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| Starcraft 2 - Expansion Could Yield Fourth Race |
Gunnar sends heads up that Frank Pearce told VideoGaming247 the following:
We don't have the resources or time to add a fourth race to the launch of StarCraft II, but I'm sure in the event that we decide to do an expansion set it's a feature that'll come up for discussion.
We talked about the possibility of a fourth race early on, but we felt like we had a finite amount of great ideas and wanted to make sure we focused all the cool, best ideas on the existing three races rather than diluting those ideas across four races.
Source: VideoGaming247 Via: StarcraftWire
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Friday 29th 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Won't Make 2008 Release |
Gunnar from StarcraftWire sends heads up that Frank Pearce informed VideoGaming247 Starcraft 2 won't make a 2008 release. The Starcraft 2 team has a lot of work still to do. It comes to no surprise. When I was in Paris at the Worldwide Invitationals, it was revealed that at that point a third of the single player had been completed. Balancing process will still take a while until beta becomes available.
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Thursday 28th 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| BlizzCon 2008 Livestream Petition |
Aston from Hungarian Starcraft 2 Blog Starcraft2.hu informed me of their online petition to Blizzard requesting a live stream of the BlizzCon 2008 event. The petition is nearing a thousand signatures already.
To: Blizzard Entertainment (USA, California)
We would like to ask Blizzard Entertainment (USA, California) to make us live video streaming for the event named BlizzCon 2008, because everyone in the USA can see it on TV, but in Europe, there is no such opportunity.
Live video streaming was available on the event World Wide Invitational 2008 and Blizzard showed us, they can make an enjoyable live stream for us, so please make it again for us on the next big event: BlizzCon 2008.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
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Saturday 23rd 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Leipzig 2008: Starcraft MMO A Possibility |
Starcraft MMO would be difficult, but not impossible. All it would take is the Starcraft 2 team deciding what game to work with after Starcraft 2. Read the interview at VideoGamers.
The StarCraft universe is really rich, and it's got a lot of cool stuff in it that could be leveraged for any number of different genres. A big factor would be what the development teams want to work on. When the StarCraft II team is done with StarCraft II, a factor is what they want to work on next, because the development teams plays a big role in deciding what they're going to do. So if there was a development team that was really passionate about leveraging the StarCraft universe for a different genre then that's something we would seriously consider.
Via Bluesnews.
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Thursday 21st 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Single-Player Screenshots & System Specs Revealed |
StarcraftWire.net got their hands on an AMD Graphics documentation that reveals never before seen screenshots o fStarcraft 2 Single-Player, as well as the Computer System Specifications. Blizzard has confirmed them, and it shows how close AMD and Blizzard have gotten since the official partnership announcement made a few weeks ago.
Some screenshots show the Bar inside the Hyperion battlecruiser where Jim Raynor goes to relief his alcoholic addiction; and Tychus Findlay. We can see screenshots of the bar fully rendered, and pre-rendered clay-like 3D models. Check it out:
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Tuesday 19th 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Q&A - Batch 43 |
As mentioned in previous conversations, the development team is working extremely hard on the single player campaign, which we will be talking in more detail about at a later time. In the meantime, questions will be 'light' over the next couple of batches, to give the Dev Team ample time to work on their latest design challenges. There are also many preparations being made for both the Games Convention coming up in Leipzig, as well as BlizzCon, to make sure the StarCraft II community definitely gets their feed of info. Nonetheless, in this batch we were able to talk a bit more with Dustin and our balance designer to look into the current Zerg versus Zerg match up towards the end of our Q&A. Enjoy!
As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!
---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 43---
1. What happens if a Nullifier targets a Colossus with the Anti-Gravity ability? (garmgarf battle.net)
When Anti-Gravity is used upon a Colossus, the Colossus will still be immobilized and lifted up, which will still allow it to be hit by units that can attack air targets. Colossi will not be able to shoot while under the effect of Anti-Gravity.
2. How many critters will there be available and will they have attack animations? (SatanicLaser battle.net)
There will be critters, but there have not been any detailed discussions yet about their attack animations. On that note, there is a possibility that BlizzCon panels may fill the community in a bit more on what type of critters there will be.
3. Can the Infestor infest any building, or only specific ones, such as Barracks or Gateways, if the Protoss can be infested? (Son_Of_Korhal Battle.net)
This is actually a mechanic they are currently testing quite a bit. It is undecided if the Infestor will be able to infest Protoss or Zerg buildings, as there are gameplay and lore reasons which support many different options. Either way, at the end of the day, the development team will choose an option that will be balanced and fun in terms of gameplay for multiplayer.
4. What units are currently undergoing major art changes? (starcraft2forum.org)
There are several artistic revisions every week, though the two newest units to get some artistic updates are the Nomad and the Stalker. The Terran Nomad is getting a complete artistic redesign from any versions the community has seen thus far. Furthermore, the Protoss Stalker is also being updated to look more similar to the concept art piece as seen here: http://starcraft2.com/art.xml?s=6
5. How do Zerg vs Zerg games play out in SC2? Is it still mostly a battle of mutalisks and zerglings or have the new units changed things around? Ideas (teamliquid.net)
ZvZ (Zerg vesus Zerg)matchup usually opens up in 2 different ways, Zerglings or Roaches. Aggressive players can use Zerglings mobility to take control of the early game, whereas going Roaches is more of a defensive strategy. Zergling vs. Roach relationship is such that for cost, Zerglings wins out in the open, Roaches win at chokes, but in mid/late games when numbers are greater, Roaches can stand up to or even beat Zerglings for cost out in the open. Hydralisks dont have much use in ZvZ early game, as they are more of an anti air unit in StarCraft II.
The tier 2 battle continues with Banelings that can dominate Zerglings, but with micro, Zerglings can actually come out ahead in Zergling vs. Baneling battles. Similarly, Lurkers counter Roaches for cost, but Roaches have the mobility advantage. Mutaliks counter Zerglings/Roaches since these units cant hit air. Whats different in StarCraft II is that Hydralisks counter Mutalisks extremely well, meaning something like Roach/Hydralisk combo can stand up to the classic Zergling/Mutalisk combo. Also, another great way to fight vs. mass Mutalisks is to tech to infestation pit (same tech level as the Spire), and make Corruptors or Infestors. Infestors have the disease ability that is great for fighting vs. units that clump really well such as the Mutalisk, and Corruptors are Zergs anti air air unit.
Due to the fast pace of the ZvZ game, most games dont end up in tier 3, but ultralisks, with their cleave attack, or swarm guardians that use swarms to soak up a lot of ground vs. ground damage are great options if the game does happen to go into tier 3.
Overall, StarCraft II has a variety of options even in a mirror match such as Zerg vs. Zerg. Players can use different unit compositions to counter the classic Zergling/Mutalisk strategy that is a still powerful but not the only option.
---End of Transmission---
Karune - RTS Community Manager
Blizzard Entertainment
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Tuesday 19th 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| StarCraft 2 - Jim Raynor, Blizzard and the Ugly |
Jim Raynor is a character from the Starcraft and Starcraft: Brood War expansion who inspired many good feelings in the Single Player Campaigns. From Marshal of a backwater outpost in Mar Sara to leader of the Rebels against the Confederates, and later the Dominion and Mengsk, Jim Raynor continued his quest for a better tomorrow for humanity. No matter the odds facing him and his team. Or the challenges.
Jim Raynor, however, lost one odd that couldn't be beaten: Blizzard. A year ago, at BlizzCon 2007, the Starcraft 2 team panels revealed that a new voice actor was given a casting to perform as Jim Raynor. This however is not the Jim Raynor's voice that we know and love for the past ten years. No. The reasoning behind this change was that the original concept of Jim Raynor was designed from a TV series titled Texas Ranger. With Starcraft 2, the opportunity to hire someone meeting this and other requirements presented itself.
Is this what fans want? I really doubt that. Would you enjoy upcoming Harry Potter films without Daniel Radcliffe? Would you enjoy the X-files without Scully and Mulder? Would you enjoy The Simpsons if Homer and Bart's voice actors were replaced? In the case of the original Starcraft, the voice of an actor is what gives texture and life to a character. We have heard Jim Raynor's voice in the single player, and the User-Map Settings games over and over for ten years. We aren't tired of his voice. We listen to his voice, and we know immediately, that's Jim Raynor. That's the man who has gone through bitter and krap, and continues his fight with no rest. Like a man in real life should. Jim Raynor and his voice have become as iconic and symbolic as any other character's of any TV show, Comic Book, Cartoon, or film franchise.
A change of a character's voice or in the case of TV series or films, the actor, can be justified if the original actor has passed away. The show must go on. However, when the actor is willing to continue his role from the bottom of his heart, and the administration decides to change the actor to stick to the original plan for a character ... something is really, really bad. It is not a smart decision to tick off the fanbase. The voice actor was hired for the roll in Starcraft, and its expansion pack. Starcraft 2 should have the same voice actor performing Jim Raynor as we know and love.
Glynnis Talken reprised her role as Sarah Kerrigan the Queen of Blades in Starcraft 2. The same should have been done with Robert Clotworthy for his role as Jim Raynor. I will play Starcraft 2 regardless with the new voice actor. But there will be a stake buried deep in my mind permanently ... that is no longer Jim Raynor. That's someone else. Every time I play the Starcraft 2 Single Player campaign ... it will echo within my mind: "That is not the Jim Raynor I have known for ten years."
Robert Clotworthy informed Blizzplanet the following:
"I just found out today that I will not be returning as the voice of Jim Raynor. The casting director of Starcraft 2 contacted Blizzard and was told that they appreciated my work, but were going in another direction. I am obviously disappointed by their decision. I was looking forward to returning as Raynor and was hoping that Blizzard would at the very least have given me the opportunity of auditioning.
It has been my privilege to have been the voice of Jim Raynor. I am disappointed by Blizzard's decision, but I must respect it. I wish Blizzard only the best with StarCraft 2, and I am certain the game will live up to everyone's expectations. Thank you to all the fans who have given me their support and enthusiasm, it means a lot to me.
Robert Clotworthy"
A year ago, Blizzplanet interviewed Robert Clotworthy shortly after Starcraft 2 was officially announced at the 2007 Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals in South Korea. He expressed his feelings toward his role as Jim Raynor.
Robert Clotworthy has been actor or voice over actor of over a hundred film, TV episode, cartoon and game projects in the past thirty years of his career. Among them: Batman (Game), Tekken 5, Everquest II, The Young and the Restless, The Davinci Code (Game), Matlock, Melrose Place, Remington Steele, Three's Company, Dynasty, The Rockford Files (1978), Columbo, M*A*S*H* and many others. Read his entire career background at imdb.com.
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Monday 18th 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Hands-On @ Leipzig - August 21-24th |
Blizzard is showcasing Starcraft 2 and WoW: Wrath of the Lich King at the 2008 Leipzig Convention Center through August 21-24. If you want a shot at playing the game, and/or wish a job at Blizzard come to Leipzig.
Vaneras: We’re excited to be able to showcase some of Blizzard’s games at this year’s Games Convention in Leipzig from 21 to 24 August. We’ll be providing playable demos of StarCraft II(http://eu.starcraft2.com/) and Wrath of the Lich King(http://www.wow-europe.com/wrath/), running tournaments and quizzes and providing some extra excitement with a Live Raid.
Looking for a job at Blizzard? Our Game Masters will be at the booth ready to answer your questions about recruitment and working at Blizzard. Bring your CV along and talk to us about how you can start your career at Blizzard. http://eu.blizzard.com/en/jobs/index.html
We look forward to seeing you at the Games Convention, in Hall 5 at booth number D01!
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Friday 15th 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 at AMD Cinema 2.0 Event |
Bob Colayco told Joystiq, yesterday at the AMD Cinema 2.0 event in New York, why it took so long for Blizzard Entertainment to develop Starcraft 2. The answer is simple. If Blizzard was to bring Starcraft 2 from Sprites to 3D engines like the competition, it had to be with a bang -- and for that Blizzard awaited until the technology and tools were available. Second, you will expereince hundreds of vehicles clashing on the battlefiend with awesome special effects.
I don't know if you have ever heard of AMD Cinema 2.0 before, or if you even know what it is capable of doing. The most important question here to ponder besides why it took Starcraft 2 so long to develop, is why was Blizzard at this event in the first place. Only because they were invited as partners of AMD? Or is Blizzard looking into this technology for future games -- coughs, such as the unrevealed Next-Gen MMO or the World of Warcraft and Diablo Hollywood films?
AMD Cinema 2.0 is just plainly unbelievable and out of science fiction movies, except this is reality and this technology has been achieved by AMD. Imagine Blizzard developers having access to this ... oh wait ... they are AMD Partners! Everyone at unison ... drool!!!
Read the AMD Cinema 2.0 Press Release below.
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Tuesday 12th 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| StarcraftWire - Starcraft 2 Multithreading Editorial |
StarCraftWire.net has just released the third instalment on StarCraft II system spec previews, and delve further into multithreading - background, technology, and possible game application, especially StarCraft II
applications. Read the full editorial here.
On another note, there are some very impressive origami artists that also are StarCraft fans. You can even make your own Mutalisk. (read more)
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Sunday 10th 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Preview Scans - Starcraft: Frontline Vol. 1 Manga |
A 20-pages preview of the Tokyopop Manga Starcraft: Frontline Volume 1 is now available at our Blizzplanet's Starcraft Book Excerpt section. The preview shows you artwork and text from the inside pages of one of the four stories this volume contains, titled Why We Fight. Keep an eye through August-September for our interview with the authors.
- View the preview scans here
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Sunday 03rd 2008f August 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft: I, Mengsk - Front Cover |
Blizzplanet will be interviewing Graham McNeill quietly soon concerning Starcraft: I, Mengsk - a new Starcraft novel to be published on December 30th, 2008. The front cover was created by artist Mark Gibbons, a friend of Grahman McNeill.
On other news, Christie Golden finished writing World of Warcraft: Arthas and her participation on the Warcraft Legends Manga.
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Wednesday 30th 2008f July 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Q&A - Batch 42 |
1. What was the main reasoning to shifting the Hydralisk backwards one technology level? How does this affect the Zerg early-game, especially since the Zerg will have absolutely no anti-air units before the Hydralisks? (gamereplays.org)
Actually, the Hydralisk has been brought back down to Tier 1.5, giving Zerg early anti-air capabilities without upgrading their Hatchery to a Lair. The test originally was to put Hydralisks at a later tech and have Corruptors be buildable earlier without a prerequisite building other than upgrading to the Lair. To make this happen, the Corruptors had to be nerfed appropriately to fit that tech, which made it very weak and much less fun. Additionally, without a prerequisite building, opposing players could not scout the Zerg player to see when they were going air, which did not fit the gameplay style we were shooting for.
2. What kinds of cheats will be included in Starcraft 2, and how will they be accessed/unlocked? (starcraft.org)
There will be cheats, but you wont know what they are from us :) sorry.
3. Concerning resources there is one big issue for mapmakers: There are only two of them. For many UMS-maps you need more different resource-types than gas and minerals, thus mapmakers were forced to use even civilians as a sort of resource. So will mapmakers be able to place their one, gather-able resources on the map such as lumber or gold? (starcraft2.4players.de)
Yes, we have recently added support for one additional custom resource type. Additional custom resources types may be implemented in the future, but there are no plans at the moment.
4. With the Battlecruiser's new ability dealing splash damage to lightly armored air units, you could fear that the Thor has once more fallen into a role void. Is this the case or are the Battlecruiser ability and the Thor's anti-air capabilities tactically different enough? (Gamereplays.org)
The overlap is really no more different than a Siege Tank and the Yamato Gun ability or the Reaver and the Psi Storm from Brood War. The new ability helps the Battlecruiser against a specific group of units, which are units the Battlecruiser is already good against, rather than making it effective against all units. The last thing we wanted is for the Battlecruiser to kill groups of units that are supposedly effective at countering it, such as the Warp Ray.
5. Does the Battlecruisers new AoE affect friendly units in the area? (thewarcenter.net)
No, the Missile Barrage does not affect friendly units.
6. Will it be possible to use the full 3D cinematics mechanic from the single player campaign in the map editor? (sc2pod.com)
Yes, we are looking forward to seeing some awesome custom cut scenes from the community.
7. Most users know that even invisible units can be seen by experienced players since they cause this nice little blur effect while in Warcraft 3 invisible units are indeed invisible aside from leaving footprints on the ground. So what about transferring the 'real' invisibility into the World of Starcraft by allowing mapmakers to choose from those two different invisible modes for each unit? (starcraft2.4players.de)
Map makers will be able to remove the blur effect that is currently on StarCraft IIs invisible units.
---End of Transmission---
Karune - RTS Community Manager
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Monday 28th 2008f July 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 - Mar Sara Bios & Screenshots |
The Sara system was initially catalogued by freelance prospectors and colonized by an expedition from Tarsonis several years later. Mar Sara formed the eighth of the thirteen core colonies of the Terran Confederacy. The Sara system was unusual for having two habitable planets, but Mar Sara was always a backwater colony compared to the more prosperous Chau Sara.
Mar Sara was one of the first planets to be infested by the zerg when they appeared in terran space. It was also the first planet on which the Confederates fought the advancing Swarm to any significant extent, although most of the actual fighting was done by local militia forces.
Colonel Edmund Duke, commanding officer of the Confederate fleet in the system, subsequently arrested militia forces for fighting for their homes. These prisoners were later released by a rebel group called the Sons of Korhal. The rebels' leader was Arcturus Mengsk.
The Sons of Korhal helped evacuate Mar Sara after the Confederates abandoned it entirely. They also liberated secret information from a Confederacy research facility on Mar Sara called the Jacobs Installation. This information revealed that the Confederacy had known about the imminent arrival of the zerg and had been experimenting with captured specimens. It is believed the Confederacy deliberately sacrificed the planet in order to test a secret weapon that incited the zerg invasion.
To keep the infestation from spreading further, a protoss fleet under the command of Executor Tassadar incinerated Mar Sara from orbit, just as it had with Mar Sara's sister planet, Chau Sara.
After Mar Sara's incineration by the protoss, the Sara system seemed to have little left to offer the terran race. The subsequent collapse of the Confederacy left the system entirely abandoned. Nevertheless, prospectors from the Kel-Morian Combine found that minerals on Mar Sara had acquired unique properties due to the protoss bombardment. Shortly thereafter, the Kel-Morian Combine staked a claim to mining and salvage rights over the Sara system. Independent and indentured contractors soon began strip-mining both planets of their resources.
The Terran Dominion has recently shown a renewed interest in the Sara system and established several outposts there. The Kel-Morian Combine claims that these outposts have been established at the Combine's invitation due to security issues with piracy and mining camp revolts. There have also been reports of zerg sightings on the planet. It is believed that these organisms reinfested the desolate world some time after the protoss bombardment.
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Friday 25th 2008f July 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| SCLegacy - 2008 WWI Coverage |
LordofAscension from SCLegacy, who I met in Paris, reports their 2008 Blizzard Invitationals Coverage page is now available. Their coverage includes all three races buildings and units info, and an interview with a developer.
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Monday 21st 2008f July 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Q&A - Batch 41 |
Chat with Devs: Since the Worldwide Invitational in Paris, the topic of the new Vespene Gas mechanic has come up a lot across many different fansites and message boards. Thus far, this is one of the biggest changes which will affect the macro management of bases in StarCraft II. To shed some more light on this new mechanic, I have gotten a chance to talk to Dustin Browder, our Lead Designer for StarCraft II, about the progress thus far of the new mechanic, as well as the objectives this new mechanic is designed to achieve.
To start, the new Vespene Gas mechanic is to further distinguish the play style in which players gather minerals versus gathering gas. In the original StarCraft, the gathering of gas was very linear in the rate in which gas is gathered. Often, players would put 3-4 workers on the gas, and the players would forget about it until the geyser was depleted. Minerals on the other hand, were much more exponential in the rate of growth and were also often played differently amongst different races. Zerg would likely expand rapidly with less drones in each expansion and Protoss/Terran could sustain a sizeable force with higher numbers of workers on a smaller number of expansions.
How the New Vespene Gas Mechanic Works
For StarCraft II, with the new Vespene Gas mechanic, players will have 2 gas geysers at their starting position. These geysers will start with X amount of gas (currently 600 and subject to balance) and at any time players can purchase additional gas in their geysers for X minerals (currently 100 and subject to balance). With each purchase of additional gas for your geyser, the geyser increases with X gas (currently 600 and subject to balance) and the geyser shuts down for 45 seconds. When a geyser is depleted, workers will still be able to gather gas at a low rate of 2 per round (subject to balance).
How the New Vespene Gas Mechanic Plays
With this new gas mechanic, players have a wider variety of strategies in developing and maintaining their refineries, as well as additional attention needed to make sure they are collecting gas at the most efficient rate. On the production side, players now also have to decide between sticking to Tier 1 units longer, or to play it balanced with one geyser, or even max out on gas to invest heavily on teching and higher tech units. Additional, the relationship between minerals and gas have an added layer of depth since investing in additional gas will actually cost the player minerals as well. How often a player invests in gas will also not necessarily be consistent through the game too and will depend upon what units that player is currently choosing to mass. Scouting too has an added layer of depth as well, as a players gas collecting play style may determine if the player is teching to a higher tier mineral heavy unit (like a Dark Templar) or a higher tech gas heavy unit (like a High Templar).
Overall, players will have to build the appropriate buildings as well as gather resources in a particular method in order to execute a certain strategy at a professional level. It is the hope of the development team that this new mechanic will not only make gas collecting more interesting, but also increase the amount of macro management skill needed to compete in StarCraft II at the top levels while at the same time making the game playable for mid level players without using some of these more advanced techniques.
---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 41---
1. How exactly does the Corruptors attack work? Is it a stacking debuff that takes effect after a certain number of stacks? And if so can the debuff time out? Would you be able to hit and run kill for example Battlecruisers with a few Corruptors over a couple of minutes? (sc2pod.com)
The attack is technically a debuff, but does not do damage over time. Every time the Corruptor attacks a unit, it'll leave a debuff on it for a couple seconds. If the unit dies within those couple seconds, the unit will be corrupted.
2. What are the current stats and build times for the Queen defensive buildings? (starcraft2forum.org)
To catch us up, Zerg defensive buildings arent built by the queen anymore. Instead, they are built from the drone once again.
Spine Crawler:
- Only hits ground
- Health is 300 (uprooted health 100)
- Movement speed is 2.25 (1 off of creep)
- Damage is 20 +20 armored
- Range is 7
- Attack speed is 1.5 sec
Spore Crawler:
- Only hits air
- Health is 300 (uprooted health 100)
- Movement speed is 2.25 (1 off of creep)
- Damage is 15
- Range is 7
- Attack speed is .8608
3. The Queen seems to be a very potent unit, although its tasks are more defensive ones, it can be used in crazy rush strategies, according to Karune's experiences. Well, if the Nydus Worm was able to transport even queens, she would get even more potent. You could easily think of crazy rushes using your opponents creep to just overwhelm him with your units AND your defensive structures. So here is the simple question: Can the Nydusworm transport queens among all the other units? (starcraft2.4players.de)
Defensive structures will not be able to enter the Nydus tunnel network, but the Queen will be able to. Furthermore, the Queen will no longer be able to build defensive structures. Drones will morph into defensive structures, similar to the original StarCraft.
4. When the Zerg Sunken Colony is uprooted and on the move is it more vulnerable to enemy attack? (www.starcraft2.com.au)
Yes, the Spine and Spore Crawlers will have less hit points while they are uprooted. The actual number of hit points will be determined through balance testing.
5. In many cases, the micromanagement of units in StarCraft revolved around gameplay mechanics (Dragoon dance, Mutalisk stacking, Reaver/Shuttle micro, etc.), rather than special abilities with cooldown/charges (Stalker's Blink, Phoenix's Overload, etc.).
Is the amount of this kind of special abilities in SC2 a concern of Blizzard, and how would this affect the overall gameplay? -lepape (teamliquid.net)
Players will still have dependence on both gameplay mechanics as well as special abilities. For instance, Stalkers will have the basic dancing mechanic as Dragoons had in the original StarCraft. Marauders are another unit highly dependent on micromanagement to get the most effectiveness out of the unit, making sure you use their attacks slowing effect at opportune times.
Though for StarCraft II, we are introducing much more positional micromanagement, which will amplify units damage significantly. A Colossus will fire in a line and lining up that radius with the enemy units will be crucial in battles. Flanking Jackals from multiple angles will surely add to its potency as well.
Overall, we definitely want to balance the game with both plenty of gameplay mechanics as well as special abilities that create opportunities for the players to initiate clever strategies as well as innovative maneuvers on the battlefield.
6. Terrans currently appear to be at a disadvantage in terms of troop mobility, (as compared to 'Warp-in' and 'Nydus Worm') are there any plans to bring back the, 'drop-pod' or other new transport mechanic? (sclegacy.com)
Actually, we consider the Terran side to be quite mobile. Let us first look at the Reapers. This unit is the fastest ground unit in the game which traverses terrain without even having a spotter. In addition, the Medivac Dropships, allow added mobility to all Terran ground units. With the addition of the Dropship being able to heal, it has become even more of a staple in Terran strategies, giving even more increased incentive for players to build Dropships than the original StarCraft. On top of this, Vikings providing both ground and air support at a click of a button, gives that added support of mobility and options when moving a Terran army around.
The method in which Terran will be mobile is indeed different than Warp-in and Nydus Worm, though they are not considered less mobile than the other races.
---End of Transmission---
Karune - Starcraft 2 Community Manager
Blizzard Entertainment
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Wednesday 16th 2008f July 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| 2008 Shore Leave - Aaron Rosenberg & Keith R.A. DeCandido Schedule |
Aaron Rosenberg and Keith R.A. DeCandido will be at the Shore Leave 30 Convention through July 11-13, 2008. Shore Leave is a Fan Run Sci-Fi Convention. Both novel writers are known for their Star Trek, World of Warcraft and Starcraft novels among other sci-fi and fantasy franchises. Make sure to bring a copy of your books for booksigning, or simply say hi, handshake the authors, and praise their work. Make sure to submit your photos to Blizzplanet. If you are an amateur/professional book writer ... little tip: Marco Palmieri will be there from Pocket Books. You want to desperately-beg ... I mean, get good contacts with this gentleman to highlight your career.
For details on how to reach Shore Leave visit the event's website.
AARON ROSENBERG SCHEDULE
 Friday:
Meet the Pros
10pm-midnight
Hunt-Valley Corridor
Saturday:
Heroes: Claire and Present Danger
1-2 pm
Salon A
Writing and Managing a Day Job
3-4 pm
Salon E
Sunday:
Time and Business Management For Writers
10-11am
Derby Room | KEITH R.A. DECANDIDO SCHEDULE
 Friday:
9-10pm: Pocket Books preview -- Hunt
10pm-12am: Meet the Pros -- Hunt/Valley Foyer
Saturday:
11am-12pm: Boogie Knights concert -- Valley
12-1pm: "The Sky's the Limit: 20+ Years of TNG" -- Salon A
1-2pm: "eBook Post-Mortem" -- Salon E
3-5pm: "Doctor Who: The Quality of Leadership" -- Salon A
Masquerade halftime (after 9pm): Boogie Knights concert -- Hunt/Valley
Sunday:
11am-12pm: "Myriad Universes: Star Trek Does What If?" -- Hunt
12-1pm: "S.C.E.: Corps of Engineers -- Salon B
1-2pm: an hour with Keith R.A. DeCandido -- Salon A |
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Thursday 10th 2008f July 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| StarCraft and Warcraft III Competition at Digital Games |
Battle.net reports that StarCraft: Brood War and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne are coming to the 2008 Digital Games worldwide tournament as part of the real-time strategy (RTS) category.
Digital Games is a worldwide online tournament featuring competition in thirteen titles, with the best players receiving permanent online medals. Participants can represent their countries on ladders in five different worldwide regions, and can win medals at the country, region, and world levels. Top gamers may also have the chance to attend the Digital Games Grand Final event in China as part of the Olympic Games welcome events.
Ladder play is already underway, so you can sign up and put your skills to the test by visiting the Digital Games site at http://dg.ggl.com.
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Monday 07th 2008f July 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Bios - Zeratul |
Zeratul has been added to the Bios section at the official Starcraft 2 website
Zeratul is a dark templar, a renowned psionic warrior and assassin whose forbears were exiled from the protoss homeworld of Aiur over a thousand years ago. The dark templar refused to submerge themselves in the communal protoss mind link, the Khala, preferring instead to strive as individuals. Zeratul holds the rank of prelate and is probably best known for his role in the ensuring the survival of the protoss since the zerg threat first became apparent.
It was Zeratul who overcame the prejudices of Executor Tassadar when they met on Char, and thus began to heal the rift between the Aiur protoss and the dark templar. It was Zeratul who was the first to slay a zerg cerebrate although the cerebrates had been thought immortal. Most of all it was Zeratul who returned to Aiur with Tassadar and set into motion the events that would rejoin the sundered halves of the protoss race and overthrow the oppressive rulership of the Conclave.
"You speak of knowledge, Judicator? You speak of experience? I have journeyed through the darkness between the most distant stars. I have beheld the births of negative-suns and borne witness to the entropy of entire realities...."
Zeratul went on to fight alongside Tassadar to bring about the destruction of the zerg Overmind during the invasion of Aiur, and then helped the protoss evacuate the planet as it continued to be overrun by the zerg. When the Swarm followed the refugees to the dark templar world of Shakuras, Zeratul helped recover the Khalis and Uraj crystals, which allowed the protoss to activate the xel'naga temple there and wipe out the invaders. Later, when the dark archon Ulrezaj threatened to destroy the Aiur protoss "violating" Shakuras, Zeratul was instrumental in thwarting Ulrezaj's schemes.
But Zeratul also carries many terrible burdens. In the act of slaying the cerebrate Zasz, Zeratul became temporarily linked with the Overmind. Although he came to know much of the Overmind's hitherto unknown motivations and plans, it won from him the location of Aiur itself, and so the seeds of the planet's devastation were sown. Furthermore, Zeratul has a long and bitter history with the Queen of Blades, having been manipulated and betrayed by her more than once as she destroyed the remaining zerg cerebrates in order to secure her control over the Swarm after the Overmind's death.
As part of her schemes, the Queen of Blades took control of the beloved protoss matriarch Raszagal. Zeratul later rescued the matriarch, but he found her to be irrevocably corrupted. Sorrowfully he took the matriarch's life to spare her from continuing as the plaything of the Queen of Blades. With her mind freed by the deathblow, Raszagal thanked him and named him as leader of the dark templar. Such an honor Zeratul felt unfit to take, his soul too scarred by his experiences.
For the moment he focused on a more immediate concern: contacting any other nearby protoss who had survived the Queen of Blades' treachery. Tracking protoss power signatures to an obscure moon, he hoped to reunite with his comrades and return to Shakuras with them in order to plan for the future. Instead of comrades, however, he found a former agent of the Queen of Blades -- the enigmatic Samir Duran -- engaged in breeding protoss/zerg hybrid creatures. Although Zeratul destroyed the facility, Duran claimed that it was merely one of many. Duran also revealed that he had been known by many names over the millennia and that he was not serving the Queen of Blades, but rather a "far greater power". Deeply troubled by what he had seen, Zeratul went into self-imposed exile with only a handful of followers at his side. He continued to seek answers for what manner of being Duran truly was, and what dark future he was working toward.
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Friday 04th 2008f July 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| WWI 2008 - Fansites Coverage |
There are many videos of the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals around the fansites, so I will gather a few links for you to check out. I will be adding them soon to a static link on the left menu for you to get back at any time later on.
THE ESCAPIST MAGAZINE / WARCRY
STARCRAFTWIRE
SCLEGACY
IGN
WOW STRATICS
CURSE
STARCRAFT-ESP (Español)
STARCRAFT2.HU
TEN TON HAMMER
STARCRAFTCZ
More Links coming soon
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Friday 04th 2008f July 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 Game Design Panel |
There is a protoss unit -- I think it is the dark templar mechanical unit -- that creates forcefields. These forcefields can be used in various strategical situations such as creating a chokepoint where zerglings will be divided -- those in the back won't be able to do any damage while your units are ripping apart the ones in the front. The forcefields can be placed also in a straight line forcing the enemy to have to walk around. By then your ranging units can do heavy damage before the zerglings or any other melee unit is able to reach your units.
I asked Rob Pardo in the Q&A panel stream if they would add the Ghost abilities such as telekinesis and some form of telepathy or mind control which is characterized in the recent Starcraft novels and upcoming manga. I will see if I can get you a video of the Q&A panel. I approached Rob Pardo personally after the Q&A to get my press badge signed by him, and to follow up on the Ghost questions. Pretty much they want to make the Ghost a fearful assassin unit. With the current ability to snipe they can virtually kill anything in a few shots, except the bulky Ultralisk and other big units. However, with my point listened let's see if they can apply some interesting abilities from the lore in these novels to make justice to the Ghost's telekinetic/telepathic core abilities that could be used in higher tiers. A ghost could have telekinetic version of that protoss forcefield ability for specific strategic tasks. Maybe move doodads around telekinetically or toss doodads at enemy units, create chokepoints with doodads. Really hope they create something viable.
The mothership timebomb can be used strategically just before your mothership is about to die. That can give it the extra time to do damage with the units it is protecting.
Jackal
Position carefully to do aoe damage. Keep them on high ground to ambush a group in the lower terrain. It does a large fire stream.
The Thor
Assault unit from the factory Anti-air flak cannons, self-repair system creates tactical choices. Once the Thor dies the wreckage remains in the battlefield. You can choose to spend resources to repair the Thor back to action.
Four Thors and five marines were able to destroy a large group of mutalisks. Since the enemy didn't finish up the wreckage, the Thor was able to rebuild itself.
In the future ...
- Macro vs micro
- upgrade systems
- special abilities
- Battlenet
- Story Campaign
By the end of the year, Blizzard will be able to talk more about the story campaign. It is about one third done thus far.
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Saturday 28th 2008f June 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| StarCraftWire Interviews Dustin Browder |
StarCraftWire.net is celebrating its new, fancy design and domain switch (from old faithful StarCraft.IncGamers.com) with new interview material from Blizzard! This first Q & A session with Dustin Browder was made during the Zerg Reveal Press Event a number of weeks ago, and was an open discussion between Browder and the fansites (the only press to stay extra hours to play!) that had stayed the extra time on the last day.
As it was a more personal discussion than the official interviews, it was very warm and open, and you could tell Dustin preferred talking to the "fans" rather than the "press". The discussion was quite long, and spans 5 pages. Here is a short snip:
Mutalisk Dancing
In the build we were shown, you could not use your Mutalisks to "dance" around, shooting and moving through micro. The pro player next to me asked Dustin about this, and he explained that they are really supposed to be able to do that in SC2, and the lack of "dancing" is a bug; "I am pretty sure this originally was a bug in the old StarCraft, but it has been used so much now that people expect to be able to 'dance' with the Mutalisks. So it's planned for StarCraft 2, it is just amazing how much we got to break in our engine to get the same "bug".
The bug appeared in StarCraft as the game only checked if it should react like every 0,5 second or so, like stopping when firing. So the unit fired, and half a second later, the game told it to slow down, but at that time it had already received a new command to move, which enabled 'the dance'. With our new, more powerful engine, it checks that a lot often, and so they stop moving when they shoot. Our problem is that this version is so much better. It will be done though, it is just a lot of work, and we didn't have time to add it to this build".
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Wednesday 25th 2008f June 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Starcraft 2 - SCLegacy Interviews Karune |
SCLegacy had the opportunity to talk with Karune about the Starcraft 2 Hydralisk damage, speed and cost, the anti-gravity effect on Zerg buildings, the viability of Terran units in early Tiers without the Medivac. Other interesting questions are answered concerning the Jackal AOE damage, Ghost's EMP grenade, possible abilities casted from within a bunker, and more importantly the lack of air-to-air units on the Zerg race. Find out what Karune answered at the exclusive SCLegacy Starcraft 2 Q&A here.
Thanks, HandClaw
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Sunday 22nd 2008f June 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
| Graham McNeill @ Games Day 2008 -Toronto |
The author of the upcoming Starcraft: I, Mengsk -- known for his work on Warhammer -- Graham McNeil will be book signing at Toronto, Canada. If you visit him, don't hesitate submiting your photos.
Graham McNeill: I’m going to be at Games Day Canada this weekend. If you’re in the vicinity of the Queen Elizabeth Building Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario, on Saturday June 21st between 9am and 4pm, then hopefully I’ll see you there. I'm going to be signing books and just generally chatting with anyone who drops by. I’m also told there’ll be copies of the new Uriel Ventris novel, The Killing Ground, available to buy, as well as some of the limited edition chapbooks with the Dark King and the Lightning Tower in it.
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Sunday 22nd 2008f June 2008 |
Posted by Medievaldragon |
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