EPTChangelog:
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**Multitasking Trainer v0.94**
* The map should now work normally with patch 16
New Features
- Added "coach mode". This is aimed at further helping newer players improve their macro. By checking the checkbox on the difficulty selection dialog, you will be notified when you are not making Probes/Scvs as P/T or if you have idle larva and creep tumors as Zerg. These have not (yet) been implemented as Victory objectives and exist solely as a helping tool.
Balance Fixes
- No more than two commands can be queued for Proberto to prevent extensive waypoint usage by players using the "Very Easy" and "Easy" difficulty settings.
- Added a few turrets to the left of the Terran base to prevent "sneaky" attacks/drops.
Known Problems
- The timer window for remaining time has an ugly purple background. This is a Galaxy Editor bug and should be fixed in the next patch.
- More bugs could have been caused by the latest patch which I did not see. If you find any please report them!
As always I still need feedback regarding balance, possible ways to abuse and suggestions to make the map better.
**Multitasking Trainer v0.93**
- Initial Zerg Hatcheries now spawn with 3 larvae instead of 4.
- Macro energy settings now load normally when loading custom settings banks.
- Players can no longer use Mass Recall to recall the probe out of the area.
- A "natural" expansion has been added. It is only allowed for Zerg players by default, if you play a differet race and wish to have an expansion go to Custom Difficulty, load the preset bank you want to play and then select "Allow Exansion" form the "Time and Minerals" tab.
- The objective for not exceeding the energy limit now applies to multiple Queens/Nexi/Orbital Commands.
**Multitasking Trainer v0.92**
A couple of small bug fixes
**Multitasking Trainer v0.91**
Macro energy limits now fixed for all races.
Some Difficulty tweaks were made. I think that now all the difficulty settings are fairly balanced.
Some small bug fixes.
**Multitasking Trainer v0.9**
-Major changes:
- Two new difficulty settings have been added: Very Easy and Impossible.
- A new feature has added added to allow the player to completely customize the map's difficulty as well as save and load custom difficulty settings.
- Added a new objective that forces the player to keep his macro mechanics (Orbital command/Nexus/Queen) energy below a certain amount.
- The executor now has to be saved multiple times in Normal difficulty and above.
- Several possible drop/harass attacks have been added that occur in random times and locations.
-Minor changes:
- It may look the same but the map's triggers have been (almost) completely rewritten to allow for full customization. This should also reduce some lag issues.
- The preexisting difficulty settings have been slightly tweaked.
- The player can no longer use nukes to kill the Terran.
- The player can no longer use patrol commands on the probe.
Since the beta will be closing soon, I wanted to release the map as soon as possible to get it tested. There are definitely going to be a few bugs in there so make sure to report anything suspicious!
For the same reason as above, there are a few features that are included in this version but are incomplete. Make sure to read the Future Changes section to see what's coming.
Latest version: Multitasking Trainer v0.941. Download here
To run the map just open it with the Galaxy Editor (located in the SC2 install directory along with sc2.exe) and run it from there (Ctrl+F9).
If you are on MacOsX download MapCraft!
To be able to watch replays you can either launch the map from the editor or just put the map in the maps directory (should be someting like My Documents\StarCraft II Beta\Maps\)
This is a remake of the old Hotkey Trainer map for bw that I found so incredibly useful for practicing my multitasking and warming up.
The Concept
For those that don't know the original map, here's how it works:
On the bottom left side of the map is your starting position and right above that is a terran base. Your purpose is to create an army and destroy the enemy base. The terran will attack and/or drop you at several points in time depending on the difficulty setting. There is also a neutral unit at the island on the right side that you have to rescue and bring back to your base.
The tricky part is that in the top right side of the map you control a probe that is constantly being chased by a zergling. So you need to manage your base, defend the attacks and save the neutral unit, all while microing the probe to keep it from dying. This is a great way to practice not only your early game scouting but also your multitasking and hotkey usage.
There is also a mineral cap that you must not exceed or you loose the game, a set number of probes that you are allowed to loose and a time limit in which you have to complete the mission.
Features
So here are a few stuff I have added to the map:
- Race selection: You are able to select the race that you want to play in the start of the game. There is currently a problem with having the UI that matches the race selected. You can read more about it in the Known Issues section.
- Difficulty Selection: You can choose between five difficulty settings, each having a different time and mineral limit, amount of hits the probe can take before dying and attack waves that are sent from the opponent. You can also create your own custom difficulty setting.
- Coach Mode: As of v0.94 a new feature has been added: Coach Mode displays a notification every time you are not building workers out of your main building (until a set amount of workers) if you play as Terran or Protoss, or if you have idle larva and Creep Tumors if you play as Zerg. I hope this will help played keep their macro consistent while practicing.
Known Issues
- There is no way (that I know of) to change the race of the UI after the game has started. Here is a very easy way to fix it your self however if you intend on practicing only one race: Open the map using the editor. Go to map->Player properties. Change the race for Player 1 to whatever you want. Save the map and you're done
- The timer that displays the remaining time has an ugly purple background. This is a Galaxy editor bug that I can not fix. We just have to wait for Blizzard to fix it.
Why do I have to micro a probe despite playing a different race?
Well, it is much easier to balance the map if the unit being chased is the same. Probes are a good choice because by tweaking the shield regen rate it is very easy to change how difficult it is to keep them alive.
Future Changes
First of all, let me tell you that an expansion location has not been added yet simply because I did not have the time to test it enough. It would actually be much harder to keep the map balanced than most of you think! Still, it should be coming one way or an other in the future.
You will notice some red little boxes in the custom difficulty dialogs that give a difficulty rating for each setting. My plan is to create a rating system that calculates the difficulty of all the settings and provides a final rating indicative of how hard the custom settings are. This, combined with a detailed Victory screen and a score that does not depend on the settings but the actual player's performance (like units lost, time and lives left, avg floating minerals etc) should be enough to turn this thread to an e-peen measuring contest like the ones we all love...
I did not have enough time to test the map extensively so in combination with the feedback that will be posted, some minor changes to the preset difficulty settings may be made in the following days.
How can I watch the Replays to check my APM?
On June 01 2010 00:31 ArmyAnt wrote:
The replays can be viewed if you launch the map from the editor withCtrl+T Ctrl+F9 as test document. Then when you finished playing it you can view the replay from Battle.net ordinarily.
The replays can be viewed if you launch the map from the editor with
On June 01 2010 01:33 spamm wrote:
Or
put the map into game folder: ..\StarCraft II Beta\Maps\
"To run the map just drag it onto the Starcraft 2 shortcut on your Desktop."
Or
put the map into game folder: ..\StarCraft II Beta\Maps\
"To run the map just drag it onto the Starcraft 2 shortcut on your Desktop."
Tips
- Custom difficulty settings are saved on MyDocuments/Starcraft2 beta/banks. If you make a setup you like, share it!
- If you find Normal difficulty too hard but don't want to play on fast speed just play on easy and manually set the game speed to faster
- To save the Executor you need to bring him into the black beacon-like area above your main building
- Use Ctrl+F keys to save the location the probe spawns to avoid the panic that occurs every time a probe dies.
- The zergling's speed is such that it won't allow it to catch up to your probe when moving in a straight line but it will be able to land a hit when the probe makes a sharp turn either by a manual command or by the use of a waypoint.
To avoid being hit control the probe during turns and issue a few move commands at increasing angles so that the probe turns smoothly. - The probe should start regenerating shields one turn (assuming you are moving it the whole length of the island) after it gets hit. So if it does get hit, focus your attention on for the next couple of turns to allow it to regenerate.
- Normal difficulty should give even platinum players a run for their money. Don't try beating hard unless you have confidence in your skills.
- If you do try the hard difficulty prepare for fast reapers and get detection at some point after the first attack occurs
I hope this helps people improve! Please post here with any comments, bugs, suggestions etc. This is the first map I have ever made so all feedback will be greatly appreciated.
