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by Namo on August 18, 2008, 03:56:10 PM  As mentioned in previous conversations, the development team is working extremely hard on the single player campaign, which we will be talking in more detail about at a later time. In the meantime, questions will be 'light' over the next couple of batches, to give the Dev Team ample time to work on their latest design challenges. There are also many preparations being made for both the Games Convention coming up in Leipzig, as well as BlizzCon, to make sure the StarCraft II community definitely gets their feed of info. Nonetheless, in this batch we were able to talk a bit more with Dustin and our balance designer to look into the current Zerg versus Zerg match up towards the end of our Q&A. Enjoy!
1) What happens if a Nullifier targets a Colossus with the Anti-Gravity ability? (garmgarf battle.net)
When Anti-Gravity is used upon a Colossus, the Colossus will still be immobilized and lifted up, which will still allow it to be hit by units that can attack air targets. Colossi will not be able to shoot while under the effect of Anti-Gravity.
2) How many critters will there be available and will they have attack animations? (SatanicLaser battle.net)
There will be critters, but there have not been any detailed discussions yet about their attack animations. On that note, there is a possibility that BlizzCon panels may fill the community in a bit more on what type of critters there will be.
3) Can the Infestor infest any building, or only specific ones, such as Barracks or Gateways, if the Protoss can be infested? (Son_Of_Korhal Battle.net)
This is actually a mechanic they are currently testing quite a bit. It is undecided if the Infestor will be able to infest Protoss or Zerg buildings, as there are gameplay and lore reasons which support many different options. Either way, at the end of the day, the development team will choose an option that will be balanced and fun in terms of gameplay for multiplayer.
4) What units are currently undergoing major art changes? (starcraft2forum.org)
There are several artistic revisions every week, though the two newest units to get some artistic updates are the Nomad and the Stalker. The Terran Nomad is getting a complete artistic redesign from any versions the community has seen thus far. Furthermore, the Protoss Stalker is also being updated to look more similar to the concept art piece as seen here: http://starcraft2.com/art.xml?s=6
5) How do Zerg vs Zerg games play out in SC2? Is it still mostly a battle of mutalisks and zerglings or have the new units changed things around? Ideas (teamliquid.net)
ZvZ (Zerg vesus Zerg)matchup usually opens up in 2 different ways, Zerglings or Roaches. Aggressive players can use Zerglings mobility to take control of the early game, whereas going Roaches is more of a defensive strategy. Zergling vs. Roach relationship is such that for cost, Zerglings wins out in the open, Roaches win at chokes, but in mid/late games when numbers are greater, Roaches can stand up to or even beat Zerglings for cost out in the open. Hydralisks dont have much use in ZvZ early game, as they are more of an anti air unit in StarCraft II.
The tier 2 battle continues with Banelings that can dominate Zerglings, but with micro, Zerglings can actually come out ahead in Zergling vs. Baneling battles. Similarly, Lurkers counter Roaches for cost, but Roaches have the mobility advantage. Mutaliks counter Zerglings/Roaches since these units cant hit air. Whats different in StarCraft II is that Hydralisks counter Mutalisks extremely well, meaning something like Roach/Hydralisk combo can stand up to the classic Zergling/Mutalisk combo. Also, another great way to fight vs. mass Mutalisks is to tech to infestation pit (same tech level as the Spire), and make Corruptors or Infestors. Infestors have the disease ability that is great for fighting vs. units that clump really well such as the Mutalisk, and Corruptors are Zergs anti air air unit.
Due to the fast pace of the ZvZ game, most games dont end up in tier 3, but ultralisks, with their cleave attack, or swarm guardians that use swarms to soak up a lot of ground vs. ground damage are great options if the game does happen to go into tier 3.
Overall, StarCraft II has a variety of options even in a mirror match such as Zerg vs. Zerg. Players can use different unit compositions to counter the classic Zergling/Mutalisk strategy that is a still powerful but not the only option.source 16 Views | 0 Replies
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by Namo on August 14, 2008, 04:01:12 PM  New pieces of artwork:    New screenshots:   New wallpaper: here----- A battle.net member expressed his concerns about the game screen being too cluttered with various spells/ennemies, like in D2. Here's Bashiok's answer: Keeping the visuals distinct and "readable" is an extremely important focus for us, and as has been stated quite a few times, relates to a lot of the art style and direction choices.
You need to be able to read the scene, tell monster and player apart, and not have it turn into a mess of spell effects. While we're really aiming for over-the-top skills and effects, it's going to be a constant goal (and likely struggle) to keep those in line so that in a multiplayer game it's going to retain its readability.
It's fine for things to get chaotic, it will happen and we want there to be mass-mayhem and slaughter, but we're trying to keep the game playable even during the chaos. It's a balance.source 98 Views | 3 Replies
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by Namo on August 12, 2008, 04:01:26 PM The 4th episode is now available. You can get download, listen or read it hereBlizzCast episode 4 brings us several new perspectives on World of Warcraft. Starting us off is an interview with Russell Brower, director of audio and video, about the process of creating music for World of Warcraft to be a part of an evolving, epic experience in the world of Azeroth. Next we interview World of Warcraft game designer Jonathan LeCraft about professions, covering both what we have learned from them in the past and where they are going in Wrath of the Lich King. We finish up the episode with our Q&A segment, which features developers answering a variety of questions from our communities (note: SC2 questions) .38 Views | 0 Replies
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by Namo on August 07, 2008, 05:47:39 AM  IGN has a release countdown on their WotLK page. Is this plausible, or just another guess? It currently puts the release around the end of October. 143 Views | 4 Replies
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by Namo on August 05, 2008, 05:29:57 PM D3 interview with Jay Wilson, confirming that the Necro will not be in D3 proper, but maybe in the expansion: here----- A couple of Russian players got their questions answered by Bashiok. Here are the interesting ones:
As we all know, one of the lead developers is Leonard Boyarsky. He is well known for working on such projects as: Fallout and Arcanum. May we suppose, that the world map in D3 will look like the one from Fallout or Arcanum so we will travel through it in a real time and encounter monsters?
Act transitions haven't really been discussed externally. It would be cool to have something a bit more engaging; however, I think the Diablo II style zoom-zoom to the next act ...worked.
Will there be a risk of falling into the abyss or off the bridge being knocked or pushed by the monster?
No. Unless it's part of a special event or something.
In the gameplay movie we saw a final battle with a boss, where with his brutal strength he bit the player's head off. Can such situation be possible while playing Diablo 3? For e.g.: after reaching some breakpoint (critical point) in character's health, the boss smashes the hero with some unique ability?
That's what we would like to do. We'd like it that when a player dies to a boss we may have a special/random event or death animation specific to that boss. So if you're going to die or have died to a boss, there's a random chance that you'll see something other than a normal death. That's the dream any way.
Will there be the alternation between day and night? If so, will it influence the game in some way? E.g. different mobs at night and day (some mobs that can be met only during day/night etc), character's skills or weapon will gain additional mods (to enhance attack and damage etc)?
Not that I know of.
Will it be possible to see the total bonuses given by the weapons, armor, etc on the screen without calculating them manually? E.g.will there be any screen that will show that all your stuff gives +20 to str and 5 to dex etc
The UI is still under some design revision, but currently in Diablo III you can open your character sheet, and when mousing over a stat it lists what your total stat is and then breaks it down to base stat plus any modification. So for instance Vitality may list: "24 (22+2)" if you've got something giving you +2 to Vitality.
That's the current design any how, but I don't see any reason for it to change.
See the whole thing here. 65 Views | 0 Replies
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by Namo on August 04, 2008, 03:21:08 PM In an interview with MTV Multiplayer, Jeff Kaplan reveiled that Blizzard has plans to introduce achievements in pretty much all their future games: ...eventually players will have a Blizzard Account that shows Achievements from other Blizzard games they’ve played, including the upcoming titles “Diablo III” and “StarCraft II.” You can read the whole thing here 152 Views | 4 Replies
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by Namo on August 02, 2008, 12:42:14 PM At the Worldwide Invitational in Paris, we had the opportunity to show you a new StarCraft II client. With this client we introduced a new idea on how our Gas Mechanics work. This would give the player more options and more economy choices. In the following days, Dustin Browder went more into detail on how these new mechanics can affect the game-play and we were able to get even more questions answered in the following Batch of the StarCraft II Q&A. Now we would like you to give us your feedback on the way Gas collection works now.
Questions for Fans:
* What new strategies and choices do you think the player would have and have to make with the new Gas Mechanics?
* How do you think this change will effect Zerg, Protoss and Terran?
* Do you like or dislike the change? Why?
* Additional feedback you might have
You can also check out our past Q&A and Dustin Browders post on the Gas Mechanics for more information on the subject:
WWI Gas Mechanic
here
StarCraft II Q&A Batch 41:
herePlease post your feedbacks here. We will submit them to Blizzard at the end of the month. source 75 Views | 0 Replies
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by Namo on July 29, 2008, 04:39:31 PM Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that tickets for its third BlizzCon™ gaming convention will go on sale August 11 and that live coverage of the event will be available as an exclusive DIRECTV pay per view event. BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment®'s Warcraft®, Diablo®, and StarCraft® game universes. The event will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on October 10 and 11.
"Meeting and interacting with our players at BlizzCon is always a great experience for us," stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're also pleased to be working with DIRECTV this year to bring the show, for the first time, to those players who are unable to attend."
In addition to serving as a gathering place for the different Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, BlizzCon will offer an array of activities, including discussion panels, hands-on playtime with upcoming games, tournaments, contests, and more. Tickets to the convention will be priced at $100 USD each, and will be available for purchase directly from the official BlizzCon website at www.blizzcon.com.
The pay per view event will deliver a minimum of eight hours of live HD coverage from the show floor on each day of the convention, including exclusive interviews, demos, and more. Beginning in August, DIRECTV will run a promotion offering the BlizzCon pay per view event free to new DIRECTV subscribers. Pricing for existing DIRECTV customers and programming details will be available in the coming weeks from Blizzard Entertainment and DIRECTV.
"BlizzCon is one of the most highly anticipated gaming conventions of the year, and we are excited to partner with Blizzard Entertainment to deliver coverage of the show to gamers nationwide," said Steven Roberts, senior vice president, new media and business development, DIRECTV. "With our BlizzCon pay per view package, members of Blizzard's gaming communities who are not attending the event can now experience it in crystal-clear HD." Anyone here going? Me and some friends are seriously considering it. New poll! 373 Views | 17 Replies
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by Namo on July 29, 2008, 04:34:11 PM Bashiok on Boss Damage: For boss fights we don't really want to just start throwing "damage decals" on them. It can very easily be too subtle if you're fighting a smaller boss or one that has odd geometry to it, and it can also end up that no matter the flavor, style, and cool look to a boss you just end up fighting a big gory mess.
Also we think that we can go a lot further than just simple decals and get something much cooler out of a boss fight. So what we hope to do for at least the bosses where it makes sense is to show more apparent and visually noticeable damage states. Instead of a blood splatter they may actually lose a limb, or a piece or armor, or - like the Thousand Pounder - may transform in some dramatic way changing how the fight progresses. We want to go a lot further than just showing sword slashes and instead use dramatic and noticeable (which can be difficult in a game like this) ways to indicate a boss' current state.
Speaking of battle damage though, and I don't think this came across in the gameplay video or any of the screenshots as of yet, but when an enemy dies a critical death it actually drenches your hero in blood if you're within proximity of the spray. It's awesome. source----- Three new pieces of artwork:    Two new screenshots:   New wallpaper on the main site here 124 Views | 2 Replies
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by Namo on July 25, 2008, 02:38:16 PM 1. What was the main reasoning to shifting the Hydralisk backwards one technology level? How does this affect the Zerg early-game, especially since the Zerg will have absolutely no anti-air units before the Hydralisks? (gamereplays.org)
Actually, the Hydralisk has been brought back down to Tier 1.5, giving Zerg early anti-air capabilities without upgrading their Hatchery to a Lair. The test originally was to put Hydralisks at a later tech and have Corruptors be buildable earlier without a prerequisite building other than upgrading to the Lair. To make this happen, the Corruptors had to be nerfed appropriately to fit that tech, which made it very weak and much less fun. Additionally, without a prerequisite building, opposing players could not scout the Zerg player to see when they were going air, which did not fit the gameplay style we were shooting for.
2. What kinds of cheats will be included in Starcraft 2, and how will they be accessed/unlocked? (starcraft.org)
There will be cheats, but you wont know what they are from us :) sorry.
3. Concerning resources there is one big issue for mapmakers: There are only two of them. For many UMS-maps you need more different resource-types than gas and minerals, thus mapmakers were forced to use even civilians as a sort of resource. So will mapmakers be able to place their one, gather-able resources on the map such as lumber or gold? (starcraft2.4players.de)
Yes, we have recently added support for one additional custom resource type. Additional custom resources types may be implemented in the future, but there are no plans at the moment.
4. With the Battlecruiser's new ability dealing splash damage to lightly armored air units, you could fear that the Thor has once more fallen into a role void. Is this the case or are the Battlecruiser ability and the Thor's anti-air capabilities tactically different enough? (Gamereplays.org)
The overlap is really no more different than a Siege Tank and the Yamato Gun ability or the Reaver and the Psi Storm from Brood War. The new ability helps the Battlecruiser against a specific group of units, which are units the Battlecruiser is already good against, rather than making it effective against all units. The last thing we wanted is for the Battlecruiser to kill groups of units that are supposedly effective at countering it, such as the Warp Ray.
5. Does the Battlecruisers new AoE affect friendly units in the area? (thewarcenter.net)
No, the Missile Barrage does not affect friendly units.
6. Will it be possible to use the full 3D cinematics mechanic from the single player campaign in the map editor? (sc2pod.com)
Yes, we are looking forward to seeing some awesome custom cut scenes from the community.
7. Most users know that even invisible units can be seen by experienced players since they cause this nice little blur effect while in Warcraft 3 invisible units are indeed invisible aside from leaving footprints on the ground. So what about transferring the 'real' invisibility into the World of Starcraft by allowing mapmakers to choose from those two different invisible modes for each unit? (starcraft2.4players.de)
Map makers will be able to remove the blur effect that is currently on StarCraft IIs invisible units.
source 163 Views | 3 Replies
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