Sign up for a new account or log in here:
also @ TechSpot: Building a Thin Mini-ITX PC: Small and Silent Performance
The project, which does not yet have an official release date, had to be renamed because Activision Blizzard sent a cease and desist notice to YouTube to remove the pre-alpha trailer showing off the mod. Blizzard's intention was not to stop the project itself, but to protect their trademarks. The company insisted that it wants to see the continued development of the mod and even extended an offer to the developer to visit the Blizzard campus and meet with the StarCraft II development team.
The original creator, Ryan Winzen, is now back from his tour and is once again working on using StarCraft II's powerful map editor to develop the newly renamed StarCraft Universe. Here is what is being promised for the game:
- A wide variety of monsters, bosses, and character classes. SCU classes include: Infantry, Special-Ops, Demolition, and many others.
- A game save system. These maps will allows players to create, save, and load existing characters (a unique function uncommon to custom StarCraft maps).
- Hundreds of customizable weapons, runes, and equipment to choose from. They can be acquired as loot or bought in shops.
- Multiplayer experience. These maps allow (and encourage) up to twelve players in one match.
Although there are multiple custom maps being promised, the team plans on creating one solid polished map first before starting on more SCU maps. The custom maps will not have an original storyline: SCU is designed to reincarnate past battles from the original StarCraft, StarCraft II, and StarCraft fictional books.
Due to the limitations of custom maps in StarCraft II (remember, this is not a standalone game), SCU will not be able to allow more than 12 players in the same match, joining a specific match once it has already started, nor have a leveling system. Due to the last one, character progression will not occur by gaining experience from battle, but players will gain loot (items dropped by defeated enemies), minerals (for purchasing items and weapons from several shops), allocation points (granted from killing bosses, used to permanently boost a stat of your choice), and rank (attained by killing raid bosses, unlocks the ability to purchase higher grade equipment). These will help players in customizing and boosting their character stats.
A StarCraft version of Blizzard's World of Warcraft has been rumored and begged for by thousands of people. At every BlizzCon, gamers ask to see the massively multiplayer online success of World of Warcraft ported to the Starcraft universe. Although Blizzard protected its trademark in this case, it still doesn't mean the company is working on a "World of StarCraft" game, though we can still hope. In the meantime, SCU will have to do.
User Comments: 12
Got something to say? Post a comment-
mattfrompa said:
So, they finally did what they should have the first day the C&D was received?
-
Glad to see that Blizzard is playing ball - and even supporting - instead of insisting this be dropped altogether. All it required was a simple name change.
-
treetops said:
Its a custom game made by there map maker they are gigantic douche bags for sending out a cease and desist order. You cant make your own map with there editor in starcraft 22 and name it world of starcraft? That's very very weak.
Yes it is cool that they invited them to meet the sc2 team. Its to bad blizzard did not learn from League of Legends and make games so you can rejoin them for 10 minutes after you get dropped or leave. If they had this option in sc2 people could join ongoing custom maps.
-
@treetops
Try reading and comprehending a bit better. They sent cease and desist letters to YOUTUBE to take down the alpha trailers because of the title, not the content. They've done nothing to try and hinder the progress of the mod.
-
Staff
Being that Starcraft is the trademarked name of one of Blizzard's properties, I don't see how using Starcraft Universe is any better than World of Starcraft.
I am unsure I follow Blizzard's logic. Why bother complaining at all?
-
Where can I see those videos ? Will they be reuploaded to YouTube with another title since their contents itself wasn't illegal ?
-
Rick, Blizz wanted a name change because World of Starcraft implies a certain association to World of Warcraft. If it didn't, they never would have used that name. They don't want this because Blizzard doesn't want people associating Blizzard with something they have no control over. Blizzard has strict rules on it's games, like not allowing in game items to be purchased for real $$$ (yes, it happens, but it's against the rules), and inclusion of spam filters, language filters, and other security measures.
Imagine if the Starcraft support site started receiving calls for World of Starcraft, and yes people ARE that dumb. Think if a company came out with a device called the iPlayer. We'd assume it's from apple, and they wouldn't stand for it, no matter how cool it was.
-
Um iPlayer is the BBC's internet playback site
-
"So, they finally did what they should have the first day the C&D was received?"
They actually did it the same day they had the Youtube video taken down (there was no C&D). You're just hearing about it really late.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32562/Blizzard_No_Intenti
n_To_Stop_World_of_StarCraft_Mod_Development.php -
treetops said:
Oh no a youtube video has the name world of starcraft?
-
treetops said:
The horror...
[link]
-
Why do I get the feeling that this mod may eventually become a stand alone game. I'm quite sure Blizz is trying to assess how much money it would cost to make the game and how long it will take them to make the money back. If they've been getting all this feed back from BlizzCon and people watching the video, I'm sure that they are crunching the numbers.
Most Popular
| Trending | Featured |
-
Xbox One: Entertainment hub first, gaming console second - but can it disrupt TV?
-
Metro: Last Light Tested, Benchmarked
-
Microsoft officially announces Xbox One: here's what we know so far
-
'Supercapacitor' could fully charge your phone in less than 30 seconds
-
Sony releases PS4 teaser video on eve of Xbox 720 reveal
Featured on Laptops
Subscribe to TechSpot
Get free exclusive content, learn about new features and breaking tech news.