StarCraft 2 News | StarCraftZone.com

Fansite Q&A #6

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:02:51 EDT

Blizzard recently released their sixth fansite Q&A to the lucky polish site Starcraft2.net.pl. The Q&A contained some interesting information about balance issues in StarCraft 2 with the various races.

1. Dustin said on BlizzCast #8 that the Banshee is a very powerful air-ground unit vs. ground defenses. What are the chances of Banshees against ground units? For example is it equal 5 Banshees against 5 Stalkers or the Banshees have to run if they notice Stalkers.

Yes, the Banshee can be a very strong anti-ground air unit but it is definitely not unstoppable. For example, Marines and Thors can be great ground counter units for Terran and Hydralisks for Zerg are also good. And just like the example in the question, Stalkers with blink ability and High Templars with psionic storm can be counter Banshees as well.

Click here to read the entire Q&A!

SCZ June 22nd Press Event

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:23:11 EDT

This past week, our co-admin Rylin here at SCZ had the opportunity to go to a "secret" SC2 press event over at the Blizzard headquarters in Irvine, CA. Attendees were given the opportunity to play SC2 extensively throughout the day, as well as interact with the game developers and management.

Rylin has wrote up a nice article for us to give insignt into his lucky day! Check it out.

David Kim Interviews

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:53:42 EDT

Our neighborhood fansites, SCLegacy and Teamliquid, recently picked up a few interviews by David Kim, reknowned Starcraft 2 Player. Mr. Kim is a Blizzard employee who has debuted his Starcraft 2 skills in the first 3 battle reports. The interviews were translated from Korean into plain English for the rest of us and have revealed some insights into Blizzard's ideals and strengths.

Click here to read the entire interview.

Battle Report 3? [Update]

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:44:33 EDT

Our neighborhood fansite Starcraft 2 Forums recently recieved word from their inside sources that the third Starcraft 2 Battle Report may be hitting Starcraft2.com as soon as tomorrow. However, for those too eager to watch it in full HD glory, the video has been somehow recorded and distributed online already. The fight showcases a Zerg versus Protoss match, between David Kim and Yeon-Ho Lee.

Click here to watch the video!

[Update 1] Battle Report 3 has been officially announced on Blizzard's Starcraft 2 homepage. Click here to view it.

Q&A Batch 51 / 52

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:39:40 EDT

Publishing both Q&A batches at the same time, Blizzard recently released Q&A Batch 51 and 52. Batch 51 included an interesting video of Starcraft 2 unit's death animations - some cool ones too - while 52 talked about the mapmaking tools Blizzard is including in the Starcraft 2 mapmaker.

Click here for: Batch 51 / Batch 52

Fansite Q&A #5

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:34:35 EDT

Sorry for the late news, but Fansite Q&A 5 was released on May 28, 2009 for Starcraft 2 Armory. In it were small interesting tidbits about the gameplay in the current internal build within Blizzard.

Click here to read the entire Q&A.

GameMeca Starcraft 2 Opinions

Sun, 24 May 2009 14:38:01 EDT

GameMeca, another Korean website, was invited to play Starcraft 2 for 45 minutes. Thanks to our friends at SCLegacy.com, we have a few notes on Starcraft II and how it's coming along. Some interesting information was that the selection cap is now 24 instead of unlimited as before.

Next is the ability to hotkey multiple selections and squads. The original selection cap of only 12 multiple selections has increased to 24, and when selecting squadswith hotkeys it was possible to go above the 24 limit. If 25 Zealots were set to hotkey number 1, the space that showed unit details said 24 units were set to hotkey 1 and the leftover one unit was set to hotkey 2.

Click here to read the whole synopsis.

Fomos Starcraft 2 Impressions

Sat, 23 May 2009 15:43:57 EDT

Fomos, a major Korean E-sports team recently gave their opinions about Starcraft 2 after being selected to play the game on the 21st of May. Their opinions of Starcraft 2 were obtained by Teamliquid.com and provides some insight on what the professional community feels about Starcraft 2.

Click here to read their reactions.

SC:Legacy Fansite Q&A!

Sat, 23 May 2009 15:37:20 EDT

Another Fansite Q&A has been released by Blizzard! This time, SC:Legacy received the honor of having a few of their questions about Starcraft 2 answered by Starcraft 2's development team! The information is scattered, but a few tidbits on the pathfinding and AI in the Q&A proved to be very interesting.

7. How has more efficient AI and pathfinding affected the game? Does it make the game easier?

AI in StarCraft II is much more developed from the original StarCraft. For example, the computer is required to scout to find you now in every difficulty mode. In higher difficulty modes, the AI will adapt to what it sees you are building to counter your selected strategy with key units of their own. This means that the computer no longer cheats as far as "knowing" where you are and what you're doing. It can only react to what it sees when their scouts find your units and bases.

The pathfinding is also much improved in StarCraft II, which will reduce some frustration when directing your units to move long distances around varying terrain. Certain melee units are also smarter about attempting to surround enemies, but we don't believe this makes the game "easier." Players who choose to micro their armies will still have an advantage. Click here to read the whole Q&A!

Click here to read the whole Q&A.

New Fansite Q&A!

Thu, 07 May 2009 00:19:03 EDT

The third fansite, SC2Pod, has been given the glory of having some of their Starcraft 2 questions answered by the Blizzard Development team. This rounds Q&A features more technical questions about Starcraft 2's compatibility with wide-screens, its current art scheme, as well as some unit descriptions. One especially interesting question gives us a more in-depth understanding of the insurmountable task Blizzard faces in the creation of Starcraft 2.

11. What have been some of the hardest choices you have had to make during the development of StarCraft II?

Dustin Browder] There have been many tough choices in designing StarCraft II Amongst the most difficult would be what parts of the original StarCraft should be in StarCraft II. Next would be what new mechanics are worthy of introduction to the StarCraft universe. Balancing visual appeal with the serious game play that StarCraft has always offered has always been challenging as well. Overall, we hope that the choices we have made will give our players the best possible StarCraft II experience.

Read the rest of the Q&A here.