just think about the similarities in hotkeys. control groups, f(2-4) locations, attack/holdposition/stop/patrol, etc etc. then think about the layout of the game with the minimap on bottom left, command buttons on the right, unit portrait and info in the middle. then think about how the game starts with a command center with basic worker units (+ghoul for undead). yeah i think its pretty similar.

All RTS's have hotkeys, all RTS's have minimaps, all RTS's have buttons...

The title is phrased wrong. Also, no, they are approximately as alike as any two RTS games.

reit

Canada209 Posts

January 19 2010 09:10 GMT

#24

On January 19 2010 16:54 Rambling. wrote:

Show nested quote +

LOL

JohannesH

Finland1364 Posts

January 19 2010 09:25 GMT

#25

On January 19 2010 15:53 redtooth wrote:
just think about the similarities in hotkeys. control groups, f(2-4) locations, attack/holdposition/stop/patrol, etc etc. then think about the layout of the game with the minimap on bottom left, command buttons on the right, unit portrait and info in the middle. then think about how the game starts with a command center with basic worker units (+ghoul for undead). yeah i think its pretty similar.

Yeah SCs based on WC3?

Falling

Canada11583 Posts

January 19 2010 10:11 GMT

#26

On January 19 2010 14:54 Rambling. wrote:
I can't belive this, my semi brain damaged friend thinks Starcraft is based off warcraft 2. This is mind boggling to me, sure there are some similarities, but aren't there similarities in any genre? GodenEye, Halo, CounterStrike, Call of Duty. I need to know if I'm alone here...
Although the game may share some aspects, I'm hoping I'm gunna get some people to agree with me that he's just... dumb. Thoughts?

Edit: Sorry, SC is WC in space

Eh, depends what you mean by "based off warcraft 2." But there is more than just a passing similarity then the other games you mentioned- it is the same company. WCII is the direct ancestor, father even of Starcraft, but Starcraft pushed out in new directions.

Consider even the spells-
Spawn Broodling?- got your polymorph right here.
Psionic storm? = Blizzard
Comsat= Holy Vision
Mines= Runes
Stimpack= Bloodlust/ Haste
Feedback= similar to Death Coil
Irradiate= negative version of Flame Shield
Ensnare= Slow

Resource gathering is relatively similar with a switch in importance
Vespene Gas- Gold Mine (one location)
Minerals- Forest

Starcraft pushed the concepts further, but there is a cross-pollination/ continuity of ideas that is easy to see.

Starcraft is superior to Warcraft II in every way, but if you're orphaning SC from WC II, you've been hating on WCIII for too long.

Rambling.

Canada314 Posts

January 19 2010 10:14 GMT

#27

Well, from all the comments, I had to admit defeat. Although I will defend my opinion to the bitter end, the crowds have spoken. Thanks for all the input tho!

Ota Solgryn

Denmark2011 Posts

January 19 2010 10:21 GMT

#28

Just mention Zerg. NO game had a race as distinct and different gameplay wise before SC. All RTS games were based on two or more races of high similarity. E.g. war2, war3, Red alert, C&C etc. all races have different buildings where different units are made.

Zerg is what makes starcraft stand out. Completely different mechanics, one building where ALL units are build from, and can make multiple units at once, which in the end opens up some very unique playing styles and very complex economy management compared to all other races in all other games (E.g. save up larvae until spire pops and suddently 9 mutas or pump drones for better econ). This is, to me, what makes SC unique. And despite of the huge difference between Zerg and the other two races, the game is one of the most balanced.

God I love this game.

Edit: To put it short, SC was the first game and maybe still the only one(?) to have a non-linear race, economy and macro wise.

ProoM

Lithuania1741 Posts

January 19 2010 11:11 GMT

#29

Since I've never played Warcraf2, sc is not similar to it at all !

Rambling.

Canada314 Posts

January 19 2010 11:37 GMT

#30

There seems to be some rebuttal so...

+ Show Spoiler +

LordWeird

United States3411 Posts

January 19 2010 13:36 GMT

#31

On January 19 2010 20:11 ProoM wrote:
Since I've never played Warcraf2, sc is not similar to it at all !

What kind of logic is that, that makes no sense at all. It either IS or it ISN'T, and only someone who has PLAYED both games would know. You should have just posted:

On January 19 2010 20:11 ProoM wrote:
"Since I've never played Warcraf2, i have no idea if it is similar to it at all !"

Either way, It should be pretty obvious the games bear many similarities. Of course they aren't identical, especially with the different mechanics for each race, but anybody who had played a lot of WC2 back in the day was able to pick up SC and understand many of the fundamentals right off the bat, myself included.

Ota Solgryn

Denmark2011 Posts

January 19 2010 13:57 GMT

#32

On January 19 2010 22:36 LordWeird wrote:

Show nested quote +

What kind of logic is that, that makes no sense at all. It either IS or it ISN'T, and only someone who has PLAYED both games would know. You should have just posted:

Show nested quote +

Either way, It should be pretty obvious the games bear many similarities. Of course they aren't identical, especially with the different mechanics for each race, but anybody who had played a lot of any RTS game was able to pick up SC and understand many of the fundamentals right off the bat, myself included.

Fixed

Tom Phoenix

1114 Posts

January 19 2010 14:18 GMT

#33

On January 19 2010 16:05 TimmyMac wrote:
Starcraft engine is modified warcraft engine...

Actually, this is not true. While StarCraft did use a modified WarCraft II engine for most of the alpha development stage, they then realised that the limitations of the engine prevented them from implementing everything they wanted to put in (like, for example, burrowing). For that reason, they then decided to write an entirely new engine just for StarCraft and that is the engine that it ended up using permanently.

Since then, Blizzard has, for the most part, stuck to the practice of making an entirely new engine for each of their games.

citi.zen

2509 Posts

January 19 2010 15:57 GMT

#34

Well said Sir, finally an original thought on these forums!

Oh wait, "warcraft in space" returns over 40,000 google hits.

arb

Noobville17922 Posts

January 19 2010 18:32 GMT

#35

On January 19 2010 15:08 Pyrrhuloxia wrote:
It's funny because they have space helmets and spaceships and space travel and shit in WoW.

well they dont really use space travel in WoW, considering the only way to other realms is by teleportation or that portal in the blasted lands(???).

Pyrrhuloxia

United States6700 Posts

January 19 2010 19:04 GMT

#36

On January 19 2010 17:53 leejas wrote:
You could say it's based off command and conquer, which is based off something else...

Dune II, for the record

Pyrrhuloxia

United States6700 Posts

January 19 2010 19:07 GMT

#37

On January 20 2010 03:32 arb wrote:

Show nested quote +

well they dont really use space travel in WoW, considering the only way to other realms is by teleportation or that portal in the blasted lands(???).

Hmm. Yeah I suppose they warp to the planet fragments that make up Outland, they don't really take a spaceship. But the Dranei starting area is a crashed spaceship and there are rocket mounts that you can ride around, although not into space. I'll be honest, I don't really understand the geography of the Warcraft Universe too well.

I just remember being very surprised by the astronaut helmets and spaceships and interplanetary struggles going on in WoW, since those don't usually show up in fantasy settings based on Lord of the Rings and the like. The elves in LotR go to a distant continent, not another galaxy, ditto for the high elves in the Elder Scrolls games. It's kind of cool that they mix sci fi with fantasy in WoW. The space stuff doesn't seem jarring somehow because the art style is so consistent. Unfortunately, I have to agree with the criticism that SCII and Diablo III seem to be using this style as well. I think the SCII animations are a little too exaggerated. This is based on the animation shown on the website, though, which haven't been updated in a while. I think the newer builds have been changed to make dying animations and the like simpler. Hopefully they continue simplifying so things similar to vulture micro can appear.