It seems that Blizzard’s presentation at the Leipzig Games Convention was not much more than a now well rehearsed show for the European gamers, as both the information and game build presented were similar, if not identical to the ones used in BlizzCon and Gen Con.

IGN has covered the event, and are as disappointed as we are. However, in their words, “More of the same is never a bad thing where Starcraft II is concerned, and we certainly weren’t going to pass up a chance to play the game.”.

After getting a chance to play the game some more, they also have some insight to share:

Our initially positive impressions of the game haven’t changed much since the last time we got our hands on it, but we are starting to sense more and more that the real challenge in playing Starcraft II online is less about managing your units than deciding what units and upgrades you need to spend your money on in the first place.

 

While the sides are each going to be choosing from just a dozen or so core combat units, the range of upgrades for them gives players a great degree of freedom in terms of designing their armies. This makes building a quick and steady flow of resources is key to getting the right balance between the number and quality of units.

 

In our matches, we got lots of mileage out of the Vikings and Siege Tanks but that’s mostly because we made an effort to boost their effectiveness by researching general vehicle upgrades and some specific powers that each unit can obtain. Our tank-busting Cobras benefited from some of the vehicle upgrades but we were focused more on the other two unit types to spend much time or money on the speedy vehicle killers.

 

When you consider that you can make use of just as many upgrades for your infantry and air units, and that you’ll be fighting enemies online who are making the same customization decisions with regard to their army, the possibilities for finding cool strategies increases to a remarkable level.

StarCraft was always a game of important decisions, but somehow I doubt that managing your units is less emphasized in StarCraft 2.

And now for something completely different:

Karune, Blizzard’s RTS community manager, hasn’t posted a Q&A batch in a while. However, a post about the Immortals has been spotted on Battle.net. The topic in discussion was Immortals and their lack of an anti-air attack. Karune has posted the official stance on this issue:

At the moment, if Immortals were to be anti-air, they would be far too powerful. In terms of balance, we really want to make sure you don’t have one type of unit be able to kill all others. Currently, the Immortals are vulnerable to rapid fire units and air units. On the other hand, they absolutely own armored units, including Stalkers and Siege Tanks.

A fair decision. Immortals, as they are now, already seem almost too powerful.

Related Posts:

• » Two Massive Q&A Sessions: Battle.Net and Beta In-Depth
• » StarCraft 2 Beta: Protoss Strategies Overview
• » StarCraft 2 Beta: Yo Mommaship Got Nerfed
• » StarCraft 2 Beta: First Gameplay and Battle.net Impressions

3 Comments to “Leipzig Convention: No New StarCraft 2 Information”

1. Ken — August 23, 2007 @ 4:01 pm
   

   “Tank-busting Cobras?” Really? I thought they were like the vultures in Broodwar… I also thought that they were only effective against biological units. Wow, if that’s the case, then, it is very versatile indeed. I think they can also hit air units as well. A posse of Tanks, Cobras and Marine/Medics would punch a hole through almost any defense.

2. WhiteKnight — August 25, 2007 @ 9:32 am
   

   so redesign him

   with this design and plasma cannon i really sure that he should be able to hit air.

3. NX-306 — August 25, 2007 @ 3:07 pm
   

   perhaps no new information, but it was good that you get your hands on the game even if youre unable to travel to US