CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Starcraft and the expansion pack Brood War entering into the RTS genre nine years ago it is about time for the Starcraft II to return to RTS gere game.
http://www.starcraft2.com/

Thank you Blizzard, for remembering you have more important things to do with your time than waste it with silly MMORPGs. Back in the strategy market, as it should be.

Never really got into the original, but I must say, in all fairness, I am more than willing to give this sequel a fair shot.

THERE IS A GOD!!!!

Oh YES YES YES YES!!!!!

You have no idea how I have dreamt of this day!!!!!!!!!

Oh. My. God.

I need to get this game, even if that means I have to starve for a month.

(Edit: I realize it may even put a lot of South Korean gamers out of a job).

Fish and Chips wrote:Never really got into the original, but I must say, in all fairness, I am more than willing to give this sequel a fair shot.

Go buy the Battlechest, now. It doesn't matter what kind of PC you have, it will run it. GO NOW.

ikimasu wrote:Go buy the Battlechest, now. It doesn't matter what kind of PC you have, it will run it. GO NOW.

I concur. You must get the original. I have purchased the original or been given it maybe four or five times. Worth the twenty bucks.

I'm sure StarCraft2 will be a wonderful thing, but I personally am holding out for Galaxy of StarCraft, the StarCraft equivilent of WoW. Imagine piloting your very own Battlecruiser! Win!

Kenshin17 wrote:

ikimasu wrote:Go buy the Battlechest, now. It doesn't matter what kind of PC you have, it will run it. GO NOW.

I concur. You must get the original. I have purchased the original or been given it maybe four or five times. Worth the twenty bucks.

Read it again, people. I think you both missed a key word there.

Fish and Chips wrote:Never really got into the original, but I must say, in all fairness, I am more than willing to give this sequel a fair shot.

A.K.A. I have played it. "Meh."

Although admittedly I didn't have the best opportunity to give it the good go-ahead, so...

now this looks quite interesting. i was always more of the Warcraft fan but this new release will give me a chance to exercise and revive my interests for Starcraft...

Methinks Fish and Chips failed to realize the awesomness of starcraft. Dude, each race is so unique yet they are all so balanced. NOT many RTS games are like that.

Do yourself a favor, play it and get into it.

As for me. Screw life, gotta play SC2.

I strongly recommend downloading the Cinematic Trailer from the StarCraft 2 website. Blizzard just claimed the top crown in CG work. Not even Square Enix can touch that high quality right now.

I found it very nice on how Blizzard introduced this announcement, in the heart of StarCraft fandom, Seoul, South Korea, during the StarCraft Worldwide Invitational at Olympic Stadium. They did a lot to show their recognition and appreciation of their most loyal and passionate fanbase.

(Can MSP or anybody who knows Korean help with translating certain moments in these videos?)

Look at the crowd. Man, E3 or TGS has nothing on this. Korea about to AXPLODE.
Pop stars singing and dancing for StarCraft? Welcome to Korea.
StarCraft 2 Cinematic Trailer presented at event. Blizzard made sure it is in Korean with the character lip movement synced perfectly.

And finally (this one will take a while to load)...
21 minute TV recording of Blizzard walkthrough of some new units. Voice acting in Korean. You can hear the audience with ooohs and aaahs in the background at some points. Yes, they televise StarCraft in Korea.

On my thoughts of this upcoming sequel, although I am not an RTS gamer, I still have my V1.0 CD of StarCraft and the Brood War expansion CD (for Window 95 and NT, wow). Got them both on their release dates when I was in high school, and it was the PC game for me back then... and it was the online game at the time as well.

It has a special place in my heart. I still remember vividly certain moments in the plotlines, certain lines from characters, found one of my most admired video game heroes in Zeratul.... I actually got more out of the single player campaign than multiplayer since I am not good at RTS and I just really like the depth of the StarCraft universe and the plot.

Which brings me to my main reason for getting StarCraft 2 on release day...
[rant]
[spoiler]DARN RIGHT, IT'S ABOUT TIME, BLIZZARD!!! For almost 10 years... 10 YEARS, I have been waiting to take care of my unfinished business with that witch, Kerrigan! Do you know how much that has been gnawing at me, Blizzard?!![/spoiler][/rant]

Oh well, might as well proclaim my StarCraft faction in this thread.

*pulls out glowing Psi-blade.*

"My life for Aiur!"

EDIT: Oh yeah, a YTMND StarCraft II page to put us in the right mood.
http://starcraft2itsabouttime.ytmnd.com/

I have but one thing to say:

Adun Toridas!

The Dark Templar had better be the most amazing thing since, well, the Dark Templar.

crossalchemist wrote:The Dark Templar had better be the most amazing thing since, well, the Dark Templar.

They showed the Stalker in the 21 minute video playthrough. It is like a Dark Templar version of a Dragoon with teleportation abilities. Also, on the official StarCraft 2 website, they have desktop wallpaper of concept art for Zeratul (I think Zeratul is in very briefly in the CG movie as well). Very nice looking.

Yes, Dark Templar FTW.

What the marine says at the end of the trailer sums up most of my thoughts about this announcement...and I honestly can't wait for this game to come out...

I am so giddy. A dream has come true for me. I watched the trailer like three or four times today. Will prolly watch it again. They better not take away my Goliath, and if they do its replacement better be just as cool.

The Marines armour is so cool. And the Protoss look rightfully cool in this iteration. It cannot come fast enough.

I downloaded the three wallpapers they have at the website and set OS X to cycle through them as my walls XD

Kenshin17 wrote:They better not take away my Goliath, and if they do its replacement better be just as cool.

From what I've seen of the little dose of gameplay they showed us, I think that it is safe to say that there will be Goliaths in this game.

Kenshin17 wrote:I watched the trailer like three or four times today. Will prolly watch it again.

Same here. Did you see the Artwork Trailer? It looks great, and the background music is awesome. Sounds like the soundtrack will be a blast.

They will also release a gameplay video on the StarCraft II website tomorrow as well.

Kenshin17 wrote:I downloaded the three wallpapers they have at the website and set OS X to cycle through them as my walls XD

I see I am not the only one... (though I do not have OS X, just regular old Win XP).

lol No i haven't watched the Artwork trailer yet. I am downloading the cinimatic trailer though XD

I am gonna be wasting time at work tomorrow watching the gameplay trailer XD

Mr. SmartyPants wrote:Methinks Fish and Chips failed to realize the awesomness of starcraft. Dude, each race is so unique yet they are all so balanced. NOT many RTS games are like that.

Do yourself a favor, play it and get into it.

Yes, I failed to realize it, so I should shell out cash to rediscover that realization. Brilliant.

Meh, truth is I only got a handle for multiplayer, and against people who already knew what they were doing. Think I'll just wait for the sequel to hit shelves and play that instead.

I don't care if it cost me $100 I am getting this game, and if it has a collectors edition yeah getting that too

The beauty of Starcraft is that it is an RTS with a single-player campaign that actually has an amazing story and has multiplayer with three completely unique sides and is completely balanced and is still playable almost ten years after its release.

I got to see a bit of gameplay. Still waiting on the gameplay trailer but it looks beyond sweet.

Thank you Blizzard!!!

Kenshin17 wrote:I got to see a bit of gameplay. Still waiting on the gameplay trailer but it looks beyond sweet.

Thank you Blizzard!!!

Well, if you need something to help you wait, I found some video clips (WMV files) on the Quarterfinal StarCraft matches at this year's Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, courtesy of some poster at NeoGAF. It is a couple of matches between the Korean, NaDa (playing Terran), versus the Polish, Draco (playing Protoss).

First Match: Part 1, Part 2
Second Match: Part 1, Part 2

My thoughts on these videos.

First, those players' skills are INSANE! Never in my wildest dreams when I first played StarCraft in high school would I have ever guessed that two players could ever mount an epic match that speedily with no sweat! My goodness! They must have like have five hands with five mouses to move things around or something.

Second, when I heard about StarCraft being a big television sport in Korea, I could not understand how. Now that I saw those videos, I finally "get" it. With an observer in the match, who is very knowledgable in handling the map view, it really does work for television. The announcer and commentators are very good and sound very excited at the right moments, and one can easily tell when the tide turns in battles. And most importantly, StarCraft is a very fast paced multiplayer game by design, which is perfect for getting good matches in with commercial breaks.

Third, screaming fangirls with posters of pro players posing with their hands in a "heart" shape. Yep. It is a completely different planet over there.

I'm sorry, but nothing could be a Starcraft MMORPG like WoW. Think about it, you pick a race, a class within that race, then you advance up through the ranks, and wind up level 125, with your very own Battlecruiser and crew! Think of the awesomeness!

Eh....never liked online gaming much. Unless I am playing with a friend or friends I don't like multiplayer. I don't game enough to contend with all these people who spend so many hours online.

While I would certainly buy a StarCraft MMORPG I would be lone wolf and would hate pvp and anything that pitted me against another human. I don't like online gaming, not good enough to make it worth my wile.

So I am quite happy Blizzard got there heads outta their collective behinds and realized not all of us think WoW is the only thing Blizzard needs to work on.

Aleolus wrote:I'm sorry, but nothing could be a Starcraft MMORPG like WoW. Think about it, you pick a race, a class within that race, then you advance up through the ranks, and wind up level 125, with your very own Battlecruiser and crew! Think of the awesomeness!

I'm not sure that Starcraft would translate as well as Warcraft into an MMORPG. Sure, it would be cool to get your friends together and pilot a Battlecruiser or a Carrier around and bring death upon the heads of your enemies. But let's think here for a second about the Zerg. To be quite honest, quite a few of their units wouldn't translate well into MMORPG classes (zerglings come to mind since they aren't really that strong and I can't think of any skills/spells/abilities they could obtain by leveling up). Also, Warcraft was heading in the direction of an MMORPG after Warcraft 3 and it's expansion set were released. Starcraft doesn't seem to be going in that direction and, to be quite honest, I think it is more likely that Blizzard would make something along the lines of Starcraft: Ghost or a Gears of War rip off in the Starcraft universe then an MMORPG. But, you never know, WOW is making them a ton of money so maybe they will try the same thing with Starcraft.

Huh, I wonder why the gameplay video on the official website has not been posted up. Its "Date Added" implies it would be released today.... Oh, well.

Gamespot posts some articles on some details revealed by Blizzard developers on StarCraft II at Q&A sessions in Seoul.

Q&A session details Starcraft II
Blizzard talks Starcraft II gameplay details
Blizzard talks Starcraft II art design

Some interesting notes from these:

• Online play still through Battle.net, though it will be revamped just for SCII.
• Only Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. No new factions.
• Gameplay will still follow philosophy and style of original though now they want to introduce several new strategies at all phases during the game.
• Resource management as crucial as original. Fast-paced and more about managing/moving different types of units rather than piling abilities on a type of unit.
• No plans at this time for naval combat.
• Closed beta will be issued to test gameplay balance. Pro players will also participate for feedback.
• Stated that Kerrigan, Raynor, and Zeratul will return in this story.
• Terrans are now mainly part of the "evil empire" of the Terran Dominion.
• SCII's plot starts four years after Brood War so "Raynor has been having some adventures for sure."
• The ancient Xel'naga will also figure into Starcraft II's story "in a rather epic tale."
• Will be released "when it's done."

Omega Amen wrote:

• Only Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. No new factions.

I remember reading this and being slightly surprised . Though, I'm sure they are doing this to put as much effort and focus into making the three main races play as good as possible...and well, I guess they can always add a new faction into the expansion pack which will be inevitably be released.

Peanut wrote:I remember reading this and being slightly surprised . Though, I'm sure they are doing this to put as much effort and focus into making the three main races play as good as possible...and well, I guess they can always add a new faction into the expansion pack which will be inevitably be released.

Well, StarCraft's claim to fame is factions must be absolutely unique and absolutely balanced. So it will be extremely challenging to add a fourth faction that can be held in the same esteem as the three.

But, my baseless hunch is that near the end of the story campaign, a fourth faction will be revealed. [spoiler](The "hybrids" Samir Duran mentioned to Zeratul, maybe?)[/spoiler]And that new faction will be featured in the upcoming expansion pack.

But then again, they cannot make the pro players too nervous with so many changes. Professional televised competition is actually where the big bucks are for Blizzard with this franchise.

Omega Amen wrote:
But, my baseless hunch is that near the end of the story campaign, a fourth faction will be revealed. [spoiler](The "hybrids" Samir Duran mentioned to Zeratul, maybe?)[/spoiler]And that new faction will be featured in the upcoming expansion pack.

I certainly hope so...[spoiler]Though I am curious as to how the "hybrids" will play and what Duran actually is...[/spoiler]