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CVG has the story:

 

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=163207

 

The long-rumoured new instalment of Blizzard's massive StarCraft series is set to be unveiled later this month - and it's another massively-multiplayer online game in the style of World of Warcraft, CVG can reveal.

 

Well placed US sources have revealed to us that the StarCraft MMO will be unveiled at an upcoming Blizzard event on May 19 in South Korea - the epicentre of the sci-fi RTS series' rabid fandom.

 

The unveiling of the new instalment has previously been rumoured for the South Korea event, though we now know that the title is in fact an online spin-off and not a new RTS game as previously assumed.

 

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Of course this is massive news for both Vivendi and the MMO world; Blizzard's other online offering World of Warcraft has topped 6 million subscribers and is arguably the biggest game around today.

It would come as absolutely no suprise if this were true. Though I'd have to wonder if Blizzard isn't getting a bit too ambitious considering they could easily milk another expansion or two out of WoW to begin with.

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I would prefer another RTS as well. They have been hiring RTS level designers after all.

 

As far as cannibalizing WoW, it took Blizz 3+ years from when they announced World of Warcraft until it was delivered. I think they can still fit another expansion or 2 over a similar development cycle for WoW. However, they would probably need to hire a few more people to help develop and maintain 2 separate MMOs.

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I'd be surprised since they've said in the past that they wouldn't want to have their MMO fanbase split into two different games. However it could be good if interest in WOW starts to drop off in the years it's going to take them to develop it.

 

The best thing they could do if they are afraid of splintering the players, is to have your subscription fee cover both games. I don't think they will since that would probably mean less profit for them.

 

I also hope that it's not just WOW in space. Maybe it will be more of persistent strategy game or something.

 

Or maybe they're making a Diablo RTS next.

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Starcraft 2 in a persistant universe rather than a MMORPG is my guess. A good mate used to work at Blizzard & he's more tightlipped about his time there than anyone I've ever met in the industry. He won't say a thing about what projects were/are in the pipeline. It's very annoying :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

In the other thread i was joking that i would buy a new Imac for Dirty Dancing :-), but truthgullI would buy one for Starcraft II. Was a huge fan of the original game. Played it for years with a group of people. Can not wait to play II

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I wonder what the average PC spec is in Korea? The few screenshots released don't demonstrate much change since the original so I'm wondering if the average PC in Korea factored into the design of this game.

 

Whatever...I'm just glad to see it announced. I'm also happy to see it quite similar to the original. I didn't care for the changes implemented in the Warcraft series from II to III.

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I wonder what the average PC spec is in Korea? The few screenshots released don't demonstrate much change since the original so I'm wondering if the average PC in Korea factored into the design of this game.

 

Them's 3-D graphics.

 

And you might want to try a "starcraft screenshots" Google Images search to refresh your memory ;)

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My first impression is that it's a Starcraft Expansion with a graphical overhaul.... and that's what it seems to be. I'm a little disappointed that they didn't try something different than just another RTS. Maybe some sort of persistent online world, or.... just something. I guess they could still do something, but this line says to me that they are not:

 

"StarCraft II is the ultimate competitive real-time strategy game"

 

This says to me "We're making this game for Korea, and we don't want to muck around with it too much for fear that they won't like it. The rest of you can play too if you want"

 

The fact that the game looks pretty similar, has no new race(s) and probably none of the things that War 3 had like creeps, or Hero Units reinforces that thought. I suppose there could be things like that in the single player game.

 

It's hard to tell just how excited I am. On one hand, I've grown tired of Blizzard RTS games, and RTS games in general, and it does look like more of the same. On the other hand... the gameplay video took my breath away a little with the first shot of gameplay (Showing the Green tileset and the big strider type units) and then later with the huge swarm of Zerg.

 

All those Zerg units swarming looks really cool.

 

Finally, the game actually looks pretty far along, and unless they are trying something new that we don't know about, or decide to overhaul the graphics twice like last time, I would actually expect to see this game out next year, and maybe even early next year, with a possible beta test sometime this year.

 

It's also interesting, and nice to see, that they just updated Battle.net for Starcraft 1 with league support a few days ago. That really speaks volumes for not only how popular this game is, but how Blizzard treats their games and their fans.

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The fact that the game looks pretty similar, has no new race(s) and probably none of the things that War 3 had like creeps, or Hero Units reinforces that thought. I suppose there could be things like that in the single player game.

 

I hope not...I hated what the Hero's did to Warcraft. The hero concept worked in Total Annihilation because the game was centered around them. Warcraft III tried to do both and (IMO) failed.

 

I think it's too early to rule out any new features...the released screenshots are conspicuous for what they do not show.

 

Nice HD trailer for the opening movie:

 

http://stage6.divx.com/WBB-Magazine-...--Trailer-(HD)

 

Nice indeed. I could watch Blizzard's CGI stuff all day long.

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PCGamer's Greg saw this game first hand. Twenty minutes of gameplay. Inside the walls of Blizzard. And his impression after everything was that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Implying that there isn't going to be a whole lot of innovation or adaption of current mainstream features. So far everything seems to point at that being the case.

 

However, I wouldn't be shocked if this game actually IS an MMO. Not an MMORPG, but an MMORTS... perhaps in the way that End War is supposed to be? Where each skirmish is part of a larger persisting battle? Just a thought.

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Thank God they didn't make this another MMO. I can't stand MMO's. I'm glad they are keeping Starcraft 2 much the same as the original. It remains one of 2 RTS games I fondly remember (Total Annihilation being the other one). I've never been a big fan of the genre but Starcraft just had awesome gameplay balance that made the game really fun to play against other peeps. That was back when I actually went to LAN parties. Starcraft, Jagged Aliance...good times.

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Seriously, I'm just picking up on this, but what does Korea and Starcraft really have to do with each other? It sounds like I'm missing the joke and the punchline somewhere.

StarCraft in Korea is like Football here in the states, everyone knows who the star players are, they watch it on TV, there are shows on TV about how to become a better starcraft player, starcraft tournaments can fill up 10,000+ stadiums, not only do men play it but so do women. its just huge over there.

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What Kelley said. Starcraft is INSANE in Korea. I doubt the US market had any real impact on the revelation of the sequel compared to the Koreans. Hell, I've seen pics in magazines of Starcraft emblazoned potato chips and friggin' Starcraft brand soft drinks...

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I'm having the opposite reaction of most here. I would have preferred an MMO in the Starcraft universe. Being a Zerg during a rush would be an awesome experience. RTS games for me just seem way too played out. I loved Starcraft back inthe day, but do I want to spend $600 upgrading my PC just to collect resources and build walls again?

 

And I'm surprised too. WoW has been like a magic teat that delivers liquid gold and diamonds as big as your hand on demand. Not persuing that honeypot again must have taken a true act of willpower on Blizzard's part. Then again, for all I know there is ALSO a Starcraft MMO in the works from another team, just not set to arrive yet.

 

Damn, that game sure does bring the pretty.

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