starcraft
Latest
Blizzard's cancelled 'StarCraft: Ghost' leaks in playable form
Blizzard's cancelled StarCraft: Ghost has been the stuff of gaming legend. It was supposed to mark Blizzard's big leap into 3D action games, but it never came to pass -- delays, changing developers and evolving game platforms led the studio to put the game on "indefinite hold." Now, however, gamers appear to be getting a first-hand look at what they've missed. YouTube users Leers Meneses, Delso Bezerra and others say they've obtained a playable build of Ghost for the original Xbox through a leaked developer kit. It's unsurprisingly broken (the first two missions don't work properly, Meneses said), but appears to have been well into development -- you can fend off Zerg and engage in Metal Gear Solid-style chats.
'StarCraft' gets the cartoon makeover nobody asked for
When you think of kid-friendly video games, StarCraft might not top the list. But that could change. A new version, StarCraft: Cartooned, reimagines every unit, structure, map, menu and mission with art by CarBot Animations. The usually dark game is swapping its Warhammer-like visual style for a complete makeover with cute cartoon graphics.
StarCraft FPS reportedly axed by Blizzard
A planned StarCraft first-person shooter, codenamed Ares, has been reportedly been cancelled by developer Blizzard, according to people inside the company who spoke to Kotaku. A prototype of the game, based on the Overwatch engine, originally had the player take control of a Terran marine taking down Zerg aliens, but the project has now been nixed.
DeepMind AI AlphaStar goes 10-1 against top 'StarCraft II' pros
After laying waste to the best Go players in the world, DeepMind has moved on to computer games. The Google-owned artificial intelligence company has been fine-tuning its AI to take on StarCraft II and today showed off its first head-to-head matches against professional gamers. The AI agent, named AlphaStar, managed to pick up 10 wins against StarCraft II pros TLO and MaNa in two separate five-game series that originally took place back in December. After racking up 10 straight losses, the pros finally scored a win against the AI when MaNa took on AlphaStar in a live match streamed by Blizzard and DeepMind.
BlizzCon 2018's feature-packed virtual tickets are on sale now
There's still two months to go before BlizzCon, but fans can start getting involved now with the launch of the BlizzCon 2018 Virtual Ticket. Pick one up from the Blizzard Shop for $50 and you'll get two months of exclusive video and new content, and when the event gets going you can enjoy comprehensive livestreams covering all the major news, events and panels at the show. Handy if you can't get to the convention itself.
'Starcraft II' finally gets a store for player-made maps
Newer Blizzard titles like Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm are free to play, but they do offer as many paid extras as you can shake a stick at. That's normal these days, of course, but StarCraft II was first released in 2010 -- a simpler time when you tended to just buy a video game and play it. There have been many paid expansions and cosmetics added over the years, but Blizzard originally promised a marketplace through which the community could sell custom-made maps and take a cut of the revenue. This feature was first mentioned way back in 2009, before StarCraft II even launched, and nine years later it's finally debuting in the impending 4.3.0 update.
'StarCraft' 20th anniversary brings freebies and a short film
Blizzard is keeping up its habit of marking the anniversaries of major games. The original StarCraft is turning 20 on March 31st, and the studio is promising a slew of extras across its games to mark the occasion, including the classic real-time strategy title itself. You can log in to StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft II after March 6th to get commemorative interface skins, plus portraits and decals if you sign into SCII by April 6th. And if you're not particularly big on those titles, there are plenty of other ways to obtain perks -- you might even prefer them to the ones you get with StarCraft proper.
Blizzard is making a 'StarCraft II' campaign free to play
Blizzard is taking StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty's campaign free to play. As Polygon reports, come November 14th, you'll have access to the entire narrative and if you already own that, you'll get the Protoss-themed Heart of the Swarm campaign for free. The other narratives will run you $15 each. Unlike StarCraft II: Starter Edition that included free multiplayer, the adversarial mode that comes in tow here will feature ranked play -- not just casual, unranked matches.
Facebook's 'StarCraft' AI was defeated by hobbyists
Last weekend, Facebook sent its own artificial intelligence to rumble in a StarCraft tournament that only allows AI participants. This was the social network's first entry in the annual competition held at the AIIDE conference that explores the intersection of AI and entertainment. As Wired reported, Facebook is following in the footsteps of other companies that have used Blizzard's strategy game to showcase their AIs.
Google and Blizzard invite you to train AI with 'StarCraft II'
Google, apparently tired of trouncing human players at Go with its DeepMind AI, set its computer intelligence up with Blizzard's video game Starcraft II last fall. It seems that was more than a stunt: Today, Google announced it has built a whole research environment around training its AI to play the space-age strategy game -- and it's publicly available. Anyone who wants can tinker with DeepMind's new toolset, SC2LE, to facilitate their own AI research.
The pro 'StarCraft' scene is alive and well
StarCraft used to be the belle of the ball when it came to eSports, but times have changed. While it still has a viable competitive scene, you're more likely to hear about Dota 2, League of Legends or even a classic rival like CS:GO. Don't tell that to Blizzard, though -- at least in South Korea, it looks like the StarCraft series might be in for a revival among pros. The developer just held an eSports history event in Busan to mark the impending launch of StarCraft: Remastered, and... well, just look at the photo above. Blizzard tells us over 10,000 people watched in person, and 500,000 watched through both streaming and TV broadcasts. That's not exactly what you'd expect from a game whose competitive appeal is on the decline.
The remastered 'StarCraft' arrives in August
StarCraft's long-overdue facelift will make its debut on August 14th. The remastered version boasts a raft of enhancements including 4K resolution, improved sound and rebooted dialogue, all designed to make the game look a bit more shiny and polished, while essentially remaining exactly the same.
South Korean presidential candidate campaigns with 'Starcraft' maps
How should politicians connect with younger voters? How do you cut through the relentless waves of promises, speeches and the rest? If you're South Korean presidential candidate Moon Jae-in, you take to Starcraft. Perhaps even more surprisingly, he's actually a legitimate, tenable candidate who could well be the country's next leader, according to recent polls. Moon Jae-in has launched two free maps on his campaign blog, a clever idea in a country that loves it some Starcraft.
Get your free copy of 'StarCraft' ahead of its Remastered release
At the tail end of March Blizzard announced plans for StarCraft: Remastered, which is due later this year with updates including 4K graphics and modern online features. Buried within that release, it also mentioned that gamers could expect to see the original game and its Brood War expansion released for free along with the 1.18 update for the game. That day has come, and nostalgic gamers can dive back in as soon as their copy finishes downloading (PC here, OS X version here) like it's 1998 again and Gettin' Jiggy Wit It isn't just a dated reference.
'StarCraft: Remastered' upgrades a real-time strategy classic
Blizzard is legendary for keeping old games alive, but it's going the extra mile this time around. The studio has unveiled StarCraft: Remastered, an overhaul that drags the 1998 real-time strategy game (including the Brood War expansion) into the modern era. It's getting the obligatory fresh coat of paint, including higher-resolution graphics (with support for 4K resolution), improved audio and support for Blizzard's current game launcher and multiplayer network. However, the team is also using this as an excuse to 'fix' the game by adding content and features you take for granted. There will be reasons to play even if you've played the classic title to death.
Blizzard launches its own cross-game voice chat service
About a year ago, Blizzard revealed a chat service for all of its Battle.net multiplayer games, starting with Overwatch. Last month it killed the Battle.net name altogether, saying multiplayer support is a "normal expectation" that no longer requires its own service. Now, the World of Warcraft maker has rolled out Blizzard Voice, a chat service that works across all its multiplayer titles.
Professional 'StarCraft 2' players, coach accused of match-fixing
South Korean authorities have arrested nine people, including two professional players and their coach, on charges of fixing professional StarCraft 2 matches, according to translated reports on the Team Liquid forums. The site says PRIME head coach Park Wae-Sik ("Gerrard"), and professional players Choi Byeong-Heon ("YoDA") and Choi Jong-Hyuk ("BBoongBBoong") have been arrested and charged with manipulating the outcomes of five matches throughout 2015. They're suspected of receiving between 5 million and 20 million won ($4,400 and $17,600) for fixing the games. At least three other people have been arrested and charged with match-fixing in the same sting, and two additional people have been indicted but not arrested. One other is at large, the report says. The Korean eSports Association plans to ban Gerrard and YoDA from the organization for life, a statement translated on TeamLiquid reads.
The second 'StarCraft II' expansion arrives November 10th
It's been a long time coming, but the second StarCraft II expansion is nearly here: Blizzard has announced that Legacy of the Void will arrive on November 10th. As with both the original game (Wings of Liberty) and Heart of the Swarm, this latest title will focus primarily on one species. In this case, you're reuniting the mysterious Protoss so that they can confront a dire threat and reclaim their homeworld. You'll also get new units for all factions, and there are fresh multiplayer modes that include shared bases and objective-based co-op. It's not really a revolution, then. However, this also represents the end of the StarCraft II story line -- if you're determined to see the conclusion to Blizzard's five-year sci-fi saga, you'll want to check this out.
'Heroes of the Storm' pits 'StarCraft against 'Warcraft' in June
More than three years after Blizzard announced it would be making a competitor to League of Legends and Dota 2, that game finally has an official release date. Heroes of the Storm comes out June 2nd, brining with it seven maps for players to face off on using over 30 characters culled from the studio's famous Diablo, StarCraft and Warcraft series. As with other multiplayer online battle arena games, or MOBAs as they're commonly known, like the aforementioned League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm is free to download and start playing. Blizzard makes money on the game by charging for new characters as well as customization options.
Dozens of Blizzard's biggest game characters are getting figurines
You're typically lucky if you get even a few figurines based on your favorite games. That's certainly true with Blizzard -- despite its deep game universes, you seldom get more than a handful of characters. Thankfully, that relative drought is about to end soon. The National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) is launching a collectible line based around Blizzard's multi-franchise online battle arena, Heroes of the Storm, and it's planning figurines for all 34 playable characters. If you want to have a Diablo III demon hunter or StarCraft II's Tychus on your desk, you can.
