We’ve been reading over the questions that you have been posting and the development team has taken some time to provide answers to some of these below. If you have not seen an answer to one of your questions as of yet, do not worry, we are continuing to keep an eye on the thread here and will be providing further answers to your questions where we can.


Q. tai- Is there an easy way to call a unit in the map? For example, if in a trigger I want to have a condition "Triggering Unit == Marine," but not a marine that's already on the map or something that uses "unit in unit group," "last created unit," or some other function that does everything except have a general statement for any marine.

A. We’re not entirely sure of what you’re asking but we’ll take a stab. If this doesn’t help you out, please feel free to post again and provide a little more context so that we can pin point what it is you’re trying to do.

If your trigger is intended to target a Marine that has just been created, then the 'issue order' to 'last created unit' is actually most likely the reference you are looking for to get that Marine. As an aside, you would want to use the 'issue order to unit group' and 'last created units' if you are spawning multiple Marines. However if you're looking to avoid using 'last created unit', or it doesn't work for you based on how your triggers are structured, then you could use the "Unit enters region" event and set the region to "Entire Map". Combined with the "Triggering Unit == Marine" condition, that would cover any spawning cases.

If you are looking to get a unit that was spawned previously and is now necessary for something else, then you actually would want to use "Unit from Unit Group" and the "Units in Region Matching Condition" function to narrow it down to the specific unit. There isn't a running list of units on the map that you can simply pick from once things are in full swing; you have to filter it down somehow to get exactly the one you want or be able to get that marine off of a specific event.

We’d also recommend storing any unit that you want to find later to a global variable if it is important.


Q. Jumby- Not sure if this is the right thread but, how do you make it so you can build on ramps in the game? Thanks

A. Great question! Building placement, meaning where you can and cannot place a building, is governed by that unit's footprint which can be modified in the Footprint data type. The 'Placement Check' and 'Placement Apply' Layers of a Footprint dictate where it can be placed, and what kind of effect it has on pathing and other footprints once it is placed
A ramp is considered a "No Build" location, which is considered invalid by footprints by default. What you'll need to do is uncheck the 'No Build' flag under the 'Invalid' flags of the 'Placement Check' Layer for that footprint.

As a side note, once you do this you will be able to build your buildings ANYWHERE. You will probably want to flag 'Ground - No Spawn' flag under the 'Invalid' flags as well. This will prevent you from building your buildings on other buildings (no matter how much Xzibit may want you to do so), and on cliffs.

And as a final side note to that previous side note, the edges of ramps are considered cliffs. You will only be able to build on the terrain in the middle of a ramp.


Q. Zealot- Can anyone tell me how to make place units that join you when you touch them (e.g, in Belly of the Beast, the Dominion Soldiers)? It seems to be a different method than in the original SC editor. Also, how the heck do I place Resources (min. fields and Geysers)? I'm totally lost in this new editor!

(Reference Gaius' Post- http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/608631413?page=2#23)

I've only started using this editor, but if it has similar triggers to the SC1 Editor and doesn't allow you to flag units as "Rescuable" like in SC1, I would simply make a Region/Trigger combo to give all units at <location> owned by player <neutral player> to player 1. Sorry I don't know the specific strings to reference but I assume that they're not too difficult to find. Hope this helps.

A. What Gaius said is correct. The most efficient way to do this would be using the "Rescue Unit/Rescue Unit Group" trigger and specifying the unit/units to rescue.

Additionally, you may want to use the "Unit Enters/Leaves Range Of Unit" event. It would make the process much simpler!


Q. Warheart- Does anyone know how to make units and buildings smaller than their normal size when placing them on the map?

(Reference Gaius' Post- http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/608631413?page=2#23)

Go to the Unit info in the Data Manager. In the bottom-left window in the Data Manager scroll down to the Actors section and click on the Actor tied to the unit's appearance (ie. for Ghost it is 3rd one down titled Ghost (Ghost.)) After you select the Actor, scroll down the list of values on the right until you get to CActorModel_Scale and change the value from 1.0 to whatever you want. Voila!

A. Gaius is once again correct! The Actor data for that unit can be used to scale it. Additionally, there is a 'Set Scale' trigger you could utilize, and the Model data can scale it as well (including introducing a random scale).

As for scaling a unit in the terrain editor, like you would with a doodad, that is not possible.


Q. Ash- Do you guys have any intention of adding a "beginner friendly" mode to Galaxy Editor that more closely matches the power of the Warcraft III World Editor? Lots of great maps came from fairly inexperienced mappers who are being shut out by the complexity of the current editor. Any news regarding changes to make it more user-friendly would be greatly appreciated.

A. Making the editor more user friendly is a noble goal, one that we've actually accomplished several times during development, haha. With great customizability comes great complexity, unfortunately. It can be overwhelming at times, but like many things in life most of the intimidation comes from the fact that it is unfamiliar.

Again, as an aside, we are kicking around a couple of ideas for addressing the intimidation potentially experienced by a new user to the editor.


Q. Ravensword- Simple question, how would I make it so a unit didn't have to turn all the way around to attack? Sort of like the diamondback or a turret I suppose. If theres a way, please tell me!

A. Weapons have an 'Arc' field that govern the field of fire for a weapon.
As an aside the 'Arc Slop' field governs the firing arc allowed once a weapon is already being fired at a target. Basically it's how wide a target can move before the firing unit reorients itself with the target. This is useful for channeled weapons (IE: the void ray) so that it doesn't break every time the target shifts even a smidgen.


Q. Torrasque- So I'm trying to use the map editor to make a battle cruiser have interceptors, load units like the Hercules, warp rifts like the mothership, and deployable turrets like the raven. Any tips would really help. This map editor is waay more complicated...

A. Fortunately what you're asking is pretty simple! Just add those abilities to your unit. So you would first add 'Carrier Hangar', 'Queue (5)', 'Hercules - Transport', 'Raven - Place Auto Turret' abilities.

Then you would need to add command card buttons for those abilities so that you can order the unit to use them in game. I'm sure if you fiddle with it for a minute or two you'll figure it out.

You've conquered the single-player campaign and climbed the multiplayer ladder -- but do you have what it takes to be a StarCraft II custom map designer?


In our first-ever StarCraft II Custom Map Contest, we're challenging you to craft the most fun, creative, and polished custom map that the galaxy’s ever seen.

If you think you've got the skills, fire up the StarCraft II Editor that came with your copy of the game and get started. The Editor is a powerful, robust, and complete development tool, and it's everything you'll need to build your creation. Keep in mind that we’re looking for originality, innovation, and fun, so whether you want to make the next DotA, craft a mini-RPG, or concoct a third-person shooter, let your imagination run wild.

Even if you've got some experience creating custom maps, you'll want to kick your efforts into overdrive for this one, because the stakes are high. We’ll be choosing three winners to represent the best of what the mapmaking community has to offer. If your custom map is one of those selected, you'll win a trip to BlizzCon 2010 (including airfare and accommodations), and BlizzCon attendees from all over the world will have a chance to play your creation in the StarCraft II demo area at the convention. Of course, it can't hurt to have some spending cash while you're in town, so we'll also throw in $5,000 prize money for each winner.

Map makers will have until September 11 to submit their entries. For full details, including submission requirements, check out the contest rules and eligibility page.

First major project would have to be a port, due to my lack of originality. This is a remake of a very old map from StarCraft 1 to StarCraft 2 with a lot of new features and units.