Karune

Proton Charge: an area-of-effect ability that gives all targeted Probes additional charge for their Proton-Cutters. Probes that have an additional charge gather additional minerals per trip when collecting resources. The Proton Charge lasts only a short time before dissipating.

Null Shield: a single-target ability that causes a Protoss Shield to shimmer and warp, cloaking the targeted Protoss unit. The Null Shield lasts only a short time.

Calldown Mule: sends a single automated mining robot by drop-pod that assists SCVs in collecting resources by working around current SCV mining operations. Unfortunately the Mule is still in the prototype phase and has a limited battery supply (timed life).

Calldown Extra Supplies: sends additional supplies to a targeted Supply Depot. Generally used by Terran commanders only in an emergency to allow them to support additional troops.

Build Creep Tumor: with a mighty push from her bowels, the Queen creates a cluster of organic tumors that generate additional creep. In recent months the Zerg have mutated to move more quickly on creep, making this an important function for the Queen.

Spawn Larva: by injecting Queen ichor into a Hatchery, Lair or Hive the Queen can cause the Zerg structure to undergo a startling metamorphosis. The Hatchery starts to throb and green sacks swell up on the structure. Eventually four additional larva burst out of the Hatchery and land next to whatever larva are already wriggling around nearby. While a Hatchery hosts more than 3 larva, the Hatchery will not spawn additional larva, until that number drops below 3.

Additional Comments

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A few questions:

- How does one construct a dark pylon? Is it a separate, more expensive replacement for the original pylons or an upgrade?

The Dark Pylon currently costs 150 minerals (50 more than normal Pylon) and has the Gateway as the prerequisite building. This of course is all subject to change while more balance testing is occuring.

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- I assume the orbital command is now a replacement of the surveillance center? Does that mean people who opt to upgrade their CC's to a planetary fortress are no longer able to beneft from these new features, even without the use of salvage?

Yes the Orbital Command is what the Surveillance Center used to be. If you build a Planetary Fortress you will not be able to use these new features, but your command center will be upgraded to Armor 3 and have a Ibiks Laser that does 40 splash damage with a 6 range. These stats are of course all subject to change through balance testing.^[10]

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I don't suppose Proton Charge would stack, hm?

Nope they don't stack, but if casted again, it will renew the duration of the ability.

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Some more questions:

1. The new infestor (pure awesomeness BTW), resembles the reaver in shape and looks rather slow. Is it super slow? Can you tell us anything about its speed?

The Infestor will still be relatively slow, though they have been sped up a bit from when you guys last saw it.

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2. In 1 screen shot there are 15 eggs hatching. We know the hatchery can make 3, then the queen can make the hatchery add 4 more. So in this shot, did the the Queen use her ability multiple times in quick succession or would she have to wait until the firs 7 hatch before she can use it again? I guess what I am asking is if the hatchery can only spit out 4 extra larva at a time or if you can tell it to do it 4 times and have it spit out 16 larva?

After the original 3 larva, each Hatchery can only be spawning 4 larva at a time. The ability cannot be used again on that Hatchery until those 4 larva have spawned.

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3. The mules help the terrans by essentially being SCV's that mine fast right? Do they help the other SCV's mine faster as well? Can they build things? Do they cost supply since they are only there for a while? When they "run out of battery" do they shut down until you "recharge" them or do they explode and disappear forever?

Mules will not help other SCVs mine faster. They will also not be able to build anything, but will be able to repair buildings and units. Furthermore, they will not cost supply. Multiple Mules can be dropped at any given time as long as you have sufficient energy available. When the Mules run out of battery, they will not be able to be recharged, and new Mules will need to be dropped.

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4. Is the fungal infestation a long range attack (like parasite and spawn broodling were) or does he have to be rather close?

It will be a ranged ability. This is one of my favorite abilities, it really wrecks mass Marines which are quite a force to be reckoned with at the moment with Medivac support.

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A few more questions:

- Can the mule defend itself?

Yes. It currently has the same attack value as a SCV.

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- Can the drop pod be placed anywhere with line-of-sight, leading to the mule being used as a scout?

Yes, this can be quite helpful in some circumstances. Originally, each drop ship spawned 3 Mules, but it became a bit too advantageous in scouting 3 places at once.

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- Does razor swarm damage both ground and air? What about friendlies?

It does currently damage both ground and air, but not friendly units.

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- Can null shield be cast on non-Protoss allies?

Currently, yes.
Yes, this also means cloaked Siege Tanks are possible... ;)

Nonetheless, remember all things are still subject to balance.

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The Dark Pylon and Queen are tier 1 tech. IIRC the Surveillance Station required the Shadow Ops to be built (making it tier 2), is this still true of the Orbital Command?

The Orbital Command requires a Barracks first to be built. The Planetary Fortress requires an Engineering Bay first to be built.

With the queen you can build up larva. Say you don't have a tech building up yet but you want a ton of that units, you build up larva (you can see 15 in that screen shot--that's 5 hatcheries!), then when tech finishes, you get a ton of that high level unit.

Also, mutant larva hatch faster.

/answered

These are no longer 'mutant larva' so they will not hatch faster, but everything else is correct :)^[11]

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Is there anything that would prevent you from offensively dropping mules in the thick of battle? (For example it *might* be useful to drop near units that would then cause things like siege tanks to attack them and while ultimately leading to a very short lifespan for the mule, could lead to splashing a player's own units with damage)

This is theoretically possible, but the animation of the drop pod that hits the ground is a bit long (roughly 5-10 seconds), so it isn't like an instant drop.

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:(

/misses mutant larva...here's hoping they come back in beta!

Also, Karune, does that then mean that these larva do not cost supply? If that is the case then another advantage over a hatchery is if you mess up and forget to build enough ovies (or you just had a bunch of ovies get sniped), then instead of having to wait for more ovies, you can build mutant larva and not lose unit making time in the end.

They do not cost supply, they are just normal larva. The concept of Mutant Larva with timed life seemed more tedious and much harder to grasp in gameplay than the current reincarnation, which has definitely sat much better with the team and testers.

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1) Was the new infestor art looking so much like a Reaver done on purpose? Maybe a joke to all the guys asking to put the reaver back?

The Infestor has a completely new model different than the Reaver, but does coincidentally have the same shape as a Reaver. Don't forget, Reavers will still be seen in single player as well as the map editor.

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2) Terran and protoss now have abilities to both increase they're income temporarily (mules + dark pylon) as well as abilities to increase they're offensive production (reactor + warp gates). Zergs only have a production ability (mutate larvae). Are zergs getting something to fill the temporary income role? Or is the mutate larvae supposed to just pump drones to make up for that?

Being able to spawn additional larva can potentially help Zerg production quite a bit actually. Prior, when a Zerg player hatched offensive units, they were always sacrificing the creation of more drones. This ability allows more bandwidth to create even more offensive units for a big push, build more balanced with more drones and additional units, or double up on the teching effort with all drones. There are a lot of options to play with that will surely inspire many new strategies.

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1) How far in tech is the dark pylon cloak?

All 3 abilities are available right when the Dark Pylon is created.

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2) Can dark pylons be used as a warp-in end that gives energy to your HT's?

Sneaking a cloacked probe and placing a pylon in the back of the enemy base for warp-ins and hidden cannons sounds like fun ^^

Yup, everything a Pylon can do, a Dark Pylon can do better :) but of course at a cost.^[12]

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Are queens still unique? What about motherships?

What tier are the lurkers? Are they still late-game units?

Are hydralisks still better anti-air than anti-ground? What are their damage stats?

Have a nice day, by the way :) Thanks for the huge attention you've been giving us today!

1) Neither are unique.
2) Lurkers are tier 3. The Lurker Den requires a Hive. Banelings are much better for earlier AoE, and Lurkers are a good siege type unit in addition to its previous uses. They have a range of 9 which outranges Protoss cannons and have an attack of 15 + 15 to armored (including buildings).
3) Hydralisks are still slightly better against air, with air to ground attack stats of 10 + 6 armored and ground to ground attack stats of 10, both with range 6.^[13]

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I'd like to know how much energy the Dark Pylon has, how much those abilities cost, how long their duration is, and their CD. The energy transfer and cloaking abilities sound really cool :D

I can see a ton of potential for combing a Dark Pylon with Warp Prisms + Warp in :D. I realize all this info would be subject to change, but having that information to talk about would be great :D

Dark Pylon has 200 energy.
Proton Charge costs 50 energy and lasts for 30 seconds.
Null Shied costs 50 energy. No cool time, as long as you have enough energy, you can use this ability.
Argus Link drains 75 energy per second from the Dark Pylon.

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Also... Does the infester move at the same speed when burried or is it slower? does it move faster when burried on the creep?

Infestor moves slower when burried. And all Zerg units move faster on the creep.

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Does the Dark Pylon's and Orbital Command abilities have a cast range or can they be casted on the entire map??

Dark Pylon's abilities has a cast range.
Orbital Command's abilities technically don't have a cast range, since MULEs can be dropped any place on the map and Extra Supplies only can be dropped on the Supply Depot. And as you know, Scanner Sweep can be used on the any map location.

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1) Does these new awesome abilities replace that weirdo gas mechanic that no one liked or are both in the game?

2) Did the queen lose her heal?

3) Does the dark pylon cloak lasts long enough for a probe to walk from his base to the back of the enemy base? Or long enough for an early ~3 zealot rush with a proxy dark pylon at the enemy's door to do some economic dmg before the enemy can do anything?

4) Can you cloak air units such as phase prisms?

5) Does the queen creep tumor can be build off creep or only expands existing creep?

1. Some changes for the gas mechanic.
There are still two Vespene Geysers and workers will harvest Vespene Gas until the entire gas is exhausted. Once the gas is depleted, workers will stop harvesting gas, which means there is no deplete gas mining like the original StarCraft.
2. Queed doesn't have a heal ability.
3. Target unit only can be cloaked for a short time.
4. Yes, you can cloak air units through Null Shield.
5. Creep Tumor only can be created on the creep.

* All contents in the current build still can be changed.^[14]

:Quote:

85kxsrd

1. It is possible.
2. MULEs can mine a mineral field with a SCV simultaneously. MULEs carry more minerals than a SCV.

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Is there any chance of the dark pylon being renamed? Between the dark templar and dark obelisk, I think the 'dark' prefix is a bit common. Plus, a little story nitpick, it just seems odd that the dark templar would design a better pylon than the khalai.

Does the null shield work on buildings?

Love the new models. The overseer pic kinda confused me, since the new one is on the left. The overlord's new glowing sides are just fantastic. Maybe it was mentioned previously, but I hope the overseer's eyes move.

You can't use Null Shield on the structures.

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are the HP/shields of the dark pylon the same as those of the regular pylon?

are there any intentions to give regular pylons abilities so that to make them more attractive (since as you said, dark pylons do everything best for only 50 additional minerals)?

Dark Pylon has 200 Life and 100 Shieds, but Pylon has 200/200 Life/Shields.
So Dark Pylon can be destroyed little bit easier than Pylon by enemy units.

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Karune, does the proton charge ability affect gas collection in any way, or does it only affect minerals?

It only affects minerals.

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1. Can Argus Link be set to auto-cast? or: Can I right click it from another unit to access this? (I have a High Templar selected and right click the nearby Dark Pylon for mana, much like a moonwell in WC3)

If both are no then I suggest this :)

2. Also, as someone else mentioned...will it be possible to say like set up about 3-4 dark pylons around your gatherers and (assuming you are macro-intensive enough) constantly switch between them and keep the field up?

3. Does the effect on the probes only work for minerals, or vespene gas as well?

1. You can right click Dark Pylon from High Templar for energy.
2. Possible.
3. Only for minerals.

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Yes, i know, but Cydra has said "All zerg units", and that could be changed, specially counting with the new harvesting improvements for terran & protoss. That's why i´ve asked.

Not for Drone, sorry for the confusion.

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Tell us more about this Queed unit! We're all excited to know about new units in SC2!

Sorry for my typo.
There is no Queed unit! ;)

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Is 50 energy the initial amount out of a new Dark Pylon? I think it'd be nice if Dark Pylons didn't power, but still supplies and has a smaller-than-pylon-power passive cloak field ^-^

That way you can't exactly Proxy DPylon with Warp-In as well.

-Psi

Yes, the initial amount of energy is 50.

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That's surprising, cause this screenshot (http://www.battle.net/images/misc/09-02/PROTOSS_DroneTarget.jpg) shows clearly a probe carrying gas (or a green cube which i assume is gas) with those funky animation effects...

Does that mean that gas-harvesting probes receive a movement speed bonus, but not a harvesting speed bonus? or dont they get any bonus at all?

Not that there'd be a huge difference, considering the limiting factor is not assimilator-to-nexus-time but instead the time-inside-assimilator; however it would affect in situations where you're microing your probes to escape from a harassing attacker.

Can you please confirm this? Many thanks as usual ;)

PS: notice my signature!

Because Proton Charge is AOE ability, all Probes within the ratio will be affected. However Probes that have an additional charge gather additional minerals per trip. It is not like movement speed bonus or harvesting speed bonus.^[15]

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Don't worry, i just wanted to be sure, Thanks a lot :)

Btw... another question (i'm so sorry now :P). So, now when a geyser is depleted, the workers stop their work, but... the "recharge" of the geyser stills in the game? or when the geyser is depleted you're forced to search for a new one?

Again, thanks :D

Thanks for saying that!

No 'recharge' of the Geyser, and you need to find another one with your expansion.

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Cydra, can you tell us how the Calldown supply ability actually works?

1)How much does it cost?

2)How much supply does it grant?

3)Can depots that have additional supply called down still drop into the ground?

4) Is the extra supply permanent or temporary?

Thx, You guys have made my day!

1. Calldown Extra Supplies costs 50 energy.
2. Extra Supplies increases the supply output by 2.
3. You can still lower/raise your Supply Depot after calldown Extra Supplies on it.
4. It is permanent and looks different from the Supply Depot, which means you'd better take out this Depot first when you attacking the enemy Terran base. ;)

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Aw, so the Assimilator/Extractor/Refinery will be left unattended? Question: Can you construct vespene harvesting building on a depleted geyser?

Vespene's been turned into a finite resource now :O

-Psi

They will be left unattended.

No, you can't construct a harvesting building on a depleted Geyser. And you can find the different graphics for the depleted Geyser, it turns into more red color.^[16]

Batch 48

StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 48

Chat with Devs: The new year is well on its way and with it, the devs have been making much progress in both the artistic polish of the game, as well as continued development of multiplayer game mechanics. The art team has been adding several new death animations for units including the Drone’s disintegration into ashes when torched by Hellions, or the explosion of the Overlord sacs by Marine Gauss Rifle fire, and even Marauders being sliced into various pieces by Dark Templars. All of it is quite a sight to see and it is the hope of the art team that these additional animations will really give players a grand experience of immersion into an epic StarCraft battle. On the multiplayer side, the designers are testing out various macro-management encouraging mechanics that will be implemented to each race, but still be played out differently per race. These macro elements will be aimed to allow players with greater macro-management skills to compete with the advantage of gathering more resources than a player who does not emphasize as much on resourcing. More details about the mechanics that are being implemented will be covered in the next Q&A batch and is also planned to be showcased in the next StarCraft II Battle Report.

---StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 48---

1. The recently released screenshot (http://www.sc2blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/ss104-hires.jpg) shows a combat in rainy night appearance. Will night or different weather be limited to campaign mode? And will it be possible to select it on the map editor? - Kain175 (USEast)

Night and rain effects will be possible in campaign mode but are not likely occur in multiplayer. Additionally, these effects will be available to map editors to use for custom maps.

2. Does blizzard plan any interface options for people with physical issues (such as color blindness, deafness)? - Kain175 (USEast)

This is a good suggestion and we would like to give all players opportunities to enjoy our games. While we may not be able to create accommodations for everyone, there have definitely been strides made to accommodate more players than the previous StarCraft. For example, you can find more alerts on the screen, such as attack, build complete, and more in StarCraft II and this system will be helpful for players who have difficulty hearing the game sound.

3. Will there be any multi monitor support? - SC2Pod

StarCraft II will support widescreen but not multi-monitor. Widescreen is definitely becoming more of an industry standard, but multi-monitor support for StarCraft II may be too great of a tactical advantage over other players without more than one monitor.

4. SC1 "caster" units did not have a regular attack; some of WC3 "caster" units did have a regular attack; will SC2 "caster" units remain attack-less? – TheWarCenter

Some of the caster units in StarCraft II like the High Templar and Infestor lack a default attack, but there still are some caster units which also have a normal attack ability such as the Mothership and the Ghost.

5. When two opposing forces come to a Xel'naga tower who gets control? Is it the person with the largest army or is it on a first-come/first-serve basis? – TheWarCenter

When two opposing forces are near a Xel’Naga Watch Tower, they both lose control of the Watch Tower, regardless of the size of the army or the order of who arrives first. For example, when you have a ground unit next to the Xel’Naga Watch Tower, you will get vision of the area surrounding the Xel’Naga Watch Tower. When the opponent’s unit approaches close enough to control the Watch Tower, the Xel’Naga Watch Tower will shut down and both you and your opponent will lose the increased visual range given by the tower.

6. Is the charge ability only limited to the distance between the zealot and its target or is it also limited to the time that is needed to reach the target? Presumed you have a zealot on a cliff and you want him to charge an enemy unit below the cliff, will it charge all the way over the ramp or will it stop charging after some time? - StarCraft 2 Source DE

Zealot’s Charge ability is based on the ground range, regardless of the height. So a Zealot on the cliff will not start charging a unit below the cliff, even if they look like they are visually right next to each other. The Zealot must be within a set pathing distance from the target for it to activate it’s charge ability, meaning the path in which the Zealot takes to get to the target is a set amount. Additionally, Zealots will not be able to charge through cliffs. They must go around.

7. Are you going to add some of the best custom maps to the regular ladder pool? - StarCraft 2 Source DE

In the future, there will be opportunities for map makers to get their maps added to ladder pools. These maps will of course, be selected based on quality, in terms of competitiveness for multiplayer games.

---End of Transmission---^[17]

Batch 47

StarCraft II Q&A Batch 47

1. In the original StarCraft, most air units can move and fire, vultures have fast rotating times and can shoot backwards and run forward instantaneously with enough micro. In StarCraft II, there have been some concerns from players who have played the game, that the unit movement animations are getting in the way of micro. Will such animation cancelling techniques still be possible in StarCraft II? - Team Liquid

Both macro and micro-control are very important in StarCraft II as well, and when it comes to micro-control like Vulture’s moving and shooting in the original StarCraft, it is still possible to focus on micro control with the units.

For example, Mutalisks can fire while moving, with micro. And certain ground units, like the Marauders with the slow attack or Roaches with fast regeneration, benefit greatly from moving and shooting, but they still need to stop to shoot. The Hellion is also interesting, because the Hellion is a unit that has high burst, long delay between attacks, splash damage type, as well as a fast movement speed, so it can be used for kiting purposes as well as closing in the distance after every shot to do max possible damage. Eg, shoot once, close the gap, shoot again, close the gap even more, so that you don’t waste a single shot, but with each movement, you are doing a lot more damage.
StarCraft II also has a firing on the move unit -- the Void Ray. The Void Ray can move closer to an enemy unit while continuing to fire at it, and because the damage type builds up over time, it would be more ideal to finish off that one unit that’s trying to run away or back up before engaging a brand new target.

2. Do you plan to introduce consume (cannibalism) as one of the zerg features? For example, in Starcraft I, defilers ate zerglings to gain 50 energy (it is possible to introduce consume for ultralisks which will gain 50 life after eating a zergling or another unit) - Unbreakab1e (USEast)

We don’t have the consume ability in the game now, but if consume is considered as necessary to the game, you will see this ability in StarCraft II. Currently Zerg has caster units like the Infestor, Queen, Overlord, and Overseer. Infestors can move while burrowed, which means it can regenerate energy again away from the battle. The Queen has already powerful skills and combat ability. Overlords can fly and mutate the creep without any energy. Overseers also can fly so that they can earn some time to regenerate their energy as well. If the current Zerg casters having the consume ability, it could make them too powerful and strong.

3. Will there be custom water units? For custom maps and Scumedit will players be able to make units that swim/float. Also will there be special units designed for water, but only available on the Scumedit, like a shark-like zerg or protoss water vessel. Obv. I know these won’t be in multiplayer ladder, I only mean for custom maps. - Imperial_wizard (Lordaeron)

We haven’t finalized the decision about the exact extent of support for custom maps and Scumedit yet.

4. Maps have always been important to keep SC balanced, fun and competitive. We have already seen you have some interesting new tools to help multiplayer map designers balance their maps such as tall grass that blocks vision of ground units. What other new terrain elements are we gonna see in SC2 to make interesting competitive maps? – VIB (Team Liquid)

Currently there are Xel’Naga Watch Tower, Grass, and Destructible Rocks in the map. We will be pleased to add more if we can design other features which will make the game more exciting and balanced as well.

5. The Thor was built by an SCV at first, but since quite time now it is built like a normal unit in the factory. Was this changed due to design or balance reasons? - InStarCraft.de

We changed this due to the balance reason. Before the change, you could build as many Thors as you want at the same time with your SCVs, as long as you have resources, with one Barrack and an Armory. We decided that this can be too much benefit to Terran, and we changed that Thor could be built from a Factory.

6. Zerg has cliff-scaling units? – Scumlord (USEast)

We want to keep three races different and they do not necessarily have the same ability units. Currently Zerg do not have a cliff-scaling unit, like the Reaper in Terran or Colossus in Protoss. However, Zerg still can expand very quickly and have other movement advantages like 30% additional speed on creep. They also have the combination of Overlord’s creep generating ability and Nydus Network as a very powerful tool to attack opponent’s main base or expansion. Also, Overlords are currently able to transport Zerg units like the original StarCraft.

7. I noticed that in the Protoss demo the Protoss buildings when warped in, had there surfaces visibly warped in, like in the original StarCraft. However, in recent builds and footage, Protoss buildings just appear after the building animation. Is this just a temporary thing, or is it really gone? - Ultimasx (Battle.net)

Warp-in of Protoss buildings should be one effect for all with the final frames unique showing the specific buildings structure phasing in.

--End of Transmission--^[18]

Batch 46

Chat with Devs: StarCraft II is definitely evolving to be even more intense than the original StarCraft, with the increased mobility of units with cliff traversing abilities, as well as new transport abilities. In response, the development team has buffed up the Terran Planetary Fortress to have splash damage as well, which has proven to hold off decently against raids now, especially with your SCVs fixing the command center at a very high rate.

As always, shoot the devs and I a w00t! if you are enjoying this Q&A batch!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 46---

1. In StarCraft II, will there be friendly fire? – Xigon(Battle.net)

Yes, friendly fire is still available in StarCraft II. You can take out cloaked units attacking your base by using friendly fire on your own unit and giving splash damage to cloaked enemy units, which has been executed by many players in the original StarCraft. For example, if you play Zerg, you can kill Dark Templar attacking your Hatchery, by targeting your Banelings to attack your Hatchery near the invading Dark Templar.

2. Trilogy is Beginning, mid and end, or is it the same story told from three points of view? – Lolod(Battle.net)

The stories will be sequential. The Zerg story will begin from the end of the Terran story, and Protoss story will begin from the end of the Zerg story.

3. Are there any special animations for units which are standing around doing nothing for a long time? (StarCraft 2 Source)

There will be multiple animations for units which are idle.

4. What is the optimum procedure for the new gas mechanic? Should a player mine both gases at the same time and cycle the inactive workers (when the geyser goes down) to the minerals? Or should a player mine only one geyser and alternate the workers between the two? (StarCraft 2 Forums)

It totally depends on what your strategy is in the game. For example, you can mine two at the same time and double up your gas supply to build up certain armies or tech up very quickly. Or if you need more continuous and stable gas supply for your strategy, you can switch off your workers between the two gases with your micro-controls.

5. What Protoss unit is now the best option to counter mass enemy air units? The Phoenix lost its overload ability which was really the only Protoss splash damage option other than Psi Storm. (StarCraft 2 Forums)

Against Zerg’s mass air units like Mutalisks, Archons and Psi Storm are still the best counters. Against Terran’s mass air units like Vikings and Banshees, Protoss can still use Phoenixes and focus fire. Vikings currently do additional damage to large ships, rather than light armor.

6. What kind of damage do spells deal? Is there a type “Spell” or don’t they have any specific attack type? (StarCraft 2 Source)

There isn’t a specific “spell” type of damage, but some do additional damage to current types already in the game. For example, Ghost’s Psi Round deals an additional 40 damage to Psionic units. There are ‘special’; cases though as well, seen when Psi Storms instantly kill Hallucinations and when a Yamato Cannon will not activate an Immortal’s hardened shields.

[StarCraft II Blue Roundup]

How useful Archon have in SC2?
i've heard they lost their splash damage and they lost Feedback ability for longtime ago
even the Archon have thier splash damage but what improvement Archon have from SC1 ?
against Terran , Archon easily defeated by ghost
against Zerg , Does Archon still have splash damage ?
now the protoss have Immortal with High HP equip with Harden Shield and have longer attack range
i think Archon need buff :/
(Pondpond, USWest)

Archons still have their splash damage and are still quite the beasts they were in the original StarCraft. There is no better feeling than watching a group of Archons instantly pop a stacked group of Mutalisks.

Question on Zerg
I read this interview about mbs.
They said let's say you have 3 baracks in one group
you have to press m three times to get 3 marines.
Now, let's say I have 3 hatcheries in one group,
do i have to press z 3 times for lings,
or do i have to press z for each larva=9times?
(Shaytan, USEast)

If you have three Hatcheries in one group, press your group number and hit 's' key, you will select all your Larva of three Hatcheries.
And you can hit 'z' as many as you want them to morph to Zerglings. If you have nine Larvas, you need to hit 'z' nine times to morph all of them to Zerglings.

---End of Transmission---^[19]

Additional Comments

ADDON to Q#6: "Spells" also ignore armor, as well as the Immortal shields.^[20]

Batch 45

StarCraft II Q&A Batch 45

Chat with Devs: After BlizzCon, it has been very exciting to see all the feedback from the fans and pro players about the latest build of StarCraft II. There was lots of noted feedback about both the Colossus and the Nydus Worms (which we are currently polling on right now in the gameplay forum: <link>). At my most recent meeting with Dustin, we decided to chat about some of the lesser focused on topics, that have undergone quite a few changes since the original StarCraft.

Hallucination
The first topic was about hallucination, a classic Protoss ability, that honestly did not get that much use in the original StarCraft. To make it more interesting, Dustin explained how the ability has been brought down in tech to the Nullifier. Additionally, hallucination could be used to create units in which the player doesn’t even have prerequisite buildings for. That in itself should be an interesting scare for opposing players, watching 3 Colossi trampling in, only to counter with Corruptors and realize that they were not real. Furthermore, even probes could be hallucinated! Since the amount of hallucinations you get are based on ‘actual’ costs of what they would cost if they were real, you could get 8 probes per hallucination to trick those incoming Reapers. Dark Templars, Observers, and Carriers though were not on the list of units that could be hallucinated since the first two would be quite overpowering to use as an invisible fake scout (soo OP). Carriers too, would just have much too many hit points, as well as become quite a bit over complicated when you deal with how many interceptors they might have.

Queen Spawns 3 Mutant Larva The mutant larva count has increased with the latest version of the Queen to encourage more use of a pretty powerful ability if used correctly. Mutant larva crawl around independently of a Hatchery and can create units at a discounted production rate. This is like a free Hatchery with each additional Queen! Along with the Queen’s ability to defend against air units early game, it shall make her quite a crucial unit in any Zerg army.

Everyone who made it out to BlizzCon or watched on TV, we definitely hope you guys enjoyed it! It is always a blast having fans and devs alike come together to celebrate the games we’ve all come to enjoy and love. As always, shoot the devs and I a w00t! if you are enjoying this Q&A batch!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 45---

1. Do enemy Zerg units also get a boost on your Creep? (StarCraft 2 Forums)

Yes, enemy Zerg units will still get the speed boost when on creep. Currently, the creep shares no affiliation.

2. Are there abilities that remove creep? (TheWarCenter)

The 2 ways to push that expanding creep is to kill the burrowed creep tumors, or kill those Queens building them. On another note, the creep no longer damages enemy buildings. Through testing, the ability actually affected players adversely in team games where players allied with Zerg players would end up having their units damaged by their friend’s creep. In 1vs1 matches, the usefulness of this mechanic was hardly ever used, amongst all the new cooler Zerg strategies that have spawned.

3. Does the creep speed boost apply to zerg air? (TheWarCenter)

No, they do not apply to air units or drones.

4. Won't Reapers, Marauders, Hellions, Siege Tank's splash damage, and Stimpacks be too powerful against a Zerg player? All of that seems pretty well suited to counter masses of low-hp units, like most Zerg ground units. (StarCraft Legacy)

As you know, there is still much balance to be done since we have not even entered into a beta phase yet. With that said, there are several counters still to these Terran units, but Zerg players will be forced to adapt with new units and strategies veering away from some of the original StarCraft strategies. For instance, Roaches and Lurkers are excellent counters to Hellions and Reapers. At a later tech, Infestors simply rock massed units such as Marauders with Fungal Infection, causing them to explode when they die. All the new mechanics and abilities will add many new strategies to your bag of tricks.

5. Can Allies ‘merge’ their Nydus networks? In other words, can you enter through the Nydus Warren of player A, and exit through the Nydus Worm of player B? (TheWarCenter.net)

No, allies can’t share Nydus networks between networks, but allied units can enter into another ally’s Nydus network.

6. Is the Thor still an anti-air unit? Does it fulfill this role effectively? – Thelorme (Battle.net)

Yes, it is still an anti-air unit with the longest range against air units of any unit in StarCraft II. Visually, we are moving to give the Thor anti-air missiles that will fire from his shoulders, unleashing a devastating barrage from a remarkable range.

Weekly Blue Roundup

1. Warpgate’s warp-in (Theoblivion, USWest)
Even though the Warpgate is good enough, I was wondering if the Robotics Facility and Nexus warp-in aswell.

Q u o t e:

Only Gateways can be upgraded to Warp Gates. Gosh...warped in Carriers/Void Rays over an enemy base would be OP! -Karune

2. Reapers and Marauders (Battlenuts, USEast)

Whats units are the reapers good against? Ones they totally own. Also the marauders. Is it more anti toss or anti zerg? Better as a mixed in unit or stand alone? ect
Seems like lings take out reapers well
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41334.html
what are the large walking units in this video are the marauders?

Q u o t e:

Reapers are actually one of the best units against any light units in the game. They kill Zerglings, workers, and even Zealots pretty well with a little maneuvering. Their mines also decimate stationary defenses, as well as tech buildings. They are no doubt one of the best raiders in the game right now.

Marauders on the other hand are probably better mixed, unless you are going up against an all armored ground force. Marauders work well against both Protoss and Zerg. Early game, as mentioned above, they are great for slowing Zealots while Marines do the damage. Against Zerg, they are better suited against those pesky armored Roaches with the fast regen. -Karune

3. Colossus (Communitysc, USEast) There have been some questions about the Colossus' utility on my website's forums. stebo88 and I have been speculating about possible uses for this 6 food monster. stebo88 used it at Blizzcon to fight some Zerglings and he had to retreat due to the Colossus' low damage (he did get to use its cliff climbing abilities though, the one positive aspect of the situation). In addition to its seeming uselessness, the Colossus costs a large amount of resources...

So I want to ask...what makes the Colossus worth its price? Are the Thermal Lances stronger than stebo thought them to be (against another class of units perhaps)?

Q u o t e:

In my opinion, the Colossus is the most effective when you have more than one. Three seems to be my optimal number, especially against Terran. Medivacs heal at a very fast rate, but only one target at a time. Against a group of Marines with a Medivac, one single Colossus would do virtually nothing, because the damage would be healed through easily. With three Colossi, the Marines would die in one sweep, negating any healing that could be done. A single Colossus is good at softening targets, but with more rapid healing from Medivacs and new units like Roaches, it may not be enough. At that point, you need enough to kill them in one sweep, and when you do have that, it will do significant damage to any army, especially with the additional range upgrade for the Colossus. -Karune

Karune, what are your thoughts on the Colossus attack mechanic? While the numbers can be adjusted in accordance to balance, there's concern that the current attack mechanic is itself a flaw in that it's too situational. Has your team considered enhancing it in any ways, or adding more control to the attack pattern is etches into the ground?

Q u o t e:

Even though the beam is currently shown visually in various ways, the damage is done to all units in that straight line at the same time instantly. That line will always be based on the position you are attacking from, so in that way there is a lot of control as how to use the Colossus.

I definitely wouldn't say the Colossus is too situational either cause this unit is quite useful in both Zerg and Terran matchups. As long as in these matchups, both players continue to adapt to counter each other's strategies, Colossi will surely be brought to the battlefield. -Karune

But what benefits do Colossi have over using units like High Templar or Archons for Zerglings and such? The only differentiating mechanic is the ability to walk up and down cliffs, which is situational in most cases because not every map will be entrenched with cliffs. It seems like Archons will generally be an all-around better unit for fighting the units that the Colossi is also good at.

Q u o t e:

It is true, they all do some form of AoE, but they are very much different from each other. Archons have a range of 2. Colossi have a range of 6, and with the upgrade that becomes 9, as well as increasing the area in which takes damage. The range of the Colossus is what makes it such a great support unit, as well as an awesome raider from cliffs. Additionally, all competitive maps will have cliffs to some degree. -Karune

4. Molecular Displ. & Seismic (Gearvosh, USWest)

So even though I went to Blizzcon, theres still 2 abilities im not sure of.
Firstly what does the Nullifiers Molecular Displacement do? I heard that it shoots a beam of energy and deals extra damage to units of the same type? Can we get more detail on this.
Secondly I keep hearing of a Seismic Thumper ability for the Nighthawk (im positive I never saw this). Supposedly the Thumper stops Zerg from burrowing. Any input?

Q u o t e:

The Molecular Disrupter is a new ability we are testing out on the Nullifier, in which the unit fires a psionic projectile which bounces between units of the same type, doing 10 damage with each hit, up to a maximum of 10 bounces. Thus, if you were to use this ability on 2 Marines (with 40 hit points each, not upgraded), both Marines would die easily. If there were 3 Marines, it would kill 1 Marine and leave the last two at 10 hp each. Currently, the ability costs 125 energy.

Stats are of course all subject to balance.

The Seismic Thumper is no longer in the multiplayer game, but was originally dropped on the battlefield, which slows all units within it's radius by 50% (including friendlies). The only way to stop it was to destroy the Seismic Thumper itself. -Karune

5. Medivac (From the Poll: What do you think about the Medivac?)

Q u o t e:

The Medivac Dropship is a unit that has already gone through quite a bit of discussion since it was introduced. Some were reluctant, many saw its huge potential on site at events and through videos.

The Medivac Dropship is a dropship that heals biological units at an incredible rate and from a range, keep it out of harm's way. This new addition has made the Terran race much more mobile than previously in the original StarCraft. These flying healers have become quite a staple in any Terran army, but we want to hear from you on what you think of it. -Karune

6. Targeting Drone (Shaolin_bboy, USEast)
And the enemy notices it without detectors? (Asides from calculating the damage taken by the units)

Q u o t e:

Even though the drone is stealthed, visually, there will be a red laser coming from the drone aimed at the target, so you will know when there is one around. -Karune

7. Stalkers (Crazyjimlizard, USWest)
When I heard they have a blink, I thought it was 30-60 sec cooldown. Even 15 sec cooldown could be abused.

My teammate and I were talking about it. Blink basically fixes a lot of the problems the old dragoons could have, and gives them some advantages. In SC1, siege tanks could beat Dragoons from a distance, but with blink, the Stalkers can close the distance and avoid more siege tank fire. In SC1, zerglings countered Stalkers, but in SC2, I think Stalkers do a better class of damage vs Zerglings. That stuff is just kids play to the sort of micro you can get out of Stalkers en mass because they're ranged. I've done my share of micro, and people hate it when you use 2 marines to gun down a zealot. Stalkers are even easier to abuse and they scale up.

Lets say you see a bunch of lings on the offensive. The most immediate thing you can do is hail an initial line of fire down. Then when the front guy loses most of his shield, blink him behind the lines. Repeat for the other front line guys. Then you're looking at a situation where you really flee the stalkers, or if you continue the attack. The Zerglings are always looking at losing a few zerglings just to begin the battle with no loss of the Stalkers because they have a community shield in effect.

Q u o t e:

Stalkers still fall to large groups of Zerglings in terms of cost, even with Blink micro. Although, with the additional micro, especially while also using terrain to your advantage, a Protoss player will definitely be able to at least fight a group of Zerglings, rather than being forced to retreat.

In the Sonkie/Yellow game 1, the Blinking micro definitely kept his Stalkers alive longer, though force firing would have ended that battle in the Protoss favor as well, since the Stalker has bonus damage towards armored units like the Roach. Zerglings are still definitely the best counter against Stalkers from the Zerg side, especially since the improved pathing system allows them to get to their ordered locations faster and are able to surround more efficiently.

The cooldown for Blink is perfect in saving Stalkers from death against Roaches which have a much lower rate of dps than Zerglings. Against Zerglings, the cooldown is not fast enough, similar to the announcement video of the Protoss race when the Stalkers were first introduced. -Karune

---End of Transmission---^[21]

Batch 44

Chat with Devs: Something I noticed during our recent shows at Games Convention in Leipzig and PAX in Seattle is that many new players trying out the game who played Zerg built several creep tumors, thinking they were either defenses or going to morph into defenses. This eventually lead into a conversation with Dustin about why Creep Tumors no longer morph into base defenses. For those who dont know, a Creep Tumor is a building which expands creep around it significantly. Building this building is an excellent way to cover additional ground with creep, allowing for many new strategies, including aggressive Spine Crawler pushes (the mobile Sunken Colony).

Dustin brought up two scenarios to why Creep Tumors no longer morph into other Zerg defenses:

1) You would be able to creep across the map by moving your creep-spawning base defenses.

2) It would be easier to accidentally end up with buildings off of creep because the creep-generator moved away.

Thus, since the development team definitely wanted to give Zerg mobile defenses, they decided to split the roles of the Creep Tumor and the other Zerg defenses. This also allows for the team to make these Creep Tumors burrowed and very cheap in the latest build.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 44---

1) Is it possible for replays to contain more in depth player statistics such as average clicks per minute, number of hotkeys used, etc.. ? (starcraft2.com.au)

Replays will have much more info available in them that will include more detailed stat tracking, as well as other useful eSports related features.

2) Terrans currently appear to be at a disadvantage in terms of troop mobility, (as compared to 'Warp-in' and 'Nydus Worm') are there any plans to bring back the, 'drop-pod' or other new transport mechanic? (sclegacy.com)

Actually, the Terrans have many units and mechanics that empower them with more mobility than the original StarCraft. The Reaper and Viking is a good example of new units that extend the Terrans raiding capabilities. Furthermore, Medivac Dropships offer more incentive to build lots of Dropships, which translate to more mobility for their entire army. Salvage is also another mechanic that helps in terms of rebuilding and moving a Terran base to new locations. Lastly, the Terrans are still the only side that can pick up and move their whole entire base, as well as being able to load SCVs in their Command Center now, allowing for quicker fast expanding strategies.

3) With the new high ground mechanic in place, an army can't fight units that are on higher ground anymore until they get a spotter up the ledge. Both Zerg and Terran have the possibility to spot units on high ground with Overlords and floating buildings right from the start of the game, but the first Protoss unit to fly up there would be the Phase Prism. Could it be that Protoss players have a significant disadvantage on some maps because of this?(GameReplays.org)

In the latest builds of StarCraft II, the Protoss no longer need an Observatory to build Observers. Observers will be able to be built straight from the Robotics Facility, allowing earlier eyes on the battlefield.

We definitely saw that especially on certain maps, Terrans were able to block their choke point early, taking away much of the scouting portion of the game from Protoss, and are trying out this new solution for it. Additionally, we felt that Observers were too a crucial to the Protoss army to have them that far up the tech tree.

4) Will the Unit Portraits in SC2 be pre-rendered high quality video clips like in SC1 ? willygundersen (Battle.net)

The unit portraits will be shown in much higher quality than the actual units on the screen, similar to the original StarCraft and Warcraft III. They will not be video clips, but will be animations rendered in game. There will be several examples of their unit portraits in the next BlizzCast, where we have Dustin and Sammy discussing the process of creating a unit.

5) We all know how important it is that tier 1 units be effective at later tiers, which has prompted different unit abilities like the Zealots Charge. But it seems that the Protoss have a leg up in that they have Charge while the Zerglings have only their traditional speed boost without any AI enhancements. Is anything being planned for the Zergling? (starcraft2forum.org)

Due to the new game engine, Zerglings have much better pathing in StarCraft II, meaning they move much more efficiently. Zerglings are able to both surround enemy units easier and are more easily selectable as well, being able to control more than 12 at a time. Furthermore, Zerglings are also slightly smaller than their original StarCraft counterparts, and able to be morphed into Banelings, which are extremely effective against Zealots. Lastly, Zealots have also had their shield hit points reduced by 10, as compared to the original StarCraft Zealots.

---End of Transmission---

Additional Comments

Blazur: Yaye for earlier observers! I'm assuming the observatory was removed altogether, and all applicable researches have been relegated to the robotics?

Karune: Yup, the Observatory has been removed altogether for now. All Observer related research techs have been moved to the Null Circuit, the prerequisite building for Colossi.^[22]

Compared to BW, the speeds to scout are about the same, but the new supply depot mechanic is what makes it much trickier, which allows Terran players to completely block off a choke point. For 1vs1 games on 2 player maps, it may not always be possible to get your first scout in a Terran base, without losing a bit on the economy side.

Blink cannot be used without LOS in the area to where you are blinking to, thus many maps especially with hills, you cannot Blink up there without a spotter.^[23]

Batch 43

As mentioned in previous conversations, the development team is working extremely hard on the single player campaign, which we will be talking in more detail about at a later time. In the meantime, questions will be 'light' over the next couple of batches, to give the Dev Team ample time to work on their latest design challenges. There are also many preparations being made for both the Games Convention coming up in Leipzig, as well as BlizzCon, to make sure the StarCraft II community definitely gets their feed of info. Nonetheless, in this batch we were able to talk a bit more with Dustin and our balance designer to look into the current Zerg versus Zerg match up towards the end of our Q&A. Enjoy!

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 43---

1) What happens if a Nullifier targets a Colossus with the Anti-Gravity ability? (garmgarf battle.net)

When Anti-Gravity is used upon a Colossus, the Colossus will still be immobilized and lifted up, which will still allow it to be hit by units that can attack air targets. Colossi will not be able to shoot while under the effect of Anti-Gravity.

2) How many critters will there be available and will they have attack animations? (SatanicLaser battle.net)

There will be critters, but there have not been any detailed discussions yet about their attack animations. On that note, there is a possibility that BlizzCon panels may fill the community in a bit more on what type of critters there will be.

3) Can the Infestor infest any building, or only specific ones, such as Barracks or Gateways, if the Protoss can be infested? (Son_Of_Korhal Battle.net)

This is actually a mechanic they are currently testing quite a bit. It is undecided if the Infestor will be able to infest Protoss or Zerg buildings, as there are gameplay and lore reasons which support many different options. Either way, at the end of the day, the development team will choose an option that will be balanced and fun in terms of gameplay for multiplayer.

4) What units are currently undergoing major art changes? (starcraft2forum.org)

There are several artistic revisions every week, though the two newest units to get some artistic updates are the Nomad and the Stalker. The Terran Nomad is getting a complete artistic redesign from any versions the community has seen thus far. Furthermore, the Protoss Stalker is also being updated to look more similar to the concept art piece as seen here: http://starcraft2.com/art.xml?s=6

5) How do Zerg vs Zerg games play out in SC2? Is it still mostly a battle of mutalisks and zerglings or have the new units changed things around? Ideas (teamliquid.net)

ZvZ (Zerg vesus Zerg)matchup usually opens up in 2 different ways, Zerglings or Roaches. Aggressive players can use Zerglings mobility to take control of the early game, whereas going Roaches is more of a defensive strategy. Zergling vs. Roach relationship is such that for cost, Zerglings wins out in the open, Roaches win at chokes, but in mid/late games when numbers are greater, Roaches can stand up to or even beat Zerglings for cost out in the open. Hydralisks dont have much use in ZvZ early game, as they are more of an anti air unit in StarCraft II.

The tier 2 battle continues with Banelings that can dominate Zerglings, but with micro, Zerglings can actually come out ahead in Zergling vs. Baneling battles. Similarly, Lurkers counter Roaches for cost, but Roaches have the mobility advantage. Mutaliks counter Zerglings/Roaches since these units cant hit air. Whats different in StarCraft II is that Hydralisks counter Mutalisks extremely well, meaning something like Roach/Hydralisk combo can stand up to the classic Zergling/Mutalisk combo. Also, another great way to fight vs. mass Mutalisks is to tech to infestation pit (same tech level as the Spire), and make Corruptors or Infestors. Infestors have the disease ability that is great for fighting vs. units that clump really well such as the Mutalisk, and Corruptors are Zergs anti air air unit.

Due to the fast pace of the ZvZ game, most games dont end up in tier 3, but ultralisks, with their cleave attack, or swarm guardians that use swarms to soak up a lot of ground vs. ground damage are great options if the game does happen to go into tier 3.

Overall, StarCraft II has a variety of options even in a mirror match such as Zerg vs. Zerg. Players can use different unit compositions to counter the classic Zergling/Mutalisk strategy that is a still powerful but not the only option.

---End of Transmission---^[24]

Batch 42

: ---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 42---

1. What was the main reasoning to shifting the Hydralisk backwards one technology level? How does this affect the Zerg early-game, especially since the Zerg will have absolutely no anti-air units before the Hydralisks? (gamereplays.org)

Actually, the Hydralisk has been brought back down to Tier 1.5, giving Zerg early anti-air capabilities without upgrading their Hatchery to a Lair. The test originally was to put Hydralisks at a later tech and have Corruptors be buildable earlier without a prerequisite building other than upgrading to the Lair. To make this happen, the Corruptors had to be nerfed appropriately to fit that tech, which made it very weak and much less fun. Additionally, without a prerequisite building, opposing players could not scout the Zerg player to see when they were going air, which did not fit the gameplay style we were shooting for.

2. What kinds of cheats will be included in Starcraft 2, and how will they be accessed/unlocked? (starcraft.org)

There will be cheats, but you wont know what they are from us :) sorry.

3. Concerning resources there is one big issue for mapmakers: There are only two of them. For many UMS-maps you need more different resource-types than gas and minerals, thus mapmakers were forced to use even civilians as a sort of resource. So will mapmakers be able to place their one, gather-able resources on the map such as lumber or gold? (starcraft2.4players.de)

Yes, we have recently added support for one additional custom resource type. Additional custom resources types may be implemented in the future, but there are no plans at the moment.

4. With the Battlecruiser's new ability dealing splash damage to lightly armored air units, you could fear that the Thor has once more fallen into a role void. Is this the case or are the Battlecruiser ability and the Thor's anti-air capabilities tactically different enough? (Gamereplays.org)

The overlap is really no more different than a Siege Tank and the Yamato Gun ability or the Reaver and the Psi Storm from Brood War. The new ability helps the Battlecruiser against a specific group of units, which are units the Battlecruiser is already good against, rather than making it effective against all units. The last thing we wanted is for the Battlecruiser to kill groups of units that are supposedly effective at countering it, such as the Warp Ray.

5. Does the Battlecruisers new AoE affect friendly units in the area? (thewarcenter.net)

No, the Missile Barrage does not affect friendly units.

6. Will it be possible to use the full 3D cinematics mechanic from the single player campaign in the map editor? (sc2pod.com)

Yes, we are looking forward to seeing some awesome custom cut scenes from the community.

7. Most users know that even invisible units can be seen by experienced players since they cause this nice little blur effect while in Warcraft 3 invisible units are indeed invisible aside from leaving footprints on the ground. So what about transferring the 'real' invisibility into the World of Starcraft by allowing mapmakers to choose from those two different invisible modes for each unit? (starcraft2.4players.de)

Map makers will be able to remove the blur effect that is currently on StarCraft IIs invisible units.

---End of Transmission---^[25]

Batch 41

Chat with Devs: Since the Worldwide Invitational in Paris, the topic of the new Vespene Gas mechanic has come up a lot across many different fansites and message boards. Thus far, this is one of the biggest changes which will affect the macro management of bases in StarCraft II. To shed some more light on this new mechanic, I have gotten a chance to talk to Dustin Browder, our Lead Designer for StarCraft II, about the progress thus far of the new mechanic, as well as the objectives this new mechanic is designed to achieve.

To start, the new Vespene Gas mechanic is to further distinguish the play style in which players gather minerals versus gathering gas. In the original StarCraft, the gathering of gas was very linear in the rate in which gas is gathered. Often, players would put 3-4 workers on the gas, and the players would forget about it until the geyser was depleted. Minerals on the other hand, were much more exponential in the rate of growth and were also often played differently amongst different races. Zerg would likely expand rapidly with less drones in each expansion and Protoss/Terran could sustain a sizeable force with higher numbers of workers on a smaller number of expansions.

How the New Vespene Gas Mechanic Works
For StarCraft II, with the new Vespene Gas mechanic, players will have 2 gas geysers at their starting position. These geysers will start with X amount of gas (currently 600 and subject to balance) and at any time players can purchase additional gas in their geysers for X minerals (currently 100 and subject to balance). With each purchase of additional gas for your geyser, the geyser increases with X gas (currently 600 and subject to balance) and the geyser shuts down for 45 seconds. When a geyser is depleted, workers will still be able to gather gas at a low rate of 2 per round (subject to balance).

How the New Vespene Gas Mechanic Plays
With this new gas mechanic, players have a wider variety of strategies in developing and maintaining their refineries, as well as additional attention needed to make sure they are collecting gas at the most efficient rate. On the production side, players now also have to decide between sticking to Tier 1 units longer, or to play it balanced with one geyser, or even max out on gas to invest heavily on teching and higher tech units. Additional, the relationship between minerals and gas have an added layer of depth since investing in additional gas will actually cost the player minerals as well. How often a player invests in gas will also not necessarily be consistent through the game too and will depend upon what units that player is currently choosing to mass. Scouting too has an added layer of depth as well, as a players gas collecting play style may determine if the player is teching to a higher tier mineral heavy unit (like a Dark Templar) or a higher tech gas heavy unit (like a High Templar).

Overall, players will have to build the appropriate buildings as well as gather resources in a particular method in order to execute a certain strategy at a professional level. It is the hope of the development team that this new mechanic will not only make gas collecting more interesting, but also increase the amount of macro management skill needed to compete in StarCraft II at the top levels while at the same time making the game playable for mid level players without using some of these more advanced techniques.

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 41---

1. How exactly does the Corruptors attack work? Is it a stacking debuff that takes effect after a certain number of stacks? And if so can the debuff time out? Would you be able to hit and run kill for example Battlecruisers with a few Corruptors over a couple of minutes? (sc2pod.com)

The attack is technically a debuff, but does not do damage over time. Every time the Corruptor attacks a unit, it'll leave a debuff on it for a couple seconds. If the unit dies within those couple seconds, the unit will be corrupted.

2. What are the current stats and build times for the Queen defensive buildings? (starcraft2forum.org)

To catch us up, Zerg defensive buildings arent built by the queen anymore. Instead, they are built from the drone once again.

Spine Crawler:
- Only hits ground
- Health is 300 (uprooted health 100)
- Movement speed is 2.25 (1 off of creep)
- Damage is 20 +20 armored
- Range is 7
- Attack speed is 1.5 sec

Spore Crawler:
- Only hits air
- Health is 300 (uprooted health 100)
- Movement speed is 2.25 (1 off of creep)
- Damage is 15
- Range is 7
- Attack speed is .8608

3. The Queen seems to be a very potent unit, although its tasks are more defensive ones, it can be used in crazy rush strategies, according to Karune's experiences. Well, if the Nydus Worm was able to transport even queens, she would get even more potent. You could easily think of crazy rushes using your opponents creep to just overwhelm him with your units AND your defensive structures. So here is the simple question: Can the Nydusworm transport queens among all the other units? (starcraft2.4players.de)

Defensive structures will not be able to enter the Nydus tunnel network, but the Queen will be able to. Furthermore, the Queen will no longer be able to build defensive structures. Drones will morph into defensive structures, similar to the original StarCraft.

4. When the Zerg Sunken Colony is uprooted and on the move is it more vulnerable to enemy attack? (www.starcraft2.com.au)

Yes, the Spine and Spore Crawlers will have less hit points while they are uprooted. The actual number of hit points will be determined through balance testing.

5. In many cases, the micromanagement of units in StarCraft revolved around gameplay mechanics (Dragoon dance, Mutalisk stacking, Reaver/Shuttle micro, etc.), rather than special abilities with cooldown/charges (Stalker's Blink, Phoenix's Overload, etc.).

Is the amount of this kind of special abilities in SC2 a concern of Blizzard, and how would this affect the overall gameplay? -lepape (teamliquid.net)

Players will still have dependence on both gameplay mechanics as well as special abilities. For instance, Stalkers will have the basic dancing mechanic as Dragoons had in the original StarCraft. Marauders are another unit highly dependent on micromanagement to get the most effectiveness out of the unit, making sure you use their attacks slowing effect at opportune times.

Though for StarCraft II, we are introducing much more positional micromanagement, which will amplify units damage significantly. A Colossus will fire in a line and lining up that radius with the enemy units will be crucial in battles. Flanking Jackals from multiple angles will surely add to its potency as well.

Overall, we definitely want to balance the game with both plenty of gameplay mechanics as well as special abilities that create opportunities for the players to initiate clever strategies as well as innovative maneuvers on the battlefield.

6. Terrans currently appear to be at a disadvantage in terms of troop mobility, (as compared to 'Warp-in' and 'Nydus Worm') are there any plans to bring back the, 'drop-pod' or other new transport mechanic? (sclegacy.com)

Actually, we consider the Terran side to be quite mobile. Let us first look at the Reapers. This unit is the fastest ground unit in the game which traverses terrain without even having a spotter. In addition, the Medivac Dropships, allow added mobility to all Terran ground units. With the addition of the Dropship being able to heal, it has become even more of a staple in Terran strategies, giving even more increased incentive for players to build Dropships than the original StarCraft. On top of this, Vikings providing both ground and air support at a click of a button, gives that added support of mobility and options when moving a Terran army around.

The method in which Terran will be mobile is indeed different than Warp-in and Nydus Worm, though they are not considered less mobile than the other races.

---End of Transmission---

Additional Material

You can be sure that if the game turns out to be too difficult for new players to get into, we will make necessary changes to fix that. As we keep progressing through the development phase, we are seeking to give expert players more depth in gameplay as well as make the game playable and fun for beginning and intermediate players.

The solutions to both of these goals lie both in gameplay design as well as in our future battle.net plans. This will no doubt be one of the biggest challenges in creating StarCraft II and we are spending the necessary resources in making sure both goals are achieved.^[26]

Karune:

Of course you realize that queen making static vs Larva making drones making static is two completely different economic models?

That isn't as simple as changing a units price, because it changes larva count, which is the most critical aspect of playing zerg.

Now if the zerg was having trouble losing his queen and defenses before, how much more trouble will he have with a lower larva count?

The queen making the buildings was actually one of the few real advantages SC2 Zerg had over BW zerg so far due to saving larva count.

Now the queen will just die faster, and the defenses will just die faster, because the zerg has fewer larva to make other units and structures with, back to BW economy.

Finally, don't take this the wrong way, but from the exhibition matches we have seen from WWI, it becomes obvious that the blizzard play testers shouldn't be taken too seriously regarding balance issues.

After all, you guys made the game, yet got pasted by people who hadn't even played the game before, or played it just once; not knowing timing of micro, build orders, or in many cases even build/train costs.

Craftmatic2, you bring up a good point. This is also why the Queen will be able to create Morphalisks(name still changing), larvae that will be able to exist independent of the Hatchery and be able to be morphed into units very fast.^[27]

Batch 40

This week we have launched the 3rd episode of BlizzCast, featuring an interview with the Lead Designer of StarCraft II about the Evolution of the Zerg from the original StarCraft to StarCraft II. Be sure to check that out here: http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcast/

Also, I've been curious - would you guys prefer having these Q&A Batches (multiple answered and added into a consolidated release) or would you rather these 4-7 questions be spread out across the forums in pertinent threads on battle.net? I have been doing a bit of both, but would love to get your feedback on it, to make it easiest for you to follow up on the latest updates in regards to the development of StarCraft II.

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 40---

1. By the current look of the game with spectacular death animations you could worry that you can get slightly distracted by dead units while playing. You could for example waste precious APMs (Actions per minute) trying to click on a spliced Space Marine that you thought was still alive. The wrecks of some larger units or deaths for some others could block your sight in-game too. Could this fear be a real issue and will there be the option to toggle down these model details in the settings? (gamereplays.org)

Yes, this is an issue we are looking into. For multiplayer, we want to make absolutely sure that players can clearly see visually what is happening on the battlefield. Currently, we are looking to have different types of death animations available for multiplayer than will be present for the single player campaign. A lot of people do still love watching intricate death animations when not in a competitive scene.

2. Battlecruisers do employ more than one gunner right? So will they be able to attack both air and ground at the same time? (sc2pod.com)

Battlecruisers will only be able to attack one unit at a time.

3. What happens with the units inside a Nydus Worm if it gets killed? Considering it can carry 255 units, would they all die? (sc2pod.com)

Units inside the Nydus network will only die when all entrance/exits are killed. This includes the Nydus Warren building, the prerequisite to build Nydus Worms, as it also acts as an entrance and exit to the Nydus network. Nydus Worms that are not deployed as an entrance/exit will not count as an entrance/exit to the network.

4. So far the map editor seems to be a very powerful tool which doesnt constrain the map makers creativity at all. Will it even be possible to edit critical abilities like path finding? If so, there would be really no limits, or at least none we can imagine at this point. (starcraft2.4players.de)

Pathfinding, the method in which a unit will determine how to move, is handled by code, and will not be able to be edited within the map editor. Nonetheless, map makers will be able to edit things such as footprints, speed, and the size of units, which will affect the movement rates of units.

5. Why were Plasma Torpedoes added to the Battlecruiser when the Banshee has virtually the same attack? (starcraft2.com.au)

The Battlecruiser no longer has Plasma Torpedoes that hit ground. Instead, they can be equipped with a Missile Barrage which will be an air-to-air area of effect attack ability. This ability will make the Battlecruiser even more effective against lightly armored air units, as the attack also gets additional damage points versus light armored units.

6. In SC: BW we have terrain bonuses for units, for example standing behind a tree or being on higher ground while shot from lower. Are you keeping or maybe even improving such this feature and what happens with large units that are more massive (Thor) or simply larger (Colossus) than a tree or even a cliff? (broodwar.de)

Terrain bonuses are no longer present in StarCraft II. Instead, line of sight will be vastly more important. For instance, units firing from a higher ground will not be able to be seen by ground units without line of sight vision, and thus the ground units will not be able to fire back.

7. If a Zerg player corrupts a Dropship/Medivac, will they get control of the units inside? - Luddite (teamliquid.net)

No, the unit's contents will be destroyed when it becomes corrupted.

---End of Transmission---

Additional Commentary

Wait, so now we're removing features from the game?

Is that not a step backwards?

also in regards to the whole "feature" of not being able to see up cliffs and therefore not attack, that isn't really new or unique. RTS games have had this since 1998 for !&$%s sake.

I'm not completely sure to which features you are referring to, but in general, features are a tool to shape the gameplay of a game. Features may be good or bad, depending on its effects on the game. Not all features fit your design goals. For instance, multiplayer is about competition. Random factors like a random % of missing based on terrain is not optimal for a balanced competitive game (similarly chess does not have random factors involved when a player wins or losses). On the other hand, in single player, our goal is to immerse the player into the StarCraft world. Here is where the details that add to the story and immersion really count! Thus, there will be LOTS of content not seen in the multiplayer, as well as animations, heroes, additional units, and more...

The more I think about this the more it has me worried. Take the map Lost Temple as an example. It was common for players to wall their choke ramp with first tier units to prevent their bases from being breached. In SC2, does this mean the players wouldn't even be able to climb that ramp unless they have detection or air units to see at the top of the ramp?

Know what I mean?

This is true, though in StarCraft II, there are more units that are able to give you sight in those situations (Reapers, Medivac Dropships, Colossi, Banshees, Sensor Towers (to let you know units are on cliffs), Overseers, as well as older units including Observers, Terran's Scan, and others).

Furthermore, new abilities like Anti-Gravity help break the choke points, as well as more incentives to build dropships for Terran, Phase Prisms for Warp-In, and Nydus Worms to unload your whole army in a place that bypasses well defended positions.

On top of that, the better pathing in StarCraft II allow units to get to where you want them to go much faster, such as up ramps and around units.

One Question:
Thor got Anti Air Area Attack and Battlecruiser now too. Are there any big differences in their anti air attack?

The Battlecruiser's ability takes energy, whereas the Thor's ground to air attack is standard.

The Battlecruiser's ability is to make it more effective against what it is already effective against. Also, users have the choice to go with the air to air missiles or with the Yamato Cannon. If you are in a game where they have massed a lot of light air units, then you know what to get. This ability simply gives the Terran player more flexibility of options against air in late game.

Smurfz: " Karune, if your reading this...

Do units that move out of the Jackal's flame take less damage then units that stay in the flame for the entire duration of the flames existance?

EX: A marine moves out of the flame and takes 10 damage total, but a marine that was in the flame for the entire duration of the flame, would it take more damage?"

Yes, units that move out of the flame will take less damage.

[Clarification to comment on page 2 in regards to LOS on ramps]If the attacking units move halfway up the ramp, they get their full vision radius above the ramp. If the ramp is blocked at the bottom, the attacking units will not be able to target what is beyond the top of the ramp, though they will be able to see snapshots of units that attack them so they will be able to understand the scale of the threat that exists at the top of the ramp.^[28]

Batch 39

As development for StarCraft II moves forward, so is the Map Editor for StarCraft II. We have no doubt that there will be countless awesome mods created for StarCraft II, so we want to make sure your Map Editor questions are definitely not left out of the Q&As. Keep the questions pouring in!

Also, in Batch 38, it was mentioned that Sunken and Spore colonies could move and plant off of Creep while also taking damage when not on Creep. To update, Zerg defenses will not be able to plant off of Creep.

Chat with Devs: Batch 39 focuses on the development of StarCraft IIs Map Editor and I got a chance to chat with our Map Editor Designer, Brett Wood. Brett was able to answer quite a few of our community map editors below. Furthermore, he wanted to also add that the StarCraft II Map Editor will improve upon the World Editor from Warcraft III in every way, with several new features such as having all abilities in the game being data driven. Brett Wood elaborates here on what it means for all data in the game to be data driven:

[Brett Wood] Lets say you have a cool idea for an implosion type of ability that will rapidly shrink down a targeting unit, then cause an energy shockwave that damages all nearby units within a certain area. Since there is no standard ability with a shrink-down effect, in Warcraft III youd have to resort to some fancy trigger work to achieve this effect. In StarCraft II, this kind of effect can be set up completely in the data files, and you could make the entire ability without having to use any triggers or scripting at all. Generally speaking, setting up abilities and effects will be easier through data customization than using triggers, although there will definitely be a learning curve there as well.

As always, feel free to give the Dev Team and I a w00t if you are enjoying the Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 39: Map Maker Series---

1) Will the new map editor support placing of traps, doors, and other things commonly referred to as doodads in unorthodox situations? (ie doors, auto guns, wall traps in a jungle map)

Yes, any object defined in the data files can be placed on the map, regardless of which tileset it is normally associated with.

2) Will the new map editor support extended upgrade values? (ie, 30 upgrades)

Yes, upgrades are arbitrarily extendable, as they were in Warcraft III. In addition, upgrades will now be downgradeable via triggers as well (by using a negative value), which was a very common request in Warcraft III.

3) Will the new editor still support all the other ideas currently implemented in StarEdit?

This question is a bit vague. As far as I know, everything the original StarCraft could do, StarCraft II can do.

4) What additional features will the new editor have?

How much time have you got? Very broadly speaking, the biggest improvements over Warcraft III will be found in the data editor, where literally every game database file is exposed for modification, and in the trigger dditor, which now features the ability to define custom functions and libraries. That said, virtually every aspect of the editor has at least some improvements over Warcraft III/StarCraft.

5) Do you plan to take ideas from third party programs and update the editor frequently to meet the demands of the map making community?

Absolutely. We are very much committed to supporting the map/mod community as much as possible, and well be keeping an eye on the forums and updating the editor as often as we can to incorporate new suggestions.

6) Will be a tool to transfer WC3 models to SC2? (battle.net) -Ragnarok_X

No, there will not be, as StarCraft II is built with a totally new engine.

7) Given that we know the Roach regenerates faster than normal, will players be able to change the regeneration rates for Zerg units? (battle.net) DrakeClawfang

Yes, all regeneration rates can be easily changed.

8) Will players be able to give units Protoss shields or Zerg regeneration that don't normally have them? ie, a regenerating Zealot, a Ghost with shields, etc. (battle.net) DrakeClawfang

Yes, you could create a Roach-Zealot hybrid if you would like. Many passive abilities can be interchanged similarly.

[added from thread] 9) Is the new StarCraftII map editor able to make our own 4th race by combining 3 races different looking and ability etc. together? even more combining with some new units from the editor? (battle.net) -cS)beta

Yes, custom races are fully supported, including the ability to choose them from the game lobby while playing melee maps, as long as the mod defining the race is loaded.

I'm sure you guys will love that :) I know I'm excited!

--End of Transmission---^[29]

Additional Comments

Will you be able to customize the UI?
Will there be improvements on camera control from warcraft 3?

All UI layout is defined in external files, so this should be possible. However, we are not planning on having any user-friendly support for this (i.e. no UI Editor).^[30]

Batch 38

We have a traditional Q&A Batch this time around, in which we were able to add in additional questions from the community! There are still several art changes which prevent new screenshots from being shown, but once we get them out, they will be worth the wait! The development team has also been experimenting with many upgrades for all sides, which we'll also be updating the community on as testing progresses.

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 38---

1. If the Roach is hit by any spell like "plague" or "psi storm," something that reduces hit points per second, will this be negated by its HP regeneration, or result in fewer hit points gained per second for the duration of the spell? (sclegacy.com)

To clarify, a Roach regenerates at a set rate and Psi Storm does a set amount of damage at intervals in the area of effect. Put that Roach under a Psi Storm in the current build for the full duration and the Roach will have approximately 50% of its original health after the Psi Storm is over. With a new upgrade ability at the Hive which allows the Roach to have an even more increased regeneration rate, the Roach will emerge from a full duration of Psi Storm at approximately 80% of its original health.

2. Will Starcraft 2's heroes showcase new models for each hero, or will SCII follow in SC:BW's footsteps, leaving heros as normal units with improved stats? (starcraft.org)

StarCraft II Heroes will have unique models in game, which will be different than standard units.

3. Will the ranking/experience system that Terran units used to have be available in the Map Editor as on option in Starcraft 2? (starcraft.org)

We will try to have this feature in.

4. Will it be possible to change (cancel, tie up, etc.) alliance during multiplayer game? (starcraftcz.com)

Yes, players will be able to have all the original diplomacy features as the original StarCraft and possibly a few extras in regards to controlling units and spending ally resources.

5. Will StarCraft 2 feature new map tile sets and will any from StarCraft be removed? Reiko.Cry (wgtour.com)

Many of the original map tile sets such as Mar Sara, Char, Shakuras, and Space Platform will be back in StarCraft II, as well as a few additional ones including a new Shattered City tile set.

6. What creature did the Zergling gain the inspiration to evolve into a Baneling from? (starcraft2.com.au)

The idea of the Baneling didnt actually come from a certain creature. In actuality, it started from the need of something to fill the role of a ground-based, area-of-effect, suicide unit. To give added versatility to the Zergling, they had the Baneling evolve from the Zergling at tier 1 in current builds. For a suicide unit, the art team then took that idea and created a creature with huge sacs of volatile liquids, which you can see on the Banelings in StarCraft II screenshots.

7. Can you provide more details on the Reaper's mine ability? How much damage does it do? Is it effective vs. both units and buildings? Is it detectable without stealth detection? What's the cooldown on it? - Solesteeler (teamliquid.net)

The Reapers mines currently do 30 damage plus 30 additional damage to armored units (including buildings). These mines are not stealthed, have a 30 second cooldown period between uses, and are definitely small enough to make focus firing on them very difficult. In the current build, an upgrade is needed to allow the use of mines by Reapers.

8. Are the Zerg Sunken and Spore Colonies capable of moving out of the bounds of creep? Elsoron (battle.net)

Yes, they are able to move and plant themselves outside of the creeps boundary. Keep in mind that all Zerg buildings not in the boundaries of creep will slowly degenerate and eventually die. Creep which moves into an enemy base will also damage enemy buildings at a slow rate as well, allowing for new types of creep pushing strategies in StarCraft II.

9. Will the Map Editor support letters from non-English alphabets (ó, ű, ő, ú, á, é, etc.)? (starcraft2.hu)

Yes, these characters will be supported.

---End of Transmission---

Additional Comments

That´s a very interesting mechanic. It wasn´t very clear to me if sunken or spore colonies planted outside of creep will start extending their own creep?

Sunkens and Spore Colonies will not expand the creep. Zerg players will be able to use both Overseers with their new special ability and Creep Tumors, which will expand Zerg creep significantly.

Terran and Protoss buildings will not be able to be built on Zerg Creep. Existing buildings will be able to be surrounded by Creep though.

Agreed, how is Blizzard going to try and prevent backstabbing in ladder games? Will teams be locked just like in warcraft 3? Or is there going to be some other unique way to try and prevent backstabbing.

Teams will be locked in ladder games.

As additional clarification to question 2, StarCraft II Heroes will only be available in the Single Player Campaign and in user created maps. They will not be available in the default multiplayer version of the game.^[31]

Batch 37

Chat with Devs: One of the latest changes the Devs are trying for the Nomad is replacing their previous stationary Mine Drone with Spider Mines. The Spider Mines behave the same as Spider Mines from the original StarCraft. It now also does 50 damage plus 50 additional damage towards armored units. Instead of only having 3 Spider Mines, the Nomad will be able to plant Spider Mines with the cost of 15 energy. These Mines will definitely prove quite formidable against mass Tier 1 units such as Zerglings and charging Zealots.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if you are enjoying the batches.

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 37---

1. Can the Ghost snipe casting (energy based) units in the fog of war using its passive sensing ability? (Battle.net) crazy_dave

While the Ghost will not be able to snipe casters in the fog of war, their current range to detect casters(units with energy) is 30, giving you plenty of time to prepare for incoming threats.

2. Could you tell us more details about the Reapers' mines mechanics? Are they visible for the enemy? Can they be defused, or should simply be destroyed? Do they deal damage to friendly units and to each other? If so, does the explosion of one mine cause the detonation of its neighbors, or they just die, without dealing damage? (Battle.net) Elsoron

Yes, the Reapers mines will be visible, though depending on the placement, they can be covered by enemy units moving over them. The mines have very few hit points and can be killed easily. Nonetheless, it is important to note that they are very small, making it more difficult to micromanage those attacks when there are several mines.

Batch 36

StarCraft II Q&A Batch 36: ScreenCraft

Reminder: This is the final week for I<3 SC Submissions to be eligible for T-Shirts! Send your entries in today! Be a part of StarCraft history!
http://www.blizzard.com/us/inblizz/contests/ilovesc/

ScreenCraft: This batch's screenshot is to show the significant size increase of the Baneling since the original Protoss announcement gameplay trailer. The size increase is to allow the possibility of focus firing on incoming Banelings with additional micromanagement.

Feel free to discuss the evolution of the Baneling in our Monthly Discussion Topic at:
http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=sc2-general-eu&t=463

Baneling Invasion
http://www.starcraft2.com/screenshot.xml?s=80

An army of Banelings invade a developing rival Zerg base.

1. Do Protoss Immortals get killed when a Nuke explodes next to them(seeing as the Hardened Shield blocks all high profile attacks and that a Nuke is definitely a high profile attack)? (Battle.net) Eragon320

In term of units, the only units that will be able to survive a Nuke will be the Protoss Mothership and Immortals upgraded with Hardened Shields. An upgraded Immortal will take 10 damage from a Nuke. To all other units, the Nuke will do 800 damage, thus making it much more powerful than the Nuke in the original StarCraft.

2. How powerful is the Roach's regeneration ability? How much time is needed to regenerate from 1 to full hp? (sc2pod.com)

The Roach currently regenerates 15 hit points per second, allowing it to regenerate to full health in 6 seconds. In countering Roaches, a player must either micromanage the battle to make sure they are focus firing on each Roach one at a time, or they have to bring in high damage units such as Siege Tanks or Archons.

3. Are Overseers any tougher than Overlords? (Battle.net) Mestroyer

When an Overlord evolves into an Overseer, it will gain a speed bonus, passive detection, the ability to generate creep below it, and the ability to corrupt' resources to make it more difficult for opponents to gain access to them. Furthermore, when Overseers sit in the same spot, over time its visual range will increase (but not its detection range).

4. Is it worth it to build a Terran Reactor Add-on since the benefit of doubling your queue list is not that useful, as it is often a bad idea to have your queue full? (gamereplays.org)

Yes! The Terran Reactor doesn't just double the size of your queue list. For a mere 50 minerals and 50 gas cost for the Reactor, that Barracks, Factory, or Starport will have the ability to create two units simultaneously (assuming that unit doesn't require a tech lab add-on). Most of the time, building the Reactor will be worth it, rather than building a second Barracks, Factory, or Starport. Not only will you be able to build from a single building the production of two normal buildings, you will be able to salvage that Reactor if needed to get 100% of the cost back. Being able to salvage allows for quick tech shifts or evacuations.

5. Will there be different building textures resembling the actual terrain? (in Warcraft 2 the buildings were snowy on the winter maps) (starcraft2.hu)

This is something the art team would like to do, though it will ultimately come down to time. There's a lot of art work still left to do, such as their current task, which is putting the finishing touches on the Terran Marauder amongst several other units. On the Marauder, players will be able to see many intricate animations for both the weapons and their power suits.

6. Did the High Templar's Hallucination ability undergo any changes due to the introduction of new tough units, such as Thor or Colossus? (battle.net) Elsoron

The Hallucination ability did not undergo changes because of those new units, but it did get significant buffs since the original StarCraft. First off, hallucinated units still have the same hit points as the original unit, but take double damage. Furthermore, the duration the unit lasts for will be around 2-3 minutes, which will be significantly longer than the original StarCraft. On top of that, to hallucinate a unit only costs 40 energy, which is much cheaper than the original StarCraft's cost of 100 energy.

---End of Transmission---^[33]

Additional Comments

Yeah I saw it, that is why I'm asking the question. It's hard to tell from a still shot though.

Banelings roll when they are given a move command, but while idle, they 'stand.'^[34]

Batch 35

Despite seeing all three factions, there are still many changes being made to all factions which continue to finesse the gameplay of StarCraft II.

Furthermore, if you are reading this batch, and love StarCraft, show everyone! For the "I <3 SC" event, we've been getting tons of fun entries of StarCraft lovers in their classrooms, playing the game, posing at famous landmarks, and many unique digitally edited entries!

What does StarCraft mean to you?

Make sure you are represented in this wall of fans that will be engraved in Blizzard history. It is very simple to participate- Take a picture and join us! http://blizzard.com/us/inblizz/contests/ilovesc/

For newcomers, if you want a quick rundown on the story leading into StarCraft II- we have it here in a nutshell: http://www.starcraft2.com/features/storysofar.xml http://www.starcraft2.com/features/storysofar2.xml

Chat with the Devs: The Dev team has been working hard to find the best defense mechanic that works for the Zerg. The latest builds have brought back Sunken and Spore Colonies, with a new twist. Sunken and Spore Colonies can now uproot and crawl to a more advantageous position. Incidentally, Protoss Phase Cannons no longer have the ability to change positions.

Giving the Zerg mobile defensive structures feels a lot more right as this ability opens up many more aggressive strategies in both Zerg mirrors as well as combined with Overlords generating creep to push these defenses up towards the front lines. Furthermore, there definitely is something about watching defenses crawling around that just seems very Zerg-like. Its worth noting that Zerg defenses while in mobile form have fewer hit points and are more vulnerable to attack.

Gameplay Blog: Over the past few weeks Ive really been practicing up with the Terran faction, as it is probably the one that I am weakest at playing with. After getting beat about three or four times and finally getting my build order up to speed, I realized Terrans actually have a huge advantage in StarCraft II with being able to block off choke points to your base with ease.

Currently, on most maps a Terran player is able to block off their base entry point before the enemy is able to scout, making it nearly impossible for the enemy to find out what the Terran player is doing behind that wall. With only a few Marines and a couple SCVs, the Terran player can fend off most early attacks, especially since they usually also have a higher elevation sight advantage.

Three popular options amongst the staff playing at Blizzard include:

1) Tech straight to Banshees, which have a very powerful single target attack, and can be researched to cloak. This unit devastates if the opponent is not prepared with both anti- air units as well as detectors.

2) Tech straight to Reapers, which can jump up and down hills without a spotter, and get an added bonus damage versus light units. What this means is that the Reapers are able to quickly get in an enemys resource line to annihilate workers at an astounding rate, as well as get out before the enemy can react. This works great if you can scout/scan to see if their main base is defended well with static defenses. On top of that, did I forget to mention that they can drop mines that do significant damage towards buildings? Yes, that means with a handful of these guys, you can drop enough mines to take out whole Hatcheries/ Nexuses, or strategically use them to take out Pylons or tech buildings. After you drop the mines, jump back out of combat and let the mine cooldown reset for another round of raids.

3) If a Terran player bunkers up as mentioned above and no attacks are made by this player, one way an opponent may respond is to expand and build a stronger economy, as they do not feel threatened. In this case, a Terran player can simply build up a huge force of Marines and Marauders behind the wall without the opponent knowing, and then strike when their opponent drops their guard.

Luckily, the Dev Team is well on top of balance, as they have introduced new abilities such as the Nullifiers Anti Gravity ability to lift up buildings blocking choke points and Nydus Worms to bypass such defenses to keep those Terran players honest. Maps will likely have larger choke points in the future to offer a little more chance for opponents to get a Probe or Drone in early to scout early teching Terran players.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if you are enjoying the batches.

---StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 35---

1. Do Banelings damage nearby friendly units when they explode onto an enemy target? (www.starcraft2.com.au)

No, in the current build the Banelings do not damage friendly units caught in the splash. The splash damage does cover its area of effect range evenly, doing the same damage to enemy units throughout the whole area.

2. When a Nydus Worm is detected, is it possible to shoot it down while it is traveling? (www.starcraftcz.com)

Yes, having detectors in strategic places will keep you from being surprised by an unexpected Nydus Worm showing up in your base.

3. Does the Nydus Worm, a ground unit, move through open space? (battle.net) pop.helo

Yes. We dont know how we are going to make this look yet. When we come up with a visual solution we are happy with we will show it to the community.

4. Can Zerg buildings be infested, and if so, what units are produced? (starcraft2forum.org)

Zerg buildings cannot be infested. It is planned that infested Protoss buildings will produce an infested Protoss unit that will play differently than the infested Marine.

5. Will be there such doodads like customizable light or shader? (battle.net) Dagguh

Yes.

6. The first screenshot listed in Karune's 33rd Q&A shows what looks like the Mothership's Black Hole ability. However, it was said that the Black Hole was removed. Does this mean the ability has returned in the current build? (Starcraft.org)

As mentioned before, the state of many of these units are always changing. In the current build, the Mothership has become more of a support unit with increased hit points and decreased speed. The Mothership now allows Protoss Gateways that have converted to Warp Gates to be able to warp units straight to the Mothership. The warp-in mechanic (which cannot be queued) has also been tweaked to allow Protoss players who use it to get a slight time decrease in unit production as opposed to queuing units traditionally at the Gateways. In other words, the cooldown timer on warp-in doesnt take as long as the build time for units at a Gateway.

Furthermore, the Mothership will also have the ability to transfer energy down to casters below it, such as Templars. Both the Time Bomb and Black Hole abilities have been removed

7. Will Phase Cannons be able to rematerialize on an allys Pylon Power, or an enemys Pylon Power for that matter? (sclegacy.com)

Phase Cannons are no longer able to move in the current build.

8. Is the Tauren Marine going to be included in the StarCraft II map editor? (battle.net) scorpionbrood

Yes.

---End of Transmission---

Additional Comments

Please tell me warp-in is still made possible by the phase prism.

Yup, the Phase Prism will still provide power when converted into stationary form, thus allowing Warp-In.

Who creates the sunken/spore colonies?

The Queen still creates all the defenses for the Zerg.^[35]

Batch 34

So now that all three races are out of the bag, you may have thought you've seen it all- nope! The Dev Team is still working very hard to add even more innovation and clever balance affecting design changes that will indeed polish out the gameplay of StarCraft II that much more.

Also, if you haven't already, be a part of StarCraft history by participating in our "I <3 SC" event! Your picture will be added to a wall of StarCraft fans! It is fast and easy to join up! Info here: http://blizzard.com/us/inblizz/contests/ilovesc/

Chat with the Devs: As of recent, the Dev Team has added a new ability to the Protoss Carrier that will give it a little more Umph! versus Zerg Corruptor attacks or Viking raids. In the past, the Carrier simply had a large swarm of Interceptor fighters which you had to build from scratch. Carriers now come built with 4 Interceptors already loaded (which is also the max number of Interceptors currently). They also have the new ability to have Escorts built for a temporary power boost to focus fire. Strike Fighter Escorts cost resources to build and last only 45 seconds, but add a decent amount of firepower to a Carriers attack. A Carrier can have a maximum of 4 Escorts. Escorts are given attack orders to focus-fire on whatever the Carrier is attacking and they can be destroyed independently of the Carrier or each other. The cost for these Escorts will be significant enough to where players will not want to just have the max number all of the time, as that would bleed your economy needlessly. Thus, players will have to pick and choose their battles in where they want the full force of the Protoss fleet present.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if you are enjoying the batches.

---StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 34---

1. An important aspect of any RTS game is for all races to have a way to siege fortified island positions, do the Protoss and Terrans [[and Zerg]] have a unit that is capable of doing so? (sclegacy.com)

All factions will have units capable of attacking from a longer range. Zerg have the Swarm Guardian, Terrans have the Battlecruisers Yamato Cannon, and the Protoss have the Carrier (which has gotten some additional abilities since we last talked about it). However we are not at all sure that these are enough to deal with fortified islands. More testing will tell us if this is sufficient or if we need more.

2. The Infestor is a very impressive unit that enchanted the community, because we all wanted to see a unit that is able to move while it is burrowed. Nevertheless there are still pending questions. Can the Infestor even infest Zerg buildings? Are infested marines produced as fast as it is shown on the gameplay trailer? Do you have to train them manually or will they pop out automatically? Do they cost minerals?(starcraft2.4players.de)

Like many Zerg units the Infestor is still under development. It cannot infest Zerg buildings though that is something we are still discussing. The speed at which Marines are generated changes frequently as we work on the ability. Sometimes its fast, sometimes not so fast. They will (probably) pop automatically. They do not have any cost associated with them.

3. The Medivac is a very interesting Unit, but there are not many information given to us so far. Can you tell us any more details about it? At which tier can it be found? How does the healing work? Can it even heal multiple units at once and how fast does it heal compared to the medic? (starcraft2.4players.de)

The Medivac is currently available from the Starport (no add-ons required). The healing works just like the medic. We will (if we keep the mechanic) be adding a graphic of the Medivac deploying medical drones to heal friendly biological units. It will only be able to heal a single unit at one time. The speed at which it heals changes frequently as we try different balance options.

4. There are many ambiguities concerning the Roach due to the much different information that has been given to us. Many users are quite unsure about its kind of attack. Is it a melee unit or is it ranged? Or is it kind of a crazy mix of both? And most important: can it hit air as well? (starcraft2.4players.de)

The Roach is ranged. He has been melee in the recent past (hence the art with the big claws) but he is currently ranged. This gives him added utility at chokes where he really shines. We have tried it as ground only and we have tried it as being able to hit ground or air. Currently it is ground only.

5. Can a Zerg Corruptor infest lifted-off Terran buildings, Colossuses, and other Zerg units such as Mutalisks or other Corruptors? Can Corruptor infest Thors, Siege Tanks or Marines if they are lifted-off by Anti-Gravity? (Battle.net) PCBANGFT

Yes, Corruptors can infest anything that flies or is forced into the air by abilities such as Anti-Gravity. In the situation of a unit being lifted by Anti-Gravity, the unit will return to the ground when the anti-gravity effect ends and sit on the ground. The corrupted unit is only allowed to attack air units and will do so if an enemy air unit flies by.

6. What is the reasoning behind changing Colossus' 'sliding' thermal lances (from 1st gameplay movie) to an array of beams (zerg trailer)? Balance? Visuals? Will it be possible to choose such sliding or array (or is it just 'horizontal' line?) fire mode from the Map Editor (available also for any other unit)? (battle.net) Dagguh

The array of beams give a more interesting AOE template for players to attempt to micro. The sliding beam looks cool, but ultimately doesnt produce any new gameplay. The current visuals on the beam are temp to see if we like the mechanic.

---End of Transmission---

Additional Comments

i'm guessing these new escorts can attack both land and air, am i right?

The escorts for the Protoss Carrier in its current state, hits both ground and air. Furthermore, they take about 1 second to warp in to battle alongside your Carrier after you make the order to summon them.

Well, Woot for the info, although I'm not sure if I like where the Carrier is going, but that may just be that I am used to the old one.

I do have one question about Interceptors. When Interceptors get destroyed do we have to manually rebuild them or do they get replaced automatically? Also, does it cost resources to replace them, and how long do they take to come back?

Also, I thought I heard that the Warp Ray could outrange static defenses, but you didn't mention it. Has this been changed or did you just forget to mention it like the Terran Siege Tank?

Building Interceptors can be toggled to 'auto-build' or be set to manual build. Like the original StarCraft, the Interceptors will cost resources to build (when you lose any from the original 4).^[36]

Batch 33

Over the past week since the Zerg announcement, we've had many requests for an EPIC battle screenshot, thus I'm happy to present our 'Psi Onslaught' to the community for this latest ScreenCraft batch.

Make sure to make your screenshot requests for our future ScreenCraft batches here:
http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=sc2-general&t=628588&p=1&#post628588

Also, we are always in need of good questions to guide the latest in StarCraft II discussions. Add your questions to our community questions request thread:
http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=sc2-general&t=475993&p=1&#post475993

Chat with Devs: After the Zerg release, I have been asking Dustin what types of changes are being made to the other factions during this process, and one of the most interesting ones that have been added has to do with the Terran Ghost. In order for the Terrans to counter the various new casters that have been introduced to all sides in StarCraft II, the Ghost can now detect units with energy in a 30 yard radius. This passive ability works similarly to the Sensor Tower, revealing their location even within the fog of war. This ability could also no doubt open up some interesting assassination type single player missions as well with the Ghost.

ScreenCraft: Psi Onslaught
http://www.starcraft2.com/screenshot.xml?s=76

As requested by the community, the Protoss have brought their heavy hitters in this psi onslaught upon a developing Zerg base. In retaliation, the Zerg counter with a ravaging pack of Ultralisks and Zerglings upon the advancing Templar army. While the epic battle begins, the Protoss player cleverly sneaks a group of Stalkers to raid the Zergs economy as well.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if you are enjoying the batches, especially the new sections like the ScreenCraft section we've added.

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 33: ScreenCraft---

1. What upgrade type (assuming these are returning) is the Viking using? Vehicle or ship? (Or perhaps infantry?) (TheWarCenter.com)

The Viking is built from the Starport again and will use ship armor rather than vehicle armor.

2. What will Zerglings be able to do against new Jackal? (www.starcraftcz.com)

Attacking Jackals efficiently with Zerglings will take a bit of micromanagement, making sure that Zerglings are spread out or attacking from different directions. The Jackals hit points have also been reduced from 125 to 75 with a slight increase to their speed. This will make them more vulnerable to Zerglings if you can get them close to surround the Jackals.

3. If a unit is being produced at a Protoss building while it becomes unpowered, does it continue production or pause until re-powered? (Battle.net) Blazur

If a Protoss building becomes unpowered, all production including research at that building will pause until re-powered.

4. In lieu of the Nydus Worm, will the Zerg Overlord maintain its "Ventral Sacs" upgrade? Will the Ultralisk have any sort of unit carrying capacity? (starcraft.org)

Currently, the Overlord's original Ventral Sacs ability has been taken out. With the introduction of the Nydus Worm, the Zerg will have more than enough mobility to keep their enemies on their toes. On that note, the Ultralisk will not be able to carry units.

5. To what degree will StarCraft II allow for remapping - limited remapping a la Warcraft III, or complete remapping of key bindings?
- Excalibur_Z (teamliquid.net)

We are planning to support key-mapping for StarCraft II. The extent of the ability for remapping keys is still to be determined. Even in current experimentations, we have found that there are often many issues with conflicting key bindings as there are very few open unmapped keys to be swapped in and out.

---End of Transmission---

Additional Comments

Nice :), but will the Nydus Worm carry Ultras? If you say they have enough mobility I assume they must. Also, can the worm be spotted with detectors/intercepted? What kind of hitpoints does the worm have? What does it look like going across to islands (both space and water maps but especially space)? Can it revert back to worm for two way transport? (I have also posted the questions in the official ask your questions thread ...)

Currently, the Nydus Worm can carry any ground unit from any faction (yes, this includes your teammate's units), including Ultralisks. In regards to the Nydus Worm, I cannot stress enough that this is still work in progress, as this can easily be an overpowered ability. Nonetheless, the Blizzard Devs are working hard to get this balanced, as it is a very fun mechanic to play with. You never know when you'll have a huge Nydus Worm bust out in the middle of your base, spewing hundreds of Zerglings out.

Detectors will be able to detect Nydus Worms traveling underground to their destinations.

Karune, are those templar in the screenshot channeling psi storm, or are their hands only glowing because the shot was taken right after they cast it?

Psi Storm is still instant cast, like the original StarCraft. The glow from their hands are the animations that occur when they cast Psi Storm. The animation can also be seen in my avatar as well.

Does the Ghost's new ability affect units with abilities that do not use energy but have a cooldown (ex: Stalker with Blink)?

Currently, the Ghost's new ability only applies to units with energy.

Karune, why is the psi storm so close to the ground? Also the graphics for it seem to be way to bright and concentrated, I really must voice out at the current look of it. It needs to be more like the origional storm: Above units and a bit less concentrated graphic wise. With 3d graphics I'm sure you guys can do better than the current one.

The Psi Storm's visual is one of those special effects in which a screenshot will never do it full justice, as it looks infinitely better as an animation rather than in a screenshot.

what is this?
http://xs125.xs.to/xs125/08134/ss76-hires870.jpg
it's near the evolution chamber.

That is the Nest, which is the prerequisite building that allows Zerg players to build Roaches.^[37]

Batch 32

There is lots to talk about in Batch 32 and I'll be answering questions through the day about these screeenshots so fire away :) I hope everyone enjoys them!

Community ScreenCraft: In addition to our Q&A Map Maker Series, Gameplay Series, Lore Series, we are going to include our Community ScreenCraft Series, featuring screenshots crafted specifically to progress the dialogues and discussions we have currently going on in the community. To start us off, I have taken four screenshots which capture our latest discussions over the past month. Feel free to comment, give feedback, or ask questions in regards to these screenshots. When doing so, it will help to identify the screenshot you are referring to as Screenshot A or Screenshot B and etc. If you have you have additional screenshots you would like to see, that would also benefit our community discussions, please request them here:
http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=sc2-general&t=628588&s=new&#new

Screenshot A: Blink Assault
http://www.battle.net/images/misc/08-03/A.jpg

In Blink Assault you can clearly see and feel the new sense of Terran grittiness. Team colors are a bit worn from battle and the metal texture in Terran units and building have been desaturated a bit. In this screenshot you can see Immortals take on the pounding of fortified Siege Tanks with their hardened shields, while the Stalkers blink up on the cliffs for the assault.

Screenshot B: A Lone Outpost
http://www.battle.net/images/misc/08-03/B.jpg

The Terran Army struggles to defend their lone outpost in the scrap yards, fending off a Protoss onslaught just long enough until the Battlecruisers arrive. Though even with their reinforcements, the battle is far from won, as the Protoss also arrive with their fleet of Carriers to counter.

Screenshot C: The Final Push
http://www.battle.net/images/misc/08-03/C.jpg

This screenshot depicts a large counter attack upon a Protoss base responsible for warping in several waves of attacks on Terran outposts. Dropped Siege Tanks bombard the area, while the Jackals torch up the surroundings with their area of effect line attack. Furthermore, the Marauders slow incoming Zealots as the Battlecruisers plasma weapons make short work of them.

Screenshot D: Anti-Gravity Back Door
http://www.battle.net/images/misc/08-03/D.jpg

As requested by the community, I have taken a screenshot showing a Dark Templar squad secretly infiltrating the Terrans front lines with the help of the Nullifier and its Anti-Gravity ability (previous moved from the High Templar). The Terrans wont know what hit them until it is too late.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if you are enjoying the batches, especially the new sections like the ScreenCraft section we've added.

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 32: ScreenCraft Series ---

1. Will allies be able to use each others transport/teleportation methods? Marines in Overlords, Zealots in Nydus Worms, etc.. ? (sc2blog.com)

Many of these questions are still being debated within the development team and the final decisions will ultimately be determined through balance. Nonetheless, classic abilities, such as heal by the Terrans, will be usable on allies regardless of faction.

2. Does the Anti Gravity spell work for your own units? In other words, can you use it to lift up buildings to protect them from an early wave of Zergling? (TheWarCenter.com)
Yes, the Anti Gravity ability can be casted on friendly units and buildings. Also, the Anti Gravity ability has been added to the Nullifier, as the ability has proven much more effective in the earlier parts of the game. Nonetheless, this is still being tested and is subject to change.

3. What happens to units who are under a flying building when it falls down? Can you build a building under the building that are flying? and if that is the case, what happens to that building that it is landing on? Get.Yourgun (gosugamers.net)
This is actually a notable design challenge the development team is currently facing with the Anti Gravity ability. Currently, players are not allowed to build buildings under the floating object. When the object does land, it will land on top of whatever unit is under it. For example, if a Supply Depot is lifted up by Anti Gravity and it lands on a Marine when the ability duration is over, it will indeed land on the Marine (but will not cause damage). The Marine can then move out from under that building in the direction of that players choosing. The details around Anti Gravity are still very much in testing. As this is a new ability, many of the details are not finalized.

4. In StarCraft many glitches and near-bugs were discovered with the years passing. Many of them are used regularly and changed the game (Mutalisk stack, patrol-attacking, mineral hopping, Lurker hold, etc). This is and was even more true for other games (bunny hopping in quake or through-floors dmg, etc) and it became part of the identity of the game that people knew about those glitches, learned and mastered them. They became important aspects of the game. Will any of these bugs make an appearance in StarCraft II, but as intentional features? - Chosi (Teamliquid.net)

Yes, certain unit characteristics like the firing on the move dynamic of the Mutalisk, as well as stackable flyers will be in StarCraft II. Some of these characteristics may not feel completely the same, as it is a bit tougher to get flying units to stack, it will still be possible. Although it is important to note that not all of these characteristics will be making it back to StarCraft II, there will be plenty of opportunities for players to find new ways to use the units of StarCraft II in creative ways similar to the original.

5. What are the duties of the Blizzard eSports team, and how much will they be responsible for promoting Starcraft II as and eSport?(starfeeder.com)

The eSports team is responsible for developing Blizzards presence in the increasingly popular eSports scene. Their duties include the planning and operation of Blizzard tournaments around the world in places such as Asia, Europe and the United States. They also provide third-party support for the eSports leagues that host both online and live events using Blizzard titles. Additionally, they help provide balance feedback to our development teams based on interaction with professional gamers and response from the eSports community. They will have an integral role in promoting StarCraft II as an eSports as they have done for the previous Blizzard titles.

Additional Comments

First off, graphics are GREAT colors look a LOT better.

Screenshot B: Is that the new look of the Firebat next to the CC? In another screenshot he's throwing fire... it looks like he also may be throwing grenades.
Screenshot C: What's being used on those marines? Some kind of stasis field? Can we accurately assume that's the Jackal as well?
Screenshot D: Is that line of brightness the Nullifier's normal attack?

B: That is the new Terran Marauder, equipped with dual concussion grenades which slows down the movement of biological units, as well as does bonus damage to armored vehicles.

C: There is a Psi Storm being casted on the Marines in the center. On the bottom left near the Siege Tanks are Jackals, with a line area of effect attack, which is visually displayed by the flames.

D: Yes, that is the Nullifier's base attack, although the final effects are not finished yet.

Questions:
- Have you selected an ability to replace anti-gravity in the HT?
- Looks like the merc haven is still in. What purpose does it hold?
- Do Terran dropships still have an animation that brings them to the ground when dropping units/vehicles?

1) Currently the High Templar has their original abilities, Hallucination and Psi Storm.
2) It serves as a prerequisite for Reapers to be built at the Barracks.
3) This is still subject to balance and is still being decided.

Edit: in the anti-gravity screenshot (D) the turret doesn't seem to be actually lifted off the ground?

It is a little difficult to see, but the rocks are actually what is being lifted, and the Dark Templars are infiltrating the based from underneath them. The final visuals for the Anti-Gravity ability are not finished, but nonetheless since it was so highly desired by the community I wanted to at least get everyone a work in progress screenshot.

Karune: battlecruiser seems to have new attack animation(picture B and C), does it now attack multiple targets at a time or has it an aoe damage ?

also
w00t

DD

That is the Battlecruiser's Air to Ground Plasma attack which does AoE damage(Area of Effect).

3. In screenshot C, what are those Protoss units at the top right of the shot, behind the Immortals?

Those are the High Templars. Also, honestly, the Psi Storm in screenshots does not do it justice at all, as it looks much more amazing animated.^[38]

Batch 31

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 31---

Gameplay Blog: This past week while playing a Terran versus Terran mirror game, I discovered a new unit option from the Factory. This new unit is known as the Jackal, which is a fast vehicle like the Vulture, but instead wields a rail gun, which does an area of effect damage in a straight line at ground units.

My opponent built the standard Marines & Medics (M&Ms) composition while I bunkered my choke point and teched straight to a Factory with a Reactor add on, which allows me to build two Jackals at one time from a single Factory.

After I built a group of 6 Jackals, I rolled onto the field with my Jackals broken up in two groups with 3 Jackals each. I engaged his M&Ms with my first group, having the Marines line up around my Jackals as they naturally do while firing. Quickly, I brought in my second group of Jackals along the side to flank the M&Ms and the line attack did the rest, killing up to 2-3 units with a single focus fire command. With a little micromanagement, I was able to decimate his whole group of 15 or so units, while only losing two Jackals. That battle gave me a significant military advantage, which eventual led to a relatively quick win.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if you are enjoying the batches, especially the new sections like the gameplay blog we've added.

1. How will Marines mount into a pod? Is this done via the barracks, or an entirely unannounced building, or Dropship-like airship yet to be revealed? (sc2armory.com)

Terran infantry currently load into the Shadow Ops building (prerequisite for the Ghost). A Ghost can then launch drop pods, which originate from that building.

2. Can a player order a Ghost in a Bunker to call Nukes and Drop Pods? baboonsy (Battle.net)

Yes, Terran infantry currently have all abilities except the SCV repair ability available for use while inside a bunker, including the use of Nukes and Drop Pods.

3. What spells are specifically affected by the Nullifiers ability? Will physical spells like the Marines Stim Pack, the Ghosts Nuke, or Reaper Mines be disabled? Also, will spells cast before entering the area (I.E. Ghosts cloak) be disabled upon entering the area? (www.starcraft2forum.org)

Only abilities which require energy usage will need be unable to be cast while in the Null Voids area of effect. Additionally, the Null Void ability will disengage cloak by units such as the Ghost. It also currently reveals burrowed Zerg units, but this is still being debated in terms of balance.

4. Last we heard, Veterancy was active for the Terran but we havent heard anything about it since and are quite curious is it still in the game? (starcraft-source.com)

Veterancy will likely be seen in the single player campaign, but will not be in the multiplayer game.

5. In StarCraft, some units had instant attack animations (Corsair, Mutalisk, Vulture). This allowed people with good micro to make these units move and shoot. In contrast there were units that had an attack animation which required the unit to stop and shoot. This allowed people with good micro to dance (move, shoot, move shoot, maximizing the distance travelled without the unit losing any shooting time). In Warcraft III, units tended to have attack animations which took as long as the cooldown for the attack, making micro actions such as these non-existent.

Will units in StarCraft II have attack animations that last as long as the cooldown for their attack, similar to Warcraft III? or will players be able to dance (moving in between shooting) like in StarCraft? Also, will there be any units with instant attack animations that can be micromanaged to move and shoot like in StarCraft? -Fen / GenericTerranPlayer (teamliquid.net)

Balance will be the first priority when determining the animation duration for units. With that said, there will be certain units that players will be able to dance with, and there will be other units which will force the unit to stop and fire. Some units in StarCraft II will not only need to stop and fire, but will do additional damage to a target while it focuses. All of these characteristics which determine how a unit will be used in competitive play will be chosen based on balance.

6. When a unit is cloaked or burrowed, can the sensor tower still see the unit in the fog of war? DarkAlaskan (Battle.net)

Yes, the Sensor Tower will reveal all units in the fog of war, including cloaked and burrowed units. Sensor Towers are currently a staple to any Terran defense or offensive.

---End of Transmission ---

Additional Comments

What am I supposed to do if there are 5 bunkers?? How do I know where a nuke's been launched from?

Honestly, this is completely up to balance, and of course if it proves too difficult to prevent or avoid, I'm pretty sure it will be changed.

Furthermore, the red dot that Ghosts project when launching a Nuke at the moment, is somewhat easily avoided.

Will the Jackal be able to hit air? If it does attack air, will it maintain its aoe line damage or be a single target only attack?

The Jackal does not currently hit air, but be assured that Terrans will have their counters to air. At the moment, they are still figuring out what unit best fits that role (such as the Thor).

Since no two units - especially across races - are too similar, and the jackal is a tier 2-2.5 ground unit effective against light infantry with a linear splash damage, does this mean we can assume that the lurker is either cut or completely different from it's original incarnation?

The Jackal's attack is instant, whereas the original StarCraft Lurker had an attack that would go outwards from the location of the Lurker, which allowed a player to potentially dodge the attack even if you were originally standing in its line of attack.

So can the Jakal fire while moving?

They currently need to stop and fire. But if your opponent's units are in the line of attack of a Jackal when it attacks, they will surely take damage, whereas if it were a Lurker (from StarCraft), they would still have about half a second to react and possibly dodge that attack.

So....the Jackal has a ground based aoe attack. What does that bring the total up to now? 6? That's not even counting Reaper bombs an Nomad mines heh. Who decided 90% of Terran units should have ground based aoe attacks?

The Banshee now has a single target attack. It will still be able to cloak and is still only able to hit ground targets.

It is true that Terran does have various area of effect attacks now, though most of them all require micromanagement.^[39]

Batch 30: Map Maker Series

Going along with out monthly discussion topic about map making requests, we've sought to get more answers to help direct these upcoming discussions.

Chat with Devs: Brett Woods is back with us to answer our community map making questions. We cant stress enough that StarCraft II is going to have immense potential in the UMS (User Map Settings) area, where we hope to seriously empower the community with the tools you need, to create some awesome gaming additions to StarCraft II.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if you are enjoying these batches!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 30: Map Maker Series 3---

1) Will it be possible to code the game so map makers can make maps where people can stop incoming spell/missile?

This should be possible through customized ability data and/or triggers.

2) Will we have selectable male/female of every unit?

No, we don't have plans to include male and female versions of each unit.

3) Will we have the option to give players the option to change weapons in-game?

While we don't have any plans for a specialized interface for this, it would be possible using the highly flexible ability system.

4) Will you guys link multiplayer maps, so mapmakers can make multiplayer campaigns?

Yes, we do plan to support multiplayer campaigns and linked maps.

5) Will all buildings stand alone and also can we have the ability to disable tech trees?

The tech tree will be fully configurable through customized data and/or triggers.

6) Will research or firing a skill in a certain location be part of the tech tree enabling, for example Stim Packs could be researched to enable a Factory?

Yes, the tech tree and upgrade system will be fully configurable from the editor.

7) Will it be possible for AI to be commanded to research a skill, perform an upgrade, build a building at a location, build a unit at a location, retreat from a location?

Yes, there will be extensive AI scripting support.

8) Will mapmakers have the ability to set weather that can change the terrain and interrupt gameplay for players? Is this for anywhere or in a specific location?

Weather effect technology has not yet been finalized. However, even if weather effects do not affect gameplay normally, it would be possible to drive both the desired weather effects and associated gameplay effects through triggers.

---End of Transmission---^[40]

Batch 29

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 29---

This batch we have more exciting changes to update you on, as well as sneaky strategies to use on unsuspecting opponents.

Gameplay Blog: This week I had to learn the hard way a change in our latest build of StarCraft II, which the Devs conveniently forgot to tell me about. As Protoss, I did my standard dual Gateway build, scouting to find that a lone SCV building a bunker outside of my base. In my mind, I thought, OK- a standard bunker rush, no problem! Build 2 Zealots and then hit the Bunker.

As it was a small 2 player map, my opponent was able to bring in a single Marine and Medic very soon, especially with the SCV repairing the Bunker at a very fast rate. As he repaired, I chased the SCV around the Bunker and attacked the Bunker with my other Zealots. To my disbelief, the Medic inside the Bunker was healing the SCV outside of the Bunker. Soon enough, another SCV showed up to repair the Bunker, as well as a Marauder, slowing my Zealots before they could reach the Bunker. At this point I had lost my initial two Zealots, but I had built four more. At the same time, my opponent now had a Marauder, Medic, and Marine, with 2 SCVs guarding the Bunker. These SCVs were impossible to kill since they were both running around the Bunker, being healed at the same time, while my Zealots were slowed and shot at by the Bunker. When my Zealots attacked the Bunker, the SCVs repaired the Bunker. Needless to say, the standard Bunker rush is not so standard anymore. With Terrans Salvage ability, being able to deconstruct Terran buildings for 100% of the cost back, adds to the devastating effect of a StarCraft II Bunker push. On top of that, adding a Ghost in the Bunker, allows for Sniping within the Bunker, as well as huge range, making it an effect pushing structure before you tech to Siege Tanks. Thanks for letting me know guys :P GG.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 29---

1. Do the Terrans currently have a purely dedicated anti-air unit filling the role of the Wraith and Goliath? (sc2pod.com)

No, the Terran Viking is currently their primary anti-air unit, which is built from the Factory. The Viking can currently shoot both ground and air when in ground mode, and is able to transform into an air to air fighter, for better mobility and economy raids.

2. Do the Auto Turrets built by the Nomad attack randomly like the bunkers in the original StarCraft or will the player be able to choose the target similar to the Missile Tower? (broodwar.de)

Auto Turrets can be controlled by the player as if it were a stationary unit. You can both group them and focus fire with them. When they are not given an order, they will fire at the nearest enemy within range.

The Nomads second construction option, which is the Mine Drone, will not be able to be controlled by the player as easily. The Mine Drone is a stationary defense structure, which places four mines around it, and then immediately cloaks both the mines and the structure. Similar to the Spider Mines from the original StarCraft, these mines will wreck havoc on an incoming army without the ability to see cloaked units. The mines does a base damage of 50 plus an additional 50 damage to armored units. On top of that, the Mine Drone replaces the mines after they detonate, temporarily revealing the Mine Drone structure. Similar to the Auto Turret, both of these structures will cost energy to build from the Nomad, and will have a very minimum setup time.

3. With the Reaver removed, and his siege role moved to the Warp Ray, what will take his splash role? (TheWarCenter.net)

The Protoss Colossus now has a linear splash damage beam attack, which blazes enemies in a horizontal area of effect, from where the Colossus is facing. Like all area of effect attacks, the Colossuss beam is excellent at annihilating close groups of M&Ms (Marines and Medics) and mass Zealots.

4. With water featured on some of your maps, will this allow modders to try new game ideas that may make use of water? (StarCraftZone.com)

This should be possible, though much of this experimentation will have to be left up to the modders. I am sure there will be amazing mod creations the community will come up with.

5.What is the status of StarCraft IIs AI?(sclegacy.com)

StarCraft IIs AI (artificial intelligence) is definitely superior to Brood War in many ways, though most notably, the AI does a great deal more of scouting, and makes decisions according to what it has found during those scouting missions. Unsuccessful scouting missions, similar to what a player might experience would tend to lead towards a more standard type of army build or continued scouting.

---End of Transmission---^[41]

Batch 28

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 28---

Hope everyone had a great week! Make sure to keep that Q&A Questions thread packed, as we are making plans to tackle Q&As both in these batches, as well as the BlizzCast. Post your questions to be considered for Q&As here: http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=sc2-general&t=9620&p=1&#post9620

Chat with Devs: It has been a busy week, in which I had a chance to talk to multiple Devs this and I am happy to say that we have finished recording for our second episode of BlizzCast. We have also added a mini Q&A section to the show, to get direct answers straight from the developers!

Gameplay Blog: Following up on the last game I played in Batch 27, I had mentioned the Terran Marauder being a huge factor in my defeat. This new Terran unit visually looks similar to the Firebat, but instead packs the punch of dual Concussion Grenades (also able to be Stim Packed), which slows the movement rate of biological units, and also does additional bonus damage to armored units. These units are excellent at supporting any pack of Marines & Medics, with the ability to slow charging Zealots, as well as fast moving Zerg units. Playing as Terran, there is a sense of relief, when you watch an incoming army slowed down considerably, to be mowed down by your Stim Packed Marines. In addition, because the Marauders are able to be built at a Barracks with a Tech Lab, they are considered formidable early support units, able to pick off units of a weaker early game army.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 28---

1. I noticed the Stalker "Blink" ability looked as though it was on a cooldown (similar to many abilities in World of Warcraft). This seems appropriate for some abilities, but is this restricted to the Stalker or will other units have abilities on cooldowns rather than energy? (Battle.net Malorn)

Currently, the Protoss Stalkers Blink ability is on a 15 second cooldown and is one of the only abilities that do not require energy. One of the reasons this was done for the Stalkers Blink, was to make sure that players wouldnt have the problem of having only part of their Stalker army blink up on a hill with some left behind. The Protoss Phoenix also carries an Overload ability, which is based on a cooldown timer rather than energy. Whether the Stalker or the Phoenix will use energy or not, will be mostly determined through much more balance testing.

2. The Thor now is anti-aircraft unit, but will it continue to have surface-to-surface attacks? (www.Sc2-esp.com)

In the current build, the Thors role has been changed to exclusively hit ground units, putting the transforming Viking back in the primary role as an air to air fighter. The Terran Viking is also now built from the Factory rather than the Starport.

3. In the original SC, powers like Irradiate and Psionic Storm affected cloaked units and killed them even if you couldn't see them. Will the Phoenix's Overload ability target cloaked units as well? (Battle.net DrakeClawFang) Yes, the Phoenixs Overload ability does affect cloaked units, such as Terran Banshees. The Devs are all for these types of soft counters.

4. Does energy regenerate at about the same speed as in normal SC? Since the game goes faster, has that been speed up too? (Battle.net nerdpride)

Energy regenerates at the same speed as the original StarCraft. At the fastest game speed, both StarCraft II and the original should feel the same in terms of speed.

5. Now that the Force Field ability has been moved to the Nullifier, what other abilities does the Templar have? Does he still have Hallucination? (Battle.net Blazur)

The Hallucination ability has been cut from the High Templar. Instead, it will have an Anti-Gravity ability in addition to its classic Psi Storm ability. This ability will allow a High Templar to lift up buildings and units in the air, disabling their movement and attack, while also making them an air target. This ability can be cast on Supply Depots blocking choke points, as well as incoming Thors, or other threatening units. This has been the first ability the Devs have been comfortable with, in giving players a real choice to be made, to use Psi Storm or the Anti-Gravity ability. This ability is still being balanced, in terms of the duration units and buildings will stay in the air, energy cost, and if it will be a channeling spell (which means the High Templar will be unable to move or cast other abilities while casting the Anti-Gravity ability).

6. Will there be an icon on the left hand side of the screen to alert the player of idle workers? (Battle.net- Elminster)

Yes, we currently have the ability to select idle workers built into the UI.

---End of Transmission---^[42]

Batch 27

Batch 27: Gameplay Series

We're back to tie up some loose ends about the Nullifier from our last batch, as well as some more focus on gameplay design, to fuel our discussion on the forums (especially to those who are already anxiously creating their build orders- don't lie, I know you are out there :) )

Chat with Devs: This week I talked with Dustin Browder, our Lead Designer for StarCraft II, to answer some more questions in regards to StarCraft II gameplay. I presented Dustin with some very specific gameplay questions from teamliquid.net, which he was very excited to be able to answer for the eSports community. Hopefully I will be able to get him back for a BlizzCast interview down the road.

Gameplay Blog: By the way, Im still looking for a good name for this section, that I hope everyone here could help me with Additionally, this week I want to elaborate on the second ability of the Protoss Nullifier mentioned in the last Q&A Batch. The Null Void, an ability currently at 50 energy cost, prevents abilities from being cast in an area of effect radius. In recent skirmishes with Terran opponents, when my Zealots engaged a group of M&Ms (Marines & Medics), my Nullifiers were able to cast Null Void over the enemy group, and the Medics were unable to heal for a good 15 seconds. When they retreated out of the Null Void area, I cast a second Null Void on them, and by that time, more than half of their Marines had fallen to my Zealots. Furthermore, my Nullifiers, having a base ranged attack, were able to focus fire on fleeing Marines.

However, I still did end up losing that game versus the Terran player, as Ghosts later on were able to devastate my army with EMP, followed with their Marauder units, replacing the old Firebat, making quick work of my ground army. GG. Next time.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 27---

1) How will the map pool for the ladder be handled? Only maps made by Blizzard or will there be opportunities for mapmakers to contribute? If so, how will new maps be selected/balanced and how often are you planning on updating the map pool?

[Dustin Browder] The map pool for competitive play will only be Blizzard maps or Blizzard-approved maps. We are always excited to see new maps from the community and when we see new cool maps we will definitely include them in the pool. I have no idea how often this will happen. It really depends on the map makers and our schedule. We also have some really cool plans for mod support for Battle.net for StarCraft II, which we will be rolling out to the community soon. We have all watched with great enthusiasm the impact that mod makers have had upon our previous games, especially Warcraft III, and we really want to continue to support and encourage this community.

2) Terran in StarCraft 1 had a very interesting dynamic in that the optimal strategy combating a Zerg would require large amounts of infantry and science vessels, whereas Protoss would require a large amount of factory units, leading to more diverse gameplay between the two matchups. This dynamic existed in mirror matchups as well - Goliaths, Battlecruisers and Wraiths were very useful in Terran vs Terran, but are rarely seen versus Protoss and Zerg (with the exception of Goliath vs Carrier).

Protoss and Zerg also had this trait - Protoss would often need large amounts of Corsairs, Zealots, and Archons to combat Zerg and a large amount of Dragoons, Arbiters, and Carriers to combat Terran, skipping zealots entirely until the speed upgrade is done. Zergs would frequently use Hydralisks versus Protoss, but would always immediately morph them to Lurkers vs Terran until Plague was researched.

For some people this was viewed as a positive aspect of SC, others are frequently disappointed that Terran cannot realistically integrate marines into their strategy vs Protoss and so forth. What style of gameplay is StarCraft II looking to attain - will each of the 9 different matchups play in a unique fashion with less viable strategies overall, or is the game looking to ensure that every unit has a useful role against every race? - Zanno

[Dustin Browder] So far StarCraft II plays similar to the original StarCraft in that different matchups require a different unit mix. On the design team we enjoy this type of gameplay and prefer to have players use different strategies and different units against different races. Our goal is that every unit will have some use against each race, but that players will tend to prefer certain units against certain races. We are going to strive to make sure that no unit is completely worthless against any one race but there will definitely be better and worse choices depending on the enemy race, strategy, the map, and your start position on the map.

3) In StarCraft 1 the basic tier 1 units were balanced against higher tech units almost equally by their unique role within each race as they were by unique unit upgrades and a greater benefit from the standard upgrades. How much effort are you putting into making lower tech units viable higher up in the tech tree in ways other than upgrades that just makes them a "better unit" such as hit points and damage?

(This question is brought up because of the Terran Marine +HP upgrade which IMHO is really cheap) - CuddlyCuteKitten

[Dustin Browder] We are putting a huge amount of effort into making sure that the tier 1 units are useful throughout the game. We are also putting a large amount of effort into trying to get as much mileage as we can out of each of our upgrades so that upgrades really change how you can use a unit (but without fundamentally altering its role). The Marine is an example of a work-in-progress unit. We think the shield looks cool, but we are still working on how it will affect gameplay. Actually, in current builds Marines+Medics+Stim are so powerful that the shield is not that necessary in a lot of matchups.

4) Some new maps used in the pro scene for StarCraft have started to include permanent spells like "Dark Swarm" and "Disruption Web" as a part of terrain. Are there any plans to allow this as a kind of special terrain by default or allow map makers to add it as a special attribute to some sections of the terrain? Examples would be areas with decreased movement for some or all units like shallow water, terrain making units immune to missile fire like dark swarm or terrain making the units unable to fire like web.

If you plan to include it will it be usable on melee maps or UMS only? - CuddlyCuteKitten

[Dustin Browder] Our data editor allows the creation of this type of terrain. You could easily put this type of terrain on melee maps. We have not finalized our feature set for terrain yet so I dont know what will make the final cut for the default Blizzard maps.^[43]

Batch 26

This batch we're going to shed some light on the storyline and lore aspect of StarCraft II. Following StarCraft and even Brood War, there have always been many unanswered questions surrounding the powers of the Protoss, which we'll be tackling today.

Chat with Devs: For this batch, Ive been fortunate to snag some time with our Lead Writer for StarCraft II, Andy Chambers, and I had a chance to talk to him about what happens to Protoss warriors after they die. On the forums, there has been much speculation to what the true meaning of the blue flash of light that is seen when a Protoss Zealot dies. Furthermore, have you ever wondered how exactly an EMP burst would have an effect on Psi energy? Andy gives us insight into the Protoss ways in fan questions 1 and 3.

Gameplay Blog: Force Fields are my new favorite ability! During my latest skirmish with a Zerg opponent, I was rushed early with Zerglings. The Protoss Nullifiers (previous known as the Stasis Orb) and their 15 second Force Field ability saved the day. As the attacking Zerglings charged up my ramp on the classic Lost Temple map, I simply created a Force Field in between the group of Zerglings, separating his attacking force. With their numbers divided, my Zealots easily took care of the split force of Zerglings, allowing me to make a decisive counter-attack. In subsequent games, I have found that the Force Field is quite useful in many situations, as you are able to create your own choke points, separate incoming armies, and also erect barriers as needed for your Protoss Stalkers to take advantage of their Blink ability. Furthermore, the Force Field can provide another obstacle for melee units approaching your Colossus, whereas your Colossus is able to step over the Force Field at ease. These Protoss Nullifiers at tier 1 are now one of your most effective defenses to an early game rush. Currently, the Force Field ability costs 30 energy with the Nullifiers energy capacity at 100. Next batch, well see if we can find some interesting games with the Nullifiers other new ability, the Null Void.

Do Protoss warriors actually die? What is the blue flash when they die?[/b]

In the chaos of the battlefield, Protoss warriors fight with tremendous power and grace, but even so, they can be mortally wounded. Then the Protoss' foes often bear witness to a startling sight: the injured Protoss disappears in a bright flash of light. Such a vision has caused primitive races to quail in superstitious fear, and yet it has no supernatural cause. On the contrary, it is merely the result of teleportation, which is one of the chief strengths of Protoss technology. Protoss warriors typically have teleport mechanisms built into their armor. If the warrior is sufficiently injured, a properly functioning mechanism will automatically teleport the body to the nearest safe haven.

A Protoss warrior who is badly injured but still living may be placed in a dragoon--or latterly an immortal--shell to continue to fight. This is the choice of the individual warrior. Some warriors elect to shoulder the burden of remaining among the living instead of joining the sum of Protoss lives embodied in the Khala. It is worthy of note that the lives of individual Protoss that have passed into the Khala are no longer coherent entities, and the Protoss cannot speak with their dead per se. However, there are memories and strands of experience that can be accessed. Only the most skilled Protoss preservers can locate and follow specific desired strands of knowledge. The tremendous value of preservers comes from the fact that they carry within themselves and can access the sum total of Protoss experience at an individual level.

Will there be more ways to give energy(mana) to a caster?

Protoss casters will have an ability to transfer energy from one caster to another. This ability will allow for a lot of micromanagement opportunities to maximize the amount of energy to a single caster, for the maximum number of special abilities casted.

On what kind of energy are based Protoss shields? If they are based on PSI energy, how can be possible for a Terran EMP attack to drain their energy?

Protoss energy sources are highly esoteric because their starting point was the Protoss' use of their own psionic powers to protect themselves; to charge their tools and weapons; and to make, manipulate, or meld matter. Over time technological advances have enabled the Protoss to mimic these psionic processes to the extent that the Protoss can now construct inorganic devices to tap into the same universal processes to power shields, drives, weapons, and robots. Thus, for example, the energy field projected by a pylon that powers Protoss structures cannot truly be called psionic in nature, just as the shields protecting a zealot are not purely technological constructs. Rather, the two processes are so closely interlinked that they are almost the same. As a result, Protoss power sources and particularly their shields are vulnerable to disruption by technological means such as EMP weapons. Similarly such power sources can be restored or recharged from artificially stored energy.

Are you planning to make another statue, for example, statue of Kerrigan?

We are planning to fully explore the high end collectibles realm with plenty of StarCraft II merchandise, and yes, there are projects already in the works.^[44]

Batch 25

Hope everyone had a wonderful new year and if you haven't seen it already, check out the first episode of our BlizzCast show, interviewing Sam Didier, our StarCraft II Art Director!

BlizzCast Episode #1: http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=sc2-general&t=248338&p=1&#post248338

Chat with Devs: This week I got a chance to talk to Sam Didier, our StarCraft II Art Director, about some of the feedback weve gotten from our most recent monthly discussion. Over the next few weeks we will be trying out a few things on the upcoming screenshots, including a reduced saturation which will increase the realism of the units and environment. This is just a test, so we will see how it goes afterwards, but we look forward to getting everyones feedback.

Gameplay Blog: With the new year, I thought everyone might enjoy a small new section to the Q&As that will happen periodically, featuring some hands-on feedback of the current builds of StarCraft II at the office. This past week Ive been able to play a few 1 versus 1 skirmish games with our new balance designer, David Kim. Even at this early stage, StarCraft II is shaping up to be an incredibly diverse game in terms of strategy. In addition to many of the original StarCraft strategies (which Ive been tending to stick with), there are several new strategies based on both the newly introduced units, as well as hybrid combinations of legacy and new units. One of the most interesting strategies in our current build is the Nomad rush. Nomads are both effective at supporting an ongoing battle with Auto Turrets (which have building armor) and defending against a raid with rapid deployment, but are surprisingly very effective at raiding as well. Im not talking about minor harassment, kill a probe or two, type of thing. Get four of these Nomads into a mineral line and you can deploy 8 Auto Turrets in no time, wreaking havoc to even a moderately defended position. Each Auto Turret is like having an instant Marine, with rapid fire, and building armor. Could this replace Siege Tank drops? Probably not, but these Auto Turrets dont cost minerals or supply.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

--- StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 25 ---

1. Does the Nomad have all the abilities an SCV has? (Of course it has its own abilities, but it would be interesting to know if you can at least temporarily replace lost SCVs with Nomads in a game.)(broodwar.de)

No, Nomads will not have the abilities of a SCV. The buildings a Nomad will be able to build, will be unique to the Nomad unit. And you cant gather resources with a Nomad.

2. How will damage against Protoss Shields be calculated with the new damage bonus system?(Starcraft-Source.com)

Protoss shields will take up the characteristics of their normal armor type. For example, if a Protoss Zealot with light armor gets shot by a Terran Ghost with plus light armor damage, the Zealots shields will also take that light armor bonus damage. On the same note, if a Protoss Colossus were to be hit by a Protoss Stalker with bonus damage towards armored unit, the shields would also take that additional damage.

3. Artwork and rumors about SCII have shown Terran cities like Augustgrad. Will Starcraft 2 contain building doodads as seen in the original artwork (ie. skysc#@!&rs, homes, etc)? (starcraft.org)

Yes, many of the original iconic doodads will be recreated for StarCraft II.

4.Can the shadow ops contain "one nuke and one drop pod" or "any 2 of nukes and drop pods"? (thewarcenter.net)

Currently, the Shadow Ops can contain both a nuke and a drop pod at the same time, but will not be able to contain two of one type within a single Shadow Ops building. Drop pods can be loaded with 12 infantry units of the players choosing. On certain maps, a fast expanding SCV drop pod strategy may prove highly effective.

5. Will the native resolution of Starcraft 2 be widescreen or 4:3? (gamereplays.org)

The plan is to have both of those resolutions supported, along with everything between 5:4 and 16:9. Larger screens will have slightly more viewable range than a smaller screen, but from our tests, the differences will be very minor.

---End of Transmission---^[45]

Batch 24

Here we are with our latest batch, answering a little something different for each fan site. Furthermore, one of the most talked about subjects in the community is about the Thor and what will happen to this robust unit. Luckily we've tracked down Dustin for his latest thoughts about this unique Terran unit.

Chat with Devs: The Thor has been the unit that just hasnt quite fit in, in terms of role, but it might have found its own little place it can call home. After the Devs tried out several things with the Thor, including making it a super unit, they have now decided to have it replace the Cobra, as the heavy and air unit counter. Additionally, they may be adding a new mechanic, in which the Thor will need to be killed twice, once to make it immobilized, due to its large size, and then the second time to kill it for good. When immobilized, the Thor will still be able to fire at ground and air units. Additionally, while the Thor is immobilized, a SCV can repair it back to full health, having it regain mobility.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

1. Will there be a way for fan sites to parse replays uploaded to their website so they can pull information such as race, player names, map, etc.? (www.vilegaming.com)

Exact details have not been finalized, but we do plan to create a much more robust way of being able to search and share replays in game.

2. The Soul Hunter was considered a good counter unit against the Zerg; why did you remove the Soul Hunter from StarCraft II?

There were a couple of reasons, but one of the more important ones is that it was difficult to make it easily readable in big battles when the Soul Hunter had upgraded. Another reason is that this unit was way too targeted against the Zerg, since they have so many low hit point units, as opposed to other factions.

3. Has the Merc Haven been removed since the Reaper is built from the Barracks? If so, whats replacing it (if anything)? (www.Starcraft-Source.com)

The Merc Haven has been brought back in for the current build. It currently needs a Factory as a prerequisite, and is a prerequisite building to build Reapers from the Barracks.

4. Will "Unlockable Content" be included with the game, such as Art Packs, Secret Maps and Missions, Extra Units, and Special Sounds and Movies? (www.starcraftzone.com)

We are exploring the possibility of having various types of art unlockables, which may include some in-game decals.

5. Is it possible to build Phase Cannons, turn them into energy and then move them across the map to your opponents base or an expansion, redeploying them using a Phase Prism? (www.starcraft2.com.au)

Yes, this tactic will be possible.

6. How does a Zerg Overlord fly? (www.gamereplays.org)

To fly, the Zerg Overlord uses gas sacs (filled with helium) combined with a weak telekinetic psi-ability for lift and motive power.^[46]

Batch 23

It has been an exciting week of business related headlines about the new company 'Activision Blizzard.' Many have asked me about how this would affect products like StarCraft II, and the answer is that it won't. We still have our extremely talented development team on this task, working exactly like they have been over the past years. Furthermore, StarCraft II will still be branded as Blizzard Entertainment, meaning you will not see Activision Blizzard logos on the product or introduction. StarCraft II is still set to rock the PC gaming stage!

If you have more questions about the proposed merger, please visit our FAQ at: http://blizzard.com/press/activision-faq.shtml

Chat with Devs: After my chat with Dustin this past week, he wanted me to remind everyone that there are still several new units being created and tested for all three factions. What you have seen of the Protoss and Terran factions are in no way finished and more new units will be introduced, as well as the likeliness of current units being replaced.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 23---

(chat with devs) Reminder that fans havent seen everything and there are still several new units in development for all three factions.

1. Will the Campaign have as many videos as the original Starcraft? (www.starcraft2.hu)

There will be several more in-game cutscenes, which are at a much higher quality than the original StarCraft pre-rendered movies. And while StarCraft II s single player will likely feature a few less pre-rendered movies, they will be much longer and more epic than anything seen in the original StarCraft.

2. Is the ghost unit going to be able to use the EMP Shockwave and -within short time interval- the Nuclear Strike as well? (starcraft2.4players.de)

Currently, there is no restriction to when you can follow up a special ability with another, as long as there are available energy points.

3. Will the Ghost's EMP affect building shields and energy? (www.TheWarCenter.net)

Yes, the Ghosts EMP ability currently affects both building and unit shields, as well as casters energy. It is important to note that there is a possibility the Ghost may lose its EMP ability due to balance.

4. Will there be some sort of wall structure in StarCraft, for any of the races? (www.vilegaming.com)

Aside from building current structures close to each other to form walls, such as a line of Terran Supply Depots, no, there will not be walls that can be built. On the other hand, there will be some new wall structures in the single player mode and these doodads can also be accessed in the map editor.

5. Will the game feature a mechanic similar to Warcraft 3 where if a selection of units contains more than one unit type then the whole selection will move at the speed of the slowest unit to maintain cohesion? (www.sclegacy.com)

No, units in the same selection will not move at the same speeds. The slower units will need to be micromanaged by the players to keep up with the larger group.

Cut units will very likely be in the editor and possibly the single player campaign.^[47]

Batch 22

Batch 22: Map Maker Series

We have our second part of our Map Maker Series, in which I have dug up some answers to one of our most popular Map Maker questions regarding Warcraft III's Defense of the Ancient Mod. Furthermore, our 'Superfly Father of ScumEdit Programmer by Day Ninja by Night,' Brett Wood and Lead Designer Dustin Browder has answered a few of our community map maker questions.

Chat with Devs: One of the most popular questions we get when it comes to creating UMS (User Map Settings) games or mods is: Will there be a DotA for StarCraft II? For those who are not familiar, DotA (Defense of the Ancients), is a popular UMS game created for Warcraft III. StarCraft compared to Warcraft III, does not focus on heroes as much, and heroes or units do not have the same experience gaining mechanic as Warcraft III, making it difficult to imagine how a game like DotA could be reproduced for StarCraft. Nonetheless, after chatting it up with our devs, we found out the ability to allow heroes and units to gain experience is built into the Map Editor, though it will not likely be in single player or standard multiplayer. In addition, those units can also be toggled to have the ability to carry an inventory, which is also a characteristic needed in UMS maps such as DotA. With those two additions, we can rest assured that our clever community modders can handle the rest in creating some awesome custom games.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 22: Map Maker Series---

1) Will you finally be able to mix and match terrain types instead of being stuck on jungle, twilight, etc?

[Dustin Browder] Yes terrain texture is mixable now. Also tilesets are also mixable. [Brett Wood] Essentially, you can define your own tileset in the editor, something that wasnt really supported even in Warcraft III.

2) Will the new StarCraft II Map Editor support text coloring, unit coloring, player "12" (i.e. neutral player) units?

[Dustin Browder] Yes, all of these features will be supported.

3) Will maps be larger than 256x256?

[Brett Wood] The maximum map size will still be 256x256, and we have no plans to increase that.

4) Will the new map editor support locking maps? People hate losing credit for a map.

[Dustin Browder] Yes, we are planning to support this feature. We hope that this feature will give the modding community more incentive to create their own original maps.

5) Will the new map editor support "square" terrain building as well?

[Dustin Browder] Yes. In the editor, users can adjust the footprint of buildings to whatever shape and size they like.

Also to those in the US, have a happy Thanksgiving!^[48]

Batch 21

This latest Q&A Batch features questions from our fans in South Korea. We've made sure to include an additional question to cover any questions that may be repetitive from previous Q&As.

Chat with Devs: Since the Terran Ghost has an upgradable EMP ability, the Terran Nomad's has been given the ability to create stationary defenses in addition to its Defense Matrix ability. One of the new stationary defenses is the Auto-Turret, which can attack ground units, and this unit be seen on this screenshot: http://www.gamemeca.com/news/img_data/200711/STAR-1.jpg

We are hoping the Nomad's new abilities will innovate its role, in addition to being a detector.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 21---

1. Do you have any plan to put the auto-casting ability into StarCraft II units, just like in Warcraft III?

At the moment, Medics are the only units that we have deemed fit to have an auto-cast ability. StarCraft II, compared to Warcraft III, has fewer abilities but are much more potent when executed properly, thus making them manual cast will give players a huge opportunity to demonstrate much skill in the game.

2. Would you make it possible for players on observing mode to check various information including a mini map, upgrading status, and resource status on a personal window? If not, would you consider developing this function?

These are all great ideas and we will work to get these in for observing mode. We will be working hard to have the observing mode innovative and comprehensive, building upon all the features that were in our previous RTS titles, as well as other titles in the market.

3. Will the story of StarCraft II be continued right from where the original StarCraft story ended? Or, will it begin at the moment after some amount of time passed since the last time of the original StarCraft?

The StarCraft II storyline will continue 4 years after the events of Brood War.

4. It is not possible to watch how a mouse was moved in a saved replay game. Could you make this possible to see the movement of mouse?

We would also like the mouse to be viewable in saved replays, however, it may be more likely that we'll have the options to show both the view of the players playing as well as selection icons of the units being currently selected in the replay.

5. When grouping units to a control group, how many units could be added to one group?

Currently, players are able to select more than 150 units in a single control group. The final actual number will be determined by hardware performance tests on the game, but should still be close to that number.

6. Players often tend to stack up workers and air units looking as one group in original StarCraft. Will this still be possible in StarCraft II?

In StarCraft II, this is harder to do than in the original StarCraft, but still possible. Units tend to group together more and more with each manual attack order. As long as you keep giving that manual attack order upon a target certain attacking units of the same type will group closer together. When the unit attacked upon is destroyed or the units become idle, they will naturally spread out again.

---End of Transmission---^[49]

Batch 20

Wow, we're already at our 20th Batch of Community Q&As! I've got to say, the questions from the community are becoming better and better as we move along. Nonetheless, I want to remind everyone to ask your StarCraft II questions on this thread: http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=sc2-general&t=9620&p=1&#post9620

The Devs and I are all reading and we love answering community questions. Every week there are always exciting new changes we want to share with everyone. Granted, many of the changes may not stay in the game very long, but the process of game development is a constant cycle of brainstorm, revision, and much testing, to ultimately make all the gaming components flow together for one awesome overall experience.

Chat with Devs: Terran Ghosts are currently being tested as an effective Tier 1.5 unit, capable of sniping down high profile enemy targets, have an increased attack damage towards light armored units, as well as an upgradable EMP against Protoss and energy using threats. If that isnt enough, these highly advanced Terran soldiers at higher techs can also be equipped with a personal cloak ability, and launch drop pod reinforcements, as well as call down a massive nuclear strike. The StarCraft II Ghost will surely be bringing a whole new meaning to "You call down the thunder and I'll reap the whirlwind." Of course, I should mention, all of this is subject to change.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 20---

1. Will it be possible to give more fluid and realistic movements to small aircraft with proper banking and turning rather than just abrupt sprite-style direction changes?

We are currently in the process of implementing banking animations for flying units, but playability always comes first. If the animations affect playability negatively, it could get cut.

2. With the Reavers no longer in the game, will the Protoss have any units capable of performing brutal worker raids? (Starcraftlive.net)

The Colossus is an excellent choice for worker raids, since it is able to attack from higher elevations, and can be transported by the Phase Prism. In addition, we are exploring some ideas for the Twilight Archon that would allow him to make devastating attacks on enemy workers.

3. Will there be a escort ship for Battlecrusier because Protoss have like many kinds of capital ships?

With the Predator unit cut, the Viking is now the primary Terran air to air fighter. In addition, the Viking no longer requires an upgrade to transform between a ground and air unit and is also built directly from the Starport rather than the Factory.

4. Will there be units who can trample opponents (such as an Ultralisk)? (gamereplays.org)

Currently, there are no units that trample, but have discussed this idea as a possibility. Nonetheless, we also hit the dilemma of having a trample unit that is able to destroy enemy unit assets far beyond its own cost of the trample unit, with relatively little micro.

5. Will siege tanks be able to shoot at targets in the fog of war picked up by sensor towers, but not yet confirmed by visual sighting?

No. Siege Tanks will only be able to hit targets within visual range. In addition, Siege Tanks firing from the fog of war, such as on an unseen cliff, will not reveal its location from the fog of war to its enemy, thus will not be able to be return fired upon.

---End of Transmission---

Saw on a fansite and thought it was kind of cool to note that we've passed our 100 questions answered mark for the Q&A batches! w00t! to everyone a part of this process.^[50]

Batch 19

I hope everyone enjoyed our last batch of Q&As about Map Making, which is just the beginning of a series. This batch, we have a new set of exciting community questions about StarCraft II as well as reasonings to why Devs make the decisions they do. In addition, we also have a mini chat with devs about all the new changes that they are continuing to experiment with.

I also want to wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

Chat with Devs: Since the Terran Cobra took over the Protoss Stasis Orbs slowing attack, the Protoss Orb got a few new abilities including the Force Field ability. This will be very interesting for early team games, as you can use a force field on a choke point to keep an opponent's teammate from arriving to help their allies. The Devs are testing out various abilities on different units as you can see, and even the Templar has received its classic Hallucination ability back.

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A - Batch 19---

1. Will the Protoss be getting any mechanism for healing their units or repairing their buildings?

There are no plans to give the Protoss any healing abilities, especially since their shield regeneration rate when out of combat, is more than twice the rate of the original StarCraft.

2. With the new physics engine, can explosions affect surroundings? (like hurt or push units, destroy doodads, etc ) (sc2blog.com)

Explosions will not be able to push units, but they can destroy doodads. In fact, destroying certain doodads will be vital on certain maps, to get access to expansions or other strategic locations. Furthermore, explosions will not be able to push units because it would affect gameplay and balance negatively, in having units be knocked off cliffs, be stuck in unplanned locations, or ultimately have units disoriented where the player cannot control them.

3. How long does a unit typically take to make from concept to playable unit?

With a finished concept piece, it could take from a few days to a few months, to create it for the game. Much of this time depends on the priority of the unit amongst other development goals, as well as the iterations necessary to perfect the unit. The Zerg Baneling is an example of a unit that took only a few days to complete after the concept, whereas the Protoss Stalker has gone through several iterations, and has taken 4-5 months.

4. Are the units on the official site finalized, or is everything still up for grabs at this point? (gamereplays.org)

We are still heavily in the development phase of StarCraft II, thus none of the units on the website are 100% final. We are also still testing out several new units, abilities, and mechanics, to create the most fluid StarCraft II experience.

5. What do the Protoss eat? (where do they get energy and mass?) (starcraftcz.com)

Protoss gain nutrition from sunlight, or at a pinch, moonlight (which is just reflected sunlight anyway) by absorbing through their skins. They can go for extended periods without absorbing sunlight. What little moisture they need is also absorbed through their skin.^[51]

Batch 18

Batch 18: Map Maker Series

Hope everyone had a great weekend! For this batch, I'm pleased to announce the introduction of the Map Maker Series of Q&As, which will be mixed in periodically with our traditional batches of Q&As, to give map makers the 'heads up' on our powerful Map Editor for StarCraft II. I know many of you have great plans for mods and maps for StarCraft II, so I can't wait to tell you more about the program you'll be using.

Answering questions, we have Brett Wood, our StarCraft II Senior Software Engineer, but better known as our 'Superfly Father of ScumEdit Programmer by Day Ninja by Night.'

As always, feel free to give the Devs and I a w00t if your enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 18: Map Maker Series---

1) Will doodad placement values increase? (ie, more than 256)

[Brett Wood] We expect the doodad placement value will be on the same order as Warcraft III, which I believe was something like 10,000, so definitely way more than 256.

2) Will the number of available locations/triggers increase? The current limit on locations really cramps some ideas.

[Brett Wood] Any limits on both regions and triggers will be at least in the thousands.

3) Will the new map editor include ALL the triggers in the program unlike Staredit?

[Brett Wood] Yes, even moreso than Warcraft IIIs WorldEdit. Weve been making a point of ensuring that ALL script functionality is also exposed in the Trigger Editor UI.

4) Will max unit limits increase? The current unit limit on maps is quite a crimper, and nobody likes CCMU (cannot create more units).

[Brett Wood] I dont recall the exact unit limit in the original StarCraft, but the StarCraft II limit will likely be a healthy boost over the limit in Warcraft III. The exact value hasnt been nailed down yet and will depend on optimizations near the end of the project (i.e. shortly before release).

5) Will the new map editor include unused units such as the crashed scouts, turrets, eggs, nukes, scarabs, crash command center, etc? Third party programs were needed to use these.

[Brett Wood] All units defined in the data files will be usable in the editor. I believe this was true in Warcraft III as well.

---End of Transmission---^[52]

Batch 17

First off, I want to thank everyone for sending in your feedback from our first ever Monthly Discussion Topic about the Protoss Mothership!

Chat with Devs: After bringing up much community feedback from the last Monthly Discussion, Dustin Browder filled me in on the latest role discussions about the current units in game. This is the thought that has lead to the introduction of the Firebat back into StarCraft II. Furthermore, they have also changed the Terran Cobras abilities to take on what was previous known as the Protoss Stasis Orb (which is now removed from the game). The Terran Cobra now acts as a slowing unit, with an electrical attack. In addition, many of the units already seen in game are having their roles re-evaluated, to again make sure that every unit has a distinct role in StarCraft II.

Will the defensive matrix of the Terran Nomad apply to enemy units within its AoE (Area of Effect)? (www.starcraft2forum.org)
Yes, the Terran Nomads Defense Matrix ability will affect both friendly and enemy units, thus using this ability on a position that the player can hold will be wise.

What helps to delineate the Thor and Battlecruiser as both being high-tier support units? Lots of concern over this duality (www.starcraft.org)?
Currently, the Thor has splash damage, whereas the Battlecruiser has direct damage in its attack. We definitely agree with most of the community that the Thors role overlaps with various other roles on the Terran Faction, thus we may modify that role or possible cut the unit.

Will there be any consideration of having an oceanic battle.net server? (www.starcraft2.com.au)
Unfortunately, this has not been decided yet, as many aspects of Battle.net has still yet to be implemented.

Will the Protoss Colossus be able to walk over Supply Depots like over cliffs? (www.broodwar.de)
This is an issue that is still being discussed quite a bit. We like how when enemy units enter your base, they are forced to deal with the layout of your base, but at the same time we are also dealing with the realism factor, where cliff climbing Colossuses ought to be able to step over Supply Depots. Many issues we face are similar to those debated amongst the community, and for this particular topic we dont yet have a final answer.

An obvious goal (among many) for Starcraft2 is to maintain the profile of being an E-Sport. What facet do you consider more integral to the growth of that ideal: An extremely high skill ceiling that demands years upon years to achieve mastery, or an extraordinarily large base of interested players to provide the attention that such a sport needs in order to succeed and grow? Obviously both are important, but when it comes to design ideals, what has more pull? Accessibility or Longevity? Mora (www.teamliquid.net)

I think for e-sport we need the high skill ceiling. Though really as you say, both are very important. As designers we have spent years focusing on accessibility. Ideas must be accessible to even be put into the game. So we are just not as worried about making the game accessible. That will happen. What we are focused on, what is the more challenging problem is making the game last for years and years and years. So in our development cycle at the moment, longevity definitely has the larger pull. Longevity is the harder problem to solve, so we put way more effort into making the game as challenging as possible to master. Dustin Browder, Lead Designer of StarCraft II

How will unit collision and stacking be handled ? Can flying units pass on top the Colossus or is it blocking ? (www.sc2blog.com)

No, the Colossus will not block a flying unit. In terms of collision and stacking, units first always follow your order, and when it completes your order, they will stop and spread out. The area in which those units spread out will be slightly less than in the original StarCraft.^[53]

Batch 16

For this batch, we continue to make headway into the latest development changes. Over the coming weeks, we can expect to see even more Terran related updates, as the Dev Team are working hard to have them play distinctly as the Terran Faction. In this latest chat with Lead Designer Dustin Browder, he was able to spill some of the beans on the latest Terran changes.

Chat with Devs: Since BlizzCon, the Terran Bunkers have been increased in size (to 3x3) and given added hit points, making it a more viable defensive structure for the Terrans. The Dev Team really wants to further define the uniqueness of how each faction plays, giving Terrans a strong character of defensive type tools. Watching the Firebats flame from these Bunkers sure do bring back memories!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 16---

1. Does the Time Bomb ability of the Mothership stop a Nuclear Missile (just like other missiles) when used on the area where the Nuclear Missile is about to explode? (starcraft2.4players.de)

The Time Bomb ability of the Mothership is designed to stop a Nuclear Missile if used at the right time, making a powerful counter in the hands of a skilled Protoss Player. This ability has still yet to go through the needed balance to make sure this is not over powering, but it is our intention to try and get that ability in the final version as designed.

2. In the UI there are little boxes just to the right of the minimap that have numbers on them. How exactly do these function? Different gameplay screenshots suggest different functionality. (www.starcraft-source.com)

I believe the small boxes you are referring to are the Control Groups used to select multiple units at a time, making it faster to give attack and move orders.

3. Does Drop Pads make new units or use this recruited before? (www.starcraft2.net.pl)

There are plans to have the drop pods be manually loaded with units created by the player, to better allow the player to adapt to their current tactical needs.

4. What was the design team's rationale in adding a second siege style unit (Thor) to the Terran race? (www.starcraft2.com.au)

The Thor's role compared to the Siege Tank, is more of an assault unit rather than a siege unit. The Thor is much more exposed when attacking an enemy location, while the Siege Tank has a much larger range and is able to hit the enemy at a larger distance.

5. How do the Yamato and Plasma Torpedo upgrade work? Do you have to research these things only once or will you have to pay for each battle cruiser? (www.broodwar.de)

Battlecruisers can be upgraded individually with either a Yamato Gun or Plasma Torpedoes, but not both. After the Battlecruiser is upgraded, it can then use that particular special ability as long as it has enough energy to do so.

6. "With MBS (Multiple Building Selection) and automine in the game, what macro-specific features are going to be added to make sure that the player always has as much to do on the macro side as he does micro? Will a player still be able to favor macro or micro according to his own style?" - FrozenArbiter (www.teamliquid.net)

It is our goal to allow players to micro more vs. macro more. This is something that was great about the original StarCraft and it is something we want to maintain while we add new mechanics as well as interface features. We are still evaluating such features as automine as well as MBS. We don't have an answer for this at the moment, but we are working on it.

---End of Transmission---

As clarification- the Bunkers being increased to 3x3 is the visual size of the Bunker, rather than the capacity. The Bunker will still be holding 4 units in it.^[54]

Batch 15

With the return of the Firebat (for testing) and improvements made to both the Ghosts and Medics, there are a lot of exciting changes being tested for the Terran faction! Also for October, keep checking back to find out our new Monthly Discussion Topic.

Chat with the Devs: The Terran Starport will no longer transform into a Starbase. <More info pending, keep checking back on this thread for updates>

Again, give devs and me a w00t! if you are enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 15---

1) Can an upgraded command center be salvaged? Does it lose its mobility when upgraded to a surveillance station?

No, the command center cannot be salvaged, nor can it lift off after it is upgraded to a Surveillance Station (allows the use of the Comsat ability).

2) In Starcraft 1, when you cancel a nuclear launch that is in progress, you lose the warhead. Will Starcraft II make any changes to this setback?

Currently, if you cancel the nuke while it is firing, you will still lose the nuke. This outcome has not yet been finalized and may be changed in the final version.

3) Can a Ghost be equipped with both a Nuke and Drop Pod simultaneously?

Yes, any Ghost can launch either a Nuke or a Drop Pod, making the Ghost highly effective at responding to multiple battle circumstances.

4) Will "caster" units, such as the Protoss High Templar, have a regular attack, like Tassadar had in SC1, or will they only be able to attack through their spells?

Currently, there are no plans to give the High Templar a physical attack, though High Templar Story Characters will have additional abilities beyond that of the standard unit. At the moment, the High Templar is one of best support units in the game, with the ability to cast a devastating Psi Storm or choke off crucial areas of the map with the force field ability. Once youve used up its energy, no worries, convert it into an Archon with another Templar.

5) Can Marines be Stimmed while in a bunker? What about a Ghosts snipe ability?

In the current build, abilities cannot be activated while inside a bunker, but you can activate abilities before entering a bunker. For example, if you activate Stim Pack on a few Marines, then enter a bunker, they will attack at the higher rate of fire from inside the bunker. The Stim Pack effects will still wear off as normal though.

Follow-ups

Two of the reasons we don't currently allow special abilities in bunkers is that it would make the interface quite messy and it would be overpowered for certain abilities.

As far as interface, players would have to be able to access all special abilities from the bunker UI, which could mean the possibility of many, many abilities (for instance if you had a Medic, Marine, Ghost, and Firebat in the bunker).

The Bunker would also be overpowered for units like the Medic (would it be able to heal while in the Bunker? which would be OP) or the Ghost (sniping, launching nukes, and drop pods, from inside the Bunker).

During much testing, the Developers realized that the Starports ability to transform into a Starbase was not very essential in the gameplay of the Terrans and was also leaving several tech lab add ons scattered across the map. At the moment, the Starports ability to transform into a Starbase has been taken out of the game, thus to produce advanced units, the Starport will need the appropriate tech lab add-on, similar to the original StarCraft.

What happens to a unit if a high templar's force field is placed over the unit? Does it push it to a side? does it get trapped inside?

Units will get trapped under the force field, making it a great trapping ability to use against high threat units.^[55]

Batch 14

Hope you enjoy Batch 14 of our StarCraft II Question & Answer sessions. I'm also pleased to announce that we've opened up StarCraft II Forums on the World of Warcraft Forums, to get even more discussion with fellow Blizzard fans!

Feel free to visit them at: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/board.html?forumId=1793233&sid=1

In the upcoming weeks, I'm putting together a special Q&A specifically for our map editors, to help get you guys excited in creating UMS maps for our community!

Chat with Devs: The StarCraft II team is trying out what it would be like to have the Ghost as a Tier 1.5 unit without stealth, keeping the stealth ability as an upgrade at a later Tier.

This will be quite interesting since their snipe ability could provide much support to a group of Marines, picking off key units such as Medics, Templars, etc.

Again, give devs and me a w00t! if you are enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 14---

1) Will there be Vespean Gas deposits that yield better rates, the same as yellow crystals? (starcrafttwo.com)

It is very likely that there will be higher yield Vespean Gas deposits, though we are being very careful in balancing this, since gas collection is based on a more linear rate of collection (3 collectors) versus mineral collection.

2) What happens if you initiate the warp-in of a Protoss Stalker but the pylon providing power is destroyed before warp-in completes?

If you lose the pylon providing power for the unit warping in, you will lose that unit, and the purchasing credits will likely be refunded.

3) Could the Colossus be transported by the Phase Prism, since the Prism's crystal can turn any matter into energy? (mymym.com)

Yes, the new Phase Prism now transports by changing the unit they wish to transport into energy, which is stored in the Phase Prism for transport. This allows the Phase Prism to be able to transport even gigantic units such as the Colossus.

4) What happens if a Terran Battlecruiser targets a Protoss Stalker with the Yamato Cannon but the Stalker blinks away before the shot is completed?

Currently, the shot from the Yamato Cannon will still track and hit the Protoss Stalker.

5) Will Dark Templars be invisible when warping in, or susceptible to attack for a few seconds before it fades out?

No, currently the Dark Templar will be invisible the instant it begins to warp-in, though of course we are still testing this for balance as it makes the Dark Templar quite strong in back door drops.

6) Do the bunkers have any visual indication as to whether or not they're occupied?

Currently the bunkers do not have any visual indications to whether it is occupied or not, but this is something we would like to change.

---End of Transmission---^[56]

Batch 13

This batch we'll answering some more of the fan site questions that have been submitted to us. In addition, I was able to grab some time from Kaéo Milker (Producer) and Tony Hsu (Associate Producer) to hear about what the team has in mind for blocking choke points in the game.

Chat with Devs: In the BlizzCon build of StarCraft II, small units were able to pass through certain player created barriers, such as a wall of supply depots at a choke point. After experimenting a bit, the Devs are now testing gameplay with true barriers, which prevent all units from passing through, but will require a line of supply depots side by side rather than supply depots blocking a choke point diagonally. This new design will prevent smaller units such as Zealots and Marines from passing through player created barriers, but will be more costly for the player to build these barriers.

Again, give devs and me a w00t! if you are enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 13---

1. Are the Ultralisk making a return in SC2? (starcraft2forum.org)

The Ultralisk figures heavily in our current plans, but as with everything else relating to units and balance, this is subject to change.

2. Will there be in game voice chat supported in SC2? (teamliquid.net)

Yes, there are plans to implement voice chat into Battle.net, but details beyond that are yet to be announced.

3. What are the system requirements ? (Starcraft-Source.com)

We are still optimizing the game and do not have minimum system requirements yet. Nonetheless, StarCraft II will require pixel shader 2.0 and at least 128mb of dedicated video RAM.

4. Will we be seeing any hybrid units in StarCraft II? (starcraft.org)

We are planning to explore the mysteries surrounding the Xel'naga for the single player campaign. In the campaign you will encounter several unique units that would not otherwise be seen in multiplayer. At this time, you'll just have to wait and see.

5. Does the Thor burn out like Terran buildings if it is damaged? (starcraft2.4players.de)

No, the Thor does not burn down like the Terran buildings. It will be like the other Terran vehicles, which are able to be repaired by the scv.^[57]

Batch 12

Our next two batches will be answering questions submitted by the StarCraft II Community. Be sure to also check out sites involved, to participate in our Monthly Discussion Topics, starting with the Protoss Mothership for September.

Every so often, I hope to also update you guys on chats I've had with the Devs, to let you know what they're currently working on in StarCraft II.

Chat with the Devs: The StarCraft II Team is working hard on making Terran Medics 'smarter' so they do not run up to the enemy when you give a move order to a group of Marines and Medics. Medics, if given an attack move order, will scan the area on its path for injured infantry, then break off its limited path to heal those soldiers.

Again, give devs and me a w00t! if you are enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 12---

1. How useful will tier 1 units be in the late game? (broodwar.de)

As a staple of the original StarCraft, which we intend to carry over to StarCraft II, is that every unit has a specific role in that factions army. Every unit will fulfill a unique role, which complements the other units, some better than others of course. In subscribing to that idea, tier 1 units will be quite useful in late game as well as early. Many of the tier 1 units will be able to be upgraded to keep up with the later game units as well.

For example, the Terran Marine currently has 3 upgrades available to it, as well as its standard attack and armor upgrades. New upgrades such as the combat shields, increasing the Marines health will be important in having the Marine deal with later game units.

2. Can we expect units to replace the Reaver and the Soul Hunter? (starcraftzone.com)

Yes, we are always testing the addition of new units as well as the removal of older units. For instance, in our current build, the Terran Firebat is back in the game, as we test how he interacts with the new additions into StarCraft II. Of course, nothing is final though.

3. What was the reasoning behind axing spell X (lockdown, mind control etc)? (sclegacy.com)

As mentioned above in question 2, much like with units, we are also testing several new abilities for StarCraft II. If these abilities do not work as we would intend, it is always possible for a reintroduction of original abilities from the original StarCraft. We are constantly striving to improve and complement what has already been very successful with StarCraft for StarCraft II.

4. Will there be a black player color? (starcraft-source.com)

We have tried using black, but it was too difficult to differentiate units on the mini-map from the fog of war.

5. Will you be able to use custom army colors in the game? (teamliquid.net)

In custom maps created through the Map Editor, players will be able to select any color for their factions. In multiplayer games, players will be able to choose between approximately 12-18 colors.^[58]

Batch 11

I know many of you are wondering what Blizzard is up to now with StarCraft II... such as what is happening with the Mothership? Is it going to be unique or not? Are the Reavers going to be back or are they permanently removed?

Right now the devs are working hard in testing what is right for StarCraft II, and what can be improved with other functions or new units. Once we are more sure on those answers, be sure we will let you know.

Either way, be sure StarCraft II will be finished at Blizzard's highest standard, and we hope to surpass your expectations.

Again, give devs and me a w00t! if you are enjoying these Q&As!

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 11---

1) Will map sizes in StarCraft II be similar or larger than the maps in the original StarCraft?

Map sizes can fluctuate on a per-map basis, but generally the playable area on maps are about the same. The terrain cells were converted over into the new editor to proportionally match the original StarCraft (i.e. 128x128 SC1 is about the same as 128x128 in SC2 ).

2) Will StarCraft II Heroes have unique abilities?

Heroes will have unique abilities different from regular unit abilities. Heroes will be playable only for single player and will not be a part of the multiplayer skirmish experience.

3) Will the Terrans be weak to melee without the Firebat?

Dont worry, the Terrans will have plenty of other counters to melee units. Nonetheless, because we know there are so many people who do love the Firebat unit, it will be in the map editor.

4) Will Mutalisks attack still hit multiple targets?

Yes, the Zerg Mutalisk unit is currently designed to hit multiple units with a single attack.

5) Will a submerged supply depot still be able to be attacked? Will it have more hit points while submerged?

Yes, the submerged supply depot will still be able to be attacked, and no it will not have more hit points. The ability to submerge a supply depot is designed to allow units to move over them strategically. Players will not only be able to keep enemies out, allow friendly units to pass through, but they are also powerful roadblocks in separating incoming armies in 2.

Karune, you said that Supply Depos can cut attacking forces in two. That mean Depos can lift while units are on top of them? What happens to those units?

Units on top of the supply depot get pushed to the side they are closest to.

Also it is important to note that not all information told in interviews or answered on site is not known to everyone, so for some of the more active members, questions may have seem repetitive.

Q&As were never meant to be weekly, but they have been so far, and we try out best to continue it. This is the same with having 5 questions per batch.

Keep the questions coming and we'll do our best to get them answered.^[59]

Batch 10

What does the "Intercept Missiles" function of the Predator do exactly?

The Predator is equipped with a point defense laser system which destroys incoming enemy projectiles. This ability makes the Predator an excellent support fighter to help defend slower capital ships, such as the Battlecruiser.

Can the Radar Tower also detect invisible units even in Fog of War?

No. On the other hand, Sensor Arrays and Radar Towers do allow all Missile Turrets in its range to also detect invisible units within those Missile Turrets range.

Can the Thor defend itself against air units well?

The Thor unit can attack air units, although it has a relatively slow rate of fire. It is always still better to escort your Thor units with additional support units.

Can the Thor be attacked by the Missile Turret like the Colossus?

No.

Will phase cannons dissipate if they travel outside influence of pylon matrix?

No, phase cannons will not be destroyed if they travel outside of pylon power. However, phase cannons caught outside of pylon power will still be able to move but will also be stuck in energy form. They cannot redeploy until they are back in range of pylon power. Also, while in energy form, phase cannons have no shields and are extremely vulnerable to enemy fire.

When a player in a team game leaves will the computer AI take over? Or, will the remaining players be given control of that person's team?

Computer AI will not take over if your ally leaves in a team multiplayer game. Although, if you have allied control set, the player will be able to control their allys units after they leave.^[60]

Batch 9

In the gameplay video the UI is toggled on/off several times. Will that be an option in-game?

Currently, the UI will only toggle off during game cinematics. There are currently no plans to implement this for single-player or multiplayer as it would give some players an advantage over others.

Will the Twilight Archon have abilities?

Yes. In the BlizzCon build, the Twilight Archon had the feedback ability. We are still doing much work on this unit, so none of this is final.

Can Protoss Units be attacked during the Warp-In process?

Yes. When units are warping in, the unit will increase in hit points until they are at max hit points and at that point youll be able to control the unit.

Will there be some old units from StarCraft be included in the Map Editor for StarCraft II?

There will be units included in the Map Editor which will not be in the standard multiplayer skirmish mode. These will include various units from the original StarCraft, such as the Protoss Dragoon.

Will different races have different max-squad caps?

Currently all 3 races will have the same maximum population cap at 200.

Can the Planetary Fortress lift off?

Once the Command Center has been upgraded to be a Planetary Fortress, it can no longer lift off. Furthermore, the Planetary Fortress cannot be changed back into a normal Command Center with lift off capabilities.^[60]

Batch 8

Will there be upkeep in StarCraft II?

No, there will not be.

What will be the highest number of upgrades for the shields, armor or weapons?

Currently, the highest number of upgrades per weapon/armor/shield type will be 3, which is the same as the original StarCraft. The values of each upgrade will be determined through much balance testing.

Will the StarCraft II Editor be easy or hard to use?

Blizzard game editors have always been aimed at empowering the community to create a huge variety of fun game modes and maps. This editor will be no different.

The editor for StarCraft II will be very easy to use for new players to create their own custom maps and games. Furthermore, this editor will have many more scripting options available to players, to allow for even more player creativity in their maps beyond that seen in prior RTS titles such as Warcraft III.

Will the Zealot charge ability cause more damage on the initial attack than on all other attacks?

No, the Zealot charge will close the distance between the Zealot and its target, which will be a significant advantage in many situations, compared to a Zealot without the upgrade, but will not actually give it more attack power or an initial stronger attack.

When selecting the Phase Prisms I noticed they have a 3rd, yellow meter below their shields and health. Is this meant to represent mana or storage capacity (warp-in capacity)?

This bar represents the Phase Prisms storage capacity, as it also serves as an aerial transport unit.^[60]

Batch 7

Will the look of the siege tank be changed for the final version?

In response to much fan feedback, the siege tank has indeed been redesigned, with a much more powerful look to it. This visually redesigned siege tank will be shown at BlizzCon 2007.

Will there be a ctrl-a key stroke to select all your units on screen?

Not at this moment, but the hot keys have not been finalized yet for StarCraft II.

Will we get to hear the return of some of the original melodic themes from SC1 (like the Terran themes), or will the music for StarCraft II be completely new?

There will mostly be new epic theme songs with similarities to the original faction music. Music is still definitely in the works, thus we will not rule out a reprise of one of the original songs.

Will the High Templar still be able to create hallucinations?

In the current version of StarCraft II, the Hallucination ability will be back, but not as a High Templar ability, but rather a Star Relic ability.

When will you release a StarCraft II Fan Site kit?

The Fan Site Kit will be released around BlizzCon.^[60]

Batch 6

Are Photon and Phase Cannons 2 different buildings?

The Phase Cannon is the new version of the StarCraft Photon Cannon. There will not be a Photon Cannon in StarCraft II.

Will carriers (Tempest) produce more than one drone type?

Not at this time.

Fans noticed in your art video that thye Colossus ground unit was under fire from missile turrets. Is this due to the Colossus's exceptionally high attack profile (tall stature) or a ground-to-ground attack feature/option for the turrets?

Because of the Colossus's height, it will be susceptible to Anti Air defenses like the Terran Missile Turrets, as well as both ground and air attacks. It is possible for the Colossus to be hit by ground and air attacks at the same time.

Will there be critters units and can they attack?

There will be critters, but they wont attack. If they did they would be creeps.

Will holding the Alt button show unit/building hit points overhead as they did in Warcraft 3?

Yes, when holding the Alt button, all health bars of buildings and units on the screen will be displayed. This is an excellent way to quickly assess which units are healthy and which units are damaged.^[60]

A Very Late Update

The question was:

Will holding the Alt button show unit/building hit points overhead as they did in Warcraft 3?

There was no answer...

Is this answer a "Yes"?

Yes. And you can change the option on the menu for this.
Normal: Only show when holding Alt
Selected: Selected units only
Always: Show all unit status bars ^[61]

Batch 5

Will you be increasing the max players beyond 8?

We are exploring this possibility, though currently it is defaulted to 8 max players.

If you have multiple casters selected when you cast a spell, will they all cast it or only one? (ex. will 8 ghosts all use lockdown on a unit or only one?)

Currently, unit abilities are set as smart casting, meaning when you have a group of casters selected, each time you wish to cast a spell, you will either have to click the icon or press the hot key and follow it with a click on the designated place on the map for it to cast. This will obviously prevent locking down a single unit with more than one ghost, though we are also still exploring possibilities to have different methods of casting for casters in which players would want to have multiple casts executed in a single command.

Will building placement still be grid based?

Building placement will be grid based.

What races will be playable at BlizzCon?

This will be revealed at BlizzCon! See ya there!

Why do marines have shields now?

The shields seen on marines in screenshots and videos are an upgrade that can be purchased through research, increasing the marines' overall hit points.^[60]

Batch 4

Are the yellow minerals shown in the trailers harvestable?

Yes, they will be a harvestable high yield resource, meaning each harvest rotation will result in greater mineral quantities than the standard blue minerals. This gives players more strategic choices when trying to evaluate where they wish to expand. Expand to the high yield but risk easier discovery? Or expand to a safer area but earn fewer resources?

Will resource sharing be allowed between allies?

Yes, it is our plan to have this in the game, though there is still much testing and balancing revolving around this ability.

Will allied chat be enabled by default for pre-set teams?

Yes.

Is the Zealot charge ability an upgrade as well?

Yes, this ability is upgraded through the Protoss War Shrine.

What types of future community updates will there be?

Starcraft2.com will be updated with regular unit and building profiles. Furthermore, there are several projects in the works planned for the Blizzards RTS Community as a whole, which we will share at a later time.^[60]

Batch 3

What is the role of heroes in StarCraft II? Will they be the same as in StarCraft?

StarCraft II campaign heroes will fulfill roles similar to what appeared in the original StarCraft single player experience, but they will have even more unique abilities from standard units, and will be more innovatively integrated into the story campaign. Heroes will not be buildable in multiplayer.

What is the max unit count population for each faction?

Unit population count for each faction will be very similar to the original StarCraft.

Will there be an in-game option to change hotkeys around?

Currently it is planned to have this feature, though much testing has yet to be done on it. We are looking into several innovative ways to make the UI customizable to players, to allow flexibility in their style of game play.

Is Karunes Battle.net Forum Avatar a Protoss High Templar?

Yes it is.

Will the Robotics Facility have a similar upgrade to the Warp Gate allowing it to warp units in?

There are no plans for this at the moment. Currently Warping technology is limited to the Warp Gate. Of course, we are still testing and balancing this, and nothing is set in stone.^[60]

Batch 2

Will players be able to select multiple buildings simultaneously?

We are directing much attention to polishing and improving the user interface. On that note, players will definitely be able to select and build from multiple buildings at the same time. You cannot drag-select buildings, but you can shift-click on them and add them to a control-group for ease of unit production.

Will workers auto-gather resources if the rally point is set to a mineral node or a geyser?

Of course.

Will we be able to select more than 12 units at the same time?

Currently, unit selection is unlimited, but this may change with further development and testing.

On a given map, will there be one Mothership per map or one Mothership unit per Protoss player allowed?

We are still testing out many possible circumstances in order to make skirmishes more fun and challenging. At this time, each Protoss player will be able to have only one Mothership at a given time, but as mentioned, everything is still subject to change.^[60]

Batch 1

What is this: http://temporal.pr0.pl/varia/SC2/ss1-hires.jpg - http://temporal.pr0.pl/varia/SC2/addon2.png ? It appears to be a drop ship of some type maybe, can we comment on this unit?

The unit seen is a building add-on, and well be revealing more on the Terran building upgrades in the future.

What type of scripting language is being used? Aspiring map/mod makers would like to know.

StarCraft IIs editor features a proprietary scripting language that is based largely on C with some special parameters specific to the game. Of course, for most users, they will have access to the more user friendly Trigger Editor which will allow beginner and intermediate map designers to make advanced maps without having to learn the particular details of the scripting language. Well release further information about the world editor as we move forward.

Players have pointed out that the nuke laser dot graphic showing their destination is quite a bit larger and more noticeable than the original games. Is this a finished graphic and are we intending to make incoming nukes easier to spot now?

In the announcement gameplay video the incoming nuke marker was shown as if launched by the player. To other players it will still be shown as a smaller dot very similar to the classic StarCraft nuke.

The mothership time distortion doesn't seem to stop all incoming projectiles or fire, what exactly does it protect against?

The Mothership time-slowing ability is intended to deal with all types of incoming attacks, although only incoming missiles were shown prominently in the announcement gameplay video.

Game Balance

The announcement gameplay video used more than a few tricks to show off each unit. The Mothership for instance was set to be indestructible for a good portion of the time it was on screen, as well as having additional energy so that we could display all of its special abilities in a shorter amount of time than would normally be possible. In addition to the multiple changes made just for the video, the gameplay in the video is not indicative at this time of what the final balance will be. The announcement gameplay video was showing off the game and units in the coolest way possible, and not necessarily in a way that would resemble an actual match.

Game Speed

As some of you may have seen in the developer panel held at the Worldwide Invitational after the announcement of StarCraft II, it was revealed that the gameplay in the announcement video was shown at Normal speed so that we could really showcase it and let everyone see the detail and work put into the game. There will still be the faster game speed settings many players are used to from the original game.^[60]</div>