StarCraft 2's Art Design

How units and environments are being created in the sequel.

[source: ign.com]

The second day of Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational 2007 in Seoul, South Korea shed light on some of the artistic efforts that went into creating StarCraft 2's units and environments. On hand during a panel discussion were Sam Didier, Senior Art Director for the game, Rob McNaughton, Lead Technical Artist, Trevor Jacobs, Senior 3D Artist, Allen Dilling, Senior 3D Artist, and Dave Berggren, another Senior 3D Artist. Didier started off the discussion, which was first a powerpoint-style demonstration from all five panel members followed by a question and answer session from fans in attendance. All these guys with the exception of Allen Dilling (considered a "youngster" at Blizzard, having only worked there for eight years) contributed to the art design for the original StarCraft. Dilling contributed to the visuals for WarCraft 3 and its expansion, The Frozen Throne.

Emphasized was Blizzard's commitment to creating exaggerated, stylistic characters, something indicative of the company's visual form. When characters are so small onscreen, they need "bold and saturated colors," along with "strong silhouettes" according to Didier.

Rob McNaughton then took the stage to speak briefly about creating units. Blizzard is using Photoshop for texturing, 3D Studio Max, and StarTools to integrate custom art into the game. StarTools is planned to be made available to the public along with ScummEdit for map creation. McNaughton went on to say the map editor will feature new scripting and trigger mechanics, and be a more powerful version than that found in WarCraft 3. In terms of fancy technical effects, StarCraft 2 is built on a DX9 engine and uses per pixel lighting, normal mapping, high dynamic range bloom, rendering and tone mapping, as well as integrated havoc physics. Using their engine, Blizzard is hoping to have up to 300 units on screen at once.



Also detailed was the process of creating the actual models in the game. McNaughton showed a Protoss Zealot as an example. The base wireframe model was comprised of 1500 polygons, given the normal mapping treatment, textured through Photoshop, and through the process emerged as a pleasantly detailed, furious Zealot face with moving eyebrows, glowing blue eyes, and a metal goatee. Trevor Jacobs spoke next to briefly relay how models had to be adjusted from the concept art phase to final. He singled out the Protoss Immortal as an example, describing how the shoulder pads had to be enlarged and facial angle tilted to adjust for StarCraft 2's top-down view.

With so many Zerglings, Marines, or Zealots crowding the battlefield, Blizzard is focusing on "personality, life, and emotion with animation," says Allen Dilling, "we're not really worried about being realistic." Each unit will have three variations of animation to make the screen more interesting when multiple units of the same type occupy the screen. Protoss Phase Prisms, for instance, have differentiated effects for transformation between mobile mode and phase field mode. Dilling also described how the Protoss Mothership's Planet Cracker attack, which drills three rings of rotating concentric lasers into the ground, was originally designed as a large single laser blast. It was changed to the present state because the single beam obscured too much of the action behind it. "[We] try to be fast and quick with effects and make sure they don't interfere with gameplay," says Dilling. He repeated the phrase "tight and concise" when referring to animations, and said the art team was focusing on eliminating clipping between units. Exceptions are made for special cinematic effects, such as the elaborate warp-in animation for the Mothership.



Next Dave Berggren took the stage to comment on StarCraft 2's environmental design. Three environments were shown, including a Protoss forested temple world called Bel'Shir, the Terran space platform shown in the demo videos, and the fierce Zerg world of Char. Demonstrated were a number of "doodads," apparently Blizzard's term for environmental objects. For Belshir this includes stone arches and rocky structures. Heavy industrial structures, energy pipes, generators and exhaust vents were used for the space platform, and bone finger structures extending from the earth, fleshy fins, and lava canyons on Char. Berggren continued with his process of creating ground tiles, focusing on the brick floor featured on Bel'Shir. He starts out with a line drawing of brick tiles, adds light and dark areas for texture, overlays an actual picture of dirt, adjusts a few details by hand, the drops in a normal map and imports it into the game. The result, for better or worse, looked like a dirty stone floor.

After the prepared comments, the floor was opened to fans. The art panel had to field some rather strange questions, including one asking whether there'll be a StarCraft-based movie. Of course there's been no announcement yet, but Didier enthusiastically responded, "we never put anything off the table." Another crowd member asked if we'd ever see a StarCraft-based RPG or MMO, to which Didier said, "that sounds awesome, I would love to play it, but at the moment we have nothing announced."

Read full article: StarCraft 2's Art Design

Dear Blizzard/Vendini, we want some ******* Linux ports.

Stop WINEing and actually tell them we want ports.

... Another call for signing the petition and proving Bizzard that the Linux installers ARE needed!

[source: Ubuntu Gamers Arena]

We all know the old story: Blizzard releases game, game runs on ***dows (and mac), Linux gamer complains. Nothing happens, Linux gamer uses WINE to run game in OpenGL mode, Blizzard wins either way. Well speaking from personal experience, it's getting a bit tiring. The Linux community is tired of being largely ignored by the gaming industry taking a big old crap on us, and with the upcoming release of Starcraft 2 some of us are attempting to do something about it. *INCOMING JOKE* Kidnapping CEOs, burning their dogs, and selling their houses on Ebay. *END JOKE* But seriously a petition has been started, and at the moment of writing this it's up to 3741 signatures. It may not help, or it may tip the scales, who the hell knows. But trying to do something is a whole lot better than just complaining.
=
Truth be told an online petition does not amount to alot anymore, but it's a start. Just seeing over 3000 signatures might just be the confidence boost some of you out there need to do something more. The best idea is to send a physical letter to Vendini or Blizzard on this subject (addresses for both here) being polite and to the point, listing the games you've purchased from them in the past and letting them know you are tired of having to dual boot or use API emulation to play the games you love. Like has been said on the Ubuntu forums, real letters get real responses, and I'd imagine getting several thousand actual letters from their customers could possibly make an impact. Think it over, sign the petition, and if you're up to it buy a stamp and pour your heart out.

Read full article: Dear Blizzard/Vendini, we want some ******* Linux ports.

Can Blizzard top itself with 'StarCraft 2?'

Rob Pardo talks about long development cycles — and keeping secrets

[source: MSNBC]

By Kristin Kalning
Games editor
MSNBC

Blizzard Entertainment is one of the most successful game developers in the world, with an unbroken string of hit games including “World of Warcraft,” the “Diablo” franchise, the “Warcraft” series and “StarCraft.”

The only hitch? The company famously will ship no game before its time, which means fans often have a long wait between new releases.

Ask any game fan which Blizzard sequel they’d most like to see and the answer will inevitably be “StarCraft 2,” even from the most hardcore “World of Warcraft” addict. Released in 1998, the real-time strategy game about a war between three galactic species is considered one of the greatest games of all time. "StarCraft," and the expansion “Brood Wars,” have sold nearly 10 million units.

...

What took so long? The first “StarCraft” shipped nine years ago. Why has it taken so long to circle back to this franchise?

Mainly because we make our decisions on what game we’re going to work on from a creative standpoint. The team that worked on the original “StarCraft” wanted to revisit the “Warcraft” universe, and they went on to work on “Warcraft 3.” When that game finished up [in 2002,] they were excited to go back and work on the “StarCraft” universe.

We did break ground on “StarCraft 2” in 2003, but wasn’t in full production for another year or so.

How’d you manage to keep it secret for so long?

Well, Penny Arcade figured it out!

We keep games under code names and we teach developers to refer to games by their code name. And we’re just really careful about talking about the game internally. We don’t bring external folks through unannounced product areas. But I think even I’m surprised that we were able to keep it under wraps all the way to the end.

Speaking of secrets, what is your timeline for release for “StarCraft 2?”

It’s a secret! I can give you the old Blizzard mantra of: “It’ll ship when it’s ready,” but it’s something that historically, we’ve learned to keep release dates really close to the vest. I think all game developers are extremely optimistic, and we used to give optimistic dates and we’d disappoint our fans when we didn’t hit them. So now, I think we’ve just gotten more gun shy. The only thing I can give you [that’s] concrete is it’s not going to be this year. Some people were hoping, because of how advanced the game looks, that we’d have it out by Christmas, but that’s definitely not happening.

...

Are all of the key roles filled on the “StarCraft 2” team? And what’s the size of the team now that it’s in full production?

All the key roles are filled, and we’re running approximately 40 people.

...

“StarCraft 2”s biggest competitor probably is “StarCraft.” How will you top that game and convince players that this isn’t just “StarCraft” in 3-D?

That’s a really good question. It’s not so much beating “StarCraft” that’s the problem, it’s beating people’s perception and nostalgia of “StarCraft.” “StarCraft” was and is a great game, but it’s certainly an older game. Across the board, “StarCraft 2” is a better game in a lot of ways.

Will it live up to that nostalgia? Time will tell.

What new technologies can players expect to see in “StarCraft 2?”

The first one is an enormous graphical improvement by going to 3-D.

We’ve also added things like a physics system in the game…we’re not really utilizing it for gameplay as much as for graphical improvement. Like, you’ll see things like debris that will actually fall apart, which adds more immersion and a lot more realism.

Online, we’ve learned a lot. In the original “StarCraft,” there was no online matchmaking system. That’s going to be huge…for “StarCraft 2.” In “Warcraft 3,” you had to press the “play game” button and it’d put you in a game with similarly skilled people. We’re going to do yet another improvement on that system for “StarCraft 2,” which is going to be huge for the online market — especially broad market users.

...

Given the popularity of “WoW,” do you have any plans to go to subscription model with “StarCraft 2” or any subsequent releases?

We’re going to do what’s right for the game. We made “WoW” to be a subscription game from the very beginning. With “StarCraft 2” it’s probably going to follow more of a box model. But we’ll decide more of that stuff down the line.

Battle.net is pretty expensive to maintain, isn’t it?

It’s not as expensive as “WoW” to maintain! (Laughs)

...

But no fourth race?

No fourth race. We talked a lot about it. We ultimately decided we wanted to focus on the three races we had.

Will Blizzard remain a PC developer?

I don’t know. If you talk to our biz guys, they like the PC for a lot of reasons, but we don’t make our decisions based entirely on business or even primarily on business. We make our decisions based on the games we want to make. After that point, we make the decision on [what system] that game is going to live. And up to this point, the games we wanted to make worked best on the PC.

Read full article: Can Blizzard top itself with 'StarCraft 2?'

The ultimate Blizzard sequel: Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3?

[source: younewb.com]

Ever since Starcraft was released, it has been an extremely popular game all around the world and even played professionally for money in several countries. Many gamers had been waiting for years with no visible hope for a continuance of one of the best RTS games that was ever created. Then Blizzard decided to drop the ball on everyone and give the good news to the millions that Starcraft was having a sequel and was going to be released in 2008. The whole gaming community went into frenzy and everything that had anything to do about Starcraft 2 exploded on websites and appeared everywhere. Hell, there was even a story on Yahoo’s homepage about SC – that’s how big it was. I was filled with joy yet at the same time torn apart because the news of Starcraft 2 meant fewer chances for the creation of Diablo 3.

The Diablo franchise is Blizzard’s best selling (counting WoW and Warcraft RTS as two different franchsies) with a total of number of around 17 million sold, crushing Starcraft’s 9.5 million. Diablo and its sequel can be qualified as an action RPG that is set in a dark fantasy world around medieval times. You can play many different classes which you gain experience, level up, buy/find items, and much more. The sheer depth of the game is breathtaking and a gamer can easily play the game for years on end while having unique experiences each and every time. This is because most of the levels and items are randomly generated which give tons of possibilities, as well as having an engrossing storyline, and amazing multiplayer. Both games are definitely some of the best ever produced and in my opinion are almost flawless in every single way.

Now I love Starcraft just as much as the next person but ever since Diablo 2 was released back in 2000, I have been hooked. I took a little break for a while but since the announcement of Starcraft 2, I decided to fire it back up and have been playing it for the last week or so. I can’t stop playing again and I am coming to realize why it is my favorite Blizzard game and probably a top 5 favorite game of all time. Yesterday, I sat home and thought about how the release of Starcraft 2 means that Diablo 3 will most likely be put off for at least a few more years if it even becomes a reality. Then I thought to myself, “What happened if Blizzard said they would only release either or game and that’s all they would be creating?” I sat long and hard and came to the realization that I would rather see Diablo 3 be produced because I believe it would set a precedent in the gaming world once again.

Diablo 3 would be groundbreaking in my opinion, and have more affect on the gaming industry then the release of Starcraft 2 will. SC 2 is going to have all the new graphics, new units, maps, and more but in turn will be another RTS which we have seen for the last 10+ years. I think SC 2 will be absolutely perfect but in the same time I believe that it will inspire new ideas like the release of Diablo 3 would. With each of the Diablo games released, they really pushed the limits of gaming at their relative time and took leaps that not many other games have. They encouraged so many other companies to create new and unique games, as well as striving for quality with their releases. Some of the best games ever created were spawned because of Diablo, such as the Baldur’s Gate franchise, Dungeon Siege, Ragnarok Online, and the upcoming release that looks stunning, Hellgate: London. Without Diablo, we wouldn’t have some of the greatest games ever published.

So with all this in mind, I ask you this one simple question: If Blizzard was going to create only one, which would you have, Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3? Think long and hard about this and reply back in the comments for me. I want to see everyone’s’ take on this subject and see who agrees with my choice, Diablo 3. Also, has anyone found themselves playing Diablo 2 again, especially since the news of Starcraft 2 or am I the only one?

Read full article: The ultimate Blizzard sequel: Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3?

Top 10 Reasons to Play Starcraft 2

If the massive success of Starcraft is anything to go by, and Blizzard has indeed spent the last four years making sure they don’t mess with success, then Starcraft 2 is going to be an overload of fun. Below are the top ten reasons why Starcraft 2 has all the potential to be the best game to play for the next ten years.

[source: gamereplays.org]

10.) Historical Event
Missing out on something everyone is talking about is never fun. You feel like an outsider and you’re not able to easily relate to what other people are discussing. The release of Starcraft 2 will be an epic moment in the history of the RTS timeline of events. No RTS title has been as anticipated (or expected) as the second coming of Starcraft. While you can always get into Starcraft 2 at any time, there’s nothing like playing a new game from the start. Starcraft 2 might very well be your only chance to play a new Starcraft game at release for quite some time.

9.) Accessibility
The challenge of any RTS game should be in fighting against your opponent, not fighting against the gameplay mechanics. Starcraft 2 is not going to be an overly complicated game. While the legendary reputation of Starcraft’s best players can make the franchise seem like it’s overwhelmingly hard to play, it’s really not. There’s a difference between complexity and depth, and Starcraft 2’s mechanical simplicity, but strategic and tactical depth, will make it enjoyable at every skill level.

8.) Replayability
Starcraft is arguably the most played RTS game in history. The reason is simple: downright good gameplay, which is something Starcraft 2 will have plenty of. Combined with good support and a strong community, playing Starcraft 2 will never get old. Each game will offer something different, and even the most common strategies will still be fun to use and fun to try and overcome. If you want a game that will stick with you as much as you stick with it, Starcraft 2 is your best bet.

7.) Strong Competitive Environment
For those that play RTS games competitively, you can feel confident that Starcraft 2 will be very well received by every major competitive gaming establishment throughout dozens of countries. The original Starcraft created the most competitively saturated RTS environment ever. There will be an abundance of local, national, and international LANs and tournaments to play in. There will be online competitions and leagues offering prizes and rewards for being the best. Essentially, there won’t be a shortage of competition or ways you can earn a little something extra for doing what you love to do: play games.

6.) Unique Factions
As elementary as this sounds, it’s something a lot of games simply get wrong. Unique factions do two important things: they add depth, and they add replayability. Depth comes from the fact that the strategies you use to beat one faction will not be the strategies you use to beat another faction. It will require different build orders, different unit mixes, and different uses of those units from one faction to the next. It adds replayability because the strategies you’ve learned for one faction, will not be the same for the other factions. Essentially, once you’ve mastered one faction, you still have two other factions to master. In games where the factions are almost identical, once you’ve learned one, you’ve basically learned the whole game. Starcraft 2’s truly and fundamentally distinct factions will keep the game feeling fresh for a long time.

5.) Unit Abilities and Micromanagement
Part of what real time strategy is all about is being in control of your army. What’s important is for that control to have an impact on the outcome of a game. Otherwise you’re just wasting your time. Many of Starcraft 2’s units will have secondary abilities that allow them to be used in interesting and creative ways. Essentially, these abilities provide a player with the means to extend a unit’s effectiveness beyond its default behavior so that being out numbered doesn’t necessarily mean being beaten. Moreover, these specialized abilities will help to contribute to each faction’s unique identity and playstyle. It will simply feel fun and rewarding using your units as you try and use them to their greatest possible extent.

4.) Huge Community
A large community of players is arguably the most important part of a game, even for singleplayer. For starters, Starcraft 2’s community will more than likely have a very low depreciation rate, meaning it will stay strong for a long time. But even as it starts to decline, the player-base will be so large to start with, that by the time the next Starcraft comes out, you’ll still always be able to find a good game. There’s nothing more frustrating than waiting to find a match against someone who is worth playing against, only to wind up with an opponent or team that just ruins it for you. A shortage of players means a shortage of good games. Starcraft 2 just won’t have that problem. Outside of the game, a strong community means active forums, and more resources available, such as technical help, strategy help, mission help, maps, and replays.

3.) Balance and Polish
These two words are part of Blizzard’s namesake. The game will be polished quite well at the start, and there will be tons of little features that Blizzard thought of. Everything from the way the ladder works, to the communication system, to replays. Balance will of course, be continuously fine tuned as new balance problems emerge from the vast amount of strategic depth that Starcraft 2 will no doubt have. Excellent balance will minimize any frustration of losing due to factors outside of your control, and will put the responsibility to win squarely on your shoulders.

2.) Strategic and Tactical Depth
What is the purpose of real time strategy game if not to have amazing strategic and tactical depth? While all RTS games have their own flavor of strategic and tactical depth that sounded good on paper during development, Blizzard will have made it a point to make sure the implementation of gameplay elements works in practice. The strategy and tactical depth will feel real, and provide almost tangible results. The bottom line is that the game will be fun and rewarding to play. Everything will feel like it has a purpose and everything you do will feel like it matters.

1.) Blizzard and Battle.net
It would literally be enough to say "‘nuff said". However, this is the number one reason because it’s the only reason why the other nine reasons are reasons at all. Blizzard commands the same sort of market reaction to its products that Apple does. The driving force behind this is simply Blizzard’s commitment to quality and support. Blizzard is the reason why Starcraft 2 will have phenomenal gameplay. Battle.net is the reason why Starcraft 2’s multiplayer is going to be so substantially better than virtually every other RTS game. If Blizzard settled for being average, this list would be pointless.

Moreover, Blizzard will take the time to deal with cheaters and disconnectors. The amount of money and effort Blizzard puts into this goes above and beyond what’s expected of a gaming company. At a minimum, people just want some form of passive anti-cheat capability built into the game or server system. Blizzard recognizes that this isn’t good enough, and takes an active role in fighting cheaters.

It’s also a company with a sense of humor and personality. The idea of World of Starcraft was a classic. It made some people laugh, it made some people cry. In the past, Blizzard has released bogus (but temporary) patches or patch notes on April Fools, just to mess with people. You just don’t really see that in other development companies. Blizzard is simply a company for gamers. They just get it.

Read full article: Top 10 Reasons to Play Starcraft 2

Warning: A Starcraft 2 scam on World of Warcraft

[source: wow.qj.net]

A poster named Goolz on the European World of Warcraft forums gave out some news on a scam that attempts to take advantage of people's anticipation of Starcraft 2. He posted an e-mail that asks for the contact information, CD-key, and even the player's actual name and address.

If you receive an e-mail asking for any of that information, don't respond to it. Blizzard would never ask for that information from you via e-mail. The e-mail came from a Hotmail account, blizzardsales@hotmail.com. Blizzard poster Vaneras spoke about this saying, "Yup, that is a bogus email for sure... I hope nobody falls for it. Just to make sure that everybody knows; We do not use hotmail addresses to send out emails to people."

Personally I believe that poster Pokerfaze said it best in his post about this scam: "A 12-14 year old could and will probably fall for this, all i can say is id like 20 min in a room with the person who made that scam preff alone and without cams."

You should check out the full details on the e-mail via our read link. Be sure to check back for more news on World of Warcraft.

Read full article: Warning: A Starcraft 2 scam on World of Warcraft

Online Petition - Linux Installers for Blizzard Products

Feel free to sign the petition yourself. As a Linux user, I'd be very happy to see SC2 natively running on my Linux box, just like on Windows or Mac... And, as I can see, I'm not the only one :)))

The open source community voice:

To: Blizzard Inc.

We the undersigned would like to see native Linux installers for the products of Blizzard Inc. It is only fair that Blizzard's products designed for both Windows and Mac should be made compatible with Linux as well, especially due to the popularity of Blizzard's released products (StarCraft, WarCraft, WoW, etc.) and their upcoming releases (StarCraft 2).
The computer world is about choices now. Not everyone wants to be stuck with a Windows or a Mac. Some people use Linux, BSD, and other OS types.
It is also suggested that perhaps the installers be released with open-source code, to adjust the installers to other various systems (BSD, Solaris, other distributions of Linux)
The installer should be in a .run file, and require the user to have already bought the product (hence a CD detection)
Blizzard's games are hailed as some of the most influential games around, and it is about time that companies start adopting the business practices of id Software.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned

[source: linuX-gamers.net]

The game will be developed for Mac and PC, but unfortunately there is no PC version announced for Linux so far. Therefor an online petition has been started to convince Blizzard to release a native Linux installer and maybe even make it open source, so it can be ported to other platforms. LinuX-gamers.net recommends to sign this petition and hopes for a positive feedback from Blizzard.

Read full article: Online Petition - Linux Installers for Blizzard Products

StarCraft 2's Gameplay Balance

The evolution of Blizzard's RTS mechanics.

[source: ign.com]

There sure are a lot of panel discussions at Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational 2007 in Seoul, South Korea, and they're all focused on StarCraft 2. In fact there's so much buzz about StarCraft 2 you may forget the traditional focus of this event, mainly the high-intensity professional StarCraft and WarCraft 3 tournaments. This time the panel's focus was specifically on gameplay elements, and featured Vice President of Game Design Rob Pardo, Senior Game Designer Dustin Browder, and Creative Director Andy Chambers.

Pardo kicked things off by tracing Blizzard's RTS history. WarCraft II was the root of Blizzard's competitive RTS game experience, as it was one of the earliest to go online. When StarCraft came out, it was the first that Blizzard did to feature three truly asymmetrical factions. Then it was WarCraft III's turn, which Pardo explained as a drastic departure from the gameplay underlying StarCraft. It slowed the pace of gameplay, focused battles on smaller numbers of units, introduced more RPG elements, powerful heroes, and more micro-management of unit abilities.

With StarCraft 2, "we're really going back to our roots," says Pardo. By this he means the sequel will be more StarCraft, more focused on fast-paced gameplay and lesser amounts of micromanagement, rather than an evolution of the WarCraft 3 formula. There won't, for instance, be anything approximating WarCraft 3's "creeping," whereby players hacked away at NPCs on the map to increase hero experience levels and acquire items. Unit abilities in StarCraft 2 are largely automated, and there will still be a focus on proper resource management, at least to a greater extent than in WarCraft 3.



One of Blizzard's primary design goals with StarCraft 2 was to cater to professional gamers' demands. "A lot of the concepts we put into the unit design [in StarCraft 2] is so there's skill differentiation," says Pardo. By this he means that truly skilled players will be able to absolutely crush those of lesser ability. This differs from WarCraft 3, says Pardo, in that skill level had a lesser impact on the game's outcome, or at the very least prolonged games featuring players of widely varying skill levels.

Though few details are available at this point, Pardo says Blizzard is aiming to, "provide a great solo experience." He continued with, "We're really going to focus in on the story; we have a lot of new ideas for how the campaign unfolds." Andy Chambers filled us in a little more during the question and answer session by saying Mengst's Terran Dominion would act as the main Terran force, "Raynor's been having some adventures," and the Xel'naga will have, "a rather epic tale for StarCraft 2." He went on to say, "A lot of those plot elements [in Brood Wars] get played out to their fullest extend in SC2" says Andy Chambers. The interesting point is the implications of the final secret mission in Brood Wars and the mention of a Protoss-Zerg hybrid race. Note that there will only be three playable races in StarCraft 2, the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg, and the storyline takes place four years after the original.

Pardo highlighted a number of bullet points for design goals in the new game, mainly speed, saying the longest a StarCraft 2 match should take is around 20 minutes. Blizzard is emphasizing each races significantly different play styles, though they won't yet reveal how the Terran and Zerg can hope to counter the impressively powerful abilities of the Protoss' Mothership. Specific attention was paid to low-level tech tree abilities, as Pardo explained Blizzard has taken steps to expand the available options and make early-game mechanics more varied.



One small gameplay difference revealed during the panel was how unit positioning is affected by the fog of war. Now when one unit attacks another from higher ground, the fog of war surrounding the higher unit is no longer automatically revealed, meaning the unit at the lower position can't return fire. Obviously this makes having high ground positioning much more valuable. It affects mechanics for new units like the Protoss Stalker, who can blink forward and traverse differences in terrain height. They can't, however, hop up to a higher ledge if the fog of war at their destination has yet to be revealed. This can be rectified by flying in an air unit to push back the fog a bit, letting the units to blink up to the ledge and assault whatever lies beyond - an excellent tactic for surprise attacks. The Stalker blink ability is also useful for kiting enemies, which was demonstrated with a group of them blinking around zealots and blowing them to bits.

Dustin Browder explained a few more unit specifics. He again explained the Protoss Immortal's ability to put up near-impenetrable shields when under heavy fire, such as that from siege tanks, yet being vulnerable to weak attacks that won't activate their shields. The Immortal is designed to be a slow moving unit, so they're not skilled at escaping an attack. Though they possess heavy armor, their maneuverability is a severely limiting factor when fighting Zealots, Marines, or Zerglings.

Explained again were the mechanics of the Protoss Pheonix, which can perform an overload attack to shoot out multiple energy blasts. After the attack the unit is rendered inert for a short while, meaning careful implementation of the overload is required. Finally he demonstrated an advanced use of the Protoss' warping ability, which can be done within phase fields surrounding Pylons or the new Phase Prisms. He warped a few Zealots to cut off an enemy's advance into his base, trapping the invaders between the units and a structure. He followed up by warping in Stalkers to pepper the enemy with laser fire from behind a barrier row of Pylons.

There was no date announced for the eventual StarCraft 2 beta, but Pardo said they'll eventually take applications for play and accept a certain percentage. A number of professional StarCraft gamers will also be specifically invited. In response to a question from the audience, Browder noted, "we have no plans at this time for naval combat." Yes, naval combat in space…

We'll have more as soon as we can.

Read full article: StarCraft 2's Gameplay Balance

Why You Should Be Excited for Starcraft 2

"What I’m presenting to you now are several reasons you should, in fact, be excited for Starcraft II."

[source: critical-hits.com]

If you look through the limited information that is on the game’s website, you begin to get a glimpse of what is behind the curtains. At this point they’ve revealed a very small amount of the Protoss’ new units each with great descriptions and backgrounds as to how they’ve been changed since the original game. Here’s where you find one of the first cool additions to the franchise, toward the end of the page for the returning basic units the Zealots:

Some Zealots have even developed the ability to turn their body into pure energy for a few microseconds. This allows them to move at lightning fast speeds and strike suddenly against an enemy that thinks they are out of range.

Zealots used to be a very tough and effective melee unit, and once mid/late game hit they could be upgraded to become an extremely fast tough/effective melee unit. Now, what we see is that they are focusing in on this idea and giving the unit a special ability which functions in a more direct and circumstancial way then simply an overall speed boost. Instead of being fast all the time, they are now fast when in a charging situation, which causes you to put much more consideration into how you use the unit in combination with others.

As you continue through the page, you come to the unit that is replacing Dragoons (I assume) as the protoss’ primary ranged unit, they are now aptly called Immortals. At the very beginning of the history for this unit I stumbled upon a very intriguing tid-bit:

The sacred shrine that was dedicated to the creation of the dragoons was infested by the zerg and lost along with the protoss homeworld itself.

There you have it, Blizzard is basically smacking you in the face with a not-so-subtle hint that the Zerg are changing in just as many ways as the Protoss. They’ll have some amount of access to infested Protoss units, possibly only as Dragoons but maybe more? This prospect in itself is very exciting, as the Zerg becomes more of a amalgam type race and begins to use their enemy’s units and strategies against them. Furthermore, the Immortal unit illustrates how Blizzard is changing the basic workings of the game. In the first Starcraft each unit had a certain type of armor and a certain type of attack, and some attacks did more/less damage to different units depending on what type of armor they had. This was amazing, and could be used quite effectively to turn the tide of an entire game, the biggest problem was one of the few places you ever really read about it was in the game’s manual or from a player who knew all of it and could explain it to you. The use of different types of attacks against different units was not intuitive within the game, it required something outside of the game to let the player know how effective it was. These new units, Immortals, have shields that activate and surround the unit preventing a large portion of damage ONLY when they are struck by very strong/heavy attacks. Light munitions and weapons go through this shield and do a lot more damage to the unit, and so there is very obvious and clear attention being paid to unit/weapon/armor choices as the player fields their army strategically across the battlefield.

There does not seem to be much beyond the obvious coolness of the Protoss having access to Dark Templar Dragoons, called Stalkers. They can blink, which is a clear development from Warcraft 3, and I have to admit I’m happy to see it here also. Next we come to a new Protoss ship, the Phase Prism, which has the ability to transform into a temporary/portable Pylon and spread power to distant parts of the map. This allows the Protoss to not only return power to disabled buildings, but also to expand quickly and easily. In combination with the new Gateway ability to transform into a Warp Gate, which allows the player to build (actually, teleport) new Protoss units to any part of the map that their power grid extends to, and you can see that they are focusing the Protoss race on being just as strong, elite, and high-quality for high-cost as they were in the first game but also combine it with unique methods of mobility and speed. They will be able to fast expand, and quickly reinforce these locations with various types of units.

The last big reason that you should be excited about this game can be seen in the Gameplay trailer, which if you have not seen is 20 minutes of excellent footage that reveals even more Protoss units than the website shows. One of these is called the Colossus, which is a very War of the Worlds-esque giant walker with fire beams. The most interesting aspect of this unit is the introduction of the ability to walk between low/high ground without being a flier. In the original game, ground units had to either find a ramp or air-transport to get from one-level to another and no units could travel between the levels freely. Now we see the introduction of an additional layer of complexity, as you get Air Units vs. Ground Units, and Small Ground Units vs. Large Ground Units. You spend a lot of time placing your siege tanks up on that cliff to take out that ‘Toss expansion, only to find he has a handful of Colossus’ waiting to stroll on up there and take them out at a close range? Nothing like this happened in the original game.

To me, this displays outsanding potential for greatness in this game. With the announcement of only 6 units for one of the three known armies, we have a healthy list of new features that change the ways the fundamental game works, while still retaining the feeling of large armies fighting one another on futuristics worlds. Think how much can change with all of the new units for all of the races and potentially a new race on top of that? Get that bitter taste out of your mouth and look at what’s new that’s being shown to you, and above all else ask yourself: How different do you want this game to really be? Do you want it to be as different as Dawn of War was to Starcraft? Or do you want it to look, play, sound, and FEEL the same as Starcraft, but be something new at the same time?

Read full article: Why You Should Be Excited for Starcraft 2

On The Keeping Of Secrets...

I always wondered how did they managed to keep the SC2 secret. I mean, the people are working on it, not machines! They got friends, families... They got drunk sometimes, do stupid things! ... But nothing! Not a word got out of their magic circle!

I don't know what to say, except: Good job all!!

[source: Penny Arcade]

Read full article: On The Keeping Of Secrets...

Blizzard outlines Starcraft II gameplay

Studio's top creative talent discusses Starcraft II gameplay details at a Worldwide Invitational panel discussion.

[source: gamespot.com]

Believe it or not, even though the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational 2007 event is home to music concerts and some of the biggest game tournaments in the world, one of the most intriguing activities is actually sitting quietly in a theater. Three of Blizzard's top creative talents--creative director Andy Chambers, senior game designer Dustin Browder, and vice president of game design Rob Pardo--sat on a panel to discuss gameplay details for the company's newly announced sequel, Starcraft II.

Pardo began the discussion by revisiting several of the studio's previous games, going back as far as Warcraft II, which the vice president cited as the first Blizzard game to garner a significant following as a competitive multiplayer game. Pardo explained that the original Starcraft arose from the team's desire to create a fast-paced real-time strategy game like Warcraft II, but in a different universe, then described how Blizzard's subsequent RTS project, 2002's Warcraft III, took a very different approach by offering slower-paced gameplay with smaller armies, hero units, and many units with activatable abilities to appeal to "the average gamer." Pardo suggested that the units in both the original Starcraft and in the sequel will instead act as "movers and shooters"--mostly autonomous forces that generally lack special abilties but will be used in large control groups to "do their own thing" in battle, rather than requiring the micromanagement of high-level Warcraft III play.

Pardo continued to contrast Warcraft III against Starcraft II, explaining that Warcraft III had less of an emphasis on economic buildup to allow more focus on battles. The 2002 game, suggested the VP, also was much less about early-game victories. While that game did introduce "creeps"--neutral creatures that could be fought to gain experience points for your hero units--early armies in Warcraft III were generally capable of only harrassing your enemies, not defeating them outright. Pardo suggested that "with Starcraft II, [Blizzard is] really going back to its roots to make a true sequel to Starcraft"--a sequel where resource management will be much more central to gameplay, with less micromanagement of different units with special abilities, and in which full-on early-game "rushing" (making an all-out assault at or near the beginning of a new game session) will be much more viable.

In fact, the VP went on to state that the game will probably offer more early "tech tree" options--different development paths players can take by building different structures and researching different upgrades--which will make early-game scouting more important, and will make early-game rushing a more diverse, deeper strategy.

Pardo also suggested that Warcraft III might have been a more forgiving game for beginners--differences in skill levels seemed less pronounced in that game. The VP said that in Starcraft II, there will be many more nuances that will separate highly skilled players from beginners, and good players from great ones. So in contrast to the sometimes-protracted matches of Warcraft III, Pardo expects the average Starcraft II multiplayer match to last about 20 minutes of real time, possibly even as little as 15 minutes when played by the pros. Pardo pointed out that there will be numerous subtleties added to the game that expert players will learn to use to their advantage, such as a revamped "high ground" system. In the previous Starcraft, ground units that had a height advantage by standing on high ground gained attack bonuses, but would also reveal themselves when attacking. In the sequel, units with high ground will still gain the attack bonuses but will remain concealed by the "fog of war" (the black shroud that covers unexplored areas)--a fact that can be used together with other line-of-signt nuances to your advantage.

Pardo ended his part of the talk by emphasizing that Blizzard remains committed to making the three factions distinct, and to making Starcraft II's gameplay true to the original game, but also different and new. For instance, the VP cited the new Protoss units and abilities that have been shown, such as the ability to "warp-in" to different locations, and the powerful mothership unit. Pardo said Blizzard could have also attempted to create a "Terran version" and a "Zerg version" of these new units and abilities, but the team did not. It is instead looking to balance the factions against one another while keeping them distinct.

Pardo suggested that Starcraft II will, like the original game, be a game about "hard counters"--how certain units can be directly "countered" (defeated decisively) by specific counterunits. As an example, Pardo showed a brief demonstration of Protoss templar units, which are the counterunit to zerglings, annihilating a swarm of the tiny Zerg infantry with their "psi storm" ability. Said Pardo: "Yes, [Starcraft II] will stil be fast-paced and have 'multitasking' for resources and combat, but it'll be a very different game."

The floor was then given to game designer Dustin Browder, who used his time to cite specific examples of different units in play. To begin with, Browder showed a demonstration of the Protoss stalker, a ground-based unit that can attack both air and ground enemies and isn't all that tough, but can "blink" (warp in and out) to any location to which they have line of sight. The obvious uses of this handy ability include pursuing fleeing units by constantly "blinking in" in front of them, but they can also apparently be used as powerful base raiders.

In addition, extremely skilled players will be able to defeat slower-moving melee enemies with stalkers by sticking and moving, repeatedly blinking in and out of range. The designer showed a demonstration of stalkers up against a group of Protoss zealots, somewhat slow melee units that simply weren't able to close in for a hit as the stalkers kept blinking away and firing constantly, eventually winning the battle.

Browder showed how the new units and new abilties for existing units will help diversify gameplay and work within the counterunit system. For instance, the Protoss immortal, a ground-based tank unit, is extremely tough, but slow. It can therefore be countered by quick-thinking players with enough resources to build up counterunits, and therefore is also unable to effectively flee from a losing battle. However, it does possess a powerful energy shield that is triggered only from heavy-duty fire. This makes the immortal a natural counterunit for the Terran siege tank, whose powerful cannons can't do much against the immortal's energy shield. However, the slow-moving immortals themselves can be easily countered by a large swarm of zerglings, which don't deal enough damage to trigger the immortals' shields, and are too quick for the tank to outrun.

Browder then showed an additional example of the kind of subtleties that will separate skilled players from unskilled players. The Protoss phoenix, a flying unit, has a special "overload" ability that creates a damaging energy field around itself, then renders it immobile and helpless shortly afterward. Browder showed a simulated battle between a player with six phoenix units and another player with only four. The player with six phoenixes choked and used the overload ability too early, allowing the other player to dodge out of harm's way; then the player arranged the four phoenixes around the now-immobile six in a loose formation and overloaded the six into oblivion, which suggests that sheer numbers won't always prevail in the face of high-level skill in Starcraft II.

Browder then showed a demonstration of Protoss warp-in technology, which can be used to mount a powerful surprise offense by summoning a large army seemingly out of nowhere. However, the same tech can apparently be used for base defense; the designer showed how an early zergling raid on a Protoss base went sour as the tiny Zerg suddenly found themselves boxed in between Protoss buildings and a small contingent of melee-attacking zealots, with immortal tanks lobbing fire from a distance. The designer closed by stating that the team's goals are to "recapture the magic of the original Starcraft, which was a wonderful, wonderful game," and to "make Starcraft II about these three unique races by generating new tactics and strategies."

The panel then took questions, which revealed some intriguing new details about the sequel. An audience question about future beta plans prompted Pardo to state that Starcraft II will likely have a "closed beta by invitation, similar to [Blizzard's] other products--though this time, [Blizzard] will also enlist the help of pro players to help test for balance."

When asked about the status of the Terrans (who were decimated at the end of the Brood War expansion pack for the original Starcraft), creative designer Andy Chambers explained that "the UED terran forces were destroyed by Kerrigan's Zerg armies (though a few surviving companies may still be around somewhere)," and that the Terran faction in Starcraft II will primarily consist of the "evil empire" of the Terran Dominion. When asked about the status of lead character Jim Raynor, Chambers replied that since Starcraft II takes place four years after Brood War, "Raynor has been having some adventures for sure," but he declined to comment further.

Chambers also suggested that the ancient Xel'Naga, which helped both the Protoss and Zerg races become what they are (but were later destroyed by the Zerg) will also figure into Starcraft II's story "in a rather epic tale." To cap the presentation, Browder fielded a final question that may come as a relief to some players: There are "no plans at this time for naval combat in Starcraft II."

Read full article: Blizzard outlines Starcraft II gameplay

More Thoughts on StarCraft MMO...

[source: stroppsworld.com]

...

There was a lot of speculation that Blizzard would announce Starcraft 2 as a MMO rather than as a RTS, and I’m rather glad that they didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, the Starcraft universe would likely make a great setting for a MMO, but not every game can be a MMO and Starcraft works really well as a real time strategy game. I’m hoping that Blizzard doesn’t change the formula too much though, like was done with Dark Reign. The first Dark Reign was a great and innovative RTS, and even though Dark Reign 2 was one of the first fully 3D RTS’, it lacked much of the fun of the first game. However, I think I’ll give Blizzard the benefit of the doubt for this one.

No date was given for the release. It was, as usual, given as "when it’s done." I expect that it will probably be before the end of the year, in time for the Christmas season. From what I’ve seen so far, it looks like Blizzard have been working hard at it for quite some time. Here’s hoping anyway. My friends have already indicated that a LAN party during the Christmas break is in order.

This just leaves one more thing up in the air. I’ve heard some rumours recently that Blizzard has been developing a new MMO. Maybe these are just rumours and have no real substance. Given the Starcraft 2 announcement, that may very likely be the case. On the other hand, it’s a pretty good bet that Blizzard developers are feverishly working on Diablo 3, sweating away in the darkest dungeons of Blizzard. Maybe Diablo 3 is that new MMO that Blizzard is developing.

Read full article: More Thoughts on StarCraft MMO...