Terran's most destructive unit The Thor is one of the most anticipated new units in Starcraft 2. Armed with two giant particle beams and a dorsal artillery battery that wouldn't be out of place on a battleship, this Mech monster is a merciless killing machine.
Friday, August 31, 2007
The Terran Thor Black Project
Monday, August 27, 2007
Terran AH/G-24 Banshee
The Banshee is one of the most lethal tactical unit, it has a cloaking ability which will give you the element of surprise advantage. The Banshee is a good hit and run unit, it can fire to the enemy units while moving.
Below are the videos of AH/G-24 Banshee in action:
Video 1:
Video 2:
Video 3:
Saturday, August 25, 2007
The Protoss Dark Templar
Blizzard just added a page for Protoss stealth assassin the Dark Templar, with its new weapon a double warp blade.
The dark templar are powerful psionic warriors whose forebears were exiled from the protoss homeworld of Aiur over a thousand years ago. The protoss who would eventually become the dark templar were banished for their refusal to join the emerging Khala, the communal mind link shared by all protoss, and the accompanying caste system enforced by the ruling Conclave of the protoss.
The Dark Templar were first introduced to StarCraft in the Brood War expansion. The expansion added a greater emphasis on stealth units and detection, and the Dark Templar was chosen to fulfill the role of a hard hitting, cloaked attacker for the Protoss. While they were relatively fragile, their permanent, energy independent cloaking kept them safe.
The exiled protoss wandered far before eventually making a new home on the twilight world of Shakuras. They developed a solitary and independent culture, with individuals often widely scattered across space in their own ships, exploring and contemplating the mysteries of the universe. Over time these dark templar have learned to wield a very different kind of psionic strength than that of the Khala: the energies of the Void, the dark spaces between worlds.
The Dark Templars’ modified warp blade deals much more damage than any other melee unit in StarCraft, making them very effective for taking down targets quickly. The Dark Templars were favorites when it came to raiding an enemy’s supply line - they were able to destroy Probes and Drones in 1 hit, and SCVs in 2 hits each. With the addition of the Phase Prism as an advanced mode of transportation, sneaking Dark Templars behind enemy lines will be easier than ever.
Though severed from their homeworld and feared by their own brethren for many centuries, the dark templar never abandoned their love of Aiur. In recent times they were reunited with the protoss of their homeworld when the heroes Tassadar and Zeratul joined forces to fight the zerg Overmind. The Overmind was defeated, but the planet Aiur was ravaged in the process and so badly overrun by zerg that the survivors retreated to Shakuras. Now the protoss who were once exiled find themselves playing host to refugees from their old home.
Protoss and Terran Tech Buildings!!!
There are two snapshots of Protoss and Terran tech buildings. So far it is similar to Starcraft1 with some minor changes.
Protoss:
The Nexus gives access to the Vespene Gas Assimilator and the Pylon. It also makes the Forge available, which allows Probes to warp-in Phase Cannons.
The Gateway is still the main unit-producing building; it allows Zealots, Stalkers, Statis Orbs, Immortals, Templars and Dark Templars to be warped-in. Only the Zealot can be built initially - other units require more advanced buildings.
The Gateway itself can be upgraded to a Warp Gate, which allows the warp-in of Gateway units to any place the Protoss player has power (Pylons, Phase Prisms) at.
After getting a Gateway, a Cybernetics Core can be warped-in, which unlocks the Stalker and Statis Orb. This means that the early game Protoss forces will be comprised of Zealots, Stalkers and Statis Orbs, as opposed to StarCraft 1’s Zealots and Dragoons.
At this point in the game, the player gets to make a real decision about the direction of his build, as three options are available:
1) StarGate. Immediately allows warp-in of Phoenix and Warp Ray, and can also warp-in Carriers and a Mothership when the Fleet Beacon is available.
2) Robotics Facility. This building can warp-in 3 units: Phase Prism, Observer (which requires the Null Circuit building) and Colossus (which requires the Robotic Support Bay building).
3) Twilight Council. Unlocks Immortals, and leads to two more options: Dark Obelisk, which unlocks Dark Templars, and Templar Archive, which unlocks High Templars. This will likely become the default path, as it permits the player to create the most well-rounded army, supported both by solid fighting units, specialized cloaked units, and the famous Protoss caster - the High Templar. Twilight Archons, created by merging any two Templars, are just the icing on this cake.
Terran:
The Command Center can immediately be upgraded to either a Surveillance Station or to a Planetary Fortress. This upgrade requires a lot of Vespene Gas, however, so it’s not actually available right at the beginning of the game.
Aside from the Supply Depot and Vespene Gas Refinery, the Command Center also gives access to the Engineering Bay, which allows SCVs to build Missiles Turrets, and Sensor Domes which can be upgraded to Radar Domes.
The Terran are unique in that the three unit producing building can have add-ons attached to them - either the Tech Lab, which unlocks more advanced units, or the Reactor, which effectively doubles the building’s unit producing rate.
The first unit-producing building available is the Barracks, which trains Marines, Medics and Ghosts, though only the Marines are immediately available. The Tech Lab unlocks the Medics.
The Bunker is now unlocked and can be built by SCVs.
The Barracks opens two paths for the players to choose from:
1) Merc Haven. This is where the player recruits Reapers. These are not trained normally - the building slowly “generates” Reapers, which can then be quickly recruited (for the right cost).
2) Factory. This is where the Terran build their armored, mechanized units: The Siege Tank, Viking and Cobra. Only the Viking is immediately available - the Siege Tank requires a Tech Lab.
The Factory opens up two more paths:
1) Armory. This building unlocks the Cobra, and allows construction of the Munitions Depot, which provides the SCVs with the option of constructing a Thor.
2) Starport. Predator and Dropship are immediately available, while the Nomad and Banshee require a Tech Lab add-on. Battlecrusiers can be built once the Deep Space Relay building is constructed.
The Starport itself can be upgraded to a Star Base, which can lift off and still produce units. However, since add-ons stay on the ground, it is not clear at this point whether the Star Base will be able to produce Banshees and Nomads when airborne.
The new Terran Tech Tree allows the Terran player more options in his build than in StarCraft 1. Ghosts no longer require a full tech tree, with a Starport, Science Facility and an add on. The Thor, the supposed Terran “super unit”, can be acquired relatively early on, especially since the Armory will likely have necessary upgrades for other Terran units. Only the Battlecruiser, the Terran capital ship, requires almost every piece of the tech tree to be built.
It seems that Blizzard is attempting to make every multiplayer match of StarCraft even more diverse and unique than it was before, with more options to choose from and with more strategies to try, instead of having to follow a linear path of technology.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Starcraft 2 Terran Gameplay Video
This is the actual Terran gameplay video.
Part1:
It shows the Command center carriers 5 SCVs as a new ability in Starcraft 2 which gives Terran fast deployment.
Terran has new defense the sensor tower which can be upgraded to radar tower and allows the Terran to detect incoming enemy forces in a fog of war.
BattleCruiser's new ability the plasma torpedo does significant damage in a wide area against ground forces.
The Viking a versatitle new Terran unit can fly and can fight air to air combat and can land on the ground to fight on ground forces.
The Banshe an anti-ground unit aircraft that can cloack is one of the most dangerous unit.
Part2:
The
The Supply depot can be lower down so that the Terran units can pass through it.
The Thor is one the most power new units in Starcraft 2 it is huge robot with 4 cannons on his shoulders for massive damage.
Cobra a versatile unit that can fire while moving.
Ghost has new abilities, it can use the sniper rifle. The drop pods that allows the Ghost to summon Marines.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Starcraft 2 Latest Changes!!!!
Starcraft 2 the game is still being developed and far from becoming finalized, these are the latest changes and latest developments. Let see how the game will look like.
Protoss:
* The Carrier is back, and will replace the Tempest. The Carrier will look bigger than all other Protoss aerial units, except for the Mothership. The Carriers will carry Interceptors, which will have a normal laser attack. The Carrier will also have an “auto-build” option for its Interceptors - great automation, we approve.
* The Colossus can not be transported. Its mobility is limited to its walking speed. The Colossus also has an upgrade that increases its shields.
* The Reaver has been removed from the game. Developers say that it was overlapping with the Colossus in the “kill a lot of small units” department, and that it was no longer necessary.
* The Warp Ray has changed its theme to a Dark Templar one - it’s darker, and also smaller, to allow the Carrier to become the distinctive capital Protoss ship.
* The Star Relic has been changed to a “Statis Orb“, which will now be a land based unit. It has an attack that slows down the movement and rate of fire of its enemies.
* The Twilight Archon no longer has feet - it hovers, just like in StarCraft 1. Also, it has received the “Feedback” ability, which was previously used by SC1’s Dark Archons:
Feedback is a targeted spell that when cast on a unit, that unit lose all of its mana and will take an amount of damage equal to the mana lost. Example:
If a Science Vessel with 150 Energy Points is within the range of the spell and Feedback is cast on it, the Science Vessel will lose all 150 Energy Points as well as lose 150 HP instantaneously.
If the unit has more Energy Points than HP when Feedback is used on it, the unit will instantly die.
* The Mothership has lost the Timebomb and Black Hole ability (though we suspect that at least the Black hole ability will return in some form). Instead, it now has a cloaking ability, similar to that of the SC1 Arbiter - it cloaks all ground units in a surrounding radius, while staying visible itself. Currently, it’s possible to build more than one Mothership. Their air-to-air attack has also been nerfed considerably.
Terran:
* New unit: Nomad. This is a Science Vessel redux, featuring EMP, which drains all shields and energy from units in an area, and Defense Matrix, which is now an area of effect ability, defending all units in the area it’s set up in. The Nomad can also auto-repair close flying units.
* New unit: Predator. This is an updated Wraith, with an air-to-air attack only. Also, it can transform into an Interceptor that can block enemy missiles. Unlike the SC1 Wraith, the Predator doesn’t have a Cloaking ability anymore - it passed that along to the Banshee.
* Banshee: Anti-ground attack only. It fires a volley of missiles that deal splash damage in a relatively large radius. Its rate of fire is slow, however. Since it has cloak, we are bound to see packs of Banshees performing hit and run attacks on unsuspecting enemy forces.
* Salvage: This unique Terran ability allows them to “sell off” a building for a full refund of its resources. The process takes some time, and can not be reversed. Very similar to the Command and Conquer of selling off buildings, which deconstructs them step by step for a nice, instant wad of cash.
* A Command Center, when upgraded, cannot be lifted off the ground. This means its function as an offensive weapon will be very limited.
* New Siege Tank design! Verdict: Awesome.
* Missile Turrets no longer serve as detectors, a role which has been assigned to the Sensor Dome.
* The Starport can now be upgraded to a Starbase. The Starbase can produce units while airborne.
* Battlecruisers come in two flavors: Plasma Turret and Yamato Cannon. The Battlecruiser will look different depending on which version the player chooses. The Plasma Turret is an AoE ground bombardment ability, which deals heavy damage in a large radius, while looking very impressive. The Yamato Cannon is unchanged from its previous incarnations.
* Click for Big (it’s worth it!)
* Snipe, the Ghost ability, deals 150 damage points to organic units. I’m betting the Ghost will soon take a new name - given to it by pleased Terran players - “High Templar Hunter“.
* The Thor’s long range bombardment ability requires it to dig its feet down into the ground, giving it the stability it needs to fire off all four cannons on its back. It appears that the Terrans have really gone to lengths to ensure that the success of the Siege Tank is replicated in their new unit designs.
* Reapers: These are recruited at the “Merc Haven” building. The reapers aren’t produced like normal units. Instead, the building slowly “recharges” up to 4 of them, which can then be quickly recruited.
* The initial Viking form is the ground assault form. An upgrade is required for it to transform to fighter mode.
* The Cobra is especially strong against armored units, such as the Siege Tank or Colossus. It is relatively weak against small targets, though.
* The Radar Dome shows exclamation points for units under the fog of war.
General:
* Building queues are five unit deep.
* Unit selection is limitless.
* an idle worker button has been added to the UI.
* The Xel’Naga Observatories are not capturable per se. They are activated and work for your benefit when you have a ground unit near one.
* The game starts with six workers, instead of four in SC1.
* Start of game fog of war is no longer black - you can now see a grayed out layout of the map, just like you would normally have after revealing an area and not having a unit present in it, in SC1.
* The GUI now displays a list of attributes for every unit. Since the damage units deal to each other depends on these attributes, this will greatly help players understand the advantages and disadvantages of these units, and will allow them to make the most out of their forces.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
New Starcraft 2 actual gameplay video!!!
There are three videos that leaked on youtube. The video, courtesy of ThisIsGame.com, it shows Moon, a WarCraft III Pro gamer, played two games against the computer.
Terran Video Part1:
Moon plays as Terran. This video is more interesting, and features actual fights with large Terran forces, consisting of many of the units we’ve heard about only recently. Like the Protoss video, the Terran gameplay is also almost identical to that of StarCraft 1. The responses units give and the sounds for buildings and units are the same as their counterparts from the previous game.
Terran Video Part2:
In the second part, Moon uses his large force to walk over the Protoss base, calling down nukes in the process. After destroying the entire Protoss base, save for one Pylon, he calls down 3 nukes on his forces and completes the mission.
Protoss Video:
Moon plays as Protoss. These are the early stages of the game - he builds up his base and techs up while producing a few Zealots and setting up Phase Cannons. In the mean time, he sets up a few expansions to provide an increased rate of resources collection. Not much else happens in this video, except for a few small skirmishes between Zealots and Marines. However, this is the first video to actually show the StarCraft Protoss gameplay from the player’s point of view - building up a base, managing resources and workers, etc. It is very evident that the feel of the game is almost identical to StarCraft 1.
Starcraft 2 Terran Units: Marines
Marine
Trains From: Barracks
Armament: 8mm C-14 Impaler Gauss Rifle
Role: General-purpose Infantry
The Marine will continue fulfilling his role as the backbone of the Terran army in StarCraft 2. Even though the Marine is the first buildable combat unit, large numbers of them usually stay in the fight for the entirety of the game.
*Marines are the first line of defense for most terran worlds in the Koprulu sector. In the time of the old Confederacy the vast majority of marines were criminals or rebels who had undergone mandatory neural resocialization. Freed from any previous allegiances or ideologies, these fearless soldiers stood ready to defend Confederate interests with their lives.
Marines are normally armed with C-14 Impaler gauss rifles that fire 8mm metal “spikes” at hypersonic speeds. Basic rounds are designed to provide maximum penetration against all armor types, but a number of specialized rounds exist. Of these, the U-238 depleted uranium spike is the most popular because it extends the lethal range of gauss rifles by up to 25%.
*It has been confirmed that the range upgrade for the Marines will appear in StarCraft 2, increasing their range from 4 to 5.
If the practice of using resocialized marines has remained controversial, the use of stimpacks is even more of a hot-button subject. These inbuilt chemical delivery systems dose marines with a powerful mix of synthetic adrenaline, endorphins, and a psychotropic aggression enhancer. Marines on stims benefit from greatly increased speed and reflexes, but are subject to long-term side effects including and not limited to insomnia, weight loss, mania/hypomania, seizures, paranoiac hallucinations, internal hemorrhaging, and cerebral deterioration. Nonetheless, both commanders and the marines themselves stand by the use of stims as essential to their continued survival and effectiveness on the battlefield.
Terran Command Center
Command centers serve as the focal points for all terran outposts. Originally designed to be roving resource processors for Confederate prospectors, the command centers can pick up stakes and move on to new mineral or vespene deposits. They also have the ability to manufacture SCVs and serve as the return point for mining vehicles. Heavily armored and sturdy, the slow-moving command centers are most vulnerable when they are on the move.
*The Command Centers of StarCraft 2 can now carry up to 6 SCVs with them, while airborne.
Recent improvements have included the addition of bay facilities to carry a number of SCVs while the command center is in transit. This facilitates rapid exploitation of fresh mineral fields or vespene pockets, as well as supplying a handy shelter for the SCVs in case of enemy action.
*Lastly, the Command Center, adapted to fill new Terran needs in light of constant, ongoing hostilities, can now be upgraded in two different ways, and take the name of “Surveillance Station” or “Planetary Fortress“.
The increasing use of command centers in combat zones has also led to the development of standard schematics for upgrading them to a dedicated military role. Two of the most popular upgrades with commanders are the surveillance station, which imparts a scanner sweep capability, and the planetary fortress with its increased armor and heavy defensive armament.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Starcraft 2: First Look Protoss unit review
Starcraft 2 first look on new Protoss units and names.
Soul hunter - It's like the Goblin from Spiderman who flies with a board, It fires with lighting energy to destroy enemy units.
Tempest - A Protoss new aircraft and the replacement of Protoss Carrier with swarming interceptors.
Twilight Archon - An improved High Archon with a new mid range to strike the enemy units.
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