EPT
Today in Seoul, Blizzard released the swarm on an unsuspecting public. Panicked citizens ran amok in the streets as the Queen of Blades issued a warning. The zerg are here.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Manifesto7/sc2ultras.jpg)
Ultras... burrow!
Now onto the units!
Corrupter - New Unit
- An air-to-air combat unit.
- Rather than destroying it's opponents, it infests them an turns them into a stationary turret-like unit/building, making them fight their own allies.
Infester - New Unit
- As a battle support unit, does not have any attacks.
- Can move while burrowed.
- Can cast Dark Swarm: Seems to be the same.
- Can cast Disease: Creates and aura that damages the unit.
- Can cast Infestation: Can infest any building and create infested marines from them. The marines are slow, but fires similar to regular marines.
Roach - New Unit
- Ground unit that can regenerate HP at an incredibly fast rate.
- Requires powerful and concentrated fire to destroy.
- Has 90HP. (*From Stork's interview. See This Thread)
Overseer - New Evolutionary Unit
- Evolves from: Overlord
- Larger vision range than the Overlord, can detect invisible/burrowed units.
Overlord - Upgraded
- Can no longer detect invisible/burrowed units.
- New ability: Can neutralize resources or neutral posts.
- Can create small creeps.
Baneling - New Evolutionary Unit
- Evolves from: Zerglings
- Explodes on contact with enemy units or buildings
Swarm Guradian - New Evolutionary Unit
- Evolves from: Mutalisk
- Has an even longer range, and powerful against ground units.
- Can create broodlings that attack for a period of time.
Nydus Worm - New Unit
- Unit version of the Nydus Canal.
- Can create canals anywhere on the map.
Queen - Upgraded
- Created directly from the Hatchery
- Can only have 1 Queen at a time.
- Has many powerful abilities that are good for zerg and directs the defensive line.
- Can expand creeps or act as a defensive structure.
- [Ability] Deep Tunnel: Can move to any hatchery on the map.
- Can evolve and learn more abilities.
Ultralisk - Upgraded
- Can now burrow.
- Can now attack multiple units.
Old Units - Same
- Zergling
- Hydralisk
- Lurker
- Mutalisk
9 Minutes of zerg gameplay!
+ Show Spoiler [Screenshot] +
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Manifesto7/20080310122714_f2a9e9de.jpg)
You can see more pictures, and read an interview in these threads:
mr0919
Live2Win
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Manifesto7/progamerssc2.jpg)
In addition to the video, a progamer representing each team was in attendance for the announcement. FighterForum.com interviewed each of them afterwards and they gave their opinions of the new games. Thanks to WaxAngel, we have some brief summaries here:
[광희]Saint Snorlax says:
figherforum
[광희]Saint Snorlax says:
short summaries
[광희]Saint Snorlax says:
from players
[광희]Saint Snorlax says:
I'm guessing they're paraphrasing
Jaedong:
They said the queen was improved, but I was a bit disappointed. It has low HP, and died quickly.
It feels different, but you can still micro mutas. You can use bigger control groups, but you can't do hit and run like before. A lot of units have been added, so they game will change a lot
Moon:
Now I've tried all three races. The interface isn't that different from war3, so I'll be able to adjust easily. I think zerg fits my playstyle the best.
Pusan:
It's very similarto SC1 in general, but the graphics are a lot better.
The new units make it look lik a lot of fun. I'm sad that the 3d takes away the feel of 'finesse' SC1 had, though. Playing vs zerg should be fine in sc2.
If you start from the same place, the person who tries harder should win, right?
Stork:
The protoss graphics are great. The units just look so much better than sc1.
SC is such a perfectly balanced game, so SC2 obviously needs a lot of balancing and tweaking in comparison. It will probably change a lot before release.
Zerg got a lot of powerful new spells, they seem stronger in general. It might be difficult to play vs a zerg who is good at using spells. In general, I think that you will have to focus on overall management, more so than micro.
Nada:
It's similar to SC1. Terran in particular is very similar. I'm disappointed they don't have many new things compared to other races. Zerg looked pretty fun. They have a lot of variety in units and upgrades. The queen comes out so quickly, so maybe TvZ will be hard."
Nal_rA:
It looks fun. For a game to be popular, isn't that the most important thing? I think it will do well when it's released. It's too early to talk about balance. Each race has new, powerful units, so it should be fun.
upmagic:
It's really fun. I tried to look for strategic play as I tried it out. You can do some cool things with terran supply depots. The ability to raise and lower the depots has good walling possibilities.
The nydus canal is a lot stronger now, you can use them instead of drops to attack the enemy's main.
Luxury(?):
It seems very different from SC..
The queen is a lot better, and comes out very fast, so I like it. It's good for zerg that nydus canals are more useful now.
Overlords lost their detecting (I think he missed the upgrade for it), but zerg looks better overall
Savior:
I was expected a lot from the queen, but it wasn't as strong as I hoped.
There are a lot of new units and buildings, and I haven't figured them out yet.
There are many powerful spells, and they should effect the game strongly if used correctly.
Bisu:
I tried SC2 for the first time today. There are quite a few changes. Zerg magic might be difficult to deal with, but we'll have to see. I'll try hard to be strong PvZ, if I play SC2!
Hwasin:
Zerg is stronger. The fact that all units can burrow is difficult. Their new, strong magic makes it so it won't be easy to play vs zerg
figherforum
[광희]Saint Snorlax says:
short summaries
[광희]Saint Snorlax says:
from players
[광희]Saint Snorlax says:
I'm guessing they're paraphrasing
Jaedong:
They said the queen was improved, but I was a bit disappointed. It has low HP, and died quickly.
It feels different, but you can still micro mutas. You can use bigger control groups, but you can't do hit and run like before. A lot of units have been added, so they game will change a lot
Moon:
Now I've tried all three races. The interface isn't that different from war3, so I'll be able to adjust easily. I think zerg fits my playstyle the best.
Pusan:
It's very similarto SC1 in general, but the graphics are a lot better.
The new units make it look lik a lot of fun. I'm sad that the 3d takes away the feel of 'finesse' SC1 had, though. Playing vs zerg should be fine in sc2.
If you start from the same place, the person who tries harder should win, right?
Stork:
The protoss graphics are great. The units just look so much better than sc1.
SC is such a perfectly balanced game, so SC2 obviously needs a lot of balancing and tweaking in comparison. It will probably change a lot before release.
Zerg got a lot of powerful new spells, they seem stronger in general. It might be difficult to play vs a zerg who is good at using spells. In general, I think that you will have to focus on overall management, more so than micro.
Nada:
It's similar to SC1. Terran in particular is very similar. I'm disappointed they don't have many new things compared to other races. Zerg looked pretty fun. They have a lot of variety in units and upgrades. The queen comes out so quickly, so maybe TvZ will be hard."
Nal_rA:
It looks fun. For a game to be popular, isn't that the most important thing? I think it will do well when it's released. It's too early to talk about balance. Each race has new, powerful units, so it should be fun.
upmagic:
It's really fun. I tried to look for strategic play as I tried it out. You can do some cool things with terran supply depots. The ability to raise and lower the depots has good walling possibilities.
The nydus canal is a lot stronger now, you can use them instead of drops to attack the enemy's main.
Luxury(?):
It seems very different from SC..
The queen is a lot better, and comes out very fast, so I like it. It's good for zerg that nydus canals are more useful now.
Overlords lost their detecting (I think he missed the upgrade for it), but zerg looks better overall
Savior:
I was expected a lot from the queen, but it wasn't as strong as I hoped.
There are a lot of new units and buildings, and I haven't figured them out yet.
There are many powerful spells, and they should effect the game strongly if used correctly.
Bisu:
I tried SC2 for the first time today. There are quite a few changes. Zerg magic might be difficult to deal with, but we'll have to see. I'll try hard to be strong PvZ, if I play SC2!
Hwasin:
Zerg is stronger. The fact that all units can burrow is difficult. Their new, strong magic makes it so it won't be easy to play vs zerg
Check out full interviews with Jaedong and Stork here, translated by Live2Win and WaxAngel.
+ Show Spoiler [Jaedong] +
Fomos - How was the game?
JaeDong - The graphics change to 3D made it difficult to get use to. But actually playing it I don't think much changed. It's similar to StarCraft 1 and I don't think there'll be any problems for the fans to enjoy it. If you get use to it I think it'll be very fun.
- How has zerg changed?
JD - The unit's characteristics changed. Adding new units and making them stronger, I believe if you concentrate on that the zerg will be powerful.
- The Queen was introduced.
JD - There were a few units not used in StarCraft. The Queen was an exmaple but in SC2 a lot of new abilities were added to make it better. I like the fact that there are a lot of new casters for zerg.
- Have you used the mutalisks.
JD - The mutalisks aren't much different from SC1. But the muta control has become more difficult. It's possible to clump them up as one but hitting and running control was impossible.
- How were the other units.
JD - I tried out the Nydus Worm and it creates canals while moving. It will become very useful. The zerglings were bigger so they seemed stronger. But in actuality they weren't much different. It only felt like that.
- If you play StarCraft 2.
JD - If I play StarCraft 2 (I assume they mean professionally?) I'll keep playing with zerg. In SC1 the zerg was a macro-specific race but in SC2 macro was obvious, but I think it requires more strategic and skillful techniques.
JaeDong - The graphics change to 3D made it difficult to get use to. But actually playing it I don't think much changed. It's similar to StarCraft 1 and I don't think there'll be any problems for the fans to enjoy it. If you get use to it I think it'll be very fun.
- How has zerg changed?
JD - The unit's characteristics changed. Adding new units and making them stronger, I believe if you concentrate on that the zerg will be powerful.
- The Queen was introduced.
JD - There were a few units not used in StarCraft. The Queen was an exmaple but in SC2 a lot of new abilities were added to make it better. I like the fact that there are a lot of new casters for zerg.
- Have you used the mutalisks.
JD - The mutalisks aren't much different from SC1. But the muta control has become more difficult. It's possible to clump them up as one but hitting and running control was impossible.
- How were the other units.
JD - I tried out the Nydus Worm and it creates canals while moving. It will become very useful. The zerglings were bigger so they seemed stronger. But in actuality they weren't much different. It only felt like that.
- If you play StarCraft 2.
JD - If I play StarCraft 2 (I assume they mean professionally?) I'll keep playing with zerg. In SC1 the zerg was a macro-specific race but in SC2 macro was obvious, but I think it requires more strategic and skillful techniques.
+ Show Spoiler [Stork] +
Fomos - How was the game?
Stork - I played protoss mostly and I was satisfied. The graphics were much better and I really liked the Mothership. But I think the mothership's blackhole ability was removed and she required a lot of mana so I wasn't able to test them out. The zerg became more gross and messy, but powerful.
- How's the protoss?
Stork - I didn't find it too difficult to play with protoss. The zerg felt similar to the previous game, but the buildings were a bit confusing because they looked the same.
- Do you think the fans of SC1 can easily adapt to SC2?
Stork - I think it depends on personal preference. It will probably depend on if you prefer 2D or 3D. It's probably because the game's still under development but I still like SC1 better.
- How were the new zerg units?
Stork - The Queen could be made straight from the hatchery. I didn't really understand because it was written in english, but when used correctly I think it will be a useful unit. A new unit called Roach was added and it had 90 HP. But unless you deal 90 damage to it, it will heal extremely fast to 100%. It was pretty cheap (unfair).
- The greatest difference of Protoss?
Stork - The units all look really cool. If anything changed it's that the Dark Archon was removed. Whether you morph Dark Templars or High Templars they all come out as archons. Queueing units and buildings were possible so it felt like things were easier.
- Out of the units you tried today, which did u like the most?
Stork - I tried the psionic storm but it wasn't that cool. I liked the carrier the most but it won't be easy concentrating on control. The scout and arbiters were removed.
Stork - I played protoss mostly and I was satisfied. The graphics were much better and I really liked the Mothership. But I think the mothership's blackhole ability was removed and she required a lot of mana so I wasn't able to test them out. The zerg became more gross and messy, but powerful.
- How's the protoss?
Stork - I didn't find it too difficult to play with protoss. The zerg felt similar to the previous game, but the buildings were a bit confusing because they looked the same.
- Do you think the fans of SC1 can easily adapt to SC2?
Stork - I think it depends on personal preference. It will probably depend on if you prefer 2D or 3D. It's probably because the game's still under development but I still like SC1 better.
- How were the new zerg units?
Stork - The Queen could be made straight from the hatchery. I didn't really understand because it was written in english, but when used correctly I think it will be a useful unit. A new unit called Roach was added and it had 90 HP. But unless you deal 90 damage to it, it will heal extremely fast to 100%. It was pretty cheap (unfair).
- The greatest difference of Protoss?
Stork - The units all look really cool. If anything changed it's that the Dark Archon was removed. Whether you morph Dark Templars or High Templars they all come out as archons. Queueing units and buildings were possible so it felt like things were easier.
- Out of the units you tried today, which did u like the most?
Stork - I tried the psionic storm but it wasn't that cool. I liked the carrier the most but it won't be easy concentrating on control. The scout and arbiters were removed.
Next up, the zerg will take over North America. On March 11th, Blizzard will release their creation in California. TeamLiquid will have two reporters, LastRomantic and semioldguy there to provide coverage, and to defend TeamLiquid's unbeaten SCII streak. Stay tuned for those reports.
Mani
