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Dustin Browder, StarCraft 2’s lead game designer, has given an interview to IncGamers’s brand new StarCraftWire.net. He discusses everything from the map editor to super units in length and provides some insight into the gameplay design process.
Highlights:
So when will the Starcraft II editor become available to modders?
I don’t know yet, it’ll certainly be shipped with the game but I don’t know the answer to whether it will be earlier. That would be cool though.
Could the StarCraft 2 map editor be released before the game? Blizzard has not done this before, but some other companies have turned to this move to increase interest in their game before it is released, especially if it has been baking in the development oven for a long while.
Concerning 3D graphics, what’s tools do you need? In StarCraft it was just using paint and opening it and just adding new units. What 3D do you consider for modders? Will you be giving your own editor for the graphics?
I think we may ship the art tools but you still have to have a 3D program, there’s no way around that.
Well, StarCraft seems very… “conservative” would be a good word I suppose. Were there any other concepts that you discussed at the beginning of the development process that you ended up scrapping because you felt; “no, we want it to be like it was”?
Some… By the time I started working on the project three years ago the team really wanted to make a game that was true to the legacy of the original StarCraft. So in terms of “are we being too conservative or not?” We talked about that every day. It was a constant discussion.
It’s obvious that the same debate the fans are always engaged in - is StarCraft 2 enough of a “new game”? - is shared by the developers as well. Currently, it looks like Blizzard has managed to stay true to StarCraft 1 while enhancing it in almost every possible way and while introducing new ideas that further differentiate the races, creating a new experience if not a completely new game.
When asked about the Rock-Paper-Scissor relationship between units, Dustin provides a good explanation for how unit interactions in StarCraft work:
It’s not even just that, of the relationships in StarCraft; lot of them aren’t even Rock Paper Scissors, which is one of the things that makes the game so exciting. One of the standard RTS paradigm is that we use the Rock Paper Scissors but a lot of the relationships, especially in the early tech tree of StarCraft, are positional based. It’s not so much *whether I beat you* its *where do we fight*.
Zerglings will crush Zealots in the open field. They’ll just overrun them completely, and these are both the core units. Whereas the Zealots, at the choke, will just kill hundreds of Zerglings based on the Zerglings getting all trapped up behind. So in addition to where you fight there are also the questions of micro that are really interesting.
What we are really worried about are overlapping roles, it’s a constant struggle for us, but if you go there and play it now you can find a couple:
Player: “What about these guys”
Dustin: “Yes, I know!! They overlap, oh my god”.
Many RTS games completely rely on unit statistics and their predictable interactions to determine the outcome of battle. It is indeed one of StarCraft’s greatest strengths that so many other factors affect the result of an engagement between units, and produces equal match ups between even the lowliest of units and the most powerful ones.
Which particular unit has been the most problematic one when working, balance wise, not only for the Zerg but the other races as well?
The Mothership - hands down.
What is the problem with it?
Well, by its size it doesn’t look like a super unit from other RTS games. The problem here with super units is we want every unit to be a decision. There’s no point in shipping a unit if the player says: “I have to build that, it’s powerful, I should always build that. If I get to this tech level, I build it.”
We don’t have that in StarCraft II, the games meatier then that; you have to work for everything. So we don’t like the “super units”… The Mothership visually seems to suggest that, but at the same time we don’t want that to be part of the core gameplay experience so we’re continually balancing the ship, we’re continually looking for a new spell kit for this unit to make sure there are reasons to build it, really solid reasons, and really solid reasons not to build it.
Today the really solid reasons not to build it, and it’s been this way for many months, is the Mothership can’t really, cost for cost, defend itself effectively in the air. This means you can’t have air superiority dumped on the Mothership. If you already have your superiority, go for it, the Mothership is a good addition, but like I say; “it’s been a big pain.” It’s not helpful that it’s located at the end of the tech tree against how fast StarCraft games can be and how brutal it can be. There is a great chance that you can die within the first three or four minutes. So even in our play test process we don’t get to see this unit as often as we like:
Designer: “Did you get to play with the Mothership”
Tester: “Well, no, we didn’t, we topped out at the Immortals and Stalkers/Colossus”
Designer: “Ok ok ok, play again, play real hard”
Designer: “Did you get to play with the Mothership”
Tester: “No, no, we didn’t really get that high in the tech tree”
So once in a while it happens and then we’ll get some data but it just makes it a lot more complicated. We get a lot more data obviously on play testing Stalkers, Zerglings, Marines and all these guys because you see them all the time.
The Mothership is one of the units which has gotten the most attention - both from fans and from the developers - and has changed a lot accordingly. The Monthly Topic initiated for its sake generated a lot of comments and ideas, and Blizzard is still trying to nail down the right formula for making this unit worthy of the StarCraft 2 Protoss.
How did you decide to change the Queen that dramatically? Like, from a flying unit to a ground unit, from a mass unit to one-only unit?
It started conceptionally as kind of a story hit, we felt like the Queen was an opportunity to create a creature that owns the base, that lives inside and that she somehow lays eggs maybe, she’s monstrous and evil - like a Queen that you may see in an ant hive or a film.
We wanted that Queen, because we felt like the old Queen didn’t really hit that vibe. For example; that Queen could be called any other name and you’d be fine with that. It wasn’t a Queen in the classic sense, so that was the core idea.
How could we make this unit into something that feels like the Queen and we tried it a bunch of different ways and for awhile she was laying eggs to create weak organisms, so for example, there’d be different types of Hydralisks running around. That was kind of fun but then it got confusing, like which Hydralisk could attack me in the air, and what do I counter that with, I don’t remember.
So it was kind of a problem, so we’ve sort of settled down on this base defender which seems pretty successful, I don’t know if it’s really good enough for StarCraft II [but] that’s what we’re going to find out. It seems pretty fun.
The Zerg Queen is another unit that has gone through many changes, but this one is more set in its role due to story considerations, unlike the numerous incarnations of the Terran Thor and the Protoss Mothership. While the current “base mother” role is not likely to change, there is still plenty of room for flexibility left in terms of implementation.
21 Comments to “StarCraft 2 Lead Designer Interview”
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The Mothership seems to have its share of problems. It would be so much better if they just redesigned the Arbiter. As of now, they both hold the same role (late game flying support), but the Mothership is slow, expensive and you’ll rarely see one in a game, let alone two.
Of course, the Mothership’s abilities are stronger than the Arbiter’s, but now its a matter of putting all your eggs in one basket.
The Mothership IS a redesigned arbiter. And I wish that was not true
Point being im bored with seeing more SC1 units so I dont want to see the arbiter but I dont want a MS that behaves like one too. I want it to behave like a new unit. I hope Blizzard learns that the mothership does not need to be a “peak tier victory unit” without the unwarranted nerfs
While Blizzard may not want superunits, you simply cant have units that big which dont have any strong influence at all.
People see the size of that thing and want to believe that it wields alot of power simply because it is large and imposing. But when you discover it can only put out some optional spells and nothing else it only dissapoints. Thats why it has been so hard to find a real place for the mothership ever since it left that “superunit” status.
It began as a superunit and I beleive it should actualy end as one. There are many ways Blizzard can do that and make it work, it has been discussed before in numerous blogs and forums so I wont go into detail.
Great interview, Blizzcon can’t come soon enuff :/
Wow. Excellent responses by the blizzard team.
I, too, was thinking of the arbiter during the comments on the mothership. I don’t think it necessarily needs to be a super-unit, but I feel its number ought to be few. I would like to see it lower on the tech tree, but not as a unit one will produce in substantial quantity.
I think this is important to maintain what keeps starcraft great: “an engagement between units, and … equal match ups between even the lowliest of units and the most powerful ones.”
As much as I love the images of the mothership, thor, and queen, if it simply becomes impossible to balance these units into the game without any overlap, i would still be content to play without them in multiplayer. Is it impossible to adequately balance these units into the game without overlap? I hope so, but I am sure they’ve provided plenty of headaches. But if it came down to it, I would be happy without them.
That last comment was a little unclear. What I meant to say is: I hope the super-units remain in the game, but if they must be cut for balance purposes - that’s OK.
The Colossus looks awesome. I hope we get to see more of it soon.
Like in a beta.
The mothership:
Right now being at the end of the tech tree, unless it has a real strong attack, it will be become… another Arbiter.
But it is really so painful to give it a strong attack?
As long as the mothership cost LOTS of food, there’s no reason NOT to give it a strong attack anti-air, make it a threat, so it will become a prime target of attack!
Then of course, blizz might be worried, ‘what if a protoss v protoss’ war turns into a ‘race to mothership’ fight?
well, hasn’t it always be such, if you are not rushing with a particular basic group, you are likely enaged in a ‘race to highest tech war’. Just give the mothership a viable weakness so it won’t be too cheap, and it should be alright, it would be cool, as said before to hear:
“A PROTOSS MOTHERSHIP HAS DECENDED INTO LOWER ORBIT”
a protoss version of a nuclear launch…
The biggest problem now, and I think we can all agree on this, is that the Mothership began as a super-unit, and has now devolved into a twisted Arbiter/super-unit hybrid. I say that it would have been better if they started off by redesigning the Arbiter and stayed clear of super-units altogether. Some of you would prefer if they had taken the opposite course.
As for why I dislike super-units -
Starcraft has never been about single beefy units, or about turtling and rushing up the tech tree. Even Carriers were always built and used in small groups, not as a single unit. There are many disadvantages to building only one powerful unit, instead of many smaller ones. The larger unit will invariably have a longer build time, and it cannot be at several places around the map at the same time. It is also extremely vulnerable to single-target skills, such as Lockdown.
@Kent -
Protoss vs Protoss games have never been about rushing all the way up the tech tree to Carriers/Arbiters. Most PvP games involve a Dragoon + Reaver push, followed by Reaver/Storm drops and finally Dragoons + Reavers + Templar/Archons.
So Thor = offense, Queen = defense, and mothership = support. I don’t like any of these units yet! But I’m patient
Maybe the mothership abilities could be useful - time bomb looks great to cast on enemy units (so long as they can not be attacked them while in the timebomb ie. stasis field that effects turrets too). Some adaption of the force field ability could also be made to work (planet cracker could actually crack the planet a little, creating a permanent wall for ground troops) (hmm maybe not! but you know!).
Maybe the unit could have a teleport ability so it can escape death easily. Because the slow movement speed is the thing would become annoying for a support unit role. I would want to get it in, do it’s thing, and get it out fast.
Maybe it can teleport other units to a power field if they are about to die. Or teleport groups of enemy units away. Maybe it can recharge friendly units’ shields faster.
But yes, it and the others, just seem a little awkward, they always have
나는 전부 전세계안에 가장 중대한 인간 이다. 도박안에 나의 특기는 필적할 수 없다. 나가 최고 이기 때문에 아무도는 나를 격파할 수 있지 않는다. 나는 너 모두에게 우량하다. 나는 보다 크다 모두. 나에게 키보드 및 쥐를 주고 갈것을 보십시요.
stfu 나는우랑하다 this comment u left does nothing to help, nor does it make any opinion of yours. U r not the center of attention-> “나는 전부 전세계안에 가장 중대한 인간 이다”…u r ine stupid useless korean
So, I translated the above comment online with Google and Yahoo, or tried to, at least….
“나는 우량하다” (name) = “I am superior to”(Google Language Tools)/”I am superior”(Yahoo Babel Fish)
“나는 전부 전세계안에 가장 중대한 인간 이다. 도박안에 나의 특기는 필적할 수 없다. 나가 최고 이기 때문에 아무도는 나를 격파할 수 있지 않는다. 나는 너 모두에게 우량하다. 나는 보다 크다 모두. 나에게 키보드 및 쥐를 주고 갈것을 보십시요.”
=
“I’m not the greatest human beings all around the world. My specialty is an unmatched gaming. Because the best out of me gyeokpahal[?] can not do anything. I am superior to all of you. I am bigger than both. Keyboard and mouse for me to see him go.” (Google)
=
“I most am the human being which is serious inside the total whole world. The specialty inside gambling[gaming?] will not be able to match. Goes out and anyone will be able to destroy me which goes round selfish because of top. I you all am superior. I am bigger, all. Give the keyboard and the mouse in me and the fact that will go see.” (Yahoo)
So we can clearly tell from this that… um… online translation technology has a long way to go.
uhh yeah… what was the point of leaving that comment ‘나는 우랑하다’?? o.o
Simple translation -
lol I pwn u nubs rofl gg np np
Right?
우량 is usually used for babies.
It means “Big”. Big baby.
Yeah…. so translation pwned you.
so why did a korea dude get in here saying he is the best and having no match in this world of gaming??? Like poets using pen and paper as his sword and shield, he with his mouse and his keyboard rules a galaxy’s corner (which was created by a 200$ computer Intel Pentium II.)
Anyway, I have a question. Does anyone know the function of the two jet-engine on the shoulder/back of the Marine? I have thought about it since the game trailer was introduced.
Lol when I first saw the cinematic trailer of that marine, i didn’t think that he has two jet engines but two heaters which keep him warm in outer space
I figured they were actualy exhausts.
The suits those marines wear are so huge, they are probably powered by nuclear reactors
I think “nuclear reactor” sounds too big for that suit, it’s not that big. And if there is a “nuclear reactor inside” (sounds like intel inside hehe,) than each marine will explode like a radio active banneling when he gets shot.
But i really like your ideas. I believe Blizzard will have an in-game video where we can see these jet-engines/heaters/exhausts in used. I have figured out many possible ideas like attaching a bunch of suits into a machine to do something, or somehow using them like jet-engine… But nothing really satisfies me.
Fusion reactor! Thank god for cold fusion.
Nuclear reactor? What you’re proposing just isn’t very good science. :p hehehe
Dustin seems a little stressed.