News Archive

Welcome to the StarCraftZone news archive. Here you can browse all archived news that has been published on our website.

Dustin Browder Gives Own Opinion On Races

Battle.net - April 21, 2009

In a recent post by StarCraft II developer Dustin Browder, aka "Cavez", he gave a little insight into how he views the current races as far as balancing is concerned. Naturally, many of us have various opinions and difficulties regarding each race and how easy/hard they are to play, but its intriguing enough to see how Cavez personally feels about the popular three races.

Here is what he had to say on the matter:

Terran is the most "understandable" since many of the units look and behave like more real-world weapons. Protoss are the easiest to play since they have generally less micro with their units (no siege tanks) and their units are pretty tough so they are more forgiving of mistakes.

The Zerg are the hardest. Their economy is difficult to manage, many of their units are powerful but unforgiving if you make a mistake with them.

At least that's the way it feels to me.=)

Based on your experiences playing the original StarCraft game and your knowledge thus far on StarCraft II, how do you guys view each race and the learning curve associated with it? Sound off and let us know!

BlizzCast 9 Highlights Upcoming WarCraft Novel

Blizzard.com - April 20, 2009

Blizzard recently released their latest Blizzard BlizzCast to the public today and highlights a new, exciting chapter in the WarCraft universe -- most notably the early years and eventual rise to power of Arthas himself. Here is a quick exerpt from Senior Vice President of Creative Development Chris Metzen:

Well, this novel has been in the planning stages for awhile. The story of Arthas' rise and fall is one that's very near and dear to our hearts. We've been really excited for Christie Golden to get on board and begin constructing much of this story. While a lot of the book deals with the events of Warcraft III and The Frozen Throne that we've all kind of played through. To me the far more interesting part of the book is Christie's construction of Arthas's origin. We never really got into a lot of the stories about when he was a kid: how he came up, how he became a Paladin, just who he really was. What are his chief relationships like with characters like Uther or Muradin or Jaina Proudmoore? We just felt Christie just absolutely rocked this one out of the park and I just can't wait for people to be able to read it and just really see what's been cooking.

If your a big fan of the WarCraft universe, be sure to check out the rest of the BlizzCast.

StarCraft II Fansite Q&A Series #1

TeamLiquid.net - April 16, 2009

Karune recently kicked off the previously mentioned fansite Q&A series with the 1st rounds going to the guys over at TeamLiquid.net. Many interesting questions were answered and covered a broad range of areas regarding the game including the editor, replay system and unit upgrade balancing. Here's a brief glimpse at one of the questions Karune answered.

Q: We have heard many times that the map editor is capable of almost anything, but does this hold true for melee as well? Will you be able to implement map related features, such as different types of terrain (slowing, damage over time, energy regenerating, etc.), portals, or bridges and such, for ladder/melee maps?

A: Yes, players will be able to create special areas on the map as mentioned, though players will probably have to create them using invisible objects with those properties rather than have those properties be tied with the actual visual texture itself.

The rest of the Q&A is available here. Check it out!

Blizzard ThemePark Winners Announced

Blizzard.com - April 16, 2009

Karune recently announced the winners for their exciting Blizzard Theme Park Contest, which was held over the last month or so. There were some very cool entries and big kudos to all the winning nominees! Here's what Karune had to say about the contest.

For our recent contest, we challenged artists and designers to dream up the ultimate Blizzard Entertainment theme park, complete with the wildest rides and most inventive attractions they could conceive. Big congrats go out to Christina Marie DeLong for her detailed, grand-prize-winning depiction of Blizzard World, featuring such attractions as a terran combat simulator, a Diablo-themed petting zoo, and a thrilling flight around Outland's Netherwing Ledge. Congratulations to our other prize winners too, for designing the best individual StarCraft, Warcraft, or Diablo-themed rides or areas. Check out the winning parks below, along with several creative honorable mentions -- and thanks to everyone who entered!

Head on over and check out the finalists and runner-ups!

Battle Report #2 Arrives

starcraft2.com - April 10, 2009

The second in the "Battle Report" series makes its debut on a Zerg vs. Terran matchup. Dustin Browder and Robert Simpson commentate the match as we appreciate how competitive Starcraft 2 can really be. We also learn the game is still in alpha version, but that's ok, as it still looks amazing. Be sure to check it out at starcraft2.com 

EDIT: Battle Report 2 is now live!