« November 2009 »
S M T W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30
You are not logged in. Log in
Entries by Topic
All topics  «
Blog Tools
Edit your Blog
Build a Blog
RSS Feed
View Profile
Links
Home
StarCraft 2
Blizzard Entertainment
My Take on StarCraft 2
Saturday, 30 August 2008
BlizzCast 4: StarCraft 2 Upgrades and Downgrades

Looking at the calendar in the upper-left corner of my blog, I see that it has been over two months since I had last written anything in this blog. that is partially because of my busy summer, in which I spent more time traveling than being home.

Meanwhile, Blizzard's fourth BlizzCast was released a few weeks ago, and it had much to discuss on the StarCraft 2 universe and how the technicalities of the game were shaping up.

Minerals and mineral gathering have changed dramatically from StarCraft to StarCraft 2. The amount of minerals gathered in a single trip has been reduced from 8 to 6. Although I was at first critical of this, the reduction is compensated by the new and improved worker movement AI. This improved AI allows more efficiency in worker movement: workers no longer move from left to right looking for a mineral spot to gather from, but know what spots will be available even before another worker may be finished gathering his own load. Another new feature is the ability to automatically put workers to the mineral fields by setting the rally point on top of one of the fields. Although these new features take away some of the micro of the original StarCraft, they make it easier for new users to get the best experience out of StarCraft 2.

Another issue discussed in the BlizzCast was mind control and other infestation procedures. No unit yet has followed in the path of the Dark Archon, being able to permanently capture a unit, but the Corruptor, a new Zerg unit, has the ability to temporarily take control of a unit and turn it against its allies. Developers realized after the release of StarCraft: Brood War that the Dark Archon's ability to permanently mind control another unit was two-fold - it took away one unit from the enemy, generally a very powerful unit, and added a unit to the player.

In the same way, infestation is limited in the amount of time it takes over buildings. The advantage goes to the Zerg, however, because when the Infestor takes control of a Barracks, Infested Marines instantly pop out and attack any nearby enemies. Also, the Zerg can use these units many, many times, instead of the instant and deadly barrage of the Infested Terrans of StarCraft.

These new dynamics are an interesting twist in the StarCraft universe, and will help to make StarCraft 2 more diverse and complicated than it's predecessor.

And that is my take. 


Posted by Holierthan_thou at 9:20 PM EDT
Updated: Sunday, 31 August 2008 12:29 AM EDT
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
What's Next From Blizzard?

There are some counterparts to StarCraft units that have not been revealed yet, or some units that haven't been included from the original but should transfer over to StarCraft 2.

Although the Archon and Dark Archon have been changed into one unit, the Twilight Archon, that leaves a void for a unit like the Dark Archon, with heavy hit points and no direct attack, but the ability to mind control units, destroy them with their own psi, or lockdown biological units.

Also, no equal for the Scourge has been introduced yet, although the Baneling is effectively a ground version of the Scourge. The Scourge was an essential unit for it's ability to easily take down heavy air units, like Carriers or Battlecruisers. Without that vital role being fulfilled, I can see waves of Roaches, Hydralisks, and Mutalisks trying in vain to defeat a fleet of said Carriers or Battlecruisers.

The units that will have an even greater effect in StarCraft 2 than the original, however, will be the buildings. With all sorts of new abilities being added to them, like movable colonies and generating creep from Overlords for the Zerg, to interchangeable addons for the Terrans, to Phase Prisms for the Protoss, buildings, the way they are built, and what order will be of even greater importance in StarCraft 2.

And that is my take.



Posted by Holierthan_thou at 9:22 AM EDT
Updated: Tuesday, 17 June 2008 12:25 PM EDT
Saturday, 17 May 2008
More Zerg Information

I realize that it's been way too long since my last blog post, so I decided to update you guys on a little bit on what unofficial information I've found out about the Zerg.

It seems that StarCraft Legacy has been keeping unofficial information about the Zerg on hand, or been getting some of that information from the inside. Some of this information includes a unit that mutates from Overlords, Queens being able to mutate into greater forms, and Infested Terrans that aren't suicide bombers.

The release of the Zerg video was also an event which I failed to cover. This video shows four-tusked Ultralisks demolishing units with backup, epic battles with Zerg and Protoss going toe to toe, and the goey, biological side of the Zerg. It was narrated by Kerrigan, showing that she's still infested at the beginning of the game, although I have my theories that it will change later on.

The Queen has been given a much more essential role, with abilities titled "Swarm Clutch" and "Deep Tunnel." It can evolve from Queen to Lair Watcher to Hive Matriarch, with the names suggesting that these upgrades come with Hatchery upgrades. There are the Infestor, successor to the Defiler, Lurker, which maintains its original role from the original StarCraft, Swarm Guardian, which replaces the Guardian, Corruptor, which replaces the Devourer, all the way to the newest and coolest addition the the Zerg arsenal, the Roach.

The Roach is a unique Zerg unit that, although it only has 90 HP, has an extremely fast regeneration rate. It does 10 damage to both ground and air units and replaces the Hydralisk as a Tier 1 unit. It does not appear to have any special abilities other than the regeneration. I personally think that this could be combined with Medics in allied games for a killer effect.

So what does all this information about the Zerg tell us? Blizzard has been thinking long and hard about what to do with the least likable race in the StarCraft universe, and they've come up with what seems like a great way to balance the races: the Zerg are starting to get some powerful units that could be quite devastating in great numbers.

And that is my take. 


Posted by Holierthan_thou at 10:49 PM EDT
Updated: Sunday, 18 May 2008 1:51 AM EDT
Saturday, 22 March 2008
The Zerg Have Arrived!

The long-anticipated release of information of the Zerg has come! But wait, they only released a paragraph of lore, two un-changed units from the original StarCraft, and a teaser-trailer? How lame!

 

So it's not as bad as I say it is, but it's not that great, either. The teaser looks great, but the non-specifics are what's killer. No information on Zerglings, the most basic unit of the Zerg, or even on Banelings? No info released about new units??? What are they thinking?? 

 

I think that Blizzard really blows it when they release a tidbit of information like what they just did. The fans already knew that the Mutalisk and Hydralisk were already going to be in the game, and any diehard fan could tell you ten times the information that they have on the site. They should have posted information on new units, not two of the Zerg's bread-and-butter units that couldn't have been scratched from the game if Blizzard wanted to.

 

Because of this lack of information, I think that the Zerg will be the least-developed race in StarCraft 2, which is a big disappointment for me. The Zerg were my favorite race in StarCraft, but with Blizzard not showing their hand, I have come to the conclusion that they are scrambling to get the Zerg together. As a result, the Zerg will either be weaker than they should be or the units will be too "expensive" for the traditional Zerg.

And that is my take. 

Posted by Holierthan_thou at 11:26 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 22 March 2008 2:26 PM EDT
Friday, 25 January 2008
The new and improved Crucio Siege Tank!
My first impressions of the Crucio Siege Tank were skepticism, then awe. This upgrade to the Arclites boasts "an upgraded assault-mode armament package so that the Crucio can fend for itself more successfully in an open battlefield. " The information also implies that the tank does not have a minimum range as the Arclites did. What does this imply? Siege tanks aren't vulnerable to Zergling and Zealot swarms anymore. Does this seem like the Crucio has become a much more powerful replacement to the Arclite? Yes, I believe that the Crucios will develop an even greater role in the Terran ground forces of StarCraft 2.

Posted by Holierthan_thou at 5:10 PM EST
Updated: Saturday, 26 January 2008 12:21 PM EST
Thursday, 20 December 2007
What is the Nomad?

The Nomad, the most recent addition to the starcraft2.com website, appears to be as peculiar and unique as its cousin, the Science Vessel, which it also replaces. The Nomad is a unit that holds a number of special abilities, and appears to be able to build a variety of things, two of which being able to detect cloaked or burrowed units, and the other: Auto Turret.

This simple device can be quickly deployed anywhere on the battlefield, providing that there is a Nomad to build it. Auto Turrets can easily destroy smaller and lightly-armored units, and the fact that it doesn't take up any of your unit count makes it a great asset to the Terrans. On the site, it shows Nomads deploying their Auto Turrets in an enemy base, which could be a useful tactic for undermining an enemy's economy.

A feature that would make the Nomad even more useful is if it could pick up its deployed Auto Turrets, allowing them to be redeployed later on if the player chose. Either way, the Nomad appears to be an exciting addition to the Terran forces. 


Posted by Holierthan_thou at 9:32 PM EST
Updated: Saturday, 26 January 2008 12:20 PM EST
Friday, 14 December 2007
The Calm Before the Storm

With Blizzard not releasing any new information about StarCraft 2 since revealing that the Observer would be back on November 1, people are starting to imagine what new content Blizzard will release. Some say they're holding back for a big Zerg release, while others say they're waiting to admit that they're striking some of the units that were going to be totally awesome, such as the Thor.

What do I say? Silence, at this point, is golden. Since they're not going to release the game any time soon, why get our salivary glands worked up? It's great to have some content, but adding 1 unit every few weeks or so really can get annoying after a while. Meanwhile, I still appreciate Karune's briefings (see StarCraft 2 webboards on Battle.net) for new information and fresh ideas.


Posted by Holierthan_thou at 7:26 PM EST
Updated: Saturday, 26 January 2008 12:06 PM EST
Saturday, 24 November 2007
The Story So Far

Blizzard put "The Story So Far" on their website, summarizing the events of the original StarCraft campaign. From playing the whole campaign, I can say that this is a fair summary of what happened, and it showed me how Blizzard worked the many factions into one cohesive story. Even though the player isn't able to switch from one race to the other, it can still be seen in the campaigns what the other races are doing. If Blizzard is able to do the same thing with StarCraft 2, then it will be a guaranteed hit.


Posted by Holierthan_thou at 11:52 AM EST
Updated: Saturday, 26 January 2008 11:58 AM EST
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
What will the Viking become?
Blizzard recently told fans that the Viking was to be the air to air fighter for the Terrans. They also announced that the Viking would be built in the Starport instead of the Factory. This upset many StarCraft fans, but in the same ways that it upset them, it seemed better to me.

First off, many people object to the Viking being the one and only air to air fighter (not including the Battlecruiser because it's a capital ship) because it is primarily a ground unit. I would agree with this, seeing as this is the ship that replaced the Goliath, but the Viking's versatility is one of its great assets. The fact that a Goliath-type unit can be dropped into a base without the use of a Dropship (and the Goliaths in the original StarCraft took up a quarter of a dropship) can be a great way to raid bases, which is something that the Terrans will excell at in StarCraft 2, with their Reapers, Vikings, and other quick units.

People also object to the fact that the Viking must now be built in the Starport instead of the Factory. I believe that the developers did this in order to balance this powerful unit. If Vikings could be built in the early stages of the game, it could dominate the air and take out other air units such as Overlords or Pheonix. By moving the Viking to be built in the Starport, the unit is moved up a tier.

The Viking is turning out to be such a powerful and versatile unit that I think it shall become as legendary as the Hydralisk was in the original StarCraft.

Posted by Holierthan_thou at 10:00 PM EST
Updated: Saturday, 26 January 2008 11:57 AM EST
Saturday, 3 November 2007
The Observer is back! and why the Arbiter should come back

When I found out this morning that the Observer was going to be in StarCraft 2, I couldn’t have been more excited to see that classic unit back in the game. At first I had thought that the Observer was being scrapped for some other, shinier unit because the air units looked like they were all lined up.

The addition of the Observer is important not only because it provides the Protoss with mobile detection units, but also because of the gap it is filling: cloaking / detection units. Currently, the Terrans have more cloaking capability than even the mighty Protoss. Does this mean that the Protoss are fading out, and the Terrans are becoming the new super race? We will see how this all plays out as the game develops.

But back to the reason the Observer is so important: cloaking. With the loss of the Arbiter, the Protoss lost a great unit that is being “replaced” by the Mothership. Now the Mothership is a great unit, but it just doesn’t replace the great Arbiter. The Arbiter’s abilities have been added to other units throughout the new Protoss fleet: cloaking went to the Mothership, stasis field went to the Mothership in the form of the time bomb, and recall went to the phase prism in the form of warp-in. But does this really replace the Arbiter?

The short answer is not at all. The reason that the Arbiter was so great was not because of its short list of abilities, but because its abilities came in one package, not two different ships with varying capabilities. Also, the time bomb and cloaking field of the Mothership don’t compare to how great the Arbiter’s abilities were. Stasis field covered a greater area, and the cloak effect was permanent, as long as the units were under the area of effect.

So should the Mothership be scrapped in favor of the Arbiter? No. But should the Arbiter be added and the Mothership altered to make it better? Yes.


Posted by Holierthan_thou at 11:22 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 26 January 2008 11:57 AM EST

Newer | Latest | Older