Joneagle_X's BlizzCon 2008 StarCraft 2 Review

As I’ve watched StarCraft 2 grow, I’ve gotten more and more excited. First there was Irvine which showed me an immature but impressive game with a lot of potential. Then came WWI in Paris which showed quite a lot of progress. Now comes BlizzCon 2008 and I’m afraid Blizzard has taken some steps backward. No, I’m not talking about the release of the trilogy (which I still support as a good move overall), I’m talking about the multiplayer portion of the game. While I don’t think this will hurt the game’s development in the long run, I am a bit disappointed that this was the build Blizzard decided to showcase. Of course, it’s better than seeing the same build from WWI.

So what changed in this build? On the whole not much, but there were just a few features that bothered me. Perhaps instead of (or in spite of) my usual categories by race, I’ll go by changes and what I thought of them. Maybe that will keep your interest!

Change 1: The Gas Equation. At WWI we saw a new gas mechanic designed to increase the amount of macro required to perform to perfection. The problem with the system we saw at WWI was that it punished the player for not performing certain actions. The change we saw at BlizzCon 2008 for this mechanic was definitely a step forward, but it isn’t quite there yet. The mechanic still automatically withdraws 100 minerals from your coffers each time your gas is depleted. But the bright side is that it’s automatic. You have about 60 seconds to use those three drones for something else. So you’re rewarded for paying attention, but you’re also not devastated if you don’t. I give this change a grade of a B+ for effort.

Change 2: The Queen Goes Global: Ever since she’s been unveiled I’ve been absolutely in love with the Queen. Nevermind that she’s the only female unit in the whole game now that the Medic bit the dust, she also was a unique unit. You could only build one of her which definitely added to her value as a unit. Furthermore, you could upgrade her just like you could your hatchery. This lent to a sense of investment by the player and gave the player a reason to protect his investment rather than tossing it out onto the battlefield. Just like a Queen in chess, she is only to be sacrificed after a good long thinking session. The change here is that the Queen is no longer a unique unit. That’s right, you can build as many Queens as you want. The problem here is that you also can’t upgrade her, which means there is absolutely no reason to keep her alive. I frequently tossed her into battles because she’s such a powerful caster. Her abilities are great but I think she needs to be unique. Just my opinion. I give this change a D- because it might work but I don’t think it’s the right way to go.

Change 3: The Baneling took some Beano: Suddenly gas is important and yet not important at the same time. The Zerg Baneling can now be purchased almost entirely without using gas at all (you still have to buy the Baneling nest with a little gas, 150 to be exact). This means TONS of Banelings. It’s very interesting because it allows you what I would consider a tech unit for zero gas. I’m not yet sure what to do with this change. It could go either way. I give this change a A- because it was awesome when I played Zerg.

Change 4: The Artist Formerly Known as Nomad (NightHawk): I never thought I would have to call Oprah to help out a StarCraft 2 unit, but this one was screaming for action. Not only did the Nomad get an aesthetic makeover, it also changed its name and got new abilities. But let’s not call it Michael Jackson just yet. With a hefty new arsenal of targeting drones (gives scouting sight and increase damage to targeted units), spider mines (a little rough around the edges but think less intelligent spider mines), and a defense turret, the NightHawk is not to be messed with. Add on top that it’s a detector and you’ll think it was a sent from heaven. I give this change an A+ because that’s what Jesus would do.

Change 5: The Nullifier got Jacked: So someone call the police because the Phoenix just stole anti-gravity from the Nullifier. But don’t freak out just yet because it doesn’t matter. Why? It’s the same ability, but later game. In fact, those of you who don’t play Protoss should be jumping for joy. No longer are your Ultralisks going to be flying in the ionosphere for just under 150 minerals. And the ability makes sense at its current home. The Phoenix hits only air units, which is often a problem when your enemy is making only ground units. Solution? Bring it up to speed, literally. The Phoenix can pick up earth-bound units and pick them apart in the air. And don’t worry, the Nullifier got an awesome replacement ability. I give this change an A because it’s still awesome.

Change 6: Mutant Larvae aren’t so Mutant After All: Mutant Larvae definitely got kicked in the jaw on this one. They’re almost completely useless now. You choose: spend 300 on a new hatchery and have it done for you, or click every ten seconds on your hatchery to produce extra larvae. I’ll take the first one, thank you very much. What was once possibly the coolest mechanic the Zerg has now disappeared like Jimmy Hoffa. Maybe we’ll find it in the Giants stadium too. Perhaps this nerf was necessary because of the ubiquitous nature of the Queen. In that case… nope, still a bad idea. I give this change a C- because it makes the ability pointless.

Change 7: The BattleCruiser still rules: While I think the artwork makes it a little too large and bulky, that’s not my biggest beef with this unit. It’s still too powerful! I really don’t need these things walking all over me en masse on Battle.net, which is going to happen if it remains at its current strength. Meanwhile the Viking is still horribly underpowered both in the air and on the ground. It’s so bad that if I had actually built the unit I wouldn’t know whether to put it in the air or on the ground as it would get owned so badly. The better choice by far is the Banshee. A perfect unit. My suggestion? Shore up the Viking, reduce the BattleCruiser a bit, and throw in that Predator. I give this change a B- because it’s not that bad but it needs work.

Change 8: The Lurker is Awesome: With an even bigger bonus against armor than before and a new and improved attack (the swath it cuts is twice as wide, making it harder to dodge) the unit actually has purpose! Combine that with the fact that its tech is available while you still have a Lair and this unit is worth it again. I like the way it feels and the way it plays. I guess my dreams of no Lurkers have been shattered. Looks like I still need to learn how to use it. I give this change an A+ because I was wrong.

Change 9: I’m not sure what happened to the Reaper, but I like it: Suddenly this unit is possibly the most dynamic and the most fun on the battlefield. At WWI I could barely use the thing because it was a bit weak. But now Protoss players should be wary. The Zerg and Terran seem to fare better because of better early warning systems and Lurkers/Siege Tanks, but I don’t see a downside to charging into an enemy base, doing some damage, and then dropping some D-8 charges on the reinforcements. Be careful with your forces who are trying to defend against these buggers. Those mines can really do some damage, as I’m sure all my opponents at BlizzCon now know. I give this change an A+ because blowing stuff up is fun.

Change 10: The Zerg still need a transport: I’m sorry, the Nydus Worm is just not a viable option for the Zerg. Sure, it’s pretty easy to use, but you can’t really get it until Tier 3, and it’s still not a unit transport. There’s no opportunity for micro with it and the Zerg will definitely suffer for it (and are suffering for it). We need, and must have, a transport for the Zerg. I give this LACK of change a D.

Change 11: Why is the Carrier still in this Game? It’s almost totally overshadowed by the Mothership and Phoenix except against the BattleCruiser. And while the Carrier seems like it would be the counter for the BattleCruiser, it’s not because it’s too weak. Axe the unit and weaken the BattleCruiser. I give this unbalance behemoth a C- because it’s only there by reason of sentimental attachment.

Change 12: Overseer gets new eyes. I’m not sure about this one either. The Overlord is no longer a detector, but the Overseer is. I tend to not like this decision because I thought the choice between having a detector Overlord and a caster Overseer was fun. Now the Overlord is almost completely useless except for Creep generation, and Zerg has to pay for its detectors. I think that changes the game dynamics for the worse. I give this change a C- because it shouldn’t be so, Joe.

Change 13: The Colossus is only a Giant now: The Colossus has been weakened quite a bit. Perhaps too much. It was way to strong at WWI but now it’s too weak. I hope we see that happy medium very soon. Still a great unit and I think it’s attack animation is here to stay. I give this change a B+ because it’s getting there.

 

Change 14: The Infestor can’t infest? This caster was extremely powerful at WWI but perhaps no longer. Without its trademark infest ability it really feels quite dead. It has some cool gimmicks but without an attack it feels a lot like a defiler gone wrong. And seriously, randomly spawning Infested Terrans anywhere on the map? Kind of hard to justify that when you're playing a Protoss player, right? On the other hand it has a very cool Corrupted Fungus ability that paralyzes and damages Massive units and makes any units that it kills explode and deal AoE damage. It also has a very cool mind controlling parasite ability that will control an enemy unit for 10 seconds. The downside? It’s not as powerful as the Queen and can’t infest. I just can’t get over that. I give this change a C+ because if a unit can’t do what its name suggests, it just isn’t right.

That pretty much wraps up what I felt were major changes (or non-changes) in the BlizzCon 2008 build, but no StarCraft2Forum.org review would be complete without my feelings on each race on the whole. So maybe I will return to my old format for a short while.

The Protoss are almost exactly as they were in Paris. I do feel that the Zealot is still overpowered compared to the Zergling and I continue to see evidence of this fact. Just look at the exhibition match between Yellow and a WC3 pro player. The Zerg player was barely able to fend off early Zealot attacks and even later in the game was totally powerless against Zealots. The ratio of Zealot to Zergling used to be one to three, but now it’s more like one to five or six. Otherwise only minor changes with this race which I think is almost ready for a stamp of approval. I give this race an A.

The Terran have shown tremendous progress. With the exception of a few units like the Thor and the Viking every unit has found its niche. I still think there are issues to work out in the air but overall the race is very cohesive and powerful. I had no trouble at all in countering just about everything the Protoss could throw at me, which is a good thing considering all the nifty Protoss toys. I still think the Terran could use more emphasis on their production abilities like the Reactor and Research Lab addons. They need more of a race identifiable “ability” to match the Protoss Warp-In. I give this race an A-.

The Zerg haven’t quite gone back to the stone age, but they’re getting there. The lack of uniqueness of the Queen and her reduced strength really have thrown this race for a whack. The Lurker and Hydralisk are bright spots in the changes, but the Infestor is also quite weak. I think Blizzard has simply stepped off the path to success with this one and will be back on schedule very soon. Creep is now a huge strategic hinge and since it can do damage to enemy buildings (or so Karune swears) it opens up a huge number of options for this race. And the 30% speed boost is both necessary (Zerglings can sort of counter Zealots on Creep) and interesting. Suddenly planting Creep in an enemy base has gone from “Why?” to “Why not?” I like it a lot. I give this race a B-.

 

cool. Nice review man, i like it.
i too think the carrier and the viking should be more power, and the BC dull down abit. Zerg in general just feels and looks weak compared to the other races, but looks powerful at tier 2 and onwards.

Keep it up blizzard, i can see this game is totally gna be the best RTS game ever. =]

 

Nice review. And well said. I think for the most part you are spot on the money. Exactly what I am feeling abou what I've heard about the current build.

Now here's a few comments I want to say about your review.

Change1: I'd give it an A+. Because players are aware of it, and they can just save the 100 minerals per geyser in their bank. And the 60 seconds isn't all that much when compared to the SC1 days when a depleted geyser was 8 times slower to get gas out of then a full one. It's a tactic people have to be aware of yes. I really like it. But I'm unsure to have it automatic or as an option you can use on the depleted geyser. Sure that's more micro but would make everyone happy then. Mind you the depleted geyser would be useless till reactivated.

Change7: Powerful is ok if the cost of the unit is equally as high. Do you think the cost and build time for the unit was right?

That's about it. I totally agree on all the rest.

 

Ho jon, i'll give you a thank you, because if God were sent from the heavens to make the most of video games, he would be proud of you.

 

He deserves a thanks for such an awesome post.

Kissing much @ss kurai?

 

Why do people purposely find ways to get around being censored? They obviously know that what they're wanting to say is going to be censored, and they know that censorship's there for a reason... Meh. I don't get it.

I love the bolded text for Change 4. I'll comment as a whole later though.

 

Jon, you're awesome and really reasonable.

I really appreciate how you don't just spam your opinion and use cohesive facts to really get across your point.




to me, it seems like Blizzard is trying out many new things all at once. All i hope is that they produce a finalized RTS that is as balanced as it is good looking.



One last thing.... about 0 micro with the nydus worm.... it would be hella cool if it could be attacked while it was underground and sort of made like indents in the ground as it travelled.

that way people could spot it, and where it travelled.... i dunno.

great post jon, loved it!

 

I thought the Banshee was piloted by a female. Do you remember the Banshee portrait btw?

 

No, I don't remember the Banshee portrait. I'm not sure it has one. And on the same line of reasoning the Medivac Dropship could be a female but there's no indication of that yet.

 

nice.

i agree the predator should come back (maybe they will add it on the heart of swarm expansion), remove the bc missile barrage add something else, and make the viking stronger against large enemy air units and make the attack like the bc's missile barrage.

i also agree about the carrier being back just because its sentimental and iconic. but it has no clear role in the protoss air units, they already got the phoenix and warp ray and mothership. unless they could make the carrier good at something or give it a usefull ability then it be ok. and the interceptor design should be change it looks like binoculars right now, such a small unit and they can't even redo it. xp

why is the thor still have the gta role? again such a wasted unit. the look doesn't fit the role specially lorewise. period. why can't they just make the thor the strongest GTG "single attack" unit in the game or terran arsenal(they dont have this yet), in this way it doesn't overlap anything but the archon. but there is still a huge difference the thor is still hella slow and is a great tanker.

i think this is the best way for the thor. tell it to them sir jon. remove the basuka on top of the thor and give it lightning cooldown attack on its back that hits single target and the micro is you should timed it to attack bigger enemy units so that it wont be wasted. the 2 arm guns would work same as before hitting only single ground enemy units.

so does the lurker got a new design now?

 

The THOR definitely has to be figured out so it not only fits, but it does so in style. From what I know of it, it's not there yet. For starters, I'd like to see it built by an scv... that construction style/mechanic rules. It seems like the natural way to go about constructing something of it's magnitude. I'll leave it at that.

As for it's attacking abilities, I feel like if it ended up a somewhat massive ground as well as massive air damage inflicter, in one form or another, just be hampered by being real slow, cost balanced as well, it might work well. More than likely it'll end up something different but perfectly cool anyway...

 

Your review seems to be directed only to those in the loop. Unfortunately I've been having internet troubles the past few days, so I missed out on the nitty gritty. Could you clarify a few things for me?
- What's the replacement ability for the nullifier?
- What happened to the mutant larva exactly?
- How does the MS overlap with the Carrier? Last I heard the MS moved slower than an Overlord.
- What changed about Overlords/seers exactly?
- Does the Infestor no longer have Disease?

 

Sorry Kaaraa, you're right. Some of what I pitched is a bit vague to those not paying 100% attention. I'll see what I can do for you!

Truthfully? I don't know. But people keep telling me it had one... That's why I didn't name it. LOL. We will find out in the coming days most likely.

The Mutant Larvae is no longer really of use. It just increases the number of regular larvae that your Hatchery has at any one time. But you have to do it all the time. Before Mutant Larvae gave you the ability to build units instantly.

Sorry for not pointing this out. While the Mothership is still pretty slow, it's not as slow as it was in the WWI build. I like the current balance it has. But the Carrier just doesn't do anything special. There is always a better choice of a unit (Phoenix, Warp Ray, etc.) than the Carrier. The Mothership and the Warp Ray are much better against base defenses than a group of Carriers would be, and I would choose the Warp Ray against capital ships as well.

The Overlord no longer is a detector. Now you must upgrade to an Overseer to get detection. So the only ability the Overlord has is generate Creep. And since that's their only ability there is really no incentive to purchase the speed increase for the Overlord. I liked the way it was before.

Nope. It has an ability called Corrupted Fungus which severely damages units and will make smaller units that die from the ability explode with an AoE effect. It works but I don't like the other abilities, like spawning random infested Terrans.

 

*gasm*

That. Is. AWESOME! Seriously, just... That is so.... So... Incredibly, freaking... Awesome!

You mean like summoning them? Like Summon Spirit Wolf from WarCraftIII? That's kinda ****house. It ruins the entire concept of Infestation, which Zerg were supposed to be improving on, like with any Terran buildings being able to be Infested, Infested Terran being more useful, Corrupters' Corruption being introduced, etc.

 

no dark, i don't kiss ass, i just appreciate a good game review when i sees it XP

 

yup they being kinda summoned now. Go to the video thread seradin made, lurker posted some new gameplay where you see the infestor and its new abilities.

 

Surely the colossus portrait got his attention. I only saw the top half of it in the gameplay and it was awesome what with burning the display and everything

 

Good post Joneagle_X, i am agree with almost all that you said.

About the gas mechanic, i complain before about this, i said it that the idea was good, but you need it to stay very focus on click the gas building every 40 sec.
And i said that the solution it will be an auto activate abilitie, like right clic and every 40 sec change 100 min for gas, and you can off it.
And it seem that the change is something like that.. Or i read wrong?

Sorry for my english i am from Argentina.


-Change 2: The Queen Goes Global-
Ogly change T_T, The queen was good like was before.
With mutates, unique, and their defence abilities.
The only problem that i see is that she need a bonus HP in her 3 states.
Becoz she was very weak to carry so important abilities.

-Change 5: The Nullifier got Jacked-
Now antigravity is on phonix, but high templar has a very similar abilitie that is Phase Shift.
I think that blizzard need choose one. I dont like antigravity (no very original) so i will like the phase shift abilitie into the phonix.

-Change 9: I’m not sure what happened to the Reaper, but I like it:-
Yeah the reapear is the most dinamyc unit. I really like it.
On the other hand, zergs need more dinamyc in their units. I see very boring play with zerg how is right now.

-Change 10: The Zerg still need a transport:-
Yeah, i said that since the first day. I give a solution idea here:
http://www.starcraft2forum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5069&page=4
I still believe that this can solve some problems with the actual dinamyc on zergs.
There are more images in Pag 3 and 5.

-Change 11: Why is the Carrier still in this Game?-
I really like the carrier, its graphics, etc.
I preffer another solution before remove it from the game.

-Change 14: The Infestor can’t infest?-
I think this unit it has to be change it in a lot of ways.
First its design, maybe like this:
http://www.sc2armory.com/images/misc/infester_concept.jpg
And the abilities, i like the old dark swarm from the defiler.
Maybe an disease abilitie, that you infest some unit, and this unit infest other unit for some time.
And the infester abilitie that you keep infester terran from bunkers (if they have terrans inside) barraks and factorys. And maybe another abilitie against protos.

And a jump ability to the Roach with high delay after use.
Maybe change it his tier or cost for balance.

 

Well, first of all Angel, great reply. And I apologize if I don't have the time to completely answer all of your concerns. And don't worry about the language barrier, I understand you perfectly.

Let me say that I've paid attention to the designs you have contributed and believe it or not have passed on these design ideas to Blizzard already in our monthly reports. I was very impressed both with your graphical solutions for the Nydus Worm and the redesign for the Infestor. Unfortunately it seems that Samwise's mind is set on these topics. :-\

Unfortunately I also am a bit confused about some of the abilities because SO MANY of them changed around. I'm not 100% clear on all of the new abilities because they've shifted so much in this build. But I do agree that perhaps there needs to be some more disparity between Phase Shift and Anti-Gravity. And I'm not sure how either ability will affect the Phoenix in its role as an anti-fighter unit.

And BTW you're spot on about the gas except that now those functions are automatic. You don't have to click, it just happens. There is clearly still some work needed in those areas.