03-10-2008, 05:59 PM
StarCraft II Q&A Batch 19
I hope everyone enjoyed our last batch of Q&As about Map Making, which is just the beginning of a series. This batch, we have a new set of exciting community questions about StarCraft II as well as reasonings to why Devs make the decisions they do. In addition, we also have a mini chat with devs about all the new changes that they are continuing to experiment with.
I also want to wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween!
Chat with Devs: Since the Terran Cobra took over the Protoss Stasis Orbs slowing attack, the Protoss Orb got a few new abilities including the Force Field ability. This will be very interesting for early team games, as you can use a force field on a choke point to keep an opponent's teammate from arriving to help their allies. The Devs are testing out various abilities on different units as you can see, and even the Templar has received its classic Hallucination ability back.
Will the Protoss be getting any mechanism for healing their units or repairing their buildings?
There are no plans to give the Protoss any healing abilities, especially since their shield regeneration rate when out of combat, is more than twice the rate of the original StarCraft.
With the new physics engine, can explosions affect surroundings? (like hurt or push units, destroy doodads, etc ) (sc2blog.com)
Explosions will not be able to push units, but they can destroy doodads. In fact, destroying certain doodads will be vital on certain maps, to get access to expansions or other strategic locations. Furthermore, explosions will not be able to push units because it would affect gameplay and balance negatively, in having units be knocked off cliffs, be stuck in unplanned locations, or ultimately have units disoriented where the player cannot control them.
How long does a unit typically take to make from concept to playable unit?
With a finished concept piece, it could take from a few days to a few months, to create it for the game. Much of this time depends on the priority of the unit amongst other development goals, as well as the iterations necessary to perfect the unit. The Zerg Baneling is an example of a unit that took only a few days to complete after the concept, whereas the Protoss Stalker has gone through several iterations, and has taken 4-5 months.
Are the units on the official site finalized, or is everything still up for grabs at this point? (gamereplays.org)
We are still heavily in the development phase of StarCraft II, thus none of the units on the website are 100% final. We are also still testing out several new units, abilities, and mechanics, to create the most fluid StarCraft II experience.
What do the Protoss eat? (where do they get energy and mass?) (starcraftcz.com)
Protoss gain nutrition from sunlight, or at a pinch, moonlight (which is just reflected sunlight anyway) by absorbing through their skins. They can go for extended periods without absorbing sunlight. What little moisture they need is also absorbed through their skin.
StarCraft II Q&A Batch 20
Wow, we're already at our 20th Batch of Community Q&As! I've got to say, the questions from the community are becoming better and better as we move along. Nonetheless, I want to remind everyone to ask your StarCraft II questions on this thread:[/b] http:[/B]//www.battle.net/forums/thread....&p=1&#post9620
The Devs and I are all reading and we love answering community questions. Every week there are always exciting new changes we want to share with everyone. Granted, many of the changes may not stay in the game very long, but the process of game development is a constant cycle of brainstorm, revision, and much testing, to ultimately make all the gaming components flow together for one awesome overall experience.
Chat with Devs: Terran Ghosts are currently being tested as an effective Tier 5 unit, capable of sniping down high profile enemy targets, have an increased attack damage towards light armored units, as well as an upgradable EMP against Protoss and energy using threats. If that isnt enough, these highly advanced Terran soldiers at higher techs can also be equipped with a personal cloak ability, and launch drop pod reinforcements, as well as call down a massive nuclear strike. The StarCraft II Ghost will surely be bringing a whole new meaning to "You call down the thunder and I'll reap the whirlwind." Of course, I should mention, all of this is subject to change.
Will it be possible to give more fluid and realistic movements to small aircraft with proper banking and turning rather than just abrupt sprite-style direction changes?
We are currently in the process of implementing banking animations for flying units, but playability always comes first. If the animations affect playability negatively, it could get cut.
With the Reavers no longer in the game, will the Protoss have any units capable of performing brutal worker raids? (Starcraftlive.net)
The Colossus is an excellent choice for worker raids, since it is able to attack from higher elevations, and can be transported by the Phase Prism. In addition, we are exploring some ideas for the Twilight Archon that would allow him to make devastating attacks on enemy workers.
Will there be a escort ship for Battlecrusier because Protoss have like many kinds of capital ships?
With the Predator unit cut, the Viking is now the primary Terran air to air fighter. In addition, the Viking no longer requires an upgrade to transform between a ground and air unit and is also built directly from the Starport rather than the Factory.
Will there be units who can trample opponents (such as an Ultralisk)? (gamereplays.org)
Currently, there are no units that trample, but have discussed this idea as a possibility. Nonetheless, we also hit the dilemma of having a trample unit that is able to destroy enemy unit assets far beyond its own cost of the trample unit, with relatively little micro.
Will siege tanks be able to shoot at targets in the fog of war picked up by sensor towers, but not yet confirmed by visual sighting?
No. Siege Tanks will only be able to hit targets within visual range. In addition, Siege Tanks firing from the fog of war, such as on an unseen cliff, will not reveal its location from the fog of war to its enemy, thus will not be able to be return fired upon.
StarCraft II Q&A Batch 21
This latest Q&A Batch features questions from our fans in South Korea. We've made sure to include an additional question to cover any questions that may be repetitive from previous Q&As.
Chat with Devs: Since the Terran Ghost has an upgradable EMP ability, the Terran Nomad's has been given the ability to create stationary defenses in addition to its Defense Matrix ability. One of the new stationary defenses is the Auto-Turret, which can attack ground units, and this unit be seen on this screenshot:[/b] http:[/B]//starcraft.incgamers.com/galle...to=501&cat=513
We are hoping the Nomad's new abilities will innovate its role, in addition to being a detector.
Do you have any plan to put the auto-casting ability into StarCraft II units, just like in Warcraft III?
At the moment, Medics are the only units that we have deemed fit to have an auto-cast ability. StarCraft II, compared to Warcraft III, has fewer abilities but are much more potent when executed properly, thus making them manual cast will give players a huge opportunity to demonstrate much skill in the game.
Would you make it possible for players on observing mode to check various information including a mini map, upgrading status, and resource status on a personal window? If not, would you consider developing this function?
These are all great ideas and we will work to get these in for observing mode. We will be working hard to have the observing mode innovative and comprehensive, building upon all the features that were in our previous RTS titles, as well as other titles in the market.
Will the story of StarCraft II be continued right from where the original StarCraft story ended? Or, will it begin at the moment after some amount of time passed since the last time of the original StarCraft?
The StarCraft II storyline will continue 4 years after the events of Brood War.
It is not possible to watch how a mouse was moved in a saved replay game. Could you make this possible to see the movement of mouse?
We would also like the mouse to be viewable in saved replays, however, it may be more likely that well have the options to show both the view of the players playing as well as selection icons of the units being currently selected in the replay.
When grouping units to a control group, how many units could be added to one group?
Currently, players are able to select more than 150 units in a single control group. The final actual number will be determined by hardware performance tests on the game, but should still be close to that number.
Players often tend to stack up workers and air units looking as one group in original StarCraft. Will this still be possible in StarCraft II?
In StarCraft II, this is harder to do than in the original StarCraft, but still possible. Units tend to group together more and more with each manual attack order. As long as you keep giving that manual attack order upon a target certain attacking units of the same type will group closer together. When the unit attacked upon is destroyed or the units become idle, they will naturally spread out again.
StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 22: Map Maker Series
Today we will continue the series we had started a couple of weeks ago. Dustin Browder and Brett Wood, Senior Software Engineer will answer questions from the Map Making Community. If you have questions concerning custom made maps and mods, wed like to invite you to ask them in this thread so they can be included in part 3 of the series.
Chat with Devs: One of the most popular questions we get when it comes to creating UMS (User Map Settings) games or mods is:[/B] Will there be a DotA for StarCraft II? For those who are not familiar, DotA (Defense of the Ancients), is a popular UMS game created for Warcraft III. StarCraft compared to Warcraft III, does not focus on heroes as much, and heroes or units do not have the same experience gaining mechanic as Warcraft III, making it difficult to imagine how a game like DotA could be reproduced for StarCraft. Nonetheless, after chatting it up with our devs, we found out the ability to allow heroes and units to gain experience is built into the Map Editor, though it will not likely be in single player or standard multiplayer. In addition, those units can also be toggled to have the ability to carry an inventory, which is also a characteristic needed in UMS maps such as DotA. With those two additions, we can rest assured that our clever community modders can handle the rest in creating some awesome custom games.
Will you finally be able to mix and match terrain types instead of being stuck on jungle, twilight, etc?
[Dustin Browder] Yes terrain texture is mixable now. Also tilesets are also mixable. [Brett Wood] Essentially, you can define your own tileset in the editor, something that wasnt really supported even in Warcraft III.
Will the new StarCraft II Map Editor support text coloring, unit coloring, player "12" (i.e. neutral player) units?
[Dustin Browder] Yes, all of these features will be supported.
Will maps be larger than 256x256?
[Brett Wood] The maximum map size will still be 256x256, and we have no plans to increase that.
Will the new map editor support locking maps? People hate losing credit for a map.
[Dustin Browder] Yes, we are planning to support this feature. We hope that this feature will give the modding community more incentive to create their own original maps.
Will the new map editor support "square" terrain building as well?
[Dustin Browder] Yes. In the editor, users can adjust the footprint of buildings to whatever shape and size they like.
I hope everyone enjoyed our last batch of Q&As about Map Making, which is just the beginning of a series. This batch, we have a new set of exciting community questions about StarCraft II as well as reasonings to why Devs make the decisions they do. In addition, we also have a mini chat with devs about all the new changes that they are continuing to experiment with.
I also want to wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween!
Chat with Devs: Since the Terran Cobra took over the Protoss Stasis Orbs slowing attack, the Protoss Orb got a few new abilities including the Force Field ability. This will be very interesting for early team games, as you can use a force field on a choke point to keep an opponent's teammate from arriving to help their allies. The Devs are testing out various abilities on different units as you can see, and even the Templar has received its classic Hallucination ability back.
Will the Protoss be getting any mechanism for healing their units or repairing their buildings?
There are no plans to give the Protoss any healing abilities, especially since their shield regeneration rate when out of combat, is more than twice the rate of the original StarCraft.
With the new physics engine, can explosions affect surroundings? (like hurt or push units, destroy doodads, etc ) (sc2blog.com)
Explosions will not be able to push units, but they can destroy doodads. In fact, destroying certain doodads will be vital on certain maps, to get access to expansions or other strategic locations. Furthermore, explosions will not be able to push units because it would affect gameplay and balance negatively, in having units be knocked off cliffs, be stuck in unplanned locations, or ultimately have units disoriented where the player cannot control them.
How long does a unit typically take to make from concept to playable unit?
With a finished concept piece, it could take from a few days to a few months, to create it for the game. Much of this time depends on the priority of the unit amongst other development goals, as well as the iterations necessary to perfect the unit. The Zerg Baneling is an example of a unit that took only a few days to complete after the concept, whereas the Protoss Stalker has gone through several iterations, and has taken 4-5 months.
Are the units on the official site finalized, or is everything still up for grabs at this point? (gamereplays.org)
We are still heavily in the development phase of StarCraft II, thus none of the units on the website are 100% final. We are also still testing out several new units, abilities, and mechanics, to create the most fluid StarCraft II experience.
What do the Protoss eat? (where do they get energy and mass?) (starcraftcz.com)
Protoss gain nutrition from sunlight, or at a pinch, moonlight (which is just reflected sunlight anyway) by absorbing through their skins. They can go for extended periods without absorbing sunlight. What little moisture they need is also absorbed through their skin.
StarCraft II Q&A Batch 20
Wow, we're already at our 20th Batch of Community Q&As! I've got to say, the questions from the community are becoming better and better as we move along. Nonetheless, I want to remind everyone to ask your StarCraft II questions on this thread:[/b] http:[/B]//www.battle.net/forums/thread....&p=1&#post9620
The Devs and I are all reading and we love answering community questions. Every week there are always exciting new changes we want to share with everyone. Granted, many of the changes may not stay in the game very long, but the process of game development is a constant cycle of brainstorm, revision, and much testing, to ultimately make all the gaming components flow together for one awesome overall experience.
Chat with Devs: Terran Ghosts are currently being tested as an effective Tier 5 unit, capable of sniping down high profile enemy targets, have an increased attack damage towards light armored units, as well as an upgradable EMP against Protoss and energy using threats. If that isnt enough, these highly advanced Terran soldiers at higher techs can also be equipped with a personal cloak ability, and launch drop pod reinforcements, as well as call down a massive nuclear strike. The StarCraft II Ghost will surely be bringing a whole new meaning to "You call down the thunder and I'll reap the whirlwind." Of course, I should mention, all of this is subject to change.
Will it be possible to give more fluid and realistic movements to small aircraft with proper banking and turning rather than just abrupt sprite-style direction changes?
We are currently in the process of implementing banking animations for flying units, but playability always comes first. If the animations affect playability negatively, it could get cut.
With the Reavers no longer in the game, will the Protoss have any units capable of performing brutal worker raids? (Starcraftlive.net)
The Colossus is an excellent choice for worker raids, since it is able to attack from higher elevations, and can be transported by the Phase Prism. In addition, we are exploring some ideas for the Twilight Archon that would allow him to make devastating attacks on enemy workers.
Will there be a escort ship for Battlecrusier because Protoss have like many kinds of capital ships?
With the Predator unit cut, the Viking is now the primary Terran air to air fighter. In addition, the Viking no longer requires an upgrade to transform between a ground and air unit and is also built directly from the Starport rather than the Factory.
Will there be units who can trample opponents (such as an Ultralisk)? (gamereplays.org)
Currently, there are no units that trample, but have discussed this idea as a possibility. Nonetheless, we also hit the dilemma of having a trample unit that is able to destroy enemy unit assets far beyond its own cost of the trample unit, with relatively little micro.
Will siege tanks be able to shoot at targets in the fog of war picked up by sensor towers, but not yet confirmed by visual sighting?
No. Siege Tanks will only be able to hit targets within visual range. In addition, Siege Tanks firing from the fog of war, such as on an unseen cliff, will not reveal its location from the fog of war to its enemy, thus will not be able to be return fired upon.
StarCraft II Q&A Batch 21
This latest Q&A Batch features questions from our fans in South Korea. We've made sure to include an additional question to cover any questions that may be repetitive from previous Q&As.
Chat with Devs: Since the Terran Ghost has an upgradable EMP ability, the Terran Nomad's has been given the ability to create stationary defenses in addition to its Defense Matrix ability. One of the new stationary defenses is the Auto-Turret, which can attack ground units, and this unit be seen on this screenshot:[/b] http:[/B]//starcraft.incgamers.com/galle...to=501&cat=513
We are hoping the Nomad's new abilities will innovate its role, in addition to being a detector.
Do you have any plan to put the auto-casting ability into StarCraft II units, just like in Warcraft III?
At the moment, Medics are the only units that we have deemed fit to have an auto-cast ability. StarCraft II, compared to Warcraft III, has fewer abilities but are much more potent when executed properly, thus making them manual cast will give players a huge opportunity to demonstrate much skill in the game.
Would you make it possible for players on observing mode to check various information including a mini map, upgrading status, and resource status on a personal window? If not, would you consider developing this function?
These are all great ideas and we will work to get these in for observing mode. We will be working hard to have the observing mode innovative and comprehensive, building upon all the features that were in our previous RTS titles, as well as other titles in the market.
Will the story of StarCraft II be continued right from where the original StarCraft story ended? Or, will it begin at the moment after some amount of time passed since the last time of the original StarCraft?
The StarCraft II storyline will continue 4 years after the events of Brood War.
It is not possible to watch how a mouse was moved in a saved replay game. Could you make this possible to see the movement of mouse?
We would also like the mouse to be viewable in saved replays, however, it may be more likely that well have the options to show both the view of the players playing as well as selection icons of the units being currently selected in the replay.
When grouping units to a control group, how many units could be added to one group?
Currently, players are able to select more than 150 units in a single control group. The final actual number will be determined by hardware performance tests on the game, but should still be close to that number.
Players often tend to stack up workers and air units looking as one group in original StarCraft. Will this still be possible in StarCraft II?
In StarCraft II, this is harder to do than in the original StarCraft, but still possible. Units tend to group together more and more with each manual attack order. As long as you keep giving that manual attack order upon a target certain attacking units of the same type will group closer together. When the unit attacked upon is destroyed or the units become idle, they will naturally spread out again.
StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 22: Map Maker Series
Today we will continue the series we had started a couple of weeks ago. Dustin Browder and Brett Wood, Senior Software Engineer will answer questions from the Map Making Community. If you have questions concerning custom made maps and mods, wed like to invite you to ask them in this thread so they can be included in part 3 of the series.
Chat with Devs: One of the most popular questions we get when it comes to creating UMS (User Map Settings) games or mods is:[/B] Will there be a DotA for StarCraft II? For those who are not familiar, DotA (Defense of the Ancients), is a popular UMS game created for Warcraft III. StarCraft compared to Warcraft III, does not focus on heroes as much, and heroes or units do not have the same experience gaining mechanic as Warcraft III, making it difficult to imagine how a game like DotA could be reproduced for StarCraft. Nonetheless, after chatting it up with our devs, we found out the ability to allow heroes and units to gain experience is built into the Map Editor, though it will not likely be in single player or standard multiplayer. In addition, those units can also be toggled to have the ability to carry an inventory, which is also a characteristic needed in UMS maps such as DotA. With those two additions, we can rest assured that our clever community modders can handle the rest in creating some awesome custom games.
Will you finally be able to mix and match terrain types instead of being stuck on jungle, twilight, etc?
[Dustin Browder] Yes terrain texture is mixable now. Also tilesets are also mixable. [Brett Wood] Essentially, you can define your own tileset in the editor, something that wasnt really supported even in Warcraft III.
Will the new StarCraft II Map Editor support text coloring, unit coloring, player "12" (i.e. neutral player) units?
[Dustin Browder] Yes, all of these features will be supported.
Will maps be larger than 256x256?
[Brett Wood] The maximum map size will still be 256x256, and we have no plans to increase that.
Will the new map editor support locking maps? People hate losing credit for a map.
[Dustin Browder] Yes, we are planning to support this feature. We hope that this feature will give the modding community more incentive to create their own original maps.
Will the new map editor support "square" terrain building as well?
[Dustin Browder] Yes. In the editor, users can adjust the footprint of buildings to whatever shape and size they like.