I'm surprised no one else has posted this news:
Starcraft 2 Finally Revealed
Looks pretty damn impressive.
Full Version: Starcraft II
This has been a long time comin'.
I wonder when it will come out. The reps for Diablo III said it will release in the next 10 years...
I personally loved Starcraft. I thought it was great. This has been a long time coming, and looks just as good as the first one. I'm eagerly waiting when it comes out.
While there was hope - given the apparent advanced state of the game and an early interview with a Blizzard representative - that Starcraft II would be hitting stores in late 2007.
Another Blizzard rep has firmly ruled that out, stating that the only thing they know for sure about the release date is that it won't be coming in 2007.
Another Blizzard rep has firmly ruled that out, stating that the only thing they know for sure about the release date is that it won't be coming in 2007.
Gawd I love Blizzard.
A few more Protoss units are up for preview on the Starcraft II website.
Looks like the Protoss force is getting a lot of overhaul. They were really strong before, and this makes them super tough. I'll be interested to see what the coutner is for their new units.
Some of the Terran units have now been unveiled, including a transformer! 
Which Transformer? Optimus, Prowl, Wheeljack? I'm eager to know.
Well, in the same event that Diablo III was announced, a brief progress report on Starcraft II was given.
According to Blizzard VP Rob Pardo, the campaign is only one-third complete. He promised that there would be more to show by the end of 2008.
So it's looking like a mid-to-late 2009 release for Starcraft II at the very earliest.
According to Blizzard VP Rob Pardo, the campaign is only one-third complete. He promised that there would be more to show by the end of 2008.
So it's looking like a mid-to-late 2009 release for Starcraft II at the very earliest.
More than two years after its announcement, SC2 is nearly in Beta-testing phase. This could mean a Holiday Season 2009 release for the game, but seeing as how Blizzard is being just as vague about when Beta might begin as they are any other dates, it's foolish to speculate.
Apparently, this has been split into three separate games, each with an as-yet-undetermined release date. The first out of the gate will be the Human Campaign.
To me, this seems like a pretty irritating strategy, and it's hard for me to believe that the campaigns for all three races are so sprawling that they each require separate billing.
To me, this seems like a pretty irritating strategy, and it's hard for me to believe that the campaigns for all three races are so sprawling that they each require separate billing.
How it's been explained to me is each race in the first game had a campaign of about ten missions, totaling thirty missions right. Well, this is supposed to have thirty missions per race, so you're essentially getting a full game with each. Also, you only have to have one of the games to play any of the three races in multi-player. I still think it's bullshit and have decided to not get any of them because of this.
I suppose that it's only good if you only like to play 1 aspect of the game. I like that you get to play any in multiplayer, but still the campaigns on this are going to have to be something pretty spectacular to make this viable in my eyes.
I have never played Starcraft, so I don't know how long these "missions" are individually, but it doesn't sound like 30 would amount to an amount of playtime that's comparable to most modern games.
Actually, it took me a good 10-15 hours to complete one of the original campaigns in Starcraft, so tha's 30-45 hours of game play, give or take.
Each of the games are set to come out roughly 3-6 months apart, and each game will have full multiplayer capability within it. Each race is getting a longer campaign, as Treb said about 30 missions per. There will also be additional story stuff, and between mission stuff you can do. For me, a mission took anywhere from 15 minutes to well over an hour. That, plus the battle reports they've posted (videos of pro players narrated by the game developers), it seems like there's going to be a lot more to this. Beta is set to begin in the next month or so, with a target date for the first game to release between November and January.
What say you about the concept of breaking the races up into separate games? Especially as a man of limited means with a family to see after. I know you're a big Starcraft/Warcraft fan, so do you (and will you be) buying into this?
I will indeed. Here's how I look at this.
First, I would be buying the game when, or near, the time it comes out. As you so correctly stated, I'm a big fan of the Blizz RTS games. So the $40-$50 for the Terran game I'd be dropping anyway. So for the first game, I see no problems at all.
Game two comes out, say six to eight months later. Let's call it the Protoss campaign. While faster then would normally happen, I'm looking at this as an expansion. More game, similar to the first. Continuation of the story. Chance to add some extra things, because let's face it, Blizz has no issues adding small things right before they release a game. If they find something is missing from game 1, add it to game two.
Now we're to game three, the Zerg (my favorite race of the three). This is where it becomes a little harder to swallow, as if we're on the same time frame (Terran's Winter '09, Protoss Summer '10, Zerg Winter'10), then there's a likely chance that this is going to be coming out very, very close to the next WoW expansion (which will be announced this year at BlizzCon). If it comes down to this or WoW, this will likely lose out, if only for a couple of months.
There is one factor, however, that I will have in my favor. I know how to work a situation. If Terrans come out this winter, it's top of the X-mas list. Protoss in June? Happy Father's Day to me! That leaves birthday, anniversary, and the following X-mas for the other two games.
Am I happy that this is the way that they're choosing to do this? Not really, no. However, if the game is going to be as in depth as they're saying (30 missions per race, where the first game plus Brood War had only 18 per race), then I think this is well worth it. Essentially, it's a game and two expansions, just coming out quickly instead of over a 2-3 year period.
First, I would be buying the game when, or near, the time it comes out. As you so correctly stated, I'm a big fan of the Blizz RTS games. So the $40-$50 for the Terran game I'd be dropping anyway. So for the first game, I see no problems at all.
Game two comes out, say six to eight months later. Let's call it the Protoss campaign. While faster then would normally happen, I'm looking at this as an expansion. More game, similar to the first. Continuation of the story. Chance to add some extra things, because let's face it, Blizz has no issues adding small things right before they release a game. If they find something is missing from game 1, add it to game two.
Now we're to game three, the Zerg (my favorite race of the three). This is where it becomes a little harder to swallow, as if we're on the same time frame (Terran's Winter '09, Protoss Summer '10, Zerg Winter'10), then there's a likely chance that this is going to be coming out very, very close to the next WoW expansion (which will be announced this year at BlizzCon). If it comes down to this or WoW, this will likely lose out, if only for a couple of months.
There is one factor, however, that I will have in my favor. I know how to work a situation. If Terrans come out this winter, it's top of the X-mas list. Protoss in June? Happy Father's Day to me! That leaves birthday, anniversary, and the following X-mas for the other two games.
Am I happy that this is the way that they're choosing to do this? Not really, no. However, if the game is going to be as in depth as they're saying (30 missions per race, where the first game plus Brood War had only 18 per race), then I think this is well worth it. Essentially, it's a game and two expansions, just coming out quickly instead of over a 2-3 year period.
Throwing a wrench into Oogie's diabolical holiday-exploiting scheme: Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty May Slip to a 2010 Release Date
One flaw in their article- Blizz doesn't do a 5-6 month beta. Their betas tend to run 3 months tops. Word from my Blizz insider is that they're going to announce the Starcraft 2 beta at BlizzCon in a couple weeks, going live before the end of the month. If that's the case, and I'm betting it is, the beta will be done late October-mid November.
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