're doing.
Be warned though, this map requires a lot of players (6 players minimum).
Funny you're mentioning Star Wars: The Force Awakens. That movie is a great example for another important lesson: A story should never rely too heavily on former entries. It should be brave enough to do its own thing.
We all love Starcraft: Brood War because it was all fresh and new (that and it was a very character-driven story). On the other hand, some people hate Starcraft II because it isn't really offering anything new and is being hold back by the remaining plot points of the first game.
The overall Amon plot was used as a catalyst to push the story forward and still involve the old characters.This undermined the otherwise promising character-driven story arcs of Raynor taking revenge on Mengsk and Kerrigan trying to redeem herself.
To be honest, I think the Protoss saving the galaxy from Amon is totally in-character for them, so LotV could've been a strong end point - but then the Epilogue happened.
Starcraft II was too much of a direct sequel (Wings of Liberty takes place a mere four years after Brood War), whereas The Force Awakens has a 30-year gap which allows for a new world setup, new characters and new conflicts - while not going overboard with the cameos. It is, for all intents and purposes, a new story, a new journey.
Nova: Covert Ops is the same, it's all new. Nova is more or less a new character to the player, the enemy faction is new, your hero group (Dominion Covert Ops) is new. The Dominion as such is familiar enough, but with Valerian struggling to maintain power, even that faction's future is uncertain.
Only the world/universe is familiar, but otherwise it's a new, self-contained story and not just a sequel.
Im not questioning how fun it is to play, but how time consuming it is for a mapmaker to create.
Saving progress across several maps, and creating a tech tree menu like in Wings of Liberty, is pretty easy actually. Yes, it can be tedious work, but not if you actually plan ahead and implement the stuff early on.
I think it needs a lot more fleshing out. All it sounds like you have so far is a name (Siegfried) and that fact that they have lots of robotic units. What's their motivation? What's their goal? Who are they up against? What units do they control?
I do have a story to some extend already, but I prefer to not post it all here. I want to surprise the player at least a little bit.
If this campaign comes ever to fruition how about a ability tree utilized like in blizzards campaigns? Being able to pick which upgrade u want... im surprised no one has implemented this in his campaign on this site.
Does anyone remember the UED? Do you want to see them back?
Do you want to see them invade planets and doing all sorts of crazy stuff?
(I mean, let's be honest here - enslaving the Overmind, conquering Korhal, finding a giant PSI Disruptor cannon. Prior to Starcraft: Brood War's release back in the day, this must've sounded like some bad fan-fiction - and yet it's cannon, and it's AWESOME!)
Well, then you've come to the right place! Welcome to SIEGFRIED.
Setting
There exist a secret organization founded by the UED (SIEGFRIED) which has overseen all technological progress among the humans in the Koprulu sector.
Through a number of moles, they obtained all sorts of technological blueprints and sent the data back to Earth. However, they also let some technology from Earth "slip" into the Koprulu sector.
This delicate process resulted in great technological advancements in human society, and ensured that the UED will never lack behind in terms of technical superiority.
However, since the end of Brood War, the Siegfried organization has remained silent. Noone on Earth knows if their secret base has been destroyed or not. Until now.
The campaign takes place shortly after the end of Legacy of the Void. After years of researching all sorts of technology in secret, their current leader decides to come out of hiding and use SIEGFRIED's small army to pursue his own goals.
Gameplay
While they do have some human soldiers in their employ, most of the SIEGFRIED faction consists of robots. One of their main research areas has been AI and robotics (the Widow Mine uses their AI system for example).
The campaign follows the standard RTS formula of Starcraft II. The campaign will be linear for the most part, except for some missions whose order the player can decide by himself (conquer Planet A first and then Planet B, or first B and then A).
Let me know what you think
Would this be an interesting idea to pursue?
I am a bit busy at the moment, but I figured that should I ever return to Starcraft II, I might give this thing a shot.
Uhm... there is dodging in the game. Infact its a super important part of the combat system and if you dont use it you wont get far. Not to mention Transformations which also can be very usefull in certain combat situations. And stunning/countering. And there are also power attacks which are also important.
I suggest you watch the last part of the gameplay video. There you can see what the current combat system looks like when fighting an enemy you actually have to try against (3:29 onward).
I gave it a quick try. It looks nice and plays ok, it's passable for a tech demo I guess.
Still, so far only the camera engine impresses me. And the custom UI, but everyone can do that who's a better artist than me :P. However, I've seen both of these things in Psionic Warfare already.
What I'd like to see are more advanced gameplay features. How about jumping/climbing on cliffs? Dodging? Switching from walking (ground) to flying/hovering mode? etc. or anything that spices up the combat in any way, other than a simple melee and ranged attack?
If you have any new features up your sleeve, show them NOW! Because as it stands, only the Transformers bit stands out, but not the engine itself.
Give it a few more days. Im currently preparing the release of a pre-alpha version aswell as an official presentation here on SC2mapsters. I am aiming to go with a more open development process with this mod, so you will basically see things just as they are implemented into the game, as opposed to what I did with Psionic Warfare were I just ended up showing you guys the 100% done polished version once it was ready.
I see. I thought this would be in development/testing for a few more months, but this way it's all the better.
Who would've thought that the announcement trailer isn't just for hype, but actually announces a soon-to-be-released game XD
The very real benefit of a third-person game is the immersion and atmosphere that only a third person control system can bring. Combine that with standout visuals like Psionic Warfare had and you have a very special experience. One of the main appeals for the people that really like Psionic Warfare is that it offered an immersive journey into the world of Starcraft in a way that wasn't really done before. Visuals and atmosphere will always be just as important to my mods as the core gameplay is.
Fair enough. It really does feel more like you're inside the action as opposed to "watching it" from above. It doesn't feel 100% immersive to be because I still know that it's Starcraft, but the UI really does feel like its own thing.
Heck, I'm not really one to complain. I did the same thing with my map "Gaia Explorers" and focused more on it having a custom interface and feeling less like a WC3 map and more like its own thing. And my gameplay isn't all that fantastic either XD.
People that find no value in things like immersion and atmosphere and look at maps in a very pragmatic way will always find my mods less appealing, and that's okay.
With that said, the core gameplay in this new project will be more intuitive than what Psionic Warfare had. And the people who have tested this mod so far seem to really dig the core gameplay mechanics, which is good.
Could I test the mod as well? If you can convince a pragmatist like me, then it should be good to go.
I hope you improve on your gameplay with this new project, because Psionic Warfare sure was flawed. There was no real benefit of using a Third-person camera in my opinion. It was a fun, but simple shooter that could've been done in a Top-down view as well.
Think long and hard what the purpose of a third-person camera is, other than making it look differently from the standard view (and showing off high-poly cinematic models which just decrease performance anyway).
I'm surprised that, even among the Top 10, there is a good balance between original concepts and WC3 remakes. It's the best of both worlds I guess.
Seeing "Archers" and "Siege" having so many votes actually proofs that a simple game idea without many art assets or huge amount of content can win. The gameplay won them over, not a ton of custom assets. It's the pure modding/mapping spirit!
That said, I feel bad for "Doodad Hunt 2", which was legitimately fun despite having a ton of assets. Also feel bad for "Ruined Cave" which had some custom-made models (and I think we all know how difficult it is to create working models for SC2).
There should be a honorable mention for sub-categories, like "Best Original Fantasy Theme" that awards people which have done more than just using the WC3 mod. Or "Best UI" which reward maps that took the extra effort and did more with the UI than just using a WC3 skin for the command panel.
Personally I don't think you need a combo meter (it only makes sense if you have a combat system that rewards efficiency like in Devil May Cry), but otherwise I like the terrain and the way the gates are opening (must be a custom-made animation I assume?)
What you are asking for here is essentially piracy, as you cannot play the campaigns unless you've bought the games. It can be argued whether copying the game data from someone else's PC is piracy, but asking for a Heart of the Swarm mod to bypass even installing the expansion, certainly is.
Just buy it like everyone else. The Starcraft II: Battle Chest (contains both Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm) is pretty cheap nowadays, so buy it once you have the chance to do so.
And to answer your actual question: I'm pretty sure that, even if someone bothered to put all of the singleplayer campaigns onto the Arcade, or as a standalone offline campaign, Blizzard would've deleted it by now. If you couldn't find it, then it probably doesn't exist.
0
My old map "Sanctuary Guardians" could be considered hardcore. Lots of teamwork required, even easy mode isn't a guaranteed win unless you know what you're doing.
Be warned though, this map requires a lot of players (6 players minimum).
0
Funny you're mentioning Star Wars: The Force Awakens. That movie is a great example for another important lesson: A story should never rely too heavily on former entries. It should be brave enough to do its own thing.
We all love Starcraft: Brood War because it was all fresh and new (that and it was a very character-driven story). On the other hand, some people hate Starcraft II because it isn't really offering anything new and is being hold back by the remaining plot points of the first game.
The overall Amon plot was used as a catalyst to push the story forward and still involve the old characters.This undermined the otherwise promising character-driven story arcs of Raynor taking revenge on Mengsk and Kerrigan trying to redeem herself.
To be honest, I think the Protoss saving the galaxy from Amon is totally in-character for them, so LotV could've been a strong end point - but then the Epilogue happened.
Starcraft II was too much of a direct sequel (Wings of Liberty takes place a mere four years after Brood War), whereas The Force Awakens has a 30-year gap which allows for a new world setup, new characters and new conflicts - while not going overboard with the cameos. It is, for all intents and purposes, a new story, a new journey.
Nova: Covert Ops is the same, it's all new. Nova is more or less a new character to the player, the enemy faction is new, your hero group (Dominion Covert Ops) is new. The Dominion as such is familiar enough, but with Valerian struggling to maintain power, even that faction's future is uncertain.
Only the world/universe is familiar, but otherwise it's a new, self-contained story and not just a sequel.
0
@OutsiderXE: Go
I encountered some slowdowns as well, but only during the in-game cutscenes.
The Legacy of the Void cutscenes didn't always reach 60 FPS for me, but it was always smooth.
But on all three Covert Ops cinematics, I had some shuttering (also maxed out settings). The missions themselves are smooth as always though.
0
Saving progress across several maps, and creating a tech tree menu like in Wings of Liberty, is pretty easy actually. Yes, it can be tedious work, but not if you actually plan ahead and implement the stuff early on.
0
I do have a story to some extend already, but I prefer to not post it all here. I want to surprise the player at least a little bit.
Of course I mean technological progress of the Terrans/humans. I've edited the main post to make that clear.
Good point, I'll keep this in mind.
0
Does anyone remember the UED? Do you want to see them back?
Do you want to see them invade planets and doing all sorts of crazy stuff?
(I mean, let's be honest here - enslaving the Overmind, conquering Korhal, finding a giant PSI Disruptor cannon. Prior to Starcraft: Brood War's release back in the day, this must've sounded like some bad fan-fiction - and yet it's cannon, and it's AWESOME!)
Well, then you've come to the right place! Welcome to SIEGFRIED.
Setting
There exist a secret organization founded by the UED (SIEGFRIED) which has overseen all technological progress among the humans in the Koprulu sector.
Through a number of moles, they obtained all sorts of technological blueprints and sent the data back to Earth. However, they also let some technology from Earth "slip" into the Koprulu sector.
This delicate process resulted in great technological advancements in human society, and ensured that the UED will never lack behind in terms of technical superiority.
However, since the end of Brood War, the Siegfried organization has remained silent. Noone on Earth knows if their secret base has been destroyed or not. Until now.
The campaign takes place shortly after the end of Legacy of the Void. After years of researching all sorts of technology in secret, their current leader decides to come out of hiding and use SIEGFRIED's small army to pursue his own goals.
Gameplay
While they do have some human soldiers in their employ, most of the SIEGFRIED faction consists of robots. One of their main research areas has been AI and robotics (the Widow Mine uses their AI system for example).
The campaign follows the standard RTS formula of Starcraft II. The campaign will be linear for the most part, except for some missions whose order the player can decide by himself (conquer Planet A first and then Planet B, or first B and then A).
Let me know what you think
Would this be an interesting idea to pursue?
I am a bit busy at the moment, but I figured that should I ever return to Starcraft II, I might give this thing a shot.
0
I'm sorry to hear that the Transformers thing didn't work out. The idea itself was coll, and it did played well all things considered.
Your engine really is impressive, despite me criticizing it (a bit unjustified too, I must admit), so keep refining it!
0
Yeah ok, it has dodging. My bad.
0
I gave it a quick try. It looks nice and plays ok, it's passable for a tech demo I guess.
Still, so far only the camera engine impresses me. And the custom UI, but everyone can do that who's a better artist than me :P. However, I've seen both of these things in Psionic Warfare already.
What I'd like to see are more advanced gameplay features. How about jumping/climbing on cliffs? Dodging? Switching from walking (ground) to flying/hovering mode? etc. or anything that spices up the combat in any way, other than a simple melee and ranged attack?
If you have any new features up your sleeve, show them NOW! Because as it stands, only the Transformers bit stands out, but not the engine itself.
Cynicalguy has spoken.
0
I see. I thought this would be in development/testing for a few more months, but this way it's all the better.
Who would've thought that the announcement trailer isn't just for hype, but actually announces a soon-to-be-released game XD
0
Fair enough. It really does feel more like you're inside the action as opposed to "watching it" from above. It doesn't feel 100% immersive to be because I still know that it's Starcraft, but the UI really does feel like its own thing.
Heck, I'm not really one to complain. I did the same thing with my map "Gaia Explorers" and focused more on it having a custom interface and feeling less like a WC3 map and more like its own thing. And my gameplay isn't all that fantastic either XD.
Could I test the mod as well? If you can convince a pragmatist like me, then it should be good to go.
0
I hope you improve on your gameplay with this new project, because Psionic Warfare sure was flawed. There was no real benefit of using a Third-person camera in my opinion. It was a fun, but simple shooter that could've been done in a Top-down view as well.
Think long and hard what the purpose of a third-person camera is, other than making it look differently from the standard view (and showing off high-poly cinematic models which just decrease performance anyway).
0
I'm surprised that, even among the Top 10, there is a good balance between original concepts and WC3 remakes. It's the best of both worlds I guess.
Seeing "Archers" and "Siege" having so many votes actually proofs that a simple game idea without many art assets or huge amount of content can win. The gameplay won them over, not a ton of custom assets. It's the pure modding/mapping spirit!
That said, I feel bad for "Doodad Hunt 2", which was legitimately fun despite having a ton of assets. Also feel bad for "Ruined Cave" which had some custom-made models (and I think we all know how difficult it is to create working models for SC2).
There should be a honorable mention for sub-categories, like "Best Original Fantasy Theme" that awards people which have done more than just using the WC3 mod. Or "Best UI" which reward maps that took the extra effort and did more with the UI than just using a WC3 skin for the command panel.
0
Very impressive work!
Personally I don't think you need a combo meter (it only makes sense if you have a combat system that rewards efficiency like in Devil May Cry), but otherwise I like the terrain and the way the gates are opening (must be a custom-made animation I assume?)
Either way, keep it up!
0
What you are asking for here is essentially piracy, as you cannot play the campaigns unless you've bought the games. It can be argued whether copying the game data from someone else's PC is piracy, but asking for a Heart of the Swarm mod to bypass even installing the expansion, certainly is.
Just buy it like everyone else. The Starcraft II: Battle Chest (contains both Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm) is pretty cheap nowadays, so buy it once you have the chance to do so.
And to answer your actual question: I'm pretty sure that, even if someone bothered to put all of the singleplayer campaigns onto the Arcade, or as a standalone offline campaign, Blizzard would've deleted it by now. If you couldn't find it, then it probably doesn't exist.