sc2pod [News]

Happy Holidays from the Hyperion

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:19:52 +0000

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I wonder why Zeratul looks so upset, doesn't he like skiing?

by shadowie

New Screenshots and a Wallpaper

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 10:37:20 +0000

A while after releasing the first Battle Report, Blizzard sneakily released 3 new screenshots and a wallpaper!

You can really notice the different lighting effects on each tileset, the unit colors become completely different. The middle screenshot even appear to be taken during the night on the desert tileset. That means dynamic Day and Night cycles in the editor probably, woot!

by shadowie

SC2 Battle Report #1

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:01:40 +0000

Blizzard is introducing Battle Reports, the official shoutcast for Starcraft II. Soo, describing it in a few words:

Gameplay video
High Definition
Latest version of Starcraft II
Played and commented by developers
Full SC2 match from the beginning to the end
Kulas Ravine, the first official multiplayer map announced.

Also, they wrote that SC2 is in alpha stage, but never forget the beta comes out in 2009, hopefully in the first quarter.

You can see and download (560 Mb) by clicking the picture above.

W00T!

by aston

Starcraft II Q&A Batch 47

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:40:06 +0000

The newest batch released, with 7 questions and 7 answers. This time we get information about several little things of SC2, for example cliff-scaling for Zerg, why not the SCV builds the Thor, micro-mastering, and so on.

While there is no really new information, but some minor updates, it is a really nice read. Check it out and discuss in the comments.

by aston

Minor update: comics and art

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:40:50 +0000

The Vespene Laughs contest first round winners have been revealed:

The first winner is Matthew Socia the second Elijah Kiowas Jones and the third Kris Sauquillo. Congratulations!

If you hesitate making such comics, just think about the prize! Check out Spartan's T-Shirt and Starcraft BattleChest with several Blizzard employee's signatures.

Beside that, 2 (old) artwork and several old screenshots have been uploaded to Starcraft2.Com.

by aston

SC2 Video from DreamHack

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:45:59 +0000

WarCraft 3 player RotterdaM playing StarCraft 2 at DreamHack,
MyM also did an interview with him about it (SC2 starts at 07:20).

The StarCraft 2 area at DreamHack was fairly small considering the size of the event, only 16 computers for more than 10000 visitors. Still the lines were short and many were able to play long sessions.

Lord of Chaos from GosuGamers wrote an extensive review after getting some hands on experience with the game. Definitely worth the read.

Source: GosuGamers, MyM

by shadowie

Play StarCraft 2 at DreamHack

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:27:19 +0000

For all our European visitors (and those elsewhere with extra cash), StarCraft 2 will be playable at DreamHack this weekend!

DreamHack is the world's largest LAN party and it's held twice a year in Jönköping, Sweden. Last year almost 13000 people attended from all over the world. A table seat this year would cost you €83 ($107 / 790 SEK), luckily though if you only want to get in and try SC2 a day ticket is just €10 ($12 / 100 SEK).

You've got until early Sunday to get there for a chance to play!

by shadowie

Starcraft 1.16.0 Released

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:19:45 +0000

Patch 1.16.0 of Starcraft has been released. Below are the release notes, as posted by Karune.

Karune wrote:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- patch 1.16.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feature Changes

- In-game chat is now saved in replays. Note: whispers are not saved.
- Hitting the Escape key while in the chat room will clear your typed text.
- "/reply" (or just "/r") will send a whisper to person who most recently whispered you.

Bug Fixes

- Fixed localization issues with "from" and "to" in whispers.
- Starcraft now only uses as much CPU as it needs to run smoothly.

Exploits

- Fixed an exploit which allowed Zerg players to gain minerals through mutations.
- Fixed an exploit which allowed Zerg players to recycle an upgrading building.
- Fixed an exploit which allowed Zerg players to extend their creep with a drone.
- Fixed an exploit which allowed Zerg players to move Drones over impassable terrain.
- Fixed an exploit which allowed Terran players to drop a nuke anywhere on the map.
- Fixed an exploit which allowed players to pause the game while in the pre-game lobby.

In my opinion, there are some long overdue fixes in this patch.

by Tiger0211

BlizzCast 6

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:00:33 +0000

Oh yeah, the european version of BlizzCast 6 is live, the other part of the world must wait . Soo, let me introduce to you:

BlizzCast Episode 6

Do you remember? BlizzCast 5 contained no SC2 related article. But now, we got a new screenshot, 3 new profile pictures aaaand 3 profile animations.

We got an interview with Dustin Browder and Samwise Didier too, but you can check out the Diablo3 and World of Warcraft content too, if you are interested.

Click, read/listen, enjoy!

by aston

Starcraft II Q&A Batch 46

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:38:28 +0000

Nothing really new in this batch, but some details about minor things.

Chat with the Devs section about Planetary Fortress:

Karune wrote:Chat with Devs: StarCraft II is definitely evolving to be even more intense than the original StarCraft, with the increased mobility of units with cliff traversing abilities, as well as new transport abilities. In response, the development team has buffed up the Terran Planetary Fortress to have splash damage as well, which has proven to hold off decently against raids now, especially with your SCVs fixing the command center at a very high rate.

StarCraft II Q&A Batch 46:
6 questions and 6 answers about friendly fire, the trilogy, idle animations, gas mechanic, Protoss counter for mass air attack and spells.

One of these:

Karune wrote:5. What Protoss unit is now the best option to counter mass enemy air units? The Phoenix lost its overload ability which was really the only Protoss splash damage option other than Psi Storm. (StarCraft 2 Forums)

Against Zerg’s mass air units like Mutalisks, Archons and Psi Storm are still the best counters. Against Terran’s mass air units like Vikings and Banshees, Protoss can still use Phoenixes and focus fire. Vikings currently do additional damage to large ships, rather than light armor.

StarCraft II Blue Roundup section:
2 questions and 2 answers about the Archon's splash damage and MBS for Zerg. I think this is what you don't want to miss:

Karune wrote:Archons still have their splash damage and are still quite the beasts they were in the original StarCraft. There is no better feeling than watching a group of Archons instantly pop a stacked group of Mutalisks.

Check out the whole batch in the Blue Tracker and leaves us a W00T! if you enjoyed.

by aston

SC2 release calculation No.X.

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:10:38 +0000

As you could see, there are lack of news these days, but if you browse the web and read about Blizzard, there can be signs that makes you think: SC2 release may not be far away.

What I'm going to write about is 100% speculation, but with some facts.

1. Blizzard's new expansion for World of Warcraft called Wrath of The Lich King has just been released, so now they are focusing on Starcraft II for sure. No doubt that SC2 will be the next game Blizzard releases.

2. According to Blizzplanet, the voice acting role of Jim Raynor and Kerrigan the Queen of Blades are now up for grabs, that indicates:

Blizzplanet wrote:Overall, this is an indication that Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is on crunch mode. Voice acting is one of the few steps of development when the single-player dialogues are set in stone.

3. Blizzard job oppotunities page has been updated. As you can see, they are now looking for employees for SC2 for only 4 positions. Months ago this number was far more. There are 5 positions open for Battle.net, but this area is common with Diablo3, and a position like "User Experience Director" is the one that is needed near the end of the development process.

What you think is up to you, but seeing these signs, and being a bit positive (what else could an SC2 addict be), if SC2 beta launches early 2009, we could have the game in our hands by summer, or as Blizzplanet thinks, it could happen even earlier.

Keep in mind, that the only thing that is for sure, that SC2 beta comes in 2009, as Chris Sigaty (lead producer for SC2) told at Blizzcon 2008.

by aston

Tons of Blizzcon reviews

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:06:09 +0000

After a month of Blizzcon 2008, many fansites finished their reviews of the event, and specially on Starcraft II. They were there, they played the game a lot, they were at the SC2 panels too, and finally they have written about it.

Starcraft Legacy made us lots of articles, including all developer panel discussions in an extremely detailed form, that means photos, videos, transcipts, etc. They wrote about their gameplay impression too, and grabbed up a FAQ where they answer many questions about the game.

StarCraft: Legacy BlizzCon 2008 Post Coverage

Teamliquid attended the event too, with several members, who are interested more on the e-sport side of Starcraft II. Six of them wrote articles about different sides of SC2, each races analysis, matchup analysis, gameplay analysis, and more!

Through the Nydus Worm
an in depth look at Starcraft 2

Enjoy!

by aston

Do you like the Mothership?

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:25:49 +0000

Cydra, the assistant community manager started a poll on the official forums about the Mothership. But it would make no sense without new information, sooo here you are:

Cydra wrote:If Zerg has the Queen and Terran has the Thor, Protoss has the Mothership!

Currently, Mothership has three abilities - Cloaking Field, Time Bomb and Vortex.

Cloaking Field passively cloaks the player's nearby ground units and structures.

Time Bomb creates a distortion field around the Mothership that lasts 30 seconds. Air units within this field cannot move and take no damage from ranged attacks. Time Bomb costs 100 energy and cooldown takes 90 seconds.

Vortex creates a gravity vortex for 30 seconds that incapacitates units that are sucked into it. units under the effect of the vortex cannot be hit with weapons. Vortex does not give any damage to units sucked into it. Vortex costs 150 energy and cooldown takes 3 seconds.

Keep in mind that the result of the poll won't definitely change the Mothership, it will be only an advice to the devs!

You can vote and discuss in our forum too.

Source: Blue Tracker

by aston

HD Gameplay - Terran vs. Protoss

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:37:49 +0000

Our friends at StarcraftZine.Com were at Blizzcon and recorded high definition videos from the event.
So here is a HD gameplay video where the Terran player makes a Siege Tank push against the Protoss player using Zealots to defend himself.

Click, watch, enjoy and post us a comment !

by aston

POLL: What is your favorite race?

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:10:05 +0000

What is this? It's a... a... A poll?!?! We have polls on sc2pod?

Yeah, we normally do.. We've been slacking a bit and haven't had any polls in a while. Due to that, shadowie removed that section from the front page and now it doesn't show up, . Anyway, the current poll is What is your favorite race to play? and you can vote/discuss the subject here.

Go vote! .

by Sixen

Starcraft II Q&A Batch 45

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:43:38 +0000

Blizzcon is over, so Karune has started his "job" again (that we thank him this way too), so he grabbed up some new information from Dustin, and released Q&A Batch 45. The full article can be found in the official (new) battle.net forums, but let's see some hightlights:

Chat with the devs section:
The Hallucination changed, even units you don't have prerequisite for can be hallucinated:

Karune wrote:Hallucination
The first topic was about hallucination, a classic Protoss ability, that honestly did not get that much use in the original StarCraft. To make it more interesting, Dustin explained how the ability has been brought down in tech to the Nullifier. Additionally, hallucination could be used to create units in which the player doesn’t even have prerequisite buildings for .... - more in the source -

The Queen is like a little Hatchery now:

Karune wrote:Queen Spawns 3 Mutant Larva
The mutant larva count has increased with the latest version of the Queen to encourage more use of a pretty powerful ability if used correctly. Mutant larva crawl around independently of a Hatchery and can create units at a discounted production rate .... - more in the source -

Q&A section:
6 really good questions and answers from several fansites and forum activists. One of them:

Karune wrote:5. Can Allies ‘merge’ their Nydus networks? In other words, can you enter through the Nydus Warren of player A, and exit through the Nydus Worm of player B? (TheWarCenter.net)

No, allies can’t share Nydus networks between networks, but allied units can enter into another ally’s Nydus network.

Extra section called Weekly Blue Roundup:
Karune has collected his answers to the fans' latest questions on the forum, and has made an extra long q&a batch of them. Check it out!

Source: Battle.net forums

by aston

Blizzard Mobile Goodies!

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:41:47 +0000

Have you ever wanted to bring a baby Murloc around with you and have never been able to since they sort of... don't exist? Ever wanted a pet Zergling, but was too scared to get eaten? Well, now you can partially cure that Murloc fever and quench that Zergling hunger! Blizzard has just introduced Blizzard Mobile, it allows you to purchase ringtones and wallpapers of all kinds from all of their game series. For more information, see the Mobile page.

*Currently US only (According to the official news post. Someone non-US test?)
*Current Carriers: AT&T, Cellular One, Sprint, and Verizon
*Confirmed Future Carriers: T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile
*65+ objects (Wallpapers & Ringtones)

by Sixen

Echoes of War

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:21:11 +0000

This time our beloved game developer company gives us a chance to own a 2 CDs collection of the music of the Blizzard franchises, Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo, played by a symphony orchestra.

This is called: Echoes of War.

The interesting thing is, that even a Starcraft II theme called The Hyperion Overture - that is the music of the cinematic trailer - is on the discs. I have to mention there are themes from Diablo III and WoW on there as well. You can check out the whole list at music4games.net.

The collection will be released in 2 versions. The "simple" Standard Edition ($29,95) on the 22nd of November and the "collector's" Legendary Edition ($49,95) on the 1st of November (which does not contain more music but a behind the scenes CD, booklet, art cards, and so on).

As for shipping cost, to my country (Hungary) it will be $7.88

by aston

Nydus Worm changes at BlizzCon

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:04:27 +0000

Karune posted an article about the Nydus Worm changes on the official forum, and started a poll to see reactions.

Karune wrote:Nydus Worm prior to BlizzCon
Prior to BlizzCon, the Nydus Worm had to be summoned from the Nydus Canal, and only on creep. Thus, in order to do a drop, an Overlord was usually needed to drop creep, and then the Nydus Canal could spawn a Nydus Worm at that position. Also, because of the cooldown, typically for a mass drop, a Zerg player would need multiple Nydus Canals, to spawn multiple Nydus Worms at the drop position, to make sure the enemy couldn't easily destroy the Nydus Worms before the Zerg army could come out.
Nydus Worm at BlizzCon
In the BlizzCon build, the Nydus Worm no longer is spawned from the Nydus Canal. Additionally, it no longer needs to be spawned in on creep as well. Instead, the Nydus Worm is spawned in from the Overseer, and is based on energy cost. Thus, if you have multiple Overseers, you could easily spawn multiple Nydus Canals (which will have a 'build time' before the worm erupts from the ground) and ensure a higher success rate of getting your units out.

Also he clarified that the Nydus Worm is no longer a unit:

Karune wrote:Since the Nydus Worm is no longer a unit that is controlled like a unit or moved like a unit, this visual challenge is no longer an issue. The Nydus Worm is now spawned, rather than given move orders.

And last but not least, he talked about the usage of the Nydus Worm:

Karune wrote:When units enter the Nydus Worm opening or the Nydus Canal, they are in the Nydus network. They can exit at any opening, including the Nydus Canal building. There is no actual "tunneling," and is actually more similar to loading units in a dropship. When all entrances/exits are destroyed, all units in the network will die, so if you are a Zerg player, make sure you don't let that happen

Sounds interesting, but I am curious about your opinion on the changes of the Nydus Worm mechanics.

Source: Blue Tracker

by aston

BlizzCon Photos

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:08:16 +0000

Sixen has uploaded a couple of photos from his trip to BlizzCon, click here for the whole gallery.

by shadowie