Starcraft 2!

[JinnSato]

You think that but the only way I'm able to wait is every hour it's not here I punch a baby in the face.

 

[wellsy]

*Gets punched by JinnSate*

Ouch.

Now I have to wait with a bruised jaw...

*Walks away and gets his pet Battlecruiser*

 

[JinnSato]

*Gets punched by JinnSate*

Ouch.

Now I have to wait with a bruised jaw...

*Walks away and gets his pet Battlecruiser*

A battle cruiser huh? Well how 'bout this!!

::Throws smoke grenade on the ground and is ingulfed by the fumes. Second later the wind picks up up bowing away the smoke. I'm still standing their. Looking like an idiot.::

Crap!

::Runs away into the night.::

 

[wellsy]

A battle cruiser huh? Well how 'bout this!!

::Throws smoke grenade on the ground and is ingulfed by the fumes. Second later the wind picks up up bowing away the smoke. I'm still standing their. Looking like an idiot.::

Crap!

::Runs away into the night.::

t:

Excuse me while I make a fool of myself...

*Runs around on the floor going "whoopwhoopwhopwhopwhopwhopwhop" repeatedly*

 

[Zenien]

http://www.sc2blog.com

keep scrolling down!

 

[wellsy]

http://www.sc2blog.com

keep scrolling down!

Nice find.

 

[FaT_tONle]

http://www.sc2blog.com

keep scrolling down!

this game is looking a bit too fantastical for my taste... way too many new unnecessary units....

 

[Zenien]

I don't know how unnecessary they're going to be, I mean we haven't seen the game in action yet for how it's balanced.

The Valkery Walker thing seems off though, I hope they cut that and putt he Goliath back in tbh.

command Centers being able to have a point defense, as well as store up to four units is awesome.

 

[Addendum]

http://www.sc2blog.com

keep scrolling down!

Hooray for non-working links

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* The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments.

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* If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

 

[wellsy]

this game is looking a bit too fantastical for my taste... way too many new unnecessary units....

Well, they did say that they were going to cut down the number of units, based on the "coolness test" - ie is it cool, is it fun to play, and is it iconic?

Those three questions define what will and won't be in the game. So I'd say the numbers will thin a fair bit.

Not to mention that some units from the old game are being rebranded too.

 

[FaT_tONle]

I don't know how unnecessary they're going to be, I mean we haven't seen the game in action yet for how it's balanced.

The Valkery Walker thing seems off though, I hope they cut that and putt he Goliath back in tbh.

command Centers being able to have a point defense, as well as store up to four units is awesome.

The goliath is the most versatile terran unit by far... now I bet you are gonna have to research the flying mode like siege mode... that's not cool...

 

[Super Kal]

Hooray for non-working links

works just fine for me...

 

[Zenien]

Blizzcon happens we get a ton of new footage and not a single post. What a travesty.

Official Site: http://www.starcraft2.com
*Star relic is now a ground unit
*Tempest is gone now and Carriers are back with interceptors
-Mothership's abilities are nerfed (Blackhole has been altered)

I just came back from the show. I scanned the thread and didn't see any write-ups from the StarCraft II demonstration so I guess I'll fill you guys in on what I remember. The demonstration began with Dustin Browder (Lead Designer) showing off a new pre-recorded demonstration of the Terran faction. Pardon the poor paragraph/sentence structure ahead since I'm just trying to write down everything I can remember.

Terran Faction Demonstration:

Among the new abilities demonstrated were the sniping and call-down abilities of the Ghosts. As the name implies, sniping is used to take out infantry units in a single shot. The call-down ability functions like the nuclear strike ability, but instead of a nuke falling out of the sky, a capsule lands in the area the Ghost has targeted and 6 or so marines jump out.

The Battlecruiser's new photon missile ability was another highlight. Two Battlecruisers targeted a large cluster of marines and let off a volley of missiles that completely wiped them out. It wasn't exactly clear if you could only have one or the other, but it seems like you choose to have a Battlecruiser specialize in this ability or the classic Yamato cannon ability from the original game.

The next unit demonstrated was the new Thor unit. The build order for the Thor unit is actually under the SCV's advanced buildings menu as opposed to be built in a standard building. Once complete, the building transforms into the unit. The video then showed off the unit's artillery strike ability. You simply target a building and the unit will launch a prolonged artillery strike against it. When it was demonstrated in the video, the game appeared to switch over to an in-game cutscene where the camera was zoomed in and positioned directly behind the Thor unit along with a heavy DOF effect on everything everything in the background. In this case, it targeted and completely destroyed a command center. Browder later mentioned that some of the unit abilities in the video were exaggerated for effect. When I used that ability against a Protoss Nexus, there was no cutscene and I only succeeded in completely depleting its shield. I don't think I actually did any damage to the building.

The video then demonstrated how a Thor's slow turning speed can be taken advantage of by the new Cobra unit. Functioning like the old Vulture units, a handful of Cobras circled the Thor while firing at it. Since the Thor has so much difficulty turning, it was barely able to keep up with the Cobras which pecked away at its health.



Campaign Demonstration:

Once Browder finished showing off the Terran faction, Rob Pardo took over and showed off the first glimpse of the campaign mode. He started off by giving a history of what Blizzard had tried to accomplish in the campaign modes from the previous games. With SCII, they want to build off of SCI's briefing room and WCIII's map that gave the player a rough idea of the layout of the world.

The scene opened with the camera focused on a planet (I think it was Mar Sara). It then zooms backwards and reveals the hull of a battlecruiser (the Hyperion). It continues to zoom further back until the camera stops in the main briefing room where we see three characters: James Raynor, Tychus Findlay (the marine from the announcement trailer), and Raynor's second-in-command (I forgot his name). Pardo then reveals that the Terran campaign focuses on Raynor's story. He says that the past four years have been tough on Raynor and he's become a bit of a booze hound. It appears that Raynor is trying to create a rag-tag group of followers to help him accomplish his goals.

I should probably mention at this point that this is all done using the in-game engine. The visuals look surprisingly sharp. Of course it should be noted that the models used in the scene are made up of a lot more polygons than the ones used during gameplay. Pardo then clicks on Raynor's second-in-command and a list of prompts appear. You can choose what Raynor asks each character as well as his responses to questions when asked by other characters. Pardo clicks on Findlay which initiates a similar series of exchanges. There are a number of computer displays in the background which he mentions can be used to access different options.

The interface is very reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventure games. Pardo clicks on a set of stairs and Raynor follows them down into the engineering bay where he bumps into a disgruntled subordinate who mutters something as he passes by. Raynor speaks with his ship's engineering expert who tells him that the men are growing restless and might mutiny soon if they aren't paid. It's then revealed that you must "buy" new units and upgrades. That is if you wish to build the new Viking units, you must buy the ability to build them beforehand. Pardo goes ahead and buys the Viking unit and then returns back to the bridge/briefing room. He then clicks on the map in the center which shows off a handful of planets. By clicking on one, the camera zooms in and narrates some history and lore regarding that particular planet. Pardo then reveals a new aspect of the campaign mode. You can choose the order of the missions you take. He then zooms out and chooses another planet and decides to accept a mission there.

In this mission, the players job is to retrieve a Xel' Naga artifact guarded by Protoss. Pardo completely bypasses the main Protoss base in the middle by taking a group of Vikings around the side of it and then transforming them into their walker form. He then sends them after the artifact which is guarded by some Colossus and Zealots. Pardo gets completely walloped and is forced to cheat by calling up console and entering in "cheat" to instantly summon two Thors and three Battlecruisers. Pardo enters the cheat again and summons another group of Thors and Battlecruisers. After retrieving the artifact, the mission ends and the game returns to the bridge. Raynor's second-in-command jokes that the mission was surprisingly easy.

Pardo then sends Raynor into the ship's cantina in search of Findlay who is no longer in the bridge. A cutscene is triggered as Raynor walks through the hallway towards the cantina. He pulls out a flask and takes a sip. The camera moves around ominously to suggest that Raynor's not alone in the hallway. Raynor, with his hand on his holster, spins around to find Zeratul who appears to be wounded. Zeratul tells him that the Xel' Naga have returned and that they must find the other artifacts or else the Xel' Naga will bring about the "end to everything." The demonstration ends and then they open up the floor to questions. I won't waste your time with them since most of the questions were pretty useless (i.e. Can I make an FPS with the included map maker?)

If you have any questions, ask ahead. I played four rounds. Two as Protoss and two as Terran. If I can't remember the answers now, I'll try to find them out tomorrow.

TEN MINUTE TERRAN DEMONSTRATION

http://www.gamespot.com/events/blizzcon07/videos.html?tag=event_nav;videos

 

[wellsy]

I watched it, and saw that it was good.

I'm looking forward to this game.

 

[FaT_tONle]

This is looking pretty sick...

 

[Super Kal]

awesome looking

 

[Astrø]

They are now starting to show terran units at: starcraft2.com

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Cinematic from Blizzcon

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41396.html#comments_top

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

The game will be split in three


During the StarCraft 2 gameplay panel at BlizzCon, Blizzard posed a question to the audience: Should they sacrifice an epic story or truly create something spectacular? They're choosing the latter. Today they announced that they will be creating a single-player trilogy for StarCraft 2 where each race will have a stand-alone game. The first will be Terran: Wings of Liberty, where players take on the role of Jim Raynor in a non-linear game. The second is Zerg: Heart of the Swarm, and the last will be Protoss: Legacy of the Void.

Blizzard is promising that each game will have 26-30 missions, and each campaign will feel like its own epic story. They are also promising that they won't leave StarCraft lovers with cliffhangers. Each game will be a full product with a satisfying ending. We'll be hitting up Blizzard for more info as BlizzCon continues, so stay tuned.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170574

 

[Joker]

How is multiplayer going to work? Can you only have Terran vs Terran matches and such? WTF?

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Be surprised if it impedes on the multiplayer.
Sounds kinda like what Alien VS Predator 2 done couple of years back.

 

[Buford The Sly]

How is multiplayer going to work? Can you only have Terran vs Terran matches and such? WTF?

This article kind of explains how it will work.
http://pc.ign.com/articles/918/918895p1.html
Each game has the multiplayer capabilities and you can play all three races. Also each game will act as an expansion to the multiplayer.
What I'm wondering is that they keep saying that are doing this to have more player customization (such as what technology and things that you want to develope) so can you "carry" your single player mission based profile into multiplayer games (sort of like Diablo 2)? Sounds kind of interesting.
But from what it sounds like is that battle.net multiplayer will work just like the orginal Starcraft for each release of the "trilolgy"
So instead of one game you can buy three! (the blizzard way)

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Blizzard: We're Not Milking You On Starcraft 2, Honest



"The fact of the matter is, it's absolutely, positively untrue about us trying to stretch it out and milk it. People think that it was a monetary driven decision. I can absolutely, positively tell you, with 100 per cent certainty, that that was not part of the conversation. I guarantee it. I give my word. There was never, ever a conversation where we said, 'let's do this because we're going to make more money'. I guarantee it. As a matter of fact the sole reason we did it was because we thought it was going to be a better experience. Anybody that says otherwise is not correct. It is absolutely not what we did it for."

http://kotaku.com/5084928/blizzard-were-not-milking-you-on-starcraft-2-honest

 

[Arthas]

Blizzard FTW!!!

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Blizzard Launches Battle.net 2.0 (Sort of)

"Blizzard released their Battle.net 2.0 system today, albeit what only seems like a portion of it. The new system offers a unified account for all Blizzard-related games and activities. World of Warcraft players have the option of upgrading their accounts, and everyone else can register a new one. You'll also be able to tie in any other Blizzard accounts. During the registration users are also offered the opportunity to opt-in for future Blizzard betas, including StarCraft 2."