StarCraft II FAQ

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StarCraft II General

Q: What is StarCraft II?

A: StarCraftII is the ultimate competitive real-time strategy game, and the sequel to thehit original, StarCraft. The game will include three completely distinct andbalanced races, the protoss, terran, and zerg, which have been overhauled andre-imagined with a number of new units for each, as well as new tricks for someof the classic units that are returning.

Q: When is the game coming out?

A: Atthis point, it’s too early to provide an estimate of the release date. As withall Blizzard games, we will take as much time as needed to ensure the game isas fun, balanced, and polished as possible.

Q: How will StarCraft II be different from StarCraft?

A: StarCraftII will run on a vibrant new 3D-graphics engine capable of rendering beautifullandscapes as well as massive army sizes. The speed, responsiveness, andepic-scale battles that made the original StarCraft such a memorable game areall realized in 3D with this brand-new engine.

We’re alsointroducing a number of distinct new units to the protoss, terran, and zerg,and some of the familiar units that return in StarCraft II will have new tricksup their sleeves, which will give the game its own unique flavor. The mapsthemselves will also offer new interactive elements that enhance the strategicnature of the game and create more tactical points of interest for players tocontest. One example of this is the Xel’Naga watchtower structure—whencaptured, it reveals line of sight over a large area of the map, creating anadvantage for the player in control of the tower.

In addition,Battle.net will be overhauled with some new and exciting features to enhanceonline play and competition, while the single-player campaign will also offersome unique aspects for players to enjoy.

Q: How many cinematic cut-scenes will be included?

A: Weknow that StarCraft II players will expect to see some Blizzard-qualitycinematic content in the game, and we have definite plans to include multiplepre-rendered cinematics, starting with the intro movie. StarCraft II’s advanced3D engine also allows us to create numerous in-engine cutscenes to help tellthe game’s epic story. The Blizzard cinematics team is working closely with theStarCraft II development team to ensure that these in-engine cutscenes are asenjoyable and compelling to watch as the pre-rendered cinematic scenes.

Q: How many races are in StarCraft II?

A:In StarCraft II, players will see the return of the protoss, terran, and zerg races.Our goal is to ensure that all the factions in the game play even moredistinctly from one another than in the original StarCraft, while stillmaintaining the fine balance that helped make StarCraft a classic. We’re alsointroducing a number of new units to each race, as well as modifying some ofthe familiar units returning in StarCraft II. With these design refinements andthe new features we have planned for the single-player and multiplayer elementsof the game, StarCraft II will offer a next-generation StarCraft experience.

Q: It seems like there are sweeping balance changesalmost every time I read about StarCraft II. What are the reasons for thechanges?

A: Aswe go through various testing stages, the development team experiments a lotwith the game balance. This can include adding, removing, and/or modifyingvarious units, buildings, and special abilities within the game. Frequentchanges to units and abilities are a natural part of our iterative developmentprocess as we strive to make StarCraft II as balanced and fun as possible.

Q: What can you reveal about StarCraft II’ssingle-player component?

A: Thegame’s plot will pick up several years after the events of StarCraft: BroodWar. Familiar faces will return—such as Jim Raynor, the reluctant terran herofrom the original StarCraft—and new heroes and villains will emerge. Thesingle-player campaign will allow players to interact closely with thesecharacters while determining their own course through the game via missionchoices and technology upgrades.
Trilogy

Q: What is the StarCraft II Trilogy?

A: TheStarCraft II Trilogy consists of the base StarCraft II game and two subsequentexpansion sets. StarCraft II is subtitled Wings of Liberty (working title) andwill include a lengthy single-player campaign that focuses on the terrans andputs players in the role of Jim Raynor, one of the series' main heroes. Thefirst expansion set, Heart of the Swarm (working title), will follow later andinclude a single-player campaign focusing on the zerg and Kerrigan, Queen of Blades.The second expansion set, Legacy of the Void (working title), will continue thestory experience with a single-player campaign centered on the protoss.

Q: Will we still be able to play multiplayer matchesof StarCraft II with all three races?

A: Yes!From the beginning, StarCraft II will be a fully featured multiplayer game, andall three races will be available for competitive play.

Q: How will the expansion sets impact multiplayergameplay?

A:The expansion sets will add new content to each race for use in multiplayermatches. This could include additions such as new units, abilities, andstructures, along with new maps and Battle.net updates.

Q: If I buy StarCraft II but don't buy any of theexpansion sets, will I still be able to play online?

A:Yes. This will work similarly to Warcraft III and the original StarCraft, whichmaintained separate online gaming lobbies and ladders for expansion set playersand players with the base Warcraft III or StarCraft.

Q: How long is each of the campaigns?

A:StarCraft II's terran campaign will consist of approximately 26 to 30 missions,and each expansion set will include a similar number of missions. This meansthat the complete StarCraft II Trilogy will include as many as 90 single-playermissions. This allows us to create a truly epic story experience with a greatvariety of unique missions and gameplay types.

Q: Why did you decide to release each race's campaignseparately?

A:We're aiming to push the boundaries of storytelling and character developmentin RTS games through the unique single-player campaign design of StarCraft II.Players will be able to choose their mission path and technology upgrades fortheir army as they advance through the campaign. In order to make these choicesmeaningful while creating an epic story and well-developed characters for eachfaction, we needed to focus on a single race for a large number of missions.

The Trilogy alsoallows us to create more in-game and prerendered cinematics to tell the storyin between missions. There will be more interactive sets and elements forplayers to explore during each campaign, along with other interesting designelements to differentiate the single-player game from multiplayer matches. Forexample, the technology choices within the terran single-player campaign willinclude special upgrades and unit types that are unique to the single-playergame. These could include the ability to purchase classic units such as thewraith or firebat to add to Jim Raynor's army.

Q: Are these three separate games? How much will allof these games cost?

A: TheStarCraft II Trilogy will consist of the base StarCraft II game and twoexpansion sets. Pricing on these games hasn't been determined at this earlystage; however, we've always charged an appropriate price for the content theplayer receives, and we will continue to release high-quality games that offergreat value.

Q: How long will it take to ship each expansion set inthe Trilogy?

A: We'restill focused on developing the base StarCraft II game, and all the contentassociated with the terran campaign, including the missions, cinematiccutscenes, and interactive sets. It's too early to provide an estimate on howlong it will take to develop each of the expansion sets in the trilogy, but asalways, we will take as much time as is needed to create the best possiblegaming experience with each expansion set.

Battle.net

Q: Will Battle.net be overhauled? Will there be newfeatures?

A: Therewill be some exciting new changes and features to Battle.net that will help usensure that StarCraft II will be the ultimate competitive online real-timestrategy game. Some of the areas we’re looking into include features thatsupport online tournaments, eSports, and enhanced communication betweenplayers. We’re not quite ready to go into further detail about Battle.net atthis time, but we look forward to doing so in the future.

Q: Will we still be able to play the originalStarCraft on Battle.net after StarCraft II is released?

A: Yes,you will.

Q: What steps are being taken to prevent cheating inmultiplayer games?

A: Wedon’t want to tip our hand to the people who may try to cheat on Battle.net, sowe can’t go into too much detail, but rest assured that security is one of ourtop priorities as we redesign and overhaul Battle.net, and we will take everyprecaution to ensure fairness in our online games. We’ve taken an aggressivestance against cheating in all of our games, and our players haveoverwhelmingly supported us in that, so we don’t have any intention to make anychanges in that regard.

Q: Will there be a closed or open beta? How about atrial or demo version?

A:StarCraft II will have a betatest period in the future. However, it’s still too early to determine the exactnature and timing of the beta. We also haven’t decided yet whether there willbe any trial or demo versions, but we’ll be happy to share the news once finaldecisions have been made.
Technical Aspects

Q: What are the system requirements for StarCraft II?

A: We’llhave more details on specific system requirements closer to the release date.

Q: Will StarCraft II include a map editor?

A:Yes, it will. We’ll have more details on the features of the StarCraft II mapeditor at a later date.

Q: Will there be a console version of StarCraft II?

A: StarCraftII is being developed for Windows and Mac. We have no current plans to bringthe game to any console platform.