Here's this month's regular report. Enjoy. ---------------------------------------------------------- December Monthly Discussion Report Platinum Blizzard RTS Fan Site Program Top 5 Feedback Concerns: 1. Thor’s New Ability – We’ve heard tons about this exciting new ability for the Thor. It can shoot air units in its range, has a higher turn rate, and requires two thumps to be out for the count. However, there has been a lot of discussion about placing the Terran’s anti-air abilities on such a cumbersome unit. Is the unit now intended to be used as a moderately mobile turret or will it still retain its original charm as a ground assault vehicle? While there’s certainly the possibility of the unit achieving importance in both aspects, it will weaken the unit’s counterability as well as its identity on the battlefield. Rather than separating the Thor from the Seige Tank and Battlecruiser, the consensus has been that the Thor’s new characteristics have not strengthened its image as a unique unit. 2. Mothership as a Superunit- This is a recurring discussion among members. In fact, it’s a rather inescapable question. Can the Mothership be fit into Starcraft II as a Super Unit? Again the majority has ruled that it indeed can. The arguments against it have been tried and tested, and while some of them hold water, our members feel that taking a risk in this area of development of Starcraft II would be well worth the risk. The Mothership as an identifying unit for the Protoss is essential to the continuance of race identity for the Protoss. One unit, one big boom. 3. Weather Effects- A lot of opinions have been discussed after the discovery of a few videos of what seems to be Starcraft play at night. Naturally the question progressed to a discussion of the effects seen in Warcraft 3. Can weather formations and conditions be included in Starcraft II without seriously affecting the gameplay? Or should it affect gameplay? In fact, the most meaningful argument for not including the effects was the increased pressure on computer requirements. However, most of us are looking for that extra aesthetic bonus. 4. Unit AI Effects- A major complaint among mid-range players of Starcraft has been the control of the Lurker as a unit. This is not meant to exclude all the other units in the original that had poor A.I. systems (Goliaths, Dragoons, Medics), but the Lurker was a special case due to its lack of attack command availability above ground. It routinely held up Zerg armies or crippled them because of the lack of an attack-move command. A number of users have suggested smarter A.I. for units like these, with features such as auto-burrow (Lurkers or similar units would burrow when in range of enemy units) and ambush (burrowed units would attack when units appeared in sight). While each of these abilities should only be considered as fanciful ideas that lead to more relevant and applicable ideas, this is what the Starcraft community is discussing. 5. The Protoss Observer – There has been tons of debate about changing this unit in some way. Adding an ability here, giving it an attack, etc. The consensus? Don’t touch it. Top 5 Fan Site Questions from your Site: 1. There has been a lot of discussion relating to Alexei Stukov’s possible resurrection because of missions available only on the N64 version of Starcraft. Will Starcraft II involved Stukov in a role that the N64 missions might suggest? 2. We’ve heard a few hints dropped over the last few weeks about secret Terran and Protoss units. Any hints as to their respective roles? Will any of them fill the niche left empty by the loss of the Predator? 3. Have there been any major balancing changes to any of the bread and butter units (Marines, Zealots, Tanks, Stalkers) that might change our perspective on the game? What new abilities should we be imagining on the field of battle? 4. With the advent of the Thor’s abilities against air units, has the movement of the Viking back to the factory been toyed with? 5. Have there been any further changes in the user interface that we should know about?
