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Starcraft 2 patch opens up custom maps, dev tools to all
StarCraft 2's "Starter Edition," the limited free-to-play version of Blizzard's popular real-time strategy sequel, receives a substantial today in North America. The update will roll out to other territories as the week progresses. This update brings StarCraft 2 "Starter Edition" up to version 2.1, unlocking all three races (Terrans, Zerg and Protoss) and providing access to custom maps to the entire internet. These custom maps can be accessed through Blizzard Arcade, the free game-hosting platform and editing suite offered by Blizzard through StarCraft 2. So if someone creates the next DOTA, which was created as a custom game type in Warcraft 3 and based on a custom StarCraft map, and publishes it to Blizzard Arcade, then everyone in the world will have access to it – not just those who own StarCraft 2. Head past the break for another pair of videos, produced by Blizzard, going into more detail about Blizzard Arcade.
Play Diablo 1 with World of Warcraft models in StarCraft 2
The StarCraft II Arcade feature, a tool intended to help the community highlight quality custom maps and game modes created with the StarCraft modding tools, has recently gone into beta. Coinciding with that beta, Blizzard has launched a contest that requires you to play, rate, and review an Arcade game for a chance to win a Heart of the Swarm beta key. One of the delightful custom game modes that has become an Arcade chart-topper is an incestuous mix of all of Blizzard's major franchises: It's the first Diablo game ported into StarCraft II using World of Warcraft art assets for the 3-D models. The gameplay doesn't match the original Diablo click-for-click, but the core mechanics and all of the sound files have been carried from one game to the next, including Deckard Cain's signature "stay awhile and listen." StarCraft II shoutcaster Husky recently featured the game mode on his YouTube channel, and you can watch his 18+ minute preview/review embedded below.
