Interview with StarCraft: Sons of War

 

Recently, StarCraftZone was privileged to spend a bit of time with ITSTORRASQUE4U, Project Director for the total conversion mod "StarCraft: Sons Of War". An ambitious mod set not long after the events of Brood War, featuring new units, upgrades and more.  Join us as we take a deeper look into the project's past, present and of what's to come!

 

StarCraftZone: First off, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your position on the project?

ITSTORRASQUE4U: My netname is ITSTORRASQUE4U, and I now remain hidden from most public communities except when posting the SOW updates. I come from sc.org, back when it was still rather active. I am the director of SOW, which means I do mostly everything within my grasp to reach the project's goals. My job is recruiting, organizing ideas and moderating. I also double as a 3D artist.

StarCraftZone: So to get to the nitty gritty, what is StarCraft: Sons of War?

ITSTORRASQUE4U: Sons of War is a Mod for SC:BW: It takes place 2-3 years after Omega storyline wise. We hope to include 6 new units, upgrades and altered tech for old units, fully voiced characters, brand new heroes as well as existing ones, cinematics and 3 additional campaigns. It is not a melee mod, or a single player campaign: it's both.

 

StarCraftZone: I guess my next question is how StarCraft: Sons of War came about? What were the motivations and decisions that led up to its initial creation?

ITSTORRASQUE4U: I can't keep credit away from the people that started this thing. It started as a random post by sc.org member Jworf, and then was retaken by a guy named Prophetofchaos. They started the main idea (which was a new expansion to Starcraft, due to Blizz's sequel denial  ) and Prophet started recruiting. He recruited me as vice president and went afk for 6 months: people were eager and demanding, so I had to start things rolling.

StarCraftZone: Approximately, how many people are actively working on this project?

ITSTORRASQUE4U: We have a total of 39 members at the moment. I don't need to mention how many people have gone in and out of SOW, some leaving a heavy contribution behind. Currently, school terms are our worst enemy, but we manage to have 2-3 active mappers, 1 modder, 1 webmaster, 3-4 graphical artists, and 3-4 voice casters. We recruit new personnel along the way.

 

 StarCraftZone: We've seen some pretty amazing 3d models from you guys, but we've noticed some completely new units as well. Units such as the Terran "Tomahawk",
Zerg "Bane" and the Protoss "Vanguard". Can you share with us a bit about these new units and their roles in the game?

ITSTORRASQUE4U: The Terran Tomahawk is a heavy bomber that also shoots short range anti-ground missiles automatically at any enemy between it and it's target: great for dealing with Zs under Dark Swarm, or a rather big mass of zealots for example.

The Zerg Bane is a Scourge evolution, a much more practical fighter. If you morph your Scourge into a Bane you won't get it back, but you gain rapid melee (which if abused correctly with the creatures potential "massability" can be devastating) and the Suicide Dive, which can snipe ground and air targets from a safe distance.

The Protoss Vanguard's role is still under discussion. She's currently a heavy anti-organic unit, which deals massive damage (almost always instant KO, but with VERY long cooldown) and slows down the units around the primary target. Melee units such as Zerglings and Zealots are greatly affected.

StarCraftZone: The storyline looks to take place not long after the events of Brood War. Can you divulge any additional information regarding the story elements at this point?

ITSTORRASQUE4U: While we cannot divulge the entire plot for obvious reasons, we can certainly give a little preview. The story starts running around Duran's last 2 hybrids, Phobos and Deimos... the only ones Zeratul could not slay. These 2 are the most promising individuals, with powers and abilities never witnessed before. Kerrigan, still fending off the Terrans and Protoss above Char, senses a psionic disturbance of great caliber, and decides to go research herself. Meanwhile, the Terrans thrive under a neo-feudal system known as "The Baron Council", whose leader's identity is still unknown; the Protoss fight for a place in the new order as well, with a new brand of warriors gaining strength: the Protoss Centurions.

StarCraftZone: With the announcement of StarCraft 2 back in May, will that have any effect on your progress? Have there been discussions on whether to stay with the original or move to the new game?

ITSTORRASQUE4U: There was a gigantic turmoil in the SOW forum due to SC2's release: some people wanted to par up with SC2's storyline, some didn't. At the end, we decided to follow the cannon as closely as we could, but also adding our own sugar and spice to the game. And we'd like to stay in SC1... our storyline and units will have no purpose in SC2.

 

StarCraftZone: It seems you guys have been working on StarCraft: Sons of War for some time. Approximately how far along is this conversion? Can we expect to see it out any time soon?

ITSTORRASQUE4U: We have been working on it since Sep-Oct 2006... that's around a year and 4 months of development. And even though many people think fan projects don't have deadlines, ours does: we have to put it out before SC2 is released. Not only will SC fans stop playing SC1, but our storyline will be spoiled as well. We're trying our best to deliver as soon as we can : )

StarCraftZone: Last but not least, is there anything you guys would like to tell your fans and viewers out there?

ITSTORRASQUE4U: 2 things

1. Don't let people discourage you: we started backwards in many aspects, and we weren't able to pull ourselves together in several months. Mod makers, always try your best: for some people it's not enough, but if it is for you then you're halfway through. We know that even if SOW isn't finished, it was a great experience and we made a lot of friends : )

2. Our webmaster is working to get a new site up... disregard most of the info you find on www.sonsofwar.pyrom.net We'll let you know when the new site is up, and if we have plans to include forums in it or something along those lines. As my trusted friend the Battlecruiser officer said: MAKE IT HAPPEN

 

From all of us here at StarCraftZone, we'd like to extend our sincere thanks to ITSTORRASQE4U and the entire mod team for taking a bit of time off to give our fans and viewers a deeper insight into StarCraft: Sons Of War!