Staredit Network > Starcraft I Database > File: Dankwater Station

Sunken Treasure
(Reload)
Dankwater Station
Download
Filename: Dankwater_Station.scm
Filesize: 137.86KB

Thumbnail

Rating
Not enough votes.
Log in to rate

File Information
General
Uploaded on:Oct 8 2022, 11:47 pm
Uploaded by:Roy
Author:Not Given.
Downloads:110

Map-Data
Tileset:Badlands
Dimension:64x64

Forces
This is Jimmy
Human (Terran)
Mar Sara Colony
Computer (Terran)
Computer (Terran)
Zerg Swarm
Computer (Zerg)
Force 4
(Terran)
(Terran)
(Terran)
(Terran)

Map-Statistics
Units:263
Triggers:73
Locations:42
Strings:195
File Description
Dankwater Station

Backwater Station is the second Terran mission from the original StarCraft campaign. This
is a faithful recreation of that mission with enhancements given to provide a different user
experience. Changes were made based on the guidelines in How NOT to make a StarCraft Map.

The objective of the map stays largely the same to the original campaign mission, with no
major twists or anything remarkable: you control Jim Raynor, who is going to rescue an
outpost from the Zerg Swarm. If you are familiar with the campaign, you'll recall Raynor's
motivation being that the Confederacy won't make it in time to do the rescue operation.

Relive this classic mission, and tell me if you notice anything different this time around!
There might even be a surprise appearance from Sarah Kerrigan (pre-transformation, of course).


Changes made to accommodate the guidelines from How NOT to make a StarCraft Map include:

Many more preplaced units
Have you noticed in the original campaign that Mar Sara felt kind of... empty? Like, why is Raynor bothering to rescue this small number of civilians? Well, that's been fixed: there are loads of Terran Civilians placed around the map, who can all be interacted with! Now that these lives are visibly quantified, you really feel like the mission has purpose. But that's not all: this remake includes much more wildlife, making the world of Mar Sara feel vibrant and alive. I'm sure both the critters and citizens of the planet will leave an impression on you while playing.


Chock full of sounds
Yes, the original campaign is voice acted, but that's about it. Dankwater Station not only has voice lines for each line of dialogue, it also includes immersive environment sounds and atmospheric ambiance to truly engage the player in a way the original campaign never could. Treat your ears to the pleasantries sprinkled gratuitously within this map, and feel the raw emotion and tension of the situation with not only your vision, but your hearing as well! Don't worry about these sounds being played once and never being heard again, either: with liberal use of Preserve Trigger, you'll be able to hear them time and time again (when appropriate, of course).


Narrative-driven gameplay
The original campaign had some brief lines that you could mostly ignore and just attack-walk your way through every scenario. That's no longer the case. The remake resolves these issues in a number of ways. The first, obvious issue is the Mission Briefing: veteran players likely have muscle memory to automatically skip the briefing. After all, in multiplayer, nothing is worse than being stuck in the briefing room. So instead of using the briefing, Dankwater Station loads into the map immediately, and it provides an option at the start of the game to play the intro for the map. After this info dump, however, it integrates additional exposition as it becomes relevant via in-game cutscenes which are sure to grab the player's attention. Grab a snack, sit back, and relax, as this map is not just an ordinary game, but a movie as well, in the same vein as the likes of the Uncharted series.


Limited use of built-in AI scripts
Let's be real here: Blizzard's AI scripts are, well, not the greatest. They were barely passable for the original campaign, and they would have been downright unacceptable for the work of art that is this remaster. So in Dankwater Station, don't expect the AI to be doing boring old Zerg Campaign Area Town or anything of that sort. I think you'll be quite surprised as to how the computer players behave in this reimagining of the classic Terran campaign.


Stress-free gameplay
Games are meant to be enjoyed, not something to get angry over. Further, as one of the first campaign missions in the game, the player shouldn't have to be thrown into the deep end of things. Dankwater Station values the fun, lighthearted aspect of gaming that will comfort the player, like a warm blanket on a cold winter morning. Some improvements over the original include how the player gains and controls units, what units the player has to control, and when the player should control those units. Do you remember having Jim Raynor as a Vulture (with the speed upgrade, no less) zooming ahead of the rest of your units? The one unit that's supposed to stay alive, and he's suicide charging into the enemy by himself! Well, no more, I say! Yes, you control Jim Raynor in his Vulture when appropriate here, but he will exit the craft and walk alongside his fellow infantry when he needs to, as well! This small attention to detail is but one of the improvements that make this new experience so much more memorable than the original.


A faithful re-telling
This map is not original, it's true: after all, it's essentially a carbon copy of the original mission. The original map has a lot of good things going for it, and there are only a handful of things that could have been done differently to provide a superior experience. Don't expect to load into this map and get something completely unexpected: it's something you've seen before, done before. It's just, well, better this time around.


Incredible resource placement
If you recall in many of the original campaign missions, resources weren't perfect. Sometimes they're close, sometimes they're far, and sometimes you can access them by mining the resources in front of them. It gives variety, sure, but sometimes variety isn't always a good thing. In this remake, resources are, for the most part, placed in a very consistent manner. The minerals and geysers in this recreation will certainly catch the discerning player's attention, especially if you're familiar with the old map. Can you spot the difference?


Forgiving victory conditions
Being essentially a clone of Backwater Station, you'd think this version would be confined to the same victory and defeat conditions. Blah, blah, blah, kill all the baddies, don't let the hero die, etcetera. Well, believe it or not, there are even minor changes there as well! I shall avoid spoiling everything for you, but let's just say Jim Raynor may be more crafty than the Zerg (and perhaps even you) are expecting! And those cliff doodads? Perhaps they're not just decoration. You'll have to play and find out!


Enjoy, and best of luck.

All Images

Comments
razorback9423 wrote on Oct 13 2022, 2:45 am:
Glad you took my guidelines to heart, Roy. A high-quality, original map that is enjoyable and fairly challenging for everyone.

[12:51 am]
Ultraviolet -- RIVE
RIVE shouted: Beta 4 lyfe, ya kno
feels like a lower commitment. like if someone bitches about something, I can say it's in beta phase whatchu expect? :P
[06:46 am]
RIVE -- Beta 4 lyfe, ya kno
[05:26 am]
NudeRaider -- Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet shouted: NudeRaider I suppose that's one justification for pushing it to 1.00. I'm still messing with some novel concepts, I completely revamped the Shadowcraft hero in v0.18 and there's some kinks to work out with some of the other changes I made, but I suppose that doesn't mean I can't call the currently version 1.XX
indeed
[2023-9-28. : 1:13 am]
Ultraviolet -- NudeRaider
NudeRaider shouted: Ultraviolet prediction: It will. ;)
:massimo:
[2023-9-28. : 1:13 am]
Ultraviolet -- NudeRaider
NudeRaider shouted: Ultraviolet Oh, then your versioning is maybe a bit misleading. I didn't have much trust in a v0.2
I suppose that's one justification for pushing it to 1.00. I'm still messing with some novel concepts, I completely revamped the Shadowcraft hero in v0.18 and there's some kinks to work out with some of the other changes I made, but I suppose that doesn't mean I can't call the currently version 1.XX
[2023-9-28. : 1:12 am]
Ultraviolet -- NudeRaider
NudeRaider shouted: Ultraviolet :lol: did you really just commit another shout just to add a bracket? :D
Damn straight! :P
[2023-9-27. : 7:22 pm]
NudeRaider -- Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet shouted: Imp UV3 is actually in the works with some major changes, but it's been slow going. I'd like to have a version of Imp UV for every tileset at one point.. hopefully it doesn't take until 2030 :P
prediction: It will. ;)
[2023-9-27. : 7:21 pm]
NudeRaider -- Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet shouted: NudeRaider Oh definitely fully playable. I used the first map as the shell, so it was basically complete from the first release. I've made some tweaks and improvements here and there based on nuances between the maps, like UV2 has more air units so certain ground-focused heroes like Psycho and Shadowcraft have needed some buffing. Other improvements have been little bug fixes or ways of stopping cheese strategies (like the bosses now spawn in a random location instead of at their lair so players can't just camp them with nukes. UV2 is definitely harder despite only being 4 levels + boss fight instead of 5. I'd say it's definitely worth a go, there's some unique mechanics that make each of the levels have kind of their own interesting spin
Oh, then your versioning is maybe a bit misleading. I didn't have much trust in a v0.2
[2023-9-27. : 7:21 pm]
NudeRaider -- Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet shouted: nukes).* lol
:lol: did you really just commit another shout just to add a bracket? :D
[2023-9-27. : 4:22 pm]
ubtrueblue -- hello
Please log in to shout.


Members Online: hames250, Ultraviolet