Not really, you just open the map file with PyMPQ and extract everything stored in it into a correct subfolder and then build.

This statement would be true if you were modding, but in fact you're only working around the limitations of the map editor. The engine itself has various avenues for customization, but most of these possibilities are unavailable outside of modding as the editors only support the most basic forms of modification such as unit stats and names.

The limitations are entirely based on the (wildly) incomplete status of the tool you were provided with, while the framework allows for much more (as limited as it may still be). Honestly, there's simply no excuse when much better tools are freely at your disposal.

I personally enjoy working around certain limitations as well, but they must be inherent to the framework itself, or self-imposed if I wished for a challenge or exercise to test myself with. In the context of productive work, I fail to see the satisfaction (or even significance) when limited by incomplete or broken equipment. Relief, maybe.

The user is already "downloading extra stuff" by virtue of downloading the map files from the internet. The only thing would be like Farty's installer in the case of non-SCR mods, but that's a one-time setup. The mod is already included in the package and only entails clicking a different icon than the stock BW exe, so all concerns about "accessibility" are absurd, and anyone who expresses reluctance to modding based on this is merely looking for justification to being derelict in the work that they do.

It's fine if they're genuinely not interested, but I can't accept any reason other than learning disabilities or laziness, or just outright ignorance that modding was a possibility. Although custom AI is the absolute minimum requirement for a worthwhile mission, I could still respect the efforts of someone with disabilities. There is certainly no merit in being lazy.

I don't know what you're talking about. SCX files are themselves MPQ archives. When replacing the missions from the campaign menu, you basically treat your mod MPQ as a single larger SCX file: You import the sound files and the map CHK files into your mod MPQ, and simply have the strings used by the "play wav" triggers point to the correct MPQ path (as they do with scmd2's "virtual sounds"). Am I missing something?

I should've been more verbose with this, by "extra stuff" I essentially mean something that the average Joe might not be expecting to download when looking for a campaign. There's the inconvenience of downloading what's sometimes a quite large file, people asking questions how to launch something even if it's written in a few different places, and every now and then someone will just waltz in and claim that your mod is an "anomalous AI self-learning virus"

It's unnecessarily mean to say that the only reasons someone might not want to mod would be "learning disabilities or laziness", lol. Deeming a mission "worthwhile" is also extremely subjective - right now there's a massive campaign making the waves in SC2 that doesn't even support any RTS gameplay loops, much less any kind of AI, yet is still extremely popular for its narrative feeling alone. You can personally think that's not interesting, but ultimately if audiences react to it there apparently is some merit in making types of content that are not even using a quarter of the tools provided by the engine for gameplay purposes

Yes, I expressed myself quite poorly, the concept I had in mind was more like "the base game", including the editor, but then I wrote "engine". What you say is absolutely correct.



Nope, I don't shop at Mugatu's LOL





Calm down, your veins are bursting: watch your health. (Also, there's no need to be so harsh).



Ok, it's more or less what I figured out, thanks for explaining. The Average Joe you describe is exactly the kind of guy I had in mind when I talked about accessibility. There are actually many Average Joes out there, their presence may go unnoticed here on SEN or within discord servers, but if you visit the Blizzard forums you will encounter many of them.

Assuming the author isn't new to mission-making and isn't ignorant of the greater possibilities, what other reason could someone have for continually using the abysmal stock AI scripts, if not for being content with a substandard result? I'm not trying to be mean. The day I was introduced to modding and custom AIs, I never once looked back as the necessity of it was then undeniable to me. I'm speaking within the context of making an RTS campaign, so I don't think the non-RTS campaign is a relevant example. However, you speak of having a narrative: Don't you think that custom AI provides the author with a much greater narrative potential with the ability to give the opponents distinct personalities through the way they interact with the player, as opposed to the painfully static stock scripts that we have seen a million times over in every other project before?

If there is nothing new to experience in a new project but the text, then what's the point of playing it rather than just reading the transcript? That is my point when I say if a mission is worthwhile. Yes, it's subjective, as someone who hasn't played many custom campaigns or isn't interested in RTS gameplay would likely enjoy an unmodded project, while it would leave much to be desired for someone who has experienced more furnished projects. But as a content creator, one still has to consider the quality of their product when compared to what has been made before, both by others and by oneself. Or at least one who's trying to be taken seriously.

It's not my intention to be harsh, I just prefer to be sincere. If you felt attacked by my assessment, it doesn't mean there were any anger behind it merely because it wasn't praise. You can spare me the childish retorts if you don't have meaningful feedback.

The fact is, how I end up to be taken is my business alone. Don't worry about me. If you don't want to take me seriously it's ok, but in that case, it's also reciprocal.



Well, no, your intention is to be redundant, and force me into a discussion that is completely pointless from my point of view. You have expressed more than once that you don't like my works, and it's totally ok. I'm not holding anyone at gunpoint and forcing them to play a bunch of maps. I just don't see the need to reiterate the same concepts over and over again whenever I pop up into a thread. It almost looks like you are annoyed by the fact that some people have said something slightly positive about my lazily-made maps, unless you habitually use terms like "learning disabilities" when something doesn't meet your tastes, which maybe is okay-ish, but still I don't think it's a nice way to interact with a colleague: I would expect this kind of language from a random user on Reddit, not from a fellow designer. Maybe it's just a matter of style.

You seem to have issues with projection. I'm not forcing anyone into any discussion, but I will feel free to voice my opinions when I please. Likewise, feel free to disregard this conversation if you're not interested. Just don't be so conceited as to think the source of my grievances with the SC custom content scene revolves around you. Aside from my replies directly to you, I have never singled you out in my last posts and only spoke about creators in general, which would include myself. Stop getting so hung up on believing that I was trying to insult you or something when I listed learning disabilities and laziness as my acceptable reasons for stagnancy.

That's not true. Your reply to Nekron revolved around something he said about me, hence you were talking about me, ableit in a sneaky way.



Maybe I'm conceited, but I don't see you pestering other designers who release not modded content (here on SEN, on YouTube, or other places). How strange. Probably it's because you consider them able-minded.



Of course I will, because you have made it to my ignore list.

Now what was that all about? smh

BS. If I'm talking about someone specifically, I make that clear by naming them. Nekron's post could've been about anyone, or no one specifically, my reply would've been the same. He might as well (theoretically) have quoted me from the past, as I've held similar views before, so there is some personal experience as part of the basis behind my claims.

If I assume by "pestering" you mean any sort of negative feedback, maybe you haven't looked hard enough, but I don't have any vendettas against anyone, nor am I keeping tabs on how often I'm engaging with each individual and try to space it out to make it "fair" or something. Any semblance of being picked on would probably be correlated to how relatively active you are on this forum compared to others. I'm not even that active in terms of engaging in conversations, so that's another layer that would increase the likelihood of my posts to disproportionately coincide with those of the most active members. I'm nowhere near as petty as your perception of my intentions and your signature could make you out to be.

Grow up.

Andrea Rosa: creates a new campaign
People on the forum: active discussion (every time)

Share a secret, how do you do it?

I don't know, I must have done something bad in a past life.

By watching Maporino videos on Youtube, I discovered that maps from a campaign named "Rocket Pirates" and made by "Venomous" were sent for the 2021 (map 2) and 2022 (map 3) edition of this event.

The maps 2 and 3 are available through the Mega link in the videos descriptions, but I can't find the first one.
I checked in the campaign listing but searching for "Rocket" doesn't give any result.

This is the first time in my life that there has been a flame war in a thread I've made and the flame war is NOT about me. Feels weird... I'll just say one thing: darkenedfantasies, you might want to know that Andrea Rosa is actually slowly opening up to modding. Champions of khandia was made using scmdraft and he took advantage of its capabilities. Naturally the next step is modding but I fear this flame war is going to cause Andrea Rosa to go back into his shell now.

It's because he has proven to be a good campaign maker with immense potential to be one of the best ever, but that potential is not being realised and that frustrates people who are hungry for excellent ambitious campaigns. Pronogo only ever finished one original campaign, iquare hasn't made anything in years, and ilyaSnopchenko's campaign isn't finished yet. There hasn't been anything truly ambitious released since 2018.

Well I would hope that Rosa isn't so stubborn to backtrack on such a decision just because of something like this, but I just wasn't willing to let it slide when he was twisting my words and act like I was attacking him specifically in my first posts when I wasn't, and I will continue to insist as such.

He and I have some campaign projects in the works, but you can also check out the birthday maps made for Cosmonarchy BW, though they don't really form a true cohesive campaign and are more like a series of singles. But if you're interested to see what has been worked on since then, there's that.

iquare seems to have gone missing. Hope he's alright.

A new campaign?

I am not really a fan of Starcraft Parody Campaign, I prefer some serious action Campaign stories.

We all do...

Few years ago, I played some of his parody campaign such as, "Saga of the Xitson" and "Birthday Maps." My mind feel very unstatisfied and uninterested. Yes, their good campaign terrain that I love. But the storyline is to corny and unsettle which my opinion. No offensive for his work. But I gave his campaign 7/10.