A new bio has been added to the StarCraft official website: Zeratul



Zeratul is a dark templar, a renowned psionic warrior and assassin whose forbears were exiled from the protoss homeworld of Aiur over a thousand years ago. The dark templar refused to submerge themselves in the communal protoss mind link, the Khala, preferring instead to strive as individuals. Zeratul holds the rank of prelate and is probably best known for his role in the ensuring the survival of the protoss since the zerg threat first became apparent.



"You speak of knowledge, Judicator? You speak of experience? I have journeyed through the darkness between the most distant stars. I have beheld the births of negative-suns and borne witness to the entropy of entire realities...."

-----

Also, Blizzard released 5 more screenshots and one more piece of artwork:

30 Views | 0 Replies

 


From Eyonix: (source)

Today we opened the Wrath of the Lich King Beta Opt-In program, which gives players a chance to win an invitation to the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King beta. For The Burning Crusade beta, we randomly invited players from the entire World of Warcraft community. With the Opt-In, our goal is to strengthen the beta-testing process by inviting only those players who have expressed active interest in participating.

Keep in mind that opting in doesn’t guarantee you’ll be selected for the beta. And players who’ve previously been promised beta access through a promotion or contest (such as by purchasing the Dell XPS M1730 World of Warcraft Edition notebook) don’t need to worry -- you’ll still be entered into the beta automatically when the time comes.

To opt in to the Wrath of the Lich King beta, visit the link below:

link for the US
link for the EU

So sign-up and you might get a shot at the WotLK beta!

70 Views | 4 Replies

New Overlord changeling ability? source

Overseers can create a Changeling by spending energy. The Changeling is a small unstable Zerg creature with timed life. When he gets near an enemy structure or unit he will change shape into the correct basic unit type and color to match that player. So if you get near a Blue Barracks you become a Blue Marine. If you get near a Red Stalker you become a Red Zealot, etc.

Enemy players cannot control the Changeling. It's still owned and controled by the Zerg player who created it. It is very vulnerable and can be killed by a single hit from just about anything. The Changeling cannot fight. He is just a shapeshifter, when he looks like a Marine that gun in his hand isn't "real."

You can see that something is a Changeling by mousing over the unit, by trying (and failing) to drag select or by selecting the unit and seeing the name and portrait.

What it does for the game:
1) Gives the Zerg a fun way to scout (though really they already have plenty of scouting options).
2) Makes enemy players constantly fearful of all of their own units. Is THAT a Changeling?! What about THAT GUY!?

In live games it is pretty difficult to keep on top of the "Changeling Problem" if an enemy Zerg player is trying to sneak into your base. However when you do catch them it feels pretty good.

It's something we have been trying for a few weeks and we thought we would include it in the WWI build to see what people thought.

hehehe I like the idea 

62 Views | 3 Replies

I have added new Diablo III forums for you guys to chat in. You can find them here.

61 Views | 2 Replies

From WWI:

Gamespot's Starcraft 2 Hands-On

Gamespy's Starcraft 2 Hands-On

StarCraft 2 Changes: (from StarcraftWire.net)

General

    * Vespene Gas Assimilators/Refineries/Extractors now have the ability to double the amount of workers that can enter the building at a time for 30 seconds. This ability has no cost, but a cooldown (~2 min). This is a way to "macro" additional gas creation to boost production.
    * Gas cost has increased on a lot of buildings.

Terran

    * The Terrans are getting closer to being "done".
    * New building animations
    * New icons

Zerg

    * The Hive Queen no longer creates Zerg defence.
    * Drones now mutate into Zerg defence structures.
    * The Hive Queen is now much stronger on creep, more powerful, and has a lot more combat value while defending the Hive Cluster.
    * New ability for the Hive Queen: Mutate Morphlisk - Turns a Larva into a Morpahlisk, has a Mineral and Vespene Gas cost.
    * New Zerg unit: Morpahlisk
          o Shares all abilities (& limits) and appearance of a Larva, including mutation into other Zerg units.
          o Is bigger than a Larva.
          o Requires 1 unit of control.
          o Can be controlled to move like a normal unit.
          o Can not use any other action than move and mutate.
          o Can sustain life even when not over creep.
          o If all requirements are met, can mutate into another unit almost instantly (~2 sec), anywhere on the map.
          o Cost for mutations still needs to be paid, and additional control requirements are added.
          o Used for creating large Zerg forces at once, but at an increased cost (making the Morphalisk).

In-depth list of Zerg changes (from Starcraftwire.net again)

Cavez explains the WWI mechanic in detail (from battle.net)

38 Views | 0 Replies

Here is a quick review of the new Wrath of the Lich King information we learned from WWI:

Q&A Panel

Class Panel

Dungeon Panel

PvP Panel

121 Views | 4 Replies

With the announcement of Diablo 3 as the latest project from Blizzard(that we know of), what Blizzard game are you most looking forward to?

138 Views | 8 Replies

Well, I guess most of us were right...



Diablo 3 Official Website

Diablo III will pick up the story twenty years after the events of Diablo II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the inhabitants of the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram. Playing as a hero from one of five distinct character classes, players will acquire powerful items, spells, and abilities as they explore new and familiar areas of Sanctuary and battle hordes of demons to safeguard the world from the horrors that have arisen. The first two characters classes -- the barbarian and the witch doctor -- were shown as part of the announcement at the event today in Paris.

Diablo III will feature a custom 3D-graphics engine to render lush indoor and outdoor areas of Sanctuary with a high level of detail and vivid special effects. The game's physics-enhanced environments will be interactive and destructible, offering traps and obstacles that create added danger for players and monsters alike. These elements, along with a new quest system and random scripted events, will be integrated into the game's random-level generator, giving Diablo III the ultimate combination of dynamic gameplay and replayability. Cooperative and competitive play will be available online through an upgraded version of Blizzard Entertainment's renowned online gaming service, Battle.net®.

So yeah, pretty exciting times, once again

There's so much stuff to tell and show, where to start? Oh yeah!


Movies!

Official trailer: Watch/Get it on the official page (via Blizzard’s downloader) or here

Artwork movie: Watch/Get it on the official page (via Blizzard’s downloader) or here

Gameplay movie: Watch/Get it on the official page (via Blizzard’s downloader). It's a whooping 800Mo and we can't really host something that big (my downloader is not working for some reason, but I can watch the movie on the website)

Gamespot interview with Rob Pardo


Screenshots!

There's a lot of em. I'm not gonna post them here as it would clutter the frontpage, but see this post.


Artwork!

Same deal. See this post.


Wallpapers!

Go to the official page to select which one you'd like and in the desired resolution


Now how about some known info:

- Will use a new Hotbar system similar to WoW for spells (can use Tab or the mouse wheel to switch between bars)
- You can enchant your stuff (in the gameplay video, we see freezing and shocking axes)
- Now enemies sometimes drop red globes that replenish some of your health (so you don't have to rely as much on potions as you used to in D2)
- You can now interact with the environment, like making a wall crumble on your foes!
- Traps can now summon a buttload of monsters
- There will be a lot more quests and a lot more events happening while you play (like semi-cut scenes when talking with NPCs or cultists summoning a boss)
- Male and female version of each class (or so it seems)
- Potions are still in the game, just not as core an element
- In cooperative play, when one player picks up a health globe, all players benefit from its restorative effects.
- Some monsters will miss players and get their weapons stuck in the ground.
- Better quests, more in-depth interractions with the NPCs. The story won't be forced in front of your face, but will be there for those interested.
- Random scripted events will occur at random moments
- No grid inventory system like in D2.
- Hardcore mode may or may not be included in the game.
- You'll probably be able to respec your character skills. (no confirmation)
- The game will not require DX10 to run. (Although I'd like a DX10 as well as a DX9 one)
- Two classes released for now: the Barbarian and the Witch Doctor

Barbarian:
- A lot similar to the D2 version in term of gameplay/abilities (or so it seems) but he's older now (at least the male version)

Witch Doctor:
- Tribal magic: Fire, Diseases, Can summon minions and take control/confuse enemies
- Locus Swarm: when they killed your target they go for the next one
- Summon Mongrels: You can cast your spells on them to make them more powerful (for example, if you cast Locus Swarm on one, it will do additional Disease damage), you can also sacrifice them for AoE(Area of Effect) damage
- Has an AoE fear spell
- Mass Confuse spell that can turn monsters against each others
- Wall of Zombies: basically it's a wall that can attack foes that get too close


More cool stuff:

Lore nuts, here is Cain's Journal (with narration by Cain himself)

The official FAQ

The World of Sanctuary: where you can get all the released official information (classes, dungeons, areas, monsters, etc.)


*This will be updated as more info is revealed at the WWI, so stay tuned for more details!

BTW, new Diablo 3 forums will be created soon, when Digi will be back to make them.

222 Views | 9 Replies

A very nice interview with the Lead Designer of SC2 posted by StarcraftWire. I recommend it

Link

BTW, we'll likely get huge news/update this week-end, because of the WWI in Paris (no World War jokes plz  ), so stay tuned!

49 Views | 0 Replies

A new little gagdet from Blizzard:

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today introduced an optional extra layer of security for World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Designed to attach to a keychain, the lightweight and waterproof Blizzard® Authenticator is an electronic device that generates a six-digit security code at the press of a button. This code is unique, valid only once, and active for a limited time; it must be provided along with the account name and password when signing in to the World of Warcraft account linked to it.

This optional security measure will be available at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational, which takes place June 28-29 in Paris, France. In addition, the Blizzard Authenticator will be made available for purchase via Blizzard's online store in the near future for a cost of $6.50.

"It's important to us that World of Warcraft offers a safe and enjoyable game environment," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "One aspect of that is helping players avoid account compromise, so we're pleased to make this additional layer of security available to them."

Press release

FAQ

109 Views | 3 Replies