Items tagged with Starcraft 2
In earlier days, it was a big deal to develop a computer program that could best a player in chess, and then the roles switched—it became a big deal if a human player could beat the computer, and it remains that way today. Now, however, there is a new gold standard in testing artificial intelligence. It's the StarCraft series, which are complex real-time strategy (RTS) games, and for the first time, an AI program has beat a top professional player in a series of StarCraft II matches. Google's AlphaStar program annihilated Team Liquid's Grzegorz "MaNa" Komincz, one of the world's best StarCraft players, winning 5-0 under professional match conditions on a competitive ladder map. Unlike other...
Read more...
Blizzard has released a powerful new suite of tools for Starcraft 2 modders and developers that fundamentally change the nature of what's possible in the popular RTS game. Now, players can use the same architectural and graphics design toolsets that Blizzard has used internally to build new units, tilesets, and models. Furthermore, these tools are now available even with the Starcraft 2: Starter Edition kit. Players can grab them here. Critically, artists will now be able to incorporate images and effects designed in programs like 3ds Max, Photoshop, or other high-end particle systems. “These tools are going to be a big upgrade for people,” Womack said in a video update. “This...
Read more...
I've recently beaten Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm (watch for the review, coming soon). The ending of the game has been discussed a fair bit, with the main question being whether or not Sarah Kerrigan -- the onetime Queen of Blades, absolute badass, and the focus of the campaign -- is treated poorly in the final moments. There's no way to discuss the events without spoilers, so I'll warn everybody now -- if you don't want to read about the game's conclusion, don't scroll down. Kerrigan at the beginning of the game The Swarm Endgame: Kerrigan, crushing pretty much everything Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm is the story of Kerrigan's mission to rebuild the Zerg Swarm, reclaim the power she...
Read more...
It's been over 12 years since Starcraft launched, and expectations for the sequel have been quite high*. Well, the highly anticipated sequel, Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, is here and we've taken the time to play through the campaign, test various difficulty levels, and tackle both human and the computer's AI in multiplayer. The single-player experience in SC2 is quite a bit different than the multiplayer game; we'll examine the two separately... Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty Reviewed...
Read more...
It's been over 12 years since Starcraft launched, and expectations for the sequel have been quite high*. Well, the highly anticipated sequel, Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, is here and we've taken the time to play through the campaign, test various difficulty levels, and tackle both human and the computer's AI in multiplayer. The single-player experience in SC2 is quite a bit different than the multiplayer game; we'll examine the two separately. First, a note on DRM. Starcraft 2 uses a DRM system similar to Steamworks—an online connection is required when installing the game for the first time, but the game can be played offline at any point thereafter.If it's unable to find an Internet...
Read more...
StarCraft II may be looking at a faraway 2010 release, but that's not stopping accessory makers from cashing in on the hype. Just weeks after we saw StarCraft II gaming surfaces, um, surface, Razer has now teamed up with Blizzard Entertainment in order to push out its own line of game-themed peripherals. Razer has conjured up a tournament-grade mouse, keyboard and headset specifically designed to maximize the StarCraft II gameplay experience, with Razer's own president proclaiming that he is "extremely excited to be working with Blizzard Entertainment on the StarCraft II gaming peripherals and gear." The first Razer StarCraft II tournament level gaming peripherals are poised to make some serious...
Read more...
Gamers who've been salivating at the chance to slaughter zerglings (or each other) like it's 1998 are going to have to wait a little longer. Blizzard Entertainment announced today that the first Starcraft 2 campaign—the Terran-centric Wings of Liberty will not be ready by the end of 2009. The culprit, according to company PR, is Battle.net. The company's release is quoted below."...it has become clear that it will take longer than expected to prepare the new Battle.net for the launch of the game. The upgraded Battle.net is an integral part of the StarCraft II experience and will be an essential part of all of our games moving forward. This extra development time will be critical to help us realize...
Read more...
Rob Pardo, executive vice-president of game design at Blizzard announced at BlizzCon 2008 that they realized during the design of Starcraft 2 that the campaign was becoming so large, they faced the choice of delaying the game or scaling it back. Instead, the campaign version of the game will be a trilogy, with each part focusing on a separate race. The trilogy will be, in this order: Terrans - Wings of LibertyZerg - Heart of the SwarmProtoss - Legacy of the Void No pricing or release details were announced. However, each game is promised to have 26-30 missions, and a self-contained story. Pardo added that while to some the last two chapters may feel like expansion packs, the company will not...
Read more...
