Starcraft 2

[Gwarsbane]

Starcraft 2 was a game I was really looking forward to. I enjoyed the original one a lot. But if what I have been hearing is true, I won't be getting Starcraft 2.

Blizzard might be changing battle.net into pay to play

The game is going to be broken up into 3 separate 20+hour campaigns
that we'll have to buy separately

Not all units available in single player will be available in
multiplayer

----------------------------
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/11/blizzards-wilson-some-battle-net-features-to-be-monetized/
"Is Battle.Net going to remain free?"

His response probably wasn't what you'd want to hear. "We are looking
to monetize Battle.Net so that we get to keep making these games and
updating features," said Wilson. "We kind of have to." He went on to
say that they do recognize that everyone loves having it as a free
service, and that they don't have a strong desire to make a
subscription-based game.
----------------------------
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/10/starcraft-2-to-be-released-as-a-trilogy/

* Terrans - Wings of Liberty
* Zerg - Heart of the Swarm
* Protoss - Legacy of the Void

Sure, it's not a release date, but for those still hopeful, there's
always tomorrow night's closing ceremonies. We'll get more info on
this as we have it, like will it all be in one box? Will we have to
buy separate discs? Can we have it now, please?

Update: Yes, you'll have to buy separate discs. According to Pardo,
"It's a separate product. Look at the next two as expansion packs, but
will have the feel of stand alone products." Meaning yes, we'll be
charging you more money.
----------------------------
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/11/joystiq-interview-starcraft-2-lead-producer-chris-sigaty/

We learned earlier in the day from Rob Pardo that there will be units
in the single player mode that are not usable in the multiplayer mode.
Sigaty expanded upon this a little bit; Goliaths and those six-person
Terran Bunkers will not be usable in multiplayer. By removing those
units, and others like it, they will change significantly the way the
multiplayer game is played compared to the single player.You can't
just turtle your way through a multiplayer match with bunkers anymore.
----------------------------

[Sh4x]

"We are looking
to monetize Battle.Net so that we get to keep making these games and
updating features," said Wilson. "We kind of have to."

That made me laugh... Imo they could easily keep battle.net free, they just don't want to, because they know how much more money they can get if they charge for it.

"We kind of have to" here means "We make a lot of money already, but we want more"

[SkinkHero]

Not all units available in single player will be available in
multiplayer

I don't really understand why they'd do this.

[Suite307]

I don't really understand why they'd do this.
Hero units and such

[Credge]

Blizzard is going down the tubes fast. If the terrible service that is BNet isn't free, I won't be buying D3 or SC2.

[qwertyuiop]

If they charge for BNet I'll definitely stick with wc3. I'm not willing to pay monthly fees for any game.

[Ihmhi]

And then BNET gets shut down as they "migrate" to BNET 2.0.

What, they won't do it? How long do you expect Blizzard to run legacy BNET? 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?

I don't think "monetize" is necessarily the same as "pay to play" - it could mean things like buying new campaigns etc. Rather than one huge expansion, they could go episodic, blah blah.

Honestly though, I think we'll end up having a BNET 2.0 icon in our taskbar in 2 years because it will be just like Steam is - only for Blizzard games.

[Etzell]

Yeah, 'cause Blizzard's having money issues with BNet upkeep. Even though one of their games makes more money than some countries.

[Credge]

Honestly though, I think we'll end up having a BNET 2.0 icon in our taskbar in 2 years because it will be just like Steam is - only for Blizzard games.

It depends entirely on Blizzard. If the new BNet isn't the terrible sack of shit it is now and is free... then sure, I'll have it. If not, there's no chance I'll be buying a Blizzard product anytime soon. Playing Diablo or Starcraft by yourself is shitty.

To be honest, I'd rather have the ability to LAN even if I have to check in online. I'd rather do that over Hamachi than rely on some shitty service.

[greenday5494]

My heart is offically broken. Half-Life and Starcraft and my two most favorite games of all time, ever. I... I... I can barley speak. Blizzard used to be the most awesome of all PC game companies, the standard, the want-to-be. if they charge for multiplayer and single player.... WoW has gotton to their heads.

At least valve hasn't gone down the shitter.


i was really looking forward to this game. i really was.


edit:
say it aint so. now they are adding the stupidly retarded RPG hero-like units?!?!? :( :( :( :(

that is the thing i HATED about WC3. no, i dont want a fucking RPG in my RTS, especcialy in starcraft.
i wish they released the sequel before blizzard was fucking retarded, before warcraft fucked everything up. >: (

[squeek.]

Let's see if it's possible for you guys to complain more. I'm betting against, but I'm fairly certain I'm going to lose this bet.

say it aint so. now they are adding the stupidly retarded RPG hero-like units?!?!?
If that's a response to Suite307's post, then overreaction has reached a peak. Jim Raynor was a hero unit only available in single-player Starcraft. That is what he (and SC2) was/is talking about.

[Circuitous]

Does Jim Raynor learn skills and pick up items now or is he just good ol' fashioned Jim Raynor, slightly more kick-ass Vulture unit?

[Ihmhi]

Nobody knows, but there doesn't seem to be a slot in the interface for items. I don't see why they wouldn't use hero units - but I think they would only be for the single player games.

Also, selling three games at once? Wow, that's insanely greedy of them.

[greenday5494]

it's not even three games. it's the orginal game being broken up into smaller games. WTF?! i think this will lead to lots of piracy, i dont know any more. i was so excited. im sad now. :(

fuck WoW.

[Etzell]

Did you really give that much of a fuck about the single player?

[greenday5494]

yes, i do. it's the only part of the game i care about. i like the story and voice acting. i could care less about MP.

[squeek.]

yes, i do. it's the only part of the game i care about. i like the story and voice acting. i could care less about MP.
Then pay for it. Quality comes at a cost. I believe it has something to do with capitalism.

[Sh4x]

Maybe we should start charging for FF then! ;)

But seriously, I'd love to see our mod team start on a new project, something original with great potential.

[eternity94]

Actually this has proved to get out of control and Blizzard has already commented on this.

They have said that your not going to have to P2P, it is only going to charge you for things like name changes and stuff like that.

I would find the article but im lazy to search on google.

[Ihmhi]

it's not even three games. it's the orginal game being broken up into smaller games. WTF?! i think this will lead to lots of piracy, i dont know any more. i was so excited. im sad now. :(

fuck WoW.

The original game had 25-30 missions for each race. Starcraft launched with 30 missions (plus a couple bonus missions), and Brood War had like... 21?

Each campaign for the three races has 25-30 missions. That means 75-90 missions total, or roughly twice the missions of Starcraft and Brood War combined.

You quite literally are paying for three games.

I'm like you - I was more about single player (and occasional LAN play) than ever playing online. (Fuck you, Dark Templar Rush.) I don't remember, but I'd bet that SC2 doesn't have LAN play. I'm extremely disappointed about this. I don't want to have to route a game through the Internet to play with my roommate sitting next to me at his computer.

Maybe we should start charging for FF then! ;)

Jesus Christ Sh4x, don't say that shit man. I know you're joking, but we have more than enough fanboys who are constantly worrying about us selling out.

We will never, never, monetize Fortress Forever.

We will, however, try to raise some money for the site/operating costs. First out will be our "Delicious Devs 2009" Calender, with sensuous pictures like 82694 in liederhosen and Scuzzy dressed as a sexy firefighter.

But seriously, I'd love to see our mod team start on a new project, something original with great potential.

How about Fortress Forever 2: The Forevering. Now with even more Forever and three times as many Fortresses!

[Desyphur]

How about Fortress Forever 2: The Forevering. Now with even more Forever and three times as many Fortresses!

Xtreme Fortress Forever 2: The Reforevering MAX Turbo Edition.

Aka, the Street fighter way.

it's not even three games. it's the orginal game being broken up into smaller games. WTF?! i think this will lead to lots of piracy, i dont know any more. i was so excited. im sad now. :(

fuck WoW.

What the fuck does WoW have to do with any of that :P

[greenday5494]

WoW made them greedy

and, sorry, i thought each game was only ONE race each, and you needed to buy all 3 to play all their missions.

nevermind then.

[Credge]

WoW made them greedy

and, sorry, i thought each game was only ONE race each, and you needed to buy all 3 to play all their missions.

nevermind then.

You're correct.

The first release will have a fully functional multiplayer (all 3 sides) as well as only the Terran campaign. Each expansion/episode/whatever will have another sides campaign.

Really, this irritates me. I could honestly care less about the Terran campaign and only really care about the Zerg and Protoss. To me, I feel like I'm going to be paying full price for half of something I want. They should probably release a "multiplayer only" version as I know I will never touch the Terran campaign.

Hell, I'd probably never ever touch any of the campaigns to be honest.

[Hammock]

You're correct.


Hell, I'd probably never ever touch any of the campaigns to be honest.

Although the campaigns were well written, I agree with ya. When I get those types of games I instantly jump into the multiplayer mode and scrim a computer or two.

And I, like you didn't care for the terran campaign too much, zerg and protoss are where it's at... story line and buildables aside the voice acting just sounds soo much cooler. Artanis just fucking rocked.

[Desyphur]

WoW made them greedy

Uh, right. So you think. Activision made them greedy.

[greenday5494]

WoW was published by activision.

[greenday5494]

Although the campaigns were well written, I agree with ya. When I get those types of games I instantly jump into the multiplayer mode and scrim a computer or two.

And I, like you didn't care for the terran campaign too much, zerg and protoss are where it's at... story line and buildables aside the voice acting just sounds soo much cooler. Artanis just fucking rocked.
i think the overmind's voice in the first few Zerg missions was just amazing.

[Hammock]

i think the overmind's voice in the first few Zerg missions was just amazing.

Ya, the zerg voices were pretty cool too. Zerg was my favorite race to play, but Artanis was my favorite voice.

Terrans just sounded like your typical G.I. joes, or any other american military movie/show/cartoon/game out there.

[greenday5494]

yea terran's werent that exciting, and Edmund Duke had some weird pinapple head thing goin on.

[FrenchToast]

Terran and 'Toss were fun, I hated zerg.

[Innoc]

Terran and 'Toss were fun, I hated zerg.
+1

With regard to the Bnet changes...anyone know if the FSGS Server project still lives? Seems to me that's a way around it...

[Anshinritsumai]

WoW was published by activision.

WoW was published by Blizzard.

They may be owned by Vivendi Universal (now that stupid Activision Blizzard bullshit), but never has a Blizzard title ever had a mention of it's parent companies on it's published disks, manuals, or box art.

[mervaka]

be thankful its not under EA..