In classic style, many strategies from the Original StarCraft were employed by the Terran player. With a Supply Depot and Barracks blocked entrance, the Terran player amassed Marines and Siege Tanks and kept on the offensive.

The Terran’s first attempt was quelled, followed by a poor decision by the Protoss player - no counter! In a matter of minutes, the Terran player built up his forces once again and followed the classic Marine/Siege Tank push to win the game!

This interview with Frank Pearce, hosted by GamesIndustry.biz, has questions from all over the map - covering the Blizzard Company, Diablo III, StarCraft 2, and Battle.net 2.0. We have cut through the fat and laid out the details concerning StarCraft 2 players:
 

 

Q: How are you hoping to advance community building in the upcoming revamped Battle.net?

Frank Pearce: That’s going to be a big challenge for us. It’s something we’ve got to figure out and we definitely have an ambitious feature set plan in store for the Battle.net launch with StarCraft II. Definitely improved friends list, improved functionality for groups, whether that’s clans or guilds, better chat functionality, voice over IP, anything we can do. Some of it’s going to depend on how ambitious the feature is, whether we can get it in conjunction with StarCraft II or if it has to come out at a later date. We’ll see what we can do. 

 

Q: Have you looked at what other RTS titles have done, such as Command & Conquer 3’s video chat function?

Frank Pearce: I haven’t had a chance to look at that myself yet but we’ve got guys on the StarCraft II team that play other RTS’s pretty regularly. They have a library of RTS games in the dev team they’re in, so we look at all that stuff and take inspiration where it makes sense. 

 

Q: How do you intend to make Battle.net the hub for e-sports, considering a number of contenders that have taken the lead since its launch?

Frank Pearce: We’ll take a look at the ladder system and the ranking system and see how we can improve that. Better support for leagues, whether they’re Blizzard leagues or third-party leagues, better support for play-by-play commentary, better support for replays. In Warcraft III the replays function wasn’t something we contemplated from the beginning, whereas in StarCraft II, seeing how critical that was for e-spot in Warcraft III, we definitely put that in form day one. 

 

Q: In discussions with people from Blizzard I’ve noticed that the original StarCraft and expansion, Brood War, is close to your hearts maybe even more so than any other games. Why is this?

Frank Pearce: A lot of the veteran leadership of Blizzard Entertainment worked on StarCraft. I was a programmer on StarCraft, Mike [Morhaime] worked code on StarCraft. It was something that not only were we excited to play from a player perspective but we were also emotionally invested in the development. We poured our blood, sweat and tears into that product.

Mike had to take a business trip for the purpose of dealing with some StarCraft: Brood War stuff, he took that business trip on his birthday - that’s how important StarCraft was to us at the time. I think it has a lot to do with the emotional investment in the development of the title. 

Source: GamesIndustry.biz (Blizzard’s Frank Pearce)

If you think this is news, you should definitelly read over our commentary and video from the US and EURO StarCraft 2 press conferences at this past Blizzcon:

• Blizzcon StarCraft 2 US Press Conference Coverage
• Blizzcon StarCraft 2 EURO Press Conference Coverage

An amazing video - watch it above now! The video starts off with some narration by Zeratul, describing the return of the Xel’ Naga. From this, the camera pans to reveal Zeratul and further on to reveal an immense environment. As Zeratul navigates the terrain, he is soon confronted by Zerg forces and an intense battle ensues. Once Zeratul destroys everything in his path, a dark silhouette emerges from the shadows - it is Kerrigan, Queen of Blades!

Blizzard will ensure that “DOTA, or a DOTA like map” will be possible in StarCraft 2! Huge news for any WarCraft 3 DOTA fan. Lets get into the known details…

Defense of the Ancients is a popular WarCraft 3 Map

With the addition of the star map in Wings of Libery, many new characters are being introduced into the StarCraft lore. These characters will provide missions and have various interactions with Raynor throughout the campaign. Being a DOTA player, I wondered wether or not these characters would also have a placeable unit within the map editor itself. The answer is yes.

In addition to all these additional characters, what about leveling and hero abilities? Yes, there will be a leveling system that will allow characters to level up within custom maps. In addition, equipment and abilities will also be included into the map editor.

There will also be a map editor included with the official BETA, so DOTA map authors will have the ability to provide Blizzard with direct feedback on features missing that are needed to create a DOTA map. This goes for any map author…

So, with the addition of all these new characters/heros, a leveling system, and equipment/abilties - we certainly foresee a StarCraft 2 DOTA map in the future!

Please watch the attached video for more detail.

As with the StarCraft 2 US Press Conference, Chris Sigaty sits down with us, and other SC2 fansites, to answer our questions on all areas of StarCraft 2. Sit back and relax, watch the HD video or simply skim through our analysis below:

Stefanie Gwinner, RTS Community Rep for Europe, and us :)

StarCraft Trilogy Pricing:
Not clear yet. Chris really gave no indication at all as to how much each game will cost.

Chirs goes on to explain that from the very begining, Blizzard envisioned doing two expansions. Chris also went on to make it clear that creating a Trilogy was not about generating massive profits, but allowing them the vehicle to expand upon the story and further build on the previous releases to create epic gameplay history.

Battle.net Data Integration with the web:
Integration with the web will happen in conjunction with the release of Battle.net 2.0. While Chris would not reveal any detail, we expect similiar abilities webmasters have available with World of Warcraft data.

Trilogy Online Gameplay:
Ashton from StarCraft2Hungary.com, a StarCraftZine affiliate, asked how the additional games will affect the online gameplay of StarCraft 2. While Chris held back any detail on how the additional games will build upon the multiplayer aspect, he did - jokingly - hint towards a forth race!

The forth race rumor is not new, see our post on the StarCraft 2 Forth Race rumor. I am sure we will continue to see more hints and winks on a forth race as game development progresses.

Each release will feature new units and abilities for each race. However, Chris goes on to discuss that each version may not be exclusively supported in the way that you can play the Original StarCraft or Broodwar seperately. With three seperate games, supporting all three may be too complicated for both the player and Blizzard. At this point however, Blizzard hasn’t even thought about it seriously.

Shared Teams:
Chris is a huge fan of Shared Teams. Will be in SC2!

Forth Race - Xel Naga?:
Xel Naga is not out-of-question, however, most focus right now is on the current 3 races. Chris goes on to mention that more information has yet to be revealed on the Xel Naga, referring to the Zeratul video played to a crowd of thousands on Day 1 of Blizzcon.

Original StarCraft Map Conversion:
Expect to find your favorite original StarCraft maps available in StarCraft 2. Currently, Big Game Hunters and Lost Temple already exsist.

Difference in each Trilogy Game:
In Wings of Liberty, “Tech Purchase” will be exclusive to Wings of Liberty. In the followup games, for both Zerg and Protoss, upgrades will be handled differently. For the Zerg, Kerrigan will play more of role - almost as a hero with leveling capabilities that affect the colony as a whole. For the Protoss, the focus will be on diplomacy between other Protoss factions and races. Depending on which factions you ally or anger, will affect the gameplay therein. The main theme you will see between all three games is the ability to interact with environements and characters in-between missions.

Minimum Requirements:
Still working on putting a minimum system requirements. Aim to be able to play 3v3 matches with minimum requirements.

StarCraft 2 BETA - Wings of Liberty:
Will no be available this year. Just recently started a full company inner-alpha. More BETA keys will be available. Traditionally, never surpassed 40,000 keys. However, expectation for SC2 beta will be larger.

Chris Sigaty rockin

In this video, we sit down, among with other SC2 fansites, with Chris Sigaty to get some insight on some of the latest SC 2 topics. While some questions were better than others, overall it was a great Q&A session. Here is our wrap-up of the US press conference:

StarCraft 2 Replays:
A new feature called Bookmarks will be implemented into the replay functionality of StarCraft 2. There will be both standard and user customizable bookmark functionalities.

For example, there may be automatic bookmarks set at every 5 or 10 minute mark. This would allow the user to quick jump throughout the replay without have to spend time fast forwarding. Very similiar to the difference between DVD and Tapes.

With user customizable bookmarks, the replay author could set bookmarks at particular battles and other points of interest.

Technical Aspects:
There will be true support for multi-core processors. This will allow the game to take advantage of the extra processing power from new generation multi-core processes, like the duel and quad core processors.

True support for 64-bit systems will not be available for Wings of Libery. However, you will still be able to play StarCraft 2 on your 64-bit system, it just will not be true 64-bit gameplay. Wings of Libery is being coded ontop of a 32-bit engine. Later releases may offer true 64-bit support.

StarCraft Trilogy’s Impact on Online Play:
Additional Trilogy games will “enhance” and add-to the multiplay environment. The way it was described was very similiar to an expansion pack. So expect additional units, abilities, maps, etc to be added into the mulitplayer environment. However, details are sparse on how three seperate StarCraft 2 games will interact online. For example, will you be able to choose between all three as with StarCraft and Broodwar?

Race Gameplay Tutorials:
Outside of the campaign, there will be resources for players to learn on the gameplay aspect of each race. Details are skim, but we expect some sort of custom map training mission pack with each race.

New Map Editor:
There will be online resources available to map authors in order to easily get up and running with the new editor. In addition, there will be a beta process for the map editor, to ensure that it is just as ready as the main game at launch.

A scripting language will be available for the new SC2 Map Editor. In addition, XML will be supported.

Battle.net 2.0:
Updated match making system similiar to WarCraft III. Geo-location will be a factor in order to help reduce latency. While details are scarce, “community” and “social” improvements will be implemented to help gamers find like-minded players to game with.

eSport:
Easy capability for eSport management companies to host games and tournaments. A focus on additional awareness of eSport games, with possible audience modes for official eSport matches.

Upon entry through Hall A of the convention space, you are greeted with a huge StarCraft 2 sign - signaling all who enter that this was StarCraft 2 gameplay demo area. The gameplay area had around 200 hundred computers, all loaded-up with the newest gameplay demo of StarCraft 2. There was not one single computer under-utilized, as there was always a line of people waiting to get their hands on some SC2 action.

We had an opportunity to record some in-game reactions to StarCraft 2, from first time players. In the video, you will see that everyone is seriously taken back by the sheer beauty of the updated in-game graphics. Also, the end of the video features an interview with a group of three who just finished playing. We ask them their opinions on StarCraft 2 and get their feedback on some of the newer units.

Also, you will see some highlights from a pro StarCraft match between Jangbi (Protoss) and Nada (Terran) from the Pro RTS Tournament Stage. What an amazing game! Want more than just highlights, catch the entire game here. In fact, check out our YouTube Channel for all the pro StarCraft tournament games that were held at Blizzcon 2008.

Again, what an amazing day. Be sure to check back again, for more videos from Day 2 of Blizzcon 2008.

A special thanks to Don, Dave, and Erin for the interview!

Buy upgrades for future missions.

Within the Battlecruiser, you have the ability to freely explore the confines of the ship - which includes several mentioned rooms:

1. Armory: where you can buy upgrades for future missions, such as bunker upgrades and stim packs.
2. Cantina: where you can shoot the shit and grab a cold one with your favorite SC NPCs.
3. Command: where you choose missions.

Choose your mission from the star map.

Throughout the Battlecuriser, you will be surrounded with clickable environments that allow you to interact with almost anything. For example, the video illustrates interacting with a radio (plays music), a tv (expands storyline and depth with news reports), and pictures of Raynor on the wall (reminicant of the past).

At command, you interact with a “Star Map” that outlines various areas that you have and have not explored. This is where you choose missions to embark on, giving you the choice to proceede with missions that interest you the most. With each mission, you will encounter new characters and be rewarded with various upgrades for future missions. In addition, once you complete a mission for another character - that character will actually join you aboard the Battlecruiser where he/she may offer you additional missions in the future.

The video also includes footage from an early Terran mission. The objective for this mission to hold a base securely against the Zerg until reinforcements can arrive. Once they arrive, you hop aboard the Battlecruiser and begin your journey into the story of the Terran campaign, Wings of Libery.

That’s right, your eyes are not deceiving you! StarCraft 2 will actually be a trilogy of three seperate games, with each game focusing on a particular race. Here are the titles:

1. “Terran - Wings of Libery“: Focuses on the Jim Raynor, a freedom fighter, and resolving his relationship with Kerrigan “The Queen of Blades”.
2. “Zerg - Heart of the Swarm“: In this episode, Kerrigan takes center stage with a campaign that focuses on her story.
3. “Protoss - Legacy of the Void“: The third episode, Legacy of the Void, centers around Zeratul and his story.

With three seperate games, one can only imagine how far Blizzard will develop each story. You can expect more story, more characters, more missions, more cinematics, more depth - more everything from StarCraft 2! At the announcement, Blizzard elaborates more on the effects of a Trilogy:

• Nothing changes for multiplayer and skirmish. All three races will be fully implemented.
• Each campaign should feel like an epic story, not be a cliffhanger into the next one.
• More content than we previously planned (movies, missions, etc).

In our video, we capture this very announcement and I invite you to watch it - as you can really feel the energy in the crowd. After the gathering we meet up with David, an avid StarCraft fan, and discuss his reaction on the announcement and take on the playable demo that was available at Blizzcon 2008.

A special thanks to David for the interview.