StarCraft 2 Q&A Batch 40 Released!

 This week's Q&A, Batch 40, has been released! This week's batch is focused again on community question, no doubt because of the wealth of information Blizzard is readying to unveil at WWI in Paris later this month. We'll have to be a bit patient, but there is still a wealth of interesting information in this week's batch including discussion of the Battlecruiser's loss of the Plasma Torpedo ability. The ability is being replaced with a Missile Barrage ability that will be effective against light air units in an area of effect, like the Mutalisk. Enjoy this week's batch!  This week we have launched the 3rd episode of BlizzCast, featuring an interview with the Lead Designer of StarCraft II about the Evolution of the Zerg from the original StarCraft to StarCraft II. Be sure to check that out here:
http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcast/

Also, I've been curious - would you guys prefer having these Q&A Batches (multiple answered and added into a consolidated release) or would you rather these 4-7 questions be spread out across the forums in pertinent threads on battle.net? I have been doing a bit of both, but would love to get your feedback on it, to make it easiest for you to follow up on the latest updates in regards to the development of StarCraft II.

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 40---

1. By the current look of the game with spectacular death animations you could worry that you can get slightly distracted by dead units while playing. You could for example waste precious APMs (Actions per minute) trying to click on a spliced Space Marine that you thought was still alive. The wrecks of some larger units or deaths for some others could block your sight in-game too. Could this fear be a real issue and will there be the option to toggle down these model details in the settings? (gamereplays.org)

Yes, this is an issue we are looking into. For multiplayer, we want to make absolutely sure that players can clearly see visually what is happening on the battlefield. Currently, we are looking to have different types of death animations available for multiplayer than will be present for the single player campaign. A lot of people do still love watching intricate death animations when not in a competitive scene.

2. Battlecruisers do employ more than one gunner right? So will they be able to attack both air and ground at the same time? (sc2pod.com)

Battlecruisers will only be able to attack one unit at a time.

3. What happens with the units inside a Nydus Worm if it gets killed? Considering it can carry 255 units, would they all die? (sc2pod.com)

Units inside the Nydus network will only die when all entrance/exits are killed. This includes the Nydus Warren building, the prerequisite to build Nydus Worms, as it also acts as an entrance and exit to the Nydus network. Nydus Worms that are not deployed as an entrance/exit will not count as an entrance/exit to the network.

4. So far the map editor seems to be a very powerful tool which doesnt constrain the map makers creativity at all. Will it even be possible to edit critical abilities like path finding? If so, there would be really no limits, or at least none we can imagine at this point. (starcraft2.4players.de)

Pathfinding, the method in which a unit will determine how to move, is handled by code, and will not be able to be edited within the map editor. Nonetheless, map makers will be able to edit things such as footprints, speed, and the size of units, which will affect the movement rates of units.

5. Why were Plasma Torpedoes added to the Battlecruiser when the Banshee has virtually the same attack? (starcraft2.com.au)

The Battlecruiser no longer has Plasma Torpedoes that hit ground. Instead, they can be equipped with a Missile Barrage which will be an air-to-air area of effect attack ability. This ability will make the Battlecruiser even more effective against lightly armored air units, as the attack also gets additional damage points versus light armored units.


6. In SC: BW we have terrain bonuses for units, for example standing behind a tree or being on higher ground while shot from lower. Are you keeping or maybe even improving such this feature and what happens with large units that are more massive (Thor) or simply larger (Colossus) than a tree or even a cliff? (broodwar.de)

Terrain bonuses are no longer present in StarCraft II. Instead, line of sight will be vastly more important. For instance, units firing from a higher ground will not be able to be seen by ground units without line of sight vision, and thus the ground units will not be able to fire back.

7. If a Zerg player corrupts a Dropship/Medivac, will they get control of the units inside? - Luddite (teamliquid.net)

No, the unit's contents will be destroyed when it becomes corrupted.

---End of Transmission---  Source: Battle.net

 

Too slow? ^^
http://www.starcraft2forum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5071

 

Omg not more anti -air

ok im getting sick and tired of all this anti air stuff in sc2 now they are taking away the plasma torpedoes now 2 i mean wtf. it might just be me but like all air units of becoming more anti-air. or at least if they are taking away plasma torpedoes give back the thors barrage attack back and make that unit useful again. im sry if im sounding like a complete noob right now but im just so pissed.

 

Spartan, you must submit the news thread as an article in order to receive credit for the find, and not make a forum post.

Please do so next time. Thanks!

 

So what exactly is credit right now? Do you note down the contributing members who'll get minerals when they're back or is it just the "submitted by..." thing?

As for the batch, I do think that the new BC ability overlaps with the thor. Related to Q6, does anyone know if the thor or the colossus is able to see high ground or not?

 

Credit means reputation and minerals, yes.

 

Hahaha no more Plasma Torpedos meaning no more anti-air Thor since the Bc has an attack which is pretty much the same as the Thor's air attack, they just didn't tell us to avoid possible controversy (I hope)

Corrupted Dropship contents should die; if the whole craft gets taken over by an infestation, whatever is inside will die or be unusable.


Change unit sizes? Wtf, I think they are getting carried away with the editor on that one.

@Kuvasz, logically it should, but logically a Marine could take out a Zergling in a few single shots and vise versa, so you know...

 

I'm done with terrens for now. They are taking away units and completely missing the other points that need to be fixed. They just lost another Aoe ground unit and being that this Q&A batch didn't give us any other feed as to the other things at are happening to the terrens we have to assume they still dont have a medic, nothing has been changed to the thor and the terrans are getting the roles of AA to other units and canceling out effects that would greatly help them agenst mass numbering forces. WAY-TO-GO blizzard.

 

But yea in all honesty the Bc doesn't need to be good against light air units its too late tier, they need a 1-2 fast unit to deal with that.

 

Interesting Q & A.

Like some of you, I am also puzzled by these changes to the Terrans. At first, they had too much anti-ground. Blizzard did some fixing of this - removing the out of control missile spray for the Banshee and re-structuring the Thor as an anti-air unit. Now though it appears the scales are starting to tip the opposite direction - too much anti-air. And what'll they do with the Thor now?

 

I'm tired of the Thor, I say remove it. Who is with me?

 

Removal is more than likely what is going to happen if they keep not being able to figure out what to do with it.

 

Terrans has lost their adaptivity. Remember all the crazy tactics you could do with them? Nothing remains.

 

Personally I don't think we're seeing the entire picture. I'm waiting for WWI to have that grand scheme vision back.

 

wow no more plasma torpedo for the bc.

that means the thor gets the plasma torpedo, fits him well without everlapping with siege tanks since its anti light i think.

 

what?? did they said that plasma torpedoes will be the thors new skill??

Anyway, nothings quite flashy with this batch as most of them were partially distributed or discussed mostly in the threads... the missile shower proposal isnt such a bad idea IMO since there really isnt an AIr unit, I repeat an "Air unit" in the terran starport arsenals that really is a designated Anti-air fighter thus giving the skill a purpose of disposing swarms of air units (btw the damage should also be equal to yamato cannon divided into how many missiles will be dispersed).. which of course replaces the former valkyrie in that aspect...

 

Kill the Thor!

Anyways, I really like the new map editor. Change unit sizes, custom races and spells, what more can you ask for?

 

So guys let me ask you this, what happens if the thor still has its flak cannons and the PT was removed altogether with no return? There terrans are losing splash left and right. The marauder dosnt do splash (or i think its ability only effects its target now). The BC dosnt have PT now, but in place of that they gave the terrens another AA ability. They gave it an overload with no recoil.....wtf??? at this point i wouldnt even make air agenst terrens. Zerg air would be the worst choice at that. Mutas can be sniped or gun down by marines and ghost easly, (if thor still has the flak cannons) will burn down groups of air fast and seeing how people mass them in the Vids it would be anightmare using mass air agenst an army of Flak cannon thors, BCs now have this Air barrage ability and lets not forget the good old cheap and effective Viking. and i forgot the missle turrent that dose extra damage to light aired units. Terrans vs air seems more then Ready for Combat.

 

I just don't understand why they have the final tier, slow, big units with the light anti-air, it just doesn't comply with logic.

Zerg got Mutalisks which are all rounded air fighters, thats unique.
Protoss have the best AtA fighter.
Terran have the best/cheapest/versatile for armor.

To me that seems distinct enough as Terran were always best with anti-air coming from the ground, meaning something should become a fast GtA attacker.
Zerg are fine with their Mutalisks, Corruptors and Hydralisks.
Protoss can handle primary air with Phoenix and Stalkers.

Terran just need a GtA mech with decent speed to catch those fast flyers, the Jackal would be a nice candidate, if they replaced the flames with homing missles. Not to mention their main starting unit is anti-air already, so they don't need all these crazy effects for anti-air, they have Marines, Ghosts, Viking, Cheap Turrets, not to mention all of that is repairable.

It just seems weird that the Bc would get the Thor's attack when it has Yamato and its just a powerful unit.

No other unit needs some automatic crappy ability which you have limited control over, I'd rather utilize my Banshee for a more effective AtG barrage.

I can also tell you Terran vs air doesn't own. By the time they get Bc's, Protoss could have enough Phoenix and Warp Rays to easy your Bc's not to mention Warp Rays are designed to kill units with a lot of hitpoints.

 

ive just got the weirdest thought about vikings being candidate for that early dose of air defense...

try making the viking an alter-terrain attacker, meaning he attacks with goliath missiles on the Attacker mode and shoots rapid auto cannon at the ground in Fighter mode

or rather they should've bring back that predator proposal again and fix it to handle that purpose..