Map: Blistering SandsCommentators: Dustin Browder, Robert SimpsonWelcome to Blizzard Entertainment's first official shoutcast for StarCraft II, which is currently in the alpha phase of development. This match features two of the StarCraft II team's associate game balance designers, Matt Cooper and David Kim.This transcript will automatically update to reflect the on-screen action. If you prefer, you can view the full transcript by clicking the button labeled "Expand Full Transcript" above.[ 00:25 ]Matt Cooper and David Kim from the StarCraft II development team will be playing this match, with Cooper playing as Zerg, and Kim as Terran on a new 1v1 map called Blistering Sands.[ 01:00 ]There's a single ramp entry to each base, along with one natural expansion point. There's also a narrow choke point into each base.[ 01:20 ]Near the natural expansion is another expansion point with yellow crystals. The yellow crystals are worth more than blue crystals, meaning that minerals can be harvested from them more quickly than a regular expansion. Destructible rocks block the ideal building placement point at this expansion, however.[ 01:33 ]A pair of Xel'Naga watch towers are in the center of the map, which can be captured by a single unit, giving players a huge sight radius in the area. Controlling these watch towers gives the player a big tactical advantage to track enemy movement in key areas.[ 01:50 ]The Terran player finishes a barracks and sends an SCV to scout his opponent. The zerg player sends a drone out to establish a hatchery at his expansion point, but hides the drone off in the corner to prevent the SCV from blocking the expansion as it enters into the zerg base. The zerg player is able to place his fast expansion without interference.[ 03:10 ]The Terran player sets a bunker down next to the fast expansion, hoping to get some marines into the bunker before the Zerg player can establish any defenses. A drone attacks and harasses the SCV building the bunker, preventing it from being completed.[ 03:30 ]The Terran player moves across the map with a marine and another SCV to reinforce the position. The Zerg spawning pool completes, and four zerglings are being created to try and chase off the harassing Terrans. The Zerg player also sets down a baneling nest, as the bunker completes, and a single marine loads inside, protected so that it can freely attack the hatchery.[ 04:25 ]The zerglings are forced to retreat from the bunker, but they move to the choke point to try and block additional marines from entering the bunker. The zerg player also sets down a spine crawler by the expansion, which will help attack the bunker. As the spine crawler finishes, 10 zerglings and a queen destroy the bunker as well as the accompanying SCVs.[ 05:10 ]As the terrans are chased off, some extra larvae pop out next to the hatchery – zerg queens now have the ability (at the cost of some energy) to periodically induce hatcheries to produce more larvae, increasing the production capacity for zerg. This is a new macro mechanic that's being tested in the current build.[ 05:20 ]Meanwhile, the Terrans have produced two bunkers with tech lab add-ons. The add-ons will enable the production of marauders. In conjunction with the mercenary haven that's also being built, the Terran player will be able to buy tech upgrades for marines as well as produce reapers from his barracks.[ 05:33 ]A small group of zerglings explore the ramp to the terran base, but are immediately chased off by four marines and a trio of SCVs. The zerglings retreat and then begin morphing into banelings. Banelings are a new unit in StarCraft II that act as suicide bombers, rolling into infantry or buildings for massive area effect damage.[ 06:00 ]The Terrans push out of their base into a small group of zerglings and banelings. Most of the Terrans are slaughtered by an exploding baneling as the remaining marine and SCV are forced to retreat. The zerg push into the Terran base but miss an opportunity to attack the SCV line as the small zerg force is blocked in between the Terran buildings. A pair of reapers help fend off the attack.[ 07:10 ]Back at the zerg base, the spine crawler picks up and repositions itself, a new feature to zerg defenses in StarCraft II. He also creates a roach warren to field the new roach unit on the battlefield. Roaches have a short ranged attack and can regenerate health quickly.[ 07:30 ]Another small skirmish between zerglings and reapers is fought outside the Terran base, with the reapers preventing the Zerg from pushing into the base. More zergling reinforcements arrive and kill a reaper attempting to scout.[ 08:05 ]The Terrans begin construction of a new command center to try and establish at the new expansion and gain additional resources. Meanwhile, the zerglings begin attacking the destructible rock protecting the back ramp entry to the main Terran base. The Terrans are alerted to this threat when an SCV starts building a supply depot by the rocks. Reapers arrive on the scene and jump down from the cliff to chase off the zerglings, who retreat behind some tall brush and burrow. The reapers opt not to chase through the tall brush, which blocks their line of sight, as they risk walking right into an ambush.[ 08:50 ]The reapers move to capture the nearby watch tower as some roaches move up to reinforce the Zerg's forward position. Roaches and zerglings chase the reapers off the watch tower as the Terrans are again forced back into their base.[ 09:30 ]The Zerg go back to attacking the rocks at the backside ramp, as additional reapers move to defend the rock. Roaches move in to continue the attack on the rocks as the Terrans move out over the choke point with reapers and marines. D-8 demolition charges from the reapers vaporize several roaches while most of the Terran infantry are annihilated by banelings.[ 10:30 ]The remaining two banelings and roaches move into the Terran expansion, attacking an empty bunker as three marines load inside. One wounded roach burrows to regenerate hitpoints while the remaining roach scurries into the main base, where it's quickly dispatched by a marauder.[ 10:55 ]The other roach harasses the mineral line at the Terran expansion, but reinforcements are unable to reach it as the bunker fends off the trickle of Zerg forces coming in. Without detection however, the Terrans can do little about the lone roach burrowed in the mineral line.[ 11:50 ]Several banelings burrow outside the Terran base, but the Zerg player opts to let them walk by, luring them into a trap at the nearby watchtower. Once pinned into the tower platform, the entire Terran force is wiped out by banelings.[ 12:55 ]The Zerg are finally able to break through the backside rocks, but some well-placed bunkers discourage the Zerg player from rampaging in the Terran base. The Zerg force retreats, content for now to maintain map control against the Terrans, and to attempt to establish a third base on the Terran side of the map.[ 14:25 ]The Terran player does spot the Zerg expansion with an SCV scout and has also created a trio of starports with tech labs, allowing for the creation of banshee and nighthawk aircraft. The Zerg have not advanced high up the tech tree yet, so there's currently little anti-air capability to combat these aircraft.[ 15:20 ]A pair of banshees take out the third Zerg base before it can be established. The banshees move into the Zerg base to attack an infestation pit, but a nearby infestor creates some infested marines to chase off the banshees.[ 16:00 ]As the banshees retreat from the Zerg base, they stumble upon a group of roaches and zerglings. This zerg force can't shoot air units, so they're forced to burrow underground to safety. Some Terran nighthawks immediately fly in, and with their passive detection ability they're able to spot the burrowed Zerg, allowing the banshees to attack and chase the roaches and zerglings into their own base. The banshees attempt to pursue but are turned away by a queen and some hydralisks.[ 16:30 ]Meanwhile a group of marines takes on some roaches camped outside the Terran base. Banelings make short work of of the marines, but another group of Terran infantry, backed by nighthawks, cleans up the remaining Zerg forces, including a burrowed infestor.[ 17:00 ]The combat shield upgrade for Terran marines finishes, giving marines an additional 10 hit points. Banshees continue to harass Zerg forces, this time next to the northwestern watch tower. Hydralisks chase off the banshees.[ 17:30 ]A concentrated force of zerglings, hydralisks and roaches runs headlong into a group of marines and nighthawks. Though the Terrans are badly outnumbered in this fight, the hunter-seeker missiles of the nighthawks allow the Terrans to thin out the zerg forces considerably. Hunter-seeker missiles lock on and strike at an enemy for a good amount of damage as well as some splash, making it an ideal choice for clumps of enemy troops. The decimated hydralisks attempt to push into the Terran base, but are turned away.[ 18:25 ]The nighthawks again use hunter-seeker missile to great effect, scattering the Zerg forces. A massive firefight in the middle results in the Zerg being chased off, with the Terrans losing lots of marines but only one of the expensive nighthawks in the process.[ 19:30 ]With the Zerg on their heels, the Terran move to establish a new expansion. The Terrans drop in several mule gatherers to assist in harvesting minerals at the new base. Mules are a new ability that can be called in from orbital command, which is an upgrade to Terran command centers. Mules can gather minerals much faster than an SCV but break down after a period of time. A nearby overlord attempts to block the command center from landing by spreading creep, but is a few seconds too late.[ 20:00 ]The Terran army attempts to push the Zerg even further back, but even with the assistance of auto turrets from the nighthawks, there are simply too many hydralisks and roaches to contend with. The surviving Zerg forces attack the defenseless Terran expansion, but a massive band of reinforcements arrives to chase off the Zerg.[ 21:20 ]As the Terrans counter-attack, they encounter some zerglings caught in the midst of evolving into banelings. These are dispatched easily and the Terran infantry push the Zerg defenders deep into their own base. When another massive group of reinforcements arrive, the Zerg player is forced to surrender. GG!
1Q: How's the current balance and what balance issues have you faced?A:One of the design challenges we are currently dealing with relates to the Dark Pylon, which doesn’t seem to have enough energy tension between probe buffing and acting as an energy reserve for caster units. With Mules, Terran players have a clear strategy decision every time they chose to call down a Mule, instead of saving for a comsat scan. Similarly, Queens have to use their energy carefully, choosing between expanding creep, producing more larva, and protecting her base as a base defender. Dark Pylons on the other hand, are relatively cheap to produce at 150 minerals, provide Pylon power, allow warp-in and proxy play, cloak units, and act as an energy well for casters in strategic positions, while also supporting an economy with macro resource collecting benefits.2Q: The new lower tier availability of mass mobility such as phase prisms and nydus canals seems to prompt for an even greater need for timely 'snipe' abilities for players, but with removal of units like the scourge, Blizzard seems to go in opposite direction. The games of SC2 I played so far clearly presented me with the problem of being forced to deal with the consequences of certain types of harass or assault while I saw them coming a mile away, in contrast to being able to effectively prevent them. There were for example, no efficient ways of 'sniping' enemy observers and nomads to kill their stealth detection or destroying their medivac dropships before they dropped or finishing off that phase prism before it could deploy and warp-in a dozen or more units into my base. How does Blizzard view these issues and aim to prevent a purely reactionary type of gameplay?A: It is true that in StarCraft II, the races have become comparatively more mobile than the original StarCraft. To deal with the new threats mentioned above, scouting and vision have become an even more crucial part in gameplay, as well as building placement to defend against such incursions. Observers are now lower on the tech tree compared to the original StarCraft. Missile turrets can be upgraded with larger range and hit harder as well. Sensor towers can provide early warning of incoming attacks. Additionally, Zerg base defense is now mobile, allowing for quicker adaptation to deal with incoming threatsAt higher levels, an RTS will always have some reactionary play, though in some cases you can react preemptively as well, which could force the opponent to react in another way. With these new methods to both scout and defend, it will help a player deal with opponent decisions on attacking more potently. It is true, with all the new mobility mechanics, it is more likely that you’ll have to pull your probes more often and dodge attacks, but at the same time, with better defenses and new abilities like the Queen’s Razor Swarm, warp-in, and many more – you’ll be able to make the enemy pay a much higher price in performing these attacks as well.3Q: In StarCraft, there are certain upgrade thresholds where some units start to perform vastly better against certain units. For example, + 1 attack zealots kill zerglings in 2 hits instead of 3, or +1 armor marines can take 3 lurker hits instead of 2. These elements add another layer of depth to the game by making upgrades a crucial part of strategy. Do these thresholds exist in StarCraft II, and is the game being designed with them in mind?A: While we don’t try to develop too many of these relationships, there are times we do try to make more rigid balance points like these when we see the need for them.Examples:1. Zealot –Zergling relationship is still there2. Roach vs. Zerglings have this relationship- 3 shots to kill before, and 2 shots after (then gets countered by +1 armor by zerglings)3. Reapers scale better than most other units in the game as they normally do 4+4dmg but get +2 per attack upgrade since they fire twice(25% per upgrade compared to the normal 10%)4. Marine dies in 1 hit to baneling, 2 hits after combat shield upgrade5. Marauders get just under the shield of Immortals (counters them early game), but as both sides get more upgrades, the relationship becomes muddier and goes in favor of the Immortals. (Immortals with 3 shield upgrade takes only 7 damage per hit currently)6. The Colossus kills Marines in 1 shot until they get either armor or combat shields, after which they take 2 shots to kill.4Q: In the original StarCraft, upgrades would give different units different degrees of improvement, such as a fully upgraded zergling gaining a total 60% attack increase, compared to a dragoon that would gain 30%. In comparison, Warcraft III upgrades were designed so that the percentage improvement per upgrade was approximately the same for each unit. Will upgrades scale in this manner in StarCraft II as well?A: Yes, StarCraft II will follow an upgrade system similar to that of the original StarCraft. Many of the new upgrades really help in almost creating a new type of unit out of a previous one. For example, in early game Stalkers can kite Zealots and easily handle them with micro. When Zealots gain charge, they will easily catch those Stalkers and tear them up. Similarly, when Stalkers get blink, they can continue to micro and use terrain advantages to fight those Zealots. On that same note, Zerglings with their attack speed upgrades make it a far deadlier unit, in line with the original StarCraft. As a design philosophy, we really wanted to make several upgrades allow a shift to the balance of power, creating new battle scenarios as players tech up.5Q: In SC and WC3 you can dodge attacks using dropships/zeppelins, or with teleportation spells (ie. blink), or even just superior mobility (in the case of lurker spines).Can projectiles (and lurker spines in particular) be dodged in SC2?A: Yes, certain projectiles/abilities like the Lurker spines, Psi Storm, nukes, and the newly-introduced Hunter Seeker missiles can be dodged.6Q: Are submerged supply depots any different than regular supply depots other than the way that units can pass overtop when they are submerged? I.E. Does the opponent need detectors or anything to see/attack them, do they have the same health, armor, and additional supply count as un-submerged supply depots? Are there any benefits to not having supply depots submerged(other than walling purposes)?A: The only difference between a submerged supply depot and a raised supply depot is the ability to path (or not path) over it.Map Editor Questions7Q: Is it possible to create maps which wrap around? So that the right edge leads back onto the left, creating a spherical space?A: Yes, it is currently possible to create a map in which units can move from one side to the other, though there isn’t coding provided yet that would allow units to shoot from one side to the other.8Q: We have heard many times that the map editor is capable of almost anything, but does this hold true for melee as well? Will you be able to implement map related features, such as different types of terrain (slowing, damage over time, energy regenerating, etc.), portals, or bridges and such, for ladder/melee maps?A: Yes, players will be able to create special areas on the map as mentioned, though players will probably have to create them using invisible objects with those properties rather than have those properties be tied with the actual visual texture itself.Technical Questions9Q: What, if any, function will the F2 through F4 keys have in StarCraft II? Has there been any thought of adding additional keys (F5 through F8) to serve as location hotkeys?A: We are working on this now and will give the community an update when the roles of those keys have been decided.10Q: Will observers and replays have a player's view option, not just see what they have selected but actually move the screen to what they are viewing?A: Yes, viewers will be able to watch from any player’s perspective.11Q: Will people be able to join games after they've started (as an observer) and will you be able to boot observers (or people that abuse the ping function) from games?A: No, players will not be able to join after a game has started, though we have yet to decide how to handle observers in a game and who has the right to boot players.
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