StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 22: Map Maker Series

[img width=630 height=137]http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/1729/qa1sw6.jpg[/img]​

Today we will continue the series we had started a couple of weeks ago. Dustin Browder and Brett Wood, Senior Software Engineer will answer questions from the Map Making Community. If you have questions concerning custom made maps and mods, wed like to invite you to ask them in this thread so they can be included in part 3 of the series.

Chat with Devs: One of the most popular questions we get when it comes to creating UMS (User Map Settings) games or mods is: Will there be a DotA for StarCraft II? For those who are not familiar, DotA (Defense of the Ancients), is a popular UMS game created for Warcraft III. StarCraft compared to Warcraft III, does not focus on heroes as much, and heroes or units do not have the same experience gaining mechanic as Warcraft III, making it difficult to imagine how a game like DotA could be reproduced for StarCraft. Nonetheless, after chatting it up with our devs, we found out the ability to allow heroes and units to gain experience is built into the Map Editor, though it will not likely be in single player or standard multiplayer. In addition, those units can also be toggled to have the ability to carry an inventory, which is also a characteristic needed in UMS maps such as DotA. With those two additions, we can rest assured that our clever community modders can handle the rest in creating some awesome custom games.

1) Will you finally be able to mix and match terrain types instead of being stuck on jungle, twilight, etc?
[Dustin Browder] Yes terrain texture is mixable now. Also tilesets are also mixable.
[Brett Wood] Essentially, you can define your own tileset in the editor, something that wasnt really supported even in Warcraft III.

2) Will the new StarCraft II Map Editor support text coloring, unit coloring, player "12" (i.e. neutral player) units?
[Dustin Browder] Yes, all of these features will be supported.

3) Will maps be larger than 256x256?
[Brett Wood] The maximum map size will still be 256x256, and we have no plans to increase that.

4) Will the new map editor support locking maps? People hate losing credit for a map.
[Dustin Browder] Yes, we are planning to support this feature. We hope that this feature will give the modding community more incentive to create their own original maps.

5) Will the new map editor support "square" terrain building as well?
[Dustin Browder] Yes. In the editor, users can adjust the footprint of buildings to whatever shape and size they like.

---End of transmission---



Bonus 800 minerals for a Q&A Find (20 minutes prior to Seradin)

 

rofl i posted this like a minute before you

 

I made it for the front page.

 

lol so i didnt make mine shiny

 

That's why mine is going to the front page. Sorry.

 

i made a shiny one for mine lol

 

the other will make it to the front page

woot 400 posts

 

But I did it first. Whatever. Let the mods decide.

 

no seradin made his three minutes before you made yours

 

damn, thats close lol

 

But I made a PRETTY post for the front page first. When he made it, it was ugly and after me he made his pretty.

 

I only added a banner... >.<

You have used that same banner i think the last 5 times.

 

It's the official Q&A banner here I think.

 

Maybe I'll give mapmaking a try with the new editor. Then again... maybe not.

 

Nooo right when i was about to make a tread saying i called it and i going to decorate it this time, your pop up. Anyways, playing DotA on sc2 will be awsome

 

You win, but only because Seradin's edit took so long.

Next time just format yours correctly and then post it, because you would have won more outright than they did.

It's better to post it correctly formatted the first time than to post and then edit.

For example, all those people can post at 11:47 and then edit it by 11:52, but if you post formatted at 11:51, you win.

However, if you post at 11:49 and then edit by 11:51, it's more murky whether you really won or not...

 

SCII DotA!!!!

I was wondering what was going to happen there..seeing as there are no "heros" and experience. I figured that it would just stay on WCIII. But this is good news. Hopefully I don't get addicted to it so I can play lots of normal games....

 

hmm, i like this Q and A alot. I just need some clarification, what is DoTA like? ive never played it but ive heard of it before. Sounds really fun!

 

I've never played it before too. Can someone please explain to me what is it about?

 

ok ima gna try to explain what dota is...

its like a RTS UMS map... you choose a hero, level him up, buy killer items. and defeat the other opponent and kill their throne to win =P

if anyone with pro english grammar wanna explain much into futher detail please do so =P