Am I the only Starcraft fan that is disappointed with the previews of Starcraft II?

I heard that Starcraft II would have a 4th race introduced, but Blizzard has yet to confirm this. In fact, the preview only mentions the same 3 races. The screen shots show the same units with better graphics. If that is the only upgrade, I will stick with the original Starcraft.

 

Thus, the reason its called a preview.

 

Most people wanted the sequel to be kept relatively the same. Heck if they made a remake of an earlier final fantasy, or some other classic PC game I would be all over it.

But basically yea its SC with more units, better graphics, new maps/interface, and a continued story line.

Good enough for me , I didnt want another race to throw off balance

 

Eh, those 3 races cover the main variations of strategy games pretty well though...a 4th race might overlap into one of those 3s' roles, and then you'd have to rebalance everything.

Still, it'd be nice to have a 4th race for story purposes...and playing with a new race is always fun.

It's just waaay too early to criticize or praise something when all we know is that it'll exist (hopefully) though.

 

I should give a further explanation for my rant. I want a sequel to go beyond what the previous game accomplished. For example compare Diablo to Diablo II and you will notice a huge improvement. Blizzard added more characters, skills, items, and so on. Starcraft II looks more like an expansion than a sequel.

 

...that's basically what they're doing with StarCraft? They're adding more units, strategies and so on. Just like in Diablo II. Just not another race, which seems to be your only metric on whether it'll be good or not. It's a lot harder to balance an entire race, especially against 3 others, than it is to add another character to something like Diablo. I'm looking forward to the game. The most important part is if they have the balance as perfect as they did in the original. Besides, StarCraft's expansion was Brood Wars.

 

It would be nice, but it's just way too early to tell.

Still, I have faith in Blizzard--they've always done extremely well on their major games (the quality of which is matched only by how horribly their side-games flopped I guess)...

What I really hope won't happen, though, is just another WC3 in space.

 

its not easy making a sequel of one of the best RTS games ever made. i dunno how long it took them but its been around 10 years since the first so thats quite a while. we should all be grateful theyre going to release it and happy if it at least lives up to the original.

Blizzard's best work is arguably StarCraft, it's not easy trying to top 100% there's just so much you can do before you end up flopping.

Whatever may or may not have changed, let's hope this doesn't end up like Ghost.....

 

Hrm, pound for pound, wouldn't that position go to WoW? Has there been any other game ever that's generated that many players for so long (and possibly revenue)?

 

Emm, no.. i m quite satisfied of wat blizzard has done until now(except for the WoW part and ignoring the other franchise), the units as blizzard said will no have a 4th race... they are reevaluating which unit should be kept, updated with special abilities (passiv ones so u wont need to micro so much). In general it won't be the same as Warcraft 3 as you definitely need to go cnc style (build and rush)

Ya, the graphic doesn't look any more advance than the wc3 but hopefully wat we saw in the picture isn't the end product... Would love it if they add dx10 only stuff in...

 

i really hope they do not change the gameplay aspect. It was really perfect <3

 

I can't really imagine what they would do for a 4th race.

You've got your humans, high-tech aliens, and super evolved bio aliens. It's like taelrak said, a new race would have to be some variation of one of the already existing ones and would overlap roles. Of course you could always had some super-psycic race, but they would be very un-interesting looking (glowing beings that float around) and/or they would just throw the balance off.

New units and better graphics seem like the only thing that you could add to a starcraft sequel to make it better (maybe some new units to counter the protoss carrier, only un-balance unit in the game in my opinion)

 

But I LOOOVVVVEEEE my carriers, the poor little zergies never have a chance if there are a dozen or so carriers sitting over their base. And supposedly the new protoss mothership is very usefull

 

If they make a 4th race, its probably a race of high-tech humans. Or maybe Terrans that rebelled and created their own rebel force.

I'm not disappointed at all about Starcraft 2. Starcraft 1 is still awesome, the only thing I'd change is add more units, much better graphics & more configuration abilities for Skirmish modes (hard, medium, easy, turtling, rushing, boomer, etc.).

EDIT: To CoDnut & londez, do we even know if the Protoss Carrier is returning to Starcraft 2? It hasn't been shown in any screenshots I've seen. Nor have I seen the Reavers. Maybe the Mothership replaced the Carrier :0.

Blizzard Entertainment is awesome. And "hell, its about time".

 

They're not adding any more races.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/22/1731211

He said best, not most popular.

but even then, I believe starcraft has more copies sold than wow; 9 million versus 8 million or something ridiculous like that.
Besides, starcraft is basically a national sport in korea.

 

Probably not. But Starcraft has more player hours in it, especially in Korea. Starcraft is still going very strong, and has a fanbase that would love to jump into a new version of it, if and only if it keeps the same playability that made the original so brilliant.

 

Carriers were soft if you hit 'em with an EMP pulse if you're a Terran, or if you hit 'em with the Defiler's plague as a Zerg (which is absolutely unrepairable as a Protoss... take the shields out, and they're gone). Zerg + Terran alliance, and you have a heck of a hole you can punch through Protoss armor.

Of course, in college, my roommates stopped playing with me when we did a group game, and I rushed two of the guys with zerglings and took them out in the first few minutes of the game

 

I have seen a bunch of new units in the previews (screenies). Those are good enough for me, I love the damn game so much I will give them 70 bucks if they want it for SC2.
I am a huge fanboy though.
What is really exciting are the new mechanics (I can see glimpses of some in the screenshots). That is what will make the game for me, if there are new ways to build a strategy against rush drags. I hate rush drags.

 

anyone follow the sc scene in korea?
whos ur favorite player

 

I just hope they make the storyline interesting.

That being said, I wonder if Blizzard will ever consider coming up with a 4th world (in addition to Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo)...

 

In my opinion Blizzard has been becoming more ignorant and WoW has made them thing they're Gods gift to gaming. WoW wasnt all that inovative and I think it'll be the same for StarCraft II sadly. Blizzard is going to have their hubris shoved so far up their ass I think they'll believe whatever they give us will be the perfect game. And sadly I think a lot of the public will agree just because its "Godly Blizzard" it has to be the most perfect game ever.

I hope I'm wrong, however.

Back in the day, Starcraft was awesome. A great inovative and almost perfectly balanced game with a nice story if you played single player, and eldless fun for fragging your friends online But RTS's have changed a lot since 1998. I dont want to feel like its just a pretty version of the old StarCraft, I want something that still feels like its SC, but I want some more things to keep me hooked. I expect a lot more from StarCraft 2 and I seriously hope blizzard takes hints from some of the newer RTS's like Warhammer 40K Dawn of War, LotR Battle For Middle Earth, or Command and Conquor 3 and puts something in there to make the game more interesting. The original forumla was good back in the day, but now-a-days you need that extra unique thing to gameplay.

 

You need the unique thing, true. But with Starcraft that has always been the near-perfect balance of each race which still support different styles of play. No experienced player is at a disadvantage with any faction. This hasn't been true in any other RTS that I've tried... there are always unevennesses that take away from the overall experience. There are definite weak factions in things like C&C: Generals. I really hope they learn from what made their first game awesome, and keep it in there.

 

Generals was an awesome game it just received no support. Glad they brought on the lead designer (was he?) of Generals on board for SC: 2.

 

Yes, you are the only one.

 

Here is another idea of mine I think will be very unpopular.

I think high level buildings, vehicles and ships should be immune to small arms fire. This includes things like marines, firebats, hydralisks, zerglings, zealots and so on. This will promote the use of higher level characters.

I know this idea will be very unpopular and I am OK with that.

 

StarCraft2 WishList
- make the terrain destroyable. (e.g. Seige tanks should be able to flatten mountains or even make craters).
- if a flying object is destroyed it should land and destroy whatever is below it
- have the ability to preset actions (think supreme commander)
- A MUCH LARGER FOOD CAP. I want to see armies in the thousands attacking each other for large scaled games!
-the anticipated 4th hybrid race

 

I want to see SC2 become a real *strategy* game on a grand epic scale ..instead of sticking with tactics and predefined objectives like every other RTS out there

 

chyau, one of your wish will be granted. There will definely be a much large food cap. SC caps at 200 because the game itself cant handle any more than that,without crashing. With this new engine on SC2, more units will be allowed.

 

WoW is no where near Blizzard's best game. Starcraft/Warcraft spawned a whole generation of RTS games. Diablo did the same with RPG.

Anyway back on topic if there is a 4th race I think it might be the Xel'Naga.

 

Of course they're not going to innovate. Why would they? They know that they could release the *exact* same game as they did 10 years ago, and it'll sell at least 6 million copies.

They also seem to suffer from a bit of selective blindness and/or arrogance (saying that many of the innovations that have happened in other RTS games are what "keep them from being competetive")
In other words, they're doing like C&C3... Lets RTS like it's 1997...

So I don't expect anything new. I expect a Starcraft 1.5, at best. Then again, SC1 was enjoyable (though I wasn't a huge fan), so who knows, maybe I'll buy it. And even if I don't, millions of Koreans will, so I doubt Blizzard are going to change their recipe.

 

Jalf, you saw that article on Yahoo.com too?

I know I'm gonna snatch my copy of SC2 as soon as the probability of getting murdered while waiting in line drops to a negligible level.

 

The one about "keeping them from being competitive"? No, I saw it on Gamespot.

 

well todays rts have been made easier, there is less micro or macro, or even both.

 

seriously, RTS lately is so autopilot. Of course that leaves more to the player as an actual general and strategist (which I like). They took out a lot of micro, macro, and middle...cro? But love for Starcraft is like a slightly bigger left testicle. It may be embarrassing to some people, but everybody has got it.

 

For those who are a little behind on the news, I'd recommend you guys check out a brief overview of what has been confirmed and what we can expect. This article sums up the majority, if not all, of the important stuff.

The game is definitely evolving from SC/BW. For those who think SC2 will be almost identical to SC/BW, I think you will be in for a huge surprise. All the new features boast a completely different game - not only graphically, but strategically as well.

I completely agree with kickdim and AlexOnFyre (ironic similarity in user name?) that RTS games have steered towards a more automated AI, and much less micro/macro. If you read the overview:

I don't know about anyone else, but how is this geared towards competition? I'll just build my units and send them off and watch the show! What made players like Slayer's Boxer so great? Nearly flawless micro/macro management COMBINED with strategy (anyone remember his infamous SCV rush in a televised championship match ftw?).

Furthermore, the graphics of the game are going to drastically improve. I don't know about you guys, but I was highly impressed with the previews put out. Very detailed, and I bet it is going to be very shader heavy. The only thing I am disappointed with is the current plan to make the game "DirectX 9.0-based" and may not even support DX10 at all. Although for me that is REALLY good news (because I don't plan on upgrading my Quadro 2500m (Go 7900GTX equivalent), it comes off as sheer laziness on Blizzard's part. Hopefully this will indeed be "subject to change before the game ships."

I may have come off as being optimistic in the beginning of the post, but change isn't always a good thing. My expectations for SC2's graphics are really high, but for gameplay... I expect it to be mass mass mass. While it may be strategically massing, it certainly takes away what made the original SC/BW so successful.

Finally, comparing the "greatness" and "success" of WoW and SC/BW is like comparing apples to oranges (but for the record, I'm an oranges kind of guy).

Yeesh, I certainly didn't mean to write an article. Oh well, just my two cents.

 

Terraforming and a good physics engine would be sweet.

/offtopic
I'm still waiting for someone to make a game where no damage is pre-defined, but the impact force is actually calculated, the materials bend or break, and the physical damage would actually be in the deformation of the object, which may or may not impede its functioning.

 

They don't even have that kind of physics for a single unit yet, not even in FPS games. Maybe when the new CryEngine2 comes out we'll see something that mimics damage but there's really nothing that calculates damage to that level... plus calculating the damage for hundreds of units and buildings plus terrain? That's insane, maybe in 10 years.

 

iza the kind of physics you're suggesting is why car companies spend money on supercomputers to simulate car crashes, even the Ageia PhysX processer just adds some more flying debris.

And Starcraft is not Warcraft in Space, I hated having heroes in WCIII because a level 10 hero could survive an attack by an entire army, One of the things I'm looking forward to is the removal of the selection limit

and yes, you are probably the only SC fan that is dissapointed by SC2 previews, if someone thinks it looks the same as warcraft then that person doesn't have a good eye for detail

 

Woah... i just finish watching the new video demo of ingame real time battle on gamespot... sweet..

 

I dont understand why they want to make it involve less micro than wc3. doesn't make much sense to me. wc3 was a lot about micro but so was SC and i thought they were pretty much equal; and strategy usually won in the end.