SC2Mapster

The cutscene editor is old hat: it was released ages ago, and everyone's heard of it. Case closed, right?

Well, maybe not. Mapper CybrosX figured that outside of a few bigger projects, it seems underused. Especially a number of custom campaign creators have not seem to find ways to make their cinematics as kick-ass as they can possibly be, and that seems like a shame. As such, it's high time for another look at what the tool can do. Cybros made us a beautiful brief in-game cinematic to remind us all of the power of the Cutscene Editor.

Is your interest piqued? Discuss the editor in our Cinematic board here.

Starcraft Universe by Upheaval Arts

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StarCraft Universe: Beyond Koprulu - OPEN BETA

Over five years ago, myself, a creative developer, and Philipp Meyer, a brilliant programmer, began developing a ‘World of StarCraft’ prototype using the StarCraft II Engine. Neither of us knew of each other’s projects until one day, we discovered one another and joined forces to build a small team, beginning work on what we wanted to be the biggest mod ever made… Not just a mod. A game. A complete transformation of the way StarCraft was played; Something the entire Blizzard community dreamed of for years.

We wanted to combine the third person action RPG elements of World of WarCraft, the combat mechanics of Diablo, and the starship mechanics of FTL with the StarCraft setting… But that wasn’t enough. We wanted the game to be completely voice acted with a unique story, custom art assets, and a fresh musical score. We wanted the game to open with a breathtaking CG cinematic, inspired by Blizzard Entertainment’s dedication to high production values, and end with an obscure and convoluted conclusion… also inspired by Blizzard.

And so our small group set out to do what many said we were crazy to do, what others said we would never finish, and what some said we would completely fail at… But there were those throughout the globe who believed in us, backed us, and bought us the time we needed to deliver on our promises. Today we announce the Open Beta of StarCraft Universe: Beyond Koprulu, and the full launch slated to release one month from now! We don’t own the intellectual property on StarCraft, so we cannot sell SCU, but we ask those who are able and enjoy what we’ve done, to back us on Indiegogo, a platform endorsed by Blizzard for community developers to receive donations.

To all those who believed in us and helped us along the way, we say thank you. SCU would not have been possible without you. We look forward to seeing you all… in the worlds… of StarCraft.

Kreation

LifeForce Campaign by Bilxor

Oh boy. Resident mapper Bilxor has been working on something in relative secrecy for quite a while, and his project is about to hit the figurative streets. The LifeForce campaign aptly follows the story of the LifeForce Mercenary Corporation in an 8 map arc, complete with it's own in-game cinematics, unique portions of gameplay, and personally upgradable units. The campaign is set to go live today, so stay tuned in, as in a couple of hours, you will be able to give it a go. Find the map on the website in the link above.

Still not convinced? Check out the mission teaser Bilxor has released. And be on the look-out for a playthrough by Jayborino that will also be with us soon.

Shadow of the Xel'Naga by OutsiderXE

Are you one of those people who can't get enough of some good co-op action? OutsiderXE's got you covered. This excellent mapper has recently updated his Shadow of the Xel'Naga campaign, a 7-map story for you and a buddy to play through. If - like me - you don't have any StarCraft-playing friends, you can also play through the campaign by yourself. Find the game on the arcade under 'sotx', or visit the project's page on Mapster through the link above. Still not sure? Here's a video by our resident reviewer JayBorino to tide you over.

The Curse of Tristram: Back to the Den of Evil by egodbout

egodbout is back with an updated demo of the Curse of Tristram, this time, showcasing the Den of Evil!

Bi-Weekly Testing Thread #3

Any WarCraft fans out there?

Since the Bi-Weekly Testing Thread project has been going strong this past month, we've once again put up a new thread. User Domper and his team have been working on 'Chronicles of Azeroth' for some time now: a mod for StarCraft II that remakes it into not just WarCraft: Orcs and Humans, not just WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness, but also WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos! He has recently released two multiplayer maps for his mods and is now looking for feedback on both the maps as well as his mod.

Are you in need of having that old RTS-style WarCraft fancy tickled again? Then head on over to the thread linked above to learn more and save up some feedback for Chronicles of Azeroth.

HeptaCraft by summerloud

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HeptaCraft is an extension mod for SC2:LotV, featuring a whopping seven playable factions, ranging from old-school BW-like factions to completely new ones with fresh ideas. The gameplay is more like BW than StarCraft 2, with longer, more positional battles.

Bi-Weekly Testing Thread #2

Hello again Starcraft II mappers and players alike!

After the great success of last week's Bi-Weekly Testing Thread, providing mapper Trieva with a lot of feedback on his Blitz Fire map, we've once again put up a new thread. This time the target of our scrutiny will be 'Last Remnant', which is the sixth campaign map to the 'Hammer of Dawn' campaign by mapster EDHRIANO.

Have you been looking for some sweet single player action and do you want to speak your mind about what you're seeing? Then head on over to the thread above, and get to work!

Bi-Weekly Testing Thread

Today we've uploaded the first of Mapsters new "Bi-Weekly Testing Thread"s, with the map in question being Trieva's Blitz Fire. What does this mean? Simple: for the next two weeks, we're calling on all Mapsters to play and test this particular map on the arcade, and leave their detailed feedback in the thread. After two weeks, we'll pick a different project and put that up for testing and feedback.

So look up the map, hit the link above, and leave your comments in the thread!

JayBorinoPlays StarCraft & Blizzard Channel

Most of you already know JayBorino as not only a LetsPlayer, but also as a constant participant on our forums. He's recently been collaborating with some of the mod team to set up some new initiatives for you Mapsters as well. His newly made trailer depicts what his channel is all about, and fans of custom made StarCraft II maps should definitely check it out!

For those interested, Alzarath has setup an SC2Mapster Discord server.

Ghost Finder 2 by Darkblizzard

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This map is about Humans (Catchers) that have randomly awakened in a maze figuring out that others were placed upon the maze with them. As the humans begin to work together to help each other survive in maze by collecting supplies from the maze, they soon to noticed that one of the humans aren't a true human and has been killed on this maze a while back returning for revenge for those who enter its maze. Will you be a chosen person picked to enter the maze or will be you one that has been killed already and haunt those who enter it...?

The Curse of Tristram by egodbout

Egodbout is back at it again on his Diablo 2 remake project. Here's a look at the Assassin Skill Tree.

2D Game Library by greythepirate

The 2D game lib is a basic framework for creating 2D platformer type games in StarCraft 2 which makes gratuitous use translate kinetics (a new data type added in 3.0). With some modifications, the game lib could be used to for any games with a WASD / 8 directional movement controls or even just games with basic 2D physics (tetris, angry birds, flappy bird, canabalt, etc).

Transformers: Open World by Crainy

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Transformers: Open World will be an expansive multiplayer third person open world RPG that aims to immerse you in the universe of the Transformers movies.

Ladder Map Pool Submission

Blizzard is looking for community map makers to create some great maps for the upcoming ladder season!

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For the upcoming season in Legacy of the Void, we’re giving all map makers the opportunity to have their creation become part of the official ladder map pool. We’ll be using at least two maps from all those which are sent to us; to have your map considered for the upcoming map pool, all you have to do is send it to us for review and it will be considered along with all other maps we receive. We’ve already seen a number of quality maps published to Team Liquid, Reddit, and our Battle.net Forums, and we want to see even more. Check below for entry guidelines.

Battlegrounds by Syco with Danze

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BattleGrounds is a unique twist on a tug-of-war styled map, where you control a general and use your selected units and abilities to destroy the enemy team's mana stone. An in-game lobby system lets you play to your heart's content without needing to leave the game, and an instancing system allows every player to do different things at the same time. 8 players can play the Story Mode at the same time if they so choose to, or some can play story mode while others PvP. You can leave story mode without leaving the game and challenge others to PvP.

Shadow Brood Campaign by Narudek

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Shadow of the Brood is a 11 mission Zerg campaign about Radgar and his hunt for essence and effort to bring broodmother Kelysa back. The Broodmother Kelysa was killed by Amon's hybrids while they was trying to control zerg minds, she denied. Radgar was created from the essence of the Broodmother Kelysa. He was the only one who escaped. He thought he's alone, but that's not a true....one of the Kelysa's evolution masters will join him soon!

DWARVEN COMBAT by greythepirate

Ever just want to beat up a bunch of dwarves? Then this game is for you! Collect and combine runic powerups and use the kingdom's traps to assault your enemies in this arena brawler!

StormCraft Armies: Rise of Storm by miketwistam

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Have you ever dreamed of being able to play as an iconic Warcraft faction like, for example, Kingdom of Stromgarde or Warsong Clan? Have you ever thought of what would have happened to Stromgarde, if that kingdom have never joined the Alliance? Or what would have happened if it chose to aid other kingdoms only after eliminating the Troll threat on their borders? Have you ever thought, what would have happened if a Starcraft universe race would fight against a Warcraft universe race? Blizzard gave us incredible opportunity to have a solid taste of the possibilty with their Heroes of the Storm game, but what if the ability to do so would expand to RTS genre? For all the fans of all Blizzards Universes, we are proud to present an RTS game with playable iconic factions from Warcraft 1. 2. 3, WoW, Starcraft 1.2 and Diablo 1,2,3....and all of it with completely custom art, game systems and features added to the mix!

Shadows of Conquest by TheSkunk

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.

All Doodads Project by Scbroodsc2

Long-time Mapster user Sc2broodsc2 (or, more easily known as 'Fenix') has recently updated his 'all doodads project' to include all the cool new stuff we got in LotV. What does this mean, you ask? Simple: Fenix has gone through every single doodad currently available in the editor and screenshotted them. As such, we now have a comprehensive list of doodads that can be searched by picture. Say you're trying to create a Protoss base for your map and you've got an empty spot you need to fill up: you can scroll through the All Doodads project until you find one you like and immediately find the doodads' name, allowing the project to serve as a simple 'legend' of sorts when creating a terrain for your map.

Also included in the project as tilesets and cliffs, for those looking for more conceptual ideas. Happy terraining!

GetHypered! by killduk

Supporting up to 8 players, GetHypered! is a competitive dogfight game taking place under a fantastic Warcraft universe. Choose among the most beloved Warcraft heroes and fight your enemies for dominance! Make your own unique experience with countless options of weapons, hats, and accessory combinations!

Gods of Terminion by Chewiest

Destroy enemy God statues while protecting yours in this classic tug of war styled game, with added MOBA inspiration, in the battle at the far end of the lost realms.

Death by Fantasy by rutegar & team

Death by Fantasy is a brand new adventure game that is fast-paced, easy to learn, and full of variety. Play as Raynor and his friends while infiltrating the world of Fantasy to track down the evil hybrid Maar. This game is in Beta and will be submitted to the Rock the Cabinet Contest. Please give it a try and let us know what you think!