More and more news emerge after the announcement of Starcraft II beta sign up. This time it’s Dustin Browder, SC2 Lead Designer, giving a interview to Gamestar.de, here’s a part summary part translation of all the interesting bits and pieces of it.
GameStar:
Starcraft 2 has the same races available for conventional multiplayer as Brood War. Will there be any big changes in multiplayer experience?
Dustin Browder:
Well, we can’t say yet. SC2, like its predecessor, will be all about balance and, therefore, SC2 Multiplayer experience may and will change a lot during Beta tests. Lots of adjustments will be made, all with an ultimate goal to bring a great deal of balance, something that Starcraft is famous for, - pure balance.
GameStar:
What’s the purpose of this particular Beta test?
Dustin Browder:
We want to get an impression of the different tactics players use and how players like the possibilities of SC2, new Battle.net, the whole package.
Beta test will be all about player’s opinion on SC2 multiplayer; however, SC2 will undergo adjustments and improvements after release as well. The "Tweaking" process is basically the same as with any other strategy game and indeed with SC:BW.
GameStar:
What’s "The Big" difference between the first and second installments of Starcraft?
Dustin Browder:
Mobility of troops... SC2 units will be a lot more mobile and "flexible" than SC ones. However, achieving the better mobility of forces is not the only goal here, landscape will also play a much bigger role in Multiplayer, using terrain to gain strategic and combat advantage will be just as important.
Unit abilities are another part of new experience. Starcraft II will be a very fast paced game, and using abilities of units such as Stalker, Viking or Mech in combination with the tactical terrain "features" can make a big difference in the outcome of a game.
For the sake of new experience we’ve also removed the 1/3 miss target chance for ground units on hitting units placed on higher ground. However, it will be impossible for units to attack higher ground without an observer and a clear view of the higher ground areas.
Gamestar:
Will there be more micromanagement or “Micro” in SC2 than in SC?
Dustin Browder:
Definitely. SC2 will require pretty high level "Micro" skills, especially in the late game phase. However, we will still make sure that macro management stays just as important part of the game as it is in the original Starcraft.
Gamestar:
Certain concepts or "mechanics" of SC2 look somewhat outdated. Why did you keep a fixed camera position and limited production queues in Buildings such as factories and gateways? However, at the same time the number of grouped units was changed from 12 to xx?
Dustin Browder:
Starcraft is a very fast paced game that requires intense micro and macro management, there is no place for extensive camera zooms or rotation features in such a game. It simply doesn’t fit. We don’t want to overwhelm players. SC2 will be game that is created for both: E-sports and general RTS crowd, so naturally our goal is to satisfy both “groups”.
Speaking of new features, we have a lot of exciting and innovative stuff in the works, like changing night and day cycles on certain maps, however, the fate of these innovations is still undecided, but we’ll keep community posted.
Conclusion
There you have it folks, what can we take from this interview. First and foremost, Beta is coming, registrations are already open (See the news below). It’s good to know that the approach to Starcraft II is still based on the same basic principles of ultimate balance of units, micro and macro.
You know, there’s a general feeling in the air that Starcraft II is almost here, just have to wait a little while longer, the whole gaming community of Starcraft froze in a heartbeat, old and current pros, casuals, noobs and community activists, everyone is waiting, and so are we.
Thanks to pN.berg_zerg for the tip.
Links
Gamestar.de - Source (German)
Interview with Dustin Browder
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