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The Aeon of Strife

Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 3:33 pm
by Gradius
Hey guys. It's been ages since I touched the map editor, but recently I found my StarCraft disk again and decided to fire up the good ol' staredit. This map is just a basic movie map detailing some basic Protoss history - the Aeon of Strife. I also used this map as an opportunity to practice my sound editing. You'll notice that I tried to replace the Protoss death animations with those of a Terran civilian since that blue after-glow is actually the Protoss teleporting to a safe haven, and since the Protoss were at a stone-age level during the strife this mechanic isn't supposed to exist. Basically, my goal with this map was to overdo the "epic" as much as possible. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy. You don't have to do anything in this map, just sit back & watch. Feel free to shoot back any suggestions/feedback. :)

Download here.

Re: The Aeon of Strife

Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:10 am
by Legion
Okay, I checked it out. I don't really know what to think of it, actually.

Voice acting/sound editing was okay, although it's clear that you haven't mastered the art of making sounds louder without damaging them. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_(audio)

The map itself was cool. Nice terrain, nice use of doodads. At first I didn't understand who was talking to who (all the same voice) but that cleared up a bit thanks to the names (Protoss and Raamar, I believe). It took me a while to understand that the xel'naga temple was actually a ship. I kept looking at the battlecruisers that seemed to attack it, haha.

Also, what were those guys Savassan and Temlaa doing there? I got to see them for a few seconds, but if I hadn't looked in StarEdit I wouldn't know their names. (You told us to sit back, so that includes no clicking units while watching *wink*)

I thought there was too much time between every event. I realize you wanted some actions to synchronize with the music, but I was wondering if maybe I *did* have to do something. This problem persisted, up to the point where I was left listening to the music for more than 30 seconds and looking at a fog-of-warred screen, and I eventually closed the map.

The protoss dying animation replaced by terran dying animation was actually pretty neat, although I wouldn't have minded if they just died normally.

So, all in all, a good effort , especially since moviemaps are hard to make. I generally try to stay away from them, but I was curious and I'm glad I checked it out.

Cheers.

Re: The Aeon of Strife

Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:36 am
by Eredalis
Nice idea, but the quality of the audio files... :-\
This is a typical case of NO GO. Seriously, do you not hear this out? The whole spoken files are totally oversteered.

Re: The Aeon of Strife

Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:49 am
by Legion
The voice acting is good enough!

If you want to do audio, Gradius, all you need to do is tone down the volume of mic OR move away from the mic a bit. This is just 'damaged' audio, it's unrepairable. Myself and others could try to mask the clipped parts with fx, but I suggest you just rerecord the lines.

PM me if want more info.

Re: The Aeon of Strife

Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 1:51 pm
by Gradius
I think I need to clarify something: 90% of this stuff is adapted from a book called the Dark Templar Saga: Firstborn, which discusses the Aeon of Strife. So if some of this doesn't make sense, that's why. If there are any other confusing points, just let me know.

Here's a few clarifications though:
1) Ihan'Ri = Xel'Naga
2) The guy that says "you are the reason they abandonded us" randomly dies in a spray of blood. In actuality he was supposed to die by getting a rock thrown at his head. I tried to illustrate this by having the 2 Protoss step forward and him explode. Any other suggestions or should he just die normally?
3) Other than Ramaar, these are just random Protoss talking to one another. Would it be better if I gave them some made-up names?
Eredalis wrote: Nice idea, but the quality of the audio files... :-\
This is a typical case of NO GO. Seriously, do you not hear this out? The whole spok6en files are totally oversteered.
Aye, they were in bad shape when I first made them, and even worse when I compressed them. Originally this map was 40mb, I got it down to 6. I'm using Adobe Audition, but I'm not sure which settings offer the best compression & are compatible with staredit. Not to mention that I have one of those shitty $3 mics, lol.

With that being said, I don't think the sound quality is hideous or anything. In fact, I thought that the "raspyness" only added to the Protoss's voice. Though I wouldn't be surprised if it sounded different on your rig than it does on mine.
Also, what were those guys Savassan and Temlaa doing there? I got to see them for a few seconds, but if I hadn't looked in StarEdit I wouldn't know their names. (You told us to sit back, so that includes no clicking units while watching *wink*)
They were examining artifacts. ;D You didn't necessarily have to click on them though.
So, all in all, a good effort , especially since moviemaps are hard to make. I generally try to stay away from them, but I was curious and I'm glad I checked it out.

Cheers.
Thanks! ;D

Re: The Aeon of Strife

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 5:07 am
by Bruce
By chance does anyone has a copy of this map?

Re: The Aeon of Strife

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 11:28 pm
by RazorclawX
Bruce wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 5:07 am By chance does anyone has a copy of this map?
The OP actually had a download link on it, but I'll reattach it here.