2/30/11
Ready to Roll Out!
Also, new footage on gameplay found here.
Today is not a day to take anything Blizzard says seriously :P. Also, I’m not aware that month of February has 30 days.
Pwnd.
.
I don’t know who those pwnds were aimed at, but I don’t think Sin clicked the link.
Anyone play this game yet? I tried the beta at a friend’s place and it places nicely like the original. It’s basically Warcraft 3’s look and mechanics put in the Starcraft world. At least from my initial inspection. The units do look mighty fine, I gotta say.
The link is fucking AWESOME.
WC3 looked and played like shit compared to SC, for the record. If this game’s anything like WC3, it will not be an upgrade.
- the races have the same “feel” (Terran have strong anti-ground/siege and lack cheap air-vs-light-air, Zerg are mobile with late-game viability largely dependent on both air and casters, and Protoss have strong casters and diverse air)
- micro features were added to offset the fact that AI is smarter about worker rallying (Chrono Boost, Spawn Larvae, and MULEs for P, Z, and T respectively)
- counters are “harder”, as in a specific counter will be much more effective against the unit type it was designed to fight than in SC1
- the pathing AI is beautiful and awesome
- game looks cosmetically awesome
- smart casting makes battle micro much easier, esp. for Protoss who are heavily spellcaster dependent even early game
- the game is currently much more strategy-dependent and less execution-dependent than SC1; a relatively inefficient and low-APM player who is very strategically innovative made it into the finals at the TeamLiquid tournament
It’s not Warcraft III, which is all micromanagement and hero management. There are no heroes in SC2, and macro, while easier, is still much more important than in WC3.
I saw the word “rallying” and have to ask if you can finally order workers to rally on minerals and gas and actually have them harvest like in WC3. That would only be a good thing.
Yeah, you can. Zerg even have two rally lines per hatchery; one for workers which only triggers if you right click on a resource, and one for all other units which triggers when you right click anywhere else.
Edit: There is also multiple building selection as well as global hotkeys which are fuckin’ awesome for macro
Motherfucker. I REQUIRE MORE [STRIKE]VESPENE GAS[/STRIKE] STARCRAFT 2. That thing is equivalent to the second coming in the gaming field.
Yeah, its time to start saving for a new computer. Diablo 3 comes out after that!
The Thor feels underpowered for the final factory unit. It’s saving grace is his missile barrage (Think Warcraft 2 Blizzard) but even then it feels underwhelming for a giant robot piloted by the Governator.
Firebats are now riding go-karts. Their infantry replacement the Marauder is totally awesome tho.
The Vikings are fun, if one likes jets that turn into walkers and viceversa.
Protoss currently feel overpowered compared to Terrans since they have teleporting dragoons (although they can’t shoot air) who can easily, EASILY go and rape your mineral operation simply by blinking into your base from a cliff or whatever as long as you can get a line of sight to where you’re blinking (nothing an observer can’t do). But it may be due because I’ve been fighting scrubs in my 1v1 experience.
That’s my short version, but I didn’t play it THAT much.
It’s not as if it won’t be tweaked to hell with patches anyway.
http://ca.kotaku.com/5512524/starcraft-ii-special-edition-launching-for-100
Collector edition, 100 bux.
Kind of do want it, really. Looks spiffy enough for the extra cost.
I could probably resist the 2GB USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor’s dog tag loaded with the original StarCraft and the StarCraft: Brood War expansion,
Clever idea (of course they should have made it a small Vulture). Then again I could ISO my SC/BW to a flash drive… and include Total Annihilation to boot!
You can acquire it quite easily over the internet. I’m not sure if you’re able to though, considering you may still be doing your military service?
On another note, a friend of mine… actually probably the one that first showed me Starcraft and Blizzard in general, has been accepted for the Beta. That’s like… a life dream for him. hahah!
I’ve been playing in my local platinum league on the beta, and all the matches I’ve played so far ended in <20 minutes, so I feel the pace is a lot faster. Just a couple of notes…
The Thor feels underpowered for the final factory unit. It’s saving grace is his missile barrage (Think Warcraft 2 Blizzard) but even then it feels underwhelming for a giant robot piloted by the Governator.
It’s actually much more similar to a Yamato strike, as it does no splash damage.
Protoss currently feel overpowered compared to Terrans since they have teleporting dragoons (although they can’t shoot air) who can easily, EASILY go and rape your mineral operation simply by blinking into your base from a cliff or whatever as long as you can get a line of sight to where you’re blinking (nothing an observer can’t do). But it may be due because I’ve been fighting scrubs in my 1v1 experience.
Stalkers can attack air… and they’re fragile, but they do make decent harassers. What’s popular right now are immortal drops since they take down probes and buildings much faster.
Gives you an idea of when the last time I booted the game was then. Heh. I should try and find the time for it again…