14 DAY TRIAL // Blokes over at Blizzard Entertainment are keeping themselves awfully busy this time around, prepping the launch of a new expansion for their popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft, but also developing the most anticipated RTS games of all time, StarCraft II. Apparently, the developer was bombarded with questions from StarCraft fans all across the globe, and so, Blizzard was compelled to answer them fast. Here's what they've revealed so far, in an updated fact sheet for the game and a very pertinent FAQ.
An official report reveals today the following (I took the liberty of selecting a few excerpts, to keep it short, simple and to the point):
When is the game coming out? At this point, it's too early to provide an initial estimate on the release date. As with all Blizzard games, we will take as much time as needed to ensure the game is as fun, balanced, and polished as possible.
Will StarCraft II include a map editor? Yes, it will. We'll have more details on the features of the StarCraft II map editor at a later date.
How many races are in StarCraft II? In StarCraft II, players will see the return of the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg races. Our goal is to ensure that all the factions in the game play even more distinctly from one another than in the original StarCraft, while still maintaining the fine balance that helped make StarCraft a classic. We're also introducing a number of new units to each race, as well as modifying some of the familiar units returning in StarCraft II. With these design refinements and the new features we have planned for the single-player and multiplayer elements of the game, StarCraft II will offer a next-generation StarCraft experience.
Will there also be an expansion, and if so, what features will it contain? Our focus has been and will continue to be on developing and refining the core StarCraft II experience, so we haven't really had much time to consider what types of things we would include with an expansion for the game if we were to do one.
Will there be a console version of StarCraft II? StarCraft II is being developed for the PC. We have no current plans to bring the game to any console platform.
Can we consider what was shown at BlizzCon to be the full and final list of Terran and Protoss units? We're still very early in the development of StarCraft II, so nothing that was revealed at BlizzCon 2007 is set in stone. We'll continue to do lots of testing and make balance tweaks that may result in changes to specific units, abilities, and structures in the game.
As for Battle.net...: Will Battle.net be overhauled? Will there be new features? There will be some exciting new changes and features to Battle.net that will help us ensure that StarCraft II will be the ultimate competitive online real-time strategy game. We're not quite ready to discuss those features at this time, but we look forward to getting into more detail in the future.
What are the system requirements for StarCraft II? We'll have more details on specific system requirements closer to the release date.
Main features in StarCraft II
- Fast-paced, hard-hitting, tightly balanced competitive real-time strategy gameplay that recaptures and improves on the magic of the original game - Three completely distinct races: Protoss, Terran, and Zerg - New units and gameplay mechanics further distinguish each race - Groundbreaking single-player campaign - Vibrant new 3D-graphics engine with support for dazzling visual effects and massive unit and army sizes - Full multiplayer support, with new competitive features and matchmaking utilities available through Battle.net - Full map-making and scripting tools to give players incredible freedom in customizing and personalizing their gameplay experience
This is pretty much it for now. Blizzard has yet to come up with a release date for StarCraft II, but I guess it's WoW's expansion, "Wrath of the Lich King," they're currently trying to date at the moment. Keep a close eye on both, just in case.