StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

[EarthlingX]

Some people were waiting a long time for this :

Wiki : StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the award-winning 1998 video game StarCraft. Released on July 27, 2010, the game was developed for concurrent release on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. StarCraft II is split into three installments: the base game with the subtitle Wings of Liberty, and two expansion packs, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void.

pc.ign.com : StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (PC)

StarCraft II continues the epic saga of the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. These three distinct and powerful races clash once again in the fast-paced real-time strategy sequel to the legendary original, StarCraft. Legions of veteran, upgraded, and brand-new unit types will do battle across the galaxy, as each faction struggles for survival.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty's solo campaign will continue the epic saga where it left off in StarCraft: Brood War. The storyline chronicles the exploits of marshal-turned-rebel-leader Jim Raynor and features both familiar faces and new heroes. Players will be able to tailor the experience, choosing their own mission path and selecting technology and research upgrades to suit their playing style throughout the 29-mission campaign.

In addition to the solo campaign, dozens of multiplayer maps are available for competitive play through Battle.net. This improved version of the service has been built from the ground up to offer an unparalleled online play experience, with new features such as voice communication, character profiles and achievements, stat-tracking, ladders and leagues, cloud file storage, and more.
Genre: Real-Time Strategy
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Online Play: 8 Versus
Release Date: July 27, 2010
MSRP: $59.99
Also on: Mac
ESRB: T

http://www.nytimes.com : ‘Easy, Tychus, This Ain’t Science Fiction’

By SETH SCHIESEL

Published: August 1, 2010

Wouldn’t you know, Blizzard’s still got it.

What is “it” you ask? The focus, patience, creative vision and technical chops to create interactive entertainment that surpasses your expectations and delivers fun in ways you never even knew you wanted.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-MppnBso_U[/youtube]

 

[a_lost_packet_]

I watched the vid. There's some nice info there. Unfortunately, fanboy'z balls need to drop and he really should stay away from using "uber", "totally" and "freakin epic" so much that it causes pimples to spontaneously erupt from his viewer's faces. He should also take a bit more care in writing his script.. But, enough of the criticisms. He did the vid which is more than I would have done if I had bought the game.

I'm a Blizzard fan, but not a fanboy. Blizzard has the deserved reputation for putting out polished products and, by the review, this doesn't seem to be any exception. Blizzard's boxes can always be considered to have value-added content if for no other reason than they're usually spit-polished releases and not Beta-Test-3 duds.

Blizzard's goal in life, right now, is to be crowned Emperor of online, competitive play. They already have most of that locked up. Their long-range goal is to dominate the online markets, especially the growing Professional Gaming sector. Starcraft II is their long awaited secret weapon in that war. I don't own it and likely won't for a long while. But, all I can say is that this is Blizzard's Quarterback Rush in their Professional Gaming playbook - They can't afford to let this one slip. I don't think they will.

Blizz still has Diablo III to release. I don't think that is scheduled until 2011. As it is, Diablo III will have been under development for ten years. That's three times longer than most major titles including most MMORPGS. I wouldn't expect a release date any sooner than March 2011. More likely, it'll be in 3rd quarter 2011, IMO. They'll still be riding on the SCII gravy train for awhile and will likely want to be sure that's setup on autorun before boxing what should be their most expected title to ship since WoW.

Ugly, despicable rumor has it that Blizz has been talking to the console market as well... But, if anything has been said about console development for Diablo III or a spinoff, they're tight-lipped about it. So far, it's slated for PC/Mac and multi-market release. Even with Diablo III expected to blow the doors off of most bank vaults, I'm not quite sure it's going to make any money for them until they release expansions. Crazy, ain't it? Development costs are.. costly.

Starcraft looks like a feature rich game with excellent replayability and the added touch of mod tools will certainly push it to the top of the heap in the RTS genre. It's likely to remain in the top five sellers for a good while. The overseas markets are going to go into a feeding frenzy. I imagine we'll see several more reports of rabid Korean fans dying from starvation or jumping out of windows after playing Starcraft II for several weeks straight.

 

[neuvik]

I don't like Blizzard taking Steve Jobs business scheme of being lame and a rake. Pay $60, 3 times...what the hell...



So I'm just gunna trade some ammo to a friend for it when he gets bored....or maybe just swipe it. Like that drugged sleeze ball steve jobs. Also I hope he gets hit by a truck.




You must Construct Additional Pylons!

 

[a_lost_packet_]

I don't like Blizzard taking Steve Jobs business scheme of being lame and a rake. Pay $60, 3 times...what the hell...

I'm not sure what you mean. AFAIK, and that isn't a lot, the two expansions will include storylines for the other two races. Considering that it appears a significant amount of development went into the storyline in this first release, I can only think it fair that to see the other races' storylines, you'll need to buy those expansions.

The biggest buzzkill I have found for the game after having read a bit more about it is the complete lack of LAN multiplayer and a lack of non-regional choices for multiplayer. I assume it all shunts through Blizzard's Battlenet. This is obviously an attempt on them to get control of their game. But, it's much, much, much too restrictive. It's really a game-killer for many people.

Obviously, Blizz is trying to gain significant controls over their intellectual property. I can understand that. However, it disregards the significance of LAN and International Multi-Play that was responsible for a significant portion of their Starcraft player-base. In short, they are cutting off their nose to spite their face on this one.

If they feel they have to tie everyone into Battlenet, then they have to allow for cross-region gaming. There really isn't any other suitable choice. I think the problem they have with that is they're ticked off with the Koreans making a quick buck on broadcasting Starcraft competitive play and want to slap a mechanical desist order in their faces.. Plus, they might be worried about other regions making some money off the top, without paying them any royalties. If they force everyone to connect to Battlenet, there is no ambiguity there whatsoever to argue who the broadcast content belongs to. They'll have to be involved, in a very big way, on every broadcast of gameplay. It's the biggest variable in gaming - $

Their greed is not going to serve them well. Most games don't make profits and despite Blizz's rep, they can not surf the wave of popularity of the original Starcraft forever. Radical changes are going to leave a bad taste in many mouths and nobody likes to be perceived as a money-grubbing, restrictive, game-whoring mega-corp... Just look at SOE and Electronic Arts, both with horrible public reputations as far as gamers are concerned. Activision ain't got so hot of a rep either and this certainly doesn't help them repair that.

 

[EarthlingX]

The biggest buzzkill I have found for the game after having read a bit more about it is the complete lack of LAN multiplayer and a lack of non-regional choices for multiplayer. I assume it all shunts through Blizzard's Battlenet. This is obviously an attempt on them to get control of their game. But, it's much, much, much too restrictive. It's really a game-killer for many people.

:shock: Wow that sux

Me no go to Battlenet, thank you.

This is similar trend you see all over the place - everyone, again, trying to push their own standards, instead of trying to find some common ground, from which all can work and profit.

I also hear that advancement in the single user campaign, units and such, will not be available in the multiplay, and that is another suck factor. At least they are going to include moding tools, editor at least, and that used to be a very good part of the package. Perhaps to find some ideas, hopefully not covered by copyrights, which might be tricky, or at least some reason to complain a bit more

 

[a_lost_packet_]

This is similar trend you see all over the place - everyone, again, trying to push their own standards, instead of trying to find some common ground, from which all can work and profit.

That has been tried as well, to some extent. The STEAM content delivery/MP service has had some success. A number of other similar services are out there as well. All require extra software, security changes and blah, blah, blah... Really a painful process for most people. Games also have huge verification issues and, many times, require completely different patches/bugfixes compared to their boxed versions.

Dongles are making their presence known. A number of games are starting to move into that area. Blizzard's WoW has a dongle option that significantly increases security and verification. It can also be set up to be used on a cell-phone so the actual dongle is not needed. All one needs to do is call in to get a login/verification code. In situations with games with a high chance of piracy/nefarious doings, I think dongle-like verifications are what is needed. Eventually, I think we'll see many games go over to a similar type of service. It's possible someone should create a company that specializes in that... any takers?

I also hear that advancement in the single user campaign, units and such, will not be available in the multiplay, and that is another suck factor. At least they are going to include moding tools, editor at least, and that used to be a very good part of the package. Perhaps to find some ideas, hopefully not covered by copyrights, which might be tricky, or at least some reason to complain a bit more

That's probably a balance issue. After all, the SP game is meant for single play. So, a player being able to get an Advanced unit for humans would not be so fun for the guy playing the Zerg...

I do think the modkit inclusion is very, very nice. The modding community for games is huge and growing every day. Some boxed games even had their origins as fan-created mods of other games. Blizz introducing moddability into their game is a true bonus. There's going to be all sorts of things done with that engine for a long time to come. Huge replayability factor there.

 

[robotical]

I plan on ordering it from Amazon tonight.

The one thing I really dislike with the newer standards is the online verification. It tends to add a lot of extra start up time and occasionally makes the game unplayable when I lose internet access for whatever reason.

 

[neuvik]

I'm not sure what you mean. AFAIK, and that isn't a lot, the two expansions will include storylines for the other two races. Considering that it appears a significant amount of development went into the storyline in this first release, I can only think it fair that to see the other races' storylines, you'll need to buy those expansions.

Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, who besides just being a douche I can have fun raging about has ******** marketing ploys. His latest jab at the working man being the IPad with no USB ports....which will soon be released...and then again with something else it already should have had. And how Blizzard is resorting to that form of a liberal industrial complex filled with greed keeping the working warrior...err, man, down! I'd hate to buy a new Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion every time I wanted to try a new race...or Unreal Tournamet so I can change my name to troll more team kills online.

And with that said I will now return to my latest hypocritical gig on Warhammer Online paying $15...tehehe.

I'll prolly get it when its like $20 in a battlechest at KMart...or as I said...steal it.

 

[newbie03nuker]

I plan on ordering it from Amazon tonight.

The one thing I really dislike with the newer standards is the online verification. It tends to add a lot of extra start up time and occasionally makes the game unplayable when I lose internet access for whatever reason.

I suggest you do and after you play you can't stop your self. Coz the game is freaking awesome. I've been playing it non-stop for the last week. I may say all the sacrifices that made by not buying aion kinah for a month just to have the SC2 copy are all worth it.:lol: :mrgreen:

 

[EarthlingX]

I hear ya

Just got through the campaign for the second time, and now i got to the point where i'm a bit disappointed with skirmish, which doesn't include all of the units from the campaign. My first attempt to fix this treachery with the editor was not successful, it looks like i'll have to read the manual .. :roll:

Welcome to SDC newbie03nuker

 

[a_lost_packet_]

..Just got through the campaign for the second time, and now i got to the point where i'm a bit disappointed with skirmish, which doesn't include all of the units from the campaign. My first attempt to fix this treachery with the editor was not successful, it looks like i'll have to read the manual .. :roll: ...

Good luck.

I don't have the game, haven't played it or even seen it played besides some screenshots. But, Blizz has definitely stripped advanced units from multiplayer and I wouldn't doubt that they would make it very difficult to include them in skirmish mode as well.

I bet once you own all the expansions, that "unlocks" all the advanced units for all sides... or some equally ridiculous marketing gimmick like that.

 

[EarthlingX]

I feel no rush to do it, but i suspect those units to be in separate files which are not configured to be included in skirmish. In worst case scenario it would probably be necessary to extract them from where there are, and create a new file to include. Bit messy, but very likely doable.
I think they are not included because in this part, the game is focused on Terran campaign, and there are not so many different units for other species, which means that if campaign units would be included, it would ruin game balance in the skirmish.

 

[a_lost_packet_]

..it would ruin game balance in the skirmish.

Exactly so.

 

[robotical]

Got it a week ago and really enjoy it. I'd be playing it a lot more except for two things: 1) Wife would kill me 2) My processor is below min. specs. and loading takes forever and a day (although the game runs smoothly enough in single).

It plays exactly like the original and that's a good thing (completed seven missions so far w/o difficulty on normal). The upgrade and research systems are a really nice touch and I'm enjoying the story so far. Haven't tried anything outside of campaign yet.

 

[strandedonearth]

I wonder how long until all 3 races are available in a BattleChest for the same price as this first installment...?

 

[a_lost_packet_]

I wonder how long until all 3 races are available in a BattleChest for the same price as this first installment...?

When you see it sitting in a bargain bin, after virtual-reality projection TV's have been replaced by Star Trek Holodecks..

 

[EarthlingX]

thefutureofthings.com : Catalyst 10.8 Brings StarCraft II 'A+'

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Ehud Rattner

The ATI Catalyst 10.8 drivers have popped up on AMD's website, and those looking for a smoother StarCraft II experience will be pleased. New in this release is anti-aliasing for StarCraft II, City of Heroes and City of Heroes Going Rogue, as well as the new application profiles for Crossfire users. Interestingly, these new drivers contain hints at possible new upcoming ATI GPUs. (source: www2.ati.com)

 

[a_lost_packet_]

Interesting. I wonder if it'll help my opengl problems I have with a legacy card and some 3D apps... I'll have to d'load that. Thanks for the headsup!

 

[kk434]

starcraft1 was flown on a shuttle mission, wonder if starcraft 2 will make it to space as well.