Trying to keep the mini-map visible, but remove the ping/terrain/color buttons next to it using layout files by moving them off-screen. For the life of me I haven't figured out how.
For a while I was getting a variety of these errors:
"Document error: StarCraftIITemp\UI\Layout\ridofminimapicons.SC2Layout(50,17) : XML: no element found:"
"UI: File [ridofminimapicons.SC2Layout] Line [2] Column [1]. Attempting to add a desc named [ridofminimapicons] to [] with the same name as an already existing child."
"Unknown type attribute [Panel] for: [MinimapPanelTemplate]."
"Cannot create [GameUI/UIContainer/MinimapPanel] because frames of type [MinimapPanel] are marked as Blizzard Only."
I got them to go away, but the minimap buttons still aren't moving.
This is what I'm doing for the ping button - no idea if I'm doing it even remotely correct:
One reason is because even if the contest is dumb, there's still a lot of $$$$$$ to be involved. Why wouldn't you congratulate them?
Secondly, a lot of these games, even if you think they are sub-par for the top 10 of the contest, would have been amazing in a different context. I don't want my opinion of the contest or their top 10 picks to take away from the fact that ALL of these maps took an insane amount of effort and whoever made them should be proud.
In general I think people are just trying not to ruin the joy of the people who made it to the top 10, which is a good thing.
(Although for the record, I liked the Fantasy theme)
Huh. The picks didn't look to bad at first, but after playing them all I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. Some good maps like Death by Fantasy didn't make it, and some truly awful maps did. (Like Escort Ships)
Doesn't help that I usually disagree with their criteria to begin with. Most of the maps chosen are stale remakes of old maps or games, and mostly just seem to have been chosen because they're really, really, really simplistic and are "safe" choices for top 10 since the are proven concepts, changing little from what they were based off of.
Still, congratulations to the top 10!
Just remember, even if you lose out in the voting, if you got top 10 you got infinitely more for your work than the dozens of people who got shit-nothing for the hours of dedication. Be proud!
Recorded footage of all the games people requested trailers for, so starting today I will be cutting the footage and uploading trailers. Again, let me know if I missed a trailer on this playlist.
Thanks for playing! Bit unfortunate it ended up 2v3. It just divides income by number of players so the team with 3 doesn't get more money. Once someone hits max resources their income trickles over to their allies, so in once sense it wasn't a big deal - but but it probably did put them at a bit of a disadvantage.
As for snow-balling, I think it was mostly new player experience and uneven teams. Counter-attacking on the left side of the map or countering your unit composition with their units or abilities all would have turned the game around in their favor. I was in a game the other day when my team had more then 30% more of the map then the enemy team and my team still lost.
That could still be a problem for the reason of making it difficult for players to learn, but there is a duration of inaction at the start that should help with that. But it'll never be a game people can completely pick up the first time, I think.
As for the income thing, I can't really make building tool-tips say how much money they'll use because it depends what you choose to build - maybe I just shouldn't start with auto-cast building on, but I wanted to set a precedent for that because I wanted people to be focusing on their army control more than their production.
Cool. I've been working on a comprehensive beginners tutorial to the editor in an attempt to make map making more accessible, but I put the project on hold because I felt the whole tutorial would need to be re-written with Wizards in mind, which is why I'm curious to know.
Two Orcish Clans clash in a battle of epic proportions as they try to conquer the world, lead by Shamans using their godlike powers to influence the tide of the battle.
Conquest brings you something fresh by going against the recent trend of simple Arcades that have you controlling a limited number of units, and instead plays to the strength of the SC2 engine: high quality path-finding for masses of units.
It brings the accessibility of a good Arcade to a well known genre (high-rise strategy in the vein of games like Risk Legacy) but combines it with some elements of God games to create a unique experience as players can omnisciently use powerful abilities anywhere they have vision.
Conquest aspires to one of Blizzards own core values: Easy to learn, difficult to master. Much work has been put into polishing the UI and new-user experience to make sure anyone can get into the unadulterated fun of controlling massive armies and using omniscient powers. Automatic control grouping, high level commands like "select idle units" or "order selected units to seek enemies" takes away the tedium of looking after every little unit, but there is still plenty of room to push your skills through team-play, tactics, and strategy.
Conquest is still growing to fulfill it's design goals, so I would love every bit of your feedback!
I'm trying to make the Reapers KD8 grenade have the ability to knock units over cliffs and into unpathable areas.
However, it seems to detect if the unit will land on an un-pathable area or over a cliff and prevents it from happening - but I can't figure out why, or how to change that. Can't find any linked validators, any flags that relate too it, nothing.
Edit: Solved. On the "KD8 Range" Validator (that I thought was only for range) uncheck "Validator: Pathing"
It's up to 1.4 now, which can make older versions like 1.3 not load very well.
Whenever this happens, I go to "Open Files" and try to open the data mod/download it in advance. If it's not there - you're screwed, you just have to wait for Blizzard to fix it. If it is there, it will still sometimes not open properly but downloading it in advance via this method can help. Other times, if you are using an old version like 1.2 and a new version is out like 1.4, you need to open the map even when it says it cant find it and add the new version. (For me, I have to do this by converting it into components and changing the headerinfo file because doing it normally doesn't work)
For ability useage, could just have it glow, be impossible to miss when it is full.
It does glow, and pops up a text near there saying "Your mana is full! Use abilities!" :P
And yeah, I don't expect people to master it on the first go. But for the Rock the Cabinet contest especially, making sure its a fun and understandable experience as fast as possible is important. Thanks for the expanded feedback & replay.
Oh, you were already using 32 bit. That sucks. =S I've already put a lot of effort into reducing lag through various tricks so I'm not sure if it can really be helped at this point. Seems 1 in 6 people complain of lag. :( I will keep trying different things to help it though.
"Tutorial wise, I think the icons are great, the tooltips are great, I simply was in such a panic to get stuff going that I felt I didn't have the time."
Thats interesting, why did you feel panicked? A lot of other players have said that too, but I'm not really sure why. At the beginning stages of the game you are usually far enough away from the enemy you don't really get into combat, so there isn't really any need to rush. Additionally, a lot of stuff is done for you (like building constructing units automatically) freeing up time for you to explore things. I'm interested in what seemed to create the feeling of panic for you, because it is something I'd like to change.
I tend to learn by doing, not by reading, so I typically absolutely bomb maps that rely on me paying great attention to tool-tips.
Well, a lot of players do, so I try to design it with that in mind. Was just wondering if you thought there was anything non-tool-tip related that would make it more intuitive without requiring reading. For an example, would making an Ogre defending the Ogre Totem(s) make it more visually broadcast "this is the ogre place" without having to read tool-tips? Maybe instead of a hover-over tool-tip, a permanent floating text saying "Build Ogre Halls Here"? Likewise, is there similar tricks that would draw you towards more ability usage.
Edit: Oh, and I forgot can you send me the replay of your game? Thanks
0
Trying to keep the mini-map visible, but remove the ping/terrain/color buttons next to it using layout files by moving them off-screen. For the life of me I haven't figured out how.
For a while I was getting a variety of these errors:
"Document error: StarCraftIITemp\UI\Layout\ridofminimapicons.SC2Layout(50,17) : XML: no element found:"
"UI: File [ridofminimapicons.SC2Layout] Line [2] Column [1]. Attempting to add a desc named [ridofminimapicons] to [] with the same name as an already existing child."
"Unknown type attribute [Panel] for: [MinimapPanelTemplate]."
"Cannot create [GameUI/UIContainer/MinimapPanel] because frames of type [MinimapPanel] are marked as Blizzard Only."
I got them to go away, but the minimap buttons still aren't moving.
This is what I'm doing for the ping button - no idea if I'm doing it even remotely correct:
0
@MaskedImposter: Go
One reason is because even if the contest is dumb, there's still a lot of $$$$$$ to be involved. Why wouldn't you congratulate them?
Secondly, a lot of these games, even if you think they are sub-par for the top 10 of the contest, would have been amazing in a different context. I don't want my opinion of the contest or their top 10 picks to take away from the fact that ALL of these maps took an insane amount of effort and whoever made them should be proud.
In general I think people are just trying not to ruin the joy of the people who made it to the top 10, which is a good thing.
(Although for the record, I liked the Fantasy theme)
0
Huh. The picks didn't look to bad at first, but after playing them all I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. Some good maps like Death by Fantasy didn't make it, and some truly awful maps did. (Like Escort Ships)
Doesn't help that I usually disagree with their criteria to begin with. Most of the maps chosen are stale remakes of old maps or games, and mostly just seem to have been chosen because they're really, really, really simplistic and are "safe" choices for top 10 since the are proven concepts, changing little from what they were based off of.
Still, congratulations to the top 10!
Just remember, even if you lose out in the voting, if you got top 10 you got infinitely more for your work than the dozens of people who got shit-nothing for the hours of dedication. Be proud!
0
Recorded footage of all the games people requested trailers for, so starting today I will be cutting the footage and uploading trailers. Again, let me know if I missed a trailer on this playlist.
0
I've made a youtube playlist of trailers for maps entered into Rock the Cabinet: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiwb93Oht1EYzNX6oYttIC_rgs3HYE26S
If your trailer for your RTC submission isn't on there, let me know. I've posted the playlist on reddit to give some publicity to them, hopefully: https://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/3vog1b/the_submission_deadline_for_blizzards_arcade/
If your map doesn't have a trailer yet, see my offer to make trailers for free: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/20042655121
0
Thanks for playing! Bit unfortunate it ended up 2v3. It just divides income by number of players so the team with 3 doesn't get more money. Once someone hits max resources their income trickles over to their allies, so in once sense it wasn't a big deal - but but it probably did put them at a bit of a disadvantage.
As for snow-balling, I think it was mostly new player experience and uneven teams. Counter-attacking on the left side of the map or countering your unit composition with their units or abilities all would have turned the game around in their favor. I was in a game the other day when my team had more then 30% more of the map then the enemy team and my team still lost.
That could still be a problem for the reason of making it difficult for players to learn, but there is a duration of inaction at the start that should help with that. But it'll never be a game people can completely pick up the first time, I think.
As for the income thing, I can't really make building tool-tips say how much money they'll use because it depends what you choose to build - maybe I just shouldn't start with auto-cast building on, but I wanted to set a precedent for that because I wanted people to be focusing on their army control more than their production.
0
@Renee2islga: Go
Oh, sorry to hear that - glad you managed to recover your data, though.
0
Cool. I've been working on a comprehensive beginners tutorial to the editor in an attempt to make map making more accessible, but I put the project on hold because I felt the whole tutorial would need to be re-written with Wizards in mind, which is why I'm curious to know.
0
Hey, was just wondering how progress on these were going. Any estimated release time?
0
Like your reviews! Would love it if you could do one of my map.
Name: Shamans of Conquest
Players: 6 (Meant to be played 3v3)
Thanks :)
0
Shamans of Conquest: NA: battlenet://starcraft/map/1/266298 EU: battlenet://starcraft/map/2/186992
Strategy - 3v3
Images: http://imgur.com/a/lpapV
Video Trailer:
Two Orcish Clans clash in a battle of epic proportions as they try to conquer the world, lead by Shamans using their godlike powers to influence the tide of the battle.
Conquest brings you something fresh by going against the recent trend of simple Arcades that have you controlling a limited number of units, and instead plays to the strength of the SC2 engine: high quality path-finding for masses of units.
It brings the accessibility of a good Arcade to a well known genre (high-rise strategy in the vein of games like Risk Legacy) but combines it with some elements of God games to create a unique experience as players can omnisciently use powerful abilities anywhere they have vision.
Conquest aspires to one of Blizzards own core values: Easy to learn, difficult to master. Much work has been put into polishing the UI and new-user experience to make sure anyone can get into the unadulterated fun of controlling massive armies and using omniscient powers. Automatic control grouping, high level commands like "select idle units" or "order selected units to seek enemies" takes away the tedium of looking after every little unit, but there is still plenty of room to push your skills through team-play, tactics, and strategy.
Conquest is still growing to fulfill it's design goals, so I would love every bit of your feedback!
0
I'm trying to make the Reapers KD8 grenade have the ability to knock units over cliffs and into unpathable areas.
However, it seems to detect if the unit will land on an un-pathable area or over a cliff and prevents it from happening - but I can't figure out why, or how to change that. Can't find any linked validators, any flags that relate too it, nothing.
Edit: Solved. On the "KD8 Range" Validator (that I thought was only for range) uncheck "Validator: Pathing"
0
It's up to 1.4 now, which can make older versions like 1.3 not load very well.
Whenever this happens, I go to "Open Files" and try to open the data mod/download it in advance. If it's not there - you're screwed, you just have to wait for Blizzard to fix it. If it is there, it will still sometimes not open properly but downloading it in advance via this method can help. Other times, if you are using an old version like 1.2 and a new version is out like 1.4, you need to open the map even when it says it cant find it and add the new version. (For me, I have to do this by converting it into components and changing the headerinfo file because doing it normally doesn't work)
0
For ability useage, could just have it glow, be impossible to miss when it is full.
It does glow, and pops up a text near there saying "Your mana is full! Use abilities!" :P
And yeah, I don't expect people to master it on the first go. But for the Rock the Cabinet contest especially, making sure its a fun and understandable experience as fast as possible is important. Thanks for the expanded feedback & replay.
0
Oh, you were already using 32 bit. That sucks. =S I've already put a lot of effort into reducing lag through various tricks so I'm not sure if it can really be helped at this point. Seems 1 in 6 people complain of lag. :( I will keep trying different things to help it though.
"Tutorial wise, I think the icons are great, the tooltips are great, I simply was in such a panic to get stuff going that I felt I didn't have the time."
Thats interesting, why did you feel panicked? A lot of other players have said that too, but I'm not really sure why. At the beginning stages of the game you are usually far enough away from the enemy you don't really get into combat, so there isn't really any need to rush. Additionally, a lot of stuff is done for you (like building constructing units automatically) freeing up time for you to explore things. I'm interested in what seemed to create the feeling of panic for you, because it is something I'd like to change.
I tend to learn by doing, not by reading, so I typically absolutely bomb maps that rely on me paying great attention to tool-tips.
Well, a lot of players do, so I try to design it with that in mind. Was just wondering if you thought there was anything non-tool-tip related that would make it more intuitive without requiring reading. For an example, would making an Ogre defending the Ogre Totem(s) make it more visually broadcast "this is the ogre place" without having to read tool-tips? Maybe instead of a hover-over tool-tip, a permanent floating text saying "Build Ogre Halls Here"? Likewise, is there similar tricks that would draw you towards more ability usage.
Edit: Oh, and I forgot
can you send me the replay of your game? Thanks