Tidbits with Blizzcast 6

I don't have time to create a news article or a proper first post so I'll just link the stuff.

http://starcraft2.hu/

At the link you can find a screenshot, 3 new lo-res unit portraits, and 3 animated hi-res unit portraits (thor, marauder, mutalisk).

Enjoy.

 

Thor Pilot. Yes.
YES.

He's even got the god damned trinket. Now only if the unit didn't suck...

 

Sweet! That's a new tileset, right?

 

It's almost a shame they're happy with the Mutalisk portrait. They've got such a great in-game design for the unit and the portrait's head is just awesome, but it's practically ruined by the wings and lower body. They wings just look far too frail and small, and the lower body just looks like a plunger. They should either zoom it in, so it focuses directly on its head, or remodel the wings and lower body to be stronger and closer to the in-game unit design.

As for the Thor, it seems that would work far better for the Hellion, or similar, than the Thor itself. Can't really portray what I reckon the Thor portrait should look like, but a punk with a disco ball definitely doesn't suit. As for the Marine, I much preferred the original.

The Marauder's perfect though.

Oh, and we've also seen the new Nullifier attack animation in this BlizzCast. Looks so awesome and suits the Nullifier perfectly, though whether it fits the game itself looks to be a bit touch and go. That said, we haven't seen it in action.

 

yeah i gotta say i really like the unit portraits and the new tileset...and the new att animation for the nullifier =]

the mutalisk...i dont really mind it tbh, the bottom part however, is all down and "dangely". I think it should be more of like a curve.
I dont know what you mean by the wings though itza, do you want them to be thicker?

 

The Thor pilot is awesome =D. At least this got this right, Thor's design and Animated protrait hehe. Mutalisk is fine by me.

 

Not necessarily thicker, but sturdier. At the moment they're barely looking as though they're supporting the Mutalisk' weight, and on top of that, the wings appear to bend where they logically shouldn't, which again adds to the feel of them being weak and frail.

 

I actually loved the muta <3

 

The Mutalisk looks like a wimp. The wings look fine to me but the "tail" makes the Mutalisk look about as intimidating as an Orc with no arms or legs.

The Thor's portraits looks like it could almost give some people epileptic seizues It might also distract from gameplay. Other than that, it looks fine to me though.

The Marauder looks plain and boring. it looks to me like it has almost no animation. Very plain and boring. I like the design though.

 

The Thor guy is me in 20 years.

Also, does he have a rave going on in there?

 

I thought those were warning lights of some sort but I like the disco ball explanation better

In general I think the animation on all three is a little over-the-top. It's as if they strived to entertain us - hardly the case when you're in the military and you know someone is always watching you. As for the mutalisk, I agree that it should be focused on its head.

@Itza: My guess for the reason the wings bend in places 'they shouldn't' is because they're not like what a bat has, and for all we know it might not even have bones and joints in it. Remember the Zerg also consist of assimilated invertebrates.

Another note on the mutalisk which is posted at the Hungarian site and with which I agree is that Zerg units seem to have grown extra pairs of eyes for no apparent reason (now having multiple eyes afaik: mutalisk, lurker, drone, overlord, overseer, corruptor). I find that quite weird and makes the unit roster bland.

 

Thor pilot animation is way too distracting. If I ever used a Thor in battle I'd always lose because I'd be too distracted by the rave party going on at the bottom of my screen. Also, you'd think such a huge friggin robot would have at least a little bit of shock absorption...it looks like the guy holding the camera is hyped up on caffiene or something Other than that though, I like it, especially the rock horns.

The Marauder looks a bit boring, mosting because you're looking straight on at the guy, but I don't mind it too much. Maybe zooming in a bit would make it look better.

The Mutalisk looks amazing up top, but they really skimped out on the wings and body. I'd be happy if they reversed the view angle of the animation (looking up at the mutalisk's head instead).

The Nullifier's new attack animation looks interesting. I like the oily texture of the beam, but the colors look horrible IMO. Protoss have a good thing going blueish glows of attack animations; the purple and black seems really out of place. Gotta love the Surveillance Station though - dead sexy.

 

I think the Thor portrait could move and flash a bit less. THe pilot's supposed to be fighting, not attending a rave.

 

Why cant the Thor Pilot have fun?
you guys suck

 

Also, those hardened shields look sick They distort the terrain in that hexagonal pattern and... omg.

 

The tileset looks like a mix of Desert and Space Platform (is that what it's called?).

Looks like they slimmed the Ghost down again. Bottom right, infront of the Siege Tank.

 

It's true that it's a different creature altogether, though that said it does appear to bend in similar places, but the wings simply do not look like they'd support the Mutalisk's weight. Regardless of where they bend or what they look like, it should always look as though it's able to support the weight, which right at the moment it doesn't.

 

Maybe the planets in starcraft that we've seen have low gravity and thus the mutalisks wings don't need to support much weight...

 

Regardless, they don't look like they're supporting the weight. Even if it was lower gravity, the wings should look as though they're the ones that are holding and supporting the Mutalisk, because, well, they are. The wings don't look like that in the portrait.

 

That idea of a Flying 2 headed ultralisk that breaths fire is awesome!