Starcraft 2 - It's Official!

[Jon]

Starcraft 2



StarCraft II is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game currently under development by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the award-winning 1998 video game StarCraft. First announced on May 19, 2007, in Seoul, South Korea,[4][5] StarCraft II is being developed for concurrent release on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X. The game has no certain release date[3] although a multiplayer demonstration was playable at BlizzCon 2007.[6][7]


A group of Protoss mechs attack a Terran base

According to its creators, StarCraft II is designed to be the "ultimate competitive real-time strategy game",[1] building on the successes enjoyed by its predecessor, StarCraft.[8][9][10] It features the return of the three races from the original game — Protoss, Terran, and Zerg; Blizzard states these are the only playable races in the game.[3][1][11][12] StarCraft II is also designed to focus more heavily on the multiplayer aspect, when compared to the original StarCraft. The changes include overall improvement in Battle.net, a new competitive "ladder" system for ranked games and new matchmaking mechanics – designed to "match-up" players of equal skill levels.[1] In addition, the replay function, which allows players to record and review past games, is being improved. Blizzard has also stated they are monitoring fan feedback to the game's revealed features and are taking such feedback into consideration, which has already led to some features being altered.[13]

StarCraft II continues its predecessor's use of cinematic cut scenes (pre-rendered, high-quality CGI movies) between levels to advance the plot, while also improving the quality of in-game cut scenes (rendered on-the-fly using the same game engine as the graphics in the game proper) within the levels themselves. Blizzard states that with the new graphics engine that StarCraft II uses to render the gameplay, they "can actually create in-game cut-scenes of near-cinematic quality".[14]

Most Protoss and Terran units, and some Zerg units have been shown on the StarCraft II official website, and in several video demonstrations held by Blizzard.[15][16] Improvements included advanced scenery allocation and more detailed and involved space terrain, such as floating space platforms with planets and asteroids in the background. Small cliffs, extensions, and even advertising signs were shown to have been improved and refined.[15]


A Zerg colony under attack by other Zerg

The single-player aspect of StarCraft II has also been altered substantially from the original game. The Terran campaign shown at BlizzCon 2007 replaced the original StarCraft briefing room with an interactive version of the battlecruiser Hyperion, with a bitter, hard-drinking Jim Raynor as the mercenary captain. In a departure from previous Blizzard games, the campaign is non-linear, with Raynor taking jobs for money and using that money to buy additional units and upgrades. Although each playthrough will vary, the end result will remain consistent so as to keep a linear storyline. Vice president Rob Pardo has stressed that the Zerg and Protoss campaigns will function very differently from the Terran campaign.[7]

In addition to the single- and multi-player elements, StarCraft II also ships with a sophisticated campaign editor. Following the enormous success of the StarEdit and Warcraft III's World Editor, the editor packaged with StarCraft II allows the player even more freedom in creating custom maps and mods. Blizzard has stated that units from the original StarCraft that were removed in StarCraft II will be available in the editor, along with units and abilities that were scrapped during the development process.[17]

The storyline of StarCraft II takes place four years after StarCraft: Brood War,[22] and features the return of a number of heroes and villains from the original game, such as Zeratul, Arcturus Mengsk, Artanis, Sarah Kerrigan and Jim Raynor. Players will revisit worlds from the original game, such as Char, Mar Sara, and Braxis, along with new worlds, such as the jungle planet Bel'Shir. It has also been confirmed that the Xel'Naga, the ancient space-faring race responsible for creating the Protoss and the Zerg, will play a major role in the story.[7]

Thanks to Wikipedia for the info.

[Placenta_leak*]

I'm bloody stoked for this game, I have been drooling over it ever since the first news hit.

I'm also looking well forward to the campaign-editor, Iv'e always been a fan of Blizzards FTS campaign-editors.

Is there any news regarding the rushing problom everybody has complained about?

[Jon]

Hadn't heard about the rushing problem, I'll have to look into that. Most sites seem to be concerned about the new vespene gas mechanics, or that hydras got bumped the tech tree).

[Fratal]

I'm hyped for this game. The new units look awesome, and especially the graphics.

I can also only imagine how the campaign/map editor would be like?

[margalicious]

WOW! Is this true? Or maybe I'm just kinda delayed about the news. I'm excited to try this game. When I was in grade school I was very addicted to starcraft! I can't believe it there's starcraft 2!

[coros9]

definately, its going to be the beez neez y'all
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