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STARDRAFT F.A.Q. - CAPABILITIES

What is the difference between Stardraft and Staredit?
Staredit (the campaign editor that comes with Starcraft) is a map editor. In other words, it edits scm and scx files. You use it to make campaigns, custom scenarios, or melee maps. Stardraft is not a map editor; instead it edits (temporarily) the data files that the Starcraft program uses. In more technical terms, it edits the mpq files in the Starcraft directory. You use it to replace the graphics, sounds, text, and other things in the game.

Can I make new units and heros?
Yes. Use StarGraft. Further explaination to come. (News page for details)

Can I make new AI scripts?
Yes. You use a utility called ScAiEdit which is available in the Programs section.

Can I make buildings produce different units then they normally do?
Yes. Use StarGraft. See the SCEB.

Can I add/remove buttons to a unit?
Yes. Use StarGraft. See the SCEB.

Can I change a unit's speed?
At the moment, the answer is yes, if you're up to it. =) A unit's speed is determined by its sprite (see the Graphics tab of Arsenal III). Thus, changing the sprite will change the unit's speed. However, it will also change how that unit looks. The speed of each specifc sprite is determined by the graphic and "animation" files which are believed to consist of the images.dat, flingy.dat, and iscript.bin files. See the SCEB for more info.

Can I change a unit's rank?
Yes. There are two way to do this:

  1. Go to the Staredit section of Arsenal III. Change the value of the Sublabel/Order field. Each number corresponds to a rank (or, in the case of the hero ships like the Hyperion, their pilot). The easiest way to do this is to look for the unit that normally has the rank you want, copy that Sublabel/Order number down, then write it in for the other unit you want to have that rank. For example, to give a unit a corporal rank (that normally of a marine), you'd enter 2 as the Sublabel/Order value.
  2. To edit the text of each rank manually, import the rez\stat_txt.tbl file from the mpq into your cwad. Then double click on it to open up the TBL editor. Find the ranks (they should be somwhere in the middle of the text list) and edit away.

Can I replace the Blizzard campaign missions with my own?
Yes. In fact, it is pretty easy. First, open your map (scm/scx) with an MPQ viewer (see the Programs section) and extract the file called scenario.chk. This is the uncompressed version of your map (without sounds). Next, open up the Install.exe (from the CD) in your MPQ Viewer and find the path and name of the Blizzard level you want to replace. For example, the first Broodwar Protoss mission is located at:

campaign\expprotoss\protoss01\staredit\scenario.chk

Now, place your custom scenario.chk file into your cwad and name it exactly the same as the level you want to replace. If you were replacing the first Broodwar Protoss mission, you'd name it exactly the same as the above. That's it; run your cwad and your map will play when you get to the correct mission. However, to retain the custom sounds in your map, you must go through a slightly more complicated process. See the full article here.

Can I replace the splash screens that come before campaign missions?
Yes. Simply use an MPQ Viewer (see the Programs section) and look at the Install.exe on the CD. Filter it to look for pcx files. Now, simply find the splash screen you want to replace and put a pcx file (paint picture) in your cwad with the same path and file name. For example, if I wanted to replace the the image that shows before the first Protoss mission (and possibly a few others), I'd put my pcx in my cwad as:

glue\palpa\ProtossA.pcx

All the splash screens are called Protoss*.pcx, Zerg*.pcx, or Terran*.pcx for the ones from regular Starcraft, and xProtoss*.pcx, xZerg*.pcx, or xTerran*.pcx for the new Broodwar ones. The Blank.pcx files are just black images and the tfont.pcx files are just palettes (I think). Make sure you use a 640x480 pcx image when you make your pcx. More info here.

The files which actually tell Starcraft which splash screen(s) to display where and what text to overlay on them (i.e., the mission title) are the rez\Est*##.txt files in the Install.exe. For example, the file which designates the splash screens for the first Starcraft Protoss mission is rez\EstP01.txt, first Terran rez\EstT01.txt, second Zerg rez\EstZ02.txt, etc. The Broodwar campaign text files have an "x" appended to their file names; for example: rez\EstP01x.txt or rez\EstZ02x.txt. Open one up and you'll basically get an idea of how it is formatted -- it looks like HTML, so it should be pretty simple to edit. See this article for more info.

Can I replace the game music with my own?
Yes, but not using Stardraft. You must create a custom pat_rt.mpq file which contains your music replacement wavs. See this article.

How do I make all those wierd units (like Mengsk, larva, eggs, and stuff) placable in Staredit?
This is a common feature of many "Staredit patches." There are many to choose from; I personally use the Emerald Aspect patch which can be found in the Programs section. To learn how to make/customize your own, see my Staredit article. To learn how to make these wierd units usable in triggers, see my other Staredit article. =)

How do I edit unit names? What about weapon or spell names?
All these things are located in the rez\stat_txt.tbl file which you must export from the mpq. Import it into your cwad and then double click on it to open up TBL Edit. You can then look through the list to find the text you want to edit and change it.

How can I make units have different spells than they normally do?
You can not make units have different spells than they normally do, but you can change the effects of certain spells. Here are the steps:

  1. Go to the AI/Orders tab of Arsenal II.
  2. To do this without risk to accidently messing up unit orders, select an unused unit like the Cave, Cave-in, or Cantina. Otherwise, be sure to remember the value that is in the Action Type field before you edit (write it down).
  3. Now, scroll down the Action Type menu until you find the spell you want to edit. Most spells are toward the middle or end of the list.
  4. Now, change the Action Label and and Weapon fields to the other spell you want this one to emulate. For example, if you want psi storm to become plague, you'd change the Action Label to g<3>Pla<3>g<1>ue and the Weapon to Zerg Defiler (Plague). All you really have the change is the Weapon actually.
  5. Now, change the Action Type back to its original value (the one you wrote down).

That's it. With the example, now when your High Templars cast psi storm, they'll actually cast plague. This will not change the look of the spell button however, nor where the spell is researched, nor how much energy it costs (it will all remain the same as the original psi storm).

There is another little unrelated trick you might want to know about. If you change the sprite (see the Graphics tab) of a spell casting unit, it will still maintain its original spells. For example, if you change the sprite of a high templar to that of a ghost, it will still have psi storm and hallucination, but will look like a ghost. This way, you can make hero units that have "switched around" spells. This mainly only works when the sprite you use is a normal spell casting unit, however. (I.E., using a marine sprite to cast psi storm will crash the game) You can get around this if you edit the sprite itself. See the SCEB for more info.

How do I change a unit's wireframe?
Unfortunately, the only way that is known now is by manually editing the GRP. There are actually three wireframe grp files:

unit\wirefram\grpwire.grp
unit\wirefram\transwire.grp
unit\wirefram\wirefram.grp

wirefram.grp is a list of all the wireframes you actually see on the control bar when you select one unit. grpwire.grp is a list of the wireframes when you select multiple units (basically the same, but smaller). transwire.grp is a list of the wireframes when the unit enters a transport or bunker (i.e., small ones for the marine, rectangles for goliaths, big ones for tanks, etc.). You can edit them just like any other grp; each frame corresponds to one unit's grp. No two units share the same wireframe (even heros). I believe the frame number corresponds to the unit number (the Arsenal III Unit ID; in the lower right-hand corner). To get them to properly "change color" when the unit is damaged, you must use the exact same red/orange/green/yellow/etc. index colors that are used in the originals. Note that there are more than one of these same colors -- you MUST use the one that is in the same index spot in the palette, irrelevant if the color "looks the same."

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