I''m wondering if anyone has given thought to what has made Starcraft so popular. Anyone up for picking it apart? I''d have to say that the most incredible thing about the about the game is the unit balancing. I''m not sure how the designers arrived at the costs / benefit ratings, but it seems to me that there are no useless units in the game. Everything has a purpose for a given strategy, and all the combinations of the different races give you lots of strategic options to explore. What do you think Starcraft did right? What do you think they could have done much better? (didn''t want to post too much, btw, in case no one''s interested... but I do have other aspects of the game to look at...) -------------------- Just waiting for the mothership...

Better? 3D! How does that unit say it "I know its not 3D, but we are trying our hardest"

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers'' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
          

It's so wierd. I could never get into Starcraft. I played the demo for about 15 minutes and just couldn't get into it. I realize I didn't give it much chance.

I enjoyed Warcraft 1 & 2 more. I don't condsider RTS to be my absolute favorite genre, but I did like Warcraft & Myth. Am I the only one who couldn't get into Starcraft?


"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be --Pink Floyd
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.


Edited by - Nazrix on November 9, 2000 7:26:38 PM

I couldn''t... though I gave it more chance than you. I didn''t finish the terran missions, and then I got addicted to Diablo. Go figure. Then I started playing SC again and Diablo II got realeased... yet again... Go Figure. I prefered WC I & II also... Maybe it is just the fantasy aspect

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers'' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
          

Actually I think it might be the fantasy aspect too..I was going to say that actually.

I think it may be part of the reason why I never got into Fallout.

In school, I hated studying history when it came to stuff that happened within the last hundred years or so, but I loved the stuff from like 200 years ago or earlier.



"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be --Pink Floyd
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

I actually have gotten into Starcraft.

I totally agree with what was said at the top how every unit is unique. In Warcraft, you''ve got the human archer and the orc axe-thrower, the human barracks, and the orc something or other that''s the exact same but with a different name and look (i didn''t play orc very much). In starcraft, there is no equal to a zergling. There is no identical lurker. There is no double of the dark templar. So when I play online, me terran and someone else zerg, we have to know the advantages and disadvantages to the race we are and the race we''re against and exploit them to the greatest. I think that takes a smarter player than a Warcraft player, but maybe i''m wrong.

Another thing. Starcraft has a really good variety of custom maps. There are ALOT of really creative players that use the map editor to unleash their imagination. You can create anything you can think of. And new maps are being played every day.

Finally, the last (and least important) reason, it''s one of the only online games I have. I don''t have Diablo I or II, don''t have ANY FPSs. I do have Everquest but I just unsubscribed to it because I don''t want it to conflict with school. So my computer game arsenal consists of: Starcraft, Subspace, ARC, and Yahoo! games when I get bored and the other games are screwed up.

quote: Original post by dwarfsoft

Better? 3D!

This befuddles me.

What does 3D add? I''ve played and watched a number of 3D games, and can as yet find no reason to add it beyond eye candy. I''m not saying eye candy is irrelevant, but I guess I''m looking for truly compelling factors.

No offense, btw, if 3D is compelling to you. I know for some it''s like the difference between VGA and EGA. But it just seems right now that it''s more trouble than it''s worth (freakin'' camera!), unless you''ve got an environment like space (Homeworld) that truly requires it.


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Just waiting for the mothership...

quote: Original post by Nazrix

It''s so wierd. I could never get into Starcraft.

quote: Original post by dwarfsoft
I prefered WC I & II also... Maybe it is just the fantasy aspect

Okay, no fair guys!!! Toploading the vote!!! Voter fraud!

For you, there would be NO WAY to improve the game AT ALL, unless tanks were replaced with trebuchets, or marines with knights. A complete overhaul, IOW?

Funny.... I''m a SF player by nature... but there are many conditions under which I can be attracted to fantasy. As long as it''s not heavy on the typical fantasy stereotypes, with the syrupy storylines, overly complicated family trees, and illogical magick systems.... I can get into it. (Hence Warcraft NO, Myth YES)

I guess it''s not the same for you guys?

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Just waiting for the mothership...

Isn''t the terrain in Myth 1 & 2 considered 3D? I know the characters are sprites though. If so, I think the 3D aspect made all the difference in the world to that game. It added tons of stradegy from the lay of the land.


"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be --Pink Floyd
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

quote: Original post by Ronald Forbes

totally agree with what was said at the top how every unit is unique. In Warcraft, you''ve got the human archer and the orc axe-thrower, the human barracks, and the orc something or other that''s the exact same but with a different name and look

Yes, and because of this there was really only 1 or 2 strategies. (Bloodlusted Ogres being the most popular.)

quote:
In starcraft, there is no equal to a zergling. There is no identical lurker. There is no double of the dark templar. So when I play online, me terran and someone else zerg, we have to know the advantages and disadvantages to the race we are and the race we''re against and exploit them to the greatest. I think that takes a smarter player than a Warcraft player, but maybe i''m wrong.

I wouldn''t say smarter, but you do have to be a better strategy gamer. There are many more factors to consider, and the strategic reasoning is more complicated.

quote:
Another thing. Starcraft has a really good variety of custom maps. There are ALOT of really creative players that use the map editor to unleash their imagination. You can create anything you can think of. And new maps are being played every day.

Agreed. Some maps out there are outlandishly creative, more so that anything you''d get from a random map maker. I do like that they''ve included some old Warcraft maps. Plains of Snow was an old favorite.



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Just waiting for the mothership...