LotC Script Complete (Mission Count Finalized)

[The Oracle]

The script for Legacy of the Confederation for StarCraft 2 has been finalized and is as follows:

Script length: 611 pages
Estimated Dialogue Time: 9 hours
Number of Missions: 34

Mission Layout:

Episode 1: Past Purposes: (1-7)
Episode 2: Dawn of Darkness: (8-20)
Episode 3: Galaxy of Fire: (21-34)

**Part, not all, of the Fallen Angel storylines have been absorbed into Episodes 2 and 3.

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CC Voice Actors:

I'll be sending you your lines in the next couple of weeks once I break them out.  Thank you for your patience.

[Lavarinth]

Did you still have open roles, or did you finally get around to casting them all?

[The Oracle]

Lav,

Oh there's a crap ton of characters still needing voices.

[Lavarinth]

Good to know.

[Falchion]

I was actually thinking you had paused scripting and would only resumed when SCII was launched.  Once again, you proved me wrong.  I'll be waiting.

[Maglok]

Congratulations Oracle that's a awesome job. I'll just see what you want me to do, sounds like a worthy project. (Even if your only a bunch of quartz crystals giving orders )

[Meta]

611 pages? 

34 missions? 

That's a lot of work. Really a lot, but you've always been one of the hard-working community members anyway. Good luck getting it done, as this is the most anticipated SC2 campaign project.

(Even if your only a bunch of quartz crystals giving orders )

Makes me wonder, maybe it's not quartz, it could be ice. Maybe The Oracle is trapped in the Frozen Throne? 

[Maglok]

Ice? Nah he would have melted by now. Unless he is hooked to a computer in a cooling cell... hmmm...

[The Oracle]

Meta,

"That's a lot of work. Really a lot..."

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Truth be told, the actual creation of the terrain and the triggers was only about 25% of the time required in the mapping.  Getting the storyline fleshed out, writing the script, having voices recorded and edited, finding music selections (or having them composed) was the real meat of the undertaking.

With everything but the map and trigger creation out of the way before SC2 releases, it should be a cakewalk to get it out the door this time around (with the one exception of the whole added unit graphics and portraits issue; but that's a separate story).

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Falchion,

"I was actually thinking you had paused scripting and would only resumed when SCII was launched.  Once again, you proved me wrong.  I'll be waiting."

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It sort of dovetails into my response to Meta but the script and recording/editing the voices is the most time consuming part of this undertaking.  The delay in SC's release just means I don't have to rush getting it all done in time.  I want everything but the maps, triggers, and graphic extras to be complete prior to the game's launch.

And you won't be waiting long...I should have your piece broken out and ready for you in the next week or so.  Thank you for being patient.

[IskatuMesk]

If you ever need music your composers can't cover, I can probably find something in my retardedly massive library.

Also if you need voicing for anything like cerebrates or the like... I can probably do that as well.

http://www.doack.campaigncreations.org/amon2c.mp3
http://www.doack.campaigncreations.org/malashtest.mp3

Still screwing with dynamics processing to make these more legible.

[Jadefang]

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Truth be told, the actual creation of the terrain and the triggers was only about 25% of the time required in the mapping.  Getting the storyline fleshed out, writing the script, having voices recorded and edited, finding music selections (or having them composed) was the real meat of the undertaking.

With everything but the map and trigger creation out of the way before SC2 releases, it should be a cakewalk to get it out the door this time around (with the one exception of the whole added unit graphics and portraits issue; but that's a separate story).
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Really? Don’t you have an ongoing flow of new ideas and changes after you start making your maps (especially when only able to estimate what SC2 edit may or may not be able to do)? It happened to me all the time during the campaign contest; but then, maybe that is one of the reasons why your campaigns are so professional.

[Meta]

Really? Don’t you have an ongoing flow of new ideas and changes after you start making your maps (especially when only able to estimate what SC2 edit may or may not be able to do)? It happened to me all the time during the campaign contest; but then, maybe that is one of the reasons why your campaigns are so professional.

Yeah, that's how it goes with my creative process as well - nothing is set in stone until I actually make the maps and test the final versions. I guess that, if it works differently with Oracle, more power to him - his campaigns are voiced, and that makes it much harder to change even a few lines in the dialogue. Being a mapmaker myself, I can say that writing the plot (especially the details) and selecting music for the campaign was most of the challenge for me... but I still think that testing the actual maps was the real pain. Bugfixing and testing are very troublesome, but hopefully it'll be easier in SC2 once we get used to the editor. Since Oracle's maps tend to be a triggerfest as well (the uniqueness of each map is one of the best features in LotC, IMHO), I believe bugfixing to be a key issue in there.

I expect terraining and cutscene-making to be way harder and more time-consuming than in SC1, though. Take this is as pure speculation and theorycrafting anyway.

[The Oracle]

@Meta

A lot of the triggers in LotC for StarCraft 1 were created to circumvent limitations imposed by Blizzard (intentionally or because they didn't think of it themselves).  This lead to massive use of the 'switch' trigger in LotC which fuels most everything in the campaign from music playing to the boss fights.

I'm hoping StarCraft 2, like WarCraft 3, will actually have 'regular' triggers that would do the job of 10 switch triggers in SC1.  The time savings there should offset the more complex trigger interface overall...at least in theory.  That would include cutscenes as well.  Add the camera, take away switches, it should balance out.
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@Jadefang

The maps are already planned as a consequence of early development of the script.  Every encounter, friendly and enemy base setups, starting units.  In order to write the script, the gameplay had to be mapped out in detail.  So you could say that you're correct.  In making the maps (conceptually), the script was constantly shifting and changing.

Now that the maps have gone through the planning process and the encounters, missions, objectives, boss fights, cutscenes etc. are finalized, the script is finalized.

I learned from Fallen Angel to avoid the thing called 'Scope Creep' in which, as I'm making maps, I say to myself "Wouldn't it be cool to throw this in" or "Wouldn't it be cool to throw 'that' in" and keep piling on stuff to the point the maps almost didn't get finished.  Fallen Angel was supposed to be one mission originally.  The scope of the project creeps and creeps and creeps until it's overwhelming.

I'll be deviating as little as possible from the complete script and map design concepts for LotC Reborn to hopefully maximize completion speed of the campaign once SC2 is released.

[Maglok]

Still we don't know what units will make it into the game, so starting units already decided? Sounds tricky.

Another question that popped up: We know for a fact the briefing room won't be back the way we were used to it. With potential dialogue trees (and the potential for Blizzard to scrap those again) and no idea how exactly 'story space', as they call it, works, how can you set so much in stone already?

[The Oracle]

Trust me.