Meta - Abbreviations

Units

Devourer, Guardian, Mutalisk, Overlord, Queen, Scourge, Infested Terran, Broodling, Defiler, Drone, Hydralisk, Lurker, Ultralisk, Zergling, Devouring One, Hunter Killer, Infested Duran, Infested Kerrigan, Kukulza G, Kukulza M, Matriarch, Torrasque, Unclean One, Yggdrasill; Cocoon, Egg, Larva, Lurker Egg

Battlecruiser, Dropship, Science Vessel, Valkyrie, Wraith, Firebat, Ghost, Goliath, Marine, Medic, SCV, Siege Tank, Vulture, Alan Schezar, Alexei Stukov, Arcturus Mengsk, Edmund Duke, Gerard DuGalle, Gui Montag, Hyperion, Jim Raynor M, Jim Raynor V, Magellan, Norad II, Samir Duran, Sarah Kerrigan, Civilian, Tom Kazansky; Vulture Spider Mine, Nuclear Missile (Nuke)

Arbiter, Carrier, Corsair, Interceptor, Observer, Scout, Shuttle, Archon, Dark Archon, Dark Templar, Dragoon, High Templar, Probe, Reaver, Zealot, Aldaris, Artanis, Danimoth, Dark Templar H, Fenix D, Fenix Z, Gantrithor, Mojo, Raszagal, Tassadar, Tassadar/Zeratul, Warbringer, Zeratul; Interceptor, Scarab

Buildings

Infested Command Center, Creep Colony, Defiler Mound, Evolution Chamber, Extractor, Greater Spire, Hatchery, Hive, Hydralisk Den, Lair, Nydus Canal, Queen's Nest, Spawning Pool, Spire, Spore Colony, Sunken Colony, Ultralisk Cavern; Mature Chrysalis, Overmind Cocoon, Cerebrate, Cerebrate Daggoth, Overmind, Overmind (With Shell), Zerg Beacon, Zerg Flag Beacon

Academy, Armory, Barracks, Bunker, Command Center, Engineering Bay, Factory, Missile Turret, Refinery, Science Facility, Starport, Supply Depot; Ion Cannon, Norad II (Crashed Battlecruiser), Power Generator, Psi Disrupter; Terran Beacon, Terran Flag Beacon

Arbiter Tribunal, Assimilator, Citadel of Adun, Cybernetics Core, Fleet Beacon, Forge, Gateway, Nexus, Observatory, Photon Cannon, Pylon, Robotics Support Bay, Shield Battery, Stargate, Templar Archives; Khaydarin Crystal Formation, Temple, Stasis Cell/Prison, Warp Gate, Xel'Naga Temple; Protoss Beacon, Protoss Flag Beacon

Meta - Map Making

Mapping

Locations

the types of locations

moving: trigger moves it

spawner: trigger creates units on it

presence: trigger detects if units or buildings are on it

loader: a place where units are created and then moved to the intended location
map makers use this to avoid Unplaceable errors because additional units would not fit

Meta - General

Settings

Players

how many players are required

Single: only one player plays

Individual: players play against computers by themselves

FFA: players play against all other players

Any (implicit): any number of players can play

Req: some slot must be filled

Full: all slots must be filled

Division

how the players are divided

team: a single team of players

member: a player in a team

forces: multiple unallied teams

fighter: a player unallied to all other players

Choices

the units or squads that players can initially pick

buy: to use the selector to exchange money or score for the choice

get: to use a chooser itself as exchange for the choice

Cash

game given ore and gas

Money

player earned ore and gas

Resources

nearby Mineral Fields and Vespene Geysers for mining

Version

notable changes in this version of the game

Mods

changes to StarCraft's default settings—build, research, and ability time and cost

All: all mods are changed to that factor

Min!: cost minerals only

Gas!: cost gas only

Free: cost nothing

Faster: slightly faster than default

Very Fast: very fast but not near instantly

Instant: completes instantly

Tech

allowed units and researches

noresearch: abilities are disabled

researchable: abilities can be researched

researched: abilities are already researched

Progression

how the game develops

Levels (L): for various, changes in quantity or difficulty of enemies

Waves: for defences and survivals, instances which enemies spawn

Stages: for RPGs and games, different unlockable map zones

Upgrades

the difference from StarCraft's default upgrades

Factor: more upgrades means slower upgrade

Constant: upgrade time does not change

Instant: upgrades complete instantly

Score

how the game keep track of players' participation

variables: score is stored as Death variables or other trigger properties

kills: units killed

captures: flags captured variable

custom points: variable unitary points that are only changed by triggers

below are StarCraft scoring where each unit and building have a unique score value

buildings points: buildings constructed

kills points: units killed

kills and razings points: units killed and buildings destroyed

razings points: buildings destroyed

total points: all StarCraft points

units points: units trained

units and buildings points: units trained and buildings constructed

Difficulties

number of selectable difficulties and their differences

Difficulty

difficulty of the game by opinion

Clock

a single duration allotted to finish the game's objectives before defeat

Timer(s)

duration(s) to complete an objective

Prep

preparation time before the enemy acts

Save

whether it is allowed to save the chooser for next level

Defeat

conditions which lead to a game over and for which player(s)

Elim: that player loses

Team: the team loses, default defeat type unless otherwise stated

Interface

the peripheral methods and places players interact with the game

beacon: players order a selector unit to move over beacons

train: players train units from a building

hotkey: players order an external unit to do quick actions

dropship: players drop specific units inside a dropship

items: a worker carries a powerup to the use-beacon

text: players read a text menu displayed by selections

Ban

players' method of kicking other players out of the game

host: player 1 (red), is the banner

vote: players take a majority vote to ban

warn: host can give a warning text or remove a player's stuff

Vocabulary

game

the abstract continuum and rules played out by the players

map

the physical map representing the game's world

location

regions in the map editor that correspond to trigger conditions and actions

hotspot

map locations that correspond to a player interface function

spawn

the places where enemies are created or moved from the spawning area

choke

the entrance to a base, in a strategic sense

cliff

higher terrain, lower units have less chance of hitting higher units

host

the battle.net host or game leader

fast and free (F&F)

build, train, and research's time and cost are fast and free

main

Command Center, Nexus, Hatchery—buildings that take resources and train workers

build

to make buildings with workers

worker

a SCV, Probe, Drone that construct buildings or gather resources

supply

Supply, Psi, Control—StarCraft's trainable unit limit

train

to make units with factories, hatcheries, gateways, etc

trainer

a building that trains units

caster

units that can use special abilities—ghost lockdown, high templar storm, etc

squad

units created together as a group

infantry

non-heavy ground units—rine, bat, gho, lot, goon, dt, ling, hyd

chooser

a dummy unit that converts to other units or squads

selector

a dummy unit that buys units or squads or does game commands

help

a place, unit, or object that players touch to get information

objective

what players must do to progress the game

raze (R)

to destroy a building

kill (K)

to kill a unit

strong

having high attack damage

weak

having low attack damage

tough

having high hit points

fragile

having low hit points

HP (H)

hit points, unit size and damage type dependent

Shield (S)

shield points, endures full damage

Armor (A)

armor points, subtracts attacker's damage

Damage (D)

damage points, decreases victim's hit points; damage reference table

Time (T)

time cost in real seconds

Mineral (M)

mineral cost or value

Gas (G)

gas cost or value

Kill (K)

number of units killed, if placed after numbers--shorthand for Kilo thousand

Energy (E)

energy cost

Melee Maps Terminology

Settings

Vocabulary

Custom Maps Terminology

Settings

Vocabulary

refo

generated troops for the team

spawn

generated enemies for the computer

Defence Maps Terminology

Settings

Directions

(T)op (B)ottom (L)eft (R)ight (2)To

the ways that enemies run through the paths

bottle: spawns at that player's start and runs to that player's end

retro: spawns at that player's start and runs to one point then back to the start again

drain: spawns at that player's start and runs to the team's end

tube: spawns at a player's start and runs to another player's end

funnel: spawns at some player's start and runs through several other player's area toward the end

course: spawns at the start and runs through through an open path toward the team's end

Defense

what players use to defend

sandbox: train units or build defenses with cash (Matrix Defense)

purchase: buy defenders with choosers (HGMA Defense)

walling: build defenses with cash to trim a path for the enemy (Sunken Defense)

bordering: place defenses around the enemy's path (Maze Defense)

embedding: place defenses in the enemy's path (Beacon Defense)

position: train units with cash and make a wall out of them (Defend Your Tofu)

spells: use StarCraft abilities to kill or stop enemies

Spawn

how enemies are created

drip: enemies spawn one unit after another

chunk: enemies spawn a chunk of units

shovel: enemies arrive once per level

stream: enemies arrive repeatedly for the level

Walling

enemy's behavior if players wall

full: enemies will not attack if they are completely blocked

partial: enemies will attack if they are completely blocked

dangerous: enemies will attack if they are blocked too much

inhibited: the map prevents the player from completely blocking usually with unplaceable terrain

Levels

the number of levels and how they are started

starter: red has a starter unit to trigger the level

auto: levels start automatically by timers or remaining enemies

vote: levels started by red or players' votes

consensual: levels started by team's unanimous vote

Vocabulary

player's area

the area a player's responsible for defending

matrix

a player's area separate from every other players

choose area

the place players use their choosers to choose defenders

buildings area

a place for trainers, supplies, or upgrade buildings

credits area

a place containing units named after the map maker(s) and friends

lights

a toggle for players to unvision themselves so they can stack buildings

fight

to destroy enemies that attack

kill

to destroy enemies that will not attack

run

to move through the map without ever attacking

come

to move through the map in attack mode

defense

attack buildings such as turrets, cannons, sunkens, etc

defender

units used for defense

path

the lined course in the map which enemies run through

lives

the limit of enemy units allowed to reach the end before defeat

the end

a place that deducts lives or triggers defeat when enemy units reach it

Survival Maps Terminology

Settings

Vocabulary

climax

the instances when enemy waves get stronger

Assault Maps Terminology

Settings

Reinforcement (Refo)

squads respawn for players attack with

Timer: arrives every interval

Objective: arrives after objective completion

Bonus

kills needed for extra cash or refo

Conquest Maps Terminology

Settings

Vocabulary

Madness Maps Terminology

Settings

Units

type of units spawned

same: only one type of unit spawn at the same time for every player

mixed: different units spawn at the same time for every player

uniques: different types of units for each player

Spawning

what units players spawn as they get more points

same: units do not change at all

evolution: stronger units spawn instead of the weaker

branch: stronger units spawn along with the weaker

Spawner

type of entity that spawns units

fixed: a spawner that's a building (e.g. Bunker)

mobile: a spawner that's a unit (e.g. Science Vessel)

Vocabulary

deployer

a unit that creates a fixed spawner

Tug Maps Terminology

Settings

Vocabulary

Control Maps Terminology

Settings

Types

how the enemy behaves

Scenarios / Invasive: enemies are passive

Situations / Evasive: enemies immediately attack

Dynamic: enemies are passive or aggressive depending on the level

Progress

how the game progresses

Rounds: players and enemies are generated in a single scene

Levels: players and enemies are generated in new scenes

Stages: players are generated in new scenes with preplaced enemies

Defeat

conditions and actions leading to game loss

None: no defeat trigger, players leave voluntarily

No Units: defeat when team loses all units

No Essentials: defeat when team loses essential units

Restart: game automatically restarts the level, no defeat trigger

Leaver

how the game deals with non-existent players and the computer that takes over

Rogue: units are created for a hostile unallied computer

Passive: units are created for a passive allied computer

Eliminated: units are not created for the non-existent player

Vocabulary

micro

to carefully command units to maximize survival and killings

Role Playing Game Terminology

Settings

Layouts

Structure: structurally organized usually indoor environment (Nightmare RPG)

Dungeon: linear and mazelike with narrow paths (Padorath's Return)

Stages: divided into unique unlockable zones (Chrono Trigger)

Overworld: a world map with town avatars and respective scenes (Final Fantasy III)

Roam: totally open letting players go anywhere they want (Elements RPG)

Scenes: separated in scenes fitting the StarCraft screen (Deep Six)

Arena: constrained in an arena or multiple rooms (Smash TV)

Heroes

number of heroes to choose from and the limits

Permanent: players choose any hero for the entire game (A Day at School)

Rechoose: players choose any hero even after revive (Dark World RPG)

Recruit: players can get multiple heroes (Kyprion Pact)

Equip: players start as an unarmed unit that can convert to weapon units (Dune RPG)

Own: players choose to own a unique hero (Padorath's Return)

Preown: players have the hero of their respective game slot (Dragonball RPG)

Classes

the types of heroes

Air: a fragile air hero (Scout, Muta)

Archer: a hero that can attack air (Rine, Goon)

Fighter: a strong and fast hero (Ling, Lot)

Tank: a tough and slow hero (Tank, Kerr)

Support: a fragile caster hero (Gho, Que)

Summoner: a hero that can make minion units (HT, DA)

Splasher: a hero that hits multiple units (Bat, Arch)

Base

a safe place for heroes to do essential tasks

Limbo: isolated and unreachable by enemies (Grocery Store War)

Central: a single base in the entire map (Crash RPG)

Towns: multiple scattered bases (Padorath's Return)

Defenses

how the game secures the base from enemies

Deflection: approaching enemies are ordered to move away from base

Killzone: automatically trigger-kill enemies entering the base (Elements RPG)

Turret: defended by invulnerable defenses (Crash RPG)

Guards: defended by vulnerable defenses (Stronghold RPG)

Development

how the hero improves as the game progresses

Health: hero's hitpoints rises but the unit does not change (Dragonball RPGs)

Virtual: hero's attributes are stored as variables and are increased accordingly

Upgrades: StarCraft weapon and armor upgrades (Padorath's Return)

Evolve: player gets a new hero every level up (Elements RPG)

Death and Revive

the penalty of dying and the actions and costs to revive

deduction: lose points or money after autorevive

LevelReset: player gets the most basic hero evolution after reviving

ScoreReset: player gets his score zeroed

stasis: wait a duration to revive

item: use a bought item to revive

limbo: complete a challenge to revive

ally: depend on allies' action or money to revive

spectator: become a non-interactive spectator after death

rogue: become a voluntary backstabber unit after death

mortal: defeat after death

Enemies

how enemy units are created

Script: game uses StarCraft's AI script to let the computer train units, roam, and attack (Elements RPG)

Spawner: enemies recurrently spawn at specific points (Chrono Trigger)

Ambush: a random fight in which enemies are spawned very near the player (Spellsword RPG)

Encounter: a random fight or battle that results from traveling

Engagement: a fight or battle that results from touching a roamer or boss (Final Fantasy III RPG)

Heal

the cost needed and the instances allowed to use heal

Lives

the number of times allowed to revive

Vocabulary

hero

the unit(s) representing the player

character

the single unit representing the player

experience, exp, XP

points accumulated from killing enemies or trigger-awarded after quests

level up

when a player's score is enough to gain additional cash or attributes

upgrade center

a place players go to evolve to new units, convert exp to cash, or simply upgrade

prop

non-interactive decorative features such as an Academy representing a house

object

interactive features such as a Data Disk giving information

barrier

props that block players from a locked or non-playable place

travel

to go in the map

shrine

a place outside base that heals or gives powers for free

inn

a place inside base that heals for money

heal

a place that heals for free

tele

a place that teleports the player to another far away place

store

a place to buy items that can be used later

inventory

trigger-stored variables or powerups in a menu representing items

item

trigger-stored variables or units in a menu that do specific effects

user

units allowing the use of items in the inventory, e.g. Probe carrying a Mineral Chunk

potion

an item that restores the hero's health

megalixir

an item that restores the team's health

phoenix

an item that resurrect a player's hero

spell

trigger-powered events that does positive or negative effects on players or enemies

room

a place units go to when they touch a building

scene

a place separate from the entire map used for dramatic effect

cutscene

a cinematic event in which players may temporarily lose control of their units

battle

a fight scene which results from random encounters or by touching an enemy unit

fight

the situation when the player attacks enemy units

roamer

trained or spawned enemy units that randomly wanders the map

sitter

preplaced enemy units that acts only when players go nearby

boss

the unit that must be killed to complete a quest

quest

necessary actions to progress the game

reward

award for completing a quest—unlocked passages, new heroes, etc

sidequest

optional actions that results in bonuses when completed

bonus

award for completing a sidequest or a score limit—extra cash, free merc, etc

minion

non-hero units that act as attackers for the summoner

mercenary

non-hero offensive support unit with lower HP and Attack

assistant

non-hero caster or worker support units that may be needed to complete quests

transport

units that heroes turn into to travel the map faster, may prevent encounters

Warrior Maps Terminology

Settings

Opponent

the opposing heroes

AI: enemy side is entirely computer controlled

Human: enemy heroes are human controlled

Complexity

the degree of features

normal: regular abilities

advanced: trigger spells

Paintball Maps Terminology

Settings

Attack

how the units attack the enemy

auto: enemies are unallied so units attack automatically

lock: enemies are allied so units must be forced to attack (A + LClick)

Objective

how the game can be won

CTF: go to the enemy base, take their flag, and return it at one's own base

Deathmatch: kill as many other players as possible

Tag Maps Terminology

Settings

Types

various forms of tag maps

Killer: one or more player is a strong maybe cloaked unit that must kill all other "unarmed" players before time runs out

Players

who is IT

Human: played by competent human players

CPU: played by overpowered scripted and reinforced computer

Tagged

what happens to players that were tagged

Jail: teammates must go touch the jail to revive tagged players

Corpse: teammates must touch the corpse where the tagged player was

Vocabulary

IT

the boss unit that chases other players

runner

players who try not to get tagged by IT

Obstacle Maps Terminology

Settings

Types

various forms of obstacle maps

Run: escape from a mass of trailing attackers in a linear course

Scroller: the game's viewscreen is locked to a moving "camera" unit usually Observer

Checkpoint

an activatable point that becomes the players' new respawn place

Near: checkpoints are moderately near each other

Far: checkpoints are far from each other

Vocabulary

area

small amorphous sections of the map that may have checkpoints

wall

a passable obstacle made up of buildings or units

barrier

an unpassable obstacle

jump

to pass through a wall by displacing the worker with an unfinished building

hop

to pass through a wall by unburrowing a unit and displacing the unit on top of it

Game Maps Terminology

Settings

Interface

how players can interact with the map's features

train button: building-trained units correspond to respective functions

move cursor: unit-moved to a hotspot correspond to respective functions

drop menu: dropship-dropped units correspond to respective functions

Vocabulary

avatar

a unit representing a roster player, as in players in sports

dribble

to make a unit move to a desired direction or location by attacking it (sport maps)

Social Maps Terminology

Settings

Vocabulary