Interview with DB @ NASL

On July 29 2012 19:54 Grampz wrote:
I guess browder is so bald we have to just call him by his initials now

On July 29 2012 20:08 Gosi wrote:
So, anything new and worthy to hear? When ever I watch a DB interview it's just the same boring PC answers and then you just get mad when he talks about unit design and balance so you are better off not watching.

00:08 Dustin Browder, Game Director of Starcraft 2

00:14 How do you feel about the growth and success of e-sports? And what does it need to continue?
-Blown away by what's happening in Starcraft 2.
-Expected sizes of crowds of 50-60 people, maybe more in Korea.
-Kept growing, growing growing, huge venues all over the world with thousands of people watching.
-In terms of where it's going, Blizzard is in the dark. No master plan.

02:03 How close is the connection between Blizzard and the major events around the world?
-Try to make a product that's viable for them to use
-Go to events as much as possible
-Also working with them a lot for WCS

02:55 Is there a struggle between the needs of the community and the needs of the company?
-No.
-Blizzard would balance the game even if e-sports didn't exist, for fans so that when Blizzard releases a new product those fans come back for more.

04:04 Is e-sports a byproduct of Starcraft 2?
-Starcraft 2 was built for e-sports, Warcraft 3 was as well. Starcraft 2 had an advantage thanks to Brood War.
-Even some of the story elements are influenced by it.

05:23 Do you have any plans to support the community more directly?
-Lots of stuff done recently like TLMC/GSL/MLG maps into ladder, HotS battle reports with Day9.

06:38 What are your most memorable moments from the last two years of Starcraft 2?
-Nestea vs Anypro's sunken rush, they discussed something like it in ~2008 but completely forgot about that until this match.
-GSL October finals at Blizzcon crowd.

09:00 What is the Blizzard Vision for the WCS?
-Create environment for non-pros to show off and maybe become pros.
-Create tournaments in places where they aren't held as much.

10:06 Local players in the WCS
-Try to convince players who otherwise wouldn't participate to join in tournaments and find new talent

10:42 Is WCS the replacement for Blizzcon this year?
-Not the reasoning but certainly very nice bonus.

10:54 Will WCS continue after this season?
-Not sure but that's the plan.

11:07 Any hope of auto tournaments returning to battle.net?
-Absolutely, definitely on the list.
-The list is very long and Blizzard knows that.

12:01 Will we see new ranking systems implemented in battle.net?
-Ladder ranking is a Bell curve - Gold is closest to eachother in skill level, GM/master and bronze leagues are much more varied in skill level.
-Possible solutions are more subdivisions (bronze 8,9,10), this goes for GM as well. But Grand Master does exist in a way for that.
-Dustin Browder was diamond, now platinum.
-The community has gotten better and that can be very demoralizing if you don't and get demoted despite getting better.

15:04 Why hide players' true rankings?
-This is still being discussed a lot.
-Showing MMR might demoralize people even more if they hit their 'true skill cap' - which of the 2 options is worse is still being discussed.

16:22 What about better stat tracking within battle.net?
-Want it badly
-Dustin Browder plays random because he has to be unbiased.

17:34 Does Blizzard ever look to the community for inspiration?
-Yes, but infrequently and they want to do it more.

18:12 When can we play Heart of the Swarm beta?
-Very Soon.
-Number of variables like D3 and MoP patches and balance/battle.net changes that affect it.

18:45 How long will there be between beta and launch?
-3 to 6 month beta is the goal.

19:00 What about Warcraft 4?
-Later, much later. 'was gonig to say soon but that seems wrong'.
-HotS first, LoV after, lots of battle.net changes to come in as well first.
-No idea what to implement for multiplayer in LoV.

20:01 Did you ever envision the metagame developing to this point?
-Metagame does what metagame does.
-No specific metagame in mind.
-They had vague ideas toward the end of the beta like Zerg units being weaker due to the larva mechanic and the '300/200 remax'.

21:45 When you make small changes to a unit is it intended to push players in that direction?
-Never intentional. Done during beta but not for a live game.
-Community can overreact to small changes and 'overuse' a unit after buffing though sometimes the community is right and the buff is way more than anticipated
-Queen buff example, wasn't to buff Z but to give them a response to Hellions denying/controlling creep.

22:53 Thinking of the ZvP metagame, are you focusing on the 2 base dilemma faced by the Protoss players?
-Deep sigh
-More confidence in the community than in ourselves to solve things like this.
-Community can sometimes be wrong or overlooking something with tunnelvision.
-When mutas come into play, Phoenixes could be used way more even without the upgrade. 200/200 Protoss armies losing to mass muta, 'you dont have the money' doesnt work in that case.
-Community has a right to panic and they should since that leads to solutions one way or another.

24:45 How do you feel about the changes made to the Queen at this point?
-Terrans still doing runby's with hellions, and banshees and drops.
-Not 100% sure
-Everything looks balanced from ladder statistics, tournament statistics, tournament results.
-Big change but Terran had been dominating for months.
-Open to being wrong.

26:27 How do you feel about 'Ultimate Endgame', especially Infestor/Broodlord and Mothership/Archon?
-We'll see
-HotS coming up which may change that.
-Starcraft 2 isn't considered as done.
-MVP vs Squirtle, what if he yamato'd the mothership? What if he EMP'd it? Still so much potential possibilities.
-Ravens and seeker missiles against zerg, hadn't expected to see it initially. Little sloppily executed by pro standard [in that first game where he saw that used], but with more practice pros might be able to make it work.
-Pros are never done, the metagame is never finished, especially for the end game.

28:40 Final thoughts?
-You're awesome.

On July 29 2012 19:40 bhfberserk wrote:
Terran's raven control not up to par.

On July 29 2012 20:37 OrbitalPlane wrote:
so funny DB talked for 30min and basically said nothing of substance.