Yep, after about 4-6 months(!) of hard work, I've created an entire 30-level campaign, completely from scratch, doing all of the mapping, triggers, storyline, and writing by myself. The only thing that I've had assistance with is testing the maps. For that, I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone that's tested my maps, specifically Pr0nogo for helping me give my first 5 maps (by far the lowest quality ones in the set) a major face lift, noname for being a high caliber player testing the most difficult maps that I could concoct, and Zakaib for helping me get this project back on its feet, and Bobdoily well...just because.
So without further ado, allow me to present a campaign with approximately 10 years in the making.
[NOTE] Sorry for the odd formatting, but the template I used, even after numerous alterations, really doesn't seem to agree with this forum's code format. =\
STARCRAFT: EMPIRE WARS
As previously stated, this campaign is a full 30 level map set for Brood War. It does not require any special .exe to run, just stock BW. Also included are 6 “Cinematic” maps (these don't count toward the level count of 30, by the way), which help advance the story. You will play as all three races, with each race having 10 levels and 2 Cinematic maps, giving you an even split.
These maps were made to closely adhere to the “classic” SC feel. Very little fancy stuff is used. No odd terrain, no stacked units/buildings, no “sprites”, etc. One other very important thing to note is that this campaign is extremely hard. If you were to rate the campaign maps on a 1-10 scale of difficulty, with the hardest Brood War maps registering a ~3-4 on the scale, there are multiple maps that would be ranked 10 or beyond. “Commando” maps will usually require near-perfect micro at all times. Later “standard” maps will push your ability to create the perfect attack force, attack at the right place at the right time, and manage your resources, to its limit. Unless I've vastly underestimated the SC community's skill, then beating the whole campaign without cheating is quite an accomplishment. If you seek a challenge or an opportunity to hone your skills, then look no further.
Don't let the above paragraph scare you, though. If the difficulty gets too high, there's no shame in the odd cheat here and there if you find the level unbeatable. Also, the first few maps of all three of the campaigns are pretty minimal in difficulty, so nearly anyone can get their foot in the door.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Players
1 player only. This is a single player Campaign. - Map Tilesets
Every single tileset is used multiple times. - Map Size
Map size varies from as small as 64x64 to 256x256. Nearly every possible dimension combination is used.
STORYLINE/INTRODUCTION
This campaign takes place shortly after Brood War's conclusion. The Protoss have been broken, Zeratul is in exile after discovering the horrifying truth behind Samir Duran, and Mengsk has returned to Korhal to lick his wounds. The story was very heavily inspired by the Brood War secret mission Dark Origin. I encourage anyone not up to speed on that map (yes, all 5 of you) to either give it a play thorough or watch the dialogue from it on Youtube.
As for the campaigns themselves, there are three different ones, much like SC and BW.
The first campaign is the Zerg campaign, called The Grand Experiment. As the name suggests, this campaign focuses heavily around Duran and his plans to create the ultimate race of hybrids as well as revive his dark master. In these missions, you will almost always control Duran and sweep aside the various enemies that stand in your way.
The second campaign, the Terran campaign, is known as Confederate Counterblow. IT takes place immediately after the Zerg campaign's conclusion. This set of levels mainly stars Edmund Duke and his second in command, Jack Dark. Yes, General Duke. You read that correctly. Duke's return is explained in full detail during the Zerg campaign. As for the Terran levels, Duke's army, Sigma Squadron, is recovering from the crushing defeat suffered at the hands of Duran and his hybrids. Once you're done rebuilding Sigma Squadron, Duke, bent on vengeance, sets his sights on Arcturus Mengsk and his recovering Terran Dominion.
At one point in the campaign, the story shifts briefly to Jim Raynor as he aids Artanis in searching the stars for their lost comrade, Zeratul. However, our heroes find a lot more than they bargained for...
The final campaign, Hybrid Inferno, obviously focuses around the Protoss, namely Zeratul. This campaign begins with Zeratul finally making his return to Shakuras after failing to stop the hybrids from being created. Unfortunately for him, he's too late...
CHARACTERS
- •Samir Duran – Duran's twisted schemes near fruition. Soon he will unleash his hybrids upon the universe. Can anybody stand in his way?
•Edmund Duke – Mysteriously surviving his supposed death on Korhal, he's returned more grumpy than ever. This time he's got his own personal army, Sigma Squadron, at his back. The origins of this army, and Duke's survival, are unknown.
•Xianou – A Protoss praetor, searching for Zeratul, under the command of Artanis.
•Jim Raynor – Raynor's Raiders assist Artanis in searching for Zeratul as well as in the coming battles against the hybrids.
•Artanis – Now the leader of the Protoss, is bent on finding Zeratul, for he strongly feels that he will need the Dark Templar's aid in the coming conflict.
•Zeratul - Searching the stars for Duran's hybrids, he lives in constant fear of Duran's dark prophecy.
•Jack Dark – The second in command of Sigma Squadron, an ace Wraith pilot. While Jack and Duke don't always get along, Jack serves Duke with blind loyalty.
•Isaac – A Terran Dominion scientist. Isaac finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place until he is rescued by Jim Raynor. This leads Isaac to defect over to the Protoss.
•Kerrigan – Now intent on hunting down our heroes, she quickly shifts her attention to Duran once she discovers what he's up to.
•The Dark Lord – Little is known about Duran's mysterious master except this: if he is allowed to return, the entire universe will be in jeopardy.
SCREENSHOTS
ZERG
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/Z1.png[/imgwh]
Briefing from an early Zerg level.
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/Z2.png[/imgwh]
Duran readies the defenses of his ship's power core.
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/Z3.png[/imgwh]
Duran's damaged ship has been repaired thanks to the large amount of minerals gathered.
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/Z4.png[/imgwh]
This important Sigma Squadron Command Centre is extremely well-defended.
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/Z5.png[/imgwh]
Duran's hybrids are finally awake and boy, are they powerful!
TERRAN
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/T1.png[/imgwh]
Jack Dark rallies the forces of Sigma Squadron as they prepare for the assault on Korhal.
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/T2.png[/imgwh]
Hybrid bases are pretty nasty.
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/T3.png[/imgwh]
Busted!
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/T4.png[/imgwh]
Duran warns Raynor of the horrors to come...
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/T5.png[/imgwh]
Sigma Squadron Commandos prepare to launch a devastating Nuclear strike on unsuspecting Dominion forces.
PROTOSS
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/P1.png[/imgwh]
Zeratul's not as safe as he thought...
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/P2.png[/imgwh]
Looks like the hybrids have gotten smarter.
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/P3.png[/imgwh]
Many have obsessed over this crystal, but what is this guy doing with it?
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/P4.png[/imgwh]
Duran has a mysterious visitor atop this large tower.
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/P5.png[/imgwh]
Duran begins to reveal his true nature to our heroes.
[imgwh 640x480]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/ ... ots/P6.png[/imgwh]
Zeratul readies his blade to avenge his fallen brethren.
PROGRESS
- IDEAS (100%)
- TERRAIN (100%)
- UNIT PLACEMENT (100%)
- TRIGGERS (100%)
UPDATES
- 4/22/2010
•Removed a misplaced Doodad in Z2 that created unintended unit pathing.
•Fixed a bug related to the teleporter in T6(a and b) that could potentially cause the level to be unbeatable.
•Fixed a possible bug with Cyan's dialogue in P4.
•Slightly changed the spawn locations related to an event in P10 that created unit unplaceable errors. - 4/26/2010
•Fixed a plethora of minor grammatical and spelling errors in the dialogue.
•Z6 has been slightly rebalanced. Instead of your main, one expansion, and a gas-only expansion, there are now two normal expansions. The actual resource count on the map remains unchanged. Additionally, the map has received some aesthetic changes, reducing the amount of empty space.
•The defences at the south of the purple Zerg base have been increased, making drop strategies more difficult to execute.
•The number of "units" on P9 have been reduced from 1,340 to 1,280.
•The number of "units" on P10 have been reduced from 1,337 to 1,280. - 5/17/10
Fixed various issues with P10:
•The Dark Lord's attack value was accidentally left at its low "default" value. Players should now find that he packs a lot more punch.
•The terrain near the player's main base has been slightly altered to help discourage a certain strategy that was causing pathing issues for the computer as well as potentially causing the "cannot create more units" bug.
•The Hybrids should now be able to automatically see cloaked units.
[url=http://"http://www.staredit.net/topic/8126/"]Made with the Map Production template.[/url]
As one last footnote, the Protoss campaign is not as thoroughly tested as I would have liked (damn disappearing beta testers!), so there may be a few kinks in it, especially in the difficulty department. Even though the campaign has officially been released, please feel free to leave feedback on how to improve it. As necessary, I will release new versions of it as important changes are made.
Finally, here is the download link to the current version of the Empire Wars Campaign: http://www.filefront.com/16474383/SCEmpireWars1.3.zip/