CUSTOM MAPS IN CAMPAIGN PLACES
Again, the basics of this topic were dealt with in my Stardraft F.A.Q., so if you haven't read it yet, go over there now.
O.K. pretty basic huh? To recap, all you need to do is extract the chk files from your own maps and place them in the original campaign maps' directories just like any other file you would replace. But what if, say, you only have seven missions but you want to replace the Protoss campaign's eight? Or say you have twelve to replace the Zerg ten? Well, there is a pretty obvious trick that will allow you to make your missions fit, no matter the size.
Remember that you can use the "Set Next Scenario" trigger to call the next map in "normal" scm/scx campaigns. You can actually do the same thing for these campaign maps in the MPQ (in fact, you will have to if you want branching). Let me demonstrate with an example. Say my "next scenario" is in:
campaign\expprotoss\protoss03\staredit\scenario.chk
I would then set the next scenario in my current map as "protoss03.scx". Another example, just to make it perfectly clear; say I the next scenario is supposed to be:
campaign\expterran\terran05b\staredit\scenario.chk
I would set the next scenario as "terran05b.scx". As you can see, its pretty simple. And you should now see how you can add/subtract maps from a campaign. To subtract maps, just use the "Set Next Scenario" to skip campaign levels. To add maps, you can make use of some of the branching missions, like terran05a and terran05b. The zerg campaign is full of extra branching missions (and don't forget about the bonus mission =).
In fact, it is possible to mix and match missions from all three campaigns. I.E., I could be playing a mission in the terran campaign and set the next scenario to be one from the zerg campaign. In effect, you could make a single campaign that spans over 30 levels. Also note that if you play a mission from the Protoss campaign, it will automatically begin in a Protoss breifing room. All Zerg campaign missions begin in a Zerg breifing room and the same for Terran campaign missions. This is regardless of what race you make the player. Mixing and matching can help you get the correct breifing rooms if you have a multi-raced campaign that goes back and forth between races.
To properly "end" a campaign (i.e., to get to one of the smacker movie endings and the epilog, if applicable), just make your final level be either protoss08, terran08, or zerg10. Don't set a next scenario and the respective smacker will automatically play at the completion of the level.
It is also nice to note that you do not have to use the "Set Next Scenario" trigger to get to the next scenario. If you don't, you will just be sent back to the same mission if you lose and go on to the next default mission if you win (i.e., protoss02 from protoss01, terran05a from terran04, etc.).
A little note. All campaign levels will automatically run at the "fast" game speed. This is the max it can run at in a campaign and is not alterable by the creator or the player. Levels normally "sync" to the last speed used by the player. This is important if you need to sync game events correctly.
Problems with this. If your player goes through all the levels without ever going back to the main menu, then it will work perfectly. However, if your player does go back to the main menu, they will surely notice the pop-up campaign level listing that they get when clicking on a campaign to continue it. The problem is, unless you followed Blizzard's format percisely, your levels will not be displayed in order in those lists. Those lists will display (all) the levels in the order they were meant to be displayed (as the player completes them). Also, if you "skip" a mission, the list will automatically display the mission(s) you skipped. This isn't really that big of a problem, but you should be aware of it in the case that your players try to continue your campaign via this manner. The final section of this article will deal with editing those lists (though not completely solving this problem).
Nevertheless, this is very powerful info indeed. But now it is time for us to go beyond CWADs and start compiling our own MPQ files. This is because you probably want your own custom sounds in your maps. =) That is not possible with a simple CWAD.
MOVE ON TO MAP SOUNDS AND CUSTOM MUSIC
