I've finally got a little bit of free time, so I can respond :D
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Coop support (for at least 2 players)
That's in already. Or at least, it was until the patch broke it. I'm working on finding the problem. (Edit: It's fixed! My hunch was right, it was a patch-related bug). You can hop into a party with any other player and all fights you guys get into will automatically be converted into a 2v2 co-op fight. More than 2 people at once isn't gunna happen though- the engine just isn't set up for that :)
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Enhanced replayability, so we have things to do after beating the elite four or catching them all. Maybe include random events.
A random event system is already added, but there's only one or two. We'd definitely like high replay value. NewGame+ (or something similar) would be really awesome, and we'll definitely look into that when the time comes. Because of the way our content is generated rather than pre-set, it shouldn't be too hard to just bump up the difficulty curve if we wanted.
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Hidden goodies. Like items, quests, or events that reward players who love exploring.
Items are currently placed randomly around the map each time you load the game. There's also several hidden areas and zones for you to find (several are there already, actually, though we'll add more over time) But you really have to look hard :)
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Remove late game grinding. I'd rather not spend several hours/days/weeks getting to level 100 from a low level or EV training if it will drag and it's very uninteresting to do. Especially if that effort is kinda wasted when I feel like trying a different team or starmon. Reward players who experiment but don't make gaming a chore.
One of the reasons we have the quest system is to help alleviate this problem. Completing the story (and side quests, for that matter) gives you experience points, so grinding should be much less of a problem. We'll have to look at that later though, since currently there isn't any end-game at all ^.^
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Writing this post got me thinking, will there be a 2v2 equivalent of the elite four to make coop just as epic?
Like I said above, every single battle in the game will automatically become a 2v2 if you're with a friend. You can get through the entire story without ever battling on your own, if you wanted. We've also discussed maybe adding some type of co-op arena challenge, where you and a friend try to survive as many fights as you can (with each one getting harder) to earn rewards. There's no end-game content right now though, so we'll have to tackle that issue when we get there.
Basically, Starmon has not been developed for the last few months for a ton of different reasons. The main reason, though, is that I've been unbelievably busy writing college applications and doing a bunch of different things related to that. We're working on a free-to-play mod, and we won't be making money off this. Unfortunately, that means I have to deal with real life stuff first before I can work on the map.
That said, there is some good news. By next week, this entire process of total craziness will finally be done, which means that I'll finally be able to get back to work. A recent patch also broke the 2v2 system so we'll have to fix that....again....but hey, at least we'll be making progress.....
So anyways, I sincerely apologize for the lack of updates. I never imagined just how much time I'd have to sink into this process, and I did not anticipate how it would impact the development of Starmon. I know we got you guys super hyped for the alpha and then didn't deliver. But I'll be able to get back to work within a week or so and we'll get the alpha to you guys as soon as possible :)
Oh no, that time is upon us once again! We'll need to change the staff wardrobe soon. I've used the same exact christmas avatar for the last few years :P
Also, only one of the other two runner ups was a machinima. The second place was basically your typical somewhat clever World of Warcraft machinima while the third place was a mix of Diablo footage and real live footage, which was obviously the worst of the three. The rules were very very unspecific this time around, I wasnt even aware real life stuff was allowed.
Wow >.>
Maybe people just prefer funny stuff. Or WoW. Or both. Either way, the quality of your videos is just so high, it's shocking. I'm sorry you didn't win!
I'm working on a very, very large map called Starmon (it's like a fully fleshed out pokemon game, so you can imagine what the triggers look like). Suffice to say there's a metric ton of variables involved. By using records, I can easily organize all of the variables into their respective systems. There's a record for battles, one for banks, one for dialogs, one for the world generation, etc.... This means that I can easily find any variable I want by opening the record for it's respective system. They're very easy to expand/collapse in the trigger debugger, and it makes things much, much neater and more organized. The other benefit is that you can reuse variable names. You can't have two global variables called "Main Dialog" for example, but you can have two variables with the same name if they are in different records.
The downside is that, unfortunately, it takes longer to set variables if you use records. Instead of clicking opening the parameter window and choosing your variable, you have to choose your record, press okay, open the window again, and then select the actual variable from inside the record. That's definitely a pain, and will slow you down when working with larger projects. If you don't want to use records, you could accomplish a similar(ish) organization by just using a prefix system. For example, all of your banking variables would be prefixed with "BNK-". So you'd have "BNK-Somename".
In my case, I feel the benefits outweigh the negatives. But it's really up to you to decide if you want to use records.
The acronym is BALLS in case you haven't noticed. BAS isn't really better. HotS still roll better. I know, Americans and their silly obsessions with acronyms.
Don't you mess with our acronyms! Saying the whole word is just too much work.
I'm definitely excited to see what they've got cooked up. Blizzard always makes great stuff. The fact that they've taken so long just emphasizes that they're putting a lot of work into this. My biggest question is whether or not its still going to be part of the sc2 starter edition, or if it it'll have an entirely separate client. If it's the former, we'll get a whole lot of assets to play with :)
As far as I can tell, it's currently impossible to release a map name, even if you delete the map from your account. I haven't needed this feature myself but I can certainly see why it'd be useful. I'll ask about it or put in a request :P
Didn't manage to get a blizzcon ticket when they first went on sale? You can now get a virtual ticket at the Blizzcon website for $40 USD. As always, you get streamed video for all of the panels, you gain access to all of the recordings afterwords, and you get the in-game rewards :) It's a pretty neat service, and it's way more affordable than actually going.
And as always, you can expect coverage of Blizzcon's starcraft-related panels from sc2mapster ^.^
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I've finally got a little bit of free time, so I can respond :D
That's in already. Or at least, it was until the patch broke it. I'm working on finding the problem. (Edit: It's fixed! My hunch was right, it was a patch-related bug). You can hop into a party with any other player and all fights you guys get into will automatically be converted into a 2v2 co-op fight. More than 2 people at once isn't gunna happen though- the engine just isn't set up for that :)
A random event system is already added, but there's only one or two. We'd definitely like high replay value. NewGame+ (or something similar) would be really awesome, and we'll definitely look into that when the time comes. Because of the way our content is generated rather than pre-set, it shouldn't be too hard to just bump up the difficulty curve if we wanted.
Items are currently placed randomly around the map each time you load the game. There's also several hidden areas and zones for you to find (several are there already, actually, though we'll add more over time) But you really have to look hard :)
One of the reasons we have the quest system is to help alleviate this problem. Completing the story (and side quests, for that matter) gives you experience points, so grinding should be much less of a problem. We'll have to look at that later though, since currently there isn't any end-game at all ^.^
Like I said above, every single battle in the game will automatically become a 2v2 if you're with a friend. You can get through the entire story without ever battling on your own, if you wanted. We've also discussed maybe adding some type of co-op arena challenge, where you and a friend try to survive as many fights as you can (with each one getting harder) to earn rewards. There's no end-game content right now though, so we'll have to tackle that issue when we get there.
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I upgraded my Christmas avatar from last year :)
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We'd like to wish a happy Thanksgiving to all of our members from the US! Have fun, be safe, and don't eat too much!
And hey, since you're here already, why don't you share what you're thankful for?
I'm thankful for this amazing community and all the people who have helped to make it what it is today. You guys are awesome ^.^
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Sorry for the lack of updates, guys.
Basically, Starmon has not been developed for the last few months for a ton of different reasons. The main reason, though, is that I've been unbelievably busy writing college applications and doing a bunch of different things related to that. We're working on a free-to-play mod, and we won't be making money off this. Unfortunately, that means I have to deal with real life stuff first before I can work on the map.
That said, there is some good news. By next week, this entire process of total craziness will finally be done, which means that I'll finally be able to get back to work. A recent patch also broke the 2v2 system so we'll have to fix that....again....but hey, at least we'll be making progress.....
So anyways, I sincerely apologize for the lack of updates. I never imagined just how much time I'd have to sink into this process, and I did not anticipate how it would impact the development of Starmon. I know we got you guys super hyped for the alpha and then didn't deliver. But I'll be able to get back to work within a week or so and we'll get the alpha to you guys as soon as possible :)
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Oh no, that time is upon us once again! We'll need to change the staff wardrobe soon. I've used the same exact christmas avatar for the last few years :P
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Wow >.>
Maybe people just prefer funny stuff. Or WoW. Or both. Either way, the quality of your videos is just so high, it's shocking. I'm sorry you didn't win!
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Here's a Heros of the Storm video from from the guys at BlizzPro:
edit- Nope, that was already posted earlier :P
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I love these types of survival games! I can't wait to see some screenshots and video :P
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As others have stated, there's pros and cons.
I'm working on a very, very large map called Starmon (it's like a fully fleshed out pokemon game, so you can imagine what the triggers look like). Suffice to say there's a metric ton of variables involved. By using records, I can easily organize all of the variables into their respective systems. There's a record for battles, one for banks, one for dialogs, one for the world generation, etc.... This means that I can easily find any variable I want by opening the record for it's respective system. They're very easy to expand/collapse in the trigger debugger, and it makes things much, much neater and more organized. The other benefit is that you can reuse variable names. You can't have two global variables called "Main Dialog" for example, but you can have two variables with the same name if they are in different records.
The downside is that, unfortunately, it takes longer to set variables if you use records. Instead of clicking opening the parameter window and choosing your variable, you have to choose your record, press okay, open the window again, and then select the actual variable from inside the record. That's definitely a pain, and will slow you down when working with larger projects. If you don't want to use records, you could accomplish a similar(ish) organization by just using a prefix system. For example, all of your banking variables would be prefixed with "BNK-". So you'd have "BNK-Somename".
In my case, I feel the benefits outweigh the negatives. But it's really up to you to decide if you want to use records.
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Don't you mess with our acronyms! Saying the whole word is just too much work.
I'm definitely excited to see what they've got cooked up. Blizzard always makes great stuff. The fact that they've taken so long just emphasizes that they're putting a lot of work into this. My biggest question is whether or not its still going to be part of the sc2 starter edition, or if it it'll have an entirely separate client. If it's the former, we'll get a whole lot of assets to play with :)
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@rtschutter: Go
As far as I can tell, it's currently impossible to release a map name, even if you delete the map from your account. I haven't needed this feature myself but I can certainly see why it'd be useful. I'll ask about it or put in a request :P
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I'm going to move this into the art request subforum. You should get some better responses there :)
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If I could go to Eurogamer, I'd totally say hi. Just sayin'.
:)
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Didn't manage to get a blizzcon ticket when they first went on sale? You can now get a virtual ticket at the Blizzcon website for $40 USD. As always, you get streamed video for all of the panels, you gain access to all of the recordings afterwords, and you get the in-game rewards :) It's a pretty neat service, and it's way more affordable than actually going.
And as always, you can expect coverage of Blizzcon's starcraft-related panels from sc2mapster ^.^
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Things seem to be working at the moment- it may just be server hiccups. If the problem persists, let us know, and we'll pass it up the chain. :)