EPT
- FrozenArbiter
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Gameplay and design..
1. What strategies/units are being used in different matchups? In BW terran for example uses exclusively mech against protoss, could you give some brief examples of what it's like in SC2 right now, and how it has evolved during development?
2. How's the current balance and what balance issues have you faced?
What are some unorthodox/creative strategies that have happened recently that you didn't expect?
3. The new lower tier availability of mass mobility such as phase prisms and nydus canals seems to prompt for an even greater need for timely 'snipe' abilities for players, but with removal of units like the scourge Blizzard seems to go in opposite direction. The games of SC2 I played so far clearly presented me with the problem of being forced to deal with the consequences of certain types of harass or assault while I saw them coming a mile away, in contrast to being able to effectively prevent them. There were for example no efficient ways of 'sniping' enemy observers and nomads to kill their stealth detection or destroying their medivac dropships before they dropped or finishing off that phase prism before it could deploy and warp-in a dozen or more units into my base. How does Blizzard view these issues and aim to prevent a purely reactionary type of gameplay?
4. In Starcraft 1, there are certain upgrade thresholds where some units start to perform vastly better against certain units. For example, + 1 attack zealots kill zerglings in 2 hits instead of 3, or +1 armor marines can take 3 lurker hits instead of 2. These elements add another layer of depth to the game by making upgrades a crucial part of strategy. Do these thresholds exist in Starcraft 2, and is the game being designed with them in mind?
5. In SC1, upgrades would give different units different degrees of improvement, such as a fully upgraded zergling gaining a total 60% attack increase, compared to a dragoon that would gain 30%. In comparison, Warcraft 3 upgrades were designed so that the percentage improvement per upgrade was approximately the same for each unit. Will upgrades scale in this manner in SC2 as well?
6. In SC and WC3 you can dodge attacks using dropships/zeppelins, or with teleportation spells (ie. blink), or even just superior mobility (in the case of lurker spines).
Can projectiles (and lurker spines in particular) be dodged in SC2?
7*. Are submerged supply depots any different than regular supply depots other than the way that units can pass overtop when they are submerged? I.E. Does the opponent need detectors or anything to see/attack them, do they have the same health, armour, and additional supply count as un-submerged supply depots? Is there no benefits to not having supply depots submerged(other than walling purposes)? Can you leave a unit overtop of the supply depot and de-submerge it to pass units through obstacles?
The map editor..
8. Are there still plans for making the editor available during the beta period?
9. Is it possible to create maps which wrap around? So that the right edge leads back onto the left, creating a spherical space?
10, We have heard many times that the map editor is capable of almost anything, but does this hold true for melee as well? Will you be able to implement map related features, such as different types of terrain (slowing, damage over time, energy regenerating, etc.), portals, or bridges and such, for ladder/melee maps?
Technical..
11. What, if any, function will the F2 through F4 keys have in sc2. Has there been any thought of adding additional keys (F5 through F8) to serve as location hotkeys in sc2?
12. Will observers and replays have a player's view option, not just see what they have selected but actually move the screen to what they are viewing?
13. Will people be able to join games after they've started (as an observer) and will you be able to boot observers (or people that abuse the ping function) from games?
14. Will there be backwards compatibility for watching older replays on newer versions of sc (for example by keeping all the patch data of previous versions backed up)? Will we be able to watch replays online with friends? If so can replay games be host publicly instead of private only?
15. Are there any plans to allow players to save a game state from a replay or immediately play from that point? In a similar manner, will there be a "Save on disconnect" feature, allowing players to resume games where one player disconnects, in the way they would a saved game?
* Made a late change to "Queens can be seen as a money investment for extra larvaes. But hatcheries are also a money investment for larvaes. How is the cost-efficiency balance in these two cases calculated to make sure one doesn't outshine the other? Are Queens supposed to be less cost-efficient than making more hatcheries because they also can attack? Or are Queens supposed to be more cost-efficient since they are more fragile?
", as I believe the supply depot question may have already been answered. Not sure which one Blizzard will use tho.
1. What strategies/units are being used in different matchups? In BW terran for example uses exclusively mech against protoss, could you give some brief examples of what it's like in SC2 right now, and how it has evolved during development?
2. How's the current balance and what balance issues have you faced?
What are some unorthodox/creative strategies that have happened recently that you didn't expect?
3. The new lower tier availability of mass mobility such as phase prisms and nydus canals seems to prompt for an even greater need for timely 'snipe' abilities for players, but with removal of units like the scourge Blizzard seems to go in opposite direction. The games of SC2 I played so far clearly presented me with the problem of being forced to deal with the consequences of certain types of harass or assault while I saw them coming a mile away, in contrast to being able to effectively prevent them. There were for example no efficient ways of 'sniping' enemy observers and nomads to kill their stealth detection or destroying their medivac dropships before they dropped or finishing off that phase prism before it could deploy and warp-in a dozen or more units into my base. How does Blizzard view these issues and aim to prevent a purely reactionary type of gameplay?
4. In Starcraft 1, there are certain upgrade thresholds where some units start to perform vastly better against certain units. For example, + 1 attack zealots kill zerglings in 2 hits instead of 3, or +1 armor marines can take 3 lurker hits instead of 2. These elements add another layer of depth to the game by making upgrades a crucial part of strategy. Do these thresholds exist in Starcraft 2, and is the game being designed with them in mind?
5. In SC1, upgrades would give different units different degrees of improvement, such as a fully upgraded zergling gaining a total 60% attack increase, compared to a dragoon that would gain 30%. In comparison, Warcraft 3 upgrades were designed so that the percentage improvement per upgrade was approximately the same for each unit. Will upgrades scale in this manner in SC2 as well?
6. In SC and WC3 you can dodge attacks using dropships/zeppelins, or with teleportation spells (ie. blink), or even just superior mobility (in the case of lurker spines).
Can projectiles (and lurker spines in particular) be dodged in SC2?
7*. Are submerged supply depots any different than regular supply depots other than the way that units can pass overtop when they are submerged? I.E. Does the opponent need detectors or anything to see/attack them, do they have the same health, armour, and additional supply count as un-submerged supply depots? Is there no benefits to not having supply depots submerged(other than walling purposes)? Can you leave a unit overtop of the supply depot and de-submerge it to pass units through obstacles?
The map editor..
8. Are there still plans for making the editor available during the beta period?
9. Is it possible to create maps which wrap around? So that the right edge leads back onto the left, creating a spherical space?
10, We have heard many times that the map editor is capable of almost anything, but does this hold true for melee as well? Will you be able to implement map related features, such as different types of terrain (slowing, damage over time, energy regenerating, etc.), portals, or bridges and such, for ladder/melee maps?
Technical..
11. What, if any, function will the F2 through F4 keys have in sc2. Has there been any thought of adding additional keys (F5 through F8) to serve as location hotkeys in sc2?
12. Will observers and replays have a player's view option, not just see what they have selected but actually move the screen to what they are viewing?
13. Will people be able to join games after they've started (as an observer) and will you be able to boot observers (or people that abuse the ping function) from games?
14. Will there be backwards compatibility for watching older replays on newer versions of sc (for example by keeping all the patch data of previous versions backed up)? Will we be able to watch replays online with friends? If so can replay games be host publicly instead of private only?
15. Are there any plans to allow players to save a game state from a replay or immediately play from that point? In a similar manner, will there be a "Save on disconnect" feature, allowing players to resume games where one player disconnects, in the way they would a saved game?
* Made a late change to "Queens can be seen as a money investment for extra larvaes. But hatcheries are also a money investment for larvaes. How is the cost-efficiency balance in these two cases calculated to make sure one doesn't outshine the other? Are Queens supposed to be less cost-efficient than making more hatcheries because they also can attack? Or are Queens supposed to be more cost-efficient since they are more fragile?
", as I believe the supply depot question may have already been answered. Not sure which one Blizzard will use tho.
Due to routinely owning it up, Teamliquid (along with some other sites, not sure who) has been selected to be part of a special Q&A submission to be published on our respective sites. We are looking for the best questions you guys can come up with to submit (max of 15, but we wont fill that if questions are garbage) The best ones will be answered directly (with some restrictions) by Blizzard.
So pretty similar to a regular Q&A but only select sites are involved - chances of having your question answered increase
.Some ground rules: (apparently people cant read so now it's in red)
The following questions wont be submitted (blizzard request)
- Questions about Battle.net
- Questions about single player campaign.
Oh and frozenarbiter didn't see this in his email till today and the deadline is March 31st LOL.
Start Asking!
