Campaign Creations

Sure absolutely. I'd be more than willing to lend a hand with any modding assistance you might need. You seem to have a good grasp on video making and I definitely could use some advice/help in that department.

I may post a topic about a small mapping project I have restarted again here soon (losing the project even tho it was only in its infant stages to a reformat blunder made it hard to get motivated to rebuild/return). There's bound to be small aspects of each of our projects that could benefit from additional outside support.

Damn those zerglings!

I'm liking the changes you've made. I intend to beat it today, if I can stop dying all the time.

EDIT: finished it. That was quite something. Will post a mini-review sometime later.

Any and all reviews are welcome and appreciated, thanks.

THE FOREST MOON

This "mini-review" got a bit longer than I expected. So I separated it by topics for an easier read.

Briefing

A short briefing with some momentum. It's effective IMO. Good thing you added a message to disable the music (and in a non-intrusive manner, which was nice).


Story & Gameplay

I'm glad it wasn't just Drakkar alone for the entire mission, that would probably get tiresome. You sure knew how to hide those Nydus canals, some of them were tricky to find. I liked the concept, it wasn't contrived and made enough sense. I did feel lost and apprehensive while looking for the next Shield Battery, but looking back that was a fun sensation.

Before I forget: I'm not sure but we are to understand that Drakkar's crew mate (the Zealot) died in the crash right? Since he doesn't appear after the briefing.

A suggestion: shouldn't the mineral chunks and vespene tanks yield a bit more resources? Seems I have to collect too many in order to get a sizeable amount. Or maybe I'm greedy.

You clearly took your time with the terrain, it looks good with the different layers, and the doodading is appropriate and rich. There's a specific portion that's difficult to traverse, rougly at the center of the map, made of raised jungle; it was challenging for me to overcome the influx of enemies in that tricky terrain. And maneuvering Dragoons there was so nice. Additionally, I noticed some instances of extended terrain; good to know you have such skills, I may ask your help in the future.

While we're on the subject of looks, there are strange graphical glitches on the map. What are they, misplaced units?

I liked the scourges screeching when you arrive at that field entrance to the east. That and the twin pillars gave me a Diablo feel for some reason, which is good. Maybe you could add a little piece of music to play at this particular moment? Or would that be overdoing it? I'm a sucker for this kinda thing.

When I get the talisman and the Dark Templar comes to me, there is no indication of where I should go to, just "go to the beacon". I half-expected a map revealer would pinpoint the location for me, but alas, no such luck. That was a bit aggravating, having the DT bail and leave me with no clue as to where I was supposed to go. I thought to myself "when I find him I'mma pulverize his ass, the c*nt".

Towards the end it was funny how you added twists to the story; when I thought it would be over something else happened instead. The sense of urgency was there, and by the time I approached my destination everyone had died and I was anxious and uncertain if I'd make it. Good stuff!


Custom Content

I like the modding work on Drakkar's dragoon, his attack is cool and effective. It felt empowering to destroy countless zerglings with him (my kill count capped at 255). I imagine it must've been tricky to tailor the difficulty to his specific powers, but IMO you found a sweet spot there; he's awesome but not unstoppable.

Also, I see you went through the trouble of giving the High Templar a regular attack of his own. Nice. Now would you possibly consider adding a Templar Archives to the base? I'd like to make more HTs.

The custom music plays once - when you first gain control of Drakkar - then it's gone. Pity, since it's quite an enjoyable tune.

A few notes on the voice-acting:

"At least my dragoon is mostly intact" the last few syllabes are repeated, which sounds like intact-ntact. This happened everytime I started the mission so I'm guessing it's a defective wav or something?

"I must defend this outpost!" sounds kinda funny. Not the line but the intonation.

"(...) would gladly give you one of our shuttles" I can't remember this line properly, I think it's the HT who says it. My critique would be that it kinda repeats what Drakkar just said, so it sounds a bit redundant. Maybe rephrasing it would make it more interesting, like "we would gladly abide to your request" or something.

"You know me?" this line was delivered perfectly, he sounds genuinely surprised. Just thought I'd point it out.

Overall, Drakkar's lines sound better paced than in the previous versions. I'm guessing you've made some adjustments. I also noticed the Zealot characters tend to sound more brash and rush their lines; it's a tad difficult to keep up with them, which I thought a problem. In retrospect, however, I think it adds more color to their personas. So yeah, I'd keep them as they are now.


Overall

I love the feeling of discovery when arriving on a strange and unknown world, and you've captured this quite well with the story, terrain and ambience. Controlling Drakkar was fun. Those constant zerg attacks kept me on my toes and I was never bored. The voices & custom content added color and character to the experience. I'd prefer to have a few more resources available to make troops, if only to have some leeway should I botch a battle. Other quibbles I've pointed out annoyed me a bit, but nothing game-breaking. An enjoyable and well-made map; I'm definitely looking forward to the next chapter.

Before I forget: I'm not sure but we are to understand that Drakkar's crew mate (the Zealot) died in the crash right? Since he doesn't appear after the briefing.

Yeah, he is the sole survivor.

"At least my dragoon is mostly intact" the last few syllabes are repeated, which sounds like intact-ntact. This happened everytime I started the mission so I'm guessing it's a defective wav or something?

This, unfortunately, is an error in StarCraft's engine - one I cannot fix - and will happen to random sound files. Sorry dude. ;/

"I must defend this outpost!" sounds kinda funny. Not the line but the intonation.

The line was originally "I must defend the Shield Battery!", but someone pointed out that not everyone will have saved the Shield Battery, so I had to change it to accommodate those players. I'll see about fixing it even though it seemed fine to me.

My critique would be that it kinda repeats what Drakkar just said, so it sounds a bit redundant. Maybe rephrasing it would make it more interesting, like "we would gladly abide to your request" or something.

You didn't know? The Protoss are very fond of repeating themselves!
In all seriousness, the line is meant to drive home the point that the Protoss on this world are very open to helping Drakkar, so long as they're able to escape themselves.

Maybe you could add a little piece of music to play at this particular moment? Or would that be overdoing it? I'm a sucker for this kinda thing.

Eh, that'd be hard when the music is playing in the background already. I'd have to figure out how to stop the music and play a new sound, then restart the music, and it'd be all sorts of weird/impossible.

I half-expected a map revealer would pinpoint the location for me, but alas, no such luck.

Funny, I swear I made a map revealer appear over the beacon, and then disappear to have a 'fog of war revealing' type of affect. That's quite odd. I'll look into it, and I apologise for the issue.

While we're on the subject of looks, there are strange graphical glitches on the map. What are they, misplaced units?

Where, exactly?

A suggestion: shouldn't the mineral chunks and vespene tanks yield a bit more resources? Seems I have to collect too many in order to get a sizeable amount. Or maybe I'm greedy.

It's meant to be challenging, so I intentionally had the resources give at a small dose per pickup. There are quite a few hidden around, though, so feel free to putz around.

If you happened to have looked into the map, you'll notice that there's a notice for all players who look at the triggers section. Give it a read if you're still confused, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask them.

Thanks a bunch!

The line was originally "I must defend the Shield Battery!", but someone pointed out that not everyone will have saved the Shield Battery, so I had to change it to accommodate those players. I'll see about fixing it even though it seemed fine to me.

Oh no, the wording is fine. What I meant was that the delivery sounded odd.

Eh, that'd be hard when the music is playing in the background already. I'd have to figure out how to stop the music and play a new sound, then restart the music, and it'd be all sorts of weird/impossible.

About the music, is that custom track really meant to play just once, at the very beggining?

Where, exactly?

There is one to the left of the AF5 location. Another right above the boneyard. There might be others, I'm not sure.

Oh no, the wording is fine. What I meant was that the delivery sounded odd.

Oh I know. Lol. I was addressing that.

About the music, is that custom track really meant to play just once, at the very beggining?

It's meant to loop. I'm guessing that failed.

There is one to the left of the AF5 location. Another right above the boneyard. There might be others, I'm not sure.

Grab a screenie. I can't find anything there.

What patch version of StarCraft are you using?

1.16.1

Then I have no idea. It doesn't happen to me when I play it.

The funny thing is that it also appears while viewing the map on SCMDraft. Anyway it's no big deal. *shrugs*

Thanks much for your review, though, and let me know if you've got anything else you need addressed.

Let me ask, is the next chapter currently in the works? Also, any hints as to the role of that mysterious Dark Templar?

The next chapter has been fully terrained and set up. I need to trigger, script, and voice it, but that's not going to be done until after I finish Ch 4 of Loyalty for The NOMAD Saga.

As for the Dark Templar, you'll learn a few things about him and Drakkar's past that neither character is wont to openly discuss in the next few chapters. He's meant to be almost a foil to Drakkar's character (Drakkar being a warrior with a code of honour and valour, whereas the Dark Templar sticks to his stealth and less honourable modes of accomplishing goals), and his role in the story of Chronicle of the Beast will involve him in quite a few of Drakkar's plights.