The campaign editor is a program included with all versions of starcraft. There is no difference in the editor from the Broodwar version and the original, except that the new tilesets, AI scripts and units are only available in the broodwar version. The campaign editor can be used to make entirely new starcraft maps, campaigns and scenario maps. Below is a basic, step by step guide for making a simple melee map. If you don't find the answer you're looking for in the text below, then by all means, E-mail me at illsmokum@yahoo.com with your questions and I'll get back to you promptly.

Note: Due to the construction of the Hive's Comprehensive Guide to the Campaign Editor, the Triggers section has been temporarilly removed for revamping. Please return at a later date or join the mailing list to be notified when this new section is complete. Thanks!

Getting Started...

The first thing you do before you even sit down in front of that computer and start clicking away: get a sheet of clean paper and some kind of writing utensil. Draw a rough sketch of your map. Where is the high ground? Is there gonna be water on your map or a molten tar pit? Were is the scenery located? Were will the players start at? How many can play on the map? Having a general idea of what your map is like makes the construction process much easier in the long run.

The Terrain

The Terrain is the first thing you make. Following the map you made on that sheet of paper, select New from the dropdown menu and select the size and tileset for your map. The size should be appropriate to the number of players-don't pin 8 people together on a tiny 96x96 map. Once you have the size and tileset selected, click ok and the campaign editor will create the tileset for you. Choose high(dirt, snow, ash, sand-whichever one you chose) from the brush plate' and add the high ground to your map, following the layout of your design map. Remember, ramps to the high ground can only be placed on straight south eastern and south western facing cliffs. Once you have your high ground, add the ramps from the doodad plate’, under the cliff category. Some tilesets require a certain type of terrain for the ramps to be placed, so if the cliff is straight and it still wont work-check the terrain in the ramp‘s example picture on the doodad plate‘. Once you have placed the map's high ground, low ground, and any water(tar, lava, ash-whatever), select the doodad plate' again and add any scenery you want to your map. Scenery isn't essential for a fully functional map, but it does add a touch of originality and spice to your map so don’t skimp on the trees, bushes and boulders!

Once the terrain is set, it is time to add the resources the players will use during the game. Going by your sketch, add the start locations for each player first. Then, add about 8 or 9 mineral patches (you can add more-its up to you) and a vespene geyser as close to the start locations as the editor will allow. Try and make the starting bases uniform and similar to everyone else's in the map. Remember to give each player some room for new buildings and a starting base. Balance is what makes a great melee map what it is. Try and box the starting bases in a little with cliffs and water, providing a choke point and some early protection for each player. Once the starting bases are added, make at least two extra mineral patches in close proximity to each starting base. Make sure the same amount of resources are available to each player. You can make some expansions only available by air transport, to add elements of strategy to your map.

Follow-Up

Once you have added the terrain and resources, the only thing left to do is your checklist. Do you have the start locations set for every player? Are the resources set? Did you make ramps to the high ground? Can the players reach each other? Once you have made sure that everything is the way you want, save the map by a name that will be easy for you to remember. If you’re like me and you have trouble remembering little things like map names, get out that trusty sketch again and write the name on it.

Playing Your Map

Open the starcraft game and select the single player mode (or multiplayer if you want to test it with some friends) and choose Play Custom (Or create a game and browse for it after creating a new game in multiplayer) Look through the list of maps and folders and find your map. Do you remember the name? Maybe you shoulda wrote it down on that sketch....Anyway, select melee as the game setting and fight a comp to test it. Did the comp rush you with a bunch of marines, zealots or zerglings? If so, you have successfully created a map with the Starcraft campaign editor!