StarCraft Editor

Table of Contents:

• Star Edit Basics
• Common Mission Types
• Toolbars and Palettes
• Making a Simple Melee Map
• Editing Scenarios
• Mission Briefings
• Making a Simple Campaign
• Triggers
• Choosing an AI

Star Edit Basics

Star Edit is Starcraft's powerful included editor that allows you to modify most aspects of a Starcraft mission and build new ones from scratch. You can make completely typical missions (a straightforward fight between the Terrans and Zerg, for example), or highly unusual ones (a bizarre game of interstellar football).

Map Editing

Most of the Star Edit user palette is dedicated to Map Editing. This feature allows you to place terrain features (such as rivers or plateaus), buildings and even troops, from any of the three races. 

Scenario Editing

In addition to editing the map, you also can change aspects of the game such as how many players, which races will be playing and which units and upgrades are available to each.

Briefing/Linking

With Star Edit, you're free to edit and manipulate both the pre-mission briefing and the messages the player receives during the mission itself. You also can link scenarios into a campaign so that when he or she completes one mission, the player moves to the next automatically.

Triggers

A Trigger is a statement that tells the mission how to behave. It consists of a condition that tells the mission when to activate the Trigger, and an action that tells the mission what to do when the conditions are met. Things such as victory conditions, and when or where reinforcements will be provided can be set with the Triggers controls.

Artificial Intelligence

You may choose from a number of "pre-assembled" AI scripts to assign to computer-controlled forces. These scripts tailored enemy species behavior to specific circumstances (map, resources, available units) of each mission. And you can mix and match them in conjunction with Triggers to get the computer to do more or less what you want it to do.

Playing Your Missions

To play your mission, select Play Custom from the single-player menu or choose to create a new game from the multiplayer menu. Then you'll select your scenario from a list. Unless you are playing a Melee Map, select Use Map Settings to preserve all the customization you put into the mission.

Common Mission Types

The Melee Map

The most basic mission you can build. These maps are played in Melee, Free for All, or any mode that isn't Use Map Settings. Such missions are simple because you build only terrain, resources, and player starting locations.

Altered Combat Maps

After building a few standard melee maps, consider experimenting with customizing varying aspects of the game. These maps must be played with Use Map Settings enabled. There are a number of ways exist to take a basic combat map and change it radically using a few quick modifications. Rescuable units, wild card computer controlled forces, or any modifications to unit attributes or special ability costs can be made in this kind of scenario.

Unusual Missions

These are maps where combat isn't the principal goal. For example, let's say you create a mission that gives each player five identical units and places them on a battlefield covered with 10 flags. You can create any number of variations on the standard StarCraft missions.

RPGs

Many players designing StarCraft missions try to create RPGs (role-playing games). In such missions, the player (or players) control a single unit apiece and travel through maps. When their unit kills enemies, it gains "experience points" as in a traditional RPG, and eventually gains levels based on this experience. These games usually also feature a system of inventory, so a player's lone unit can "pick up" items and use them later.

Toolbars and Palettes

Main Toolbar

* The main toolbar runs along the top of the screen, just beneath the pull-down menus. It contains a number of useful buttons and tools. * (New, Open, Save)

Various Buttons

* Compact - Press the Compact button to "squash" your map file and create a smaller file.
* Undo/Redo - The Undo button allows you to "take back" changes.
* Clear - Select any number of units or Doodads, and then press the Clear button to remove them from the map.

Properties Button

Select a single unit or structure, or multiple units or structures, and then press the Properties button. The Properties menu appears. The Properties menu allows you to adjust both the selected units' properties and initial state. This allows you to determine what attributes a unit or building will have when your mission starts.

Layer Picker

The Layer Picker lets you change quickly from one layer to another. (Terrain, Doodad, Unit, Location, and Fog of War)

Player Picker

The Player Picker lets you choose which player's forces to edit.

Forces Button

The Forces button brings up the Forces menu. This menu provides an easy way to organize players within a scenario. You can also choose how these forces will interact with each other. (Allied, Neutral, or Enemies)

Sounds Button

Press the Sounds button to bring up the Sound File Manage.

Triggers Button

Triggers are powerful scripting tools that allow you to modify the mission briefing, the victory conditions, and everything in-between

Sidebar

The Sidebar includes a Mini Map that displays a miniature view of the entire map at once, and the Tool Tree.

Terrain Palette

This Palette allows you access to the various Terrain types that can be used in constructing a Melee map.

Doodad Palette

This Palette that includes all the little odds and ends that make a map look realistic. These include terrain features like statures, broken buildings, and other dilapidated structures.

Making a Simple Melee Map

Under the File menu, select New. Select a Tileset and press OK. * Click on the folder labeled Player 1 (Red Terran), on the screen's left sidebar. A number of new folders will appear. Click on Start Location, and then click on the icon labeled Start Location * Move the mouse cursor onto the map itself. You'll see a green highlight. Place the highlight somewhere and click. A red Start point appears for Player 1. * From the sidebar, select the Player 2 (Blue Zerg) folder and perform the same task. All players on a map require a Start Location. Simply add more Start Locations to include more players on your map.

Select the Neutral Units folder from the left sidebar, and then select the Resources subfolder. Click on Mineral Field Type 1 and "paint" a small area near the Start Locations with minerals * Now select Vespene Geyser from the sidebar and drop a pair of Vespene Geysers near the Mineral Fields. * From the File menu, select Save and give your map a file name, such as "test." Click Save to save the map.

You're done! In your next attempt, add some interesting terrain features, or try varying the terrain type. If you want, try adding base defenses, extra deposits of minerals or Vespene gas, or anything else that would make the level more interesting. Doodads are non-unit objects that usually serve as simple obstacles or decorations. But a few, such as stairways and ramps, perform vital functions, such as allowing players' units to get from low terrain to high terrain, and vice versa.

Editing Scenarios

Unit Upgrades

Let's say you want to beef up the units available to one side. Click on the Settings tab under the Player menu to bring up the Settings box. There are four submenus within this main area, all useful for modifying your scenario significantly. * When you click on the Settings tab, a default box appears. Here you can alter the species of the armies in your scenario, as well as the way the player controls them when playing the scenario. * Go to the upgrades tab in the player menu and click on Terran Infantry Armor. Set the default level to 1. Now all Terran Marines start with a level one bonus to armor. Do the same on Terran Infantry Weapons and increase Player 1's starting level to 1. * Go to the Special abilities tab in the player menu. Click on Stim Pack under Terran Technologies, and set the default setting to Researched by Default. Now your Marines start with the Stim Pack advantage.

Note-You can't increase a technology's maximum level beyond the default max. Terran Infantry Armor, for instance, never can be increased beyond three levels of upgrade.

Playing with Settings

Where options in the Player Settings menu affect the availability of units, upgrades, and special abilities, the options we explore here control the power of those units, upgrades, and abilities.

* Go to the Scenario menu on the main control bar at the top of the screen. Open the Unit and Hero Settings, and click off the Use Default Settings box in the upper left. * Now adjust the hit points of your Super Marines to (60). Give the unit 1 point of armor, while you're at it. You added an automatic armor upgrade to these units in the forgoing section, so Marines will come with 1 point of armor and one upgrade, effectively giving them 2 points of armor. * To make the Marines even more deadly, you can boost the damage they inflict. Increase Ground Weapon Damage from 6 to 9, and the Bonus from 1 to 2. Now each weapons upgrade will increase the Marines' damage by 2 points instead of 1, making the Marines far more potent both offensively and defensively. * But this increase in power should come at some price. The time it takes to produce a Marine is 24 seconds: boost it to 36. Take the mineral cost from 50 to 65, and require 10 units of gas.

Mission Briefings

How to create a Mission Briefing

* Go to the Scenarios pull-down menu and select Mission Briefing. * Click on the New button to get a second pop-up box. Here you'll determine the player or players this mission briefing will affect. Once you have determined a player, click on next. * Now you have a blank menu labeled "Actions." To add an action to the briefing, hit the New button to view a list of possibilities.

Mission Objectives

The most basic briefing action; places a text summary of actions a player must take to win the scenario in the briefing's lower-left corner. * To create Mission Objectives, click New in the Actions menu. In the New Briefing Action menu that appears, click on the pull-down menu and select Mission Objectives. * This brings up a new dialogue box containing the text, "Set Mission Objectives for current player to:" with a bit of text highlighted blue. Click on the blue text. This generates another dialogue box where you may type in your mission objectives. *

Showing and Hiding Portraits

From the pull-down menu on the New Briefing Action dialogue box, select Show Portrait. You'll be asked for a slot number and the portrait you wish to show. For example choose slot number 1 and Sara Kerrigan as the Portrait.

Animating Portraits

* Return to the New Briefing Action dialogue box and select Display Speaking Portrait from the pull-down menu. * First, you must select the portrait you wish to animate. Click Slot Number to view your options- slots 1-4. You must determine the length of time you want the picture of Kerrigan to stay animated

Making Portraits Disappear

* Return to the New Briefing Action menu and select Hide Portrait. * Click on Slot Number and choose the portrait you wish to make disappear.

Adding Sound to Briefings

* Return to the New Briefing Action menu and select Transmission. This action involves five variables. It combines the actions of displaying a speaking portrait, running text in the central window, and playing a .wav file simultaneously. * First, you must choose the portrait you want to animate. (You must have displayed the portrait already using a Show Portrait action.) * Next, determine the .wav file you wish to play, much as you do when simply playing a .wav file. Now you can adjust the way the sound file plays. Click Set to keep the .wav file playing at its normal duration, or to increase or decrease its playing time. * Next, click Number to specify the amount of time you want to add or subtract from the sound. * Finally, you may include the text you want displayed as the .wav file plays

Making a Simple Campaign

Use a campaign when you want to create more than one mission based on a particular theme, and to have players go through them in a particular order.

* Click on the Triggers button, or select Triggers from the Scenarios pull-down menu. You'll notice that a few triggers are in place already. Ignore these for now. * In the Triggers menu, click on New, select Player 1, and hit Next. The condition you're about to generate will affect Player 1. * Click on New to get a New Conditions dialogue box. Click on the pull-down menu and select Control. Now click on Player, and select Player 2, your computer opponent. * Next, click on Quantity and select Zero or Fewer. Leave the number alone (the default is zero) in the lower left. Finally, click on Unit and choose any unit. Then hit OK to return to the Conditions dialogue box.

You've told the game that the trigger you're going to create will happen when the computer opponent (Player 2) has 0 or fewer buildings and units- that is, when all of them have been wiped out.

* Click Next in the Conditions dialogue box to proceed to the final section of setting this trigger. * Click New to go to the New Actions box. Select Set Next Scenario from the pull-down menu. * Now click on Scenario in the dialogue box, select any scenario, and hit OK. Click New again and scroll down to Victory, and hit OK. Then click on Finish to set the trigger and close the Trigger menu

You've told the game that, when the computer forces are completely destroyed, it should reward the Player 1 with victory, and then load the next scenario. Use these same tools to create more detailed and interesting campaigns.

Triggers

Triggers work by combining conditions and actions. When a player meets a particular condition or set of conditions, a particular action takes place.

Conditions can be virtually anything, from bringing a certain unit to a specified location to wiping out all enemy structures. Actions can range from something as simple as playing a .wav file to something as complex as creating several dozen enemy units and having them swarm the player

Conditions

Certain conditions must be met before an action can take place. Almost every condition involves defining certain variables- usually a player or force and another variable, such as a location. Each trigger must have at least one condition, and it's possible for a trigger to have two, three, or a dozen conditions. All conditions must be met before a trigger's actions can take place.

Trigger Actions

Trigger Actions take place once a player meets a given condition or set of conditions. These can be as complicated as adding resources and units to a computer player's army, or generating an attack. As with conditions, you may incorporate numerous actions into a particular trigger.

Setting Switches

Switches allow you to use and reuse triggers, or to set up a series of actions that culminate in one large, all-encompassing action.

Choosing an AI

The AI (Artificial Intelligence) is your computer opponent. The way you'll use the AI will vary considerably from scenario to scenario.

Custom AI

* These AIs expect to start with nothing, or very little. * Custom, or Melee, AIs expand when their resources run low or when their script instructs them to, whichever comes first. * They build a lot of SCVs, Drones, or Probes, expecting to start with only 50 units of minerals. * They use scripted rushes, but only when they have a good chance to end the scenario. They're unlikely to use these rushes if the human player starts with any units. * They attack when a human player starts a new base, in an effort to box the player in. If the player doesn't expand within 40 game minutes or so, they'll attack the player's main base. * They respond aggressively to all player attacks.

Campaign Ais

* These AIs expect to begin with a town, and won't build new structures. They'll repair or replace important structures that are damaged or destroyed. * They won't expand to new bases. * They expect to start with numerous resources, and will build few gathering units. * They use no rushes, and won't attempt to destroy the player. * They'll attack what they find, and won't specifically target the player if he or she tries to expand to a new base. * They attack the player's bases periodically, regardless of the composition of the player's army. * They don't respond aggressively to attacks, often giving the player time to destroy a structure or two.