Having finally found my way into the SC2 beta, I thought I'd throw out a few first impressions for anyone still reading. Let me just start by saying the game is awesome. Blizzard seems to have found a great balance between keeping aspects of oldschool SC while still adding loads of new things. Best of all, it still feels like StarCraft.
So far I've only gotten into the Zerg, my all time favorite race. I want to take this slow and learn things one race at a time since there are a ton of new units, buildings and abilities. I started out vs a computer to figure out some build orders and then moved on to some 2v2 where I've done pretty well. I've only just dabbled in 1v1 so far, and though I've gone 3-0 I have yet to play anyone who really seems to have a clue as of yet.
For the Zerg, Queens seem to have made a huge difference in the way we play the macro game. You don't need to keep making new hatcheries to keep up with your resource intake, because Queens have the ability to spawn 4 larvae at a hatchery, which takes 40 seconds. It really is nice to not have to manage 8+ hatchs, but it does take some getting used to.
Roaches appear to be the Zerg bread and butter unit, except maybe in ZvT. Hydralisks have moved up to lair tech and seem to be much stronger, and I am still seeing them used frequently. There really are so many new things in SC2 that it can be a bit overwhelming to any oldschool SC player who thinks he's going to be able to bust down the door and starting owning away.
I am going to start keeping track of my 1v1 matches here and posting some replays as I (hopefully) start working my way up the ladder.
Showing posts with label Beta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beta. Show all posts
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
StarCraft 2 Release Date Delayed Until 2010
Big surprise. Here's the scoop folks (from PC World) :
To be honest, did anyone really not see this coming? I'm really out of sarcastic comments on the delay of SC2. By the way, Wow 3.2.0 was released today. Thanks for spending time on SC2 Blizzard. Now that the tentative release date for SC2 is "the first half of 2009", expect Blizzcon to be the absolute earliest date for beta launch. Woopee.
Over the past couple of weeks, it has become clear that it will take longer than expected to prepare the new Battle.net for the launch of the game. The upgraded Battle.net is an integral part of the StarCraft II experience and will be an essential part of all of our games moving forward. This extra development time will be critical to help us realize our vision for the service.
Our mission is to develop games that deliver an epic entertainment experience. As part of that commitment, we will always take as much time as needed to ensure that our games and services meet the expectations of our players and the standard for quality that we set for ourselves as developers. As we work to make Battle.net the premier online gaming destination, we’ll also continue to polish and refine StarCraft II, and we look forward to delivering a real-time strategy gaming experience worthy of the series’ legacy in the first half of 2010.
We will share more details about the beta, Battle.net, and StarCraft II’s launch in the future. Keep an eye on the official website at www.starcraft2.com for updates, and as always, thank you for your continued enthusiasm and support for StarCraft II and all of Blizzard Entertainment’s games.
Best,
Blizzard PR
To be honest, did anyone really not see this coming? I'm really out of sarcastic comments on the delay of SC2. By the way, Wow 3.2.0 was released today. Thanks for spending time on SC2 Blizzard. Now that the tentative release date for SC2 is "the first half of 2009", expect Blizzcon to be the absolute earliest date for beta launch. Woopee.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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:
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.
"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.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Blue Posts on StarCraft 2 Battle.net Forum
OMG BLUE POSTS FROM KARUNE
First, post #1:
Karune:
He was then promptly flamed for not leaving a long enough response.
Post #2:
Karune:
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.
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.
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.
Friday, July 17, 2009
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
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
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