Starcraft 2: F.A.Q

So, what do we know about Starcraft 2? Well first of all, we have insider info confirming that Starcraft 2 is officially the most awesome game ever. Few of our sources (who refused to be named) also leaked more data that confirms that Starcraft 2 is REALLY friggin’ awesome :D

Ok, those facts aside, here are the confirmed data (with references):

Q: What is Starcraft 2?
A: The most awesome game ever.

Q: Seriously, what is Starcraft 2?
A: According to Wikipedia: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game currently under development by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the award-winning 1998 video game StarCraft.

Also, it is the first of the three installments to be released, with the next two expansion packs Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void on the works.

Q: When and How Much?
A: Blizzard said that Starcraft 2 will be in stores starting July 27, 2010. It will probably be available in the Philippines in a month’s time or so, with the suggested retail price of 59.99 USD, or roughly 2,800 PHP (which includes a lifetime Battle.net account for the region)

Q: How come some people are playing the game right now?
A: The Starcraft 2 Beta has been ongoing for a few months now. In fact, there has been a total of 13 patches as of May 20, 2010. If you want a Beta Key though, you would have to preorder the game on GameStop.

Q: What are the similarities & differences between the first starcraft and Starcraft 2?
A: There are still three races: Terran, Protoss and Zerg, and the gameplay is still fast-paced real-time startegy game. Also there are still three resources: Minerals, Vespene Gas and Population.

The unit lineups, however are vastly different (and I daresay, much improved). Each race still retains much of its character: the Zerg still overrun with vast quantities, the Protoss still has their iconic shields and psi powers while the Terran still has all their tech- cloaking, nukes and all.

Oh, and Starcraft 2 looks a lot more awesome.

Q: What about the new mechanics?
A: A quick rundown then~ You can queue multiple buildings to build as well as interact with the terrain (destructible rocks, watchtowers). There are high yield minerals on non-defensible parts on most maps, and you can set the harvester’s rally point directly to minerals (and they will mine automatically). Also, there is now line of sight which prevents targeting of units that you can’t see.

That, plus two big mechanics:  1) When you select multiple buildings, the game queue build commands intelligently- Selecting 5 gateways and clicking the build Zealot command five times will distribute the build command equally through the 5 gateways. This means that those 5 zealots would now appear at the same time. 2) The same is true with unit abilities- Selecting 5 Infestors and using the Fungal Growth ability once will make one of the Infestor use the ability once- not all five of them. This conserves energy and reduces accidental misclicks.

Ok, I know that you’ve got a lot more questions, but I just passed the 550 word limit on my Writer, so until next time, this is Gaius Sensei, signing out~

Up Next: Battle.Net & LAN F.A.Q

Hey, noojster™ here!

Stalker: My favorite unit!

Hi there, my name is Nooj and welcome to the Philippine Starcraft 2 League. Until the full game is released we will first discuss a few beta tests against A.I to give you a sneak peek at the changes, new techs, new units and the definitely better maps. Its hard to find Filipino players right now when playing the beta, but we (Me and my colleague and long-time best friend Gaius "Sensei") will do our best.

As one of the contributors here I’ll be commenting and discussing most of Protoss gameplay. Protoss unit production style may not be as fast as Zerg or Terran but they really excel in both offensive and defensive capabilities. Building production can still be done by one probe and the Protoss is fast when it comes to mining resources, that’s why the costs are high too. The usual “pylon power” is still important in creating your base especially now that Warp Gates (an upgrade to the gateway) can easily deploy units from any location with power.

I have been playing SC2 for some weeks now and I may say this game is more addictive than the first. Practice, practice, practice. That’s all there is to it.

 

For the Terran and the Zerg, a lot of things have been improved too. The Terran are now on even grounds with the other two races (because seriously, I think that Terran is quite weak in SC1). As for the Zerg, unit production is still very speedy. Expert Zerg players can easily have some serious map control mid-game. Upgrading those units optimally is the blade of Zerg’s  fast unit production.

Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty will be released this July 27, 2010 and by that time we we'll be on full in-depth discussion of the game.

Next up: Protoss Units Discussion!