SC2 'Expansions' : Old Units Return, or New Ones Added?

After looking back at the SC1 visual/gameplay developement thread, I was interested to see some units from Brood War that didn't make it in Original Starcraft.

So, my question to you is, what units will make it into the SC2 Zerg and Protoss 'expansions'?

- Will units from SC1 return, like the beloved Reaver, and maybe some airships?
- Will units from early SC2 builds that have since been axed, surface later on?
- Will entirely new units surprise and delight us as we play the 'Protoss Expansion' version for the next decade?

 

Only time will tell, I doubt though that SC2 units that have been axed so far will make a return as they were axed for a really good reason.

 

1. I very much doubt it.

2. This is a possibility.

3. Much more likely to happen.

 

It will be hard to explain, from a lore point of view, why many discarded units will be coming back.

Also, many of the discarded units were dumped for good reason. I don't want to see the firebat again, not when the marauder is so much cooler and a flat-out better game unit (and I'm not talking about its statistics, which could be nerfed anyway, but rather unit properties).

I don't want to see the vulture again unless it has an AoE attack -- not only is it armed with a grenade launcher, but an AoE attack would make it even better vs light creatures. (Currently in SC1, vultures suck against units like zerglings, unless you have really good micro.)

A bunch of the discarded units were either significantly changed, or were removed due to being "overpowered". (The old hydralisk was the "everythinglisk" since you could win a game using just them ... that's probably a bit of propaganda, since psi storm and siege tanks kicked their butts, but they were just too unspecialized that they were useful virtually all of the time against virtually all units.) The goliath was also so (too!) good at GtA that they rendered most AtG attackers useless (made worse because most of those attackers were pathetic at AtG, or were very expensive and at the top of the tech tree, eg guardian, battlecruiser, and carrier).

Some old units have been superseded. The Wraith and goliath, for instance, were basically split into the Viking and banshee. The Viking is such a good anti-air attacker, filling the Wraith's role, the only way the Wraith could be better is because of the cloaking. You can't really have the Wraith and Viking in the same game; they just overlap too much. The banshee is flat-out better than the Wraith in the AtG role in every way, shape and form, as it also cloaks and doesn't have a pathetic AtG attack. And the goliath was discussed above.

Old units can only come back (IMO) if they fill a role that StarCraft II left unfilled.

All in all, I expect new units in the expansions, and probably not a lot, considering StarCraft II has more units than StarCraft vanilla.

 

I agree with your statements on the units that have been cut. I'm actually pretty pleased so far with SC2 because it looks like all the air units will have a significant role (hopefully) in most games. I think the Viking/Banshee direction is really well thought out. I guess I just have emotional attachment to Vultures and Reavers. =(

 

reavers= ownage!

but just let blizzard be blizzard and make all the decisions and creations

 

Well I'm an Industrial Design major, so I kind of do a similar thing to Blizzard - sketching, concepts, rendering, ideas/creativity, etc. I'm just curious as to what new units, if any, will be added to the Zerg and Protoss expansions. I wouldn't think more than one unit per race per expansion, since SC2 already has quite a few units per race.

 

im hoping for 2 per race, 1 flying and 1 ground, like the original

 

Every expansion or overall?

I could realistically see 1 per race an expansion, and either of those options could work fine.

 

Hopefully we'll be able to create our own units with the editor.... that would be mad cool!

 

To answer ZealotInATuxedo ... yes! You can do this in Warcraft III.

 

I agree on the 1 per race per expansion, actually. That way they can balance the game more gradually by having less new units at a time. I couldn't see any more than 2 per race per expansion, then the game would get way too complicated...

 

New units. As much as I love the classic units, I want to see more new content. It just adds more to the SC universe to have something new rather than always have something returning.

Look at how Warcraft 1-3 evolved. It went from Orcs and Humans to Orcs, Trolls, Ogres, Goblins and Humans, Dwarves, Elves and Gnomes. Then it was pushed even further in War3 with each side getting a massive overhaul on spiritual successor units, like the dwarven demo squads became the Mortar Teams, the elven ballista became the glaive thrower, etc. It's just something fresh and new to see.

I hope to see SC2 evolve in the same way over the course of the next 2 expansions as well, adding new units that might add a bit of new flavour in areas of the SC universe we haven't seen before.

 

all the old units that didnt make it will be added to the map editor for useage.

you could make a campaign that focuses on using the old units to get new units from the variaty of protoss tribes.

btw: i just joined this forum!

 

The change of the siege units (in particular the balista to the crappy glaive thrower) was one thing i hated about the frozen throne as an expansion, i hope the starcraft 2 expansions don't include any of these purely aesthetic changes.

Yes i know i'll have fun using the removed units, welcome to the forum btw

 

Haha! I didn't even notice that. I didn't have a PC that could play WarCraft 3 before the expansion came out so I kind of missed out on that.

I personally wouldn't mind this. If StarCraft 2 is anything like WarCraft 3 then each set will be completely different. In StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War the only difference was that a few units were missing but in WarCraft 3 each unit had different costs and other things. So, having a different model for a few units would be great in keeping each game separate.

Also, it would be nice to have another model in the editor.

 

Guess i'm just untrusting of it in starcraft 2 because i'm distraught of what happened in warcraft

Not only did i hate the aesthetic changes on a few of them, but those ones didn't make sense the way they were used in the story, having blood elves use a very night elf design (atleast following on from similar night elf weapons) when they have both previously only had ballista is similar to the colossus changing to a dark templar weapon (with a crappy model, weapon and unit concept at that) and then having it used by purist fanatical khalai protoss, the double demolisher evolution is similar. Even if i'm biased because i loved the units replaced and hated the ones they were replaced with.


Atleast you could change one stringtable to make them like in the reign of chaos.

 

In my opinion:

- Will units from SC1 return, like the beloved Reaver, and maybe some airships?
No. As much as I love the SC 1 units. This is SC 2. And needs to be different. Plus they said these units will be back in the map editor. So have fun with them there.

- Will units from early SC2 builds that have since been axed, surface later on?
As said above, axed units are axed for a reason and best left dead and buried. Blizzard know what they are doing. Even if I find it crazy at times.

- Will entirely new units surprise and delight us as we play the 'Protoss Expansion' version for the next decade?
It's like saying will the cow that gave it's milk to my breakfast cereal, will it die next week? No one knows. But it is quite possible.