I think that's an issue almost everyone goes through at some point. The unfortunate hotfix I've had to adopt is in-game team-picking and saving players as integer variables, and ignoring the lobby as much as possible.
For picking through players, I usually do a For Loop with the condition "Status of player <integer> is playing = true" and that kind of thing.
And the whole issue of computer players joining backwards compared to normal players is an incredibly weird and frustrating "feature." I have no idea why it works that way, but it's caused me weeks of headaches.
Really cool idea! If you give a little more detail as to the number of abilities and types and what the standard attack should look like and whatnot, I'd love to submit something.
You actually can combine as many texts and integers and whatnot together as you want in the dialog label, there's no limit. If you use the function Combine Text Multiple, you can just keep adding more and more. You can set it up like:
Combine Text Multiple:
"HP + "
[Function] Convert Integer to Text (hpvariable)
<n/><n/> (these put in the spaces, I think I'm remembering those right)
"Speed + "
[Function] Convert Integer to Text (speedvariable)
" %"
</n></n>
etc.
It is true that working with dialogs is clunky and doesn't feel flexible, but once you get used to them it's not so bad. Good luck!
Wow you guys have hit the nail on the head with these lists! I wholeheartedly agree with revamping (or removing) the ratings section. I'd love to see it replaced with a quick little "suggestions" tab where the gamemaker could respond to posts and create some interaction.
One other thing is I would love to see a page where updates were posted, ie. anytime one of your bookmarked games is updated, some sort of notification with the details could be shown. That way you'd very clearly be shown when new content is released or bugs are fixed, etc.
Great ideas, I'll chime in with more if I can come up with any!
Hey everyone! I'm excited to announce a huge update to Airstrike has just been published. Among the changes:
- Brand new terrain courtesy of the fantastic terrainer Wargirl
- 4 new playable Protoss ships with their own unique skilltree and abilities
- Several thousand bug fixes and balance modifications
I highly suggest playing through the game when you get the chance, at the very least to see the new terrain!
In the future I'll be adding 2-3 more levels to the campaign, 2v2 arena duels, an "experts" mode, and custom music composed just for this game! If you have any other ideas or suggestions, please share them!
I should also mention that I would love to release a high-definition video of the game (whether a gameplay video or just a features showcase) in order to show the amazing new terrain. If you have any expertise and interest in making a video, please let me know!
My brother and I put together a video of a playthrough with commentary, showing off the new Protoss ships and updated terrain, which was expertly crafted by Wargirl. (The new update will be coming out very shortly!)
Unfortunately my brother's comp wasn't able to do the video capture without lowering the SC visual settings to Low across the board, so the video doesn't fully represent how awesome Wargirl's new terrain is.
And I should also put forth the disclaimer that my brother and I have a very dry sense of humor, so about 99% of what we say is in jest and should not be taken seriously in any way whatsoever!
That is a fantastic, though slightly depressing summary!
I've never used the WC3 Editor but from what I can tell, the SC2 Editor is tremendously more difficult. Only having experience with the SC1 Editor, it took me about 2 years of practice to make anything worthwhile in SC2. The Trigger Editor is pretty much programming, so if you have any programming experience it probably won't trip you up too much. Data though is an absolute beast.
I do agree with FunkyUserName that the biggest obstacle to overcome is Bnet 2.0. But I think I'm a little more optimistic than most that Blizz wants to fix things. The recent Rock the Cabinet competition shows that they're willing to put effort and money into the mapmaking scene, and with the LOTV expansion still being worked on, I think at the very worst SC2 still has a few more years of relevancy. I'm hoping, of course, that things are fixed and supported to the point where the Arcade can thrive for many years after LOTV, but that might be a bit too optimistic.
Anyway, I say go for it! I haven't been an entirely successful mapmaker, but I count my experiences to have been very positive, albeit at times just a tad frustrating.
Yeah, I was surprised at how much the hype died down after the top 5 were chosen. I don't think it's because of the games that made it into the top 5, but I think Blizz just took so long to come up with the winners that people kind of forgot. It was an entire two and a half months since the contest ended before the winners were announced, I think that's just too long for those who are out of it to keep interest.
I'm really hoping they host more of these tournaments, you could see how much extra each mapmaker (including myself) put into their projects once the contest was announced and as a result the whole Arcade improved in quality. Themed contests sound like a great idea, too!
Hey everyone, unfortunately Airstrike was disqualified from the competition due to my use of copyrighted music. I wrote down my thoughts on the subject here:
But the important thing to note is that it was my mistake and Blizzard's actions are fair and justified. Thanks for everyone who gave the game a try and good luck to all those still left in the competition!
I received an email from Blizz informing me that Airstrike has been disqualified from the Rock the Cabinet competition due to copyright issues with the game’s music. I wanted to share my thoughts on the subject and let you know the circumstances behind it.
First of all I want to make clear that this is not Blizzard’s fault. I took a risk using the music that I did and I made the assumption it wouldn’t come back to bite me due to previous experience (Blizz had played Airstrike before and hadn’t mentioned anything, and my map StarDodgeBall, which was previously spotlighted by Blizzard used exclusively copyrighted music). I should have been more careful, especially considering what I’ve seen from other games (ie Nexus Word Wars).
What we have to keep in mind is that Blizzard is a large company and needs to protect itself. My background in real life is actually business so I understand as well as anyone how crippling litigation can be and how easy it is to be sued. In a competition involving cash prizes, it makes very clear sense that Blizzard needs to be careful.
The second thing issue that I find very important is that no one play the blame game. It’s true that the mapmaker Bounty is the one who brought this issue to the forefront, but the very last thing we need is to point fingers or to harbor grudges. Regardless of motive (which no one can claim to know), Bounty’s assessment was correct, and in the off-chance that Airstrike placed highly in the competition and Nintendo sued as a result, he very well could have saved Blizzard (and myself) some legal woes.
I hope no one gets the impression that I was attempting to pass off the music as my own, or attempting to cheat in some way for the cash prize. I always thought it was obvious the music was from Kirby, though I understand not everyone had the same upbringing I did. And those who I played with who didn’t recognize the music I was very quick and eager to share what games the music came from.
Here’s a quick list:
Airstrike
Main title: “The Great Cave Offensive” – Kirby Super Star
Standard levels: “Begin Treasure Hunting” – Kirby Super Star
Level 2: “Dynablade Area 4” – Kirby Super Star
Level 4: “Red Mountain” – Bomberman 64
Level 6: “Dawn” – Einhander
Arena Mode: “Gladiator Kirby” – Kirby Super Star
Boss Music: “Shudder” – Einhander
Final Boss: “Thermosphere” – Einhander
(I’ll be working on removing the music and reuploading my two games.)
I have OSTs for many games on my Ipod and I love listening to them and imagining what kinds of games I could make for them. When I get an idea for a new project, one of the first things I do is start listening to video game soundtracks and finding music that fits and matches the mood I want. The last thing I’d want to do is to take credit for them, away from the composers or games that they’re from—I’d say, actually, my intention has been quite the opposite, to lead more people towards the amazing soundtracks that shaped my childhood (particularly Einhander, a game whose soundtrack was so amazing it sold more copies than the game itself!).
In conclusion, thanks for reading my side of the story and please keep in mind that the last thing I’d want is for anyone to feel hostile towards Blizzard, Bounty, or anyone else in the SC2 mapmaking community!
GG, and good luck to the competitors remaining in the competition!
I've tracked down a bug that can crash the part of the code that handles health/energy regeneration, on-screen healthbars, and some elements of the movement. I've fixed the bug but unfortunately can't release the patch until the competition is over.
To avoid the bug, do NOT upgrade the "Shield Reliance" passive skill located on the 7th row, 4th from the left. Please note that this bug only occurs in games of more than 1 person and is triggered by a player with this skill respawning after death, during a game. If it occurs, it will revert back to normal once the level is over, though a few of the levels won't be able to be beaten if this bug occurs.
And again, the fix has been made but won't be published until the competition is over.
I can't say it never occurred to me that copyrighted music would be off-limits, but I couldn't turn down such an amazing soundtrack! We'll have to see what happens.
And no bad blood if Airstrike can't be considered as a result :)
0
I think that's an issue almost everyone goes through at some point. The unfortunate hotfix I've had to adopt is in-game team-picking and saving players as integer variables, and ignoring the lobby as much as possible.
For picking through players, I usually do a For Loop with the condition "Status of player <integer> is playing = true" and that kind of thing.
And the whole issue of computer players joining backwards compared to normal players is an incredibly weird and frustrating "feature." I have no idea why it works that way, but it's caused me weeks of headaches.
Best of luck,
rut
0
Really cool idea! If you give a little more detail as to the number of abilities and types and what the standard attack should look like and whatnot, I'd love to submit something.
rut
0
Hi Lazernerd,
I'd look at the Nexus - Recharge (Search) effect and make sure that the "Target: Location +" field is set to "Target Point" instead of "Target Unit."
Hopefully that works!
rut
0
Hey IAmAddicted,
You actually can combine as many texts and integers and whatnot together as you want in the dialog label, there's no limit. If you use the function Combine Text Multiple, you can just keep adding more and more. You can set it up like:
Combine Text Multiple:
"HP + "
[Function] Convert Integer to Text (hpvariable)
<n/><n/> (these put in the spaces, I think I'm remembering those right)
"Speed + "
[Function] Convert Integer to Text (speedvariable)
" %"
</n></n>
etc.
It is true that working with dialogs is clunky and doesn't feel flexible, but once you get used to them it's not so bad. Good luck!
rut
0
Hello Iamaddicted,
What you'll want to do is to create a dialog item of type "Label" where you want this text to appear and save it as a variable (let's say "dlabel").
(Assuming you have the Integer you want displayed (unit health, for example) stored as a variable titled "uhealth.")
Then have a trigger update it with the action "Set Dialog Item Text." You'll to set it up like this:
Set dlabel text to (combine multiple) "Unit Hp: " + [function] Convert Integer to Text (uhealth)
Hopefully that helps. I've been making up my notation as I go so it's very sloppy, but that's the concept for how I'd do it.
Happy mapping,
rut
0
A fantastic new update has just been released! It adds two new levels, titled "The Road" and "Broodcomb."
Here's a gameplay video of the new level "Broodcomb."
Also, Wargirl has completely revamped the terrain of Level 5. Take a look!
We're planning one more big update to add a custom soundtrack courtesy of Moustro.
Happy Holidays!
rut
0
Wow you guys have hit the nail on the head with these lists! I wholeheartedly agree with revamping (or removing) the ratings section. I'd love to see it replaced with a quick little "suggestions" tab where the gamemaker could respond to posts and create some interaction.
One other thing is I would love to see a page where updates were posted, ie. anytime one of your bookmarked games is updated, some sort of notification with the details could be shown. That way you'd very clearly be shown when new content is released or bugs are fixed, etc.
Great ideas, I'll chime in with more if I can come up with any!
rut
0
Hey everyone! I'm excited to announce a huge update to Airstrike has just been published. Among the changes:
- Brand new terrain courtesy of the fantastic terrainer Wargirl
- 4 new playable Protoss ships with their own unique skilltree and abilities
- Several thousand bug fixes and balance modifications
I highly suggest playing through the game when you get the chance, at the very least to see the new terrain!
In the future I'll be adding 2-3 more levels to the campaign, 2v2 arena duels, an "experts" mode, and custom music composed just for this game! If you have any other ideas or suggestions, please share them!
I should also mention that I would love to release a high-definition video of the game (whether a gameplay video or just a features showcase) in order to show the amazing new terrain. If you have any expertise and interest in making a video, please let me know!
My email is: [email protected]
rut
0
My brother and I put together a video of a playthrough with commentary, showing off the new Protoss ships and updated terrain, which was expertly crafted by Wargirl. (The new update will be coming out very shortly!)
Unfortunately my brother's comp wasn't able to do the video capture without lowering the SC visual settings to Low across the board, so the video doesn't fully represent how awesome Wargirl's new terrain is.
And I should also put forth the disclaimer that my brother and I have a very dry sense of humor, so about 99% of what we say is in jest and should not be taken seriously in any way whatsoever!
rut
0
@GlornII: Go
That is a fantastic, though slightly depressing summary!
I've never used the WC3 Editor but from what I can tell, the SC2 Editor is tremendously more difficult. Only having experience with the SC1 Editor, it took me about 2 years of practice to make anything worthwhile in SC2. The Trigger Editor is pretty much programming, so if you have any programming experience it probably won't trip you up too much. Data though is an absolute beast.
I do agree with FunkyUserName that the biggest obstacle to overcome is Bnet 2.0. But I think I'm a little more optimistic than most that Blizz wants to fix things. The recent Rock the Cabinet competition shows that they're willing to put effort and money into the mapmaking scene, and with the LOTV expansion still being worked on, I think at the very worst SC2 still has a few more years of relevancy. I'm hoping, of course, that things are fixed and supported to the point where the Arcade can thrive for many years after LOTV, but that might be a bit too optimistic.
Anyway, I say go for it! I haven't been an entirely successful mapmaker, but I count my experiences to have been very positive, albeit at times just a tad frustrating.
rut
0
Yeah, I was surprised at how much the hype died down after the top 5 were chosen. I don't think it's because of the games that made it into the top 5, but I think Blizz just took so long to come up with the winners that people kind of forgot. It was an entire two and a half months since the contest ended before the winners were announced, I think that's just too long for those who are out of it to keep interest.
I'm really hoping they host more of these tournaments, you could see how much extra each mapmaker (including myself) put into their projects once the contest was announced and as a result the whole Arcade improved in quality. Themed contests sound like a great idea, too!
Anyway, gg and congrats to the winners!
rut
0
Hey everyone, unfortunately Airstrike was disqualified from the competition due to my use of copyrighted music. I wrote down my thoughts on the subject here:
http://www.sc2mapster.com/forums/player-zone/map-feedback/66073-airstrike/#p15
But the important thing to note is that it was my mistake and Blizzard's actions are fair and justified. Thanks for everyone who gave the game a try and good luck to all those still left in the competition!
rut
0
Hey everyone!
I received an email from Blizz informing me that Airstrike has been disqualified from the Rock the Cabinet competition due to copyright issues with the game’s music. I wanted to share my thoughts on the subject and let you know the circumstances behind it.
First of all I want to make clear that this is not Blizzard’s fault. I took a risk using the music that I did and I made the assumption it wouldn’t come back to bite me due to previous experience (Blizz had played Airstrike before and hadn’t mentioned anything, and my map StarDodgeBall, which was previously spotlighted by Blizzard used exclusively copyrighted music). I should have been more careful, especially considering what I’ve seen from other games (ie Nexus Word Wars).
What we have to keep in mind is that Blizzard is a large company and needs to protect itself. My background in real life is actually business so I understand as well as anyone how crippling litigation can be and how easy it is to be sued. In a competition involving cash prizes, it makes very clear sense that Blizzard needs to be careful.
The second thing issue that I find very important is that no one play the blame game. It’s true that the mapmaker Bounty is the one who brought this issue to the forefront, but the very last thing we need is to point fingers or to harbor grudges. Regardless of motive (which no one can claim to know), Bounty’s assessment was correct, and in the off-chance that Airstrike placed highly in the competition and Nintendo sued as a result, he very well could have saved Blizzard (and myself) some legal woes.
I hope no one gets the impression that I was attempting to pass off the music as my own, or attempting to cheat in some way for the cash prize. I always thought it was obvious the music was from Kirby, though I understand not everyone had the same upbringing I did. And those who I played with who didn’t recognize the music I was very quick and eager to share what games the music came from.
Here’s a quick list:
Airstrike Main title: “The Great Cave Offensive” – Kirby Super Star Standard levels: “Begin Treasure Hunting” – Kirby Super Star Level 2: “Dynablade Area 4” – Kirby Super Star Level 4: “Red Mountain” – Bomberman 64 Level 6: “Dawn” – Einhander Arena Mode: “Gladiator Kirby” – Kirby Super Star Boss Music: “Shudder” – Einhander Final Boss: “Thermosphere” – Einhander
StarDodgeBall Menus: “Dawn” – Einhander Round 1: “Chase” – Einhander Round 2: “Impatience” – Einhander Round 3: “Conflict” – Einhander Round 4: “Machine Shop” – Einhander Round 5: “Bloody Battle” – Einhander Between Rounds: “Blue Resort” – Bomberman 64
(I’ll be working on removing the music and reuploading my two games.)
I have OSTs for many games on my Ipod and I love listening to them and imagining what kinds of games I could make for them. When I get an idea for a new project, one of the first things I do is start listening to video game soundtracks and finding music that fits and matches the mood I want. The last thing I’d want to do is to take credit for them, away from the composers or games that they’re from—I’d say, actually, my intention has been quite the opposite, to lead more people towards the amazing soundtracks that shaped my childhood (particularly Einhander, a game whose soundtrack was so amazing it sold more copies than the game itself!).
In conclusion, thanks for reading my side of the story and please keep in mind that the last thing I’d want is for anyone to feel hostile towards Blizzard, Bounty, or anyone else in the SC2 mapmaking community!
GG, and good luck to the competitors remaining in the competition!
rut
0
Hey everyone,
I've tracked down a bug that can crash the part of the code that handles health/energy regeneration, on-screen healthbars, and some elements of the movement. I've fixed the bug but unfortunately can't release the patch until the competition is over.
To avoid the bug, do NOT upgrade the "Shield Reliance" passive skill located on the 7th row, 4th from the left. Please note that this bug only occurs in games of more than 1 person and is triggered by a player with this skill respawning after death, during a game. If it occurs, it will revert back to normal once the level is over, though a few of the levels won't be able to be beaten if this bug occurs.
And again, the fix has been made but won't be published until the competition is over.
rut
0
I can't say it never occurred to me that copyrighted music would be off-limits, but I couldn't turn down such an amazing soundtrack! We'll have to see what happens.
And no bad blood if Airstrike can't be considered as a result :)
rut