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| Medusa Demo at South Korea? |
3pm - I really don't know how accurate this info is. 1up Representatives are at South Korea, and they saw a Medusa Demo listed in the event itinerary list. They are clueless at what this is. They are speculating it is a new Blizzard Game or a engine codename of sorts.
Here is the short Article.
UPDATE May 19 - 3:20pm - Someone I will call "Anonymous" has contacted me after reading this news. Anonymous says there are two projects: Medusa and "censored". These are code-names assigned "internally" to the unannounced games. I'm not sure how accurate this is. Take it as rumor. I think this is a very critical info if true. I don't dare say much further about which Teams the codenames belong to.
UPDATE May 19 - 3:24pm: I opted to remove the second project's codename. Sorry. However, note this is posted under Starcraft section due to Medusa codename. =)
The Second Project, which codename I choose to keep censored, might be showcased at BlizzCon along with the next World of Warcraft expansion. So, expect two game announcements at BlizzCon through August 3-5.
10:50pm EST - It's been a calm evening. All speculations, and info has slowed down. We are barely 3 hours from the game announcement. I visited the Blizzard Korea site, to watch that teaser trailer again. At the end it displays the text:
And ... (Golden blur special effect - fade in/fade out) 2007 Worldwide Invitational
That golden blur caught my attention even when I have seen the teaser at least 12 times since a week ago. This time however, that golden blur reminded me of a Protoss Carrier. Might be nothing.
UPDATE September 12 - 9am: This new update is posted 3 months after. September 12. Recently, The Inquirer reported to have heard two Blizzard employees at the Austing Game Developer Conference (AGDC) talk about Hydra. The "Censored" codename mentioned above along with Medusa was "Hydra". Seems the anonymous person was legit after all.
Post a comment at our Starcraft 2 Forum -- (Admin Activation required)
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Friday 18th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| 2007 Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals Schedule |
The 2007 Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals will take place at the Olympic Gymnastics and Fencing Stadiums (Olympic Park) in Seoul, Korea.
The Game Announcement in South Korea, will be exactly at 1am (EST/-5GMT) on the east coast of United States or at 10pm (PDT) California (West Coast).
Check out the Players List over at GGL.
This is the schedule:
May 19th
11:00 ~ 12:20 : Warcraft 3 Season 5 Consolation Final ( Shy vs. Moon)
14:00 ~ 16:00 : Opening Ceremony / Announcement of the New Products
16:20 ~ 21:40 : Starcraft Invitational Last 8 / Warcraft 3 Invitational Last 8
May 20th
11:00 ~ 12:20 : Warcraft 3 Season 5 Overall Final
12:20 ~ 15:20 : Warcraft 3 Invitational Semi-final
15:40 ~ 17:10 : Warcraft 3 Invitational Final
17:30 ~ 19:00 : Starcraft Invitational Final
19:00 ~ 20:00 : Closing Ceremony
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Friday 18th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Battle.net Forums Changes ?!! |
A very intriguing move just a day before the new game announcement has happened at the Battle.net Forums. I am still pondering what this is about.
JohnH: "I wanted to update all of you on an upcoming new change with the Battle.net forums. On Monday, 5/21, our Community Team (the same Community Team on our World of Warcraft Forums) will be coming over to the Battle.net forums. This will allow us (Technical Support) to concentrate more on the Open Technical Support forum and help more players with their technical as well as various customer service issues. We will also be changing the name of "Open Technical Support" forum to just "Technical Support" in the near future as well.
Tech Support has been the Blue presence on these forums for quite a number of years, and we wanted to take this time to thank the great community of posters we have here. We can always be found in the Open Tech Support forum as well as the World of Warcraft PC and Mac forums. Stop by and say "hi!" from time to time.
JohnH
Technical Support Manager
Blizzard Entertainment Source: Battle.net Forums
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Friday 18th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Why could it be Starcraft 2, Warcraft 4 or Diablo 3? |
The ever-spinning thought in our minds for the past few days after it was revealed Blizzard would make a major game announcement on May 19th at the Blizzard Games Invitationals in Seoul, South Korea. What game is Blizzard going to announce? With Blizzard you should expect the unexpected.
Even when our high hopes and almost certainty is that it will be Starcraft 2. But we have been there, done that ... in the past.
Back on September 22, 2002, everyone went nuts trying to figure out what was behind the blurred images updated every hour for 24 hours. Very cleverly hidden and encrypted code could be found in the HTML. When decoded clever fans started to find clues ... Ghost quotes such as: "Did you call the Exterminator?", "You called the thunder, now reap the whirlwind". Everyone went bald after pulling their hairs ... it was Starcraft 2 !!!
The game was announced at Tokyo Game Show 2002 of all places ... the world was watching Blizzard. However, it wasn't Starcraft 2. It was a Console Game (only). This time it is Seoul, Korea. Will it really be Starcraft 2? Or should we start reading literally the Blizzard PR that Starcraft will be revisited at a later time? Will it be Starcraft 2 the game to be announced on May 19th? This are a few questions some of us might be pondering.
WHY STARCRAFT II ?
The answer is simple. Starcraft was released on April 1, 1998. It is the most expected game in the Blizzard IP Catalog, with hordes of fans craving for it. Not just for its RTS value, but for its enigmatic storyline wrap-up in Starcraft: Brood War expansion, where Zeratul found a Terran Camp in an uncharted world. Duran said:
"I am a servant of a far greater power. A power that has slept for countless ages. And is reflected in the creature within that cell. This creature is the completion of a cycle. It's role in the cosmic order was preordained when the stars were young. Behold the culmination of your history. Your violence, young prodigal, is typical. As is your inablility to comprehend the greater scheme of things. You can destroy all of the specimens here. It will do you no good. For I have seeded the Hybrid on many, many worlds. You will never find them all before they awaken... And when they do... your universe will be changed... forever."
This pretty much opened room for a Starcraft II Storyline with the addition of the Hybrid race led by Duran, clashing with the Queen of Blades Kerrigan and her Zerg, the Protoss and Terrans. An announcement made on May 19th, would mean an Alpha Hands-on showcase at Blizzcon 2007 on August 3rd, a closed beta around October-November range and a game release at ... you heard it ... the 10th Anniversary of Starcraft. With the technology and massive budget Blizzard has gotten from World of Warcraft subscriptions, the acquirement of 1,500 AMD Optetrons (Dailytech) a couple of years ago -- it is very possible Starcraft II would become a MMORTS. Do you think World of Warcraft will really use all 1,500 Optetrons? The old Starcraft is client-side. Every patch someone goes and creates a third-party hack. Going MMORTS, gameplay would be governed server-side which gives Blizzard more freedom to monitor and ban TOS/EULA Violating accounts and to manage hack-free tournaments and E-Sports support.
WHY DIABLO III ?
Back on 2003, Blizzard North was developing two unannounced projects. However, on June 31, Blizzard North Executives resigned. A month later, thirty employees resigned. This caused an upheaval on development that cascaded into canning one of the games, and later resulting in Blizzard North offices at San Francisco to be shut down nearly a year after. All remaining personnel was relocated to Irvine Headquarters, where the Diablo team is still active. The past couple of years we have seen job openings specifying the hired employee would work at the "Diablo Team". So we know Diablo III is a good candidate. It's been four years since it was revealed Blizzard North was working on two projects.
Most recently, I asked Richard A. Knaak if the novel Diablo: The Sin War Trilogy would impact the storyline of Diablo III (Interview here). He simply said:
"This is a pure collaboration between myself and Chris Metzen/Blizzard. All that is written is passed by him and the others there. This will be canon and has adjusted earlier info. The ramifications here will be used for any future project ... and I ain't writing for a dead game. :)"
Important to note: Recent novels have become tie-ins to new game announcements as a intro. World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred is set a year before the MMO to explain the setting of Orgrimmar and Theramore's current tensed peace. World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde novel - by Christie Golden, as setting for the Draenei race backstory; and Warcraft Manga: The Sunwell Trilogy by Richard A. Knaak (adding Kalecgos, Anveena, Jorad Mace and Tyri) as setting for Silvermoon City's Blood Elves backstory -- served as intro to Burning Crusade expansion. Starcraft Ghost: Nova novel by Keith R.A. DeCandido was scheduled to ship the same day the console game was meant to ship -- according to our interview with the author, before the game was postponed.
The Diablo: The Sin War novel reveals the origin of Sanctuary, the origin of Rathma and Necromancy, the introduction of Lilith and Lucius as offspring of Mephisto and much more. The road to Diablo III has been mapped in this awesome novel. I read the first part or the trilogy a week before the interview courtesy of Pocket Star Books, and plan to read book two soon.
A Diablo III is a good possibility either on May 19th or at BlizzCon. Knowing Blizzard, Diablo III could be a RPG or a RTS. After all, they planned to make a RTS title into a Console FPS. And Warcraft into a MMO. It wouldn't surprise me if Diablo III went RTS.
Diablo III RTS? Are you @#$% crazy? -- I heard a few people snap just now. I send you once more to read the novel. The Worldstone's purpose was two-fold. To cloak sanctuary from Heaven and Hell, and it was modified by the creator of Sanctuary to power down the offspring of angels and demons, the nephalem.
With the worldstone gone, most of humanity will be powered up. Armies of heroes (RTS units) set to save Heaven ... or take sides with Hell? Pick the novel. I have said too much.
Hopefully, it remains an RPG/Hack'n Slash.
WHY WARCRAFT IV ?
Many fans always frown upon listening Warcraft IV. The general thought is why make a Warcraft IV when there is a MMORPG? Or ... It would take players away from the MMORPG, or conflict with.
This is a why a Warcraft IV is a very high possibility. RTS expansions or new sequels to Warcraft would mean expanding the lore of World of Warcraft in ways that can't be possible in the MMORPG. Even continuing questlines of the MMO into the RTS is plausible. Imagine rescuing the King of Stormwind, recovering the Schythe of Elune from the Dark Riders, or even going to Northrend, the Emerald Dream or content of future World of Warcraft expansions laid in the RTS as an intro to upcoming MMORPG expansions?
An RTS Sequel would just serve to expand the lore, as material to upcoming MMO expansions. The current setting of the Burning Crusade is thanks to Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal -- where Khadgar, Alleria, Turalyon, Danath Trollbane and Kurdran went to Draenor after Teron Gorefiend stole the Book of Medivh and other artifacts of power. With the artifacts, Ner'Zhul opened in desperation various rifts or portals to other worlds. Metzen said at BlizzCon 2005 that they plan to add at least seven worlds (planets) to the MMORPG ... future expansions, accessible through the rifts opened by Ner'zhul. If you didn't play that game, fear not. Read our Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness Map Campaigns transcript, map by map.
The Warcraft II RTS Expansion served as plank to launch the MMO. Warcraft IV could do this for upcoming MMORPG expansions, expanding its current and future content and lore. Warcraft III: Frozen Throne introduced a new feature not previously seen in previous Warcraft games. A quest system with connected linked-maps, which saved your progress as you moved from map to map. This is how MMO questlines could be added into the RTS.
WHY STARCRAFT: GHOST ?
Starcraft: Ghost had ups and downs. It had more delayed release dates than a swiss cheese has holes. Fans played a demo at BlizzCon 2005. We saw the GameCube version drop from the list, remaining a PS2/Xbox Console game. Then, Starcraft: Ghost was pulled away with a "POSTPONED" notice. People has thought this game is canned suffering the fate of Warcraft Adventures. However, the keyword here is "postponed". That means production was halted and will resume development at a later date.
So let's analyze what happened here, by reading the Press Release:
IRVINE, Calif.--March 24, 2006--Blizzard Entertainment Inc. today announced plans to focus the company's console-development efforts on the next generation of console platforms. As part of this shift in focus, Blizzard? will indefinitely postpone production on StarCraft: Ghost(TM) while evaluating opportunities for utilizing the additional power of the new and upcoming console systems.
The date is a key. March 24th. This press release was issued out barely a week after Microsoft unveiled its first Community Technology Preview of XNA Build on March 14, 2006. -- check Wikipedia for details of XNA. That XNA event took place 10 days before the Press Release announcing postponement of Starcraft: Ghost. And reading into the press release Blizzard has been exploring XNA and Xbox 360 capabilities.
Could Starcraft: Ghost have resumed development behind our backs?
I really wish to play all four games ... but between you and me? I want Starcraft II. See you on May 19th.
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Wednesday 16th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Video Games Live @ Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals |
Music4Games.net has contacted us to share a press release from Video Games Live - directed by veteran game industry composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall.
Video Games Live, in partnership with Blizzard Entertainment®, today announced that it will create and perform special concert presentations for attendees at the 2007 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, Korea and BlizzCon 2007 in Anaheim, CA. Each unique performance will showcase numerous pieces of music from Blizzard games.“We’re pleased to feature Video Games Live at the Worldwide Invitational and BlizzCon,” said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “They’ve put on some great performances in the past, and we’re looking forward to sharing the experience with our players at these events.” Oh man, that place is gonna rock! Read the full Press Release
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Tuesday 15th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| The Road to Worldwide Invitationals - Day 3 |
Day 3 strangely broke the pattern of showing the box artwork of Blizzard Games that aren't expansions. The original Starcraft box art showed a Protoss at the center, half-face of a Zerg to the left and half-face of a human to the right.
However, Day 3 image shows Infested Kerrigan ... a Broodwar box artwork. Is Blizzard sending some sort of subliminal message or was the webmaster lazy? Whatever the answer, this broke the pattern of non-expansion original games. Tomorrow, according to the teaser timeline we will see Diablo II (2000). Let's see if they show the original box art or Lord of Destruction expansion.
Below you can see the original box artwork of Starcraft back on 1998. Click on the thumbnail at the top-left to see the image shown at the Day 3 Timeline Splash page. T-Minus 4 Days ...
DAY 1 - DAY 2 - DAY 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - Day 6
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Tuesday 15th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Blizzard Teasers of New Game Have Begun! |
Blizzard Entertainment has begun its ever "go-insane" teasers just days before a major game announcement. The Blizzard homepage at Blizzard.com now shows two box artworks from previous games.
One is Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and the second is Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.
At the bottom of the page we see a space background with vertical lines representing the pass of time.
The text displayed at the bottom of the page says ... Warcraft: Orcs and Humans (1994) and Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995). Note both game titles are highlighted. Followed by Diablo (1996), Starcraft (1998), Diablo II (2000), Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002), World of Warcraft (2004) and a Glowing Question Mark ( ? ) for 2007.
We are six days away from the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals at South Korea, to be held through May 19-20th, where Blizzard will announce for first time one out of three major games they have been brewing and developing for the past four years.
Let's recap possible games to be announced:
Back on 2003, Blizzard North was working on two unannounced projects. Rick Seiss took over leadership of Blizzard North after the executives, now founders of Flagship Studios, resigned. On February 2004, Hollywood Reporter said Blizzard North merged its two Diablo teams into one, cancelling one of its two unannounced projects. Taking a look at the US Patent and Trademark Office website in search of Blizzard copyrighted names, it reveals the registration of Diablo II: Salvation was abandoned on 2003.
More recently, on October 2006, Richard A. Knaak teased fans during our interview when asked if the plot of Diablo: Sin War Trilogy novel impacted somehow the storyline of future Diablo projects. The novel reveals the origin of the world of Sanctuary, the revelation of Mephisto's daughter: Lilith and the secret purpose of the Worldstone. The novel trilogy delivers! The road foundations to Diablo III have been laid.
We have seen RTS job openings in the past years. On March 14, 2005, Dustin Browder was hired by Blizzard -- you have known Dustin Browder from famed Command and Conquer: Red Alert (2001) / Generals (2003), MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries (1996), and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-Earth (2004) among others. A strong thought of Starcraft 2 or Warcraft IV comes to mind.
There is a new World of Warcraft expansion in the works. An interview revealed Blizzard looks forward to releasing an expansion each year (Optimally).
There is a large batch of thoughts, and possible games Blizzard could be announcing at the WWI in six days. Pick your flavor:
- Starcraft 2 (RTS)
- Warcraft IV (RTS)
- Diablo III
- Starcraft: Ghost (Xbox 360 / PS3)
- World of Diablo (MMO)
- World of Starcraft (MMO)
If we put in the mix what Computer and Video Games said a week ago, spreading rumors of a Starcraft MMO, it could be most likely a Starcraft MMO-RTS. Think of MMO Persistent World features like those in Hellgate: London, with continued updates and downloadable expansions using Battle.net Broadband. A server-side RTS with hack-prevention measures. VOD and E-Sport Support.
Among possible World of Warcraft expansions could be Northrend and South Seas. A year ago, Blizzard licensed White Wolf Publishing -- under the leadership of d20 developer Luke Johnson, to publish World of Warcraft RPG: Lands of Mystery -- which offers never seen and broad content of Northrend and all the isles of the South Seas, complete with maps and lore of each region. Content never seen in previous Warcraft games. You can take a look at the Table of Content, and/or read a summary of the Northrend content (Map attached). The maps shown at the Behind the Scenes DVD, confirms Blizzard has been planning a South Seas and Northrend expansion since at least 2004.
Blizzard has so many possible games in their grasp it is nigh impossible to pinpoint or take a guess at what they will announce either at the WWI (May 19) or at Blizzcon (August 3-5).
The general thought is that Blizzard will announce a Starcraft game, since they are announcing it at South Korea -- a major Starcraft community. If we take Blizzard's recent pattern of novel tie-ins as an intro to a new game announcement, we have to consider that this very month of May Blizzard and Simon & Schuster Pocket Star Books are releasing STARCRAFT: THE DARK TEMPLAR, book one: FIRST BORN. Follow the link to read its book description. You can pre-order it at our Store. My guess is this novel has something to do with the announcement on May 19th. Our interview with Christie Golden to discuss details of this novel has been delayed for two months pending approval.
The release of World of Warcraft: Tides of Darkness novel (August 2007) by Aaron Rosenberg could herald a possible tie-in with a South Seas expansion. The book novelizes the events of the RTS game Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.
If you check out your World of Warcraft (2004) Collector's Edition's Behind the Scenes DVD, you will see hand-drawn maps on a chalkboard created by the developers. You can see in the DVD a hand-drawn map of Isle of Kezan (Undermine) showing a major transportation-hub with zeppelins and boats going from Isle of Kezan to Ratchet, Kul'Tiras, Booty Bay and Valgarde. Valgarde is located at the Howling Fjord Region, at Daggercap Bay in southeastern Northrend. Check out the Isle of Kezan maps displayed at the Collector's Edition DVD.
Only time will tell what Blizzard is announcing at South Korea next week, and at Blizzcon 2007 in Anaheim, California.
Something you should expect everyday, or quiet often through this week is a change of splash-page teasers on Blizzard's homepage.
Back on September 2002, Blizzard teased fans when the homepage was updated every hour with less blurred images, slowly displaying Nova, the terran ghost character of Starcraft: Ghost. Fans -- including me -- were reloading the page mindlessly for 24 hours trying to figure out what the blurred images hid.
Keep an eye on Blizzard Homepage ... you will know what I mean. Taking a look at the HTML code, we see the image of the splash page is titled day1.jpg -- that is a countdown toward May 19, people. Each day will show a different splash page until May 19th. Expect more teasers each day throughout the following week. The countdown has begun!
DAY 1 - DAY 2 - DAY 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - Day 6
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Sunday 13th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals - Free Admission |
If you are going to South Korea to attend the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, you would like to know the admission is free. However, you still have to register to get a pass.
Drysc: "For those interested in attending this year's World Wide Invitational from May 19-20 at the Olympic Gymnastics and Fencing Stadiums in Seoul, Korea, we wanted to inform everyone that entrance to the event is free of charge, and only registration at the event is necessary to attend. Please bring a picture ID (such as a passport) once you arrive at the event in order to receive an entrance pass.
The event will feature exciting e-sports tournaments, unique panel discussions held by Blizzard developers on various topics, and several hands-on attractions.
We hope to see you at the event!"
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Friday 11th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft: The Dark Templar # 2: Shadow Hunters |
Today arrived my copy of Pocket Books Fall 2007 Catalog from Simon & Schuster Publisher. The book description and book cover are shown in the catalog. The book cover shows an artwork from artist Glenn Rane featuring a similar theme with half-face of a woman and the other half of a female dark templar.
The novel is scheduled by November 27, 2007 and contains 384 pages. Author: Christie Golden.
The book description is as follows:
The second novel of an epic trilogy set in the world of Blizzard Entertainment's bestselling Starcraft video game.
Archeologist Jacob Ramsey has spent the last two years on a fruitless excavation. It seems like a miracle when he gets an invitation to join an elite group of archeologists in the excavation of one of the Xel'Naga artifacts that are suddenly appearing on various worlds. When Jake stumbles across a dying Protoss and attempts to revive him, the alien psychically and violently begins to "upload" its memories, essentially rewriting and rewiring Jake's human brain. Jake soon learns a terrible secret -- one so important that the dying alien was willing to pass it on to an enemy in order to ensure that the knowledge survives. And what Jakes decides to do with the information will seal the fate of worlds throughout the galaxy.
This description is kinda similar to book one's. I assume it is a placeholder replacement. I will update if a new description is added in the upcoming months. And will provide the book cover image soon. The marketing info provided by the catalog says the novel will be showcased at BlizzCon 2007. Hopefully that means Christie Golden will be at the Pocket Books booth, book signing.
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Thursday 10th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| SC2.org - New Starcraft Fansite |
A friend, and veteran in the Starcraft community has launched a new fansite at sc2.org -- former editor of Gosugamers, PGTour, and currently SCLegacy. Some know him as Physician and others as Enthropy.
Bookmark it to see what's cooking in the Starcraft community. The link has been added to our Community Links section.
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Tuesday 08th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| CVG Claims Starcraft MMO to be Announced |
Computer and Video Games (CVG) has anonymous sources backing that Blizzard will announce Starcraft MMO at Korea on May 19th. It is still a rumor until Blizzard makes the official announcement. T-minus 14 days, and ticking! Read the full article.
CVG: "Well placed US sources have revealed to us that the StarCraft MMO will be unveiled at an upcoming Blizzard event on May 19 in South Korea - the epicentre of the sci-fi RTS series' rabid fandom." CVG is a very reputable Gaming Editorial Outlet, and they have interviewed Blizzard developers many times. Blizzard has posted job openings in the past years that really trails off people. Now with the intro of Next-Gen MMO and Mobile Job Openings it becomes further more complicated to throw a fit worth of guesses and speculations of what is happening at the Irvine headquarters.
The question to ponder if CVG's claims become reality and there will be a Starcraft MMO ... why was Dustin Browder hired by Blizzard back on March 15, 2005? I posted a speculation article some time ago after he was hired. For those who are not familiar with his name, he was developer of:
- The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-Earth (2004)
- Command & Conquer: Generals (2003)
- Command & Conquer: Generals: Zero Hour (2003)
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars (2001)
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (2000)
- Battlezone (1998)
- Vigilante 8 (1998)
- Heavy Gear (1997)
- MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries (1996)
- MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bear's Legacy (1995)
Someone like Dustin Browder with a track record on top RTS games must have been hired by Blizzard to develop an RTS Game. Could it be a Starcraft 2 and a Starcraft MMO, like Warcraft III: Frozen Throne was for World of Warcraft? Or a Warcraft 4 RTS as a tie-in to upcoming Wow expansions? Diablo 3 as an RTS? Something I have learned in the past years from Blizzard is ... expect the unexpected. There are so many projects it is hard to pinpoint Blizzard's next move.
Another job opening that backs up an RTS development was posted on 2006 searching for a Game Balance Designer. The highlights of the job opening were:
- Experience playing real-time strategy games competitively
- Has a demonstrable understanding of competitive strategy gaming.
- Pluses: Experience in designing and playing Real-Time-Strategy games, Has played Blizzard strategy games extensively and Played Warcraft 3 and/or StarCraft competitively.
Confused yet?
A fan, MasterBoo, speculates in our forum that to make sense between the RTS job openings and CVG's claim of a Starcraft MMO would be if Starcraft 2 became an RTS with MMO traits. Think of Hellgate: London ... a RPG/FPS as Single Player with a free aspect and a MMO paid subscription aspect. This would justify what Itzik Ben-Basat said in Januray. Blizzard plans to make Battle.net a Broadband High-Bandwidth gaming network.
Post a Comment at our Starcraft 2 Forums.
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Sunday 06th 2007f May 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft Novel Interview Update |
Christie Golden informed the Q&A submited by fans will be ready very soon. She has been busy with book deadlines and a trip. The Q&A is also undergoing a review and approval, if you catch my drift.
Christie encourages fans to submit further questions. She is open to offer further details to satisfy the Starcraft community. Please, submit your questions here. There are very good things coming down the pipe. Nuff' Said! Gotta stay tight-lipped.
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Monday 30th 2007f April 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Official: Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals Game Announcement |
Kotaku got a response from Blizzard confirming there will be a product announcement at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals in South Korea. Blizzard didn't reveal what the new product is, but does say they will revisit the Starcraft Universe at some point in the future.
Blizzard: " We do intend to announce a new product at the Worldwide Invitational next month in Korea, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and interest in getting an advance look at what that will be, but players will have to wait until May 19th to find out more. Also, we have a very strong connection with the characters and settings of StarCraft, and we do plan to revisit that universe at some point in the future, but we don't have anything new to announce in that regard at present."
Post a comment at our Starcraft 2 forum.
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Friday 27th 2007f April 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Announcement at Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals? |
I usually do not link to this type of news, tagged with a "anonymous leak", but they have been coming quietly often from Korea lately, and we all know Korea is the home to the Starcraft Invitationals, where Starcraft is a sport. Thisisgame.com posted an article of weight confirming Starcraft 2 announcement to be at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Korea.
The news mill is so strong that even CVG (Computer And Video Games) has posted it.
ThisisGame: "Starcraft 2 will be announced to the public on May 19th at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitation (WWI).
On April 25th, according to game company Blizzard Korea Entertainment, it is confirmed that they will announce Starcraft 2 demonstrating it with both vods and graphics. Furthermore, the developers of Starcraft 2 will be there, and have time to answer the questions."
SCLegacy and Gosugamers have a translation of the article. Thanks, Dbon - Steamwheedle EU for the buzz.
Post a Comment
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Thursday 26th 2007f April 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Custom StarCraft League Functionality |
It is been almost 10 years since the launch of Starcraft, and Blizzard continues its support to the game, now with the introduction of a new feature.
Blizzard: "We have added new functionality to Battle.net that allows players to organize and join custom StarCraft leagues. These leagues support stat-tracking, custom icons, and replay uploading, among other features. Check out our StarCraft League page for more information on how to join a league or start your own."
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Wednesday 25th 2007f April 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Mac OS 10.3.8 and OS 9 - Battle.net No More |
This is an awareness call to all Starcraft/Broodwar, Diablo, Diablo II/LOD, and Warcraft III/Frozen Throne players on Mac OS 8.6, 9.x, up to Mac OS X 10.3.8.
Very soon if you have any of the aforementioned Mac OS, once Blizzard updates those games you will no longer be able to play on Battle.net anymore. All Blizzard games' Minimum System Requirements will be risen to Mac OS X 10.3.9 (or above). Which means you can only play Single Player and LAN if your computer doesn't have OS 10.3.9. Say bye to Battle.net unless you upgrade your OS.
Read below the full press release concerning this minimum requirements changes for Starcraft, Diablo and Warcraft games. Thanks, Entropy.
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Sunday 15th 2007f April 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| BlizzCon 2007 Announced! Starcraft 2 ?! |
BlizzCon 2007 has been announced exploding hype of fans to finally hear of the announcement of Starcraft 2 or any Starcraft universe project. This takes even us by surprise. Recently a Blizzard Representative said in the official forums there won't be a BlizzCon event in 2007.
It is been a long year of speculations since Paul Sams, Blizzard's Vice-President of Business Operations, teased fans at an IGN interview with the following statement:
Paul Sams told IGN on August 28, 2006 the following:
"StarCraft is my absolutely favorite game of all time," Sams told us. "As you probably already know, there is no doubt that we will continue the StarCraft and Diablo franchise, and trust me, I will be the happiest person in the world when we announce StarCraft 2."
While Sams wasn't ready to spill the beans just yet, he did say Blizzard "will have a major product announcement in 2007," and that Blizzard was currently working on at least three other unannounced titles at the moment.
Additionally, Christie Golden writer of Star Trek Novels and Warcraft: Lord of the Clans, is writing Starcraft: The Dark Templar - a trilogy novel that launches its first book on May ... coincidentially the same month Korea Invitational Starcraft Tournaments begin.
To make matters more interesting ... Battle.net posted the BlizzCon 2007 announcement.
Keep your fingers crossed ... Starcraft 2 announcement "might" be close.
A year and a half ago, Blizzard hosted the first "BlizzCon," a convention celebrating the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo game universes and the amazing community of players who contribute to their continued popularity. Today, Blizzard announced that BlizzCon will once again open its doors on August 3, 2007.
Highlights for this year's BlizzCon will include:
- Discussion panels with Blizzard game developers;
- Competitive and casual tournaments, including a World of Warcraft TCG tournament;
- Costume, machinima, and character sound-alike contests with great prizes;
- Live orchestral performances of music from Blizzard games;
- And many more exciting activities to be announced soon at www.blizzcon.com!
Check out this press release and the BlizzCon FAQ now to learn more about the when, where, and what of BlizzCon 2007!
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Friday 13th 2007f April 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Rumors |
I don't know how reliable the rumor going around is, posted by Fighterforum, specially since it claims an employee of Hanbisoft who worked for Blizzard leaked the info. According to the foreign article " there will be a beta version of Starcraft 2 coming out end of the year."
When a rumor or leak sound too good to be true, generally it is a media hoax. We know Starcraft 2 will be developed by Blizzard. We do know Blizzard is working on three unannounced games. We know Blizzard will make a major announcement on 2007.
Paul Sams told IGN on August 28, 2006 the following:
"StarCraft is my absolutely favorite game of all time," Sams told us. "As you probably already know, there is no doubt that we will continue the StarCraft and Diablo franchise, and trust me, I will be the happiest person in the world when we announce StarCraft 2."
While Sams wasn't ready to spill the beans just yet, he did say Blizzard "will have a major product announcement in 2007," and that Blizzard was currently working on at least three other unannounced titles at the moment.
Fans have heard of leaks that turn out to be a hoax, and leaks that have turned out to be true. However, what makes this rumor very very unreliable is an ex-employee leaking the info ... there is something named NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) that would seriously get the leaker in trouble. That makes the rumor somewhat fishy.
Let's just consider the rumor is fake, and simply wait for Blizzard to make its 2007 Announcement. Hopefully it will be Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3. The best and most reliable source for Starcraft 2 Announcement will always be Blizzard.com. Rumors and speculations are good and in a sense healthy. It keeps the passion for Starcraft alive. But pseudo-leaks ... that's another story. Thanks, Danny for the heads up.
What is your opinion? Post a comment at our Starcraft 2 Forum
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Thursday 12th 2007f April 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft Novel Interview Update |
Christie Golden just contacted me to confirm she got my email with the community-submited questions for our upcoming Q&A. Christie says the answers will be ready possibly in two weeks. Christie moved to Australia around October-November. The last few weeks she has been traveling, and was unavailable. She arrived back to United States recently, and needs to reorganize some things on her end. We are happy she is back home, and she is happier. Once she is setup and ready, the Q&A will be answered.
I was told a teaser, but can't share that in public, can I? See you on the same Bat-channel, in two weeks, or earlier. And don't miss the Starcraft Q&A.
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Wednesday 04th 2007f April 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Not Coming to PC |
PCGamer interviewed Paul Sams, Blizzard VP of Business Operations, to discuss details of Starcraft 2. The official announcement of Starcraft 2 will be made at BlizzCon 2007, where fans will see the Cinematic intro premier. Fans will be able to play hands-on at the gaming room of Anaheim Convention Center, California.
PCGamer got a sneak peek of Starcraft 2, which uses an advanced version of the Warcraft III Engine. However, Blizzard informed Starcraft 2 won't be available on PC/Mac Computers. Due to the great response and feedback from fans who played Starcraft: Ghost at E3 2005, and the innovative technology of recent console games, Starcraft 2 will be only available for Xbox and Wii.
The PCGamer February 29, 2007 Edition, shows screenshots of Blizzard Developers playing Starcraft 2 on Wii. Basically, players just have to hold a button and move their Wii control diagonally and release the button to select several units. To make Tanks go into siege mode you have to stretch your arm forward with the Wii controller and shift your elbow and lower arm upwards in a 90 degree angle while holding down the square button. You can micro more efficiently using the Wii controller than with the keyboard -- according to Blizzard.
Start getting your tickets for BlizzCon 2007 to test it yourself!
APRIL'S FOOL
1. If Starcraft 2 was Console only, why would PCGamer cover news of it?
2. Nethaera (Wow Community Manager) said there was no BlizzCon this year.
3. February 29 Edition? February has only 28 days.
4. Has anyone ever seen an RTS game on Wii yet?
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Sunday 01st 2007f April 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| New Starcraft Forum |
Fans have been asking me to launch a Starcraft forum. With the upcoming release of Starcraft: Dark Templar trilogy it is obvious something is cooking for Starcraft 2. So ... let's start building a Starcraft community in Blizzplanet. Register to the Starcraft forum and start discussing topics with other fans.
If you wish to suggest new forum categories, post it on the forum. The Starcraft modding community is also welcome.
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Tuesday 27th 2007f March 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Aaron Rosenberg @ I-CON 26 |
Aaron Rosenberg, writer of STARCRAFT: QUEEN OF BLADES, has reported his schedule at I-CON 26. The event will be held in Long Island, New York. For more details of directions go here at the I-CON 26 website.
The Stony Brook University website for further directions.
Reservations and membership prices here.
This is the schedule:
Saturday, March 24:
11:00 AM-noon
Dealers Room Floor, Table 223
Signing
noon-1:00 PM
SAC 302
Media Darlings: The Growing Popularity of Genre Fiction Use in TV and Film
4:00-5:00 PM
SAC 302
The Business of Publishing: Part 2-The Authors Perspective
Sunday, March 25:
10:30-11:00 AM
SAC 309
Reading
11:00 AM-noon
SAC 311
How our interests shape our writing
4:00-5:00 PM
Old Chem 134
To 3D or Not to 3D
If you're there, come say hi!
Other Guest Stars on different schedules: Jamie Bamber (Apollo in the current Battlestar Galactica), Claudia Christian (Commander Susan Ivonova from Babylon 5), Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar, from Star Trek: TNG), Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century), among other guests.
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Friday 23rd 2007f March 2007 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
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