New Gameplay Videos TvP

A new StarCraft 2 match video was released at E-Stars Seoul 2009. Check it out:





Unfortunately, the only sound you can hear is some announcer speaking Korean, and the video is pretty low-quality so sometimes it's hard to make out exactly what a building or a unit is (at least for me). On the plus side, we see some cool in-game stuff. Apparently Terran will still do the wall-in vs Protoss =].

Also, I know this is probably old now, but it had me almost in tears laughing:



Aside from all that, things are still very slow news-wise. No blue posts, no updates of the Blizzard official site except for some new fan art. Hopefully soon we will get some beta news.

StarCraft 2 Beta: No News is Bad News

Check out this article on the delay of StarCraft 2 on marketwatch.com. Unfortunately, it basically sums up what many of us have already guessed - StarCraft 2 being released in 2009 is starting to look fairly unlikely. Frustrating, with WoW expansions and Diablo III talk when we haven't had a StarCraft game in 11 years. Why let one of the best franchises in PC gaming go the way of Duke Nukem Forever? One snippet:

"The beta testing for 'StarCraft' hasn't started yet. If it starts in August and takes 5-6 months, then launching the game this year is next to impossible," said Jess Lubert, video game analyst with Brean Murray.

And not only has SC2 beta not started yet, the general concensus seems to be that it won't even be announced until after Blizzcon 09. Not really a surprise, since it gives them a big stage to show off SC2, BNET 2.0 and such. Unfortunately, that's not until the end of August. So the question remains: what the fuck are we supposed to do until then?

Well, one idea is that you can join thousands of people demanding answers from the mods on the battle.net SC2 forum. This is about as effective as screaming at plants to grow faster. On the bright side you won't be lonely.

Don't you look at me like that. You had your chance.

StarCraft 2 Banned In China

Several sources are reporting that scheduled exhibition matches of StarCraft 2 did not take place at China's "Chinajoy" event, which is apparently a commie version of E3. While no official word was given, it is speculated that the reason for the ban is that the game is too violent and a bad influence on young gamers, and that it may likely become an outright ban on the game itself in the country. This seems to be an odd turn of events, given China's past history of banned games, which generally focused on games that made China look like an oppressive country for banning games like StarCraft 2. Another thought however, suggests it could be a lack of preparation on Blizzard's part. Shocking!

It is also stated that “any activity related to foreign games, including their showing, demonstrating, trading and marketing promotion, shall also abide by the censorship laws aiming at imported online games,” meaning that the State Administration Of News And Press should take a look at and censor whatever necessary bits from a game. It might sound strange to hear that Blizzard didn’t take this in account when decided to showcase Starcraft II at ChinaJoy 2009, especially since they knew how things work in China from WoW.

Not that Blizzard should have expected something like that given their recent relations with China over WoW..right? In any event, Chinese players may not be interested in StarCraft II anyway after they learn that there won't be anything to farm and sell. Hell, they needed somewhere to turn after gold farming was banned.

So this is what we talk about when there's no real SC2 news. Joy!

More Blizzcon ticket giveaways, Battle.net for your phone

If you're still looking for a trip to Blizzcon 09 in order to hopefully hear the announcement that StarCraft II Beta will be released sometime between now and armageddon, you've come to the right place. Alienware is giving away some free Blizzcon tickets over at their website, and unlike the razer promotion, this one does not require you to drudge through a boring "quest" to visit any promotional pages. All you have to do is enter your e-mail address. Probably worth a try if you're still looking for a chance to put that Kerrigan costume to good use this year.

If you actually own a Kerrigan costume, A/S/L pls.

On the other hand, nVidia is choosing a route than doesn't involve e-mail spamming Blizzard gaming enthusiasts. All you have to do is buy something! Imagine that!

Lastly, have you ever wondered if someone is logging on to your World of Warcraft account for the 2 to 3 hours a week you aren't actively playing? Blizzard's new battle.net mobile authenticator can now tell you any time someone logs into your WoW account while you're, say, taking your weekly spongebath.

New StarCraft 2 Mousepads

Have you ever looked at your mousepad and said, "wow, this needs some StarCraft"? I know I have, especially since my mousepad is in actuality the most worn down part of my computer desk. Fear no more, valued mindless consumer-drone gamer, your wildest wishes have now come true. Blizzard has announced new StarCraft II mousepads from SteelSeries on the community page of their website.

Okay, they actually look kind of cool.

In other news, if you read anything on this site and you like it (or hate it) please comment! If I wanted to talk to myself, I'd get a bluetooth. That way, no one would know.

Blue Posts on StarCraft 2 Battle.net Forum

OMG BLUE POSTS FROM KARUNE

First, post #1:

Hey guys I just had a crazy idea to make the obelisk more engaging, give it FF! I know it sounds weird but just think, it forces the player to choose between buffing probes or to use FF to trap units, workers, halt a rush/harass, or anything else you can do with FF. I would think that range should be limited only by somewhere you have line of sight ( to force the choice between probe charge and FF). Discuss!

Karune:

Yup, Force Field is great on the Disruptor because it can be used both offensively and defensively. Often times, this ability used correctly can easily change the tide of a battle or force a retreat from the enemy.

He was then promptly flamed for not leaving a long enough response.

Post #2:

Which way is more efficient for generating supply in the long run?

1) Calldown extra supply on your depots

2) Calldown MULEs to mine more minerals and then use the extra minerals to build depots

Karune:

Calling down the MULE is much more effective in terms of collecting additional resources (each will gain more than +100 during it's duration) but if those supplies keep you at cap by mistake, the supply depot call down can quickly get you back on track for your build order/timed push.

He was then promptly flamed for not providing a beta etst release date. The job of a Blizzard Poster is indeed a thankless one. Not that I don't think a little information here and there would be nice. Anyway, check out the StarCraft 2 Forum on battle.net to see if anything else pops up.

10 Changes We Want to See in the StarCraft 2 Beta: Part 1

As I lay naked in my room, curled into the fetal position around my StarCraft: Broodwar jewel case, I find that very few thoughts comfort me. StarCraft was probably my favorite computer game of all time, and the fact that there is no Beta Test release date and things just seem to keep getting pushed further and further back has me in a state of severe-alcoholic-panic.

10) Only release one map

Seriously, one map. I don't want to be forced to choose between $$$FASEST POSSIBLE 0 CLUTTER$$$ and LINDSEY LOHAN EXTREME PANTY PARTY.SMC in yet another game. Everyone knows that having more than one playable map is imbalanced. If another player knows the map and I don't, that is imbalance. If I have to expand at some point, that is extremely imbalanced. What smart players want is a map with no higher ground, 8 identical starting locations each with 30+ mineral nodes and 5 vespene geysers, where you start close enough to your opponent to 4 pool them but have a large enough area to successfully perform a photon-cannon-wall-in-to-carrier-rush strategy.


Something like this . If we can maybe eliminate the water so it's just one big slab of concrete, that would be preferable.








9) No 'random' option for race selection

This guy chooses random.

Nothing burns my ass like someone choosing random against me in a 1v1 game. I need to know what race you are so I can adjust my build order accordingly. How the heck am I supposed to know what race you are if you pick random? This is clearly imbalance. If I spent all morning watching replays of how to beat Protoss with Terran, you're really throwing me off my game by choosing random. If we can get rid of this option, we'll be ridding ourselves of pretentious players that think they "put in the time to learn to play all the races". Pffft, whatever.




8) No rush 10 minute rule

Was there anything worse in StarCraft than getting hit by a 9 pool when you're only on your 3rd or 4th bunker? Now is our chance to eliminate this feeling. For years, the "nr 10 min gg no re" rule has been put into effect in most legitimate battle.net games. Players that attack other players within the first 10 minutes of play should automatically lose and be banned from battle.net. Blizzard should start to officially embrace this system. Oh wait, they already did.


7) Automatic "Ally at End" policy for all multiplayer games


I don't see why my battle.net account should be blemished with a loss just because I didn't necessarily "win the game". We all know battle.net records are important and extremely accurate indicators of a player's ability. Having even one loss can be embarassing, and can only be made up for by doing 20 or 30 "comp stomp" games. Can't we show our opponents that we're the bigger men by allying up at the end of the game and getting everyone a win? In the words of our great president, yes we can.



6) No units should have a further attack range than defensive structures

What's the point of a line of 40 photon cannons to protect my base when one siege tank can take them all down? This defies the very essence of all that defensive structures are supposed to stand for. When I make a wall of sunken colonies, I expect them to do some tongue-impaling, not just get blasted from afar. I'm sure we can all agree on this one.


5) Get rid of Psionic Storm or Anything like it

I don't spend 15 minutes building up an army of 150 zerglings just to see them all get wiped out by 2 psionic storms. Lets drop it while we have the chance. Instead, can we get some more useful abilities like optical flare or spawn broodling?










AHHHH MY DOODS

I'll have my top 5 in a few days, once I calm down a bit.

StarCraft 2 Gameplay Videos

Went browsing youtube for SC2 gameplay videos today. Here are some good ones:



Part 1 of Protoss unit explanation.



A look at more Protoss units. Okay, Colossi look badass. I don't care if they ripped off War of the Worlds. Also note how it can step up a cliff that the Zerglings can't climb. Interesting. Also a look at the Phoenix, which looks to be a counter flyer to smaller flying units like mutalisks. Motherships look awesome as well, even though you can only have one at a time.



Part 3 of Protoss units. Funny ending as well =].



This is kind of a big mess of units, and it's hard to tell what's going on. Looks cool though :).



A look at some Zerg units (no commentary). Ultralisks look amazing in this game. It seems to me that burrowing may be a bigger part of SC2 than it was in the original, after watching this video and some of the battlereports on the Blizzard site.

I haven't come across any good Terran videos yet, which is disappointing because what little I've seen has been very impressive. These should be able to hold us over for a bit while we wait for the SC2 beta.

New "quest line" to win a trip to Blizzcon 09

Blizzard/Razer has released this new "quest line" that you can complete to win a chance to go to Blizzcon 09. If you like wasting time and being forced to visit several Razer promotional sites, then these quests are definitely for you. The quests involve visiting the Razer facebook and twitter sites, wherein the codes you need to find are clearly spelled out for you. How clever! What about activating thine handheld navigation device's leftmost module over the tabards of thou's lofty sponsorships? Better yet, cut the olde english and give us the CLICK OUR SPONSORS 5 TIMES TO CONTINUE routine. I mean, it works for warez sites.

I feel dirty after completing this.

Also (and I realize this is old, but still seems worth mentioning) you can find the petition to include support for LAN play in StarCraft II here. Even if you're like me and most likely wouldn't be using LAN mode much, if at all, I urge everyone to give this a quick signing. I know that multiplayer gaming is quickly turning to faceless online play and away from the old style of guy-sitting-next-to-you-within-kicking-range, but is it really necessary or fair to start eliminating this option completely? Blizzard wants you to play on Battle.net. And you will. The inclusion of LAN play isn't going to change the popularity or the revenue gained from battle.net in one way or another, and the idea of excluding it just seems greedy.

StarCraft II Beta Test Date Thoughts

Just some thoughts regarding the beta test date while I've got a few moments of free time. First of all, we know that the new Battle.net is taking people's system specifications to opt in to SC2 beta testing. This is how you submit yourself into the running to beta test the game. If you haven't do so yet, I'd recommend hopping onto that site, setting up an account and submitting your system specs. Fine and dandy, yet we still have no beta test release date at this point. After watching the first three battlereports on the official StarCraft 2 site, it does look like the game is just about ready for beta testing, and I already really like what I see thus far. If the next few weeks stays as devoid of news as things have been lately, I'll go into each of the battlereport videos in depth. For now, I'm going to guess that the beta will be released sometime after Blizzcon, meaning early September 09.

For now, let me just say that StarCraft II looks like it will be staying true to the original game in most respects, and adding some fresh (but not overbearing) elements as well. Watching the battlereports showed me that the play style for each race seems to have stayed the same as well. I had heard lots of complaints over the Internet that there weren't any new races, but adding a new race would have forced these play style elements to be changed. I for one am very happy that they seem to have remained similar to the first game. However, it does look to me as though the game might have moved (ever so slightly) toward the micromanagement game. All the videos I've seen seem to have involved smaller numbers of units, and many of the units have special abilities, particularly the Protosss (we've seen lots of teleportation and force fields so far).

I'll be going into greater details later. As of now, I'm still working on my battle.net stuff. More to come soon.

tw8nqjcbu3

StarCraft II Asylum Original: A Return to Battle.net!

While we eagerly await more news on StarCraft II’s release date and/or the beginning of the beta testing period, I decided to take some time to look back at the online gaming service that was not only partially responsible for the first game’s massive success, but also the sole reason that the country of South Korea is recognized as a sovereign nation. I am talking of course, about Battle.net.

That's what US West is for.

From what we know so far, Battle.net will remain the primary medium for playing StarCraft II online. As old-school WarCraft II gamers will remember, Battle.net was the first online gaming service to be built into the games it supported. Finally, gone were the days of having to make “friends” and play in a small “community” where everyone “knew each other”. Now, gamers could simply purchase the game, mash in their CD key and join any of the appropriately named games using the Battle.net interface.

Deep philosophical discussion inside.

I for one am thrilled that StarCraft II will also be bringing us the triumphant return of Battle.net, a service that not only brought us custom-map gems such as Micro Fa§te§tPo§§ibleGreen, but allowed frustrated young virgins around the globe a chance to play games online without having to shell out $10 for Kali using their mom’s credit card or learning something about their TC/IP/IP/UP computernet machine device.

Now it's been six years since a new Battle.net game has been released, and the entire service seems to be in a sort of post-apocalyptic state. Over the next couple weeks, I will be performing an online archeological dig as I sift through the ruins of this once great civilization. To find out what horrors remain, read on.