The "C&C-ization" of Starcraft 2

I have been really excited about Starcraft 2, but now I'm starting to get more and more disillusioned. Well, maybe not disillusioned so much as unsettled and worried. I have always loved Blizzard because their games are original, really well-made, and well they just plain rock. Starcraft has always been my favorite game of theirs too.

It started with the unveiling of the Protoss "soul hunters" and how they supposedly get stronger the more enemies they kill, sort of like experience in Command and Conquer and so many other second rate RTS games. I was pretty upset but thought it would be a benign thing and that they weren't intending to turn SC into a C&C and degrade it to the level of so many other shitty games which overwhelm the RTS market. But now after learning about the "high-yield" minerals I am really upset.

I mean....WTF!? Do they really think this is a good idea? I'm sorry I can't really give articulate arguments or anything but I JUST HATE THIS!!! It's totally unoriginal and it DESTROYS the gameplay dynamics which made SC the best game ever made. I hope to god they won't keep this, it is really a vulgarization of the LONG-AWAITED(to say the least) sequel to the best RTS EVER!!

Anyone else agree or do I need to chill out?

 

In the one screenshot, it appears one of the siege tanks actually HAS a rank and HAS earned experience; there are two mysterious arrows over its turret that very much resemble a sergeant's pin.

 

if the new units and mechanics add more strategic depth to the game than I have no problem with it

 

That's possible but I'm afraid more often than not it will not turn out to be a matter of strategy in actual gameplay. Say for example, one person starts off with a patch of high yield minerals closer to their base than the other person. And for experience what is it gonna be based on? Some units just kill units more than others, and some races have units that die more. So of course units like siege tanks are gonna get experience more than others just by virtue of the fact that they kill more, and are in the back. Is that fair? Is that in anyway "strategic"? I don't think so.

 

high yeild minerals will be strategically placed, most likely 2 patches in the centre of the map, we wont have situations where one player gets an unfair advantage becuase of mineral placement. We have no idea what kind of system will be in place for ranking, it could just be like in sc1 where they had a kill count, but now it has a graphical representation...

 

Bet it could turn into some Command and Conquer knock off in terms of gameplay but with a good storyline with what's his face at the helm.

 

Keep an open mind to change. This would add alot of strategy and personally... im getting a lil tired of people saying this is ripping off of other RTS games. the reapers are a direct steal of seraphim from witch hunters. http://us.games-workshop.com/games/40k/witchhunters/catalog/seraphim.htm

NOW THATS A RIPOFF!!

 

Lol practically everythiing introduced is slightly rip-offish man. The collossus is damn near identical to the tripods from War of the Worlds. Reapers look like Jump jet infantry from Warhammer 40,000k, I mean they even have the same mask and gaskmask looking thingy. The warp ray looks like the Ion Frigate from Homeworld, Nydus worm looks like that thing from Dune, The phoenix, it looks really familiar from something else but I cant place it. The Immortal seems unique, although I get the same familiar feeling about that one too.

 

yea I express the same concern as you Exvasion. Please no unit experience ick.

haha good point Hadean. There's everything always look similar to something...

 

Back up your claim here, post the screenshot.

 

Look at the rightmost tank

[img width=200 height=151]http://www.starcraft2forum.org/gallery/4_11_07_07_9_06_55.jpg[/img]

 

Ugh, that sounds like a mighty annoying implement tbh. Nothing I want to see in the retail.

 

All we need now are powerplants and laser grid fences.

 

yea i don't like the idea of this.

 

wow just because they showed you that one screen with the tank with the rank above it you already assume that its gonna be in the final version.. you just made the ultimate nub assumption congratz :

 

That's not very nice General

I think to fully understand Blizzard's logic in the changes they are making with the game, you have to look at it all in perspective. It has been 10 years. Games have changed. Blizzard, being like any other gaming company, is probably trying to make it fun for the largest group of people that it possibly can. They cannot please everyone, but they have to be trying.

If they keep everything the same, and just update the models and textures, some people (mainly, most of us) will love it for staying true to the original, and the vast majority of gamers, who, in unfathomable ignorance, have not played Starcraft, will criticize it to death as a re-hash. Conversely, if they totally change every aspect of the game and keep the bare minimum of units, gameplay, and story from the first, they take the risks that basically any other game innovators might take in making a totally new game (failing miserably/succeeding amazingly)

Right now, they are trying to find the happy medium between old and new.

The sentence I just wrote probably seems pretty "Duh..." to many people, but the way people are acting like what they are seeing is what they'll be playing come next year (*fingers crossed*) necessitates its restatement.


Personally, I wouldn't mind the ranking system. However, I have not put a lot of thought into it and how it would affect gameplay. I have yet to come to a verdict on this issue.

If Blizzard does implement this, then they MUST put some sort of scaling effect into the game, so that a tank can't kill 5 zerglings with one shot and get promoted 2 levels. It would be something like for a zergling, a promotion would mean killing 3 zealots, or 4 marines, or 5 zerglings (numbers I pulled out of my ass). For a zealot, it would be killing 6 zerglings/5 marines/4 zealots. For a tank, it would be something like 12 zerglings/7 zealots/6 marines (all numbers I pulled out of my ass)

HOWEVER, a glimmer of hope for those of you who would hate to see this ranking system in Starcraft 2: maybe the ranking image above a unit's head is a new indication of the unit being a hero...


PS - the Immortals look like the rolie polie olie droids from the Phantom Menace

 

Homeworld Cataclysm (which was nowhere near as good as Homeworld 1 and 2 and was done by a different company and was way to easy) had a sort of half assed promotion system that didn't really affect the game at all. So if they put it in (which I hope they don't) it's possible that it wont even affect the game that much.

 

THATS WHAT IT WAS! Thank you Nik! They look like Destroyer droids even have the uber shields too.

 

yeah I pointed out that they look like destroyer droids like over a month ago

 

That was a bit of a pointless post. How was I supposed to know you did that a month ago when I joined yesterday?

Regardless. Hopefully something like that wont stay in the game. The Siege Tank already looks enough Command and Conquer-y without a rank symbol above it.