StarCraft II

StarCraft II
Developer(s)	Blizzard Entertainment
Designer(s)	Dustin Browder
Artist(s)	Samwise Didier
Series	StarCraft
Platform(s)	Windows XP and Vista[1] Mac OS X[2]
Release date(s)	2009[3][4]
Genre(s)	Sci-fi, real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Media	DVD
Input methods	Mouse and keyboard

StarCraft II is a trilogy of military science fiction real-time strategy video games currently under development by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the award-winning 1998 video game StarCraft. StarCraft II, originally envisioned as a single game, was announced to be a trilogy at BlizzCon 2008, consisting of one game followed up later by two expansion packs, provisionally entitled Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void respectively.^[5] The single player campaign mode for the game and its expansions will each focus on telling the story of a specific faction, staring with the Terran at first, followed up by Zerg and Protoss factions in the expansions. From the start, the game and its expansions will allow you to play as any faction using single player skirmish or multiplayer and online modes. Blizzard states that the expansion packs will have lots of content and feel like full games on their own right. No release dates were announced for the trilogy.^[6][7][8]

StarCraft II is being developed for concurrent release on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X. Activision Blizzard, Blizzard's parent company, believes that the game should be released in 2009.^[3][4]

Gameplay

A group of Protoss units attack a Terran base

According to its creators, StarCraft II is designed to be the "ultimate competitive real-time strategy game",^[1] building on the successes enjoyed by its predecessor, StarCraft.^[9][10][11] It features the return of the three races from the original game — Protoss, Terran, and Zerg; Blizzard states these are the only playable races in the game.^{[1][12][13][14]} StarCraft II is also designed to focus more heavily on the multiplayer aspect, when compared to the original StarCraft. The changes include overall improvement in Battle.net, a new competitive "ladder" system for ranked games and new matchmaking mechanics – designed to "match-up" players of equal skill levels.^[1] In addition, the replay function, which allows players to record and review past games, is being improved. Blizzard has also stated they have made some changes to the game that were suggested by fans.^[15]

Cut scenes are pre-rendered, high-quality CGI movies, between levels to advance the plot. StarCraft II continues its predecessor's use of cinematic cut scenes while also improving the quality of in-game cut scenes within the levels themselves, which are rendered on-the-fly using the same game engine as the graphics in the game proper. Blizzard states that with the new graphics engine that StarCraft II uses to render the gameplay, they "can actually create in-game cut-scenes of near-cinematic quality".^[16]

Most Protoss and Terran units, and some Zerg units, have been shown on the StarCraft II official website, and in several video demonstrations held by Blizzard.^[17][18] Improvements include advanced scenery allocation and more detailed space terrain, such as floating space platforms with planets and asteroids in the background. Small cliffs, extensions, and even advertising signs were also shown to have been improved and refined.^[17]

The new Terran briefing system allows the player to explore the inside of a Behemoth-class battlecruiser.

The single-player aspect of StarCraft II has also been altered substantially from the original game. The Terran campaign shown at BlizzCon 2007 replaced the original StarCraft briefing room with an interactive version of the battlecruiser Hyperion, with a bitter, hard-drinking Jim Raynor as the mercenary captain. In a departure from previous Blizzard games, the campaign is non-linear, with Raynor taking jobs for money and using that money to buy additional units and upgrades. Although each playthrough will vary, the end result will remain consistent so as to keep a linear storyline. Vice president Rob Pardo has stressed that each campaign will function very differently.^[19] The Terran campaign, Wings of Liberty, will place players in a mercenary style campaign, as Terran rebel Jim Raynor upgrades his army through each progressive mission. The second release, the Zerg campaign Heart of the Swarm, will have RPG elements. The player will level up Kerrigan throughout the missions. The last expansion, the Protoss campaign Legacy of the Void, will have a campaign with diplomatic and political aspects. Each campaign should span 26-30 missions.^[20]

In addition to the single- and multi-player elements, StarCraft II also ships with a sophisticated campaign editor. Following the enormous success of the StarEdit and Warcraft III's World Editor, the editor packaged with StarCraft II allows the player even more freedom in creating custom maps and mods. Blizzard has stated that units from the original StarCraft that were removed in StarCraft II will be available in the editor, along with units and abilities that were scrapped during the development process.^[21]

Units

StarCraft II features approximately the same number of units as the original game.^[22] Some units from the original game are returning, some featuring new upgrades and abilities. For example, the Protoss zealot, a melee unit from the original game, now has the ability to "charge"—move rapidly when engaging in combat—while other units have been replaced, or re-imagined.^[23] Other unnamed units have been removed entirely, and units from each race are planned to be dropped.^[24] Other changes to unit design have been inspired by story events in StarCraft and its expansion, Brood War, replacing old units with new, or renamed, versions which sport different attributes and abilities.^[23]

The video demonstration also revealed new abilities that encourage more complex interaction with the game environment. Among these are the inclusion of units that can traverse varying levels of terrain,^[17] or have the ability to teleport short distances.^[23] Some Protoss units can be deployed nearly instantly into combat areas using a specialized structure, the warp prism.^[23][25]

Synopsis

The storyline of StarCraft II takes place four years after StarCraft: Brood War,^[26] and features the return of a number of heroes and villains from the original game, such as Zeratul, Arcturus Mengsk, Artanis, Sarah Kerrigan and Jim Raynor. Players will revisit worlds from the original game, such as Char, Mar Sara, and Braxis, along with new worlds, such as the jungle planet Bel'Shir. It has also been confirmed that the Xel'Naga, the ancient space-faring race responsible for creating the Protoss and the Zerg, will play a major role in the story.^[19]

A Zerg colony under attack by other Zerg

Following the events of Brood War, Kerrigan and her Zerg forces are the dominant force in the Koprulu Sector, having annihilated the United Earth Directorate's Expeditionary Force, defeated the Terran Dominion, and invaded the Protoss homeworld of Aiur. However, it has been revealed that after the conclusion of Brood War, Kerrigan retreats back to Char, despite having more than enough power to crush all resistance in the Koprulu Sector. In the four years leading up to the events of StarCraft II, Kerrigan has not been seen or heard from by any of the other characters, although her ultimate attack may come at any moment.^[27]

Arcturus Mengsk has been left to rebuild the Dominion, and is consolidating his power while fending off harassment from rival Terran groups. Valerian Mengsk, a character introduced in the novel Firstborn, will play an important role in Dominion politics, due to his position as heir apparent to the throne. Meanwhile, Jim Raynor, whose role in the events of StarCraft and Brood War has been marginalized by the media under the Dominion's control, has been reduced to mercenary status, and has been shown to be doing business with the "Moebius Foundation", a new faction which is interested in ancient Xel'Naga artifacts. Chris Metzen, Vice President of Creative Development at Blizzard, has emphasized that by the events of StarCraft II, Raynor has become jaded and embittered by the way he was used and betrayed by Arcturus Mengsk. Other new characters to the series include Tychus Findlay, first introduced in the StarCraft II teaser cinematic, a marine who will be a member of Raynor's crew, and Matt Horner, Raynor's second in command, a character originally featured in the novel Queen of Blades.^[27]

Following the fall of Aiur and the death of their matriarch Raszagal, the Protoss have retreated to the dark templar homeworld of Shakuras. There, Artanis, a former student of Tassadar, is trying to unify the Khalai Protoss and the dark templar, who have nearly separated into a tribal mindset as a result of centuries of distrust. Zeratul, tormented over the murder of his matriarch, has disappeared to search for clues to the meaning of Samir Duran's cryptic statements regarding the Protoss/Zerg hybrids in Brood War's secret mission "Dark Origin".^[27]

Development

The development of StarCraft II was announced on May 19, 2007, at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea.^[28][29] StarCraft II is being developed, under the codename Medusa,^[30] for concurrent release on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS X. Blizzard has not yet announced a release date.^[12] Development on the game began in 2003, shortly after Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne was released.^[31]

StarCraft II will support the DirectX 9 (Pixel shader 2.0) software and will be fully compatible with DirectX 10 as well, although the development team has not yet decided whether to add exclusive DirectX 10 graphic effects.^[1] The Mac client will use OpenGL. The game will also feature the Havok physics engine,^[1][32] which allows for more realistic environmental elements such as "debris rolling down a ramp".^[28] Additionally, there are plans to implement VoIP into the game.^[33]

Since the announcement, fans have also been able to participate in the development of StarCraft II through feedback and questions on fansites and forums. Periodically, Blizzard Entertainment provides Q&A batches, web pages about the units, buildings, and lore, podcasts (titled "BlizzCast"), and posts from Blizzard employees on forums.^[34]

At the June 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational, Blizzard Executive Vice President Rob Pardo was quoted as saying that development of the campaign was one-third complete and that there would be significantly more to show by the end of 2008.^[35]

References

External links

• Official StarCraft II website at Blizzard Entertainment.