June through August (and beyond) Development Schedule

[Ozymandiaz]

As a self-admitted hardcore Blizzard fan (Pre-World of Warcraft days) I can honestly say that I won't be buying Starcraft II this time around. Blizzard today is not the same company it once was back in the Diablo 2 days; almost that entire team is actually Runic now working on their Torchlight IP and that group listens intently to their fans. Blizzard tried to implement that Real ID thing for Battle.net that required you to use your real name to post on forums - and what a horrible idea that was and it's still in the plan, just not mandatory like they wanted it to be.

I think they have lost their edge working on WoW all these years (and the Activision merger which isn't setting well with fans with Bobby Kotlick in charge) and honestly after ALL these years...Starcraft 2 looks like they did a conversion of Warcraft 3 - simply replacing the art assets to fit into another universe. Once again, there is no epic management in Starcraft 2 and you certainly won't be commanding hundreds of unique units and having a unique game experience each and every time. We ALL know the old Starcraft multiplayer drill - just pick Zerg and pump out the maximum 1st tier units and go charge your opposition and win in 8 minutes. That ain't strategy to me and is also the reason why I'll be $50 richer than most gamers at the end of this month. The corporates took over the headlining RTS titles and completely ruined them in my opinion. Let's see here...

Command & Conquer 4 - A complete bomb of a release that destroyed the main mechanics of the franchise. Utter garbage.
Supreme Commander 2 - Gas Powered games ignored their fans & created a console-accessible scaled down version of SC1.
Starcraft 2 - Basically, this is Warcraft 3 with mechs with little innovation except for privacy leaks in the Battle.net 2.0 system.

Ironically, I don't have any of those games loaded anymore...but I do have the complete AI Wars package installed and I do check for updates every day.  

Basically my thoughts as well. Blizzard is simply too profit driven to make good games these days. I got SupCom2, and was greatly disappointed. New C&C... well, I will not be playing that either. SC2... well... the old SC fan in me draws me to it, but its not the same game anymore. I think it lost a lot over the years, not the same setting and dark sci fi it used to be.

AI war on the other hand, it has a lot to offer!

Sure, its graphics is not fancy pants 3D, but it don't need to be, and it shouldn't either (would only detract form the game play). But oh boy does it offer great game play and strategy! And lets face it, thats why most of us got into gaming to start with, game play, good mechanics, challenges. Not pretty eye candy that has no depth and no challenges. Only place I can appreciate good 3D in games is in my FPS games.

I guess I could go on a long rant right about now if I wanted, but I will cut it here

[strangelight]

Of course those of us who already have the game will be spending the $4 or whatever for CON. I brought up SC2 because AI War's update + expansion press releases would risk getting swallowed up or brushed aside, if they happened too close to July 27th. This would prevent many new fans from coming into the fold.

As for your complaints, I blame most. if not all of SC2's flaws (big ones being the crippled bnet 2.0 and editor) on Vivendi's merging with Activision. The WC3 in space analogy couldn't be more wrong, and if you were a part of the SC community, you would know that Blizzard has actively been tweaking the game based on our suggestions. I'll leave it at that.

[Dragon]

Yeah, I used to love Starcraft, SupCom, and Red Alert 2....  I don't have or want any of the sequels.  I am liking AI War much better.

But as far as release timing goes, while releasing the beta to those of us that already have it can happen whenever, the announcement should be timed so that people that are new to it won't have it overshadowed by starcraft 2....

[TheMachineIsSentient]

I play ai war, and I play Starcraft 2.  They scratch different itches for me. I like them both. I am looking forward to the next story coming out later this month!

However, I'm also looking forward to the next expansion for AI war. Some of the things I would love to see are more plots (this is a great idea! More please), more complicated core worlds to destroy ( I know what you're saying, just turn the difficulty up, but, I'm thinking there is something more to be added here), and more reasons to take detours throughout the universe for a strategic advantage.

I would also like a gigantic battleship that I can use as a mobile aircraft carrier of sorts. Some kind of mega-awesome ship, like the trader ship, or a golem, but maybe constructible only with parts found throughout the galaxy, or maybe by random drops or luck through battling.

Also, Easter eggs, hidden units, and maybe a bonus level that you can enter when you have done some outrageously complicated task, like beating a plot or a blackout win...

And of course, any methods of automating or an interface overhaul that would let me more easily manage my units, and simplifying the free Roam system.

Or anything at all! I will be playing both of these games for a long time, the replay value is just too good. The only thing I wish is that I had somebody else to play this with. Most of my friends find this a little complicated. I don't think this is a bad thing, I like it that way, but just need to find people with a little more dedication to greatness.

[NickAragua]

Starcraft II rant

Relax man. I've been playing the Starcraft 2 beta, and assure you that you'll be controlling plenty of units. It feels a lot more like Starcraft than Warcraft 3. In multiplayer, there are no "heroes" or "creeps", the basic units don't have five hundred different abilities, there's no stupid "upkeep" mechanic... I could go on for a while.

It's definitely an incremental improvement to Starcraft.

I play ai war, and I play Starcraft 2.  They scratch different itches for me. I like them both.

Right on. For me, a buddy and I have been playing one game since last september (we've put in probably about thirty gameplay hours, not counting the 2x multiplier for lag). It scratches the long-term strategic itch. Starcraft is about shorter, intense battles (except in the rare case where a game drags out to several hours). Ultimately, I don't really see AI Wars and Starcraft competing very much.

[rubikscube]

just my thoughts similarly as in

what's the difference between world of warcraft and the diablo series

starcraft 2 and warcraft 3?

i mean you replace the "w" with "st" and you got yourself a new franchise