As reported a few days ago, Blizzard Entertainment launched a museum expo in Taiwan titled "Flights, & Frights - Inside The Storm". A fan named ddsnet posted on Flickr hundreds of photos from his visit to this exhibition for the less fortunate who couldn't attend it.

The exhibition consists of concept art of Starcraft and Starcraft II, Diablo II and Diablo III, Warcraft III and World of Warcraft. You can also see the prototype sculptures of the Diablo III Overthrown diorama, the Tychus Findlay diorama, the new Starcraft II action figures, and World of Warcraft action figures.

Those who participated in past Blizzard Fan Artwork Contests should update their resumes. What's better than winning Blizzard's Fan Art Contest? Earning the zomg opportunity to get your artwork exhibited in an international museum.

Browse through hundreds of photos of this exhibition here.

Thanks, Flux

Blizzard Entertainment proudly announces Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty sales have soared above the 3 million copies worldwide since launch.

	Blizzard Quote:
	IRVINE, Calif. -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™ has sold over 3 million copies worldwide in the first month of its release, building on the game’s momentum as the bestselling PC game of 2010 and the fastest-selling real-time strategy game of all time.* StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was released simultaneously in North America, Europe, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on July 27. With day-one sales topping 1 million copies, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty became the bestselling PC game of 2010 within its first 24 hours of availability. The game went on to sell more than 1.5 million copies in its first 48 hours, setting the record for fastest-selling strategy game of all time, and has won numerous critical accolades, including multiple editor’s choice awards from major gaming publications. "We appreciate all the enthusiasm that players around the world have shown for StarCraft II," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "It was important to us to deliver an overall gameplay experience that was accessible, balanced, and fun, and it’s been gratifying to see how strongly the global community has already embraced the game." StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the sequel to Blizzard Entertainment’s 1998 hit StarCraft, which has been hailed by players and critics worldwide as one of the top real-time strategy games of all time. Sporting a vibrant 3D-graphics engine, StarCraft II once again centers on the clash between the protoss, terrans, and zerg, with each side deploying legions of veteran, upgraded, and new unit types. Unparalleled online play for StarCraft II is available through a new version of Battle.net®, Blizzard Entertainment's world-renowned gaming service. Battle.net has been redesigned from the ground up to be the premier online gaming destination for Blizzard gamers, with several enhancements and new features, such as voice communication, cloud file storage, leagues and ladders, achievements, stat-tracking, and more. The solo campaign for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty continues the epic saga where it left off in StarCraft: Brood War®. The story line chronicles the exploits of marshal-turned-rebel-leader Jim Raynor and features both familiar faces and new heroes. Players are able to tailor the experience, choosing their own mission path and selecting technology and research upgrades to suit their playing style throughout the 29-mission campaign. Several challenge-mode mini-games are also included, with focused goals designed to ease players into the basics of multiplayer strategies. For more information on StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, visit the official website at http://www.blizzard.com/games/sc2/.

Rob Pardo told MTV that Blizzard Entertainment has always wanted to bring its franchises to the silver screen, but they first need to find the right production team.

Rob Pardo thinks a Starcraft film could be possible with someone like James Cameron leading the project. He is currently involved in the sequel to the box office success Avatar. Check it out at MTV.

	Blizzard Quote:
	"We've always had an interest in seeing our stuff on film or TV. It's just tricky to find the right partners. We probably could have made a ['StarCraft'] movie or something on TV years and years ago, but it's really important to us that we find creative people that are really talented but also really excited about our properties. That's always been the challenge for us. I think if Jim Cameron came to us tomorrow and said, 'You want to make a 'StarCraft' movie?' we'd probably sign that."

René Koiter (of Twincruiser) updated the tribute page dedicated to his brother Michel Koiter. This extensive update adds short messages sent to him by Samwise and Chris Metzen back on 2003; and spotlights the tribute to his brother with the M. Koiter dog tag held by Jim Raynor when he says: ""...because some things are just worth fighting for" during a Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty cinematic.

It was a special touch added by Nick Carpenter, the Executive Art Director, who is inspired by the work Michel Koiter did for Blizzard Entertainment years ago. The new update at the SonsoftheStorm website is very emotive, showing us the unending love and admiration of this developer for his twin brother.

The Starcraft II Team announced an upcoming major balance patch that's gonna address some bug fixes, map editor and mod features, and nerf some units to prevent certain rush mechanics that are deemed unbalancing. These are only a limited listings of what the developers are planning for short and long term. The developers welcome fan feedback to address balance issues. Read the official blog.

	Blizzard Quote:
	Balance Changes We have several balance changes in store. One general change we're making is that friendly units will no longer provide vision after being killed. Enemy units previously revealed will no longer be targetable. Now let's break down the additional balance changes we're implementing. Maps We're going to be adding destructible rocks to the Desert Oasis map to make natural expansions easier to protect. In addition, the center map watchtower area is being narrowed. Protoss We have two key changes in mind for the zealot: the build time is being increased from 33 to 38 seconds, and the warpgate cooldown is being increased from 23 to 28 seconds. Zealot rushes are currently too powerful at various skill levels, particularly those that rely on rapidly assaulting an enemy base from nearby "proxy" gateways. We feel the window players have to scout for and fend off this rush is too small. We also want to address the problem of protoss being able to dump minerals a bit too quickly with the combination of warpgates and Chrono Boost. Terran There are several changes in the works for terrans. Reapers against zerg are stronger than expected. Due to the zealot build time increase, reapers would be a bit problematic in combination with proxy barracks, bunkers, and/or marauders against protoss. Therefore, we have decided to increase the build time of reapers as well from 40 to 45 seconds. Fast reaper + bunker, or fast marine + bunker rushes are problematic against zerg. Although this rush would never outright destroy the zerg player, we feel zerg suffers too much of a disadvantage from either having to cancel the fast expansion, or getting trapped inside the main base for too long, so we are also increasing the bunker build time from 30 to 35 seconds. Siege tanks in large numbers are performing too well in all matchups. In the mid- to late-game, siege tanks are too dominant against all ground units. We want a small set of light and unarmored ground units to perform better against siege tanks. With this in mind, we're changing the Siege Mode damage of the siege tank from 50 to 35, +15 vs. armored; to correspond with this, damage upgrades will be changed from +5 to +3, +2 vs. armored. This change reduces the base damage of the siege tank against light and unarmored units, as well as the splash damage. Battlecruisers currently lack good counters from the ground and still perform very well against a wide array of unit types. We're aware that it is not easy to get battlecruisers out for the cost, but at the same time, it is possible in both 1v1s and team games to create stalemate situations to bring them out. Overall, we feel that battlecruisers are too strong for their cost, and the terran-forced stalemate situations are causing less interesting gameplay. We will be lowering their damage against ground units from 10 to 8. Zerg Ultralisk damage is being decreased from 15, +25 vs. armored to 15, +20 vs. armored. This reduction is comparable to the changes being made to the battlecruiser and siege tank. Like the battlecruiser, ultralisks are simply too powerful for the cost, even though they are difficult to muster. Also, in combination with other units, ultralisks are difficult to counter from the ground. The ultralisk building attack (Ram) is being removed because the damage rate is too similar to its normal attack, which will be used against buildings instead. When ultralisks target tightly packed smaller buildings such as supply depots, the Ram attack is actually outputting considerably less overall damage than its normal attack, as Ram only hits a single target.

I am not sure if everyone knows how much of a fanboy bootlicker I am of Chris Metzen. Ya' know the bourbon cowboy developer, the thundergod, Blizzard VP of Creative Design. Father of the Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo lore who's been around in Blizzard the past 17 years.

So you understand the scope of what a true fanboy is, I started playing Blizzard games since 2001 with Starcraft and its expansion Brood War. Obviously, I was a few years late from the 1994 (Warcraft: Orcs and Humans) and 1998 (Starcraft) big bang, but I quickly caught up getting Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, Warcraft III and its expansion Frozen Throne (2002-2003), Diablo 1, Diablo II and its expansion Lord of Destruction. All the World of Warcraft and Starcraft II Collector's Editions -- just to watch the Behind the Scene DVDs with the developers.

Right after my first public IRC chat interview with Richard A. Knaak back on 2003, I got hooked to any Blizzard-related novel and printed media that came out thereafter. I have all the Starcraft, Diablo and Warcraft novels, both comic books, and the manga. So it's no surprise I am a fanboy of Chris Metzen, and all the people involved in the development of all these literature.

I have interviewed Chris Metzen face to face twice, at last year's New York Comic Con with Micky Neilson (Publishing Lead); and at the Blizzard offices during a Starcraft II single player press-invite.

I was so nervous. It was like meeting your favorite Hollywood actor, Rock star, Comic books Stan Lee, Star Wars George Lucas -- you get the drill. He's that type of guy you get all geeked up about and go mute when standing before him. Inside you wish to bear-hug him, but you don't obviously because he might freak out; or say: " I don't swing that way, bro". -- I'm 'straight' by the record.

I know many of you are crazed, geeky, diehard Warcraft lore fans [and if you ain't, I wish to infect you up with my fanboyism] -- so I want to share with you a recent Chris Metzen interview.

A Warcraft lore community fan (Sarahmoo) from 'ScrollsofLore' posted scans from the Games(tm) magazine issue # 99 / August 5, 2010 (a British publication) which interviewed Chris Metzen. It's a good opportunity for some of you to get to know this Blizzard developer more intimately. His early beginnings, before and after joining Chaos Studios (aka Blizzard Entertainment).

In the interview, you will learn how he views his position at Blizzard, what it feels like, his feelings when he's done a mistake, and how he's overcome them. He's learned from those mistakes. He's a geek and a fan like yourself, and he strives to keep everyone happy, and stay true to the lore because as Metzen says: "We don't own Warcraft any more - the fans own Warcraft now."

According to Blizzard Entertainment, all BlizzCon attendees and BlizzCon Virtual Ticket viewers will receive an exclusive set of in-game items for World of Warcraft and Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty.

A new murloc companion named Deathy will be redeemed by World of Warcraft players by entering the scratch code in their BlizzCon card. Starcraft II players may redeem a Murloc Marine character portrait in their profile, and a terran, protoss or zerg deep-sea decals that can be placed on your multiplayer units.

BlizzCon 2010 takes place on October 22 and 23 at the Anaheim Convention Center. For further details or to order the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, visit www.BlizzCon.com

After six years of hiatus, trapped within the Nightmare, Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage is back to business in Azeroth. Your first sighting of him will be at the center of the tornado of Darkshore, and lastly in Mount Hyjal.

But ... when and how did he return from the Emerald Nightmare? Many fans who don't read the novels will have this self-question in their minds when they see Malfurion and don't find any quest explaining his return.

All your questions are revealed in World of Warcraft: Stormrage -- the three-time Locus Magazine Bestseller by New York Times Bestseller author Richard A. Knaak. It was released back on February 2010.

Couldn't find the novel online or at a local bookstore? Try again. World of Warcraft: Stormrage went for another round at printing, and is available again.

Richard A. Knaak opened an Amazon store with all his Blizzard novels and Dragonrealm work.

If you missed them, he recently wrote two TOKYOPOP mangas -- World of Warcraft: Mage and World of Warcraft: Shadow Wing, Dragons of Outland Vol. 1.

Update: World of Warcraft: Stormrage paperback is scheduled for November 2010.

According to ChinaGame, Blizzard Entertainment's manager of asset services Tim Campbell was at the inaguration of the "Fights, Flights & Frights Inside the Storm" art exhibition held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taiwan. There are several photos of the exhibition in that page.

Blizzard is displaying over 700 posters of art from their three main franchises: Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo.

The exhibition will be open to the public until October 10th, 2010. It's the first time Blizzard Entertainment takes the art exhibition overseas. In recent years, the studios has brought their artwork assets to exhibitions. Last year, the WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon exhibition was held at the Laguna Art Museum from June-October 2009.

via Kotaku

Lylirra announced the 2010 North American Warcraft Regional Finals have begun, and you can watch the live video stream broadcast from Austin, Texas.

Visit the Tournament's official page to download the plugin and start watching the live stream. I suppose Lylirra will be updating the forums live as the matches go. Thus, reload this forum page from time to time just in case.

	Blizzard Quote:
	Hello from Austin, Texas! We're here at the 2010 North American Warcraft Regional Finals to watch as the best players from the Warcraft III Ladder and World of Warcraft Tournament Realm battle for victory, cash prizes, and an invitiation to compete this October at BlizzCon 2010. We'll be bringing you news from the event, so stay tuned to this thread today and tomorrow for the lastest action and updates. For more information about this weekend's activities and to access our featured video stream, be sure to check out the 2010 Warcraft Regional Finals page here: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/rf10/index.xml Our live stream coverage for the first day of the 2010 North American Warcraft Regional Finals is scheduled to begin in approximately 15 minutes at 11:00 AM CDT. We'll be kickstarting the festivities today with a Warcraft III matchup featuring Jake "Yeggi" Moran and Nikolaus "Sonkie" Cassidy. Kim "bunny" Phan and Alex "Orange" Nicholas will be shoutcasting this match, so get ready for some epic Warcraft III action!

Fresh of the oven! J!NX has announced their new World of Warcraft Fall 2010 T-shirts line-up. Start stocking up your clothing in anticipation to your three-days stay at BlizzCon, or simply for your day-to-day hanging with friends and family. Good options as gifts to your loved ones too.

The hoodies with the Alliance and Horde spray logos are finally available. The previous season line-up introduced the T-shirt versions. Ya'know, Fall means temperature swings will go up and down randomly, with those darn unexpected cold breezes. Gotta get covered up in style to avoid the flu.

World of Warcraft Paladin Legendary Class T-Shirt $19.99 - $22.99

World of Warcraft Frostmourne Hungers T-Shirt $19.99 - $21.99

World of WarCraft Murhol Pop Art T-Shirt $19.99 - $21.99

World of Warcraft Fear Hogger T-Shirt $19.99 - $22.99

World of Warcraft Pandaren Brewmaster Premium Tee $21.99 - $22.99

World of Warcraft Death Knight Legendary Class T-Shirt $19.99 - $22.99

World of WarCraft Rune T-Shirt $19.99 - $22.99

World of WarCraft Rune Zip-up Hoodie $39.99 - $41.99

World of Warcraft Horde Spray Zip-up Hoodie $39.99 - $41.99

World of Warcraft Alliance Spray Zip-up Hoodie $39.99 - $41.99

World of WarCraft Murloc Face Youth Tee $17.99

World of WarCraft Mark of the Wild Flexfit Hat $22.99

World of Warcraft Fear Hogger Premium Tee $21.99 - $22.99

World of Warcraft Pandaren Brewmaster T-Shirt $19.99 - $21.99

For more variety check out all the 240 World of Warcraft T-Shirts designs available.

Starcraft II T-shirts, patches, keychains and car stickers may be found here.

Diablo III T-shirts, patches, keychains and car stickers may be found here.

Blizzard Entertainment is a factory of bestsellers, and that's reflected in the countless world-shattering guinness record sales.

Every Collector's Edition in their portfolio sells out in no time. Many players know this for a fact when they search every game store online and locally to get the same answer: Sold Out.

It doesn't extend to only Blizzard games. Take as example the BlizzCon tickets sold out within 30 seconds, and you know the frustrating sad panda face you get when tickets or pre-orders are no longer available.

For that matter, get your hands on the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Collector's Edition before they become unavailable. You will be a happy panda knowing your pre-order is secured, and ready to ship on launch date. Go Pre-order now !!! Urgently. As in ... right the heck now ! Go go go!

Blizzard deployed a new Cataclysm beta patch to address several bug fixes. The patch is over 470MB

Bug Fixes

• Players should no longer get stuck at the loading screen when teleporting to Moonglade en route to Hyjal.
  
• Characters with two professions learned should again be able to train new spells.
  
• There is no longer a section of geometry missing from where the floor and wall meet in Fireland Hatchery.
  
• Gnome and troll character no longer have a broken background displayed as well as a LUA error at the character selection and creation screens.
  
• Sudden Death procs should now reset the cooldown of Colossus Smash.
  
• Hairstyles should no longer cause the male worgen face to disappear.
  
• Shadow Protection is now functioning correctly.
  
• Entering a phase with phased terrain (i.e. Rim of the World) no longer boots players from flying mounts.
  
• Players are now able to receive Stoneskin Totem from shaman trainers.
  
• The quest "Up the Volcano" can now be completed.
  
• Characters now ride the Swift Seahorse for the quest "Waking the Beast."
  
• The mob Tendril from Below should no longer fall below the world when killed.
  
• Globe of Boiling Water should now drop from Scalding Water Lords for the quest "Full of Hot Water."
  
• The quest "Blackfin's Booty" can be completed.
  
• The quest "Offering to Azshara" can be completed.
  
• The quest "Seeds of Discord" should reset properly.
  
• The rug in Stormglen Inn is should no longer be experiencing z-fighting with the floor beneath it.
  
• The fire damage from lava should no longer hit players at any height.
  
• Trainers are functioning properly.
  
• Selecting a character on the character select screen after creating a new one will no longer cause the game to display and act on the character two slots above the selected one.

Full patch notes after the break.

Aspiring Fantasy and Sci-fi writers are very welcome to submit their entries for the Blizzard Entertainment's 2010 Global Writing Contest which is nigh reaching its deadline.

This is an amazing opportunity to write a story many will read around the world, and an opportunity to meet Blizzard's Creative Team in their Irvine studios.

I was fortunate to meet the last year's 2009 Global Writing Contest winner (author of In the Shadow of the Sun). By coincidence or fate, we shared the van which picked us up at the airport -- courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment. We met again at Blizzard's Headquarters before and after she met the in-house writers. I sneaked her in into the Anaheim Convention Center's press room, and hopefully she managed to play the Cataclysm demo.

She was very excited meeting the writers and developers at the studios and to enjoy BlizzCon. I took the photo seen below in front of the Anaheim Convention Center's press room. The contest winner (to the left, wearing a green shirt) with our WoW: Incgamers staff Maticus.

If you haven't started writing your awesome story, it's a very good time to do so

	Blizzard Quote:
	Be warned, all ye wordsmiths and masters of prose... the 2010 Global Writing Contest soon draws to a close! If you have yet to submit your original tale from the Diablo, StarCraft, or Warcraft universe, the deadline is next Monday, August 23, 2010. Those who take us on the most brilliantly written journey shall reap the ultimate reward -- a trip to Blizzard Entertainment's headquarters to meet the writers and staff behind the lore of our games. You'll find all of the details here, including the winning story from last year.

Get ready Diablo fans: tomorrow marks the beginning of the “information ramp” for Diablo 3.  As we reported earlier, an announcement about a new feature is expected tomorrow (8/18/10).  What will this announcement be? The 5th class? Information about a crafting system? PvP information?  Of course we won’t know until tomorrow, but the anticipation is building.

More importantly, as one fan in the forums asked, why is Blizzard making such a large announcement at Gamescom? With Blizzcon looming on the horizon it would make much more sense to save up all the goodies for then.  Fortunately for us Bashiok stepped in and shed some light on the situation:

	Blizzard Quote:
	We’ve always had a content release schedule, and it’s always included gamescom 2010. It’s the largest game conventions in the world, and is a good opportunity to get media coverage on new stuffs.

	Blizzard Quote:
	... Gamescom marks the beginning of the ramp.

This information is quite significant; depending on how you estimate the length of Blizzard’s “content release schedule” it may offer some insight as to when we can expect the game.  At a minimum it means that we can expect to see a more steady stream of information on the game coming out in the months ahead. 

Check back tomorrow for full coverage of the Gamescom announcement!

IRVINE, Calif., Aug 17, 2010 -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans for a limited-release Collector's Edition of World of Warcraft(R): Cataclysm(TM), the third expansion for the world's most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game,* World of Warcraft. The special Collector's Edition package, which will only be available at retail stores, will include the following exclusive bonus items in addition to the game disc:

• Art of the Cataclysm art book, featuring 176 pages of never-before-seen images from the archives of the Blizzard Entertainment cinematics department and the World of Warcraft development team, as well as progressive visuals from multiple stages of development.
  
• Exclusive in-game pet: he may not be a breaker of worlds just yet, but Lil' Deathwing will still proudly accompany heroes on their struggle to save Azeroth from his much, much larger counterpart.
  
• Behind-the-scenes DVD with over an hour of developer interviews and commentaries, as well as a special Warcraft(R) retrospective examining the rich gaming history of the Warcraft universe.
  
• Soundtrack featuring 10 epic new tracks from Cataclysm, including exclusive bonus tracks.
  
• Special-edition mouse pad depicting Deathwing menacing the ravaged continents of Azeroth.
  
• World of Warcraft Trading Card Game cards, including a 60-card starter deck from the Wrathgate series, two extended-art cards, and two Collector's Edition-exclusive hero cards, marking the first appearance of goblin and worgen heroes in the TCG.

The first two World of Warcraft expansions, The Burning Crusade(R) and Wrath of the Lich King(R), each shattered PC game sales records upon their release. In Cataclysm, the face of Azeroth will be forever altered by the return of the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing. Players will explore once-familiar areas of the world that have now been reshaped by the devastation and filled with new adventures. In an effort to survive the planet-shattering cataclysm, two new playable races -- worgen and goblins -- will join the struggle between the Alliance and the Horde. As players journey to the new level cap of 85, they'll discover newly revealed locations, acquire new levels of power, and come face to face with Deathwing in a battle to determine the fate of the world.

The beta test for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is currently underway. To set up a Battle.net account and sign up for a chance to participate, please visit the official Battle.net website at http://www.battle.net.

The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Collector's Edition will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows(R) XP/Windows Vista(R)/Windows(R) 7 and Macintosh(R) at a suggested retail price of $79.99. The release date and other details for the game will be announced in the months ahead. For more information on World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, please visit the official website at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm.

Loregasm incoming! Recently, Wildstorm announced at San Diego Comic Con 2010 the new limited series WORLD OF WARCRAFT: CURSE OF THE WORGEN. Now it's dated: November 17, 2010.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT: CURSE OF THE WORGEN #1
Written by MICKY NEILSON & JAMES WAUGH
Art by LUDO LULLABI & TONY WASHINGTON
Cover by JOHN POLIDORA

The best-selling WORLD OF WARCRAFT comic series returns in time for a worldwide CATACLYSM!

A series of grisly, animalistic murders have rocked the walled town of Gilneas. A famous detective sets out to discover the perpetrators and finds far more than he bargained for. To find the truth, he must delve through years of twisted history – both the history of his family and Gilneas itself. This pivotal 5-issue miniseries explores the in-depth lore of the Worgen!

On sale NOVEMBER 17 - 1 of 5 - 40 pg, FC $4.99 US

It ain't funny to make updates on a mobile internetz, but I manage to play Starcraft II single player for achievements as best as I can, and that's not the only thing I spent my time with. Remember that huge database of World of Warcraft Easter Eggs I compiled a few years ago? Here's a cool thing I have been working on in the past days to entertain our Starcraft II, Diablo III and World of Warcraft visitors.

The Starcraft II Easter Eggs wikipage.

• One of the Collector's Edition bonus avatars for Battle.net is the Diablo Marine.
  
  
• Level 800 ETC will play a live performance - they still play WoW in the year 2500s?
  
  
• One of those Dominion scientists should get fired for playing World of Warcraft while splicing Zerg DNA. What a cretin! -- WoW Character Screen.
  
  
• The Night Elf Dancer can be found in the Hyperion's Cantina, and as a big hologram in the Media Blitz mission. Don't worry, her ears were trimmed down to look more Terran.
  
  
• Wait ... is that the Starcraft: Ghost Playstation 2 boxart in my StarCraftz IIz? Wait ... the Warcraft Adventures boxart too? Whoa? ZOMGz!
  
  
• The Doctor is in ...
  
  
• A minute of silence. The Battlestar Galactica didn't reach Earth after all.
  
  
• Where have I seen that Battlecruiser Admiral before. Hmm ...
  
  
• The Loki looks a lot like the SG-1 Asgardian ship, or am I hallucinating? Too many easter eggs hunting can do that to your brainz.
  
  
• Eh? Is that ... no ... huh? Yea, it umm ... but how? Is that the ... hatch? We're all Lost.
  
  
• Has anyone seen my Red Swingline Staple?
  
  
• I did ... I did ... I did thaw a puddy catz!! Inmate 626 Tychus Findlay was probably thrown into an animal shelter before arriving to the Joe Ray's Bar.
  
  
• Han Solo should be proud of this SCV pupil: It'll hold together, hear me baby ..." Anyone got more masking tape?
  
  
• Matt Horner should watch out in Zero Hour for that kamikaze A-Mutalisk coming straight to the ... omgz, omgz too late!
  
  
• Stetmann watched way too much Ghostbusters. Hey, back off man ...
  
  
• The Belly of the Beast has an unmistakeable Aliens quote.
  
  
• The Firebat loves to watch those reruns of Apocalypse Now in the UNN channel.
  
  
• A Dominion scientist is a fan of Sons of the Storm ... doesn't matter they died over 400 years ago. Oh wait, ain't we fans of Michael Angelo?
  
  
• The same Dominion scientist is either about to hack'n slash its way to the Worldstone or begin an all-out Koprulu War III. O_o

That concludes today's round of Easter Eggs. Stay tuned for the next exciting round soon. Feel free to hop in and contribute with your own findings. It's a wiki. Yes, you can!

Gamespot scored an interview with Russell Brower [Blizzard Entertainment Director of Audio/Video] to explore his career background and get a feel of what it was for him to compose for the Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty RTS game.

Those who didn't have the fortune of acquiring a Starcraft II Collector's Edition and didn't watch the Behind the Scenes DVD, here is a good recap of some of the elements explained there by Russell. One example he talks about is the dobro and harmonica soundtrack associated with Jim Raynor at the Joe Ray's Cantina in Mar Sara. It's definitely a good soundtrack giving Raynor's background a old-western cowboy vibe.

	Blizzard Quote:
	Gamespot: How do you approach individual themes for characters? Russell Brower: It's contextual. I think one of the keys is to have a theme that is malleable that you can shape. I think the best thing I can give you is an example for Jim Raynor. When I sat down to write his theme, the first piece of cinematic footage I saw was where he became reunited with Tychus Findlay at the bar. And just given the nature of it…and they weren't quite sure what to make of each other after so many years, I went with a fairly traditional Western sound with a dobro and a harmonica. But I wanted the melody to be able to be reused later in another context, and so even though at the moment I was writing for dobro and harmonica, I was imagining in my mind what it would sound like if it were an orchestra. And so later, when the melodies become associated with Jim Raynor, and we're talking moments when maybe he's making a stirring a speech trying to engender hope and perseverance for the troops he's with, then the theme is being replayed now with an orchestra. And then I start pulling my favorite French horns out of the bag and having that melody soar in that way. And even though it's the same notes, it hits you at a different level. One of the best moments in recording Starcraft II was when we got to hear that. I've been insisting to the cinematic director that this was going to work for so long…that what they heard on harmonica was going to work in orchestra. When we finally got to hear it…you know once in awhile you get that moment when the hair stands up in the back of your neck and you know you've struck a chord…if you'll pardon the pun, it was a blast. I think flexibility, malleability…so that the melody can be associated with the character and follow them throughout their changes in fortune, and mood is very important I think.

The Cataclysm developers have an official Q&A revealing details of the new design of Southern Barrens which pushes forward a conflict storyline between the Alliance and the Horde for control of the Battlescar.

This area is a massive battlefield with constant hand to hand combat between NPCs, and siege vehicles launching blazing ammo. The Alliance is expanding big time sending reinforcements from Theramore. As a matter of fact, Dustwallow Marsh now has a long horizontal road through its mid-zone connecting Theramore and the entrance to Southern Barrens. In order to keep the forces in Stonetalon supplied and reinforced, the Alliance must continue their attempt at controlling the Battlescar which grants them access to Stonetalon Mountains.

Up near Stonetalon Peak rages yet another massive battle between the Alliance and the Horde. The Cataclysm has changed Southern Barrens drastically with a lava trench dividing The Barrens in two.

The zone has been redesigned for level 30-35 players with new quests. The Alliance has a new fortress as a quest hub giving Alliance players a new zone to level up. Camp Taurajo has been destroyed by the Alliance, and the survivors are trying to take revenge. Mulgore has sealed up access with a Great Wall to slow down Theramore's forces.

It's up to players to join up and defend their faction, and to move forward to claim control of the area. It's strongly hinted the use of phase technology to change the world around you. It seems like a worth place to level up, to learn the new storylines of the new world order. Behind are the days of cooperation among both factions. It's War time.

	Blizzard Quote:
	For our ongoing coverage of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, we recently sat down with game designers Dave Kosak and Roman Marotte to ask them about the work they've done on the Southern Barrens, a once-familiar place drastically altered by Deathwing's return and the continuing struggle between the Horde and the Alliance. Link: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/cataclysm/features/southernbarrens.html