Blizzard Starting To Go "Hardcore" On Heart of the Swarm

[Nightfalke]

Pardo says that each new game will feel like a sequel from a single-player point of view, while from a multiplayer perspective they'll feel like expansions sets.

Yeah, a $60 expansion pack...

Man, I remember when expansion packs were half the price of the original game...

 

[Jandau]

Maybe this means that they'll make the Zerg suck less in the multiplayer department...

"L2P Noob!" Is what I wish I could say, however that would be far too rude. However if you know your build order and are quick to counter your enemy you can easilly dispatch everyone in your way. No class is "overpowered" you just need to know how to counter each unit, how to successfully build in an organized and proficent manner and to click 10000000 times within a minute

Ah, the generic "It's fine, you're just too stupid to see it!" response. I was wondering when one of those would show up. While I could proceed to go into a long rant about why Terrans are overpowered and why Zerg suck, I'm going to keep it short.

It's down to Effort/Result ratio. Playing Terran requires minimal effort while providing high returns. Playing Zerg requires a lot of effort to recieve minimal returns.

Specifically, a Terran can just make a MMM ball and attack move it towards the enemy base. This will counter almost any unit setup not designed specifically to destroy the MMM ball. Minimal effort, high return. Also, Reapers. Just Reapers...

On the other hand, a Zerg player needs to constantly babysit his Queens and keep them puking on his Hatcheries simply to keep up in production with other races. This is annoying and serves no purpose. If a Zerg player doesn't do it like clockwork (on all his hatches with all his queens), he'll fall behind the other races. Considering the micro requirements of playing the most fragile race to begin with, this means Zerg have a high Effort requirement to simply break even.

 

[Darth Sea Bass]

How about going "hardcore" on diablo 3 ffs!

 

[Credge]

The question then is, what CAN they do to the multiplayer which would be worthwhile?

The campaign shows what the Terran will be getting in the various expansions. Mainly SC1 units that don't exist in SC2 multiplayer.

And probably the same thing for the other factions.

 

[Credge]

Specifically, a Terran can just make a MMM ball and attack move it towards the enemy base.

:|

Scouting>any strat.

 

[Xerosch]

Then again, maybe they're trying to come up with a storyline which isn't as predictable as "Wings of Liberty"'s... Don't get me wrong, though, I like StarCraft! =D

Well, at first I was quite disappointed by the ending as it seemed as easy solution. But then I thought about why this happened. And this could be the answer:

Spoiler

In Raynor's crystal missions the Queen of Blades is dead. And technically she is, Sarah became human again and Jim misunderstood what Zeratul told him. The narration and dialogues distinguish between 'Queen of Blades' and 'Sarah Kerrigan', too.

There's also a reason why Raynor is often shown being depressed about the New Gettysburg incident: He accidently made the future shown by Zeratul happen. And knowing Blizzard storylines there's only one way out: Sacrificing Sarah once more.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

If they're worried about getting the game out quickly, I know where they can get the engine, sound design, and 95% of the play mechanics.

 

[Paragon Fury]

Another 10 years, here we come.

 

[Buccura]

I'm still wondering...
(MAJOR SPOILER)

Spoiler

How is it going to work, now that Kerrigan is supposedly human again.

i thought that

Spoiler

she was still zerg just not being controled by them any more

Spoiler

That's what I'm thinking. My guess is that, since Blizzard said HOTS will play like an RPG in which Kerrigan is gaining powers, it will be a sort of Metroid like scenario where as Samus was stripped of her powers and has to get them all back, because unless HOTS says otherwise I won't accept that Kerrigan is truly 100% human again.

 

[ArmorArmadillo]

Maybe this means that they'll make the Zerg suck less in the multiplayer department...

"L2P Noob!" Is what I wish I could say, however that would be far too rude. However if you know your build order and are quick to counter your enemy you can easilly dispatch everyone in your way. No class is "overpowered" you just need to know how to counter each unit, how to successfully build in an organized and proficent manner and to click 10000000 times within a minute

I'm not sure what they're really hoping to achieve with these. I mean, I'll buy them if they're very cheap, but the Zerg and Protoss campaigns are kind of inevitably bad since both those factions are devoid of good story sort of necessarily, the Zerg being a Hive Mind and the Protoss being a stereotype of vague culture-less aliens. Combine that with the disappointing story of WoL, and things aren't looking good.

And Blizzards "Ready when it's Ready" policy is ringing a bit annoying, since it how can it be that hard to predict the release of something which isn't even a new game?

1.) Both the stories are not "bad", read there backstory and you will figure out more.
2.) Um, yea... so... a Video Game with a new story, new units, and new gameplay is not a new game? Somehow I do not believe that at all.

I'm not sure what they're really hoping to achieve with these. I mean, I'll buy them if they're very cheap, but the Zerg and Protoss campaigns are kind of inevitably bad since both those factions are devoid of good story sort of necessarily, the Zerg being a Hive Mind and the Protoss being a stereotype of vague culture-less aliens. Combine that with the disappointing story of WoL, and things aren't looking good.

And Blizzards "Ready when it's Ready" policy is ringing a bit annoying, since it how can it be that hard to predict the release of something which isn't even a new game?

The Protoss had a awesome backstory , so did the Zerg. It was all in the Starcraft 1 and Starcraft:Broodwar manual and it evolved during the course of those games. The first Zerg campaign was very nicely done despite there being almost only zergs in the briefings.

I disliked the horrible story of WoL. There are people who liked it, sure. But they retconned so much. On the EU forum there is a 34 page thread discussing the bad story, there should be a bigger thread on the US one.
I think they should do away with the branching storyline. A lineair story can be told far better, but I guess it doesn't sell well. Now half of the campaign was filler.

The biggest flaw for me is that Raynor loves Kerrigan. At the end of Broodwar, Kerrigan kills Raynor's best friend Fenix. Raynor cries foul and says to her that he'll kill her one day.

As the bottom part, is it possible that he came to the conclusion that her mind was altered by the swarm itself? However when he heard of the alien relic he realized that he could bring back the women whom he once loved? That is how I figured it :/

If they're using the same engine, it's an expansion pack, not a new game, although that's just semantics.

And I have read the backstory of the protoss and zerg, but Backstory =/= Character. The protoss may have a lot of backstory reasons why they are the way they are, but once they're actually in play they just fall into being flat, muttering, and vague with no relatable motivations.

Also, they really need to do away with the branching missions design, it was a bad idea. Yes it lets you do the missions in orders you want, but that comes at the price that the subplots end up not having anything to do with each other, which is not a good thing...I mean, does it really make sense for the ending of the Zeratul plot to have no bearing on how Raynor acts in the others.

And lets not even begin to discuss the stupidity of a story that hinges on a magic Xel'Naga retconning macguffin.

 

[elvor0]

I'm not sure what they're really hoping to achieve with these. I mean, I'll buy them if they're very cheap, but the Zerg and Protoss campaigns are kind of inevitably bad since both those factions are devoid of good story sort of necessarily, the Zerg being a Hive Mind and the Protoss being a stereotype of vague culture-less aliens. Combine that with the disappointing story of WoL, and things aren't looking good.

And Blizzards "Ready when it's Ready" policy is ringing a bit annoying, since it how can it be that hard to predict the release of something which isn't even a new game?

The Protoss had a awesome backstory , so did the Zerg. It was all in the Starcraft 1 and Starcraft:Broodwar manual and it evolved during the course of those games. The first Zerg campaign was very nicely done despite there being almost only zergs in the briefings.

I disliked the horrible story of WoL. There are people who liked it, sure. But they retconned so much. On the EU forum there is a 34 page thread discussing the bad story, there should be a bigger thread on the US one.
I think they should do away with the branching storyline. A lineair story can be told far better, but I guess it doesn't sell well. Now half of the campaign was filler.

The biggest flaw for me is that Raynor loves Kerrigan. At the end of Broodwar, Kerrigan kills Raynor's best friend Fenix. Raynor cries foul and says to her that he'll kill her one day.

I don't think the whole love thing is BAD persay, it could've been shown better, as in he hates her to the ends of the earth, but's also conflicted inside by the fact he loves her as well, because he technically loves Sarah, wheras he hates the Queen of Blades, who's likely a bit mental.

SPOILER


The thing I didn't like was that they decided to make it so that the zerg are tragic villains now, by saying the dark one corrupted the overmind to put them on their course of destruction, now that the entire universe is at threat, it just seems like an Old god storyline from WoW.

I will admit that it has its similarities however I always pictured it as the Dark One's in Starcraft as extremely powerful aliens who go around attempting to take over the entire universe. The Old gods however are just beings who are connected to azeroth, small insignificant beings who the titans trapped on a single planet that they can never get off. So the aliens in SCII seem to be more of a threat then a couple of giant mawed and giant eyed creatures in Azeroth.

Oh yeah I know in the grand scheme of things the old gods are insignificant, but most of the action of WoW goes on on Azeroth and Draenor, so its sort of over the entire "Universe" that our heroes inhabit, so because starcraft has intersteller travel and what have you its an up scaled form of that, etc etc.

Either way, I'd prefer the zerg to remain some manelovent force on their own rather than old gods evil aliens or whatever being the cause of it

 

[Tony2077]

I know I may not be the first one to say this, but I hope we won't have to wait another 12 years for "Heart of the Swarm". Still, considering that the mechanics of the game and the graphics are taken care, it would be nice to have some semblance of a release date. Then again, maybe they're trying to come up with a storyline which isn't as predictable as "Wings of Liberty"'s... Don't get me wrong, though, I like StarCraft! =D

Remind me again how:

Spoiler

Suddenly switching sides and becoming an ally with your enemy in order to turn Sarah Kerrigan back to a human

Was predictable?

Spoiler

she is still probably part zerg but not crazy as she was before so she'll be able to help raynor well maybe who knows

"Who Knows"... aka it's not predictable at all! Don't contradict yourself (or look up words before using them).

As for the next campaign pack, I'm looking forward to it. I'm kinda glad the Protoss are coming last, feels like they're saving the best for last to me.

i just added that as a way of saying i wasn't sure it was a idea but well it's up to blizzard to what happen so who knows other then them or do i need to be more clear

 

[Free Thinker]

A whole campaign based on Zerg. Crap. I suck with Zerg. Why can't we just skip to the Protoss?

 

[ENKC]

The question then is, what CAN they do to the multiplayer which would be worthwhile?

The campaign shows what the Terran will be getting in the various expansions. Mainly SC1 units that don't exist in SC2 multiplayer.

And probably the same thing for the other factions.

I think you'll find the SC 1 units are being specifically limited to the campaign and are not intended to show up in multiplayer, especially as their roles have been superceded by other units.