Best piece of advice? Look out for the LittleOne – amazing player with all three races:

Especially if you’re facing another Protoss who is blinking his Stalkers all over the place, or a Terrain with Marauder ball.

Here’s a little song that I sing that reminds me to get Charge ASAP: God will cut you down!

So research charge and God will cut them down for you. Starcraft 2 has that level of amazing depth.

Now, this will only include the Terran campaign (as far as I know). You’ll have to pay separate for the Zerg and Protoss campaigns and I bet they’ll make it so that you have to buy them in order to have a NORMAL multiplayer experience.

The good news is I’ve played the Starcraft 2 beta and it looks like an amazing game. It improves greatly on Starcraft, it’s a lot more dynamic and diverse.

One of the more interesting features is the new Battle.net. The rankings, the leagues, and different rewards stimulate a “one more game” mentality.

I would write more but really the beta ends this month so boy oh boy, I need to return to play more games as random. This is really excellent practice.

The really sad part is that I’ve played over 100 games as Protoss but when I play as random, I only lose big time if I play Protoss. Go figure!

I qualified for Platinum league and this is where my troubles started. No sooner than I become #3 in the league, I decided I’ll play all through Saturday night.

Well, you know it will end up badly. First, all the good player play on weekends. Second, being tired and playing Starcraft 2 do not go hand in hand. Long story short… I ended up 2 leagues down.

OK, I’m #1 in Bronze but what the heck – it’s very easy to go down and impossible to go UP in the league system!

I’m still waiting for mine but I’m not desperate yet. Yet, if you can offer me a Starcraft 2 beta key, send me a tell!

While we’re on this note, beware of scammers who are sending fake beta invites and request passwords, bank info, and what not. Remember that Blizzard doesn’t need your password or bank info to send you a beta key. They have your email and that’s ALL they need.

So keep you fingers crossed you get into the beta!

Blizzard wants to foster the best mod community in existence, and to that ends they’ve unveiled plans to single out premium custom-created maps for sales on a StarCraft 2 marketplace. Maps will be split into two categories – normal and premium – with the former free and the latter for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to the map’s creators. Blizzard hopes this will lead to more choice for StarCraft 2 players, and more innovative and creative custom maps fueled by the potential financial rewards.

I guess Blizzcon is a bit shy on Starcraft news, Diablo 3 got a new class – the Monk!

The instructions are very simple:

1. Sign up for a battle.net account
2. If you have a Battle.net account, login here.
3. You’ll see a link “SC2 Beta Profile Settings
4. Download an app that will upload your system specs
5. You’re done

My guess is Starcraft 2 release date could be near too. The word is Activision-Blizzard are under pressure to release a major game in 2009 as their earnings don’t look too rosy. Of course, Blizzard are known for their motto: we release when the game is ready.

So it’s good news that Mike Morhaime said at E3 that Starcraft will be out in 2009. Of course, he put it in a conditional sentence!

Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime has said that Starcraft II will be released this year as long as it “meets our standards and the expectations of our players”.

The latest gameplay video I saw, there have been some new Protoss units, so I guess Blizzard never tire of adding/subtracting units.

See Blizzard’s April Fool’s joke for 2008 – Tauren Marine.

Part I: Zerg vs Protoss

Part II: Zerg vs Protoss

Bashiok: Cool. The next question comes from gamer-source.com. With the all the anti-armored units like the marauder and the hydralisk – is this meant to counter the end game units? And also what role do you think end game units will play on the battlefield?

Dustin Browder: I’m not really sure what an end game unit is, I guess it would be like a battlecruiser or a carrier or a thor or ultralisk, I guess it’s what we’re talking about here. But the hydralisk has always been anti-armor, even in the original Starcraft had a strong anti-armor role.

The marauder of course gives the Terrans some additional anti-armor capability from the barracks which we felt was very important since we moved the ghost back so far allowing the ghost to fulfill more of a core role on the battlefield for the Terrans. We didn’t think that the ghost made a lot of sense as fundamentally anti-armor with his sniper rifle. If he’s going to be anti biological and sort of taking head shots and taking out individual targets then we really needed the Terrans to have some way to deal with stalkers and immortals and to a lesser extent siege tanks and roaches. So that’s really what the marauder is pointed at, the marauder is pointed more at stalkers and roaches and you’ll see marauders used in that role. They also can tear apart a colossus or thor which is an added advantage for the Terrans from the barracks again.

They have just announced (at Blizzcon 2008) that Starcraft 2 will not be a single game but in fact a TRILOGY. There will be three separate campaigns: the Terrain will come out first, followed by Zerg and Protoss.

Tell you what – I never cared for single player. I want a game that will allow me to choose a race and fight human opponents. It looks like I’ll have to buy three games – each will probably be around $40, so that’s over $100!

So when they say the new version will probably be ready by Christmas 2008, you’d think it might be Starcraft 2 release date too. At the same time, there have been definitive statements from Blizzard that Starcraft 2 will not come out in 2008.

So the consensus on forums is that Battle.net 2.0 will come out in December – together with a Starcraft 2 beta. As to the game release – that’ll probably happen in early 2009.

Update: A recent rumor (started by an anonymous Blizzard employee!) added oil to the fire by claiming that Diablo 3 release date has been moved before Starcraft 2. Now, that’s obviously bullshit as Starcraft is clearly the more “finished” game of two. Two races are already playable – and played at Blizzcon.

There’s still nothing on Starcraft’s release date though – I hope it’s early 2009!

Rob said that the release date has been set for 2009 because the development is still not over. So forget even about beta. He said they’re done with about 1/3 of the single player campaign and that they’re focusing on the story and the cinematics now.

Now, I admit this has to be an APRIL FOOL’s unit. It’s awesome though, just check the gameplay video below:

The only downside is… Blizzard have forgotten about Diablo 3!

In this podcast (a.k.a. Blizzcast), they have two interviews. The first is with Samwise Didier, Blizzard’s Art Director and concept artist who has worked on both Starcraft and Warcraft.

The second interview is with WOW’s lead designer for World of Warcraft, Jeff Kaplan. He’s talking about the changes in WoW patch 2.4.

Here’s a low-res version to keep you occupied while you wait:

Now, Starcraft2.com has a dedicated page for the Protoss Mothership. You’ll be able to see video clips of all three mothership abilities in action: Cloak Field, Time Bomb, and Planet Cracker.

Three powerful alien races battle for control of the galaxy. Whether you choose to lead the versatile Terran, mysterious Protoss, or voracious Zerg, in StarCraft: The Board Game you’ll command an army like no other in the universe!

Once again, Fantasy Flight Games brings one of the world’s best-loved computer games to your tabletop. Players take control of the Protoss, Terran, or Zerg and battle across multiple worlds. True to the StarCraft legacy, each of the three races features a unique and distinctive play style, and the inclusion of two distinct factions for each race allows up to six players to compete for galactic dominance at a time.

Including a total of over 180 plastic figures and dozens of unit types, StarCraft: The Board Game features an innovative modular board consisting of planets of varying sizes which guarantees a new experience each and every game. An exciting card-driven combat system allows players to modify and upgrade their faction with a wealth of powerful technologies. Players can unleash a Zergling rush, use powerful Protoss shields to halt an enemy invasion, or even send cloaked Ghosts out to guide nuclear missiles to their target.

Of course, basic units like the marine and the medic are back, though you’ll immediately notice the firebat is missing. Other units haven’t been completely removed so much as replaced by new, improved versions. The old goliath mech has given way to the new viking, which acts just like a goliath–until you research and enable its transformation ability, which turns it into a jet that can get it across otherwise impassable barriers. Another unit which has no respect for variable elevation is the reaper, which you hire from a bar with a female night elf dancing on top of it. These mercenaries build almost instantly, since you’re just hiring them instead of training them, and in addition to being able to jump up and down to higher and lower terrain, it can now throw a timed bomb and escape the area before it explodes. We saw a large group of these reapers all throw out bombs at the same time to do massive damage to an enemy base before beating a hasty retreat.

The terrans have quite a bit of air support in Starcraft II, at least as it stands right now. The predator is a new flyer that can only attack other aerial units, but it can also take on an intercept mode where it will attempt to shoot down incoming enemy fire (presumably things like missiles). Everyone’s favorite the battlecruiser is here again, but this time it won’t simply default to the incredibly powerful, single-shot Yamato cannon like it did in the first game. Sure, the Yamato is still here, but this time you’ll get to choose how to specialize each individual cruiser, between the Yamato and the new plasma turrets. The latter will produce a flurried cluster of beams that can decimate ground units, from what we saw of them.

New structures included the null circuit, dark obelisk, phase prism, and twilight council buildings which all tied into the new units. We tried our hand with as many of them as we could build and were intrigued by what we played. Null circuit buildings are one part of the equation to let you summon the observers to be constructed.

The dark obelisk allows you to make dark templars, and phase prisms let you do create the mighty colossus, a killer land unit shown previously. The twilight council lets you create immortals. In addition the stargates let you summon the new phoenix and warp ray craft as well as the old standby, the carrier.

Hiking back up to the bridge, Raynor checks out the Star Map. This is where you’ll choose your missions. They’re much more open ended than in the previous StarCraft campaigns. You’ll be able to pick the planet or system you want to tackle next, progressing the story in your own way. Mission briefings provide the summary, objectives, bonus objectives, mission bounty, and recommended technology, so you’ll have to choose which best suits your current needs and matches your current level of tech.

If there was one criticism of Blizzard’s treatment of the single player portions of their RTS games, it was the linear plot. You go from one mission to the next with NO decisions being taken by you. This is about to change and the guys at Kotaku finish the article on a hopeful note:

The free form, open ended progressive storyline planned for StarCraft II looks like it could be a refreshing change of pace for fans of the Blizzard RTS formula.

Personally, I’m not a Terran player. I’ve played Protoss for years and later switched to Zerg (to counter arguments that the Protoss were the “twinky”-est race of the three!). However, let me tell you – I’d love to sink my teeth into some prime Marine ribs. I meant if I were a zergling.

OK, besides the Marines, we have the whole Terran infantry marching: Marines, Reapers, and Ghosts. In the screenshot above there’s even the first infantry support vehicle – the Viking THOR. It’s an improvement of the Goliath (much needed one) and has a much more MECH feel to it.

Compared to the review of the Protoss units, the details are still a bit sketchy with things very much being subject to change. Nevertheless, I’ll try to review each of the new Terran units separately.

Words fall short but here’s the gist of it:

1) Soul Hunter – his attacks get stronger the more units he destroys.

2) Phase Canon – you can now move them around the base.

3) Mass Tempests (previously known as Carriers) – now feature a shield that protects them from ground attacks. They’ll also cost less.

4) Twilight Archon – powerful infantry unit, doesn’t seem much different from its previous incarnation

It’s mostly about new Protoss units…

While Pardo affirmed that previously discussed units such as the zealot infantry and immortal battle tank are still on the table, we were also introduced to several new units that hadn’t been shown at Blizzard’s previous event in May.

These include the soul hunter, a hovering ground unit that can attack both air and ground opponents. Another new unit is the phase cannon, a stationary turret that can be changed into a hovering energy ball that can move like a normal unit, reminiscent of Warcraft III’s wisp units, as long as it remains within range of the Protoss power grid. They can then be redeployed as stationary turrets to act as roadblocks or as forward firing lines.

Other units include the tempest, a flying troop transport with an underside energy shield that protects against ground-to-air fire, but leaves the unit vulnerable to air-to-air attacks, and the return of the dark templar (which still has stealth abilities) and the high templar (which still possesses the devastating psi-storm ability) units. As before, templars can be merged to form archons, known as twilight archons in Starcraft II, which act as exceptionally powerful infantry units.

Note that while all these units sound promising and offer intriguing new strategies, none of them are final. A completely different set of units may end up in the final game.

I won a couple of Starcraft games last night – against two (admittedly weaker) opponents. Which got me thinking – I would’ve had a MUCH tougher time in Warcraft III (though I have beaten two players repeatedly). Why? Because armies in Warcraft III are much smaller, the bases have much better protection, expands are generally harder to build.

So comparing apples to oranges, I meant Starcraft to Warcraft to Starcraft 2, I think a good player in Starcraft 2 will be able to take on (and beat) 2,3, even 4 opponents. Just like in Counter Strike, one top gun will nail 5 lesser players just with his Desert Eagle.

Skill, in other words, will play a much bigger role in Starcraft 2. Rob’s interview seems to confirm this. Now all we need to do is wait for the beta at Blizzcon.

Now, I don’t think I will be able to beat three opponents but if two or three of you join me, we might stand a chance against a gosu player from Korea. Or maybe not.

According to Karune:

Blizzard will be at E3 this year. Members of the Dev Team for Starcraft II and I will be there showing off bits of the game to the press. Look forward to seeing you there if you’re going.

See you there!

Here’s the gist from WoWInsider:

In case you needed any more reasons to want to go to BlizzCon, they’ve just announced that convention-goers will be treated to a playable demo of StarCraft II. Of course, who knows how much “playable demo” there is to the game yet, but but Blizzard tells us that “attendees can sample the new units and gameplay elements for themselves in multiplayer battles.”

For starters, the article confirmed that there will be NO HEROES in Starcraft 2. So if you think the marine in the trailer is some kind of a hero unit, you’re wrong. Though you could be right when it comes to the Starcraft 2 single-player.

Another interesting bit comes in the form of a screenshot (blurry, I know). Remember when I discussed the Protoss Colossus? I said it likely substitutes the reaver. As you can see in the screenshot, reavers are alive and kicking butt. So no substitutions.

In addition to the new Protoss units announced, I see that my favorite caster is here to stay: the High Templar with its Psionic Storm. In addition, he’ll bring a new spell that will create a force field to trap enemy units and create barriers.

There’s one unit that I haven’t seen before – the Protoss Tempest. This “dark” carrier will have use fighters to attack targets and its special is a force shield that will only activate when hit from the ground.

Back to the interview though, there’s a ton of info on the scenes, the creative process, and what not. Here’s a point that I liked:

StarCraft II will have cut-scenes just like the original StarCraft games, but one thing I’m really excited about is that this time, the controls for these scenes will be much more intricate than before. Since our graphics engine for the game itself can display a wide range of effects, such as normal mapping, we can actually create in-game cut-scenes of near-cinematic quality. And since we have more control over camera movement, unit animation, and lighting, our only limitations here are the engine’s limitations. A good part of the plot will unfold through in-game cut-scenes, but the most pivotal scenes are still being told through cinematics.

The camera movements and the 3D engine mean that apart from excellent single player, we’ll potentially have an abundance of mods (like Diablo 2 mods) which could have their own cinematics:

Our plan is to make all the tools we use to create the in-game cut-scenes available to the players with StarCraft II. It’s always been our tradition to ship level-editing tools with our games, and I think that adds a lot to the success and longevity of games like Warcraft III and the original StarCraft.

I’m convinced! Now launch the goddam beta already!

Trivia aside, the Protoss Colussus looks like a replacement to the Reaver. The Reaver has a splash attack (scarabs) and apart from it’s obvious role as a ground support for Zealots, it is often used in hit-and-run missions on enemy bases. The shuttle carrying a reaver and support troops is definitely one of the better weapons in the Protoss arsenal, especially against Zerg expansions.

See the Protoss Colossus in a gameplay video and you’ll see it shares some of the Reaver characterstics.

Now, all the hit-and-run missions aside, the Reaver was definitely one of the LEAST utilized Protoss units. Its slow speed combined with the AI of the scarabs meant its usefulness was limited.

So what have changed in Starcraft 2? For one, the colossus still makes an excellent raider (see screenshot).

The Colossus has kept the splash attack but this time it’s not easy to evade it or mis-direct it with a few dancing Zerglings. In addition, you don’t need a shuttle to move it to higher/lower ground.

Going back to rock-paper-scissors, the Protoss Colossus looks like a hard counter to mid-game Zergling drops and Terran marine-medic push. It has to be a tier 2 Protoss unit in order to have a chance to counter the above. I’ll be extremely surprised if it turns out it has an air attack as well. So while the Colossus is the ultimate ground weapon, the Protoss Mothership still rules supreme in the air.

Rob Pardo has poured some cold water on fan’s hopes for a Chirstmas release in 2007. In his MSN interview, Rob rules out any possibility for an early release:

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.

Does that mean that a Starcraft 2 beta is out of question as well? IGN has put a bet on that and if the alpha is later in the year, I wouldn’t rule out a beta by Chirstmas.

It seems I’m not the only one who plans to replay Starcraft’s best moments. The Starcraft battlechest is back on the US sales chart for May. Here’s the top 10 bestsellers:

1. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack
2. World Of Warcraft
3. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
4. Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows Of Angmar
5. The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack
6. The Sims 2 Deluxe
7. The Sims 2 Celebration Stuff Expansion Pack
8. Starcraft: Battle Chest
9. Civilization IV
10. The Sims 2

I guess a lot of the buyers have never played Starcraft before but because of WoW, their thirst for Blizzard games cannot be quenched.

If you interested in how the Mothership fits the storyline, here’s a brief primer:

After the destruction of Auir, and the attacks on Shakuras, the Protoss has decided to create safe havens within the sky. These glass domes encase entire Protoss cities and are a symbol of hope and power. Headed by the leaders of the Protoss Conclave, Motherships are not only armed to the teeth, but also act as a funnel for the Conclave’s immense psionic power.

Let’s look at the gameplay video (Protoss Mothership only)

Protoss Mothership Stats

The production cost for producing a mothership is not clear, yet you know what you get for your money – a finisher that will destroy your opponents fleet and level a heavily fortified base. It has 850 hit points and is protected by a 350-point shield.

The Mothership’s standard attack consists of eight psionic missiles that home to nearby targets. It seems like they’ll be difficult to focus-fire effectively. In the gameplay video, it looked like the Mothership is hitting two or more targets simultaneously. Lets go through the abilities next.

Protoss Mothership Ability: Time bomb

The time bomb ability will slow down to crawl all enemy movement in the area around the Mothership. In addition, all missiles fired by stationary base defenses (maybe Goliath missiles as well) will get caught up in this force field. Once the units are destroyed, the missiles fall to the ground and the Mothership continues unscathed.

Protoss Mothership Ability: Planet Cracker

This ability reminds me of the movie Independence Day. It’s a deathray that hits all targets on ground below the mothership. Its purpose is to level a base and/or destroy all ground reinforcements that enemy throws at you. Not sure if you can use this ability in conjunction with the Time bomb. It seems like a deadly combo to me: no one moves, while I level the base.

Protoss Mothership Ability: Black Hole

In case you’ve got the impression that the Mothership abilities target ground only, here’s my favorite ability: the Black Hole. It looks like the Mothership will expend all its energy on this one (you might even need an energy upgrade). The effect is devastating to all units in range – they are sucked in the black hole, never to be seen again.

This disappearing act takes things a bit too far in my opinion. So maybe Blizzard can balance it with making it a Wormhole instead of a black hole. It could cause damage and throw the sucked units all across the map.

It seems that the Protoss have received most of the attention so far in terms of development. Judging from the gameplay videos (make sure you download the hi-def video), the Protoss have a well-rounded force at all tiers.

It’s a bit of speculation at this point but the tiers look something like this:

Tier 1

Protoss Zealot – the mainstay of the Protoss ground forces hasn’t changed much, except for getting a Charge ability to get him close distances faster.

Tier 2

Obviously, at Tier 2 you’ll have some strategic choices to make. The options seems to be equally strong (at this point).

Protoss Immortal – Immortals get through heavy hitters like the Terran Siege tanks so if you expect the Terran to go mass tanks, Immortals will be a good strategic option.

Protoss Phoenix – dubbed as a air-supriority fighter, the Phoenix seems to be a counter to Mutalisk rushes. The Overload ability allows it to fire at all nearby enemies which makes it perfect to stop Mutas from destroying your expansion.

Protoss Stalker – Stalkers excel at hit-and-run tactics. Their Blink ability not only gets them to a higher/lower ground in a … blink, it also allows them to massacre running units (e.g. CSVs). In that respect they are similar to their Dark Templar brethren.

Protoss Colossus – Technically, the Colossus will probably be Tier 3 but I see a lot of players teching quickly to get him as early as possible. It looks like it replaces the Reaver unit which failed its role as a ground support unit in Starcraft. Most Protoss players didn’t use it except for harassment via drops.

The Colossus seems to have a much better potential to support the Zealots. His ability to move to lower/higher ground means the harassment potential is still there… I bet it’ll go through a dozen Drones in 5 seconds.

Tier 3

Protoss Warp Ray – the demo pitted Terran battlecruisers against Warp Rays. The four rays destroyed 3 battlecruisers without a single loss. These will be a mid-/late-game answer to massed heavy units as their attack increases the longer they shoot at their target.

Protoss Mothership – you can only build one of these and Blizzard calls it the Ultimate Protoss weapon. It has three specials – one defensive, two offensive ones. My guess is once you build one, it’s GG for your opponent. It’s a like the finishing move in Mortal Combat.

I’ll go through them in more detail, once Blizzard post more info. Otherwise, I’ll simply continue with the speculation!

1280×768 Resolution

• Download gameplay video (Windows version)
• Download gameplay video (Mac version)

720 x 404 Resolution (not recommended!)

• Download gameplay video (Windows version)
• Download gameplay video (Mac version)

Here’s some of the key points that have surfaced about Starcraft 2 gameplay, apart from the obvious fact Starcraft 2 is now 3D!

1. Quantity vs. Quality

As opposed to Warcraft III where the player controls a few units with many different special abilities, Starcraft 2 will be a numbers game, says Pardo:

Starcraft 2 [units] will instead act as “movers and shooters”–mostly autonomous forces that generally lack special abilities, but will instead be used in large control groups to “do their own thing” in battle, rather than requiring the micromanagement of high-level Warcraft III play.

2. More emphasis on economic activity

Another comparison to Warcraft III which had relatively little emphasis on the economy, so players can focus on battles instead. Starcraft 2 will have its pronounced emphasis on bases and expansions as a means of achieving victory.

3. Rushing – strongly encouraged

Unlike Warcraft which introduced neutral creeps to keep the players occupied, Starcraft 2 will put more emphasis on rushing. Engaging the enemy early and keeping him occupied will distinguish good players from mediocre ones. Which leads us to…

4. The good, the bad, and the GOSU

According to Pardo, Warcraft III was more forgiving to beginners (and lamers!). In Starcraft 2, the gap in the level will be a lot more evident. Pro players will be able to mow down their opponents in record time by way of builds, multitasking, quick expansions, uber units like the Protoss Mothership:

Starcraft 2 … will appeal to hardcore fans by being geared toward “highly competitive, skill-based gameplay,” as well as by efforts to “continue to drive new features onto Battle.net”.

5. Beyond rock-paper-scissors

Starcraft 2 units will introduce more and more subtle ways to counter the opponent’s strategy. The key to good counters will be timing, maneuverability, and position (there’s a brand new implementation of higher ground – more damage, fog of war).

The protoss phoenix, a flying raider, has a special “overload” ability that creates a damaging energy field around itself, then renders it immobile and helpless shortly afterward. In a simulated battle between a player with six phoenix units and another player with only four, the player with six phoenixes apparently chokes and uses the overload ability too early, allowing the other player to dodge out of harm’s way, then arrange the four phoenixes around the now immobile six in a loose formation and overload the six into oblivion.

If you have any other insights, feel free to comment below and I’ll expand the list! Make sure you check out the Starcraft 2 trailer and the new gameplay videos, they’re full of insights.

The game takes place four years after StarCraft: Brood War, the same time as the storyline of StarCraft: Ghost.

StarCraft II will take place both in new worlds and in worlds that had appeared in the original game. Char is back. One of the new worlds is Bel’Shir, a jungle Protoss world that was a religious retreat until it was attacked by the Zerg; it now houses many ruined temples. The world shown in the cinematic is Braxis Alpha. Jim Raynor is set to continue his adventures.

• The United Earth Directorate forces were destroyed by Infested Kerrigan’s zerg armies (though a few surviving companies may stil be around somewhere)”.
• The Terran faction in StarCraft II will primarily consist of the “evil empire” of the Terran Dominion.
• The Xel’Naga will fit into the story “in a rather epic tale”. It is important to note that the “greater whole” of the Xel’Naga race was wiped out, which means some of them may still be alive.

I can’t wait for the cinematics! The trailer looks awesome.

I love it when she says: “Nuclear launch detected!” This game is going to be like a nuclear launch … especially in Korea.

Starcraft gameplay – video 1

Starcraft gameplay – video 2

Download the high definition Starcraft 2 trailer:

• Download trailer (Windows version)
• Download trailer (Mac version)

When is Starcraft 2 being released?

As usual, Blizzard is not setting a deadline. I hope they manage to get a beta out by the end of 2007 but based on previous titles, I wouldn’t surprised if they delay it.

What are the new units and races?

No new races this time, they’re sticking to the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. There will be plenty of new units though. For example, the Protoss have been beefed up with an Immortal, Stalker, a Phase Prism.

Is Starcraft 2 an RTS or an MMO?

Thank God, Starcraft 2 is an RTS.

It’s a good think Blizzard don’t listen to Vivendi all the time, otherwise they’ll be doing one MMO after the other. In Starcraft 2, there will be a single player and a competitive multiplayer on Battle.net.

Will it run on my computer?

Blizzard is not posting specific specs but it says the game will run on Vista and Windows XP. So you probably don’t need to upgrade per se. Getting the most of the new 3D look though will require a good graphics card at least.

What’s different?

Not much. I can’t blame them, Starcraft is one of the best games of all time, no need to fix it, just expand it.

There will be a new 3D engine, of course. There will be several new units for each race. Also, Battle.net will be upgraded with more multiplayer features.

All in all, I’m happy about what I’ve seen so far. Just let me see the Starcraft 2 trailer!

I’m over at Starcraft2.com to go through trailers, screenshots, and other goodies!

Below is just one detail (the Nexus), make sure you click on the 3D screen to see the whole thing!

Do you think Starcraft 2 will be something like that? Considering Blizzard’s resources, I’d be surprised if it looked significantly worse!

It seems that yesterday, it was stuck showing a Diablo teaser. Today however it’s a different story!

A lot of people are convinced this is another proof that Blizzard are preparing for a Starcraft 2 announcement in Korea.

The long-rumoured new instalment of Blizzard’s massive StarCraft series is set to be unveiled later this month – and it’s another massively-multiplayer online game in the style of World of Warcraft, CVG can reveal.

I think Blizzard will be making an incredible marketing mistake as another MMO like WoW – especially when it comes to Starcraft – is the LAST thing people expect. Least of all, the Koreans where the WWI is going to take place.

I simply can’t believe Starcraft 2 will be a World of Starcraft instead of a RTS game.

According to insiders, there’s a definite possibility that Blizzard will choose this time to preview some content from the upcoming Starcraft 2. An ex-Blizzard employee has confirmed Starcraft 2 has been in development for some time and Blizzard are getting ready to start the hype machine.

I’m quoting directly from Korean (with translation), so you can make up your own mind.

( 스타크래프트2 )가 5월 19일 개최되는 블리자드 월드와이드 인비테이셔널(WWI)에서 전세계 최초로 공개된다.

StarCraft 2 will be revealed for the first time to the world at Blizzard’s World Wide Invitational (WWI) on May 19th.

25일 게임업계에 따르면 블리자드 엔터테인먼트 코리아(이하 블리자드 코리아)는 5월 19일 시작되는 WWI에서 <스타크래프트2>의 동영상과 게임 내용을 최초로 발표할 것으로 확인됐다. 또, <스타크래프트2> 핵심 개발자들이 현장에 참석해 질의응답 시간도 진행된다.

On the 25th, according to the game developers, it has been confirmed that Blizzard Entertainment Korea (aka Blizzard Korea) will present VODs and game content at the WWI that is starting on May 19th. Also, StarCraft 2′s main developers will also attend to answer some questions.

<스타크래프트2>는 3D로 개발되고 있으며, 새로운 종족이 추가되고 기존 종족의 유닛과 특성에 많은 변화가 있을 것으로 확인됐다. 이외의 자세한 내용은 WWI에서도 일부만 공개될 것으로 보인다.

It has been confirmed that StarCraft 2 is being developed in 3D, a new race has been added and existing units’ characteristics will have many changes. Additional details will only be revealed to certain parts of WWI.

Starcraft 2 has been mentioned by three of Blizzard’s bosses: Mike Morhaime, Paul Sams and Itzik Ben Bassat, respectively being president, COO, and VP Biz Dev.

A word of caution though. Officially, Blizzard are NOT confirming anything at this point.

블리자드 코리아의 박영목 이사는 “차기작에 관해서는 현재 답변 드릴 내용이 없다. 차기작은 19일 WWI에서 발표할 것이다. 19일 현장에 와서 확인하기 바란다”며 <스타크래프트2>가 19일날 발표될 차기작임을 확인해 달라는 요청을 거부했다.

Blizzard Korea’s Park Young-Mok director said “There is not content available for answer for the sequel. The sequel will be released at the WWI on the 19th. Please confirm it at the site on the 19th” and denied the confirmation on if StarCraft 2 is indeed the sequel that is to be announced on the 19th.

This isn’t a susprise as Blizzard have a strong tradition of secrecy. Considering the impact Starcraft 2 could have on gaming (especially in Korea), Blizzard will need to make the most of the announcement, especially if they are going to announce a Starcraft 2 beta soon.

Update: Blizzard just posted a Diablo 3 teaser on their homepage.

This Terran siege tank is not the only unit this guy has created from paper. Look at the all this craziness below.

I could definitely use a couple of Carriers and a dozen Dragoons, though I’ve playing Zerg for the last couple of years. If only could Blizzard hurry up with Starcraft 2…

Download PC version (181MB, requires Blizz downloader).

Download Mac version (181MB, requires Blizz downloader).

According to Fighter Forum, StarCraft 2 continues the story of the original and adds a new race based on Kerrigan, making a total of four races. While that wouldn’t be totally off the mark, we figured the new race would be more the super-race mix between Zerg and Protoss rather than Zerg and Terran or at least the mystically advanced Xel’Naga. The three older tribes will each be receiving around two additional units.

The report also claims that Blizzard plans to shut down its original StarCraft servers in order to ensure the success of the sequel.

I thought the guy who wrote in the Stacraft 2 wiki was crazy for coming up with a fouth race but it know seems more people have fallen victims to this madness!

I wonder what happens to Diablo 3 if Starcraft is to be released in 2008. Surely, it’s not Blizzard’s tradition to launch two games at once. I still hope for a beta in 2007 though.

They are not letting it happen again when it comes to Starcraft. They’ve taken the dot com domain – Starcraft2.com. Here’s WHOIS information:

Registrant:
Blizzard Entertainment
Address: P.O. Box 18979, Irvine, California 92623
United States
[...]

Created on: 24-Sep-99
[...]

Administrative Contact:
Blizzard Entertainment
Email: domainnameadmin-us@blizzard.com
Address: P.O. Box 18979, Irvine, California
ZIP: 92623
United States
Phone: 9499551382

OK, it’s been Blizzard’s for the last 8 years and they’ve done NOTHING about it so why it’s important now. No reason. Other than the fact the Blizzard’s VP stated he’d like to see Starcraft 2 before 2008.

It’s not that I don’t like 3D graphic but I value gameplay more. Here’s a group of guys who want to make Starcraft (the original one, not Starcraft 2) into a 3D game by using the Warcraft 3 engine.

Project Revolution is a mod that will convert Warcraft III into StarCraft: Brood War. So you’ll be able to play StarCraft in 3D. Sadly their FAQ says it’s only half complete after three years of development, but they will be doing a (closed) beta before release, possibly online via Battle.net. The team of fans, who are no professional voice actors he he, put together an impressive looking trailer of the PC/Mac mod.

You can visit their site here. Just don’t expect them to finish it any time soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if Starcraft 2 comes out earlier than this mod!

Information from the creators
Hello. We at Blizzard Entertainment like to let the fans know what’s going on with our products. For this reason, we have decided to release some StarCraft 2 information to some of our fans’ sites. We give you permission to post this information on your site.

First, there will be 4 races: Terran, Protoss, Zerg, and the Protoss/Zerg hybrid, called Vanix. Each race will have 5 new units, 2 new buildings, and new upgrades.

For the Terrans, they will have: Rocketeer (shoots rockets, has splash damage), Heavy Cruiser (improved Battle Cruiser, used in heavy assault situations), Wraith Bomber (it’s a bomber), Wriath Kamikaze (like the Zerg’s Scourge, but has guns too), and Cannon (not like the Protoss cannon, but more of a tactical strike cannon, immobile).

The Protoss will have: Mothership (improved carrier, holds 20 interceptors, more health, more shields), Nomad (physically improved Zealot, with an energy rifle), High Archon (a Dark Templar/High Templar meld, it will be like a Dark Archon, can mind control, and attack), Walker (combination of 5 Dragoons, slow, but very powerful), and Exploder (name may change by release, it’s just like an Observer, but can be sent in to detonate inside an enemy base.)

The Zerg will have: Hyperlisk (Ult! ralisk’s evolved stage, much quicker, and much more powerful, can burrow), Acid Colony (attacks both ground and air with acid), Creeper (does not attack, only moves underground, used for spying), King (like a Queen, but can attack, and infest any building of any race that produces soldiers, thus making things like Infested Siege Tanks that roll into areas and explode), and finally Bladeling (a bigger version of a Zergling, stands upright, and wields blades for arms.)

Second, here are some of the upgrades (some, not all, there are many more than this). The Terrans will have: The ability to make any building fly (including supply depots), Omega Ray (like the Battle Cruiser’s Yamato gun, the Heavy Cruiser’s Omega Ray will do much more damage), and (one of our favorites), the ability to eject from a vehicle. Let’s say a Siege Tank is about to be destroyed, you can eject the person inside, and you’ll be able to run away, thus saving a person for later use. The people inside the vehicles will be statistically better than Marines, they’ll have more health, do more damage, and have better range. Some Protoss upgrades include: Pylon mobility (yes, now you will be able to move your Pylons. It will be wheel based, so it can’t travel over water.), Dragoon Cloak (you’ll be able to cloak your Dragoons with this, we’re not sure if we will have this for Walkers though), and Fortify (a High Archon ability, it channels the shields of the High Archon into e! ither a building or another unit.

Zerg upgrades will include: Overlord bombing (you’ll be able to pick up bombs with overlords, and instead of just spying with them, drop bombs on your enemies) Zergling Acidic Sac (will allow Zerglings to spit acid), and Hyperlisk Trample (if a Hyperlisk encounters a small unit like a Marine, it can simply walk all over him and kill him) There will be some added graphic effects too, if you destroy a Battle Cruiser, it may either explode in the air (depending on the force of the blow) or it may fall to the ground, causing damage. Another cool effect we have planned, sometime when you destroy a Siege Tank, you’ll see the driver fly into the air, then plummet to the ground. We also plan the following: If a machine based unit is destroyed, it does damage to the units around it.

We do not have much information on the Vanix race, we have just started working on them. We may even throw in a hidden mission or two, or even a hidden race. The cheat codes will be changed, and they will still be disabled on Battle.net. Speaking of Battle.net, it will be possible for 14 players to compete in a match, and it will be possible to change settings (day/night, fog thickness, etc.) Alliances will be chosen before the match starts, and cannot be broken. You will be able to ally with the computer as well.

Note: A StarCraft 2 wiki and a Diablo 3 wiki have been setup already.

Amazon has info on the new Starcraft trilogy which starts with Firstborn, the first book in the Dark Templar saga. Here’s a summary:

Jake Ramsey — an unassuming, yet talented archaeologist — has been given the chance of a lifetime. Hired to investigate a recently unearthed Xel’Naga temple, he knows this latest assignment will open up whole new possibilities for his career. Yet, when Jake discovers the remains of a long-dead protoss mystic, his hopes and dreams are irrevocably drowned in a flood of alien memories. Bonded to the spirit of the dead protoss, Jake has become the sole inheritor of the protoss’s total history — every event, every thought — every feeling.

So does this new release hint at Starcraft 2 coming soon? I sure hope so!

Check this out!

Before you get overly excited though, it seems this isn’t a Starcraft 2 trailer. Most people seem to agree it’s from a C&C MOD that came years ago! Just look at the graphics.

There’s one tricky question, though: Is Starcraft 2 going to be an RTS like Starcraft or it will be a World of Starcraft?

Below is a mock screenshot of this brave, new World of Starcraft.

On stage in London for the game launch, Bassat stated, “I’m a StarCraft player myself and I hope it’s not a decade, and we launched StarCraft in 1998, before I’m standing here again, celebrating the next game in the series.”

During another previous interview, Paul Sams (Blizzard’s COO) said that in 2007 they’ll have 3 (three) product announcements. If we consider that the Burning Crusade has been one, we’re left with two.

Could it be that our wildest dreams will become true? Both Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 will be announced soon?

This petition is being started in the hopes that we, the people that have played Blizzard entertainment’s Starcraft PC game and its expansion pack, can spur the before mentioned company to make what we have been wanting them to make for a long time! And that being, either another expansion pack for Starcraft, or another separate and complete Starcraft game (i.e. Starcraft 2). The Starcraft game has no doubtingly made a lot of money for Blizzard entertainment! It has been sold world wide in great quantities! And so I’m extremely confident that another Starcraft game, or an expansion to its predecessor, will do just as well and make even more money for them! And it’s no doubt that us, the fans/customers of Blizzard entertainment, have told them what we’ve wanted by now too!

To leave your signature, click here.

One of them obviously is the World of Warcraft expansion which hit the stores on January 15. What about the others?

StarCraft is my absolutely favorite game of all time. As you probably already know, there is no doubt that we will continue the StarCraft and Diablo franchise, and trust me, I will be the happiest person in the world when we announce StarCraft 2.

According to IGN, while Sams wasn’t ready to spill the beans just yet, he did say Blizzard “will have a major product announcement in 2007,” and that Blizzard was currently working on at least three other unannounced titles at the moment.

Now that WoW is out of the way, it remains to be seen how Blizzard will play with the numbers. What’s next? Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3?

Updates: According to IGN, a Starcraft 2 beta will appear before the end of 2007. Also, there are recent rumors that Blizzard is preparing an official announcement on May 19 in Korea.