Carriers attacking Terrans

One of the things I've personally been looking to most at Blizzcon is seeing more content for StarCraft II, and Blizzard thankfully did not disappoint. Both punters and media alike have had the opportunity to play both single player and multiplayer games at their 'Hands-on Gaming' zones, as well as the few terminals hidden away for us press types. Blizzard were also nice enough to present a StarCraft II live gameplay demo on the main stage on Saturday. Here they released a lot more information about both the single player campaign and the remaining Terran race.

The panel, headed up by Rob Pardo, Blizzard's Senior Vice President of Game Design for StarCraft II, didn't waste any time and got straight into the new content of StarCraft II – specifically, new buildings and vehicles in the Terran race. A few of the points covered had been leaked via Korea over the past few weeks, some in the way of screenshots, but this is the first official release of the new Terran additions.

Building-wise, there are many improvements in the way that add-ons are utilised. Whilst in the original game building add-ons were restricted to the same type of structure, like the factory add-on that allowed the Siege Tank upgrade, there are now add-ons that are building independent. Take the Nuclear Reactor for instance; this add-on will give you a SECOND build queue for the attached building. So if you find that you need more tanks, and quickly, just move what ever building is attached to the Reactor out of the way and land the Factory in its place. Bam, two build queues with the one building!

Nuclear Launch Detected

The Command Center now has an auto deploy mode used at the start of a mission (in the demo), but also has a new upgrade to Planetary Defence. This further fortifies the Command Center and adds, for the first time, defensive cannons to the top of the building. Plus there's also the addition of a Sensor Tower, which when upgraded, gives you limited radar view into the Fog of War.

A very big hit with the crowd, and something I can also see the value in, is the new ability for Supply Depots to be lowered into the ground. This means that you can use supply depots to build a quick, often needed barrier to fortify your base. When you are ready to move your troops out, just lower the 'barricades', walk through the temporary hole, and then raise them again. Shields up Scotty!

This is similar to how the game was demoed on the day, however in this case they needed to be lowered due to the physical size of the awesome new Thor...

And that brings us to the new Terran vehicles and troops. Some previously unreleased info on Terran troops included the new Ghost ability to call down drop-pods of marines, and their devastating cloaked sniper attacks on biological enemies. It was shown that Reapers also have a high explosive charge upgrade option that allows them to jump into a combat area, drop ex packs, and run. These do a substantial amount of damage to both buildings and units, especially when in large groups.

But I digress, the really cool stuff is seen in the Vehicles:

Terran Banshees and Dropships Banshee: The Banshee is an air-surface aircraft, its primary use being against large groups of ground targets. The rocket barrage released by the Banshee has substantial area affect damage and is devastating against troops and vehicles with no air cover. The Banshee does not posses air-air attack/defence capability, but it does have the ability to cloak.

Thor, plus tanks and infantry Thor: A massive Mech style vehicle, it is the only vehicle so large that it's unable to be built inside a Terran facility, so instead, it is created outside on the ground by an SCV. The Thor sports attractive "shoulder pads" that, when opened, unleash a collection of large cannons that do siege like damage. It's the perfect weapon for base attacks as you have the ability to raze buildings whilst fighting ground troops.

Siege Tanks and Cobras Cobra: A fast and agile light tank, the Cobra has a mounted rail gun for ground unit attack. The Cobra's biggest asset is its speed, allowing it to circle larger, much slower vehicles like the Thor. In the demo they showed this very tactic; a handful of Cobra tanks were able to destroy a Thor by encircling the vehicle and driving around it at speed. Due to the slowness of the hulking Thor, the Cobra tanks were able to sustain a much higher firing rate - the Thor was just unable to target the tanks in time.

Something that I, and many others, have always found attractive with Blizzard RTS titles is the unit voiceovers, and they have once again delivered. The ability to click a unit multiple times for a more humorous response has carried over to StarCraft II, and the highlight was for me was the Terran Viking. Maybe it's because I was taken in by the atmosphere or the fact that I'm also a Transformers nerd, but when selecting a unit and hearing "Transform and roll out!" come from the, somewhat appropriately, transforming Mech/aircraft, I found myself whooping with other members of the press and public. I'm ashamed, but damn it was fun!


Zerglings and Banelings attacking Terrans, Battlecruisers displaying new Plasma Arrays, and Shrubs blocking line of sight
The first detailed showing of the single player campaign was next. Drawing from their experiences with RTS games from WarCraft to WarCraft 3, StarCraft II will have the most involved storyline so far. No longer is your path linear, with characters and missions being introduced slowly into the game, but a new dialogue driven storyline, the ability to choose your missions, and a purchase based tech tree will be ground breaking for StarCraft II. Sure, alone these changes are not new, but to be combined in this way, and with this game, I'm sure it is going to turn out to be the most interesting and varied game play experience you'll have in an RTS.

Announced to much cheering in the crowd, Jim Raynor makes his triumphant, yet somewhat battle scarred and alcoholic, return to StarCraft II as what is essentially a mercenary. You take control of Raynor, and through these open dialogues, lead him to whatever end Blizzard has instore for you.

The 'Briefing Room' scenario used in the original StarCraft has been expanded on in StarCraft II. Your path is now decided via the bridge of the Hyperion, where you can talk to your advisors – Thycus, the Marine seen in the game trailer, and Horner, his Second in Command. You also have access to other sections of the ship such as the Galley, where Jim nicks out to have a swig when he's in need, and Engineering, where you can purchase and test new technology.

As I mentioned, the tech tree in StarCraft II advances only when you purchase upgrades. Whilst not a lot of information was given, we do know that there is no more static upgrade path; you save for, and chose, the path you want to take. You earn the required money buy completing missions, and/or collecting artefacts whilst in game, but this also seems to tie in with the wages for enlisted men on your ship. A sub-plot given away whilst showing the demo is one of a coming mutiny due to non payment.


Thycus, the bridge of the Hyperion, and a Super Dimensional Star Port
From the Bridge you also access the Star Map. Presented with a map of the universe as you know it, you are able to see the space which you control, and other systems and planets that are close by. By selecting a planet in a system, a detailed view of the planet takes the screen, with details on the planet itself (being intel and recon), and missions being available via specific tabs. This is also where you accept a mission and get a more specific briefing on what waits ahead of you.

There are the standard elements to drive the storyline, but the user also has the choice of completing subplots and secondary mission objectives, that can also have an effect on the game. Pardo also hinted at the return of Kerrigan and an explanation of the mystery of the Xel'naga.

As is evident from what I've said, not only is the game set to be a great release, but there's still a lot more in store for us content wise. Blizzard is still very tight-lipped about a lot of the coming features, and many may change in the final release. We've managed to get a lot of hands on game time, and I love it - screenshots really do not give this game justice. As the fat man once said... I'm excited!