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The last two quotes are about a purely visual Dropship ability. In the current build, massive ground units such as, Thors, Ultralisks, and Collosi are visible underneath the Dropship when they are picked up. A fan had a question about this.
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So I got a chance to see the dropship carry the thor around at PAX this weekend, and it was a really cool visual. For those who don’t know, the dropship can carry a thor, but instead of the thor actually going inside the dropship, it just sort of curls up and literally just gets picked up by the dropship. So you can actually see a huge friggin thor on the underside of the medivac as its flying around. Currently this is a temporary animation as well - I think they are looking at ways of making it even cooler looking than it looks now. |
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When we’ve figured out a way to display the Colossus and Ultralisk visually I will let you know, but in the meantime there isn’t much to say about it - it is a Medivac carrying an Ultralisk… Currently this is a temporary animation as well - I think they are looking at ways of making it even cooler looking than it looks now. |
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More of that careful wording. Can you please clarify? If Blizz doesn’t think you “purchased the full version of StarCraft II” (however you determine that - how you determine it is another question you can consider asked), what happens? Or is there some more complex thing I’m missing? lol- here is one simple scenario: When you buy StarCraft II from the store, you will be able to play on Battle.net for free. This is not a temporary trial of Battle.net. Not purchasing the full version would include any illegal method of attaining software. In that case, you would not be able to get on Battle.net. |
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Will there be an ability to add stat tracking for custom maps both free and premium? Such as personalized ladders for maps and their updates perhaps? Will a premium map need to have a specific set of requirements to become a premium map? IE. must have unique models. Do you think it would be possible to make a 2d fighter such as Street fighter with the editor? Stat tracking and personalized ladders for maps will be possible, but may not be at launch of the game. Premium maps will have requirements, but those are still to be determined. Sounds like you are going to make StarCraft Street Fighter…which you could definitely count on me downloading. |
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Probes deal 2 damage and I was bit shocked. Probes attack for 5 damage. |
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So in the past I’ve heard Dustin saying that zerg were the weakest in-house. So I wonder, in your opinion, has my favorite race made a comeback in terms of balance? I realize getting a few hours of play at Blizzcon is no way to make accurate balance judgements. Hence, I now ask you. The balance in which the developers are referring to is very relative. 90% of players probably will not feel the game is unbalanced. At the higher levels, we are continuously trying to balance the game further, but most of that will happen during beta when we have a large pool of players to test the game. In short, don’t worry |
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There have been recent rumors on another site that the roach is now able to move while burrowed. Confirm/Deny? The development team is currently experimenting with Roaches that can move while burrowed. The Roach will also have a speed upgrade as well, which will make its base speed (close to a Zealot without charge) increase to a speed slightly slower than a Stalker. At the moment, Roaches while burrowed move roughly half the speed as it would above ground. This new mechanic should open up some pretty cool micro strategies in positioning for the Roach, since essentially the best role it currently plays is as a tank, soaking up damage from the enemy. |
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StarCraft: Ghost v2
This video shows our favorite blond-haired Ghost - Nova - in a third-person remake of the delayed (but not canceled) StarCraft: Ghost. Support is included for both the keyboard and mouse and it’s also mention that the player can enter buildings and underground levels, and also converse with the locals.
The Lost Viking
The aptly named title shows a lone Terran Viking fighting some Protoss airships from a top-down combat view - not dissimilar to Aero Fighters for the SNES. With a little tweaking it might also be possible to turn this into a side-scroller like Gradius. One can hope.
What is StarCraft II?
StarCraft II is the ultimate competitive real-time strategy game, and the sequel to the hit original, StarCraft. The game will include three completely distinct and balanced races, the protoss, terran, and zerg, which have been overhauled and re-imagined with a number of new units for each, as well as new tricks for some of the classic units that are returning.
When is the game coming out?
Our release target for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the first half of 2010. As with all Blizzard Entertainment games, we will take as much time as needed to ensure the game is as fun, balanced, and polished as possible.
When will you begin the beta test for StarCraft II?
We’re not ready to give an exact date, but we’re working hard to release the beta as soon as possible.
How will StarCraft II be different from StarCraft?
StarCraft II will run on a vibrant new 3D-graphics engine capable of rendering beautiful landscapes as well as massive army sizes. The speed, responsiveness, and epic-scale battles that made the original StarCraft such a memorable game are all realized in 3D with this brand-new engine.
We’re also introducing a number of distinct new units to the protoss, terran, and zerg, and some of the familiar units that return in StarCraft II will have new tricks up their sleeves, which will give the game its own unique flavor. The maps themselves will also offer new interactive elements that enhance the strategic nature of the game and create more tactical points of interest for players to contest. One example of this is the Xel’Naga watchtower structure—when captured, it reveals line of sight over a large area of the map, creating an advantage for the player in control of the tower.
In addition, Battle.net will be overhauled with some new and exciting features to enhance online play and competition, while the single-player campaign will also offer some unique aspects for players to enjoy. The single-player campaign in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty features branching missions and the ability to customize your army by purchasing special units and upgrades that persist between missions.
How do players customize their army in the single-player campaign of Wings of Liberty?
The campaign offers players different ways to customize their armies to suit their playing style and better tackle the challenges within the missions. Credits earned from completing missions can be used to buy the services of mercenary units that players can deploy in battle. Mercenaries are more powerful versions of standard units in the game; for example, Kel’Morian mercenary marines have higher armor and damage output than a regular marine. Any skilled mercenaries that players opt to unlock can be built from the merc haven structure within each mission.
Additionally, players can opt to buy campaign-only technology upgrades for their units. Examples of upgrades that might be available for purchase include improved bunkers with gun turrets and upgraded flamethrowers that allow firebats to attack a wider radius.
How do missions work in the single-player campaign?
As players make their way through the campaign, they’ll interact with a number of different non-player characters (NPCs) who will offer a variety of missions. In many cases, players will choose from a few different NPCs at the same time. Some of these missions will advance the main story, while others lead to interesting subplots. Players will be able to view briefings that detail mission objectives, show how many credits are rewarded for completion, and tell you which new unit, if any, is unlocked by taking on the mission.
More than 25 missions will be available in the Wings of Liberty campaign, and each mission will offer different objectives and gameplay elements. For example, one mission will have players roving around a map to intercept and rob Dominion cargo trains moving along different railroad tracks. Another mission will take place in a volcanically unstable area. Lava will periodically flood the lower elevations of the map, requiring players to exercise extra caution in their mining operations and troop movement.
Many missions also offer optional research objectives, such as exploring maps to find lost protoss artifacts or a hidden zerg chrysalis. When players collect enough of these research objects over the course of a few missions, they can earn upgrades and improvements for their units that carry over for the rest of the campaign.
How will players interact with NPCs and explore in between missions?
In between each mission, players will be able to explore various sets within the game. These include the bar on Mar Sara and the Hyperion battlecruiser that acts as Raynor’s flagship. Players can click on different characters in these environments to converse with them and get additional details about the story. These conversations are fully voice-acted, and the characters and sets are animated in detail in the game engine.
Sets will also contain interactive objects that players can click to receive extra information and story details. Televisions, for example, will show news reports that detail happenings around the galaxy. Console units, such as the one in the armory on board the Hyperion, allow players to access the tech-purchasing interface. The star map on the bridge of the Hyperion lets players choose from various mission briefings.
All of these elements are designed to help bring players closer to the characters in the game and offer additional story avenues for those who wish to immerse themselves in the game’s epic plot.
How many races are in StarCraft II?
In StarCraft II, players will see the return of the protoss, terran, and zerg races. Our goal is to ensure that all of the factions in the game play even more distinctly from one another than in the original StarCraft, while still maintaining the fine balance that helped make StarCraft a classic. We’re also introducing a number of new units to each race, as well as modifying some of the familiar units returning in StarCraft II. With these design refinements and the new features we have planned for the single-player and multiplayer elements of the game, StarCraft II will offer a next-generation StarCraft experience.
Can you give some examples of the newest changes in StarCraft II?
The most significant changes we’ve made recently are some new game mechanics that impact the economic efficiency of each of the races. The protoss can create a structure called the obelisk with a “proton charge” ability, which temporarily speeds up the rate at which probes can harvest minerals. If used properly, this ability can noticeably increase the protoss’ income.
The terrans have a new unit called the mule, which can be summoned from the orbital command building. Mules harvest minerals much like SCVs, but at a much faster rate—however, they only last for a specific amount of time. Since the ability costs energy, terran players must decide how much of their energy to spend calling down mules and how much to save for the orbital command’s other ability, the comsat scan.
Finally, the zerg can boost their production capability by using the queen to spawn extra larvae periodically in hatcheries, allowing them to quickly field large armies.
It seems like there are sweeping balance changes almost every time I read about StarCraft II. What are the reasons for the changes?
As we go through various testing stages, the development team experiments a lot with the game balance. This can include adding, removing, and/or modifying various units, buildings, and special abilities within the game. Frequent changes to units and abilities are a natural part of our iterative development process as we strive to make StarCraft II as balanced and fun as possible.
Battle.net
Will Battle.net be overhauled? Will there be new features?
There will be some exciting new changes and features to Battle.net that will help us ensure that StarCraft II will be the ultimate competitive online real-time strategy game. Some of the areas we’re working on include features that support online tournaments, eSports, and enhanced communication between players.
What steps are being taken to prevent cheating in multiplayer games?
We don’t want to tip our hand to the people who may try to cheat on Battle.net, so we can’t go into too much detail, but rest assured that security is one of our top priorities as we redesign and overhaul Battle.net, and we will take every precaution to ensure fairness in our online games. We’ve taken an aggressive stance against cheating in all of our games, and our players have overwhelmingly supported us in that, so we don’t have any intention to make any changes in that regard.
Technical Aspects
What are the system requirements for StarCraft II?
We’ll have more details on specific system requirements closer to the release date. For now, we can say that the game will require a graphics processor that is Pixel Shader 2.0 compatible.
Will StarCraft II include a map editor?
Yes, it will. We’ll have more details on the features of the StarCraft II map editor at a later date.
Will there be a console version of StarCraft II?
StarCraft II is being developed for Windows and Mac. We have no current plans to bring the game to any console platform.
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| I was playing the single player, and I saw something very interesting. The mission is titled Tooth and Nail. It is set in the Protoss shrine-world Monlyth. I noticed these Protoss are the Tal'drim tribe, which is interesting because this is the name of the tribe in StarCraft: The Dark Templar trilogy by Christie Golden -- shown in book two: Shadow Hunters. The Tal'drim in this book are however known as The Forged. They were among the Protoss who were abandoned and left behind during the Invasion of Aiur. Most of the Protoss evacuated through the warpgate to reach Shakuras, and to avoid Zerg from reaching Shakuras, they sealed the gateway leaving behind many Protoss to their own fate. Jim Raynor and Fenix stayed behind to make sure the Zerg wouldn't reach the gateway. These Protoss survivors were deeply affected emotionally reliving their abandonment by the Xel'Naga, left behind to despair. Their faith in the Khala was affected, and they eventually rejected the sanctity of the Khala. The Tal'drim survived thanks to a mysterious patron who protected them from the Zerg, deep in the forbidden caverns of Aiur. This patron granted the Tal'drim known as The Forged a special drug named Sundrop which inhibits chemically the Khala without cutting off their head appendages. In short, the Tal'drim are effectively blocked from the psychic commonality with the other Protoss survivors in Aiur known as Those who endure, and are unable to read their thoughts. It's as if the Tal'drim had devolved to be like those Protoss from before the Aeon of Strife, before the Khala was taught by Khas. My question to you is, Are these other Tal'drim Protoss in Monlyth also under the influence of Dark Archon Ulrezaj? Metzen: How do I answer that. Are the Tal'darim influenced by Ulrezaj?. That's still playing out. To some degree it's the same group, but the group might be larger than what you saw in Shadow Hunters specifically. In the first two missions set in Mar Sara, players have access to the Joey Ray's Bar and can interact with Jim Raynor who is drinking. There is a piece of newspaper attached to the bulletin board that you can interact with. It says the Zerg has returned to invade the fringe-worlds and Emperor Arcturus has recalled the Terran Dominion forces to return to the core-worlds, leaving the fringe-worlds to fend on their own. Jim Raynor heard the call for help, and rescued 800 civilians, including an orphan girl, from a place known as Meteor Station - a Kelmorian Mining Post. The lore fan-sense in me tingled wildly. This is quite interesting, because the only place the fans have ever heard of this place: Meteor Station, was in the short story by Grace Randolph titled Last Call. This short story is from the StarCraft: Frontline Volume 3 by Tokyopop. Are we going to meet some of these characters, locations and plots from the mangas in the Single Player? Metzen I think in general with the novels we've been doing recently with Christie Golden and definitely a lot of the manga short stories we're definitely trying to season the game and the ancillary fiction with as much ideas, either in cross-pollinated ideas as possible. We always like taking little hooks from one thing or another and translating into those different medium stories. It just feels a little more contiguous ultimately. It's kind of interesting that these names and these ideas are being leveraged across the board. So I think with the Tal'drim specifically there is definitely a tie there to the events happening in the Dark Templar trilogy but it'll probably play itself out on a much longer basis. I am definitely loving all these lore references found throughout my single player hands-on experience, While in the Hyperion, I visited the Cantina Room and met Mr. Graven Hill, the local black market pirate. Jim Raynor can hire different Kel-Morian mercenaries from him to help you in some of the tough missions for a price. This really excites me for a very good reason. I am a subscriber of the StarCraft comic book by Wildstorm comics. As it stands, in the comic book, the War Pigs are working for the Terran Dominion, and they have been ordered to hunt down and kill Jim Raynor. However, I am guessing that at some point if the Terran Dominion abandons the War Pigs to the Zerg like they did with General Duke, and Sarah Kerrigan, and like they are doing in the present with the fringe-worlds, the War Pigs might take a turn and join the rebels as mercenaries. Are we going to eventually hire the War Pigs in StarCraft II at the Cantina? Metzen: Interesting, will we meet the War Pigs in StarCraft 2? I think, as it stands, they don't make an appearance in Wings of Liberty specifically. But we'll keep it in mind, because we've been enjoying where the comic series has been going and there's potentially a lot of rich characterization there so we'll see down the road. During my tour through Blizzard's StarCraft II offices I saw on the wall a poster of various character animation portraits that will be used in the game's interface. I saw StarCraft: Ghost's Nova's portrait. I also saw Gabriel Tosh in the mission titled Mining Your Own Business set in the planet Redstone III. I am psyched to see this character too because he is going to appear in the Pocket Books novel titled StarCraft: Ghost Spectres by Keith DeCandido on sale March 30, 2010 and he also appears in the Tokyopop manga titled StarCraft: Ghost Academy on sale January 1, 2010. I also saw Reporter Kate Lockwell in the single player, a character that also appears in the StarCraft: Frontline manga. Are we going to see Nova and Colin Phash (the telepath boy)? This boy was introduced in the short story War-Torn in the StarCraft: Frontline Volume 2 and 3, and has been confirmed to appear in StarCraft: Ghost Academy too. Since we are seeing Gabriel Tosh from that manga in the game, are we going to see Colin Phash in the single player? Metzen: I'm not as sure about Phash making an appearance in the game specifically but I think we've said before Nova's certainly a character that is near and dear to us and we've got plans for her [in] the Ghost Academy manga and the upcoming novels Spectres as well. So, yea, we've worked a little cameo of Nova in but I'd had to give away exactly how she plays into the story. It's pretty cool [and] it'll feel worthy for those fans of the character that never actually got to play her in her own title. During my single player hands on experience I read in a piece of newspaper the name Michael Liberty. That really intrigued me. This is the same reporter who debuted in the Pocket Books novel StarCraft: Liberty by Jeff Grubb. He has made a few cameos in StarCraft: Queen of Blades by Aaron Rosenberg and in the Tokyopop manga short story titled Newsworthy by Grace Randolph in the StarCraft: Frontline Volume 2. Are we going to see Michael Liberty reporting news from the rebels' side through clandestine broadcasts on the TV screen at the Cantina Room? Metzen: I think Liberty actually does not show up in this campaign. We had talked about it a lot earlier on but because he's so extreme in his views where he's so anti-government that we needed leverage, we kind of needed to create a new reporter that was a little more even in the kind of stories that she could report. But I still hold out hope that we're going to get Liberty in because he's potentially a really cool character to use. There is an interesting concept played out through the short story Do No Harm by Josh Elder. A Terran Dominion scientist has been capturing Protoss and experimenting with their DNA to create a Human-Protoss hybrid prototype. There have been other previous prototypes, but this one in particular is pretty strong and uses Ghost technology to stealth. The Terran Dominion plans to create an army of these hybrids to protect the core-worlds. Are we going to see a follow-up of this play out into the Single Player? This guy is pretty much the Rexxar of StarCraft. Metzen: I think that one, for now, is kind more of a one-off. I don't think there's any plans to follow up on that theme anytime soon in terms of the game itself, in terms of the game story. But I dig that story a lot that I think it's more of just a really cool story by itself. I remember you said in Blizzcon 2007, there were plans to add a planet encyclopedia into the Star Map where players could have the opportunity to learn some lore about each planet. Is that still the plan? I didn't get to see much of that in the single player build I just played. Based on the build that you guys have been playing today we've pulled back a degree of that. Most of that was a design decision, a UI decision, [where] we wanted the interface to be as clean as possible. The current iteration is very much the one we're running with barring some minor changes that could happen, but I think we've pulled a little bit more away from the grinding Encyclopedia Galactica idea that you were talking about. It just didn't take the shape that we were anticipating. In this instance I think "less is more". We've still got a lot of lore based on a lot of the planets and their histories and their unique environments and things like that so a lot of that does inform the story and then per some of the blue screens or whatever there's some data there that gives you a sense of the context of each planet but it probably won't take as grand a shape as some of the things we were chasing earlier on. In StarCraft: The Dark Templar trilogy, book three: Twilight we learn that Zeratul has been moving from place to place these past four years using the Xel'Naga gateways that are revealed to be spread all across the galaxy. Jake Ramsey and Zamara were stranded in a snowy planet for example, before entering the coordinates to reach a tropical planet where they find Zeratul's ship. Is it me, or are there breadcrumbs in the novel hinting that we will explore other star systems in the single player by using these Xel'Naga gateways? Metzen: I think at some point it's reasonable that we'll use those Xel'Naga gates and explore the unexplored. It's hard to answer in terms of giving anything away for StarCraft II but we wouldn't have built them [laughter] if we weren't going to use them. That's interesting. You know, I don't know off the top of my head. I don't think I'm the guy to answer that one. [coughs, I'm not authorized to ...] The Snipers? Metzen: Right. [we all laugh -- this is a joke between Metzen and I referenced back to our previous video interview during the New York Comic Con 2009 (February) when I asked him about Gilneas. They have big plans for Gilneas, but he couldn't say anymore because there were snipers on the roof that you know ... would shoot him. As he said this, he was looking at the roof -- the snipers referring to Blizzard Public Relations Department.] What has been your personal experience trying to cram up all this lore from the novels, the manga and the comic book into the single player as one solid integrated continuity of the StarCraft universe? We know that you had to split the StarCraft II single player game into three separate episodes: Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, and Legacy of the Void to fit all the lore. Metzen: Right. How do I respond. I think we haven't gone out of our way to cram all the lore from comics and all that stuff into the game. Really we've been building the game's story for so long that things like the Dark Templar trilogy or all the things you see in the manga really have just kind of organically spun out of what we were building anyway. The trick to StarCraft II now being in these three instalments is that there was a lot to play with in the first place. We had 10 years worth of expectations and stories we wanted to chase and arcs of these characters that we wanted to explore. So we came packing with a lot of ideas, and the idea of separating each of these chapters into their own boxed product essentially allows us to really round out each race's stories without having to throw a bunch of stuff out. We actually get to say everything [that] we set out to say in terms of story and we're very proud of how Wings of Liberty has come off and I love the ending. I can't talk about it, obviously, but I really love Raynor's arc and I feel everything [that] we wanted to engineer into his great journey - in his way, his redemption for what he feels are past mistakes - I really feel that we got all that in there. While it might start on a bit of a lower note, this is not necessarily a super human guy at the height of his game at the start of the game, he definitely finds his feet very quickly and becomes the man we need and expect him to be over the process of Wings of Liberty. It's just been very cool to see all that come together and have all the other Ancillary lore really inform the story as its taking shape as well. |
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We’ll get this thing balanced with the community’s help as well. 
