You can find the full original patch documentation (which includes many minor tweaks) here. In this post, we’ll go over the more meaningful parts of this update.

General Changes

•    A new game clock has been added. Players can now instantly see how long they’ve been in their current mission or match. This feature can be turned on or off in the Gameplay Options menu.

This small addition has a great potential. Many players learning and perfecting certain builds already use timers to know exactly when they should push out or what to expect from the enemy at any moment given intelligence gathered before. Integrating a timer into the game allows everyone to incorporate this extra piece of information into their game instead of relying on intuition.

The following balance changes are identical to those mentioned in the situation report released last month. Our analysis of the changes can be found here.

Protoss Balance Changes

• Zealot • Build time increased from 33 to 38. • Warp Gate cooldown increased from 23 to 28.

As Blizzard mention in their report:

Zealot rushes are currently too powerful at various skill levels, particularly those that rely on rapidly assaulting an enemy base from nearby “proxy” gateways. We feel the window players have to scout for and fend off this rush is too small. We also want to address the problem of protoss being able to dump minerals a bit too quickly with the combination of warpgates and Chrono Boost.

Terran Balance Changes

• Battlecruiser Ground damage decreased from 10 to 8. • Bunker Build time increased from 30 to 35. • Reaper Build time increased from 40 to 45.

….we have decided to increase the build time of reapers as well from 40 to 45 seconds. Fast reaper + bunker, or fast marine + bunker rushes are problematic against zerg.

Siege Tank • Siege mode damage changed from 50 to 35 (+15 armored). • Upgrade damage changed from +5 to +3 (+2 armored).

Zerg Balance Changes

Ultralisk •Ram ability removed. Ultralisk will now use normal attack against buildings. • Damage decreased from 15 (+25 armored) to 15 (+20 armored).

The adjustment to Ultralisk’s attack is a bigger boost than it may seem at first glance. Check out the following video to fully appreciate the implications of applying an AoE effect to a building attack.

This newly introduced “mechanic”  has already been acknowledged as a bug, however, and will be fixed soon.

Bug Fixes

Battle.net

• Chat windows no longer vanish when exiting a multiplayer map or campaign mission. • Fixed an issue where players would still receive toasts when their status was set to busy.

Custom Games

• Default race in a game lobby is now properly set to Random. • Lobby hosts will now receive a toast when an invited player declines an invitation.

Gameplay

• If a unit loads into a transport, missiles targeting it will no longer target similar units in the area.

• Fixed an issue where builders waiting for an area to clear could block units trying to leave the area.

Interface

• Queue tooltips now display information about what is in progress.

• Marines trained at multiple Barracks will now prefer a Barracks with a Reactor over one with a Tech Lab or no attachment.

• SCVs will now load into the closest Command Center if multiple are within range.

Check out the rest of the changes, dealing with the editor and detailing many small fixes, here. Along the detailed changes, we’ve noticed some other modifications to the game, in the form of many updates to existing icons for abilities and upgrades:

Click through to see the full high-res version. Big thanks go to our reader Jason for creating this great looking, helpful chart!

The hardware comes with powerful StarCraft 2 specific driver features that allow the peripherals to act as indicators for actual game events as well as show current player APM  levels through multiple multi-color lights.

Razer Spectre

Technical specifications (EST price: 79.99)

Lightweight, Fingertip-Grip 5 Button Mouse

5600 DPI Laser Sensor

Ultrapolling (1000Hz Polling / 1ms Response)

APM-Lighting System

Button Force Adjustment

Always-On^TM mode

Ultra-large non-slip buttons

16-bit ultra-wide data path

Up to 200 inches per second and 50g of acceleration

Zero-acoustic Ultraslick^TM Teflon feet

Gold-plated USB connector

Braided 7 Foot USB Cable

Razer Marauder

Technical specifications (EST price: 119.99)

Full keyboard layout with integrated number pad keys

Ergonomically optimized wrist rest

Reduced desktop footprint

APM-Lighting System

Laser-etched keys

Optimized Key Travel & Spacing

Ultrapolling (1000Hz Polling / 1ms Response)

Braided 7 Foot USB Cable

Razer Banshee

Technical specifications (EST price: 119.99)

Circumaural Design with 50mm driver units

Volume & Mic Control Buttons on the Headset

APM-Lighting System

8 preset EQ

Detachable Microphone Boom

Braided 7 Foot USB Cable

Headphones

Frequency Response: 20 – 20,000 Hz

Impedance: 32Ω at 1kHz

Sensitivity (@1kHz, 1V/Pa): >102dB at 1 kHz

Max. Input Power: 200 mW (

Drivers: 50 mm, with neodymium magnets

Microphone

Frequency Response: 100 – 10,000 Hz

Sensitivity (-42 dB ± 2dB @1kHz, 1V/Pa)

Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >58 dB

Pick-up pattern: Uni-directional

Without further ado:

1. Computer AI – Does the computer’s online AI vary from its offline counterpart?

No. They are the same.

2. Have you considered allowing a post-game lobby for users to discuss the last game, collectively watch replays, or immediately enter into a rematch?

Yes, we have a plan for a post game lobby. However the details are not finalized yet.

The success of the StarCraft 2 multiplayer as well as the Battle.net Marketplace greatly depend on the social appeal of  pre-, in- and post-game player interaction, and Blizzard’s efforts in this area have not gone unnoticed. Battle.net’s social features, the improved observer and replay HUDs, and the advanced integration of the interface into the game will make StarCraft 2′s online experience a real treat for both professional and casual gamers.

3. Is there any update on additional map features other than the Xel’Naga watch towers, destructible rocks and tall grass?

No. Currently there is no update on additional map features.

4. How many different voice actors are needed for StarCraft II, including the unit sounds and campaign heroes?

There are 58 unique voice actors participating, with some voicing multiple roles, and the number may increase as the game gets closer to release

5. The terrain types in StarCraft II we have seen so far had names like “Bel’Shir (Jungle)”. Does this mean that “Bel’Shir” is just an alias for jungle and every terrain is just named after a typical planet using it or are there – to stick with this example – other jungle maps with a different terrain set, something like “Aiur (Jungle)”?

We named our terrain sets based on the planets. There are a lot more terrain sets than in the original StarCraft and you will have huge flexibility in modifying the terrain sets (including adjusting textures, doodads, lighting) allowing you to create your own variations of the default maps. There may be other jungle-themed default maps named after other planets.

StarCraft 2′s terrain types have been unveiled in full during BlizzCon 09′s Art Panel, and can be seen in this video:

Environments shown in the video include:

• Bel’Shir – a  rich Protoss world, with nature unbound and forests untouched.
• Valhalla Installation – Terran Thor construction station.
• Castanar Installation – Laboratories for Zerg research.
• Monlyth- a Protoss world with distinct Protoss structures.
• Avernus - doodad rich tech/lab installation.
• Redstone - lava planet with reactionary doodads and changing lava levels.
• Zhakul’Das – a dark ancient world.
• Port Zion – a tech junk world.
• Korhal - a very rich Terran world, with monorails, billboards, skyscrapers and even pedestrians.

6. Will there be any chance to have more options on pausing the game? In StarCraft: Brood War every player can pause the game three times, but every other player can unpause it. How about a (user editable) time limit before other players can unpause the game?

We recommend that players communicate with each other in the game to agree on when to pause and unpause during the game. We feel that pausing the game interrupts the game flow and it would be inconvenient for players to be forced to wait for a certain amount of time before being able to unpause. The pausing feature is mainly meant to allow for pausing of the game when all players are in agreement and for which duration.

7. I already knew the map editor would be available to beta testers a while after Beta was released, but this is why I’m asking the bland question, will it also be available to non-participating people?

No, the map editor will only be available during the beta for beta testers.

8. When a unit comes out from a building will there be only 4 exits from the building like in Warcraft 3 or will there be “infinite”?

It is not infinite, but your units will come out from a building at the closest point on the building to where your rally point is set.

This wraps it up for the recent Q&A batch. Make sure you follow the official @StarCraft Twitter feed, as Blizzard’s team has been quite active recently, tweeting fun stuff like the following fan-made Lego Immortal.

Different clans take great pains to distinguish themselves through variations in weapons, armor, markings, and dress. For example, the famed hunters of the Zer’atai dress in the bones of slain zerg; the Boros are known for their blank-faced helms and heavy armor; and the Lenassa wear distinctive cloth wrappings and bear wickedly curved warp blades.

The first option represents the Lenassa tribe of dark templar, which made its debut in the original StarCraft. This unit carries a single warp blade, and a cloth shroud covers its face.

n

The second option represents the Zer’atai tribe of dark templar, who wield dual scythes and wear an ensemble of heavy armor and the bones of slain zerg.

n

The third and final option is to have both tribes represented: When you build a dark templar, either the Lenassa or Zer’atai dark templar would spawn randomly.

The dilemma is not complex; it is one which most companies solve behind the corporate curtains, often ending up picking the wrong model due to simply not having the tradition of crowdsourcing certain design decisions. That’s not the case with Blizzard, who often seeks direct feedback from their fans. This is another one of these occasions, so get out there and make your voice heard.

* Click for big

The SC2Blog, devout proponents of democracy, will also be hosting a poll on the subject.

1. In the original StarCraft, most air units can move and fire, vultures have fast rotating times and can shoot backwards and run forward instantaneously with enough micro. In StarCraft II, there have been some concerns from players who have played the game, that the unit movement animations are getting in the way of micro. Will such animation cancelling techniques still be possible in StarCraft II?

n

Both macro and micro-control are very important in StarCraft II as well, and when it comes to micro-control like Vulture’s moving and shooting in the original StarCraft, it is still possible to focus on micro control with the units.

n

For example, Mutalisks can fire while moving, with micro. And certain ground units, like the Marauders with the slow attack or Roaches with fast regeneration, benefit greatly from moving and shooting, but they still need to stop to shoot. The Hellion is also interesting, because the Hellion is a unit that has high burst, long delay between attacks, splash damage type, as well as a fast movement speed, so it can be used for kiting purposes as well as closing in the distance after every shot to do max possible damage. Eg, shoot once, close the gap, shoot again, close the gap even more, so that you don’t waste a single shot, but with each movement, you are doing a lot more damage.
StarCraft II also has a firing on the move unit — the Void Ray. The Void Ray can move closer to an enemy unit while continuing to fire at it, and because the damage type builds up over time, it would be more ideal to finish off that one unit that’s trying to run away or back up before engaging a brand new target.

Karune sidestepped the issue in this question, which put the emphasis on delays caused by unit turning animation. StarCraft 1 units, though based on 3D models, were merely 2D sprites on the battlefield. When changing direction, the unit sprite was immediately replaced with the one facing the direction of its ordered movement. In StarCraft 2, units and their full movement are rendered in 3D, and changing direction requires the time it takes the animation to finish. For most units, this change is hardly noticed, and changing direction is an instant operation. For others, like the Mutalisk, this delay is non-trivial, and prevents players from taking advantage of their hit and run potential.

However, a fine example of micromanagement using Terran Marauders, which are minimally affected by this change, can be found in the first Battle Report video.

2. Do you plan to introduce consume (cannibalism) as one of the zerg features? For example, in Starcraft I, defilers ate zerglings to gain 50 energy (it is possible to introduce consume for ultralisks which will gain 50 life after eating a zergling or another unit)

n

We don’t have the consume ability in the game now, but if consume is considered as necessary to the game, you will see this ability in StarCraft II. Currently Zerg has caster units like the Infestor, Queen, Overlord, and Overseer. Infestors can move while burrowed, which means it can regenerate energy again away from the battle. The Queen has already powerful skills and combat ability. Overlords can fly and mutate the creep without any energy. Overseers also can fly so that they can earn some time to regenerate their energy as well. If the current Zerg casters having the consume ability, it could make them too powerful and strong.

3. Will there be custom water units? For custom maps and Scumedit will players be able to make units that swim/float. Also will there be special units designed for water, but only available on the Scumedit, like a shark-like zerg or protoss water vessel. Obv. I know these won’t be in multiplayer ladder, I only mean for custom maps.

n

We haven’t finalized the decision about the exact extent of support for custom maps and Scumedit yet.

4. Maps have always been important to keep SC balanced, fun and competitive. We have already seen you have some interesting new tools to help multiplayer map designers balance their maps such as tall grass that blocks vision of ground units. What other new terrain elements are we gonna see in SC2 to make interesting competitive maps?

n
Currently there are Xel’Naga Watch Tower, Grass, and Destructible Rocks in the map. We will be pleased to add more if we can design other features which will make the game more exciting and balanced as well.

New terrain elements or not, map modders will find ways to implement other effects to make battlefields more complex and interesting, just like in StarCraft 1. In the pro scene, permanent spell effects such as Dark Swarm and Disruption Web can be found across the field, and Dustin Browder has already confirmed that this will be possible in StarCraft 2:

[Dustin Browder] Our data editor allows the creation of this type of terrain. You could easily put this type of terrain on melee maps. We have not finalized our feature set for terrain yet so I dont know what will make the final cut for the default Blizzard maps.

5. The Thor was built by an SCV at first, but since quite time now it is built like a normal unit in the factory. Was this changed due to design or balance reasons?

n

We changed this due to the balance reason. Before the change, you could build as many Thors as you want at the same time with your SCVs, as long as you have resources, with one Barrack and an Armory. We decided that this can be too much benefit to Terran, and we changed that Thor could be built from a Factory.

It’s sad to see this new feature go, especially when it’s replaced by constructing Thors from a building which isn’t much bigger than they are.

6. Zerg has cliff-scaling units?

n

We want to keep three races different and they do not necessarily have the same ability units. Currently Zerg do not have a cliff-scaling unit, like the Reaper in Terran or Colossus in Protoss. However, Zerg still can expand very quickly and have other movement advantages like 30% additional speed on creep. They also have the combination of Overlord’s creep generating ability and Nydus Network as a very powerful tool to attack opponent’s main base or expansion. Also, Overlords are currently able to transport Zerg units like the original StarCraft.

Hidden within the usual spiel about race diversity is an incredible announcement about the Zerg’s transportation capabilities. After struggling with making the Nydus Worm function as the sole unit transport for the Zerg, it seems that Blizzard has given up and decided to supplement it with the previous transportation method – the Overlord’s Ventral Sacs.

7. I noticed that in the Protoss demo the Protoss buildings when warped in, had there surfaces visibly warped in, like in the original StarCraft. However, in recent builds and footage, Protoss buildings just appear after the building animation. Is this just a temporary thing, or is it really gone?

n

Warp-in of Protoss buildings should be one effect for all with the final frames unique showing the specific buildings structure phasing in.

Along with this Q&A, three new, amazing screenshots have been published on StarCraft2.com, showing the latest and greatest in StarCraft 2 graphics development. Especially of note is the night-time picture, showing a well-lit fight between Protoss and Terran forces.

The Chat with devs section is brief, but includes a very important statement regarding the adjustments being made to the StarCraft 2 graphics:

Chat with Devs: This week I got a chance to talk to Sam Didier, our StarCraft II Art Director, about some of the feedback weve gotten from our most recent monthly discussion. Over the next few weeks we will be trying out a few things on the upcoming screenshots, including a reduced saturation which will increase the realism of the units and environment. This is just a test, so we will see how it goes afterwards, but we look forward to getting everyones feedback.

Remember the “Does StarCraft 2 look too cartoonish?” question in our last monthly discussion? Well, we have submitted quite a bit of feedback to Blizzard, and are glad to see Sam Didier is addressing exactly that problem, and aiming in the direction of increasing realism by reducing saturation. That means we can expect the game to have a darker, slightly techno-metallic look and feel – not the lively colors presented up to this point.

Gameplay Blog: With the new year, I thought everyone might enjoy a small new section to the Q&As that will happen periodically, featuring some hands-on feedback of the current builds of StarCraft II at the office. This past week Ive been able to play a few 1 versus 1 skirmish games with our new balance designer, David Kim. Even at this early stage, StarCraft II is shaping up to be an incredibly diverse game in terms of strategy. In addition to many of the original StarCraft strategies (which Ive been tending to stick with), there are several new strategies based on both the newly introduced units, as well as hybrid combinations of legacy and new units. One of the most interesting strategies in our current build is the Nomad rush. Nomads are both effective at supporting an ongoing battle with Auto Turrets (which have building armor) and defending against a raid with rapid deployment, but are surprisingly very effective at raiding as well. Im not talking about minor harassment, kill a probe or two, type of thing. Get four of these Nomads into a mineral line and you can deploy 8 Auto Turrets in no time, wreaking havoc to even a moderately defended position. Each Auto Turret is like having an instant Marine, with rapid fire, and building armor. Could this replace Siege Tank drops? Probably not, but these Auto Turrets dont cost minerals or supply.

The strategy being described in the Gameplay Blog should not surprise any RTS veteran – almost every early build or even a final yet immature version of an RTS game will usually include strong strategies based on units which are usually intended for support or spell casting.

1. Does the Nomad have all the abilities an SCV has? (Of course it has its own abilities, but it would be interesting to know if you can at least temporarily replace lost SCVs with Nomads in a game.)(broodwar.de)

No, Nomads will not have the abilities of a SCV. The buildings a Nomad will be able to build, will be unique to the Nomad unit. And you cant gather resources with a Nomad.

That’s quite an interesting and daring decision – the implementation of a support unit with its own array of buildings which cannot be constructed by regular workers. At this point, it is safe to speculate that these buildings are not part of the Terran tech tree, but support structures such as the Auto Turret.

2. How will damage against Protoss Shields be calculated with the new damage bonus system?(Starcraft-Source.com)

Protoss shields will take up the characteristics of their normal armor type. For example, if a Protoss Zealot with light armor gets shot by a Terran Ghost with plus light armor damage, the Zealots shields will also take that light armor bonus damage. On the same note, if a Protoss Colossus were to be hit by a Protoss Stalker with bonus damage towards armored unit, the shields would also take that additional damage.

In StarCraft 1, all Protoss shields were treated equally, and enjoyed neither bonuses nor penalties when facing any damage type. Such implementation was logical, due to the nature of the shield – be it a machine, a building or an organic unit, its shield is effectively unrelated to what is inside. StarCraft 2′s new armor mechanics have changed all that, and the shield’s defensive qualities depend on the unit it protects.

3. Artwork and rumors about SCII have shown Terran cities like Augustgrad. Will Starcraft 2 contain building doodads as seen in the original artwork (ie. skysc#@!&rs, homes, etc)? (starcraft.org)

Yes, many of the original iconic doodads will be recreated for StarCraft II.

4.Can the shadow ops contain “one nuke and one drop pod” or “any 2 of nukes and drop pods”? (thewarcenter.net)

Currently, the Shadow Ops can contain both a nuke and a drop pod at the same time, but will not be able to contain two of one type within a single Shadow Ops building. Drop pods can be loaded with 12 infantry units of the players choosing. On certain maps, a fast expanding SCV drop pod strategy may prove highly effective.

Despite the fact that Shadow Ops (along with the Ghost’s abilities) will undergo many changes prior to StarCraft 2′s release, such an implementation does make sense – the Terran Ghost can launch a Nuclear strike and call for a Drop pod, but not launch two consecutive nukes or summon 24 units to the battlefield.

5. Will the native resolution of Starcraft 2 be widescreen or 4:3? (gamereplays.org)

The plan is to have both of those resolutions supported, along with everything between 5:4 and 16:9. Larger screens will have slightly more viewable range than a smaller screen, but from our tests, the differences will be very minor.

Nowadays there is little reason to limit a game to certain ratios or resolutions – but how about dual-screen support? This feature has been implemented successfully in two leading RTS titles - Supreme Commander and World in Conflict, but considering Blizzard’s popularity in Internet cafes and among casual gamers, StarCraft 2 should focus on maximizing single-screen UI.

The changes all deal with automation. The new UI will require less attention from the player and will not force him to micro-manage his game as much as the old one did. Some people argue that this represents a cheapening of the game and the skill it requires to play, while others claim that this is a logical progression and a clearly warranted update to the outdated control scheme.

In this post, we will review the proposed changes:

1) Auto-Mining Peons

In StarCraft 1, every peon (Drone, Probe or SCV) a player built out of his headquarters building would idle near its selected rally point. Unlike other, more modern games of this type (including Blizzard’s WarCraft 3), it was impossible to rally the workers to the resources by right clicking them. Instead, a player had to manually select each and every one of his peons and send them to the a mineral patch or to the Vespene Gas extractor. When selecting a group of workers, high level players would still send them to the minerals individually, since they tended to clump together trying to mine one patch, slightly reducing efficiency.

This proved to be a major hindrance to slower players – having to focus on one’s base to keep the economy going every time a new peon popped out meant having less time to focus on the battle itself.

This system would be replaced with something that already exists in WarCraft 3. All the player has to do is select the HQ building, right click on the resource location, and the built workers would get to work right as they came out.

SC2Blog Verdict: This should have been patched into StarCraft 1 by now.

2) Multiple Building Selection

Many recent RTS games have reduced the focus on building multiple buildings with the exact same purpose, like StarCraft does to increase the potential rate of unit production. StarCraft 2 still keeps to this formula, though, but an improvement in this scheme is proposed: Instead of having to select each building individually and issuing the unit production order, multiple buildings of the same type could be selected. That way, a player with 4 Gateways would be able to click once to produce 4 Stalkers (assuming he has sufficient resources for them).

This would streamline the often-tedious procedure of keeping unit production going, especially considering StarCraft’s 5 unit queue limit for each building and the need to churn out units like mad in some matches. Again, this reduces the player’s need to focus on his base and allows him to manage his units in exploration, battle or positioning on the field. Will this really reduce the gap between newbies and professional players?

SC2Blog Verdict: Another logical improvement.

3) Automatic Unit Formation

In StarCraft, and more than likely, in StarCraft 2 as well, unit positioning plays a very important role. The brilliantly executed meld of melee and ranged attacking units lives and dies on the starting position of each unit as it enters the battle. A group of properly positioned Marines, helped by a handful of Firebats, could repel a much larger number of attacking melee units like Zealots or Zerglings. The same attacking group would annihilate those Terrans if they managed to surround and/or separate them, taking few losses.

StarCraft had a very unforgiving unit formation/pathing system. Often, units (un)managed by less skillful players would march to battle in a single file and die before firing a single shot. Players had to make sure each and every one of their units were positioned smartly to make the best use of them, according to the threat they faced and the conditions of the battlefield.

The StarCraft 2 developers are now entertaining the idea of creating automatic unit formations. We do not yet know the nature of these formations, but can speculate as to how they will be implemented. Other RTS games have several formations you can choose from (e.g. box formation, arrow, straight line) while some do as much as make sure your melee units are positioned at the front while weaker, ranged units are protected in the back. How far will StarCraft 2 take automatic unit formation?

SC2Blog Verdict: Properly positioning units and “formatting” them to best take advantage of their strengths while hiding their weaknesses is one of the most important and skill demanding features of every RTS game – with StarCraft being no exception. We hope Blizzard doesn’t take this too far. We would like to see improvements to general pathing, however.

4) Context-Dependent Unit Behavior

Issuing an attack-move order? In StarCraft 1, Medics grouped with Marines who were given this order would run head first into the enemy while the marines paused to attack from a safe distance. In StarCraft 2, the dev team promised, the Terran Medics will receive additional training, allowing them to interpret their commands in a smarter way. We don’t yet know of other examples for more educated unit behavior, but with this precedent, others are sure to come.

SC2Blog Verdict: While we’re usually proponents of streamlining the game and increasing automation, this might be taking it too far. The player should be the one deciding what units do – even at the cost of them performing stupid moves when he doesn’t notice. If there’s anything that differentiates the pros from the noobs, it’s their ability to control all their units quickly and skillfully at all times.

5) Smart Casting

Another improvement to the normal (as of StarCraft 1) behavior of units. Previously, a group of the same units with a special ability who were given a command to use the ability would all activate it together. This would result in 12 Ghosts all locking down a single Carrier, a group of Templars Psi-Storming a single spot on the field, or Queens using up valuable energy by casting ensnare on a single position.

In StarCraft 2, “Smart Casting” would allow the player to use abilities when selecting a group – only this time, only one of the units (the closest one, no less) would use it. A smart player would select a group of Templars, shift click a few locations on the field, and cover a huge area with a devastating super Psi-Storm.

SC2Blog Verdict: We approve. The end result of this is the same, only less mouse clicks are required. Careful planning will still be needed to execute a good move, just like in StarCraft 1 – but this time, it won’t require superhuman dexterity.

Any changes to the winning formula that is StarCraft would obviously lead to many arguments among fans, and probably among the developers themselves. We will all have to decide which update is essential to the game and will allow all players to enjoy it better, while making sure they do not detract from the skill required to master StarCraft 2.

The Official Unofficial StarCraft 2 Blog has gathered up a list of changes, additions and new interesting pieces of information about the game, as it was presented at the event.

Protoss:

* The Carrier is back, and will replace the Tempest. The Carrier will look bigger than all other Protoss aerial units, except for the Mothership. The Carriers will carry Interceptors, which will have a normal laser attack. The Carrier will also have an “auto-build” option for its Interceptors – great automation, we approve.

* The Colossus can not be transported. Its mobility is limited to its walking speed. The Colossus also has an upgrade that increases its shields.

* The Reaver has been removed from the game. Developers say that it was overlapping with the Colossus in the “kill a lot of small units” department, and that it was no longer necessary.

* The Warp Ray has changed its theme to a Dark Templar one – it’s darker, and also smaller, to allow the Carrier to become the distinctive capital Protoss ship.

* The Star Relic has been changed to a “Statis Orb“, which will now be a land based unit. It has an attack that slows down the movement and rate of fire of its enemies.

* The Twilight Archon no longer has feet – it hovers, just like in StarCraft 1. Also, it has received the “Feedback” ability, which was previously used by SC1′s Dark Archons:

Feedback is a targeted spell that when cast on a unit, that unit lose all of its mana and will take an amount of damage equal to the mana lost. Example:

If a Science Vessel with 150 Energy Points is within the range of the spell and Feedback is cast on it, the Science Vessel will lose all 150 Energy Points as well as lose 150 HP instantaneously.

If the unit has more Energy Points than HP when Feedback is used on it, the unit will instantly die.

* The Mothership has lost the Timebomb and Black Hole ability (though we suspect that at least the Black hole ability will return in some form). Instead, it now has a cloaking ability, similar to that of the SC1 Arbiter – it cloaks all ground units in a surrounding radius, while staying visible itself. Currently, it’s possible to build more than one Mothership. Their air-to-air attack has also been nerfed considerably.

Terran:

* New unit: Nomad. This is a Science Vessel redux, featuring EMP, which drains all shields and energy from units in an area, and Defense Matrix, which is now an area of effect ability, defending all units in the area it’s set up in. The Nomad can also auto-repair close flying units.

* New unit: Predator. This is an updated Wraith, with an air-to-air attack only. Also, it can transform into an Interceptor that can block enemy missiles. Unlike the SC1 Wraith, the Predator doesn’t have a Cloaking ability anymore – it passed that along to the Banshee.

* Banshee: Anti-ground attack only. It fires a volley of missiles that deal splash damage in a relatively large radius. Its rate of fire is slow, however. Since it has cloak, we are bound to see packs of Banshees performing hit and run attacks on unsuspecting enemy forces.

* Salvage: This unique Terran ability allows them to “sell off” a building for a full refund of its resources. The process takes some time, and can not be reversed. Very similar to the Command and Conquer method of selling off buildings, which deconstructs them step by step for a nice, instant wad of cash.

* A Command Center, when upgraded, cannot be lifted off the ground. This means its function as an offensive weapon will be very limited.

* New Siege Tank design! Verdict: Awesome.

* Missile Turrets no longer serve as detectors, a role which has been assigned to the Sensor Dome.

* The Starport can now be upgraded to a Starbase. The Starbase can produce units while airborne.

* Battlecruisers come in two flavors: Plasma Turret and Yamato Cannon. The Battlecruiser will look different depending on which version the player chooses. The Plasma Turret is an AoE ground bombardment ability, which deals heavy damage in a large radius, while looking very impressive. The Yamato Cannon is unchanged from its previous incarnations.

* Click for Big (it’s worth it!)

* Snipe, the Ghost ability, deals 150 damage points to organic units. I’m betting the Ghost will soon take a new name – given to it by pleased Terran players – “High Templar Hunter“.

* The Thor‘s long range bombardment ability requires it to dig its feet down into the ground, giving it the stability it needs to fire off all four cannons on its back. It appears that the Terrans have really gone to lengths to ensure that the success of the Siege Tank is replicated in their new unit designs.

* Reapers: These are recruited at the “Merc Haven” building. The reapers aren’t produced like normal units. Instead, the building slowly “recharges” up to 4 of them, which can then be quickly recruited.

* The initial Viking form is the ground assault form. An upgrade is required for it to transform to fighter mode.

* The Cobra is especially strong against armored units, such as the Siege Tank or Colossus. It is relatively weak against small targets, though.

* The Radar Dome shows exclamation points for units under the fog of war.

General:

* Building queues are five unit deep.

* Unit selection is limitless.

* an idle worker button has been added to the UI.

* The Xel’Naga Observatories are not capturable per se. They are activated and work for your benefit when you have a ground unit near one.

* The game starts with six workers, instead of four in SC1.

* Start of game fog of war is no longer black – you can now see a grayed out layout of the map, just like you would normally have after revealing an area and not having a unit present in it, in SC1.

* The GUI now displays a list of attributes for every unit. Since the damage units deal to each other depends on these attributes, this will greatly help players understand the advantages and disadvantages of these units, and will allow them to make the most out of their forces.

1) Interface and automation

The first, and perhaps most important change, is to the user interface and command automation. In StarCraft 1, the player had to constantly look after and manage his base: Send individual peons to mine; build supply providing buildings (without being able to queue them); click on each unit creating building, one at a time, to create an army; click on each building or unit, one at a time, to fix them; and so on. It is important to remember that these were mostly technological limitations, which made players spend time on useless, unfun actions which do not contribute to the game at all.

By allowing a greater degree of automation and by streamlining the tedious management portions of the game, it will be possible to focus on what makes the game interesting: Large scale strategic decisions, tactical maneuvers, and intense battles. Don’t get me wrong – some of the most interesting and skill demanding aspects of the game involved managing your base: choosing what to build, where, and when; deciding when to tech up, and when to build more unit producing buildings; when to create an expansion, and how to defend it. These things have their place in the game. However, they should NOT require a lot of time, many actions or too much focus from the player.

The obvious way to ameliorate these issues is to allow buildings queues, smart unit responses to commands, and overall automation of things that do not require any skill, aside from an agile hand and a good mouse.

Now that we’ve freed up a lot of our time and can focus on the game more, lets see how we can speed up the pace:

2) Health regeneration:

The Protoss should now be able to recharge their shields faster inside Pylon range. This could either be a natural perk, or an upgrade, designed to replace the shield batteries (which weren’t very easy to properly use, and did not see a lot of play in the original game). In general, shields, which are vulnerable to all damage types, should regenerate fast, even on the field. Since it would be easy to build new Pylons on the field and benefit from the faster recharge, a new limitation would be placed: Pylons that are not built within pylon range themselves would either cost more, take longer to be built, or a combination of both. The Protoss, unlike the Terrans, should be less capable of using their structures offensively on the battlefield. This also works well in conjunction with the new warp in ability and the Phase Prisms.

Similarly, Zerg units should regenerate health at a faster pace (but not as fast as the Protoss shields) while on creep. To offset this huge advantage, they should only regenerate their health to 66.6% of the maximum value while on the battlefield. This would not apply to air units, to prevent hit and run attacks from becoming too cheesy. A late game upgrade (from the upgraded hatchery) could provide the Zerg with the ability to regenerate all the way, even while not on creep, albeit at a slower pace.

The Terran, being masters of mobility and deployment on the battlefield, should not suffer from a prolonged stay away from the base. SCVs should acquire an “auto-fix” toggle – allowing them to automatically fix units in a specified range, thus strengthening the presence of the Terran forces on the battlefield. This advantage is offset by the fact that repairs cost resources, and are not free, like for the Protoss and Zerg.

These changes would increase the pace of the game, while adding to the uniqueness of the 3 factions: The Terran, masters of the siege. The Zerg, with their never ending, disposable units, which were not meant to be strategically placed on the field, but swarm the enemy. And the Protoss, somewhere in the middle, but not quite.

All regeneration should only take place when the unit is not actively participating in battle. This includes taking damage, but also attacking. This, apparently, is a feature already present in the game – note the Colossus and the Mothership in the high quality, original gameplay video.

3) Each race should acquire a mid to late game method of fast travel:

The Protoss have already been seen warping units in directly to the battlefield, using the Phase Prism. This should, of course, be limited to certain fighting units – it would be too easy, and too advantageous, to warp in a few Reavers or Colossi to strategic locations.

The Zerg have their new, and apparently improved, Nydus worms. These seem to be able to pop out everywhere (supposedly, while originating from creep) and supply a direct, fast route for Zerg units.

A Terran mode of fast travel has still not been revealed. However, the Terran are already a very mobile race, with flying buildings, jump jet infantry, and drop ships. A late game upgrade could perhaps grant them an ability similar to the one the Human forces have in the Warhammer RTS games, also a late game upgrade – drop pods that hit the ground and deploy units anywhere on the battlefield, launched from orbital positions. A Ghost would be required here to signal the drop, adding to its role (which was quite limited in StarCraft 1), since an ability like this should still be range-limited.

These changes would change the game for the better, and make it become ever more fast paced, while staying constantly interesting and fun.

Moving on, here are some more changes we’d like to see in StarCraft 2. Some of these are things that are already present in many other RTS games, and the other suggestions would just make the game more fun, in our opinion.

4) Attack while moving:

Aside from the Carrier (and now, the Tempest), no units in StarCraft are able to move while firing! This is very unnatural. All recent RTS games have units that are able to fire while moving, and it adds a great depth to the game. Not all units should be able to fire while moving, of course, which would already makes some of them more distinctive and different. Some units can suffer accuracy, range, or damage penalties when firing on the move, and some units lose accuracy when shooting at moving targets. This brings more depth to the micromanaged, tactical game. It requires skill and knowledge of the gameplay mechanics. Above all, it looks better. Marines should not move to range, stand still, and shoot. They should storm the target, guns blazing!

5) Terrain levels: Make more than 3.

Different terrain levels, as implemented in StarCraft 1, already contributed to the depth of the game. Units on higher ground have offensive and defensive advantages. In StarCraft 2, with the addition of ground units that can quickly traverse heights, this feature is already extended even further. However, 3 terrain levels only are not enough – especially not in a 3D environment. We’d like to see more natural levels and height gradients in StarCraft 2, a game that should not be bound by old 2D limitations.

6) Moving while burrowed:

The Zerg should be allowed to move, very slowly, while burrowed underground. This should be a mid game upgrade (before the Nydus Worm) that would allow the Zerg to burrow outside of view, move in slowly, and pop out for a surprise attack on an unsuspecting enemy.

7) Specific attack animations:

We’d like to see units attack different units in different ways. It’s great to see Zealots tear up Zerglings with their psi blades, but it looks a bit silly when they do the same to Siege Tanks or buildings. When a game has this level of detail, it becomes a lot more immersive and believable.

8 ) Mine Laying

75 minerals for 3 mines, and you get a free Vulture? That was a good deal in StarCraft 1, but a bit of a clunky one. We’d like to see a dedicated mine laying unit (or a unit with this ability) that would be able to manufacture mines and lay them (for a cost). The old mines were great, and we want to see an improved StarCraft 2 version. Also, the banelings could function as Zerg mines, assuming you have both the burrow upgrade and the Baneling evolution research completed.

9) More deployable units

StarCraft 1′s Siege Tank was a very innovative idea at the time – a unit that has to deploy on the field to utilize its main weapon. This takes time, and therefore tactical planning. We’d like to see more units with this behavior, which adds to both tactical depth of maintaining a position and advancing it. It would work for the Terran, mostly, but it’d be great to see variations on the theme for other races (like the Zerg Lurker, which was added in the expansion).

This was perfected in Company of Heroes, where many units had to be deployed on the field before becoming useful. CoH also added an extra twist to this, limiting the firing arc of some deployed units, which the player had to position skillfully.

10) Dual screen support

We will end our wishlist with something exciting and new in the world of RTS games – multiple screen support. This has already been done nicely in Supreme Commander, where both screens are completely functional, and World in Conflict, where the second screen constantly displays the mega map. StarCraft 2 does not appear to be a demanding game, hardware wise – which means using both screens should not be a problem for most computers. Having a second screen displaying the entire game map is a great feature, and with computer monitors costing next to nothing nowadays, dual screens are getting more and more popular among gamers.

That’s it for our list. We hope the Blizzard developers, which seem keen on getting community feedback, take heed of it.