1) What is the current state of the Hydralisk? The current stats we have are tier 2-2.5, 100 minerals, 75 gas, 80-90 HP, and 8-10 dmg with no special abilities. Compared to the Roach, the Hydralisk appears inferior in every way, with it's only saving grace being GTA capability. However, because the Mutalisk is in the same tier, only slightly more expensive, and it can fly, the Hydralisk appears to be almost useless for such an iconic unit. (sclegacy.com)

Actually, the Hydralisk has since been boosted up quite a bit in terms of damage. They currently have 80 hit points and have a ground attack of 13 + 3 versus armored and an air attack of 12 + 5 versus armored. The Hydralisk also has a range of 6 and moves at a 'fast' speed, with no need to upgrade with the speed bonus anymore. Roaches on the other hand, only have an attack of 10, half the Hydralisk's range, and is slower to move as well. The new damage the Hydralisk is able to put out now makes it very dangerous, as Zerg players will be able to take out buildings with a pack of Hydras, with only a few volleys (same goes to Battlecruisers!). Nonetheless, they are extremely weak at 80 hit points, and thus need to always be protected. The new cost for Hydralisks are also 100 minerals and 100 gas.

Snipe does a lot of damage to 'light armor' units that are biological. To an Ultralisk, it will do nearly nothing.

This week we have launched the 3rd episode of BlizzCast, featuring an interview with the Lead Designer of StarCraft II about the Evolution of the Zerg from the original StarCraft to StarCraft II. Be sure to check that out here:
[url]http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcast/[/url]

Also, I've been curious - would you guys prefer having these Q&A Batches (multiple answered and added into a consolidated release) or would you rather these 4-7 questions be spread out across the forums in pertinent threads on battle.net? I have been doing a bit of both, but would love to get your feedback on it, to make it easiest for you to follow up on the latest updates in regards to the development of StarCraft II.

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 40---

1. By the current look of the game with spectacular death animations you could worry that you can get slightly distracted by dead units while playing. You could for example waste precious APMs (Actions per minute) trying to click on a spliced Space Marine that you thought was still alive. The wrecks of some larger units or deaths for some others could block your sight in-game too. Could this fear be a real issue and will there be the option to toggle down these model details in the settings? (gamereplays.org)

Yes, this is an issue we are looking into. For multiplayer, we want to make absolutely sure that players can clearly see visually what is happening on the battlefield. Currently, we are looking to have different types of death animations available for multiplayer than will be present for the single player campaign. A lot of people do still love watching intricate death animations when not in a competitive scene.

2. Battlecruisers do employ more than one gunner right? So will they be able to attack both air and ground at the same time? (sc2pod.com)

Battlecruisers will only be able to attack one unit at a time.

3. What happens with the units inside a Nydus Worm if it gets killed? Considering it can carry 255 units, would they all die? (sc2pod.com)

Units inside the Nydus network will only die when all entrance/exits are killed. This includes the Nydus Warren building, the prerequisite to build Nydus Worms, as it also acts as an entrance and exit to the Nydus network. Nydus Worms that are not deployed as an entrance/exit will not count as an entrance/exit to the network.

4. So far the map editor seems to be a very powerful tool which doesnt constrain the map makers creativity at all. Will it even be possible to edit critical abilities like path finding? If so, there would be really no limits, or at least none we can imagine at this point. (starcraft2.4players.de)

Pathfinding, the method in which a unit will determine how to move, is handled by code, and will not be able to be edited within the map editor. Nonetheless, map makers will be able to edit things such as footprints, speed, and the size of units, which will affect the movement rates of units.

5. Why were Plasma Torpedoes added to the Battlecruiser when the Banshee has virtually the same attack? (starcraft2.com.au)

The Battlecruiser no longer has Plasma Torpedoes that hit ground. Instead, they can be equipped with a Missile Barrage which will be an air-to-air area of effect attack ability. This ability will make the Battlecruiser even more effective against lightly armored air units, as the attack also gets additional damage points versus light armored units.


6. In SC: BW we have terrain bonuses for units, for example standing behind a tree or being on higher ground while shot from lower. Are you keeping or maybe even improving such this feature and what happens with large units that are more massive (Thor) or simply larger (Colossus) than a tree or even a cliff? (broodwar.de)

Terrain bonuses are no longer present in StarCraft II. Instead, line of sight will be vastly more important. For instance, units firing from a higher ground will not be able to be seen by ground units without line of sight vision, and thus the ground units will not be able to fire back.

7. If a Zerg player corrupts a Dropship/Medivac, will they get control of the units inside? - Luddite (teamliquid.net)

No, the unit's contents will be destroyed when it becomes corrupted.

---End of Transmission---

I'm not completely sure to which features you are referring to, but in general, features are a tool to shape the gameplay of a game. Features may be good or bad, depending on its effects on the game. Not all features fit your design goals. For instance, multiplayer is about competition. Random factors like a random % of missing based on terrain is not optimal for a balanced competitive game (similarly chess does not have random factors involved when a player wins or losses). On the other hand, in single player, our goal is to immerse the player into the StarCraft world. Here is where the details that add to the story and immersion really count! Thus, there will be LOTS of content not seen in the multiplayer, as well as animations, heroes, additional units, and more...

The more I think about this the more it has me worried. Take the map Lost Temple as an example. It was common for players to wall their choke ramp with first tier units to prevent their bases from being breached. In SC2, does this mean the players wouldn't even be able to climb that ramp unless they have detection or air units to see at the top of the ramp?

Know what I mean?

This is true, though in StarCraft II, there are more units that are able to give you sight in those situations (Reapers, Medivac Dropships, Colossi, Banshees, Sensor Towers (to let you know units are on cliffs), Overseers, as well as older units including Observers, Terran's Scan, and others).

Furthermore, new abilities like Anti-Gravity help break the choke points, as well as more incentives to build dropships for Terran, Phase Prisms for Warp-In, and Nydus Worms to unload your whole army in a place that bypasses well defended positions.

On top of that, the better pathing in StarCraft II allow units to get to where you want them to go much faster, such as up ramps and around units.

Source:
Karune's StarCraft II Q&A Batch 40

StarCraft II Q&A Batch Archive - Batch 40

While viewing new screenshots, keep in mind, the Art Team is still polishing the races and still have a lot of work to be done. Even since the Terran reveal, you can see there has been a lot of work still done to them. While just looking at the Siege Tank, it got a redesign, as well as another pass to add 'grit' and realism, and as seen in this latest screenshot, another pass of 'grit' and Terran decals, as well as further contrast and details added to it.

If you're not happy with a unit, there is a high probability that the unit will still be getting art updates. If you're already think the unit is awesome, there is even more chance of it becoming more awesome before the game comes out. Personally, I thought the Siege Tank was already pretty sweet after the last art pass, but wow, this latest round is just going above and beyond.

There is still much to be done, for all three races.

    * Population: Est. 10,000,000,000+ zerg
    * Allegiance: Swarm
    * Diameter/Gravity: 10,521 km, 0.91 standard
    * Axial Tilt/Climate: 4.1 degrees, +/- 48 Centigrade (average, peaks of 800C+), very low humidity
    * Geography/Major Settlements: 52 volcanic caldera, 18 mountain chains (all volcanic), 38 lava lakes, 5 lava seas (variable), estimated 150 primary zerg hive clusters, estimated 1029 tertiary zerg hive clusters
    * Moon(s): 2 -- Eris, Ate (purple, small sized >1000 km dia)
    * Dominant Terrain Classification: Volcanic
    * Dominant Life Forms: Zerg
    * Indigenous Life Forms: None
    * Imports: None
    * Exports: None

When these disputes escalated into open conflict, some of the bitterest battles of the Guild Wars took place on Char as both sides attempted to secure the planet. In areas like Death Valley and Glass Flats, unrestrained use of nuclear weapons awoke slumbering volcanoes into fiery new life and pushed the already heavily irradiated surface to levels that were lethal even for armored marines.

In the aftermath of the Guild Wars, the Confederacy presence on the devastated planet was limited to a few maintenance teams for automated mining sites.

All personnel lived on a space platform, Char Aleph, which was built in near orbit over the planet.
...
Char Aleph was also infested and began serving the zerg as an orbital nesting site and hatchery.

  

The green spidery-like building on the top left is the new art for the Baneling Nest, the prerequisite building to morph Zerglings into Banelings. The new art in the middle is the Infestor Pit, which allows Infestors to be built. Infestor upgrades are also available at that building.

As you can see, the Terran Jackals no longer have a single front wheel tire, but instead have two, giving it more of a 'buggy-like' feel.