Alright, basically I have wanted starcraft II for a long time, since SC 1. I have always loved starcraft and warcraft and had great fun with them. But now, I'm just hearing that SCII will sell the campaigns individually, (sorry, I know that is really old news but I haven't looked up scII in a very long time) so, one can assume that the first one will be 50, then the expansions 30 each (based on typical release prices for full games and expansions). So, assuming those are the prices $110. While I do enjoy Starcraft, I think this is extremely excessive even if the campaigns are as long as they say they will be. I may have been spoiled somewhat though because recently (a couple years ago) I bought the Orange Box for $20 and it comes with Half Life 2, its two expansions, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. I also bought Left 4 Dead for $20. All of those together is about $40, and I have gotten over 1200 hours of gameplay from them, not only that but I am still not bored of them at all. Now, the most I can see myself getting out of SCII and its campaigns and multiplayer is 300-400 hours, and that is pushing it from what I've seen of SCII. Not only that, but the game doesn't look really new in any way shape or form. Now I know it is completely different (well, a lot different) from SC I, but what I mean is that there are other strategy games that are out now that have almost all of the same game mechanics and features, so SCII doesn't seem to bring anything new to the playingfield of strategy gaming for me. Not only that but the graphics are looking pretty outdated and we don't even have a loose release date yet. Is there anything you guys can say that can convince me to buy the game? At least the first part, because I can't seem to find many reasons to. I am also planning on getting L4D2 for $40 at release and it will most likely provide me with at least 400-500 hours of gameplay over the course of me owning it. It just doesn't seem like SC II is worth the money to me. Also, I know one of the greatest things about these games is their easy to use mapmaker. Well, I would definitely say that Valve has one upped them in this by providing a map maker that is fairly easy to learn how to use, but is also extremely advanced to the point where novices (16 years and up I'd say) can use it easily to publish maps, but advanced users can use it to make absolutely stunning maps, also included in it is a way to add custom models easily and painlessly, and make scenes to make movies off of it which is extremely simple to use but the effects look proffessional, and many other tools in their Software Development Kits. Comparing the companies just makes it feel that Blizzard is producing a mediocre game with a massive campaign (it may be good, but I do not think it is possible to be even half as good as Half Life 2's campaign, simply because it is a strategy game). Also, every two months (approximately) Valve releases an absolutely free DLC for Team Fortress 2 that adds new maps, new gamemodes, new weapons, new game mechanics. For free, every two months. Wow, thats a lot of new content that you would normally pay at least $70 for it all at normal DLC price. They are also starting to do the same with L4D. It just makes it look like Blizzard is trailing behind in the dust. I know this sounds like a praise Valve stomp Blizzard thread, but do not get me wrong I love Blizzard. I'm just pointing out that I don't think what they are doing is worth the money and hoping that someone will prove me wrong. BTW, if you hadn't noticed, Valve is my favorite game company, but Blizzard is my second. EDIT: Sorry for posting here, I was going to post on battlenet forums but I didn't want to go through the trouble of finding my CD key to login... again...
I agree with you that valve is F****** awesome! However i do like variety in the games i play and a truly great RTS game only comes around so often. Blizzard is adding a huge amount into the singleplayer and battle net 2.0 should be adding nice features to multiplayer. Of course i havn't played it so i can't tell you if its fantastic however if i was you i'd wait and see what other people think then make the decision for yourself. We also know the map maker will be very powerful, not quite as good as source, but still probally the most powerful rts map maker out there. You can't complain about outdated graphics when your comparing everything to source =P But yeah blizzcon is on in less than a week and i'm sure it will give you a better idea. Sorry if i missed something your Wall O text is hard to read..... Edit: fixed dyslexia
[eq] [/eq] Good point about complaining about graphics, I didn't realize blizzcon was so close. If I had I wouldn't of posted this until after (if it was still necessary). Anyway, yeah I'm waiting for final judgement until reviews come out and I hear what the beta testers play. Anyway the graphcis part I was more comparing it to the other strategy games I've been playing recently, mainly Empire: Total War, but some company of heroes also (although those aren't the best graphics either), but it is kind of hard to tell from the low quality videos I've seen of SCII and those two games, especially as they seem to have a fairly different art style. Kind of like TF2-HL2, one is cartoony the other is more gritty so on first look it seems that HL2 has TF2 beat for graphics, but when you look closer it is really just which style you prefer that determines which you think is better. Yeah, sorry about the wall I have always had problems with that. In other news I always get A's on essays for English though.
The idea that Blizzard will split the game into three is your typical hysterical fanboy screeching. The game will have 30 missions, just like Starcraft 1. They decided to use those 30 missions to tell the story of James Raynor and his terran force. They will save the story of the Zerg and Protoss for later expansions. The only difference from what you originally expected is that the main storyline will happen over three installments, all of them full sized releases campaign-wise. Youll see the story unfold over a couple of years in rich detail, rather than have it crammed in a single release. And multiplayer-wise, there is no difference at all. From that point of view, Zerg and protoss chapters will work like regular expansions. And who wouldn't want the most anticipated game in history to have two expansions? Don't buy into the hype. Check the facts. And if your worried about money, compare gaming to just about any other activity you can do on a per-hour basis. What other activity offers 24+ hours of quality entertainment for $50?
Blizzard isn't going to sell the campaigns individually. They're going to sell the expansions individually, and that's usually how expansions work. The fact that they've restructured how the campaigns will be played doesn't mean that you're getting any less than you otherwise would be. If they structured the campaigns as they did in the original StarCraft, then it would be like this: Original; 1/3 Terran, 1/3 Zerg, 1/3 Protoss. First expansion; 1/3 Terran, 1/3 Zerg, 1/3 Protoss. Second expansion; 1/3 Terran, 1/3 Zerg, 1/3 Protoss. However, it create a deeper and more complete overall campaign, they've grouped each of the races like this; Original; All Terran. First expansion; All Zerg. Second expansion; All Protoss. This allows for a much deeper and more immersive set of campaigns. Instead of having to set up the Terran campaigns three times, have a bit of story, and conclude it three times, they're able to put everything in. It's like the difference between reading a three hundred page book, or reading the same story in a trilogy of one hundred page books. The three hundred page book is obviously going to be a lot deeper and more interesting, because it won't be forced to re-establish everything and keep concluding at various times throughout the story. On top of that, they're not just campaigns. They're expansions. I doubt anyone would be annoyed if there was another StarCraft1 expansion, of if WarCraft2 and WarCraft3 had had two expansions each. They're expansions! New units, new abilities, new campaigns, new tilesets. And on top of that, Zerg and Protoss players won't just be ignored, as the first release will include tutorials, mini games and other ways of learning how to play the other races. So basically, you're getting what you're paying for, just as you were with BroodWar, Tides of Darkness and Wrath of the Lich King. If you think the game as a whole will be too expensive, you don't have to buy it, but you'll be getting more than you got for StarCraft1, WarCraft3, etc, so the price is justified.
Also, Half Life 2's campaign wasn't that great. In fact I would have to say it was terrible. Starcraft 2's campaign looks and feels more dynamic then anything Half life 2 ever brought to the table.
The main pull factor behind Starcraft 2 for me is the world editor. I've been mapping on wc3 for years now, and some of the new editor features will give a MASSIVE amount of map possibilities. One thing I've noticed is that starcraft players underestimate what they will be able to do. (The starcraft editor was quite lacking imo, so I don't blame them). There's going to be a huge variety of custom-made content, assuming that the game/editor doesn't flop somehow.
Yeah grab it asap! who wouldn't want to get a copy of this, and besides its not that expensive. Though it could also be a better idea to wait for a month or two in case there will be quick releases of its expansions especially the zerg one, but I guess they will be coming out per year or half perhaps. Well I just hope they become available here in asia asap.
I think that... you just CAN'T compare HL2 with Starcraft 2. Both might be games, but they require different skills when playing. There is a large gap between FPS and RTS. As for the graphics in starcraft 2, it might not be benchmark settings, but the physics there are great. If the graphics were as good as HL2, it might even obscure your view, so I think that the graphics right now are fine. Also, the campaigns for starcraft may not be as action-packed as HL2 or even 1, but that is the difference between RTS and FPS.FPS is mainly based on a shoot'em-when-you-see-'em basis, while RTS is based on tactics, positioning...etc. As you can see, both types of games offer different styles of entertainment. So, the choices are solely up to you. As for me, I'll save my lucky money on Chinese New year (muhahah), wait until my HKCEE is over, then I'll buy it ASAP, should Blizzard release it that year.
just get both. i love both valve and blizz games. valve is good at making new "official" maps for TF2, which is fantastic. however, blizz gives a TON of flexibility in their map editors, allowing for entirely different game modes (without having to download and install mods). for as far as fan-made content goes, i find that blizzard has more variety, as well as just more maps in general.
True. The most annoying thing about Valve games is that some mods require tons of downloads. When I first played zombie mod, I had to wait 1 hour. ONE F*(*#(^&% HOUR! Even some normal servers require 50+ sounds just for you to play.
I hope the minimpa,s, gameplay and tutorials will not diminish the amount of missions for the Terran campaign. I mean officially there will be 30 missions in the Terran campaigns. I hope there will be those 30 missions, PLUS 1 Protoss tutorial, PLUS 1 Zerg tutorial, PLUS 1 minimap, etc ...
Zerg and Protoss tutorial are a most... Imagine someone who never played Starcraft at all, trying the zerg online and don't even know how the basic of larva work... There's no choice to add those tutorial imo...
Blizzard are adding challenges which teach you certain styles of play for all 3 races. The singleplayer unlike SC1 is not designed to teach you as much in a skirmish situation as this is what the challenges are for.
Well there could be a mission early on in the main game where the Terran control a zerg force and that way is kind of like a Zerg tutorial. Or they could just make a stand alone tutorial accessed through the multiplayer menu for the zerg) The possibilities are endless. But I agree with you you need a tutorial for all 3 races as they play so differently.
