Starcall - 30 new StarCraft units!

Kabel

Sweden1746 Posts

September 08 2024 07:54 GMT

Hello,

I have designed 30 new StarCraft units. I want to share them here, in case some of you enjoy exploring new StarCraft stuff

You can try the game in the StarCraft Arcade, search for "Starcall". You can also join the group "Starcall" in SC2 or Discord to find players to invite to games! (Or just play vs the AI to try the new units)

Gameplay:
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Examples of new units:
+ Show Spoiler +

Khalai
+ Show Spoiler +

New Dominion:
+ Show Spoiler +

Zerg:
+ Show Spoiler +

FAQ:
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Where can I play this?

Go into the Arcade in Starcraft 2 and search for "Starcall". You can also join the group "Starcall" in SC2 or Discord to find players! Or play vs the AI.

Is there AI?

The AI is super basic and builds a few structures and some workers, but nothing more... You can create a game with AI just to explore the different factions and units.

Why is it called "Starcall"?

I had no idea what to call it until I uploaded it... I had a Protoss upgrade called "Starcall" that I scrapped, so I just took the name and used it for the mod instead.

What is the point of making a mod like this?

Well, I am a hobby game designer so I enjoy making games. I have been creating units on and off for a couple of years now and I want to release it as a mod to test how the gameplay and the units feel. I doubt this mod will be popular, I am just happy if some of you try it and leave feedback. Perhaps share some replays or vods too

Do you have more unreleased stuff?

I have three more factions with ca 30 additional unreleased units that I have designed. The factions are 50-75% completed. Perhaps I release them in the future if I find the time to complete it.

Do you need help?

I would appreciate if someone here could help me make better maps... The ones I have designed and published are just test maps. I also have some issues in the trigger and data editor that I cannot solve. If anyone want to help me, please PM me!

What tools did you use to make this mod?

The SC2 editor, GIMP, Paint, Audacity and Excel.

Can I use some stuff from this mod in my own projects?

PM me and I will try to help you!

Credits:
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Game design and editor work made by me, Kabel. I have also made some of the models, icons and sounds used in the mod.

However, most of the models, textures, icons and effects are made by the creative and awesome people at sc2mapster.com.

Shoutout to: DaveTheSpectre, TaylorMouse, Hammer, VastanX, SheeldWall, Thrikodias, Ghostnova, AlleyV, Solstice, SoulFilcher, Ekvasir, Enoki, PurpleMania, Gumba54, Cybrox, Ordinator, DrSuperEvil, ksnumedia, RanchBurner I hope I did not forget anyone now :/

You can check out their work at Sc2mapster.com!

Thank you for checking this out

ejozl

Denmark3295 Posts

September 08 2024 08:09 GMT

I'm not too excited about the economy change, but I will try it out, looks cool.

Vision_

815 Posts

September 08 2024 08:44 GMT

Some idea looks so great like Relic, pyro, bomber, hurler, matriarch, invader...
Iwill give it a try with pleasure as soon as i have bought a new graphic card

(can t wait)

I also enjoy a new economy which is close to TA

What happens if you launch the insect spell of matriarch inside a big grappe of marines units ? I mean with marines surrounded the area of effect

WombaT

Northern Ireland22975 Posts

September 08 2024 16:08 GMT

Looks cool, I’m not sure I’ll have much time to give it a proper go though

I’m assuming there isn’t a functional vAI just yet given how different the game plays?

Kabel

Sweden1746 Posts

September 08 2024 16:30 GMT

On September 09 2024 01:08 WombaT wrote:
Looks cool, I’m not sure I’ll have much time to give it a proper go though

I’m assuming there isn’t a functional vAI just yet given how different the game plays?

Thanks. The AI just builds a few structures and some workers. It is enough to start a game, for a player who just want to play around and explore the units.

On September 08 2024 17:44 Vision_ wrote:
Some idea looks so great like Relic, pyro, bomber, hurler, matriarch, invader...
Iwill give it a try with pleasure as soon as i have bought a new graphic card

Thanks, hope you get a chance to try it

Units that are stuck will still try and run until the spell expires. (It only lasts a few seconds)

On September 08 2024 17:09 ejozl wrote:
I'm not too excited about the economy change, but I will try it out, looks cool.

Thank you, I am curious to see how this economy system will work. Hopefully it leads to the gameplay I enjoy in RTS, where players are encouraged to be active on the map and controlling areas.

WombaT

Northern Ireland22975 Posts

September 09 2024 10:34 GMT

Just fucking around with it, some of these units really do work well!

Hopefully I’ll be able to grab some actual matches sometime, my playtime is super limited these days.

Incidentally how much work is it to create all these novel units in the editor? I had a unit idea that has been floating around in my brain for ages, I’d rather have a short clip of it in action than just theory crafting but I’m not super familiar with the idea

Kabel

Sweden1746 Posts

September 09 2024 16:21 GMT

On September 09 2024 19:34 WombaT wrote:
Just fucking around with it, some of these units really do work well!

Hopefully I’ll be able to grab some actual matches sometime, my playtime is super limited these days.

Glad to hear! I am curious to see how the units interact but I need to find some players first :D T_T

On September 09 2024 19:34 WombaT wrote: Incidentally how much work is it to create all these novel units in the editor? I had a unit idea that has been floating around in my brain for ages, I’d rather have a short clip of it in action than just theory crafting but I’m not super familiar with the idea

+ Show Spoiler +

Depends on how skilled you are the editor. I am decent now, but it took me a few months before I understood the editor well enough to create my own units from scratch.

Creating this teleport mechanic for the Khalai core units took me maybe 2 weeks, including figuring out how to get it to work at all, fixing bugs, graphics, usability for players and the special upgrades in game. This was probably the most time consuming mechanic to create. Hopefully it leads to good gameplay hehe

On the other hand, creating this simple infantry unit took a few hours, such as importing the model, fixing attack graphics, sounds, modify the stats. Range, attack speed, turn rate, life, these kinds of numbers are easy to edit.

Kabel

Sweden1746 Posts

September 10 2024 04:53 GMT

I share some more design stuff, in case there is any entertainment value in reading about this.

Defenders advantage

Since the economy in the game requiers players to take control of large parts of the map, compared to normal SC2, each faction has stronger defenders advantage. Here is how it works for Zerg:

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Colonies provide supply and creep.

They have Egg Sacs on them (the green balls). Each Egg Sac can either heal a nearby unit, or morph into a Creep Spitter. Creep Spitters are base defenders that move fast on creep and spits... creep...

The Breedery produces Zerg units and can also spawn Creep Spitters.

Creep can also change "mode" during the game - boost the stats of the Zerg army, extract resources from minerals, or spread faster. (It can also be upgraded to prevent burrowed units from being detected.)

This makes creep more powerful compared to standard SC2, but the downside is that it is harder to spread. (For example, there is a limit on the number of Queens players can have)

So... all three factions have defender mechanics that increase their income, heal or boost their units and can fight off enemies, making it easier to control areas...

AirbladeOrange

United States2571 Posts

September 10 2024 19:53 GMT

Looks awesome!

Kabel

Sweden1746 Posts

September 10 2024 20:49 GMT

#10

On September 11 2024 04:53 AirbladeOrange wrote:
Looks awesome!

Thanks, I played my first games ever tonight. Some parts of the gameplay work as I intended, for example some of the new unit designs seem to be okay so far.

But I also noticed things I have designed that are unnecessarily complicated -_- ... And the flow of the gameplay feels a bit off in its current state, I will try and adjust it.

CicadaSC

United States1174 Posts

September 10 2024 22:39 GMT

#11

Are you going to make games on the stormgate map editor?

Kabel

Sweden1746 Posts

September 11 2024 06:58 GMT

#12

On September 11 2024 07:39 CicadaSC wrote:
Are you going to make games on the stormgate map editor?

No idea. I have ca 30 additional unreleased units in three more factions for this mod. I will probably finish that up before I go into another editor, we will see.

minha1230

1 Post

September 11 2024 09:35 GMT

#13

--- Nuked ---

coreballcore1

1 Post

September 11 2024 12:05 GMT

#14

Bot edit.

User was banned for this post.

Kabel

Sweden1746 Posts

September 11 2024 20:04 GMT

#15

Thank you to everyone who has been playing with me yesterday and tonight. I am impressed by how many of you grasped the game so quickly, since it is hard to get into a new RTS... I will keep iterating based on my observations, the next steps are:

Reduce the risk of having a negative experience as a first time player (It is soooo common in RTS games T_T)
Adjust the economy/macro system

Later on will I try and fix better maps to play on, improve battles and relationships between units, etc.

I make small updates here and there.

Kabel

Sweden1746 Posts

September 16 2024 19:28 GMT

#16

I just published a major patch and a Unit Tester map.

If you go into the Arcade and search for "Starcall" you can use the Unit Tester map to setup battles between units and play around with the new stuff.

duckTemplar

United States153 Posts

September 25 2024 16:26 GMT

#17

Thank you for sharing this

Befree

695 Posts

September 26 2024 04:48 GMT

#18

Awesome, they look very cool.

Kabel

Sweden1746 Posts

October 23 2024 17:14 GMT

#19

I have compiled a simple video with some gameplay footage. It is nothing fancy, but it shows some games with the new units

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-xNj1odhGs

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