Taking the Galaxy Editor very seriously

OverSky

New Member
Reaction score
0
Hey everyone,

First I just want to introduce myself, this post might be long so my apologies in advance.

My name is Toby, I'm currently #1 in my platinum division for SC2 as well as the #1 Zerg in North America.
For about a year I've been making WC3 and now SC2 videos and uploading them on youtube..
If you want to check out some of my games here's a link to my youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/perfectionistemblem
There are games vs David Kim and Matt Cooper from Blizzard and also SC1 semi-pro's.

Anyways, I spent a lot of time preparing for SC2 before beta was out and was planning on playing it competitively but I haven't been enjoying the game enough to continue playing it for 14~ hours/day and go pro etc..
Since I went to Blizzcon it has been in the back of my mind that it would be a lot of fun to take the Galaxy Editor extremely seriously and so currently I'm studying hard everyday to become as familiar as possible with the World Editor, while trying to focus on the skills that I think will best transfer over to Galaxy.

I'm planning on treating Galaxy as my job with at least 50 hour work weeks etc (which would be a decrease from how much I've been playing SC2 since it was out) ;)

I'm basically trying to meet other people who have similar ambitions with the program as well as the means to carry out their ambitions. Once Galaxy is out I'll be following every tutorial that's released, making tutorials of my own and spending all day learning every aspect of the program.

Until it's out, if anyone thinks they can help me out in any way to learn important and 'Galaxy-relevant' skills within the WC3 Editor I would be be extremely grateful.

One last thing: I have a spare SC2 beta key to give away to someone I think would put it to good use.
I want to be clear, this is not a contest. It's just a way for me to give back to whomever I think is as committed as myself to learning the new program as thoroughly as possible and applying that knowledge to making great maps.

*Please don't message me if you are not the kind of person who enjoys helping and learning with other people (with or without getting something in return).*

I might post this thread in a couple other forums but it won't be more than 2 or 3.
If you are interested either post in this thread and/or send me a PM with your MSN(I don't have AIM).
 

themean

Active Member
Reaction score
7
Hi im from Bulgaria and cant speak good English
My name is Kalin(themean in this forum) and i want to enjoy to your initiative
be my friend in this forum
 

phyrex1an

Staff Member and irregular helper
Reaction score
446
If you want to become a sc2 map maker then there is really no reason to be hanging around in the wc3 editor. You can make maps to sc2 already, without the use of the Galaxy editor. Imo, learning the formats used in sc2 will be of much greater use than learning the point and click interface in the wc3 editor.
 

Vestras

Retired
Reaction score
248
The best way to learn Galaxy right now would be to learn C, as they're pretty close. There isn't really any resources on learning Galaxy currently, so right now those who are researching are those who are the more hardcore programmers.

However, if you want to try writing some Galaxy you can use Lyarae and my tool, the Galaxy Syntax Highlighter. There are currently a lot of tools being developed for Starcraft 2, but since there's only a very limited number of resources they can't be finished before the actual game is released. This means that there's really no way to do a false start. Sorry :(
 

Joker(Div)

Always Here..
Reaction score
86
Learning how to program C/C++ would probably be most beneficial since a lot of the syntax appears to be similar.
 

No_exit

Regular User (What is Custom User Title?)
Reaction score
40
Hello Toby,

Welcome to the forum.

Being a map developer isn't as easy as being a pro gamer since you need to know where you are going. Getting good ideas on what maps you want to make is going to be the first step of your thinking process.

Also I'd advice you to learn some stuff about how to make interesting looking maps (terraining, maybe skinning/modeling), this is going to play an important role when people get their first impression of the map and decide whether or not they will test/play it.

Learning the C basics will help indeed in learning the galaxy language, in particular I think that these things will be helpful to learn (in a random order):
- syntax
- functions ("function declaration", "parameters", "return", "call by reference / call by value", ...)
- scopes
- classes / structs (basics, not sure how versatile these will be)
- pointers
- libraries
- Some stuff I forgot (or that I don't know about yet) which also applies to galaxy.

I would also advice you to learn some stuff about programming and what good code should look like: reusable, modifiable, readable, robust, bug-free, efficient (don't go as far as some go on this forum tho), programming patterns, software architectures, ... .

Anyway, I'm open to help you on giving you feedback (but beware since as long as I don't give something a 10/10 I will say bad stuff about your map, it's part of my old competitive gaming mentality :p). Time wise tho I am not flexible at all since I am limited due to a regular job (and I have a 6-9 hour time difference since I live in CET +1).

I'll be looking forward to your tutorials since spending 50 hours a day pretty much means you will be the first to explore everything :p.

As a last note (to Vestras mainly): I lost the source but I think I remember that they were trying to squeeze the galaxy editor into the beta end of April.

GL.
 

ZugZugZealot

New Member
Reaction score
33
I wouldn't go as far as to say that map developing is harder than being a pro gamer. However, to some degree takes a different kind of thinking.

Blizzard stated that aside from game objects (i.e. units, doodads, etc) galaxy won't have OOP coding. Which means no classes.

I'm also thinking everyone is getting ahead of themselves here with the whole C deal. Sure, they stated that the code would be C-like, however... They also stated that you SHOULD be able to do anything in GUI you would be able to do in code. But, we'll see if they actually follow up to that.
 

themean

Active Member
Reaction score
7
vjass is oop because struct is equivalent of classes
galaxy must be oop too
sorry for my english
 

ZugZugZealot

New Member
Reaction score
33
vJass is pseudo OOP.


Oh yeah, Jass in World Editors syntax wise is marginal difference from C-like. Jass is VERY verbose, while C is cut to the chase. Though for new to programming in general, Jass can be nice to look at visually. For someone who's never programmed, "while(bool) {actions;}" isn't a very good naming scheme to let the person know it's a loop.

Anyways, you can get programming concepts from Jass. Just don't get too attached to it is all. Also, one advantage with doing World Edit map making as opposed to arbitrarily coding in C, is that World Edit is event driven, as will be Galaxy.
 

azareus

And you know it.
Reaction score
63
As stated above i also think, you should start learning C (or C++), but without getting too attached to it. (Galaxy will not be precisely the same as C, so it's good to be flexible)
Then you should, probrably start terraining, until you know the terrain editor quite well. (Just for the principe, we can still hope Blizzard fixed the cliffs and other bugs / oddities / uglyties.)
Units / Heroes / Doodads should probrably not be one of your main aims, as SC2 will probrably have another system for handling those, but it never hurts to take a fast look...

Maybe you might want to model or skin, but it's not needed, so if it's time you need, don't get into that too much.

A good and original idea is the core of any map (not rip-offs though), but IMO a TD can be original, as long as it has an unique feel to it.
(Switch TD is a good example, as you switch place every round)
So a idea for the first map (which should be pretty simple; to get the grip of all the new stuff) is also a good thing to have.

Now, i ain't really a StarCraft expert but SC2 will have some new features, to use, for example a First Person Shooter system, so it might be a good idea to cover up on what those are, and find out if you can use them to your advantage.

Ya... That's pretty much it.
Oh, and before i forget it, welcome to the forums!
 

Viikuna

No Marlo no game.
Reaction score
265
Learn to make models and 2d art. Otherwise you cant really make anything really original and are helpesly limited by starcrafts own art. ( This happened to me with wc3 modding. I put too much weight on vJassing. )

The community with its modellers can help you, sure, but it aint the same as being able to do exactly what you want.


Learning Galaxy is of course something you must do, but if you know Jass already it should not be too big step.

Also if the editor is as good as they promise, you dont even have to rewrite too much stuff like unit data ( UnitProperties for example ), projectile systems, because blizzards projectiles suck, damage detection systems, because there aint good natives for that, buff systems, because wc3 buffs cant be controlled, etc...

edit. Also I think I should learn my manners.
 

jig7c

Stop reading me...-statement
Reaction score
123
I'm one of those "geeks" that will be getting the game more for the editor then the game itself... i might play the game once in a blue moon, but i'll be editing and helping on this site and other sites with coding..
right now, i know a lot of GUI stuff, and i am a novice jasser... i'm still learing WC3 natives and codes... I'm hoping GE will be easier to pick-up than jass.. from what i have seen, the codes for GE looks kinda similar to WC3.. except instead of Triggering Unit, i think it's Current Unit, Current Player, etc.. if you can get a feel for how WC3 coding is done, (event driven language), GE coding should be easier...

-patiently waiting for the GE to be released...
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.

      The Helper Discord

      Members online

      No members online now.

      Affiliates

      Hive Workshop NUON Dome World Editor Tutorials

      Network Sponsors

      Apex Steel Pipe - Buys and sells Steel Pipe.
      Top