StarCraft II Single-Player Details Revealed

As Blizzcon approaches, a number of gaming sites were invited out to California to get an early look at the single-player campaign for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Kotaku has a detailed write-up (spoiler-free version), and 1Up summarizes one of the missions: "... you're on a planet with an alternating day/night cycle (every five minutes, it switches): during daylight, you're safe. You can build forces and go out and destroy structures. At night, the infected Terrans will relentlessly stream towards your base — necessitating a strong defense against the 'zombie horde.'" An interview with some of the developers is available, in which lead designer Dustin Browder says Blizzard will continue their trend of having downloadable maps and other improvements throughout the game's life. BlizzPlanet posted a mission guide for the part of the game they got to see, and new video footage has been released that shows off the single-player mode.

Comments

the next lost generation of koreans

[jollyreaper]

As if Starcraft wasn't damage enough, now comes Starcraft 2. Millions of young South Korean men idling away their lives on multiplayer servers. I think Blizzard's done them more damage than the Japanese occupation.

Re:the next lost generation of koreans

[Hatta]

So how are the dedicated fans of Starcraft going to take any changes in the gameplay? Starcraft was perfectly balanced, the fact that people are still having competitions after so many years shows that much. What can Blizzard do to Starcraft to make it new and worthwhile, without damaging the perfection of Starcraft?

Re:the next lost generation of koreans

[Mister Whirly]

Apparently by adding zombies.

Re:the next lost generation of koreans

[SQLGuru]

Next up....Pirates and Ninjas! Then the triumvirate will be complete!

Re:the next lost generation of koreans

[tick_and_bash]

On the bright side, that's millions of available South Korean women.

Re:the next lost generation of koreans

[Chris Burke]

Next up....Pirates and Ninjas! Then the triumvirate will be complete!

Off in the corner, unnoticed and unloved, a single drop of hydraulic fluid leaks from a robot's optical sensor.

Re:the next lost generation of koreans

[Mister Whirly]

That actually sounds awesome. Starcraft but with Zombies vs. Pirate vs. Ninjas. I would buy that game.

Re:the next lost generation of koreans

[theheadlessrabbit]

On the bright side, that's millions of available South Korean women.

you've obviously never been to South Korea.

in starcraft, my ass was handed to me by just as many female gamers as male gamers at the PC bang.

Every five minutes

[Daimanta]

An unstoppable message stating: "What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse" or "The Morning Sun Has Vanquished The Horrible Night".

Re:Every five minutes

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.screwattack.com/AVGN/2006/Castlevania2

Can they do anything wrong?

[Stenchwarrior]

Warcraft(s), Diablo(s), Starcraft(s)....These guys are the Tom Petty of video games; they just can't write a bad game.

Maybe they'll get smart and include 40 hours of marriage counseling with this one...

Re:Can they do anything wrong?

[space_jake]

I think they can create a bad game, they are smart enough not to release it.

Re:Can they do anything wrong?

[caladine]

Now, if only they'd add LAN play back.

Re:Can they do anything wrong?

[hansamurai]

Ahh... Starcraft Ghost.

Re:Can they do anything wrong?

[Chris Burke]

I am still waiting on my damn Lost Vikings 3.

I think that part near the end of LV2 where Erik had to jump over a shark was an indication that they don't think there's much left to do with the franchise.

Though on the other hand I made that up.

Re:Can they do anything wrong?

[loufoque]

There is no need to.
Just set up your own personal Battle.net server.

Sounds like a Standard Tower Defense Game

[Useful Wheat]

This sounds suspiciously like a standard tower defense game. They were wildly popular when I played starcraft (9 way lurker defense anyone) and if you visit any flash gaming website you'll find a dozen. I'm not saying this is a bad thing (I'm addicted to gemcraft), but it does seem unoriginal. I wonder if they'll give you the ability to change it to nighttime at will.

Re:Sounds like a Standard Tower Defense Game

[Turiko]

tower defence isn't exactly right... tower defence always makes the enemy come from one certain direction, or a few. In this one mission, they'll more then likely come seeping out of every hole.... oh, and they aren't so stupid to run right past your base either :).

Re:Sounds like a Standard Tower Defense Game

[StreetStealth]

If just one mission is tower defense, I think that leaves a good degree of potential for the rest of them.

I wouldn't worry much about mission variety here -- if the originality Blizzard has been cranking out for of World of Warcraft quests in the expansions is any indicator, they'll have their hands full experimenting with mission structures.

Re:Sounds like a Standard Tower Defense Game

[Anonymous Coward]

Blizzard never was a revolutionary company. Warcraft was just dune/c&c with a warhammer-like theme. Starcraft was "just" Warcraft in space, with non-identical sides this time (THE major difference, I would say). Diablo is just a 3rd person real-time dungeon hack. World of Warcraft was not the first mmorpg. What all these games have in common is this: they're well made. To increases sales, they also try not to murder your poor PC.

Re:Sounds like a Standard Tower Defense Game

[BassMan449]

You stated your self what revolutionary things Blizzard has done. The big one being non-identical sides. Think of the major games before Starcraft. I honestly can't think of a single one that had teams that were more than different models and maybe a few variations on special abilities like Warcraft had. The idea of having 3 completely distinct and yet balanced races was extremely revolutionary. What Starcraft did was show that you could have races that were absolutely nothing alike and yet the battles would still be balanced and fun.

Re:Sounds like a Standard Tower Defense Game

[impaledsunset]

It doesn't matter if it's technically a standard tower defense game, looking at the screenshot it looks like it's a little scary at night, so it will probably be a lot of fun, your classic standard tower defense game lacked that feeling. A lot of things technically are the same, but when you change the circumstances, they can become quite different. Technically, walking through an empty street after sunset is the same as walking the same street at midnight. If you go and try, though, it certainly doesn't feel the same.

You can hardly do much to introduce a new game type that is very different from what you had with the original Starcraft without straying from the genre, but you can improve the old ones to create something new, fresh, and exciting. And that's what they've done.

Re:Sounds like a Standard Tower Defense Game

[SQLGuru]

Archon had non-identical sides.......and the units fought each other and there was strategy. The only piece missing was the real-time aspect.....which in the head-to-head mode, you got.

Re:Sounds like a Standard Tower Defense Game

[BassMan449]

They had differences among units sure, but on the whole the races were very similar. With Starcraft playing Zerg requires a completely different style than playing Protoss. As Zerg I can throw Zerglings at you and if they die I don't really care. They are cheap and easy to produce. With Protoss your economy can feel every unit lost. As far as I know no other game had tried something so radical at the time.

Re:Sounds like a Standard Tower Defense Game

[Black Cardinal]

Actually, I think you mean Dune II, the first RTS from Westwood. It was released in 1992. And yes, it was a great game. It runs great on DOSBox, and once in a while I still play it.

Re:Sounds like a Standard Tower Defense Game

[Goldberg's Pants]

Given about half the quests in WOW boil down to "Go get 20 Murloc penises".

haha

[Anonymous Coward]

is it just me, or does anyone else get the feeling that when they play these strategy games all they are essentially doing is balancing a giant system of linear equations?

Starcraft 2 will not be defined by single player

[Daveznet]

Starcraft Broodwar was not defined by how good it's single player campaign, it was defined by how balanced the game was in multiplayer mode. Sure Blizzard games usually have really great story lines and awesome cinematics but there is a reason why it has been delayed till 2010. Battle.net. For this game to succeed the multi-player aspect must be up to par with Starcraft Broodwar, Blizzard is currently having difficulties with the latest version of Battle.net and this is why it has been delayed till 2010. This single player stuff is nice to see but it is just a very small portion of what is in store for Starcraft 2.

SC2 will require internet to install

[Vaphell]

incgamers.com
quote: In order to install the game, "you need to connect once to install the game," StarCraft II lead designer Browder revealed. A player will also either have or sign up for a Battle.net account during the installation process.

Re:Starcraft 2 will not be defined by single playe

[__aagctu1952]

The game has amazing re-playability (multi-player). You can only play single player campaigns for so long until it gets boring. Trust me when I say that the majority of the Starcraft gaming community have NOT been playing single player campaign for 10 years.

Sure. But how many copies will a pure single-player gamer (who will only play through the game once and then shelve it) buy? One. How many copies will a hardcore multi-player gamer (who will play it obsessively for years and years until he finally croaks in an internet café) buy? One. Once you've bought your copy, it doesn't matter how much or for how long you play it. The money's already changed hands.
Good multi-player is a selling point. But don't delude yourself for a minute that the fanatic cliché is who the game is developed for - it's developed to lure in as many customers as possible, and there are a hell of a lot more casual than hard-core gamers.

Like the Anonymous Coward, I don't really care about Starcraft II's multiplayer (and much for the same reasons) - but if its single-player mode is as good as Starcraft I's, I'll buy it in a heartbeat.

Re:Question is...

[m.ducharme]

Hmm, I can see it now. " BRAINS! BRAIIIII- what? Oh, right, well we're attacking your bunkers, you see, we're all hungry for BRAINS! BRAAAAII--right, sorry. ...The Supply Depots? Really? Are there brains there? No. So what.....munitions. Er, munitions? ARe they delicious? No? So why would....the contract? What contract? I see. Yes. Section 11(b)...in every case the zombies shall attack the supply depots.....bunkers are off limits until such time... Hm. I had no idea. Well let us get to it then, and we'll meet again here in a few. Off we go chaps! MUNITIONS! MUNIIIIIITTIOOOOOONS!"