So, the new Terran units were recently mentioned in a SuperPLAY (swedish gaming magazine)-article. Why I do this post is because I translated pretty much the whole article on another thread, but guess it'll dissapear in the crowd on page, like, 15 on a thread with a totally diffrent name. So I make a new thread out of it. Without further ado, here's the article:
BLIZZARD PLAYS SAFE
Starcraft II can become many things. Pioneering isn’t one of them. Super PLAY’s author has as the first Swede played Blizzard’s vision of future’s RTS – and think it feels strangely familiar.
- Can the fort shoot targets in the air, too, or only ground targets?
- How many troops can a transport carry?
- Are there any units that can avoid the radar?
The questions whine through the heads of Blizzards representatives that have just demonstrated Starcraft 2 before we’re allowed to play for ourselves.
But the questions are a bit odd. Especially to come directly after the showcase of such a anticipated game from the world’s probably most loved developers.
They’re exclusively about game balance. Numbers. Which ship that’s the most effective against yours. Which weapon that works best against what. Which troops that can be invisible. Who that can lay mines and how big the damage is if you’re shooting if from a distance and happen to have a unit close to the explosion – less then if you happen to step on it, or not?
The questions are actually only interesting because they reveal how incredibly conventional a sequel Starcraft 2 is. In a genre that haven’t seen anything more pioneering since it’s introduction Blizzard is absolutely determinated to not be the one to break the trend. That explicitly includes in the project description to not be *too* creative. But at there’s a new transport unit – that holds five infantries.
I’m neither belonging to Blizzards most dedicated fans that would eat shit if it had the right logo nor those who consider that a game has to break new ground to have any means of existence. But after time and time again have had been royally owned by my more Starcraft-oriented journalist colleges I can soberly state that Starcraft 2 in the end can be however. Without having played the finished version I know disappearingly little about the game balance, and in an RTS that’s all that counts.
FIRST MATCH
In my premier match I’m totally lost because I don’t know what units are good to what. But I’ve always been a sucker to flying units and decide to run die hard to get the cruellest protoss airship: The Mothership.
I check the game’s most temporary tech-tree that looks like something I’ve been able to draw in Paint. Nothing’s decided yet. It’s that pre-alpha means. But I build myself a Stargate and all needed upgrades to be able to build my gigantic mothership. And I gather insane amounts of resources to be able to upgrade the mothership in two rounds and get the new attacks Planet Scourch and Black Hole.
Build a few Tempests as support and glide my majestetic army out of my zone of comfort – and immediately meet the opposition. A journalist from the English PC Format [his name is censored in my translation, but it used in the original article] has a whole armada with Tempests. And a mothership of his own! A wild dogfight breaks out and I get forced to retreat with a smoking mothership to my home base. Fortunately he turns aside and aborts the attack. Perhaps because I’ve build a gang of defence towers.
I repair the mothership quick as lightning by sacrificing all its manapoints, which slowly regenerates. Time to when it’s smoking hot again the PC Format-guy returns, with mothership and all. I for the first time test my black hole. And here Blizzard seem to have a balance-question ahead of them. The hole sucks every one of Jums ships, including the Mothership, and leaves him totally without an air force in a matter of seconds.
I think he probably won’t have much more to come with, so I go on rampage with my ships. Find three spread-out bases to destroy more or less undisturbed. I feel like a king. Gliding around a bit more, and freeze in the middle of a grin when I fly into an enemy base I completely missed. There, my opponent have gathered many enough of vehicles to crush my mothership and then take the fight to me in my now undefended base – I’ve only flown around like a looser without continuing to build new war toys.
After that he makes the process rather short.
It sure felt fun that the match turned so quickly towards the end. And the 53 minute long replay was interesting to see on the highest speed. Blizzard’s American PR-responsible didn’t even know the replay was implemented yet, but I can hereby report that it’s working fine.
SECOND MATCH
In match number two I intend to build the mothership again, as fast as I could. Now I’ve learned the tech-tree. Fourteen minutes after the start- about one minute before my mothership would’ve been complete – I see a change in the air in my base and then a warning that I’m under attack. Dark Templars!
Because I’ve built neither a cannon tower nor an Overseer I can’t even put my units to attack the opponent’s permanently invisible units. He cuts down my most important nodes that gives the power-supply to the buildings in my base and transports a couple of Stalkers.
Right. Thanks and good night.
A few general impressens from the world’s first online-matches in Starcraft II (apart from the first intern betweens Blizzards’ employees):
It’s all familiar. The interface is already in this early pre-alpha a wonder of clearness. If Blizzard were to decide the layout on the interface today I wouldn’t complain. I’m especially glad about the idle-button that reveals idle workers that’s not gathering or building anything.
The vespene gas and miners that’s gathered to be able to build new stuff is the same as before and works the same as before. Remember: Don’t scare away the fans!
Blizzard always comes back to that Starcraft II won’t reinvent the wheel. Perhaps that’s why it’s so surprisingly easy to get into. Right at this early stage, possibly two to three years before release, it’s possible to play large multiplayer-matches without any problems. The shortcuts are where they’re supposed to be and all info you’ll ever need is shown either in static textboxes or in pop-up windows when I click a building or vehicle.
Blizzard simply wants to create a tight and action-filled real time strategy game that uses all the experience they’ve gained throughout the years. With right time, right resources and right game balance they will succeed. And the Starcraft-fans will be over joyous – I saw four of them almost faint today when they noticed that you can move the cannon-towers in your base.
To a hardcore-gamer a small change can feel enormous. And be all that’s needed.
I took the game’s lead producer Cris Sigaty and lead designer Dusting Browder aside to ask those questions that’s not about armour, ammunition and rate of fire.
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Following this is an interview that doesn't give us much. Also, there's a few questions on the article which answeres might be of interest.
---------------------------------------------- Questions ---------------------
When does it release?
"When it's done". Earliest 2008. Hopefully before 2010.
What did you get to play?
Four-player matches, protoss on protoss, on two different maps.
How many players can meet in multiplayer?
At least 8.
What formats will it release on?
Mac and PC, simultaneously.
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I also made another translation of those new units, used as texts next to small pictures. I know this isn't new, but it's just as well hidden on a 15ish page.
--------------------------- Yet another translation -------------------------------------------------------
Terrans
We got to see but not touch the human warriors in Starcraft II. Here's what we know of any value about them. Some are old friends while others are new acquaintances.
Viking Fighter
Say hello to terran's own transformer. The Viking can swap form from aircraft to walking robot. Clever if you fly to an enemy base and get attacked by Anti Air.
Supply Depot
New to the arthlings base: A building you can undeploy and sink down below ground so your units can pass by. Works nice as a first obstacle to your base in the early phases.
Marine
Starcraft wouldn't be anything without it's marines, who are the backbone of the Terran Armada.
Planetary Fortress
Terrans' Command Center* can upgrade to a Planetary Fortress. This is a Command Center with a damn lot of defensive weapons on.
*Original word "högkvarter" is a free swedish translation of CC that becomes HQ if you translate back.
Thor
The Heaviest* new guy is called Thor and have gotten it's name from the Thunder God. One of these buddies can pluck** a whole base on his own hand.
*Original word "Fetaste" is slang somewhere along "big", "bad" and "heavy".
**Original phrase "plocka ner" is more slang often used for "beating someone up".
Sensor Dome
With one of these sensors you can see enemy unit on the map even if they're moving in unexplored areas.
Ghost
Yupp. The Ghosts are in once more*.
Original phrase is "med igen", which is just hell to translate, as "returns" indicated it's been gone, as does "back again".
Protoss
Protoss was the faction that we were actually allowed to play with and blast to smithereens.
Twilight Archon
Sacrifice two Dark Templars and voilá*! You get an even meaner Twilight Archon. But you probably already knew this.
*"häpp" isn't even slang, but something the author made up. It's tone is "not much a problem" and "tadaa!" at the same time.
High Templar
Recognised, p'haps?
Dark Templar.
Damn Dark Templar. Second match was over after excactely 15 minites when a German ran in with three invisible Dark Templars in my base and cleared up most stuff. I didn't manage to build any Overseer, which can discover invisible units.
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The Superplay article translated
says: ROACHHHH!!!
Linear Mode
