The next short story, which focuses on Reapers, is now available. Check out an excerpt below:

Warden Kejora stood in the very center of the Hub, hands behind his back, looking over the dozens of screens before him. Each one showed new arrivals. He liked the look of none of them. Not a surprise. A small percentage of humanity was resistant to resocialization in some way, but even among that tiny group, his program only received the dregs: pirates, petty crooks, murderers. Maybe a political dissident or two.

Not for the first time he considered having them all shot, but that wasn't his job. Emperor Mengsk wanted reapers, and by god, he'd get reapers.

 

Check out the full story here.

Source:
Battle.net - New StarCraft Short Story: Icehouse

The short story for the Overlord is out, and can be read here.

He stood on the observation deck of the former Tarsonis Ghost Academy, a reclining giant of black reflective marble on the outside and neosteel on the inside. The desiccated grounds of the city square framed the academy and the shattered monument up front. Only two ragged stone feet on a pedestal remained of the tribute to some hero of the now-dead Confederacy.

 

Source:
Battle.net - New StarCraft Short Story: Just An Overlord

Once StarCraft II: Flashpoint hit store shelves, we here at StarCraft: Legacy gave the book a thorough read. Our review of the book is now available for viewing, as well as an interview with the author, Christie Golden, which was a wonderful opportunity for us to understand the thoughts behind writing the book

To commemorate the release of the book and our review, we are giving away a signed copy of Flashpoint to a lucky member of the community. To have your chance at winning the book, simply join the StarCraft Legacy group on StarCraft II, follow our twitter (@StarCraftLegacy), and tweet to us your StarCraft II name. A winner will be chosen at random, then contacted with details on claiming the prize.

Good luck to anyone hoping to win the giveaway, and hope you enjoy our review and interview!

Click here for the review article.

Source:
StarCraft: Legacy - Flashpoint Review and Interview with Christie Golden

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is Now Live!

Players who have purchased the Heart of the Swarm expansion now have access to all of its content.

  • Continue the epic single-player campaign and story.   
    • Command the Zerg Swarm in 20 brand-new missions across seven dramatic story arcs.
    • Conquer foes and evolve your brood in seven Evolution Mission skirmishes.
    • Explore dangerous new worlds with 14 additional tilesets.
    • Relive every exciting moment by unlocking the Master Archives. After completing the Heart of the Swarm campaign, you can use the Master Archives to jump directly into any mission or replay any cinematic.
  • Experience the enhanced multiplayer game.
    • Seven new units have been added across the Terran, Protoss, and Zerg races.
    • Intriguing upgrades and abilities have been retrofitted to a number of existing Wings of Liberty units.
    • There are 26 new multiplayer maps of all sizes to wage war on!
  • Experience a completely revamped physics system.
    • Death animations have been updated to take advantage of advanced physics effects.
    • After being killed, units can fall off cliff edges, slide down ramps, glide across ice, and more.
    • Many physics-triggered sounds have been paired with these new visual effects.
  • Level up with the new Leveling System.
    • Completing Heart of the Swarm matches now grants XP.
    • Level up to unlock new skins, animations, race specific portraits, and decals.
  • Control AI partners using the “AI Communication” system.
    • Players can now work closely and strategize with their AI partners.
    • You can issue specific commands to AI teammates, such as where to attack, defend, scout, and expand.

    
Heart of the Swarm includes all of the awesome new features recently added in Patch 2.0.4, including the updated user interface, clans and groups, new replay features, unranked play, global play, language selection, and much more!

 

Source:
Battle.net - StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Patch Notes

Heart of the Swarm is live! If you haven't already, purchase the game here, and if you've already bought it, make sure to add the game key to your Battle.net account, then fire up the StarCraft II client!


Source:
Battle.net - Heart of the Swarm

Sometimes we wonder which race will ultimately triumph in the Koprulu Sector. Will it be the Zerg? Who have adapted themselves to be living weapons of mass destruction? The Protoss, who have honed their mental and psionic abilities to insurmountable limits? Or will it be the Terran, who are versatile and determined, seeking reprieve from the constant dangers of the Zerg and Protoss armies? Well, a couple of scientists from the Institute of Astronomy, at the University of Edinburgh, did a very thorough scientific analysis of Terran dominance in the Koprulu Sector, if Terrans were to adopt a strategy of early pressure against Zerg and Protoss opponents.

The ultimate goal of this science outreach project is not necessarily to further knowledge of extra-terrestrial life, but to note "the increasing scientific potential of the rapidly expanding video-game industry, while also increasing public understanding of the scientific method." The paper is five pages long, available in PDF format here. It's an interesting read for anyone curious about the hard science involving StarCraft's races and their power struggles.

Source:
The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh - A citizen science colonisation model for the Koprulu Sector in StarCraft 2, micro Terran to defeat Protoss and Zerg?

A list of sever launch times for Heart of the Swarm has been posted on Battle.net. You can see the list here. Make sure you know when you can play Heart of the Swarm in your time zone!

Source:
Battle.net - Heart of the Swarm Live Server Times

A new StarCraft short story, Cold Symmetry, is available for reading. This one focuses on the Zealot, and a Zealot's initiation.

Now, do you think that I called you here just to chat about the moon?


I... No, Master. I do not. I had hoped you wished to begin my initiation.


You approach the answer, Teredal. Come, stand before me. It is time for you to take the first vows of our order.

 

You can read the full story here.

Source:
Battle.net - StarCraft Short Story: Cold Symmetry

Blizzard has posted a preview of the levelling rewards in Heart of the Swarm, which includes player portraits, unit skins, and supply building skins. The post also mentions that unit dances will be unlockable with levels as well, which begs the question: "How many dances are in Heart of the Swarm?"

You can check out the full article here.

Source:
Battle.net - Heart of the Swarm Preview: Levelling Rewards

The Game Guide for StarCraft II has just received a massive update, giving detailed explanations on the campaign features that were showcased during the January 17th press event!

Among the new pages is the Kerrigan page, which has explanations of the campaign's RPG elements, levelling up Kerrigan, and videos for each of the passive skills you can obtain.

 

The other page that was added is the Evolution Pit page, which has information on how mutations and evolutions work (they're two different things), the exact stats of a few mutations, and short descriptions of the Zergling, Baneling, and Roach evolution options.

 

Be sure to check out the full pages for tons of info. There's no spoilers, so don't worry, oogle your heart away while waiting for the Heart of the Swarm release on March 12th!

Source:
Battle.net - Kerrigan, Game Guide
Battle.net - Evolution Pit, Game Guide
Battle.net - StarCraft II Game Guide Update: HotS Campaign Features


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