Blizzard Confirms New Product, May Be Starcraft 2 229
darkhitman writes "According to a Kotaku post yesterday, Blizzard has confirmed that they'll announce a new product at their World Wide Invitation in Korea next month. The statement issued by Blizzard verified that they 'do intend to announce a new product [...] next month" and "plan to revisit [Starcraft] at some point in the future,' but did not confirm the rumor that the new game would be Starcraft 2 — but we can certainly hope."
heh (Score:3, Funny)
Blizzard announces... (Score:5, Funny)
Not far from the truth. (Score:5, Informative)
Job Update 4/26/07
New Position - Lead Engine Programmer Next-Gen MMO
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Starcraft was the last computer game I played regularly before school and life got in the way. Now that I'm a little older and have some disposable income, I'd be seriously tempted to throw down in an Alienware or something or WoS came out.
Re:Not far from the truth. (Score:4, Insightful)
Why can't that be a position for their current MMO?
WoW has been running on the same engine since release in late 2004. Many MMOs (Dark Age for example) are constantly updating their game engine. Maybe this is just a new engine for the same MMO.
Re:Not far from the truth. (Score:4, Interesting)
It's worth noting that Blizzard have recently renewed their trademark on Blackthorne [uspto.gov]. Trademarks on other Blizzard games from that era appear to remain untouched.
What's blackthorne? (Score:2)
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Re:Not far from the truth. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not far from the truth. (Score:5, Interesting)
That way, you get the franchise revitalized and updated, making the expected shedloads of money, while also setting things up for the MMO to follow. And if they really are working on Ghost in-house, then if the MMO is delayed, there's another entry in the Starcraft franchise to keep interest in the brand up.
OTOH (Score:2)
says that aren't.
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Chris Mattern
Actually... (Score:2)
Well, now seriously, maybe it's just me, but I've had it up to here with all MMOs being medieval fantasy. Nothing wrong with fantasy as such, but a little variety is good, you know?
Well, that's maybe not technically true, so let me rephrase it a bit. There are a couple of SF MMOs, but so far they sucked hairy ass. Anarchy Online... well, read the Something Awful review, and know that SA is actually kind to them. It was actually even buggier and less fu
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So in the end, they keep the current audience, and gain even more customers.
Now add to this the idea that someone is tired of WoW and is about to stop playing. They look for another MMORPG that is more fun, and f
Other games at blizzard (Score:2)
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I belive that happened with the SC, and WC2/3. Map editors aren't a problem as long as there are tons of fans lined up to contribute their own modifications after the release. And, in my opinion, expandability is the best thing about Blizzard RTS'es (and most other RTS'es). Even if the story is too bland, modders have a new base to work with. If the game mechanics kill the old game, some determined fans will work to make it
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And, let's face it, an MMO that changed after one party completed a dungeon (making it so the quest was over, no one else could do it) would suck. Generally, the story only changes with major content releases (Ahn'Quiraj, Burning Crusade expansion, the upcoming Black Temple, etc.). The only things taken out were the special quests given to actually start the new material, which
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Supreme Commander unfortunately has some of the same problems that TA did. Online it seems like tank rushes are generally useless and everybody ends up just spending half an hour econning like mad so they can build one of the grossly expensive superweapons or try to build tons of arty to just shell each other to death. It's just kind of dull.
Re:Blizzard announces... (Score:5, Insightful)
Graphic wise, Starcraft was far superior to TA. Good 2d art is much better than simple 3d art. I can still look at Starcraft today and enjoy the graphics. It may be outdated, pixel-wise, but it is still art. TA however has aged significantly.
The custom AI was indeed a weak point of starcraft, but starcraft single player still had its charms with its better campaigns. Custom single player games was interesting also, mainly to see how many AIs you could defeat. You can't claim to have mastered starcraft single player until you have won 1vs7 games with all three races. Terran being the easiest (Bunkers+Siegetanks), protoss medium difficult (photon cannons+shield batteries and a good map) and zerg the toughest. (Quick expansion and tech to Guardians on a map with close expansion and long travel paths). There is no question however, that multiplayer was where Starcraft shined.
As for the better game. Starcraft and TA had completly different focus. TA was an army management game with the focus on strategy, and it did very well at that. Throwing large armies back and forth. Starcraft on the other hand had a few specific things that made it unique among RTS:s, then and now. This is why I consider it the best RTS of all times. These special attributes being
* 3 unique, balanced races. Most RTS games have some difference between the different sides, but Starcraft is to date the only game that I know off that pulled it off that well. The actual mindset changes when switching races. You can actually feel the swarm mentality when playing zerg, or the ability to hold ground as terrans, or the pure power of protoss units.
* Every single unit type matters from start to end. There isn't a single unit in Starcraft that becomes outdated as the game progresses. When it comes to dealing out pure damage, the basic units are the most cost efficent, while more advanced units are used to provide specific advantages. (such as attack range, area effects, health, cloak and flying abilities)
The only problem I found with Starcraft multiplayer was the insistance to play on the fastest game speed. Fastest game speed is simply to fast unless you are a pro player with incredible reflexes. I have always wished that RTS games would include something like a Max Payne style time slower where any player could slow down the game for a certain amount of time (the ability itself recharging over time). It would allow for a quick initial phase of the game, while still providing ample opportunity to use more complex tactics in the heat of battle.
true true (Score:2)
It's just like running for president (Score:4, Funny)
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"We will soon be announcing that we will not be announcing a new product."
Who writes these story headlines? (Score:3, Funny)
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We do intend to announce a new product at the Worldwide Invitational next month in Korea, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and interest in getting an advance look at what that will be, but players will have to wait until May 19th to find out more. Also, we have a very strong connection with the characters and settings of StarCraft, and we do plan to revisit that universe at some point in the future, but we don't have anything new to announce in that regard at present."
Which brings it down to speculation
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From the article:
So that's a yes on a StarCraft 2, eventually, and a yes to a product announcement next month. The only question now is are they one in the same.
Which means the guy who wrote the article (not Blizzard) is questioning/hoping the announcement is one and the same as a new StarCraft being made.
Yeah, it is all a matter of semantics... and only time will tell. If Blizzard has nothing in their upcoming pipeline (except StarCraft 2) then I could see the reason for the ambiguity - it does m
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This is just in! (Score:5, Funny)
No details are as of yet released, but rumour has it that it *might* be the highly anticipated s equal to their previous bestseller "BAR"
More details at eleven.
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Good Locale (Score:3, Funny)
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SOJS SOJS SOJS ME GIVE BABY 4 SOJS
- And now for some random text about lameness filters not letting me post what I want to.
Reminds me (Score:2)
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Thought I'm from sweden and not the USA, maybe it's more common to buy drinks over there, and your dating bussiness is different to ours
Korea? Bet it's Starcraft-related (Score:5, Informative)
Also it's not a total surprise given the hints [wikipedia.org] that Blizzard has been putting out (validity of "hints" left as an exercise to reader).
Another expansion pack (Score:5, Funny)
MMO (Score:2)
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Cheers.
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Hold up there. If you're implying that Starcraft doesn't require tactical competence then perhaps you're dealing with some strange definition of tactics that I was unaware of.
Tactics: Tactics is the collective name for methods of winning a small-scale conflict, performing an optimization, etc. This applies specifically to warfare, but also to economics, trade, games and a host of other fields such as negotiation.
That kind o
BLizzard said no (Score:2)
hello? that sounds like it is not SC2
wtf? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Blizzard doesn't do creativity. Their top game is an Everquest clone that continues a franchise based on a setting created by Games Workshop. They haven't had an original title since Diablo in 1996, which is just a simplified dungeon crawler with online play.
I hope SC2 isn't like WC3... (Score:3, Interesting)
In doing so, Blizz set the groundwork for the successful fantasy world that is WoW, but it still doesn't make me happy
I will be somewhat disappointed in they take the same route in the next Starcraft.
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Which version of Warcraft 2 are you playing that didn't look cartoony?
The RPG-esque elements of WC3 never appealed to me and the lower unit count drove me nuts.
SC drove me nuts precisely because you had so many units and that interface wasn't built for it. Templars were useless except to turn into archons since with 200 units, you can't even bother to cast spells. Like WC3, you could only select 24 uni
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Playing the game on "fastest" is not a built-in feature of the interface. Play at a slower speed and you'll find you have time to cast spells.
Chris Mattern
The changes of WC3... (Score:2)
I learned to love Warcraft 3 due to the top replays (that taught me how to really play the game and stop getting frustrated that I couldn't play it like Warcraft 2/Starcraft
What this proves... (Score:4, Insightful)
To paraphrase Blizzard: "We're about to announce a new game, and we really want to do something with the Starcraft franchise, but this ain't it."
Rabid fanboi writing article: "Woohoo! Blizz said Starcraft! Blizz said new game! This is it, Starcraft 2 next month!"
It's a shame, because I would really like to see another Starcraft. Unfortunately the fanbois are probably scaring Blizzard away from actually doing it, since they know the first screenshots or videos released from beta will set off a torrent of bad press from people saying "What is this crap? They were saying this was ready for release like two years ago, and this is all they have?"
Re:What this proves... (Score:5, Interesting)
"We do intend to announce a new product at the Worldwide Invitational next month in Korea, and we appreciate the enthusiasm and interest in getting an advance look at what that will be, but players will have to wait until May 19th to find out more. Also, we have a very strong connection with the characters and settings of StarCraft, and we do plan to revisit that universe at some point in the future, but we don't have anything new to announce in that regard at present."
Now let me paraphrase, the first part is saying "We have a secret.", the second part is saying "and we really like Starcraft.", and the last part, "but we can't tell you anything yet."
I think you are missing something or I am. This is ambiguous PR talk, but nowhere does it state that they are defiantly not going to do Starcraft, in fact they seem to be suggesting that it is in fact a Starcraft game, or they are a bunch of serious teases.
Also, "fanboi"? Is your disdain of the English language so great that you need to strike out at all of us like that?
Re:What this proves... (Score:4, Insightful)
"we have a secret we'll be reealing next month."
"We Really like Starcraft."
the third part, with no reading between lines required, quite plainly says "But the secret we plan to reveal next month has nothing to do with Starcraft."
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"Also, we have a very strong connection with the characters and settings of StarCraft, and we do plan to revisit that universe at some point in the future, but we don't have anything new to announce in that regard at present."
They are announcing that they have something in the works they can't say, and they will announce more on May 19th. Then he says that they have nothing to announce about starc
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Wow, that's
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I bolded the bit you seem to be missing.
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I bolded the other bit you seemed to be missing: at present is not the same as in the next month.
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Chris Mattern
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It's a shame, because I would really like to see another Starcraft. Unfortunately the fanbois are probably scaring Blizzard away from actually doing it, since they know the first screenshots or videos released from beta will set off a torrent of bad press from people saying "What is this crap? They were saying this was ready for release like two years ago, and this is all they have?"
Fortunately for you and me, I think there's a strong chance that it might be a starcraft title. They put a lot of development into Starcraft:Ghost ( at one point they had some 100 screenshots of *gameplay* on the website), which apparently was shelved by Vivendi, against the wishes of the developers. Ghost was supposed to be an FPS role-play for gaming consoles. There are also indications, specifically the posting for a job opening for the next-gen MMO, that the new title could be an MMO. It may be that t
I'll go out on a limb with my personal opinion... (Score:2)
I have a big caveat to my first impulse though. Please, please, make sure that the stand alone version is as good, if not better than the original. My game time is limited. I don't play any games online so if there is a new Starcraft, I need there to be an awesome stand alone version.
It's probably a new MMO (Score:2, Interesting)
They posted a new lead engine developer job opening today for a "next gen mmo" which WoW most definitely is not. Count on a new MMO.
Probably Starcraft but lets hope for Diablo. What I'd REALLY like is something entirely new. Rehashing old stuff gets wel..... old.
Starcraft II (Score:5, Informative)
(applies to Battle.net itself too)
The map editor sucks(by capabilities,everyone uses Starforge).
Games start with delay of 5 seconds.
Ladder was so prone to abuse blizzard closed it on all gateways.
When someone's client doesn't respond,game DOES NOT drop him,but instead freezees the game,
shows a non-modal timeout screen,for 40 seconds and then at 0:00 it could just stop if the player uses
the very popular lag hack.
Maphack and other exploits are not fixed.Maphack gives an enormous advantage in Starcraft.
Dragoon(and several other units) AI dances around when used with obstacles.
Pairs of units start dancing when they can't decide the right of way(heading towards each other).
All channels on battle.net with exception of 20-30 are not shown in channel list(it probably a crude anti-spam measure blizzard "invented").
The ability to save games is limited to host(unlike replays).
The random element of 70% chance firing to higher ground does not belong in this game.
When connecting to battle.net client opens 7-10 extra connections to the same server,and closes them only after several minutes pass.
Friendlists are limited to 20.
ignore lists are stored server side and reset each time you login.
Ums Map preview is disabled for some reason.
Maps in singleplayer list are limited to 1024 IIRC,beyond that it just doesn't displays them (batlle.net list works fine).
Spam bots which spam each 60 seconds are never banned and players who speak too fast are kicked out from the server.
Replays must be passworded games only.
The observer glitch:when observer is exactly on center of missile turret, missile turret stops firing and just freezes.
You need to place map revealers and disable fog of war,but cannot make the map be visible 100% in UMS without this.
Unit range,cooldown,AI etc are not modifiable by editor.
lack of math operations and variables in editor.
Spells/abilities are not modifiable and cannot be cast by triggers with exception of few.
Direct coordinates and locations are not supported.
the list goes on and on.
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Can Starcraft 2 ever meet expactations? (Score:5, Insightful)
People will complain that Starcraft 2 is too different from the original.
Scenario B) The game is a minimalist upgrade. Basically being the original but in 3D, with the intention of not trying to break a tried and true formula.
People will complain that Starcraft 2 is too similar to the original (see reception of Command and Conquer 3).
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It mustn't be too different, I liked warcraft2 but hated warcraft 3 which had totally fuked it up with heroes and all that crap.
World of Starcraft? WTF? (Score:2, Insightful)
World of Starcraft? Seriously? Why the hell does everyone keep saying World of Starcraft? This naming convention makes sense for Warcraft or Diablo, where all battles are fought on one world, but not for Starcraft!!! There are at the very least three different planets (Worlds) that will have to exist (one for each race), and we know from the original game that there are far more worlds involved in the storyline than just the three homeworlds.
I can guarantee you 100% that this game will NOT be named Wo
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Archon: ANNIHILAAAATE!!!
Goblin: Aauuuagguuuguhghhh!
No!! Please don't so this (Score:5, Funny)
I've been Blizzard's bitch since 1994 and it sucks. I feel like Sharon Stone in Casino....
Sure Starcraft II (Score:3, Insightful)
The "Korea" is the key, a country known for its massive amount of current Starcraft players.
It will be at least Starcraft related.
Confirmation of a possible confirmation (Score:2)
date at which confirmation will be given regarding a game which may be Starcraft, or may not be. Details will be announced after a final confirmation date is
set -- and an announcement date will be confirmed no later than tuesday during a conference call which may be held at 4 o'clock or may not happen at all.
cash cow? (Score:2)
as far as I kno,w blizzard is just fine.
Re:WoW/WoS? (Score:5, Funny)
Spawn more overlords!
Re:WoW/WoS? (Score:5, Funny)
We require more minerals.
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Starcraft -> Worlds of Starcraft
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What everyone really wants is World Of Starcraft.
Actually, I'd rather they didn't make World of Starcraft, because I'm extremely skeptical that they'd be able to pull it off. While the high-fantasy genre works very well because it's fairly limited in scope and "magic" supplies the necessary explanation for the really wacky stuff, I think that science fiction is a victim of its own scope. Sci-Fi tends to be really big, as evidenced by that cut-scene in Starcraft when the marine is about to get chewed up by Zerg as the massive battlecruiser flies overhea
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shattered_Galaxy [wikipedia.org]
I've only played it a little, and it's a few years old. It comes close to what you described, and I like the idea.
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I'm dreading Diablo III. The Blizzard North that made Diablo/Diablo II is long gone, and I'm dreading to see what travesty the current Blizzard comes up with to slap the Diablo brand name on.
I'm suspecting Diablo III will be to Diablo II what Master of Orion III was to Master of Orion II.
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This line should open every horror movie made until Diablo III. Even if it does cost them the NC-17 rating.
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How about a major Expansion pack? (Score:2)
Wish list:
Single player (or just call it slashdot player)
-Upgraded old engine, still 2D. 3D is a waste of resources for a top-down game. If you watch for variations in character animation then you need help!
-double or triple size the map limits
-400 unit limits
-more units and buildings! fill those empty boxes!
-a few new tilesets
-1024x768, don't care about graphics enhancement
-more unit sounds which play randomly this time (double it, some are dull after 10 year
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