Know Your Roots - SCII

[Mobius 1]

Extended Cinematic Trailer

Finally grabbed my pre-order today. Couple of thoughts:

• I'm sad Blizzard is splitting the campaign into three parts at higher prices. Fan-gouging is wonderful.
  
  I don't really care about the gameplay - I'm not expecting anything other than a prettier version of the original games. I've always usually been in video games for the cinematic story over multi.
  
  I'm a sucker for generic epic trailer music, but some of Raynor's lines ("Bout time we kicked this revolution into ovahdriiiiivve") were cringeworthy.
  
  I know it's basically the Terran campaign, but I wish there was more Protoss to see.
  
  It's a pity, but I don't think Mengsk is going down in this storyline - he'll probably fall a few missions before Kerrigan does. Moreover, I actually hope Raynor survives; he's the only real hero the game still has standing (Zeratul, being a Protoss, is required to sacrifice himself somewhere down the line).
  
  Beyond the silly bulky astronaut suits for the Marines, the aesthetic is pretty cool - the imperial wanker in most people would love the giant gaudy dress suit Valerian has on.

[Shroom Man 777]

I am glad they're keeping Raynor's old voice actor, as opposed to replacing him with a Cylon like what they did with Kerrigan. I want Xena's sidekick Gabrielle back, damn it!

I thought I'd get over StarCraft, but watching that trailer, man. To quote Captain Murphy from SeaLab 2012... There go my nipples again.

[Siege]

Liked the battlecruisers and the silly marine suits, very much liked the "time to go a-questin!" storyline they're hinting at. Not so sure about the Generic Anime Royalty Costume With Long Wavy Hair Look™ the PRINCE of SPACE has going for himself though, he looks like he stepped off a bloody Final Fantasy set or something -- hell, I was half expecting him to draw a stupidly huge sword on Raynor. On the other hand, I like the idea that Mengsk solidified his empire and got a dynasty going whilst Raynor basically drank himself into a depression obsessing over Kerrigan for thirty years or so. That seems fittingly in-character.

So yeah, nice CGI -- but then Blizzard and their ten gazillion dollar income can afford that, it's to be expected even. On the whole the gameplay from the beta games I've watched is pretty regressive for an RTS however, and the fan-gouging is just ridiculous, what with the "let's release one game in three parts" thing they're doing. One also has to keep in mind that the last game to attempt such a thing (Half-Life 2) still isn't finished even a full millennium after the release of the first installment. And from the look of it the Rapture might get here before Episode 3 will, too. That, combined with Blizzard's typical absurdly long development cycle, makes me wonder if they'll get the third and final installment done anywhere in the next decade.

Still, I'll probably get it, if only for old time's sake.

[U.N.W.U.N.]

I went out and bought it today. Played the first two missions.

Unfortunately, it seems Blizzard is having problems related to the Battle.net accounts you are required to have in order to play the game. On my computer, these problems are evidently showing up as a loss of campaign progress / achievement data. I'm guessing it'll be at least a few days before it actually starts saving my progress...

Also, I was just casually looking at the forums, and some douchebag (apparently) spoiled the ending, and neglected to tag it with a spoiler alert. I waited ten years for this game, only to have major plot spoiled in ten seconds.

Ah, well, it's still nice to finally have Starcraft II after all these years.

[Siege]

I loathe "have to be online at all times" systems in games, and that SC2 has one is one of the main reasons I haven't yet bought it.

[U.N.W.U.N.]

Siege, as far as I know you don't have to be online at all times just to play the game, but your records and such are all stored in the cloud.

Unfortunately this cloud stuff seems to be the way of the future, and we're all just going to have to suck it up until it becomes as reliable as we'd like.

One warning for people who are buying the game: When the game prompts you to choose a name for your character, be aware that this is going to be your one and only, PERMANENT, online handle (unless Blizzard issues a "name change" patch). Before I found a complaint about it on the their forum, I assumed it was just like the system from the original Starcraft, and I used my real first name, which I'm evidently stuck with now. And since the names are non-unique, there are probably about 1,000 other people with the same handle as me already.

All things considered, I'm still really impressed with Starcraft II, and I'm glad to finally have it after all these years. I'll drink to Starcraft II!

[The DS]

One warning for people who are buying the game: When the game prompts you to choose a name for your character, be aware that this is going to be your one and only, PERMANENT, online handle (unless Blizzard issues a "name change" patch). Before I found a complaint about it on the their forum, I assumed it was just like the system from the original Starcraft, and I used my real first name, which I'm evidently stuck with now. And since the names are non-unique, there are probably about 1,000 other people with the same handle as me already.

All things considered, I'm still really impressed with Starcraft II, and I'm glad to finally have it after all these years. I'll drink to Starcraft II!

I had the exact same thing happen to me. They really better release a patch, because I just don't feel like playing online this way and looking like a damn fool.


By the way... Hi y'all! Remember me?

[Shroom Man 777]

DarkStalker! I MISSES YOUS!

[The DS]

I'm glad to see this place is still around. And with all the familiar faces for the most part, too.

I have a lot of fond memories of those days. And I figured that since the day we had all been waiting for almost 10 yrs ago now had finally come, I would drop by and see what was going on.

I can't belive UNWUN showed up!

[Ford Prefect]

Man, when StarCraft II was released I got kind of nostalgic. Obviously not because of the StarCraft II stuff from way back in the day, because that was before my time. But it made me remember Omniverse Zero, and the day all those year ago that I joined up, and looking around the old school threads, like that argument about sea-going warships, and I chocked up a bit.

Vic even just sent me a 140 page word doc called 'The Terran Ascension'.

[Destructionator]

Does SC2 have any sea action? I love naval action in the RTSes.

[Siege]

Vic even just sent me a 140 page word doc called 'The Terran Ascension'.

That still exists? Dude, you would be doing me an epic favour by sending me it. I've lost my own copy a long-ass time ago, and I bet if nothing else it'll be hilarious to see how bad my English was back in those days .

[Invictus]

Hello, what do we have here?

[Siege]

Sweet! Man, I can't believe that webspace is still up and running. I got it for free like ages ago (when you could actually still do anything with 8 MB of space!), and I haven't visited in aeons... I should go and check out what's stored on it.

Anyway, to keep this thread on-topic: after ample deliberation I still wasn't sure, but the rediscovery of the TA made it plenty obvious to me that I really couldn't not buy this game, not after all the ridiculous time and energy and outrageous nerdiness I wasted thinking about what it might be like . So, I ordered my copy of SC2 today. It should be arriving tomorrow. It's the first game I bought at full price since... Hell, Half-Life 2 I think. Here's to hoping it'll be good!

[U.N.W.U.N.]

I had the exact same thing happen to me. They really better release a patch, because I just don't feel like playing online this way and looking like a damn fool.

Word on the Blizzard technical support forum is that it's hit-or-miss for now. People have called the tech support hotline and after staying on hold for an hour (and incurring the associated long distance charges) have been able to get their handles changed. Others have gone through the same runaround only to be told that they're SOL. Blizzard itself doesn't seem to have a clear policy on this yet.

In the meantime, Blizzard added a headline in the game's login sidebar that informs you that the handle you choose is permanent, but that came a little too late for many of us.

About three days after Starcraft II came out they released a patch that fixed the campaign save issue I had been having. I haven't been able to play since last week, but as of last time I played the problem I've been having with achievements hasn't been fixed yet.

[U.N.W.U.N.]

I'm glad to see this place is still around. And with all the familiar faces for the most part, too.

I have a lot of fond memories of those days. And I figured that since the day we had all been waiting for almost 10 yrs ago now had finally come, I would drop by and see what was going on.

I can't belive UNWUN showed up!

Like I'd be MIA on The Day We've All Been Waiting For.

[Siege]

Received it, and spent much of my day off (yesterday) playing it. I love it! It's not revolutionary or anything, but it is exceptionally well-polished. And great fun to play. Thanks to the heads-up you guys gave me I've actually got a decent online handle, but I think I'll wait with trying my luck on battle.net until I've completed a few more skirmish missions and the campaign. It's been a long time since I played an RTS online and I wouldn't want to get my ass handed to me, now would I?

Edit: Also, holy shit but is the Hyperion one sweet ride or what?

[Mobius 1]

Siege, we need to do co op online!

[Siege]

I didn't know you even could co-op online . That sounds like a sweet gig. I suppose we'd need each others' handles or something? Not sure how the new battle.net works yet, like I said I haven't tried it...

[Mobius 1]

Yeah, you can add me through my email address. Go to the bottom right corner, expand the friends window, and hit the "add friend" tab. It'll ask you for a Battle.Net email address, which I'll PM you. Then one could play stuff like parties for 2, 3, or 4 vs AI or parties with the same amount of people on the world wide pvp.

[Kingmaker]

Damn. If nothing else, Blizzard knows how to make a video game trailer. I mean, I could believe that was the trailer for some kickass sci-fi film epic. Other developers should pay attention to this. Don't give us non-gameplay trailers full of action shit that we'll never get to do. You want a trailer that makes the player feel like they're going to be the star of the most awesome movie ever made.

God damn Mengsk has an awesome voice.

It almost makes me sad I didn't pre-order SCII. Almost.

As far as the silly suits for the marines and the princey boy's look, remember that Starcraft is aesthetically ripping off taking cues from WH40k.

[U.N.W.U.N.]

Also, holy shit but is the Hyperion one sweet ride or what?

Hellz yeah. I love the scene where the Hyperion goes to warp jump or whatever they call it.

[Artemis]

Finished the campaign two days ago. I had an absolute blast being Jim Raynor, especially considering how long I've wanted to do that very thing Supporting characters were brilliant, with my favorite being Swann, the armory guy. The writing was fun. The music, right down to the covers of Suspicious Minds, Sweet Home Alabama, and Freebird, fit the mood just perfectly.

However, I got this to say: WOW. They wrapped THAT plot up pretty neatly, didn't they? Not sure if I like that or not.

I'm curious to see how they're going to continue the story for Heart of the Swarm, but in the meantime, I plan to perfect my current Terran strategies, most of which involve copious numbers of Reapers, Vikings and Banshees. Haven't really played with the Protoss and Zerg yet, though I'm liking the new focus on support powers for the Protoss and the sheer sneakiness for the Zerg.

[Artemis]

Also, I second the need for a Omniverse-only co-op or skirmish game!

[Siege]

That would be sweet, but apparently Blizzard in their infinite wisdom decided that you shouldn't be allowed to play outside your designated continental zone. So no Europe-America games for me.