Local Map Launcher

Description

This application provides a fast way to play single-player maps stored on your computer. It lets you:

• Search all maps and mods in a given folder and display them in a tree view,
• Select a map and a mod,
• Set game speed and difficulty,
• Launch the selected map in StarCraft II, with or without the selected mod.

It is more convenient than opening the map to play in the editor or typing command-line arguments in Blizzard’s launcher.

Usage recommendation

The process of launching a map will work in two cases:

• If StarCraft II is not running (then it will start),
• If StarCraft II is running and out-of-game (main menu).

If you have a Battle.net account, it is preferable to make the second case happen, in other words:

• Start StarCraft II without loading the map (the launcher has a button to do it),
• Log-in with your id and password,
• Minimize the game (you can do it by pressing the “windows” key),
• Use the launcher to make the game load the map.

In the first case, StarCraft II will start and load the map immediately, without showing the log-in form, so you will play logged-out. The main disadvantage of playing logged-out is that your saved games will be stored in a different folder. Games saved when logged-out are unavailable when logged-in and vice-versa.

Advanced use cases

The search function matches folders with a “.SC2Map” or “.SC2Mod” ending and display them as a map or mod. Map/mod makers who modify data files without the editor may use the launcher to test changes quickly. The launcher lets you set the expansion level when loading a melee map (for testing).

Download and installation

Here are the links to the launcher files:

• Executable
• Installation program

The launcher uses Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0. It can be run on Windows operating systems, above and including Windows XP (with SP3). If .NET Framework 4.0 or above is installed on your system, the executable should work alone. If it doesn’t, you can use the installation program, which will install .NET Framework 4.0 if necessary.

When you run the launcher for the first time, it shows a folder browser dialog and asks you to select your StarCraft II installation folder. When you close the launcher, it stores that information and selected parameters in a text file named “StarCraft II Launcher.txt”, in the same folder as the executable.

Source code

The launcher is written in C#. The “source code” archive contains C# code files, used images and a project file made with Visual Studio 2013.